SIXTH AMENDED AND RESTATED AGREEMENT OF LIMITED PARTNERSHIP OF FERRELLGAS PARTNERS, L.P.
Exhibit 3.1
SIXTH AMENDED AND RESTATED
AGREEMENT
OF
LIMITED PARTNERSHIP
OF
FERRELLGAS PARTNERS, L.P.
| TABLE OF CONTENTS | |
| | Page |
ARTICLE I | | |
| | |
Section 1.1 | Formation and Continuation | 3 |
Section 1.2 | Name | 3 |
Section 1.3 | Registered Office; Principal Office | 3 |
Section 1.4 | Power of Attorney | 4 |
Section 1.5 | Term | 5 |
Section 1.6 | Possible Restrictions on Transfer | 5 |
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| ARTICLE II | |
| | |
| ARTICLE III | |
| | |
Section 3.1 | Purpose and Business | 30 |
Section 3.2 | Powers | 31 |
| ARTICLE IV CAPITAL CONTRIBUTIONS | |
Section 4.1 | Initial Contributions | 31 |
Section 4.2 | Contributions by the General Partner and the Initial Limited Partners; Contributions on the WNGL Closing Date and issuance of General Partner Units; Contributions on the Effective Date; Special Provisions related to Class B Units | 31 |
Section 4.3 | Issuances of Additional Units and Other Securities | 35 |
Section 4.4 | Limited Preemptive Rights | 39 |
Section 4.5 | Capital Accounts | 39 |
Section 4.6 | Interest | 41 |
Section 4.7 | No Withdrawal | 42 |
Section 4.8 | Loans from Partners | 42 |
Section 4.9 | No Fractional Units | 42 |
Section 4.10 | Splits and Combinations | 42 |
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| ARTICLE V | |
| | |
Section 5.1 | Allocations for Capital Account Purposes | 43 |
Section 5.2 | Allocations for Tax Purposes | 50 |
Section 5.3 | Requirement and Characterization of Distributions | 52 |
Section 5.4 | Distributions of Cash from Operations | 53 |
Section 5.5 | Distributions of Cash from Interim Capital Transactions | 53 |
Section 5.6 | Special Provisions Relating to the Class B Units | 54 |
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| TABLE OF CONTENTS | |
| | Page |
| ARTICLE VI | |
| | |
Section 6.1 | Management | 54 |
Section 6.2 | Certificate of Limited Partnership | 56 |
Section 6.3 | Restrictions on General Partner’s Authority | 56 |
Section 6.4 | Reimbursement of the General Partner | 60 |
Section 6.5 | Outside Activities | 61 |
Section 6.6 | Loans to and from the General Partner; Contracts with Affiliates | 62 |
Section 6.7 | Indemnification | 64 |
Section 6.8 | Liability of Indemnitees | 66 |
Section 6.9 | Resolution of Conflicts of Interest | 66 |
Section 6.10 | Other Matters Concerning the General Partner | 68 |
Section 6.11 | Title to Partnership Assets | 68 |
Section 6.12 | Purchase or Sale of Units | 69 |
Section 6.13 | Registration Rights of Ferrellgas and its Affiliates | 69 |
Section 6.14 | Reliance by Third Parties | 71 |
Section 6.15 | Special Provisions Relating to Class B Units | 71 |
Section 6.16 | Special Provisions Relating to the New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership | 74 |
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| ARTICLE VII | |
| | |
Section 7.1 | Limitation of Liability | 79 |
Section 7.2 | Management of Business | 79 |
Section 7.3 | Outside Activities | 79 |
Section 7.4 | Return of Capital | 79 |
Section 7.5 | Rights of Limited Partners Relating to the Partnership | 80 |
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| ARTICLE VIII | |
| | |
Section 8.1 | Records and Accounting | 81 |
Section 8.2 | Fiscal Year | 81 |
Section 8.3 | Reports | 81 |
| | |
| ARTICLE IX | |
| | |
Section 9.1 | Preparation of Tax Returns | 82 |
Section 9.2 | Tax Elections | 82 |
Section 9.3 | Tax Controversies | 82 |
Section 9.4 | Organizational Expenses | 83 |
Section 9.5 | Withholding | 83 |
Section 9.6 | [Reserved] | 83 |
Section 9.7 | Entity Level Withholding | 83 |
Section 9.8 | Opinions of Counsel | 84 |
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| TABLE OF CONTENTS | |
| | Page |
| ARTICLE X | |
| | |
Section 10.1 | Certificates | 84 |
Section 10.2 | Registration of Transfer and Exchange | 84 |
Section 10.3 | Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Certificates | 85 |
Section 10.4 | Record Holder | 86 |
| | |
| ARTICLE XI | |
| | |
Section 11.1 | Transfer | 86 |
Section 11.2 | Transfer of the General Partner Interest | 86 |
Section 11.3 | Transfer of Units (other than General Partner Units) | 87 |
Section 11.4 | Restrictions on Transfers | 87 |
Section 11.5 | Citizenship Certificates; Non-citizen Assignees | 88 |
Section 11.6 | Redemption of Interests | 89 |
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| ARTICLE XII | |
| | |
Section 12.1 | Admission of Initial Limited Partners | 90 |
Section 12.2 | Admission of Substituted Limited Partners | 90 |
Section 12.3 | Admission of Successor General Partner | 91 |
Section 12.4 | Admission of Additional Limited Partners | 91 |
Section 12.5 | Amendment of Agreement and Certificate of Limited Partnership | 91 |
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| ARTICLE XIII | |
| | |
Section 13.1 | Withdrawal of the General Partner | 92 |
Section 13.2 | Removal of the General Partner | 93 |
Section 13.3 | Interest of Departing Partner and Successor General Partner | 94 |
Section 13.4 | Withdrawal of Limited Partners | 95 |
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| ARTICLE XIV | |
| | |
Section 14.1 | Dissolution | 95 |
Section 14.2 | Continuation of the Business of the Partnership after Dissolution | 96 |
Section 14.3 | Liquidation | 97 |
Section 14.4 | Distributions in Kind | 97 |
Section 14.5 | Cancellation of Certificate of Limited Partnership | 98 |
Section 14.6 | Reasonable Time for Winding Up | 98 |
Section 14.7 | Return of Capital Contributions | 98 |
Section 14.8 | Capital Account Restoration | 98 |
Section 14.9 | Waiver of Partition | 98 |
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| TABLE OF CONTENTS | |
| | Page |
| ARTICLE XV | |
| | |
Section 15.1 | Amendment to be Adopted Solely by General Partner | 98 |
Section 15.2 | Amendment Procedures | 100 |
Section 15.3 | Amendment Requirements | 100 |
Section 15.4 | Meetings | 101 |
Section 15.5 | Notice of a Meeting | 102 |
Section 15.6 | Record Date | 102 |
Section 15.7 | Adjournment | 102 |
Section 15.8 | Waiver of Notice; Approval of Meeting; Approval of Minutes | 102 |
Section 15.9 | Quorum | 102 |
Section 15.10 | Conduct of Meeting | 103 |
Section 15.11 | Action Without a Meeting | 103 |
Section 15.12 | Voting and Other Rights | 104 |
| | |
| ARTICLE XVI | |
| | |
Section 16.1 | Authority | 104 |
Section 16.2 | Procedure for Merger or Consolidation | 105 |
Section 16.3 | Approval by Holders of Class A Units of Merger or Consolidation | 106 |
Section 16.4 | Certificate of Merger | 106 |
Section 16.5 | Effect of Merger | 106 |
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| ARTICLE XVII | |
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Section 17.1 | Right to Acquire Units | 107 |
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| ARTICLE XVIII | |
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Section 18.1 | Addresses and Notices | 108 |
Section 18.2 | References | 109 |
Section 18.3 | Pronouns and Plurals | 109 |
Section 18.4 | Further Action | 109 |
Section 18.5 | Binding Effect | 109 |
Section 18.6 | Integration | 109 |
Section 18.7 | Creditors | 109 |
Section 18.8 | Waiver | 109 |
Section 18.9 | Counterparts | 109 |
Section 18.10 | Applicable Law | 110 |
Section 18.11 | Invalidity of Provisions | 110 |
Section 18.12 | Consent to Electronic Notice | 110 |
Section 18.13 | Plan–Related Mergers | 110 |
Section 18.14 | Side Letters | 110 |
Section 18.15 | Intended Beneficiaries | 110 |
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SIXTH AMENDED AND RESTATED
AGREEMENT OF LIMITED PARTNERSHIP OF
FERRELLGAS PARTNERS, L.P.
THIS SIXTH AMENDED AND RESTATED AGREEMENT OF LIMITED PARTNERSHIP OF FERRELLGAS PARTNERS, L.P., dated as of March 30, 2021, is entered into by and among Ferrellgas, Inc., a Delaware corporation, as the General Partner, the Persons who are Limited Partners in the Partnership as of the date hereof and those Persons who become Partners in the Partnership or parties hereto as provided herein. In consideration of the covenants, conditions and agreements contained herein, the parties hereto hereby agree as follows:
RECITALS:
WHEREAS, the General Partner and the organizational Limited Partner organized the Partnership as a Delaware limited partnership pursuant to an Agreement of Limited Partnership dated as of July 5, 1994 (the “Original Agreement”);
WHEREAS, the Partnership, the Operating Partnership and Xxxxxxxx Natural Gas Liquids, Inc., a Delaware corporation, entered into a Purchase Agreement dated November 7, 1999, relating to the sale of Thermogas, L.L.C. to the Partnership in consideration, in part, for the issuance of “Senior Units,” as then defined, none of which remain Outstanding;
WHEREAS, to effect the transactions contemplated by the WNGL Purchase Agreement and other matters, the Original Agreement was amended and restated (the “Amended and Restated Agreement”);
WHEREAS, on May 14, 2000, the General Partner made certain amendments to the Amended and Restated Agreement with the consent of the holder of all of the Senior Units, (as then defined), as allowed by the Amended and Restated Agreement;
WHEREAS, on June 5, 2000, the holders of “Common Units,” as then defined, approved a proposal at a special meeting of such holders to amend the definition of “Outstanding” under the Amended and Restated Agreement; and
WHEREAS, on June 5, 2000, the General Partner amended and restated the Amended and Restated Agreement (the “Second Amended and Restated Agreement”) to convert the General Partner’s percentage interest in the partnership into General Partner Units (as defined below) and make related amendments, which amendment and restatement was made pursuant to Section 15.1 of the Amended and Restated Agreement that provides that the General Partner may amend the Amended and Restated Agreement without the consent of any Limited Partner to reflect a change that, in the sole discretion of the General Partner, does not adversely affect the Limited Partners in any material respect;
WHEREAS, on April 6, 2001, the Second Amended and Restated Agreement was amended and restated (the “Third Amended and Restated Agreement”) to reflect (a) certain amendments to the Second Amended and Restated Agreement made with the consent in writing
of the holder of all of the Senior Units, as allowed by the Second Amended and Restated Agreement, (b) certain amendments made pursuant to Section 15.1 of the Second Amended and Restated Agreement that provides that the General Partner may amend the Second Amended and Restated Agreement without the consent of any Limited Partner to reflect a change that, in the sole discretion of the General Partner, does not adversely affect the Limited Partners in any material respect, and (c) the addition of Sections 5.4(a), (b) and (c) proposed by the General Partner to allow the Common Units held by FCI, as defined below, to defer specified payments of Available cash, as defined below, which amendments were consented to in writing by the Limited Partners owning not less than the minimum percentage of the Outstanding Units that were necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all the Limited Partners entitled to vote thereon were present and voted in accordance with Section 15.11 of the Second Amended and Restated Agreement.
WHEREAS, on February 18, 2003, the Third Amended and Restated Agreement was amended and restated (the “Fourth Amended and Restated Agreement”) to correct an unintentional alteration of the economic terms of the Second Amended and Restated Agreement, which alteration changed the distributions to be made to the General Partner (as the holder of the General Partner Units) in certain circumstances.
WHEREAS, the Fourth Amended and Restated Agreement was amended by the First, Second, Third and Fourth Amendments thereto, dated as of March 8, 2005, June 29, 2005, October 11, 2006 and December 4, 2017, respectively.
WHEREAS, on June 5, 2018, the Fourth Amended and Restated Agreement was amended and restated (the “Fifth Amended and Restated Agreement”) to incorporate previous amendments and to modify the mechanism by which Capital Accounts of all Partners were maintained when IDRs (as then defined) were valued in the event of a follow-on offering of Units.
WHEREAS, the Fifth Amended and Restated Agreement was amended by the First Amendment thereto dated as of December 11, 2020.
WHEREAS, the Partnership, Operating Partnership and certain of its affiliates entered into an agreement (the “Transaction Support Agreement”) with the Consenting Noteholders (as defined in the Transaction Support Agreement) on December 10, 2020.
WHEREAS, on January 11, 2021, Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the United States Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the “Bankruptcy Court”), pursuant to which it commenced a voluntary bankruptcy case, Case No. 21-10021 (MFW) (the “Bankruptcy Case”).
WHEREAS, on March 5, 2021, the Bankruptcy Court entered an Order (the “Confirmation Order”) confirming the Prepackaged Joint Plan of Reorganization of Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. and Ferrellgas Partners Finance Corp. (as may be amended, modified or supplemented from time to time in accordance with its terms ) (the “Plan”).
NOW, THEREFORE, the Fifth Amended and Restated Agreement is hereby amended and restated in its entirety pursuant to the Plan and Confirmation Order, which amendments, among other things, are intended to reflect (a) the previous amendment to the Fifth Amended and Restated
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Agreement, (b) transactions contemplated in the Plan and in the Confirmation Order, including, the creation of the Class B Units, and (c) various changes to remove the IDRs, remove obsolete provisions, and improve or correct drafting throughout the Agreement, and, as so amended, is restated in its entirety as follows:
ARTICLE I
ORGANIZATIONAL MATTERS
Section 1.1 Formation and Continuation.
(a) The General Partner and the organizational Limited Partner previously formed the Partnership as a limited partnership pursuant to the provisions of the Delaware Act. The General Partner hereby amends and restates the Fifth Amended and Restated Agreement in its entirety to continue the Partnership as a limited partnership pursuant to the provisions of the Delaware Act and to set forth the rights and obligations of the Partners and certain matters related thereto. This amendment and restatement shall become effective on the Effective Date. Except as expressly provided to the contrary in this Agreement, the rights and obligations of the Partners and the administration, dissolution and termination of the Partnership shall be governed by the Delaware Act. All Partnership Interests shall constitute personal property of the owner thereof for all purposes.
(b) In connection with the formation of the Partnership, Ferrellgas was admitted as a general partner of the Partnership, and the organizational Limited Partner was admitted as a limited partner of the Partnership. As of the Initial Closing Date, the interest in the Partnership of the organizational Limited Partner was terminated and the organizational Limited Partner withdrew as a limited partner of the Partnership.
Section 1.2 Name. The name of the Partnership is “Ferrellgas Partners, L.P.” The Partnership’s business may be conducted under any other name or names deemed necessary or appropriate by the General Partner, including, without limitation, the name of the General Partner. The words “Limited Partnership,” “L.P.,” “Ltd.” or similar words or letters shall be included in the Partnership’s name where necessary for the purposes of complying with the laws of any jurisdiction that so requires. The General Partner in its sole discretion may change the name of the Partnership at any time and from time to time and shall notify the Limited Partners of such change in the next regular communication to the Limited Partners.
Section 1.3 Registered Office; Principal Office. Unless and until changed by the General Partner, the registered office of the Partnership in the State of Delaware shall be located at The Corporation Trust Center, 1209 Orange Street, New Castle County, Xxxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx 00000, and the registered agent for service of process on the Partnership in the State of Delaware at such registered office shall be The Corporation Trust Company. The principal office of the Partnership shall be located at, and the address of the General Partner shall be, Xxx Xxxxxxx Xxxxx, Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx 00000, or such other place as the General Partner may from time to time designate by notice to the Limited Partners. The Partnership may from time to time maintain offices at such other place or places within or outside the State of Delaware as the General Partner deems necessary or appropriate.
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Section 1.4 Power of Attorney.
(a) Each Limited Partner and each Assignee hereby constitutes and appoints each of the General Partner and, if a Liquidator shall have been selected pursuant to Section 14.3, the Liquidator severally (and any successor to either thereof by merger, transfer, assignment, election or otherwise) and each of their authorized officers and attorneys in fact, with full power of substitution, as such Limited Partner’s and Assignee’s true and lawful agent and attorney in fact, with full power and authority in his or its name, place and stead, to:
(i) execute, swear to, acknowledge, deliver, file and record in the appropriate public offices (A) all certificates, documents and other instruments (including, without limitation, this Agreement and the Certificate of Limited Partnership and all amendments or restatements thereof) that the General Partner or the Liquidator deems necessary or appropriate to form, qualify or continue the existence or qualification of the Partnership as a limited partnership (or a partnership in which the limited partners have limited liability) in the State of Delaware and in all other jurisdictions in which the Partnership may conduct business or own property; (B) all certificates, documents and other instruments that the General Partner or the Liquidator deems necessary or appropriate to reflect, in accordance with its terms, any amendment, change, modification or restatement of this Agreement that has been properly amended, changed, modified or restated in accordance with the terms herein; (C) all certificates, documents and other instruments (including, without limitation, conveyances and a certificate of cancellation) that the General Partner or the Liquidator deems necessary or appropriate to reflect the dissolution and liquidation of the Partnership pursuant to the terms of this Agreement; (D) all certificates, documents and other instruments relating to the admission, withdrawal, removal or substitution of any Partner pursuant to, or other events described in, Article XI, XII, XIII or XIV or the Capital Contribution of any Partner and in accordance with this Agreement; (E) all certificates, documents and other instruments relating to the determination of the rights, preferences and privileges of any class or series of Units or other Partnership Securities issued pursuant to Section 4.2 and in accordance with this Agreement; and (F) all certificates, documents and other instruments (including, without limitation, agreements and a certificate of merger) relating to a merger or consolidation of the Partnership pursuant to Article XVI and in accordance with this Agreement; and
(ii) execute, swear to, acknowledge, deliver, file and record all ballots, consents, approvals, waivers, certificates, documents and other instruments necessary or appropriate, in the sole discretion of the General Partner or the Liquidator, to make, evidence, give, confirm or ratify any vote, consent, approval, agreement or other action that is made or given by the Partners hereunder or is consistent with the terms of this Agreement or is necessary or appropriate to, in the sole discretion of the General Partner or Liquidator, effectuate the terms or intent of this Agreement; provided, that when required by law or by Section 15.3 or any other provision of this Agreement that establishes a percentage of the Limited Partners or of the Limited Partners of any class or series required to take any action, the General Partner or the Liquidator may exercise the power of attorney made in this Section 1.4(a)(ii) only after the necessary vote, consent or
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approval of the Limited Partners or of the Limited Partners of such class or series, as applicable.
Nothing contained in this Section 1.4(a) or Section 1.4(b) shall be construed as authorizing the General Partner to amend this Agreement (except in accordance with Article XV or as may be otherwise expressly provided for in this Agreement) or otherwise take any action that is in contravention of the terms of this Agreement.
(b) The foregoing power of attorney is hereby declared to be irrevocable and a power coupled with an interest, and it shall survive and not be affected by the subsequent death, incompetency, disability, incapacity, dissolution, bankruptcy or termination of any Limited Partner or Assignee and the transfer of all or any portion of such Limited Partner’s or Assignee’s Partnership Interest and shall extend to such Limited Partner’s or Assignee’s heirs, successors, assigns and personal representatives. Each such Limited Partner or Assignee hereby agrees to be bound by any representation made by the General Partner or the Liquidator acting in good faith pursuant to such power of attorney; and each such Limited Partner or Assignee hereby waives any and all defenses that may be available to contest, negate or disaffirm the action of the General Partner or the Liquidator taken in good faith under such power of attorney. Subject to the last sentence of Section 1.4(a), each Limited Partner or Assignee shall execute and deliver to the General Partner or the Liquidator, within 15 days after receipt of the General Partner’s or the Liquidator’s request therefor, such further designation, powers of attorney and other instruments as the General Partner or the Liquidator deems necessary to effectuate this Agreement and the purposes of the Partnership.
Section 1.5 Term. The Partnership commenced upon the filing of the Certificate of Limited Partnership in accordance with the Delaware Act and shall continue in existence until the close of Partnership business on July 31, 2084, or until the earlier dissolution of the Partnership in accordance with the provisions of Article XIV.
Section 1.6 Possible Restrictions on Transfer. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement (but subject to Sections 6.3(b), 6.15 and 6.16), in the event of (a) the enactment (or imminent enactment) of any legislation, (b) the publication of any temporary or final regulation by the Treasury Department, (c) any ruling by the Internal Revenue Service or (d) any judicial decision, that, in any such case, in the Opinion of Counsel, would result in the taxation of the Partnership as an association taxable as a corporation or would otherwise result in the Partnership’s being taxed as an entity for federal income tax purposes, then, the General Partner may impose such restrictions on the transfer of Units or Partnership Interests as may be required, in the Opinion of Counsel, to prevent the Partnership from being taxed as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise as an entity for federal income tax purposes, including, without limitation, making such amendments to this Agreement as the General Partner in its sole discretion may determine to be necessary or appropriate to impose such restrictions, provided, that any such amendment to this Agreement that would result in the delisting or suspension of trading of any class of Units on any National Securities Exchange on which such class of Units is then traded must be approved by the holders of at least two thirds of the Outstanding Units of such class (excluding the vote in respect of Units held by the General Partner and its Affiliates).
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ARTICLE II
DEFINITIONS
The following definitions shall be for all purposes, unless otherwise clearly indicated to the contrary, applied to the terms used in this Agreement.
“2021 Indentures” shall mean those certain Indentures, each dated as of March 30, 2021, among the Partnership, Ferrellgas Finance Corp. and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee, as in effect on the Effective Date.
“Acquisition” means any transaction in which the Partnership, Operating Partnership or any of their respective Subsidiaries acquires (through an asset acquisition, merger, stock acquisition or other form of investment) control over all or a portion of the assets, properties or business of another Person for the purpose of increasing the operating capacity of the Partnership and the Operating Partnership, taken as a whole, from the operating capacity of the Partnership and the Operating Partnership, taken as a whole, existing immediately prior to such transaction.
“Additional Amounts” shall have the meaning set forth in the First Amendment to Operating Partnership Agreement.
“Additional Book Basis” means, with respect to any Adjusted Property, the portion of the Carrying Value of such Adjusted Property that is attributable to positive adjustments made to such Carrying Value as determined in accordance with the provisions set forth below in this definition of Additional Book Basis. For purposes of determining the extent to which Carrying Value constitutes Additional Book Basis:
(a) Any negative adjustment made to the Carrying Value of an Adjusted Property as a result of either a Book-Down Event or a Book-Up Event shall first be deemed to offset or decrease that portion of the Carrying Value of such Adjusted Property that is attributable to any prior positive adjustments made thereto pursuant to a Book-Up Event or Book-Down Event; and
(b) If Carrying Value that constitutes Additional Book Basis is reduced as a result of a Book-Down Event and the Carrying Value of other property is increased as a result of such Book-Down Event, an allocable portion of any such increase in Carrying Value shall be treated as Additional Book Basis; provided, that the amount treated as Additional Book Basis pursuant hereto as a result of such Book-Down Event shall not exceed the amount by which the Aggregate Remaining Net Positive Adjustments after such Book-Down Event exceeds the remaining Additional Book Basis attributable to all of the Partnership’s Adjusted Property after such Book-Down Event (determined without regard to the application of this clause (b) to such Book-Down Event).
“Additional Book Basis Derivative Items” means any Book Basis Derivative Items that are computed with reference to Additional Book Basis. To the extent that the Additional Book Basis attributable to all of the Partnership’s Adjusted Property as of the beginning of any taxable period exceeds the Aggregate Remaining Net Positive Adjustments as of the beginning of such period (the “Excess Additional Book Basis”), the Additional Book Basis Derivative Items for such period shall be reduced by the amount that bears the same ratio to the amount of Additional Book Basis
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Derivative Items determined without regard to this sentence as the Excess Additional Book Basis bears to the Additional Book Basis as of the beginning of such period. With respect to a Disposed of Adjusted Property, the Additional Book Basis Derivative Items shall be the amount of Additional Book Basis taken into account in computing gain or loss from the disposition of such Disposed of Adjusted Property; provided that the provisions of the immediately preceding sentence shall apply to the determination of the Additional Book Basis Derivative Items attributable to Disposed of Adjusted Property.
“Additional Limited Partner” means a Person admitted to the Partnership as a Limited Partner pursuant to Section 12.4 and who is shown as such on the books and records of the Partnership.
“Adjusted Capital Account” means the Capital Account maintained for each Partner as of the end of each fiscal year of the Partnership, (a) increased by any amounts that such Partner is obligated to restore under the standards set by Treasury Regulation Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(ii)(c) (or is deemed obligated to restore under Treasury Regulation Sections 1.704-2(g) and 1.704-2(i)(5)) and (b) decreased by (i) the amount of all losses and deductions that, as of the end of such fiscal year, are reasonably expected to be allocated to such Partner in subsequent years under Sections 704(e)(2) and 706(d) of the Code and Treasury Regulation Section 1.751-1(b)(2)(ii), and (ii) the amount of all distributions that, as of the end of such fiscal year, are reasonably expected to be made to such Partner in subsequent years in accordance with the terms of this Agreement or otherwise to the extent they exceed offsetting increases to such Partner’s Capital Account that are reasonably expected to occur during (or prior to) the year in which such distributions are reasonably expected to be made (other than increases as a result of a minimum gain chargeback pursuant to Section 5.1(d)(i) or 5.1(d)(ii)). The foregoing definition of Adjusted Capital Account is intended to comply with the provisions of Treasury Regulation Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(ii)(d) and shall be interpreted consistently therewith. The “Adjusted Capital Account” in respect of a Unit, or any other Partnership Interest shall be the amount which such Adjusted Capital Account would be if such Unit, or other interest in the Partnership were the only interest in the Partnership held by a Partner.
“Adjusted Property” means any property the Carrying Value of which has been adjusted pursuant to Section 4.5(d)(i) or 4.5(d)(ii).
“Affiliate” means, with respect to any Person, any other Person that directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by or is under common control with, the Person in question. As used herein, the term “control” means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a Person, whether through ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise.
“Aggregate COD Offset Amount” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.1(d)(xiv)(B).
“Aggregate Remaining Net Positive Adjustments” means, as of the end of any taxable period, the sum of the Remaining Net Positive Adjustments of all the Partners.
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“Agreed Allocation” means any allocation, other than a Required Allocation, of an item of income, gain, loss or deduction pursuant to the provisions of Section 5.1, including, without limitation, a Curative Allocation (if appropriate to the context in which the term “Agreed Allocation” is used).
“Agreed Value” of any Contributed Property means the fair market value of such property or other consideration at the time of contribution as determined by the General Partner using such reasonable method of valuation as it may adopt. The General Partner shall, in its sole discretion, use such method as it deems reasonable and appropriate to allocate the aggregate Agreed Value of Contributed Properties contributed to the Partnership in a single or integrated transaction among each separate property on a basis proportional to the fair market value of each Contributed Property.
“Agreement” means this Sixth Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Ferrellgas Partners, L.P., as it may be amended, supplemented or restated from time to time.
“Amended and Restated Agreement” has the meaning assigned to such term in the recitals hereto.
“Ares Holders” shall have the meaning set forth in the First Amendment to Operating Partnership Agreement.
“Asset Sale” shall have the meaning set forth in the Revolving Credit Agreement, as in effect on the date of this Agreement.
“Assignee” means a Person to whom one or more Units have been transferred in a manner permitted under this Agreement and who has executed and delivered a Transfer Application as required by this Agreement, but who has not become a Substituted Limited Partner.
“Associate” means, when used to indicate a relationship with any Person, (i) any corporation or organization of which such Person is a director, officer or partner or is, directly or indirectly, the owner of 20% or more of any class of voting stock or other voting interest of such corporation or organization; (ii) any trust or other estate in which such Person has at least a 20% beneficial interest or as to which such Person serves as trustee or in a similar fiduciary capacity; and (iii) any relative or spouse of such Person, or any relative of such spouse, who has the same residence as such Person.
“Audit Committee” means a committee of the Board of Directors of the General Partner composed entirely of two or more directors who are neither officers nor employees of the General Partner or any of its Affiliates.
“Available cash” means, with respect to any Quarter and without duplication:
(a) the sum of:
(i) all cash receipts of the Partnership during such Quarter from all sources (including, without limitation, distributions of cash received from the Operating
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Partnership and cash proceeds from Interim Capital Transactions, but excluding cash proceeds from Termination Capital Transactions); and
(ii) any reduction with respect to such Quarter in a cash reserve previously established pursuant to clause (b)(ii) below (either by reversal or utilization) from the level of such reserve at the end of the prior Quarter;
(b) less the sum of:
(i) all cash disbursements of the Partnership during such Quarter, including, without limitation, disbursements for operating expenses, taxes, if any, debt service (including, without limitation, the payment of principal, premium and interest), redemption of Partnership Interests (including, for the avoidance of doubt, redemption of Class B Units pursuant to the Class B Call Option), capital expenditures, insurance premiums with respect to insurance on the Partnership and its operations (including the premium on any directors and officers liability insurance maintained by the Partnership) contributions, if any, to the Operating Partnership and cash distributions to Partners (but only to the extent that such cash distributions to Partners exceed Available cash for the immediately preceding Quarter); and
(ii) unless any Class B Units are outstanding, any increase with respect to such Quarter in a cash reserve previously established pursuant to this clause (b)(ii) from the level of such reserve at the end of the prior Quarter, in such amounts as the General Partner determines in its reasonable discretion to be necessary or appropriate (A) to provide for the proper conduct of the business of the Partnership or the Operating Partnership (including, without limitation, reserves for future capital expenditures), (B) to provide funds for distributions with respect to Units in respect of any one or more of the next four Quarters, or (C) because the distribution of such amounts would be prohibited by applicable law or by any loan agreement, security agreement, mortgage, debt instrument or other similar agreement or obligation to which the Partnership or the Operating Partnership is a party or by which any of them is bound or its assets are subject.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, “Available cash” with respect to any Quarter shall not include any cash receipts or reductions in reserves or take into account any disbursements made or reserves established in each case after the Liquidation Date. Taxes paid by the Partnership on behalf of, or amounts withheld with respect to, all or less than all of the Partners shall not be considered cash disbursements of the Partnership that reduce Available cash, but the payment or withholding thereof shall be deemed to be a distribution of Available cash to such Partners. Alternatively, in the discretion of the General Partner, such taxes (if pertaining to all Partners) may be considered to be cash disbursements of the Partnership which reduce Available cash, but the payment or withholding thereof shall not be deemed to be a distribution of Available cash to such Partners.]
“Bankruptcy Case” has the meaning assigned to such term in the recitals hereto.
“Book Basis Derivative Items” means any item of income, deduction, gain or loss that is computed with reference to the Carrying Value of an Adjusted Property (e.g., depreciation, depletion, or gain or loss with respect to an Adjusted Property).
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“Book-Down Event” means a Revaluation Event that gives rise to a Net Termination Loss.
“Book-Tax Disparity” means with respect to any item of Contributed Property or Adjusted Property, as of the date of any determination, the difference between the Carrying Value of such Contributed Property or Adjusted Property and the adjusted basis thereof for federal income tax purposes as of such date. A Partner’s share of the Partnership’s Book Tax Disparities in all of its Contributed Property and Adjusted Property will be reflected by the difference between such Partner’s Capital Account balance as maintained pursuant to Section 4.5 and the hypothetical balance of such Partner’s Capital Account computed as if it had been maintained strictly in accordance with federal income tax accounting principles.
“Book-Up Event” means a Revaluation Event that gives rise to a Net Termination Gain.
“Business Day” means Monday through Friday of each week, except that a legal holiday recognized as such by the government of the United States or the states of New York or Missouri shall not be regarded as a Business Day.
“Cancellation of Debt Income” means any amount includible in the gross income of the Partnership by reason of the discharge, in whole or in part, of the indebtedness of the Partnership associated with the Senior Notes as described in Section 61(a)(11) of the Code.
“Capital Account” means the capital account maintained for a Partner pursuant to Section 4.5.
“Capital Additions and Improvements” means (a) additions or improvements to the capital assets owned by the Partnership or the Operating Partnership or (b) the acquisition of existing or the construction of new capital assets (including, without limitation, retail distribution outlets, propane tanks, pipeline systems, storage facilities and related assets), made to increase the operating capacity of the Partnership and the Operating Partnership, taken as a whole, from the operating capacity of the Partnership and the Operating Partnership, taken as a whole, existing immediately prior to such addition, improvement, acquisition or construction.
“Capital Contribution” means any cash, cash equivalents or the Net Agreed Value of Contributed Property that a Partner contributes to the Partnership pursuant to the Contribution Agreement or Sections 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 13.3(c), or 14.8.
“Capital Interests” means, with respect to any corporation, any and all shares, participations, rights or other equivalent interests in the capital of the corporation, and with respect to any partnership, any and all partnership interests (whether general or limited) and any other interests or participations that confer on a Person the right to receive a share of the profits and losses of, or distributions of assets of, such partnership.
“Carrying Value” means (a) with respect to a Contributed Property, the Agreed Value of such property reduced (but not below zero) by all depreciation, amortization and cost recovery deductions charged to the Partners’ and Assignees’ Capital Accounts in respect of such Contributed Property, and (b) with respect to any other Partnership property, the adjusted basis of such property for federal income tax purposes, all as of the time of determination. The Carrying Value of any property shall be adjusted from time to time in accordance with Sections 4.5(d)(i)
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and 4.5(d)(ii) and to reflect changes, additions or other adjustments to the Carrying Value for dispositions and acquisitions of Partnership properties, as deemed appropriate by the General Partner.
“Cash from Interim Capital Transactions” means, at any date, such amounts of Available cash as are deemed to be Cash from Interim Capital Transactions pursuant to Section 5.3.
“Cash from Operations” means, at the close of any Quarter but prior to the Liquidation Date, on a cumulative basis and without duplication,
(a) the sum of all cash receipts of the Partnership and the Operating Partnership during the period since the Initial Closing Date through such date (including, without limitation, the cash balance of the Partnership as of the close of business on the Initial Closing Date, plus an initial balance of $25 million, excluding any cash proceeds from any Interim Capital Transactions (except to the extent specified in Section 5.3) and Termination Capital Transactions),
(b) less the sum of:
(i) all cash operating expenditures of the Partnership and the Operating Partnership during such period, including, without limitation, taxes, if any, and amounts owed to the General Partner as reimbursement pursuant to Section 6.4,
(ii) all cash debt service payments of the Partnership and the Operating Partnership during such period (other than payments or prepayments of principal and premium (A) required by reason of loan agreements (including, without limitation, covenants and default provisions therein) or by lenders, in each case in connection with sales or other dispositions of assets or (B) made in connection with refinancings or refundings of indebtedness with the proceeds from new indebtedness or from the sale of equity interests, provided, that any payment or prepayment of principal and premium, whether or not then due, shall be deemed, at the election and in the discretion of the General Partner, to be refunded or refinanced by any indebtedness incurred or to be incurred by the Partnership or the Operating Partnership simultaneously with or within 180 days prior to or after such payment or prepayment to the extent of the principal amount of such indebtedness so incurred),
(iii) all cash capital expenditures of the Partnership and the Operating Partnership during such period, including, without limitation, cash capital expenditures made in respect of Maintenance Capital Expenditures, but excluding (A) cash capital expenditures made in respect of Acquisitions and Capital Additions and Improvements and (B) cash expenditures made in payment of transaction expenses relating to Interim Capital Transactions,
(iv) any cash reserves of the Partnership or the Operating Partnership outstanding as of such date that the General Partner deems in its reasonable discretion to be necessary or appropriate to provide for the future cash payment of items of the type referred to in clauses (i) through (iii) of this sentence, and
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(v) any cash reserves of the Partnership or the Operating Partnership outstanding as of such date that the General Partner deems in its reasonable discretion to be necessary or appropriate to provide funds for distributions with respect to Units in respect of any one or more of the next four Quarters,
all as determined on a consolidated basis and after taking into account the General Partner’s interest therein attributable to its general partner interest in the Operating Partnership. Where cash capital expenditures are made in part in respect of Acquisitions or Capital Additions and Improvements and in part for other purposes, the General Partner’s good faith allocation thereof between the portion made for Acquisitions or Capital Additions and Improvements and the portion made for other purposes shall be conclusive. Taxes paid by the Partnership on behalf of, or amounts withheld with respect to, all or less than all of the Partners shall not be considered cash operating expenditures of the Partnership that reduce Cash from Operations, but the payment or withholding thereof shall be deemed to be a distribution of Available cash to such Partners. Alternatively, in the discretion of the General Partner, such taxes (if pertaining to all Partners) may be considered to be cash operating expenditures of the Partnership which reduce Cash from Operations, but the payment or withholding thereof shall not be deemed to be a distribution of Available cash to such Partners.
