UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C.  20549

 


 

FORM 8-K

 


 

Current Report

 

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):   November 30, 2004

 


 

NEENAH PAPER, INC.

(Exact Name Of Registrant As Specified In Charter)

 

Delaware

 

001-32240

 

20-1308307

(State of Incorporation)

 

(Commission File No.)

 

(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

 

 

 

 

 

3460 Preston Ridge Road

Alpharetta, Georgia 30005

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

 

 

 

 

 

(678) 566-6500

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

Not applicable
(Former name or address, if changed since last report)

 


 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2 below):

 

o        Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 

o        Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

 

o        Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 

o                     Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e(4)(c))

 

 



 

Item 1.01                Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement

 

Effective as of the close of business on November 30, 2004, the separation of the business of Neenah Paper, Inc. (the “Company”) from Kimberly-Clark Corporation (“Kimberly-Clark”) and the distribution of all the outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock to the stockholders of Kimberly-Clark was completed in a tax free spin-off (the “Distribution”).  In connection with the Distribution, the Company entered into certain agreements with Kimberly-Clark to effect the separation of its business and the distribution of its common stock and to define responsibility for obligations arising before and after the date of the Distribution, including, among others, obligations relating to employees, transition services and taxes.  In addition, Kimberly-Clark will purchase pulp from the Company pursuant to the terms of a pulp supply agreement.

 

On November 30, 2004, the Company entered into a Distribution Agreement (the “Distribution Agreement”) with Kimberly-Clark.  The Distribution Agreement provided for, among other things, the principal corporate transactions required to effect the separation of the Company’s business from Kimberly-Clark, the distribution of the Company’s common stock to the holders of record of Kimberly-Clark common stock and certain other agreements governing the relationship between the Company and Kimberly-Clark after the date of Distribution.  The transfers from Kimberly-Clark to the Company will occur prior to the distribution of the Company’s common stock and will be made on an “as is, where is” basis without any representations or warranties, and the Company will bear the economic and legal risks of the transfer.  The Company will generally assume and agree to perform and fulfill all of the liabilities arising out of the ownership or use of the transferred assets or the operation of the transferred business.

 

On November 30, 2004, the Company entered into a Pulp Supply Agreement (the “Pulp Supply Agreement”) with a subsidiary of Kimberly-Clark.  Under the Pulp Supply Agreement, the Company agreed to supply and Kimberly-Clark agreed to purchase annually declining specified minimum tonnages of northern bleached softwood kraft pulp and northern bleached hardwood kraft pulp.  The prices for northern bleached softwood kraft pulp and northern bleached hardwood kraft pulp will be based on published industry index prices for the pulp (subject to minimum and maximum prices for northern bleached softwood kraft pulp shipped to North America prior to December 31, 2007), less agreed upon discounts.

 

On November 30, 2004, the Company entered into a Corporate Services Agreement (the “Corporate Services Agreement”) with Kimberly-Clark pursuant to which Kimberly-Clark will provide a variety of administrative services to the Company for a period of time following the distribution.  These services include certain employee benefits administration and payroll, management information, transportation, environment and energy, patent and trademark, purchasing, treasury, accounting, tax and other services, as well as transitional office space for our research team.  Each service will be made available to the Company on an as-needed basis through December 31, 2005, or such shorter or longer periods as may be provided in the Corporate Services Agreement. The fees charged for the services will generally be based upon the costs of providing the services.

 

On November 30, 2004, the Company entered into an Employee Matters Agreement (the “Employee Matters Agreement”) with Kimberly-Clark which will provide for each company’s respective obligations to employees and former employees who are or were associated with the Company’s business and for other employment and employee benefits matters.

 

On November 30, 2004, the Company entered into a Tax Sharing Agreement (the “Tax Sharing Agreement”) with Kimberly-Clark.  The Tax Sharing Agreement will generally govern Kimberly-Clark and the Company’s respective rights, responsibilities and obligations after the Distribution with respect to taxes attributable to the Company’s business, as well as any taxes incurred by Kimberly-Clark as a result of the failure of the distribution to qualify for tax-free treatment under Section 355 of the Internal Revenue Code 0f 1986, as amended.

 

The Company is the tenant under an office lease with Germania Property Investors, XXXIV, L.P. (“Germania”) dated June 29, 2004 for certain premises containing approximately 26,285 square feet and located on the sixth floor of the Preston III Office Building in Alpharetta, Georgia (the “Headquarters Lease”).  The term of the Headquarters Lease is ten years, with subsequent renewal options.  The cumulative minimum rent for the initial term of the Headquarters Lease is approximately $3,828,251, but the Company is not obligated to pay minimum rent for the first 12 months of the term of the Headquarters Lease if certain conditions are met. In addition to the minimum rent,

 

2



 

the Company is obligated to reimburse Germania for the Company’s percentage share of increases in operating expenses above the operating expenses incurred by Germania during the base year.

 

The Company also is the tenant under a facility lease with Duke Realty Limited Partnership (“Duke”) dated October 8, 2004 for certain premises containing approximately 14,189 square feet and designated as Suite B of Hembree Park in Roswell, Georgia (the “Laboratory Lease”).  The term of the Laboratory Lease is nine years and nine months, with subsequent renewal options.   The property may be used for warehousing, research and development of paper and pulp products and related laboratory uses, and office and administrative uses reasonably ancillary thereto.  The cumulative minimum rent for the initial term of the Laboratory Lease is approximately $905,683. In addition to the minimum rent, the Company must reimburse Duke for its percentage share of increases in operating expenses above the operating expenses incurred by Duke during the base year.

 

Effective as of December 1, 2004, the Company established the Neenah Paper Supplemental Pension Plan (the “Supplemental Pension Plan”), which is an unfunded nonqualified retirement plan for certain employees.  The Supplemental Pension Plan provides additional pension benefits to those participants who participate in the Neenah Paper Pension Plan (the “Pension Plan”) and would have been eligible to receive additional benefits under the Pension Plan were it not for the limitation on benefits imposed by Internal Revenue Code (the "Code") Section 415 or the limitation on earnings under Code Section 401(a)(17).  A participant will generally receive a distribution of benefits under this Supplemental Pension Plan upon death, disability, a change of control, or retirement.

 

Effective as of December 1, 2004, the Company established the Neenah Paper Supplemental Retirement Contribution Plan (the “Supplemental RCP”), which is a nonqualified retirement plan for certain employees.  The Supplemental RCP provides additional retirement benefits to those participants who participate in the Neenah Paper Retirement Contribution Plan (the “RCP”) and would have been eligible to receive additional benefits under the RCP were it not for the limitation on benefits imposed by Code Section 415 or the limitation on earnings under Code Section 401(a)(17).  Participants in the Supplemental RCP are generally entitled to distributions upon retirement, death, termination of employment, or a change of control.

 

Effective as of December 1, 2004, the Company established the Neenah Paper Executive Severance Plan (the “Executive Severance Plan”).  The Executive Severance Plan provides additional severance benefits to designated key executives in the event of termination of employment in connection with a change of control.

 

Effective as of December 1, 2004, the Company established the Neenah Paper Deferred Compensation Plan (the “Deferred Compensation Plan”).  The Deferred Compensation Plan is intended to allow a select group of management or certain highly compensated employees to elect to defer compensation in addition to the amounts deferred under the Company’s retirement plans.

 

Effective as of December 1, 2004, the Company established the Neenah Paper, Inc. 2004 Omnibus Stock and Incentive Plan (the “Omnibus Plan”).  Under the Omnibus Plan, the Company’s compensation committee may grant awards of various type of equity-based compensation, including incentive and nonqualified stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance shares and performance units, in addition to certain cash-based awards.  All grants and awards under the plan will be made at fair market value and no grant or award may be repriced after its grant.

 

Copies of the Distribution Agreement, the Corporate Services Agreement, the Tax Sharing Agreement, the Headquarters Lease, the Laboratory Lease, the Supplemental Pension Plan, the Supplemental Retirement Contribution Plan and the Executive Severance Plan are attached hereto as Exhibits 2.1, 10.1,10.2, 10.3,10.4, 10.5, 10.6 and 10.7 to this Current Report on Form 8-K, respectively, and are incorporated herein by reference.  Copies of the Employee Matters Agreement and the Pulp Supply Agreement have been previously filed as exhibits to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form 10, as amended, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

 

3



 

A copy of the press release announcing the completion of the Distribution is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

 

The information included in Item 2.03 of this Current Report on Form 8-K is also incorporated by reference into this Item 1.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K.

 

Item 2.01                Completion of Acquisition or Disposition of Assets.

 

The information included in Item 1.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K is incorporated by reference into Item 2.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K.

 

I tem 2.03                Creation of a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation under an Off-Balance Sheet Arrangement of a Registrant

 

7 3/8% Senior Notes due 2014

 

As previously disclosed in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 19, 2004, the Company and certain of its affiliates entered into a Purchase Agreement with Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Goldman Sachs & Co. and J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., as representatives of the initial purchasers (the “Initial Purchasers”), whereby the Company agreed to sell and the Initial Purchasers agreed to purchase $225,000,000 aggregate principal amount of the Company’s 7 3/8% Senior Notes due 2014 (the “Notes”).  On November 30, 2004, the Company completed the sale of the Notes to the Initial Purchasers.

 

A copy of the press release announcing the completion of the offering of the Notes is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

 

The Notes have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws. Accordingly, the Notes were offered and sold only to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A under the Securities Act and outside the United States in accordance with Regulation S under the Securities Act.  The net proceeds from the offering of the Notes will be used to make a payment to Kimberly-Clark in connection with the Distribution and to pay fees and expenses relating to the Company’s revolving credit facility.

 

The Notes were issued pursuant to the terms of an Indenture (the “Indenture”), dated November 30, 2004, between the Company and certain of its affiliates and The Bank of New York, N.A., as trustee.  The Notes will bear interest at the rate of 7 3/8% per year. Interest on the Notes is payable on May 15 and November 15 of each year, beginning on May 15, 2005. The Notes will mature on November 15, 2014. The Company may redeem some or all of the Notes at any time on or after November 15, 2009. In addition, prior to November 15, 2007, the Company may redeem up to 35% of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes from the proceeds of certain equity offerings. Prior to November 15, 2009, the Company may redeem all of the Notes that remain outstanding following a mandatory offer to repurchase the Notes upon a change of control offer that was accepted by holders of at least 75% of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes outstanding.

 

The Notes will be the Company’s unsecured senior obligations and will rank equally with all of its other existing and future unsecured senior indebtedness. The Notes will be effectively subordinated to the Company’s existing and future secured indebtedness to the extent of the value of the assets securing that indebtedness. The Notes will be guaranteed on an unsecured senior basis by substantially all of the Company’s domestic restricted subsidiaries and, for as long as they guarantee the Company’s or its domestic restricted subsidiaries’ other indebtedness, by each of the Company’s foreign restricted subsidiaries.

 

The Indenture will include covenants that, among other things, limit the ability of the Company and its restricted subsidiaries to incur additional debt, pay dividends on or repurchase their capital stock and make other restricted payments, make certain investments, create or permit to exist certain liens and sell all or substantially all of the Company's assets or the assets of the guarantors under the Notes or merge the Company or any of the guarantors under the Notes with or into other companies.

 

4



 

In connection with the issuance of the Notes, the Company has also entered into a Registration Rights Agreement (the “Registration Rights Agreement”), dated November 30, 2004, which will give holders of the Notes certain exchange and registration rights with respect to the Notes.  Under the Registration Rights Agreement, the Company has agreed to: (i) file a registration statement within 180 days following the issue date of the Notes enabling holders to exchange their unregistered Notes for publicly registered notes with terms substantially identical to the Notes; (ii) use its reasonable best efforts to cause the registration statement to become effective within 270 days following the issue date of the Notes; (iii) effect an exchange offer of the Notes for registered notes within 45 days following the effective date of the registration statement; and (iv) file a shelf registration statement for the resale of the Notes if the Company cannot effect the exchange offer within the time periods described above and in certain other circumstances.  If neither registration statement is timely filed or declared effective, the exchange offer is not timely consummated or a registration statement is not usable for certain time periods, the Company will be required to pay special interest to the holders of the Notes.

 

The foregoing summary is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Indenture and the Registration Rights Agreement.  Copies of these agreements are attached hereto as Exhibits 10.8 and 10.9 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and are incorporated herein by reference.

 

Revolving Credit Facility

 

On November 30, 2004, the Company entered into a Credit Agreement (the “Credit Agreement”), dated as of November 30, 2004, by and among the Company, certain of its subsidiaries, the lenders listed in the Credit Agreement and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as agent for the lender.  Under the Credit Agreement, the Company has a secured revolving credit facility that provides for borrowings of up to $150.0 million.

 

A copy of the press release announcing the Company’s entering into the revolving credit facility is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

 

Under this facility, up to $20.0 million is available for the issuance of letters of credit on the Company’s behalf and up to $15.0 million is available for swingline loans.  Loans outstanding under the revolving credit facility may be repaid, in whole or in part, at any time without premium or penalty except for specified make-whole payments on LIBOR-based loans.

 

The revolving credit facility is secured by substantially all of the Company’s assets, including the capital stock of its subsidiaries. It is guaranteed by a Company subsidiary, Neenah Paper Company of Canada. The revolving credit facility will terminate on November 30, 2008. The Company’s availability under the revolving credit facility will fluctuate over time depending on the value of inventory, receivables and various capital assets.

 

The interest rate applicable to borrowings and swingline loans under the revolving credit facility shall be either (1) the applicable base rate plus 0.25% to 0.75% or (2) a LIBOR-based rate ranging from LIBOR plus 1.75% to LIBOR plus 2.25%. During the continuance of an event of default, the applicable interest rate will be 2.00% above the interest rate otherwise in effect. Interest is computed based on actual days elapsed in a 360-day year, payable monthly in arrears for base rate loans, or for LIBOR loans, payable monthly in arrears and at the end of the applicable interest period.

 

The revolving credit facility contains covenants customary for financings of this type, including limitations on capital expenditures, incurrence of indebtedness, liens, contingent obligations, a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio when availability declines, assets sales, dividends and distributions to the Company’s stockholders, payments to affiliates, issuance of stock and distributions by subsidiaries, investments, guarantees, voluntary prepayment of other indebtedness, loans, and advances, leases, acquisitions, mergers and consolidations.

 

The revolving credit facility contains events of default customary for financings of this type, including failure to pay principal or interest, materially false representations or warranties, failure to observe covenants and other terms of the revolving credit facility, cross-defaults to other indebtedness, bankruptcy, insolvency, various ERISA violations, the incurrence of material judgments and changes in control.

 

5



 

Item 2.06                Material Impairments

 

As previously described in the Information Statement filed as Exhibit 99.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on November 18, 2004, our Terrace Bay, Ontario pulp manufacturing facility experienced operating losses in 2003.  Based on our internal forecasts, following the Distribution, we anticipate that our Terrace Bay pulp manufacturing facility will be unprofitable in 2004, profitable in 2005 and will incur operating losses in 2006 and 2007 that, on average, will exceed those of 2002 and 2003, before the effects of any impairment charge.

 

Because projected extended periods of operating losses are indicators of impairment under SFAS 144, Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets , as of the date of the Distribution we have conducted an asset impairment test on the facility under the guidance of SFAS 144, which indicated that the carrying amount of our Terrace Bay facility will not be recoverable from estimated future cash flows.  Accordingly, we expect to write down the carrying amount of our consolidated assets by recording a pre-tax, non-cash impairment charge of approximately $110 million.  A deferred tax benefit of approximately $38 million is expected to be recorded as a result of the impairment charge, resulting in a net after-tax charge of approximately $72 million.  This charge will result in a net loss in the month immediately following the Distribution, and the carrying amount of our consolidated assets will be reduced accordingly.

 

Item 3.03                Material Modification to Rights of Security Holders

 

In connection with the Distribution, the Board of Directors of the Company adopted a stockholder rights plan to become effective on November 30, 2004 and declared a dividend distribution of one right (“Right”) for each outstanding share of the Company’s common stock to stockholders of record at the close of business on November 30, 2004.

 

The Rights Agreement between the Company and Equiserve Trust Company, N.A., as Rights Agent, specifying the terms of the Rights, which includes the form of Certificate of Designation of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock as Exhibit A, the form of Rights Certificate as Exhibit B and the Summary of Rights to Purchase Preferred Stock as Exhibit C, is attached hereto as Exhibit 4.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

 

The disclosure under Item 2.03 of this Current Report on Form 8-K relating to the restriction on dividends contained in the Credit Agreement is also responsive to this Item 3.03 and is incorporated herein by reference.

 

Item 5.02                Departure of Directors or Principal Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Principal Officers.

 

Prior to and in connection with the Distribution, Kimberly-Clark, as sole stockholder of the Company, on November 30, 2004, removed O. George Everbach and Rodney D. Olsen as directors of the Company, and elected the following persons to the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) for a term expiring at the annual meeting of the stockholders of the Company in the year set forth beside each such person’s name:

 

Sean T. Erwin - 2007

James G. Grosklaus - 2007

Edward Grzedzinski - 2007

Dr. Mary Ann Leeper - 2006

Timothy S. Lucas - 2005

Philip C. Moore - 2005

Stephen M. Wood - 2006

 

On November 30, 2004, the Board appointed the following named persons to the offices of the Company set forth beside each such person’s name:

 

Sean T. Erwin - Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer

Bonnie C. Lind - Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

Steven S. Heinrichs - Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

William K. O’Connor - Vice President - Sales and Marketing

James R. Piedmonte - Vice President - Operations

 

The Board also appointed Messrs. Lucas, Moore and Wood as members of the Audit Committee,  Messrs. Grosklaus and Grzedzinski and Dr. Leeper as members of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and Messrs. Grzedzinski, Moore and Wood as members of the Compensation Committee.

 

Sean T. Erwin , age 53, is the Chairman of our Board of Directors and our President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Erwin has been an employee of Kimberly-Clark since 1978, and has held increasingly senior positions in both finance and business management. In January 2004, Mr. Erwin was named President of Kimberly-Clark’s Pulp and Paper Sector, which comprises the businesses to be transferred to us by Kimberly-Clark. He served as the President of the Global Nonwoven business from early 2001. He has also served as the President of the European

 

6



 

consumer tissue business, Managing Director of Kimberly-Clark Australia, as well as previously serving as President of the Pulp and Paper Sector, and President of the Technical Paper business.

 

James G. Grosklaus , age 69, has served as a Director of Midwest Air Group, Inc. since 1988. Prior to his retirement in 1996, Mr. Grosklaus served as Executive Vice President and member of the Board of Directors of Kimberly-Clark Corporation from 1986 to 1996.

 

Edward Grzedzinski , age 49, served as the Chief Executive Officer of NOVA Information Systems from 1993, and Vice Chairman of US Bancorp from 2001, until November 2004. Mr. Grzedzinski has 20 years of experience in the electronic payments industry and was a co-founder of NOVA Information Systems in 1991. Mr. Grzedzinski served as a member of the Managing Committee of US Bancorp, and was a member of the Board of Directors of US Bank, N.A. Mr. Grzedzinski also served as Chairman of euroConex Technologies, Limited, a European payment processor owned by US Bancorp until November 2004 and is a member of the Board of Directors of Indus International, a global provider of enterprise asset management products and services.

 

Mary Ann Leeper , Ph.D., age 64, has served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of The Female Health Company since 1996, as President and Chief Executive Officer of The Female Health Company Division of The Wisconsin Pharmacal Company from 1994 to 1996, and held other senior positions from 1987 to 1994 in the Wisconsin Pharmacal Company (renamed The Female Health Company in 1996). Dr. Leeper has served as a Director of The Female Health Company since 1987.  Dr. Leeper is Chair and Board Member of The Female Health Foundation, which she founded in 1994 and has been a visiting Professor at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business M.B.A. program since 2001. She held senior positions at G D Searle, was Assistant Professor at Temple University Schools of Pharmacy and Medicine, as well as a biochemist for Wyeth Laboratories and McNeil Laboratories. Dr. Leeper’s educational background includes a B.S., Drexel University; M.S., Temple University; M.B.A., Northwestern University; and Ph.D., Temple University.

 

Timothy S. Lucas , CPA, age 58, has served as an independent consultant on financial reporting issues practicing as Lucas Financial Reporting since 2002. From 1988 to 2002, Mr. Lucas worked at the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), where he was the Director of Research and Technical Activities, and Chairman of the FASB’s Emerging Issues Task Force.

 

Philip C. Moore , age 51, is a partner at McCarthy Tétrault, L.L.P., Canada’s largest law firm. Mr. Moore practices corporate and securities law, with particular emphasis on corporate governance and finance, mergers and acquisitions and other business law issues. From 1994 to 2000, Mr. Moore was a director of Imax Corporation. He is currently a director of various private companies.

 

Stephen M. Wood , Ph.D., age 58, has served as the Vice Chairman of Kraton Polymers LLC, a specialties chemicals company, since July 2004. From 2001 to July 2004, Mr. Wood served as the Chief Executive Officer of Kraton Polymers, when it was sold by the Royal Dutch Shell Group and established as an independent entity. Kraton Polymers is currently owned by the Texas Pacific Group which is a private equity investment company and JPMorgan Partners which is part of the JPMorgan Chase companies. Prior to the establishment of Kraton Polymers, Dr. Wood was President of the Elastomers business unit of Shell Chemicals Europe and a Vice President of that company. Dr. Wood is also International President of the International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers. Dr. Wood has a BSc. in Chemistry and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Nottingham University, United Kingdom and is a graduate of the Institute of Chemical Engineers.

 

Steven S. Heinrichs , age 36, is our Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary. Mr. Heinrichs joined Kimberly-Clark in June 2004. Prior to his employment with Kimberly-Clark, Mr. Heinrichs served as Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary for Mariner Health Care, Inc., a nursing home and long-term acute care hospital company. Before joining Mariner Health Care in 2003, Mr. Heinrichs served as Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary for American Commercial Lines LLC, a leading inland barge and shipbuilding company from 1998 through 2003. Mr. Heinrichs engaged in the private practice of law with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom LLP and Shuttleworth, Smith, McNabb and Williams PLLC from 1994 through 1998.

 

Bonnie C. Lind , age 46, is our Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Ms. Lind has been an employee of Kimberly-Clark since 1982, holding a variety of increasing senior financial and operations positions

 

7



 

within Kimberly-Clark. Since 1999, Ms. Lind has served as the Assistant Treasurer of Kimberly-Clark and been responsible for managing Kimberly-Clark’s global treasury operations. Prior to that, she was Director of Kimfibers with overall responsibility for the sourcing and distribution of pulp to Kimberly-Clark’s global operations.

 

William K. O’Connor , age 51, is our Vice President-Sales and Marketing, with responsibilities for all sales and marketing and customer management activity. Mr. O’Connor has been an employee of Kimberly-Clark since 1981, and has held increasingly important roles in sales and marketing management, primarily within the company’s Health Care business, eventually being named General Manager of Sales for North America. In 1999, Mr. O’Connor was appointed General Manager, Europe, Middle East and Africa. He was appointed Vice President of Kimberly-Clark Technical Paper in 2002, and the President of the fine paper business, and his current position both in 2004.

 

James R. Piedmonte , age 48, is our Vice President-Operations, a position he has held within the Pulp and Paper Sector of Kimberly-Clark since the beginning of 2004. Mr. Piedmonte has been employed by Kimberly-Clark since 1978, and has held increasingly senior positions within the operations function. Mr. Piedmonte was most recently responsible for Kimberly-Clark’s pulp mill and forestry operations in Pictou, Nova Scotia, a position he held since 2001. Previously he was the Director of Operations for the fine paper business operations, as well as mill manager at the Whiting, Wisconsin mill.

 

Item 5.03                Amendments to Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws; Change in Fiscal Year.

 

In connection with the Distribution, on November 30, 2004, the Company filed an Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware.  The Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation was duly approved and adopted by the Company’s board of directors and by its sole stockholder on November 30, 2004. Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Company also were approved and adopted by the the board of directors and the sole stockholder on November 30, 2004.

 

Copies of the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated Bylaws are filed hereto as Exhibits 3.1 and 3.2, respectively.

 

In connection with the adoption of the Rights Agreement discussed above, the Company designated a new series of preferred stock as Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock. A copy of the Certificate of Designation relating to the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock is attached as Exhibit A to the Rights Agreement and is incorporated herein by reference.

 

8



 

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits

 

(c) Exhibits:

 

Exhibit
Number

 

 

Exhibit
Description

 

 

 

 

2.1

 

 

Distribution Agreement

 

 

 

 

3.1

 

 

Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Neenah Paper, Inc.

 

 

 

 

3.2

 

 

Amended and Restated Bylaws of Neenah Paper, Inc.

 

 

 

 

4.1

 

 

Rights Agreement between Neenah Paper, Inc. and EquiServe Trust Company, N.A., as rights agent

 

 

 

 

10.1

 

 

Corporate Services Agreement dated as of November 30, 2004 by and between Kimberly-Clark Corporation and Neenah Paper, Inc.

 

 

 

 

10.2

 

 

Tax Sharing Agreement dated as of November 30, 2004 by and between Kimberly-Clark Corporation and Neenah Paper, Inc.

 

 

 

 

10.3

 

 

Lease Agreement dated June 29, 2004 between Neenah Paper, Inc. and Germania Property Investors XXXIV, L.P.

 

 

 

 

10.4

 

 

Industrial Lease Agreement dated October 8, 2004 by and between Neenah Paper, Inc. and Duke Realty Limited Partnership

 

 

 

 

10.5

 

 

Neenah Paper Inc. Supplemental Pension Plan

 

 

 

 

10.6

 

 

Neenah Paper Inc. Supplemental Retirement Contribution Plan

 

 

 

 

10.7

 

 

Neenah Paper Inc. Executive Severance Plan

 

 

 

 

10.8

 

 

Indenture dated as of  November 30, 2004 by and among Neenah Paper, Inc., the Subsidiary Guarantors named therein, and The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A., as trustee

 

 

 

 

10.9

 

 

Registration Rights Agreement dated November 30, 2004 by and among Neenah Paper, Inc. and Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Goldman, Sachs & Co., J.P. and Morgan Securities Inc., as Representative of the Initial Purchasers

 

 

 

 

99.1

 

 

Press Release dated November 30, 2004

 

9



 

SIGNATURE

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

 

 

 

NEENAH PAPER, INC.

 

 

 

 

Date: November 30, 2004

 

By:

  /s/Bonnie C. Lind

 

 

 

Bonnie C. Lind
Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and
Treasurer

 

10



 

EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit
Number

 

 

Exhibit
Description

 

 

 

 

2.1

 

 

Distribution Agreement

 

 

 

 

3.1

 

 

Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Neenah Paper, Inc.

 

 

 

 

3.2

 

 

Amended and Restated Bylaws of Neenah Paper, Inc.

 

 

 

 

4.1

 

 

Rights Agreement between Neenah Paper, Inc. and EquiServe Trust Company, N.A., as rights agent

 

 

 

 

10.1

 

 

Corporate Services Agreement dated as of November 30, 2004 by and between Kimberly-Clark Corporation and Neenah Paper, Inc.

 

 

 

 

10.2

 

 

Tax Sharing Agreement dated as of November 30, 2004 by and between Kimberly-Clark Corporation and Neenah Paper, Inc.

 

 

 

 

10.3

 

 

Lease Agreement dated June 29, 2004 between Neenah Paper, Inc. and Germania Property Investors XXXIV, L.P.

 

 

 

 

10.4

 

 

Industrial Lease Agreement dated October 8, 2004 by and between Neenah Paper, Inc. and Duke Realty Limited Partnership

 

 

 

 

10.5

 

 

Neenah Paper Inc. Supplemental Pension Plan

 

 

 

 

10.6

 

 

Neenah Paper Inc. Supplemental Retirement Contribution Plan

 

 

 

 

10.7

 

 

Neenah Paper Inc. Executive Severance Plan

 

 

 

 

10.8

 

 

Indenture dated as of  November 30, 2004 by and among Neenah Paper, Inc., the Subsidiary Guarantors named therein, and The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A., as trustee

 

 

 

 

10.9

 

 

Registration Rights Agreement dated November 30, 2004 by and among Neenah Paper, Inc. and Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Goldman, Sachs & Co., J.P. and Morgan Securities Inc., as Representative of the Initial Purchasers

 

 

 

 

99.1

 

 

Press Release dated November 30, 2004

 

11


Exhibit 2.1

Distribution Agreement

Dated as of November 30, 2004



Between

 

Kimberly-Clark Corporation

 

and

 

Neenah Paper, Inc.



Table of Contents

ARTICLE I DEFINITIONS

 

SECTION 1.1

Definitions

 

SECTION 1.2

Interpretation

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE II BUSINESS SEPARATION

 

SECTION 2.1

Transfer of Neenah Business

 

SECTION 2.2

Retained Assets

 

SECTION 2.3

Assumption of Liabilities

 

SECTION 2.4

Retained Liabilities

 

SECTION 2.5

Sequencing of Transfers and Assumptions

 

SECTION 2.6

Termination of Existing Intercompany Agreements

 

SECTION 2.7

Shared Contracts

 

SECTION 2.8

Related Transactions

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE III THE DISTRIBUTION

 

SECTION 3.1

Issuance and Delivery of Neenah Shares

 

SECTION 3.2

Distribution of Neenah Shares

 

SECTION 3.3

Treatment of Fractional Shares

 

SECTION 3.4

Kimberly-Clark Board Action

 

SECTION 3.5

Additional Approvals

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE IV BUSINESS SEPARATION CLOSING MATTERS

 

SECTION 4.1

Delivery of Instruments of Conveyance

 

SECTION 4.2

Delivery of Other Agreements

 

SECTION 4.3

Provision of Corporate Records

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE V NO REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

 

SECTION 5.1

No Kimberly-Clark Representations or Warranties

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE VI CERTAIN COVENANTS

 

SECTION 6.1

Neenah Menasha Water Company Payment

 

SECTION 6.2

Material Governmental Approvals and Consents

 

SECTION 6.3

Non-Assignable Contracts

 

SECTION 6.4

Novation of Assumed Liabilities; Release of Guarantees

 

SECTION 6.5

Further Assurances

 

SECTION 6.6

Identification of Transferred Intellectual Proporty

 

SECTION 6.7

Collection of Accounts Receivable

 

SECTION 6.8

Election of Neenah Board of Directors

 

SECTION 6.9

Late Payments

 

SECTION 6.10

Registration and Listing

 

SECTION 6.11

No Noncompetition

 

SECTION 6.12

Litigation

 

SECTION 6.13

Signs; Use of Company Name

 

 

i



 

SECTION 6.14

Commercially Reasonable Efforts

 

SECTION 6.15

Conduct of Neenah Business in Ordinary Course

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE VII CONDITIONS TO THE DISTRIBUTION

 

SECTION 7.1

Approval by Kimberly-Clark Board of Directors

 

SECTION 7.2

Receipt of IRS Private Letter Ruling and Opinion

 

SECTION 7.3

Compliance with State and Foreign Securities and “Blue Sky” Laws

 

SECTION 7.4

SEC Filings and Approvals

 

SECTION 7.5

Effectiveness of Registration Statement; No Stop Order

 

SECTION 7.6

Dissemination of Information to Kimberly-Clark Stockholders

 

SECTION 7.7

Approval of NYSE Listing Application

 

SECTION 7.8

Operating Agreements

 

SECTION 7.9

Resignations

 

SECTION 7.10

Consents

 

SECTION 7.11

No Actions

 

SECTION 7.12

Consummation of Pre-Distribution Transactions

 

SECTION 7.13

No Other Events

 

SECTION 7.14

Satisfaction of Conditions

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE VIII INSURANCE MATTERS

 

SECTION 8.1

Insurance Prior to the Distribution Date

 

SECTION 8.2

Ownership of Existing Policies and Programs

 

SECTION 8.3

Maintenance of Insurance for Neenah

 

SECTION 8.4

Acquisition and Maintenance of Post-Distribution Insurance by Neenah

 

SECTION 8.5

Property Damage and Business Interruption Insurance Claims Administration for Pre-Distribution Losses

 

SECTION 8.6

Liability and Workers Compensation Insurance Claims Administration for Pre-Distribution Occurrences

 

SECTION 8.7

Non-Waiver of Rights to Coverage

 

SECTION 8.8

Scope of Affected Policies of Insurance

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE IX EXPENSES AND WORKING CAPITAL

 

SECTION 9.1

Allocation of Expenses

 

SECTION 9.2

Debt Issuance Costs

 

SECTION 9.3

Capital Expenditures True-Up

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE X INDEMNIFICATION

 

SECTION 10.1

Release of Pre-Distribution Claims

 

SECTION 10.2

Indemnification by Neenah

 

SECTION 10.3

Indemnification by Kimberly-Clark

 

SECTION 10.4

Applicability of and Limitation on Indemnification

 

SECTION 10.5

Adjustment of Indemnifiable Losses

 

SECTION 10.6

Procedures for Indemnification of Third Party Claims

 

SECTION 10.7

Procedures for Indemnification of Direct Claims

 

SECTION 10.8

Contribution

 

 

ii



 

SECTION 10.9

Remedies Cumulative

 

SECTION 10.10

Survival

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE XI DISPUTE RESOLUTION

 

SECTION 11.1

Escalation and Mediation

 

SECTION 11.2

Continuity of Service and Performance

 

SECTION 11.3

Choice of Forum

 

SECTION 11.4

Ability to Pursue Other Legal Remedies

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE XII ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND SERVICES

 

SECTION 12.1

Agreement for Exchange of Information

 

SECTION 12.2

Ownership of Information

 

SECTION 12.3

Compensation for Providing Information

 

SECTION 12.4

Retention of Records

 

SECTION 12.5

Limitation of Liability

 

SECTION 12.6

Production of Witnesses

 

SECTION 12.7

Confidentiality

 

SECTION 12.8

Privileged Matters

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE XIII MISCELLANEOUS

 

SECTION 13.1

Entire Agreement

 

SECTION 13.2

Choice of Law and Forum

 

SECTION 13.3

Amendment

 

SECTION 13.4

Waiver

 

SECTION 13.5

Partial Invalidity

 

SECTION 13.6

Execution in Counterparts

 

SECTION 13.7

Successors and Assigns

 

SECTION 13.8

Third Party Beneficiaries

 

SECTION 13.9

Notices

 

SECTION 13.10

Performance

 

SECTION 13.11

Force Majeure

 

SECTION 13.12

No Public Announcement

 

SECTION 13.13

Termination

 

 

Schedules:

Schedule 1.1B

Intellectual Property License Agreements

Schedule 2.1(d)(i)

Owned Real Property

Schedule 2.1(d)(ii)

Real Estate Leases

Schedule 2.1(e)

Personal Property Leases

Schedule 2.1(g)

Transferred Intellectual Property

Schedule 2.1(h)(i)

Acquisition Contracts

Schedule 2.1(h)(ii)

Raw Material Contracts

Schedule 2.1(h)(iii)

Service Contracts

Schedule 2.1(h)(iv)

Transferred Shared Contracts

Schedule 2.1(h)(v)

Miscellaneous Contracts

 

iii



 

Schedule 2.1(m)

Transferred Trademarks

Schedule 2.2(k)

Other Retained Assets

Schedule 2.4(d)

Certain Retained Liabilities

Schedule 2.5(d)(i)(A)

Terrace Bay Owned Real Property

Schedule 2.5(d)(i)(B)

Pictou Owned Real Property

Schedule 2.5(d)(i)(C)

Neenah Woodlands

Schedule 2.6

Intercompany Agreements

Schedule 2.7

Shared Contracts

Schedule 6.8

Neenah Board of Directors

Schedule 6.12(a)

Certain Assumed Actions

Schedule 6.12(b)

Certain Transferred Actions

Schedule 8.3

Insurance Policies

Schedule 8.6

K-C Administered Claims

 

iv



DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT

THIS AGREEMENT is made as of November 30, 2004 by and between Kimberly-Clark Corporation (“ Kimberly-Clark ”), a Delaware corporation, and Neenah Paper, Inc. (“ Neenah ”), a Delaware corporation, and, as of the date hereof, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kimberly-Clark.

WHEREAS, Kimberly-Clark, through its pulp and paper division and certain foreign subsidiaries and affiliates, is engaged in the business of (i) manufacturing and selling fine paper and technical paper and (ii) producing and selling pulp (the “ Neenah Business ”);

WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of Kimberly-Clark has determined that it would be advisable and in the best interests of Kimberly-Clark and its stockholders for Kimberly-Clark to transfer and assign, or cause to be transferred and assigned, to Neenah the business, operations, assets and liabilities related to the Neenah Business;

WHEREAS, Kimberly-Clark has agreed to transfer and assign, or cause to be transferred or assigned, to the Neenah Parties (as hereinafter defined) substantially all of the assets and properties of the Neenah Business and Neenah has agreed to the transfer and assignment of such assets and to assume, or cause to be assumed, substantially all of the liabilities and obligations arising out of or relating to the Neenah Business (the “ Contribution ”);

WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of Kimberly-Clark has determined that it would be advisable and in the best interests of Kimberly-Clark and its stockholders for Kimberly-Clark to distribute on a pro rata basis to the holders of Kimberly-Clark’s common stock, par value $1.25 per share (“ Kimberly-Clark Common Stock ”), without any consideration being paid by the holders of such Kimberly-Clark Common Stock, all of the outstanding shares of Neenah common stock, par value $0.01 per share (together with the preferred share purchase rights associated therewith, the “ Neenah Common Stock ”), then owned by Kimberly-Clark (the “ Distribution ”);

WHEREAS, for federal income tax purposes, the Contribution and Distribution are intended to qualify for tax-free treatment under Sections 355 and 368(a)(1)(D) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “ Code ”); and

WHEREAS, it is appropriate and desirable to set forth the principal transactions required to effect the Contribution and Distribution and certain other agreements that will govern the relationship of Kimberly-Clark and Neenah following the Distribution.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises contained herein, the parties hereto hereby agree as follows:



ARTICLE I
DEFINITIONS

SECTION 1.1   Definitions .  As used in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth in this Section 1.1 .

Actions ” means any action, claim, demand, suit, arbitration, inquiry, subpoena, discovery request, proceeding or investigation by or before any court or grand jury, any governmental or other regulatory or administrative entity, agency or commission or any arbitration tribunal, domestic or foreign.

Actual Neenah Capital Expenditure Amount has the meaning set forth in Section 9.3 .

Affiliate ” means, with respect to any Person, any other Person that directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by or is under common control with such Person.  For the purpose of this definition, the term “control” means the power to direct the management of an entity, directly or indirectly, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise; and the term “controlled” has the meaning correlative to the foregoing.  After the Distribution, Neenah and Kimberly-Clark shall not be deemed to be under common control for purposes hereof due solely to the fact that Neenah and Kimberly-Clark have common stockholders.

Agent ” means EquiServe Trust Company, N.A., the distribution agent appointed by Kimberly-Clark to distribute shares of Neenah Common Stock pursuant to the Distribution.

Assumed Actions ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.12(a) .

Assumed Liabilities ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.3 .

Balance Sheet has the meaning set forth in Section 2.1(a) .

Budget ” has the meaning set forth in Section 9.1 .

Canadian Asset Purchase Agreement means the Asset Purchase Agreement, dated the date hereof, between KCI and NPCC.

Cash Reserve has the meaning set forth in Section 6.1 .

Canso Chemical ” means Canso Chemical Limited, a Nova Scotia corporation.

Code ” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

Contracts ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.1(h) .

Contribution ” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

Conveyancing Instruments ” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.1 .

2



Copyrights ” means United States and foreign copyrights, both registered and unregistered, along with the registrations and applications to register any such copyrights.

Corporate Services Agreement ” means the Corporate Services Agreement, dated the date hereof, between Kimberly-Clark and Neenah.

Credit Facility ” means a $150 million senior secured revolving credit facility to be entered into by Neenah.

Debt ” means the Credit Facility and the notes issued by Neenah pursuant to the Note Offering.

Debt Issuance Costs ” means the fees and expenses incurred in connection with negotiating, documenting and closing the Debt, including the underwriting fees for the Debt, the fees of Moody’s Investor Services and Standard & Poor for establishing an initial debt rating for the Debt, the legal fees of counsel for the lenders under the Credit Facility, the legal fees of counsel for Neenah in connection with the issuance of the Debt, pre-Distribution expenses incurred by Neenah in connection with meeting with prospective purchasers of the notes to be issued in the Note Offering, the fees and expenses of the trustee and its counsel under the Note Offering, printing, reproduction and delivery expenses relating to the Note Offering (including postage, air freight charges and charges for counting and packaging), authentication, stamp or transfer taxes and related expenses for the Note Offering, any federal or state “blue sky” securities registration fees and expenses (including SEC and state filing fees and the reasonable fees and expenses of counsel relating to such registration) in connection with the Note Offering, cost of surveys conducted at the lenders request in the United States in connection with the Credit Facility, costs of appraisals and field exams conducted by or at the request of the lenders in connection with the Credit Facility, mortgagee title insurance for the benefit of the lenders under the Credit Facility and fees relating to the filing and recordation of security interests and mortgages under the Credit Facility.

 

Distribution ” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

Distribution Date ” means the date determined by the Board of Directors of Kimberly-Clark as the date on which the Distribution is payable to holders of Kimberly-Clark Common Stock on the Record Date.

Effective Time ” means midnight (i.e., end of day) on November 30, 2004.

Employee Matters Agreement ” means the Employee Matters Agreement, dated the date hereof, between Kimberly-Clark and Neenah.

Escalation Notice ” has the meaning set forth in Section 11.1(a).

Excess Expenses ” has the meaning set forth in Section 9.1.

Expenses ” means any and all expenses incurred in connection with investigating, defending or asserting any claim, action, suit or proceeding incident to any matter indemnified

3



against hereunder (including court filing fees, court costs, arbitration fees or costs, witness fees, and reasonable fees and disbursements of legal counsel, investigators, expert witnesses, consultants, accountants and other professionals).

Foreign Exchange Rate ” means, with respect to any currency other than United States dollars, as of any date of determination, the rate set forth in the exchange rate section of the Wall Street Journal or, if not published in the Wall Street Journal , then the average of the opening bid and asked rates on such date at which such currency may be exchanged for United States dollars as quoted by JPMorgan Chase Bank (or any successor thereto or other major money center commercial bank agreed to by the Parties).

Governmental Authority ” means any foreign, federal, state, local or other government, governmental, statutory or administrative authority, regulatory body or commission or any court, tribunal or judicial or arbitral body.

Incremental Debt Issuance Costs ” means any increase in Debt Issuance Costs arising out of increasing the Note Offering from $200 million to $225 million.

Indemnified Party has the meaning set forth in Section 10.5(a) .

Indemnifying Party has the meaning set forth in Section 10.5(a) .

Indemnity Payment has the meaning set forth in Section 10.5(a) .

Information has the meaning set forth in Section 12.1(a) .

Information Statement ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.10 .

Insurance Charges ” has the meaning set forth in Section 8.6(d) .

Intellectual Property License Agreements means licenses relating to the Patents and patent disclosures set forth on Schedule 1.1B .

Intercompany Agreements ” means any Contract between Kimberly-Clark or one of its Subsidiaries and Neenah or one of its Subsidiaries entered into prior to the Distribution excluding this Agreement and the Operating Agreements.

Intercompany Note has the meaning set forth in Section 2.5(c)(i) .

IP Assumed Liabilities has the meaning set forth in Section 2.5(e)(ii) .

IRS means the Internal Revenue Service.

K-C Administered Claims ” has the meaning set forth in Section 8.6(a) .

KCGS ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.5(a)(i) .

KCI ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.5(d)(i) .

4



KCW ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.5(c)(i) .

Kimberly-Clark ” has the meaning set forth in the first paragraph of this Agreement.

Kimberly-Clark Common Stock has the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

Kimberly-Clark Parties ” means Kimberly-Clark and its Subsidiaries (including those formed or acquired after the date hereof), other than the Neenah Parties.

Kimberly-Clark Policies ” has the meaning set forth in Section 8.2 .

Kimberly-Clark Indemnified Parties ” has the meaning set forth in Section 10.2 .

Liability ” means any and all debts, liabilities and obligations, absolute or contingent, matured or unmatured, liquidated or unliquidated, accrued or unaccrued, known or unknown, whenever arising (unless otherwise specified in this Agreement), including all costs and expenses relating thereto, and including, without limitation, those debts, liabilities and obligations arising under any law, rule, regulation, Action, threatened Action, order or consent decree of any Governmental Authority or any award of any arbitrator of any kind, and those arising under any contract, commitment or undertaking.

Losses ” means any and all losses, costs, obligations, liabilities, settlement payments, awards, judgments, fines, penalties, damages, fees, expenses, deficiencies, claims or other charges, absolute or contingent, matured or unmatured, liquidated or unliquidated, accrued or unaccrued, known or unknown (including, without limitation, the costs and expenses of any and all Actions, threatened Actions, demands, assessments, judgments, settlements and compromises relating thereto and attorneys’ fees and any and all expenses whatsoever reasonably incurred in investigating, preparing or defending against any such Actions or threatened Actions).

Manufacturing Assets ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.5(g)(i) .

Manufacturing Assumed Liabilities has the meaning set forth in Section 2.5(g)(ii) .

Material Governmental Approvals and Consents ” means any material notices, reports or other filings to be made with or to, or any material consents, registrations, approvals, permits, clearances or authorizations to be obtained from, any Governmental Authority.

Neenah ” has the meaning set forth in the first paragraph of this Agreement.

Neenah Business has the meaning set forth in the recitals.

 “ Neenah Common Stock has the meaning set forth in the recitals.

Neenah Distributable Share ” means, for each holder of record of Kimberly-Clark Common Stock as of the close of business on the Record Date, one share of Neenah Common Stock for every 33 shares of Kimberly-Clark Common Stock outstanding and held of record by such holder at such time.

5



Neenah Indemnified Parties ” has the meaning set forth in Section 10.3 .

Neenah Menasha Water Company means Neenah and Menasha Water Power Company, a Wisconsin corporation.

Neenah Michigan means Neenah Michigan, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

Neenah Paper Products means the fine paper manufactured by the Neenah Business.

Neenah Parties ” means Neenah, NP Sales, NPCC, Neenah Michigan and any Subsidiaries of Neenah formed or acquired after the date hereof.

Neenah Share(s) ” mean(s) each share of Neenah Common Stock.

Neenah Woodlands ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.5(d)(i) .

Non-Permitted Names ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.13 .

Note Offering means the offering by Neenah pursuant to Rule 144A and Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, of senior unsecured notes of Neenah in the aggregate principal amount of up to $225 million (the “Original Notes”) and: (a) the filing of a registration statement with the SEC with respect to a registered offer to exchange the Original Notes for new notes of Neenah having terms substantially identical in all material respects to the Original Notes and the offering of such new notes in exchange for surrender of the Original Notes, or (b) the filing of a “shelf” registration statement covering resales of the Original Notes.

NPCC ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.5(c)(iii) .

NPCC Assumed Liabilities has the meaning set forth in Section 2.5(d)(ii) .

NPCC Transferred Assets ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.5(d)(i) .

NP Sales ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.5(a)(i) .

NP Sales Assumed Liabilities has the meaning set forth in Section 2.5(a)(ii) .

NP Sales Transferred Assets ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.5(a)(i) .

NYSE means the New York Stock Exchange, Inc.

Operating Agreements ” means the Pulp Supply Agreement, the Canadian Asset Purchase Agreement, the Intellectual Property License Agreements, the Corporate Services Agreement, the Employee Matters Agreement, the Tax Sharing Agreement and any other agreement entered into on or before the Distribution Date regarding the ongoing business and service relationships between the Kimberly-Clark Parties and Neenah Parties.

Ordinary Course has the meaning set forth in Section 6.15 .

Owned Real Property ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.1(d)(i) .

6



Paper Products ” means the fine paper and technical paper manufactured by the Neenah Business.

Party ” means the Kimberly-Clark Parties or the Neenah Parties.

Patents ” means United States and foreign patents and applications for patents, including any continuations, continuations-in-part, divisions, renewals, reissues and extensions thereof.

Person ” means any individual, corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, association, joint-stock company, trust, unincorporated organization or Governmental Authority.

Personal Property Leases ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.1(e) .

Pictou Mill ” means the pulp manufacturing mill located on the Owned Real Property set forth on Schedule 2.5(d)(i)(B) .

Pictou Transferred Assets ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.5(d)(i) .

Prime Rate ” means the rate that JP Morgan Chase Bank (or any successor thereto or other major money center commercial bank agreed to by the Parties) announces from time to time as its prime lending rate, as in effect from time to time.

Privilege ” has the meaning set forth in Section 12.8(a) .

Privileged Information ” has the meaning set forth in Section 12.8(a) .

Pro-Rata Neenah Capital Expenditure Budget means $17,233,333.

Pulp Supply Agreement ” means the Pulp Supply Agreement, dated the date hereof, between Kimberly-Clark and Neenah.

Real Estate Leases ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.1(d)(ii) .

Receivables ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.1(b)(i) .

Record Date ” means the date determined by the Board of Directors of Kimberly-Clark as the record date for the Distribution.

Registration Statement ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.10 .

Repairs has the meaning set forth in Section 6.1 .

Retained Assets ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.2 .

Retained Busines s ” means the business of Kimberly-Clark and its Subsidiaries other than the Neenah Business.

Retained Liabilities ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.4 .

7



SEC ” means the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

Shared Contract ” means a Contract with a third Person that directly benefits both the Kimberly-Clark Parties and the Neenah Parties.

Software ” means computer software programs, in source code and object code form, including, without limitation, all related source diagrams, flow charts, specifications, documentation and all other materials and documentation necessary to allow a reasonably skilled third party programmer or technician to maintain, support or enhance the Software.

Startup Costs ” has the meaning set forth in Section 9.1 .

Subsidiary ” means, when used with reference to any Person, any corporation or other organization whether incorporated or unincorporated of which at least a majority of the securities or interests having by the terms thereof ordinary voting power to elect at least a majority of the board of directors or others performing similar functions with respect to such corporation or other organization is directly or indirectly owned or controlled by such Person or by any one or more of its Subsidiaries, or by such Person and one or more of its Subsidiaries; provided , however , that no Person that is not directly or indirectly wholly-owned by any other Person shall be a Subsidiary of such other Person unless such other Person controls, or has the right, power or ability to control, that Person.  After the Distribution, Neenah and Kimberly-Clark shall not be deemed to be under common control for purposes hereof due solely to the fact that Neenah and Kimberly-Clark have common stockholders.

Targeted Debt Issuance Costs ” means $11,984,327.

Tax Sharing Agreement ” means the Tax Sharing Agreement, dated the date hereof, between Kimberly-Clark and Neenah.

Terrace Bay Mill ” means the dual-line pulp manufacturing mill located on the Owned Real Property set forth in Schedule 2.5(d)(i)(A) .

Terrace Bay Transferred Assets ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.5(d)(i) .

Third Party Claim ” has the meaning set forth in Section 10.6(a) .

Third Party Consents ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.14 .

Trademarks means all United States, state and foreign trademarks, service marks, logos, trade dress and trade names, whether registered or unregistered, including all goodwill associated with the foregoing, and all registrations and pending applications to register the foregoing.

 “ Transferred Actions ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.12(b) .

Transferred Assets ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.1 .

Transferred Intellectual Property ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.1(g) .

8



Uninsured Claim ” has the meaning set forth in Section 8.6(c) .

SECTION 1.2   Interpretation .  (a)  In this Agreement, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(i)            words used in the singular include the plural and words used in the plural include the singular;

(ii)           reference to any Person includes such Person’s successors and assigns but, if applicable, only if such successors and assigns are permitted by this Agreement;

(iii)          reference to any gender includes the other gender;

(iv)          the word “including” means “including but not limited to”;

(v)           reference to any Article, Section, Exhibit or Schedule means such Article or Section of, or such Exhibit or Schedule to, this Agreement, as the case may be, and references in any Section or definition to any clause means such clause of such Section or definition;

(vi)          the words “herein,” “hereunder,” “hereof,” “hereto” and words of similar import shall be deemed references to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular Section or other provision hereof;

(vii)         reference to any agreement, instrument or other document means such agreement, instrument or other document as amended, supplemented and modified from time to time to the extent permitted by the provisions thereof and by this Agreement;

(viii)        reference to any law (including statutes and ordinances) means such law (including all rules and regulations promulgated thereunder) as amended, modified, codified or reenacted, in whole or in part, and in effect at the time of determining compliance or applicability;

(ix)           relative to the determination of any period of time, “from” means “from and including,” “to” means “to but excluding” and “through” means “through and including”;

(x)            accounting terms used herein shall have the meanings historically ascribed to them by Kimberly-Clark and its Subsidiaries based upon Kimberly-Clark’s internal financial policies and procedures in effect prior to the date of this Agreement;

(xi)           if there is any conflict between the provisions of the body of this Agreement and the Exhibits or Schedules hereto, the provisions of the body of this Agreement shall control unless explicitly stated otherwise in such Exhibit or Schedule;

(xii)          the titles to Articles and headings of Sections contained in this Agreement have been inserted for convenience of reference only and shall not be deemed to be a part of or to affect the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement;

9



(xiii)         any portion of this Agreement obligating a Party to take any action or refrain from taking any action, as the case may be, shall mean that such Party shall also be obligated to cause its relevant Subsidiaries to take such action or refrain from taking such action, as the case may be; and

(xiv)        unless otherwise specified in this Agreement, all references to dollar amounts herein shall be in respect of lawful currency of the United States.

(b)           This Agreement was negotiated by the Parties with the benefit of legal representation, and any rule of construction or interpretation otherwise requiring this Agreement to be construed or interpreted against either Party shall not apply to any construction or interpretation hereof.

 

ARTICLE II
BUSINESS SEPARATION

SECTION 2.1   Transfer of Neenah Business .  As more fully set forth in this Article II and subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the Operating Agreements, prior to the Distribution, Kimberly-Clark shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to, convey, assign, transfer, contribute and set over, or cause to be conveyed, assigned, transferred, contributed and set over, to the Neenah Parties, and Neenah shall cause the Neenah Parties to accept and receive, all right, title and interest of Kimberly-Clark and its Subsidiaries in and to the tangible and intangible assets used primarily in the Neenah Business (all of such assets being hereinafter referred to as the “ Transferred Assets ”), including the following:

(a)           Balance Sheet Assets .  all assets reflected or disclosed on the unaudited balance sheet of the Neenah Business as of September 30, 2004 attached as Exhibit A hereto (the “ Balance Sheet ”), including all machinery, equipment, furniture and other tangible personal property, whether owned or leased, used primarily in the Neenah Business, subject to acquisitions, dispositions and adjustments in the ordinary course of the Neenah Business, consistent with past practice, after such date;

(b)           Receivables .

(i)            all accounts receivable, notes receivable, lease receivables, prepayments (other than prepaid insurance), advances and other receivables arising out of or produced by the Neenah Business and owing by any Persons (the “ Receivables ”);

(ii)           all cash payments received after the Distribution Date on account of the Receivables;

(iii)          all manufacturers’ warranties or guarantees related primarily to the Transferred Assets; and

(iv)          any and all manufacturers’ or third party service or replacement programs related primarily to the Transferred Assets;

10



(c)           Inventories .  all supplies, packaging and other inventories used primarily in the Neenah Business;

(d)           Owned Real Property and Real Estate Leases .

(i)            those certain parcels of land described on Schedule 2.1(d)(i) (the “ Owned Real Property ”) and any and all improvements, fixtures, machinery, equipment and other property located on the premises demised under such Owned Real Property; and

(ii)           those certain real estate leases set forth on Schedule 2.1(d)(ii) (the “ Real Estate Leases ”) and any and all improvements, fixtures, machinery, equipment and other property located on the premises demised under such Real Estate Leases;

(e)           Personal Property Leases .  those certain machinery, equipment or other tangible personal property leases (the “ Personal Property Leases ”) set forth on Schedule 2.1(e) ;

(f)            Equipment .  all manufacturing plants, fixtures, machinery, installations, equipment, computers, furniture, tools, spare parts, supplies, automobiles, trucks, materials, and other personal property used primarily in the Neenah Business;

(g)           Intellectual Property .  (i) all Copyrights, Patents and Software set forth on Schedule 2.1(g) ; (ii) all business and technical information, nonpatented inventions, and patent disclosures set forth on Schedule 2.1(g) , (iii) all discoveries, processes, formulations, trade secrets, know-how and technical data used primarily in the Neenah Business made or conceived by employees, consultants or contractors of Kimberly-Clark or its Subsidiaries as to which Kimberly-Clark or its Subsidiaries have rights under any agreement or otherwise relating to the foregoing; (iv) all business and technical information, nonpatented inventions, discoveries, processes, formulations, trade secrets, know-how and technical data used primarily in the Neenah Business made or conceived by third parties as to which Kimberly-Clark or its Subsidiaries have rights pursuant to executory agreements with said third parties relating to the foregoing; (v) all permits, grants, contracts, agreements and licenses running to or from Kimberly-Clark  or its Subsidiaries relating to the foregoing; and (vi) all rights that are associated with the foregoing (collectively, the “ Transferred Intellectual Property ”);

(h)           Contracts .  all contracts, agreements, arrangements, leases, manufacturers’ warranties, memoranda, understandings and offers open for acceptance of any nature, whether written or oral (the “ Contracts ”) set forth below (other than Real Estate Leases and Personal Property Leases):

(i)            all Contracts related to acquisitions or divestitures of assets or stock related primarily to the Neenah Business, including Contracts related to the transactions set forth on Schedule 2.1(h)(i) , except to the extent any such Contracts relate to the Retained Business and except to the extent indicated on Schedule 2.1(h)(i) ;

(ii)           all supplier Contracts related primarily to the Neenah Business relating either to raw materials or distributed products, including those set forth on Schedule 2.1(h)(ii) ;

11



(iii)          all Contracts with third-parties related primarily to the Neenah Business relating to services provided to, or for the benefit of, Neenah, including those set forth on Schedule 2.1(h)(iii) ;

(iv)          the Shared Contracts set forth on Schedule 2.1(h)(iv) ; and

(v)           all other Contracts related primarily to the Neenah Business, including those set forth on Schedule 2.1(h)(v) .

(i)            Permits and Licenses .  all permits, approvals, licenses, franchises, authorizations or other rights granted by any Governmental Authority held or applied for by Kimberly-Clark and its Subsidiaries and that are used primarily in the Neenah Business or that relate primarily to the Transferred Assets, and all other consents, grants and other rights that are used primarily for the lawful ownership of the Transferred Assets or the operation of the Neenah Business and that are legally transferable to Neenah;

(j)            Claims and Indemnities .  all rights, claims, demands, causes of action, judgments, decrees and rights to indemnity or contribution, whether absolute or contingent, contractual or otherwise, in favor of Kimberly-Clark or any of its Subsidiaries relating primarily to the Neenah Business, including the right to sue, recover and retain such recoveries and the right to continue in the name of Kimberly-Clark and its Subsidiaries any pending actions relating to the foregoing, and to recover and retain any damages therefrom;

(k)           Books and Records .  all books and records (including all records pertaining to customers, suppliers and personnel), wherever located, that are related primarily to the Neenah Business;

(l)            Supplies .  all office supplies, production supplies, spare parts, purchase orders, forms, labels, shipping material, art work, catalogues, sales brochures, operating manuals and advertising and promotional material and all other printed or written material used primarily in the Neenah Business;

(m)          Trademarks .  all Trademarks and domain names set forth on Schedule 2.1(m) ;

(n)           Tax Credits .  any right, title or interest in any tax refund, credit or benefit to which any of the Neenah Parties is entitled in accordance with the terms of the Tax Sharing Agreement;

(o)           Neenah Menasha Water Company and Canso Chemical .  all of Kimberly-Clark’s right, title and interest in 1,761 shares of common stock of Neenah Menasha Water Company representing 80.4% of its issued and outstanding shares of common stock, and all of KCW’s right, title and interest in 11,140 shares of common stock of Canso Chemical representing one-third of its issued and outstanding shares of common stock;

(p)           Neenah Michigan .  All of Kimberly-Clark’s right, title and interest in and to its ownership interest in Neenah Michigan; and

12



(q)           Other Assets .  all other assets, tangible or intangible, including all goodwill, that are used primarily in the Neenah Business, including, without limitation, domain names and websites, other than email addresses.

SECTION 2.2   Retained Assets .  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, the following assets (the “ Retained Assets ”) are not, and shall not be deemed to be, Transferred Assets:

(a)           cash and cash equivalents, any cash on hand or in bank accounts, certificates of deposit, commercial paper and similar securities, except for (i) deposits securing bonds, letters of credit, leases and all other obligations related primarily to the Neenah Business, (ii) petty cash and impressed funds related primarily to the Neenah Business, and (iii) cash, cash equivalents, certificates of deposit, commercial paper and similar securities held in bank accounts of Neenah or any of its Subsidiaries;

(b)           any right, title or interest in and to any tax refund, credit or benefit to which any of the Kimberly-Clark Parties is entitled in accordance with the terms of the Tax Sharing Agreement;

(c)           any amounts accrued on the books and records of Kimberly-Clark or its Subsidiaries with respect to any Retained Liabilities;

(d)           except as provided in the Employee Matters Agreement, assets relating primarily to the provision of benefits to present or former employees of the Neenah Business;

(e)           any right, title or interest in and to any prepaid insurance premiums for the Kimberly-Clark Policies existing immediately prior to the Distribution;

(f)            all other assets of Kimberly-Clark and its Subsidiaries other than the Transferred Assets;

(g)           all Trademarks and domain names other than the Trademarks and domain names set forth on Schedule 2.1(m) ;

(h)           all Copyrights, Patents and Software other than the Copyrights, Patents and Software set forth on Schedule 2.1(g) ;

(i)            all Patents and patent disclosures covered by the Intellectual Property License Agreements;

(j)            all Shared Contracts not set forth on Schedule 2.1(h)(iv) ; and

(k)           all other assets set forth on Schedule 2.2(k) .

SECTION 2.3   Assumption of Liabilities .  In connection with the transactions contemplated by Section 2.1 , and except as set forth in Section 2.4 , Neenah shall, and shall cause the Neenah Parties to assume, on a joint and several basis with Neenah, and to pay, comply with and discharge all contractual and other Liabilities in accordance with their terms of Kimberly-

13



Clark or its Subsidiaries arising out of the ownership or use of the Transferred Assets or the operation of the Neenah Business, whether due or to become due, including:

(a)           all Liabilities of Kimberly-Clark and its Subsidiaries that are reflected, disclosed or reserved for on the Balance Sheet, as such Liabilities may be increased or decreased in the operation of the Neenah Business from the date of the Balance Sheet through the Distribution Date;

(b)           all Liabilities of Kimberly-Clark and its Subsidiaries under or related to the Real Estate Leases, the Personal Property Leases and the Contracts, such assumption to occur as (i) assignee if such Real Estate Leases, Personal Property Leases and Contracts are assignable and are assigned or otherwise transferred to the Neenah Parties, or (ii) subcontractor, sublessee or sublicensee as provided in Section 6.3 if such assignment of such Real Estate Leases, Personal Property Leases and Contracts and/or proceeds thereof is prohibited by law, by the terms thereof or not permitted by the other contracting party;

(c)           all Liabilities of Kimberly-Clark and its Subsidiaries in connection with claims of past or current employees of the Neenah Business, except as otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement or the Employee Matters Agreement;

(d)           all Liabilities of Kimberly-Clark and its Subsidiaries related to any and all Actions asserting a violation of any law, rule or regulation arising out of the operations of the Neenah Business or the ownership or use of the Transferred Assets, whether before or after the Distribution Date and all Liabilities relating to Assumed Actions;

(e)           all Liabilities for which Neenah is liable in accordance with the terms of the Tax Sharing Agreement;

(f)            all Liabilities of Neenah Michigan; and

(g)           all other Liabilities of Kimberly-Clark and its Subsidiaries arising out of the ownership or use of the Transferred Assets or the operation of the Neenah Business, whether existing on the date hereof or arising at any time or from time to time after the date hereof, and whether based on circumstances, events or actions arising heretofore or hereafter, whether or not such Liabilities shall have been disclosed herein, and whether or not reflected on the books and records of Kimberly-Clark and its Subsidiaries or Neenah and its Subsidiaries or the Balance Sheet.

The Liabilities described in this Section 2.3 are referred to in this Agreement collectively as the “ Assumed Liabilities .”

SECTION 2.4   Retained Liabilities .  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, neither Neenah nor any of the other Neenah Parties shall assume any of the following Liabilities of the Kimberly-Clark Parties (the “ Retained Liabilities ”):

(a)           except as provided in the Employee Matters Agreement, the Liabilities under the Kimberly-Clark employee benefit plans;

14



(b)           all Liabilities for which Kimberly-Clark is liable in accordance with the terms of the Tax Sharing Agreement;

(c)           all Liabilities arising out of the ownership or use of the Retained Assets or the operation of the Retained Business; and

(d)           the Liabilities set forth on Schedule 2.4(d) .

SECTION 2.5   Sequencing of Transfers and Assumptions .  The conveyance of the Transferred Assets and the assumption of the Assumed Liabilities described in Sections 2.1 and 2.3 , respectively, shall be effected as follows:

(a)           First Contribution .  (i) Kimberly-Clark shall cause Kimberly-Clark Global Sales, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“ KCGS ”), to contribute to Neenah Paper Sales, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“ NP Sales ”), as an additional contribution to capital without the issuance of additional shares of capital stock, all of KCGS’ right, title and interest in and to the Transferred Assets used primarily in the sale and marketing of the Paper Products (the “ NP Sales Transferred Assets ”).

(ii)           In consideration for and simultaneous with the consummation of the transactions described in Section 2.5(a)(i) , Neenah shall cause NP Sales to assume on a joint and several basis with Neenah, and to discharge in accordance with their respective terms, all of the Assumed Liabilities arising out of the ownership or use of the NP Sales Transferred Assets (the “ NP Sales Assumed Liabilities ”).

(b)           First Distribution .  Immediately following the consummation of the transactions described in Section 2.5(a) , Kimberly-Clark shall cause KCGS to transfer to Kimberly-Clark, as a dividend, all of KCGS’ right, title and interest in and to the capital stock of NP Sales.

(c)           Capitalization of Neenah Paper .  (i) Immediately following the consummation of the transactions described in Section 2.5(b) , Kimberly-Clark shall cause Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“ KCW ”), to contribute to Neenah as an additional contribution to capital without the issuance of additional shares of capital stock, $55,604,215 and to loan Neenah $213,395,785 in exchange for a promissory note (the “ Intercompany Note ”), which shall be due and payable immediately following the consummation of the transactions described in Section 2.8(a) .

(ii)           Immediately following the consummation of the transactions described in Section 2.5(c)(i) , Neenah shall contribute to Neenah Paper Company of Canada, a Nova Scotia unlimited liability company (“ NPCC ”), $269 million as a contribution to capital in exchange for 1,000 additional shares of capital stock of NPCC.

(d)           Acquisition of Mills and Woodlands .  (i) Immediately following the consummation of the transactions described in Section 2.5(c)(ii) and pursuant to the Canadian Asset Purchase Agreement, Kimberly-Clark shall cause Kimberly-Clark, Inc., an Ontario corporation (“ KCI ”), to sell, transfer, assign and convey to NPCC, and Neenah shall cause NPCC to purchase for $269 million, all of KCI’s right, title and interest in and to (A) the Owned Real Property set forth on Schedule 2.5(d)(i)(A) and all other Transferred Assets used primarily

15



in the operation of the Terrace Bay Mill (the “ Terrace Bay Transferred Assets ”), (B) the Owned Real Property set forth on Schedule 2.5(d)(i)(B) and all other Transferred Assets used primarily in the operation of the Pictou Mill (the “ Pictou Transferred Assets ”) and (C) all of the Owned Real Property set forth on Schedule 2.5(d)(i)(C) (the “ Neenah Woodlands ”).  The Terrace Bay Transferred Assets, Pictou Transferred Assets and Neenah Woodlands all collectively referred to as the “ NPCC Transferred Assets.

(ii)           In consideration for and simultaneous with the consummation of the transactions described in Section 2.5(d)(i) , Neenah shall cause NPCC to assume on a joint and several basis with Neenah, and to discharge in accordance with their respective terms, all of the Assumed Liabilities arising out of the ownership or use of the NPCC Transferred Assets (the “ NPCC Assumed Liabilities ”).

(e)           Third Contribution .  (i) Immediately following the consummation of the transactions described in Section 2.5(d) , Kimberly-Clark shall cause KCW to contribute to Neenah as an additional contribution to capital without the issuance of additional shares of capital stock, all of KCW’s right, title and interest in and to the Transferred Intellectual Property, the Trademarks and domain names set forth in Schedule 2.1(m) and the common shares of Canso Chemical.

(ii)           In consideration for and simultaneous with the consummation of the transactions described in Section 2.5(e)(i) , Neenah shall assume and discharge in accordance with their respective terms all of the Assumed Liabilities arising out of the ownership or use of the Transferred Intellectual Property and Trademarks set forth in Schedule 2.1(m) (the “ IP Assumed Liabilities ”).

(f)            Second Distribution .  Immediately following the consummation of the transactions described in Section 2.8(b) , Kimberly-Clark shall cause KCW to transfer to Kimberly-Clark, as a dividend, all of its right, title and interest in and to the capital stock of Neenah.

(g)           Fourth Contribution .  (i) Immediately following the consummation of the transactions described in Section 2.5(f) , Kimberly-Clark shall contribute to Neenah as an additional contribution to capital without the issuance of additional shares or capital stock, all of Kimberly-Clark’s right, title and interest in and to the Transferred Assets used primarily in the manufacturing of the Paper Products (the “ Manufacturing Assets ”).

(ii)           In consideration for and simultaneous with the consummation of the transactions described in Section 2.5(g)(i) , Neenah shall assume and discharge in accordance with their respective terms all of the Assumed Liabilities arising out of the ownership or use of the Manufacturing Assets (the “ Manufacturing Assumed Liabilities ”).

(h)           Fifth Contribution .  Immediately following the consummation of the transactions described in Section 2.5(g) , Kimberly-Clark shall contribute to Neenah as an additional contribution to capital without the issuance of additional shares of capital stock, all of Kimberly-Clark’s right, title and interest in and to the capital stock of Neenah Michigan.

16



(i)            Sixth Contribution .  Immediately following the consummation of the transactions described in Section 2.5(h) , Kimberly-Clark shall contribute to Neenah as an additional contribution to capital without the issuance of additional shares or capital stock all of Kimberly-Clark’s right, title and interest in and to the capital stock of NP Sales and Neenah Menasha Water Company.

(j)            Other Transferred Assets and Assumed Liabilities .  (i) Immediately following the consummation of the transactions described in Section 2.5(i) , Kimberly-Clark shall, and shall cause the other Kimberly-Clark Parties to, contribute to Neenah all of their right, title and interest in and to any Transferred Assets not transferred to one of the Neenah Parties pursuant to the transactions described in Sections 2.5(a) through 2.5(i) .

(ii)           In consideration for and simultaneous with the consummation of the transactions described in S ection 2.5(j)(i) , Neenah shall assume and discharge in accordance with their respective terms any and all Assumed Liabilities not assumed by one of the Neenah Parties pursuant to the transactions described in Sections 2.5(a) through 2.5(j) .

Notwithstanding the foregoing, Kimberly-Clark may elect in its sole discretion at any time prior to the Distribution to omit or modify any of the transactions set forth in Sections 2.1 through 2.5 or to include additional transactions.

