GUARANTEE
Exhibit
(d)(x)
EXECUTION
COPY
GUARANTEE
dated as of March 12, 2009 by Roche Holding Ltd, a joint stock company organized
under the laws of Switzerland (the “Guarantor”), for the benefit
of Genentech, Inc. (together with its successors and permitted assigns, the
“Beneficiary”).
W
I T N E S S E T H :
WHEREAS,
Roche Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation (together with its successors and
assigns under the Merger Agreement, the “Obligor”) is an indirect
wholly-owned subsidiary of the Guarantor; and
WHEREAS,
the Obligor has entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of March
12, 2009 (as amended, modified or supplemented from time to time, the “Merger
Agreement”) among the Beneficiary, the Obligor and Roche Investments USA
Inc. (the “Merger
Subsidiary”); and
WHEREAS, this Guarantee is being made at the request of the Obligor and
the Beneficiary;
NOW,
THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and other good and valuable
consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the
Guarantor agrees as follows:
1. The Guarantee,
etc. The Guarantor hereby unconditionally and irrevocably
guarantees the full and punctual performance and discharge of the Obligor’s and
Merger Subsidiary’s (and their permitted assigns’) payment and performance
obligations, including the obligation to cause the Merger Subsidiary to perform
its obligations, under the Merger Agreement (each a “Guaranteed
Obligation”). The Guaranteed Obligations include, without
limitation, an unconditional guarantee of payment and performance and not of
collectability.
2. Guarantee
Unconditional. The obligations of the Guarantor hereunder
shall be unconditional and absolute and, without limiting the generality of the
foregoing, shall not be released, discharged or otherwise affected
by:
(a)
any extension, other indulgence, renewal, settlement, compromise, discharge
(other than payment in full or full performance of obligations), waiver,
subordination or release in respect of any obligation of the Obligor
or Merger Subsidiary under the Merger Agreement, by operation of law or
otherwise;
(b)
any modification or amendment of or supplement to the Merger
Agreement;
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(c) any
change in the corporate existence, structure or ownership of the Obligor or
Merger Subsidiary, or any insolvency, bankruptcy, reorganization or other
similar proceeding affecting the Obligor or Merger Subsidiary or their
respective assets or any resulting release or discharge of any obligation of the
Obligor or Merger Subsidiary contained in the Merger Agreement;
(d) the
existence of any claim, set-off, counterclaim or other rights which the
Guarantor may have at any time against the Obligor or Merger Subsidiary, the
Beneficiary or any other Person; provided that nothing herein
shall prevent the assertion of any such claim by separate suit or compulsory
counterclaim;
(e) any
incapacity or lack of power, authority or legal personality, or change in the
existence, structure, constitution, name, control or ownership of the Obligor or
Merger Subsidiary;
(f) any
defense arising by reason of any failure of Beneficiary to proceed against
Obligor or any other person, or to apply or exhaust any security held from
Obligor or any other person for all or any part of the Obligations, to proceed
against, apply or exhaust any security held from the Guarantor or any other
person, or to pursue any other remedy available to the Beneficiary or to realize
full value of any security and any defense relating to any impairment of
Guarantor’s right of subrogation;
(g) any
defense arising by reason of breach by Obligor or the Merger Subsidiary of any
representation, warranty or covenant contained in the Merger Agreement;
or
(h) any
other event, act or omission to act or delay of any kind by the Obligor or the
Merger Subsidiary, the Beneficiary or any other Person or any other circumstance
whatsoever which might, but for the provisions of this paragraph, constitute a
legal or equitable discharge of or defense to the Guarantor’s obligations
hereunder.
