VOTING TRUST AGREEMENT, entered into as of the 27th day of August 2003 (this
"Agreement"), between XXXXXX XXXXXX, as Trustee (hereinafter the "Trustee") and
on behalf of LCM Holdings LDC, company organized and existing under the laws of
the Bahamas (hereinafter the "Beneficiary").
W I T N E S S E T H:
WHEREAS, the Beneficiary is the holder of shares of common stock, par
value US $0.01 per share, and other securities, (each a "Share" and collectively
the "Shares") of Trend Mining Company, a Delaware corporation (the "Company");
and
WHEREAS, in order to vest in the Trustee the sole right to vote the Shares
and all investment authority and power with respect to the Shares, the
Beneficiary is willing to deposit the Shares owned by it with the Trustee under
this Agreement for the period commencing on the date hereof and ending upon the
termination of this Agreement in accordance with its terms.
NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. Delivery to Trustee of Certificates for Shares. Simultaneously with the
execution and delivery of this Agreement, the Beneficiary shall deliver to the
Trustee certificates representing all of the Shares held by the Beneficiary,
endorsed in blank or accompanied by duly completed instruments of share transfer
executed by the Beneficiary. Immediately subsequent to the execution and
delivery of this Agreement and such instruments of share transfer, the Trustee
shall deliver a copy of this Agreement to the Company, shall surrender to the
Company said certificates and instruments of share transfer, and the Trustee and
Beneficiary shall take all further necessary or appropriate actions to cause the
directors to enter the name of the Trustee in the register of Stockholders in
respect thereof and to cancel said certificates and to issue to the Trustee a
new certificate, representing the Shares, in the name of the Trustee. Said new
certificate shall be held by the Trustee, in trust, for the benefit of the
Beneficiary and the heirs, executors, successors and/or assigns of the
Beneficiary (each sometimes hereinafter referred to as a "Beneficiary"), subject
to the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth.
2. Delivery to Trustee of Certificates for Additional Shares. Any and all
certificates for additional shares or any other securities of the Company issued
to the Beneficiary while it is the Beneficiary under this Agreement, including
without limitation shares acquired by Beneficiary pursuant to warrant shall be
in like manner endorsed and delivered to the Trustee together with a duly
completed and executed form of share transfer to be held by him subject to the
terms and conditions hereof. All such additional shares shall be deemed to be
"Shares" for all purposes of this Agreement.
3. Delivery of Trustee's Certificates. Upon the delivery to the Trustee of
the certificates and forms of share transfer referred to in paragraph 1 hereof,
the Trustee shall deliver to the Beneficiary a certificate (the "Trustee's
Certificate") for the number of Shares delivered to the Trustee by the
Beneficiary, substantially in the form hereinafter set forth. Upon each receipt
of certificates for additional Shares issued to a Beneficiary, the Trustee shall
deliver to such Beneficiary a Trustee's Certificate for the number of Shares so
deposited, substantially in the form hereinafter set forth.
The Trustee's Certificate (the terms and provisions of which are a part of
this Agreement) shall be substantially in the following form:
TRUSTEE'S CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the undersigned Trustee has received a certificate
or certificates issued in the name of Xxxxxx Xxxxxx, Trustee, evidencing
the ownership of ___ shares, par value US $0.01 per share, of Trend Mining
Company, a Delaware corporation (the "Shares"), and that the Shares are
held subject to all the terms and conditions of that certain Agreement
(the "Voting Trust Agreement"), dated August 27, 2003, by and between LCM
Holdings LDC and Xxxxxx Xxxxxx, as Trustee. During the term of the Voting
Trust Agreement, the Trustee shall, as provided in the Voting Trust
Agreement, possess and be entitled to exercise the right to vote and
otherwise represent all of the Shares for all purposes, and to exercise
all investment authority and power with respect to all of the Shares for
all purposes, it being agreed that no voting right and no investment
authority or power shall pass to the holder hereof by virtue of the
ownership of this Certificate.
This Certificate is assignable with the right to issuance of a new
certificate of like tenor only upon the surrender to the Trustee of this
certificate properly endorsed. Upon the termination of the Voting Trust
Agreement, this certificate shall be surrendered to the Trustee by the
holder hereof upon delivery to the holder hereof of a certificate
representing the Shares not sold or otherwise disposed of by the Trustee
pursuant to the Voting Trust Agreement.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned has executed this Certificate this
____ day of _______________, ____.
------------------------------
Xxxxxx Xxxxxx, Trustee
Each Trustee's Certificate may be transferred by endorsement by the person
to whom issued, or by his, her or its attorney-in-fact, or by the administrator
or executor of his, her or its estate, by delivery of such Trustee's Certificate
so endorsed to the Trustee; but such transfer shall not be evidence to or be
binding upon the Trustee until such Trustee's Certificate is surrendered to the
Trustee and the transfer is entered upon the "Trustee's Certificate Book", which
shall be kept by the Trustee to show the names of the parties by whom and to
whom transferred, the numbers of the certificates, the number of shares and the
date of transfer. No new Trustee's Certificate shall be issued until the
Trustee's Certificate for the shares represented thereby shall have been
surrendered to and cancelled by the Trustee, and the Trustee shall preserve the
certificates so cancelled as vouchers. In case any Trustee's Certificate shall
be claimed to be lost or destroyed, a new Trustee's Certificate may be issued in
lieu thereof, upon such proof of loss as may be required by the Trustee.
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4. Voting and Investment Authority and Power of Trustee.
