200,000 Shares Universal Corporation (No Par Value) EQUITY UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
Exhibit 1.1
200,000 Shares
Universal Corporation
6.75% Convertible Perpetual Preferred Stock
(No Par Value)
March 16, 2006
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.
Wachovia Capital Markets, LLC
UBS Securities LLC
LaSalle Financial Services, Inc.
Rabo Securities USA, Inc.
As Representatives of the
Several Underwriters
c/o Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.
00 Xxxx Xxxxxx, 0xx Xxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Universal Corporation, a Virginia corporation (the “Company”), proposes to sell to the several underwriters (the “Underwriters”) named in Schedule I hereto for whom you are acting as representatives (the “Representatives”) an aggregate of 200,000 shares (the “Firm Shares”) of the Company’s 6.75% Convertible Perpetual Preferred Stock, no par value and $1,000 liquidation preference per share (the “Preferred Stock”). The respective amounts of the Firm Shares to be so purchased by the several Underwriters are set forth opposite their names in Schedule I hereto. The Company also proposes to sell at the Underwriters’ option an aggregate of up to 20,000 additional shares of the Company’s Preferred Stock (the “Option Shares”) as set forth below.
As the Representatives, you have advised the Company (a) that you are authorized to enter into this Agreement on behalf of the several Underwriters, and (b) that the several Underwriters are willing, acting severally and not jointly, to purchase the numbers of Firm Shares set forth opposite their respective names in Schedule I, plus their pro rata portion of the Option Shares if you elect to exercise the over-allotment option in whole or in part for the accounts of the several Underwriters. The Firm Shares and the Option Shares (to the extent the aforementioned option is exercised) are herein collectively called the “Shares.”
In consideration of the mutual agreements contained herein and of the interests of the parties in the transactions contemplated hereby, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. Representations and Warranties of the Company.
The Company represents and warrants to each of the Underwriters as follows:
(a) An “automatic shelf registration statement” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), on Form S-3 (File No. 333-130061) in respect of the Shares, including a form of prospectus (the “Base Prospectus”), has been prepared and filed by the Company not earlier than three years prior to the date hereof, in conformity with the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations (the “Rules and Regulations”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) thereunder. The Company and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement meet the requirements and comply with the conditions for the use of Form S-3. Copies of such registration statement, including any amendments thereto, the Base Prospectus, as supplemented by any preliminary prospectus (including any preliminary prospectus supplement) relating to the Shares filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act, and including the documents incorporated in the Base Prospectus by reference (a “Preliminary Prospectus”), and the exhibits, financial statements and schedules to such registration statement, in each case as finally amended and revised, have heretofore been delivered by the Company to you. Such registration statement, together with any registration statement filed by the Company pursuant to Rules 413(b) and 462(f) under the Act, is herein referred to as the “Registration Statement,” which shall be deemed to include all information omitted therefrom in reliance upon Rules 430A, 430B or 430C under the Act and contained in the Prospectus referred to below, has become effective under the Act and no post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement has been filed as of the date of this Agreement. “Prospectus” means the Statutory Prospectus (as defined below) that discloses the public offering price and other final terms of the Shares filed with the Commission pursuant to and within the time limits described in Rule 424(b) under the Act and in accordance with Section 4(a) hereof. Any reference herein to the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus or to the Prospectus or to any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing documents shall be deemed to refer to and include any documents incorporated by reference therein, and, in the case of any reference herein to the Prospectus, also shall be deemed to include any documents incorporated by reference therein, and any supplements or amendments thereto, filed with the Commission after the date of filing of the Prospectus under Rule 424(b) under the Act, and prior to the termination of the offering of the Shares by the Underwriters.
(b) As of the Applicable Time (as defined below) and as of the Closing Date or the Option Closing Date, as the case may be, neither (i) the General Use Free Writing Prospectus(es) (as defined below) issued at or prior to the Applicable Time, and the Statutory Prospectus (as defined below), all considered together (collectively, the “General Disclosure Package”), nor (ii) any individual Limited Use Free Writing Prospectus (as defined below), when considered together with the General Disclosure Package, included or will include any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or will omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that the Company makes no representations or warranties as to information contained in or omitted from any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, in reliance upon, and in conformity with, written information furnished to the Company by or on behalf of any Underwriter through the Representatives, specifically for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such
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information is that described in Section 13 herein. As used in this subsection and elsewhere in this Agreement:
“Applicable Time” means 9:00 am (New York time) on the date of this Agreement or such other time as agreed to by the Company and the Representatives.
“Statutory Prospectus” means the Base Prospectus, as amended and supplemented immediately prior to the Applicable Time, including any document incorporated by reference therein and any prospectus supplement deemed to be a part thereof.
“Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433 under the Act, relating to the Shares in the form filed or required to be filed with the Commission or, if not required to be filed, in the form retained in the Company’s records pursuant to Rule 433(g) under the Act.
“General Use Free Writing Prospectus” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is identified on Schedule III to this Agreement.
“Limited Use Free Writing Prospectus” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is not a General Use Free Writing Prospectus.
(c) The Company has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, with corporate power and authority to own or lease its properties and conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. Each of (A) the subsidiaries of the Company (each a “Subsidiary” and collectively the “Subsidiaries”) as listed in Exhibit A hereto, as such Exhibit A may be amended by the Company from time to time (each a “Material Subsidiary” and collectively the “Material Subsidiaries”), has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation, with corporate power and authority to own or lease its properties and conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and (B) the Subsidiaries that is not a Material Subsidiary has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of its respective jurisdiction of incorporation with full corporate power and authority to own its respective properties and to conduct its respective business in each jurisdiction in which the failure to do so, individually or in the aggregate, would have a material adverse effect on the operations, business or financial condition of the Company and the Subsidiaries taken as a whole; the Company and each of its principal domestic subsidiaries, identified as such on Exhibit A (each a “Principal Domestic Subsidiary” and collectively the “Principal Domestic Subsidiaries”), are duly qualified or licensed by each jurisdiction in which they conduct their respective businesses and in which the failure, individually or in the aggregate, to be so licensed or qualified would have a material adverse effect on the operations, business, or financial condition of the Company and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole, and the Company and its Material Subsidiaries are in good standing in each jurisdiction in which they own or lease real property or maintain an office in which the failure to do so, individually or in the aggregate, would have a material adverse effect on the operations, business, or financial condition of the Company and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole.
(d) The outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and non-assessable; the Shares to be issued and sold by
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the Company have been duly authorized and when issued and paid for as contemplated herein will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable; and no preemptive rights of stockholders exist with respect to any of the Shares or the issue and sale thereof. Neither the filing of the Registration Statement nor the offering or sale of the Shares as contemplated by this Agreement gives rise to any rights, other than those which have been waived or satisfied, for or relating to the registration of any shares of capital stock of the Company.