SECTION 2.6   Termination of Existing Intercompany Agreements .  Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement, the Operating Agreements or as set forth on Schedule 2.6 and except for the Intercompany Note and all receivables accrued in the ordinary course of business of the Kimberly-Clark Parties and the Neenah Parties, all Intercompany Agreements and all other intercompany arrangements and course of dealings, whether or not in writing and whether or not binding, in effect immediately prior to the Distribution Date, shall be terminated and be of no further force and effect from and after the Distribution Date.

SECTION 2.7   Shared Contracts .  (a)  With respect to Liabilities pursuant to, arising under or relating to any Shared Contract, including those set forth in Schedule 2.7 , such Liabilities shall be allocated between the Kimberly-Clark Parties, on the one hand, and the Neenah Parties on the other hand, as follows:

(i)            first, if a Liability is incurred exclusively in respect of a benefit received by one Party, the Party receiving such benefit shall be responsible for such Liability; and

(ii)           second, if a Liability cannot be so allocated under clause (i) , such Liability shall be allocated between the Parties based on the relative proportions of total benefit received (over the term of the Shared Contract, measured as of the date of the allocation) under the relevant Shared Contract.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, each Party shall be responsible for any and all Liabilities arising out of or resulting from its breach of the relevant Shared Contract.

(b)           If any of the Kimberly-Clark Parties, on the one hand, or any of the Neenah Parties, on the other hand, receive any benefit or payment under any Shared Contract that was intended for the other Party, the Party receiving such benefit or payment will use commercially reasonable efforts to deliver, transfer or otherwise afford such benefit or payment to the other Party.

17



SECTION 2.8   Related Transactions .  (a) Immediately after the consummation of the transactions described in Section 2.5(e) , Neenah shall and shall cause the other Neenah Parties to (i) enter into the Credit Facility and related agreements, (ii) consummate the Note Offering and (iii) borrow under the Credit Facility such amount, if any, as may be necessary in order to enable Neenah to make the payment described in Section 2.8(b) .

                (b)           Upon Neenah’s receipt of the proceeds of the  borrowings described in Section 2.8(a) and prior to the consummation of the transactions described in Section 2.5(f) , Neenah will pay $213,395,785 to KCW by wire transfer of immediately available funds to an account specified by Kimberly-Clark and the Intercompany Note shall then be deemed paid and discharged.

 

ARTICLE III
THE DISTRIBUTION

SECTION 3.1   Issuance and Delivery of Neenah Shares .  Neenah shall issue to Kimberly-Clark the number of Neenah Shares required so that the total number of Neenah Shares held by Kimberly-Clark immediately prior to the Distribution is equal to the total number of Neenah Shares distributable pursuant to Section 3.2 .  Kimberly-Clark shall deliver to the Agent one or more stock certificates representing all Neenah Shares then issued and outstanding, together with one or more stock power(s) endorsed in blank and, with respect to any uncertificated shares to be distributed pursuant to Section 3.2 , shall take such steps as are necessary to permit such shares to be distributed in the manner described in Section 3.2 .  In its capacity as Neenah’s transfer agent, the Agent will distribute such shares in the manner described in Section 3.2 .

SECTION 3.2   Distribution of Neenah Shares .  Kimberly-Clark shall instruct the Agent to (i) distribute the Neenah Distributable Share to each holder of record of Kimberly-Clark Common Stock at the close of business on the Record Date, and (ii) after completing the transactions described in Section 3.3 , deliver to Neenah as a contribution to Neenah, all remaining Neenah Shares, if any, then held by the Agent.  Any such returned Neenah Shares shall be immediately cancelled by Neenah and shall not constitute treasury shares.  Each distributed Neenah Share shall be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and free of preemptive rights.  The shares of Neenah Common Stock distributed shall be distributed as uncertificated shares registered in book-entry form through the direct registration system.  Except as required by applicable law, no certificates therefor shall be distributed.  The Agent shall deliver an account statement to each holder of Neenah Common Stock reflecting such holder’s ownership interest in shares of Neenah Common Stock.

SECTION 3.3   Treatment of Fractional Shares .  No certificates or scrip representing fractional Neenah Shares shall be issued in the Distribution.  In lieu of receiving fractional shares, each holder of Kimberly-Clark Common Stock who would otherwise be entitled to receive a fractional Neenah Share pursuant to the Distribution will receive cash for such fractional share.  Kimberly-Clark and Neenah shall instruct the Agent to determine the number of whole Neenah Shares and fractional Neenah Shares allocable to each holder of record of Kimberly-Clark Common Stock as of the close of business on Record Date, to aggregate all such

18



fractional shares into whole shares and sell the whole shares obtained thereby in the open market at the then prevailing prices on behalf of holders who would otherwise be entitled to receive fractional share interests, and to distribute to each such holder such holder’s ratable share of the total proceeds of such sale after making appropriate deductions of any amounts required for U.S. federal tax withholding purposes and after deducting any taxes attributable to the sale of such fractional share interests.

SECTION 3.4   Kimberly-Clark Board Action .  The Kimberly-Clark Board of Directors shall, in its discretion, establish the Record Date and the Distribution Date and all appropriate procedures in connection with the Distribution.  The Board of Directors of Kimberly-Clark also shall have the right to adjust the Neenah Distributable Share at any time prior to the Distribution.  The consummation of the transactions provided for in this Article III shall only be effected after the Distribution has been declared by the Kimberly-Clark Board of Directors.

SECTION 3.5   Additional Approvals .  Kimberly-Clark shall cooperate with Neenah in effecting, and if so requested by Neenah, Kimberly-Clark shall, as the sole stockholder of Neenah prior to the Distribution, ratify any actions which are reasonably necessary or desirable to be taken by Neenah to effectuate the transactions referenced in or contemplated by this Agreement in a manner consistent with the terms hereof, including the preparation and implementation of appropriate plans, agreements and arrangements for employees of the Neenah Business and non-employee members of Neenah’s Board of Directors.

 

ARTICLE IV
BUSINESS SEPARATION CLOSING MATTERS

SECTION 4.1   Delivery of Instruments of Conveyance .  In order to effectuate the transactions contemplated by Article II , the Parties shall execute and deliver, or cause to be executed and delivered, prior to or as of the Distribution such deeds, bills of sale, instruments of assumption, instruments of assignment, stock powers, certificates of title and other instruments of assignment, transfer, assumption and conveyance (collectively, the “ Conveyancing Instruments ”) as the Parties shall reasonably deem necessary or appropriate to effect such transactions.

SECTION 4.2   Delivery of Other Agreements .  Prior to or as of the Distribution, the Parties shall execute and deliver, or shall cause to be executed and delivered, each of the Operating Agreements.

SECTION 4.3   Provision of Corporate Records .  Prior to or as promptly as practicable after the Distribution, Kimberly-Clark shall deliver to Neenah all corporate books and records of Neenah Parties and copies of all corporate books and records of the Kimberly-Clark Parties relating to the Neenah Business, including in each case all active agreements, litigation files and government filings.

19



ARTICLE V
NO REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

SECTION 5.1   No Kimberly-Clark Representations or Warranties .  Except as expressly set forth herein or in any Operating Agreement, Kimberly-Clark does not represent or warrant in any way (i) as to the value or freedom from encumbrance of, or any other matter concerning, any of the Transferred Assets or Assumed Liabilities or (ii) as to the legal sufficiency to convey title to any of the Transferred Assets on the execution, delivery and filing of the Conveyancing Instruments.  ALL SUCH ASSETS ARE BEING TRANSFERRED ON AN “AS IS, WHERE IS” BASIS WITHOUT ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, MARKETABILITY, TITLE, VALUE, FREEDOM FROM ENCUMBRANCE OR ANY OTHER REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, and the Neenah Parties shall bear the economic and legal risks that any conveyances of such assets shall prove to be insufficient or that the Neenah Parties’ title to any such assets shall be other than good and marketable and free of encumbrances.  Except as expressly set forth in this Agreement or in any Operating Agreement, Kimberly-Clark does not represent or warrant that the obtaining of the consents or approvals, the execution and delivery of any amendatory agreements and the making of the filings and applications contemplated by this Agreement shall satisfy the provisions of all applicable agreements or the requirements of all applicable laws or judgments, and, subject to Section 6.4 , the Neenah Parties shall bear the economic and legal risk that any necessary consents or approvals are not obtained or that any requirements of law or judgments are not complied with.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Parties shall fully cooperate and use commercially reasonable efforts to obtain all consents and approvals, to enter into all amendatory agreements and to make all filings and applications that may be required for the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

 

ARTICLE VI
CERTAIN COVENANTS

SECTION 6.1   Neenah Menasha Water Company Payment .   No later than 10 days after the Distribution Date, Kimberly-Clark and Neenah shall certify, based on Kimberly-Clark’s accounts and records and the accounts and records of the Neenah Menasha Water Company, the amount of cash held by the Neenah Menasha Water Company as of the Distribution Date (the Cash Reserve ).  At any time or from time to time until two years after the Distribution Date, Neenah may cause the Neenah Menasha Water Company to replace the tainter gates, which control the flow of water at the dam, and repair the pitting to the concrete on the top of the dam/spill way (the Repairs ).  Kimberly-Clark shall reimburse Neenah for the Repairs to the extent that the aggregate cost of the Repairs exceeds the aggregate sum of (i) the Cash Reserve and (ii) any amounts received by the Neenah Menasha Water Company from the sale of any subaqueous land.

SECTION 6.2   Material Governmental Approvals and Consents .  The Parties will use commercially reasonable efforts to obtain any Material Governmental Approvals and Consents required by the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

20



SECTION 6.3   Non-Assignable Contracts .  If and to the extent that any Kimberly-Clark Party is unable to obtain any consent, approval or amendment necessary for the transfer or assignment to any Neenah Party of any Contract or other rights relating to the Neenah Business that would otherwise be transferred or assigned to such Neenah Party as contemplated by this Agreement or any other agreement or document contemplated hereby, (i) such Kimberly-Clark Party shall continue to be bound thereby and the purported transfer or assignment to such Neenah Party shall automatically be deemed deferred until such time as all legal impediments are removed and all necessary consents have been obtained, and (ii) unless not permitted by the terms thereof or by law, the Neenah Parties shall pay, perform and discharge fully all of the obligations of the Kimberly-Clark Parties thereunder from and after the Distribution, or such earlier time as such transfer or assignment would otherwise have taken place, and indemnify the Kimberly-Clark Parties for all indemnifiable Losses arising out of such performance by such Neenah Party.  The Kimberly-Clark Parties shall, without further consideration therefor, pay and remit to the applicable Neenah Party promptly all monies, rights and other considerations received in respect of such performance.  The Kimberly-Clark Parties shall exercise or exploit their rights and options under all such Contracts and other rights, agreements and documents referred to in this Section 6.3 only as reasonably directed by Neenah and at Neenah’s expense.  If and when any such consent, approval or amendment shall be obtained or such Contract or other right or agreement shall otherwise become transferable or assignable or be able to be novated, the Kimberly-Clark Parties shall promptly assign or transfer and novate (to the extent permissible) all of their rights and obligations thereunder to the applicable Neenah Party without payment of further consideration, and the Neenah Party shall, without the payment of any further consideration therefor, assume such rights and obligations.  To the extent that the transfer or assignment of any Contract or other right (or the proceeds thereof) pursuant to this Section 6.3 is prohibited by law or the terms thereof, this Section 6.3 shall operate to create a subcontract with the applicable Neenah Party to perform each relevant Contract or other right, agreement or document at a subcontract price equal to the monies, rights and other considerations received by the Kimberly-Clark Parties with respect to the performance by such Neenah Party.

SECTION 6.4   Novation of Assumed Liabilities; Release of Guarantees .  (a)  Except as otherwise specifically provided in Section 2.7 with respect to Shared Contracts and elsewhere in this Agreement, it is expressly understood and agreed to by the Parties that upon the assumption by the Neenah Parties of the Assumed Liabilities, the Kimberly-Clark Parties and their respective officers, directors and employees shall be released unconditionally by the Neenah Parties from any and all Liability, whether joint, several or joint and several, for the discharge, performance or observance of any of the Assumed Liabilities, so that the Neenah Parties will be solely responsible for such Assumed Liabilities.

(b)           The Neenah Parties, at the reasonable request of any Kimberly-Clark Party, shall use commercially reasonable efforts to obtain, or cause to be obtained, any consent, approval, substitution or amendment required to novate (including with respect to any federal government contract) or assign all obligations under the Assumed Liabilities, or to obtain in writing the unconditional release of all parties to such arrangements other than the Neenah Parties.

(c)           If a Neenah Party is unable to obtain any such required consent, approval, substitution or amendment, the applicable Kimberly-Clark Party shall continue to be bound by such Assumed Liability and, unless not permitted by law or the terms thereof, the Neenah Parties

21



shall, as agent or subcontractor for the Kimberly-Clark Parties, pay, perform and discharge fully all of the obligations or other Liabilities of the Kimberly-Clark Parties thereunder from and after the date hereof.  The Neenah Parties shall indemnify and hold harmless the Kimberly-Clark Parties against any Liabilities arising in connection with such Assumed Liability.  Except as otherwise set forth in this Agreement, the Kimberly-Clark Parties shall, without further consideration, pay and remit, or cause to be paid or remitted, to the applicable Neenah Party promptly the after-tax amount of all money, rights and other consideration received by it in respect of such performance (unless any such consideration is a Retained Asset).  If and when any such consent, approval, substitution or amendment shall be obtained or such Assumed Liability shall otherwise become assignable or be able to be novated, the applicable Kimberly-Clark Party shall thereafter assign, or cause to be assigned, all of their rights, obligations and other Liabilities thereunder to the applicable Neenah Party shall, without payment of further consideration, and the Neenah Parties shall, without the payment of any further consideration, assume such rights and obligations.

SECTION 6.5   Further Assurances .  (a)  In addition to the actions specifically provided for elsewhere in this Agreement, each of the Parties shall use commercially reasonable efforts to take, or cause to be taken, all actions and to do, or cause to be done, all things reasonably necessary, proper or advisable under applicable laws, regulations and agreements to consummate and make effective the Distribution and the other agreements and documents contemplated hereby.  Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, each Party shall cooperate with the other Party to execute and deliver, or use commercially reasonable efforts to cause to be executed and delivered, all instruments, including instruments of conveyance, assignment and transfer, and to make all filings with, and to obtain all consents, approvals or authorizations of, any Governmental Authority or any other Person under any permit, license, Contract or other instrument, and to take all such other actions as such Party may reasonably be requested to take by the other Party from time to time, consistent with the terms of this Agreement, in order to confirm the title of the Neenah Parties to all of the Neenah Business, to put the applicable Neenah Party in actual possession and operating control thereof and to permit the applicable Neenah Party to exercise all rights with respect thereto and to effectuate the provisions and purposes of this Agreement and the other agreements and documents contemplated hereby or thereby.

(b)           If, as a result of mistake or oversight, any asset reasonably necessary to the conduct of the Neenah Business is not transferred to the applicable Neenah Party, or any asset reasonably necessary to the conduct of the Retained Business is transferred to any Neenah Party, Kimberly-Clark and Neenah shall negotiate in good faith after the Distribution to determine whether such asset should be transferred to a Neenah Party or to a Kimberly-Clark Party, as the case may be, and the terms and conditions upon which such asset shall be made available to a Neenah Party or to a Kimberly-Clark Party, as the case may be.  Unless expressly provided to the contrary in this Agreement or any Operating Agreement, if, as a result of mistake or oversight, any Liability arising out of or relating to the Neenah Business is retained by any Kimberly-Clark Party, or any Liability arising out of or relating to the Retained Business is assumed by any Neenah Party, Kimberly-Clark and Neenah shall negotiate in good faith after the Distribution to determine whether such Liability should be transferred to a Neenah Party or a Kimberly-Clark Party, as the case may be, and/or the terms and conditions upon which any such Liability shall be transferred.

22



SECTION 6.6   Identification of Transferred Intellectual Property . Within six (6) months following the Distribution Date, or such longer period of time as Kimberly-Clark and Neenah may agree, the parties will work together in good faith to identify and reach agreement on all Transferred Intellectual Property that has not been identified and agreed to on or before the Distribution Date and included in Schedule 2.1(g) .  Notwithstanding anything in this Section 6.6 , the failure of the Parties to reach a mutual agreement within the six-month period described above shall not diminish the Neenah Parties’ rights to the Transferred Intellectual Property granted pursuant to Section 2.1(g) .

SECTION 6.7   Collection of Accounts Receivable .  (a)  Following the Distribution, the Kimberly-Clark Parties shall be entitled to control all collection actions related to the Retained Business and the Neenah Parties shall be entitled to control all collection actions related to the Neenah Business, in each case including the determination of what actions are necessary or appropriate and when and how to take any such action.

(b)           If, after the Distribution, any Neenah Party shall receive any remittance from any account debtors with respect to the accounts receivable arising out of the Retained Business or other amounts due any Kimberly-Clark Party in respect of services rendered by any Kimberly-Clark Party after the Distribution, or any Kimberly-Clark Party shall receive any remittance from any account debtors with respect to the accounts receivable arising out of the Neenah Business or other amounts due any Neenah Party in respect of services rendered by any Neenah Party after the Distribution, such Party shall receive and deposit such remittance and hold the same for the benefit of the other Party.  The Parties shall reconcile any amounts held under this Section 6.7 on a weekly basis, with the difference between the amounts held by each Party for the benefit of the other being settled by a cash payment to be made as soon as practicable following such reconciliation and, in any event, no later than five business days following the completion of such reconciliation.

(c)           Each Party shall deliver to the other such schedules and other information with respect to accounts receivable as each shall reasonably request from time to time in order to permit such Parties to reconcile their respective records and to monitor the collection of all accounts receivable.  Each Party shall afford the other reasonable access to its books and records relating to any accounts receivable.

SECTION 6.8   Election of Neenah Board of Directors .  Prior to the Distribution, Kimberly-Clark agrees to vote all shares of Neenah Common Stock held by it in favor of the nominees to the Board of Directors of Neenah, as set forth on Schedule 6.8 .

SECTION 6.9   Late Payments .  Except as expressly provided to the contrary in this Agreement or in any Operating Agreement, any amount not paid when due pursuant to this Agreement or any Operating Agreement (and any amounts billed or otherwise invoiced or demanded and properly payable that are not paid within 30 days of the date of such bill, invoice or other demand) shall accrue interest at a rate per annum equal to the Prime Rate plus 2%.

SECTION 6.10   Registration and Listing .  Prior to the Distribution:

23



(a)           Kimberly-Clark and Neenah shall cooperate with respect to the preparation of the registration statement on Form 10, including such amendments or supplements thereto as may be necessary (together, the “ Registration Statement ”), to effect the registration of the Neenah Common Stock under the Exchange Act.  The Registration Statement shall include an information statement to be sent by Kimberly-Clark to its stockholders in connection with the Distribution (the “ Information Statement ”).  Neenah and Kimberly-Clark shall use commercially reasonable efforts to cause the Registration Statement to become and remain effective under the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable.  As soon as practicable, after the Registration Statement becomes effective, Kimberly-Clark shall mail the Information Statement to the holders of Kimberly-Clark Common Stock.

(b)           The Parties shall use commercially reasonable efforts to take all such action as may be necessary or appropriate under state and foreign securities and “Blue Sky” laws in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

(c)           Kimberly-Clark and Neenah shall prepare, and Neenah shall file and seek to make effective, an application for the listing of the Neenah Common Stock on the NYSE, subject to official notice of issuance.  Kimberly-Clark shall, to the extent commercially reasonable, give the New York Stock Exchange notice of the Record Date in compliance with Rule 10b-17 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

(d)           The Parties shall cooperate in preparing, filing with the SEC and causing to become effective any registration statements or amendments thereto that are necessary or appropriate in order to effect the transactions contemplated hereby or to reflect the establishment of, or amendments to, any employee benefit plans contemplated hereby.

SECTION 6.11   No Noncompetition .  After the Distribution, either Party may, except as otherwise provided in the Operating Agreements, (i) engage in the same or similar activities or lines of business as the other Party or (ii) do business, or refrain from doing business, with any potential or actual supplier or customer of the other Party.

SECTION 6.12   Litigation .  (a)  As of the Distribution, the Neenah Parties, shall assume and, except as provided in Article VIII , pay all Liabilities that may result from the Assumed Actions and all fees and costs relating to the defense of the Assumed Actions, including attorneys’ fees and costs incurred after the Distribution.  “ Assumed Actions ” means those cases, claims and investigations (in which any Kimberly-Clark Party or any Affiliate of a Kimberly-Clark Party, other than Neenah and its Subsidiaries, is a defendant or the party against whom the claim or investigation is directed) primarily related to the Neenah Business, including those listed on Schedule 6.12(a) .

(b)           The Kimberly-Clark Parties shall transfer the Transferred Actions to Neenah, and Neenah shall receive and have the benefit of all of the proceeds of such Transferred Actions.  “ Transferred Actions ” means those cases and claims (in which any Kimberly-Clark Party or any of its Affiliates is a plaintiff or claimant) primarily relating to the Neenah Business, including those listed on Schedule 6.12(b) .

24



(c)           Each Party agrees that at all times from and after the Distribution, if an Action is commenced by a third party naming both Parties as defendants thereto and with respect to which one Party is a nominal defendant, then the other Party shall use commercially reasonable efforts to cause such nominal defendant to be removed from such Action.

SECTION 6.13   Signs; Use of Company Name .  Prior to February 28, 2005, the Parties, at Neenah’s expense, shall remove (or, if necessary, on an interim basis cover up) any and all exterior and interior signs and identifiers on the Transferred Assets that refer or pertain to any Kimberly-Clark Party or the Retained Business, in the case of Neenah, or that refer or pertain to any Neenah Party or the Transferred Business on the Retained Assets, in the case of Kimberly-Clark.  After such period, (i) the Neenah Parties shall not use or display the name “Kimberly-Clark,” or any variations thereof, or other trademarks, any tradenames, logos or identifiers using any of such names or otherwise owned by or licensed to any Kimberly-Clark Party that have not been assigned or licensed to a Neenah Party, and (ii) the Kimberly-Clark Parties shall not use or display the name “Neenah” or any variations thereof, or other trademarks, tradenames, logos or identifiers using any of such names or otherwise owned by or licensed to any Neenah Party that have not been assigned or licensed to a Kimberly-Clark Party (collectively, the “ Non-Permitted Names ”), without the prior written consent of the other Party; provided , however , that notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing contained in this Agreement shall prevent either Party from using the other’s name in public filings with Governmental Authorities, materials intended for distribution to either Party’s stockholders or any other communication in any medium that describes the relationship between the Parties, including materials distributed to employees relating to the transition of employee benefit plans; provided further that Neenah shall be permitted to use its inventories of packaging and promotional materials and other supplies existing on the date hereof that bear the Kimberly-Clark name or logo until August 31, 2005.

SECTION 6.14   Commercially Reasonable Efforts .  Upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement, each of the Parties agrees to use all commercially reasonable efforts to take, or cause to be taken, all actions and to do, or cause to be done, and to assist and cooperate with the other Parties in doing, all things necessary, proper or advisable to consummate and make effective, in the most expeditious manner practicable, the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including (i) the obtaining of all necessary actions or non-actions, waivers, consents and approvals from Governmental Authorities and the making of all necessary registrations and filings (including filings with Governmental Authorities) and the taking of all reasonable steps as may be necessary to obtain an approval or waiver from, or to avoid an action or proceeding by, any Governmental Authority, (ii) the obtaining of all necessary consents, approvals or waivers from third parties ( Third Party Consents ), (iii) the defending of any lawsuits or other legal proceedings, whether judicial or administrative, challenging this Agreement or the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, including seeking to have any stay or temporary restraining order entered by any court or other Governmental Authority vacated or reversed and (iv) the execution and delivery of any additional instruments necessary to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

SECTION 6.15   Conduct of Neenah Business in Ordinary Course .   The Parties hereby agree and acknowledge that it is their intent that between June 8, 2004 and the Distribution Date the Neenah Business be operated in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, other than such actions (including failures to act) and decisions relating solely

25



to the Distribution and Contribution which were taken (or not taken) or made with the consent of the other Party (such operation is referred to as the Ordinary Course ).

ARTICLE VII
CONDITIONS TO THE DISTRIBUTION

The obligation of Kimberly-Clark to effect the Distribution is subject to the satisfaction or the waiver by Kimberly-Clark of each of the following conditions:

SECTION 7.1   Approval by Kimberly-Clark  Board of Directors .  This Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby, including the declaration of the Distribution, shall have been duly approved by the Board of Directors of Kimberly-Clark in accordance with applicable law and the Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, and By-Laws of Kimberly-Clark.

SECTION 7.2   Receipt of IRS Private Letter Ruling and Opinion .  Kimberly-Clark shall have received a ruling from the IRS which shall not have been rescinded, substantially to the effect that the Contribution will qualify as a tax-free transaction for federal income tax purposes under Section 368(a)(1)(D) of the Code, that the Distribution will qualify as a tax-free distribution for federal income tax purposes under Section 355 of the Code, and that no income, gain or loss will be recognized by Kimberly-Clark, Neenah or their respective stockholders (other than with respect to cash received in lieu of fractional shares) upon the Contribution or the Distribution. In addition, Kimberly-Clark shall have received an opinion of its tax counsel that the Distribution was motivated by a valid business purpose and the Distribution does not constitute a “device” for the distribution of Kimberly-Clark’s or Neenah’s earnings and profits for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

SECTION 7.3   Compliance with State and Foreign Securities and “Blue Sky” Laws .  The Parties shall have taken all such action as may be necessary or appropriate under state and foreign securities and “blue sky” laws in connection with the Distribution.

SECTION 7.4   SEC Filings and Approvals .  The Parties shall have prepared and Neenah shall, to the extent required under applicable law, have filed with the SEC any such documentation and no action letter requests that Kimberly-Clark  reasonably determines are necessary or desirable to effectuate the Distribution, and each Party shall have obtained all necessary approvals or no action letters from the SEC.

SECTION 7.5   Effectiveness of Registration Statement; No Stop Order .  The Registration Statement shall have been declared effective by the SEC, and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall have been initiated or, to the knowledge of either of the Parties, threatened by the SEC.

SECTION 7.6   Dissemination of Information to Kimberly-Clark  Stockholders .  Prior to the Distribution, the Parties shall have prepared and mailed to the holders of Kimberly-Clark Common Stock such information concerning Neenah, its business, operations and

26



management, the Distribution and such other matters as Kimberly-Clark  shall reasonably determine and as may be required by law.

SECTION 7.7   Approval of NYSE Listing Application .  The Neenah Common Stock to be distributed in the Distribution shall have been approved for listing on the New York Stock Exchange, subject to official notice of issuance.

SECTION 7.8   Operating Agreements .  Each of the Operating Agreements shall have been executed and delivered, and each of such agreements shall be in full force and effect.

SECTION 7.9   Resignations .  Prior to the Distribution, all of Kimberly-Clark’s designees shall have resigned or been removed as officers and from all Boards of Directors or similar governing bodies of Neenah and its Subsidiaries and all of Neenah’s designees shall have resigned or been removed as officers and from all Boards of Directors or similar governing bodies of the Kimberly-Clark Parties.

SECTION 7.10   Consents .  (a)  All Material Governmental Approvals and Consents required to permit the valid consummation of the Distribution shall have been obtained without any conditions being imposed that would have a material adverse effect on Kimberly-Clark or Neenah.

(b)           Kimberly-Clark shall have obtained the Third Party Consents that shall be required in connection with the Distribution or Contribution, except those for which the failure to obtain such consents, approvals or waivers would not, in the reasonable opinion of Kimberly-Clark, individually or in the aggregate have a material adverse effect on Kimberly-Clark, Neenah or the consummation of the Contribution or Distribution.

SECTION 7.11   No Actions .  No action, suit or proceeding shall have been instituted or threatened by or before any court or quasi-judicial or administrative agency of any federal, state, local or foreign jurisdiction or before any arbitrator to restrain, enjoin or otherwise prevent the Distribution or the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement (including a stop order with respect to the effectiveness of the Registration Statement), and no order, injunction, judgment, ruling or decree issued by any court of competent jurisdiction shall be in effect restraining the Distribution or such other transactions.

SECTION 7.12   Consummation of Pre-Distribution Transactions .  The pre-Distribution transactions contemplated by Article II of this Agreement shall have been consummated in all material respects.

SECTION 7.13   No Other Events .  No other events or developments shall have occurred that, in the judgment of the Kimberly-Clark Board of Directors, would result in the Distribution having a material adverse effect on Kimberly-Clark or its stockholders.

SECTION 7.14   Satisfaction of Conditions .  The satisfaction of the foregoing conditions are for the sole benefit of Kimberly-Clark and shall not give rise to or create any duty on the part of Kimberly-Clark or the Kimberly-Clark Board of Directors to waive or not waive any such condition, to effect the Distribution or in any way limit Kimberly-Clark’s power of termination set forth in Section 13.13 .

27



 

ARTICLE VIII
INSURANCE MATTERS

SECTION 8.1   Insurance Prior to the Distribution Date .  Except as may otherwise be expressly provided in this Article VIII , the Kimberly-Clark Parties shall not have any Liability whatsoever as a result of the insurance policies and practices of Kimberly-Clark in effect at any time prior to the Distribution Date, including as a result of the level or scope of any such insurance, the creditworthiness of any insurance carrier, the terms and conditions of any policy and the adequacy or timeliness of any notice to any insurance carrier with respect to any claim or potential claim or otherwise. Notwithstanding the prior sentence, Ridgeway Insurance Company, a wholly-owned Subsidiary of Kimberly-Clark, will continue to be responsible for any property damage to the Transferred Assets which occurs prior to the Distribution Date to the extent that such damage is included in the scope of any property damage reinsurance in effect prior to the Effective Time maintained by Ridgeway Insurance Company.

SECTION 8.2   Ownership of Existing Policies and Programs .  Kimberly-Clark or one or more of the other Kimberly-Clark Parties shall continue to own all property damage and business interruption, and liability insurance policies and programs, including, without limitation, primary and excess general liability, executive liability, automobile, workers’ compensation, property damage and business interruption, crime and surety insurance policies, in effect on or before the Distribution Date (collectively, the “ Kimberly-Clark Policies ” and individually, a “ Kimberly-Clark Policy ”).  Subject to the provisions of this Agreement, the Kimberly-Clark Parties shall retain all of their respective rights, benefits and privileges, if any, under the Kimberly-Clark Policies.  Nothing contained herein shall be construed to be an attempted assignment of or a change to any part of the ownership of the Kimberly-Clark Policies.  With respect to any claim under the Kimberly-Clark Policies relating to the Neenah Business or the Transferred Assets, Kimberly-Clark shall have sole responsibility for claims administration and financial administration of such policies and such administration shall be governed solely by the terms of Sections 8.5 and 8.6. Except as expressly set forth in Sections 8.5 and 8.6 , no Kimberly-Clark Party nor any of its Affiliates shall have any responsibility for or obligation to any Neenah Party or any of its Affiliates under the Kimberly-Clark Policies relating to property damage and business interruption or liability or workers compensation matters for any period, whether prior to, on or after the Distribution Date.

SECTION 8.3   Maintenance of Insurance for Neenah .  Until the Effective Time of the Distribution, Kimberly-Clark will maintain in full force and effect its existing insurance to the extent that it applies to the Transferred Assets or the Neenah Business, which insurance policies are set forth on Schedule 8.3 .

SECTION 8.4   Acquisition and Maintenance of Post-Distribution Insurance by Neenah.   Commencing on and as of the Effective Time of the Distribution, Neenah shall be responsible for establishing and maintaining separate property damage and business interruption and liability insurance policies and programs (including, primary and excess general liability, executive liability, automobile, workers’ compensation, property damage and business interruption, crime, surety and other similar insurance policies) for activities and claims

 

28



 

involving any Neenah Party or any of their Affiliates, in each case with commercially reasonable limits and deductibles.  Each of the Neenah Parties and each of their Affiliates, as appropriate, shall be responsible for all administrative and financial matters relating to insurance policies established and maintained by the Neenah Parties and each of their Affiliates for claims involving any Neenah Party or any of its Affiliates.

SECTION 8.5   Property Damage and Business Interruption Insurance Claims Administration for Pre-Distribution Losses.   For property damage and business interruption losses related to the Transferred Assets or the Neenah Business which occur prior to the Distribution Date, Kimberly-Clark shall have the sole right, responsibility and authority to   submit and process claims, including claims that are to be paid by the Kimberly-Clark Parties in whole or in part because of insurance or reinsurance in support of property damage and business interruption insurance maintained by any Kimberly-Clark Party prior to the Distribution Date. Any amounts received by Kimberly-Clark with respect to any such unresolved claims in existence on the Distribution Date that are settled subsequent to the Distribution Date shall be paid to Neenah within 5 business days of receipt thereof by Kimberly-Clark.

 

SECTION 8.6   Liability and Workers Compensation Insurance Claims Administration for Pre-Distribution Occurrences.

(a)           The Kimberly-Clark Parties shall have the sole right, responsibility and authority for the administration of liability and United States workers compensation claims for pre-Distribution occurrences (collectively, the “ K-C Administered Claims ”).  Schedule 8.6 identifies the K-C Administered Claims known as of the date of this Agreement, including those claims which are uninsured, where the claim is reasonably expected to result in a charge to Neenah of more than $50,000 (including those for which a reserve has been established).

(b)           Upon notification by a Neenah Party or any of its Affiliates of a claim relating to a Neenah Party or any of its Affiliates under one or more of the Kimberly-Clark Policies, Kimberly-Clark shall cooperate with Neenah in asserting and pursuing coverage and payment for such claim by the appropriate insurance carrier(s).  In asserting and pursuing such coverage and payment, and subject to Sections 8.6(c) and 10.6 , Kimberly-Clark shall have sole power and authority to make binding decisions, determinations, commitments and stipulations on its own behalf and on behalf of the Neenah Parties and their Affiliates, which decisions, determinations, commitments and stipulations shall be final and conclusive if reasonably made to maximize the overall economic benefit of the Kimberly-Clark Policies.

(c)           Kimberly-Clark shall give written notice to Neenah of any pre-Distribution liability or workers compensation claim which is uninsured due to the terms of the Kimberly-Clark Policies to the extent that any such claim is reasonably expected to result in a charge to Neenah (including those for which a reserve has been established) of more than $50,000 (an “ Uninsured Claim ”).  With respect to any such Uninsured Claim, Kimberly-Clark shall (i) afford Neenah a reasonable opportunity to inspect and copy any written materials relating to the defense of such claim, (ii) consult with Neenah respecting the strategies for defending such Uninsured Claim, including a reasonable opportunity to review and comment upon any written materials before they are submitted to the claimant or others in defense of such Uninsured Claim, (iii) consult with and afford Neenah a reasonable opportunity to express its views before making

 

29



 

or refusing to make any settlement offer to the claimant or before proceeding to trial, and (iv) obtain the consent of Neenah to settle, try or otherwise dispose of any such Uninsured Claim, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed. Neenah will indemnify and hold Kimberly-Clark harmless from any and all damages and liabilities resulting from or arising out of Neenah unreasonably withholding, conditioning or delaying its consent to settle, try or otherwise dispose of any such Uninsured Claim. Neenah hereby authorizes Kimberly-Clark to communicate solely with its Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for all matters relating to this Section 8.6 .

(d)           Consistent with past practices and subject to Section 8.6(a) , the Neenah Parties and their Affiliates shall assume responsibility for, and shall pay to the appropriate insurance carriers or otherwise, any premiums, retrospectively-rated premiums, defense costs, indemnity payments, deductibles, retentions or uninsured costs arising from liability or workers compensation losses which are uninsured because of coverage terms or conditions of the policies covering such losses, or other charges (collectively, “ Insurance Charges ”) whenever occurring, which shall become due and payable under the terms and conditions of any applicable Kimberly-Clark Policy in respect of any liabilities, losses, claims or actions attributable to pre-Distribution occurrences, whenever becoming known, arising out of the ownership, use or operation of any of the assets, businesses, operations or liabilities of any Neenah Party or any of its Affiliates,  which Insurance Charges are known or become known prior to, on or after the Distribution Date.  To the extent that the terms of any applicable Kimberly-Clark Policy provide that any Kimberly-Clark Party shall have an obligation to pay or guarantee the payment of any Insurance Charges relating to any Neenah Party, Kimberly-Clark shall be entitled to demand that Neenah make such payment directly to the Person or entity entitled thereto.  In connection with any such demand, Kimberly-Clark shall submit to Neenah a copy of any invoice or listing of claims received by Kimberly-Clark pertaining to such Insurance Charges together with appropriate supporting documentation.  In the event that Neenah fails to pay any such Insurance Charges when due and payable, whether at the request of the Person entitled to payment or upon demand by Kimberly-Clark, the Kimberly-Clark Parties may (but shall not be required to) pay such insurance charges for and on behalf of the Neenah Parties and, thereafter, Neenah Parties shall forthwith reimburse Kimberly-Clark for such payment within 30 days.

SECTION 8.7   Non-Waiver of Rights to Coverage .  An insurance carrier that would otherwise be obligated to pay any claim shall not be relieved of the responsibility with respect thereto, or, solely by virtue of the provisions of this Article VIII , have any subrogation rights with respect thereto.  It being expressly understood and agreed that no insurance carrier or any third party shall be entitled to a benefit (i.e., a benefit they would not be entitled to receive had no Distribution occurred or in the absence of the provisions of this Article VIII ) by virtue of the provisions hereof.

SECTION 8.8   Scope of Affected Policies of Insurance .  The provisions of this Article VIII relate solely to matters involving property, damage and business interruption, and liability insurance policies and programs, including, without limitation, primary and excess general liability, executive liability, automobile, workers’ compensation, property damage and business interruption, crime and surety insurance policies, and shall not be construed to affect any obligation of or impose any obligation on the Parties with respect to any life, health and accident,

 

30



 

dental or medical or any other insurance policies applicable to any of the officers, directors, employees or other representatives of the Parties or their Affiliates.

 

ARTICLE IX
EXPENSES AND WORKING CAPITAL

SECTION 9.1   Allocation of Expenses .  Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement or any other agreement contemplated hereby, or as otherwise agreed to in writing by the Parties, (i) Kimberly-Clark shall absorb all of the costs associated with the dedication of internal resources and personnel to the transactions contemplated hereby at all times prior to the Distribution Date, (ii) Kimberly-Clark shall pay all fees and expenses that are related directly to the implementation of the Distribution transactions which are incurred or estimated to be inccured on or prior to the Distribution Date and reflected on the Budget (as defined below), and any additional such costs, fees and expenses incurred or estimated to be incurred after the Distribution Date, including any transfer taxes, conveyance, survey and related expenses attributable to the transfer of the Neenah Woodlands, that are reflected on the Budget and (iii) the other fees, costs and expenses reflected on the Budget (collectively, excluding the Debt Issuance Costs, the Startup Costs ). The Parties prepared a budget reflecting expected Startup Costs of $20.7 million (the Budget ). Kimberly-Clark and Neenah have agreed in writing on a method of allocating between them responsibility for managing various components of the Budget. In the event that the Startup Costs exceed $20.7 million in the aggregate (such excess, the Excess Expenses ), the Neenah Parties shall be responsible for the amount by which the aggregate amount of actual Startup Costs that the Parties agree are the responsibility of Neenah to manage exceed the aggregate amount set forth in the Budget for those costs.  Neenah shall either (i) pay any Excess Expenses for which the Neenah Parties are responsible directly to the third party to whom payment is owed or (ii) reimburse Kimberly-Clark to the extent Kimberly-Clark has or will pay Excess Expenses for which any Neenah Party is responsible.  No later than 75 days after the Distribution Date, Kimberly-Clark shall notify Neenah in writing of the amount of any Excess Expenses that Kimberly-Clark has paid or will pay, and the portion thereof that is to be reimbursed pursuant to this Section 9.1 , and provide a reasonably detailed accounting of such Excess Expenses. Neenah shall pay to Kimberly-Clark the amount of the Excess Expenses that were paid or will be paid by Kimberly-Clark within 30 days of receipt of such reasonably detailed notice.

SECTION 9.2   Debt Issuance Costs .

(a)           Neenah will be responsible for, and will pay out of the proceeds of the borrowings described in Section 2.8 of this Agreement or otherwise, the Debt Issuance Costs up to the amount equal to the sum of (i) the Target Debt Issuance Costs plus (ii) the Incremental Debt Issuance Costs.

(b)           To the extent that actual Debt Issuance Costs exclusive of the Incremental Debt Issuance Costs exceed the Target Debt Issuance Costs, Kimberly-Clark will be responsible for, and will pay directly or reimburse Neenah, as applicable, the amount of such excess. To the extent that actual Debt Issuance Costs exclusive of the Incremental Debt Issuance Costs are less

 

31



 

than the Target Debt Issuance Costs, Neenah Paper will pay to Kimberly-Clark the amount by which Target Debt Issuance Costs exceed the actual Debt Issuance Costs less the Incremental Debt Issuance Costs.

(c)           To the extent that Kimberly-Clark has paid any Debt Issuance Costs on behalf of Neenah prior to the Distribution Date and such costs are included within the Target Debt Issuance Costs, Neenah will reimburse Kimberly-Clark for such amounts on the Distribution Date.

(d)           Amounts to be paid by Kimberly-Clark to Neenah or by Neenah to Kimberly-Clark pursuant to this Section 9.2 will be promptly paid by the Party obligated to pay following receipt of an invoice from the Party entitled to receive the payment which invoice sets forth a reasonably detailed accounting of such payment.

 

SECTION 9.3   Capital Expenditures True-Up .   Not later than seventy-five days after the Distribution Date, Kimberly-Clark shall determine, based on its accounting records, the amount of actual cash payments for capital expenditures made by Kimberly-Clark and its Affiliates (including the Neenah Parties) in 2004 prior to the Distribution Date in connection with the operation of the Neenah Business (such amount the Actual Neenah Capital Expenditure Amount ).  Kimberly-Clark shall provide Neenah with written notice of the Actual Neenah Capital Expenditure Amount.  If the Actual Neenah Capital Expenditure Amount exceeds the Pro-Rata Neenah Capital Expenditure Budget by more than $1 million, Neenah shall within five business days of receipt of such written notice pay to Kimberly-Clark by wire transfer of immediately available funds to an account specified in writing by Kimberly-Clark an amount equal to the excess over $1 million.  If the Pro-Rata Neenah Capital Expenditure Budget exceeds the Actual Neenah Capital Expenditure Amount by more than $1 million, Kimberly-Clark shall within five business days of delivery of such written notice pay to Neenah by wire transfer of immediately available funds to an account specified in writing by Neenah an amount equal to such excess over $1 million.

ARTICLE X
INDEMNIFICATION

SECTION 10.1   Release of Pre-Distribution Claims .

(a)           Except as provided in Section 10.1(b) , effective as of the Distribution Date, each Party does hereby, on behalf of itself and its respective Subsidiaries and Affiliates, successors and assigns and all Persons who at any time prior to the Distribution Date have been shareholders, directors, officers, agents or employees of either Party (in each case, in their respective capacities as such), remise, release and forever discharge the other Party, its respective Subsidiaries and Affiliates, successors and assigns and all Persons who at any time prior to the Distribution Date have been shareholders, directors, officers, agents or employees of such Party (in each case, in their respective capacities as such), and their respective heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns, from any and all Liabilities whatsoever, whether at law or in equity (including any right of contribution), whether arising under any contract or agreement, by operation of law or otherwise, existing or arising from any acts or events occurring or failing

 

32



 

to occur or alleged to have occurred or to have failed to occur or any conditions existing or alleged to have existed on or before the Distribution Date, including in connection with the transactions and all other activities to implement the Distribution.

(b)           Nothing contained in Section 10.1(a) shall impair any right of any Person identified in Section 10.1(a) to enforce this Agreement, any Operating Agreement or any agreements, arrangements, commitments or understandings that are specified in Section 2.6 or the Schedule thereto not to terminate as of the Distribution Date, in each case in accordance with its terms.  Nothing contained in Section 10.1(a) shall release any Person from:

(i)            any Liability provided in or resulting from any agreement of the Parties that is specified in Section 2.6 or the Schedule thereto as not to terminate as of the Distribution Date, or any other intercompany arrangement or course of dealing specified in or the Schedule 2.6 thereto as not to terminate as of the Distribution Date;

(ii)           any Liability, contingent or otherwise, assumed, transferred, assigned, retained or allocated to a Party, its Subsidiaries or Affiliates in accordance with, or any other Liability of any Party, its Subsidiaries or Affiliates under this Agreement;

(iii)          any Liability that any Indemnified Party may have with respect to indemnification or contribution pursuant to this Agreement for claims brought against the Parties or their respective Subsidiaries or Affiliates by third Persons, which Liability shall be governed by the provisions of this Article X and, if applicable, the appropriate provisions of the Operating Agreements.

(c)           Neither Party shall make, nor permit any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates to make, any claim or demand, or commence any Action asserting any claim or demand, including any claim of contribution or indemnification, against the other Party, or any other Person released pursuant to Section 10.1(a) , with respect to any Liability released pursuant to Section 10.1(a) .

(d)           It is the intent of each of the Parties by virtue of the provisions of this Section 10.1 to provide for a full and complete release and discharge of all Liabilities existing or arising from all acts and events occurring or failing to occur or alleged to have occurred or to have failed to occur and all conditions existing or alleged to have existed on or before the Distribution Date, between the Parties (including any contractual agreements or arrangements existing or alleged to exist between the Parties on or before the Distribution Date), except as expressly set forth in Section 10.1(b) .  At any time, at the reasonable request of either Party, the other Party shall execute and deliver releases reflecting the provisions hereof.

SECTION 10.2   Indemnification by Neenah .  Except as provided in Section 10.5 and except as expressly provided in the Operating Agreements , Neenah shall, and shall cause each of the other Neenah Parties to, indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Kimberly-Clark Parties and each of their Affiliates, directors, officers, employees and agents, and each of the heirs, executors, successors and assigns of any of the foregoing (collectively, the “ Kimberly-Clark Indemnified Parties ”), from and against any and all Expenses or Losses incurred or suffered by one or more of the Kimberly-Clark Indemnified Parties, in connection with, relating to, arising out of or due to, directly or indirectly, any of the following items:

 

33



(a)           any claim that the information included in the Registration Statement or the Information Statement that was supplied by Neenah, is or was false or misleading with respect to any material fact or omits or omitted to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, regardless of whether the occurrence, action or other event giving rise to the applicable matter took place prior to or subsequent to the Distribution Date;

(b)           the Neenah Business as conducted by the Kimberly-Clark Parties or their Affiliates or predecessors on or at any time prior to the Distribution Date;

(c)           the Transferred Assets;

(d)           the Assumed Liabilities;

(e)           any claim that the information included in the offering memorandum relating to the Note Offering that was supplied by Neenah is or was false or misleading with respect to any material fact or omits or omitted to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, regardless of whether the occurrence, action or other event giving rise to the applicable matter took place prior to or subsequent to the Distribution Date;

(f)            the Neenah Business not being operated in the Ordinary Course prior to the Effective Time as a result of any action or failure to act by (i) any Neenah Party, (ii) any person who served or is serving as a director, officer or employee of any Neenah Party after the Distribution Date, or (iii) any person whose employment and job responsibilities would have resulted in such person serving as a director, officer or employee of any Neenah Party after the Distribution Date had such person not retired or his employment been terminated voluntarily or involuntarily prior to the Distribution Date;

(g)           the use by any Neenah Party after the Distribution of the name “Kimberly-Clark” or any variation thereof, or other Trademarks, tradenames, logos or identifiers using any of such names or otherwise owned by or licensed to any Kimberly-Clark Party; and

(h)           the breach by any Neenah Party of any covenant or agreement set forth in this Agreement, any Operating Agreement or any Conveyancing Instrument,

in each case, regardless of when or where the loss, claim, accident, occurrence, event or happening giving rise to the Expense or Loss took place, or whether any such loss, claim, accident, occurrence, event or happening is known or unknown, or reported or unreported.

 

SECTION 10.3   Indemnification by Kimberly-Clark .  Except as provided in Section 10.5 and except as expressly provided in the Operating Agreements , Kimberly-Clark shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Neenah Party and each of their Affiliates, directors, officers, employees and agents, and each of the heirs, executors, successors and assigns of any of the foregoing (collectively, the “ Neenah Indemnified Parties ”), from and against any and all Expenses or Losses incurred or suffered by one or more of the Neenah Indemnified Parties in connection with, relating to, arising out of or due to, directly or indirectly, any of the following items:

 

34



(a)           the business (other than the Neenah Business) conducted by the Kimberly-Clark Parties or their Affiliates or predecessors on or at any time prior to the Distribution Date;

(b)           the assets owned by the Kimberly-Clark Parties other than the Transferred Assets;

(c)           the Liabilities (including the Retained Liabilities) of the Kimberly-Clark Parties other than the Assumed Liabilities;

(d)           the Neenah Business not being operated in the Ordinary Course prior to the Effective Time as a result of any action or failure to act by any Kimberly-Clark Party or any person who served or is serving as a director, officer or employee of any Kimberly-Clark Party prior to, on or after the Distribution Date, other than a person described in Section 10.2(f)(ii) or (iii) ;

(e)           the breach by any Kimberly-Clark Party of any covenant or agreement set forth in this Agreement, any Operating Agreement or any Conveyancing Instrument;

(f)            any claim that the information included in the Registration Statement or the Information Statement that was supplied by Kimberly-Clark, is or was false or misleading with respect to any material fact or omits or omitted to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, regardless of whether the occurrence, action or other event giving rise to the applicable matter took place prior to or subsequent to the Distribution Date; and

(g)           any claim that the information included in the offering memorandum relating to the Note Offering that was supplied by Kimberly-Clark is or was false or misleading with respect to any material fact or omits or omitted to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, regardless of whether the occurrence, action or other event giving rise to the applicable matter took place prior to or subsequent to the Distribution Date,

in each case, regardless of when or where the loss, claim, accident, occurrence, event or happening giving rise to the Expense or Loss took place, or whether any such loss, claim, accident, occurrence, event or happening is known or unknown, or reported or unreported.

 

                Prior to the Distribution Date, the Parties shall negotiate in good faith with the objective to reach a written agreement that states what information in the Registration Statement, the Information Statement and the offering memorandum relating to the Note Offering was supplied by Neenah and what information was supplied by Kimberly-Clark.

 

SECTION 10.4   Applicability of and Limitation on Indemnification .  EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY PROVIDED HEREIN, THE INDEMNITY OBLIGATION UNDER THIS ARTICLE X SHALL APPLY NOTWITHSTANDING ANY INVESTIGATION MADE BY OR ON BEHALF OF ANY INDEMNIFIED PARTY AND SHALL APPLY WITHOUT REGARD TO WHETHER THE LOSS, LIABILITY, CLAIM, DAMAGE, COST OR EXPENSE FOR WHICH INDEMNITY IS CLAIMED HEREUNDER IS BASED ON STRICT LIABILITY,

 

35



 

ABSOLUTE LIABILITY, ANY OTHER THEORY OF LIABILITY OR ARISES AS AN OBLIGATION FOR CONTRIBUTION.

SECTION 10.5   Adjustment of Indemnifiable Losses .

(a)           The amount that any Party or any of its Affiliates (an “ Indemnifying Party ”) is required to pay to any Person entitled to indemnification hereunder (an “ Indemnified Party ”) shall be reduced by any insurance proceeds and other amounts actually recovered by or on behalf of such Indemnified Party in reduction of the related Expense or Loss.  If an Indemnified Party receives a payment (an “ Indemnity Payment ”) required by this Agreement from an Indemnifying Party in respect of any Expense or Loss and subsequently actually receives Insurance Proceeds or other amounts in respect of such Expense or Loss, then such Indemnified Party shall pay to the Indemnifying Party a sum equal to the lesser of (1) the after-tax amount of such Insurance Proceeds or other amounts actually received and (2) the net amount of Indemnity Payments actually received previously.  The Indemnified Party agrees that the Indemnifying Party shall be subrogated to such Indemnified Party under any insurance policy.

(b)           An insurer who would otherwise be obligated to pay any claim shall not be relieved of the responsibility with respect thereto, or, solely by virtue of the indemnification provisions hereof, have any subrogation rights with respect thereto, it being expressly understood and agreed that no insurer or any other third party shall be entitled to a “windfall” (i.e., a benefit he or she would not be entitled to receive in the absence of the indemnification provisions) by virtue of the indemnification provisions hereof.

(c)           Indemnity Payments (i) shall not be increased to take into account any tax costs incurred by the Indemnified Party arising from any Indemnity Payments from the Indemnifying Party and (ii) shall not be reduced to take into account any tax benefit received by the Indemnified Party arising from the incurrence or payment of any Indemnity Payment.

(d)           Amounts paid by Kimberly-Clark to or for the benefit of Neenah, or by Neenah to or for the benefit of Kimberly-Clark, under this Article X (and under other specified provisions of this Agreement) shall be treated by the Parties, for all applicable tax purposes, as adjustments to the amount of Transferred Assets.

(e)           In the event that an Indemnity Payment shall be denominated in a currency other than United States dollars, the amount of such payment shall be translated into United States dollars using the Foreign Exchange Rate for such currency determined in accordance with the following rules:

(i)            with respect to an Expense or a Loss arising from payment by a financial institution under a guarantee, comfort letter, letter of credit, foreign exchange contract or similar instrument, the Foreign Exchange Rate for such currency shall be determined as of the date on which such financial institution shall have been reimbursed;

(ii)           with respect to an Expense or a Loss covered by insurance, the Foreign Exchange Rate for such currency shall be the Foreign Exchange Rate employed by the insurance company providing such insurance in settling such Expense or Loss with the Indemnifying Party; and

 

36



 

(iii)          with respect to an Expense or a Loss not covered by clause (i) or (ii) above, the Foreign Exchange Rate for such currency shall be determined as of the date that notice of the claim with respect to such Expense or Loss shall be given to the Indemnified Party.

SECTION 10.6   Procedures for Indemnification of Third Party Claims .

(a)           If any third party shall make any claim or commence any arbitration proceeding or suit (collectively, a “ Third Party Claim ”) against any one or more of the Indemnified Parties with respect to which an Indemnified Party intends to make any claim for indemnification against any Neenah Party under Section 10.2 or against Kimberly-Clark under Section 10.3 , such Indemnified Party shall promptly give written notice to the Indemnifying Party describing such Third Party Claim in reasonable detail.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the failure of any Indemnified Party to provide notice in accordance with this Section 10.6(a) shall not relieve the related Indemnifying Party of its obligations under this Article X , except to the extent that such Indemnifying Party is actually prejudiced by such failure to provide notice.

(b)           The Indemnifying Party shall have 30 days after receipt of the notice referred to in Section 10.6(a) to notify the Indemnified Party that it elects to conduct and control the defense of such Third Party Claim.  If the Indemnifying Party does not give the foregoing notice, the Indemnified Party shall have the right to defend, contest, settle or compromise such Third Party Claim in the exercise of its exclusive discretion subject to the provisions of Section 10.6(c) , and the Indemnifying Party shall, upon request from any of the Indemnified Parties, promptly pay to such Indemnified Parties in accordance with the other terms of this Section 10.6(b) the amount of any Expense or Loss resulting from their liability to the third party claimant.  If the Indemnifying Party gives the foregoing notice, the Indemnifying Party shall have the right to undertake, conduct and control, through counsel reasonably acceptable to the Indemnified Party, and at its sole expense, the conduct and settlement of such Third Party Claim, and the Indemnified Party shall cooperate with the Indemnifying Party in connection therewith, provided that (i) the Indemnifying Party shall not thereby permit any lien, encumbrance or other adverse charge to thereafter attach to any asset of any Indemnified Party; (ii) the Indemnifying Party shall not thereby permit any injunction against any Indemnified Party; (iii) the Indemnifying Party shall permit the Indemnified Party and counsel chosen by the Indemnified Party and reasonably acceptable to the Indemnifying Party to monitor such conduct or settlement and shall provide the Indemnified Party and such counsel with such information regarding such Third Party Claim as either of them may reasonably request (which request may be general or specific), but the fees and expenses of such counsel chosen by the Indemnified Party (including allocated costs of in-house counsel and other personnel) shall be borne by the Indemnified Party unless (A) the Indemnifying Party and the Indemnified Party shall have mutually agreed to the retention of such counsel or (B) the named parties to any such Third Party Claim include the Indemnified Party and the Indemnifying Party and in the reasonable opinion of counsel to the Indemnified Party representation of both parties by the same counsel would be inappropriate due to actual or likely conflicts of interest between them, in either of which cases the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for such Indemnified Party (including allocated costs of in-house counsel and other personnel) shall be paid by the Indemnified Party; and (iv) the Indemnifying Party shall agree promptly to reimburse to the extent required under this Article X the Indemnified Party for the full amount of any Expense or Loss resulting from such Third Party Claim and all related expenses incurred by the Indemnified Party.  In no event shall the

 

37



 

Indemnifying Party, without the prior written consent of the Indemnified Party, settle or compromise any claim or consent to the entry of any judgment that does not include as an unconditional term thereof the giving by the claimant or the plaintiff to the Indemnified Party a release from all liability in respect of such claim.

If the Indemnifying Party shall not have undertaken the conduct and control of the defense of any Third Party Claim as provided above, the Indemnifying Party shall nevertheless be entitled through counsel chosen by the Indemnifying Party and reasonably acceptable to the Indemnified Party to monitor the conduct or settlement of such claim by the Indemnified Party, and the Indemnified Party shall provide the Indemnifying Party and such counsel with such information regarding such Third Party Claim as either of them may reasonably request (which request may be general or specific), but all costs and expenses incurred in connection with such monitoring shall be borne by the Indemnifying Party.

(c)           So long as the Indemnifying Party is contesting any such Third Party Claim in its reasonable good faith judgment, the Indemnified Party shall not pay or settle any such Third Party Claim.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Indemnified Party shall have the right to pay or settle any such Third Party Claim, provided that in such event the Indemnified Party shall waive any right to indemnity therefor by the Indemnifying Party, and no amount in respect thereof shall be claimed as an Expense or a Loss under this Article X .

If the Indemnified Party determines in its reasonable good faith judgment that the Indemnifying Party is not contesting such Third Party Claim in good faith, the Indemnified Party shall have the right to undertake control of the defense of such Third Party Claim upon five days written notice to the Indemnifying Party and thereafter to defend, contest, settle or compromise such Third Party Claim in the exercise of its exclusive discretion.

If the Indemnified Party shall have undertaken the conduct and control of the defense of any Third Party Claim as provided above, the Indemnified Party, on not less than 45 days prior written notice to the Indemnifying Party, may make settlement (including payment in full) of such Third Party Claim, and such settlement shall be binding upon the Parties for the purposes hereof, unless within said 45-day period the Indemnifying Party shall have requested the Indemnified Party to contest such Third Party Claim at the expense of the Indemnifying Party.  In such event, the Indemnified Party shall promptly comply with such request and the Indemnifying Party shall have the right to direct the defense of such claim or any litigation based thereon subject to all of the conditions of Section 10.6(b) .  Notwithstanding anything in this Section 10.6(c) to the contrary, if the Indemnified Party, in the good-faith belief that a claim may materially and adversely affect it other than as a result of money damages or other money payments, advises the Indemnifying Party that it has determined to settle a claim, the Indemnified Party shall have the right to do so at its own cost and expense, without any requirement to contest such claim at the request of the Indemnifying Party, but without any right under the provisions of this Article X for indemnification by the Indemnifying Party.

(d)           To the extent that, with respect to any claim governed by Sections 3, 4 , 8 and 9 of the Tax Sharing Agreement, there is any inconsistency between the provisions of such Sections 3, 4, 8 and 9 and of this Section 10.6 , the provisions of Sections 3, 4 , 8 and 9 of the Tax Sharing Agreement shall control with respect to such claim.

 

38



 

SECTION 10.7   Procedures for Indemnification of Direct Claims .  Any claim for indemnification on account of an Expense or a Loss made directly by the Indemnified Party against the Indemnifying Party and that does not result from a Third Party Claim shall be asserted by written notice from the Indemnified Party to the Indemnifying Party specifically claiming indemnification hereunder.  Such Indemnifying Party shall have a period of 45 days after the receipt of such notice within which to respond thereto.  If such Indemnifying Party does not respond within such 45-day period, such Indemnifying Party shall be deemed to have accepted responsibility to make payment and shall have no further right to contest the validity of such claim.  If such Indemnifying Party does respond within such 45-day period and rejects such claim in whole or in part, such Indemnified Party shall be free to pursue resolution as provided in Article XI .

SECTION 10.8   Contribution .  If the indemnification provided for in this Article X is unavailable to an Indemnified Party in respect of any Expense or Loss arising out of or related to information contained in the Registration Statement, the Information Statement or the offering memorandum relating to the Note Offering, then the Indemnifying Party, in lieu of indemnifying such Indemnified Party, shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such Indemnified Party as a result of such Expense or Loss in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative fault of the Neenah Indemnified Parties, on the one hand, or the Kimberly-Clark Indemnified Parties, on the other hand, in connection with the statements or omissions that resulted in such Expense or Loss.  The relative fault of any Neenah Indemnified Party, on the one hand, and of any Kimberly-Clark Indemnified Party, on the other hand, 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 of a material fact relates to information supplied by the Neenah Business or a Neenah Indemnified Party, on the one hand, or by the Retained Business or a Kimberly-Clark Indemnified Party, on the other hand.

SECTION 10.9   Remedies Cumulative .  The remedies provided in this Article X shall be cumulative and, subject to the provisions of Article XI , shall not preclude assertion by an Indemnified Party of any other rights or the seeking of any and all other remedies against any Indemnifying Party.

SECTION 10.10   Survival .  All covenants and agreements of the Parties contained in this Agreement relating to indemnification shall survive the Distribution Date indefinitely, unless a specific survival or other applicable period is expressly set forth herein.

 

ARTICLE XI
DISPUTE RESOLUTION

SECTION 11.1   Escalation and Mediation .

(a)           The Parties agree to use commercially reasonable efforts to resolve expeditiously any dispute, controversy or claim between them with respect to the matters covered hereby that may arise from time to time on a mutually acceptable negotiated basis.  In furtherance of the foregoing, any Party involved in a dispute, controversy or claim may deliver a notice (an

 

39



 

Escalation Notice ”) demanding an in-person meeting involving representatives of the Parties at a senior level of management of the Parties (or if the Parties agree, of the appropriate strategic business unit or division within such entity).  A copy of any such Escalation Notice shall be given to the General Counsel, or like officer or official, of each Party involved in the dispute, controversy or claim (which copy shall state that it is an Escalation Notice pursuant to this Agreement).  Any agenda, location or procedures for such discussions or negotiations between the Parties may be established by the Parties from time to time; provided , however , that the Parties shall use commercially reasonable efforts to meet within 30 days of the Escalation Notice.

(b)           The Parties may agree to retain a mediator, acceptable to both Parties, to aid the Parties in their discussions and negotiations by informally providing advice to the Parties.  Any opinion expressed by the mediator shall be strictly advisory and shall not be binding on the Parties, nor shall any opinion expressed by the mediator be admissible in any action or proceeding.  The mediator shall be selected by the Party that did not deliver the applicable Escalation Notice from the list of individuals to be supplied to the Parties by JAMS/Endispute, the American Arbitration Association or such entity mutually agreeable to the Parties.  Costs of the mediator shall be borne equally by the Parties involved in the matter, except that each Party shall be responsible for its own expenses.

SECTION 11.2   Continuity of Service and Performance .  Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the Parties will continue to provide service and honor all other commitments under this Agreement and each Operating Agreement during the course of dispute resolution pursuant to the provisions of this Article XI with respect to all matters not subject to such dispute, controversy or claim.

SECTION 11.3   Choice of Forum .  Any mediation hereunder shall take place in Atlanta, Georgia, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Parties.

SECTION 11.4   Ability to Pursue Other Legal Remedies .    For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Article XI shall prevent any Party from pursuing any and all remedies available to it in connection with a dispute relating to this Agreement or any of the Operating Agreements.

 

ARTICLE XII
ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND SERVICES

SECTION 12.1   Agreement for Exchange of Information .  (a)  At all times from and after the Distribution Date for a period of ten years, as soon as reasonably practicable after written request:  (i) Kimberly-Clark shall afford to Neenah, its Subsidiaries and their authorized accountants, counsel and other designated representatives reasonable access during normal business hours, at Neenah’s expense and provide copies of, all records, books, contracts, instruments, data, documents and other information (collectively, “ Information ”) in the possession or under the control of Kimberly-Clark immediately following the Distribution Date that relates to Neenah, the Neenah Business or the employees of the Neenah Business; and (ii)

 

40



 

Neenah shall afford to Kimberly-Clark, its Subsidiaries and their authorized accountants, counsel and other designated representatives reasonable access during normal business hours to, or, at Kimberly-Clark’s expense, provide copies of, all Information in the possession or under the control of Neenah immediately following the Distribution Date that relates to Kimberly-Clark, the Retained Business or the employees of Kimberly-Clark; provided , however , that in the event that either Party determines that any such provision of or access to Information could be commercially detrimental, violate any law or agreement or waive any attorney-client privilege, the Parties shall take all reasonable measures to permit the compliance with such obligations in a manner that avoids any such harm or consequence.

(b)           Either Party may request Information under Section 12.1(a) (i) to comply with reporting, disclosure, filing or other requirements imposed on the requesting party (including under applicable securities or tax laws) by a Governmental Authority having jurisdiction over the requesting party, (ii) for use in any other judicial, regulatory, administrative, tax or other proceeding or in order to satisfy audit, accounting, claims defense, regulatory filings, litigation, tax or other similar requirements, (iii) for use in compensation, benefit or welfare plan administration or other bona fide business purposes or (iv) to comply with its obligations under this Agreement or any Operating Agreement.

SECTION 12.2   Ownership of Information .  Any Information owned by one Party that is provided to a requesting Party pursuant to Section 12.1 shall be deemed to remain the property of the providing Party.  Unless specifically set forth herein, nothing contained in this Agreement shall be construed to grant or confer rights of license or otherwise in any such Information.

SECTION 12.3   Compensation for Providing Information .  The Party requesting Information agrees to reimburse the providing Party for the reasonable costs, if any, of creating, gathering and copying such Information, to the extent that such costs are incurred for the benefit of the requesting Party.  Except as otherwise specifically provided in this Agreement, such costs shall be computed in accordance with the providing Party’s standard methodology and procedures.

SECTION 12.4   Retention of Records .  To facilitate the possible exchange of Information pursuant to this Article XII after the Distribution Date, the Parties agree to use commercially reasonable efforts to retain all Information in their respective possession or control on the Distribution Date in accordance with the policies and procedures of Kimberly-Clark as in effect on the Distribution Date or such other procedures as may reasonably be adopted by the applicable Party after the Distribution Date.  No party will destroy, or permit any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates to destroy, any Information that the other Party may have the right to obtain pursuant to this Agreement prior to the seventh anniversary of the date hereof, and thereafter without first using commercially reasonable efforts to notify the other Party of the proposed destruction and giving the other Party the opportunity to take possession of such Information prior to such destruction; provided , however , that in the case of any Information relating to Taxes, such period shall be extended to one year after the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations (giving effect to any extensions thereof).

SECTION 12.5   Limitation of Liability .  No Party shall have any liability to the other Party (i) if any Information exchanged or provided pursuant to this Agreement that is an estimate

 

41



 

or forecast, or that is based on an estimate or forecast, is found to be inaccurate, in the absence of gross negligence or willful misconduct by the Party providing such Information, or (ii) if any Information is destroyed after commercially reasonable efforts to comply with the provisions of Section 12.4 .

SECTION 12.6   Production of Witnesses .  At all times from and after the Distribution Date, each Party shall use commercially reasonable efforts to make available to the other Party (without cost (other than reimbursement of actual out-of-pocket expenses) to, and upon prior written request of, the other Party) its directors, officers, employees and agents as witnesses to the extent that the same may reasonably be required by the other Party in connection with any legal, administrative or other proceeding in which the requesting Party may from time to time be involved with respect to the Neenah Business, the Retained Business or any transactions contemplated hereby.

SECTION 12.7   Confidentiality .  (a)  From and after the Distribution Date, each of Kimberly-Clark and Neenah shall hold, and shall cause their respective directors, officers, employees, agents, consultants, advisors and other representatives to hold, in strict confidence, with at least the same degree of care that applies to Kimberly-Clark’s confidential and proprietary information pursuant to policies in effect as of the Distribution Date or such other procedures as may reasonably be adopted by the applicable Party after the Distribution Date, all non-public information concerning or belonging to the other Party or any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates obtained by it prior to the Distribution Date, accessed by it pursuant to Section 12.1 , or furnished to it by the other Party or any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates pursuant to this Agreement or any agreement or document contemplated hereby, including, without limitation, any trade secrets, technology, know-how and other non-public, proprietary intellectual property rights licensed pursuant to the Intellectual Property License Agreements and shall not release or disclose such information to any other Person, except their representatives, who shall be bound by the provisions of this Section 12.7 ; provided , however , that Kimberly-Clark and Neenah and their respective directors, officers, employees, agents, consultants, advisors and other representatives may disclose such information if, and only to the extent that, (i) a disclosure of such information is compelled by judicial or administrative process or, in the opinion of such Party’s counsel, by other requirements of law (in which case the disclosing Party will provide, to the extent practicable under the circumstances, advance written notice to the other Party of its intent to make such disclosure), or (ii) such Party can show that such information (A) is published or is or otherwise becomes available to the general public as part of the public domain without breach of this Agreement; (B) has been furnished or made known to the recipient without any obligation to keep it confidential by a third party under circumstances which are not known to the recipient to involve a breach of the third party’s obligations to a Party hereto; (C) was developed independently of information furnished to the recipient under this Agreement; or (D) in the case of information furnished after the Distribution Date, was not known to the recipient at the time of the Distribution but became known to the recipient prior to the time of receipt thereof from the other Party.

(b)           Each Party acknowledges that the other Party would not have an adequate remedy at law for the breach by the acknowledging Party of any one or more of the covenants contained in this Section 12.7 and agrees that, in the event of such breach, the other Party may, in addition to the other remedies that may be available to it, apply to a court for an injunction to prevent

 

42



 

breaches of this Section 12.7 and to enforce specifically the terms and provisions of this Section.  Notwithstanding any other Section hereof, the provisions of this Section 12.7 shall survive the Distribution Date indefinitely.

SECTION 12.8   Privileged Matters .  (a)  Each of Kimberly-Clark and Neenah agrees to maintain, preserve and assert all privileges, including, without limitation, privileges arising under or relating to the attorney-client relationship (which shall include without limitation the attorney-client and work product privileges), not heretofore waived, that relate to the Neenah Business and the Transferred Assets for any period prior to the Distribution Date (“ Privilege ” or “ Privileges ”).  Each Party acknowledges and agrees that any costs associated with asserting any Privilege shall be borne by the Party requesting that such privilege be asserted.  Each Party agrees that it shall not waive any Privilege that could be asserted under applicable law without the prior written consent of the other Party.  The rights and obligations created by this Section 12.8 shall apply to all information relating to the Neenah Business as to which, but for the Distribution, either Party would have been entitled to assert or did assert the protection of a Privilege (“ Privileged Information ”), including without limitation, (i) any and all information generated prior to the Distribution Date but which, after the Distribution, is in the possession of either Party; and (ii) all information generated, received or arising after the Distribution Date that refers to or relates to Privileged Information generated, received or arising prior to the Distribution Date.

