Exhibit 1.1
EXECUTION COPY
CENTURYLINK, INC.
$400,000,000 7.60% Senior Notes, Series P, due 2039
$350,000,000 5.15% Senior Notes, Series R, due 2017
$1,250,000,000 6.45% Senior Notes, Series S, due 2021
UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
June 9, 2011
Barclays Capital Inc.
745 Seventh Avenue
New York, New York 10019
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
383 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10179
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
One Bryant Park
New York, New York 10036
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
301 South College Street, 6
th
Floor
Charlotte, North Carolina 28288
Ladies and Gentlemen:
CenturyLink, Inc., a Louisiana corporation (the
Company
), proposes to issue and sell
to you (individually, an
Underwriter
and collectively, the
Underwriters
) an
aggregate of $400,000,000 principal amount of the Companys 7.60% Senior Notes, Series P, due 2039
(the
Series P Notes
), an aggregate of $350,000,000 principal amount of the Companys
5.15% Senior Notes, Series R, due 2017 (the
Series R Notes
) and an aggregate of
$1,250,000,000 principal amount of the Companys 6.45% Senior Notes, Series S, due 2021 (the
Series S Notes
and, together with the Series P Notes and the Series R Notes, the
Securities
) to be issued pursuant to an Indenture dated as of March 31, 1994, between the
Company and Regions Bank (successor-in-interest to First American Bank & Trust of Louisiana and
Regions Bank of Louisiana), as trustee (the
Trustee
), as supplemented to the date hereof
(as so supplemented, the
Indenture
), including, with respect to the Series P Notes, by
the Fifth Supplemental
Indenture dated as of September 21, 2009 (the
Fifth Supplemental Indenture
), and as
will be further supplemented, with respect to the Series R Notes and the Series S Notes, by the
Sixth Supplemental Indenture to be dated as of June 16, 2011 (the
Sixth Supplemental
Indenture
and, together with the Fifth Supplemental Indenture, the
Supplemental
Indentures
).
The purchase price for the Securities to be paid by the Underwriters shall be agreed upon by
the Company and the Underwriters and such agreement shall be set forth in a separate written
instrument substantially in the form of Exhibit A hereto (the
Price Determination
Agreement
). The Price Determination Agreement may take the form of an exchange of any
standard form of written communication among the Company and the Underwriters and shall specify
such applicable information as is indicated in Exhibit A hereto. The offering of the Securities
will be governed by this Agreement, as supplemented by the Price Determination Agreement. From and
after the date of the execution and delivery of the Price Determination Agreement, this Agreement
shall be deemed to incorporate, and, unless the context otherwise indicates, all references
contained herein or in the exhibits hereto to this Agreement, the Underwriting Agreement and to
the phrase herein shall be deemed to include the Price Determination Agreement.
The Company confirms as follows its agreements with the several Underwriters.
1.
Agreement to Sell and Purchase
. (a) On the basis of the representations,
warranties and agreements of the Company herein contained and subject to all the terms and
conditions of this Agreement, the Company agrees to sell to each of the Underwriters, and the
Underwriters agree, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company, the principal amount
of the Securities set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule I hereto, plus such
additional principal amount of Securities which any Underwriter may become obligated to purchase
pursuant to Section 8 hereof, all at the purchase price, to be agreed upon by the Underwriters and
the Company in accordance with Section 1(b) and as set forth in the Price Determination Agreement.
(b) The purchase price for the Securities to be paid by the several Underwriters shall be
agreed upon and set forth in the Price Determination Agreement, which shall be dated the Execution
Date (as hereinafter defined).
2.
Delivery and Payment
. Delivery of the Securities shall be made to the Underwriters
for the account of each Underwriter in book-entry form through the facilities of The Depository
Trust Company (DTC) against payment of the purchase price therefor by such Underwriter or on its
behalf therefor by wire transfer in same day funds to the Company or its order at the office of
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, New York, New York or at such other location as the parties
may agree. Such payment shall be made at 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on the fifth business day
following the date of this Agreement or at such time on such other date, as may be agreed upon by
the Company and the Underwriters (such date is hereinafter referred to as the
Closing
Date
).
The Securities of each series to be purchased by each Underwriter hereunder will be
represented by one or more registered global Securities in book-entry form, which will be deposited
by or on behalf of the Company with DTC or its designated custodian. The certificates
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for the
Securities will be made available for examination and packaging by the Underwriters, in New York
City not later than 10:00 a.m. (New York City time) on the business day prior to the Closing Date.
The cost of original issue tax stamps, if any, in connection with the issuance and sale of the
Securities by the Company to the respective Underwriters shall be borne by the Company. The
Company will pay and hold each Underwriter and any subsequent holder of the Securities harmless
from any and all liabilities with respect to or resulting from any failure or delay in paying
federal and state stamp and other issuance taxes, if any, which may be payable or determined to be
payable in connection with the original issuance or sale to such Underwriter of the Securities.
3.
Representations and Warranties of the Company
. The Company represents and warrants
to the several Underwriters as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Date, and covenants with
the several Underwriters, that:
(a) The Company meets the requirements for the use of an automatic shelf registration
statement, as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and
regulations of the Commission thereunder (collectively, the
Securities Act
), and such
registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-157188), including a prospectus (the
Basic
Prospectus
), relating to, among other securities, the debt securities to be issued from time
to time by the Company has been prepared and filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (the
Commission
) not earlier than three years prior to the date hereof. The
Company has also filed, or proposes to file, with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424 under the
Securities Act a prospectus supplement dated the date hereof specifically relating to the
Securities (the
Prospectus Supplement
).
Such registration statement, at the Effective Date (as defined herein), including the
information, if any, deemed pursuant to Rule 430A, 430B or 430C under the Securities Act to be part
of the registration statement at the time of such effectiveness (
Rule 430 Information
),
is referred to herein as the
Registration Statement
, and, as used herein, the term
Prospectus
means the Basic Prospectus as supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement in the
form first used (or made available upon request of purchasers pursuant to Rule 173 under the
Securities Act) in connection with confirmation of sales of the Securities and the term
Preliminary Prospectus
means the preliminary prospectus supplement dated June 9, 2011
specifically relating to the Securities together with the Basic Prospectus. References herein to
the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer
to and include the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein as of
the Effective Date with respect to the Registration Statement or the date of the Preliminary
Prospectus or the date of the Prospectus, as the case may be. The terms supplement, amendment
and amend as used herein with respect to the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus
or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include any documents filed by the Company under
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and
regulations of the Commission thereunder (collectively, the
Exchange Act
),
subsequent to the date of this Agreement which are deemed to be incorporated by reference therein.
For purposes of this Agreement, the term
Effective Date
means the effective date of the
Registration Statement with respect to the offering of Securities as determined for the Company
pursuant to
3
Rule 430B(f)(2) under the Securities Act and the term
Execution Date
means
the date that this Agreement is executed and delivered by the parties hereto, as reflected on the
first page hereof.
At or prior to the Time of Sale (as defined in the Price Determination Agreement), the Company
had prepared the following information (collectively, the
Time of Sale Information
): the
Preliminary Prospectus and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (as defined herein) listed on
Schedule III hereto.
(b) The Registration Statement became effective upon filing with the Commission under the
Securities Act. No order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been
issued by the Commission and no proceeding for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the
Securities Act against the Company or related to the offering has been initiated or, to the best
knowledge of the Company, threatened by the Commission; as of the Effective Date, the Registration
Statement complied in all material respects with the Securities Act and the Trust Indenture Act of
1939, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (collectively, the
Trust Indenture Act
), and did not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit
to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements
therein not misleading; and as of the date of the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement
thereto and as of the Closing Date, the Prospectus complied in all material respects with the
Securities Act and the Trust Indenture Act and did not and will not contain any untrue statement of
a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in
order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made,
not misleading; provided that the Company makes no representation and warranty with respect to (i)
that part of the Registration Statement that constitutes the Statement of Eligibility and
Qualification (Form T-1) of the Trustee under the Trust Indenture Act or (ii) any statements or
omissions in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto
made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished to the Company in writing by any
Underwriter expressly for use therein.
(c) The Time of Sale Information, at the Time of Sale did not, and at the Closing Date will
not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or 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 that the Company makes no representation and warranty with respect to any
statements or omissions made in the Time of Sale Information in reliance upon and in conformity
with information furnished to the Company in writing by any Underwriter expressly for use in such
Time of Sale Information. No statement of material fact included in the Prospectus has been
omitted from the Time of Sale Information and no statement of material fact included in the Time of
Sale Information that is required to be included in the Prospectus has been omitted therefrom.
(d) The Company (including its agents and representatives, other than the Underwriters in
their capacity as such) has not prepared, made, used, authorized, approved or referred to and will
not prepare, make, use, authorize, approve or refer to any written
communication (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) that constitutes an offer to
sell or solicitation of an offer to buy the Securities (each such communication by the Company or
its agents and representatives (other than a communication referred to in clauses (i), (ii) and
(iii) below), an
Issuer Free Writing Prospectus
) other than (i) any document not
constituting a
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prospectus pursuant to Section 2(a)(10)(a) of the Securities Act or Rule 134 under
the Securities Act, (ii) the Preliminary Prospectus, (iii) the Prospectus, (iv) the documents
listed on Schedule III to this Agreement as constituting part of the Time of Sale Information and
(v) any electronic road show or other written communications, in the case of clause (v) approved in
writing in advance by the Underwriters. Each such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus complied in all
material respects with the Securities Act, has been or will be (within the time period specified in
Rule 433) filed in accordance with the Securities Act (to the extent required thereby) and, when
taken together with each such other Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and the Preliminary Prospectus
did not, and at the Closing Date will not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or 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 that the Company makes no
representation and warranty with respect to any statements or omissions made in each such Issuer
Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished to the
Company in writing by any Underwriter expressly for use in any such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus.
(e) The documents which are incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the
Prospectus and the Time of Sale Information, when filed with the Commission, as the case may be,
complied in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act
and did not and will not contain an untrue statement of material fact or omit to state a material
fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the
circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
(f) (A) (i) At the time of initial filing of the Registration Statement, (ii) at the time of
the most recent amendment thereto for the purposes of complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the
Securities 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 Securities Act) made any offer relating to the Securities in reliance on the
exemption of Rule 163 under the Securities Act, the Company was a well-known seasoned issuer as
defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act; and (B) 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 Securities Act) of the Securities, the Company was
not, and currently is not, an ineligible issuer as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act.
(g) Each of the Company and each of its subsidiaries listed on Schedule II hereto (the
Subsidiaries
) is, and at the Closing Date will be, a corporation or limited liability
company duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of
organization. The Subsidiaries are the Companys only significant subsidiaries (as such term is
defined in Regulation S-X under the Exchange Act but assuming that the merger with Qwest (as
defined herein) occurred as of December 31, 2010). Each of the Company and each of the Subsidiaries
has, and at the Closing Date will have, full corporate or limited liability company
power and authority to conduct all the activities conducted by it, to own or lease all the
assets owned or leased by it and to conduct its business as described in the Registration
Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus. Each of the Company and each of the
Subsidiaries is, and at the Closing Date will be, duly licensed or qualified to do business and in
good standing
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as a foreign corporation or limited liability company in all jurisdictions in which
the nature of the activities conducted by it or the character of the assets owned or leased by it
makes such licensing or qualification necessary except where the failure to be so qualified or
licensed would not have a material adverse effect on the business, properties, business prospects,
condition (financial or otherwise) or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries,
taken as a whole (a
Material Adverse Effect
). For purposes of this Agreement,
subsidiaries shall mean (a) the Companys direct and indirect majority-owned corporate
subsidiaries (b) the Companys direct and indirect majority owned limited liability companies and
(c) the partnerships, joint ventures and other entities of which the Company or any subsidiary is
the majority owner or managing general partner. Complete and correct copies of the certificate of
incorporation and of the by-laws or other organizational documents of the Company and each of the
Subsidiaries and all amendments thereto have been made available to the Underwriters, and no
changes therein will be made subsequent to the Time of Sale and prior to the Closing Date.
(h) The Securities have been duly and validly authorized and, when authenticated by the
Trustee and issued, delivered and sold in accordance with this Agreement and the Indenture, will
have been duly and validly executed, authenticated, issued and delivered and will constitute valid
and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their
respective terms and entitled to the benefits provided by the Indenture except (i) that such
enforcement may be subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, fraudulent conveyance,
moratorium or other similar laws, now or hereafter in effect, relating to creditors rights
generally and (ii) that the remedy of specific performance and injunctive and other forms of
equitable relief may be subject to equitable defenses and to the discretion of the court before
which any proceeding therefor may be brought.
(i) The description of the Securities in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale
Information and the Prospectus is, and at the Closing Date will be, complete and accurate in all
material respects and, insofar as such description contains statements constituting a summary of
the legal matters or documents referred to therein, such description fairly summarizes the
information referred to therein.
(j) The historical financial statements and schedules included or incorporated by reference in
the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus, including the
financial statements and schedules of Qwest Communications International Inc., a Delaware
corporation (
Qwest
), contained in Qwests Annual Report on Form 10-K, as amended, for the
year ended December 31, 2010 and Qwests Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March
31, 2011, in each case filed by the Company or Qwest with the Commission, present fairly the
consolidated financial condition of the Company and Qwest as of the respective dates thereof and
the consolidated results of operations and cash flows of the Company and Qwest for the respective
periods covered thereby, all in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting
principles applied on a consistent basis throughout the entire period involved, except as otherwise
disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus. The
selected consolidated financial data included in the
Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus present fairly as of
the dates thereof the information shown therein and have been compiled on a basis consistent with
that of the audited consolidated financial statements of the Company and Qwest included or
incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the
6
Prospectus. No other financial statements or schedules of the Company or Qwest are required by the
Securities Act or the Exchange Act to be included in or incorporated by reference in the
Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information or the Prospectus.
(k) The
pro forma
financial information included or incorporated by reference in the
Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus has been prepared on a
basis consistent with the Companys historical financial statements incorporated by reference in
the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus (except for the
pro
forma
adjustments specified therein), includes all material adjustments to the Companys historical
financial information required by Rule 11-02 of Regulation S-X under the Securities Act and the
Exchange Act to reflect the transactions described in the notes to such financial information as of
the respective dates of such
pro forma
information and gives effect to assumptions made on a
reasonable basis. No other pro forma financial statements or information are required by the
Securities Act or the Exchange Act to be included or incorporated by reference in the Registration
Statement, the Time of Sale Information or the Prospectus.
(l) KPMG LLP (
KPMG
), who has audited certain financial statements and schedules of
the Company and Qwest incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale
Information and the Prospectus, and audited the Companys and Qwests internal control over
financial reporting as of December 31, 2010, is an independent registered public accounting firm
with respect to the Company and Qwest, in each case, as required by the Securities Act.
(m) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has sustained since the date of the latest
audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Time of Sale Information
and the Prospectus any material loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood
or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or
governmental action, order or decree, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Time of
Sale Information and the Prospectus; and, since the respective dates as of which information is
given in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus, there has not
been any change in the capital stock of the Company (except for newly-issued shares issued pursuant
to the Companys employee benefit plans, stock-based incentive plans, incentive compensation plans,
employee stock purchase plans, dividend reinvestment plans or other plans in the ordinary course of
business) or any increase in long-term debt of the Company or any of its subsidiaries (except for
borrowings under the Companys revolving credit facility in the ordinary course of business and
changes to long-term debt based on the application of United States generally accepted accounting
principles that do not change the face amount of such debt) or any material adverse change, or any
development involving a prospective material adverse change, in or affecting the general affairs,
management, financial position, stockholders equity or results of operations of the Company and
its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Time of Sale
Information and the Prospectus.
(n) The Company is not, and after giving effect to the issuance and sale of the Securities and
the application of the proceeds thereof as described in the Time of Sale Information, will not be,
an investment company or an affiliated person of, or promoter or
7
principal underwriter for,
an investment company, as such terms are defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as
amended.
(o) Except as set forth in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the
Prospectus, there are no actions, suits or proceedings pending or, to the best of the Companys
knowledge, threatened against or affecting the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their
respective officers in their capacity as such, before or by any federal or state court, commission,
regulatory body, administrative agency or other governmental body, domestic or foreign, that is
likely to have a Material Adverse Effect. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement, the
Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus, all actions, suits or proceedings now pending against
the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or any of their respective officers in their capacities as
such, before any Federal or state court, commission, regulatory body, administrative agency or
other governmental body, domestic or foreign, if decided or resolved in a manner unfavorable to the
Company or any of its subsidiaries, would not be likely to, individually or in the aggregate, have
a Material Adverse Effect.
(p) The Company and each of the Subsidiaries has and, at the Closing Date, will have (i) such
franchises, certificates, authorities or permits issued by the appropriate state, federal or
foreign regulatory agencies or bodies necessary to conduct the business now operated by them, other
than those the absence of which would not be likely to have a Material Adverse Effect, and neither
the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries has received any written notice of proceedings relating to
the revocation or modification of any such franchise, certificate, authority or permit which,
individually or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding,
would be likely to have a Material Adverse Effect, (ii) complied in all material respects with all
laws, statutes, ordinances, rules, regulations, orders or decrees of any court, governmental body
or regulatory authority or administrative agency having jurisdiction over the Company or any
Subsidiary or any of the property or assets of the Company or any Subsidiary (including, without
limitation, any such laws, statutes, ordinances, rules, regulations, orders or decrees with respect
to environmental protection or the release, handling, treatment, storage or disposal of hazardous
substances or toxic wastes), the failure to comply with which would be likely to have a Material
Adverse Effect, and (iii) performed in all material respects all of its obligations required to be
performed by it under any material contract or other instrument to which it is a party or by which
its property is bound or affected, and is not, and at the Closing Date, will not be, in default
under any such contract or instrument the effect of which would be likely to have a Material
Adverse Effect. To the best knowledge of the Company, no other party under any material contract
or other instrument to which it or any Subsidiary is a party is in default in any respect
thereunder, except for any such defaults (alone or collectively) that would not be likely to have a
Material Adverse Effect; provided that it is understood and agreed that neither the Company nor any
Subsidiary has undertaken any special investigation to determine compliance by such other parties
under any such contract or other instrument. The Company is not, and at the Closing Date will not
be, in violation of any provision of its articles of incorporation or by-laws or in default in any
material respect under any agreement or instrument evidencing indebtedness for borrowed money. The
Subsidiaries are not, and at the Closing Date, will not be, in violation of any material provision
of their respective articles of incorporation or
by-laws (or comparable organizational documents) or in default under any agreement or
instrument evidencing indebtedness for borrowed money (A) as a result of the failure to make
8
one or
more payments in excess of $5 million in the aggregate that are due and owed thereunder, or (B)
otherwise in any respect which is likely to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(q) No consent, approval, authorization or order of, or any filing, registration,
qualification or declaration with, any court or governmental agency or body is required for (i) the
execution, delivery or performance of this Agreement, the Securities or the Supplemental Indentures
by the Company, (ii) the authorization, offer, issuance, transfer, sale or delivery of the
Securities by the Company in accordance with this Agreement or (iii) the consummation by the
Company of the transactions on its part contemplated herein and by the Indenture, except such as
may have been obtained, or on or prior to the Closing Date will be obtained, under the Securities
Act, the Exchange Act or the Trust Indenture Act and such as may be required under foreign or state
securities or blue sky laws or the rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
(
FINRA
) in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Securities by the
Underwriters.
(r) The Company has full corporate power and authority to enter into this Agreement. This
Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and, when duly executed
and delivered by the Underwriters, will constitute a valid and binding agreement of the Company and
will be enforceable against the Company in accordance with the terms hereof, except (i) that such
enforcement may be subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, fraudulent conveyance,
moratorium or other similar laws, now or hereafter in effect, relating to creditors rights
generally, (ii) that the remedy of specific performance and injunctive and other forms of equitable
relief may be subject to equitable defenses and to the discretion of the court before which any
proceeding therefor may be brought and (iii) rights to indemnity and contribution hereunder may be
limited by federal or state laws relating to securities or the policies underlying such laws. The
Indenture has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and the Trustee and has
been qualified under the Trust Indenture Act and constitutes a valid and binding agreement of the
Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except (i) that such
enforcement may be subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar
laws, now or hereafter in effect, relating to creditors rights generally and (ii) that the remedy
of specific performance and injunctive and other forms of equitable relief may be subject to
equitable defenses and to the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be
brought.
(s) The issue and sale of the Securities, the execution, delivery and performance by the
Company of this Agreement and the Indenture and the consummation of the transactions contemplated
hereby and thereby will not (i) result in a violation of any of the terms or provisions of the
articles of incorporation or by-laws (or comparable instruments) of the Company or any of the
Subsidiaries, or (ii) violate or conflict with any franchise or any judgment, ruling, decree,
order, statute, rule or regulation of any court or other governmental agency or body applicable to
the business or properties of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries or (iii) result in the
creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any of the assets of the Company or
any of the Subsidiaries pursuant to the terms or provisions of, or result in a breach or violation
of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, or give any other party a
right to terminate any of its obligations under, or result in the
acceleration of any obligation under, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, voting trust
agreement, loan agreement, bond, debenture, note agreement or other evidence of indebtedness,
9
lease, contract 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 or any of their respective properties is
or are bound or affected (the applicable agreements), other than with respect to this clause
(iii) any breaches, violations, defaults, terminations or accelerations with respect to any
applicable agreement that will not, or are not likely to, have a Material Adverse Effect.