(e) When the Shares are delivered and paid for pursuant to this Agreement on the Closing Date or Option Closing Date, as the case may be, the Shares will be convertible into shares of common stock, no par value (the “Underlying Shares”), of the Company in accordance with their terms; the Underlying Shares initially issuable upon conversion of the Shares have been duly authorized and reserved for issuance upon such conversion and, when issued upon such conversion, will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable; and the stockholders of the Company have no preemptive rights with respect to the Underlying Shares.
(f) The information set forth under the caption “Capitalization” in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (and any similar section or information contained in the General Disclosure Package) is true and correct. All of the Shares conform to the description thereof contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. The form of certificates for the Shares or the Shares in uncertificated form, as the case may be, conforms to the corporate law of the jurisdiction of the Company’s incorporation.
(g) The Commission has not issued an order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus relating to the proposed offering of the Shares, and no proceeding for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the Act has been instituted or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened by the Commission. The Registration Statement contains, and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto will contain, all statements which are required to be stated therein by, and will conform to, the requirements of the Act and the Rules and Regulations. The documents incorporated, or to be incorporated, by reference in the Prospectus, at the time filed with the Commission, conformed or will conform, in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) or the Act, as applicable, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder. The Registration Statement and any amendment thereto do not contain, and will not contain, any untrue statement of a material fact and do not omit, and will not omit, to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading. The Prospectus and any amendments and supplements thereto do not contain, and will not contain, any untrue statement of a material fact; and do not omit, and will not omit, to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that the Company makes no representations or warranties as to information contained in or omitted from the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or any such amendment or supplement, in reliance upon, and in conformity with, written information furnished to the Company by or on behalf of any Underwriter through the Representatives specifically for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information is that described in Section 13 herein.
(h) Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as of its issue date and at all subsequent times through the completion of the public offering and sale of the Shares or until any earlier date that the Company notified or notifies the Representatives as described in the next sentence, did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, including any document
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incorporated by reference and any prospectus supplement deemed to be a part thereof that has not been superseded or modified.
(i) The Company has not, directly or indirectly, distributed and will not distribute any offering material in connection with the offering and sale of the Shares other than any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and other materials, if any, permitted under the Act and consistent with Section 4(b) below. The Company will file with the Commission all Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses in the time and manner required under Rules 163(b)(2) and 433(d) under the Act.
(j) (i) At the time of filing the Registration Statement, (ii) at the time of the most recent amendment thereto for the purposes of complying with Section 10(a)(3) under the Act (whether such amendment was by post-effective amendment, incorporated report filed pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act or form of prospectus), and (iii) at the time the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this clause only, of Rule 163(c) under the Act) made any offer relating to the Shares in reliance on the exemption of Rule 163 under the Act and (iv) at the date hereof, the Company was and is a “well-known seasoned issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the Act. The Company has not received from the Commission any notice pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Act objecting to the use of the automatic shelf registration form.
(k) (i) At the earliest time after the filing of the Registration Statement that the Company or another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) under the Act) of the Shares and (ii) as of the date hereof (with such date being used as the determination date for purposes of this clause(ii)), the Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Act, without taking into account any determination by the Commission pursuant to Rule 405 under the Act that it is not necessary that the Company be considered an ineligible issuer), including, without limitation, for purposes of Rules 164 and 433 under the Act with respect to the offering of the Shares as contemplated by the Registration Statement.
(l) The consolidated financial statements of the Company and the Subsidiaries, together with related notes and schedules as set forth or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, present fairly the financial position and the results of operations and cash flows of the Company and the consolidated Subsidiaries, at the indicated dates and for the indicated periods. Such financial statements and related schedules have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted principles of accounting (“GAAP”), consistently applied throughout the periods involved, except as disclosed therein, and all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of results for such periods have been made. The summary and selected consolidated financial and statistical data included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus presents fairly the information shown therein and such data has been compiled on a basis consistent with the financial statements presented therein and the books and records of the Company. All disclosures contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined by the Rules and Regulations) comply with Regulation G of the Exchange Act and Item 10 of Regulation S-K under the Act, to the extent applicable. The Company and the Subsidiaries do not have any material liabilities or obligations, direct or contingent (including any off-balance sheet obligations or any “variable interest entities” within the meaning of Financial Accounting Standards Board Interpretation No. 46), not disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and
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the Prospectus. There are no financial statements (historical or pro forma) that are required to be included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus that are not included as required.
(m) To the Company’s knowledge, Ernst & Young LLP, who have certified certain of the financial statements filed with the Commission as part of, or incorporated by reference in, the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, is an independent registered public accounting firm with respect to the Company and the Subsidiaries within the meaning of the Act and the applicable Rules and Regulations and the rules of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (the “PCAOB”).
(n) Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries is aware of (i) any material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting or (ii) change in internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
(o) Solely to the extent that the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act of 2002, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated by the Commission and the New York Stock Exchange thereunder (the “Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act”) have been applicable to the Company, there is and has been no failure on the part of the Company to comply in all material respects with any provision of the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act.
(p) There is no action, suit, claim or proceeding pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against the Company or any of the Subsidiaries before any court or administrative agency or otherwise which if determined adversely to the Company or any of the Subsidiaries would either (i) have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on the earnings, business, management, properties, assets, rights, operations or condition (financial or otherwise) of the Company and of the Subsidiaries taken as a whole or (ii) prevent the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby (the occurrence of any such effect or any such prevention described in the foregoing clauses (i) and (ii) being referred to as a “Material Adverse Effect”), except as set forth in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.
(q) The Company and the Subsidiaries have filed all Federal, State, local and foreign tax returns which have been required to be filed except for any such returns that the failure to timely file would not have a Material Adverse Effect, and have paid all taxes indicated by such returns and all assessments received by them or any of them to the extent that such taxes have become due and are not being contested in good faith and for which an adequate reserve for accrual has been established in accordance with GAAP. All tax liabilities have been adequately provided for in the financial statements of the Company, and the Company does not know of any actual or proposed additional material tax assessments.
(r) Since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, as each may be amended or supplemented, there has not been any material adverse change or any development involving a prospective material adverse change in or affecting the earnings, business, management, properties, assets, rights, operations, condition (financial or otherwise), or prospects of the Company and the Subsidiaries taken as a whole, whether or not occurring in the ordinary course of business, and there has not been any material transaction entered into or any material transaction that is probable
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of being entered into by the Company or the Subsidiaries, other than transactions in the ordinary course of business and changes and transactions described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, as each may be amended or supplemented. The Company and the Subsidiaries have no material contingent obligations which are not disclosed in the Company’s financial statements which are included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.