(b)           Upon receipt by either Party of any subpoena, discovery or other request that may call for the production or disclosure of Privileged Information or if either Party obtains knowledge that any current or former employee of Kimberly-Clark or Neenah has received any subpoena, discovery or other request that may call for the production or disclosure of Privileged Information, such Party shall notify promptly the other Party of the existence of the request and shall provide the other Party a reasonable opportunity to review the information and to assert any rights it may have under this Section 12.8 or otherwise to prevent the production or disclosure of Privileged Information.  Each Party agrees that it will not produce or disclose any information that may be covered by a Privilege under this Section 12.8 unless (i) the other Party has provided its written consent to such production or disclosure (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld), or (ii) a court of competent jurisdiction has entered a final, nonappealable order finding that the information is not entitled to protection under any applicable Privilege.

(c)           Kimberly-Clark’s transfer of books and records and other information to Neenah, and Kimberly-Clark’s agreement to permit Neenah to possess Privileged Information existing or generated prior to the Distribution Date, are made in reliance on Neenah’s agreement, as set forth in Sections 12.7 and 12.8 , to maintain the confidentiality of Privileged Information and to assert and maintain all applicable Privileges.  The access to information being granted pursuant to Section 12.1 , the agreement to provide witnesses and individuals pursuant to Section 12.6 and the transfer of Privileged Information to Neenah pursuant to this Agreement shall not be deemed a waiver of any Privilege that has been or may be asserted under this Section 12.8 or otherwise.  Nothing in this Agreement shall operate to reduce, minimize or condition the rights granted to Kimberly-Clark in, or the obligations imposed upon Neenah by, this Section 12.8 .

 

43



ARTICLE XIII
MISCELLANEOUS

SECTION 13.1   Entire Agreement .  This Agreement and the Operating Agreements, including the Schedules and Exhibits referred to herein and therein and the documents delivered pursuant hereto and thereto, constitute the entire agreement between the Parties with respect to the subject matter contained herein or therein, and supersede all prior agreements, negotiations, discussions, understandings, writings and commitments between the Parties with respect to such subject matter.

SECTION 13.2   Choice of Law and Forum .  This Agreement shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the substantive laws of the State of Delaware and the federal laws of the United States of America applicable therein, as though all acts and omissions related hereto occurred in Delaware.

SECTION 13.3   Amendment .  This Agreement shall not be amended, modified or supplemented except by a written instrument signed by an authorized representative of each of the Parties.

SECTION 13.4   Waiver .  Any term or provision of this Agreement may be waived, or the time for its performance may be extended, by the Party or Parties entitled to the benefit thereof.  Any such waiver shall be validly and sufficiently given for the purposes of this Agreement if, as to any Party, it is in writing signed by an authorized representative of such Party.  The failure of any Party to enforce at any time any provision of this Agreement shall not be construed to be a waiver of such provision, or in any way to affect the validity of this Agreement or any part hereof or the right of any Party thereafter to enforce each and every such provision.  No waiver of any breach of this Agreement shall be held to constitute a waiver of any other or subsequent breach.

SECTION 13.5   Partial Invalidity .  Wherever possible, each provision hereof shall be interpreted in such a manner as to be effective and valid under applicable law, but in case any one or more of the provisions contained herein shall, for any reason, be held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect, such provision or provisions shall be ineffective to the extent, but only to the extent, of such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability without invalidating the remainder of such provision or provisions or any other provisions hereof, unless such a construction would be unreasonable.

SECTION 13.6   Execution in Counterparts .  This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original instrument, but all of which shall be considered one and the same agreement, and shall become binding when one or more counterparts have been signed by and delivered to each of the Parties.

SECTION 13.7   Successors and Assigns .  This Agreement and each Operating Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the Parties hereto and thereto, respectively, and their successors and permitted assigns; provided , however , that the rights and obligations of either Party under this Agreement and each Operating Agreement shall not be assignable by such Party without the prior written consent of the other Party.  The successors and

 

44



 

permitted assigns hereunder shall include, without limitation, any permitted assignee as well as the successors in interest to such permitted assignee (whether by merger, liquidation (including successive mergers or liquidations) or otherwise).

SECTION 13.8   Third Party Beneficiaries .  Except to the extent otherwise provided in Article X or in any Operating Agreement, the provisions of this Agreement and each Operating Agreement are solely for the benefit of the Parties and their respective Affiliates, successors and permitted assigns and shall not confer upon any third Person any remedy, claim, liability, reimbursement or other right in excess of those existing without reference to this Agreement or any Operating Agreement.  Nothing in this Agreement or any Operating Agreement shall obligate Kimberly-Clark or Neenah to assist any Neenah Employee to enforce any rights such employee may have with respect to any of the employee benefits described in this Agreement.

SECTION 13.9   Notices .  All notices, requests, claims, demands and other communications required or permitted hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed given or delivered (i) when delivered personally, (ii) if transmitted by facsimile when confirmation of transmission is received, (iii) if sent by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, on the third business day after mailing or (iv) if sent by private courier when received; and shall be addressed as follows:

If to Kimberly-Clark, to:

 

 

Kimberly-Clark Corporation

 

351 Phelps Drive

 

Irvin, Texas 75309

 

Attention: General Counsel

 

Facsimile: 972-281-1492

 

 

 

 

If to Neenah, to:

 

 

Neenah Paper, Inc.

 

Preston Ridge III, Suite 600

 

3460 Preston Ridge Road

 

Alpharetta, Georgia 30005

 

Attention: General Counsel

 

Facsimile: (678) 518-3283

or to such other address as such Party may indicate by a notice delivered to the other Party.

SECTION 13.10   Performance .  Each Party shall cause to be performed, and hereby guarantees the performance of, all actions, agreements and obligations set forth herein to be performed by any Subsidiary or Affiliate of such Party.

SECTION 13.11   Force Majeure .  No Party shall be deemed in default of this Agreement to the extent that any delay or failure in the performance of its obligations under this Agreement results from any cause beyond its reasonable control and without its fault or negligence, including, without limitation, acts of God, acts of civil or military authority, embargoes, epidemics, war, riots, insurrections, fires, explosions, earthquakes, floods, unusually

 

45



 

severe weather conditions, labor problems or unavailability of parts, or, in the case of computer systems, any failure in electrical or air conditioning equipment.  In the event of any such excused delay, the time for performance shall be extended for a period equal to the time lost by reason of the delay.

SECTION 13.12   No Public Announcement .  Neither Kimberly-Clark nor Neenah shall, without the approval of the other, make any press release or other public announcement concerning the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except as and to the extent that any such Party shall be so obligated by law or the rules of any stock exchange or quotation system, in which case the other Party shall be advised and the Parties shall use commercially reasonable efforts to cause a mutually agreeable release or announcement to be issued; provided, however, that the foregoing shall not preclude communications or disclosures necessary to implement the provisions of this Agreement or to comply with the accounting and SEC disclosure obligations or the rules of any stock exchange.

SECTION 13.13   Termination .  Notwithstanding any provisions hereof, this Agreement may be terminated and the Distribution abandoned at any time prior to the Distribution Date by and in the sole discretion of the Board of Directors of Kimberly-Clark without the prior the approval of any Person.  In the event of such termination, this Agreement shall forthwith become void and no Party shall have any liability to any Person by reason of this Agreement, except that Kimberly-Clark shall be liable for any costs and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, prior to or arising out of such termination.

 

46



IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the Parties have caused this Agreement to be executed by their authorized representatives as of the date first above written.

 

 

KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION

 

By:

/s/ Thomas J. Falk

 

Name:Thomas J. Falk

Title:Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

 

 

NEENAH PAPER, INC.

 

By:

/s/ Sean T. Erwin

 

Name:Sean T. Erwin

Title:Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

 

47


Exhibit 3.1

 

AMENDED AND RESTATED

 

CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION

 

OF

 

NEENAH PAPER, INC.

 

 

November 30, 2004

 



 

AMENDED AND RESTATED

 

CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION

 

OF

 

NEENAH PAPER, INC.

 

Neenah Paper, Inc., a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware (the “Corporation”), does hereby certify as follows:

 

That the Board of Directors adopted a resolution setting forth the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (this “Certificate of Incorporation”) set forth below, declaring it advisable, and submitting it to the stockholders of the Corporation entitled to vote in respect thereof for their consideration.

 

That by unanimous written consent executed in accordance with Section 228(a) of the General Corporation Law of Delaware on November 30, 2004, the sole stockholder of the Corporation entitled to vote in respect thereof voted in favor of the adoption of this Certificate of Incorporation.

 

That the following Certificate of Incorporation has been duly adopted in accordance with Sections 242 and 245 of the General Corporation Law of Delaware.

 

That, pursuant to Section 103(d) of the General Corporation Law of Delaware, this Certificate of Incorporation shall become effective upon its filing with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware.

 

That the original name of the Corporation was “Neenah Paper, Inc.”

 

That the text of the original certificate of incorporation of the Corporation filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on April 22 , 2004, is hereby amended and restated to read in its entirety as follows:

 

ARTICLE I

 

The name of this Corporation is NEENAH PAPER, INC.

 

ARTICLE II

 

The Corporation’s registered office in the State of Delaware is located at Corporation Trust Center, 1209 Orange Street, in the City of Wilmington, County of New Castle.  The name and address of the Corporation’s registered agent is The Corporation Trust Company, Corporation Trust Center, 1209 Orange Street Wilmington, Delaware 19801.

 



 

ARTICLE III

 

The purpose of the Corporation is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which corporations may be organized under the General Corporation Law of Delaware.

 

ARTICLE IV

 

The total number of shares of all classes of capital stock which the Corporation shall have the authority to issue is 120,000,000 shares which shall be divided into two classes as follows:

 

(a)  20,000,000 shares of Preferred Stock of the par value of $0.01 per share (“Preferred Stock”); and

 

(b)   100,000,000 shares of Common Stock of the par value of $0.01 per share. (“Common Stock”)

 

ARTICLE V

 

A statement of the voting powers and of the designations, preferences and relative, participating optional or other special rights, and the qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, of each class of capital stock of the Corporation, is as follows:

 

(1)  In General

 

No holders of shares of this Corporation of any class, or of bonds, debentures or other securities convertible into capital stock of any class, shall be entitled as of right to subscribe for, purchase, or receive any capital stock of any class whether now or hereafter authorized, or any bonds, debentures or other securities whether now or hereafter authorized, convertible into capital stock of any class, or any capital stock into which said bonds, debentures or other securities may be convertible, and all such additional shares of capital stock, debentures or other securities, together with the capital stock into which the same may be converted, may be issued and disposed of by the Board of Directors to such persons and on such terms and for such consideration (as far as may be permitted by law) as the Board of Directors in their absolute discretion may deem advisable.

 

All persons who shall acquire capital stock in the Corporation shall acquire the same subject to the provisions of this Certificate of Incorporation.

 

(2)  Preferred Stock

 

The Preferred Stock may be issued from time to time in one or more series, with such distinctive serial designations as may be stated or expressed in the resolution or resolutions providing for the issue of such capital stock adopted from time to time by the Board of Directors; and in such resolution or resolutions providing for the issue of shares of each particular series, the Board of Directors is also expressly authorized to fix: the consideration for which the shares of such series are to be issued; the number of shares constituting such series; the rate of

 

3



 

dividends upon which and the times at which dividends on shares of such series shall be payable and the preference, if any, which such dividends shall have relative to dividends on shares of any other class or classes or any other series of capital stock of the Corporation; whether such dividends shall be cumulative or noncumulative, and if cumulative, the date or dates from which dividends on shares of such series shall be cumulative; the voting rights, if any, to be provided for shares of such series; the rights, if any, which the holders of shares of such series shall have in the event of any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the affairs of the Corporation; the rights, if any, which the holders of shares of such series shall have to convert such shares into or exchange such shares for shares of any other class or classes or any other series of capital stock of the Corporation and the terms and conditions, including price and rate of exchange, of such conversion or exchange; the redemption price or prices and other terms of redemption, if any, for shares of such series; and any and all other preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights and qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof pertaining to shares of such series.

 

(3)  Common Stock

 

(a)  Subject to preferences and rights of holders of capital stock of the Corporation (other than the Common Stock) then outstanding, such dividends (payable in cash, capital stock, or otherwise) as may be determined by the Board of Directors may be declared and paid out of funds legally available therefor upon the Common Stock from time to time.

 

(b)  In the event of any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the affairs of the Corporation, the holders of the Common Stock shall be entitled to share ratably in all assets available for distribution to the shareholders, subject to preferences and rights of holders of capital stock of the Corporation (other than the Common Stock) then outstanding.

 

(c)  Subject to the rights of the holders of capital stock of the Corporation (other than the Common Stock) then outstanding, the Common Stock shall have the exclusive right to vote for the election of Directors and for all other purposes, and holders of shares of Preferred Stock shall not be entitled to receive notice of any meeting of stockholders at which they are not entitled to vote.  The holders of Common Stock shall be entitled to one vote for each of the shares held by them of record at the time for determining holders thereof entitled to vote.

 

ARTICLE VI

 

(1)  Subject to the rights of holders of capital stock of the Corporation (other than the Common Stock) then outstanding, the following corporate action shall require the approval of the holders of record of outstanding shares representing at least two-thirds of the voting power of all of the shares of capital stock of the Corporation then entitled to vote on such matter, voting together as a single class:

 

(a)  the dissolution of the Corporation; or

 

4



 

(b)  the sale, lease, exchange or conveyance of all or substantially all of the property and assets of the Corporation; or

 

(c)  the adoption of an agreement of merger or consolidation, but no stockholder approval shall be required for any merger or consolidation which, under the Laws of Delaware, need not be approved by the stockholders of the Corporation.

 

(2)  Effective from and after the date upon which the Corporation itself shall be subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, subject to the rights of holders of capital stock of the Corporation (other than the Common Stock) then outstanding, any action required or permitted to be taken by the stockholders of the Corporation must be effected at a duly called annual or special meeting of stockholders of the Corporation and may not be effected by any consent in writing by such stockholders.

 

(3)  Meetings of stockholders of the Corporation may be called only by the Board of Directors pursuant to a resolution adopted by the affirmative vote of a majority of the entire Board of Directors, by the Chairman of the Board, or by the Chief Executive Officer.

 

(4)  The By-Laws of the Corporation may be altered, amended or repealed by the stockholders, whether adopted by them or otherwise, by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least eighty percent (80%) of the outstanding voting power of all shares of capital stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of Directors, voting together as a single class.

 

ARTICLE VII

 

The private property of the stockholders of the Corporation shall not be subject to the payment of corporate debts to any extent whatever.

 

ARTICLE VIII

 

(1)  Power of the Board of Directors .  The business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed under the direction of its Board of Directors.  In furtherance, and not in limitation, of the powers conferred by the laws of the State of Delaware, the Board of Directors is expressly authorized:

 

(a)  to make, alter, amend or repeal the By-Laws of the Corporation; provided , however , that no By-Laws hereafter adopted shall invalidate any prior act of the Board Directors that would have been valid if such By-Laws had not been adopted;

 

(b)  to determine the rights, powers, duties, rules and procedures that affect the power of the Board of Directors to direct the business and affairs of the Corporation, including the power to designate and empower committees of the Board of Directors, to elect, appoint and empower the officers and other agents of the Corporation, and to determine the time and place of, and the notice requirements for, meetings of the Board

 

5



 

of Directors, as well as quorum and voting requirements (except as otherwise provided in this Certificate of Incorporation) for, and the manner of taking, action of the Board of Directors; and

 

(c)  to exercise all such powers and do all such acts as may be exercised by the Corporation, subject to the provisions of the laws of the State of Delaware, this Certificate of Incorporation, and any By-Laws of the Corporation.

 

(2)  Number of Directors .  The number of Directors constituting the entire Board of Directors shall be not less than 5 nor more than 13. Subject to the rights of holders of capital stock of the Corporation (other than the Common Stock) then outstanding, the specific number of Directors constituting the entire Board of Directors shall be as authorized from time to time exclusively by the affirmative vote of a majority of the entire Board of Directors.  As used in this Certificate of Incorporation, the term “entire Board of Directors” means the total authorized number of Directors that the Corporation would have if there were no vacancies.

 

(3)  Classified Board .  Subject to the rights of holders of capital stock of the Corporation (other than the Common Stock) then outstanding, the Directors shall be divided into three classes, with respect to the time that they severally hold office, as nearly equal in number as possible, with the initial term of office of the first class of Directors to expire at the 2005 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, the initial term of office of the second class of Directors to expire at the 2006 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and the initial term of office of the third class of Directors to expire at the 2007 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.  Commencing with the 2005 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, Directors elected to succeed those Directors whose terms have thereupon expired shall be elected for a term of office to expire at the third succeeding Annual Meeting of Stockholders after their election, and upon the election and qualification of their successors.  A person elected as a Director shall be deemed a Director as of the time of such election.  Subject to the rights of holders of capital stock of the Corporation (other than the Common Stock) then outstanding, if the number of Directors is changed, any increase or decrease shall be apportioned among the classes so as to maintain or attain, if possible, an equal number of Directors in each class, but in no case will a decrease in the number of Directors shorten the term of any incumbent Director.  If such equality is not possible, the increase or decrease shall be apportioned among the classes in such a way that the difference in the number of Directors in any two classes shall not exceed one.

 

(4)  Vacancies .  Subject to the rights of the holders of capital stock of the Corporation (other than the Common Stock) then outstanding, any vacancies in the Board of Directors for any reason and any newly created Directorships resulting by reason of any increase in the number of Directors shall, if occurring prior to the expiration of the term of office of the class in which such vacancy or increase occurs, be filled only by the Board of Directors, acting by the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining Directors then in office, although less than a quorum and any Directors so elected shall hold office until the next election of the class for which such Directors have been elected and until their successors are elected and qualified.

 

(5)  Removal of Directors .  Subject to the rights of the holders of capital stock of the Corporation (other than the Common Stock) then outstanding, any Director, or the entire Board of Directors, may be removed from office at any time prior to the expiration of his or their term

 

6



 

of office, but only for cause and only by the affirmative vote of the holders of record of outstanding shares representing at least eighty percent (80%) of the voting power of all of the shares of capital stock of the Corporation then entitled to vote generally in the election of Directors, voting together as a single class.

 

ARTICLE IX

 

Whenever a compromise or arrangement is proposed between this Corporation and its creditors or any class of them and or between this Corporation and its stockholders or any class of them, any court of equitable jurisdiction within the State of Delaware may, on the application in a summary way of this Corporation or of any creditor or stockholder thereof, or on the application of any receiver or receivers appointed for this Corporation under the provisions of section 291 of Title 8 of the Delaware Code or on the application of trustees in dissolution or of any receiver or receivers appointed for this Corporation under the provisions of section 279 of Title 8 of the Delaware Code order a meeting of the creditors or class of creditors, and/or of the stockholders or class of stockholders of this Corporation, as the case may be, to be summoned in such manner as the said Court directs.  If a majority in number representing three-fourths in value of the creditors or class of creditors, and/or of the stockholders or class of stockholders of this Corporation, as the case may be, agree to any compromise or arrangement and to any reorganization of this Corporation as a consequence of such compromise or arrangement, the said compromise or arrangement and the said reorganization shall, if sanctioned by the Court to which the said application has been made, be binding on all the creditors or class of creditors, and/or on all the stockholders or class of stockholders, of this Corporation, as the case may be, and also on this Corporation.

 

ARTICLE X

 

The Corporation reserves the right to amend, alter, change or repeal any provision contained in this Certificate of Incorporation in the manner now or hereafter prescribed by law, and all rights and powers conferred herein on stockholders, directors and officers are subject to this reserved power; provided, however, that , notwithstanding the fact that a lesser percentage may be specified by the General Corporation Law of Delaware, the affirmative vote of the holders of record of outstanding shares representing at least two-thirds of the voting power of all of the shares of capital stock of the Corporation then entitled to vote generally in the election of Directors, voting together as a single class, shall be required to amend, alter, change, repeal or adopt any provision or provisions inconsistent with, Section (2) of Article V, Sections (2), (3) and (4) of Article VI, and Articles VIII, X, XI and XII of this Certificate of Incorporation unless such amendment, alteration, change, repeal or adoption of any inconsistent provision or provisions is declared advisable by the Board of Directors by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the entire Board of Directors.

 

ARTICLE XI

 

No Director shall be personally liable to the Corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duty by such Director as a Director.  Notwithstanding the

 

7



 

foregoing, a Director shall be liable to the extent provided by applicable law (i) for breach of the Director’s duty of loyalty to the Corporation or its stockholders; (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law; (iii) pursuant to Section 174 of the General Corporation Law of Delaware; or (iv) for any transaction from which the Director derived an improper personal benefit.  If the General Corporation Law of Delaware is amended to authorize corporate action further eliminating or limiting the personal liability of directors, then the liability of a Director of the Corporation shall be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by the General Corporation Law of Delaware, as so amended.  No amendment to or repeal of these provisions shall apply to or have any effect on the liability or alleged liability of any Director of the Corporation for or with respect to any acts or omissions of such Director occurring prior to such amendment or repeal.

 

ARTICLE XII

 

(1)  No contract, agreement, arrangement or transaction (or any amendment, modification or termination thereof) entered into between the Corporation or any of its Affiliated Companies, on the one hand, and Kimberly-Clark Corporation, a Delaware corporation (“ K-C ”), or any of its Affiliated Companies, on the other hand, before the Corporation ceased to be a wholly owned subsidiary of K-C shall be void or voidable or be considered to be unfair to the Corporation for the reason that K-C or any of its Affiliated Companies, are parties thereto, or because directors or officers of K-C or any of its Affiliated Companies were present at or participated in any meeting of the Board of Directors or committee thereof which authorized the contract, agreement, arrangement or transaction (or the amendment, modification or termination thereof), or because his, her or their votes were counted for such purpose.  No such contract, agreement, arrangement or transaction (or the amendment, modification or termination thereof) or the performance thereof by the Corporation or any of its Affiliated Companies shall be considered to be contrary to any fiduciary duty owed to the Corporation or to any stockholder of the Corporation by any director or officer of the Corporation or of any of its Affiliated Companies (including directors or officers of the Corporation or its Affiliated Companies who may have been directors or officers of K-C or any of its Affiliated Companies) and such directors and officers of the Corporation or any of its Affiliated Companies shall be deemed to have acted in good faith and in a manner such persons reasonably believe to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Corporation and shall be deemed not to have breached their fiduciary duties to the Corporation or its stockholders, and not to have derived an improper personal benefit therefrom.  No director, officer or employee of the Corporation or any of its Affiliated Companies shall have or be under any fiduciary duty to the Corporation to refrain from acting on behalf of the Corporation or any of its Affiliated Companies in respect of any such contract, agreement, arrangement or transaction (or the amendment, modification or termination thereof) or to refrain from performing any such contract, agreement, arrangement or transaction (or the amendment, modification or termination thereof) in accordance with its terms.

 

(2)  Except as otherwise agreed in writing between the Corporation and K-C or as required by law, K-C shall have no duty to refrain from (i) engaging in the same or similar activities or lines of business as the Corporation and (ii) doing business with any client, customer or vendor of the Corporation, and neither K-C nor any officer, director or employee thereof shall

 

8



 

be deemed to have breached its, his or her fiduciary duties, if any, to the Corporation by reason of K-C’s engaging in any such activity.

 

(3)  For purposes of this Article XII, “ Affiliated Company ” shall mean in respect of K-C, any company which is controlled by K-C, controls K-C or is under common control with K-C (other than the Corporation and any company that is controlled by the Corporation), and in respect of the Corporation shall mean any company controlled by the Corporation.

 

(4)  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the amendment or removal of this Article XII shall not terminate the effect of (i) the provisions hereof with respect to any contract, agreement, arrangement or transaction (or the amendment, modification or termination thereof) between the Corporation or any of its Affiliated Companies, on the one hand, and K-C or any of its Affiliated Companies, on the other hand, that was entered into before the Corporation ceased to be a wholly owned subsidiary of K-C or (ii) Section 2 of this Article XII.

 

(5)  Any person purchasing or otherwise acquiring any shares of capital stock of the Corporation, or any interest therein, shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the provisions of this Article XII.

 

9



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Corporation has caused this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to be signed as of the date first set forth above.

 

 

 

/s/ Sean T. Erwin

 

 

By: Sean T. Erwin

 

Its: Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive
Officer and President

 


Exhibit 3.2

 

AMENDED AND RESTATED BY-LAWS

 

 

OF

 

 

NEENAH PAPER, INC.

 

 

November 30, 2004

 



 

Table of Contents

 

CAPITAL STOCK

 

1.

CERTIFICATES

 

2.

RECORD OWNERSHIP

 

3.

TRANSFER

 

4.

LOST CERTIFICATES

 

5.

TRANSFER AGENT; REGISTRAR

 

6.

RECORD DATE; CLOSING TRANSFER BOOKS

 

MEETINGS OF STOCKHOLDERS

 

7.

ANNUAL

 

8.

SPECIAL

 

9.

NOTICE

 

10.

QUORUM

 

11.

CONDUCT OF MEETINGS

 

12.

VOTING

 

13.

INSPECTORS OF ELECTION

 

14.

LIST OF STOCKHOLDERS

 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

 

15.

NOMINATION

 

16.

RESIGNATION

 

17.

ANNUAL MEETING

 

18.

REGULAR MEETINGS

 

19.

SPECIAL MEETINGS

 

20.

TELEPHONIC MEETINGS

 

21.

QUORUM AND EMERGING PROVISIONS

 

22.

ACTION WITHOUT MEETING

 

23.

ORGANIZATION

 

24.

COMPENSATION

 

25.

INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS

 

COMMITTEES OF THE BOARD

 

26.

STANDING AND OTHER COMMITTEES

 

27.

PROCEDURE AND COMMITTEE CHARTERS

 

28.

AUDIT COMMITTEE

 

29.

COMPENSATION COMMITTEE

 

30.

NOMINATING AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE

 

OFFICERS

 

31.

DESIGNATION; ELECTION; QUALIFICATION; TERM

 

32.

DUTIES

 

33.

RESIGNATION; REMOVAL; VACANCIES

 

34.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

 

35.

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD, VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD AND PRESIDENT

 

36.

VICE PRESIDENTS

 

 

i



 

37.

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

 

38.

CONTROLLER

 

39.

SECRETARY

 

40.

TREASURER

 

MISCELLANEOUS

 

41.

OFFICES

 

42.

SEAL

 

43.

FISCAL YEAR

 

44.

INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS

 

45.

RELIANCE ON RECORDS

 

46.

INSPECTION OF BOOKS

 

47.

TRANSACTIONS WITH THE CORPORATION

 

48.

RATIFICATION

 

49.

VOTING OF STOCKS

 

50.

NOTICE

 

51.

WAIVER OF NOTICE

 

52.

DISPENSING WITH NOTICE

 

53.

AMENDMENTS

 

 

ii



 

AMENDED AND RESTATED BY-LAWS
OF
NEENAH PAPER, INC.

 

November 30, 2004

 

Note:                   For convenience, the masculine has been used in these By-Laws with the intention that it include the feminine as well.

 

CAPITAL STOCK

 

1.                                        CERTIFICATES

 

The shares of stock representing the interest of each stockholder of the Corporation shall be uncertificated unless it shall be determined by, or pursuant to, a resolution adopted by the Board of Directors that the shares of stock representing such interest shall be evidenced by certificates in such form as the appropriate officers of the Corporation may from time to time approve, signed by the Chairman of the Board, a Vice Chairman of the Board, the President or a Vice President and by the Treasurer, an Assistant Treasurer, the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary.  Any of or all the signatures on the certificate and the corporate seal may be facsimiles.  In case any officer, transfer agent, or registrar who has signed or whose facsimile signature has been placed upon a certificate shall have ceased to be such officer, transfer agent or registrar before such certificate is issued, it may be issued by the Corporation with the same effect as if he were such officer, transfer agent, or registrar at the date of issue.  While the Corporation is authorized to issue more than one class of stock or more than one series of any class, there shall be set forth on the face or back of each certificate issued, in the case of certificated shares a statement that the Corporation will furnish without charge to each stockholder who so requests the powers, designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights of each class of stock or series thereof of the Corporation and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions of such preferences and/or rights.  In the case of uncertificated shares, while the Corporation is authorized to issue more than one class of stock or more than one series of any class, the Corporation shall, within a reasonable time of issuance or transfer of such uncertificated shares, send to the registered owner thereof written notice of the information required by Delaware General Corporation Law to be included on stock certificates.

 

2.                                        RECORD OWNERSHIP

 

The name and address of the holder of shares, the number of shares held by such person, and the date of issuance of such shares shall be recorded in the Corporation’s books and records.  The Corporation shall be entitled to treat the holder of record of any share of stock as the holder in fact thereof, and accordingly shall not be bound to recognize any equitable or other claim to or interest in any share on the part of any other person, whether or not it shall have express or other notice thereof, except as required by law.

 



 

3.                                        TRANSFER

 

Uncertificated shares of the stock of the Corporation shall be transferred on the books of the Corporation only by the person then registered in the books and records of the Corporation as the owner of such shares or by such person’s attorney, lawfully constituted in writing.  Transfer of certificated shares of stock shall be made on the books and records of the Corporation only by direction of the person named in the certificate or his attorney, lawfully constituted in writing, and only upon the surrender for cancellation of the certificate therefor and a written assignment of the shares evidenced thereby.

 

4.                                        LOST CERTIFICATES

 

Any person claiming a stock certificate in lieu of one lost, stolen or destroyed shall give the Corporation an affidavit as to his ownership of the certificate and of the facts which go to prove its loss, theft or destruction.  He shall also, if required by the Board, give the Corporation a bond or other indemnification, in such form as may be approved by the Board, sufficient to indemnify the Corporation against any claim that may be made against it on account of the alleged loss, theft or destruction of the certificate or the issuance of a new certificate.

 

5.                                        TRANSFER AGENT; REGISTRAR

 

The Corporation shall maintain one or more transfer offices or agencies, each in charge of a transfer agent designated by the Board, where the shares of stock of the Corporation shall be transferable.  The Corporation shall also maintain one or more registry offices, each in charge of a registrar designated by the Board, where such shares of stock shall be registered.  The same entity may be both transfer agent and registrar.

 

6.                                        RECORD DATE; CLOSING TRANSFER BOOKS

 

So that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to notice of or to vote at any meeting of stockholders, or any adjournment thereof, or entitled to express consent to corporate action in writing without a meeting as provided in Article VI of the Certificate of Incorporation, or entitled to receive payment of any dividend or other distribution or allotment of rights, or entitled to exercise any rights in respect of any change, conversion or exchange of capital stock, or for the purpose of any other lawful action, the Board may fix a record date which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the Board and which record date shall not in the case of a determination of stockholders entitled to notice of or to vote at any meeting of the stockholders or adjournment thereof be more than sixty calendar days nor less than ten calendar days before the date of such meeting, or, in the case of a determination of stockholders entitled to express consent to corporate action without a meeting shall not be more than ten calendar days from the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the Board, nor more than sixty calendar days before any other action, and only such stockholders as shall be stockholders of record on the date so fixed shall be entitled to such notice of and to vote at such meeting, or to give such consent, or to receive such dividend or other distribution or allotment of rights, or to exercise such rights, or to take such other lawful action, as the case may be, notwithstanding any transfer of any stock on the books of the Corporation after any such record date fixed as aforesaid.  A

 

2



 

determination of stockholders of record entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of stockholders shall apply to any adjournment of the meeting; provided, however , that the Board may fix a new record date for the adjourned meeting.

 

MEETINGS OF STOCKHOLDERS

 

7.                                        ANNUAL

 

The annual meeting of stockholders for the election of Directors and the transaction of such other business as may properly be brought before the meeting shall be held at such place and hour, within or without the State of Delaware, as shall be determined by the Board.  The day, place and hour of each annual meeting shall be specified in the notice of the annual meeting.  The meeting may be adjourned by the chairman of the meeting from time to time and place to place.  At any adjourned meeting the Corporation may transact any business which might have been transacted at the original meeting.  In accordance with the provisions of applicable law, the Board acting by resolution may postpone and reschedule any previously scheduled annual meeting of stockholders.

 

8.                                        SPECIAL

 

Special meetings shall be held at such place, within or without the State of Delaware, as may from time to time be determined by the Board.  The meeting may be adjourned by the chairman of the meeting from time to time and place to place.  At any adjourned meeting the Corporation may transact any business which might have been transacted at the original meeting.  In accordance with the provisions of applicable law, the Board acting by resolution may postpone and reschedule any previously scheduled special meeting of stockholders.

 

9.                                        NOTICE

 

Written notice of every meeting of stockholders, stating the place, day, hour and purposes thereof, shall, except when otherwise required by law, be mailed at least ten, but not more than sixty calendar days before such meeting to each stockholder of record entitled to vote thereat.

 

10.                                  QUORUM

 

The holders of a majority of the voting power of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Corporation entitled to vote, present in person or represented by proxy, shall constitute a quorum at any meeting, except as otherwise required by law.  Where a separate vote by a class or classes or series is required, except where otherwise provided by law or by the Certificate of Incorporation or these By-Laws, a majority of the issued and outstanding shares of such class or classes or series, present in person or represented by proxy, shall constitute a quorum entitled to take action with respect to that vote on that matter.  In the event of lack of a quorum, the chairman of the meeting or a majority of the voting power of the shares of capital stock present in person or represented by proxy may adjourn the meeting from time to time without notice other than announcement at the meeting, until a quorum shall be obtained.  At any such adjourned meeting at which there is a quorum, any business may be transacted which might have been transacted at the meeting originally called.  The stockholders present at a duly called meeting at which a quorum is present may continue to transact business until adjournment,

 

3



 

notwithstanding the withdrawal of enough stockholders to leave less than a quorum, so long as the remaining stockholders represent at least one-third of the voting power of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Corporation entitled to vote.

 

11.                                  CONDUCT OF MEETINGS

 

(a)            The Chief Executive Officer, or in his absence such other officer as may be designated by the Board, shall be the chairman at stockholders’ meetings.  The Secretary of the Corporation shall be the secretary at stockholders’ meetings but in his absence the chairman of the meeting may appoint a secretary for the meeting.  The opening and closing of the polls for matters upon which the stockholders will vote at a meeting shall be announced at the meeting by the chairman of the meeting.  The Board may, to the extent not prohibited by law, adopt by resolution such rules and regulations for the conduct of the meeting of stockholders as it shall deem appropriate.  Except to the extent inconsistent with such rules and regulations as adopted by the Board, the chairman of any meeting of stockholders shall have the right and authority to prescribe such rules, regulations or procedures and to do all acts as, in the judgment of the chairman, are appropriate for the proper conduct of the meeting.  Such rules, regulations or procedures, whether adopted by the Board or prescribed by the chairman of the meeting, may to the extent not prohibited by law include, without limitation, the following:  (i) the establishment of an agenda or order of business for the meeting; (ii) rules and procedures for maintaining order at the meeting and the safety of those present; (iii) limitations on attendance at or participation in the meeting to stockholders of record of the Corporation, their duly authorized and constituted proxies (which shall be reasonable in number) or such other persons as the chairman of the meeting shall determine; (iv) restrictions on entry to the meeting after the time fixed for the commencement thereof; and (v) limitations on the time allotted to questions or comments by participants.

 

(b)            At a meeting of the stockholders, only such business shall be conducted as shall have been properly brought before the meeting in accordance with these By-Laws.  To be properly brought before a meeting, business must (i) be specified in the notice of the meeting (or any supplement thereto) given by or at the direction of the Board; (ii) otherwise properly be brought before the meeting by or at the direction of the Board; or (iii) otherwise (A) properly be requested to be brought before the meeting by a stockholder of record entitled to vote in the election of Directors generally; and (B) constitute a proper subject to be brought before such meeting.  For business to be properly requested to be brought before an annual meeting of stockholders by a stockholder of record, any stockholder who intends to bring any matter (other than in connection with the election of Directors) before an annual meeting of stockholders and is entitled to vote on such matter must deliver written notice of such stockholder’s intent to bring the matter before the annual meeting of stockholders, either by personal delivery or by United States mail, postage prepaid, to the Secretary of the Corporation.  Such notice must be received by the Secretary not less than 120 calendar days prior to the first anniversary of the date that the Corporation’s proxy statement was released to stockholders in connection with the preceding year’s annual meeting; provided, however , that in the event that the date of the annual meeting has been changed by more than 30 calendar days from the date of the preceding year’s annual meeting, notice by the stockholder to be timely must be so delivered not later than the close of business on the 150th calendar day prior to such annual meeting or the 10th calendar day following the day on which public announcement of the date of such meeting is first made.  In no

 

4



 

event shall the public announcement of an adjournment of an annual meeting commence a new time period for the giving of a stockholder notice as described above.  For purposes of this By-Law 11, “public announcement” shall mean the date disclosure of the date of the meeting of stockholders is first made in a press release reported by the Dow Jones News Service, Associated Press or comparable national news service, or in a document publicly filed by the Corporation with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Sections 13, 14, or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.  Only such business shall be conducted at a special meeting of stockholders as shall have been brought before the meeting pursuant to the Corporation’s notice of meeting.

 

A stockholder’s notice to the Secretary required by this By-Law 11 shall set forth as to each matter the stockholder proposes to bring before the meeting of stockholders: (i) a brief description of the business to be brought before the meeting and the reasons for conducting such business at the meeting; (ii) the name and address of the stockholder intending to propose such business; (iii) the class and number of shares of stock of the Corporation beneficially held, either personally or in concert with others, by the stockholder, and a representation that the stockholder is a holder of stock of the Corporation entitled to vote at such meeting and intends to appear in person or by proxy at the meeting to present such proposal; (iv) the dates upon which the stockholder acquired such shares; (v) documentary support for any claim of beneficial ownership; (vi) any material interest of the stockholder in such business; and (vii) any other information required by Rule 14a-8, or any successor provision, promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.  No business shall be conducted at a meeting of stockholders except in accordance with the procedures set forth in this By-Law 11.  The chairman of the meeting shall, if the facts warrant, determine and declare to the meeting that the business was not properly brought before the meeting in accordance with the provisions hereof and, if he should so determine, he shall so declare to the meeting that any such business not properly brought before the meeting shall not be transacted.

 

12.                                  VOTING

 

Except as otherwise provided in the Certificate of Incorporation, at each meeting of the stockholders, each holder of shares entitled to vote at such meeting shall, as to all matters in respect of which such shares have voting rights, be entitled to one vote in person or by written proxy for each share held of record by him.  No vote upon any matter, except the election of Directors or the amendment of the Certificate of Incorporation, is required to be by ballot unless demanded by the holders of at least 10% of the voting power of the shares of capital stock represented and entitled to vote at the meeting.  All motions to introduce a matter for a vote by the stockholders at a meeting thereof, except for nominations for election as Directors recommended by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and approved by the Board, shall be seconded prior to a vote thereon by the stockholders.

 

A stockholder may authorize another person or persons to act for him as proxy by transmitting or authorizing the transmission of a telegram, cablegram, or any other means of electronic transmission allowed by the Delaware General Corporation Law to the person who will be the holder of the proxy or to a proxy solicitation firm, proxy support service organization or like agent duly authorized by the person who will be the holder of the proxy to receive such transmission, provided that any such telegram, cablegram or other means of electronic

 

5



 

transmission must either set forth or be submitted with information from which it can be determined that the telegram, cablegram or other electronic transmission was authorized by the stockholder.

 

The date and time of the opening and closing of the polls for each matter upon which the stockholders will vote at a meeting shall be announced at the meeting by the chairman of the meeting.  No ballot, proxies or votes, nor any revocations thereof or changes thereto, shall be accepted by the inspectors after the closing of the polls.  All elections and questions shall be decided by majority vote of the voting power of the shares of capital stock entitled to vote on such question which are present in person or by proxy, except as otherwise required by the laws of Delaware, the Certificate of Incorporation or these By-Laws.  Where a separate vote by a class or classes or series is required, the election or question shall be decided by majority vote of the votes cast by the holders of such class or classes or series entitled to vote on such question which are present in person or by proxy, except where otherwise provided by the laws of Delaware, the Certificate of Incorporation or these By-Laws.

 

13.                                  INSPECTORS OF ELECTION

 

The Chief Executive Officer shall, in advance of any meeting of stockholders, appoint one or more inspectors to act at the meeting and make a written report thereof.  He may designate one or more persons as alternate inspectors to replace any inspector who fails to act.  If no inspector or alternate is able to act at a meeting of stockholders, the chairman of the meeting shall appoint one or more inspectors to act at the meeting.  Each inspector, before entering upon the discharge of his duties, shall take and sign an oath faithfully to execute the duties of inspector with strict impartiality and according to the best of his ability.

 

The inspectors shall (i) ascertain the number of shares outstanding and the voting power of each; (ii) determine the number of shares represented at a meeting and the validity of proxies and ballots; (iii) count all votes and ballots; (iv) determine and retain for a reasonable period a record of the disposition of any challenges made to any determination by the inspectors; and (v) certify their determination of the number of shares represented at the meeting, and their count of all votes and ballots.  The inspectors may appoint or retain other persons or entities to assist the inspectors in the performance of the duties of the inspectors.  The inspectors shall determine the validity of and count the proxies and ballots in accordance with applicable law.

 

14.                                  LIST OF STOCKHOLDERS

 

The Secretary shall prepare, at least ten calendar days before every meeting of stockholders, a complete list of the stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting, arranged in alphabetical order, and showing the address and the number of shares registered in the name of each stockholder.  Such list shall be open to the examination of any stockholder, for any purpose germane to the meeting for a period of at least ten days prior to the meeting: (i) on a reasonably accessible electronic network, provided that the information required to gain access to such list is provided with the notice of the meeting; or (ii) during ordinary business hours, at the principal place of business of the Corporation.  In the event that the Corporation determines to make the list available on an electronic network, the Corporation may take reasonable steps to ensure that such information is available only to stockholders of the Corporation.  If the meeting is to be

 

6



 

held at a place, the list shall also be produced and kept at the time and place of the meeting during the whole time thereof and may be inspected by any stockholder who is present.  The stock ledger shall be the only evidence as to who are the stockholders entitled to examine the stock ledger, the list of stockholders or the books of the Corporation, or to vote in person or by proxy at any meeting of stockholders.

 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

 

15.                                  NOMINATION

 

Subject to the rights of holders of any series of preferred stock or any other class of capital stock of the Corporation (other than the common stock) then outstanding, nominations for the election of Directors may be made by the affirmative vote of a majority of the entire Board of Directors or by any stockholder of record entitled to vote generally in the election of Directors who complies with the procedures set forth in this By-Law 15.  Any stockholder of record entitled to vote generally in the election of Directors may nominate one or more persons for election as Directors at a meeting only if a written notice of such stockholder’s intent to make such nomination or nominations, meeting the requirements described below, has been given, either by personal delivery or by United States mail, postage prepaid, to the Secretary of the Corporation, and received by the Corporation at the Corporation’s principal executive offices, not less than 50 calendar days nor more than 75 calendar days prior to the meeting; provided , however , that in the event that less than 60 calendar days’ notice or prior public disclosure of the date of the meeting is given or made to stockholders, notice by the stockholder to be timely must be so received not later than the close of business on the 10th calendar day following the day on which such notice of the date of meeting was mailed or such public disclosure was made, whichever first occurs.  Each such notice to the Secretary shall set forth: (i) the name and address of record of the stockholder who intends to make the nomination; (ii) a representation that the stockholder is a holder of record of shares of the Corporation entitled to vote at such meeting and intends to appear in person or by proxy at the meeting to nominate the person or persons specified in the notice; (iii) the name, age, business and residence addresses, and principal occupation or employment of each nominee; (iv) a description of all arrangements or understandings between the stockholder and each nominee and any other person or persons (naming such person or persons) pursuant to which the nomination or nominations are to be made by the stockholder; (v) such other information regarding each nominee proposed by such stockholder as would be required to be included in a proxy statement filed pursuant to the proxy rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission; and (vi) the consent of each nominee to serve as a Director of the Corporation if so elected.  The Corporation may require any proposed nominee to furnish such other information as may reasonably be required by the Corporation to determine the eligibility of such proposed nominee to serve as a Director of the Corporation.  The chairman of the meeting may, if the facts warrant, determine that a nomination was not made in accordance with the foregoing procedure, and if he should so determine, he shall so declare to the meeting and the defective nomination shall be disregarded.

 

16.                                  RESIGNATION

 

A Director may resign at any time by giving written notice to the Corporation, addressed to the Chief Executive Officer or the Secretary.  Such resignation shall take effect at the date of

 

7



 

receipt of such notice or at any later time specified therein.  Acceptance of a resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective unless otherwise stated in the notice.

 

17.                                  ANNUAL MEETING

 

A meeting of the Board, to be known as the annual Board meeting, shall be held without call or notice immediately after and at the same general place as the annual meeting of stockholders.  The annual Board meeting shall be held for the purpose of organizing the Board, electing officers, and transacting any other business that may properly come before the meeting.

 

18.                                  REGULAR MEETINGS

 

Regular meetings of the Board may be held without call or notice at such place and at such time as shall be fixed by the Board.

 

19.                                  SPECIAL MEETINGS

 

Special meetings of the Board may be called by the Chairman or Chief Executive Officer, and shall be called by the Secretary upon the request in writing of not less than two of the Directors then in office.  Special meetings of the Board may be held at such place and at such time as shall be designated in the call thereof.  Notice of special meetings of the Board shall either be mailed by the Chairman or Chief Executive Officer or the Secretary to each Director at least three calendar days before the meeting, or served upon, or sent by electronic means by the Chairman or Chief Executive Officer or the Secretary to, each Director at least one calendar day before the meeting, but during an emergency as defined in By-Law 21, notice may be given only to such of the Directors as it may be feasible to reach at the time and by such means as may be feasible at the time, including publications or private or public electronic means.  Unless required by law, the notice need not state the purposes of the meeting.

 

20.                                  TELEPHONIC MEETINGS

 

Members of the Board or any committee designated by the Board may participate in a meeting of such Board or committee by means of conference telephone or communications equipment by means of which all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other, and such participation shall constitute presence in person at such meeting.

 

21.            QUORUM AND EMERGING PROVISIONS

 

Except during the existence of an emergency and except as otherwise provided in these By-Laws or in the Certificate of Incorporation, one-third of the total number of Directors, as fixed pursuant to Section (2) of Article VIII of the Certificate of Incorporation, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.  During the existence of an emergency, three Directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.  To the extent required to constitute a quorum at any meeting of the Board during an emergency, the officers of the Corporation who are present shall be deemed, in order of rank and within the same rank in order of seniority, directors for such meeting.  Subject to the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation, the action of the majority of Directors present at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the Board.  In the event of lack of a quorum, a majority of the Directors present may

 

8



 

adjourn the meeting from time to time without notice other than announcement at the meeting until a quorum shall be obtained.  At any such adjourned meeting at which there is a quorum, any business may be transacted which might have been transacted at the meeting originally called.

 

An “emergency” for the purpose of these By-Laws shall be any emergency resulting from an attack on the United States or on a locality in which the Corporation conducts its business or customarily holds meetings of its Board or its stockholders, or during any nuclear or atomic disaster, or during the existence of any catastrophe, or other similar emergency condition, as a result of which a quorum of the Board or a standing committee thereof cannot readily be convened for action.

 

22.                                  ACTION WITHOUT MEETING

 

Any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the Board may be taken without a meeting if all members of the Board consent thereto in writing and such written consent is filed with the minutes of the proceedings of the Board.

 

23.                                  ORGANIZATION

 

The Chairman of the Board, or in his absence the Chief Executive Officer, or in his absence a Director chosen by the Directors present, shall act as chairman at meetings of the Board.  The Secretary of the Corporation shall act as secretary at meetings of the Board but in his absence the chairman of the meeting may appoint a secretary for the meeting.

 

24.                                  COMPENSATION

 

The compensation of Directors for services as Directors and as members of committees of the Board shall be as fixed by the Board from time to time.  The compensation, if any, of the Directors need not be uniform as between Directors and the compensation, if any, of the members of the committees of the Board need not be uniform either as between members of a committee or as between committees.  The Board shall provide for reimbursing the Directors for reasonable expenses incurred in attending meetings of the Board or committees thereof.

 

Any Director may also serve the Corporation in any other capacity and receive compensation, including fees and expenses, for such service.

 

25.                                  INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS

 

The nomination of an individual to serve as a member of the Board shall be such that immediately after the election of such nominee to the Board a majority of all Directors holding office shall, in the determination of the Board, be independent Directors.

 

COMMITTEES OF THE BOARD

 

26.                                  STANDING AND OTHER COMMITTEES

 

The Directors shall from time to time designate, by resolution passed by a majority of the entire Board of Directors (as defined in Section (2) of Article VIII of the Certificate of

 

9



 

Incorporation), an Audit Committee, a Compensation Committee and a Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, each of which shall have and may exercise the powers of the Board in the direction of the business and affairs of the Corporation in respect to the matters and to the extent hereinafter set forth, subject to the power of the Board to assign from time to time to any such committees or to any other committees such powers in respect to specific matters as the Board may deem desirable.  These three committees shall be the standing committees of the Corporation.  The Board may, by resolution passed by a majority of the entire Board of Directors, designate such other committees as it from time to time may deem appropriate; no such committee shall consist of fewer than two Directors, and the powers of each such committee shall be limited to those specified in the resolution designating the committee.

 

27.                                  PROCEDURE AND COMMITTEE CHARTERS

 

Each committee shall fix its own rules of procedure and shall meet where and as provided by such rules, but the presence of a majority shall be necessary to constitute a quorum, unless otherwise provided by these By-Laws.  Each committee shall keep minutes of its meetings.  Any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of any committee may be taken without a meeting if all the members consent thereto in writing and such written consent is filed with the minutes of the proceedings of such committee.  All action by each committee shall be reported to the Board.  The Audit, Compensation, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees shall each adopt, subject to the approval of the Board, a committee charter that identifies the responsibilities and processes of such committee.

 

28.                                  AUDIT COMMITTEE

 

The Board shall designate the members of the Audit Committee which shall consist of three or more members whose membership on the Audit Committee shall meet the requirements of the New York Stock Exchange, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission.  The Audit Committee shall perform such duties as the Board may from time to time prescribe, including those set forth in the Audit Committee charter.  Vacancies in the Audit Committee shall be filled by the Board.

 

29.                                  COMPENSATION COMMITTEE

 

The Board shall designate the members of the Compensation Committee which shall consist of three or more members.  The Board shall select the members of the Compensation Committee from among the independent Directors and shall designate the Chairman of the Committee.  The Compensation Committee shall perform such duties as the Board may from time to time prescribe, including those set forth in the Compensation Committee charter.  Vacancies in the Compensation Committee shall be filled by the Board.

 

30.                                  NOMINATING AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE

 

The Board shall designate the members of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee which shall consist of three or more members.  The Board shall select the members of the Nominating Committee from among the independent Directors.  The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee shall perform such duties as the Board may from time to time

 

10



 

prescribe, including those set forth in the Nominating and Corporate Governance charter.  Vacancies in the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee shall be filled by the Board.

 

OFFICERS

 

31.                                  DESIGNATION; ELECTION; QUALIFICATION; TERM

 

Each year at the annual Board meeting the Directors shall elect a Chairman of the Board, a Chief Executive Officer, a Secretary and a Treasurer.  From time to time the Board may also elect or appoint a Vice Chairman of the Board or Vice Chairmen of the Board, a President, such Executive, Senior or other Vice Presidents as it may deem appropriate, a Chief Financial Officer, and such other officers, including a Controller, Assistant Vice Presidents, Assistant Secretaries, Assistant Treasurers and Assistant Controllers, as it may deem appropriate.  The Chief Executive Officer may appoint any officers of the Corporation not required to be elected by the Board, as he may deem appropriate.  The Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer, and any Vice Chairman of the Board must be Directors; no other officer need be a Director.  Any number of offices may be held by the same person.  The term of each officer, whenever elected or appointed, shall be until the election or appointment (as the case may be) and qualification of his successor or until his earlier death, resignation or removal.

 

32.                                  DUTIES

 

The officers shall have such powers and perform such duties as are prescribed in these By-Laws, or, in the case of an officer whose powers and duties are not so prescribed, as may be assigned by the Board or delegated by or through the Chief Executive Officer.

 

33.                                  RESIGNATION; REMOVAL; VACANCIES

 

Any officer may resign at any time by giving notice to the Corporation addressed to the Chief Executive Officer or the Secretary.  Such resignation shall take effect at the date of the receipt of such notice or at any later time specified therein.  Acceptance of a resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective unless otherwise stated in the notice.  Any officer may be removed by the Board at any time with or without cause.  Any officer appointed by the Chief Executive Officer may be removed by the Chief Executive Officer at any time with or without cause.  A vacancy in any office may be filled by the Board, and a vacancy in any appointed office may be filled by the Chief Executive Officer, for the unexpired portion of the term.

 

34.                                  CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

 

The Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation shall be elected by the Board.  Subject to the Board, he shall be in general and active charge, control and supervision over the management and direction of the business, property and affairs of the Corporation.  He shall keep the Board fully informed, and shall freely consult it, concerning the business of the Corporation in his charge.

 

11



 

He shall, subject to these By-Laws, have authority to:

 

(i)                                      appoint or approve the appointment of employees to various posts and positions in the Corporation bearing titles designated or approved by him and to prescribe their authority and duties, which may include the authority to appoint subordinates to various other posts and positions; and

 

(ii)                                   remove or approve the removal of employees so appointed; and

 

(iii)                                sign, execute and acknowledge, on behalf of the Corporation, all deeds, mortgages, bonds, notes, debentures, stock certificates, contracts, including contracts of guaranty and suretyship, leases, reports and other documents and instruments which the Board or a committee thereof has authorized to be signed or executed, except where the signing or execution thereof by some other officer or employee of the Corporation shall be expressly authorized and directed by law, or by the Board or a committee thereof, or by these By-Laws.

 

He shall have such other authority and perform such other duties as may be prescribed from time to time by the Board and these By-Laws.

 

In the absence or disability of the Chief Executive Officer, or in case of an unfilled vacancy in that office, until such time as the Board shall elect his successor, his duties shall be performed and his powers shall be exercised by other elected officers of the Corporation who are also Directors (unless none are Directors) in the order in which such officers were listed in their respective elections.

 

35.                                  CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD, VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD AND PRESIDENT

 

The Chairman of the Board, any Vice Chairman of the Board and the President, each acting alone, shall have authority to sign, execute and acknowledge on behalf of the Corporation, all deeds, mortgages, bonds, notes, debentures, stock certificates, contracts, including contracts of guaranty and suretyship, leases, reports and other documents and instruments which the Board or a committee thereof has authorized to be signed or executed, except where the signing or execution thereof by some other officer or employee shall be expressly authorized and directed by law, or by the Board or a committee thereof, or by the Chief Executive Officer or by these By-Laws.  Each shall have such additional powers and perform such additional duties as may be assigned to him by the Board or as may be delegated to him by the Chief Executive Officer.

 

36.                                  VICE PRESIDENTS

 

Each Vice President shall have such powers and perform such duties as may be assigned to him by the Board or as may be delegated to him by the Chief Executive Officer.

 

37.                                  CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

 

The Chief Financial Officer shall be the principal financial officer of the Corporation and have responsibility for all financial affairs of the Corporation and shall in general, have such powers and perform such duties as may be assigned from time to time by the Board or by or through the Chief Executive Officer.

 

12



 

38.                                  CONTROLLER

 

The Controller shall (i) be the principal accounting officer of the Corporation; (ii) shall have custody and charge of the Corporation’s books of account; and (iii) in general, have such powers and perform such duties as may be assigned from time to time by the Board or by or through the Chief Executive Officer.

 

39.                                  SECRETARY

 

The Secretary shall:

 

(i)                                      attend and keep the minutes of all meetings of the stockholders, the Board, and of such committees as the Board may direct; and

 

(ii)                                   have custody of the corporate seal and all corporate records (including transfer books and stock ledgers), contracts, papers, instruments, documents and books of the Corporation except those required to be kept by other officers under these By-Laws; and

 

(iii)                                sign on behalf of the Corporation such documents and instruments as require his signature when approved in accordance with these By-Laws, and to such documents he shall affix the corporate seal when necessary and may do so when he deems it desirable; and

 

(iv)                               see that notices are given and records and reports are properly kept and filed by the Corporation as required by these By- Laws or as required by law; and

 

(v)                                  in general, have such other powers and perform such other duties as are incident to the office of Secretary and as may be assigned to him from time to time by the Board or by or through the Chief Executive Officer.

 

40.                                  TREASURER

 

The Treasurer shall:

 

(i)                                      receive and sign receipts for all moneys paid to the Corporation and shall deposit the same in the name and to the credit of the Corporation in authorized banks or depositories; and

 

(ii)                                   when necessary or desirable, endorse for collection on behalf of the Corporation all checks, drafts, notes and other obligations payable to it; and

 

(iii)                                disburse the funds of the Corporation only upon vouchers duly processed and under such rules and regulations as the Board may from time to time adopt; and

 

(iv)                               keep full and accurate accounts of the transactions of his office in books belonging to the Corporation; and

 

13



 

(v)                                  render as the Board may direct an account of the transactions of his office; and

 

(vi)                               in general, have such other powers and perform such other duties as are incident to the office of Treasurer and as may be assigned to him from time to time by the Board or by or through the Chief Executive Officer.

 

MISCELLANEOUS

 

41.                                  OFFICES

 

The registered office of the Corporation in the State of Delaware shall be located at 1209 Orange Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801 and the name of the registered agent in charge thereof shall be The Corporation Trust Company.  The Corporation may have such other offices as the Board may from time to time determine.  The books of the Corporation may be kept outside the State of Delaware.

 

42.                                  SEAL

 

The Corporation may have a seal, which shall be in such form as the Board may from time to time determine.  In the event that the use of the seal is at any time inconvenient, the signature of an officer of the Corporation, followed by the word “Seal” enclosed in parenthesis or brackets, shall be deemed the Seal of the Corporation.

 

43.                                  FISCAL YEAR

 

The fiscal year of the Corporation shall be fixed by resolution of the Board.

 

44.                                  INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS

 

The Corporation shall:

 

(i)                                      indemnify to the fullest extent permitted by law as in effect on the date of adoption of these By-Laws or as it may thereafter be amended, any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the Corporation) by reason of the fact that he is or was a director or officer of the Corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director or officer of another corporation, or in the case of an officer or director of the Corporation is or was serving as an employee or agent of a partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if he acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful.  The termination of any action, suit or proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not, of itself, create a presumption

 

14



 

that the person did not act in good faith and in a manner which he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that his conduct was unlawful; and

 

(ii)                                   indemnify to the fullest extent permitted by law as in effect on the date of adoption of these By-Laws or as it may thereafter be amended, any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the Corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that he is or was a director or officer of the Corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director or officer of another corporation, or in the case of an officer or director of the Corporation is or was serving as an employee or agent of a partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit if he acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Corporation and except that no indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the Corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery or the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper.

 

The Corporation shall be required to indemnify an indemnitee in connection with a proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such indemnitee against the Corporation or any of its directors, officers or employees only if the initiation of such proceeding (or part thereof) by the indemnitee was authorized by the Board.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Corporation shall be required to indemnify an indemnitee in connection with a proceeding seeking to enforce rights to indemnification without the authorization of the Board to the extent that such proceeding is successful on the merits.  To the extent that a director or officer of the Corporation has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding referred to in subsections (i) and (ii), or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, he shall be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection therewith.

 

Any indemnification under subsections (i) and (ii) (unless ordered by a court) shall be made by the Corporation only as authorized in the specific case upon a determination that indemnification of the director or officer is proper in the circumstances because he has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in subsections (i) and (ii).  Such determination shall be made (1) by a majority vote of the directors who were not parties to such action, suit or proceedings, even though less than a quorum; or (2) by a committee of such directors designated by majority vote of such directors, even though less than a quorum; or (3) if there are no such directors, or if such directors so direct, by independent legal counsel in a written opinion; or (4) by the stockholders.

 

15



 

Expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred in defending any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding described in subjection (i) or (ii) of this By-Law 44 shall, in the case of Directors of the Corporation, and may, in the case of officers of the Corporation, be paid by the Corporation in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of the director or officer to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that he is not entitled to be indemnified by the Corporation as authorized in this By-Law.  Such expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by former directors and officers or other employees and agents may be so paid upon such terms and conditions, if any, as the Corporation deems appropriate.

 

The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, the other paragraphs of this By-Law shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification or advancement of expenses may be entitled under any by-law, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise, both as to action in his official capacity and as to action in another capacity while holding such office, and shall continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director or officer and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such a person.

 

The Corporation’s obligation, if any, to indemnify any person who was or is serving at its request as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, enterprise or nonprofit entity shall be reduced by any amount such person may collect as indemnification from such other corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, enterprise or nonprofit entity.

 

Any repeal or modification of the foregoing provisions of this By-Law 44 shall not adversely affect any right or protection hereunder of any person in respect of any act or omission occurring prior to the time of such repeal or modification.

 

The Board may authorize and direct that insurance be purchased and maintained on behalf of any person who is or was a director or officer of the Corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director or officer of another corporation, or in the case of an officer or director of the Corporation is or was serving as an employee or agent of a partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any liability asserted against him and incurred by him in any such capacity, or arising out of his status as such, whether or not the Corporation would have the power to indemnify him against such liability under the provisions of this By-Law.

 

45.                                  RELIANCE ON RECORDS

 

Each Director, each member of any committee designated by the Board, shall, in the performance of his duties, be fully protected in relying in good faith upon the records of the Corporation and upon such information, opinion, reports or statements presented to the Corporation by any of the Corporation’s officers or employees, or committees of the Board, or by any other person as to matters the Director reasonably believes are within such other person’s professional or expert competence and who has been selected with reasonable care by or on behalf of the Corporation.

 

16



 

46.            INSPECTION OF BOOKS

 

The Directors shall determine from time to time whether, and to what extent and at what times and places and under what conditions and regulations, the accounts and other books and records of the Corporation (except such as may by statute be specifically open to inspection) or any of them, shall be open to the inspection of the stockholders, and the stockholders’ rights in this respect are and shall be restricted and limited accordingly.

 

47.            TRANSACTIONS WITH THE CORPORATION

 

No contract or transaction between the Corporation and one or more of its Directors or officers, or between the Corporation and any other corporation, partnership, association, or other organization in which one or more of its Directors or officers are Directors or officers, or have a financial interest, shall be void or voidable solely for this reason, or solely because the Director or officer is present at or participates in the meeting of the Board or committee thereof which authorizes the contract or transaction, or solely because his or their votes are counted for such purpose, if:

 

(i)             the material facts as to his relationship or interest and as to the contract or transaction are disclosed or are known to the Board or the committee, and the Board or committee in good faith authorizes the contract or transaction by the affirmative votes of a majority of the disinterested Directors, even though the disinterested Directors be less than a quorum; or

 

(ii)            the material facts as to his relationship or interest and as to the contract or transaction are disclosed or are known to the stockholders entitled to vote thereon, and the contract or transaction is specifically approved in good faith by vote of the stockholders; or

 

(iii)           the contract or transaction is fair as to the Corporation as of the time it is authorized, approved or ratified, by the Board, a committee thereof, or the stockholders.

 

Common or interested Directors may be counted in determining the presence of a quorum at a meeting of the Board or of a committee which authorizes the contract or transaction.

 

48.            RATIFICATION

 

Any transaction questioned in any stockholders’ derivative suit on the ground of lack of authority, defective or irregular execution, adverse interest of Director, officer or stockholder, nondisclosure, miscomputation, or the application of improper principles or practices of accounting may be ratified before or after judgment, by the Board or by the stockholders; and, if so ratified, shall have the same force and effect as if the questioned transaction had been originally duly authorized, and said ratification shall be binding upon the corporation and its stockholders and shall constitute a bar to any claim or execution of any judgment in respect to such questioned transaction.

 

17



 

49.                                  VOTING OF STOCKS

 

Unless otherwise ordered by the Board, any one of the Chief Executive Officer, the Chairman of the Board, the President, any Vice Chairman of the Board, any Executive Vice President or any Senior Vice President shall have full power and authority, on behalf of the Corporation, to consent to or approve of any action by, and to attend, act and vote at any meeting of stockholders of, any company in which the Corporation may hold shares of stock, and in giving such consent or approval or at any such meeting shall possess and may exercise any and all rights and powers incident to the ownership of such shares and which as the holder thereof, the Corporation might possess and exercise if personally present, and may exercise such power and authority through the execution of proxies or may delegate such power and authority to any other officer, agent or employee of the Corporation.

 

50.                                  NOTICE

 

Any notice which the Corporation is required to give under these By-Laws may be given personally or it may be given in writing by depositing the notice in the post office or letter box in a postpaid envelope directed to such address as appears on the books of the Corporation.  Such notice shall be deemed to be given at the time of mailing.

 

51.                                  WAIVER OF NOTICE

 

Whenever any notice is required to be given, a waiver thereof in writing signed by the person or persons entitled to the notice, whether before or after the time stated therein, shall be deemed equivalent thereto.

 

52.                                  DISPENSING WITH NOTICE

 

No notice need be given to any person with whom communication is made unlawful by any law of the United States or any rule, regulation, proclamation or executive order issued under any such law.

 

53.                                  AMENDMENTS

 

Subject to the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation, these By-Laws may be altered, amended or repealed by the stockholders or by the Board; provided, however , that any alteration, amendment or repeal of these By-Laws by the stockholders whether adopted by them or otherwise must be by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least eighty percent (80%) of the outstanding voting power of all shares of capital stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of Directors, voting together as a single class.

 

18


Exhibit 4.1

 

 

 

NEENAH PAPER, INC.

 

and

 

 

EQUISERVE TRUST COMPANY, N.A.

 

Rights Agent

 

 

Rights Agreement

 

Dated as of November 30, 2004

 

 

 



 

Table of Contents

 

Section 1. Certain Definitions

 

 

 

Section 2. Appointment of Rights Agent

 

 

 

Section 3. Issue of Rights Certificates.

 

 

 

Section 4. Form of Rights Certificates.

 

 

 

Section 5. Countersignature and Registration.

 

 

 

Section 6. Transfer, Split Up, Combination and Exchange of Rights Certificates; Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Rights Certificates

 

 

 

Section 7. Exercise of Rights; Purchase Price; Expiration Date of Rights

 

 

 

Section 8. Cancellation and Destruction of Rights Certificates

 

 

 

Section 9. Reservation and Availability of Capital Stock

 

 

 

Section 10. Preferred Stock Record Date

 

 

 

Section 11. Adjustment of Purchase Price, Number and Kind of Shares or Number of Rights

 

 

 

Section 12. Certificate of Adjusted Purchase Price or Number of Shares

 

 

 

Section 13. Consolidation, Merger or Sale or Transfer of Assets, Cash Flow or Earning Power.

 

 

 

Section 14. Fractional Rights and Fractional Shares.

 

 

 

Section 15. Rights of Action

 

 

 

Section 16. Agreement of Rights Holders

 

 

 

Section 17. Rights Certificate Holder Not Deemed a Stockholder

 

 

 

Section 18. Concerning the Rights Agent.

 

 

 

Section 19. Merger or Consolidation or Change of Name of Rights Agent.

 

 

 

Section 20. Duties of Rights Agent

 

 

 

Section 21. Change of Rights Agent

 

 

 

Section 22. Issuance of New Rights Certificates

 

 

i



 

Section 23. Redemption and Termination.

 

 

 

Section 24. Exchange.

 

 

 

Section 25. Notice of Certain Events.

 

 

 

Section 26. Notices

 

 

 

Section 27. Supplements and Amendments

 

 

 

Section 28. Successors

 

 

 

Section 29. Determination and Actions by the Board of Directors, etc

 

 

 

Section 30. Benefits of this Agreement

 

 

 

Section 31. Severability

 

 

 

Section 32. Governing Law

 

 

 

Section 33. Counterparts

 

 

 

Section 34. Descriptive Headings

 

 

 

Exhibit A

-

Certificate of Designations

Exhibit B

-

Form of Rights Certificate

Exhibit C

-

Summary of Rights to Purchase Preferred Stock

 

ii



 

RIGHTS AGREEMENT

 

RIGHTS AGREEMENT, dated as of November 30, 2004 (the “Agreement”), between Neenah Paper, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and EquiServe Trust Company, N.A., a nationally chartered trust company, organized and existing under the laws of the United States (the “Rights Agent”).

 

W I T N E S S E T H:

 

WHEREAS, on November 15, 2004 (the “Rights Dividend Declaration Date”), the Board of Directors of the Company authorized and declared a dividend distribution of one Right (as hereinafter defined) for each share of Common Stock (as hereinafter defined) of the Company outstanding at the Close of Business on November 30, 2004, after giving effect to the distribution of shares of Common Stock by Kimberly-Clark Corporation to its stockholders (the “Record Date”), each Right initially representing the right to purchase one one-thousandth of a share of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock of the Company having the rights, powers and preferences set forth in the form of the Certificate of Designation attached hereto as Exhibit A, upon the terms and subject to the conditions hereinafter set forth (the “Rights”), and has further authorized the issuance of one Right (as such number may hereinafter be adjusted pursuant to the provisions of Section 11(p)) for each share of Common Stock of the Company issued between the Record Date (whether originally issued or delivered from the Company’s treasury) and the earlier of the Distribution Date and the Expiration Date (as such terms are hereinafter defined) or, in certain circumstances provided in Section 22, after the Distribution Date;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the mutual agreements herein set forth, the parties hereby agree as follows:

 

Section 1.  Certain Definitions .   For purposes of this Agreement, the following terms have the meanings indicated:

 

(a)  “Acquiring Person” shall mean any Person who or which, together with all Affiliates and Associates of such Person, shall be the Beneficial Owner of 15% or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding, but shall not include (i) the Company, (ii) any Subsidiary of the Company, (iii) any employee benefit plan of the Company or of any Subsidiary of the Company, or (iv) any Person organized, appointed or established by the Company for or pursuant to the terms of any such plan.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, no Person shall become an “Acquiring Person” as the result of an acquisition of shares of Common Stock by the Company which, by reducing the number of shares outstanding, increases the proportionate number of shares beneficially owned by such Person to 15% or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding; provided , however , that if a Person, other than those Persons excepted in clauses (i), (ii), (iii) or (iv) of the preceding sentence, shall become the Beneficial Owner of 15% or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding by reason of purchases of Common Stock by the Company and shall, after such purchases by the Company, become the Beneficial Owner of any additional shares of Common Stock (other than pursuant to a dividend or

 



 

distribution paid or made by the Company on the outstanding Common Stock or pursuant to a split or subdivision of the outstanding Common Stock), then such Person shall be deemed to be an “Acquiring Person”.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Board of Directors of the Company determines in good faith that a Person who would otherwise be an “Acquiring Person” (as defined pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this paragraph (a)) has become such inadvertently, and such Person divests as promptly as practicable a sufficient number of shares of Common Stock so that such Person would no longer be an “Acquiring Person” (as defined pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this paragraph (a)), then such Person shall not be deemed to be an “Acquiring Person” for any purposes of this Agreement.

 

(b)  “Act” shall mean the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

 

(c)  “Affiliate” and “Associate” shall have the respective meanings ascribed to such terms in Rule 12b-2 of the General Rules and Regulations under the Exchange Act as in effect on the date of this Agreement.

