AMENDED AND RESTATED LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY AGREEMENT OF NAVY, LLC DATED AS OF [_______], 201_ THE TRANSFER OF THE MEMBERSHIP INTERESTS IN THE COMPANY DESCRIBED IN THIS AGREEMENT IS RESTRICTED AS DESCRIBED HEREIN
Exhibit
2(b)
AMENDED
AND RESTATED
OF
NAVY,
LLC
DATED
AS OF [_______], 201_
THE
TRANSFER OF THE MEMBERSHIP INTERESTS IN THE COMPANY DESCRIBED IN THIS AGREEMENT
IS RESTRICTED AS DESCRIBED HEREIN
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Page
|
||
ARTICLE
1
|
||
DEFINITIONS
|
||
Section
1.01.
|
Defined
Terms
|
2
|
Section
1.02.
|
Other
Definitional and Interpretative Provisions
|
27
|
ARTICLE
2
|
||
ORGANIZATIONAL
MATTERS AND GENERAL PROVISIONS
|
||
Section
2.01.
|
Formation
|
27
|
Section
2.02.
|
Name
|
28
|
Section
2.03.
|
Principal
Place of Business
|
28
|
Section
2.04.
|
Registered
Agent
|
28
|
Section
2.05.
|
Purpose
and Powers of the Company
|
28
|
Section
2.06.
|
Term
|
29
|
Section
2.07.
|
Filings;
Qualification in Other Jurisdictions
|
29
|
Section
2.08.
|
Company
Property
|
29
|
Section
2.09.
|
Transactions
with Members and Directors
|
30
|
Section
2.10.
|
Uncertificated
Membership Interests
|
30
|
ARTICLE
3
|
||
CAPITAL
CONTRIBUTIONS AND PREEMPTIVE RIGHTS
|
||
Section
3.01.
|
Initial
Capital Contributions
|
30
|
Section
3.02.
|
Additional
Capital Contributions
|
30
|
Section
3.03.
|
Issuance
of Membership Interests
|
30
|
Section
3.04.
|
Withdrawal
of Capital
|
31
|
Section
3.05.
|
Capital
Accounts.
|
31
|
Section
3.06.
|
No
Interest
|
32
|
Section
3.07.
|
Preemptive
Rights
|
32
|
ARTICLE
4
|
||
CERTAIN
RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF MEMBERS
|
||
Section
4.01.
|
Members
|
34
|
Section
4.02.
|
No
Action on Behalf of the Company; No Dissent Rights
|
35
|
Section
4.03.
|
No
Right to Withdraw
|
35
|
Section
4.04.
|
Member
Meetings
|
35
|
Section
4.05.
|
Notice
of Meetings
|
35
|
Section
4.06.
|
Quorum;
Telephonic Meetings
|
36
|
Section
4.07.
|
Voting
|
36
|
Section
4.08.
|
Action
Without a Meeting
|
37
|
i
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
(continued)
Section
4.09.
|
Record
Date
|
37
|
Section
4.10.
|
Member
Approval Rights
|
37
|
Section
4.11.
|
Reimbursements
|
40
|
Section
4.12.
|
Partition
|
40
|
Section
4.13.
|
Liability
|
40
|
ARTICLE
5
|
||
BOARD
AND OFFICERS
|
||
Section
5.01.
|
Board
|
40
|
Section
5.02.
|
Required
Board Actions
|
43
|
Section
5.03.
|
Removal
and Resignation
|
45
|
Section
5.04.
|
Meetings
of the Board
|
46
|
Section
5.05.
|
Action
Without a Meeting
|
48
|
Section
5.06.
|
Chairman
of the Board
|
48
|
Section
5.07.
|
Committees
of the Board
|
48
|
Section
5.08.
|
Officers;
Designation and Election of Officers; Duties
|
49
|
Section
5.09.
|
Strategic
Plans
|
51
|
Section
5.10.
|
Controlled
Company.
|
51
|
ARTICLE
6
|
||
DUTIES,
EXCULPATION AND INDEMNIFICATION
|
||
Section
6.01.
|
Duties,
Exculpation and Indemnification
|
51
|
Section
6.02.
|
Other
Activities; Business Opportunities
|
54
|
ARTICLE
7
|
||
ACCOUNTING,
TAX, FISCAL AND LEGAL MATTERS
|
||
Section
7.01.
|
Fiscal
Year
|
56
|
Section
7.02.
|
Bank
Accounts
|
56
|
Section
7.03.
|
Books
of Account and Other Information
|
56
|
Section
7.04.
|
Auditors
|
56
|
Section
7.05.
|
Certain
Tax Matters
|
57
|
ARTICLE
8
|
||
ALLOCATIONS
AND DISTRIBUTIONS
|
||
Section
8.01.
|
Allocations.
|
59
|
Section
8.02.
|
Distributions.
|
62
|
ii
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
(continued)
ARTICLE
9
|
||
TRANSFERS,
REDEMPTION/PURCHASE RIGHTS AND ADDITIONAL MEMBERS
|
||
Section
9.01.
|
Restrictions
on Transfers
|
63
|
Section
9.02.
|
GE/HoldCo
Redemption Rights
|
65
|
Section
9.03.
|
Comcast
Purchase Rights
|
70
|
Section
9.04.
|
Redemption/Purchase
Transactions
|
74
|
Section
9.05.
|
Determination
of Fully Distributed Public Market Value
|
75
|
Section
9.06.
|
Comcast
Right of First Offer
|
78
|
Section
9.07.
|
Comcast
Right With Respect to Rule 144 Sales
|
80
|
Section
9.08.
|
Back-End
Transaction
|
82
|
Section
9.09.
|
HoldCo
Tag-Along Right
|
83
|
Section
9.10.
|
Comcast
Drag-Along Right
|
85
|
Section
9.11.
|
Additional
Members
|
87
|
Section
9.12.
|
Termination
of Member Status; Redemption or Xxxxxxxxxx
|
00
|
Section
9.13.
|
Void
Transfers
|
89
|
Section
9.14.
|
Transfer
Indemnification; Other Tax Matters
|
89
|
ARTICLE
10
|
||
COVENANTS
|
||
Section
10.01.
|
Confidentiality
|
91
|
Section
10.02.
|
Related
Party Transactions
|
93
|
Section
10.03.
|
Non-Competition
|
95
|
Section
10.04.
|
Structuring
of an IPO
|
97
|
Section
10.05.
|
Compliance
by Subsidiaries
|
98
|
Section
10.06.
|
Acquisition
of Company Principal Businesses
|
98
|
Section
10.07.
|
Weather
Channel
|
101
|
ARTICLE
11
|
||
FINANCIAL
REPORTING
|
||
Section
11.01.
|
Annual
Financial Information
|
102
|
Section
11.02.
|
Quarterly
Financial Information
|
103
|
Section
11.03.
|
Certain
Other Provisions Regarding Financial Reporting
|
104
|
Section
11.04.
|
GE
Annual Statements
|
106
|
Section
11.05.
|
Access
to Management Personnel and Information
|
106
|
Section
11.06.
|
GE
Public Filings
|
106
|
Section
11.07.
|
Compensation
for Providing Information
|
107
|
Section
11.08.
|
Liability
|
107
|
Section
11.09.
|
Other
Agreements Providing for Exchange of Information
|
107
|
iii
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
(continued)
ARTICLE
12
|
||
DISSOLUTION,
LIQUIDATION AND TERMINATION
|
||
Section
12.01.
|
No
Dissolution
|
107
|
Section
12.02.
|
Events
Causing Dissolution
|
107
|
Section
12.03.
|
Bankruptcy
of a Member
|
108
|
Section
12.04.
|
Winding
Up
|
108
|
Section
12.05.
|
Distribution
of Assets
|
109
|
Section
12.06.
|
Distributions
in Cash or in Kind
|
110
|
Section
12.07.
|
Claims
of the Members
|
110
|
ARTICLE
13
|
||
MISCELLANEOUS
|
||
Section
13.01.
|
Further
Assurances
|
110
|
Section
13.02.
|
Amendment
or Modification
|
111
|
Section
13.03.
|
Waiver;
Cumulative Remedies
|
111
|
Section
13.04.
|
Entire
Agreement
|
112
|
Section
13.05.
|
Third
Party Beneficiaries
|
112
|
Section
13.06.
|
Non-Assignability;
Binding Effect
|
112
|
Section
13.07.
|
Severability
|
113
|
Section
13.08.
|
Injunctive
Relief
|
114
|
Section
13.09.
|
Governing
Law
|
114
|
Section
13.10.
|
Submission
to Jurisdiction
|
114
|
Section
13.11.
|
Waiver
of Jury Trial
|
115
|
Section
13.12.
|
Notices
|
115
|
Section
13.13.
|
Counterparts
|
116
|
EXHIBITS
|
||
Exhibit
A -
|
Example
of Redemption Purchase Price Calculation
|
|
Exhibit
B -
|
Strategic
Plan
|
|
Exhibit
C -
|
Compliance
Plan
|
|
Exhibit
D -
|
Registration
Rights
|
|
Exhibit
E-1 -
|
Description
of Back-End Transaction
|
|
Exhibit
E-2 -
|
Terms
of Company Preferred Interests
|
|
Exhibit
E-3 -
|
Terms
of New HoldCo Preferred Interests
|
|
Exhibit
F -
|
Financial
Reporting Adjustments
|
|
SCHEDULES
|
||
Schedule
4.01 -
|
Member
Information
|
iv
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
(continued)
Schedule
7.05 -
|
Company
Tax Principles
|
v
AMENDED
AND RESTATED LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY AGREEMENT
This
AMENDED AND RESTATED LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY AGREEMENT of Navy, LLC, a
Delaware limited liability company (the “Company”), is made as of [______], 201_, by and among [_________], [_________], [_________] (each, an “Initial Comcast Member” and
collectively, the “Initial
Comcast Members”), Navy Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the
“Initial GE Member” or
“HoldCo”), each other
Person who at any time becomes a Member in accordance with the terms of this
Agreement and the Act, and Comcast Corporation, a Pennsylvania corporation
(“Comcast”), and General
Electric Company, a New York corporation (“GE”).
RECITALS
WHEREAS,
the Company was formed on November 12, 2009, by the filing of a Certificate of
Formation (as amended or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Certificate of Formation”)
with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware and the adoption of that
certain Limited Liability Company Agreement of the Company dated as of December
1, 2009 by Navy Holdings, Inc., as the initial sole member of the Company (the
“Original LLC
Agreement”);
WHEREAS,
pursuant to a Master Agreement dated as of December 3, 2009 (as amended or
otherwise modified from time to time, the “Master Agreement”) by and
among GE, NBC Universal, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“NBCU”), Comcast and the
Company, Comcast and GE agreed to contribute (or cause to be contributed)
certain assets and liabilities to the Company;
WHEREAS,
pursuant to the Master Agreement, in consideration of their respective
contributions, the parties thereto agreed that the Company would issue
Membership Interests in the Company to the Initial Comcast Members and the
Initial GE Member;
WHEREAS,
pursuant to the Master Agreement, the parties thereto agreed that immediately
after the contributions referred to above are made, the Initial Comcast Members
would purchase from the Initial GE Member a number of Membership Interests such
that, upon the consummation of such purchase, the Comcast Members’ aggregate
Percentage Interests would equal 51% and GE’s Percentage Interest would equal
49%; and
WHEREAS,
concurrently with the execution and delivery of this Agreement, the Closing
contemplated by the Master Agreement has been consummated.
NOW,
THEREFORE, in consideration of the agreements and obligations set forth herein
and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which
are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows:
ARTICLE
1
Definitions
Definitions
Section
1.01 . Defined
Terms. (a) In this Agreement, except where the
context otherwise requires:
“Act” means the Delaware
Limited Liability Company Act, 6 Del. C. § 18-101, et seq., as amended from time
to time.
“Affiliate” means, with respect
to any specified Person, any other Person that, at the time of determination,
directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, is
controlled by or is under common control with such specified
Person. Unless otherwise specifically stated, the term “Affiliate”
does not include: (x) the Company or any of its Subsidiaries when
used with respect to Comcast, GE or HoldCo or any of their respective
Subsidiaries and (y) Comcast, GE or any of their respective Subsidiaries when
used with respect to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries. “Affiliated” and “Affiliation” shall have
correlative meanings.
“Agreed Adjustments” shall have
the meaning, and be prepared in accordance with the provisions, set forth in
Exhibit F.
“Agreement” means this Amended
and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement, as it may be amended or
otherwise modified from time to time in accordance with Section 13.02.
“Annual Tax Distribution
Amount” means, with respect to a Tax Year, an amount equal to the product
of (x) the aggregate amount of net taxable income and gain allocated to the
Members pursuant to Section 8.01(d)(i) in respect
of such Tax Year, reduced
by the amount of any deductions of Comcast during such Tax Year as a
result of any tax basis adjustments pursuant to Section 743(b) of the Code
attributable to the transaction set forth in Section 2.04 of the Master
Agreement and (y) the Applicable Tax Rate. For the avoidance of
doubt, the Annual Tax Distribution Amount shall be calculated without regard to
any allocations pursuant to Sections 8.01(d)(ii) and 8.01(d)(iii) in connection
with the disposition of an asset.
“Applicable Accounting
Method” means the applicable accounting
method by which GE is required, in accordance with GAAP, to account for its
investment in the Company (namely, on a consolidated basis, under the equity
method or under the cost method).
2
“Applicable Tax Rate” means,
with respect to a Tax Year, the combined federal, state and local income tax
rate (giving effect to the deductibility of state and local income taxes for
federal income tax purposes) that would have applied to the Company during such
Tax Year if it were a corporation for U.S. federal income tax
purposes.
“Appraiser” means any
investment bank that, according to any nationally recognized data provider, was
one of the top ten underwriters of equity offerings by United States issuers in
the United States during the calendar year immediately preceding the year in
which the Appraiser is engaged.
“Available Cash” means all cash
and cash equivalents of the Company and its Subsidiaries in excess of $300
million.
“Back-End Trigger Condition”
means HoldCo is a member of GE’s consolidated group for U.S. federal income tax
purposes immediately prior to the exercise of a Roll-Up Right.
“BBN Holdings” means BBN
Holdings, Inc. and any successors thereto.
“Board” means the board of
directors of the Company.
“Business” means (i) the
production, development, publication, distribution, licensing, exploitation and
aggregation of content (on any medium now known or hereafter devised),
including: (A) acquiring, producing, developing, distributing, licensing,
syndicating, marketing and selling content; (B) acquiring, producing,
developing, distributing, licensing, syndicating, marketing and selling news
(including weather), sports, information and all manner of entertainment
programming (including original programming) and other related content and
merchandising relating thereto, including out-of-the-home media platforms (e.g., taxicabs); (C)
acquiring, producing, developing, distributing, licensing, syndicating,
marketing and selling motion pictures in theatrical and non-theatrical, home
video/DVD, television, electronic sell-through, PPV, VOD and by any other means;
(D) acquiring, producing, developing, distributing, licensing, marketing and
selling musical compositions, including publishing and recorded music; (E)
providing network television services to affiliated broadcast television
stations; (F) owning, operating and/or investing in television broadcasting
stations including locally programmed cable channels for areas served by NBC
network television stations owned by the Company (other than KNTV and WMAQ); (G)
owning, operating and/or investing in cable/satellite programming networks
(including RSNs); (H) owning and/or operating film and television production
facilities; (I) acquiring, producing, developing, distributing, licensing,
syndicating, marketing and publishing video games; (J) owning, operating,
developing and/or investing in internet websites in order to make content
available on such sites (and similar sites including sites for mobile
access
3
and
applications for the delivery of content digitally) and other digital businesses
related to any of the foregoing permitted under clauses (A) through (I) above;
(K) sale of national or local advertising which may include targeted/addressable
or interactive advertising; and (L) acquiring, producing, developing and
presenting live theatrical works; and (ii) the ownership or investment in and/or
operation of theme parks and resorts. “Business” shall include both
businesses conducted on the date hereof and as could reasonably be expected to
be conducted in the future, including any future businesses derived from or that
are successors to existing businesses (including as a result of technological
advances). It is acknowledged and understood that (x) certain
elements of the Business include and will in the future include functionalities
such as social networking and commerce that are ancillary to the Business (e.g., the sale of merchandise
and other media containing content acquired, produced, developed, published,
licensed or exploited by the Business), (y) the business of Xxxxxxxx.xxx
includes as a principal element e-commerce (i.e., the sale of tickets and
advertising) and (z) the Company may distribute its content on an ad-supported,
subscription or pay-per-use basis.
“Business Day” means a day
ending at 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time), other than a Saturday, a Sunday or other
day on which commercial banks in New York, New York or Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania are authorized or obligated by Law to close.
“Capital Contributions” means
Initial Capital Contributions and Additional Capital Contributions.
“Capital Markets Activities”
means any activities undertaken in connection with efforts by any Person to
raise for or on behalf of any other Person capital from any public or private
source.
“Change in Tax Law” means any
change in applicable U.S. federal income tax Laws after the date of this
Agreement.
“Closing” has the meaning set
forth in the Master Agreement.
“Closing Date” means the date
of the Closing.
“Code” means the United States
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
“Comcast Blackout Period” means
(i) with respect to any fiscal quarter of Comcast, the blackout period
applicable to senior management of Comcast with respect to such fiscal quarter
and (ii) if Comcast furnishes to GE and the Company a written notice signed by
an officer of Comcast stating that, as of the date of such notice, Comcast has
pending or in process a material transaction (including a financing transaction
or a material acquisition (whether such
4
acquisition
occurs by way of stock purchase or exchange, asset purchase or exchange, merger,
consolidation or similar transaction) by Comcast or any of its Subsidiaries of
the business or a line of business of a Person that is not an Affiliate of
Comcast), the disclosure of which would, in the good faith judgment of Comcast’s
board of directors, materially and adversely affect Comcast, the period
commencing on the date on which such notice is given and ending on the earlier
of (A) the date that is 60 days after the date on which such notice was given
and (B) the date on which the material transaction that necessitated such notice
is abandoned or publicly disclosed.
“Comcast De Minimis Business”
means an equity interest in any Person engaged in the video programming network
business that is acquired by Comcast or any of its Subsidiaries (other than the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries) as consideration for commitments made in a
distribution agreement by Comcast’s multichannel video distribution business;
provided that the total
amount of Comcast’s and such Subsidiaries’ equity interests in any such Person
shall not exceed 25%.
“Comcast Member” means any
Initial Comcast Member as of the Closing and, thereafter, any of Comcast or any
of its direct or indirect wholly-owned Subsidiaries that then is a
Member.
“Comcast Permitted Business”
means: (I) (i) the multichannel video distribution business (e.g., the principal business
now conducted by Comcast’s Cable Division), by any distribution method (cable,
satellite, wireless, etc.) or technology (analog, digital, etc.) and to any type
of end-user equipment (television, computer, phone, etc.); (ii) Internet access
service (i.e., the
principal Internet business now conducted by Comcast’s Cable Division) and
Internet portal service (e.g., the principal business
now conducted by Comcast’s Comcast Interactive Media Division through
xxxxxxx.xxx), including applications and services provided or offered in
conjunction therewith (e.g., email, cross-platform
services, games, computer security, photo and file storage, etc.), by any
distribution method (cable, satellite, wireless, etc.) and to any type of
end-user equipment (television, computer, phone, etc.); (iii) Internet
businesses primarily focused on: (A) the aggregation, packaging and distribution
of content (e.g., the
principal business now conducted by Comcast’s Comcast Interactive Media Division
now known as xxxxxxx.xxx and the provision of authenticated programming), for
Comcast or others, including content downloading; (B) the sale of goods or
services through an Internet interface, including games (e.g., xxxxxx.xxx;
xxxxxxx.xxx; etc.); and (C) applications (e.g., maps, concierge
services, social networking, etc. (including the business of Plaxo, Inc.)); (iv)
webhosting and other Internet infrastructure services; (v) voice and data
services, by any distribution method (cable, satellite, wireless, etc.) and to
any type of end-user equipment (television, computer, phone, etc.); (vi) home
and business security services; (vii) the operation and management of sports
teams and event
5
venues;
(viii) the food services business; (ix) the ticketing business to events other
than movies, by any distribution method (online or physical); (x) the production
of advertising and the sale of advertising time (including targeted/addressable
and interactive advertising) for Comcast and others (provided that this shall
not include National Advertising), including through Canoe Ventures, LLC (“Canoe”) and National Cable
Communications LLC (“NCC”); (xi) the provision of
content formatting, transmission and distribution services for video content and
advertising for Comcast and others (e.g., the business of
thePlatform, Inc. and National Digital Television Center, LLC (i.e., the Comcast
Media Center)); (xii) the provision of technical services, software, databases
and other technology (for Comcast or others) related to the businesses referred
to above, including hardware and software development and licensing (e.g., authentication and
other security services) and cross-platform services (e.g., xxxxxxx.xxx’s iPhone
application); (xiii) (A) the production and distribution of public access,
leased access and local origination programming and other programming required
under the terms of any cable television franchise agreement, (B) the production,
licensing and distribution of video-on-demand programming (e.g., Select on Demand) and
(C) the ownership and operation of locally programmed cable channels (e.g., Comcast Entertainment
Television, Comcast Hometown Network, CN100 and C2), in each case for carriage
on Comcast’s and other multichannel video distributors’ systems (other than
locally programmed cable channels for areas served by NBC network broadcast
television stations owned by the Company (other than KNTV and WMAQ)); (xiv) any
business or activity reasonably ancillary to any of the foregoing; and (xv) any
business or activity that represents an evolution over time of any of the
business referred to above; provided that neither clause (I)(xiv) nor (I)(xv)
shall include the ownership of any interest in, or the operation or management
of, any Company Principal Business; (II) the ownership of the following
interests: (A) Big Ten Network, LLC – 4.99% [profit participation];
(B) Canoe – 48.5%; (C) Current Media, LLC – 10%; (D) Digital Entertainment
Content Ecosystem (DECE), LLC – membership interest; (E) Driver TV LLC – 6.5%;
(F) MGM Holdings, Inc. – 20%; (G) NHL Network US, L.P. – 15.6%; (H) Music Choice
– 12.4%; (I) Pittsburgh Cable News Channel LLC– 30%; and (J) The MLB Network,
LLC – 8.34%; (III) the ownership and operation of the following
interests/businesses: (A) XxxxXxxxXXX.xxx, L.L.C. – 100%; (B) Comcast
Digital, LLC – 100%; (C) In Demand L.L.C. – 53.9%; (D) NCC – 60%; (E) National
Digital Television Center, LLC and its subsidiaries – 100%; (F) Plaxo, Inc. –
100%; (G) thePlatform, Inc. and its subsidiary – 97%; and (H) Vehix, Inc. –
100%; (IV) any changes in the ownership of the entities listed in clauses
(II)(A), (C), (E), (G), (H) and (J), provided no such interest shall exceed 25%;
(V) any increase in the ownership of the entities listed in clauses (II)(B) and
(I) and (III)(C), (D) and (G); (VI) the ownership and operation of any assets
acquired in accordance with Section 6.22; (VII) any Comcast De Minimis Business;
(VIII) acting as an affiliate of MyNetwork TV in the Ft. Xxxxx/Naples, Florida
area; (IX) the ownership and operation of websites relating to
Comcast
6
Corporation
(e.g., xxxxxxx.xxx, xxxxx.xxx and xxxxx.xxx); and (X) ownership of the following
investments of Comcast Interactive Capital, L.P. (Comcast’s internal venture
capital arm); provided
that the amount of any such investment shall not exceed 25%: Jingle Networks,
JiWire, Oberon Media and XX Xxxxxx.
“Comcast Transfer Date” means
the earlier to occur of (x) the date of the closing of the First HoldCo
Redemption Right, if exercised, and (y) the fourth anniversary of the Closing
Date; provided that if,
as of the fourth anniversary of the Closing Date, the First HoldCo Redemption
Right has been exercised but not consummated, the “Comcast Transfer Date” shall
be the earlier of (i) the date of the closing of the First HoldCo Redemption
Right and (ii) the date on which the First HoldCo Redemption Right is abandoned
because any required Governmental Approvals cannot be obtained or for any other
reason.
“Commission” means the
Securities and Exchange Commission or any other federal agency at the time
administering the Securities Act.
“Company Auditors” means the
independent certified public accountants of the Company, as may be engaged by
the Company from time to time.
“Company Group” means the
Company, each Subsidiary of the Company immediately after the Closing and each
other Person that is controlled directly or indirectly by the Company
immediately after the Closing.
“Company Principal Businesses”
means: (i) the National Broadcast Network business; (ii) the local broadcast
television business, including locally programmed cable channels for areas
serviced by NBC network television stations owned or operated by the Company
(other than KNTV and WMAQ); (iii) the theme park and resort businesses; (iv) the
video programming network business (including RSNs) (e.g., USA, E!, etc.) (it
being the parties intention that this clause (iv) include reference to a
non-linear network (such as FEARnet) which is intended to operate as a
stand-alone programming network with a business plan to operate at a profit
predicated principally on obtaining distribution from multichannel video
distribution providers including Comcast and others, but not include
video-on-demand programming (such as Select on Demand) which is intended to
operate principally as part of Comcast’s and/or others’ multichannel video
business); (v) the production, sale and distribution of television programming
(e.g., the principal
business now conducted by NBCU’s Universal Media Studios and Universal Cable
Productions and the related business of licensing or distributing television
programming); (vi) the production, sale and distribution of filmed entertainment
(i.e., motion pictures)
(it being the parties’ intention that the use of the terms “production, sale and
distribution” in clauses (v) and (vi) shall have the meanings customarily
ascribed to them in the television production and film production businesses, as
opposed to the multichannel video distribution business); (vii) the sale of
tickets online and the sale of advertising to
7
support
such business; and (viii) National Advertising. For the avoidance of
doubt, it is agreed that the parties intention is that the term Company
Principal Business does not, for the purposes of Section 10.03(a), prevent, or for the purposes of Section 10.06, include, the conduct by any Person
covered thereby of any business that is a part of any of the enumerated
businesses in clauses (i) through (viii) above unless conducted as part of the
enumerated business itself (e.g., operating a website is
not covered by clause (iv) above unless the website is being operated as part of
conducting a video programming network business).
“Company Securities” means any
securities (including debt securities) issued by the Company.
“Control” means, as to any
Person, the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and
policies of such Person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by
contract or otherwise. The terms “controlled by”, “controlled”, “under common control with” and
“controlling” shall have
correlative meanings.
“Corporate Reporting Data” means the data necessary to provide GE the ability to
apply the equity method of accounting (including consolidated trial balance data
supporting balance sheet, statement of operations, members equity, comprehensive
income accounts and reasonable mapping information with respect thereto) with
respect to its investment in the Company.
“Cushion Percentage” means (A)
with respect to the transaction occurring pursuant to Section 9.02(a), 20%, and (B) with respect to any
transaction not described in clause (A), (i) if such transaction occurs on or
after the three and one half year anniversary of the Closing Date and before the
fifth anniversary of the Closing Date, 15%, (ii) if such transaction occurs on
or after the fifth anniversary of the Closing Date and before the sixth
anniversary of the Closing Date, 12%, (iii) if such transaction occurs on or
after the sixth anniversary of the Closing Date and before the seventh
anniversary of the Closing Date, 7.5%, and (iv) if such transaction occurs on or
after the seventh anniversary of the Closing Date, 5%.
“Debt” of any Person means (i)
all debt of such Person for borrowed money or for the deferred purchase price of
property or services (other than trade payables and other similar obligations
incurred in the ordinary course of business), (ii) all obligations of such
Person which are evidenced by notes, bonds, debentures or similar instruments,
(iii) all obligations of such Person that have been, or should be, in accordance
with GAAP, recorded as capital leases, (iv) all obligations of such Person that
have been, or should be, in accordance with GAAP, recorded as a sale-leaseback
transaction or leveraged lease, (v) all obligations of such Person in respect of
letters of credit or acceptances issued or created for the account of such
Person, (vi) all liabilities secured by any lien
8
granted
on assets or properties of such Person, whether or not the obligations secured
thereby have been assumed, and (vii) all direct or indirect guarantees
(including “keep well” arrangements, support agreements and similar agreements)
with respect to Debt of any other Person referred to in clauses (i) through (vi)
of such Person; provided,
however, that for the purposes of Sections 4.10(a), 5.02(a)(i),
5.02(a)(iii) and 9.02(c)(ii):
(A) Debt
shall not include (1) trade and other ordinary course payables and accrued
expenses arising in the ordinary course of business, (2) deferred compensation,
pension and other post-employment benefit liabilities, (3) take or pay
obligations arising in the ordinary course of business, (4) obligations arising
under the Credit Agreement, dated as of March 2, 1998 (the “Lin Credit Agreement”),
between General Electric Capital Corporation and Station Venture Holdings, LLC
(the “LLC”) (as
successor in interest to Lin Television of Texas, L.P.), so long as the
obligations of the Company, NBCU or any of their respective Subsidiaries (other
than the LLC or Station Ventures Holdings, LP or any of their respective
Subsidiaries) arising under the Lin Credit Agreement or any related credit
support, risk of loss or similar arrangement constitute NBCU Excluded
Liabilities (as defined in the Master Agreement) and (5) non-recourse Debt under
any Factoring Agreement; and
(B) the
amount of any Debt described in clause (v), (vi) or (vii) shall only be included
to the extent such Debt is consolidated on such Person’s balance sheet in
accordance with GAAP.
“Default Recovery Activities”
means the exercise of any rights or remedies in connection with any Capital
Markets Activities, Financing, Insurance, Leasing, Other Financial Services
Activities or Securities Activities (whether such rights or remedies arise under
any agreement relating to such activity, under applicable Law or otherwise),
including any foreclosure, realization or repossession or ownership of any
collateral, business assets or other security for any Financing (including the
equity in any entity or business), Insurance or Other Financial Services
Activities or any property subject to Leasing.
“Depreciation” means, for each
Tax Year, an amount equal to the depreciation, amortization, or other cost
recovery deduction allowable for federal income tax purposes with respect to an
asset for such Tax Year, except that if (a) with respect to any asset the
Gross Asset Value of which differs from its adjusted tax basis for federal
income tax purposes at the beginning of such Tax Year and which difference is
being eliminated by use of the “remedial allocation method” as defined by
Treasury Regulations Section 1.704-3(d), Depreciation for such Tax Year
shall be the amount of book basis recovered for such Tax Year under the rules
prescribed by Treasury Regulations Section 1.704-3(d)(2), and (b) with
respect to any other assets the Gross Asset Value that differs from
its
9
adjusted
tax basis for federal income tax purposes at the beginning of such Tax Year,
Depreciation shall be an amount which bears the same ratio to such beginning
Gross Asset Value as the federal income tax depreciation, amortization, or other
cost recovery deduction for such Tax Year bears to such beginning adjusted tax
basis; provided,
however, in the case of clause (b) above, if the adjusted tax basis for
federal income tax purposes of an asset at the beginning of such Tax Year is
zero, Depreciation shall be determined with reference to such beginning Gross
Asset Value using any reasonable method selected by the Tax Matters Member
unless such method could reasonably be expected to have an adverse effect on the
Initial GE Member or any of its Affiliates that is material and disproportionate
as to its effect on other Members or their Affiliates, in which case such method
shall not be selected without the consent of the Initial GE Member, which
consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed.
“EBITDA” means, other than for
purposes of Section 9.05(c), for any period, net
income of any Person and its consolidated Subsidiaries plus or minus, to the
extent included in the calculation of net income for such period, and without
duplication:
(a) extraordinary
expenses or losses and unusual or non-recurring non-cash expenses or losses
(including, whether or not otherwise includable as a separate item in the
statement of such consolidated net income for such period, (x) non-cash losses
from dispositions of assets not in the ordinary course of business and
(y) goodwill or intangible asset impairment);
(b) any
extraordinary income or gains and any unusual or non-recurring non-cash income
or gains (including, whether or not otherwise includable as a separate item in
the statement of such consolidated net income for such period, gains on
dispositions of assets not in the ordinary course of business);
(c) restructuring
charges deemed to be one time in nature (excluding charges incurred in the
ordinary course of business), including restructuring charges in connection with
the Transactions (as defined in the NBCU Financing (as defined in the Master
Agreement), the Alternative Financing (as defined in the Master Agreement) and
any amendments, supplements, modifications, extensions, renewals, restatements
or refundings thereof and any indentures, credit facilities, bridge facilities
or commercial paper facilities that replace, refund or refinance any part of the
loans, notes, other credit facilities or commitments thereunder, collectively,
the “Credit
Facilities”), whether or not otherwise includable as a separate item in
the statement of such consolidated net income for such period, solely to the
extent such charges are agreed between NBCU and the lenders under the Credit
Facilities to be added back to Consolidated EBITDA (as defined in the Credit
Facilities) for purposes of the calculation of Consolidated Leverage Ratio (as
defined in the Credit Facilities) under the Credit Facilities; provided that the
10
aggregate
amount of cash charges permitted to be added back to consolidated net income
under this clause (c) shall not exceed $250 million in any period;
(d) transaction
expenses directly related to the Transactions (as defined in the Credit
Facilities) paid by NBCU or its Subsidiaries in accordance with Section 12.02 of
the Master Agreement;
(e) net
income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests;
(f) income
tax expense or benefit;
(g) interest
expense (including intercompany interest expense, and amortization or write-off
of debt issuance costs and commissions, discounts and other fees and charges
associated with Debt but excluding capitalized interest expense) and the net
amount accrued (whether or not actually paid) pursuant to any interest rate
protection agreement during such period (or minus the net amount receivable
(whether or not actually received) during such period);
(h) depreciation
and amortization expense and impairment of tangible, intangible assets and
goodwill, including amortization of intangibles, but excluding
(x) amortization expenses relating to film, television or similar
entertainment rights, investment or inventory other than amortization of
adjustments recorded in the application of purchase accounting in connection
with the closing of the Transactions and (y) amortization of programming
distribution rights (i.e., launch
support);
(i) gain
or loss from the disposition of businesses, assets or investments;
(j) equity
in income or loss of unconsolidated investments or associated
companies;
(k) interest
(including intercompany interest) and dividend income; provided that EBITDA shall
include the amount of cash dividends or distributions received from
unconsolidated investments or associated companies; and
(l) foreign
currency gains or losses.
If
the Company consolidates the earnings of Station Venture Holdings LLC and/or
Station Venture Operations L.P. during any pre-Closing period, the financial
results of such entity/entities shall be excluded from the calculation of EBITDA
for such period.