(s) Neither the Company nor any of its Material Subsidiaries is or with the giving of notice or lapse of time or both, will be, (i) in violation of its certificate or articles of incorporation, by-laws, certificate of formation, limited liability agreement, partnership agreement or other organizational documents or (ii) in violation of or in default under any agreement, lease, contract, indenture or other instrument or obligation to which it is a party or by which it, or any of its properties, is bound and, solely with respect to this clause (ii), which violation or default would have a Material Adverse Effect. The execution and delivery of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions herein contemplated and the fulfillment of the terms hereof will not conflict with or result in a breach of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or, to the Company’s knowledge, any Subsidiary is a party or by which the Company or, to the Company’s knowledge, any Subsidiary or any of their respective properties is bound, or of the certificate or articles of incorporation or by-laws of the Company or any law, order, rule or regulation judgment, order, writ or decree applicable to the Company or any Subsidiary of any court or of any government, regulatory body or administrative agency or other governmental body having jurisdiction.
(t) The execution and delivery of, and the performance by the Company of its obligations under, this Agreement has been duly and validly authorized by all necessary corporate action on the part of the Company, and this Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by the Company.
(u) Each approval, consent, order, authorization, designation, declaration or filing by or with any regulatory, administrative or other governmental body necessary in connection with the execution and delivery by the Company of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions herein contemplated (except such additional steps as may be required by the Commission, the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (the “NASD”) or such additional steps as may be necessary to qualify the Shares for public offering by the Underwriters under state securities or Blue Sky laws) has been obtained or made and is in full force and effect.
(v) Neither the Company, nor to the Company’s knowledge, any of its affiliates, has taken or may take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to cause or result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of the shares of Preferred Stock to facilitate the sale or resale of the Shares. The Company acknowledges that the Underwriters may engage in passive market making transactions in the Shares on the Nasdaq National Market in accordance with Regulation M under the Exchange Act.
(w) The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Shares contemplated hereunder and the application of the net proceeds from such sale as described in the Properties, will not be an “investment company” within the meaning of such term under the Investment Company Act of 1940 as amended (the “1940 Act”), and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.
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(x) The Company maintains a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain accountability for assets; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences.
(y) The Company has established and maintains “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act); the Company’s “disclosure controls and procedures” are reasonably designed to ensure that all information (both financial and non-financial) required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the rules and regulations of the Exchange Act, and that all such information is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure and to make the certifications of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Company required under the Exchange Act with respect to such reports.
(z) The operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial record-keeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, applicable money laundering statutes and applicable rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”), and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its Subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened.
(aa) Neither the Company nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department (“OFAC”); and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any Subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity, for the purpose of financing the activities of any person currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC.
(bb) Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any employee or agent of the Company or any Subsidiary has made any payment of funds of the Company or any Subsidiary or received or retained any funds in violation of any law, rule or regulation (including, without limitation, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977), which payment, receipt or retention of funds is of a character required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus;
(cc) The Company and each domestic Subsidiary is in compliance in all material respects with all presently applicable provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, including the regulations and published interpretations thereunder (“ERISA”); no “reportable event” (as defined in ERISA) has occurred with respect to any “pension plan” (as defined in ERISA) for which the Company and each domestic Subsidiary would have any liability; the Company and each Subsidiary has not incurred and does not expect to incur liability under (i) Title IV of ERISA with respect to termination of, or withdrawal from, any
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“pension plan” or (ii) Sections 412 or 4971 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, including the regulations and published interpretations thereunder (the “Code”); and each “pension plan” for which the Company or any domestic Subsidiary would have any liability that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code is so qualified in all material respects and nothing has occurred, whether by action or by failure to act, which would cause the loss of such qualification.
(dd) Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, neither the Company nor any of the Principal Domestic Subsidiaries is in violation of any statute, rule, regulation, decision or order of any governmental agency or body or any court, domestic or foreign, relating to the use, disposal or release of hazardous or toxic substances or relating to the protection or restoration of the environment or human exposure to hazardous or toxic substances (collectively, “environmental laws”), owns or operates any real property contaminated with any substance that is subject to environmental laws, is liable for any off-site disposal or contamination pursuant to any environmental laws, or is subject to any claim relating to any environmental laws, which violation, contamination, liability or claim would, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; and the Company is not aware of any pending investigation which might lead to such a claim.
2. Purchase, Sale and Delivery of the Firm Shares.
(a) On the basis of the representations, warranties and covenants herein contained, and subject to the conditions herein set forth, the Company agrees to sell to the Underwriters and each Underwriter agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase, at a price of $970 per share, the number of Firm Shares set forth opposite the name of each Underwriter in Schedule I hereof, subject to adjustments in accordance with Section 9 hereof.
(b) Payment for the Firm Shares to be sold hereunder is to be made in Federal (same day) funds against delivery of certificates therefor to the Representatives for the several accounts of the Underwriters. Such payment and delivery are to be made through the facilities of The Depository Trust Company, New York, New York at 10:00 a.m., New York time, on March 21, 2006 or at such other time and date as the Representatives and the Company shall agree upon, such time and date being herein referred to as the “Closing Date” (as used herein, “business day” means a day on which the New York Stock Exchange is open for trading and on which banks in New York are open for business and are not permitted by law or executive order to be closed).
(c) In addition, on the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company hereby grants an option to the several Underwriters to purchase the Option Shares at the price per share as set forth in the first paragraph of this Section 2. The option granted hereby may be exercised in whole or in part by giving written notice (i) at any time before the Closing Date and (ii) from time to time thereafter within 30 days after the date of this Agreement, by you, as Representatives of the several Underwriters, to the Company setting forth the number of Option Shares as to which the several Underwriters are exercising the option and the time and date at which such certificates are to be delivered. The time and date at which certificates for Option Shares are to be delivered shall be determined by the Representatives but shall not be earlier than three nor later than 10 full business days after the exercise of such option unless the Representatives and the Company agree otherwise in writing, nor in any event prior to the Closing Date (such time and date being herein referred to as the “Option Closing Date”). If the date of exercise of the option is three or more days before the Closing Date, the notice of exercise shall set the Closing Date as the Option Closing
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Date. The number of Option Shares to be purchased by each Underwriter shall be in the same proportion to the total number of Option Shares being purchased as the number of Firm Shares being purchased by such Underwriter bears to the total number of Firm Shares, adjusted by you in such manner as to avoid fractional shares. The option with respect to the Option Shares granted hereunder may be exercised only to cover over-allotments in the sale of the Firm Shares by the Underwriters. You, as Representatives of the several Underwriters, may cancel such option at any time prior to its expiration by giving written notice of such cancellation to the Company. To the extent, if any, that the option is exercised, payment for the Option Shares shall be made on the Option Closing Date in Federal (same day funds) through the facilities of The Depository Trust Company in New York, New York drawn to the order of the Company.