 

(d)  A Person shall be deemed the “Beneficial Owner” of, and shall be deemed to “beneficially own,” any securities:

 

(i)   which such Person or any of such Person’s Affiliates or Associates, directly or indirectly, has the right to acquire (whether such right is exercisable immediately or only after the passage of time) pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding (whether or not in writing) or upon the exercise of conversion rights, exchange rights, rights, warrants or options, or otherwise; provided , however , that a Person shall not be deemed the “Beneficial Owner” of, or to “beneficially own,”  (A) securities tendered pursuant to a tender or exchange offer made by such Person or any of such Person’s Affiliates or Associates until such tendered securities are accepted for purchase or exchange, or (B) securities issuable upon exercise of Rights at any time prior to the occurrence of a Triggering Event, or (C) securities issuable upon exercise of Rights from and after the occurrence of a Triggering Event which Rights were acquired by such Person or any such Person’s Affiliates or Associates prior to the Distribution Date or pursuant to Section 3(a) or Section 22 (the “Original Rights”) or pursuant to Section 11(i) in connection with an adjustment made with respect to any Original Rights;

 

(ii)   which such Person or any of such Person’s Affiliates or Associates, directly or indirectly, has the right to vote or dispose of or has “beneficial ownership” of (as determined pursuant to Rule 13d-3 of the General Rules and Regulations under the Exchange Act), including pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding, whether or not in writing; provided , however , that a Person shall not be deemed the “Beneficial Owner” of, or to “beneficially own,” any security under this subparagraph (ii) as a result of an agreement, arrangement or

 

2



 

understanding to vote such security if such agreement, arrangement or understanding:  (A) arises solely from a revocable proxy given in response to a public proxy or consent solicitation made pursuant to, and in accordance with, the applicable provisions of the General Rules and Regulations under the Exchange Act, and (B) is not also then reportable by such Person on Schedule 13D under the Exchange Act (or any comparable or successor report); or

 

(iii)   which are beneficially owned, directly or indirectly, by any other Person (or any Affiliate or Associate thereof) with which such Person (or any of such Person’s Affiliates or Associates) has any agreement, arrangement or understanding (whether or not in writing), for the purpose of acquiring, holding, voting (except pursuant to a revocable proxy as described in the proviso to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph (d)) or disposing of any voting securities of the Company;

 

provided , however , that nothing in this paragraph (d) shall cause a Person engaged in business as an underwriter of securities to be the “Beneficial Owner” of, or to “beneficially own,” any securities acquired through such Person’s participation in good faith in a firm commitment underwriting until the expiration of forty days after the date of such acquisition.

 

(e)  “Business Day” shall mean any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or a day on which banking institutions in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close.

 

(f)  “Close of Business” on any given date shall mean 5:00 P.M., Eastern Standard time, on such date, provided , however , that if such date is not a Business Day it shall mean 5:00 P.M., Easter Standard time, on the next succeeding Business Day.

 

(g)  “Common Stock” shall mean the common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company, except that “Common Stock” when used with reference to any Person other than the Company shall mean the capital stock of such Person with the greatest voting power, or the equity securities or other equity interest having power to control or direct the management, of such Person.

 

(h)  “Exchange Act” shall mean the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934.

 

(i)  “Person” shall mean any individual, firm, limited liability company, corporation, partnership or other entity and shall include any successor (by merger or otherwise) of such entity.

 

(j)  “Preferred Stock” shall mean shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, par value $.01 per share, of the Company, and, to the extent that there is not a sufficient number of shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock authorized to permit the full exercise of the Rights, any other series of preferred stock, par value $.01

 

3



 

per share, of the Company designated for such purpose containing terms substantially similar to the terms of the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock.

 

(k)  “Section 11(a)(ii) Event” shall mean the event described in Section 11(a)(ii).

 

(l)  “Stock Acquisition Date” shall mean the first date of public announcement (which, for purposes of this definition, shall include, without limitation, a report filed pursuant to Section 13(d) under the Exchange Act) by the Company or an Acquiring Person that an Acquiring Person has become such.

 

(m)  “Subsidiary” shall mean, with reference to any Person, any corporation or other entity of which an amount of voting securities sufficient to elect at least a majority of the directors of such corporation or other entity is beneficially owned, directly or indirectly, by such Person, or otherwise controlled by such Person.

 

(n)  “Triggering Event” shall mean a Section 11(a)(ii) Event or any Section 13 Event.

 

In addition, for purposes of this Agreement, the following terms have the meanings indicated in specified sections of this Agreement:  (i) “Adjustment Shares” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(a)(ii); (ii) “common stock equivalents” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(a)(iii); (iii) “current market price” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(d)(i); (iv) “Current Value” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(a)(iii); (v) “Distribution Date” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3(a); (vi) “equivalent preferred stock” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(b); (vii) “Exchange Ratio” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 24(a); (viii) “Expiration Date” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 7(a); (ix) “Final Expiration Date” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 7(a); (x) “Nasdaq” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(d)(i); (xi) “Principal Party” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 13(b); (xii) “Purchase Price” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 4(a)(ii); (xiii) “Record Date” shall have the meaning set forth in the recitals of this Agreement; (xiv) “Redemption Price” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 23(a); (xv) “Rights” shall have the meaning set forth in the recitals of this Agreement; (xvi) “Rights Agent” shall have the meaning set forth in the parties clause of this Agreement; (xvii) “Rights Certificates” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3(a); (xviii) “Rights Dividend Declaration Date” shall have the meaning set forth in the first recital of this Agreement; (xix) “Section 11(a)(ii) Trigger Date” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(a)(iii); (xx) “Section 13 Event” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 13; (xxi) “Spread” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(a)(iii); (xxii) “Substitution Period” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(a)(iii); (xxiii) “Summary of Rights” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3(b); and (xxiv) “Trading Day” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(d)(i).

 

Section 2.  Appointment of Rights Agent .   The Company hereby appoints the Rights Agent to act as agent for the Company and the holders of the Rights (who, in accordance with Section 3, shall prior to the Distribution Date also be the holders of the Common Stock) in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, and the Rights Agent hereby accepts such appointment.  The Company may from time to time appoint such co-Rights Agents

 

4



 

as it may deem necessary or desirable, upon ten (10) days’ prior written notice to the Rights Agent.  The Rights Agent shall have no duty to supervise, and in no event shall be liable for, the acts or omissions of any such co-Rights Agent.

 

Section 3.  Issue of Rights Certificates .

 

(a)  Until the earlier of (i) the Close of Business on the tenth day after the Stock Acquisition Date (or, if the tenth day after the Stock Acquisition Date occurs before the Record Date, the Close of Business on the Record Date) or (ii) the Close of Business on the tenth Business Day (or such later date as may be determined by action of the Board of Directors of the Company prior to such time as any Person becomes an Acquiring Person) after the date that a tender or exchange offer by any Person (other than the Company, any Subsidiary of the Company, any employee benefit plan of the Company or of any Subsidiary of the Company, or any Person organized, appointed or established by the Company for or pursuant to the terms of any such plan) is first published or sent or given within the meaning of Rule 14d-2(a) of the General Rules and Regulations under the Exchange Act, if upon consummation thereof, such Person would become an Acquiring Person (the earlier of (i) and (ii) being herein referred to as the “Distribution Date”), (x) the Rights will be evidenced (subject to the provisions of paragraph (b) of this Section 3) by the certificates for the Common Stock registered in the names of the holders of the Common Stock (which certificates for Common Stock shall be deemed also to be certificates for Rights) and not by separate certificates and (y) the Rights will be transferable only in connection with the transfer of the underlying shares of Common Stock (including a transfer to the Company).  The Company must promptly notify the Rights Agent of a Distribution Date and request its transfer agent to give the Rights Agent a stockholder list together with all other relevant information.  As soon as practicable after the Rights Agent is notified of the Distribution Date and receives such information, the Rights Agent will send by first-class, insured, postage prepaid mail, to each record holder of the Common Stock as of the Close of Business on the Distribution Date, at the address of such holder shown on the records of the Company, one or more Rights certificates, in substantially the form of Exhibit B (the “Rights Certificates”), evidencing one Right for each share of Common Stock so held, subject to adjustment as provided herein.  In the event that any adjustment in the number of Rights per share of Common Stock has been made pursuant to Section 11, at the time of distribution of the Rights Certificates, the Company shall make the necessary and appropriate rounding adjustments (in accordance with Section 14(a)) so that Rights Certificates representing only whole numbers of Rights are distributed and cash is paid in lieu of any fractional Rights.  As of and after the Distribution Date, the Rights will be evidenced solely by such Rights Certificates.

 

(b)  The Company will make available, as promptly as practicable following the Record Date, a copy of a Summary of Rights, in substantially the form attached as Exhibit C (the “Summary of Rights”), to any holder of Rights who may so request from time to time prior to the Expiration Date.  With respect to certificates for the Common Stock outstanding as of the Record Date, or issued subsequent to the Record Date, until the Distribution Date, the Rights will be evidenced by such certificates registered in the names of the holders thereof.  Until the earlier of the Distribution Date or the Expiration Date, the surrender for transfer of any certificate representing shares of Common Stock in respect of which Rights have been issued shall also constitute the transfer of the Rights associated with such shares of Common Stock.

 

5



 

(c)  Rights shall be issued in respect of all shares of Common Stock which are issued (whether originally issued or from the Company’s treasury) after the Record Date but prior to the earlier of the Distribution Date or the Expiration Date or, in certain circumstances provided in Section 22, after the Distribution Date.  Certificates representing such shares of Common Stock shall also be deemed to be certificates for Rights, and shall bear a legend substantially in the following form:

 

This certificate also evidences and entitles the holder hereof to certain Rights as set forth in the Rights Agreement between Neenah Paper, Inc. (the “Company”) and EquiServe Trust Company, N.A. (the “Rights Agent”) dated as of November 30, 2004, as the same may be amended from time to time (the “Rights Agreement”), the terms of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference and a copy of which is on file at the principal offices of the Company.  Under certain circumstances, as set forth in the Rights Agreement, such Rights will be evidenced by separate certificates and will no longer be evidenced by this certificate.  The Company will mail to the holder of this certificate a copy of the Rights Agreement, as in effect on the date of mailing, without charge promptly after receipt of a written request therefor.  Under certain circumstances set forth in the Rights Agreement, Rights issued to, or held by, any Person who is, was or becomes an Acquiring Person or any Affiliate or Associate thereof (as such terms are defined in the Rights Agreement), whether currently held by or on behalf of such Person or by any subsequent holder, may become null and void.

 

With respect to such certificates containing the foregoing legend, until the earlier of (i) the Distribution Date or (ii) the Expiration Date, the Rights associated with the Common Stock represented by such certificates shall be evidenced by such certificates alone and registered holders of Common Stock shall also be the registered holders of the associated Rights, and the transfer of any of such certificates shall also constitute the transfer of the Rights associated with the Common Stock represented by such certificates.  In the event the Company purchases or acquires any shares of its Common Stock after the Record Date but prior to the Distribution Date, any Rights associated with such shares shall be deemed cancelled and retired so that the Company shall not be entitled to exercise any Rights associated with shares of Common Stock that are not outstanding.

 

Section 4.  Form of Rights Certificates .

 

(a)  The Rights Certificates (and the forms of election to purchase and of assignment to be printed on the reverse thereof) shall each be substantially in the form set forth in Exhibit B and may have such marks of identification or designation and such legends, summaries or endorsements printed thereon as the Company may deem appropriate and as are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Agreement, or as may be required to comply with any applicable law or with any rule or regulation made pursuant thereto or with any rule or regulation of any stock exchange on which the Rights may from time to time be listed, or to conform to usage.  Subject to the provisions of Section 11 and Section 22, the Rights Certificates, whenever distributed, shall be dated as of the Record Date or, in the case of Rights with respect to shares of Common Stock issued or becoming outstanding after the Record Date, the same date as the date

 

6



 

of the stock certificate evidencing such shares, and on their face shall entitle the holders thereof to purchase such number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock as shall be set forth therein at the price set forth therein (such exercise price per one one-thousandth of a share, the “Purchase Price”), but the amount and type of securities purchasable upon the exercise of each Right and the Purchase Price thereof shall be subject to adjustment from time to time as provided in Sections 11 and 13(a).

 

(b)  Any Rights Certificate issued pursuant to Section 3(a), Section 11(a)(ii) or Section 22 that represents Rights beneficially owned by any Person known to be:  (i) an Acquiring Person or any Associate or Affiliate of an Acquiring Person, (ii) a transferee of an Acquiring Person (or of any such Associate or Affiliate) who becomes a transferee after the Acquiring Person becomes such, or (iii) a transferee of an Acquiring Person (or of any such Associate or Affiliate) who becomes a transferee prior to or concurrently with the Acquiring Person becoming such and receives such Rights pursuant to either (A) a transfer (whether or not for consideration) from the Acquiring Person (or any Affiliate or Associate thereof) to holders of equity interests in such Acquiring Person (or any Affiliate or Associate thereof) or to any Person with whom such Acquiring Person (or any Affiliate or Associate thereof) has any continuing agreement, arrangement or understanding regarding the transferred Rights or (B) a transfer which the Board of Directors of the Company has determined is part of a plan, arrangement or understanding which has as a primary purpose or effect avoidance of Section 7(e), and any Rights Certificate issued pursuant to Section 6 or Section 11 upon transfer, exchange, replacement or adjustment of any other Rights Certificate referred to in this sentence, shall contain (to the extent feasible) the following legend:

 

The Rights represented by this Rights Certificate are or were beneficially owned by a Person who was or became an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate or Associate of an Acquiring Person (as such terms are defined in the Rights Agreement).  Accordingly, this Rights Certificate and the Rights represented hereby may become null and void in the circumstances specified in Section 7(e) of such Agreement.

 

The absence of the foregoing legend on any Rights Certificate shall in no way affect any of the other provisions of this Agreement, including, without limitation, the provisions of Section 7(e).

 

Section 5.  Countersignature and Registration .

 

(a)  The Rights Certificates shall be executed on behalf of the Company by its Chairman of the Board, its Chief Executive Officer, its President or any Vice President, either manually or by facsimile signature, and shall have affixed thereto the Company’s seal or a facsimile thereof which shall be attested by the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the Company, either manually or by facsimile signature.  The Rights Certificates shall be countersigned manually or by facsimile signature by the Rights Agent and shall not be valid for any purpose unless so countersigned.  In case any officer of the Company who shall have signed any of the Rights Certificates shall cease to be such officer of the Company before countersignature by the Rights Agent and issuance and delivery by the Company, such Rights

 

7



 

Certificates, nevertheless, may be countersigned by the Rights Agent and issued and delivered by the Company with the same force and effect as though the person who signed such Rights Certificates had not ceased to be such officer of the Company; and any Rights Certificates may be signed on behalf of the Company by any person who, at the actual date of the execution of such Rights Certificate, shall be a proper officer of the Company to sign such Rights Certificate, although at the date of the execution of this Rights Agreement any such person was not such an officer.

 

(b)  Following the Distribution Date, the Rights Agent will keep or cause to be kept, at its principal office or offices designated as the appropriate place for surrender of Rights Certificates upon exercise or transfer, books for registration and transfer of the Rights Certificates issued hereunder.  Such books shall show the names and addresses of the respective holders of the Rights Certificates, the number of Rights evidenced on its face by each of the Rights Certificates and the certificate number and the date of each of the Rights Certificates.

 

Section 6.  Transfer , Split Up, Combination and Exchange of Rights Certificates; Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Rights Certificates .   (a)  Subject to the provisions of Section 4(b), Section 7(e) and Section 14, at any time after the Close of Business on the Distribution Date, and at or prior to the Close of Business on the Expiration Date, any Rights Certificate or Certificates (other than Rights Certificates representing Rights that have become null and void pursuant to Section 7(e) or that have been exchanged pursuant to Section 24) may be transferred, split up, combined or exchanged for another Rights Certificate or Certificates, entitling the registered holder to purchase a like number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock (or, following a Triggering Event, Common Stock, other securities, cash or other assets, as the case may be) as the Rights Certificate or Certificates surrendered then entitled such holder (or former holder in the case of a transfer) to purchase.  Any registered holder desiring to transfer, split up, combine or exchange any Rights Certificate or Certificates shall make such request in writing delivered to the Rights Agent, and shall surrender the Rights Certificate or Certificates to be transferred, split up, combined or exchanged at the principal office or offices of the Rights Agent designated for such purpose.  Neither the Rights Agent nor the Company shall be obligated to take any action whatsoever with respect to the transfer of any such surrendered Rights Certificate until the registered holder shall have completed and signed the certificate contained in the form of assignment on the reverse side of such Rights Certificate and shall have provided such additional evidence of the identity of the Beneficial Owner (or former Beneficial Owner) or Affiliates or Associates thereof as the Company or the Rights Agent shall reasonably request.  Thereupon the Rights Agent shall, subject to Section 4(b), Section 7(e), Section 14 and Section 24, countersign and deliver to the Person entitled thereto a Rights Certificate or Rights Certificates, as the case may be, as so requested.  The Company may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or governmental charge that may be imposed in connection with any transfer, split up, combination or exchange of Rights Certificates.

 

(b)   Upon receipt by the Company and the Rights Agent of evidence reasonably satisfactory to them of the loss, theft, destruction or mutilation of a Rights Certificate, and, in case of loss, theft or destruction, of indemnity or security satisfactory to them, and reimbursement to the Company and the Rights Agent of all reasonable expenses incidental

 

8



 

thereto, and upon surrender to the Rights Agent and cancellation of the Rights Certificates if mutilated, the Company will execute and deliver a new Rights Certificate of like tenor to the Rights Agent for countersignature and delivery to the registered owner in lieu of the Rights Certificate so lost, stolen, destroyed or mutilated.

 

Section 7.  Exercise of Rights ; Purchase Price; Expiration Date of Rights .   (a)  Subject to Section 7(e), the registered holder of any Rights Certificate may exercise the Rights evidenced thereby (except as otherwise provided herein including, without limitation, the restrictions on exercisability set forth in Section 9(c), Section 11(a)(iii) and Section 23(a)) in whole or in part at any time after the Distribution Date upon surrender of the Rights Certificate, with the form of election to purchase and the certificate on the reverse side thereof duly executed, to the Rights Agent at the principal office or offices of the Rights Agent designated for such purpose, together with payment of the aggregate Purchase Price with respect to the total number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock (or Common Stock, other securities, cash or other assets, as the case may be) as to which such surrendered Rights are then exercisable, at or prior to the earliest of (i) the Close of Business on November 30, 2014 (the “Final Expiration Date”), (ii) the time at which the Rights are redeemed as provided in Section 23 or (iii) the time at which such Rights are exchanged pursuant to Section 24 (the earliest of (i), (ii) and (iii) being herein referred to as the “Expiration Date”).

 

(b)   The Purchase Price for each one one-thousandth of a share of Preferred Stock pursuant to the exercise of a Right shall initially be $100, and shall be subject to adjustment from time to time as provided in Sections 11 and 13(a) and shall be payable in accordance with paragraph (c) below.

 

(c)   Upon receipt of a Rights Certificate representing exercisable Rights, with the form of election to purchase and the certificate duly executed, accompanied by payment, with respect to each Right so exercised, of the Purchase Price per one one-thousandth of a share of Preferred Stock (or other shares, securities, cash or other assets, as the case may be) to be purchased as set forth below and an amount equal to any applicable transfer tax required to be paid by the holder of the Rights Certificate in accordance with Section 9(e), the Rights Agent shall, subject to Section 20(k), thereupon promptly (i) (A) requisition from any transfer agent of the shares of Preferred Stock (or make available, if the Rights Agent is the transfer agent for such shares) certificates for the total number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock to be purchased and the Company hereby irrevocably authorizes its transfer agent to comply with all such requests, or (B) if the Company shall have elected to deposit the total number of shares of Preferred Stock issuable upon exercise of the Rights hereunder with a depositary agent, requisition from the depositary agent depositary receipts representing such number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock as are to be purchased (in which case certificates for the shares of Preferred Stock represented by such receipts shall be deposited by the transfer agent with the depositary agent) and the Company will direct the depositary agent to comply with such request, (ii) requisition from the Company the amount of cash, if any, to be paid in lieu of fractional shares in accordance with Section 14, (iii) after receipt of such certificates or depositary receipts, cause the same to be delivered to or upon the order of the registered holder of such Rights Certificate, registered in such name or names as may be designated by such holder, and (iv) after receipt thereof, deliver such cash, if any, to or upon the order of the

 

9



 

registered holder of such Rights Certificate.  The payment of the Purchase Price (as such amount may be reduced pursuant to Section 11(a)(iii)) shall be made in cash or by certified bank check or bank draft payable to the order of the Company.  In the event that the Company is obligated to issue other securities (including Common Stock) of the Company, pay cash and/or distribute other property pursuant to Section 11(a), the Company will make all arrangements necessary so that such other securities, cash and/or other property are available for distribution by the Rights Agent, if and when necessary to comply with the terms of this Agreement.  The Company reserves the right to require prior to the occurrence of a Triggering Event that, upon any exercise of Rights, a number of Rights be exercised so that only whole shares of Preferred Stock would be issued.

 

(d)   In case the registered holder of any Rights Certificate shall exercise less than all the Rights evidenced thereby, a new Rights Certificate evidencing Rights equivalent to the Rights remaining unexercised shall be issued by the Rights Agent and delivered to, or upon the order of, the registered holder of such Rights Certificate, registered in such name or names as may be designated by such holder, subject to the provisions of Section 14.

 

(e)   Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, from and after the first occurrence of a Section 11(a) (ii) Event, any Rights beneficially owned by (i) an Acquiring Person or an Associate or Affiliate of an Acquiring Person, (ii) a transferee of an Acquiring Person (or of any such Associate or Affiliate) who becomes a transferee after the Acquiring Person becomes such, or (iii) a transferee of an Acquiring Person (or of any such Associate or Affiliate) who becomes a transferee prior to or concurrently with the Acquiring Person becoming such and receives such Rights pursuant to either (A) a transfer (whether or not for consideration) from the Acquiring Person (or any Affiliate or Associate thereof) to holders of equity interests in such Acquiring Person (or any Affiliate or Associate thereof) or to any Person with whom the Acquiring Person (or any Affiliate or Associate thereof) has any continuing agreement, arrangement or understanding regarding the transferred Rights or (B) a transfer which the Board of Directors of the Company has determined is part of an agreement, arrangement or understanding which has as a primary purpose or effect the avoidance of this Section 7(e), shall become null and void without any further action and no holder of such Rights shall have any rights whatsoever with respect to such Rights, whether under any provision of this Agreement or otherwise.  The Company shall notify the Rights Agent when this Section 7(e) applies and shall use all reasonable efforts to ensure that the provisions of this Section 7(e) and Section 4(b) are complied with, but neither the Company nor the Rights Agent shall have any liability to any holder of Rights Certificates or other Person as a result of the Company’s failure to make any determinations with respect to an Acquiring Person or any of its Affiliates, Associates or transferees hereunder.

 

(f)   Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, neither the Rights Agent nor the Company shall be obligated to undertake any action with respect to a registered holder upon the occurrence of any purported exercise as set forth in this Section 7 unless such registered holder shall have (i) properly completed and signed the certificate contained in the form of election to purchase set forth on the reverse side of the Rights Certificate surrendered for such exercise, and (ii) provided such additional evidence of the

 

10



 

identity of the Beneficial Owner (or former Beneficial Owner) or Affiliates or Associates thereof as the Company or the Rights Agent shall reasonably request.

 

Section 8.  Cancellation and Destruction of Rights Certificates .   All Rights Certificates surrendered for the purpose of exercise, transfer, split up, combination or exchange shall, if surrendered to the Company or any of its agents, be delivered to the Rights Agent for cancellation or in cancelled form, or, if surrendered to the Rights Agent, shall be cancelled by it, and no Rights Certificates shall be issued in lieu thereof, except as expressly permitted by any of the provisions of this Agreement.  The Company shall deliver to the Rights Agent for cancellation and retirement, and the Rights Agent shall so cancel and retire, any other Rights Certificates purchased or acquired by the Company otherwise than upon the exercise thereof.  The Rights Agent shall deliver all cancelled Rights Certificates to the Company, or shall, at the written request of the Company, destroy such cancelled Rights Certificates, and in such case shall deliver a certificate of destruction thereof to the Company.

 

Section 9.  Reservation and Availability of Capital Stock .   (a)  The Company covenants and agrees that it will cause to be reserved and kept available out of its authorized and unissued shares of Preferred Stock (and, following the occurrence of a Triggering Event, out of its authorized and unissued shares of Common Stock and/or other securities or out of its authorized and issued shares held in its treasury), the number of shares of Preferred Stock (and, following the occurrence of a Triggering Event, Common Stock and/or other securities) that, as provided in this Agreement, including Section 11(a)(iii), will be sufficient to permit the exercise in full of all outstanding Rights.

 

(b)   So long as the shares of Preferred Stock (and, following the occurrence of a Triggering Event, Common Stock and/or other securities) issuable and deliverable upon the exercise of the Rights may be listed on any national securities exchange or the Nasdaq National Market (or any successor), the Company shall use its best efforts to cause, from and after such time as the Rights become exercisable, all shares reserved for such issuance to be listed on such exchange or the Nasdaq National Market, upon official notice of issuance upon such exercise.

 

(c)   The Company shall use its best efforts to (i) prepare and file, as soon as practicable following the earliest date after the first occurrence of a Section 11(a)(ii) Event on which the consideration to be delivered by the Company upon exercise of the Rights has been determined in accordance with Section 11(a)(iii), a registration statement under the Act with respect to the securities purchasable upon exercise of the Rights on an appropriate form, (ii) cause such registration statement to become effective as soon as practicable after such filing, and (iii) cause such registration statement to remain effective (with a prospectus at all times meeting the requirements of the Act) until the earlier of (A) the date as of which the Rights are no longer exercisable for such securities, and (B) the Expiration Date.  The Company will also take such action as may be appropriate under, or to ensure compliance with, the securities or “blue sky” laws of the various states in connection with the exercisability of the Rights.  The Company may temporarily suspend, for a period of time not to exceed ninety (90) days after the date set forth in clause (i) of the first sentence of this Section 9(c), the exercisability of the Rights in order to prepare and file such registration statement and permit it to become effective.  Upon any such suspension, the Company shall issue a public announcement stating that the exercisability of the

 

11



 

Rights has been temporarily suspended, as well as a public announcement at such time as the suspension is no longer in effect.  In addition, if the Company shall determine that a registration statement is required following the Distribution Date, and a Section 11(a)(ii) Event has not occurred, the Company may temporarily suspend (and shall give the Rights Agent prompt notice thereof) the exercisability of Rights until such time as a registration statement has been declared effective.  Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, the Rights shall not be exercisable in any jurisdiction if the requisite qualification or exemption in such jurisdiction shall not have been obtained, the exercise thereof shall not be permitted under applicable law or a registration statement shall not have been declared effective.

 

(d)   The Company covenants and agrees that it will take all such actions as may be necessary to ensure that all one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock (and, following the occurrence of a Triggering Event, shares of Common Stock and/or other securities) delivered upon exercise of Rights shall, at the time of delivery of the certificates for such shares (subject to payment of the Purchase Price), be duly and validly authorized and issued and fully paid and nonassessable.

 

(e)   The Company further covenants and agrees that it will pay, when due and payable, any and all transfer taxes and governmental charges which may be payable in respect of the issuance or delivery of the Rights Certificates and of any certificates for a number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock (or Common Stock and/or other securities, as the case may be) upon the exercise of Rights.  The Company shall not, however, be required to pay any transfer tax which may be payable in respect of any transfer or delivery of Rights Certificates to a Person other than, or the issuance or delivery of a number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock (or Common Stock and/or other securities, as the case may be) in respect of a name other than that of, the registered holder of the Rights Certificates evidencing Rights surrendered for exercise or to issue or deliver any certificates for a number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock (or Common Stock and/or other securities, as the case may be) in a name other than that of the registered holder upon the exercise of any Rights until such tax shall have been paid (any such tax being payable by the holder of such Rights Certificate at the time of surrender) or until it has been established to the Company’s satisfaction that no such tax is due.

 

Section 10.  Preferred Stock Record Date .   Each Person in whose name any certificate for a number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock (or Common Stock and/or other securities, as the case may be) is issued upon the exercise of Rights shall for all purposes be deemed to have become the holder of record of such fractional shares of Preferred Stock (or Common Stock and/or other securities, as the case may be) represented thereby on, and such certificate shall be dated, the date upon which the Rights Certificate evidencing such Rights was duly surrendered and payment of the Purchase Price (and all applicable transfer taxes) was made; provided , however , that if the date of such surrender and payment is a date upon which the Preferred Stock (or Common Stock and/or other securities, as the case may be) transfer books of the Company are closed, such Person shall be deemed to have become the record holder of such shares (fractional or otherwise) on, and such certificate shall be dated, the next succeeding Business Day on which the Preferred Stock (or Common Stock and/or other securities, as the case may be) transfer books of the Company are open.  Prior to the exercise of the Rights

 

12



 

evidenced thereby, the holder of a Rights Certificate shall not be entitled to any rights of a stockholder of the Company with respect to shares or other securities for which the Rights shall be exercisable, including, without limitation, the right to vote, to receive dividends or other distributions or to exercise any preemptive rights, and shall not be entitled to receive any notice of any proceedings of the Company, except as provided herein.

 

Section 11.  Adjustment of Purchase Price , Number and Kind of Shares or Number of Rights .   The Purchase Price, the number and kind of shares covered by each Right and the number of Rights outstanding are subject to adjustment from time to time as provided in this Section 11.

 

(a)  (i)   In the event the Company shall at any time after the date of this Agreement (A) declare a dividend on the Preferred Stock payable in shares of Preferred Stock, (B) subdivide the outstanding Preferred Stock, (C) combine the outstanding Preferred Stock into a smaller number of shares, or (D) issue any shares of its capital stock in a reclassification of the Preferred Stock (including any such reclassification in connection with a consolidation or merger in which the Company is the continuing or surviving corporation), except as otherwise provided in this Section 11(a) and Section 7(e), the Purchase Price in effect at the time of the record date for such dividend or of the effective date of such subdivision, combination or reclassification, and the number and kind of shares of Preferred Stock or capital stock, as the case may be, issuable on such date, shall be proportionately adjusted so that the holder of any Right exercised after such time shall be entitled to receive, upon payment of the Purchase Price then in effect, the aggregate number and kind of shares of Preferred Stock or capital stock, as the case may be, which, if such Right had been exercised immediately prior to such date and at a time when the Preferred Stock transfer books of the Company were open, such holder would have owned upon such exercise and been entitled to receive by virtue of such dividend, subdivision, combination or reclassification.  If an event occurs which would require an adjustment under both this Section 11(a)(i) and Section 11(a)(ii), the adjustment provided for in this Section 11(a)(i) shall be in addition to, and shall be made prior to, any adjustment required pursuant to Section 11(a)(ii).

 

(ii)   Subject to Section 24, in the event any Person becomes an Acquiring Person, then each holder of a Right (except as provided below and in Section 7(e)) shall thereafter have the right to receive, upon exercise thereof at a price equal to the then current Purchase Price in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, in lieu of a number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock, such number of shares of Common Stock of the Company as shall equal the result obtained by (x) multiplying the then current Purchase Price by the then number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock for which a Right was exercisable immediately prior to the first occurrence of a Section 11(a)(ii) Event and (y) dividing that product (which, following such first occurrence shall thereafter be referred to as the “Purchase Price” for each Right and for all purposes of this Agreement) by 50% of the current market price (determined pursuant to Section 11(d)) per share of Common Stock on the date of such first occurrence (such number of shares, the “Adjustment Shares”).

 

13



 

(iii)   In the event that the number of shares of Common Stock which are authorized by the Company’s certificate of incorporation but not outstanding or reserved for issuance for purposes other than upon exercise of the Rights, is not sufficient to permit the exercise in full of the Rights in accordance with the foregoing subparagraph (ii) of this Section 11(a), the Company shall:  (A) determine the value of the Adjustment Shares issuable upon the exercise of a Right (the “Current Value”), and (B) with respect to each Right, make adequate provision to substitute for the Adjustment Shares, upon the exercise of a Right and payment of the applicable Purchase Price, (1) cash, (2) a reduction in the Purchase Price, (3) Common Stock or other equity securities of the Company (including, without limitation, shares, or units of shares, of preferred stock, such as the Preferred Stock, which the Board of Directors of the Company has deemed to have substantially the same value or economic rights as shares of Common Stock (such shares or units of shares of preferred stock, “common stock equivalents”)), (4) debt securities of the Company, (5) other assets, or (6) any combination of the foregoing, having an aggregate value equal to the Current Value (less the amount of any reduction in the Purchase Price), where such aggregate value has been determined by the Board of Directors of the Company based upon the advice of a nationally recognized investment banking firm selected by the Board of Directors of the Company; provided , however , if the Company shall not have made adequate provision to deliver value pursuant to clause (B) above within thirty (30) days following the later of (x) the first occurrence of a Section 11(a)(ii) Event and (y) the date on which the Company’s right of redemption pursuant to Section 23(a) expires (the later of (x) and (y) being referred to herein as the “Section 11(a)(ii) Trigger Date”), then the Company shall be obligated to deliver, upon the surrender for exercise of a Right and without requiring payment of the Purchase Price, shares of Common Stock (to the extent available) and then, if necessary, cash, which shares and/or cash have an aggregate value equal to the Spread.  For purposes of the preceding sentence, the term “Spread” shall mean the excess of (i) the Current Value over (ii) the Purchase Price.  If the Board of Directors of the Company shall determine in good faith that it is likely that sufficient additional shares of Common Stock could be authorized for issuance upon exercise in full of the Rights, the thirty (30) day period set forth above may be extended to the extent necessary, but not more than ninety (90) days after the Section 11(a)(ii) Trigger Date, in order that the Company may seek stockholder approval for the authorization of such additional shares (such thirty (30) day period, as it may be extended, the “Substitution Period”).  To the extent the Company determines that action should be taken pursuant to the first and/or third sentences of this Section 11(a)(iii), the Company (x) shall provide, subject to Section 7(e), that such action shall apply uniformly to all outstanding Rights, and (y) may suspend the exercisability of the Rights until the expiration of the Substitution Period in order to seek such stockholder approval for such authorization of additional shares and/or to decide the appropriate form of distribution to be made pursuant to such first sentence and to determine the value thereof.  In the event of any such suspension, the Company

 

14



 

shall issue a public announcement stating that the exercisability of the Rights has been temporarily suspended, as well as a public announcement at such time as the suspension is no longer in effect (with prompt notice of such announcements to the Rights Agent).  For purposes of this Section 11(a)(iii), the value of each Adjustment Share shall be the current market price (as determined pursuant to Section 11(d)) per share of Common Stock on the Section 11(a)(ii) Trigger Date and the value of any “common stock equivalent” shall be deemed to equal the current market price (as determined pursuant to Section 11(d)) per share of the Common Stock on such date.

 

(b)  In case the Company shall fix a record date for the issuance of rights (other than the Rights), options or warrants to all holders of Preferred Stock entitling them to subscribe for or purchase (for a period expiring within forty-five (45) calendar days after such record date) Preferred Stock (or shares having the same rights, privileges and preferences as the shares of Preferred Stock (“equivalent preferred stock”)) or securities convertible into Preferred Stock or equivalent preferred stock at a price per share of Preferred Stock or per share of equivalent preferred stock (or having a conversion price per share, if a security convertible into Preferred Stock or equivalent preferred stock) less than the current market price (as determined pursuant to Section 11(d)) per share of Preferred Stock on such record date, the Purchase Price to be in effect after such record date shall be determined by multiplying the Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to such record date by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the number of shares of Preferred Stock outstanding on such record date, plus the number of shares of Preferred Stock which the aggregate offering price of the total number of shares of Preferred Stock and/or equivalent preferred stock so to be offered (and/or the aggregate initial conversion price of the convertible securities so to be offered) would purchase at such current market price, and the denominator of which shall be the number of shares of Preferred Stock outstanding on such record date, plus the number of additional shares of Preferred Stock and/or equivalent preferred stock to be offered for subscription or purchase (or into which the convertible securities so to be offered are initially convertible).  In case such subscription price may be paid by delivery of consideration part or all of which may be in a form other than cash, the value of such consideration shall be as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of the Company, whose determination shall be described in a statement filed with the Rights Agent and shall be binding on the Rights Agent and the holders of the Rights.  Shares of Preferred Stock owned by or held for the account of the Company shall not be deemed outstanding for the purpose of any such computation.  Such adjustment shall be made successively whenever such a record date is fixed, and in the event that such rights, options or warrants are not so issued, the Purchase Price shall be adjusted to be the Purchase Price which would then be in effect if such record date had not been fixed.

 

(c)  In case the Company shall fix a record date for a distribution to all holders of Preferred Stock (including any such distribution made in connection with a consolidation or merger in which the Company is the continuing corporation) of evidences of indebtedness, cash (other than a regular periodic cash dividend out of the earnings or retained earnings of the Company), assets (other than a dividend payable in Preferred Stock, but including any dividend payable in stock other than Preferred Stock) or subscription rights or warrants (excluding those

 

15



 

referred to in Section 11(b)), the Purchase Price to be in effect after such record date shall be determined by multiplying the Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to such record date by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the current market price (as determined pursuant to Section 11(d)) per share of Preferred Stock on such record date, less the fair market value (as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of the Company, whose determination shall be described in a statement filed with the Rights Agent and shall be binding on the Rights Agent and the holders of the Rights) of the portion of the cash, assets or evidences of indebtedness so to be distributed or of such subscription rights or warrants applicable to a share of Preferred Stock and the denominator of which shall be such current market price (as determined pursuant to Section 11(d)) per share of Preferred Stock.  Such adjustments shall be made successively whenever such a record date is fixed, and in the event that such distribution is not so made, the Purchase Price shall be adjusted to be the Purchase Price which would have been in effect if such record date had not been fixed.

 

(d)  (i) For the purpose of any computation hereunder, other than computations made pursuant to Section 11(a)(iii), the “current market price” per share of Common Stock on any date shall be deemed to be the average of the daily closing prices per share of such Common Stock for the thirty (30) consecutive Trading Days immediately prior to but not including such date, and for purposes of computations made pursuant to Section 11(a)(iii), the “current market price” per share of Common Stock on any date shall be deemed to be the average of the daily closing prices per share of such Common Stock for the ten (10) consecutive Trading Days immediately following but not including such date; provided , however , that in the event that the current market price per share of the Common Stock is determined during a period following the announcement by the issuer of such Common Stock of (A) a dividend or distribution on such Common Stock payable in shares of such Common Stock or securities convertible into shares of such Common Stock (other than the Rights), or (B) any subdivision, combination or reclassification of such Common Stock, and the ex-dividend date for such dividend or distribution, or the record date for such subdivision, combination or reclassification shall not have occurred prior to the commencement of the requisite thirty (30) Trading Day or ten (10) Trading Day period, as set forth above, then, and in each such case, the “current market price” shall be properly adjusted to take into account any trading during the period prior to such ex-dividend date or record date.  The closing price for each day shall be the last sale price, regular way, or, in case no such sale takes place on such day, the average of the closing bid and asked prices, regular way, in either case as reported in the principal consolidated transaction reporting system with respect to securities listed or admitted to trading on the New York Stock Exchange or, if the shares of Common Stock are not listed or admitted to trading on the New York Stock Exchange, as reported in the principal consolidated transaction reporting system with respect to securities listed on the principal national securities exchange on which the shares of Common Stock are listed or admitted to trading or, if the shares of Common Stock are not listed or admitted to trading on any national securities exchange, the last quoted price or, if not so quoted, the average of the high bid and low asked prices in the over-the-counter market, as reported by the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. Automated Quotation System (“Nasdaq”) or such other quotation system then in use, or, if on any such date the shares of Common

 

16



 

Stock are not quoted by any such organization, the average of the closing bid and asked prices as furnished by a professional market maker making a market in the Common Stock selected by the Board of Directors of the Company.  If on any such date no market maker is making a market in the Common Stock, the fair value of such shares on such date as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of the Company shall be used.  The term “Trading Day” shall mean a day on which the principal national securities exchange on which the shares of Common Stock are listed or admitted to trading is open for the transaction of business or, if the shares of Common Stock are not listed or admitted to trading on any national securities exchange, a Business Day.  If the Common Stock is not publicly held or not so listed or traded, “current market price” per share shall mean the fair value per share as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of the Company, whose determination shall be described in a statement filed with the Rights Agent and shall be conclusive for all purposes.

 

(ii) For the purpose of any computation hereunder, the “current market price” per share of Preferred Stock shall be determined in the same manner as set forth above for the Common Stock in clause (i) of this Section 11(d) (other than the last sentence thereof).  If the current market price per share of Preferred Stock cannot be determined in the manner provided above, or if the Preferred Stock is not publicly held or listed or traded in a manner described in clause (i) of this Section 11(d), the “current market price” per share of Preferred Stock shall be conclusively deemed to be an amount equal to 1000 (as such number may be appropriately adjusted for such events as stock splits, stock dividends and recapitalizations with respect to the Common Stock occurring after the date of this Agreement) multiplied by the current market price per share of the Common Stock.  If neither the Common Stock nor the Preferred Stock is publicly held or so listed or traded, “current market price” per share of the Preferred Stock shall mean the fair value per share as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of the Company, whose determination shall be described in a statement filed with the Rights Agent and shall be binding on the Rights Agent and the holders of the Rights.  For all purposes of this Agreement, the “current market price” of one one-thousandth of a share of Preferred Stock shall be equal to the “current market price” of one share of Preferred Stock divided by 1000.

 

(e)  Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, no adjustment in the Purchase Price shall be required unless such adjustment would require an increase or decrease of at least one percent (1%) in the Purchase Price; provided , however , that any adjustments which by reason of this Section 11(e) are not required to be made shall be carried forward and taken into account in any subsequent adjustment.  All calculations under this Section 11 shall be made to the nearest cent or to the nearest one ten-thousandth of a share of Common Stock or one one-millionth of a share of Preferred Stock or one ten-thousandth of any other share or security, as the case may be.  Notwithstanding the first sentence of this Section 11(e), any adjustment required by this Section 11 shall be made no later than the earlier of (i) three (3) years from the date of the transaction which mandates such adjustment, or (ii) the Expiration Date.

 

17



 

(f)  If as a result of an adjustment made pursuant to Section 11(a)(ii) or Section 13(a), the holder of any Right thereafter exercised shall become entitled to receive any shares of capital stock other than Preferred Stock, thereafter the number of such other shares so receivable upon exercise of any Right and the Purchase Price thereof shall be subject to adjustment from time to time in a manner and on terms as nearly equivalent as practicable to the provisions with respect to the Preferred Stock contained in Sections 11(a), (b), (c), (e), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k) and (m), and the provisions of Sections 7, 9, 10, 13 and 14 with respect to the Preferred Stock shall apply on like terms to any such other shares.

 

(g)  All Rights originally issued by the Company subsequent to any adjustment made to the Purchase Price hereunder shall evidence the right to purchase, at the adjusted Purchase Price, the number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock purchasable from time to time hereunder upon exercise of the Rights, all subject to further adjustment as provided herein.

 

(h)  Unless the Company shall have exercised its election as provided in Section 11(i), upon each adjustment of the Purchase Price as a result of the calculations made in Sections 11(b) and (c), each Right outstanding immediately prior to the making of such adjustment shall thereafter evidence the right to purchase, at the adjusted Purchase Price, that number of one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock (calculated to the nearest one-millionth) obtained by (i) multiplying (x) the number of one one-thousandths of a share covered by a Right immediately prior to this adjustment, by (y) the Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to such adjustment of the Purchase Price, and (ii) dividing the product so obtained by the Purchase Price in effect immediately after such adjustment of the Purchase Price.

 

(i)  The Company may elect on or after the date of any adjustment of the Purchase Price to adjust the number of Rights, in lieu of any adjustment in the number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock purchasable upon the exercise of a Right.  Each of the Rights outstanding after the adjustment in the number of Rights shall be exercisable for the number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock for which a Right was exercisable immediately prior to such adjustment.  Each Right held of record prior to such adjustment of the number of Rights shall become that number of Rights (calculated to the nearest one-ten-thousandth) obtained by dividing the Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to adjustment of the Purchase Price by the Purchase Price in effect immediately after adjustment of the Purchase Price.  The Company shall make a public announcement (with prompt notice thereof to the Rights Agent) of its election to adjust the number of Rights, indicating the record date for the adjustment, and, if known at the time, the amount of the adjustment to be made.  This record date may be the date on which the Purchase Price is adjusted or any day thereafter, but, if the Rights Certificates have been issued, shall be at least ten (10) days later than the date of the public announcement.  If Rights Certificates have been issued, upon each adjustment of the number of Rights pursuant to this Section 11(i), the Company shall, as promptly as practicable, cause to be distributed to holders of record of Rights Certificates on such record date Rights Certificates evidencing, subject to Section 14, the additional Rights to which such holders shall be entitled as a result of such adjustment, or, at the option of the Company, shall cause to be distributed to such holders of record in substitution and replacement for the Rights Certificates held by such holders prior to the date of adjustment, and upon surrender thereof, if required by the Company, new

 

18



 

Rights Certificates evidencing all the Rights to which such holders shall be entitled after such adjustment.  Rights Certificates so to be distributed shall be issued, executed and countersigned in the manner provided for herein (and may bear, at the option of the Company, the adjusted Purchase Price) and shall be registered in the names of the holders of record of Rights Certificates on the record date specified in the public announcement.

 

(j)  Irrespective of any adjustment or change in the Purchase Price or the number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock issuable upon the exercise of the Rights, the Rights Certificates theretofore and thereafter issued may continue to express the Purchase Price per one one-thousandth of a share and the number of one one-thousandths of a share which were expressed in the initial Rights Certificates issued hereunder.

 

(k)  Before taking any action that would cause an adjustment reducing the Purchase Price below the then stated value, if any, of the number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock issuable upon exercise of the Rights, the Company shall take any corporate action which may, in the opinion of its counsel, be necessary in order that the Company may validly and legally issue fully paid and nonassessable shares of Preferred Stock at such adjusted Purchase Price.

 

(l)  In any case in which this Section 11 shall require that an adjustment in the Purchase Price be made effective as of a record date for a specified event, the Company may elect to defer until the occurrence of such event the issuance to the holder of any Right exercised after such record date the number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock and other capital stock or securities of the Company, if any, issuable upon such exercise over and above the number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock and other capital stock or securities of the Company, if any, issuable upon such exercise on the basis of the Purchase Price in effect prior to such adjustment (and shall provide the Rights Agent prompt notice of such election); provided , however , that the Company shall deliver to such holder a due bill or other appropriate instrument evidencing such holder’s right to receive such additional shares (fractional or otherwise) or securities upon the occurrence of the event requiring such adjustment.

 

(m)  Anything in this Section 11 to the contrary notwithstanding, the Company shall be entitled to make such reductions in the Purchase Price, in addition to those adjustments expressly required by this Section 11, as and to the extent that the Board of Directors of the Company, in its good faith judgment, shall determine to be advisable in order that any (i) consolidation or subdivision of the Preferred Stock, (ii) issuance wholly for cash of any shares of Preferred Stock at less than the current market price, (iii) issuance wholly for cash of shares of Preferred Stock or securities which by their terms are convertible into or exchangeable for shares of Preferred Stock, (iv) stock dividends or (v) issuance of rights, options or warrants referred to in this Section 11, hereafter made by the Company to holders of its Preferred Stock shall not be taxable to such stockholders.

 

(n)  The Company covenants and agrees that it shall not, at any time after the Distribution Date, (i) consolidate with any other Person (other than a Subsidiary of the Company in a transaction which complies with Section 11(o)), (ii) merge with or into any other Person

 

19



 

(other than a Subsidiary of the Company in a transaction which complies with Section 11(o)), or (iii) sell or transfer (or permit any Subsidiary to sell or transfer), in one transaction, or a series of related transactions, assets, cash flow or earning power aggregating more than 50% of the assets, cash flow or earning power of the Company and its Subsidiaries (taken as a whole) to any other Person or Persons (other than the Company and/or any of its Subsidiaries in one or more transactions each of which complies with Section 11(o)), if (x) at the time of or immediately after such consolidation, merger, sale or transfer there are any rights, warrants or other instruments or securities outstanding or agreements in effect which would substantially diminish or otherwise eliminate the benefits intended to be afforded by the Rights or (y) prior to, simultaneously with or immediately after such consolidation, merger, sale or transfer, the stockholders of the Person who constitutes, or would constitute, the “Principal Party” for purposes of Section 13(a) shall have received a distribution of Rights previously owned by such Person or any of its Affiliates and Associates.

 

(o)  The Company covenants and agrees that, after the Distribution Date, it will not, except as permitted by Section 23, Section 24 or Section 27, take (or permit any Subsidiary to take) any action if at the time such action is taken it is reasonably foreseeable that such action will diminish substantially or otherwise eliminate the benefits intended to be afforded by the Rights.

 

(p)   In the event that the Company shall at any time after the Rights Dividend Declaration Date and prior to the Distribution Date (i) declare a dividend on the outstanding shares of Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, (ii) subdivide the outstanding shares of Common Stock, or (iii) combine the outstanding shares of Common Stock into a smaller number of shares, the number of Rights associated with each share of Common Stock then outstanding, or issued or delivered thereafter but prior to the Distribution Date, shall be proportionately adjusted so that the number of Rights thereafter associated with each share of Common Stock following any such event shall equal the result obtained by multiplying the number of Rights associated with each share of Common Stock immediately prior to such event by a fraction the numerator of which shall be the total number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately prior to the occurrence of the event and the denominator of which shall be the total number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately following the occurrence of such event.

 

Section 12.  Certificate of Adjusted Purchase Price or Number of Shares .   Whenever an adjustment is made as provided in Section 11 or Section 13, the Company shall (a) promptly prepare a certificate setting forth such adjustment and a brief statement of the facts and computations accounting for such adjustment, (b) promptly file with the Rights Agent, and with each transfer agent for the Preferred Stock and the Common Stock, a copy of such certificate, and (c) if a Distribution Date has occurred, mail a brief summary thereof to each holder of a Rights Certificate in accordance with Section 26.  The Rights Agent shall be fully protected in relying on any such certificate and on any adjustment therein contained and shall not be deemed to have knowledge of such adjustment unless and until it shall have received such certificate.

 

20



 

Section 13.  Consolidation , Merger or Sale or Transfer of Assets, Cash Flow or Earning Power .

 

(a)  In the event that, following the Stock Acquisition Date, directly or indirectly, (x) the Company shall consolidate with, or merge with and into, any other Person (other than a Subsidiary of the Company in a transaction which complies with Section 11(o)), and the Company shall not be the continuing or surviving corporation of such consolidation or merger, (y) any Person (other than a Subsidiary of the Company in a transaction which complies with Section 11(o)) shall engage in a share exchange with or shall consolidate with, or merge with or into, the Company, and the Company shall be the continuing or surviving corporation of such consolidation or merger and, in connection with such share exchange, consolidation or merger, all or part of the outstanding shares of Common Stock shall be changed into or exchanged for stock or other securities of any other Person or cash or any other property, or (z) the Company shall sell or otherwise transfer (or one or more of its Subsidiaries shall sell or otherwise transfer), in one transaction or a series of related transactions, assets, cash flow or earning power aggregating more than 50% of the assets, cash flow or earning power of the Company and its Subsidiaries (taken as a whole) to any Person or Persons (other than the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company in one or more transactions each of which complies with Section 11(o)) (any event described in clauses (x), (y) or (z) of this Section 13(a) following the Stock Acquisition Date, a “Section 13 Event”), then, and in each such case, proper provision shall be made so that: (i) each holder of a Right, except as provided in Section 7(e), shall thereafter have the right to receive upon the exercise thereof at the then current Purchase Price in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, in lieu of a number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock, such number of validly authorized and issued, fully paid, nonassessable and freely tradeable shares of Common Stock of the Principal Party (as such term is hereinafter defined), not subject to any liens, encumbrances, rights of first refusal or other adverse claims, as shall be equal to the result obtained by (l) multiplying the then current Purchase Price by the number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock for which a Right is exercisable immediately prior to the first occurrence of a Section 13 Event (or, if a Section 11(a)(ii) Event has occurred prior to the first occurrence of a Section 13 Event, multiplying the number of such one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock for which a Right was exercisable immediately prior to the first occurrence of a Section 11(a)(ii) Event by the Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to such first occurrence), and dividing that product (which, following the first occurrence of a Section 13 Event, shall be referred to as the “Purchase Price” for each Right and for all purposes of this Agreement) by (2) 50% of the current market price (determined pursuant to Section 11(d)(i)) per share of the Common Stock of such Principal Party on the date of consummation of such Section 13 Event; (ii) such Principal Party shall thereafter be liable for, and shall assume, by virtue of such Section 13 Event, all the obligations and duties of the Company pursuant to this Agreement; (iii) the term “Company” shall thereafter be deemed to refer to such Principal Party, it being specifically intended that the provisions of Section 11 shall apply only to such Principal Party following the first occurrence of a Section 13 Event; (iv) such Principal Party shall take such steps (including, but not limited to, the reservation of a sufficient number of shares of its Common Stock) in connection with the consummation of any such transaction as may be necessary to assure that the provisions hereof shall thereafter be applicable, as nearly as reasonably may be, in relation to its shares of Common Stock thereafter

 

21



 

deliverable upon the exercise of the Rights; and (v) the provisions of Section 11(a)(ii) shall be of no effect following the first occurrence of any Section 13 Event.

 

(b)  “Principal Party” shall mean:

 

(i)   in the case of any transaction described in clause (x) or (y) of the first sentence of Section 13(a), the Person that is the issuer of any securities into which shares of Common Stock of the Company are converted in such merger or consolidation, and if no securities are so issued, the Person that is the other party to such merger or consolidation; and

 

(ii)   in the case of any transaction described in clause (z) of the first sentence of Section 13(a), the Person that is the party receiving the greatest portion of the assets, cash flow or earning power transferred pursuant to such transaction or transactions;

 

provided , however , that in any such case described in the foregoing clause (i) or (ii) of this Section 13(b), (1) if the Common Stock of such Person is not at such time and has not been continuously over the preceding twelve (12) month period registered under Section 12 of the Exchange Act, and such Person is a direct or indirect Subsidiary of another Person the Common Stock of which is and has been so registered, “Principal Party” shall refer to such other Person; and (2) in case such Person is a Subsidiary, directly or indirectly, of more than one Person, the Common Stock of two or more of which are and have been so registered, “Principal Party” shall refer to whichever of such Persons is the issuer of the Common Stock having the greatest aggregate market value.

 

(c)  The Company shall not consummate any Section 13 Event unless the Principal Party shall have a sufficient number of authorized shares of its Common Stock which have not been issued or reserved for issuance to permit the exercise in full of the Rights in accordance with this Section 13 and unless prior thereto the Company and such Principal Party shall have executed and delivered to the Rights Agent a supplemental agreement providing for the terms set forth in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this Section 13 and further providing that, as soon as practicable after the date of any consolidation, merger, sale or transfer of assets mentioned in paragraph (a) of this Section 13, the Principal Party will:

 

(i)   prepare and file a registration statement under the Act, with respect to the Rights and the securities purchasable upon exercise of the Rights on an appropriate form, and will use its best efforts to cause such registration statement to (A) become effective as soon as practicable after such filing and (B) remain effective (with a prospectus at all times meeting the requirements of the Act) until the Expiration Date;

 

(ii)   use its best efforts to qualify or register the Rights and the securities purchasable upon exercise of the Rights under blue sky laws of such jurisdiction, as may be necessary or appropriate; and

 

22



 

(iii)   deliver to holders of the Rights historical financial statements for the Principal Party and each of its Affiliates which comply in all respects with the requirements for registration on Form 10 under the Exchange Act.

 

(d)  The provisions of this Section 13 shall similarly apply to successive mergers or consolidations or sales or other transfers.  In the event that a Section 13 Event shall occur at any time after the occurrence of a Section 11(a)(ii) Event, the Rights which have not theretofore been exercised shall thereafter become exercisable in the manner described in Section 13(a).

 

Section 14.  Fractional Rights and Fractional Shares .

 

(a)  The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of Rights, except prior to the Distribution Date as provided in Section 11, or to distribute Rights Certificates which evidence fractional Rights.  In lieu of such fractional Rights, there shall be paid to the registered holders of the Rights Certificates with regard to which such fractional Rights would otherwise be issuable, an amount in cash equal to the same fraction of the current market value of a whole Right.  For purposes of this Section 14(a), the current market value of a whole Right shall be the closing price of the Rights for the Trading Day immediately prior to the date on which such fractional Rights would have been otherwise issuable.  The closing price of the Rights for any day shall be the last sale price, regular way, or, in case no such sale takes place on such day, the average of the closing bid and asked prices, regular way, in either case as reported in the principal consolidated transaction reporting system with respect to securities listed or admitted to trading on the New York Stock Exchange or, if the Rights are not listed or admitted to trading on the New York Stock Exchange, as reported to the principal consolidated transaction reporting system with respect to securities listed on the principal national securities exchange on which the Rights are listed or admitted to trading, or if the Rights are not listed or admitted to trading on any national securities exchange, the last quoted price or, if not so quoted, the average of the high bid and low asked prices in the over-the-counter market, as reported by Nasdaq or such other system then in use or, if on any such date the Rights are not quoted by any such organization, the average of the closing bid and asked prices as furnished by a professional market maker making a market in the Rights selected by the Board of Directors of the Company.  If on any such date no such market maker is making a market in the Rights the fair value of the Rights on such date as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of the Company shall be used.

 

(b)  The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of shares of Preferred Stock (other than fractions which are integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a share of Preferred Stock) upon exercise of the Rights or to distribute certificates which evidence fractional shares of Preferred Stock (other than fractions which are integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a share of Preferred Stock).  Fractions of shares of Preferred Stock in integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a share may, at the election of the Company, be evidenced by depositary receipts pursuant to an appropriate agreement between the Company and a depositary selected by it; provided , however , that such agreement shall provide that the holders of such depositary receipts shall have all the rights, privileges and preferences to which they are entitled as beneficial owners of the shares represented by such depositary receipts.  In lieu of fractional shares of Preferred Stock that are not integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a share of

 

23



 

Preferred Stock, the Company shall pay to the registered holders of Rights Certificates at the time such Rights are exercised as herein provided an amount in cash equal to the same fraction of the current market value of one one-thousandth of a share of Preferred Stock.  For purposes of this Section 14(b), the current market value of one one-thousandth of a share of Preferred Stock shall be one one-thousandth of the closing price of a share of Preferred Stock (as determined pursuant to Section 11(d)(ii)) for the Trading Day immediately prior to the date of such exercise.

 

(c)  Following the occurrence of a Triggering Event, the Company shall not be required to issue fractions of shares of Common Stock upon exercise of the Rights or to distribute certificates which evidence fractional shares of Common Stock.  In lieu of fractional shares of Common Stock, the Company shall pay to the registered holders of Rights Certificates at the time such Rights are exercised as herein provided an amount in cash equal to the same fraction of the current market value of one share of Common Stock.  For purposes of this Section 14(c), the current market value of one share of Common Stock shall be the closing price of one share of Common Stock (as determined pursuant to Section 11(d)(i)) for the Trading Day immediately prior to the date of such exercise.

 

(d)  The holder of a Right by the acceptance of the Rights expressly waives such holder’s right to receive any fractional Rights or any fractional shares upon exercise of a Right, except as permitted by this Section 14.

 

(e)  Whenever a payment for fractional Rights or fractional shares is to be made by the Rights Agent, the Company shall (i) promptly prepare and deliver to the Rights Agent a certificate setting forth in reasonable detail the facts related to such payment and the prices and/or formulas utilized in calculating such payments, and (ii) provide sufficient monies to the Rights Agent in the form of fully collected funds to make such payments.

 

Section 15.  Rights of Action .   All rights of action in respect of this Agreement, other than rights of action vested in the Rights Agent pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, are vested in the respective registered holders of the Rights Certificates (and, prior to the Distribution Date, the registered holders of the Common Stock); and any registered holder of any Rights Certificate (or, prior to the Distribution Date, of the Common Stock), without the consent of the Rights Agent or of the holder of any other Rights Certificate (or, prior to the Distribution Date, of the Common Stock), may, in such holder’s own behalf and for such holder’s own benefit, enforce, and may institute and maintain any suit, action or proceeding against the Company to enforce, or otherwise act in respect of, such holder’s right to exercise the Rights evidenced by such Rights Certificate in the manner provided in such Rights Certificate and in this Agreement.  Without limiting the foregoing or any remedies available to the holders of Rights, it is specifically acknowledged that the holders of Rights would not have an adequate remedy at law for any breach of this Agreement and shall be entitled to specific performance of the obligations hereunder and injunctive relief against actual or threatened violations of the obligations hereunder of any Person subject to this Agreement.

 

Section 16.  Agreement of Rights Holders .   Every holder of a Right by accepting the same consents and agrees with the Company and the Rights Agent and with every holder of a Right that:

 

24



 

(a)  prior to the Distribution Date, the Rights will be transferable only in connection with the transfer of Common Stock;

 

(b)  after the Distribution Date, the Rights Certificates are transferable only on the registry books of the Rights Agent if surrendered at the principal office or offices of the Rights Agent designated for such purposes, duly endorsed or accompanied by a proper instrument of transfer and with the appropriate forms and certificates fully executed;

 

(c)  subject to Section 6(a) and Section 7(f), the Company and the Rights Agent may deem and treat the person in whose name a Rights Certificate (or, prior to the Distribution Date, the associated Common Stock certificate) is registered as the absolute owner thereof and of the Rights evidenced thereby (notwithstanding any notations of ownership or writing on the Rights Certificates or the associated Common Stock certificates made by anyone other than the Company or the Rights Agent) for all purposes whatsoever, and neither the Company nor the Rights Agent, subject to the last sentence of Section 7(e), shall be required to be affected by any notice to the contrary; and

 

(d)  notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, neither the Company nor the Rights Agent shall have any liability to any holder of a Right or other Person as a result of its inability to perform any of its obligations under this Agreement by reason of any preliminary or permanent injunction or other order, decree, judgment or ruling issued by a court of competent jurisdiction or by a governmental, regulatory or administrative agency or commission, or any statute, rule, regulation or executive order promulgated or enacted by any governmental authority, prohibiting or otherwise restraining performance of such obligation; provided , however , the Company must use commercially reasonable efforts to have any such order, decree, judgment or ruling lifted or otherwise overturned as soon as possible.

 

Section 17.  Rights Certificate Holder Not Deemed a Stockholder .   No holder, as such, of any Rights Certificate shall be entitled to vote, receive dividends or be deemed for any purpose to be the holder of the number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock or any other securities of the Company which may at any time be issuable upon the exercise of the Rights represented thereby, nor shall anything contained herein or in any Rights Certificate be construed to confer upon the holder of any Rights Certificate, as such, any of the rights of a stockholder of the Company or any right to vote for the election of directors or upon any matter submitted to stockholders at any meeting thereof, or to give or withhold consent to any corporate action, or to receive notice of meetings or other actions affecting stockholders (except as provided in Section 25), or to receive dividends or subscription rights, or otherwise, until the Right or Rights evidenced by such Rights Certificate shall have been exercised in accordance with the provisions hereof.

 

Section 18.  Concerning the Rights Agent .

 

(a)  The Company agrees to pay to the Rights Agent reasonable compensation for all services rendered by it hereunder and, from time to time, on demand of the Rights Agent, its reasonable expenses and counsel fees and disbursements and other disbursements incurred in the

 

25



 

preparation, execution, delivery and amendment of this Agreement and the exercise and performance of its duties hereunder.  The Company also agrees to indemnify the Rights Agent for, and to hold it harmless against, any loss, liability, damage, judgment, fine, penalty, claim, demand, settlement, cost or expense incurred without negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct on the part of the Rights Agent for any action taken, suffered or omitted by the Rights Agent in connection with the acceptance and administration of this Agreement, including the reasonable costs and expenses of defending against any claim of liability in the premises.

 

(b)  The Rights Agent shall be authorized and protected and shall incur no liability for or in respect of any action taken, suffered or omitted by it in connection with its acceptance and administration of this Agreement in reliance upon any Rights Certificate or certificate for Common Stock or for other securities of the Company, instrument of assignment or transfer, power of attorney, endorsement, affidavit, letter, notice, direction, consent, certificate, statement, or other paper or document believed by it to be genuine and to be signed, executed and, where necessary, verified or acknowledged, by the proper Person or Persons, or otherwise upon the advice of counsel as set forth in Section 20.

 

Section 19.  Merger or Consolidation or Change of Name of Rights Agent .

 

(a)  Any Person into which the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent may be merged or with which it may be consolidated, or any Person resulting from any merger or consolidation to which the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent shall be a party, or any Person succeeding to the stock transfer business of the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent, shall be the successor to the Rights Agent under this Agreement without the execution or filing of any paper or any further act on the part of any of the parties hereto; provided , however , that such Person would be eligible for appointment as a successor Rights Agent under the provisions of Section 21.  In case at the time such successor Rights Agent shall succeed to the agency created by this Agreement, any of the Rights Certificates shall have been countersigned but not delivered, any such successor Rights Agent may adopt the countersignature of a predecessor Rights Agent and deliver such Rights Certificates so countersigned; and in case at the time any of the Rights Certificates shall not have been countersigned, any successor Rights Agent may countersign such Rights Certificates either in the name of the predecessor or in the name of the successor Rights Agent; and in all such cases such Rights Certificates shall have the full force provided in the Rights Certificates and in this Agreement.

 

(b)  In case at any time the name of the Rights Agent shall be changed, and at such time any of the Rights Certificates shall have been countersigned but not delivered, the Rights Agent may adopt the countersignature under its prior name and deliver Rights Certificates so countersigned; and in case, at that time, any of the Rights Certificates shall not have been countersigned, the Rights Agent may countersign such Rights Certificates either in its prior name or in its changed name; and in all such cases such Rights Certificates shall have the full force provided in the Rights Certificates and in this Agreement.

 

Section 20.  Duties of Rights Agent .   The Rights Agent undertakes only the duties and obligations expressly imposed by this Agreement upon the following terms and

 

26



 

conditions, by all of which the Company and the holders of Rights Certificates, by their acceptance thereof, shall be bound:

 

(a)  Before the Rights Agent acts or refrains from acting, the Rights Agent may consult with legal counsel (who may be legal counsel for the Company), and the opinion of such counsel shall be full and complete authorization and protection to the Rights Agent as to any action taken or omitted by it in good faith and in accordance with such opinion.

 

(b)  Whenever in the performance of its duties under this Agreement the Rights Agent shall deem it necessary or desirable that any fact or matter (including, without limitation, the identity of any Acquiring Person and the determination of “current market price”) be proved or established by the Company prior to taking, suffering or omitting to take any action hereunder, such fact or matter (unless other evidence in respect thereof be herein specifically prescribed) may be deemed to be conclusively proved and established by a certificate signed by the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer, the President, any Vice President, the Treasurer, any Assistant Treasurer, the Secretary or any Assistant Secretary of the Company and delivered to the Rights Agent; and such certificate shall be full authorization and protection to the Rights Agent, and the Rights Agent shall incur no liability for or in respect of any action taken, suffered or omitted to be taken by it in good faith by it under the provisions of this Agreement in reliance upon such certificate.

 

(c)  The Rights Agent shall be liable hereunder only for its own gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct.

 

(d)  The Rights Agent shall not be liable for or by reason of any of the statements of fact or recitals contained in this Agreement or in the Rights Certificates or be required to verify the same (except as to its countersignature on such Rights Certificates), but all such statements and recitals are and shall be deemed to have been made by the Company only.

 

(e)  The Rights Agent shall not be under any responsibility in respect of the validity of this Agreement or the execution and delivery hereof (except the due execution hereof by the Rights Agent) or in respect of the validity or execution of any Rights Certificate (except its countersignature thereof); nor shall it be responsible for any breach by the Company of any covenant or condition contained in this Agreement or in any Rights Certificate; nor shall it be responsible for any adjustment required under the provisions of Section 11, Section 13 or Section 24 or responsible for the manner, method or amount of any such adjustment or the ascertaining of the existence of facts that would require any such adjustment (except with respect to the exercise of Rights evidenced by Rights Certificates after actual notice of any such adjustment); nor shall it by any act hereunder be deemed to make any representation or warranty as to the authorization or reservation of any shares of Common Stock or Preferred Stock to be issued pursuant to this Agreement or any Rights Certificate or as to whether any shares of Common Stock

 

27



or Preferred Stock will, when so issued, be validly authorized and issued, fully paid and nonassessable.

 

(f)  The Company agrees that it will perform, execute, acknowledge and deliver or cause to be performed, executed, acknowledged and delivered all such further and other acts, instruments and assurances as may reasonably be required by the Rights Agent for the carrying out or performing by the Rights Agent of the provisions of this Agreement.

 

(g)  The Rights Agent is hereby authorized and directed to accept instructions with respect to the performance of its duties hereunder from the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer, the President, any Vice President, the Secretary, any Assistant Secretary, the Treasurer or any Assistant Treasurer of the Company, and to apply to such officers for advice or instructions in connection with its duties, and it shall incur no liability for or in respect of any action taken, suffered or omitted by it in good faith in accordance with instructions of any such officer.

 

(h)  The Rights Agent and any stockholder, director, Affiliate, officer or employee of the Rights Agent may buy, sell or deal in any of the Rights or other securities of the Company or become pecuniarily interested in any transaction in which the Company may be interested, or contract with or lend money to the Company or otherwise act as fully and freely as though it were not Rights Agent under this Agreement.  Nothing herein shall preclude the Rights Agent from acting in any other capacity for the Company or for any other Person.

 

(i)  The Rights Agent may execute and exercise any of the rights or powers hereby vested in it or perform any duty hereunder either itself or by or through its attorneys or agents, and the Rights Agent shall not be answerable or accountable for any act, default, neglect or misconduct of any such attorneys or agents or for any loss to the Company resulting from any such act, default, neglect or misconduct; provided , however , that reasonable care was exercised in the selection and continued employment thereof.

 

(j)  No provision of this Agreement shall require the Rights Agent to expend or risk its own funds or otherwise incur any financial liability in the performance of any of its duties hereunder or in the exercise of its rights if there shall be reasonable grounds for believing that repayment of such funds or adequate indemnification against such risk or liability is not reasonably assured to it.

 

(k)  If, with respect to any Rights Certificate surrendered to the Rights Agent for exercise or transfer, the certificate attached to the form of assignment or form of election to purchase, as the case may be, has either not been completed or indicates an affirmative response to clause 1 and/or 2 thereof, the Rights Agent shall not take any further action with respect to such requested exercise or transfer without first consulting with the Company.

