ARRANGEMENT AGREEMENT dated as of May 3, 2007 among IPSCO INC.,
dated
as of
May
3, 2007
among
SSAB
SVENSKT STÅL AB
and
SSAB
CANADA INC.
ARTICLE
1
Definitions
Section
1.01.
|
Definitions
|
1
|
|
Section
1.02.
|
Other
Definitional and Interpretative Provisions
|
7
|
|
ARTICLE
2
|
|||
The
Arrangement
|
|||
Section
2.01.
|
Interim
Order
|
8
|
|
Section
2.02.
|
Final
Order
|
9
|
|
Section
2.03.
|
Parent
Review of Filings
|
9
|
|
Section
2.04.
|
Articles
of Arrangement and Effective Date
|
9
|
|
Section
2.05.
|
Guarantee
of Parent
|
9
|
|
ARTICLE
3
|
|||
Representations
and Warranties of the Company
|
|||
Section
3.01.
|
Corporate
Existence and Power
|
9
|
|
Section
3.02.
|
Corporate
Authorization
|
10
|
|
Section
3.03.
|
Governmental
Authorization
|
10
|
|
Section
3.04.
|
Non-Contravention
|
10
|
|
Section
3.05.
|
Capitalization
|
11
|
|
Section
3.06.
|
Subsidiaries
|
11
|
|
Section
3.07.
|
Securities
Laws Filings
|
12
|
|
Section
3.08.
|
Financial
Statements
|
13
|
|
Section
3.09.
|
Proxy
Statement/Circular
|
14
|
|
Section
3.10.
|
Absence
of Certain Changes
|
14
|
|
Section
3.11.
|
No
Undisclosed Material Liabilities
|
14
|
|
Section
3.12.
|
Compliance
with Laws
|
14
|
|
Section
3.13.
|
Litigation
|
14
|
|
Section
3.14.
|
Taxes
|
15
|
|
Section
3.15.
|
Employee
Benefit Plans
|
16
|
|
Section
3.16.
|
Environmental
Matters
|
18
|
|
Section
3.17.
|
Real
Property
|
19
|
|
Section
3.18.
|
Title
to Assets
|
19
|
|
Section
3.19.
|
Material
Contracts
|
19
|
|
Section
3.20.
|
Anti-Takeover
Provisions
|
20
|
|
Section
3.21.
|
Opinions
of Financial Advisors
|
20
|
|
Section
3.22.
|
Brokers
|
20
|
|
Section
3.23.
|
Intellectual
Property
|
20
|
i
ARTICLE
4
|
|||
Representations
and Warranties of Parent
|
|||
Section
4.01.
|
Corporate
Existence and Power
|
21
|
|
Section
4.02.
|
Corporate
Authorization
|
21
|
|
Section
4.03.
|
Governmental
Authorization
|
21
|
|
Section
4.04.
|
Non-Contravention
|
22
|
|
Section
4.05.
|
Proxy
Statement/Circular
|
22
|
|
Section
4.06.
|
Litigation
|
22
|
|
Section
4.07.
|
Financing
|
22
|
|
Section
4.08.
|
Share
Ownership
|
23
|
|
Section
4.09.
|
Finders’
Fees
|
23
|
|
ARTICLE
5
|
|||
Covenants
of the Company
|
|||
Section
5.01.
|
Conduct
of the Company
|
23
|
|
Section
5.02.
|
Interim
Order; Company Meeting; Proxy Statement/Circular
|
26
|
|
Section
5.03.
|
No
Solicitation; Other Offers
|
27
|
|
Section
5.04.
|
No
Control of Other Party’s Business
|
29
|
|
ARTICLE
6
|
|||
Covenants
of Parent
|
|||
Section
6.01.
|
Conduct
of Parent and Acquisition Sub
|
30
|
|
Section
6.02.
|
Voting
of Shares
|
30
|
|
Section
6.03.
|
Director
and Officer Liability
|
30
|
|
ARTICLE
7
|
|||
Covenants
of Parent and the Company
|
|||
Section
7.01.
|
Best
Efforts; Further Assurances
|
32
|
|
Section
7.02.
|
Public
Announcements
|
33
|
|
Section
7.03.
|
Access
to Information
|
34
|
|
Section
7.04.
|
Notices
of Certain Events
|
34
|
|
Section
7.05.
|
Confidentiality
|
34
|
|
Section
7.06.
|
Employee
Matters
|
35
|
|
Section
7.07.
|
Financing
Assistance
|
36
|
|
Section
7.08.
|
Debt
Offer
|
36
|
|
Section
7.09.
|
Repayment
of Senior Indebtedness
|
37
|
|
ARTICLE
8
|
|||
Conditions
to the Arrangement
|
|||
Section
8.01.
|
Conditions
to the Obligations of Each Party
|
37
|
|
Section
8.02.
|
Conditions
to the Obligations of Parent and Acquisition Sub
|
38
|
|
Section
8.03.
|
Conditions
to the Obligations of the Company
|
38
|
ii
Section
8.04.
|
Satisfaction
of Conditions
|
39
|
|
ARTICLE
9
|
|||
Termination
|
|||
Section
9.01.
|
Termination
|
39
|
|
Section
9.02.
|
Effect
of Termination
|
40
|
|
ARTICLE
10
|
|||
Miscellaneous
|
|||
Section
10.01.
|
[Intentionally
Omitted]
|
40
|
|
Section
10.02.
|
Notices
|
40
|
|
Section
10.03.
|
Survival
of Representations and Warranties
|
42
|
|
Section
10.04.
|
Amendments
and Waivers; Reorganization
|
42
|
|
Section
10.05.
|
Expenses
|
43
|
|
Section
10.06.
|
Disclosure
Schedule References
|
44
|
|
Section
10.07.
|
Binding
Effect; Benefit; Assignment
|
44
|
|
Section
10.08.
|
Governing
Law
|
44
|
|
Section
10.09.
|
Jurisdiction;
Service of Process
|
45
|
|
Section
10.10.
|
WAIVER
OF JURY TRIAL
|
45
|
|
Section
10.11.
|
Counterparts;
Effectiveness
|
45
|
|
Section
10.12.
|
No
Liability
|
46
|
|
Section
10.13.
|
Entire
Agreement
|
46
|
|
Section
10.14.
|
Severability
|
46
|
|
Section
10.15.
|
Specific
Performance
|
46
|
Schedule
A
– Plan of Arrangement
Schedule
B
– Arrangement Resolution
iii
ARRANGEMENT
AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) dated as of May 3, 2007 among
IPSCO INC., a corporation existing under the laws of Canada (the
“Company”), SSAB SVENSKT STÅL AB, a corporation existing under
the laws of Sweden (“Parent”) and SSAB CANADA INC., a
corporation existing under the laws of Canada and a wholly-owned subsidiary
of
Parent (“Acquisition Sub”).
W
I T N E S S E T H
WHEREAS,
subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, Parent, through its
wholly-owned subsidiary, Acquisition Sub, is offering to acquire all of the
outstanding common shares in the capital stock of the Company (the
“Company Shares”) for $160.00 per Company Share in cash (the
“Consideration”);
WHEREAS,
the Company has agreed to submit to its Shareholders a statutory arrangement
under Section 192 of the Canada Business Corporations Act
(“CBCA”) pursuant to which, among other things, Acquisition Sub
will acquire each outstanding Company Share for the Consideration on the
terms
set out in the Plan of Arrangement (as defined below);
WHEREAS
the parties hereto have entered into this Agreement to set out their agreements
in respect of the proposed statutory arrangement.
NOW,
THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing and the representations,
warranties, covenants and agreements contained herein, intending to be legally
bound, the parties hereto agree as follows:
ARTICLE
1
Definitions
Section
1.01. Definitions. (a) As
used herein, the following terms have the following meanings:
“Acquisition
Proposal” means, other than the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement, any offer, proposal or inquiry from any Third Party relating to
(A)
any acquisition or purchase, direct or indirect, of 25% or more of the
consolidated assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries or 25% or more of
any
voting securities of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries whose net revenue,
net income or assets, individually or in the aggregate, constitute 25% or
more
of the consolidated net revenue, net income or assets, as applicable, of
the
Company, (B) any tender offer, take-over bid or exchange offer that, if
consummated, would result in such Third Party’s beneficially owning 25% or more
of any class of equity or voting securities of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries whose net revenue, net income or assets, individually or in
the
aggregate, constitute 25% or more of the consolidated net revenue, net income
or
assets, as applicable, of the Company or (C) a plan of arrangement, merger,
consolidation, share exchange, business combination, reorganization,
recapitalization, liquidation, dissolution or other similar transaction
involving the Company or any of its Subsidiaries whose net revenue, net income
or assets, individually or in the aggregate, constitute 25% or more of the
consolidated net revenue, net income or assets, as applicable, of the
Company.
“Affiliate”
means, with respect to any specified Person, any other Person that directly,
or
indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by,
or
under common control with, such specified Person.
“Applicable
Law” means, with respect to any Person, any federal, national, state,
provincial or local law (statutory, common or otherwise), constitution, treaty,
convention, ordinance, code, rule, regulation, order, injunction, judgment,
decree, ruling or other similar requirement enacted, adopted, promulgated
or
applied by a Governmental Authority that is binding upon or applicable to
such
Person, as amended unless expressly specified otherwise.
“Arrangement”
means the proposed arrangement under the provisions of Section 192 of the
CBCA
as set out in the Plan of Arrangement, subject to any amendments or variations
thereto made in accordance with the terms of this Agreement or the Plan of
Arrangement or made at the direction of the Court in the Final
Order.
“Arrangement
Resolution” means the special resolution approving the Plan of
Arrangement to be considered at the Company Meeting, substantially in the
form
of Schedule B hereto.
“Articles
of Arrangement” means the articles of arrangement of the Company in
respect of the Arrangement that are required by the CBCA to be filed with
the
Director after the Final Order is made in order for the Arrangement to become
effective.
“Business
Day” means a day, other than Saturday, Sunday or other day on which
commercial banks in Regina, Xxxxxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxx and New York,
New
York are authorized or required by Applicable Law to close.
“CanadianCompetition
Act” means the Competition Act (Canada), as amended and including the
regulations thereunder.
“Certificate
of Arrangement” means the certificate of arrangement to be issued by
the Director pursuant to subsection 192(7) of the CBCA in respect of the
Articles of Arrangement.
“Code”
means the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
“Company
Balance Sheet” means the consolidated balance sheet of the Company as
of December 31, 2006 and the footnotes thereto set forth in the Company’s annual
report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006.
“Company
Deferred Share Equivalent” means a nominal Company Share credited to a
participant’s account pursuant to the Company’s Executive Deferred Compensation
Incentive Plan.
“Company
Deferred Share Unit” means an outstanding deferred share unit granted
under the Company’s Deferred Share Unit Plan for Directors.
“Company
Disclosure Schedule” means the disclosure schedule dated the date
hereof regarding this Agreement that has been provided by the Company to
Parent.
2
“Company
Joint Venture” means, with respect to the Company, (i) Blastech LLC,
(ii) Xxxxxxxx Island Co-Venture and (iii) any corporation or other entity
(including partnerships, limited liability companies and other business
associations and joint ventures) in which the Company, directly or indirectly,
owns an equity interest that does not have voting power under ordinary
circumstances to elect a majority of the board of directors or other person
performing similar functions but in which the Company has rights with respect
to
the management of such Person.
“Company
Meeting” means the special meeting of Shareholders to consider the
Arrangement Resolution, including any and all meetings held thereafter as
a
result of any adjournment or postponement thereof, to be called and held
in
accordance with the Interim Order.
“Company
Option” means an option to purchase Company Shares granted under the
Company’s Incentive Share Plan.
“Company
Performance Unit” means an outstanding performance unit granted under
the Company’s Incentive Share Plan.
“Company
Proxy Statement/Circular” means the notice of the Company Meeting and
accompanying proxy statement/management information circular, including all
appendices thereto, to be sent to Shareholders in connection with the Company
Meeting.
“Company
Restricted Share” means a restricted Company Share granted under the
Company’s Incentive Share Plan.
“Company
Right” means a right issued pursuant to the Company Rights
Plan.
“Company
Rights Plan” means the Shareholder Rights Agreement dated February 23,
2007 between the Company and Computershare Trust Company of Canada.
“Competition
Act Approval” means that either (i) the Commissioner of Competition
appointed pursuant to Section 7 of the Competition Act (the
“Commissioner”) shall have issued an advance ruling certificate
pursuant to Section 102 of the Competition Act in respect of the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement, or (ii) the applicable waiting period under
Section 123 of the Competition Act shall have expire, been terminated or,
pursuant to Section 113(c) of the Competition Act, waived and the Commissioner
shall have advised Parent in writing that the Commission does not at that
time
have grounds on which to make an application to the Competition Tribunal
under
Part VIII of the Competition Act for an order in respect of the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement.
“Confidentiality
Agreement” means the Confidentiality Agreement dated as of March 30,
2007 between the Company and Parent.
“Court”
means the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
“Director”
means the Director appointed pursuant to Section 260 of the CBCA.
3
“Dissent
Rights” means the rights of dissent of the holders of Company Shares in
respect of the Arrangement described in the Plan of Arrangement.
“Effective
Date” means the date shown on the Certificate of Arrangement giving
effect to the Arrangement.
“Effective
Time” means 12:01 a.m. (Toronto time) on the Effective
Date.
“Environmental
Laws” means any Applicable Law relating to the environment, natural
resources, or pollutants, contaminants, wastes or chemicals or any toxic,
radioactive, ignitable, corrosive, reactive or otherwise hazardous or
deleterious substances, wastes or materials or to the effect of the foregoing
on
human health or safety.
“ERISA”
means the United States Employee Retirement Income Security Act of
1974.
“ERISA
Affiliate” of any entity means any other entity that, together with
such entity, would be treated as a single employer under Section 414 of the
Code.
“Final
Order” means the final order of the Court approving the Arrangement as
such order may be amended by the Court at any time prior to the Effective
Time
or, if appealed, then, unless such appeal is withdrawn or denied, as affirmed
or
as amended on appeal.
“GAAP”
means generally accepted accounting principles in the United
States.
“Governmental
Authority” means any transnational, domestic or foreign, federal,
national, state, provincial or local governmental authority, department,
court,
agency, bureau, tribunal or official, including any political subdivision
thereof.
“Hazardous
Substance” means any pollutant, contaminant, waste or chemical or any
toxic, radioactive, ignitable, corrosive, reactive or otherwise hazardous
or
deleterious substance, waste or material, including petroleum, polychlorinated
biphenyls, asbestos and urea-formaldehyde insulation, to the extent regulated
or
defined pursuant to, any Environmental Law.
“HSR
Act” means the United States Xxxx-Xxxxx-Xxxxxx Antitrust Improvements
Act of 1976.
“Intellectual
Property” shall mean any and all U.S. and foreign intellectual property
and common law and statutory rights therein or associated therewith, including
without limitation: (i) patents and applications therefor
(“Patents”); (ii) works of authorship, copyrights,
copyrights registrations and applications therefor,
(“Copyrights”); (iii) industrial designs and any
registrations and applications therefor; (iv) trade names, logos, common
law trademarks and service marks, trademark and service xxxx registrations
and
applications therefor and all goodwill in the foregoing
(“Trademarks”); (v) URLs or other domain names (“Domain
Names”); (vi) trade secrets and confidential information
(“Trade Secrets”); (vii) inventions (whether patentable or
not), invention disclosures, industrial designs, improvements of any of the
foregoing; (viii) computer software, including source code and object code
and
any manuals and other documentation related thereto; and (ix) any similar
or
equivalent rights to any of the foregoing (as applicable).
4
“Interim
Order” means the interim order of the Court as contemplated by Section
2.01, providing for, among other things, the calling and holding of the Company
Meeting, as the same may be amended by the Court.
“Investment
Canada Act” means the Investment Canada Act.
“Investment
Canada Act Approval” means approval or deemed approval pursuant to the
Investment Canada Act by the applicable Minister(s).
“knowledge”
means, (i) with respect to the Company, the knowledge of the individuals
listed
on Section 1.01 of the Company Disclosure Schedule and (ii) with respect
to
Parent, the knowledge of Xxxx Xxxxxxxx and Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx.
“Lien”
means, with respect to any property or asset, any mortgage, deed of trust,
lien,
option, pledge, charge, security interest, lease or sublease, license or
sublicense, any imperfection or irregularity of title, encumbrance,
encroachment, or other adverse claim of any kind or nature in respect of
such
property or asset.
“Material
Adverse Effect” means (1) any event, change or effect that, when taken
individually or together with all other adverse effects, is, or is reasonably
likely to prevent consummation of the transactions contemplated herein or
otherwise to prevent the Company from performing its obligations hereunder,
or
(2) a material adverse effect on the financial condition, business,
capitalization, assets, liabilities or results of operations of the Company
and
its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, except any such effect resulting from
or
arising in connection with: (a) any change in GAAP or changes in regulatory
accounting requirements applicable to any industry in which the Company or
any
of its Subsidiaries operate; (b) any adoption, proposal, implementation or
change in Applicable Law or interpretations thereof by any Governmental
Authority; (c) any change in global, national or regional political
conditions (including the outbreak of war or acts of terrorism) or in general
economic, political or market conditions or in national or global financial
or
capital markets; (d) any change generally affecting any of the industries
in
which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries operate; (e) the execution,
announcement or performance of this Agreement or consummation of the
transactions contemplated hereby, including any loss or threatened loss of,
or
adverse change or threatened adverse change in, the relationship of the Company
or any of its Subsidiaries with its customers, employees, financing sources,
distributors or suppliers; (f) any change in the market price or trading
volume
of the equity securities of the Company, or any suspension of trading in
securities generally on any securities exchange on which the equity securities
of the Company trade (it being understood that the causes underlying such
change
in market price may constitute a Material Adverse Effect); (g) the failure
of
the Company in and of itself to meet any internal or public projections,
forecasts or estimates of revenues or earnings (it being understood that
the
causes underlying such failure may constitute a Material Adverse Effect);
(h)
any actions taken (or omitted to be taken) at the request of Parent; or (i)
any
action taken by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries which is required
pursuant to this Agreement, except, in the cases of clauses (a), (b), (c)
and
(d), to the extent such effects referred to therein would be reasonably likely
to have a materially disproportionate impact on the financial condition,
business, assets, liabilities or results of operations of the Company and
its
Subsidiaries, taken as a whole.
5
“Multiemployer
Plan” means (i) a multiemployer plan, as defined in Section 3(37) of
ERISA and (ii) a pension or employee benefit plan to which the Company or
any of
its Subsidiaries is required to contribute and which is not maintained by
the
Company or any of its Affiliates.
“1933
Act” means the United States Securities Act of 1933.
“1934
Act” means the United States Securities Exchange Act of
1934.
“OSC”
means the Ontario Securities Commission.