3. Offering by the Underwriters.
It is understood that the several Underwriters are to make a public offering of the Firm Shares as soon as the Representatives deem it advisable to do so. The Firm Shares are to be initially offered to the public at the initial public offering price set forth in the Prospectus. The Representatives may from time to time thereafter change the public offering price and other selling terms.
It is further understood that you will act as the Representatives for the Underwriters in the offering and sale of the Shares in accordance with a Master Agreement Among Underwriters entered into by you and the several other Underwriters.
4. Covenants of the Company.
The Company covenants and agrees with the several Underwriters that:
(a) The Company will (A) prepare and timely file with the Commission under Rule 424(b) (without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8)) under the Act a Prospectus in a form approved by the Representatives containing information previously omitted at the time of effectiveness of the Registration Statement in reliance on Rules 430A, 430B or 430C under the Act, (B) not file any amendment to the Registration Statement or distribute an amendment or supplement to the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or document incorporated by reference therein of which the Representatives shall not previously have been advised and furnished with a copy or to which the Representatives shall have reasonably objected in writing or which is not in compliance with the Rules and Regulations and (C) file on a timely basis all reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Company with the Commission subsequent to the date of the Prospectus and prior to the termination of the offering of the Shares by the Underwriters.
(b) The Company will (i) not make any offer relating to the Shares that would constitute an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or that would otherwise constitute a “free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Act) required to be filed by the Company with the Commission under Rule 433 under the Act unless the Representatives approve its use in writing prior to first use (each, a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus”); provided that the prior written consent of the Representatives hereto shall be deemed to have been given in respect of the Issuer Free Writing Prospectus(es) included in Schedule III hereto, (ii) treat each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, (iii) comply with the requirements of Rules 163, 164 and 433 under the Act applicable to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, including the requirements relating to timely filing with the Commission, legending and record keeping and (iv) not take any action that would result in an Underwriter or the Company being required to file
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with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act a free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of such Underwriter that such Underwriter otherwise would not have been required to file thereunder.
(c) The Company will prepare a final term sheet (the “Final Term Sheet”) reflecting the final terms of the Shares, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives, and shall file such Final Term Sheet as an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus pursuant to Rule 433 under the Act prior to the close of business two business days after the date hereof; provided that the Company shall provide the Representatives with copies of any such Final Term Sheet a reasonable amount of time prior to such proposed filing and will not use or file any such document to which the Representatives or counsel to the Underwriters shall reasonably object.
(d) The Company will advise the Representatives promptly (A) when any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement or new registration statement relating to the Shares shall have become effective, or any supplement to the Prospectus shall have been filed, (B) of the receipt of any comments from the Commission, (C) of any request of the Commission for amendment of the Registration Statement or the filing of a new registration statement or any amendment or supplement to the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or any document incorporated by reference therein or otherwise deemed to be a part thereof or for any additional information, and (D) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or such new registration statement or any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or of the institution of any proceedings for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the Act. The Company will use its best efforts to prevent the issuance of any such order and to obtain as soon as possible the lifting thereof, if issued.
(e) The Company agrees to pay the required filing fees to the Commission relating to the Shares within the time required by Rule 456(b)(1) under the Act without regard to the proviso therein and otherwise in accordance with Rules 456(b) and 457(r) under the Act.
(f) The Company will cooperate with the Representatives in endeavoring to qualify the Shares for sale under the securities laws of such jurisdictions as the Representatives may reasonably have designated in writing and will make such applications, file such documents, and furnish such information as may be reasonably required for that purpose, provided the Company shall not be required to qualify as a foreign corporation or to file a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction where it is not now so qualified or required to file such a consent. The Company will, from time to time, prepare and file such statements, reports, and other documents, as are or may be required to continue such qualifications in effect for so long a period as the Representatives may reasonably request for distribution of the Shares.
(g) The Company will deliver to, or upon the order of, the Representatives, from time to time, as many copies of any Preliminary Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus as the Representatives may reasonably request. The Company will deliver to, or upon the order of, the Representatives during the period when delivery of a Prospectus (or, in lieu thereof, the notice referred to under Rule 173(a) under the Act) is required under the Act, as many copies of the Prospectus in final form, or as thereafter amended or supplemented, as the Representatives may reasonably request. The Company will deliver to the Representatives at or before the Closing Date, four signed copies of the Registration Statement and all amendments thereto including all exhibits filed therewith, and will deliver to the Representatives such number of copies of the Registration Statement (including such number of copies of the exhibits filed therewith that may
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reasonably be requested), including documents incorporated by reference therein, and of all amendments thereto, as the Representatives may reasonably request.
(h) The Company will comply with the Act and the Rules and Regulations, and the Exchange Act, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, so as to permit the completion of the distribution of the Shares as contemplated in this Agreement and the Prospectus. If during the period in which a prospectus (or, in lieu thereof, the notice referred to under Rule 173(a) under the Act) is required by law to be delivered by an Underwriter or dealer, any event shall occur as a result of which, in the judgment of the Company or in the reasonable opinion of the Underwriters, it becomes necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances existing at the time the Prospectus is delivered to a purchaser, not misleading, or, if it is necessary at any time to amend or supplement the Prospectus to comply with any law, the Company promptly will either (i) prepare and file with the Commission an appropriate amendment to the Registration Statement or supplement to the Prospectus or (ii) prepare and file with the Commission an appropriate filing under the Exchange Act which shall be incorporated by reference in the Prospectus so that the Prospectus as so amended or supplemented will not, in the light of the circumstances when it is so delivered, be misleading, or so that the Prospectus will comply with the law.
(i) If the General Disclosure Package is being used to solicit offers to buy the Shares at a time when the Prospectus is not yet available to prospective purchasers and any event shall occur as a result of which, in the judgment of the Company or in the reasonable opinion of the Underwriters, it becomes necessary to amend or supplement the General Disclosure Package in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances, not misleading, or to make the statements therein not conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement then on file, or if it is necessary at any time to amend or supplement the General Disclosure Package to comply with any law, the Company promptly will either (i) prepare, file with the Commission (if required) and furnish to the Underwriters and any dealers an appropriate amendment or supplement to the General Disclosure Package or (ii) prepare and file with the Commission an appropriate filing under the Exchange Act which shall be incorporated by reference in the General Disclosure Package so that the General Disclosure Package as so amended or supplemented will not, in the light of the circumstances, be misleading or conflict with the Registration Statement then on file, or so that the General Disclosure Package will comply with law.
(j) The Company will make generally available to its security holders, as soon as it is practicable to do so, but in any event not later than 15 months after the effective date of the Registration Statement (as defined in Rule 158(c) under the Act), an earnings statement (which need not be audited) in reasonable detail, complying with the requirements of Section 11(a) of the Act and the Rule 158 under the Act and will advise you in writing when such statement has been so made available.
