AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO TRANSACTION AGREEMENT
Exhibit 2.1
Execution
Copy
AMENDMENT
NO. 1 TO TRANSACTION AGREEMENT
This
AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO TRANSACTION AGREEMENT (this “Amendment”), dated as of
September 28, 2009, is entered into among PARIS RE Holdings Limited, a Swiss
corporation (the “Company”), PartnerRe Ltd., a
Bermuda exempted company (“Parent”), and PartnerRe Holdings II Switzerland GmbH,
a Swiss GmbH (“Purchaser”).
W
I T N E S S E T H :
WHEREAS,
each of the Company, Parent and Purchaser are parties to that certain
Transaction Agreement dated as of July 4, 2009 (the “Transaction Agreement”) that
contemplates, among other things, Purchaser making, as promptly as practicable
after the Closing, the Offer for all of the outstanding Company Shares and
Company Warrants not owned by Purchaser and, provided that Purchaser and its
Affiliates own at least 90% of the outstanding Company Shares following
consummation of the Offer, the merger of the Company with and into Purchaser as
soon as practicable thereafter;
WHEREAS,
the parties to the Transaction Agreement desire to amend the Transaction
Agreement to, among other things, eliminate the requirement that Purchaser make
the Offer following the Closing, and instead provide for the acquisition of the
remaining outstanding Company Shares not owned by Purchaser and its Affiliates
following the Closing by means of a merger of the Company with and into
Purchaser in each case on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in
this Amendment; and
WHEREAS,
in accordance with Section
11.03 of the Transaction Agreement, the parties hereto wish to effect the
amendments to the Transaction Agreement provided hereunder.
NOW,
THEREFORE, the
Transaction Agreement is amended as follows:
1. Definitions;
References. All capitalized terms used herein, unless
otherwise defined herein, shall have the meanings given them in the Transaction
Agreement, and each reference in the Transaction Agreement to “this Agreement”,
“hereof”, “herein”, “hereunder” or “hereby” and each other similar reference
shall be deemed to refer to the Transaction Agreement as amended hereby. Each
reference to the “the date hereof”, “the date of this Agreement” and each other
similar reference contained in the Transaction Agreement shall refer to July 4,
2009.
2. The Offer. Notwithstanding
anything in the Transaction Agreement to the contrary, Purchaser shall be under
no obligation to commence the Offer or
file the
Offer with the AMF, and none of the Company, Parent or Purchaser shall be under
any obligation to take, or cause to be taken, any actions to consummate the
Offer. Without limiting the foregoing:
(a) Each of
Sections 2.01, 2.02(a) and 2.02(c) shall be deemed inapplicable and of no
further force and effect, and none of the Company, Parent or Purchaser, as the
case may be, shall have any obligations thereunder.
(b) References
to the “Offer” in Sections 2.03(i) and 2.04 shall be disregarded and deemed
inapplicable.
(c) References
to the “Reply Document”, “Offering Documents” and the “Offer Documents” in
Sections 6.08(c), 6.08(e), 9.01 and 9.04 shall be disregarded and deemed
inapplicable.
3. The Tangible Book Value Per Share
Adjustment.
(a) Notwithstanding
anything in Section 2.06 of the Transaction Agreement to the contrary, but
subject to clause (b) below:
(i) the
“Measurement Date” shall be September 25, 2009;
(ii) each of
Parent and the Company shall deliver its Tangible Book Value Per Share Estimate,
the accompanying Tangible Book Value Per Share Statement and the other
supporting information described in Section 2.06(a) of the Transaction Agreement
no later than 5:30 p.m., New York time, on September 28, 2009; provided, however, that the
Company shall have until 5:00 p.m., New York time, on September 29, 2009 to
deliver its reconciliations contemplated by the third sentence of Section
2.06(a)(i); and
(iii) the
five-Business-Day period referenced in the proviso in Section 2.06(c) of the
Transaction Agreement shall instead be deemed to refer to the period commencing
on the date that the Tangible Book Value Per Share Estimates have both been
delivered and ending at 5:00 p.m., New York time, on October 1,
2009.
(b) Clause
(a) of this Section 3
shall be inapplicable if:
(i) the date
that would have been the Measurement Date absent clause (a) above (the “Non-Accelerated Measurement
Date”) shall not have occurred prior to October 9, 2009, or such other
date as the parties may agree to in writing;
2
(ii) any party
notifies the other party in writing that it is electing to exercise its right to
submit the determination of either or both of the parties’ Tangible Book Values
Per Share to the Accounting Referee pursuant to, and subject to the limitations
set forth in, Section 2.06(c) of the Transaction Agreement; or
(iii) any event
of the type described in Section 2.06(a)(ii) of the Transaction Agreement shall
have occurred after the date of this Amendment but within 30 days prior to the
Non-Accelerated Measurement Date that would give a party the right to elect to
designate a Deferred Delivery Date in accordance with Section 2.06(a)(ii) of the
Transaction Agreement in the absence of clause (a) of this Section 3,
and either the Company or Parent elects, by delivering written notice thereof to
the other party at any time prior to the Non-Accelerated Measurement Date, that
clause (a) of this Section 3
shall be deemed inapplicable (the occurrence of any event specified in clause
(i), (ii) or (iii), a “Non-Acceleration
Event”).