If
during any post-Closing period (1) the Company or NBCU, as applicable,
consolidates the earnings of Station Venture Holdings LLC and/or Station Venture
Operations L.P. and (2) the obligations of the Company, NBCU or any
of
11
their
respective Subsidiaries (other than Station Venture Holdings LLC and Station
Venture Operations L.P. or any of their respective Subsidiaries) arising under
the Credit Agreement, dated March 2, 1998, between Station Venture Holdings, LLC
(as successor to Lin Television of Texas, L.P.) or any related credit support,
risk of loss or similar arrangements are Excluded NBCU Liabilities (as defined
in the Master Agreement), the financial results of such entity/entities shall be
excluded from the calculation of EBITDA for such period.
“Equity Method Threshold” means
GE’s direct or indirect interest in the Company is such that any member of the
GE Group is required, in accordance with GAAP, to account for its investment in
the Company under the equity method of accounting as in effect with respect to
the applicable accounting period.
“Equity Securities” means (i)
any capital stock, partnership interests, limited liability company interests,
units or any other type of equity interest, or other indicia of equity ownership
(including profits interests, other than customary profit participations granted
in the media business) (collectively, “Interests”), (ii) any security
convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for, with or without
consideration, any Interests (including any option to purchase such convertible
security), (iii) any security carrying any warrant or right to subscribe to or
purchase any security described in clause (i) or clause (ii), (iv) any such
warrant or right or (v) any security issued in exchange for, upon conversion of
or with respect to any of the foregoing securities.
“Estimated Tax Distribution
Amount” means, with respect to a calendar quarter, an amount equal to one
quarter of the product of (x) the aggregate amount of net taxable income and
gain estimated by the Tax Matters Member to be allocated to the Members pursuant
to Section 8.01(d)(i) in respect of such calendar
year, reduced by the
amount of any deductions of Comcast during such Tax Year as a result of any tax
basis adjustments pursuant to Section 743(b) of the Code attributable to the
transaction set forth in Section 2.04 of the Master Agreement, and (y) the
Applicable Tax Rate. For the avoidance of doubt, the Estimated Tax
Distribution amount shall be calculated without regard to any allocations
pursuant to Sections 8.01(d)(ii) and 8.01(d)(iii) in connection with the
disposition of an asset.
“Excess Amount” means an amount
(not less than zero) equal to (i) 120% of Public Market Value less (ii) [$28.15
billion]1.
“Existing Business Activities”
means any business conducted or investment held by GE or any of its Subsidiaries
or contemplated by any existing
1 This
amount will be increased by the purchase price for any Relevant Transactions (as
defined in the Master Agreement) contributed at Closing, if any.
12
contractual
arrangements applicable to GE or its Subsidiaries, on the date of this Agreement
after giving effect to the Closing, as such business may evolve over
time.
“Financial Services Business”
means any activities undertaken principally in connection with or in furtherance
of (i) Capital Markets Activities, (ii) Financing, (iii) Leasing, (iv) Default
Recovery Activities, (v) Other Financial Services Activities, (vi) Securities
Activities or (vii) the sale of Insurance, the conduct of any Insurance
brokerage activities or services or the provision of Insurance advisory
services, business processes or software. Financial Services Business
also includes any investment or ownership interest in a Person through an
employee benefit or pension plan.
“Financing” means the making
of, entering into, purchase of, or participation in (including syndication or
servicing activities), (i) secured or unsecured loans, conditional sales
agreements, debt instruments or transactions of a similar nature or for similar
purposes, (ii) non-voting preferred equity investments, and (iii) investments as
a limited partner in a partnership or as a member of a limited liability company
in which another Person who is not an Affiliate of the limited partner or member
is a general partner, manager or management member, or funds of funds in which
GE Capital is the general partner which consist only of investments of the type
referred to in this definition.
“GAAP” means:
(i) for purposes of Article 11 hereof, the generally accepted accounting
principles adopted from time to time by an enterprise for financial reporting
purposes, which may refer to U.S. GAAP, International Financial Reporting
Standards (IFRS) GAAP, or other generally accepted accounting principles adopted
by a reporting enterprise. The parties agree that, in respect of any
period prior to, and as of the Closing Date, “GAAP” refers to U.S. generally
accepted accounting principles. In the event that either GE or
Comcast, or any applicable members of their respective Groups, adopts a new
basis of accounting other than U.S. generally accepted accounting principles,
unless otherwise mutually agreed to in writing by GE and Comcast, all
information required to be prepared and provided pursuant to Article 11 shall be prepared and provided based on GAAP as
adopted by Comcast for purposes of its reporting requirements.
(ii) for
purposes other than for Article 11
hereof, U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
“GE Auditors” means the
independent certified public accountants of GE, as may be engaged by GE from
time to time.
13
“GE De Minimis Business” means
(i) any minority equity investment by GE or any of its Subsidiaries in any
Person (A) in which GE or its Subsidiaries (x) do not have the right to
designate a majority of the members of the board of directors (or similar
governing body) of such Person, (y) hold less than 25% of the outstanding voting
securities or similar equity interests of such Person and (z) do not manage or
operate the business of such Person or make significant proprietary assets
(including the GE name or brand and any non-public information derived from any
Company Principal Business) available to such Person for use in such Person’s
business or (B) in which the amount invested by GE and its Subsidiaries,
collectively, is less than $25 million, (ii) any business activity conducted by
GE or any of its Subsidiaries that is ancillary to the conduct of their
principal businesses, it being understood that the Company Principal Business
will be deemed ancillary to a principal business if the Company Principal
Business is not conducted as a separate profitable business offering and
comprises not more than 20% of the value measured by the net operating profit of
the business activities of which it forms a part, (iii) any other business in
which Company Principal Business is conducted primarily in connection with (x)
the sale, purchase, leasing, financing, licensing, disposition, marketing or
distribution of goods and services that do not constitute Company Principal
Business, (y) the development, design, manufacture, use or application of such
goods and services referred to in clause (x), or (z) other activities incidental
to or provided in connection with the foregoing, including the provision to
actual or potential customers, consumers, end users or the public of news,
technical information or other material that is distributed for the purpose of
promoting demand for such goods or services that do not constitute Company
Principal Business, or of technical support, education, training and servicing
in connection with the provision of such goods or services that do not
constitute Company Principal Business, or (iv) research and development of
intellectual property or technology that could be used in both the Company
Principal Business and in connection with businesses of GE or any of its
Affiliates that do not constitute Company Principal Business.
“GE Group” means GE and each
Person (other than any member of the Company Group) that is an Affiliate of GE
immediately after the Closing.
“GE Public Filings” means GE’s
public earnings releases, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, annual reports to
shareholders, Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Current Reports on Form 8-K and any
amendments to any of the foregoing and any other proxy, information and
registration statements, reports, notices, prospectuses and any other filings
made by GE or any of its Subsidiaries with the Commission or any national
securities exchange.
“Governmental Approval” means
any authorization, consent, waiver, order and approval of any Governmental
Authority, including any applicable waiting periods associated
therewith.
14
“Governmental Authority” means
any transnational, domestic or foreign federal, state or local government,
political subdivision, governmental, regulatory or administrative authority,
instrumentality, agency, body or commission, self-regulatory organization or any
court, tribunal, or judicial or arbitral body.
“Group” means the GE Group or
the Company Group, as the context requires.
“Gross Asset Value” means with
respect to any asset, the asset’s adjusted basis for federal income tax
purposes, except as follows:
(i) The
initial Gross Asset Value of any asset contributed by a Member to the Company in
the Initial Capital Contribution and by Comcast or a Comcast Affiliate in any
subsequent contribution shall be the gross fair market value of such asset, as
mutually agreed by Comcast and the Initial GE Member. If Comcast and
the Initial GE Member are unable to reach agreement as to the initial Gross
Asset Value of any such asset, such amount shall be determined pursuant to a
mutually agreeable appraisal process. The initial Gross Asset Value
of any other asset contributed by a Member other than Comcast or a Comcast
Affiliate to the Company shall be the gross fair market value of such asset, as
determined by the Tax Matters Member in its reasonable discretion;
(ii) The
Gross Asset Value of any asset shall be adjusted to equal its gross fair market
value (taking Section 7701(g) of the Code into account), as determined by
the Tax Matters Member in its reasonable discretion as of the following
times: (A) the acquisition of an additional Membership Interest in
the Company by any new or existing Member; (B) the making of an Additional
Capital Contribution; (C) the distribution by the Company to a Member of more
than a de minimis amount of the Company’s property as consideration for an
interest in the Company; (D) the liquidation of the Company within the
meaning of Treasury Regulations Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(ii)(g); and (E) the
withdrawal of a Member from the Company; provided that an adjustment
described in clauses (A), (B) and (E) of this paragraph shall be made only if
the Tax Matters Member reasonably determines that such adjustment is necessary
to reflect the relative interests of the Members in the Company;
(iii) The
Gross Asset Value of any asset distributed to any Member shall be adjusted to
equal the gross fair market value (taking Section 7701(g) of the Code into
account) of such asset on the date of distribution as determined by the Tax
Matters Member in its reasonable discretion;
15
(iv) The
Gross Asset Value of any asset shall be increased (or decreased) to reflect any
adjustments to the adjusted basis of such asset pursuant to Section 734(b)
or 743(b) of the Code, but only to the extent that such adjustments are taken
into account in determining Capital Accounts pursuant to Treasury Regulations
Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(iv)(m); and
(v) If
the Gross Asset Value of an asset has been determined or adjusted pursuant to
subparagraph (i), (ii) or (iv), such Gross Asset Value shall thereafter be
adjusted by the Depreciation taken into account with respect to such asset, for
purposes of computing Profits and Losses;
provided, however, that if
the determination by the Tax Matters Member pursuant to clause (i), (ii) or
(iii) could reasonably be expected to have an adverse effect on the Initial GE
Member or any of its Affiliates that is material and disproportionate as to its
effect on other Members or their Affiliates such determination shall be subject
to the consent of the Initial GE Member, which consent shall not be unreasonably
withheld or delayed.
“HoldCo Agreement” means the
Navy Holdco 2 Agreement the form of which is attached as an exhibit to the
Master Agreement.
“HoldCo Shareholder” means, at
any time, any Person who, at such time, directly owns any HoldCo
Shares.
“HoldCo Shares” means shares of
common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of HoldCo.
“Independent Director” means an
individual meeting the independence tests necessary for service on the audit
committee of a public company listed on any national securities exchange on
which the Company is listed if then listed.
“Insurance” means any product
or service determined to constitute insurance, assurance or reinsurance by the
Laws in effect in any jurisdiction.
“Investment Grade Credit
Rating” means that the Company’s senior unsecured long-term Debt is rated
at least BBB- by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services and at least Baa3 by
Xxxxx’x Investors Service, Inc.; provided that if no such Debt
is outstanding at that time, then such Debt shall be deemed to be rated at those
ratings that the ratings agencies or their successors assign to Debt of the
Company having the hypothetical characteristics of such Debt on a “shadow
rating” or “indicative rating” basis.
16
“IPO” means the first
underwritten public offering of common Equity Securities of the Company that
results in such common Equity Securities of the Company being publicly
registered and traded.
“Law” means any transnational,
domestic or foreign federal, state or local statute, law, ordinance, regulation,
rule, code, order or other requirement or rule of law, including the common
law.
“Leasing” means the rental,
leasing, or financing under operating leases, finance leases or hire purchase or
rental agreements, of property, whether real, personal, tangible or
intangible.
“LIBOR” means the rate per
annum equal to the British Bankers Association LIBOR from Telerate Successor
Page 3750, as published by Reuters at approximately 11:00 a.m., London time, on
the date of the commencement of the relevant interest period, as the rate for
dollar deposits with a three-month maturity. If such rate is not
available at such time for any reason, then “LIBOR” shall be the arithmetic
mean of the rates quoted by three major banks in the City of New York, selected
by the Company, at approximately 11:00 a.m., New York City time, on the date of
the commencement of the relevant interest period for loans in U.S. dollars to
leading European banks in a principal amount equal to an amount not less than $1
million that is representative for a single transaction in such market at such
time.
“Member” means, at any time,
for so long as it holds any Membership Interests, (i) any Initial Comcast Member
and the Initial GE Member, as applicable, and (ii) any other Person who, after
the Closing, is admitted to the Company as a member in accordance with the terms
of this Agreement. No Person that is not a Member shall be deemed a
“member” of the Company under the Act.
“Membership Interest” means the
entire limited liability company interest(s) of a Member in the
Company. A Member’s Membership Interests include, but are not limited
to, such Member’s share of the Profits and Losses, its rights in its Capital
Account, its right to receive distributions of Company assets, and any and all
of the benefits to which such Member may be entitled as provided in this
Agreement and in the Act, together with the obligations of such Member to comply
with all the provisions of this Agreement and of the Act. The
Membership Interests are divided into equal proportionate units of limited
liability company interests (including fractional units), with the number of
Membership Interests held by each Member set forth on Schedule 4.01, as amended
from time to time.
“Membership Percentage” means,
with respect to any Member as of any time, the number of Membership Interests
owned by such Member at such time
17
divided
by the aggregate number of Membership Interests owned by all Members at such
time.
“Mixed Competing Business
Acquisition” means a transaction involving both an acquisition of or an
investment in a Company Principal Business and an acquisition of or an
investment in a business that is not a Company Principal Business.
“NASDAQ” means the NASDAQ
National Market.
“National Advertising” means
the sale of traditional, linear advertising time (i.e., advertising that is not
targeted/addressable or interactive) for advertisements aired on any National
Broadcast Network or video programming network (as such term is used in the
definition of clause (iv) of Company Principal Business). For the
avoidance of doubt, it is agreed that this definition does not refer to
advertising time that is made available by (i) a National Broadcast Network for
sale by a local broadcast station (or its representatives) for local market
insertion; or (ii) a video programming network for sale by a multichannel video
distributor (or its representatives) for local market insertion.
“National Broadcast Network”
means a provider of television programming through a network of owned and
affiliated local broadcast stations to a substantial portion of the United
States.
“Non-Ordinary Course Related Party
Transaction” means a Related Party Transaction that is not an Ordinary
Course Related Party Transaction. Examples of Non-Ordinary Course
Related Party Transactions include transactions not within the scope of the
definition of Business or that involve the purchase, sale or lease (not
including licenses of intellectual property) of businesses or
assets.
“Notice Date” means the date
either Comcast or HoldCo, as applicable, receives an Exercise
Notice.
“NYSE” means the New York Stock
Exchange.
“Ordinary Course Related Party
Transaction” means a Related Party Transaction that is within the
ordinary course of business of the Company and its
Subsidiaries. Examples of Ordinary Course Related Party Transactions
include the entering into by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries with Comcast
or any of its Affiliates of programming agreements, affiliation agreements,
agreements with respect to corporate overhead and support services (other than
the Comcast Services Agreement (as defined in the Master Agreement)) and other
commercial agreements of a type that are entered into between content producers
and distributors in the ordinary course of business. It is understood
that entering into
18
agreements
of this type will be considered Ordinary Course Related Party Transactions even
if they relate to new technologies or new types of arrangements that have not
previously been in place between the Company and its Subsidiaries and Comcast
and its Subsidiaries.
“Other Financial Services
Activities” means the offering, sale, distribution or provision, directly
or through any distribution system or channel, of any financial products,
financial services, asset management services, including investments on behalf
of GE’s financial services Affiliates purely for financial investment purposes,
investments for the benefit of third party and client accounts, credit card
products or services, vendor financing and trade payables services, back-office
billing, processing, collection and administrative services or products or
services related or ancillary to any of the foregoing.
“Percentage Interest” means, at
any time with respect to a Person who is a Member or a HoldCo Shareholder but is
not HoldCo or the Company, such Person’s “aggregate percent membership interest”
divided by the “residual percentage,” in each case calculated at such time,
where:
(i) “aggregate
percent membership interest” shall mean, with respect to a Person who is a
Member or a HoldCo Shareholder but is not HoldCo or the Company, the sum of (A)
such Person’s Membership Percentage and (B) the product of (x) HoldCo’s
Membership Percentage and (y) such Person’s “HoldCo interest”;
(ii) “HoldCo
interest” shall mean, with respect to a HoldCo Shareholder, the number of HoldCo
Shares directly owned by such HoldCo Shareholder divided by the aggregate number
of HoldCo Shares directly owned by all HoldCo Shareholders; and
(iii) “residual
percentage” shall mean the residual of (A) one minus (B) the product of (x)
HoldCo’s Membership Percentage and (y) the Company’s “HoldCo
interest.”
For
purposes of this Agreement, (i) reference to “GE’s Percentage Interest” shall
include Percentage Interests held by wholly-owned Affiliates of GE other than
HoldCo and (ii) in order to avoid double counting, HoldCo’s Percentage Interest
is deemed to be zero.
“Person” means any natural
person, joint venture, general or limited partnership, corporation, limited
liability company, trust, firm, association or organization or other legal
entity.
“Profit” and “Loss” means, for each Tax
Year, an amount equal to the Company’s taxable income or loss for such Tax Year,
determined in accordance
19
with
Section 703(a) of the Code (for this purpose, all items of income, gain,
loss, or deduction required to be stated separately pursuant to
Section 703(a)(1) of the Code shall be included in taxable income or loss),
but with the following adjustments:
(i) Any
income of the Company that is exempt from federal income tax and not otherwise
taken into account in computing Profit or Loss shall be added to such taxable
income or loss;
(ii) Any
expenditures of the Company described in Section 705(a)(2)(B) of the Code
or treated as expenditures described in Section 705(a)(2)(B) of the Code
pursuant to Treasury Regulations Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(iv)(i) and not
otherwise taken into account in computing Profit or Loss shall be subtracted
from such taxable income or loss;
(iii) In
the event Gross Asset Value of any asset of the Company is adjusted pursuant to
subparagraphs (ii), (iii), or (iv) of the definition of Gross Asset Value, the
amount of such adjustment shall be taken into account as gain or loss from the
disposition of such asset for purposes of computing Profit or Loss;
(iv) In
lieu of the depreciation, amortization, and other cost recovery deductions taken
into account in computing such taxable income or loss, there shall be taken into
account Depreciation for such Tax Year;
(v) Gain
or loss resulting from any disposition of property with respect to which gain or
loss is recognized for federal income tax purposes shall be computed by
reference to the Gross Asset Value of the property disposed of (adjusted for
accumulated Depreciation with respect to such property), notwithstanding that
the adjusted tax basis of such property differs from its Gross Asset Value;
and
(vi) Notwithstanding
any other provision of this definition, any items which are specially allocated
pursuant to Section 8.01(c) or 12.05(b) hereof shall not be taken into account in
computing net Profit or net Loss. The amounts of items of Company
income, gain, loss or deduction available to be specially allocated pursuant to
Section 8.01(c) or 12.05(a) hereof shall be determined by applying rules
analogous to those set forth in subparagraphs (i) through (v)
above.
“Public Market Value” means (i)
prior to an IPO, an amount equal to Fully Distributed Public Market Value and
(ii) following an IPO, the aggregate common equity market value of the Company
based on the average of the daily volume weighted average per share trading
prices of Common Stock on the
20
primary
exchange or market on which it trades for the 20 trading days ending on the
second trading day immediately preceding the closing of the applicable purchase
transaction or such other date as provided in this Agreement.
“Public Offering” means an
underwritten public offering of Registrable Securities pursuant to an effective
registration statement under the Securities Act, other than pursuant to a
registration statement on Form S-4 or Form S-8 or any similar or successor
form.
“Qualifying Public Offering”
means any Public Offering that is reasonably expected to yield gross proceeds
that, when aggregated with the gross proceeds from any previous Public
Offerings, equal at least $1.5 billion.
“Qualifying Securities” means
shares of Comcast common stock that are of any class or classes of Comcast’s
choosing; provided that
shares of such class or classes shall then be listed or traded on a national
securities exchange or quoted on an inter-dealer quotation system.
“Redemption Purchase Price”
means GE’s Percentage Interest of the Company being sold by GE, HoldCo and/or
their respective Affiliates, as the case may be, multiplied by an amount equal
to (i) 120% of Public Market Value less (ii) 50% of any Excess
Amount. An example of the calculation of the Redemption Purchase
Price is set forth on Exhibit A.
“Registrable Securities” means
shares of Common Stock owned by Comcast, GE or any of their respective
Affiliates; provided
that Registrable Securities shall not include any such securities received in a
transaction registered under the Securities Act. As to any particular
securities referred to in the immediately preceding sentence, once issued, such
securities shall cease to be Registrable Securities when (a) a registration
statement with respect to the sale of such securities shall have become
effective under the Securities Act and such securities shall have been disposed
of in accordance with such registration statement, (b) they shall have been
distributed to the public pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act, (c)
registration under the Securities Act is not required to permit the immediate
disposition of such securities on any exchange on which such securities are
listed or on any inter-dealer quotation system on which such securities are
quoted; provided that,
notwithstanding the foregoing, such securities shall remain Registrable
Securities until such time as the aggregate value of such securities held by
Comcast and its Affiliates or GE and its Affiliates, as the case may be (based
on the average closing sale price of such security on the principal exchange on
which such security is listed or on the principal inter-dealer quotation system
on which such security is quoted during the preceding ten trading days), first
falls below $1 billion, (d) they shall have been otherwise transferred, and new
certificates for them not bearing a legend restricting further transfer shall
have been delivered by the Company and subsequent public
21
distribution
of them shall not, in the opinion of counsel to the holders (or in the opinion
of counsel to the Company, which counsel and opinion are reasonably satisfactory
to the holders), require registration of them under the Securities Act, or (e)
they shall have ceased to be outstanding.
“Related Party Transaction”
means any transaction, agreement or arrangement (including any termination of,
or modification of the terms of, any such transaction, agreement or arrangement
other than pursuant to and in accordance with the terms of such transaction,
agreement or arrangement) between (i) the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, on
the one hand, and (ii) Comcast or any of its Affiliates, on the other hand,
except: (A) any transaction, agreement or arrangement entered into
pursuant to the Master Agreement, (B) any transaction, agreement or arrangement
expressly contemplated by the Master Agreement and (C) any renewal or extension
of any such transaction, agreement or arrangement pursuant to and in accordance
with its terms.
“Relevant Time” means, with
respect to a certification provided pursuant to Section
9.02(a), Section 9.03(b), Section 9.03(c), Section
9.06(a) or Section 9.08(b), the end of the last
day of the most recent Tax Year ended prior to the date of such
certification.
“Roll-Up Purchase Price” means,
with respect to a Roll-Up Right, (x)(A) in the case of any of the Roll-Up Rights
within the meaning of clauses (i) through (iii) of the definition of Roll-Up
Right, the Redemption Purchase Price, (B) in the case of a Roll-Up Right within
the meaning of clause (iv) of the definition of Roll-Up Right, the allocable
portion of Public Market Value and (C) in the case of a Roll-Up Right within the
meaning of clause (v) of the definition of Roll-Up Right, the ROFO Offer Price,
in each case calculated with respect to all of HoldCo’s Membership Interests
immediately prior to the exercise of such Roll-Up Right.
“Roll-Up Right” means each of
(i) the First Comcast Purchase Right, (ii) the Fourth Comcast Purchase Right,
(iii) to the extent it would give HoldCo and GE the right to sell all, but not
less than all, of the remainder of GE’s Percentage Interest at such time, the
Second HoldCo Redemption Right (including, for the avoidance of doubt, the
Second HoldCo Redemption Right if Comcast waives the limitations on its purchase
obligation pursuant to Section 9.02(d) and elects
to purchase the remainder of GE’s Percentage Interest at such time), (iv) any
Public Offering Purchase Right that would give Comcast the right to acquire
securities representing all, but not less than all, of GE’s Percentage Interest
at such time and (v) any ROFO Offer that would give Comcast the right to acquire
securities representing all, but not less than all, of the remainder of GE’s
Percentage Interest at such time.
22
“Rule 144” means Rule 144 (or
any successor provisions) under the Securities Act.
“Satellite Business” means the business of operating satellites and
provision of satellite communication services and related businesses in the
satellite business sector, including the following GE businesses and/or
investments: Sat-GE Limited, Asia Satellite Telecommunications Holdings Limited,
SatLynx Holdings S.a.r.l., Star One S.A. and Orbcomm, Inc.
“Securities Act” means the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
“Securities Activities” means
any activities, functions or services (without regard to where such activities,
functions or services actually occur) subject to any Law governing, regulating
or pertaining to the sale, distribution or underwriting of securities or the
provision of investment management, financial advisory or similar
services.
“Significant Investment” means
an investment with a purchase price in excess of $500 million. To the
extent that as a result of the investment the consolidated Debt of Comcast would
increase, the purchase price for such investment shall be deemed to include a
pro rata portion
(corresponding to the percentage of the business or entity acquired pursuant to
the investment) of the value of such incremental Debt.
“Stand-alone Competing Business
Acquisition” means an acquisition of or an investment in a Company
Principal Business or Company Principal Businesses in a transaction which does
not also involve an acquisition of or an investment in a business that is not a
Company Principal Business.
“Subsidiary” of any specified
Person means (x) any other Person of which such first Person owns (either
directly or through one or more other Subsidiaries) a majority of the
outstanding Equity Securities or securities carrying a majority of the voting
power in the election of the board of directors or other governing body of such
Person and with respect to which entity such first Person is not otherwise
prohibited contractually or by other legally binding authority from exercising
control or (y) any other Person with respect to which such first Person acts as
the sole general partner, manager, managing member or trustee (or Persons
performing similar functions); provided that notwithstanding
anything to the contrary contained herein, including any sale of HoldCo Shares
in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, (i) so long as GE or any of its
Subsidiaries continues to control HoldCo, HoldCo shall be deemed a Subsidiary of
GE, (ii) HoldCo shall not be deemed a Subsidiary of Comcast, the Company or any
of their respective Subsidiaries and (iii) the Company and its Subsidiaries
shall not be deemed to be Subsidiaries of Comcast, GE or HoldCo.
23
“Tax Matters Agreement” means
the agreement, dated as of December 3, 2009, by and among Comcast, GE,
NBCU, the Company, HoldCo and the other parties that may from time to time
become parties thereto, with respect to certain tax matters, as it may be
amended from time to time in accordance therewith.
“Tax Year” means (i) the fiscal
year of the Company determined pursuant to Section
7.01 or (ii) if after the date of this Agreement, the taxable year is
required by the Code or the Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder to be a
period other than the period described in clause (i), then each period that is
the taxable year of the Company determined in accordance with the requirements
of the Code or the Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder; provided that (i) in the case
of a dissolution, Tax Year means the period from the day after the end of the
most recently ended Tax Year until the dissolution of the Company and (ii) for
purposes of making allocations of Profit and Loss, Tax Year means any portion of
a taxable year of the Company to the extent required to comply with
Section 706 of the Code or the Treasury Regulations promulgated
thereunder. For the avoidance of doubt, Tax Year shall include any
portion of a taxable year of the Company with respect to which the allocation of
Profit and Loss is determined based on a “closing of the books.”
“Threshold” means, with respect
to Comcast, Significant Investments in Company Principal Businesses after the
date hereof by Comcast and its Affiliates with an aggregate purchase price of $6
billion; provided that
on each anniversary of the date hereof, commencing on the fourth anniversary of
the date hereof, such Threshold shall increase by 5% of the Threshold as in
effect as of immediately prior to such increase.
“Transaction Agreements” has
the meaning set forth in the Master Agreement.
“Transfer” means directly or
indirectly (whether by merger, operation of law or otherwise) to sell, transfer,
assign or otherwise dispose of any direct or indirect economic, voting or other
rights in or to a Membership Interest, including by means of the Transfer of an
interest in a Person that directly or indirectly holds such Membership Interest;
provided that a merger
of, an acquisition of Equity Securities in, or a sale of substantially all of
the assets of, either Comcast or GE (or any of their publicly-traded successors,
including any successor by acquisition) with, by or to a third party will not be
deemed to be a Transfer of any Membership Interest or HoldCo
Shares. “Transferred” and “Transferring” shall have
correlative meanings.
“Treasury Regulations” means
the regulations promulgated under the Code as such regulations may be amended
from time to time (including corresponding provisions of succeeding
regulations).
24
“Weather Channel Business”
means the business conducted by BBN Holdings and its Subsidiaries.
“Weather Channel Stockholders
Agreement” means the Stockholders Agreement among BBN Holdings, BBN
Intermediate Holdings, Inc., BBN Acquisitions, Inc. and Certain Stockholders of
BBN Holdings, Inc. and BBN Intermediate Holdings, Inc., dated as of September
12, 2008, as amended.
“Whole Board” means, at any
time, the total number of Directors (including any vacant seats) comprising the
Board at such time.
(m) Each
of the following terms is defined in the Section set forth opposite such
term:
Term
|
Section
|
Additional
Member
|
|
Additional
Capital Contribution
|
3.02(b)
|
Arm’s
Length Terms
|
|
Audited
Financial Statements
|
11.01(a)
|
Audit
Opinion
|
11.01(a)
|
Back-End
Transaction
|
9.08(a)
|
Budget
and Forecasting Reports
|
11.03(a)
|
Capital
Account
|
|
Certificate
of Formation
|
Recitals
|
Comcast
|
Preamble
|
Comcast
Proposed Transfer
|
|
Comcast
Purchase Rights
|
|
Comcast
Third Party Acquirer
|
9.14(a)
|
Common
Stock
|
|
Company
|
Preamble
|
Competing
Business Offer
|
|
Confidential
Information
|
|
Covered
Persons
|
|
Credit
Facilities
|
1.01
|
Director
|
|
Drag-Along
Notice
|
|
Drag-Along
Right
|
|
Drag-Along
Sale
|
|
Exercise
Notice
|
|
First
Comcast Purchase Right
|
|
First
HoldCo Redemption Right
|
|
Fourth
Comcast Purchase Right
|
|
Fully
Distributed Public Market Value
|
|
GE
|
Preamble
|
GE
Annual Statement
|
11.04
|
25
Term | Section |
GE
Proposed Transfer
|
|
HoldCo
|
Preamble
|
HoldCo
Redemption Rights
|
|
Holding
|
|
Indemnified
Party
|
9.14(a)
|
Indemnifiable
Taxes
|
9.14(a)
|
Initial
Appraisers
|
9.05(b)
|
Initial
Capital Contribution
|
|
Initial
Comcast Member(s)
|
Preamble
|
Initial
GE Member
|
Preamble
|
IPO
Purchase Right
|
|
Issuance
Notice
|
|
Liquidating
Agent
|
|
Master
Agreement
|
Recitals
|
Offering
Period
|
|
Preemptive
Rights Exercise Notice
|
|
Public
Market Valuation Methodology
|
9.05(c)
|
Public
Offering Purchase Right
|
|
Purchase
Representative
|
|
Representatives
|
|
ROFO
Notice
|
|
ROFO
Offer
|
|
ROFO
Offer Price
|
|
RPT
Dispute Notice
|
|
RPT
Dispute Representative
|
|
RPT
Notice
|
|
Rule
144 Sale
|
9.07(a)
|
Rule
144 Sale Notice
|
9.07(a)
|
Rule
144 Offer
|
9.07(a)
|
Rule
144 Offer Price
|
9.07(a)
|
Second
Comcast Purchase Right
|
|
Second
HoldCo Redemption Right
|
|
Specified
Representations
|
|
SpinCo
|
|
Tag-Along
Acceptance Notice
|
|
Tag-Along
Notice
|
|
Tag-Along
Right
|
|
Tag-Along
Sale
|
|
Tax
Claim
|
|
Tax
Matters Member
|
|
Third
Comcast Purchase Right
|
|
Third
Party Acquirer
|
26
Section
1.02 . Other Definitional and
Interpretative Provisions. The words “hereof”, “herein” and
“hereunder” and words of like import used in this Agreement shall 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. All references to a particular statute or other Law
shall be deemed to include all rules and regulations thereunder in effect from
time to time. 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.
ARTICLE
2
Organizational
Matters and General Provisions
Section
2.01 . Formation. (a) The
Company was formed as a Delaware limited liability company on November 12, 2009
by the filing of the Certificate of Formation in the office of the Secretary of
State of the State of Delaware pursuant to the Act and the adoption of the
Original LLC Agreement. The Members desire to continue the Company
for the purposes and upon the terms and conditions set forth
herein.
(b) The
Company shall initially have one class of interests, which shall have equal
rights and preferences in the assets of the Company except as otherwise
expressly provided herein. A Membership Interest shall for all
purposes be personal property. Each Membership Interest shall
constitute a “security” within the meaning of, and governed by, (i) Article 8 of
the Uniform Commercial Code (including Section 8-102(a)(15) thereof) as in
effect from time to time in the State of Delaware, and (ii) Article 8 of the
Uniform Commercial Code of any other applicable jurisdiction that now or
hereafter substantially includes the 1994 revisions to Article 8 thereof as
adopted by the American Law Institute and the National Conference of
Commissioners on Uniform State Laws and approved by the American Bar Association
on February 14, 1995.
27
(c) Upon
the execution and delivery of this Agreement or a counterpart to this Agreement,
each of the Initial Comcast Members shall be admitted, with effect as of the
date hereof, as a Member and, upon the consummation of the transaction described
in Section 2.04 of the Master Agreement, each of the Initial Comcast
Members and the Initial GE Member shall hold a number of Membership Interests
representing the Membership Percentages set forth on Schedule 4.01
hereto. The Initial Comcast Members and the Initial GE Member each
hereby (i) acknowledges the receipt (either by initial issuance or Transfer of
Membership Interests) on the date hereof of the number of Membership Interests
indicated on Schedule 4.01 hereto, (ii) consents to the Transfer of
Membership Interests from the Initial GE Member to the Initial Comcast Members
in accordance with Section 2.04 of the Master Agreement (which Transfer shall be
deemed exempted from the provisions of Article 9
hereof) and (iii) agrees that the Initial Comcast Members are admitted as
Members with respect to such Transferred Membership Interests.
(d) This
Agreement amends, restates and supersedes in its entirety the Original LLC
Agreement.
Section
2.02 . Name. The
name of the Company as of the date hereof is “Navy, LLC” and its business shall
be carried on in this name with such variations and changes or in such other
trade names as the Board deems necessary or appropriate. The Board
shall have the power at any time to change the name of the Company in its sole
discretion.2
Section
2.03 . Principal Place of
Business. The principal place of business of the Company shall
be located at such location as the Board may determine from time to
time. The Company may also maintain such other office or offices at
such other locations as the Board may determine from time to time.
Section
2.04 . Registered
Agent. The Company’s registered agent and office in Delaware
shall be Comcast Capital Corporation, 0000 X. Xxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 0000,
Xxxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx 00000. At any time, the Board may designate
another registered agent and/or registered office.
Section
2.05 . Purpose and Powers of
the Company. (a) The Company is formed for the
object and purpose of engaging in any and all lawful activities permitted under
the Act and within the scope of the definition of Business or otherwise
conducted by the Contributed Businesses (as defined in the Master Agreement) as
of the date hereof, without geographic restriction of any kind, as
28
well
as in any and all other activities ancillary thereto (including extensions or
modifications thereof in light of technological, market or business
developments) or as contemplated by the Transaction Agreements.