(k) No offering, sale, short sale or other disposition of any shares of capital stock of the Company or other securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for shares of capital stock of the Company or derivative of capital stock of the Company (or agreement for such) will be made for a period of 90 days after the date of the Prospectus, directly or indirectly, by the Company otherwise than hereunder or with the prior written consent of Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., except issuances of common stock (i) in exchange for all or substantially all of the equity or assets of a company in connection with a merger or acquisition or (ii) pursuant to the conversion or exchange of convertible or exchangeable securities or the exercise of warrants or options, in each case outstanding on the date of this Agreement, grants of employee stock options or
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shares of restricted common stock pursuant to the terms of a plan in effect on the date of this Agreement, issuances of common stock pursuant to the exercise of such options or issuances of common stock pursuant to the Company’s dividend reinvestment plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if (1) during the last 17 days of the 90-day restricted period, the Company issues an earnings release or material news or a material event relating to the Company occurs; or (2) prior to the expiration of the 90-day restricted period, the Company announces that it will release earnings results during the 16-day period following the last day of the 90-day restricted period, then in each case the restrictions imposed by this Agreement shall continue to apply until the expiration of the 18-day period beginning on the date of the release of the earnings results or the occurrence of material news or a material event relating to the Company, as the case may be, unless Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. waives, in writing, such extension.
(l) The Company will use its best efforts to list the Underlying Shares upon conversion, subject to notice of issuance, on the New York Stock Exchange effect.
(m) The Company shall apply the net proceeds of its sale of the Shares as set forth in the Registration Statement, General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.
(n) The Company shall not invest or otherwise use the proceeds received by the Company from its sale of the Shares in such a manner as would require the Company or any of the Subsidiaries to register as an investment company under the 0000 Xxx.
(o) The Company will maintain a transfer agent and, if necessary under the jurisdiction of incorporation of the Company, a registrar for the Preferred Stock.
(p) The Company will not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to cause or result in, or that has constituted, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any securities of the Company.
5. Costs and Expenses.
The Company will pay all costs, expenses and fees incident to the performance of the obligations of the Company under this Agreement, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the accounting fees of the Company; the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Company; the cost of printing and delivering to, or as requested by, the Underwriters copies of the Registration Statement, Preliminary Prospectuses, the Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses, the Prospectus, this Agreement, the Underwriters’ Invitation Letter, the Listing Application, the Blue Sky Survey and any supplements or amendments thereto; the filing fees of the Commission; the filing fees and reasonable, documented out-of-pocket fees and expenses (including legal fees and disbursements) incident to securing any required review by the NASD of the terms of the sale of the Shares; the listing fee of the New York Stock Exchange; the costs and expenses (including without limitation any damages or other amounts payable in connection with legal or contractual liability) associated with the reforming of any contracts for sale of the Shares made by the Underwriters caused by a breach of the representation in Section 1(b); and the reasonable, documented out-of-pocket fees and expenses, including the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters, incurred in connection with the qualification of the Shares under State securities or Blue Sky laws. The Company shall not, however, be required to pay for any of the Underwriter’s expenses (other than those related to qualification under NASD regulation and State securities or Blue Sky laws) except that, if this Agreement shall not be consummated because the conditions in Section 6 hereof are not satisfied, or because this Agreement is terminated by the Representatives pursuant to Section 11 hereof (other than clauses (ii), (iii), (iv), (v) or (viii) thereof), or by reason of any failure,
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refusal or inability on the part of the Company to perform any undertaking or satisfy any condition of this Agreement or to comply with any of the terms hereof on its part to be performed, unless such failure, refusal or inability is due primarily to the default or omission of any Underwriter, the Company shall reimburse the several Underwriters for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, including fees and disbursements of counsel, reasonably incurred in connection with investigating, marketing and proposing to market the Shares or in contemplation of performing their obligations hereunder; but the Company shall not in any event be liable to any of the several Underwriters for damages on account of loss of anticipated profits from the sale by them of the Shares.
6. Conditions of Obligations of the Underwriters.
The several obligations of the Underwriters to purchase the Firm Shares on the Closing Date and the Option Shares, if any, on the Option Closing Date are subject to the accuracy, as of the Applicable Time, the Closing Date or the Option Closing Date, as the case may be, of the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein, and to the performance by the Company of its covenants and obligations hereunder and to the following additional conditions:
(a) The Registration Statement and all post-effective amendments thereto shall have become effective and the Prospectus and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus required shall have been filed as required by Rules 424(b) (without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8)), 430A, 430B, 430C or 433 under the Act, as applicable, within the time period prescribed by, and in compliance with, the Rules and Regulations, and any request of the Commission for additional information (to be included in the Registration Statement or otherwise) shall have been disclosed to the Representatives and complied with to its reasonable satisfaction. No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, as amended from time to time, shall have been issued and no proceedings for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A under the Act shall have been taken or, to the knowledge of the Company, shall be contemplated or threatened by the Commission and no injunction, restraining order or order of any nature by a Federal or state court of competent jurisdiction shall have been issued as of the Closing Date which would prevent the issuance of the Shares.
(b) The Representatives shall have received on the Closing Date or the Option Closing Date, as the case may be, the opinion of Xxxxxxxx & Xxxxxxxx LLP, counsel for the Company, dated the Closing Date or the Option Closing Date, as the case may be, addressed to the Underwriters to the effect that:
(i) The Registration Statement has become effective under the Act and, to the best of the knowledge of such counsel, no stop order proceedings with respect thereto and no proceeding for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the Act have been instituted or are pending or threatened under the Act.
(ii) The Registration Statement, as of the date of the Prospectus, and the Prospectus, as of the date of the Prospectus, appeared on their face to be appropriately responsive, in all material respects relevant to the offering of the Shares, to the requirements of the Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.
(iii) The Issuer Free Writing Prospectus described in Section 4(c) of the Underwriting Agreement was filed within the time period required by Rule 433(d) under the Act.
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(iv) Any regulatory or governmental consents, authorizations, approvals and filings required to be obtained or made by the Company on or prior to the date of such opinion under the Federal laws of the United States and the laws of the State of New York for the issuance, sale and delivery of the Shares by the Company to the Underwriters have been obtained or made.
In rendering such opinion Xxxxxxxx & Xxxxxxxx LLP may rely as to matters governed by the laws of states other than New York or Federal laws on local counsel in such jurisdictions. In addition to the matters set forth above, such opinion shall also include a statement to the effect that nothing has come to the attention of such counsel which leads them to believe that (i) the Registration Statement, insofar as relevant to the offering of the Shares, as of the Applicable Time contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, (ii) the General Disclosure Package, as of the Applicable Time contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading and (iii) the Prospectus, as of the date of the Prospectus and as of the Closing Date or the Option Closing Date, as the case may be, contained or contains an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or omits to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading (except that such counsel need express no view as to financial statements and schedules and other financial data therein). With respect to such statement, Xxxxxxxx & Xxxxxxxx LLP may state that their belief is based upon the procedures set forth therein, but is without independent check and verification.
