AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER by and among ENERGY TRANSFER EQUITY, L.P., SIGMA ACQUISITION CORPORATION and SOUTHERN UNION COMPANY Dated as of June 15, 2011 As Amended and Restated: July 4, 2011 and July 19, 2011
Exhibit 2.1
EXECUTION VERSION
by and among
SIGMA ACQUISITION CORPORATION
and
SOUTHERN UNION COMPANY
SOUTHERN UNION COMPANY
Dated as of June 15, 2011
As Amended and Restated:
July 4, 2011
and
July 19, 2011
Table of Contents
Page | ||||
ARTICLE I. THE MERGER |
2 | |||
Section 1.1. The Merger |
2 | |||
Section 1.2. Closing |
2 | |||
Section 1.3. Effective Time |
3 | |||
Section 1.4. Effects of the Merger |
3 | |||
Section 1.5. Certificate of Incorporation and By-laws of the Surviving Corporation |
3 | |||
Section 1.6. Directors |
3 | |||
Section 1.7. Officers |
3 | |||
ARTICLE II. CONVERSION OF SHARES; EXCHANGE OF CERTIFICATES |
4 | |||
Section 2.1. Effect on Capital Stock |
4 | |||
Section 2.2. Election Procedures |
7 | |||
Section 2.3. Exchange of Shares |
8 | |||
ARTICLE III. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY |
10 | |||
Section 3.1. Qualification, Organization, Subsidiaries, etc. |
11 | |||
Section 3.2. Capital Stock |
12 | |||
Section 3.3. Corporate Authority Relative to this Agreement; No Violation |
14 | |||
Section 3.4. Reports and Financial Statements |
16 | |||
Section 3.5. Internal Controls and Procedures |
17 | |||
Section 3.6. No Undisclosed Liabilities |
17 | |||
Section 3.7. Compliance with Law; Permits |
17 | |||
Section 3.8. Environmental Laws and Regulations |
18 | |||
Section 3.9. Employee Benefit Plans |
20 | |||
Section 3.10. Absence of Certain Changes or Events |
22 | |||
Section 3.11. Investigations; Litigation |
22 | |||
Section 3.12. Information Supplied |
22 | |||
Section 3.13. Regulatory Matters |
23 | |||
Section 3.14. Tax Matters |
24 | |||
Section 3.15. Employment and Labor Matters |
25 | |||
Section 3.16. Intellectual Property |
26 | |||
Section 3.17. Real Property |
27 | |||
Section 3.18. Required Vote of the Company Stockholders |
29 | |||
Section 3.19. Opinion of Financial Advisor |
29 | |||
Section 3.20. Material Contracts |
29 | |||
Section 3.21. Finders or Brokers |
31 | |||
Section 3.22. Insurance |
31 | |||
Section 3.23. Consulting Agreements and Noncompetition Agreements |
31 | |||
Section 3.24. No Additional Representations |
31 |
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Page | ||||
ARTICLE IV. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF PARENT AND MERGER SUB |
32 | |||
Section 4.1. Qualification, Organization, Subsidiaries, etc. |
32 | |||
Section 4.2. Equity Interests |
33 | |||
Section 4.3. Partnership / Corporate Authority Relative to this Agreement; No Violation |
36 | |||
Section 4.4. Reports and Financial Statements |
37 | |||
Section 4.5. Internal Controls and Procedures |
37 | |||
Section 4.6. No Undisclosed Liabilities |
38 | |||
Section 4.7. Compliance with Law; Permits |
38 | |||
Section 4.8. Environmental Laws and Regulations |
39 | |||
Section 4.9. Employee Benefit Plans |
40 | |||
Section 4.10. Absence of Certain Changes or Events |
40 | |||
Section 4.11. Investigations; Litigation |
40 | |||
Section 4.12. Information Supplied |
40 | |||
Section 4.13. Regulatory Matters |
41 | |||
Section 4.14. Tax Matters |
41 | |||
Section 4.15. Employment and Labor Matters |
42 | |||
Section 4.16. Real Property |
43 | |||
Section 4.17. Vote of Parent Partners; Merger Sub Approval |
44 | |||
Section 4.18. Opinion of Financial Advisors |
45 | |||
Section 4.19. Material Contracts |
45 | |||
Section 4.20. Finders or Brokers |
47 | |||
Section 4.21. Lack of Ownership of Company Common Stock |
47 | |||
Section 4.22. Financing |
47 | |||
Section 4.23. No Additional Representations |
48 | |||
ARTICLE V. COVENANTS AND AGREEMENTS |
48 | |||
Section 5.1. Conduct of Business by the Company |
48 | |||
Section 5.2. Conduct of Business by Parent |
55 | |||
Section 5.3. Mutual Access |
56 | |||
Section 5.4. Non-Solicitation by the Company |
57 | |||
Section 5.5. Filings; Other Actions |
62 | |||
Section 5.6. Equity-Based Awards |
63 | |||
Section 5.7. Employee Matters |
64 | |||
Section 5.8. Regulatory Approvals; Reasonable Best Efforts |
66 | |||
Section 5.9. Takeover Statutes |
69 | |||
Section 5.10. Public Announcements |
69 | |||
Section 5.11. Indemnification and Insurance |
69 | |||
Section 5.12. Control of Operations |
71 | |||
Section 5.13. Certain Transfer Taxes |
71 | |||
Section 5.14. Section 16 Matters |
71 | |||
Section 5.15. Agreed Tax Treatment |
71 | |||
Section 5.16. Tax Representation Letters |
72 | |||
Section 5.17. NYSE Listing |
72 | |||
Section 5.18. Financing and Financing Assistance |
72 | |||
Section 5.19. Citrus Transfer |
71 |
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Page | ||||
ARTICLE VI. CONDITIONS TO THE MERGER |
76 | |||
Section 6.1. Conditions to Each Party’s Obligation to Effect the Merger |
76 | |||
Section 6.2. Conditions to Obligation of the Company to Effect the Merger |
76 | |||
Section 6.3. Conditions to Obligation of Parent to Effect the Merger |
78 | |||
Section 6.4. Intentionally Omitted |
78 | |||
Section 6.5. Frustration of Closing Conditions |
78 | |||
ARTICLE VII. TERMINATION |
79 | |||
Section 7.1. Termination or Abandonment |
79 | |||
Section 7.2. Effect of Termination |
80 | |||
Section 7.3. Expense Reimbursement; Breakup Fee |
80 | |||
ARTICLE VIII. MISCELLANEOUS |
82 | |||
Section 8.1. No Survival |
82 | |||
Section 8.2. Expenses |
83 | |||
Section 8.3. Counterparts; Effectiveness |
83 | |||
Section 8.4. Governing Law |
83 | |||
Section 8.5. Jurisdiction; Specific Enforcement |
83 | |||
Section 8.6. WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL |
84 | |||
Section 8.7. Notices |
84 | |||
Section 8.8. Assignment; Binding Effect |
86 | |||
Section 8.9. Severability |
86 | |||
Section 8.10. Entire Agreement |
86 | |||
Section 8.11. Amendments; Waivers |
86 | |||
Section 8.12. Headings |
86 | |||
Section 8.13. No Third Party Beneficiaries |
87 | |||
Section 8.14. Interpretation |
87 | |||
Section 8.15. Definitions |
87 |
Exhibit A
|
Form of Support Agreements | |
Exhibit B
|
Form of ETP Merger Agreement |
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SECOND AMENDED AND RESTATED AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER (this “Agreement”), dated as
of July 19, 2011 (the “Second Amendment Date”), by and among Energy Transfer Equity, L.P.,
a Delaware limited partnership (“Parent”), Sigma Acquisition Corporation, a Delaware
corporation and a direct wholly owned subsidiary of Parent (“Merger Sub”), and Southern
Union Company, a Delaware corporation (the “Company”).
W I T N E S S E T H :
WHEREAS, on June 15, 2011, the parties entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the
“Original Merger Agreement”);
WHEREAS, the parties amended and restated the Original Merger Agreement on July 4, 2011 by
entering into an Amended and Restated Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “First Amended Merger
Agreement”);
WHEREAS, the parties are entering into this Second Amended and Restated Agreement and Plan of
Merger in order to modify certain terms and conditions of the Original Merger Agreement and the
First Amended Merger Agreement, with effect from the date of execution of the Original Agreement;
WHEREAS, prior to consummation of the Merger, the Company will contribute to Merger Sub, in
exchange for shares in Merger Sub reflecting an equity interest proportionate to its Deemed Share
(as defined herein), an amount equal to the proceeds it receives, if any, pursuant to the Citrus
Transfer, not to exceed $1,450,000,000;
WHEREAS, for income tax purposes the parties intend that in the Merger Parent and the Company
shall be deemed to have acquired the Acquired Shares in proportion to their relative contributions
of Merger Consideration to Merger Sub;
WHEREAS, the parties intend that Merger Sub be merged with and into the Company (the
“Merger”), with the Company surviving the Merger as a direct wholly owned subsidiary of
Parent;
WHEREAS, each of the Board of Directors of the Company and Merger Sub have (a) determined that
it is in the best interests of the Company and Merger Sub, respectively, and their respective
stockholders, and declared it advisable, to enter into this Agreement, (b) approved the execution,
delivery and performance of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated
hereby, including the Merger and (c) resolved to recommend adoption of this Agreement by their
respective stockholders;
WHEREAS, the general partner of Parent has (a) determined that it is in the best interests of
Parent and its unitholders, and declared it advisable, to enter into this Agreement and (b)
approved the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the consummation of the
transactions contemplated hereby, including the Merger and the Unit Issuance (as defined herein);
WHEREAS, simultaneously with, and as a condition to, the execution of this Second Amended and
Restated Agreement and Plan of Merger, certain stockholders of the Company are
executing amended and restated support agreements with Parent, each dated as of the Second
Amendment Date, in the form of Exhibit A hereto (the “Support Agreements”),
pursuant to which, among other things, such stockholders have agreed to vote the shares of Company
Common Stock of which they are the record or beneficial owner in favor of the approval of this
Agreement and the Merger and/or have agreed to make a Common Unit Election with respect to such
shares of Company Common Stock in accordance with Section 2.1; and
WHEREAS, for Federal income tax purposes, it is intended that the Merger qualify under Section
721(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) with respect to
holders of Company Common Stock receiving Common Units as Merger Consideration; and
WHEREAS, Parent, Merger Sub and the Company desire to make certain representations,
warranties, covenants and agreements specified herein in connection with this Agreement.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing and the representations, warranties,
covenants and agreements contained herein, and intending to be legally bound hereby, Parent, Merger
Sub and the Company agree as follows, and the First Amended Merger Agreement is hereby amended and
restated in its entirety with effect from the date of execution of the Original Agreement, as
follows:
ARTICLE I.
THE MERGER
Section 1.1. The Merger. At the Effective Time, upon the terms and subject to the
conditions set forth in this Agreement and in accordance with the applicable provisions of the
General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”), Merger Sub shall be merged
with and into the Company, whereupon the separate corporate existence of Merger Sub shall cease,
and the Company shall continue its corporate existence under Delaware law as the surviving
corporation in the Merger (the “Surviving Corporation”) and a direct wholly owned
subsidiary of Parent.
Section 1.2. Closing. The closing of the Merger (the “Closing”) shall take
place at the offices of Xxxxx Lord Xxxxxxx & Xxxxxxx, 000 Xxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 0000, Xxxxxxx, Xxxxx
at 10:00 a.m., local time, on a date to be agreed upon by the parties in writing (the “Closing
Date”), which shall be no later than the third business day after the satisfaction or waiver
(to the extent permitted by applicable Law) of the conditions set forth in Article VI (other than
those conditions that by their nature are to be satisfied by action taken at the Closing, but
subject to the satisfaction or waiver of such conditions), or at such other place, date and time as
the Company and Parent may agree in writing; provided, however, that upon satisfaction or waiver of
all the conditions set forth in Article VI (excluding conditions that, by their terms, cannot be
satisfied until the Closing Date, but subject to the satisfaction or waiver of such conditions)
Parent may, on one occasion, by giving written notice to the Company no later than two business
days prior to the date the Closing is scheduled to occur, elect to postpone the Closing Date for a
period of time not to exceed 15 consecutive business days in order to facilitate the Financings.
2
Section 1.3. Effective Time. On the Closing Date, the Company and Merger Sub shall
file the certificate of merger (the “Certificate of Merger”), executed in accordance with,
and containing such information as is required by, the relevant provisions of the DGCL with the
Secretary of State of the State of Delaware. The Merger shall become effective at such time as the
Certificate of Merger is duly filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware, or at
such later time as is agreed between the parties and specified in the Certificate of Merger in
accordance with the relevant provisions of the DGCL (such date and time is hereinafter referred to
as the “Effective Time”).
Section 1.4. Effects of the Merger. The effects of the Merger shall be as provided in
this Agreement and in the applicable provisions of the DGCL. Without limiting the generality of
the foregoing, and subject thereto, at the Effective Time, all of the property, rights, privileges,
powers and franchises of the Company and Merger Sub shall vest in the Surviving Corporation, and
all debts, liabilities and duties of the Company and Merger Sub shall become the debts, liabilities
and duties of the Surviving Corporation, all as provided under the DGCL.
Section 1.5. Certificate of Incorporation and By-laws of the Surviving Corporation.
(a) At the Effective Time, the certificate of incorporation of Merger Sub, as in effect
immediately prior to the Effective Time, shall be the certificate of incorporation of the Surviving
Corporation until thereafter amended in accordance with the provisions thereof and applicable Law.
(b) At the Effective Time, the by-laws of Merger Sub, as in effect immediately prior to the
Effective Time, shall be the by-laws of the Surviving Corporation until thereafter amended in
accordance with the provisions thereof and hereof and applicable Law.
Section 1.6. Directors. Subject to applicable Law, the directors of Merger Sub
immediately prior to the Effective Time shall be the initial directors of the Surviving Corporation
and shall hold office until their respective successors are duly elected and qualified, or their
earlier death, resignation or removal.
Section 1.7. Officers. The officers of Merger Sub immediately prior to the Effective
Time shall be the initial officers of the Surviving Corporation and shall hold office until their
respective successors are duly elected and qualified, or their earlier death, resignation or
removal.
Section 1.8. Merger Sub Contribution. Immediately prior to the Effective Time, the
Company shall contribute to Merger Sub the funds, if any, it receives pursuant to the Citrus
Transfer (not to exceed $1,450,000,000) in exchange for an equity interest in Merger Sub
proportionate to its Deemed Share. Such obligation shall be deemed satisfied by the Company’s
compliance with clause (ii) of Section 2.3(a). As used herein, “Deemed Share” means the
fraction (a) the numerator of which is the amount, if any, contributed by the Company to Merger Sub
pursuant to this Section 1.8 and (b) the denominator of which is the aggregate value of the Merger
Consideration, valuing the Common Units based upon the volume weighted average price of the Common
Units for the five trading days ending on the trading day immediately preceding the Effective Time.
3
ARTICLE II.
CONVERSION OF SHARES; EXCHANGE OF CERTIFICATES
Section 2.1. Effect on Capital Stock.
(a) At the Effective Time, by virtue of the Merger and without any action on the part of the
Company, Merger Sub or the holders of any securities of the Company or Merger Sub, each share of
common stock, par value $1.00 per share of the Company (such shares, collectively, “Company
Common Stock”, and each, a “Share”) issued and outstanding immediately prior to the
Effective Time (other than Cancelled Shares and Dissenting Shares) (the
“Acquired Shares”) shall, by virtue of this Agreement and without any action on the part of
the holder thereof, be converted into and shall thereafter represent the right to receive the
following consideration (collectively, the “Merger Consideration”), calculated in the
following order:
(i) | Each share of Company Common Stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time with respect to which an election to receive cash (a “Cash Election”) has been effectively made and not revoked or lost pursuant to Section 2.2 (each, a “Cash Election Share”) shall be converted into the right to receive $44.25 in cash without interest (the “Per Share Cash Consideration”); provided, however, if (A) the product of the Per Share Cash Consideration and the number of Cash Election Shares (such product being the “Cash Election Amount”) exceeds the Available Cash Election Amount, then each Cash Election Share shall be converted into a right to receive (1) an amount of cash (without interest) equal to the product of (p) the Per Share Cash Consideration and (q) a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the Available Cash Election Amount and the denominator of which shall be the Cash Election Amount (such fraction being the “Cash Fraction”) and (2) a number of Common Units equal to the product of (r) 1.00 (the “Exchange Ratio”) and (s) one (1) minus the Cash Fraction. The “Available Cash Election Amount” shall equal (A) the product of (x) 0.60, (y) the Per Share Cash Consideration and (z) the total number of shares of Company Common Stock (other than the Cancelled Shares) issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time minus (B) the product of the Per Share Cash Consideration and the total number of Dissenting Shares immediately prior to the Effective Time. | ||
(ii) | Each share of Company Common Stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time with respect to which an election to receive consideration consisting of Common Units (a “Common Unit Election”) is properly made and not revoked or lost pursuant to Section 2.2 (each, a “Common Unit Election Share”), and each No Election Share (which shall be deemed to be Common Unit Election Shares for purposes of this Section 2.1(a)(ii)), shall be converted into the right to receive that number of Common Units equal to the Exchange Ratio (together with any |
4
cash in lieu of fractional Common Units to be paid pursuant to Section 2.1(d), the “Per Share Common Unit Consideration”); provided, however, if the Cash Election Amount is less than an amount equal to 5/6 (five sixths) multiplied by the Available Cash Election Amount (the amount of such shortfall, if any, the “Shortfall Amount”), then each Common Unit Election Share shall be converted into the right to receive (1) a number of Common Units equal to the product of (x) the Exchange Ratio and (y) a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the Per Share Cash Consideration minus the amount of cash calculated in clause (2) below and the denominator of which shall be the Per Share Cash Consideration and (2) an amount of cash (without interest) equal to the amount the Shortfall Amount divided by the number of Common Unit Election Shares. | |||
(iii) | Of the Shares converted pursuant to this Section 2.1(a), a number of shares equal to the Deemed Share of the Acquired Shares shall be treated as having been acquired by the Company pursuant to a transaction described in Section 317(b) of the Code. |
(b) Cancellation of Shares. Each Share that is held directly or indirectly by the
Company or any of its wholly owned Subsidiaries immediately prior to the Effective Time (in each
case, other than any Shares held on behalf of third parties) (the “Cancelled Shares”)
shall, by virtue of the Merger and without any action on the part of the holder thereof, be
cancelled and retired and shall cease to exist, and no consideration shall be delivered in exchange
for such cancellation and retirement.
(c) Conversion of Merger Sub Common Stock. At the Effective Time, by virtue of the
Merger and without any action on the part of the holder thereof, each share of common stock, par
value $1.00 per share, of Merger Sub issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time
shall be converted into and become one validly issued, fully-paid and nonassessable share of common
stock, par value $1.00 per share, of the Surviving Corporation and shall constitute the only
outstanding shares of capital stock of the Surviving Corporation. From and after the Effective
Time, all certificates representing the capital stock of Merger Sub shall be deemed for all
purposes to represent the number of shares of common stock of the Surviving Corporation into which
they were converted in accordance with the immediately preceding sentence.
(d) Fractional Units. No fractional Common Units shall be issued in the Merger, but
in lieu thereof each holder of Shares otherwise entitled to a fractional Common Unit will be entitled to receive, from the Exchange Agent in accordance with the
provisions of this Section 2.1(d), a cash payment in lieu of such fractional Common Unit
representing such holder’s proportionate interest, if any, in the proceeds from the sale by the
Exchange Agent (reduced by any fees of the Exchange Agent attributable to such sale) in one or more
transactions of Common Units equal to the excess of (A) the aggregate number of Common Units to be
delivered to the Exchange Agent by Parent pursuant to Section 2.3(a) over (B) the aggregate number
of whole Common Units to be distributed to the holders of Shares pursuant to Section 2.3(b) (such
excess, the “Excess Shares”). No certificates or scrip representing fractional Common Units
shall be issued in the Merger. The parties acknowledge
5
that payment of the cash consideration in lieu of issuing fractional Common Units was not
separately bargained-for consideration but merely represents a mechanical rounding off for purposes
of avoiding the expense and inconvenience to Parent that would otherwise be caused by the issuance
of fractional Common Units. As soon as practicable after the determination of the amount of cash,
if any, to be paid to holders of Shares in lieu of any fractional Common Units, the Exchange Agent
shall make available such amounts to such holders of Shares, without interest, subject to and in
accordance with Section 2.2.
(e) Adjustments to the Exchange Ratio. If at any time during the period between the
date of this Agreement and the Effective Time, any change in the outstanding shares of capital
stock of the Company or Parent shall occur as a result of any reclassification, stock or unit split
(including a reverse stock or unit split) or combination, exchange or readjustment of shares or
units, or any stock or unit dividend or stock or unit distribution with a record date during such
period, the Exchange Ratio, the Per Share Common Unit Consideration, the Per Share Cash
Consideration, the Merger Consideration and any other similarly dependent items shall be equitably
adjusted to provide to Parent, Merger Sub and the holders of Company Common Stock the same economic
effect as contemplated by this Agreement prior to such action, and thereafter, all references in
this Agreement to the “Exchange Ratio,” “Per Share Common Unit Consideration,” “Per Share Cash
Consideration,” “Merger Consideration” and any other similarly dependent items shall be references
to the Exchange Ratio, Per Share Common Unit Consideration, Per Share Cash Consideration, Merger
Consideration and any other similarly dependent items as so adjusted; provided, however, that
nothing in this Section 2.1(e) shall be deemed to permit or authorize any party hereto to effect
any such change that it is not otherwise authorized or permitted to undertake pursuant to this
Agreement.
(f) Dissenting Shares. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary,
Shares that are issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time and which are held
by stockholders properly exercising appraisal rights available under Section 262 of the DGCL (the
“Dissenting Shares”) shall not be converted into or be exchangeable for the right to
receive the Merger Consideration, unless and until such holders shall have failed to perfect or
shall have effectively withdrawn or lost their rights to appraisal under the DGCL. Holders of
Dissenting Shares shall be entitled to payment of the appraised value of the Dissenting Shares held
by them to the extent permitted by and in accordance with Section 262 of the DGCL. If any such
holder shall have failed to perfect or shall have effectively withdrawn or lost such right to
appraisal, such holder’s Shares shall thereupon be converted into and become exchangeable only for
the right to receive, as of the later of the Effective Time and the time that such right to
appraisal shall have been irrevocably lost, withdrawn or expired, the Merger Consideration
specified in Section 2.1(a)(iii); provided, in such circumstance, to the fullest extent
permitted by Law, that Parent shall be entitled at its sole option to convert each such share into
the right to receive the Merger Consideration specified in either Section 2.1(a)(i) or 2.1(a)(ii).
The Company shall give Parent and Merger Sub (i) prompt written notice of any demands for appraisal
of any Shares, attempted withdrawals of such demands and any other instruments served pursuant to
the DGCL and received by the Company relating to rights to be paid the “fair value” of Dissenting
Shares, as provided in Section 262 of the DGCL, and (ii) the opportunity to participate in
negotiations and proceedings with respect to demands for appraisal under the DGCL. The Company
shall not, except with the prior written consent of Parent which will not be unreasonably withheld
or delayed, voluntarily make or agree to make any material payment with
6
respect to any demands for appraisals of capital stock of the Company, offer to settle or
settle any such demands.
Section 2.2. Election Procedures.
(a) An election form and other appropriate and customary transmittal materials (which shall
specify that delivery shall be effected, and risk of loss and title to the certificates theretofore
representing shares of Company Common Stock shall pass, only upon proper delivery of such
Certificates to the Exchange Agent) in such form as Parent shall specify and as shall be reasonably
acceptable to the Company (the “Election Form”) shall be mailed thirty days prior to the
anticipated Closing Date or on such other date as Parent and the Company shall mutually agree (the
“Mailing Date”) to each holder of record of Company Common Stock as of the close of
business on the fifth business day prior to the Mailing Date (the “Election Form Record
Date”).
(b) Each Election Form shall permit the holder (or the beneficial owner through appropriate
and customary documentation and instructions), other than any holder of Dissenting Shares, to
specify (i) the number of shares of such holder’s Company Common Stock with respect to which such
holder elects to receive the Per Share Common Unit Consideration and (ii) the number of shares of
such holder’s Company Common Stock with respect to which such holder elects to receive the Per
Share Cash Consideration. Any Shares with respect to which the Exchange Agent has not received an
effective, properly completed Election Form on or before 5:00 p.m., New York time, on the twentieth
(20th) day following the Mailing Date (or such other time and date as Parent and the Company shall
agree) (the “Election Deadline”) (other than Cancelled Shares or any shares of Company
Common Stock that constitute Dissenting Shares as of such time) shall be deemed to be “No
Election Shares”.
(c) Parent shall make available one or more Election Forms as may reasonably be requested from
time to time by all Persons who become holders (or beneficial owners) of Company Common Stock
between the Election Form Record Date and the close of business on the business day prior to the
Election Deadline, and the Company shall provide to the Exchange Agent all information reasonably
necessary for it to perform as specified herein.
(d) Any such election shall have been properly made only if the Exchange Agent shall have
actually received a properly completed Election Form by the Election Deadline. An Election Form
shall be deemed properly completed only if accompanied by one or more certificates (or customary
affidavits and, if required by Parent, the posting by such Person of a bond, in such reasonable
amount as Parent may direct, as indemnity against any claim that may be made against it with
respect to such certificate) representing all shares of Company Common Stock covered by such
Election Form, together with duly executed transmittal materials included in the Election Form.
Any Election Form may be revoked or changed by the Person submitting such Election Form, by written
notice received by the Exchange Agent prior to the Election Deadline. In the event an Election
Form is revoked prior to the Election Deadline, the shares of Company Common Stock represented by
such Election Form shall become No Election Shares and Parent shall cause the certificates
representing such shares of Parent Common Stock to be promptly returned without charge to the
Person submitting the Election Form upon written request to that effect from the holder who
submitted the Election Form, except to the extent (if
7
any) a subsequent election is properly made with respect to any or all of such shares of
Company Common Stock. Subject to the terms of this Agreement and of the Election Form, the
Exchange Agent shall have reasonable discretion to determine whether any election, revocation or
change has been properly or timely made and to disregard immaterial defects in the Election Forms,
and any good faith decisions of the Exchange Agent regarding such matters shall be binding and
conclusive. None of Parent, the Company or the Exchange Agent shall be under any obligation to
notify any Person of any defect in an Election Form.
Section 2.3. Exchange of Shares.
(a) Exchange Agent. Prior to the Effective Time, Parent shall appoint an exchange
agent mutually acceptable to Parent and the Company (the “Exchange Agent”) for the purpose
of exchanging Shares for Merger Consideration. Prior to the Effective Time, (i) Parent shall
deposit, or shall cause to be deposited, with the Exchange Agent, in trust for the benefit of
holders of the Shares (other than the Cancelled Shares and any Dissenting Shares), certificates
representing the Common Units issuable pursuant to Section 2.1(a) and Section 5.6(a) (or
appropriate alternative arrangements shall be made by Parent if uncertificated Common Units will be
issued) and an amount of cash sufficient (when combined with the Company Cash Funds) to effect the
delivery of the Merger Consideration to the holders of Company Common Shares (other than Cancelled
Shares and any Dissenting Shares) and (ii) the Company shall deposit the Company Cash Funds with
the Exchange Agent. Following the Effective Time, Parent agrees to make available to the Exchange
Agent, from time to time as needed, cash sufficient to pay any distributions pursuant to Section
2.3(c). All such certificates representing Common Units and cash deposited with the Exchange Agent
from time to time is hereinafter referred to as the “Exchange Fund.” As used herein,
“Company Cash Funds” means the cash proceeds received, if any, by the Company pursuant to
the Citrus Transfer, not to exceed $1,450,000,000.
(b) Exchange Procedures. As soon as reasonably practicable after the Effective Time
and in any event not later than the fifth business day following the Effective Time, Parent shall
cause the Exchange Agent to mail to each holder of Shares, which at the Effective Time were
converted into the right to receive the Merger Consideration pursuant to Section 2.1, (i) a letter
of transmittal (which shall specify that delivery shall be effected, and that risk of loss and
title to the Shares shall pass, only upon delivery of the Shares to the Exchange Agent) and (ii)
instructions for use in effecting the surrender of the Shares in exchange for, as applicable, cash
Merger Consideration, certificates representing whole Common Units (or appropriate alternative
arrangements shall be made by Parent if uncertificated Common Units will be issued), cash in lieu
of any fractional Common Units pursuant to Section 2.1(d) and any distributions payable pursuant to
Section 2.3(c). Upon surrender of Shares for cancellation to the Exchange Agent, together with such
letter of transmittal, duly completed and validly executed in accordance with the instructions
thereto, and such other documents as may reasonably be required by the Exchange Agent, the holder
of such Shares shall be entitled to receive in exchange therefor, as applicable, that number of
whole Common Units (after taking into account all Shares surrendered by such holder) to which such
holder is entitled pursuant to Section 2.1 and payment by cash or check of that amount of cash
Merger Consideration to which such holder is entitled pursuant to Section 2.1, that amount of cash
in lieu of fractional Common Units which such holder is entitled to receive pursuant to Section
2.1(d) and any distributions payable pursuant to Section 2.3(c), and the Shares so surrendered
shall forthwith be cancelled. If any cash
8
payment is to be made to, or any Common Units constituting any part of the Merger Consideration is to be
registered in the name of, a person other than the person in whose name the applicable surrendered
Share is registered, it shall be a condition to the payment or registration thereof that the
surrendered Share be in proper form for transfer and that the person requesting such payment or
delivery of the Merger Consideration pay any transfer or other similar Taxes required as a result
of such registration in the name of a person other than the registered holder of such Share or
establish to the satisfaction of the Exchange Agent that such Tax has been paid or is not payable.
Until surrendered as contemplated by this Section 2.2(b), each Share shall be deemed at any time
after the Effective Time to represent only the right to receive the Merger Consideration (and any
amounts to be paid pursuant to Section 2.1(d) or Section 2.3(c)) upon such surrender. No interest
shall be paid or shall accrue on any amount payable pursuant to Section 2.1(d) or Section 2.3(c).
