among Bank Austria Ceditanstalt AG (the "Bank"), Century Casinos, Inc., Colorado Springs, U.S.A. (the "Company") and Oesterreichische Kontrollbank Aktiengesellschaft ("OeKB")
among
Bank
Austria Ceditanstalt AG
(the
"Bank"),
Century
Casinos, Inc., Colorado Springs,
U.S.A.
(the
"Company")
and
Oesterreichische
Kontrollbank
Aktiengesellschaft
("OeKB")
-1-
Preamble
OeKB,
a duly
established company under Austrian law, provides instruments which allow trading
and settlement of registered securities (equity and debt instruments) in
compliance with procedures used for bearer securities. This Agreement is made
to
facilitate the trading of the shares of the Company,
on the
Vienna Stock Exchange.
OeKB
has not
examined the Company,
especially not with regard to its valid existence, due organization, financial
standing and economic soundness.
The
Company represents and warrants that all of its existing shares of common stock
have been validly issued, are fully paid and non-assessable. These shares are
traded in the U.S. on the NASDAQ Capital Market and the Shares (as defined
below) will also be tradeable on that market. Moreover, a prospectus pursuant
to
the Austrian Capital Markets Act was prepared by the Company and was approved
by
the Financial Markets Authority on September 28, 2005.
Subject
matter of the Agreement are any issued and outstanding shares of common stock
of
the Company with a par value of USD 0.01 per share. The number of Austrian
Depositary Certificates (the „Certificates“) issued by OeKB,
which
are held in form of a global certificate (the „Austrian Depositary Certificate“
or „ADC“) matches the number of shares delivered to the Custodian (as defined in
the Annex) of the Austrian Central Securities Depositary (the “CSD”) for the
purpose of issuing the Certificates (the „Shares“).
The
parties are aware that the Shares are being delivered to the Custodian against
delivery of Certificates in connection with a public offering of Certificates
by
the Company in Austria.
Article
1 - The ADC
OeKB
shall issue the ADC according to the Annex, containing the form and the terms
and conditions (the „Conditions“) of the Certificates, all of which constitute
an integral part of this Agreement.
The
number of Certificates represented by the ADC will match the number of Shares
delivered to the securities account of the CSD with its custodian and registered
in the name of OeKB.
Article
2 - Duties of the Bank vis-à-vis OeKB
(i) |
The
Bank will upon OeKB´s request, use its reasonable best efforts to enable
OeKB to perform its obligations in relation to matters arising from
the
ADC as specified below. This authorisation of the Bank does not relate
to
|
-the
transfer or withdrawal of Shares from OeKB´s securities account with the CSD nor
to
-changes
of the registration in the register of shareholders of the Company.
-2-
Upon
receipt of relevant information relating to general meetings of shareholders
of
the Company, dividend payments, capital changes and the like, the Bank shall
ensure that OeKB be informed thereof.
(ii)
The Bank is obliged to deliver or cause the delivery of all relevant information
to OeKB that may be required to enable OeKB to comply with its respective
obligations.
(iii)
In
particular, the Bank shall provide OeKB with a sufficient number of copies
of
the following information and documentation, either in German or
English;
aa) Certificate
of Incorporation and the Bylaws of the Company and, promptly upon any amendment
thereto, such amendment;
bb) all
financial reports and all annual, bi-annual and other interim reports which
the
Company generally distributes to its shareholders;
cc) all
other
information which the Company distributes to or publishes for its
shareholders;
dd) all
communication pertaining to the holding of general meetings of the shareholders
of the Company as regards the following information:
- date,
place and time of the general meeting
- agenda
and the relevant information
- all
other
matters affecting the rights of the shareholders;
ee) all
communication distributed to, on a case by case basis and when relevant, or
published for the shareholders of the Company as regards dividend
payments, in any case
the following
information:
- amount
of
dividend
- payment
date
- if
applicable, ex-date at the relevant stock exchange;
ff) all
communication distributed to or published for the shareholders of the Company
as
regards the issue of new shares or the creation of other rights or claims in
favour of the shareholders of the Company, in any case the following
information:
- the
nature and contents of such rights
- if
applicable, ex-date at the relevant stock exchange
- the
period for exercising such rights;
-3-
gg) all
communication to be distributed to or published for the shareholders of the
Company with respect to the resolutions passed at general meetings, if
any;
hh) all
other
information which the Company is required to provide under the rules of the
Vienna Stock Exchange.
(iv)
All
communication by the Bank pursuant to Article 2 (iii) dd), ee) and ff) must
be
sent by e-mail or fax in time for its forwarding to be made in Austria at the
same time the Bank dispatches it to the Certificate-Holders. Information and
documents listed in Article 2 (iii) aa), bb), cc), gg) and hh) must be sent
to
OeKB without delay.