(b) Subject
to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, the Company shall have the power
and authority to take any and all actions that limited liability companies may
take under the Act and that are necessary, appropriate, proper, advisable,
incidental or convenient to or for the furtherance of the purposes set forth in
this Section 2.05. Without limiting the
foregoing, the Company may in furtherance of its business and operations carry
out its objectives and accomplish its purposes as principal or agent, directly
or indirectly, alone or with associates, or as a member, stockholder, partner or
participant in any firm, association, trust, corporation, partnership or other
entity.
(c) The
Company shall do all things necessary to maintain its limited liability company
existence separate and apart from each Member and any Affiliate of any Member,
including holding regular meetings of the Board and maintaining its books and
records on a current basis separate from that of any Affiliate of the Company or
any other Person.
Section
2.06 . Term. The
term of the Company commenced on the date the Certificate of Formation was filed
in the office of the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware and shall
continue in full force and effect in perpetuity; provided that the Company may
be dissolved in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the
Act.
Section
2.07 . Filings; Qualification
in Other Jurisdictions. The Company shall prepare, following
the execution and delivery of this Agreement, any documents required to be filed
or, in the Board’s or an authorized executive officer’s view, appropriate for
filing under the Act, and the Company shall cause each such document to be filed
in accordance with the Act, and, to the extent required by Law, to be filed and
recorded, and/or notice thereof to be published, in the appropriate place in
each jurisdiction in which the Company may hereafter establish a place of
business. The Board may cause or authorize an executive officer to
cause the Company to be qualified or registered under assumed or fictitious name
statutes or similar Laws in any jurisdiction in which the Company transacts
business where the Company is not currently so qualified or
registered. Each executive officer shall execute, deliver and file
any such documents (and any amendments and/or restatements thereof) necessary
for the Company to accomplish the foregoing. The Board may appoint
any other authorized persons to execute, deliver and file any such
documents.
Section
2.08 . Company
Property. All property of the Company, both tangible and
intangible, shall be deemed to be owned by the Company as an
entity. A Member has no interest in specific Company
property.
29
Section
2.09 . Transactions with
Members and Directors. Subject to the terms and conditions of
this Agreement (including Section 10.02), any
Member or Director may lend money to, borrow money from, act as a surety,
guarantor or endorser for, guarantee or assume one or more obligations of,
provide collateral for, and transact other business with the Company and,
subject to applicable Law and the terms and conditions of this Agreement, shall
have the same rights and obligations with respect to such matter as a Person who
is not a Member or Director, and any Member and the members, shareholders,
partners and Affiliates thereof shall be able to transact business or enter into
agreements with the Company to the fullest extent permissible under the
Act.
Section
2.10 . Uncertificated
Membership Interests. Membership Interests shall be in
uncertificated form.
ARTICLE
3
Capital Contributions and Preemptive Rights
Capital Contributions and Preemptive Rights
Section
3.01 . Initial Capital
Contributions. In connection with the transactions
contemplated by the Master Agreement, the Initial Comcast Members and Initial GE
Member have made the contributions (each of which shall constitute an “Initial Capital Contribution”)
of their respective Contributed Businesses (as defined in the Master Agreement)
at the Closing.
Section
3.02 . Additional Capital
Contributions. (a) From and after the Closing, no
Member shall be required or permitted to make any additional capital
contributions (other than Initial Capital Contributions) to the Company except
as provided in this Article 3.
(b) Subject
to Sections 3.07
and 4.10(a),
in addition to the Initial Capital Contributions, Members may from time to time
make capital contributions to the Company (each, an “Additional Capital
Contribution”) at such times and in such amounts as the Board may
determine to offer to or accept from the Members.
Section
3.03 . Issuance of Membership
Interests. (a) No Membership Interests or other
equity interests shall be issued in respect of any Additional Capital
Contribution until such Additional Capital Contribution is actually
made. All Membership Interests in respect of the Initial Capital
Contributions are hereby duly issued on the date of this Agreement and no
additional Membership Interests shall be issued by the Company after the date of
this Agreement in respect of any Initial Capital Contributions.
(b) Subject
to Sections 3.07
and 4.10(a),
the Board may authorize the Company to issue additional Membership Interests
and/or create and issue new series, types or classes of equity interests in the
Company with such voting
30
powers,
full or limited, or no voting powers, and such designations, preferences and
relative, participating, optional or other special rights, and qualifications,
limitations or restrictions thereof as the Board may determine and authorize,
obligations, evidences of indebtedness or other securities or interests of the
Company convertible or exchangeable into Membership Interests or other equity
interests in the Company and warrants, options or other rights to purchase or
otherwise acquire Membership Interests or other equity interests in the Company,
in each case to any Person in such amounts and on such terms as so approved by
the Board; provided
that any such issuance will be made only in exchange for payment of fair market
value for such interest, as determined in the reasonable good faith judgment of
the Board, and provided,
further, that an issuance of equity interests in the Company, such as
warrants or rights to acquire Membership Interests, on customary commercial
terms in connection with a bona fide debt financing or other commercial
arrangement need not comply with the requirement set forth in the immediately
preceding proviso so long as such arrangement as a whole has been approved by
the Board. The Company may issue whole or fractional Membership
Interests or other equity interests in the Company. In the event the
Company issues any equity interests other than Membership Interests, this
Agreement will be appropriately amended to reflect the terms of such other
equity interests and the issuance thereof.
Section
3.04 . Withdrawal of
Capital. (a) No Member shall be entitled to
withdraw any part of its Capital Contributions or to receive any distribution
from the Company, except as expressly provided herein. Under
circumstances requiring the return of any Capital Contribution, no Member shall
have the right to demand or receive property other than cash. No
Member shall have the right to cause the sale of any Company
asset. No Member shall have any right to receive any salary or draw
with respect to its Capital Contributions or its Capital Account or for services
rendered on behalf of the Company or otherwise in its capacity as a
Member.
(b) No
Member shall have any liability for the return of the Capital Contributions of
any other Member. Except as otherwise required by Law, no Member
shall be required to make up a negative balance in its Capital
Account. No Member shall have priority over any other Member either
as to the return of the amount of such Member’s Capital Contributions or as to
any allocation of any item of income, gain, loss, deduction or credit of the
Company (except to the extent granted by Company Securities hereinafter approved
by the Board pursuant to Section 3.03(b), subject
to Section
4.10(a)).
Section
3.05 . Capital
Accounts.
(a) A
capital account (a “Capital
Account”) shall be maintained for each Member in accordance with the
requirements of Section 704(b) of the Code and the Treasury Regulations
promulgated thereunder. The Capital Account of
31
each
such Member shall be equal to the amount of the Capital Contributions made by
such Member in exchange for such Member’s Membership Interests, and thereafter
adjusted as follows:
(i) increased by the Additional
Capital Contributions made by such Member after the date of this Agreement with
respect to such Membership Interests;
(ii) increased by items of income
or gain which are allocated to such Member with respect to such Membership
Interest under Article 8 and Article 12;
(iii) decreased by the items of
loss and deduction which are allocated to the Member in respect of such
Membership Interests under Article 8 and Article 12; and
(iv) decreased by the amount of
any cash and the Gross Asset Value of any asset of the Company distributed to
such Member in respect of such Membership Interests (net of any liability
assumed by the Member or to which the distributed property is
subject).
(b) Upon
a Transfer of any Membership Interest in accordance with the terms of this
Agreement, the transferee Member shall succeed to the Capital Account of the
transferor which is attributable to such Membership Interest.
(c) The
foregoing provisions and the other provisions of this Agreement relating to the
maintenance of Capital Accounts shall be applied in accordance with Treasury
Regulations Sections 1.704-1(b) and 1.704-2.
Section
3.06 . No
Interest. No interest shall be paid on Capital Contributions
or on the balance in a Member’s Capital Account.
Section
3.07 . Preemptive
Rights. (a) The Company shall give Comcast and
HoldCo written notice (an “Issuance Notice”) of any
proposed issuance by the Company of any Company Securities at least 20 Business
Days prior to the proposed issuance date. The Issuance Notice shall
specify the price at which such Company Securities are to be issued and the
other material terms of the issuance (including the terms of the Company
Securities proposed to be issued). Subject to Sections 3.07(f) and 4.10(a)(viii), each of Comcast and HoldCo
shall be entitled to purchase (or to cause its Subsidiaries to purchase or, in
the case of HoldCo, to assign to GE or its Subsidiaries the right to purchase)
up to its respective Percentage Interest (or, in the case of HoldCo, GE’s
Percentage Interest) of the Company Securities proposed to be issued, at the
price and on the terms specified in the Issuance Notice; provided that if any HoldCo
Shares have previously been sold to the Company in accordance with the terms of
this
32
Agreement,
neither HoldCo nor any of its Subsidiaries shall purchase any such Company
Securities.
(b) Subject
to Section 3.07(a), if Comcast or HoldCo desires to
purchase or to have any of its Affiliates purchase any or all of its Percentage
Interest (or, in the case of HoldCo, GE’s Percentage Interest) of the Company
Securities specified in the Issuance Notice, it shall deliver a written notice
to the Company (each a “Preemptive Rights Exercise
Notice”) of its election to purchase such Company Securities within ten
Business Days of receipt of the Issuance Notice. The Preemptive
Rights Exercise Notice shall specify the number (or amount) of Company
Securities to be purchased by such party or its Affiliates and shall constitute
exercise by such party of its rights under this Section
3.07 and a binding agreement of such party or such party’s applicable
Affiliates to purchase, at the price and on the terms specified in the Issuance
Notice, the number of shares (or amount) of Company Securities specified in the
Preemptive Rights Exercise Notice with such purchase to be consummated as
promptly as reasonably practicable. If, at the termination of such
ten Business-Day period, Comcast or HoldCo shall not have delivered a Preemptive
Rights Exercise Notice to the Company, such party shall be deemed to have waived
all of its rights under this Section
3.07 with respect to the purchase of such Company
Securities. Promptly following the termination of such ten Business
Day period, the Company shall deliver to each of Comcast and HoldCo a copy of
any Preemptive Rights Exercise Notice it has received from the other
party.
(c) If
Comcast or HoldCo fails to exercise its preemptive rights under this Section
3.07 or elects to exercise such rights with respect to less than its
Percentage Interest (or, in the case of HoldCo, GE’s Percentage Interest) of the
issuance and the other party has exercised its rights under this Section
3.07 with respect to its entire Percentage Interest, the other party
shall be entitled to purchase from the Company any or all of the remaining
portion of the issuance.
(d) Subject
to Section 4.10(a)(viii), the Company shall have 90
days from the date of the Issuance Notice to consummate the proposed issuance of
any or all of such Company Securities that Comcast or HoldCo have not elected to
purchase at a price equal to or greater than the price specified in the Issuance
Notice and otherwise upon terms that are not less favorable to the Company than
those specified in the Issuance Notice; provided that, if such
issuance is subject to regulatory approval, such 90-day period shall be extended
until the expiration of five Business Days after all such approvals have been
received, but in no event later than 180 days from the date of the Issuance
Notice. If the Company proposes to issue any such Company Securities
after such 90-day (or longer, as permitted by the preceding sentence) period, it
shall again comply with the procedures set forth in this Section
3.07.
33
(e) At
the consummation of the issuance of such Company Securities, subject to Section 2.10, the Company shall, if necessary or
desirable, issue certificates or other appropriate instruments representing the
Company Securities to be purchased by each party exercising preemptive rights
pursuant to this Section
3.07 registered in the name of such party, against payment by such
party of the purchase price for such Company Securities in accordance with the
terms and conditions as specified in the Issuance Notice.
(f) Notwithstanding
the foregoing, neither Comcast nor HoldCo shall be entitled to purchase Company
Securities as contemplated by this Section
3.07 in connection with issuances of Company Securities (i) to
employees of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries pursuant to employee benefit
plans or arrangements approved by the Board (including upon the exercise of
employee stock options granted pursuant to any such plans or arrangements), (ii)
in connection with any bona fide, arm’s length restructuring or refinancing of
outstanding debt of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, (iii) as
consideration in a bona fide, arm’s-length direct or indirect merger,
acquisition or similar transaction, (iv) pursuant to an IPO or (v) that are
Equity Securities as described in the second proviso of Section 3.03(b). The Company shall not be
obligated to consummate any proposed issuance of Company Securities, nor be
liable to any Member if the Company has not consummated any proposed issuance of
Company Securities, pursuant to this Section
3.07 for whatever reason, regardless of whether it shall have
delivered an Issuance Notice or received any Preemptive Rights Exercise Notices
in respect of such proposed issuance.
(g) If
GE or any of its Affiliates (other than HoldCo or any of its Subsidiaries)
acquires Membership Interests pursuant to the exercise of HoldCo’s preemptive
rights under this Section
3.07, notwithstanding any provision set forth in this Agreement that
GE only sell or cause to be sold HoldCo Shares (as opposed to Membership
Interests) in connection with a particular transaction, GE will be permitted
and, if such provision requires GE to sell or cause to be sold securities
representing the remainder of its Percentage Interest, required to sell such
Membership Interests in connection with such transaction.
(h) This
Section
3.07 shall terminate upon an IPO.
ARTICLE
4
Certain Rights and Obligations of Members
Certain Rights and Obligations of Members
Section
4.01 . Members. The
Members of the Company and the HoldCo Shareholders, and their respective numbers
of Membership Interests, Membership Percentages, Percentage Interests, initial
Capital Account balances, share of Profits and Losses, each as applicable, and
addresses and other contact information for purposes of Section 13.12, are listed on Schedule 4.01 attached
hereto. The Company shall amend Schedule 4.01 from time to time
promptly
34
following
any changes in any of such information in accordance with the terms of this
Agreement. No Person may be a Member without the ownership of a
Membership Interest. The Members shall have only such rights and
powers as are granted to them pursuant to the express terms of this Agreement
and the Act.
Section
4.02 . No Action on Behalf of
the Company; No Dissent Rights. No Member (in its capacity as
such) shall, without the prior written approval of the Board, have any authority
to take any action on behalf of or in the name of the Company, or to enter into
any commitment or obligation binding upon the Company, except for actions
expressly authorized by the terms of this Agreement. No Member (in
its capacity as such) shall be entitled to any rights to dissent or seek
appraisal with respect to any transaction, including the merger or consolidation
of the Company with any Person (but, for the avoidance of doubt, HoldCo shall
have consent rights to the extent set forth in Section
4.10(a)).
Section
4.03 . No Right to
Withdraw. Except in connection with the Transfer of Membership
Interests in accordance with the terms of this Agreement such that the
Transferring Member no longer holds any Membership Interests, no Member shall
have any right to voluntarily resign or otherwise withdraw from the Company
without the prior written consent of the Company and each of Comcast and
HoldCo. A resigning Member shall only be entitled to receive amounts
approved by the Board on the terms and conditions set forth by such
Board. A resigning Member shall not be entitled to a distribution of
the fair value of its Membership Interests under Section 18-604 of the
Act.
Section
4.04 . Member
Meetings. A meeting of the Members for any purpose or purposes
may be called at any time by the Board. At a meeting, no business
shall be transacted and no action shall be taken other than that stated in the
notice of the meeting unless all Comcast Members and HoldCo are present at such
meeting and agree that other business not stated in the notice of the meeting
can be transacted.
Section
4.05 . Notice of
Meetings. Written notice stating the place, day and hour of
every meeting of the Members and the purpose or purposes for which the meeting
is called shall be mailed not less than five nor more than 15 Business Days
before the date of the meeting (or if sent by facsimile, not less than five
Business Days before the date of the meeting), in either case to each Member
entitled to vote at such meeting, at its address maintained in the records of
the Company by the Company’s Secretary. Such further notice shall be
given as may be required by Law, but meetings may be held without notice if all
the Members entitled to vote at the meeting are present in person or represented
by proxy or if notice is waived in writing by those not present, either before
or after the meeting. Presence at a meeting by a Member shall
constitute a waiver of any deficiency of notice, except when a Member attends
the meeting for the express purpose of objecting, at the beginning of the
meeting, to the transaction of any
35
business
because the meeting is not called or convened in accordance with this
Agreement.
Section
4.06 . Quorum; Telephonic
Meetings. (a) Provided that notice of the meeting
has been given in accordance with Section 4.05,
Members holding a majority of the outstanding Membership Interests (including,
subject to the last sentence of this Section 4.06,
HoldCo) entitled to vote with respect to the business to be transacted, who
shall be present or represented by proxy at any meeting duly called, shall
constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. If less than a
quorum shall be in attendance at the time for which a meeting shall have been
called, the meeting may be adjourned from time to time by a majority of the
Members present or represented by proxy and the Company shall promptly give
notice of when the meeting will be reconvened. If a meeting is
adjourned due to a lack of a quorum, and the sole reason for such lack was the
failure of HoldCo to be present, then, if the reconvened meeting is held at
least 24 hours after the meeting at which a quorum was not present, then at such
reconvened meeting, a quorum shall consist of Members holding a majority of the
outstanding Membership Interests entitled to vote with respect to the business
to be transacted, irrespective of whether HoldCo is present at such
meeting.
(b) Members
may participate in meetings of the Members by means of conference telephone or
similar communications equipment by means of which all Persons participating in
the meeting can hear each other. Participation in a telephonic
meeting pursuant to this Section 4.06(b) shall
constitute presence at such meeting for purposes of Section 4.06(a) and shall constitute a waiver of any
deficiency of notice, except when a Member attends the meeting for the express
purpose of objecting, at the beginning of the meeting, to the transaction of any
business because the meeting is not called or convened in accordance with this
Agreement.
Section
4.07 . Voting. (a) At
any meeting of the Members, each Member entitled to vote on any matter coming
before the meeting shall, as to such matter, have a vote, in person, by
telephone or by proxy, equal to the number of Membership Interests held in its
name on the relevant record date established pursuant to Section 4.09. All Membership Interests
shall constitute a single class and group of Equity Securities of the Company
and the holders of Membership Interests shall vote together as a single class
and group of Members.
(b) When
a quorum is present, the affirmative vote or consent of Members holding a
majority of the outstanding Membership Interests present in person or
represented by proxy at a duly called meeting and entitled to vote on the
subject matter shall constitute the act of the Members. Every proxy
shall be in writing, dated and signed by the Member entitled to vote or its duly
authorized attorney-in-fact.
36
(c) Except
as otherwise provided in this Agreement in respect of any class or series of
interests in the Company created and issued after the date of this Agreement in
accordance with the terms of this Agreement, no class or series of such
interests, other than the Membership Interests, shall have any voting rights
whatsoever, and no Member shall have any right to vote with respect to any
business or matter to be voted or acted upon by the Members by virtue of its
ownership of any such interests in the Company other than the Membership
Interests.
Section
4.08 . Action Without a
Meeting. Notwithstanding Section
4.07(b), on any matter requiring an approval or consent of Members under
this Agreement or the Act at a meeting of Members, the Members may take such
action without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote if a consent
or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be signed by
all of the Members entitled to vote thereon.
Section
4.09 . Record
Date. For the purpose of determining Members entitled to
notice of or to vote at any meeting of Members, or entitled to receive a payment
of any kind, or in order to make a determination of Members for any other proper
purpose, the Board may fix in advance a date as the record date for any such
determination of Members, such date in any case to be not more than 70 days
prior to the date on which the particular meeting or action, requiring such
determination of such Members, is to be held or taken. If no record
date is fixed for the determination of Members entitled to notice of or to vote
at a meeting of Members, or Members entitled to receive payment of a
distribution, the date on which notices of the meeting are mailed or faxed or
the date on which the resolution of the Board declaring such distribution is
adopted, as the case may be, shall be the record date for such determination of
Members. When a determination of Members entitled to vote at any
meeting of Members has been made as provided in this Section 4.09, such determination shall apply to any
adjournment thereof unless the Board fixes a new record date, which it shall do
if the meeting is adjourned to a date more than 120 days after the date fixed
for the original meeting.
Section
4.10 . Member Approval
Rights. (a) Except as expressly contemplated by
this Agreement or any of the other Transaction Agreements, the Company shall
take no action (including any action by the Board or any committee of the Board)
after the date hereof with respect to any of the following matters without the
prior written consent of HoldCo, for so long as GE’s Percentage Interest is at
least 20% (calculated in accordance with Section
4.10(d)):
(i) any
acquisition of, or merger, consolidation, reorganization or other business
combination involving, the Company which results in a
37
Member
and its Affiliates having aggregate Percentage Interests greater than the
aggregate Percentage Interests of the Comcast Members;
(ii) any
acquisition (whether by merger, consolidation or otherwise) of Equity Securities
or any other investment in any third-party business (including through a
purchase of assets) by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries such that after
giving effect to such acquisition or other third-party investment the Company
and its Subsidiaries will have made acquisitions and third-party investments
with an aggregate purchase price in excess of $500 million (it being understood
that, to the extent that as a result of any such acquisition or other
third-party investment the consolidated Debt of the Company increased or will
increase, the purchase price for such acquisition or other third-party
investment shall be deemed to have included or include a pro rata portion
(corresponding to the percentage of the business or entity acquired pursuant to
such acquisition or other third-party investment) of the value of such
incremental Debt); provided that if (x) Comcast,
GE or any of their respective Subsidiaries agreed, prior to the date of this
Agreement, to any acquisition of Equity Securities or other investment in any
third-party business in accordance with the provisions of the Master Agreement,
(y) such acquisition or other third-party investment is not consummated until
after the date of this Agreement and (z) the right to acquire such Equity
Securities or other third-party investment is contributed to the Company or any
of its Subsidiaries in accordance with the terms of the Master Agreement, then
the purchase price for such acquisition or other third-party investment shall be
disregarded when determining whether such $500 million threshold has been
exceeded;
(iii) to
the fullest extent permitted by Law, any liquidation, dissolution, winding up,
commencement of or consent to bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidation or similar
proceedings with respect to the Company or any of its principal
Subsidiaries;
(iv) any
material expansion of the purpose of the Company (including any material
expansion of the scope of the activities included in the definition of Business
as of the date hereof) as set forth in Section
2.05;
(v) (x)
any declaration of any dividend on or the making of any distribution (other than
distributions by the Company pursuant to Section
8.02(a)(i)) with respect to, or (y) the redemption, repurchase or other
acquisition of, any Equity Securities of the Company; provided that the consent
right of HoldCo pursuant to subclause (x) of this clause (v) shall not be
required (A) if the Second HoldCo Redemption Right is not exercised, from and
after the expiration of the exercise period applicable
38
to
such HoldCo Redemption Right or (B) if such HoldCo Redemption Right is
exercised, from and after the closing in respect of such HoldCo Redemption
Right;
(vi) any
creation, incurrence, or assumption of Debt by the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries, including the Debt of any Subsidiary acquired by the Company or
any of its Subsidiaries that will be included in the consolidated Debt of the
Company, in an amount such that, after giving effect to such creation,
incurrence or assumption, the ratio of the Company’s consolidated Debt to the
Company’s consolidated EBITDA for the most recent twelve month period for which
consolidated EBITDA has been determined as of the date of creation, incurrence
or assumption of such Debt would exceed 2.75;
(vii) any
loans or advances to or guarantees for the benefit of any Person (other than a
wholly-owned Subsidiary), other than (A) any loan, advance or guarantee in the
ordinary course of business of the Company and its Subsidiaries and (B) any
loan, advance or guarantee that does not exceed $150 million individually;
or
(viii) any
creation, authorization, increase in the authorized amount or issuance of any
Equity Securities of the Company other than issuances of shares of Common Stock
in a Public Offering effected after the Comcast Transfer Date.
(b) Prior
to the three and one half year anniversary of the Closing Date, the Company
shall take no action (including any action by the Board or any committee of the
Board) after the date hereof with respect to the appointment of the Chief
Executive Officer of the Company without the prior written consent of HoldCo;
provided that approval
of HoldCo shall not be required to appoint a new Chief Executive Officer if in
connection therewith a majority of the Board has previously approved two
candidates but neither of such candidates has been appointed by virtue of the
failure of HoldCo to approve such candidate.
(c) For
the avoidance of doubt, and notwithstanding any other provision of this
Agreement and any duty otherwise existing at Law or in equity, to the fullest
extent permitted by Law, in connection with the exercise of consent rights
pursuant to Section 4.10(a), HoldCo may consider
its own best interests (or that of its Affiliates) when determining whether or
not to consent and shall in no event be deemed to have any duty (including any
fiduciary duty) to any Members or to the Company with respect to any such
consent or withholding of consent. Except as otherwise required by
Law, the Company shall not be required to hold any meeting of Members or obtain
any action by written consent of the Members in order for consents obtained
directly by the Company from HoldCo to be valid for purposes of Section 4.10(a).
39
(d) For
the purposes of calculating GE’s Percentage Interest for the purposes of the
thresholds set forth in Sections 4.10(a), 5.01(b),
5.01(c),
5.01(j),
5.02,
5.10,
9.01(b)(iv)(x) and 10.06,
newly issued primary shares of Common Stock issued in Public Offerings effected
after the Comcast Transfer Date shall be disregarded.
Section
4.11 . Reimbursements. To
the extent not inconsistent with or otherwise addressed by another provision of
any Transaction Agreement to which a Member is a party, the Company shall
reimburse the Members for all ordinary and necessary out-of-pocket expenses
incurred by the Members on behalf of the Company but only if such expenses were
authorized by or under the authority of the Board. Such reimbursement
shall not be deemed to constitute a distribution or return of capital to any
Member.
Section
4.12 . Partition. Each
Member waives any and all rights that it may have to maintain an action for
partition of the Company’s property.
Section
4.13 . Liability. Except
as otherwise set forth herein or in the Master Agreement, or as required by the
Act, the debts, obligations and liabilities of the Company, whether arising in
contract, tort or otherwise, shall be solely the debts, obligations and
liabilities of the Company, and no Member, Director or Company officer shall be
obligated personally for any such debt, obligation or liability of the Company
or for any losses of the Company solely by reason of being a Member or acting as
a Director or Company officer.
ARTICLE
5
Board and Officers
Board and Officers
Section
5.01 . Board. (a) The
property, affairs and business of the Company shall be managed by or under the
direction of the Board, except as otherwise expressly provided in this
Agreement. The Board shall be made up of the number of individuals
(who need not be Members) (each, a “Director”) as specified in
this Agreement. Each Director shall be a “manager” (as such term is
defined in the Act) of the Company but, notwithstanding the foregoing, no
Director shall have any rights or powers beyond the rights and powers granted to
such Director in this Agreement.
(b) Prior
to an IPO, the Board shall be made up of five Directors and:
(i) HoldCo
shall have the right to designate a number of Directors equal to (x) for so long
as GE’s Percentage Interest is at least 20%, two Directors and (y) for so long
as GE’s Percentage Interest is at least 10% but less than 20%, one Director;
and
40
(ii) the
Comcast Members shall collectively have the right to designate the remaining
Directors.
(c) Following
an IPO, the Board shall consist of the number of Directors determined by the
Board from time to time. Following an IPO, for so long as the Comcast
Members’ aggregate Percentage Interests are greater than GE’s Percentage
Interest, each of GE and each of the Comcast Members agrees to vote, or cause to
be voted, its shares of Common Stock and any shares of Common Stock held by any
of its Subsidiaries in any election of Directors in favor of any slate of
Directors proposed by the Company consisting of:
(i) at
least three Independent Directors (who shall be designated by the
Board),
(ii) for
so long as GE’s Percentage Interest is at least 10%, a number of Directors
designated by GE equal to the product of GE’s Percentage Interest multiplied by
the number of Directors constituting the Whole Board (rounded up or down to the
nearest whole number of Directors but which number shall not be less than one),
and
(iii) the
remaining Directors designated collectively by the Comcast Members, which number
of Directors shall not be fewer than the minimum number of Directors necessary
to constitute a majority of the Whole Board.
(d) The
Comcast Members and HoldCo shall be entitled to select their respective
designees to the Board in their discretion from the management of their ultimate
parent Affiliate. The Directors designated by the Comcast Members
shall initially be Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxx and Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxxx,
and the Directors designated by HoldCo shall initially be Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx and
Xxxxx Xxxxxx.
(e) Each
Director shall hold such position until his or her successor is appointed or
elected or until his or her earlier death, disability, resignation or
removal.
(f) Subject
to the consent rights set forth in Section
4.10(a), the Board, by taking action in accordance with this Article 5, shall have the power, discretion and
authority on behalf and in the name of the Company to carry out any and all of
the objects and purposes of the Company contemplated by this Agreement and to
perform or authorize all acts which it may deem necessary or advisable in
connection therewith. The Members agree that, subject to the consent
and other rights set forth in Sections 4.10(a),
10.02 and 10.06(h),
all determinations, decisions and actions made or taken by the Board shall be
conclusive and absolutely binding upon the Company, the Members and their
respective
41
successors,
assigns and personal representatives (without requirement for further consent or
other action by the Members). The voting and consent rights of the
Members are solely those set forth herein and the Members shall have no
additional voting or consent rights under the Act.
(g) Each
Director will serve without compensation. Each Director shall be
entitled to reimbursement for reasonable and necessary out-of-pocket expenses
incurred by such Director during the course of conducting the Company’s
business. Notwithstanding the foregoing, following an IPO, the Board
may authorize compensation for some or all Independent Directors.
(h) No
Director (acting in his or her capacity as such) shall have any right or
authority to act on behalf of or to bind the Company with respect to any matter
except pursuant to a resolution authorizing such action, which resolution is
duly adopted by the Board by the affirmative vote required for such matter
pursuant to the terms of this Agreement.
(i) Each
Director may authorize another individual (who may or may not be a Director) to
act for such Director by proxy at any meeting of the Board, or to express
consent or dissent to a Company action in writing without a
meeting. A writing authorizing a Person to act for such Director as
proxy, which has been executed by such Director and entered into the books and
records of the Company, shall be a valid means by which a Director may grant
such authority.
(j) So
long as GE’s Percentage Interest is at least 10% (calculated in accordance with
Section 4.10(d)), HoldCo shall have the right to
designate one non-voting observer to the Board; provided that prior to any
such designation, such observer shall enter into a confidentiality agreement
with the Company on terms reasonably satisfactory to Comcast. Such
observer shall be entitled to receive notice and attend all meetings of the
Board and shall receive the same information regarding the Company as is
provided to the Directors. Such observer shall be entitled to attend
any committee meeting to which such observer is invited by any Director on such
committee.
(k) So
long as the Comcast Members’ aggregate Percentage Interests are at least 10%,
the Comcast Members shall have the right to designate one non-voting observer to
the Board; provided
that prior to any such designation, such observer shall enter into a
confidentiality agreement with the Company on terms reasonably satisfactory to
HoldCo. Such observer shall be entitled to receive notice and attend
all meetings of the Board and shall receive the same information regarding the
Company as is provided to the Directors. Such observer shall be
entitled to attend any committee meeting to which such observer is invited by
any Director on such committee.
42
(l) Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary in Section
5.01(j) or Section 5.01(k), upon the
reasonable request of any Director, the Board may determine to exclude the
non-voting observers from any meeting of the Board or any committee thereof or
any portion of either of the foregoing. For the avoidance of doubt,
if both HoldCo and the Comcast Members have designated a non-voting observer,
then the Board may only determine to simultaneously exclude both such non-voting
observers.
Section
5.02 . Required Board
Actions. (a) Prior to a Qualifying Public Offering
and for so long as GE’s Percentage Interest is at least 10% (calculated in
accordance with Section 4.10(d)), the Company shall
take no action (including any action by the Board or any committee of the Board)
after the date hereof with respect to any of the following matters without the
affirmative approval of a majority of the Whole Board:
(i) any
creation, incurrence, or assumption of Debt by the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries in an amount in excess of $250 million, including the Debt of any
Subsidiary acquired by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, in each case that
will be included in the consolidated Debt of the Company;
(ii) any
removal of any of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer or employees directly
reporting thereto (including, for the avoidance of doubt, the Chief Financial
Officer of the Company);
(iii) any
acquisition (whether by merger, consolidation or otherwise) of Equity Securities
or other investment in any third party business (including through a purchase of
assets) or any disposition of Equity Securities or other assets by the Company
or any of its Subsidiaries (in a single transaction or a series of related
transactions) with a purchase price in excess of 20% of the aggregate dollar
value of the assets reflected on the Company’s most recent year-end consolidated
balance sheet at the time the Company agrees in writing to such transaction (it
being understood that, to the extent that as a result of any acquisition or
other third party investment the consolidated Debt of the Company increased or
will increase, the purchase price for such acquisition or other third party
investment shall be deemed to have included or include a pro rata portion
(corresponding to the percentage of the business or entity acquired pursuant to
such acquisition or other third party investment) of the value of such
incremental Debt);
(iv) any
loan or advance to or guarantee for the benefit of any Person (other than a
wholly-owned Subsidiary), other than (i) any loan, advance or guarantee in the
ordinary course of business of the Company
43
and
its Subsidiaries and (ii) any other loan, advance or guarantee that does not
exceed $50 million;
(v) any
prepayment of any loan, factoring or assignment of any debt or creation or
redemption of any mortgage, charge, debenture or other security by the Company
or any of its Subsidiaries in an amount in excess of $250 million;
(vi) any
material restructuring of employees;
(vii) any
entering into, or any material amendment or modification of, any agreement of
the Company or any of its Subsidiaries providing for payments by or to the
Company or such Subsidiary in excess of $50 million per annum or $250 million in
the aggregate over the term of such agreement (or, in the case of any material
amendment or modification, over the remaining term of such agreement) and which
agreement (or amendment or modification) is outside the ordinary course of
business; provided that
this clause (vii) shall not apply to any agreement (or amendment or modification
thereto) the subject matter of which is covered by another clause of this Section 5.02(a);
(viii) any
commencement or settlement of litigation or an arbitration proceeding, which is
likely to have a material impact on the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a
whole;
(ix) any
proposed settlement or other resolution of any material inquiry or investigation
of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries by a Governmental
Authority;
(x) any
application for the listing of Company Securities on a securities exchange or
automated dealer quotation system;
(xi) to
the fullest extent permitted by Law, any liquidation, dissolution, winding up,
commencement of or consent to bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidation or similar
proceedings with respect to the Company or any of its material
Subsidiaries;
(xii) subject
to Section 5.09, any future strategic plan of the
Company or any material amendment to or departure therefrom, and any material
amendment to or departure from the initial strategic plan of the Company, a copy
of which is attached hereto as Exhibit B;
(xiii) incurrence
of expenditures on any project not included in the then current strategic plan
of the Company in excess of $100 million;
44
(xiv) material
changes to the compliance plan of the Company, a copy of which is attached
hereto as Exhibit C;
(xv) annual
reports of the Company; or
(xvi) annual
budget of the Company and its Subsidiaries.