“Cause” means a court of competent jurisdiction has entered a final, non-appealable judgment finding the General Partner liable for actual fraud, gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct in its capacity as general partner of the Partnership.
“Certificate” means a certificate (a) substantially in the form of Exhibit A to this Agreement with respect to Class A Units or Class B Units, (b) issued in global or book-entry form in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Depository, or (c) in such other form as may be adopted by the General Partner in its sole discretion, issued by the Partnership evidencing ownership of one or more Class A Units or Class B Units, as the case may be, or a certificate, in such form as may be adopted by the General Partner in its sole discretion, issued by the Partnership evidencing ownership of one or more other Units.
“Certificate of Limited Partnership” means the Certificate of Limited Partnership filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware as referenced in Section 6.2, as such Certificate of Limited Partnership may be amended, supplemented or restated from time to time.
“Citizenship Certification” means a properly completed certificate in such form as may be specified by the General Partner by which an Assignee or a Limited Partner certifies that he (and if he is a nominee holding for the account of another Person, that to the best of his knowledge such other Person) is an Eligible Citizen.
“Class A Unit” means a Unit representing a fractional part of the Partnership Interests having the rights and obligations specified with respect to Class A Units as set forth in this Agreement, which such Class A Unit was previously referred to as a Common Unit.
“Class B Call Expiration Date” means the date on which the Call B Call Option expires, as specified in Section 4.2(i)(ii).
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“Class B Call Option” means the option of the Partnership to redeem Class B Units, as specified in Section 4.2(i)(ii).
“Class B Call Price” means the per Class B Unit redemption price that the Partnership is required to pay to redeem each Class B Unit pursuant to the Class B Call Option, which price shall be equal to an amount that will result in an IRR with respect to the Class B Unit equal to the sum of (i) 300 basis points and (ii) the internal rate of return on the Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership being issued on the Effective Date pursuant to the Plan and the Transaction Support Agreement, which will be inclusive of (w) 12.25% plus 150 basis point adjustment in the event the number of quarters in which payments in kind are made exceeds six (6)) (as illustrated by that certain side letter executed between the Partnership, the holders of Class B Units party thereto and Ares in effect as of the Effective Date setting out the IRR schedules, the “IRR Side Letter”), plus (x) 60 basis points for the original issue discount on the Senior Preferred Units, plus (y) 50 basis points for each and every quarter that the Quarterly Distributions on the Senior Preferred Units are paid in kind plus (z) any additional distributions, fees or other economics provided to the Senior Preferred Units after the Effective Date and, if applicable, any equity consideration after the Effective Date, which additional distributions, fees or other economics referred to in this clause (z) shall exclude any additional amounts paid or payable to any Initial Holder (as defined in the First Amendment to the Fifth Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Ferrellgas, L.P.) pursuant to the side letters executed between such Initial Holders and the Operating Partnership (the “Tax Side Letters”) in effect as of the Effective Date; provided, however, if the Class B Units are called on or before the first anniversary of the Effective Date, then the minimum Class B Call Price shall be $302.08 per Class B Unit less any cash distributed with respect to such Class B Unit prior to the time such Class B Unit is called.
“Class B Conversion Factor” means, as may be adjusted pursuant to Section 4.3(f), the number of Class A Units into which Class B Units convert in connection with the Class B Conversion Rights, which number shall be fixed based upon the period in which the Class B Units are converted into Class A Units in accordance with Section 4.2(i), determined in accordance with the following table:
Period | Conversion Factor |
From the Effective Date | 1.75 |
From the day after the first anniversary of the Effective Date until the second anniversary of the Effective Date | 2.00 |
From the day after the second anniversary of the Effective Date until the third anniversary of the Effective Date | 3.50 |
From the day after the third anniversary of the Effective Date until the fourth anniversary of the Effective Date | 4.00 |
From the day after the fourth anniversary of the Effective Date until the fifth anniversary of the Effective Date | 5.00 |
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From the day after the fifth anniversary of the Effective Date until the sixth anniversary of the Effective Date | 6.00 |
From the day after the sixth anniversary of the Effective Date until the seventh anniversary of the Effective Date | 7.00 |
From the day after the seventh anniversary of the Effective Date until the eighth anniversary of the Effective Date | 10.00 |
From the day after the eighth anniversary of the Effective Date until the ninth anniversary of the Effective Date | 12.00 |
From the day after the ninth anniversary of the Effective Date and thereafter. | 25.00 |
For the avoidance of doubt, and by way of example: if the Partnership achieves the Class B Conversion Threshold during a period when the Class B Conversion Factor is four (4), then each one (1) Class B Unit will convert into four (4) Class A Units.
“Class B Conversion Rights” means the conversion rights associated with Class B Units, as specified in Section 4.2(i)(i).
“Class B Conversion Threshold” means a distribution threshold that, subject to adjustment in accordance with Section 4.3(f), shall be achieved upon the Partnership distributing an aggregate $274.62 of cash with respect to each Outstanding Class B Unit pursuant to Section 5.6(a).
“Class B Holder” means any Person holding Class B Units, in such Person’s capacity as such.
“Class B Units Depositary” means, with respect to the Class B Units issued in book-entry form, The Depositary Trust Company (and its successors or assigns or any other securities depositary selected by the Partnership).
“Class B Unit” means a Unit representing a fractional part of the Partnership Interests having the rights and obligations specified with respect to Class B Units as set forth in this Agreement.
“Closing Price” for any day means the last sale price on such day, regular way, or in case no such sale takes place on such day, the average of the closing bid and asked prices on such day, regular way, in either case as reported in the principal consolidated transaction reporting system with respect to securities listed on the principal National Securities Exchange on which the Units of such class are listed or admitted to trading or, if the Units of such class are not listed or admitted to trading on any National Securities Exchange, the last quoted price on such day or, if not so quoted, the average of the high bid and low asked prices on such day in the over the counter market, as reported by the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. Automated Quotation System or such other system then in use, or if on any such day the Units of such class are not quoted by any such organization, the average of the closing bid and asked prices on such day as furnished by a professional market maker making a market in the Units of such class
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selected by the Board of Directors of the General Partner, or if on any such day no market maker is making a market in the Units of such class, the fair value of such Units on such day as determined reasonably and in good faith by the Board of Directors of the General Partner.
“COD Offsetting Allocations” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.1(d)(xiv)(B).
“COD Offsetting Gain” means (i) any gain attributable to the sale or other taxable disposition of any depreciable, amortizable or other intangible property of the Partnership, and (ii) any Unrealized Gain resulting from an adjustment in the Carrying Value of any depreciable, amortizable or other intangible property of the Partnership pursuant to Section 4.5(d), in each case, recognized or incurred after the first Revaluation Event that occurs subsequent to, or at the time of, the recognition of Cancellation of Debt Income by the Partnership.
“COD Offsetting Loss” means (i) any loss attributable to the sale or other taxable disposition of any depreciable, amortizable or other intangible property of the Partnership, and (ii) any Unrealized Loss resulting from an adjustment in the Carrying Value of any depreciable, amortizable or other intangible property of the Partnership pursuant to Section 4.5(d), in each case, recognized or incurred after the first Revaluation Event that occurs subsequent to, or at the time of, the recognition of Cancellation of Debt Income by the Partnership.
“Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended and in effect from time to time, as interpreted by the applicable regulations thereunder. Any reference herein to a specific section or sections of the Code shall be deemed to include a reference to any corresponding provision of future law.
“Combined Interest” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 13.3(a).
“Commission” means the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Common Unit” as used in this Agreement means the parlance used to describe a Unit representing a fractional part of the Partnership Interests of all Limited Partners and Assignees and having the rights and obligations specified with respect to Common Units in the Amended and Restated Agreement, Second Amended and Restated Agreement, Third Amended and Restated Agreement, Fourth Amended and Restated Agreement, and Fifth Amended and Restated Agreement. As of the Effective Date, all Common Units were combined into Initial Class A Units pursuant to the Common Unit Combination, and this Agreement shall be interpreted consistently therewith.
“Common Unit Combination” means the combination of Common Units that occurred on the Effective Date in connection with the Bankruptcy Case, in which each Unitholder holding Common Units received 0.05 Class A Units for every Common Unit they held on that date.
“Competitor” shall have the meaning set forth in the First Amendment to Operating Partnership Agreement.
“Contingent Acquisition Agreement” means the Contingent Acquisition Agreement, dated as of March 30, 2021, by and among the General Partner, FCI, and the Class B Holders.
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“Contributed Property” means each property or other asset, in such form as may be permitted by the Delaware Act, but excluding cash, contributed to the Partnership. Once the Carrying Value of a Contributed Property is adjusted pursuant to Section 4.5(d), such property shall no longer constitute a Contributed Property, but shall be deemed an Adjusted Property.
“Contribution Agreement” means that certain Contribution, Conveyance and Assumption Agreement, dated as of the Initial Closing Date, between Ferrellgas, the Partnership and the Operating Partnership, together with the additional conveyance documents and instruments contemplated or referenced thereunder.
“Curative Allocation” means any allocation of an item of income, gain, deduction, loss or credit pursuant to the provisions of Section 5.1(d)(xi).
“Current Market Price” as of any date of any class of Units listed or admitted to trading on any National Securities Exchange means the average of the daily Closing Prices per Unit of such class for the 20 consecutive Trading Days immediately prior to such date.
“Delaware Act” means the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act, 6 Del C. § 17 101, et seq., as amended, supplemented or restated from time to time, and any successor to such statute.
“Departing Partner” means a former General Partner from and after the effective date of any withdrawal or removal of such former General Partner pursuant to Section 13.1 or 13.2.
“Depositary” means with respect to any Units issued in global or book-entry form, The Depository Trust Company and its successors and permitted assigns.
“Disposed of Adjusted Property” has the meaning given such term in Section 5.1(d)(xii)(B).
“Distribution Rate” shall have the meaning set forth in the First Amendment to Operating Partnership Agreement.
“Economic Risk of Loss” has the meaning set forth in Treasury Regulation Section 1.752-2(a).
“Effective Date” shall mean the effective date of the Plan.
“Eligible Citizen” means a Person qualified to own interests in real property in jurisdictions in which the Partnership or the Operating Partnership does business or proposes to do business from time to time, and whose status as a Limited Partner or Assignee does not or would not subject the Partnership or the Operating Partnership to a substantial risk of cancellation or forfeiture of any of its properties or any interest therein.
“Event of Withdrawal” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 13.1(a).
“Excess Additional Book Basis” has the meaning given such term in the definition of “Additional Book Basis Derivative Items.”
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“Excess Distribution” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.1(d)(iii)(A).
“Excess Distribution Unit” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.1(d)(iii)(A).
“FCI” means Xxxxxxx Companies, Inc., a Kansas corporation.
“FCI Class A Unit” means any Class A Units beneficially owned by FCI or the last FCI Class A Unit owned by another holder specified in Section 4.5(c). Any FCI Class A Unit Outstanding and no longer beneficially owned by FCI (other than the last FCI Class A Unit specified in Section 4.5(c)) shall have, as a substantive manner in the hands of a subsequent holder like intrinsic economic and federal income tax characteristics in all material respects, to the intrinsic economic and federal income tax characteristics of a Class A Unit then Outstanding.
“FCI ESOT” means the employee stock ownership trust related to the employee stock ownership plan of FCI organized under Section 4975(e)(7) of the Code.
“Xxxxxxx Buyers” shall mean (a) Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx, (b) the spouse or any lineal descendant of Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx, (c) any trust for his benefit or for the benefit of his spouse of any such lineal descendants, or (d) any corporation, partnership or other entity in which Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx and/or such other persons referred to in the foregoing clauses (b) and (c) are the direct and indirect record and beneficial owners of all of the voting and nonvoting securities.
“Ferrellgas” means Ferrellgas, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of FCI.
“Fifth Amended and Restated Agreement” has the meaning assigned to such term in the recitals hereto.
“First Amendment to the Operating Partnership Agreement” means the First Amendment to the Fifth Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership dated March 30, 2021 creating the New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership.
“Fourth Amended and Restated Agreement” has the meaning assigned to such term in the recitals hereto.
“Fully Converted Class A Unit” means a Class A Unit received by a holder (or former holder) of Class B Units in connection with Class B Conversion Rights that has been determined, in accordance with Section 4.2(i)(i)(B), to be fully fungible with the Initial Class A Units.
“General Partner” means Ferrellgas, and its successors as general partner of the Partnership.
“General Partner Interest” means the ownership interest of the General Partner in the Partnership (in its capacity as a general partner without reference to any other Partnership Interests in the Partnership held by it) which is evidenced by General Partner Units and includes any and all benefits to which the General Partner is entitled as provided in this Agreement,
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together with all obligations of the General Partner to comply with the terms and provisions of this Agreement.
“General Partner Unit” means a Unit representing a fractional part of the General Partner Interest and having the rights and obligations specified with respect to the General Partner Units in this Agreement.
“Group” means a Person that with or through any of its Affiliates or Associates has any agreement, arrangement or understanding for the purpose of acquiring, holding, voting (except voting pursuant to a revocable proxy or consent given to such Person in response to a proxy or consent solicitation made to 10 or more Persons) or disposing of any Partnership Securities with any other Person that beneficially owns, or whose Affiliates or Associates beneficially own, directly or indirectly, Partnership Interests.
“High Yield Notes” shall have the meaning set forth in the First Amendment to Operating Partnership Agreement.
“Holder” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6.13(a).
“Indebtedness” shall have the meaning set forth in the Revolving Credit Agreement, as in effect on the date of this Agreement.
“Indemnified Persons” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6.13(c).
“Indemnitee” means the General Partner, any Departing Partner, any Person who is or was an Affiliate of the General Partner or any Departing Partner, any Person who is or was an officer, director (including the Independent Class B Director and the director designated by the holders of the Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership), employee, partner, agent or trustee of the General Partner or any Departing Partner or any such Affiliate, any Person who is or was serving at the request of the General Partner or any Departing Partner or any such Affiliate as a director, officer, employee, partner, agent or trustee of another Person.
“Independent Class B Director” means the independent director on the board of directors of Ferrellgas, Inc. designated by the Class B Holders in accordance with the Second Amended and Restated Bylaws of Ferrellgas, Inc. and the Voting Agreement.
“Initial Class A Unit” means Class A Units issued to Limited Partners in connection with the Common Unit Combination, as described in Section 4.4(h).
“Initial Closing Date” means July 5, 1994.
“Initial COD Allocation Amount” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.1(d)(xiv)(B).
“Initial Holder” shall have the meaning set forth in the First Amendment to Operating Partnership Agreement.
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“Initial Limited Partners” means Ferrellgas (with respect to the Common Units it owned) and the Underwriters.
“Initial Offering” means the initial offering and sale of Common Units to the public, as described in the Registration Statement.
“Interim Capital Transactions” means (a) borrowings, refinancings or refundings of indebtedness and sales of debt securities (other than for working capital purposes and other than for items purchased on open account in the ordinary course of business) by the Partnership or the Operating Partnership, (b) sales of equity interests by the Partnership or the Operating Partnership and (c) sales or other voluntary or involuntary dispositions of any assets of the Partnership or the Operating Partnership (other than (x) sales or other dispositions of inventory in the ordinary course of business, (y) sales or other dispositions of other current assets including, without limitation, receivables and accounts and (z) sales or other dispositions of assets as a part of normal retirements or replacements), in each case prior to the commencement of the dissolution and liquidation of the Partnership.
“Internal Rate of Return” or “IRR” shall mean the discount rate that results in a net present value equal to zero (0) when applied to a schedule of (i) negative $357 million on the Effective Date and (ii) all cash payments to the Class B units, inclusive of all dividends and distributions, on the dates such payments are made but excluding any fees and expenses paid to the holders of Class B Units pursuant to the rights set forth in Section 6.15(e) and any amounts paid pursuant to rights of indemnification under Section 6.15(g). The Internal Rate of Return shall be calculated using a Microsoft Excel Worksheet using the “XIRR” function.
“Investment” shall have the meaning set forth in the Revolving Credit Agreement, as in effect on the date of this Agreement.
“Issue Price” means the price at which a Unit is purchased from the Partnership, less any sales commission or underwriting discount charged to the Partnership.
“Joint Venture” shall have the meaning set forth in the Revolving Credit Agreement, as in effect on the date of this Amendment.
“Lien” shall have the meaning set forth in the Revolving Credit Agreement, as in effect on the date of this Agreement.
“Limited Partner” means, unless the context otherwise requires, (a) each Initial Limited Partner, each Substituted Limited Partner, each Additional Limited Partner and any Departing Partner upon the change of its status from General Partner to Limited Partner pursuant to Section 13.3, and (b) solely for purposes of Articles IV, V and VI and Sections 14.3 and 14.4, each Assignee.
“Liquidation Date” means (a) in the case of an event giving rise to the dissolution of the Partnership of the type described in clauses (a) and (b) of the first sentence of Section 14.2, the date on which the applicable time period during which the holders of Outstanding Units have the right to elect to reconstitute the Partnership and continue its business has expired without such an
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election being made, and (b) in the case of any other event giving rise to the dissolution of the Partnership, the date on which such event occurs.
“Liquidator” means the General Partner or other Person approved pursuant to Section 14.3 who performs the functions described therein.
“Maintenance Capital Expenditures” means cash capital expenditures made to maintain, up to the level thereof that existed at the time of such expenditure, the operating capacity of the capital assets of the Partnership and the Operating Partnership, taken as a whole, as such assets existed at the time of such expenditure and shall, therefore, not include cash capital expenditures made in respect of Acquisitions and Capital Additions and Improvements. Where cash capital expenditures are made in part to maintain the operating capacity level referred to in the immediately preceding sentence and in part for other purposes, the General Partner’s good faith allocation thereof between the portion used to maintain such operating capacity level and the portion used for other purposes shall be conclusive.
“Merger Agreement” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 16.1.
“National Securities Exchange” means an exchange registered with the Commission under Section 6(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, supplemented or restated from time to time, and any successor to such statute.
“Net Agreed Value” means, (a) in the case of any Contributed Property, the Agreed Value of such property reduced by any liabilities either assumed by the Partnership upon such contribution or to which such property is subject when contributed, and (b) in the case of any property distributed to a Partner or Assignee by the Partnership, the Partnership’s Carrying Value of such property (as adjusted pursuant to Section 4.5(d)(ii)) at the time such property is distributed, reduced by any indebtedness either assumed by such Partner or Assignee upon such distribution or to which such property is subject at the time of distribution, in either case, as determined under Section 752 of the Code.
“Net Income” means, for any taxable period, the excess, if any, of the Partnership’s items of income and gain (other than those items attributable to dispositions constituting Termination Capital Transactions) for such taxable period over the Partnership’s items of loss and deduction (other than those items attributable to dispositions constituting Termination Capital Transactions) for such taxable period. The items included in the calculation of Net Income shall be determined in accordance with Section 4.5(b) and shall not include any items specially allocated under Section 5.1(d). Once an item of income, gain, loss or deduction that has been included in the initial computation of Net Income is subjected to a Required Allocation or a Curative Allocation, Net Income or Net Loss, whichever the case may be, shall be recomputed without regard to such item.
“Net Loss” means, for any taxable period, the excess, if any, of the Partnership’s items of loss and deduction (other than those items attributable to dispositions constituting Termination Capital Transactions) for such taxable period over the Partnership’s items of income and gain (other than those items attributable to dispositions constituting Termination Capital Transactions) for such taxable period. The items included in the calculation of Net Loss shall be determined in
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accordance with Section 4.5(b) and shall not include any items specially allocated under Section 5.1(d). Once an item of income, gain, loss or deduction that has been included in the initial computation of Net Loss is subjected to a Required Allocation or a Curative Allocation, Net Income, or Net Loss, whichever the case may be, shall be recomputed without regard to such item.
“Net Positive Adjustments” means, with respect to any Partner, the excess, if any, of the total positive adjustments over the total negative adjustments made to the Capital Account of such Partner pursuant to Book-Up Events and Book-Down Events.
“Net Termination Gain” means, for any taxable period, (a) the sum, if positive, of all items of income, gain, loss or deduction recognized by the Partnership (including, without limitation, such amounts recognized through the Operating Partnership) from (i) Termination Capital Transactions occurring in such taxable period or (ii) upon the sale, exchange or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Partnership (including, without limitation, such amounts recognized through the Operating Partnership), taken as a whole, in a single transaction or a series of related transactions (excluding any disposition to a member of the Partnership (including, without limitation, such amounts recognized through the Operating Partnership)), or (b) the excess, if any, of the aggregate amount of Unrealized Gain over the aggregate amount of Unrealized Loss deemed recognized by the Partnership pursuant to Section 4.5(d) on the date of a Revaluation Event. The items included in the determination of Net Termination Gain shall be determined in accordance with Section 4.5(b) and shall not include any items of income, gain or loss specially allocated under Section 5.1(d). Once an item of income, gain or loss that has been included in the initial computation of Net Termination Gain is subjected to a Required Allocation or a Curative Allocation, Net Termination Gain or Net Termination Loss, whichever the case may be, shall be recomputed without regard to such item.
“Net Termination Loss” means, for any taxable period, (a) the sum, if negative, of all items of income, gain, loss or deduction recognized by the Partnership (including, without limitation, such amounts recognized through the Operating Partnership) from (i) Termination Capital Transactions occurring in such taxable period or (ii) upon the sale, exchange or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Partnership (including, without limitation, such amounts recognized through the Operating Partnership), taken as a whole, in a single transaction or a series of related transactions (excluding any disposition to a member of the Partnership (including, without limitation, such amounts recognized through the Operating Partnership)), or (b) the excess, if any, of the aggregate amount of Unrealized Loss over the aggregate amount of Unrealized Gain deemed recognized by the Partnership pursuant to Section 4.5(d) on the date of a Revaluation Event. The items included in the determination of Net Termination Loss shall be determined in accordance with Section 4.5(b) and shall not include any items of income, gain or loss specially allocated under Section 5.1(d). Once an item of gain or loss that has been included in the initial computation of Net Termination Loss is subjected to a Required Allocation or a Curative Allocation, Net Termination Gain or Net Termination Loss, whichever the case may be, shall be recomputed without regard to such item.
“New Senior Preferred Units” means the “Senior Preferred Units” as defined in the First Amendment to the Operating Partnership Agreement.
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“Non-citizen Assignee” means a Person who the General Partner has determined in its sole discretion does not constitute an Eligible Citizen and as to whose Partnership Interest the General Partner has become the Substituted Limited Partner, pursuant to Section 11.5.
“Noncompensatory Option” has the meaning set forth in Treasury Regulation Section 1.721-2(f).
“Nonrecourse Built-in Gain” means with respect to any Contributed Properties or Adjusted Properties that are subject to a mortgage or pledge securing a Nonrecourse Liability, the amount of any taxable gain that would be allocated to the Partners pursuant to Sections 5.2(b)(i)(A), 5.2(b)(ii)(A) or 5.2(b)(iii) if such properties were disposed of in a taxable transaction in full satisfaction of such liabilities and for no other consideration.
“Nonrecourse Deductions” means any and all items of loss, deduction or expenditures (described in Section 705(a)(2)(B) of the Code) that, in accordance with the principles of Treasury Regulation Section 1.704-2(b), are attributable to a Nonrecourse Liability.
“Nonrecourse Liability” has the meaning set forth in Treasury
Regulation Section 1.752-1(a)(2).
“Notice of Election to Purchase” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 17.1(b).
“Operating Partnership” means Ferrellgas, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership.
“Operating Partnership Agreement” means the Agreement of Limited Partnership of the Operating Partnership, as it may be amended, supplemented or restated from time to time.
“Operating Partnership Change of Control” shall mean the occurrence of any of the following events: (i) the sale, lease, transfer, conveyance or other disposition (including by way of merger, consolidation or amalgamation or by operation of law), in one or a series of related transactions, of all or substantially all of the assets of the Operating Partnership and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole; (ii) the dissolution or liquidation of the Operating Partnership; (iii) the consummation of any transaction as a result of which one or more Related Parties (or the holders of Class B Units who acquire the sole general partner interest in the Operating Partnership, pursuant to Section 3 of the Contingent Acquisition Agreement as in effect on the Effective Date) ceases to exercise control of the Operating Partnership as the sole general partner of the Operating Partnership, whether due to the sale, assignment or other transfer to other than a Related Party of the sole general partner interest in the Operating Partnership or due to the sale or other transfer to, or acquisition by, a person other than a Related Party of a majority of the voting equity in the Operating Partnership General Partner; and (iv) the removal of the Operating Partnership General Partner as a general partner of the Partnership, except for cases in which any successor general partner is a Related Party. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, the acquisition by the holders of the Class B Units of the sole general partner interest in the Operating Partnership, pursuant to Section 3 of the Contingent Acquisition Agreement as in effect on the Effective Date, shall not be deemed an Operating Partnership Change of Control, unless at the time of such acquisition, a majority of the Class B Units are held, directly, indirectly or
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beneficially by a Competitor, or an entity set forth on the list agreed to by the Operating Partnership on the Effective Date, or any group containing the foregoing.
“Operating Partnership General Partner” means the general partner of the Operating Partnership as of the Effective Date.
“Opinion of Counsel” means a written opinion of counsel (who may be regular counsel to Ferrellgas, any Affiliate of Ferrellgas, the Partnership or the General Partner) acceptable to the General Partner.
“Ordinary Course Acquisitions” means Acquisitions by the Partnership, the Operating Partnership or any of their respective Subsidiaries of the assets, securities or business enterprise (x) of retail or wholesale distributors of propane; (y) of parties engaged in the business of tank exchange or (z) of parties engaged in other business activities ancillary to the core business of the Partnership or the Operating Partnership, which acquisitions will not exceed in the aggregate $25,000,000 (cost basis to the acquiring party) in any fiscal year.
“Ordinary Course Dispositions” means the sale, transfer, assignment, exchange or other disposition by the Partnership, the Operating Partnership or any of their respective Subsidiaries of obsolete, non-functioning or redundant operating assets, including fleet vehicles (including in connection with fleet refreshment or upgrades), tanks used for the storage of propane, underperforming business operations or real estate, which sales, transfers, assignments, exchanges or other dispositions will not exceed in the aggregate $25,000,000 (consideration received by the disposing party) in any fiscal year.
“Ordinary Course Investments” means investments, contributions or other transfers of value, assets or property by the Partnership, the Operating Partnership or any of their respective Subsidiaries, including Capital Additions and Improvements, in connection with business activities, functions or initiatives in, ancillary or adjacent to the business of the Operating Partnership, such as monitoring and tracking technologies, and technology-enabled equipment, intended to improve the performance or efficiency of business operations at the Operating Partnership or any of its Subsidiaries, Ordinary Course Acquisitions and investments required to maintain state of the industry initiatives undertaken by the Operating Partnership’s competitors not in excess, in any fiscal year, of an aggregate of $25,000,000.
“Original Agreement” has the meaning assigned to such term in the recitals hereto.
“Outstanding” means, with respect to the Units or other Partnership Securities, all Units or other Partnership Securities that are issued by the Partnership and reflected as outstanding on the Partnership’s books and records as of the date of determination; provided that if at any time any Person or Group (other than Ferrellgas, its Affiliates and except as provided below) owns beneficially 20% of all Class A Units (the “Unit Threshold”) or more, such Class A Units so owned in excess of the Unit Threshold shall not be voted on any matter and shall not be considered to be Outstanding when sending notices of a meeting of Limited Partners (unless otherwise required by law), calculating required votes, determining the presence of a quorum or for other similar purposes under this Agreement, except that (A) such Class A Units shall be considered to be Outstanding for purposes of Section 13.1(b)(iii) (such Class A Units shall not,
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however, be treated as a separate class or series of Partnership Securities for purposes of this Agreement) and (B) such limitation on voting shall expire on the later to occur of (a) five years after the Effective Date and (b) the conversion of Class B Units to Class A Units. Solely with respect to a vote to remove or replace the General Partner (other than due to a voluntary withdrawal by the General Partner), all Class A Units owned in excess of the Unit Threshold by any Person or Group (other than Ferrellgas, its Affiliates and except as provided below) shall remain subject to the Unit Threshold limitation set forth above until the later to occur of (a) five years after the Effective Date and (b) two years after such conversion of Class B Units to Class A Units; provided, that the restrictions set forth in this sentence and the immediately preceding sentence shall remain in place only for so long as Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx remains Chairman of the board of directors of the General Partner or Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx designates a successor as Chairman of the board of directors, which is approved by a majority of the board of directors and the Requisite Class B Unit Consent (which such approval shall not be unreasonably withheld by the holders of Class B Units). Notwithstanding the above, the Class A Units resulting from Common Units issued upon conversion of the Senior Units, so long as such Class A Units are held by WNGL, its successors, directly or indirectly by The Xxxxxxxx Companies, Inc. or directly or indirectly by Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx or any Related Party (1) shall at all times be considered Outstanding for purposes of this Agreement and have all rights specified with respect to Class A Units in this Agreement and (2) shall be included with any other Class A Units in determining whether WNGL, its successors, The Xxxxxxxx Companies, Inc., Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx or any Related Party own beneficially 20% or more of all Class A Units with respect to those other Class A Units that were not converted from Senior Units. For the avoidance of doubt, (i) while the Class B Units are outstanding, there will be no restriction on the voting of Class B Units with respect to those matters on which such Class B Units are entitled to vote and (ii) to the extent the Class B Units are otherwise redeemed prior to conversion, this definition of “Outstanding” shall be amended to conform to the definition of “Outstanding” as provided in the Fifth Amended and Restated Agreement.
“Overallotment Option” means the overallotment option granted to the Underwriters by the Partnership pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement.
“Partially Converted Class A Unit” means a Class A Unit that was received by a holder of Class B Units in connection with Class B Conversion Rights which is not yet fungible with the Initial Class A Units.
“Partners” means the General Partner and the Limited Partners.
“Partner Nonrecourse Debt” has the meaning set forth in Treasury Regulation Section 1.704-2(b)(4).
“Partner Nonrecourse Debt Minimum Gain” has the meaning set forth in Treasury Regulation Section 1.704-2(i)(2).
“Partner Nonrecourse Deductions” means any and all items of loss, deduction or expenditure (including, without limitation, any expenditure described in Section 705(a)(2)(B) of the Code) that, in accordance with the principles of Treasury Regulation Section 1.704 2(i), are attributable to a Partner Nonrecourse Debt.
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“Partnership” means Ferrellgas Partners, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership established by the Certificate of Limited Partnership, and any successors thereto.
“Partnership Interest” means an interest in the Partnership, which shall include General Partner Units, Class A Units, Class B Units, or other Partnership Securities, or a combination thereof or interest therein, as the case may be.
“Partnership Minimum Gain” means that amount determined in accordance with the principles of Treasury Regulation Section 1.704-2(d).
“Partnership Securities” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 4.3(a).
“Per Unit Capital Amount” means, as of any date of determination, the Capital Account, stated on a per Unit basis, underlying any Unit held by a Person.
“Percentage Interest” means as of the date of such determination (a) as to any Partner or Assignee holding Class A Units the product of (i) 100% less the percentage applicable to clause (b) multiplied by (ii) the quotient of the number of Class A Units held by such Partner or Assignee divided by the total number of all Outstanding Class A Units, and (b) as to the holders of additional Partnership Securities issued by the Partnership in accordance with Section 4.3, the percentage established as a part of such issuance.
“Permitted Investment” shall have the meaning set forth in the Revolving Credit Agreement, as in effect on the date of this Agreement.
“Permitted Lien” shall have the meaning set forth in the Revolving Credit Agreement, as in effect on the date of this Agreement.
“Person” means an individual or a corporation, partnership, trust, unincorporated organization, association or other entity.
“PIK Redemption Price” has the meaning set forth in the First Amendment to the Operating Partnership Agreement.
“PIK Units” has the meaning set forth in the First Amendment to the Operating Partnership Agreement.
“PIK Unit Price” has the meaning set forth in the First Amendment to the Operating Partnership Agreement.
“Plan” has the meaning assigned to such term in the recitals hereto.
“Preferred Voting Agreement” shall have the “Voting Agreement” as defined in the First Amendment to Operating Partnership Agreement.
“Pro Rata” means (a) when modifying Units or any class thereof, apportioned equally among all designated Units or class thereof in accordance with their relative Percentage Interests,
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and (b) when modifying Partners and Assignees, apportioned among all Partners and Assignees in accordance with their relative Percentage Interests.
“Protective Step-Up Period” shall have the meaning set forth in the First Amendment to Operating Partnership Agreement.
“Purchase Date” means the date determined by the General Partner as the date for purchase of all Outstanding Units (other than Units owned by the General Partner and its Affiliates) pursuant to Article XVII.
“Purchase Price of the New Senior Preferred Units” means the “Purchase Price” as defined in the First Amendment to the Operating Partnership Agreement.
“Quarter” means, unless the context requires otherwise, a three month period of time ending on October 31, January 31, April 30, or July 31; provided, however, that the General Partner, in its sole discretion, may amend such period as it deems necessary or appropriate in connection with a change in the fiscal year of the Partnership.
“Recapture Income” means any gain recognized by the Partnership (computed without regard to any adjustment required by Sections 734 or 743 of the Code) upon the disposition of any property or asset of the Partnership, which gain is characterized as ordinary income because it represents the recapture of deductions previously taken with respect to such property or asset.
“Record Date” means the date established by the General Partner for determining (a) the identity of the Record Holder entitled to notice of, or to vote at, any meeting of Limited Partners or entitled to vote by ballot or give approval of Partnership action in writing without a meeting or entitled to exercise rights in respect of any lawful action of Limited Partners or (b) the identity of Record Holders entitled to receive any report or distribution.
“Record Holder” means the Person in whose name a Unit is registered on the books of the Transfer Agent as of the opening of business on a particular Business Day, or with respect to a holder of a General Partner Unit, the Person in whose name such General Partner Unit is registered on the books which the General Partner has caused to be kept as of the opening of business on such Business Day.
“Redeemable Units” means any Units for which a redemption notice has been given, and has not been withdrawn, under Section 11.6.
“Redemption Default Agreement” shall have the meaning set forth in the First Amendment to Operating Partnership Agreement.
“Registration Statement” means the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Registration No. 33-53383), as it has been or as it may be amended or supplemented from time to time, filed by the Partnership with the Commission under the Securities Act to register the offering and sale of the Common Units in the Initial Offering.
“Related Party” means (a) the spouse or any lineal descendant of Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx, (b) any trust for his benefit or for the benefit of his spouse or any such lineal descendants, (c) any
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corporation, partnership or other entity in which Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx and/or such other Persons referred to in the foregoing clauses (a) and (b) are the direct record and beneficial owners of all of the voting and nonvoting securities, (d) the FCI ESOT and (e) any participant in the FCI ESOT whose ESOT account has been allocated shares of FCI.
“Remaining Net Positive Adjustments” means, as of the end of any taxable period, with respect to the Unitholders holding Class A Units, the excess of (i) the Net Positive Adjustments of the Unitholders holding Class A Units as of the end of such period over (ii) the sum of those Partners’ Share of Additional Book Basis Derivative Items for each prior taxable period.
“Required Allocations” means any allocation (or limitation imposed on any allocation) of an item of income, gain, deduction or loss pursuant to (a) Section 5.1(b)(ii) or (b) Sections 5.1(d)(i), 5.1(d)(ii), 5.1(d)(iv), 5.1(d)(v), 5.1(d)(vi), 5.1(d)(vii) and 5.1(d)(ix), such allocations (or limitations thereon) being directly or indirectly required by the Treasury Regulations promulgated under Section 704(b) of the Code.
“Required Holders of New Senior Preferred Units” shall mean shall mean both (i) holders of New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership owning at least 33.3% of the total New Senior Preferred Units outstanding at any given time and (ii) the Ares Holders, for so long as the Ares Holders collectively own at least 25% of the New Senior Preferred Units outstanding at such time.
“Requisite Class B Unit Consent” means (x) if PGIM, Inc. and its Affiliates hold in the aggregate at least 50% of the then-outstanding Class B Units, the consent of at least 50% of the then-outstanding Class B Units or (y) if PGIM, Inc. and its Affiliates hold in the aggregate less than 50% of the then-outstanding Class B Units, the consent of at least thirty-three percent (33%) of the then-outstanding Class B Units; provided, however, if PGIM, Inc. and its Affiliates hold in the aggregate less than fifty percent (50%) of the then-outstanding Class B Units but more than thirty-three percent (33%) of the then-outstanding Class B Units, the consent may be given by PGIM, Inc. or, if PGIM, Inc. declines to provide such consent, by the other holders comprising at least thirty-three percent (33%) of the then-outstanding Class B Units.
