METLIFE, INC.
DEBT SECURITIES
UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
December 3, 2002
To the Representatives of the several
Underwriters named in the respective
Pricing Agreements hereinafter described
Ladies and Gentlemen:
From time to time, MetLife, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the
"Company"), proposes to enter into one or more Pricing Agreements (each a
"Pricing Agreement") in the form of Annex I hereto, with such additions and
deletions as the parties thereto may determine and, subject to the terms and
conditions stated herein and therein, to issue and sell to the firms named in
Schedule I to the applicable Pricing Agreement (the "Underwriters" with respect
to such Pricing Agreement and the securities specified therein) the principal
amount of its securities or aggregate number of shares identified in Schedule I
to the applicable Pricing Agreement (the "Securities" with respect to such
Pricing Agreement).
The terms and rights of any particular issuance of Securities shall be
as specified in the Pricing Agreement relating thereto and in or pursuant to the
Senior Indenture or Subordinated Indenture, in each case as supplemented by one
or more Supplemental Indentures (each such Senior Indenture or Subordinated
Indenture, as so supplemented, an "Indenture") or the Amended and Restated
Certificate of Incorporation of the Company (including the applicable
Certificate of Designation), as applicable (each a "Securities Agreement"), and
identified in such Pricing Agreement.
Particular sales of Securities may be made from time to time to the
Underwriters of such Securities, for whom the firms designated as
representatives of the Underwriters of such Securities in the Pricing Agreement
relating thereto will act as representatives (the "Representatives"). The term
"Representatives" also refers to a single firm acting as sole representative of
the Underwriters and to Underwriters who act without any firm being designated
as their representative. This Underwriting Agreement shall not be construed as
an obligation of the Company to sell any of the Securities or as an obligation
of any of the Underwriters to purchase the Securities. The obligation of the
Company to issue and sell any of the Securities and the obligation of any of the
Underwriters to purchase any of the Securities shall be evidenced by the Pricing
Agreement with respect to the Securities specified therein.
Each Pricing Agreement shall specify the aggregate principal amount of
such Securities or the total number of shares, as the case may be, the initial
public offering price of such Securities, the purchase price to the Underwriters
of such Securities, the names of the Underwriters of such Securities, the names
of the Representatives of such Underwriters and the principal amount or number
of shares of such Securities to be purchased by each Underwriter.
In addition, such Pricing Agreement shall set forth the date, time and manner of
delivery of such Securities and payment therefor. Such Pricing Agreement shall
also specify (in a manner not inconsistent with the applicable Securities
Agreements and the registration statement and prospectus with respect thereto)
the terms of such Securities. A Pricing Agreement shall be in the form of an
executed writing (which may be in counterparts), and may be evidenced by an
exchange of telegraphic communications or any other rapid transmission device
designed to produce a written record of communications transmitted. The
obligations of the Underwriters under this Agreement and each Pricing Agreement
shall be several and not joint.
1. Representations and Warranties. The Company represents and warrants
to the Underwriters as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Date (as
hereinafter defined), and agrees with each of the Underwriters, as follows:
(a) The Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (the "Commission") a registration statement on Form S-3 (No.
333-61282) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Act"), which has
become effective, for the registration under the Act of the Securities. The
Company meets the requirements for use of Form S-3 under the Act. No stop order
suspending the effectiveness of the registration statement has been issued under
the Act and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are pending
or, to the knowledge of the Company, are contemplated by the Commission, and any
request on the part of the Commission for additional information has been
complied with. The Company proposes to file with the Commission pursuant to Rule
424 under the Act a supplement or supplements to the form of prospectus included
in such registration statement relating to the Securities and the plan of
distribution thereof. Such registration statement, including the exhibits
thereto, as amended at the date of this Agreement, is hereinafter called the
"Registration Statement"; such prospectus in the form in which it appears in the
Registration Statement is hereinafter called the "Base Prospectus"; and such
supplemented form of prospectus, in the form in which it shall first be filed
with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424 (including the Base Prospectus as so
supplemented), is hereinafter called the "Final Prospectus." Any preliminary
form of the Final Prospectus which has heretofore been filed pursuant to Rule
424 is hereinafter called the "Preliminary Prospectus." Any reference herein to
the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or
the Final Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents
incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 which were
filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange
Act"), on or before the date of this Agreement, or the issue date of the Base
Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Final Prospectus, as the case may
be; and any reference herein to the terms "amend," "amendment" or "supplement"
with respect to the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus, any Preliminary
Prospectus or the Final Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the
filing of any document under the Exchange Act after the date of this Agreement,
or the issue date of the Base Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the
Final Prospectus, as the case may be, deemed to be incorporated therein by
reference; each Preliminary Prospectus and the prospectuses filed as part of the
Registration Statement as originally filed or as part of any amendment thereto,
or filed pursuant to Rule 424 under the Act, complied when so filed in all
material respects with the Act and the rules thereunder and each Preliminary
Prospectus and the Final Prospectus delivered to the Representatives for use in
connection with this offering was identical to the electronically transmitted
copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to XXXXX, except to the extent
permitted by Regulation S-T;
(b) As of the date hereof, when the Final Prospectus is first
filed or transmitted for filing pursuant to Rule 424 under the Act, when, prior
to the Closing Date (as hereinafter defined), any amendment to the Registration
Statement becomes effective (including the filing of any document incorporated
by reference in the Registration Statement), when any supplement to the Final
Prospectus is filed with the Commission and at the Closing Date (as hereinafter
defined), (i) the Registration Statement, as amended as of any such time, and
the Final Prospectus, as amended or supplemented as of any such time, and, in
the case of Securities issued pursuant to an Indenture, such Indenture, will
comply in all material respects with the applicable requirements of the Act, the
Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended (the "Trust Indenture Act"), and the
Exchange Act and the respective rules thereunder and (ii) neither the
Registration Statement, as amended as of any such time, nor the Final
Prospectus, as amended or supplemented as of any such time, will contain any
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required
to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not
misleading; provided, however, that the Company makes no representations or
warranties as to (i) that part of the Registration Statement which shall
constitute the trustee's Statement of Eligibility and Qualification (Form T-1)
under the Trust Indenture Act of the trustee (the "Form T-1s") or (ii) the
information contained in or omitted from the Registration Statement, the Final
Prospectus or the Preliminary Prospectus or any amendment thereof or supplement
thereto in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to such
Underwriter or the underwriting arrangements furnished in writing to the Company
by any Underwriter expressly for use in the Registration Statement and the Final
Prospectus;
(c) Each document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by
reference in the Registration Statement and the Final Prospectus, when they
became effective or at the time they were or hereafter are filed with the
Commission, complied and will comply in all material respects with the Act or
the Exchange Act, as applicable, and, when read together with the other
information in the Final Prospectus, at the time the Registration Statement
became effective, at the time the Final Prospectus was issued and at the Closing
Date (as hereinafter defined) did not and will not contain an untrue statement
of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated
therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading;
(d) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries listed on
Annex II hereto (the "Significant Subsidiaries" and, individually, a
"Significant Subsidiary") has sustained since the date of the latest audited
financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Final
Prospectus any loss or interference material to the business of
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the Company and its Significant Subsidiaries considered as a whole, other than
as described in or contemplated by the Final Prospectus, from fire, explosion,
flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor
dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree; and, since the
respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement
and the Base Prospectus, otherwise than as described or contemplated in the
Final Prospectus, there has not been any (i) material addition, or development
involving a prospective material addition, to the liability of Metropolitan Life
Insurance Company ("MetLife") for future policy benefits, policyholder account
balances and other claims, other than in the ordinary course of business, (ii)
material decrease in the surplus of MetLife or material change in the capital
stock or other ownership interests (other than issuances of common stock upon
the exercise of outstanding employee stock options or pursuant to existing
employee compensation plans or on the conversion or exchange of convertible or
exchangeable securities outstanding on the date of the applicable Pricing
Agreement) of the Company or any Significant Subsidiary or any material increase
in the long-term debt of the Company or its subsidiaries, considered as a whole,
or (iii) material adverse change, or development involving a prospective
material adverse change, in or affecting the business, financial position,
reserves, surplus, equity or results of operations (in each case considered
either on a statutory accounting or U.S. generally accepted accounting
principles ("GAAP") basis, as applicable) of the Company and its subsidiaries
considered as a whole;
(e) The Company and each Significant Subsidiary has good and
marketable title in fee simple to all material real property and good and
marketable title to all material personal property owned by it, in each case
free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and defects, except such as are
described in the Final Prospectus or such as would not have a material adverse
effect on the business, financial position, equity, reserves, surplus or results
of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries, considered as a whole
("Material Adverse Effect"), and do not materially interfere with the use made
and proposed to be made of such property by the Company or any Significant
Subsidiary, and any material real property and material buildings held under
lease by the Company or any of its subsidiaries are held under valid, subsisting
and enforceable leases with such exceptions as are not material and do not
materially interfere with the use made and currently proposed to be made of such
property and buildings by the Company or any Significant Subsidiary;
(f) The Company has been duly incorporated and is validly
existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of
Delaware, with power and authority (corporate and other) to own its properties
and conduct its business as described in the Final Prospectus and has been duly
qualified as a foreign corporation for the transaction of business and is in
good standing under the laws of each other jurisdiction in which its ownership
or lease of property or the conduct of its business requires such qualification
and good standing, except to the extent that the failure to be so qualified and
in good standing would not have a Material Adverse Effect; there are no
subsidiaries of the Company that are material to the Company considered as a
whole which are not listed on Annex II hereto; and each Significant Subsidiary
has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation and is in
good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation, with power
and authority (corporate and other) to own its properties and conduct its
business as described in the Final Prospectus; and each Significant Subsidiary
is duly qualified as a foreign corporation for the transaction of business and
is in good standing under the laws of each other jurisdiction in which its
ownership or lease of property or the conduct of its business requires such
qualification and good standing, except to the extent that the failure to be so
qualified and in good standing would not have a Material Adverse Effect;
(g) The Company has the corporate power and authority to
execute and deliver this Agreement, the applicable Pricing Agreements, the
applicable Securities Agreements and the Securities and to consummate the
transactions contemplated hereby and thereby;
(h) The Company has an authorized capitalization as set forth
and described in the Final Prospectus, and all of the issued shares of capital
stock of the Company have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully
paid and nonassessable; none of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the