(c) Distributions with Respect to Unexchanged Shares. No distributions with respect
to Common Units with a record date after the Effective Time shall be paid to the holder of any
unsurrendered Share with respect to the Common Units represented thereby, and no cash payment in
lieu of fractional Common Units shall be paid to any such holder pursuant to Section 2.1(d), until
such Share has been surrendered in accordance with this Article II. Subject to applicable Laws,
following surrender of any such Share, there shall be paid to the recordholder thereof, without
interest, (i) promptly after such surrender, the number of whole Common Units issuable in exchange
therefor pursuant to this Article II, together with any cash payable in lieu of a fractional Common
Unit to which such holder is entitled pursuant to Section 2.1(d) and the amount of distributions
with a record date after the Effective Time theretofore paid with respect to such whole Common
Units and (ii) at the appropriate payment date, the amount of distributions with a record date
after the Effective Time and a payment date subsequent to such surrender payable with respect to
such whole Common Units. The Exchange Agent shall be entitled to deduct and withhold from the
consideration otherwise payable under this Agreement to any holder of Shares, such amounts as are
required to be withheld or deducted under the Code or any provision of U.S. state or local Tax Law
with respect to the making of such payment. To the extent that amounts are so withheld or deducted
and paid over to the applicable Governmental Entity, such withheld or deducted amounts shall be
treated for all purposes of this Agreement as having been paid to the holder of the Shares, in
respect of which such deduction and withholding were made.
(d) No Further Ownership Rights in Company Common Stock; Closing of Transfer Books.
All Common Units issued upon the surrender for exchange of Shares in accordance with the terms of
this Article II and any cash paid pursuant to Section 2.1(d) or Section 2.3(c) shall be deemed to
have been issued (or paid) in full satisfaction of all rights pertaining to the Shares previously
represented by such Shares. After the Effective Time, the stock transfer books of the Company
shall be closed, and there shall be no further registration of transfers on the stock transfer
books of the Surviving Corporation of the Shares that were outstanding immediately prior to the
Effective Time. If, after the Effective Time, Shares are presented to the Surviving Corporation or
the Exchange Agent for any reason, they shall be cancelled and exchanged as provided in this
Article II.
(e) Termination of Exchange Fund. Any portion of the Exchange Fund (including the
proceeds of any investments thereof) that remains undistributed to the former holders of
9
Shares for one year after the Effective Time shall be delivered to Parent upon demand, and any
holders of Shares who have not theretofore complied with this Article II shall thereafter look only
to Parent for payment of their claim for the Merger Consideration, any cash in lieu of fractional
Common Units pursuant to Section 2.1(d) and any distributions pursuant to Section 2.3(c).
(f) No Liability. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, none of
the Company, Parent, Merger Sub, the Surviving Corporation, the Exchange Agent or any other person
shall be liable to any former holder of Shares for any amount properly delivered to a public
official pursuant to any applicable abandoned property, escheat or similar Law.
ARTICLE III.
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY
Except as disclosed in the Company SEC Documents (excluding any disclosures set forth in any
“risk factor” section and in any section relating to forward-looking statements, to the extent that
they are cautionary, predictive or forward-looking in nature), where the relevance of the
information as an exception to (or disclosure for purposes of) a particular representation is
reasonably apparent on the face of such disclosure, or in the disclosure schedule delivered by the
Company to Parent immediately prior to the execution of this Agreement (the “Company Disclosure
Schedule”) (each section of which qualifies the correspondingly numbered representation,
warranty or covenant if specified therein and such other representations, warranties or covenants
where its relevance as an exception to (or disclosure for purposes of) such other representation,
warranty or covenant is reasonably apparent), the Company represents and warrants to Parent and
Merger Sub as follows:
Section 3.1. Qualification, Organization, Subsidiaries, etc.
(a) Each of the Company and its Subsidiaries is a legal entity duly organized, validly
existing and in good standing under the Laws of its respective jurisdiction of organization and has
all requisite corporate or similar power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and
assets, to carry on its business as presently conducted and to perform its material obligations
under all Company Material Contracts. Each of the Company and its Subsidiaries is qualified to do
business and is in good standing as a foreign corporation in each jurisdiction where the ownership,
leasing or operation of its assets or properties or conduct of its business requires such
qualification, except where the failure to be so organized, validly existing, qualified or in good
standing, or to have such power or authority, would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a
Company Material Adverse Effect.
(b) As used in this Agreement, a “Company Material Adverse Effect” means a material
adverse event, change, effect, development, condition or occurrence on or with respect to the
business, financial condition or continuing results of operations of the Company and its
Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, other than any event, change, effect, development, condition or
occurrence: (i) disclosed in the Company SEC Documents filed or furnished prior to the date of
this Agreement (excluding any disclosure set forth in any risk factor section, or in any Section
relating to forward looking statements, and any other disclosures therein, in each case, to the
10
extent that they are cautionary and predictive or forward looking in nature) or as disclosed on the
face of the Company Disclosure Schedule, (ii) in or generally affecting the economy or the
financial or securities markets in the United States or elsewhere in the world or (iii) resulting
from or arising out of (A) any changes or developments in national, regional, state or local
wholesale or retail markets for natural gas, natural gas transmission or distribution, or related
products or services including those due to actions by competitors or due to changes in commodities
prices or hedging markets therefor, (B) any changes or developments in national, regional, state or
local wholesale or retail natural gas prices, (C) the announcement or the existence of, or
compliance with, this Agreement or the Original Merger Agreement or the transactions contemplated
hereby or thereby (including the impact thereof on the relationships, contractual or otherwise, of
the Company or any of its Subsidiaries with employees, labor unions, customers, suppliers or
partners, and including any lawsuit, action or other proceeding with respect to the Merger or any
of the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the Original Merger Agreement), (D) any
taking of any action at the written request of Parent or Merger Sub, (E) any adoption,
implementation, promulgation, repeal, modification, reinterpretation or proposal of any rule,
regulation, ordinance, order, protocol or any other Law of or by any national, regional, state or
local Governmental Entity, or market administrator, (F) any changes in GAAP or accounting standards
or interpretations thereof, (G) any weather-related or other force majeure event or outbreak or
escalation of hostilities or acts of war or terrorism, or (H) any changes in the share price or
trading volume of the Shares or in the Company’s credit rating, or the failure of the Company to
meet projections or forecasts (unless due to any event, change, effect, development, condition or
occurrence which has otherwise resulted in a Company Material Adverse Effect); except, in
each case with respect to subclauses (A) — (B) and (E) — (G) of this clause (iii), to the extent
materially and disproportionately affecting the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole,
relative to other similarly situated companies in the industries in which the Company and its
Subsidiaries operate.
(c) The Company SEC Documents include a true and complete copy of the Company’s amended and
restated certificate of incorporation and by-laws, each as amended through the date hereof
(collectively, the “Company Organizational Documents”), and promptly upon request, the
Company will make available to Parent the certificate of incorporation, certificate of limited
partnership, certificate of formation, bylaws, limited partnership agreement, limited liability
company agreement or comparable constituent or organizational documents of each material Subsidiary
of the Company.
Section 3.2. Capital Stock.
(a) The authorized capital stock of the Company consists of 200,000,000 shares of Company
Common Stock, par value, $1.00 per share and 6,000,000 shares of preferred stock, no par value per
share (“Company Preferred Stock”). As of July 18, 2011, (i) 125,979,243 shares of Company
Common Stock were issued and 124,739,364 shares were outstanding, which does not include restricted
stock awards outstanding as of such date, (ii) 1,239,879 shares of Company Common Stock were held
in treasury, (iii) 341,213 restricted shares were issuable and, based on a price of $43.33 per
share of Company Common Stock, 4,470,127 shares of Company Common
Stock were issuable, in each case pursuant to the Company Stock Plans in respect of Company
Equity Awards, and (iv) no shares of Company Preferred Stock were issued or outstanding. All
outstanding shares of Company Common Stock are duly authorized, validly issued, fully-paid
11
and nonassessable and free of preemptive rights and all shares of Company Common
Stock reserved for issuance as noted in clause (iii), when issued in accordance with the respective
terms thereof, will be duly authorized, validly issued, fully-paid and nonassessable and free of
preemptive rights.
(b) Except as set forth in Section 3.2(b) of the Company Disclosure Schedule and in subsection
(a) above (and other than Shares issuable pursuant to the terms of outstanding awards under the
Company Stock Plans), there are no outstanding subscriptions, options, warrants, calls, convertible
securities, exchangeable securities or other similar rights, agreements or commitments to which the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party (i) obligating the Company or any of its Subsidiaries
to (A) issue, transfer, exchange, sell or register for sale any shares of capital stock or other
equity interests of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company or securities convertible into or
exchangeable for such shares or equity interests, (B) grant, extend or enter into any such
subscription, option, warrant, call, convertible securities or other similar right, agreement or
arrangement, (C) redeem or otherwise acquire any such shares of capital stock or other equity
interests or (D) provide a material amount of funds to, or make any material investment (in the
form of a loan, capital contribution or otherwise) in, any Subsidiary or (ii) granting any
preemptive or antidilutive or similar rights with respect to any security issued by the Company or
any of its Subsidiaries.
(c) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has outstanding bonds, debentures, notes
or other indebtedness, the holders of which have the right to vote (or which are convertible or
exchangeable into or exercisable for securities having the right to vote) with the stockholders of
the Company on any matter.
(d) There are no voting trusts or other agreements or understandings to which the Company or
any of its Subsidiaries is a party with respect to the voting or registration of the capital stock
or other equity interest of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.
(e) The Company SEC Documents contain an accurate and complete copy of the Company Stock Plans
and the forms of Company Stock Awards and Company RSUs (collectively, “Company Equity
Awards”). There have been no repricings of any Company Stock Awards through amendments,
cancellation and reissuance or other means since January 1, 2009. None of the Company Equity
Awards have been granted in contemplation of the Merger or the transactions contemplated in this
Agreement and, except as set forth on Section 3.2(e) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, no Company
Equity Awards have been granted since December 31, 2010. None of the Company Stock Awards was
granted with an exercise price below or deemed to be below the per Share closing price on the New
York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) on the date of grant. All grants of Company Equity Awards
were validly made and properly approved by the Board of Directors of the Company (or a duly
authorized committee or subcommittee thereof) in compliance with all applicable Laws and the terms
of the applicable Company Stock Plan and recorded on the consolidated financial statements of the
Company in accordance with GAAP, and, where applicable, no such grants involved any “back dating,”
“forward dating” or similar practices with respect to grants of Company Stock Awards. Section
3.2(e) of the Company Disclosure Schedule sets forth a complete list of all Company Equity Awards
outstanding as of the date hereof and with respect to each Company Equity Award, the
12
holder
thereof, the number of shares of Company Common Stock subject thereto and the exercise price
thereof, if applicable.
(f) Except as set forth in Section 3.2(f) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, the Company or a
Company Subsidiary owns, directly or indirectly, all of the issued and outstanding shares of
capital stock or other equity interests of each Subsidiary of the Company, free and clear of any
Liens other than Company Permitted Liens, and all of such shares of capital stock or other equity
interests are duly authorized, validly issued, fully-paid and nonassessable (except as such
nonassessability may be affected by matters described in Sections 17-303, 17-607 and 17-804 of the
Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act (the “Delaware LP Act”) or Sections 18-607
and 18-804 of the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act, as amended (the “Delaware LLC
Act”)) and free of preemptive rights. Except as set forth on Section 3.2(f) of the Company
Disclosure Schedule and for equity interests in the Company’s Subsidiaries, neither the Company nor
any of its Subsidiaries owns, directly or indirectly, any equity interest in any person (or any
security or other right, agreement or commitment convertible or exercisable into, or exchangeable
for, any equity interest in any person), or has any obligation to acquire any such equity interest,
security, right, agreement or commitment or to provide funds to or make any investment (in the form
of a loan, capital contribution or otherwise) in, any person.
(g) As used in this Agreement, “Company Permitted Lien” means any Lien (i) for Taxes
or governmental assessments, charges or claims of payment not yet delinquent, being contested in
good faith or for which adequate accruals or reserves have been established, (ii) that is a
carriers’, warehousemen’s, mechanics’, materialmen’s, repairmen’s or other similar lien arising in
the ordinary course of business, (iii) arising under conditional sales contracts and equipment
leases with third parties entered into in the ordinary course of business, (iv) not created by the
Company or its Subsidiaries that affect the underlying fee interest of a Company Leased Real
Property, (v) that is disclosed on the most recent consolidated balance sheet of the Company
included in the Company SEC Documents or notes thereto or securing liabilities reflected on such
balance sheet, (vi) created pursuant to the agreements set forth on Section 3.2(g) of the Company
Disclosure Schedule, (vii) grants to others of Rights-of-Way, surface leases, crossing rights and
amendments, modifications, and releases of Rights-of-Way, easements and surface leases in the
ordinary course of business, (viii) with respect to Rights-of-Way, restrictions on the exercise of
any of the rights under a granting instrument that are set forth therein or in another executed
agreement, that is of public record or to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries otherwise
has access, between the parties thereto, (ix) which an accurate up-to-date survey would show, (x)
resulting from any facts or circumstances relating to Parent or its Affiliates, or (xi) that does
not and would not reasonably be expected to materially impair the continued use of a Company Owned
Real Property or a Company Leased Real Property as currently operated.
(h) As used in this Agreement, “Rights-of-Way” means easements, licenses,
rights-of-way, permits, servitudes, leasehold estates, instruments creating an interest in real
property, and other similar real estate interests.
Section 3.3. Corporate Authority Relative to this Agreement; No Violation.
13
(a) The Company has the requisite corporate power and authority to enter into this Agreement
and, subject to receipt of the Company Stockholder Approval, to consummate the transactions
contemplated hereby. The execution and delivery of this Agreement and the consummation of the
transactions contemplated hereby have been duly and validly authorized by the Board of Directors of
the Company and, except for the Company Stockholder Approval (assuming Parent is not an “interested
stockholder” under Section 203 of the DGCL), no other corporate proceedings on the part of the
Company are necessary to authorize the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby. As of
the Second Amendment Date, the Board of Directors of the Company has unanimously (among the
directors present and voting) resolved to recommend that the Company’s stockholders approve this
Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby (the “Company Recommendation”). This
Agreement has been duly and validly executed and delivered by the Company and, assuming this
Agreement constitutes the legal, valid and binding agreement of Parent and Merger Sub, constitutes
the legal, valid and binding agreement of the Company and is enforceable against the Company in
accordance with its terms, except as such enforcement may be limited by (i) the effect of
bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, receivership, conservatorship, arrangement, moratorium or
other Laws affecting or relating to creditors’ rights generally or (ii) the rules governing the
availability of specific performance, injunctive relief or other equitable remedies and general
principles of equity, regardless of whether considered in a proceeding in equity or at law (the
“Remedies Exceptions”).
(b) Other than in connection with or in compliance with (i) Section 251 of the DGCL, (ii) the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), (iii) the Securities Act of 1933 (the
“Securities Act”), (iv) the rules and regulations of the NYSE, (v) the Xxxx-Xxxxx-Xxxxxx
Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (the “HSR Act”), (vi) the Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C.
§§ 791a-825r and/or the regulations promulgated by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (the
“FERC”) thereunder (the “FPA”), and the approval of the FERC thereunder (the
“FERC Approval”), (vii) the approval of the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities
(the “MDPU Approval”), (viii) the approval of Missouri Public Service Commission (the
“MPSC Approval”), (ix) the approval of the Federal Communications Commission (the
“FCC”) for the transfer of control (or assignment, as applicable) of the Company’s business
radio and other Title III wireless licenses, pursuant to Section 310 of the Communications Act of
1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. § 310(d) (the “FCC Approval”); and (x) the approvals set forth
in Section 3.3(b) of the Company Disclosure Schedule (collectively, the “Company
Approvals”), and, subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of Parent and
Merger Sub in Section 4.3(b), no authorization, consent, order, license, permit or approval of, or
registration, declaration, notice or filing with, any United States, state of the United States or
foreign governmental or regulatory agency, commission, court, body, entity or authority,
independent system operator, regional transmission organization, other market administrator, or
national, regional or state reliability organization (each, a “Governmental Entity”) is
necessary, under applicable Law, for the consummation by the Company of the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement, except for such authorizations, consents, approvals or filings that
are not required to be obtained or made prior to consummation of such transactions.
(c) Except as set forth in Section 3.3(c) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, the execution
and delivery by the Company of this Agreement do not, and (assuming the Company Approvals are
obtained and the Requisite Regulatory Approvals are obtained without any
14
adverse condition or
restraint) the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and compliance with the
provisions hereof will not (i) result in any loss, or material suspension, limitation or impairment
of any right of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to own or use any assets material to the
conduct of their business or result in any material violation
of, or material default (with or
without notice or lapse of time, or both) under, or give rise to a right of termination,
cancellation or acceleration of any material obligation or to the loss of a material benefit under
any loan, guarantee of indebtedness or credit agreement, note, bond, mortgage, indenture, lease,
agreement, contract, instrument, permit, concession, franchise, right or license binding upon the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries or result in the creation of any liens, claims, mortgages,
encumbrances, pledges, security interests, equities or charges of any kind (each, a “Lien”)
other than Permitted Liens, in each case, upon any of the properties or assets of the Company or
any of its Subsidiaries, (ii) conflict with or result in any violation of any provision of the
certificate of incorporation or by-laws or other equivalent organizational document, in each case
as amended or restated, of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or (iii) materially conflict with
or materially violate any applicable Laws.
(d) This Agreement and the Merger have been approved by the Continuing Directors of
CrossCountry Energy, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“CrossCountry”). For the
purposes of this subsection (d), the term “Continuing Director” shall have the meaning ascribed
thereto in that certain Capital Stock Agreement, dated June 30, 1986, among El Paso Energy
Corporation (as successor interest to Sonat, Inc. by virtue of a merger), CrossCountry (as
successor in interest to Enron Corp., which in turn was the successor in interest to InterNorth,
Inc. by virtue of a name change, which in turn was the successor in interest to Houston Natural Gas
corporation by virtue of a merger) and Citrus Corp. relating to the ownership by El Paso and
CrossCountry of the Capital Stock of Citrus Corp. and its wholly owned subsidiaries, as amended.
CrossCountry is currently a “Principal” to such Capital Stock Agreement.
Section 3.4. Reports and Financial Statements.
(a) The Company and each of its Subsidiaries has filed or furnished all forms, documents and
reports required to be filed or furnished prior to the date hereof by it with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) since January 1, 2009 (the “Company SEC
Documents”). As of their respective dates or, if amended, as of the date of the last such
amendment, the Company SEC Documents complied in all material respects with the requirements of the
Securities Act and the Exchange Act, as the case may be, and the applicable rules and regulations
promulgated thereunder, and none of the Company SEC Documents contained any untrue statement of a
material fact or omitted to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to
make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not
misleading, except that information set forth in the Company SEC Documents as of a later date (but
before the date of this Agreement) will be deemed to modify information as of an earlier date.
(b) The consolidated financial statements (including all related notes and schedules) of the
Company included in the Company SEC Documents fairly present in all material respects the
consolidated financial position of the Company and its consolidated Subsidiaries, as at the
respective dates thereof, and the consolidated results of their operations and their consolidated
cash flows for the respective periods then ended (subject, in the case of the unaudited statements,
15
to normal year-end audit adjustments and to any other adjustments described therein, including the
notes thereto) in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles
(“GAAP”) (except, in the case of the unaudited statements, as permitted by the SEC) applied
on a consistent basis during the periods involved (except as may be indicated therein or in the
notes thereto).
Section 3.5. Internal Controls and Procedures. The Company has established and
maintains disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting (as such
terms are defined in paragraphs (e) and (f), respectively, of Rule 13a-15 under the Exchange Act)
as required by Rule 13a-15 under the Exchange Act. The Company’s disclosure controls and
procedures are reasonably designed to ensure that all material information required to be disclosed
by the Company in the reports that it files or furnishes under the Exchange Act is recorded,
processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the rules and forms of the
SEC, and that all such material information is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s
management as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure and to make the
certifications required pursuant to Sections 302 and 906 of the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act of 2002 (the
“Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act”). The Company’s management has completed an assessment of the effectiveness of
the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting in compliance with the requirements of
Section 404 of the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act for the year ended December 31, 2010 and such assessment
concluded that such controls were effective. Based on its most recent evaluation of internal
controls over financial reporting prior to the date hereof, management of the Company has disclosed
to the Company’s auditors and the audit committee of the Company Board (i) any significant
deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial
reporting that are reasonably likely to adversely affect in any material respect the Company’s
ability to report financial information and (ii) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves
management or other employees who have a significant role in the Company’s internal control over
financial reporting, and each such deficiency, weakness and fraud so disclosed to auditors, if any,
has been disclosed to Parent prior to the date hereof.
Section 3.6. No Undisclosed Liabilities. Except (a) as reflected or reserved against
in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets (or the notes thereto) included in the Company SEC
Documents, (b) as permitted or contemplated by this Agreement, (c) for liabilities and obligations
incurred since December 31, 2010 in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice
and (d) for liabilities or obligations that have been discharged or paid in full in the ordinary
course of business, as of the date hereof, neither the Company nor any Subsidiary of the Company
has any liabilities or obligations of any nature, whether or not accrued, contingent or otherwise,
that would be required by GAAP to be reflected on a consolidated balance sheet of the Company and
its consolidated Subsidiaries (or in the notes thereto), other than those which would not have,
individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect.
Section 3.7. Compliance with Law; Permits.
(a) Except as set forth in Section 3.7 of the Company Disclosure Schedule, the Company and
each of its Subsidiaries are in compliance with and are not in default under or in violation of any
applicable federal, state, local or foreign law, statute, ordinance, rule, regulation, judgment,
order, injunction, decree or agency requirement of any Governmental Entity
16
(collectively,
“Laws” and each, a “Law”), except where such non-compliance, default or violation
would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect. Since January
1, 2008, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has received any written notice or, to the
Company’s knowledge, other communication from any Governmental Entity regarding any actual or
possible violation of, or failure to comply with, any Law, except as would not have, individually
or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect.
(b) The Company and its Subsidiaries are in possession of all franchises, grants,
authorizations, licenses, permits, easements, variances, exceptions, consents, certificates,
approvals, clearances, permissions, qualifications and registrations and orders of all Governmental
Entities, and all rights under any Company Material Contract with all Governmental Entities, and
have filed all tariffs, reports, notices, and other documents with all Government Entities
necessary for the Company and its Subsidiaries to own, lease and operate their properties and
assets and to carry on their businesses as they are now being conducted (the “Company
Permits”), except where the failure to have any of the Company Permits would not have,
individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect. All Company Permits are valid
and in full force and effect and are not subject to any administrative or judicial proceeding that
could result in modification, termination or revocation thereof, except where the failure to be in
full force and effect or any modification, termination or revocation thereof would not have,
individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect. The Company is, and each of
its Subsidiaries is, in compliance in all respects with the terms and requirements of such Company
Permits, except where the failure to be in compliance would not have, individually or in the
aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect.
Section 3.8. Environmental Laws and Regulations.
(a) Except as set forth in Section 3.8 of the Company Disclosure Schedule or as would not
have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect: (i) no notice,
notification, demand, request for information, citation, summons, complaint or order has been
received, no penalty has been assessed, and no investigation, action, claim, suit, proceeding or
review is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, is threatened by any Governmental Entity or
other person relating to the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company or against any person or
entity whose liability the Company or any of its Subsidiaries has or may have retained or assumed
either contractually or by operation of law, and relating to or arising out of any Environmental
Law, (ii) the Company and its Subsidiaries are, and except for matters that have been fully
resolved with the applicable Governmental Entity, since January 1, 2008 have been in compliance
with all Environmental Laws (which compliance includes, but is not limited to, possession of all
Company Permits and compliance with the terms and conditions thereof), (iii) the Company is not
obligated to conduct or pay for, and is not conducting or paying for, any response, remedial,
investigatory or corrective action under any Environmental Law at any location, (iv) there has been
no release of Hazardous Materials at any real property currently owned, leased or operated by the
Company or any Subsidiary of the Company or, to the knowledge of the Company, formerly owned,
leased or operated by the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company or at any offsite disposal
location used by the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company to dispose of any Hazardous Materials
in concentrations or under circumstances that would require reporting or be reasonably likely to
result in investigation, remediation or other corrective or response action by the Company or any
Subsidiary of the
17
Company or, to the knowledge of Company and its Subsidiaries, by any person or
entity whose liability the Company or any of its Subsidiaries has or may have retained or assumed
either contractually or by operation of law, under any Environmental Law, (v) the Company is not
party to any order, judgment or decree that imposes any obligations under any Environmental Law,
(vi) there have been no ruptures or explosions in the Company Systems resulting in personal injury,
loss of life or material property damage, except to the extent any claims related to such ruptures
have been resolved and (vii) there are no defects, corrosion or other damage to any of the Company
Systems that could reasonably be expected to result in a pipeline integrity failure.
(b) As used in this Agreement:
(i) | “Company Systems” means the refined petroleum product, crude oil, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, natural gas liquid and other pipelines, lateral lines, pumps, pump stations, storage facilities, terminals, processing plants, and other related operations, assets, machinery and equipment that are owned by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or used for the conduct of the business of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries as it is presently conducted. | ||
(ii) | “Environment” means the indoor and outdoor environment, including but not limited to any ambient air, surface water, drinking water, groundwater, land surface (whether below or above water), subsurface strata, sediment, building surfaces, plant or animal life and natural resources. | ||
(iii) | “Environmental Law” means any Law or any binding agreement issued or entered by or with any Governmental Entity relating to: (A) the Environment, including pollution, contamination, cleanup, preservation, protection and reclamation of the Environment; (B) any exposure to or release or threatened release of any Hazardous Materials, including investigation, assessment, testing, monitoring, containment, removal, remediation and cleanup of any such release or threatened release; (C) the management of any Hazardous Materials, including the use, labeling, processing, disposal, storage, treatment, transport or recycling of any Hazardous Materials and Laws with regard to recordkeeping, notification, disclosure and reporting requirements respecting Hazardous Materials; or (D) the presence of Hazardous Materials in any building, physical structure, product or fixture. | ||
(iv) | “Hazardous Materials” means all substances defined as Hazardous Substances, Oils, Pollutants or Contaminants in the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan, 40 C.F.R. § 300.5, or defined as such by, or regulated as such under, any Environmental Law, including any regulated pollutant or contaminant (including any constituent, raw material, product or by-product thereof), petroleum or natural gas hydrocarbons or any liquid or fraction thereof, asbestos or asbestos-containing material, polychlorinated biphenyls, lead paint, any |
18
hazardous, industrial or solid waste, and any toxic, radioactive, infectious or hazardous substance, material or agent. |
Section 3.9. Employee Benefit Plans.
(a) Section 3.9(a) of the Company Disclosure Schedule lists all material Benefit Plans
sponsored, maintained, contributed to or required to be contributed to by the Company, any of its
Subsidiaries, or any of their ERISA Affiliates, or under which the Company, any of its Subsidiaries
or any of their ERISA Affiliates may have any liability (contingent or otherwise) (the “Company
Benefit Plans”). Copies of the Company Benefit Plans and any amendments thereto have been made
available to Parent together with any applicable trust documents, the most recent summary plan
description (and summaries of material modifications, if applicable), non-discrimination testing
results, actuarial valuations, annual report (Form 5500 including, if applicable, Schedule B
thereto) and tax return (Form 990) prepared in connection with any such plan or related trust.
Except as set forth in Section 3.9(a) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, neither the Company nor,
to the knowledge of the Company, any other person or entity has any express or implied commitment,
whether legally enforceable or not, to adopt, terminate or materially modify any Company Benefit
Plan, other than with respect to a modification or termination required by ERISA or the Code. For
purposes of this Agreement, “ERISA Affiliate” of any entity means any other person, entity,
trade or business (whether or not incorporated) that, together with such entity, would be treated
as a single employer under Section 414(b), (c), (m) or (o) of the Code.
(b) Except for such non-compliance which would not, individually or in the aggregate,
materially and adversely affect the ability of the Company and its Subsidiaries to operate their
business in the ordinary course consistent with past practices, (i) each Company Benefit Plan has
been maintained and administered in compliance with its terms and with applicable Law, including
ERISA and the Code to the extent applicable thereto, and (ii) all contributions required to be made
under the terms of any Company Benefit Plan have been timely made or, if not yet due, have been
properly reflected in the Company’s financial statements in accordance with GAAP. Except as set
forth in Section 3.9(b) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, any Company Benefit Plan intended to be
qualified under Section 401(a) or 401(k) of the Code has received a favorable determination letter
or equivalent opinion letter from the Internal Revenue Service, and the Company has made available
to Parent a copy of the most recent such letter for each such Company Benefit Plan.
(c) Except as set forth in Section 3.9(c) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, neither the
Company nor its Subsidiaries maintains, contributes to or is required to contribute to, or has in
the past six years maintained, contributed to or been required to contribute to any plan or
arrangement which provides retiree medical or welfare benefits, except pursuant to the continuation
coverage requirements of Section 601 et. Seq. of ERISA or Section 4980B of the Code.
(d) Except as set forth in Section 3.9(d) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, neither the
Company, its Subsidiaries nor any of their ERISA Affiliates maintains, contributes to or is
required to contribute to, or has in the past six years maintained, contributed to or been required
to contribute to any Benefit Plan that is subject to Title IV or Section 302 of ERISA or Section
19
412 or 4971 of the Code. None of the Company Benefit Plans is a “multiple employer welfare
arrangement” (as defined in Section 3(40) of ERISA), a “multiple employer plan” (as defined in
Section 413(c) of the Code) or a “multiemployer plan” (as defined in Section 3(37) of ERISA), and
neither the Company, its Subsidiaries nor any other their ERISA Affiliates has during the past six
years maintained or contributed to, or been required to contribute to, or otherwise had any
obligation or liability in connection with, such a multiple employer plan or multiemployer plan.