“Residual Gain” or “Residual Loss” means any item of gain or loss, as the case may be, of the Partnership recognized for federal income tax purposes resulting from a sale, exchange or other disposition of a Contributed Property or Adjusted Property, to the extent such item of gain or loss is not allocated pursuant to Sections 5.2(b)(i)(A) or 5.2(b)(ii)(A), respectively, to eliminate Book Tax Disparities.
“Restricted Activities” means the retail sale of propane to end users within the continental United States in the manner engaged in by Ferrellgas immediately prior to the Initial Closing Date.
“Revaluation Event” means an event that results in adjustment of the Carrying Value of each Partnership property pursuant to Section 4.5(d).
“Revolving Credit Agreement” shall mean that certain Credit Agreement, consisting of up to $350,000,000 in aggregate principal amount of revolving commitments, including a sublimit
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for the issuance of letters of credit in an amount not to exceed $200,000,000, dated as of the Effective Date, among the Operating Partnership, the General Partner, certain subsidiaries of the Operating Partnership, as guarantors, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent and collateral agent, and the lenders party thereto, as in effect on the Effective Date.
“Revolving Credit Agreement Agent” shall have the meaning set forth in the First Amendment to Operating Partnership Agreement.
“Second Amended and Restated Agreement” has the meaning assigned to such term in the recitals hereto.
“Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, supplemented or restated from time to time and any successor to such statute.
“Senior Notes” means the Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. 8.625% senior unsecured notes that matured on June 15th 2020, and which were contributed to the Partnership by the Class B Holders as a Capital Contribution, as set forth in Section 4.2(i).
“Senior Preferred Additional Amounts” shall have the meaning set forth in the First Amendment to Operating Partnership Agreement.
“Share of Additional Book Basis Derivative Items” means in connection with any allocation of Additional Book Basis Derivative Items for any taxable period, with respect to the Unitholders holding Class A Units, the amount that bears the same ratio to such Additional Book Basis Derivative Items as the Unitholders’ Remaining Net Positive Adjustments as of the end of such taxable period bear to the Aggregate Remaining Net Positive Adjustments as of that time.
“Sole Shared GP Entity” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6.15(e).
“Special Approval” means approval by the Audit Committee.
“Subsidiary” means, with respect to any Person, (i) a corporation of which more than 50% of the voting power of shares of Capital Interests entitled (without regard to the occurrence of any contingency) to vote in the election of directors or other governing body of such corporation is owned, directly or indirectly, by such Person, by one or more Subsidiaries of such Person, or a combination thereof, (ii) a partnership (whether general or limited) in which such Person or a Subsidiary of such Person is, at the date of determination, a general or limited partner of such partnership, but only if more than 50% of the Capital Interests of such partnership (considering all of the Capital Interests of the partnership as a single class) is owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by such Person, by one or more Subsidiaries of such Person, or a combination thereof, or (iii) any other Person (other than a corporation or a partnership) in which such Person, directly or indirectly, at the date of determination, has (x) at least a majority ownership interest or (y) the power to elect or direct the election of a majority of the directors or other governing body of such Person.
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“Substituted Limited Partner” means a Person who is admitted as a Limited Partner to the Partnership pursuant to Section 12.2 in place of and with all the rights of a Limited Partner and who is shown as a Limited Partner on the books and records of the Partnership.
“Surviving Business Entity” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 16.2(b).
“Tax Distribution” shall have the meaning set forth in the First Amendment to Operating Partnership Agreement.
“Termination Capital Transactions” means any sale, transfer or other disposition of property of the Partnership or the Operating Partnership occurring upon or incident to the liquidation and winding up of the Partnership and the Operating Partnership pursuant to Article XIV.
“Third Amended and Restated Agreement” has the meaning assigned to such term in the recitals hereto.
“Total Redemption Price” has the meaning set forth in the First Amendment to Operating Partnership Agreement.
“Trading Day” means a day on which the principal National Securities Exchange on which the Units of any class are listed or admitted to trading is open for the transaction of business or, if Units of a class are not listed or admitted to trading on any National Securities Exchange, a day on which banking institutions in New York City generally are open.
“Transfer” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 11.1(a).
“Transfer Agent” means such bank, trust company or other Person as shall be appointed from time to time by the Partnership to act as registrar and transfer agent for the Class A Units and the Class B Units, which shall not be the General Partner, the Partnership or any of their respective Affiliates.
“Transfer Application” means an application and agreement for transfer of Units in the form set forth on the back of a Certificate or in a form substantially to the same effect in a separate instrument.
“Underwriter” means each Person named as an underwriter in Schedule I to the Underwriting Agreement who purchased Common Units pursuant thereto.
“Underwriting Agreement” means the Underwriting Agreement dated June 27, 1994, among the Underwriters, the Partnership, the General Partner and FCI providing for the purchase of Common Units by such Underwriters.
“Unit” means a Partnership Interest of a Partner or Assignee in the Partnership representing a fractional part of the Partnership Interests of all Partners and Assignees and shall include, without limitation, General Partner Units, Class A Units, and Class B Units; provided, that each General Partner Unit at any time Outstanding shall represent the same fractional part of
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the Partnership Interests of all Partners and Assignees holding General Partner Units as each other General Partner Unit, each Class A Unit at any time Outstanding shall represent the same fractional part of the Partnership Interests of all Partners and Assignees holding Class A Units as each other Class A Unit, and each Class B Unit at any time Outstanding shall represent the same fractional part of the Partnership Interest of all Partners and Assignees holding Class B Units as each other Class B Unit.
“Unitholders” means the holders of Class A Units and General Partner Units and any Units issued after the Effective Date pursuant to Section 4.3 if the General Partner so indicates, but shall not include holders of Class B Units.
“Unrealized Gain” attributable to any item of Partnership property means, as of any date of determination, the excess, if any, of (a) the fair market value of such property as of such date (as determined under Section 4.5(d)) over (b) the Carrying Value of such property as of such date (prior to any adjustment to be made pursuant to Section 4.5(d) as of such date).
“Unrealized Loss” attributable to any item of Partnership property means, as of any date of determination, the excess, if any, of (a) the Carrying Value of such property as of such date (prior to any adjustment to be made pursuant to Section 4.5(d) as of such date) over (b) the fair market value of such property as of such date (as determined under Section 4.5(d)).
“Voting Agreement” means the Voting Agreement, dated as of March 30, 2021, by and among FCI, a Kansas corporation, the Class B Holders and the General Partner.
“Withdrawal Opinion of Counsel” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 13.1(b).
“WNGL” means Xxxxxxxx Natural Gas Liquids, Inc., a Delaware corporation.
“WNGL Closing Date” means the closing date of the transactions contemplated by the WNGL Purchase Agreement.
“WNGL Purchase Agreement” means that certain Purchase Agreement, dated as of November 7, 1999, as amended, by and among the Partnership, the Operating Partnership and WNGL.
“WNGL Registration Rights Agreement” means that certain Registration Rights Agreement, dated the WNGL Closing Date, as amended, between the Partnership and WNGL.
ARTICLE III
PURPOSE
Section 3.1 Purpose and Business. The purpose and nature of the business to be conducted by the Partnership shall be (a) to serve as a limited partner in the Operating Partnership and, in connection therewith, to exercise all of the rights and powers conferred upon the Partnership as a limited partner in the Operating Partnership pursuant to the Operating Partnership Agreement or otherwise, (b) to engage directly in, or to enter into or form any corporation,
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partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, business trust, or other arrangement to engage in, any business activity that the Operating Partnership is permitted to engage in by the Operating Partnership Agreement and, in connection therewith, to exercise all of the rights and powers conferred upon the Partnership pursuant to the agreements relating to such business activity, (c) subject to the provisions of Sections 6.3(b), 6.15 and 6.16, to engage directly in, or to enter into or form any corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, business trust, or other arrangement to engage in, any business activity that is approved by the General Partner and which lawfully may be conducted by a limited partnership organized pursuant to the Delaware Act and, in connection therewith, to exercise all of the rights and powers conferred upon the Partnership pursuant to the agreements relating to such business activity, and (d) subject to the provisions of Sections 6. 3(b), 6.15 and 6.16, to do anything necessary or appropriate to the foregoing, including, without limitation, the making of capital contributions or loans to the Operating Partnership. The General Partner has no obligation or duty to the Partnership, the Limited Partners, or the Assignees to propose or approve, and in its sole discretion may decline to propose or approve, the conduct by the Partnership of any business.
Section 3.2 Powers. The Partnership shall be empowered to do any and all acts and things necessary, appropriate, proper, advisable, incidental to or convenient for the furtherance and accomplishment of the purposes and business described in Section 3.1 and for the protection and benefit of the Partnership.
ARTICLE IV
CAPITAL CONTRIBUTIONS
Section 4.1 Initial Contributions. In connection with the formation of the Partnership under the Delaware Act, the General Partner made an initial Capital Contribution to the Partnership and was admitted as the general partner of the Partnership, and the organizational Limited Partner made a Capital Contribution to the Partnership and was admitted as a limited partner of the Partnership.
Section 4.2 Contributions by the General Partner and the Initial Limited Partners; Contributions on the WNGL Closing Date and issuance of General Partner Units; Contributions on the Effective Date; Special Provisions related to Class B Units.
(a) On the Initial Closing Date, the General Partner contributed and delivered to the Partnership, as a Capital Contribution, a limited partner interest in the Operating Partnership which, together with the Partnership Interest (as defined in the Operating Partnership Agreement) previously held by the Partnership, represented a 98.9899% Percentage Interest (as defined in the Operating Partnership Agreement) in the Operating Partnership, in exchange for (i) the continuation of its Partnership Interest as general partner in the Partnership, subject to all of the rights, privileges and duties of the General Partner under this Agreement, (ii) 1,000,000 Common Units and 16,593,721 Subordinated Units (which were thereafter converted into Common Units), and (iii) the IDRs (which were eliminated in this Agreement).
(b) On the Initial Closing Date, each Underwriter contributed and delivered to the Partnership cash in an amount equal to the Issue Price per Common Unit, multiplied
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by the number of Common Units specified in the Underwriting Agreement to be purchased by such Underwriter. In exchange for such Capital Contribution by the Underwriters, the Partnership issued Common Units to each Underwriter on whose behalf such Capital Contribution was made in an amount equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the cash contribution to the Partnership by or on behalf of such Underwriter by (y) the Issue Price per Common Unit. Immediately after these contributions, the Initial Capital Contribution of the General Partner and the organizational Limited Partner were refunded, the interest of the organizational Limited Partner was terminated and the organizational Limited Partner ceased to be a Limited Partner.
(c) To the extent that the Underwriters’ Overallotment Option was exercised, each Underwriter contributed and delivered to the Partnership cash in an amount equal to the Issue Price per Common Unit multiplied by the number of Common Units purchased by such Underwriter pursuant to the Overallotment Option. In exchange for such Capital Contribution, the Partnership issued Common Units to each Underwriter on whose behalf such Capital Contribution was made in an amount equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the cash contribution to the Partnership by or on behalf of such Underwriter by (y) the Issue Price per Common Unit.
(d) On the WNGL Closing Date, pursuant to the WNGL Purchase Agreement, WNGL contributed all of its interests in Thermogas L.L.C., a Delaware limited liability company (previously Thermogas Company, a Delaware corporation), to the Partnership in exchange for 4,375,000 Senior Units (which were thereafter converted into Common Units).
(e) On June 5, 2000, the Partnership issued 316,233 General Partner Units to represent the General Partner Interest as of that date, which number is equal to one percent of the quotient of the number of Common Units then Outstanding divided by ninety-nine percent rounded down to the nearest whole number of General Partner Units.
(f) On the conversion of Senior Units into Common Units, the Partnership issued to the General Partner (for no consideration) that number of General Partner Units which caused the Percentage Interest of its General Partner Interest immediately after such conversion to be equal to the Percentage Interest of its General Partner Interest immediately prior to such conversion.
(g) [Reserved]
(h) On the Effective Date and pursuant to the Plan, the Common Units were combined into Class A Units, and each Limited Partner then holding Common Units received one (1) Class A Unit for every twenty (20) Common Units held by such Limited Partner on that date (the “Initial Class A Units” and the “Common Unit Combination”).
(i) On the Effective Date and pursuant to the Plan, the Class B Holders contributed and delivered to the Partnership, as a Capital Contribution, Senior Notes with an aggregate face value of $357,000,000 plus all accrued and unpaid interest, in exchange for 1,300,000 Class B Units (the “Initial Class B Units”). Notwithstanding anything in this
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Agreement to the contrary, the Initial Class B Units shall be the only Class B Units issued by the Partnership. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, the Initial Class B Units shall be treated as first allocable to principal (as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes, up to the full amount of such principal, with only the excess, if any, being allocated to interest).
(i) Class B Conversion. The Partnership may elect to convert the Class B Units into Class A Units by delivery of written notice to the holders of Class B Units any time after the Partnership has achieved the Class B Conversion Threshold, and upon the Partnership making such election the Class B Units shall be converted into a number of fully paid and nonassessable (subject to Section 17-607 of the Delaware Act) Class A Units as is equal to the number of Class B Units multiplied by the Class B Conversion Factor in effect at the time that the Partnership elects to convert the Class B Units; provided, however, on the fifth anniversary of the Effective Date, the Class B Units shall be automatically converted into a number of fully paid and nonassessable (subject to Section 17-607 of the Delaware Act) Class A Units as is equal to the number of Class B Units multiplied by the Class B Conversion Factor in effect on the fifth anniversary of the Effective Date if (i) the Partnership has met the Class B Conversion Threshold, (ii) the Partnership has not previously redeemed the Class B Units, and (iii) the Partnership has not otherwise provided notice and converted the Class B Units pursuant to this Section 4.2(i)(i); provided, further, if the Class B Units are not converted into Class A Units prior to or on the fifth anniversary of the Effective Date, then, from and after the fifth anniversary of the Effective Date, upon the Partnership achieving the Class B Conversion Threshold, the Class B Units shall be automatically converted into a number of fully paid and nonassessable (subject to Section 17-607 of the Delaware Act) Class A Units as is equal to the number of Class B Units multiplied by the Class B Conversion Factor in effect at the time that the Class B Conversion Threshold is achieved; provided, further, if the Class B Conversion Threshold is not achieved by the end of the tenth anniversary of the Effective Date, each Class B Unit shall be converted into a number of fully paid and nonassessable (subject to Section 17-607 of the Delaware Act) Class A Units as is equal to the number of Class B Units multiplied by the Class B Conversion Factor in effect at that time (the “Class B Conversion Rights”). For the avoidance of doubt, in the event of a conversion of the Class B Units to the Class A Units pursuant to this Section 4.2(i)(i), no amounts distributed to the Class B Holders prior to conversion will be returnable by or recoverable from the Class B Holders to the Partnership.
(A) For U.S. federal income tax purposes, the Class B Units shall be treated as convertible equity within the meaning of Treasury Regulation Section 1.721-2(g)(3) and the conversion from Class B Units to Class A Units shall be treated as the exercise of a Noncompensatory Option.
(B) The Class A Units that a Class B Holder receives in connection with the Class B Conversion Rights shall initially be termed “Partially Converted Class A Units” and shall not be considered Fully Converted Class A Units until the Partnership’s public accounting firm determines, in its sole discretion, that the Partially Converted Class A Units are fully fungible with all other Class A Units (and, upon such a determination the Partially Converted Class A Units shall be
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“Fully Converted Class A Units” and tradable pari passu with the Initial Class A Units). If corrective allocations pursuant to Treasury Regulation Section 1.704-1(b)(4)(x) are required in connection with conversion of Class B Units to Class A Units, then Partially Converted Class A Units shall not become Fully Converted Class A Units until all allocations required by Section 1.704-1(b)(4)(x) have been made and the Capital Account balances and other tax and economic attributes of all Partially Converted Class A Units have been equalized with the Initial Class A Units, as determined in the sole discretion of the Company’s public accounting firm, provided that the Company’s public accounting firm shall make the determination of fungibility and the required allocations, if any, described in this Section 4.2(i)(B) as promptly as reasonably practicable in accordance with applicable law.
(ii) Class B Unit Call Option. The Partnership shall have the option to redeem all, but not less than all, of the Class B Units outstanding at any time prior to the end of the fifth anniversary of the Effective Date (the “Class B Call Option” and the “Class B Call Expiration Date”).
(A) The Class B Call Option redemption price shall be equal to the Class B Call Price in effect at the time that the General Partner provides the Class B Call Notice to the Class B Representative, as described in subparagraph (B).
(B) To exercise the Class B Call Option: (1) the General Partner shall provide notice to the Transfer Agent setting forth: (i) the date of the notice, (ii) the total number of Class B Units to be redeemed, which shall be all Class B Units then outstanding, (iii) the Class B Unit Redemption Price in effect at that time, and (iv) the total dollar amount to be distributed in redemption (the “Class B Call Notice”), and the Transfer Agent shall then notify the Class B Holders; (2) the Partnership shall distribute the amounts set forth in the Class B Call Notice within thirty (30) days of providing the Class B Call Notice to the Transfer Agent, in accordance with the rules set forth in subparagraph (C) below; and (3) upon the Partnership making the distribution set forth in the Class B Call Notice, the Class B Units shall be automatically redeemed, canceled, or retired, and cease to be a Partnership Interest for all purposes without the need for any additional action by the Class B Holders. In the event that a Transfer Agent is not appointed, the Class B Call Notice shall be provided to the Independent Class B Director.
(C) To effectuate the redemption of Class B Units, the Partnership may either: (1) make a distribution directly to the Class B Holders, or (2) deposit cash with a bank or trust company (as a trust fund) sufficient to redeem the Class B Units, along with irrevocable instructions and authority for such bank or trust company to pay such cash over to the respective Class B Holders. If the Partnership deposits cash with a bank or trust company, then the date of deposit shall be deemed the date of distribution and the Class B Units shall be automatically redeemed, canceled, retired, and cease to be a Partnership Interest for all purposes as of that date so long as such bank or trust company is required to make such distributions within three Business Days of the date of deposit.
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(iii) Non-Certificated; Book-Entry Form; Transfers. Class B Units shall be non-certificated, book-entry and shall be registered in the name of the Class B Units Depositary or its nominee. Article X of this Agreement shall not apply to Class B Units.
(iv) For so long as any Class B Units are outstanding, the Class B Holders shall be entitled to appoint the Independent Class B Director in accordance with the Second Amended and Restated Bylaws of Ferrellgas, Inc. and the Voting Agreement.
Section 4.3 Issuances of Additional Units and Other Securities.
(a) Subject to Sections 4.3(c), 4.3(f), 6.3(b), 6.16 and the other terms of this Agreement, the General Partner is hereby authorized to cause the Partnership to issue, in addition to the Partnership Interests and Units issued pursuant to Sections 4.1 and 4.2, such additional Units (other than General Partner Units), or classes or series thereof, or options, rights, warrants or appreciation rights relating thereto, or any other type of equity security that the Partnership may lawfully issue, any unsecured or secured debt obligations of the Partnership convertible into any class or series of equity securities of the Partnership (collectively, “Partnership Securities”), for any Partnership purpose, at any time or from time to time, to the Partners or to other Persons for such consideration and on such terms and conditions as shall be established by the General Partner in its sole discretion, all without the approval of any Limited Partners. The General Partner shall have sole discretion, subject to the guidelines set forth in this Section 4.3 and the requirements of the Delaware Act, in determining the consideration and terms and conditions with respect to any future issuance of Partnership Securities.
(b) Additional Partnership Securities to be issued by the Partnership pursuant to this Section 4.3 shall be issuable from time to time in one or more classes, or one or more series of any of such classes, with such designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights, powers and duties, including, without limitation, rights, powers and duties senior to existing classes and series of Partnership Securities (except as provided in Section 4.3), all as shall be fixed by the General Partner in the exercise of its sole discretion, subject to Delaware law, Section 4.3(c) and Section 4.3(f), including, without limitation, (i) the allocations of items of Partnership income, gain, loss, deduction and credit to each such class or series of Partnership Securities; (ii) the right of each such class or series of Partnership Securities to share in Partnership distributions; (iii) the rights of each such class or series of Partnership Securities upon dissolution and liquidation of the Partnership; (iv) whether such class or series of additional Partnership Securities is redeemable by the Partnership and, if so, the price at which, and the terms and conditions upon which, such class or series of additional Partnership Securities may be redeemed by the Partnership; (v) whether such class or series of additional Partnership Securities is issued with the privilege of conversion and, if so, the rate at which, and the terms and conditions upon which, such class or series of Partnership Securities may be converted into any other class or series of Partnership Securities or other property; (vi) the terms and conditions upon which each such class or series of Partnership Securities will be issued, evidenced by certificates and assigned or transferred; and (vii) the right, if any, of each such class or series of Partnership Securities
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to vote on Partnership matters, including, without limitation, matters relating to the relative rights, preferences and privileges of each such class or series.
(c) Notwithstanding the terms of Sections 4.3(a) and 4.3(b), the issuance by the Partnership of any Partnership Securities pursuant to this Section 4.3 shall be subject to the following restrictions and limitations:
(i) The General Partner may, at any time, make a Capital Contribution to the Partnership so that the General Partner will have made aggregate Capital Contributions equal to at least 1.0% of the aggregate Capital Contributions of all Partners. Upon the issuance of any Units by the Partnership to any Person, the General Partner, in its sole discretion, may simultaneously purchase (or may purchase at any time thereafter as specified below) a number of General Partner Units only to the extent necessary such that after taking into account the additional Units issued to such Person and the General Partner Units to be issued to the General Partner pursuant to this Section 4.3(c)(ii), the General Partner will have a Percentage Interest of no more than 1.0%. The consideration for the General Partner Units to be issued to the General Partner shall be the higher of the price at which the Units were issued or, only if the purchase is not made simultaneously with the issuance of the Units and the Units issued are Class A Units, the Closing Price of the Class A Units on the day prior to the proposed issuance of such General Partner Units;
(d) Subject to this Section 4.3 and the other terms herein, the General Partner is hereby authorized and directed to take all actions that it deems necessary or appropriate in connection with each issuance of Units or other Partnership Securities pursuant to Section 4.3(a) and, subject to Section 6.15 and 6.16, to amend this Agreement in any manner that it deems necessary or appropriate to provide for each such issuance, to admit Additional Limited Partners in connection therewith and to specify the relative rights, powers and duties of the holders of the Units or other Partnership Securities being so issued.
(e) The General Partner shall do all things necessary to comply with the Delaware Act and is authorized and directed, subject to the other terms of this Agreement, to do all things it deems to be necessary or advisable in connection with any future issuance of Partnership Securities, including, without limitation, compliance with any statute, rule, regulation or guideline of any federal, state or other governmental agency or any National Securities Exchange on which the Units or other Partnership Securities are listed for trading.
(f) Adjustments to the Class B Units.
(i) Adjustment for Subdivisions and Combinations.
(A) If at any time or from time to time on or after the Effective Date the Partnership effects a subdivision of the outstanding Class A Units, the Class B Conversion Factors in effect immediately before that subdivision shall be proportionately increased. Conversely, if at any time or from time to time after the Effective Date the Partnership combines the outstanding Class A Units into a smaller number of Units, the Class B Conversion Factors in effect immediately
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before the combination shall be proportionately decreased. For the avoidance of doubt, the Class B Conversion Factor shall not be adjusted as a result of the Common Unit Combination that occurred on the Effective Date.
(B) If at any time or from time to time on or after the Effective Date the Partnership effects a subdivision of the outstanding Class B Units, the Class B Conversion Threshold in effect immediately before that subdivision shall be proportionately increased. Conversely, if at any time or from time to time after the Effective Date the Partnership combines the outstanding Class B Units into a smaller number of Units, the Class B Conversion Threshold in effect immediately before the combination shall be proportionately decreased. For the avoidance of doubt, the Class B Conversion Threshold shall not be adjusted as a result of the Common Unit Combination that occurred on the Effective Date.
(C) Any adjustment pursuant to this Section 4.3(f)(i) shall become effective at the open of business on the date that the subdivision or combination becomes effective.
(ii) Adjustment for Dividends and Distributions. If at any time or from time to time on or after the Effective Date the Partnership pays to holders of Class A Units a dividend in additional Class A Units or other distribution in additional Class A Units, the Class B Conversion Factors then in effect shall be increased as of the time of such issuance, as provided below:
(A) The Class B Conversion Factors shall be adjusted by multiplying the Class B Conversion Factors then in effect by a fraction:
(I) the numerator of which is the total number of Class A Units issued and outstanding immediately prior to the time of such issuance plus the number of Class A Units issuable in payment of such dividend or distribution, and
(II) the denominator of which is the total number of Class A Units issued and outstanding immediately prior to the time of such issuance, and
(III) for the avoidance of doubt, the foregoing adjustment shall result in the holders of Class B Units owning the same pro rata ownership of the Partnership on an as-converted to Class A Units basis immediately after such adjustment as such holders owned immediately prior to such dividend or distribution and the adjustment contemplated by this Section 4.3(f)(ii);
(B) If the Partnership fixes a record date to determine which holders of Class A Units are entitled to receive such dividend or other distribution, the Class B Conversion Factors shall be adjusted as of the close of business on such record date and the number of Class B Conversion Factors shall be calculated immediately prior to the close of business on such record date; and
(C) If such record date is fixed and such dividend is not fully paid or if such distribution is not fully made on the date fixed therefor, the Class B
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Conversion Factors shall be readjusted, effective as of the date the General Partner determines not to fully pay such dividend or make such distribution, to the Class B Conversion Factors that would then be in effect pursuant to this paragraph 4.3(f)(ii) on the basis of the actual payment of such dividend or distribution.
(iii) Adjustment for Reclassification, Exchange, Substitution, Reorganization, Merger or Consolidation. If at any time or from time to time on or after the Effective Date the Class A Units are changed into the same or a different number of Units of any class or classes of Units, or any other securities or property, whether by recapitalization, reclassification, merger, consolidation or otherwise, in any such event each holder of Class B Units shall then have the right to convert each Class B Unit into the kind and amount of Units and other securities and property receivable upon such recapitalization, reclassification, merger, consolidation or other change of the maximum number of Class A Units into which such Class B Unit could have been converted in connection with the Class B Conversion Right immediately prior to such recapitalization, reclassification, merger, consolidation or change, all subject to further adjustment as provided herein or with respect to such other securities or property by the terms thereof. In any such case, appropriate adjustment shall be made in the application of the provisions of this Agreement with respect to the rights of the holders of Class B Units so that the provisions governing the Class B Conversion Right shall be applicable after that event and be as nearly equivalent as practicable.
(iv) Certificate of Adjustment. In each case of an adjustment or readjustment of the Class B Conversion Threshold or Class B Conversion Factors for the number of Class A Units or other securities issuable upon conversion of any Class B Units, the Partnership, at its expense, shall compute such adjustment or readjustment in accordance with the provisions hereof and shall, upon request, prepare a certificate showing such adjustment or readjustment, and shall mail such certificate, by first class mail, postage prepaid, to each registered holder of Class B Units so requesting at the holder’s address as shown in the Partnership’s books. The certificate shall set forth such adjustment or readjustment, showing in detail the facts upon which such adjustment or readjustment is based, including a statement of (i) the consideration received or deemed to be received by the Partnership for any Additional Class A Units issued or sold or deemed to have been issued or sold, (ii) the applicable Class B Conversion Factors and Class B Conversion Threshold at the time in effect, (iii) the number of Class A Units and Class B Units and (iv) the type and amount, if any, of other property which at the time would be received upon conversion of such Class B Units. Failure to request or provide such notice shall have no effect on any such adjustment.
(v) No Impairment. The Partnership will not through any reorganization, recapitalization, transfer of assets, consolidation, merger, dissolution, issue or sale of securities or any other voluntary action, avoid or seek to avoid the observance or performance of any of the terms to be observed or performed hereunder by the Partnership, but will at all times in good faith assist in the carrying out of all the provisions of this Section 4.3(f) and in the taking of all such action as may be necessary or appropriate in order to protect the holders of Class B Units against impairment.
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Section 4.4 Limited Preemptive Rights. Except as provided in this Section 4.4 and Section 4.3, no Person shall have any preemptive, preferential or other similar right with respect to (a) additional Capital Contributions; (b) issuance or sale of any class or series of Units or other Partnership Securities, whether unissued, held in the treasury or hereafter created; (c) issuance of any obligations, evidences of indebtedness or other securities of the Partnership convertible into or exchangeable for, or carrying or accompanied by any rights to receive, purchase or subscribe to, any such Units or other Partnership Securities; (d) issuance of any right of subscription to or right to receive, or any warrant or option for the purchase of, any such Units or other Partnership Securities; or (e) issuance or sale of any other securities that may be issued or sold by the Partnership.
Section 4.5 Capital Accounts.
(a) The Partnership shall maintain for each Partner (or a beneficial owner of a Partnership Interest held by a nominee in any case in which the nominee has furnished the identity of such owner to the Partnership in accordance with Section 6031(c) of the Code or any other method acceptable to the General Partner in its sole discretion) owning a Partnership Interest a separate Capital Account with respect to such Partnership Interest in accordance with the rules of Treasury Regulation Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(iv). Such Capital Account shall be increased by (i) the amount of all Capital Contributions made to the Partnership with respect to such Partnership Interest pursuant to this Agreement and (ii) all items of Partnership income and gain (including, without limitation, income and gain exempt from tax) computed in accordance with Section 4.5(b) and allocated with respect to such Partnership Interest pursuant to Section 5.1, and decreased by (x) the amount of cash or Net Agreed Value of all actual and deemed distributions of cash or property made with respect to such Partnership Interest pursuant to this Agreement and (y) all items of Partnership deduction and loss computed in accordance with Section 4.5(b) and allocated with respect to such Partnership Interest pursuant to Section 5.1.
(b) For purposes of computing the amount of any item of income, gain, loss or deduction to be reflected in the Partners’ Capital Accounts, the determination, recognition and classification of any such item shall be the same as its determination, recognition and classification for federal income tax purposes (including, without limitation, any method of depreciation, cost recovery or amortization used for that purpose), provided, that:
(i) Solely for purposes of this Section 4.5, the Partnership shall be treated as owning directly its proportionate share (as determined by the General Partner based upon the provisions of the Operating Partnership Agreements) of all property owned by (A) the Operating Partnership, or (B) any other partnership, limited liability company, unincorporated business or other entity classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes of which the Partnership is, directly or indirectly, a partner, member or other equity holder.
(ii) All fees and other expenses incurred by the Partnership to promote the sale of (or to sell) a Partnership Interest that can neither be deducted nor amortized under Section 709 of the Code, if any, shall, for purposes of Capital Account maintenance, be
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treated as an item of deduction at the time such fees and other expenses are incurred and shall be allocated among the Partners pursuant to Section 5.1.
(iii) Except as otherwise provided in Treasury Regulation Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(iv)(m), the computation of all items of income, gain, loss and deduction shall be made without regard to any election under Section 754 of the Code which may be made by the Partnership and, as to those items described in Section 705(a)(1)(B) or 705(a)(2)(B) of the Code, without regard to the fact that such items are not includable in gross income or are neither currently deductible nor capitalized for federal income tax purposes.
(iv) Any income, gain or loss attributable to the taxable disposition of any Partnership property shall be determined as if the adjusted basis of such property as of such date of disposition were equal in amount to the Partnership’s Carrying Value with respect to such property as of such date.
(v) In accordance with the requirements of Section 704(b) of the Code, any deductions for depreciation, cost recovery or amortization attributable to any Contributed Property shall be determined as if the adjusted basis of such property on the date it was acquired by the Partnership were equal to the Agreed Value of such property. Upon an adjustment pursuant to Section 4.5(d) to the Carrying Value of any Partnership property subject to depreciation, cost recovery or amortization, any further deductions for such depreciation, cost recovery or amortization attributable to such property shall be determined (A) as if the adjusted basis of such property were equal to the Carrying Value of such property immediately following such adjustment and (B) using a rate of depreciation, cost recovery or amortization derived from the same method and useful life (or, if applicable, the remaining useful life) as is applied for federal income tax purposes; provided, however, that, if the asset has a zero adjusted basis for federal income tax purposes, depreciation, cost recovery or amortization deductions shall be determined using any reasonable method that the General Partner may adopt.
(vi) If the Partnership’s adjusted basis in a depreciable or cost recovery property is reduced for federal income tax purposes pursuant to Section 48(q)(1) or 48(q)(3) of the Code, the amount of such reduction shall, solely for purposes hereof, be deemed to be an additional depreciation or cost recovery deduction in the year such property is placed in service and shall be allocated among the Partners pursuant to Section 5.1. Any restoration of such basis pursuant to Section 48(q)(2) of the Code shall, to the extent possible, be allocated in the same manner to the Partners to whom such deemed deduction was allocated.
(c) Subject to the next sentence, a transferee of a Partnership Interest shall succeed to a pro rata portion of the Capital Account of the transferor relating to the Partnership Interest so transferred. Upon the sale, exchange or other disposition of an FCI Class A Unit (other than the last FCI Class A Unit sold, exchanged or otherwise disposed of by FCI) such that the FCI Class A Unit is not beneficially owned by FCI, the Capital Account maintained for FCI shall (i) first, be allocated to the FCI Class A Units to be transferred, as the case may be, in an amount equal to the product of (x) the number of such FCI Class A Units to be transferred, as the case may be, and (y) the Per Unit Capital
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Amount for a Class A Unit, and (ii) second, any remaining balance in such Capital Account will be retained by FCI in its retained Units. With respect to the last FCI Class A Unit to be sold, exchanged or otherwise disposed of by FCI, that FCI Class A Unit shall remain an FCI Class A Unit and shall retain the balance of the applicable Capital Account regardless of the holder thereof.
(d) (i) Consistent with the provisions of Treasury Regulation Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(iv)(f) and 1.704-1(b)(2)(iv)(h)(2), (A) on an issuance of additional Units for cash or Contributed Property, (B) upon the issuance of a Noncompensatory Option, or (C) in connection with the liquidation of the partnership or a distribution of money or other property (other than a de minimis amount) by the partnership to a retiring or continuing partner as consideration for an interest in the partnership, the Capital Account of all Partners and the Carrying Value of each Partnership property immediately prior to such issuance shall be adjusted upward or downward to reflect any Unrealized Gain or Unrealized Loss attributable to such Partnership property; provided, however, that in the event of the issuance of a Partnership Interest pursuant to the exercise of a Noncompensatory Option where the right to share in Partnership capital represented by such Partnership Interest differs from the consideration paid to acquire and exercise such option, the Carrying Value of each Partnership property immediately after the issuance of such Partnership Interest shall be adjusted upward or downward to reflect any Unrealized Gain or Unrealized Loss attributable to such Partnership property and the Capital Accounts of the Partners shall be adjusted in a manner consistent with Treasury Regulation Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(iv)(s). In determining such Unrealized Gain or Unrealized Loss, the aggregate fair market value of all Partnership property (including cash or cash equivalents) immediately prior to the issuance of additional Partnership Interests (or, in the case of a Revaluation Event resulting from the exercise of a Noncompensatory Option, immediately after the issuance of the Partnership Interest acquired pursuant to the exercise of such Noncompensatory Option) shall be determined by the General Partner using such reasonable method of valuation as it may adopt. The General Partner may allocate such aggregate value among the individual properties of the Partnership (in such manner as it determines appropriate).
(ii) In accordance with Treasury Regulation Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(iv)(f), immediately prior to any actual or deemed distribution to a Partner of any Partnership property (other than a distribution of cash that is not in redemption or retirement of a Partnership Interest), the Capital Accounts of all Partners and the Carrying Value of all Partnership property shall be adjusted upward or downward to reflect any Unrealized Gain or Unrealized Loss attributable to such Partnership property, as if such Unrealized Gain or Unrealized Loss had been recognized in a sale of such property immediately prior to such distribution for an amount equal to its fair market value, and had been allocated to the Partners, at such time, pursuant to Section 5.1. Any Unrealized Gain or Unrealized Loss attributable to such property shall be allocated in the same manner as Net Termination Gain or Net Termination Loss pursuant to Section 5.1(c); provided, however, in making any such allocation, any Net Termination Gain or Net Termination Loss actually realized in connection with such actual or deemed distribution shall be allocated first.
Section 4.6 Interest. No interest shall be paid by the Partnership on Capital Contributions or on balances in Partners’ Capital Accounts.
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Section 4.7 No Withdrawal. No Partner shall be entitled to withdraw any part of its Capital Contributions or its Capital Account or to receive any distribution from the Partnership, except as provided in Section 4.1, and Articles V, VII, XIII and XIV.