Company was issued in violation of the preemptive or other similar rights of any
securityholder of the Company; except as disclosed in the Final Prospectus,
there are no outstanding options or warrants to purchase, or any preemptive
rights or other rights to subscribe for or to purchase, any securities or
obligations convertible into or any contracts or commitments to sell shares of
the Company's capital stock or any such options, rights, warrants, convertible
securities or obligations; the description of the Company's stock option and
purchase plans and the options or other rights granted and exercised thereunder
set forth in the Final Prospectus accurately and fairly describe the information
required to be shown with respect to such plans, arrangements, options and
rights; except
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as disclosed in the Final Prospectus, there are no rights of any person,
corporation or other entity to require registration of any shares of common
stock or any other securities of the Company in connection with the filing of
the Registration Statement and the issuance and sale of the Securities to the
Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement and the applicable Pricing Agreements;
and all of the issued shares of capital stock or other ownership interests of
each Significant Subsidiary have been duly and validly authorized and issued,
are fully paid and nonassessable and (except as described in the Final
Prospectus and except for directors' qualifying shares) are owned directly or
indirectly by the Company free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities or
claims;
(i) The Securities have been duly authorized and, when the
Securities are issued and delivered pursuant to this Agreement and the
applicable Pricing Agreements, such Securities will have been duly executed,
authenticated, issued and delivered (and, in the case of Securities representing
capital stock of the Company, will be fully paid and nonassessable) and will
constitute valid and legally binding obligations of the Company, enforceable
against the Company in accordance with their terms, and will be entitled to the
benefits provided by the applicable Securities Agreements; such Securities
Agreements have been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and,
in the case of Securities issued pursuant to an Indenture, such Indenture has
been duly qualified under the Trust Indenture Act and, on the Closing Date (as
hereinafter defined) for any Securities, each Securities Agreement will
constitute a valid and legally binding agreement of the Company, enforceable
against the Company in accordance with its terms, subject, as to enforcement, to
bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent transfer, moratorium and other similar laws
relating to or affecting creditors' rights generally and to general principles
of equity; and the Securities will be substantially in the form contemplated by
the applicable Securities Agreements, and the Securities and the applicable
Securities Agreements conform in all material respects to the descriptions
thereof contained in the Final Prospectus;
(j) Each Significant Subsidiary that is required to be
organized or licensed as an insurance company in its jurisdiction of
incorporation (an "Insurance Subsidiary") is duly organized and licensed as an
insurance company in its respective jurisdiction of incorporation and is duly
licensed or authorized as an insurer in each other jurisdiction where it is
required to be so licensed or authorized to conduct its business, in each case
with such exceptions as would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a
Material Adverse Effect; except as otherwise described in the Final Prospectus,
each Insurance Subsidiary has all other approvals, orders, consents,
authorizations, licenses, certificates, permits, registrations and
qualifications (collectively, the "Approvals") of and from all insurance
regulatory authorities to conduct its business, with such exceptions as would
not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect; there is
no pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened action, suit,
proceeding or investigation that could reasonably be expected to lead to any
revocation, termination or suspension of any such Approval, the revocation,
termination or suspension of which would have, individually or in the aggregate,
a Material Adverse Effect; and, to the knowledge of the Company, no insurance
regulatory agency or body has issued any order or decree impairing, restricting
or prohibiting the payment of dividends by any Insurance Subsidiary to its
parent which would have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse
Effect;
(k) The Company and each Significant Subsidiary has all
necessary Approvals of and from, and has made all filings, registrations and
declarations (collectively, the "Filings") with, all insurance regulatory
authorities, all Federal, state, local and other governmental authorities, all
self-regulatory organizations and all courts and other tribunals, which are
necessary to own, lease, license and use its properties and assets and to
conduct its business in the manner described in the Final Prospectus, except
where the failure to have such Approvals or to make such Filings would not have,
individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect; to the knowledge of
the Company, the Company and each Significant Subsidiary is in compliance with
all applicable laws, rules, regulations, orders, by-laws and similar
requirements, including in connection with registrations or memberships in
self-regulatory organizations, and all such Approvals and Filings are in full
force and effect and neither the Company nor any Significant Subsidiary has
received any notice of any event, inquiry, investigation or proceeding that
would reasonably be expected to result in the suspension, revocation or
limitation of any such Approval or otherwise impose any limitation on the
conduct of the business of the Company or any Significant Subsidiary, except as
described in the Final Prospectus or except for any such suspension, revocation
or limitation which would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material
Adverse Effect;
(l) Each Insurance Subsidiary is in compliance with and
conducts its businesses in conformity with all applicable insurance laws and
regulations of its respective jurisdiction of incorporation and the insurance
laws and
4
regulations of other jurisdictions which are applicable to it, in each case with
such exceptions as would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material
Adverse Effect;
(m) Each Significant Subsidiary which is engaged in the
business of acting as a broker-dealer or an investment advisor (respectively, a
"Broker-Dealer Subsidiary" and an "Investment Advisor Subsidiary") is duly
licensed or registered as a broker-dealer or investment advisor, as the case may
be, in each jurisdiction where it is required to be so licensed or registered to
conduct its business, in each case, with such exceptions as would not have,
individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect; each Broker-Dealer
Subsidiary and each Investment Advisor Subsidiary has all other necessary
Approvals of and from all applicable regulatory authorities, including any
self-regulatory organization, to conduct its businesses, in each case with such
exceptions, as would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material
Adverse Effect; except as otherwise described in the Final Prospectus, none of
the Broker-Dealer Subsidiaries or Investment Advisor Subsidiaries has received
any notification from any applicable regulatory authority to the effect that any
additional Approvals from such regulatory authority are needed to be obtained by
such subsidiary in any case where it could be reasonably expected that (x) any
of the Broker-Dealer Subsidiaries or Investment Advisor Subsidiaries would in
fact be required either to obtain any such additional Approvals or cease or
otherwise limit engaging in certain business and (y) the failure to have such
Approvals or limiting such business would have a Material Adverse Effect; and
each Broker-Dealer Subsidiary and each Investment Advisor Subsidiary is in
compliance with the requirements of the broker-dealer and investment advisor
laws and regulations of each jurisdiction which are applicable to such
subsidiary, and has filed all notices, reports, documents or other information
required to be filed thereunder, in each case with such exceptions as would not
have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect;
(n) The issue and sale of the Securities pursuant to any
Pricing Agreement, and compliance by the Company with all of the provisions of
the Securities, the applicable Securities Agreements, this Agreement and any
Pricing Agreement, and the consummation of the transactions herein and therein
contemplated, will not conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any
of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, any indenture,
mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, or other agreement or instrument to
which the Company or any of its Significant Subsidiaries is a party or by which
the Company or any of its Significant Subsidiaries is bound or to which any of
the property or assets of the Company or any of its Significant Subsidiaries is
subject, or which affects the validity, performance or consummation of the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement, nor will such action result in any
violation of the provisions of the certificate of incorporation or by-laws of
the Company or any of its Significant Subsidiaries or any statute or any order,
rule or regulation of any court or insurance regulatory authority or other
governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its
Significant Subsidiaries or any of their properties, in each case other than
such breaches, conflicts, violations, or defaults which (other than a violation
of the certificate of incorporation or by-laws or similar organizational
documents of the Company or a Significant Subsidiary), individually or in the
aggregate, would not have a Material Adverse Effect and would not adversely
affect the validity or performance of the Company's obligations under the
Securities, the applicable Securities Agreements, this Agreement and any Pricing
Agreement, and no Approval of or Filing with any such court or insurance
regulatory authority or other governmental agency or body is required for the
issue or sale of the Securities, except (i) the registration under the Act of
the Securities and (ii) such Approvals or Filings as may be required under the
Trust Indenture Act or state securities or Blue Sky laws in connection with the
purchase and distribution of the Securities by the Underwriters;
(o) Other than as set forth in the Final Prospectus, there are
no legal or governmental proceedings pending to which the Company or any of its
subsidiaries is a party or to which any property of the Company or any of its
subsidiaries is subject, challenging the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement or which, if determined adversely to the Company or its subsidiaries,
could reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a
Material Adverse Effect; and, to the knowledge of the Company, no such
proceedings are threatened or contemplated by governmental authorities or
threatened by others;
(p) Neither the Company nor any Significant Subsidiary is in
violation of any of its certificate of incorporation or by-laws or in default in
the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or
condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement,
lease or other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it is
bound or to which any of its property or assets is subject, which violation or
default would have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect;
5
(q) The statements set forth in the Final Prospectus under the
captions "Description of Debt Securities" and "Description of the Senior Notes",
insofar as they purport to constitute a summary of the terms of the Securities,
under the caption "Underwriting", and under the captions "Business--Regulation",
"Business--Competition" and "Legal Proceedings", which have been incorporated
therein by reference to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2001, as updated by the Final Prospectus, insofar as they
purport to describe the provisions of the laws and documents referred to
therein, are accurate and complete in all material respects;
(r) The financial statements of the Company and its
consolidated subsidiaries included or incorporated by reference in the
Registration Statement, together with the related schedules and notes, comply in
all material respects with the requirements of the Act and the Exchange Act, as
applicable, and present fairly in all material respects the financial position,
the results of operations and the changes in cash flows of such entities in
conformity with GAAP at the respective dates or for the respective periods to
which they apply; and such financial statements and related notes and schedules,
if any, have been prepared in accordance with GAAP consistently applied
throughout the periods involved, except for any normal year-end adjustments and
except as described therein;
(s) Deloitte & Touche LLP, who have certified certain
financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries, are independent public
accountants as required by the Act and the rules and regulations of the
Commission thereunder;
(t) Neither the Company nor any Significant Subsidiary is an
"investment company", as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act of
1940, as amended (the "Investment Company Act"), and the rules and regulations
thereunder, although certain separate accounts of MetLife and certain Insurance
Subsidiaries are required to register as investment companies under the
Investment Company Act;
(u) This Agreement and the applicable Pricing Agreements with
respect to the applicable Securities have been duly authorized, executed and
delivered by the Company;
(v) There are no contracts or documents which are required to
be described in the Registration Statement, the Final Prospectus or the
documents incorporated by reference therein or to be filed as exhibits thereto
which have not been so described and filed as required; and
(w) None of the Company or its subsidiaries or, to the best of
their knowledge, any of their directors, officers or affiliates, has taken or
will take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to, or that might
reasonably be expected to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of
the price of the Securities in violation of Regulation M under the Exchange Act.