“Permitted
Liens” means (i) statutory Liens securing payments not yet due and for
which adequate
reserves have been established in accordance with GAAP, (ii) Liens for
real property Taxes not yet due and payable and for which proper reserves
have
been established in accordance with GAAP, (iii) easements, rights of way,
and
other similar encumbrances that do not materially affect the use of the
properties or assets subject thereto or affected thereby or otherwise materially
impair business operations at such properties, (iv) such Liens as do not
materially affect the use of the properties or assets subject thereto or
affected thereby or otherwise materially impair business operations at such
properties, and (v) for Leased Real Property, the lease that creates a leasehold
estate.
“Person”
means an individual, corporation, partnership, limited liability company,
association, trust or other entity or organization, including a government
or
political subdivision or an agency or instrumentality thereof.
“Plan
of Arrangement” means the plan of arrangement in the form of Schedule A
hereto and any amendments or variations made thereto in accordance with the
terms of this Agreement, the Plan of Arrangement or made at the direction
of the
Court in the Final Order.
“SEC”
means the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Shareholders”
means holders of Company Shares.
“SOX”
shall mean the Sarbanes Oxley Act.
“SSC”
means the Saskatchewan Securities Commission.
“Subsidiary”
means, with respect to any Person, any entity of which securities or other
ownership interests having ordinary voting power to elect a majority of the
board of directors or other persons performing similar functions are at any
time
directly or indirectly owned by such Person.
“Third
Party” means any Person, or group of Persons, other than Parent or any
of its Affiliates.
(a) Each
of the following terms is defined in the Section set forth opposite such
term:
6
Term
|
Section
|
Acceptable
Confidentiality Agreement
|
5.03(f)
|
Acquisition
Sub
|
Preamble
|
Adverse
Recommendation Change
|
5.03(a)
|
Agreement
|
Preamble
|
CBCA
|
Recitals
|
Commissioner
|
1.01(a)
|
Company
|
Preamble
|
Company
Board Recommendation
|
3.02
|
Company
Filings
|
3.07(a)
|
Company
Intellectual Property
|
3.23(a)
|
Company
Representatives
|
5.03(a)
|
Company
Securities
|
3.05
|
Company
Share
|
Recitals
|
Competition
Laws
|
3.03
|
Consideration
|
Recitals
|
Copyrights
|
1.01(a)
|
D&O
Insurance
|
6.03(b)
|
Debt
Commitment
|
4.07
|
Debt
Commitment Letter
|
4.07
|
Domain
Names
|
1.01(a)
|
Employee
Plan
|
3.15
|
End
Date
|
9.01(b)
|
Indemnified
Person
|
6.03(a)
|
internal
controls
|
3.07(c)
|
Material
Contract
|
3.19
|
Notes
|
7.09
|
Notice
Period
|
5.03(c)
|
Parent
|
Preamble
|
Parent
Expenses
|
10.05(c)
|
Patents
|
1.01(a)
|
Payment
Event
|
10.05(b)
|
Securities
Laws
|
3.03
|
Superior
Proposal
|
5.03(f)
|
Take
over Statute
|
3.21
|
Tax
|
3.14(f)
|
Taxing
Authority
|
3.14(f)
|
Tax
Return
|
3.14(f)
|
Termination
Fee
|
10.05(b)
|
Trade
Secrets
|
1.01(a)
|
Trademarks
|
1.01(a)
|
WARN
|
3.16(i)
|
WARN
Act
|
3.16(i)
|
Section
1.02. Other Definitional and Interpretative
Provisions. The
words “hereof”, “herein” and “hereunder” and words of like import used in this
Agreement shall
7
refer
to
this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular provision of this
Agreement. The captions herein are included for convenience of
reference only and shall be ignored in the construction or interpretation
hereof. References to Articles, Sections, Exhibits and Schedules are
to Articles, Sections, Exhibits and Schedules of this Agreement unless otherwise
specified. All Exhibits and Schedules annexed hereto or referred to
herein are hereby incorporated in and made a part of this Agreement as if
set
forth in full herein. Any capitalized terms used in any Exhibit or
Schedule but not otherwise defined therein, shall have the meaning as defined
in
this Agreement. Any singular term in this Agreement shall be deemed
to include the plural, and any plural term the singular. Whenever the
words “include”, “includes” or “including” are used in this Agreement, they
shall be deemed to be followed by the words “without limitation”, whether or not
they are in fact followed by those words or words of like
import. “Writing”, “written” and comparable terms refer to printing,
typing and other means of reproducing words (including electronic media)
in a
visible form. References to any agreement or contract are to that
agreement or contract as amended, modified or supplemented from time to time
in
accordance with the terms hereof and thereof. References to any
Person include the successors and permitted assigns of that
Person. References from or through any date mean, unless otherwise
specified, from and including or through and including,
respectively. References to a particular statute or law shall be to
such statute or law, as amended from time to time, and the rules and regulations
promulgated thereunder. Unless otherwise specified, all references to
money amounts are expressed in and all payments provided for herein shall
be
made in lawful money of the United States of America and “$” refers to U.S.
Dollars.
ARTICLE
2
The
Arrangement
Section
2.01. Interim Order. As
soon as reasonably practicable after the date hereof, the Company shall apply
to
the Court in a manner (including as to form, content and procedure) reasonably
acceptable to Parent, pursuant to Section 192 of the CBCA and, in cooperation
with the Parent, prepare, file and diligently pursue an application for the
Interim Order providing, among other things:
(a) for
the class of persons to whom notice is to be provided in respect of the
Arrangement and the Company Meeting and for the manner in which such notice
is
to be provided;
(b) that
the requisite approval for the Arrangement Resolution shall be two-thirds
of the
votes cast on the Arrangement Resolution by Shareholders present in person
or
represented by proxy at the Company Meeting;
(c) that,
in all other respects, the terms, restrictions and conditions of Company’s
articles of incorporation and bylaws, including quorum requirements and all
other matters, shall apply in respect of the Company Meeting;
(d) for
the grant of the Dissent Rights; and
(e) for
the notice requirements with respect to the presentation of the application
to
the Court for the Final Order.
8
Section
2.02. Final Order. If
the Interim Order is obtained and the Arrangement Resolution is passed at
the
Company Meeting as provided for in the Interim Order, Company shall as soon
as
reasonably practicable thereafter, in a manner (including as to form, content
and procedure) reasonably acceptable to Parent, take all steps necessary
or
desirable to submit the Arrangement to the Court and, in cooperation with
Parent, prepare, file and diligently pursue an application for the Final
Order
pursuant to Section 192 of the CBCA.
Section
2.03. Parent Review of
Filings. The
Company shall provide Parent with all drafts, copies of the final versions
of
and reasonable opportunity to review and comment on all applications, filings,
motions and other documents prepared by or on behalf of the Company in
connection with the Arrangement, consider (acting reasonably) all of the
comments on changes to such documents received from or on behalf of Parent
and
make such changes to such documents as are reasonably acceptable to the
Company.
Section
2.04. Articles of Arrangement and Effective
Date. The
Articles of Arrangement shall implement the Plan of Arrangement. On
the second Business Day after the satisfaction or waiver (subject to Applicable
Law) of the conditions (excluding conditions that, by their terms, cannot
be
satisfied until the Effective Date, but subject to the satisfaction or, where
permitted, waiver of those conditions as of the Effective Date) set forth
in
Article 8, unless another time or date is agreed to in writing by the parties,
the Articles of Arrangement shall be filed by the Company with the
Director. From and after the Effective Time, the Plan of Arrangement
will have all of the effects provided by Applicable Law, including the
CBCA. The closing of the transactions contemplated hereby will take
place at the offices of Xxxxx Xxxx & Xxxxxxxx located at 000 Xxxxxxxxx
Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000 on the Effective Date, or at such other
location as may be agreed upon by the parties.
Section
2.05. Guarantee of
Parent. Parent
hereby unconditionally and irrevocably guarantees the due and punctual
performance by Acquisition Sub of each and every obligation of Acquisition
Sub
arising under this Agreement and the Arrangement, including, without limitation,
the due and punctual payment of the Consideration pursuant to the
Arrangement.
ARTICLE
3
Representations
and Warranties of the Company
Except
as
disclosed in (i) the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
ended December 31, 2006 (excluding any risk factor disclosures contained
in such
documents under the heading “Risk Factors” and any disclosure of risks included
in any “forward-looking statements” disclaimer or other statements that are
similarly non-specific and are predictive or forward-looking in nature) if
the
relevance of such disclosure as an exception to one or more of the following
representations and warranties is reasonably apparent, or (ii) the Company
Disclosure Schedule, the Company represents and warrants to Parent
that:
Section
3.01. Corporate Existence and
Power. The
Company is a corporation duly incorporated and validly existing under the
laws
of Canada and has all corporate powers and authority to carry on its business
as
now conducted. The Company has all governmental licenses,
authorizations, permits, consents and approvals required to carry on
its
9
business
as now conducted, except for those licenses, authorizations, permits, consents
and approvals the absence of which has not had and would not be reasonably
expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect.
The Company is duly qualified to do business as a foreign corporation and
is in
good standing in each jurisdiction where such qualification is necessary,
except
for those jurisdictions where failure to be so qualified has not had and
would
not be reasonably expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material
Adverse Effect.
Section
3.02. Corporate Authorization. The
execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement and
the
consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated hereby are within
the Company’s corporate powers and have been duly authorized by the Board of
Directors of the Company and no other corporate proceedings on the part of
the
Company are necessary to authorize this Agreement or the transactions
contemplated hereby other than the approval by the Board of Directors of
the
Company of the Proxy Statement/Circular and the approval by Shareholders
in the
manner required by the Interim Order. This Agreement constitutes a
valid and binding agreement of the Company, enforceable against the Company
in
accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by
bankruptcy, insolvency, moratorium, reorganization or similar Applicable
Laws
affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally and general equitable
principles. As of the date hereof, the Board of Directors of the Company
has, at
a meeting duly called and held, (i) approved and declared advisable this
Agreement and the transactions contemplated herein, (ii) determined that
the
Arrangement is fair to the Shareholders and is in the best interests of the
Company, and (iii) resolved, subject to Section 5.03(d), to recommend that
the
Shareholders vote in favor of the Arrangement Resolution (such recommendation,
the “Company Board Recommendation”).
Section
3.03. Governmental
Authorization. The
execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement and
the
consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated hereby require
no
action by or in respect of, or filing with, any Governmental Authority other
than (i) any approvals required by the Interim Order; (ii) the Final Order;
(iii) filings with the Director under the CBCA; (iv) compliance with any
applicable requirements of the HSR Act, the Canadian Competition Act and
any
other applicable foreign antitrust or competition laws (collectively,
“Competition Laws”); (v) compliance with any applicable
requirements of the 1934 Act and any other applicable Canadian and U.S. federal,
national, state or provincial securities laws (collectively, “Securities
Laws”); (vi) compliance with the applicable rules and regulations of
the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange; and (vii) any actions
or
filings the absence of which has not had and would not be reasonably expected
to
have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect.
Section
3.04. Non-Contravention. The
execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement and
the
consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby do not and will not
(i)
contravene, conflict with, or result in any violation or breach of any provision
of the articles of incorporation or bylaws of the Company, (ii) assuming
compliance with the matters referred to in Section 3.03, contravene, conflict
with or result in a violation or breach of any provision of any Applicable
Law,
(iii) require any consent or other action by any Person under, constitute
a
default, or an event that, with or without notice or lapse of time or both,
would constitute a default, under, or cause or permit the
termination,
10
cancellation,
acceleration or other change of any right or obligation or the loss of any
benefit to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is entitled under
any
provision of any agreement or other instrument binding upon the Company or
any
of its Subsidiaries or (iv) result in the creation or imposition of any Lien
on
any asset of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, with such exceptions,
in
the case of each of clauses (ii) through (iv), as have not had and would
not be
reasonably expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material
Adverse Effect.
Section
3.05. Capitalization. (a) The
authorized capital stock of the Company consists of an unlimited number of
Company Shares, an unlimited number of first preferred shares and an unlimited
number of second preferred shares. As of April 30, 2007, there were
outstanding 47,223,792 Company Shares (of which 163,884 were Company Restricted
Shares), Company Options to purchase an aggregate of 123,125 Company Shares,
262,862 Company Performance Units (representing the opportunity to earn up
to
389,289.5 Company Shares), 125,097.777 Company Deferred Share Units, 5,444.21
Company Deferred Share Equivalents, no first preferred shares, no second
preferred shares and one Company Right in respect of each outstanding Company
Share. All outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company have
been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and nonassessable.
None of the outstanding shares of Company Common Stock are subject to, nor
were
they issued in violation of any, purchase option, call option, right of first
refusal, preemptive right, subscription right or any similar
right. Except as set forth in this Section 3.05 and for changes since
April 30, 2007 resulting from the exercise of Company Options outstanding
on
such date, as of the date hereof there are no outstanding (i) shares
of capital stock or voting securities of the Company, (ii)
securities of the Company convertible into or exchangeable for shares of
capital
stock or voting securities of the Company, (iii) equity equivalent interests
in
the ownership or earnings of the Company or other similar rights in respect
of
the Company or (iv) options or other rights to acquire from the
Company, or other obligation of the Company to issue, any capital stock,
voting
securities or securities convertible into or exchangeable for capital stock
or
voting securities of the Company (the items in clauses (i) through (iv) being
referred to collectively as the “Company
Securities”). There are no outstanding obligations of the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries to repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire
any of the Company Securities. There are no stockholder agreements,
voting trusts or other agreements or understandings to which the Company
or any
of its Subsidiaries is a party or by which it is bound relating to the voting
or
registration of any shares of capital stock of the Company. From
December 31, 2006 to the date of this Agreement, the Company has not declared
or
paid any dividend or distribution in respect of any Company Securities, and
neither the Company nor any Subsidiary of the Company has issued, sold or
repurchased any Company Securities, and their respective Boards of Directors
have not authorized any of the foregoing.
Section
3.06. Subsidiaries. (a) Exhibit
21.1 to the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K
for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006 includes all Significant
Subsidiaries (within the meaning of Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X of the 0000
Xxx)
of the Company. Each Subsidiary of the Company and Company Joint
Venture is a corporation, limited liability company or partnership, as the
case
may be, duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws
of
the jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization, as the case may be,
and
has all requisite corporate, limited liability company or partnership power
and
authority, as the case may be, to own, lease and operate its properties and
assets and to carry on its business as now being conducted, except where
the
failure to be so organized, validly
11
existing,
qualified or in good standing, or to have such power or authority, has not
had
and would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to
have
a Material Adverse Effect. The Company is, directly or indirectly,
the record and beneficial owner of all of the outstanding shares of capital
stock or other equity interests of each of the Subsidiaries, free and clear
of
any Liens. All shares of capital stock or other equity interests of
the Company Joint Ventures held by the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company
are free and clear of any Liens. All of such shares and other equity
interests so owned by the Company are validly issued, fully paid and
nonassessable (and no such shares have been issued in violation of any
preemptive or similar rights). The Subsidiaries of the Company and
the Company Joint Ventures are duly qualified to do business as a foreign
corporation and is in good standing in each jurisdiction where such
qualification is necessary, except for those jurisdictions where failure
to be
so qualified has not had and would not be reasonably expected to have,
individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect.
(b) There
have not been reserved for issuance, and there are no outstanding
(i) securities of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries convertible into
or exchangeable for shares of capital stock or voting securities of any
Subsidiary of the Company; (ii) rights or options to acquire from the
Company or its Subsidiaries, or obligations of the Company or its Subsidiaries
to issue, any shares of capital stock, voting securities or securities
convertible into or exchangeable for shares of capital stock or voting
securities of any Subsidiary of the Company; or (iii) equity equivalent
interests in the ownership or earnings of any Subsidiary of the Company or
other
similar rights in respect of any Subsidiary of the Company (the items in
clauses (i) through (iii) collectively, “Subsidiary
Securities”). There are no outstanding obligations of the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries to repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire
any Subsidiary Securities. There are no preemptive rights of any kind
which obligate the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to issue or deliver
any
Subsidiary Securities. There are no stockholder agreements, voting
trusts or other agreements or understandings to which the Company or any
of its
Subsidiaries is a party or by which it is bound relating to the voting or
registration of any shares of capital stock of any Subsidiary of the Company
or
preemptive rights with respect thereto. There are no restrictions of
any kind which prevent or restrict the payment of dividends or other
distributions by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries other than those
imposed
by Applicable Law.
Section
3.07. Securities Laws Filings. (a) The
Company has filed with the SEC and OSC each final registration statement,
prospectus, report, schedule, form, definitive proxy statement and document
required to be filed by it with the SEC pursuant to the 1933 Act or 1934
Act or
with the OSC pursuant to applicable Canadian Securities Laws since January
1,
2004 (the documents referred to in this Section 3.07, collectively, the
“Company Filings”). Each Company Filing, including
any financial statements or schedules included therein, as of its filing
date
or, in the case of a registration statement, effective date, (i) complied,
or in
the case of Company Filings made after the date hereof will comply, as to
form
in all material respects with the requirements of applicable Securities Laws
and
(ii) did not, and in the case of Company Filings made after the date hereof
will
not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any
material fact necessary in order to make the statements made therein, in
the
light of the circumstances under which they were made, not
misleading. None of the Company’s Subsidiaries has filed, or is
obligated to file, any forms, reports, schedules, statements or other documents
with the SEC or OSC. As of the date of this Agreement, there are no
outstanding or
12
unresolved
comments in comment letters received from the OSC, SSC or SEC staff with
respect
to the Company Filings. To the knowledge of the Company, none of OSC,
SSC or the Company Filings is the subject of ongoing OSC, SSC or SEC review,
outstanding OSC, SSC or SEC comment or outstanding OSC, SSC or SEC
investigation.
(b) The
Company has established and maintains disclosure controls and procedures
(as
defined in Rule 13a-15 under the 1934 Act). Such disclosure controls
and procedures are designed to ensure that material information relating
to the
Company, including its consolidated Subsidiaries, is made known to the Company’s
principal executive officer and its principal financial officer by others
within
those entities, particularly during the periods in which the periodic reports
required under the 1934 Act are being prepared.
(c) The
Company and its Subsidiaries have established and maintained a system of
internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15 under
the
1934 Act) (“internal controls”) sufficient to comply with all
legal and accounting requirements applicable to the Company. Such
internal controls are designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding
the
reliability of the Company’s financial reporting and the preparation of Company
financial statements for external purposes in accordance with
GAAP. The Company has disclosed, based on its most recent evaluation
of internal controls prior to the date hereof, to the Company’s auditors and
audit committee (x) any significant deficiencies and material weaknesses
in the
design or operation of internal controls that are reasonably likely to adversely
affect the Company’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial
information and (y) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management
or other employees who have a significant role in internal
controls. The Company has not received any complaint, allegation,
assertion, or claim in writing regarding the accounting practices, procedures,
methodologies, or methods of the Company or its internal controls, including
any
such complaint, allegation, assertion, or claim that the Company has engaged
in
questionable accounting or auditing practices.
(d) The
principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the Company
have
made all certifications required by the SOX and the regulations of the SEC
promulgated thereunder, and the statements contained in all such certifications
were as of the respective dates made complete and correct. The
Company is in material compliance with all applicable effective provisions
of
the SOX.