Section 4.8 Loans from Partners. Loans by a Partner to the Partnership shall not constitute Capital Contributions. If any Partner shall advance funds to the Partnership in excess of the amounts required hereunder to be contributed by it to the capital of the Partnership, the making of such excess advances shall not result in any increase in the amount of the Capital Account of such Partner. The amount of any such excess advances shall be a debt obligation of the Partnership to such Partner and shall be payable or collectible only out of the Partnership assets in accordance with the terms and conditions upon which such advances are made.
Section 4.9 No Fractional Units. No fractional Units shall be issued by the Partnership. If a distribution, subdivision, combination, or other issuance of Units would result in the issuance of fractional Units but for the provisions of this Section 4.9, each fractional Unit shall be rounded to the nearest whole Unit (and a 0.5 Unit shall be rounded to the next higher Unit).
Section 4.10 Splits and Combinations.
(a) Subject to Section 4.3(f), Section 4.10(d) and Section 6.3(b), the General Partner may make a pro rata distribution of Units or other Partnership Securities to all Record Holders or may effect a subdivision or combination of Units or other Partnership Securities; provided, however, that, after any such distribution, subdivision or combination, each Partner shall have the same relative interest in the Partnership as before such distribution, subdivision or combination.
(b) Whenever such a distribution, subdivision or combination of Units or other Partnership Securities is declared, the General Partner shall select a Record Date as of which the distribution, subdivision or combination shall be effective and shall send notice of the distribution, subdivision or combination at least 20 days prior to such Record Date to each Record Holder as of the date not less than 10 days prior to the date of such notice. The General Partner also may cause a firm of independent public accountants selected by it to calculate the number of Units to be held by each Record Holder after giving effect to such distribution, subdivision or combination. The General Partner shall be entitled to rely on any certificate provided by such firm as conclusive evidence of the accuracy of such calculation.
(c) Promptly following any such distribution, subdivision or combination, the General Partner may cause Certificates to be issued to the Record Holders of Units as of the applicable Record Date representing the new number of Units held by such Record Holders, or the General Partner may adopt such other procedures as it may deem appropriate to reflect such distribution, subdivision or combination; provided, however, if any such distribution, subdivision or combination results in a smaller total number of Units Outstanding, the General Partner shall require, as a condition to the delivery to a Record Holder of such new Certificate, the surrender of any Certificate held by such Record Holder immediately prior to such Record Date.
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ARTICLE V
ALLOCATIONS AND DISTRIBUTIONS
Section 5.1 Allocations for Capital Account Purposes. For purposes of maintaining the Capital Accounts and in determining the rights of the Partners among themselves, the Partnership’s items of income, gain, loss and deduction (computed in accordance with Section 4.5(b)) shall be allocated among the Partners in each taxable year (or portion thereof) as provided below.
(a) Net Income. After giving effect to the special allocations set forth in Section 5.1(d), Net Income for each taxable period and all items of income, gain, loss and deduction taken into account in computing Net Income for such taxable period shall be allocated as follows:
(i) First, to the General Partner until the aggregate Net Income allocated pursuant to this Section 5.1(a)(i) for the current and all previous taxable years is equal to the aggregate Net Losses allocated to the General Partner pursuant to Section 5.1(b)(iv) for all previous taxable years;
(ii) Second, [reserved];
(iii) Third, to the Unitholders, Pro Rata, until the aggregate Net Income allocated to such Partners pursuant to this Section 5.1(a)(iii) for the current taxable year and all previous taxable years is equal to the aggregate Net Losses allocated to such Partners pursuant to Section 5.1(b)(ii) for all previous taxable years; and
(iv) Fourth, the balance, if any, to the Unitholders, Pro Rata.
(b) Net Losses. After giving effect to the special allocations set forth in Section 5.1(d), Net Losses for each taxable period and all items of income, gain, loss and deduction taken into account in computing Net Losses for such taxable period shall be allocated as follows:
(i) First, to the Unitholders, Pro Rata, until the aggregate Net Losses allocated to such Partners pursuant to this Section 5.1(b)(i) for the current taxable year and all previous taxable years is equal to the aggregate Net Income allocated to such Partners pursuant to Section 5.1(a)(iv) for all previous taxable years;
(ii) Second, to the Unitholders, Pro Rata; provided, Net Losses shall not be allocated to any Partners pursuant to this Section 5.1(b)(ii) to the extent that such allocation would cause any Limited Partner holding Class A Units to have a deficit balance in its Adjusted Capital Account at the end of such taxable year (or increase any existing deficit balance in its Adjusted Capital Account);
(iii) Third, [reserved];
(iv) Fourth, the balance, if any, 100% to the General Partner.
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(c) Net Termination Gains and Losses. After giving effect to the special allocations set forth in Section 5.1(d), all items of income gain, loss and deduction taken into account in computing Net Termination Gain or Net Termination Loss for such taxable period shall be allocated in the same manner as such Net Termination Gain or Net Termination Loss is allocated hereunder. All allocations under this Section 5.1(c) shall be made after Capital Account balances have been adjusted by all other allocations provided under this Section 5.1 and after all distributions of Available cash provided under Section 5.4 have been made with respect to the taxable period ending on the date of the Partnership’s liquidation pursuant to Section 14.3.
(i) If a Net Termination Gain is recognized (or deemed recognized pursuant to Section 4.5(d)) from Termination Capital Transactions, such Net Termination Gain shall be allocated among the Partners in the following manner (and the Adjusted Capital Accounts of the Partners shall be increased by the amount so allocated in each of the following subclauses, in the order listed, before an allocation is made pursuant to the next succeeding subclause):
(A) First, to each Partner having a deficit balance in its Adjusted Capital Account, in the proportion that such deficit balance bears to the total deficit balances in the Adjusted Capital Accounts of all Partners, until each such Partner has been allocated Net Termination Gain equal to any such deficit balance in its Adjusted Capital Account;
(B) Second, to the Limited Partners holding Class A Units (including holders of the FCI Class A Units), Pro Rata, in an amount equal to 100% less the Percentage Interest of the General Partner Interest, and to the General Partner in an amount equal to the Percentage Interest of its General Partner Interest, Pro Rata.
(ii) If a Net Termination Loss is recognized (or deemed recognized pursuant to Section 4.5(d)) from Termination Capital Transactions, such Net Termination Loss shall be allocated to the Partners in the following manner:
(A) First, to the Unitholders, Pro Rata in accordance with each Unitholder’s positive Adjusted Capital Account, until each Unitholder’s Adjusted Capital Account balance has been reduced to zero ($0); provided, Net Termination Loss shall not be allocated to a Unitholder pursuant to this Section 5.1(c)(ii)(A) if such allocation would cause such Unitholder to have a deficit balance in its Adjusted Capital Account at the end of such taxable year (or increase any existing deficit balance in its Adjusted Capital Account);
(B) Second, to the Class B Holders, pro rata in accordance with the number of Class B Units held by each such Holder; provided, Net Termination Loss shall not be allocated to any Partners pursuant to this Section 5.1(c)(ii)(B) to the extent that such allocation would cause any Limited Partner holding Class B Units to have a deficit balance in its Adjusted Capital Account at the end of such taxable year (or increase any existing deficit balance in its Adjusted Capital Account); and
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(C) Thereafter, the balance, if any, 100% to the General Partner.
(d) Special Allocations. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section 5.1, the following special allocations shall be made for such taxable period:
(i) Partnership Minimum Gain Chargeback. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section 5.1, if there is a net decrease in Partnership Minimum Gain during any Partnership taxable period, each Partner shall be allocated items of Partnership income and gain for such period (and, if necessary, subsequent periods) in the manner and amounts provided in Treasury Regulation Sections 1.704-2(f)(6), 1.7042(g)(2) and 1.704-2(j)(2)(i), or any successor provision. For purposes of this Section 5.1(d), each Partner’s Adjusted Capital Account balance shall be determined, and the allocation of income or gain required hereunder shall be effected, prior to the application of any other allocations pursuant to this Section 5.1(d) with respect to such taxable period (other than an allocation pursuant to Sections 5.1(d)(vi) and 5.1(d)(vii)). This Section 5.1(d)(i) is intended to comply with the Partnership Minimum Gain chargeback requirement in Treasury Regulation Section 1.704-2(f) and shall be interpreted consistently therewith.
(ii) Chargeback of Partner Nonrecourse Debt Minimum Gain. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Section 5.1 (other than Section 5.1(d)(i)), except as provided in Treasury Regulation Section 1.704-2(i)(4), if there is a net decrease in Partner Nonrecourse Debt Minimum Gain during any Partnership taxable period, any Partner with a share of Partner Nonrecourse Debt Minimum Gain at the beginning of such taxable period shall be allocated items of Partnership income and gain for such period (and, if necessary, subsequent periods) in the manner and amounts provided in Treasury Regulation Sections 1.704-2(i)(4) and 1.704-2(j)(2)(ii), or any successor provisions. For purposes of this Section 5.1(d), each Partner’s Adjusted Capital Account balance shall be determined, and the allocation of income or gain required hereunder shall be effected, prior to the application of any other allocations pursuant to this Section 5.1(d), other than Section 5.1(d)(i) and other than an allocation pursuant to Sections 5.1(d)(vi) and 5.1(d)(vii), with respect to such taxable period. This Section 5.1(d)(ii) is intended to comply with the chargeback of items of income and gain requirement in Treasury Regulation Section 1.704-2(i)(4) and shall be interpreted consistently therewith.
(iii) Priority Allocations.
(A) First, if the amount of cash or the Net Agreed Value of any property distributed (except cash or property distributed pursuant to Section 14.3 or 14.4) with respect to a Class A Unit (on a per Unit basis) for a taxable period exceeds the amount of cash or the Net Agreed Value of property distributed with respect to another Class A Unit (on a per Unit basis) within the same taxable period (the amount of the excess, and “Excess Distribution” and the Units with respect to which the greater distribution is paid, an “Excess Distribution Unit”), then there shall be allocated gross income and gain to each Unitholder receiving an Excess Distribution with respect to the Excess Distribution Unit until the aggregate amount of such items allocated with respect to such Excess Distribution
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Unit pursuant to this Section 5.1(d)(iii)(A) for the current and all previous taxable periods is equal to the amount of the Excess Distribution.
(B) Second, the General Partner shall be allocated gross income and gain in an aggregate amount equal to the sum of the amounts allocated in paragraph 5.1(d)(iii)(A) above multiplied by the Percentage Interest of its General Partner Interest, divided by 100% less the Percentage Interest of the General Partner Interest.
(C) Third, gross income and gain for the taxable period shall be allocated 100% to the Holders of Class B Units, pro rata in accordance with the number of Class B Units held by each such Holder, until the aggregate amount of such items allocated in respect of Class B Units pursuant to this Section 5.1(d)(iii)(C) for the current taxable period and all previous taxable periods is equal to the cumulative amount of all distributions pursuant to Section 5.6(a) made to the Holders of Class B Units from the Effective Date to a date 45 days after the end of the current taxable period.
(iv) Qualified Income Offset. In the event any Partner unexpectedly receives any adjustments, allocations or distributions described in Treasury Regulation Sections 1.704-1(b)(2)(ii)(d)(4), 1.704-1(b)(2)(ii)(d)(5), or 1.704-1(b)(2)(ii)(d)(6), items of Partnership income and gain shall be specifically allocated to such Partner in an amount and manner sufficient to eliminate, to the extent required by the Treasury Regulations promulgated under Section 704(b) of the Code, the deficit balance, if any, in its Adjusted Capital Account created by such adjustments, allocations or distributions as quickly as possible unless such deficit balance is otherwise eliminated pursuant to Section 5.1(d)(i) or (ii).
(v) Gross Income Allocations. In the event any Partner has a deficit balance in its Adjusted Capital Account at the end of any Partnership taxable period, such Partner shall be specially allocated items of Partnership gross income and gain in the amount of such excess as quickly as possible; provided, that an allocation pursuant to this Section 5.1(d)(v) shall be made only if and to the extent that such Partner would have a deficit balance in its Adjusted Capital Account after all other allocations provided for in this Section 5.1 have been tentatively made as if this Section 5.1(d)(v) were not in this Agreement.
(vi) Nonrecourse Deductions. Nonrecourse Deductions for any taxable period shall be allocated to the Partners in accordance with their respective Percentage Interests. If the General Partner determines in its good faith discretion that the Partnership’s Nonrecourse Deductions must be allocated in a different ratio to satisfy the safe harbor requirements of the Treasury Regulations promulgated under Section 704(b) of the Code, the General Partner is authorized, upon notice to the Limited Partners, to revise the prescribed ratio to the numerically closest ratio that does satisfy such requirements.
(vii) Partner Nonrecourse Deductions. Partner Nonrecourse Deductions for any taxable period shall be allocated 100% to the Partner that bears the Economic Risk of Loss
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with respect to the Partner Nonrecourse Debt to which such Partner Nonrecourse Deductions are attributable in accordance with Treasury Regulation Section 1.704 2(i). If more than one Partner bears the Economic Risk of Loss with respect to a Partner Nonrecourse Debt, such Partner Nonrecourse Deductions attributable thereto shall be allocated between or among such Partners in accordance with the ratios in which they share such Economic Risk of Loss.
(viii) Nonrecourse Liabilities. For purposes of Treasury Regulation Section 1.752-3(a)(3), the Partners agree that Nonrecourse Liabilities of the Partnership in excess of the sum of (A) the amount of Partnership Minimum Gain and (B) the total amount of Nonrecourse Built in Gain shall be allocated among the Partners in accordance with their respective Percentage Interests.
(ix) Code Section 754 Adjustments. To the extent an adjustment to the adjusted tax basis of any Partnership asset pursuant to Section 734(b) or 743(b) of the Code is required, pursuant to Treasury Regulation Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(iv)(m), to be taken into account in determining Capital Accounts, the amount of such adjustment to the Capital Accounts shall be treated as an item of gain (if the adjustment increases the basis of the asset) or loss (if the adjustment decreases such basis), and such item of gain or loss shall be specially allocated to the Partners in a manner consistent with the manner in which their Capital Accounts are required to be adjusted pursuant to such Section of the Treasury regulations.
(x) [Reserved].
(xi) Curative Allocation.
(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section 5.1, other than the Required Allocations, the Required Allocations shall be taken into account in making the Agreed Allocations so that, to the extent possible, the net amount of items of income, gain, loss and deduction allocated to each Partner pursuant to the Required Allocations and the Agreed Allocations, together, shall be equal to the net amount of such items that would have been allocated to each such Partner under the Agreed Allocations had the Required Allocations and the related Curative Allocation not otherwise been provided in this Section 5.1. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, Required Allocations relating to (1) Nonrecourse Deductions shall not be taken into account except to the extent that there has been a decrease in Partnership Minimum Gain and (2) Partner Nonrecourse Deductions shall not be taken into account except to the extent that there has been a decrease in Partner Nonrecourse Debt Minimum Gain. Allocations pursuant to this Section 5.1(d)(xi)(A) shall only be made with respect to Required Allocations to the extent the General Partner reasonably determines that such allocations will otherwise be inconsistent with the economic agreement among the Partners. Further, allocations pursuant to this Section 5.1(d)(xi)(A) shall be deferred with respect to allocations pursuant to clauses (1) and (2) hereof to the extent the General Partner reasonably determines that such allocations are likely to be offset by subsequent Required Allocations.
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(B) The General Partner shall have reasonable discretion, with respect to each taxable period, to (1) apply the provisions of Section 5.1(d)(xi)(A) in whatever order is most likely to minimize the economic distortions that might otherwise result from the Required Allocations, and (2) divide all allocations pursuant to Section 5.1(d)(xi)(A) among the Partners in a manner that is likely to minimize such economic distortions.
(xii) Corrective and Other Allocations. In the event of any allocation of Additional Book Basis Derivative Items or any Book-Down Event or any recognition of a Net Termination Loss, the following rules shall apply:
(A) The General Partner shall allocate Additional Book Basis Derivative Items consisting of depreciation, amortization, depletion or any other form of cost recovery (other than Additional Book Basis Derivative Items included in Net Termination Gain or Net Termination Loss) with respect to any Adjusted Property to the Unitholders, Pro Rata, in the same proportion as the Net Termination Gain or Net Termination Loss resulting from the Revaluation Event that gave rise to such Additional Book Basis Derivative Items was allocated to them pursuant to Section 5.1(c).
(B) If a sale or other taxable disposition of an Adjusted Property, including, for this purpose, inventory (“Disposed of Adjusted Property”) occurs other than in connection with an event giving rise to Net Termination Gain or Net Termination Loss, the General Partner shall allocate (1) items of gross income and gain and items of deduction and loss to the Unitholders, to the extent that the Additional Book Basis Derivative Items with respect to the Disposed of Adjusted Property (determined in accordance with the last sentence of the definition of Additional Book Basis Derivative Items) treated as having been allocated to the Unitholders pursuant to this Section 5.1(d)(xii)(B) exceed their Share of Additional Book Basis Derivative Items with respect to such Disposed of Adjusted Property. For purposes of this Section 5.1(d)(xii)(B), the Unitholders shall be treated as having been allocated Additional Book Basis Derivative Items to the extent that such Additional Book Basis Derivative Items have reduced the amount of income that would otherwise have been allocated to the Unitholders under the Partnership Agreement (e.g., Additional Book Basis Derivative Items taken into account in computing cost of goods sold would reduce the amount of book income otherwise available for allocation among the Partners). Any allocation made pursuant to this Section 5.1(d)(xii)(B) shall be made after all of the other Agreed Allocations have been made as if this Section 5.1(d)(xii) were not in this Agreement and, to the extent necessary, shall require the reallocation of items that have been allocated pursuant to such other Agreed Allocations.
(C) Net Termination Loss in an amount equal to the lesser of (1) such Net Termination Loss and (2) the Aggregate Remaining Net Positive Adjustments shall be allocated in such a manner, as determined by the General Partner, that to the extent possible, the Capital Account balances of the Partners will equal the amount they would have been had no prior Book-Up Events occurred, and any
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remaining Net Termination Loss shall be allocated pursuant to Section 5.1(c) hereof. In allocating Net Termination Loss pursuant to this Section 5.1(d)(xii)(C), the General Partner shall attempt, to the extent possible, to cause the Capital Accounts of the Unitholders to equal the amount they would equal if (i) the Carrying Values of the Partnership’s property had not been previously adjusted in connection with any prior Book-Up Events, (ii) Unrealized Gain and Unrealized Loss (or, in the case of a liquidation, actual gain or loss) with respect to such Partnership Property were determined with respect to such unadjusted Carrying Values, and (iii) any resulting Net Termination Gain had been allocated pursuant to Section 5.1(c)(i) (including, for the avoidance of doubt, taking into account the provisions set forth in the last sentence of Section 5.1(c)(i)).
(D) In making the allocations required under this Section 5.1(d)(xii), the General Partner may apply whatever conventions or other methodology it determines will satisfy the purpose of this Section 5.1(d)(xii). Without limiting the foregoing, if an Adjusted Property is contributed by the Partnership to another entity classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes (the “lower tier partnership”), the General Partner may make allocations similar to those described in Sections 5.1(d)(xii)(A) through (C) to the extent the General Partner determines such allocations are necessary to account for the Partnership’s allocable share of income, gain, loss and deduction of the lower tier partnership that relate to the contributed Adjusted Property in a manner that is consistent with the purpose of this Section 5.1(d)(xii).
(xiii) Retirement of Assumed Indebtedness. All losses or deductions attributable to premiums, consent fees, or other expenditures incurred by the Partnership to retire indebtedness assumed from the General Partner pursuant to the Contribution Agreement shall be allocated to the General Partner.
(xiv) Allocation of Cancellation of Debt Income.
(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section 5.1, Cancellation of Debt Income for any taxable period that would otherwise be allocated to any Limited Partner holding Class A Units pursuant to this Section 5.1 shall instead be allocated to the General Partner.
(B) Except as otherwise provided in Section 5.1(d)(xiv)(C) or Section 5.1(d)(xiv)(D), in the event that any amount of Cancellation of Debt Income for any taxable period is allocated to the General Partner pursuant to Section 5.1(d)(xiv)(A) (an “Initial COD Allocation Amount”), certain items of gain, loss, Unrealized Gain and Unrealized Loss shall be allocated pursuant to the rules set forth in subparagraph (v) and (w) of this Section 5.1(d)(xiv)(B) (the “COD Offsetting Allocations”) until (aa) the aggregate sum of the absolute values of the amounts allocated to the Limited Partners holding Class A Units pursuant to subparagraph (v) and (w) for the current taxable period and all previous taxable periods (the “Aggregate COD Offset Amount”) is equal to (bb) the Initial COD Allocation Amount.
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(v) Any COD Offsetting Gain that would otherwise be allocated to the General Partner pursuant to this Section 5.1 shall instead be allocated to the Limited Partners holding Class A Units, Pro Rata.
(w) Any COD Offsetting Loss that would otherwise be allocated to any Limited Partner holding Class A Units pursuant to this Section 5.1, shall instead be allocated to the General Partner.
(C) For any taxable period ending prior to the date that is five years after the end of the taxable period in which any Initial COD Allocation Amount was allocated to the General Partner pursuant to Section 5.1(d)(xiv)(A), no allocation shall be made pursuant to the COD Offsetting Allocations if a COD Offsetting Allocation would cause the Aggregate COD Offset Amount to exceed forty percent of the Initial COD Allocation Amount.
(D) No COD Offsetting Allocations shall be made prior to the Partnership’s taxable year which immediately succeeds the Partnership’s taxable year in which allocation to the General Partner of the Initial COD Allocation Amount occurs.
Section 5.2 Allocations for Tax Purposes.
(a) Except as otherwise provided herein, for federal income tax purposes, each item of income, gain, loss and deduction shall be allocated among the Partners in the same manner as its correlative item of “book” income, gain, loss or deduction is allocated pursuant to Section 5.1.
(b) In an attempt to eliminate Book Tax Disparities attributable to a Contributed Property or Adjusted Property, items of income, gain, loss, depreciation, amortization and cost recovery deductions shall be allocated for federal income tax purposes among the Partners as follows:
(i) (A) In the case of a Contributed Property, such items attributable thereto shall be allocated among the Partners in the manner provided under Section 704(c) of the Code that takes into account the variation between the Agreed Value of such property and its adjusted basis at the time of contribution; and (B) except as otherwise provided in Section 5.2(b)(iii), any item of Residual Gain or Residual Loss attributable to a Contributed Property shall be allocated among the Partners in the same manner as its correlative item of “book” gain or loss is allocated pursuant to Section 5.1.
(ii) (A) In the case of an Adjusted Property, such items shall (1) first, be allocated among the Partners in a manner consistent with the principles of Section 704(c) of the Code to take into account the Unrealized Gain or Unrealized Loss attributable to such property and the allocations thereof pursuant to Section 4.5(d)(i) or (ii), and (2) second, in the event such property was originally a Contributed Property, be allocated among the Partners in a manner consistent with Section 5.2(b)(i)(A); and (B) except as otherwise provided in Section 5.2(b)(iii), any item of Residual Gain or Residual Loss
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attributable to an Adjusted Property shall be allocated among the Partners in the same manner as its correlative item of “book” gain or loss is allocated pursuant to Section 5.1.
(iii) The General Partner shall apply the principles of Treasury Regulation Section 1.704-3(d) to eliminate Book Tax Disparities.
(c) For the proper administration of the Partnership and for the preservation of uniformity of the Units (or any class or classes thereof), the General Partner shall have sole discretion to (i) adopt such conventions as it deems appropriate in determining the amount of depreciation, amortization and cost recovery deductions; (ii) make special allocations for federal income tax purposes of income (including, without limitation, gross income) or deductions; and (iii) amend the provisions of this Agreement as appropriate (x) to reflect the proposal or promulgation of Treasury Regulations under Section 704(b) or Section 704(c) of the Code or (y) otherwise to preserve or achieve uniformity of the Units (or any class or classes thereof). The General Partner may adopt such conventions, make such allocations and make such amendments to this Agreement as provided in this Section 5.2(c) only if such conventions, allocations or amendments would not have (i) a material adverse effect on the Partners, the holders of any class or classes of Units issued and Outstanding or the Partnership or (ii) an adverse effect on a class of Unit relative to one or more other classes of Units, and if such allocations are consistent with the principles of Section 704 of the Code.
(d) The General Partner in its sole discretion may determine to depreciate or amortize the portion of an adjustment under Section 743(b) of the Code attributable to unrealized appreciation in any Adjusted Property (to the extent of the unamortized Book Tax Disparity) using a predetermined rate derived from the depreciation or amortization method and useful life applied to the Partnership’s common basis of such property, despite the inconsistency of such approach with Treasury Regulation Section 1.167(c)-1(a)(6) and Treasury Regulation 1.197-2(g)(3) or any successor regulations thereto. If the General Partner determines that such reporting position cannot reasonably be taken, the General Partner may adopt depreciation and amortization conventions under which all purchasers acquiring Units in the same month would receive depreciation and amortization deductions, based upon the same applicable rate as if they had purchased a direct interest in the Partnership’s property. If the General Partner chooses not to utilize such aggregate method, the General Partner may use any other reasonable depreciation and amortization conventions to preserve the uniformity of the intrinsic tax characteristics of any Units that would not have (i) a material adverse effect on the Limited Partners or the Record Holders of any class or classes of Units or (ii) an adverse effect on a class of Unit relative to one or more other classes of Units.
(e) In accordance with Treasury Regulation Sections 1.1245-1(e) and 1.1250-1(f), any gain allocated to the Partners upon the sale or other taxable disposition of any Partnership asset shall, to the extent possible, after taking into account other required allocations of gain pursuant to this Section 5.2, be characterized as Recapture Income in the same proportions and to the same extent as such Partners (or their predecessors in interest) have been allocated any deductions directly or indirectly giving rise to the treatment of such gains as Recapture Income.
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(f) All items of income, gain, loss, deduction and credit recognized by the Partnership for federal income tax purposes and allocated to the Partners in accordance with the provisions hereof shall be determined without regard to any election under Section 754 of the Code which may be made by the Partnership; provided, however, that such allocations, once made, shall be adjusted as necessary or appropriate to take into account those adjustments permitted or required by Sections 734 and 743 of the Code.
(g) Each item of Partnership income, gain, loss and deduction attributable to transferred Units shall, for federal income tax purposes, be determined on an annual basis and prorated on a monthly basis and shall be allocated to the Partners as of the opening of the New York Stock Exchange on the first Business Day of each month; provided, however, that gain or loss on a sale or other disposition of any assets of the Partnership other than in the ordinary course of business shall be allocated to the Partners as of the opening of the New York Stock Exchange on the first Business Day of the month in which such gain or loss is recognized for federal income tax purposes. The General Partner may revise, alter or otherwise modify such methods of allocation as it determines necessary, to the extent permitted or required by Section 706 of the Code and the regulations or rulings promulgated thereunder.
(h) Allocations that would otherwise be made to a Limited Partner under the provisions of this Article V shall instead be made to the beneficial owner of Units held by a nominee in any case in which the nominee has furnished the identity of such owner to the Partnership in accordance with Section 6031(c) of the Code or any other method acceptable to the General Partner in its sole discretion.
(i) If, as a result of an exercise of a Noncompensatory Option, a Capital Account reallocation is required under Treasury Regulation Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(iv)(s)(3), the General Partner shall make corrective allocations pursuant to Treasury Regulation Section 1.704-1(b)(4)(x).
Section 5.3 Requirement and Characterization of Distributions.
(a) Within 45 days following the end of each Quarter, an amount equal to 100% of Available cash with respect to such Quarter shall be distributed in accordance with this Article V by the Partnership to the Partners, as of the Record Date selected by the General Partner in its reasonable discretion. All amounts of Available cash distributed by the Partnership on any date from any source shall be deemed to be Cash from Operations until the sum of all amounts of Available cash theretofore distributed by the Partnership to the Partners pursuant to Section 5.4 equals the aggregate amount of all Cash from Operations generated by the Partnership since the Initial Closing Date through the close of the immediately preceding Quarter. Any remaining amounts of Available cash distributed by the Partnership on such date shall, except as otherwise provided in Section 5.5, be deemed to be Cash from Interim Capital Transactions.
(b) Notwithstanding the definitions of Available cash and Cash from Operations contained herein, disbursements (including, without limitation, contributions to the Operating Partnership or disbursements on behalf of the Operating Partnership) made
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or cash reserves established, increased or reduced after the end of any Quarter but on or before the date on which the Partnership makes its distribution of Available cash in respect of such Quarter as required by Section 5.3(a) shall be deemed to have been made, established, increased or reduced for purposes of determining Available cash and Cash from Operations, within such Quarter if the General Partner so determines. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event of the dissolution and liquidation of the Partnership, all proceeds of such liquidation shall be applied and distributed in accordance with, and subject to the terms and conditions of, Sections 14.3 and 14.4.
(c) The distribution requirements under the first sentence of Section 5.3(a) shall be suspended beginning on the date the Partnership distributes the $356,000,000th dollar to Class B Units (but only if such distribution occurs prior to the fifth anniversary of the Effective Date) and shall end on the earlier of (x) 183 days following the date the Partnership distributes the $356,000,000th dollar to Class B Units and (y) the fifth anniversary of the Effective Date (such period, the “Suspension Period”). During the Suspension Period, any Available cash that would otherwise be required to be distributed under the first sentence of Section 5.3(a) may be (i) set aside or reserved by the Partnership, (ii) contributed to Ferrellgas Partners Finance Corp. (which shall be required to either set aside or reserve such funds and shall only be permitted to return such amounts to the Partnership for application in accordance with this paragraph at the end of the Suspension Period), (iii) used to redeem the Class B Units in accordance with Section 4.2 or (iv) distributed in the ordinary course in accordance with Section 5.3, Section 5.4, Section 5.5 and Section 5.6, in each case, at the Partnership’s sole discretion; provided, further, however, that upon expiration of the Suspension Period, the Partnership shall either (A) elect to convert the Class B Units into Class A Units in accordance with Section 4.2(i)(i) (including by distributing sufficient additional funds to meet the thresholds for conversion required in this Agreement), in which case any other amounts set aside, reserved or contributed in accordance with the foregoing clauses (i) or (ii) shall be immediately contributed to the Operating Partnership or distributed to the Unitholders (including the holders of those Class A Units converted from Class B Units, which shall occur prior to such distribution), pro rata or (B) apply any amounts set aside, reserved or contributed in accordance with the foregoing clauses (i) or (ii) to (x) redeem the Class B Units in accordance with Section 4.2 or (y) make distributions of Available cash in the ordinary course in accordance with Section 5.3, Section 5.4, Section 5.5 and Section 5.6.
Section 5.4 Distributions of Cash from Operations. Subject to Section 17-607 of the Delaware Act, Available cash with respect to any Quarter that is deemed to be Cash from Operations shall be distributed, except as otherwise required by Section 5.6 in respect of any period in which Class B Units are outstanding, to the Unitholders, Pro Rata.
Section 5.5 Distributions of Cash from Interim Capital Transactions. Subject to Section 17-607 of the Delaware Act, Available cash with respect to any Quarter that is deemed to be Cash from Interim Capital Transactions shall be distributed, except as otherwise required by Section 5.6 in respect of any period in which Class B Units are outstanding, in accordance with Section 5.4 as if it were Cash from Operations.
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Section 5.6 Special Provisions Relating to the Class B Units. Notwithstanding Sections 5.4 and 5.5 (but subject to Section 5.3(c)), or any other provision of this Agreement to the contrary, for any period in which Class B Units are Outstanding, the Partnership: (i) shall distribute Available cash to the Class B Holders, pro rata in accordance with the number of Class B Units held by each such Holder, and (ii) may distribute Available cash pursuant to Sections 5.4 and 5.5, if (and only if) the amount distributed under clause (i) of this Section 5.6 is at least six times greater than the amount to be distributed under this clause (ii).
ARTICLE VI
MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION OF BUSINESS
Section 6.1 Management.
(a) The General Partner shall conduct, direct and manage all activities of the Partnership. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement, all management powers over the business and affairs of the Partnership shall be exclusively vested in the General Partner, and no Limited Partner or Assignee shall have any management power over the business and affairs of the Partnership. In addition to the powers now or hereafter granted a general partner of a limited partnership under applicable law or which are granted to the General Partner under any other provision of this Agreement, the General Partner, subject to Sections 6.3, 6.15 and 6.16, shall have full power and authority to do all things and on such terms as it, in its sole discretion, may deem necessary or appropriate to conduct the business of the Partnership, to exercise all powers set forth in Section 3.2 and to effectuate the purposes and business set forth in Section 3.1, including, without limitation, (i) the making of any expenditures, the lending or borrowing of money, the assumption or guarantee of, or other contracting for, indebtedness and other liabilities, the issuance of evidences of indebtedness and the incurring of any other obligations; (ii) the making of tax, regulatory and other filings, or rendering of periodic or other reports to governmental or other agencies having jurisdiction over the business or assets of the Partnership; (iii) the acquisition, disposition, mortgage, pledge, encumbrance, hypothecation or exchange of any or all of the assets of the Partnership or the merger or other combination of the Partnership with or into another Person; (iv) the use of the assets of the Partnership (including, without limitation, cash on hand) for any purpose consistent with the terms of this Agreement, including, without limitation, the financing of the conduct of the operations of the Partnership or the Operating Partnership, the lending of funds to other Persons (including, without limitation, the Operating Partnership, the General Partner and Affiliates of the General Partner) and the repayment of obligations of the Partnership and the Operating Partnership and the making of capital contributions to the Operating Partnership; (v) the negotiation, execution and performance of any contracts, conveyances or other instruments (including, without limitation, instruments that limit the liability of the Partnership under contractual arrangements to all or particular assets of the Partnership, with the other party to the contract to have no recourse against the General Partner or its assets other than its interest in the Partnership, even if same results in the terms of the transaction being less favorable to the Partnership than would otherwise be the case); (vi) the distribution of Partnership cash; (vii) the selection and dismissal of employees and agents (including, without limitation, employees having titles such as “president,” “vice president,” “secretary” and “treasurer”) and agents, outside
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attorneys, accountants, consultants and contractors and the determination of their compensation and other terms of employment or hiring; (viii) the maintenance of such insurance for the benefit of the Partnership, the Operating Partnership and the Partners (including, without limitation, the assets of the Operating Partnership and the Partnership) as it deems necessary or appropriate; (ix) the formation of, or acquisition of an interest in, and the contribution of property and the making of loans to, any further limited or general partnerships, joint ventures, corporations or other relationships (including, without limitation, the acquisition of interests in, and the contributions of property to, the Operating Partnership from time to time); (x) the control of any matters affecting the rights and obligations of the Partnership, including, without limitation, the bringing and defending of actions at law or in equity and otherwise engaging in the conduct of litigation and the incurring of legal expense and the settlement of claims and litigation; (xi) the indemnification of any Person against liabilities and contingencies to the extent permitted by law; (xii) the entering into of listing agreements with The New York Stock Exchange, Inc. and any other securities exchange and the delisting of some or all of the Units from, or requesting that trading be suspended on, any such exchange (subject to any prior approval that may be required under Section 1.6); (xiii) the purchase, sale or other acquisition or disposition of Units; and (xiv) the undertaking of any action in connection with the Partnership’s participation in the Operating Partnership as the limited partner (including, without limitation, contributions or loans of funds by the Partnership to the Operating Partnership), in each case subject to Sections 6.3(b), 6.15 and 6.16.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Operating Partnership Agreement, the Delaware Act or any applicable law, rule or regulation, each of the Partners and Assignees and each other Person who may acquire an interest in Units hereby (i) approves, ratifies and confirms the execution, delivery and performance by the parties thereto of the Operating Partnership Agreement, the Underwriting Agreement, the Contribution Agreement, the agreements and other documents filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement, and the other agreements described in or filed as a part of the Registration Statement, and the engaging by any Affiliate of the General Partner in business and activities (other than Restricted Activities) that are in direct competition with the business and activities of the Partnership and the Operating Partnership; (ii) agrees that the General Partner (on its own or through any officer of the Partnership) is authorized to execute, deliver and perform the agreements referred to in clause (i) of this sentence and the other agreements, acts, transactions and matters described in or contemplated by the Registration Statement on behalf of the Partnership without any further act, approval or vote of the Partners or the Assignees or the other Persons who may acquire an interest in Units; and (iii) agrees that the execution, delivery or performance by the General Partner, the Partnership, the Operating Partnership or any Affiliate of any of them, of this Agreement or any agreement authorized or permitted under this Agreement (including, without limitation, the exercise by the General Partner or any Affiliate of the General Partner of the rights accorded pursuant to Article XVII), or the engaging by any Affiliate of the General Partner in any business and activities (other than Restricted Activities) that are in direct competition with the business and activities of the Partnership and the Operating Partnership, shall not constitute a breach by the General Partner of any duty that the General Partner may owe the Partnership or the Limited Partners or the Assignees or any other Persons under this Agreement (or any other agreements) or of any duty stated or
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implied by law or equity. The term “Affiliate” when used in this Section 6.1(b) with respect to the General Partner shall not include the Partnership or any Subsidiary of the Partnership.