Upon the
occurrence of a Non-Acceleration Event, the provisions of Section 2.06 of the
Transaction Agreement shall apply, and the parties shall comply with such
provisions (including causing the Tangible Book Value Per Share Estimates and
other accompanying statements and information to be delivered in accordance
with, and in the time specified by, such Section), without regard to this
Section 3. For
the avoidance of doubt, the foregoing sentence shall apply irrespective of
whether any party shall have previously delivered a Tangible Book Value Per
Share Estimate pursuant to clause (a) above or whether any party or both
parties’ Tangible Book Value Per Share shall have become final and binding based
on any estimate previously delivered pursuant to clause (a) above.
4. The Merger.
(a) Section
3.01 of the Transaction Agreement is hereby amended and restated in its entirety
as follows:
“Section 3.01. The
Merger. (a) The parties hereto agree that Purchaser
and the Company shall, as soon as practicable after the Closing, enter into and
execute, a merger agreement substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit D (the “Merger Agreement”), pursuant
to which the Company shall be merged (the “Merger”) with and into
Purchaser, with each outstanding Company Share not owned by Parent, any of its
Affiliates, the Company or any of its Subsidiaries being exchanged for the right
to receive the Per Share Consideration, and upon effectiveness of the Merger the
separate existence of the Company shall cease and Purchaser shall be the
Surviving Company. The
3
time at
which the Merger is effective is referred to as the “Effective
Time”. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this
Agreement or the Merger Agreement, no party shall be obligated to consummate the
Merger until such time as the Parent Shares have been listed on Euronext
Paris.
(b) The
parties hereto agree to take, or cause to be taken, all actions reasonably
necessary so that the Merger can be effected as soon as reasonably practicable
after the Closing in accordance with the requirements of the Swiss Federal Law
on Merger, De-Merger, Conversion and Transfer of Assets and Liabilities (the
“Swiss Merger Act”),
including (i), in the case of the Company, (A) instructing, and taking all steps
necessary to allow, the Independent Auditor to audit and verify as soon as
reasonably practicable the Company’s interim balance sheet for the nine months
ended September 30, 2009 or such other period reasonably designated by Parent,
and (B) informing and (if required under the Swiss Merger Act) consulting with
the Company’s employees, (ii) preparing as promptly as practicable a joint
merger report of the Company and Purchaser, (iii) instructing, and taking all
steps necessary to allow, the Independent Auditor or such other Person selected
by Parent, as the licensed audit expert under the Swiss Merger Act, (x) to
prepare and deliver a merger audit report stating that the compensation paid
under the Merger Agreement to the Company’s shareholders is justifiable and (y)
to audit and verify the joint merger report referred to in the foregoing clause
(ii) and (iv) preparing and filing such documents as are necessary for a listing
of Parent’s common shares on Euronext Paris, in the case of each of clauses (i)
through (iii), in a manner that complies with the Swiss Merger Act.
(c) The
Company shall (and following the Closing, Parent shall cause the Company to) (i)
duly call and convene a meeting of its shareholders (the “Merger Approval Meeting”) as
soon as reasonably practicable after the Closing for the purpose of voting on
the approval and adoption of the Merger Agreement and the Merger, (ii) inform
and (if required under the Swiss Merger Act) consult with the Company’s
employees, and (iii) inform the Company’s shareholders of their right to inspect
the Merger Agreement, the joint merger report, the merger audit report and the
financial statements. Subject to Section 7.06, the Company Board
shall (i) recommend approval and adoption of the Merger Agreement and the Merger
by the Company’s shareholders, (ii) use its reasonable best efforts to obtain
the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 90% of the outstanding Company
Shares in favor of the Merger Agreement and the Merger in order to approve the
Merger Agreement and the Merger in accordance with the
4
Swiss
Merger Act (such affirmative vote, the “Requisite Merger Approval”)
and (iii) otherwise comply with all legal requirements applicable to such
meeting. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Merger
Agreement and the Merger shall be submitted to the Company’s shareholders at the
Merger Approval Meeting whether or not an Adverse Company Recommendation Change
shall have occurred.
(d) Without
limiting the foregoing, Parent and the Company agree to use commercially
reasonable efforts to ensure, and reasonably cooperate with the goal of ensuring
as soon as possible after the date of Amendment No. 1 to this Agreement, that
the Merger Confirmation Date will occur and the Requisite Merger Approval will
be obtained. For the avoidance of doubt, commercially
reasonable efforts shall in no event require Parent to offer consideration or
other terms different from those previously offered to Company shareholders that
have committed prior to the date of Amendment No. 1 to this Agreement to sell
their Company Shares to Purchaser at or simultaneously with the
Closing. The first date on which Purchaser and its Affiliates have
acquired, entered into binding, unconditional commitments to acquire, and/or
obtained irrevocable, unconditional voting commitments in respect of, a number
of Company Shares that, when aggregated with all Company Shares then owned or
previously committed to be acquired without condition by Purchaser or any of its
Affiliates or over which Purchaser or any of its Affiliates has previously
obtained irrevocable, unconditional voting commitments, would ensure that the
Requisite Merger Approval would be obtained at the Merger Approval Meeting
without the affirmative vote or approval of any holder of Company Shares other
than Purchaser, its Affiliates and any holder voting its Company Shares as
required pursuant to any such voting commitments, shall be the “Merger Confirmation
Date”. Each party shall keep the other reasonably informed as
Company Shares or such commitments are so obtained and shall in any event
promptly notify the other of the occurrence of the Merger Confirmation
Date.”