(t) The Company and each of the Subsidiaries has good and marketable title to all franchises,
properties and assets owned by it, which are material to the business or operations of the Company
and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole (including without limitation the stock or other equity
interests of all subsidiaries), free and clear of all liens, charges, encumbrances or restrictions,
except such as are described in the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus and except
immaterial liens which do not affect the operations or financial condition of the Company. The
Company and each of the Subsidiaries has valid, subsisting and enforceable leases for the
properties leased by it, with such exceptions as would not materially interfere with the business
or operations of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole.
(u) All existing material contracts described in the Time of Sale Information and the
Prospectus to which the Company or any of the Subsidiaries is a party have been duly authorized,
executed and delivered by the Company or such Subsidiary, constitute valid and binding agreements
of the Company or such Subsidiary and are enforceable against the Company or such Subsidiary in
accordance with the terms thereof, except (i) that such enforcement may be subject to bankruptcy,
insolvency, reorganization, fraudulent conveyance, moratorium or other similar laws, now or
hereafter in effect, relating to creditors rights generally and (ii) that the remedy of specific
performance and injunctive and other forms of equitable relief may be subject to equitable defenses
and to the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be brought. Such
described contracts are the only contracts required to be described in the Time of Sale Information
and the Prospectus by the Securities Act.
(v) No statement, representation, warranty or covenant made by the Company in this Agreement
or the Indenture or made in any certificate or document required by this Agreement to be delivered
to the Underwriters was or will be, when made, inaccurate, untrue or incorrect in any material
respect.
(w) No holder of securities of the Company has rights to the registration of any securities of
the Company because of the filing of the Registration Statement or the offering and sale of the
Securities.
(x) No action has been taken and no statute, rule, regulation or order has been enacted,
adopted or issued by any governmental agency or body that prevents the issuance of the Securities,
suspends the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, prevents or suspends the use of the Time
of Sale Information or the Prospectus, or suspends the sale of the Securities in any jurisdiction
referred to in Section 4(i) below, provided, however, that to the extent this representation
relates to state securities or blue sky laws and laws of jurisdictions other than the United States
and its political subdivisions, it shall be limited to the knowledge of the Company.
No injunction, restraining order or order of any nature by a federal or state court of
competent jurisdiction has been issued and served on the Company or any of its Subsidiaries with
respect to
10
the Company or any of its Subsidiaries that would prevent or suspend the issuance or
sale of the Securities, the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, or the use of the Time of
Sale Information or the Prospectus in any jurisdiction referred to in Section 4(i) below.
(y) The Company has not taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to cause or to
result in, or that has constituted or which might reasonably be expected to constitute, the
stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or
resale of the Securities in any jurisdiction referred to in Section 4(i) below in contravention of
applicable law, provided that no representation is made herein as to the activities of any
Underwriter.
(z) The Company and its Subsidiaries maintain (x) systems of internal controls over financial
reporting (as defined in Rule 15d-15 under the Exchange Act) sufficient to provide reasonable
assurance that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with managements general or specific
authorizations; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial
statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and to maintain asset
accountability; and (iii) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing
assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences and
(y) disclosure controls and procedures as defined in, and that comply with the requirements of,
Rule 15d-15 under the Exchange Act. The Company is not aware of any material weakness in its
internal control over financial reporting.
(aa) The Company is, to its knowledge, in compliance in all material respects with the
applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 that are effective and the rules and
regulations of the Commission that have been adopted and are effective thereunder.
(bb) The Company has no reason to believe that the representations and warranties of SAVVIS,
Inc. contained in the Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of April 26, 2011 among the Company,
SAVVIS, Inc. and Mimi Acquisition Company are untrue in any material respect.
4.
Agreements of the Company
. The Company agrees with the several Underwriters as
follows:
(a) The Company will file each of the Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus in a form
approved by the Underwriters with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act not
later than the close of business on the second business day following the date of first use, with
respect to the Preliminary Prospectus, and the date of determination of the public offering price
of the Securities, with respect to the Prospectus or, if applicable, such earlier time as may be
required by Rule 424(b) and Rule 430A, 430B or 430C under the Securities Act. The Company will
prepare final term sheets in a form approved by the Underwriters and attached hereto as Exhibit
D-1, Exhibit D-2 and Exhibit D-3 (the
Final Term Sheets
) and will file any Issuer Free
Writing Prospectus (including the Final Term Sheets) to the extent required by Rule 433 under the
Securities Act; and the Company will promptly furnish copies of the Preliminary Prospectus, the
Prospectus and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (to
the extent not previously delivered) to the Underwriters in New York City in such quantities
as the Underwriters may reasonably request.
11
(b) The Company will not, from the Time of Sale until the end of such period as the Prospectus
is required by law to be delivered (or required to be delivered but for Rule 172 under the
Securities Act) in connection with sales of the Securities by an Underwriter or dealer, file any
amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, the
Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, unless a draft thereof shall first have been submitted to
the Underwriters within a reasonable period of time prior to the filing thereof and the
Underwriters shall not have objected thereto in good faith.
(c) The Company will notify the Underwriters promptly, and will confirm such advice in
writing, (i) when any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement becomes effective,
(ii) of any request by the Commission for amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement,
the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or for additional
information, (iii) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness
of the Registration Statement or preventing or suspending the use of the Preliminary Prospectus,
the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or the initiation of any proceedings for that
purpose or the threat thereof, or pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act, (iv) until the end
of such period as the Prospectus is required by law to be delivered (or required to be delivered
but for Rule 172 under the Securities Act) in connection with sales of the Securities by an
Underwriter or dealer, of the happening of any event that in the judgment of the Company requires
the Company to file an amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement and (v) of receipt by
the Company, or any representatives or attorney of the Company, of any other communication from the
Commission relating to the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, the Preliminary
Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the offering of the Securities.
If at any time the Commission shall issue any order suspending the effectiveness of the
Registration Statement or preventing or suspending the use of the Preliminary Prospectus, the
Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, the Company will make every reasonable effort to
obtain the withdrawal of such order at the earliest possible moment.
(d) If and to the extent not already furnished, the Company will, upon request, furnish to the
Underwriters, without charge, one complete copy of the Registration Statement and of any
post-effective amendment thereto, including financial statements and schedules, and all exhibits
thereto (including any documents filed under the Exchange Act and deemed to be incorporated by
reference into the Prospectus), and will upon request make available to the Underwriters, without
charge, additional copies of the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto,
including financial statements and schedules but without exhibits and documents incorporated by
reference therein.
(e) The Company will not make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute an
Issuer Free Writing Prospectus without the prior written consent of the Underwriters, which consent
shall be in writing for any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus other than the Final Term Sheets.
(f) The Company will, pursuant to reasonable procedures developed in good faith, retain copies
of each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is not filed with the Commission in accordance with
Rule 433 under the Securities Act.
12
(g) The Company will comply with all the provisions of any undertakings contained in the
Registration Statement.
(h) At the Time of Sale, and thereafter from time to time, the Company will deliver to the
Underwriters, without charge, as many copies of the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus, any
Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any supplement thereto, as the Underwriters may reasonably
request. The Company consents to the use of the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus, any Issuer
Free Writing Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto by the Underwriters and by all
dealers to whom the Securities may be sold, both in connection with the offering or sale of the
Securities and for any period of time thereafter during which a prospectus is required by law to be
delivered (or required to be delivered but for Rule 172 under the Securities Act) in connection
therewith. If during such period of time, any event shall occur which in the judgment of the
Company or counsel to the Underwriters should be set forth in the Time of Sale Information and the
Prospectus in order to make any statement therein, in the light of the circumstances under which it
was made when delivered, not misleading, or if it is necessary to supplement the Time of Sale
Information and the Prospectus to comply with law, the Company will forthwith prepare and duly file
with the Commission an appropriate supplement thereto or a document under the Exchange Act deemed
to be incorporated therein, and will deliver to the Underwriters, without charge, such number of
copies thereof as the Underwriters may reasonably request. The Company shall not file any document
under the Exchange Act before the termination of the offering of the Securities by the Underwriters
if such document would be deemed to be incorporated by reference into the Preliminary Prospectus or
the Prospectus, unless a draft thereof shall first have been submitted to the Underwriters within a
reasonable period of time prior to the filing thereof and the Underwriters shall not have objected
thereto in good faith.
(i) The Company will cooperate with the Underwriters and counsel to the Underwriters in
connection with the registration or qualification of the Securities for offer and sale under the
securities or blue sky laws of such United States jurisdictions and similar laws of such foreign
jurisdictions as the Underwriters may request, and will maintain such qualifications in effect so
long as required for the distribution of the Securities; provided, that in no event shall the
Company be obligated to qualify to do business in any jurisdiction where it is not now so qualified
or to take any action which would subject it to general service of process or general taxation in
any jurisdiction where it is not now so subject.
(j) During the period of five years commencing at the Time of Sale, to the extent the Company
is not required to file periodic reports with the Commission pursuant to Sections 13 or 15 of the
Exchange Act, the Company will furnish to the Underwriters, if requested, copies of such financial
statements and other reports and information as the Company may from time to time distribute
generally to the holders of any class of its securities.
(k) The Company will make generally available to holders of its securities as soon as may be
practicable but in no event later than the last day of the fifteenth full calendar month
following the calendar quarter in which the Execution Date falls, an earning statement (which
need not be audited but shall be in reasonable detail) for a period of twelve (12) months ended
commencing after the Time of Sale, within the meaning of and satisfying the provisions of Section
11(a) of the Securities Act (including Rule 158 thereunder).
13
(l) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties hereto, whether or not the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement are consummated or this Agreement is terminated, the Company will
pay, or reimburse if paid by the Underwriters, all costs and expenses incident to the performance
of the obligations of the Company under this Agreement, including but not limited to costs and
expenses of or relating to (i) the preparation, printing and filing of the Registration Statement
and exhibits thereto, the Basic Prospectus, the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus, the Time of
Sale Information, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and any amendment or supplement to the
Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus, the Time of Sale Information or
any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, (ii) the preparation and delivery of certificates representing
the Securities, (iii) the printing of this Agreement, any agreement among underwriters, any dealer
agreements and any underwriters questionnaire, (iv) furnishing (including costs of shipping and
mailing) such copies of the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, the Preliminary
Prospectus, the Prospectus, the Time of Sale Information or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and
all amendments and supplements thereto, as may be requested for use in connection with the offering
and sale of the Securities by the Underwriters or by dealers to whom Securities may be sold, (v)
any filings required to be made by the Underwriters with FINRA, and the fees, disbursements and
other charges of counsel for the Underwriters in connection therewith, (vi) the registration or
qualification of the Securities for offer and sale under the securities or blue sky laws of such
United States jurisdictions and similar laws of such foreign jurisdictions designated pursuant to
Section 4(i) hereof, including the fees, disbursements and other charges of counsel for the
Underwriters in connection therewith, and the preparation and printing of preliminary, supplemental
and final blue sky memoranda, (vii) counsel to the Company, (viii) the rating of the Securities by
one or more rating agencies, (ix) the Trustee and any agent of the Trustee and the fees,
disbursements and other charges of counsel for the Trustee in connection with the Indenture and the
Securities and (x) the applicable Commission filing fees relating to the Securities within the time
required by Rule 456(b)(1) under the Securities Act without regard to the proviso thereof.
(m) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, if this Agreement shall be terminated for any
reason by the Company pursuant to any of the provisions hereof (other than pursuant to Section 8
hereof), if for any reason the Company shall be unable to perform its obligations hereunder or if
any condition to the Underwriters obligations hereunder is not fulfilled at or prior to the
Closing Date and this Agreement is terminated by the Underwriters, the Company will reimburse the
Underwriters for all out-of-pocket expenses (including the fees, disbursements and other charges of
counsel for the Underwriters) reasonably incurred by them in connection herewith.
(n) The Company will not at any time, directly or indirectly, take any action described in
Section 3(y) hereof.
(o) Until thirty (30) days from the Execution Date, the Company will not, without the consent
of the Underwriters, offer, sell or contract to sell, or otherwise dispose of, by public offering,
or announce the public offering of, any other debt securities of the Company other than (i) the
Securities and (ii) the incurrence of indebtedness under the Companys credit facilities or through
commercial paper issuances.
14
(p) If immediately prior to the third anniversary (the
Renewal Deadline
) of the
initial effective date of the Registration Statement, any of the Securities remain unsold by the
Underwriters, prior to the Renewal Deadline, the Company will file, if it has not already done so
and is eligible to do so, a new automatic shelf registration statement relating to the Securities,
in a form satisfactory to the Underwriters, (ii) if the Company is no longer eligible to file an
automatic shelf registration statement, prior to the Renewal Deadline, if it has not already done
so, the Company will file a new shelf registration statement relating to the Securities, in a form
satisfactory to the Underwriters, and use its best efforts to cause such registration statement to
be declared effective within 180 days after the Renewal Deadline and (iii) the Company will take
all other action necessary or appropriate to permit the public offering and sale of the Securities
to continue as contemplated in the expired registration statement relating to the Securities
(references herein to the Registration Statement shall include such new automatic shelf
registration statement or such new shelf registration statement, as the case may be).
(q) If at any time when the Securities remain unsold by the Underwriters the Company receives
from the Commission a notice pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Securities Act or otherwise
ceases to be eligible to use the automatic shelf registration statement form, the Company will (i)
promptly notify the Underwriters, (ii) promptly file a new registration statement or post-effective
amendment on the proper form relating to the Securities, in a form satisfactory to the
Underwriters, (iii) use its best efforts to cause such registration statement or post-effective
amendment to be declared effective and (iv) promptly notify the Underwriters of such effectiveness;
and to take all other action necessary or appropriate to permit the public offering and sale of the
Securities to continue as contemplated in the registration statement that was the subject of the
Rule 401(g)(2) notice or for which the Company has otherwise become ineligible (references herein
to the Registration Statement shall include such new registration statement or post-effective
amendment, as the case may be).
5.
Agreements of the Underwriters
.
Each Underwriter hereby represents and agrees that:
(a) It has not and will not use, authorize use of, refer to, or participate in the planning
for use of, any free writing prospectus (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) (a
Free Writing Prospectus
) other than (i) a Free Writing Prospectus that, solely as a
result of use by such Underwriter, would not trigger an obligation to file such Free Writing
Prospectus with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433, (ii) any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus listed
on Schedule III to this Agreement or prepared pursuant to Section 3(d) or Section 4(a) above
(including any electronic road show), or (iii) any Free Writing Prospectus prepared by such
Underwriter and approved by the Company in advance in writing.
(b) It will, pursuant to reasonable procedures developed in good faith, retain copies of, and
comply with any legending requirements applicable to, each free writing prospectus used or referred
to by it, in accordance with Rule 433 under the Securities Act.
(c) It is not subject to any pending proceeding under Section 8A of the Securities Act with
respect to the offering (and will promptly notify the Company if any such proceeding against it is
initiated prior to the end of such period as the Prospectus is required by law to be
15
delivered (or
required to be delivered but for Rule 172 under the Securities Act) in connection with sales of the
Securities by an Underwriter or dealer).
6.
Conditions of Obligations of the Underwriters
. (a) In addition to the execution
and delivery of the Price Determination Agreement, the obligations of the Underwriters shall be
subject to the condition that all representations and warranties and other statements of the
Company set forth herein are, at and as of the Closing Date, true and correct, the condition that
the Company shall have performed all of its obligations hereunder theretofore to be performed, and
the following additional conditions, unless any such condition is waived in writing by the
Underwriters:
(a) (i) No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or preventing
or suspending the use of the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus shall be in effect and no proceedings for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the
Securities Act shall be pending or threatened by the Commission and no notice of objection of the
Commission to the use of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto
pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Securities Act shall have been received, (ii) any request for
additional information on the part of the staff of the Commission or any such authorities with
respect to the offering of the Securities shall have been complied with to the satisfaction of the
staff of the Commission or such authorities, (iii) the Company shall have filed the Prospectus
pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act and shall have made all other filings (including,
without limitation, the Final Term Sheets) required by Rule 424 or Rule 433 under the Securities
Act within the time periods required by such rules and (iv) after the Time of Sale, no amendment or
supplement to the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Issuer
Free Writing Prospectus shall have been filed unless a copy thereof was first submitted to the
Underwriters and the Underwriters did not object thereto in good faith, and the Underwriters shall
have received certificates, dated the Closing Date and signed on behalf of the Company by the Chief
Executive Officer of the Company and the Chief Financial Officer of the Company (who may, as to
proceedings threatened, rely upon the best of their information and belief), to the effect of
clauses (i) and (ii).
(b) Since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement,
the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus (excluding any amendment or supplement thereto) (i)
there shall not have been any change in the capital stock of the Company (except for newly-issued
shares issued purusant to the Companys employee benefit plans, stock-based incentive plans,
incentive compensation plans, employee stock purchase plans, dividend reinvestment plans or other
similar plans in the ordinary course of business) or any increase in long-term debt of the Company
or any of its subsidiaries (except for borrowings under the
Companys revolving credit facility in the ordinary course of business and changes to
long-term debt based on the application of United States generally accepted accounting principles
that do not change the face amount of such debt) or any change, or any development involving a
prospective change, in or affecting the general affairs, management, financial position,
stockholders equity or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries, otherwise than
as set forth or contemplated in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the
Prospectus and (ii) neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries shall have sustained any loss
or interference with its business or properties from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity,
whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or any court or governmental action,
order or decree, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Registration Statement,
16
the
Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus, the effect of which any such case described in clause
(i) or (ii) is, in the judgment of the Underwriters, so material and adverse as to make it
impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or the delivery of the Securities
on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus.
(c) On or after the date hereof there shall not have occurred any of the following: (i) a
suspension or material limitation in trading in securities generally on The New York Stock Exchange
(the
NYSE
); (ii) a suspension or material limitation in trading in the Companys
securities by the NYSE; (iii) a general moratorium on commercial banking activities declared by
Federal or New York State authorities or a material disruption in commercial banking or securities
settlement or clearance services in the United States; (iv) any material adverse change in the
financial markets in the United States or elsewhere; or (v) the outbreak or escalation of
hostilities or other international or national calamity or crisis, if the effect of any such event
specified in clause (iv) or (v), in the Underwriters judgment, makes it impracticable or
inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or the delivery of the Securities on the terms and
in the manner contemplated in the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus.
(d) On or after the date hereof (i) no downgrading shall have occurred in the rating accorded
the Companys debt securities or preferred stock by any nationally recognized statistical rating
organization, as that term is defined in Section 3(a)(62) of the Exchange Act, and (ii) no such
organization shall have publicly announced that it has under surveillance or review, with possible
negative implications, its rating of any of the Companys debt securities.
(e) At the Closing Date, the Securities shall have at least the ratings specified in the Time
of Sale Information, and the Company shall have delivered, to the extent available, to the
Underwriters a letter, dated the Closing Date, from each relevant rating agency, or other evidence
reasonably satisfactory to the Underwriters, confirming that the Securities have been assigned such
ratings.
(f) Since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement
and the Time of Sale Information, there shall have been no litigation or other proceeding
instituted against the Company or any of the Subsidiaries or any of their respective officers or
directors in their capacities as such, before or by any federal, state or local court, commission,
regulatory body, administrative agency or other governmental body, domestic or foreign, in which
litigation or proceeding an unfavorable ruling, decision or finding would have a Material Adverse
Effect.
(g) On the Closing Date, the Underwriters shall have received an opinion, dated the Closing
Date, and satisfactory in form and substance to counsel for the Underwriters, from Stacey W. Goff,
Esq., Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of the Company, and from Jones,
Walker, Waechter, Poitevent, Carrère & Denègre, L.L.P., special counsel to the Company, to the
effect set forth in Exhibit B and Exhibit C hereto, respectively.
(h) On the Closing Date, the Underwriters shall have received an opinion, dated the Closing
Date, from Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, with respect to such
matters as the Underwriters may reasonably require. Such counsel may state that, insofar as such
opinion involves factual matters, they have relied, to the extent they deem proper,
17
upon
certificates of officers of the Company and its subsidiaries, and certificates of public officials.
(i) On the date hereof and at the Closing Date, KPMG, who has audited (x) certain of the
financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries and (y) certain of the financial
statements of Qwest and its subsidiaries, in each case, incorporated by reference in the
Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus, shall have furnished to
the Underwriters a letter or letters, dated the respective dates of delivery thereof, in form and
substance satisfactory to the Underwriters, with respect to such financial statements of the
Company and its subsidiaries and such financial statements of Qwest and its subsidiaries.