Section 6.2 Certificate of Limited Partnership. The General Partner has caused the Certificate of Limited Partnership to be filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware as required by the Delaware Act and shall use all reasonable efforts to cause to be filed such other certificates or documents as may be determined by the General Partner in its sole discretion to be reasonable and necessary or appropriate for the formation, continuation, qualification and operation of a limited partnership (or a partnership in which the limited partners have limited liability) in the State of Delaware or any other state in which the Partnership may elect to do business or own property. To the extent that such action is determined by the General Partner in its sole discretion to be reasonable and necessary or appropriate, the General Partner shall file amendments to and restatements of the Certificate of Limited Partnership and do all things to maintain the Partnership as a limited partnership (or a partnership in which the limited partners have limited liability) under the laws of the State of Delaware or of any other state in which the Partnership may elect to do business or own property. Subject to the terms of Section 7.5(a), the General Partner shall not be required, before or after filing, to deliver or mail a copy of the Certificate of Limited Partnership, any qualification document or any amendment thereto to any Limited Partner or Assignee.
Section 6.3 Restrictions on General Partner’s Authority.
(a) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein:
(i) The General Partner may not, without written approval of the specific act by all of the Outstanding Class A Units and Class B Units or by other written instrument executed and delivered by all of the Outstanding Class A Units and Class B Units subsequent to the date of this Agreement (except as to clause (v), which shall require the approval or consent of two-thirds of the Class B Units then outstanding), take any action in contravention of this Agreement), including, without limitation, (i) any act that would make it impossible to carry on the ordinary business of the Partnership, except as otherwise provided in this Agreement; (ii) possess Partnership property, or assign any rights in specific Partnership property, for other than a Partnership purpose; (iii) admit a Person as a Partner, except as otherwise provided in this Agreement; (iv) amend this Agreement in any manner, except as otherwise provided in this Agreement; or (v) transfer its interest as general partner of the Partnership, except as otherwise provided in this Agreement.
(ii) Except as provided in Articles XIV and XVI, the General Partner may not sell, exchange or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of the Partnership’s assets in a single transaction or a series of related transactions or approve on behalf of the Partnership the sale, exchange or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Operating Partnership, without the approval of the holders of at least a majority of the Outstanding Class A Units and without obtaining any approvals required by Sections 6.3(b), 6.15 and 6.16; provided, however, that, without limiting Sections 6.3(b), 6.15 and 6.16, this provision shall not preclude or limit the General Partner’s ability to mortgage,
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pledge, hypothecate or grant a security interest in all or substantially all of the Partnership’s assets and shall not apply to any forced sale of any or all of the Partnership’s assets pursuant to the foreclosure of, or other realization upon, any such encumbrance. Without the approval of the holders of at least two thirds of the Outstanding Class A Units and obtaining the approvals required by Sections 6.3(b), 6.15 and 6.16, the General Partner shall not, on behalf of the Partnership, (i) consent to any amendment to the Operating Partnership Agreement or, except as expressly permitted by Section 6.9(d), take any action permitted to be taken by a partner of the Operating Partnership, in either case, that would have a material adverse effect on the Partnership as a partner of the Operating Partnership or (ii) except as permitted under Sections 11.2, 13.1 and 13.2 elect or cause the Partnership to elect a successor general partner of the Operating Partnership.
(iii) Unless approved by the Requisite Class B Unit Consent and the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two thirds of the Outstanding Class A Units (excluding for purposes of such determination Class A Units owned by the General Partner and its Affiliates), the General Partner shall not take any action or refuse to take any reasonable action the effect of which, if taken or not taken, as the case may be, would be to cause the Partnership or the Operating Partnership to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise to be taxed as an entity for federal income tax purposes; provided that this Section 6.3(a) shall not be construed to apply to amendments to this Agreement (which are governed by Article XV) or mergers or consolidations of the Partnership with any Person (which are governed by Article XVI).
(b) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, at any time when any Class B Units shall be outstanding:
(i) without the Requisite Class B Unit Consent, the General Partner shall not:
(A) permit or authorize the Partnership, the Operating Partnership or any of their respective Subsidiaries to incur any indebtedness other than (1) Indebtedness incurred and outstanding at any time under the Revolving Credit Facility (in an amount up to the aggregate commitments under such Revolving Credit Agreement on the Effective Date) or High Yield Notes (in an amount up to the aggregate initial principal amount of such High Yield Notes on the Effective Date); (2) additional Indebtedness that does not exceed $75,000,000 in the aggregate; and (3) the incurrence of Indebtedness in connection with customary refinancing of the obligations under the Revolving Credit Agreement (in an amount up to the aggregate commitments under such Revolving Credit Agreement on the Effective Date) and the High Yield Notes (in an amount up to the aggregate initial principal amount of such High Yield Notes on the Effective Date) plus customary interest, premium and financing expenses (with any increase in the applicable interest, premium or expenses counting towards the $75,000,000 basket set forth in the preceding clause (2));
(B) authorize or permit the Partnership or the Operating Partnership or any of their respective Subsidiaries to issue any Units, Partnership Securities, or any equity securities (other than the Senior Preferred Units of the Operating
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Partnership being issued in connection with the Plan), whether common or preferred, or other securities convertible into or exchangeable for equity securities or redeem equity securities, whether common or preferred (other than the redemption of the Class B Units in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and repurchases of Units from employees or consultants upon the termination of employment in accordance with equity income plans or executive employment agreements);
(C) authorize or permit the Partnership or the Operating Partnership or any of their respective Subsidiaries to enter into or to engage in any transaction or series of related-party transactions between the Partnership, the Operating Partnership or any of their respective Subsidiaries, on the one hand, and the General Partner, Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx, any Related Party or any of their respective Affiliates (other than the Partnership, the Operating Partnership and their respective Subsidiaries), on the other hand, (other than (i) transactions currently existing and listed on Schedule II to the First Amendment to Operating Partnership Agreement as in effect on the Effective Date and (ii) transactions among the Partnership, the Operating Partnership and their respective Subsidiaries) unless such transactions, taken as a whole, are on terms no less favorable to the Partnership, the Operating Partnership or such Subsidiary than those that would have been obtained in comparable transactions with non-related party or non-affiliated counterparties and such transactions in the aggregate do not have a value in excess of $10,000,000. With respect to any transaction involving aggregate payments equal to or greater than $10,000,000, the Partnership or the Operating Partnership shall have obtained and delivered to the Class B Holders an opinion from an accounting, appraisal or investment banking firm of national standing stating that such transaction is fair to the Partnership or Operating Partnership (as applicable) or their respective Subsidiaries from a financial point of view or stating that the transaction, taken as a whole, is on terms no less favorable to the Partnership, Operating Partnership or such Subsidiary than those that would have been obtained in a comparable transaction with a non-related party or non-affiliated counterparty;
(D) excepting only Ordinary Course Dispositions, authorize or permit the Partnership, the Operating Partnership or any of their respective Subsidiaries to sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of assets (through an asset acquisition, merger, stock acquisition or other form of transaction) that generate net proceeds (in the aggregate) of $25,000,000 or more; provided that none of Partnership, the Operating Partnership or any of their respective subsidiaries shall permit Asset Sales, other than dispositions of inventory or cash equivalents in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, in the aggregate, including Ordinary Course Dispositions, to exceed $150,000,000;
(E) excepting only Ordinary Course Investments, payments in accordance with the terms of the Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership as in effect as of the Effective Date and payments for the settlement of litigation, authorize or permit the Partnership, the Operating Partnership or any of
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their respective Subsidiaries to acquire, invest, contribute or otherwise transfer any value, assets or property (including equity interests) to any Person (including the formation of any joint venture and whether through an asset acquisition, merger, stock acquisition or other form of transaction) if the aggregate value of the assets or property acquired, invested, contributed or otherwise transferred in the transaction exceeds $5,000,000;
(F) authorize or permit the Partnership or the Operating Partnership or any of their respective Subsidiaries to voluntarily file for bankruptcy, adopt a plan or agreement of complete or partial liquidation or dissolution or take any comparable action; provided, however, that a Subsidiary of the Partnership (other than the Operating Partnership) or the Operating Partnership may liquidate and/or dissolve if the assets of such Subsidiary either are, after the liquidation or dissolution, owned by the Partnership or the Operating Partnership or another Subsidiary of the Partnership or Operating Partnership or are the subject of an Ordinary Course Disposition permitted hereunder; or
(G) authorize or permit the Partnership, the Operating Partnership, and any of their respective subsidiaries to directly or indirectly, create, incur, assume or permit to exist any Lien on or with respect to any property, right or asset of any kind (including any document or instrument in respect of goods or accounts receivable) of the Partnership, Operating Partnership or any of their subsidiaries, whether now owned or hereafter acquired, or any income or profits therefrom, except Permitted Liens;
(ii) without the prior written consent of the holders of no less than two-thirds of the then-outstanding Class B Units, the General Partner shall not authorize or permit the amendment of any of the organizational documents of the General Partner (by merger, consolidation or otherwise) that (x) adversely affects the rights, powers, obligations or otherwise of the Independent Class B Director, including as a member of the board of directors of the General Partner (it being understood that an increase in the number of members of the board of directors within the range provided in Section 3.1 of the Second Amended and Restated Bylaws of Ferrellgas, Inc. (as in effect as of the date hereof) shall not be considered to have such an effect), (y) adversely affects the applicability of the Voting Agreement on the General Partner or the organizational documents of the General Partner or (z) otherwise would have an adverse effect on the Class B Holders.
(c) With respect to the obtaining of any Requisite Class B Unit Consent in connection with any matter described in Section 6.3(b), any Class B Holder that does not consent or does not decline to provide its consent within seven (7) Business Days of receiving actual notice of the consent request shall be deemed to have consented to such request; provided that any request for such consent must, in order to constitute a valid consent request, (i) be in writing (email or any other form of electronic transmission being sufficient to the address supplied to the Partnership or the Transfer Agent by the Class B Holder), (ii) include a reminder of the effect of this provision and (iii) set forth the applicable deadline to respond before consent is deemed given. The Partnership shall promptly provide any information that any Class B Holder reasonably requests in order to
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evaluate the consent request. For the avoidance of doubt, “actual notice” means the direct email delivery of the consent request to the beneficial holder of the Class B Units or the investment advisors, sub-advisors, or managers of discretionary accounts that hold the Class B Units rather than the Depository to the extent that such Class B Holder has provided sufficient contact information to the Partnership or the Transfer Agent. If a Class B Holder does not provide the Partnership or the Transfer Agent with contact information, actual notice under this Section 6.3(c) shall be deemed delivered upon posting of a request for consent to DTC LENs or similar system with respect to the Class B Holder; provided, however, to the extent that thirty-three percent (33%) or more of the Class B Units affirmatively denies the Partnership’s request, the Partnership shall be required to obtain the affirmative written consent of a sufficient number of the Class B Holders to satisfy the requirements of Requisite Class B Unit Consent and the Partnership shall not be permitted to rely on the deemed consent set forth in this Section 6.3(c); provided further that the Partnership may not rely on this Section 6.3(c) for deemed consent unless it has given actual notice of such consent request to all Class B Holders (including through the posting of such consent request to DTC LENs for those Class B Holders which have not provided the Partnership or Transfer Agent with contact information) in accordance with this Section 6.3(c).
Section 6.4 Reimbursement of the General Partner.
(a) Except as provided in this Section 6.4 and elsewhere in this Agreement or in the Operating Partnership Agreement, the General Partner shall not be compensated for its services as general partner of the Partnership or the Operating Partnership.
(b) The General Partner shall be reimbursed on a monthly basis, or such other basis as the General Partner may determine in its sole discretion, for (i) all direct and indirect expenses it incurs or payments it makes on behalf of the Partnership (including, without limitation, salary, bonus, incentive compensation and other amounts paid to any Person to perform services for the Partnership or for the General Partner in the discharge of its duties to the Partnership), and (ii) all other necessary or appropriate expenses allocable to the Partnership or otherwise reasonably incurred by the General Partner in connection with operating the Partnership’s business (including, without limitation, expenses allocated to the General Partner by its Affiliates). The General Partner shall determine the fees and expenses that are allocable to the Partnership in any reasonable manner determined by the General Partner in its sole discretion. Reimbursements pursuant to this Section 6.4 shall be in addition to any reimbursement to the General Partner as a result of indemnification pursuant to Section 6.7.
(c) Subject to Sections 4.3(c), 6.3(b) and 6.16, the General Partner in its sole discretion and without the approval of the Limited Partners (who shall have no right to vote in respect thereof) may propose and adopt on behalf of the Partnership, customary employee benefit and incentive plans (including, without limitation, plans involving the issuance of Units), or issue Partnership Securities pursuant to any employee benefit or incentive plan maintained or sponsored by the General Partner or one of its Affiliates, in each case for the benefit of employees of the General Partner, the Partnership, the Operating Partnership or any Affiliate of any of them in respect of services performed,
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directly or indirectly, for the benefit of the Partnership or the Operating Partnership. The Partnership agrees to issue and sell to the General Partner any Units or other Partnership Securities that the General Partner is obligated to provide to any employees pursuant to any such benefit or incentive plans. Expenses incurred by the General Partner in connection with any such plans (including the net cost to the General Partner of Units purchased by the General Partner from the Partnership to fulfill options or awards under such plans) shall be reimbursed in accordance with Section 6.4(b). Any and all obligations of the General Partner under any employee benefit or incentive plans adopted by the General Partner as permitted by this Section 6.4(c) shall constitute obligations of the General Partner hereunder and shall be assumed by any successor General Partner approved pursuant to Section 13.1 or 13.2 or the transferee of or successor to all of the General Partner Interest pursuant to Section 11.2.
Section 6.5 Outside Activities.
(a) After the Initial Closing Date, the General Partner, for so long as it is the general partner of the Partnership, (i) agrees that its sole business will be to act as a general partner of the Partnership, the Operating Partnership and any other partnership of which the Partnership or the Operating Partnership is, directly or indirectly, a partner and to undertake activities that are ancillary or related thereto (including being a limited partner in the Partnership), (ii) shall not enter into or conduct any business or incur any debts or liabilities except in connection with or incidental to (A) its performance of the activities required or authorized by this Agreement or the Operating Partnership Agreement or described in or contemplated by the Registration Statement and (B) the acquisition, ownership or disposition of Partnership Interests in the Partnership or partnership interests in the Operating Partnership or any other partnership of which the Partnership or the Operating Partnership is, directly or indirectly, a partner, except that, notwithstanding the foregoing, employees of the General Partner may perform services for FCI and its Affiliates, and (iii) shall not and shall cause its Affiliates not to engage in any Restricted Activity.
(b) Except as described in Section 6.5(a), no Indemnitee shall be expressly or implicitly restricted or proscribed pursuant to this Agreement, the Operating Partnership Agreement or the partnership relationship established hereby or thereby from engaging in other activities for profit, whether in the businesses engaged in by the Partnership or the Operating Partnership or anticipated to be engaged in by the Partnership, the Operating Partnership or otherwise, including, without limitation, in the case of any Affiliates of the General Partner those businesses and activities (other than Restricted Activities) in direct competition with the business and activities of the Partnership or the Operating Partnership or otherwise described in or contemplated by the Registration Statement. Without limitation of and subject to the foregoing each Indemnitee (other than the General Partner) shall have the right to engage in businesses of every type and description and to engage in and possess an interest in other business ventures of any and every type or description, independently or with others, including, without limitation, in the case of any Affiliates of the General Partner business interests and activities (other than Restricted Activities) in direct competition with the business and activities of the Partnership or the Operating Partnership, and none of the same shall constitute a breach of this Agreement or
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any duty to the Partnership, the Operating Partnership or any Partner or Assignee. Neither the Partnership, the Operating Partnership, any Limited Partner nor any other Person shall have any rights by virtue of this Agreement, the Operating Partnership Agreement or the partnership relationship established hereby or thereby in any business ventures of any Indemnitee (subject, in the case of the General Partner, to compliance with Section 6.5(c)) and such Indemnitees shall have no obligation to offer any interest in any such business ventures to the Partnership, the Operating Partnership, any Limited Partner or any other Person. The General Partner and any other Persons affiliated with the General Partner may acquire Units or other Partnership Securities in addition to those acquired by any of such Persons on the Initial Closing Date, and, except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, shall be entitled to exercise all rights of an Assignee or Limited Partner, as applicable, relating to such Units or Partnership Securities, as the case may be.
(c) Subject to the terms of Sections 6.5(a) and (b) but otherwise notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, (i) the competitive activities of any Indemnitees (other than the General Partner) are hereby approved by the Partnership and all Partners and (ii) it shall be deemed not to be a breach of the General Partner’s fiduciary duty or any other obligation of any type whatsoever of the General Partner for the General Partner to permit an Affiliate of the General Partner to engage, or for any such Affiliate to engage, in business interests and activities (other than Restricted Activities) in preference to or to the exclusion of the Partnership.
(d) The term “Affiliates” when used in this Section 6.5 with respect to the General Partner shall not include the Partnership or any Subsidiary of the Partnership.
Section 6.6 Loans to and from the General Partner; Contracts with Affiliates.
(a) Subject to Sections 6.3(b) and 6.16, the General Partner or any Affiliate thereof may lend to the Partnership or the Operating Partnership, and the Partnership and the Operating Partnership may borrow, funds needed or desired by the Partnership and the Operating Partnership for such periods of time as the General Partner may determine and (ii) the General Partner or any Affiliate thereof may borrow from the Partnership or the Operating Partnership, and the Partnership and the Operating Partnership may lend to the General Partner or such Affiliate, excess funds of the Partnership and the Operating Partnership for such periods of time and in such amounts as the General Partner may determine; provided, however, that in either such case the lending party may not charge the borrowing party interest at a rate greater than the rate that would be charged the borrowing party (without reference to the lending party’s financial abilities or guarantees), by unrelated lenders on comparable loans. The borrowing party shall reimburse the lending party for any costs (other than any additional interest costs) incurred by the lending party in connection with the borrowing of such funds. For purposes of this Section 6.6(a) and Section 6.6(b), the term “Partnership” shall include any Affiliate of the Partnership that is controlled by the Partnership and the term “Operating Partnership” shall include any Affiliate of the Operating Partnership that is controlled by the Operating Partnership.
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(b) Subject to Sections 6.3(b) and 6.16, the Partnership may lend or contribute to the Operating Partnership, and the Operating Partnership may borrow, funds on terms and conditions established in the sole discretion of the General Partner; provided, however, that the Partnership may not charge the Operating Partnership interest at a rate greater than the rate that would be charged to the Operating Partnership (without reference to the General Partner’s financial abilities or guarantees), by unrelated lenders on comparable loans. The foregoing authority shall be exercised by the General Partner in its sole discretion and shall not create any right or benefit in favor of the Operating Partnership or any other Person.
(c) Subject to Sections 6.3(b) and 6.16, the General Partner may itself, or may enter into an agreement with any of its Affiliates to, render services to the Partnership or to the General Partner in the discharge of its duties as general partner of the Partnership. Any services rendered to the Partnership by the General Partner or any of its Affiliates shall be on terms that are fair and reasonable to the Partnership; provided, however, that subject to Section 6.3(b), the requirements of this Section 6.6(c) shall be deemed satisfied as to (i) any transaction approved by Special Approval, (ii) any transaction, the terms of which are no less favorable to the Partnership than those generally being provided to or available from unrelated third parties or (iii) any transaction that, taking into account the totality of the relationships between the parties involved (including other transactions that may be particularly favorable or advantageous to the Partnership), is equitable to the Partnership. The provisions of Section 6.4 shall apply to the rendering of services described in this Section 6.6(c).
(d) Subject to Sections 6.3(b) and 6.16, the Partnership may transfer assets to joint ventures, other partnerships, corporations, limited liability companies or other business entities in which it is or thereby becomes a participant upon such terms and subject to such conditions as are consistent with this Agreement and applicable law.
(e) Neither the General Partner nor any of its Affiliates shall sell, transfer or convey any property to, or purchase any property from, the Partnership, directly or indirectly, except pursuant to transactions that are fair and reasonable to the Partnership and in accordance with Sections 6.3(b) and 6.16; provided, however, that, subject to Sections 6.3(b) and 6.16, the requirements of this Section 6.6(e) for a transaction to be fair and reasonable to the Partnership shall be deemed to be satisfied as to (i) the transactions effected pursuant to Sections 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3, the Contribution Agreement and any other transactions described in or contemplated by the Registration Statement, (ii) any transaction approved by Special Approval, (iii) any transaction, the terms of which are no less favorable to the Partnership than those generally being provided to or available from unrelated third parties, or (iv) any transaction that, taking into account the totality of the relationships between the parties involved (including other transactions that may be particularly favorable or advantageous to the Partnership), is equitable to the Partnership.
(f) The General Partner and its Affiliates will have no obligation to permit the Partnership or the Operating Partnership to use any facilities or assets of the General Partner and its Affiliates, except as may be provided in contracts entered into from time to
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time specifically dealing with such use, nor shall there be any obligation on the part of the General Partner or its Affiliates to enter into such contracts.
(g) Without limitation of Sections 6.6(a) through 6.6(f), and notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, the existence of the conflicts of interest described in the Registration Statement are hereby approved by all Partners.
Section 6.7 Indemnification.
(a) To the fullest extent permitted by law but subject to the limitations expressly provided in this Agreement, the General Partner, any Departing Partner, any Person who is or was an officer or director of the General Partner or any Departing Partner and all other Indemnitees shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Partnership from and against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities, joint or several, expenses (including, without limitation, legal fees and expenses), judgments, fines, penalties, interest, settlements and other amounts arising from any and all claims, demands, actions, suits or proceedings, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, in which any Indemnitee may be involved, or is threatened to be involved, as a party or otherwise, by reason of its status as (i) the General Partner, a Departing Partner or any of their Affiliates, (ii) an officer, director, employee, partner, agent or trustee of the Partnership, the General Partner, any Departing Partner or any of their Affiliates or (iii) a Person serving at the request of the Partnership in another entity in a similar capacity, provided, that in each case the Indemnitee acted in good faith and in a manner which such Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the Partnership and, with respect to any criminal proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe its conduct was unlawful; provided, further, no indemnification pursuant to this Section 6.7 shall be available to the General Partner with respect to its obligations incurred pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement or the Contribution Agreement (other than obligations incurred by the General Partner on behalf of the Partnership or the Operating Partnership). The termination of any action, suit or proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction or upon a plea of nolo contendere, or its equivalent, shall not create a presumption that the Indemnitee acted in a manner contrary to that specified above. Any indemnification pursuant to this Section 6.7 shall be made only out of the assets of the Partnership, it being agreed that the General Partner shall not be personally liable for such indemnification and shall have no obligation to contribute or loan any monies or property to the Partnership to enable it to effectuate such indemnification.
(b) To the fullest extent permitted by law, expenses (including, without limitation, legal fees and expenses) incurred by an Indemnitee who is indemnified pursuant to Section 6.7(a) in defending any claim, demand, action, suit or proceeding shall, from time to time, be advanced by the Partnership prior to the final disposition of such claim, demand, action, suit or proceeding upon receipt by the Partnership of an undertaking by or on behalf of the Indemnitee to repay such amount if it shall be determined that the Indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified as authorized in this Section 6.7.
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(c) The indemnification provided by this Section 6.7 shall be in addition to any other rights to which an Indemnitee may be entitled under any agreement, pursuant to any vote of the holders of Outstanding Units, as a matter of law or otherwise, both as to actions in the Indemnitee’s capacity as (i) the General Partner, a Departing Partner or an Affiliate thereof, (ii) an officer, director, employee, partner, agent or trustee of the Partnership, the General Partner, any Departing Partner or an Affiliate thereof or (iii) a Person serving at the request of the Partnership in another entity in a similar capacity, and as to actions in any other capacity (including, without limitation, any capacity under the Underwriting Agreement), and shall continue as to an Indemnitee who has ceased to serve in such capacity and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, successors, assigns and administrators of the Indemnitee.
(d) The Partnership may purchase and maintain (or reimburse the General Partner or its Affiliates for the cost of) insurance, on behalf of the General Partner and such other Persons as the General Partner shall determine, against any liability that may be asserted against or expense that may be incurred by such Person in connection with the Partnership’s activities, regardless of whether the Partnership would have the power to indemnify such Person against such liability under the provisions of this Agreement.
(e) For purposes of this Section 6.7, the Partnership shall be deemed to have requested an Indemnitee to serve as fiduciary of an employee benefit plan whenever the performance by it of its duties to the Partnership also imposes duties on, or otherwise involves services by, it to the plan or participants or beneficiaries of the plan; excise taxes assessed on an Indemnitee with respect to an employee benefit plan pursuant to applicable law shall constitute “fines” within the meaning of Section 6.7(a); and action taken or omitted by it with respect to an employee benefit plan in the performance of its duties for a purpose reasonably believed by it to be in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries of the plan shall be deemed to be for a purpose which is in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the Partnership.
(f) In no event may an Indemnitee subject the Limited Partners to personal liability by reason of the indemnification provisions set forth in this Agreement.
(g) An Indemnitee shall not be denied indemnification in whole or in part under this Section 6.7 because the Indemnitee had an interest in the transaction with respect to which the indemnification applies if the transaction was otherwise permitted by the terms of this Agreement.
(h) The provisions of this Section 6.7 are for the benefit of the Indemnitees, their heirs, successors, assigns and administrators and shall not be deemed to create any rights for the benefit of any other Persons.
(i) No amendment, modification or repeal of this Section 6.7 or any provision hereof shall in any manner terminate, reduce or impair the right of any past, present or future Indemnitee to be indemnified by the Partnership, nor the obligation of the Partnership to indemnify any such Indemnitee under and in accordance with the provisions of this Section 6.7 as in effect immediately prior to such amendment,
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modification or repeal with respect to claims arising from or relating to matters occurring, in whole or in part, prior to such amendment, modification or repeal, regardless of when such claims may arise or be asserted.
Section 6.8 Liability of Indemnitees.
(a) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth in this Agreement, no Indemnitee shall be liable for monetary damages to the Partnership, the Limited Partners, the Assignees or any other Persons who have acquired interests in the Units, for losses sustained or liabilities incurred as a result of any act or omission if such Indemnitee acted in good faith.
(b) Subject to its obligations and duties as General Partner set forth in Section 6.1(a), the General Partner may exercise any of the powers granted to it by this Agreement and perform any of the duties imposed upon it hereunder either directly or by or through its agents, and the General Partner shall not be responsible for any misconduct or negligence on the part of any such agent appointed by the General Partner in good faith.
(c) Any amendment, modification or repeal of this Section 6.8 or any provision hereof shall be prospective only and shall not in any way affect the limitations on the liability to the Partnership and the Limited Partners of the General Partner, its directors, officers and employees under this Section 6.8 as in effect immediately prior to such amendment, modification or repeal with respect to claims arising from or relating to matters occurring, in whole or in part, prior to such amendment, modification or repeal, regardless of when such claims may arise or be asserted.
Section 6.9 Resolution of Conflicts of Interest.
(a) Unless otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement or the Operating Partnership Agreement, whenever a potential conflict of interest exists or arises between the General Partner or any of its Affiliates, on the one hand, and the Partnership, the Operating Partnership, any Partner or any Assignee, on the other, any resolution or course of action in respect of such conflict of interest shall be permitted and deemed approved by all Partners, and shall not constitute a breach of this Agreement, of the Operating Partnership Agreement, of any agreement contemplated herein or therein, or of any duty stated or implied by law or equity, if the resolution or course of action is, or by operation of this Agreement is deemed to be, fair and reasonable to the Partnership. Subject to Sections 6.3(b) and 6.16, the General Partner shall be authorized but not required in connection with its resolution of such conflict of interest to seek Special Approval of a resolution of such conflict or course of action. Any conflict of interest and any resolution of such conflict of interest shall be conclusively deemed fair and reasonable to the Partnership if such conflict of interest or resolution is (i) approved by Special Approval, (ii) on terms no less favorable to the Partnership than those generally being provided to or available from unrelated third parties or (iii) fair to the Partnership, taking into account the totality of the relationships between the parties involved (including other transactions that may be particularly favorable or advantageous to the Partnership). The General Partner may also adopt a resolution or course of action that has not received Special Approval.
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The General Partner (including the Audit Committee in connection with Special Approval) shall be authorized in connection with its determination of what is “fair and reasonable” to the Partnership and in connection with its resolution of any conflict of interest to consider (A) the relative interests of any party to such conflict, agreement, transaction or situation and the benefits and burdens relating to such interest; (B) any customary or accepted industry practices and any customary or historical dealings with a particular Person; (C) any applicable generally accepted accounting practices or principles; and (D) such additional factors as the General Partner (including such Audit Committee) determines in its sole discretion to be relevant, reasonable or appropriate under the circumstances. Nothing contained in this Agreement, however, is intended to nor shall it be construed to require the General Partner (including such Audit Committee) to consider the interests of any Person other than the Partnership. In the absence of bad faith by the General Partner, the resolution, action or terms so made, taken or provided by the General Partner with respect to such matter shall not constitute a breach of this Agreement (subject to any limitations set forth in Sections 6.3(b), 6.15 and 6.16) or any other agreement contemplated herein or a breach of any standard of care or duty imposed herein or therein or under the Delaware Act or any other law, rule or regulation.
(b) Whenever this Agreement or any other agreement contemplated hereby provides that the General Partner or any of its Affiliates is permitted or required to make a decision (i) in its “sole discretion” or “discretion,” that it deems “necessary or appropriate” or under a grant of similar authority or latitude, the General Partner or such Affiliate shall be entitled to consider only such interests and factors as it desires and shall have no duty or obligation to give any consideration to any interest of, or factors affecting, the Partnership, the Operating Partnership, any Limited Partner or any Assignee, (ii) it may make such decision in its sole discretion (regardless of whether there is a reference to “sole discretion” or “discretion”) unless another express standard is provided for, or (iii) in “good faith” or under another express standard, the General Partner or such Affiliate shall act under such express standard and shall not be subject to any other or different standards imposed by this Agreement, the Operating Partnership Agreement, any other agreement contemplated hereby or under the Delaware Act or any other law, rule or regulation. In addition, any actions taken by the General Partner or such Affiliate consistent with the standards of “reasonable discretion” set forth in the definitions of Available cash or Cash from Operations shall not constitute a breach of any duty of the General Partner to the Partnership or the Limited Partners. The General Partner shall have no duty, express or implied, to sell or otherwise dispose of any asset of the Operating Partnership or of the Partnership, other than in the ordinary course of business.
(c) Whenever a particular transaction, arrangement or resolution of a conflict of interest is required under this Agreement to be “fair and reasonable” to any Person, the fair and reasonable nature of such transaction, arrangement or resolution shall be considered in the context of all similar or related transactions.
(d) Subject to Sections 6.3(b), 6.15 and 6.16, the Limited Partners hereby authorize the General Partner, on behalf of the Partnership as a partner of the Operating Partnership, to approve of actions by the general partner of the Operating Partnership
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similar to those actions permitted to be taken by the General Partner pursuant to this Section 6.9.
Section 6.10 Other Matters Concerning the General Partner.
(a) The General Partner may rely and shall be protected in acting or refraining from acting upon any resolution, certificate, statement, instrument, opinion, report, notice, request, consent, order, bond, debenture, or other paper or document believed by it to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper party or parties.
(b) The General Partner may consult with legal counsel, accountants, appraisers, management consultants, investment bankers and other consultants and advisers selected by it, and any act taken or omitted to be taken in reliance upon the opinion (including, without limitation, an Opinion of Counsel) of such Persons as to matters that such General Partner reasonably believes to be within such Person’s professional or expert competence shall be conclusively presumed to have been done or omitted in good faith and in accordance with such opinion.
(c) The General Partner shall have the right, in respect of any of its powers or obligations hereunder, to act through any of its duly authorized officers, a duly appointed attorney or attorneys in fact or the duly authorized officers of the Partnership. Each such attorney shall, to the extent provided by the General Partner in the power of attorney, have full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and duty that is permitted or required to be done by the General Partner hereunder.
(d) Any standard of care and duty imposed by this Agreement or under the Delaware Act or any applicable law, rule or regulation shall be modified, waived or limited as required to permit the General Partner to act under this Agreement or any other agreement contemplated by this Agreement and to make any decision pursuant to the authority prescribed in this Agreement so long as such action is reasonably believed by the General Partner to be in, or not inconsistent with, the best interests of the Partnership.
Section 6.11 Title to Partnership Assets. Title to Partnership assets, whether real, personal or mixed and whether tangible or intangible, shall be deemed to be owned by the Partnership as an entity, and no Partner or Assignee, individually or collectively, shall have any ownership interest in such Partnership assets or any portion thereof. Title to any or all of the Partnership assets may be held in the name of the Partnership, the General Partner, one or more of its Affiliates or one or more nominees, as the General Partner may determine. The General Partner hereby declares and warrants that any Partnership assets for which record title is held in the name of the General Partner or one or more of its Affiliates or one or more nominees shall be held by the General Partner or such Affiliate or nominee for the use and benefit of the Partnership in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement; provided, however, that the General Partner shall use its reasonable efforts to cause record title to such assets (other than those assets in respect of which the General Partner determines that the expense and difficulty of conveyancing makes transfer of record title to the Partnership impracticable) to be vested in the Partnership as soon as reasonably practicable; provided that, prior to the withdrawal or removal of the General Partner or as soon thereafter as practicable, the General Partner shall use reasonable efforts to
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effect the transfer of record title to the Partnership and, prior to any such transfer, will provide for the use of such assets in a manner satisfactory to the Partnership. All Partnership assets shall be recorded as the property of the Partnership in its books and records, irrespective of the name in which record title to such Partnership assets is held.
Section 6.12 Purchase or Sale of Units. Subject to Sections 6.3(b) and 6.16, the General Partner may cause the Partnership to purchase or otherwise acquire Units in accordance with this Agreement. The General Partner or any Affiliate of the General Partner may also purchase or otherwise acquire and sell or otherwise dispose of Units for its own account, subject to the provisions of Sections 6.3(b) and 6.16 and Articles XI and XII.
Section 6.13 Registration Rights of Ferrellgas and its Affiliates.
(a) If (i) Ferrellgas or any Affiliate of Ferrellgas (including, without limitation, for purposes of this Section 6.13, any Person that is an Affiliate of Ferrellgas at the date hereof notwithstanding that it may later cease to be an Affiliate of Ferrellgas) holds Units or other Partnership Securities that it desires to sell and (ii) Rule 144 of the Securities Act (or any successor rule or regulation to Rule 144) or another exemption from registration is not available to enable such holder of Units (the “Holder”) to dispose of the number of Units or other securities it desires to sell at the time it desires to do so without registration under the Securities Act, then upon the request of Ferrellgas or any of its Affiliates, the Partnership shall file with the Commission as promptly as practicable after receiving such request, and use all reasonable efforts to cause to become effective and remain effective for a period of not more than six months following its effective date, a registration statement under the Securities Act registering the offering and sale of the number of Units or other securities specified by the Holder; provided, however, that the Partnership shall not be required to effect more than three registrations pursuant to this Section 6.13(a); and provided further, that if the General Partner or, if at the time a request pursuant to this Section 6.13 is submitted to the Partnership, Ferrellgas or its Affiliate requesting registration is an Affiliate of the General Partner, the Audit Committee in connection with Special Approval determines in its good faith judgment that a postponement of the requested registration for up to six months would be in the best interests of the Partnership and its Partners due to a pending transaction, investigation or other event, the filing of such registration statement or the effectiveness thereof may be deferred for up to six months, but not thereafter. In connection with any registration pursuant to the immediately preceding sentence, the Partnership shall promptly prepare and file (x) such documents as may be necessary to register or qualify the securities subject to such registration under the securities laws of such states as the Holder shall reasonably request; provided, however, that no such qualification shall be required in any jurisdiction where, as a result thereof, the Partnership would become subject to general service of process or to taxation or qualification to do business as a foreign corporation or partnership doing business in such jurisdiction, and (y) such documents as may be necessary to apply for listing or to list the securities subject to such registration on such National Securities Exchange as the Holder shall reasonably request, and do any and all other acts and things that may reasonably be necessary or advisable to enable the Holder to consummate a public sale of such Units in such states. Except as set forth in Section 6.13(c), all costs and expenses of any such registration and offering
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(other than the underwriting discounts and commissions) shall be paid by the Partnership, without reimbursement by the Holder.
