FORM OF STOCKHOLDER AGREEMENT between BRITISH TELECOMMUNICATIONS PLC and Dated as of November 8, 2004
Exhibit 2.1
FORM OF
between
BRITISH TELECOMMUNICATIONS PLC
and
[ ]
Dated as of November 8, 2004
STOCKHOLDER AGREEMENT dated as of November 8, 2004 (this Agreement), between British Telecommunications plc, a company incorporated in England and Wales (Parent), and [ ] (Stockholder).
WHEREAS Parent, Blue Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of Parent (Merger Sub), and Infonet Services Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the Company), propose to enter into an Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of the date hereof (as the same may be amended or supplemented, the Merger Agreement; capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in the Merger Agreement) providing for the merger of Merger Sub with and into the Company (the Merger), upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement; and
WHEREAS Stockholder owns the number of shares of Class A Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company (the Company Class A Common Stock) and of Class B Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company (the Company Class B Common Stock and, together with the Class A Common Stock, the Company Common Stock) set forth on Schedule A attached hereto (such shares of Company Common Stock, together with any other shares of capital stock of the Company acquired by Stockholder after the date hereof and during the term of this Agreement, being collectively referred to herein as the Subject Shares); and
WHEREAS, as a condition to its willingness to enter into the Merger Agreement, Parent has requested that Stockholder enter into this Agreement;
NOW, THEREFORE, to induce Parent to enter into, and in consideration of its entering into, the Merger Agreement, and in consideration of the premises and the representations, warranties and agreements contained herein, the parties agree as follows:
1. Representations and Warranties of Stockholder. Stockholder hereby represents and warrants to Parent as of the date hereof and as of the Effective Time in respect of itself as follows:
(a) Authority. Stockholder has all requisite corporate power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby. The execution and delivery of this Agreement by Stockholder, and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action on the part of Stockholder and no other corporate proceedings on the part of Stockholder are necessary to approve this Agreement or to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby. This Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by Stockholder and constitutes a valid and binding obligation of Stockholder enforceable against Stockholder in accordance with its terms, except as the same may be limited by or subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws, as now or hereafter in effect, relating to creditors’ rights generally and general principles of equity, regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding at law or in equity. The execution and delivery of this Agreement do not, and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and compliance with the terms hereof will not, conflict with, or result in any violation or breach of, or default (with or without notice or lapse of time or both) under, or give rise to a right of, or result in, termination, cancellation or acceleration of any obligation or the loss of a material benefit under, or to increased, additional accelerated or guaranteed right or entitlements of any person under, or result in the creation of any lien in or upon any of the properties or assets of Stockholder under, the charter or other organizational documents of Stockholder,
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any trust agreement, loan or credit agreement, bond, debenture, note mortgage, indenture, lease or other contract (including the 1999 Stockholders’ Agreement (as defined below)), commitment, agreement, instrument, arrangement, understanding, obligation, undertaking, permit, concession, franchise, license, judgment, order, notice, decree, statute, law, ordinance, rule or regulation applicable to Stockholder or to Stockholder’s property or assets, except for any such conflicts, violations, breaches, defaults, rights, losses, entitlements or liens that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to prevent or materially delay Stockholder’s performance of its obligations under this Agreement. No trust of which Stockholder is a trustee requires the consent of any beneficiary to the execution and delivery of this Agreement or to the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby.
(b) The Subject Shares. Stockholder is the record and beneficial owner of, or is trustee of a trust that is the record holder of, and whose beneficiaries are the beneficial owners of, and has good and marketable title to, the Subject Shares on Schedule A, free and clear of any claims, liens, encumbrances and security interests whatsoever, except that the Subject Shares are subject to the terms and conditions of the Amended and Restated Stockholders’ Agreement (the 1999 Stockholders’ Agreement), among Stockholder, the Company and each of the other holders of Company Class A Common Stock. Stockholder does not own, of record or beneficially, any shares of capital stock of the Company other than the Subject Shares on Schedule A. Stockholder has the sole right to vote such Subject Shares, and none of such Subject Shares is subject to any voting trust or other agreement, arrangement or restriction with respect to the voting of such Subject Shares, except as contemplated by this Agreement and except as set forth in the 1999 Stockholders’ Agreement.