(b) For
so long as GE’s Percentage Interest is at least 10%, the following information
will be included in the operational review presented to the Board at quarterly
meetings:
(i) the
material terms of any material acquisition (whether by merger, consolidation or
otherwise) of Equity Securities or other material third party investment
(including through a purchase of assets) or material disposition of Equity
Securities or other assets by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (in a
single transaction or a series of related transactions) then under active
negotiation, then pending or completed in the most recent fiscal
quarter;
(ii) any
entry into, or any material amendment or modification of, any agreement of the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries providing for payments by or to the Company
or such Subsidiary in excess of $50 million per annum or $250 million in the
aggregate over the term of such agreement (or, in the case of any material
amendment or modification, over the remaining term of such agreement); provided that this clause
(ii) shall not apply to any agreement (or amendment or modification thereto) the
subject matter of which is covered by Section
5.02(b)(i); or
(iii) a
report on the status of any material inquiry or investigation of the Company or
any of its Subsidiaries by a Governmental Authority.
Section
5.03 . Removal and
Resignation. (a) Each Member or group of Members
shall at all times have the exclusive right to remove, with or without cause,
any Director designated by such Member or group of Members, upon the giving of
written notice to such Director and the Board. Directors who were not
designated by the Comcast Members or HoldCo pursuant to Section
5.01(b) or (c) may be removed at any
time by the affirmative vote of Members holding a majority of the then
outstanding Membership Interests present in person or represented by proxy at a
duly called meeting and entitled to vote thereat.
(b) Any
Director may resign by written notice to the Board. Unless otherwise
specified therein, a Director’s resignation shall take effect upon
delivery. Vacancies created on the Board resulting from the
resignation (other than pursuant to Section
5.03(c)), removal, death, retirement or disability of a
45
Director
shall be filled by the Member or group of Members that designated such Director
with such appointment to become effective immediately upon delivery of written
notice of such appointment to the other Members and the Company President, or in
the case of Directors who were not designated by the Comcast Members or HoldCo
pursuant to Section
5.01(b) or (c), by the affirmative vote
of a majority of the Directors then in office (even if less than a
quorum).
(c) In
the event that any Director would not continue to be entitled to be designated
by the Member or group of Members, as applicable, that designated such Director
pursuant to Section
5.01(b) or Section
5.01(c), then such Director shall be deemed to have immediately
resigned. Any vacancy created by such deemed resignation shall be
filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the Directors then in office
(even if less than a quorum).
(d) Each
of the Company and each Member agrees to take all necessary action to effectuate
fully the provisions of Sections 5.01(b),
5.01(c)
and 5.03(c) to ensure that the Board consists of
the Directors that are duly designated, elected or appointed in accordance with
such sections, including by promptly calling and/or voting, as applicable, in
any meetings or promptly participating in an action by written consent; provided that if GE’s
Percentage Interest is less than 10%, this Section
5.03(d) shall not be applicable to HoldCo.
Section
5.04 . Meetings of the
Board. (a) Regular meetings of the Board shall be
held on at least a quarterly basis at such place, date and time as the Board may
designate. Special meetings of the Board may be called at any time by
any Director.
(b) Notice
of a meeting of the Board or any committee thereof stating the place, date and
hour of the meeting and the purpose or purposes for which the meeting is called
shall be given to each Director by telephone, electronic mail or facsimile no
less than five Business Days before the date of the meeting; provided that the Chairman
may reduce the advance notice period for any meeting to no less than two
Business Days if the Chairman determines, acting reasonably and in good faith,
that it is necessary in the best interests of the Company for the Board to take
action within a time period of less than five Business Days. Notice
of any meeting may be waived by any Director. Presence at the meeting
shall constitute waiver of any deficiency of notice, except when such Director
attends the meeting for the express purpose of objecting, at the beginning of
the meeting, to the transaction of any business because the meeting is not
called or convened in accordance with this Agreement.
(c) The
Secretary of the Company shall circulate to each Director an agenda for the
quarterly meeting not less than five Business Days in advance of such quarterly
meeting (or if sent by facsimile, three Business Days before the date of such
quarterly meeting). Such agenda shall include a discussion of the
46
financial
reports most recently delivered pursuant to Section
11.01 or
Section
11.02, as the
case may be, and any other matters that a Director may reasonably request
be included on such agenda (subject, however, to the other provisions of this
Agreement).
(d) The
presence in person or by proxy of a number of Directors equal to a majority of
the Whole Board shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of business at any
meeting of the Board; provided that in order to
constitute a quorum, at least a majority of the Directors present in person or
by proxy must be Directors designated by the Comcast Members and for so long as
GE has a Percentage Interest of at least 10% and subject to the last sentence of
this Section 5.04(d), at least one Director present
in person or by proxy must be a Director designated by HoldCo. If
such quorum shall not be present at any meeting of the Board, the Directors
present shall adjourn the meeting and promptly give notice of when it will be
reconvened. If a meeting is adjourned due to a lack of a quorum, and
the sole reason for such lack of a quorum was the failure of at least one
Director designated by HoldCo to be present, then, if the reconvened meeting is
held at least 24 hours after the meeting at which a quorum was not present, then
at such reconvened meeting, the presence in person or by proxy of at least one
Director designated by HoldCo shall not be required in order for a quorum to be
present.
(e) Members
of the Board may participate in a meeting of the Board or any committee thereof,
by means of a conference telephone or similar communications equipment by means
of which all Persons participating in the meeting can hear one
another. Participation in a meeting pursuant to this Section 5.04(e) shall constitute presence in person at
such meeting pursuant to Section 5.04(d) and shall
constitute a waiver of any deficiency, except when such Director attends the
meeting for the express purpose of objecting, at the beginning of the meeting,
to the transaction of any business because the meeting is not called or convened
in accordance with this Agreement.
(f) Each
Director shall be entitled to cast one vote with respect to each matter brought
before the Board (or any committee thereof of which such Director is a member)
for approval. Except as otherwise provided by this Agreement, the
affirmative vote of a majority of the Directors in attendance at any meeting at
which a quorum is present shall be required to authorize any action by the Board
and shall constitute the action of the Board for all purposes. No
Director shall be disqualified from voting on matters as to which the Member or
group of Members that designated such Director or any of their respective
Affiliates may have an interest. Notwithstanding any duty otherwise
existing at Law or in equity, to the fullest extent permitted by Law, no
Director (other than a Director who is an officer of the Company (but is not an
officer of Comcast, GE or any of their respective Subsidiaries) in his or her
capacity as an officer of the Company) shall have any duty to disclose to the
Company or the Board confidential information
47
of
the Member or group of Members that designated such Director or any of their
respective Affiliates in such Director’s possession even if it is material and
relevant information to the Company and/or the Board and, in any case, such
Director shall not be liable to the Company or the other Members or their
Affiliates for breach of any duty (including the duty of loyalty or any other
fiduciary duties) as a Director by reason of such lack of disclosure of such
confidential information; provided that such Director
believes in good faith that its disclosure of such information would be
prohibited by a confidentiality agreement with, or fiduciary duty to, another
Person. For the avoidance of doubt, a Director shall not be
considered to be an officer of the Company by virtue of holding the position of
Chairman of the Board.
(g) The
Secretary of the Company or, if he or she is not present, any individual whom
the Chairman may appoint, shall keep minutes of each meeting which shall reflect
all actions taken by the Board thereat.
(h) The
Board may establish other provisions and procedures relating to the governance
of its meetings that are not in conflict with the terms of this
Agreement.
Section
5.05 . Action Without a
Meeting. Notwithstanding Section
5.04, on any matter requiring an approval or consent of the Board under this
Agreement or the Act, the Board or any committee thereof may take such action
without a meeting, without notice and without a vote if a consent or consents in
writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be signed by all of the
Directors or, in the case of a committee, all of the Directors who are members
of such committee.
Section
5.06 . Chairman of the
Board. Directors designated by the Comcast Members may appoint
any one of the Directors who was designated by the Comcast Members to act as
Chairman of the Board and preside at all meetings of Members and the Board at
which he or she is present. Such Chairman shall also perform such
other duties as from time to time may be assigned to him or her by the Board,
subject, in each case, to the ultimate authority of the Board and the consent
rights set forth in Section 4.10(a).
Section
5.07 . Committees of the
Board. (a) The Board may designate one or more
committees, with each committee to consist of one or more of the Directors,
subject to the requirements set forth in this Section
5.07. Any committee, to the extent permitted by Law and provided
in the resolution of the Board establishing such committee, shall have and may
exercise all the powers and authority of the Board in the management of the
business and affairs of the Company, and may authorize the seal of the Company
to be affixed to all papers which may require it; provided that, following an
IPO, no duties will be delegated to the audit committee other than those duties
required by Law to be so delegated.
48
Each
committee shall keep regular minutes and report to the Board when
required.
(b) Subject
to the requirements of Law, Directors designated by the Comcast Members shall
constitute at least a majority of each committee of the Board and, if there are
any Directors designated by HoldCo, each such committee shall include at least
one such Director; provided that, following an
IPO, the audit committee shall be comprised solely of the Independent Directors
designated pursuant to Section
5.01(c)(i).
(c) A
majority of the members of any committee may determine its action and fix the
time and place of its meetings, unless the Board shall otherwise
provide. Notice of such meetings shall be given to each member of the
committee in the manner provided for in Section
5.04(b). Subject to Section
5.07(b) and except as expressly required otherwise by a Transaction
Agreement with respect to a committee contemplated by such Transaction
Agreement, the Board shall have the power at any time to fill vacancies in, to
change the membership of, or to dissolve any such committee. Nothing
herein shall be deemed to prevent the Board from appointing one or more
committees consisting in whole or in part of Persons who are not Directors;
provided, however, that
no such committee shall have or may exercise any authority of the
Board.
Section
5.08 . Officers; Designation
and Election of Officers; Duties. (a) Subject to
Sections 4.10(a) and 4.10(b), the Board may, from
time to time, employ and retain Persons as may be necessary or appropriate for
the conduct of the Company’s business (subject to the supervision and control of
the Board), including employees, agents and other Persons (any of whom may be a
Member or Representative) who may be designated as officers of the Company, with
titles including but not limited to “chief executive officer,” “chief financial
officer,” “president,” “vice president,” “treasurer,” “secretary,” “general
counsel” and “director,” as and to the extent authorized by the
Board. Any number of offices may be held by the same
Person. In the Board’s discretion, the Board may choose not to fill
any office for any period as it may deem advisable. Officers need not
be residents of the State of Delaware or Members. Any officers so
designated shall have such authority and perform such duties as the Board may,
from time to time, delegate to them; provided that the Chief
Executive Officer of the Company shall be the most senior officer of the
Company, and no other officer shall be granted authority equal to or in excess
of that of the Chief Executive Officer with respect to any matter or any
authority as generally pertains to a chief executive officer of companies of a
size and scope comparable to the Company. The Board may assign titles
to particular officers. Each officer shall hold office until his
successor shall be duly designated or until his or her death or until he or she
shall resign or shall have been removed in the manner hereinafter
provided.
49
(b) Removal of Officers;
Vacancies. Any officer may resign as such at any
time. Such resignation shall be made in writing and shall take effect
at the time specified therein, or if no time is specified, at the time of its
receipt by the Board. The acceptance by the Board of a resignation of
any officer shall not be necessary to make such resignation effective, unless
otherwise specified in such resignation. Any officer may be removed
as such, either with or without cause, at any time by the Board or any
authorized committee thereof. Subject to Section 4.10(b), vacancies may be filled by approval
of the Board or any authorized committee thereof. Designation of any
Person as an officer by the Board shall not in and of itself vest in such Person
any contractual or employment rights with respect to the Company.
(c) Powers and
Duties. The officers of the Company shall have such authority
and perform such duties in the management of the Company as may be prescribed by
the Board and, to the extent not so prescribed, as generally pertain to their
respective offices in a public company incorporated under the Delaware General
Corporation Law, subject to the control of the Board or any authorized committee
thereof.
(d) Officers as Agents; Reliance by
Third Parties.
(i) The
officers, to the extent of their powers set forth in this Agreement or in a
resolution of the Board or authorized committee thereof, are agents of the
Company for the purpose of the Company’s business, and the actions of the
officers taken in accordance with such powers shall bind the
Company.
(ii) Any
Person dealing with the Company may rely upon a certificate signed by any
officer as to:
(A) the
identity of any Member, Director or officer;
(B) the
existence or nonexistence of any fact or facts which constitute a condition
precedent to acts by Members, the Board or officers or in any other manner
germane to the affairs of the Company;
(C) the
Persons who are authorized to execute and deliver any instrument or document of
or on behalf of the Company;
(D) the
authenticity of any copy of this Agreement and amendments hereto;
50
(E) any
act or failure to act by the Company or as to any other matter whatsoever
involving the Company or, solely with respect to the activities of the Company,
any Member; and
(F) the
authority of the Board, any officer, any employee or agent of the Company, or
the Tax Matters Member.
Section
5.09 . Strategic
Plans. The initial strategic plan of the Company is attached
hereto as Exhibit B. Each fiscal year, the officers of the Company
shall develop a strategic plan for the Company covering a three-year
period. Each successive strategic plan and any material amendment to
any strategic plan (including any material amendments to the initial strategic
plan of the Company) shall be presented to the Board for its
consideration. If at any Board meeting any Director designated by
HoldCo raises any objection to any such strategic plan or material amendment
presented at such meeting and such objection is not resolved at such meeting,
each of Comcast and GE will cause their respective chief executive officers to
use their respective good faith efforts during the five Business Days following
such meeting to resolve such objection after such meeting; provided, however, that any
approval of such strategic plan or material amendment by a majority of the Whole
Board after such five Business Day period shall be sufficient approval with
respect thereto.
Section
5.10 . Controlled Company.
The Members agree and acknowledge that, following an IPO, by virtue of
this Agreement, they will be acting as a “group” for the purpose of the Company
qualifying for the exemptions relating to controlled companies under the listing
standards of any national securities exchange (including NASDAQ) on which the
Company is listed. If Comcast, together with its Affiliates, owns
less than 50.1% of the outstanding common equity of the Company, but Comcast, GE
and their respective Affiliates own more than 50% of the outstanding common
equity of the Company on an aggregate basis, Comcast, GE and the Members will
take whatever action may be reasonably necessary to ensure that the Company is
eligible for such exemptions; provided that such actions
shall not require GE or any of its Affiliates to incur any costs or expenses
(other than costs or expenses in connection with any filings required under
applicable Law or similar action) or to acquire additional equity of the
Company; and provided,
further, that in the event that GE’s Percentage Interest is less than 10%
(calculated in accordance with Section 4.10(d)),
this Section
5.10 shall not be applicable to GE or its Affiliates or
HoldCo.
ARTICLE
6
Duties, Exculpation and Indemnification
Duties, Exculpation and Indemnification
Section
6.01 . Duties, Exculpation and
Indemnification. (a) Notwithstanding any duty
otherwise existing at Law or in equity, to the fullest extent permitted by Law
and except as expressly contemplated by this Agreement,
51
no
Member or Affiliate of any Member shall have any duty (including any fiduciary
duty) otherwise applicable at Law or in equity to the Company or to any other
Person with respect to or in connection with the Company or the Company’s
business or affairs. Except to the extent that a particular provision
in this Agreement (including, without limitation, (i) the third and fourth
sentences of Section 5.04(f), (ii) Section 6.02 and (iii) Section 9.08) establishes a different standard,
process, right or duty, the Directors and each Company officer shall owe such
fiduciary duties to the Company and the Members as shall exist from time to time
under the Laws of the State of Delaware with respect to directors or officers,
as applicable, of Delaware corporations.
(b) To
the fullest extent permitted by Law, no Person made or threatened to be made a
party to any action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative
or investigative, by reason of the fact that such Person is or was a member,
shareholder, partner, director, manager or executive officer of the Company or
any of its Subsidiaries (collectively, “Covered Persons”) shall be
liable to the Company or its Subsidiaries or to any other Person that is a party
hereto or is otherwise bound hereby for any act or failure to act with respect
to or in connection with the Company or the Company’s business or affairs,
except in the case of bad faith or willful misconduct. The Company
shall also have the power to exculpate to the same extent set forth in this Section 6.01(b) employees of the Company or its
Subsidiaries who are not Covered Persons and agents of the Company or its
Subsidiaries.
(c) Except
in the case of bad faith or willful misconduct, each Person (and the heirs,
executors or administrators of such Person) who was or is a party or is
threatened to be made a party to, or is involved in any threatened, pending or
completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or
investigative, by reason of the fact that such Person is or was a Covered
Person, in each case acting in their capacities as such, and such action, suit
or proceeding relates to an act or omission of such Covered Person acting in its
capacity as such, shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Company to the
fullest extent permitted by the Laws of the State of Delaware (including
indemnification for acts or omissions constituting negligence, gross negligence
or breach of duty); provided that the foregoing
indemnification shall not be available to a Member in the case of an action,
suit or proceeding brought by a Member or any other party to this Agreement
against such Member. The right to indemnification conferred in this
Section
6.01(c) shall also include the right to be paid by the Company the
expenses incurred in connection with any such action, suit or proceeding in
advance of its final disposition to the fullest extent authorized by the Laws of
the State of Delaware; provided that the payment of
such expenses in advance of the final disposition of an action, suit or
proceeding shall be made only upon delivery to the Company of an undertaking by
or on behalf of the applicable Covered Person to repay all amounts so paid in
advance if it shall ultimately be determined that such Covered Person is not
entitled to be indemnified under this Section
52
6.01(c)
or otherwise. The rights to indemnification and advancement conferred
in this Section
6.01(c) constitute contract rights. Notwithstanding the
foregoing provisions of this Section 6.01, the
Company shall indemnify a Covered Person in connection with a proceeding (or
part thereof) initiated by such Covered Person only if such proceeding (or part
thereof) was authorized by the Board; provided, however, that a
Covered Person shall be entitled to reimbursement of his or her reasonable
counsel fees with respect to a proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such
Covered Person to enforce his or her right to indemnity or advancement of
expenses under the provisions of this Section 6.01
to the extent that the Covered Person is successful on the merits in such
proceeding (or part thereof). The Company shall also have the power
to indemnify and hold harmless to the same extent set forth in this Section
6.01(c) employees of the Company or its Subsidiaries who are not
Covered Persons and agents of the Company or its Subsidiaries.
(d) The
Company may, by action of the Board, provide indemnification to such officers,
employees and agents of the Company or other Persons who are or were serving at
the request of the Company as a director, officer, employee or agent of another
corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise to such
extent and to such effect as the Board shall determine to be
appropriate.
(e) The
Company shall have the power to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any
Person who is or was a Covered Person or is or was serving at the request of the
Company as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation,
partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any expense,
liability or loss incurred by such Person in any such capacity or arising out of
his status as such, whether or not the Company would have the power to indemnify
him against such liability under the Laws of the State of Delaware.
(f) Notwithstanding
any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, the provisions of this Section 6.01 shall survive the termination, voluntary
or involuntary, of the status of a Member as such, the termination, voluntary or
involuntary, of the status of any Covered Person or other Person as to whom the
provisions of this Section 6.01 apply as such and
the termination of this Agreement or dissolution of the Company.
(g) The
provisions of this Section 6.01 shall be applicable
to any action, suit or proceeding commenced after the date of this Agreement
against any Covered Person arising from any act or omission of such Covered
Person acting in its capacity as such, whether occurring before or after the
date of this Agreement. No amendment to or repeal of this Section 6.01, or, to the fullest extent permitted by
Law, any amendment of Law, shall have any effect on the rights provided under
this Section 6.01 with respect to any act or
omission occurring prior to such amendment or repeal.
53
(h) The
indemnification hereby provided and provided hereafter pursuant to the power
hereby conferred by this Section 6.01 on the Board
shall not be exclusive of any other rights to which any Person may be entitled,
including any right under policies of insurance that may be purchased and
maintained by the Company or others, with respect to claims, issues or matters
in relation to which the Company would not have the power to indemnify such
Person under the provisions of this Section
6.01. Such rights shall not prevent or restrict the power of the
Company to make or provide for any further indemnity, or provisions for
determining entitlement to indemnity, pursuant to one or more indemnification
agreements or other arrangements (including creation of trust funds or security
interests funded by letters of credit or other means) approved by the Board
(whether or not any of the Members, Directors or Company officers shall be a
party to or beneficiary of any such agreements or arrangements); provided, however, that any
provision of such agreements or other arrangements shall not be effective if and
to the extent that it is determined to be contrary to this Section 6.01 or applicable Law.
(i) Nothing
contained in this Section 6.01 is intended to
relieve any Member or any other Person from any liability or other obligation of
such Person pursuant to the Master Agreement or any other Transaction Agreement
or to in any way impair the enforceability of any provision of such agreements
against any party thereto.
(j) Any
indemnity under this Section 6.01 shall be provided
solely out of, and only to the extent of, the Company’s assets, and no Member or
Affiliate of any Member shall be required directly to indemnify any Covered
Person pursuant to this Section
6.01. None of the provisions of this Section 6.01 shall be deemed to create any rights in
favor of any Person other than Covered Persons and any other Person to whom the
provisions of this Section 6.01 expressly
apply.
Section
6.02 . Other Activities;
Business Opportunities. (a) Notwithstanding any duty otherwise
existing at Law or in equity, to the fullest extent permitted by Law, and
subject only to Sections 10.02, 10.03 and 10.06,
no Member, Affiliate of any Member (other than any Affiliate that is a natural
person), Director or Company officer who is also an employee of a Member or an
Affiliate of a Member (in each case only when acting on behalf of such Member or
such Member’s Affiliate in connection with such Member’s or such Member’s
Affiliate’s own business and operations) shall have any obligation to refrain
from, directly or indirectly, (i) engaging in the same or similar activities or
lines of business as the Company or developing or marketing any products or
services that compete, directly or indirectly, with those of the Company, (ii)
investing or owning any interest, publicly or privately, in, developing a
business relationship with, or serving as an employee, officer, director,
consultant or agent of, any Person engaged in the same or similar activities or
lines of business as, or otherwise in competition with, the Company or (iii)
doing business with (directly
54
or
as an employee, officer, director, consultant or agent of a Person who does
business with) the Company or any Person who conducts business with the Company;
and neither the Company nor any Member (or Affiliate of any Member (other than
any Affiliate that is a natural person)) shall have any right in or to, or to be
offered any opportunity to participate or invest in, any business or venture
engaged or to be engaged in by any other Member, Affiliate of any other Member,
officer of the Company who is also an employee of any other Member (or an
Affiliate of any other Member) or Director or shall have any right in or to any
income or profits derived therefrom. It is understood and agreed by
the Members, GE and Comcast that each Person referred to in this Section 6.02(a) shall be permitted to undertake any
and all actions of the type referred to in this Section
6.02(a) without limitation (in each case acting on behalf of the applicable
Member or Affiliate of a Member in connection with such Member’s or such
Member’s Affiliate’s own business and operations) and that the taking of any
such actions shall not violate any legal obligation or duty (including any
fiduciary duty) to any Member, Comcast, GE or other Person under or in
connection with this Agreement or the Company, subject only to the provisions of
Sections 10.02, 10.03 and
10.06.
(b) Notwithstanding
any duty otherwise existing at Law or in equity, to the fullest extent permitted
by Law, and subject only to Section 10.03, if a
Member, any Director designated by a Member, any Affiliate of such Member (other
than any Affiliate that is a natural person) or any officer of the Company who
is also an employee of such Member (or any of such Member’s Affiliates) acquires
knowledge of a potential transaction or matter which may be a business
opportunity for both such Member or an Affiliate of such Member, on the one
hand, and the Company or another Member or another Member’s Affiliate (other
than any Affiliate that is a natural person), on the other hand, no such Member,
Director, Affiliate or officer shall have a duty to communicate or offer such
business opportunity to the Company or such other Member or such other Member’s
Affiliate, and no such Person shall be liable to the Company, the other Members
and their Affiliates in respect of any such matter (including for any breach of
fiduciary or other duties) by reason of the fact that such Member or any
Affiliate of such Member (other than any Affiliate that is a natural person)
pursues or acquires such business opportunity for itself or by reason of the
fact that such Member, Director, Affiliate or officer directs such opportunity
to such Member or an Affiliate of such Member (other than any Affiliate that is
a natural person) or does not communicate information regarding such opportunity
to the Company. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the first sentence of
this Section 6.02(b) shall not apply to any such
knowledge or business opportunity acquired by any Director who is an officer of
the Company (other than an officer of the Company who is an employee of Comcast,
GE or any of their Subsidiaries) in his or her capacity as an officer of the
Company. For the avoidance of doubt, a
55
Director
shall not be considered to be an officer of the Company by virtue of holding the
position of Chairman of the Board or any other Board-level
position.
ARTICLE
7
Accounting,
Tax, Fiscal and Legal Matters
Section
7.01 . Fiscal
Year. The fiscal year of the Company shall end on December 31
of each year or on such other day as may be fixed from time to time by
resolution of the Board.
Section
7.02 . Bank
Accounts. In the absence of instructions from the Board to the
contrary, an authorized officer of the Company shall determine the institution
or institutions at which the Company’s bank accounts will be opened and
maintained, the types of accounts, and the Persons who will have authority with
respect to the accounts and the funds therein.
Section
7.03 . Books of Account and
Other Information. (a) The Company shall prepare
and maintain, at its principal place of business, separate books of account for
the Company that shall show a true and accurate record of all costs and expenses
incurred, all charges made, all credits made and received and all income derived
in connection with the operation of the Company’s business in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles consistently applied, and, to the
extent inconsistent therewith, in accordance with this Agreement. All
questions of accounting shall be determined by the Board or a committee or
officer authorized by the Board to make such determination.
(b) In
addition to such books and records, the Board shall cause the Company to
maintain and make available to each Member for any purpose reasonably related to
its interest as a Member at the principal business office of the Company (or,
with respect to copies of the Company’s income tax returns and reports, at the
principal business office of the Tax Matters Member): a copy of this
Agreement, a current list of the full name and last known business address of
each Member, a copy of the Certificate of Formation, including all certificates
of amendment thereto and executed copies of all powers of attorney pursuant to
which the Certificate of Formation or any certificate of amendment has been
executed, copies of any federal, state, local or foreign income tax returns, if
any, required to be filed by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries and of any
audited financial statements of the Company, in each case for the three most
recent years or, if not prepared for the three most recent years, such lesser
period for which such documents have been prepared, and all other records
required to be maintained pursuant to this Agreement or the Act.
Section
7.04 . Auditors. The
auditors of the Company shall be such firm of certified independent public
accountants as shall be selected by the Board.
56
Section
7.05 . Certain Tax
Matters. (a) The Company shall prepare and file its
tax returns (including without limitation on Internal Revenue Service Form 1065)
in a timely manner (taking into account extensions) and shall, subject to
Section 11 of the Tax Matters Agreement, cause all tax returns of the
Company and its Subsidiaries to be filed in a timely manner (taking into account
extensions); provided,
however, that prior to filing the Company’s Internal Revenue Service Form
1065, any material foreign, state or local income tax return of the Company, or
any material franchise tax return of the Company, the Company shall submit such
tax return no less than 30 days prior to its due date to HoldCo for its review,
and shall not file any such tax return with the applicable taxing authority
without the consent of HoldCo, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld
or delayed. HoldCo may object to the filing of such tax return by
delivering a written notice to the Company within 10 days of receipt of such tax
return from the Company. Such written notice shall specify the item
or items included in the tax return disputed by HoldCo. After
delivery of such written notice, HoldCo and the Company shall use commercially
reasonable efforts to resolve the dispute. If HoldCo and the Company
are unable to resolve such dispute within five days, the disputed item or items
shall be resolved within 10 days using the procedures set forth in
Section 24 of the Tax Matters Agreement. If HoldCo does not
object to the filing of such tax return within 10 days of receipt of such tax
return from the Company, HoldCo shall be deemed to have consented to the filing
of such tax return by the Company. Such tax returns will be prepared
in accordance with the principles set forth in Schedule 7.05 and no change from
these principles will be reflected on such tax returns without the consent of
HoldCo.
(b) The
Company shall prepare such information (including without limitation a Schedule
K-1 and any comparable foreign, state and local tax forms) as shall be necessary
to enable each Member to prepare its income tax returns and shall provide such
information no later than five Business Days after the filing of the Company’s
appropriate tax returns; provided that the Company
shall use commercially reasonable efforts to provide estimates of the
information to be set forth on such Schedule K-1 no later than 60 days after the
end of each Tax Year but in no event later than 90 days after the end of each
Tax Year.
(c) Comcast
or any Member designated by Comcast shall be the tax matters member of the
Company (the “Tax Matters
Member”), with all powers and responsibilities of a “tax matters partner”
as defined in Section 6231(a)(7)(A) of the Code. The Tax Matters
Member shall act in good faith in fulfilling its
responsibilities. Comcast or any Member designated by Comcast, in its
capacity as Tax Matters Member, shall have the right to (i) cause the Company
and its Subsidiaries to make all tax elections required or permitted to be made
by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries under applicable Law (including an
election under Section 754 of the Code); provided, however, that in
the case of any election that could reasonably be expected to have an adverse
effect on HoldCo or
57
any
of its Affiliates that is material and disproportionate as to its effect on
other Members or their Affiliates, such election shall not be made without the
consent of HoldCo, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed;
and (ii) manage all tax proceedings of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries. The Company shall not pay any fees or other
compensation to the Tax Matters Member in its capacity as
such. However, the Company shall reimburse the Tax Matters Member for
any and all reasonable out-of-pocket costs and expenses (including reasonable
attorneys and other professional fees) incurred by it in its capacity as Tax
Matters Member. The Company shall indemnify, defend and hold the Tax
Matters Member harmless from and against any loss, liability, damage, costs or
expense (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) sustained or incurred as a result
of any act or decision concerning the Company’s tax matters and within the scope
of such Member’s responsibilities as Tax Matters Member, so long as such act or
decision does not constitute bad faith or willful misconduct. In the
event that the Tax Matters Member is notified (in writing) by a taxing authority
that the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is the subject of an audit or
examination by a taxing authority of any federal income, material foreign, state
or local income, or material franchise tax return of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries, the Tax Matters Member shall promptly provide to HoldCo a written
notice informing the Members that the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, as
applicable, is the subject of an audit or examination by a taxing authority,
shall keep the Members reasonably informed of material developments relating to
such audit or examination and not settle such audit or examination, to the
extent relating to (A) a matter set forth in Schedule 7.05 or (B) a matter that
could reasonably be expected to have an adverse effect on HoldCo or any of its
Affiliates that is material and disproportionate as to its effect on other
Members or their Affiliates, without the consent of HoldCo, which consent shall
not be unreasonably withheld or delayed.
(d) The
Members intend that the Company shall be treated as a partnership for federal,
state, and local income tax purposes to the extent such treatment is available
(and no Member will make an election otherwise) and agree to take such actions
as may be necessary to receive and maintain such treatment and refrain from
taking any actions inconsistent therewith. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, the Members intend that the Company shall not be a partnership
(including, without limitation, a limited partnership) or joint venture and that
no Member or the Company shall be a partner or joint venturer of any other
Member or the Company for any purposes other than federal and, if applicable,
state and local income tax purposes, and this Agreement shall not be construed
to the contrary, and no Member shall be liable for the debts, liabilities or
obligations of the Company or any other Member.
58
ARTICLE
8
Allocations and Distributions
Allocations and Distributions
Section
8.01 . Allocations.
(a) Membership Percentages of the
Members. The Membership Percentage of each Member shall be
indicated on Schedule 4.01, as amended from time to time.
(b) Allocation of Profit and
Loss. Except as otherwise provided in this Section 8.01, or required pursuant to Treasury
Regulations Section 1.704-1(b)(1)(i), Profit and Loss of the Company for
each Tax Year of the Company shall be allocated among the Members in accordance
with their respective Membership Percentages, as such Membership Percentages may
be in effect from time to time.
(c) Special
Allocations. Notwithstanding anything contained herein to the
contrary:
(i) If
a Member would at any time receive, but for this Section 8.01(c)(i), an allocation of deduction, loss,
or expenditure that would cause or increase a deficit balance in such Member’s
Capital Account in excess of any amount of such deficit balance that the Member
is obligated to restore or deemed obligated to restore (as determined in
accordance with Treasury Regulations Sections 1.704-1(b)(2)(ii)(c),
1.704-2(g)(1) and 1.704-2(i)(5)), then the portion of such allocation that would
cause or increase such deficit Capital Account balance will be specially
allocated to the other Members, if any, with positive Capital Account balances
in proportion to such balances. The loss limitation under this Section 8.01(c)(i) is intended to comply with Treasury
Regulations Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(ii)(d), including the reductions
described in subparagraphs (4), (5) and (6) therein.
(ii) If
in any Tax Year, a Member receives an adjustment, allocation or distribution
described in Treasury Regulations Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(ii)(d)(4), (5) or
(6), items of Company income and gain (consisting of a pro rata portion of each
item of Company income and gain for such Tax Year) will be specially allocated
to each such Member in an amount and manner sufficient to eliminate, to the
extent required by the Treasury Regulations, the deficit balance in such
Member’s Capital Account in excess of any amount of such deficit balance that
the Member is obligated to restore or deemed obligated to restore (as determined
in accordance with Treasury Regulations Sections 1.704-1(b)(2)(ii)(c),
1.704-2(g)(1) and 1.704-2(i)(5)) as quickly as possible; provided that an allocation
pursuant to this Section 8.01(c)(ii) will be made
only if and to the extent that such
59
Member
would have a Capital Account deficit after all other allocations provided for in
this Article 8 have been tentatively made as if
this Section 8.01(c)(ii) were not in the
Agreement. This Section 8.01(c)(ii) is
intended to qualify and be construed as a “qualified income offset” within the
meaning of Treasury Regulations Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(ii)(d) and will be
interpreted consistently therewith.
(iii) If
there is a net decrease in minimum gain attributed to the Company or Member
nonrecourse debt minimum gain (determined in accordance with the principles of
Treasury Regulations Sections 1.704-2(d) and 1.704-2(i)) during any Company
taxable year, the Members will be allocated items of income and gain attributed
to the Company for such year (and, if necessary, subsequent years) in an amount
equal to their respective shares of such net decrease during such year,
determined pursuant to Treasury Regulations Sections 1.704-2(g) and
1.704-2(i)(5). The items to be so allocated will be determined in
accordance with Treasury Regulations Section 1.704-2(f). This Section 8.01(c)(iii) is intended to comply with the
minimum gain chargeback requirements in such Treasury Regulations and will be
interpreted consistently therewith, including that no chargeback will be
required to the extent of the exceptions provided in Treasury Regulations
Sections 1.704-2(f) and 1.704-2(i)(4).