Section
3.08. Financial Statements.
The audited consolidated financial statements and unaudited consolidated
interim financial statements of the Company included or incorporated by
reference in the Company Filings (including the related notes and schedules,
where applicable) (i) complied or will comply in all material respects with
applicable accounting requirements and the published regulations of the SEC,
SSC
and OSC with respect thereto, (ii) were prepared or will be prepared in
accordance with GAAP (except, in the case of unaudited statements, as permitted
by the rules and regulations of the SEC) consistently applied during the
periods
involved (except as may be indicated in the notes thereto), and (iii) fairly
present or will fairly present, in all material respects, in conformity with
GAAP applied on a consistent basis (except as may be indicated in the notes
thereto), the consolidated financial position of the Company and its
consolidated Subsidiaries as of the dates thereof and their consolidated
results
13
of
operations and cash flows for the periods then ended (subject to normal year-end
adjustments and the absence of footnotes in the case of any unaudited interim
financial statements).
Section
3.09. Proxy
Statement/Circular. The
Company Proxy Statement/Circular and any amendments or supplements thereto
will,
when filed, comply as to form in all material respects with the applicable
requirements of the 1934 Act and other Applicable Laws. At the time
the Company Proxy Statement/Circular or any amendment or supplement thereto
is
first mailed to Shareholders, and at the time such Shareholders vote on adoption
of this Agreement, the Company Proxy Statement/Circular, as supplemented
or
amended, if applicable, will not contain any untrue statement of a material
fact
or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements
made therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made,
not
misleading. The representations and warranties contained in this
Section 3.09 will not apply to statements or omissions included in the Company
Proxy Statement/Circular based upon information furnished to the Company
by
Parent specifically for use therein.
Section
3.10. Absence of Certain
Changes.
Since December 31, 2006, the business of the Company and its Subsidiaries
has been conducted in the ordinary course consistent with past practices
and
there has not been any event, occurrence, development or state of circumstances
or facts that has had or would be reasonably expected to have, individually
or
in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect. Since December 31, 2006,
there has not been any change by the Company in its accounting methods,
principles or practices (in each case, except as required by a change in
GAAP)
or, other than in the ordinary course of the business, any revaluation by
the
Company of any of its assets, including, writing down the value of inventory
or
writing off notes or accounts receivable.
Section
3.11. No Undisclosed Material
Liabilities.
There are no liabilities or obligations of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries of any kind whatsoever, whether accrued, contingent, absolute,
determined, determinable or otherwise, other than: (i) liabilities or
obligations disclosed and provided for in the Company Balance Sheet or in
the
notes thereto or in the Company Filings filed since January 1, 2006 and prior
to
the date hereof; (ii) liabilities or obligations incurred in the ordinary
course
of business since December 31, 2006; (iii) liabilities or obligations incurred
in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby; and (iv) liabilities
or
obligations that have not had and would not be reasonably expected to have,
individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect.
Section
3.12. Compliance with Laws. The
Company and each of its Subsidiaries is, and since January 1, 2004 has been,
in
compliance with, has not been given notice of any violation of, and to the
knowledge of the Company is not under investigation with respect to and has
not
been threatened to be charged with, any Applicable Law and all applicable
rules
and regulations of the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange,
except for failures to comply or violations that have not had and would not
be
reasonably expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material
Adverse Effect.
Section
3.13. Litigation. As
of the date hereof, there is no claim, action, suit, investigation or proceeding
affecting, pending against, or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened
against, the Company or any of its Subsidiaries before any court, arbitrator
14
or
Governmental Authority, that has had or would be reasonably expected to have,
individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect. Neither
the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries or any of their businesses or properties
are subject to or bound by any injunction, order, judgment, decree or regulatory
restriction of any Governmental Authority specifically imposed upon the Company,
any of its Subsidiaries or their respective properties or assets, except
for any
injunction, order, judgment, decree or regulatory restriction which has not
had
or would not be reasonably likely to have, individually or in the aggregate,
a
Material Adverse Effect.
Section
3.14. Taxes. (a) All
material Tax Returns required by Applicable Law to be filed with any Taxing
Authority by, or on behalf of, the Company or any of its Subsidiaries have
been
filed when due in accordance with all Applicable Law (taking into account
any
applicable extensions), and all such material Tax Returns are, true and complete
in all material respects. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries
has paid (or has had paid on its behalf) or has withheld or collected and
remitted to the appropriate Taxing Authority all material Taxes due and payable,
or, where payment is not yet due, has established (or has had established
on its
behalf and for its sole benefit and recourse) in accordance with GAAP an
adequate accrual for all material Taxes. There is no claim, audit,
action, suit, proceeding or investigation now pending or, to the Company’s
knowledge, threatened against or with respect to the Company or its Subsidiaries
in respect of any material Tax or Tax asset.
(b) Neither
the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries (A) is a member of an affiliated
group
filing a consolidated U.S. federal income Tax Return, other than the U.S.
federal consolidated group consisting solely of Subsidiaries, or (B) to the
knowledge of the Company has any liability for Taxes of any person arising
from
the application of Treasury Regulation section 1.1502-6 or any analogous
provision of state, local or foreign law, or as a transferee or successor,
by
contract, or otherwise.
(c) To
the knowledge of the Company, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries
is
a party to, is bound by or has any obligation under any Tax sharing or Tax
indemnity agreement or similar contract or arrangement.
(d) Neither
Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has granted any waiver of any federal,
state, local or foreign statute of limitations with respect to, or any extension
of a period for the assessment of, any Tax.
(e) Neither
the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has engaged in a “reportable
transaction” under Section 6011 of the Code and the regulations
thereunder.
(f) “Tax”
means (i) any tax, governmental fee or other like assessment or charge of
any
kind whatsoever (including withholding on amounts paid to or by any Person),
together with any interest, penalty, addition to tax or additional amount
imposed by any Governmental Authority (a “Taxing Authority”)
responsible for the imposition of any such tax (domestic or foreign), and
any
liability for any of the foregoing as successor or transferee, and (ii) any
liability for the payment of any amount of the type described in clause (i)
as a
result of being or having been before the Effective Time a member of an
affiliated, consolidated, combined or unitary group, or a party to any agreement
or arrangement. “Tax Return” means any report,
return, document, declaration or other information or filing (including any
amendments or attachments
15
thereto)
required to be supplied to any Taxing Authority with respect to Taxes, including
information returns, any documents with respect to or accompanying payments
of
estimated Taxes, or with respect to or accompanying requests for the extension
of time in which to file any such report, return, document, declaration or
other
information.
Section
3.15. Employee Benefit Plans.
(a) Except as disclosed in the Company Filings filed before
the date hereof, there is no Employee Plan. “Employee
Plan” means each material “employee benefit plan,” as defined in
Section 3(3) of ERISA, and each material written employment, severance,
retention or similar contract, plan, arrangement or policy and each other
material written plan or arrangement providing for compensation, bonuses,
profit-sharing, stock option or other stock related rights or other forms
of
incentive or deferred compensation, including pensions, retirement benefits
or
post-employment benefits or any other employee benefits, which is maintained,
administered or contributed to by the Company, any of its Subsidiaries or
any
other ERISA Affiliate and covers any employee or former employee of the Company
or any of its Subsidiaries, or with respect to which the Company or any of
its
Subsidiaries has any liability, excluding any statutory benefit plans that
the
Company or its Subsidiaries are required to participate in or comply with
pursuant to Applicable Law and plans administered pursuant to applicable
health,
tax, workplace safety insurance and employment insurance legislation and
excluding Multiemployer Plans.
(b) No
material “accumulated funding deficiency,” as defined in Section 412 of the
Code, has been incurred with respect to any Employee Plan subject to Section
412
of the Code, whether or not waived. No material “reportable event,”
within the meaning of Section 4043 of ERISA and no event described in Section
4062 or 4063 of ERISA, has occurred in connection with any Employee Plan
subject
to ERISA.
(c) Neither
the Company nor any ERISA Affiliate nor any predecessor thereof contributes
to,
is required to contribute to or has in the past five years contributed to,
any
Multiemployer Plan. With respect to any Multiemployer Plan subject to
ERISA to which the Company, its Subsidiaries or any of their ERISA Affiliates
has any liability or contributes (or has at any time contributed or had an
obligation to contribute): (i) none of the Company, its Subsidiaries
or any member of their ERISA Affiliates has incurred any material withdrawal
liability under Title IV of ERISA or any other material withdrawal liability
or
obligation to make any material contribution, other than a current service
contribution, which remains unsatisfied or would be subject to such liability
if, as of the Effective Date, the Company, its Subsidiaries or any of their
ERISA Affiliates were to engage in a complete withdrawal (as defined in Section
4203 of ERISA) or partial withdrawal (as defined in Section 4205 of ERISA)
from
any such Multiemployer Plan; and (ii) to the knowledge of the Company no
such
Multiemployer Plan is in reorganization or insolvent (as those terms are
defined
in Sections 4241 and 4245 of ERISA, respectively).
(d) Each
Employee Plan which is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the
Code has received a favorable determination letter, or has pending or has
time
remaining in which to file an application for such determination, from the
United States Internal Revenue Service, and the Company is not aware of any
reason why any such determination letter should be revoked or not be
reissued. Additionally, with respect to each Employee Plan, the
Company has provided or made available to Parent a current, accurate and
complete copy (or, to the extent
16
no
such
copy exists, an accurate description) thereof and, to the extent applicable:
(i)
any summary plan description and other written mass communications by the
Company or its Subsidiaries to its employees concerning the extent of the
benefits provided under an Employee Plan and (ii) for the most recent year
(A)
the Form 5500 and attached schedules and (B) actuarial valuation
reports. Each Employee Plan has been registered, established,
administered, invested and maintained in material compliance with its terms,
all
applicable collective agreements and with the requirements prescribed by
any and
all statutes, orders, rules and regulations, including ERISA and the Code,
which
are applicable to such Employee Plan. No events have occurred with
respect to any Employee Plan subject to the Code that could result in payment
or
assessment by or against the Company of any material excise taxes under the
Code.
(e) Neither
the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has any material liability in respect
of
post-retirement health, medical, life insurance or other benefits for retired,
former or current employees of the Company or its Subsidiaries except as
required to avoid excise tax under Section 4980B of the Code.
(f) Neither
the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to or subject to, or is
currently negotiating in connection with entering into, any collective
bargaining agreement or other contract or understanding with a labor union
or
organization and, to the Company’s knowledge, no organizational effort is
presently being made or threatened by or on behalf of any labor union or
organization with respect to employees of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries.
(g) No
labor strike, slowdown, work stoppage, dispute, lockout or other labor
controversy is in effect, or to the knowledge of the Company, threatened,
and
neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has experienced any such
labor
controversy within the past three years.
(h) Neither
the Company nor any Subsidiary has engaged in any unfair labor practice which
has had or would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the
aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect, and no unfair labor practice charge
or
complaint, grievance or arbitration proceeding, or other collective bargaining
dispute is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, which
has
had or would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate,
a
Material Adverse Effect.
(i) Neither
the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has closed any plant or facility
or
effectuated any layoffs of employees within the past three years, nor has
any
such action or program been planned or announced for the future, that would
reasonably be expected to give rise to a material liability under the Worker
Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act or any similar state or local
law or
regulation (collectively, “WARN” or “WARN
Act”).
(j) There
is no action, suit, investigation, audit or proceeding pending against or
involving or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against or involving,
any Employee or any Employee Plan before any Governmental Authority that
has had
or would be reasonably expected to have, individually or in the aggregate,
a
Material Adverse Effect.
17
(k) Each
of the Employee Plans subject to Section 409A of the Code has been administered
in all material respects in good faith compliance with the applicable
requirements under Section 409A of the Code and the proposed regulations
issued
thereunder.
(l) None
of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries has been or is subject to any material
special or penalty assessment under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act
(Ontario) and any similar workers’ compensation legislation which has not been
paid.
(m) As
of the date hereof, the Company and its Subsidiaries have no formal plan
and
have made no promise or commitment, whether legally binding or not, to create
any additional Employee Plan or to improve or change in any material respect
the
benefits provided under any Employee Plan.
(n) Except
as would not reasonably be expected to be material to the Company and its
Subsidiaries, no event has occurred and no condition or circumstance exists
that
has resulted or, could reasonably result in any Employee Plan being ordered
or
required to be terminated or wound-up in whole or in part.
(o) There
are no entities other than the Company or its Subsidiaries participating
in any
Employee Plan. All employee data necessary to administer each
Employee Plan is in the possession of the Company or its Subsidiaries and
is in
a form which is sufficient for the proper administration of the Employee
Plan in
accordance with its terms and all Applicable Laws and, to the knowledge of
the
Company, such data is complete and correct.
Section
3.16. Environmental Matters. Except
as would not be reasonably expected to have, individually or in the aggregate,
a
Material Adverse Effect: (i) no written notice, order, complaint or penalty
has
been received by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries alleging a violation
by
or liability of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of or relating to
any
Environmental Law and to the Company’s knowledge, no such notice, order,
complaint or penalty is threatened, and there are no judicial, administrative
or
other actions, suits or proceedings pending or, to the Company’s knowledge,
threatened which allege a violation by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries
of
any Environmental Laws or allege any liability of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries under or relating to any Environmental Law; (ii) the Company
and
each of its Subsidiaries have all environmental permits, licenses, regulations
or other approvals necessary for their operations to comply with all applicable
Environmental Laws and are in compliance with the terms of same; (iii) the
Company and each of its Subsidiaries and their operations are in compliance
with
the terms of, and have not violated any, applicable Environmental Laws; (iv)
to
the Company’s knowledge, no Hazardous Substance is present at or about any of
the properties or facilities currently or formerly owned, leased or operated
by
the Company or any of its Subsidiaries in amount or condition that would
reasonably be expected to result in liability under any applicable Environmental
Law; (v) to the Company’s knowledge, none of the Company and its Subsidiaries
has released or disposed of or arranged for the disposal of any Hazardous
Substance in a manner or to a location that would reasonably be
expected to result in liability under any applicable Environmental Law; and
(vi)
none of the Company and its Subsidiaries has assumed or provided indemnity
against any liability under or relating to any Environmental Law.
18
Section
3.17. Real Property. Item
2 in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December
31, 2006 sets forth a true and complete list of the following: (i) all material
real property owned by the Company or one of its Subsidiaries as of the date
hereof (“Owned Real Property”) and (ii) all material real
property which is leased, licensed, or otherwise occupied by the Company
or one
of its Subsidiaries as of the date hereof (“Leased Real
Property”). Except as would not be reasonably expected to
have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect, (x) the
Company or one of its Subsidiaries has good and marketable title to all the
Owned Real Property free and clear of all Liens, except Permitted Liens,
and is
the lessee, licensee, or occupier of the Leased Real Property, free and clear
of
all Liens, except Permitted Liens, and is in peaceable possession of the
Leased
Real Property; and (y) each such document granting Company or its Subsidiaries
its right, title or interest in the Leased Real Property is valid without
default or breach thereunder by the Company or its Subsidiaries and, to the
knowledge of the Company and its Subsidiaries, the grantor of such right,
title
or interest in the Leased Property.
Section
3.18. Title to Assets.
The
Company and its Subsidiaries have good and valid title to, or valid and
enforceable right to use under existing franchises, easements or licenses,
or
valid and enforceable leasehold interests in, all of its tangible personal
properties, rights and assets necessary to carry on their businesses as now
being conducted, except for such defects that, individually or in the aggregate,
have not had and would not reasonably be expected to have, a Material Adverse
Effect, in each case free and clear of all Liens, except for Permitted
Liens.
Section
3.19. Material Contracts. Neither
the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to or bound by any contract,
arrangement, commitment or understanding as of the date hereof (i) that is
a
“material contract” (as such term is defined in Item 601(b)(10) of Regulation
S-K of the SEC) that has not been filed or incorporated by reference in the
Company Filings filed since January 1, 2006 and prior to the date hereof,
(ii)
that limits or restricts the Company or any of its Subsidiaries from engaging
in
any line of business or in any geographic area in any material respect, (iii)
under which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries has directly or indirectly
guaranteed any liabilities or obligations of a third party (other than ordinary
course endorsements for collection) in excess of $10,000,000 in the aggregate,
(iv) relating to indebtedness for borrowed money, whether incurred, assumed,
guaranteed or secured by any asset, with an outstanding principal amount
in
excess of $20,000,000, (v) relating to material joint venture or partnership
agreements, or (vi) involving continuing (contingent or otherwise) obligations
(other than immaterial ones) of the Company and its Subsidiaries for an amount
in excess of $20,000,000 (each, a “Material
Contract”). Except as would not be reasonably expected to
have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect, (i) neither
the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is in breach of or default (or received
notice of any condition which with or without the giving of notice, the passage
of time or both would cause a default) under the terms of any
Material Contract, (ii) as of the date hereof, to the knowledge of the Company,
no other party to any Material Contract is in breach of or default under
the
terms of any such Material Contract and (iii) each Material Contract is a
valid
and binding obligation of the Company or its Subsidiary that is a party thereto
and is in full force and effect.
19
Section
3.20. Anti-Takeover
Provisions. The
Board of Directors of the Company has taken all necessary action so that
any
takeover, anti-takeover, moratorium, “fair price, “control share” or other
similar anti-takeover Law enacted under any Applicable Law applicable to
the
Company (each, a “Takeover Statute”) do not, and will not,
apply to this Agreement, the Arrangement or other transactions contemplated
hereby. The Board of Directors of the Company has resolved to defer
the “Separation Time” (as defined in the Company Rights Plan) so that neither
the execution, delivery or performance of this Agreement nor the consummation
of
the transactions contemplated hereby will cause the Company Rights to become
exercisable.
Section
3.21. Opinions of Financial
Advisors. The
Board of Directors of the Company has received the opinions of Xxxxxxx, Xxxxx
& Co. and RBC Dominion Securities Inc., financial advisors to the Board of
Directors, to the effect that, as of the date of this Agreement, the
Consideration is fair to the Shareholders from a financial point of
view.
Section
3.22. Brokers. Except
for Xxxxxxx, Sachs & Co. and RBC Dominion Securities Inc., there is no
investment banker, broker, finder, financial advisor or other intermediary
that
has been retained by or is authorized to act on behalf of the Company or
any of
its Subsidiaries who might be entitled to any fee or commission from the
Company
or any of its Affiliates in connection with the transactions contemplated
by
this Agreement. The Company has made available to Parent a true and
complete copy of, all agreements between the Company and Xxxxxxx, Xxxxx &
Co. and RBC Dominion Securities Inc. pursuant to which such Persons would
be
entitled to any payment relating to the transactions contemplated
hereunder.
Section
3.23. Intellectual
Property. (a) Except
as would not be reasonably expected to have, individually or in the aggregate,
a
Material Adverse Effect, the Company and its Subsidiaries own all right,
title
and interest, free and clear of all Liens, in, or have sufficient right to
use,
all Intellectual Property used to conduct the business of the Company or
its
Subsidiaries as currently conducted or as proposed to be conducted
(collectively, the “Company Intellectual
Property”). Section 3.23(a) of the Company Disclosure
Schedule contains a complete and accurate list of the material registered
Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights and applications therefor. Except
as would not be reasonably expected to have, individually or in the aggregate,
a
Material Adverse Effect, all registrations and applications of the Company
Intellectual Property owned by the Company or its Subsidiaries are not invalid
or unenforceable.