(c) The Representatives shall have received on the Closing Date or the Option Closing Date, as the case may be, the opinion of general counsel for the Company, dated the Closing Date or the Option Closing Date, as the case may be, addressed to the Underwriters (and stating that it may be relied upon by counsel to the Underwriters) to the effect that:
(i) The Company has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, with corporate power and authority to own or lease its properties and conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement; each of the Principal Domestic Subsidiaries has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation, with corporate power and authority to own or lease its properties and conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; the Company and each of the Principal Domestic Subsidiaries are duly qualified to transact business in all jurisdictions in which the conduct of their business requires such qualification, or in which the failure to qualify would have a materially adverse effect upon the business of the Company and the Subsidiaries taken as a whole; and, to the best of such counsel’s knowledge, the outstanding shares of capital stock of each of the Subsidiaries is owned free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and equities and claims, and no options, warrants or other rights to purchase, agreements or other obligations to issue or other rights to convert any obligations into any shares of capital stock or of ownership interests in the Subsidiaries are outstanding.
(ii) The Company has authorized and outstanding capital stock as set forth under the caption “Capitalization” in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (and any similar section or information contained in the General Disclosure Package); all of the Shares conform to the description thereof contained in the Registration Statement, the
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General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; the certificates for the Shares, assuming they are in the form filed with the Commission, are in due and proper form; the shares of Preferred Stock, including the Option Shares, if any, to be sold by the Company pursuant to this Agreement have been duly authorized and will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable when issued and paid for as contemplated by this Agreement; the Underlying Shares initially issuable upon conversion of such Shares have been duly authorized and reserved for issuance upon such conversion and, when issued upon such conversion, will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable; and to such counsel’s knowledge no preemptive rights of stockholders exist with respect to any of the Shares or Underlying Shares or the issue or sale thereof.
(iii) The statements under the captions “Description of Preferred Stock” and “Description of Common Stock” in the Prospectus, insofar as such statements constitute a summary of the terms of the Preferred Stock and the Underlying Shares or matters of law, fairly summarize in all material respects the information called for with respect to such documents and matters.
(iv) Such counsel knows of no material legal or governmental proceedings pending or threatened against the Company or any of the Subsidiaries except as set forth in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, except such proceedings that are not reasonably likely to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(v) The execution and delivery of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein do not and will not (A) conflict with or violate any of the terms or provisions of the charter or by-laws of the Company, or (B) conflict with or result in a breach of, or default under, any of the terms or provisions of any material indenture, mortgage, deed of trust or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of the Subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of the Subsidiaries may be bound, except, with respect to (A), such conflicts, violations breaches or defaults that are not reasonably likely to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(vi) This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.
(vii) No approval, consent, order, authorization, designation, declaration or filing by or with any regulatory, administrative or other governmental body under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia is necessary in connection with the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions herein contemplated (other than as may be required by the NASD or as required by State securities and Blue Sky laws as to which such counsel need express no opinion) except such as have been obtained or made.
(viii) The Company is not, and will not become, as a result of the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and application of the net proceeds therefrom as described in the Prospectus, required to register as an investment company under the 1940 Act.
(d) The Representatives shall have received from Xxxxxx Xxxxxx & Xxxxxxx LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, an opinion dated the Closing Date or the Option Closing Date, as the case may be, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives.
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(e) The Representatives shall have received at or prior to the Closing Date from Xxxxxx Xxxxxx & Xxxxxxx LLP a memorandum or summary, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives, with respect to the qualification for offering and sale by the Underwriters of the Shares under the State securities or Blue Sky laws of such jurisdictions as the Representatives may reasonably have designated to the Company.
(f) The Representatives shall have received, on each of the date hereof, the Closing Date and, if applicable, the Option Closing Date, a letter dated the date hereof, the Closing Date or the Option Closing Date, as the case may be, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives, of Ernst & Young LLP confirming that they are an independent registered public accounting firm with respect to the Company and the Subsidiaries within the meaning of the Act and the applicable Rules and Regulations and the rules of the PCAOB and stating that in their opinion the financial statements and schedules examined by them and included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus comply in form in all material respects with the applicable accounting requirements of the Act and the related Rules and Regulations; and containing such other statements and information as is ordinarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to Underwriters with respect to the financial statements and certain financial and statistical information contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.
(g) The Representatives shall have received on the Closing Date and, if applicable, the Option Closing Date, as the case may be, a certificate or certificates of the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer of the Company to the effect that, as of the Closing Date or the Option Closing Date, as the case may be, each of them severally represents as follows:
(i) The Registration Statement has become effective under the Act and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or no order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus has been issued, and no proceedings for such purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the Act have been taken or are, to his or her knowledge, contemplated or threatened by the Commission;
(ii) The representations and warranties of the Company contained in Section 1 hereof are true and correct as of the Closing Date or the Option Closing Date, as the case may be;
(iii) All filings required to have been made with respect to the Shares pursuant to Rules 424(b), 430A, 430B or 430C under the Act have been made as and when required by such rules;
(iv) He or she has carefully examined the General Disclosure Package and any individual Limited Use Free Writing Prospectus and, in his or her opinion, as of the Applicable Time, the statements contained in the General Disclosure Package and any individual Limited Use Free Writing Prospectus did not contain any untrue statement of a material fact, and such General Disclosure Package and any individual Limited Use Free Writing Prospectus, when considered together with the General Disclosure Package, did not omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;
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(v) He or she has carefully examined the Registration Statement and, in his or her opinion, as of the effective date of the Registration Statement, the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto did not contain any untrue statement of a material fact and did not omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading, and since the effective date of the Registration Statement, no event has occurred which should have been set forth in a supplement to or an amendment of the Prospectus which has not been so set forth in such supplement or amendment;
(vi) He or she has carefully examined the Prospectus and, in his or her opinion, as of its date and the Closing Date or the Option Closing Date, as the case may be, the Prospectus and any amendments and supplements thereto did not contain any untrue statement of a material fact and did not omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and
(vii) Since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and Prospectus, there has not been any material adverse change or any development involving a reasonably likely prospective material adverse change in or affecting the business, management, properties, assets, rights, operations, condition (financial or otherwise) or prospects of the Company and the Subsidiaries taken as a whole, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business.
(h) The Company shall have furnished to the Representatives such further certificates and documents confirming the representations and warranties, covenants and conditions contained herein and related matters as the Representatives may reasonably have requested.
(i) The Underlying Shares have been duly listed, subject to notice of issuance, on the New York Stock Exchange.