(e) Except as set forth in Section 3.9(e) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, the consummation
of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement will not, either alone or in combination with
another event, (i) entitle any current or former employee, consultant, officer or other service
provider of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to severance pay, unemployment compensation or
any other payment, (ii) accelerate the time of payment or vesting, or increase the amount of
compensation due any such employee, consultant, officer or other service provider or (iii) trigger
any payment or funding (through a grantor trust or otherwise) of compensation or benefits, or (iv)
increase the amount payable or trigger any other material obligation, benefit (including loan
forgiveness), requirement or restriction pursuant to any Company Benefit Plan or otherwise.
Without limiting the foregoing, Section 3.9(e) of the Company Disclosure Schedule sets forth a list
of employment or consulting agreements with the Company containing “change in control” or similar
provisions that will be triggered by the consummation of the Merger or the entry into this
Agreement by the Company.
(f) Except as occasioned by differences between the Original Merger Agreement and this
Agreement, and except as set forth on Section 3.9(f) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, no amount
or benefit that could be, or has been, received (whether in cash or property or the vesting of
property or the cancellation of indebtedness) by any current or former employee or other service
provider of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company who is a “disqualified individual” within
the meaning of Section 280G of the Code could be characterized as an “excess parachute payment” (as
defined in Section 280G(b)(1) of the Code) as a result of the consummation of the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement.
(g) Except as set forth on Section 3.9(g) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, each Company
Benefit Plan and any award thereunder (i) has been operated in good faith compliance in all
material respects with Section 409A of the Code since January 1, 2005, and all applicable
regulations and notices issued thereunder, and (ii) since January 1, 2009, has been in all material
respects in documentary compliance with Section 409A of the Code. Each Company Stock Award was
granted with an exercise price not less than the fair market value of the underlying Company Common
Stock on the date of grant. Except as set forth on Section 3.9(g) of the Company Disclosure
Schedule, no director, officer, employee or service provider of the Company or its affiliates is
entitled to a gross-up, make-whole or indemnification payment with respect to taxes imposed under
Section 409A or Section 4999 of the Code.
(h) Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, materially and adversely affect the
ability of the Company and its Subsidiaries to operate their business in the ordinary course
consistent with past practices, there are no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened
claims by or on behalf of any Company Benefit Plan, by any employee or beneficiary
20
covered under
any Company Benefit Plan or otherwise involving any Company Benefit Plan (other than routine claims
for benefits).
(i) Except as set forth on Section 3.9(i) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, no Company
Benefit Plan provides benefits or compensation to any employees or other service providers who
reside or provide services primarily outside of the United States.
Section 3.10. Absence of Certain Changes or Events. Since December 31, 2010:
(a) except as otherwise contemplated by this Agreement, the businesses of the Company and its
Subsidiaries have been conducted, in all material respects, in the ordinary course of business
consistent with past practices; and
(b) there has not been any event, change, effect, development, condition or occurrence that,
individually or in the aggregate, has had or would reasonably be expected to have, a Company
Material Adverse Effect.
Section 3.11. Investigations; Litigation. Except as set forth in Section 3.11 of the
Company Disclosure Schedule or as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Company
Material Adverse Effect, (a) there is no investigation or review pending (or, to the knowledge of
the Company, threatened) by any Governmental Entity with respect to the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries, (b) there are no actions, suits, inquiries, investigations, proceedings, subpoenas,
civil investigative demands or other requests for information relating to potential violations of
law pending (or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened) against or affecting the Company or
any of its Subsidiaries, or any of their respective properties at law or in equity and (c) there
are no orders, judgments or decrees of, or before, any Governmental Entity.
Section 3.12. Information Supplied. None of the information provided by the Company
for inclusion or incorporation by reference in (a) the registration statement on Form S-4 to be
filed with the SEC by Parent in connection with the issuance of Common Units in the Merger
(including any amendments or supplements, the “Form S-4”) will, at the time the Form S-4
becomes effective under the Securities Act, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit
to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements
therein not misleading or (b) the proxy statement relating to the Stockholders’ Meeting (the
“Proxy Statement”) will not, at the date it is first mailed to the Company’s stockholders
and at the time of the Stockholders’ Meeting, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or
omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the
statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The
Proxy Statement and the Form S-4 (solely with respect to the portion thereof relating to the
Stockholders’ Meeting, and then, excluding any portion thereof based on information supplied by
Parent or Merger Sub for inclusion or incorporation by reference therein, with respect to which no
representation is made by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries) will comply as to form in all
material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act and the rules
and regulations promulgated thereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section
3.12, no representation or warranty is made by the Company with respect to information or
statements made or incorporated by reference in the Form S-4 or the Proxy Statement that were not
supplied by or on behalf of the Company.
21
Section 3.13. Regulatory Matters.
(a) Except as set forth in Section 3.13(a) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, none of the
Company and its Subsidiaries is a natural gas company under the Natural Gas Act, 15 U.S.C. §§
717-717W, and the regulations promulgated by FERC thereunder (“NGA”), a public utility,
transmitting utility, electric utility or electric utility company under the FPA, a common carrier
under the provisions of the Interstate Commerce Act implemented by the FERC pursuant to 49 USC §
60502 and the regulations promulgated by FERC thereunder (“ICA”), or a utility, utility
holding company, intrastate pipeline, gas service company, electric service company, gas company,
electric company, or any similar entity however described under the laws of any state or local
jurisdiction and the regulations promulgated thereunder. Except by reason of direct or indirect
ownership and/or control of Exempt Wholesale Generators, none of the Company or its Subsidiaries is
a holding company as defined in the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005, 42 U.S.C. §§
16451-16453, and the regulations promulgated by FERC thereunder (“PUHCA”).
(b) Each of the Company’s Subsidiaries that is identified on Section 3.13(a) of the Company
Disclosure Schedule as a public utility under the FPA engages in the sale of electricity
exclusively at wholesale and has been authorized by the FERC, pursuant to the FPA, to make such
sales at market-based rates, and has been granted such waivers and blanket authorizations
(including blanket authorization to issue securities and to assume liabilities under Section 204 of
the FPA and 18 C.F.R. Pt. 34) as are customarily granted to entities with market-based rate
authority. Each such Subsidiary has obtained an order from the FERC finding it, or has in good
faith self-certified itself to the FERC, to be an Exempt Wholesale Generator under PUHCA. There
are no pending, or to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, judicial or administrative
proceedings to revoke any such Subsidiary’s market-based rate authorization or Exempt Wholesale
Generator status, as applicable. To the knowledge of the Company, there are no facts that are
reasonably likely to cause any such Subsidiary to lose or be ineligible for its market-based rate
authorization or to lose its status as an Exempt Wholesale Generator under PUHCA.
(c) All filings (other than immaterial filings) required to be made by the Company or any of
its Subsidiaries during the three years preceding the date hereof, with the FERC under the FPA,
NGA, Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978, 15 U.S.C. §§ 3302-3432, and regulations promulgated by FERC
thereunder (“NGPA”), the ICA or PUHCA, the Department of Energy, the FCC, the MDPU, the
MPSC or any other applicable state public utility commission or department, as the case may be,
have been made, including all forms, statements, reports, notices, agreements and all documents,
exhibits, amendments and supplements appertaining thereto, including all rates, tariffs and related
documents, and all such filings complied, as of their respective dates, and, as amended or
supplemented, continue to comply with all applicable requirements of applicable statutes and the
rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, except for filings the failure of which to make or
the failure of which to make in compliance with all applicable requirements of applicable statutes
and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, would not, individually or in the aggregate,
materially and adversely affect the ability of the Company and its Subsidiaries to operate their
business in the ordinary course consistent with past practices.
22
Section 3.14. Tax Matters. Except as set forth in Section 3.14 of the Company
Disclosure Schedule or as would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material
Adverse Effect:
(a) The Company and its Subsidiaries (i) have duly and timely filed (taking into account any
extension of time within which to file) all Tax Returns required to have been filed by or with
respect to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, and all such Tax Returns are true, correct and
complete in all material respects, (ii) have duly and timely paid all Taxes shown as due on such
Tax Returns, (iii) have adequate accruals and reserves, in accordance with GAAP, on the financial
statements included in the Company SEC Documents for all Taxes payable by the Company and its
Subsidiaries for all taxable periods and portions thereof through the date of such financial
statements, (iv) have not, since the date of the financial statements included in the most recent
Company SEC Documents, incurred any liability for Taxes outside the ordinary course of business or
otherwise inconsistent with past custom and practice and (v) have not received written notice of
any deficiencies for any Tax from any taxing authority against the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries for which there are not adequate reserves on the financial statements included in the
Company SEC Documents.
(b) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is the subject of any currently ongoing
tax audit or other proceeding with respect to Taxes nor has any Tax audit or other proceeding with
respect to Taxes been proposed against any of them in writing. As of the date of this Agreement,
there are no pending requests for waivers of the time to assess any Tax. Neither the Company nor
any of its Subsidiaries has waived any statute of limitations in respect of Taxes or agreed to any
extension of time with respect to a Tax assessment or deficiency. There are no Liens for Taxes on
any of the assets of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries other than any Lien for Taxes not yet
delinquent, being contested in good faith or for which adequate accruals or reserves have been
established and disclosed in the Company SEC Documents. No claim has ever been made in writing by
a taxing authority of a jurisdiction where the Company or one of its Subsidiaries has not filed Tax
Returns claiming that the Company or such Subsidiary is or may be subject to taxation by that
jurisdiction.
(c) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is obligated by any written contract,
agreement or other arrangement to indemnify any other person (other than the Company and its
Subsidiaries) with respect to Taxes. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to
or bound by any written Tax allocation, indemnification or sharing agreement (other than an
agreement with the Company or its Subsidiaries). To the knowledge of the Company, neither the
Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is liable under Treasury Regulation Section 1.1502-6 (or any
similar provision of the Tax Laws of any state, local or foreign jurisdiction) or as a transferee
or successor for any Tax of any person other than the Company and its Subsidiaries.
(d) The Company and its Subsidiaries have withheld and paid all Taxes required to have been
withheld and paid in connection with amounts paid or owing to any employee, independent contractor,
creditor, stockholder or other third party.
23
(e) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries was a “distributing corporation” or
“controlled corporation” in a transaction intended to qualify under Section 355 of the Code within
the past two years or otherwise as part of a plan that includes the Merger.
(f) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has participated in any “reportable
transaction” within the meaning of Treasury Regulation Section 1.6011-4.
(g) The Company has made available to Parent or its legal or accounting representative copies
of all federal and state income Tax Returns for the Company and each of its Subsidiaries filed for
all periods including and after the period ended December 31, 2005.
(h) As used in this Agreement, (i) “Taxes” means any and all domestic or foreign,
federal, state, local or other taxes of any kind (together with any and all interest, penalties,
additions to tax and additional amounts imposed with respect thereto) imposed by any Governmental
Entity, including taxes on or with respect to income, franchises, windfall or other profits, gross
receipts, occupation, property, transfer, sales, use, capital stock, severance, alternative
minimum, payroll, employment, unemployment, social security, workers’ compensation or net worth,
and taxes in the nature of excise, withholding, ad valorem or value added or other taxes, fees,
duties, levies, customs, tariffs, imposts, assessments, obligations and charges of the same or a
similar nature to any of the foregoing, and (ii) “Tax Return” means any return, report or
similar filing (including the attached schedules) with respect to Taxes, including any information
return, claim for refund, amended return or declaration of estimated Taxes.
Section 3.15. Employment and Labor Matters.
(a) Except as set forth in Section 3.15(a) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, (i) neither the
Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to or bound by any material collective bargaining or
similar agreement or work rules or practices with any labor union, labor organization or employee
association applicable to employees of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, (ii) there are no
existing or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened strikes or lockouts with respect to any
employees of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (“Company Employees”), (iii) to the
knowledge of the Company, there is no union organizing effort pending or threatened against the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries, (iv) there is no material unfair labor practice, labor dispute
(other than, in each case, routine individual grievances) or labor arbitration proceeding pending
or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened with respect to Company Employees and (v) there is
no slowdown or work stoppage in effect or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened with respect
to Company Employees.
(b) Except for such matters that would not, individually or in the aggregate, materially and
adversely affect the ability of the Company and its Subsidiaries to operate their business in the
ordinary course consistent with past practices, the Company and its Subsidiaries are, and have
been, in material compliance with all applicable Laws respecting (i) employment and employment
practices, (ii) terms and conditions of employment and wages and hours, and (iii) unfair labor
practices. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has any material liabilities under the
Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1998 as a result of any action taken by the
Company (other than at the written direction of Parent or as a result of any of the transactions
contemplated hereby).
24
Section 3.16. Intellectual Property. Except as would not have, individually or in the
aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect, either the Company or a Subsidiary of the Company
owns, or is licensed or otherwise possesses legally valid and enforceable rights to use, all
Intellectual Property necessary to the conduct of their respective businesses as currently
conducted, free and clear of Liens other than Company Permitted Liens. The execution and delivery
by the Company of this Agreement do not, and the consummation of the transactions contemplated
hereby will not result in the loss, suspension, limitation, termination or other impairment of, or
give rise to any right of any person to suspend, limit, terminate, consent to or otherwise impair
the continued right of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to own or use or otherwise exercise
any other rights that the Company or any of its Subsidiaries currently has with respect to, any
Intellectual Property material to the business of the Company and its Subsidiaries. There are no
actions, suits, proceedings, investigations or claims pending or, to the knowledge of the Company,
threatened that challenges the validity, enforceability, registration, ownership or use of any
Intellectual Property owned by the Company or one of its Subsidiaries and material to the conduct
of their business. Except as would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material
Adverse Effect, (a) there are no proceedings pending, and neither the Company nor any of its
Subsidiaries has received any written claims, in each case alleging infringement, misappropriation
or other violation by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of the Intellectual Property rights of
any person, (b) the conduct of the business of the Company and its Subsidiaries does not infringe,
misappropriate or otherwise violate any Intellectual Property rights of any person, (c) neither
the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has made any claim against any other person alleging a
violation, misappropriation or infringement of the Intellectual Property rights of the Company or
any of its Subsidiaries and (d) no person is infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating
any Intellectual Property rights of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries. As used in this
Agreement, “Intellectual Property” means all intellectual property and industrial property
rights of any kind or nature, including all U.S. and foreign: (i) trademarks, trade names, service
marks, service names, logos, assumed names, domain names and other similar designations of source
or origin, and any registrations or applications for the foregoing, together with the goodwill of
the business connection with the use of and symbolized by any of the foregoing; (ii) registered and
unregistered copyrights; (iii) patents, patent applications, patent disclosures, and all related
continuations, continuations-in-part, divisionals, reissues, reexaminations, substitutions, and
extensions thereof; and (iv) trade secrets, know-how and other confidential business information.
The computers, software, servers, workstations, routers, hubs, switches, circuits, networks, data
communications lines and all other information technology infrastructure and equipment
(collectively, the “IT Assets”) of the Company and its Subsidiaries (i) operate and perform
in all material respects in accordance with their documentation and functional specifications and
otherwise as required by the Company and its Subsidiaries and have not materially malfunctioned or
failed within the past three (3) years and (ii) are sufficient for the immediate and reasonably
foreseeable needs of the Company and its Subsidiaries. The Company and its Subsidiaries have
implemented commercially reasonable measures, consistent with industry standards, to protect the
confidentiality, integrity and security of the IT Assets (and all information and transactions
stored or contained therein or transmitted thereby). The Company and its Subsidiaries have
implemented commercially reasonable data backup, data storage, system redundancy and disaster
avoidance and recovery procedures, as well as a commercially reasonable business continuity plan,
in each case consistent with customary industry practices.
25
Section 3.17. Real Property. Except as set forth in Section 3.17 of the Company
Disclosure Schedule:
(a) With respect to each material real property owned by the Company or any Subsidiary other
than Company Real Property Leases and Rights-of-Way (such property collectively, the “Company
Owned Real Property”), except as would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company
Material Adverse Effect, (i) either the Company or a Subsidiary of the Company has marketable and
insurable fee simple title to such Company Owned Real Property, free and clear of all Liens other
than any Company Permitted Liens and conditions, encroachments, easements, rights-of-way,
restrictions and other encumbrances that do not adversely affect the existing use of the real
property subject thereto by the owner (or lessee to the extent a leased property) thereof in the
operation of its business (“Permitted Encumbrances”), (ii) there are no leases, subleases,
licenses, rights or other agreements affecting any portion of the Company Owned Real Property that
would reasonably be expected to adversely affect the existing use of the Company Owned Real
Property by the Company in the operation of its business thereon, and (iii) there are no
outstanding options or rights of first refusal in favor of any other party to purchase such Company
Owned Real Property or any portion thereof or interest therein that would reasonably be expected to
adversely affect the existing use of the Company Owned Real Property by the Company in the
operation of its business thereon. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has received
notice of any pending, and to the knowledge of the Company there is no threatened, condemnation
proceeding with respect to any Company Owned Real Property, except proceedings which would not
have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect.
(b) Except as would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse
Effect, (i) each material lease, sublease and other agreement, including mineral or storage rights
(collectively, the “Company Real Property Leases”) under which the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries uses or occupies or has the right to use or occupy any material real property (the
“Company Leased Real Property”) at which the material operations of the Company or any of
its Subsidiaries are conducted, is valid, binding and in full force and effect, (ii) neither the
Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is currently subleasing, licensing or otherwise granting any
person the right to use or occupy a material portion of a Company Leased Real Property that would
reasonably be expected to adversely affect the existing use of the Company Leased Real Property by
the Company in the operation of its business thereon, and (iii) no uncured default of a material
nature on the part of the Company or, if applicable, its Subsidiary or, to the knowledge of the
Company, the landlord thereunder, exists under any Company Real Property Lease, and no event has
occurred or circumstance exists which, with the giving of notice, the passage of time, or both,
would constitute a material breach or default under a Company Real Property Lease. Except as would
not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect, the Company and each
of its Subsidiaries has a good and valid leasehold interest, subject to the terms of the Company
Real Property Leases, in each parcel of Company Leased Real Property, free and clear of all Liens,
except for Company Permitted Liens and Permitted Encumbrances. Neither the Company nor any of its
Subsidiaries has received notice of any pending, and, to the knowledge of the Company, there is no
threatened, condemnation proceeding with respect to any Company Leased Real Property, except such
proceeding which would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse
Effect.
26
(c) Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Company Material Adverse
Effect: (i) each of the Company and its Subsidiaries has such Rights-of-Way that are necessary for
the Company and its Subsidiaries to use and operate their respective assets and properties in the
manner that such assets and properties are currently used and operated, and each such Right-of-Way
is valid and free and clear of all Liens (other than Company Permitted Liens); (ii) the Company and
its Subsidiaries conduct their businesses in a manner that does not violate any of the
Rights-of-Way; (iii) the Company and its Subsidiaries have fulfilled and performed all of their
obligations with respect to such Rights-of-Way; and (iv) the Company has not received written
notice of the occurrence of any ongoing event or circumstance that allows, or after the giving of
notice or the passage of time, or both, would allow the limitation, revocation or termination of
any Right-of-Way or would result in any impairment of the rights of the Company and its
Subsidiaries in and to any such Rights-of-Way. All pipelines operated by the Company and its
Subsidiaries are subject to Rights-of-Way, and there are no gaps (including any gap arising as a
result of any breach by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of the terms of any Rights-of-Way)
in the Rights-of-Way other than gaps that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a
Company Material Adverse Effect
Section 3.18. Required Vote of the Company Stockholders. (a) Assuming Parent is not
an “interested stockholder” under Section 203 of the DGCL, the affirmative vote of a majority of
the outstanding Company Common Stock entitled to vote on this Agreement and the Merger is the only
vote of holders of securities of the Company which is required to approve this Agreement and the
Merger (the “Company Stockholder Approval”), (b) the action of the Board of Directors of
the Company in approving this Agreement is sufficient to render inapplicable to this Agreement and
the transactions contemplated hereby the restrictions on “business combinations” (as defined in
Section 203 of the DGCL) as set forth in Section 203 of the DGCL and (c) no other Takeover Laws are
applicable to the Merger, this Agreement, or any of the transactions contemplated hereby and
thereby. As used in this Agreement, “Takeover Laws” means any “moratorium,” “control share
acquisition,” “fair price,” “supermajority,” “affiliate transactions” or “business combination
statute or regulation” or other similar state anti-takeover Laws and regulations.
Section 3.19. Opinion of Financial Advisor. The Special Committee of the Board of
Directors of the Company has received the opinion of each of Evercore Group L.L.C. and Xxxxxxx,
Xxxxx & Co. to the effect that, as of the date of each such opinion and subject to the assumptions,
limitations, qualifications and other matters considered in the preparation thereof, the Merger
Consideration is fair, from a financial point of view, to the holders of Company Common Stock. The
Company shall, promptly following receipt of said opinions in written form, furnish an accurate and
complete copy of said opinions to Parent solely for informational purposes.
Section 3.20. Material Contracts.
(a) Except for this Agreement, the Company Benefit Plans and agreements filed as exhibits to
the Company SEC Documents and the agreements set forth on Section 3.20(a) of the Company Disclosure
Schedule, as of the date of this Agreement, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is a
party to or bound by:
27
(i) | any “material contract” (as such term is defined in Item 601(b)(10) of Regulation S-K of the SEC); | ||
(ii) | any contract imposing any material restriction on the right or ability of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to (A) compete with any other person or (B) acquire or dispose of the securities of another person; | ||
(iii) | any mortgage, note, debenture, indenture, security agreement, guaranty, pledge or other agreement or instrument evidencing Indebtedness of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries in an amount in excess of $50.0 million; | ||
(iv) | any Contract that provides for the acquisition, disposition, license, use, distribution or outsourcing of assets, services, rights or properties with a value or requiring annual fees in excess of $50.0 million; | ||
(v) | any Contract to acquire all or a substantial portion of the capital stock, business, property or assets of any other person for an amount of cash (or value of non-cash consideration), in excess of $50.0 million; | ||
(vi) | any joint venture, partnership or limited liability company agreement or other similar Contract relating to the formation, creation, operation, management or control of any joint venture, partnership or limited liability company, other than any such Contract solely between or among the Company and or any of its Subsidiaries; | ||
(vii) | any Contract limiting or restricting the ability of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to make distributions or declare or pay dividends in respect of their capital stock, partnership interests, membership interests or other equity interests, as the case may be; | ||
(viii) | any Contract containing any exclusivity or most favored nation clause; | ||
(ix) | any Contract that involves future expenditures or receipts by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of more than $50.0 million in any one year period that cannot be terminated on less than 90 days notice without material payment or penalty; | ||
(x) | any acquisition Contract that contains “earn out” or other contingent payment obligations, or remaining indemnity or similar obligations, that could reasonably be expected to result in future payments by or to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries in excess of $25.0 million; | ||
(xi) | any Contract with a labor union or guild (including any collective bargaining agreement); | ||
(xii) | any Contract containing provisions triggered by any change of control of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; |
28
(xiii) | any Contract in favor of directors, officers, members, managers or partners relating to employment or compensation or providing rights to indemnification; | ||
(xiv) | any Contract the loss or breach of which could reasonably be expected to have a Company Material Adverse Effect; and | ||
(xv) | any material lease or sublease with respect to leased real property. |
All contracts of the types referred to in clauses (i) through (xv) above are referred to
herein as “Company Material Contracts.” As used herein, “Contract” shall mean any
agreement, contract, obligation, promise, understanding or undertaking (whether written or oral and
whether express or implied) that is legally binding and (i) under which the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries has or may acquire any rights, (b) under which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries
has or may become subject to any obligation or liability or (c) by which the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries, or the assets owned or used by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, is or may
become bound. Section 3.20 of the Company Disclosure Schedule sets forth a complete and correct
list of all Company Material Contracts as of the date of this Agreement that have not been filed or
incorporated by reference in the Company SEC Reports. The Company has delivered or made available
to Parent true and correct copies of all Company Material Contracts.
(b) Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary of the Company is in material breach of or material
default under the terms of any Company Material Contract. To the knowledge of the Company, no
other party to any Company Material Contract is in material breach of or material default under the
terms of any Company Material Contract. Each Company Material Contract is a valid and binding
obligation of the Company or the Subsidiary of the Company that is party thereto and, to the
knowledge of the Company, of each other party thereto, and is in full force and effect, subject to
the Remedies Exceptions.
Section 3.21. Finders or Brokers. Except for Evercore Group L.L.C. and Xxxxxxx, Xxxxx
& Co., neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has employed any investment banker, broker
or finder in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement who might be entitled
to any fee or any commission in connection with or upon consummation of the Merger. The Company
has furnished to Parent accurate and complete copies of its agreements with Evercore Group L.L.C.
relating to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
Section 3.22. Insurance. The Company and its Subsidiaries maintain insurance in such
amounts and against such risks substantially as the Company believes to be customary for the
industries in which it and its Subsidiaries operate. Neither the Company nor any of its
Subsidiaries has received notice of any pending or threatened cancellation or material premium
increase (retroactive or otherwise) with respect to any such material insurance policy, and each of
its Subsidiaries is in compliance in all material respects with all conditions contained therein.
Section 3.23. Consulting Agreements and Noncompetition Agreements. Each of the
Consulting Agreements and Noncompetition Agreements referred to in the Original Agreement
29
have been
terminated by mutual consent of the parties thereto on or prior to the date of the First Amended
Merger Agreement.
Section 3.24. No Additional Representations. The Company acknowledges that neither
Parent nor Merger Sub makes any representation or warranty as to any matter whatsoever except as
expressly set forth in this Agreement or in any certificate delivered by Parent or Merger Sub to
the Company in accordance with the terms hereof, and specifically (but without limiting the
generality of the foregoing) that neither Parent nor Merger Sub makes any representation or
warranty with respect to (a) any projections, estimates or budgets delivered or made available to
the Company (or any of their respective affiliates, officers, directors, employees or
Representatives) of future revenues, results of operations (or any component thereof), cash flows
or financial condition (or any component thereof) of Parent and its Subsidiaries or (b) the future
business and operations of Parent and its Subsidiaries, and the Company has not relied on such
information or any other representation or warranty not set forth in this Agreement.
ARTICLE IV.
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF PARENT AND MERGER SUB
Except as disclosed in the Parent SEC Documents (excluding any disclosures set forth in any
“risk factor” section and in any section relating to forward-looking statements, and any other
disclosures therein, in each case to the extent that they are cautionary, predictive or
forward-looking in nature) or as contemplated by the Drop-Down Agreements, where the relevance of
the information as an exception to (or disclosure for purposes of) a particular representation is
reasonably apparent on the face of such disclosure, or in the disclosure schedule delivered by
Parent to the Company immediately prior to the execution of this Agreement (the “Parent
Disclosure Schedule”) (each section of which qualifies the correspondingly numbered
representation, warranty or covenant if specified therein and such other representations,
warranties or covenants where its relevance as an exception to (or disclosure for purposes of) such
other representation, warranty or covenant is reasonably apparent), Parent and Merger Sub represent
and warrant to the Company as follows:
Section 4.1. Qualification, Organization, Subsidiaries, etc.
(a) Each of Parent and its Subsidiaries is a legal entity duly-organized, validly existing and
in good standing under the Laws of its respective jurisdiction of organization and has all
requisite corporate or similar power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and
assets, to carry on its business as presently conducted and to perform its material obligations
under all Parent Material Contracts. Each of Parent and its Subsidiaries is qualified to do
business, and is in good standing as a foreign entity in each jurisdiction where the ownership,
leasing or operation of its assets or properties or conduct of its business requires such
qualification, except where the failure to be so organized, validly existing, qualified or in good
standing, or to have such power or authority, would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a
Parent Material Adverse Effect.
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(b) As used in this Agreement, a “Parent Material Adverse Effect” means a material
adverse event, change, effect, development, condition or occurrence on or with respect to the
business, financial condition or continuing results of operations of Parent and its Subsidiaries,
taken as a whole, other than any event, change, effect, development, condition or occurrence: (i)
disclosed in the Parent SEC Documents filed or furnished prior to the date of this Agreement
(excluding any disclosure set forth in any risk factor section, or in any Section relating to
forward looking statements, and any other disclosures therein, in each case, to the extent that
they are cautionary and predictive or forward looking in nature) or as disclosed on the face of the
Parent Disclosure Schedule (ii) in or generally affecting the economy or the financial or
securities markets in the United States or elsewhere in the world, or (iii) resulting from or
arising out of (A) any changes or developments in national, regional, state or local wholesale or
retail markets for natural gas, natural gas transmission or distribution or related products or
services including those due to actions by competitors or due to changes in commodities prices or
hedging markets therefor, (B) any changes or developments in national, regional, state or local
wholesale or retail natural gas prices (C) the announcement or the existence of, or compliance
with, this Agreement or the Original Merger Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby or
thereby (including the impact thereof on the relationships, contractual or otherwise, of Parent or
any of its Subsidiaries with employees, labor unions, customers, suppliers or partners, and
including any lawsuit, action or other proceeding with respect to the Merger or any of the other
transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the Original Merger Agreement), (D) any taking of
any action at the written request of the Company, (E) any adoption, implementation, promulgation,
repeal, modification, reinterpretation or proposal of any rule, regulation, ordinance, order,
protocol or any other Law of or by any national, regional, state or local Governmental Entity, or
market administrator, (F) any changes in GAAP or accounting standards or interpretations thereof,
(G) any weather-related or other force majeure event or outbreak or escalation of hostilities or
acts of war or terrorism, or (H) any changes in the share price or trading volume of the Common
Units or in Parent’s credit rating, or the failure of Parent to meet projections or forecasts
(unless due to any event, change, effect, development, condition or occurrence which has otherwise
resulted in a Parent Material Adverse Effect); except, in each case with respect to
subclauses (A) – (B) and (E) – (G) of this clause (iii), to the extent materially
disproportionately affecting Parent and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, relative to other
similarly situated companies in the industries in which Parent and its Subsidiaries operate
(c) Parent has made available to the Company prior to the date of this Agreement a true and
complete copy of Parent’s Certificate of Limited Partnership as amended (the “Parent
Certificate of Limited Partnership”), and Third Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited
Partnership (as amended through the date hereof, the “Parent Partnership Agreement” and
together with the Parent Certificate of Limited Partnership, the “Parent Organizational
Documents”), ETP’s Certificate of Limited Partnership as amended (the “ETP Certificate of
Limited Partnership”) and Second Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership (the
“ETP Partnership Agreement”), and the certificate of incorporation, certificate of limited
partnership, certificate of formation, bylaws, limited partnership agreement, limited liability
company agreement or comparable constituent or organizational documents of each material Subsidiary
of Parent.