 

Section 21 Change of Rights Agent .   The Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent may resign and be discharged from its duties under this Agreement upon thirty (30) days’

 

28



 

notice in writing mailed to the Company, and to each transfer agent of the Common Stock and Preferred Stock, by registered or certified mail, and to the holders of the Rights Certificates by first-class mail.  The Company may remove the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent upon thirty (30) days’ notice in writing, mailed to the Rights Agent or successor Rights Agent, as the case may be, and to each transfer agent of the Common Stock and Preferred Stock, by registered or certified mail, and to the holders of the Rights Certificates by first-class mail.  In the event that the transfer agency relationship in effect between the Company and the Rights Agent terminates, the Rights Agent will be deemed to resign automatically on the effective date of such termination; and any required notice shall be sent by the Company.  If the Rights Agent shall resign or be removed or shall otherwise become incapable of acting, the Company shall appoint a successor to the Rights Agent.  If the Company shall fail to make such appointment within a period of thirty (30) days after giving notice of such removal or after it has been notified in writing of such resignation or incapacity by the resigning or incapacitated Rights Agent or by any registered holder of a Rights Certificate (who shall, with such notice, submit such holder’s Rights Certificate for inspection by the Company), then any registered holder of any Rights Certificate may apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for the appointment of a new Rights Agent.  Any successor Rights Agent, whether appointed by the Company or by such a court, shall be (i) a Person organized and doing business under the laws of the United States or of the or of any other state of the United States or the District of Columbia, in good standing, which is authorized under such laws to exercise corporate trust or stock transfer powers and is subject to supervision or examination by federal or state authority and which has at the time of its appointment as Rights Agent a combined capital and surplus of at least $50,000,000 or (ii) an Affiliate of such Person.  After appointment, the successor Rights Agent shall be vested with the same powers, rights, duties and responsibilities as if it had been originally named as Rights Agent without further act or deed; but the predecessor Rights Agent shall deliver and transfer to the successor Rights Agent any property at the time held by it hereunder, and execute and deliver any further reasonable assurance, conveyance, act or deed necessary for the purpose.  Not later than the effective date of any such appointment, the Company shall file notice thereof in writing with the predecessor Rights Agent and each transfer agent of the Common Stock and the Preferred Stock, and mail a notice thereof in writing to the registered holders of the Rights Certificates.  Failure to give any notice provided for in this Section 21 or any defect therein shall not affect the legality or validity of the resignation or removal of the Rights Agent or the appointment of the successor Rights Agent, as the case may be.

 

Section 22 Issuance of New Rights Certificates .   Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this Agreement or of the Rights to the contrary, the Company may, at its option, issue new Rights Certificates evidencing Rights in such form as may be approved by its Board of Directors to reflect any adjustment or change in the Purchase Price and the number or kind or class of shares or other securities or property purchasable under the Rights Certificates made in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.  In addition, in connection with the issuance or sale of shares of Common Stock following the Distribution Date and prior to the redemption or expiration of the Rights, the Company (a) shall, with respect to shares of Common Stock so issued or sold pursuant to the exercise of stock options or under any employee plan or arrangement, granted or awarded prior to the Distribution Date, or upon the exercise, conversion or exchange of securities hereinafter issued by the Company, and (b) may, in any other case, if

 

29



 

deemed necessary or appropriate by the Board of Directors of the Company, issue Rights Certificates representing an appropriate number of Rights in connection with such issuance or sale; provided , however , that (i) no such Rights Certificate shall be issued if, and to the extent that, the Company shall be advised by counsel that such issuance would create a significant risk of material adverse tax consequences to the Company or the Person to whom such Rights Certificate would be issued, and (ii) no such Rights Certificate shall be issued if, and to the extent that, appropriate adjustment shall otherwise have been made in lieu of the issuance thereof.

 

Section 23 Redemption and Termination .

 

(a)  The Board of Directors of the Company may, at its option, at any time prior to the earlier of (i) the Close of Business on the tenth day following the Stock Acquisition Date (or, if the Stock Acquisition Date shall have occurred prior to the Record Date, the Close of Business on the tenth day following the Record Date), or (ii) the Final Expiration Date, redeem all but not less than all of the then outstanding Rights at a redemption price of $.001 per Right, as such amount may be appropriately adjusted to reflect any stock split, stock dividend or similar transaction occurring after the date hereof (such redemption price being hereinafter referred to as the “Redemption Price”).  Notwithstanding anything contained in this Agreement to the contrary, the Rights shall not be exercisable after the first occurrence of a Section 11(a)(ii) Event until such time as the Company’s right of redemption hereunder has expired.  The Company may, at its option, pay the Redemption Price in cash, shares of Common Stock (based on the “current market price”, as defined in Section 11(d)(i), of the Common Stock at the time of redemption) or any other form of consideration deemed appropriate by the Board of Directors.  The redemption of the Rights by the Board of Directors may be made effective at such time, on such basis and with such conditions as the Board of Directors in its sole discretion may establish.

 

(b)  Immediately upon the action of the Board of Directors of the Company ordering the redemption of the Rights, evidence of which shall have been filed with the Rights Agent and without any further action and without any notice, the right to exercise the Rights will terminate and the only right thereafter of the holders of Rights shall be to receive the Redemption Price for each Right so held.  Promptly after the action of the Board of Directors ordering the redemption of the Rights, the Company shall give notice of such redemption to the Rights Agent and the holders of the then outstanding Rights by mailing such notice to the Rights Agent and to all such holders at each holder’s last address as it appears upon the registry books of the Rights Agent or, prior to the Distribution Date, on the registry books of the transfer agent for the Common Stock.  Any notice which is mailed in the manner herein provided shall be deemed given, whether or not the holder receives the notice.  Each such notice of redemption will state the method by which the payment of the Redemption Price will be made.

 

Section 24 Exchange .

 

(a)  The Board of Directors of the Company may, at its option, at any time after any Person becomes an Acquiring Person, exchange all or part of the then outstanding and exercisable Rights (which shall not include Rights that have become null and void pursuant to the provisions of Section 7(e)) for shares of Common Stock at an exchange ratio of one share of

 

30



 

Common Stock per Right, appropriately adjusted to reflect any stock split, stock dividend or similar transaction occurring after the date hereof (such exchange ratio being hereinafter referred to as the “Exchange Ratio”).  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board of Directors of the Company shall not be empowered to effect such exchange at any time after any Person (other than the Company, any Subsidiary of the Company, any employee benefit plan of the Company or of any  Subsidiary of the Company, or any Person organized, appointed or established by the Company for or pursuant to the terms of any such plan), together with all Affiliates and Associates of such Person, becomes the Beneficial Owner of fifty percent (50%) or more of the Common Stock then outstanding.

 

(b)  Immediately upon the action of the Board of Directors of the Company ordering the exchange of any Rights pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section 24 and without any further action and without any notice, the right to exercise such Rights shall terminate and the only right thereafter of a holder of any such Rights shall be to receive that number of shares of Common Stock equal to the number of such Rights held by such holder multiplied by the Exchange Ratio.  The Company shall promptly give public notice (with prompt notice thereof to the Rights Agent) of any exchange; provided , however , that the failure to give, or any defect in, such notice shall not affect the validity of such exchange.  The Company promptly shall mail a notice of any such exchange to all of the holders of such Rights at their last addresses as they appear upon the registry books of the Rights Agent.  Any notice which is mailed in the manner herein provided shall be deemed given, whether or not the holder receives the notice.  Each such notice of exchange will state the method by which the exchange of the Common Stock for Rights will be effected and, in the event of any partial exchange, the number of Rights which will be exchanged.  Any partial exchange will be effected pro rata based on the number of Rights (other than Rights which have become null and void pursuant to the provisions of Section 7(e)) held by each holder of Rights.

 

(c)  In any exchange pursuant to this Section 24, the Company, at its option, may substitute shares of Preferred Stock (or equivalent preferred stock, as such term is defined in paragraph (b) of Section 11) for shares of Common Stock exchangeable for Rights, at the initial rate of one one-thousandth of a share of Preferred Stock (or equivalent preferred stock) for each share of Common Stock, as appropriately adjusted to reflect adjustments in the voting rights of the Preferred Stock pursuant to the terms thereof, so that the fraction of a share of Preferred Stock delivered in lieu of each share of Common Stock shall have the same voting rights as one share of Common Stock.

 

(d)  In the event that there shall not be sufficient shares of Common Stock issued but not outstanding or authorized but unissued to permit any exchange of Rights as contemplated in accordance with this Section 24, the Company shall take all such actions as may be necessary to authorize additional shares of Common Stock for issuance upon exchange of the Rights.

 

(e)  The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of shares of Common Stock or to distribute certificates which evidence fractional shares of Common Stock.  In lieu of such fractional shares of Common Stock, there shall be paid to the registered holders of the Rights Certificates with regard to which such fractional shares of Common Stock would otherwise be issuable, an amount in cash equal to the same fraction of the current market value

 

31



 

of a whole share of Common Stock.  For the purposes of this subsection (e), the current market value of a whole share of Common Stock shall be the closing price of a share of Common Stock (as determined pursuant to the second sentence of Section 11(d)(i)) for the Trading Day immediately prior to the date of exchange pursuant to this Section 24.

 

Section 25 Notice of Certain Events .

 

(a)  In case the Company shall propose, at any time after the Distribution Date, (i) to pay any dividend payable in stock of any class to the holders of Preferred Stock or to make any other distribution to the holders of Preferred Stock (other than a regular periodic cash dividend out of earnings or retained earnings of the Company), or (ii) to offer to the holders of Preferred Stock rights or warrants to subscribe for or to purchase any additional shares of Preferred Stock or shares of stock of any class or any other securities, rights or options, or (iii) to effect any reclassification of its Preferred Stock (other than a reclassification involving only the subdivision of outstanding shares of Preferred Stock), or (iv) to effect any consolidation or merger into or with any other Person (other than a Subsidiary of the Company in a transaction which complies with Section 11(o)), or to effect any sale or other transfer (or to permit one or more of its Subsidiaries to effect any sale or other transfer), in one transaction or a series of related transactions, of more than 50% of the assets, cash flow or earning power of the Company and its Subsidiaries (taken as a whole) to any other Person or Persons (other than the Company and/or any of its Subsidiaries in one or more transactions each of which complies with Section 11(o)), or (v) to effect the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, then, in each such case, the Company shall give to the Rights Agent and to each holder of a Rights Certificate, to the extent feasible and in accordance with Section 26, a notice of such proposed action, which shall specify the record date for the purposes of such stock dividend, distribution of rights or warrants, or the date on which such reclassification, consolidation, merger, sale, transfer, liquidation, dissolution, or winding up is to take place and the date of participation therein by the holders of the shares of Preferred Stock, if any such date is to be fixed, and such notice shall be so given in the case of any action covered by clause (i) or (ii) above at least twenty (20) days prior to the record date for determining holders of the shares of Preferred Stock for purposes of such action, and in the case of any such other action, at least twenty (20) days prior to the date of the taking of such proposed action or the date of participation therein by the holders of the shares of Preferred Stock, whichever shall be the earlier.

 

(b)  In case a Section 11(a)(ii) Event shall occur, then, in any such case, (i) the Company shall as soon as practicable thereafter give to each holder of a Rights Certificate, to the extent feasible and in accordance with Section 26, a notice of the occurrence of such event, which shall specify the event and the consequences of the event to holders of Rights under Section 11(a)(ii), and (ii) all references in the preceding paragraph to Preferred Stock shall be deemed thereafter to refer to Common Stock and/or, if appropriate, other securities.

 

Section 26 Notices .   Notices or demands authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the Rights Agent or by the holder of any Rights Certificate to or on the Company shall be sufficiently given or made if sent by first-class mail, postage prepaid, addressed (until another address is filed in writing with the Rights Agent) or by facsimile transmission as follows:

 

32



 

EquiServe Trust Company, N.A.

250 Royall Street

Canton, Massachusetts 02021

Attention:  Client Administration

Facsimile No.:  (781) 575-2420

 

Subject to the provisions of Section 21, any notice or demand authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the Company or by the holder of any Rights Certificate to or on the Rights Agent shall be sufficiently given or made if sent by first-class mail, postage prepaid, addressed (until another address is filed in writing with the Company) or by facsimile transmission as follows:

 

Neenah Paper, Inc.

Preston Ridge III

3460 Preston Ridge Road, Suite 600

Alpharetta, Georgia 30005

Attention: General Counsel

Facsimile No.:  (678) 566-0464

 

Notices or demands authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the Company or the Rights Agent to the holder of any Rights Certificate (or, if prior to the Distribution Date, to the holder of certificates representing shares of Common Stock) shall be sufficiently given or made if sent by first-class mail, postage prepaid, addressed to such holder at the address of such holder as shown on the registry books of the Company.

 

Section 27 Supplements and Amendments .   The Company may from time to time supplement or amend this Agreement without the approval of any holders of Rights Certificates in order to cure any ambiguity, to correct or supplement any provision contained herein which may be defective or inconsistent with any other provision herein, or to make any other provisions with respect to the Rights which the Company may deem necessary or desirable, any such supplement or amendment to be evidenced by a writing signed by the Company and the Rights Agent; provided , however , that from and after such time as any Person becomes an Acquiring Person, this Agreement shall not be amended in any manner which would adversely affect the interests of the holders of Rights.  Without limiting the foregoing, the Company may at any time prior to such time as any Person becomes an Acquiring Person amend this Agreement to lower the thresholds set forth in Sections 1(a) and 3(a) to a percentage that (subject to exceptions for specified Persons or groups excepted from the definition of “Acquiring Person”) is not less than the greater of (i) 0.001% more than the largest percentage of the outstanding shares of Common Stock then known by the Company to be beneficially owned by any Person (other than the Company, any Subsidiary of the Company, any employee benefit plan of the Company or of any Subsidiary of the Company, any Person organized, appointed or established by the Company for or pursuant to the terms of any such plan or, to the extent excepted from the definition of “Acquiring Person”, other specified Persons or groups) and (ii) 10.0%.

 

33



 

Section 28 Successors .   All the covenants and provisions of this Agreement by or for the benefit of the Company or the Rights Agent shall bind and inure to the benefit of their respective successors and assigns hereunder.

 

Section 29 Determination and Actions by the Board of Directors, etc .   For all purposes of this Agreement, any calculation of the number of shares of Common Stock or any other class of stock outstanding at any particular time, including for purposes of determining the particular percentage of such outstanding shares of Common Stock of which any Person is the Beneficial Owner, shall be made in accordance with the last sentence of Rule 13d-3(d)(l)(i) of the General Rules and Regulations under the Exchange Act.  The Board of Directors of the Company shall have the exclusive power and authority to administer this Agreement and to exercise all rights and powers specifically granted to the Board of Directors of the Company or to the Company, or as may be necessary or advisable in the administration of this Agreement, including, without limitation, the right and power to (i) interpret the provisions of this Agreement, and (ii) make all determinations deemed necessary or advisable for the administration of this Agreement (including, but not limited to, a determination to redeem or not redeem the Rights or to amend this Agreement).  All such actions, calculations, interpretations and determinations (including, for purposes of clause (y) below, all omissions with respect to the foregoing) which are done or made by the Board of Directors of the Company in good faith shall (x) be final, conclusive and binding on the Company, the Rights Agent, the holders of the Rights and all other Persons, and (y) not subject the Board of Directors of the Company to any liability to the holders of the Rights.

 

Section 30 Benefits of this Agreement .   Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to give to any Person other than the Company, the Rights Agent and the registered holders of the Rights Certificates (and, prior to the Distribution Date, registered holders of the Common Stock) any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under this Agreement; but this Agreement shall be for the sole and exclusive benefit of the Company, the Rights Agent and the registered holders of the Rights Certificates (and, prior to the Distribution Date, registered holders of the Common Stock).

 

Section 31 Severability .   If any term, provision, covenant or restriction of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction or other authority to be invalid, void or unenforceable, the remainder of the terms, provisions, covenants and restrictions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired or invalidated; provided , however , that notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, if any such term, provision, covenant or restriction is held by such court or authority to be invalid, void or unenforceable and the Board of Directors of the Company determines in its good faith judgment that severing the invalid language from this Agreement would adversely affect the purpose or effect of this Agreement, the right of redemption set forth in Section 23 shall be reinstated and shall not expire until the Close of Business on the tenth day following the date of such determination by the Board of Directors of the Company.

 

Section 32 Governing Law .   This Agreement, each Right and each Rights Certificate issued hereunder shall be deemed to be a contract made under the laws of the State of

 

34



 

Delaware and for all purposes shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of such State applicable to contracts made and to be performed entirely within such State.

 

Section 33 Counterparts .   This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts and each of such counterparts shall for all purposes be deemed to be an original, and all such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the same instrument.

 

Section 34 Descriptive Headings .   Descriptive headings of the several Sections of this Agreement are inserted for convenience only and shall not control or affect the meaning or construction of any of the provisions hereof.

 

35



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be duly executed as of the day and year first above written.

 

 

NEENAH PAPER, INC.

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Sean T. Erwin

 

 

 

Name: Sean T. Erwin

 

 

 

Title: President and Chief Executive Officer

 

 

 

 

 

EQUISERVE TRUST COMPANY, N.A.

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Joshua P. McGinn

 

 

 

Name: Joshua P. McGinn

 

 

 

Title: Senior Account Manager

 

 



 

Exhibit A

 

CERTIFICATE OF DESIGNATION

 

OF

 

SERIES A JUNIOR PARTICIPATING PREFERRED STOCK

 

OF

 

NEENAH PAPER, INC.

 

 

Pursuant to Section 151 of the
General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware

 

November 30, 2004

 

The undersigned do hereby certify that the following resolution was duly adopted by the Board of Directors of Neenah Paper, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Corporation”), on November 30, 2004:

 

RESOLVED, that pursuant to the authority vested in the board of directors of the Corporation by the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Charter”), the Board of Directors does hereby create, authorize and provide for the issue of a series of Preferred Stock, par value $.01 per share, of the Corporation, to be designated “Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock” (hereinafter referred to as the “Series A Preferred Stock”), initially consisting of 100,000 shares, and to the extent that the designations, powers, preferences and relative and other special rights and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions of the Series A Preferred Stock are not stated and expressed in the Charter, does hereby fix and herein state and express such designations, powers, preferences and relative and other special rights and the qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, as follows (all terms used herein which are defined in the Charter shall be deemed to have the meanings provided therein):

 

A-1



 

Section  1.   Designation and Amount .   The shares of such series shall be designated as “Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock” and the number of shares constituting such series shall be 100,000.  Such number of shares may be increased or decreased by resolution of the Board of Directors; provided , that no decrease shall reduce the number of shares of Series A Preferred Stock to a number less than the number of shares then outstanding plus the number of shares reserved for issuance upon the exercise of outstanding options, rights or warrants or upon the conversion of any outstanding securities issued by the Corporation convertible into Series A Preferred Stock.

 

Section  2.   Dividends and Distributions .

 

(A)   Subject to the prior and superior rights of the holders of any shares of any series of Preferred Stock (or any similar stock) ranking prior and superior to the shares of Series A Preferred Stock with respect to dividends, the holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock in preference to the holders of Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Common Stock”), shall be entitled to receive, when, as and if declared by the Board of Directors out of funds legally available for the purpose, quarterly dividends payable in cash on the first business day of March, June, September and December in each year (each such date being referred to herein as a “Quarterly Dividend Payment Date”), commencing on the first Quarterly Dividend Payment Date after the first issuance of a share or fraction of a share of Series A Preferred Stock, in an amount per share (rounded to the nearest cent) equal to the greater of (a) $1.00 or (b) subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, 1000 times the aggregate per share amount of all cash dividends, plus 1000 times the aggregate per share amount (payable in kind) of all non-cash dividends or other distributions other than a dividend payable in shares of Common Stock or a subdivision of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise), declared on the Common Stock since the immediately preceding Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, or, with respect to the first Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, since the first issuance of any share or fraction of a share of Series A Preferred Stock.  In the event the Corporation shall at any time after November 30, 2004 (the “Rights Declaration Date”) (i) declare any dividend on Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, (ii) subdivide the outstanding Common Stock, or (iii) combine the outstanding Common Stock into a smaller number of shares, then in each case the amount to which holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock were entitled immediately prior to such event under clause (b) of the preceding sentence shall be adjusted by multiplying such amount by a fraction the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.

 

(B)   The Corporation shall declare a dividend or distribution on the Series A Preferred Stock as provided in paragraph (A) above immediately after it declares a dividend or distribution on the Common Stock (other than a dividend payable in shares of Common Stock); provided , however , that, in the event no dividend or distribution shall have been declared on the Common Stock during the period between any Quarterly Dividend Payment Date and the next subsequent Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, subject to the prior and superior rights of the holders of any shares of any series of Preferred Stock ranking prior to and superior to the shares of Series A Preferred Stock with respect to dividends, a dividend of $.01 per share on the Series A

 

A-2



 

Preferred Stock shall nevertheless by payable on such subsequent Quarterly Dividend Payment Date.

 

(C)   Dividends shall begin to accrue and be cumulative on outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock from the Quarterly Dividend Payment Date next preceding the date of issue of such shares of Series A Preferred Stock, unless the date of issue of such shares is prior to the record date for the first Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, in which case dividends on such shares shall begin to accrue from the date of issue of such shares, or unless the date of issue is a Quarterly Dividend Payment Date or is a date after the record date for the determination of holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock entitled to receive a quarterly dividend and before such Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, in either of which events such dividends shall begin to accrue and be cumulative from such Quarterly Dividend Payment Date.  Accrued but unpaid dividends shall not bear interest.  Dividends paid on the shares of Series A Preferred Stock in an amount less than the total amount of such dividends at the time accrued and payable on such shares shall be allocated pro rata on a share-by-share basis among all such shares at the time outstanding.  The Board of Directors may fix a record date for the determination of holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock entitled to receive payment of a dividend or distribution declared thereon, which record date shall be no more than 60 days prior to the date fixed for the payment thereof.

 

Section  3.   Voting Rights .

 

The holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall have the following voting rights:

 

(A)   Subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, each share of Series A Preferred Stock shall entitle the holder thereof to 1000 votes on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders of the Corporation.  In the event the Corporation shall at any time after the Rights Declaration Date (i) declare any dividend on Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, (ii) subdivide the outstanding Common Stock, or (iii) combine the outstanding Common Stock into a smaller number of shares, then in each such case the number of votes per share to which holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock were entitled immediately prior to such event shall be adjusted by multiplying such number by a fraction the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.

 

(B)   Except as otherwise provided herein, in any other Certificate of Designations creating a series of Preferred Stock or any similar stock, or by law, the holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock and the holders of shares of Common Stock shall vote collectively as one class on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders of the Corporation.

 

(C)   (i)  If at any time dividends on any Series A Preferred Stock shall be in arrears in an amount equal to six (6) quarterly dividends thereon, the occurrence of such contingency shall mark the beginning of a period (herein called a “default period”) which shall extend until such time when all accrued and unpaid dividends for all previous

 

A-3



 

quarterly dividend periods and for the current quarterly dividend period on all shares of Series A Preferred Stock then outstanding shall have been declared and paid or set apart for payment.  During each default period, all holders of Preferred Stock (including holders of the Series A Preferred Stock) with dividends in arrears in an amount equal to six (6) quarterly dividends thereon, voting as a class, irrespective of series, shall have the right to elect two (2) Directors.

 

(ii)   During any default period, such voting right of the holders of Series A Preferred Stock may be exercised initially at a special meeting called pursuant to subparagraph (iii) of this Section 3(C) or at any annual meeting of stockholders, and thereafter at annual meetings of stockholders, provided that such voting right shall not be exercised unless the holders of ten percent (10%) in number of shares of Preferred Stock outstanding shall be present in person or by proxy.  The absence of a quorum of the holders of Common Stock shall not affect the exercise by the holders of Preferred Stock of such voting rights.  At any meeting at which the holders of Preferred Stock shall exercise such voting right initially during an existing default period, they shall have the right, voting as a class, to elect Directors to fill such vacancies, if any, in the Board of Directors as may then exist up to two (2) Directors or, if such right is exercised at an annual meeting, to elect two (2) Directors.  If the number which may be so elected at any special meeting does not amount to the required number, the holders of the Preferred Stock shall have the right to make such increase in the number of Directors as shall be necessary to permit the election by them of the required number.  After the holders of the Preferred Stock shall have exercised their right to elect Directors in any default period and during the continuance of such period, the number of Directors shall not be increased or decreased except by vote of the holders of Preferred Stock as herein provided or pursuant to the rights of any equity securities ranking senior to or pari passu with the Series A Preferred Stock.

 

(iii)   Unless the holders of Preferred Stock shall, during an existing default period, have previously exercised their right to elect Directors, the Board of Directors may order, or any stockholder or stockholders owning in the aggregate not less than ten percent (10%) of the total number of shares of Preferred Stock outstanding, irrespective of series, may request, the calling of special meeting of the holders of Preferred Stock, which meeting shall thereupon be called by the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer, the President, a Vice President or the Secretary of the Corporation.  Notice of such meeting and of any annual meeting at which holders of Preferred Stock are entitled to vote pursuant to this paragraph (C)(iii) shall be given to each holder of record of Preferred Stock by mailing a copy of such notice to him or her at his or her last address as the same appears on the books of the Corporation.  Such meeting shall be called for a time not earlier than 10 days and not later than 50 days after such order or request, or in default of the calling of such meeting within 50 days after such order or request, such meeting may be called on similar notice by any stockholder or stockholders owning in the aggregate not less than ten percent (10%) of the total number of shares of Preferred Stock outstanding.  Notwithstanding the provisions of this paragraph (C)(iii), no such special

 

A-4



 

meeting shall be called during the period within 50 days immediately preceding the date fixed for the next annual meeting of the stockholders.

 

(iv)   In any default period, the holders of Common Stock, and, if applicable, other classes of capital stock of the Corporation, shall continue to be entitled to elect the whole number of Directors until the holders of Preferred Stock shall have exercised their right to elect two (2) Directors voting as a class, after the exercise of which right (x) the Directors so elected by the holders of Preferred Stock shall continue in office until their successors shall have been elected by such holders or until the expiration of the default period, and (y) any vacancy in the Board of Directors may (except as provided in paragraph (C)(ii) of this Section 3) be filled by vote of a majority of the remaining Directors theretofore elected by the holders of the class of capital stock which elected the Director whose office shall have become vacant.  References in this paragraph (C) to Directors elected by the holders of a particular class of stock shall include Directors appointed by such Directors to fill vacancies as provided in clause (y) of the foregoing sentence.

 

(v)   Immediately upon the expiration of a default period, (x) the right of the holders of Preferred Stock as a class to elect Directors shall cease, (y) the term of any Directors elected by the holders of Preferred Stock as a class shall terminate, and (z) the number of Directors shall be such number as may be provided for in the certificate of incorporation or by-laws irrespective of any increase made pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (C)(ii) of this Section 3 (such number being subject, however, to change thereafter in any manner provided by law or in the certificate of incorporation or by-laws).  Any vacancies in the Board of Directors effected by the provisions of clauses (y) and (z) in the preceding sentence may be filled by a majority of the remaining Directors.

 

(D)   Except as set forth herein, or as otherwise provided by law, holders of Series A Preferred Stock shall have no special voting rights and their consent shall not be required (except to the extent they are entitled to vote with holders of Common Stock as set forth herein) for taking any corporate action.

 

Section  4.   Certain Restrictions .

 

(A)   Whenever quarterly dividends or other dividends or distributions payable on the Series A Preferred Stock as provided in Section 2 are in arrears, thereafter and until all accrued and unpaid dividends and distributions, whether or not declared, on shares of Series A Preferred Stock outstanding shall have been paid in full, the Corporation shall not:

 

(i)   declare or pay dividends on, make any other distributions on, or redeem or purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration any shares of capital stock ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) to the Series A Preferred Stock;

 

(ii)   declare or pay dividends on or make any other distributions on any shares of stock ranking on a parity (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) with the Series A Preferred Stock, except dividends

 

A-5



 

paid ratably on the Series A Preferred Stock and all such parity stock on which dividends are payable or in arrears in proportion to the total amounts to which the holders of all such shares are then entitled;

 

(iii)   redeem or purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration shares of any capital stock ranking on a parity (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) with the Series A Preferred Stock, provided that the Corporation may at any time redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire shares of any such parity stock in exchange for shares of any capital stock of the Corporation ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon dissolution, liquidation or winding up) to the Series A Preferred Stock; or

 

(iv)   purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration any shares of Series A Preferred Stock, or any shares of capital stock ranking on a parity with the Series A Preferred Stock, except in accordance with a purchase offer made in writing or by publication (as determined by the Board of Directors) to all holders of such shares upon such terms as the Board of Directors, after consideration of the respective annual dividend rates and other relative rights and preferences of the respective series and classes, shall determine in good faith will result in fair and equitable treatment among the respective series or classes.

 

(B)   The Corporation shall not permit any subsidiary of the Corporation to purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration any shares of stock of the Corporation unless the Corporation could, under paragraph (A) of this Section 4, purchase or otherwise acquire such shares at such time and in such manner.

 

Section  5.   Reacquired Shares .

 

Any shares of Series A Preferred Stock purchased or otherwise acquired by the Corporation in any manner whatsoever shall be retired and cancelled promptly after the acquisition thereof.  All such shares shall upon their cancellation become authorized but unissued shares of Preferred Stock and may be reissued as part of a new series of Preferred Stock to be created by resolution or resolutions of the Board of Directors, subject to the conditions and restrictions on issuance set forth herein.

 

Section  6.   Liquidation, Dissolution or Winding Up .

 

(A)   Upon any liquidation (voluntary or otherwise), dissolution or winding up of the Corporation, no distribution shall be made to the holders of shares of capital stock ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) to the Series A Preferred Stock unless, prior thereto, the holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall have received $1000 per share, plus an amount equal to accrued and unpaid dividends and distributions thereon, whether or not declared, to the date of such payment (the “Series A Liquidation Preference”).  Following the payment of the full amount of the Series A Liquidation Preference, no additional distributions shall be made to the holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock unless, prior thereto, the holders of shares of Common Stock shall have received

 

A-6



 

an amount per share (the “Common Adjustment”) equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (i) the Series A Liquidation Preference by (ii) 1000 (as appropriately adjusted as set forth in subparagraph (C) below to reflect such events as stock splits, stock dividends and recapitalizations with respect to the Common Stock) (such number in clause (ii), the “Adjustment Number”).  Following the payment of the full amount of the Series A Liquidation Preference and the Common Adjustment in respect of all outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock and Common Stock, respectively, and the payment of liquidation preferences of all other shares of capital stock which rank prior to or on a parity with Series A Preferred Stock, holders of Series A Preferred Stock and holders of shares of Common Stock shall receive their ratable and proportionate share of the remaining assets to be distributed in the ratio of the Adjustment Number to 1 with respect to such Preferred Stock and Common Stock, on a per share basis, respectively.

 

(B)   In the event, however, that there are not sufficient assets available to permit payment in full of the Series A Liquidation Preference and the liquidation preferences of all other series of Preferred Stock, if any, which rank on a parity with the Series A Preferred Stock, then such remaining assets shall be distributed ratably to the holders of such parity shares in proportion to their respective liquidation preferences.  In the event, however, that there are not sufficient assets available to permit payment in full of the Common Adjustment, then such remaining assets shall be distributed ratably to the holders of Common Stock.

 

(C)   In the event the Corporation shall at any time after the Rights Declaration Date (i) declare any dividend on Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, (ii) subdivide the outstanding Common Stock, or (iii) combine the outstanding Common Stock into a smaller number of shares, then in each such case the Adjustment Number in effect immediately prior to such event shall be adjusted by multiplying such Adjustment Number by a fraction the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.

 

Section  7.   Consolidation, Merger, etc .

 

In case the Corporation shall enter into any consolidation, merger, combination or other transaction in which the shares of Common Stock are exchanged for or changed into other stock or securities, cash and/or any other property, then in any such case the shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall at the same time be similarly exchanged or changed into an amount per share (subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth) equal to 1000 times the aggregate amount of capital stock, securities, cash and/or any other property (payable in kind), as the case may be, for which or into which each share of Common Stock is exchanged or changed.  In the event the Corporation shall at any time after the Rights Declaration Date (i) declare any dividend on Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, (ii) subdivide the outstanding Common Stock, or (iii) combine the outstanding Common Stock into a smaller number of shares, then in each such case the amount set forth in the preceding sentence with respect to the exchange or change of shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall be adjusted by multiplying such amount by a fraction the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock

 

A-7



 

outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.

 

Section  8.   No Redemption .

 

The shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall not be redeemable.

 

Section  9.   Ranking .

 

The Series A Preferred Stock shall rank junior to all other series of the Corporation’s Preferred Stock as to the payment of dividends and the distribution of assets, whether or not upon the dissolution, liquidation or winding up of the Corporation, unless the terms of any such series shall provide otherwise.

 

Section  10.   Amendment .

 

The Charter shall not be amended in any manner which would materially alter or change the powers, preferences or special rights of the Series A Preferred Stock so as to affect them adversely without the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock, voting separately as a class.

 

Section  11.   Fractional Shares .

 

Series A Preferred Stock may be issued in fractions of a share which shall entitle the holder, in proportion to such holder’s fractional shares, to exercise voting rights, receive dividends, participate in distributions and to have the benefit of all other rights of holders of Series A Preferred Stock.

 

A-8



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Corporation has caused this certificate to be signed as of the date first set forth above.

 

 

NEENAH PAPER, INC.

 

 

 

 

 

By:

 

 

 

 

Name: Sean T. Erwin

 

 

 

Title:

Chairman of the Board, Chief
Executive Officer and President

 

A-9



 

Exhibit B

 

[Form of Rights Certificate]

 

Certificate No. R-

 

Rights

 

NOT EXERCISABLE AFTER NOVEMBER 30, 2014 OR EARLIER IF REDEEMED OR EXCHANGED BY THE COMPANY.  THE RIGHTS ARE SUBJECT TO REDEMPTION, AT THE OPTION OF THE COMPANY, AT $.001 PER RIGHT, AND TO EXCHANGE ON THE TERMS SET FORTH IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT.  UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, RIGHTS BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY AN ACQUIRING PERSON (AS SUCH TERM IS DEFINED IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT) AND ANY SUBSEQUENT HOLDER OF SUCH RIGHTS MAY BECOME NULL AND VOID.  [THE RIGHTS REPRESENTED BY THIS RIGHTS CERTIFICATE ARE OR WERE BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY A PERSON WHO WAS OR BECAME AN ACQUIRING PERSON OR AN AFFILIATE OR ASSOCIATE OF AN ACQUIRING PERSON (AS SUCH TERMS ARE DEFINED IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT).  ACCORDINGLY, THIS RIGHTS CERTIFICATE AND THE RIGHTS REPRESENTED HEREBY MAY BECOME NULL AND VOID IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES SPECIFIED IN SECTION 7(e) OF SUCH AGREEMENT.]*

 


*   The portion of the legend in brackets shall be inserted only if applicable and shall replace the preceding sentence.

 

B-1



 

Rights Certificate

 

NEENAH PAPER, INC.

 

This certifies that                                       , or registered assigns, is the registered owner of the number of Rights set forth above, each of which entitles the owner thereof, subject to the terms, provisions and conditions of the Rights Agreement, dated as of November 30, 2004 (the “Rights Agreement”), between Neenah Paper, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and EquiServe Trust Company, N.A., a nationally chartered trust company, organized and existing under the laws of the United States (the “Rights Agent”), to purchase from the Company at any time prior to 5:00 P.M. (Eastern Standard time) on November 30, 2014 at the office or offices of the Rights Agent designated for such purpose, or its successors as Rights Agent, one one-thousandth of a fully paid, nonassessable share of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, par value $.01 per share (the “Preferred Stock”), of the Company, at a purchase price of $100 per one one-thousandth of a share (the “Purchase Price”), upon presentation and surrender of this Rights Certificate with the Form of Election to Purchase and related Certificate duly executed.  The number of Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate (and the number of shares which may be purchased upon exercise thereof) set forth above, and the Purchase Price per share set forth above, are the number and Purchase Price as of                             ,           , based on the Preferred Stock as constituted at such date.  The Company reserves the right to require prior to the occurrence of a Triggering Event (as such term is defined in the Rights Agreement) that, upon any exercise of Rights, a number of Rights be exercised so that only whole shares of Preferred Stock will be issued.

 

Upon the occurrence of a Section 11(a)(ii) Event (as such term is defined in the Rights Agreement), if the Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate are beneficially owned by (i) an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate or Associate of any such Acquiring Person (as such terms are defined in the Rights Agreement), (ii) a transferee of any such Acquiring Person, Associate or Affiliate, or (iii) under certain circumstances specified in the Rights Agreement, a transferee of a person who, after such transfer, became an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate or Associate of such Acquiring Person, such Rights shall become null and void and no holder hereof shall have any right with respect to such Rights from and after the occurrence of such Section 11(a)(ii) Event.

 

As provided in the Rights Agreement, the Purchase Price and the number and kind of shares of Preferred Stock or other securities which may be purchased upon the exercise of the Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate are subject to modification and adjustment upon the happening of certain events, including Triggering Events.

 

This Rights Certificate is subject to all of the terms, provisions and conditions of the Rights Agreement, which terms, provisions and conditions are hereby incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof and to which Rights Agreement reference is hereby made for a full description of the rights, limitations of rights, obligations, duties and immunities hereunder of the Rights Agent, the Company and the holders of the Rights Certificates, which limitations of rights include the temporary suspension of the exercisability of such Rights under the specific

 

B-2



 

circumstances set forth in the Rights Agreement.  Copies of the Rights Agreement are on file at the office of the Company and are also available upon written request to the Company.

 

This Rights Certificate, with or without other Rights Certificates, upon surrender at the principal office or offices of the Rights Agent designated for such purpose, may be exchanged for another Rights Certificate or Rights Certificates of like tenor and date evidencing Rights entitling the holder to purchase a like aggregate number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock as the Rights evidenced by the Rights Certificates surrendered shall have entitled such holder to purchase.  If this Rights Certificate shall be exercised in part, the holder shall be entitled to receive upon surrender hereof another Rights Certificate or Rights Certificates for the number of whole Rights not exercised.

 

Subject to the provisions of the Rights Agreement, the Rights evidenced by this Certificate may, in each case at the option of the Company, be (i) redeemed by the Company at its option at a redemption price of $.001 per Right or (ii) exchanged in whole or in part for shares of Common Stock or other securities of the Company.  Immediately upon the action of the Board of Directors of the Company authorizing redemption, the Rights will terminate and the only right of the holders of Rights will be to receive the redemption price.

 

No fractional shares of Preferred Stock will be issued upon the exercise of any Right or Rights evidenced hereby (other than fractions which are integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a share of Preferred Stock, which may, at the election of the Company, be evidenced by depositary receipts), but in lieu thereof a cash payment will be made, as provided in the Rights Agreement.

 

No holder of this Rights Certificate shall be entitled to vote or receive dividends or be deemed for any purpose the holder of shares of Preferred Stock or of any other securities of the Company which may at any time be issuable on the exercise hereof, nor shall anything contained in the Rights Agreement or herein be construed to confer upon the holder hereof, as such, any of the rights of a stockholder of the Company or any right to vote for the election of directors or upon any matter submitted to stockholders at any meeting thereof, or to give or withhold consent to any corporate action, or, to receive notice of meetings or other actions affecting stockholders (except as provided in the Rights Agreement), or to receive dividends or subscription rights, or otherwise, until the Right or Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate shall have been exercised as provided in the Rights Agreement.

 

This Rights Certificate shall not be valid or obligatory for any purpose until it shall have been countersigned manually or by facsimile signature by the Rights Agent.

 

B-3



 

WITNESS the facsimile signature of the proper officers of the Company and its corporate seal.

 

 

Dated as of                 ,                 

 

ATTEST:

NEENAH PAPER, INC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

 

 

Secretary

 

Name:

 

 

 

Title:

 

 

 

Countersigned:

 

 

 

 

 

EQUISERVE TRUST COMPANY, N.A.

 

 

 

 

 

By:

 

 

 

 

Authorized Signature

 

 

 

B-4



 

[Form of Reverse Side of Rights Certificate]

 

FORM OF ASSIGNMENT

 

(To be executed by the registered holder if such

 

holder desires to transfer the Rights Certificate.)

 

FOR VALUE RECEIVED                                          hereby sells, assigns and transfers unto                                                    

 

 

(Please print name and address of transferee)

 

 

this Rights Certificate, together with all right, title and interest therein, and does hereby irrevocably constitute and appoint            Attorney, to transfer the within Rights Certificate on the books of the within-named Company, with full power of substitution.

 

Dated:                    ,     

 

 

 

 

 

 

Signature

 

Signature Guaranteed:

 

Certificate

 

The undersigned hereby certifies by checking the appropriate boxes that:

 

(1)   this Rights Certificate [ ] is [ ] is not being sold, assigned and transferred by or on behalf of a Person who is or was an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate or Associate of an Acquiring Person (as such terms are defined pursuant to the Rights Agreement);

 

(2)   after due inquiry and to the best knowledge of the undersigned, it [ ] did [ ] did not acquire the Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate from any Person who is, was or subsequently became an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate or Associate of an Acquiring Person.

 

Dated:                   ,    

 

 

 

Signature

 

Signature Guaranteed:

 

B-5



 

NOTICE

 

The signature to the foregoing Assignment and Certificate must correspond to the name as written upon the face of this Rights Certificate in every particular, without alteration or enlargement or any change whatsoever.

 

FORM OF ELECTION TO PURCHASE

 

(To be executed if holder desires to exercise Rights represented by the Rights Certificate.)

 

TO:  NEENAH PAPER, INC.

 

The undersigned hereby irrevocably elects to exercise        Rights represented by this Rights Certificate to purchase the shares of Preferred Stock issuable upon the exercise of the Rights (or such other securities of the Company or of any other person which may be issuable upon the exercise of the Rights) and requests that certificates for such shares (or other securities) be issued in the name of and delivered to:

 

Please insert social security

or other identifying number:                       

 

 

 

(Please print name and address)

 

 

 

 

If such number of Rights shall not be all the Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate, a new Rights Certificate for the balance of such Rights shall be registered in the name of and delivered to:

 

Please insert social security

or other identifying number:                       

 

 

 

(Please print name and address)

 

 

 

 

Dated:               ,     

 

 

 

 

 

Signature

 

Signature Guaranteed:

 

B-6



 

Certificate

 

The undersigned hereby certifies by checking the appropriate boxes that:

 

(1)   the Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate [ ] are [ ] are not being exercised by or on behalf of a Person who is or was an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate or Associate of an Acquiring Person (as such terms are defined pursuant to the Rights Agreement);

 

(2)   after due inquiry and to the best knowledge of the undersigned, it [ ] did [ ] did not acquire the Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate from any Person who is, was or became an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate or Associate of an Acquiring Person.

 

Dated:                   ,    

 

 

 

Signature

 

Signature Guaranteed:

 

 

NOTICE

 

The signature to the foregoing Election to Purchase and Certificate must correspond to the name as written upon the face of this Rights Certificate in every particular, without alteration or enlargement or any change whatsoever.

 

B-7



 

Exhibit C

 

SUMMARY OF RIGHTS TO PURCHASE PREFERRED STOCK

 

On November 15, 2004, the board of directors of Neenah Paper, Inc. adopted a stockholders rights plan and declared a dividend distribution of one right for each outstanding share of Neenah Paper’s common stock to stockholders of record at the close of business on November 30, 2004.  Each right entitles its holder, under the circumstances described below, to purchase from us one one-thousandth of a share of our Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock at an exercise price of $100 per right, subject to adjustment.  The description and terms of the rights are set forth in a rights agreement between us and Equiserve Trust Company, N.A., as rights agent.

 

Initially, the rights are associated with our common stock and evidenced by common stock certificates, which will contain a notation incorporating the rights agreement by reference, and are transferable with and only with the underlying shares of common stock.  Subject to certain exceptions, the rights become exercisable and trade separately from the common stock only upon the “distribution date”, which occurs upon the earlier of:

 

                                                             10 days following a public announcement that a person or group of affiliated or associated persons (an “acquiring person”) has acquired, or obtained the right to acquire, beneficial ownership of 15% or more of Neenah Paper’s outstanding shares of common stock (the “stock acquisition date”), or

 

                                                             10 business days (or later date if determined by Neenah Paper’s board of directors prior to such time as any person or group becomes an acquiring person) following the commencement of a tender offer or exchange offer which, if consummated, would result in a person or group becoming an acquiring person.

 

Until the distribution date, the surrender for transfer of any shares of common stock outstanding will also constitute the transfer of the rights associated with those shares.

 

As soon as practicable after the distribution date, separate certificates or book-entry statements will be mailed to holders of record of the common stock as of the close of business on the distribution date.  From and after the distribution date, the separate rights certificates or book-entry statements alone will represent the rights.  Except as otherwise provided in the rights agreement, only shares of common stock issued prior to the distribution date will be issued with rights.

 

The rights are not exercisable until the distribution date and will expire at the close of business on November 30, 2014, unless earlier redeemed or exchanged by us as described below.

 

C-1



 

In the event that a person or group becomes an acquiring person (a “flip-in event”), each holder of a right (other than any acquiring person and certain related parties, whose rights automatically become null and void) will have the right to receive, upon exercise, common stock having a value equal to two times the exercise price of the right.  If an insufficient number of shares of common stock is available for issuance, then Neenah Paper’s board of directors would be required to substitute cash, property or other securities of Neenah Paper for the common stock.  The rights may not be exercised following a flip-in event while Neenah Paper has the ability to cause the rights to be redeemed, as described later in this summary.

 

For example, at an exercise price of $100 per right, each right not owned by an acquiring person (or by certain related parties) following a flip-in event would entitle its holder to purchase $200 worth of common stock (or other consideration, as noted above) for $100.  Assuming that the common stock had a per share value of $50 at that time, the holder of each valid right would be entitled to purchase four shares of common stock for $100.

 

In the event (a “flip-over event”) that, at any time following the stock acquisition date:

 

                                                             Neenah Paper is acquired in a merger or other business combination transaction in which Neenah Paper is not the surviving corporation,

 

                                                             Neenah Paper is acquired in a merger or other business combination transaction in which it is the surviving entity and all or part of its common stock is converted into securities of another entity, cash or other property, or

 

                                                             50% or more of Neenah Paper’s assets, cash flow or earning power is sold or transferred,

 

then each holder of a right (except rights which previously have been voided as described above) will have the right to receive, upon exercise, common stock of the acquiring company having a value equal to two times the exercise price of the right.  Flip-in events and flip-over events are collectively referred to as “triggering events”.

 

The exercise price payable, and the number of shares of preferred stock or other securities or property issuable, upon exercise of the rights are subject to adjustment from time to time to prevent dilution:

 

                                                             in the event of a stock dividend on, or a subdivision, combination or reclassification of, the preferred stock,

 

                                                            if holders of the preferred stock are granted certain rights, options or warrants to subscribe for preferred stock or convertible securities at less than the current market price of the preferred stock, or

 

C-2



 

                                                             upon the distribution to holders of the preferred stock of evidences of indebtedness or assets (excluding regular quarterly cash dividends) or of subscription rights or warrants (other than those referred to above).

 

With certain exceptions, no adjustment in the exercise price will be required until cumulative adjustments amount to at least 1% of the exercise price.  No fractional shares of preferred stock will be issued and, in lieu thereof, an adjustment in cash will be made based on the market price of the preferred stock on the last trading day prior to the date of exercise.

 

In general, Neenah Paper may redeem the rights in whole, but not in part, at a price of $.001 per right (subject to adjustment and payable in cash, common stock or other consideration deemed appropriate by Neenah Paper’s board of directors) at any time until ten days following the stock acquisition date.  Immediately upon the action of the board of directors authorizing any redemption, the rights will terminate and the only right of the holders of rights will be to receive the redemption price.

 

At any time after there is an acquiring person and prior to the acquisition by the acquiring person of 50% or more of the outstanding shares of common stock, we may exchange the rights (other than rights owned by the acquiring person which will have become void), in whole or in part, at an exchange ratio of one share of common stock, or one one-thousandth of a share of preferred stock (or of a share of a class or series of Neenah Paper’s preferred stock having equivalent rights, preferences and privileges), per right (subject to adjustment).

 

Until a right is exercised, its holder will have no rights as a stockholder of Neenah Paper, including, without limitation, the right to vote or to receive dividends.  While the distribution of the rights will not result in the recognition of taxable income by Neenah Paper or its stockholders, stockholders may, depending upon the circumstances, recognize taxable income after a triggering event.

 

The terms of the rights may be amended by Neenah Paper’s board of directors without the consent of the holders of the rights, including an amendment to lower certain thresholds described above to not less than the greater of 10% or .001% more than the largest percentage of the outstanding shares of common stock then known to us to be beneficially owned by any person or group of affiliated or associated persons.  Once there is an acquiring person, however, no amendment can adversely affect the interests of the holders of the rights.

 

A copy of the rights agreement is available free of charge from Neenah Paper.  This description of the rights does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the rights agreement, which is incorporated herein by reference.

 

C-3


Exhibit 10.1

 

CORPORATE SERVICES AGREEMENT

 

 

                THIS AGREEMENT for the performance of corporate services is dated as of November 30, 2004, between Kimberly-Clark Corporation, a Delaware corporation (“Kimberly-Clark”), and Neenah Paper, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Neenah”), and, as of the date hereof, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kimberly-Clark.

 

WHEREAS, Kimberly-Clark, through its pulp and paper division and certain subsidiaries and affiliates, is engaged in the business of (i) manufacturing and selling fine paper and technical paper and (ii) producing and selling pulp (the “ Neenah Business ”);

WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of Kimberly-Clark has determined that it would be advisable and in the best interests of Kimberly-Clark and its stockholders for Kimberly-Clark to transfer and assign, or cause to be transferred and assigned, to Neenah the business, operations, assets and liabilities related to the Neenah Business;

                WHEREAS, Kimberly-Clark has agreed to transfer and assign to Neenah substantially all of the assets and properties of the Neenah Business and Neenah has agreed to the transfer and assignment of such assets and to assume, or cause to be assumed, substantially all of the liabilities and obligations arising out of or relating to the Neenah Business;

 

                WHEREAS, the date on which the above transaction is to become effective is referred to as the “Distribution Date” as defined in that certain Distribution Agreement between Kimberly-Clark and Neenah, dated as of the date hereof; and

 

                WHEREAS, the parties hereto deem it to be appropriate and in the best interests of Neenah and Kimberly-Clark that Kimberly-Clark provide certain services to Neenah to facilitate the transaction described above on the terms and conditions set forth herein;

 

                NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises contained herein, the parties hereto agree as follows:

 

                1.             Description of Kimberly-Clark Services .  Kimberly-Clark shall, subject to the terms and provisions of this Agreement:

 

                (a)           provide Neenah with general services of a financial, technical, commercial, administrative and/or advisory nature, with respect to the Neenah Business, as set forth on Exhibit A hereto; and

 

                (b)           assist Neenah in the efficient transfer of each of the services provided by Kimberly-Clark under this Agreement to Neenah, including training of the Neenah personnel primarily responsible for each of the services going forward, or to a third party designated by Neenah; and

 

                (c)           render such other specific services as Neenah may from time to time reasonably request, subject to Kimberly-Clark’s discretion and its being in a position to supply such

 

1



 

additional services at the time of such request.

 

Unless otherwise specifically provided on Exhibit A , Kimberly-Clark will provide each of the services until December 31, 2005.  Neenah may, at its option, upon no less than thirty (30) days prior written notice (or such other period as the parties may mutually agree in writing), direct Kimberly-Clark to provide no longer all or any category of such services.

 

                2.             Consideration for Kimberly-Clark Services .  Neenah shall pay Kimberly-Clark in accordance with this Section 2 and Kimberly-Clark shall accept as consideration for the services rendered to Neenah hereunder the following service charges:

 

                (a)           for the services rendered by Kimberly-Clark for or on behalf of Neenah pursuant to Section 1(a), Neenah will be charged the fees set forth on Exhibit A ;

 

                (b)           for the services rendered by Kimberly-Clark for or on behalf of Neenah pursuant to Section 1(b) or 1(c), Neenah will be charged certain fees to be negotiated and agreed to by the parties at the time such services are requested.

 

 

                3.             Terms of Payment .  Kimberly-Clark shall submit in writing an invoice covering its charges to Neenah for services rendered hereunder.  Such invoice shall be submitted on a monthly basis and shall contain a summary description of the charges and services rendered.  Payment shall be made no later than thirty (30) days after the invoice date.

 

                4.             Method of Payment .  All amounts payable by Neenah for the services described on Exhibit A shall be remitted to Kimberly-Clark in United States dollars to a bank to be designated in the invoice or otherwise in writing by Kimberly-Clark, unless otherwise provided for and agreed upon in writing by the parties.  Detailed billing information will be provided upon request.

 

                5.             WARRANTIES .  THIS IS A SERVICE AGREEMENT.  EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY STATED IN THIS AGREEMENT, THERE ARE NO EXPRESS WARRANTIES OR GUARANTIES AND THERE ARE NO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR GUARANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, TITLE AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

 

                6.             Limitation on Liability .

 

                (a)  In no event shall either party have any liability, whether based on contract, tort (including, without limitation, negligence), warranty or any other legal or equitable grounds, for any punitive, consequential, special, indirect or incidental loss or damage suffered by the other party arising from or related to this Agreement, including without limitation, loss of data, profits (excluding profits under this Agreement), interest or revenue, or use or interruption of business, even if such party is advised of the possibility of such losses or damages.

 

                (b)           The limitations set forth in Section 6(a) above shall not apply to liabilities which may arise as the result of (i) willful misconduct or gross negligence of Kimberly-Clark or its subsidiaries or Neenah or its subsidiaries, (ii) amounts inadvertently overpaid by either party, or (iii) amounts for charges otherwise due and payable under this Agreement.

 

2



 

 

                (c)           In no event will Kimberly-Clark’s liability, whether based on contract, tort (including without limitation, negligence), warranty or any other legal or equitable grounds, exceed in the aggregate the amount of fees paid to Kimberly-Clark under this Agreement.

 

                7.             Termination .  This Agreement shall terminate on January 31, 2006, but may be terminated earlier in accordance with the following:

 

                (a)           upon the mutual written agreement of the parties;

 

                (b)           by either Neenah or Kimberly-Clark for material breach of any of the terms hereof by Kimberly-Clark or Neenah, as the case may be, if the breach is not corrected within thirty (30) calendar days after written notice of breach is delivered to the breaching party;

 

                (c)           by either Neenah or Kimberly-Clark forthwith, upon written notice to Kimberly-Clark or Neenah, as the case may be, if Kimberly-Clark or Neenah, as the case may be, shall become insolvent or shall make an assignment for the benefit of creditors, or shall be placed in receivership, reorganization, liquidation or bankruptcy;

 

                (d)           by Kimberly-Clark forthwith, upon written notice to Neenah, if, for any reason, the ownership or control of Neenah or any of Neenah’s operations, becomes vested in, or is made subject to the control or direction of, any direct competitor of Kimberly-Clark’s consumer products, service and industrial or health care businesses, or any governmental or regulatory authority; or

 

                (e)           by Neenah forthwith, upon written notice to Kimberly-Clark, if for any reason, the ownership or control of Kimberly-Clark or any of Kimberly-Clark ‘s operations becomes vested in, or is made subject to the control or direction of, any direct competitor of Neenah, or any governmental or regulatory authority.

 

Upon any such termination, each party shall be compensated for all services performed to the date of termination in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.

 

                8.             Performance .  The services rendered by Kimberly-Clark hereunder shall be performed in the same manner and with the same skill and care as Kimberly-Clark employs in service of its own business.

 

                9.             Independent Contractor .  Kimberly-Clark is providing the services pursuant to this Agreement as an independent contractor and the parties hereby acknowledge that they do not intend to create a joint venture, partnership or any other type of agency between them.

 

                10.           Confidentiality .  The specific terms and conditions of this Agreement and any information conveyed or otherwise received by or on behalf of a party in conjunction herewith are confidential and are subject to the terms of the Confidentiality provisions of the Distribution Agreement.

 

                11.           Ownership of Information .  Any information owned by one party or any of its subsidiaries that is provided to the other party or any of its subsidiaries pursuant to this Agreement shall remain the property of the providing party. Unless specifically set forth herein,

 

3



 

nothing contained in this Agreement shall be construed as granting or conferring rights of license or otherwise in any such information.

 

                12.           Records .  Kimberly-Clark shall maintain and retain records related to the provision of the services under this Agreement consistent with Kimberly-Clark’s historical policies regarding its own retention of records. As needed from time to time during the period in which services are provided, and upon termination of the provision of any service, the parties agree to provide each other with records related to the provision of the services under this Agreement to the extent that (i) such records exist in the ordinary course of business, (ii) such records do not involve the incurrence of any material expense to the party providing such records, and (iii) such records are reasonably necessary for such party to comply with its obligations under this Agreement or applicable law.

 

                13.           Amendment .  This Agreement may be modified or amended only by the agreement of the parties hereto in writing, duly executed by the authorized representatives of each party.

 

                14.           Force Majeure .  Any delays in or failure of performance by any party hereto, other than the payment of money, shall not constitute a default hereunder if and to the extent such delays or failures of performance are caused by occurrences beyond the reasonable control of such party, including, but not limited to:  acts of God or the public enemy; expropriation or confiscation of facilities; compliance with any order or request of any governmental authority; acts of war; riots or strikes or other concerted acts of personnel; or any causes, whether or not of the same class or kind as those specifically named above, which are not within the reasonable control of such party, and which by the exercise of reasonable diligence, such party is unable to prevent.

 

                15.           Assignment .  This Agreement shall not be assignable by either party hereto without the prior written consent of the other party hereto.  When duly assigned in accordance with the foregoing, this Agreement shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of the assignee.

 

                16.           Notices .  All notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed given if delivered personally or by facsimile transmission or mailed by registered or certified mail (return receipt requested) to the parties at the following addresses (or at such other address for a party as shall be specified by like notice):

 

If to Kimberly-Clark:

 

Kimberly-Clark Corporation

 

 

351 Phelps Drive

 

 

Irving, Texas 75038

 

 

Attn: General Counsel

 

 

Facsimile: (214) 281-1492

 

4



 

If to Neenah:

 

Neenah Paper, Inc.

 

 

Preston Ridge III

 

 

3460 Preston Ridge Road

 

 

Alpharetta, Georgia 50005

 

 

Attn: General Counsel

 

 

Fax: (678) 518-3283

 

 

                17.           GOVERNING LAW .  THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND INTERPRETED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF GEORGIA, U.S.A.

 

5



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.

 

 

 

 

 

KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Mark A. Buthman

 

 

Mark A. Buthman, Senior Vice

 

 

President and Chief Financial Officer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEENAH PAPER, INC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Sean Erwin

 

 

Sean Erwin, President and

 

 

Chief Executive Officer

 

 

6



 

EXHIBIT A

 

SERVICES TO BE RENDERED BY KIMBERLY-CLARK

 

 

Management Information Services

 

Kimberly-Clark will provide support and services for Neenah business systems applications and Neenah computer operations at the same service levels and subject to the same priority ranking system as were provided to the businesses of Neenah prior to the date of this Agreement (“MIS Services”).  Kimberly-Clark shall provide those services until January 31, 2006, subject to Neenah’s right to terminate categories of services pursuant to Section 1 of the Agreement.  Should Neenah require services beyond January 31, 2006, a new agreement defining, cost structure and remaining services to be provided must be negotiated.

 

Each of Kimberly-Clark and Neenah shall from time to time designate an individual as the authorized representative for all communications with respect to MIS Services.

 

The categories of MIS Services and monthly fee schedule for normal and routine operating assistance, minor maintenance and computer operations are set forth below.  The monthly charge for Computer Services Support will be reduced when software and/or hardware licensing fees are charged directly to Neenah rather than to Kimberly-Clark.  The charge will be reduced by the amount that Kimberly-Clark is currently allocating to the Neenah businesses.

 

 

Business Systems Project Charges

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fine Paper

 

$/Month

 

PIMS Maintenance

 

2,800

 

PIMS O/A

 

1,500

 

Payroll/Benefit Support

 

10,400

 

Training & Doc Consulting

 

1,000

 

Legacy Systems Support

 

9,900

 

Purchasing/Stores Support

 

3,800

 

Legacy Stores Operating Assistance

 

100

 

 

 

 

 

Technical Paper

 

 

 

General Mfg and Order Entry Support

 

13,600

 

PIMS Support & Identified Projects

 

4,500

 

General Maintenance and Staff Support

 

2,100

 

General O/A

 

3,900

 

Payroll/Benefit Support

 

8,000

 

Training & Doc Consulting

 

600

 

Legacy Systems Support

 

6,500

 

Purchasing/Stores Support

 

1,900

 

Legacy Stores Operating Assistance

 

100

 

 



 

Computer Services Support Charges

 

 

 

Desktop Services and Messaging

 

97,400

 

Connectivity Services

 

67,500

 

Voice

 

41,800

 

 

 

 

 

SAP R/3

 

30,400

 

SAP B/W

 

13,000

 

Mainframe Services

 

52,400

 

UNIX Services

 

23,000

 

Windows Services

 

43,100

 

AS/400 Services

 

25,900

 

e-Business

 

11,900

 

 

Notwithstanding Section 1 of the Agreement, Neenah shall give Kimberly Clark no less than ninety (90) days written notice of any such termination of any of the above services; provided that K-C will accommodate a shorter notice period and terminate the service sooner to the extent a particular service so permits at the time of termination.

 

For all additional services (other than normal operating assistance and minor maintenance)  including without limitation, additional project work, systems or application enhancements, maintenance and changes to systems or applications, support or services to separate the systems of Neenah and Kimberly-Clark and creation or generation of current or historical data(“Additional MIS Services”), Neenah will submit to Kimberly-Clark a written request for the Additional MIS Services, together with reasonable documentation and specifications to allow Kimberly-Clark to determine the estimated cost and priority for such Additional MIS Services.  To the extent that Kimberly-Clark agrees in its sole discretion to provide the Additional MIS Services, it will provide to Neenah a written estimate of the cost and priority for such Additional MIS Services and Neenah shall inform Kimberly-Clark in writing if Neenah desires to have Kimberly-Clark provide the Additional MIS Services.

 

Hourly labor rates for K-C staff will be $90 per hour.  Hourly rates for K-C obtained consultants, contractors or other third parties utilized on Additional Special Projects will be charged at actual hourly rates, plus any reasonable travel and living expenses, plus applicable administrative charges.

 

Neenah shall be solely liable for (i) all license fees, charges or other amounts from any third parties (“Vendor Fees”), including consultants, contractors, vendors or licensors, incurred as a result of Kimberly-Clark providing MIS Services or otherwise as a result of utilizing products or software licensed to Kimberly-Clark and utilized by or on behalf of Neenah, regardless of whether such products or services are utilized on the systems or equipment of Kimberly-Clark or Neenah and (ii) all legal or administrative fees and expenses incurred by Kimberly-Clark in responding to requests for Vendor Fees.  Kimberly-Clark will notify Neenah promptly of any Vendor Fees.

 

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein (i) all support and services relating to Kimberly-Clark systems applications or IT infrastructure shall be performed only by Kimberly-Clark personnel or contractors or consultants either retained by Kimberly-Clark or approved in advance in writing by Kimberly-Clark; (ii) MIS Services shall only be provided for hardware or

 



 

other IT infrastructure that is a part of Kimberly-Clark’s infrastructure road map or technology standards on the date of this Agreement or that is added by Kimberly-Clark to its infrastructure roadmap or technology standards after the date of this Agreement; (iii) Kimberly-Clark shall have no obligation to incur additional expenditures or investments relating to additional features or functionality for existing systems or applications, it being understood that in the near future many of the systems or applications in connection with the delivery of MIS Services may become obsolete or may not be used or improved by Kimberly-Clark; and (iv) Neenah shall not attach to, install or otherwise incorporate into the Kimberly-Clark Enterprise Network any equipment, software, product, infrastructure or other device (A) without the prior written consent of Kimberly-Clark and (B) that is not fully compatible with the then existing Kimberly-Clark systems, infrastructure and standards roadmap.

 

At all times during the term of this Agreement, Neenah shall comply with Kimberly-Clark’s Corporate Security, Computer Security and Global Information Technology Standards, as they may be amended or modified by Kimberly-Clark from time to time during the term of this Agreement.  Neenah acknowledges that it has received a copy of such Standards as they exist on the date of this Agreement.

 

Kimberly-Clark’s Enterprise Network, systems and other intellectual property, including any applications, software code, technology, trade secret, infrastructure, hardware and other products or devices used by Kimberly-Clark and any enhancements, modifications or additions thereto (whether as a result of or in connection with this Agreement or otherwise) shall be and remain the sole and exclusive property of Kimberly-Clark and shall not be deemed works for hire, and Neenah shall have no right, title or interest therein.  If Neenah desires to have Kimberly-Clark license or transfer to Neenah any of the same, Kimberly-Clark, in its sole discretion, may license or transfer the same to Neenah on terms agreed to by Neenah and Kimberly-Clark, provided that Neenah shall be liable for all costs and expenses incurred in connection therewith, including any third party license, transfer and other fees, and all costs and expenses incurred to “uninstall” and “re-install” the same.   Excluded from the requirements of this paragraph are systems that were built for and used primarily by Neenah.

 

 

Employee Benefits Administration and Payroll Services

 

Payroll Administration :  Kimberly-Clark will provide payroll administration services to Neenah with respect to Neenah’s U.S. employees, and such employees will continue to report attendance and absence information using the system maintained by Kimberly-Clark for such purpose, until the earlier of (i) the date Neenah arranges for its own payroll administration services and establishes its own employee and time collection processes and (ii) December 31, 2005, at a cost to Neenah of $20,000 per month.  These costs do include (i) all E-memos, mass wage changes, job title set ups, relocation gross-ups and other personnel administrative actions needed by Neenah for the benefit of Transferred Employees, (ii) the preparation of personnel or management reports through HR Browser, consistent with those previously provided, as requested by Neenah with turnaround times consistent with those normally provided by the K-C Payroll Center, and (iii) the preparation and submission of personnel records to outside providers such as Cendant Mobility, EquiServe, EAP vendors, or other 3rd party providers as required by Neenah.  These costs do not include the systems costs associated with these

 



 

activities. Systems costs will be billed according to the Management Information Services portion of this Agreement.

 

Canadian Payroll Bank Account :  Kimberly-Clark will continue to use its bank account at Royal Bank of Canada (“RBC”) on behalf of Neenah to facilitate the electronic transfer of paychecks to Neenah’s employees.  Neenah will be responsible for funding the amount to be transferred prior to the distribution of the electronic paychecks.  Neenah is responsible for communicating to RBC the correct distribution of the payroll.  This service will be provided at no additional cost until December 31, 2004.

 

Data Conversions:   Kimberly-Clark shall assist in the conversion of employee and payroll data to benefit providers, a payroll administrator and an enterprise system engaged or established by Neenah, including any related analysis, design and development of interfaces and reports. The cost to Neenah for these conversion services shall be $36,000 for payroll team support.  Systems cost related to the development of interfaces and reports will be billed according to the Management Information Services portion of this agreement.

 

Group Health and Welfare Plans Administration:   Neenah shall use reasonable commercial efforts to contract with Hewitt & Associates (“Hewitt”) to provide group health and welfare benefits (“GH&WB”) administrative services to Neenah through December 31, 2004, at a cost to Neenah equal to the actual cost of such services.  Provided that Neenah enters into such a contract with Hewitt, Kimberly-Clark will provide services related to the administration of GH&WB through December 31, 2004 at a cost to Neenah of $5,000 per month.  These services will include enrollment activities, customer service, and deduction processing.  To facilitate these transition services, Kimberly-Clark and Neenah agree to enter into mutual business associate agreements under the privacy provisions of HIPAA.

 

US Pension Plan Neenah shall use reasonable commercial efforts to contract with Hewitt & Associates (“Hewitt”) to provide defined benefit administrative services through a date not later than June 30, 2005, at a cost to Neenah equal to the actual cost of such services.  Neenah will pay Kimberly-Clark from its assets, and not out of any pension plan assets, a fee in the amount of $500 per month for services to be provided by Kimberly-Clark relating to the management of the investment structure for the Kimberly-Clark Corporation Pension Plan for the period beginning with the Distribution and ending on the date the assets and liabilities of the Kimberly-Clark Corporation Pension Plan attributable to current employees of Neenah’s U.S. operations (the “Transferred Employees”) are transferred to the trustee of the corresponding pension plan established by Neenah (the “Transfer Date”).

 

Kimberly-Clark will be available to provide consulting services requested by Neenah which relate to (i) the administration of the defined benefit and defined contribution plans maintained by Neenah for the benefit of Transferred Employees, at a cost to Neenah of $125 per hour and (ii) after the Transfer Date, the investment of assets in the defined benefit and defined contribution plans maintained by Neenah for the benefit of Transferred Employees, at a cost to Neenah of $200 per hour; provided, however, that Kimberly-Clark shall have the sole discretion to decline to provide any such services so requested.

 

Canadian Pension Plans Neenah will pay Kimberly-Clark from its assets, and not out of any pension plan assets, a fee in the amount of $1,500 per month for services to be provided by

 



 

Kimberly-Clark relating to the management of the investment structure for the Canadian pension plans for the period beginning with the Distribution and ending on the date the assets and liabilities are transferred to the trustee of the corresponding pension plan established by Neenah (the “Transfer Date”).

 

Kimberly-Clark will be available to provide consulting services requested by Neenah which relate to the administration of, and investment of assets in, the defined benefit and defined contribution plans maintained by Neenah for the benefit of current and former employees of the Canadian pulp and woodlands operations (the “Canadian Employees”), at a cost to Neenah of $200 per hour.

 

 

Compensation:   Kimberly-Clark will be available to provide consulting services requested by Neenah until March 31, 2005 which relate to the administration of various compensation plans and stock programs maintained by Neenah for the benefit of current transferred employees at a cost to Neenah of $100 per hour.

 

Relocation:   Kimberly-Clark will provide relocation and global assignment program administrative services to Neenah until January 31, 2005 consistent with the services provided prior to the distribution date.   K-C will provide advice and counsel on special requests and on arrangements to set up new relocation providers.  The cost of such special services will be $70 per hour.

 

General:

Neenah will reimburse Kimberly-Clark for any out-of-pocket costs incurred by Kimberly-Clark while providing the employee benefits administration services, but not the payroll administration services, described in this section, including but not limited to, costs incurred for postage, printing and supplies. 

 

International Employee Services :  Kimberly-Clark agrees to retain Keith Johnson on the payroll of Kimberly-Clark International Services Corp. through December 31, 2004.  For the period from the Distribution Date until January 1, 2005 (the “Lease Period”), Neenah agrees to lease Keith Johnson from Kimberly-Clark for the performance of management duties in Canada.  During the Lease Period, Neenah agrees to pay Kimberly-Clark a monthly amount equal to the cost of Mr. Johnson’s monthly salary, benefits, other fees and other income paid to him by Kimberly-Clark (except any bonus or other amounts paid to him that are attributable to a period prior to the Lease Period).  As of January 1, 2005, Neenah intends to hire Mr. Johnson as an employee.

 

Kimberly-Clark agrees to retain Peter VanDerBogt on the payroll of Kimberly-Clark Benelux through December 31, 2004.  For the period from the Distribution Date until January 1, 2005 (the “Lease Period”), Neenah agrees to lease Mr. VanDerBogt from Kimberly-Clark for the performance of duties in Europe.  During the Lease Period, Neenah agrees to pay Kimberly-Clark a monthly amount equal to the cost of Mr. Peter VanDerBogt’s monthly salary, benefits other fees, and other income paid to him by Kimberly-Clark (except any bonus or other amounts paid to him that are attributable to a period prior to the Lease Period).  As of January 1, 2005, Neenah intends to make other arrangements to compensate Mr. VanDerBogt for his services.