2. Purchase and Sale. Subject to the terms and conditions and in
reliance upon the representations and warranties set forth herein, the Company
agrees to sell to each Underwriter, and each Underwriter agrees, severally and
not jointly, to purchase from the Company, at the purchase price set forth in
Schedule II to the applicable Pricing Agreement the principal amount or number
of shares of the Securities set forth opposite such Underwriter's name in
Schedule I to the applicable Pricing Agreement.
3. Delivery and Payment. Securities to be purchased by each Underwriter
pursuant to the Pricing Agreement relating thereto, in definitive form to the
extent practicable, and in such authorized denominations and registered in such
names as the Representatives may request upon at least forty-eight hours' prior
notice to the Company, shall be delivered by or on behalf of the Company to the
Representatives for the account of such Underwriter at the office, on the date
and at the time specified in the applicable Pricing Agreement (or such later
date not later than five business days after such specified date as the
Representatives shall designate), which date and time may be postponed by
agreement between the Representatives and the Company or as provided in Section
8 hereof (such date and time of delivery and payment for the Securities being
herein called the "Closing Date"). Delivery of the Securities shall be made to
the Underwriters for the respective accounts of the several Underwriters against
payment by the several Representatives of the purchase price thereof by wire
transfer of Federal (same-day) funds to the account specified by the Company or
as otherwise set forth in the applicable Pricing Agreement.
6
4. Company Covenants. The Company agrees with each of the Underwriters
of any Securities:
(a) To prepare the Final Prospectus as amended and
supplemented in relation to the applicable Securities in a form approved by the
Representatives and to file timely such Final Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b)
under the Act; to make no further amendment or any supplement to the
Registration Statement or Final Prospectus as amended or supplemented after the
date of the Pricing Agreement relating to the applicable Securities and prior to
the Closing Date for such Securities unless the Representatives for such
Securities shall have had a reasonable opportunity to review and comment upon
any such amendment or supplement prior to any filing thereof; to advise the
Representatives, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the time when any
amendment to the Registration Statement has been filed or becomes effective or
any supplement to the Final Prospectus or any amended Final Prospectus has been
filed and to furnish the Representatives with copies thereof; to file promptly
all reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be
filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or
15(d) of the Exchange Act for so long as the delivery of a prospectus is
required in connection with the offering or sale of such Securities and, during
such same period, to advise the Representatives, promptly after it receives
notice thereof, of (i) the issuance by the Commission of any stop order or of
any order preventing or suspending the use of the Final Prospectus, (ii) the
suspension of the qualification of such Securities for offering or sale in any
jurisdiction or of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such
purpose, or (iii) any request by the Commission for the amending or
supplementing of the Registration Statement or Final Prospectus or for
additional information; and, in the event of the issuance of any stop order or
of any order preventing or suspending the use of the Final Prospectus or
suspending any such qualification, promptly to use its best efforts to obtain
the withdrawal of such order;
(b) Promptly from time to time to take such action as the
Representatives may reasonably request to qualify such Securities for offering
and sale under the securities laws of such jurisdictions as the Representatives
may reasonably request and to comply with such laws so as to permit the
continuance of sales and dealings therein in such jurisdictions for so long as
may be necessary to complete the distribution of such Securities, provided that
in connection therewith the Company shall not be required to qualify as a
foreign corporation, to file a general consent to service of process in any
jurisdiction or to subject itself to taxation in respect of doing business in
any jurisdiction in which it is not otherwise subject;
(c) To furnish the Underwriters with copies of the Final
Prospectus (including as it may be amended or supplemented) in such quantities
as the Representatives may from time to time reasonably request, and, if the
delivery of a prospectus is required at any time in connection with the offering
or sale of such Securities, and if at such time any event shall have occurred as
a result of which the Final Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would
include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material
fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the
circumstances under which they were made when such Final Prospectus is
delivered, not misleading, or, if for any other reason it shall be necessary
during such period to amend or supplement the Final Prospectus or to file under
the Exchange Act any document incorporated by reference in the Final Prospectus
in order to comply with the Act, the Exchange Act or the Trust Indenture Act, to
notify the Representatives and upon their request to prepare and furnish without
charge to each Underwriter and to any dealer in securities as many copies as the
Representatives may from time to time reasonably request of an amended Final
Prospectus or a supplement to the Final Prospectus which will correct such
statement or omission or effect such compliance; and the Final Prospectus and
any amendments or supplements thereto furnished to the Representatives shall be
identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the
Commission pursuant to XXXXX, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T;
(d) To make generally available to securityholders of the
Company as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than eighteen months
after the effective date of the Registration Statement (as defined in Rule
158(c) under the Act), an earnings statement of the Company and its subsidiaries
(which need not be audited) complying with Section 11(a) of the Act and the
rules and regulations thereunder (including, at the option of the Company, Rule
158);
(e) During the period beginning from the date of the Pricing
Agreement for any Securities and continuing to and including the Closing Date
for such Securities, not to offer, sell, contract to sell or otherwise dispose
of any securities of the Company (other than pursuant to employee stock option
plans existing, or on the conversion or exchange of
7
convertible or exchangeable securities outstanding on the date of such Pricing
Agreement) which are substantially similar to such Securities, without the prior
written consent of the Representatives, which consent shall not be unreasonably
withheld; and
(f) During a period of five years from the effective date of
the Registration Statement, to furnish to the Representatives copies of all
reports or other communications (financial or other) furnished to stockholders
of the Company, and to deliver to the Representatives (i) as soon as they are
available, copies of any reports and financial statements furnished to or filed
with the Commission or any national securities exchange on which the Securities
or any class of securities of the Company is listed (such financial statements
to be on a consolidated basis to the extent the accounts of the Company and its
subsidiaries are consolidated in reports furnished to its stockholders generally
or to the Commission), and (ii) such additional, nonconfidential information
concerning the business and financial condition of the Company as the
Representatives may from time to time reasonably request.
5. Fees and Expenses. The Company covenants and agrees with the several
Underwriters that the Company will pay or cause to be paid the following: (i)
the fees, disbursements and expenses of counsel and accountants to the Company
in connection with the registration of the Securities under the Act and all
other expenses in connection with the preparation, printing and filing of the
Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus and the
Final Prospectus and any amendments and supplements thereto and the mailing and
delivering of copies thereof to the Underwriters and dealers; (ii) the cost of
printing or producing this Agreement, any Pricing Agreement, any Securities
Agreement, any Agreement among Underwriters, any Blue Sky Survey and any other
documents in connection with the offering, purchase, sale and delivery of the
Securities; (iii) all expenses in connection with the qualification of the
Securities for offering and sale under state securities laws and insurance
securities laws as provided in Section 4(b) hereof, including the reasonable
fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection with such
qualification and in connection with the Blue Sky Survey; (iv) the filing fees
incident to, and the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in
connection with, securing any required review by the National Association of
Securities Dealers, Inc. ("NASD") of the terms of the sale of the Securities;
(v) any fees charged by securities rating services for rating the Securities;
(vi) the cost of preparing the Securities; (vii) the fees and expenses of any
trustee, paying agent or transfer agent and the fees and disbursements of
counsel for any such trustee, paying agent or transfer agent in connection with
a Securities Agreement and the Securities issued pursuant to any Securities
Agreement; (viii) any travel expenses of the Company's officers and employees
and any other expenses of the Company in connection with attending or hosting
meetings with prospective purchasers of the Securities; and (ix) all other costs
and expenses incident to the performance of the obligations of the Company
hereunder which are not otherwise specifically provided for in this Section.