3. Discharge Only Upon Satisfaction in
Full. The Guarantor’s obligations hereunder shall remain in
full force and effect until all Guaranteed Obligations shall have been
irrevocably paid or performed in full. In the event that any payment
to the Beneficiary in respect of any Guaranteed Obligation is rescinded or must
otherwise be returned for any reason whatsoever (including, without limitation,
the insolvency, bankruptcy or reorganization of the Obligor or the Merger
Subsidiary), the Guarantor shall remain liable hereunder with respect to such
Guaranteed Obligation as if such payment had not been made. The
Guarantor hereby unconditionally and irrevocably agrees not to exercise any
rights that it may now have or hereafter acquire against the Obligor or any
other
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Person
primarily or secondarily liable with respect to any of the Guaranteed
Obligations that arise from the existence, payment, performance or enforcement
of the Guarantor’s obligations hereunder including, without limitation, any
right of subrogation, reimbursement, exoneration, contribution or
indemnification and any right to participate in any claim or remedy of the
Beneficiary against any other Person primarily or secondarily liable with
respect to any of the Guaranteed Obligations, whether such claim, remedy or
right arises in equity or under contract, statute or common law, including,
without limitation, the right to take or receive from the Obligor or any other
Person primarily or secondarily liable with respect to any of the Guaranteed
Obligations, directly or indirectly, in cash or other property or by set-off or
in any other manner, payment or security on account of such claim, remedy or
right, in each case unless and until all of the Guaranteed Obligations and all
other amounts payable under this Guarantee shall have been paid in full in
cash. If any amount shall be paid to the Guarantor in violation of
the immediately preceding sentence, such amount shall be received and held in
trust for the benefit of the Beneficiary, and shall forthwith be paid or
delivered to the Beneficiary in the same form as so received (with any necessary
endorsement or assignment) to be credited and applied to the amounts payable
under this Guarantee.
4. Additional Waivers by the
Guarantor. Provided that the Beneficiary shall have made a
request (oral or written) to the Obligor for payment or performance (which
procedural requirement to make such a request shall not apply in the event of
the initiation of pendency of any proceedings with respect to the Obligor or
Guarantor under any applicable bankruptcy, liquidation, insolvency,
reorganization or similar laws), the Guarantor irrevocably waives acceptance
hereof, presentment, demand, protest and any notice not provided for herein, as
well as any requirement that at any time any action be taken by any Person
against the Obligor, the Guarantor or any other Person. The
Beneficiary need not exhaust any recourse that it may have against the Obligor
or other persons before being entitled to full payment and performance from the
Guarantor under this Guarantee.
5. Representations and
Warranties. The Guarantor represents and warrants to the
Beneficiary that:
(a) the
Guarantor is duly organized and validly existing under the laws of the
jurisdiction of its organization;
(b) the
execution, delivery and performance by the Guarantor of this Guarantee are
within the Guarantor’s corporate powers and have been duly authorized by all
necessary corporate action;
(c) this
Guarantee has been duly executed and delivered by the Guarantor and constitutes
a valid and binding obligation of the Guarantor;
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(d) the
execution, delivery and performance of this Guarantee (i) do not require
any consent or approval of, registration or filing with, or other action by, any
governmental authority, except such as have been obtained and are in full force
and effect, (ii) will not violate any applicable law or regulation or the
charter, by-laws or other organizational documents of the Guarantor or any order
of any court or governmental authority by which the Guarantor is bound,
and (iii) will not violate or result in a default under any indenture,
agreement or other instrument binding upon the Guarantor or any of its
properties or give rise to a right thereunder to require the Guarantor to make
any payment;
(e) it
is not necessary that any stamp, registration or similar tax be paid in order to
render this Guarantee enforceable against the Guarantor; and
(f) it
is not, as at the date of this Guarantee, required to make any deduction for or
on account of any Tax from any payment it may make under this Guarantee and
agrees that if any such Tax is due it will promptly pay to
Beneficiary such additional amount or amounts as may be necessary to compensate
Beneficiary for any such Tax.
6. Notices. All
notices, requests and other communications to any party hereunder shall be in
writing (including facsimile transmission and electronic mail transmission, so
long as a receipt of such e-mail is requested and received) and shall be given,
as follows:
(i)
if to the Guarantor, to it at:
Roche
Holding Ltd
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
000
XX-0000
Xxxxx
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Attention:
Corporate Legal Department
Facsimile
No.: x00 00 000 0000
e-mail:
xxxxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx
xxxx.xxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx
with
copies to:
Roche
Holdings, Inc.
0000 X.
Xxxxxx Xx., Xxxxx #000
Xxxxxxxxxx,
Xxxxxxxx 00000-0000
Attention: Xxxxx
Xxxxxxxxxx
Facsimile
No.: (000) 000-0000
e-mail:
xxxxx.xxxxxxxxxx.xx0@xxxxx.xxx
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and
Xxxxx
Xxxx & Xxxxxxxx
000
Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx,
Xxx Xxxx 00000
Attention: Xxxxxx
X. Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Xxxxx
Facsimile
No.: (000) 000-0000
(000)
000-0000
e-mail:
xxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxx.xxx
xxxxx.xxxxx@xxx.xxx
(ii)
if to the Beneficiary, to it at:
Special
Committee of the Board of Directors
c/o
Genentech, Inc.
