S&P Global Inc. Underwriting Agreement
Exhibit 1
S&P Global Inc.
4.500% Senior Notes due 2048
________
May 3, 2018
Xxxxxxx Xxxxx & Co. LLC
000 Xxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, XX 00000-0000
Xxxxxxx Lynch, Pierce, Xxxxxx & Xxxxx
Incorporated
Xxx Xxxxxx Xxxx
Xxx Xxxx, XX 00000
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.
00 Xxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, XX 00000
Mizuho Securities USA LLC
000 Xxxx Xxxxxx, 00xx Xxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, XX 00000
As
representatives (the “Representatives”) of the several Underwriters named in Schedule I hereto
Ladies and Gentlemen:
S&P Global Inc., a New York corporation (the “Company”), proposes, subject to the terms and conditions stated in this agreement (this “Agreement”), to issue and sell to the Underwriters named in Schedule I hereto (the “Underwriters”) an aggregate of $500,000,000 principal amount of the 4.500% Senior Notes due 2048 (the “Securities”) of the Company. The Securities will be issued pursuant to a Base Indenture dated as of May 26, 2015 (the “Base Indenture”) and a Fourth Supplemental Indenture (the “Fourth Supplemental Indenture” and, the Base Indenture as supplemented by the Fourth Supplemental Indenture, the “Indenture”) among the Company, Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (the “Guarantor”) and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee (the “Trustee”) and will be guaranteed on an unsecured unsubordinated basis by the Guarantor (the “Guarantee”).
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1. The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, each of the Underwriters that:
(a) An “automatic shelf registration statement” as defined under Rule 405 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”) on Form S-3 (File No. 333-224198) in respect of the Securities has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) not earlier than three years prior to the date hereof; such registration statement, and any post-effective amendment thereto, became effective on filing; and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of such registration statement or any part thereof has been issued and no proceeding for that purpose has been initiated or threatened by the Commission, and no notice of objection of the Commission to the use of such registration statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Act has been received by the Company (the base prospectus filed as part of such registration statement, in the form in which it has most recently been filed with the Commission on or prior to the date of this Agreement, is hereinafter called the “Base Prospectus”; any preliminary prospectus (including any preliminary prospectus supplement) relating to the Securities filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act is hereinafter called a “Preliminary Prospectus”; the various parts of such registration statement, including all exhibits thereto but excluding Form T-1 and including any prospectus supplement relating to the Securities that is filed with the Commission and deemed by virtue of Rule 430B to be part of such registration statement, each as amended at the time such part of the registration statement became effective, are hereinafter collectively called the “Registration Statement”; the Base Prospectus, as amended and supplemented immediately prior to the Applicable Time (as defined in Section 1(c) hereof), is hereinafter called the “Pricing Prospectus”; the form of the final prospectus relating to the Securities filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act in accordance with Section 5(a) hereof is hereinafter called the “Prospectus”; any reference herein to the Base Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 under the Act, as of the date of such prospectus; any reference to any amendment or supplement to the Base Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement, any prospectus supplement relating to the Securities filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act and any documents filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and incorporated therein, in each case after the date of the Base Prospectus, such Preliminary Prospectus, or the Prospectus, as the case may be; any reference to any amendment to the Registration Statement shall be deemed to refer to and include any annual report of the Company filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the effective date of the Registration Statement that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement; and any “issuer free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 433 under the Act relating to the Securities is hereinafter called an “Issuer Free Writing Prospectus”).
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(b) (A) No order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus has been issued by the Commission, and (B) each Preliminary Prospectus, at the time of filing thereof, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended (the “Trust Indenture Act”) and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and did 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, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information.
(c) For the purposes of this Agreement, the “Applicable Time” is 4:10 p.m. (Eastern time) on the date of this Agreement; the Pricing Prospectus as supplemented by the final term sheet prepared and filed pursuant to Section 5(a) hereof, taken together (collectively, the “Pricing Disclosure Package”) as of the Applicable Time, did not, and as of the Time of Delivery (as defined in Section 4(a) of this Agreement) will not, include any 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, not misleading; and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus does not conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as supplemented by and taken together with the Pricing Disclosure Package as of the Applicable Time, did not, and as of the Time of Delivery will not, include any 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, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to statements or omissions made in an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information.
(d) The documents incorporated by reference in each of the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, when filed with the Commission, conformed or will conform, as the case may be, in all material respects to the requirements of the Exchange Act, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
(e) The Registration Statement conforms, and the Prospectus and any further amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus will conform, in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the Trust Indenture Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and do not and will not, as of the applicable effective date as to each part of the Registration Statement, as of the applicable filing date as to the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto, and as of the Time of Delivery, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material
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fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information.
(f) The consolidated financial statements of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries and the related notes thereto included in each of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus present fairly the financial position of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries as of the dates indicated and the results of their operations and the changes in their cash flows for the periods specified; such financial statements have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods covered thereby; and the other financial information of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries included in each of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus has been derived from the accounting records of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries and presents fairly the information shown thereby. The interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included in each of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and is prepared in accordance with the Commission's rules and guidelines applicable thereto.
(g) Since the date of the most recent financial statements of the Company incorporated by reference in each of the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus (i) there has not been any change in the capital stock or long-term debt of the Company or any of its consolidated subsidiaries, or any dividend or distribution of any kind declared, set aside for payment, paid or made by the Company on any class of capital stock, or any material adverse change in or affecting the business, properties, assets, results of operations or financial condition of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole, other than ongoing purchases of common stock under the Company’s common stock repurchase program; (ii) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has entered into any transaction or agreement that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole or incurred any liability or obligation, direct or contingent, that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole; and (iii) neither the Company nor any of its consolidated subsidiaries has sustained any material loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor disturbance or dispute or any action, order or decree of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, except in each case (i) through (iii) as otherwise disclosed in each of the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus.
(h) The Company, the Guarantor and (except as would not have a Material Adverse Effect, as defined below) each of its subsidiaries have been duly organized and are validly existing and in good standing under the laws of their respective jurisdictions of organization, are duly qualified to do business and are in good standing in each jurisdiction in which their respective ownership or lease of property or the conduct of their respective businesses requires such qualification, and have all power and authority necessary to own or hold their
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respective properties and to conduct the businesses in which they are engaged, except where the failure to be so qualified, in good standing or have such power or authority would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on the business, properties, assets, results of operations or financial condition of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole or on the performance by the Company and the Guarantor of their obligations under this Agreement, the Securities and the Guarantee (a “Material Adverse Effect”).
(i) The Company has the capitalization as set forth in each of the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus under the heading "Capitalization"; and, except as would not be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, all the outstanding shares of capital stock or other equity interests of each subsidiary of the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and (except for those subsidiaries that are not wholly owned by the Company) are owned directly or indirectly by the Company, free and clear of any lien, charge, encumbrance, security interest, restriction on voting or transfer or any other claim of any third party.
(j) The Company and the Guarantor have full right, power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement, the Securities and the Indenture (including the Guarantee set forth therein), (collectively, the “Transaction Documents”) and to perform their respective obligations hereunder and thereunder; and all action required to be taken for the due and proper authorization, execution and delivery of each of the Transaction Documents and the consummation of the transactions contemplated thereby has been duly and validly taken.
(k) The Indenture has been duly authorized by the Company and the Guarantor and on the Time of Delivery will be duly executed and delivered by the Company and the Guarantor and, when duly executed and delivered in accordance with its terms by each of the parties thereto, will constitute a valid and legally binding agreement of the Company and the Guarantor enforceable against the Company and the Guarantor in accordance with its terms, except as enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors' rights generally or by equitable principles relating to enforceability (collectively, the "Enforceability Exceptions"); and on the Time of Delivery, the Indenture will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended (the "Trust Indenture Act"), and the rules and regulations of the Commission applicable to an indenture that is qualified thereunder.