(b) Except
as would not be reasonably expected to have, individually or in the aggregate,
a
Material Adverse Effect: (i) to the Company’s knowledge, neither the Company nor
any of its Subsidiaries nor any of its or their current products or services
or
other operations of the Company’s or its Subsidiaries’ business, or the use by
Company or its Subsidiaries of any Company Intellectual Property, infringes,
misappropriates or otherwise violates in any respect the Intellectual Property
rights of any Person; (ii) as of the date hereof, there is no suit, claim,
action, investigation or proceeding threatened, made, pending, conducted
or
brought by a Person alleging any such infringement, misappropriation or
violation, by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; (iii) the Company and
its
Subsidiaries are not subject to any court order, decree, settlement or other
agreement that restricts or impairs the use of any Company Intellectual
Property; and (iv) to the Company’s knowledge, no Person is infringing,
misappropriating or
20
otherwise
violating any of the Company Intellectual Property owned by the Company or
rights therein.
(c) Except
as would not be reasonably expected to have, individually or in the aggregate,
a
Material Adverse Effect, the Company and each of its Subsidiaries take and
have
taken all reasonable and appropriate steps to protect and preserve the
confidentiality of the Trade Secrets that comprise any part of the Company
Intellectual Property.
ARTICLE
4
Representations
and Warranties of Parent
Parent
represents and warrants to the Company that:
Section
4.01. Corporate Existence and
Power. Each
of Parent and Acquisition Sub is a corporation duly incorporated, validly
existing and in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of
incorporation and has all corporate powers and authority to carry on its
business as now conducted. Each of Parent and Acquisition Sub has all
governmental licenses, authorizations, permits, consents and approvals required
to carry on its business as now conducted, except for those licenses, permits,
consents and approvals the absence of which would not be, individually or
in the
aggregate, reasonably expected to prevent or materially delay the consummation
of the Arrangement. Each of Parent and Acquisition Sub is duly
qualified to do business as a foreign corporation and is in good standing
in
each jurisdiction where such qualification is necessary, except for those
jurisdictions where failure to be so qualified would not have, individually
or
in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to prevent or materially delay the
consummation of the Arrangement. Acquisition Sub has been formed
solely for the purpose of acquiring the Company Shares pursuant to this
Agreement and the Arrangement and prior to the Effective Time will have engaged
in no other business activities and will have incurred no liabilities or
obligations other than in connection with the Arrangement and as contemplated
herein and other than activities incidental to its formation.
Section
4.02. Corporate Authorization. The
execution, delivery and performance by Parent and Acquisition Sub of this
Agreement and the consummation by Parent and Acquisition Sub of the transactions
contemplated hereby are within the corporate powers of Parent and Acquisition
Sub and have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate
action. This Agreement constitutes a valid and binding agreement of
each of Parent and Acquisition Sub, enforceable against each of Parent and
Acquisition Sub in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability
may
be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, moratorium, reorganization or similar
Applicable Laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally and
general equitable principles.
Section
4.03. Governmental
Authorization. The
execution, delivery and performance by Parent and Acquisition Sub of this
Agreement and the consummation by Parent and Acquisition Sub of the transactions
contemplated hereby require no action by or in respect of, or filing with,
any
Governmental Authority, other than (i) any approvals required by the Interim
Order; (ii) the Final Order; (iii) filings with the Director under the CBCA;
(iv) compliance with requirements of any applicable Competition Laws; (v)
compliance with any applicable requirements of the Investment Canada Act;
and
(vi) any actions or filings the absence
21
of
which
would not be reasonably expected to materially impair or delay the ability
of
Parent and Acquisition Sub to consummate the transactions contemplated by
this
Agreement.
Section
4.04. Non-Contravention. The
execution, delivery and performance by Parent and Acquisition Sub of this
Agreement and the consummation by Parent and Acquisition Sub of the transactions
contemplated hereby do not and will not (i) contravene, conflict with, or
result
in any violation or breach of any provision of the certificate of incorporation
or bylaws of Parent or Acquisition Sub, (ii) assuming compliance with the
matters referred to in Section 4.03, contravene, conflict with or result
in a
violation or breach of any provision of any Applicable Law, (iii) require
any
consent or other action by any Person under, constitute a default, or an
event
that, with or without notice or lapse of time or both, could become a default,
under, or cause or permit the termination, cancellation, acceleration or
other
change of any right or obligation or the loss of any benefit to which Parent
or
Acquisition Sub is entitled under any provision of any agreement or other
instrument binding upon Parent or Acquisition Sub or (iv) result in the creation
or imposition of any Lien on any asset of the Parent or Acquisition Sub,
with
such exceptions, in the case of (ii) through (iv), as would not be reasonably
expected to materially impair or delay the ability of Parent and Acquisition
Sub
to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
Section
4.05. Proxy
Statement/Circular. None
of the information provided by Parent or Acquisition Sub for inclusion in
the
Company Proxy Statement/Circular or any amendment or supplement thereto,
at the
time the Company Proxy Statement/Circular or any amendment or supplement
thereto
is first mailed to Shareholders and at the time the Shareholders vote on
the
Arrangement, will contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit
to
state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements made therein,
in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not
misleading.
Section
4.06. Litigation. There
is no claim, action, suit, investigation or proceeding affecting, pending
against, or, to the knowledge of Parent, threatened against, Parent or
Acquisition Sub that in any manner challenges or seeks to prevent, enjoin,
alter
or materially delay the Arrangement or any of the other transactions
contemplated hereby.
Section
4.07. Financing. Parent
has delivered to the Company a copy of an executed commitment letter (the
“Debt Commitment Letter”), dated as of the date hereof, from
Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Handelsbanker Capital Markets, Svenska
Handelsbanker AB (Publ) and The Royal Bank of Scotland plc, as Mandated Lead
Arangers, and Citibank N.A., London Branch, Svenska Handelsbanken AB (Publ)
and
The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (such institutions, the
“Lenders”). Pursuant to the Debt Commitment Letter
and subject to the terms and conditions contained therein (including the
exhibits thereto), the Lenders have committed to provide $8,800,000,000 in
aggregate principal amount of debt financing to Parent at the Closing (the
“Debt Commitment”). The obligations to fund the
commitments under the Debt Commitment Letter are not subject to any condition
other than those set forth in the Debt Commitment Letter. Parent has
no knowledge of any fact or occurrence that would reasonably be expected
to (i)
make any of the assumptions or statements set forth in the Debt Commitment
Letter inaccurate, (ii) cause the Debt Commitment Letter to be ineffective
or
(iii) preclude in any material respect the satisfaction of the conditions
set
forth in the Debt Commitment Letter. As of the date hereof, the Debt
Commitment Letter is in full force and effect and has not been amended in
any
material respect, and the financing and other fees that are due and payable
on
or before the date hereof under the Debt Commitment Letter have been
paid
22
in
full. Subject to the terms and conditions of the Debt Commitment
letter, assuming for purposes of this representation that the conditions
set
forth in Section 8.02(a) and (b) are satisfied, the funds contemplated to
be
received pursuant to the Debt Commitment Letter will be sufficient to pay
the
aggregate Consideration pursuant to the Arrangement and to make all other
necessary payments (including related fees and expenses) by Parent and
Acquisition Sub in connection with the Arrangement.
Section
4.08. Share Ownership.
Neither Parent nor any of its Affiliates (including
Acquisition Sub), is the beneficial owner of any Company Shares.
Section
4.09. Finders’ Fees. Except
for Xxxxxxxxx & Co. LLC, whose fees will be paid by Parent, there is no
investment banker, broker, finder or other intermediary that has been retained
by or is authorized to act on behalf of Parent who might be entitled to any
fee
or commission from the Company or any of its Affiliates upon consummation
of the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
ARTICLE
5
Covenants
of the Company
The
Company agrees that:
Section
5.01. Conduct of the Company. From
the date hereof until the Effective Time, except as set forth in Section
5.01 of
the Company Disclosure Schedule, as expressly contemplated by this Agreement,
consented to in writing by Parent (which consent shall not be unreasonably
withheld or delayed) or as required by Applicable Law or Governmental Authority,
the Company shall, and shall cause each of its Subsidiaries to, conduct its
business in the ordinary course consistent with past practice and to use
its
commercially reasonable efforts to preserve intact its business organizations
and relationships with third parties and to keep available the services of
their
present officers and employees. Without limiting the generality of the
foregoing, from the date hereof until the Effective Time, except as set forth
in
Section 5.01 of the Company Disclosure Schedule, as expressly contemplated
by
this Agreement or as required by Applicable Law or Governmental Authority,
the
Company shall not, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to, without
the
prior written consent of Parent (which consent shall not be unreasonably
withheld or delayed):
(a) amend
its articles of incorporation, bylaws or other similar organizational
documents;
(b) split,
combine or reclassify any shares of capital stock of the Company or any of
its
Subsidiaries or declare, set aside or pay any dividend or other distribution
(whether in cash, stock or property or any combination thereof) in respect
of
the capital stock of the Company or its Subsidiaries, or redeem, repurchase
or
otherwise acquire or offer to redeem, repurchase, or otherwise acquire any
shares of capital stock of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, except
for
(i) dividends by any of its wholly-owned Subsidiaries and (ii) regular quarterly
cash dividends with customary record and payment dates on Company Shares
not in
excess of Cdn$0.20 per share per quarter;
23
(c) (i)
issue, deliver or sell, or authorize the issuance, delivery or sale of, any
shares of capital stock, or any options, warrants or similar rights exercisable
for or convertible into such capital stock, of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries, other than the issuance of (A) any Company Shares upon the
exercise of Company Options that are outstanding on the date of this Agreement
in accordance with the terms of those options on the date of this Agreement
and
(B) any shares of capital stock of any Subsidiary of the Company to the Company
or any other wholly-owned Subsidiary or (i) amend any term of any shares
of
capital stock, or any options, warrants or similar rights exercisable for
or
convertible into such capital stock, of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries;
(d) acquire
(by merger, consolidation, acquisition of stock or assets or otherwise),
directly or indirectly, any material amount of assets, securities, properties,
interests or businesses, other than the acquisition of raw materials and
supplies in the ordinary course of business consistent with past
practice;
(e) sell,
transfer, assign, deliver, lease, license, sublicense, mortgage, pledge,
encumber or otherwise dispose (in whole or in part), or create, incur, assume
or
subject any Lien on, any of the material assets, securities, properties,
interests, businesses or rights of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries
(including any Intellectual Property) (it being understood and agreed that
the
“Q&T Line” of the Company at Mobile shall constitute a material asset of the
Company for these purposes), other than the sale of inventories and products
and
non-exclusive licenses of Intellectual Property, in each case which are made
in
the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice;
(f) other
than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, make
any
material loans, advances, financial commitments or capital contributions
to, or
investments in, any other Person, or authorize or make any capital
expenditures;
(g) create,
incur, assume, suffer to exist or otherwise be liable with respect to any
material indebtedness for borrowed money or guarantees thereof other than
in the
ordinary course of business and in amounts and on terms consistent with past
practice;
(h) (i)
enter into any agreement or arrangement that limits or otherwise restricts
in
any material respect the Company, any of its Subsidiaries or any of their
respective Affiliates or any successor thereto or that would, after the
Effective Time, limit or restrict in any material respect the Company, any
of
its Subsidiaries, Parent or any of their respective Affiliates, from engaging
or
competing in any line of business, in any location or with any Person or
(ii)
waive, release or assign any material rights, claims or benefits of the Company
or any of its Subsidiaries;
(i) (i)
grant or increase any severance or termination pay to (or amend any existing
arrangement with) any director, officer or employee of the Company or any
of its
Subsidiaries, (ii) increase benefits payable under any existing severance
or
termination pay policies or employment agreements, (iii) enter into any
employment, deferred compensation or other similar agreement (or amend any
such
existing agreement) with or hire or terminate employment (except for just
cause)
of any director, officer or employee of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries,
(iv) establish, adopt or amend (except as required by Applicable Law) any
collective bargaining
24
or
similar
agreement or any Employee Plan or any, bonus, profit-sharing, thrift, pension,
retirement, deferred compensation, compensation, stock option, restricted
stock
or other benefit plan or arrangement covering any director, officer or employee
of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or (v) increase compensation, bonus
or
other benefits payable to any director, officer or employee of the Company
or
any of its Subsidiaries, other than in the case of clauses (i) through (v)
in
the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice;
(j) enter
into any employment, deferred compensation or other similar agreement (or
amend
any such existing agreement) with any director, officer or employee of the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries who is compensated at a salary or rate
of
compensation of $150,000 or more per year;
(k) make
any material change in the Company’s methods of accounting, except as required
by concurrent changes in GAAP, or pursuant to written instructions, comments
or
orders from the SEC, the OSC or any applicable securities regulatory authority
of the other provinces and territories of Canada;
(l) other
than in the ordinary course consistent with past practice (except as provided
in
Section 5.01(n) below): (i) enter into any agreement that if entered into
prior to the date hereof would be a Material Contract; (ii) modify, amend
in any
material respect, transfer or terminate any Material Contract or waive, release
or assign any material rights or claims thereto or thereunder; (iii) enter
into
or extend any lease with respect to Company’s Real Property; (iv) modify,
amend, transfer in any way or terminate any Company Intellectual Property
agreements, standstill or confidentiality agreement with any third party,
or
waive, release or assign any material rights or claims thereto or thereunder;
or
(v) enter into, modify, amend, transfer or terminate any contract to provide
exclusive rights or obligations;
(m) change
any method of Tax accounting, make or change any material Tax election, file
any
materially amended Tax Return, settle or compromise any material Tax liability,
agree to an extension or waiver of the statute of limitations with respect
to
the assessment or determination of Taxes, enter into any closing agreement
with
respect to any Tax or surrender any right to claim a material Tax refund,
except
in each case in the ordinary course of business and in a manner consistent
with
past practice;
(n) pay,
discharge, satisfy or settle any litigation or waive, assign or release any
material rights or claims except, in the case of litigation, any litigation
which settlement would not: (i) impose any injunctive or similar order on
the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries or restrict in any material respect the
business of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or (ii) exceed
$10,000,000 in cost or value to the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries;
(o) effectuate
a “plant closing” or “mass layoff” as those terms are defined in WARN or any
similar state or local Law, affecting in whole or in part any site of
employment, facility, operating unit or employee of the Company;
(p) take
any action or fail to take any action that is intended to, or would reasonably
be expected to, individually or in the aggregate, prevent, materially delay
or
materially impede
25
the
ability of Company to consummate the Arrangement or the other transactions
contemplated by this Agreement; or
(q) agree,
resolve or commit to do any of the foregoing.
Section
5.02. Interim Order; Company Meeting; Proxy
Statement/Circular.
(a) The Company shall convene and conduct the Company Meeting in
accordance with the Interim Order, the Company’s articles of incorporation and
bylaws and Applicable Laws as soon as reasonably practicable. Subject
to Section 5.03(d), the Board of Directors of the Company shall recommend
approval of the Arrangement Resolution by the Shareholders. In
connection with such meeting, the Company shall endeavor to (i) prepare and
file
the Company Proxy Statement/Circular with the SEC within 21 days following
the
date hereof, (ii) respond as promptly as reasonably practicable to any comments
received from the SEC with respect to the Proxy Statement/Circular, (iii)
as
promptly as reasonably practicable prepare and file (after Parent has had
a
reasonable opportunity to review and comment on) any amendments or supplements
to the Proxy Statement/Circular necessary to be filed in response to any
SEC
comments or as required by Applicable Law, (iv) use its reasonable best efforts
to have the SEC or its staff advise the Company that it either does not intend
to review the Proxy Statement/Circular or has no further comments on the
Proxy
Statement/Circular, as applicable, (v) after such time as (a) the SEC or
its
staff advises the Company that it either does not intend to review the Proxy
Statement/Circular or has no further comments on the Proxy Statement/Circular,
as applicable, and (b) the Interim Order is received, mail the Company Proxy
Statement/Circular and all other proxy materials for such meeting to its
Shareholders and any other Person required by the Interim Order and Applicable
Laws as promptly as practicable and cause the Company Proxy Statement/Circular
to be filed as required by the Interim Order and Applicable Laws, (vi) to
the
extent required by Applicable Law, as promptly as reasonably practicable
prepare, file and distribute to its Shareholders and any other Person required
by the Interim Order and Applicable Laws any supplement or amendment to the
Proxy Statement/Circular if any event shall occur which requires such action
at
any time prior to the Company Meeting, (vii) use its reasonable best efforts
to
solicit proxies in favor of the approval of the Arrangement Resolution and
(viii) otherwise comply with all legal requirements applicable to such
meeting.
(b) The
Company and Parent shall cooperate with one another in connection with the
preparation of the Company Proxy Statement/Circular. Parent and
Acquisition Sub shall furnish all information as may be reasonably required
by
the Company in connection with the preparation, filing and distribution of
the
Company Proxy Statement/Circular. Without limiting the generality of
the foregoing, (i) Parent and its counsel shall be given a reasonable
opportunity to review and comment on the Company Proxy Statement/Circular,
and
reasonable and good faith consideration shall be given to any comments made
by
Parent and its counsel, (ii) the Company shall provide Parent and its counsel
with (A) any comments or other communications, whether written or oral, that
the
Company or its counsel may receive from time to time from the SEC or its
staff
with respect to the Company Proxy Statement/Circular promptly after receipt
of
those comments or other communications and (B) a reasonable opportunity to
participate in the response to those comments and to provide comments on
that
response (to which reasonable and good faith consideration shall be given),
including by participating in any discussions or meetings with the SEC and
(iii)
each of Parent, Acquisition Sub and the Company shall promptly
26
notify
the
other parties if at any time before the Effective Time it becomes aware that
the
Proxy Statement/Circular or any application for an order hereunder contains
any
misstatement of a material fact or omits to state a material fact required
to be
stated therein or necessary to make the statements contained therein not
misleading in light of the circumstances in which they are made, or that
otherwise requires an amendment or supplement to the Proxy Statement/Circular
or
such application. In any such event, Parent, Acquisition Sub and the
Company shall cooperate in the preparation of a supplement or amendment to
the
Proxy Statement/Circular or such other document, as required and as the case
may
be, and, if required by Applicable Law or the Court, shall cause the same
to be
distributed to the Shareholders and filed with the SEC, the OSC and each
securities regulatory authority of the other provinces of Canada in which
the
Company is a reporting issuer.
Section
5.03. No Solicitation; Other
Offers.