(j) At the Closing Date, there shall be furnished to the Underwriters a certificate, dated the
date of its delivery, signed on behalf of the Company by each of the Chief Executive Officer and
the Chief Financial Officer of the Company, in form and substance satisfactory to the Underwriters,
to the effect that:
(i) Each signer of such certificate has carefully examined the Registration Statement, the
Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus and (A) the Registration Statement, as of the Effective
Date (including any Rule 430 Information), is true and correct in all material respects and does
not omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the
statements therein not untrue or misleading, (B) the Time of Sale Information, at the Time of Sale,
is true and correct in all material respects and does 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, (C) the Prospectus, as of its date and as of the Closing Date, is true and
correct in all material respects and does 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
untrue or misleading (it being understood that to the extent a statement in the Registration
Statement, Prospectus or Time of Sale Information, including any documents deemed to be
incorporated by reference therein, refers to and speaks as of a specific date, each signer of such
certificate only represents with respect to such statement that it was true and correct in all
material respects as of such date) and (D) since the Time of Sale, no event has occurred as a
result of which it is necessary to supplement the Time of Sale Information or the Prospectus in
order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not
untrue or misleading in any material respect and there has been no document required to be filed
under the Exchange Act that upon such filing would be deemed to be incorporated by reference into
the Prospectus that has not been so filed;
(ii) Each of the representations and warranties of the Company contained in this Agreement
were, when originally made, and are, at the time such certificate is delivered, true and correct;
and
(iii) Each of the covenants required herein to be performed by the Company on or prior to the
delivery of such certificate has been duly, timely and fully performed and each condition herein
required to be complied with by the Company on or prior to the date of such certificate has been
duly, timely and fully complied with.
18
(k) The Company shall have furnished to the Underwriters such certificates, in addition to
those specifically mentioned herein, as the Underwriters may have reasonably requested as to the
accuracy and completeness at the Closing Date of any statement in the Registration Statement, the
Prospectus or the Time of Sale Information, or any documents filed under the Exchange Act and
deemed to be incorporated by reference into the Prospectus or the Time of Sale Information as to
the accuracy at the Closing Date, of the representations and warranties of the Company herein, as
to the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder, or as to the fulfillment of the
conditions concurrent and precedent to the obligations of the Underwriters hereunder.
7.
Indemnification
. (a) The Company will indemnify and hold harmless each
Underwriter against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which such
Underwriter may become subject, under the Securities Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses,
claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon, (i)
any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration
Statement or caused by any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required
to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, or (ii) any untrue
statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Preliminary Prospectus,
the Prospectus and any other prospectus relating to the Securities (or any amendment or supplement
thereto), any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any Time of Sale Information, or caused by any
omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or
necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances in which they were made,
not misleading and will reimburse each Underwriter for any legal or other expenses reasonably
incurred by such Underwriter in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim
as such expenses are incurred;
provided
,
however
, that the Company shall 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, the Basic Prospectus, the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus, and any
other prospectus relating to the Securities, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any Time of Sale
Information, or any such amendment or supplement, in reliance upon and in conformity with
information furnished to the Company in writing by any Underwriter expressly for use therein.
(b) Each Underwriter, severally, but not jointly, will indemnify and hold harmless the Company
against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which the Company may become subject, under
the Securities Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions
in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or
alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, the
Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus, and any other prospectus relating to the Securities, any
Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any Time of Sale Information, or any amendment or supplement
thereto, or arise out of or are based upon 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 each case to the extent, but only to the extent, that such untrue statement or
alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in the Registration Statement,
the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus, and any other prospectus relating to the Securities,
any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any Time of Sale Information, or any such amendment or
supplement, in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished to the Company in writing
by any Underwriter expressly for use therein; and will reimburse the
19
Company for any legal or other
expenses reasonably incurred by the Company in connection with investigating or defending any such
action or claim as such expenses are incurred.
(c) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under subsection (a) or (b) above of notice
of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party shall, if a claim in respect thereof is
to be made against the indemnifying party under such subsection, notify the indemnifying party in
writing of the commencement thereof; but the omission so to notify the indemnifying party shall not
relieve it from any liability which it may have to any indemnified party otherwise than under such
subsection. In case any such action 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, after notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of its
election so to assume the defense thereof, the indemnifying party shall not be liable to such
indemnified party under such subsection for any legal expenses of other counsel or any other
expenses, in each case subsequently incurred by such indemnified party, in connection with the
defense thereof other than reasonable costs of investigation unless (i) the Company and such
indemnified party shall have mutually agreed to the employment of such counsel, or (ii) the named
parties to any such action (including any impleaded parties) include both such indemnified party
and the Company and such indemnified party shall have been advised by such counsel that a conflict
of interest between the Company and such indemnified party may arise and for this reason it is not
desirable for the same counsel to represent both the indemnifying party and also the indemnified
party (it being understood, however, that the Company shall not, in connection with any one such
action or separate but substantially similar or related actions in the same jurisdiction arising
out of the same general allegations or circumstances, be liable for the reasonable fees and
expenses of more than one separate firm of attorneys for all such indemnified parties), in which
case the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of the Company. No
indemnifying party shall, without the written consent of the indemnified party, effect the
settlement or compromise of, or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to, any pending
or threatened action or claim in respect of which indemnification or contribution may be sought
hereunder (whether or not the indemnified party is an actual or potential party to such action or
claim) unless such settlement, compromise or judgment (i) includes an unconditional release of the
indemnified party from all liability arising out of such action or claim and (ii) does not include
any statement as to, or an admission of, fault, culpability or a failure to act, by or on behalf of
any indemnified party.
(d) If the indemnification provided for in this Section 7 is unavailable to or insufficient to
hold harmless an indemnified party under subsection (a) or (b) above in respect of any losses,
claims, damages or liabilities (or actions 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 in respect thereof) in such
proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one
hand and the Underwriters of the Securities on the other from the offering of the Securities to
which such loss, claim, damage or liability (or action in respect thereof) relates. If, however,
the allocation provided by the immediately preceding sentence is not permitted by applicable law or
if the indemnified party failed to give the notice required under subsection (c) above and the
indemnifying party has been prejudiced in any material respect by such failure, then each
20
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 of the Securities on the other in
connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages or
liabilities (or actions in respect thereof), as well as any other relevant equitable
considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and such
Underwriters on the other shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds
from such offering (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total
underwriting discounts and commissions received by such Underwriters. 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 such 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 subsection (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 subsection
(d). The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages
or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to above in this subsection (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 subsection (d), no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in
excess of the amount by which the total price at which the applicable Securities underwritten by it
and distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages which
such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue
statement or omission or alleged omission. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation
(within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from
any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. The obligations of the
Underwriters of Securities in this subsection (d) to contribute are several in proportion to their
respective underwriting obligations with respect to such Securities and not joint.
(e) The obligations of the Company under this Section 7 shall be in addition to any liability
which the Company may otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to each
officer, director, employee and agent of any Underwriter and to each person, if any, who controls
any Underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act; and the
obligations of the Underwriters under this Section 7 shall be in addition to any liability
which the respective Underwriters may otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same terms and
conditions, to each officer, director, employee and agent of the Company and to each person, if
any, who controls the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act.
8.
Substitution of Underwriters
. If any one or more of the Underwriters shall fail or
refuse to purchase any of the Securities which it or they have agreed to purchase hereunder, and
the aggregate principal amount of Securities which such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters
agreed but failed or refused to purchase is not more than one-tenth of the aggregate principal
amount of Securities, the other Underwriters shall be obligated, severally, to purchase the
Securities which such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters agreed but failed or refused to
21
purchase, in the proportions which the principal amount of Securities which they have respectively
agreed to purchase pursuant to Section 1 hereof bears to the aggregate principal amount of
Securities which all such non-defaulting Underwriters have so agreed to purchase, or in such other
proportions as such non-defaulting Underwriters may specify; provided that in no event shall the
maximum principal amount of Securities which any Underwriter has become obligated to purchase
pursuant to Section 1 hereof be increased pursuant to this Section 8 by more than one-ninth of the
principal amount of Securities agreed to be purchased by such Underwriter without the prior written
consent of such Underwriter. If any Underwriter or Underwriters shall fail or refuse to purchase
any Securities and the aggregate principal amount of Securities which such defaulting Underwriter
or Underwriters agreed but failed or refused to purchase exceeds one-tenth of the aggregate
principal amount of the Securities and arrangements satisfactory to any non-defaulting Underwriter
and the Company for the purchase of such Securities are not made within 48 hours after such
default, this Agreement will terminate without liability on the part of any non-defaulting
Underwriter or the Company for the purchase or sale of any Securities under this Agreement. In any
such case either the Underwriters or the Company shall have the right to postpone the Closing Date,
but in no event for longer than seven days, in order that the required changes, if any, in the
Registration Statement and in the Prospectus or in any other documents or arrangements may be
effected. Any action taken pursuant to this Section 8 shall not relieve any defaulting Underwriter
from liability in respect of any default of such Underwriter under this Agreement.
9.
Termination
. Until the Closing Date, this Agreement may be terminated by the
Underwriters by giving notice as hereinafter provided to the Company if (i) the Company will have
failed, refused or been unable, at or prior to the Closing Date, to perform any agreement on its
part to be performed hereunder or (ii) any condition to the Underwriters obligations hereunder is
not fulfilled at or prior to the Closing. Any termination of this Agreement pursuant to this
Section 9 will be without liability on the part of the Company or any Underwriter, except as
otherwise provided in Sections 4(l), 4(m) and 7 hereof.
10.
Miscellaneous
. Notice given pursuant to any of the provisions of this Agreement shall
be in writing and, unless otherwise specified, shall be mailed or delivered (a) if to the Company,
at the office of the Company, 100 CenturyLink Drive, Monroe, Louisiana 71203, Attention: Stacey W.
Goff, Esq., Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary or (b) if to the Underwriters,
to Barclays Capital Inc.,
745
Seventh Avenue, New York, New York 10019, Attention:
Syndicate
Registration, to J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, 383 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10179,
Attention: Investment Grade Syndicate Desk, to Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated,
One Bryant Park, NY1-100-18-03, New York, New York 10036, Attention: High Grade Transaction
Management/Legal and to Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, 301 South College Street, Charlotte, North
Carolina 28288, Attention: Transaction Management. Any such notice shall be effective only upon
receipt. Any notice under this Section 10 may be made by telephone, but if so made shall be
subsequently confirmed in writing.
The respective indemnities, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of
the Company and the several Underwriters, as set forth in this Agreement or made by or on behalf of
them, respectively, pursuant to this Agreement, shall remain in full force and effect, regardless
of any investigation (or any statement as to the results thereof) made by or on behalf of any
Underwriter or any officer, director, employee, agent or controlling person of any
22
Underwriter, or
the Company or any officer, director, employee, agent or controlling person of the Company, and
shall survive delivery of and payment for the Securities.
This Agreement has been and is made solely for the benefit of the several Underwriters and the
Company and of the controlling persons, directors, officers, employees and agents referred to in
Section 7, and their respective successors and assigns, and no other person shall acquire or have
any right under or by virtue of this Agreement. The term successors and assigns as used in this
Agreement shall not include a purchaser, as such purchaser, of Securities from any of the several
Underwriters.
THE RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF THE PARTIES TO THIS UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT SHALL, PURSUANT TO NEW
YORK GENERAL OBLIGATIONS LAW SECTION 5-1401, BE GOVERNED BY THE LAW OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
WITHOUT REGARD TO ANY CHOICE OF LAW PRINCIPLES THAT MIGHT CALL FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE LAW OF
ANY OTHER JURISDICTION.
This Agreement may be signed in two or more counterparts with the same effect as if the
signatures thereto and hereto were upon the same instrument.
IN CASE ANY PROVISION IN THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE INVALID, ILLEGAL OR UNENFORCEABLE, THE
VALIDITY, LEGALITY AND ENFORCEABILITY OF THE REMAINING PROVISIONS SHALL NOT IN ANY WAY BE AFFECTED
OR IMPAIRED THEREBY.
The Company and the Underwriters each hereby irrevocably waive any right they may have to
trial by jury in respect of any claim based upon or arising out of this Agreement or the
transactions contemplated hereby.
11.
No Fiduciary Duty
. The Company acknowledges and agrees that the Underwriters named in
this Agreement are acting solely in the capacity of an arms length contractual counterparty to the
Company with respect to any offering of Securities contemplated hereby (including in connection
with determining the terms of the offering) and not as a fiduciary to, or an agent of, the Company
or any other person. Additionally, no such Underwriter is advising the Company or any other person
as to any legal, tax, investment, accounting or regulatory matters in any
jurisdiction. The Company shall consult with its own advisors concerning such matters and
shall be responsible for making its own independent investigation and appraisal of the transactions
contemplated hereby, and such Underwriters shall have no responsibility or liability to the Company
with respect thereto. Any review by such Underwriters named in this Agreement of the Company, the
transactions contemplated thereby or other matters relating to such transactions will be performed
solely for the benefit of the Underwriters and shall not be on behalf of the Company.
23
Please confirm that the foregoing correctly sets forth the agreement between the Company
and the several Underwriters.
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Very truly yours,
CENTURYLINK, INC.
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By:
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/s/ G. Clay Bailey
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Name:
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G. Clay Bailey
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Title:
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Senior Vice President and Treasurer
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Confirmed as of the date first above mentioned:
Barclays Capital Inc.
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
By:
Barclays Capital Inc.
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By:
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/s/ Pamela Kendall
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Name:
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Pamela Kendall
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Title:
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Director
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By:
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
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By:
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/s/ Stephen L. Sheiner
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Name:
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Stephen L. Sheiner
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Title:
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Executive Director
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By:
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
Incorporated
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By:
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/s/ Keith Harman
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Name:
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Keith Harman
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Title:
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Managing Director
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By:
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
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By:
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/s/ Carolyn Hurley
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Name:
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Carolyn Hurley
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Title:
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Director
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Signature Page to CenturyLink Underwriting Agreement
SCHEDULE I
CENTURYLINK, INC.
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Principal Amount of
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Principal Amount of
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Principal Amount of
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Name of Underwriter
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the Series P Notes
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the Series R Notes
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the Series S Notes
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Barclays Capital Inc.
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$
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110,000,000
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$
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96,250,000
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$
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343,750,000
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Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner &
Smith Incorporated
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110,000,000
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96,250,000
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343,750,000
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J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
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90,000,000
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78,750,000
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281,250,000
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Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
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90,000,000
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78,750,000
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281,250,000
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Total
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$
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400,000,000
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$
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350,000,000
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$
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1,250,000,000
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Signature Page to CenturyLink Underwriting Agreement
SCHEDULE II
SUBSIDIARIES
Name
Carolina Telephone and Telegraph, LLC
Centel Corporation
CenturyTel Investments of Texas, Inc.
Embarq Corporation
Embarq Florida, Inc
Qwest Communications International Inc.
Qwest Services Corporation
Qwest Corporation
Qwest Communications Company, LLC
Schedule II
SCHEDULE III
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Final Term Sheet relating to the Series P Notes, dated June 9, 2011.
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Final Term Sheet relating to the Series R Notes, dated June 9, 2011.
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Final Term Sheet relating to the Series S Notes, dated June 9, 2011.
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Schedule III
EXHIBIT A
CENTURYLINK, INC.
PRICE DETERMINATION AGREEMENT
June 9, 2011
Barclays Capital Inc.
745 Seventh Avenue
New York, New York 10019
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
270 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10017
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
One Bryant Park
New York, New York 10036
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
301 South College Street, 6
th
Floor
Charlotte, North Carolina 28288
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Reference is made to the Underwriting Agreement, dated June 9, 2011 (the
Underwriting
Agreement
), between CenturyLink, Inc., a Louisiana corporation (the
Company
), and
the several Underwriters named in Schedule I thereto (the
Underwriters
). The
Underwriting Agreement provides for the sale to the Underwriters, and the purchase by the
Underwriters, severally and not jointly, from the Company, subject to the terms and conditions set
forth therein, of $400,000,000 aggregate principal amount of the Companys 7.60% Senior Notes,
Series P, due 2039 (the
Series P Notes
), $350,000,000 aggregate principal amount of the
Companys 5.15% Senior Notes, Series R, due 2017 (the
Series R Notes
) and $1,250,000,000
aggregate principal amount of the Companys 6.45% Senior Notes, Series S, due 2021 (the
Series
S Notes
and, together with the Series P Notes and the Series R Notes, the
Securities
) to be issued pursuant to an Indenture dated as of March 31, 1994 between the
Company and Regions Bank (successor-in-interest to First American Bank & Trust of Louisiana and
Regions Bank of Louisiana), as trustee, as supplemented to the date hereof, including, with respect
to the Series P Notes, by the Fifth Supplemental Indenture dated as of September 21, 2009, and as
will be further supplemented, with respect to the Series R Notes and the Series S Notes, by the
Sixth Supplemental Indenture to be dated as of June 16, 2011. This Agreement is the Price
Determination Agreement referred to in the Underwriting Agreement.
For all purposes of the Underwriting Agreement,
Time of Sale
means 5:25 p.m. (New
York City time) on the date of this Price Determination Agreement.
Exhibit A-1
Pursuant to Section 1(b) of the Underwriting Agreement, the undersigned agree with the several
Underwriters that (i) the purchase price for the Series P Notes to be paid by the several
Underwriters shall be 94.352% of the aggregate principal amount of the Series P Notes set forth
opposite the names of the Underwriters in Schedule I attached thereto plus accrued interest with
respect to such Series P Notes, from and including March 15, 2011 to and excluding the Closing Date
(as defined in the Underwriting Agreement), (ii) the purchase price for the Series R Notes to be
paid by the several Underwriters shall be 99.000% of the aggregate principal amount of the Series R
Notes set forth opposite the names of the Underwriters in Schedule I attached thereto and (iii) the
purchase price for the Series S Notes to be paid by the several Underwriters shall be 98.859% of
the aggregate principal amount of the Series S Notes set forth opposite the names of the
Underwriters in Schedule I attached thereto.
The Company represents and warrants to the several Underwriters that the representations and
warranties of the Company set forth in Section 3 of the Underwriting Agreement are accurate as
though expressly made at and as of the date hereof.
THE RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF THE PARTIES TO THIS PRICE DETERMINATION AGREEMENT SHALL, PURSUANT TO
NEW YORK GENERAL OBLIGATIONS LAW SECTION 5-1401, BE GOVERNED BY THE LAW OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
WITHOUT REGARD TO ANY CHOICE OF LAW PRINCIPLES THAT MIGHT CALL FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE LAW OF
ANY OTHER JURISDICTION.
This Price Determination Agreement may be signed in two or more counterparts with the same
effect as if the signatures thereto and hereto were upon the same instrument.
Exhibit A-2
If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of the agreement among the
several Underwriters and the Company, please sign and return to the Company a counterpart hereof,
whereupon this instrument along with all counterparts and together with the Underwriting Agreement
shall be a binding agreement among the several Underwriters and the Company in accordance with its
terms and the terms of the Underwriting Agreement.
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Very truly yours,
CENTURYLINK, INC.
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By:
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Name:
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Title:
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Confirmed as of the date first above mentioned:
Barclays Capital Inc.
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
By:
Barclays Capital Inc.
By:
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
By:
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
Incorporated
By:
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
Exhibit B-1
EXHIBIT B
Form of Opinion of Stacey W. Goff, Esq.,
General Counsel of CenturyLink, Inc.
1. The Company and each of the Subsidiaries is a corporation or limited liability company duly
organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of
organization.
2. The Company and each of the Subsidiaries has full power and authority to own or lease all
the assets owned or leased by it and, to the best of my knowledge, has all necessary and material
authorizations, approvals, orders, licenses, certificates, franchises, and permits of and from all
governmental regulatory officials and bodies to own its properties and to lawfully conduct its
business as described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the
Prospectus.
3. The Company or one of its wholly owned subsidiaries is the sole record and beneficial owner
of all of the issued common stock of each of the Subsidiaries.
4. The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of the Underwriting Agreement and
the Indenture and the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated thereby will not
(i) result in a violation of any of the terms or provisions of the articles of incorporation or
by-laws (or comparable instruments) of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, or (ii) violate or
conflict with any franchise or any judgment, ruling, decree, order, statute, rule or regulation of
any court or other governmental agency or body known to me and applicable to the business or
properties of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries or (iii) result in the creation or imposition
of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any of the assets of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries
pursuant to the terms or provisions of, or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or
provisions of, or constitute a default under, or give any other party a right to terminate any of
its obligations under, or result in the acceleration of any obligation under, any indenture,
mortgage, deed of trust, voting trust agreement, loan agreement, bond, debenture, note agreement or
other evidence of indebtedness, lease, contract 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 or
any of their respective properties is or are bound or affected (the applicable agreements), other
than with respect to this clause (iii) any breaches, violations, defaults, terminations or
accelerations with respect to any applicable agreement that will not, or are not likely to, have a
Material Adverse Effect.
5. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the
Prospectus, to the best of my knowledge, there are no actions, suits or proceedings pending or
threatened against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or any of their respective officers, in
their capacity as such, before or by any federal or state court, commission, regulatory body,
administrative agency or other governmental body, domestic or foreign, which in my opinion is
likely to have a Material Adverse Effect.
Exhibit B-2
I have participated in the preparation of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale
Information and the Prospectus. Although I have not verified and am not opining upon or assuming
any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in the
Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus, on the basis of my
participation in the preparation of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and
the Prospectus and my discussions with certain officers and employees of the Company, certain of
its legal counsel, its independent registered public accountants and your representatives and
counsel, nothing has come to my attention which would lead me to believe that the Registration
Statement, as of the Effective Date (including any Rule 430 Information), contained any 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, that the Time of Sale Information, at the
Time of Sale, contained any 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 or that the Prospectus or any supplement thereto, as of its date and as of the
date of this opinion, contained or contains any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or
omits to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of
the circumstances in which they were made, not misleading (except that I express no opinion with
respect to financial statements, schedules and other financial, statistical or accounting data
included in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information or the Prospectus (or
incorporated by reference therein) or the Statement of Eligibility under the Trust Indenture Act of
the Trustee on Form T-1).
Exhibit B-3
EXHIBIT C
Form of Opinion of
Jones, Walker, Waechter, Poitevent, Carrère & Denègre, L.L.P
1. The Company and each of the Subsidiaries is a corporation or limited liability company duly
organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its
organization.
2. The Securities have been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company. The
Securities, when duly authenticated in accordance with the terms of the Indenture and assuming due
payment by the Underwriters in accordance with the Underwriting Agreement, will entitle their
holders to the benefits provided by the Indenture and will constitute valid and binding obligations
of the Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with their respective terms, except
(i) that the enforcement thereof may be subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization,
fraudulent conveyance, moratorium or other similar laws, now or hereafter in effect, relating to
creditors rights generally, (ii) the enforceability thereof is subject to general principles of
equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding at law or in
equity) and that the remedy of specific performance and injunctive and other forms of equitable
relief may be subject to equitable defenses and to the discretion of the court before which any
proceeding therefor may be brought and (iii) certain provisions contained in the Indenture
relating to remedies may be limited by public policy, equitable principles or other provisions of
applicable laws, rules, regulations, court decisions or constitutional requirements, but in our
judgment the matters in this clause (iii) do not result in the remedies that remain available being
inadequate for the enforcement of the Indenture and the Securities.
3. (i) As of the date the Company filed its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2010 (the 10-K Date), the Registration Statement, as of the Time of Sale, the Time
of Sale Information, and, as of its date, the Prospectus (and any supplement thereto), including
each document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein, as of the time such
documents were filed, complied in all material respects as to form with the requirements of the
Securities Act, the Exchange Act and the Trust Indenture Act and (ii) at the 10-K Date, the
Indenture complied in all material respects as to form with the Trust Indenture Act and the
Indenture has been duly qualified under the Trust Indenture Act (except that we express no opinion
as to (a) financial statements, schedules and other financial or statistical data contained in the
Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information or the Prospectus (or incorporated by
reference therein) and (b) the Statement of Eligibility under the Trust Indenture Act on Form T-1
(the Form T-1s) contained in, made a part of or incorporated by reference in the Registration
Statement).
4. The Registration Statement became effective upon filing with the Commission under the
Securities Act and, to the best of our knowledge, no order suspending the effectiveness of the
Registration Statement has been issued and no proceeding for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A
of the Securities Act against the Company or in connection with the offering has been instituted or
is threatened or pending and, to the best of our knowledge, no notice of objection of the
Commission to the use of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto
pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Securities Act shall have been received.
Exhibit C-1
5. No consent, approval, authorization or order of, or filing, registration, qualification or
declaration with, any court or federal, state or local governmental agency or body is required for
(i) the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of the Underwriting Agreement, the
Securities or the Indenture by the Company, (ii) the authorization, offer, issuance, sale or
delivery of the Securities by the Company or (iii) the consummation by the Company of the
transactions on its part contemplated by the Underwriting Agreement and the Indenture, except such
as may have been previously obtained under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or the Trust
Indenture Act or the New York Stock Exchange Listed Company Manual and such as may be required
under foreign or state securities or blue sky laws and the rules and regulations promulgated
thereunder or the rules of FINRA in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Securities
by the Underwriters.
6. The statements under the heading Description of Debt Securities in the Registration
Statement and the headings Description of the Notes and Material United States Federal Income
Tax Consequences in the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus are accurate in all material
respects and, insofar as such description contains statements constituting a summary of the legal
matters or documents referred to therein, such statements fairly summarize the information referred
to therein.
7. The Company has full corporate power and authority to enter into the Underwriting Agreement
and the Indenture. The Underwriting Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by
the Company. The Indenture has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and
constitutes a valid and binding agreement of the Company and is enforceable against the Company in
accordance with its terms, except (i) that the enforcement may be subject to bankruptcy,
insolvency, reorganization, fraudulent conveyance, moratorium or other similar laws, now or
hereafter in effect, relating to creditors rights generally, (ii) that the enforceability of the
Indenture is subject to general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is
considered in a proceeding at law or in equity) and that the remedy of specific performance and
injunctive and other forms of equitable relief may be subject to equitable defenses and to the
discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be brought and (iii) that certain
provisions contained in the Indenture relating to remedies may limited by public policy, equitable
principles or other provisions of applicable laws, rules, regulations, court decisions or
constitutional requirements, but in our judgment the matters in this clause (iii) do not result in
the remedies that remain available being inadequate for the enforcement of the Indenture.
8. The issue and sale of the Securities by the Company, the execution, delivery and
performance by the Company of the Underwriting Agreement and the Indenture and the consummation by
the Company of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby will not (i) result in a violation
of any of the terms or provisions of the articles of incorporation or by-laws (or comparable
instruments) of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, or (ii) to the best of our knowledge,
violate or conflict with any franchise or any judgment, ruling, decree, order, statute, rule or
regulation of any court or other governmental agency or body known to us and applicable to the
business or properties of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, except where such violation or
conflict would not have a Material Adverse Effect.
Exhibit C-2
9. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the
Prospectus, to the best of our knowledge, there are no actions, suits or proceedings pending or
threatened against the Company or any of the Subsidiaries or any of their respective officers in
their capacity as such, before or by any federal or state court, commission, regulatory body,
administrative agency or other governmental body, domestic or foreign, which in our opinion is
likely to have a Material Adverse Effect.
10. The Company is not, and after giving effect to the issuance and sale of the Securities and
the application of the proceeds thereof, will not be, an investment company or an affiliated
person of, or promoter or principal underwriter for, an investment company, as such terms
are defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
Other than with respect to the opinion expressed in paragraph 6 above, we have not ourselves
verified the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the information included in the Registration
Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus. We have generally reviewed and
discussed such information with certain officers and employees of the Company, certain of its legal
counsel and its independent registered public accountants and with the Underwriters and their
counsel. On the basis of such review and discussion (relying as to materiality upon the statements
of the officers and other representatives of the Company, although nothing has come to our
attention that would lead us to believe that it is unreasonable for us or you to so rely thereon),
but without assuming any responsibility for, or independently verifying, any information other than
as stated above, nothing has come to our attention that would lead us to believe that the
Registration Statement, as of the Effective Date (including any Rule 430 Information) contained any
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, that the Time of Sale
Information, at the Time of Sale, contained any 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 or that the Prospectus or any supplement thereto, as of
its date and as of the date of this opinion, contained or contains any untrue statement of a
material fact or omitted or omits to state a material fact necessary in order to make the
statements therein, in the light of the circumstances in which they were made, not misleading
(except that we express no belief with respect to (i) financial statements and notes thereto,
related schedules and any other financial or statistical data included in the Registration
Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus, (ii) the Form T-1, made a part of or
incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement) or (iii) statements or omissions based
upon information furnished to the Company in writing by any Underwriter expressly for use therein).
As special counsel to the Company, we do not as a matter of course review or pass on all
agreements or proceedings to which the Company or its subsidiaries have become parties nor have we
done so in connection with this opinion. Accordingly, whenever any statement in this letter is
qualified by the phrase to the best of our knowledge or known to us or a phrase of similar
import, such phrase is intended to mean the actual knowledge of information by the lawyers in our
firm who have been principally involved in negotiating the subject transaction and preparing the
pertinent documents and any other lawyers in our firm devoting substantive attention to matters for
the Company, having substantial responsibility for managing the client relationship with the
Company or overseeing the firms provision of securities law advice to the
Exhibit C-3
Company, but does not include the information that might be revealed if there were to be
undertaken a canvass of all lawyers in our firm, a general search of our files, a review of all of
the Companys contacts or any other type of independent investigation. Any certificate or
representation obtained by us from the officers of the Company in connection with this opinion has
been relied upon by us as to factual matters without independent verification, but nothing has come
to our attention that would lead us to believe that it is unreasonable for us or you to rely
thereon.
In rendering the foregoing opinion, counsel may rely, to the extent they deem such reliance
proper, on the opinions (in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Underwriters counsel) of
other counsel reasonably acceptable to Underwriters counsel as to matters governed by the laws of
jurisdictions other than the United States and the State of Louisiana, and as to matters of fact,
upon certificates of officers of the Company and of government officials; provided that such
counsel shall state that the opinion of any other counsel is in form satisfactory to such counsel
and, in such counsels opinion, such counsel and you are justified in relying on such opinions of
other counsel. Copies of all such opinions and certificates shall be addressed to the Underwriters
(or shall state that the Underwriters may rely thereon) and shall be furnished to Underwriters
counsel on the Closing Date.
Exhibit C-4
EXHIBIT D-1
CenturyLink, Inc.
$400,000,000 7.60% Senior Notes, Series P, due 2039
Pricing Term Sheet
Date: June 9, 2011
|
|
|
Issuer:
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|
CenturyLink, Inc.
|
Principal Amount:
|
|
$400,000,000
|
Security:
|
|
$400,000,000 7.60% Senior Notes,
Series R, due 2039
|
Maturity:
|
|
September 15, 2039
|
Coupon:
|
|
7.60%
|
Issue Price:
|
|
95.377%
|
Yield to Maturity:
|
|
8.014%
|
Spread to Benchmark Treasury:
|
|
3.800%
|
Benchmark Treasury:
|
|
4.750% due February 2041
|
Benchmark Treasury Yield:
|
|
4.214%
|
Interest Payment Dates:
|
|
March 15 and September 15,
commencing September 15, 2011
|
Interest Calculation Convention:
|
|
30/360
|
Denominations:
|
|
$2,000 minimum x $1,000
|
Optional Redemption:
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|
At any time at greater of Par and
Make-Whole at discount rate of
Treasury plus 50 basis points.
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Settlement Date:
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|
T+5; June 16, 2011
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CUSIP Number:
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156700 AM8
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ISIN/Common Code:
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US156700AM80
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Accrued Interest Payable to the Issuer:
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$7,684,444 accrued from and
including March 15, 2011 to and
excluding the Closing Date.
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Joint Book-Running Managers:
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Barclays Capital Inc.
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Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
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J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
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|
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Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
|
The issuer has filed a registration statement (including a prospectus) with the SEC for the
offering to which this communication relates. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in
that registration statement and other documents the issuer has filed with the SEC for more complete
information about the issuer and this offering. You may get these documents for free by visiting
EDGAR on the SEC Web site at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, the issuer, any underwriter or any dealer
participating in the offering will arrange to send
Exhibit D-1-1
you the complete prospectus if you request it by calling Barclays Capital Inc. at 1-888-603-5847,
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated toll free at 1-800-294-1322, J.P. Morgan
Securities LLC collect at 212-834-4533 or Wells Fargo Securities, LLC at 1-800-326-5897.
Note: A securities rating is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities and may be
subject to revision or withdrawal at any time.
Exhibit D-1-2
EXHIBIT D-2
CenturyLink, Inc.
$350,000,000 5.150% Senior Notes, Series R, due 2017
Pricing Term Sheet
Date: June 9, 2011
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Issuer:
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CenturyLink, Inc.
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Principal Amount:
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$350,000,000
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Security:
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$350,000,000 5.150% Senior Notes, Series
R, due 2017
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Maturity:
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June 15, 2017
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Coupon:
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5.150%
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Issue Price:
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99.750%
|
Yield to Maturity:
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5.199%
|
Spread to Benchmark Treasury:
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3.600%
|
Benchmark Treasury:
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1.750% due May 2016
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Benchmark Treasury Yield:
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1.599%
|
Interest Payment Dates:
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June 15 and December 15, commencing
December 15, 2011
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Interest Calculation Convention:
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30/360
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Denominations:
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$2,000 minimum x $1,000
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Optional Redemption:
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At any time at greater of Par and
Make-Whole at discount rate of Treasury
plus 50 basis points.
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Settlement Date:
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|
T+5; June 16, 2011
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CUSIP Number:
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156700AQ9
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ISIN/Common Code:
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US156700AQ94
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Joint Book-Running Managers:
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Barclays Capital Inc.
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Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
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J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
|
|
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Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
|
The issuer has filed a registration statement (including a prospectus) with the SEC for the
offering to which this communication relates. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in
that registration statement and other documents the issuer has filed with the SEC for more complete
information about the issuer and this offering. You may get these documents for free by visiting
EDGAR on the SEC Web site at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, the issuer, any underwriter or any dealer
participating in the offering will arrange to send you the complete prospectus if you request it by
calling Barclays Capital Inc. at 1-888-603-5847, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
toll free at 1-800-294-1322, J.P.
Exhibit D-3-2
Morgan Securities LLC collect at 212-834-4533 or Wells Fargo Securities, LLC at 1-800-326-5897.
Note: A securities rating is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities and may be
subject to revision or withdrawal at any time.
Exhibit D-3-2
EXHIBIT D-3
CenturyLink, Inc.
$1,250,000,000 6.450% Senior Notes, Series S, due 2021
Pricing Term Sheet
Date: June 9, 2011
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|
|
Issuer:
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CenturyLink, Inc.
|
Principal Amount:
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$1,250,000,000
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Security:
|
|
$1,250,000,000 6.450% Senior Notes,
Series S, due 2021
|
Maturity:
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|
June 15, 2021
|
Coupon:
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6.450%
|
Issue Price:
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99.659%
|
Yield to Maturity:
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|
6.497%
|
Spread to Benchmark Treasury:
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|
3.500%
|
Benchmark Treasury:
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|
3.125% due May 2021
|
Benchmark Treasury Yield:
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2.997%
|
Interest Payment Dates:
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June 15 and December 15, commencing
December 15, 2011
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Interest Calculation Convention:
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|
30/360
|
Denominations:
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|
$2,000 minimum x $1,000
|
Optional Redemption:
|
|
At any time at greater of Par and
Make-Whole at discount rate of Treasury
plus 50 basis points.
|
Settlement Date:
|
|
T+5; June 16, 2011
|
CUSIP Number:
|
|
156700AR7
|
ISIN/Common Code:
|
|
US156700AR77
|
Joint Book-Running Managers:
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Barclays Capital Inc.
|
|
|
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
|
|
|
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
|
|
|
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
|
The issuer has filed a registration statement (including a prospectus) with the SEC for the
offering to which this communication relates. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in
that registration statement and other documents the issuer has filed with the SEC for more complete
information about the issuer and this offering. You may get these documents for free by visiting
EDGAR on the SEC Web site at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, the issuer, any underwriter or any dealer
participating in the offering will arrange to send you the complete prospectus if you request it by
calling Barclays Capital Inc. at 1-888-603-5847, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
toll free at 1-800-294-1322, J.P.
Exhibit D-3-2
Morgan Securities LLC collect at 212-834-4533 or Wells Fargo Securities, LLC at 1-800-326-5897.
Note: A securities rating is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities and may be
subject to revision or withdrawal at any time.
Exhibit D-3-2
Exhibit 4.2
Sixth Supplemental Indenture
Dated as of June 16, 2011
to
Indenture dated as of March 31, 1994 by and between
CenturyLink, Inc. and Regions Bank, as Trustee
$350,000,000 5.15% Senior Notes, Series R, due 2017
$1,250,000,000 6.45% Senior Notes, Series S, due 2021
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1
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Page
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ARTICLE 1
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DEFINITIONS
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Section 1.01 Definitions
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1
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ARTICLE 2
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5.15% SENIOR NOTES, SERIES R, DUE 2017
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Section 2.01 Establishment
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5
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Section 2.02 Stated Maturity; Payment of Principal and Interest
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5
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Section 2.03 Denominations
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6
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Section 2.04 Global Series R Notes
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6
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ARTICLE 3
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6.45% SENIOR NOTES, SERIES S, DUE 2021
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Section 3.01 Establishment
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7
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Section 3.02 Stated Maturity; Payment of Principal and Interest
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8
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Section 3.03 Denominations
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8
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Section 3.04 Global Series S Notes
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8
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ARTICLE 4
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REDEMPTION AND REPURCHASE
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Section 4.01 Optional Redemption Procedures for Series R Notes
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9
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Section 4.02 Optional Redemption Procedures for Series S Notes
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10
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Section 4.03 Purchase of Notes Upon a Change of Control Repurchase Event
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11
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Section 4.04 No Sinking Fund
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12
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ARTICLE 5
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MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
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1
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This Table of Contents does not constitute
part of the Indenture or have any bearing upon the interpretation of any
of its terms and provisions.
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i
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Page
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Section 5.01 Authentication and Delivery of Additional Series P Notes
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13
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Section 5.02 Paying Agents; Transfer Agents; Place of Payment
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13
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Section 5.03 Recitals by Corporation
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13
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Section 5.04 Ratification and Incorporation of Original Indenture
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13
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Section 5.05 Executed in Counterparts
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14
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ii
THIS SIXTH SUPPLEMENTAL INDENTURE is made as of the 16
th
day of June 2011, by and
between CENTURYLINK, INC., a Louisiana corporation, having its principal office at 100 CenturyLink
Drive, Monroe, Louisiana 71203 (the Corporation), and REGIONS BANK (successor-in-interest to
First American Bank & Trust of Louisiana and Regions Bank of Louisiana), an Alabama state banking
corporation, as trustee (the Trustee).
W
I
T
N
E
S
S
E
T
H
:
WHEREAS, the Corporation has heretofore entered into an Indenture, dated as of March 31, 1994
(the Original Indenture), with the Trustee;
WHEREAS, the Original Indenture is incorporated herein by this reference and the Original
Indenture, as amended and supplemented to the date hereof, including by this Sixth Supplemental
Indenture, is herein called the Indenture;
WHEREAS, under Section 2.01 of the Original Indenture, a new series of Securities may at any
time be established in accordance with the provisions of the Original Indenture and the terms of
such series may be described in a supplemental indenture executed by the Corporation and the
Trustee;
WHEREAS, the Corporation proposes to create under the Original Indenture two new series of
Securities; and
WHEREAS, all conditions necessary to authorize the execution and delivery of this Sixth
Supplemental Indenture and to make it a valid and binding obligation of the Corporation have been
done or performed.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the agreements and obligations set forth herein and for
other good and valuable consideration, the sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties
hereto hereby agree as follows:
ARTICLE 1
DEFINITIONS
Section 1.01
Definitions
. The following defined terms used herein shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have
the meanings specified below. Capitalized terms used herein for which no definition is provided
herein shall have the meanings set forth in the Original Indenture.
Change of Control
means the occurrence of any of the following: (1) the direct or
indirect sale, transfer, conveyance or other disposition (other than by way of merger or
consolidation), in one or a series of related transactions, of all or substantially all of the
Corporations properties or assets and the properties or assets of its subsidiaries, taken as a
whole, to any person (as that term is used in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act) other than
the Corporation or one of its subsidiaries; (2) the adoption of a plan relating to the liquidation
or
dissolution of the Corporation; (3) the consummation of any transaction (including, without
limitation, any merger or consolidation) the result of which is that any person (as that term is
used in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act) becomes the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly,
of more than 50% of the then outstanding number of shares of the Corporations Voting Stock; or (4)
the first day on which a majority of the members of the Corporations board of directors are not
Continuing Directors.
Change of Control Repurchase Event
means the occurrence of both a Change of Control
and a Ratings Event.
Clearing Agency
means The Depository Trust Company or another organization
registered as a Clearing Agency pursuant to Section 17A of the Exchange Act that is acting as a
depositary with respect to the Global Series R Notes or the Global Series S Notes and in whose
name, or in the name of a nominee of that organization, shall be registered a global security
evidencing the respective rights and obligations of holders in respect of the Global Series R Notes
or the Global Series S Notes and which shall undertake to effect book entry transfers and pledges
of the Global Series R Notes or the Global Series S Notes.
Comparable Treasury Issue
means the U.S. Treasury security selected by an
Independent Investment Banker as having a maturity comparable to the remaining term (the Remaining
Life) of the Series R Notes or the Series S Notes to be redeemed that would be utilized, at the
time of selection and in accordance with customary financial practice, in pricing new issues of
corporate debt securities of comparable maturity to the remaining term of such Series R Notes or
Series S Notes.
