Exhibit 1.1
___________, 2002
EXCHANGE AGENT AGREEMENT
The Bank of New York
000 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Attention: Corporate Trust Administration
Ladies and Gentlemen:
_________________________________________________________ (the
"Company") proposes to make an offer (the "Exchange Offer") to exchange all of
its outstanding ___________________________ (the "Old Securities") for its
___________________________ (the "New Securities"). The terms and conditions of
the Exchange Offer as currently contemplated are set forth in a prospectus,
dated ___________ (the "Prospectus"), proposed to be distributed to all record
holders of the Old Securities. The Old Securities and the New Securities are
collectively referred to herein as the "Securities".
The Company hereby appoints The Bank of New York to act as
exchange agent (the "Exchange Agent") in connection with the Exchange Offer.
References hereinafter to "you" shall refer to The Bank of New York.
The Exchange Offer is expected to be commenced by the Company
on or about _____________. The Letter of Transmittal accompanying the Prospectus
(or in the case of book-entry securities, the Automated Tender Offer Program
("ATOP") of the Book-Entry Transfer Facility (as defined below)) is to be used
by the holders of the Old Securities to accept the Exchange Offer and contains
instructions with respect to the delivery of certificates for Old Securities
tendered in connection therewith.
The Exchange Offer shall expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City
time, on _________ or on such subsequent date or time to which the Company may
extend the Exchange Offer (the "Expiration Date"). Subject to the terms and
conditions set forth in the Prospectus, the Company expressly reserves the right
to extend the Exchange Offer from time to time and may extend the Exchange Offer
by giving oral (promptly confirmed in writing) or written notice to you before
9:00 a.m., New York City time, on the business day following the previously
scheduled Expiration Date.
[The Company expressly reserves the right to amend or
terminate the Exchange Offer, and not to accept for exchange any Old Securities
not theretofore accepted for exchange, upon the occurrence of any of the
conditions of the Exchange
Offer specified in the Prospectus under the caption ["The Exchange
Offer -- Certain Conditions to the Exchange Offer."] The Company will give oral
(promptly confirmed in writing) or written notice of any amendment, termination
or nonacceptance to you as promptly as practicable.]
In carrying out your duties as Exchange Agent, you are to act
in accordance with the following instructions:
1. You will perform such duties and only such duties as are
specifically set forth in the section of the Prospectus captioned
["The Exchange Offer"] or as specifically set forth herein; PROVIDED,
HOWEVER, that in no way will your general duty to act in good faith be
discharged by the foregoing.
2. You will establish a book-entry account with respect to the
Old Securities at The Depository Trust Company (the "Book-Entry Transfer
Facility") for purposes of the Exchange Offer within two business days after the
date of the Prospectus, and any financial institution that is a participant in
the Book-Entry Transfer Facility's systems may make book-entry delivery of the
Old Securities by causing the Book-Entry Transfer Facility to transfer such Old
Securities into your account in accordance with the Book-Entry Transfer
Facility's procedure for such transfer.
3. You are to examine each of the Letters of Transmittal and
certificates for Old Securities (or confirmation of book-entry transfer into
your account at the Book-Entry Transfer Facility) and any other documents
delivered or mailed to you by or for holders of the Old Securities to ascertain
whether: (i) the Letters of Transmittal and any such other documents are duly
executed and properly completed in accordance with instructions set forth
therein; and (ii) the Old Securities have otherwise been properly tendered. In
each case where the Letter of Transmittal or any other document has been
improperly completed or executed or any of the certificates for Old Securities
are not in proper form for transfer or some other irregularity in connection
with the acceptance of the Exchange Offer exists, you will endeavor to inform
the presenters of the need for fulfillment of all requirements and to take any
other action as may be reasonably necessary or advisable to cause such
irregularity to be corrected.
4. With the approval of the [President], [Senior Vice
President], [Executive Vice President], or any [Vice President] of the Company
(such approval, if given orally, to be promptly confirmed in writing) or any
other party designated in writing, by such an officer, you are authorized to
waive any irregularities in connection with any tender of Old Securities
pursuant to the Exchange Offer.