Section 4.2. Equity Interests.
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(a) The authorized equity interests of Parent consist of Series A Convertible Preferred Units
representing limited partner interests in Parent (“Series A Preferred Units”), common units
representing limited partner interests in Parent (“Common Units”) and a general partner
interest in Parent (“General Partner Interest”). As of June 13, 2011, the issued and
outstanding limited partner interests and general partner interests of Parent consisted of (i)
3,000,000 Series A Preferred Units, (ii) 222,978,708 Common Units and (iii) and an approximate 0.3%
General Partner Interest. As of June 13, 2011, 2,853,676 Common Units were issuable pursuant to
employee and director equity plans of Parent (the “Parent Equity Plans”). The authorized
equity interests of Energy Transfer Partners, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (“ETP”),
consist of common units representing limited partner interests in ETP (“ETP Common Units”),
Class E Units representing limited partner interests in ETP (“Class E Units”), the
Incentive Distribution Rights (as defined in the ETP Partnership Agreement) and a general partner
interest in ETP (“ETP General Partner Interest”). As of June 13, 2011, the issued and
outstanding limited partner interests and general partner interests of ETP consisted of (i)
8,853,832 Class E Units, (ii) 208,805,626 ETP Common Units, (iii) the Incentive Distribution Rights
and (iv) and an approximate 1.6% ETP General Partner Interest. As of June 13, 2011, 3,147,524 ETP
Common Units were issuable pursuant to employee and director equity plans of ETP (the “ETP
Equity Plans”). All outstanding equity securities of Parent and of ETP are duly authorized,
validly issued, fully-paid and nonassessable (except as such nonassessability may be affected by
matters described in Sections 17-303, 17-607 and 17-804 of the Delaware LP Act) and free of
preemptive rights (except as set forth in the ETP Partnership Agreement).
(b) Except as set forth in subsection (a) above and as set forth on Section 4.2(b) of the
Parent Disclosure Schedule, there are no outstanding subscriptions, options, warrants, calls,
convertible securities, exchangeable securities or other similar rights, agreements or commitments
to which Parent or any of its Subsidiaries is a party (i) obligating Parent or any of its
Subsidiaries to (i) issue, transfer, exchange, sell or register for sale any Common Units, Class E
Units or other equity interests of Parent or any Subsidiary of Parent or securities convertible
into or exchangeable for such partnership units or equity interests, (ii) grant, extend or enter
into any such subscription, option, warrant, call, convertible securities or other similar right,
agreement or arrangement, (iii) redeem or otherwise acquire any such partnership units or other
equity interests or (iv) provide a material amount of funds to, or make any material investment (in
the form of a loan, capital contribution or otherwise) in, any Subsidiary or (ii) granting any
preemptive or antidilutive or similar rights with respect to any security issued by Parent or its
Subsidiaries.
(c) Neither Parent nor any of its Subsidiaries has outstanding bonds, debentures, notes or
other indebtedness, the holders of which have the right to vote (or which are convertible or
exchangeable into or exercisable for securities having the right to vote) with the unitholders of
Parent on any matter.
(d) There are no voting trusts or other agreements or understandings to which Parent or any of
its Subsidiaries is a party with respect to the voting or registration of equity securities of
Parent or any of its Subsidiaries.
(e) As of the date of this Agreement, the authorized capital stock of Merger Sub consists of
1,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, all of which are validly
32
issued and
outstanding. All of the issued and outstanding capital stock of Merger Sub is, and at the
Effective Time will be, owned by Parent or a direct or indirect wholly owned Subsidiary of Parent.
Merger Sub has no outstanding option, warrant, right or any other agreement pursuant to which any
person other than Parent may acquire any equity security of Merger Sub. Merger Sub has not
conducted any business prior to the date hereof and has, and prior to the Effective Time will have,
no assets, liabilities or obligations of any nature other than those incident to its formation and
pursuant to this Agreement and the Merger and the other transactions contemplated by this
Agreement.
(f) When issued pursuant to the terms hereof, all outstanding Common Units constituting any
part of the Merger Consideration will be duly authorized, validly issued, fully-paid (to the extent
required under the Parent Partnership Agreement) and nonassessable (except as such nonassessability
may be affected by matters described in Sections 17-303, 17-607 and 17-804 of the Delaware LP Act)
and free of preemptive rights (except as set forth in the Parent Partnership Agreement).
(g) Except as disclosed in Section 4.2(g) of the Parent Disclosure Schedule, Parent or a
Parent Subsidiary owns, directly or indirectly, all of the issued and outstanding equity interests
of each Subsidiary of Parent, free and clear of any Liens other than Parent Permitted Liens, and
all of such equity interests have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid,
nonassessable (except as such nonassessability may be affected by matters described in Sections
17-303, 17-607 and 17-804 of the Delaware LP Act or Sections 18-607 and 18-804 of the Delaware LLC
Act) and free of preemptive rights. Except for equity interests in Parent’s Subsidiaries, neither
Parent nor any of its Subsidiaries owns directly or indirectly any equity interest in any person
(or any security or other right, agreement or commitment convertible or exercisable into, or
exchangeable for, any equity interest in any person), or has any obligation to acquire any such
equity interest, security, right, agreement or commitment or to provide funds to or make any
investment (in the form of a loan, capital contribution or otherwise) in, any person.
(h) As used in this Agreement, “Parent Permitted Lien” means any Lien (i) for Taxes or
governmental assessments, charges or claims of payment not yet delinquent, being contested in good
faith or for which adequate accruals or reserves have been established, (ii) that is a carriers’,
warehousemen’s, mechanics’, materialmen’s, repairmen’s or other similar lien arising in the
ordinary course of business, (iii) arising under conditional sales contracts and equipment leases
with third parties entered into in the ordinary course of business, (iv) not created by Parent or
its Subsidiaries that affect the underlying fee interest of a Parent Leased Real Property, (v) that
is disclosed on the most recent consolidated balance sheet of Parent included in the Parent SEC
Documents or notes thereto or securing liabilities reflected on such balance sheet, (vi) created
pursuant to the agreements set forth on Section 4.2(h) of the Parent Disclosure Schedule, (vii)
grants to others of Rights-of-Way, surface leases, crossing rights and amendments, modifications,
and releases of Rights-of-Way, easements and surface leases in the ordinary course of business,
(viii) with respect to Rights-of-Way, restrictions on the exercise of any of the rights under a
granting instrument that are set forth therein or in another executed agreement, that is of public
record or to which Parent or any of its Subsidiaries otherwise has access, between the parties
thereto, (ix) which an accurate up-to-date survey would show, (x) resulting from any facts or
circumstances relating to the Parent or its Affiliates, or (xi) that
33
does not and would not
reasonably be expected to materially impair the continued use of a Parent Owned Real Property or a
Parent Leased Real Property as currently operated.
Section 4.3. Partnership / Corporate Authority Relative to this Agreement; No
Violation.
(a) Each of Parent and Merger Sub has requisite partnership or corporate power and authority
to enter into this Agreement, the Support Agreement and each other document to be entered into by
Parent and Merger Sub in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby (together with this
Agreement, the “Parent Transaction Documents”) and, subject to the approval of Parent as
the sole stockholder of Merger Sub, which approval shall be delivered by Parent immediately
following execution of this Agreement, to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby. The
execution and delivery of this Agreement and the other Parent Transaction Documents and the
consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby have been duly and validly
authorized by the general partner of Parent and the Board of Directors of Merger Sub, and no other
entity or equity-holder proceedings on the part of Parent, Merger Sub or their respective equity
holders, except Parent as the sole stockholder of Merger Sub, are necessary to authorize the
consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby. As of the Second Amendment Date, the general
partner of Parent has unanimously approved the issuance of Common Units (the “Unit
Issuance”) in connection with the Merger. Each of the Parent Transaction Documents has been
duly and validly executed and delivered by Parent and Merger Sub and, assuming such Parent
Transaction Document constitutes the legal, valid and binding agreement of the counterparty
thereto, each of the Parent Transaction Documents constitutes the legal, valid and binding
agreement of each of Parent and Merger Sub and is enforceable against Parent and Merger Sub in
accordance with its terms, except as such enforcement may be limited by the Remedies Exceptions.
(b) Other than in connection with or in compliance with (i) the Exchange Act, (ii) the
Securities Act, (iii) the rules and regulations of the NYSE, (iv) the HSR Act, (v) the FPA and the
FERC Approval, (vi) the MDPU Approval, (vii) the MPSC Approval, (viii) the FCC Approval, and (ix)
the approvals set forth in Section 4.3(b) of the Parent Disclosure Schedule (collectively, the
“Parent Approvals”), and, subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of
the Company in Section 3.3(b), no authorization, consent, order, license, permit or approval of, or
registration, declaration, notice or filing with, any Governmental Entity is necessary, under
applicable Law, for the consummation by Parent or Merger Sub of the transactions contemplated by
this Agreement, except for the filing of the Certificate of Merger and for such authorizations,
consents, approvals or filings that are not required to be obtained or made prior to consummation
of such transactions or that, if not obtained or made, would not materially impede or delay the
consummation of the Merger and the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement or materially
and adversely affect the ability of Parent and its Subsidiaries to operate their business in the
ordinary course consistent with past practices.
(c) The execution and delivery by Parent and Merger Sub of this Agreement do not, and,
assuming receipt of the Parent Approvals, the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby
and compliance with the provisions hereof will not (i) result in any loss, or material suspension,
limitation or impairment of any right of Parent or any of its Subsidiaries to own or use any assets
material to the conduct of their business or result in any material violation
34
of, or material
default (with or without notice or lapse of time, or both) under, or give rise to a right of
termination, cancellation or acceleration of any material obligation or to the loss of a material
benefit under any loan, guarantee of indebtedness or credit agreement, note, bond, mortgage,
indenture, lease, agreement, contract, instrument, permit, concession, franchise, right or license
binding upon Parent or any of its Subsidiaries or result in the creation of any Liens other than
Permitted Liens, in each case, upon any of the properties or assets of Parent or any of its
Subsidiaries, (ii) conflict with or result in any violation of any provision of the certificate of
incorporation or by-laws or other equivalent organizational document, in each case as amended or
restated, of Parent or any of its Subsidiaries or (iii) materially conflict with or materially
violate any applicable Laws.
Section 4.4. Reports and Financial Statements.
(a) Parent and each of its Subsidiaries has filed or furnished all forms, documents and
reports required to be filed or furnished prior to the date hereof by it with the SEC since January
1, 2009 (the “Parent SEC Documents”). As of their respective dates or, if amended, as of
the date of the last such amendment, the Parent SEC Documents complied in all material respects
with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, as the case may be, and the
applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, and none of the Parent SEC Documents
contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state any material fact required to
be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under
which they were made, not misleading, except that information set forth in the Parent SEC Documents
as of a later date (but before the date of this Agreement) will be deemed to modify information as
of an earlier date.
(b) The consolidated financial statements (including all related notes and schedules) of
Parent included in the Parent SEC Documents fairly present in all material respects the
consolidated financial position of Parent and its consolidated Subsidiaries, as at the respective
dates thereof, and the consolidated results of their operations and their consolidated cash flows
for the respective periods then ended (subject, in the case of the unaudited statements, to normal
year-end audit adjustments and to any other adjustments described therein, including the notes
thereto) in conformity with GAAP (except, in the case of the unaudited statements, as permitted by
the SEC) applied on a consistent basis during the periods involved (except as may be indicated
therein or in the notes thereto).
Section 4.5. Internal Controls and Procedures. Parent has established and maintains
disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting (as such terms are
defined in paragraphs (e) and (f), respectively, of Rule 13a-15 under the Exchange Act) as required
by Rule 13a-15 under the Exchange Act. Parent’s disclosure controls and procedures are reasonably
designed to ensure that all material information required to be disclosed by Parent in the reports
that it files or furnishes under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported
within the time periods specified in the rules and forms of the SEC, and that all such material
information is accumulated and communicated to Parent’s management as appropriate to allow timely
decisions regarding required disclosure and to make the certifications required pursuant to
Sections 302 and 906 of the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act. Parent’s management has completed an assessment of
the effectiveness of Parent’s internal control over financial reporting in compliance with the
requirements of Section 404 of the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx
35
Act for the year ended December 31, 2010, and
such assessment concluded that such controls were effective. Based on its most recent evaluation
of internal control over financial reporting prior to the date hereof, management of Parent has
disclosed to Parent’s auditors and the audit committee of the board of directors of the general
partner of Parent (i) any significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or
operation of internal control over financial reporting that are reasonably likely to adversely
affect in any material respect Parent’s ability to report financial information and (ii) any fraud,
whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in
Parent’s internal control over financial reporting, and each such deficiency, weakness and fraud so
disclosed to auditors, if any, has been disclosed to the Company prior to the date hereof.
Section 4.6. No Undisclosed Liabilities. Except (a) as reflected or reserved against
in Parent’s consolidated balance sheets (or the notes thereto) included in the Parent SEC
Documents, (b) as permitted or contemplated by this Agreement, (c) for liabilities and obligations
incurred since December 31, 2010 in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice
and (d) for liabilities or obligations which have been discharged or paid in full in the ordinary
course of business, neither Parent nor any Subsidiary of Parent has any liabilities or obligations
of any nature, whether or not accrued, contingent or otherwise, that would be required by GAAP to
be reflected on a consolidated balance sheet of Parent and its consolidated Subsidiaries (or in the
notes thereto), other than those which would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Parent
Material Adverse Effect.
Section 4.7. Compliance with Law; Permits.
(a) Parent and each of its Subsidiaries are in compliance with and are not in default under or
in violation of any applicable Law, except where such non-compliance, default or violation would
not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Parent Material Adverse Effect. Except as set forth
in Section 4.7 of the Parent Disclosure Schedule, since January 1, 2008, neither Parent nor any of
its Subsidiaries has received any written notice or, to Parent’s knowledge, other communication
from any Governmental Entity regarding any actual or possible violation of, or failure to comply
with, any Law, except as would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Parent Material
Adverse Effect.
(b) Parent and its Subsidiaries are in possession of all franchises, grants, authorizations, licenses,
permits, easements, variances, exceptions, consents, certificates, approvals, clearances,
permissions, qualifications and registrations and orders of all Governmental Entities, and all
rights under any Parent Material Contract with all Governmental Entities, and have filed all
tariffs, reports, notices and other documents with all Governmental Entities necessary for Parent
and its Subsidiaries to own, lease and operate their properties and assets or to carry on their
businesses as they are now being conducted (the “Parent Permits”), except where the failure
to have any of the Parent Permits would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Parent
Material Adverse Effect. All Parent Permits are valid and in full force and effect and are not
subject to any administrative or judicial proceeding that could result in modification, termination
or revocation thereof, except where the failure to be in full force and effect would not have,
individually or in the aggregate, a Parent Material Adverse Effect. Parent is, and each of its
Subsidiaries is, in compliance in all respects with the terms and requirements
36
of such Parent Permits, except where the failure to be in compliance would not have,
individually or in the aggregate, a Parent Material Adverse Effect.
Section 4.8. Environmental Laws and Regulations.
(a) Except as would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Parent Material Adverse
Effect: (i) no notice, notification, demand, request for information, citation, summons, complaint
or order has been received, no penalty has been assessed, and no investigation, action, claim,
suit, proceeding or review is pending or, to the knowledge of Parent, is threatened by any
Governmental Entity or other person relating to Parent or any Subsidiary of Parent or against any
person or entity whose liability Parent or any of its Subsidiaries has or may have retained or
assumed either contractually or by operation of law, and relating to or arising out of any
Environmental Law, (ii) Parent and its Subsidiaries are, and except for matters that have been
fully resolved with the applicable Governmental Entity, since January 1, 2008 have been in
compliance with all Environmental Laws (which compliance includes, but is not limited to,
possession of all Parent Permits and compliance with the terms and conditions thereof), (iii)
Parent is not obligated to conduct or pay for, and is not conducting or paying for, any response,
remedial, investigatory or corrective action under any Environmental Law at any location, (iv)
there has been no release of Hazardous Materials at any real property currently owned, leased or
operated by Parent or any Subsidiary of Parent or, to the knowledge of Parent, formerly owned,
leased or operated by Parent or any Subsidiary of Parent or at any offsite disposal location used
by Parent or any Subsidiary of Parent to dispose of any Hazardous Materials in concentrations or
under circumstances that would require reporting or be reasonably likely to result in
investigation, remediation or other corrective or response action by Parent or any Subsidiary of
Parent or, to the knowledge of Parent and its Subsidiaries, by any person or entity whose liability
Parent or any of its Subsidiaries has or may have retained or assumed either contractually or by
operation of law, under any Environmental Law, (v) Parent is not party to any order, judgment or
decree that imposes any obligations under any Environmental Law, (vi) there have been no ruptures
or explosions in Parent Systems resulting in personal injury, loss of life or material property
damage, except to the extent any claims related to such ruptures have been resolved and (vii) there
are no defects, corrosion or other damage to any of Parent Systems that could reasonably be
expected to result in a pipeline integrity failure.
(b) As used in this Agreement, “Parent Systems” means the refined petroleum product,
crude oil, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, natural gas liquid and other pipelines, lateral
lines, pumps, pump stations, storage facilities, terminals, processing plants, and other related
operations, assets, machinery and equipment that are owned by Parent or any of its Subsidiaries or
used for the conduct of the business of Parent or any of its Subsidiaries as it is presently
conducted.
Section 4.9. Employee Benefit Plans. Except as would not, individually or in the
aggregate, materially and adversely affect the ability of Parent and its Subsidiaries to operate
their business in the ordinary course consistent with past practices, (i) neither Parent, its
Subsidiaries nor any of their ERISA Affiliates maintains, contributes to or is required to
contribute to any Benefit Plan that is subject to Title IV or Section 302 of ERISA or Section 412
or 4971 of the Code and (ii) none of the Benefit Plans sponsored, maintained or contributed to by
Parent or any of its Subsidiaries, or to which Parent or any of its Subsidiaries is required to
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contribute, is a “multiple employer welfare arrangement” (as defined in Section 3(40) of
ERISA), a “multiple employer plan” (as defined in Section 413(c) of the Code) or a “multiemployer
plan” (as defined in Section 3(37) of ERISA), and neither Parent, its Subsidiaries nor any of their
ERISA Affiliates has during the past six (6) years contributed to, been required to contribute to
or otherwise had any obligation or liability in connection with such a multiple employer plan or
multiemployer plan.
Section 4.10. Absence of Certain Changes or Events. Since December 31, 2010:
(a) except as otherwise contemplated by this Agreement, the businesses of Parent and its
Subsidiaries have been conducted, in all material respects, in the ordinary course of business
consistent with past practices; and
(b) there has not been any event, change, effect, development, condition or occurrence that,
individually or in the aggregate, has had or would reasonably be expected to have, a Parent
Material Adverse Effect.
Section 4.11. Investigations; Litigation. Except as would not, individually or in the
aggregate, have a Parent Material Adverse Effect, (a) there is no investigation or review pending
(or, to the knowledge of Parent, threatened) by any Governmental Entity with respect to Parent or
any of its Subsidiaries, (b) there are no actions, suits, inquiries, investigations, proceedings,
subpoenas, civil investigative demands or other requests for information relating to potential
violations of law pending (or, to the knowledge of Parent, threatened) against or affecting Parent
or any of its Subsidiaries, or any of their respective properties at law or in equity and (c) there
are no orders, judgments or decrees of, or before, any Governmental Entity.
Section 4.12. Information Supplied. None of the information provided by Parent or its
Subsidiaries for inclusion or incorporation by reference in (a) the Form S-4 will, at the time the
Form S-4 becomes effective under the Securities Act, contain any untrue statement of a material
fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the
statements therein not misleading or (b) the Proxy Statement will, at the date it is first mailed
to the Company’s stockholders or at the time of the Stockholders’ Meeting, contain any untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or
necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they
were made, not misleading. The Proxy Statement (other than the portion thereof relating solely to
the Stockholders’ Meeting) and the Form S-4 (other than the portion thereof based on information
supplied by the Company for inclusion or incorporation by reference therein, with respect to which
no representation is made by Parent or any of its Subsidiaries) will comply as to form in all
material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act and the rules
and regulations promulgated thereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section
4.12, no representation or warranty is made by Parent with respect to information or statements
made or incorporated by reference in the Form S-4 or the Proxy Statement which were not supplied by
or on behalf of Parent.
Section 4.13. Regulatory Matters.
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(a) Except as set forth in Section 4.13(a) of the Parent Disclosure Schedule, none of Parent
and Parent’s Subsidiaries is a natural gas company as defined in the NGA, a common carrier under
the ICA or a utility, utility holding company, electric service company or electric company however
described under the laws of any state or local jurisdiction and the regulations promulgated
thereunder.
(b) All filings (other than immaterial filings) required to be made by Parent or any of its
Subsidiaries during the three years preceding the date hereof, with the FERC under the NGA, the
NGPA, the ICA, the Department of Energy or any applicable state public utility commission or
department, as the case may be, have been made, including all forms, statements, reports, notices,
agreements and all documents, exhibits, amendments and supplements appertaining thereto, including
all rates, tariffs and related documents, and all such filings complied, as of their respective
dates, and, as amended or supplemented, continue to comply with all applicable requirements of
applicable statutes and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, except for filings the
failure of which to make or the failure of which to make in compliance with all applicable
requirements of applicable statutes and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, would not
reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Parent Material Adverse Effect.
Section 4.14. Tax Matters. Except as would not have, individually or in the aggregate,
a Parent Material Adverse Effect:
(a) Parent and its Subsidiaries (i) have duly and timely filed (taking into account any
extension of time within which to file) all Tax Returns required to have been filed by or with
respect to Parent or any of its Subsidiaries, and all such Tax Returns are true, correct and
complete, (ii) have duly and timely paid all Taxes shown as due on such Tax Returns, (iii) have
adequate accruals and reserves, in accordance with GAAP, on the financial statements included in
the Parent SEC Documents for all Taxes payable by Parent and its Subsidiaries for all taxable
periods and portions thereof through the date of such financial statements, (iv) have not, since
the date of the financial statements included in the most recent Parent SEC Documents, incurred any
liability for Taxes outside the ordinary course of business or otherwise inconsistent with past
custom and practice and (v) have not received written notice of any deficiencies for any Tax from
any taxing authority against Parent or any of its Subsidiaries for which there are not adequate
reserves on the financial statements included in the Parent SEC Documents.
(b) Neither Parent nor any of its Subsidiaries is the subject of any currently ongoing tax
audit or other proceeding with respect to Taxes nor has any Tax audit or other proceeding with
respect to Taxes been proposed against any of them in writing. As of the date of this Agreement,
there are no pending requests for waivers of the time to assess any Tax. Neither Parent nor any of
its Subsidiaries has waived any statute of limitations in respect of Taxes or agreed to any
extension of time with respect to a Tax assessment or deficiency. There are no Liens for Taxes on
any of the assets of Parent or any of its Subsidiaries other than any Lien for Taxes not yet
delinquent, being contested in good faith or for which adequate accruals or reserves have been
established and disclosed in the Parent SEC Documents. No claim has ever been made in writing by a
taxing authority of a jurisdiction where Parent or one of its Subsidiaries has not filed Tax
Returns claiming that Parent or such Subsidiary is or may be subject to taxation by that
jurisdiction.
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(c) Neither Parent nor any of its Subsidiaries is obligated by any written contract, agreement
or other arrangement to indemnify any other person (other than Parent and its Subsidiaries) with
respect to Taxes. Neither Parent nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to or bound by any written
Tax allocation, indemnification or sharing agreement (other than an agreement with Parent or its
Subsidiaries). To the knowledge of Parent, neither Parent nor any of its Subsidiaries is liable
under Treasury Regulation Section 1.1502-6 (or any similar provision of the Tax Laws of any state,
local or foreign jurisdiction) or as a transferee or successor for any Tax of any person other than
Parent and its Subsidiaries.
(d) Parent and its Subsidiaries have withheld and paid all Taxes required to have been
withheld and paid in connection with amounts paid or owing to any employee, independent contractor,
creditor, unitholder or other third party.
(e) Neither Parent nor any of its Subsidiaries was a “distributing corporation” or “controlled
corporation” in a transaction intended to qualify under Section 355 of the Code within the past two
(2) years or otherwise as part of a plan that includes the Merger.
(f) Neither Parent nor any of its Subsidiaries has participated in any “reportable
transaction” within the meaning of Treasury Regulation Section 1.6011-4.
(g) Parent has made available to the Company or its legal or accounting representative copies
of all federal income Tax Returns for Parent and each of its Subsidiaries filed for all periods
including and after the period ended December 31, 2005 and all state income Tax Returns for Parent
and each of its Subsidiaries filed for all periods including and after the period ended December
31, 2005.
Section 4.15. Employment and Labor Matters.
(a) (i) Except as set forth in Section 4.15(a) of the Parent Disclosure Schedule, neither
Parent nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to or bound by any material collective bargaining or
similar agreement or work rules or practices with any labor union, labor organization or employee
association applicable to employees of Parent or any of its Subsidiaries , (ii) there are no
existing or, to the knowledge of Parent, threatened strikes or lockouts with respect to any
employees of Parent or any of its Subsidiaries (“Parent Employees”), (iii) to the knowledge
of Parent, there is no union organizing effort pending or threatened against Parent or any of its
Subsidiaries, (iv) there is no unfair labor practice, labor dispute (other than, in each case,
routine individual grievances) or labor arbitration proceeding pending or, to the knowledge of
Parent, threatened with respect to Parent Employees and (v) there is no slowdown or work stoppage
in effect or, to the knowledge of Parent, threatened with respect to Parent Employees.
(b) Except for such matters that would not, individually or in the aggregate, materially and
adversely affect the ability of Parent and its Subsidiaries to operate their business in the
ordinary course consistent with past practices, Parent and its Subsidiaries are, and have been, in
material compliance with all applicable Laws respecting (i) employment and employment practices,
(ii) terms and conditions of employment and wages and hours, and (iii) unfair labor practices.
Neither Parent nor any of its Subsidiaries has any material liabilities under the Worker Adjustment
and Retraining Notification Act of 1998 as a result of any action
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taken by Parent (other than at the written direction of Parent or as a result of any of the
transactions contemplated hereby).
Section 4.16. Real Property.
(a) With respect to each material real property owned by Parent or any Subsidiary (such
property collectively, the “Parent Owned Real Property”), except as would not have,
individually or in the aggregate, a Parent Material Adverse Effect, (i) either Parent or a
Subsidiary of Parent has marketable and insurable fee simple title to such Parent Owned Real
Property, free and clear of all Liens other than any Parent Permitted Liens and Permitted
Encumbrances, (ii) there are no leases, subleases, licenses, rights or other agreements affecting
any portion of the Parent Owned Real Property that would reasonably be expected to adversely affect
the existing use of the Parent Owned Real Property by Parent in the operation of its business
thereon, and (iii) there are no outstanding options or rights of first refusal in favor of any
other party to purchase such Parent Owned Real Property or any portion thereof or interest therein
that would reasonably be expected to adversely affect the existing use of the Parent Owned Real
Property by Parent in the operation of its business thereon. Neither Parent nor any of its
Subsidiaries has received notice of any pending, and to the knowledge of Parent there is no
threatened, condemnation proceeding with respect to any Parent Owned Real Property, except
proceedings which would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Parent Material Adverse
Effect.
(b) Except as would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Parent Material Adverse
Effect, (i) each material lease, sublease and other agreement (collectively, the “Parent Real
Property Leases”) under which Parent or any of its Subsidiaries uses or occupies or has the
right to use or occupy any material real property (the “Parent Leased Real Property”) at
which the material operations of Parent or any of its Subsidiaries are conducted, is valid, binding
and in full force and effect, (ii) neither Parent nor any of its Subsidiaries is currently
subleasing, licensing or otherwise granting any person the right to use or occupy a material
portion of a Parent Leased Real Property that would reasonably be expected to adversely affect the
existing use of the Parent Leased Real Property by Parent in the operation of its business thereon,
and (iii) no uncured default of a material nature on the part of Parent or, if applicable, its
Subsidiary or, to the knowledge of Parent, the landlord thereunder, exists under any Parent Real
Property Lease, and no event has occurred or circumstance exists which, with the giving of notice,
the passage of time, or both would constitute a material breach or default under a Parent Real
Property Lease. Except as would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Parent Material
Adverse Effect, Parent and each of its Subsidiaries has a good and valid leasehold interest,
subject to the terms of the Parent Real Property Leases, in each parcel of Parent Leased Real
Property, free and clear of all Liens, except for Parent Permitted Liens and Permitted
Encumbrances. Neither Parent nor any of its Subsidiaries has received notice of any pending, and,
to the knowledge of Parent, there is no threatened, condemnation proceeding with respect to any
Parent Leased Real Property, except such proceeding which would not have, individually or in the
aggregate, a Parent Material Adverse Effect.
(c) Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Parent Material Adverse
Effect: (i) each of Parent and its Subsidiaries has such Rights-of-Way that are necessary for
Parent and its Subsidiaries to use and operate their respective assets and properties in the
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manner that such assets and properties are currently used and operated, and each such
Right-of-Way is valid and free and clear of all Liens (other than Parent Permitted Liens); (ii)
Parent and its Subsidiaries conduct their businesses in a manner that does not violate any of the
Rights-of-Way; (iii) Parent and its Subsidiaries have fulfilled and performed all of their
obligations with respect to such Rights-of-Way; and (iv) Parent has not received written notice of
the occurrence of any ongoing event or circumstance that allows, or after the giving of notice or
the passage of time, or both, would allow the limitation, revocation or termination of any
Right-of-Way or would result in any impairment of the rights of Parent and its Subsidiaries in and
to any such Rights-of-Way. All pipelines operated by Parent and its Subsidiaries are subject to
Rights-of-Way, and there are no gaps (including any gap arising as a result of any breach by Parent
or any of its Subsidiaries of the terms of any Rights-of-Way) in the Rights-of-Way other than gaps
that would not, individually or in the aggregate, materially and adversely affect the ability of
Parent and its Subsidiaries to operate their business in the ordinary course consistent with past
practices.