Comparable Treasury Price
means, with respect to any redemption date, (1) the
average of the Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations for such redemption date, after excluding the
highest and lowest Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations, or (2) if the Trustee obtains fewer than
four such Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations, the average of all such quotations.
Continuing Directors
means, as of any date of determination, any member of the
Corporations board of directors who (1) was a member of such board of directors on the Original
Issue Date; or (2) was nominated for election or elected to such board of directors with the
approval of a majority of the Continuing Directors who were members of such board of directors at
the time of such nomination or election.
Exchange Act
means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
Global Series R Notes
shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.04.
Global Series S Notes
shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3.04.
Independent Investment Banker
means one of the Reference Treasury Dealers that the
Corporation appoints to act as the Independent Investment Banker from time to time.
Interest Payment Date
shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.02(b).
Investment Grade
means a rating of Baa3 or better by Moodys (or its equivalent
under any successor Rating Categories of Moodys); a rating of BBB- or better by S&P (or its
2
equivalent under any successor Rating Categories of S&P); and the equivalent investment grade
credit rating from any additional Rating Agency or Rating Agencies selected by the Corporation.
Moodys
means Moodys Investors Service Inc.
Notes
means, collectively, the Series R Notes and the Series S Notes.
Original Issue Date
means June 16, 2011.
Paying Agent
shall have the meaning set forth in Section 5.01.
Rating Agency
means (1) each of Moodys and S&P; and (2) if either of Moodys or S&P
ceases to rate the Notes or fails to make a rating of the Notes publicly available for reasons
outside of the Corporations control, a nationally recognized statistical rating organization
within the meaning of Rule 15c3-l(e)(2)(vi)(F) under the Exchange Act, selected by the Corporation
(as certified by a resolution of the Corporations board of directors) as a replacement agency for
Moodys or S&P, or both, as the case may be.
Rating Category
means (i) with respect to S&P, any of the following categories: BBB,
BB, B, CCC, CC, C and D (or equivalent successor categories); (ii) with respect to Moodys, any of
the following categories: Baa, Ba, B, Caa, Ca, C and D (or equivalent successor categories); and
(iii) the equivalent of any such category of S&P or Moodys used by another Rating Agency. In
determining whether the rating of the Notes has decreased by one or more gradations, gradations
within Rating Categories (+ and for S&P; 1, 2 and 3 for Moodys; or the equivalent gradations for
another Rating Agency) shall be taken into account (such that, with respect to S&P, a decline in a
rating from BB+ to BB, as well as from BB to B+, will constitute a decrease of one gradation).
Rating Date
means the date which is 90 days prior to the earlier of (i) a Change of
Control or (ii) public notice of the occurrence of a Change of Control or of the Corporations
intention to effect a Change of Control.
Ratings Event
means the occurrence of the events described in (a) or (b) below on,
or within 90 days after the earlier of, (i) the occurrence of a Change of Control or (ii) public
notice of the occurrence of a Change of Control or the Corporations intention to effect a Change
of Control (which period shall be extended so long as the rating of the Series R Notes or Series S
Notes is under publicly announced consideration for a possible downgrade by any of the Rating
Agencies): (a) in the event the Series R Notes or Series S Notes are rated by both Rating Agencies
on the Rating Date as Investment Grade, the rating of the Series R Notes or Series S Notes, as
applicable, shall be reduced so that such series of Notes is rated below Investment Grade by both
Rating Agencies, or (b) in the event the Series R Notes or Series S Notes (1) are rated Investment
Grade by one Rating Agency and below Investment Grade by the other Rating Agency on the Rating
Date, the rating of the Series R Notes or Series S Notes, as applicable, by either Rating Agency
shall be decreased so that such series of Notes is then rated below Investment Grade by both Rating
Agencies or (2) are rated below Investment Grade by both Rating Agencies on the Rating Date, the
rating of the Series R Notes or Series S Notes, as
applicable, by either Rating Agency shall be decreased by one or more gradations (including
gradations within Rating Categories, as well as between Rating Categories). Notwithstanding the
3
foregoing, a Ratings Event otherwise arising by virtue of a particular reduction in Rating shall
not be deemed to have occurred in respect of a particular Change of Control (and thus shall not be
deemed a Ratings Event for purposes of the definition of Change of Control Repurchase Event set
forth in this Section 1.01) if the Rating Agencies making the reduction in Rating to which this
definition would otherwise apply do not announce or publicly confirm or inform the Trustee in
writing at its request that the reduction was the result, in whole or in part, of any event or
circumstance comprised of or arising as a result of, or in respect of, the applicable Change of
Control (whether or not the applicable Change of Control shall have occurred at the time of the
Ratings Event).
Reference Treasury Dealer
means each of Barclays Capital Inc., Merrill Lynch,
Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and a Primary Treasury Dealer
selected by Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, their respective successors, or any other firm that is a
primary U.S. Government securities dealer in New York City (each, a Primary Treasury Dealer) that
the Corporation specifies from time to time; provided, however, that if any of them ceases to be a
Primary Treasury Dealer, the Corporation will substitute another Primary Treasury Dealer.
Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations
means, with respect to each Reference Treasury
Dealer and any redemption date, the average, as determined by the Trustee, of the bid and asked
prices for the Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed in each case as a percentage of its principal
amount) quoted in writing to the Trustee by such Reference Treasury Dealer at 5:00 p.m., New York
City time, on the third business day preceding such redemption date.
Regular Record Date
means, with respect to any Interest Payment Date for the Notes,
the June 1 and December 1 immediately preceding such Interest Payment Date.
Series R Notes
shall have the meaning specified in Section 2.01.
Series S Notes
shall have the meaning specified in Section 3.01.
Stated Maturity of the Series R Notes
means June 15, 2017.
Stated Maturity of the Series S Notes
means June 15, 2021.
S&P
means Standard & Poors, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Treasury Rate
means, with respect to any redemption date, the rate per year equal
to: (i) the yield, under the heading which represents the average for the immediately preceding
week, appearing in the most recently published statistical release designated H.15(519) or any
successor publication which is published weekly by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System and which establishes yields on actively traded U.S. Treasury securities adjusted to
constant maturity under the caption Treasury Constant Maturities, for the maturity corresponding
to the Comparable Treasury Issue; provided that, if no maturity is within three months before or
after the Remaining Life of the Series R Notes or the Series S Notes to be redeemed, yields for the
two published maturities most closely corresponding to the Comparable
Treasury Issue will be determined and the Treasury Rate will be interpolated or extrapolated
from those yields on a straight line basis, rounding to the nearest month; or (ii) if such release
(or
4
any successor release) is not published during the week preceding the calculation date or does
not contain such yields, the rate per year equal to the semi-annual equivalent yield to maturity of
the Comparable Treasury Issue, calculated using a price for the Comparable Treasury Issue
(expressed as a percentage of its principal amount) equal to the Comparable Treasury Price for such
redemption date. The Treasury Rate will be calculated on the third business day preceding the
redemption date.
Voting Stock
of any specified person (as that term is used in Section 13(d)(3) of
the Exchange Act) as of any date means the capital stock of such person that is at the time
entitled to vote generally in the election of the board of directors of such person.
ARTICLE 2
5.15% SENIOR NOTES, SERIES R, DUE 2017
Section 2.01
Establishment
. There is hereby established a new series of Securities to be issued under the Original
Indenture, to be designated as the Corporations 5.15% Senior Notes, Series R, due 2017 (the
Series R Notes
).
There are to be initially authenticated and delivered $350,000,000 aggregate principal amount
of Series R Notes. Additional Series R Notes, without limitation as to amount, and without the
consent of the holders of the then outstanding Series R Notes, but with the same terms as such
outstanding Series R Notes (except the issue price and the issue date), may be authenticated and
delivered in the manner provided in Section 2.01 of the Original Indenture and such additional
Series R Notes would constitute a single series with such outstanding Series R Notes. In addition,
additional Series R Notes may be authenticated and delivered except as expressly provided to the
contrary in the Original Indenture. The Series R Notes may be issued from time to time pursuant to
a written order of the Corporation delivered to the Trustee for the authentication and delivery of
Series R Notes pursuant to Section 2.04 of the Original Indenture. The Series R Notes shall be
issued in fully registered form without coupons.
The Series R Notes shall be in substantially the form set forth in
Exhibit A
hereto,
and the form of the Trustees Certificate of Authentication for the Series R Notes shall be in
substantially the form set forth in
Exhibit B
hereto.
Each Series R Note shall be dated the date of authentication thereof and shall bear interest
from the Original Issue Date thereof or from the most recent Interest Payment Date to which
interest has been paid or duly provided for.
Section 2.02
Stated Maturity; Payment of Principal and Interest
.
(a) The date upon which the principal of the Series R Notes shall become due and payable at
final maturity, together with any accrued and unpaid interest, is June 15, 2017.
(b) Each Series R Note will bear interest at the rate of 5.15% per annum, from the Original
Issue Date or from the most recent Interest Payment Date to which interest has been paid or duly
provided for until the principal thereof is paid or made available for payment, and at
5
the same
rate per annum on any overdue principal and premium, if any, and (to the extent that the payment of
such interest shall be legally enforceable) on any overdue installment of interest, payable on June
15 and December 15 of each year (each, an
Interest Payment Date
), commencing on December
15, 2011, to the person in which name such Series R Note or any predecessor Series R Note is
registered at the close of business on the Regular Record Date.
(c) The amount of interest payable on any Series R Notes for any period will be computed on
the basis of a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months. In the event that any Interest
Payment Date, any redemption date or the Stated Maturity of the Series R Notes falls on a day that
is not a Business Day, the required payment of principal, premium, if any, and interest will be
made on the next succeeding Business Day as if made on the date that payment was due, and no
interest will accrue on the amount so payable for the period from and after such Interest Payment
Date, such redemption date or the Stated Maturity of the Series R Notes, as the case may be, to the
date of that payment on that next succeeding Business Day.
Payment of principal of, premium, if any, and interest on the Series R Notes shall be made in
such coin or currency of the United States of America as at the time of payment is legal tender for
payment of public and private debts.
Principal of, premium, if any, and interest on the Series R Notes will be payable at the
office or agency of the Corporation maintained for such purpose as described in Section 5.01 below;
provided, however, that payment of interest may be made at the option of the Corporation by check
mailed to the address of the Person entitled thereto as such address shall appear in the security
register; and, provided, further that, in the case of payments of principal and premium, if any,
such Series R Notes are first surrendered to the Paying Agent.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, as long as the Series R Notes are represented by Global Series
R Notes pursuant to Section 2.04 hereof, payments of principal of, premium, if any, and interest on
the Series R Notes will be made by wire transfer of immediately available funds to The Depository
Trust Company or its nominee as the initial Securityholder of the Series R Notes.
Section 2.03
Denominations
. The Series R Notes shall be issuable in denominations of $2,000 and integral multiples of
$1,000 in excess thereof.
Section 2.04
Global Series R Notes
. The Series R Notes will be issued initially in the form of one or more global securities (the
Global Series R Notes
), without interest coupons, registered in the name of The
Depository Trust Company or such other Clearing Agency as the Corporation may from time to time
designate or its nominee. Unless and until they are exchanged for Series R Notes in definitive
registered form as described below, such Global Series R Notes may be transferred, in whole but not
in part, only to the Clearing Agency or a nominee of the Clearing Agency, or to a
successor Clearing Agency selected or approved by the Corporation or to a nominee of such
successor Clearing Agency.
If at any time (i) the Clearing Agency notifies the Corporation that it is unwilling or unable
to continue as a Clearing Agency for the Global Series R Notes and no successor Clearing Agency
shall have been appointed within 90 days after such notification, (ii) the Clearing Agency at any
time ceases to be a clearing agency registered under the Exchange Act at any time
6
the Clearing
Agency is required to be so registered to act as such Clearing Agency and no successor Clearing
Agency shall have been appointed within 90 days after the Corporations becoming aware of the
Clearing Agencys ceasing to be so registered or (iii) the Corporation, in its sole discretion,
determines that the Global Series R Notes shall be so exchangeable, the Corporation will execute,
and, subject to Article II of the Original Indenture, the Trustee, upon receipt of a written order
therefor, will authenticate and deliver the Series R Notes in definitive registered form without
coupons, in authorized denominations, and in an aggregate principal amount equal to the principal
amount of the Global Series R Notes in exchange for such Global Series R Notes. Upon exchange of
the Global Series R Notes for such Series R Notes in definitive registered form without coupons, in
authorized denominations, the Global Series R Notes shall be cancelled by the Trustee. Such Series
R Notes in definitive registered form issued in exchange for the Global Series R Notes shall be
registered in such names and in such authorized denominations as the Clearing Agency, pursuant to
instructions from its direct or indirect participants or otherwise, shall instruct the Trustee.
The Trustee shall deliver such Series R Notes to the Clearing Agency for delivery to the Persons in
whose names such Series R Notes are so registered.
ARTICLE 3
6.45% SENIOR NOTES, SERIES S, DUE 2021
Section 3.01
Establishment
. There is hereby established a new series of Securities to be issued under the Original
Indenture, to be designated as the Corporations 6.45% Senior Notes, Series S, due 2021 (the
Series S Notes
).
There are to be initially authenticated and delivered $1,250,000,000 aggregate principal
amount of Series S Notes. Additional Series S Notes, without limitation as to amount, and without
the consent of the holders of the then outstanding Series S Notes, but with the same terms as such
outstanding Series S Notes (except the issue price and the issue date), may be authenticated and
delivered in the manner provided in Section 2.01 of the Original Indenture and such additional
Series S Notes would constitute a single series with such outstanding Series S Notes. In addition,
additional Series S Notes may be authenticated and delivered except as expressly provided to the
contrary in the Original Indenture. The Series S Notes may be issued from time to time pursuant to
a written order of the Corporation delivered to the Trustee for the authentication and delivery of
Series S Notes pursuant to Section 2.04 of the Original Indenture. The Series S Notes shall be
issued in fully registered form without coupons.
The Series S Notes shall be in substantially the form set forth in
Exhibit C
hereto,
and the form of the Trustees Certificate of Authentication for the Series S Notes shall be in
substantially the form set forth in
Exhibit D
hereto.
Each Series S Note shall be dated the date of authentication thereof and shall bear interest
from the Original Issue Date thereof or from the most recent Interest Payment Date to which
interest has been paid or duly provided for.
7
Section 3.02
Stated Maturity; Payment of Principal and Interest.
(a) The date upon which the principal of the Series S Notes shall become due and payable at
final maturity, together with any accrued and unpaid interest, is June 15, 2021.
(b) Each Series S Note will bear interest at the rate of 6.45% per annum, from the Original
Issue Date or from the most recent Interest Payment Date to which interest has been paid or duly
provided for until the principal thereof is paid or made available for payment, and at the same
rate per annum on any overdue principal and premium, if any, and (to the extent that the payment of
such interest shall be legally enforceable) on any overdue installment of interest, payable on each
Interest Payment Date, commencing on December 15, 2011, to the person in which name such Series S
Note or any predecessor Series S Note is registered at the close of business on the Regular Record
Date.
(c) The amount of interest payable on any Series S Notes for any period will be computed on
the basis of a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months. In the event that any Interest
Payment Date, any redemption date or the Stated Maturity of the Series S Notes falls on a day that
is not a Business Day, the required payment of principal, premium, if any, and interest will be
made on the next succeeding Business Day as if made on the date that payment was due, and no
interest will accrue on the amount so payable for the period from and after such Interest Payment
Date, such redemption date or the Stated Maturity of the Series S Notes, as the case may be, to the
date of that payment on that next succeeding Business Day.
Payment of principal of, premium, if any, and interest on the Series S Notes shall be made in
such coin or currency of the United States of America as at the time of payment is legal tender for
payment of public and private debts.
Principal of, premium, if any, and interest on the Series S Notes will be payable at the
office or agency of the Corporation maintained for such purpose as described in Section 5.01;
provided, however, that payment of interest may be made at the option of the Corporation by check
mailed to the address of the Person entitled thereto as such address shall appear in the security
register; and, provided, further that, in the case of payments of principal and premium, if any,
such Series S Notes are first surrendered to the Paying Agent.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, as long as the Series S Notes are represented by Global Series
S Notes pursuant to Section 3.04 hereof, payments of principal of, premium, if any, and interest on
the Series S Notes will be made by wire transfer of immediately available funds to The Depository
Trust Company or its nominee as the initial Securityholder of the Series S Notes.
Section 3.03
Denominations
. The Series S Notes shall be issuable in denominations of $2,000 and integral multiples of
$1,000 in excess thereof.
Section 3.04
Global Series S Notes
. The Series S Notes will be issued initially in the form of one or more global securities
(the
Global Series S Notes
), without interest coupons, registered in the name of The
Depository Trust Company or such other Clearing Agency as the Corporation may from time to time
designate or its nominee. Unless and until they are exchanged for Series S Notes in definitive
registered form as described below, such Global Series S Notes may be transferred, in whole but not
in part, only to the Clearing Agency or a
8
nominee of the Clearing Agency, or to a successor
Clearing Agency selected or approved by the Corporation or to a nominee of such successor Clearing
Agency.
If at any time (i) the Clearing Agency notifies the Corporation that it is unwilling or unable
to continue as a Clearing Agency for the Global Series S Notes and no successor Clearing Agency
shall have been appointed within 90 days after such notification, (ii) the Clearing Agency at any
time ceases to be a clearing agency registered under the Exchange Act at any time the Clearing
Agency is required to be so registered to act as such Clearing Agency and no successor Clearing
Agency shall have been appointed within 90 days after the Corporations becoming aware of the
Clearing Agencys ceasing to be so registered or (iii) the Corporation, in its sole discretion,
determines that the Global Series S Notes shall be so exchangeable, the Corporation will execute,
and, subject to Article II of the Original Indenture, the Trustee, upon receipt of a written order
therefor, will authenticate and deliver the Series S Notes in definitive registered form without
coupons, in authorized denominations, and in an aggregate principal amount equal to the principal
amount of the Global Series S Notes in exchange for such Global Series S Notes. Upon exchange of
the Global Series S Notes for such Series S Notes in definitive registered form without coupons, in
authorized denominations, the Global Series S Notes shall be cancelled by the Trustee. Such Series
S Notes in definitive registered form issued in exchange for the Global Series S Notes shall be
registered in such names and in such authorized denominations as the Clearing Agency, pursuant to
instructions from its direct or indirect participants or otherwise, shall instruct the Trustee.
The Trustee shall deliver such Series S Notes to the Clearing Agency for delivery to the Persons in
whose names such Series S Notes are so registered.
ARTICLE 4
REDEMPTION AND REPURCHASE
Section 4.01
Optional Redemption Procedures for Series R Notes
.
The Series R
Notes are redeemable, at any time in whole or from time to time in part, at the
Corporations option, at a redemption price equal to the greater of:
(a) 100% of the principal amount of the Series R Notes to be redeemed; and
(b) the sum of the present values of the remaining scheduled payments of principal and
interest on the Series R Notes to be redeemed (exclusive of interest accrued to the date of
redemption), discounted to the date of redemption on a semi-annual basis (assuming a 360-day year
consisting of twelve 30-day months) at the then current Treasury Rate applicable to the Series R
Notes plus 50 basis points.
In each case the Corporation will pay any accrued and unpaid interest on the principal amount
of the Series R Notes being redeemed to the date of redemption.
The Corporation will mail notice of redemption at least 15 but not more than 60 days before
the redemption date to each holder of record of the Series R Notes to be redeemed at its registered
address. The notice of redemption for the Series R Notes will state, among other
9
things, the
amount of Series R Notes to be redeemed, the redemption date, the redemption price and the place or
places that payment will be made upon presentation and surrender of Series R Notes to be redeemed.
Unless the Corporation defaults in the payment of the redemption price, interest will cease to
accrue on any Series R Notes that have been called for redemption at the redemption date.
If less than all of the Series R Notes are redeemed, the Trustee will be notified at least 30
days before giving notice of redemption, or such shorter period as is satisfactory to the Trustee,
of the aggregate principal amount of Series R Notes to be redeemed and the redemption date. The
Trustee will select by lot, or in such other manner it deems fair and appropriate, the Series R
Notes to be redeemed in part.
If the Corporation gives notice as provided in the Original Indenture, and funds for the
redemption of any Series R Notes (or any portion thereof) called for redemption will have been made
available on the redemption date referred to in such notice, those Series R Notes (or any portion
thereof) will cease to bear interest on that redemption date and the only right of the holders of
those Series R Notes will be to receive payment of the redemption price.
The Corporation will notify the Trustee of the redemption price promptly after the calculation
thereof, and the Trustee shall have no responsibility for such calculation. Neither the
Corporation nor the Trustee shall be required to register the transfer of or exchange the Series R
Notes redeemed pursuant to this Section 4.01.
Section 4.02
Optional Redemption Procedures for Series S Notes
.