(a) During the term of this Agreement, the Trustee shall have the
sole and exclusive voting and investment authority and power with respect to the
Shares held by the Trustee hereunder. The Trustee shall have the power to vote
the Shares held by the Trustee at all regular and special meetings of the
shareholders of the Company and may vote for, do or assent or consent to and
shall have all the powers, rights and privileges of a shareholder of the
Company.
(b) The Trustee may vote in person or by proxy, and a proxy in
writing signed by the Trustee shall be sufficient authority to the person named
therein to vote all the Shares held by the Trustee hereunder at any meeting,
regular or special, of the shareholder of the Company.
(c) The Trustee shall have complete investment authority and power
with respect to the Shares held by the Trustee hereunder, including, without
limitation, the authority and power to sell or otherwise dispose of any or all
of the Shares on such terms and subject to such conditions, as the Trustee in
his sole discretion shall deem appropriate. The Beneficiary and each holder of
Trustee's Certificates hereby appoints the Trustee as his, her or its
attorney-in-fact to execute any documents or instruments necessary (in the
determination of the Trustee) to effect such sale or disposition. Without
limiting the foregoing, each holder of Trustee's Certificates hereby agrees,
following written notification from the Trustee of any such contemplated sale or
other disposition of Shares, to surrender to the Trustee at the time and place
indicated in such notice, his, her or its Trustee's Certificates. The Trustee,
promptly following the closing of any such sale or other disposition of Shares,
shall issue and deliver to each such holder of Trustee's Certificates: (a) a
replacement Trustee's Certificate, reflecting such holder's pro rata interest in
the unsold Shares, as shown on the books of the Trustee, and (b) such holder's
pro rata interest in the net proceeds of any such sale or other disposition of
Shares (after deduction of expenses incurred in connection with such sale or
other disposition), as shown on the books of the Trustee. Upon such surrender of
such Trustee's Certificates, and such payment of such net proceeds, this
Agreement shall terminate as to the shares so sold or otherwise disposed of.
5. Distribution of Cash Dividends.
(a) The Trustee shall distribute directly any cash dividends or
distributions declared and paid on the Shares deposited hereunder (other than
dividends or distributions made in the form of voting securities of the Company)
to the holders of Trustee's Certificates in proportion to their respective
interests therein as shown on the books of the Trustee, such distribution to be
equivalent to the dividends or distribution which each respective holder would
have been entitled to receive had the Shares not been deposited hereunder.
(b) The Trustee shall receive and hold, subject to the terms of this
Agreement, any voting securities of the Company issued in respect thereof by
reason of any dividend, distribution, capital reorganization, stock split,
combination or the like and shall issue and deliver Trustee's Certificates
therefor to the holders of the Trustee's Certificates in proportion to their
respective interests therein as shown on the books of the Trustee.
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6. Term of Agreement. This Agreement and the trust hereby created shall
terminate on August 27, 2003 (the "Initial Term"). Upon expiration of the
Initial Term, this Agreement will automatically renew for additional, successive
one year periods (each a "Successive Term" and, together with the Initial Term,
the "Term"), unless either the Trustee or the Beneficiary shall give written
notice to the other, at least 90 days prior to the expiration of the Initial
Term or the then current Successive Term, that the Term shall not renew.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Term shall terminate not later than August
27, 2013.
7. Liability for Willful Misconduct. The Trustee shall not be liable for
any error of judgment or mistake of fact or law, or for any act or omission
undertaken in good faith in connection with his powers and duties under this
Agreement, except for his own willful misconduct or gross negligence. The
Trustee shall not be liable for acts or omissions of any employee or agent of
the Company. The Trustee shall not be liable for acting in reliance on any
notice, request, consent, certificate, instruction, or other paper or document
or signature believed to be genuine and to have been signed by the proper party
or parties. The Trustee may consult with legal and other counsel of his
choosing, and any act or omission undertaken by the Trustee in good faith in
accordance with the opinion of legal or other counsel shall be binding and
conclusive on the parties to this Agreement.
8. Binding Agreement. Every registered holder of a Trustee's Certificate,
and every bearer of a Trustee's Certificate properly endorsed in blank or
properly assigned, by the acceptance or holding thereof, shall be deemed
conclusively for all purposes to have assented to this Agreement and to all of
its terms, conditions and provisions and shall be bound thereby with the same
force and effect as if such holder or bearer had executed this Agreement.
Without limiting the foregoing, this Agreement shall be binding upon and inure
to the benefit of each of the parties hereto and their respective heirs,
executors, administrators, successors and assigns.
9. Severability. The invalidity of any term or provision of this Agreement
shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this Agreement.
10. Governing Law. Regardless of the place of execution, delivery,
performance or any other aspect of this Agreement, this Agreement and all of the
rights of the parties under this Agreement shall be governed by, construed under
and enforced in accordance with the substantive law of New York without regard
to conflicts of law principles.
11. No Waiver. No waiver of any covenant or condition or the breach of any
covenant or condition of this Agreement shall be deemed to constitute a waiver
of any subsequent breach of such covenant or condition nor justify or authorize
a nonobservance upon any occasion of such covenant or condition or any other
covenant or condition of this Agreement.
12. Entire Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement
between the parties hereto with regard to the subject matter thereof, and shall
not be modified or amended except in a writing executed by both of the parties
hereto.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Trustee and the Beneficiary have executed this
Agreement as of the date set forth above.
/s/ Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
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Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx, as Trustee
LCM Holdings LDC
By: /s/ Xxxx Xxxxx
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Name: Xxxx Xxxxx
Title: Director
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