(l) The Securities have been duly authorized by the Company and, when duly executed, authenticated, issued and delivered as provided in the Indenture and paid for as provided herein, will be duly and validly issued and outstanding and will constitute valid and legally binding obligations of the Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, subject to the Enforceability Exceptions, and will be entitled to the benefits of the Indenture; and the Guarantee has been duly authorized by the Guarantor and, when the Securities have been duly executed, authenticated, issued and
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delivered as provided in the Indenture and paid for as provided herein, will be a valid and legally binding obligation of the Guarantor, enforceable against the Guarantor in accordance with its terms, subject to the Enforceability Exceptions, and will be entitled to the benefits of the Indenture.
(m) This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and the Guarantor.
(n) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is (i) in violation of its charter or by-laws or similar organizational documents; (ii) in default, and no event has occurred that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute such a default, in the due performance or observance of any term, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is bound or to which any property, right or asset of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject; or (iii) in violation of any law or statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, except, in the case of clause (i) above with respect to any subsidiary of the Company (other than the Guarantor), and clauses (ii) and (iii) above, for any such default or violation that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.
(o) The execution, delivery and performance by the Company and the Guarantor of each of the Transaction Documents to which each is a party, the issuance and sale of the Securities and the issuance of the Guarantee and compliance by the Company and the Guarantor with the terms thereof and the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents will not (i) conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, result in the termination, modification or acceleration of, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property, right or asset of the Company or any of its subsidiaries pursuant to, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is bound or to which any property, right or asset of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject, (ii) result in any violation of the provisions of the charter or by-laws or similar organizational documents of the Company or the Guarantor or (iii) result in the violation of any law or statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, except, in the case of clauses (i) and (iii) above, for any such conflict, breach, violation, default, lien, charge or encumbrance that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.
(p) No consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority is required for the execution, delivery and performance by the Company and the Guarantor of each of the Transaction Documents to which each is a party, the issuance and sale of the Securities and the issuance of the Guarantee,
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and compliance by the Company and the Guarantor with the terms thereof and the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, except such as have been obtained under the Securities Act and the Trust Indenture Act and for such consents, approvals, authorizations, orders, registrations or qualifications as may be required under applicable state securities or Blue Sky laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Securities by the Underwriters.
(q) Each Transaction Document conforms in all material respects to the description thereof contained in each of the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus.
(r) Except as described in each of the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, there are no legal, governmental or regulatory investigations, actions, demands, claims, suits, arbitrations, inquiries or proceedings (“Actions”) pending to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is or may be a party or to which any property, right or asset of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is or may be the subject that, individually or in the aggregate, that could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and no such Actions are threatened or, to the knowledge of the Company and the Guarantor, contemplated by any governmental or regulatory authority or by others.
(s) (A) (i) At the time of filing the Registration Statement, (ii) at the time of the most recent amendment thereto for the purposes of complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Act (whether such amendment was by post-effective amendment, incorporated report filed pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act or form of prospectus), and (iii) at the time the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this clause only, of Rule 163(c) under the Act) made any offer relating to the Securities in reliance on the exemption of Rule 163 under the Act, the Company was a “well-known seasoned issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the Act; and (B) at the time of filing the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the earliest time thereafter that the Company or any offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) under the Act) of the Securities, and at the date hereof, the Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the Act.
(t) Ernst & Young LLP, who have certified certain consolidated financial statements of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries are independent public accountants with respect to the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries within the applicable rules and regulations adopted by the Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) and as required by the Securities Act.
(u) The Company and the Guarantor hold all material licenses, certificates and permits from governmental authorities which are necessary to the conduct of their respective businesses; the Company and the Guarantor own or possess the right to use all patents, patent rights, trademarks, trade names, service marks, service names, copyrights, license rights, know-how (including
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trade secrets and other unpatented and unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures) and other intellectual property rights (“Intellectual Property”) necessary to carry on their respective businesses in all material respects; the Company and the Guarantor have not infringed, and have not received written notice of violation of, any Intellectual Property of any other person or entity which infringement or violation would have a Material Adverse Effect. None of the technology employed by the Company or the Guarantor has been obtained or is being used by the Company or the Guarantor in violation of any contractual obligation binding on the Company or the Guarantor or any of their officers, directors or employees or otherwise in violation of the rights of any persons which violation would have a Material Adverse Effect; the Company and the Guarantor have not received any written communications alleging that the Company or the Guarantor have violated or infringed, or, by conducting their respective businesses as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, would violate or infringe, any of the Intellectual Property of any other person or entity which alleged violation or infringement would have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company and the Guarantor know of no infringement by others of Intellectual Property owned by or licensed to the Company which infringement would have a Material Adverse Effect.
(v) Neither the Company nor the Guarantor is, and after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Securities and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in each of the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, none of them will be, required to register as an “investment company” or an entity “controlled” by an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (collectively, the “Investment Company Act”).
(w) The Company and its subsidiaries maintain an effective system of “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Exchange Act) that is designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms, including controls and procedures designed to ensure that such information is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. The Company and its subsidiaries have carried out evaluations of the effectiveness of their disclosure controls and procedures as required by Rule 13a-15 of the Exchange Act.
(x) The Company and its subsidiaries maintain systems of “internal control over financial reporting” (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act) that comply with the requirements of the Exchange Act and have been designed by, or under the supervision of, their respective principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The Company and its subsidiaries maintain internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance
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that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and to maintain asset accountability; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences; and (v) interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language incorporated by reference in each of the Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus is prepared in accordance with the Commission's rules and guidelines applicable thereto. There are no material weaknesses in the Company’s internal controls.
(y) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company and the Guarantor, any director, officer, or employee of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, any agent, affiliate or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries has (i) used any funds for any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expense relating to political activity; (ii) made or taken an act in furtherance of an offer, promise or authorization of any direct or indirect unlawful payment or benefit to any foreign or domestic government or regulatory official or employee, including of any government-owned or controlled entity or of a public international organization, or any person acting in an official capacity for or on behalf of any of the foregoing, or any political party or party official or candidate for political office; (iii) violated or is in violation of any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, or any applicable law or regulation implementing the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, or committed an offence under the Xxxxxxx Xxx 0000 of the United Kingdom, or any other applicable anti-bribery or anti-corruption laws; or (iv) made, offered, agreed, requested or taken an act in furtherance of any unlawful bribe or other unlawful benefit, including, without limitation, any rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful or improper payment or benefit, in each case (i) through (iv), except as is not material to the Company. The Company and its subsidiaries have instituted, and maintain and enforce, policies and procedures reasonably designed to promote and ensure compliance with all applicable anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws.
(z) The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in material compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements, including those of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the applicable money laundering statutes of all jurisdictions where the Company or any of its subsidiaries conducts business, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines issued, administered or enforced by any governmental or regulatory agency (collectively, the “Anti-Money Laundering Laws”) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental or regulatory agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Anti-Money Laundering
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Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company or the Guarantor, threatened.