5. Tenders of Old Securities may be made only as set forth in
the Letter of Transmittal and in the section of the Prospectus captioned ["The
Exchange Offer -- Procedures for Tendering Old Securities"], and Old Securities
shall be considered properly tendered to you only when tendered in accordance
with the procedures set forth therein.
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Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 5, Old
Securities which the [President], [Senior Vice President], [Executive Vice
President], or any [Vice President] of the Company shall approve as having been
properly tendered shall be considered to be properly tendered (such approval, if
given orally, shall be promptly confirmed in writing).
6. You shall advise the Company with respect to any Old
Securities received subsequent to the Expiration Date and accept its
instructions with respect to disposition of such Old Securities.
7. You shall accept tenders:
(a) in cases where the Old Securities are registered in two
or more names only if signed by all named holders;
(b) in cases where the signing person (as indicated on the
Letter of Transmittal) is acting in a fiduciary or a representative capacity
only when proper evidence of his or her authority so to act is submitted; and
(c) from persons other than the registered holder of Old
Securities, provided that customary transfer requirements, including payment of
any applicable transfer taxes, are fulfilled.
You shall accept partial tenders of Old Securities where so
indicated and as permitted in the Letter of Transmittal and deliver certificates
for Old Securities to the registrar for split-up and return any untendered Old
Securities to the holder (or such other person as may be designated in the
Letter of Transmittal) as promptly as practicable after expiration or
termination of the Exchange Offer.
8. Upon satisfaction or waiver of all of the conditions to the
Exchange Offer, the Company will notify you (such notice, if given orally, to be
promptly confirmed in writing) of its acceptance, promptly after the Expiration
Date, of all Old Securities properly tendered and you, on behalf of the Company,
will exchange such Old Securities for New Securities and cause such Old
Securities to be cancelled. Delivery of New Securities will be made on behalf of
the Company by you at the rate of $1,000 principal amount of New Securities for
each $1,000 principal amount of the corresponding series of Old Securities
tendered promptly after notice (such notice if given orally, to be promptly
confirmed in writing) of acceptance of said Old Securities by the Company;
provided, however, that in all cases, Old Securities tendered pursuant to the
Exchange Offer will be exchanged only after timely receipt by you of
certificates for such Old Securities (or confirmation of book-entry transfer
into your account at the Book-Entry Transfer Facility), a properly completed and
duly executed Letter of Transmittal (or manually signed facsimile thereof) with
any required signature guarantees and any other required documents. You shall
issue New Securities only in denominations of $1,000 or any integral multiple
thereof.
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9. Tenders pursuant to the Exchange Offer are irrevocable,
except that, subject to the terms and upon the conditions set forth in the
Prospectus and the Letter of Transmittal, Old Securities tendered pursuant to
the Exchange Offer may be withdrawn at any time prior to the Expiration Date.
10. The Company shall not be required to exchange any Old
Securities tendered if any of the conditions set forth in the Exchange Offer are
not met. Notice of any decision by the Company not to exchange any Old
Securities tendered shall be given (if given orally, to be promptly confirmed in
writing) by the Company to you.
11. If, pursuant to the Exchange Offer, the Company does not
accept for exchange all or part of the Old Securities tendered because of an
invalid tender, the occurrence of certain other events set forth in the
Prospectus under the caption ["The Exchange Offer -- Certain Conditions to the
Exchange Offer"] or otherwise, you shall as soon as practicable after the
expiration or termination of the Exchange Offer return those certificates for
unaccepted Old Securities (or effect appropriate book-entry transfer), together
with any related required documents and the Letters of Transmittal relating
thereto that are in your possession, to the persons who deposited them.
12. All certificates for reissued Old Securities, unaccepted
Old Securities or for New Securities shall be forwarded by first-class mail.
13. You are not authorized to pay or offer to pay any
concessions, commissions or solicitation fees to any broker, dealer, bank or
other persons or to engage or utilize any person to solicit tenders.
14. As Exchange Agent hereunder you:
(a) shall not be liable for any action or omission to act
unless the same constitutes your own gross negligence, willful misconduct or bad
faith, and in no event shall you be liable to a securityholder, the Company or
any third party for special, indirect or consequential damages, or lost profits,
arising in connection with this Agreement.