 



 

Transportation Services

 

Kimberly-Clark will provide advice, counsel on freight rate contract renewal negotiation and assistance during periods of transportation disruption related to inclement weather, major strike, terror attack, etc., only as may be necessary to maintain operations at Kimberly-Clark consuming mills.  Such services will cost $2,100 per month.  Notwithstanding Section 1 of the Agreement, Neenah shall give Kimberly Clark no less than sixty (60) days written notice of any such termination.

 

 

Environment and Energy Services

 

Kimberly-Clark will provide the following environmental and energy related services:

 

                  Boiler and related equipment inspections and operational advice;

                  Energy (electrical and natural gas) rate/purchase assistance, hedging and contract negotiation;

                  Fuel and energy cost and consumption report data management;

                  Thermographic electric surveys;

                  Performance of Corporate Environmental Inspections at Neenah mills;

                  Environmental regulatory/technical advice and assistance;

                  Forestry audits and certification advice and assistance; and

                  Wastewater testing (tickler, product formulation toxicity and permit compliance bioassays)

 

All services will be provided on an as requested basis at a cost of $90 per professional hour spent plus travel expenses.

 

Treasurer’s Office Services

 

Kimberly-Clark’s Treasurer’s Office will provide services to Neenah relating to Cash Management, Hedging, Debt Management and other treasury-related functions.  The fee for advice and counsel relating to treasury services will be $200 per hour.  These services will be available for six months after the Distribution Date.

 

Purchasing Services

 

Kimberly-Clark will provide those support services of the type that have been traditionally provided by it to the Business and which are related to purchasing chemicals, research materials, trial support, capital projects and the maintenance of the Purchasing System Information Center and Purchasing Systems.  Fees for these services will be as follows:

 

 

Transaction processing for Purchasing System

 

$

6,100

per month

Systems support for Purchasing System

 

$

2,000

per month

 

These services do not include the renegotiation of and related transactional activity associated with  establishing contracts for Neenah that were previously part of Kimberly-Clark’s multiple

 



 

facility contracts.

 

Kimberly-Clark shall endeavor, whenever possible, to arrange for the purchase of goods or services in the name of Neenah, which shall provide Kimberly-Clark with written authorizations or such other documents as Kimberly-Clark may reasonably require from time to time in order to provide evidence of Kimberly-Clark’s authority to act on behalf of Neenah pursuant to this provision.

 

Risk Management

 

Kimberly-Clark’s Risk Management Department will provide advice as requested on whether Neenah’s insurance brokers are properly following through on and assisting with administration of Neenah insurance coverages. The cost of such services will be $200 per month.  Such services will be available until December 31, 2004.

 

Tax Services

 

Kimberly-Clark will provide advice and counsel on tax planning issues relating to the preparation of U.S. federal income and excise tax, and state and local income, franchise, property and sales tax return.  Such tax planning services will be provided at a cost of $ 250 per hour and will be available for 6 months after the Distribution Date.

 

Activities required by the Tax Sharing Agreement dated the date hereof between Kimberly-Clark and Neenah are specifically excluded from this hourly charge and will be provided free of charge under the terms set forth in the Tax Sharing Agreement.

 

Accounting Services

 

Kimberly-Clark will provide the following accounting services to Neenah -US at the identified costs to Neenah:

 

Service

 

Cost per Month

 

 

 

 

 

Centralized Mill Accounting — Fine Paper

 

$

11,900

 

Centralized Mill Accounting — Technical Paper

 

$

4,700

 

Cost Accounting

 

$

7,300

 

Knoxville AP

 

$

10,700

 

SYZYGY

 

$

16,500

 

Property Accounting

 

$

4,000

 

Accounts Receivable/Credit

 

$

7,900

Financial Reporting

 

$

10,900

 

Corporate Accounting Support

 

$

500

 

 

*Kimberly-Clark will also bill for the cost of a temporary employee if required to handle manual accounts receivable transactions for the first 90 days after the Distribution Date.

 

In order to simplify the transition of Accounts Payable balances, Kimberly-Clark will pay from its bank account any outstanding invoices as of the distribution date on Neenah Paper’s behalf.

 



 

These invoices will be paid when payments are due.  Neenah will then reimburse Kimberly-Clark for the payments that Kimberly-Clark makes on their behalf.

 

Kimberly-Clark will provide Neenah access to those accounting practices and procedures relevant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the Accounting Services activities that are performed by Kimberly-Clark on Neenah’s behalf.  Kimberly-Clark will provide Neenah and/or Neenah’s auditor access to transactions in order to perform testing of the systems.  Transaction testing will be conducted by Neenah at their expense.

 

Additional accounting project work requested by Neenah will be provided at a cost of $200 per hour.

 

These costs do not include the systems costs associated with these activities. Systems costs are addressed in the MIS section of this Agreement.

 

Patent Services

 

Kimberly-Clark will provide patent support services to Neenah consistent with the services provided prior to the Distribution Date.   Such services of Kimberly-Clark attorneys and paralegals as requested by Neenah and agreed to by Kimberly-Clark will be provided until March 31, 2005 at $250 per hour for attorney time and $150 per hour for paralegal time.  If Kimberly-Clark deems it necessary to outsource patent support during this period, Neenah will pay the costs associated with the outsourcing.  All costs of maintaining patents and patent applications, as requested by Neenah, anywhere in the world, will be charged directly to Neenah.

 

Trademark Services

 

Kimberly-Clark will provide trademark services to Neenah, consistent with services provided prior to the Distribution Date, related to searching, prosecution and maintenance of trademarks. Such services of Kimberly-Clark attorneys and paralegals will be provided as requested by Neenah at $250 per hour for attorney time and $150 per hour for paralegal time.  Neenah will be directly responsible for trademark conflicts and litigation. All outside fees, such as search fees, counsel fees and trademark maintenance and prosecution fees as requested by Neenah, anywhere in the world, will be charged directly to Neenah.

 

Roswell Technical Support

 

Kimberly-Clark will provide Analytical Lab support and Product Safety support to Neenah on an as requested basis at a cost of $ 225 per hour spent plus the cost of any outside services required. Such services will be provided until December 31, 2004.

 

Tenancy

Neenah will be provided a month-to-month tenancy in the space which is occupied by the Business, as of the date hereof, at Kimberly-Clark’s Roswell, Georgia Operations Headquarters complex.  Rent and related tenancy charges for the space occupied by the Technical Papers research team will be $13,600 per month.  Neenah will provide Kimberly-Clark with at least thirty (30) days’ prior written notice of the specific day in such month that Neenah will vacate

 



 

such premises.  The related tenancy charges include charges for all taxes, utilities, and tenant services that are currently being provided by Kimberly-Clark or third parties on behalf of Kimberly-Clark (primarily Site Administration and the Health Center), including, but are not limited to, electricity, maintenance, security, groundskeeping, mail service, warehouse service and access to cafeteria and health services.  Neenah will make a good faith effort to vacate such premises and terminate the tenancy no later than December 31, 2005.

 

Corporate Security

 

Kimberly-Clark will provide corporate security services to Neenah consistent with those services provided prior to the distribution date.  The cost of such services will be $150 per hour plus direct expenses associated with pre-employment background reviews and special investigations.

 


 

Exhibit 10.2

TAX SHARING AGREEMENT

 

                This Tax Sharing Agreement (the “Agreement”) is dated as of November 30, 2004 (the “Distribution Date”), by and between Kimberly-Clark Corporation, a Delaware corporation (“KCC”), and Neenah Paper, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“NPI”).

 

                WHEREAS, KCC, through its Neenah Paper and Technical Paper divisions and through certain Canadian subsidiaries, is engaged in the business of manufacturing and distributing a range of premium and specialty paper grades and more than 700,000 metric tons of bleached kraft pulp per year (the “Business”);

 

                WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of KCC has determined that it would be advisable and in the best interests of KCC and its stockholders for KCC to transfer the Business to NPI and to thereafter distribute all of the outstanding shares of NPI’s common stock on a pro rata basis to the holders of KCC’s common stock (the “Distribution”) pursuant to an agreement, dated as of the date hereof, between KCC and NPI (the “Distribution Agreement”);

 

                WHEREAS, KCC and NPI intend that the contribution of assets by KCC and certain of its subsidiaries to NPI and certain of its subsidiaries (the “Contribution”) immediately prior to the Distribution will qualify as a transfer made pursuant to a reorganization within the meaning of Section 368(a)(1)(D) of the Code and the Distribution will qualify as a distribution described in Section 355 of the Code;

 

                WHEREAS, KCC and NPI believe that it is in their mutual best interests to set forth in this Agreement the rights and duties of each party with respect to various tax matters relating to NPI and its subsidiaries and the business which may arise as a result of the Distribution;

 

                NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants contained herein, and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties agree as follows:

 

1.                                        Definitions

 

(a)           Applicable Federal Rate . As used herein, the term “Applicable Federal Rate” means a rate of interest equal to the Federal Long Term Rate published pursuant to Section 1274(d) of the Code, compounded annually.

 

(b)           Audit .  As used herein, the term “Audit(s)” shall mean any audit or examination undertaken by any Tax authority with respect to Taxes.

 

(c)           Code .  As used herein, the term “Code” means the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

 

(d)           Controversy .  As used herein, the term “Controversy(ies)” shall mean any

 



 

action involving a Tax authority before any administrative or judicial body which results from a disagreed Tax adjustment proposed during the course of an Audit.

 

(e)           Final Determination .  As used herein, “Final Determination” means (i) a decision, judgment, decree or other order by any court of competent jurisdiction, which decision, judgment, decree or other order has become final and not subject to further appeal or (ii) a closing agreement (whether or not entered into under Section 7121 or 7122 of the Code) or any other binding settlement agreement (whether or not with the Internal Revenue Service) entered into in connection with or in contemplation of an administrative proceeding if a judicial contest is not or is no longer available.

 

(f)            Incidental Costs .  As used herein, “Incidental Costs” means reasonable legal fees and costs or expense incurred by a party hereto relating to the investigation and defense of a claim for Taxes by a Tax authority.

 

(g)           KCC Company .  As used herein, “KCC Company(ies)” shall mean, for any period, KCC, or an entity that is an affiliate of KCC after the Distribution Date.  For purposes of the foregoing, “affiliate” means any entity that directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, KCC. For the purposes of this definition, the term “control” means the power to direct the management of an entity, directly or indirectly, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract, or otherwise; and the term “controlled” has the meaning correlative to the foregoing.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, for any period, NPI and KCC shall not be deemed to be under common control for purposes hereof solely due to the fact that NPI and KCC have (directly or indirectly) common stockholders.

 

(h)           KCC Tainting Act . As used herein, “KCC Tainting Act” shall mean:

 

                                (i)            any inaccuracy or breach of any representation, warranty, or covenant that is made by KCC pursuant to Section 2(a) of this Agreement;

 

                                (ii)           any action (or failure to take any reasonably available action) by any of the KCC Companies; or

 

                                (iii)          any acquisition or other transaction involving KCC’s capital stock (other than the Distribution).

 

(i)            NPI Company .  As used herein, “NPI Company(ies)” shall mean, for any period, NPI, or an entity that is an affiliate of NPI after the Distribution Date.  For purposes of the foregoing, “affiliate” means any entity that directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, NPI.  For the purposes of this definition, the term “control” means the power to direct the management of an entity, directly or indirectly, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract, or otherwise; and the term “controlled” has the meaning correlative to the foregoing.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, for any period, NPI and KCC shall not be deemed to be under common control for purposes

 

 

2



 

hereof solely due to the fact that NPI and KCC have (directly or indirectly) common stockholders.

 

(j)            NPI Tainting Act . As used herein, “NPI Tainting Act” shall mean:

 

                                (i)            any inaccuracy or breach of any representation, warranty, or covenant that is made by NPI pursuant to Section 2(b) of this Agreement;

 

                                (ii)           any action (or failure to take any reasonably available action) by any of the NPI Companies; or

 

                                (iii)          any acquisition or other transaction involving NPI’s capital stock (other than the Distribution).

 

(k)           Pre-Distribution Period .  As used herein, “Pre-Distribution Period” means any taxable year or other taxable period that ends on or before the Distribution Date and, in the case of a Straddle Period, that portion of the taxable period ending on the close of the Distribution Date.

 

(l)            Restructuring Taxes . As used herein, “Restructuring Taxes” means any Taxes imposed and any Incidental Costs incurred as a result of a Final Determination that the Distribution fails to qualify as tax-free due to the application of Sections 355(d) or 355(e) of the Code.

 

(m)          Ruling Request .  As used herein, “Ruling Request” means the original and supplemental requests or submissions filed by KCC with the Internal Revenue Service with respect to the Distribution.

 

(n)           Straddle Period .  As used herein, “Straddle Period” means any taxable year or other tax period for an NPI Company that begins before the Distribution Date and ends after the Distribution Date.

 

(o)           Tax or Taxes .

 

(i)            As used herein, “Tax” or “Taxes” shall mean all taxes, however denominated, including any interest, penalties or other additions that may become payable in respect thereof, imposed by any governmental entity, or any agency or political subdivision of any such governmental entity, including, but not limited to, all income or profits taxes (including but not limited to any U.S. federal income taxes, state and territorial income taxes and income taxes imposed by any governmental entity other than the United States, its states, territories and local jurisdictions), alternative or add on minimum tax, payroll and employee withholding taxes, unemployment insurance, social security taxes, production taxes, windfall profits taxes, sales and use taxes, ad valorem taxes, excise taxes, franchise taxes, customs taxes, gross receipt taxes, business license taxes, occupational taxes, real and personal property taxes, workers’ compensation, and other obligations of the same or of a similar

 

3



 

nature to any of the foregoing.

 

(ii)           The term “Tax” or “Taxes” shall include any liability imposed under Treas. Reg. §1.1502-6 of the Code (or any similar provision of state, local or foreign law that imposes liability as a result of being a member of a consolidated, combined or unitary group) or as a result of any tax sharing or indemnity agreement.

 

(p)           Tax Return or Return .  As used herein, “Tax Return” or “Return” shall mean any return, filing, questionnaire, information report, declaration or estimated tax, or other document required to be filed, including amended returns and claims for refund that may be filed, for any Tax period with any Tax authority in connection with any Tax or Taxes (whether or not payment is required to be made with respect to such filing).

 

2.             Representations and Warranties .

 

(a)           KCC hereby represents and warrants that: (i) it has examined the Ruling Request and (ii) the facts set forth therein, and the representations made therein, to the extent such facts and representations are descriptive of the KCC Companies or the businesses conducted by them, and the representations made therein regarding the corporate business purpose for the Distribution and stating that the Distribution is not used principally as a device for the distribution of the earnings and profits of KCC or NPI or both, were true, correct and complete in all material respects on the Distribution Date.

 

(b)           NPI hereby represents and warrants that: (i) it has examined the Ruling Request and (ii) the facts set forth therein, and the representations made therein, to the extent descriptive of the NPI Companies or the Business were, to its knowledge, information and belief, true, correct and complete in all material respects on the Distribution Date.

 

 

3.                                        Preparation and Filing of Tax  Returns, Payment of Taxes and Audits and Controversies .

 

(a)                                   Preparation and Filing of Returns .

 

(i)  The preparation and filing of any Tax Return for the NPI Companies for a Tax period which ends on or prior to the Distribution Date shall be the responsibility of KCC.

 

(ii)  The preparation and filing of any Tax Return for the NPI Companies for a period which ends after the Distribution Date shall be the responsibility of NPI.  Until the third anniversary of the Distribution Date, or unless consented to by KCC in writing (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld), NPI shall prepare such Tax Returns in a manner consistent with the past practices and methods used in preparing the Tax Returns for the Business for periods ending on or prior to the Distribution Date (unless such practices or methods are no longer permissible under the Code or any other applicable Tax law).   Said consistency shall include, but not be limited to, tax depreciation method, tax useful life, tax accounting methods and other tax elections previously made

 

4



 

by KCC but shall not prohibit NPI from adopting a method different from that utilized by KCC for determining its inventory.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, NPI is free to take Tax positions on its Tax Returns, unless such positions might reasonably affect the Tax liability of KCC for any Pre-Distribution Period.  The parties shall cooperate in accordance with Section 6 below for purposes of determining whether a KCC Tax position would be compromised by positions taken by NPI on a Tax Return that NPI has responsibility for preparing and filing.

 

(iii)  NPI shall prepare and deliver to KCC by overnight mail to KCC any Straddle Period Tax Return for KCC’s review no later than twenty (20) days prior to the due date or extended due date for filing such Straddle Period Tax Return.   KCC shall provide any comments or objections to the draft Straddle Period Tax Return to NPI no later than fifteen (15) days prior to the due date or extended due date for filing such return.  If KCC disagrees with any material item to be reported or reflected in such Tax Return, such dispute shall be resolved as provided for under Section 7.

 

(iv)  NPI and KCC shall cooperate fully with respect to the preparation and filing of any Tax Return hereunder, and each shall promptly make available to the other, upon reasonable request, such records, documents, information and other available data within each company’s possession or control which is pertinent to such Return.

 

(v) All reasonable costs and expenses incurred in preparing and filing such Straddle Period Tax Returns shall be paid by NPI; provided , however , that KCC shall reimburse NPI for the portion of such costs that are apportioned to the Pre-Distribution Period.  Such costs will be apportioned to the Pre-Distribution Period by multiplying the total amount of such costs by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of days in the period covered by the Tax Return falling within the Pre-Distribution Period and the denominator of which is the total number of days in the period covered by the Tax Return.

 

(vi)  If for any taxable year beginning on or after the Distribution Date, the NPI Companies recognize a net operating loss or a net capital loss which any member of the NPI Companies, under applicable law, is permitted or required to carry back to a prior taxable year of KCC or a KCC Company, then, KCC (or a KCC Company) shall, at NPI’s sole cost and expense, file appropriate refund claims within a reasonable period after being requested to do so by NPI.  KCC (or the KCC Company receiving such refund) shall promptly remit to NPI any refunds it receives with respect to any such net operating loss or net capital loss carried back.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, a loss that is permitted, but not required, to be carried back, shall only be carried back with the prior written consent of KCC (which consent may be given or denied in the sole discretion of KCC).

 

(b)                                  Liability for Taxes .

 

(i)            KCC shall be liable for and shall make payment of any Tax on account of the NPI Companies for any period ending on or prior to the Distribution Date.  Except as otherwise provided in Section 3(a)(vi) of this Agreement, KCC shall be entitled to receive any  refund of such Taxes for any such Tax periods.  All reasonable costs and expenses incurred in

 

5



 

preparing and filing the Tax Returns reporting such Tax shall be paid by KCC.  Refunds of Taxes paid by KCC, if any, received by NPI shall be remitted to KCC within thirty (30) days following receipt.  KCC shall indemnify and hold harmless NPI for the Taxes described in this Section 3(b)(i).

 

(ii)           NPI shall be liable for and shall make payment of any Tax on account of the NPI Companies for any period beginning after the Distribution Date.  NPI shall be entitled to receive any refund of such Taxes for any such Tax periods.  Refunds of Taxes paid by NPI, if any, received by KCC shall be remitted to NPI within thirty (30) days following receipt.  NPI shall indemnify and hold harmless KCC for the Taxes described in this Section 3(b)(ii).

 

(iii)          NPI shall file all Straddle Period Tax Returns and pay any Tax shown as due and owing thereon.  In the case of any Straddle Period, KCC and NPI will elect, to the extent permitted under applicable law, to treat the Distribution Date as the last day of the taxable period of the relevant entity and the liability for Taxes shall be apportioned to the Pre-Distribution Period based on the “closing of the books” method described in Treas. Reg. §1.1502-76(b)(2)(i) or any similar provision of state, local or foreign law.  In any case where applicable law does not permit the parties to treat the Distribution Date as the last day of the taxable year or period, any Taxes arising out of or relating to a Straddle Period will be apportioned to the Pre-Distribution Period based on a closing of the books of the relevant entity; provided , however , that (a) exemptions, allowances or deductions that are calculated on an annualized basis (including depreciation, amortization and depletion deductions) will be apportioned on a daily pro rata basis and (b) solely for purposes of determining the marginal tax rate applicable to income during such period in a jurisdiction in which such tax rate depends upon the level of income, annualized income will be taken into account.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, Taxes imposed on a periodic basis ( e.g., property taxes) will be apportioned to the Pre-Distribution Period by multiplying the Taxes by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of days in the period falling within the Pre-Distribution Period and the denominator of which is the total number of days in the period upon which the Tax is imposed.  KCC shall indemnify NPI for those Taxes that are apportioned to the Pre-Distribution Period, and shall be entitled to any refunds thereof.  NPI shall pay the Tax due on all Straddle Period Tax Returns, but will be entitled to receive any refund of those Taxes to the extent they are not owed to KCC.

 

(iv)          With respect to any Straddle Period Tax Returns to be filed by NPI after the Distribution Date pursuant to Section 3(a)(iii) of this Agreement, NPI shall provide KCC with a written request showing in reasonable detail the calculation of the amount of KCC’s Taxes (and any other amounts) owing by KCC to NPI pursuant to this Agreement 30 days prior to the due date for filing the Return.  KCC shall provide its comments to NPI and shall pay to NPI any amount not in dispute at least 15 days prior to the due date for filing the Return.  In the event that KCC disagrees with a position taken on the Return, the parties shall resolve their dispute in accordance with Section 7 of this Agreement; provided , however , that any matter in dispute 10 days prior to filing the Return shall be submitted to a third party in accordance with Section 7 of this Agreement for resolution before the due date of the Return.

 

(v)           Notwithstanding the foregoing, and notwithstanding anything in Sections 8 and 9 of this Agreement, to the contrary:

 

6



 

(A)          KCC shall be liable for Restructuring Taxes imposed solely as a result of a KCC Tainting Act;

 

(B)           NPI shall be liable for Restructuring Taxes imposed solely as a result of an NPI Tainting Act; and

 

(C)           KCC and NPI shall each bear 50% of the liability for Restructuring Taxes in the event there is both a KCC Tainting Act and an NPI Tainting Act.

 

(c)           Tax Consequences of Payments .  To the extent permitted by applicable law, the parties hereto shall treat any payment made pursuant to this Agreement as a capital contribution or a distribution, as the case may be, immediately prior to the Distribution Date and, accordingly, as not includible in the taxable income of the recipient.  Notwithstanding the immediately preceding sentence, if any such payment (or portion thereof) causes, directly or indirectly, an increase in the taxable income of the recipient (or one of its subsidiaries) the payor’s payment obligation (or portion thereof) shall be grossed up to take into account the additional Tax owed by the recipient (or any of its subsidiaries), assuming the highest aggregate marginal statutory federal, state, local or foreign Tax rates in effect at the time of payment.

 

(d)                                  Audits and Controversies .

 

(i)            All Audits with respect to Taxes for taxable periods ending on or before the Distribution Date shall be under the exclusive control and direction of KCC.

 

(ii)           Except as provided in Section 3(d)(iii) of this Agreement, all Audits, with respect to Taxes for a taxable period of an NPI Company which begins after the Distribution Date, shall be under the exclusive control and direction of NPI.

 

(iii)          With respect to Straddle Periods:

 

(A)          NPI shall notify KCC of any such Audit and shall provide KCC with all material information concerning such Audits as it may affect KCC within thirty (30) days after such information becomes known to NPI; and

 

(B)           No proposed resolution between the appropriate Tax authority and NPI of any Audit adjustment relating to such Taxes shall be accepted by NPI unless NPI shall have first notified KCC, in writing, of such proposed resolution if the proposed resolution could affect KCC’s indemnification obligations under this Agreement.  KCC shall then have thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of notice to object to the resolution in writing and to provide NPI with any additional support or proof with respect to its portion of such adjustment or be bound by the adjustment as agreed to by NPI.  In the event KCC shall so object, and NPI agrees, which agreement shall not be unreasonably withheld, that such additional support and proof is relevant to the Audit adjustment, NPI will use all reasonable efforts to resolve such Audit adjustment with the Tax authority giving due regard to such additional support or proof.

 

7



 

(iv)          Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the United States taxing authorities assert on Audit of a KCC Tax Return that a Tax is due with respect to the Distribution for which NPI may be obligated to indemnify KCC pursuant to this Agreement, KCC shall notify NPI of any such Audit and shall provide NPI with all material information concerning such Audit as it may affect NPI within thirty (30) days after such information becomes known to KCC.  The party that is liable for such Tax with respect to the Distribution and acknowledges such liability in writing shall control the Audit or the Controversy to the extent it relates to such Tax.  In the event that neither party acknowledges its liability in writing or in the event that both parties are liable for the aforementioned Tax, KCC shall control the Audit or Controversy; provided , however , that KCC shall: (i) take reasonable steps to ensure that NPI is notified of any developments in the Audit or Controversy to the extent it relates to such Tax, (ii) provide NPI with copies of any written materials relating to such Audit or Controversy as far as it relates to such Tax, (iii) consult with NPI and offer NPI a reasonable opportunity to comment before submitting any written materials to any Tax authority in connection with such Audit or Controversy to the extent it relates to such Tax, and (iv) defend (or settle) such Audit or Controversy in good faith.

 

(e)           Termination of Tax Sharing Agreements .  Except as set forth in this Agreement or the Distribution Agreement, and in consideration for the mutual indemnities and other obligations of this Agreement, any and all Tax sharing agreements between any of the KCC Companies, on the one hand, and the NPI Companies, on the other hand, shall be terminated as of the Distribution Date.

 

4.                                        Certain Tax Adjustments .

 

Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the parties recognize that during the course of an Audit or Controversy certain adverse Tax adjustments imposed on KCC or NPI, in any Tax period, may have an unintended beneficial effect with respect to NPI or KCC, respectively, in the same or another Tax period.  Accordingly, the parties agree it is appropriate to provide for the following:

 

(a)           KCC’s Tax Detriment .  If, during any twelve month period which ends on December 31, as a result of one or more Audit(s) or Controversy(ies), additional Taxes in excess of $50,000 are imposed upon KCC with respect to any Tax period (a “Tax Detriment”) which causes less Tax to be incurred by NPI in any Tax period for which NPI is liable under this Agreement which has not been closed (a “Tax Benefit”), whether preceding or subsequent to or concurrent with the Tax period in which KCC suffers the Tax Detriment, NPI shall pay to KCC, upon thirty (30) days written notice and demand, in U.S. currency and subject to the proviso set forth below, an amount equal to the value of such Tax Benefit, based on the following assumptions:

 

(i)            NPI will have sufficient income to use such Tax Benefit in the earliest open Tax period or periods it otherwise would be entitled to use such Tax Benefit whether or not NPI does in fact have such income;

 

(ii)           the applicable Tax rates for NPI will equal the highest statutory

 

8



 

marginal Tax rates in effect for the Tax period in which the additional Taxes were imposed upon KCC; and

 

(iii)          any such Tax Benefit to NPI, if for a Tax period subsequent to the date of demand by KCC, shall be discounted back to the date of payment using a discount rate equal to the Applicable Federal Rate, compounded annually, as in effect at the date of such demand by KCC; provided , however , NPI shall have the right to elect to defer the payment of such Tax Benefit to KCC until the earliest Tax period or periods (“KCC’s Tax Benefit Period”) in which KCC could have used such Tax Benefit had KCC not distributed NPI to its shareholders.  Such election by NPI shall be in writing and transmitted to KCC within thirty (30) days following written notice and demand from KCC for such payment.  Payment shall be made on or before April 15 of the year following KCC’s Tax Benefit Period.

 

(b)           NPI’s Tax Detriment .  If, during any twelve month period which ends on December 31, as a result of one or more Audit(s) or Controversy(ies), NPI suffers a Tax Detriment in excess of $50,000 with respect to any Tax period which provides KCC with a Tax Benefit in any Tax period which has not been closed, whether preceding or subsequent to or concurrent with the Tax period in which NPI suffers the Tax Detriment, KCC shall pay to NPI, upon thirty (30) days written notice and demand, in U.S. currency and subject to the proviso set forth below, an amount equal to the value of such Tax Benefit, based on the following assumptions:

 

(i)            KCC will have sufficient income to use such Tax Benefit in the earliest open Tax period or periods it otherwise would be entitled to such Tax Benefit whether or not KCC does in fact have such income;

 

(ii)           the applicable Tax rates for KCC will equal the highest statutory marginal Tax rates in effect for the Tax period in which the additional Taxes were imposed upon NPI; and

 

(iii)          any such Tax Benefit to KCC, if for a Tax period subsequent to the date of demand by NPI, shall be discounted back to the date of payment using a discount rate equal to the Applicable Federal Rate, compounded annually, as in effect at the date of such demand by NPI; provided, however, KCC shall have the right to elect to defer the payment of such Tax Benefit to NPI until the earliest Tax period or periods (“NPI’s Tax Benefit Period”) in which NPI suffered such Tax Detriment.  Such election by KCC shall be in writing and transmitted to NPI within thirty (30) days following written notice and demand from NPI for such payment.  Payment shall be made on or before April 15 of the year following NPI’s Tax Benefit Period.

 

5.              Tax Attributes .

 

Any Tax attribute generated by the NPI Companies shall, to the extent permitted by the applicable law of the Tax jurisdiction in question, remain with the NPI Companies.  In any case where the applicable law of the Tax jurisdiction in question requires such Tax attribute to be allocated between KCC and NPI, such allocation shall be made as provided by the law of such jurisdiction.

 

9



 

                6.              Cooperation between Parties .

 

The parties to this Agreement recognize that cooperation must be undertaken by them in numerous circumstances involving Tax matters, including the preparation of Tax Returns, the filing thereof, the defense of Audits, prosecution of Controversies with Tax authorities before administrative or judicial bodies, Tax rulings regarding the Tax consequences of certain transactions from appropriate Tax authorities, including the Internal Revenue Service, and other efforts with respect to Tax consequences involving the mutual interests of KCC and NPI, including administrative and legislative matters.  Accordingly, the parties hereby agree that they will cooperate with one another with respect to the following:

 

(a)           Requests for Information .  Upon request, a party shall assist the other party with respect to books, records, information, documents and any other appropriate data reasonably requested by one party in writing to the other.  Response to such request shall be accomplished within a reasonable period of time, but in no event more than thirty (30) days after receipt of such request unless unusual or special circumstances exist for such delay.

 

(b)           Availability of Personnel .  The representatives of one party shall be available to collect and interpret books, records, information, documents and other appropriate data at the reasonable request of the other party.  The personnel of one party shall also be reasonably available to assist the other party with respect to Audits and Controversies.  Response to such request for personnel assistance shall be accomplished within a reasonable period of time, but in no event more than thirty (30) days after receipt of such request unless unusual or special circumstances exist for such delay.

 

(c)           Notification of Adjustments .  Notwithstanding the materiality of an item or whether the other party participates in an Audit, written notification of any adjustment in a Tax Return of the party responsible for an Audit, which adjusts an item which affects the other party, shall be furnished to the other party upon final resolution of the Audit.

 

(d)           Retention of Records .  Unless an original is specifically requested in writing and in good faith, KCC shall transfer to NPI copies of all books, records, information, documents and any other appropriate data with respect to Taxes which may affect NPI in subsequent Tax periods.  NPI shall retain, in a readily accessible location, all books, records, information, documents, and any other appropriate data which relate to Taxes that may affect KCC for any Tax period for as long as KCC may be subject to assessment for Tax for any such Tax period for which it may be liable under this Agreement, unless NPI shall have first obtained the written consent of KCC to destroy any such books, records, information, documents and other appropriate data.  KCC will notify NPI of any Tax period for which it is no longer subject to assessment, within a reasonable period of time after the statute of limitation and any extensions thereof for the Tax period have lapsed.

 

10



 

                7.             Disputes .

 

                If the parties disagree as to the interpretation of any Tax provision or the requirements of any Tax law, the parties shall attempt in good faith to resolve such dispute.  If such dispute is not resolved within thirty (30) days, the parties shall jointly retain the services of a nationally recognized accounting or law firm (“Arbitrator”) acceptable to each of the parties to resolve the dispute.  The fees of the Arbitrator shall be borne equally by the parties having the dispute, and the decision of the Arbitrator shall be final and binding on all parties involved.  Following the decision of the Arbitrator, the parties shall each take or cause to be taken any action that is necessary or appropriate to implement such decision of the Arbitrator, including, without limitation, the prompt payment of Taxes as directed by the Arbitrator.

 

                8.              NPI’s Assurances with Respect to Certain Undertakings .

 

                NPI covenants as follows:

 

(a)           Restrictions on Transfer .  NPI shall not transfer its business operations or transfer any subsidiary to any related or unrelated party until the earliest of the first to occur:

 

(i)  the second anniversary of the Distribution Date;

 

(ii)  a favorable ruling from the Internal Revenue Service to the effect that such transfer will not adversely affect the tax free nature of the Distribution;

 

(iii)  the receipt of a written consent from KCC with respect to such transfer, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld; or

 

(iv)  an opinion of tax counsel chosen by KCC and paid for by NPI to the effect that such transfer will not adversely affect the tax-free nature of the Distribution.

 

(b)           No Inconsistent Actions .  Until the second anniversary of the Distribution Date, NPI, and its subsidiaries and affiliates, shall take no action inconsistent with Sections 351, 355 and 368(a)(1)(D) of the Code and the Regulations thereunder which is ultimately held to cause the formation of NPI, the contribution of KCC assets to NPI, or the Distribution to be a taxable transaction; provided , however , to the extent Sections 8(a)(ii), (iii) or (iv) of this Agreement has been complied with, this covenant shall not have been breached.

 

(c)           Breach of Covenants .  NPI shall indemnify KCC against, the full amount of any Taxes and Incidental Costs (on an after-Tax basis assuming the highest aggregate marginal statutory federal and state Tax rates in effect at the time of payment of such damages) suffered as a result of any breach by NPI of any of the covenants set forth in Section 8(a) or (b) of this Agreement.

 

                9.              Mutual  Assurances with Respect to Certain Undertakings .

 

                                (a)           NPI shall indemnify KCC against the full amount of any Taxes and Incidental

 

11



 

Costs (on an after-Tax basis assuming the highest aggregate marginal statutory federal and state Tax rates in effect at the time of payment of such damages) suffered as a result of any breach by NPI of any representation made by NPI in connection with any Tax opinion provided by Baker & McKenzie with respect to the qualification of the Distribution as a distribution described in Section 355 of the Code.

 

                                (b)           KCC shall indemnify NPI against the full amount of any Taxes and Incidental Costs (on an after-Tax basis assuming the highest aggregate marginal statutory federal and state Tax rates in effect at the time of payment of such damages) suffered as a result of any breach by KCC of any representation made by KCC in connection with any Tax opinion provided by Baker & McKenzie with respect to the qualification of the Distribution as a distribution described in Section 355 of the Code.

 

10.            Representation as to Present Intention .

 

NPI represents to KCC that neither it nor any of its officers or directors is aware of any negotiations or intentions to sell or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of NPI’s assets or business operations (including any subsidiary or the assets or business operations thereof) in a transaction or series of transactions which would give rise to a gain or loss for Tax purposes.  In the event of a breach of such representation by NPI, NPI shall indemnify KCC against, the full amount of damages suffered as a result of such breach on an after-Tax basis (assuming the highest aggregate marginal statutory federal and state Tax rates in effect at the time of payment of such damages).

 

11.           Binding Effect .

 

(a)           Due Authorization .  KCC and NPI acknowledge and agree that certain rights and obligations are imposed by this Agreement on their respective foreign subsidiaries and affiliates which are not direct parties to this Agreement.  KCC and NPI therefore respectively represent and warrant that they are each:

 

(i)            duly authorized to act on behalf of their respective subsidiaries and affiliates for all purposes under this Agreement;

 

(ii)           responsible for the rights and obligations of their respective subsidiaries and affiliates under this Agreement; and

 

(iii)          fully liable for any and all amounts due from their respective subsidiaries and affiliates which may arise under this Agreement.

 

(b)           Binding Effect .  This Agreement shall be binding upon, and shall inure to the benefit of, the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns.

 

(c)           Governing Law .  This Agreement shall be interpreted under and pursuant to the laws of the State of Delaware.

 

12



 

12.            Notices .

 

All notices, approvals, consents, or other communications required to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be addressed to the parties as follows:

 

 

If to KCC:

Kimberly-Clark Corporation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Riverview Plaza

 

 

 

Post Office Box 349

 

 

 

Neenah, WI 54957-0349

 

 

 

ATTN: Dave Bernard

 

 

 

Vice-President - Taxes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

351 Phelps Drive

 

 

 

Irving, TX 75039

 

 

 

ATTN: General Counsel

 

 

 

 

 

 

If to NPI:

Neenah Paper, Inc.

 

 

 

Preston Ridge III

 

 

 

3460 Preston Ridge Road, Suite 600

 

 

 

Alpharetta, GA 30005

 

 

 

ATTN: General Counsel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preston Ridge III

 

 

 

3460 Preston Ridge Road, Suite 600

 

 

 

Alpharetta, GA 30005

 

 

 

ATTN: John Herson, Vice-President - Taxes

 

 

                All notices, approvals, consents, or other communications shall be in writing and shall be sent first class mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, unless otherwise specified herein.  All consents by KCC shall be given only by KCC’s senior tax officer.

 

                13.            Miscellaneous .

 

(a)           Entire Agreement .  This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement of the parties concerning the subject matter hereof and supersedes all other agreements, whether or not written, in respect of any Tax between or among the KCC Companies, on the one hand, or the NPI Companies, on the other hand.  All such agreements are hereby cancelled and any rights or obligations existing thereunder are hereby fully and finally settled without any payment by any party thereto.

 

(b)           Amendments .  This Agreement may not be amended except by an agreement in

 

13



 

writing, signed by the parties hereto.

 

(c)           Transfer Taxes .  Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, the Distribution Agreement shall govern liabilities related to sales, transfer, use or other taxes payable in connection with the transfer of assets contemplated by the Distribution Agreement.

 

                (d)           Counterparts .  This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same agreement.  The Agreement may be delivered by facsimile transmission of a signed copy thereof.

 

                (e)           Assignment .  This Agreement and all of the provisions hereof shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and permitted assigns.  Except with respect to a merger of a party, neither this Agreement nor any of the rights or obligations hereunder shall be assigned by any party hereto without the prior written consent of the other parties, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed; provided , however , that KCC and NPI may assign their respective rights, interests, duties liabilities and obligations under this Agreement to any other KCC Company, or NPI Company, respectively, but such assignment shall not relieve KCC or NPI of its obligations hereunder.

 

                (f)            Severability .  Any provision of this Agreement which is prohibited or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such prohibition or unenforceability without invalidating the remaining provisions hereof.  Any such prohibition or unenforceability in any jurisdiction shall not invalidate or render unenforceable such provision in any other jurisdiction.

 

14



 

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be effective as of the date first above written.

 

 

 

KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION

 

 

By:

/s/ Mark A. Buthman

 

 

Name:

Mark A. Buthman

 

 

Title:

Senior Vice President and Chief

 

Financial Officer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEENAH PAPER, INC.

 

 

By:

/s/ Sean T. Erwin

 

 

Name:

Sean T. Erwin

 

 

Title:

Chief Executive Officer

 

 

 

15


 

Exhibit 10.3

 

ATLANTA

OFFICE LEASE AGREEMENT

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

BASIC LEASE INFORMATION

 

Paragraph

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.

 

 

PREMISES AND PROPERTY

 

2.

 

 

USE

 

3.

 

 

TERM AND POSSESSION

 

4.

 

 

RENT

 

5.

 

 

COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS

 

6.

 

 

ALTERATIONS

 

7.

 

 

REPAIR

 

8.

 

 

LIENS

 

9.

 

 

ASSIGNMENT AND SUBLETTING

 

10.

 

 

INSURANCE AND INDEMNIFICATION

 

11.

 

 

WAIVER OF SUBROGATION

 

12.

 

 

SERVICES AND UTILITIES

 

13.

 

 

ESTOPPEL CERTIFICATE

 

14.

 

 

HOLDING OVER

 

15.

 

 

SUBORDINATION

 

16.

 

 

RULES AND REGULATIONS

 

17.

 

 

ENTRY BY LANDLORD

 

18.

 

 

INSOLVENCY OR BANKRUPTCY

 

19.

 

 

DEFAULT

 

20.

 

 

DAMAGE BY FIRE, ETC.

 

21.

 

 

CONDEMNATION

 

22.

 

 

SALE BY LANDLORD

 

23.

 

 

RIGHT OF LANDLORD TO PERFORM

 

24.

 

 

SURRENDER OF PREMISES

 

25.

 

 

WAIVER

 

26.

 

 

NOTICES

 

27.

 

 

RENTAL ADJUSTMENT

 

28.

 

 

CERTAIN RIGHTS RESERVED TO THE LANDLORD

 

29.

 

 

ABANDONMENT

 

30.

 

 

SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS

 

31.

 

 

ATTORNEY’S FEES

 

32.

 

 

SECURITY DEPOSIT

 

33.

 

 

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

34.

 

 

TENANT AUTHORITY

 

35.

 

 

MORTGAGEE AND GROUND LESSOR APPROVALS

 

36.

 

 

MISCELLANEOUS

 

37.

 

 

LANDLORD’S LIEN

 

38.

 

 

QUIET ENJOYMENT

 

39.

 

 

LANDLORD’S LIABILITY

 

40.

 

 

NO ESTATE

 

41.

 

 

SUBSTITUTION OF PREMISES

 

42.

 

 

LEASE EFFECTIVE DATE

 

43.

 

 

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

 

44.

 

 

FIRST MONTH’S RENT

 

45.

 

 

BROKERS

 

 

 

EXHIBIT “A” - RULES AND REGULATIONS

 

EXHIBIT “B” - TYPICAL LEVEL FLOOR PLAN

 

EXHIBIT “C” - OFFICE LEASE IMPROVEMENT AGREEMENT

 

EXHIBIT “D” - TENANT LEASE ESTOPPEL CERTIFICATE

 

EXHIBIT “E” - GENERAL CLEANING SPECIFICATIONS

 

EXHIBIT “F” - LEASE GUARANTY

 

EXHIBIT “G” - LEGAL DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY

 

EXHIBIT “H” - INSURANCE

 

EXHIBIT “I” - SPECIAL STIPULATIONS

 

EXHIBIT “J” - ARBITRATION

 

EXHIBIT “K” – FORM OF SNDA

 

 

 

Initial: Landlord

 

 

 

 Initial: Tenant

 



 

BASIC LEASE INFORMATION

 

 

 

LEASE DATE:

 

29 th day of June, 2004

 

 

LANDLORD:

 

GERMANIA PROPERTY INVESTORS XXXIV, L.P., a Georgia limited partnership

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ADDRESS OF   LANDLORD:

 

GERMANIA PROPERTY INVESTORS XXXIV, L.P. c/o
Childress Klein Properties
300 Galleria Parkway, Suite 600
Atlanta, GA 30339

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TENANT:

 

Neenah Paper, Inc., a Delaware corporation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ADDRESS OF   TENANT:

 

Prior to the Commencement Date:
Neenah Paper, Inc.
C/o General Counsel
221 Roswell Street, Suite 100
Alpharetta, GA 30004
Phone: 678-566-4995
Fax: 678-566-0464

Following the Commencement Date:
At the Premises
C/o General Counsel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FEDERAL TAX ID NUMBER:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONTACT:

 

Steven S. Heinrichs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TELEPHONE:

 

678-566-6794

 

 

 

 

 

Paragraph 1

 

PREMISES:

 

On the sixth (6 th ) floor of the Preston Ridge III office building as outlined in red on Exhibit “B” hereto. The rentable area of the Premises for purposes of this Lease is 26,285 square feet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BUILDING:

 

Preston Ridge III, 3460 Preston Ridge Road, Alpharetta, Georgia 30302. The rentable area of the Building is 151,647 square feet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROPERTY:

 

The land on which the Building is to be erected, per the legal description of the Property attached hereto as Exhibit “G”.

 

 

 

 

 

Paragraph 2

 

USE:

 

General office use only.

 

 

 

 

 

Paragraph 3

 

COMMENCEMENT DATE

 

September 15, 2004 (as the date may be extended pursuant to Section 3 herein)

 

 

 

 

 

Paragraph 3

 

LEASE TERM:

 

One hundred twenty (120) months commencing on the Commencement Date as specified above.

 

1



 

Paragraph 4

 

RENT:

 

Initially, Rent shall be payable at the rate of Forty-Three Thousand Eight Hundred Eight and 33/100ths   Dollars ($43,808.33) per month.  Said monthly Rent consists of Net Rent and the Expense Stop Rent.  The initial Net Rent is $13.00 per rentable square foot per year or Twenty Eight Thousand Four Hundred Seventy Five and 42/100ths Dollars ($28,475.42 ) per month.  The initial Expense Stop Rent is $7.00 per rentable square foot per year or Fifteen Thousand Three Hundred Thirty-two and 91/100ths   Dollars  ($15,332.91 )  per month.  The Net Rent shall be adjusted in accordance with the Net Rent schedule set forth below.  The Expense Stop Rent shall be adjusted in accordance with Paragraph 27 of the Lease.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Rent Schedule:

 

 

 

 

 

Time Period

 

Net Rent PSF
per annum

 

Monthly Net
Rent

 

Annual Net
Rent

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commencement Date – 12 th full month

 

$

13.00

 

$

28,475.42

 

$

341,705.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

13 – 24

 

$

13.33

 

$

29,187.30

 

$

350,247.63

 

 

 

 

 

 

25 – 36

 

$

13.66

 

$

29,916.98

 

$

359,003.82

 

 

 

 

 

 

37 – 48

 

$

14.00

 

$

30,664.91

 

$

367,978.91

 

 

 

 

 

 

49 – 60

 

$

14.35

 

$

31,431.53

 

$

377,178.38

 

 

 

 

 

 

61 – 72

 

$

14.71

 

$

32,217.32

 

$

386,607.84

 

 

 

 

 

 

73 – 84

 

$

15.08

 

$

33,022.75

 

$

396,273.04

 

 

 

 

 

 

85 – 96

 

$

15.45

 

$

33,848.32

 

$

406,179.87

 

 

 

 

 

 

97 – 108

 

$

15.84

 

$

34,694.53

 

$

416,334.36

 

 

 

 

 

 

109 – 120

 

$

16.24

 

$

35,561.89

 

$

426,742.72

 

 

 

Paragraph 27

 

PRO RATA SHARE

 

17.33%, which percentage is defined as a ratio, the numerator of which is the number of square feet of rentable area contained in the Premises (26,285) and the denominator of which is the number of square feet of rentable area contained in the Building (151,647) subject to increase or decrease due to an increase or decrease of the rentable square footage of either the Building or the Premises.  Tenant’s Pro Rata Share shall be adjusted for partial years at the beginning and end of the term.

 

 

 

 

 

Paragraph 32

 

SECURITY DEPOSIT:

 

Zero and No/100ths Dollars ($0.00)

 

 

 

 

 

Paragraph 45

 

BROKERS:

 

CK-Suburban Atlanta Brokerage, LLC, on behalf of Landlord.

Carter & Associates, LLC, on behalf of Tenant

 

 

 

 

 

Exhibit G

 

GUARANTY:

 

“Guaranty” shall mean the Guaranty of certain obligations of Lessee hereunder in the form of Exhibit “G” hereto (the “Guaranty”) given by Kimberly – Clark Corporation (the “Guarantor”) and bearing even date herewith.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The foregoing Basic Lease Information is hereby incorporated into and made a part of this Lease.  Each reference in this Lease to any of the Basic Lease Information shall mean the respective information hereinabove set forth and shall be construed to incorporate all of the terms provided under the particular Lease paragraph pertaining to such information.  In the event of any conflict between any Basic Lease Information and the Lease, the latter shall control.

 

2



 

LEASE

 

THIS LEASE made as of this 29 th day of  June , 2004, between GERMANIA PROPERTY INVESTORS XXXIV, L.P. , a Georgia Limited Partnership (hereinafter called “Landlord”) and NEENAH PAPER, INC. , a Delaware corporation (hereinafter called “Tenant”).

 

W I T N E S S E T H :

 

1.                                       PREMISES AND PROPERTY

 

Landlord hereby demises and leases to Tenant and Tenant hereby accepts and leases from Landlord those premises (hereinafter called “Premises”) outlined in red on Exhibit “B” attached hereto, made a part hereof, and specified in the Basic Lease Information, being a portion of a multi-story office building (the “Building”) constructed or being constructed on a parcel of land (the “Property”) located as described in the Basic Lease Information.  Tenant shall have the nonexclusive right to use those parts of the Property devoted to access and parking and shall have the non-exclusive right to use those areas devoted to lobbies, elevators, stairs and similar facilities provided for the common use or benefit of tenants generally and/or the public (excluding, however, any restricted elevator lobbies dedicated to full floor tenants.  The Landlord represents and warrants, to the best of Landlord’s knowledge, as of the date of this Lease, (i) all of the Building Standard mechanical, electrical, plumbing, sprinkler and HVAC equipment servicing the Premises is in good working order and condition, (ii) the Premises will be delivered to Tenant vacant and in broom clean condition as of the Delivery Date (defined below); and (iii) the Premises complies with all Laws (as defined below).

 

2.                                       USE

 

Tenant shall use and occupy the Premises for the purpose specified in the Basic Lease Information and for no other use or purpose without the prior written consent of Landlord. Tenant shall not do or permit anything to be done in or about the Premises which will in any way obstruct or interfere with the rights of other tenants or occupants of the Building or injure or annoy them, nor use or allow the Premises to be used for any improper, immoral, unlawful, or objectionable purpose or for any business, use, or purpose deemed to be disreputable or inconsistent with the operation of a first-class office building, nor shall Tenant cause, maintain or permit any nuisance in, on, or about the Premises. Tenant shall not commit or suffer the commission of any waste in, on, or about the Premises.

 

3.                                       TERM AND POSSESSION

 

(a)                                   The term of this Lease shall be for the period specified in the Basic Lease Information (or until sooner terminated as herein provided) beginning on the Commencement Date, except that if the Commencement Date is other than the first day of a calendar month, the term hereof shall be extended for the remainder of that calendar month at the end of the term unless otherwise specified in the Basic Lease Information.

 

(b)                                   The Commencement Date shall be September 15, 2004, as specified in the Basic Lease Information. Notwithstanding anything herein to the foregoing, Landlord shall use commercially reasonable efforts to deliver the Premises to Tenant as soon as possible following the date of this Lease, but not later than of June 30, 2004 (“Delivery Date”) in order that Tenant may do such work as may be required by Tenant to make the Premises ready for Tenant’s use and occupancy.  Landlord agrees that, notwithstanding the fact that Covansys Corporation has not vacated a portion of the Premises, the Tenant shall be given access to the Premises upon the execution of the Lease for purposes of commencing its Work therein (but in no event shall Tenant be permitted to perform any Work in the portion of the Premises occupied by Covansys Corporation until such time as Landlord has confirmed to Tenant that Covanys Corporation has vacated such portion of the Premises), that such early entry by Tenant shall not be deemed delivery of the entire Premises by Landlord, and that delivery of the entire Premises shall only be deemed to have occurred upon the delivery of the Premises to the Tenant in a broom clean condition as herein required.  Tenant agrees that any such entry into and occupation of the Premises shall be deemed to be under all of the terms, covenants, conditions and provisions of the Lease except as to the covenant to pay Net Rent, Expense Stop Rent and Operating Costs, and further agrees Landlord shall not be liable in any way for any injury, loss or damage which may occur to any of Tenant’s work and installations made in the Premises or to properties placed therein prior to the Commencement Date of the term of the Lease, except to the extent caused by Landlord’s negligence. In the event that Landlord fails to deliver the Premises to Tenant on or before the Delivery Date, and such delay in delivery actually prohibits Tenant from otherwise commencing the Work (as defined on Exhibit “C”) then the Commencement Date shall be delayed one day for each day of such delay in the Delivery Date (i), Tenant shall receive a day for day abatement of rent for each day of delay in the delivery of the Premises beyond July 10, 2004 and until August 9, 2004; (ii) Tenant shall receive a two (2) day abatement of Rent for every day of delay in the delivery of the Premises from August 10, 2004 and until the date of delivery; and (iii) Tenant shall have the right to terminate this Lease if Landlord fails to deliver the Premises prior to September 10, 2004, provided, however, that Tenant must deliver notice to Landlord of its intent to terminate on or before September 15, 2004, or Tenant’s right to terminate this Lease in accordance with this Section 3(b) shall be of no further force and effect.   In the event that Tenant timely elects to terminate this Lease in accordance with this Section 3(b), Landlord hereby agrees to reimburse Tenant for its actual costs incurred in connection with Tenant’s negotiation and preparation of the Lease, not to exceed Twenty Thousand and 00/100 Dollars ($20,000.00), as well as the costs incurred in connection with the preparation of the Premises for occupancy by Tenant, not to exceed $125,000.00.

 

(c)                                   Except for (i) any delay in the Delivery Date as set forth in Section 3(b) above, (ii) any delay in Tenant’s Work caused by the negligence or willful misconduct of Landlord, or (iii) any delay in the Work caused by events outside of Tenant’s reasonable control, excluding all permitting issues related to the Work and provided that such delay shall not extend for more than thirty (30) days (all

 

3



 

of which events described in subsections (i), (ii) and (iii) above shall delay the Commencement Date on a day for day basis), the Commencement Date shall occur on the date specified on the Basic Lease Information.

 

(d)                                   Landlord shall not be liable to Tenant, its agents, employees, guests or invitees (and, if Tenant is an entity, its officers, members, partners, managers, agents, employees, guests or invitees) for any damage caused to any of them due to leaking of gas, water, sewer or steam pipes, or from electricity, but Tenant, by moving into the Premises and taking possession thereof, shall accept, and shall be held to have accepted the Premises as suitable for the purposes for which the same are leased, and Tenant by said act waives any and all defects therein with the exception of latent defects; provided, however, that this Section shall not apply to any damages or injury caused by or resulting from the negligence or willful misconduct of Landlord, any damage or injury caused by the Building (excluding the Premises) or any part or appurtenances thereof within the Landlord’s control being improperly constructed or being or becoming out of repair, and that nothing contained in this Section 3(c) shall negate the Landlord’s maintenance and repair obligations as otherwise set forth herein.  In the event that during the Lease Term, a latent defect is discovered in the Building’s structure, roof, foundation or in the standard building systems serving the Premises generally (as well as other space within excluding the Building systems servicing the Premises exclusively or those non-Building standard or above-Building standard alterations, improvements or additions made to Building systems by or on behalf of Landlord) then Landlord shall be responsible for the repair or restoration of the Building as a result of such latent defect in accordance with Landlord’s repair obligations set forth in Section 12 hereof.   In the event that a latent defect is discovered in the interior, nonstructural portions of the Premises or any Work or Alterations installed by or on behalf of Tenant during the Lease Term, Tenant shall be responsible for the repair or restoration of the Premises as a result of such latent defect in accordance with Tenant’s repair obligations set forth in Section 7 hereof.

 

4.                                       RENT

 

(a)                                   Tenant shall pay to Landlord throughout the term of this Lease Rent as specified in the Basic Lease Information, payable monthly in advance on or before the first day of each month during the term hereby demised in lawful money of the United States, without demand, deduction or offset whatsoever, to Landlord at the address specified in the Basic Lease Information or to such other firm or to such other place as Landlord may from time to time designate in writing.  Net Rent is subject to adjustment as provided in the Basic Lease Information hereof, and Expense Stop Rent is subject to adjustment as provided in Paragraph 27 hereof.  If this Lease commences on a day other than the first day of a calendar month or ends on a day other than the last day of a calendar month, the monthly Rent for the fractional month shall be appropriately prorated.  The term “Rent”, as used herein, means all Net Rent, Expense Stop Rent, Additional Rent and all other amounts payable hereunder from Tenant to Landlord.

 

(b)                                   Tenant agrees that if Rent or any other payment due hereunder from Tenant to Landlord remains unpaid ten (10) days after said amount is due, the amount of such unpaid Rent or other payment shall be increased by a late charge to be paid to Landlord by Tenant in an amount equal to five percent (5%) of the amount of the delinquent Rent or other payment.  The amount of the late charge to be paid to Landlord by Tenant for any month shall be computed on the aggregate amount of delinquent Rents and other payments, including all accrued late charges, then outstanding.  Tenant agrees that such amount is a reasonable estimate of the loss and expense to be suffered by Landlord as a result of such late payment by Tenant and may be charged by Landlord to defray such loss and expense.  The provisions of this paragraph in no way relieve Tenant of the obligation to pay Rent or other payments on or before the date on which they are due, nor do the terms of this paragraph in any way affect Landlord’s remedies pursuant to Paragraph 19 of this Lease in the event said Rent or other payment is unpaid after the date due.  Notwithstanding the foregoing to the contrary, Tenant shall not be subject to late charges and interest set forth in this Section 4(b) for the first two (2) times in each twelve month period for which Tenant fails to pay Rent within ten (10) days after its due date.

 

5.                                       COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS

 

Tenant shall not use the Premises or permit anything to be done in or about the Premises which will in any way conflict with any law, statute, ordinance, or governmental rule or regulation now in force or which may hereafter be enacted or promulgated.  Tenant shall not do or permit anything to be done on or about the Premises or bring or keep anything therein which will in any way increase the rate of any insurance upon the Building or any of its contents or cause a cancellation of said insurance or otherwise affect said insurance in any manner and Tenant shall, at its sole cost and expense, promptly comply with all laws, statutes, ordinances, and governmental rules, regulations, or requirements now in force or which may hereafter be in force and with the requirements of any board of fire underwriters or other similar body now or hereafter constituted (“Laws”) relating to or affecting the condition, use, or occupancy of the Premises.  Notwithstanding the foregoing to the contrary, Tenant shall not be obligated to make alterations to the Premises to comply with any Laws to the extent such alterations were required on or before the Delivery Date, nor shall Tenant be obligated to make any alterations to comply with any Laws if such alterations are requested after the Delivery Date unless they are applicable to the Premises (i) because of tenant’s unique or particular type of use (as opposed to being applicable to occupied space in general), or (ii) because of any special requirements relating to accommodations for individual employees, invitees and/or guests of Tenant, or (iii) as a result of any improvements, alterations, additions or improvements made by or on behalf of Tenant.  Tenant shall not be obligated to make alterations to the Premises to comply with Laws if same were in effect as of the Delivery Date, the cost of such compliance shall be borne by Landlord and shall not be passed through as an Operating Expense.  The judgment of any court of competent jurisdiction or the admission of Tenant or Landlord in an action against Tenant or Landlord, whether Tenant or Landlord is a party thereto or not, that Tenant or Landlord have so violated any such law, statute, ordinance, rule, regulation, or requirement, shall be conclusive evidence of such violation as between Landlord and Tenant.  Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Landlord shall comply with all Laws relating to or affecting the public and common areas of the Building and the Property, including lobbies, stairs, elevators, corridors, and restrooms, the exterior windows in the Building, the mechanical, plumbing, and electrical equipment serving the Building (excluding those systems serving the Premises exclusively and also excluding therefrom any non-Building standard or above Building standard alterations, additions or improvements made to Building systems by or on behalf of Tenant), the roof, and the structure itself, parking, access lanes and landscaped areas..

 

6.                                       ALTERATIONS

 

Tenant shall not make or suffer to be made any alterations, additions, or improvements in, on, or to the Premises or any part thereof without the prior consent of Landlord; provided, however, that Tenant shall be permitted to make interior, non-structural alterations

 

4



 

o the Premises without Landlord’s consent provided such alterations do not affect the Building’s MEP systems, life safety systems, HVAC system or structural integrity and do not cost more than $20,000 in any twelve (12) month period..  Any such alterations, additions, or improvements in, on, or to said Premises, except for Tenant’s movable furniture and equipment, shall immediately become Landlord’s property and, at the end of the term hereof, shall remain on the Premises without compensation to Tenant.  In the event Landlord consents to the making of any such alteration, addition, or improvement by Tenant, the same shall be made by Tenant, at Tenant’s sole cost and expense, in accordance with all applicable laws, ordinances, and regulations and all requirements of Landlord’s and Tenant’s insurance policies, and in accordance with plans and specifications approved by Landlord and any contractor or person selected by Tenant to make the same and all subcontractors must first be approved in writing at the time of installation by Landlord.  Upon the expiration or sooner termination of the term herein provided, Tenant shall, at Tenant’s sole cost and expense, forthwith and with all due diligence, remove any or all alterations, additions, or improvements made by or for the account of Tenant which were designated by Landlord at the time of installation in writing as alterations, additions or improvements that must be removed by Tenant as of the expiration or earlier termination of the Lease.  Otherwise, Tenant shall have no obligation to remove any such alterations, additions or improvements.  In addition, notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, in the event the Tenant is permitted to remove an improvement within the Premises, or in the event the permitted alteration to the Premises includes demolition, the Tenant shall not be required to replace any such improvement or to construct any improvements upon the termination of the Lease unless the Landlord required the same at the time the Landlord granted its consent to such alterations.

 

 7.                                    TENANT REPAIR

 

(a)                                   By taking possession of the Premises, Tenant accepts the Premises as being in the condition in which Landlord is obligated to deliver them and otherwise in good order, condition and repair.  Tenant shall, at all times during the term hereof at Tenant’s sole cost and expense, keep the interior, non-structural portions of the Premises and every part thereof (including any Building elements or items exclusively serving the Premises), excluding exterior windows and those Building systems serving the Building generally, such as mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, but including any non-Building standard or above-Building standard alterations, additions or improvements to the Premises or any Building system installed by or on behalf of Tenant in good order, condition and repair, excepting ordinary wear and tear, damage thereto by fire, earthquake, Act of God or the elements.  Tenant shall upon the expiration or sooner termination of the term hereof, unless Landlord demands otherwise as in Paragraph 6 hereof provided, surrender to Landlord the Premises in the same condition as of the Commencement Date, ordinary wear and tear, damage by fire, earthquake, Act of God, or the elements excepted; provided, however that Tenant shall not be required to remove any alterations, additions or improvements except as set forth in Section 6 above.  It is hereby understood and agreed that Landlord has no obligation to alter, remodel, improve, repair, decorate, or paint the Premises or any part thereof and that no representations respecting the condition of the Premises or the Building have been made by Landlord to Tenant, except as specifically herein set forth.

 

(b)                                   Tenant shall pay the cost of all necessary repairs resulting from all damage to the Building including common areas, restrooms, hallways, elevators, or any other area, fixture, or equipment of the Building caused by Tenant’s installation or removal of its property or resulting from any negligence, act or conduct of Tenant, its employees, contractors, agents, licensees or invitees.

 

(c)                                   All maintenance or repairs made by Tenant shall be made in accordance with all applicable laws, ordinances and regulations, and all requirements of Landlord’s and Tenant’s insurance policies and any contractor or person selected by Tenant to make the same, and all subcontractors must first be approved in writing by Landlord if the cost of such work exceeds $10,000.00.  In any event, all repairs shall be equal in quality and workmanship to the original work performed in the Premises.

 

8.                                       LIENS

 

Tenant shall keep the Premises free from any liens arising out of any work performed, material furnished, or obligations incurred by Tenant.  In the event that Tenant shall not, within ten (10) days following Tenant’s actual knowledge or receipt of notice of the imposition of any such lien, cause the same to be released of record by payment or posting of a proper bond, Landlord shall have, in addition to all other remedies provided herein and by law, the right, but not the obligation, to cause the same to be released by such means as it shall deem proper, including payment of the claim giving rise to such lien.  All such sums paid by Landlord and all expenses incurred by it in connection therewith shall be considered Additional Rent and shall be payable to it by Tenant on demand and with interest at the rate of six percent (6%) higher than the prime commercial lending rate from time to time of Wachovia Bank of North Carolina; the interest rate so determined is hereinafter called the “Agreed Interest Rate.”  Landlord shall have the right at all times to post and keep posted on the Premises any notices permitted or required by law, or which Landlord shall deem proper for the protection of Landlord, the Premises, the Building, and any other party having an interest therein, from mechanics’ and materialmens’ liens, and Tenant shall give to Landlord at least five (5) business days prior written notice of commencement of any construction on the Premises costing in excess of $10,000.00..

 

9.                                       ASSIGNMENT AND SUBLETTING

 

(a)                                   Tenant shall not sell, assign, encumber, or otherwise transfer by operation of law or otherwise this Lease or any interest herein, sublet the Premises or any portion thereof, or suffer any other person to occupy or use the Premises or any portion thereof, without the prior written consent of Landlord as provided herein, nor shall Tenant permit any lien to be placed on the Tenant’s interest by operation of law.  Tenant shall, by written notice, advise Landlord of its desire from and after a stated date (which shall not be less than fifteen (15) days nor more than twenty-one (21) days after the date of Tenant’s notice) to assign or sublet the Premises or any portion for any part of the term hereof; and supply Landlord with such information, financial statements, verifications and related materials as Landlord may reasonably request or desire to evaluate the written request to assign or sublet; and in such event Landlord shall have the right, to be exercised by giving written notice to Tenant within ten (10) business days after receipt of Tenant’s notice and all said information, financial statements, verifications and related materials requested by Landlord, to terminate this Lease as to the portion of the Premises described in Tenant’s notice and such notice shall, if given, terminate this Lease with respect to the portion of the Premises therein described as of the date stated in Tenant’s notice.  In the event Landlord elects to terminate the Lease pursuant to this Section 9, Tenant shall be permitted to withdraw its notice to Landlord of its intent to assign the Lease or sublet the Premises.  Said notice by Tenant shall state the name and address of the proposed assignee or subtenant, and Tenant shall deliver to Landlord a true and complete copy of the proposed assignment or sublease with said notice.  If said notice shall specify all of the Premises and Landlord shall give said termination notice with respect

 

5



 

thereto, this Lease shall terminate on the date stated in Tenant’s notice.  If, however, this Lease shall terminate pursuant to the foregoing with respect to less than all the Premises, the Rent, as defined and reserved hereinabove and as adjusted pursuant to the Basic Lease Information and Paragraph 27 hereof, shall be adjusted on a pro rata basis to the number of square feet retained by Tenant, and this Lease as so amended shall continue thereafter in full force and effect.  If Landlord, upon receiving said notice by Tenant with respect to any of the Premises, shall not exercise its right to terminate, Landlord will not unreasonably withhold its consent to Tenant’s subletting or assignment of the Premises specified in said notice; provided, however, Landlord will be deemed reasonable in withholding its consent to any such request based on:  (i) the poor financial condition of the proposed assignee, sublessee or transferee; (ii) the fact that the use of the proposed assignee, sublessee or transferee is not in keeping with the nature of the Building or may affect the marketability of the Building; (iii) the fact that the use contemplated by the proposed assignee, sublessee or transferee would violate an exclusive granted by Landlord to another tenant of the Building or otherwise; or (iv) the fact that the proposed assignee, sublessee or transferee is a governmental subdivision or agency or any person or entity who enjoys diplomatic or sovereign immunity.  Tenant shall, at Tenant’s own cost and expense, discharge in full any commissions which may be due and owing as a result of any proposed assignment or subletting.  Tenant shall pay to Landlord immediately upon receipt fifty percent (50%) of all rent or other consideration received by Tenant from any such assignee or subtenant, either initially or over the term of the assignment or sublease which is in excess of the rental obligation required under the terms of this Lease for the Premises or portion thereof for which consent is granted less any costs, brokerage commissions or other costs actually incurred by Tenant in connection with such assignment or sublease. In addition, Tenant also agrees to pay to Landlord, promptly after consent to any assignment or sublease, (i) the amount of all attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred by Landlord in connection with any assignment or subletting issues or review of documentation relating thereto, and (ii) $500.00 as an administrative fee for Landlord’s time and effort in connection with any assignment or subletting issues.

 

(b)                                   Any assignment or subletting hereunder by Tenant shall not result in Tenant’s being released or discharged from any liability under this Lease.  As a condition to Landlord’s prior written consent as provided for in this Paragraph 9, the subtenant or subtenants or assignees shall agree in writing to comply with and be bound by all of the terms, covenants, conditions, provisions, and agreements of this Lease, and Tenant shall deliver to Landlord promptly after execution, an executed copy of each assignment or sublease and an agreement of said compliance by each assignee or subtenant.  If an Event of Default, as hereinafter defined, should occur while the Premises or any part thereof are then sublet, Landlord, in addition to any other remedies herein provided or provided by law, may at its option collect directly from the subtenant all rents and other sums becoming due to Tenant under the sublease and apply the rent against any sums due to Landlord by Tenant hereunder, and Tenant hereby authorizes and directs any such subtenant to make payments of rent directly to Landlord upon receipt of notice from Landlord.  No direct collection by Landlord from any subtenant will be construed to constitute a novation or a release of Tenant from the further performance of its obligations hereunder.  Receipt by Landlord of rent from any assignee, subtenant, or occupant of the Premises will not be deemed a waiver of the covenants contained in this Lease or a release of Tenant under the Lease.  The receipt by Landlord from any subtenant obligated to make payments of rent will be a full and complete release, discharge, and acquittance to the subtenant of its obligations to Tenant to the extent of any such amount of rent so paid to Landlord.

 

(c)                                   Landlord’s consent to any sale, assignment, encumbrance, subletting, occupation, lien, or other transfer shall not release Tenant from any of Tenant’s obligations hereunder or be deemed to be consent to any subsequent occurrence.  Any sale, assignment, encumbrance, subletting, occupation, lien or other transfer of this Lease which does not comply with the provisions of this Paragraph 9 shall be void.

 

(d)                                   Any transfer of this Lease by merger, consolidation, or liquidation or any change in ownership of or power to vote the majority of outstanding voting stock of Tenant or, if Tenant is a partnership, any withdrawal, replacement or substitution of any partner or partners, either general or limited, shall constitute an assignment, whether the result of a single or series of transactions, and shall be subject to Landlord’s approval under Paragraph 9 (a).

 

(e)                                   Notwithstanding the foregoing to the contrary, but subject to compliance with all other provisions of this Lease (including, but not limited to, the “use” provisions hereof), Tenant may assign this Lease or sublet the Premises or any portion thereof, without Landlord’s consent, to any partnership, corporation or other entity which controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with Tenant or Tenant’s parent (control being defined for such purposes as ownership of at least 50% of the equity interests in, and the power to direct the management of, the relevant entity) (with any such entity being referred to herein as an “Permitted Affiliate”), provided that (i) Landlord receives thirty (30) days’ prior written notice of such assignment or subletting, (ii) Tenant and any guarantor are not dissolved as a matter of law as a consequence of the assignment or subletting or at any time thereafter, (iii) the Permitted Affiliate remains an affiliate meeting the definition of “Permitted Affiliate” above for the duration of the subletting or the balance of the Term in the event of an assignment, (iv) the Permitted Affiliate assumes  in writing (the form of which shall be subject to Landlord’s approval) all of Tenant’s obligations under this Lease, as amended from time to time, and the prior Tenant and any guarantor are not released from any of their respective obligations or liabilities under this Lease, as amended from time to time, or any guaranty delivered to Lender in connection with this Lease, (v) Landlord receives a fully executed copy of the assignment or sublease agreement between Tenant and Permitted Affiliate, and (vi) the primary purpose of such assignment or sublet is for legitimate business reasons unrelated to this Lease, and the assignment or sublet is not a subterfuge by Tenant to avoid its obligations under this Lease or the restrictions on assignment and subletting contained herein.  Any attempted assignment or subletting in violation of the preceding sentence shall be voidable at Landlord’s option.