Section 4.17. Vote of Parent Partners; Merger Sub Approval.
(a) The general partner of Parent has approved this Agreement, the Merger and the Unit
Issuance. No vote of holders of securities of Parent, other than the approval of and action by its
general partner, is required to approve the Unit Issuance and no other vote of the holders of any
class of Parent equity holders, other than the approval of and action by its general partner, is
necessary to approve this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby, including the Merger.
(b) The Board of Directors of Merger Sub, by written consent duly adopted prior to the Second
Amendment Date, (i) determined that this Agreement and the Merger are advisable and fair to and in
the best interests of Merger Sub and its stockholder, (ii) duly approved and adopted this
Agreement, the Merger and the other transactions contemplated hereby, which adoption has not been
rescinded or modified and (iii) recommended this Agreement for adoption by Parent, as the sole
stockholder of Merger Sub. Immediately following execution of this Agreement, Parent, as the sole
stockholder of Merger Sub, will duly approve and adopt this Agreement and the Merger
Section 4.18. Opinion of Financial Advisors. The Board of Directors of Parent has
received the opinion of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC to the effect that, as of the date of
such opinion and subject to the assumptions, limitations, qualifications and other matters
considered in the preparation thereof, the Merger Consideration is fair, from a financial point of
view, to Parent. Parent shall, promptly following receipt of such opinion in written form, furnish
an accurate and complete copy of said opinion to the Company solely for informational purposes.
Section 4.19. Material Contracts.
(a) Except for this Agreement, Parent’s Benefit Plans and agreements filed as exhibits to
Parent SEC Documents and the agreements otherwise provided or made available to the Company, as of
the date of this Agreement, neither Parent nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to or bound by:
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(i) | any “material contract” (as such term is defined in Item 601(b)(10) of Regulation S-K of the SEC); |
(ii) | any contract imposing any material restriction on the right or ability of Parent or any of its Subsidiaries to (A) compete with any other person or (B) acquire or dispose of the securities of another person; | |
(iii) | any mortgage, note, debenture, indenture, security agreement, guaranty, pledge or other agreement or instrument evidencing Indebtedness of Parent or any of its Subsidiaries in an amount in excess of $500.0 million; | |
(iv) | any Contract that provides for the acquisition, disposition, license, use, distribution or outsourcing of assets, services, rights or properties with a value or requiring annual fees in excess of $500.0 million; | |
(v) | any Contract to acquire all or a substantial portion of the capital stock, business, property or assets of any other person for an amount of cash (or value of non-cash consideration), in excess of $500.0 million; | |
(vi) | any joint venture, partnership or limited liability company agreement or other similar Contract relating to the formation, creation, operation, management or control of any joint venture, partnership or limited liability company, other than any such Contract solely between or among Parent and or any of its Subsidiaries; | |
(vii) | any Contract limiting or restricting the ability of Parent or any of its Subsidiaries to make distributions or declare or pay dividends in respect of their capital stock, partnership interests, membership interests or other equity interests, as the case may be; | |
(viii) | any Contract containing any exclusivity or most favored nation clause; | |
(ix) | any Contract that involves future expenditures or receipts by Parent or any of its Subsidiaries of more than $500.0 million in any one year period that cannot be terminated on less than 90 days notice without material payment or penalty; | |
(x) | any acquisition Contract that contains “earn out” or other contingent payment obligations, or remaining indemnity or similar obligations, that could reasonably be expected to result in future payments by or to Parent or any of its Subsidiaries in excess of $250.0 million; | |
(xi) | any Contract with a labor union or guild (including any collective bargaining agreement); | |
(xii) | any Contract containing provisions triggered by any change of control of Parent or any of its Subsidiaries; |
43
(xiii) | any Contract in favor of directors, officers, members, managers or partners relating to employment or compensation or providing rights to indemnification; | |
(xiv) | any Contract the loss or breach of which could reasonably be expected to have a Parent Material Adverse Effect; and | |
(xv) | any lease or sublease with respect to leased real property requiring annual payments in excess of $50 million. |
All contracts of the types referred to in clauses (i) through (xv) above are referred to
herein as “Parent Material Contracts.” Section 4.19(a) of the Parent Disclosure Schedule
sets forth a complete and correct list of all Parent Material Contracts as of the date of this
Agreement that have not been filed or incorporated by reference in Parent SEC Reports. Parent has
delivered or made available to Parent true and correct copies of all Parent Material Contracts.
(b) Neither Parent nor any Subsidiary of Parent is in material breach of or default under the
terms of any Parent Material Contract. To the knowledge of Parent, no other party to any Parent
Material Contract is in material breach of or default under the terms of any Parent Material
Contract. Each Parent Material Contract is a valid and binding obligation of Parent or the
Subsidiary of Parent which is party thereto and, to the knowledge of Parent, of each other party
thereto, and is in full force and effect, subject to the Remedies Exceptions.
Section 4.20. Finders or Brokers. Except for Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC,
neither Parent nor any of its Subsidiaries has employed any investment banker, broker or finder in
connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement who might be entitled to any fee or
any commission in connection with or upon consummation of the Merger. Parent has furnished to the
Company accurate and complete copies of its agreement with Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC
relating to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
Section 4.21. Lack of Ownership of Company Common Stock. Neither Parent nor any of
its Subsidiaries nor any “affiliate” or “associate” of Parent or any of its Subsidiaries (as such
terms are defined in Section 203 of the DGCL) beneficially owns (or has beneficially owned in the
past three years) directly or indirectly, any Shares or other securities convertible into,
exchangeable for or exercisable for Shares or any securities of any Subsidiary of the Company
(including for purposes of Section 203 of the DGCL), and neither Parent nor any of its Subsidiaries
has any rights to acquire any Shares except pursuant to this Agreement. Except for the Support
Agreements, there are no voting trusts or other agreements or understandings to which Parent or any
of its Subsidiaries is a party with respect to the voting of the capital stock or other equity
interest of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.
Section 4.22. Financing. As of the Second Amendment Date, Parent has delivered to the
Company true, complete and correct copies of the fully executed commitment letter (such letter, as
amended, modified or waived from time to time to the extent permitted herein, or any financing
commitment in respect of an Alternative Financing as contemplated by the last sentence of Section
5.18(b), the “Commitment Letter”) and fee letter (the “Fee Letter”) executed in
connection with the debt financing of a portion of the cash component of the Merger
44
Consideration (the “Financing”) (with certain fee amounts and certain economic terms
of the “market flex” provisions redacted). As of the Second Amendment Date, the Commitment Letter
is in full force and effect and constitutes the legal, valid, binding and enforceable obligations
of Parent and, to the knowledge of Parent, the other parties thereto (subject to applicable
bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent transfer, reorganization, moratorium and other laws affecting
creditors’ rights generally and general principles of equity). As of the Second Amendment Date,
the Commitment Letter has not been amended or modified in any respect and the respective
commitments therein have not been withdrawn or terminated. There are no conditions precedent or,
to the knowledge of Parent, other contingencies related to the funding of the full amount of the
Financing on the terms set forth in the Commitment Letter (as such terms may be altered in
accordance with the “market flex” provisions set forth in the Fee Letter) other than as expressly
set forth as of the Second Amendment Date in the Commitment Letter. As of the Second Amendment
Date, no event has occurred that, with or without notice, lapse of time or both, would constitute a
breach by Parent or any other party thereto under the Commitment Letter. Subject to the terms and
conditions of the Commitment Letter, as of the Second Amendment Date, assuming compliance by the
Company in all material respects with its covenants contained in Section 5.1 and Section 5.18(d)
and assuming satisfaction of the conditions set forth in Section 6.1 and Section 6.3, the aggregate
proceeds to be disbursed pursuant to the agreements contemplated by the Commitment Letter, together
with other financial resources of Parent, including cash on hand and marketable securities, will,
in the aggregate, be sufficient to fund the payment of the cash component of the Merger
Consideration. As of the Second Amendment Date, assuming satisfaction of the conditions set forth
in Section 6.3, Parent has no reason to believe that either it or any other party will be unable to
satisfy on a timely basis any condition of the Financing under the Commitment Letter or the Fee
Letter or that the Financing contemplated by the Commitment Letter will not be made available to
Parent on the Closing Date; provided that Parent is not making any representation or warranty
regarding the Company’s future performance, the effect of any inaccuracy of the representations and
warranties of the Company in this Agreement or the failure of the Company to comply with any of its
covenants in all material respects under this Agreement.
Section 4.23. No Additional Representations. Parent and Merger Sub acknowledge that
the Company does not make any representation or warranty as to any matter whatsoever except as
expressly set forth in this Agreement or in any certificate delivered by the Company to Parent or
Merger Sub in accordance with the terms hereof, and specifically (but without limiting the
generality of the foregoing) that the Company makes no representation or warranty with respect to
(a) any projections, estimates or budgets delivered or made available to Parent or Merger Sub (or
any of their respective affiliates, officers, directors, employees or Representatives) of future
revenues, results of operations (or any component thereof), cash flows or financial condition (or
any component thereof) of the Company and its Subsidiaries or (b) the future business and
operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries, and neither Parent or Merger Sub has relied on such
information or any other representations or warranties not set forth in this Agreement.
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ARTICLE V.
COVENANTS AND AGREEMENTS
Section 5.1. Conduct of Business by the Company.
(a) From and after the date hereof and prior to the Effective Time or the date, if any, on
which this Agreement is earlier terminated pursuant to Section 7.1 (the “Termination
Date”), and except (i) as may be required by applicable Law, (ii) as may be agreed in writing
by Parent (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned), (iii) as may
be contemplated or required by this Agreement or (iv) as set forth in Section 5.1(a) of the Company
Disclosure Schedule, the Company covenants and agrees with Parent that the business of the Company
and its Subsidiaries shall be conducted, and that such entities shall not take any action except in
the ordinary course of business, and shall use their commercially reasonable efforts to preserve
intact their present lines of business, maintain their rights and franchises and preserve their
relationships with customers and suppliers; provided, however, that no action by the Company or its
Subsidiaries with respect to matters specifically addressed by any provision of Section 5.1(b)
shall be deemed a breach of this sentence unless such action would constitute a breach of such
other provision. The Company shall (i) promptly notify Parent of any material change in its
condition (financial or otherwise) or business or any termination, cancellation, repudiation or
material breach of any Company Material Contract (or communications indicating that the same may be
contemplated), and (ii) give prompt notice to Parent of any change, occurrence, effect, condition,
fact, event, or circumstance known to the Company that is reasonably likely, individually or taken
together with all other changes, occurrences, effects, conditions, facts, events and circumstances
known to such party, to result in a Company Material Adverse Effect; provided, however, that no
unintentional failure by the Company to provide a required notice under the last sentence of this
Section 5.1(a) with respect to any matter that would not result in a failure of the conditions set
forth in Section 6.3(a) shall result in a failure of the condition set forth in Section 6.3(b).
(b) The Company agrees with Parent, on behalf of itself and its Subsidiaries, that between the
date hereof and the Effective Time, without the prior written consent of Parent (which consent
shall not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned), the Company:
(i) | except in the ordinary course of business or as disclosed in Section 5.1(b)(i) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries that is not wholly owned by the Company or Subsidiaries of any such Subsidiaries to, authorize or pay any dividends on or make any distribution with respect to its outstanding shares of capital stock (whether in cash, assets, stock or other securities of the Company or its Subsidiaries), except (A) dividends or distributions by any Subsidiaries only to the Company or to any Subsidiary of the Company in the ordinary course of business, (B) dividends or distributions required under the applicable organizational documents of such entity in effect on the date of this Agreement, or (C) regular quarterly cash dividends with customary record and payment dates on the shares of the Company Common Stock not in excess of $0.15 per share per quarter; |
46
(ii) | except as otherwise permitted by this Agreement, shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, adopt a plan of complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, merger, consolidation, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization, or enter into a letter of intent or agreement in principle with respect thereto, other than the Merger and other than any mergers, consolidations, restructurings or reorganizations solely among the Company and its Subsidiaries or among the Company’s Subsidiaries; | ||
(iii) | except as otherwise permitted by this Agreement or for transactions between the Company and its Subsidiaries or among the Company’s Subsidiaries, shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries, to prepay, redeem, repurchase, defease, cancel or otherwise acquire any Indebtedness or guarantees thereof of the Company or any Subsidiary, other than (A) at stated maturity, (B) any required amortization payments and mandatory prepayments (including mandatory prepayments arising from any change of control put rights to which holders of such Indebtedness or guarantees thereof may be entitled) and (C) Indebtedness or guarantees thereof disclosed in Section 5.1(b)(iii) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, in each case in accordance with the terms of the instrument governing such indebtedness as in effect on the date hereof; | ||
(iv) | shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, make any acquisition of any other person or business or make any loans, advances or capital contributions to, or investments in, any other person with a value in excess of $50.0 million in the aggregate, except (A) as contemplated by the Company’s fiscal 2011 budget and capital expenditure plan, as attached to Section 5.1(b)(iv) of the Company Disclosure Schedule (the “Company 2011 Budget”) (whether or not such acquisition, loan, advance, capital contribution or investment is made during the 2011 fiscal year), (B) as required by contracts disclosed in Section 5.1(b)(iv) of the Company Disclosure Schedule or (C) as made in connection with any transaction solely between the Company and a wholly-owned Subsidiary of the Company or between wholly-owned Subsidiaries of the Company; provided, however, that notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, make any acquisition of any other person or business or make any loans, advances or capital contributions to, or investments in, any other person which would reasonably be expected to prevent, impede or delay the consummation of the Merger by the End Date; | ||
(v) | except as disclosed in Section 5.1(b)(v) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, authorize any capital expenditures in excess of $50.0 million in the aggregate, except for (A) expenditures contemplated by the Company 2011 Budget (whether or not such capital expenditure is made during the 2011 fiscal year), (B) expenditures contemplated by the Company’s fiscal |
47
2012 budget and capital expenditures plan, which shall not be greater than the expenditures contemplated by the Company 2011 Budget plus 10%, excluding extraordinary items contained in the Company 2011 Budget, or (C) expenditures made in response to any emergency, whether caused by war, terrorism, weather events, public health events, outages or otherwise; | |||
(vi) | shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, split, combine or reclassify any of its capital stock or issue or authorize or propose the issuance of any other securities in respect of, in lieu of or in substitution for shares of its capital stock, except for any such transaction by a wholly owned Subsidiary of the Company which remains a wholly owned Subsidiary after consummation of such transaction; | ||
(vii) | except as disclosed in Section 5.1(b)(vii) of the Company Disclosure Schedule or Company Benefit Plans or as required by applicable Law, shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, (A) increase the compensation or other benefits payable or provided to the Company’s directors, officers, employees or other service providers, other than customary increases in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, provided that there shall be no limitation upon any compensation award or payment made in accordance with and within the parameters of the Company’s current compensation plans, or made at the instruction of the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company if deemed necessary or appropriate in the judgment of the Compensation Committee for the appropriate compensation and retention of key employees of the Company after consultation with an outside compensation consultant retained by the Compensation Committee, (B) enter into or amend any employment, change of control, severance or retention agreement with any director, officer or employee of the Company except (1) for agreements entered into with any newly-hired employees who are not officers or (2) for severance agreements entered into with employees who are not officers in connection with terminations of employment, in each case, in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (C) establish, adopt, enter into, terminate or amend any plan, policy, program or arrangement for the benefit of any current or former directors, officers or employees or any of their beneficiaries, except as permitted pursuant to clause (B) above or in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice as would not result in a material increase in cost to the Company; provided, however, that the foregoing exception shall not apply to any equity based plan, policy, program or arrangement (or award under any of the foregoing), (D) enter into, terminate or amend any collective bargaining agreements, or (E) make any change in the key management structure of the Company or any of its material Subsidiaries, including the hiring of additional officers or the termination of existing officers; |
48
(viii) | shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, enter into or make any loans or advances to any of its officers, directors, employees, agents or consultants (other than loans or advances (A) in the ordinary course of business or (B) for travel and reasonable business expenses) or make any change in its existing borrowing or lending arrangements for or on behalf of any of such persons, except as required by the terms of any Company Benefit Plan; | ||
(ix) | except as disclosed in Section 5.1(b)(ix) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, materially change financial accounting policies or procedures or any of its methods of reporting income, deductions or other material items for financial accounting purposes, except as required by GAAP, SEC rule or policy or applicable Law; | ||
(x) | except as disclosed in Section 5.1(b)(x) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, shall not adopt any amendments to its certificate of incorporation or by-laws or similar applicable charter documents, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to adopt any material amendments to its certificate of incorporation or by-laws or similar applicable charter documents; | ||
(xi) | except for transactions among the Company and its wholly owned Subsidiaries or among the Company’s wholly owned Subsidiaries, shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, issue, sell, pledge, dispose of or encumber, or authorize the issuance, sale, pledge, disposition or encumbrance of, any shares of its capital stock or other ownership interest in the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for any such shares or ownership interest, or any rights, warrants or options to acquire any such shares of capital stock, ownership interest or convertible or exchangeable securities or take any action to cause to be exercisable any otherwise unexercisable option under any existing Company Benefit Plans (except as otherwise provided by the terms of this Agreement or the express terms of any unexercisable or unexercised options or warrants outstanding on the date hereof), other than (A) issuances of shares of Company Common Stock in respect of any exercise of Company Stock Awards and settlement of any Company Equity Awards outstanding on the date hereof or as may be granted after the date hereof as permitted under this Section 5.1(b), (B) the sale of shares of Company Common Stock pursuant to the exercise of options to purchase Company Common Stock if necessary to effectuate an option direction upon exercise or for withholding of Taxes, or (C) the grant of equity compensation awards at times, in amounts, on terms and conditions and otherwise in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and in accordance with Section 5.1(b)(xi) of the Company Disclosure Schedule; |
49
(xii) | except as expressly contemplated by this Agreement and for transactions among the Company and its wholly owned Subsidiaries or among the Company’s wholly owned Subsidiaries, shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, directly or indirectly, purchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any shares of the capital stock of any of them or any rights, warrants or options to acquire any such shares; | ||
(xiii) | shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, incur, assume, guarantee or otherwise become liable for any Indebtedness (directly, contingently or otherwise), except (A) for any Indebtedness incurred in the ordinary course of business, (B) for any Indebtedness among the Company and its wholly-owned Subsidiaries or among the Company’s wholly-owned Subsidiaries, (C) for any Indebtedness incurred to replace, renew, extend, refinance or refund any existing Indebtedness on substantially the same or more favorable terms to the Company than such existing Indebtedness, (D) for any guarantees by the Company of Indebtedness of Subsidiaries of the Company or guarantees by the Company’s Subsidiaries of Indebtedness of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company, which Indebtedness is incurred in compliance with this Section 5.1(b), (E) as disclosed in Section 5.1(b)(xiii) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, and (F) for any Indebtedness not to exceed $50.0 million in aggregate principal amount outstanding at any time incurred by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries other than in accordance with clauses (A)-(E); provided, however, that in the case of each of clauses (A)-(F) such Indebtedness does not impose or result in any additional restrictions or limitations on the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or, following the Closing, the Surviving Corporation or any of its Subsidiaries, or subject the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or, following the Closing, the Surviving Corporation or any of its Subsidiaries, to any additional covenants or obligations (other than the obligations to make payment on such Indebtedness) to which the Company or its Subsidiaries is not otherwise subject under the terms of any Indebtedness outstanding as of the date hereof; | ||
(xiv) | except for transactions among the Company and its wholly owned Subsidiaries or among the Company’s wholly owned Subsidiaries, as expressly contemplated by Section 5.19 hereof or as disclosed in Section 5.1(b)(xiv) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, sell, lease, license, transfer, exchange or swap, mortgage (including securitizations), or otherwise dispose of any material portion of its material properties or non-cash assets, including the capital stock of Subsidiaries; | ||
(xv) | except as disclosed in Section 5.1(b)(xv) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, the Company shall not take any action, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to take any action, that would result in the Company or any of its Subsidiaries becoming subject to any restriction not in existence |
50
on the date hereof with respect to the payment of distributions or dividends; | |||
(xvi) | other than in the ordinary course of business, shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, modify, amend or terminate, or waive any rights under any Company Material Contract, in any material respect in a manner that is adverse to the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole or that could prevent or materially delay the consummation of the Merger or the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement past the End Date (or any extension thereof); | ||
(xvii) | except as disclosed in Section 5.1(b)(xvii) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, waive, release, assign, settle or compromise any claim, action or proceeding, other than waivers, releases, assignments, settlements or compromises (A) equal to or lesser than the amounts specifically reserved with respect thereto on the balance sheet as of December 31, 2010 included in the Company SEC Documents or (B) that do not exceed $50.0 million in the aggregate; | ||
(xviii) | shall not make, revoke or amend any material Tax election, enter into any closing agreement, settlement or compromise of any claim or assessment with respect to any material Tax liability, amend any material Tax Return, surrender a claim for a material refund of Taxes or consent to any extension or waiver of the statute of limitations period applicable to any material Tax claim or assessment; | ||
(xix) | shall not knowingly or intentionally take any action that would reasonably be expected to make any representation or warranty of the Company hereunder inaccurate in any respect or that would cause the condition in Section 6.3(a) not to be met; | ||
(xx) | other than in the ordinary course of business in accordance with past practice, shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, modify, amend, permit to lapse, fail to renew, surrender, terminate, or waive any rights under any Company Permit, in any respect in a manner that is materially adverse to the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole or that could prevent or materially delay the consummation of the Merger or the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement past the End Date (or any extension thereof); | ||
(xxi) | except in the ordinary course of business in accordance with past practice, take or fail to take any action, or permit any of its Subsidiaries to take or fail to take any action, that could cause the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or any of their assets or businesses that is not already so regulated or treated to be a natural gas company as defined in the NGA, a public utility, transmitting utility, electric utility or electric utility |
51
company under the FPA, a non-exempt holding company under PUHCA, a common carrier under the ICA or a utility, utility holding company, intrastate pipeline, gas service company, electric service company, gas company, electric company, or any similar entity however described under the laws of any state or local jurisdiction and the regulations promulgated thereunder; and | |||
(xxii) | shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, agree, in writing or otherwise, to take any of the foregoing actions. |
“Indebtedness” means, with respect to any person, without duplication, (a) all obligations
of such person for borrowed money, (b) all obligations of such person evidenced by bonds,
debentures, notes or other debt securities or warrants or other rights to acquire any debt
securities of such person, (c) all capitalized lease or leveraged lease obligations of such person
or obligations of such person to pay the deferred and unpaid purchase price of property and
equipment, (d) all obligations of such person pursuant to securitization or factoring programs or
arrangements, or (e) all guarantees of any of the foregoing.
Section 5.2. Conduct of Business by Parent.
(a) From and after the date hereof and prior to the Effective Time or the Termination Date, if
any, and except (i) as may be required by applicable Law, (ii) as may be agreed in writing by the
Company (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned), (iii) as may be
contemplated or required by this Agreement, (iv) as contemplated by the Drop-Down Agreements or (v)
as set forth in Section 5.2(a) of the Parent Disclosure Schedule, Parent covenants and agrees with
the Company that the business of Parent shall be conducted in, and that Parent shall not take any
action except in, the ordinary course of business and shall use its reasonable best efforts to
preserve intact its present lines of business, maintain its rights and franchises and preserve its
relationships with customers and suppliers; provided, however, that no action by Parent with
respect to matters specifically addressed by any provision of Section 5.2(b) shall be deemed a
breach of this sentence unless such action would constitute a breach of such other provision.
Parent shall (i) promptly notify the Company of any material change in its condition (financial or
otherwise) or business or any termination, cancellation, repudiation or material breach of any
Parent Material Contract (or communications indicating that the same may be contemplated), and (ii)
give prompt notice to the Company of any change, occurrence, effect, condition, fact, event, or
circumstance known to Parent that is reasonably likely, individually or taken together with all
other changes, occurrences, effects, conditions, facts, events and circumstances known to such
party, to result in a Parent Material Adverse Effect; provided, however, that no unintentional
failure by Parent to provide a required notice under the last sentence of this Section 5.2(a) with
respect to any matter that would not result in a failure of the conditions set forth in Section
6.2(a) shall result in a failure of the condition set forth in Section 6.2(b).
(b) Parent agrees with the Company that between the date hereof and the Effective Time,
without the prior written consent of the Company (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld,
delayed or conditioned), Parent:
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(i) | except in the ordinary course of business, shall not authorize or make any distribution with respect to its outstanding equity securities (whether in cash, assets, partnership units, stock or other securities of Parent or its Subsidiaries), except (A) regular quarterly cash distributions with customary record and payment dates on the Common Units not in excess of $0.625 per Common Unit per quarter, and (B) regular quarterly cash distributions with customary record and payment dates on the Series A Preferred Units not in excess of $2.00 per Series A Preferred Unit per quarter plus any accrued and unpaid distributions on the Series A Preferred Units from prior quarters; | ||
(ii) | except as otherwise permitted by this Agreement or as disclosed in Section 5.2(b)(ii) of the Parent Disclosure Schedule, shall not adopt a plan of complete or partial liquidation or dissolution or enter into a letter of intent or agreement in principle with respect thereto; | ||
(iii) | except as disclosed in Section 5.2(b)(iii) of the Parent Disclosure Schedule shall not split, combine or reclassify any of its equity securities or issue or authorize or propose the issuance of any other securities in respect of, in lieu of or in substitution for its equity securities, except for any such transaction by a wholly owned Subsidiary of Parent which remains a wholly owned Subsidiary after consummation of such transaction; | ||
(iv) | except as disclosed in Section 5.2(b)(iv) of the Parent Disclosure Schedule, shall not adopt any amendments to its Parent Organizational Documents; | ||
(v) | except for transactions among Parent and its wholly owned Subsidiaries or among Parent’s wholly owned Subsidiaries, shall not directly or indirectly, purchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any equity securities of Parent or any rights, warrants or options to acquire any such equity securities; | ||
(vi) | shall not knowingly or intentionally take any action that would reasonably be expected to make any material representation or warranty of Parent or Merger Sub hereunder inaccurate in any material respect or that would cause the condition in Section 6.2(a) not to be met; and | ||
(vii) | shall not, and shall not permit any of its wholly owned Subsidiaries to, agree, in writing or otherwise, to take any of the foregoing actions. |
(c) For the avoidance of doubt, none of the restrictions contained in this Section 5.2 shall
apply to ETP or its Subsidiaries.
Section 5.3. Mutual Access.
(a) For purposes of furthering the transactions contemplated hereby, each of the Company and
Parent shall afford the other party and (i) the officers and employees and (ii) the accountants,
consultants, legal counsel, financial advisors and agents and other representatives
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(such persons described in this clause (ii), collectively, “Representatives”) of such
other party reasonable access during normal business hours, throughout the period prior to the
earlier of the Effective Time and the Termination Date, to its and its Subsidiaries’ personnel and
properties, contracts, commitments, books and records and any report, schedule or other document
filed or received by it pursuant to the requirements of applicable Laws and with such additional
accounting, financing, operating, environmental and other data and information regarding the
Company and its Subsidiaries, as Parent may reasonably request, and Parent and its Subsidiaries, as
the Company may reasonably request, as the case may be. Notwithstanding the foregoing, neither the
Company nor Parent shall be required to afford such access if it would unreasonably disrupt the
operations of such party or any of its Subsidiaries, would cause a violation of any agreement to
which such party or any of its Subsidiaries is a party, would cause a risk of a loss of privilege
to such party or any of its Subsidiaries or would constitute a violation of any applicable Law.
The foregoing notwithstanding, neither the Company nor Parent, nor any of their respective
officers, employees or Representatives, shall be permitted to perform any onsite procedures
(including an onsite study) with respect to any property of the other party or any of the other
party’s Subsidiaries without the other party’s prior written consent (which consent shall not be
unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned).
(b) The parties hereto hereby agree that all information provided to them or their respective
officers, directors, employees or Representatives in connection with this Agreement and the
consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby shall be deemed to be “Evaluation Material,”
as such term is used in, and shall be treated in accordance with, the confidentiality agreement,
dated as of May 12, 2011, among the Company, ETP and Parent (the “Confidentiality
Agreement”).
Section 5.4. Non-Solicitation by the Company.