(b) shall have no duties or obligations other than those
specifically set forth herein or as may be subsequently agreed to in writing
between you and the Company;
(c) will be regarded as making no representations and
having no responsibilities as to the validity, sufficiency, value or genuineness
of any of the certificates or the Old Securities represented thereby deposited
with you pursuant to the Exchange Offer, and will not be required to and will
make no representation as to the validity, value or genuineness of the Exchange
Offer;
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(d) shall not be obligated to take any legal action
hereunder which might in your judgment involve any expense or liability, unless
you shall have been furnished with indemnity satisfactory to you;
(e) may conclusively rely on and shall be protected in
acting in reliance upon any certificate, instrument, opinion, notice, letter,
telegram or other document or security delivered to you and believed by you to
be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper person or persons;
(f) may act upon any tender, statement, request, document,
agreement, certificate or other instrument whatsoever not only as to its due
execution and validity and effectiveness of its provisions, but also as to the
truth and accuracy of any information contained therein, which you shall in good
faith believe to be genuine or to have been signed or presented by the proper
person or persons;
(g) may conclusively rely on and shall be protected in
acting upon written or oral instructions from any authorized officer of the
Company;
(h) may consult with counsel of your selection with respect
to any questions relating to your duties and responsibilities and the advice or
opinion of such counsel shall be full and complete authorization and protection
in respect of any action taken, suffered or omitted to be taken by you hereunder
in good faith and in accordance with the advice or opinion of such counsel; and
(i) shall not advise any person tendering Old Securities
pursuant to the Exchange Offer as to the wisdom of making such tender or as to
the market value or decline or appreciation in market value of any Old
Securities.
15. You shall take such action as may from time to time be
requested by the Company (and such other action as you may deem appropriate) to
furnish copies of the Prospectus, Letter of Transmittal and the Notice of
Guaranteed Delivery (as defined in the Prospectus) or such other forms as may be
approved from time to time by the Company, to all persons requesting such
documents and to accept and comply with telephone requests for information
relating to the Exchange Offer, provided that such information shall relate only
to the procedures for accepting (or withdrawing from) the Exchange Offer. The
Company will furnish you with copies of such documents on your request. All
other requests for information relating to the Exchange Offer shall be directed
to the Company, Attention: ____________________.
16. You shall advise by facsimile transmission _____, the
_____ of the Company (at the facsimile number _____), and such other person or
persons as the Company may request, daily (and more frequently during the week
immediately preceding the Expiration Date if requested) up to and including the
Expiration Date, as to the number of Old Securities which have been tendered
pursuant to the Exchange Offer and the items received by you pursuant to this
Agreement, separately reporting and
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giving cumulative totals as to items properly received and items improperly
received. In addition, you will also inform, and cooperate in making available
to, the Company or any such other person or persons upon oral request made from
time to time prior to the Expiration Date of such other information as they may
reasonably request. Such cooperation shall include, without limitation, the
granting by you to the Company and such person as the Company may request of
access to those persons on your staff who are responsible for receiving tenders,
in order to ensure that immediately prior to the Expiration Date the Company
shall have received information in sufficient detail to enable it to decide
whether to extend the Exchange Offer. You shall prepare a final list of all
persons whose tenders were accepted, the aggregate principal amount of Old
Securities tendered, the aggregate principal amount of Old Securities accepted
and deliver said list to the Company.
17. Letters of Transmittal and Notices of Guaranteed Delivery
shall be stamped by you as to the date and, after the expiration of the Exchange
Offer, the time, of receipt thereof and shall be preserved by you for a period
of time at least equal to the period of time you preserve other records
pertaining to the transfer of securities. You shall dispose of unused Letters of
Transmittal and other surplus materials by returning them to the Company.
18. For services rendered as Exchange Agent hereunder, you
shall be entitled to such compensation as shall be agreed in writing by the
Company and you. The provisions of this section shall survive the termination of
this Agreement.