(aa) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company and the Guarantor, any director, officer, or employee of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, any agent, affiliate or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is currently the subject or the target of any sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. Government, (including, without limitation, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“OFAC”) or the U.S. Department of State and including, without limitation, the designation as a “specially designated national” or “blocked person”), the United Nations Security Council (“UNSC”), the European Union, Her Majesty’s Treasury (“HMT”), or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”), nor is the Company, any of its subsidiaries or the Guarantor located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject or the target of Sanctions, including, without limitation, Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria (each, a “Sanctioned Country”); and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering of the Securities hereunder, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity (i) to fund or facilitate any activities of or business with any person that, at the time of such funding or facilitation, is the subject or the target of Sanctions, (ii) to fund or facilitate any activities of or business in any Sanctioned Country, except, in the case of clauses (i) and (ii), to the extent licensed by OFAC or otherwise authorized under U.S. law, or (iii) in any other manner that will result in a violation by any person (including any person participating in the transaction, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise) of Sanctions. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries, directors, officers or employees, nor, to the knowledge of the Company or the Guarantor, any agent, affiliate, joint venture partner or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries has engaged in activities sanctionable under the Iran Sanctions Act, the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010, the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012, the National Defense Authorization Act for the Fiscal Year 2012, the National Defense Authorization Act for the Fiscal Year 2013, Executive Order Nos. 13628, 13622, and 13608, or any other U.S. economic sanctions relating to Iran (collectively, the “Iran Sanctions”); and the Company has not engaged and will not engage in any activities or business that would subject it to sanction under the Iran Sanctions. Except as disclosed in each of the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, for the past 5 years, the Company and its subsidiaries have not knowingly unlawfully engaged in and are not now knowingly unlawfully engaged in any dealings or transactions with any person that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject or the target of Sanctions or with any Sanctioned Country.
(bb) The Securities constitute “senior indebtedness” as such term is defined in any indenture or agreement governing any outstanding subordinated indebtedness of the Company.
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2. Subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, 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 a purchase price of 97.876% of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued interest, if any, from May 17, 2018 to the Time of Delivery (as defined below) hereunder, the principal amount of Securities set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule I hereto.
3. Upon the authorization by you of the release of the Securities, the several Underwriters propose to offer the Securities for sale upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus.
4. (a) The Securities to be purchased by each Underwriter hereunder will be represented by one or more definitive global Securities in book-entry form which will be deposited by or on behalf of the Company with The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its designated custodian. The Company will deliver the Securities to the Representatives, for the account of each Underwriter, against payment by or on behalf of such Underwriter of the purchase price therefor by wire transfer of Federal (same-day) funds to the account specified by the Company to the Representatives at least forty-eight hours in advance, by causing DTC to credit the Securities to the account of Xxxxxxx Xxxxx & Co. LLC at DTC. The Company will cause the certificates, if any, representing the Securities to be made available to the Representatives for checking at least twenty-four hours prior to the Time of Delivery at the office of DTC or its designated custodian (the “Designated Office”). The time and date of such delivery and payment shall be 9:30 a.m., New York City time, on May 17, 2018 or such other time and date as the Representatives and the Company may agree upon in writing. Such time and date are herein called the “Time of Delivery.”
(b) The documents to be delivered at the Time of Delivery by or on behalf of the parties hereto pursuant to Section 8 hereof, including the cross-receipt for the Securities and any additional documents requested by the Underwriters pursuant to Section 8(i) hereof, will be delivered at the offices of Shearman & Sterling LLP: 000 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000 (the “Closing Location”), and the Securities will be delivered at the Designated Office, all at the Time of Delivery. A meeting will be held at the Closing Location at 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on the New York Business Day next preceding the Time of Delivery, at which meeting the final drafts of the documents to be delivered pursuant to the preceding sentence will be available for review by the parties hereto. For the purposes of this Section 4, “New York Business Day” shall mean each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday which is not a day on which banking institutions in New York City are generally authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close.
5. Each of the Company and the Guarantor agrees, jointly and severally, with each of the Underwriters that:
(a) The Company will prepare the Prospectus in a form agreed to by you and the Company and will file such Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act not later than the Commission's close of business on the second business day following the date of this Agreement; will advise you promptly of any further amendment or any supplement to the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus or the Prospectus prior
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to the Time of Delivery, and will not distribute any such document as amended or supplemented to which the Representatives reasonably object; will advise you, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the time when any amendment to the Registration Statement has been filed or becomes effective or supplement to the Prospectus or any amended Prospectus has been filed and will furnish you with copies thereof; will prepare a final term sheet, containing solely a description of the Securities, in a form approved by you and will file such term sheet pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act within the time required by such Rule; will file promptly all other material required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act; will 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 subsequent to the date of the Prospectus and for so long as the delivery of a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is required in connection with the offering or sale of the Securities; will advise you, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or other prospectus in respect of the Securities, of any notice of objection of the Commission to the use of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Act, of the suspension of the qualification of the Securities for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose, or of any request by the Commission for the amending or supplementing of the Registration Statement or the 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 any Preliminary Prospectus or other prospectus or suspending any such qualification, will promptly use its best efforts to obtain the withdrawal of such order; and in the event of any such issuance of a notice of objection, will promptly take such steps including, without limitation, amending the Registration Statement or filing a new registration statement, at its own expense, as may be necessary to permit offers and sales of the Securities by the Underwriters (references herein to the Registration Statement shall include any such amendment or new registration statement).
(b) If required by Rule 430B(h) under the Act, the Company will prepare a form of prospectus in a form approved by you and to file such form of prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act not later than may be required by Rule 424(b) under the Act; and will advise you promptly of any amendment or any supplement to such form of prospectus, and will not distribute any such prospectus to which the Representatives reasonably object.
(c) If by the third anniversary (the “Renewal Deadline”) of the initial effective date of the Registration Statement, any of the Securities remain unsold by the Underwriters, the Company will file, if it has not already done so and is eligible to do so, a new automatic shelf registration statement relating to the Securities, in a form satisfactory to you. If at the Renewal Deadline the Company is no longer eligible to file an automatic shelf registration statement, the Company will, if it has not already done so, file a new shelf registration statement relating to the Securities, in a form satisfactory to you and will use its best efforts to cause such registration statement to be declared effective within 180 days after the Renewal Deadline. The Company will take all other action necessary or appropriate to permit the public offering and sale of the Securities to
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continue as contemplated in the expired registration statement relating to the Securities. References herein to the Registration Statement shall include such new automatic shelf registration statement or such new shelf registration statement, as the case may be.
(d) Promptly from time to time to take such action as you may reasonably request, the Company will qualify the Securities for offering and sale under the securities laws of such jurisdictions as you may reasonably request and comply with such laws so as to permit the continuance of sales and dealings therein in such jurisdictions for as long as may be necessary to complete the distribution of the Securities; provided that in connection therewith neither the Company nor the Guarantor shall not be required to qualify as a foreign corporation or to file a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction.
(e) As soon as practicable, on the New York Business Day next succeeding the date of this Agreement and from time to time, the Company will furnish the Underwriters with written and electronic copies of the Prospectus in New York City in such quantities as you may reasonably request, and, if the delivery of a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is required at any time prior to the expiration of nine months after the time of issue of the Prospectus in connection with the offering or sale of the Securities and if at such time any event shall have occurred as a result of which the 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 Prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is delivered, not misleading, or, if for any other reason it shall be necessary during such same period to amend or supplement the Prospectus or to file under the Exchange Act any document incorporated by reference in the Prospectus in order to comply with the Act, the Exchange Act or the Trust Indenture Act, will notify you and upon your request will file such document and will prepare and furnish without charge to each Underwriter and to any dealer in securities as many written and electronic copies as you may from time to time reasonably request of an amended Prospectus or a supplement to the Prospectus which will correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance; and in case any Underwriter is required to deliver a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) in connection with sales of any of the Securities at any time nine months or more after the time of issue of the Prospectus, upon your request but at the expense of such Underwriter, will prepare and deliver to such Underwriter as many written and electronic copies as you may request of an amended or supplemented Prospectus complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Act.