(c) Permits. Stockholder has the benefit of in each relevant jurisdiction all Permits necessary or advisable for it to own, lease or operate its properties and assets and to carry on its commercial relationships with the Company as now conducted, except for Permits the failure of which to have in effect, individually or in the aggregate, has not had and would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(d) Data Protection. Stockholder is, and has been, in compliance with all Data Protection Legislation relevant to its commercial relationships with the Company, except for instances of noncompliance that individually or in the aggregate have not had and would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(e) No Violation. (i) Stockholder has not received any notice or other written communication alleging or relating to a possible violation of any statute, law, ordinance, rule, regulation, judgment, order or decree of any Governmental Entity relevant to its commercial relationships with the Company and, (ii) to Stockholder’s knowledge, Stockholder has not itself violated and is not in violation of any statute, law, ordinance, rule, regulation, judgment, order or decree of any Governmental Entity, which violation is relevant to its commercial relationship with the Company, in the case of each of (i) and (ii), that individually or in the aggregate has had or would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(f) Customer Actions. As of the date hereof, to the knowledge of the senior executive officers of Stockholder without further inquiry, Stockholder has not received (i) any written complaints or written claims from its customers or end users relating to the Company’s products and services that individually or in the aggregate have had or would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; or (ii) any written notice from any of its customers or end users of a plan or intent to terminate, cancel or otherwise adversely modify its relationship with the Company or any controlled Affiliate of the Company or to decrease materially or limit materially the purchase of the Company’s (or such Affiliate’s) products or services, in any such case that individually or in the aggregate has had or would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
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(g) Material Adverse Effect. For the purposes of this Agreement, Material Adverse Effect shall mean any state of facts, change, development, effect, condition, or occurrence that has been or would reasonably be expected to (i) be material and adverse to the business, assets, properties, financial condition or results of operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole; (ii) directly or indirectly, prevent or materially impede or delay the consummation of the Merger; or (iii) materially increase the cost to Parent of consummating the Merger or subject Parent or any of its Affiliates to any material criminal or material civil liability, in the case of each of (ii) and (iii) that would be material and adverse to the business, assets, properties, financial condition or results of operations of Parent and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole.
2. Representations and Warranties of Parent.
(a) Authority. Parent hereby represents and warrants to Stockholder as of the date hereof and as of the Effective Time as follows: Parent has all requisite corporate power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby. The execution and delivery of this Agreement by Parent, and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action on the part of Parent and no other corporate proceedings on the part of Parent are necessary to approve this Agreement or to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby. This Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by Parent and constitutes a valid and binding obligation of Parent enforceable against Parent in accordance with its terms, except as the same may be limited by or subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws, as now or hereafter in effect, relating to creditors’ rights generally and general principles of equity, regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding at law or in equity. The execution and delivery of this Agreement do not, and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and compliance with the terms hereof will not, conflict with, or result in any violation or breach of, or default (with or without notice or lapse of time or both) under, or give rise to a right of, or result in, termination, cancellation or acceleration of any obligation or the loss of a material benefit under, or to increased, additional accelerated or guaranteed rights or entitlements of any person under, or result in the creation of any lien in or upon any of the properties or assets of Parent under, the charter or other organizational documents of Parent, any trust agreement, loan or credit agreement, note bond, debenture, note, mortgage, indenture, lease or other contract, commitment, agreement, instrument, arrangement, understanding, obligation, undertaking, permit, concession, franchise, license, judgment, order, notice, decree, statute, law, ordinance, rule or regulation applicable to Parent or to Parent’s property or assets. Each other holder of Company Class A Common Stock, and Xxxx Xxxxxxx, Xxxx Xxxxxxxxx and Xxxxx Xxxxxxx, (collectively, the Senior Executives), is simultaneously executing and delivering to Parent a Stockholder Agreement in form and substance substantially identical to this Agreement (collectively, the Other Stockholder Agreements), it being understood that there are differences between the Other Stockholder Agreements executed by the Senior Executives and the Other Stockholder Agreements executed by holders of Class A Common Stock.
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3. Covenants.