(b) If the Partnership shall at any time propose to file a registration statement under the Securities Act for an offering of equity securities of the Partnership for cash (other than an offering relating solely to an employee benefit plan), the Partnership shall use all reasonable efforts to include such number or amount of securities held by the Holder in such registration statement as the Holder shall request. If the proposed offering pursuant to this Section 6.13(b) shall be an underwritten offering, then, in the event that the managing underwriter of such offering advises the Partnership and the Holder in writing that in its opinion the inclusion of all or some of the Holder’s securities would adversely and materially affect the success of the offering, the Partnership shall include in such offering only that number or amount, if any, of securities held by the Holder which, in the opinion of the managing underwriter, will not so adversely and materially affect the offering. Except as set forth in Section 6.13(c), all costs and expenses of any such registration and offering (other than the underwriting discounts and commissions) shall be paid by the Partnership, without reimbursement by the Holder.
(c) If underwriters are engaged in connection with any registration referred to in this Section 6.13, the Partnership shall provide indemnification, representations, covenants, opinions and other assurance to the underwriters in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to such underwriters. Further, in addition to and not in limitation of the Partnership’s obligation under Section 6.7, the Partnership shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, indemnify and hold harmless the Holder, its officers, directors and each Person who controls the Holder (within the meaning of the Securities Act) and any agent thereof (collectively, “Indemnified Persons”) against any losses, claims, demands, actions, causes of action, assessments, damages, liabilities (joint or several), costs and expenses (including, without limitation, interest, penalties and reasonable attorneys’ fees and disbursements), resulting to, imposed upon, or incurred by the Indemnified Persons, directly or indirectly, under the Securities Act or otherwise (hereinafter referred to in this Section 6.13(c) as a “claim” and in the plural as “claims”), based upon, arising out of, or resulting from any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of any material fact contained in any registration statement under which any Units were registered under the Securities Act or any state securities or Blue Sky laws, in any preliminary prospectus (if used prior to the effective date of such registration statement), or in any summary or final prospectus or in any amendment or supplement thereto (if used during the period the Partnership is required to keep the registration statement current), or arising out of, based upon or resulting from the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements made therein not misleading; provided, however, that the Partnership shall not be liable to any Indemnified Person to the extent that any such claim arises out of, is based upon or results from an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in such registration statement, such preliminary, summary or final prospectus or such amendment or supplement, in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Partnership by or on behalf of such Indemnified Person specifically for use in the preparation thereof.
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(d) The provisions of Sections 6.13(a) and 6.13(b) shall continue to be applicable with respect to Ferrellgas (and any of Ferrellgas’ Affiliates) after it ceases to be a Partner of the Partnership, during a period of two years subsequent to the effective date of such cessation and for so long thereafter as is required for the Holder to sell all of the Units or other securities of the Partnership with respect to which it has requested during such two year period that a registration statement be filed; provided, however, that the Partnership shall not be required to file successive registration statements covering the same securities for which registration was demanded during such two year period. The provisions of Section 6.13(c) shall continue in effect thereafter.
(e) Any request to register Partnership Securities pursuant to this Section 6.13 shall (i) specify the Partnership Securities intended to be offered and sold by the Person making the request, (ii) express such Person’s present intent to offer such Partnership Securities for distribution, (iii) describe the nature or method of the proposed offer and sale of Partnership Securities, and (iv) contain the undertaking of such Person to provide all such information and materials and take all action as may be required in order to permit the Partnership to comply with all applicable requirements in connection with the registration of such Partnership Securities.
Section 6.14 Reliance by Third Parties. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, any Person dealing with the Partnership shall be entitled to assume that the General Partner and any officer of the Partnership authorized by the General Partner to act on behalf and in the name of the Partnership has full power and authority to encumber, sell or otherwise use in any manner any and all assets of the Partnership and to enter into any contracts on behalf of the Partnership, and such Person shall be entitled to deal with the General Partner or any such officer as if it were the Partnership’s sole party in interest, both legally and beneficially. Each Limited Partner hereby waives any and all defenses or other remedies that may be available against such Person to contest, negate or disaffirm any action of the General Partner or any such officer in connection with any such dealing. In no event shall any Person dealing with the General Partner or any such officer or its representatives be obligated to ascertain that the terms of this Agreement have been complied with or to inquire into the necessity or expedience of any act or action of the General Partner or any such officer. Each and every certificate, document or other instrument executed on behalf of the Partnership by the General Partner or any such officer shall be conclusive evidence in favor of any and every Person relying thereon or claiming thereunder that (a) at the time of the execution and delivery of such certificate, document or instrument, this Agreement was in full force and effect, (b) the Person executing and delivering such certificate, document or instrument was duly authorized and empowered to do so for and on behalf of the Partnership and (c) such certificate, document or instrument was duly executed and delivered in accordance with the terms and provisions of this Agreement and is binding upon the Partnership.
Section 6.15 Special Provisions Relating to Class B Units.
(a) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, at any time when any Class B Units are outstanding, the Partnership shall not, and the General Partner shall not authorize or permit the Partnership, the Operating Partnership or any of their respective Subsidiaries to:
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(i) have any business operations independent of or outside the Operating Partnership and its Subsidiaries;
(ii) materially change the nature of their respective businesses or operations except changes in the manner in which the propane distribution and ancillary operations of the business are conducted, if such changes are consistent with industry-wide practices;
(iii) cause any modification to the organizational structure of the Partnership or Operating Partnership that has the effect of the Partnership not being the direct record and beneficial holder of all the limited partnership units of the Operating Partnership (excepting only the New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership issued in connection with the Plan on the Effective Date);
(iv) amend or modify this Agreement or other Partnership organizational documents (in each case by merger consolidation or otherwise), and shall not permit any of the Partnership’s Subsidiaries, including the Operating Partnership and its Subsidiaries, to amend or modify their partnership agreements or other organizational documents, including the First Amendment to the Operating Partnership Agreement or any side letters, whether existing on the Effective Date or subsequently created, or entered into (in each case by merger, consolidation or otherwise) in any manner that (x) impairs the rights of the Class B Holders, including, without limitation, any of the distribution requirements set forth in Section 5.6, any other financial or economic rights of the Class B Holders, or any modifications to the rights of the Limited Partners of the Operating Partnership (including the holders of New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership) that would have such an effect or (y) that alters the consent, approval or other governance rights of the Class B Units or the rights of the Independent Class B Director;
(v) fail to have a single General Partner, which Person shall also be the sole general partner of the Operating Partnership (the “Sole Shared GP Entity”);
(vi) cause, permit or allow any change in the identity or control, direct or indirect, of the Sole Shared GP Entity, except (A) the acquisition of control of the Sole Shared GP Entity or the general partner interests in the Partnership and the Operating Partnership by the Class B Holders pursuant to the Contingent Acquisition Agreement; or (B) the acquisition by foreclosure by secured creditors of the Operating Partnership of the pledged general partner interests in the Operating Partnership, whether under the Pledge and Security Agreement dated as of March 30, 2021 among the Grantors party thereto (including the General Partner in its capacity as general partner of the Operating Partnership) and XX Xxxxxx Xxxxx Bank NA or under any successor agreement of similar effect (“Operating Partnership Creditor Pledge”);
(vii) cause, permit or allow the transfer (by merger, consolidation or otherwise) of (A) the general partner interests in the Partnership or the Operating Partnership other than to the Class B Holders pursuant to the Contingent Acquisition Agreement; or (B) the general partner interests in the Operating Partnership other than to the secured creditors of the Operating Partnership pursuant to an Operating Partnership Creditor Pledge;
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(viii) cause or permit the Class A Units or Class B Units to be registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and
(ix) take or cause or permit to be taken any action with respect to taxes, including with respect to any tax elections, tax allocations and other tax matters and interpretation of the provisions of this Agreement that relate to taxes, that could be reasonably expected to adversely and disproportionately affect the Class B Units of the Partnership or New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership,
without, in each case set forth in clauses (i) and (ix), inclusive, the Requisite Class B Unit Consent.
(b) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, at any time when any Class B Units are outstanding, the General Partner shall not authorize or permit the Voting Agreement to be amended without the affirmative vote or consent of at least two thirds of the then-outstanding Class B Units or the Contingent Acquisition Agreement to be amended without the Requisite Class B Unit Consent.
(c) For the sake of clarity, nothing in this Agreement, including provisions that provide the General Partner with “sole discretion”, “reasonable discretion” or the ability to take actions or make determinations in “good faith” or other provisions that give the General Partner the authority to take any action or afford it any rights, privileges or discretion, or any language herein, or any language herein indicating that the provision that follows is “notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement” or similar, shall override the requirements in any provision of this Agreement, including in Section 6.3(b) and Section 6.15, to obtain the Requisite Class B Unit Consent or any other consent required from the Class B Holders.
(d) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, if any Class B Units are acquired by Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx, any Related Parties or any of their respective Affiliates, such Units shall not be permitted to vote on any matter or be counted for the purposes of any voting or approval thresholds laid out in this Agreement, the Voting Agreement, the Contingent Acquisition Agreement or the organizational documents of the General Partner (and shall be deemed not to be outstanding for such purpose).
(e) For so long as the Class B Units remain outstanding, the Partnership shall reimburse the holders of the Class B Units for their documented, reasonable out-of-pocket third-party costs, fees and expenses (including attorneys’ fees and expenses) from time to time in responding to any request for approval under the Partnership Agreement or enforcing their rights under the Partnership Agreement (or any related or ancillary documents) and/or amending the Partnership Agreement.
(f) None of Operating Partnership, the Partnership nor any of their respective subsidiaries or Affiliates may, directly or indirectly, pay or cause to be paid any consideration to or for the benefit of any holders of Class B Units for or as an inducement to any consent, waiver or amendment of any of the terms or provisions of the Partnership Agreement unless such consideration is offered to be paid and is paid to all holders of
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Class B Units that consent, waive or agree to amend in the time frame set forth in solicitation documents relating to such consent, waiver or amendment.
(g) The Partnership shall indemnify and hold harmless the holders of the Class B Units, each of their respective Affiliates and controlling persons and each of their respective directors, officers, employees, partners, agents, advisors and other representatives (each, an “Class B Indemnified Person”) from and against any and all losses, claims, damages and liabilities to which any such Class B Indemnified Person may become subject arising out of or in connection with any claim, litigation, investigation or proceeding relating to the Partnership Agreement (a “Proceeding”), regardless of whether any Class B Indemnified Person is a party thereto or whether such Proceeding is brought by the Partnership, any of its Affiliates or any third party, and to reimburse each Class B Indemnified Person within thirty (30) days following written demand therefor (together with reasonably detailed backup documentation supporting such reimbursement request) for any reasonable and documented legal or other out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with investigating or defending any Proceeding; provided, that the foregoing indemnity will not, as to any Class B Indemnified Person, apply to losses, claims, damages, liabilities or related expenses to the extent they arise from the willful misconduct, bad faith or gross negligence of, or material breach of the Partnership Agreement by such Class B Indemnified Person, in each case as determined by a final non-appealable judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction.
Section 6.16 Special Provisions Relating to the New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership.
(a) For so long as New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership and PIK Units of the Operating Partnership with an aggregate Purchase Price of the New Senior Preferred Units and PIK Unit Price of at least $35,000,000 in the aggregate are outstanding, the following covenants shall apply for the benefit of the holders of New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership (“New Senior Preferred Holders”), unless otherwise waived by the Required Holders of New Senior Preferred Units (and for the avoidance of doubt, if at any time New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership and PIK Units of the Operating Partnership with an aggregate Purchase Price of the New Senior Preferred Units and PIK Unit Price of at least $35,000,000 are not outstanding but then subsequently New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership and PIK Units of the Operating Partnership with an aggregate Purchase Price of the New Senior Preferred Units and PIK Unit Price of at least $35,000,000 become outstanding again, the following covenants shall automatically apply again at such time):
(i) neither the Partnership nor the Operating Partnership may effect an Operating Partnership Change of Control, unless the Operating Partnership has sufficient cash on a pro forma basis, after giving effect to all payments, to redeem the outstanding New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership and PIK Units of the Operating Partnership in full for cash at the Total Redemption Price and PIK Redemption Price, respectively, immediately after the consummation thereof;
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(ii) neither the Partnership nor the Operating Partnership may amend any provisions of their respective organizational documents (including the First Amendment to Operating Partnership Agreement) in a manner that adversely affects, directly or indirectly, in any respect, the preferences, rights or privileges of the New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership or PIK Units of the Operating Partnership;
(iii) the Operating Partnership may not create, authorize or issue (by reclassification or otherwise) any equity security, including any other security convertible into or exchangeable for any equity security, having preferences, rights, or privileges ranking senior to or pari passu with the New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership or PIK Units of the Operating Partnership, none of the Operating Partnership’s Subsidiaries may issue any additional equity (common or preferred) including any other security convertible into or exchangeable for any equity security, and neither the Operating Partnership nor any of its Subsidiaries may redeem any equity (other than the New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership or PIK Units of the Operating Partnership in accordance with the First Amendment to the Operating Partnership), provided that, nothing in clause (iii) shall prohibit the Partnership from issuing or redeeming any equity security of the Partnership in accordance with this Agreement;
(iv) the Operating Partnership may not create, authorize or issue any additional New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership or PIK Units of the Operating Partnership or any series of the foregoing other than in accordance with the First Amendment to Operating Partnership Agreement;
(v) neither the Partnership nor the Operating Partnership may voluntarily file for bankruptcy, authorize the taking of any such action, or take any comparable action or authorize any similar event;
(vi) none of the Partnership, the Operating Partnership and any of their respective Subsidiaries shall, directly or indirectly, make or own any Investment in any person, including any Joint Venture, except Permitted Investments;
(vii) none of the Partnership, the Operating Partnership and any of their respective Subsidiaries shall permit any Asset Sales, other than dispositions of inventory or cash equivalents in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and Ordinary Course Dispositions the proceeds of which, when aggregated with the proceeds of all other Ordinary Course Dispositions, shall not exceed $150,000,000;
(viii) the Partnership, the Operating Partnership and their respective Subsidiaries shall not enter into or modify any transaction or agreement with an Affiliate or Related Party of the Partnership or the General Partner (other than (x) transactions currently existing and listed on Schedule II to the First Amendment to Operating Partnership Agreement as in effect on the Effective Date and (y) transactions among the Operating Partnership and its Subsidiaries), unless (i) the terms of any such transaction, taken as a whole, are not less favorable to the Partnership and its Subsidiary, as the case may be, than those that might be obtained at the time from a person who is not an Affiliate or Related Party, and (ii) the aggregate payments or value of all such transactions is less than
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$10,000,000. With respect to any transaction involving aggregate payments or value equal to or greater than $10,000,000, the Partnership or the Operating Partnership shall have obtained and delivered to the holder of New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership an opinion from an accounting, appraisal or investment banking firm of national standing stating that such transaction is fair to the Partnership or the Operating Partnership and its Subsidiary from a financial point of view or stating that such transaction meets the requirements set forth in the preceding clause (i);
(ix) none of the Partnership, the Operating Partnership and any of their respective Subsidiaries shall redeem or repurchase any equity interests of the Operating Partnership or such Subsidiaries having preferences, rights, or privileges ranking junior to the New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership or PIK Units of the Operating Partnership; provided, however, (i) the Operating Partnership may make distributions to the holders of the common limited partnership interests as provided in Section 6 of the First Amendment to Operating Partnership Agreement and (ii) for the avoidance of doubt, nothing in the First Amendment to the Operating Partnership Agreement shall prohibit the Partnership from making distributions to holders of its partnership interests;
(x) neither the Operating Partnership nor any of its Subsidiaries shall authorize or make any distributions except as expressly permitted in the First Amendment to Operating Partnership Agreement;
(xi) none of the Partnership, the Operating Partnership, and any of their respective Subsidiaries may incur any Indebtedness, except (i) Indebtedness incurred and outstanding at any time under the Revolving Credit Agreement (in an amount up to the aggregate commitments under such Revolving Credit Agreement on the Effective Date) or High Yield Notes (in an amount up to the aggregate initial principal amount of such High Yield Notes on the Effective Date), (ii) additional Indebtedness that does not exceed $75,000,000 in the aggregate, and (iii) the incurrence of Indebtedness in connection with customary refinancing of the obligations under the Revolving Credit Agreement (in an amount up to the aggregate commitments under such Revolving Credit Agreement on the Effective Date) and the High Yield Notes (in an amount up to the aggregate initial principal amount of such High Yield Notes on the Effective Date) plus customary interest, premium and financing expenses (with any increase in the applicable interest, premium or expenses counting towards the $75,000,000 basket set forth in the preceding clause (ii));
(xii) none of the Partnership, the Operating Partnership, and any of their respective Subsidiaries shall directly or indirectly, create, incur, assume or permit to exist any Lien on or with respect to any property, right or asset of any kind (including any document or instrument in respect of goods or accounts receivable) of the Operating Partnership or any of its Subsidiaries, whether now owned or hereafter acquired, or any income or profits therefrom, except Permitted Liens;
(xiii) neither the Partnership nor the Operating Partnership shall make any tax election or intentionally take any other action that (i) would cause the Operating Partnership (or any of its Subsidiaries other than those currently taxable as a corporation)
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to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation for federal income tax purposes or (ii) is, or is reasonably expected to be, disproportionately adverse to the holders of New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership;
(xiv) none of the Partnership, the Operating Partnership and any of their respective Subsidiaries shall (i) consummate any fundamental change in the nature of their respective businesses or (ii) engage in any material line of business substantially different from those lines of business conducted by the Partnership and/or the Operating Partnership as of the Effective Date or any reasonably foreseeable expansion thereof, and the Partnership shall not undertake any business operations except through the Operating Partnership and its Subsidiaries; and
(xv) the Operating Partnership shall maintain at all times at least $100,000,000 of liquidity, consisting of unrestricted cash on hand and available capacity that can be drawn under the Revolving Credit Agreement or any replacement thereof (the “Liquidity Covenant”).
(b) For so long as any New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership or PIK Units of the Operating Partnership remain outstanding, the Partnership or the Operating Partnership shall deliver to the holders of New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership (i) audited annual financial statements within one-hundred twenty (120) days after the end of each Fiscal Year, unaudited quarterly financial statements within sixty (60) days after the end of each fiscal quarter and unaudited monthly financial statements within thirty (30) days after the end of each calendar month, (ii) to the extent otherwise prepared by the General Partner, the Partnership or the Operating Partnership, (A) all information provided to, or required to be provided to, the Revolving Credit Agreement Agent or the lenders under the Revolving Credit Agreement, for so long as the Revolving Credit Agreement is in effect, or the trustee or holders of the High Yield Notes under the 2021 Indentures, for so long as either 2021 Indenture is in effect, or, in each case, if directly or indirectly refinanced or replaced, in whole or in part, all information required to be provided under any future credit agreement, indenture or other debt instrument and (B) monthly-financial reports or quarterly financial reports, capital expenditure reports, budgets and projections and all other materials provided on a monthly or quarterly basis to the Board of Directors of the General Partner, in each case, concurrently with such delivery (or in accordance with any requirement to deliver) to such lender, agent, or Board of Directors of the General Partner as applicable, and (iii) the Partnership shall provide each holder of New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership with reasonable and customary access and inspection rights. The Partnership agrees that any action approved by a committee of the Board of Directors of the General Partner (other than the audit committee with respect to matters delegated to such committee by the Audit Committee Charter of the General Partner as in effect on the date of the Effective Date) will be separately considered by the Board of Directors of the General Partner. The Operating Partnership and Partnership may satisfy the reporting obligation in clause (i) by filing of the Partnership’s annual and quarterly reports with the Commission. The provision of any confidential information pursuant to this paragraph shall be contingent on the receipt of the Partnership from the holders of the New Senior
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Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership of customary confidentiality non-disclosure agreements.
(c) None of the Partnership, the Operating Partnership nor any of their respective Subsidiaries or Affiliates may, directly or indirectly, pay or cause to be paid any consideration to or for the benefit of any holder of New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership for or as an inducement to any consent, waiver or amendment of any of the terms or provisions of the Operating Partnership Agreement or the First Amendment to Operating Partnership Agreement unless such consideration is offered to be paid and is paid to all holders of New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership that consent, waive or agree to amend in the time frame set forth in solicitation documents relating to such consent, waiver or amendment. Additionally, none of the Partnership, the Operating Partnership nor any of their respective Subsidiaries or Affiliates (other than Xxxxxxx Buyers) may, directly or indirectly, acquire any New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership or PIK Units of the Operating Partnership or any interest thereunder, except as expressly set forth in Section 5 of the First Amendment to Operating Partnership Agreement.
(d) During any Protective Step-Up Period, the Distribution Rate on the New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership shall be adjusted as described in the definition of Distribution Rate in the First Amendment to Operating Partnership Agreement, in addition to any other remedies the holders of New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership are entitled to at equity or at law and pursuant to Section 16 of the First Amendment to Operating Partnership Agreement and, further, the Operating Partnership acknowledges and agrees that such adjustment to the Distribution Rate shall in no way be deemed a waiver of (or be deemed to validate) any breach of the foregoing. The Partnership shall cause the Operating Partnership to provide notice to the holders of New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership promptly, and in any event within one (1) Business Day of any violation or breach of the First Amendment to Operating Partnership Agreement or any agreements in which the holders of the New Senior Preferred Units are third-party beneficiaries with respect to the provisions in which they are the beneficiaries, provided that the failure to deliver such notice shall not affect the rights of the holders of New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership under the First Amendment to Operating Partnership Agreement.
(e) Neither a 2021 Indenture nor the Revolving Credit Agreement shall be amended, modified or refinanced, if such amendment, modification or refinancing would be adverse to the holders of New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership with respect to payment of the Tax Distributions or any Senior Preferred Additional Amounts. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Amendment, this Section 6.16(e) shall not be amended or waived without the prior written consent of the New Senior Preferred Holders, provided, that only the prior written consent of the Ares Holders shall be required for amendments or waivers of this Section 6.16(e) with respect to payment of Additional Amounts.
(f) Each holder of New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership shall respond to the Partnership within thirty (30) days of receipt of any written request
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from the Partnership requesting a waiver of any of the provisions of this Section 6.16. Any such waiver request shall include (i) the form of waiver being requested and (ii) reasonable detail on why such waiver is being requested. Any holder of New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership may grant or deny such waiver in its sole discretion.
(g) The holders of New Senior Preferred Units are third party beneficiaries under this Agreement with respect to this Section 6.16, any section that references this Section 6.16 and with respect to any related defined terms, and shall be entitled to enforce such provisions as if such holders were parties to this Agreement. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, this Section 6.16 shall not be amended or modified without the consent of each holder of New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership adversely affected.
ARTICLE VII
RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF LIMITED PARTNERS
Section 7.1 Limitation of Liability. The Limited Partners and the Assignees shall have no liability under this Agreement except as expressly provided in this Agreement or the Delaware Act.
Section 7.2 Management of Business. Without limiting Section 6.15, no Limited Partner or Assignee (other than the General Partner, any of its Affiliates or any officer, director, employee, partner, agent or trustee of the “General Partner or any of its Affiliates, in its capacity as such, if such Person shall also be a Limited Partner or Assignee) shall participate in the operation, management or control (within the meaning of the Delaware Act) of the Partnership’s business, transact any business in the Partnership’s name or have the power to sign documents for or otherwise bind the Partnership. The transaction of any such business by the General Partner, any of its Affiliates or any member, officer, director, employee, partner, agent or trustee of the General Partner or any of its Affiliates, in its capacity as such, shall not affect, impair or eliminate the limitations on the liability of the Limited Partners or Assignees under this Agreement.
Section 7.3 Outside Activities. Subject to the provisions of Section 6.5, which shall continue to be applicable to the Persons referred to therein, regardless of whether such Persons shall also be Limited Partners or Assignees, any Limited Partner or Assignee shall be entitled to and may have business interests and engage in business activities in addition to those relating to the Partnership, including, without limitation, business interests and activities in direct competition with the Partnership or the Operating Partnership. Neither the Partnership nor any of the other Partners or Assignees shall have any rights by virtue of this Agreement in any business ventures of any Limited Partner or Assignee.
Section 7.4 Return of Capital. No Limited Partner or Assignee shall be entitled to the withdrawal or return of its Capital Contribution, except to the extent, if any, that distributions made pursuant to this Agreement or upon termination of the Partnership may be considered as such by law and then only to the extent provided for in this Agreement. Except to the extent provided by Article V, Section 5.6 or as otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement, no Limited Partner or Assignee shall have priority over any other Limited Partner or Assignee either
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as to the return of Capital Contributions or as to profits, losses or distributions. Any such return shall be a compromise to which all Partners and Assignees agree within the meaning of § 17-502(b) of the Delaware Act.
Section 7.5 Rights of Limited Partners Relating to the Partnership.
(a) In addition to other rights provided by this Agreement or by applicable law, and except as limited by Section 7.5(b), each Limited Partner shall have the right, for a purpose reasonably related to such Limited Partner’s interest as a limited partner in the Partnership, upon reasonable demand and at such Limited Partner’s own expense:
(i) to obtain true and full information regarding the status of the business and financial condition of the Partnership;
(ii) promptly after becoming available, to obtain a copy of the Partnership’s federal, state and local tax returns for each year;
(iii) to have furnished to him, upon notification to the General Partner, a current list of the name and last known business, residence or mailing address of each Partner;
(iv) to have furnished to him, upon notification to the General Partner, a copy of this Agreement and the Certificate of Limited Partnership and all amendments thereto, together with a copy of the executed copies of all powers of attorney pursuant to which this Agreement, the Certificate of Limited Partnership and all amendments thereto have been executed;
(v) to obtain true and full information regarding the amount of cash and a description and statement of the Agreed Value of any other Capital Contribution by each Partner and which each Partner has agreed to contribute in the future, and the date on which each became a Partner; and
(vi) to obtain such other information regarding the affairs of the Partnership as is just and reasonable.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the General Partner may keep confidential from the Limited Partners and Assignees, for such period of time as the General Partner deems reasonable, any information that the General Partner reasonably believes to be in the nature of trade secrets or other information the disclosure of which the General Partner in good faith believes is not in the best interests of the Partnership or the Operating Partnership or could damage the Partnership or the Operating Partnership or that the Partnership or the Operating Partnership are required by law or by agreements with third parties to keep confidential (other than agreements with Affiliates the primary purpose of which is to circumvent the obligations set forth in this Section 7.5).
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ARTICLE VIII
BOOKS, RECORDS, ACCOUNTING AND REPORTS
Section 8.1 Records and Accounting. The General Partner shall keep or cause to be kept at the principal office of the Partnership appropriate books and records with respect to the Partnership’s business, including, without limitation, all books and records necessary to provide to the Limited Partners any information, lists and copies of documents required to be provided pursuant to Section 7.5(a). Any books and records maintained by or on behalf of the Partnership in the regular course of its business, including, without limitation, the record of the Record Holders and Assignees of Units or other Partnership Securities, books of account and records of Partnership proceedings, may be kept on, or be in the form of, computer disks, hard drives, punch cards, magnetic tape, photographs, micrographics or any other information storage device, provided, that the books and records so maintained are convertible into clearly legible written form within a reasonable period of time. The books of the Partnership shall be maintained, for both tax and financial reporting purposes, on an accrual basis in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
Section 8.2 Fiscal Year. The fiscal year of the Partnership shall be August 1 to July 31.
Section 8.3 Reports.
(a) After the close of each fiscal year of the Partnership, the General Partner in its sole discretion may, but is not obligated to, cause to be mailed to each Record Holder of a Unit as of a date selected by the General Partner, an annual report containing financial statements of the Partnership for such fiscal year of the Partnership, presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, including a balance sheet and statements of operations, Partners’ equity and cash flows, such statements to be audited by a firm of independent, registered public accountants selected by the General Partner.
(b) After the close of each Quarter except the last Quarter of each year, the General Partner in its sole discretion may, but is not obligated to, cause to be mailed to each Record Holder of a Unit as of a date selected by the General Partner, a report containing unaudited financial statements of the Partnership and other information as may be required by applicable law, regulation or rule of any National Securities Exchange on which the Units are listed for trading, or as the General Partner determines to be necessary or appropriate.
(c) The General Partner shall cause the Partnership to comply with the publication of any quarterly or annual financial information or reports as may be required by applicable law, regulation or rule of the Commission or any National Securities Exchange on which the Units are listed for trading.
(d) In the event that the Partnership ceases to be subject to the reporting requirements of section 8.3(c) of this Agreement or otherwise does not make publicly available any annual or quarterly financial information, the General Partner shall cause the Partnership to make available, either by mail or by electronic publication to the
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Partnership’s publicly available website, the reports described in Section 8.3(a) and 8.3(b) of this Agreement.
ARTICLE IX
TAX MATTERS
Section 9.1 Preparation of Tax Returns. The General Partner shall arrange for the preparation and timely filing of all returns of Partnership income, gains, deductions, losses and other items required of the Partnership for federal and state income tax purposes and shall use all reasonable efforts to furnish, within 90 days of the close of each calendar year, the tax information reasonably required by holders of Outstanding Units for federal and state income tax reporting purposes. The classification, realization and recognition of income, gain, losses and deductions and other items shall be on the accrual method of accounting for federal income tax purposes. The taxable year of the Partnership shall be January 1 to December 31.
Section 9.2 Tax Elections. Except as otherwise provided herein, the General Partner shall, in its sole discretion, determine whether to make any available election pursuant to the Code; provided, however, that the General Partner shall make the election under Section 754 of the Code in accordance with applicable regulations thereunder. The General Partner shall have the right to seek to revoke any such election (including, without limitation, the election under Section 754 of the Code) upon the General Partner’s determination in its sole discretion that such revocation is in the best interests of the Limited Partners and Assignees. For purposes of computing the adjustments under Section 743(b) of the Code, the General Partner shall be authorized (but not required) to adopt a convention whereby the price paid by a transferee of Units will be deemed to be the lowest quoted closing price of the Units on any National Securities Exchange on which such Units are traded during the calendar month in which such transfer is deemed to occur pursuant to Section 5.2(g) without regard to the actual price paid by such transferee.
Section 9.3 Tax Controversies. Subject to the provisions hereof, the General Partner is designated as the Tax Matters Partner (as defined in Section 6231 of the Code), and is authorized and required to represent the Partnership (at the Partnership’s expense) in connection with all examinations of the Partnership’s affairs by tax authorities, including, without limitation, resulting administrative and judicial proceedings, and to expend Partnership funds for professional services and costs associated therewith. Each Partner and Assignee agrees to cooperate with the General Partner and to do or refrain from doing any or all things reasonably required by the General Partner to conduct such proceedings.
With respect to tax returns filed for taxable years beginning on or after December 31, 2017, the General Partner (or its designee) will be designated as the “partnership representative” in accordance with the rules prescribed pursuant to Section 6223 of the Code (the “Partnership Representative”) and shall have the sole authority to act on behalf of the Partnership (at the Partnership’s expense) in connection with all examinations of the Partnership’s affairs by tax authorities, including, without limitation, resulting administrative and judicial proceedings, and to expend Partnership funds for professional services and costs associated therewith. Each Partner and Assignee agree to cooperate with the General Partner and to do or refrain from doing any or all things reasonably required by the General Partner to conduct such proceedings. The General
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Partner (or its designee) shall exercise, in its sole discretion, any and all authority of the Partnership Representative under the Code, including, without limitation, (i) binding the Partnership and its Partners with respect to tax matters and (ii) determining whether to make any available election under Section 6226 of the Code; provided however, if the Partnership is assessed an imputed underpayment within the meaning of Subchapter C of Chapter 63 of the Code (and such imputed underpayment is more than de minimis) then the General Partner (or its designee) shall make the election under Section 6226(a) of the Code to cause the imputed underpayment to be pushed out to the reviewed year partners. The General Partner shall amend the provisions of this Agreement as appropriate to reflect the proposal or promulgation of Treasury Regulations implementing the partnership audit, assessment and collection rules adopted by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, including any amendments to those rules.
Section 9.4 Organizational Expenses. The Partnership shall elect to deduct expenses, if any, incurred by it in organizing the Partnership ratably over a 60 month period as provided in Section 709 of the Code.
Section 9.5 Withholding. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the General Partner is authorized to take any action that it determines in its sole discretion to be necessary or appropriate to cause the Partnership and the Operating Partnership to comply with any withholding requirements established under the Code or any other federal, state or local law including, without limitation, pursuant to Sections 1441, 1442, 1445 and 1446 of the Code. To the extent that the Partnership is required to withhold and pay over to any taxing authority any amount resulting from the allocation or distribution of income to any Partner or Assignee (including, without limitation, by reason of Section 1446 of the Code), the amount withheld shall be treated as a distribution of cash pursuant to Section 5.4 or 5.6 (as applicable) in the amount of such withholding from such Partner.
Section 9.6 [Reserved]
Section 9.7 Entity Level Withholding. If the Partnership is required by applicable law to pay any federal, state or local income tax on behalf of, or withhold such amount with respect to, any Partner or Assignee or any former Partner or Assignee in respect of Units held by such Person (a) the General Partner shall cause the Partnership to pay such tax on behalf of such Partner or Assignee or former Partner or Assignee from the funds of the Partnership; (b) any amount so paid on behalf of, or withheld with respect to, any such Partner or Assignee shall constitute a distribution out of Available cash to such Partner or Assignee pursuant to Section 5.3 or Section 5.6(a), as applicable; provided, however, in the discretion of the General Partner, such taxes (if pertaining to all such Partners) may be considered to be cash disbursements of the Partnership which reduce Available cash, but the payment or withholding thereof shall not be deemed to be a distribution of Available cash to such Partners; and (c) to the extent any such Partner or Assignee (but not a former Partner or Assignee) is not then entitled to such distribution under this Agreement, the General Partner shall be authorized, without the approval of any Partner or Assignee, to amend this Agreement insofar as is necessary to maintain the uniformity of intrinsic tax characteristics as to all Class A Units and to make subsequent adjustments to distributions in a manner which, in the reasonable judgment of the General Partner, will make as little alteration as practicable in the priority and amount of distributions otherwise applicable under this Agreement, and will not otherwise alter the distributions to which Partners and
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Assignees are entitled under this Agreement. If the Partnership is permitted (but not required) by applicable law to pay any such tax on behalf of, or withhold such amount with respect to, any Partner or Assignee or former Partner or Assignee with respect to Units held by such Person, the General Partner shall be authorized (but not required) to cause the Partnership to pay such tax from the funds of the Partnership and to take any action consistent with this Section 9.7. The General Partner shall be authorized (but not required) to take all necessary or appropriate actions to collect all or any portion of a deficiency in the payment of any such tax that relates to prior periods and that is attributable to Persons who were Limited Partners or Assignees with respect to Units held by such Person when such deficiencies arose, from such Persons.
Section 9.8 Opinions of Counsel. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, if the Partnership or the Operating Partnership is treated as an association taxable as a corporation at any time or is otherwise taxable for federal income tax purposes as an entity at any time and, pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement, an Opinion of Counsel would otherwise be required to the effect that an action will not cause the Partnership or the Operating Partnership to become so treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise taxable as an entity for federal income tax purposes, such requirement for an Opinion of Counsel shall be deemed automatically waived.
ARTICLE X
CERTIFICATES
Section 10.1 Certificates. Upon the Partnership’s issuance of Units to any Person, subject to Section 4.2(i)(iii), the Partnership may issue one or more Certificates in the name of such Person evidencing the number of such Units being so issued. Certificates shall be executed on behalf of the Partnership by the General Partner. No Unit Certificate shall be valid for any purpose until it has been countersigned by the Transfer Agent; provided, however, that if the General Partner elects to issue Units in global or book-entry form, the Certificates shall be valid upon receipt of a certificate from the Transfer Agent certifying that such Units have been duly registered in accordance with the directions of the Partnership. The General Partner Units need not be certificated, but upon request of the General Partner, may be represented by Certificates in the same manner as other Units.
Section 10.2 Registration of Transfer and Exchange.