Except as provided in this Section, and Sections 7 and 10 hereof, the
Underwriters will pay all of their own costs and expenses, including the fees of
their counsel, stock transfer taxes on resale of any of the Securities by them
and any advertising expenses connected with any offers they may make.
6. Conditions to Underwriters' Obligations. The obligations of the
Underwriters of any Securities under the Pricing Agreement relating to such
Securities shall be subject, in their discretion, to the condition that all
representations and warranties and other statements of the Company herein or in
certificates of any officer of the Company or any subsidiary of the Company
delivered pursuant to the provisions hereof are, at and as of the Closing Date
for such Securities, true and correct, the condition that the Company shall have
performed all of its obligations hereunder to be performed at or before the
Closing Date, and the following additional conditions:
(a) The Final Prospectus shall have been filed with the
Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) within the applicable time period prescribed
for such filing by the rules and regulations under the Act and in accordance
with Section 4(a) hereof; no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the
Registration Statement or any part thereof shall have been issued and no
proceeding for that purpose shall have been initiated or threatened by the
Commission; and all requests for additional information on the part of the
Commission shall have been complied with to the Representatives' reasonable
satisfaction;
(b) Debevoise & Xxxxxxxx, counsel for the Underwriters, shall
have furnished to the Underwriters such written opinion or opinions, dated such
Closing Date, with respect to the incorporation of the Company, the validity of
the Securities being delivered on such Closing Date, the Registration Statement
and the Final Prospectus, and such other
8
related matters as the Underwriters may reasonably request, and such counsel
shall have received such papers and information as they may reasonably request
to enable them to pass upon such matters;
(c) Xxxx X. Xxxxxx, Senior Executive Vice-President and
General Counsel of the Company, shall have furnished to the Underwriters his
written opinion, dated the Closing Date, in form and substance reasonably
satisfactory to the Underwriters, to the effect that:
(i) The Company has been duly incorporated and is validly
existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State
of Delaware, with corporate power and authority to own its properties
and conduct its business as described in the Final Prospectus;
(ii) The Company has the corporate power and authority to
execute and deliver this Agreement, the applicable Pricing Agreements,
the applicable Securities Agreements and the Securities and to
consummate the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby;
(iii) This Agreement, the applicable Pricing Agreements, the
applicable Securities Agreements and the Securities have been duly
authorized, executed and delivered by the Company;
(iv) The Company has an authorized capitalization as set forth
and described in the Final Prospectus, and all of the issued shares of
capital stock of the Company have been duly authorized and validly
issued and are fully paid and nonassessable; none of the outstanding
shares of capital stock of the Company was issued in violation of the
preemptive or other similar rights of any securityholder of the
Company; securityholders of the Company have no preemptive or other
similar rights with respect to the Securities arising out of the
certificate of incorporation or the by-laws of the Company or the
Delaware General Corporation Law ("DGCL"); except as disclosed in the
Final Prospectus, there are no rights of any person, corporation or
other entity to require registration of any securities in connection
with the filing of the Registration Statement and the issuance and sale
of the Securities to the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement and
the applicable Pricing Agreements; the Securities to be issued and sold
to the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement, the applicable Pricing
Agreements and the applicable Securities Agreements conform in all
material respects to the description thereof contained in the Final
Prospectus;
(v) Each Significant Subsidiary has been duly incorporated and
is validly existing as a corporation and is in good standing under the
laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation, with the corporate power and
authority to own its properties and conduct its business as described
in the Final Prospectus; and all issued shares of capital stock or
other ownership interests of each Significant Subsidiary have been duly
authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and nonassessable, and
(except as described in the Final Prospectus and except for directors'
qualifying shares) are owned directly or indirectly by the Company,
free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities or claims, other
than any lien, encumbrance, equity or claim which would not have a
Material Adverse Effect;
(vi) The Company and each Significant Subsidiary has been duly
qualified as a foreign corporation for the transaction of business and
is in good standing under the laws of each jurisdiction in which its
ownership or lease of property or the conduct of its business requires
such qualification, except to the extent that the failure to be so
qualified and in good standing would not have a Material Adverse
Effect;
(vii) Each Insurance Subsidiary is duly organized and licensed
as an insurance company in its jurisdiction of incorporation, and is
duly licensed or authorized as an insurer in each other jurisdiction
where it is required to be so licensed or authorized to conduct its
business as described in the Final Prospectus, in each case with such
exceptions as would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a
Material Adverse Effect; except as otherwise described in the Final
Prospectus, each Insurance Subsidiary has all other Approvals of and
from all insurance regulatory authorities to conduct its business, with
such exceptions as would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a
Material Adverse Effect; to such counsel's knowledge, there is no
pending or threatened action, suit, proceeding or investigation that
could reasonably be expected to lead to any revocation, termination or
suspension of any such Approval, the revocation, termination or
suspension of which would have, individually or in the aggregate, a
Material Adverse Effect; and, to such counsel's knowledge, no insurance
regulatory agency or body has issued any
9
order or decree impairing, restricting or prohibiting the payment of
dividends by any Insurance Subsidiary to its parent which would have,
individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect;
(viii) The Company and each Significant Subsidiary has all
necessary Approvals of and from, and has made all Filings with, all
insurance regulatory authorities, all Federal, state, local and other
governmental authorities, all self-regulatory organizations and all
courts and other tribunals, which are necessary to own, lease, license
and use its properties and assets and to conduct its business in the
manner described in the Final Prospectus, except where the failure to
have such Approvals or to make such Filings would not have,
individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect; to such
counsel's knowledge, all such Approvals and Filings are in full force
and effect and neither the Company nor any Significant Subsidiary has
received any notice of any event, inquiry, investigation or proceeding
that would reasonably be expected to result in the suspension,
revocation or limitation of any such Approval or otherwise impose any
limitation on the conduct of the business of the Company or any
Significant Subsidiary, except as described in the Final Prospectus or
except for any such suspension, revocation or limitation which would
not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect;
(ix) Each Broker-Dealer Subsidiary and each Investment Advisor
Subsidiary is duly licensed or registered as a broker-dealer or
investment advisor, as the case may be, in each jurisdiction where it
is required to be so licensed or registered to conduct its business, in
each case, with such exceptions as would not have, individually or in
the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect; each Broker-Dealer Subsidiary
and each Investment Advisor Subsidiary has all other necessary
Approvals of and from all applicable regulatory authorities, including
any self-regulatory organization, to conduct its business, in each case
with such exceptions as would not have, individually or in the
aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect; except as otherwise described in
the Final Prospectus, to such counsel's knowledge, no Broker-Dealer
Subsidiary or Investment Advisor Subsidiary has received any
notification from any applicable regulatory authority to the effect
that any additional Approvals from such regulatory authority are needed
to be obtained by such subsidiary in any case where it could be
reasonably expected that (x) such Broker-Dealer Subsidiary or
Investment Advisor Subsidiary would in fact be required either to
obtain any such additional Approvals or cease or otherwise limit
engaging in certain business and (y) the failure to have such Approvals
or limiting such business would have a Material Adverse Effect;
(x) To such counsel's knowledge and other than as set forth in
the Final Prospectus, there are no legal or governmental proceedings
pending to which the Company or any of its Significant Subsidiaries is
a party or to which any property of the Company or any of its
Significant Subsidiaries is subject, challenging the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement or which, if determined adversely to the
Company or any of its Significant Subsidiaries, individually or in the
aggregate, could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect; and, to such counsel's knowledge and other than as described or
contemplated in the Final Prospectus, no such proceedings are
threatened or contemplated by governmental authorities or threatened by
others;
(xi) Neither the Company nor any Significant Subsidiary is an
"investment company" required to be registered under the Investment
Company Act, although certain separate accounts of MetLife and its
subsidiaries are required to register as investment companies under the
Investment Company Act;
(xii) The issue and sale of the Securities and the execution
and delivery by the Company of and the compliance by the Company with
all of the provisions of the Securities, the applicable Securities
Agreements, this Agreement and the applicable Pricing Agreements, and
the consummation of the transactions herein and therein contemplated
will not conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the
terms and provisions of, or constitute a default under, any agreement
or instrument listed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement or any
other indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other
agreement or instrument to which, to the knowledge of such counsel, the
Company or any of its Significant Subsidiaries is a party or by which
the Company or any of its Significant Subsidiaries is bound or to which
any of the property or assets of the Company or any of its Significant
Subsidiaries is subject, or which affects the validity, performance or
consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except
for such conflicts, breaches, violations or defaults as would not,
individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect and
would not adversely affect the validity or performance of this
Agreement, the applicable Pricing Agreements, the applicable Securities
Agreements and the Securities; nor will
10
such action result in any violation of the provisions of the
certificate of incorporation or by-laws of the Company or any
Significant Subsidiary or any statute or any order, rule or regulation
of any court or insurance regulatory authority or other governmental
agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company, any of its
Significant Subsidiaries or any of their respective properties;
provided, that no opinion need be given with respect to (i) the Act,
the Exchange Act, the Trust Indenture Act, the rules and regulations
issued pursuant to each such act, or any order, rule or regulation made
or established by the NASD, or (ii) any state securities or Blue Sky
laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Securities
by the Underwriters;
(xiii) The Company and each Significant Subsidiary has made
all filings, qualifications or registrations required to be made
pursuant to, and has obtained all consents, approvals, licenses,
authorizations or validations required to be obtained under any law or
regulation of the United States or any state thereof for the issuance
and sale by the Company of the Securities, the compliance by the
Company with all provisions of this Agreement, the applicable Pricing
Agreements, the applicable Securities Agreements and the Securities,
and the consummation of the transactions herein and therein
contemplated, except for such filings, qualifications, registrations,
consents, approvals, licenses, authorizations or validations (i) as may
be required under state securities, insurance securities or Blue Sky
laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Securities