(a) The Company agrees that neither it nor any Subsidiary of the Company, nor any of their
respective officers, directors or employees, shall, and that it shall use its reasonable best
efforts to cause its and their respective Representatives not to (and shall not authorize or give
permission to its and their respective Representatives to), directly or indirectly: (i) solicit,
initiate, seek or knowingly encourage or facilitate the making, submission or announcement of, any
proposal that constitutes, or would reasonably be expected to lead to, an Acquisition Proposal,
(ii) furnish any non-public information regarding the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to, or
afford access to the business, properties, books or records of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries to, any person (other than Parent or Merger Sub), in connection with or in response to
an Acquisition Proposal, (iii) engage or participate in any discussions or negotiations with any
person (other than Parent or Merger Sub) with respect to any Acquisition Proposal, (iv) approve,
endorse or recommend (or publicly propose to approve, endorse or recommend) any Acquisition
Proposal, (v) enter into any letter of intent, term sheet, memorandum of understanding, merger
agreement, acquisition agreement, exchange agreement or any other agreement providing for any
Acquisition Transaction or requiring the Company to abandon, terminate or fail to consummate the
Merger or any other transaction contemplated by this Agreement (except as contemplated by Section
7.1(h)) or (vi) resolve, propose or agree to do any of the foregoing; provided, however, that this
Section 5.4 shall not prohibit (A) the Company, or the Board of Directors of the Company, directly
or indirectly through any officer, employee or Representative, prior to obtaining the Company
Stockholder Approval, from taking any of the
54
actions described in clauses (ii) or (iii) above in response to an unsolicited Acquisition
Proposal that the Board of Directors of the Company, prior to taking any such particular action,
concludes in good faith, after consultation with its financial advisors and outside legal counsel
(it being understood that, for purposes of this Section 5.4, such a financial advisor or outside
legal counsel shall include a financial advisor or outside legal counsel to a duly constituted and
acting committee of the Board of Directors of the Company), constitutes or is reasonably likely to
result in a Superior Offer if (1) the Board of Directors of the Company concludes in good faith,
after consultation with its outside legal counsel, that the failure to take such action with
respect to such Acquisition Proposal would be reasonably likely to constitute a breach by the Board
of Directors of its fiduciary duties under applicable Laws, (2) such Acquisition Proposal did not
result from a breach of this Section 5.4, (3) the Company gives to Parent the notice required by
Section 5.4, and (4) the Company furnishes any non-public information provided to the maker of the
Acquisition Proposal only pursuant to a confidentiality agreement between the Company and such
person on substantially the same terms as the Confidentiality Agreement (it being acknowledged and
agreed that such confidentiality agreement need not contain a “standstill” or similar provision
that prohibits the third party recipient of such information from making any Acquisition Proposal)
and to the extent non-public information that has not been made available to Parent is made
available to the maker of the Acquisition Proposal, provide such non-public information to Parent
substantially concurrent with the time that it is provided to such other person; (B) the Company
from complying with Rules 14d-9 and 14e-2 promulgated under the Exchange Act with regard to any
Acquisition Proposal (or making any similar communication to stockholders in connection with any
amendment to the terms of a tender offer or exchange offer) so long as any action taken or
statement made to so comply is consistent with this Section 5.4; (C) the Company, or the Board of
Directors, directly or indirectly through any officer, employee or Representative disclosing
factual information regarding the business, financial condition or results of operations of the
Company or the fact that an Acquisition Proposal has been made, the identity of the party making
such proposal or the material terms of such proposal in the Proxy Statement or otherwise, to the
extent the Company in good faith determines that such information, facts, identity or terms is
required to be disclosed under applicable Law or that failure to make such disclosure is reasonably
likely to be inconsistent with its fiduciary duties under applicable Law; or (D) the Company, or
the Board of Directors, directly or indirectly through any officer, employee or Representative
making any statement or disclosure to the Company’s stockholders required by applicable Law;
provided that any such action taken or statement or disclosure made that relates to an Acquisition
Proposal shall be deemed to be a Change of Recommendation unless the Board of Directors reaffirms
its recommendation in favor of the proposed transaction in such statement or disclosure or in
connection with such action (except that a mere “stop, look and listen” disclosure in compliance
with Rule 14d-9(f) of the 1934 Act shall not constitute a Change of Recommendation). So long as
the Company and its Representatives have otherwise complied with this Section 5.4, none of the
foregoing shall prohibit the Company and its Representatives from contacting in writing any persons
or group of persons who has made an Acquisition Proposal after the date of this Agreement solely to
request the
clarification of the terms and conditions thereof so as to determine whether the
Acquisition Proposal is, or could reasonably be expected to lead to, a Superior Offer, and any such
actions shall not be a breach of this Section 5.4.
(b) The Company shall promptly, and in no event later than twenty-four (24) hours after its or
any of its Representatives’ receipt of any Acquisition Proposal or any request for non-
55
public information relating to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries in connection with an
Acquisition Proposal, advise Parent orally and in writing of such Acquisition Proposal or request
(including providing the identity of the person making or submitting such Acquisition Proposal or
request, and, (x) if it is in writing, a copy of such Acquisition Proposal and any related draft
agreements and (y) if oral, a reasonably detailed summary thereof that is made or submitted by any
person during the period between the date hereof and the Closing). The Company shall keep Parent
informed in all material respects on a prompt basis with respect to any change to the material
terms of any such Acquisition Proposal (and in no event later than twenty-four (24) hours following
any such change). The Company agrees that it shall promptly provide to Parent any non-public
information concerning itself or its Subsidiaries provided to any other person in connection with
any Acquisition Proposal which was not previously provided to Parent.
(c) Immediately following the execution of this Agreement, (i) the Company shall, and shall
cause its Subsidiaries and its and their respective officers, directors and employees, and shall
use its reasonable best efforts to cause its and their respective Representatives to, immediately
cease and terminate any discussions existing as of the date of this Agreement between the Company
or any of its Subsidiaries or any of their respective officers, directors, employees or
Representatives and any person (other than Parent) that relate to any Acquisition Proposal, and
(ii) the Company shall, and shall use its reasonable best efforts to cause its Representatives to,
cause to be returned or destroyed all confidential information provided by or on behalf of the
Company or any Subsidiary to such person.
(d) Except as otherwise provided in Section 5.4(e), neither the Board of Directors of the
Company nor any committee thereof may (i) withhold, withdraw or modify, or publicly propose to
withhold, withdraw or modify, the Company Recommendation in a manner adverse to Parent, or (ii)
recommend, adopt or approve, or propose publicly to recommend, adopt or approve, any Acquisition
Proposal (any action described in this Section 5.4(d), a “Change of Recommendation”).
(e) Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, with respect to (i) an
Intervening Event or (ii) an Acquisition Proposal, the Board of Directors of the Company may at any
time prior to receipt of the Company Stockholder Approval, make a Change of Recommendation and/or
terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section 7.1(h), if (and only if): (A) in the case of (ii)
above, (x) an Acquisition Proposal (that did not result from a breach of Section 5.4(a)) is made to
the Company by a third party, and such Acquisition Proposal is not withdrawn; (y) the Company’s
Board of Directors determines in good faith after consultation with its financial advisors and
outside legal counsel that such Acquisition Proposal constitutes a Superior Offer; and (z) the
Company’s Board of Directors determines to terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section 7.1(h), (B)
in the case of (i) above, following consultation with outside legal counsel, the Company’s Board of
Directors determines that the failure to make a Change of Recommendation would be reasonably likely
to constitute a breach by the Board of Directors of its fiduciary duties under applicable Laws; (C)
in the case of (i) and (ii) above, (x) the Company provides Parent ninety-six (96) hour’s prior
written notice of its intention to take such action, which notice shall include the information
with respect to such Intervening Event or Superior Offer, as the case may be, that is specified in
Section 5.4(b), (y) after providing such notice and prior to making such Change of Recommendation
in connection with an Intervening Event or a Superior Offer or taking any action pursuant to
Section 7.1(h) with
56
respect to a Superior Offer, the Company shall negotiate in good faith with Parent during such
ninety-six (96) hour period (to the extent that Parent desires to negotiate) to make such revisions
to the terms of this Agreement as would permit the Board of Directors of the Company not to effect
a Change of Recommendation in connection with an Intervening Event or a Superior Offer or to take
such action pursuant to Section 7.1(h) in response to a Superior Offer, and (z) the Board of
Directors of the Company shall have considered in good faith any changes to this Agreement offered
in writing by Parent and shall have determined in good faith, after consultation with its outside
legal counsel and financial advisors, that the event continues to constitute an Intervening Event
or that the Superior Offer would continue to constitute a Superior Proposal, in each case if such
changes offered in writing by Parent were to be given effect; provided that, for the avoidance of
doubt, the Company shall not effect a Change of Recommendation in connection with an Intervening
Event or a Superior Offer or take any action pursuant to Section 7.1(h) with respect to a Superior
Offer prior to the time that is ninety-six (96) hours after it has provided the written notice
required by clause (x) above; provided further, that in the event that the Acquisition Proposal is
thereafter modified by the party making such Acquisition Proposal, the Company shall provide
written notice of such modified Acquisition Proposal and shall again comply with this Section
5.4(e), except that the Company’s advance written notice obligation shall be reduced to seventy-two
(72) hours (rather than the ninety-six (96) hours otherwise contemplated by this Section 5.4(e))
and the time the Company shall be permitted to effect a Change of Recommendation in connection with
a Superior Offer or to take action pursuant to Section 7.1(h) with respect to a Superior Offer
shall be reduced to the time that is seventy-two (72) hours after it has provided such written
notice (rather than the time that is the ninety-six (96) hours otherwise contemplated by this
Section 5.4(e)) (but in no event prior to the original ninety-six (96) hour advance notice period).
(f) As used in this Agreement:
(i) | “Acquisition Proposal” means any bona fide offer, inquiry, proposal or indication of interest, whether or not in writing, received from a third party (other than an offer, inquiry, proposal or indication of interest by Parent or Merger Sub or any of their respective Subsidiaries) relating to any Acquisition Transaction; |
(ii) | “Acquisition Transaction” means any transaction or series of transactions (other than those contemplated by Section 5.19) involving: (A) any merger, consolidation, share exchange, recapitalization or business combination involving the Company or any of its material Subsidiaries; (B) any direct or indirect acquisition, sale, issuance or repurchase of securities, tender offer, joint venture, exchange offer or other similar transaction or series of transactions which would result in a person or “group” (as defined in the Exchange Act) of persons having direct or indirect beneficial or record ownership of securities representing more than twenty percent (20%) of the outstanding Company Common Stock; (C) any direct or indirect acquisition of any business or businesses or of assets (including equity interests in any Subsidiary) that constitute or account for twenty percent (20%) or more of the consolidated net revenues, net income or assets (based on the fair market value thereof) of |
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the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole; (D) any liquidation or dissolution of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or the payment of any extraordinary dividend by the Company; or (E) any combination of the foregoing; |
(iii) | “Intervening Event” means a material event, fact, circumstance, development or occurrence that is unknown to or by the Company’s Board of Directors as of the date of this Agreement (or if known, the magnitude or material consequences of which were not known or understood by the Company Board of Directors as of the date hereof), which event, fact, circumstance, development, occurrence, magnitude or material consequence becomes known to or by the Company’s Board of Directors prior to obtaining the Company Stockholder Approval; and |
(iv) | “Superior Offer” means a written Acquisition Proposal to acquire at least (A) fifty percent (50%) of the equity securities of the Company or (B) fifty percent (50%) or more of the assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole (based on the fair market value thereof), in each case on terms that the Company’s Board of Directors determines, in good faith, after consultation with its outside legal counsel and its financial advisor, is (A) if accepted, reasonably likely to be consummated, and (B) if consummated would, based upon the advice of the Company’s financial advisor, be more favorable to the Company’s stockholders from a financial point of view than the Merger and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement (taking into account any proposal by Parent to amend or modify the terms of this Agreement which are committed to in writing), after taking into account such factors (including timing, likelihood of consummation, break-up fees, expense reimbursement provisions, required approvals, conditions to consummation, legal, financial, regulatory and other aspects of the offer, and the person making the offer) deemed relevant by the Board of Directors of the Company. |
Section 5.5. Filings; Other Actions.
(a) As promptly as reasonably practicable following the date of this Agreement, Parent and the
Company shall prepare and file with the SEC the Proxy Statement, and Parent shall prepare and file
with the SEC the Form S-4, in which the Proxy Statement will be included as a prospectus. Each of
Parent and the Company shall use reasonable best efforts to have the Form S-4 declared effective
under the Securities Act as promptly as reasonably practicable after such filing and to keep the
Form S-4 effective as long as necessary to consummate the Merger and the other transactions
contemplated hereby. The Company will cause the Proxy Statement to be mailed to the Company’s
stockholders, as reasonably practicable after the Form S-4 is declared effective under the
Securities Act. Parent shall also take any action required to be taken under any applicable state
or provincial securities laws in connection with the issuance and reservation of Common Units in
the Merger, and the Company shall furnish all information concerning the Company and the holders of
Company Common Stock as may be reasonably requested in connection with any such action. No filing
of, or amendment or supplement to, the
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Form S-4 or the Proxy Statement will be made by Parent or the Company, as applicable, without
the other’s prior consent (which shall not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned) and
without providing the other party a reasonable opportunity to review and comment thereon. Parent
or the Company, as applicable, will advise the other promptly after it receives oral or written
notice of the time when the Form S-4 has become effective or any supplement or amendment has been
filed, the issuance of any stop order, the suspension of the qualification of the Common Units
issuable in connection with the Merger for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or any oral or
written request by the SEC for amendment of the Proxy Statement or the Form S-4 or comments thereon
and responses thereto or requests by the SEC for additional information, and will promptly provide
the other with copies of any written communication from the SEC or any state securities commission.
If at any time prior to the Effective Time any information relating to Parent or the Company, or
any of their respective affiliates, officers or directors, is discovered by Parent or the Company
which should be set forth in an amendment or supplement to any of the Form S-4 or the Proxy
Statement, so that any of such documents would not include any misstatement of a material fact or
omit to state any material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the
circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, the party that discovers such information
shall promptly notify the other parties hereto and an appropriate amendment or supplement
describing such information shall be promptly filed with the SEC and, to the extent required by
law, disseminated to the stockholders of the Company.
(b) The Company shall take all action necessary in accordance with applicable Laws and the
Company Organizational Documents to duly give notice of, convene and hold a meeting of its
stockholders, to be held as promptly as practicable after the Form S-4 is declared effective under
the Securities Act, to consider the adoption of this Agreement and the approval of the transactions
contemplated hereby, including the Merger (the “Stockholders’ Meeting”). The Company will,
except in the case of a Change of Recommendation, through its Board of Directors, recommend that
its stockholders adopt this Agreement and will use reasonable best efforts to solicit from its
stockholders proxies in favor of the adoption of this Agreement and to take all other action
necessary or advisable to secure the vote or consent of its stockholders required by the rules of
the NYSE or applicable Laws to obtain such approvals.
Section 5.6. Equity-Based Awards.
(a) The Company shall cause each option to purchase shares of Company Common Stock or stock
appreciation right relating to Company Common Stock granted under a Company Benefit Plan that
provides for equity-based compensation (each such Company Benefit Plan, a “Company Stock
Plan”) that is outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time (a “Company Stock
Award”) to become vested and exercisable prior to the Effective Time and shall, in accordance
with the terms of the applicable Company Stock Plan, provide notice to all holders of Company Stock
Awards that any Company Stock Award not exercised prior to the Effective Time shall be cancelled
and terminate upon the Effective Time. In consideration of such cancellation and termination of
Company Stock Awards, the Company shall pay to each holder of a Company Stock Award within five
business days following the Effective Time an amount, less applicable withholding Taxes, in cash
with respect to each share of Company Common Stock subject to the Company Stock Award equal to (i)
the Per Share Cash Consideration minus (ii) the per share exercise price or strike price of
the Company Stock Award. If Parent determines the consent of a holder of a Company Stock Award is
required to
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effectuate the termination of any Company Stock Award, then the Company shall (i) use its
reasonable best efforts to obtain such consent from the holder of such Company Stock Award for no
additional consideration, except as approved by Parent in advance and (ii) shall make any
amendments to the terms of the Company Stock Plans or awards thereunder that may be necessary or
advisable to give effect to the termination of such Company Stock Awards, subject to the advance
approval of Parent which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld. The Company shall require
the holder of any Company Stock Award exercised prior the Effective Time to satisfy any withholding
obligation with respect to such Company Stock Award in accordance with the terms of the applicable
Company Stock Plan and award agreement.
(b) Each award of restricted Company Common Stock granted under a Company Stock Plan that is
outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time (the “Restricted Shares”) shall, as of
the Effective Time, automatically and without any action on the part of the holder thereof, vest
and the restrictions with respect thereto shall lapse, and each share of Company Common Stock
subject to such grant of Restricted Shares shall be converted into cash, Common Units or a
combination of cash and Common Units in accordance with Section 2.1, depending on whether the
holder of such Restricted Shares makes a Cash Election or a Common Unit Election and subject to the
terms and conditions of Section 2.1. Unless the holder of such Restricted Shares shall have
remitted to the Company the amount required to be withheld with respect to the vesting and lapse of
restrictions on the Restricted Shares under the Code or any provision of state, local or foreign
tax Law, the consideration to be received by such holder pursuant to Section 2.1 shall be reduced
by the amount required to be deducted and withheld with respect to the vesting and lapse of such
restrictions on the Restricted Shares. Such reduction shall come first from the cash portion of
the consideration payable to the holder of the Restricted Shares under Section 2.1, if any, and if
there is no cash portion of such consideration or if the cash portion is not sufficient to satisfy
the amount required to be deducted and withheld with respect to vesting and lapse of such
restrictions on the Restricted Shares, then the number of Common Units to be received by the holder
of such Restricted Shares pursuant to Section 2.1 shall be reduced by a number of Common Units
(rounded up to the nearest whole unit with cash payable in respect of the resulting fractional
unit) equal to (i) the amount (or additional amount, as the case may be) required to be deducted
and withheld with respect to the vesting and lapse of such restrictions on the Restricted Shares,
divided by (ii) the closing price of one Common Unit on the New York Stock Exchange on the
day prior to the Closing Date.
(c) The Company shall cause each unvested award of restricted share units, performance shares
or phantom shares with respect to shares of Company Common Stock under a Company Stock Plan that is
outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time (a “Company RSU”) to become fully
vested, and the Company shall, within five business days following the Effective Time pay to the
holder thereof, with respect to each share of Company Common Stock subject to such outstanding
Company RSU (giving effect to the acceleration of vesting contemplated by this Section 5.6(c)) a
lump sum cash payment, less any applicable withholding Taxes, equal to the greater of (i) the Per
Share Cash Consideration and (ii) the product of the Exchange Ratio multiplied by the closing price of
one Common Unit on the NYSE on the Closing Date, as reported in the Wall Street Journal or such
other source as may be determined by Parent.
(d) The Company shall use its reasonable best efforts to take any actions reasonably necessary
to effectuate the transactions contemplated by this Section 5.6. Prior to the Effective
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Time, the Company shall deliver to the holders of the Company Stock Awards and Company RSUs
notices, in form and substance reasonably acceptable to Parent, setting forth such holders’ rights
pursuant to this Agreement.
Section 5.7. Employee Matters.
(a) Parent shall cause the Surviving Corporation and each of its Subsidiaries, for the period
commencing at the Effective Time and ending on the first anniversary thereof, to maintain for the
individuals employed by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries at the Effective Time (the
“Current Employees”) compensation and benefits that are substantially comparable in the
aggregate to the compensation and benefits (i) provided to Current Employees as a group immediately
prior to the Effective Time (excluding, for this purpose, equity-based compensation and
participation in a defined-benefit pension plan unless such participation is mandated by the terms
of a collective bargaining or other similar agreement between the Company or one of its
Subsidiaries and an employee representative) or (ii) provided to similarly situated employees of
Parent and its Subsidiaries.
(b) Parent will cause the Surviving Corporation to provide credit for each Current Employees
length of service with the Company and its Subsidiaries prior to the Effective Time for
eligibility, vesting and benefits accrual purposes under any employee benefit plans of the
Surviving Corporation and its Subsidiaries to the same extent as such service was recognized under
a similar Company Benefit Plan; provided, that such prior service credit shall not be
required to the extent it results in a duplication of benefits. Parent shall use commercially
reasonable efforts to cause each health plan of Parent in which any Current Employee participates
following the Closing to (i) waive any pre-existing condition limitation for any condition for
which such Current Employee would have been entitled to coverage under the corresponding Company
Benefit Plan prior to the Effective Time and (ii) honor co-payments made, and deductibles
satisfied, by such Current Employee prior to the Effective Time. For purposes of this Agreement,
“Benefit Plans” means, with respect to any entity, any compensation or employee benefit
plans, programs, policies, agreements or other arrangements, whether or not “employee benefit
plans” (within the meaning of Section 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974,
as amended (“ERISA”)), whether or not subject to ERISA, including bonus, cash or
equity-based incentive, deferred compensation, stock purchase, health, medical, dental, disability,
accident, life insurance, or vacation, paid time off, perquisite, fringe benefit, severance, change
of control, retention, employment, separation, retirement, pension, or savings, plans, programs,
policies, agreements or arrangements for the benefit of current or former directors, officers or
employees of such entity or any of its Subsidiaries or any dependant or beneficiary thereof.
(c) If requested by Parent, subject to the terms of any such Benefit Plan, the Company’s Board
of Directors shall adopt resolutions, in form and substance reasonably acceptable to Parent,
terminating, effective at least one day prior to the Closing Date (the “ERISA Effective
Date”), any Company Benefit Plan qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code and containing a
Code Section 401(k) cash or deferred arrangement (a “401(k) Plan”). Prior to the ERISA
Effective Date, the Company shall provide Parent with executed resolutions of its Board of
Directors authorizing such termination and amending any such 401(k) Plan commensurate with its
termination to the extent necessary to comply with all applicable Laws.
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The Company shall also take such other actions in furtherance of the termination of each
401(k) Plan as Parent may reasonably require, including such actions as Parent may require prior to
the Effective Time to support Parent obtaining a determination letter with respect to the
termination of each 401(k) Plan following the ERISA Effective Date. In addition, if requested by
Parent, the Company shall take such actions as may be necessary to eliminate, as of no later than
immediately prior to the Effective Time, from any 401(k) Plan or other retirement plan, any
investment fund, election or alternative that provides for an investment directly in shares of
Company Common Stock.
(d) Nothing in this Section 5.7 shall be construed as an amendment of, or undertaking to
amend, any Benefit Plan or to prevent the amendment or termination of any Benefit Plan. Nothing in
this Section 5.7 shall limit the right of Parent, the Surviving Corporation or any of their
Subsidiaries to terminate the employment of any Current Employee at any time, subject to any rights
to severance or other separation benefits accrued as of the applicable termination date under a
Company Benefit Plan. Without limiting the generality of Section 8.10, the provisions of this
Section 5.7 are solely for the benefit of the parties to this Agreement, and no current or former
director, officer, employee, other service provider or independent contractor or any other person
shall be a third-party beneficiary of this Agreement, and nothing herein shall be construed as an
amendment to any Parent Benefit Plan, Company Benefit Plan or other compensation or benefit plan or
arrangement for any purpose.
Section 5.8. Regulatory Approvals; Reasonable Best Efforts.
(a) Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, each of the parties
hereto shall use its reasonable best efforts (subject to, and in accordance with, applicable Law)
to take, or cause to be taken, promptly all actions, and to do, or cause to be done, promptly and
to assist and cooperate with the other parties in doing, all things necessary, proper or advisable
under applicable Laws to consummate and make effective the Merger and the other transactions
contemplated by this Agreement, including: (i) the obtaining of all necessary actions or
nonactions, waivers, consents and approvals, including the Company Approvals and the Parent
Approvals, from Governmental Entities and the making of all necessary registrations and filings and
the taking of all steps as may be necessary to obtain an approval or waiver from, or to avoid an
action or proceeding by, any Governmental Entity, (ii) the obtaining of all necessary consents,
approvals or waivers from third parties other than any Governmental Entity (including consents
necessary in connection with the merger of CrossCountry Energy, LLC with and into a subsidiary of
Parent and thereafter a subsidiary of ETP), (iii) the defending of any lawsuits or other legal
proceedings, whether judicial or administrative, challenging this Agreement or the consummation of
the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including seeking to have any stay or temporary
restraining order entered by any Governmental Entity vacated or reversed, and (iv) the execution
and delivery of any additional instruments necessary to consummate the transactions contemplated by
this Agreement. In the event that any litigation, administrative or judicial action or other
proceeding is commenced challenging the Merger or any of the proposed transactions, each of the
Company, Parent and Merger Sub shall cooperate with each other and use its respective reasonable
best efforts to contest and resist any such litigation, action or proceeding and to have vacated,
lifted, reversed or overturned any decree, judgment, injunction or other order, whether temporary,
preliminary or permanent, that is in effect and that prohibits, prevents or restricts consummation
of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
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(b) Subject to the terms and conditions herein provided and without limiting the foregoing,
the Company and Parent shall (i) as promptly as practicable (and in any event not more than ten
business days) after the date hereof, make their respective filings and thereafter make any other
required submissions under the HSR Act, (ii) use reasonable best efforts to cooperate with each
other in (A) determining whether any filings are required to be made with, or consents, permits,
authorizations, waivers or approvals are required to be obtained from, any third parties or other
Governmental Entities in connection with the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the
consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, (B) timely making all such filings and timely
seeking all such consents, permits, authorizations or approvals, (C) assuring that all such filings
are in material compliance with the requirements of applicable Regulatory Laws, and (D) making
available to the other party such information as the other party may reasonably request in order to
respond to information requests by any relevant Governmental Entity, (iii) use reasonable best
efforts to take, or cause to be taken, all other actions and do, or cause to be done, all other
things advisable to consummate and make effective the transactions contemplated hereby, and (iv)
subject to applicable legal limitations and the instructions of any Governmental Entity, keep each
other apprised of the status of matters relating to the completion of the transactions contemplated
thereby, including promptly furnishing the other with copies of notices or other communications,
filings or correspondence (or memoranda setting forth the substance thereof) between the Company or
Parent, or any of their respective Subsidiaries, and any third party and/or any Governmental Entity
(or members of their respective staffs) with respect to such transactions. The Company and Parent
shall use their respective reasonable best efforts to file applications for the FERC Approval, the
MDPU Approval, the MPSC Approval, the FCC Approval and any other filings, determined to be required
as promptly as practicable after the date hereof, but in no event later than thirty days after the
date hereof, and shall make such filings jointly if appropriate. Prior to transmitting any
material to any Governmental Entity (or members of their respective staffs), the Company and Parent
shall permit counsel for the other party a reasonable opportunity to review and provide comments
thereon, and consider in good faith the views of the other party in connection with, any proposed
written communication to any Governmental Entity (or members of their respective staffs) to the
extent permitted by Law. Each of the Company and Parent agrees not to participate in any meeting
or discussion, either in person or by telephone, with any Governmental Entity in connection with
the proposed transactions unless it consults with the other party in advance and, to the extent not
prohibited by such Governmental Entity or by Law, gives the other party the opportunity to attend
and participate.
(c) In furtherance and not in limitation of the foregoing, each of Parent, Merger Sub and the
Company shall use their reasonable best efforts to obtain the Requisite Regulatory Approvals,
including (i) responding to and complying with, as promptly as reasonably practicable, any request
for information regarding the transactions from any relevant Governmental Entity (including
responding to any “second request” for information under the HSR Act as promptly as reasonably
practicable); (ii) ensuring the prompt expiration of any applicable waiting period and clearance or
approval by any such relevant Governmental Entity, including defense against, and the resolution
of, any objections or challenges, in court or otherwise, by any relevant Governmental Entity
preventing consummation of the transactions; and (iii) assisting and cooperating with the other
party in doing all things necessary, proper or advisable to consummate and make effective the
transactions, under any applicable Regulatory Law with each relevant Governmental Entity. In the
event the parties, despite their reasonable
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best efforts, have not obtained clearance or approval of the transactions from any relevant
Governmental Entity and/or resolved any objections or challenges by any relevant Governmental
Entity preventing consummation of the transactions by the Closing Date, the Closing Date shall
automatically be extended for an additional three months, and thereafter shall be extended for any
additional periods as agreed by both Company and Parent.
(d) Parent agrees to take, or cause to be taken, any and all steps and to make, or cause to be
made, any and all undertakings necessary to resolve such objections, if any, that a Governmental
Entity may assert under Regulatory Laws with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby, and
to avoid or eliminate each and every impediment under Regulatory Laws that may be asserted by any
Governmental Entity with respect to the Merger so as to enable the Closing to occur (i) as to the
Requisite Regulatory Approvals related to the HSR Act, the Xxxxxxx Act, the Xxxxxxx Act or the
Federal Trade Commission Act (the “Antitrust Approvals”), no later than the time at which
all Requisite Regulatory Approvals other than those related to the Antitrust Approvals are achieved
and (ii) as to Requisite Regulatory Approvals other than those related to the Antitrust Approvals,
as promptly as reasonably practicable and in any event no later than the End Date, including in
each case taking any action (including any action that limits Parent’s freedom of action, ownership
or control with respect to, or its ability to retain or hold, any of the businesses, assets,
product lines or properties of Parent or Company) as may be required in order to avoid the
commencement of any action to prohibit the merger, or, in the alternative, to avoid the entry of,
or to effect the dissolution of, any injunction, temporary restraining order or other order in any
action seeking to prohibit the merger; provided, however, that notwithstanding anything in
this Section 5.8 to the contrary, Parent shall not be required to take, or cause to be taken, any
such action to obtain the MDPU Approval or the MPSC Approval to the extent that such action would
require Parent, Merger Sub or the Company to take, or cause to be taken, any action with respect to
any of the assets, businesses or product lines of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or of
Parent or any of its Subsidiaries, or any combination thereof, if such action would result in a
material adverse effect on or with respect to the business, financial condition or continuing
results of operations of Parent and its Subsidiaries (including the Surviving Corporation), taken
as a whole (assuming Parent and its Subsidiaries (including the Surviving Corporation), taken as a
whole were an entity with the assets, liabilities and revenues of an entity the size of the Company
and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole). Subject to the provisions of this Section 5.8, Parent
shall have sole discretion in determining the scope of undertakings to be taken, including the
scope of assets to be divested or held separate, or the conduct to be restricted, in order to meet
the obligations of this Paragraph; provided, however, any undertaking pursuant to this
Paragraph shall be conditioned on closing of the transactions in this Agreement. Further, Company
shall not, without the prior written consent of Parent, publicly or before any governmental entity
or other third party commit to or effect, by consent decree, hold separate order or otherwise, any
sale, divestiture, disposition, prohibition or limitation or other action of a type described in
this agreement. For purposes of this Section 5.8(d), ETP and Regency Energy Partners LP, a
Delaware limited partnership (“Regency”), and their respective Subsidiaries, shall be
deemed to be Subsidiaries of Parent.
(e) Parent and the Company and each of their respective Subsidiaries shall not take any action
with the intention to, or that could reasonably be expected to, hinder or delay the obtaining of
clearance or any necessary consent of any Governmental Entity under any Regulatory Law or the
expiration of the required waiting period under any Regulatory Law.
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(f) Notwithstanding the foregoing or any other provision of this Agreement, nothing in this
Section 5.8 shall limit a party’s right to terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section 7.1(b) or
Section 7.1(c) so long as such party has, prior to such termination, complied with its obligations
under this Agreement, including this Section 5.8.