(iv) To
the extent an adjustment to the adjusted tax basis of any Company asset pursuant
to Section 734(b) of the Code or Section 743(b) of the Code is
required pursuant to Treasury Regulations Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(iv)(m)(4)
to be taken into account in determining Capital Accounts as the result of a
distribution to a Member in complete liquidation of its Membership Interest, the
amount of such adjustment to Capital Accounts shall be treated as an item of
gain (if the adjustment increases the basis of the asset) or loss (if the
adjustment decreases such basis) and such gain or loss shall be specially
allocated to the Members in accordance with their interests in the event
Treasury Regulations Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(iv)(m)(2) applies, or to the
Member to whom such distribution was made in the event Treasury Regulations
Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(iv)(m)(4) applies.
(v) “Nonrecourse
deductions” (as such term is defined by Treasury Regulations
Section 1.704-2(b)(1)) with respect to a Tax Year shall be allocated among
the Members in accordance with their respective Membership
Percentages.
(vi) The
allocation provisions set forth in this Article 8
and the other provisions of this Agreement relating to the maintenance of
Capital Accounts are intended to comply with Treasury Regulations
60
Section 1.704-1(b)
and will be interpreted and applied in a manner consistent with such Treasury
Regulations.
(vii) Any
special allocations of items of income, gain, loss or deductions pursuant to
Sections 8.01(c)(i), (ii), (iii), (iv) and (v) will be
taken into account in computing subsequent allocations pursuant to Section 8.01(b) and this Section
8.01(c) so that the net amount of any items so allocated will, to the
extent possible, be equal to the net amount that would have been allocated to
each such Member pursuant to the provisions of Section
8.01(b) if such special allocations had not occurred.
(viii) In
the event that any fees, interest, or other amounts paid to any Member or any
Affiliate thereof pursuant to this Agreement or any other agreement providing
for the payment of such amount, and deducted by the Company in reliance on
Section 707(a) and/or 707(c) of the Code, are disallowed as deductions to
the Company on its federal income tax return and are treated as Company
distributions, then:
(A) the
Profit or Loss, as the case may be, for the Tax Year in which such fees,
interest, or other amounts were paid will be increased or decreased, as the case
may be, by the amount of such fees, interest, or other amounts that are treated
as Company distributions;
(B) there
will be allocated to the Member to which (or to whose Affiliate) such fees,
interest, or other amounts were paid, prior to the allocations pursuant to Section 8.01(b), an amount of gross income for the Tax
Year equal to the amount of such fees, interest, or other amounts that are
treated as Company distributions; and
(C) the
amount of such fees, interest, or other amounts paid to any Member or any
Affiliate thereof shall be treated as having been distributed to the Member to
which (or to whose Affiliate) such fees, interest or other amounts were
paid.
(d) Tax
Allocations. (i) Except as set forth in Sections
8.01(d)(ii) and (iii), for each Tax Year, items of
taxable income, deduction, gain, loss or credit shall be allocated for income
tax purposes among the Members in the same manner as their corresponding book
items were allocated pursuant to Sections 8.01(b),
8.01(c),
and 12.05 for such Tax Year.
(ii) In
accordance with Section 704(c) of the Code and the Treasury Regulations
thereunder, income, gain, loss, and deduction with respect to any asset
contributed to the capital of the Company shall, solely
61
for
tax purposes, be allocated among the Members so as to take account of any
variation between the adjusted basis of such asset to the Company for federal
income tax purposes and its initial Gross Asset Value (computed in accordance
with the definition of Gross Asset Value) using the “traditional method”
described in Treasury Regulations Section 1.704-3(b).
(iii) In
the event the Gross Asset Value of any asset of the Company is adjusted pursuant
to subparagraph (ii) of the definition of Gross Asset Value, subsequent
allocations of income, gain, loss, and deduction with respect to such asset
shall take account of any variation between the adjusted basis of such asset for
federal income tax purposes and its Gross Asset Value as provided under
Section 704(c) of the Code and the Treasury Regulations promulgated
thereunder using such method determined by the Tax Matters Member in its
reasonable discretion.
(iv) Allocations
pursuant to Sections 8.01(d)(ii) and (iii) are
solely for purposes of federal, state, and local taxes and shall not affect, or
in any way be taken into account in computing, any Member’s Capital Account or
share of Profit, Loss, other items, or distributions pursuant to any provision
of this Agreement.
Section
8.02 . Distributions.
(a) Distributions;
Withholding.
(i) The
Company shall distribute to the Members with respect to each calendar quarter of
each Tax Year, on a pro
rata basis in accordance with their Membership Percentages, an amount of
cash equal to the Estimated Tax Distribution Amount. Each pro rata distribution of the
Estimated Tax Distribution Amount shall be made to the Members in immediately
available funds no later than three Business Days immediately preceding the date
of HoldCo’s corresponding payment obligation under Section 8 of the Tax Matters
Agreement. If the Annual Tax Distribution Amount for a Tax Year
exceeds the sum of Estimated Tax Distribution Amounts for such Tax Year, the
Company shall, within 20 days after filing its Internal Revenue Service Form
1065, distribute to the Members, on a pro rata basis in accordance
with their Membership Percentages, an amount of cash equal to such
excess. If the sum of Estimated Tax Distribution Amounts for a Tax
Year exceeds the Annual Tax Distribution Amount for such Tax Year, the Company
shall so notify each of the Members and each Member shall, within 20 days after
the Company files its Internal Revenue Service Form 1065, refund to the Company
its pro rata share of
such excess or, at the Company’s election, offset such excess against future
distributions pursuant to this Section
8.02(a)(i).
62
(ii) Except
as specified in Section 8.02(a)(i) and Article 12 and subject to Section
8.02(c), (i) the Company shall have no obligation to distribute any
cash or other property of the Company to the Members and (ii) subject to Section
4.10(a), the Board shall have sole discretion in determining whether
to distribute any cash or other property of the Company, when available, and in
determining the timing, kind and amount of any and all
distributions.
(iii) The
Company is authorized to withhold from payments and distributions, or with
respect to allocations to the Members, any amounts required to be withheld under
Law. All amounts withheld with respect to a Member shall be treated
as if such amounts were distributed to such Member under this
Agreement. Provided the Company determined the amount of any required
withholding reasonably and in good faith, neither the Company nor the Tax
Matters Member shall be liable for any over-withholding in respect of any
Member’s Membership Interest, and, in the event of any such over-withholding, a
Member’s sole recourse shall be to apply for a refund from the appropriate
Governmental Authority. The Company shall cooperate with a Member in
the preparation and filing of such refund claims.
(b) Distributions in
Kind. No Member has any right to demand or receive property
other than cash. Assets of the Company distributed in kind shall be
valued based on the Gross Asset Value thereof.
(c) Limitations on
Distributions. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to
the contrary:
(i) no
distribution shall be made in violation of the Act or other applicable Law;
and
(ii) all
amounts distributed to Members in respect of their Membership Interests shall be
distributed to them pro rata in accordance with their respective Membership
Percentages.
(d) Exculpation. The
Members hereby consent and agree that, except as expressly provided herein or
required by applicable Law, no Member shall have an obligation to return cash or
other property paid or distributed to such Member under Section 18-502(b)
of the Act or otherwise.
ARTICLE
9
Transfers, Redemption/Purchase Rights and Additional Members
Transfers, Redemption/Purchase Rights and Additional Members
Section
9.01 . Restrictions on
Transfers. (a) Prior to the three and one-half year
anniversary of the Closing Date, neither GE nor HoldCo may Transfer
63
(or
permit the Transfer of) any Membership Interests or HoldCo Shares; provided that GE and its
Subsidiaries (other than HoldCo) may Transfer HoldCo Shares owned by GE or such
Subsidiary to GE or to any direct or indirect wholly-owned Subsidiary of GE
other than HoldCo (provided that such Subsidiary
remains a direct or indirect wholly-owned Subsidiary of GE and agrees to be
bound by the provisions of this Agreement applicable to GE). After
the three and one half year anniversary of the Closing Date, subject to the
terms and conditions of this Agreement (including Sections 9.01(c), 9.01(d),
9.06
and 9.07),
GE may directly Transfer or permit direct Transfers of Membership Interests and
HoldCo Shares to any Person but, for the avoidance of doubt, may not permit
indirect Transfers of HoldCo Shares or Membership Interests (other than an
indirect Transfer of Membership Interests resulting from a direct Transfer of
HoldCo Shares).
(b) No
Comcast Member may Transfer any Membership Interests owned by it other than (i)
to Comcast or to any direct or indirect wholly-owned Subsidiary of Comcast;
provided that such
Subsidiary remains a direct or indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Comcast and
agrees to be bound by the provisions of this Agreement applicable to the Comcast
Members, (ii) at any time after the Comcast Transfer Date, subject to Section 9.09, in a Transfer of all (but not less than
all) of the Membership Interests held by the Comcast Members to an unaffiliated
Person or group of Persons (“Third Party Acquirer”), (iii)
at any time after the Comcast Transfer Date; provided that no such
Transfer pursuant to this clause (b)(iii) shall be permitted if, as a result of
such Transfer, the Comcast Members’ aggregate Percentage Interests would not be
greater than the aggregate Percentage Interests of each other Member and its
Affiliates or the Comcast Members’ would not be entitled to designate a majority
of the Directors or (iv)(x) at any time that GE’s Percentage Interest is less
than 20% or (y) if as a result of a change in Law or a change in the
interpretation, enforcement or administration of a Law, in each case after the
date hereof, Comcast’s and its Affiliates’ continued investment in the Company
would be prohibited by Law or would reasonably be expected to result in a
material adverse effect on Comcast and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or
the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, pursuant to a spin-off to
its shareholders by Comcast of an entity that holds all of the Membership
Interests then owned by Comcast and its Affiliates. In the event of a
spin-off as contemplated by Section 9.01(b)(iv),
notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, (i) the
spun-off entity (“SpinCo”) shall immediately
prior to such spin-off be assigned all of Comcast’s rights, and shall assume all
of Comcast’s obligations, under this Agreement and (ii) subject to Section
18-704(c) of the Act, from and after the time of such assignment, Comcast shall
have no rights, and shall have no obligations under, this Agreement; provided that from and after
the time of the assignment to, and assumption by, SpinCo of Comcast’s rights and
obligations under this Agreement, either Comcast guarantees SpinCo’s obligations
under Section 9.02(d) or SpinCo otherwise obtains
credit or other support (in a form, and from a Person,
64
satisfactory
to GE in GE’s reasonable discretion), or is capitalized, such that SpinCo’s
ability to comply with its obligations under Section
9.02(d), as
compared to Comcast’s ability to comply with such obligations prior to the
spin-off, is not impaired by virtue of the spin-off (it being understood
that, among other things, the full funding of SpinCo’s obligation into an escrow
account satisfactory to GE in GE’s reasonable discretion or obtaining a letter
of credit (in a form, and from a Person, satisfactory to GE in GE’s reasonable
discretion) with respect to the full amount of such obligation would satisfy the
obligations set forth in this proviso).
(c) Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary herein, HoldCo shall impose appropriate restrictions on
the issuance of HoldCo securities, and on the transfer of HoldCo securities by
GE, any Subsidiary of GE or any other holder thereof, as necessary to avoid the
requirement for HoldCo to register as an “investment company” under the
Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, without reference to Rule 3a-2
promulgated thereunder. For the avoidance of doubt, as used in this
Section 9.01(c), “HoldCo securities” shall include
equity securities and debt securities of HoldCo.
(d) Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary herein, prior to an IPO, no Member shall be permitted
to Transfer, or permit the Transfer of, any Membership Interests or HoldCo
Shares in a sale pursuant to Rule 144 under the Exchange Act.
Section
9.02 . GE/HoldCo Redemption
Rights. (a) HoldCo shall have the right (the “First HoldCo Redemption
Right”), exercisable upon written notice to Comcast and the Company
during the six-month period commencing on the three and one half year
anniversary of the Closing Date, to require the Company to purchase securities
representing 50% of GE’s Percentage Interest (as of immediately after the
Closing), for a purchase price equal to the Redemption Purchase Price determined
as of the date of receipt of the applicable written election by Comcast and the
Company, payable in cash; provided that, subject to the
immediately succeeding sentence, at the election of GE, the First HoldCo
Redemption Right may be effected by a sale of HoldCo Shares to the Company
instead of a repurchase of Membership Interests by the Company, or any
combination of the foregoing; and provided, further, that,
subject to the immediately succeeding sentence, if GE or a Subsidiary has
previously sold HoldCo Shares in connection with an IPO Purchase Right, the
First HoldCo Redemption Right may be effected only by a sale of HoldCo
Shares. Notwithstanding the immediately preceding sentence, Comcast
may require that the First HoldCo Redemption Right be effected first by a
repurchase by the Company of Membership Interests (instead of a purchase of
HoldCo Shares) up to an amount such that, after giving effect to such
repurchase, the disposition by GE and its Subsidiaries of their remaining HoldCo
Shares for a price per HoldCo Share equal to the portion of the Redemption
Purchase Price attributable to one
65
HoldCo
Share will not result in GE and its Subsidiaries having a loss for U.S. federal
income tax purposes on the disposition of such shares that is disallowed by
operation of Treasury Regulations Section 1.1502-36(c) (or any successor
provision) or as a result of any Change in Tax Law; provided that Comcast shall
not be permitted to require that the First HoldCo Redemption Right be effected
through the acquisition of Membership Interests to the extent that, after such
purchase of Membership Interests and the accompanying purchase of HoldCo Shares
pursuant to the exercise of the First HoldCo Redemption Right, (A) HoldCo would
be a member of the GE consolidated group for U.S. federal income tax purposes
and (B) the aggregate bases of the members of GE’s consolidated group for U.S.
federal income tax purposes in their respective HoldCo Shares would be greater
than the product of the Cushion Percentage and the allocable Redemption Purchase
Price of such remaining HoldCo Shares. At the time of the exercise of
the First HoldCo Redemption Right, the Chief Financial Officer of GE shall
certify to Comcast and the Company as to GE’s good faith estimate based on facts
then known after due inquiry of (1) the aggregate bases of the members of GE’s
consolidated group in such members’ HoldCo Shares for U.S. federal income tax
purposes as of the Relevant Time, (2) HoldCo’s basis in its Membership Interests
for U.S. federal income tax purposes as of the Relevant Time, (3) the maximum
portion of HoldCo’s Membership Interests that could have been sold, as of the
Relevant Time, at the Redemption Purchase Price without causing GE and its
Subsidiaries to recognize a loss on such sale that is disallowed pursuant to
Treasury Regulations Section 1.1502-36(c) (or any successor provision) and (4) a
description of all facts (to the extent such facts would not be required to be
recorded by the Company on a properly completed IRS Form 1065 (Schedule K-1))
occurring between the Relevant Time and the date of certification, or reasonably
expected to occur prior to the consummation of the transactions pursuant to the
First HoldCo Redemption Right, that could have an effect on the foregoing
calculations during such time, in each case setting forth in reasonable detail
the basis for such computation. The Chief Financial Officer of GE
shall deliver its certificate with respect to the matters described in clauses
(1), (2) and (4) of the immediately preceding sentence together with the
Exercise Notice for the First HoldCo Redemption Right and its certificate with
respect to the matters described in clause (3) of the immediately preceding
sentence as promptly as practicable after determination of the Redemption
Purchase Price.
(b) HoldCo
shall have the right (the “Second HoldCo Redemption
Right” and together with the First HoldCo Redemption Right, the “HoldCo Redemption Rights”),
exercisable upon written notice to Comcast and the Company during the six-month
period commencing on the seven year anniversary of the Closing Date, to require
the Company to purchase securities representing the remainder of GE’s Percentage
Interest at such time, for a purchase price equal to the Redemption Purchase
Price determined as of the date of receipt of the
66
applicable
written election by Comcast and the Company, payable in cash; provided that, subject to Section 9.08, at the election of GE, the Second HoldCo
Redemption Right may be effected by a sale of HoldCo Shares to the Company
instead of a repurchase of Membership Interest by the Company, or any
combination of the foregoing; and provided, further, that,
subject to Section 9.08, if GE or a Subsidiary has
previously sold HoldCo Shares in connection with the First HoldCo Redemption
Right, the Second Comcast Purchase Right or an IPO Purchase Right, the Second
HoldCo Redemption Right may be effected only by a sale of HoldCo
Shares.
(c) Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary set forth in this Section
9.02, the Company shall not be required to satisfy a HoldCo Redemption Right
to the extent that, after giving effect to any borrowing by the Company required
to satisfy such HoldCo Redemption Right (assuming that all Available Cash is
applied to the satisfaction of such HoldCo Redemption Right prior to any
borrowing), (i) the Company is advised in writing by the credit rating advisory
services of Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services or Xxxxx’x Investors Service,
Inc. that the Company would have a credit rating that is not an Investment Grade
Credit Rating or (ii) the Board determines in good faith that the Company would
reasonably be expected to have a ratio of consolidated Debt (as of the
reasonably anticipated date of closing of such HoldCo Redemption Right) to
consolidated EBITDA (for the most recent twelve month period for which
consolidated EBITDA has been determined at the time of the closing of such
HoldCo Redemption Right) in excess of 2.75. For the avoidance of
doubt, the Company shall be required to satisfy the applicable HoldCo Redemption
Right to the fullest extent possible without violating the restrictions set
forth in clauses (i) and (ii) of the immediately preceding
sentence. In satisfying the applicable HoldCo Redemption Right, the
Company must use all Available Cash. In connection with any
determination of a credit rating advisory service set forth above in clause (i),
GE shall be given prompt notification of, and a reasonable opportunity to
participate in, all discussions with the credit rating advisory
service. In connection with any Board determination set forth above
in clause (ii), the Company shall give GE prompt notice of such determination
and its basis therefor and at the same time a copy of all materials used by the
Board in reaching such determination.
(d) If
pursuant to Section 9.02(c) the Company is not
required to satisfy all of a HoldCo Redemption Right, Comcast shall purchase the
securities constituting such unsatisfied portion that the Company would be
obligated to purchase but for Section 9.02(c) for a
purchase price equal to the Redemption Purchase Price with respect to such
unsatisfied portion determined as of the date of receipt of the applicable
written election by Comcast and the Company, payable at the election of Comcast
in cash or Qualifying Securities or any combination of the foregoing; provided that Comcast’s
purchase obligation with respect to the First HoldCo Redemption Right shall not
exceed $2.875 billion and
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with
respect to the Second HoldCo Redemption Right shall not exceed an amount equal
to (i) $5.750 billion less (ii) the amount, if any, used by Comcast pursuant to
this Section 9.02(d) to satisfy a portion of the
First HoldCo Redemption Right; and provided, further, that, if
Comcast elects to purchase securities in excess of its purchase obligation in
connection with the First HoldCo Redemption Right, such excess amount shall not
reduce its purchase obligation in respect of the Second HoldCo Redemption Right;
and provided, further,
that such purchase shall be structured (x) in the manner set forth in Section 9.02(a) in the case of the First HoldCo
Redemption Right and (y) in the manner set forth in Section 9.02(b) or Section
9.08, as the case may be, in the case of the Second HoldCo Redemption
Right. For the avoidance of doubt, notwithstanding the first proviso
set forth in the immediately preceding sentence, with respect to each HoldCo
Redemption Right Comcast shall have the right to purchase at the same valuation,
in cash or Qualifying Securities, or any combination of the foregoing, any or
all securities that by virtue of such proviso it is not obligated to purchase
pursuant to such HoldCo Redemption Right. Notwithstanding anything to
the contrary herein, the cap on Comcast’s purchase obligation with respect to
any HoldCo Redemption Right shall be reduced by the amount of any purchase price
previously paid by Comcast in connection with the exercise of any IPO Purchase
Right made in response to any IPO Registration Request (as defined in Exhibit D)
pursuant to Section 2(a)(iii) or Section 2(a)(iv) of Exhibit D.
(e) In
the event that Comcast elects to deliver Qualifying Securities in satisfaction
of all or any portion of its obligations pursuant to Section 9.02(d), Comcast shall be required to deliver
such number of Qualifying Securities that, if sold by HoldCo in a single
transaction on the date of receipt with the goal of maximizing the value
received for such securities would generate cash proceeds, net of all market
discounts, fees and expenses, equal to the portion of the Redemption Purchase
Price being satisfied. In the event that GE disagrees with Comcast’s
determination of the number of Qualifying Securities delivered pursuant to the
immediately preceding sentence, GE shall within five Business Days of their
delivery provide written notice to Comcast of such disagreement. If
Comcast and GE are unable to resolve such disagreement within five Business Days
of the delivery of such notice, GE may within five Business Days of the
expiration of such period by written notice to Comcast elect to cause the
dispute to be resolved by a mutually agreeable arbitrator (who shall be an
independent third party with relevant expertise) pursuant to an arbitration
process not to exceed 10 Business Days and conducted in New York, New York under
the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association in
effect at the time of the arbitration, except as they may be modified herein or
by agreement of the parties. If an arbitration is necessary and
Comcast and GE do not mutually select and appoint an arbitrator within five
Business Days following delivery of the notice pursuant to the preceding
sentence, an arbitrator shall be selected and appointed in the manner set forth
in the final two sentences of
68
Section 10.02(f). All fees and
disbursements of the arbitrator shall be paid by Comcast. In the
event the arbitrator determines that the delivery of Qualifying Securities was
deficient, Comcast shall promptly pay the amount of such deficiency to HoldCo or
GE, as applicable, in cash, by wire transfer of immediately available funds,
plus interest from the date of closing of the applicable HoldCo Redemption Right
until the date on which such payment is made at a rate equal to LIBOR (as in
effect on the date of the commencement of such interest period).
(f) Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary in this Agreement, if (i) Comcast elects to
deliver Qualifying Securities in satisfaction of all or any portion of its
obligations pursuant to Section 9.02(d) and
(ii) pursuant to Section 9.04(c)(i), the
closing of the relevant HoldCo Redemption Right would occur during a Comcast
Blackout Period, then Comcast may elect to delay such closing until after such
Comcast Blackout Period; provided that if Comcast so
delays such closing, the Redemption Purchase Price payable in connection with
such HoldCo Redemption Right shall accrue interest from the latest date on which
the closing of such HoldCo Redemption Right would otherwise have taken place
pursuant to Section 9.04(c)(i) until the date on
which such closing takes place at a rate equal to LIBOR (as in effect on the
date of the commencement of such interest period).
(g) Prior
to delivering any Qualifying Securities, (i) Comcast shall file a shelf
registration statement registering the offer and sale of such shares by GE or
HoldCo that will permit GE or HoldCo to effect the immediate sale thereof
without volume limitations or any similar limitations (subject to the suspension
periods set forth in Exhibit D, with references to the Company being understood
to mean Comcast) and (ii) such shelf registration statement shall have been
declared effective. Comcast will keep such registration statement
effective and will comply with the registration procedures in Section 5 of
Exhibit D hereto (as though such procedures were applicable to it, with
references to the Company being understood to mean Comcast) to permit GE or
HoldCo to effect offers and sales of Qualifying Securities under such
registration statement at any time thereafter that GE or HoldCo continues to
hold any Qualifying Securities (subject to the suspension periods set forth in
Exhibit D, with references to the Company being understood to mean Comcast)
until the entire amount of Qualifying Securities held by GE or HoldCo may be
sold without any limitation as to volume under Rule 144 (or any successor or
similar provision then in force) under the Securities Act; provided that,
notwithstanding the foregoing, Comcast shall be obligated to keep such shelf
registration statement effective until such time as the aggregate value of the
Qualifying Securities held by GE or HoldCo (based on the average closing sale
price of the Qualifying Security on the principal exchange on which the
Qualifying Security is listed or on the principal inter-dealer quotation system
on which the Qualifying Security is quoted during the preceding ten trading
days) first falls below $1 billion. For so long as Comcast is
obligated pursuant to the immediately preceding sentence to keep such
registration
69
statement
effective, Comcast will reasonably cooperate with and assist GE or HoldCo in
connection with underwritten offerings of Qualifying Securities in accordance
with the registration procedures in Section 5 of Exhibit D hereto (as though
such procedures were applicable to it, with references to the Company being
understood to mean Comcast), subject to the suspension periods set forth in
Exhibit D, with references to the Company being understood to mean
Comcast. Without limiting the foregoing, Comcast will enter into a
customary agreement with GE or HoldCo providing for the indemnification of GE or
HoldCo and such party’s Affiliates in connection with any information included
in (or omitted from) the applicable registration statement, other than any
information supplied for inclusion in (or omitted from) such registration
statement by or on behalf of a selling holder. Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary in this Section 9.02(g),
neither GE nor HoldCo shall be permitted to effect offers or sales of Qualifying
Securities made in reliance on such registration statement (excluding, for the
avoidance of doubt, offers or sales made in reliance on any applicable exemption
from the registration requirements under the Securities Act) during any Comcast
Blackout Period.
Section
9.03 . Comcast Purchase
Rights. (a) Comcast shall have the right (the
“First Comcast Purchase
Right”), exercisable upon written notice to GE and the Company during the
ten Business Day period after the determination of the Fully Distributed Public
Market Value in respect of the First HoldCo Redemption Right, to acquire from GE
and its Affiliates securities representing the remainder (but not less than the
remainder) of GE’s Percentage Interest at the Redemption Purchase Price
(determined using the same valuation as the valuation for the First HoldCo
Redemption Right), payable in cash. Subject to Section 9.08, at the election of GE, the First Comcast
Purchase Right may be effected by a sale of Membership Interests or HoldCo
Shares or any combination of the foregoing; provided that if GE intends
to sell HoldCo Shares in connection with the First HoldCo Redemption Right or
has previously sold HoldCo Shares in connection with an IPO Purchase Right, the
First Comcast Purchase Right may be effected only by a sale of HoldCo
Shares.
(b) If
the First HoldCo Redemption Right is not exercised pursuant to Section 9.02(a), Comcast shall have the right (the
“Second Comcast Purchase
Right”), exercisable upon written notice to GE and the Company during the
six-month period commencing on the five year anniversary of the Closing Date, to
acquire from GE and its Affiliates securities representing 50% of GE’s
Percentage Interest (as of immediately after the Closing), for a purchase price
equal to the Redemption Purchase Price determined as of the date of receipt of
the applicable written election by GE and the Company, payable in
cash. Subject to the immediately succeeding sentence, at the election
of GE, the Second
70
Comcast
Purchase Right may be effected by a sale of Membership Interests or HoldCo
Shares or any combination of the foregoing; provided that if GE has
previously sold HoldCo Shares in connection with an IPO Purchase Right, the
Second Comcast Purchase Right may be effected only by a sale of HoldCo
Shares. Notwithstanding the immediately preceding sentence, Comcast
may require that the Second Comcast Purchase Right be effected first by a
purchase by Comcast of Membership Interests (instead of a purchase of HoldCo
Shares) up to an amount such that, after giving effect to such purchase, the
disposition by GE and its Subsidiaries of their remaining HoldCo Shares for a
price per HoldCo Share equal to the portion of the Redemption Purchase Price
attributable to one HoldCo Share will not result in GE and its Subsidiaries
having a loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes on the disposition of such
shares that is disallowed by operation of Treasury Regulations Section
1.1502-36(c) (or any successor provision) or as a result of any Change in Tax
Law; provided that
Comcast shall not be permitted to require that the Second Comcast Purchase Right
be effected through the acquisition of Membership Interests to the extent that,
after such purchase of Membership Interests and the accompanying purchase of
HoldCo Shares pursuant to the exercise of the Second Comcast Purchase Right, (A)
HoldCo would be a member of the GE consolidated group for U.S. federal income
tax purposes and (B) the aggregate bases of the members of GE’s consolidated
group for U.S. federal income tax purposes in their respective HoldCo Shares
would be greater than the product of the Cushion Percentage and the allocable
Redemption Purchase Price of such remaining HoldCo Shares. If the
First HoldCo Redemption Right is not exercised pursuant to Section 9.02(a), the Chief Financial Officer of GE
shall certify to Comcast and the Company as to GE’s good faith estimate based on
facts then known after due inquiry of (1) the aggregate bases of the members of
GE’s consolidated group in such members’ HoldCo Shares for U.S. federal income
tax purposes as of the Relevant Time, (2) HoldCo’s basis in its Membership
Interests for U.S. federal income tax purposes as of the Relevant Time, (3) the
maximum portion of HoldCo’s Membership Interests that could have been sold, as
of the Relevant Time, at the Redemption Purchase Price without causing GE and
its Subsidiaries to recognize a loss on such sale that is disallowed pursuant to
Treasury Regulations Section 1.1502-36(c) (or any successor provision) or as a
result of any Change in Tax Law and (4) a description of all facts (to the
extent such facts would not be required to be recorded by the Company on a
properly completed IRS Form 1065 (Schedule K-1)) occurring between the Relevant
Time and the date of certification, or reasonably expected to occur prior to the
consummation of the transactions pursuant to the Second Comcast Purchase Right,
that could have an effect on the foregoing calculations during such time, in
each case, setting forth in reasonable detail the basis for such
computation. The Chief Financial Officer of GE shall deliver its
certificate with respect to the matters described in clauses (1), (2) and (4) of
the immediately preceding sentence prior to the first date on which the Second
Comcast Purchase Right is exercisable, but no earlier than 30 days prior
thereto, and its certificate with respect to the matters described in clause (3)
of the immediately preceding sentence as promptly as practicable after the
determination of the Redemption Purchase Price.
71
(c) If
the Second HoldCo Redemption Right is exercised pursuant to Section 9.02(b), Comcast shall have the right (the
“Third Comcast Purchase
Right”), exercisable upon written notice to GE and the Company during the
ten Business Day period after determination of the Fully Distributed Public
Market Value in respect of the Second HoldCo Redemption Right, to acquire all
(but not less than all) Membership Interests and HoldCo Shares previously
Transferred by GE and its Affiliates to third parties (excluding, for the
avoidance of doubt, any Membership Interest, HoldCo Shares or any successor
securities Transferred by GE or its Affiliates pursuant to a Public Offering or
pursuant to a Rule 144 Sale), for a purchase price equal to the Redemption
Purchase Price (determined using the same valuation as the valuation for the
Second HoldCo Redemption Right), payable in cash.
(d) Comcast
shall have the right (the “Fourth Comcast Purchase
Right”), exercisable upon written notice to GE and the Company during the
six-month period commencing on the eight year anniversary of the Closing Date,
to acquire from GE and its Affiliates securities representing the remainder (but
not less than the remainder) of GE’s Percentage Interest at such time, for a
purchase price equal to the Redemption Purchase Price determined as of the date
of receipt of the applicable written election by GE and the Company, payable in
cash. Subject to Section 9.08, at the
election of GE, the Fourth Comcast Purchase Right may be effected by a sale of
Membership Interests or HoldCo Shares or any combination of the foregoing; provided that if GE has
previously sold HoldCo Shares in connection with the First HoldCo Redemption
Right, the Second HoldCo Redemption Right, the Second Comcast Purchase Right or
an IPO Purchase Right, the Fourth Comcast Purchase Right may be effected only by
a sale of HoldCo Shares.
(e) Comcast
shall have the right (a “Public
Offering Purchase Right” and together with the First Comcast Purchase
Right, the Second Comcast Purchase Right, the Third Comcast Purchase Right and
the Fourth Comcast Purchase Right, the “Comcast Purchase Rights”),
exercisable after a request for registration under Section 2 or 3 of
Exhibit D has been made and prior to the execution of the underwriting agreement
relating to such registration, by written notice to GE and the Company, to
acquire all, but not less than all, of the Registrable Securities that GE and
its Affiliates seek to register pursuant to such registration request, for a
purchase price equal to their allocable portion of Public Market Value
determined as of the date of receipt of the applicable written election by GE,
payable in cash; provided that a Public
Offering Purchase Right that has not been consummated shall not survive the
withdrawal of the related request for registration (including, for the avoidance
of doubt, if such withdrawal occurs after the exercise but prior to the
consummation of such Public Offering Purchase Right). The
determination of Public Market Value shall commence as promptly as practicable
after notice of a request for registration under Section 2 or 3 of Exhibit
D has been made. Subject to the immediately succeeding sentence
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and
Section 9.08, if Comcast exercises a Public
Offering Purchase Right in connection with a request for an IPO registration (an
“IPO Purchase Right”),
at the election of GE, the IPO Purchase Right may be effected by sale of
Membership Interests or HoldCo Shares or any combination of the foregoing; provided that if GE has
previously sold HoldCo Shares in connection with a HoldCo Redemption Right or a
Comcast Purchase Right, such Public Offering Purchase Right may be effected only
by a sale of HoldCo Shares. Notwithstanding the immediately preceding
sentence, if (i) Comcast exercises an IPO Purchase Right and (ii) such IPO
Purchase Right would not give Comcast the right to acquire securities
representing all, but not less than all, of GE’s Percentage Interest at such
time, then Comcast may require that such IPO Purchase Right be effected first by
a purchase of Membership Interests (instead of HoldCo Shares) up to an amount
such that, after giving effect to such purchase, the disposition by GE and its
Subsidiaries of their remaining HoldCo Shares at their allocable portion of
Public Market Value will not result in GE and its Subsidiaries having a loss for
U.S. federal income tax purposes on the disposition of such shares that is
disallowed by operation of Treasury Regulations Section 1.1502-36(c) (or any
successor provision) or as a result of any Change in Tax Law; provided that Comcast shall
not be permitted to require that the IPO Purchase Right be effected through the
acquisition of Membership Interests to the extent that, after such purchase of
Membership Interests and the accompanying purchase of HoldCo Shares pursuant to
the exercise of the IPO Purchase Right, (A) HoldCo would be a member of the GE
consolidated group for U.S. federal income tax purposes and (B) the aggregate
bases of the members of GE’s consolidated group for U.S. federal income tax
purposes in their respective HoldCo Shares would be greater than the product of
the Cushion Percentage and the allocable Public Market Value of such remaining
HoldCo Shares. At the time of a request by GE for registration under
Section 2 or 3 of Exhibit D, the Chief Financial Officer of GE shall
certify to Comcast and the Company as to GE’s good faith estimate based on facts
then known after due inquiry of (1) the aggregate bases of the members of GE’s
consolidated group in such members’ HoldCo Shares for U.S. federal income tax
purposes as of the Relevant Time, (2) HoldCo’s basis in its Membership Interests
for U.S. federal income tax purposes as of the Relevant Time, (3) the maximum
portion of HoldCo’s Membership Interests that could have been sold, as of the
Relevant Time, at the Public Market Value without causing GE and its
Subsidiaries to recognize a loss on such sale that is disallowed pursuant to
Treasury Regulations Section 1.1502-36(c) (or any successor provision) or as a
result of any Change in Tax Law and (4) a description of all facts (to the
extent such facts would not be required to be recorded by the Company on a
properly completed IRS Form 1065 (Schedule K-1)) occurring between the Relevant
Time and the date of certification, or reasonably expected to occur prior to the
consummation of the transactions pursuant to the IPO Purchase Right, that could
have an effect on the foregoing calculations during such time, in each case
setting forth in reasonable detail the basis for such
computation. The
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Chief
Financial Officer of GE shall deliver its certificate with respect to the
matters described in clauses (1), (2) and (4) of the immediately preceding
sentence upon GE’s request for registration and its certificate with respect to
the matters described in clause (3) of the immediately preceding sentence as
promptly as practicable after determination of the Public Market
Value.