(f) The Company will make generally available to its securityholders as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than sixteen 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 of the Commission thereunder (including, at the option of the Company, Rule 158).
(g) During the period beginning from the date hereof and continuing to and including the later of the Time of Delivery and such earlier time as you may notify the
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Company, the Company and the Guarantor will not to offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, grant any option to purchase, make any short sale or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, or file with the Commission a registration statement under the Act relating to any securities of the Company that are substantially similar to the Securities, or publicly disclose the intention to make any offer, sale, pledge, disposition or filing.
(h) The Company will pay the required Commission filing fees relating to the Securities within the time required by Rule 456(b)(1) under the Act without regard to the proviso therein and otherwise in accordance with Rules 456(b) and 457(r) under the Act.
(i) The Company will use the net proceeds received by it from the sale of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement in the manner specified in the Pricing Prospectus under the caption “Use of Proceeds.”
6.
(a) (i) The Company represents and agrees that, other than the final term sheet prepared and filed pursuant to Section 5(a) hereof, without the prior consent of the Representatives, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute a “free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 405 under the Act;
(ii) each Underwriter represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of the Company and the Representatives, other than one or more term sheets relating to the Securities containing customary information and conveyed to purchasers of Securities, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute a free writing prospectus required to be filed with the Commission; and
(iii) any such free writing prospectus the use of which has been consented to by the Company and the Representatives (including the final term sheet prepared and filed pursuant to Section 5(a) hereof) is listed on Schedule II(a) hereto;
(b) The Company has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 under the Act applicable to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the Commission or retention where required and legending; and
(c) The Company agrees that if at any time following issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus any event occurred or occurs as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus would conflict with the information in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus or 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 then prevailing, not misleading, the Company will give prompt notice thereof to the Representatives and, if requested by the Representatives, will prepare and furnish without charge to each Underwriter an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or other document which will correct such conflict, statement or omission; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions in an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information.
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7. 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 the Company's counsel and accountants in connection with the registration of the Securities under the Act and all other expenses in connection with the preparation, printing, reproduction and filing of the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and the Prospectus and amendments and supplements thereto and the mailing and delivering of copies thereof to the Underwriters and dealers; (ii) the cost of printing or producing any Agreement among Underwriters, this Agreement, the Indenture, the Blue Sky Memorandum, closing documents (including any compilations thereof) 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 as provided in Section 5(d) hereof, including the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection with such qualification and in connection with the Blue Sky survey; (iv) any fees charged by securities rating services for rating the Securities; (v) the filing fees incident to, and the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection with, any required review by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) of the terms of the sale of the Securities; (vi) the cost of preparing the Securities; (vii) the fees and expenses of the Trustee and any agent of the Trustee and the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Trustee in connection with the Indenture and the Securities; and (viii) all other costs and expenses incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder which are not otherwise specifically provided for in this Section. It is understood, however, that, except as provided in this Section, and Sections 9 and 13 hereof, the Underwriters will pay all of their own costs and expenses, including the fees of their counsel, transfer taxes on resale of any of the Securities by them, and any advertising expenses connected with any offers they may make.
8. The obligations of the Underwriters hereunder shall be subject, in their discretion, to the condition that all representations and warranties and other statements of the Company herein are, at and as of the Applicable Time and the Time of Delivery, true and correct, the condition that the Company shall have performed all of its obligations hereunder theretofore to be performed, and the following additional conditions:
(a) The representations and warranties of the Company and the Guarantor contained herein shall be true and correct on the date hereof and on and as of the Time of Delivery; and the statements of the Company, the Guarantor and their respective officers made in any certificates delivered pursuant to this Agreement shall be true and correct on and as of the Time of Delivery.
(b) The Prospectus shall have been filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by the rules and regulations under the Act and in accordance with Section 5(a) hereof; the final term sheet contemplated by Section 5(a) hereof, and any other material required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act, shall have been filed with the Commission within the applicable time periods prescribed for such filings by Rule 433; 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
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been initiated or threatened by the Commission and no notice of objection of the Commission to the use of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Act shall have been received; no stop order suspending or preventing the use of the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus 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 your reasonable satisfaction.
(c) Shearman & Sterling LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, shall have furnished to you an opinion and 10b-5 statement, dated the Time of Delivery, in form and substance satisfactory to you, with respect to the matters as the Representatives 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.
(d) Xxxxx Xxxx & Xxxxxxxx LLP, counsel for the Company, shall have furnished to you their written opinion and 10b-5 statement, dated the Time of Delivery, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives, to the effect set forth in Annex I hereto.
(e) On the date of the 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 also at the Time of Delivery, Ernst & Young LLP shall have furnished to you a letter or letters, dated the respective dates of delivery thereof, in form and substance satisfactory to you.
(f) No event or condition of a type described in Section 1(g) hereof shall have occurred or shall exist, which event or condition is not described in each of the Pricing Prospectus (excluding any amendment or supplement thereto) and the Prospectus (excluding any amendment or supplement thereto) the effect of which in the judgment of the Representatives makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offering, sale or delivery of the Securities on the terms and in the manner contemplated by this Agreement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus.
(g) Subsequent to the earlier of (A) the Applicable Time and (B) the execution and delivery of this Agreement, (i) no downgrading shall have occurred in the rating accorded the Securities or any other debt securities or preferred stock issued or guaranteed by the Company or any of its subsidiaries by Fitch Ratings Inc. (“Fitch”) or Xxxxx’x Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) and (ii) neither Fitch nor Moody’s shall have publicly announced that it has under surveillance or review, or has changed its outlook with respect to, its rating of the Securities or of any other debt securities or preferred stock issued or guaranteed by the Company or any of its subsidiaries (other than an announcement with positive implications of a possible upgrading).
(h) At the Time of Delivery, the Company shall have furnished or caused to be furnished to you satisfactory evidence of the good standing of the Company and the Guarantor in their respective jurisdictions of organization and their good standing in such other jurisdictions as the Representatives may reasonably request, in each case in
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writing or any standard form of telecommunication from the appropriate governmental authorities of such jurisdictions.
(i) At the Time of Delivery, the Indenture shall have been duly executed and delivered by a duly authorized officer of the Company, the Guarantor and the Trustee, and the Securities shall have been duly executed and delivered by a duly authorized officer of the Company and duly authenticated by the Trustee.
(j) The Representatives shall have received on and as of the Time of Delivery a certificate of an executive officer, treasurer or chief legal officer of the Company and the Guarantor who has specific knowledge of the Company’s or the Guarantor’s financial matters and is satisfactory to the Representatives (i) confirming that such officer has carefully reviewed the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus and, to the best knowledge of such officer, the representations set forth in Sections 1(a), 1(b) and 1(c) hereof are true and correct, (ii) confirming that the other representations and warranties of the Company and the Guarantor in this Agreement are true and correct and that the Company and the Guarantor have complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on their part to be performed or satisfied hereunder at or prior to the Time of Delivery and (iii) to the effect set forth in paragraphs (f) and (g) above.
(k) No action shall have been taken and no statute, rule, regulation or order shall have been enacted, adopted or issued by any federal, state or foreign governmental or regulatory authority that would, as of the Time of Delivery, prevent the issuance or sale of the Securities or the issuance of the Guarantee; and no injunction or order of any federal, state or foreign court shall have been issued that would, as of the Time of Delivery, prevent the issuance or sale of the Securities or the issuance of the Guarantee.