(a) Subject
to Section 5.03(c) and Section 5.03(d), from the date hereof until the Effective
Time or, if earlier, the termination of this Agreement in accordance with
Article 9, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries shall, nor shall
the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries authorize or permit any of the directors,
officers, employees, Affiliates, investment bankers, attorneys, accountants
and
other advisors or representatives (collectively, “Company
Representatives”) to, directly or indirectly, (i) solicit, initiate or
take any action to facilitate or encourage, whether publicly or otherwise,
the
submission of any inquiries, proposals or offers or any other efforts or
attempts that constitute, or may reasonably be expected to lead to, any
Acquisition Proposal, (ii) enter into or participate in any discussions or
negotiations with, furnish any information relating to the Company or any
of its
Subsidiaries or afford access to the business, properties, assets, books
or
records of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to, otherwise cooperate
in any
way with, any inquiries, proposals or offers or any other efforts or attempts
that constitute, or may reasonably be expected to lead to, any Acquisition
Proposal, (iii) fail to make, withdraw or modify in a manner adverse to
Parent the Company Board Recommendation, or recommend an Acquisition Proposal
(any of the foregoing in this clause (iii), an “Adverse Recommendation
Change”), or (iv) enter into any agreement in principle, letter of
intent, term sheet or other similar instrument relating to an Acquisition
Proposal or enter into any agreement or agreement in principle requiring
the
Company to abandon, terminate or fail to consummate the transactions
contemplated hereby or breach its obligations hereunder or propose or agree
to
do any of the foregoing. Subject to Section 5.03(c) and Section
5.03(d), the Company shall immediately cease and cause to be terminated any
solicitation, encouragement, discussion or negotiation with any Persons
conducted heretofore by the Company, its Subsidiaries or any Company
Representatives with respect to any Acquisition Proposal and shall use its
(and
will cause the Company Representatives to use their) reasonable best efforts
to
require the other parties thereto to promptly return or destroy in accordance
with the terms of such agreement any confidential information previously
furnished by the Company, the Company’s Subsidiaries or the Company
Representatives thereunder.
(b) The
Company shall not release any Third Party from any confidentiality agreement
or
standstill agreement (except to allow such party to propose an Acquisition
Proposal to the Company), provided that the foregoing shall not prevent the
Board of Directors of the Company from considering and accepting any new
Acquisition Proposal that is determined to be a Superior Proposal that might
be
made by any such Third Party or taking any other actions
27
permitted
under this Section 5.03, provided that the remaining provisions of this Section
5.03 are complied with.
(c) Notwithstanding
anything in this Agreement to the contrary, if at any time following the
date of
this Agreement and prior to obtaining the approval of the Arrangement Resolution
by the Shareholders at the Company Meeting, (i) the Company receives an
Acquisition Proposal from a Third Party, (ii) the Board of Directors of the
Company determines in good faith, after consultation with its financial advisors
and outside counsel, that such Acquisition Proposal constitutes or could
reasonably be expected to result in a Superior Proposal and (iii) after
consultation with its financial advisors and outside counsel, the Board of
Directors of the Company determines in good faith that failure to take such
action could reasonably be expected to be inconsistent with its fiduciary
duties
under Applicable Law, then the Company may (A) furnish information with respect
to the Company and its Subsidiaries to the Person making such Acquisition
Proposal and (B) enter into, participate and maintain discussions or
negotiations with, and otherwise cooperate with or assist, the Person making
such Acquisition Proposal regarding such Acquisition Proposal; provided
that the Company (x) will not, and will not allow Company Representatives
to,
disclose any non-public information to such Person without entering into
an
Acceptable Confidentiality Agreement, and (y) will promptly provide to Parent
any material non-public information concerning the Company or its Subsidiaries
provided to such other Person which was not previously provided to
Parent. The Company shall promptly (within one (1) Business Day)
notify orally and in writing Parent in the event it receives an Acquisition
Proposal from a Person or group of related Persons, including the material
terms
and conditions thereof, and shall, at Parent’s request, inform Parent orally and
in writing as to the status, including any changes to the material terms,
of
such Acquisition Proposal.
(d) Notwithstanding
anything in this Agreement to the contrary, at any time prior to obtaining
the
approval of the Arrangement Resolution by the Shareholders at the Company
Meeting, if the Company receives an Acquisition Proposal which the Board
of
Directors of the Company concludes in good faith constitutes a Superior
Proposal, the Board of Directors of the Company may (i) effect an Adverse
Recommendation Change and/or (ii) terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section
9.01(d)(i) to enter into a definitive agreement with respect to such Superior
Proposal if the Board of Directors of the Company determines in good faith,
after consultation with outside counsel, that failure to take such action
could
be inconsistent with its fiduciary duties under Applicable Law; provided,
however, that the Board may not effect an Adverse Recommendation Change or
terminate the Agreement pursuant to Section 9.01(d)(i) unless (a) the Company
notifies Parent, in writing and at least five Business Days prior to such
Adverse Recommendation Change or termination (the “Notice
Period”), promptly of its intention to effect an Adverse Recommendation
Change or terminate this Agreement and to enter into a binding written agreement
concerning a Superior Proposal, attaching the most current version of all
relevant proposed transaction agreements and other material documents (and
a
description of all material terms and conditions thereof (including the identity
of the party making such Superior Proposal)), (b) the Company causes its
financial and legal advisors to, during the Notice Period, negotiate with
Parent
in good faith (to the extent Parent desires to negotiate) to make such
adjustments in the terms and conditions of this Agreement so that such
Acquisition Proposal ceases to constitute a Superior Proposal, and (c) Parent
does not make, within five Business Days of receipt of such written
notification, an offer that the Board of Directors of the Company determines
in
good faith, after consultation with its financial advisors,
28
is
at
least as favorable to the Shareholders as such Superior Proposal. In
the event of any material revisions to the applicable Superior Proposal,
the
Company shall be required to deliver a new written notice to Parent and to
comply with the requirements of this Section 5.03(c) with respect to such
new
written notice (to the extent so required), except that the Notice Period
shall
be reduced to three Business Days.
(e) Nothing
contained herein shall prevent the Board of Directors of the Company from
taking
and disclosing to its stockholders a position contemplated by Rules 14d-9
and
14e-2(a) promulgated under the 1934 Act or Section 99 of the Securities Act
(Ontario) with regard to an Acquisition Proposal provided, any
disclosure made pursuant to this Section 5.03(e) (other than a “stop, look and
listen” letter or similar communication of the type contemplated by Rule
14d-9(f) under the 0000 Xxx) shall be deemed to be an Adverse Recommendation
Change unless the Board of Directors of the Company expressly states in such
disclosure that its recommendation in favor of the approval of the Arrangement
Resolution has not changed.
(f) As
used in this Agreement, the term:
(i) “Superior
Proposal” means a bona fide written Acquisition Proposal, which was not
obtained in violation of this Section 5.03, and that the Board of Directors
of
the Company in good faith determines, would, if consummated, result in a
transaction that is more favorable from a financial point of view to the
Shareholders (in their capacity as Shareholders) than the transactions
contemplated hereby (x) after receiving the advice of its financial advisor,
(y)
after taking into account the likelihood of consummation of such transaction
on
the terms set forth therein (as compared to the terms herein) and (z) after
taking into account all appropriate legal (with the advice of outside counsel),
financial (including the financing terms of any such proposal), regulatory
or
other aspects of such proposal and any other relevant factors permitted by
Applicable Law; provided that for purposes of the definition of
“Superior Proposal”, the references to “25% or more” in the definition of
Acquisition Proposal shall be deemed to be references to “a majority” and the
definition of Acquisition Proposal shall only refer to a transaction or series
of transactions (i) directly involving the Company (and not exclusively its
Subsidiaries) or (ii) involving a sale or transfer of all or substantially
all
of the assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole;
and
(ii) “Acceptable
Confidentiality Agreement” means a confidentiality agreement that
contains provisions that are no less favorable in the aggregate to the Company
than those contained in the Confidentiality Agreement (provided that such
agreement may contain a less restrictive or no standstill restriction, in
which
case the Confidentiality Agreement shall be deemed to be amended to contain
only
such less restrictive provision, or to omit such provision, as
applicable).
Section
5.04. No Control of Other Party’s
Business. Nothing
contained in this Agreement is intended to give Parent, directly or indirectly,
the right to control or direct the Company’s or its Subsidiaries’ operations
prior to the Effective Time, and nothing contained in this Agreement is intended
to give the Company, directly or indirectly, the right to control or direct
Parent’s or its Subsidiaries’ operations. Prior to the Effective
Time, each of Parent and the
29
Company
shall exercise, consistent with the terms and conditions of this Agreement,
complete control and supervision over its and its Subsidiaries’ respective
operations.
ARTICLE
6
Covenants
of Parent
Parent
agrees that:
Section
6.01. Conduct of Parent and Acquisition
Sub. Each
of Parent and Acquisition Sub agrees that, from the date of this Agreement
to
the Effective Time, it shall not take any action or fail to take any action
that
is intended to, or would reasonably be expected to, individually or in the
aggregate, prevent, materially delay or materially impede the ability of
Parent
and Acquisition Sub to consummate the Arrangement or the other transactions
contemplated by this Agreement.
Section
6.02. Voting of Shares. Parent
shall vote any Company Shares beneficially owned by it or any of its
Subsidiaries in favor of the Arrangement Resolution at the Company
Meeting.
Section
6.03. Director and Officer
Liability.
(a) From
and after the Effective Time, Parent shall, and shall cause the Company to,
indemnify and hold harmless, to the fullest extent permitted under Applicable
Law (and to also advance expenses as incurred to the fullest extent permitted
under Applicable Law), each present and former director and officer of the
Company and its Subsidiaries (each, an “Indemnified Person”)
against any costs or expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees), judgments,
fines, losses, claims, damages or liabilities incurred in connection with
any
claim, action, suit, proceeding or investigation, whether civil, criminal,
administrative or investigative, arising out of or related to such Indemnified
Person’s service as a director or officer of the Company or its Subsidiaries or
services performed by such Persons at the request of the Company or its
Subsidiaries at or prior to the Effective Time, whether asserted or claimed
prior to, at or after the Effective Time, including the approval of this
Agreement, the Arrangement or the other transactions contemplated by this
Agreement or arising out of or related to this Agreement and the transactions
contemplated hereby. Neither Parent nor the Company shall settle,
compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment in any claim, action,
suit,
proceeding or investigation or threatened claim, action, suit, proceeding
or
investigation without the consent of an Indemnified Person (such consent
not to
be unreasonably withheld) (i) unless such settlement, compromise or consent
includes an unconditional release of such Indemnified Person (which release
shall be in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to such Indemnified
Person) from all liability arising out of such action, suit, proceeding,
investigation or claim or (ii) that includes an admission of fault of such
Indemnified Person.
(b) Prior
to the Effective Time, the Company shall and, if the Company is unable to,
Parent shall cause the Company as of the Effective Time, to obtain and fully
pay
the premium for the extension of (i) the directors’ and officers’ liability
coverage of the Company’s existing directors’ and officers’ insurance policies
and (ii) the Company’s existing fiduciary liability insurance policies, in each
case for a claims reporting or discovery period of at least six
years
30
from
and
after the Effective Time with respect to any claim related to any period
or time
at or prior to the Effective Time from an insurance carrier with the same
or
better credit rating as the Company’s current insurance carrier with respect to
directors’ and officers’ liability insurance and fiduciary liability insurance
(collectively, “D&O Insurance”) with terms, conditions,
retentions and limits of liability that are no less advantageous than the
coverage provided under the Company’s existing policies with respect to any
actual or alleged error, misstatement, misleading statement, act, omission,
neglect, breach of duty or any matter claimed against a director or officer
of
the Company or any of its Subsidiaries by reason of him or her serving in
such
capacity that existed or occurred at or prior to the Effective Time (including
in connection with this Agreement or the transactions or actions contemplated
hereby). If the Company for any reason fail to obtain such “tail”
insurance policies as of the Effective Time, the Company shall continue to
maintain in effect for a period of at least six years from and after the
Effective Time the D&O Insurance in place as of the date hereof with terms,
conditions, retentions and limits of liability that are no less advantageous
than the coverage provided under the Company’s existing policies as of the date
hereof, or the Company shall purchase comparable D&O Insurance for such
six-year period with terms, conditions, retentions and limits of liability
that
are at least as favorable as provided in the Company’s existing policies as of
the date hereof; provided that in no event shall Parent or the Company
be required to expend for such policies pursuant to this sentence an annual
premium amount in excess of 300% of the annual premiums currently paid by
the
Company for such insurance; and provided, further, that if the annual
premiums of such insurance coverage exceed such amount, the Company shall
obtain
a policy with the greatest coverage available for a cost not exceeding such
amount.
(c) If
the Company or any of its successors or assigns shall (i) amalgamate,
consolidate with or merge or wind-up into any other Person and shall not
be the
continuing or surviving corporation or entity or (ii) transfer all or
substantially all of its properties and assets to any Person, then, and in
each
such case, proper provisions shall be made so that the successors and assigns
of
the Company shall assume all of the obligations set forth in this Section
6.03.
(d) This
Section 6.03 shall survive the consummation of the Arrangement and is intended
to be for the benefit of, and shall be enforceable by, the Indemnified Persons
and their respective heirs and personal representatives and shall be binding
on
the Company and its successors and assigns. If any Indemnified Person
makes any claim for indemnification or advancement of expenses under this
Section 6.03 that is denied by the Company or Parent, and a court of competent
jurisdiction determines that the Indemnified Person is entitled to such
indemnification, then the Company or Parent shall pay such Indemnified Person’s
costs and expenses, including reasonable legal fees and expenses, incurred
in
connection with pursuing such claim against the Company or Parent.
(e) The
rights of the Indemnified Persons under this Section 6.03 shall be in addition
to any rights such Indemnified Persons may have under the articles of
incorporation or bylaws of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or under
any
Applicable Law or under any agreement or contract of any Indemnified Person
with
the Company or any of its Subsidiaries. All rights to indemnification
and exculpation from liabilities for acts or omissions occurring at or prior
to
the Effective Time and rights to advancement of expenses relating thereto
now
existing in favor of any Indemnified Person as provided in the certificate
of
incorporation or bylaws of the Company or of any Subsidiary of the Company
or
any indemnification contract or agreement between such
31
Indemnified
Person and the Company or any of its Subsidiaries shall survive the Effective
Time and shall not be amended, repealed or otherwise modified in any manner
that
would adversely affect any right thereunder of any such Indemnified
Person.
ARTICLE
7
Covenants
of Parent and the Company
The
parties hereto agree that:
Section
7.01. Best Efforts; Further
Assurances.
(a) Subject
to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, Parent and the Company shall
use
their best efforts to take, or cause to be taken, all actions and to do,
or
cause to be done, all things necessary, proper or advisable under Applicable
Law
to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement as soon as
practicable, including (i) preparing and filing as promptly as practicable
with
any Governmental Authority or other third party all documentation to effect
all
necessary filings, notices, petitions, statements, registrations, submissions
of
information, applications and other documents and (ii) obtaining and maintaining
all approvals, consents, registrations, permits, authorizations and other
confirmations required to be obtained from any Governmental Authority or
other
third party that are necessary, proper or advisable to consummate the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(b) In
furtherance and not in limitation of the foregoing, each of Parent and the
Company agrees to make an appropriate filing of a Notification and Report
Form
pursuant to the HSR Act, an appropriate filing or application pursuant to
the
Canadian Competition Act, and any filings or applications required pursuant
to
any other applicable Competition Law with respect to the transactions
contemplated hereby as promptly as practicable after the date
hereof.
(c) Each
of Parent and the Company agree to (i) supply as promptly as practicable
any
additional information and documentary material that may be reasonably requested
by any Governmental Authority pursuant to the HSR Act, the Canadian Competition
Act, any other applicable Competition Law and the Investment Canada Act and
(ii)
to consult and cooperate with the other party with respect to (including
reviewing material correspondence before submitting same to any Governmental
Authority or that is received from any Governmental Authority), and to permit
the other party to be present at conferences and meetings for the purpose
of,
obtaining clearance under the HSR Act, the Canadian Competition Act, any
other
applicable Competition Law and the Investment Canada Act.
(d) Notwithstanding
anything in this Agreement to the contrary, if any objections are asserted
with
respect to the transactions contemplated hereby under the HSR Act, the Canadian
Competition Act or any other applicable Competition Law, or if any suit,
action
or proceeding is instituted or threatened by any Governmental Authority
challenging any of the transactions contemplated hereby as violative of the
HSR
Act, the Canadian Competition Act or any other applicable Competition Law,
each
of Parent and the Company shall use its best efforts to resolve such objections,
suit, action or proceeding so as to allow the Effective Time to occur prior
to
the End Date. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, in
exercising its best efforts, and in exercising its best efforts to obtain
Investment Canada Act Approval, Parent shall, and shall
32
cause
its
Subsidiaries and controlled Affiliates to, take all necessary action, including
agreeing to hold separate or to divest any of the businesses or properties
or
assets of Parent or any of its Affiliates (including any assets acquired
or to
be acquired by Parent pursuant to the transactions contemplated hereby),
to
terminate any existing relationships and contractual rights and obligations,
and
to enter into licensing arrangements or undertakings, as may be required
(i) by
the applicable Governmental Authority in order to resolve such objections
that
such Governmental Authority may have to such transactions under the HSR Act,
the
Canadian Competition Act or any other applicable Competition Law, (ii) by
any
domestic or foreign court or other tribunal, in any suit, action or proceeding
brought by any Governmental Authority challenging such transactions as violative
of the HSR Act, the Canadian Competition Act or any other applicable Competition
Law, in order to resolve such objections, avoid the entry of, or to effect
the
dissolution, vacating, lifting, altering or reversal of, any order that has
the
effect of restricting, preventing or prohibiting the consummation of the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement or (iii) to obtain Investment
Canada
Act Approval, so as to allow the Effective Time to occur prior to the End
Date;
provided, however, that the Parent may expressly condition any such
sale, holding separate or other disposal, and any agreement to take any such
action or to conduct its business in any manner, upon consummation of the
Arrangement and the other transactions contemplated hereby. If any
suit, action or proceeding is instituted or threatened by any private party
challenging any of the transactions contemplated hereby as violative of the
HSR
Act, the Canadian Competition Act or any other applicable Competition Law,
each
of Parent and the Company shall contest such suit, action or proceeding to
the
fullest extent permitted by Applicable Law.
(e) From
the date of this Agreement until the Effective Date neither Parent nor the
Company will enter into or consummate any acquisition or license agreement
which
would present a material risk of making it materially more difficult to obtain
any approval or authorization required in connection with the transactions
contemplated herein with respect to the HSR Act, the Canadian Competition
Act or
any other applicable Competition Law.
(f) Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary in this Agreement, in connection with obtaining
any
approval or consent from any Person with respect to the Arrangement, no party
or
its Affiliates shall be required to pay or commit to pay to such Person any
cash
or other consideration, make any commitment or to incur any liability or
other
obligation (provided, however, that such party shall give the other parties
hereto the opportunity to make such payments); provided, however, this in
no way
limits the obligations of Parent to hold separate or to divest any of the
businesses or properties or assets of Parent or any of its Affiliates (including
any assets acquired or to be acquired by Parent pursuant to the transactions
contemplated hereby), to terminate any existing relationships and contractual
rights and obligations and to enter into licensing arrangements or commitments,
obligations or liabilities in respect of undertakings, as set forth above
in
Section 7.01(d).