(j) The Lockup Agreements of each person listed on Schedule IV, and substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit B (the “Lockup Agreement”), are in full force and effect.
The opinions and certificates mentioned in this Agreement shall be deemed to be in compliance with the provisions hereof only if they are in all material respects reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives and to Xxxxxx Xxxxxx & Xxxxxxx LLP, counsel for the Underwriters.
If any of the conditions hereinabove provided for in this Section 6 shall not have been fulfilled when and as required by this Agreement to be fulfilled, the obligations of the Underwriters hereunder may be terminated by the Representatives by notifying the Company of such termination in writing at or prior to the Closing Date or the Option Closing Date, as the case may be.
In such event, the Company and the Underwriters shall not be under any obligation to each other (except to the extent provided in Sections 5 and 8 hereof).
7. Conditions of the Obligations of the Company.
The obligations of the Company to sell and deliver the portion of the Shares required to be delivered as and when specified in this Agreement are subject to the conditions that at the Closing Date or the Option Closing Date, as the case may be, no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall have been issued and in effect or proceedings therefor initiated or threatened.
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8. Indemnification.
(a) The Company agrees:
(1) to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter and each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of either Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which such Underwriter or any such controlling person may become subject under the Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions or proceedings in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of any material fact contained in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto or (ii) the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading in the light of the circumstances under which they were made; provided, however, that the Company will not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage or liability arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement, or omission or alleged omission made in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, the Prospectus, or such amendment or supplement, in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by or through the Representatives specifically for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by any Underwriter consists of the information described as such in Section 13 herein; and
(2) to reimburse each Underwriter and each such controlling person upon demand for any legal or other out-of-pocket expenses reasonably incurred by such Underwriter or such controlling person in connection with investigating or defending any such loss, claim, damage or liability, action or proceeding or in responding to a subpoena or governmental inquiry related to the offering of the Shares, whether or not such Underwriter or controlling person is a party to any action or proceeding. In the event that it is finally judicially determined that the Underwriters were not entitled to receive payments for legal and other expenses pursuant to this subparagraph, the Underwriters will promptly return all sums that had been advanced pursuant hereto.
(b) Each Underwriter severally and not jointly will indemnify and hold harmless the Company, each of its directors, each of its officers who have signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of the Act, against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which the Company or any such director, officer, or controlling person may become subject under the Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions or proceedings in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of any material fact contained in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, or (ii) the omission or the alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading in the light of the circumstances under which they were made; and will reimburse any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by the Company or any such director, officer, or controlling person in connection with investigating or defending any such loss, claim, damage, liability, action or proceeding; provided, however, that each Underwriter will be liable in each case to the extent, but only to the extent, that such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission has been made in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, the Prospectus or such amendment or supplement, in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by or through
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the Representatives specifically for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by any Underwriter consists of the information described as such in Section 13 herein. This indemnity agreement will be in addition to any liability which such Underwriter may otherwise have.
(c) In case any proceeding (including any governmental investigation) shall be instituted involving any person in respect of which indemnity may be sought pursuant to this Section 8, such person (the “indemnified party”) shall promptly notify the person against whom such indemnity may be sought (the “indemnifying party”) in writing. No indemnification provided for in Section 8(a) or (b) shall be available to any party who shall fail to give notice as provided in this Section 8(c) if the party to whom notice was not given was unaware of the proceeding to which such notice would have related and was materially prejudiced by the failure to give such notice, but the failure to give such notice shall not relieve the indemnifying party or parties from any liability which it or they may have to the indemnified party for contribution or otherwise than on account of the provisions of Section 8(a) or (b). In case any such proceeding shall be brought against any indemnified party and it shall notify the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof, the indemnifying party shall be entitled to participate therein and, to the extent that it shall wish, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense thereof, with counsel satisfactory to such indemnified party and shall pay as incurred the fees and disbursements of such counsel related to such proceeding. In any such proceeding, any indemnified party shall have the right to retain its own counsel at its own expense. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the indemnifying party shall pay as incurred (or within 30 days of presentation) the fees and expenses of the counsel retained by the indemnified party in the event (i) the indemnifying party and the indemnified party shall have mutually agreed to the retention of such counsel, (ii) the named parties to any such proceeding (including any impleaded parties) include both the indemnifying party and the indemnified party and representation of both parties by the same counsel would be inappropriate due to actual or potential differing interests between them or (iii) the indemnifying party shall have failed to assume the defense and employ counsel acceptable to the indemnified party within a reasonable period of time after notice of commencement of the action. It is understood that the indemnifying party shall not, in connection with any proceeding or related proceedings in the same jurisdiction, be liable for the reasonable fees and expenses of more than one separate firm for all such indemnified parties. Such firm shall be designated in writing by you in the case of parties indemnified pursuant to Section 8(a) or (b). The indemnifying party shall not be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent but if settled with such consent or if there be a final judgment for the plaintiff, the indemnifying party agrees to indemnify the indemnified party from and against any loss or liability by reason of such settlement or judgment. In addition, the indemnifying party will not, without the prior written consent of the indemnified party, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment in any pending or threatened claim, action or proceeding of which indemnification may be sought hereunder (whether or not any indemnified party is an actual or potential party to such claim, action or proceeding) unless such settlement, compromise or consent includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party from all liability arising out of such claim, action or proceeding.
(d) To the extent the indemnification provided for in this Section 8 is unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under Section 8(a) or (b) above in respect of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions or proceedings in respect thereof) referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions or proceedings in respect thereof) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by
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the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other from the offering of the Shares. If, however, the allocation provided by the immediately preceding sentence is not permitted by applicable law then each indemnifying party shall contribute to such amount paid or payable by such indemnified party in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only such relative benefits but also the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions or proceedings in respect thereof), as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the offering (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters, in each case as set forth in the table on the cover page of the Prospectus. The relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company on the one hand or the Underwriters on the other and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.
The Company, and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this Section 8(d) were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above in this Section 8(d). The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions or proceedings in respect thereof) referred to above in this Section 8(d) shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 8(d), (i) no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the underwriting discounts and commissions applicable to the Shares purchased by such Underwriter, and (ii) no person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.
(e) In any proceeding relating to the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, the Prospectus or any supplement or amendment thereto, each party against whom contribution may be sought under this Section 8 hereby consents to the jurisdiction of any court having jurisdiction over any other contributing party, agrees that process issuing from such court may be served upon it by any other contributing party and consents to the service of such process and agrees that any other contributing party may join it as an additional defendant in any such proceeding in which such other contributing party is a party.