(a) Until the termination of this Agreement in accordance with Section 7, Stockholder agrees as follows:
(i) At any meeting of stockholders of the Company called to vote upon the Merger and the Merger Agreement or at any adjournment thereof or in any other circumstances upon which a vote, consent or other approval (including by written consent) with respect to the Merger and the Merger Agreement is sought, Stockholder shall, including by executing a written consent or otherwise participating in a written consent solicitation (to the extent such an action by written consent would be permitted by Section 5.12 of the Merger Agreement, applicable law, the Company’s Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated Bylaws, and the rules and regulations of the New York Stock Exchange) if requested by Parent, vote (or cause to be voted) the Subject Shares (and each class thereof) in favor of the Merger, the adoption by the Company of the Merger Agreement and the approval of the terms thereof and each of the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement. Notwithstanding the immediately preceding sentence or anything else in this Agreement to the contrary, Stockholder shall not be required to take any action by written consent or to initiate any written consent solicitation with respect to the Merger or the Merger Agreement (and no proxy to act by written consent (as distinguished from a proxy to vote at the Stockholders Meeting) is given by Stockholder under Section 4(a) of this Agreement) unless, within 14 days after the staff of the SEC has indicated to the Company that it either (i) will not review the Proxy Statement or (ii) (if the Proxy Statement is reviewed) has no further comments, the Company has not mailed the Proxy Statement to the Company’s stockholders; provided, further, Stockholder shall not be required to take any action by such a written consent or to initiate such a written consent solicitation (and no such proxy is given) if a Takeover Proposal has been made and the Board of Directors of the Company (or the Special Committee, as applicable) is in the process of (i) furnishing information to, or participating in discussions or negotiations with, the Person making the Takeover Proposal in accordance with Section 4.2(a) of the Merger Agreement or (ii) considering in accordance with Section 4.2(b) of the Merger Agreement whether to terminate the Merger Agreement pursuant to Section 7.1(g) thereof to accept a Superior Proposal. The obligation set forth in this Section 3(a)(i) shall continue in full force and effect if the Merger Agreement is amended or otherwise modified in accordance with the terms of the Merger Agreement so long as such amendment or other modification does not reduce the amount of the Merger Consideration or provide that the Merger Consideration shall be payable otherwise than in cash. For the avoidance of doubt, Stockholder shall have no obligation under this Section 3(a)(i) or otherwise to vote in favor of the Merger, the Merger Agreement or the other transactions that it contemplates if the Merger Agreement is amended or otherwise modified, or purportedly amended or otherwise modified, in any manner that is inconsistent with the immediately preceding sentence.
(ii) At any meeting of stockholders of the Company or at any adjournment thereof or in any other circumstances upon which Stockholder’s vote, consent or other approval is sought, Stockholder shall vote (or cause to be voted) the Subject Shares (and each class thereof) against (A) any merger agreement or merger (other than the Merger Agreement and the Merger), consolidation, tender offer, exchange offer, business combination, sale of substantial assets, reorganization, recapitalization, joint venture, license of Intellectual Property Rights, dissolution, liquidation or winding up of or by the Company or any other Takeover Proposal (an Alternative Transaction) and (B) any amendment of the Company’s certificate of incorporation or by-laws or other proposal or transaction involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries, which amendment or other proposal or transaction would in any manner impede, frustrate, prevent or nullify the Merger, the Merger Agreement or any of the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement or change in any manner the voting rights of any class of Company Common Stock (a Frustrating Transaction). Stockholder further agrees not to commit or agree to take any action inconsistent with the foregoing.
(iii) Stockholder agrees not to (A) sell, transfer, pledge, assign or otherwise dispose of (including by gift, merger or otherwise by operation of law) (collectively, Transfer), or enter into any contract, option or other arrangement (including any profit sharing arrangement) with respect to the Transfer of, the Subject Shares to any person other than pursuant to the terms of the Merger, except that Stockholder shall be permitted to Transfer all or a portion of the Subject Shares to any of its Affiliates, including any direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiary, on the terms set forth in Section 6 of this Agreement, (B) enter into any voting arrangement, whether by proxy, voting agreement or otherwise, in connection with, directly or indirectly, any Alternative Transaction or (C) convert any shares of Company Class A Common Stock into shares of Company Class B Common Stock.