Section
7.02. Public Announcements. Parent
and the Company shall consult with each other before issuing any press release,
making any other public statement or scheduling any press conference or
conference call with investors or analysts with respect to this Agreement
or the
transactions contemplated hereby and, except as may be required by Applicable
Law or any listing agreement with or rule of any national securities exchange
or
association, shall not issue any such press release, make any such other
public
statement or
33
schedule
any such press conference or conference call without the consent of the other
party (not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed).
Section
7.03. Access to Information. From
the date hereof until the Effective Time and subject to Applicable Law and
the
Confidentiality Agreement, the Company shall (i) give to Parent, its counsel,
financial advisors, auditors and other authorized representatives reasonable
access to the offices, properties, books and records of the Company and its
Subsidiaries, (ii) furnish to Parent, its counsel, financial advisors, auditors
and other authorized representatives such financial and operating data and
other
information as such Persons may reasonably request and (iii) instruct its
employees, counsel, financial advisors, auditors and other authorized
representatives to cooperate with Parent in its investigation. Any
investigation pursuant to this Section shall be conducted during normal business
hours and in such manner as not to interfere unreasonably with the conduct
of
the business of the Company and its Subsidiaries. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, (i) the Company shall not be obligated to provide access to, or
to
disclose, any information to Parent if the Company reasonably determines
that
such access or disclosure would jeopardize the attorney-client privilege
of the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries or violate any Applicable Law (provided
that
the Company shall use its reasonable best efforts to enable the provision
of
reasonable access without violating such Applicable Law) or confidentiality
obligations (provided that the Company shall use its reasonable best efforts
to
obtain waivers to such obligations or implement requisite procedures to enable
reasonable access without violating such obligations) and (ii) Parent shall
have
no right to perform invasive or subsurface investigations of the properties
or
facilities of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries. The parties
will make appropriate substitute arrangements under circumstances in which
the
restrictions of the preceding sentence apply. No information or
knowledge obtained in any investigation pursuant to this Section shall affect
or
be deemed to modify any representation or warranty made by any party
hereunder.
Section
7.04. Notices of Certain
Events. Each
of the Company and Parent shall promptly notify the other of:
(a) the
occurrence, or non-occurrence, of any event that, individually or in the
aggregate, would reasonably be expected to cause any condition to the
obligations of any party to effect the Arrangement and the other transactions
contemplated by this Agreement not to be satisfied; and
(b) any
failure of such party to comply with or satisfy any covenant, condition or
agreement to be complied with or satisfied by it hereunder which, individually
or in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to result in any condition
to
the obligations of any party to effect the Arrangement and the other
transactions contemplated by this Agreement not to be satisfied;
provided,
however, that the delivery of any notice pursuant to this Section 7.04
shall not limit or otherwise affect the remedies available hereunder to the
party receiving that notice.
Section
7.05. Confidentiality.
Parent and Acquisition Sub shall hold, and shall cause their counsel,
financial advisors, auditors and other authorized representatives to hold,
in
strict confidence all nonpublic documents and confidential information furnished
to
34
Parent,
Acquisition Sub or any of such counsel, financial advisors, auditors and
other
authorized representatives in connection with the transactions contemplated
by
this Agreement in accordance with the Confidentiality Agreement.
Section
7.06. Employee Matters.
(a) For a period of 12 months following the Effective Date, each
of the Company and Parent agree to provide, or cause the Company and each
of its
Subsidiaries to provide, to each employee of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries compensation (which term shall include, for purposes of this
subsection severance compensation) not less than, and benefits that in the
aggregate are substantially similar to, the compensation and benefits provided
to each such employee immediately prior to the Effective Time (excluding,
for
all purposes, equity-based compensation); provided that no provision of
this Section 7.06 shall give any employee of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries any right to continued employment or impair in any way the right
of
the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to terminate the employment of any
employee.
(b) Each
of the Company and Parent shall give, or cause the Company and each of its
Subsidiaries to give, all current and former employees of the Company or
any of
its Subsidiaries full credit for purposes of eligibility, vesting and benefit
accrual (but not including accrual of benefits under any defined benefit
pension
plan), under the employee benefit plans and arrangements maintained by Parent
or
the Company, its Subsidiaries or Affiliates in which such employees participate
after the Effective Time, for such employees’ service with the Company, its
Subsidiaries or their respective Affiliates or predecessors prior to such
date.
(c) With
respect to all welfare benefit plans maintained by Parent or the Company
or its
Subsidiaries for the benefit of employees of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries on and after the Effective Time, each of the Company and Parent
shall, or shall cause the Company’s Subsidiaries to (i) cause there to be waived
any eligibility requirements or pre-existing condition limitations and (ii)
give
effect, in determining any deductible and maximum out-of-pocket limitations,
to
amounts paid by such employees with respect to similar plans maintained by
the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries prior to the Effective Time.
(d) From
and after the Effective Time, Parent shall honor and perform, or cause the
Company to honor and perform, all of the obligations of the Company and any
of
its Subsidiaries under employment and other agreements with current or former
employees and employee benefit plans in accordance with their terms as in
effect
immediately before the Effective Time.
(e) No
provision of this Section 7.06 shall create any third party beneficiary rights
in any employee or former employees of the Company (including any beneficiary
or
dependent thereof) or in any other Person and no provision of this Section
7.06
is intended to operate as an amendment of any Employee Plan subject to
ERISA.
(f) As
promptly as reasonably practicable after request by Parent, the Company shall
make available to the Parent for review, all material inspection reports
under
the Occupational Health and Safety Act (Ontario) and Workplace Safety and
Insurance Act (Ontario) or other similar Applicable Laws of any
jurisdiction against the Company or any of the Subsidiaries and there are
no outstanding inspection orders under such Applicable Laws against the
Company or any of the Subsidiaries.
35
Section
7.07. Financing Assistance.
(a) Prior
to the Closing, the Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts
to,
and shall cause its Subsidiaries and its and their respective officers,
employees and representatives to use their commercially reasonable efforts
to,
assist Parent in connection with the arrangement of any financing to be
consummated prior to or contemporaneously with the Closing in respect of
the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including any refinancing or
replacement of any existing, or the arrangement of any new, facility for
indebtedness of the Company and its Subsidiaries; provided that such assistance
does not (i) unreasonably interfere with the ongoing operations of the Company
or any of its Subsidiaries or give rise to costs or expenses of the Company
or
any of its Subsidiaries that are not advanced or promptly reimbursed by Parent,
(ii) cause any representation or warranty in this Agreement to be breached,
(iii) cause any condition to Closing set forth in Article 8 to fail to be
satisfied or otherwise cause any breach of this Agreement or any material
agreement to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party or (iv)
involve any binding commitment by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries
which
commitment is not conditioned on the Closing and does not terminate without
liability to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries upon the termination
of this
Agreement.
(b) The
Company shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries and shall use commercially
reasonable efforts to cause its and their respective officers, employees
and
representatives to (i) enter into customary agreements, including underwriting
and purchase agreements, in connection with the debt financing, (ii) participate
in meetings, due diligence sessions and road shows, (iii) assist in preparing
offering memoranda, rating agency presentations, private placement memoranda,
prospectuses and similar documents, (iv) use commercially reasonable efforts
to
obtain comfort letters of accountants and legal opinions, and (v) otherwise
make
available documents and information relating to the Company and its
Subsidiaries, in the case of each of (i) through (v), as may be reasonably
requested by Parent; provided that the foregoing clauses (i) through
(v) do not (A) unreasonably interfere with the ongoing operations of the
Company
or any of its Subsidiaries or give rise to costs or expenses of the Company
or
any of its Subsidiaries that are not advanced or promptly reimbursed by Parent,
(B) cause any representation or warranty in this Agreement to be breached,
(C)
cause any condition to Closing set forth in Article 8 to fail to be satisfied
or
otherwise cause any breach of this Agreement or any material agreement to
which
the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party of (D) involve any binding
commitment by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries which commitment is
not
conditioned on the Closing and does not terminate without liability to the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries upon the termination of this
Agreement.
Section
7.08. Debt Offer. To
the extent requested by Parent, the Company shall cooperate with Parent in
an
offer to purchase on or immediately prior to the Effective Date all of the
outstanding aggregate principle amount of the Company’s 8.75% Senior Notes due
2013 (the “Notes”) or any other action with respect to the
Notes reasonably requested by Parent; provided that (i) in no case will the
Company be required to accept for payment Notes prior to the Effective Time
and
(ii) Parent agrees to reimburse the Company and its Subsidiaries and hold
them
harmless from and against any liabilities, losses, costs and expenses incurred
in connection with such offer.
36
Section
7.09. Repayment of Senior
Indebtedness. If
requested by Parent, on or immediately prior to the Effective Time, the Company
shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to deliver to Parent copies
of
payoff letters (subject to delivery of funds as arranged by Parent), in
commercially reasonable form, from the administration agent under (a) the
Credit
Agreement dated as of December 1, 2006 among the Company, Bank of America,
N.A.,
and the other parties thereto, (b) the $350,000,000 Bridge Loan Agreement
dated
as of December 1, 2006 among the Company, Bank of America, N.A., and the
other
parties thereto, and (c) all indebtedness for borrowed money (other than
the
Notes), and shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to make arrangements
for the release of all Liens and other security over the Company’s and its
Subsidiaries’ properties and assets securing such obligations on or immediately
prior to the Effective Date (subject to delivery of funds as arranged by
Parent).
ARTICLE
8
Conditions
to the Arrangement
Section
8.01. Conditions to the Obligations of Each
Party. The
obligations of the Company, Parent and Acquisition Sub to consummate the
Arrangement are subject to the satisfaction of the following
conditions:
(a) the
Arrangement Resolution shall have been approved and adopted at the Company
Meeting in accordance with the Interim Order;
(b) the
Interim Order and the Final Order shall each have been obtained on terms
consistent with this Agreement and in a form satisfactory to each of the
Company
and Parent, acting reasonably, and shall not have been set aside or modified
in
a manner unacceptable to the Company and Parent, acting reasonably, on appeal
or
otherwise;
(c) no
Applicable Law shall prohibit the consummation of the Arrangement or result
in
any judgment or assessment of damages, directly or indirectly, which,
individually or in the aggregate, has had or would be reasonably expected
to
have a Material Adverse Effect with respect to the Company;
(d) any
applicable waiting period under the HSR Act relating to the Arrangement shall
have expired or been terminated;
(e) Competition
Act Approval shall have been obtained;
(f) Investment
Canada Act Approval shall have been obtained; and
(g) all
approvals, consents, registrations, permits, authorizations and other
confirmations required to be obtained from any Governmental Authority or
other
third party that are necessary, proper or advisable to consummate the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the failure of which to obtain,
individually or in the aggregate, would be reasonably expected to have a
Material Adverse Effect with respect to the Company, shall have been obtained
and reasonably satisfactory evidence thereof shall have been delivered to
each
party.
37
Section
8.02. Conditions to the Obligations of Parent
and Acquisition Sub. The
obligations of Parent and Acquisition Sub to consummate the Arrangement are
subject to the satisfaction of the following further conditions:
(a) the
Company shall have performed in all material respects all of its obligations
hereunder required to be performed by it at or prior to the Effective Time,
and
Parent shall have received a certificate signed on behalf of the Company
by an
executive officer of the Company to the effect;
(b) the
representations and warranties of the Company set forth in (i) Section 3.01,
Section 3.02, Section 3.05 and Section 3.20 shall be true and correct in
all
material respects as of the Effective Time as if made at and as of such time
and
(ii) Article 3, other than those to which clause (i) above applies, shall
be
true and correct (disregarding for purposes of this Section 8.02(b) any
materiality or Material Adverse Effect qualification contained in any such
representations or warranties) as of the date of this Agreement and as of
the
Effective Time as though made on and as of the Effective Time (except that
representations and warranties that by their terms speak specifically as
of the
date of this Agreement or another date shall be true and correct as of such
date), except in the case of this clause (ii) where the failure to be so
true
and correct, individually and in the aggregate, has not had or would not
be
reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect with respect to the
Company, and Parent shall have received a certificate signed on behalf of
the
Company by an executive officer of the Company to this effect; and
(c) since
the date of this Agreement, there shall not have occurred or been discovered
any
change, event, circumstance or development that has had, or would reasonably
be
expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse
Effect.
Section
8.03. Conditions to the Obligations of the
Company. The
obligations of the Company to consummate the Arrangement are subject to the
satisfaction of the following further conditions:
(a) each
of Parent and Acquisition Sub shall have performed in all material respects
all
of its obligations hereunder required to be performed by it at or prior to
the
Effective Time, and the Company shall have received a certificate signed
by an
executive officer of Parent to the effect;
(b) the
representations and warranties of Parent and Acquisition Sub contained in
this
Agreement shall be true in all material respects at and as of the Effective
Time
as if made at and as of such time (except that representations and warranties
that by their terms speak specifically as of the date of this Agreement or
another date shall be true and correct as of such date), and the Company
shall
have received a certificate signed by an executive officer of Parent to the
effect; and
(c) the
Acquisition Sub shall have deposited with the Depositary (as defined in the
Plan
of Arrangement) in escrow at or prior to the time of filing of the Articles
of
Arrangement the funds required to effect payment in full of the aggregate
Consideration to be paid pursuant to the Arrangement and the Depositary shall
have confirmed to the Company receipt of these funds.
38
Section
8.04. Satisfaction of
Conditions. The
conditions precedent set out in Section 8.01, Section 8.02 and Section 8.03
shall be conclusively deemed to have been satisfied, waived or released when
the
Certificate of Arrangement is issued by the Director.
ARTICLE
9
Termination
Section
9.01. Termination. This
Agreement may be terminated and the Arrangement may be abandoned at any time
prior to the Effective Time (notwithstanding any approval of this Agreement
by
the Shareholders):
(a) by
mutual written agreement of the Company and Parent;
(b) by
either the Company or Parent, if:
(i) the
Effective Time shall not have occurred on or before February 1, 2008 (as
may be
extended as set forth below, the “End Date”);
provided, that if on such date the conditions to the
consummation of
the Arrangement set forth in Section 8.01(d), 8.01(e), or 8.01(f) shall not
have
been satisfied but all other conditions set forth in Article 8 shall have
been
satisfied (or in the case of conditions that by their terms are to be satisfied
at the time of the consummation of the Arrangement, shall be capable of being
satisfied on February 1, 2008), then the End Date shall be extended to and
including April 20, 2008 if either the Company or Parent notifies the other
party in writing on or prior to February 1, 2008 of its election to extend
the
End Date to April 20, 2008; provided, further, that the right
to terminate this Agreement pursuant to this Section 9.01(b)(i) shall not
be
available to any party whose breach of any provision of this Agreement results
in the failure of the Effective Time to occur on or before such
date;
(ii) there
shall be any Applicable Law that (A) makes consummation of the Arrangement
illegal or otherwise prohibited or (B) enjoins the Company or Parent from
consummating the Arrangement and such enjoinment shall have become final
and
nonappealable; or
(c) by
Parent, if:
39
(iii) the
Company shall have willfully and materially breached the first sentence of
Section 5.03(c) in any respect adverse to Parent and Acquisition Sub;
or
(i) if,
prior to the approval of the Arrangement Resolution at the Company Meeting,
the
Board of Directors of the Company authorizes the Company, subject to complying
with the terms of this Agreement, to enter into a written agreement concerning
a
Superior Proposal; provided, that concurrently with such termination,
the Company pays the Termination Fee payable pursuant to Section 10.05(b);
and
provided, further, that the Company complies with Section
5.03(c); or
(ii) if
a breach of any representation or warranty or failure to perform any covenant
or
agreement on the part of Parent or Acquisition Sub set forth in this Agreement
shall have occurred that would cause the conditions set forth in Section
8.03
not to be satisfied, and such condition is incapable of being satisfied by
the
End Date; provided that the Company is not then in breach of this
Agreement so as to cause any of the conditions set forth in Section 8.01
or
Section 8.02 not to be satisfied.
The
party
desiring to terminate this Agreement pursuant to this Section 9.01 (other
than
pursuant to Section 9.01(a)) shall give notice of such termination to the
other
party.
Section
9.02. Effect of Termination. If
this Agreement is terminated pursuant to Section 9.01, this Agreement shall
become void and of no effect without liability of any party (or any shareholder,
director, officer, employee, agent, consultant or representative of such
party)
to the other party hereto, except that (i) the provisions of this Section
9.02
and Sections 7.05, 10.05, 10.08, 10.09, 10.10 and 10.12 shall survive any
termination hereof pursuant to Section 9.01 and (ii) neither the Company
nor
Parent shall be relieved or released from any liabilities or damages (which
the
parties acknowledge and agree shall not be limited to reimbursement of expenses
or out-of-pocket costs, and may include to the extent proven the benefit
of the
bargain lost by a party’s shareholders (taking into consideration relevant
matters, including other combination opportunities and the time value of
money),
which shall be deemed in such event to be damages of such party) arising
out of
its material breach of any provision of this
Agreement.
ARTICLE
10
Miscellaneous
Section
10.01. [Intentionally
Omitted].
Section
10.02. Notices. All
notices, requests and other communications to any party hereunder shall be
in
writing (including facsimile transmission) and shall be given,
40
if
to
Parent or Acquisition Sub, to:
SSAB
Svenskt Stål AB
Box
26208
XX-000
00
Xxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxx
Attention:
Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx
Facsimile
No.: (00) 0 00 00 000
with
a
copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:
White
& Case LLP
0000
Xxxxxx xx xxx Xxxxxxxx
Xxx
Xxxx,
Xxx Xxxx 00000
Attention:
Xxxx X. Xxxxx
Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxx
Facsimile
No.: (000) 000-0000
and
to:
Xxxxxxx
Xxxxx LLP
3400
One
First Canadian Place
P.O.
Box
130
Toronto,
Ontario
X0X
0X0,
Xxxxxx
Attention:
Xxxx Xxxx
Xxxxxxx
Xxxxxx
Facsimile
No.: (000) 000-0000
if
to the
Company, to:
000
Xxxxxxxxxxx Xxxx, Xxxxx 000
Xxxxx,
Xxxxxxxx 00000
Attention:
Legal Department
Facsimile
No.: (000) 000-0000
with
a
copy to:
Xxxxx
Xxxx
& Xxxxxxxx
000
Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx
Xxxx,
Xxx Xxxx 00000
Attention:
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx, Xx.
Facsimile
No.: (000) 000-0000
and
to:
41
Osler,
Xxxxxx & Harcourt LLP
1
First
Canadian Place, Suite 6100
Toronto,
Ontario Canada M5X 1B8
Attention:
Xxxx Xxxxxx
Facsimile
No.: (000) 000-0000
or
to such
other address or facsimile number as such party may hereafter specify for
the
purpose by notice to the other parties hereto. All such notices,
requests and other communications shall be deemed received on the date of
receipt by the recipient thereof if received prior to 5:00 p.m. on a Business
Day in the place of receipt. Otherwise, any such notice, request or
communication shall be deemed to have been received on the next succeeding
Business Day in the place of receipt.