Section
9.04 . Redemption/Purchase
Transactions. (a) If HoldCo exercises its rights
pursuant to a HoldCo Redemption Right or Comcast exercises its rights pursuant
to a Comcast Purchase Right, the party exercising such rights shall give the
other party notice in writing stating such election (an “Exercise
Notice”). Once delivered, an Exercise Notice shall be
irrevocable except as otherwise mutually agreed by HoldCo and
Comcast. Upon delivery of an Exercise Notice, each of HoldCo and
Comcast shall promptly designate a representative (a “Purchase Representative”) who
shall be an individual responsible for overseeing the exercise of the HoldCo
Redemption Right or Comcast Purchase Right, to whom all communications on such
matter will be directed, and who shall have authority to act on behalf of the
party that appointed such individual. In the case of a HoldCo
Redemption Right, the Purchase Representative designated by Comcast shall have
the authority to act on behalf of the Company as well as
Comcast. Each party may replace its Purchase Representative at any
time upon written notice to the other party’s Purchase
Representative. The Purchase Representatives shall meet as soon as
reasonably practicable, but in any event not later than five Business Days,
following delivery of the Exercise Notice.
(b) HoldCo
and Comcast, through their Purchase Representatives, will promptly cause the
Fully Distributed Public Market Value determination procedures set forth in Section 9.05 to be commenced (except in the case of a
Public Offering Purchase Right exercised after an IPO or in the case of the
First Comcast Purchase Right and the Third Comcast Purchase Right), shall
identify and promptly commence the steps necessary for obtaining all
Governmental Approvals necessary to consummate the HoldCo Redemption Right or
Comcast Purchase Right, as applicable, and shall prepare all required
documentation.
(c) The
closing of any HoldCo Redemption Right or Comcast Purchase Right shall take
place on a date to be specified by HoldCo and Comcast which shall occur no later
than (i) the tenth Business Day following the later to occur of receipt of all
required Governmental Approvals and the final determination of Fully Distributed
Public Market Value in accordance with Section
9.05, if applicable, or (ii) such other date as may be mutually agreed in
writing by HoldCo and Comcast; provided that (A) if the
First HoldCo Redemption Right and First Comcast Purchase Right are both
exercised, the closing in respect of such transactions shall occur
simultaneously on the same date, (B) if the Second HoldCo Redemption Right and
the Third Comcast Purchase Right are both exercised, the closing in respect of
such transactions shall occur simultaneously
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on
the same date and (C) if in connection with the closing of any HoldCo Redemption
Right or Comcast Purchase Right, GE is selling or causing to be sold both
Membership Interests and HoldCo Shares, the sale of Membership Interests shall
occur prior to the sale of HoldCo Shares on the closing date. The
parties shall act in good faith to cause such closing to occur on such date as
determined by the foregoing sentence, including using commercially reasonable
efforts to obtain any required Governmental Approvals as promptly as
practicable. At the closing of the HoldCo Redemption Right or Comcast
Purchase Right, HoldCo and its Affiliates, as applicable, shall sell, and the
Company and Comcast, as applicable, shall purchase, the applicable securities
free and clear of all liens and encumbrances (other than those arising under
this Agreement). In connection with such closing and except as
otherwise provided in the HoldCo Agreement, neither HoldCo or any of its
Affiliates shall be required to make any representations or warranties or
provide any indemnification to Comcast and the Company other than with respect
to (u) corporate existence, (v) due execution and delivery, (w) corporate
authority, (x) enforceability, (y) non-contravention of law, organizational
documents and material contracts and (z) title to the securities (free and clear
of all liens and encumbrances) (the “Specified
Representations”).
(d) Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary contained herein, if in connection with the exercise of
a HoldCo Redemption Right the Company would be obligated to purchase securities
representing all or any portion of GE’s Percentage Interest, Comcast shall have
the right to require the Company to assign its obligation to purchase any of
such securities to Comcast or any Affiliate of Comcast; provided that for purposes of
determining the continued entitlement of GE and its Affiliates to any rights
hereunder that terminate if GE’s Percentage Interest is less than a specified
threshold, GE’s Percentage Interest shall be calculated as if the Company had
redeemed such securities. In addition, at the request of Comcast in
connection with any HoldCo Redemption Right or Comcast Purchase Right in which
Comcast will purchase securities representing the remainder of GE’s Percentage
Interest, the parties to this Agreement shall cooperate with respect to (i) the
negotiation and execution of Company financing in an amount sufficient to
complete such transaction and (ii) the structuring of such transaction to allow
the Comcast Members to receive and use Company funds (whether or not such funds
are the proceeds of such financing) to complete such transaction. In
furtherance of the foregoing, GE agrees not to exercise any veto rights pursuant
to Section 4.10 with respect to actions by the
Company in connection with such financing or any dividends of Company
funds.
Section
9.05 . Determination of Fully
Distributed Public Market Value. (a) “Fully Distributed Public Market
Value” means the anticipated aggregate common equity market value of the
Company on the NYSE or NASDAQ following completion of an IPO and related market
stabilization activities, with such valuation to be established (i) using the
Public Market Valuation Methodology of the Company’s consolidated and
unconsolidated businesses, (ii)
75
assuming
the Company is a non-controlled stand-alone entity with a single class of
fully-distributed common stock publicly traded on an active and liquid market;
(iii) assuming no premium or strategic value due to third-party interest or bid
speculation; and (iv) taking into account all relevant facts and
circumstances.
(b) “Fully Distributed Public Market
Value” shall be determined by the following process:
(i) No
later than the 30th day after the Notice Date, Comcast and GE each will engage
one Appraiser (the “Initial
Appraisers”) for purposes of estimating Fully Distributed Public Market
Value. Comcast shall also deliver to GE a list of two potential
Appraisers each of whom shall be independent of, and not Affiliated with,
Comcast, GE, their Affiliates or the first two Appraisers and who shall not have
been engaged by GE or Comcast or any of their respective Affiliates (including
the Company and its Subsidiaries) in connection with a material transaction
other than a capital market or commercial lending transaction during the six
calendar months preceding the date of such delivery. GE shall select
a third Appraiser from the list of two for the purpose of estimating Fully
Distributed Public Market Value. All fees and disbursements of each
such Appraiser shall be the responsibility of the party that engaged such
Appraiser; provided
that Comcast shall be responsible for the fees and disbursements of the third
Appraiser. Each such Appraiser shall determine Fully Distributed
Public Market Value in good faith in accordance with Section 9.05(a) and deliver its estimate of Fully
Distributed Public Market Value not later than the first Business Day that is at
least 90 days after the Notice Date. If the higher of the two
estimates of Fully Distributed Public Market Value submitted by the Initial
Appraisers is not more than 115% of the lower estimate, then the Fully
Distributed Public Market Value will be deemed to be the average of the Fully
Distributed Public Market Value estimates of the two Appraisers.
(ii) If
the higher of the Initial Appraisers’ estimates of Fully Distributed Public
Market Value is more than 115% of the lower estimate, then the Fully Distributed
Public Market Value shall be the average of the Fully Distributed Public Market
Value estimated by the two closest estimates among the three
Appraisers.
(iii) Promptly
following the engagement of each Appraiser pursuant to this Section 9.05(b), the Company shall (w) provide such
Appraiser with written instructions regarding the preparation of the Appraisals,
including a copy of the pertinent sections of this Agreement; (x) provide the
Company’s most recent consolidated financial statements; (y) provide financial
forecasts for the Company on a consolidated basis for the then-current year and
the following year; and (z) make available to
76
each
Appraiser a management presentation with respect to the matters set forth in
clauses (x) and (y). Each Appraiser shall receive identical
information pursuant to this Section
9.05(b)(iii).
(c) “Public Market Valuation
Methodology” will consist of an analysis of the trading multiples of a
group of publicly-traded comparable companies. The principal
comparable companies will include those companies in the cable and broadcasting
entertainment industry that are most similar in growth rate and size (in terms
of revenue, EBITDA and market capitalization) to the Company. On a
secondary basis, the Appraiser may consider additional comparable companies, but
only with adjustment of the trading multiples for material differences in
business profiles (e.g.,
growth rate, business mix, etc.) as compared to the
Company. No consideration for private market value may be considered
directly or indirectly. For example, if a stock price of a comparable
company reflects acquisition bid speculation either (i) the company must be
excluded from the group of comparable companies or (ii) the stock price must be
adjusted to exclude the impact from the acquisition bid
speculation. The Company’s management will prepare a financial
forecast for the current and next fiscal year. In the event that this
financial forecast period is less than eighteen months as of the date provided,
the Company’s management will prepare a financial forecast for an additional
fiscal year. The financial forecasts will be prepared on a basis
consistent with financial guidance that would be provided to public
shareholders. The Company’s management financial forecast, adjusted
as appropriate based on the reasonable judgment of the Appraiser, will be the
sole financial forecast to be used in the determination of Fully Distributed
Fair Market Value. For the avoidance of doubt, Public Market
Valuation Methodology will not include: (a) “comparable acquisitions analysis”
or any “private market” assessment of the Company (i.e., will be made without
regard to any premiums in respect of an acquisition of a controlling interest or
any discounts in respect of the acquisition of a minority interest), such as the
value of such shares in an acquisition or other business combination
transaction, or the price at which Membership Interests or Common Stock may have
been acquired or sold previously or any previous proposals or expressions of
interest to acquire the Company or its common Equity Securities; (b) a
discounted cash flow analysis, sum-of-the-parts-analysis or any other valuation
methodology not explicitly permitted herein; (c) the use of any estimates of the
value of the Company published by the sellside research community or any other
source; (d) any valuation derived from a financial plan which contemplates
strategic scenarios not anticipated in the Company’s financial plan including
the sale of businesses or assets, acquisitions, joint ventures or any other type
of strategic initiatives; or (e) the benefit of any tax attributes and the
detriment of any tax liabilities of the Company the sharing of which is governed
by Section 9 of the Tax Matters Agreement (for the avoidance of doubt, such tax
attributes shall include tax basis attributable to the proceeds of a sale of a
Contributed Asset (as defined in the
77
Master
Agreement) that gives rise to a Section 704(c) Tax Amount (as defined in the Tax
Matters Agreement)).
Section
9.06 . Comcast Right of First
Offer. (a) Prior to GE, HoldCo or any of their
respective Affiliates entering into any agreement providing for a proposed
Transfer by GE, HoldCo or such Affiliate of any of its Membership Interests or
HoldCo Shares to an unaffiliated third party acquirer (other than in the case of
a Transfer pursuant to (i) a Public Offering, which shall be governed by the
provisions of Section 9.03(e), or (ii) a Rule 144
Sale, which shall be governed by Section 9.07),
HoldCo shall deliver a notice (the “ROFO Notice”) to Comcast
indicating its, GE’s or such Affiliate’s desire to Transfer or cause to be
Transferred Membership Interests and/or HoldCo Shares, the number of securities
of each type proposed to be Transferred, the cash price that GE, HoldCo or such
Affiliate proposes to be paid for such securities (the “ROFO Offer Price”) and in
reasonable detail any other material terms sought by HoldCo or its
Affiliate. The giving of the ROFO Notice will constitute an offer
(the “ROFO Offer”) by
GE, HoldCo or such Affiliate, as applicable, to Transfer or cause to be
Transferred such securities to Comcast or one of its Subsidiaries at the ROFO
Offer Price for cash. At the time a ROFO Offer is made, the Chief
Financial Officer of GE shall certify to Comcast and the Company as to GE’s good
faith estimate based on facts then known after due inquiry of (1) the aggregate
bases of the members of GE’s consolidated group in such members’ HoldCo Shares
for U.S. federal income tax purposes as of the Relevant Time, (2) HoldCo’s basis
in its Membership Interests for U.S. federal income tax purposes as of the
Relevant Time, (3) the maximum portion of HoldCo’s Membership Interests that
could have been sold, as of the Relevant Time, at the ROFO Offer Price without
causing GE and its Subsidiaries to recognize a loss on such sale that is
disallowed pursuant to Treasury Regulations Section 1.1502-36(c) (or any
successor provision) or as a result of any Change in Tax Law and (4) a
description of all facts (to the extent such facts would not be required to be
recorded by the Company on a properly completed IRS Form 1065 (Schedule K-1))
occurring between the Relevant Time and the date of certification, or reasonably
expected to occur prior to the consummation of the transaction pursuant to an
acceptance of the ROFO Offer, that could have an effect on the foregoing
calculations during such time, in each case setting forth in reasonable detail
the basis for such computation. The Chief Financial Officer of GE
shall deliver its certificate with respect to the matters described in clauses
(1), (2), (3) and (4) of the immediately preceding sentence together with the
ROFO Notice.
(b) Comcast
may accept or reject the ROFO Offer in whole but not in part, in its sole
discretion, by delivering a written notice of such acceptance or rejection, as
the case may be, to HoldCo within 20 calendar days after receipt of the ROFO
Notice. To the extent (i) the ROFO Offer would not give Comcast the
right to acquire securities representing all, but not less than all, of the
remainder of GE’s Percentage Interest at such time, (ii) such ROFO Offer relates
to the sale
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of
HoldCo Shares and (iii) Comcast accepts the ROFO Offer with respect to such
HoldCo Shares, Comcast may elect in its acceptance notice first to purchase,
instead of such HoldCo Shares, Membership Interests representing up to the same
portion of GE’s Percentage Interest as that represented by such HoldCo Shares at
a cash price equal to the pro
rata portion of the ROFO Offer Price attributable to the HoldCo Shares
with respect to which Comcast makes such election; provided that such right of
Comcast to purchase Membership Interests instead of HoldCo Shares shall be
limited so that, after giving effect to such purchase, the disposition by GE and
its Subsidiaries of their remaining HoldCo Shares for a purchase price per
HoldCo Share equal to the portion of the ROFO Offer Price attributable to one
HoldCo Share will not result in GE and its Subsidiaries having a loss for U.S.
federal income tax purposes on the disposition of such shares that is disallowed
by operation of Treasury Regulations Section 1.1502-36(c) (or any successor
provision) or as a result of any Change in Tax Law; provided, further, that
Comcast shall not be permitted to require that the transactions pursuant to its
acceptance of the ROFO Offer be effected through the acquisition of Membership
Interests to the extent that, after such purchase and the accompanying purchase
of HoldCo Shares pursuant to its acceptance of the ROFO Offer, (A) HoldCo would
be a member of the GE consolidated group for U.S. federal income tax purposes
and (B) the aggregate bases of the members of GE’s consolidated group for U.S.
federal income tax purposes in their respective HoldCo Shares would be greater
than the product of the Cushion Percentage and the allocable ROFO Offer Price of
such remaining HoldCo Shares. To the extent Comcast makes a valid
election pursuant to the immediately preceding sentence, HoldCo shall be deemed
for purposes of the provisions of this Section 9.06
to have made a ROFO Offer to Comcast with respect to the relevant amount of
Membership Interests.
(c) If
Comcast accepts such ROFO Offer within such 20 calendar day period, Comcast and
the seller of the relevant Membership Interests or HoldCo Shares shall
consummate the purchase and sale of the Membership Interests or HoldCo Shares as
to which Comcast has accepted the ROFO Offer on the terms set forth in the ROFO
Notice within 20 calendar days of the date of Comcast’s acceptance of the ROFO
Offer; provided that,
if any Governmental Approvals are required in connection with such transaction,
such 20 calendar day period shall be extended until the expiration of three
Business Days following the date on which all Governmental Approvals required
with respect to such proposed transaction are obtained and any applicable
waiting periods under applicable Law have expired or been terminated but in no
event will such period be extended for more than an additional 120 calendar days
(it being understood that, if any such required Governmental Approvals are not
obtained within such 120 calendar day period, Comcast and the proposed seller
shall not be obligated to proceed with the proposed transaction and the proposed
seller may include the Membership Interests or HoldCo Shares which were to have
been sold to Comcast in any transaction effected pursuant to Section 9.06(d)). The
parties to any such
79
transaction
shall use their respective commercially reasonable efforts to obtain any such
required Governmental Approvals. At the closing of the Transfer,
Comcast or the applicable Comcast Subsidiary shall purchase the applicable
securities free and clear of all liens and encumbrances (other than those
arising under this Agreement or the HoldCo Agreement). In connection
with such closing and except as otherwise provided in the HoldCo Agreement,
neither GE nor HoldCo or any of their respective Affiliates shall be required to
make any representations or warranties or provide any indemnification to Comcast
or the applicable Comcast Subsidiary except for or in respect of the Specified
Representations.
(d) If
Comcast fails to accept the ROFO Offer within the 20 calendar day period
referred to in Section 9.06(b) or if Comcast timely
accepts the ROFO Offer and the proposed transaction contemplated by such
acceptance is not consummated as a result of a failure to receive all required
Governmental Approvals within the 120 calendar day period referred to in Section 9.06(c), then GE, HoldCo or the applicable
seller may Transfer or cause to be Transferred all (but not less than all) of
the securities set forth in the ROFO Notice which Comcast has not elected to
purchase or which Comcast is not able to purchase as a result of a failure to
receive all required Governmental Approvals to an unaffiliated third party
acquirer at a price no less than 96% of the price proposed in the ROFO Notice
and on other terms and conditions that are no more favorable, other than in an
immaterial respect, to the unaffiliated third party acquirer than the terms and
conditions specified in the ROFO Notice, at any time during the period ending
120 calendar days after the delivery date of the ROFO Notice; provided that such period
will be extended until the expiration of three Business Days following the date
on which all Governmental Approvals required with respect to such proposed
Transfer have been obtained and any applicable waiting periods under applicable
Law have expired or been terminated, but in no event will such period be
extended for more than an additional 120 calendar days. If, however,
GE, HoldCo or the applicable seller fails to complete or cause to be completed
the proposed Transfer to an unaffiliated third party acquirer within such time
periods, then any proposed Transfer pursuant to this Section 9.06 shall again become subject to Comcast’s
right of first offer pursuant to this Section
9.06.
Section
9.07 . Comcast Right With
Respect to Rule 144 Sales. (a) Prior to GE, HoldCo or any of
their respective Affiliates Transferring any shares of Common Stock in a sale
pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act (a “Rule 144 Sale”), HoldCo shall
deliver a notice (a “Rule 144
Sale Notice”) to Comcast indicating its, GE’s or such Affiliate’s desire
to Transfer or cause to be Transferred shares of Common Stock pursuant to such
Rule 144 Sale and the number of shares of Common Stock proposed to be
Transferred pursuant to such Rule 144 Sale. The giving of the Rule
144 Sale Notice will constitute an offer (the “Rule 144 Offer”) by GE, HoldCo
or such Affiliate, as applicable, to Transfer or cause to be Transferred such
shares of Common Stock to Comcast or
80
one
of its Subsidiaries at the Rule 144 Offer Price for cash. The “Rule 144 Offer Price” shall be
the average of the daily volume weighted average per share trading prices of the
shares of Common Stock on the primary exchange or market on which such shares
trade for the 20 trading days ending on the trading day immediately preceding
the delivery of the applicable Rule 144 Sale Notice.
(b) Comcast
may accept or reject the Rule 144 Offer in whole but not in part, in its sole
discretion, by delivering an written notice of such acceptance or rejection, as
the case may be, to HoldCo within 3 Business Days after receipt of the Rule 144
Sale Notice.
(c) If
Comcast accepts such Rule 144 Offer within such 3 Business Day period,
Comcast shall consummate the purchase and sale of the shares of Common Stock
pursuant to the Rule 144 Offer at the Rule 144 Offer Price within 20 calendar
days of the date of Comcast’s acceptance of the Rule 144 Offer; provided that, if any
Governmental Approvals are required in connection with such transaction, such 20
calendar day period shall be extended until the expiration of three Business
Days following the date on which all Governmental Approvals required with
respect to such proposed transaction are obtained and any applicable waiting
periods under applicable Law have expired or been terminated but in no event
will such period be extended for more than an additional 120 calendar days (it
being understood that, if any such required Governmental Approvals are not
obtained within such 120 calendar day period, Comcast and the proposed seller
shall not be obligated to proceed with the proposed transaction and the proposed
seller may include the shares of Common Stock which were to have been sold to
Comcast in one or more Rule 144 Sales effected in accordance with Section 9.07(d)). The applicable parties
shall use their respective commercially reasonable efforts to obtain any such
required Governmental Approvals. At the closing of the Transfer,
Comcast or the applicable Comcast Subsidiary shall purchase the applicable
securities free and clear of all liens and encumbrances (other than those
arising under this Agreement or the HoldCo Agreement). In connection
with such closing and except as otherwise provided in the HoldCo Agreement,
neither GE nor HoldCo or any of their respective Affiliates shall be required to
make any representations or warranties or provide any indemnification to Comcast
or the applicable Comcast Subsidiary except for or in respect of the Specified
Representations.
(d) If
Comcast fails to accept the Rule 144 Offer within the 3 Business Day period
referred to in Section 9.07(b) or if Comcast timely
accepts the Rule 144 Offer and the proposed transaction contemplated by such
acceptance is not consummated as a result of a failure to receive all required
Governmental Approvals within the 120 calendar day period referred to in Section 9.07(c), then GE, HoldCo or the applicable
seller thereafter may Transfer or cause to be Transferred in one or more Rule
144 Sales the securities set forth in the Rule 144 Sale Notice which Comcast has
not elected to purchase at any time during the
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period
ending 10 trading days (on the primary exchange or market on which shares of
Common Stock trade) after the expiration of the 3 Business Day period
referred to in Section 9.07(b). If,
however, GE, HoldCo or the applicable seller fails to complete or cause to be
completed the proposed Transfer in one or more Rule 144 Sales within such time
periods, then any proposed Transfer pursuant to this Section 9.07 shall again become subject to Comcast’s
right of first offer pursuant to this Section
9.07.
Section
9.08 . Back-End
Transaction. (a) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in
this Agreement, if, at the time a Roll-Up Right is exercised by giving notice in
accordance with the applicable provisions of this Agreement, the Back-End
Trigger Condition is satisfied with respect to such Roll-Up Right, then, in lieu
of the consideration otherwise specified in this Agreement to be paid in
connection with such Roll-Up Right, Comcast, GE, HoldCo and the Company shall
effect the transactions provided in Exhibit E-1 hereto (collectively, the “Back-End Transaction”) and pay
the consideration to be paid in the Back-End Transaction. Comcast and
GE shall cooperate in good faith in implementing the Back-End Transaction
(including, to the extent necessary, by amending this Agreement).
(b) In
connection with the exercise of a Roll-Up Right (which term shall include, for
the purposes of this Section 9.08(b), a Second
HoldCo Redemption Right irrespective of whether it would give GE and HoldCo the
right to sell all, but not less than all, of the remainder of GE’s Percentage
Interest at such time), and if such Roll-Up Right is exercised by GE, at the
time of such exercise, the Chief Financial Officer of GE shall certify to
Comcast and the Company as to GE’s good faith estimate based on facts then known
after due inquiry of (1) GE’s basis in its HoldCo Shares for U.S. federal income
tax purposes as of the Relevant Time, (2) the aggregate bases of the members of
GE’s consolidated group in such members’ Membership Interests for U.S. federal
income tax purposes as of the Relevant Time, (3) the maximum portion of HoldCo’s
Membership Interests that could have been sold, as of the Relevant Time, at the
Roll-Up Purchase Price without causing GE and its Subsidiaries to recognize a
loss on such sale that is disallowed pursuant to Treasury Regulations Section
1.1502-36(c) (or any successor provision) or as a result of any Change in Tax
Law and (4) a description of all facts (to the extent such facts would not be
required to be recorded by the Company on a properly completed IRS Form 1065
(Schedule K-1)) occurring between the Relevant Time and the date of
certification, or reasonably expected to occur prior to the consummation of the
transactions pursuant to the Roll-Up Right, that could have an effect on the
foregoing calculations during such time, in each case setting forth in
reasonable detail the basis for such computation. The Chief Financial
Officer of GE shall deliver its certificate with respect to the matters
described in clauses (1), (2) and (4) of the immediately preceding sentence
(A) upon the exercise of the Roll-Up Right if such Roll-Up Right is
exercised by GE or HoldCo, as the case may be, and (B) 60 calendar days before
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the
date on which the Roll-Up Right described in clauses (i) and (ii) of the
definition of Roll-Up Right may first be exercised if Comcast has the right to
exercise such Roll-Up Right; provided that if Comcast’s
right to exercise such Roll-Up Right is triggered by any action by or on behalf
of GE or HoldCo, then such certificate shall be delivered upon the taking of
such action by or on behalf GE or HoldCo, as the case may be. The
certificate with respect to the matters described in clause (3) of the first
sentence of this Section 9.08(b) shall be delivered
as promptly as practicable after determination of the relevant Roll-Up Purchase
Price.
(c) If
HoldCo exercises the Second HoldCo Redemption Right but the consummation thereof
does not require the Company and/or Comcast (and Comcast does not elect) to
acquire all of GE’s Percentage Interest at such time, then GE and Comcast will
cooperate in good faith to implement a mutually agreeable alternative
transaction to a Second HoldCo Redemption Right that would give HoldCo and GE
the right to sell all, but not less than all, of the remainder of GE’s
Percentage Interest at such time, which alternative transaction shall replicate,
to the greatest extent possible, the economic arrangements and related tax
consequences contemplated by this Agreement and the Tax Matters Agreement giving
effect to Membership Interests and/or HoldCo Shares being retained by GE and/or
its Affiliates. For the avoidance of doubt, if GE and Comcast are
unable to agree on such alternative transaction, then the Back-End Transaction
shall not be effected and the consideration to be paid in connection with the
Second HoldCo Redemption Right shall be the Redemption Purchase Price as
determined in accordance with Section
9.02(b).
Section
9.09 . HoldCo Tag-Along
Right. (a) Prior to entering into a definitive
agreement providing for the proposed Transfer (by merger, consolidation, sale or
otherwise) of all (but not less than all) of the Membership Interests owned by
the Comcast Members to a Third Party Acquirer (a “Tag-Along Sale”), Comcast
shall deliver a notice (a “Tag-Along Notice”) to HoldCo
indicating the proposed purchase price and in reasonable detail the other
material terms and conditions of the proposed Transfer, including the identity
of the proposed Third Party Acquirer, and in the case of a proposed Transfer in
which the consideration payable consists in part or in whole of consideration
other than cash, such information relating to such consideration as HoldCo may
reasonably request as being necessary to evaluate such non-cash
consideration.
(b) Subject
to Section 9.09(c), HoldCo may, in its sole
discretion, elect to sell or cause to be sold in the proposed Transfer
securities representing all (but not less than all) of GE’s Percentage Interest
on the terms and conditions specified in the Tag-Along Notice; provided that if at such time
GE has sold any HoldCo Shares to the Company or Comcast pursuant to a HoldCo
Redemption Right or Comcast Purchase Right, GE may only sell or cause to be sold
HoldCo Shares in such transaction (the “Tag-Along
Right”).
83
(c) HoldCo
may exercise its Tag-Along Right by delivering an irrevocable written notice of
its election to do so (the “Tag-Along Acceptance Notice”)
to Comcast within 20 calendar days after the delivery of the Tag-Along
Notice. Upon the consummation of any Transfer pursuant to this Section 9.09, each of the sellers participating
therein will receive the same form and amount of consideration for its
securities and shall be subject to the same terms and conditions of Transfer
(except as otherwise provided in the HoldCo Agreement); provided that if HoldCo is
selling or causing to be sold HoldCo Shares (whether pursuant to the proviso set
forth in Section 9.09(b) or at its election) (x)
the aggregate consideration payable to HoldCo and its Affiliates in such
Transfer shall equal a portion of the aggregate consideration payable to all of
the sellers in such Transfer calculated by dividing GE’s Percentage Interest by
the aggregate Percentage Interests being sold in such Transfer and (y) the
aggregate consideration payable to the Comcast Members in such Transfer shall
equal a portion of the aggregate consideration payable to all of the sellers in
such Transfer calculated by dividing the Comcast Members’ aggregate Percentage
Interests by the aggregate Percentage Interests being sold in such
Transfer. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein,
if the aggregate consideration payable to all of the sellers in the Tag-Along
Sale exceeds the product of (x) the Percentage Interests represented by the
securities to be sold in the Tag-Along Sale and (y) [$28.15 billion]3, (A) the aggregate consideration payable to
HoldCo and its Affiliates in the Tag-Along Sale shall be reduced by GE’s
Percentage Interest of 50% of such excess amount and (B) the aggregate
consideration payable to Comcast and its Affiliates in the Tag-Along Sale shall
be increased by the amount specified in clause (A).
(d) If
HoldCo does not elect to exercise its Tag-Along Right by delivering a Tag-Along
Acceptance Notice within the time period set forth in Section 9.09(c), then Comcast may Transfer or cause to
be Transferred all (but not less than all) of the Membership Interests then held
by Comcast and its Affiliates at the price proposed in the Tag-Along Notice and
on other terms and conditions that are no more favorable (other than in an
immaterial respect) to Comcast and its Affiliates than the terms and conditions
specified in the Tag-Along Notice at any time during the period ending 180
calendar days after the expiration of the aforementioned time period; provided that such period
shall be extended to the extent that such Transfer has not occurred by virtue of
the failure to obtain all Governmental Approvals required with respect to such
Transfer but in no event will such period be extended for more than an
additional 180 days. If, however, Comcast fails to complete or cause
to be completed the proposed Transfer to the Third Party Acquirer within such
time periods, then any proposed
84
Transfer
pursuant to this Section 9.09 shall again become
subject to HoldCo’s Tag-Along Right.
(e) If
HoldCo elects to exercise its Tag-Along Right in connection with a Transfer by
the Comcast Members pursuant to this Section 9.09,
then concurrently with the consummation of such Transfer Comcast shall give
notice thereof to HoldCo, shall remit to HoldCo the total consideration (the
cash portion of which is to be paid by wire transfer in accordance with GE’s
wire transfer instructions) for the securities of HoldCo and its Affiliates
Transferred pursuant to such Transfer and shall furnish such other evidence of
the completion and time of completion of such Transfer and the terms thereof as
may be reasonably requested by HoldCo.
(f) Notwithstanding
anything contained in this Section 9.09, there
shall be no liability on the part of Comcast to HoldCo or any other Person if a
Transfer by the Comcast Members pursuant to this Section 9.09 is not consummated for whatever reason,
regardless of whether HoldCo has delivered a Tag-Along
Notice. Whether to effect a Transfer pursuant to this Section 9.09 is in the sole and absolute discretion of
Comcast.
(g) If
HoldCo elects to exercise its Tag-Along Right in connection with a Transfer by
the Comcast Members pursuant to this Section 9.09,
all of the sellers in such Transfer shall be obligated to join on a pro rata
basis (based on their respective entitlements to consideration payable in such
Transfer) in any indemnification or other obligations that Comcast agrees to
provide or undertake in connection with such Transfer; provided that the liability
resulting from any such indemnity or similar obligation shall be several and not
joint as between the Comcast Members, on the one hand, and HoldCo and its
Affiliates, on the other hand.
Section
9.10 . Comcast Drag-Along
Right. (a) In connection with the proposed Transfer
(by merger, consolidation, sale or otherwise) of all (but not less than all) of
the Membership Interests owned by the Comcast Members to a Third Party Acquirer
(a “Drag-Along Sale”),
Comcast may at its option require and compel HoldCo or its Affiliates to
Transfer or cause to be Transferred the securities representing GE’s Percentage
Interest for the same consideration and otherwise on the same terms and
conditions as the terms and conditions under which the Comcast Members are
Transferring their Membership Interests pursuant to the Drag-Along Sale; provided that if at such time
GE has sold any HoldCo Shares to the Company or Comcast pursuant to a HoldCo
Redemption Right or Comcast Purchase Right, Comcast may only require and compel
GE to sell or cause to be sold HoldCo Shares (the “Drag-Along Right”); and provided, further, that if GE
is selling or causing to be sold HoldCo Shares instead of Membership Interests
(whether pursuant to the preceding proviso or at its election) (x) the aggregate
consideration payable to HoldCo and its Affiliates in
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the
Drag-Along Sale shall equal a portion of the aggregate consideration payable to
all of the sellers in the Drag-Along Sale calculated by dividing GE’s Percentage
Interest by the aggregate Percentage Interests being sold in such Transfer and
(y) the aggregate consideration payable to the Comcast Members in the Drag-Along
Sale shall equal a portion of the aggregate consideration payable to all of the
sellers in the Drag-Along Sale calculated by dividing the Comcast Members’
aggregate Percentage Interests by the aggregate Percentage Interests being sold
in such Transfer.
(b) Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary contained in Section
9.10(a), if the aggregate consideration payable to HoldCo and its Affiliates
in the Drag-Along Sale is less than an amount equal to the Redemption Purchase
Price determined as of the date of the Drag-Along Notice, Comcast shall remit to
HoldCo the amount of such shortfall concurrently with the consummation of such
Drag-Along Sale. In connection with any Drag-Along Notice delivered
prior to an IPO, the parties shall promptly commence the appraisal process set
forth in Section 9.05 to determine the Fully
Distributed Public Market Value of the Company (which shall permit the
Redemption Purchase Price to be calculated).
(c) Comcast
may exercise its Drag-Along Right by delivering a written notice of its election
(a “Drag-Along Notice”)
to HoldCo within 15 calendar days of execution of a definitive agreement
relating to the Drag-Along Sale. The Drag-Along Notice shall indicate
the purchase price and the other material terms and conditions of the proposed
Drag-Along Sale, including the identity of the proposed Third Party
Acquirer.
(d) Concurrently
with the consummation of the Drag-Along Sale pursuant to this Section 9.10, Comcast shall give notice thereof to
HoldCo, shall remit to HoldCo the total consideration (the cash portion of which
is to be paid by wire transfer in accordance with GE’s wire transfer
instructions) for the securities of HoldCo and its Affiliates Transferred
pursuant hereto and shall furnish such other evidence of the completion and time
of completion of such Transfer and the terms thereof as may be reasonably
requested by HoldCo. Notwithstanding the foregoing or anything to the
contrary contained in Section
9.10(a), if the conditions to a Drag-Along Sale are satisfied but an
appraisal process as described in Section
9.10(b) is ongoing, the parties shall consummate the closing without
taking into account any shortfall amount referred to in Section
9.10(b) in calculating the amount of the total consideration to be
remitted to HoldCo. Upon conclusion of an appraisal process pursuant
to Section
9.10(b), Comcast shall promptly pay to HoldCo any shortfall amount
plus interest on such amount from and including the date of such closing to but
excluding the date of payment at a rate per annum equal to the “Prime Rate” as
published in The Wall Street
Journal, Eastern Edition, in effect from time to timing during the period
from such closing to the date of payment.