(b) Exhibit D to the
Transaction Agreement is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as Exhibit D to this
Amendment.
5. Post-Closing Dividend
Adjustment. Section 2.07 of the Transaction Agreement is
hereby amended and restated in its entirety as follows:
“Section
2.07. Post-Closing
Dividend Adjustment. If Parent shall declare a cash dividend
or other cash distribution on the Parent Shares with a record date on or after
the Closing Date (as defined in the Securities Purchase Agreement) and prior to
the Effective Time, then the Per Share
5
Consideration
shall be adjusted upwards by an amount equal to (a) the U.S. dollar amount of
such dividend or distribution paid by Parent with respect to a Parent Share times (b) the Per Share
Consideration (after giving effect to any prior adjustment) divided by (c) the Market
Value (with the 20-day trading period set forth in the definition thereof
decreased to five trading days) of a Parent Share as of the record date with
respect to such cash dividend or other cash distribution.”
6. Treatment of Company Options Held by
French Participants:
(a) Section
3.02(b) and Section 3.02(c) of the Transaction Agreement shall be renumbered as
Sections 3.02(c) and Section 3.02(d), respectively, and all references therein
to “the Per Share Consideration, rounded up” shall instead be deemed to refer to
“the Per Share Consideration, rounded down”.
(b) The
following provision shall be added as Section 3.02(b) of the Transaction
Agreement:
“(b) Company Options Held by French
Participants—Alternative Provision. Notwithstanding Section 3.02(a) of
the Transaction Agreement, in the event that, prior to the Effective Time, the
French tax administration recognizes the tax neutrality of a rollover of Company
Options held by French Participants into Parent Options (as defined below) upon
the Merger, each Company Option granted under a Company Stock Plan and held by a
French Participant, whether vested or unvested, that is outstanding immediately
prior to the Effective Time shall cease to represent a right to acquire Company
Shares and shall be converted, at the Effective Time, into an option to purchase
Parent Shares on the same contractual terms and conditions (including
date of grant) as were applicable under such Company Option (but taking into
account any changes thereto, including any acceleration thereof, provided for in
the relevant Company Stock Plan, or in the related award document by reason of
the transactions contemplated hereby, including any adjustment of the
corresponding rights in order to reflect the Share Capital Repayment as may be
required by the mandatory provisions set forth by French law). The
number of Parent Shares subject to each such Parent Option shall be equal to the
number of Company Shares subject to each such Company Option multiplied by the Per Share
Consideration, rounded down, if necessary, to the nearest whole Parent Share,
and such Parent Option shall have an exercise price per share (rounded up to the
nearest one-hundredth of a dollar) equal to the per share exercise price
specified in such Company Option divided by the Per Share
Consideration.”
6
(c) For the
avoidance of doubt, for the purpose of Sections 3.02(a) to 3.02(d) of the
Transaction Agreement, it is agreed that a Company Option is an option to
subscribe for, or acquire, Company Shares which was granted to a relevant
employee under the Company Stock Plan, each Company Option enabling such
employee to subscribe for, or acquire, part or all of the number of Company
Shares mentioned in the relevant award document issued pursuant to the Company
Stock Plan. Similarly, a Company RSU is a right of any kind, contingent or
accrued, to receive Company Shares which was granted to a relevant employee
under the Company Stock Plan, each Company RSU enabling such employee to receive
the number of Company Shares mentioned in the relevant award document issued
pursuant to the Company Stock Plan. To the extent that there are
Company Options or Company RSUs that have been granted pursuant to multiple
award documents with the same terms and conditions (including, where applicable,
the exercise price, date of grant, expiration date and vesting provisions), such
Company Options or Company RSUs, respectively, shall be considered to be granted
pursuant to one award document.
7. Company
Authorization. Section 4.02 of the Transaction Agreement is
hereby amended as follows:
(a) Clause
(x) of the first sentence of Section 4.02(a) shall be disregarded and deemed
inapplicable.
(b) Section
4.02(b) of the Transaction Agreement is hereby amended and restated in its
entirety as follows:
“(b) At
one or more meetings duly called and held, the Company Board has (i) unanimously
determined that this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby are fair
to and in the best interest of the Company and its shareholders, (ii)
unanimously approved, adopted and declared advisable this Agreement and the
transactions contemplated hereby, including payment of the Share Capital
Repayment and (iii) unanimously recommended that, if the Merger were to be
approved by the Company’s shareholders on September 23, 2009, the date the
Company Board approved Amendment No. 1 to the Transaction Agreement, in
accordance with the terms of the Merger Agreement, the Company’s shareholders
adopt and approve the Merger (such recommendation, the “Company Board
Recommendation”).”