(v)
The
Bank
shall assist the Company and OeKB in arranging for any publication in the
„Amtsblatt zur Wiener Zeitung” (i.e. the official gazette for notices and
information of holders of securities) required under Austrian or any other
applicable law, if, in the latter case, so instructed by the Company. All
expenses arising thereof shall be borne by the Company.
(vi)
If
appropriate, the Bank will assist the Certificate Holders in exercising their
voting rights in shareholder meetings of the Company.
(vii) In
respect of obligations of OeKB according to the ADC and the Conditions, the
Bank
will supply OeKB with all required information that OeKB is obliged to forward
to the Certificate Holders, provided that the Bank has received such information
from the Company, it being understood that the Bank has employed reasonable
best
efforts to obtain such information from the Company. In the event OeKB has
received the required information from another competent source and the Bank
has
not received the information, the Bank is relieved for its duty to provide
this
information to OeKB.
Article
3 - Duties of the Company vis-à-vis the Bank
The
Company is obliged to provide in due time any and all information, materials,
notifications, etc to the Bank which the Bank requires to fulfill its
obligations vis-à-vis OeKB pursuant to Art. 2.
Article
4 - Fees
OeKB
may
charge the Bank reasonable fees to cover its expenses and time spent in
negotiations relating to the setting up and administering of the
ADC.
-4-
Article
5 - Liability
(a)
General
In
the
performance of the duties under this Agreement, the parties shall act with
the
due care of a diligent merchant and shall bear all responsibility for any
negligence.
(b) Indemnification
(i) OeKB
has
and will continue to carefully select the Custodian in order to have a custodian
perform the required services for the duration of this Agreement, and will
indemnify and hold harmless the Company for any damages and losses arising
from
the violation of this obligation. CSD has entered into a custodian agreement
with Xxxxx Brothers Xxxxxxxx & Co (“BBH”) dated April 21, 2005 under which
BBH operates a deposit for CSD and under which BBH agrees to provide certain
services set forth therein. BBH’s liability will be made available by OeKB to
the Company, the Bank and the Certificate Holders via their respective deposit
banks, as the case may be.
(ii) OeKB
shall be kept harmless by the Company of claims for damages and lawsuits which
a
Certificate Holder may raise or file against OeKB in respect of his acquisition
and holding as beneficial owner of Shares in the Company, except for claims
arising specifically from the negligence of OeKB or its officers or employees
in
connection with its performance under this Agreement.
(iii) The
Company shall deposit a sum of $ 1 million in cash on an account held
by
OeKB or present an irrevocable and unconditional bank guarantee payable on
first
demand by OeKB and issued by a recognized Austrian bank to cover any and all
amounts payable under the hold-harmless clause above (the “Security”). Any form
of the Security may be exchanged into the other form of Security. 18 months
after the delivery of the Security, OeKB and the Company will enter into good
faith negotiations to gradually reduce and finally do away with the Security.
Any net proceeds of the Security (e.g. interest on the cash) will be at the
disposal of the Company. The Security will be provided by the Company to OeKB
at
the latest within one bank day upon receipt of the proceeds resulting from
the
public offering of the ADCs in Austria and the listing of the ADCs on the Vienna
Stock Exchange.
Article
6 - Termination provisions
a) Term
of agreement
This Agreement shall be valid for such time until it be revised, replaced or
terminated.
-5-
b)
Termination by notice
Any
party may terminate
this Agreement by giving at least six months notice.
Such
termination will trigger the termination of the ADC in compliance with the
Conditions.
At the end of
the termination
period such trustee will, subject to any other agreement, be registered
instead of OeKB on the Shares which is generally registered for the shares
to
make the Shares fungible
with the
Shares.
Article
7 - Law and jurisdiction
a) |
This
Agreement and the rights and obligations arising hereunder as well
as
their interpretation are subject to the laws of the Republic of Austria.
|
b) |
The
parties are aware that such matters which relate to the rights and
obligations related directly to the Shares (other than the payment
of
dividends which shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts
in
Vienna) are governed by the Certificate of Incorporation of the Company,
the Bylaws of the Company, and by applicable mandatory provisions
of the
laws of the United States, the State of Delaware, or the State of
Colorado.
|
c) |
The
courts in Vienna, Austria shall have exclusive jurisdiction with
regard to
the enforcement of claims by any of the parties hereto against any
other
party.
|
Article
8 - Notices
a)
|
All
communications to the Bank
shall be addressed to
|
Bank
Austria Creditanstalt AG
Telephone:
+43 50505-
Fax:
b)
|
All
communications to OeKB
shall be addressed to
|
Oesterreichische
Kontrollbank Aktiengesellschaft
Central
Securities Depository
Xx
Xxx
0
0000
Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxx
Telephone:
|
x00
0 000 00-0
|
Fax:
|
x00
0 000 00 0000
|
-6-
c)
All
communications to the Company
shall be
addressed to
Century
Casinos, Inc.