by the Underwriters, or (ii) individually or in the aggregate, as would
not affect the validity, performance of, or adversely affect the
consummation of, the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, the
applicable Securities Agreements, the applicable Pricing Agreements and
the Securities or would not have a Material Adverse Effect;
(xiv) To such counsel's knowledge, no stop order suspending
the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any part thereof has
been issued, and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted
or are pending or contemplated under the Act;
(xv) The statements set forth in the Final Prospectus under
the captions "Description of Debt Securities" and "Description of the
Senior Notes", insofar as they purport to constitute a summary of the
terms of the Securities, under the caption "Underwriting", and under
the captions "Business--Regulation", "Business--Competition" and "Legal
Proceedings", which have been incorporated therein by reference to the
Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2001, as updated by the Final Prospectus, insofar as they purport to
describe the provisions of the laws and documents referred to therein,
are accurate and complete in all material respects;
(xvi) Each of the documents filed by the Company pursuant to
the Exchange Act, and incorporated by reference into the Registration
Statement and the Final Prospectus as of the date hereof, when it was
filed, complied in all material respects with the requirements of the
Exchange Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission
thereunder, except that such counsel need not express any opinion as to
the financial statements and related notes and schedules and other
financial data included or incorporated by reference therein or
excluded therefrom;
(xvii) The Registration Statement, at the time it became
effective, and the Final Prospectus, as of its date, complied in all
material respects with the requirements of the Act and the general
rules and regulations thereunder, except that in each case such counsel
need not express any opinion as to the financial statements and
schedules and other financial data included or incorporated by
reference therein or excluded therefrom, and, except to the extent
expressly stated in paragraph (xv), such counsel need not assume any
responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the
statements contained in the Registration Statement or the Final
Prospectus;
(xviii) The Registration Statement has been declared effective
by the Commission under the Act, and the Final Prospectus has been
filed with the Commission in accordance with Rule 424(b) under the Act;
(xix) When the Securities have been authenticated and
delivered by the trustee in accordance with the terms of the applicable
Securities Agreements and delivered to and paid for by the Underwriters
in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and the applicable
Pricing Agreements, (a) the Securities will constitute the valid and
legally binding obligations of the Company, entitled to the benefits of
the applicable Securities Agreements, and will
11
be enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms,
except to the extent that enforcement thereof may be limited by (i)
bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium, fraudulent transfer
or other similar laws now or hereafter in effect relating to creditors'
rights generally and (ii) general principles of equity (regardless of
whether enforceability is considered in a proceeding at law or in
equity), and (b) the Securities will be substantially in the form
contemplated by the applicable Securities Agreements, and the
Securities and the applicable Securities Agreements conform to the
descriptions thereof in the Final Prospectus; and
(xx) The applicable Securities Agreements constitute valid and
legally binding agreements of the Company, enforceable against the
Company in accordance with their terms, except to the extent that
enforcement thereof may be limited by (i) bankruptcy, insolvency,
reorganization, moratorium, fraudulent transfer or other similar laws
now or hereafter in effect relating to creditors' rights generally and
(ii) general principles of equity (regardless of whether enforceability
is considered in a proceeding at law or in equity), and the Indenture
has been duly qualified under the Trust Indenture Act.
Such counsel shall also state that while he has not himself checked the
accuracy and completeness of, or otherwise verified, and is not passing upon and
assumes no responsibility for, the accuracy or completeness of the statements
contained in the Registration Statement or the Final Prospectus except to the
limited extent stated in clauses (iv) and (xv) of this Section 6(c), no facts
have come to the attention of such counsel which have led such counsel to
believe that, as of its effective date, the Registration Statement or any
further amendment thereto made by the Company prior to such Closing Date (other
than the financial statements and schedules and other financial information
contained therein, as to which such counsel need express no opinion) contained
an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact
required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not
misleading or that, as of its date and as of such Closing Date, the Final
Prospectus or any further amendment or supplement thereto made by the Company
prior to such Closing Date (other than the financial statements and schedules
and other financial information contained therein, as to which such counsel need
express no opinion) contained or contains an untrue statement of a material fact
or omitted or omits to state a material fact necessary to make the statements
therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not
misleading, and such counsel does not know of any amendment to the Registration
Statement required to be filed or of any contracts or other documents of a
character required to be filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement or
required to be described in the Registration Statement or the Final Prospectus
which are not filed or described as required.
In rendering such opinion, such counsel may state that such counsel is
admitted to practice law in the State of New York and that he expresses no
opinion as to the laws of any jurisdiction other than the United States, the
State of New York and the DGCL; and such counsel shall be entitled to rely in
respect of the above opinions upon opinions of local or in-house counsel of the
Company or its subsidiaries and in respect of matters of fact upon certificates
of officers of the Company or its subsidiaries, provided that such counsel shall
state that such counsel believes that both the Underwriters and such counsel are
justified in relying upon such opinions and certificates.
(d) The Company will furnish the Representatives with such
conformed copies of such opinions, certificates, letters and documents as the
Representatives reasonably request;
(e) On the date of the Final Prospectus at a time prior to the
execution of this Agreement, at 9:30 a.m., New York City time, on the effective
date of any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement filed
subsequent to the date of this Agreement and at the Closing Date for the
applicable Securities, Deloitte & Touche LLP shall have furnished to the
Representatives a letter, dated the respective dates of delivery thereof, in
form and substance reasonably satisfactory to you, confirming that they are
independent public accountants with respect to the Company and the Company's
subsidiaries within the meaning of the Act and the Exchange Act and the
respective applicable published rules and regulations thereunder, and further to
the effect set forth in Annex III hereto;
(f) The Representatives shall have received from Deloitte &
Touche LLP (and furnished to you in form and substance satisfactory to you) a
review report with respect to "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations of the Company", as set forth in the
Company's most recent reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, respectively, in
accordance with Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagement No. 10 issued
by the Auditing Standards Board of the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants;
12
(g) Neither the Company nor any Significant Subsidiary shall
have sustained (i) since the date of the latest audited financial statements
included or incorporated by reference in the Final Prospectus any loss or
interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity,
whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or
governmental action, order or decree, otherwise than as set forth or
contemplated in the Final Prospectus, and (ii) since the respective dates as of
which information is given in the Final Prospectus, there shall not have been
any change in the surplus of MetLife or the capital stock of the Company or any
increase in the long-term debt of the Company and its respective subsidiaries
considered as a whole, or any change, or any development involving a prospective
change, in or affecting the business, financial position, stockholders' equity
or results of operations of the Company and the Significant Subsidiaries
considered as a whole, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Final
Prospectus, the effect of which, in any such case described in clause (i) or
(ii), is in the judgment of the Representatives so material and adverse as to
make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offering or the
delivery of the applicable Securities on the terms and in the manner
contemplated in the Final Prospectus;
(h) On or after the date of the Pricing Agreement relating to
the applicable Securities (i) no downgrading shall have occurred in the rating
accorded the debt securities of the Company or any Significant Subsidiary or the
financial strength or claims paying ability of the Company or any of its
Significant Subsidiaries by A.M. Best & Co. or any "nationally recognized
statistical rating organization," as that term is defined by the Commission for
purposes of Rule 436(g)(2) under the Act, and (ii) no such organization shall
have publicly announced that it has under surveillance or review, with possible
negative implications, its rating of any debt security or the financial strength
or the claims paying ability of the Company or any Significant Subsidiary, the
effect of which, in any such case described in clause (i) or (ii), is in the
judgment of the Representatives so material and adverse as to make it
impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offering or the delivery of the
applicable Securities on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Final
Prospectus;
(i) On or after the date of the Pricing Agreement relating to
the applicable Securities there shall not have occurred any of the following:
(i) a change in U.S. or international financial, political or economic
conditions or currency exchange rates or exchange controls as would, in the
reasonable judgment of the Representatives, be likely to prejudice materially
the success of the proposed issue, sale or distribution of the applicable
Securities, whether in the primary market or in respect of dealings in the
secondary market; (ii) a suspension or material limitation in trading in
securities generally on the New York Stock Exchange; (iii) a suspension or
material limitation in trading in the Company's securities on the New York Stock
Exchange; (iv) a suspension or material limitation in clearing and/or settlement
in securities generally; (v) a general moratorium on commercial banking
activities declared by either Federal or New York State authorities; or (vi) the
material outbreak or escalation of hostilities involving the United States or
the declaration by the United States of a national emergency or war (including
without limitation as a result of an act of terrorism) if the effect of any such
event specified in this clause (vi) in the judgment of the Representatives makes
it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offering or the delivery of
the Securities being delivered on the Closing Date on the terms and in the
manner contemplated in the Final Prospectus;
(j) The Company shall have complied with any request by the
Representatives with respect to the furnishing of copies of the Final Prospectus
in compliance with the provisions of Section 4(c) hereof;
(k) At the Closing Date, the Representatives shall have
received a certificate of the Company, dated as of the Closing Date, to the
effect that (i) the representations and warranties of the Company contained in
Section 1 hereof are true and correct in all respects with the same force and
effect as though expressly made at and as of Closing Date and (ii) the Company
has complied in all respects with all agreements and all conditions on its part
to be performed under this Agreement at or prior to the Closing Date; and
(l) Leboeuf, Lamb, Xxxxxx & XxxXxx, L.L.P., counsel for the
Company, shall have furnished to the Underwriters their written opinion, dated
such Closing Date, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the
Underwriters, that the discussion contained in the Final Prospectus under the
caption "Certain U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences" constitutes in all
material respects (subject to the limitations and qualifications set forth
therein) a fair and accurate summary of the material United States federal
income tax consequences of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of the
Securities.