(a) The General Partner shall cause to be kept on behalf of the Partnership a register in which, subject to such reasonable regulations as it may prescribe and subject to the provisions of Section 10.2(b), the General Partner will provide for the registration and transfer of Units. The Transfer Agent is hereby appointed registrar and transfer agent for the purpose of registering Units and transfers of such Units as herein provided. The Partnership shall not recognize transfers of Certificates representing Units unless the same are effected in the manner described in this Section 10.2. Upon surrender for registration of transfer of any Units evidenced by a Certificate, and subject to the provisions of Section 10.2(b), the General Partner on behalf of the Partnership shall execute, and in the case of Units, the Transfer Agent shall countersign, and deliver (or, in the case of Units issued in global or book-entry form, register in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Depositary), in the name of the holder or the designated transferee or transferees, as
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required pursuant to the holder’s instructions, one or more new Certificates evidencing the same aggregate number of Units as was evidenced by the Certificate so surrendered.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in Section 11.5, the Partnership shall not recognize any transfer of Units until the Certificates evidencing such Units are surrendered for registration of transfer and such Certificates are accompanied by a Transfer Application duly executed by the transferee (or the transferee’s attorney in fact duly authorized in writing). No charge shall be imposed by the Partnership for such transfer, provided, that as a condition to the issuance of any new Certificate under this Section 10.2, the General Partner may require the payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge that may be imposed with respect thereto.
Section 10.3 Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Certificates.
(a) If any mutilated Certificate is surrendered to the Transfer Agent, the General Partner on behalf of the Partnership shall execute, and upon its request the Transfer Agent shall countersign and deliver in exchange therefor, a new Certificate evidencing the same number of Units as the Certificate so surrendered.
(b) The General Partner on behalf of the Partnership shall execute, and upon its request, the Transfer Agent shall countersign and deliver (or, in the case of Units issued in global or book-entry form, register in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Depositary) a new Certificate in place of any Certificate previously issued if the Record Holder of the Certificate:
(i) makes proof by affidavit, in form and substance satisfactory to the General Partner, that a previously issued Certificate has been lost, destroyed or stolen;
(ii) requests the issuance of a new Certificate before the Partnership has notice that the Certificate has been acquired by a purchaser for value in good faith and without notice of an adverse claim;
(iii) if requested by the General Partner, delivers to the Partnership a bond, in form and substance satisfactory to the General Partner, with surety or sureties and with fixed or open penalty as the General Partner may reasonably direct, in its sole discretion, to indemnify the Partnership, the General Partner and the Transfer Agent against any claim that may be made on account of the alleged loss, destruction or theft of the Certificate; and
(iv) satisfies any other reasonable requirements imposed by the General Partner.
If a Limited Partner or Assignee fails to notify the Partnership within a reasonable time after he has notice of the loss, destruction or theft of a Certificate, and a transfer of the Units represented by the Certificate is registered before the Partnership, the General Partner or the Transfer Agent receives such notification, the Limited Partner or Assignee shall be precluded from making any claim against the Partnership, the General Partner or the Transfer Agent for such transfer or for a new Certificate.
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(c) As a condition to the issuance of any new Certificate under this Section 10.3, the General Partner may require the payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge that may be imposed in relation thereto and any other expenses (including, without limitation, the fees and expenses of the Transfer Agent) reasonably connected therewith.
Section 10.4 Record Holder. In accordance with Section 10.2(b), the Partnership shall be entitled to recognize the Record Holder as the Limited Partner or Assignee with respect to any Units and, accordingly, shall not be bound to recognize any equitable or other claim to or interest in such Units on the part of any other Person, whether or not the Partnership shall have actual or other notice thereof, except as otherwise provided by law or any applicable rule, regulation, guideline or requirement of any National Securities Exchange on which the Units are listed for trading. Without limiting the foregoing, when a Person (such as a broker, dealer, bank, trust company or clearing corporation or an agent of any of the foregoing) is acting as nominee, agent or in some other representative capacity for another Person in acquiring and/or holding Units, as between the Partnership on the one hand, and such other Persons, on the other, such representative Person (a) shall be the Limited Partner or Assignee (as the case may be) of record and beneficially, (b) must execute and deliver a Transfer Application and (c) shall be bound by this Agreement and shall have the rights and obligations of a Limited Partner or Assignee (as the case may be) hereunder and as provided for herein.
ARTICLE XI
TRANSFER OF INTERESTS
Section 11.1 Transfer.
(a) The term “transfer,” when used in this Article XI and Article XII with respect to a Partnership Interest, shall be deemed to refer to a transaction by which the General Partner assigns its General Partner Interest to another Person, by which the holder of a Unit assigns such Unit to another Person who is or becomes an Assignee, and includes a sale, assignment, gift, pledge, encumbrance, hypothecation, mortgage, exchange or any other disposition by law or otherwise.
(b) No Partnership Interest shall be transferred, in whole or in part, except in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in this Article XI. Any transfer or purported transfer of a Partnership Interest not made in accordance with this Article XI shall be null and void.
(c) Nothing contained in this Article XI shall be construed to prevent a disposition by the parent entity of the General Partner of any or all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of the General Partner.
(d) Nothing contained in this Article XI, or elsewhere in this Partnership Agreement, shall preclude the settlement of any transactions involving Units entered into through the facilities of the New York Stock Exchange.
Section 11.2 Transfer of the General Partner Interest. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary (but without limiting Section 6.15), no transfer by the General Partner of all or any
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part of its General Partner Interest to another Person, other than any transfer pursuant to the Contingent Acquisition Agreement, shall be permitted unless (i) the transferee agrees to assume the rights and duties of the General Partner under this Agreement and the Operating Partnership Agreement and to be bound by the provisions of this Agreement and the Operating Partnership Agreement, (ii) the Partnership receives an Opinion of Counsel that such transfer would not result in the loss of limited liability of any Limited Partner or of any limited partner of the Operating Partnership or cause the Partnership or any of the Operating Partnership to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise to be taxed as an entity for federal income tax purposes and (iii) such transferee also agrees to purchase all (or the appropriate portion thereof, if applicable) of the partnership interest of the General Partner as the general partner of the Operating Partnership. In the case of a transfer pursuant to and in compliance with this Section 11.2, the transferee or successor (as the case may be) shall, subject to compliance with the terms of Section 12.3, be admitted to the Partnership as a General Partner immediately prior to the transfer of the General Partner Interest, and the business of the Partnership shall continue without dissolution.
Section 11.3 Transfer of Units (other than General Partner Units).
(a) Units (other than General Partner Units) may be transferred only in the manner described in Section 10.2. The transfer of any Units (other than General Partner Units) and the admission of any new Partner shall not constitute an amendment to this Agreement.
(b) Until admitted as a Substituted Limited Partner pursuant to Article XII, the Record Holder of a Unit shall be an Assignee in respect of such Unit. Limited Partners may include custodians, nominees, or any other individual or entity in its own or any representative capacity.
(c) Each distribution in respect of Units shall be paid by the Partnership, directly or through the Transfer Agent or through any other Person or agent, only to the Record Holders thereof as of the Record Date set for the distribution. Such payment shall constitute full payment and satisfaction of the Partnership’s liability in respect of such payment, regardless of any claim of any Person who may have an interest in such payment by reason of an assignment or otherwise.
(d) A transferee who has completed and delivered a Transfer Application shall be deemed to have (i) agreed to comply with and be bound by (including any of the provisions applicable to a Substituted Limited Partner), and to have executed this Agreement, (ii) represented and warranted that such transferee has the right, power and authority and, if an individual, the capacity to enter into this Agreement, (iii) granted the powers of attorney set forth in this Agreement and (iv) given the consents and approvals and made the waivers contained in this Agreement.
Section 11.4 Restrictions on Transfers. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Article XI, no transfer of any Unit or interest therein of any Limited Partner or Assignee shall be made if such transfer would (a) violate the then applicable federal or state securities laws or rules and regulations of the Commission, any state securities commission or any other governmental
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authorities with jurisdiction over such transfer, (b) result in the taxation of the Partnership or the Operating Partnership as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise subject the Partnership or the Operating Partnership to entity level taxation for federal income tax purposes or (c) affect the Partnership’s or the Operating Partnership’s existence or qualification as a limited partnership under the Delaware Act.
Section 11.5 Citizenship Certificates; Non-citizen Assignees.
(a) If the Partnership or the Operating Partnership is or becomes subject to any federal, state or local law or regulation that, in the reasonable determination of the General Partner, creates a substantial risk of cancellation or forfeiture of any property in which the Partnership or the Operating Partnership has an interest based on the nationality, citizenship or other related status of a Limited Partner or Assignee, the General Partner may request any Limited Partner or Assignee to furnish to the General Partner, within 30 days after receipt of such request, an executed Citizenship Certification or such other information concerning his nationality, citizenship or other related status (or, if the Limited Partner or Assignee is a nominee holding for the account of another Person, the nationality, citizenship or other related status of such Person) as the General Partner may request. If a Limited Partner or Assignee fails to furnish to the General Partner within the aforementioned 30 day period such Citizenship Certification or other requested information or if upon receipt of such Citizenship Certification or other requested information the General Partner determines, with the advice of counsel, that a Limited Partner or Assignee is not an Eligible Citizen, the Units owned by such Limited Partner or Assignee shall be subject to redemption in accordance with the provisions of Section 11.6. In addition, the General Partner may require that the status of any such Limited Partner or Assignee be changed to that of a Non-citizen Assignee, and, thereupon, the General Partner shall be substituted for such Non-citizen Assignee as the Limited Partner in respect of his Units.
(b) The General Partner shall, in exercising voting rights in respect of Units held by it on behalf of Non-citizen Assignees, distribute the votes in the same ratios as the votes of Limited Partners in respect of Units other than those of Non-citizen Assignees are cast, either for, against or abstaining as to the matter.
(c) Upon dissolution of the Partnership, a Non-citizen Assignee shall have no right to receive a distribution in kind pursuant to Section 14.4 but shall be entitled to the cash equivalent thereof, and the General Partner shall provide cash in exchange for an assignment of the Non-citizen Assignee’s share of the distribution in kind. Such payment and assignment shall be treated for Partnership purposes as a purchase by the General Partner from the Non-citizen Assignee of his Partnership Interest (representing his right to receive his share of such distribution in kind).
(d) At any time after he can and does certify that he has become an Eligible Citizen, a Non-citizen Assignee may, upon application to the General Partner, request admission as a Substituted Limited Partner with respect to any Units of such Non-citizen Assignee not redeemed pursuant to Section 11.6, and upon his admission pursuant to
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Section 12.2 the General Partner shall cease to be deemed to be the Limited Partner in respect of the Non-citizen Assignee’s Units.
Section 11.6 Redemption of Interests.
(a) If at any time a Limited Partner or Assignee fails to furnish a Citizenship Certification or other information requested within the 30 day period specified in Section 11.5(a), or if upon receipt of such Citizenship Certification or other information the General Partner determines, with the advice of counsel, that a Limited Partner or Assignee is not an Eligible Citizen, the Partnership may, unless the Limited Partner or Assignee establishes to the satisfaction of the General Partner that such Limited Partner or Assignee is an Eligible Citizen or has transferred his Units to a Person who furnishes a Citizenship Certification to the General Partner prior to the date fixed for redemption as provided below, redeem the Partnership Interest of such Limited Partner or Assignee as follows:
(i) The General Partner shall, not later than the 30th day before the date fixed for redemption, give notice of redemption to the Limited Partner or Assignee, at his last address designated on the records of the Partnership or the Transfer Agent, by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid. The notice shall be deemed to have been given when so mailed. The notice shall specify the Redeemable Units, the date fixed for redemption, the place of payment, that payment of the redemption price will be made upon surrender of the Certificate evidencing the Redeemable Units and that on and after the date fixed for redemption no further allocations or distributions to which the Limited Partner or Assignee would otherwise be entitled in respect of the Redeemable Units will accrue or be made.
(ii) The aggregate redemption price for Redeemable Units shall be an amount equal to the Current Market Price (the date of determination of which shall be the date fixed for redemption) of Units of the class to be so redeemed multiplied by the number of Units of each such class included among the Redeemable Units or, if a Current Market Price is unavailable, an amount determined by an internationally recognized independent valuation firm that shall be final and binding on the Partnership and the Limited Partner and/or Assignee. The redemption price shall be paid, in the sole discretion of the General Partner, in cash or by delivery of a promissory note of the Partnership in the principal amount of the redemption price, bearing interest at the rate of 10% annually and payable in three equal annual installments of principal together with accrued interest, commencing one year after the redemption date.
(iii) Upon surrender by or on behalf of the Limited Partner or Assignee, at the place specified in the notice of redemption, of the Certificate evidencing the Redeemable Units, duly endorsed in blank or accompanied by an assignment duly executed in blank, the Limited Partner or Assignee or his duly authorized representative shall be entitled to receive the payment therefor.
(iv) After the redemption date, Redeemable Units shall no longer constitute issued and Outstanding Units.
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(b) The provisions of this Section 11.6 shall also be applicable to Units held by a Limited Partner or Assignee as nominee of a Person determined to be other than an Eligible Citizen.
(c) Nothing in this Section 11.6 shall prevent the recipient of a notice of redemption from transferring his Units before the redemption date if such transfer is otherwise permitted under this Agreement. Upon receipt of notice of such a transfer, the General Partner shall withdraw the notice of redemption, provided, the transferee of such Units certifies in the Transfer Application that he is an Eligible Citizen. If the transferee fails to make such certification, such redemption shall be effected from the transferee on the original redemption date.
ARTICLE XII
ADMISSION OF PARTNERS
Section 12.1 Admission of Initial Limited Partners. On the Initial Closing Date, the General Partner was admitted to the Partnership as a Limited Partner in respect of the Common Units, and the Underwriters were admitted to the Partnership as Initial Limited Partners.
Section 12.2 Admission of Substituted Limited Partners. By transfer of a Unit (other than a General Partner Unit) in accordance with Article XI, the transferor shall be deemed to have given the transferee the right to seek admission as a Substituted Limited Partner subject to the conditions of, and in the manner permitted under, this Agreement. A transferor of a Certificate (other than a Certificate representing a General Partner Unit) shall, however, only have the authority to convey to a purchaser or other transferee who does not execute and deliver a Transfer Application (a) the right to negotiate such Certificate to a purchaser or other transferee and (b) the right to transfer the right to request admission as a Substituted Limited Partner to such purchaser or other transferee in respect of the transferred Units. Each transferee of a Unit (other than a General Partner Unit) (including, without limitation, any nominee holder or an agent acquiring such Unit for the account of another Person) who executes and delivers a Transfer Application shall, by virtue of such execution and delivery, be an Assignee and be deemed to have applied to become a Substituted Limited Partner with respect to the Units so transferred to such Person. Such Assignee shall become a Substituted Limited Partner (1) with respect to Class A Units, (x) at such time as the General Partner consents thereto, which consent may be given or withheld in the General Partner’s sole discretion, and (y) when any such admission is shown on the books and records of the Partnership. If such consent is withheld, such transferee shall be an Assignee; and (2) with respect to Class B Units, immediately upon delivery to the Partnership of a duly completed Transfer Application. An Assignee shall have an interest in the Partnership equivalent to that of a Limited Partner with respect to allocations and distributions, including, without limitation, liquidating distributions, of the Partnership. With respect to voting rights attributable to Units that are held by Assignees, the General Partner shall be deemed to be the Limited Partner with respect thereto and shall, in exercising the voting rights in respect of such Units on any matter, vote such Units at the written direction of the Assignee who is the Record Holder of such Units. If no such written direction is received, such Units will not be voted. An Assignee shall have no other rights of a Limited Partner; provided, that an Assignee with respect to transferred Class B Units shall have all the rights of a Holder of Class B Units set forth in Section 6.3(b) and Section 6.15.
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Section 12.3 Admission of Successor General Partner. Subject to Section 6.15, a successor General Partner approved pursuant to Section 13.1 or 13.2 or the transferee of or successor to all of the General Partner Interest pursuant to Section 11.2 who is proposed to be admitted as a successor General Partner shall be admitted to the Partnership as the General Partner, effective immediately prior to the withdrawal or removal of the General Partner pursuant to Section 13.1 or 13.2 or the transfer of the General Partner Interest pursuant to Section 11.2; provided, however, that no such successor shall be admitted to the Partnership until compliance with the terms of Section 11.2 has occurred and such successor has executed and delivered such other documents or instruments as may be required to effect such admission. Any such successor shall, subject to the terms hereof, carry on the business of the Partnership and Operating Partnership without dissolution.
Section 12.4 Admission of Additional Limited Partners.
(a) A Person (other than the General Partner, an Initial Limited Partner or a Substituted Limited Partner) who makes a Capital Contribution to the Partnership in accordance with this Agreement shall be admitted to the Partnership as an Additional Limited Partner only upon furnishing to the General Partner (i) evidence of acceptance in form satisfactory to the General Partner of all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement, including, without limitation, the power of attorney granted in Section 1.4, and (ii) such other documents or instruments as may be required in the discretion of the General Partner to effect such Person’s admission as an Additional Limited Partner.
(b) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 12.4, no Person shall be admitted as an Additional Limited Partner without the consent of the General Partner, which consent may be given or withheld in the General Partner’s sole discretion. The admission of any Person as an Additional Limited Partner shall become effective on the date upon which the name of such Person is recorded as such in the books and records of the Partnership, following the consent of the General Partner to such admission.
(c) Upon the issuance of the Class B Units to the Class B Holders, the Class B Holders were admitted as Limited Partners to the Partnership.
Section 12.5 Amendment of Agreement and Certificate of Limited Partnership. To effect the admission to the Partnership of any Partner, the General Partner shall take all steps necessary and appropriate under the Delaware Act to amend the records of the Partnership to reflect such admission and, if necessary, to prepare as soon as practical an amendment of this Agreement and, if required by law, to prepare and file an amendment to the Certificate of Limited Partnership and may for this purpose, among others, exercise the power of attorney granted pursuant to Section 1.4.
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ARTICLE XIII
WITHDRAWAL OR REMOVAL OF PARTNERS
Section 13.1 Withdrawal of the General Partner.
(a) The General Partner shall be deemed to have withdrawn from the Partnership upon the occurrence of any one of the following events (each such event herein referred to as an “Event of Withdrawal”);
(i) the General Partner voluntarily withdraws from the Partnership by giving written notice to the other Partners (and it shall be deemed that the General Partner has withdrawn pursuant to this Section 13.1(a)(i) if the General Partner voluntarily withdraws as general partner of the Operating Partnership);
(ii) the General Partner transfers all of its General Partner Interest pursuant to Section 11.2;
(iii) the General Partner is removed pursuant to Section 13.2;
(iv) the General Partner (A) makes a general assignment for the benefit of creditors; (B) files a voluntary bankruptcy petition; (C) files a petition or answer seeking for itself a reorganization, arrangement, composition, readjustment, liquidation, dissolution or similar relief under any law; (D) files an answer or other pleading admitting or failing to contest the material allegations of a petition filed against the General Partner in a proceeding of the type described in clauses (A)-(C) of this Section 13.1(a)(iv); or (E) seeks, consents to or acquiesces in the appointment of a trustee, receiver or liquidator of the General Partner or of all or any substantial part of its properties;
(v) a final and non appealable judgment is entered by a court with appropriate jurisdiction ruling that the General Partner is bankrupt or insolvent, or a final and non appealable order for relief is entered by a court with appropriate jurisdiction against the General Partner, in each case under any federal or state bankruptcy or insolvency laws as now or hereafter in effect; or
(vi) a certificate of dissolution or its equivalent is filed for the General Partner, or 90 days expire after the date of notice to the General Partner of revocation of its charter without a reinstatement of its charter, under the laws of its state of incorporation.
If an Event of Withdrawal specified in Section 13.1(a)(iv), (v) or (vi) occurs, the withdrawing General Partner shall give notice to the Limited Partners within 30 days after such occurrence. The Partners hereby agree that only the Events of Withdrawal described in this Section 13.1 shall result in the withdrawal of the General Partner from the Partnership; provided that, notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, any withdrawal by the General Partner must also be in compliance with Section 6.15.
(b) Withdrawal of the General Partner from the Partnership upon the occurrence of an Event of Withdrawal shall not constitute a breach of this Agreement if such withdrawal is in compliance with Section 6.15 and is made under the following
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circumstances: (i) the General Partner voluntarily withdraws by giving at least 90 days’ advance notice of its intention to withdraw to the Limited Partners, provided, that prior to the effective date of such withdrawal the withdrawal is approved by the holders of at least two thirds of the Outstanding Class A Units (excluding for purposes of such determination Units owned by the General Partner and its Affiliates) and the General Partner delivers to the Partnership an Opinion of Counsel (“Withdrawal Opinion of Counsel”) that such withdrawal (following the selection of the successor General Partner) would not result in the loss of the limited liability of any Limited Partner or of the limited partner of the Operating Partnership or cause the Partnership or the Operating Partnership to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise to be taxed as an entity for federal income tax purposes; (ii) at any time that the General Partner ceases to be a General Partner pursuant to Section 13.1(a)(ii) or is removed pursuant to Section 13.2; or (iii) notwithstanding clause (i) of this sentence, at any time that the General Partner voluntarily withdraws by giving at least 90 days’ advance notice of its intention to withdraw to the Limited Partners, such withdrawal to take effect on the date specified in the notice, if at the time such notice is given one Person and its Affiliates (other than the General Partner and its Affiliates) own beneficially or of record or control at least 50% of the Outstanding Class A Units. The withdrawal of the General Partner from the Partnership upon the occurrence of an Event of Withdrawal shall also constitute the withdrawal of the General Partner as general partner of the Operating Partnership. If the General Partner gives a notice of withdrawal pursuant to Section 13.1(a)(i), holders of at least a majority of the Outstanding Class A Units (excluding for purposes of such determination Class A Units owned by the General Partner and its Affiliates) may, prior to the effective date of such withdrawal, elect a successor General Partner. If, prior to the effective date of the General Partner’s withdrawal, a successor is selected by the Limited Partners as provided herein, the Partnership, as the limited partner of the Operating Partnership, shall cause such Person to become the successor general partner of the Operating Partnership, as provided in the Operating Partnership Agreement. If, prior to the effective date of the General Partner’s withdrawal, a successor is not selected by the Limited Partners as provided herein or the Partnership does not receive a Withdrawal Opinion of Counsel, the Partnership shall be dissolved in accordance with Section 14.1. Any successor General Partner elected in accordance with the terms of this Section 13.1 shall be subject to the provisions of Section 12.3.
Section 13.2 Removal of the General Partner. The General Partner may be removed if such removal is approved by Limited Partners holding at least two thirds of the Outstanding Class A Units and, if any Class B Units are Outstanding, a majority of the Class B Units Outstanding. Any such action by such Limited Partners for removal of the General Partner must also provide for the election of a successor General Partner (satisfactory to a majority of holders of the Class B Units) by Limited Partners holding at least a majority of the Outstanding Class A Units. Such removal shall be effective immediately following the admission of a successor General Partner pursuant to Article XII. The removal of the General Partner shall also automatically constitute the removal of the General Partner as general partner of the Operating Partnership, as provided in the Operating Partnership Agreement. If a Person is elected as a successor General Partner in accordance with the terms of this Section 13.2, the Partnership, as the limited partner of the Operating Partnership, shall cause such Person to become the successor general partner of the Operating Partnership, as provided in the Operating Partnership Agreement. The right of the
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Limited Partners holding Outstanding Class A Units to remove the General Partner shall not exist or be exercised unless the Partnership has received an opinion opining as to the matters covered by a Withdrawal Opinion of Counsel. Any successor General Partner elected in accordance with the terms of this Section 13.2 shall be subject to the provisions of Section 12.3.
Section 13.3 Interest of Departing Partner and Successor General Partner.
(a) In the event of (i) withdrawal of the General Partner under circumstances where such withdrawal does not violate this Agreement or (ii) removal of the General Partner by the holders of Class A Units under circumstances where Cause does not exist, if a successor General Partner is elected in accordance with the terms of Section 13.1 or 13.2, the Departing Partner shall have the option exercisable prior to the effective date of the departure of such Departing Partner to require its successor to purchase its General Partner Interest and its partnership interest as the general partner in the Operating Partnership (collectively, the “Combined Interest”) in exchange for an amount in cash equal to the fair market value of such Combined Interest, such amount to be determined and payable as of the effective date of its departure. If the General Partner is removed by the Limited Partners under circumstances where Cause exists or if the General Partner withdraws under circumstances where such withdrawal violates this Agreement or the Operating Partnership Agreement, and if a successor General Partner is elected in accordance with the terms of Section 13.1 or 13.2, such successor shall have the option, exercisable prior to the effective date of the departure of such Departing Partner, to purchase the Combined Interest of the Departing Partner for such fair market value of such Combined Interest. In either event, the Departing Partner shall be entitled to receive all reimbursements due such Departing Partner pursuant to Section 6.4, including, without limitation, any employee related liabilities (including, without limitation, severance liabilities), incurred in connection with the termination of any employees employed by the General Partner for the benefit of the Partnership or the Operating Partnership. Subject to Section 13.3(b), the Departing Partner shall, as of the effective date of its departure, cease to share in any allocations or distributions with respect to its General Partner Interest and Partnership income, gain, loss, deduction and credit will be prorated and allocated as set forth in Section 5.2(g).
For purposes of this Section 13.3(a), the fair market value of the Departing Partner’s Combined Interest shall be determined by agreement between the Departing Partner and its successor or, failing agreement within 30 days after the effective date of such Departing Partner’s departure, by an independent investment banking firm or other independent expert selected by the Departing Partner and its successor, which, in turn, may rely on other experts and the determination of which shall be conclusive as to such matter. If such parties cannot agree upon one independent investment banking firm or other independent expert within 45 days after the effective date of such departure, then the Departing Partner shall designate an independent investment banking firm or other independent expert, the Departing Partner’s successor shall designate an independent investment banking firm or other independent expert, and such firms or experts shall mutually select a third independent investment banking firm or independent expert, which shall determine the fair market value of the Combined Interest. In making its determination, such independent investment banking firm or other independent expert shall consider the then current trading price of Units on any National Securities Exchange on which
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Units are then listed, the value of the Partnership’s assets, the rights and obligations of the General Partner and other factors it may deem relevant.
(b) If the Combined Interest is not purchased in the manner set forth in Section 13.3(a), the Departing Partner shall become a Limited Partner and the Combined Interest shall be converted into Class A Units pursuant to a valuation made by an investment banking firm or other independent expert selected pursuant to Section 13.3(a), without reduction in such Partnership Interest (but subject to proportionate dilution by reason of the admission of its successor). Any successor General Partner shall indemnify the Departing Partner as to all debts and liabilities of the Partnership arising on or after the date on which the Departing Partner becomes a Limited Partner. For purposes of this Agreement, conversion of the General Partner’s Combined Interest to Class A Units will be characterized as if the General Partner contributed its Combined Interest to the Partnership in exchange for the newly issued Class A Units.
(c) If a successor General Partner is elected in accordance with the terms of Section 13.1 or 13.2 and the option described in Section 13.3(a) is not exercised by the party entitled to do so, the successor General Partner shall, at the effective date of its admission to the Partnership, contribute to the capital of the Partnership cash in an amount such that its Capital Account, after giving effect to such contribution and any adjustments made to the Capital Accounts of all Partners pursuant to Section 4.5(d)(i), shall be equal to that percentage of the Capital Accounts of all Partners that is equal to its Percentage Interest as the General Partner. In such event, such successor General Partner shall, subject to the following sentence, be entitled to such Percentage Interest of all Partnership allocations and distributions and any other allocations and distributions to which the Departing Partner was entitled.
(d) For the avoidance of doubt, any acquisition of the Sole Shared GP Entity or of the general partner interests in the Partnership or Operating Partnership by the Class B Holders pursuant to the Contingent Acquisition Agreement shall not be subject to this Section 13.3.
Section 13.4 Withdrawal of Limited Partners. No Limited Partner shall have any right to withdraw from the Partnership; provided, however, that when a transferee of a Limited Partner’s Units becomes a Record Holder, such transferring Limited Partner shall cease to be a Limited Partner with respect to the Units so transferred.
ARTICLE XIV
DISSOLUTION AND LIQUIDATION
Section 14.1 Dissolution. The Partnership shall not be dissolved by the admission of Substituted Limited Partners or Additional Limited Partners or by the admission of a successor General Partner in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. Upon the removal or withdrawal of the General Partner, if a successor General Partner is elected pursuant to Section 13.1 or 13.2, the Partnership shall not be dissolved and such successor General Partner shall continue the business of the Partnership. Subject to Sections 6.3(b)(i)(F) and 6.16, the Partnership shall dissolve, and (subject to Section 14.2) its affairs should be wound up, upon:
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(a) the expiration of its term as provided in Section 1.5;
(b) an Event of Withdrawal of the General Partner as provided in Section 13.1(a) (other than Section 13.1(a)(ii)), unless a successor is elected and an Opinion of Counsel is received as provided in Section 13.1(b) or 13.2 and such successor is admitted to the Partnership pursuant to Section 12.3;
(c) entry of a decree of judicial dissolution of the Partnership pursuant to the provisions of the Delaware Act; or
(d) the sale of all or substantially all of the assets and properties of the Partnership and the Operating Partnership taken as a whole.
Section 14.2 Continuation of the Business of the Partnership after Dissolution. Upon (a) dissolution of the Partnership following an Event of Withdrawal caused by the withdrawal or removal of the General Partner as provided in Section 13.1(a)(i) or (iii) and the failure of the Partners to select a successor to such Departing Partner pursuant to Section 13.1 or 13.2, then within 90 days thereafter or (b) dissolution of the Partnership upon an event constituting an Event of Withdrawal as defined in Section 13.1(a)(iv), (v) or (vi), then within 180 days thereafter, a majority of the Outstanding Class A Units may elect to reconstitute the Partnership and continue its business on the same terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement by forming a new limited partnership on terms identical to those set forth in this Agreement and having as the successor general partner a Person approved by a majority of the Outstanding Class A Units. Upon any such election by a majority of the Outstanding Class A Units, all Partners shall be bound thereby and shall be deemed to have approved thereof. Unless such an election is made within the applicable time period as set forth above, the Partnership shall conduct only activities necessary to wind up its affairs. If such an election is so made, then:
(i) the reconstituted Partnership shall continue until the end of the term set forth in Section 1.5 unless earlier dissolved in accordance with this Article XIV;
(ii) if the successor General Partner is not the former General Partner, then the interest of the former General Partner shall be treated thenceforth as the interest of a Limited Partner and converted into Class A Units in the manner provided in Section 13.3(b); and
(iii) all necessary steps shall be taken to cancel this Agreement and the Certificate of Limited Partnership and to enter into and, as necessary, to file a new partnership agreement and certificate of limited partnership, and the successor general partner may for this purpose exercise the powers of attorney granted the General Partner pursuant to Section 1.4; provided, that the right of a majority of Outstanding Class A Units to approve a successor General Partner and to reconstitute and to continue the business of the Partnership shall not exist and may not be exercised unless the Partnership has received an Opinion of Counsel that (x) the exercise of the right would not result in the loss of limited liability of any Limited Partner and (y) neither the Partnership, the reconstituted limited partnership nor the Operating Partnership would be treated as an
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association taxable as a corporation or otherwise be taxable as an entity for federal income tax purposes upon the exercise of such right to continue.
Section 14.3 Liquidation. Upon dissolution of the Partnership, unless the Partnership is continued under an election to reconstitute and continue the Partnership pursuant to Section 14.2, the General Partner, or in the event the General Partner has been dissolved or removed, become bankrupt as set forth in Section 13.1 or withdrawn from the Partnership, a liquidator or liquidating committee approved by the holders of at least a majority of the Outstanding Class A Units and Class B Units, shall be the Liquidator. The Liquidator (if other than the General Partner) shall be entitled to receive such compensation for its services as may be approved by the holders of at least a majority of the Outstanding Class A Units and Class B Units. The Liquidator shall agree not to resign at any time without 15 days’ prior notice and (if other than the General Partner) may be removed at any time, with or without cause, by notice of removal approved by a majority of the Outstanding Units. Upon dissolution, removal or resignation of the Liquidator, a successor and substitute Liquidator (who shall have and succeed to all rights, powers and duties of the original Liquidator) shall within 30 days thereafter be approved by the holders of at least a majority of the Outstanding Class A Units and Class B Units. The right to approve a successor or substitute Liquidator in the manner provided herein shall be deemed to refer also to any such successor or substitute Liquidator approved in the manner herein provided. Except as expressly provided in this Article XIV, the Liquidator approved in the manner provided herein shall have and may exercise, without further authorization or consent of any of the parties hereto, all of the powers conferred upon the General Partner under the terms of this Agreement (but subject to all of the applicable limitations, contractual and otherwise, upon the exercise of such powers) to the extent necessary or desirable in the good faith judgment of the Liquidator to carry out the duties and functions of the Liquidator hereunder for and during such period of time as shall be reasonably required in the good faith judgment of the Liquidator to complete the winding up and liquidation of the Partnership as provided for herein. The Liquidator shall liquidate the assets of the Partnership, and apply and distribute the proceeds of such liquidation in the following order of priority, unless otherwise required by mandatory provisions of applicable law:
(a) the payment to creditors of the Partnership, including, without limitation, Partners who are creditors, in the order of priority provided by law; and the creation of a reserve of cash or other assets of the Partnership for contingent liabilities in an amount, if any, determined by the Liquidator to be appropriate for such purposes; and
(b) to all Partners in accordance with, and to the extent of, the positive balances in their respective Capital Accounts, as determined after taking into account all Capital Account adjustments (other than those made by reason of this clause) for the taxable year of the Partnership during which the liquidation of the Partnership occurs (with the date of such occurrence being determined pursuant to Treasury Regulation Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(ii)(g)); and such distribution shall be made by the end of such taxable year (or, if later, within 90 days after said date of such occurrence).
Section 14.4 Distributions in Kind. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 14.3, which require the liquidation of the assets of the Partnership, but subject to the order of priorities set forth therein, if prior to or upon dissolution of the Partnership the Liquidator determines that an immediate sale of part or all of the Partnership’s assets would be impractical or would cause
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undue loss to the Partners, the Liquidator may, in its absolute discretion, defer for a reasonable time the liquidation of any assets except those necessary to satisfy liabilities of the Partnership (including, without limitation, those to Partners as creditors) and or distribute to the Partners or to specific classes of Partners, in lieu of cash, as tenants in common and in accordance with the provisions of Section 14.3, undivided interests in such Partnership assets as the Liquidator deems not suitable for liquidation. Any such distributions in kind shall be made only if, in the good faith judgment of the Liquidator, such distributions in kind are in the best interest of the Limited Partners, and shall be subject to such conditions relating to the disposition and management of such properties as the Liquidator deems reasonable and equitable and to any agreements governing the operation of such properties at such time. The Liquidator shall determine the fair market value of any property distributed in kind using such reasonable method of valuation as it may adopt.
Section 14.5 Cancellation of Certificate of Limited Partnership. Upon the completion of the distribution of Partnership cash and property as provided in Sections 14.3 and 14.4 in connection with the liquidation of the Partnership, the Partnership shall be terminated and the Certificate of Limited Partnership and all qualifications of the Partnership as a foreign limited partnership in jurisdictions other than the State of Delaware shall be cancelled and such other actions as may be necessary to terminate the Partnership shall be taken.
Section 14.6 Reasonable Time for Winding Up. A reasonable time shall be allowed for the orderly winding up of business and affairs of the Partnership and the liquidation of its assets pursuant to Section 14.3 in order to minimize any losses otherwise attendant upon such winding up, and the provisions of this Agreement shall remain in effect between the Partners during the period of liquidation.
Section 14.7 Return of Capital Contributions. The General Partner shall not be personally liable for, and shall have no obligation to contribute or loan any monies or property to the Partnership to enable it to effectuate, the return of the Capital Contributions of the Limited Partners, or any portion thereof, it being expressly understood that any such return shall be made solely from Partnership assets.
Section 14.8 Capital Account Restoration. No Limited Partner shall have any obligation to restore any negative balance in its Capital Account upon liquidation of the Partnership. The General Partner shall be obligated to restore any negative balance in its Capital Account upon liquidation of its interest in the Partnership by the end of the taxable year of the Partnership during which such liquidation occurs, or, if later, within 90 days after the date of such liquidation.
Section 14.9 Waiver of Partition. To the maximum extent permitted by law, each Partner hereby waives any right to partition of the Partnership property.