86
(e) Notwithstanding
anything contained in this Section 9.10, there
shall be no liability on the part of Comcast to HoldCo or any other Person if
the Drag-Along Sale pursuant to this Section 9.10
is not consummated for whatever reason. Whether to effect a
Drag-Along Sale pursuant to this Section 9.10 is in
the sole and absolute discretion of Comcast.
(f) If
Comcast elects to exercise its Drag-Along Right, under no circumstances shall
HoldCo or its Affiliates be required to make any representations or warranties
or provide any indemnification to the Third Party Acquirer in connection with
such Transfer except for, or in respect of, the Specified Representations or as
otherwise provided in the HoldCo Agreement.
Section
9.11 . Additional
Members. (a) In connection with a Transfer of
Membership Interests or HoldCo Shares other than in connection with a Transfer
pursuant to a Public Offering or pursuant to a Rule 144 Sale, each such
Person who receives Membership Interests or HoldCo Shares in accordance with,
and as permitted by, the terms of this Agreement, in each case who is not
already a Member (in the case of a Transfer of Membership Interests) or a party
(in the case of a Transfer of HoldCo Shares) to this Agreement or the HoldCo
Agreement, shall execute and deliver this Agreement or a counterpart of this
Agreement and/or the HoldCo Agreement or a counterpart of the HoldCo Agreement,
as the case may be, and agree in writing to be bound by the terms and conditions
of this Agreement and/or the HoldCo Agreement, as the case may be, that were
applicable to the transferor (subject to Section
13.06 hereof,
in the case of this Agreement, and subject to Section
7.05 of the HoldCo Agreement, in the case of the HoldCo Agreement),
and, in the case of a transferee of Membership Interests, shall thereupon be
admitted as an additional Member of the Company (an “Additional
Member”).
(b) Each
Person who is issued new Membership Interests in accordance with the terms of
this Agreement and who is not already a Member shall execute and deliver this
Agreement or a counterpart of this Agreement and agree in writing to be bound by
the terms and conditions of this Agreement, and shall thereupon be admitted as
an Additional Member.
(c) A
transferee of Membership Interests who is admitted as an Additional Member
accepts, ratifies and agrees to be bound by all actions duly taken pursuant to
the terms and provisions of this Agreement by the Company prior to the date it
was admitted as an Additional Member and, without limiting the generality of the
foregoing, specifically ratifies and approves all agreements and other
instruments as may have been executed and delivered on behalf of the Company
prior to such date and which are in force and effect on such date.
(d) Each
Additional Member shall be named as a Member on Schedule 4.01. Unless
and until admitted as an Additional Member, a transferee of any Membership
Interest, or a recipient of any
87
newly
issued Membership Interests, shall have no powers, rights or privileges of a
Member of the Company.
(e) Following
a Transfer of any Membership Interests in accordance with this Article 9, the transferee of such Membership Interests
shall be treated as having made all of the Capital Contributions in respect of,
and received all of the distributions received in respect of, such Membership
Interests, and shall receive allocations and distributions in respect of such
Membership Interests as if such transferee were a Member. Unless
otherwise prohibited by Section 706(d) of the Code and Treasury Regulations
promulgated thereunder, the following shall apply to select the method to be
utilized for determining the distributive share of the Company’s income, gains,
losses, deductions, credits and other items of a Member whose interest is
disposed of, in whole or in part: (i) upon a closing of (A) any
transfer by a Comcast Member to GE or any of its Subsidiaries, (B) any transfer
by HoldCo to Comcast or any of its Subsidiaries including, for the avoidance of
doubt, the Company, or (C) any HoldCo Redemption Right, the “closing of the
books” method (including the “calendar day” convention described in Proposed
Treasury Regulations Section 1.706-4(e)(1)) shall be utilized and (ii) upon any
other transfer by a Member, the transferor Member shall have the right to
designate whether to use the “closing of the books” method or the “proration”
method; provided that
the transferor Member shall indemnify the Company for any reasonable incremental
costs and expenses incurred by the Company in calculating the items to be
allocated under the method selected pursuant to this clause (ii) compared to the
costs and expenses that would have been incurred if the Company had calculated
the items to be allocated using the method not selected.
(f) The
Company shall maintain books for the purpose of registering the transfer of
interests in the Company. Upon a transfer of interests in the
Company, the transferor of such interests shall notify the Company so that such
transfer may be registered in the books of the Company. A transfer of
interests in the Company shall be effective upon registration of the transfer in
the books of the Company.
Section
9.12 . Termination of Member
Status; Redemption or Repurchase. Any Member that Transfers
all of its, and owns no, Membership Interests shall immediately cease to be a
Member and shall no longer be a party to this Agreement (in its capacity as a
Member) and Schedule 4.01 shall be updated to eliminate such Person; provided, however, that such
Member (i) shall not thereby be relieved of its liability for breach of this
Agreement prior to such time or, except as set forth in Section 9.01(b)(iv), from any obligations under this
Agreement not related to its capacity as a Member; (ii) shall retain any rights
with respect to a breach of this Agreement by any other Person prior to such
time; (iii) shall retain the right to indemnification hereunder; and (iv) except
in the case of Comcast as expressly permitted by Section 9.01(b)(iv), shall not thereby be
88
relieved
of any of its obligations under Article
9. Except for purchases of Membership Interests in accordance
with the HoldCo Redemption Rights, Membership Interests may be redeemed or
repurchased by the Company only with the prior written consent of the Board and,
to the extent set forth in Section
4.10(a), HoldCo.
Section
9.13 . Void
Transfers. To the greatest extent permitted by the Act and
other Law, any Transfer by any Member of any Membership Interests or other
interest in the Company (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any Transfer of
any Person which directly or indirectly owns Membership Interests) in
contravention of this Agreement shall be ineffective and null and void ab initio
and shall not bind or be recognized by the Company or any other
Person. In the event of any Transfer in contravention of this
Agreement, to the greatest extent permitted by the Act and other Law, the
purported transferee shall have no right to any profits, losses or distributions
of the Company or any other rights of a Member.
Section
9.14 . Transfer
Indemnification; Other Tax Matters. (a) GE shall indemnify
and hold Comcast, the Company, HoldCo, Holding and any Third Party Acquirer to
which Membership Interests are Transferred in accordance with Section 13.06(ii) (a “Comcast Third Party Acquirer”)
harmless against any income or franchise taxes imposed on a transfer of
Membership Interests or HoldCo Shares by GE or any GE transferee to Comcast, the
Company or any Comcast Third Party Acquirer (including, for the avoidance of
doubt, any tax imposed upon an actual or deemed distribution of HoldCo Shares by
the Company to Comcast or its Affiliates, Holding or its Affiliates or a Comcast
Third Party Acquirer or its Affiliates); provided that, other than in
the case of the Back-End Transaction, if (I) pursuant to the Second HoldCo
Redemption Right, the aggregate Percentage Interests of the Comcast Members or
the Comcast Third Party Acquirer and its Affiliates, as applicable, will equal
100% after the purchase of securities upon HoldCo’s exercise of the Second
HoldCo Redemption Right, (II) GE elects to sell HoldCo Shares in connection with
the Second HoldCo Redemption Right and (III) Comcast or the Comcast Third Party
Acquirer, as applicable, does not exercise its right to require the Company to
assign to Comcast or the Comcast Third Party Acquirer, as applicable, the
obligation to purchase such HoldCo Shares pursuant to Section 9.04(d), GE shall not be required to indemnify
any party with respect to any tax described above to the extent attributable to
the HoldCo Shares Transferred in connection with the Second HoldCo Redemption
Right; provided,
further, that the amount payable by GE pursuant to this Section shall
include an amount so that after paying all Taxes with respect to the receipt of
the indemnification payment, each party entitled to indemnification herein
receives an amount (based on the Applicable Tax Rate) equal to the amount that
it would have received had not such Taxes been imposed. The party
that may be entitled to indemnification under the previous sentence (the “Indemnified Party”) will act
in good faith to execute, or cause to be executed,
89
the
transaction in which such securities are transferred in a manner that seeks to
minimize the amount of taxes for which indemnification may by claimed pursuant
to the previous sentence (“Indemnifiable Taxes”); provided that the Indemnified
Party shall not be required to structure the transaction in a manner that seeks
to minimize Indemnifiable Taxes if doing so would reasonably be expected to
require the Indemnified Party to incur any additional cost that is not
compensated by GE.
(b) The
Indemnified Party shall promptly deliver to GE a copy of any written
communication received by the Indemnified Party or any of its Affiliates from a
taxing authority concerning Indemnifiable Taxes and shall promptly notify GE in
writing of any pending or threatened audit, claim or demand (a “Tax Claim”) that could give
rise to a right of indemnification describing in reasonable detail the facts and
circumstances with respect to the subject matter of such Tax Claim.
(c) GE
shall have the right, at its expense, to participate in any Tax Claim or
administrative or judicial proceeding with respect to Indemnifiable
Taxes. Such participation shall include the right to review
submissions made to a taxing authority as well as notice of any in person or
telephonic meetings with a taxing authority. The Indemnified Party
shall not settle any such Tax Claim or administrative or judicial proceeding
without the consent of GE, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or
delayed.
(d) At
least 15 days prior to any transfer of HoldCo Shares by the Company to Comcast
or its Affiliates or a Comcast Third Party Acquirer or its Affiliates, the
Company shall provide written notice to GE of the intended transfer, setting
forth in reasonable detail the facts and circumstances regarding such transfer
(the “Comcast Proposed
Transfer”). The Company will not implement the Comcast
Proposed Transfer without the consent of GE, which consent shall not be
unreasonably withheld or delayed; provided that in the event GE
does not consent to the Comcast Proposed Transfer within 10 days after receipt
of written notice of the Comcast Proposed Transfer, GE shall on such date
provide Comcast or a Comcast Third Party Acquirer, as the case may be, with an
alternative proposal to effect a comparable transfer by the Company of such
HoldCo Shares (the “GE Proposed
Transfer”). If the GE Proposed Transfer is not reasonably
acceptable to Comcast or the Comcast Third Party Acquirer, as the case may be,
the Company shall provide written notice to GE of its rejection of the GE
Proposed Transfer, setting forth the reasons for such rejection. If
Comcast or the Comcast Third Party Acquirer, as the case may be, does not
receive written notice from GE with a revised GE Proposed Transfer reasonably
acceptable to Comcast or the Comcast Third Party Acquirer, as the case may be
within five days after sending GE written notice of its rejection, the Company
shall be permitted to implement the Comcast Proposed Transfer, and GE shall
indemnify Comcast and the Comcast Third Party Acquirer to the extent provided
90
by
Section 9.14(a) with respect to the Comcast
Proposed Transfer. If the GE Proposed Transfer (or the revised GE
Proposed Transfer, if applicable) is reasonably acceptable to Comcast or the
Comcast Third Party Acquirer, as the case may be, either as originally submitted
or as revised, (i) Comcast or the Comcast Third Party Acquirer, as the case may
be, shall cause the GE Proposed Transfer (or the revised GE Proposed Transfer,
if applicable) to be implemented and (ii) GE shall, in addition to its
obligation to indemnify pursuant to Section
9.14(a), indemnify and hold Comcast and a Comcast Third Party Acquirer
harmless for any incremental costs associated with the implementation of the GE
Proposed Transfer (or the revised GE Proposed Transfer, if applicable) rather
than the Comcast Proposed Transfer.
(e) With
respect to any transfer pursuant to this Article 9
in connection with which GE transfers HoldCo Shares instead of Membership
Interests, GE shall not make an election under Section 338(h)(10) of the
Code or otherwise cause such transfer to be treated as a sale of HoldCo’s assets
for tax purposes.
ARTICLE
10
Covenants
Covenants
Section
10.01 . Confidentiality. (a) Each
Member agrees that it shall hold strictly confidential and shall use, and that
it shall cause any Person to whom Confidential Information is disclosed pursuant
to clause (i) below to hold strictly confidential
and to use, the Confidential Information only in connection with its investment
in the Company and not for any other purpose. Each Member agrees that
it shall be responsible for any breach of the provisions of this Section 10.01 by any of its Representatives to whom it
discloses Confidential Information. Each Member further acknowledges
and agrees that it shall not disclose any Confidential Information to any
Person, except that Confidential Information may be disclosed:
(i) to
such Member’s Representatives in the normal course of the performance of their
duties or to any financial institution providing credit to such
Member;
(ii) to
the extent required by applicable Law (including complying with any oral or
written questions, interrogatories, requests for information or documents,
subpoena, civil investigative demand or similar process to which a Member is
subject; provided that,
unless otherwise prohibited by Law, such Member agrees to give the Company
prompt notice of such request(s), to the extent practicable, so that the Company
may seek an appropriate protective order or similar relief (and the Member shall
cooperate with such efforts by the Company, and shall in any event make only the
minimum disclosure required by such Law));
91
(iii) to
any Person to whom such Member is contemplating a Transfer of its Company
Securities; provided
that such Transfer would not be in violation of the provisions of this
Agreement, the potential transferee agrees in advance of any such disclosure to
be bound by a confidentiality agreement consistent with the provisions hereof
and such Member shall be responsible for breaches of such confidentiality
agreement by such potential transferee;
(iv) to
any regulatory authority or rating agency to which such Member or any of its
Affiliates is subject or with which it has regular dealings, as long as such
authority or agency is advised of the confidential nature of such information
and such Member uses reasonable efforts to seek confidential treatment of such
information to the extent available;
(v) to
the extent required by the rules and regulations of the Commission or stock
exchange rules; or
(vi) if
the prior written consent of the Board shall have been obtained.
Nothing
contained herein shall prevent the use (subject, to the extent possible, to a
protective order) of Confidential Information in connection with the assertion
or defense of any claim by or against the Company or any Member.
(b) “Confidential Information”
means any information concerning the Company or any Persons that are or become
its Subsidiaries or the financial condition, business, operations or prospects
of the Company or any such Subsidiaries in the possession of or furnished to any
Member (including by virtue of its present or former right to designate a
Director); provided
that the term “Confidential Information” does not include information that (i)
is or becomes generally available to the public other than as a result of a
disclosure by a Member or its directors, officers, employees, shareholders,
members, partners, agents, counsel, investment advisers or other representatives
(all such persons being collectively referred to as “Representatives”) in violation
of this Agreement or any of the other Transaction Agreements, (ii) was available
to such Member on a non-confidential basis prior to its disclosure to such
Member or its Representatives by the Company or (iii) becomes available to such
Member on a non-confidential basis from a source other than the Company after
the disclosure of such information to such Member or its Representatives by the
Company, which source is (at the time of receipt of the relevant information)
not, to such Member’s knowledge, bound by a confidentiality agreement with (or
other confidentiality obligation to) the Company or another Person; provided that,
notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, “Confidential Information” in
the possession of Comcast, GE or any of their respective Subsidiaries prior to
the date of this Agreement shall not by virtue of the
92
foregoing
exceptions in clauses (ii) or (iii) not be deemed Confidential Information and
Comcast and GE shall be obligated to keep or to cause to be kept such
information confidential in accordance with the provisions of this Section 10.01 as fully as if they did not have access
to such information prior to the date of this Agreement but only received it
after the date of this Agreement.
Section
10.02 . Related Party
Transactions. (a) For so long as GE directly or
indirectly owns any Membership Interests, neither the Company nor any of its
Subsidiaries shall enter into any Related Party Transaction unless such
transaction is on terms that are no less favorable to the Company or such
Subsidiary than those that would have been obtained in a comparable transaction
by the Company or such Subsidiary with an unrelated Person (“Arm’s Length
Terms”).
(b) For
so long as GE directly or indirectly owns any Membership Interests, prior to the
Company or a Company Subsidiary entering into a proposed Related Party
Transaction involving annual payments or annual incurrence of obligations by the
Company or such Subsidiary in excess of $7.5 million, the Company shall provide
GE with a written notice (an “RPT Notice”) containing a
summary of the material terms of such proposed transaction and shall provide GE
a reasonable opportunity to consult with representatives of the Company and
Comcast (including those senior employees of the Company and Comcast or their
Subsidiaries involved in the negotiation of such transaction) concerning such
proposed transaction. Notwithstanding that an RPT Notice is not
required with respect to Related Party Transactions involving $7.5 million or
less as set forth above, nothing in this Agreement shall prevent the Company or
its management from notifying GE of such transactions or from discussing such
transactions with employees of GE or its Affiliates.
(c) Without
the prior written consent of GE, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries
shall enter into any Non-Ordinary Course Related Party Transaction.
(d) If
GE does not believe an Ordinary Course Related Party Transaction described in an
RPT Notice is on Arm’s Length Terms, GE shall have ten Business Days from the
date of receipt of the relevant RPT Notice to deliver a written notice (an
“RPT Dispute Notice”) to
Comcast and the Company to such effect, which notice shall specify the reasons
for GE’s belief. If GE does not deliver an RPT Dispute Notice during
such period, the relevant parties may enter into the relevant Related Party
Transaction on the same terms or on terms that are the same (other than in an
immaterial respect) as those described in the RPT Notice. If GE does
deliver an RPT Dispute Notice during such period, the parties shall resolve the
dispute as described below.
93
(e) Within
five Business Days of the delivery of the RPT Dispute Notice, each of Comcast
and GE shall select and appoint one senior executive to act as its
representative (each an “RPT
Dispute Representative”) in connection with such dispute. The
RPT Dispute Representatives shall promptly enter into good faith discussions (in
person or by telephone) to attempt to resolve the dispute. The RPT
Dispute Representatives shall have the authority to enter into a binding
resolution of the dispute. If GE does not select and appoint an RPT
Dispute Representative within the time period specified in this Section 10.02(e), Comcast shall have the right to
cause the Company or the applicable Company Subsidiary to enter into the
Ordinary Course Related Party Transaction on the terms set forth in the RPT
Notice or on terms that are the same (other than in an immaterial respect) as
those described in the RPT Notice. If Comcast does not select and
appoint an RPT Dispute Representative within the time period specified in this
Section 10.02(e), Comcast shall be prohibited from
entering into the Related Party Transaction that is the subject of the
applicable RPT Dispute Notice.
(f) If
each of Comcast and GE does select and appoint an RPT Dispute Representative
within the time period specified in Section
10.02(e) but the RPT Dispute Representatives are unable to resolve the
dispute within seven Business Days of the later of their two appointments,
Comcast and GE shall select and appoint an independent third party with relevant
expertise in the type of Ordinary Course Related Party Transaction in dispute to
arbitrate the dispute within ten Business Days of the expiration of such
period. If Comcast and GE are unable to select and appoint the
arbitrator within the specified period, Comcast shall deliver to GE in writing a
list of five potential arbitrators meeting the requirements set forth in this Section 10.02(f) and, within five Business Days of
receipt of such list, GE shall select and appoint the arbitrator from such
list. If GE does not select and appoint the arbitrator in accordance
with the immediately preceding sentence, Comcast shall select and appoint the
arbitrator from such list within five Business Days of the expiration of the
period specified in the immediately preceding sentence.
(g) Within
30 calendar days of the selection of the arbitrator, the arbitrator shall
determine the Arm’s Length Terms of the Related Party
Transaction. The arbitration shall be conducted in New York, New York
under the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association
in effect at the time of the arbitration, except as they may be modified herein
or by agreement of the parties. The decision of the arbitrator as to
the Arm’s Length Terms of the Ordinary Course Related Party Transaction shall be
binding on the parties. All fees and disbursements of the arbitrator
shall be shared equally by Comcast and GE.
(h) After
the determination of the arbitrator pursuant to Section
10.02(g), Comcast shall have the right to cause the Company or the
applicable
94
Company
Subsidiary to enter into the Ordinary Course Related Party Transaction on the
terms determined by the arbitrator; provided that Comcast may
elect in its sole discretion not to enter into such Related Party Transaction on
such terms.
(i) If
GE does not believe an Ordinary Course Related Party Transaction that is not the
subject of an RPT Notice is on Arm’s Length Terms, GE shall have ten Business
Days from the date GE obtains knowledge of the transaction to deliver an RPT
Dispute Notice. In such case, the provisions contained in Sections
10.02(d) through (h) shall apply mutatis mutandis; provided that if the Ordinary
Course Related Party Transaction in question was entered into before GE
delivered its RPT Dispute Notice, then (x) any provision permitting Comcast to
cause the Company or the applicable Company Subsidiary to enter into a Related
Party Transaction on specific terms shall be deemed to permit the Company or the
applicable Company Subsidiary to continue such Related Party Transaction on such
terms and (y) any provision prohibiting Comcast from entering into a Related
Party Transaction on specific terms shall be deemed to require Comcast to (A)
terminate such Related Party Transaction or (B) amend the terms of such Related
Party Transaction such that it would be on Arms’ Length Terms.
(j) Except
as expressly set forth in Sections 10.02(a) and 10.02(b), the provisions of this Section 10.02 shall terminate and cease to be of
further effect at such time as GE’s Percentage Interest is less than
10%.
Section
10.03 . Non-Competition. (a) Except
(i) with respect to their ownership of interests in the Company and (ii) as
permitted by this Section 10.03 or by Section 10.06, neither Comcast nor GE nor any of their
respective Subsidiaries will engage in any Company Principal
Business. This Section 10.03 shall cease
to be applicable to any Person at such time as such Person is no longer a
Subsidiary of Comcast or GE, as the case may be, and shall not apply to any
Person that purchases assets, operations or a business from Comcast or GE, or
one of their respective Subsidiaries, if such Person is not a Subsidiary of
Comcast or GE, as the case may be, after such transaction is
consummated. This Section 10.03 does not
apply to any Subsidiary of GE or Comcast in which a Person who is not an
Affiliate of GE or Comcast, as the case may be, holds equity interests and with
respect to which GE or Comcast or another of their respective Subsidiaries, as
applicable, has contractual or legal obligations (including fiduciary duties of
representatives on the board of directors or similar body of such Subsidiary)
existing as of the date hereof that limit GE’s or Comcast’s ability to impose on
the subject Subsidiary a non-competition obligation such as that in this Section 10.03.
(b) Notwithstanding
the provisions of Section 10.03(a), and without
implicitly agreeing that the following activities would be subject to the
provisions of Section 10.03(a), nothing in this
Agreement shall preclude, prohibit or restrict:
95
(i)
GE, or any of its Subsidiaries, from engaging in any manner in any (A) Financial
Services Business, (B) Existing Business Activities, (C) GE De Minimis Business
or (D) Satellite Business; or (ii) Comcast or any of its Subsidiaries, from
engaging in any manner in any (A) Comcast Permitted Business or (B) Comcast De
Minimis Business.
(c) Notwithstanding
the provisions of Section 10.03(a), GE or any of
its Affiliates may make a Mixed Competing Business Acquisition; provided that if such
acquisition would otherwise be prohibited by this Section 10.03, promptly following such acquisition,
GE, or its Affiliate, as applicable, shall offer the Company in writing the
opportunity to acquire, or invest in, the Company Principal Business acquired,
or invested in, by GE or its Affiliate in such Mixed Competing Business
Acquisition. The writing pursuant to which such offer is made shall
include a summary of the material terms of the offer, including the price of
such offer. Such terms shall include (x) a price that reflects GE’s
reasonable good faith determination of the portion of the aggregate purchase
price paid by GE or its Affiliate in the Mixed Competing Business Acquisition
that was attributable to the Company Principal Business included in such Mixed
Competing Business Acquisition and (y) other commercially reasonable arms’
length terms. In the event that the Company disputes GE’s
determination of price or the commercial reasonableness and arm’s length nature
of the other terms included in such offer, the Company shall provide written
notice to GE and the dispute shall be resolved by a mutually agreed upon
appraiser (who shall be an independent third party with relevant expertise)
pursuant to an appraisal process not to exceed 30 calendar days and conducted in
New York, New York under the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American
Arbitration Association in effect at the time of the arbitration, except as they
may be modified herein or by agreement of the parties. If an
appraisal process is necessary and Comcast and GE do not mutually select and
appoint such appraiser within five Business Days following delivery of the
notice required pursuant to the preceding sentence, an appraiser shall be
selected and appointed in the manner set forth in the final two sentences of Section 10.02(f). All fees and
disbursements of the Appraiser shall be shared equally by Comcast and
GE.
(d) Promptly
after making a written offer as set forth in Section
10.03(c) above (and in any event within 10 Business Days thereafter), GE
shall provide the Company all material information available to GE with respect
to the Company Principal Business. GE shall include in any third
party confidentiality agreement entered into in connection with the proposed
transaction subject to such offer a provision permitting GE to comply with its
disclosure obligations under this Section
10.03(d). The Company shall have 10 Business Days from the later
of (i) the date all such information is provided and (ii) the completion of any
appraisal process conducted pursuant to Section
10.03(c) to decide whether to accept the offer.
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(e) If
prior to the expiration of such 10 Business Day period the Company accepts such
offer, the parties shall work together in good faith to complete the Company’s
acquisition of, or investment in, the Company Principal Business as soon as
reasonably practicable, subject to receipt of required regulatory
approvals. Notwithstanding the provisions in Section 4.10(a), HoldCo may not exercise any rights it
may have under Section 4.10(a) that would prohibit
or otherwise impede such Company Principal Business acquisition or investment
(including in connection with the incurrence of any Debt required to complete
such acquisition or investment).
(f) If
prior to the expiration of such 10 Business Day period the Company fails to
accept such offer, and the ownership of the Company Principal Business by GE or
its Affiliates would otherwise be prohibited by this Section 10.03, then GE or its Affiliate, as the case
may be, shall be required to divest the Company Principal Business within a
commercially reasonable period of time.
(g) The
Company’s decision whether to accept such offer (or to grant any consent to
waive any rights of the Company in respect of such offer) shall be made by only
those members of the Board designated by the Comcast Members.
(h) This
Section 10.03 shall terminate and be of no further
force and effect upon the earlier of (i) Comcast and its Subsidiaries no longer
holding (directly or indirectly) any Membership Interests or (ii) GE and its
Subsidiaries no longer holding (directly or indirectly) any Membership
Interests.
Section
10.04 . Structuring of an
IPO. (a) Prior to an IPO, the Members will form a
corporation (“Holding”)
into which each Member (other than HoldCo) will contribute such Member’s
Membership Interests and into which GE and Comcast or any of their respective
Affiliates that own HoldCo Shares will contribute their respective HoldCo
Shares. In lieu of the contribution by any of the Comcast Members
contemplated by the immediately preceding sentence, Comcast may contribute or
cause to be contributed the equity of such Comcast Member. As a
result of such contributions, Comcast and its Affiliates (in the aggregate), GE
and its Affiliates (in the aggregate) and any Member that is not a Comcast
Member or HoldCo will receive shares of Holding (the “Common Stock”) that correspond
to the relative Percentage Interests of Comcast, GE and such Member, as
applicable. After the formation of Holding and the contributions
referred to above, (i) except where the context clearly requires otherwise, the
term, “Company”, shall refer to Holding, (ii) the terms “Membership Interests”
and “Members” and similar terms that are applicable to limited liability
companies and used in this Agreement shall refer to the Common Stock, the
Holding shareholders and similarly corresponding terms applicable to the
corporate form and (iii) the parties agree to enter into, and to cause Holding
to enter into, an agreement setting forth, to the extent permitted by applicable
Law, shareholder rights and obligations equivalent to those applicable to
Members set
97
forth
in this Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, the registration
rights provided to GE, Comcast and their Affiliates pursuant to Section 10.04(b) shall be with respect to the Common
Stock received in exchange for the contributions by GE and Comcast described
above. The parties shall cause such contributions to qualify as a
transaction described in Section 351 of the Code and shall not take any
action that would be reasonably likely to prevent such contributions from
qualifying as such a transaction.
(b) GE
and Comcast shall be entitled to the registration rights set forth on Exhibit
D.
Section
10.05 . Compliance by
Subsidiaries. Each of Comcast and GE shall cause the Comcast
Members or HoldCo, as the case may be, to comply with their obligations under
this Agreement.
Section
10.06 . Acquisition of Company
Principal Businesses. (a) Prior to a Stand-alone
Competing Business Acquisition proposed by Comcast or any of its Affiliates or
promptly following any Mixed Competing Business Acquisition by Comcast or any of
its Affiliates, Comcast shall offer (a “Competing Business Offer”) the
Company in writing the opportunity to acquire, or invest in, the Company
Principal Business proposed to be acquired, or invested in, by Comcast or its
Affiliate in such Stand-alone Competing Business Acquisition or acquired, or
invested in, by Comcast or its Affiliate in such Mixed Competing Business
Acquisition, as applicable. The writing pursuant to which a Competing
Business Offer is made shall include a summary of the material terms of the
offer, including the price of such offer. In the case of a
Stand-alone Competing Business Acquisition, the terms of the Competing Business
Offer shall be the terms negotiated between Comcast or its Affiliate, on the one
hand, and the applicable third party seller, on the other hand, with respect to
the proposed acquisition of, or investment in, the applicable Company Principal
Business. In the case of a Mixed Competing Business Acquisition, the
terms of the Competing Business Offer shall include (x) a price that reflects
Comcast’s reasonable good faith determination of the portion of the aggregate
purchase price paid by Comcast or its Affiliate in the Mixed Competing Business
Acquisition that was attributable to the Company Principal Business included in
such Mixed Competing Business Acquisition and (y) other commercially reasonable
arm’s length terms. In the event that the Company disputes Comcast’s
determination of price or the commercial reasonableness and arm’s length nature
of the other terms included in any such Competing Business Offer, the Company
shall provide written notice to Comcast and the dispute shall be resolved by a
mutually agreed upon appraiser (who shall be an independent third party with
relevant expertise) pursuant to an appraisal process not to exceed 30 calendar
days and conducted in New York, New York under the Commercial Arbitration Rules
of the American Arbitration Association in effect at the time of the
arbitration, except as they may be modified herein or by agreement of the
parties. If an appraisal process is
98
necessary
and Comcast and GE do not mutually select and appoint such appraiser within five
Business Days following delivery of the notice required pursuant to the
preceding sentence, an appraiser shall be selected and appointed in the manner
set forth in the final two sentences of Section
10.02(f). All fees and disbursements of the Appraiser shall be
shared equally by Comcast and GE.
(b) Promptly
after making a Competing Business Offer (and in any event within 10 Business
Days thereafter), Comcast shall provide the Company all material information
available to Comcast with respect to the applicable Company Principal
Business. Comcast shall include in any third party confidentiality
agreement entered into in connection with the proposed transaction subject to
the Competing Business Offer a provision permitting Comcast to comply with its
disclosure obligations under this Section
10.06(b). The Company shall have 10 Business Days from the later
of (i) the date all such information is provided and (ii) the completion of any
appraisal process conducted pursuant to Section
10.06(a) (the “Offering
Period”) to decide whether to accept the Competing Business
Offer.
(c) If
prior to the expiration of the applicable Offering Period the Company accepts a
Competing Business Offer, the parties shall work together in good faith to
complete the Company’s acquisition of, or investment in, the Company Principal
Business as soon as reasonably practicable, subject to receipt of required
regulatory approvals. Notwithstanding the provisions in Section 4.10(a), HoldCo may not exercise any rights it
may have under Section 4.10(a) that would prohibit
or otherwise impede such Company Principal Business acquisition or investment
(including in connection with the incurrence of any Debt required to complete
such acquisition or investment), so long as such acquisition or investment is
completed in all material respects on the terms and conditions approved in
accordance with Section 10.06(h).
(d) If
prior to the expiration of the applicable Offering Period the Company fails to
accept a Competing Business Offer made with respect to a Stand-alone Competing
Business Acquisition in which the purchase price for the Company Principal
Business acquisition or investment is less than or equal to $500 million or, if
the applicable Threshold has not been exceeded or would not be exceeded as a
result of such Stand-alone Competing Business Acquisition, greater than $500
million, Comcast and its Affiliates shall thereafter (subject to Section 10.06(i)) be permitted to acquire, or invest
in, the applicable Company Principal Business on substantially the same terms as
were offered to the Company pursuant to the Competing Business
Offer.
(e) If
prior to the expiration of the applicable Offering Period the Company fails to
accept a Competing Business Offer made with respect to a Stand-alone Competing
Business Acquisition in which the purchase price for the Company Principal
Business acquisition or investment is greater than $500
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million
and the applicable Threshold has been exceeded or would as a result of such
Stand-alone Competing Business Acquisition be exceeded, Comcast and its
Affiliates shall be prohibited from acquiring, or investing in, the applicable
Company Principal Business.
(f) If
prior to the expiration of the applicable Offering Period the Company fails to
accept a Competing Business Offer made with respect to a Mixed Competing
Business Acquisition in which the purchase price for the Company Principal
Business acquisition or investment is less than or equal to $500 million or, if
the applicable Threshold has not been exceeded or would not be exceeded as a
result of the Mixed Competing Business Acquisition, greater than $500 million,
Comcast or its Affiliate, as the case may be, shall (subject to Section 10.06(i)) be permitted to continue to own and
operate the applicable Company Principal Business.
(g) If
prior to the expiration of the applicable Offering Period the Company fails to
accept a Competing Business Offer made with respect to a Mixed Competing
Business Acquisition in which the purchase price for the Company Principal
Business acquisition or investment is greater than $500 million and the
applicable Threshold has been exceeded or would as a result of such Mixed
Competing Business Acquisition be exceeded, Comcast or its Affiliate, as the
case may be, shall be required to divest the applicable Company Principal
Business within a commercially reasonable period of time.
(h) The
Company’s decision whether to accept a Competing Business Offer (or to grant any
consent to waive any rights of the Company in respect of a Competing Business
Offer) shall be made by only those members of the Board designated by
HoldCo. If the Company fails to accept a Competing Business Offer,
for so long as HoldCo or any of its Affiliates directly or indirectly holds any
Membership Interests, neither HoldCo nor any of its Affiliates may pursue such
Competing Business Offer or acquire or invest in such Company Principal Business
in reliance on the GE De Minimis Business exception pursuant to Section 10.03(b)(i)(C).
(i) Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary contained herein but subject to Section 10.06(j), prior to the 18-month anniversary of
the Closing Date, (x) neither Comcast nor any of its Affiliates may make a
Significant Investment in a Company Principal Business in a Stand-alone
Competing Business Acquisition and (y) Comcast or one of its Affiliates may make
a Significant Investment in a Company Principal Business in a Mixed Competing
Business Acquisition only if such Company Principal Business is divested within
a commercially reasonable period of time.
(j) Notwithstanding
any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, and without implicitly agreeing
that the following transactions would be subject
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to
the provisions of this Section 10.06, this Section 10.06 shall not be applicable to (x) any
transaction entered into by Comcast or its Affiliates prior to the date of this
Agreement in accordance with Section 6.22 of the Master Agreement, (y) any
acquisition of, or other investment in, a Comcast Permitted Business or a
Comcast De Minimis Business by Comcast or its Affiliates and (z) the acquisition
by Comcast or its Affiliates of all or a portion of the Weather Channel Business
pursuant to Section 10.07. Without
limiting the generality of the foregoing and for the avoidance of doubt, in each
such case, the purchase price for any such transaction shall be disregarded when
determining whether the Threshold has been exceeded or would be exceeded as a
result of any other transaction.