0 XXX
Xxx
Xxxxx Xxx
Xxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxx 00000-0000
Attention: Chairman
of the Special Committee
of the Board of Directors
Facsimile
No.: (000) 000-0000
e-mail:
xxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx
with
copies to:
Xxxxxx
& Xxxxxxx LLP
000 Xxxxx
Xxxxx
Xxxxx
Xxxx XX 00000
Attention: Xxxxx
X. Xxxxxx
Facsimile
No.: (000) 000-0000
e-mail:
xxxxx.xxxxxx@xx.xxx
and
Genentech,
Inc.
0 XXX
Xxx
Xxxxx Xxx
Xxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxx 00000-0000
Attention: Xxxx
X. Xxxxxxxx
Facsimile
No.: (000) 000-0000
e-mail:
xxxxxxxx.xxxx@xxxx.xxx
and
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Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx & Xxxxxx
000 Xxxx
Xxxx Xxxx
Xxxx
Xxxx, XX 00000
Attention: Xxxxx
X. Xxxxxxx
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Facsimile
No.: (000) 000-0000
e-mail:
xxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx
xxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx
or to
such other address or facsimile number as such party may hereafter specify for
the purpose by notice to the other parties hereto. All such notices,
requests and other communications shall be deemed received on the date of
receipt by the recipient thereof if received prior to 5 p.m. on a business day
in the place of receipt. Otherwise, any such notice, request or
communication shall be deemed to have been received on the next succeeding
business day in the place of receipt.
7. Defined
Terms. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall
have the meanings assigned to them in the Merger Agreement.
8. No Waiver. No
failure or delay by the Beneficiary in exercising any right, power or privilege
under this Guarantee or the Merger Agreement shall operate as a waiver thereof
nor shall any single or partial exercise thereof preclude any other or further
exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right, power or
privilege.
9. Amendments and
Waivers. Any provision of this Guarantee may be amended or
waived if, but only if, such amendment or waiver is in writing and is signed by
the Beneficiary and the Guarantor.
10. Successors and
Assigns. This Guarantee shall be binding upon the Guarantor
and its successors and permitted assigns, for the benefit of the Beneficiary and
its successors and assigns. Neither the Beneficiary nor the Guarantor
may assign its rights, duties or obligations hereunder to any other Person
(except by operation of law) without the prior written consent of the other
party.
11. Governing
Law. This Guarantee shall be governed by and construed in
accordance with the law of the State of Delaware, without regard to the
conflicts of law rules of such state.
12. Jurisdiction. The
parties hereto agree that any suit, action or proceeding seeking to enforce any
provision of, or based on any matter arising out of or in connection with or
relating to, this Guarantee or the transactions contemplated hereby shall be
brought in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware in and for New Castle
County, Delaware, and each of the parties hereby
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irrevocably
consents to the exclusive jurisdiction of such court (and of the appropriate
appellate courts therefrom) in any such suit, action or proceeding and
irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any objection that
it may now or hereafter have to the laying of the venue of any such suit, action
or proceeding in any such court or that any such suit, action or proceeding
brought in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient
forum. Process in any such suit, action
or proceeding against any party may be served anywhere in the world, whether
within or without the jurisdiction of any such court. Without
limiting the foregoing, each party agrees that service of process as provided in
Section 6 shall be deemed effective service of process on such
party.
13. WAIVER OF JURY
TRIAL. EACH PARTY HERETO HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES ANY AND ALL
RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS
GUARANTEE OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY.
14. Expenses. The
Guarantor agrees to pay all out-of-pocket expenses (including, without
limitation, the reasonable fees and expenses of the Beneficiary’s counsel)
incurred by the Beneficiary in connection with the successful enforcement of the
rights of the Beneficiary hereunder.
* * * *
*
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ROCHE
HOLDING LTD
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By:
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/s/
Xxxxx Xxxxxxx
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Name:
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Xxxxx
Xxxxxxx
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Title:
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Authorized
Signatory
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By:
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/s/
Beat Kraehenmann
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||
Name:
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Dr.
Beat Kraehenmann
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||
Title:
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Authorized
Signatory
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Agreed
to and accepted by:
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GENENTECH,
INC.
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By:
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/s/ Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx | |
Name:
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Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx | |
Title:
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Chairman and Chief Executive Officer |
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