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(iv) Stockholder shall not, nor shall it permit any investment banker, attorney or other adviser or representative of Stockholder to, (A) directly or indirectly solicit, initiate, or take any other action knowingly to facilitate any Alternative Transaction or (B) directly or indirectly enter into, continue or otherwise participate in any discussions or negotiations regarding, or furnish to any person any information with respect to, any Alternative Transaction.
(v) Stockholder shall use all reasonable efforts to take, or cause to be taken, all actions, and to do, or cause to be done, and to assist and cooperate with the other parties in doing, all things necessary, proper or advisable to consummate and make effective, in the most expeditious manner practicable, the Merger and the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement. Without in any way limiting the foregoing sentence, and in full consultation with Parent, Stockholder shall use all reasonable efforts to provide, or cause its own parents, affiliates and its and their directors, officers and employees to provide, in the most expeditious manner practicable, any data, documents or other sources of information that are requested voluntarily or required by the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Communications Commission, the European Commission or any other Governmental Entity in order to complete at as early an investigative stage as possible each such Governmental Entity’s evaluation and clearance of the transactions contemplated in the Merger Agreement.
(vi) Stockholder shall not exercise any right that it may have under Section 3 or 4 of the 1999 Stockholders’ Agreement.
(b) In consultation with Parent, Stockholder shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to provide Parent and the Company any relevant information that is not commercially sensitive (including through access to relevant employees) to assist Parent and the Company in resolving any investigation or other inquiry or proceeding initiated by any Governmental Authority or private party with respect to the Stockholder’s operations that relate to the Company or with respect to the Company’s operations in any country with respect to which there is a Country Representative Agreement in effect between the Stockholder (or any controlled Affiliate) and the Company (or any Affiliate). For purposes of this Agreement, Country Representative Agreement means any agreement between the Company, on the one hand, and a Country Representative.
(c) Stockholder agrees to negotiate in good faith with Parent and if applicable the Company with respect to Stockholder’s commercial relationship with the Company including, without limitation, with respect to interconnection between the Company Network and the Parent Network and with respect to any physical migration of the Company’s core bandwidth, customer access circuits and customers to the Parent Network. For purposes of this Agreement, Company Network shall mean the network managed, owned and operated by the Company or used by Stockholder in support of the Company’s products and services; and Parent Network shall mean the network managed, owned and operated by Parent.
(d)(i) In the event that the Merger Agreement shall have been terminated under circumstances where Parent is or may become entitled to receive the Termination Fee, Stockholder shall pay to Parent on demand an amount equal to 100% of the Profit (determined in accordance with Section 3(d)(ii)) of Stockholder from the consummation of any Alternative Transaction for which a definitive agreement is entered into within one year of such termination. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Stockholder’s obligation pursuant to the preceding sentence shall be reduced by such Stockholder’s Pro Rata Portion of the Rebate Amount. As used herein, the Rebate Amount shall mean 50% of the aggregate Profit realized by the Stockholder and each Person executing an Other Stockholder Agreement from the consummation of any Alternative Transaction; provided, however, that the Rebate Amount shall not exceed $35.0 million in the aggregate. As used herein, the Pro Rata Portion means the fraction equal to the total number of shares of Company Common Stock held by Stockholder as of the date of this Agreement divided by the total number of shares of Company Common Stock held on the date of this Agreement by each Person executing a Stockholder Agreement or an Other Stockholder Agreement.
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(ii) For purposes of this Section 3(d), the Profit of Stockholder from any Alternative Transaction shall equal (A) the aggregate consideration received by Stockholder pursuant to such Alternative Transaction, valuing any non-cash consideration (including any residual interest in the Company) at its fair market value on the date of such consummation, plus (B) the fair market value, on the date of disposition, of all Subject Shares of Stockholder disposed of after the termination of the Merger Agreement and prior to the date of such consummation, less (C) the fair market value of the aggregate consideration that would have been issuable or payable to Stockholder if it had received the Merger Consideration pursuant to the Merger Agreement as originally executed for each of the Subject Shares.