8. No
Solicitation. Section 7.06 of the Transaction Agreement is
hereby amended as follows:
7
(a) Clause
(iii) of the first sentence of Section 7.06(a) of the Transaction Agreement is
hereby amended and restated in its entirety as follows:
“(iii)
withdraw or modify in a manner adverse to Parent the Company Board
Recommendation (or recommend a Company Acquisition Proposal or take any action
or make any statement inconsistent with the Company Board Recommendation) (any
of the foregoing in this clause (iii), an “Adverse Company Recommendation
Change”),”
(b) Clause
(y) of Section 7.06(d)(iii) of the Transaction Agreement shall be disregarded
and deemed inapplicable.
9. Stock Exchange
Listing. Section 8.10 of the Transaction Agreement is hereby
amended and restated in its entirety as follows:
“Section
8.10. Stock Exchange
Listing. Parent shall use its reasonable best efforts to cause
the Parent Shares (a) to be listed on Euronext Paris prior to the Effective
Time, and (b) to be issued in the Purchase and the Merger to be approved for
listing on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”), subject to official
notice of issuance, prior to the Closing.
10. Parent
S-4. Notwithstanding anything in the Transaction Agreement to
the contrary, for so long as the issuance of the Parent Shares in connection
with the Merger would reasonably be expected to be exempt from the registration
requirements of the 1933 Act pursuant to the exemption provided by Rule 802
thereunder or otherwise, Parent shall be under no obligation to file the S-4 and
all references to the “S-4” in the Transaction Agreement shall be disregarded
and deemed inapplicable.
11. Share Capital
Repayment. Section 9.03 of the Transaction Agreement is hereby
amended as follows:
(a) A new
sentence is hereby added to the end of Section 9.03(c) of the Transaction
Agreement and shall read in full as follows:
“If the
full amount of the Share Capital Repayment has not been paid immediately prior
to the Closing, Parent shall, and shall cause the Company to, use its reasonable
best efforts (subject to the proviso in Section 9.03(c)) to cause all applicable
SCR Pre-Conditions to be satisfied as soon as reasonably possible so that the
Share Capital Repayment (or any remaining portion thereof) can be paid as soon
as reasonably possible in accordance with the provisions of Section
9.03(d).”
8
(b) Section
9.03(d) of the Transaction Agreement is hereby amended and restated in its
entirety as follows:
“(d) Post-Closing
Funding. If the full amount of the Share Capital Repayment has
not been paid immediately prior to the Closing, Parent shall cause the Company
to pay (x) the full Share Capital Repayment less (y) any portion thereof
previously paid pursuant to Section 9.03(b)(ii) (the difference between (x) and
(y), the “Final SCR Payment
Amount”) at the earlier of (A) immediately prior to the Effective Time
and (B) the fourth Business Day following the later to occur of (1) the date on
which all applicable SCR Pre-Conditions to pay the Final SCR Payment Amount have
been satisfied (including the receipt by the Company of sufficient funds to pay
the Final SCR Payment Amount) and (2) the Merger Confirmation Date (the earlier
of (A) or (B), the “Final SCR
Payment Time”) as follows:
(i) If
all applicable SCR Pre-Conditions have been satisfied to pay the Final SCR
Payment Amount as of immediately prior to the Final SCR Payment Time, Parent
shall cause the Company to pay the Final SCR Payment Amount in accordance with
the SCR Step Plan at the Final SCR Payment Time; and
(ii) If
all applicable SCR Pre-Conditions to pay the Final SCR Payment Amount continue
not to be satisfied as of immediately prior to the Final SCR Payment Time,
Parent shall cause the Company to pay the Final SCR Payment Amount as
follows:
(A) Parent
shall use its reasonable best efforts (subject to the proviso in Section
9.03(c)) to cause the Company’s Subsidiaries to pay, transfer or otherwise
distribute to the Company prior to the Final SCR Payment Time the maximum amount
of funds that can reasonably be so paid, transferred or distributed to the
Company prior to such time in order to fund the Final SCR Payment Amount in
accordance with the SCR Step Plan (as such plan may be amended after the Closing
with the approval of the Independent Directors) and Applicable Law;
(B) after
giving effect to the payments, transfers and distributions contemplated by the
foregoing clause (A), Parent shall lend, or cause one of its Subsidiaries to
lend, PARIS RE Holdings France S.A. on the terms set forth in Exhibit F
9
hereto
(such loan, the “SCR
Intercompany Loan”) the difference between (x) the Final SCR Payment
Amount and (y) the amount of funds held by the Company that can be legally
applied to pay the Final SCR Payment Amount at such time;
(C) following
the receipt of the proceeds of the SCR Intercompany Loan, PARIS RE Holdings
France S.A. shall use such proceeds to repay all or a portion of the outstanding
balances of the intercompany loans owed by PARIS RE Holdings France S.A. to the
Company; and
(D) Parent
shall thereafter cause the Company to distribute, at the Final SCR Payment Time,
the proceeds thereof (together with any other funds then held by the Company for
such purpose) to the Company’s shareholders as payment of the Final SCR Payment
Amount.”
12. Termination. Section
10.01(a)(ii)(B) of the Transaction Agreement shall be disregarded and deemed
inapplicable.