 

(f)                                     Notwithstanding the foregoing to the contrary, but subject to compliance with all other provisions of this Lease (including, but not limited to, the “use” provisions hereof), Tenant may assign this Lease without Landlord’s consent, to any partnership, corporation or other entity resulting from a merger or consolidation with Tenant, or to any person or entity which acquires substantially all the assets or stock of Tenant as a going concern, (any of the foregoing being, a “Permitted Successor”), provided that (i) Landlord receives thirty (30) days’ prior written notice of such assignment, (ii) the Permitted Successor’s net worth, as reasonably determined by Landlord, is not less than Tenant’s net worth as of the date immediately prior to the assignment (iii) the Permitted Successor (or in the case of a newly formed entity, its management) has proven experience in the operation of a first-class business of a

 

6



 

type consistent with the use of the Building as a first-class Building in the metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia area,  (iv) the Permitted Successor assumes in writing (the form of which shall be subject to Landlord’s approval) all of Tenant’s obligations under this Lease, as amended from time to time, and the prior Tenant and guarantor are not released from any of their respective obligations or liabilities under this Lease, as amended from time to time, or any guaranty delivered to Lender in connection with this Lease, (v) Landlord receives a fully executed copy of the assignment between Tenant and the Permitted Successor, and (vi) the primary purpose of such assignment is for legitimate business reasons unrelated to this Lease, and the assignment is not a subterfuge by Tenant to avoid its obligations under this Lease or the restrictions on assignment contained herein.  Any attempted assignment in violation of the preceding sentence shall be voidable at Landlord’s option.

 

10.                                INSURANCE AND INDEMNIFICATION

 

(a)                                   Except as otherwise expressly set forth in this Lease, Landlord shall not be liable to Tenant and Tenant hereby waives all claims against Landlord and any of its partners for any injury or damage to any person or property in or about the Premises by or from any cause whatsoever, excepting Landlord’s negligence or willful acts, and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, whether caused by water leakage of any character from the roof, walls, basement, or other portion of the Premises or the Building, or caused by gas, fire, Acts of God, discharge of sprinklers, excessive heat or cold, sewage, odors, noise, bursting or leakage of pipes or plumbing fixtures, riot, strike, court order, governmental body or authority, other tenants, or explosion of the Building or the complex of which it may be a part or any part thereof.

 

(b)                                   Tenant shall hold Landlord harmless from and defend Landlord against any and all claims or liability from any injury or damage to any person or property whatsoever:  (i) occurring in, on, or about the Premises or any part thereof unless such damage is caused by the negligence or willful misconduct of Landlord, its agents, or employees, (ii) occurring in, on, or about the Property (including without limitations, elevators, stairways, passageways or hallways), when such injury or damage shall be caused in part or in whole by the negligence or willful misconduct of Tenant, its agents, servants, employees, or any other person entering the Premises with express or implied invitation of Tenant, and (iii) against all costs, counsel fees, expenses, and liabilities incurred in connection with any such claim or action or proceeding brought thereon.  All property in the Building or Premises belonging to Tenant, its agents, employees, or invitees shall be there at the risk of Tenant.  Furthermore, in case any action or proceeding be brought against Landlord by reason of any claims or liability, Tenant agrees to defend such action or proceeding at Tenant’s sole expense by counsel reasonably satisfactory to Landlord.  The provisions of this Paragraph 10 shall survive the expiration or termination of this Lease with respect to any claims or liability occurring prior to such expiration or termination.

 

(c)                                   Landlord does hereby indemnify and hold Tenant harmless against all claims for damaged persons or property if caused by the (i) negligence or willful misconduct of Landlord, its agents or employees and (ii) for on and against all costs, counsel fees, expenses and liabilities incurred in connection with any such claim or act or proceeding brought thereon.

 

(d)                                   Tenant agrees to purchase at its own expense and to keep in force during the term of this Lease the policies of insurance specified on Exhibit “H” attached to this Lease and such commercially reasonable modifications to the same required by Landlord’s mortgagee or otherwise required of other tenants in the Building or other comparable Class A suburban office buildings located in the metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia area.  The purchase of such insurance shall not release Tenant of any legal obligations contained within this Lease.

 

(e)                                   The indemnities contained in this Paragraph 10 do not override the waivers contained in Paragraph 11 below.

 

(f)                                     Landlord shall maintain property damage insurance, with extended coverage and All Risk endorsements, on the Building and the Property in an amount equal to not less than 80% of the replacement value of the same.  Landlord shall also maintain commercial general liability insurance in commercially reasonable amounts consistent with that carried by other landlords of similar Class “A” suburban office buildings located in the metropolitan Atlanta area.

 

11.                                WAIVER OF SUBROGATION

 

Each of Landlord and Tenant hereby releases the other from any and all liability or responsibility to the other or anyone claiming through or under them by way of subrogation or otherwise for any loss or damage to property caused by fire or any other perils insured in policies of insurance covering such property, even if such loss or damage shall have been caused by the fault or negligence of the other party, or anyone for whom such party may be responsible, including any other tenants or occupants of the remainder of the Building; provided, however, that this release shall be applicable and in force and effect only to the extent that such release shall be lawful at that time and in any event only with respect to loss or damage occurring during such times as the releasor’s policies shall contain a clause or endorsement to the effect that any such release shall not adversely affect or impair said policies or prejudice the right of the releasor to recover thereunder and then only to the extent of the insurance proceeds payable under such policies. Each of Landlord and Tenant agrees that it will require its insurance carriers to include in its policies such a clause or endorsement.  Failure to obtain such an endorsement shall not release the waiver contained in this Lease and any deductible amounts shall be deemed amounts covered by insurance for purposes of this Section 11.

 

12.                                LANDLORD REPAIR , SERVICES AND UTILITIES

 

(a)                                   Landlord shall keep and maintain the public and common areas of the Building and the Property, including lobbies, stairs, elevators, corridors, and restrooms, the exterior windows in the Building, the mechanical, plumbing, and electrical equipment serving the Building (excluding those systems serving the Premises exclusively and also excluding therefrom any non-Building standard or above Building standard alterations, additions or improvements made to Building systems by or on behalf of Tenant), the roof, and the structure itself, parking, access lanes and landscaped areas in reasonably good order and condition except for damage occasioned by the act of Tenant, which damage shall be repaired by Landlord at Tenant’s expense, using standards comparable to other Class A suburban office buildings located in the metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia area.

 

7



 

(b)                                   Landlord agrees to furnish to the Premises:

(1)                                   heating and air conditioning required in Landlord’s judgment for the comfortable use and occupancy of the Premises during normal business hours;

(2)                                   elevator service to Tenant’s floor, which shall mean service either by nonattended automatic elevators or elevators with attendants, or both, at the option of the Landlord, with at least one elevator operating 24 hours day, seven days a week;

(3)                                   water to the restrooms and drinking fountains and kitchens;

(4)                                   electric current in reasonably sufficient amounts for normal business use, including operation of building standard lighting and general office machines of a type which require no more than a 110 volt duplex outlet; and

(5)                                   janitorial services customarily furnished in comparable Class A office buildings in the immediate market area described more fully on Exhibit “E”.

(6)                                   up to 60 access cards for the existing card key system, and such additional cards that Tenant may request at its sole cost and expense.

 

(c)                                   Provided the Tenant shall not be in default hereunder and subject to the provisions elsewhere herein contained, including the Rules and Regulations of the Building, Landlord agrees that, with respect to the Premises, and only during normal business hours or, at Landlord’s option, after normal business hours, it will maintain and adjust at its expense:

(1)                                   All building standard fluorescent lighting.  All incandescent and nonstandard fluorescent lights shall be maintained at Tenant’s expense;

(2)                                   All temperature control devices and air diffusers; and

(3)                                   All Tenant entry door hardware, including locks, hinges, and closers.

 

Notwithstanding Section 12(a) above to the contrary, Landlord hereby agrees to provide to Tenant the labor to perform routine repair and maintenance to any non-Building standard or above-Building standard alterations, additions or improvements made to the Building systems or the Premises, provided that Tenant, at its sole cost and expense, supplies all necessary replacement parts and/or equipment required to perform such maintenance and/or repair.  Landlord hereby reserves the right to charge Tenant for its labor costs in the event Tenant requests that Landlord performs any repair or maintenance services that are above Building standard or would not typically be included as a landlord obligations for other comparable Class A suburban office buildings, in the metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia area.

 

(d)                                   For the purpose of this Lease, normal business hours shall be from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, excluding national holidays such as Christmas, Easter, July 4 th , Memorial Day, Thanksgiving Day and New Year’s Day.

 

(e)                                   Landlord may provide additional or after hours heating or air conditioning at Tenant’s request upon reasonable notice, and Tenant shall pay the building standard charge for such services as determined from time to time by Landlord. (which after hours charge is currently $30.00) and the charge to Tenant shall never exceed the charge to the tenant occupying the largest square footage in the Building  The obligation hereunder to make such additional utilities available will be subject to the rules and regulations of any municipal or any other governmental authority regulating the business of providing such utility service.  Tenant agrees to keep closed all window coverings, if any, when necessary because of the sun’s position, and Tenant also agrees at all times to cooperate fully with Landlord and to abide by all regulations and requirements which Landlord may prescribe for the proper functioning and protection of said heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system.  Tenant will not, without the written consent of Landlord, use any heat generating equipment, machines, or excess lighting in the Premises which affect the amount of energy required to maintain the temperature otherwise maintained by the heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system.  In the event of such consent, Landlord reserves the right to install supplementary air conditioning equipment and the cost thereof, including the ongoing cost of additional electricity, chilled water (if available), and/or domestic water consumed as a result of the use of such equipment, shall be paid by Tenant to Landlord upon demand.  The type, size, and location of such supplemental air conditioning equipment shall be determined or approved by Landlord.

 

(f)                                     Tenant will not, without written consent of Landlord, use within the Premises or Building any device or machine, in any number or combination thereof or for any number of hours, which will in any way increase the amount of electricity or water normally furnished for use of the Premises as general office space as defined in Paragraph 12(b)(4).  If Tenant in Landlord’s judgment shall require such additional water or electrical current, Tenant shall first procure the consent of Landlord, which Landlord may refuse, and Landlord may cause a special meter to be installed so as to measure such additional domestic water, chilled water (if available), or electrical current.  The cost of any such meters and of installation, maintenance, and repair thereof shall be paid for by Tenant, and Tenant agrees to pay Landlord or the utility company, as the case may be, on demand, for the ongoing cost of consumption of such additional water or electricity.  In the event that Landlord is responsible for reading the meter and invoicing the Tenant, Landlord shall be entitled to charge the Tenant the reasonable additional expenses for so doing.

 

(g)                                  Except as set forth in the last sentence of this Section 12(g) or within Section 19(d), Landlord shall not be in default hereunder or be liable for any damage, loss or expense directly or indirectly resulting from, nor shall the Rent herein reserved be abated by reason of, the (i) installation, use, or interruption of use of any equipment in connection with the furnishing of any of the foregoing services or utilities, or (ii) failure to furnish or delay in furnishing any such services or utilities when such failure is caused by Acts of God or the elements, strikes, governmental orders, accidents, acts of terrorism, or other conditions beyond the reasonable control of the Landlord or by the making of repairs or improvements to the Premises or to the Building; provided, however that Landlord shall use commercially reasonable efforts to repair or restore any services so delayed or impaired.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, if any of the services set forth in Section 12(b) above to the Premises are interrupted, Tenant shall provide Landlord prompt written notice.  If any of such essential services to the Premises are interrupted and the restoration of such interrupted service is within the reasonable control of Landlord, and the interruption renders all or a material portion of the Premises untenantable for a period of five (5) or more consecutive business days following Landlord’s receipt of the notice from Tenant as aforesaid (the “Service Interruption Period”), with Tenant actually

 

8



 

discontinuing its operations in all or any such material portion of the Premises for the Service Interruption Period, the Rent due under this Lease shall be abated from the expiration of the Service Interruption Period until the service is restored, such abatement to be in proportion to the portion of the Premises that are so rendered untenantable.

 

(h)                                  Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, if Landlord’s entry into the Premises for any purpose other than at the request or direction of Tenant or in connection with a casualty or condemnation (which shall be governed by Sections 28 and 29 below), or if a failure of the Landlord to perform any of the obligations set forth in Section 12(a) of this Lease renders all or a material portion of the Premises untenantable for a period of five (5) or more consecutive business days (the “Entry/Maintenance Interruption Period”), with Tenant actually discontinuing its operations in all or any such material portion of the Premises for the Entry/Maintenance Interruption Period, the Rent due under this Lease shall be abated from the expiration of the Entry/Maintenance Interruption Period until the Premises are again tenantable, such abatement to be in proportion to the portion of the Premises that are so rendered untenantable.

 

(i)                                     It shall be Tenant’s responsibility and expense to install, move, maintain, adjust, and repair its property and fixtures, including but not limited to, its:  signage, pictures, bulletin boards, plaques, furniture, filing cabinets, computer cables, computer equipment, business machines, draperies, blinds, kitchen appliances, special water heaters, kitchen cabinets, private restroom fixtures, special air conditioning or power conditioning equipment, locks for furniture and filing cabinets, paging systems, modular furniture components (including task lighting, flat wiring, and power distribution cables), combination locks, specialty electrical devices, exhaust fans, fire extinguishers, carpet squares, and/or other furniture, fixtures, or equipment installed by Tenant, or which were supplied, specified, or requested by Tenant and installed by Landlord.

 

(j)                                     Any sums payable under this Paragraph shall be considered Additional Rent and Landlord shall have the same remedies for a default in payment of such sums as for a default in the payment of Rent.

 

(k)                                 Tenant shall not provide any janitorial services to the Premises without Landlord’s written consent and then only subject to the terms and conditions of Landlord.

 

13.                                ESTOPPEL CERTIFICATE

 

Within ten (10) days following any written request which Tenant or Landlord may make from time to time, Tenant or Landlord shall execute and deliver to the other party a certificate substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit “D” and made a part hereof, indicating thereon any exceptions thereto which may exist at that time.  Landlord and Tenant intend that any statement delivered pursuant to this paragraph may be relied upon by any mortgagee, beneficiary, purchaser, or prospective purchaser of the Building or any interest therein.

 

14.                                HOLDING OVER

 

Tenant will, at the termination of this Lease by lapse of time or otherwise, yield up immediate possession to Landlord.  If Tenant retains possession of the Premises or any part thereof after such termination or if any of Tenant’s property remains which Landlord has previously requested be removed, then Landlord may, at its option, serve written notice upon Tenant that such holding over constitutes any one of (i) creation of a month to month tenancy, upon the terms and conditions set forth in this Lease, or (ii) creation of a tenancy at sufferance, in any case upon the terms and conditions set forth in this Lease; provided, however, that the monthly rental [or daily rental under (iii)] shall, in addition to all other sums which are to be paid by Tenant hereunder, whether or not as Additional Rent, be equal to 150% the rental being paid monthly to Landlord under this Lease immediately prior to such termination [prorated in the case of (iii) on the basis of a 365 day year for each day Tenant remains in possession].  If no such notice is served, then a tenancy at sufferance shall be deemed to be created at the Rent in the preceding sentence.  Tenant shall also pay to Landlord all damages sustained by Landlord resulting from retention of possession by Tenant, including the loss of any proposed subsequent tenant for any portion of the Premises.  The provisions of this paragraph shall not constitute a waiver by Landlord of any right of entry as herein set forth; nor shall receipt of any Rent or any other act in apparent affirmance of the tenancy operate as a waiver of the right to terminate this Lease for a breach of any of the terms, covenants, or obligations herein on Tenant’s part to be performed.

 

15.                                SUBORDINATION

 

Subject to the last sentence of this Section 15, this Lease shall be subject and subordinate at all times to: (a) all ground leases or underlying leases which may now exist or hereafter be executed affecting the Building, the Property, or any part thereof, and (b) the lien of any first mortgage or deed of trust which may now exist or hereafter be executed in any amount for which said Building, land, ground leases or underlying leases, or Landlord’s interest or estate in any of said items is specified as security together with all renewals, modifications, consolidations, participations, replacements, and extensions of any such first mortgage or deed of trust.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, Landlord or the holder of any first mortgage or deed of trust (“Holder”) on the Building or the Property or any part thereof shall have the right to subordinate or cause to be subordinated in whole or in part any such ground leases or underlying leases or any such liens to this Lease (but not in respect to priority of entitlement of insurance or condemnation proceeds).  In the event that any ground lease or underlying lease terminates for any reason or any first mortgage or deed of trust is foreclosed or a conveyance in lieu of foreclosure is made for any reason, Tenant shall, notwithstanding any subordination, attorn to and become the Tenant of the successor in interest to Landlord at the option of such successor in interest.  Tenant covenants and agrees to execute and deliver, within 15 days of demand therefor by Landlord or the Holder and in the form requested by Landlord or the Holder and reasonably approved by Tenant, any additional documents evidencing the priority of subordination of this Lease with respect to any such ground leases or underlying leases or the lien of any such mortgage or deed of trust.  Notwithstanding the foregoing to the contrary, (a)Tenant shall not be required to subordinate or to execute any subordination document with any Holder arising from and after the date of this Lease, unless, following Tenant’s written request delivered to Landlord, the party seeking such subordination executes a document which includes a commercially reasonable non-disturbance agreement stating substantially that, so long as Tenant is not in Default under this Lease,

 

9



 

Tenant’s right to possession of the Premises shall not be disturbed, (b) Tenant shall not be required to attorn to and become the Tenant of any successor in interest to Landlord unless the party seeking such attornment exectes a document which includes a commercially reasonable non-disturbance agreement stating substantially that, so long as Tenant is not in Default under this Lease, Tenant’s right to possession of the Premises shall not be disturbed, and (c) within thirty (30) days of the execution of this Lease, the Tenant shall receive a subordination, non-disturbance and attornment agreement from State Farm Life Insurance Company (“State Farm”), Landlord’s existing mortgagee, in substantially similar form as that attached hereto as Exhibit “K” (the “SNDA”).  Tenant shall have the right to negotiate the SNDA in good faith with State Farm for the first thirty (30) days following execution of this Lease; provided, however, that Tenant agrees to accept delivery of the SNDA executed by State Farm in the form attached as Exhibit “K” as satisfaction of Tenant’s requirements to obtain an SNDA from State Farm pursuant to this Section 15.  In the event the Tenant does not receive the SNDA (in the form attached in Exhibit “K” or otherwise as negotiated by Tenant) within this thirty (30) day period, the Tenant shall provide the Landlord notice of the same, and in the event the Tenant has not received the SNDA within thirty (30) days following delivery of this notice to the Landlord, the Tenant shall have the right to terminate this Lease by providing written notice to Landlord thereof within five (5) days following the expiration of such second thirty (30) day period.  In the event that Tenant fails to timely terminate this Lease in accordance with this Section 15 on or before the date which is ninety –five (95) days following execution of this Lease, Tenant’s right to terminate the Lease in accordance with this Section 15 shall lapse and be of no further force and effect. The Landlord represents and warrants that, to the best of Landlord’s knowledge and as of the date of this Lease,  no mortgage, deed to secure debt, deed of trust, security deed, or the like created by or on behalf of Landlord encumbers the Property except for that certain deed to secure debt held by State Farm.

 

16.                                RULES AND REGULATIONS

 

Tenant shall faithfully observe and comply with the Rules and Regulations annexed to this Lease as Exhibit “A” and all reasonable modifications thereof and additions thereto from time to time put into effect by Landlord but Landlord shall enforce the rules and regulations in a non-discriminatory manner, provided such modification and additions do not materially increase Tenant’s obligations or materially decrease Tenant’s rights under this Lease.  Landlord shall not be responsible for the nonperformance by any other tenant or occupant of the Building of any said Rules and Regulations provided such Rules and Regulations are uniformally enforced.

 

17.                                ENTRY BY LANDLORD

 

Landlord reserves and shall at all times, following at least 24 hours advance notice (unless in the case of an emergency in which case no prior notice shall be required) have the right to enter the Premises to inspect the same to determine if Tenant is complying with all terms and provisions of this Lease, to perform Tenant’s obligations under this Lease in accordance with Paragraph 23 hereof, to supply janitorial service and any other service to be provided by Landlord to Tenant hereunder, to show said Premises to prospective purchasers, mortgagees, or tenants, to post notices of nonresponsibility, and to alter, improve, or repair the Premises and any portion of the Building of which the Premises are a part or to which access is conveniently made through the Premises, as required under this Lease without abatement of Rent (except as otherwise set forth in Section 12(h)), and may for that purpose erect, use, and maintain scaffolding, pipes, conduits, and other necessary structures in and through the Premises where reasonably required by the character of the work to be performed, provided that entrance to the Premises shall not be blocked thereby, and further provided that the business of Tenant shall not be interfered with unreasonably.  During any entry into the Premises, Landlord shall use commercially reasonable efforts to minimize interference with Tenant’s business, or the loss of occupancy or quiet enjoyment of the Premises, or any other loss occasioned thereby.  For each of the aforesaid purposes, Tenant agrees that its doors shall be keyed to Landlord’s building standard master keying system and that Landlord shall at all times have and retain master or pass keys with which to unlock all of the doors in, upon, and about the Premises, excluding Tenant’s vaults and safes, or special security areas (designated in advance), and Landlord shall have the right to use any and all means which Landlord may deem necessary or proper to open said doors in an emergency, in order to obtain entry to any portion of the Premises, and any entry to the Premises, or portions thereof obtained by Landlord by any of said means, or otherwise, shall not under any circumstances be construed or deemed to be a forcible or unlawful entry into, or a detainer of, the Premises, or an eviction, actual or constructive, of Tenant from the Premises or any portions thereof.  Landlord shall also have the right at any time, without the same constituting an actual or constructive eviction and without incurring any liability to Tenant therefor, to change the arrangement and/or location of entrances or passageways, doors and doorways, and corridors, elevators, stairs, toilets, or other public parts of the Building; provided the same does not materially or adversely affect the operation of Tenant’s business within the Premises.  Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, Landlord shall not be permitted to show the Premises to a prospective tenant of the Premises until the last 12 months of the term of this Lease and only in the event that Tenant has not exercised its option to renew the Lease as set forth in Special Stipulation Number 2 set forth on Exhibit “I” attached hereto.

 

18.                                INSOLVENCY OR BANKRUPTCY

 

The appointment of a receiver to take possession of all or substantially all of the assets of Tenant, or an assignment of Tenant for the benefit of creditors, or any action taken or suffered by Tenant under any insolvency, bankruptcy, or reorganization act, shall at Landlord’s option constitute a breach of this Lease by Tenant if the same is not released or otherwise cured by Tenant within 30 days notice of same.  Upon the happening of any such event or at any time thereafter (following notice and Tenant’s opportunity to cure), this Lease shall terminate thirty (30) days after written notice of termination from Landlord to Tenant.  In no event shall this Lease be assigned or assignable by operation of law or by voluntary or involuntary bankruptcy proceedings or otherwise and in no event shall this Lease or any rights or privileges hereunder be an asset of Tenant under any bankruptcy, insolvency, or reorganization proceedings.

 

19.                                DEFAULT

 

(a)                                   The following events shall be deemed to be events of default (“Event of Default”) by Tenant under this Lease:

 

(1)                                   Tenant shall fail to pay when or before due any sum of money becoming due to be paid to Landlord hereunder, whether such sum be any installment of the Rent herein reserved, any other amount treated as Additional Rent hereunder, or any other payment or reimbursement to Landlord required herein, whether or not treated as Additional Rent hereunder, and such failure shall continue for a period of five (5) days following written notice from Landlord that

 

10



 

same was not received when due; provided, however, that in no event shall Landlord be required to send notice to Tenant of late Rent or other charges more than two (2) times during any twelve (12) month period during the Term; or

 

(2)                                   Tenant shall fail to comply with any term, provision, or covenant of this Lease other than by failing to pay when or before due any sum of money becoming due to Landlord hereunder, and shall not cure such failure within twenty (20) days (forthwith, if the default involves a hazardous condition) after written notice thereof to Tenant, provided, however, that if such Event of Default cannot reasonably be cured within this 20 day period, Tenant shall have such longer period of time as may be reasonably necessary under the circumstances provided that Tenant diligently commences the cure and prosecutes the cure to completion; or

 

(3)                                   Intentionally omitted; or

 

(4)                                   Tenant shall fail to vacate the Premises within forty-five days of the termination of this Lease, by lapse of time or otherwise, or upon termination of Tenant’s right to possession only (provided, however, that for any period following the expiration or termination of this Lease or termination of Tenant’s right to possession of the Premises, the provisions of Section 14 shall apply); or

 

(4)                                   The leasehold interest of Tenant shall be levied upon under execution or be attached by process of law or Tenant shall fail to contest diligently the validity of any lien or claimed lien and give sufficient security to Landlord to insure payment thereof or shall fail to satisfy any judgment rendered thereon and have the same released, and such default shall continue for ten (10) days after written notice thereof to Tenant, provided, however, that if such Event of Default cannot reasonably be cured within this 10 day period, Tenant shall have such longer period of time as may be reasonably necessary under the circumstances provided that Tenant diligently commences the cure and prosecutes the cure to completion; or

 

(5)                                   Intentionally omitted; or

 

(6)                                   Default by the Guarantor of this Lease of the terms of its Guaranty, or the bankruptcy or insolvency of the Guarantor.

 

(b)                                  Upon the occurrence of any Event of Default described in this Paragraph or elsewhere in this Lease, Landlord shall have the option to pursue any one or more of the following remedies without any notice or demand whatsoever:

 

(1)                                   Landlord may, at its election, terminate this Lease or terminate Tenant’s right to possession only, without terminating the Lease;

 

(2)                                   Upon any termination of this Lease, whether by lapse of time or otherwise, or upon any termination of Tenant’s right to possession without termination of the Lease, Tenant shall surrender possession and vacate the Premises immediately and deliver possession thereof to Landlord, and Tenant hereby grants to Landlord full and free license to enter into and upon the Premises in such event with or without process of law and to repossess Landlord of the Premises as of Landlord’s former estate and to expel or remove Tenant and any others who may be occupying or within the Premises and to remove any and all property therefrom, without being deemed in any manner guilty of trespass, eviction, or forcible entry or detainer, and without incurring any liability for any damage resulting therefrom, Tenant hereby waiving any right to claim damage for such re-entry and expulsion, and without relinquishing Landlord’s right to rent or any other right given to Landlord hereunder or by operation of law;

 

(3)                                   Upon termination of this Lease, whether by lapse of time or otherwise, Landlord shall be entitled to recover as damages, all Rent, including any amounts treated as Additional Rent hereunder, and other sums due and payable by Tenant on the date of termination, plus the sum of:  (i) an amount equal to the then present value of the entire amount of the Rent calculated using a discount rate equal to the average published Prime Rate plus six percent (6%) as of the date of termination of this Lease, including any amounts treated as Additional Rent hereunder, and other sums provided herein to be paid by Tenant for the residue of the stated term hereof, less the fair rental value of the Premises for such residue (taking into account the time and expense necessary to obtain a replacement tenant or tenants, including expenses hereinafter described in Paragraph 19(b)(4) relating to recovery of the Premises, preparation for reletting and for reletting itself), and (ii) the cost of curing any existing defaults under the Lease.

 

(4)                                   (i) Upon any termination of Tenant’s right to possession only without termination of the Lease, Landlord may, at Landlord’s option, enter into the Premises, remove Tenant’s signs and other evidences of tenancy, and take and hold possession thereof as provided in Paragraph 19(b)(2) above, without such entry and possession terminating the Lease or releasing Tenant, in whole or in part, from any obligation, including Tenant’s obligation to pay the Rent, including any amounts treated as Additional Rent, hereunder for the full term.  In any such case, Tenant shall pay forthwith to Landlord, a sum as determined by Section 19(b)(3) above;

 

(ii) Subject to Section 19(b)(7) below, Landlord may, but need not, relet the Premises or any part thereof for such Rent and upon such terms as Landlord in its sole discretion shall determine (including the right to relet the Premises for a greater or lesser term than that remaining under this Lease, the right to relet the Premises as a part of a larger area, and the right to change the character or use made of the Premises) and Landlord shall not be required to accept any tenant offered by Tenant or to observe any instructions given by Tenant about such reletting.  In any such cases, Landlord may make all necessary or reasonable repairs and alterations (including, removal of certain alterations, improvements or additions) in or to the Premises to return the Premises to the condition required at the expiration of the

 

11



 

Lease pursuant to the terms hereof, and Tenant shall, upon demand, pay the cost thereof, together with Landlord’s expenses of reletting including, without limitation, any broker’s commission incurred by Landlord.  If the consideration collected by Landlord upon any such reletting plus any sums previously collected from Tenant are not sufficient to pay the full amount of all Rent, including any amounts treated as Additional Rent hereunder and other sums reserved in this Lease for the remaining term hereof, together with the costs of any repairs, alterations, and Landlord’s expenses of reletting and the collection of the Rent accruing therefrom (including attorney’s fees and broker’s commissions,) Tenant shall pay to Landlord the amount of such deficiency as and when the same becomes due, upon demand, and Tenant agrees that Landlord may file suit to recover any sums failing due under this section from time to time;

 

(5)                                   Landlord may, at Landlord’s option, enter into and upon the Premises, in accordance with all applicable Laws, if Landlord determines in its sole discretion that Tenant is not acting within a commercially reasonable time to maintain, repair, or replace anything for which Tenant is responsible hereunder and correct the same, without being deemed in any manner guilty of trespass, eviction or forcible entry and detainer, and without incurring any liability for any damage resulting therefrom, and Tenant agrees to reimburse Landlord, as and when the same becomes due, on demand, as Additional Rent, for any expenses which Landlord may incur in thus effecting compliance with Tenant’s obligations under this Lease;

 

(6)                                   Any and all property which may be removed from the Premises by Landlord pursuant to the authority of the Lease or by law, to which Tenant is or may be entitled, may be handled, removed, and stored, as the case may be, by or at the direction of Landlord at the risk, cost, and expense of Tenant, and Landlord shall in no event be responsible for the value, preservation, or safekeeping thereof.  Tenant shall pay to Landlord, upon demand, any and all expenses incurred in such removal and all storage charges against such property so long as the same shall be in Landlord’s possession or under Landlord’s control.  Any such property of Tenant not retaken by Tenant from storage within thirty (30) days after removal from the Premises shall, at Landlord’s option, be deemed conveyed by Tenant to Landlord under this Lease as by a bill of sale without further payment or credit by Landlord to Tenant.

 

(7)                                   Solely in connection with Landlord’s exercise of the remedies provided at Section 19(b)(4)(ii) above, Landlord hereby agrees to use commercially reasonable efforts to relet the Premises in mitigation of its damages but Landlord shall be entitled to give an absolute preference to any other vacant or available space in the Building or Landlord’s other properties located within the same market area as the Building before attempting to relet the Premises.

 

(c)                                   Pursuit of any of the foregoing remedies shall not preclude pursuit of any of the other remedies herein provided or any other remedies provided by law (all such remedies being cumulative,) nor shall pursuit of any remedy herein provided constitute a forfeiture or waiver of any Rent due to Landlord hereunder or any damages accruing to Landlord by reason of the violation of any of the terms, provisions, and covenants herein contained.  No act or thing done by Landlord or its agents during the term hereby granted shall be deemed a termination of this Lease or an acceptance of the surrender of the Premises, and no agreement to terminate this Lease or accept a surrender of the Premises shall be valid unless in writing signed by Landlord.  Landlord’s acceptance of the payment of rental or other payments hereunder after the occurrence of an Event of Default shall not be construed as a waiver of such default, unless Landlord so notifies Tenant in writing.  Forbearance by Landlord in enforcing one or more of the remedies herein provided upon an Event of Default shall not be deemed or constitute a waiver of such default or of Landlord’s right to enforce any such remedies with respect to such default or any subsequent default.

 

(d)                                   Landlord Default.

 

(1)                                   If Landlord fails to observe or perform any term or covenant required to be observed or performed by it under this Lease which failure materially, adversely affects Tenant’s use and occupancy of or access to the Premises, and Landlord does not cure such failure within thirty (30) days (or within a reasonable time thereafter if necessary under the circumstances so long as Landlord is diligent in its prosecution of the cure of such failure) after receipt of written notice from Tenant specifying such failure and requesting that it be remedied, then, subject to the provisions of Section 39 of the Lease, Tenant shall be entitled, at its election, to exercise concurrently or successively, any one or more of the rights available in law or equity under the laws of the United States or the State of Georgia.  Notwithstanding the foregoing to the contrary, Tenant shall have no right, and hereby expressly waives any right to, perform any work on behalf of Landlord or otherwise exercise “self help” and any right to deduct or withhold any amounts from any rentals due hereunder.  Tenant acknowledges and agrees that all of its covenants and obligations contained herein are independent of Landlord’s covenants and obligations contained herein.  Tenant shall neither be relieved from the performance of any of its covenants and obligations (including, without limitation, the obligation to pay Rent) nor entitled to terminate this Lease, due to a breach or default by Landlord of any of its obligations covenants or obligations, unless expressly permitted to the contrary by the terms of this Lease.

 

(2)                                   If (i) Tenant provides prior written notice (the “First Notice”) to Landlord of its failure to comply with any term, provision, or covenant of this Lease, (ii) Landlord is, in fact, required to comply with any such term, provision or covenant of this Lease and the ability to comply with such term, provision or covenant is within the reasonable control of Landlord (“Required Obligation”),(iii) Landlord fails to commence such action within a reasonable period of time, given the circumstances, after the receipt of the First Notice, but in any event not later than thirty (30) days after receipt of the First Notice, and thereafter diligently pursues the Required Obligation to completion as soon as reasonably possible, then Tenant shall have the right to terminate the Lease after delivery of an additional thirty (30)

 

12



 

day notice (the “Second Notice”) to Landlord and any Holder for which Landlord has given Tenant an address for notices or for which Tenant has entered into a subordination, non-disturbance and attornment agreement (the “Landlord’s Mortgagee”) (such Second Notice given not earlier than the expiration of the first aforesaid thirty (30) day period) specifying that (x) the first thirty (30) day period has expired, (y) the specific Required Action and (z) that Tenant intends to terminate the Lease in the event Landlord fails to take such action; provided, however, if Tenant reasonably anticipates that a dispute will result under this Section 19(d), Tenant may submit the anticipated dispute to arbitration pursuant to Exhibit “J” attached hereto by written notice given not earlier than ten (10) days after Tenant’s delivery of the First Notice.  Tenant shall not be entitled to terminate the Lease in accordance with this Section 19(d) unless Landlord’s failure to perform the Required Action directly, materially and adversely affects Tenant’s use of or access to the Premises, rendering all, or substantially all of the Premises untenantable and Tenant actually discontinues its business operations within the entire Premises or substantially all of the Premises from and after delivery of the First Notice.

 

If (i) Landlord reasonably believes that the requested maintenance and/or repair and/or service is not required because it is not a Required Obligation pursuant to the terms of the Lease, or (ii) Landlord is already performing the Required Obligation or other action Landlord reasonably believes appropriate in the circumstances in accordance with its obligations under the Lease, or (iii) Landlord does not reasonably believe that the failure to perform such Required Obligation results in a direct, material and adverse effect on Tenant’s use or access of the Premises rendering all, or substantially all of the Premises untenantable, then Landlord shall have the option within the thirty (30) day period after receipt of the Second Notice to submit the dispute to arbitration pursuant to Exhibit “J’ attached hereto or commence the requested repair and/or maintenance obligations and/or service and diligently pursue such action to completion as soon as reasonably possible.  If such repair and/or maintenance obligations and/or service restoration is a Required Obligation and is not undertaken by Landlord within such second thirty (30) day notice period and Landlord has not submitted the dispute to arbitration in accordance with Exhibit “J” attached hereto, then Tenant shall have the right to terminate this Lease by delivering written notice to Landlord and any Landlord’s Mortgagee of such termination, and this Lease shall terminate on the date which is five (5) days following the date of delivery of such notice to both parties and Landlord and Tenant shall have no further rights or obligations to the other accruing under the Lease after such termination date.

 

 20.                             DAMAGE BY FIRE , ETC.

 

(a)                                   If the Building, improvements, or Premises are rendered partially or wholly untenantable by fire or other casualty, and if such damage cannot, in Landlord’s reasonable estimation, be materially restored within one hundred twenty (120) days of such damage, then either may terminate this Lease as of the date of such fire or casualty.  Landlord shall exercise its option provided herein by written notice to Tenant within sixty (60) days of such fire or other casualty and Tenant shall exercise its option by providing Landlord written notice within thirty (30) days of receipt of notice from Landlord that the repairs cannot be completed within one hundred twenty (120) days of the date of such casualty.  For purposes hereof, the Building, improvements, or Premises shall be deemed “materially restored” if they are in such condition as would not prevent or materially interfere with Tenant’s use of the Premises for the purpose for which it was then being used. Notwithstanding the foregoing to the contrary, if a casualty of the type described above first occurs during the final twelve (12) months of the Term (which is calculated based on the expiration of the then current Term without regard to any unexercised options to extend), then Tenant may, at its option, elect to terminate this Lease upon written notice to Landlord within thirty (30) days after the casualty, whereupon the balance of the Term shall automatically expire on the fifth day after the notice is delivered and Landlord shall have no restoration obligations pursuant to this Section 20.  In the event Tenant fails to properly and timely deliver such notice of termination, Tenant shall be deemed to have waived such right to terminate.

 

(b)                                   If this Lease is not terminated pursuant to Paragraph 20(a), then Landlord shall proceed with all due diligence to repair and restore the Building, at Landlord’s cost, or the improvements or Premises at Tenant’s cost, as the case may be.  During the time period of any repair, Landlord shall use commercially reasonable efforts to provide the Tenant with temporary space from which to operate during such repair period, provided, however, Landlord is in no way obligated to provide Tenant with such temporary space if same is not readily available.

 

(c)                                   If this Lease shall be terminated pursuant to this Paragraph 20(a), the term of this Lease shall end on the date of such damage as if that date had been originally fixed in this Lease for the expiration of the term hereof.  If this Lease shall not be terminated pursuant to this Paragraph 20(a) and in the event that Landlord should fail to complete such repairs and material restoration within one hundred fifty (150) days after the date of such damage, Tenant may, at its option and as its sole remedy, terminate this Lease by delivering written notice to Landlord, whereupon the Lease shall end on the date of such notice as if the date of such notice were the date originally fixed in this Lease for the expiration of the term hereof; provided, however, that if construction is delayed because of changes, deletions, or additions in construction requested by Tenant, strikes, lockouts, casualties, Acts of God, war, material or labor shortages, governmental regulation or control or other causes beyond the reasonable control of Landlord, the period for restoration, repair or rebuilding shall be extended for the amount of time Landlord is so delayed.

 

(d)                                   Tenant agrees that during any period of restoration or repair of the Premises, Tenant shall continue the operation of Tenant’s business within the Premises to the extent practicable.  During the period from the date of the damage until the date that the untenantable portion of the Premises is materially restored, the Rent shall be abated to the extent of the proportion of the Premises which is untenantable.

 

(e)                                   In no event shall Landlord be required to rebuild, repair or replace any part of the partitions, fixtures, additions and other improvements which may have been placed in or about the Premises by Tenant after the Commencement Date, however Landlord has the

 

13



 

right but not the obligation to rebuild, repair, or replace at Tenant’s expense so much of the partitions, fixtures, additions and other improvements as may be necessary to ensure that the Premises are materially restored.  Any insurance which may be carried by Landlord or Tenant against loss or damage to the Building or Premises shall be for the sole benefit of the party carrying such insurance and under its sole control except that Landlord’s insurance may be subject to control by (i) the holder or holders of any indebtedness secured by a mortgage or deed of trust covering any interest of Landlord in the Premises, the Building, or the Property, and/or (ii) the ground lessor of the Property.

 

(f)                                     Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, in the event the holder of any indebtedness secured by a mortgage or deed of trust covering the Premises, Building, or Property requires that any insurance proceeds be paid to it, then Landlord shall have the right to terminate the Lease by delivering written notice of termination to Tenant within fifteen (15) days after such requirement is made by any such person, whereupon the Lease shall end on the date of such damage as if the date of such damage were the date originally fixed in this Lease for the expiration of the term.  Landlord shall use commercially reasonable efforts to determine whether such requirement shall apply within 60 days following the date of the casualty.

 

(g)                                  In the event of any damage or destruction to the Building or the Premises by any peril covered by the provisions of this Paragraph 20, Tenant shall, upon notice from Landlord, remove forthwith, at its sole cost and expense, all or such portion of the property belonging to the Tenant or its licensees from all of the Building or the Premises, or such portion, as Landlord shall request.  Tenant hereby acknowledges and agrees that Landlord shall not be liable for any loss, liability, costs, and expenses, including attorney’s fees, arising out of any claim or damage or injury as a result of any alleged failure to secure the Premises properly prior to such removal and/or during such removal, except for any claim, damage or injury caused by Landlord’s negligence or willful misconduct.

 

21.                                CONDEMNATION

 

(a)                                   If any substantial part of the Building, improvements, or Premises should be taken for any public or quasi-public use under governmental law, ordinance, or regulation, or by right of eminent domain, or by private purchase in lieu thereof and the taking would prevent or materially interfere with Tenant’s then existing permitted use of the Premises, this Lease shall terminate effective when the physical taking shall occur in the same manner as if the date of such taking were the date originally fixed in this Lease for the expiration of the term hereof; provided, however, Tenant shall have a reasonable time to vacate the Premises following notice of such taking or the proposed effective date of such taking.

 

(b)                                   If part of the Building, improvements, or Premises shall be taken for any public or quasi-public use under any governmental law, ordinance or regulation, or by right of eminent domain, or by private purchase in lieu thereof, and this Lease is not terminated as provided in Paragraph 21 (a), this Lease shall not terminate but the Rent payable hereunder during the unexpired portion of this Lease shall be reduced to such extent, if any, as may be fair and reasonable under all of the circumstances, and Landlord shall undertake to restore the Building, improvements, and Premises to a complete architectural unit and in a condition suitable for Tenant’s use, as near to the condition thereof prior to such taking as is reasonably feasible under all circumstances.

 

(c)                                   Tenant shall not share in any condemnation award or payment in lieu thereof or in any award for damages resulting from any grade change of adjacent streets, the same being hereby assigned to Landlord by Tenant; provided, however, that Tenant may separately claim and receive from the condemning authority, if legally payable, compensation for Tenant’s removal and relocation costs and for Tenant’s loss of business and/or business interruption, except that no such claim shall diminish or otherwise adversely affect Landlord’s award or the awards of any and all ground and underlying lessors and mortgagees (including deed of trust beneficiaries).

 

(d)                                   Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Paragraph 21, if the temporary use or occupancy of any part of the Premises shall be taken or appropriated under power of eminent domain during the term of this Lease, this Lease shall be and remain unaffected by such taking or appropriation and Tenant shall receive an abatement for Rent payable hereunder by Tenant during the term of this Lease during the period for which Tenant is not able to conduct its business operation within the Premises, in proportion to the amount of the Premises so taken or appropriated; in the event of any such temporary appropriation or taking, Tenant shall be entitled to receive that portion of any award which represents compensation for the use of or occupancy of the Premises during the term of this Lease, and Landlord shall be entitled to receive that portion of any award which represents the cost of restoration of the Premises and the use and occupancy of the Premises after the end of the term of this Lease.

 

22.                                SALE BY LANDLORD

 

The covenants and obligations of Landlord hereunder shall be binding upon the Landlord named herein and its successors and assigns, only with respect to their respective periods of time as Landlord hereunder.  In the event of a sale or conveyance by Landlord of the Building, the same shall operate to release Landlord from any liability for a failure to perform thereafter upon any of the covenants or conditions, express or implied, herein contained in favor of Tenant, and in such event Tenant agrees to look solely to the successor in interest of Landlord in and to this Lease.  Tenant agrees to attorn to the purchaser or assignee in any such sale provided such purchaser or assignee agrees to assume Landlord’s obligations under this Lease

 

23.                                RIGHT OF LANDLORD TO PERFORM

 

All covenants and agreements to be performed by the Tenant under any of the terms of this Lease shall be performed by Tenant at Tenant’s sole cost and expense and without any abatement of Rent.  If the Tenant shall fail to pay any sum of money, other than Rent, required to be paid by it hereunder or shall fail to perform any other act on its part to be performed hereunder, and such failure shall continue past the time periods proscribed in Section 19(a) herein, the Landlord may, but shall not be obligated so to do, and without waiving or releasing the Tenant from any obligations of the Tenant, make any such payment or perform any such act on the Tenant’s part to be made or performed as in this Lease provided.  All sums so paid by the Landlord and all necessary incidental costs, together with interest thereon at the Agreed Interest Rate as defined in Paragraph 8 hereof from the date of such payments by the Landlord, shall be payable as Additional Rent to the Landlord within ten (10) days of demand therefor, and the Tenant covenants to pay any such sums, and the Landlord shall have, in addition to any other right or remedy of the Landlord, the same rights and remedies in the event of nonpayment thereof by the Tenant as in the case of default by the Tenant in the payment of the Rent.

 

14



 

24.                                SURRENDER OF PREMISES

 

(a)                                   Tenant shall, at least one hundred twenty (120) days before the last day of the term hereof, give to Landlord a written notice of intention to surrender the Premises on that date, but nothing contained herein or in the failure of Tenant to give such notice shall be construed as an extension of the term hereof or as consent of Landlord to any holding over by Tenant.

 

(b)                                   At the end of the term or any renewal thereof or other sooner termination of this Lease, the Tenant will peaceably deliver up to the Landlord possession of the Premises, together with all improvements or additions upon or belonging to the same, by whomsoever made, in the same condition as received, or first installed, reasonable wear and tear, damage by fire, earthquake, Act of God, or the elements alone excepted.  Tenant may, upon the termination of this Lease, remove all movable furniture and equipment belonging to Tenant, at Tenant’s sole cost, repairing any damage caused by such removal.  Property not so removed shall be deemed abandoned by the Tenant, and title to the same shall thereupon pass to Landlord.  Upon request by Landlord, unless otherwise agreed to in writing by Landlord, Tenant shall remove, at Tenant’s sole cost, any improvements or additions to the Premises installed by or at the expense of Tenant, which Landlord requires removal in accordance with Section 6 hereof, and all movable furniture and equipment belonging to Tenant which may be left by Tenant and repair any damage resulting from such removal.

 

(c)                                   The voluntary or other surrender of this Lease by Tenant, or a mutual cancellation thereof, shall not work a merger, and shall, at the option of the Landlord, either terminate all or any existing subleases or subtenancies, or operate as an assignment to Landlord of any or all such subleases or subtenancies.

 

25.                                WAIVER

 

If either Landlord or Tenant waives the performance of any term, covenant, or condition contained in this Lease, such waiver shall not be deemed to be a waiver of any subsequent break or nonperformance of the same or any other term, covenant, or condition contained herein.  Furthermore, the acceptance of Rent by Landlord shall not constitute a waiver of any preceding breach by Tenant of any term, covenant or condition of this Lease, regardless of Landlord’s knowledge of such preceding breach at the time Landlord accepted such Rent.  Failure by Landlord to enforce any of the terms, covenants, or conditions of this Lease for any length of time shall not be deemed to waive or to decrease the right of Landlord to insist thereafter upon strict performance by Tenant.  Waiver by Landlord of any term, covenant, or condition contained in this Lease may only be made by a written document signed by Landlord.

 

26.                                NOTICES

 

All notices and demands which may or are required to be given by either party to the other hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed given when delivered or when mailed as required below or when delivery is refused.  All notices and demands by the Landlord to the Tenant shall be either delivered to the addresses set forth in the Basic Lease Information or sent by a commercial interstate courier service offering proof of delivery or by United States Certified or Registered mail, postage and fees prepaid, addressed to the Tenant at the addresses set forth in the Basic Lease Information, or to such other place as the Tenant may from time to time designate in a notice to the Landlord.  All notices and demands by the Tenant to the Landlord shall be sent by United States Certified or Registered mail, postage prepaid, or reputable overnight delivery service addressed to the Landlord at each of the addresses specified in the Basic Lease Information, or to such other firm or to such other place as Landlord may from time to time designate in a notice to the Tenant.  If requested by Landlord, Tenant shall send copies of any notices and demands by Tenant to the holder or holders of any mortgage or deed of trust on the Property or any part thereof.

 

27.                                RENTAL ADJUSTMENT

 

(a)                                   The initial Expense Stop Rent is   $7.00 per rentable square foot per year, or Fifteen Thousand Three Hundred Thirty-two and 91/100ths Dollars  ($15,332.91) per month as set forth in the Basic Lease Information on Page 1 of the Lease.  Said Expense Stop Rent shall be subject to adjustment on the first day of each January after the Commencement Date (the “Rental Adjustment Date”) in the manner set forth below.

 

(b)                                   Rental Adjustment; Operating Cost Increases.   In addition to the payment of Net Rent and Expense Stop Rent, and all other charges provided for in this Lease, Tenant shall pay its Pro Rata Share of any increase in the total annual Operating Costs of the Building as hereinafter defined:

 

Definitions

 

(i)                                      Expense Stop:  The Expense Stop, for purpose of this Paragraph 27 is $7.00  per square foot of rentable area of the Premises.  The Expense Stop is based upon Landlord’s reasonable best estimates of the Operating Costs for a fully assessed and ninety-five percent (95%) occupied building.

 

(ii)                                   Comparison Year:  Each calendar year during the term of this Lease.

 

(iii)                                Operating Costs:  All expenses incurred by Landlord as reasonably determined by Landlord to be necessary or appropriate for the operation, maintenance, and repair of the Building, the personal property used in conjunction therewith, the land upon which the Building is situated, and the parking facility situated on the land.  Operating Costs shall include, but are not limited to, all expenses incurred by Landlord for heating, cooling, electricity, water, gas, sewers, refuse collection, telephone services not chargeable to tenants, and similar utility services not chargeable to Tenants; the cost of supplies, janitorial and cleaning, security services, landscaping maintenance and replacements, window washing, insurance, management fees not in excess of such fees charged in comparable Class A suburban office buildings located in the metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia area, services of independent contractors performing duties necessary to the operation of the Building, personal property taxes relating to improvements, fixtures, furniture or equipment, or other items owned by Landlord and used in connection with the Building, and real property taxes, the Building’s prorata share of assessments made by the Preston Ridge Associates, Inc. (or any other organization

 

15



 

designated with similar authority),  the costs, including interest, amortized over its useful life of any capital improvement made to the Building by or on behalf of Landlord after the date of this Lease which is required by a Law that was not applicable to the Building as of the date of this Lease, and of the acquisition and installation of any device or equipment designed to improve the operating efficiency of any system within the Building or which is required to improve the safety of the Building, ,  the cost of compensation (including employment taxes and fringe benefits) of all persons who perform duties in connection with the Building, including the Building Manager (which costs shall be prorated to the extent that any such employee shares time on the Building or any other properties), and any other expense or charge which, when determined in accordance with accepted principles of sound management and accounting practices applicable to first-class office building complexes and consistently applied, would be considered an expense of maintaining, operating, or repairing the Building and the land upon which it is situated.

 

Operating Costs shall not include the following items:

 

Advertising and promotional expenditures, leasing commissions, finders’ fees, brokerage fees and similar fees, and costs incurred with the negotiation or enforcement of leases (but not management fees); rent under any ground leases; costs of furnishing services to other tenants or occupants to the extent that such services are materially in excess of services Landlord offers to all tenants at Landlord’s expense; lease takeover costs incurred by Landlord in connection with new leases at the Property; costs and expenses of the sale of all or any portion of the Property; amounts actually received by Landlord through the proceeds of insurance to the extent the proceeds are compensation for expenses which were previously included in operating expenses; costs incurred by Landlord with respect to repairs, goods, and services (including utilities sold and supplied to tenants and occupants of the Property) to the extent that Landlord is reimbursed for such costs or provides the same selectively to one or more tenants; costs incurred by Landlord due to the violation by Landlord of the terms and conditions of any lease of space in the Property any loan document, ground leases or Laws in effect as of the date of this Lease; interest, points and fees on debt or amortization or for any mortgage or mortgages encumbering the Property, or any part thereof, and all principal, escrow deposits and other sums paid on or in respect to any indebtedness (whether or not secured by a mortgage lien) and on any equity participations of any lender or lessor, and all costs incurred in connection with any financing, refinancing or syndication of the Property, or any part thereof; depreciation and, except as otherwise expressly provided for above, amortization; the costs of the original construction of the Property and the improvements or any addition or expansion thereof (as opposed to regular maintenance and repair of the Property and the improvements); income, franchise, transfer, inheritance, capital stock, estate, profit, gift, gross receipts or succession taxes; salaries, fringe benefits and other compensation for personnel not directly involved in the operation or management of the Building; costs and expenses of the sale of all or a portion of the Property; costs of performing tenant installations (including permit, license and inspection fees) for any individual tenant or for performing work or furnishing services to or for individual tenants at such tenant’s expense and any other contribution by Landlord to the cost of tenant improvements and any costs or expenses incurred in the procurement of tenants for the Building; rentals and other related expenses incurred in leasing air-conditioning systems, elevators or other equipment ordinarily considered to be of a capital nature except for customary office equipment; costs incurred by Landlord in discharging its obligations under the Lease which are to be discharged at Landlord’s sole cost and expense; except as expressly provided for above, structural repairs and replacements or repairs and replacements of a capital nature; any costs, fines, or penalties incurred because Landlord violated any Law in effect prior to the date of this Lease (as opposed to the cost of complying with any Law which becomes effective from and after the date of this Lease); costs incurred to test, survey, clean up, contain, abate, remove, or otherwise remedy hazardous wastes or asbestos-containing materials from the Property unless the wastes or asbestos-containing materials were in or on the Property because of Tenant’s negligence or intentional acts or unless such tests or other remedies are required by Landlord’s mortgagee; costs incurred in operation of any private club, now or in the future, located within the office park and expenses incurred by the Landlord, if any, in connection with operation, cleaning, repair, safety, management security, maintenance or other services of any kind provided in any portions of the Buildings which are leased or designed to be used for retail, garage or storage purposes [except if and to the extent the tenant of such retail, garage or storage space pays its pro rata share of Operating Costs (or like reimbursement method)]; costs incurred for repairs or maintenance that are actually reimbursed by warranties or guarantees or the exercise of eminent domain (but only to the extent Landlord is compensated for any takings by the exercise of eminent domain); and unrecovered expenses resulting directly from the negligence of the Landlord.  All  special assessments by the local governing authority, which may be paid by Landlord in installments, shall be paid by Landlord in the maximum number of installments permitted by law and charged as operating expenses only in the year in which the assessment installment is actually paid.

 

(iv)                               Actual Costs:  The actual amount paid or incurred by Landlord for Operating Costs during any Comparison Year.

 

(v)                                  Estimated Costs:  Landlord’s reasonable estimate of Actual Costs for each Comparison Year which shall be prepared in good faith by Landlord.

 

(b)                                   Gross Up:    In the event that the Building is not at least 95% occupied during any period of the Comparison Year, Landlord shall make reasonable adjustments necessary to project what the Actual Costs would have been had the Building been 95% occupied during the full term of the year and those projected Operating Costs shall be deemed to be the Actual Costs for purposes of this Paragraph; provided that such “gross up” shall be performed in accordance with accepted principles of sound management and accounting principles applicable to comparable “Class A” suburban office buildings and consistently applied.

 

(c)                                   Payment of Tenant’s Pro Rata Share of Estimated Costs:   At least thirty (30) days prior to the commencement of each Comparison Year during the term hereof, Landlord shall furnish Tenant with a written statement, prepared in good faith, setting forth the

 

16



 

Estimated Costs for such Comparison Year, and a statement showing the amount by which Tenant’s Pro Rata Share of the Estimated Costs exceeds the Expense Stop.  Tenant shall pay one twelfth (1/12) of its Pro Rata Share of such excess monthly.

 

(d)                                   Payment of Tenant’s Pro Rata Share of Actual Costs:   Within ninety (90) days after the close of each Comparison Year, Landlord shall deliver to Tenant a written statement setting forth the Actual Costs during that Comparison Year, together with appropriate documentation, if so requested by Tenant.  If such Actual Costs exceed the Estimated Costs paid by Tenant to Landlord for such Comparison Year, Tenant shall pay to Landlord its Pro Rata Share of such excess within forty-five (45) days after receipt of such statement.  If the statement shows such Actual Costs to be less than the Estimated Costs, then Landlord shall credit the difference against Rent due for the calendar months next following receipt of Landlord’s written statement, or at Landlord’s option, refund the difference to Tenant if the term has expired.

 

(e)                                   Cap on Controllable Operating Costs .  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth herein, Landlord does hereby agree that, solely for purposes of determining Tenant’s Pro Rata Share of Operating Costs, the portion of Operating Costs attributable to all items other than taxes, insurance (as a result in increases in premiums or as a result of increases or changes in the coverages required by Landlord’s mortgagee), utilities and security costs (such portion being referred to herein as the “Controllable Expenses”) shall not exceed in any calendar year the Controllable Expenses in the year 2004 increased by 5% per annum on a cumulative, compounded basis. For example, if the Controllable Expenses for year 2004 (annualized) are $7.00 per rentable square foot, the Controllable Expenses for year 2005 shall not exceed $7.35 per rentable square foot, the Controllable Expenses for year 2006 shall not exceed $7.72 per rentable square foot, etc.

 

(f)  So long as no Event of Default exists, Tenant shall be entitled to review such supporting documentation of the Operating Costs as Tenant shall reasonably request.  Tenant may, at Tenant’s sole cost and expense, audit Landlord’s books and records pertaining to its Operating Costs in order to verify the accuracy of such expenses; provided, however, that:

 

(i)                                      Tenant notifies Landlord in writing, within ninety (90) days after receipt of Landlord’s annual statement of Operating Costs, of its intent to audit such Operating Costs and completes the audit and provides Landlord with the audit results within 180 days of such notification; and

 

(ii)                                   Such audit shall be conducted only during regular business hours at the office where Landlord maintains the Operating Cost records and only after Tenant gives Landlord at least thirty (30) days prior written notice; and

 

(iii)                                Such audit shall be conducted by a certified public accountant employed by an independent and reputable certified public accounting firm or consulting firm, but in no event shall the certified public accounting firm or consulting firm be employed by Tenant on a contingency fee basis; and

 

(iv)                                 Tenant shall reimburse Landlord for the cost of reproducing any records requested by Tenant or its auditors; and

 

(v)                                    If the amount of Operating Costs for the Building set forth in Landlord’s annual statement exceeds by more than seven percent (7%) the amount of Operating Costs for the Building as determined by such audit, then the reasonable cost of such audit shall be borne by Landlord, and Landlord shall reimburse Tenant for such cost; and

 

(vi)                                 No such audit shall be conducted if any other tenant has conducted an audit for the time period Tenant intends to audit, and Landlord, at its sole option, furnishes to Tenant a copy of the results of such audit, which shall be the basis on which any reimbursements are made by Landlord; and

 

(vii)  In the event that Tenant shall request an audit of any such Operating Costs, then pending resolution of such audit, Tenant shall nevertheless continue to make payments as required by Landlord.

 

28.                                CERTAIN RIGHTS RESERVED TO THE LANDLORD

 

The Landlord may enter upon the Premises and/or may exercise any or all of the following rights hereby reserved without being deemed guilty of an eviction or disturbance of the Tenant’s use or possession and without being liable in any manner to the Tenant and without abatement of Rent or affecting any of the Tenant’s obligations hereunder:

 

(a)                                   To change the name or street address of the Building;

 

(b)                                   To install and maintain a sign or signs on the exterior of the Building provided that Tenant shall be entitled to the signage provided in Section 46;

 

(c)                                   To designate all sources furnishing sign painting and lettering, towels, carpet cleaning service, lamps and bulbs used on the Premises;

 

(d)                                   To retain at all times pass keys to the Premises;

 

(e)                                   So long as the same is consistent with comparable Class A suburban office buildings located in the metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia area, to grant to anyone the exclusive right to conduct any particular business or undertaking in the Building provided that Landlord shall not grant an exclusive pursuant to this Section 28(e) which materially interferes with Tenant’s business operations within the Premises;

 

17



 

(f)                                     To close the Building after regular working hours and on the legal holidays subject, however, to Tenant’s right of admittance, under such reasonable regulations as Landlord may prescribe from time to time, which may include, by way of example but not of limitation, that persons entering or leaving the Building identify themselves to a watchman by registration or otherwise and that said persons establish their right to enter or leave the Building; and

 

(g)                                  Subject to the other express terms of this Lease, to take any and all measures, including inspections, repairs, alterations, decorations, additions, and improvements to the Premises or the Building, and identification and admittance procedures for access to the Building as may be necessary or desirable for the safety, protection, preservation or security of the Premises or the Building or the Landlord’s interests, or as Landlord may deem necessary or desirable in the operation of the Building provided that Landlord shall take commercially reasonable efforts to minimize any material interference with Tenant’s use and occupancy of the Premises.

 

29.                                ABANDONMENT   Intentionally omitted.

 

30.                                SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS

 

Subject to the provisions of Paragraph 9 hereof, the terms, covenants, and conditions contained herein shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the heirs, successors, executors, administrators, and assigns of the parties hereto.

 

31.                                ATTORNEY’S FEES

 

In the event that any action or proceeding is brought to enforce any term, covenant, or condition of this Lease on the part of Landlord or Tenant, the prevailing party in such litigation shall be entitled to reasonable attorney’s fees to be fixed by the court in such action or proceeding.

 

32.                                SECURITY DEPOSIT [INTENTIONALLY OMITTED]

 

33.                                FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

Within ten (10) days following Landlord’s request therefor, Tenant shall provide to Landlord copies of (a) the most recent fiscal year financial statements for Tenant and the Guarantor of this Lease, as audited by a certified public accountant, and (b) the most recent fiscal quarter financial statements for Tenant and the Guarantors of this Lease, as certified, respectively, by Tenant and the Guarantor.  The financial statements shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, a balance sheet, statements of income and retained earnings, and a statement of source and uses of funds.  All such statements shall be prepared in accordance with the generally accepted accounting principles.

 

34.                                AUTHORITY

 

If Tenant or Landlord signs as a corporation or partnership, Tenant and Landlord do hereby covenant and warrant that  they are a duly authorized and existing corporation or partnership, as the case may be, that Tenant and Landlord have and are qualified to do business in Georgia, that the corporation or partnership has full right and authority to enter into this Lease, and that each and all of the persons signing on behalf of the corporation or partnership are authorized to do so.

 

35.                                MORTGAGEE AND GROUND LESSOR APPROVALS

 

The approval or consent of Landlord shall not be deemed to have been unreasonably withheld for purposes of any provisions of this Lease requiring such consent if any mortgagee (which shall include the holder of any deed of trust) of the Premises, Building, or Property or any portion thereof, shall refuse or withhold its approval or consent thereto.  Any requirement of Landlord pursuant to this Lease which is imposed pursuant to the direction of any such mortgagee shall be deemed to have been reasonably imposed by Landlord if made in good faith.  Notwithstanding anything in this Paragraph 35 to the contrary, any requirement of Landlord pursuant to this Lease which is imposed pursuant to the direction of any such mortgagee shall be made in good faith by Landlord.

 

36.                                MISCELLANEOUS

 

(a)                                   (i) The term “Premises” wherever it appears herein includes and shall be deemed or taken to include (except where such meaning would clearly be repugnant to the context) the office space demised and improvements now or at any time hereinafter comprising or built in the space hereby demised.  (ii) The paragraph headings herein are for convenience of reference and shall in no way define, increase, limit, or describe the scope or intent of any provision of this Lease.  (iii) The term “Landlord” in these presents shall include the Landlord, its successors and assigns.  (iv) In any case where the Lease is signed by more than one person, the obligations hereunder shall be joint and several.  (v) The term “Tenant” or any pronoun used in place thereof shall indicate and include the masculine or feminine, the singular or plural number, individuals, firms or corporations, and their and each of their respective successors, executors, administrators, and permitted assigns, according to the context hereof.  (vi) The term “Lease” wherever it appears herein shall be deemed or taken to include the Basic Lease Information and all paragraphs and exhibits attached hereto and made a part hereof.  (vii) Anywhere where Landlord’s or Tenant’s consent or approval is required herein, unless expressly provided in this Lease to the contrary, such consent or approval will not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned, or delayed.

 

(b)                                   Time is of the essence of this Lease and all of its provisions.  Periods of time expressed in days for performance, unless otherwise specified, shall mean calendar days.

 

(c)                                   This Lease shall in all respects be governed by the laws of the State of Georgia.

 

(d)                                   This Lease, together with its exhibits, contains all the agreements of the parties hereto and supersedes any previous negotiations.  There have been no representations made by the Landlord or understandings made between the parties other than those set forth in this Lease and its exhibits.  This Lease may not be modified except by a written instrument by the parties hereto.

 

18



 

(e)                                   All obligations of Tenant hereunder not fully performed as of the expiration or earlier termination of the term of this Lease shall survive the expiration or earlier termination of the term hereof.

 

(f)                                     If any clause, phrase, provision, or portion of this Lease or the application thereof to any person or circumstance shall be invalid or unenforceable under applicable law, such event shall not affect, impair, or render invalid or unenforceable the remainder of this Lease or any other clause, phrase, provision or portion hereof, nor shall it affect the application of any other clause, phrase, provision, or portion hereof to other persons or circumstances, and it is also the intention of the parties to this Lease that in lieu of each such clause, phrase, provision, or portion of this Lease that is invalid or unenforceable, there be added as a part of this Lease contract a clause, phrase, provision or portion as similar in terms to such invalid or unenforceable clause, phrase, provision, or portion as may be possible and be valid and enforceable.

 

(g)                                  In the event of a strike, lockout, labor trouble, civil commotion, an act of God, or any other event beyond either party’s control (a “force majeure event”) which results in the Tenant being unable to timely perform its obligations hereunder (other than the Tenant’s obligation to pay Rent), so long as such party diligently proceeds to perform such obligations after the end of the force majeure event, the delayed party shall not be in breach hereunder.  Nothing herein shall extend the time for Tenant to make payment of Rent due hereunder.

 

(h)                                  Notwithstanding any other provision of this Lease to the contrary, if the Commencement Date hereof shall not have occurred before the twentieth (20 th ) anniversary of the date hereof, this Lease shall be null and void and neither party shall have any liability or obligation to the other hereunder.  The purpose and intent of this provision is to avoid the application of the rule against perpetuities to this Lease.

 

(i)                                     Anything contained in the foregoing provisions of this section to the contrary notwithstanding, neither Tenant nor any other person having an interest in the possession, use, occupancy, or utilization of the Premises shall enter into any lease, sublease, license, concession, or other agreement for use, occupancy, or utilization of space in the Premises which provides for rental or other payment for such use, occupancy, or utilization based, in whole or in part, on the net income or profits derived by any person from the Premises leased, used, occupied or utilized (other than an amount based on a fixed percentage or percentages of receipts of sales), and any such proposed lease, sublease, license, concession, or other agreement shall be absolutely void and ineffective as a conveyance of any right of interest in the possession, use, occupancy, or utilization of any part of the Premises.

 

(j)                                     Neither this Lease nor any memorandum or short form hereof shall be recorded in any public records.

 

37.                                LANDLORD’S LIEN

 

The Landlord hereby waives any statutory lien for Rent or other charges due under this Lease in Landlord’s favor or any other lien rights the Landlord may have, upon all goods, wares, equipment, fixtures, furniture, inventory, accounts, contract rights, chattel paper, and other personal property of Tenant situated on the Premises.  Landlord shall cooperate with Tenant and any mortgagee or lender of Tenant with respect to the execution of commercially reasonable lien waivers that may be required by Tenant, Tenant’s lender or Tenant’s mortgagee.

 

38.                                QUIET ENJOYMENT

 

Landlord represents and warrants that it has full right and authority to enter into this Lease and that Tenant, so long as no Event of Default exists, shall peaceably and quietly have, hold,  and enjoy the Premises for the term hereof without hindrance or molestation from Landlord, Landlord’s mortgagee, ground lessor or Landlord’s successors or assigns subject to the terms and provisions of this Lease.  Landlord shall not be liable for any interference or disturbance by other tenants or third persons, nor shall Tenant be released from any of the obligations of this Lease because of such interference or disturbance; provided, however that Landlord shall use commercially reasonable efforts to enforce Landlord’s rights against third parties within Landlord’s reasonable control and against other tenants of the Building pursuant to the terms of the leases for such tenants.

 

39.                                LANDLORD’S LIABILITY

 

Landlord’s obligations and liability with respect to this Lease shall be limited solely to (i) Landlord’s interest in the Building and any proceeds derived from the sale of the Building, as such interest is constituted from time to time, and (ii) any profits from rentals received by Landlord in connection with the Building, accruing from and after the date of any final and unappealable judgment entered against Landlord, excluding therefrom any amounts included in such rental for operating costs and expenses for the Building, neither Landlord nor any partner of Landlord, or any officer, director, shareholder, or partner of any partner of Landlord, shall have any personal liability whatsoever with respect to this Lease.  No owner of the Property, whether or not named herein, shall have liability hereunder after it ceases to hold title to the Property except for any liability that accrues prior to the conveyance of the Property.

 

40.                                NO ESTATE

 

This contract shall create the relationship of Landlord and Tenant, and no estate shall pass out of Landlord.  Tenant has only a usufruct, not subject to levy and sale and not assignable by Tenant, except as provided for herein and in compliance herewith.

 

41.                                SUBSTITUTION OF PREMISES

 

Intentionally omitted.

 

42.                                LEASE EFFECTIVE DATE

 

Submission of this instrument for examination or signature by Tenant does not constitute a reservation of or option for lease, and it is not effective as a lease or otherwise until execution by both Landlord and Tenant.

 

19



 

43.                                HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

 

Neither Landlord nor Tenant shall cause or permit the escape, disposal, or release of any biologically or chemically active or other hazardous substances or materials in, on, or about the Property.  Neither Landlord nor Tenant shall allow the storage or use of such substances or materials in, on, or about the Property in any manner not sanctioned by law or by the highest standards prevailing in the industry for the storage and use of such substances or materials, nor allow to be brought into the Property any such materials or substances except to use in the ordinary course of such party’s business, and then only after written notice has been given to Landlord of the identity of such substances or materials excepting, however, ordinary office and cleaning supplies. Without limitation, hazardous substances and materials shall include those described in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended, 42 U.S.C. Section 9601 et seq., the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. Section 6901 et seq., any applicable state or local laws and the regulations adopted under these acts.  If any lender or governmental agency shall ever require testing to ascertain whether or not there has been any release of hazardous materials in, on, or about the Property, then the reasonable costs thereof shall be reimbursed by Tenant to Landlord upon demand as additional charges if such requirement applies to Tenant’s use and occupancy of the Premises to the extent that a reasonable concern exists regarding the presence of hazardous materials or substances within the Premises.  Landlord shall indemnify and hold harmless Tenant for any cost, loss, expense or liability incurred by Tenant as a result of the release or presence of hazardous materials or substances at the Property caused by Landlord.  In addition, each party shall execute affidavits, representations, and the like from time to time at the other party’s request concerning its actual knowledge and belief regarding the presence of hazardous substances or materials introduced by such party on the Premises, the Building or Property.  In all events, Tenant shall indemnify Landlord in the manner elsewhere provided in this Lease from any release of hazardous materials in, on, or about the Premises occurring while Tenant is in possession, or elsewhere if caused by Tenant or persons acting under Tenant.  The within covenants shall survive the expiration or earlier termination of the lease term.

 

44.                                FIRST MONTH’S RENT

 

Rent for the thirteenth (13 th ) full calendar month following the Commencement Date in the amount of Forty Four Thousand Five Hundred Twenty and 21/100ths Dollars ($44,520.21) shall be due and payable upon Lease execution by Tenant.  Check(s) should be made payable to GERMANIA PROPERTY INVESTORS XXXIV, L.P.