(iii) In the event that (x) prior to the Effective Time, a Takeover Proposal shall have been made and (y) the Effective Time of the Merger shall have occurred and Parent for any reason shall have increased the amount of Merger Consideration payable over that set forth in the Merger Agreement in effect on the date hereof (the Original Merger Consideration), Stockholder shall pay to Parent on demand an amount in cash equal to the product of (i) the number of Subject Shares of Stockholder and (ii) 100% of the excess, if any, of (A) the per share cash consideration or the per share fair market value of any non-cash consideration, as the case may be, received by Stockholder as a result of the Merger, as amended, determined as of the Effective Time of the Merger, over (B) the fair market value of the Original Merger Consideration determined as of the time of the first increase in the amount of the Original Merger Consideration.
(iv) For purposes of this Section 3(d), the fair market value of any non-cash consideration consisting of:
(A) | a security listed on a national securities exchange or quoted on Nasdaq shall be equal to the average closing price per share of such security as reported on such national securities exchange or Nasdaq for the five trading days after the date of determination; and |
(B) | consideration other than cash or securities of the form specified in clause (A) of this Section 3(d)(iv) shall be determined by a nationally recognized independent investment banking firm mutually agreed upon by the parties within 10 business days of the event requiring selection of such banking firm; provided, however, that if the parties are unable to agree within two Business Days after the date of such event as to such investment banking firm, then the parties shall each select one firm, and those firms shall together select a third investment banking firm, which third firm shall make such determination; provided further, that the fees and expenses of such investment banking firm(s) shall be borne equally by Parent, on the one hand, and Stockholder, on the other hand. The determination of the investment banking firm shall be final and binding upon the parties. |
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(v) If some or all of the consideration received by Stockholder in an Alternative Transaction or as part of the Merger Consideration consists of non-cash consideration, then Stockholder shall have the option of satisfying up to the same proportion of its obligations under this Section 3(d) as the non-cash consideration represented of the total consideration in the Alternative Transaction or the total Merger Consideration through the delivery of such non-cash consideration to Parent based on the fair market value thereof. Any payment of Profit under this Section 3(d) shall (x) if paid in cash, be paid by wire transfer of same day funds to an account designated by Parent and (y) if paid through a transfer of non-cash consideration, be paid through delivery of such non-cash consideration to Parent, suitably endorsed for transfer.
(f) To the extent permitted by applicable law, Stockholder hereby waives any rights to appraisal or rights to dissent from the Merger that it may have under applicable law.
(g) Until the termination of this Agreement in accordance with Section 7, Parent agrees as follows:
(i) Parent shall not amend or otherwise modify any of the Other Stockholder Agreements save at the behest of a Governmental Entity.
(ii) Parent shall enforce the obligations of the parties executing the Other Stockholder Agreements to vote their shares of Company Class A Common Stock and Company Class B Common Stock as contemplated by such Other Stockholder Agreements.
(h) Closing Date Actions. Parent shall make available to Stockholder a letter of transmittal and any other necessary documentation sufficiently in advance of the Effective Time to Permit Stockholder to receive its Merger Consideration on the Closing Date.
4. Grant of Irrevocable Proxy; Appointment of Proxy.
(a) Without in any way limiting Stockholder’s right to vote the Subject Shares in its sole discretion on any other matters that may be submitted to a stockholder vote, consent or other approval (including by written consent), Stockholder hereby irrevocably grants to, and appoints, Parent and Xxxxx Xxxxx and Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx in their respective capacities as designees of Parent, and any individual who shall hereafter succeed to any such office of Parent, and each of them individually, Stockholder’s proxy and attorney-in-fact (with full power of substitution), for and in the name, place and stead of Stockholder, to vote Stockholder’s Subject Shares, or grant a consent or approval in respect of such Subject Shares, in accordance with, and subject to the limitations of, Sections 3(a)(i) and 3(a)(ii). The proxy set forth in this Section 4 shall terminate automatically without any further action by any party hereto upon the termination of the Merger Agreement or this Agreement in accordance with their respective terms.
(b) Stockholder represents that any proxies heretofore given in respect of Stockholder’s Subject Shares are not irrevocable, and that all such proxies have been heretofore or are hereby revoked.
(c) Stockholder hereby affirms that the irrevocable proxy granted in this Section 4 is given in connection with the execution of the Merger Agreement, and that such irrevocable proxy is given to secure the performance of the duties of Stockholder under this Agreement. Stockholder hereby further affirms that such irrevocable proxy is coupled with an interest and may under no circumstances be revoked. Stockholder hereby ratifies and confirms all that such irrevocable proxy may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof. Such irrevocable proxy is executed and intended to be irrevocable in accordance with the provisions of Section 212(e) of the DGCL.