(g) As used in this Agreement, “Regulatory Law” means the Xxxxxxx Act of 1890, the
Xxxxxxx Antitrust Act of 1914, the HSR Act, the FPA, the NGA, the NGPA, the ICA, the PUHCA, the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, state laws governing local distribution companies in the
States of Massachusetts and Missouri and all other federal, state or foreign statutes, rules,
regulations, orders, decrees, administrative and judicial doctrines and other Laws, including any
antitrust, competition or trade regulation Laws, that are designed or intended to (i) prohibit,
restrict or regulate actions having the purpose or effect of monopolization or restraint of trade
or lessening competition through merger or acquisition or (ii) protect the national security or the
national economy of any nation.
Section 5.9. Takeover Statutes. If any Takeover Law may become, or may purport to be,
applicable to the Merger, the Support Agreements or any other transactions contemplated hereby,
each of the Company and Parent shall grant such approvals and take such actions as are reasonably
necessary so that the transactions contemplated hereby may be consummated as promptly as
practicable on the terms contemplated hereby and otherwise act to eliminate or minimize the effects
of such statute or regulation on the transactions contemplated hereby.
Section 5.10. Public Announcements. Except (a) following any Change of Recommendation
or (b) with respect to action taken by the Company or its Board of Directors pursuant to, and in
accordance with, Section 5.4 so long as this Agreement is in effect, the parties shall use
reasonable best efforts to consult with each other before issuing, and provide each other the
reasonable opportunity to review and comment upon, any press release or any public announcement
primarily relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby. Parent and the
Company agree to issue a mutually acceptable initial joint press release announcing this Agreement.
Section 5.11. Indemnification and Insurance.
(a) Parent and Merger Sub agree that all rights to exculpation, indemnification and
advancement of expenses now existing in favor of the current or former directors, officers or
employees, as the case may be, of the Company or its Subsidiaries as provided in their respective
certificates of incorporation or by-laws or other organization documents or in any agreement to
which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party, shall survive the Merger and shall
continue in full force and effect. For a period of six years from the Effective Time, Parent and
the Surviving Corporation shall maintain in effect the exculpation, indemnification and advancement
of expenses provisions of the Company’s and any of its Subsidiary’s certificate of incorporation
and by-laws or similar organization documents in effect immediately prior to the Effective Time or
in any indemnification agreements of the Company or its Subsidiaries with any of their respective
directors, officers or employees in effect immediately prior to the Effective Time, and shall not
amend, repeal or otherwise modify any such provisions in any manner that would adversely affect the
rights thereunder of any individuals who immediately before the Effective Time were current or
former directors, officers or employees of the
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Company or any of its Subsidiaries; provided, however, that all rights to indemnification in
respect of any Action pending or asserted or any claim made within such period shall continue until
the disposition of such Action or resolution of such claim. From and after the Effective Time,
Parent shall assume, be jointly and severally liable for, and honor, guaranty and stand surety for,
and shall cause the Surviving Corporation and its Subsidiaries to honor and perform, in accordance
with their respective terms, each of the covenants contained in this Section 5.11 without limit as
to time.
(b) The Surviving Corporation shall, to the fullest extent permitted under applicable Law,
indemnify and hold harmless (and advance funds in respect of each of the foregoing) each current
and former director, officer or employee of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries and each person
who served as a director, officer, member, trustee or fiduciary of another corporation,
partnership, joint venture, trust, pension or other employee benefit plan or enterprise if such
service was at the request or for the benefit of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (each,
together with such person’s heirs, executors or administrators, an “Indemnified Party”), in
each case against any costs or expenses (including advancing attorneys’ fees and expenses in
advance of the final disposition of any claim, suit, proceeding or investigation to each
Indemnified Party to the fullest extent permitted by applicable Law; provided, however, that the
Person to whom expenses are advanced provides an undertaking, if and only to the extent required by
Delaware law, to repay such advances if it is ultimately determined that such person is not
entitled to indemnification), judgments, fines, losses, claims, damages, liabilities and amounts
paid in settlement in connection with any actual or threatened claim, action, suit, proceeding or
investigation, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (an “Action”),
arising out of, relating to or in connection with any action or omission by them in their
capacities as such occurring or alleged to have occurred whether before or after the Effective Time
(including acts or omissions in connection with such persons serving as an officer, director or
other fiduciary in any entity if such service was at the request or for the benefit of the
Company). In the event of any such Action, the Surviving Corporation shall cooperate with the
Indemnified Party in the defense of any such Action.
(c) For a period of six years from the Effective Time, Parent shall cause to be maintained in
effect the coverage provided by the policies of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance and
fiduciary liability insurance in effect as of the Effective Time by the Company and its
Subsidiaries with respect to matters arising on or before the Effective Time; provided, however,
that Parent shall not be required to pay annual premiums in excess of 300% of the last annual
premium paid by the Company prior to the date hereof in respect of the coverages required to be
obtained pursuant hereto, but in such case shall purchase as much coverage as reasonably
practicable for such amount.
(d) Parent shall pay all reasonable expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, that may
be incurred by any indemnified party in enforcing the indemnity and other obligations provided in
this Section 5.11.
(e) The rights of each indemnified party hereunder shall be in addition to, and not in
limitation of, any other rights such indemnified party may have under the certificate of
incorporation or by-laws or other organization documents of the Company or any of its
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Subsidiaries or the Surviving Corporation, any other indemnification arrangement, the DGCL or
otherwise.
(f) In the event Parent, the Surviving Corporation or any of their respective successors or
assigns (i) consolidates with or merges into any other person and shall not be the continuing or
surviving corporation or entity in such consolidation or merger or (ii) transfers all or
substantially all of its properties and assets to any person, then, and in either such case, proper
provision shall be made so that the successors and assigns of Parent or the Surviving Corporation,
as the case may be, shall assume the obligations of such party set forth in this Section 5.11.
(g) The obligations of Parent and the Surviving Corporation under this Section 5.11 shall not
be terminated, amended or modified in any manner so as to adversely affect any indemnified party
(including their successors, heirs and legal representatives) to whom this Section 5.11 applies
without the consent of such Indemnified Parties (it being expressly agreed that the Indemnifying
Parties to whom this Section 5.11 applies shall be third party beneficiaries of this Section 5.11,
and this Section 5.11 shall survive consummation of the Merger and shall be enforceable by such
Indemnified Parties and their respective successors, heirs and legal representatives against Parent
and the Surviving Corporation and their respective successors and assigns.
Section 5.12. Control of Operations. Without in any way limiting any party’s rights
or obligations under this Agreement, the parties understand and agree that (a) nothing contained in
this Agreement shall give Parent or the Company, directly or indirectly, the right to control or
direct the other party’s operations prior to the Effective Time and (b) prior to the Effective
Time, each of the Company and Parent shall exercise, consistent with the terms and conditions of
this Agreement, complete control and supervision over its operations.
Section 5.13. Certain Transfer Taxes. Any liability arising out of any real estate
transfer Tax with respect to interests in real property owned directly or indirectly by the Company
or any of its Subsidiaries immediately prior to the Merger, if applicable and due with respect to
the Merger, shall be borne by the Surviving Corporation and expressly shall not be a liability of
stockholders of the Company.
Section 5.14. Section 16 Matters. Prior to the Effective Time, Parent and the Company
shall take all such steps as may be required to cause any dispositions of Company Common Stock
(including derivative securities with respect to Company Common Stock) or acquisitions of Common
Units (including derivative securities with respect to Common Units) resulting from the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement by each individual who is subject to the reporting
requirements of Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act with respect to the Company or will become
subject to such reporting requirements with respect to Parent, to be exempt under Rule 16b-3
promulgated under the Exchange Act.
Section 5.15. Agreed Tax Treatment. The parties to this Agreement intend that, with
respect to holders of Company Common Stock receiving Common Units as Merger Consideration, the
Merger qualify under Section 721(a) of the Code with respect to holders of Company Common Stock to
the extent they receive Common Units as Merger Consideration;
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provided however, this result may not apply to the extent such holders receive money or other
property, other than an operating cash flow distribution (as such term is defined in Treasury
regulation section 1.707-4), from Parent on any date through and including the second anniversary
of the Closing. Each party hereto agrees to file all federal (and, to the extent applicable, state
and local) income tax returns reporting the Merger in a manner consistent with such treatment.
Provided the opinion conditions contained in Section 6.2(e) and Section 6.2(f) have been satisfied,
Parent shall file the opinions described in Section 6.2(e) and Section 6.2(f) with the SEC by a
post-effective amendment to the Form S-4 promptly following the Closing, unless opinions issued to
the Company and Parent and addressing the qualification of the Merger (in similar form to those
opinions described in Section 6.2(e) and Section 6.2(f)) were previously filed with the SEC.
Section 5.16. Tax Representation Letters. Parent shall use its reasonable best
efforts to deliver to Xxxxxxx XxXxxxxxx LLP and Xxxxxx & Xxxxxxx LLP, counsel to Parent
(collectively “Parent’s Counsel”), and Xxxxxxx & Holland LLP and Xxxxx Lord Xxxxxxx &
Xxxxxxx, LLP, counsel to the Company (collectively the “Company’s Counsel”), a “Tax
Representation Letter,” dated as of the Closing Date (and, if requested, dated as of the date the
Form S-4 shall have been declared effective by the SEC) and signed by an officer of Parent and
Merger Sub, containing representations of Parent and Merger Sub, and the Company shall use its
reasonable best efforts to deliver to Parent’s Counsel and the Company’s Counsel a “Tax
Representation Letter,” dated as of the Closing Date (and, if requested, dated as of the date
the Form S-4 shall have been declared effective by the SEC) and signed by an officer of the
Company, containing representations of the Company, in each case (notwithstanding Section 3.24 and
Section 4.23) as shall be reasonably necessary or appropriate to enable the Company’s Counsel to
render the opinions described in Section 6.2(f) and Parent’s Counsel to render the opinions
described in Section 6.2(e).
Section 5.17. NYSE Listing. Parent shall use its reasonable efforts to cause the
Common Units to be issued in the Merger to be approved for listing on the NYSE, subject to official
notice of issuance, prior to the Closing Date.
Section 5.18. Financing and Financing Assistance.
(a) Parent shall use its reasonable best efforts to take, or cause to be taken, all actions
and to do, or cause to be done, all things necessary, advisable or proper to consummate and obtain
the Financing on the terms and conditions described in the Commitment Letter (or on revised terms
that are not materially adverse to Parent as compared to the terms and conditions described in the
Commitment Letter and do not contain any provisions which would reasonably be expected to prevent,
materially delay or materially impede the consummation of the Financing or the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement, including any modified or additional conditions to the closing of
such Financing), including using reasonable best efforts to (i) maintain in effect the Commitment
Letter, (ii) satisfy on a timely basis all conditions to the funding of the Financing set forth in
the Commitment Letter, (iii) enforce the terms of the Commitment Letter and (iv) negotiate and
enter into definitive agreements with respect thereto on the terms and conditions contemplated by
the Commitment Letter (including after giving effect to any “market flex” provisions set forth in
the Fee Letter executed in connection with the Financing). Parent shall not, and shall not permit
Merger Sub to, agree to or permit any
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amendment, replacements, supplement or other modification of, or waive any of its material
rights under, the Commitment Letter without the Company’s prior written consent (which consent
shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed); provided that Parent and Merger Sub
may (x) enter into any amendment, replacement, supplement or other modification to or waiver of any
provision of the Commitment Letter that does not contain any provisions that would reasonably be
expected to prevent, materially delay or materially impede the consummation of the Financing or the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement; and (y) amend the Commitment Letter to add lenders,
lead arrangers, book runners, syndication agents or similar entities who had not executed the
Commitment Letter as of the date of this Agreement so long as any such addition would not
reasonably be expected to prevent, materially hinder or materially delay the consummation of the
Financing or the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the availability of the Financing
under the Commitment Letter. Parent shall exercise its option to extend the commitment to provide
the Financing in accordance with the terms of the Commitment Letter if it becomes necessary to
ensure that the Financing is available at Closing.
(b) In the event any portion of the Financing becomes unavailable on the terms and conditions
described in or contemplated by the Commitment Letter (including after giving effect to the “market
flex” provisions set forth in the Fee Letter executed in connection with the Financing) for any
reason, Parent shall, in consultation with the Company, use its reasonable best efforts to arrange
to obtain, as promptly as practicable following the occurrence of such event, alternative financing
from the same or alternative sources (the “Alternative Financing”) in an amount sufficient
to enable Parent to fund the payment of the cash component of the Merger Consideration, which
Alternative Financing would not contain any provisions that would reasonably be expected to
prevent, materially delay or materially impede the consummation of the Financing or the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including any conditions to the closing of such
Financing that are materially less favorable to Parent than the conditions to closing in the
Commitment Letter (as set forth therein immediately prior to such Alternative Financing). If an
Alternative Financing is required in accordance with this Section 5.18(b), Parent shall obtain, and
when obtained, provide the Company with a copy of, a new financing commitment that provides for
such Alternative Financing, and thereafter the “Commitment Letter” as defined herein shall refer to
such financing commitment in respect of the Alternative Financing.
(c) Prior to the Closing, the Company shall use its reasonable best efforts to provide to
Parent and Merger Sub, and shall use its reasonable best efforts to cause its Subsidiaries and the
respective officers, employees, agents and representatives of the Company and its Subsidiaries to,
provide to Parent and Merger Sub cooperation reasonably requested by Parent that is necessary or
reasonably required in connection with the Financing or any other financing that may be arranged by
Parent or ETP (together with the Financing, the “Financings”, and the sources of the
Financings, the “Financing Sources”), consisting of the following: (i) using reasonable
best efforts to cause the senior officers and other representatives of the Company and its
Subsidiaries, including without limitation Citrus Corp. (the “Company Finance Parties”) to
participate in meetings, presentations, road shows, due diligence sessions (including accounting
due diligence sessions), drafting sessions and sessions with rating agencies on reasonable advance
notice to the extent practicable; (ii) assisting with the preparation of appropriate and customary
materials for rating agency presentations, customary debt offering documents and
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customary bank information memoranda in connection with the Financings; (iii) using its
commercially reasonable efforts to assist with the preparation of any pledge and security
documents, any loan agreement, currency or interest hedging agreement, other definitive financing
documents on terms reasonably satisfactory to Parent, or other certificates, legal opinions or
documents as may be reasonably requested by Parent and usual and customary for transactions of the
type contemplated by the Financings, provided that no obligation of any Company Finance Party under
any such document or agreement shall be effective until the Effective Time; (iv) using commercially
reasonable efforts to facilitate the pledging of collateral, provided that no pledge shall be
effective until the Effective Time; (v) using reasonable best efforts to furnish to Parent and
Merger Sub and the Financing Sources, as promptly as reasonably practicable, with financial
statements regarding the Company Finance Parties as may be reasonably requested by Parent,
including all historical financial statements that meet the requirements of Regulation S-X
promulgated under the Securities Act and other financial data reasonably required in connection
with the Financing, including such financial information that Parent reasonably requires for the
preparation of pro-forma financial statements; (vi) providing monthly financial statements to the
extent the Company Finance Parties customarily prepare such financial statements within the time
such statements are customarily prepared; (vii) executing and delivering (or using reasonable best
efforts to obtain from its advisors), and causing the Company Finance Parties to execute and
deliver (or use reasonable best efforts to obtain from its advisors), customary certificates,
accounting comfort letters (including consents of accountants for use of their audit reports in any
financial statements relating to the Financing), legal opinions or other documents and instruments
relating to guarantees and other matters ancillary to the Financings as may be reasonably requested
by Parent as necessary and customary in connection with the Financings, (viii) providing audited
consolidated financial statements of the Company (and any other Company Finance Party that
regularly prepares such financial statements) covering the three (3) fiscal years immediately
preceding the date of any request therefor for which audited consolidated financial statements are
then currently available, unaudited financial statements for any regular quarterly interim fiscal
period or periods of the Company (and any other Company Finance Party that regularly prepares such
financial statements) ended after the date of the most recent audited financial statements and at
least 45 days prior to any request therefor (within 45 days after the end of each such period), and
(ix) requesting that its independent accountants cooperate with and assist Parent and ETP in
preparing customary and appropriate information packages and offering materials as the parties to
the Financings may reasonably request for use in connection with the Financings, in obtaining third
party consents in connection with such financing, and, if applicable, in extinguishing existing
indebtedness of the Company Finance Parties and releasing liens securing such indebtedness, in each
case to take effect at the Effective Time; provided, that the cooperation and actions required by
the Company Finance Parties pursuant to this Section 5.18(c) shall not be required to be taken if
any such cooperation or act (x) causes any representations or warranties of the Company in this
Agreement to be breached, (y) otherwise causes a breach of this Agreement or (z) would cause the
Company Finance Parties any material disruption in its business and the reasonable out-of-pocket
cost and expense of such cooperation and actions under
this Section 5.18(c) shall be borne by the
Parent. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, the Company shall
not be deemed to be in breach of the covenant set forth in this Section 5.18(c) so long as it has
acted in good faith to comply with the cooperation and assistance set forth herein. The Company
may provide Parent with a written notice indicating
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that it has complied with the covenant set forth in this Section 5.18(c) (other than those
items that are not capable of being satisfied prior to Closing) which shall be deemed accepted by
Parent unless Parent shall object to such determination in writing within 5 business days from
receipt of such notice which objection shall specifically identify the area or areas where it
believes that the Company Finance Parties have not satisfied its obligations under this Section
5.18(c) (other than those items that are not capable of being satisfied prior to Closing).
(d) Parent acknowledges and agrees that obtaining the Financing is not a condition to Closing.
For the avoidance of doubt, if the Financing has not been obtained, Parent shall continue to be
obligated, until such time as the Agreement is terminated in accordance with its terms and subject
to the fulfillment or waiver of the condition set forth in Article VI to complete the Merger on the
terms contemplated by this Agreement.
(e) All material non-public information regarding the Company and its Subsidiaries provided to
Parent, Merger Sub, ETP and their respective representatives pursuant to Section 5.18(c) shall be
kept confidential by them in accordance with the Confidentiality Agreement. The Company hereby
consents to the use of all of its and its Subsidiaries’ names and logos in connection with the
Financing; provided that such names and logos are used solely in a manner that is not intended to
nor is reasonably likely to harm or disparage the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, the
reputation or goodwill of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or any of their assets, including
their logos and marks.
Section 5.19. Citrus Transfer. Assuming all conditions to consummation of Merger have
been satisfied or will be satisfied upon the Closing, the Company will assume (and Parent will
assign its rights), immediately prior to the Effective Time, the obligations and rights of Parent
under the Amended and Restated Merger Agreement (the “ETP Merger Agreement”) attached
hereto as Exhibit B and perform Parent’s obligations under the ETP Merger Agreement, including
consummation of the transactions contemplated thereby (the “Citrus Transfer”), if all
conditions to consummation set forth in Sections 6.1 and 6.2 of the ETP Merger Agreement have been
satisfied or will be satisfied at closing thereof. Provided that the Company has complied with its
obligations under this Section 5.19 in all material respects, the consummation of the Citrus
Transfer shall not otherwise be a condition to consummation of the Merger.
ARTICLE VI.
CONDITIONS TO THE MERGER
Section 6.1. Conditions to Each Party’s Obligation to Effect the Merger. The
respective obligations of each party to effect the Merger shall be subject to the fulfillment (or
waiver by all parties) at or prior to the Effective Time of the following conditions:
(a) The Company Stockholder Approval shall have been obtained.
(b) No injunction by any court or other tribunal of competent jurisdiction which prohibits the
consummation of the Merger shall have been entered and shall continue to be in effect.
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(c) The FERC Approval, the MDPU Approval (to the extent required by applicable law) and the
MPSC Approval shall have been obtained and shall have become Final Orders, the expiration or
termination of the waiting and review periods (and any extensions thereof) under the HSR Act shall
have occurred (the FERC Approval, the MDPU Approval, the MPSC Approval and the lapse of the waiting
period under the HSR Act being referred to as the “Requisite Regulatory Approvals”) and
there shall be no Final Order by a federal or state Governmental Entity prohibiting the Merger. As
used herein, the term “Final Order” means action by the relevant Governmental Entity which
has not been reversed, stayed, enjoined, set aside, annulled or suspended, with respect to which
any waiting period prescribed by Law before the transactions contemplated hereby may be consummated
has expired, and as to which all conditions (other than the conditions the satisfaction of which is
in control of a party) to the consummation of such transactions prescribed by law has been
satisfied.
(d) The Common Units to be issued in the Merger shall have been approved for listing on the
NYSE, subject to official notice of issuance.
(e) The Form S-4 shall have been declared effective by the SEC under the Securities Act and no
stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Form S-4 shall have been issued by the SEC and no
proceedings for that purpose shall have been initiated or threatened by the SEC.
Section 6.2. Conditions to Obligation of the Company to Effect the Merger. The
obligation of the Company to effect the Merger is further subject to the fulfillment of, or the
waiver by the Company on or prior to the Effective Time of, the following conditions:
(a) The representations and warranties of Parent and Merger Sub set forth in (i) this
Agreement (other than Section 4.2, Section 4.3 and Section 4.10(b)) shall be true and correct both
at and as of the date of this Agreement and at and as of the Closing Date as though made at and as
of the Closing Date (without regard to “materiality”, Parent Material Adverse Effect and similar
qualifiers contained in such representations and warranties), except where such failures to be so
true and correct would not, in the aggregate, have a Parent Material Adverse Effect, (ii) Section
4.3 shall be true and correct in all material respects both at and as of the date of this Agreement
and at and as of the Closing Date as though made at and as of the Closing Date, (iii) Section 4.2
shall be true and correct both at and as of the date of this Agreement and at and as of the Closing
Date as though made at and as of the Closing Date, except for de minimis inaccuracies, and (iv)
Section 4.10(b) shall be true and correct both at and as of the date of this Agreement and at and
as of the Closing Date as though made at and as of the Closing Date; provided, however, that
representations and warranties that are made as of a particular date or period shall be true and
correct (in the manner set forth in clauses (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv), as applicable) only as of
such date or period.
(b) Parent shall have in all material respects performed all obligations and complied with all
covenants required by this Agreement to be performed or complied with by it prior to the Effective
Time.
(c) Since the date of this Agreement, there shall not have occurred any Parent Material
Adverse Effect or any event or development that could, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably
be expected to result in a Parent Material Adverse Effect.
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(d) Parent shall have delivered to the Company a certificate, dated the Closing Date and
signed by the Chief Executive Officer or another senior officer of its general partner, certifying
to the effect that the conditions set forth in Section 6.2(a), Section 6.2(b) and Section 6.2(c)
have been satisfied.
(e) Parent shall have received from Parent’s Counsel, the following written opinions dated as
of the Closing Date and upon which the Company shall be expressly entitled to rely: (i) an opinion
from Xxxxxxx XxXxxxxxx LLP to the effect that for U.S. federal income tax purposes, Parent should
not be treated as an investment company for purposes of section 721(b) of the Code and (ii) an
opinion from Xxxxxx & Xxxxxxx LLP to the effect that for U.S. federal income tax purposes, 90% of
the current gross income of Parent constitutes qualifying income within the meaning of Section
7704(d) of the Code and Parent will be treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes
pursuant to Section 7704(c) of the Code. In rendering such opinion, Parent’s Counsel shall be
entitled to rely upon assumptions, representations, warranties and covenants, including those
contained in this Agreement and in the Tax Representation Letters described in Section 5.16.
(f) The Company shall have received from the Company’s counsel a written opinion dated as of
the Closing Date to the effect that for U.S. federal income tax purposes the Merger should qualify
under Section 721(a) of the Code with respect to holders of Company Common Stock to the extent they
receive Common Units as Merger Consideration; provided however, this result may not apply to the
extent such holders receive money or other property, other than an operating cash flow distribution
(as such term is defined in Treasury regulation section 1.707-4), from Parent on any date through
and including the second anniversary of the Closing. In rendering such opinion, the Company’s
Counsel shall be entitled to rely upon assumptions, representations, warranties and covenants,
including those contained in this Agreement and in the Tax Representation Letters described in
Section 5.16 and on the opinions of Parent’s Counsel described in Section 6.2(e).
Section 6.3. Conditions to Obligation of Parent to Effect the Merger. The obligation
of Parent to effect the Merger is further subject to the fulfillment of, or the waiver by Parent on
or prior to the Effective Time of, the following conditions:
(a) The representations and warranties of the Company set forth in (i) this Agreement (other
than Section 3.2, Section 3.3(a)-(d), Section 3.10(b) and Section 3.21) shall be true and correct
both at and as of the date of this Agreement and at and as of the Closing Date as though made at
and as of the Closing Date (without regard to “materiality”, Company Material Adverse Effect and
similar qualifiers contained in such representations and warranties), except where such failures to
be so true and correct would not, in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Company
Material Adverse Effect, (ii) Section 3.3(a) — (c) shall be true and correct in all material
respects both at and as of the date of this Agreement and at and as of the Closing Date as though
made at and as of the Closing Date, (iii) Section 3.2 shall be true and correct at and as of the
date of this Agreement and at and as of the Closing Date as though made at and as of the Closing
Date, except for de minimis inaccuracies, and (iv) Section 3.3(d), Section 3.10(b) and Section 3.21
shall be true and correct both at and as of the date of this Agreement and at and as of the Closing
Date as though made at and as of the Closing Date; provided, however, that representations and
warranties that are made as of a particular date or period shall be true and
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correct (in the manner set forth in clauses (i), (ii) and (iii), as applicable) only as of
such date or period.
(b) The Company shall have in all material respects performed all obligations and complied
with all covenants required by this Agreement to be performed or complied with by it prior to the
Effective Time.
(c) Since the date of this Agreement, there shall not have occurred any Company Material
Adverse Effect or any event or development that would, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably
be expected to result in a Company Material Adverse Effect.
(d) The Company shall have delivered to Parent a certificate, dated the Closing Date and
signed by its Chief Executive Officer or another senior officer, certifying to the effect that the
conditions set forth in Section 6.3(a), Section 6.3(b) and Section 6.3(c) have been satisfied.
Section 6.4. Intentionally Omitted.
Section 6.5. Frustration of Closing Conditions. Neither the Company nor Parent may
rely, either as a basis for not consummating the Merger or terminating this Agreement and
abandoning the Merger, on the failure of any condition set forth in Section 6.1, Section 6.2 or
Section 6.2(f), as the case may be, to be satisfied if such failure was caused by such party’s
willful and intentional material breach of any material provision of this Agreement.
ARTICLE VII.
TERMINATION
Section 7.1. Termination or Abandonment. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement
to the contrary, this Agreement may be terminated and abandoned at any time prior to the Effective
Time, whether before or after any approval of the Merger by the stockholders of the Company:
(a) by the mutual written consent of the Company and Parent;
(b) by either Parent or the Company if the Merger shall not have been consummated on or prior
to June 30, 2012 (the “End Date”), provided, however, that if all of the conditions to
Closing, other than the condition set forth in Section 6.1(c), shall have been satisfied or shall
be capable of being satisfied at such time, the End Date may be extended by Parent or the Company
from time to time by written notice to the other party up to a date not beyond December 31, 2012,
the latest of any of which dates shall thereafter be deemed to be the End Date; and provided,
further, that the right to terminate this Agreement pursuant to this Section 7.1(b) shall not be
available to a party if the failure of the Closing to occur by such date shall be due to the
material breach by such party of any representation, warranty, covenant or other agreement of such
party set forth in this Agreement;
(c) by either the Company or Parent if an injunction shall have been entered permanently
restraining, enjoining or otherwise prohibiting the consummation of the Merger and such injunction
shall have become final and non-appealable; provided that the party seeking to
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terminate this Agreement pursuant to this Section 7.1(c) shall have used its reasonable best
efforts to remove such injunction to the extent such party is required to use its reasonable best
efforts pursuant to this Agreement;
(d) by either the Company or Parent if the Stockholders’ Meeting (including any adjournments
or postponements thereof) shall have concluded and the Company Stockholder Approval shall not have
been obtained;
(e) by the Company, if Parent shall have breached or failed to perform any of its
representations, warranties, covenants or other agreements contained in this Agreement, which
breach or failure to perform (i) would result in a failure of a condition set forth in Section 6.1
or Section 6.2 and (ii) by its nature, cannot be cured prior to the End Date or, if by its nature
such breach or failure is capable of being cured by the End Date, Parent does not diligently
attempt or ceases to diligently attempt to cure such breach or failure after receiving written
notice from the Company describing such breach or failure in reasonable detail (provided that the
Company is not then in material breach of any representation, warranty, covenant or other agreement
contained herein);
(f) by Parent, if the Company shall have breached or failed to perform any of its
representations, warranties, covenants or other agreements contained in this Agreement, which
breach or failure to perform (i) would result in a failure of a condition set forth in Section 6.1
or Section 6.3 and (ii) by its nature, cannot be cured prior to the End Date or, if by its nature
such breach or failure is capable of being cured by the End Date, the Company does not diligently
attempt or ceases to diligently attempt to cure such breach or failure after receiving written
notice from Parent describing such breach or failure in reasonable detail (provided that Parent is
not then in material breach of any representation, warranty, covenant or other agreement contained
herein);
(g) by Parent, (i) prior to the Company Stockholder Approval, in the event of a Change of
Recommendation or if the Board of Directors of the Company shall have approved or recommended to
its shareholders an Acquisition Transaction, or (ii) the Company shall have willfully and
materially breached any of its obligations under Section 5.4; and
(h) by the Company, prior to obtaining the Company Stockholder Approval and if the Company has
complied with its obligations under Section 5.4, in order to enter into a definitive agreement
with respect to a Superior Offer; provided that any such purported termination by the Company
pursuant to this Section 7.1(h) shall be void and of no force or effect unless the Company pays to
Parent the expense reimbursement in accordance with Section 7.3(a) and the Breakup Fee in
accordance with Section 7.3(c).