(k) Except
as set forth in Section 10.06(h), the provisions of
this Section 10.06 shall terminate and cease to be
of further effect at such time as GE’s Percentage Interest is less than 20%
(calculated in accordance with Section
4.10(d)).
Section
10.07 . Weather
Channel. (a) If as a result of the consummation of
the transactions contemplated by the Master Agreement the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries become entitled to exercise an “NBCU Call Option” pursuant to
Section 4.6 of the Weather Channel Stockholders Agreement or a right of first
refusal pursuant to Section 4.4 of the Weather Channel Stockholders Agreement at
an earlier time than the Company or such Subsidiary would otherwise have been
entitled to exercise such right, at the election of Comcast, the Company or such
Subsidiary will, to the extent permissible, assign such right to Comcast or an
Affiliate of Comcast designated by Comcast and, if not permissible, will enter
into a mutually agreeable arrangement with Comcast or such Affiliate so that
Comcast or such Affiliate may acquire the applicable interest in the Weather
Channel Business on the same terms and conditions as the Company or such
Subsidiary would have been able to acquire such interest pursuant to such right;
provided, however, that
Comcast shall indemnify the Company and GE for any losses, claims, damages or
liabilities arising out of or in connection with such
arrangement. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, no such
assignment or arrangement shall be deemed to be a Related Party Transaction, and
the provisions of Section 10.02 shall not apply to
any such assignment or arrangement.
(b) For
the avoidance of doubt, if Comcast or any of its Affiliates purchases an
interest in the Weather Channel Business pursuant to Section 10.07(a), then, subject to the applicable
provisions of the Weather Channel Stockholders Agreement, Comcast or such
Affiliate may exercise any right relating to or in connection with its ownership
of such interest in the Weather Channel Business in its sole discretion and
without regard to any interest of the Company or any other Person therein and no
such exercise of any such right shall be subject to the provisions of Section 10.02.
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ARTICLE
11
Financial Reporting
Financial Reporting
Section
11.01 . Annual Financial
Information. (a) The Company agrees that, so long
as any member of the GE Group meets the Equity Method Threshold at any time
during any fiscal year, the Company shall deliver to GE:
(i) within
eight calendar days following the conclusion of such fiscal year, the estimated
consolidated net income of the Company and updated Agreed Adjustments, if
applicable, for such fiscal year;
(ii) in
accordance with the timeframe established by Comcast to satisfy its reporting
requirements, but in no event later than seven Business Days following the
conclusion of such fiscal year, the Corporate Reporting Data and updated Agreed
Adjustments, if applicable, for such fiscal year, subject to adjustment, if any,
pursuant to Section 11.01(b)(ii);
(iii) within
five Business Days prior to the day the Company completes its audited annual
consolidated financial statements (the “Audited Financial
Statements”), and, in any event, prior to the issuance of the Company’s
audit opinion by the Company Auditors (the “Audit Opinion”), a draft of
the final form of the Audited Financial Statements and a draft of the final form
of the Audit Opinion; and
(iv) upon
completion of the Audited Financial Statements and the Audit Opinion, a copy of
such Audited Financial Statements and the manually signed Audit
Opinion.
If
requested by GE, the Company shall take commercially reasonable efforts to
provide to GE the Audited Financial Statements in compliance with Regulation S-X
under the Securities Act and to support the Company Auditors in providing
manually signed reports and consents with respect to the Audited Financial
Statements that are in compliance with Regulation S-X under the Securities Act,
in each case, to enable the GE Group to adhere to the disclosure requirements
therein should the Company qualify as a “significant investee” (as defined in
Rule 3-09 of Regulation S-X under the Securities Act) of GE. In
addition, the Company shall use commercially reasonable efforts to provide the
GE Group with any other information reasonably requested by GE to enable the GE
Group to timely comply with its reporting requirements under applicable Law and,
upon GE’s reasonable request, the Company shall request that the Company
Auditors provide customary “comfort” letters and consents (at GE’s expense) with
respect to any financial information provided by the Company pursuant to this Article 11 that is included in any securities offering
by any member of the GE Group (and the Company shall use commercially reasonable
efforts to facilitate the provision thereof).
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(b) In
all events, the timeline for the preparation and delivery of the Audited
Financial Statements contemplated by Section
11.01(a)(iii) to GE will be governed by the timeline set forth by Comcast’s
reporting requirements under applicable Law. If the Audited Financial
Statements are expected to be finalized subsequent to the filing of GE’s Form
10-K for any fiscal year the Company shall (i) upon five Business Days’ notice
by GE, in accordance with the provisions of Section
11.03(a)(iii), deliver the management representation letter referenced
therein to GE prior to the filing date of GE’s Form 10-K for such fiscal year,
and (ii) inform GE in a timely manner of any issues (and shall promptly respond
to any inquiries or requests relating to such issues made by GE) that arise
(whether raised by the Company Auditors or otherwise) in connection with the
preparation of the Audited Financial Statements to ensure proper financial
reporting by GE of its investment in the Company.
(c) Following
such time when the GE Group no longer meets the Equity Method Threshold, the
Company agrees to furnish to GE as soon as practicable, the Company’s unaudited
(or, if available, audited) consolidated balance sheet as at the end of such
fiscal year and the related unaudited (or, if available, audited) statements of
operations and cash flow for such fiscal year, and for the portion of the fiscal
year then ended, in each case prepared in accordance with GAAP and, if an audit
of the Company is performed, certified by the Company Auditors, together with a
comparison of the figures in such financial statements with the figures for the
previous fiscal year. The provisions of this Section 11.01(c) shall terminate and be of no further
force and effect upon the earlier to occur of (i) an IPO and (ii) the date
on which no member of the GE Group holds any Membership Interests.
Section
11.02 . Quarterly Financial
Information. (a) The Company agrees that, so long
as any member of the GE Group meets the Equity Method Threshold at any time
during any fiscal quarter, the Company shall deliver to GE:
(i) within
four calendar days following the conclusion of such fiscal quarter, the
estimated consolidated net income of the Company and updated Agreed Adjustments,
if applicable, for such fiscal quarter;
(ii) in
accordance with the timeframe established by Comcast to satisfy its reporting
requirements, but in no event later than seven Business Days following the
conclusion of such fiscal quarter, the Corporate Reporting Data and updated
Agreed Adjustments, if applicable, for such fiscal quarter, subject to
adjustment, if any, pursuant to Section
11.02(b)(ii); and
(iii) in
accordance with the timeframe established by Comcast to satisfy its reporting
requirements, the unaudited quarterly consolidated financial statements of the
Company (consisting of a balance sheet and
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statements
of operations, changes in members equity, and comprehensive
income).
(b) If
the unaudited quarterly consolidated financial statements of the Company are
expected to be finalized subsequent to the filing of GE’s Form 10-Q for any
fiscal quarter, the Company shall (i) upon five Business Days’ notice by GE, in
accordance with the provisions of Section
11.03(a)(iii), deliver the management representation letter referenced
therein to GE prior to the filing date of GE’s Form 10-Q for such fiscal
quarter, and (ii) inform GE in a timely manner of any issues (and shall promptly
respond to any inquiries or requests relating to such issues made by GE) that
arise in connection with the preparation of the Company’s unaudited quarterly
consolidated financial statements to ensure proper financial reporting by GE of
its investment in the Company.
(c) Following
such time when the GE Group no longer meets the Equity Method Threshold, the
Company agrees to furnish to GE as soon as practicable, the Company’s unaudited
consolidated balance sheet as at the end of each of the first three fiscal
quarters and the related unaudited statement of operations and cash flow for
such quarter and for the portion of the fiscal year then ended, in each case
prepared in accordance with GAAP, together with a comparison of the figures in
such financial statements with the figures for the comparable period of the
previous fiscal year. The provisions of this Section 11.02(c) shall terminate and be of no further
force and effect upon the earlier to occur of (i) an IPO and (ii) the date
on which no member of the GE Group holds any Membership Interests.
Section
11.03 . Certain Other Provisions Regarding Financial
Reporting. (a) The Company agrees that, so long as
any member of the GE Group meets the Equity Method Threshold during any
quarterly or annual period:
(i) Maintenance of Books and
Records. The Company shall, and shall cause each of its
consolidated Subsidiaries to, (A) make and keep books, records and accounts,
which, in the good faith judgment of the Company, in reasonable detail,
accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of
the Company and its consolidated Subsidiaries and (B) devise and maintain a
system of internal accounting controls which, in the good faith judgment of the
Company, is sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that: (x) transactions
are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization,
(y) transactions are recorded as necessary (1) to permit preparation of
financial statements in conformity with GAAP or any other standard applicable to
such statements and (2) to maintain accountability for assets and (z) access to
assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific
authorization.
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(ii) Internal Audit and Company Auditors
Reports. The Company and Comcast shall allow GE reasonable
access, upon GE’s reasonable request, to reports and/or results of performance
of internal audit procedures performed by the internal audit functions of
Comcast or the Company with respect to the Company for the purpose of complying
with GE’s reporting and disclosure obligations under applicable
Law. Upon
GE’s reasonable request, the Company shall deliver promptly to
GE copies of all reports submitted to the Company by the Company Auditors (including, without limitation,
each report submitted to the Company or any
of its subsidiaries concerning its accounting practices and systems and any
comment letter submitted to management in connection with their annual audit and
all responses by management to such reports and letters) to the extent necessary
to facilitate GE’s compliance with its reporting and disclosure
obligations under applicable Law.
(iii) Management Representation
Letters. For so long as the Company qualifies as a
“significant investee” (as defined in Rule 3-09 of Regulation S-X under the
Securities Act) of GE, the Company shall provide GE the annual or quarterly
management representation letter, as applicable, in form and substance that is
consistent with the financial reporting practices of Comcast and its
Subsidiaries and reasonably satisfactory to GE, which management representation
letter shall be signed by the President, Chief Financial Officer and Controller
of the Company and delivered to GE on a timeline that is consistent with the
issuance of annual and quarterly financial statements, as applicable, in
accordance with GE’s reporting schedule.
(iv) Company Operating
Review. The Company shall promptly deliver to GE any budget or
forecasting reports or updates completed in accordance with the internal
financial reporting processes of Comcast (“Budget and Forecasting
Reports”), together with any adjustments to the Agreed Adjustments in
connection therewith to the extent known by the Company at the time of delivery
of the relevant Budget and Forecasting Reports. The Company agrees to
deliver Budget and Forecasting Reports on at least a quarterly
basis.
(b) Fiscal
Periods. The Company shall advise GE if, as of the Closing
Date, any Contributed Comcast Subsidiary (as defined in the Master Agreement)
has a fiscal year which ends on a date other than December 31. Fiscal
period ends shall be as determined by Comcast and shall not be adjusted to
reflect any differences between fiscal period ends of Comcast and
GE. The Company shall use commercially reasonable efforts to maintain
a fiscal year which ends on December 31 and, so long as the Company is required
to deliver any financial information pursuant to Sections 11.01 and 11.02, shall
provide prompt written notice to GE in the event of any change to the Company’s
fiscal year end.
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Section
11.04 . GE Annual Statements. In connection with any GE Group member’s
preparation of its audited annual financial statements and its annual reports to
shareholders (collectively the “GE Annual Statements”), during any fiscal year in which the members of the
GE Group meet the Equity Method Threshold, the Company agrees as follows:
(a) Coordination of Auditors’
Opinions. Notwithstanding any other provisions
hereof, for
so long as the Company qualifies as a “significant investee” (as defined in Rule
3-09 of Regulation S-X under the Securities Act) of GE, (i) the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to
enable the Company Auditors to complete
their audit and issue their opinion on the Audited Financial Statements in sufficient time to enable
GE to meet its timetable for the printing, filing and public dissemination of
the GE Annual Statements, and (ii) the
Company and GE shall coordinate timing of their respective audits to allow for
the aforementioned timely filing and communication of the GE Annual
Statements.
(b) Access to Audit Personnel and
Working Papers. The
Company will request the Company
Auditors to make available to the GE Auditors both
the personnel who performed or are performing the annual audit of the
Company and, consistent with customary
professional practice and courtesy of such auditors with respect to the
furnishing of work papers, work papers related to the annual audit of the
Company, in all
cases within a reasonable time after the Company Auditors’ opinion date, so that the GE Auditors are able
to perform the procedures they consider necessary as it relates to the GE
Auditors’ report on the GE Annual Statements.
Section
11.05 . Access to Management Personnel and
Information. So long as any member of the GE Group meets
the Equity Method Threshold, the Company agrees to permit GE and the GE Auditors
to inspect, at GE’s sole expense, all existing books and records of the Company
and its Subsidiaries, and to provide GE and the GE Auditors reasonable access to
the management and other relevant personnel of the Company and its Subsidiaries,
in each case, during regular business hours for any purpose reasonably related
to GE’s status as a (direct or indirect) holder of Membership Interests; provided that the Company and
its Subsidiaries shall not be required to cooperate with any inspection or
access requests pursuant to this Section 11.05 that
would unduly interfere with their business operations.
Section
11.06 . GE Public
Filings. The
Company shall use commercially reasonable efforts
to assist GE, to the extent reasonably requested by GE, in the preparation of GE
Public Filings; provided that such assistance shall be limited to
information relating to the Company required to be disclosed in the relevant GE
Public Filing. The Company agrees to provide to GE information that is required to
be disclosed therein under applicable Law(including financial
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information
and financial statements of the Company and the Contributed Comcast Businesses
(as defined in the Master Agreement)) and, upon GE’s reasonable request, the
Company shall request that the Company Auditors provide customary “comfort”
letters and consents (at GE’s expense) with respect to any financial information
provided by the Company pursuant to this Section
11.06 that is included in any securities offering by any member of the GE
Group (and the Company shall use commercially reasonable efforts to facilitate
the provision thereof). The Company agrees to use commercially reasonable efforts to provide
such information in a timely manner to enable GE to prepare, print and release
GE Public Filings on such dates as GE shall reasonably
determine.
Section
11.07 . Compensation for Providing
Information. The party
requesting information agrees to reimburse the other party for the reasonable
costs, if any, of creating, gathering and copying such information, to the
extent that such costs are incurred for the benefit of the requesting
party.
Section
11.08 . Liability. No party shall have any liability to any
other party in the event that any information exchanged or provided pursuant to
this Agreement which is an estimate or forecast, or which is based on an
estimate or forecast, is found to be inaccurate in the absence of willful
misconduct by the party providing such information. No party shall
have any liability to any other party if any information is
destroyed.
Section
11.09 . Other Agreements Providing for
Exchange of Information. The rights and obligations granted under this Article 11 are subject to any specific limitations,
qualifications or additional provisions on the sharing, exchange, retention or
confidential treatment of information set forth in any other provision of this
Agreement (including Article 10) or
any other Transaction Agreement.
ARTICLE
12
Dissolution, Liquidation and Termination
Dissolution, Liquidation and Termination
Section
12.01 . No
Dissolution. The Company shall not be dissolved by the
withdrawal of any Member (subject to Section
12.02(d)) or the admission of Additional Members in accordance with the
terms of this Agreement.
Section
12.02 . Events Causing
Dissolution. The Company shall be dissolved and its affairs
shall be wound up solely upon the first to occur of the following
events:
(a) subject
to Section 4.10(a), the determination of the
Members, by means of an affirmative vote of the Members holding a majority of
the outstanding Membership Interests, to dissolve and terminate the
Company;
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(b) the
sale of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets;
(c) the
entry of a decree of judicial dissolution of the Company under
Section 18-802 of the Act; or
(d) at
any time when there are no Members, unless the Company is continued in
accordance with the Act.
Section
12.03 . Bankruptcy of a
Member. The bankruptcy (within the meaning of Sections 18-101
and 18-304 of the Act) of a Member shall not cause such Member to cease to be a
Member, and upon the occurrence of such event, the Company shall continue
without dissolution. The receivership or dissolution of a Member will
not in and of itself cause the dissolution of the Company, and upon the
occurrence of such event, the Company shall continue without dissolution under
the management and control of the remaining Members, unless there are no
remaining Members of the Company.
Section
12.04 . Winding
Up. (a) In the event of the dissolution of the
Company pursuant to Section 12.02, the Company’s
affairs shall be wound up by a liquidating trustee of the Company selected by
the Board (in such capacity, the “Liquidating Agent”), which
Liquidating Agent shall be an individual who is knowledgeable about the
Company’s business and operations (to the extent possible) and has substantial
experience in the purchase and sale of businesses.
(b) Upon
dissolution of the Company and until the filing of a certificate of cancellation
as provided in Section 18-203 of the Act, the Liquidating Agent may, in the
name of, and for and on behalf of, the Company, prosecute and defend lawsuits,
whether civil, criminal or administrative, settle and close the Company’s
business, dispose of and convey the Company’s property or sell the Company (and
its Subsidiaries) as a going concern, discharge or make reasonable provision for
the Company’s liabilities, and distribute to the Members in accordance with Section 12.05 any remaining assets of the Company, all
without affecting the liability of Members and without imposing any liability on
any Liquidating Agent.
(c) Except
as otherwise provided in this Agreement, the Members shall continue to share
distributions and allocations during the period of liquidation in the same
manner as before the dissolution.
(d) A
reasonable time period shall be allowed for the orderly winding up and
liquidation of the assets of the Company and the discharge of liabilities to
creditors so as to enable the Liquidating Agent to seek to minimize potential
losses upon such liquidation. Subject to the provisions of Section 12.05, the Liquidating Agent shall have
reasonable discretion to determine the time, manner and terms of any sale or
sales of the Company’s property pursuant to such
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liquidation. The
provisions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect during the
period of winding up and until the filing of a certificate of cancellation of
the Company with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware.
(e) Upon
the completion of the winding up of the Company, any Director designated by the
Comcast Members or the Liquidating Agent or other duly designated representative
shall file a certificate of cancellation of the Company with the Secretary of
State of the State of Delaware as provided in Section 18-203 of the
Act.
Section
12.05 . Distribution of
Assets. (a) As soon as practicable upon dissolution
of the Company, the assets of the Company (or liquidation proceeds) shall be
distributed in the following manner and order of priority (and ratably within
each level of priority):
(i) first,
to creditors of the Company, including Members who are creditors, to the extent
otherwise permitted by Law, in satisfaction of liabilities of the Company
(whether by payment or the making of reasonable provision for payment thereof)
other than liabilities for which reasonable provision has been made and
distributions to Members under Article 8;
and
(ii) to
the Members in respect of their Membership Interests pro rata in accordance with
the positive balances in their Capital Accounts, after giving effect to all
contributions, distributions, allocations and adjustments for all
periods.
(b) It
is the intention of the parties that final Capital Account balances of the
Members in respect of their Membership Interests will permit liquidating
distributions to be made (after the satisfaction of the obligations of the
Company to creditors pursuant to Section
12.05(a)(i) hereof) pro rata in accordance with their respective Membership
Percentages. The allocations and distributions provided for in this
Agreement are intended to result in the Capital Account of each Member in
respect of its Membership Interests immediately prior to the distribution of the
Company’s assets pursuant to Section 12.05(a)(ii)
(after the satisfaction of the obligations of the Company to creditors pursuant
to Section 12.05(a)(i)) being equal to the amount
that would be distributable to such Member in accordance with its
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Membership
Percentage. The Company is authorized, to the extent possible, to
make appropriate adjustments to the allocation of items of income, gain, loss
and deduction as necessary to cause the amount of each Member’s Capital Account
in respect of its Membership Interests immediately prior to the distribution of
the Company’s assets pursuant to Section
12.05(a)(ii) (after the satisfaction of the obligations of the Company to
creditors pursuant to Section 12.05(a)(i)) to equal
the amount that would be distributable to such Member in respect of its
Membership Interests in accordance with its Membership
Percentage. Notwithstanding Section
12.05(a)(ii), if the Company is unable to make allocations such that the
final Capital Account balances in respect of the Members’ Membership Interests
are pro rata in accordance with the Members’ Membership Percentages,
distributions to Members in respect of their Membership Interests pursuant to Section 12.05(a)(ii) shall be pro rata in accordance
with their respective Membership Percentages.
(c) The
Liquidating Agent shall have the power to establish any reserves that, in
accordance with sound business judgment, it deems reasonably necessary to pay
all claims and obligations, including all contingent, conditional or unmatured
claims and obligations, which reserves may be paid over to an escrow agent
selected by the Liquidating Agent to be held by such agent for the purpose of
paying out such reserves in payment of the aforementioned contingencies and upon
the expiration of such period as the Liquidating Agent may deem advisable,
making a distribution of the balance thereof to the Members in the manner
provided in this Section 12.05.
Section
12.06 . Distributions in Cash
or in Kind. Upon the dissolution of the Company, the
Liquidating Agent shall use all commercially reasonable efforts to liquidate all
of the Company assets in an orderly manner and apply the proceeds of such
liquidation as set forth in Section 12.05; provided that if in the good
faith judgment of the Liquidating Agent, a Company asset should not be
liquidated, the Liquidating Agent shall distribute such asset, on the basis of
its value (determined in good faith by the Liquidating Agent), in accordance
with Section 12.05, subject to the priorities set
forth in Section 12.05, and provided, further, that the
Liquidating Agent shall in good faith attempt to liquidate sufficient assets of
the Company to satisfy in cash (or make reasonable provision for) the debts and
liabilities referred to in Section
12.05(a).
Section
12.07 . Claims of the
Members. The Members and former Members shall look solely to
the Company’s assets for the return of their Capital Contributions, and if the
assets of the Company remaining after payment of or due provision for all debts,
liabilities and obligations of the Company are insufficient to return such
Capital Contributions, the Members and former Members shall have no recourse
against the Company, any Director, any other Member or, for the avoidance of
doubt, Comcast or GE. No Member shall have any obligation to make any
Capital Contribution with respect to such insufficiency, and such insufficiency
shall not be considered a debt owed to the Company or to any other
Person.
ARTICLE
13
Miscellaneous
Miscellaneous
Section
13.01 . Further
Assurances. Each Member, Comcast and GE shall, upon the
request from time to time of the Company and without further
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consideration,
do, execute and perform all such other acts, deeds and documents as may be
reasonably requested by the Company to carry out fully the purposes and intent
of this Agreement.
Section
13.02 . Amendment or
Modification. (a) This Agreement may be amended or
modified only with the written consent of (i) Comcast and (ii) GE; provided that, subject to Section 13.02(b), the consent of GE will not be
required from and after such time as GE’s Percentage Interest is less than
10%.
(b) In
addition, any amendment or modification of this Agreement that (i) adversely
affects a Member or any of its Affiliates disproportionately to its effect on
the other Members and their Affiliates, (ii) diminishes a Member’s express
rights under the terms of this Agreement, or (iii) imposes obligations on a
Member in a manner contrary to the express provisions of this Agreement, shall,
in each case, require the prior written consent of such Member.
(c) Notwithstanding
Sections 13.02(a) and 13.02(b), the Board of the Company may amend, without
the consent of Comcast, GE or any of the Members:
(i) this
Agreement solely in order to reflect the fact that a new Member admitted in
accordance with the terms of this Agreement has agreed to become bound by, and
subject to, this Agreement;
(ii) this
Agreement and the Certificate of Formation in order to change the name of the
Company to the extent such change of name is permitted pursuant to Section 2.02;
(iii) Schedule
4.01 to this Agreement to reflect changes required pursuant to changes in the
Members (including the admission of Additional Members), Membership Interests,
Membership Percentages, and Percentage Interests of the Members in accordance
with the terms of this Agreement; and
(iv) this
Agreement, to reflect the terms of any equity interests in the Company and the
issuance thereof as provided in Section
3.03(b).
Section
13.03 . Waiver; Cumulative
Remedies. Except as otherwise specifically provided herein,
any party may waive any right of such party under this Agreement by an
instrument signed in writing by such party. Except as specifically
provided herein, the failure or delay of any Member to enforce at any time any
of the provisions of this Agreement shall in no way be construed to be a waiver
of any such provision, nor in any way to affect the validity of this Agreement
or any part hereof or the right of any Member thereafter to enforce each and
every such provision. No waiver of any breach of or non-compliance
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with
this Agreement shall be held to be a waiver of any other or subsequent breach or
non-compliance. Except as specifically provided herein, all remedies,
either under this Agreement or by Law or otherwise afforded, will be cumulative
and not alternative.
Section
13.04 . Entire
Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement
between the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof and
supersedes and cancels all prior agreements, understandings, representations and
warranties, both oral and written, between the parties hereto with respect
thereto. There are no agreements, undertakings, representations or
warranties of any of the parties hereto with respect to the transactions
contemplated hereby and thereby other than those set forth herein or therein or
made hereunder or thereunder.
Section
13.05 . Third Party
Beneficiaries. Nothing in this Agreement, express or implied,
is intended to confer, nor shall anything herein confer, on any Person other
than the Company and the parties hereto, and their respective successors or
permitted assigns, any rights, remedies, obligations or liabilities, except that
any Person who is entitled to exculpation, indemnification or advancement
pursuant to Section 6.01 of this Agreement and is
not party to this Agreement shall be a third-party beneficiary of this Agreement
to the extent required for purposes of such Section
6.01; provided that
all claims for indemnification shall be made only in the name and on behalf of
such Person by a Member.
Section
13.06 . Non-Assignability;
Binding Effect. The provisions of this Agreement shall be
binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective
successors and permitted assigns; provided that no party may
assign, delegate or otherwise transfer any of its rights or obligations under
this Agreement without the consent of each other party hereto (including for the
avoidance of doubt in connection with Transfers permitted hereunder) except that
in connection with (i) Transfers made by GE or any of its Affiliates in
accordance with the terms of this Agreement GE may assign or cause to be
assigned rights and obligations of GE and its Affiliates under Section 3.07, Article 9
and Exhibit D (provided
that no such assignment shall relieve any party of any of its obligations
hereunder and provided,
further, that if the Second Comcast Purchase Right has expired without
Comcast having exercised such Comcast Purchase Right or GE having sold or
permitted to be sold (or agreed to sell or permit to sell) any securities
representing GE’s Percentage Interest immediately after the Closing, subject to
the last sentence of this Section 13.06, GE may in
connection with a Transfer of securities representing all of GE’s Percentage
Interest assign or cause to be assigned all rights and obligations of GE and its
Affiliates under this Agreement), (ii) a Transfer made by Comcast and its
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Affiliates
of all (but not less than all) of the Membership Interests held by the Comcast
Members in accordance with the terms of this Agreement Comcast may assign or
cause to be assigned all of the rights and obligations of Comcast and its
Affiliates under this Agreement (provided that, except as set
forth in Section 9.01(b)(iv), no such assignment
shall relieve any party of any of its obligations hereunder) and (iii) a
Transfer made by Comcast and its Affiliates of Membership Interests held by the
Comcast Members in accordance with the terms of this Agreement Comcast may
assign or cause to be assigned rights and obligations of Comcast and its
Affiliates under Sections 3.07 and 9.07 and Exhibit D (provided that no such
assignment shall relieve any party of any of its obligations
hereunder). Prior to any Transfer (and related assignment)
contemplated by the second proviso in clause (i) of
this Section 13.06, the applicable transferee must
certify in writing to Comcast and the Company that, immediately after giving
effect to such Transfer, such transferee and its Affiliates would be in
compliance with Section 10.03 and expressly
covenant with Comcast and the Company that such transferee and its Affiliates
will comply with Section
10.03. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this
Agreement, no Transfer of HoldCo Shares otherwise permitted by the provisions of
this Agreement shall become effective unless the transferee of such HoldCo
Shares agrees in writing to be bound as a HoldCo Shareholder by the provisions
of Section 8(g) of the Tax Matters Agreement. For the avoidance of
doubt, any Membership Interests or HoldCo Shares Transferred by GE or any of its
Affiliates (other than shares of Common Stock sold in a Public Offering or
pursuant to a Rule 144 Sale) shall remain subject to the Comcast Purchase Rights
pursuant to Section 9.03 and the rights of Comcast
under Sections 9.06,
9.07
and 9.10 (it
being understood that shares of Common Stock sold in a Public Offering or
pursuant to a Rule 144 Sale shall not remain subject to any such rights), and any
transferee of any such securities shall be obligated to participate in any
Back-End Transaction pursuant to Section
9.08 (either by
agreeing to sell all New HoldCo Common Interests (as defined in Exhibit E-1)
held by such transferee to Comcast in accordance with Exhibit E-1 or by agreeing
to receive the same form and amount of consideration per security as GE and its
Subsidiaries) and GE shall provide Comcast with notice promptly after
such Transfer of the manner in which such transferee has agreed to become
obligated to participate in any Back-End Transaction, in
each case, even if any of such Sections do not reference any of such securities
held by the transferees of GE or such Affiliate or any of such
transferees.
Section
13.07 . Severability. Every
provision of this Agreement is intended to be severable. If any term
or provision hereof is declared or held illegal or invalid, in whole or in part,
for any reason whatsoever, such illegality or invalidity shall not affect the
validity or enforceability of the remainder of the Agreement, and such provision
shall be deemed amended or modified to the extent, but only to the extent,
necessary to cure such illegality or invalidity. Upon such
determination of illegality or invalidity, the parties hereto shall negotiate in
good faith to amend this Agreement to effect the original intent of the
parties. In any event, the invalidity or unenforceability of any
provision of this
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Agreement
in any jurisdiction shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the
remainder of this Agreement in that jurisdiction or the validity or
enforceability of this Agreement, including that provision, in any other
competent jurisdiction.
Section
13.08 . Injunctive
Relief. The parties hereto hereby acknowledge and agree that a
violation of any of the terms of this Agreement will cause the other parties and
the Company irreparable injury for which an adequate remedy at law is not
available. Accordingly, the parties hereto expressly agree that in
addition to any other remedy that each of the parties and the Company may be
entitled to in law or in equity, each of the parties hereto and the Company
shall, except as specifically provided otherwise in this Agreement, be entitled
to seek specific performance of the terms of this Agreement and any injunction,
restraining order or other equitable relief that may be necessary to prevent any
breach(es) thereof. Furthermore, the parties expressly agree that if
any of the parties hereto, or the Company, institutes any action or proceeding
to enforce the provisions hereof, any other party against whom such action or
proceeding is brought shall be deemed to have expressly, knowingly, and
voluntarily waived the claim or defense that an adequate remedy exists at
law. Each party hereby waives any requirement of any posting of
bond.
Section
13.09 . Governing
Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and
construed in accordance with the provisions of the Act, and other applicable
Laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflicts of law
principles.
Section
13.10 . Submission to
Jurisdiction. For the purposes of any suit, action or other
proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement and subject to Sections
9.02 and 10.02, each
party to this Agreement irrevocably submits, to the fullest extent permitted by
Law, to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Chancery Court of the State of
Delaware (or if unavailable, any federal court sitting in the State of Delaware
or, if unavailable, the Delaware Superior Court) and the appellate courts having
jurisdiction of appeals in such courts. For the purposes of any suit,
action or other proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement, each
party irrevocably and unconditionally waives, to the fullest extent permitted by
Law, any objection to the laying of venue in the Chancery Court of the State of
Delaware (or if unavailable, any federal court sitting in the State of Delaware
or, if unavailable, the Delaware Superior Court), and hereby further irrevocably
and unconditionally waives, to the fullest extent permitted by Law, and agrees
not to plead or claim in any such court that any such action, suit or proceeding
brought in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient
forum. Each party irrevocably consents, to the fullest extent
permitted by Law, to service of process in connection with any such suit, action
or other proceeding by registered mail to such party at its address set forth in
this Agreement, in accordance with the provisions of Section 13.12. The consent to jurisdiction
set forth in this
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Section 13.10 shall not constitute a general consent
to service of process in the State of Delaware and shall have no effect for any
purpose except as provided in this Section
13.10. The parties hereto agree that a final judgment in any such
suit, action or proceeding shall be conclusive and may be enforced in other
jurisdictions by suit on the judgment or in any other manner provided by
Law.
Section
13.11 . Waiver of Jury
Trial. EACH OF THE PARTIES HEREBY KNOWINGLY AND VOLUNTARILY
WAIVES TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY JUDICIAL PROCEEDING INVOLVING, DIRECTLY OR
INDIRECTLY, ANY MATTERS (WHETHER SOUNDING IN TORT, CONTRACT OR OTHERWISE) IN ANY
WAY ARISING OUT OF, RELATED TO, OR CONNECTED WITH THIS AGREEMENT, THE
TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY OR THE RELATIONSHIP ESTABLISHED
HEREUNDER.
Section
13.12 . Notices. All
notices, requests, claims, demands and other communications under this Agreement
shall be in writing and shall be given or made (and shall be deemed to have been
duly given or made upon receipt) by delivery in person, by overnight courier
service, by facsimile with receipt confirmed (followed by delivery of an
original via overnight courier service) or by registered or certified mail
(postage prepaid, return receipt requested) to the respective parties at the
following addresses:
If
to Comcast or any Comcast Member:
Comcast
Corporation
Xxx
Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxxxxxxx,
XX 00000
Attention:
General Counsel
Facsimile:
(000) 000-0000
And
a copy (which copy shall not constitute notice) to:
Xxxxx
Xxxx & Xxxxxxxx LLP
000
Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx
Xxxx, XX 00000
Attention:
Xxxxx X.
Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx
Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx
Facsimile:
(000) 000-0000
Telephone:
(000) 000-0000
If
to GE or HoldCo:
General
Electric Company
0000
Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxx, X0X00
Xxxxxxxxx,
XX 00000
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Attention:
Senior Counsel for Transactions
Facsimile:
(000) 000-0000
And
a copy (which copy shall not constitute notice) to:
Weil,
Gotshal & Xxxxxx LLP
000
Xxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx
Xxxx, XX 00000
Attention:
Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxxxxx
R. Xxx Xxxxx
R. Xxx Xxxxx
Facsimile:
(000) 000-0000
Telephone: (000)
000-0000
If
to any other Member: to such addresses reflected in the books and
records of the Company.
By
written notice to the Company, any Member, Comcast or GE may change the address
to which notices shall be directed.
Section
13.13 . Counterparts. This
Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, and delivered by
facsimile or otherwise, each of which shall be deemed an original of this
Agreement and all of which together shall constitute one and the same
instrument.
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IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the date
first written above.
COMCAST
CORPORATION
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By:
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Name:
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Title:
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[INITIAL
COMCAST MEMBER 1]
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By:
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Name:
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Title:
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[INITIAL
COMCAST MEMBER 2]
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By:
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Name:
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Title:
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[INITIAL
COMCAST MEMBER 3]
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By:
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Name:
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Title:
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GENERAL
ELECTRIC COMPANY
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By:
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Name:
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Title:
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NAVY
HOLDINGS, INC.
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By:
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Name:
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Title:
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