(f) Any losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses for which an indemnified party is entitled to indemnification or contribution under this Section 8 shall be paid by the indemnifying party to the indemnified party as such losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses are incurred. The indemnity and contribution agreements contained in this Section 8 and the representations and warranties of the Company set forth in this Agreement shall remain operative and in full force and effect, regardless of (i) any investigation made by or on behalf of any Underwriter or any person controlling any Underwriter, the Company, its directors or officers or any persons controlling the Company, (ii) acceptance of any Shares and payment therefor hereunder, and (iii) any termination of this Agreement. A successor to any Underwriter, or any person controlling any Underwriter, or to the Company, its directors or officers, or any person controlling the Company, shall be entitled to the benefits of the indemnity, contribution and reimbursement agreements contained in this Section 8.
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9. Default by Underwriters.
If on the Closing Date or the Option Closing Date, as the case may be, any Underwriter shall fail to purchase and pay for the portion of the Shares which such Underwriter has agreed to purchase and pay for on such date (otherwise than by reason of any default on the part of the Company), you, as Representatives of the Underwriters, shall use your reasonable efforts to procure within 36 hours thereafter one or more of the other Underwriters, or any others, to purchase from the Company such amounts as may be agreed upon and upon the terms set forth herein, the Shares which the defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters failed to purchase. If during such 36 hours you, as such Representatives, shall not have procured such other Underwriters, or any others, to purchase the Shares agreed to be purchased by the defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters, then (a) if the aggregate number of shares with respect to which such default shall occur does not exceed 10% of the Shares to be purchased on the Closing Date or the Option Closing date, as the case may be, the other Underwriters shall be obligated, severally, in proportion to the respective numbers of Shares which they are obligated to purchase hereunder, to purchase the Shares which such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters failed to purchase, or (b) if the aggregate number of shares with respect to which such default shall occur exceeds 10% of the Shares to be purchased on the Closing Date or the Option Closing Date, as the case may be, the Company or you as the Representatives of the Underwriters will have the right, by written notice given within the next 36-hour period to the parties to this Agreement, to terminate this Agreement without liability on the part of the non-defaulting Underwriters or of the Company except to the extent provided in Sections 5 and 8 hereof. In the event of a default by any Underwriter or Underwriters, as set forth in this Section 9, the Closing Date or Option Closing Date, as the case may be, may be postponed for such period, not exceeding seven days, as you, as Representatives, may determine in order that the required changes in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or in the Prospectus or in any other documents or arrangements may be effected. The term “Underwriter” includes any person substituted for a defaulting Underwriter. Any action taken under this Section 9 shall not relieve any defaulting Underwriter from liability in respect of any default of such Underwriter under this Agreement.
10. Notices.
All communications hereunder shall be in writing and, except as otherwise provided herein, will be mailed, delivered, telecopied or telegraphed and confirmed as follows: if to the Underwriters, to Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., 00 Xxxx Xxxxxx, 0xx Xxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000; Attention: Syndicate Manager, with a copy to Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., 00 Xxxx Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000, Attention: General Counsel; if to the Company, to Universal Corporation, 0000 Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx 00000, Attention: General Counsel.
11. Termination.
This Agreement may be terminated by you by notice to the Company (a) at any time prior to the Closing Date or any Option Closing Date (if different from the Closing Date and then only as to Option Shares) if any of the following has occurred: (i) since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, any material adverse change or any development involving a prospective material adverse change in or affecting the earnings, business, management, properties, assets, rights, operations, condition (financial or otherwise) or prospects of the Company and the Subsidiaries taken as a whole, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business, (ii) any outbreak or escalation of hostilities or declaration of war or national emergency or other national or international calamity or crisis or change in economic or political conditions if the effect of such outbreak, escalation, declaration, emergency, calamity, crisis or change on the financial markets of the United States would, in your judgment, make it impracticable or inadvisable
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to market the Shares or to enforce contracts for the sale of the Shares, or (iii) suspension of trading in securities generally on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq National Market or limitation on prices (other than limitations on hours or numbers of days of trading) for securities on either such Exchange, (iv) the enactment, publication, decree or other promulgation of any statute, regulation, rule or order of any court or other governmental authority which in your opinion materially and adversely affects or may materially and adversely affect the business or operations of the Company, (v) the declaration of a banking moratorium by United States or New York State authorities, (vi) any downgrading, or placement on any watch list for possible downgrading (it being understood that this clause (vi) shall not include any watchlist that the Company has been or may be placed on as of the date hereof), in the rating of any of the Company’s debt securities by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization” (as defined for purposes of Rule 436(g) under the Exchange Act); (vii) the suspension of trading of the Company’s common stock by the New York Stock Exchange, the Commission, or any other governmental authority or, (viii) the taking of any action by any governmental body or agency in respect of its monetary or fiscal affairs which in your reasonable opinion has a material adverse effect on the securities markets in the United States; or
(b) as provided in Sections 6 and 9 of this Agreement.
12. Successors.
This Agreement has been and is made solely for the benefit of the Underwriters, the Company and their respective successors, executors, administrators, heirs and assigns, and the officers, directors and controlling persons referred to herein, and no other person will have any right or obligation hereunder. No purchaser of any of the Shares from any Underwriter shall be deemed a successor or assign merely because of such purchase.
13. Information Provided by Underwriters.
The Company and the Underwriters acknowledge and agree that the only information furnished or to be furnished by any Underwriter to the Company for inclusion in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus consists of the information set forth in the third, eleventh and twelfth paragraphs under the caption “Underwriting” in the Prospectus.
14. Miscellaneous.
The reimbursement, indemnification and contribution agreements contained in this Agreement and the representations, warranties and covenants in this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect regardless of (a) any termination of this Agreement, (b) any investigation made by or on behalf of any Underwriter or controlling person thereof, or by or on behalf of the Company or its directors or officers, and (c) delivery of and payment for the Shares under this Agreement.
The Company acknowledges and agrees that each Underwriter in providing investment banking services to the Company in connection with the offering, including in acting pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, has acted and is acting as an independent contractor and not as a fiduciary and the Company does not intend such Underwriter to act in any capacity other than as an independent contractor, including as a fiduciary or in any other position of higher trust.
This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.
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This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the law of the State of New York, including, without limitation, Section 5-1401 of the New York General Obligations Law.
If the foregoing letter is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement, please sign and return to us the enclosed duplicates hereof, whereupon it will become a binding agreement among the Company and the several Underwriters in accordance with its terms.
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| Very truly yours, | ||
| UNIVERSAL CORPORATION | ||
| By | ||
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
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| The foregoing Underwriting Agreement is hereby confirmed and accepted as of the date first above written. | ||
| DEUTSCHE BANK SECURITIES INC. WACHOVIA CAPITAL MARKETS, LLC UBS SECURITIES LLC LASALLE FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC. RABO SECURITIES USA, INC. As Representatives of the several Underwriters listed on Schedule I | ||
| By: | Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. | |
| By | ||
| Authorized Officer | ||
| By |
||
| Authorized Officer | ||
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