Section
10.03. Survival of Representations and
Warranties. The
representations and warranties contained herein and in any certificate or
other
writing delivered pursuant hereto shall not survive the Effective
Time. This Section 10.03 shall not limit any covenant or agreement of
the parties that by its terms contemplates performance after the Effective
Time.
Section
10.04. Amendments and Waivers;
Reorganization.
(a) Subject to the provisions of the Interim Order and Applicable Law, any
provision of this Agreement may be amended or waived at any time and from
time
to time prior to the Effective Time (whether before or after the holding
of the
Company Meeting) pursuant to a writing signed by each party (in the case
of an
amendment) or by each party against whom the waiver is to be effective (in
the
case of a waiver), without further notice to or authorization on the part
of the
Shareholders, and any such amendment or waiver may, without limitation: (i)
change the time for performance of any of the obligations or acts of the
parties; (ii) waive any inaccuracies or modify any representation contained
herein or in any document delivered pursuant hereto; (iii) waive compliance
with
or modify any of the covenants herein contained and waive or modify performance
of any of the obligations of the parties; and (iv) waive compliance with
or
modify any conditions precedent herein contained.
(b) No
failure or delay by any party in exercising any right, power or privilege
hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof nor shall any single or partial
exercise thereof preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise
of any other right, power or privilege. The rights and remedies
herein provided shall be cumulative and not exclusive of any rights or remedies
provided by Applicable Law.
(c) Prior
to the date of the Company Meeting, Parent may propose actions or transactions
to the extent that the same (i) shall not prejudice the Shareholders, (ii)
are
either to be completed immediately prior to or contemporaneously with the
Effective Time, or can be unwound without adversely affecting the Company
and
its Subsidiaries, (iii) would not be reasonably expected to materially impair
or
delay the ability of Parent or Acquisition Sub to consummate the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement, and (iv) would not cause any representation
or
warranty in this Agreement to be breached or any condition to Closing set
forth
in Article 8 to fail to be satisfied or otherwise cause any breach of this
Agreement or any material agreement to which the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries is a party. The Company
42
shall
take
such actions or undertake such transactions and, if necessary, the Plan of
Arrangement shall be modified accordingly. If, at the request of the
Parent, the Company effects any transaction before the Effective Time for
such
purposes, the Parent will be responsible for any structuring and unwinding
costs
if the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are not
consummated.
Section
10.05. Expenses.
(a) Except as otherwise provided herein, all costs and expenses
incurred in connection with this Agreement shall be paid by the party incurring
such cost or expense.
(c) In
the event that this Agreement is terminated by Parent or Acquisition Sub,
on one
hand, or the Company, on the other hand, pursuant to Section 9.01(b)(iii)
(or could have been terminated under such section) under circumstances in
which
the Termination Fee is not then payable pursuant to Section 10.05(b), then
the Company shall pay as directed by Parent in writing as promptly as possible
(but in any event within two Business Days) following receipt of an invoice
therefor all of Parent’s and Acquisition Sub’s actual and reasonably documented
out-of-pocket fees and expenses (including reasonable legal fees and expenses)
actually incurred by Parent, Acquisition Sub and their respective Affiliates
on
or prior to the termination of this Agreement in connection with the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement, which amount shall not be greater
than $10,000,000 (“Parent Expenses”); provided that
the existence of circumstances which could require the Termination Fee
subsequently to become payable pursuant to Section 10.05(b) shall not
relieve the Company of its obligations to pay the Parent Expenses pursuant
to
this Section 10.05(c); and provided, further that the payment by
the Company of Parent Expenses pursuant to this Section 10.05(c) shall not
relieve the Company of
43
any
subsequent obligation to pay the Termination Fee pursuant to
Section 10.05(b) except to the extent indicated in such
Section 10.05(b).
Section
10.06. Disclosure Schedule
References.
The parties hereto agree that any reference in a particular Section of the
Company Disclosure Schedule shall only be deemed to be an exception to (or,
as
applicable, a disclosure for purposes of) (i) the representations and warranties
(or covenants, as applicable) of the relevant party that are contained in
the
corresponding Section of this Agreement and (ii) any other representations
and
warranties of such party that are contained in this Agreement, but only if
the
relevance of that reference as an exception to (or a disclosure for purposes
of)
such representations and warranties is reasonably apparent, but shall not
be
deemed to constitute an admission, or otherwise imply, that any matter so
referenced rises to the level of a Material Adverse Effect or is otherwise
material for any purposes under this Agreement.
Section
10.07. Binding Effect; Benefit;
Assignment.
(a) The provisions of this Agreement shall be binding upon and,
except as provided in Section 6.03, shall inure to the benefit of the parties
hereto and their respective successors and assigns. Except for the
rights to payments pursuant to the Plan of Arrangement or as provided in
Section
6.03, no provision of this Agreement is intended to confer any rights, benefits,
remedies, obligations or liabilities hereunder upon any Person other than
the
parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns.
(b) Neither
this Agreement nor any rights or obligations under this Agreement shall be
assignable by the parties without the prior written consent of the other
parties, except that Parent and Acquisition Sub may assign all or part of
their
respective rights or obligations, including without limitation the rights
to
acquire the Company Shares, without reducing their own obligations hereunder,
to
an Affiliate of Parent. Subject thereto, this Agreement shall enure to the
benefit of and be binding upon the parties and their respective successors
(including any successor by reason of amalgamation of any party) and permitted
assigns.
Section
10.08. Governing Law. This
Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws
of the
Province of Ontario and the laws of Canada applicable therein.
44
Section
10.09. Jurisdiction; Service of
Process. (a)
The parties hereto agree that any suit, action or proceeding seeking to enforce
any provision of, or based on any matter arising out of or in connection
with,
this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby shall be brought in
any
court of the Province of Ontario, and each of the parties hereby irrevocably
consents to the jurisdiction of such courts (and of the appropriate appellate
courts therefrom) in any such suit, action or proceeding and irrevocably
waives,
to the fullest extent permitted by law, any objection that it may now or
hereafter have to the laying of the venue of any such suit, action or proceeding
in any such court or that any such suit, action or proceeding brought in
any
such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum. Process in any
such suit, action or proceeding may be served on any party anywhere in the
world, whether within or without the jurisdiction of any such
court. Without limiting the foregoing, each party agrees that service
of process on such party as provided in Section 10.02 shall be deemed effective
service of process on such party.
(b) Each
of Parent and Acquisition Sub hereby irrevocably designates Xxxxxxx Xxxxx
LLP
(in such capacity, the “Process Agent”), with an office at 3400
One First Canadian Place, Toronto, Ontario, X0X 0X0, Xxxxxx as its designee,
appointee and agent to receive, for and on its behalf service of process
in such
jurisdiction in any legal action or proceedings with respect to this Agreement
or the transactions contemplated hereby, and such service shall be deemed
complete upon delivery thereof to the Process Agent; provided that in
the case of any such service upon the Process Agent, the party effecting
such
service shall also deliver a copy thereof to Parent in the manner provided
in
Section 10.02. Each of Parent and Acquisition Sub shall take all such
action as may be necessary to continue said appointment in full force and
effect
or to appoint another agent so that each of Parent and Acquisition Sub will
at
all times have an agent for service of process for the above purposes in
the
Province of Ontario. In the event of the transfer of all or
substantially all of the assets and business of the Process Agent to any
other
entity by consolidation, merger, sale of assets or otherwise, such other
entity
shall be substituted hereunder for the Process Agent with the same effect
as if
named herein in place of Xxxxxxx Xxxxx LLP. Nothing herein shall
affect the right of any party to serve process in any manner permitted by
Applicable Law. Each of Parent and Acquisition Sub expressly
acknowledges that the foregoing waiver is intended to be irrevocable under
all
Applicable Laws.
Section
10.10. WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. EACH
OF THE PARTIES HERETO HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES ANY AND ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL
BY
JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT
OR THE
TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY.
Section
10.11. Counterparts;
Effectiveness. This
Agreement may be signed in any number of counterparts
and may be executed and delivered by facsimile or email, and each counterpart
shall be an original, with the same effect as if the signatures thereto and
hereto were upon the same instrument. This Agreement shall become effective
when
each party hereto shall have received a counterpart hereof signed by all
of the
other parties hereto. Until and unless each party has received a
counterpart hereof signed by the other party hereto, this Agreement shall
have
no effect and no party shall have any right or obligation hereunder (whether
by
virtue of any other oral or written agreement or other
communication).
45
Section
10.12. No Liability. No
director or officer of Parent or Acquisition Sub shall have any personal
liability whatsoever to the Company under this Agreement, or any other
document delivered in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby
on
behalf of Parent or Acquisition Sub. No director or officer of the
Company shall have any personal liability whatsoever to Parent or Acquisition
Sub under this Agreement, or any other document delivered in connection with
the
transactions contemplated hereby on behalf of the Company.
Section
10.13. Entire Agreement. This
Agreement and the Confidentiality Agreement constitutes the entire agreement
between the parties with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement
and
supersedes all prior agreements and understandings, both oral and written,
between the parties with respect to the subject matter of this
Agreement.
Section
10.14. Severability. If
any term, provision, covenant or restriction of this Agreement is held by
a
court of competent jurisdiction or other Governmental Authority to be invalid,
void or unenforceable, the remainder of the terms, provisions, covenants
and
restrictions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect and
shall
in no way be affected, impaired or invalidated so long as the economic or
legal
substance of the transactions contemplated hereby is not affected in any
manner
materially adverse to any party. Upon such a determination, the
parties shall negotiate in good faith to modify this Agreement so as to effect
the original intent of the parties as closely as possible in an acceptable
manner in order that the transactions contemplated hereby be consummated
as
originally contemplated to the fullest extent possible.
Section
10.15. Specific Performance. Subject
to Section 10.05(d), the parties acknowledge and agree that an award of money
damages would be inadequate for any breach of this Agreement by any party
or its
representatives and any such breach would cause the non-breaching party or
a
third party beneficiary irreparable harm. Accordingly, the parties
(on behalf of themselves and the third party beneficiaries of this Agreement)
agree that, in the event of any breach or threatened breach of this Agreement
by
one of the parties, the non-breaching party will also be entitled, without
the
requirement of posting a bond or other security, to equitable relief, including
injunctive relief and specific performance, and the parties shall not object
to
the granting of injunctive or other equitable relief on the basis that there
exists an adequate remedy at law. Subject to Section 10.05(d), such
remedies will not be the exclusive remedies for any breach of this Agreement
but
will be in addition to all other remedies available at law or equity to each
of
the parties.
46
IN
WITNESS
WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be duly executed
by
their respective authorized officers as of the day and year first above
written.
|
By:
|
/s/ Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx | |
Name: Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx | |||
Title: President and Chief Executive Officer | |||
SSAB SVENSKT STÅL AB | |||
|
By:
|
/s/ Olaf Faxander | |
Name: Olaf Faxander | |||
Title: President & CEO | |||
|
By:
|
/s/ Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx | |
Name: Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx | |||
Title: Vice President & General Counsel | |||
SSAB CANADA INC. | |||
|
By:
|
/s/ Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx | |
Name: Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx | |||
Title: President and Director | |||
|
By:
|
/s/ Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx | |
Name: Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx | |||
Title: Director | |||
PLAN
OF ARRANGEMENT
UNDER SECTION 192
OF THE CANADA BUSINESS CORPORATIONS ACT
UNDER SECTION 192
OF THE CANADA BUSINESS CORPORATIONS ACT
ARTICLE
I
INTERPRETATION
INTERPRETATION
SECTION
1.01. Definitions.
In this
Plan of Arrangement the following terms shall have the respective meanings
set
out below and grammatical variations of such terms shall have corresponding
meanings:
(a)
|
“Acquisition
Sub”
means SSAB Canada Inc., a corporation incorporated under the
CBCA and
being a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Parent;
|
(b)
|
“Affiliate”
means, with respect to any Person, any other Person directly
or indirectly
controlling, controlled by, or under common control with such
Person;
|
(c)
|
“Applicable
Law”
means, with respect to any Person, any federal, national, state,
provincial or local law (statutory, common or otherwise), constitution,
treaty, convention, ordinance, code, rule, regulation, order,
injunction,
judgment, decree, ruling or other similar requirement enacted,
adopted,
promulgated or applied by a Governmental Authority that is binding
upon or
applicable to such Person, as amended unless expressly specified
otherwise.
|
(d)
|
“Arrangement”
means the arrangement under the provisions of Section 192 of
the CBCA as
set out in this Plan of Arrangement, subject to any amendments
or
variations thereto made in accordance with the terms of the Arrangement
Agreement or this Plan of Arrangement or made at the direction
of the
Court in the Final Order;
|
(e)
|
“Arrangement
Agreement”
means the Arrangement Agreement, dated May 3, 2007, among Parent,
Acquisition Sub and the Company providing for, among other things,
the
Arrangement;
|
(f)
|
“Arrangement
Resolution”
means the special resolution in respect of the Arrangement, put
forth at
the Company Meeting for vote by the
Shareholders;
|
(g)
|
“Articles
of Arrangement”
means the articles of arrangement of the Company in respect of
the
Arrangement that are required by the CBCA to be sent to the Director
after
the Final Order is made in order for the Arrangement to become
effective;
|
(h)
|
“Business
Day”
means a day, other than Saturday, Sunday or other day on which
commercial
banks in Toronto, Ontario or New York, New York or Stockholm,
Sweden are
authorized or required by Applicable Law to
close;
|
(i)
|
“CBCA”
means the Canada Business Corporations Act, as amended from time
to
time;
|
(j)
|
“Certificate
of Arrangement”
means the certificate of arrangement to be issued by the Director
pursuant
to subsection 192(7) of the CBCA in respect of the Articles of
Arrangement;
|
(k)
|
“Company”
means IPSCO Inc., a corporation existing under the
CBCA;
|
(l)
|
“Company
Deferred Share Equivalent”
means a nominal Company Share credited to a participant’s account pursuant
to the Company’s Executive Deferred Compensation Incentive
Plan.
|
(m)
|
“Company
Deferred Share Unit”
means an outstanding deferred share unit granted under the Company’s
Deferred Share Unit Plan for
Directors;
|
(n)
|
“Company
Meeting”
means the special meeting of Shareholders of the Company, including
any
adjournment or postponement thereof, to be called and held in
accordance
with the Interim Order to consider the Arrangement
Resolution;
|
(o)
|
“Company
Option”
means an outstanding option to purchase Company Shares granted
under the
Company’s Incentive Share Plan;
|
(p)
|
“Company
Performance Unit”
means an outstanding performance unit granted under the Company’s
Incentive Share Plan;
|
(q)
|
“Company
Proxy Statement/Circular”
means the notice of the Company Meeting and accompanying proxy
statement/management information circular, including all appendices
thereto and all amendments from time to time made thereto, to
be sent to
Shareholders of the Company in connection with the Company
Meeting;
|
(r)
|
“Company
Restricted Share”
means an outstanding Company Share granted under the Company’s Incentive
Share Plan and containing certain restrictions imposed upon it
by the
Company’s Board of Directors or a committee of the Board of
Directors;
|
(s)
|
“Company
Share”
means a common share in the capital stock of the
Company;
|
(t)
|
“Company
Stock Plans”
means the Company’s Incentive Share Plan, amended and restated as of March
3, 2005, the Company’s Deferred Share Unit Plan for Directors, amended and
effective December 31, 2002 and the Company’s Executive Deferred
Compensation Incentive Plan, effective as of June 1,
2005;
|
(u)
|
“Consideration”
means U.S.$160.00
in
cash;
|
(v)
|
“Court”
means the Superior Court of Justice
(Ontario);
|
(w)
|
“Depositary”
means Computershare Trust Company of Canada at its offices set
out in the
Letter of Transmittal;
|
(x)
|
“Director”
means the Director appointed pursuant to Section 260 of the
CBCA;
|
(y)
|
“Dissent
Rights”
means the rights of dissent in respect of the Arrangement described
in
SECTION
3.01;
|
(z)
|
“Dissenting
Holder”
means any registered Shareholder who has duly exercised its Dissent
Rights
in strict compliance therewith and has not withdrawn or been
deemed to
have withdrawn such Dissent Rights;
|
(aa)
|
“Effective
Date”
means the date shown on the Certificate of Arrangement giving
effect to
the Arrangement;
|
(bb)
|
“Exchange
Rate”
means the Bank of Canada’s published rate of exchange of Canadian dollars
for United States dollars at noon on the day prior to the Effective
Date:
|
(cc)
|
“Effective
Time”
means 12:01 a.m. (Toronto time) on the Effective
Date;
|
(dd)
|
“Final
Order”
means the final order of the Court approving the Arrangement
as such order
may be amended by the Court at any time prior to the Effective
Time or, if
appealed, then, unless such appeal is withdrawn or denied, as
affirmed or
as amended (provided that any such amendment shall be acceptable
to each
of Parent and the Company, each acting reasonably) on
appeal;
|
(ee)
|
“Interim
Order”
means the interim order of the Court as contemplated by SECTION
2.01
of
the Arrangement Agreement, providing for, among other things,
the calling
and holding of the Company Meeting, as the same may be amended
by the
Court;
|
(ff)
|
“ITA”
means the Income Tax Act (Canada), as
amended;
|
(gg)
|
“Letter
of Transmittal”
means the letter of transmittal forwarded by the Company to Shareholders
in connection with the Arrangement, in the form accompanying
the Company
Proxy Statement/Circular;
|
(hh)
|
“Parent”
means SSAB Svenskt Stål AB, a corporation existing under the laws of
Sweden;
|
(ii)
|
“Person”
means an individual, corporation, partnership, limited liability
company,
association, trust or other entity or organization, including
a government
or political subdivision or an agency or instrumentality
thereof;
|
(jj)
|
“Rights”
means rights issued under the Rights
Plan;
|
(kk)
|
“Rights
Plan”
means the Shareholder Rights Agreement dated February 23, 2007
between the
Company and Computershare Trust Company of
Canada;
|
(ll)
|
“Shareholders”
means the holders of Company
Shares;
|
(mm)
|
“Sixth
Anniversary”
means the sixth anniversary of the Effective
Date;
|
SECTION
1.02. Interpretation
Not Affected by Headings, Etc.
The
division of this Plan of Arrangement into articles, sections and other
portions
and the insertion of headings are for reference purposes only and shall
not
affect the interpretation of this Plan of Arrangement. Unless otherwise
indicated, any reference in this Plan of Arrangement to “Article”
or
“section”
followed
by a number refers to the specified Article or section of this Plan of
Arrangement. The terms “this
Plan of Arrangement”,
“hereof”,
“herein”,
“hereunder”
and
similar expressions refer to this Plan of Arrangement, including any appendices
hereto, and any amendments, variations or supplements hereto made in accordance
with the terms hereof or the Arrangement Agreement or made at the direction
of
the Court in the Final Order and do not refer to any particular Article,
section
or other portion of this Plan of Arrangement.
SECTION
1.03. Rules
of Construction.
In this
Plan of Arrangement, unless the context otherwise requires, (a) words importing
the singular number include the plural and vice versa, (b) words importing
any
gender include all genders, and (c) “include”,
“includes”
and
“including”
shall be
deemed to be followed by the words “without limitation”.
SECTION
1.04. Date
of
Any Action.