19. You hereby acknowledge receipt of the Prospectus and the
Letter of Transmittal. Any inconsistency between this Agreement, on the one
hand, and the Prospectus and the Letter of Transmittal (as they may be amended
from time to time), on the other hand, shall be resolved in favor of the latter
two documents, except with respect to your duties, liabilities and
indemnification as Exchange Agent.
20. The Company covenants and agrees to fully indemnify and
hold you harmless against any and all loss, liability, cost or expense,
including attorneys' fees and expenses, incurred without gross negligence or
willful misconduct on your part, arising out of or in connection with any act,
omission, delay or refusal made by you in reliance upon any signature,
endorsement, assignment, certificate, order, request, notice, instruction or
other instrument or document believed by you to be valid, genuine and sufficient
and in accepting any tender or effecting any transfer of Old Securities believed
by you in good faith to be authorized, and in delaying or refusing in good faith
to accept any tenders or effect any transfer of Old Securities. In each case,
the Company shall be notified by you, by letter or facsimile transmission, of
the written assertion of a claim against you or of any other action commenced
against you, promptly after you shall have received any such written assertion
or shall have been served with a summons in connection therewith. The Company
shall be entitled to participate at its own expense in the defense of any such
claim or other action and, if the Company so elects, the Company
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shall assume the defense of any suit brought to enforce any such claim. In the
event that the Company shall assume the defense of any such suit, the Company
shall not be liable for the fees and expenses of any additional counsel
thereafter retained by you, so long as the Company shall retain counsel
satisfactory to you to defend such suit, and so long as you have not determined,
in your reasonable judgment, that a conflict of interest exists between you and
the Company. The provisions of this section shall survive the termination of
this Agreement.
21. You shall arrange to comply with all requirements under
the tax laws of the United States, including those relating to missing Tax
Identification Numbers, and shall file any appropriate reports with the Internal
Revenue Service.
22. You shall deliver or cause to be delivered, in a timely
manner to each governmental authority to which any transfer taxes are payable in
respect of the exchange of Old Securities, the Company's check in the amount of
all transfer taxes so payable; provided, however, that you shall reimburse the
Company for amounts refunded to you in respect of your payment of any such
transfer taxes, at such time as such refund is received by you.
23. This Agreement and your appointment as Exchange Agent
hereunder shall be construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the
State of New York applicable to agreements made and to be performed entirely
within such state, and without regard to conflicts of law principles, and shall
inure to the benefit of, and the obligations created hereby shall be binding
upon, the successors and assigns of each of the parties hereto.
24. This Agreement may be executed in two or more
counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original and all of which
together shall constitute one and the same agreement.
25. In case any provision of this Agreement shall be invalid,
illegal or unenforceable, the validity, legality and enforceability of the
remaining provisions shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby.
26. This Agreement shall not be deemed or construed to be
modified, amended, rescinded, cancelled or waived, in whole or in part, except
by a written instrument signed by a duly authorized representative of the party
to be charged. This Agreement may not be modified orally.
27. Unless otherwise provided herein, all notices, requests
and other communications to any party hereunder shall be in writing (including
facsimile or similar writing) and shall be given to such party, addressed to it,
at its address or telecopy number set forth below:
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If to the Company:
---------------------------
---------------------------
---------------------------
Facsimile: ________________
Attention: ________________
If to the Exchange Agent:
The Bank of New York
000 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Facsimile: 000-000-0000
Attention: Corporate Trust Administration
28. Unless terminated earlier by the parties hereto, this
Agreement shall terminate 90 days following the Expiration Date. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, Sections 18 and 20 shall survive the termination of this
Agreement. Upon any termination of this Agreement, you shall promptly deliver to
the Company any certificates for Securities, funds or property then held by you
as Exchange Agent under this Agreement.
29. This Agreement shall be binding and effective as of the
date hereof.
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Please acknowledge receipt of this Agreement and confirm the
arrangements herein provided by signing and returning the enclosed copy.
------------------------------
By:---------------------------
Name:
Title:
Accepted as of the date
first above written:
THE BANK OF NEW YORK, as Exchange Agent
By:---------------------------------
Name:
Title:
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