13
7. Indemnification and Contribution.
(a) The Company will indemnify and hold harmless each
Underwriter, its partners, directors and officers and each person, if any, who
controls such Underwriter within the meaning of either Section 15 of the Act or
Section 20 of the Exchange Act, against any losses, claims, damages or
liabilities, joint or several, to which such Underwriter may become subject,
under the Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or
liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an
untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in (i)
the Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement (when considered
together with the document to which such supplement relates) thereto, or arise
out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a
material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements
therein not misleading or (ii) any Preliminary Prospectus, the Final Prospectus
or any other prospectus relating to the Securities, or any amendment or
supplement (when considered together with the document to which such supplement
relates) thereto, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged
omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or
necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under
which they were made, not misleading, and will reimburse each Underwriter for
any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such Underwriter in
connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim as such
expenses are incurred; provided, however, that the Company shall not be liable
in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage or liability
(or action in respect thereof) arises out of or is based upon an untrue
statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in
any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement or the Final Prospectus
and any other prospectus relating to the Securities, or any such amendment or
supplement(s) in reliance upon and in conformity with written information
furnished to the Company by any Underwriter of the applicable Securities through
the Representatives expressly for use in the Final Prospectus; provided,
further, that the Company shall not be liable to any Underwriter under this
Section 7(a) with respect to any Preliminary Prospectus to the extent that a
court of competent jurisdiction has found by final and nonappealable order that
any such loss, claim, damage or liability of such Underwriter results from the
fact that such Underwriter sold Securities to a person to whom there was not
sent or given, at or prior to the written confirmation of such sale, a copy of
the Final Prospectus as then amended or supplemented (it being understood that
if at the time of any such claim such Underwriter shall certify that it has sent
or given the Final Prospectus as then amended or supplemented to any person
making such claim at or prior to the written confirmation of such sale, it shall
be presumed that such Final Prospectus has been so sent or given unless the
Company shall have sustained the burden of proving, in a court of competent
jurisdiction by a final and nonappealable order, that the facts are otherwise),
if (i) such delivery to such person is required by Section 5 of the Act, (ii)
the Company has furnished copies of such Final Prospectus as amended or
supplemented to such Underwriter a reasonable period of time prior to such
Underwriter being required so to deliver such Final Prospectus as amended or
supplemented and (iii) the untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or
alleged omission of material fact contained in the Preliminary Prospectus was
corrected by such Final Prospectus as amended or supplemented.
(b) Each Underwriter will, severally and not jointly,
indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its directors and officers who sign the
Registration Statement and each person, if any, who controls the Company within
the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act against
any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which the Company may become
subject, under the Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or
liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an
untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any
Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Final Prospectus and any
other prospectus relating to the Securities, or any amendment or supplement
(when considered together with the document to which such supplement relates)
thereto, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to
state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make
the statements therein not misleading, in each case to the extent, but only to
the extent, that such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission
or alleged omission was made in any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration
Statement, the Final Prospectus and any other prospectus relating to the
Securities, or any such amendment or supplement in reliance upon and in
conformity with written information furnished to the Company by such Underwriter
through the Representatives expressly for use therein; and will reimburse the
Company for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by the Company in
connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim as such
expenses are incurred.
(c) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under
subsection (a) or (b) above of notice of the commencement of any action, such
indemnified party shall, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the
14
indemnifying party under such subsection, notify the indemnifying party in
writing of the commencement thereof; the omission so to notify the indemnifying
party shall relieve it from any liability which it may have to any indemnified
party under such subsection, to the extent the indemnifying party is actually
prejudiced by such omission. In case any such action shall be brought against
any indemnified party and it shall notify the indemnifying party of the
commencement thereof, the indemnifying party shall be entitled to participate
therein and, to the extent that it shall wish, jointly with any other
indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense thereof, with
counsel reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party (who shall not, except
with the consent of the indemnified party, be counsel to the indemnifying party
or any other indemnified party), and, after notice from the indemnifying party
to such indemnified party of its election so to assume the defense thereof, the
indemnifying party shall not be liable to such indemnified party under such
subsection for any legal expenses of other counsel or any other expenses, in
each case subsequently incurred by such indemnified party, in connection with
the defense thereof other than reasonable costs of investigation, unless (i) the
indemnifying party and such indemnified party shall have mutually agreed to the
contrary, (ii) the indemnifying party has failed within a reasonable time to
retain counsel reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party or (iii) the
named parties in any such proceeding (including any impleaded parties) include
both the indemnifying party and such indemnified party and representation of
both parties by the same counsel would be inappropriate due to actual or
potential differing interests between them. No indemnifying party shall, without
the prior written consent of the indemnified party, effect the settlement or
compromise of, or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to, any
pending or threatened action or claim in respect of which indemnification or
contribution may be sought hereunder (whether or not the indemnified party is an
actual or potential party to such action or claim) unless such settlement,
compromise or judgment (i) includes an unconditional release of the indemnified
party from all liability arising out of such action or claim and (ii) does not
include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to
act, by or on behalf of any indemnified party.
(d) If the indemnification provided for in this Section 7 is
unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under
subsection (a) or (b) above in respect of any losses, claims, damages or
liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to therein, then each
indemnifying party shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such
indemnified party as a result of such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or
actions in respect thereof) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the
relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters
on the other from the offering of the applicable Securities to which any such
loss, claim, damage or liability (or action in respect thereof) relates. If,
however, the allocation provided by the immediately preceding sentence is not
permitted by applicable law or if the indemnified party failed to give the
notice required under subsection (c) above, then each indemnifying party shall
contribute to such amount paid or payable by such indemnified party in such
proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only such relative benefits but also
the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters of the
applicable Securities on the other in connection with the statements or
omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or
actions in respect thereof), as well as any other relevant equitable
considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand
and such Underwriters on the other shall be deemed to be in the same proportion
as the total net proceeds from such offering (before deducting expenses)
received by the Company bear to the total underwriting discounts and commissions
received by the Underwriters, in each case as set forth in the table on the
cover page of the Final Prospectus relating to the applicable Securities. The
relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether
the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or
alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the
Company on the one hand or the Underwriters on the other and the parties'
relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or
prevent such statement or omission. The Company and the Underwriters agree that
it would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this subsection
(d) were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were
treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation
which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above in
this subsection (d). The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a
result of the losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect
thereof) referred to above in this subsection (d) shall be deemed to include any
legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in
connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection (d), no Underwriter shall be
required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total
price at which the applicable Securities underwritten by it and distributed to
the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages which
such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or
alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. No person guilty of
fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Act)
shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such
fraudulent
15
misrepresentation. The obligations of the Underwriters of the applicable
Securities in this subsection (d) to contribute are several in proportion to
their respective underwriting obligations with respect to such Securities and
not joint.
(e) The obligations of the Company under this Section 7 shall
be in addition to any liability which the Company may otherwise have and shall
extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to each person, if any, who controls
any Underwriter within the meaning of the Act. The obligations of the
Underwriters under this Section 7 shall be in addition to any liability which
the respective Underwriters may otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same
terms and conditions, to each officer and director of the Company (including any
person who, with his consent, is named in the Registration Statement as about to
become a director of the Company) and to each person, if any, who controls the
Company within the meaning of the Act.
8. Defaulting Underwriters. (a) If any Underwriter shall default in its
obligation to purchase the Securities which it has agreed to purchase under the
Pricing Agreement relating to such Securities, the Representatives may in their
discretion arrange for themselves or another party or other parties to purchase
such Securities on the terms contained herein. If within thirty-six hours after
such default by any Underwriter the Representatives do not arrange for the
purchase of such Securities, then the Company shall be entitled to a further
period of thirty-six hours within which to procure another party or other
parties satisfactory to the Representatives to purchase such Securities on such
terms. In the event that, within the respective prescribed periods, the
Representatives notify the Company that the Representatives have so arranged for
the purchase of such Securities, or the Company notifies the Representatives
that it has so arranged for the purchase of such Securities, the Representatives
or the Company shall have the right to postpone the Closing Date for such
Securities for a period of not more than seven days, in order to effect whatever
changes may thereby be made necessary in the Registration Statement or the Final
Prospectus as amended or supplemented, or in any other documents or
arrangements, and the Company agrees to file promptly any amendments to the
Registration Statement or the Final Prospectus which in the opinion of the
Representatives may thereby be made necessary. The term "Underwriter" as used in
this Agreement shall include any person substituted under this Section with like
effect as if such person had originally been a party to the Pricing Agreement
with respect to such Securities.
(b) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the
purchase of the Securities of any defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by the
Representatives and the Company as provided in subsection (a) above, the
aggregate number of shares of such Securities or the aggregate principal amount
of such Securities, as applicable, which remains unpurchased does not exceed
one-eleventh of the aggregate number of shares of such Securities or the
aggregate principal amount of the Securities, as applicable, to be purchased on
such Closing Date, then the Company shall have the right to require each
non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase the aggregate number of shares of such
Securities or the principal amount of Securities, as applicable, which such
Underwriter agreed to purchase under the Pricing Agreement relating to such
Securities and, in addition, to require each nondefaulting Underwriter to
purchase its pro rata share (based on the aggregate number of shares of such
Securities or the principal amount of Securities, as applicable, which such
Underwriter agreed to purchase under such Pricing Agreement) of the Securities
of such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters for which such arrangements have
not been made; but nothing herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter from
liability for its default.