The Series S Notes are redeemable, at any time in whole or from time to time in part, at the
Corporations option, at a redemption price equal to the greater of:
(a) 100% of the principal amount of the Series S Notes to be redeemed; and
(b) the sum of the present values of the remaining scheduled payments of principal and
interest on the Series S Notes to be redeemed (exclusive of interest accrued to the date of
redemption), discounted to the date of redemption on a semi-annual basis (assuming a
360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months) at the then current Treasury Rate applicable
to the Series S Notes plus 50 basis points.
In each case the Corporation will pay any accrued and unpaid interest on the principal amount
of the Series S Notes being redeemed to the date of redemption.
The Corporation will mail notice of redemption at least 15 but not more than 60 days before
the redemption date to each holder of record of the Series S Notes to be redeemed at its registered
address. The notice of redemption for the Series S Notes will state, among other things, the
amount of Series S Notes to be redeemed, the redemption date, the redemption price and the place or
places that payment will be made upon presentation and surrender of Series S Notes to be redeemed.
Unless the Corporation defaults in the payment of the redemption price, interest will cease to
accrue on any Series S Notes that have been called for redemption at the redemption date.
10
If less than all of the Series S Notes are redeemed, the Trustee will be notified at least 30
days before giving notice of redemption, or such shorter period as is satisfactory to the Trustee,
of the aggregate principal amount of Series S Notes to be redeemed and the redemption date. The
Trustee will select by lot, or in such other manner it deems fair and appropriate, the Series S
Notes to be redeemed in part.
If the Corporation gives notice as provided in the Original Indenture, and funds for the
redemption of any Series S Notes (or any portion thereof) called for redemption will have been made
available on the redemption date referred to in such notice, those Series S Notes (or any portion
thereof) will cease to bear interest on that redemption date and the only right of the holders of
those Series S Notes will be to receive payment of the redemption price.
The Corporation will notify the Trustee of the redemption price promptly after the calculation
thereof, and the Trustee shall have no responsibility for such calculation. Neither the
Corporation nor the Trustee shall be required to register the transfer of or exchange the Series S
Notes redeemed pursuant to this Section 4.02.
Section 4.03
Purchase of Notes Upon a Change of Control Repurchase Event
.
(a) If a Change of Control Repurchase Event occurs, unless the Corporation has exercised its
right to redeem the Notes in accordance with this Article 4, it will make an offer to each
Securityholder to repurchase all or any part (in excess of $2,000 and in integral multiples of
$1,000) of that Securityholders Notes at a repurchase price in cash equal to 101% of the aggregate
principal amount of the Notes repurchased plus any accrued and unpaid interest on the Notes
repurchased to, but not including, the date of repurchase.
(b) Within 30 days following any Change of Control Repurchase Event or, at the Corporations
option, prior to any Change of Control, but after the public announcement of the Change of Control,
the Corporation will mail a notice to each Securityholder, with a copy to the Trustee, describing
the transaction or transactions that constitute or may constitute the Change of Control Repurchase
Event and (i) offering to repurchase the Notes on the repurchase date
specified in the notice, which date will be a Business Day no earlier than 15 days and no
later than 60 days from the date such notice is mailed, (ii) indicating that all Notes validly
tendered will be accepted for payment and any Note not tendered will continue to accrue interest,
(iii) specifying the CUSIP numbers for the Notes, (iv) stating that, unless the Corporation
defaults in its payment in connection with the Change of Control Repurchase Event, all Notes
accepted for payment pursuant to the Corporations offer to repurchase such Notes will cease to
accrue interest after such repurchase, (v) stating that Securityholders electing to have any Notes
repurchased by the Corporation pursuant to this Section 4.03 will be required to surrender such
Notes to the Paying Agent at the address specified in the notice prior to the close of business on
the third Business Day preceding the repurchase date, (vi) stating that Securityholders will be
entitled to withdraw their election made pursuant to this Section 4.03 if the Paying Agent
receives, not later than the close of business on the second Business Day preceding the repurchase
date, a facsimile transmission or letter setting forth the name of the Securityholder, the
principal amount of Notes delivered for repurchase, and a statement that such Securityholder is
withdrawing his election to have the Notes repurchased and (vii) stating that Securityholders whose
Notes of any series are being repurchased only in part will be issued new notes of such
11
series
equal in principal amount to the unpurchased portion of the Notes surrendered, which unpurchased
portion will be equal to $2,000 in principal amount or an integral multiple of $1,000 in excess
thereof.
(c) The notice shall, if mailed prior to the date of consummation of the Change of Control,
state that the Corporations offer to repurchase is conditioned on a Change of Control Repurchase
Event occurring on or prior to the repurchase date specified in the notice. The Corporation will
cause its offer to purchase to remain open for at least 20 Business Days or such longer period as
is required by applicable law. The Corporation will comply with the requirements of Rule 14e-1
under the Exchange Act, and any other securities laws and regulations thereunder, to the extent
those laws and regulations are applicable in connection with the repurchase of the Notes as a
result of a Change of Control Repurchase Event. To the extent that the provisions of any
securities laws or regulations conflict with the Change of Control Repurchase Event provisions of
the Notes set forth in this Section 4.03, the Corporation will comply with the applicable
securities laws and regulations and will not be deemed to have breached its obligations under this
Section 4.03 by virtue of such conflict.
(d) On the repurchase date following a Change of Control Repurchase Event, the Corporation
will, to the extent lawful:
(i) accept for payment all the Notes or portions of the Notes properly tendered
pursuant to the Corporations offer;
(ii) deposit with the Paying Agent an amount equal to the aggregate repurchase price in
respect of all the Notes or portions of the Notes properly tendered; and
(iii) deliver or cause to be delivered to the Trustee the Notes properly accepted,
together with an officers certificate stating the aggregate principal amount of Notes being
purchased by the Corporation.
(e) The Paying Agent will promptly mail to each Securityholder of Notes properly tendered the
repurchase price for such Notes, and the Trustee will promptly authenticate and mail (or cause to
be transferred by book-entry) to each Securityholder a new Note of the same series equal in
principal amount to any unpurchased portion of any Notes surrendered, if any;
provided
that each
new Note will be in a principal amount of $2,000 or an integral multiple of $1,000 in excess
thereof. The Corporation will publicly announce the results of its offer to repurchase the Notes on
or as soon as practicable after the repurchase date.
(f) The Corporation will not be required to make an offer to repurchase the Notes upon a
Change of Control Repurchase Event if a third party makes such an offer in the manner, at the times
and otherwise in compliance with the requirements set forth in this Section 4.03 applicable to an
offer made by the Corporation and such third party purchases all Notes properly tendered and not
withdrawn under such third partys offer.
Section 4.04
No Sinking Fund
. The Notes are not subject to, and do not have the benefit of, any sinking fund.
12
ARTICLE 5
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Section 5.01
Authentication and Delivery of Additional Series P Notes
. There are to be authenticated and delivered on the date hereof an additional $400,000,000
aggregate principal amount of the Corporations 7.60% Senior Notes, Series P, due 2039 (the Series
P Notes), which were originally established and designated pursuant to the Fifth Supplemental
Indenture dated as of September 21, 2009 by and between the Corporation and the Trustee (the Fifth
Supplemental Indenture). The additional Series P Notes to be authenticated and delivered on the
date hereof shall have the same terms (except the issue price and issue date) as the Series P Notes
issued by the Corporation on September 21, 2009, and shall be governed by the Fifth Supplemental
Indenture. The Series P Notes issued on September 21, 2009 and the date hereof shall constitute a
single, fungible series of Securities.
Section 5.02
Paying Agents; Transfer Agents; Place of Payment
.
(a) The paying agent for the Notes shall initially be the Trustee (in such capacity, the
Paying Agent
), and the place of payment for the Notes shall initially be the Corporate
Trust Office, which as of the date hereof for such purpose is located at 1500 North 18
th
Street, Monroe, Louisiana. Principal of, premium, if any, and interest with respect to
certificated Notes will be payable at the office or agency of the Corporation maintained for such
purpose in the City of Monroe, State of Louisiana or the Borough of Manhattan, the City and State
of New York. The Trustee shall also serve as security registrar for the purpose of registering
Notes and transfers or exchanges of Notes.
(b) The Corporation may from time to time designate one or more additional offices or agencies
where Notes may be presented or surrendered for payment or may be surrendered for registration of
transfer or exchange in accordance with Section 4.02 of the Original Indenture; provided that the
Corporation shall at all times maintain a Paying Agent and an office or agency where Notes may be
surrendered for registration of transfer or exchange, in each case in the City of Monroe, State of
Louisiana or the Borough of Manhattan, The City of New York.
Section 5.03
Recitals by Corporation
. The recitals in this Sixth Supplemental Indenture are made by the Corporation only and not
by the Trustee, and all of the provisions contained in the Original Indenture in respect of the
rights, privileges, immunities, powers and duties of the Trustee shall be applicable in respect of
the Series R Notes and Series S Notes and this Sixth Supplemental Indenture as fully and with like
effect as if set forth herein in full.
Section 5.04
Ratification and Incorporation of Original Indenture
. As supplemented hereby, the Original Indenture is in all respects ratified and confirmed,
and the Original Indenture and this Sixth Supplemental Indenture shall be read and construed as one
and the same instrument.
13
Section 5.05
Executed in Counterparts
. This Sixth Supplemental Indenture may be executed in several counterparts, each of which
shall be deemed to be an original, and such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the
same instrument.
14
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each party hereto has caused this Sixth Supplemental Indenture to be
signed in its name and behalf by its duly authorized officers, all as of the day and year first
above written.
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CENTURYLINK, INC.
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By:
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/s/ R. Stewart Ewing, Jr.
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Name:
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R. Stewart Ewing, Jr.
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Title:
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Executive Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer
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By:
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/s/ Stacey W. Goff
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Name:
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Stacey W. Goff
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Title:
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Executive Vice President,
General Counsel and Secretary
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Attest:
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/s/ Stacey W. Goff
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Name:
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Stacey W. Goff
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Title:
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Executive Vice President,
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General Counsel and Secretary
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REGIONS BANK,
as Trustee
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By:
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/s/ Jamie Lorio
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Name:
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Jamie Lorio
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Title:
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Senior Vice President
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15
EXHIBIT A
(Form of Face of Series R Note)
If the Series R Note is to be a Global Series R Note, insert: THIS SERIES R NOTE IS A GLOBAL
SERIES R NOTE WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE INDENTURE HEREINAFTER REFERRED TO AND IS REGISTERED IN THE
NAME OF THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY, A NEW YORK CORPORATION (DTC), OR A NOMINEE THEREOF. THIS
SERIES R NOTE IS EXCHANGEABLE FOR SERIES R NOTES REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF A PERSON OTHER THAN THE
CLEARING AGENCY OR ITS NOMINEE ONLY IN THE LIMITED CIRCUMSTANCES DESCRIBED IN THE INDENTURE, AND NO
TRANSFER OF THIS SERIES R NOTE (OTHER THAN A TRANSFER OF THIS SERIES R NOTE AS A WHOLE BY THE
CLEARING AGENCY TO A NOMINEE OF THE CLEARING AGENCY OR BY A NOMINEE OF THE CLEARING AGENCY TO THE
CLEARING AGENCY OR ANOTHER NOMINEE OF THE CLEARING AGENCY OR TO A SUCCESSOR CLEARING AGENCY OR TO A
NOMINEE OF SUCH SUCCESSOR) MAY BE REGISTERED EXCEPT IN LIMITED CIRCUMSTANCES.
UNLESS THIS SERIES R NOTE IS PRESENTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DEPOSITORY TRUST
COMPANY (55 WATER STREET, NEW YORK, NEW YORK) TO THE ISSUER OR ITS AGENT FOR REGISTRATION OF
TRANSFER, EXCHANGE OR PAYMENT AND ANY SERIES R NOTE ISSUED IS REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF CEDE & CO.
OR SUCH OTHER NAME AS REQUESTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY AND
ANY PAYMENT HEREON IS MADE TO CEDE & CO., ANY TRANSFER, PLEDGE OR OTHER USE HEREOF FOR VALUE OR
OTHERWISE BY A PERSON IS WRONGFUL SINCE THE REGISTERED OWNER HEREOF, CEDE & CO., HAS AN INTEREST
HEREIN.
CUSIP No.: 156700AQ9
ISIN: US156700AQ94
COMMON CODE:
$___________
No. ____
CENTURYLINK, INC.
5.15% SENIOR NOTE, SERIES R, DUE 2017
CenturyLink, Inc., a Louisiana corporation (the Corporation, which term includes any
successor corporation under the Indenture referred to on the reverse hereof), for value received,
hereby promises to pay to___________________, or registered assigns, the principal sum of
______________ DOLLARS ($____________), on June 15, 2017 (such date is hereinafter referred to as
the Stated Maturity Date), and to pay interest on said principal sum, from June 16, 2011 or from
the next most recent date to which interest has been paid or duly provided for, semi-annually in
arrears, on June 15 and December 15 of each year (each such date, an Interest Payment Date),
commencing on December 15, 2011, at the rate of 5.15% per annum until the principal hereof shall
have been paid or duly made available for payment and, to the extent
A-1
permitted by law, to pay interest compounded semi-annually, on any overdue principal and
premium, if any, and on any overdue installment of interest at the same rate per annum.
The amount of interest payable on any Interest Payment Date shall be computed on the basis of
a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months. In the event that any Interest Payment Date,
any redemption date or the Stated Maturity Date falls on a day that is not a Business Day, the
required payment of principal, premium, if any, and interest will be made on the next succeeding
Business Day as if made on the date that payment was due and no interest will accrue on the amount
so payable for the period from and after such Interest Payment Date, such redemption date or Stated
Maturity Date, as the case may be, to the date of that payment on that next succeeding Business
Day.
The interest installment so payable, and punctually paid or duly provided for, on any Interest
Payment Date will, as provided in the Indenture, be paid to the Person in whose name this Series R
Note (or one or more predecessor Securities) is registered at the close of business on the Regular
Record Date for such interest installment, which shall be the close of business on the first day of
the month in which such Interest Payment Date falls. Any such interest installment not punctually
paid or duly provided for, on any Interest Payment Date, shall forthwith cease to be payable to the
holders at the close of business on such Regular Record Date and may be paid by the Corporation to
the Person in whose name this Series R Note is registered at the close of business on a special
record date to be fixed by the Trustee for the payment of such defaulted interest, which shall not
be more than 15 or less than 10 days prior to the date of the proposed payment and not less than 10
days after the receipt by the Trustee of the notice of such proposed payment, and notice of which
shall be given to the holders of the Series R Notes not less than 10 days prior to such special
record date, or may be paid at any time in any other lawful manner not inconsistent with the
requirements of any securities exchange, if any, on which the Series R Notes may be listed, and
upon such notice as may be required by such exchange, all as more fully provided in the Indenture.
Principal of (and premium, if any) and the interest on this Series R Note shall be payable at
the office or agency of the Corporation maintained for that purpose in the City of Monroe, State of
Louisiana, or the Borough of Manhattan, The City and State of New York, in any coin or currency of
the United States of America that at the time of payment is legal tender for payment of public and
private debts; provided, however, that payment of interest may be made at the option of the
Corporation by check mailed to the address of the Person entitled thereto as such address shall
appear in the security register; and provided further, that, in the case of payments of principal
and premium, if any, this Series R Note is first surrendered to the Paying Agent.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, as long as this Series R Note is represented by a Global Series
R Note, payments of principal of, premium, if any, and interest on this Series R Note will be made
by wire transfer of immediately available funds to DTC or its nominee as the initial holder of this
Series R Note.
The indebtedness evidenced by this Series R Note is, to the extent provided in the Indenture,
senior and unsecured and will rank in right of payment on parity with all other unsecured and
unsubordinated obligations of the Corporation.
A-2
REFERENCE IS HEREBY MADE TO THE FURTHER PROVISIONS OF THIS SERIES R NOTE SET FORTH ON THE
FOLLOWING PAGES HEREOF, WHICH FURTHER PROVISIONS SHALL FOR ALL PURPOSES HAVE THE SAME EFFECT AS IF
SET FORTH AT THIS PLACE.
Unless the certificate of authentication hereon has been executed by the Trustee by manual
signature, this Series R Note shall not be entitled to any benefit under the Indenture or be valid
or obligatory for any purpose.
A-3
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Corporation has caused this instrument to be duly executed under its
corporate seal.
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CENTURYLINK, INC.
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By:
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Name:
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R. Stewart Ewing, Jr.
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Title:
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Executive Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer
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By:
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Name:
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Stacey W. Goff
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Title:
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Executive Vice President,
General Counsel and Secretary
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Attest:
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Name:
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Stacey W. Goff
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Title:
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Executive Vice President,
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General Counsel and Secretary
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Dated: June __, 2011
A-4
CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICATION
This is one of the Securities of the series designated therein referred to in the
within-mentioned Indenture.
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REGIONS BANK, as Trustee
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By:
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Authorized Officer
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Dated: June __, 2011
A-5
This Series R Note is one of a duly authorized issue of Securities of the Corporation (the
Securities) issued and issuable in one or more series under an Indenture, dated as of March 31,
1994, as supplemented by the Sixth Supplemental Indenture (the Sixth Supplemental Indenture)
dated as of June 16, 2011 (collectively, the Indenture), between the Corporation and Regions Bank
(successor-in-interest to First American Bank & Trust of Louisiana and Regions Bank of Louisiana),
as trustee (the Trustee, which term includes any successor trustee under the Indenture), to which
Indenture and all indentures supplemental thereto reference is hereby made for a statement of the
respective rights, limitation of rights, duties and immunities thereunder of the Corporation, the
Trustee and the holders of the Securities issued thereunder and of the terms upon which said
Securities are, and are to be, authenticated and delivered. This Security is one of the series
designated on the face hereof as 5.15% Senior Notes, Series R, due 2017 (the Series R Notes).
Such series is being initially issued in the aggregate principal amount of $350,000,000.
Capitalized terms used herein for which no definition is provided herein shall have the meanings
set forth in the Indenture.
The Series R Notes are redeemable, at any time in whole or from time to time in part, at the
Corporations option, at a redemption price equal to the greater of: (a) of 100% of the principal
amount of the Series R Notes to be redeemed; and (b) the sum of the present values of the remaining
scheduled payments of principal and interest on the Series R Notes to be redeemed (exclusive of
interest accrued to the date of redemption), discounted to the date of redemption on a semi-annual
basis (assuming a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months) at the then current Treasury
Rate plus 50 basis points. In each case the Corporation will pay any accrued and unpaid interest
on the principal amount being redeemed to the date of redemption.
The Corporation will mail notice of redemption at least 15 but not more than 60 days before
the redemption date to each holder of record of the Series R Notes to be redeemed at its registered
address. The notice of redemption for the Series R Notes will state, among other things, the
amount of Series R Notes to be redeemed, the redemption date, the redemption price and the place or
places that payment will be made upon presentation and surrender of Series R Notes to be redeemed.
Unless the Corporation defaults in the payment of the redemption price, interest will cease to
accrue on any Series R Notes that have been called for redemption at the redemption date.
If less than all of the Series R Notes are redeemed, the Trustee will be notified at least 30
days before giving notice of redemption, or such shorter period as is satisfactory to the Trustee,
of the aggregate principal amount of Series R Notes to be redeemed and the redemption date. The
Trustee will select by lot, or in such other manner it deems fair and appropriate, the Series R
Notes to be redeemed in part.
If the Corporation gives notice as provided in the Indenture, and funds for the redemption of
any Series R Notes (or any portion thereof) called for redemption will have been made available on
the redemption date referred to in such notice, those Series R Notes (or any portion thereof) will
cease to bear interest on that redemption date and the only right of the holders of those Series R
Notes will be to receive payment of the redemption price.
A-6
If a Change of Control Repurchase Event occurs, unless the Corporation has exercised its right
to redeem the Series R Notes as described above, it will make an offer to each holder of Series R
Notes to repurchase all or any part (in excess of $2,000 and in integral multiples of $1,000) of
such holders Series R Notes at a repurchase price in cash equal to 101% of the aggregate principal
amount of such Series R Notes repurchased plus any accrued and unpaid interest on such Series R
Notes repurchased to, but not including, the date of repurchase.
Within 30 days following any Change of Control Repurchase Event or, at the Corporations
option, prior to any Change of Control, but after the public announcement of the Change of Control,
the Corporation will mail a notice to each holder of Series R Notes, with a copy to the Trustee,
describing the transaction or transactions that constitute or may constitute the Change of Control
Repurchase Event and (i) offering to repurchase the Series R Notes on the repurchase date specified
in the notice, which date will be a Business Day no earlier than 15 days and no later than 60 days
from the date such notice is mailed, (ii) indicating that all Series R Notes validly tendered will
be accepted for payment and any Series R Note not tendered will continue to accrue interest, (iii)
specifying the CUSIP numbers for the Series R Notes, (iv) stating that, unless the Corporation
defaults in its payment in connection with the Change of Control Repurchase Event, all Series R
Notes accepted for payment pursuant to the Corporations offer to repurchase such Series R Notes
will cease to accrue interest after such repurchase, (v) stating that holders electing to have any
Series R Notes repurchased by the Corporation will be required to surrender such Series R Notes to
the Paying Agent at the address specified in the notice prior to the close of business on the third
Business Day preceding the repurchase date, (vi) stating that holders will be entitled to withdraw
their election if the Paying Agent receives, not later than the close of business on the second
Business Day preceding the repurchase date, a facsimile transmission or letter setting forth the
name of the holder of Series R Notes, the principal amount of Series R Notes delivered for
repurchase, and a statement that such holder is withdrawing his election to have the Series R Notes
repurchased and (vii) stating that holders whose Series R Notes are being repurchased only in part
will be issued new Series R Notes in principal amount to the unpurchased portion of the Series R
Notes surrendered, which unpurchased portion will be equal to $2,000 in principal amount or an
integral multiple of $1,000 in excess thereof.