0000
Xxxx
Xxxxx Xxxxx, Xxxxx X
Xxxxxxxx
Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx 00000
Telephone:
+ 0 000 000 0000
Fax:
+ 0
000 000 0000
with
a copy
to
Century
Casinos Europe GmbH and Dorda
Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxxxxx
Xxxxxx 00 Xxxxxxxxxxxxx
XxxX
0000
Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxx
Dr
Xxxx
Xxxxxx-Xxxx 00
0000
Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxx
Telephone:
+ 00 0 000 00 00-0
Fax:
+ 00
0 000 00 00
In
case
of change of address the parties concerned shall inform the other parties in
writing.
Article
9 - Invalidity
If
a
provision of this Agreement is or shall become entirely or partially invalid
or
unenforceable, the other provisions hereof shall remain valid. An invalid or
unenforceable provision shall be replaced in full with a valid provision which
comes nearest to it and complies with the intention of the parties and the
purposes of this Agreement.
-7-
Article
10 - Miscellaneous
a) Proper
operation
The
parties to this Agreement are obliged to take all steps that may be required
to
ensure the proper operation of this Agreement.
b) Language
Communications
between the parties shall be in German or English.
c) Stamp
duties
The
Company shall bear all stamp duties, taxes and similar charges which may be
levied in respect of the Agreement and the performance of the transactions
hereunder.
d) Copies
This
Agreement shall be signed in three copies.
e) Annex
The
Annex
forms an integral part of this Agreement.
f) Amendments
Amendments
to this Agreement shall require a written document signed by all parties in
order to be legally valid. This clause may only be changed in
writing.
Signed
by
and dated the date of the final signature.
Century
Casinos, Inc.
/s/
Xxxxx Haitzmann
|
/s/
Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx
|
Xxxxx
Haitzmann
|
Xxxxx
Xxxxxxxxxx
|
Colorado
Springs, 30.9.2005
Oesterreichische
Kontrollbank
Aktiengesellschaft
/s/
Xxxxx Xxxxxx
|
/s/
Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx
|
Xxxxx
Xxxxxx
|
Xxxxxxxxx
Xxxxxxxx
|
Vienna,
30.9.2005
-8-
Bank
Austria Creditanstalt AG
/s/
Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxx
|
/s/
Xxxxxx Xxxxxx
|
Xxxxxxx
Xxxxxxx
|
Xxxxxx
Xxxxxx
|
Vienna,
30.9.2005
-9-
Annex
to
the ADC-Agreement:
The
Austrian Depositary Certificate has the following wording:
AUSTRIAN
DEPOSITARY CERTIFICATE
in
respect of
registered
shares of common stock with a par value of $0.01 of
Century
Casinos, Inc., Colorado Springs, U.S.A. (“Company”)
Oesterreichische
Kontrollbank Aktiengesellschaft ("OeKB"), Vienna, holds [●] registered shares of
common stock with a par value of $0.01 each of Century Casinos, Inc. (the
"Company" and the “Shares“). The Shares are registered in the register of
shareholders of the Company in the name of OeKB or its agent. The Shares are
kept on deposit in the name of OeKB with the Austrian Central Securities
Depositary (the “CSD”), which holds the Shares with its respective custodian in
the United States of America (the “Custodian“), each of which is represented by
a certificate (each a “Certificate”), all of which are represented hereby. The
amount of Shares held with the CSD and registered in the name of OeKB
corresponds at all times to the notation on the schedule (the “Notation“)
attached to this ADC and each such Share shall be represented by a Certificate.
A Certificate Holder (as defined below) is not entitled to receive delivery
of
physical Certificates.
Each
Certificate entitles its holder (the “Certificate Holder“) to receive one Share.
OeKB or its agent provides the rights for and delegates the obligations to
each
Certificate Holder which it obtained upon registration in the register of
shareholders of the Company as if the Certificate Holder itself were
registered.
OeKB
has
not scrutinized the Company in any respect, particularly as regards its
financial standing and economic soundness or as regards to its due organization
and valid existence. OeKB does not assume any responsibility for damages which
a
Certificate Holder or any other third party might suffer by investments in
the
Shares.