9. Indemnification and Contribution
(a) Indemnification of the Underwriters. The Company and the Guarantor jointly and severally agree to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, its agents, affiliates, directors and officers and each person, if any, who controls such Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, from and against any and all losses, claims, damages and liabilities (including, without limitation, legal fees and other expenses incurred in connection with any suit, action or proceeding or any claim asserted, as such fees and expenses are incurred), joint or several, that arise out of, or are based upon, (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, or any amendment thereto, or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, or (ii) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) or any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, in each case except insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities arise out of, or are based upon, any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with any information relating to any
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Underwriter furnished to the Company in writing by such Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein.
(b) Indemnification of the Company and the Guarantor. Each Underwriter agrees, severally and not jointly, to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, the Guarantor, each of their respective directors and officers and each person, if any, who controls the Company or the Guarantor within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act to the same extent as the indemnity set forth in paragraph (a) above, but only with respect to any losses, claims, damages or liabilities that arise out of, or are based upon, any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with any information relating to such Underwriter furnished to the Company in writing by such Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use in the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), it being understood and agreed that the only such information provided by any Underwriter consists of (i) the statements with respect to the Underwriters’ intention to make a market in the Securities in the seventh full paragraph under the caption “Underwriting” and (ii) the statements with respect to stabilization and over-allotment of the Securities by the Underwriters (with respect to themselves only), and penalty bids that may be imposed by the Underwriters in the eighth and ninth full paragraphs under the caption “Underwriting” (such information, being “Underwriter Information”).
(c) Notice and Procedures. If any suit, action, proceeding (including any governmental or regulatory investigation), claim or demand shall be brought or asserted against any person in respect of which indemnification may be sought pursuant to either paragraph (a) or (b) above, such person (the “Indemnified Person”) shall promptly notify the person against whom such indemnification may be sought (the “Indemnifying Person”) in writing; provided that the failure to notify the Indemnifying Person shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have under paragraph (a) or (b) above except to the extent that it has been materially prejudiced (through the forfeiture of substantive rights or defenses) by such failure; and provided, further, that the failure to notify the Indemnifying Person shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have to an Indemnified Person otherwise than under paragraph (a) or (b) above. If any such proceeding shall be brought or asserted against an Indemnified Person and it shall have notified the Indemnifying Person thereof, the Indemnifying Person shall retain counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Indemnified Person (who shall not, without the consent of the Indemnified Person, be counsel to the Indemnifying Person) to represent the Indemnified Person and any others entitled to indemnification pursuant to this Section 9 that the Indemnifying Person may designate in such proceeding and shall pay the fees and expenses of such proceeding and shall pay the fees and expenses of such counsel related to such proceeding, as incurred. In any such proceeding, any Indemnified Person shall have the right to retain its own counsel, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of such Indemnified Person unless (i) the Indemnifying Person and the Indemnified Person shall have mutually agreed to the contrary; (ii) the Indemnifying Person has failed within a reasonable time to retain counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Indemnified Person; (iii) the Indemnified Person shall have reasonably concluded that there may be legal defenses available to it that are different from or in addition to those available to the Indemnifying Person; or (iv) the named parties in any
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such proceeding (including any impleaded parties) include both the Indemnifying Person and the Indemnified Person and representation of both parties by the same counsel would be inappropriate due to actual or potential differing interests between them. It is understood and agreed that the Indemnifying Person shall not, in connection with any proceeding or related proceeding in the same jurisdiction, be liable for the fees and expenses of more than one separate firm (in addition to any local counsel) for all Indemnified Persons, and that all such fees and expenses shall be reimbursed as they are incurred. Any such separate firm for any Underwriter, its affiliates, directors and officers and any control persons of such Underwriter shall be designated in writing by the Representatives and any such separate firm for the Company, the Guarantor, their respective directors and officers and any control persons of the Company and the Guarantor shall be designated in writing by the Company. The Indemnifying Person shall not be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent, but if settled with such consent or if there be a final judgment for the plaintiff, the Indemnifying Person agrees to indemnify each Indemnified Person from and against any loss or liability by reason of such settlement or judgment. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, if at any time an Indemnified Person shall have requested that an Indemnifying Person reimburse the Indemnified Person for fees and expenses of counsel as contemplated by this paragraph, the Indemnifying Person shall be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 30 days after receipt by the Indemnifying Person of such request and (ii) the Indemnifying Person shall not have reimbursed the Indemnified Person in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement. No Indemnifying Person shall, without the written consent of the Indemnified Person, effect any settlement of any pending or threatened proceeding in respect of which any Indemnified Person is or could have been a party and indemnification could have been sought hereunder by such Indemnified Person, unless such settlement (x) includes an unconditional release of such Indemnified Person, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to such Indemnified Person, from all liability on claims that are the subject matter of such proceeding and (y) does not include any statement as to or any admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any Indemnified Person.
(d) Contribution. If the indemnification provided for in paragraph (a) or (b) above is unavailable to an Indemnified Person or insufficient in respect of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities referred to therein, then each Indemnifying Person under such paragraph, in lieu of indemnifying such Indemnified Person thereunder, shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such Indemnified Person as a result of such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company and the Guarantor on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other from the offering of the Securities or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) but also the relative fault of the Company and the Guarantor on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other in connection with the statements or omissions that resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company and the Guarantor on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the net proceeds (before deducting expenses) received by the Company from the
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sale of the Securities and the total discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters in each case as set forth in the table on the cover page of the Prospectus. The relative fault of the Company and the Guarantor on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other 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 or any Guarantor on the one hand or by the Underwriters on the other and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.
(e) Limitation on Liability. The Company, the Guarantor and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 9 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 that does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in paragraph (d) above. The amount paid or payable by an Indemnified Person as a result of the losses, claims, damages and liabilities referred to in paragraph (d) above shall be deemed to include, subject to the limitations set forth above, any legal or other expenses incurred by such Indemnified Person in connection with any such action or claim. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 9, in no event shall an Underwriter be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total discounts and commissions received by such Underwriter with respect to the offering of the Securities exceeds the amount of any damages that 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 Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. The Underwriters’ obligations to contribute pursuant to this Section 9 are several in proportion to their respective purchase obligations hereunder and not joint.
(f) Non-Exclusive Remedies. The remedies provided for in this Section 9 are not exclusive and shall not limit any rights or remedies that may otherwise be available to any Indemnified Person at law or in equity.
10. This Agreement may be terminated in the absolute discretion of the Representatives, by notice to the Company, if after the execution and delivery of this Agreement and on or prior to the Time of Delivery (i) trading generally shall have been suspended or materially limited on the New York Stock Exchange or the over-the-counter market; (ii) trading of any securities issued or guaranteed by the Company or the Guarantor shall have been suspended on any exchange or in any over-the-counter market; (iii) a general moratorium on commercial banking activities shall have been declared by federal or New York State authorities; (iv) there shall have occurred any material disruption to settlement or clearance services; or (v) there shall have occurred any outbreak or escalation of hostilities or any change in financial markets or any calamity or crisis, either within or outside the United States, that, in the judgment of the Representatives, is material and adverse and makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offering, sale or delivery of the Securities on the terms and in the manner contemplated by this Agreement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus.
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11. (a) If any Underwriter shall default in its obligation to purchase the Securities which it has agreed to purchase hereunder, you may in your discretion arrange for you or another party or other parties to purchase such Securities by persons satisfactory to the Company on the terms contained herein. If within thirty six hours after such default by any Underwriter you 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 you to purchase such Securities on such terms. In the event that, within the respective prescribed periods, you notify the Company that you have so arranged for the purchase of such Securities, or the Company notifies you that it has so arranged for the purchase of such Securities, you or the Company shall have the right to postpone the Time of Delivery for a period of not more than five full business days, in order to effect whatever changes that in the opinion of counsel for the Company or counsel for the Underwriters may thereby be made necessary in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or in any other documents or arrangements, and the Company agrees to file promptly any amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus. 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 this Agreement with respect to such Securities.