13. Assignment. Section
11.06(b) of the Transaction Agreement is hereby amended and restated in its
entirety as follows:
“(b) No
party may assign, delegate or otherwise transfer any of its rights or
obligations under this Agreement without the consent of each other party hereto,
except that each party may transfer or assign its rights and obligations under
this Agreement, in whole or from time to time in part, to one or more of its
Affiliates at any time and, after the Effective Time, to any Person; provided that no such
transfer or assignment shall relieve such party of its obligations hereunder or
enlarge, alter or change any obligation of any other party hereto or due to such
party.”
14. Effectiveness and
Ratification.
(a) Except as
specifically provided for in this Amendment, the terms of the Transaction
Agreement are hereby ratified and confirmed and remain in full force and
effect.
(b) All of
the provisions of this Amendment shall be effective as of the date hereof; provided that if (x) the
Requisite Merger Approval is not obtained upon a vote taken thereon at a duly
convened Merger Approval Meeting, or at any adjournment or postponement thereof
at which the applicable vote was taken, or (y) the Effective Time shall not have
occurred on or prior to January 31, 2010 (each a “Merger Failure Event”, and the
first date on which such event occurs, the “Merger End
10
Date”), then upon the
occurrence of the Merger Failure Event the following apply:
(i) Sections
2, 4(a), 5, 7, 8, 9 and 13 of this Amendment
shall be deemed inapplicable and of no further force and effect, and the
provisions of the Transaction Agreement shall thereafter apply without regard to
such Sections;
(ii) to the extent that the Share Capital
Repayment shall not have been paid or have become payable in full prior to the
Merger End Date, Section 11 of this Amendment shall be deemed
inapplicable and of no further force and effect, and the provisions of the
Transaction Agreement as in effect prior to the date hereof shall thereafter apply without
regard to such Section;
(iii) the
Merger End Date shall be deemed the Closing for purposes of Sections 2.01(a) and
(e) of the Transaction Agreement and the provisions set forth opposite the
heading “Offer timetable” on Exhibit A of the
Transaction Agreement (it being understood that Purchaser’s obligations pursuant
to Section 2.01(a) of the Transaction Agreement shall in all cases be subject to
any limitations on the timing of making an exchange offer imposed by the General
Rules of the AMF);
(iv) the
reference to the “Merger” in Section 10
of this Amendment shall be deemed to refer to the “Offer and the
Merger”;
(v) Section
12
of this Amendment shall be deemed inapplicable and of no further force and
effect, and the provisions of Section 10.01(a)(ii)(B) of the Transaction
Agreement shall thereafter apply without regard to Section 12 of this Amendment; provided that the reference
to “the Closing” in Section 10.01(a)(ii)(B) of the Transaction Agreement shall
be deemed to refer to the Merger End Date;
(vi) the
Merger Agreement entered into pursuant to Section 4
hereof shall be terminated but without prejudice to any subsequent obligation to
enter into a merger agreement pursuant to Section 3.01 of the Transaction
Agreement; and
(vii) notwithstanding
clauses (i) through (v), no party will be deemed to be in breach of the
Transaction Agreement with respect to the failure to perform obligations tolled
by virtue of the execution of this agreement which are reinstated pursuant to
this section.
11
15. Counterparts. This
Amendment may be executed and delivered (including by facsimile or electronic
transmission) in any number of counterparts, and by the different parties hereto
in separate counterparts, each of which when executed shall be deemed to be an
original but all of which taken together shall constitute a single
instrument.
16. Governing Law;
Jurisdiction. This Amendment shall be governed by and
construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without regard
to the conflicts of law rules of such state. Any suit, action or
proceeding arising under this Amendment shall be resolved in accordance with the
terms set forth in Sections 11.08 and 11.09 of the Transaction
Agreement.
[Remainder of page intentionally left
blank]
12
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Amendment to be executed by
their duly authorized representatives as of the date first above
written.
PARIS
RE HOLDINGS LIMITED
|
|||
By:
|
/s/ Xxxxx Xxxxxxx | ||
Name:
|
Xxxxx Xxxxxxx | ||
Title:
|
General Counsel |
By:
|
/s/ Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx | ||
Name:
|
Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx | ||
Title:
|
Director and Chief Executive Officer |
PARTNERRE
HOLDINGS II
SWITZERLAND
GMBH
|
|||
By:
|
/s/ Bruno Meyenhoffer | ||
Name:
|
Bruno Meyenhoffer | ||
Title:
|
Director |
By:
|
/s/ Xxxxxxx Winands | ||
Name:
|
Xxxxxxx Winands | ||
Title:
|
Director |
EXHIBIT D
FORM
OF
MERGER
AGREEMENT
dated
[●]
between
PartnerRe
Holdings II Switzerland GmbH
c/o
Treuhand von Flüe AG
Xxxxxxxxxxxxx
00
0000
Xxx
Xxxxxxxxxxx
(“Merger Sub” or
the
“Absorbing
Company”)
and
PARIS
RE Holdings Limited
Xxxxxxxxxxx
00
0000
Xxx
Xxxxxxxxxxx
(“PARIS RE” or
the
“Absorbed
Company”)
(Merger
Sub / Absorbing Company and PARIS RE / Absorbed Company each referred to as a
“Party” and collectively the
“Parties”)
regarding
Merger
pursuant to Articles 3 et seq. of the Swiss Merger Act
- 1
-
APPENDICES
Appendices
No
|
Appendix
|
Appendix
1(b)
|
Balance
Sheet of PARIS RE as per September 30, 0000
|
Xxxxxxxx
1(d)
|
Resolutions
of the managing directors of Merger Sub and of the
board
of directors PARIS RE regarding the approval of the Merger
Agreement
|
- 2
-
INTRODUCTION:
(A)
|
PARIS
RE (company no. CH-170.3.030.730-9) is a Swiss stock corporation according
to Articles 620 et seq. of the Swiss Code of Obligations (“CO”) with registered
office in Zug. The share capital of PARIS RE amounts to CHF
[29,097,723.94]1
and is divided into 85,581,541 fully paid-in bearer shares with a par
value of CHF [0.34]1
(the “PARIS RE
Shares”). The main
corporate purpose of PARIS RE is to acquire, hold and manage
par-ticipations in insurance and reinsurance companies as well as in other
financial institutions enterprises.