ARTICLE XV
AMENDMENT OF PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT; MEETINGS; RECORD DATE
Section 15.1 Amendment to be Adopted Solely by General Partner. Subject to Sections 6.15 and 6.16 and the other terms of this Agreement, each Limited Partner agrees that the General Partner (pursuant to its powers of attorney from the Limited Partners, Special Limited Partners
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and Assignees), without the approval of any Limited Partner or Assignee, may amend any provision of this Agreement, and execute, swear to, acknowledge, deliver, file and record whatever documents may be required in connection therewith, to reflect:
(a) a change in the name of the Partnership, the location of the principal place of business of the Partnership, the registered agent of the Partnership or the registered office of the Partnership;
(b) admission, substitution, withdrawal or removal of Partners in accordance with this Agreement;
(c) a change that, in the sole discretion of the General Partner, is necessary or appropriate to qualify or continue the qualification of the Partnership as a limited partnership or a partnership in which the limited partners have limited liability under the laws of any state or that is necessary or advisable in the opinion of the General Partner to ensure that neither the Partnership nor the Operating Partnership will be treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise taxed as an entity for federal income tax purposes;
(d) a change (i) that, in the sole discretion of the General Partner, does not adversely affect the Limited Partners in any material respect, (ii) that is necessary or desirable to satisfy any requirements, conditions or guidelines contained in any opinion, directive, order, ruling or regulation of any federal or state agency or judicial authority or contained in any federal or state statute (including, without limitation, the Delaware Act) or that is necessary or desirable to facilitate the trading of the Units (including, without limitation, the division of Outstanding Units into different classes to facilitate uniformity of tax consequences within such classes of Units) or comply with any rule, regulation, guideline or requirement of any National Securities Exchange on which the Units are or will be listed for trading, compliance with any of which the General Partner determines in its sole discretion to be in the best interests of the Partnership and the Limited Partners, (iii) that is necessary or desirable to implement certain tax related provisions of the Partnership Agreement, or (iv) that is required to effect the intent of the provisions of this Agreement or is otherwise contemplated by this Agreement;
(e) a change in the fiscal year or taxable year of the Partnership and any changes that, in the sole discretion of the General Partner, are necessary or appropriate as a result of a change in the fiscal year or taxable year of the Partnership including, without limitation, if the General Partner shall so determine, a change in the definition of “Quarter” and the dates on which distributions are to be made by the Partnership;
(f) an amendment that is necessary, in the Opinion of Counsel, to prevent the Partnership or the General Partner or its directors or officers from in any manner being subjected to the provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, or “plan asset” regulations adopted under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, whether or not substantially similar to plan asset regulations currently applied or proposed by the United States Department of Labor;
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(g) subject to the terms of Sections 4.3, 6.3(b) and 6.16, an amendment that, in the sole discretion of the General Partner, is necessary or desirable in connection with the authorization for issuance of any class or series of Partnership Securities pursuant to Section 4.3;
(h) any amendment expressly permitted in this Agreement to be made by the General Partner acting alone;
(i) an amendment effected, necessitated or contemplated by a Merger Agreement approved in accordance with Section 16.3;
(j) an amendment that, in the sole discretion of the General Partner, is necessary or desirable to reflect, account for and deal with appropriately the formation by the Partnership of, or investment by the Partnership in, any corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company or other entity other than the Operating Partnership, in connection with the conduct by the Partnership of activities permitted by the terms of this Agreement; or
(k) any other amendments substantially similar to the foregoing that is made in accordance with this Agreement.
Section 15.2 Amendment Procedures. Except as provided in Sections 6.15, 6.16, 15.1, 15.3 and 15.13, all amendments to this Agreement shall be made in accordance with the following requirements. Amendments to this Agreement may be proposed only by or with the consent of the General Partner. A proposed amendment shall be effective upon its approval by the holders of at least a majority of the Outstanding Class A Units and the holders of at least a majority of the Outstanding Class B Units, unless a greater or different percentage is required under this Agreement or approvals by other Persons are required under this Agreement. Each proposed amendment that requires the approval of the holders of a specified percentage of Outstanding Class A Units or Class B Units shall be set forth in a writing that contains the text of the proposed amendment. If such an amendment is proposed, the General Partner shall seek the written approval of the requisite percentage of Outstanding Class A Units and the requisite percentage of Outstanding Class B Units or call a meeting of the holders of Class A Units and Class B Units to consider and vote on such proposed amendment. The General Partner shall notify all Record Holders upon final adoption of any such proposed amendments.
Section 15.3 Amendment Requirements.
(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 15.1 and 15.2, no provision of this Agreement that establishes a percentage of outstanding Units required to take any action shall be amended, altered, changed, repealed or rescinded in any respect that would have the effect of reducing such voting requirement unless such amendment is approved by the written consent or the affirmative vote of holders of Outstanding Units whose aggregate Outstanding Units constitute not less than the voting requirement sought to be reduced, including Section 6.15.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 15.1 and 15.2, no amendment to this Agreement may (i) enlarge the obligations of any Limited Partner without its
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consent, (ii) enlarge the obligations of the General Partner without its consent, which may be given or withheld in its sole discretion, (iii) modify the amounts distributable, reimbursable or otherwise payable to the General Partner by the Partnership or the Operating Partnership, (iv) change Section 14.1(a) or (c), (v) restrict in any way any action by or rights of the General Partner as set forth in this Agreement without its consent or (vi) change the term of the Partnership or, except as set forth in Section 14.1(c), give any Person the right to dissolve the Partnership.
(c) Except as otherwise provided, and without limitation of the General Partner’s authority to adopt amendments to this Agreement as contemplated in Section 15.1, any amendment that would have a material adverse effect on the rights or preferences of any class of Outstanding Units in relation to other classes of Units must be approved by the holders of not less than a majority of the Outstanding Units of the class affected (excluding for purposes of such determination Units owned by the General Partner and its Affiliates).
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, except for amendments pursuant to Section 6.3 or 15.1 and except as otherwise provided by Section 16.3(b), no amendments shall become effective without the approval of the holders of at least 95% of the Outstanding Class A Units unless the Partnership obtains an Opinion of Counsel to the effect that (a) such amendment will not cause the Partnership or the Operating Partnership to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise taxable as an entity for federal income tax purposes and (b) such amendment will not affect the limited liability of any Limited Partner or any limited partner of the Operating Partnership under applicable law.
(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 15.1 and 15.2, so long as any Senior Preferred Units are outstanding, no amendment to this Agreement may modify Section 6.16 or any other provision of this Agreement that impacts the rights set forth in Section 6.16 without the approval of all of the holders of Senior Preferred Units outstanding at such time
(f) This Section 15.3 shall only be amended with the approval of the holders of not less than 95% of the Outstanding Class A Units and a majority of the Class B Units Outstanding.
Section 15.4 Meetings. All acts of Limited Partners to be taken pursuant to this Agreement shall be taken in the manner provided in this Article XV. Meetings of the Limited Partners may be called by the General Partner or by Limited Partners owning 20% or more of the Outstanding Units of the class or classes for which a meeting is proposed. Limited Partners shall call a meeting by delivering to the General Partner one or more requests in writing stating that the signing Limited Partners wish to call a meeting and indicating the general or specific purposes for which the meeting is to be called. Within 60 days after receipt of such a call from Limited Partners or within such greater time as may be reasonably necessary for the Partnership to comply with any statutes, rules, regulations, listing agreements or similar requirements governing the holding of a meeting or the solicitation of proxies for use at such a meeting, the General Partner shall send a notice of the meeting to the Limited Partners either directly or indirectly through the
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Transfer Agent. A meeting shall be held at a time and place determined by the General Partner on a date not more than 60 days after the mailing of notice of the meeting. Limited Partners shall not vote on matters that would cause the Limited Partners to be deemed to be taking part in the management and control of the business and affairs of the Partnership so as to jeopardize the Limited Partners’ limited liability under the Delaware Act or the law of any other state in which the Partnership is qualified to do business.
Section 15.5 Notice of a Meeting. Notice of a meeting called pursuant to Section 15.4 shall be given to the Record Holders in writing by mail or other means of written communication in accordance with Section 18.1. The notice shall be deemed to have been given at the time when deposited in the mail or sent by other means of written communication.
Section 15.6 Record Date. For purposes of determining the Limited Partners entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of the Limited Partners or to give approvals without a meeting as provided in Section 15.11, the General Partner may set a Record Date, which shall not be less than 10 nor more than 60 days before (a) the date of the meeting (unless such requirement conflicts with any rule, regulation, guideline or requirement of any National Securities Exchange on which the Units are listed for trading, in which case the rule, regulation, guideline or requirement of such exchange shall govern) or (b) in the event that approvals are sought without a meeting, the date by which Limited Partners are requested in writing by the General Partner to give such approvals.
Section 15.7 Adjournment. When a meeting is adjourned to another time or place, notice need not be given of the adjourned meeting and a new Record Date need not be fixed, if the time and place thereof are announced at the meeting at which the adjournment is taken, unless such adjournment shall be for more than 45 days. At the adjourned meeting, the Partnership may transact any business which might have been transacted at the original meeting. If the adjournment is for more than 45 days or if a new Record Date is fixed for the adjourned meeting, a notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given in accordance with this Article XV.
Section 15.8 Waiver of Notice; Approval of Meeting; Approval of Minutes. The transactions of any meeting of Limited Partners, however called and noticed, and whenever held, shall be as valid as if had at a meeting duly held after regular call and notice, if a quorum is present either in person or by proxy, and if, either before or after the meeting, Limited Partners representing such quorum who were present in person or by proxy and entitled to vote, sign a written waiver of notice or an approval of the holding of the meeting or an approval of the minutes thereof. All waivers and approvals shall be filed with the Partnership records or made a part of the minutes of the meeting. Attendance of a Limited Partner at a meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice of the meeting, except when the Limited Partner does not approve, at the beginning of the meeting, of the transaction of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called or convened; and except that attendance at a meeting is not a waiver of any right to disapprove the consideration of matters required to be included in the notice of the meeting, but not so included, if the disapproval is expressly made at the meeting.
Section 15.9 Quorum. The holders of two thirds of the Outstanding Units of the class or classes for which a meeting has been called represented in person or by proxy shall constitute a quorum at a meeting of Limited Partners of such class or classes unless any such action by the
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Limited Partners requires approval by holders of a majority in interest of such Units, in which case the quorum shall be a majority (excluding, in either case, if such are to be excluded from the vote, Outstanding Units owned by the General Partner and its Affiliates). At any meeting of the Limited Partners duly called and held in accordance with this Agreement at which a quorum is present, the act of Limited Partners holding Outstanding Units that in the aggregate represent a majority of the Outstanding Units entitled to vote and be present in person or by proxy at such meeting shall be deemed to constitute the act of all Limited Partners, unless a greater or different percentage is required with respect to such action under the provisions of this Agreement, in which case the act of the Limited Partners holding Outstanding Units that in the aggregate represent at least such greater or different percentage shall be required. The Limited Partners present at a duly called or held meeting at which a quorum is present may continue to transact business until adjournment, notwithstanding the withdrawal of enough Limited Partners to leave less than a quorum, if any action taken (other than adjournment) is approved by the required percentage of Outstanding Units specified in this Agreement. In the absence of a quorum, any meeting of Limited Partners may be adjourned from time to time by the affirmative vote of a majority of the Outstanding Units of the class or classes for which the meeting was called represented either in person or by proxy, but no other business may be transacted, except as provided in Section 15.7.
Section 15.10 Conduct of Meeting. The General Partner shall have full power and authority concerning the manner of conducting any meeting of the Limited Partners or solicitation of approvals in writing, including, without limitation, the determination of Persons entitled to vote, the existence of a quorum, the satisfaction of the requirements of Section 15.4, the conduct of voting, the validity and effect of any proxies and the determination of any controversies, votes or challenges arising in connection with or during the meeting or voting. The General Partner shall designate a Person to serve as chairman of any meeting and shall further designate a Person to take the minutes of any meeting. All minutes shall be kept with the records of the Partnership maintained by the General Partner. The General Partner may make such other regulations consistent with applicable law and this Agreement as it may deem advisable concerning the conduct of any meeting of the Limited Partners or solicitation of approvals in writing, including, without limitation, regulations in regard to the appointment of proxies, the appointment and duties of inspectors of votes and approvals, the submission and examination of proxies and other evidence of the right to vote, and the revocation of approvals in writing.
Section 15.11 Action Without a Meeting. Any action that may be taken at a meeting of the Limited Partners may be taken without a meeting if an approval in writing setting forth the action so taken is signed by Limited Partners owning not less than the minimum percentage of the Outstanding Units that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all the Limited Partners entitled to vote thereon were present and voted. Prompt notice of the taking of action without a meeting shall be given to the Limited Partners who have not approved in writing. The General Partner may specify that any written ballot submitted to Limited Partners for the purpose of taking any action without a meeting shall be returned to the Partnership within the time period, which shall be not less than 20 days, specified by the General Partner. If a ballot returned to the Partnership does not vote all of the Units held by the Limited Partner, the Partnership shall be deemed to have failed to receive a ballot for the Units that were not voted. If approval of the taking of any action by the Limited Partners is solicited by any Person other than by or on behalf of the General Partner, the written approvals shall have no force and effect unless
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and until (a) they are deposited with the Partnership in care of the General Partner, (b) approvals sufficient to take the action proposed are dated as of a date not more than 90 days prior to the date sufficient approvals are deposited with the Partnership and (c) an Opinion of Counsel is delivered to the General Partner to the effect that the exercise of such right and the action proposed to be taken with respect to any particular matter (i) will not cause the Limited Partners to be deemed to be taking part in the management and control of the business and affairs of the Partnership so as to jeopardize the Limited Partners’ limited liability, (ii) will not jeopardize the status of the Partnership as a partnership under applicable tax laws and regulations and (iii) is otherwise permissible under the state statutes then governing the rights, duties and liabilities of the Partnership and the Partners.
Section 15.12 Voting and Other Rights.
(a) Only those Record Holders of Units on the Record Date set pursuant to Section 15.6 (and also subject to the limitations contained in the definition of “Outstanding”) shall be entitled to notice of, and to vote at, a meeting of Limited Partners or to act with respect to matters as to which the holders of the Outstanding Units have the right to vote or to act. All references in this Agreement to votes of, or other acts that may be taken by, the Outstanding Units shall be deemed to be references to the votes or acts of the Record Holders of such Outstanding Units.
(b) With respect to Units that are held for a Person’s account by another Person (such as a broker, dealer, bank, trust company or clearing corporation, or an agent of any of the foregoing), in whose name such Units are registered, such broker, dealer or other agent shall, in exercising the voting rights in respect of such Units on any matter, and unless the arrangement between such Persons provides otherwise, vote such Units in favor of, and at the direction of, the Person who is the beneficial owner, and the Partnership shall be entitled to assume it is so acting without further inquiry. The provisions of this Section 15.12(b) (as well as all other provisions of this Agreement) are subject to the provisions of Section 10.4.
(c) With respect to any vote or act that may be taken by the Record Holders of the Outstanding Class A Units as specified in this Agreement, each Outstanding Class A Unit shall be entitled to one (1) vote per that Outstanding Class A Unit. The Record Holders of the Outstanding Class A Units shall always vote together as a class upon any matter which they have the right to vote or act pursuant to this Agreement.
ARTICLE XVI
MERGER
Section 16.1 Authority. (a) Subject to Sections 4.3(f), 6.3(b), 6.15 and 6.16, the Partnership may merge or consolidate with one or more corporations, business trusts or associations, real estate investment trusts, common law trusts or unincorporated businesses, including, without limitation, a general partnership or limited partnership, formed under the laws of the State of Delaware or any other state of the United States of America, pursuant to a written agreement of merger or consolidation (“Merger Agreement”) in accordance with this Article XVI.
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Section 16.2 Procedure for Merger or Consolidation. Merger or consolidation of the Partnership pursuant to this Article XVI requires the prior approval of the General Partner. If the General Partner shall determine, in the exercise of its sole discretion, to consent to the merger or consolidation, the General Partner shall approve the Merger Agreement, which shall set forth:
(a) The names and jurisdictions of formation or organization of each of the business entities proposing to merge or consolidate;
(b) The name and jurisdictions of formation or organization of the business entity that is to survive the proposed merger or consolidation (the “Surviving Business Entity”);
(c) The terms and conditions of the proposed merger or consolidation;
(d) The manner and basis of exchanging or converting the equity securities of each constituent business entity for, or into, cash, property or general or limited partnership interests, rights, securities or obligations of the Surviving Business Entity; and (i) if any general or limited partnership interests, securities or rights of any constituent business entity are not to be exchanged or converted solely for, or into, cash, property or general or limited partnership interests, rights, securities or obligations of the Surviving Business Entity, the cash, property or general or limited partnership interests, rights, securities or obligations of any limited partnership, corporation, trust or other entity (other than the Surviving Business Entity) which the holders of such general or limited partnership interests, securities or rights are to receive in exchange for, or upon conversion of, their general or limited partnership interests, securities or rights, and (ii) in the case of securities represented by certificates, upon the surrender of such certificates, which cash, property or general or limited partnership interests, rights, securities or obligations of the Surviving Business Entity or any general or limited partnership, corporation, trust or other entity (other than the Surviving Business Entity), or evidences thereof, are to be delivered; provided, that in any merger or consolidation the consideration payable shall first be allocated in accordance with Section 5.6 as if the consideration were Available cash until the Class B Conversation Threshold has been satisfied; provided further, that following the satisfaction of the Class B Conversion Threshold, the Class B Units shall participate on an as-converted basis with the Class A Units based on the applicable Class B Conversion Factor in effect as of such time.
(e) A statement of any changes in the constituent documents or the adoption of new constituent documents (the articles or certificate of incorporation, articles of trust, declaration of trust, certificate or agreement of limited partnership or other similar charter or governing document) of the Surviving Business Entity to be effected by such merger or consolidation;
(f) The effective time of the merger, which may be the date of the filing of the certificate of merger pursuant to Section 16.4 or a later date specified in or determinable in accordance with the Merger Agreement (provided, that if the effective time of the merger is to be later than the date of the filing of the certificate of merger, the effective time shall
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be fixed no later than the time of the filing of the certificate of merger and stated therein); and
(g) Such other provisions with respect to the proposed merger or consolidation as are deemed necessary or appropriate by the General Partner.
Section 16.3 Approval by Holders of Class A Units of Merger or Consolidation.
(a) The General Partner of the Partnership, upon its approval of the Merger Agreement, shall direct that the Merger Agreement be submitted to a vote of the Limited Partners holding Class A Units whether at a meeting or by written consent, in either case in accordance with the requirements of Article XV. A copy or a summary of the Merger Agreement shall be included in or enclosed with the notice of a meeting or the written consent.
(b) The Merger Agreement shall be approved upon receiving the affirmative vote or consent of the holders of at least a majority of the Outstanding Class A Units unless the Merger Agreement contains any provision which, if contained in an amendment to this Agreement, the provisions of this Agreement or the Delaware Act would require the vote or consent of a greater percentage of the Outstanding Class A Units or of any class of Limited Partners, in which case such greater percentage vote or consent shall be required for approval of the Merger Agreement; provided that, in the case of a merger or consolidation in which the surviving entity is a corporation or other entity intended to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise taxable as an entity for federal income tax purposes, if in the opinion of the General Partner it is necessary to effect, in contemplation of such merger or consolidation, an amendment that would otherwise require a vote pursuant to Section 15.3(d), no such vote pursuant to Section 15.3(d) shall be required unless such amendment by its terms will be applicable to the Partnership in the event the merger or consolidation is abandoned or unless such amendment will be applicable to the Partnership during a period in excess of ten days prior to the merger or consolidation.
(c) After such approval by vote or consent of the holders of the Class A Units, and at any time prior to the filing of the certificate of merger pursuant to Section 16.4, the merger or consolidation may be abandoned pursuant to provisions therefor, if any, set forth in the Merger Agreement.
Section 16.4 Certificate of Merger. Upon the required approval by the General Partner and the Limited Partners of a Merger Agreement, a certificate of merger shall be executed and filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware in conformity with the requirements of the Delaware Act.
Section 16.5 Effect of Merger.
(a) At the effective time of the certificate of merger:
(i) all of the rights, privileges and powers of each of the business entities that has merged or consolidated, and all property, real, personal and mixed, and all debts due
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to any of those business entities and all other things and causes of action belonging to each of those business entities shall be vested in the Surviving Business Entity and after the merger or consolidation shall be the property of the Surviving Business Entity to the extent they were of each constituent business entity;
(ii) the title to any real property vested by deed or otherwise in any of those constituent business entities shall not revert and is not in any way impaired because of the merger or consolidation;
(iii) all rights of creditors and all liens on or security interests in property of any of those constituent business entities shall be preserved unimpaired; and
(iv) all debts, liabilities and duties of those constituent business entities shall attach to the Surviving Business Entity, and may be enforced against it to the same extent as if the debts, liabilities and duties had been incurred or contracted by it.
(b) A merger or consolidation effected pursuant to this Article shall not be deemed to result in a transfer or assignment of assets or liabilities from one entity to another having occurred.
ARTICLE XVII
RIGHT TO ACQUIRE UNITS
Section 17.1 Right to Acquire Units.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement (other than Section 6.3(b) and Section 6.15), if at any time not more than 20% of the total Units of any class (other than the Class B Units) then Outstanding are held by Persons other than the General Partner and its Affiliates, the General Partner shall have the right, which right it may assign and transfer to the Partnership or any Affiliate of the General Partner, exercisable in its sole discretion, to purchase all, but not less than all, of the Units of such class then Outstanding held by Persons other than the General Partner and its Affiliates, at the greater of (x) the Current Market Price as of the date three days prior to the date that the notice described in Section 17.1(b) is mailed, and (y) the highest cash price paid by the General Partner or any of its Affiliates for any such Unit purchased during the 90 day period preceding the date that the notice described in Section 17.1(b) is mailed.
(b) If the General Partner, any Affiliate of the General Partner or the Partnership elects to exercise the right to purchase Units granted pursuant to Section 17.1(a), the General Partner shall deliver to the Transfer Agent notice of such election to purchase (the “Notice of Election to Purchase”) and shall cause the Transfer Agent to mail a copy of such Notice of Election to Purchase to the Record Holders of Units (as of a Record Date selected by the General Partner) at least 10, but not more than 60, days prior to the Purchase Date. Such Notice of Election to Purchase shall also be published for a period of at least three consecutive days in at least two daily newspapers of general circulation printed in the English language and published in the Borough of Manhattan, New York. The Notice of Election to Purchase shall specify the Purchase Date and the price (determined in accordance with Section 17.1(a)) at which Units will be purchased
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and state that the General Partner, its Affiliate or the Partnership, as the case may be, elects to purchase such Units, upon surrender of Certificates representing such Units in exchange for payment, at such office or offices of the Transfer Agent as the Transfer Agent may specify, or as may be required by any National Securities Exchange on which the Units are listed or admitted to trading. Any such Notice of Election to Purchase mailed to a Record Holder of Units at his address as reflected in the records of the Transfer Agent shall be conclusively presumed to have been given whether or not the owner receives such notice. On or prior to the Purchase Date, the General Partner, its Affiliate or the Partnership, as the case may be, shall deposit with the Transfer Agent cash in an amount sufficient to pay the aggregate purchase price of all of the Units to be purchased in accordance with this Section 17.1. If the Notice of Election to Purchase shall have been duly given as aforesaid at least 10 days prior to the Purchase Date, and if on or prior to the Purchase Date the deposit described in the preceding sentence has been made for the benefit of the holders of Units subject to purchase as provided herein, then from and after the Purchase Date, notwithstanding that any Certificate shall not have been surrendered for purchase, all rights of the holders of such Units (including, without limitation, any rights pursuant to Articles IV, V and XIV) shall thereupon cease, except the right to receive the purchase price (determined in accordance with Section 17.1(a)) for Units therefor, without interest, upon surrender to the Transfer Agent of the Certificates representing such Units, and such Units shall thereupon be deemed to be transferred to the General Partner, its Affiliate or the Partnership, as the case may be, on the record books of the Transfer Agent and the Partnership, and the General Partner or any Affiliate of the General Partner, or the Partnership, as the case may be, shall be deemed to be the owner of all such Units from and after the Purchase Date and shall have all rights as the owner of such Units (including, without limitation, all rights as owner of such Units pursuant to Articles IV, V and XIV).
(c) At any time from and after the Purchase Date, a holder of an Outstanding Unit subject to purchase as provided in this Section 17.1 may surrender his Certificate, as the case may be, evidencing such Unit to the Transfer Agent in exchange for payment of the amount described in Section 17.1(a), therefor, without interest thereon.
ARTICLE XVIII
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 18.1 Addresses and Notices. Any notice, demand, request, report or proxy materials required or permitted to be given or made to a Partner or Assignee under this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed given or made when delivered in person or when sent by first class United States mail or by other means of written communication to the Partner or Assignee at the address described below. Any notice, payment or report to be given or made to a Partner or Assignee hereunder shall be deemed conclusively to have been given or made, and the obligation to give such notice or report or to make such payment shall be deemed conclusively to have been fully satisfied, upon sending of such notice, payment or report to the Record Holder of such Unit at his address as shown on the records of the Transfer Agent or as otherwise shown on the records of the Partnership, regardless of any claim of any Person who may have an interest in such Unit or the Partnership Interest of a General Partner by reason of any assignment or otherwise. An affidavit or certificate of making of any notice, payment or report in
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accordance with the provisions of this Section 18.1 executed by the General Partner, the Transfer Agent or the mailing organization shall be prima facie evidence of the giving or making of such notice, payment or report. If any notice, payment or report addressed to a Record Holder at the address of such Record Holder appearing on the books and records of the Transfer Agent or the Partnership is returned by the United States Post Office marked to indicate that the United States Postal Service is unable to deliver it, such notice, payment or report and any subsequent notices, payments and reports shall be deemed to have been duly given or made without further mailing (until such time as such Record Holder or another Person notifies the Transfer Agent or the Partnership of a change in his address) if they are available for the Partner or Assignee at the principal office of the Partnership for a period of one year from the date of the giving or making of such notice, payment or report to the other Partners and Assignees. Any notice to the Partnership shall be deemed given if received by the General Partner at the principal office of the Partnership designated pursuant to Section 1.3. The General Partner may rely and shall be protected in relying on any notice or other document from a Partner, Assignee or other Person if believed by it to be genuine.
Section 18.2 References. Except as specifically provided otherwise, references to “Articles” and “Sections” are to Articles and Sections of this Agreement.
Section 18.3 Pronouns and Plurals. Whenever the context may require, any pronoun used in this Agreement shall include the corresponding masculine, feminine or neuter forms, and the singular form of nouns, pronouns and verbs shall include the plural and vice versa.
Section 18.4 Further Action. The parties shall execute and deliver all documents, provide all information and take or refrain from taking action as may be necessary or appropriate to achieve the purposes of this Agreement.
Section 18.5 Binding Effect. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their heirs, executors, administrators, successors, legal representatives and permitted assigns.
Section 18.6 Integration. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement among the parties hereto pertaining to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings pertaining thereto.
Section 18.7 Creditors. None of the provisions of this Agreement shall be for the benefit of, or shall be enforceable by, any creditor of the Partnership.
Section 18.8 Waiver. No failure by any party to insist upon the strict performance of any covenant, duty, agreement or condition of this Agreement or to exercise any right or remedy consequent upon a breach thereof shall constitute waiver of any such breach or any other covenant, duty, agreement or condition.
Section 18.9 Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts, all of which together shall constitute an agreement binding on all the parties hereto, notwithstanding that all such parties are not signatories to the original or the same counterpart. Each party shall become bound by this Agreement immediately upon affixing its signature hereto or, in the case of a Person acquiring a Unit, upon accepting the certificate evidencing such Unit or executing and
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delivering a Transfer Application as herein described, independently of the signature of any other party.
Section 18.10 Applicable Law. This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to the principles of conflicts of law.
Section 18.11 Invalidity of Provisions. If any provision of this Agreement is or becomes invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions contained herein shall not be affected thereby.
Section 18.12 Consent to Electronic Notice. Each party consents to the delivery of any notice pursuant to the Delaware Act, by electronic transmission pursuant to Section 17-113 of the Delaware Act at the electronic mail address or the facsimile number as on the books of Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. To the extent that any notice given by means of electronic transmission is returned as undeliverable, the foregoing consent shall be deemed to have been revoked until a new or corrected electronic mail address has been provided, and such attempted electronic notice shall be ineffective and deemed to not have been given. Each party agrees to promptly notify Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. of any change in such party’s electronic mail address, and that failure to do so shall not affect the foregoing.
Section 18.13 Plan–Related Mergers. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, consummation of the following Plan-related mergers shall not consummate a breach or violation of this Agreement: (i) merger of FG Operating Finance Escrow Corp. with and into Ferrellgas Finance Corp.; (ii) merger of Ferrellgas Escrow, LLC with and into Ferrellgas, L.P.; and (iii) merger of each of Ferrellgas XX XX, LLC and Ferrellgas GP III, LLC with and into Ferrellgas, Inc.
Section 18.14 Side Letters. The Partnership on behalf of itself and its subsidiaries represents that none of them has entered into any separate agreements or side letters related to or modifying this Agreement, the other Partnership organizational documents, the Operating Partnership Agreement, the other Operating Partnership organization documents or any amendments to the foregoing, other than those listed on Schedule III of the First Amendment to the Operating Partnership Agreement.
Section 18.15 Intended Beneficiaries. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, the holders of New Senior Preferred Units of the Operating Partnership are intended beneficiaries of this Agreement.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.
| GENERAL PARTNER: | |
| | |
| FERRELLGAS, INC. | |
| | |
| By: | /s/ Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx |
| Name: | Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx |
| Title: | President and Chief |
| LIMITED PARTNERS: | |
| | |
| All Limited Partners now and hereafter | |
| | |
| By: | FERRELLGAS, INC. General Partner, as attorney-in-fact for all Limited Partners pursuant to the Powers of Attorney granted pursuant to Section 1.4. |
| |
| | |
| By: | /s/ Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx |
| Name: | Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx |
| Title: | President and Chief |
Sixth Amended and Restated LP Agreement of Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. Signature Page
EXHIBIT A
to the Sixth Amended and Restated Agreement of
Limited Partnership of
FERRELLGAS PARTNERS, L.P.
Certificate Evidencing Class A Units
Representing Limited Partner Interests
FERRELLGAS PARTNERS, L.P.
No. ___ Units
FERRELLGAS, INC., a Delaware corporation, as the General Partner of FERRELLGAS PARTNERS, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (the “Partnership”), hereby certifies that ________________ (the “Holder”) is the registered owner of ___ Class A Units representing limited partner interests in the Partnership (the “Units”) transferable on the books of the Partnership, in person or by duly authorized attorney, upon surrender of this Certificate properly endorsed and accompanied by a properly executed application for transfer of the Units represented by this Certificate. The rights, preferences and limitations of the Units are set forth in, and this Certificate and the Units represented hereby are issued and shall in all respects be subject to the terms and provisions of, the Sixth Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of FERRELLGAS PARTNERS, L.P., as amended, supplemented or restated from time to time (the “Partnership Agreement”). Copies of the Partnership Agreement are on file at, and will be furnished without charge on delivery of written request to the Partnership at, the principal office of the Partnership located at Xxx Xxxxxxx Xxxxx, Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx 00000. Capitalized terms used herein but not defined shall have the meaning given them in the Partnership Agreement.
The Holder, by accepting this Certificate, is deemed to have (i) requested admission as, and agreed to become, a Limited Partner and to have agreed to comply with and be bound by and to have executed the Partnership Agreement, (ii) represented and warranted that the Holder has all right, power and authority and, if an individual, the capacity necessary to enter into the Partnership Agreement, (iii) granted the powers of attorney provided for in the Partnership Agreement and (iv) made the waivers and given the consents and approvals contained in the Partnership Agreement.
Page 1 of Exhibit A
This Certificate shall not be valid for any purpose unless it has been countersigned and registered by the Transfer Agent and Registrar.
Dated: | |
| | |
Countersigned and Registered by: | | FERRELLGAS, INC., | ||
| | as General Partner | ||
| | | ||
| | By: | | |
Transfer Agent and Registrar | | | President | |
| | | ||
| | By: | | |
Authorized Signature | | | Secretary |
Page 2 of Exhibit B
[Reverse of Certificate]
ABBREVIATIONS
The following abbreviations, when used in the inscription on the face of this Certificate, shall be construed as follows according to applicable laws or regulations:
TEN COM | - | as tenants in common | UNIF GIFT MIN ACT- |
TEN ENT | - | as tenants by the entireties | Custodian |
JT TEN | - | as joint tenants with right of survivorship and not as tenants in common | (Cust) (Minor) |
| | | State |
Additional abbreviations, though not in the above list, may also be used.
Page 3 of Exhibit B
FOR VALUE RECEIVED, ______________ hereby assigns, conveys, sells and transfers unto
|
| |
(Please print or typewrite name and address | | (Please insert Social Security or other |
Units representing limited partner interests evidenced by this Certificate, subject to the Partnership Agreement, and does hereby irrevocably constitute and appoint _________________ as its attorney-in-fact with full power of substitution to transfer the same on the books of Ferrellgas Partners, L.P.
Date: | NOTE: The signature to any endorsement |
SIGNATURE(S) MUST BE |
| |
GUARANTEED BY A MEMBER FIRM | | |
OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF | | (Signature) |
SECURITIES DEALERS, INC. OR BY A | | |
COMMERCIAL BANK OR TRUST | | (Signature) |
COMPANY | | |
| | |
SIGNATURE(S) GUARANTEED | | |
No transfer of the Units evidenced hereby will be registered on the books of the Partnership, unless the Certificate evidencing the Units to be transferred is surrendered for registration or transfer and an Application for Transfer of Units has been executed by a transferee either (a) on the form set forth below or (b) on a separate application that the Partnership will furnish on request without charge. A transferor of the Units shall have no duty to the transferee with respect to execution of the transfer application in order for such transferee to obtain registration of the transfer of the Units.
_____________________________________________________
Page 4 of Exhibit B
APPLICATION FOR TRANSFER OF UNITS
The undersigned (“Assignee”) hereby applies for transfer to the name of the Assignee of the Units evidenced hereby.
The Assignee (a) requests admission as a Substituted Limited Partner and agrees to comply with and be bound by, and hereby executes, the Sixth Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. (the “Partnership”), as amended, supplemented or restated to the date hereof (the “Partnership Agreement”), (b) represents and warrants that the Assignee has all right, power and authority and, if an individual, the capacity necessary to enter into the Partnership Agreement, (c) grants the powers of attorney provided for in the Partnership Agreement and (d) makes the waivers and gives the consents and approvals contained in the Partnership Agreement.
Capitalized terms not defined herein have the meanings assigned to such terms in the Partnership Agreement.
Date: | |
| |
| | Signature of Assignee | |
| | | |
| | | |
Social Security or other identifying number | | Name and Address of Assignee | |
| | | |
| | | |
Purchase Price | | |
Type of Entity (check one) | | |
_____ Individual | _____ Partnership | _____ Corporation |
_____ Trust | _____ Other (specify) | |
Nationality (Check One): | | |
_____ U.S. Citizen, Resident or Domestic Entity ____ | ||
_____ Foreign Corporation, or _____ Non-resident alien |
If the U.S. Citizen, Resident or Domestic Entity box is checked, the following certification must be completed.
Under Section 1445(e) and Section 1446(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), the Partnership must withhold tax with respect to certain transfers of property if a holder of an interest in the Partnership is a foreign person. To inform the
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Partnership that no withholding is required with respect to the undersigned interest holder’s interest in it, the undersigned hereby certifies the following (or, if applicable, certifies the following on behalf of the interest holder).
Complete Either A or B:
A. | Individual Interest Holder | |
| 1. | I am not a non-resident alien for purposes of U.S. income taxation. |
| 2. | My U.S. taxpayer identifying number (Social Security Number) is |
| 3. | My home address is |
| | |
B. | Partnership, Corporate or Other Interest-Holder | |
| 1. | ___________________________________________ is not a |
| foreign corporation, foreign partnership, foreign trust or foreign estate (as those terms are defined in the Code and Treasury Regulations). | |
| 2. | The interest-holder’s U.S. employer identification number is |
| | |
| 3. | The interest-holder’s office address and place of incorporation (if applicable) is |
The interest-holder agrees to notify the Partnership within 60 days of the date the interest-holder becomes a foreign person.
The interest-holder understands that this certificate may be disclosed to the Internal Revenue Service by the Partnership and that any false statement contained herein could be punishable by fine, imprisonment or both.
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Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this certification and to the best of my knowledge and belief it is true, correct and complete and, if applicable, I further declare that I have authority to sign this document on behalf of
|
(Name of Interest-Holder) |
|
|
Signature and Date |
|
|
Title (if applicable) |
Note: If the Assignee is a broker, dealer, bank, trust company, clearing corporation, other nominee holder or an agent of any of the foregoing, and is holding for the account of any other person, this application should be completed by an officer thereof or, in the case of a broker or dealer, by a registered representative who is a member of a registered national securities exchange or a member of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., or, in the case of any other nominee holder, a person performing a similar function. If the Assignee is a broker, dealer, bank trust company, clearing corporation, other nominee owner or an agent of any of the foregoing, the above certification as to any person for whom the Assignee will hold the Units shall be made to the best of the Assignee’s knowledge.
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