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5. Further Assurances. Stockholder will, from time to time, execute and deliver, or cause to be executed and delivered, such additional or further consents, documents and other instruments as Parent may reasonably request for the purpose of effectively carrying out the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
6. Assignment. Neither this Agreement nor any of the rights, interests or obligations hereunder shall be assigned or delegated, in whole or in part (except by operation of law), by either of the parties without the prior written consent of the other party hereto, except that either party may assign, in its sole discretion, any or all of its rights, interests and obligations hereunder to any Affiliate, including any direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiary, of such party if such party delivers to the other party a written agreement duly executed by such assignee agreeing to be bound by the terms of this Agreement as if such assignee were a party hereto, provided that any such assignment shall not relieve the assigning party of its obligations under this Agreement. Any purported assignment without such consent shall be void. Subject to the preceding sentences, this Agreement shall be binding upon, inure to the benefit of and be enforceable by, the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns.
7. Termination. This Agreement shall terminate automatically without any further action by any party hereto upon the earliest to occur of (a) the Effective Time of the Merger, (b) the termination of the Merger Agreement in accordance with its terms and (c) any amendment or other modification of the Merger Agreement that reduces the amount of the Merger Consideration or provides that the Merger Consideration shall be payable otherwise than in cash; provided, however, that this Agreement shall not terminate if the Company is in breach of its obligations under the Merger Agreement or Stockholder is in breach of its obligations under this Agreement at such time. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Section 3(d), this Section 7 and Section 8 of this Agreement shall survive a termination of this Agreement pursuant to (a) or (b) above in this Section 7 until the date that is 18 months following the date of such termination. Notwithstanding anything else to the contrary contained herein or in the Merger Agreement, if the Effective Time occurs, the representations and warranties contained in Section 1 of this Agreement shall survive until the 18 month anniversary of the Effective Time and the covenants set forth in Section 3(b)-(c) of this Agreement shall survive until the 18 month anniversary of the Effective Time.
8. General Provisions.
(a) Amendments. This Agreement may not be amended except by an instrument in writing signed by each of the parties hereto.
(b) Notice. All notices, requests, claims, demands and other communications under this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed given upon receipt (or upon the next succeeding Business Day if received after 5 p.m. local time on a Business Day or if received on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday) to Parent in accordance with Section 8.2 of the Merger Agreement and to Stockholder at its address set forth on Schedule A (or at such other address for a party as shall be specified by like notice).
(c) Interpretation. When a reference is made in this Agreement to a Section or Subsection, such reference shall be to a Section or Subsection of this Agreement unless otherwise indicated. The headings contained in this Agreement are for reference purposes only and shall not affect in any way the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement. Whenever the words “include”, “includes” or “including” are used in this Agreement, they shall be deemed to be followed by the words “without limitation”. The words “hereof”, “herein” and “hereunder” and words of similar import when used in this Agreement shall refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular provision of this Agreement. The term “or” is not exclusive. The definitions contained in this Agreement are applicable to the singular as well as the plural forms of such terms. Any agreement or instrument defined or referred to herein or in any agreement or instrument that is referred to herein means such agreement or instrument as from time to time amended, modified or supplemented, except as otherwise specified herein. References to a person are also to its permitted successors and assigns.
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(d) Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, all of which shall be considered one and the same agreement, and shall become effective when one or more of the counterparts have been signed by each of the parties and delivered to the other party, it being understood that each party need not sign the same counterpart.
(e) Entire Agreement; No Third-Party Beneficiaries. This Agreement (including the documents and instruments referred to herein) (i) constitutes the entire agreement and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings, both written and oral, among the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and (ii) is not intended to confer upon any person other than the parties hereto (and their respective successors and assigns) any rights or remedies hereunder.
(f) Governing Law. This Agreement (and any claims or disputes arising out of or related thereto or to the transactions contemplated thereby or to the inducement of any party to enter therein, whether for breach of contract, tortious conduct or otherwise and whether predicated on common law, statute or otherwise) shall in all respects be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, including all matters of construction, validity and performance, in each case without reference to any conflict of law rules that might lead to the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction.