The notice shall, if mailed prior to the date of consummation of the Change of Control, state
that the Corporations offer to repurchase is conditioned on a Change of Control Repurchase Event
occurring on or prior to the repurchase date specified in the notice. The Corporation will cause
its offer to purchase to remain open for at least 20 Business Days or such longer period as is
required by applicable law. The Corporation will comply with the requirements of Rule 14e-1 under
the Exchange Act, and any other securities laws and regulations thereunder, to the extent those
laws and regulations are applicable in connection with the repurchase of the Series R Notes as a
result of a Change of Control Repurchase Event. To the extent that the provisions of any
securities laws or regulations conflict with the Change of Control Repurchase Event provisions of
the Series R Notes, the Corporation will comply with the applicable securities laws and regulations
and will not be deemed to have breached its obligations under Section 4.03 of the Sixth
Supplemental Indenture by virtue of such conflict.
On the repurchase date following a Change of Control Repurchase Event, the Corporation will,
to the extent lawful: (a) accept for payment all the Series R Notes or portions
A-7
of the Series R Notes properly tendered pursuant to the Corporations offer; (b) deposit with
the Paying Agent an amount equal to the aggregate repurchase price in respect of all the Series R
Notes or portions of the Series R Notes properly tendered; and (c) deliver or cause to be delivered
to the Trustee the Series R Notes properly accepted, together with an officers certificate stating
the aggregate principal amount of Series R Notes being purchased by the Corporation.
The Paying Agent will promptly mail to each holder of Series R Notes properly tendered the
repurchase price for such Series R Notes, and the Trustee will promptly authenticate and mail (or
cause to be transferred by book-entry) to each holder a new Series R Note of the same series equal
in principal amount to any unpurchased portion of any Series R Notes surrendered, if any;
provided
that each new Series R Note will be in a principal amount of $2,000 or an integral multiple of
$1,000 in excess thereof. The Corporation will publicly announce the results of its offer to
repurchase the Series R Notes on or as soon as practicable after the repurchase date.
The Corporation will not be required to make an offer to repurchase the Series R Notes upon a
Change of Control Repurchase Event if a third party makes such an offer in the manner, at the times
and otherwise in compliance with the requirements applicable to an offer made by the Corporation
and such third party purchases all Series R Notes properly tendered and not withdrawn under such
third partys offer.
As used herein:
Change of Control means the occurrence of any of the following: (1) the direct or indirect
sale, transfer, conveyance or other disposition (other than by way of merger or consolidation), in
one or a series of related transactions, of all or substantially all of the Corporations
properties or assets and the properties or assets of its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, to any
person (as that term is used in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act) other than the Corporation
or one of its subsidiaries; (2) the adoption of a plan relating to the liquidation or dissolution
of the Corporation; (3) the consummation of any transaction (including, without limitation, any
merger or consolidation) the result of which is that any person (as that term is used in Section
13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act) becomes the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of more than
50% of the then outstanding number of shares of the Corporations Voting Stock; or (4) the first
day on which a majority of the members of the Corporations board of directors are not Continuing
Directors.
Change of Control Repurchase Event means the occurrence of both a Change of Control and a
Ratings Event.
Comparable Treasury Issue means the U.S. Treasury security selected by an Independent
Investment Banker as having a maturity comparable to the remaining term (the Remaining Life) of
the Series R Notes to be redeemed that would be utilized, at the time of selection and in
accordance with customary financial practice, in pricing new issues of corporate debt securities of
comparable maturity to the remaining term of such Series R Notes.
Comparable Treasury Price means, with respect to any redemption date, (1) the average of the
Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations for such redemption date, after excluding the
A-8
highest and lowest Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations, or (2) if the Trustee obtains fewer
than four such Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations, the average of all such quotations.
Continuing Directors means, as of any date of determination, any member of the Corporations
board of directors who (1) was a member of such board of directors on the Original Issue Date; or
(2) was nominated for election or elected to such board of directors with the approval of a
majority of the Continuing Directors who were members of such board of directors at the time of
such nomination or election.
Exchange Act means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
Independent Investment Banker means one of the Reference Treasury Dealers that the
Corporation appoints to act as the Independent Investment Banker from time to time.
Investment Grade means a rating of Baa3 or better by Moodys (or its equivalent under any
successor Rating Categories of Moodys); a rating of BBB- or better by S&P (or its equivalent under
any successor Rating Categories of S&P); and the equivalent investment grade credit rating from any
additional Rating Agency or Rating Agencies selected by the Corporation.
Moodys means Moodys Investors Service Inc.
Rating Agency means (1) each of Moodys and S&P; and (2) if either of Moodys or S&P ceases
to rate the Series R Notes or fails to make a rating of the Series R Notes publicly available for
reasons outside of the Corporations control, a nationally recognized statistical rating
organization within the meaning of Rule 15c3-l(e)(2)(vi)(F) under the Exchange Act, selected by
the Corporation (as certified by a resolution of the Corporations board of directors) as a
replacement agency for Moodys or S&P, or both, as the case may be.
Rating Category means (i) with respect to S&P, any of the following categories: BBB, BB, B,
CCC, CC, C and D (or equivalent successor categories); (ii) with respect to Moodys, any of the
following categories: Baa, Ba, B, Caa, Ca, C and D (or equivalent successor categories); and (iii)
the equivalent of any such category of S&P or Moodys used by another Rating Agency. In determining
whether the rating of the Series R Notes has decreased by one or more gradations, gradations within
Rating Categories (+ and for S&P; 1, 2 and 3 for Moodys; or the equivalent gradations for
another Rating Agency) shall be taken into account (such that, with respect to S&P, a decline in a
rating from BB+ to BB, as well as from BB to B+, will constitute a decrease of one gradation).
Rating Date means the date which is 90 days prior to the earlier of (i) a Change of Control
or (ii) public notice of the occurrence of a Change of Control or of the Corporations intention to
effect a Change of Control.
Ratings Event means the occurrence of the events described in (a) or (b) below on, or within
90 days after the earlier of, (i) the occurrence of a Change of Control or (ii) public notice of
the occurrence of a Change of Control or the Corporations intention to effect a Change of Control
(which period shall be extended so long as the rating of the Series R Notes is under publicly
announced consideration for a possible downgrade by any of the Rating Agencies): (a) in the event
the Series R Notes are rated by both Rating Agencies on the Rating Date as
A-9
Investment Grade, the rating of the Series R Notes shall be reduced so that the Series R Notes
are rated below Investment Grade by both Rating Agencies, or (b) in the event the Series R Notes
(1) are rated Investment Grade by one Rating Agency and below Investment Grade by the other Rating
Agency on the Rating Date, the rating of the Series R Notes by either Rating Agency shall be
decreased so that the Series R Notes are then rated below Investment Grade by both Rating Agencies
or (2) are rated below Investment Grade by both Rating Agencies on the Rating Date, the rating of
the Series R Notes by either Rating Agency shall be decreased by one or more gradations (including
gradations within Rating Categories, as well as between Rating Categories). Notwithstanding the
foregoing, a Ratings Event otherwise arising by virtue of a particular reduction in Rating shall
not be deemed to have occurred in respect of a particular Change of Control (and thus shall not be
deemed a Ratings Event for purposes of the definition of Change of Control Repurchase Event set
forth above) if the Rating Agencies making the reduction in Rating to which this definition would
otherwise apply do not announce or publicly confirm or inform the Trustee in writing at its request
that the reduction was the result, in whole or in part, of any event or circumstance comprised of
or arising as a result of, or in respect of, the applicable Change of Control (whether or not the
applicable Change of Control shall have occurred at the time of the Ratings Event).
Reference Treasury Dealer means each of Barclays Capital Inc., Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner
& Smith Incorporated, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC. and a Primary Treasury Dealer selected by Wells
Fargo Securities, LLC, their respective successors, or any other firm that is a primary U.S.
Government securities dealer in New York City (each, a Primary Treasury Dealer) that the
Corporation specifies from time to time; provided, however, that if any of them ceases to be a
Primary Treasury Dealer, the Corporation will substitute another Primary Treasury Dealer.
Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations means, with respect to each Reference Treasury Dealer
and any redemption date, the average, as determined by the Trustee, of the bid and asked prices for
the Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed in each case as a percentage of its principal amount)
quoted in writing to the trustee by such Reference Treasury Dealer at 5:00 p.m., New York City
time, on the third business day preceding such redemption date.
Regular Record Date means, with respect to any Interest Payment Date for the Series R Notes,
the June 1 and December 1 immediately preceding such Interest Payment Date.
Treasury Rate means, with respect to any redemption date, the rate per year equal to: (i)
the yield, under the heading which represents the average for the immediately preceding week,
appearing in the most recently published statistical release designated H.15(519) or any
successor publication which is published weekly by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System and which establishes yields on actively traded U.S. Treasury securities adjusted to
constant maturity under the caption Treasury Constant Maturities, for the maturity corresponding
to the Comparable Treasury Issue; provided that, if no maturity is within three months before or
after the Remaining Life of the Series R Notes to be redeemed, yields for the two published
maturities most closely corresponding to the Comparable Treasury Issue will be determined and the
Treasury Rate will be interpolated or extrapolated from those yields on a straight line basis,
rounding to the nearest month; or (ii) if such release (or any successor release) is not published
during the week preceding the calculation date or does not contain such yields,
A-10
the rate per year equal to the semi-annual equivalent yield to maturity of the Comparable
Treasury Issue, calculated using a price for the Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed as a
percentage of its principal amount) equal to the Comparable Treasury Price for such redemption
date. The Treasury Rate will be calculated on the third business day preceding the redemption
date.
The Series R Notes are not subject to, the benefit of, and do not have, any sinking fund.
In case an Event of Default, as defined in the Indenture, with respect to the Series R Notes
shall have occurred and be continuing, the principal of the Series R Notes may be declared, and
upon such declaration shall become, due and payable, in the manner, with the effect and subject to
the conditions provided in the Indenture.
The Indenture contains provisions permitting the Corporation and the Trustee, with the consent
of the holders of not less than a majority in aggregate principal amount of the Securities of each
series affected at the time outstanding, as defined in the Indenture, to execute supplemental
indentures for the purpose of adding any provisions to or changing in any manner or eliminating and
of the provisions of the Indenture or of any supplemental indenture or of modifying in any manner
the rights of the holders of the Securities,
provided, however,
that no such supplemental indenture
shall (i) extend the fixed maturity of any Securities or any series, or reduce the principal amount
thereof, or reduce the rate or extend the time of payment of interest thereon, or reduce any
premium payable upon the redemption thereof, without the consent of the holder of each Security so
affected; or (ii) reduce the aforesaid percentage of Securities, the holders of which are required
to consent to any such supplemental indenture, without the consent of the holders of each Security
then outstanding and affected thereby. The Indenture also contains provisions permitting the
holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the Securities of any series at the time
outstanding, on behalf of the holders of Securities of such series, to waive any past default in
the performance of any of the covenants contained in the Indenture, or established pursuant to the
Indenture with respect to such series, and its consequences, except a default in the payment of the
principal of, or premium, if any, or interest on any of the Securities of such series. Any such
consent or waiver by the registered holder of this Security (unless revoked as provided in the
Indenture) shall be conclusive and binding upon such holder and upon all future holders and owners
of this Security and of any Security issued in exchange hereof or in place hereof (whether by
registration of transfer or otherwise), irrespective of whether or not any notation of such consent
or waiver is made upon this Security.
No reference herein to the Indenture and no provision of this Series R Note or of the
Indenture shall alter or impair the obligation of the Corporation, which is absolute and
unconditional, to pay the principal of and interest on this Series R Note at the times and place
and at the rate and in the currency herein prescribed.
As provided in the Indenture and subject to certain limitations therein and herein set forth,
the transfer of this Series R Note is registrable in the security register, upon surrender of this
Series R Note for registration of transfer at the office or agency of the Corporation for such
purpose, duly endorsed by, or accompanied by a written instrument of transfer in form satisfactory
to the Corporation and the security registrar and duly executed by, the holder hereof or his
attorney duly authorized in writing, and thereupon one or more new Series R Notes, of this
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series, of authorized denominations and of like tenor and for the same aggregate principal
amount, will be issued to the designated transferee or transferees. No service charge shall be
made for any such registration of transfer or exchange, but the Corporation may require payment of
a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge payable in connection therewith.
As provided in and subject to the provisions of the Indenture, the holder of this Series R
Note shall not have the right to institute any proceeding with respect to the Indenture or for the
appointment of a receiver or trustee or for any other remedy thereunder, unless such holder shall
have previously given the Trustee written notice of a continuing Event of Default with respect to
the Series R Notes, the holders of not less than a majority in aggregate principal amount of the
Series R Notes at the time outstanding shall have made written request to the Trustee to institute
proceedings in respect of such Event of Default as Trustee and offered the Trustee reasonable
indemnity, and the Trustee shall not have received from the holders of a majority in aggregate
principal amount of Series R Notes at the time outstanding a direction inconsistent with such
request and shall have failed to institute any such proceeding for 60 days after receipt of such
notice, request and offer of indemnity. The foregoing shall not apply to any suit instituted by
the holder of this Series R Note for the enforcement of any payment of principal hereof or any
premium or interest hereon on or after the respective due dates expressed herein.
Prior to due presentment of this Series R Note for registration of transfer, the Corporation,
the Trustee, any Paying Agent and any security registrar may deem and treat the Person in whose
name this Series R Note is registered as the absolute owner hereof for all purposes, whether or not
this Series R Note be overdue and notwithstanding the notice of ownership or writing hereon made by
anyone other than the security registrar, and neither the Corporation, the Trustee nor any such
agent shall be affected by notice to the contrary.
No recourse shall be had for the payment of the principal of or any premium or the interest on
this Series R Note, or for any claim based hereon, or otherwise in respect hereof, or based on or
in respect of the Indenture, against any incorporator, shareholder, affiliate, officer or director,
as such, past, present or future, of the Corporation or of any predecessor or successor
corporation, whether by virtue of any constitution, statute or rule of law, or by the enforcement
of any assessment or penalty or otherwise, all such liability being, by the acceptance hereof and
as part of the consideration for the issuance hereof, expressly waived and released.
The Series R Notes are issuable only in registered form without coupons in denominations of
$2,000 and integral multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof. As provided in the Indenture and
subject to the limitations therein and herein set forth, Series R Notes are exchangeable for a like
aggregate principal amount of Series R Notes of a different authorized denomination, as requested
by the holder surrendering the same upon surrender of the Series R Note or Notes to be exchanged at
the office or agency of the Corporation.
This Series R Note shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the internal laws
of the State of Louisiana.
A-12
EXHIBIT B
CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICATION
This is one of the Securities of the series designated therein referred to in the
within-mentioned Indenture.
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REGIONS BANK, as Trustee
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By:
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Authorized Officer
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Dated: June __, 2011
B-1
EXHIBIT C
(Form of Face of Series S Note)
If the Series S Note is to be a Global Series S Note, insert: THIS SERIES S NOTE IS A GLOBAL
SERIES S NOTE WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE INDENTURE HEREINAFTER REFERRED TO AND IS REGISTERED IN THE
NAME OF THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY, A NEW YORK CORPORATION (DTC), OR A NOMINEE THEREOF. THIS
SERIES S NOTE IS EXCHANGEABLE FOR SERIES S NOTES REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF A PERSON OTHER THAN THE
CLEARING AGENCY OR ITS NOMINEE ONLY IN THE LIMITED CIRCUMSTANCES DESCRIBED IN THE INDENTURE, AND NO
TRANSFER OF THIS SERIES S NOTE (OTHER THAN A TRANSFER OF THIS SERIES S NOTE AS A WHOLE BY THE
CLEARING AGENCY TO A NOMINEE OF THE CLEARING AGENCY OR BY A NOMINEE OF THE CLEARING AGENCY TO THE
CLEARING AGENCY OR ANOTHER NOMINEE OF THE CLEARING AGENCY OR TO A SUCCESSOR CLEARING AGENCY OR TO A
NOMINEE OF SUCH SUCCESSOR) MAY BE REGISTERED EXCEPT IN LIMITED CIRCUMSTANCES.
UNLESS THIS SERIES S NOTE IS PRESENTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DEPOSITORY TRUST
COMPANY (55 WATER STREET, NEW YORK, NEW YORK) TO THE ISSUER OR ITS AGENT FOR REGISTRATION OF
TRANSFER, EXCHANGE OR PAYMENT AND ANY SERIES S NOTE ISSUED IS REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF CEDE & CO.
OR SUCH OTHER NAME AS REQUESTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY AND
ANY PAYMENT HEREON IS MADE TO CEDE & CO., ANY TRANSFER, PLEDGE OR OTHER USE HEREOF FOR VALUE OR
OTHERWISE BY A PERSON IS WRONGFUL SINCE THE REGISTERED OWNER HEREOF, CEDE & CO., HAS AN INTEREST
HEREIN.
CUSIP No.: 156700AR7
ISIN: US156700AR77
COMMON CODE:
$________
No. ___
CENTURYLINK, INC.
6.45% SENIOR NOTE, SERIES S, DUE 2021
CenturyLink, Inc., a Louisiana corporation (the Corporation, which term includes any
successor corporation under the Indenture referred to on the reverse hereof), for value received,
hereby promises to pay to___________________, or registered assigns, the principal sum of
______________ DOLLARS ($____________), on June 15, 2021 (such date is hereinafter referred to as
the Stated Maturity Date), and to pay interest on said principal sum, from June 16, 2011 or from
the next most recent date to which interest has been paid or duly provided for, semi-annually in
arrears, on June 15 and December 15 of each year (each such date, an Interest Payment Date),
commencing on December 15, 2011, at the rate of 6.45% per annum until the principal hereof shall
have been paid or duly made available for payment and, to the extent
C-1
permitted by law, to pay interest compounded semi-annually, on any overdue principal and
premium, if any, and on any overdue installment of interest at the same rate per annum.
The amount of interest payable on any Interest Payment Date shall be computed on the basis of
a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months. In the event that any Interest Payment Date,
any redemption date or the Stated Maturity Date falls on a day that is not a Business Day, the
required payment of principal, premium, if any, and interest will be made on the next succeeding
Business Day as if made on the date that payment was due and no interest will accrue on the amount
so payable for the period from and after such Interest Payment Date, such redemption date or Stated
Maturity Date, as the case may be, to the date of that payment on that next succeeding Business
Day.
The interest installment so payable, and punctually paid or duly provided for, on any Interest
Payment Date will, as provided in the Indenture, be paid to the Person in whose name this Series S
Note (or one or more predecessor Securities) is registered at the close of business on the Regular
Record Date for such interest installment, which shall be the close of business on the first day of
the month in which such Interest Payment Date falls. Any such interest installment not punctually
paid or duly provided for, on any Interest Payment Date, shall forthwith cease to be payable to the
holders at the close of business on such Regular Record Date and may be paid by the Corporation to
the Person in whose name this Series S Note is registered at the close of business on a special
record date to be fixed by the Trustee for the payment of such defaulted interest, which shall not
be more than 15 or less than 10 days prior to the date of the proposed payment and not less than 10
days after the receipt by the Trustee of the notice of such proposed payment, and notice of which
shall be given to the holders of the Series S Notes not less than 10 days prior to such special
record date, or may be paid at any time in any other lawful manner not inconsistent with the
requirements of any securities exchange, if any, on which the Series S Notes may be listed, and
upon such notice as may be required by such exchange, all as more fully provided in the Indenture.
Principal of (and premium, if any) and the interest on this Series S Note shall be payable at
the office or agency of the Corporation maintained for that purpose in the City of Monroe, State of
Louisiana, or the Borough of Manhattan, The City and State of New York, in any coin or currency of
the United States of America that at the time of payment is legal tender for payment of public and
private debts; provided, however, that payment of interest may be made at the option of the
Corporation by check mailed to the address of the Person entitled thereto as such address shall
appear in the security register; and provided further, that, in the case of payments of principal
and premium, if any, this Series S Note is first surrendered to the Paying Agent.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, as long as this Series S Note is represented by a Global Series
S Note, payments of principal of, premium, if any, and interest on this Series S Note will be made
by wire transfer of immediately available funds to DTC or its nominee as the initial holder of this
Series S Note.
The indebtedness evidenced by this Series S Note is, to the extent provided in the Indenture,
senior and unsecured and will rank in right of payment on parity with all other unsecured and
unsubordinated obligations of the Corporation.