In the
event that any date on which any action is required to be taken hereunder
by any
of the parties hereto is not a Business Day, such action shall be required
to be
taken on the next succeeding day which is a Business Day.
SECTION
1.05. Time.
Time
shall be of the essence in every matter or action contemplated hereunder.
All
times expressed herein or in the Letter of Transmittal are local time (Toronto,
Ontario) unless otherwise stipulated herein or therein.
SECTION
1.06. Currency.
Unless
otherwise stated, all references in this Plan of Arrangement to sums of
money
and payments to be made hereunder are expressed in lawful money of the
United
States of America.
SECTION
1.07. Statutes.
Any
reference to a statute includes all rules and regulations made pursuant
to such
statute and, unless otherwise specified, the provisions of any statute
or
regulation or rule which amends, supplements or supersedes any such statute,
regulation or rule.
ARTICLE
II
ARRANGEMENT
ARRANGEMENT
SECTION
2.01. Arrangement
Agreement.
This
Plan of Arrangement is made pursuant to, is subject to the provisions of
and
forms part of the Arrangement Agreement.
SECTION
2.02. Binding
Effect.
This
Plan of Arrangement, upon the filing of the Articles of Arrangement and
the
issuance of the Certificate of Arrangement, will become effective at, and
be
binding at and after, the Effective Time on (i) the Company, (ii)
Parent
and
Acquisition Sub, (iii) all registered and beneficial Shareholders and (iv)
all
registered and beneficial holders of Company Options, Company Restricted
Shares,
Company Performance Units, Company Deferred Share Units and Company Deferred
Share Equivalents.
SECTION
2.03. Arrangement.
Commencing at the Effective Time, the following shall occur and shall be
deemed
to occur in the following order without any further act or formality, in
each
case, effective at the Effective Time:
(a)
|
the
Rights Plan shall be terminated and each Right shall be cancelled
without
any payment in respect thereof;
|
(b)
|
each
outstanding Company Option shall be deemed to be vested and shall
be
transferred by the holder thereof to the Company and cancelled
in exchange
for a cash payment (less applicable withholdings) by the Company
equal to
the excess (if any) of (i) the product of the number of Company
Shares
issuable upon exercise of such Company Option and the Consideration,
less
(ii) the aggregate exercise price (with any Canadian dollar denomination
exercise price converted to United States dollars based on the
Exchange
Rate) payable under such Company Option by the holder to acquire
the
Company Shares upon exercise of such Company
Option;
|
(c)
|
each
outstanding Company Performance Unit shall be deemed to be vested
and
shall be transferred by the holder thereof to the Company and
cancelled in
exchange for a cash payment (less applicable withholdings) by
the Company
equal to:
|
(i)
|
in
the case of Company Performance Units where the holder’s Company
Performance Unit Award Agreement provides for a maximum number
of Company
Shares earned at the end of the applicable Performance Period
(as defined
in the holder’s Company Performance Unit Award Agreement) equal to 100% of
the Company Performance Units granted, (A) the Consideration
plus (B) a
cash payment in an amount equal to the aggregate dividends per
Company
Share declared by the Company (as converted into United States
dollars
based on the Exchange Rate) between the Commencement Date (as
defined in
the holder’s Company Performance Unit Award Agreement) and the Effective
Date;
|
(ii)
|
in
the case of Company Performance Units where the holder’s Company
Performance Unit Award Agreement provides for a maximum number
of Company
Shares earned at the end of the applicable Performance Period
(as defined
in the holder’s Company Performance Unit Award Agreement) equal to 200% of
the Company Performance Units granted, (A) two times the Consideration
plus (B) a cash payment in an amount equal to two times the aggregate
dividends per Company Share declared by the Company (as converted
into
United States dollars based on the Exchange Rate) between the
Commencement
Date (as defined in the holder’s Company Performance Unit Award Agreement)
and the Effective Date;
|
(d)
|
each
outstanding Company Deferred Share Equivalent shall be transferred
by the
holder thereof to the Company and cancelled in exchange for a
cash payment
by the Company equal to the Consideration, less applicable
withholdings;
|
(e)
|
each
outstanding Company Deferred Share Unit shall be transferred
by the holder
thereof to the Company and cancelled in exchange for a cash payment
by the
Company equal to the Consideration, less applicable
withholdings;
|
(f)
|
each
outstanding Company Restricted Share shall be deemed to be vested
and the
restrictions on the Company Restricted Shares set out in Section
8 of the
Company’s Incentive Share Plan shall be deemed to have lapsed and
terminated;
|
(g)
|
each
outstanding Company Share (including each outstanding Company
Restricted
Share), other than a Company Share held by (i) a Dissenting Holder
who is
ultimately entitled to be paid the fair value of the Company
Shares held
by such Dissenting Holder, or (ii) Parent, Acquisition Sub or
any
Affiliate thereof (which shall not be exchanged under the Arrangement
and
shall remain outstanding as a Company Share held by Parent, Acquisition
Sub or such Affiliate, as the case may be), shall be transferred
by the
holder thereof to Acquisition Sub in exchange for a cash payment
by
Acquisition Sub equal to the
Consideration;
|
(h)
|
the
names of the holders of the Company Shares transferred to Acquisition
Sub
shall be removed from the applicable registers of holders of
Company
Shares and Acquisition Sub shall be recorded as the registered
holder of
the Company Shares so acquired and shall be deemed the legal
and
beneficial owner thereof free and clear of any liens, claims,
encumbrances, charges, adverse interests or security interests;
and
|
(i)
|
the
Company Stock Plans shall be
terminated.
|
ARTICLE
III
RIGHTS OF DISSENT
RIGHTS OF DISSENT
SECTION
3.01. Rights
of
Dissent.
(a)
|
Registered
Shareholders may exercise pursuant to and in the manner set forth
in
Section 190 of the CBCA, as modified by this SECTION
3.01,
the right of dissent in connection with the Arrangement, as the
same may
be modified by the Interim Order or the Final Order (the “Dissent
Rights”);
provided
that notwithstanding Section 190(5) of the CBCA, the written
objection to
the Arrangement Resolution referred to in Section 190(5) of the
CBCA must
be received by the Company not later than 5:00 p.m. (Toronto
time) on the
Business Day preceding the Company Meeting, or if the Company
Meeting is
adjourned or postponed, 5:00 p.m. (Toronto time) on the Business
Day preceding
the date of such adjourned or postponed Company Meeting. Holders
who duly
exercise such Dissent Rights and
who:
|
(i)
|
are
ultimately entitled to be paid by Acquisition Sub the fair value
for their
Company Shares shall be deemed to have transferred such Company
Shares to
Acquisition Sub, without any further act or formality, free and
clear of
any liens, claims or encumbrances on the Effective Date contemporaneously
with the event described in SECTION
2.03(g)
in
exchange for a right to receive a cash payment from Acquisition
Sub in an
amount equal to the fair value of such Company Shares;
or
|
(ii)
|
are
ultimately not entitled, for any reason, to be paid fair value
for their
Company Shares shall be deemed to have participated in the Arrangement
on
the same basis as a non-dissenting
Shareholder.
|
(b)
|
In
no circumstances shall the Company, Acquisition Sub or any other
Person be
required to recognize a Person exercising Dissent Rights unless
such
Person is a registered holder of those Company Shares in respect
of which
such rights are sought to be
exercised.
|
(c)
|
For
greater certainty, in no case shall Parent, Acquisition Sub,
the Company
or any other Person be required to recognize Dissenting Holders
as holders
of Company Shares after the Effective Time, and the names of
such
Dissenting Holders shall be deleted from the register of Shareholders
on
the Effective Date at the same time as the event described in
SECTION
2.03(g)
occurs and Acquisition Sub shall be recorded as the registered
holder of
the Company Shares so transferred and shall be deemed the legal
and
beneficial owner thereof free and clear of any liens, claims,
encumbrances, charges, adverse interests or security interests.
In
addition to any other restrictions under Section 190 of the CBCA
and, for
greater certainty, none of the following shall be entitled to
exercise
Dissent Rights: (i) holders of Company Options, Company Restricted
Shares,
Company Performance Units, Company Deferred Share Units and Company
Deferred Share Equivalents; and (ii) Shareholders who vote, or
who have
instructed a proxyholder to vote, in favor of the Arrangement
Resolution.
|
ARTICLE
IV
CERTIFICATES AND PAYMENTS
CERTIFICATES AND PAYMENTS
SECTION
4.01. Exchange
of Certificates for Cash.
(a)
|
At
or before the Effective Time, Acquisition Sub shall deposit with
the
Depositary for the benefit of Shareholders, cash in the aggregate
amount
equal to the payment contemplated by SECTION
2.03(g).
Upon surrender to the Depositary for cancellation of a certificate
which
immediately prior to the Effective Time represented outstanding
Company
Shares that were exchanged for cash, together with a duly completed
and
executed Letter of Transmittal and such additional documents
and
instruments as the Depositary may reasonably require, the Shareholder
of
such surrendered certificate shall be entitled to receive in
exchange
therefor, and Parent shall cause the Depositary to deliver to
such
Shareholder, a cheque (or other form of immediately
|
|
available
funds) representing the cash which such Shareholder has the
right to
receive under the Arrangement for such Company Shares, less
any amounts
withheld pursuant to SECTION
4.03
and
any certificate so surrendered shall forthwith be cancelled.
The cash
deposited with the Depositary shall be held in an interest-bearing
account, and any interest earned on such funds shall be for
the account of
Acquisition Sub.
|
(b)
|
Until
surrendered as contemplated by this SECTION
4.01,
each certificate which immediately prior to the Effective Time
represented
Company Shares shall be deemed after the Effective Time to represent
only
the right to receive upon such surrender a cash payment in lieu
of such
certificate as contemplated in this SECTION
4.01,
less any amounts withheld pursuant to SECTION
4.03.
Any such certificate formerly representing Company Shares not
duly
surrendered on or before the Sixth Anniversary shall cease to
represent a
claim by or interest of any former Shareholder of any kind or
nature
against or in the Company, Parent or Acquisition Sub. On the
Sixth
Anniversary, all cash to which such former holder was entitled
shall be
deemed to have been surrendered to
Parent.
|
(c)
|
At
or before the Effective Time, the Company shall deposit with
the
Depositary for the benefit of holders of Company Options, Company
Restricted Shares, Company Performance Units, Company Deferred
Share Units
and Company Deferred Share Equivalents, as applicable, the amount
of cash
required to satisfy the payment obligations of the Company pursuant
to
SECTION
2.03(b),
SECTION
2.03(c),
SECTION
2.03(d)
and
SECTION
2.03(e),
such amount to be held for purposes of such obligations. The
cash shall be
held in a separate interest-bearing account and any interest
earned on
such funds shall be for the account of the Company. On or as
soon as
practicable after the Effective Date, the Depositary shall deliver
on
behalf of the Company to each holder who immediately before the
Effective
Time was a holder of Company Options, Company Restricted Shares,
Company
Performance Units, Company Deferred Share Units and/or Company
Deferred
Share Equivalents, as reflected on the books and records of the
Company, a
cheque (or other form of immediately available funds) representing
the
cash which such holder is entitled in accordance with SECTION
2.03(b),
SECTION
2.03(c),
SECTION
2.03(d)
and/or SECTION
2.03(e),
against receipt of such documentation as Parent or the Company
may
reasonably require acknowledging the transfer and/or termination
of the
Company Options, Company Restricted Shares, Company Performance
Units,
Company Deferred Share Units or Company Deferred Share Equivalents,
as the
case may be, held by such holder.
|
(d)
|
Any
payment made by way of cheque by the Depositary on behalf of
Acquisition
Sub or the Company that has not been deposited or has been returned
to the
Depositary or that otherwise remains unclaimed, in each case,
on or before
the Sixth Anniversary, and any right or claim to payment hereunder
that
remains outstanding on the Sixth Anniversary shall cease to represent
a
right or claim of any kind or nature and the right of the holder
to
receive the consideration for Company Shares, Company Options,
Company
|
|
Restricted
Shares, Company Performance Units, Company Deferred Share
Units or Company
Deferred Share Equivalents, as the case may be, pursuant
to this Plan of
Arrangement shall terminate and be deemed to be surrendered
and forfeited
to Acquisition Sub or the Company, as applicable, for no
consideration.
|
SECTION
4.02. Lost
Certificates.
In the
event any certificate which immediately prior to the Effective Time represented
one or more outstanding Company Shares that were exchanged pursuant to
SECTION
2.03
shall
have been lost, stolen or destroyed, upon the making of an affidavit of
that
fact by the Person claiming such certificate to be lost, stolen or destroyed,
the Depositary will issue in exchange for such lost, stolen or destroyed
certificate, cash deliverable in accordance with such holder’s Letter of
Transmittal. When authorizing such payment in exchange for any lost, stolen
or
destroyed certificate, the Person to whom such cash is to be delivered
shall as
a condition precedent to the delivery of such cash, give a bond satisfactory
to
Acquisition Sub and the Depositary in such sum as Acquisition Sub may direct,
or
otherwise indemnify Acquisition Sub and the Company in a manner satisfactory
to
Acquisition Sub and the Company, against any claim that may be made against
Acquisition Sub and the Company with respect to the certificate alleged
to have
been lost, stolen or destroyed.
SECTION
4.03. Withholding
Rights.
The
Company, Acquisition Sub, Parent and the Depositary shall be entitled to
deduct
and withhold from any consideration otherwise payable to any Shareholder
or
holder of Company Options, Company Restricted Shares, Company Performance
Units,
Company Deferred Share Units and/or Company Deferred Share Equivalents
such
amounts as the Company, Acquisition Sub, Parent or the Depositary determines,
acting reasonably, are required or permitted to be deducted and withheld
with
respect to such payment under the ITA, the United States Internal Revenue
Code
of 1986, or any provision of federal, provincial, territorial, state, local
or
foreign tax law, in each case, as amended. To the extent that amounts are
so
withheld, such withheld amounts shall be treated for all purposes hereof
as
having been paid to the Shareholder or holder of Company Options, Company
Restricted Shares, Company Performance Units, Company Deferred Share Units
and/or Company Deferred Share Equivalents, as the case may be, in respect
of
which such deduction and withholding was made, provided
that such
withheld amounts are actually remitted to the appropriate taxing
authority.
ARTICLE
V
AMENDMENTS
AMENDMENTS
SECTION
5.01. Amendments to Plan of Arrangement.
(a)
|
The
Company may amend, modify and/or supplement this Plan of Arrangement
at
any time and from time to time prior to the Effective Time; provided
that
each such amendment, modification and/or supplement must be (i)
set out in
writing, (ii) approved by Parent and Acquisition Sub, (iii) filed
with the
Court and, if made following the Company Meeting, approved by
the Court,
and (iv) communicated to Shareholders if and as required by the
Court.
|
(b)
|
Any
amendment, modification or supplement to this Plan of Arrangement
may be
proposed by the Company at any time prior to the Company Meeting
|
|
(provided
that Parent and Acquisition Sub shall have consented thereto)
with or
without any other prior notice or communication, and if so proposed
and
accepted by the Persons voting at the Company Meeting (other
than as may
be required under the Interim Order), shall become part of this
Plan of
Arrangement for all purposes.
|
(c)
|
Any
amendment, modification or supplement to this Plan of Arrangement
that is
approved or directed by the Court following the Company Meeting
shall be
effective only if (i) it is consented to by each of the Company,
Parent
and Acquisition Sub (in each case, acting reasonably), and (ii)
if
required by the Court, it is consented to by Shareholders voting
in the
manner directed by the Court.
|
(d)
|
Any
amendment, modification or supplement to this Plan of Arrangement
may be
made following the Effective Time unilaterally by Parent, provided
that it concerns a matter that, in the reasonable opinion of
Parent, is of
an administrative nature required to better give effect to the
implementation of this Plan of Arrangement and is not adverse
to the
economic interest of any former
Shareholder.
|
(e)
|
This
Plan of Arrangement may be withdrawn prior to the occurrence
of any of the
events in SECTION
2.03
in
accordance with the terms of the Arrangement
Agreement.
|
ARTICLE
VI
FURTHER ASSURANCES
FURTHER ASSURANCES
SECTION
6.01. Further
Assurances.
Notwithstanding that the transactions and events set out herein shall occur
and
be deemed to occur in the order set out in this Plan of Arrangement without
any
further act or formality, each of the parties to the Arrangement Agreement
shall
make, do and execute, or cause to be made, done and executed, all such
further
acts, deeds, agreements, transfers, assurances, instruments or documents
as may
reasonably be required by any of them in order further to document or evidence
any of the transactions or events set out herein.
ARRANGEMENT
RESOLUTION
SPECIAL
RESOLUTION OF THE SHAREHOLDERS
BE
IT RESOLVED THAT:
1. The
arrangement (the “Arrangement”)
under
Section 192 of the Canada Business Corporations Act (the “CBCA”)
involving IPSCO Inc., a corporation existing under the laws of Canada (the
“Corporation”),
as
more particularly described and set forth in the proxy statement/management
information circular (the “Proxy
Statement/Circular”)
of the
Corporation accompanying the notice of this meeting (as the Arrangement may
be
or may have been modified or amended in accordance with its terms) is hereby
authorized, approved and adopted.
2. The
plan
of arrangement (the “Plan
of
Arrangement”)
involving the Corporation, the full text of which is set out as Schedule
A
to the
Arrangement Agreement (the “Agreement”)
made
between SSAB Svenskt Stål AB, SSAB Canada Inc. and the Corporation and dated as
of May 3, 2007 (as the Plan of Arrangement may be or may have been modified
or
amended in accordance with its terms) is hereby authorized, approved and
adopted.
3. The
Agreement, the actions of the directors of the Corporation in approving the
Agreement and the actions of the directors and officers of the Corporation
in
executing and delivering and causing the Corporation to perform its obligations
under the Agreement and any amendments thereto are hereby ratified and
confirmed.
4. Notwithstanding
that this resolution has been passed (and the Plan of Arrangement adopted)
by
the shareholders of the Corporation or that the Arrangement has been approved
by
the Superior Court of Justice (Ontario), the directors of the Corporation
are
hereby authorized and empowered without further notice to or approval of
the
shareholders of the Corporation (i) to amend the Agreement or the Plan of
Arrangement to the extent permitted by the Agreement, and (ii) subject to
the
terms of the Agreement, to cause the Corporation not to proceed with the
Arrangement.
5. Any
officer or director of the Corporation is hereby authorized and directed
for and
on behalf of the Corporation to execute, under the seal of the Corporation
or
otherwise, and to deliver articles of arrangement and such other documents
as
are necessary or desirable to the Director under the CBCA in accordance with
the
Agreement for filing.
6. Any
officer or director of the Corporation is hereby authorized and directed
for and
on behalf of the Corporation to execute or cause to be executed, under the
seal
of the Corporation or otherwise, and to deliver or cause to be delivered,
all
such other documents and instruments and to perform or cause to be performed
all
such other acts and things as may be necessary or desirable to give full
effect
to the foregoing resolutions and the matters authorized hereby, such
determination to be conclusively evidenced by the execution and delivery
of such
document or instrument and the doing of such act or
thing.