The
terms
and the conditions of the Certificates attached to this ADC shall apply and
form
part of this ADC. The ADC bears the signatures of two duly authorized
signatories of OeKB.
Vienna,
Oesterreichische
Kontrollbank Aktiengesellschaft
-10-
Terms
and
conditions of the Certificates (the Conditions“)
1.
|
OeKB
undertakes that each Certificate Holder is entitled, subject to mandatory
United States law and in accordance with the Certificate of Incorporation
and other regulations of the Company, to instruct CSD via his deposit
bank
to deliver at the cost of same to any appropriate account such number
of
Shares not exceeding the number of Certificates held by or on behalf
of
himself. OeKB undertakes that upon receipt of such request, CSD shall
immediately instruct the Custodian to have the appropriate number
of
Shares registered in the respective name and to deliver these Shares
as
instructed. OeKB represents that the ADC is decreased accordingly
by the
corresponding number of said Certificates. Any shareholder may deliver
his
shares of common stock to the Custodian to be credited to the account
of
CSD (on behalf of OeKB as issuer of the ADC). Immediately upon receipt
of
notification of the credit entry and confirmation of the registration
of
OeKB, (i) OeKB will issue an amount of Certificates which corresponds
to
the amount of shares of common stock credited and (ii) CSD will credit
those Certificates to such deposit bank in the CSD which acts on
behalf of
the deposit bank that has been named by the
shareholder.
|
The
Certificate Holder shall bear all costs, taxes, fees and duties arising in
connection with the delivery, including all fees such as those of a notary,
as
the case may be.
A
Certificate Holder is not entitled to receive delivery of physical
Certificates.
2.
|
OeKB
undertakes that the Custodian will forward to CSD without delay any
dividends or other amounts received in the original
currency.
|
OeKB
undertakes that CSD shall forward cash dividends received from the
Custodian to each Certificate Holder through his deposit bank without
any
deduction of any fees of OeKB/CSD. Stock dividends of at least one
share,
shares deriving from stock splits, bonus shares and similarly created
Shares shall be credited to the Certificate Holder through his deposit
bank in the form of additional Certificates. If a rateable allocation
of
such shares to the Certificate Holder, corresponding to the number
of his
holdings, is not possible, OeKB will instruct CSD to attempt to sell
the
relevant rights on a best efforts basis and shall rateably distribute
the
proceeds of the sale to the deposit banks in favour of the Certificate
Holder in proportion to the Certificates held by same. Should subscription
rights be granted, OeKB shall allow the Certificate Holder to subscribe
via his deposit bank. Moreover, OeKB will sell new Shares, subscription
rights, fractional entitlements or other rights arising from the
Shares on
a best efforts basis, upon instruction of the Certificate Holder
via his
deposit bank and to distribute the proceeds as described
above.
|
All
payments to the Certificate Holder shall be made via his deposit banks, in
accordance with the General Terms and Conditions of the CSD.
3.
|
OeKB
shall not exercise the voting rights of the Shares credited at any
given
time to the account of the CSD with the Custodian but CSD shall,
upon
receipt, forward via their deposit banks proxy statements, forms
of voting
instruction and all related materials for stockholder meetings of
the
Company to those Certificate Holders who held Certificates on the
record
date for such meeting. Each Certificate Holder shall be entitled
to
provide voting instructions via his deposit bank as to the number
of
Shares represented by the Certificates held by such Certificate Holder,
and OeKB or its agent shall instruct the Custodian to deliver a proxy
to
the Company reflecting the aggregate voting instructions received
from
Certificate Holders on account of the Shares then held on
deposit.
|
Each
Certificate-Holder is entitled to vote, as described in the following, in
general meetings of stockholders of the Company according to the number of
Certificates he holds in the ADC. Subject to the laws of the United States,
the
State of Delaware and to the Certificate of Incorporation and the By-Laws of
the
Company, the Bank which arranged for shares of the Company to be traded in
Austria, as well as the Company are obliged to see to it that each
Certificate-Holder is able to vote on the basis of a voting proxy issued by
OeKB
without having to re-register the Shares for the time of the general meeting.
The
costs
for voting procedures described above are to be borne by the Certificate Holder
via his deposit bank.
4.
|
If
the ADC is at any time subject to any taxes, fees and/or duties,
the
Certificate Holder shall bear these taxes, fees and/or duties in
respect
of the Certificates of same via his deposit
bank.
|
OeKB
shall, at any time, be entitled to charge a Certificate Holder via
his
deposit bank rateably all taxes, fees and/or duties to which OeKB
may be
subject, due to the fact that it holds the
Shares.