(b) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Securities of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by you and the Company as provided in subsection (a) above, the aggregate principal amount of such Securities which remains unpurchased does not exceed one eleventh of the aggregate principal amount of all the Securities, then the Company shall have the right to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase the principal amount of Securities which such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder and, in addition, to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase its pro rata share (based on the principal amount of Securities which such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder) 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 you and the Company as provided in subsection (a) above, the aggregate principal amount of Securities which remains unpurchased exceeds one eleventh of the aggregate principal amount of all the Securities, 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 this Agreement shall thereupon terminate, without liability on the part of any non-defaulting Underwriter, the Company or the Guarantor, except for the expenses to be borne by the Company and the Underwriters as provided in Section 7 hereof and the indemnity and contribution agreements in Section 9 hereof; but nothing herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter from liability for its default.
12. 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
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to the results thereof) made by or on behalf of any Underwriter or any controlling person of any Underwriter, or the Company, or any officer or director or controlling person of the Company, and shall survive delivery of and payment for the Securities.
13. If this Agreement shall be terminated pursuant to Section 11 hereof, the Company shall not then be under any liability to any Underwriter except as provided in Sections 7 and 9 hereof; but, if (i) this Agreement is terminated pursuant to Section 10, (ii) the Company for any reason fails to tender the Securities for delivery to the Underwriters or (iii) the Underwriters decline to purchase the Securities for any reason permitted under this Agreement, the Company and the Guarantor jointly and severally agree to reimburse the Underwriters through you for all out of pocket expenses approved in writing by you, including fees and disbursements of counsel, reasonably incurred by the Underwriters in making preparations for the purchase, sale and delivery of the Securities, but the Company shall then be under no further liability to any Underwriter except as provided in Sections 7 and 9 hereof.
14. In all dealings hereunder, you shall act on behalf of each of the Underwriters, 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 you jointly or by Xxxxxxx Xxxxx & Co. LLC on behalf of you as the representatives.
All statements, requests, notices and agreements hereunder shall be in writing, and if to the Underwriters shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to you as the representatives in care of Xxxxxxx Sachs & Co. LLC, 000 Xxxx Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000-0000, Attention: Registration Department; and if to the Company or the Guarantor, 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; provided, however, that any notice to an Underwriter pursuant to Section 9(c) hereof shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to such Underwriter at its address set forth in its Underwriters' Questionnaire, or telex constituting such Questionnaire, which address will be supplied to the Company by you upon request. Any such statements, requests, notices or agreements shall take effect upon receipt thereof.
In accordance with the requirements of the USA Patriot Act (Title III of Pub. L. 107-56 (signed into law October 26, 2001)), the Underwriters are required to obtain, verify and record information that identifies their respective clients, including the Company, which information may include the name and address of their respective clients, as well as other information that will allow the Underwriters to properly identify their respective clients.
15. This Agreement shall be binding upon, and inure solely to the benefit of, the Underwriters, the Company, the Guarantor and, to the extent provided in Sections 9 and 12 hereof, the officers and directors of the Company and the Guarantor and each person who controls the Company, the Guarantor 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. No purchaser of any of the Securities from any Underwriter shall be deemed a successor or assign by reason merely of such purchase.
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16. Time shall be of the essence of this Agreement. As used herein, the term “business day” shall mean any day when the Commission's office in Washington, D.C. is open for business.
17. Each of the Company and the Guarantor acknowledges and agrees that (i) the purchase and sale of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement is an arm's-length commercial transaction between the Company and the Guarantor, on the one hand, and the several Underwriters, on the other, (ii) in connection therewith and with the process leading to such transaction each Underwriter is acting solely as a principal and not the agent or fiduciary of the Company or the Guarantor, (iii) no Underwriter has assumed an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company or the Guarantor with respect to the offering contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether such Underwriter has advised or is currently advising the Company on other matters) or any other obligation to the Company or the Guarantor except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement and (iv) the Company and the Guarantor has consulted its own legal and financial advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate. Each of the Company and the Guarantor agrees that it will not claim that the Underwriters, or any of them, has rendered advisory services of any nature or respect, or owes a fiduciary or similar duty to the Company or the Guarantor, in connection with such transaction or the process leading thereto.
18. This Agreement supersedes all prior agreements and understandings (whether written or oral) between the Company, the Guarantor and the Underwriters, or any of them, with respect to the subject matter hereof.
19. This Agreement and any claim, controversy or dispute arising under or related to this Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without regard to principles of conflict of laws that would results in the application of any other law than the laws of the State of New York.
20. The Company and the Guarantor hereby submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the U.S. federal and New York state courts in the Borough of Manhattan in The City of New York (the “New York Courts”) in any suit or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby. The Company and the Guarantor irrevocably and unconditionally waive any objection which it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any such suit or proceeding in such courts. Service of any process, summons, notice or document by mail to the Company’s address set forth above shall be effective service of process for any suit or proceeding brought in any of the New York Courts. Each of the Company and the Guarantor agrees that final judgment in any such suit, action or proceeding brought in such court shall be conclusive and binding upon the Company and each Guarantor, as applicable, and may be enforced in any court to the jurisdiction of which Company and each Guarantor, as applicable, is subject by a suit upon such judgment.
21. The Company, the Guarantor and each of the Underwriters hereby irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.
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22. This Agreement may be executed by any one or more of the parties hereto in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all such respective counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument.
23. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Company and the Guarantor are authorized to disclose to any persons the U.S. federal and state income tax treatment and tax structure of the potential transaction and all materials of any kind (including tax opinions and other tax analyses) provided to the Company or the Guarantor, respectively, relating to that treatment and structure, without the Underwriters, imposing any limitation of any kind. However, any information relating to the tax treatment and tax structure shall remain confidential (and the foregoing sentence shall not apply) to the extent necessary to enable any person to comply with securities laws. For this purpose, “tax structure” is limited to any facts that may be relevant to that treatment.
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If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding, please sign and return to us counterparts hereof, and upon the acceptance hereof by you, on behalf of each of the Underwriters, this letter and such acceptance hereof 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 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 your part as to the authority of the signers thereof.
| Very truly yours, | ||||
| S&P Global Inc. | ||||
| By: | /s/ Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx | |||
| Name: | Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx | |||
| Title: | SVP & Treasurer | |||
| Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC | ||||
| By: | /s/ Xxxx Xxxxxxxxx | |||
| Name: | Xxxx Xxxxxxxxx | |||
| Title: | President | |||
[Signature page to Underwriting Agreement]
Accepted as of the date hereof:
| Xxxxxxx Xxxxx & Co. LLC | |||
| By: | /s/ Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxx | ||
| Name: | Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxx | ||
| Title: | Vice President | ||
Xxxxxxx Lynch, Pierce, Xxxxxx & Xxxxx Incorporated | |||
| By: | /s/ Xxxxx Xxxxxx | ||
| Name: | Xxxxx Xxxxxx | ||
| Title: | Managing Director | ||
| Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. | |||
| By: | /s/ Xxxx X. XxXxxx | ||
| Name: | Xxxx X. XxXxxx | ||
| Title: | Managing Director | ||
| By: | /s/ Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx | ||
| Name: | Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx | ||
| Title: | Managing Director | ||
| Mizuho Securities USA LLC | |||
| By: | /s/ Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxx | ||
| Name: | Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxx | ||
| Title: | Managing Director | ||
| On behalf of each of the Underwriters | |||
SCHEDULE I
| Underwriter | Principal Amount of Securities to be Purchased | |||
| Xxxxxxx Sachs & Co. LLC | $ | 87,500,000 | ||
| Xxxxxxx Lynch, Pierce, Xxxxxx & Xxxxx Incorporated | 75,000,000 | |||
| Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. | 75,000,000 | |||
| Mizuho Securities USA LLC | 75,000,000 | |||
| Citigroup Global Markets Inc. | 35,000,000 | |||
| X.X. Xxxxxx Securities LLC | 35,000,000 | |||
| Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx & Co. LLC | 35,000,000 | |||
| BMO Capital Markets Corp. | 13,750,000 | |||
| Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC | 13,750,000 | |||
| Scotia Capital (USA) Inc. | 13,750,000 | |||
| SunTrust Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx, Inc. | 13,750,000 | |||
| U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc. | 13,750,000 | |||
| The Xxxxxxxx Capital Group, L.P. | 13,750,000 | |||
| Total | $ | 500,000,000 | ||
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SCHEDULE II
(a) Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses not included in the Pricing Disclosure Package:
(b) Additional Documents Incorporated by Reference:
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ANNEX I
[Xxxxx Xxxx & Xxxxxxxx LLP Letterhead]