9. Enforcement. The parties agree that irreparable damage would occur in the event that any of the provisions of this Agreement were not performed in accordance with their specific terms or were otherwise breached. It is accordingly agreed that each party shall be entitled to an injunction or injunctions or other appropriate equitable relief to prevent breaches of this Agreement and to enforce specifically the terms and provisions of this Agreement in any New York State court sitting in New York County or, if subject matter jurisdiction exists, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, this being in addition to any other remedy to which such party is entitled at law or in equity, and each of the parties hereby waives in any such proceeding the defense of adequacy of a remedy at law and any requirement for the securing or posting of any bond or any other security relating to such equitable relief. In addition, each of the parties hereto (a) submits to the personal jurisdiction of any New York State court sitting in New York County or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in the event any dispute (whether in contract, tort or otherwise) arises out of this Agreement, (b) agrees that it will not attempt to deny or defeat such personal jurisdiction by motion or other request for leave from any such court, (c) agrees that it will not bring any action relating to this Agreement in any court other than any New York State court sitting in New York County or, if subject matter jurisdiction exists, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and (d) waives any right to trial by jury with respect to any action related to or arising out of this Agreement.
10. Public Announcements. If Stockholder determines to make an announcement of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the Merger Agreement, the initial such announcement made by Stockholder will be in the form mutually agreed between Parent and Xxxxxxxxxxx.
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00. Severability. If any term or other provision of this Agreement is invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced by any rule of law or public policy, all other conditions and provisions of this Agreement shall nevertheless remain in full force and effect. Upon such determination that any term or other provision is invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced, the parties hereto shall negotiate in good faith to modify this Agreement so as to effect the original intent of the parties as closely as possible to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law in an acceptable manner to the end that the transactions contemplated hereby are fulfilled to the maximum extent possible.
12. Limits to Stockholder’s Obligations. (a) Stockholder is entering into this Agreement solely in its capacity as a stockholder of the Company and nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to impose any obligation, restriction, limitation or liability on Stockholder, or any of Stockholder’s officers, directors, employees, agents or representatives, in any other manner or capacity, including, without limitation in any capacity as an officer, director, employee, agent or representative of the Company. Nothing in this Section 12 shall affect Stockholder’s obligations under Section 1(c)-(f) and 3(b)-(c).
(b) Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to impose any obligation, restriction, limitation or liability on Stockholder as a result of any action or inaction of any other stockholder of the Company, including, without limitation, in connection with any Other Stockholder Agreement.
(c) In no event shall Stockholder have any liability for any breach or inaccuracy of the representations or warranties made by Stockholder in Section 1(c)-(f) of this Agreement unless the damages incurred by Parent as a consequence of all such breaches or inaccuracies exceeds 2% of the total Merger Consideration to be received by Stockholder pursuant to the Merger Agreement. Stockholder’s aggregate liability for any breach of or inaccuracy in the representations and warranties made by Stockholder in Section 1(c)-(f) of this Agreement shall not exceed 15% of the total Merger Consideration to be received by Stockholder pursuant to the Merger Agreement.
(d) The accuracy of the representations and warranties and compliance with the covenants in this Agreement are not conditions precedent to the consummation of the Merger.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the parties hereto has caused this Agreement to be signed by its officer thereunto duly authorized, all as of the date first written above.
BRITISH TELECOMMUNICATIONS PLC | ||
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SCHEDULE A
Stockholder |
Number of Shares of Company Class A Common Stock held |
Number of Shares of Company Class B Common Stock held |
Total Number of Subject Shares held | |||
KDDI Corporation |
15,346,108 | 32,543,455 | 47,889,563 | |||
KPN Telecom B.V. |
28,918,283 | 54,386,079 | 83,304,362 | |||
Swisscom AG |
28,918,283 | 54,386,079 | 83,304,362 | |||
Telefónica International Holding B.V. |
28,918,283 | 38,439,411 | 67,357,694 | |||
TeliaSonera AB |
34,449,783 | 59,917,579 | 94,367,362 | |||
Telstra Corporation Limited |
24,852,618 | 0 | 24,852,618 |