|
(B)
|
Merger
Sub (company no. CH-170.4.009.052-0) is a Swiss limited liability company
ac-cording to Articles 772 et seq. CO with registered office in Zug. The
share capital of Merger
Sub amounts to [CHF 20,000] and is divided into one fully paid-in share
(Stam-manteil) with a par
value of [CHF 20,000]2.
The main corporate purpose is the acquisition, holding and
administration of enterprises and participations in companies in
Switzerland and abroad, among others, in insurance and reinsurance
companies. Merger Sub is a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of PartnerRe
Ltd., a Bermuda exempted company (“Part-nerRe”).
|
(C)
|
Merger
Sub currently holds [●] PARIS RE Shares corresponding to [●] % of the
voting rights and share capital of PARIS
RE.
|
(D)
|
The
Board of Directors of PARIS RE resolved on [●] to submit an application
for de-listing of the PARIS RE Shares from Euronext Paris. In
consideration of this fact and in view of the contemplated integration of
PARIS RE into PartnerRe’s operating structure the Parties agree that PARIS
RE shall be merged with and into Merger Sub by way of absorp-tion in
accordance with Articles 3 et seq. of the Swiss Federal Act on Merger,
De-merger, Conversion and Transfer of Liabilities (the “Merger Act”). In the
context of this merger, PARIS RE’s shareholders (except for Merger Sub,
any of its affiliates, PARIS RE or any of its subsidiaries) shall receive
an adequate compensation.
|
NOW, THEREFORE, the Parties
agree as follows:
1.
|
MERGER
|
(a)
|
Subject
to the satisfaction of the conditions set forth in Section 2, Merger Sub
(Ab-sorbing Company) acquires PARIS RE (Absorbed Company) through
absorption
|
1
|
Share capital and par value
depend on whether and to what extent the Share Capital Repayment is made.
If the Share Capital Repayment is not made at the time of signing of this
merger agreement, reference should be made to the respec-tive
shareholders' resolutions of PARIS
RE.
|
2
|
The share capital needs to be
adjusted once the share capital increase has been completed and registered
with the Com-mercial Register (the registration is expected to take place
on October 1, 2009).
|
- 3
-
(the
“Merger”) in accordance
with Articles 3 et seq. Merger Act. All assets and li-abilities of PARIS RE are
being transferred to Merger Sub by means of universal succession with effect as
of the registration of the Merger in the commercial regis-ter. PARIS RE will be
deleted with the registration of the Merger in the commer-cial
register.
(b)
|
The
Merger is based on the audited interim balance sheet of PARIS RE as of
Sep-tember 30, 2009 which is attached to this merger agreement (the “Agreement”) as Appendix 1(b)
(the
“Merger Balance
Sheet”). According to the Merger Balance Sheet,
PARIS RE had assets in the amount of CHF [●] and liabilities in the amount
of CHF [●], resulting in an asset surplus of CHF [●]3.
The assets and liabilities of PARIS RE are transferred to Merger Sub at
book values with effect as of the com-pletion date of the
Merger.
|
(c)
|
The
Merger shall have [retroactive] effect as of [●]. As from such date, all
actions of PARIS RE have been taken for the account of Merger Sub. Merger
Sub knows and accepts all changes in the assets and liabilities of PARIS
RE which occurred since such date compared to the Merger Balance
Sheet.
|
(d)
|
The
Board of Directors of PARIS RE and the managing directors of Merger Sub
have both approved this Agreement. Copies of the respective board
resolution and resolution of the managing directors, respectively, are
attached to this Agreement as Appendix
1(d).
|
(e)
|
The
Parties will establish a joint merger report explaining and justifying the
Merger from a legal and economic view-point. The Parties will appoint
[Mazars Coresa] as licensed audit expert which shall audit this Agreement,
the merger re-port and the Merger Balance
Sheet.
|
2.