Section 7.2. Effect of Termination. In the event of termination of this Agreement
pursuant to Section 7.1, this Agreement shall terminate (except for the provisions of Section 7.3
and Article VIII), and there shall be no other liability on the part of the Company or Parent to
the other except as provided in Section 7.3 and, subject to Section 7.3(h), liability arising out
of or the result of, fraud or any willful or intentional breach of any covenant or agreement or
willful or intentional breach of any representation or warranty in this Agreement occurring prior
to
75
termination or as provided for in the Confidentiality Agreement, in which case the aggrieved
party shall be entitled to all rights and remedies available at law or in equity.
Section 7.3. Expense Reimbursement; Breakup Fee.
(a) If this Agreement is terminated (i) by either the Company or Parent pursuant to Section
7.1(d) and (A) prior to such termination, any person (other than Parent or its affiliates) shall
have made an Acquisition Proposal, which shall have been publicly announced or disclosed or
otherwise communicated to the Company, the Board of Directors of the Company or any Representative
of the Company (or any person shall have publicly announced a bona fide intention, whether or not
conditional, to make an Acquisition Proposal), and such Acquisition Proposal shall not have been
withdrawn prior to such termination and (B) within twelve months after such termination of this
Agreement, the Company shall have consummated, or shall have entered into an agreement to
consummate (which may be consummated after such twelve-month period), an Acquisition Transaction,
(ii) by the Company pursuant to Section 7.1(d), (iii) by Parent pursuant to Section 7.1(f), (iv) by
Parent pursuant to Section 7.1(g), or (v) by the Company pursuant to Section 7.1(h), then the
Company shall, promptly upon written demand by Parent (and in any event no later than two business
days after such written demand is delivered to the Company) reimburse Parent, by wire transfer of
same day federal funds to the account specified by Parent, for all out-of-pocket fees and expenses
incurred or paid by or on or behalf of Parent and Merger Sub in connection with the Merger or
related to the preparation, negotiation, execution and performance of this Agreement, the
Commitment Letter, the Fee Letter and the Support Agreements, including all fees and expenses of
counsel, financial advisors, accountants, experts, and consultants retained by Parent or Merger
Sub, and all commitment and other fees of the financing sources in connection with the Financings,
such amount not to exceed $54.0 million.
(b) If this Agreement is terminated by the Company pursuant to Section 7.1(e) (other than for
a failure to cause the Closing to occur as a result of Parent’s failure to obtain the Financing or
any Alternative Financing), then Parent shall promptly upon written demand by the Company (and in
any event no later than two business days after such written demand is delivered to Parent)
reimburse the Company, by wire transfer of same day federal funds to the account specified by the
Company, for all out-of-pocket fees and expenses incurred or paid by or on or behalf of the Company
in connection with the Merger or related to the preparation, negotiation, execution and performance
of this Agreement, including all fees and expenses of counsel, financial advisors, accountants,
experts, and consultants retained by the Company, such amount not to exceed $54.0 million.
(c) If this Agreement is terminated (i) by Parent pursuant to Section 7.1(f), (ii) by Parent
pursuant to Section 7.1(g) or (iii) by the Company pursuant to Section 7.1(h), then the Company
shall pay to Parent the Breakup Fee (x) within two business days after termination of this
Agreement in the case of a termination pursuant to clauses (i) and (ii) above and (y) upon
termination of this Agreement, and as a condition to the effectiveness of such termination, in the
case of a termination pursuant to clause (iii) above.
(d) If this Agreement is terminated by the Company or Parent pursuant to Section 7.1(b) or
Section 7.1(d) or by Parent pursuant to Section 7.1(f) and (i) prior to the Company
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Stockholder Approval, any person (other than Parent or its affiliates) shall have made an
Acquisition Proposal which shall have been publicly announced or disclosed or otherwise
communicated to the Company, the Board of Directors of the Company or any Representative of the
Company (or any person shall have publicly announced a bona fide intention, whether or not
conditional, to make an Acquisition Proposal) and such Acquisition Proposal shall not have been
withdrawn prior to the Company Stockholder Approval and (ii) within twelve months after such
termination of this Agreement, the Company shall have consummated, or shall have entered into an
agreement to consummate (which may be consummated after such twelve-month period), an Acquisition
Transaction, then the Company shall pay to Parent the Breakup Fee, by wire transfer of same day
federal funds to the account specified by Parent, on the date such Acquisition Transaction is
consummated, or, if earlier, contemporaneously with or immediately after the entry into of any
binding agreement to consummate the Acquisition Transaction.
(e) If this Agreement is terminated by the Company pursuant to Section 7.1(e) (other than for
a failure to cause the Closing to occur as a result of Parent’s failure to obtain the Financing or
any Alternative Financing), then Parent shall pay to the Company the Breakup Fee in immediately
available funds within two (2) business days after termination of this Agreement.
(f) Solely for purposes of this Section 7.3, “Acquisition Transaction” shall have the
meaning ascribed thereto in Section 5.4, except that all references to twenty-five percent (25%)
shall be changed to fifty percent (50%).
(g) As used in this Agreement, “Breakup Fee” means $181.3 million.
(h) Upon payment of (i) the Breakup Fee to Parent pursuant to Section 7.3(c) or Section 7.3(d)
and any expense reimbursement required pursuant to Section 7.3(a), the Company shall have no
further liability with respect to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby to Parent
or its stockholders and (ii) upon payment of the Breakup Fee to the Company pursuant to Section
7.3(e) and any expense reimbursement required pursuant to Section 7.3(b), Parent shall have no
further liability pursuant to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby to the Company
or its stockholders; provided, that nothing herein shall release any party from liability
arising out of or the result of, fraud or any willful or intentional breach of any covenant or
agreement or willful or intentional breach of any representation or warranty in this Agreement and
provided further that whether or not the Breakup Fee has been paid, nothing in this
Agreement shall release Parent from any liabilities in the event that (i) all of the conditions to
Closing set forth in Section 6.1 and Section 6.3 have been satisfied (other than conditions that
can only be satisfied as of the Closing) and Parent does not cause the Closing to occur or (ii) the
Closing does not occur as a result of a breach by Parent of its obligations under Section 5.8. The
parties acknowledge and agree that in no event shall the Company or Parent be required to pay the
Breakup Fee, as applicable, on more than one occasion. In addition, the parties acknowledge that
the agreements contained in this Section 7.3 are an integral part of the transactions contemplated
by this Agreement and are not a penalty, and that, without these agreements, neither party would
enter into this Agreement. If the Company or Parent, as the case may be, fails to pay promptly the
amounts due pursuant to this Section 7.3, the Company or Parent, as the case may be, will also pay
to Parent or the Company, as the case may be, such party’s reasonable costs and expenses (including
legal fees and expenses) in connection with any action, including the filing of any lawsuit or
other legal action, taken to collect payment, together with interest on
77
the unpaid amount under this Section 7.3, accruing from its due date, at an interest rate per
annum equal to two percentage points in excess of the prime commercial lending rate quoted by The
Wall Street Journal. Any change in the interest rate hereunder resulting from a change in such
prime rate will be effective at the beginning of the date of such change in such prime rate.
ARTICLE VIII.
MISCELLANEOUS
Section 8.1. No Survival. None of the representations, warranties, covenants and
agreements in this Agreement or in any instrument delivered pursuant to this Agreement shall
survive the Merger, except for covenants and agreements which contemplate performance after the
Effective Time or otherwise expressly by their terms survive the Effective Time.
Section 8.2. Expenses. Except as set forth in Section 7.3, whether or not the Merger
is consummated, all costs and expenses incurred in connection with the Merger, this Agreement and
the transactions contemplated hereby shall be paid by the party incurring or required to incur such
expenses, except that the HSR Act filing fees and expenses incurred in connection with the
printing, filing and mailing of the Proxy Statement and Form S-4 (including applicable SEC filing
fees) shall be borne equally by Parent and the Company.
Section 8.3. Counterparts; Effectiveness. This Agreement may be executed in two or
more counterparts (including by facsimile), each of which shall be an original, with the same
effect as if the signatures thereto and hereto were upon the same instrument, and shall become
effective when one or more counterparts have been signed by each of the parties and delivered (by
telecopy or otherwise) to the other parties.
Section 8.4. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in
accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without giving effect to any choice or conflict
of law provision or rule (whether of the State of Delaware or any other jurisdiction) that would
cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of Delaware.
Section 8.5. Jurisdiction; Specific Enforcement. The parties agree that irreparable
damage would occur in the event that any of the provisions of this Agreement were not performed, or
were threatened to be not performed, in accordance with their specific terms or were otherwise
breached. It is accordingly agreed that, in addition to any other remedy that may be available to
it, including monetary damages, each of the parties shall be entitled to an injunction or
injunctions to prevent breaches of this Agreement and to enforce specifically the terms and
provisions of this Agreement exclusively in the Delaware Court of Chancery and any state appellate
court therefrom within the State of Delaware (or, if the Delaware Court of Chancery declines to
accept jurisdiction over a particular matter, any state or federal court within the State of
Delaware), and all such rights and remedies at law or in equity shall be cumulative, except as may
be limited by Section 7.3. The parties further agree that no party to this Agreement shall be
required to obtain, furnish or post any bond or similar instrument in connection with or as a
condition to obtaining any remedy referred to in this Section 8.5 and each party waives any
objection to the imposition of such relief or any right it may have to require the obtaining,
furnishing or posting of any such bond or similar instrument. In addition, each of the
78
parties hereto irrevocably agrees that any legal action or proceeding with respect to this
Agreement and the rights and obligations arising hereunder, or for recognition and enforcement of
any judgment in respect of this Agreement and the rights and obligations arising hereunder brought
by the other party hereto or its successors or assigns, shall be brought and determined exclusively
in the Delaware Court of Chancery and any state appellate court therefrom within the State of
Delaware (or, if the Delaware Court of Chancery declines to accept jurisdiction over a particular
matter, any state or federal court within the State of Delaware). Each of the parties hereto hereby
irrevocably submits with regard to any such action or proceeding for itself and in respect of its
property, generally and unconditionally, to the personal jurisdiction of the aforesaid courts and
agrees that it will not bring any action relating to this Agreement or any of the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement in any court other than the aforesaid courts. Each of the parties
hereto hereby irrevocably waives, and agrees not to assert, by way of motion, as a defense,
counterclaim or otherwise, in any action or proceeding with respect to this Agreement, (a) any
claim that it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of the above named courts for any
reason other than the failure to serve in accordance with this Section 8.5, (b) any claim that it
or its property is exempt or immune from jurisdiction of any such court or from any legal process
commenced in such courts (whether through service of notice, attachment prior to judgment,
attachment in aid of execution of judgment, execution of judgment or otherwise) and (c) to the
fullest extent permitted by the applicable Law, any claim that (i) the suit, action or proceeding
in such court is brought in an inconvenient forum, (ii) the venue of such suit, action or
proceeding is improper or (iii) this Agreement, or the subject matter hereof, may not be enforced
in or by such courts. Notwithstanding the foregoing, each of the parties hereto agrees that it
will not bring or support any action, cause of action, claim, cross-claim or third-party claim of
any kind or description, whether in law or in equity, against the Financing Sources in any way
relating to this Agreement or any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including but
not limited to any dispute arising out of or relating in any way to the Commitment Letter or the
performance thereof, in any forum other than the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of
New York, or, if under applicable law exclusive jurisdiction is vested in the Federal courts, the
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (and appellate courts thereof).
Section 8.6. WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. EACH OF THE PARTIES HERETO IRREVOCABLY WAIVES ANY
AND ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT
OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY.
Section 8.7. Notices. Any notice required to be given hereunder shall be sufficient
if in writing, and sent by facsimile transmission, by reliable overnight delivery service (with
proof of service) or hand delivery, addressed as follows:
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To Parent or Merger Sub:
Energy Transfer Equity, L.P.
0000 Xxx Xxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 00000
Facsimile: (000) 000-0000
Attention: General Counsel
0000 Xxx Xxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 00000
Facsimile: (000) 000-0000
Attention: General Counsel
with copies to:
Xxxxxx & Xxxxxxx LLP
000 Xxxxx Xxxxxx, 00xx Xxxxx
Xxxxxxx, Xxxxx 00000
Facsimile: (000) 000-0000
Attention: Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx XX, Esq.
Xxxx X. Xxxxxxx, Esq.
000 Xxxxx Xxxxxx, 00xx Xxxxx
Xxxxxxx, Xxxxx 00000
Facsimile: (000) 000-0000
Attention: Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx XX, Esq.
Xxxx X. Xxxxxxx, Esq.
To the Company:
Southern Union Company
0000 Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxx
Xxxxxxx, Xxxxx 00000
Facsimile: (000) 000-0000
Attention: General Counsel
0000 Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxx
Xxxxxxx, Xxxxx 00000
Facsimile: (000) 000-0000
Attention: General Counsel
with copies to:
Xxxxx Lord Bissell & Liddell
0000 Xxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxx 0000
Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 00000
Facsimile: (000) 000-0000
Attention: Xxx X. Xxxxxxxxxxx, Esq.
Xxxx Xxxxxxxxxx, Esq.
0000 Xxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxx 0000
Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 00000
Facsimile: (000) 000-0000
Attention: Xxx X. Xxxxxxxxxxx, Esq.
Xxxx Xxxxxxxxxx, Esq.
Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Xxxxxxx LLP
0000 X. Xxxxxx Xxxxxx
00xx Xxxxx
Xxxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx 00000
Attention: Xxxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxxx, Esq.
Xxxxxxx XxXxxxxxxx, Esq.
0000 X. Xxxxxx Xxxxxx
00xx Xxxxx
Xxxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx 00000
Attention: Xxxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxxx, Esq.
Xxxxxxx XxXxxxxxxx, Esq.
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Xxxxxxxx & Xxxxxxxx LLP
000 Xxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, XX 00000
Facsimile: (000) 000-0000
Attention: Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxxx, Esq.
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx, Esq.
000 Xxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, XX 00000
Facsimile: (000) 000-0000
Attention: Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxxx, Esq.
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx, Esq.
or to such other address as any party shall specify by written notice so given, and such notice
shall be deemed to have been delivered as of the date so telecommunicated or personally delivered.
Any party to this Agreement may notify any other party of any changes to the address or any of the
other details specified in this paragraph; provided, however, that such notification shall only be
effective on the date specified in such notice or five (5) business days after the notice is given,
whichever is later. Rejection or other refusal to accept or the inability to deliver because of
changed address of which no notice was given shall be deemed to be receipt of the notice as of the
date of such rejection, refusal or inability to deliver.
Section 8.8. Assignment; Binding Effect. Neither this Agreement nor any of the
rights, interests or obligations hereunder shall be assigned by any of the parties hereto without
the prior written consent of the other parties; provided, however, that (i) Merger Sub may assign
any of its rights and delegate any of its obligations hereunder to a wholly owned direct or
indirect Subsidiary of Parent without the prior written consent of the Company and (ii) Parent may
assign any of its rights (but not delegate any of its obligations) under this Agreement to one or
more wholly owned direct or indirect subsidiaries of Parent without the prior written consent of
the Company, so long as, in each of (i) and (ii), such assignment does not delay the Closing.
Subject to the preceding sentence, this Agreement shall be binding upon and shall inure to the
benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns.
Section 8.9. Severability. Any term or provision of this Agreement which is invalid
or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to that jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent
of such invalidity or unenforceability without rendering invalid or unenforceable the remaining
terms and provisions of this Agreement in any other jurisdiction. If any provision of this
Agreement is so broad as to be unenforceable, such provision shall be interpreted to be only so
broad as is enforceable.
Section 8.10. Entire Agreement. This Agreement together with the exhibits hereto,
schedules hereto and the Confidentiality Agreement constitute the entire agreement, and supersede
all other prior agreements and understandings, both written and oral, between the parties, or any
of them, with respect to the subject matter hereof and thereof, and this Agreement is not intended
to grant standing to any person other than the parties hereto. In connection with the execution of
this Agreement, Parent and the Company hereby waive the applicability of the first paragraph on
page four of the Confidentiality Agreement to Parent and its affiliates from and after the date
hereof.
Section 8.11. Amendments; Waivers. At any time prior to the Effective Time, any
provision of this Agreement may be amended or waived if, and only if, such amendment or waiver is
in writing and signed, in the case of an amendment, by the Company, Parent and Merger Sub or, in
the case of a waiver, by the party against whom the waiver is to be effective;
81
provided, however, that after receipt of Company Stockholder Approval, if any such amendment
or waiver shall by applicable Law or in accordance with the rules and regulations of the NYSE
require further approval of the stockholders of the Company, the effectiveness of such amendment or
waiver shall be subject to the approval of the stockholders of the Company. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, no failure or delay by the Company or Parent in exercising any right hereunder shall
operate as a waiver thereof nor shall any single or partial exercise thereof preclude any other or
further exercise of any other right hereunder.
Section 8.12. Headings. Headings of the Articles and Sections of this Agreement are
for convenience of the parties only and shall be given no substantive or interpretive effect
whatsoever. The table of contents to this Agreement is for reference purposes only and shall not
affect in any way the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement.
Section 8.13. No Third Party Beneficiaries. Each of Parent, Merger Sub and the
Company agrees that (a) their respective representations, warranties, covenants and agreements set
forth herein are solely for the benefit of the other party hereto, in accordance with and subject
to the terms of this Agreement, and (b) except for Section 5.11, and except for Section 8.6 and the
final sentence of Section 8.5 (which are enforceable by each of the Financing Sources and its
successors and assigns) this Agreement is not intended to, and does not, confer upon any person
other than the parties hereto any rights or remedies hereunder, including the right to rely upon
the representations and warranties set forth herein.
Section 8.14. Interpretation. When a reference is made in this Agreement to an
Article or Section, such reference shall be to an Article or Section of this Agreement unless
otherwise indicated. Whenever the words “include,” “includes” or “including” are used in this
Agreement, they shall be deemed to be followed by the words “without limitation.” The words
“hereof,” “herein” and “hereunder” and words of similar import when used in this Agreement shall
refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular provision of this Agreement, unless
the context otherwise requires. All terms defined in this Agreement shall have the defined
meanings when used in any certificate or other document made or delivered pursuant thereto unless
otherwise defined therein. The definitions contained in this Agreement are applicable to the
singular as well as the plural forms of such terms and to the masculine as well as to the feminine
and neuter genders of such term. Any statute defined or referred to herein means such statute as
from time to time amended, modified or supplemented, including by succession of comparable
successor statutes. Each of the parties has participated in the drafting and negotiation of this
Agreement. If an ambiguity or question of intent or interpretation arises, this Agreement must be
construed as if it is drafted by all the parties, and no presumption or burden of proof shall arise
favoring or disfavoring any party by virtue of authorship of any of the provisions of this
Agreement. All references herein to “the date hereof”, “the date of this Agreement” or similar
references shall be deemed to refer to the date of execution of the Original Agreement.
Section 8.15. Definitions.
(a) References in this Agreement to “Subsidiaries” of any party means any corporation,
partnership, association, trust or other form of legal entity of which (i) fifty percent (50%) or
more of the voting power of the outstanding voting securities are on the date hereof directly or
indirectly owned by such party or (ii) such party or any Subsidiary of such party is a
82
general partner on the date hereof (excluding partnerships in which such party or any
Subsidiary of such party does not have a majority of the voting interests in such partnership other
than ETP which will be deemed a Subsidiary of Parent solely for purposes of Article IV hereof).
References in this Agreement (except as specifically otherwise defined) to “affiliates”
means, as to any person, any other person which, directly or indirectly, controls, or is controlled
by, or is under common control with, such person; provided, however, that (other
than for purposes of Section 4.21) the term “affiliate” shall not include ETP, Regency, or
any of their respective Subsidiaries. As used in this definition, “control” (including,
with its correlative meanings, “controlled by” and “under common control with”)
means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of
management or policies of a person, whether through the ownership of securities or partnership or
other ownership interests, by contract or otherwise. References in this Agreement (except as
specifically otherwise defined) to “person” means an individual, a corporation, a
partnership, a limited liability company, an association, a trust or any other entity, group (as
such term is used in Section 13 of the Exchange Act) or organization, including a Governmental
Entity, and any permitted successors and assigns of such person. As used in this Agreement,
“knowledge” means (i) with respect to Parent, the actual knowledge, after reasonable
investigation, of the executive officers of Parent or the individuals listed in Section 8.15(a) of
the Parent Disclosure Schedule and (ii) with respect to the Company, the actual knowledge, after
reasonable investigation, of the executive officers of the Company or the individuals listed on
Section 8.15(a) of the Company Disclosure Schedule. As used in this Agreement, “business
day” means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or other day on which the banks in New York
are authorized by law or executive order to be closed. References in this Agreement to specific
laws or to specific provisions of laws shall include all rules and regulations promulgated
thereunder. Any statute defined or referred to herein or in any agreement or instrument referred
to herein shall mean such statute as from time to time amended, modified or supplemented, including
by succession of comparable successor statutes. As used in this Agreement, “Drop-Down Agreements”
shall mean the ETP Merger Agreement and related financing arrangements entered into in order to
satisfy the obligations under the ETP Merger Agreement.
(b) Each of the following terms is defined in the section of this Agreement set forth opposite
such term:
401(k) Plan | Section 5.7(c) | |
Acquired Shares | Section 2.1(a) | |
Acquisition Proposal | Section 5.4 | |
Acquisition Transaction | Section 5.4 | |
affiliates | Section 8.15(a) | |
Agreement | Preamble | |
Alternative Financing | Section 5.18(b) | |
Antitrust Approvals | Section 5.8(d) | |
Available Cash Election Amount | Section 2.1(a)(i) | |
Benefit Plans | Section 5.7(b) |
83
Breakup Fee | Section 7.3(g) | |
business day | Section 8.15(a) | |
Cancelled Shares | Section 2.1(b) | |
Certificate of Merger | Section 1.3 | |
Cash Election | Section 2.1(a)(i) | |
Cash Election Amount | Section 2.1(a)(i) | |
Cash Election Share | Section 2.1(a)(i) | |
Cash Fraction | Section 2.1(a)(i) | |
Change of Recommendation | Section 5.4 | |
Citrus Transfer | Section 5.19 | |
Class E Units | Section 4.2(a) | |
Closing Date | Section 1.2 | |
Closing | Section 1.2 | |
Code | Recitals | |
Common Unit Election | Section 2.1(a)(ii) | |
Common Unit Election Share | Section 2.1(a)(ii) | |
Common Units | Section 2.1(a)(i) | |
Company | Preamble | |
Company 2011 Budget | Section 5.1(b)(iv) | |
Company Approvals | Section 3.3(b) | |
Company Benefit Plans | Section 3.9(a) | |
Company Cash Funds | Section 2.3(a) | |
Company Common Stock | Section 2.1(a) | |
Company Disclosure Schedule | Preamble to Article III | |
Company Employees | Section 3.15(a) | |
Company Equity Awards | Section 3.2(e) | |
Company Finance Parties | Section 5.18(c) | |
Company Leased Real Property | Section 3.17(b) | |
Company Material Adverse Effect | Section 3.1(b) | |
Company Material Contracts | Section 3.20(a) | |
Company Organizational Documents | Section 3.1(c) | |
Company Owned Real Property | Section 3.17(a) | |
Company Permits | Section 3.7(b) |
84
Company Permitted Lien | Section 3.3(c) | |
Company Preferred Stock | Section 3.2(a) | |
Company Real Property Leases | Section 3.17(b) | |
Company Recommendation | Section 3.3(a) | |
Company RSU | Section 5.6(c) | |
Company SEC Documents | Section 3.4(a) | |
Company Stock Award | Section 5.6(a) | |
Company Stock Plans | Section 5.6(a) | |
Company Stockholder Approval | Section 3.18 | |
Company Systems | Section 3.8(b)(i) | |
Company’s Counsel | Section 5.16 | |
Confidentiality Agreement | Section 5.3(b) | |
Contract | Section 3.20(a) | |
control | Section 8.15(a) | |
Controlled Group Liability | Section 3.9(b) | |
CrossCountry | Section 3.3(d) | |
Current Employees | Section 5.7(a) | |
Deemed Shares | Section 1.8 | |
Delaware LLC Act | Section 3.2(f) | |
Delaware LP Act | Section 3.2(f) | |
Derivative RSU Consideration | Section 5.6(c) | |
DGCL | Section 1.1 | |
Dissenting Shares | Section 2.1(f) | |
Effective Time | Section 1.3 | |
Election Deadline | Section 2.2(b) | |
Election Form | Section 2.2(a) | |
Election Form Record Date | Section 2.2(a) | |
End Date | Section 7.1(b) | |
Environment | Section 3.8(b)(ii) | |
Environmental Law | Section 3.8(b)(iii) | |
ERISA | Section 5.7(b) | |
ERISA Affiliate | Section 3.9(a) | |
ERISA Effective Date | Section 5.7(c) |
85
ETP | Section 4.2(a) | |
ETP Certificate of Limited Partnership | Section 4.1(c) | |
ETP Common Units | Section 4.2(a) | |
ETP Equity Plans | Section 4.2(a) | |
ETP General Partner Interest | Section 4.2(a) | |
ETP Merger Agreement | Section 5.19 | |
ETP Partnership Agreement | Section 4.1(c) | |
Exchange Ratio | Section 2.1(a)(i) | |
Excess Shares | Section 2.1(d) | |
Exchange Act | Section 3.3(b) | |
Exchange Agent | Section 2.3(a) | |
Exchange Fund | Section 2.3(a) | |
Exchange Ratio | Section 2.1(a)(i) | |
FERC Approval | Section 3.3(b) | |
FERC | Section 3.3(b) | |
Financing | Section 4.22 | |
Financing Sources | Section 5.18(c) | |
Form S-4 | Section 3.12 | |
FPA | Section 3.3(b) | |
GAAP | Section 3.4(b) | |
General Partner Interest | Section 4.2(a) | |
Governmental Entity | Section 3.3(b) | |
Hazardous Materials | Section 3.8(b)(iv) | |
HSR Act | Section 3.3(b) | |
ICA | Section 3.13(a) | |
Indebtedness | Section 5.1(b) | |
Intellectual Property | Section 3.16 | |
Intervening Event | Section 5.4(h)(iii) | |
IT Assets | Section 3.16 | |
knowledge | Section 8.15(a) | |
Law | Section 3.7(a) | |
Laws | Section 3.7(a) | |
Lien | Section 3.3(c) |
86
Mailing Date | Section 2.2(a) | |
MDPU Approval | Section 3.3(b) | |
Merger Consideration | Section 2.1(a) | |
Merger Sub | Preamble | |
Merger | Recitals | |
MPSC Approval | Section 3.3(b) | |
NGA | Section 3.13(a) | |
NGPA | Section 3.13(c) | |
No Election Shares | Section 2.2(b) | |
Noncompetition Persons | Section 3.23 | |
NYSE | Section 3.2(e) | |
Original Merger Agreement | Recitals | |
Parent | Preamble | |
Parent Approvals | Section 4.3(b) | |
Parent Certificate of Limited Partnership | Section 4.1(c) | |
Parent Disclosure Schedule | Preamble to Article IV | |
Parent Employees | Section 4.15(a) | |
Parent Equity Plans | Section 4.2(a) | |
Parent Leased Real Property | Section 4.16(b) | |
Parent Material Adverse Effect | Section 4.1(b) | |
Parent Material Contracts | Section 4.19(a) | |
Parent Organizational Documents | Section 4.1(c) | |
Parent Owned Real Property | Section 4.16(a) | |
Parent Partnership Agreement | Section 4.1(c) | |
Parent Permits | Section 4.7(b) | |
Parent Permitted Lien | Section 4.3(c) | |
Parent Real Property Leases | Section 4.16(b) | |
Parent SEC Documents | Section 4.4(a) | |
Parent Systems | Section 4.8(b) | |
Parent Transaction Documents | Section 4.3(a) | |
Parent’s Counsel | Section 5.16 | |
Per Share Cash Consideration | Section 2.1(a)(i) | |
Per Share Common Unit Consideration | Section 2.1(a)(ii) |
87
Permitted Encumbrances | Section 3.17(a) | |
person | Section 8.15(a) | |
Proxy Statement | Section 3.12 | |
PUHCA | Section 3.13(a) | |
Regency | Section 5.8(d) | |
Regulatory Law | Section 5.8(g) | |
Remedies Exceptions | Section 3.3(a) | |
Representatives | Section 5.3(a) | |
Requisite Regulatory Approvals | Section 6.1(c) | |
Restricted Shares | Section 5.6(b) | |
Rights-of-Way | Section 3.2(h) | |
Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act | Section 3.5 | |
SEC | Section 3.4(a) | |
Securities Act | Section 3.3(b) | |
Series A Preferred Units | Section 4.2(a) | |
Share | Section 2.1(a) | |
Shortfall Amount | Section 2.1(a)(ii) | |
Stockholders’ Meeting | Section 5.5(b) | |
Subsidiaries | Section 8.15(a) | |
Superior Offer | Section 5.4(f)(iv) | |
Support Agreements | Recitals | |
Surviving Corporation | Section 1.1 | |
Takeover Laws | Section 3.18 | |
Tax Representation Letter | Section 5.16 | |
Tax Return | Section 3.14(h) | |
Taxes | Section 3.14(h) | |
Termination Date | Section 5.1(a) | |
under common control with | Section 8.15(a) | |
Unit Issuance | Section 4.3(a) |
[SIGNATURE PAGE FOLLOWS]
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be duly executed and
delivered as of the date first above written.
ENERGY TRANSFER EQUITY, L.P. |
||||
By: | LE GP, L.L.C., its general partner | |||
By: | /s/ Xxxx X. XxXxxxxxxx | |||
Name: | Xxxx X. XxXxxxxxxx | |||
Title: | President and Chief Financial Officer | |||
SIGMA ACQUISITION CORPORATION |
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By: | /s/ Xxxx X. XxXxxxxxxx | |||
Name: | Xxxx X. XxXxxxxxxx | |||
Title: | President and Chief Financial Officer | |||
SOUTHERN UNION COMPANY |
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By: | /s/ Xxxx X. Xxxxxxxxxx | |||
Name: | Xxxx X. Xxxxxxxxxx | |||
Title: | President and Chief Operating Officer | |||