C-2
REFERENCE IS HEREBY MADE TO THE FURTHER PROVISIONS OF THIS SERIES S NOTE SET FORTH ON THE
FOLLOWING PAGES HEREOF, WHICH FURTHER PROVISIONS SHALL FOR ALL PURPOSES HAVE THE SAME EFFECT AS IF
SET FORTH AT THIS PLACE.
Unless the certificate of authentication hereon has been executed by the Trustee by manual
signature, this Series S Note shall not be entitled to any benefit under the Indenture or be valid
or obligatory for any purpose.
C-3
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Corporation has caused this instrument to be duly executed under its
corporate seal.
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CENTURYLINK, INC.
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By:
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Name:
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R. Stewart Ewing, Jr.
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Title:
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Executive Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer
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By:
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Name:
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Stacey W. Goff
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Title:
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Executive Vice President,
General Counsel and Secretary
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Attest:
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Name:
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Stacey W. Goff
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Title:
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Executive Vice President,
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General Counsel and Secretary
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Dated: June __, 2011
C-4
CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICATION
This is one of the Securities of the series designated therein referred to in the
within-mentioned Indenture.
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REGIONS BANK, as Trustee
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By:
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Authorized Officer
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Dated: June __, 2011
C-5
This Series S Note is one of a duly authorized issue of Securities of the Corporation (the
Securities) issued and issuable in one or more series under an Indenture, dated as of March 31,
1994, as supplemented by the Sixth Supplemental Indenture (the Sixth Supplemental Indenture)
dated as of June 16, 2011 (collectively, the Indenture), between the Corporation and Regions Bank
(successor-in-interest to First American Bank & Trust of Louisiana and Regions Bank of Louisiana),
as trustee (the Trustee, which term includes any successor trustee under the Indenture), to which
Indenture and all indentures supplemental thereto reference is hereby made for a statement of the
respective rights, limitation of rights, duties and immunities thereunder of the Corporation, the
Trustee and the holders of the Securities issued thereunder and of the terms upon which said
Securities are, and are to be, authenticated and delivered. This Security is one of the series
designated on the face hereof as 6.45% Senior Notes, Series S, due 2021 (the Series S Notes).
Such series is being initially issued in the aggregate principal amount of $1,250,000,000.
Capitalized terms used herein for which no definition is provided herein shall have the meanings
set forth in the Indenture.
The Series S Notes are redeemable, at any time in whole or from time to time in part, at the
Corporations option, at a redemption price equal to the greater of: (a) of 100% of the principal
amount of the Series S Notes to be redeemed; and (b) the sum of the present values of the remaining
scheduled payments of principal and interest on the Series S Notes to be redeemed (exclusive of
interest accrued to the date of redemption), discounted to the date of redemption on a semi-annual
basis (assuming a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months) at the then current Treasury
Rate plus 50 basis points. In each case the Corporation will pay any accrued and unpaid interest
on the principal amount being redeemed to the date of redemption.
The Corporation will mail notice of redemption at least 15 but not more than 60 days before
the redemption date to each holder of record of the Series S Notes to be redeemed at its registered
address. The notice of redemption for the Series S Notes will state, among other things, the amount
of Series S Notes to be redeemed, the redemption date, the redemption price and the place or places
that payment will be made upon presentation and surrender of Series S Notes to be redeemed. Unless
the Corporation defaults in the payment of the redemption price, interest will cease to accrue on
any Series S Notes that have been called for redemption at the redemption date.
If less than all of the Series S Notes are redeemed, the Trustee will be notified at least 30
days before giving notice of redemption, or such shorter period as is satisfactory to the Trustee,
of the aggregate principal amount of Series S Notes to be redeemed and the redemption date. The
Trustee will select by lot, or in such other manner it deems fair and appropriate, the Series S
Notes to be redeemed in part.
If the Corporation gives notice as provided in the Indenture, and funds for the redemption of
any Series S Notes (or any portion thereof) called for redemption will have been made available on
the redemption date referred to in such notice, those Series S Notes (or any portion thereof) will
cease to bear interest on that redemption date and the only right of the holders of those Series S
Notes will be to receive payment of the redemption price.
C-6
If a Change of Control Repurchase Event occurs, unless the Corporation has exercised its right
to redeem the Series S Notes as described above, it will make an offer to each holder of Series S
Notes to repurchase all or any part (in excess of $2,000 and in integral multiples of $1,000) of
such holders Series S Notes at a repurchase price in cash equal to 101% of the aggregate principal
amount of such Series S Notes repurchased plus any accrued and unpaid interest on such Series S
Notes repurchased to, but not including, the date of repurchase.
Within 30 days following any Change of Control Repurchase Event or, at the Corporations
option, prior to any Change of Control, but after the public announcement of the Change of Control,
the Corporation will mail a notice to each holder of Series S Notes, with a copy to the Trustee,
describing the transaction or transactions that constitute or may constitute the Change of Control
Repurchase Event and (i) offering to repurchase the Series S Notes on the repurchase date specified
in the notice, which date will be a Business Day no earlier than 15 days and no later than 60 days
from the date such notice is mailed, (ii) indicating that all Series S Notes validly tendered will
be accepted for payment and any Series S Note not tendered will continue to accrue interest, (iii)
specifying the CUSIP numbers for the Series S Notes, (iv) stating that, unless the Corporation
defaults in its payment in connection with the Change of Control Repurchase Event, all Series S
Notes accepted for payment pursuant to the Corporations offer to repurchase such Series S Notes
will cease to accrue interest after such repurchase, (v) stating that holders electing to have any
Series S Notes repurchased by the Corporation will be required to surrender such Series S Notes to
the Paying Agent at the address specified in the notice prior to the close of business on the third
Business Day preceding the repurchase date, (vi) stating that holders will be entitled to withdraw
their election if the Paying Agent receives, not later than the close of business on the second
Business Day preceding the repurchase date, a facsimile transmission or letter setting forth the
name of the holder of Series S Notes, the principal amount of Series S Notes delivered for
repurchase, and a statement that such holder is withdrawing his election to have the Series S Notes
repurchased and (vii) stating that holders whose Series S Notes are being repurchased only in part
will be issued new Series S Notes in principal amount to the unpurchased portion of the Series S
Notes surrendered, which unpurchased portion will be equal to $2,000 in principal amount or an
integral multiple of $1,000 in excess thereof.
The notice shall, if mailed prior to the date of consummation of the Change of Control, state
that the Corporations offer to repurchase is conditioned on a Change of Control Repurchase Event
occurring on or prior to the repurchase date specified in the notice. The Corporation will cause
its offer to purchase to remain open for at least 20 Business Days or such longer period as is
required by applicable law. The Corporation will comply with the requirements of Rule 14e-1 under
the Exchange Act, and any other securities laws and regulations thereunder, to the extent those
laws and regulations are applicable in connection with the repurchase of the Series S Notes as a
result of a Change of Control Repurchase Event. To the extent that the provisions of any
securities laws or regulations conflict with the Change of Control Repurchase Event provisions of
the Series S Notes, the Corporation will comply with the applicable securities laws and regulations
and will not be deemed to have breached its obligations under Section 4.03 of the Supplemental
Indenture by virtue of such conflict.
On the repurchase date following a Change of Control Repurchase Event, the Corporation will,
to the extent lawful: (a) accept for payment all the Series S Notes or portions of
C-7
the Series S Notes properly tendered pursuant to the Corporations offer; (b) deposit with the
Paying Agent an amount equal to the aggregate repurchase price in respect of all the Series S Notes
or portions of the Series S Notes properly tendered; and (c) deliver or cause to be delivered to
the Trustee the Series S Notes properly accepted, together with an officers certificate stating
the aggregate principal amount of Series S Notes being purchased by the Corporation.
The Paying Agent will promptly mail to each holder of Series S Notes properly tendered the
repurchase price for such Series S Notes, and the Trustee will promptly authenticate and mail (or
cause to be transferred by book-entry) to each holder a new Series S Note of the same series equal
in principal amount to any unpurchased portion of any Series S Notes surrendered, if any;
provided
that each new Series S Note will be in a principal amount of $2,000 or an integral multiple of
$1,000 in excess thereof. The Corporation will publicly announce the results of its offer to
repurchase the Series S Notes on or as soon as practicable after the repurchase date.
The Corporation will not be required to make an offer to repurchase the Series S Notes upon a
Change of Control Repurchase Event if a third party makes such an offer in the manner, at the times
and otherwise in compliance with the requirements applicable to an offer made by the Corporation
and such third party purchases all Series S Notes properly tendered and not withdrawn under such
third partys offer.
As used herein:
Change of Control means the occurrence of any of the following: (1) the direct or indirect
sale, transfer, conveyance or other disposition (other than by way of merger or consolidation), in
one or a series of related transactions, of all or substantially all of the Corporations
properties or assets and the properties or assets of its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, to any
person (as that term is used in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act) other than the Corporation
or one of its subsidiaries; (2) the adoption of a plan relating to the liquidation or dissolution
of the Corporation; (3) the consummation of any transaction (including, without limitation, any
merger or consolidation) the result of which is that any person (as that term is used in Section
13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act) becomes the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of more than
50% of the then outstanding number of shares of the Corporations Voting Stock; or (4) the first
day on which a majority of the members of the Corporations board of directors are not Continuing
Directors.
Change of Control Repurchase Event means the occurrence of both a Change of Control and a
Ratings Event.
Comparable Treasury Issue means the U.S. Treasury security selected by an Independent
Investment Banker as having a maturity comparable to the remaining term (the Remaining Life) of
the Series S Notes to be redeemed that would be utilized, at the time of selection and in
accordance with customary financial practice, in pricing new issues of corporate debt securities of
comparable maturity to the remaining term of such Series S Notes.
Comparable Treasury Price means, with respect to any redemption date, (1) the average of the
Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations for such redemption date, after excluding the
C-8
highest and lowest Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations, or (2) if the Trustee obtains fewer
than four such Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations, the average of all such quotations.
Continuing Directors means, as of any date of determination, any member of the Corporations
board of directors who (1) was a member of such board of directors on the Original Issue Date; or
(2) was nominated for election or elected to such board of directors with the approval of a
majority of the Continuing Directors who were members of such board of directors at the time of
such nomination or election.
Exchange Act means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
Independent Investment Banker means one of the Reference Treasury Dealers that the
Corporation appoints to act as the Independent Investment Banker from time to time.
Investment Grade means a rating of Baa3 or better by Moodys (or its equivalent under any
successor Rating Categories of Moodys); a rating of BBB- or better by S&P (or its equivalent under
any successor Rating Categories of S&P); and the equivalent investment grade credit rating from any
additional Rating Agency or Rating Agencies selected by the Corporation.
Moodys means Moodys Investors Service Inc.
Rating Agency means (1) each of Moodys and S&P; and (2) if either of Moodys or S&P ceases
to rate the Series S Notes or fails to make a rating of the Series S Notes publicly available for
reasons outside of the Corporations control, a nationally recognized statistical rating
organization within the meaning of Rule 15c3-l(e)(2)(vi)(F) under the Exchange Act, selected by
the Corporation (as certified by a resolution of the Corporations board of directors) as a
replacement agency for Moodys or S&P, or both, as the case may be.
Rating Category means (i) with respect to S&P, any of the following categories: BBB, BB, B,
CCC, CC, C and D (or equivalent successor categories); (ii) with respect to Moodys, any of the
following categories: Baa, Ba, B, Caa, Ca, C and D (or equivalent successor categories); and (iii)
the equivalent of any such category of S&P or Moodys used by another Rating Agency. In determining
whether the rating of the Series S Notes has decreased by one or more gradations, gradations within
Rating Categories (+ and for S&P; 1, 2 and 3 for Moodys; or the equivalent gradations for
another Rating Agency) shall be taken into account (such that, with respect to S&P, a decline in a
rating from BB+ to BB, as well as from BB to B+, will constitute a decrease of one gradation).
Rating Date means the date which is 90 days prior to the earlier of (i) a Change of Control
or (ii) public notice of the occurrence of a Change of Control or of the Corporations intention to
effect a Change of Control.
Ratings Event means the occurrence of the events described in (a) or (b) below on, or within
90 days after the earlier of, (i) the occurrence of a Change of Control or (ii) public notice of
the occurrence of a Change of Control or the Corporations intention to effect a Change of Control
(which period shall be extended so long as the rating of the Series S Notes is under publicly
announced consideration for a possible downgrade by any of the Rating Agencies): (a) in the event
the Series S Notes are rated by both Rating Agencies on the Rating Date as
C-9
Investment Grade, the rating of the Series S Notes shall be reduced so that the Series S Notes
are rated below Investment Grade by both Rating Agencies, or (b) in the event the Series S Notes
(1) are rated Investment Grade by one Rating Agency and below Investment Grade by the other Rating
Agency on the Rating Date, the rating of the Series S Notes by either Rating Agency shall be
decreased so that the Series S Notes are then rated below Investment Grade by both Rating Agencies
or (2) are rated below Investment Grade by both Rating Agencies on the Rating Date, the rating of
the Series S Notes by either Rating Agency shall be decreased by one or more gradations (including
gradations within Rating Categories, as well as between Rating Categories). Notwithstanding the
foregoing, a Ratings Event otherwise arising by virtue of a particular reduction in Rating shall
not be deemed to have occurred in respect of a particular Change of Control (and thus shall not be
deemed a Ratings Event for purposes of the definition of Change of Control Repurchase Event set
forth above) if the Rating Agencies making the reduction in Rating to which this definition would
otherwise apply do not announce or publicly confirm or inform the Trustee in writing at its request
that the reduction was the result, in whole or in part, of any event or circumstance comprised of
or arising as a result of, or in respect of, the applicable Change of Control (whether or not the
applicable Change of Control shall have occurred at the time of the Ratings Event).
Reference Treasury Dealer means each of Barclays Capital Inc., Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner
& Smith Incorporated, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and a Primary Treasury Dealer selected by Wells
Fargo Securities, LLC, their respective successors, or any other firm that is a primary U.S.
Government securities dealer in New York City (each, a Primary Treasury Dealer) that the
Corporation specifies from time to time; provided, however, that if any of them ceases to be a
Primary Treasury Dealer, the Corporation will substitute another Primary Treasury Dealer.
Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations means, with respect to each Reference Treasury Dealer
and any redemption date, the average, as determined by the Trustee, of the bid and asked prices for
the Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed in each case as a percentage of its principal amount)
quoted in writing to the trustee by such Reference Treasury Dealer at 5:00 p.m., New York City
time, on the third business day preceding such redemption date.
Regular Record Date means, with respect to any Interest Payment Date for the Series S Notes,
the June 1 and December 1 immediately preceding such Interest Payment Date.
Treasury Rate means, with respect to any redemption date, the rate per year equal to: (i)
the yield, under the heading which represents the average for the immediately preceding week,
appearing in the most recently published statistical release designated H.15(519) or any
successor publication which is published weekly by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System and which establishes yields on actively traded U.S. Treasury securities adjusted to
constant maturity under the caption Treasury Constant Maturities, for the maturity corresponding
to the Comparable Treasury Issue; provided that, if no maturity is within three months before or
after the Remaining Life of the Series S Notes to be redeemed, yields for the two published
maturities most closely corresponding to the Comparable Treasury Issue will be determined and the
Treasury Rate will be interpolated or extrapolated from those yields on a straight line basis,
rounding to the nearest month; or (ii) if such release (or any successor release) is not published
during the week preceding the calculation date or does not contain such yields,
C-10
the rate per year equal to the semi-annual equivalent yield to maturity of the Comparable
Treasury Issue, calculated using a price for the Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed as a
percentage of its principal amount) equal to the Comparable Treasury Price for such redemption
date. The Treasury Rate will be calculated on the third business day preceding the redemption date.
The Series S Notes are not subject to, the benefit of, and do not have, any sinking fund.
In case an Event of Default, as defined in the Indenture, with respect to the Series S Notes
shall have occurred and be continuing, the principal of the Series S Notes may be declared, and
upon such declaration shall become, due and payable, in the manner, with the effect and subject to
the conditions provided in the Indenture.
The Indenture contains provisions permitting the Corporation and the Trustee, with the consent
of the holders of not less than a majority in aggregate principal amount of the Securities of each
series affected at the time outstanding, as defined in the Indenture, to execute supplemental
indentures for the purpose of adding any provisions to or changing in any manner or eliminating and
of the provisions of the Indenture or of any supplemental indenture or of modifying in any manner
the rights of the holders of the Securities,
provided, however,
that no such supplemental indenture
shall (i) extend the fixed maturity of any Securities or any series, or reduce the principal amount
thereof, or reduce the rate or extend the time of payment of interest thereon, or reduce any
premium payable upon the redemption thereof, without the consent of the holder of each Security so
affected; or (ii) reduce the aforesaid percentage of Securities, the holders of which are required
to consent to any such supplemental indenture, without the consent of the holders of each Security
then outstanding and affected thereby. The Indenture also contains provisions permitting the
holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the Securities of any series at the time
outstanding, on behalf of the holders of Securities of such series, to waive any past default in
the performance of any of the covenants contained in the Indenture, or established pursuant to the
Indenture with respect to such series, and its consequences, except a default in the payment of the
principal of, or premium, if any, or interest on any of the Securities of such series. Any such
consent or waiver by the registered holder of this Security (unless revoked as provided in the
Indenture) shall be conclusive and binding upon such holder and upon all future holders and owners
of this Security and of any Security issued in exchange hereof or in place hereof (whether by
registration of transfer or otherwise), irrespective of whether or not any notation of such consent
or waiver is made upon this Security.
No reference herein to the Indenture and no provision of this Series S Note or of the
Indenture shall alter or impair the obligation of the Corporation, which is absolute and
unconditional, to pay the principal of and interest on this Series S Note at the times and place
and at the rate and in the currency herein prescribed.
As provided in the Indenture and subject to certain limitations therein and herein set forth,
the transfer of this Series S Note is registrable in the security register, upon surrender of this
Series S Note for registration of transfer at the office or agency of the Corporation for such
purpose, duly endorsed by, or accompanied by a written instrument of transfer in form satisfactory
to the Corporation and the security registrar and duly executed by, the holder hereof or his
attorney duly authorized in writing, and thereupon one or more new Series S Notes, of this
C-11
series, of authorized denominations and of like tenor and for the same aggregate principal
amount, will be issued to the designated transferee or transferees. No service charge shall be
made for any such registration of transfer or exchange, but the Corporation may require payment of
a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge payable in connection therewith.
As provided in and subject to the provisions of the Indenture, the holder of this Series S
Note shall not have the right to institute any proceeding with respect to the Indenture or for the
appointment of a receiver or trustee or for any other remedy thereunder, unless such holder shall
have previously given the Trustee written notice of a continuing Event of Default with respect to
the Series S Notes, the holders of not less than a majority in aggregate principal amount of the
Series S Notes at the time outstanding shall have made written request to the Trustee to institute
proceedings in respect of such Event of Default as Trustee and offered the Trustee reasonable
indemnity, and the Trustee shall not have received from the holders of a majority in aggregate
principal amount of Series S Notes at the time outstanding a direction inconsistent with such
request and shall have failed to institute any such proceeding for 60 days after receipt of such
notice, request and offer of indemnity. The foregoing shall not apply to any suit instituted by
the holder of this Series S Note for the enforcement of any payment of principal hereof or any
premium or interest hereon on or after the respective due dates expressed herein.
Prior to due presentment of this Series S Note for registration of transfer, the Corporation,
the Trustee, any Paying Agent and any security registrar may deem and treat the Person in whose
name this Series S Note is registered as the absolute owner hereof for all purposes, whether or not
this Series S Note be overdue and notwithstanding the notice of ownership or writing hereon made by
anyone other than the security registrar, and neither the Corporation, the Trustee nor any such
agent shall be affected by notice to the contrary.
No recourse shall be had for the payment of the principal of or any premium or the interest on
this Series S Note, or for any claim based hereon, or otherwise in respect hereof, or based on or
in respect of the Indenture, against any incorporator, shareholder, affiliate, officer or director,
as such, past, present or future, of the Corporation or of any predecessor or successor
corporation, whether by virtue of any constitution, statute or rule of law, or by the enforcement
of any assessment or penalty or otherwise, all such liability being, by the acceptance hereof and
as part of the consideration for the issuance hereof, expressly waived and released.
The Series S Notes are issuable only in registered form without coupons in denominations of
$2,000 and integral multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof. As provided in the Indenture and
subject to the limitations therein and herein set forth, Series S Notes are exchangeable for a like
aggregate principal amount of Series S Notes of a different authorized denomination, as requested
by the holder surrendering the same upon surrender of the Series S Note or Notes to be exchanged at
the office or agency of the Corporation.
This Series S Note shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the internal laws
of the State of Louisiana.
C-12
EXHIBIT D
CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICATION
This is one of the Securities of the series designated therein referred to in the
within-mentioned Indenture.
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REGIONS BANK, as Trustee
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By:
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Authorized Officer
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Dated: June __, 2011
D-1