|
CONDITIONS
TO THE OBLIGATIONS OF EACH PARTY
|
The
obligations of PARIS RE and Merger Sub to consummate the Merger are subject to
the satisfaction of the following conditions:
(a)
|
the
approval of this Agreement by the general shareholders’ meeting of each of
the Parties;
|
3
|
If
the Share Capital Repayment is not made at the time of signing of this
merger agreement, the amounts of the assets and of the surplus post Share
Capital Repayment would also need to be
inserted.
|
- 4
-
(b)
|
there
is no law or judgment, injunction, order or decree of any governmental
au-thority with competent jurisdiction restraining or prohibiting or
otherwise making illegal the consummation of the
Merger;
|
(c)
|
PartnerRe’s
outstanding common shares (the “PartnerRe
Shares”) shall have been listed on Euronext
Paris;
|
(d)
|
the
PartnerRe Shares to be issued in the Merger shall have been approved for
list-ing on the New York Stock Exchange, subject to official notice of
issuance; and
|
(e)
|
a
prospectus and registration statement on Form S-4 (the “Registration State-ment”) relating to the
issuance of the PartnerRe Shares in the Merger shall have become effective
under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and no stop order
suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall be in
effect and no proceedings for such purpose shall be pending before or
threatened by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, unless the
issuance of the PartnerRe Shares in the Merger would reasonably be
expected to qualify for an exemption from the registration requirements of
the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as
amended.
|
3.
|
MERGER
COMPENSATION
|
(a)
|
The
Parties agree that the shareholders of PARIS RE (except for Merger Sub,
any of its affiliates, PARIS RE or any of its subsidiaries) shall receive
a compensation in the sense of Article 8 para. 2 Merger Act. At the
completion date the shareholders
of PARIS RE (except for Merger Sub, any of its affiliates, PARIS RE or any
of its subsidiaries) shall receive [0.300]4 PartnerRe Shares
(the “Per Share Consideration”) for each
PARIS RE Share. If PartnerRe shall declare a cash dividend or other cash
distribution on the PartnerRe Shares with a record date on or after [●]5 and prior
to the time at which the Merger is effective, then the Per Share
Consid-eration shall be adjusted upwards by an amount equal to (a) the
U.S. dollar amount of such dividend or distribution paid by PartnerRe with
respect to a PartnerRe Share times
(b) the Per Share Consideration (after giving effect to any prior
ad-justment) divided by (c) the
average closing price of the PartnerRe Shares on the New York Stock
Exchange for the five trading days immediately prior to the re-cord date
with respect to such cash dividend or other cash distribution. PARIS RE
has neither bonus certificates nor participation certificates outstanding.
There are no holders of preferential
rights.
|
4
|
Per
share consideration to be adjusted if there is an adjustment due to the
tangible book value per share adjustment in the Transaction
Agreement.
|
5
|
Closing
Date as defined in the Securities Purchase Agreement dated as of July 4,
2009 to be inserted.
|
- 5
-
(b)
|
The
licensed audit expert has stated in its audit report that the compensation
paid under this Agreement is justifiable (“vertretbar”). The audit report of the
licensed audit expert can be viewed at the registered office of either of
Merger Sub or PARIS RE. Based on the audit report, the Parties consider
the compensation paid to the PARIS RE shareholders under this Agreement as
fair and adequate.
|
(c)
|
The
compensation is expected to be delivered or caused to be delivered by
Merger Sub immediately upon effectiveness of the Merger in accordance with
Section 1(a) above.
|
(d)
|
All
PARIS RE shares will be cancelled as a consequence of the
Merger.
|
(e)
|
[With
respect to PARIS RE Options and PARIS RE RSUs held by participants, the
Parties agree that the Absorbing Company takes over the commitments of the
Ab-sorbed Company towards the participants as
follows:
|
Each
PARIS RE Option, whether vested or unvested, and each unvested PARIS RE RSU
granted under an equity compensation plan of PARIS RE, that are out-standing
immediately prior to the completion date of the Merger shall cease to rep-resent
a right to acquire or to receive PARIS RE Shares and shall be converted, at the
completion date, into an option to purchase PartnerRe Shares (a “PartnerRe
Option”) or into a right or award with respect to PartnerRe Shares (a “PartnerRe
RSU”) respectively, on the same contractual terms and conditions (including date
of grant) as were applicable under such PARIS RE Option or PARIS RE RSU. The
number of PartnerRe Shares subject to each such PartnerRe Option or Part-nerRe
RSU shall be equal to the number of PARIS RE Shares subject to each such PARIS
RE Option or PARIS RE RSU multiplied by the number of PartnerRe Shares to be
received by the shareholders of PARIS RE for each PARIS RE Share under Section
3(a) of this Agreement, rounded down, if necessary, to the nearest whole
PartnerRe Share, without indemnification; and each such PartnerRe Option shall
have an exercise price per share (rounded up to the nearest one-hundredth of a
dollar) equal to the per share exercise price specified in such PARIS RE Option
divided by the number of PartnerRe Shares to be received by the shareholders of
PARIS RE for each PARIS RE Share under Section 3(a) of this
Agreement.