| May [●], 2018 |
| Re: | S&P Global Inc. [●]% Senior Notes due 20[●] |
Xxxxxxx Sachs & Co. LLC
000 Xxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.
00 Xxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Xxxxxxx Lynch, Pierce, Xxxxxx & Xxxxx
Incorporated
Xxx Xxxxxx Xxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Mizuho Securities USA LLC
000 Xxxx Xxxxxx – 00xx Xxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
as Representatives of the several
Underwriters named in Schedule I to the Underwriting Agreement referred to below
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as special counsel for S&P Global Inc., a New York corporation (the “Company”) and Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, as guarantor (the “Guarantor”), in connection with the Underwriting Agreement dated May [●], 2018 (the “Underwriting Agreement”) with you and the other several Underwriters named in Schedule I thereto, under which you and such other Underwriters have severally agreed to purchase from the Company $[500,000,000] aggregate principal amount of its [●]% senior notes due 20[●] (the “Notes”). The Notes are to be issued pursuant to the provisions of the Indenture dated as of May 26, 2015, as supplemented by the Fourth Supplemental Indenture thereto dated as of May [●], 2018 (collectively, the “Indenture”) among the Company, the Guarantor and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee. The Notes will be guaranteed by the Guarantor (the “Guarantee” and, together with the Notes, the “Securities”).
We have examined originals or copies of such documents, corporate records, certificates of public officials and other instruments as we have deemed necessary or advisable for the purpose of rendering this opinion.
We have also participated in the preparation of the Company’s registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-224198) (other than the documents incorporated by reference therein (the “Incorporated Documents”)) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) pursuant to the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), relating to the registration of securities (the “Shelf Securities”) to be issued from time to time by the Company, the preliminary prospectus supplement dated May [●], 2018 (the “Preliminary Prospectus Supplement”) relating to the Securities, the pricing term sheet dated May [●], 2018 filed pursuant to Rule 433 under the Act and the prospectus supplement dated May [●], 2018 relating to the Securities (the “Prospectus Supplement”), and have reviewed the Incorporated Documents. The registration statement became effective under the Act and the Indenture qualified under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended (the “Trust Indenture Act”), upon the filing of the registration statement with the Commission on April 9, 2018 pursuant to Rule 462(e). To our knowledge, no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the registration statement has been issued and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are pending or contemplated under the Act. The registration statement at the date of the Underwriting Agreement, including the Incorporated Documents and the information deemed to be part of the registration statement at the time of effectiveness pursuant to Rule 430B under the Act, is hereinafter referred to as the “Registration Statement,” and the related prospectus (including the Incorporated Documents) dated April 9, 2018 relating to the Shelf Securities is hereinafter referred to as the “Basic Prospectus.” The Basic Prospectus, as supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement, in the form first used to confirm sales of the Securities (or in the form first made available by the Company to the Underwriters to meet requests of purchasers of the Securities under Rule 173 under the Act), is hereinafter referred to as the “Prospectus.”
In rendering the opinions expressed herein, we have, without independent inquiry or investigation, assumed that (i) all documents submitted to us as originals are authentic and complete, (ii) all documents submitted to us as copies conform to authentic, complete originals, (iii) all documents filed with or submitted to the Commission through its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval (“XXXXX”) system (except for required XXXXX formatting changes) conform to the versions of such documents reviewed by us prior to such formatting, (iv) all signatures on all documents that we reviewed are genuine, (v) all natural persons executing documents had and have the legal capacity to do so, (vi) all statements in certificates of public officials and officers of the Company and the Guarantor that we reviewed were and are accurate and (vii) all representations made by the Company and the Guarantor as to matters of fact in the documents that we reviewed were and are accurate.
Based upon the foregoing, and subject to the additional assumptions and qualifications set forth below, we are of the opinion that:
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1. The Company is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of New York, and the Company has corporate power and authority to issue the Securities, to enter into the Underwriting Agreement and to perform its obligations thereunder. The Guarantor is validly existing as a limited liability company in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware, and the Guarantor has power and authority to issue the Guarantee, to enter into the Underwriting Agreement and to perform its obligations thereunder.
2. The Underwriting Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and the Guarantor.
3. The Securities have been duly authorized and when executed and authenticated in accordance with the provisions of the Indenture and delivered to and paid for by the Underwriters pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement, will be valid and binding obligations of the Company and the Guarantor, enforceable in accordance with their terms, subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency and similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally, concepts of reasonableness and equitable principles of general applicability, and will be entitled to the benefits of the Indenture pursuant to which such Securities are to be issued; provided that we express no opinion as to (x) the enforceability of any waiver of rights under any usury or stay law, (y) the effect of fraudulent conveyance, fraudulent transfer or similar provision of applicable law on the conclusions expressed above or (z) the validity, legally binding effect or enforceability of any provision that permits holders to collect any portion of stated principal amount upon acceleration of the Securities to the extent determined to constitute unearned interest.
4. The Indenture has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and the Guarantor and is a valid and binding agreement of the Company and the Guarantor, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency and similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally, concepts of reasonableness and equitable principles of general applicability; provided that we express no opinion as to (x) the enforceability of any waiver of rights under any usury or stay law, (y) the effect of fraudulent conveyance, fraudulent transfer or similar provision of applicable law on the conclusions expressed above or (z) the validity, legally binding effect or enforceability of any provision that permits holders to collect any portion of stated principal amount upon acceleration of the Securities to the extent determined to constitute unearned interest.
5. Each of the Company and the Guarantor is not, and after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Securities and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in the Prospectus will not be, required to register as an “investment company” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
6. The execution and delivery by the Company of, and the performance by the Company of its obligations under, the Indenture, the Securities and the Underwriting Agreement (collectively, and together with the
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Guarantee, the “Documents”) and the execution and delivery by the Guarantor of, and the performance by the Guarantor of its obligations under, the Documents will not contravene (i) any provision of the statutory laws of the State of New York, the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act or any federal law of the United States of America that in our experience is normally applicable to general business corporations in relation to transactions of the type contemplated by the Documents (provided that we express no opinion as to federal or state securities laws), (ii) the certificate of incorporation or bylaws of the Company or certificate of formation or the limited liability company agreement of the Guarantor or (iii) any agreement that is filed as an Exhibit to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018; provided that we express no opinion in clause (iii) as to compliance with any financial or accounting test, or any limitation or restriction expressed as a dollar (or other currency) amount, ratio or percentage in any agreement that is filed as an Exhibit to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018.