(c) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the
purchase of the Securities of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by the
Representatives and the Company as provided in subsection (a) above, the
aggregate number of shares of such Securities or the aggregate principal amount
of such Securities, as applicable, which remains unpurchased exceeds
one-eleventh of the aggregate number of shares of such Securities or the
aggregate principal amount of such Securities, as applicable, as referred to in
subsection (b) above, or if the Company shall not exercise the right described
in subsection (b) above to require non-defaulting Underwriters to purchase
Securities of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters, then the Pricing
Agreement relating to such Securities shall thereupon terminate, without
liability on the part of any nondefaulting Underwriter or the Company, except
for the expenses to be borne by the Company and the Underwriters as provided in
Section 5 hereof and the indemnity and contribution agreements in Section 7
hereof; but nothing herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter from liability
for its default.
9. Survival. The respective indemnities, agreements, representations,
warranties and other statements of the Company and the several Underwriters, as
set forth in this Agreement or made by or on behalf of them, respectively,
pursuant to this Agreement, shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of
any investigation (or any statement as to the
16
results thereof) made by or on behalf of any Underwriter or any controlling
person of any Underwriter, the Company or any officer or director or controlling
person of the Company and shall survive delivery of and payment for the
Securities.
10. Effect of Termination of Pricing Agreement or Nondelivery of
Securities. If any Pricing Agreement shall be terminated pursuant to Section 8
hereof, the Company shall not then be under any liability to any Underwriter
with respect to the Securities covered by such Pricing Agreement except as
provided in Section 5 and Section 7 hereof; but, if for any other reason,
Securities are not delivered by or on behalf of the Company as provided herein,
the Company will reimburse the Underwriters through the Representatives for all
out-of-pocket expenses, including fees and disbursements of counsel, reasonably
incurred by the Underwriters in making preparations for the purchase, sale and
delivery of such Securities, but the Company shall then be under no further
liability to any Underwriter in respect of such Securities except as provided in
Section 5 and Section 7 hereof.
11. Reliance upon Representatives. In all dealings hereunder, the
Representatives shall act on behalf of the Underwriters of Securities and the
parties hereto shall be entitled to act and rely upon any statement, request,
notice or agreement on behalf of any Underwriter made or given by such of the
Representatives, if any, as may be designated for such purpose in the applicable
Pricing Agreements.
12. Notices. All statements, requests, notices and agreements hereunder
shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given if mailed or
transmitted by any standard form of telecommunication; notices to the
Representatives shall be directed to the address of the Representatives as set
forth in the applicable Pricing Agreements with a copy to Debevoise & Xxxxxxxx,
000 Xxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000, attention of Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx,
Esq.; and if to the Company shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or
facsimile transmission to the address of the Company set forth in the
Registration Statement, Attention: Secretary. Any such statements, requests,
notices or agreements shall take effect at the time of receipt thereof.
13. Successors and Assigns. This Agreement and each Pricing Agreement
shall be binding upon, and inure solely to the benefit of, the Underwriters, the
Company, and, to the extent provided in Sections 7 and 9 hereof, the officers
and directors of the Company and each person who controls the Company or any
Underwriter, and their respective heirs, executors, administrators, successors
and assigns, and no other person shall acquire or have any right under or by
virtue of this Agreement or any such Pricing Agreement. No purchaser of any of
the Securities from any Underwriter shall be deemed a successor or assign by
reason merely of such purchase.
14. GOVERNING LAW. THIS AGREEMENT AND EACH PRICING AGREEMENT SHALL BE
GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK,
WITHOUT REGARD TO PRINCIPLES OF CONFLICTS OF LAW.
15. Consent to Jurisdiction. The Company agrees that any legal suit,
action or proceeding against the Company brought by any Underwriter or by any
person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of
the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, arising out of or based
upon this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby may be instituted in
any State or federal court in the Borough of Manhattan, The City of New York,
New York, and, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, waives any
objection which it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any such
proceeding, and irrevocably submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of such
courts in any suit, action or proceeding.
16. Offering Restrictions. Each of the Underwriters represents and
agrees that it has not offered, sold or delivered and it will not offer, sell or
deliver, directly or indirectly, any of the Securities, or distribute the
Preliminary Prospectus, the Final Prospectus or any other offering material
relating to the Securities, in or from any jurisdiction except under
circumstances that will result in compliance with the applicable laws and
regulations thereof and that will not impose any obligations on the Company,
except as set forth in this Agreement and the applicable Pricing Agreement. In
particular, each Underwriter severally represents and agrees as set forth in
Annex IV to this Agreement.
17
17. Counterparts. This Agreement and each Pricing Agreement may be
executed by any one or more of the parties hereto and thereto in any number of
counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all such
counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument.
18
Very truly yours,
METLIFE, INC.
By: /s/: Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxxxx
------------------------------------------
Name: Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxxxx
Title: Senior Vice-President and Treasurer
Accepted as of the date hereof
on behalf of each of the Underwriters:
XXXXXXX LYNCH, PIERCE, XXXXXX & XXXXX INCORPORATED
By: /s/: Xxxx Xxxxxx
----------------------------------------
Name: Xxxx Xxxxxx
Title: Vice-President
WACHOVIA SECURITIES, INC.
By: /s/: Xxxxx Xxxxxx
----------------------------------------
Name: Xxxxx Xxxxxx
Title: Managing Director
19
ANNEX I
PRICING AGREEMENT
[ ]
As Representatives of the
several Underwriters
named in Schedule I hereto
c/o [ ]
Ladies and Gentlemen:
MetLife, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), proposes,
subject to the terms and conditions stated herein (this "Agreement") and in the
Underwriting Agreement, dated ___________, 2002 (the "Underwriting Agreement"),
to issue and sell to the Underwriters named in Schedule I hereto (the
"Underwriters") the Securities specified in Schedule II hereto (the "Designated
Securities"). Each of the provisions of the Underwriting Agreement is
incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and shall be deemed to be a
part of this Agreement to the same extent as if such provisions had been set
forth in full herein; and each of the representations and warranties set forth
therein shall be deemed to have been made at and as of the date of this
Agreement, except that each representation and warranty which refers to the
Final Prospectus in Section 1 of the Underwriting Agreement shall be deemed to
be a representation or warranty as of the date of the Underwriting Agreement in
relation to the Final Prospectus (as therein defined) and also a representation
and warranty as of the date of this Agreement in relation to the Final
Prospectus as amended or supplemented relating to the Designated Securities
which are the subject of this Agreement. Each reference to the Representatives
herein and in the provisions of the Underwriting Agreement so incorporated by
reference shall be deemed to refer to you. Unless otherwise defined herein,
terms defined in the Underwriting Agreement are used herein as therein defined.
The Representatives designated to act on behalf of the Representatives and on
behalf of each of the Underwriters of the Designated Securities pursuant to the
Underwriting Agreement and the address of the Representatives are set forth at
the end of Schedule II hereto.
An amendment to the Registration Statement, or a supplement to the Base
Prospectus, as the case may be, relating to the Designated Securities, in the
form heretofore delivered to you is now proposed to be filed with the
Commission.
Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein and in the
Underwriting Agreement incorporated herein by reference, the Company agrees to
issue and sell to each of the Underwriters, and each of the Underwriters agrees,
severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company, at the time and place
and at the purchase price to the Underwriters set forth in Schedule II hereto,
the number of shares or the principal amount, as the case may be, of Designated
Securities set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule I hereto.
II-1
If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding, please sign
and return to us ____ counterparts hereof, and upon acceptance hereof by you, on
behalf of each of the Underwriters, this letter and such acceptance hereof,
including the provisions of the Underwriting Agreement incorporated herein by
reference, shall constitute a binding agreement between each of the Underwriters
and the Company. It is understood that your acceptance of this letter on behalf
of each of the Underwriters is or will be pursuant to the authority set forth in
a form of Agreement among Underwriters, the form of which shall be submitted to
the Company for examination upon request, but without warranty on the part of
the Representatives as to the authority of the signers thereof.
Very truly yours,
METLIFE, INC.