For the
purpose of this Agreement: (x) a PARIS RE Option is a right granted to a
participant to purchase part or all of the number of Paris Re Shares subject to
such option according to the relevant award document in consideration of payment
to PARIS RE of the exercise price per share provided under such option for each
such share to be subscribed for or acquired and (y) a PARIS RE RSU is a right to
re-ceive PARIS RE Shares under the same terms and conditions (including date of
grant and vesting schedule).
- 6
-
4.
|
EXECUTION
OF THE MERGER
|
(a)
|
The
Parties agree that the compensation to PARIS RE’s shareholders will be
made through the exchange of PARIS RE Shares against the respective number
of Part-nerRe Shares. Merger Sub will duly transfer or cause to be
transferred, respec-tively, the respective number of PartnerRe Shares to
PARIS RE’s shareholders af-ter effectiveness of the Merger through the
banking system.
|
(b)
|
The
exchange of PARIS RE Shares held by PARIS RE shareholders who hold their
PARIS RE Shares in a bank deposit account with their banks will take place
imme-diately upon effectiveness of the Merger in accordance with Section
1(a) above.
|
5.
|
ENTITLEMENT
TO DIVIDENDS
|
The
PartnerRe Shares which PARIS RE’s shareholders will receive upon effectiveness
of the Merger are entitled to dividends as from the effectiveness of the Merger;
it being un-derstood and agreed that PartnerRe Shares which PARIS RE’s
shareholders will receive upon effectiveness of the Merger shall not receive any
dividend or distribution having a re-cord date prior to the effectiveness of the
Merger.
6.
|
NO
FRACTIONAL SHARES
|
No
fractional PartnerRe Shares shall be issued in the Merger. All fractional
PartnerRe Shares that a holder of PARIS RE Shares would otherwise be entitled to
receive as a result of the Merger shall be aggregated and if a fractional share
results from such aggregation, the number of PartnerRe Shares to be issued shall
be rounded to the nearest whole Part-nerRe Share (with 0.50 being rounded
upward).
7.
|
INFORMATION
TO THE EMPLOYEES
|
PARIS RE
shall inform and, to the extent necessary, consult with, its employees prior to
the date of the extraordinary general shareholders’ meeting pursuant to Section
9.1 about the Merger and the legal, economic and social consequences of the
Merger. Merger Sub does not have any employees.
- 7
-
8.
|
SPECIAL
RIGHTS; PARTNERS WITH UNLIMITED
LIABILITY
|
In the
context of this Merger no special benefits will be granted to the members of the
su-preme administrative bodies and/or management bodies and/or managerial
members of the merging companies. Neither company has partners or shareholders
with unlimited liability.
9.
|
SHAREHOLDERS’
MEETINGS
|
9.1.
|
SHAREHOLDERS’
MEETING OF PARIS RE
|
(a)
|
The
Board of Directors of PARIS RE shall present this Agreement to the
extraor-dinary general shareholders’ meeting and propose to the
shareholders that this Agreement be approved. Such extraordinary general
shareholders’ meeting is ex-pected to take place on [●].
|
(b)
|
The
approval of this Agreement by the extraordinary general shareholders’
meeting of PARIS RE will require a majority as stated in Article 18 para.
5 Merger Act; i.e., the approval
will require the affirmative vote of at least 90% of all outstanding PARIS
RE Shares whereas the PARIS RE shares held by PARIS RE shall be counted as
affirmative votes (Ja-Stimmen).
The Parties confirm that the Merger will not result in PARIS RE
shareholders having an obligation to make supplemen-tary financial
contributions or facing any other personal liability in the sense of
Ar-ticle 18 para.4 Merger Act.
|
9.2.
|
SHAREHOLDERS’
MEETING OF MERGER SUB
|
(a)
|
The
managing directors of Merger Sub shall present this Agreement to the
extraor-dinary general shareholders’ meeting and propose to the
shareholders that this Agreement be approved. Such extraordinary general
shareholders’ meeting is ex-pected to take place on [●].
|
(b)
|
The
approval of this Agreement by the extraordinary general shareholders’
meeting of Merger Sub will require a majority as stated in Article 18
para. 1 lit. c) Merger Act; i.e.,
the approval will require the affirmative vote of (i) at least two thirds
of the votes of the shares represented at the extraordinary general
shareholders’ meet-ing and (ii) the absolute majority of the par value of
the outstanding shares having a voting
right.
|
10.
|
APPLICABLE
LAW AND JURISDICTION
|
(a)
|
This
Agreement shall be subject to and governed by substantive Swiss
laws.
|
- 8
-
(b)
|
The
place of jurisdiction for any and all disputes arising out of or in
connection with this Agreement, including disputes regarding its
conclusion, binding effect, amendment and termination shall be
[●].
|
Place and
Date: _______________________
The
Absorbing Company:
PartnerRe
Holdings II Switzerland GmbH
|
|
|
Name:
|
Name:
|
|
Title:
|
Title:
|
The
Absorbed Company:
PARIS
RE Holdings Limited
|
|
|
Name:
|
Name:
|
|
Title:
|
Title:
|
- 9
-
Appendix
1(b)
Balance
Sheet of PARIS RE as per [●]
Appendix
1(d)
Copies
of the Resolutions of the Board of Directors
of
PARIS RE and of the Managing Directors of Merger Sub