7. No consent, approval, authorization, or order of, or qualification with, any governmental body or agency under the laws of the State of New York, the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act or any federal law of the United States of America that in our experience is normally applicable to general business corporations in relation to transactions of the type contemplated by the Documents is required for the execution, delivery and performance by the Company or the Guarantor of its respective obligations under the Documents, except such as may be required under federal or state securities or Blue Sky laws as to which we express no opinion in this paragraph.
We have considered the statements included in the Prospectus under the captions “Description of Debt Securities and Guarantees” and “Description of Notes” insofar as they summarize provisions of the Indenture and the Securities. In our opinion, such statements fairly summarize these provisions in all material respects. The statements included in the Prospectus under the caption “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations,” insofar as they purport to describe provisions of U.S. federal income tax laws or legal conclusions with respect thereto, in our opinion fairly and accurately summarize the matters referred to therein in all material respects.
In rendering the opinions in paragraphs (2) through (4) above, we have assumed that each party to the Documents has been duly incorporated and (other than the Company and the Guarantor) is validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization. In addition, we have assumed that (i) the execution, delivery and performance by each party thereto of each Document to which it is a party, (a) are within its corporate powers, (b) do not contravene, or constitute a default under, the certificate of incorporation or bylaws or other constitutive documents of such party, (c) require no action by or in respect of, or filing with, any governmental body, agency or official and (d) do not contravene, or constitute a default under, any provision of applicable law or regulation or any judgment, injunction, order or decree or any agreement or other instrument binding upon such party, provided that we make no such assumption to the extent that we have specifically opined as to such matters with
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respect to the Company and the Guarantor, and (ii) each Document (other than the Underwriting Agreement) is a valid, binding and enforceable agreement of each party thereto (other than as expressly covered above in respect of the Company and the Guarantor).
We are members of the Bar of the State of New York, and the foregoing opinion is limited to the laws of the State of New York, the federal laws of the United States of America and the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act, except that we express no opinion as to any law, rule or regulation that is applicable to the Company or the Guarantor, the Documents or such transactions solely because such law, rule or regulation is part of a regulatory regime applicable to any party to any of the Documents or any of its affiliates due to the specific assets or business of such party or such affiliate.
This opinion is delivered solely to you and the other several Underwriters in connection with the Underwriting Agreement. This opinion may not be relied upon by you or the other several Underwriters for any other purpose or relied upon by any other person (including any person acquiring Securities from the several Underwriters) or furnished to any other person without our prior written consent.
Very truly yours,
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|
[Xxxxx Xxxx & Xxxxxxxx LLP Letterhead]
May [●], 2018
|
| Re: | S&P Global Inc. [●]% Senior Notes due 20[●] |
Xxxxxxx Sachs & Co. LLC
000 Xxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.
00 Xxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Xxxxxxx Lynch, Pierce, Xxxxxx & Xxxxx
Incorporated
Xxx Xxxxxx Xxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Mizuho Securities USA LLC
000 Xxxx Xxxxxx – 00xx Xxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
as Representatives of the several
Underwriters named in Schedule I to the Underwriting Agreement referred to below
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as special counsel for S&P Global Inc., a New York corporation (the “Company”) and Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, as guarantor (the “Guarantor”), in connection with the Underwriting Agreement dated May [●], 2018 (the “Underwriting Agreement”) with you and the other several Underwriters named in Schedule I thereto, under which you and such other Underwriters have severally agreed to purchase from the Company $[500,000,000] aggregate principal amount of its [●]% senior notes due 20[●] (the “Notes”). The Notes are to be issued pursuant to the provisions of the Indenture dated as of May 26, 2015, as supplemented by the Fourth Supplemental Indenture thereto dated as of May [●], 2018 (collectively, the “Indenture”) among the Company, the Guarantor and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee. The Notes will be guaranteed by the Guarantor (the “Guarantee” and, together with the Notes, the “Securities”).
We have participated in the preparation of the Company’s registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-224198) (other than the documents incorporated by reference therein (the
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“Incorporated Documents”)) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) pursuant to the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), relating to the registration of securities (the “Shelf Securities”) to be issued from time to time by the Company, the preliminary prospectus supplement dated May [●], 2018 (the “Preliminary Prospectus Supplement”) relating to the Securities, the pricing term sheet dated May [●], 2018 filed pursuant to Rule 433 under the Act (the “Pricing Term Sheet”) and the prospectus supplement dated May [●], 2018 relating to the Securities (the “Prospectus Supplement”), and have reviewed the Incorporated Documents. The registration statement at the date of the Underwriting Agreement, including the Incorporated Documents and the information deemed to be part of the registration statement at the time of effectiveness pursuant to Rule 430B under the Act, is hereinafter referred to as the “Registration Statement,” and the related prospectus (including the Incorporated Documents) dated April 9, 2018 relating to the Shelf Securities is hereinafter referred to as the “Basic Prospectus.” The Basic Prospectus, as supplemented by the Preliminary Prospectus Supplement, together with the Pricing Term Sheet are hereinafter referred to as the “Disclosure Package.” The Basic Prospectus, as supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement, in the form first used to confirm sales of the Securities (or in the form first made available by the Company to the Underwriters to meet requests of purchasers of the Securities under Rule 173 under the Act), is hereinafter referred to as the “Prospectus.”
We have, without independent inquiry or investigation, assumed that all documents filed with or submitted to the Commission through its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval (“XXXXX”) system (except for required XXXXX formatting changes) conform to the versions of such documents reviewed by us prior to such formatting.
The primary purpose of our professional engagement was not to establish or confirm factual matters or financial, accounting or quantitative information. Furthermore, many determinations involved in the preparation of the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus are of a wholly or partially non-legal character or relate to legal matters outside the scope of our opinion separately delivered to you today in respect of certain matters under the laws of the State of New York, the federal laws of the United States of America and the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act. As a result, we are not passing upon, and do not assume any responsibility for, the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the statements contained in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, and we have not ourselves checked the accuracy, completeness or fairness of, or otherwise verified, the information furnished in such documents (except to the extent expressly set forth in our opinion letter separately delivered to you today as to statements included in the Prospectus under the captions “Description of Debt Securities and Guarantees” and “Description of Notes”). However, in the course of our acting as counsel to the Company in connection with the preparation of the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, we have generally reviewed and discussed with your representatives and your counsel and with certain officers and employees of, and independent public accountants for, the Company the information furnished, whether or not subject to our check and verification. We have also reviewed and relied upon certain corporate records and documents, letters from counsel and accountants and oral and written
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statements of officers and other representatives of the Company and others as to the existence and consequence of certain factual and other matters.
On the basis of the information gained in the course of the performance of the services rendered above, but without independent check or verification except as stated above:
| (i) | the Registration Statement and the Prospectus appear on their face to be appropriately responsive in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder; and |
| (ii) | nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that, insofar as relevant to the offering of the Securities: |
| (a) | on the date of the Underwriting Agreement, the Registration Statement contained any 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, |
| (b) | at [●] [A/P.M.] New York City time on May [●], 2018, the Disclosure Package contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, or |
| (c) | the Prospectus as of the date of the Underwriting Agreement or as of the date hereof contained or contains any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or omits to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. |
In providing this letter to you and the other several Underwriters, we have not been called to pass upon, and we express no view regarding, the financial statements or financial schedules or other financial or accounting data included in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, or the Statement of Eligibility of the Trustee on Form T-1. In addition, we express no view as to the conveyance of the Disclosure Package or the information contained therein to investors.
This letter is delivered solely to you and the other several Underwriters in connection with the Underwriting Agreement. This letter may not be relied upon by you or the other several Underwriters for any other purpose or relied upon by any other person (including any person acquiring Securities from the several Underwriters) or furnished to any other person without our prior written consent.
Very truly yours,
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