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5.
|
If
other securities, other property or rights should replace the Shares
in
the event of a change in capital or due to a merger, conversion,
change of
name, or for any other reason, the right of a Certificate Holder
to obtain
Shares shall be converted into the right to obtain such replacements.
The
Conditions of the ADC shall then apply mutatis mutandis to any new
or
replacement certificates.
|
6.
|
CSD
shall be entitled to replace the Custodian by another institution
of the
same standing.
|
7.
|
OeKB
undertakes that all relevant information relating to the Shares received
by competent sources shall be forwarded via the CSD according to
its
General Terms and Conditions to the Certificate Holder via his deposit
bank.
|
8.
|
All
Certificate Holders shall bear jointly all economic and legal risks
and
losses in respect of Shares held by OeKB or its agent due to, e.g.,
market
and exchange rate changes, as well as to acts of God. OeKB shall
not be
liable for damages which arise outside its sphere of influence,
caused by
disruptions over which it has no control, be it of its own operations
or
of the services it uses to fulfill its obligations.
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9.
|
If
a provision of the Conditions is or shall become entirely or partially
invalid or unenforceable, the other provisions shall remain valid.
An
invalid or unenforceable provision shall be replaced by a valid
and
enforceable provision which meets the purposes of these
Conditions.
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10.
|
All
relations between the Certificate Holder and OeKB are governed by
the laws
of Austria. Exclusive place of jurisdiction is
Vienna.
|
11.
|
Amendments
by OeKB to the Conditions are only permitted if the rights of the
Certificate Holder are not prejudiced, except in the event that the
amendment be required due to
amendments
|
(i) |
either
of mandatory statutory law
|
(ii) or
of the
Certificate of Incorporation of the Company.
12.
|
If
deemed reasonable by OeKB and neither prohibited by the Certificate
of
Incorporation and the By-Laws nor under the laws governing the
Company,
OeKB shall procure the entry of an agent on its behalf in the
register of
shareholders of the Company and/or on the
Shares.
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13.
|
OeKB
shall not exercise any rights accruing to OeKB on account of
the Shares
credited at any given time to the account of the CSD with the
Custodian,
including but not limited to any purchase rights pursuant to
the Rights
Agreement between the Company and American Securities Transfer
and Trust,
Inc., dated April 29, 1999, but shall, upon receipt of notification
of any
such rights, forward such notification and all related materials
to those
Certificate Holders who held Certificates on the record date
for such
rights via their deposit banks. Such Certificate Holders shall
be entitled
to provide via their deposit banks instructions as to the exercise
of such
rights for the number of Shares represented by the Certificates
held by
such Certificate Holders, and OeKB shall instruct the Custodian
via the
CSD on the exercise of any and all such rights in accordance
with
instructions received by OeKB from the Certificate Holders. Total
costs
upon exercise of any such rights will be charged to the Certificate
Holders via their deposit
banks.
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14.
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Whenever
the Company shall elect to redeem Shares in accordance with Article
FOURTH
Section D of the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation, the Company shall
deliver written notice to OeKB or its agent, with copy to OeKB,
of the
number of Shares to be so redeemed and the Certificate Holder(s)
subject
to such redemption (including the CSD participant through which
the
Certificate Holder holds the Certificates and his securities
account with
such CSD participant), which notice shall be accompanied by a
certificate
from the Company stating that such redemption is in accordance
with the
provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation. On the date of
such
redemption, provided that the Company shall then have paid in
full to
CSD’s cash account with the Custodian the redemption price of the
Shares
to be redeemed, the Custodian shall deliver such redemption price
to OeKB,
and OeKB shall deliver such redemption price via CSD and the
deposit banks
to the affected Certificate Holder(s), cancel their Certificates,
and
reduce the ADC accordingly. The Custodian shall, upon delivery
of the
redemption price to OeKB, deliver the redeemed Shares to the
Company for
cancellation and make arrangements for the issuance of a replacement
certificate for the remaining amount of Shares to be issued in
the name of
OeKB or its agent.
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15.
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In
connection with the exercise of any rights of Certificate-Holders
under
the Conditions, the Custodian and OeKB are entitled to require
Certificate-Holders to file documents, execute certificates, make
representations and warranties and provide any other information
required
via their deposit banks.
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16.
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OeKB
is entitled to terminate the ADC upon six months prior notice and
wind it
up so that the Certificate Holders will then avail of shares of common
stock in an amount corresponding to the amount of Certificates previously
held by them. At the end of the termination period such trustee will,
subject to any other agreement, be registered instead of OeKB on
the
Shares which is generally registered for the shares to make the Shares
fungible with the shares.
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