By:
---------------------------------------
Name:
Title:
Accepted as of the date hereof
on behalf of each of the Underwriters:
By:
------------------------------------
Name:
Title:
By:
------------------------------------
Name:
Title:
II-2
SCHEDULE I
TO PRICING AGREEMENT
NUMBER OF SHARES
OR PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT OF
SECURITIES TO
UNDERWRITERS BE PURCHASED
----------------
Total $
================
II-3
SCHEDULE II
TO PRICING AGREEMENT
Underwriting Agreement dated , 2002
Registration Statement Xx. 000-
Xxxxx, Xxxxxxxx Price and Description of Securities
Title:
Applicable Securities Agreement:
Number or Aggregate Principal Amount:
Price to the Public:
Purchase Price by Underwriters (include accrued interest or
amortization, if any):
Sinking Fund Provisions:
Redemption Provisions:
Securities into which Convertible or Exchangeable:
Maturity:
Interest Rate:
Interest Payment Dates:
Liquidation Preferences:
Dividends:
Voting Rights:
Other Provisions:
Closing Date, Time and Location:
Names and Addresses of Representatives:
Designated Representatives:
Address for Notices, etc.:
Underwriters:
Other Terms, if any: [over-allotment options] [description of particular tax,
accounting or other unusual features of the Securities]
II-4
ANNEX II
SIGNIFICANT SUBSIDIARIES
METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY (NY)
GENAMERICA FINANCIAL CORPORATION (MO)
GENERAL AMERICAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY (MO)
REINSURANCE GROUP OF AMERICA, INCORPORATED (MO)
NEW ENGLAND LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY (MA)
METROPOLITAN PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY (RI)
STATE STREET RESEARCH & MANAGEMENT COMPANY (DE)
II-1
ANNEX III
November XX, 2002
[Address to underwriters]
Dear Sirs:
We have audited the consolidated balance sheets of MetLife, Inc. and
subsidiaries (the "Company") as of December 31, 2001 and 2000, and the related
consolidated statements of income, stockholders' equity and cash flows for each
of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2001, and the related
financial statement schedules, all included in the Company's annual report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001 ("Form 10-K"), and incorporated
by reference in Registration Statement No. 333-61282 on Form S-3 filed by the
Company under the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Act"); our report with respect
thereto is also incorporated by reference in that registration statement. The
registration statement, as amended on May 30, 2001, is herein referred to as the
registration statement. We have also reviewed (a) the unaudited interim
condensed consolidated balance sheet of the Company as of September 30, 2002,
the unaudited interim condensed consolidated statements of income for the
three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2002 and 2001, the
unaudited interim condensed consolidated statements of cash flows for the
nine-month periods ended September 30, 2002 and 2001, and the unaudited interim
condensed consolidated statement of stockholders' equity for the nine-month
period ended September 30, 2002 included in the Company's Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended September 30, 2002 ("Third Quarter Form 10-Q") and incorporated by
reference in the registration statement as indicated in our report dated
November 4, 2002; (b) the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the
year ended December 31, 2001, included in the Company's Form 10-K, as indicated
in our report dated December 3, 2002 and; (c) the Company's Management's
Discussion and Analysis for the three-month and nine-month periods ended
September 30, 2002 and 2001 included in the Company's Third Quarter Form 10-Q,
as indicated in our report dated December 3, 2002; our reports with respect
thereto are attached.
In connection with the registration statement --
1. We are independent certified public accountants with respect
to the Company within the meaning of the Act and the
applicable rules and regulations thereunder adopted by the
Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").
2. In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements and
financial statement schedules audited by us and incorporated
by reference in the registration statement comply as to form
in all material respects with the applicable accounting
requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the
related rules and regulations adopted by the SEC.
3. We have not audited any consolidated financial statements of
the Company as of any date or for any period subsequent to
December 31, 2001; although we have conducted an audit for the
year ended December 31, 2001, the purpose (and therefore the
scope) of the audit was to enable us to express our opinion on
the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2001,
and for the year ended, but not on the consolidated financial
statements for any interim period within that year. Therefore,
we are unable to and do not express any opinion on: (a) the
unaudited interim condensed consolidated balance sheet as of
March 31, 2002, the related unaudited interim condensed
consolidated statements of income and cash flows for the
three-month periods ended March 31, 2002 and 2001, and the
unaudited interim condensed consolidated statement of
stockholders' equity for the three-month period ended March
31, 2002 included in the Company's quarterly report on Form
10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2002; (b) the unaudited
interim condensed consolidated balance sheet as of June 30,
2002, the related unaudited interim condensed consolidated
statements of income for the three-month and six-month periods
ended June 30, 2002 and 2001, the unaudited interim condensed
consolidated statements of cash flows for the six-month
periods ended June 30, 2002 and 2001, and the unaudited
interim condensed consolidated statement of stockholders'
equity for the six-month period ended June 30, 2002 included
in the Company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter
ended
III-1
June 30, 2002; (c) the unaudited interim condensed
consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2002, the
unaudited interim condensed consolidated statements of income
for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30,
2002 and 2001, the unaudited interim condensed consolidated
statements of cash flows for the nine-month periods ended
September 30, 2002 and 2001, and the unaudited interim
condensed consolidated statement of stockholders' equity for
the nine-month period ended September 30, 2002, included in
the Company's Third Quarter Form 10-Q, incorporated by
reference in the registration statement; or (d) on the
consolidated financial position, consolidated results of
operations, or consolidated cash flows as of any other date or
for any period subsequent to December 31, 2001.
4. For purposes of this letter we have read the 2002 minutes of
meetings of MetLife, Inc.'s stockholders, board of directors,
executive committee, audit committee, compensation committee,
corporate social responsibility committee and the nominating
and corporate governance committee as set forth in the minute
books at November 29, 2002, officials of the Company having
advised us that the minutes of all such meetings through that
date were set forth therein and have carried out other
procedures to November 29, 2002, (our work did not extend to
the period from November 30, 2002 to December 3, 2002) with
respect to the three-month and nine-month periods ended
September 30, 2002 and 2001. We have inquired of certain
officials of the Company who have responsibility for financial
and accounting matters whether the unaudited interim condensed
consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2002, the
related unaudited interim condensed consolidated statements of
income for the three-month and nine-month periods ended
September 30, 2002 and 2001, the unaudited interim condensed
consolidated statements of cash flows for the nine-month
periods ended September 30, 2002 and 2001 and the unaudited
interim condensed consolidated statement of stockholders'
equity for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2002,
incorporated by reference in the registration statement,
comply as to form in all material respects with the applicable
accounting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
as it applies to Form 10-Q and the related rules and
regulations adopted by the SEC.
The foregoing procedures do not constitute an audit of financial statements
conducted in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United
States of America. Also, they would not necessarily reveal matters of
significance with respect to the comments in the following paragraph.
Accordingly, we make no representations regarding the sufficiency of the
foregoing procedures for your purposes.
5. Nothing came to our attention as a result of the foregoing
procedures, however, that caused us to believe that the
unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements
described in item 4 do not comply as to form in all material
respects with the applicable accounting requirements of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as it applies to Form 10-Q and
the related rules and regulations adopted by the SEC.
6. Company officials have advised us that no consolidated
financial statements as of any date or for any period
subsequent to September 30, 2002, are available; accordingly,
the procedures carried out by us with respect to changes in
consolidated financial statement items after September 30,
2002, have, of necessity, been even more limited than those
with respect to the periods referred to in item 4. We have
inquired of certain officials of the Company who have
responsibility for financial and accounting matters whether
(a) at November 29, 2002, there was any change in the capital
stock, increase in long-term debt or any decreases in
consolidated assets or stockholders' equity of the
consolidated companies as compared with amounts shown in the
September 30, 2002, unaudited interim condensed consolidated
balance sheet incorporated by reference in the registration
statement or (b) for the period from October 1, 2002 to
November 29, 2002, there were any decreases, as compared with
the corresponding period in the preceding year, in
consolidated revenues or in the total or per-share amounts of
net income. On the basis of these inquiries and our reading of
the minutes as described in item 4, nothing came to our
attention that caused us to believe that there was any such
change, increase, or decrease, except in all instances for
changes, increases, or decreases that the registration
statement discloses have occurred or may occur.
7. For purposes of this letter, we have also read the items
identified by you on the attached copy of Form 10-K, Form 8-K
dated November 5, 2002, Form 8-K dated December 3, 2002, the
Prospectus Supplement to the registration statement dated
December 3, 2002 and Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of
Shareholders held on April 23,
III-2
2002, and have performed the following procedures, which were
applied as indicated with respect to the symbols explained
below --
[SYMBOLS TO BE ADDED]
8. It should be noted that we make no representation regarding
questions of legal interpretation or regarding the sufficiency
for your purposes of the procedures enumerated in the
preceding paragraph; also, such procedures would not
necessarily reveal any material misstatements of the amounts
or percentages listed above. Further, we have addressed
ourselves solely to the foregoing data as set forth in the
registration statement and make no representations regarding
the adequacy of disclosures or regarding whether any material
facts have been omitted.
9. This letter is solely for the information of the addressees
and to assist the underwriters in conducting and documenting
their investigation of the affairs of the Company in
connection with the offering of the securities covered by the
registration statement, and it is not to be used, circulated,
quoted, or otherwise referred to within or without the
underwriting group for any purpose, including but not limited
to the registration, purchase, or sale of securities, nor is
it to be filed with or referred to in whole or in part in the
registration statement or any other document, except that
reference may be made to it in the underwriting agreement or
in any list of closing documents pertaining to the offering of
the securities covered by the registration statement.
Yours truly,
III-3
ANNEX IV
OFFERING RESTRICTIONS
Each underwriter has severally represented and agreed specifically
that: (a) it has not offered or sold and, prior to the expiry of a period of six
months from the issue date of the senior notes, will not offer or sell any such
senior notes to persons in the United Kingdom except to persons whose ordinary
activities involve them in acquiring, holding, managing or disposing of
investments (as principal or agent) for the purposes of their businesses or
otherwise in circumstances which have not resulted and will not result in an
offer to the public in the United Kingdom within the meaning of the Public
Offers of Securities Regulations 1995; (b) it has only communicated or caused to
be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated any
invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of
section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (the "FSMA")) received
by it in connection with the issue or sale of any such senior notes in
circumstances in which section 21(1) of the FSMA does not apply to the Company;
and (c) it has complied and will comply with all applicable provisions of the
FSMA with respect to anything done by it in relation to the senior notes in,
from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom.
III-4