 

45.                                BROKERS

 

Tenant represents and warrants to Landlord that, except for those broker(s) set forth in the Basic Lease Information (collectively, the “Brokers”), Tenant has not engaged or had any conversations or negotiations with any broker, finder or other third party concerning the leasing of the Premises to Tenant who would be entitled to any commission or fee based on the execution of this Lease. Tenant hereby indemnifies Landlord against and from any claims for any brokerage commissions (except those payable to the Brokers, all of which are payable by Landlord pursuant to a separate agreement) and all costs, expenses and liabilities in connection therewith, including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses, for any breach of the foregoing.  Landlord represents and warrants to Tenant that, except for the Brokers, Landlord has not engaged or had any conversations or negotiations with any broker, finder or other third party concerning the leasing of the Premises to Tenant who would be entitled to any commission or fee based on the execution of this Lease. Subject to the terms of Section 47 below, Landlord hereby indemnifies Tenant against and from any claims for any brokerage commissions arising in connection with this Lease and all costs, expenses and liabilities in connection therewith, including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses, for any breach of the foregoing.  The foregoing indemnifications shall survive the termination of this Lease for any reason.

 

46.                                SIGNAGE.  (a)                   Tenant shall be entitled to:

 

(i)  Signage identification on the Building’s standard lobby directory. Landlord shall furnish and install at Landlord’s expense, the Building’s standard lobby directory, however, the costs for Tenant’s graphics, including installation, shall be at Tenant’s sole cost and expense;

 

(ii)  Signage identification on the Building’s standard entry door signage to the Premises. The costs for the Building standard entry door signage and Tenant’s graphics, including installation, shall be at Tenant’s sole cost and expense;

 

(iii)  Signage identification on the walls of elevator lobby and entrance doors on any full floors leased by Tenant shall be at Tenant’s sole  cost and expense;

 

(iv)  Non-exclusive signage identification on the Building’s monument sign located at the entrance of the Property off of Preston Ridge Road (“Monument”).  The location of Tenant’s name on the Building’s monument sign shall be mutually agreed upon by Landlord and Tenant.  Landlord shall furnish and install, at Landlord’s sole cost and expense, the Building’s monument sign, however, the costs for Tenant’s graphics, including installation, shall be at Tenant’s sole cost and expense;

 

(b)                                   Tenant’s signage rights as provided hereinabove in this Section 46 shall be subject to Tenant providing Landlord with detailed specifications for the design and placement of any signage for the Landlord’s approval, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed.  Landlord may reasonably  withhold approval of the submitted signage if the design or location of such signage is inconsistent incompatible with the design of the Building’s standard signage, or such signage would materially detract from the appearance of the Building.  Landlord and Tenant hereby confirm that all exterior signage is subject to the ordinances of Fulton County and Alpharetta, GA, as well as restrictions imposed by Preston Ridge Associates, Inc.  Signage on any floor occupied in its entirety by Tenant is not required to conform to the Building’s standard design guidelines established by Landlord.

 

(c)                                   Upon either: (i) an Event of Default, (ii) the assignment of the Lease or sublet of the Premises to any entity other than a Permitted Affiliate or Permitted Successor, or (iv) the occurrence of an event which causes Tenant (or any Permitted Affiliate or Permitted Successor) to no longer occupy a full floor of the Building,  Landlord shall have the right, but not the obligation, to remove

 

20



 

Tenant’s signage from the Monument, to repair all injury or damage resulting from such removal, reasonable wear and tear excepted, and Tenant shall reimburse Landlord for all actual cost incurred in connection therewith.

 

47.                                CONTINGENCY .

 

(a)                                   Landlord acknowledges that Tenant and Kimberly-Clark Corporation (“KCC”) are currently contemplating the closing (“Closing”) of the distribution by KCC to its stockholders of all of the common stock of the Tenant pursuant to a Distribution Agreement to be entered into by Tenant and KCC. In the event that the Closing shall not have occurred on or before December 31, 2004 , for whatever reason, or Tenant has otherwise determined that the Closing will not occur by such date (the “Trigger Date”), the Tenant shall have the one time right to terminate this Lease (the “Termination Option”) effective on the date which is fifteen (15) days following Tenant’s written notice (the “Termination Notice”) to Landlord exercising such Termination Option (“Termination Effective Date”).  Upon delivery of the Termination Notice, the Tenant shall deliver to the Landlord the Termination Fee (as hereinafter defined) in good and collectible funds.  Following delivery of the Termination Notice, the Lease shall terminate effective as of the Termination Effective Date and Tenant shall be obligated to surrender the Premises unto Landlord on the Termination Effective Date and thereafter neither party shall owe any further obligation one to the other except for (i) payment of the Termination Fee, (ii) any other obligations expressly set forth in this Section 47 and (iii) those obligations under the Lease which are intended to survive the expiration or earlier termination of the Lease.  The Tenant and KCC have not, and do not hereby make any representation or warranty that the Closing will occur and, except for as expressly set forth in this Section 47, shall not suffer any liability herein as a result of the failure of the Closing to occur on or before the Trigger Date.  Further, notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Tenant shall have the right to extend the Trigger Date by up to four (4) additional months (but in no event beyond April 31, 2005) by providing the Landlord written notice of the same.

 

(b)                                  The term “Termination Fee” shall be an amount equal to:  (i) $81,659.78 (i.e., the loss of rents caused by Landlord’s early termination of Covansys Corporation, plus (ii) the Allowance, less any portion of the Allowance not actually disbursed by Landlord, plus (iii) $262,850 (i.e., $10.00 per rentable square foot of the Premises) (the “Penalty”) (iii) any brokerage commission disbursed by Landlord to the Brokers, not to exceed $75,000.00, plus (iv) any attorney’s fees incurred by Landlord in connection with this Lease, not to exceed $20,000.00, plus (v) any lender or servicer fees incurred by Landlord in connection with this Lease, not to exceed $7,500.00, plus (vii) in the event the Tenant does not terminate the Lease on or before November 1, 2004 a per diem charge of $627.78 for every day following November 1, 2004 until the date the Tenant terminates the Lease (the “Per Diem Fee”).  In the event that Tenant has not exercised the Termination Option on or prior to the Trigger Date and in the event Landlord and Tenant amend the Lease in the future, Landlord and Tenant agree to remove this Section 47 from the Lease.  This Termination Option and this Special Stipulation 1 are personal to Neenah Paper, Inc., a Delaware corporation, may not be exercised by any party other than Neenah Paper, Inc., a Delaware corporation and shall become null and void upon the occurrence of an assignment of the Lease or a sublet of all or a part of the Premises.  Landlord, Tenant and KCC acknowledge and agree that, while KCC has no right to exercise the Termination Option set forth in this Section 47, KCC shall cause the payment of the Termination Fee by or on behalf of Tenant in accordance with the terms of this Section 47.

 

(c)                                   In the event that, as of the Trigger Date, the Work (as defined in Exhibit C attached hereto) has not been completed in full in accordance with the Plans, Tenant shall have the option to either (a) pay to Landlord the Termination Fee in full, or (b) complete the Work pursuant to the terms of the Plans and pay to Landlord the Termination Fee minus the Penalty on or before the Termination Effective Date; provided, however, in the event that the cost of the Work remaining to be completed pursuant to the terms of the Plans is less than the Penalty, the parties agree that Tenant shall not complete the Work, but instead shall pay to Landlord the Termination Fee, minus the Penalty, as well as the cost of the Work remaining to be completed pursuant to the terms of the Plans (which payment shall be in lieu of the Penalty).  In the event that Tenant elects to complete the Work in lieu of paying the Penalty as set forth in this Section 47(c), the Termination Effective Date shall be extended for a reasonable time in order to allow for the completion of the Work. Landlord and Tenant shall cooperate in determining a reasonable construction schedule for the completion of the Work in accordance with the terms hereof.   In the event that, as of the Termination Effective Date, the Work has been completed in full in accordance with the terms of the Plans, then the Termination Fee to be paid by Tenant shall be reduced by the amount of the Penalty.

 

(d)                                  In the event that Tenant terminates the Lease in accordance with the terms of this Termination Option, the Landlord shall retain all improvements to the Premises performed by Tenant, and notwithstanding anything contained in Section 6 of the Lease to the contrary, Tenant shall have no right or obligation to remove any alterations, additions or improvements made to the Premises following the Delivery Date; provided, however, Tenant shall surrender the Premises to Landlord on the Termination Effective Date in broom clean condition and otherwise in the condition required by Section 24 of the Lease; provided, however, that the Tenant shall have the right to remove its furniture, equipment and other personal property.

 

21



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties hereto have executed this Lease under seal the day and year first above written.

 

 

LANDLORD

 

TENANT

 

 

 

GERMANIA PROPERTY INVESTORS XXXIV, L.P.,

 

NEENAH PAPER, INC.,

a Georgia limited partnership

 

a Delaware Corporation

 

 

 

By:

Germania-Preston, LLC, a Georgia limited

 

 

 

 

liability company

 

By:

/s/ Sean T. Erwin

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Michael G. Werner

 

 

Name:

Sean T. Erwin

 

 

Michael G. Werner, Vice President

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

CEO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Date:

 June 29, 2004

 

Date:

 June 29, 2004

 

 

 

 

 

WITNESS:

 

WITNESS:

 

 

 

By:

[witnessed]

 

By:

[witnessed]

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Affix Corporate Seal)

 

 

(Affix Corporate Seal)

 

 

(Signatures continue on the following page)

 

22



 

The undersigned joins in the execution of this Lease solely for the purposes of acknowledging and agreeing to such party’s obligations under Section 47 of this Lease:

 

 

KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION, a Delaware Corporation

 

 

By:

/s/ Rodney G. Olsen

 

Name:

Rodney G. Olsen

 

Title:

Vice President Finance

 

 

(Rev. 2/91)

 

23



 

EXHIBIT “A”

 

RULES AND REGULATIONS

 

1.                                       Sidewalks, halls, passages, exits, entrances, elevators and stairways shall not be obstructed by tenants or used by them for any purpose other than for ingress to and egress from their respective premises.  The halls, passages, exits, entrances, elevators, escalators and stairways are not intended for the use of the general public and Landlord shall in all cases retain the right to control and prevent access thereto by all persons whose presence, in the judgment of Landlord, shall be prejudicial to the safety, character, reputation and interests of the Building and its tenants, provided that nothing herein contained shall be construed to prevent such access to persons with whom any tenant normally deals in the ordinary course of such tenant’s business unless such persons are engaged in illegal activities.  No tenant, and no employees or invitees of any tenant, shall go upon the roof of the Building, except as authorized by Landlord.

 

2.                                       No sign, placard, picture, name, advertisement or notice, visible from the exterior of the premises shall be inscribed, painted, affixed, installed or otherwise displayed by any tenant either on its premises or any part of the Building without the prior written consent of Landlord, and Landlord shall have the right to remove any such sign, placard, picture, name, advertisement, or notice installed without the Landlord’s consent without notice to and at the expense of that tenant.

 

If Landlord shall have given such consent to any tenant at any time, whether before or after the execution of the lease, such consent shall in no way operate as a waiver or release of any of the provisions hereof or of such lease, and shall be deemed to relate only to the particular sign, placard, picture, name, advertisement or notice so consented to by Landlord and shall not be construed as dispensing with the necessity of obtaining the specific written consent of Landlord with respect to any other such sign, placard, picture, name, advertisement or notice.

 

All approved signs or lettering on doors and walls shall be printed, painted, affixed or inscribed at the expense of the tenant by a person approved by Landlord.

 

3.                                       The bulletin board or directory of the Building will be provided exclusively for the display of the name and location of tenants only and Landlord reserves the right to exclude any other names therefrom.  Tenant is hereby granted the right to have its name and location displayed on the bulletin board or directory.

 

4.                                       No curtains, draperies, blinds, shutters, shades, screens or other coverings, awning, hangings or decorations shall be attached to, hung or placed in or used in connection with, any window or door on the premises of any tenant without the prior written consent of Landlord.  In any event and with the prior written consent of Landlord, all such items shall be installed in such a manner that they shall in no way be visible from the exterior of the Building.  No articles shall be placed or kept on the window sills so as to be visible from the exterior of the Building.  No articles shall be placed against glass partitions or doors which might appear unsightly from outside the premises of any tenant.

 

5.                                       Landlord reserves the right to exclude from the Building between the hours of 6 p.m. and 8 am Monday through Friday and at all hours on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays all persons who are not tenants or their accompanied guests in the Building.  Each tenant shall be responsible for all persons whom it allows to enter the Building and shall be liable to Landlord for all acts of such persons.

 

Landlord shall in no case be liable for damages for error with regard to the admission to or exclusion from the Building of any person.

 

During the continuance of any invasion, mob, riot, public excitement or other circumstance rendering such action advisable in Landlord’s opinion, Landlord reserves the right to prevent access to the Building by closing the doors, or otherwise, for the safety of tenants and protection of the Building and property in the Building.

 

6.                                       No tenant shall employ any person or persons other than the janitor or Landlord for the purpose of cleaning the Premises unless otherwise agreed to by Landlord in writing.  Except with the written consent of Landlord no person or persons other than those approved by Landlord shall be permitted to enter the Building for the purpose of cleaning the same.  No tenant shall cause any unnecessary labor by reason of such tenant’s carelessness or indifference in the preservation of good order and cleanliness of the premises.

 

7.                                       No tenant shall accept barbering or bootblacking services in its premises except from persons authorized by Landlord.

 

8.                                       Each tenant shall see that all doors of its premises are closed and securely locked and must observe strict care and caution that all water faucets or water apparatus are entirely shut off before the tenant or its employees leave such premises, and that all utilities shall likewise be carefully shut off, so as to prevent waste or damage.  On multiple-tenancy floors, all tenants shall keep the door or doors to the Building corridors closed at all times except for ingress and egress.

 

9.                                       As more specifically provided in each tenant’s lease, each tenant shall not waste electricity, water or air conditioning and agrees to cooperate fully with Landlord to assure the most effective operation of the Building’s heating and air conditioning, and shall

 

1



 

refrain from attempting to adjust any controls.  Each tenant shall keep window coverings in its premises closed when the effect of sunlight or cold weather would impose unnecessary loads on the Building’s heating or air conditioning systems.

 

10.                                No tenant shall alter any lock or access device or install a new or additional lock or access device to any bolt on any door of its premises without the prior written consent of Landlord. If Landlord shall give its consent, the tenant shall in each case furnish Landlord with a key for any such lock (unless the lock is for secure areas, and then only to the extent required by Law).

 

11.                                No tenant shall make or have made additional copies of any keys or access devices provided by Landlord.  Each tenant, upon the termination of the tenancy, shall deliver to Landlord  all keys or access devices for the Building, offices, rooms and toilet rooms which shall have been furnished to the tenant or which the tenant shall have made.  In the event of the loss of any keys or access devices so furnished by Landlord, tenant shall pay Landlord therefor.

 

12.                                The toilet rooms, toilets, urinals, wash bowls, and other apparatus shall not be used for any purpose other than that for which they were constructed and no foreign substance of any kind whatsoever, including coffee grounds, shall be thrown therein, and the expense of any breakage, stoppage or damages resulting from violation of this rule shall be borne by the tenant who, or whose employees or invitees, shall have caused it.

 

13.                                No tenant shall use or keep on its premises or the Building any kerosene, gasoline or inflammable or combustible fluid or material other than limited quantities necessary for the operation or maintenance of office equipment.  Such limited quantities shall be only stored in containers approved by appropriate regulatory agencies.  No tenant shall use any method of heating or air conditioning other than that supplied by Landlord.

 

14.                                No tenant shall use, keep or permit to be used or kept in its premises any foul or noxious gas or substance or permit or suffer such premises to be occupied or used in a manner offensive or objectionable to Landlord or other occupants of the Building by reason of noise, odors and/or vibrations or interfere in any way with other tenants or those having business therein, nor shall any birds or animals other than seeing eye dogs and like animals be brought or kept in or about any premises of the Building.

 

15.                                No cooking shall be done or permitted by any tenant on its premises except for cooking in standardized non-commercial microwave ovens (except that use by the tenant of Underwriter’s Laboratory approved equipment for the preparation of coffee, tea, hot chocolate and similar beverages for tenants and their employees shall be permitted, provided that such equipment and use is in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and city laws, codes, ordinances, rules and regulations) nor shall its premises be used for lodging.

 

16.                                Except with the prior written consent of Landlord, no tenant shall sell or permit the sale, at retail, of newspapers, magazines, periodicals, theater tickets or any other goods or merchandise in or on its premises, nor shall tenant carry on, or permit or allow any employee or other person to carry on, the business of stenography, typewriting, printing, photocopying or any similar business in or from its premises for the service or accommodation of occupants of any other portion of the Building, nor shall its premises be used for the storage of merchandise or for manufacturing of any kind, or the business of a public barber shop, beauty parlor, nor shall its premises be used for any improper, immoral or objectionable purpose, or any business activity other than that specifically provided for in that tenant’s lease.

 

17.                                If tenant requires telegraphic, telephonic, burglar alarm or similar services, it shall first obtain, and comply with, Landlord’s instructions for their installation.  No tenant shall operate any television, radio, recorder or sound system in such a manner as to cause a nuisance to any other tenant of the Building.

 

18.                                Landlord will direct electricians as to where and how telephone, telegraph and electrical wires are to be introduced or installed.  No boring or cutting for wires will be allowed without the prior written consent of Landlord.  The location of burglar alarms, telephones, call boxes and other office equipment affixed to the premises shall be subject to the written approval of Landlord.

 

19.                                No tenant shall install any radio or television antenna, loudspeaker or any other device on the exterior walls or the roof of the Building.  No tenant shall interfere with radio or television broadcasting or reception from or in the Building or elsewhere.

 

20.                                No tenant shall lay linoleum, tile, carpet or any other floor covering so that the same shall be affixed to the floor of its premises in any manner except as approved in writing by Landlord.  The expense of repairing any damage resulting from a violation of this rule or the removal of any floor covering shall be borne by the tenant by whom, or by whose contractors, employees or invitees, the damage shall have been caused.

 

21.                                No furniture, freight, equipment, materials, supplies, packages, merchandise, or other property will be received in the Building or carried up or down the elevators except between such hours and in such elevators as shall be designated by Landlord.

 

Landlord shall have the right to prescribe the weight, size and position of all safes, furniture, files, bookcases or other heavy equipment brought into the Building.  Safes or other heavy objects shall, if considered necessary by Landlord, stand on wood strips of such thickness as determined by Landlord to be necessary to distribute properly the weight thereof.

 

Business machines and mechanical equipment belonging to any tenant which cause noise or vibration that may be transmitted to the structure of the Building or to any space therein to such a degree as to be objectionable to Landlord or to any tenants in the

 

2



 

Building shall be placed and maintained by tenant, at tenant’s expense, on vibration eliminators or other devices sufficient to eliminate noise or vibration.  The persons employed to move such equipment in or out of the Building must be acceptable to Landlord.

 

22.                                No tenant shall place a load upon any floor of its premises which exceeds the load per square foot which such floor was designed to carry and which is allowed by law.  No tenant shall mark, or drive nails, screw or drill into, the partitions, woodwork or plaster or in any way deface its premises or any part thereof.

 

23.                                No tenant shall install, maintain or operate upon its premises any vending machines without the written consent of Landlord.

 

24.                                There shall not be used in any space, or in the public areas of the Building, either by any tenant or others, any hand trucks except those equipped with rubber tires and side guards or other such material-handling equipment as Landlord may approve.  No other vehicles of any kind shall be brought by any tenant into or kept in or about its premises.

 

25.                                Each tenant shall store all its trash and garbage within the interior of its premises.  No material shall be placed in the trash boxes or receptacles if such material is of such nature that it may not be disposed of in the ordinary and customary manner of removing and disposing of trash and garbage in the city without violation of any law or ordinance governing such disposal.  All trash, garbage and refuse disposal shall be made only through entryways and elevators provided for such purposes and at such times as Landlord shall designate.

 

26.                                Canvassing, soliciting, distribution of handbills or any other written materials, and peddling in the Building are prohibited and each tenant shall cooperate to prevent the same.  No tenant shall make room-to-room solicitation of business from other tenants in the Building.

 

27.                                Landlord reserves the right to exclude or expel from the Building any person who, in Landlord’s judgment, is intoxicated or under the influence of liquor or drugs or who is in violation of any of the Rules and Regulations of the Building.

 

28.                                Without the prior written consent of Landlord, no tenant shall use the name of the Building in connection with or in promoting or advertising the business of such tenant except as that tenant’s address.

 

29.                                Each tenant shall comply with all energy conservation, safety, fire protection and evacuation procedures and regulations established by Landlord or any governmental agency.

 

30.                                Tenant assumes any and all responsibility for protecting its premises from theft, robbery and pilferage, which includes keeping doors locked and other means of entry to the premises closed.

 

31.                                The requirements of each tenant will be attended to only upon application at the office of the Building by an authorized individual.  Employees of Landlord shall not perform any work or do anything outside of their regular duties unless under special instructions from Landlord, and no employees will admit any person (tenant or otherwise) to any office without specific instructions from Landlord.

 

32.                                All rules and regulations applicable to the Premises shall be applied uniformly to all similarly situated tenants within the Building.

 

33.                                Landlord reserves the right to make such other reasonable rules and regulations as in its judgment may from time to time be needed for safety and security, for care and cleanliness of the Building and for the preservation of good order therein. provided that such revised or new regulation shall not materially or adversely increase Tenant’s obligations or decrease Tenant’s right under the Lease.  Each tenant agrees to abide by all such Rules and Regulations hereinabove stated and any additional rules and regulations which are adopted.

 

34.                                Intentionally omitted.

 

35.                                Each tenant shall either provide and maintain hard surface protective mats under all desk chairs which are equipped with casters to avoid excessive wear and tear to carpeting, or utilize chairs with carpet casters.  If any tenant fails to provide such mats, the cost of carpet repair or replacement made necessary by such excessive wear and tear shall be charged to and paid for by that tenant.

 

36.                                Each tenant will refer all contractors, contractor’s representatives and installation technicians, rendering any service to such tenant, to Landlord for Landlord’s supervision, approval, and control before performance of any contractual service but only to the extent Landlord’s consent is required with regard to such item of work or service.  This provision shall apply to all work performed in the Building, including installations of telephones, telegraph equipment, electrical devices and attachments and installations of any nature affecting floors, walls, woodwork, trim, windows, ceilings, equipment or any other physical portion of the Building.

 

37.                                Each tenant shall give prompt notice to Landlord of any accidents to or defects in plumbing, electrical fixtures, or heating apparatus so that such accidents or defects may be attended to promptly.

 

3



 

38.                                Each tenant shall be responsible for the observance of all of the foregoing Rules and Regulations by its employees, agents, clients, customers, invitees and guests.

 

39.                                These Rules and Regulations are in addition to, and shall not be construed to in any way modify, alter or amend, in whole or in part, the terms, covenants, agreements and conditions of any lease of any premises in the Building.

 

40.                                Smoking of tobacco products (including, but not limited to, cigarettes, cigars, pipes or similar utensils) is expressly prohibited in the lobby, hallways, elevators, building entrances, restrooms, stairwells and common areas in and around the Building.  Tenant shall not permit any of its employees, agents, servants, licensees, contractors or invitees to smoke in those areas specified in the immediately preceding sentence.  Tenant further agrees either (i) to prohibit smoking within the Premises, or (ii) if smoking is permitted by Tenant within the Premises, to take, at Tenant’s sole expense, such steps (which steps may include, but not be limited to, installing exhaust equipment to supplement the Building’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning system) as shall be required by Landlord to avoid any infiltration of smoke from the Premises into the space of other tenants or the common areas in the Building.  Tenant further agrees that if Tenant shall have taken steps to reduce or eliminate infiltration of smoke into the space of other tenants, and, notwithstanding these steps, smoke from the Premises continues to be a nuisance to other tenants in the Building, then Landlord shall have the right to prohibit smoking in the Premises altogether.  Tenant acknowledges and agrees that (a) Landlord has the right under this paragraph to restrict and/or prohibit smoking in the Premises, (b) smoking in the Premises is not an absolute or inherent right of Tenant and (c) Landlord’s determination that smoking in the Premises must be abated shall be final.  To enable smokers to have an area outside of the Building in which to smoke, the Landlord shall designate from time to time specific areas where smoking is permitted, to the extent permitted by applicable laws and regulations.  Smokers are required to keep all designated smoking areas clean, attractive and free of litter.  In order to comply with present or future laws, regulations or guidelines of governmental entities relating to workplace health and safety, Landlord retains the right to further alter, move or eliminate such smoking areas from time to time and to establish regulations relating thereto as Landlord reasonably deems necessary or appropriate.

 

4



 

EXHIBIT “B”

 

TYPICAL LEVEL FLOOR PLAN

 

[TO BE INSERTED]

 

1



 

EXHIBIT “C”

 

OFFICE LEASE IMPROVEMENT AGREEMENT

 

This WORK LETTER AGREEMENT (“Work Letter”) is attached to and made part of that certain Office Lease (to which this Exhibit B is attached).  The terms, definitions and other provisions of the Lease are hereby incorporated into this Work Letter by reference.

 

In consideration of the execution of the Lease and the mutual covenants and conditions hereinafter contained, Landlord and Tenant agree as follows:

 

1.                                        On or before the Delivery Date, Landlord, at Landlord’s sole cost and expense, shall deliver the Premises to Tenant in a broom clean condition.  From and after the Delivery Date, Tenant and Tenant’s agents may enter the Premises in order to perform the Work (as hereinafter defined).  Tenant agrees that any such entry into and occupation of the Premises shall be deemed to be under all of the terms, covenants, conditions and provisions of the Lease, except as to the covenant to pay Rent or any other charges due under the Lease, and further agrees Landlord shall not be liable in any way for any injury, loss or damage which may occur to any of Tenant’s work and installations made in the Premises or to properties placed therein, except to the extent caused by Landlord’s negligence.

 

2.                                        The Work shall be constructed by Tenant utilizing materials and construction methods at least equal in quality to “Building Standard” improvements described in attached Exhibit C-1 and in accordance with the provisions hereof.  On the terms and conditions set forth in Section 11 below, Landlord will provide Tenant a construction allowance (the “Allowance”) of up to $1,051,400.00 (i.e., $40.00 per rentable square foot in the Premises) for Tenant’s use in performing the Work.  Any portion of the Allowance not exhausted by the cost of the Work, but in no event more than $183,995.00 (i.e., $7.00 per rentable square foot of the Premises), shall be available to Tenant for reimbursement of the cost of any architectural and engineering for data cabling, project management fees and the installation of furniture, fixtures and/or equipment, as and when requested by Tenant provided Tenant delivers invoices documenting the actual cost of the foregoing on or before the expiration of the fourth (4 th ) month following the Commencement Date.  Any unused portion of the Allowance remaining after such reimbursement shall not be funded by Landlord, with Tenant releasing any and all rights thereto.  Any costs and expenses for the Work in excess of the Allowance shall be paid solely by Tenant.

 

The term “costs” or “cost” of the Work as used herein shall include, but not be limited to, the total cost of construction of the Work, including, without limitation, architectural & design fees, engineer fees, construction management fees, cost of labor, materials, contractor’s fees, costs incurred in obtaining approvals from any governmental authority, permitting costs.

 

The term “Building Standard” or “Building standard” as used herein shall mean the standards, materials and specifications set forth by Landlord for construction of occupied tenant spaces within the Building, including but not limited to such items as partition standards and details, doors and door hardware, ceiling grid and tile, HVAC equipment and materials, light fixtures, carpet and flooring, sprinkler heads, sill finishes and signage.

 

3.                                        Landlord has approved those architectural plans and specifications prepared by  Idea Span (the “Architect”) dated June 14, 2004 schematic design, partition plans and layout, design development drawings and a complete set of construction drawings, all of which are based on the Building standards and adequate in detail for the construction of all improvement and finish items desired by Tenant (collectively, the “Work”). All modifications to the approved architectural plans shall comply with all governmental standards, regulations and requirements and shall be subject to Landlord’s approval (which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld, except with respect to items which impact Building systems or structure or which are visible from the Building’s exterior or common areas, in which event Landlord’s prior approval may be withheld in Landlord’s sole discretion) prior to the commencement of the Work.  Landlord shall use commercially reasonable efforts to respond to Tenant’s Plans within five (5) business days.  Such architectural plans and specifications as have been approved by Landlord, together with any modifications thereto approved by Landlord, are herein referred to as the “Plans”.  In the event Landlord disapproves of any revisions or modifications to the Plans, then Landlord and Tenant shall, in good faith, mutually attempt to resolve any disputes in a diligent and timely manner.  The Plans shall be filed with, and all necessary permits for the Work shall be obtained from, the appropriate governmental agencies, at Tenant’s expense, prior to commencement of the Work, and Landlord shall be provided with copies of such permits .   Upon completion of the Work, the Architect shall furnish to Landlord a complete set of the final Plans in a reproducible form such as mylars or sepias or disk, and shall execute and deliver to Landlord a written certification the (“Architect’s Certificate”) that the Premises have been completed, except for any punch list items set forth therein (the “Tenant Punchlist Items”), and that the Premises have been constructed substantially in accordance with the Plans.  The Tenant Punchlist Items shall be diligently completed by Tenant to Landlord’s satisfaction within a reasonable time following the delivery of the Architect’s Certificate, but in no event longer than sixty (60) days

 

4                                           Tenant utilizing Malone Construction Company, as its Designated Contractor, shall, at Tenant’s sole cost and expense and using commercially reasonable diligence, construct or install, or cause to be constructed and installed, in or upon the Premises, the Work in accordance with the Plans.  The Work shall be completed by Tenant:  (i) in accordance with the Plans in a good and workmanlike manner; (ii) in compliance with all applicable laws, ordinances, orders, rules, regulations and covenants of any state, federal, municipal and other agency or body, including, at Tenant’s sole cost and expense, obtaining all necessary permits, authorizations and approvals, (iii) without voiding any Building warranties (in the event any such warranties are so voided, Tenant shall indemnify Landlord for all costs, expenses, losses and liabilities incurred by Landlord as a result thereof); (iv) in such a manner so as not to unreasonably interfere with the use of the Building by other tenants thereof, with Tenant being required to schedule and

 

1



 

coordinate all work by Tenant and Tenant’s contractors, sub-contractors, vendors and suppliers through Landlord in order to minimize any noise, disturbance, nuisance or interruption to the other tenants of the Building, with Landlord reserving the right to require disruptive work to be performed after Normal Business Hours; and (v) in accordance with Landlord’s construction rules and regulations for the Building, set forth on Exhibit “C-2” attached hereto. Landlord approves Tenant’s use of Stevens & Wilkinson & Stang & Newdow as its designated MEP Engineer for any mechanical, electrical (excluding low voltage items) and plumbing work associated with the Work. Landlord shall also have the right to reasonably (i) approve the work schedule of Tenant and Tenant’s contractors in the construction of the Work, (ii) approve Tenant’s move-in schedule for occupancy of the Premises upon completion of the Work, and (iii) inspect the Premises throughout construction of the Work.  Tenant shall carry, or cause its contractor to carry, insurance coverage in accordance with Exhibit “C-2” attached hereto. Upon Substantial Completion (as hereinafter defined) of the Work, a representative of Tenant and a representative of Landlord shall inspect the Premises and generate a list of “punch-list” items, if any, which punch list items Tenant agrees to complete within a reasonable time thereafter.  If Tenant fails to complete the Work by the scheduled Commencement Date (as the same may be extended pursuant to Section 3 of the Lease), all obligations under the Lease attributable to the Premises, including, but not limited to, Tenant’s obligations to pay Rent, shall nevertheless begin on the Commencement Date. The term “Substantial Completion” (or any grammatical variation thereof) shall mean that the Work is sufficiently complete so as to allow Tenant to occupy the Premises for the use and purposes intended without unreasonable disturbance or interruption as reasonably determined by Landlord.

 

5.                                        Landlord or its agent may attend any preconstruction and/or construction meetings with Tenant and the Architect or their representatives as Landlord shall deem necessary to inform the various parties of the minimum requirements for design and construction, to assure compliance with the terms of this Work Letter, to coordinate construction of the Premises or for any other reason deemed necessary by Landlord.

 

6.                                        Any approval by Landlord of, or consent by Landlord to, any plans, specifications or other items to be submitted to and/or reviewed by Landlord pursuant to this Lease shall be deemed to be strictly limited to an acknowledgment of approval or consent by Landlord thereto, and such approval or consent shall not constitute the assumption by Landlord of any responsibility for the accuracy, sufficiency or feasibility of any plans, specifications or other such items and shall not imply any acknowledgment, representation or warranty by Landlord that the design is safe, feasible, structurally sound or will comply with any legal or governmental requirements, with Tenant being responsible for all of the same.  The Work shall at all time remain the property of the Landlord, subject to Landlord’s rights as set forth in Paragraph 6 and Paragraph 12 of the Lease.

 

7.                                        The consent by Landlord to the construction of the Work by Tenant shall not be construed as any assumption by Landlord, either express or implied, of any liability of any nature against Landlord, the Premises, the Building or the Property for the payment of any labor performed or any materials furnished in connection with the construction or installation of the Work.  In the event any such claim for payment or any materialmen’s or mechanics’ liens are filed against Landlord, the Premises (including Tenant’s leasehold interest therein), the Building or the Property, then Tenant agrees to forthwith pay the same or cause such security therefore to be deposited for the payment and discharge of the same as may be reasonably required by Landlord.  Tenant further agrees that, upon completion of the Work, Tenant shall provide Landlord written lien releases from any and all contractors who have performed work in the Premises.  Tenant does hereby indemnify, agree to defend and save Landlord harmless from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages and expenses (including reasonable attorney’s fees) suffered, paid or incurred by Landlord arising out of the construction and installation of the Work, including, specifically, the cost of any labor performed and materials furnished to Work.

 

8.                                        After commencement of the Work by Tenant, any changes or upgrades to the Plans in excess of $10,000 which impact the Building’s MEP systems, life safety system, HVAC systems or structural integrity shall be mutually agreed upon in writing by both Landlord and Tenant.  Upon approval thereof by both parties, Tenant shall make those changes which are mutually acceptable and submit the revised portions of the Plans to Landlord.  In connection with any such changes, Tenant may, upon request of Landlord, be required to deliver to Landlord evidence of financing or financial capability of Tenant sufficient to cover the excess cost, if any, resulting from such change order.  Any such changes shall be subject to Landlord’s approval as set forth in Section 3 above.  The additional cost of any such change orders shall be considered a cost of the Work.

 

9.                                        Notwithstanding anything provided in the Lease or herein to the contrary, in the event Tenant elects (with Landlord’s approval) to use materials other than Building Standard, Landlord shall have no obligation to provide services which are materially different from those provided for Building Standard improvements (including, without limitation, janitorial and cleaning services) for any non-Building standard improvements installed, constructed or used in the Premises.

 

10.                                  Upon completion of the connection of Tenant’s HVAC system to the Building’s HVAC systems, as part of the Work, Tenant shall be responsible for the cost to test and balance such system by Landlord’s designated testing and balancing engineer for the Building, which cost shall be deemed to be a part of the Work at costs similar to those charged for comparable Class A suburban office buildings in the metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia area.

 

11.                                  So long as this Lease is in full force and effect and no Event of Default exists(a “Failed Condition”), Landlord shall pay to Tenant in periodic installments, but in no event more than one installment every thirty (30) days, the Allowance toward the cost of the Work within fifteen (15) business days of the date at such time as Tenant delivers to Landlord:

 

(i)                                      Tenant’s invoice for payment;

(ii)                                   lien releases from all contractors performing any portion of the work comprising the Work which is the subject of the then current installment;

 

2



 

(iii)                                the Architect’s Certificate, as limited to the Work which is the subject of the then current installment;

(iv)                               invoices, receipts and other evidence reasonably required by Landlord to evidence the cost of the Work which is the subject of the then current installment;

(v)                                  evidence that Tenant has procured and paid for all permits, licenses and authorizations required by all applicable governmental authorities relating to the Work which is the subject of the then current installment; and

 (vi)                            a certified written statement from the Tenant certifying to Landlord that upon Tenant’s receipt of the Allowance, all costs relating to the Plans and the Work which is the subject of the then current installment shall have been paid in full.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing to the contrary, ten percent (10%) of the Allowance (which retainage shall be reduced to 5% upon 90% completion of the Work) may be held back and not funded by Landlord in accordance with the foregoing until such time as Tenant delivers to Landlord (whether as part of the periodic installment process above or otherwise):

 

(i)                                      Tenant’s final invoice for payment;

(ii)                                   lien releases from all contractors performing any portion of the work comprising the Work (Tenant may charge the general contractor with the responsibility of collecting lien releases from its sub’s);

(iii)                                the final Architect’s Certificate;

(iv)                               a draw request from Tenant’s general contractor using the AIA or other customary format to evidence the cost of the Work;

(v)                                  evidence that Tenant has procured and paid for all permits, licenses and authorizations required by all applicable governmental authorities relating to the Work;

(vi)                               a certified written statement from the Tenant certifying to Landlord that upon Tenant’s receipt of the Allowance, all costs relating to the Plans and the Work shall have been paid in full.

 

In the event of a Failed Condition, all costs associated with the Work, the Plans and this Work Letter shall be payable by Tenant upon demand therefor until such Failed Condition is cured, together with all applicable late charges and interest applicable to the nonpayment of Rent hereunder.

 

In the event that Landlord fails to timely pay the Allowance (or any installment thereof) in accordance with this paragraph 11 and such failure continues for more than fifteen days following receipt of written notice for Tenant of such failure, then the unpaid amount of the Allowance shall be increased by a late charge to be paid by Landlord in an amount equal to five percent (5%) of the delinquent amount of the Allowance.

 

12.                                  Tenant shall have the right to revise any and all existing improvements located within the Premises and elevator lobbies outside the Premises as of the Delivery Date (excluding fixtures located in the bathrooms and mechanical rooms).  Landlord shall reimburse Tenant for all reasonable costs incurred by Tenant in connection with removal of existing wires located in the sleeve to the 6 th floor of the Building.

 

13.                                  Landlord shall cause the repair or removal (or reimburse Tenant for the cost of such repair) of any items outside of the interior portion of the Premises required to be repaired or removed by any building inspector or official due to the fact that such items do not meet current building code requirements and are not otherwise considered “grandfathered” into previous code requirements.  Nothing, however, in this Paragraph 13 shall require Landlord to repair or remove (or reimburse Tenant for the cost thereof) any non-compliant items which are (a) considered “non-compliant” due to the nature of the Work or (b) an item which the Plans require to be removed or repaired as a part of the Work, regardless of such non-compliance.

 

3



 

EXHIBIT “C-1”

 

BUILDING STANDARD FINISHES AND MATERIALS

PRESTON RIDGE

 

CARPET:

 

Shaw Design Series IV (or equivalent), 30 oz. solid cut pile, 100% Solutia LXI Type 6.6 Nylon fiber, installed direct glue.

 

 

 

BASE:

 

Roppe rubber cove base, 4” height, with wrapped corners.

 

 

 

PAINT:

 

Two coats of acrylic latex eggshell paint on walls, two coats of semi-gloss alkyd enamel on door frames.

 

 

 

*PARTITIONS:

 

Standard partitions are 25 ga. 3 5/8” studs on 24” centers with ½” sheetrock.

 

 

Rated partitions are 25 ga. 3 5/8” studs on 24” centers run to deck with type X sheetrock.

 

 

 

*DOORS:

 

Entry doors:

 

3’x8’10” flush wood doors, solid core 5 ply, quarter sliced mahogany with building standard mahogany stain.

 

 

Interior doors:

 

Same as entry doors.

 

 

Frames:

 

Hollow metal knock down frame with 2” casing.

 

 

 

 

 

*HARDWARE:

 

Entry doors:

 

Locksets: Schlage L9453 lockset in 626 finish.

 

 

 

 

Hinges: Hager ball bearing hinges.

 

 

 

 

Closer: LCN heavy duty closer.

 

 

Interior doors:

 

Lock and passage sets: Schlage D10S and D53, in 626 finish.

 

 

 

 

Hinges: Hager standard hinges, US 26D

 

 

 

 

Wall stops: US 26D

 

 

 

 

 

*CEILINGS:

 

2x2 acoustical tile in 15/16” exposed white grid by Donne. Tile to be USG “Acoustone” Glacier 707 white, foil backed with Shadowline edge.

 

 

 

*SPRINKLERS:

 

Semi recessed pendent heads.

 

 

 

*LIGHTS:

 

2x4 two tube 12 cell parabolic lens fluorescent fixtures by Thomas. Day Brite model # 2P3GC232-26SL-277; sp 35 tubes.

 

 

 

*EXIT LIGHTS:

 

Cast aluminum housing, self contained emergency power pack for 90min. operation. Pure lead maintenance free battery. 277V, edge lit LED type.

 

 

 

*HVAC:

 

Perimeter slot diffusers served by PIU’s and interior 2x2 lay in perforated grille diffusers served by VAV’s.

 

 

 

*BLINDS:

 

1” horizontal mini blinds in building standard color.

 

 

Note:  items with an asterisk (*) indicate building requirement, all other items are optional.

 

1



 

EXHIBIT “C-2”

 

RULES & REGULATIONS

 

The following states The Work and the Rules and Regulations governing construction work and construction practices at Childress Klein Properties owned or managed properties.

 

Before starting any construction projects, please read the information contained in this article thoroughly, sign and date the final page, and return it to Childress Klein Properties at 300 Galleria Parkway N.W., Suite 600; Atlanta, Georgia 30339; Attn: Tenant Finish Construction Manager.

 

1.                                        DEFINITIONS:

 

A.            The Work is defined as that service for which the Contractor has been retained.

 

B.              The Project is defined as the area or suite in which the work is to be performed.

 

C.              The Building is defined as the structure in which the Project is located.

 

D.             The Property is defined as the parcel of land on which the Building is located.

 

E.               The Building Operating Hours for construction are:  Monday-Friday  (7:00 a.m.-                             6:00 p.m.);  Saturday (8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.).

 

2.                                        CONSTRUCTION:

 

A.            The Contractor is required to make a pre-site survey reporting any existing damage within the site and common areas leading to the site, and furnish a copy to the Tenant Finish Construction Manager.  Childress Klein Properties must be notified in writing in advance of any work to be done before 7:00 a.m. or after 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday or on a weekend or holiday.  Notification will be given utilizing a properly completed “Access Authorization” form submitted to Childress Klein Properties for approval.

 

B.              THE CONTRACTOR IS REQUIRED TO FURNISH CHILDRESS KLEIN PROPERTIES WITH AS-BUILT DRAWINGS AND ACKNOWLEDGES THAT PAYMENT WILL NOT BE MADE UNTIL THEY ARE RECEIVED BY CHILDRESS KLEIN PROPERTIES. The as-built drawings provided to Childress Klein Properties shall indicate all revisions to the Building systems (HVAC, electrical including panel directory, sprinkler, plumbing, fire, life safety, etc.) as well as the As-Built Finish Schedule.

 

All Contractors and sub-contractors must sign in with Building security at the Operations Control Center located in the loading dock of Tower 200 at the Galleria or at the security office next to loading dock of 999 Peachtree and provide proper identification before they will be provided access to project for deliveries and / or construction.  All Contractors and sub-contractors must comply with Childress Klein Properties access procedures.

 

C.              Childress Klein Properties must be notified in writing at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance of any work required to be done in the public space or common areas of the Building.  This work may not be done during Building Operating Hours without prior approval of Childress Klein Properties.

 

D.             Childress Klein Properties must be notified at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance of any work which would require a Contractor to enter a tenant suite other than the Project so that approval for such entry may be obtained from that tenant.  Permission to enter a tenant suite other than the Project will not be unreasonably withheld.  The Contractor shall be liable for any damage to the tenant suite including any of its furnishings and fixtures resulting from the work done.  Upon completion of the work or before the beginning of the next business day the tenant suite shall be restored to its prior condition.

 

E.               Childress Klein Properties must be notified in writing at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance of any work which would require the shutting down or affect the operation of any Building system (HVAC, electrical, domestic water lines, chilled water or condenser water lines, sprinkler, and life safety systems) so that adequate notice may be given to the tenants. This work may not be done during Building Operating Hours.

 

F.               Any work which will generate noise levels or odors unacceptable to Childress Klein

Properties or their tenants (including but not limited to coring of the concrete slabs, hammer drilling, varnishing doors, chipping up VCT, and sprinkler drain-down) may not be performed during Building Operating Hours (7:00 a.m. - 6:00

 

1



 

p.m. Monday through Friday, and Saturday from 8 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.) without prior written approval of Childress Klein Properties.

 

G.              All Work shall be done in a professional and workmanlike manner with particular attention paid to any work which might inconvenience another tenant.

 

3.                                        DELIVERIES:

 

A.            Deliveries of material in a quantity no larger than one freight elevator cab trip can be made during the Building’s Operating Hours (7:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday). Deliveries of materials in excess of one freight elevator cab trip must be made during hours other than the Building’s Operating Hours, and must be arranged in advance through Childress Klein Properties, and may involve reimbursement of security costs of $25.00 per hour.

 

B.              The Contractor is responsible for restoring the Property, Elevators and Building to its prior condition immediately following all deliveries.

 

C.              Building Standard Finishes (walls, flooring, and doors / frames) in all common areas must be protected from damage.

 

D.             The Contractor shall be held liable for any and all damage resulting from any delivery. Any damage shall be reported immediately to Childress Klein Properties and corrected in a timely manner acceptable to Childress Klein Properties.  Childress Klein Properties reserves the right to perform repairs and deduct expense from Contract sum.

 

E.               All deliveries must be received at the Project.  At no time shall any material be stored in any location other than the Project without the prior approval of Childress Klein Properties.  No hazardous materials may be stored in the Project at any time.

 

F.               Delivery vehicles must utilize the Loading Dock provided at the Building and vacate the space immediately upon completion of the delivery.  Drivers of vehicles should report to the Building Dockmaster, or Security Operations.

 

G.              All deliveries must utilize the service elevator.  At no time will the passenger elevator be used for deliveries.

 

4.                                        ELEVATOR USAGE:

 

A.            All workmen must use the service elevator.  At no time may workmen use a passenger elevator.

 

B.              The Contractor shall be liable for all costs incurred resulting from any damage done to the elevator (including the elevator cab finishes) due to the Contractor’s, employees, any of his sub-contractors, or vendors by over-loading, unbalanced loading or any other misuse of the elevator.  Damage must be reported immediately after it occurs.

 

2



 

5.                                        DEBRIS/SURPLUS MATERIAL REMOVAL:

 

A.            Debris or surplus material will not be allowed to collect in the Project or in the Building.  Debris will not be allowed to be stockpiled on the floor.

 

B.              All debris shall be removed from the Property the same day it is removed from the Project unless it is placed in an on-Property trash receptacle.  Childress Klein Properties reserves the right to approve type, location, size, and pick-up schedule of all trash receptacles located on the property.  In no event may trash or debris from the Project be placed in a Building receptacle or another contractor’s trash receptacle without prior approval.  Charges for improper dumping will be deducted from Contract sum.  Debris or any material should not be “staged” in a building hallway or exit corridor.

 

C.              All organic debris resulting from workmen’s breaks or lunch shall be placed in a trash receptacle on the job site and removed daily.

 

6.                                        DEMOLITION:

 

A.            All construction material, finish material, fixtures, etc. in the Project are the property of Childress Klein Properties.  At no time shall any construction material, finish material, fixtures, etc. be removed from the Property without the prior approval of Childress Klein Properties.  Contractor shall coordinate with Tenant Finish Construction Manager and be responsible for the return of all unused materials to Building storage.

 

B.              Tenant spaces to be demolished will generally have temperature sensors and/or thermostats installed.  These temperature sensors or thermostats may control HVAC equipment servicing other suites.  When demolishing a tenant space, the Contractor will be responsible for ensuring that the temperature sensor or thermostat is not interrupted or otherwise adversely affected. When a thermostat is located on a wall to be demolished, the cable should be coiled and placed above the ceiling with sensor / thermostat intact. At no time shall a temperature sensor or thermostat be removed without the prior approval of Childress Klein Properties.  The Contractor will be responsible for any damage to or loss of temperature sensors or thermostats.

 

7.                                        MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL/TELEPHONE ROOM ACCESS:

 

A.            Access to the Mechanical/Electrical/Telephone rooms is granted on an as needed basis.  The Contractor requiring access to these rooms must notify Childress Klein Properties twenty-four (24) hours in advance in order to generate a security pass to access the room. Once access is approved, a key will be made available to the person requesting access.  This key must be picked up in person at the Galleria Security office (Tower 200 Basement, or at the engineer’s office in Preston Ridge or Windward Fairways) on the day access is required.  To obtain a key you will be required to leave a picture ID such as a driver’s license, or a key acquisition card.  All keys must be returned by 5:30 p.m. on the same day they were checked out.

 

B.              Special Exception for Southern Bell:    Southern Bell employees will be allowed to check out a key to the Mechanical/Electrical/Telephone rooms without leaving their driver’s license only upon production of their Southern Bell identification and a valid Southern Bell work order indicating work is to be done on the floor for which access is requested.

 

8.                                        GENERAL:

 

A.            Contractor must provide Childress Klein Properties a forty-eight (48) hours notice prior to mobilizing to perform floor coring.  The work must occur outside of Building Operating hours before coring all floors must be x-rayed unless pre-approved by Childress Klein Properties.

 

B.              Contractor personnel must be appropriately clothed (shirts, pants and shoes) at all times while on the Property or in the Building.  Childress Klein Properties reserves the right to ask any worker it deems improperly attired to leave the Property.

 

C.              Contractor personnel may not eat or take breaks in the public areas (other than restaurants or designated eating areas) of the Building.

 

D.             Contractor personnel must park their personal vehicles in the following designated                  areas:

 

                  Galleria 100 - Third (top) level of the parking deck.

                  Galleria 200 - Levels E, F, or G (located below the loading dock level).

                  Galleria 300 - Levels E, F, or G (located below the loading dock level).

                  Galleria 700 - Top deck level.

                  999 First Union Plaza - Loading dock level.

                  Preston Ridge - Upper or side lot.

                  Windward Fairways - Upper or side lot.

 

3



 

E.               Contractor personnel must enter the Building through the loading dock entry.

 

F.               Contractor personnel shall not deface in any way the walls, ceilings, floors, fixtures, or furnishings in the Project or Building or on the Property.

 

G.              The Contractor shall be held liable for all damage done to the Property, Project or the Building by any of his personnel or subcontractors.  Any damage shall be reported immediately to Childress Klein Properties and corrected in a timely manner acceptable to Childress Klein Properties.

 

H.             While on the Property, all workmen shall conduct themselves in a professional manner.

 

I.                  Workmen shall use restrooms and drinking fountains only on the floor on which the Project is located unless another area is specified by Childress Klein Properties.

 

J.                 All requests of and notifications to Childress Klein Properties shall be made by contacting Childress Klein Properties Tenant Finish Construction Manager at (770) 859-1200, Fax # (770) 859-1253.

 

K.             The Contractor recognizes that the Galleria complex is a non-smoking facility.  Contractor personnel will only be allowed to smoke in the buildings designated smoking areas.

 

L.               Contractor is responsible for security of Project and any stored tools and materials therein.  Childress Klein Properties will not be held responsible for any theft or vandalism that may occur.

 

M.          No radios or musical devices of any type shall be allowed on the Project.

 

N.             Contractor shall take precautions to avoid setting off the fire alarm system (i.e. sweeping, smoking, soldering, welding, in close vicinity of a smoke detector).

 

O.             Contractors are not to prop open any doors to secured areas or building stairwells or service elevator lobbies.

 

9.                                        PENALTIES:

 

A.            Any Contractor, sub-contractor or workman violating any of the above Rules and Regulations will be, at the discretion of Childress Klein Properties, removed from the Project and permanently barred from the Property.

 

4



 

EXHIBIT “D”

 

TENANT LEASE ESTOPPEL CERTIFICATE

 

Landlord:

 

GERMANIA PROPERTY INVESTORS XXXIV, L.P., a Georgia limited partnership

 

 

 

Tenant:

 

                                                     ,     

 

 

 

Premises:

 

 

 

 

 

Area:

 

Sq. Ft.

 

Lease Date:

 

 

 

The undersigned Tenant under the above-referenced lease (the “Lease”) hereby ratifies the Lease and certifies to                                     (“Landlord”) as owner of the real property of which the premises demised under the Lease (the “Premises”) is a part, as follows:

 

1.                                        That the term of the Lease commenced on                           , 20         and the Tenant is in full and complete possession of the Premises demised under the Lease and has commenced full occupancy and use of the Premises, such possession having been delivered by Landlord and having been accepted by the Tenant.

 

2.                                        That the Lease calls for monthly Rent installments as outlined in Paragraph 4 of the Lease dated                        , and Tenant has made all monthly installments of Rent required to date.  The current monthly Net Rent is $              and the current monthly Expense Stop Rent is $                .

 

3.                                        That no advance rental or other payment has been made in connection with the Lease, except rental for the current month.  There is no “free rent” or other concession under the remaining term of the Lease (except for the abated Rent during the first twelve (12) months of the Term), and the Rent has been paid to and including                             , 20        .

 

4.                                        That a security deposit in the amount of $               is being held by Landlord, which amount is not subject to any set off reduction or to any increase for interest or other credit due to Tenant.

 

5.                                        That, to the Tenant’s actual knowledge, all obligations and conditions under said Lease to be performed to date by Landlord or Tenant have been satisfied, free of defenses and set-offs including all construction work in the Premises.

 

6.                                        That to the Tenant’s actual knowledge the Lease is a valid lease and in full force and effect and represents the entire agreement between the parties; that there is no existing default on the part of Landlord or the Tenant in any of the terms and conditions thereof and no event has occurred which, with the passing of time or giving of notice to both, would constitute an Event of Default, and that said Lease has:  (Initial One)

 

(    )                             not been amended, modified, supplemented, extended, renewed or assigned.

 

(    )                             been amended, modified, supplemented, extended, renewed or assigned as follows by the following described agreements:

 

 

 

7.                                        That the Lease provides for a primary term of                    months; the term of the Lease expires on the            day of                        , 20          ; and that:  (Initial One)

 

(    )                             neither the Lease nor any of the documents listed in Paragraph 6 (if any), contain an option for any additional term or terms.

 

(    )                             the Lease and/or the documents listed under Paragraph 6, above, contain an option for                    additional term(s) of                year(s) and                    month(s) (each) at a  rent to be determined as follows:

 

 

 

8.                                        That, to the Tenant’s actual knowledge, Landlord has not rebated, reduced or waived any amounts due from Tenant under the Lease, whether orally or in writing, nor has Landlord provided financing for, made loans or advances to, or invested in the business of Tenant.

 

1



 

9.                                        That, to the Tenant’s actual knowledge, there is no apparent or likely contamination of the real property or the Premises by hazardous materials, and Tenant does not use, nor has Tenant disposed of, hazardous materials in violation of  environmental laws on the real property or the Premises.

 

10.                                  That, to the Tenant’s actual knowledge, there are no actions, voluntary or involuntary, pending against the Tenant under the bankruptcy laws of the United States or any state thereof.

 

11.                                  That this certification is made knowing that the Landlord is relying upon the representation herein made.

 

12.                                  The undersigned further acknowledges that:

 

(a)                                  Buyer or Buyer’s assignee is purchasing Landlord’s interest in the property which includes the     Premises and, in connection with that purchase, will be receiving an assignment of Landlord’s interest under the Lease;

 

(b)                                 Landlord, Buyer and Buyer’s successors, agents and assigns (including, but not limited to subsequent purchasers, lenders and title insurers) will be relying upon each of the statements contained herein in connection with Buyer’s purchase of the property of which the Premises are a part and but for the assurances and agreements contained herein Buyer would not purchase the property of which the Premises are a part; and

 

 

 

Tenant:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     a

 

 

 

Dated:

 

 

By:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Typed Name:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Title:

 

 

2



 

EXHIBIT “E”

 

GENERAL CLEANING SPECIFICATIONS

 

The following service procedures will be performed as indicated:

 

OFFICES

 

Item

 

Procedure

 

Frequency

 

 

 

 

 

1.

 

Empty all wastebaskets and trash containers

 

Daily

2.

 

Replace trash liners

 

As needed

3.

 

Empty and damp wipe all ashtrays

 

Daily

4.

 

Dust all horizontal surfaces below 6’

 

Weekly

5.

 

Dust all vertical surfaces

 

Weekly

6.

 

Dust all high ledges, shelves, pictures, frames, blinds

 

Weekly

7.

 

Vacuum carpets (traffic lanes)

 

Daily

8.

 

Vacuum carpets (upright, reachable)

 

Weekly

9.

 

Close vacuum (tank vac)

 

Monthly

10.

 

Clean HVAC diffusers

 

Quarterly

11.

 

Spot clean partition glass

 

Daily

12.

 

Wash all partition glass - clean with squeegee

 

Quarterly

13.

 

Clean and sanitize drinking fountain

 

Daily

14.

 

Clean and sanitize telephones

 

Weekly

15.

 

Wipe down elevator doors

 

Weekly

16.

 

Clean and organize janitor’s closets

 

Daily

17.

 

Sweep and mop janitor’s closet floor

 

Monthly

18.

 

Remove staples from carpets

 

Weekly

19.

 

Spot clean doors, frames and hardware

 

Weekly

20.

 

Vacuum upholstery

 

Monthly

21.

 

Dust elevator doors

 

Daily

22.

 

Clean kitchen counter tops

 

Daily

23.

 

Clean kitchen sinks

 

Daily

24.

 

Wet mop and sweep vinyl composition tile

 

Daily

25.

 

Spray buff vinyl composition tile

 

Monthly

26.

 

Re-coat vinyl composition tile

 

Quarterly

27.

 

Strip and re-coat vinyl composition tile

 

Annually

28.

 

Sweep wood floors

 

Daily

29.

 

Damp spot mop wood floors

 

Daily

30.

 

Spray clean and buff wood floors

 

Weekly

31.

 

Sweep and mop stairwells

 

Weekly

32.

 

Spot clean stairwells

 

Daily

33.

 

Sweep and mop Emergency Exit

 

Weekly

34.

 

Spot clean Emergency Exit

 

Daily

35.

 

Clean Emergency Exit doors

 

Weekly

 

RESTROOMS

 

Item

 

Procedure

 

Frequency

 

 

 

 

 

1.

 

Empty all trash containers

 

Daily

2.

 

Spot clean all mirrors

 

Daily

3.

 

Clean and disinfect commodes, lavatories and urinals, inside and outside, clean commode seats, clean upper and lower sides using germicidal cleaner

 

Daily

4.

 

Clean all lavatory hardware and chrome fixtures

 

Daily

5.

 

Clean all wall tile with damp cloth around commodes, lavatories and urinals

 

Daily

6.

 

Wet mop all floors using germicidal detergent

 

Daily

7.

 

Refill all towel, tissue holders and soap dispensers

 

Daily

8.

 

Spot clean toilet partitions with germicidal cleaner

 

Weekly

9.

 

Spot scrub floors with band brush

 

Monthly

10.

 

Wash all restroom walls (ceiling to floor and partitions)

 

Monthly

11.

 

Clean air vents

 

Monthly

12.

 

Squeegee clean mirrors

 

Monthly

 

1



 

ELEVATORS

 

Item

 

Procedure

 

Frequency

 

 

 

 

 

1.

 

Clean and polish finishes (brass, chrome, wood)

 

Daily

2.

 

Vacuum carpets

 

Daily

3.

 

Clean elevator tracks

 

Daily

4.

 

Dust elevator doors

 

Daily

5.

 

Clean carpets

 

As needed

6.

 

Steam extract carpets

 

As needed

7.

 

Edge vacuum carpets

 

Daily

 

BUILDING EXTERIOR

 

Item

 

Procedure

 

Frequency

 

 

 

 

 

1.

 

Police area around building, parking lot, shrubbery and dumpster pad

 

Daily

2.

 

Remove cigarette butts from sidewalk entrance

 

Daily

3.

 

Clean building first floor reachable atrium exterior glass inside and out

 

Weekly

4.

 

Polish entrance sign

 

Monthly

5.

 

Clean mailbox area

 

Daily

6.

 

Clean light bollard and front door entrance

 

Weekly

7.

 

Wash windows

 

Twice annually

 

ATRIUM AND ELEVATOR LOBBIES

 

Item

 

Procedure

 

Frequency

 

 

 

 

 

1.

 

Spot clean all entrance glass

 

Daily

2.

 

Polish all metal and wood trim

 

Daily

3.

 

Clean and polish building directory on each floor

 

Daily

4.

 

Vacuum all carpet

 

Daily

5.

 

Spot clean carpet

 

Daily

6.

 

Low dust

 

Weekly

7.

 

Dust walls within reach

 

Monthly

8.

 

Completely clean entrance door glass

 

Weekly

9.

 

Clean elevator carpet

 

As needed

10.

 

Damp mop hard surface floors

 

Daily

11.

 

Dust mop hard surface floors

 

Daily

12.

 

Clean ash urns in elevator lobbies

 

Daily

 

2



 

EXHIBIT “F”

 

GUARANTY

 

IN CONSIDERATION OF, and as an inducement for the execution by GERMANIA PROPERTY INVESTORS XXXIV, L.P., a Georgia limited partnership (“Landlord”), of that certain Lease Agreement dated                     , 2004 (the “Lease”) between Landlord and NEENAH PAPER, INC. , a Delaware corporation (“Tenant”), demising to Tenant a leasehold estate in and to space (the “Premises”) in that certain building known as Preston Ridge III, situated in Alpharetta, Georgia, the undersigned Guarantor (jointly and severally, the “Guarantor”) hereby unconditionally guarantees to Landlord (and its successors and assigns) the full and timely payment of all amounts owed by Tenant (or its successors and assigns) under the Lease, and further hereby unconditionally guarantees the full and timely performance and observance of all the covenants, terms, conditions and agreements therein provided to be performed and observed by Tenant (or its successors and assigns).  Guarantor hereby covenants and agrees to and with Landlord (and its successors and assigns) if Tenant (or its successors and assigns) should default in the payment of any such rent and any and all other sums and charges payable by Tenant (or its successors and assigns) under the Lease, or if Tenant (or its successors and assigns) should default in the performance and observance of any of the covenants, terms, conditions or agreements contained in the Lease, Guarantor will forthwith pay such rent and other sums and charges, and any arrears thereof, to Landlord (or its successors and assigns), and will forthwith faithfully perform and fulfill all of such terms, covenants, conditions and agreements, and will forthwith pay to Landlord (or its successors and assigns), all damages, costs and expenses that may arise in consequence of any default by Tenant (or its successors and assigns) under the Lease, including without limitation all reasonable attorneys’ fees, court costs, accounting fees, investigation costs and other disbursements incurred by Landlord (or its successors and assigns) or caused by any such default and/or by the enforcement of this Guaranty.

 

This Guaranty is an absolute and unconditional Guaranty of payment and of performance.  It shall be enforceable against Guarantor (and its successors and assigns) without the necessity of any suit or proceedings on Landlord’s part of any kind or nature whatsoever against Tenant (or its successors and assigns) and without the necessity of any notice of nonpayment, nonperformance or nonobservance of any notice of acceptance of this Guaranty, or of any other notice or demand to which Guarantor might otherwise be entitled, all of which Guarantor (for Guarantor and Guarantor’s successors and assigns) hereby expressly waives.  Guarantor hereby expressly agrees that the validity of this Guaranty and the obligations of Guarantor hereunder shall in no way be terminated, affected, diminished or impaired by reason of the assertion or the failure to assert by Landlord against Tenant (or against Tenant’s successors and assigns) of any of the rights or remedies reserved to Landlord pursuant to the provisions of the Lease or by relief of Tenant from any of Tenant’s obligations under the Lease or otherwise by:  (a) the release or discharge of Tenant in any creditor’s proceedings, receivership, bankruptcy or other proceedings; (b) the impairment, limitation or modification of the liability of Tenant or the estate of Tenant in bankruptcy, or of any remedy for the enforcement of Tenant’s said liability under the Lease, resulting from the operation of any present or future provision of the Federal Bankruptcy Code, as amended from time to time, or any other statute, or from the decision in any court; or (c) the rejection or disaffirmance of this Lease in any such proceedings.

 

This Guaranty shall be a continuing guaranty and the liability of Guarantor shall in no way be affected, modified or diminished by reason of any assignment (except as set forth below), amendment, renewal, expansion, supplement, modification or waiver of, or change in, any of the terms, covenants, conditions or provisions of the Lease, or by reason of any extension of time that may be granted by Landlord to Tenant (or its successors or assigns) or a changed or different use of the Premises consented to in writing by Landlord and Tenant, its successors and assigns, whether or not notice thereof is given to Guarantor.

 

Guarantor expressly waives any and all defenses arising by reason of any amendment, modification, extension or renewal of the Lease, any failure to give notice of default, any failure to pursue potential remedies with due diligence, any failure to resort to other security or other remedies available to Landlord under the Lease, any failure of Landlord to take any action to terminate the Lease, or to take possession of and relet the Premises for Tenant’s account except as set forth in the Lease, and any and all defenses arising out of the guarantor-principal relationship, and the same shall not operate to release Guarantor from any of its undertakings as set forth herein.

 

Landlord’s consent to any assignment or assignments, and successive assignments by Tenant and Tenant’s assigns of the Lease, made either with or without notice to Guarantor, shall in no manner whatsoever release Guarantor from any liability as Guarantor, except as specifically provided in the Lease or in conjunction with such assignment.

 

The assignment by Landlord of the Lease, and/or the avails and proceeds thereof, made either with or without notice to Guarantor, shall in no manner whatsoever release Guarantor from any liability as Guarantor hereunder.  The term “Landlord” as used herein shall be deemed to include Landlord’s successors and assigns.  Capitalized terms not herein defined shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms in the Lease.

 

All of Landlord’s rights and remedies under the Lease or under this Guaranty are intended to be distinct, separate and cumulative, and no such right and remedy therein or herein mentioned is intended to be in exclusion of or a waiver of any of the others.  The obligation of Guarantor hereunder shall not be released by Landlord’s receipt, application, release or compromise of security or other guarantees given for the performance and observance of covenants and conditions required to be performed and observed by Tenant under Lease, nor shall Guarantor be released by the maintenance of or execution upon any lien which Landlord may have or assert against Tenant and/or Tenant’s assets.

 

1



 

Until all the covenants and conditions in the Lease on Tenant’s part to be performed and observed are fully performed and observed, Guarantor (a) shall have no right of subrogation against Tenant by reason of any payments or acts or performance by Guarantor in compliance with the obligations of Guarantor hereunder; (b) waives any right to enforce any remedy which Guarantor now or hereafter shall have against Tenant by reason of any one or more payment or acts or performance in compliance with the obligations of Guarantor hereunder; and (c) subordinates any liability or indebtedness of Tenant now or hereafter held by Guarantor to the obligations of Tenant to Landlord under the Lease.

 

This Guaranty, and Guarantor’s obligations hereunder, shall be governed by and construed under the laws of the State of Georgia, and all obligations of the parties hereto shall be performable in Fulton County, Georgia.

 

Guarantor represents and warrants that the value of the consideration received and to be received by Guarantor is reasonably worth at least as much as the liability and obligations of Guarantor hereunder, and such liability and obligations may reasonably be expected to benefit Guarantor directly or indirectly.

 

Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, this Guaranty shall terminate automatically without further acts by Guarantor or Lessor upon the occurrence of the Closing (as that term is defined in the Lease).  Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, following the Closing, the Guarantor shall have no liability under this Guaranty or the Lease whatsoever.

 

[Signatures appear on the following page]

 

2



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Guarantor has executed this Guaranty under seal this          day of                             , 2004.

 

 

Signed, sealed and delivered

in the presence of:

GUARANTOR:

 

 

 

 

KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION ,

a Delaware corporation

Unofficial Witness

 

 

 

 

By:

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

 

 

Notary Public

 

Title:

 

 

My Commission Expires:

Tax ID#:

 

 

 

 

 

[Notary Seal]

 

Address for Notice Purposes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3



 

EXHIBIT “G”

 

PRESTON RIDGE III

 

LEGAL DESCRIPTION

OF PROPERTY

 

All that tract or parcel of land lying in and being in Land Lot 1 of the 1 st District, 1 st Section, Land Lot 1244 of the 2 nd District, 1 st Section, Land Lot 1261 of the 2 nd District. 2 nd Section, and Land Lot 910 of the 1 st District, 2 nd Section, Fulton County, City of Alpharetta, Georgia, and being more particularly described as follows:

 

Commence at the intersection of the northeasterly right-of-way of Preston Ridge Road(having a variable right-of-way), with the northwesterly right-of-way of North Point Parkway(having a 120 foot right-of-way) if the tangent of said right-of-way of Preston Ridge Road were projected to intersect with the projected arc of said right-of-way of North Point Parkway;

 

THENCE North 64 degrees 13 minutes 24 seconds West for a distance of 30.13 feet to a 1/2” rebar found on the Northerly right-of-way of Preston Ridge Road;

 

THENCE along the northerly right-of-way of Preston Ridge Road the following courses and distances;

 

THENCE North 64 degrees 13 minutes 24 seconds West for a distance of 82.78 feet to a 1/2” rebar found;

 

THENCE along a curve to the left having a radius of 560.87 feet and an arc length of 294.18 feet, being subtended by a chord of North 79 degrees 14 minutes 59 seconds West for a distance of 290.82 feet to a 1/2” rebar found;

 

THENCE South 85 degrees 43 minutes 27 seconds West for a distance of 243.38 feet to a 1/2” rebar found, said point being the POINT OF BEGINNING;

 

THENCE South 85 degrees 43 minutes 27 seconds West for a distance of 182.54 feet to a 1/2” rebar found;

 

THENCE along a curve to the left having a radius of 921.47 feet and an arc length of 381.95 feet, being subtended by a chord of South 73 degrees 50 minutes 59 seconds West for a distance of 379.22 feet to a 1/2” rebar found;

 

THENCE South 64 degrees 28 minutes 12 seconds West for a distance of 104.26 feet to a point;

 

THENCE North 16 degrees 14 minutes 08 seconds West for a distance of 442.21 feet leaving the northerly right-of-way of Preston Ridge Road to a point;

 

THENCE South 85 degrees 45 minutes 40 seconds West for a distance of 184.09 feet to a point;

 

THENCE North 03 degrees 46 minutes 46 seconds West for a distance of 345.98 feet to a point;

 

THENCE North 83 degrees 23 minutes 47 seconds East for a distance of 790.21 feet to 1/2” rebar found;

 

THENCE South 05 degrees 38 minutes 53 seconds East for a distance of 118.50 feet to a 1/2” rebar found;

 

THENCE South 44 degrees 28 minutes 48 seconds East for a distance of 203.17 feet to a 1/2” rebar found;

 

THENCE South 04 degrees 16 minutes 33 seconds East for a distance of 421.33 feet THE POINT OF BEGINNING

 

Said property contains 12.767 acres more or less.

 

1



 

EXHIBIT “H”

 

INSURANCE

 

1.                                       COMMERCIAL GENERAL LIABILITY POLICY (1986 or later edition)

 

General Liability Limits :

 

$

2,000,000

 

General Aggregate

$

2,000,000

 

Products and Completed 0perations

$

1,000,000

 

Personal and Advertising Injury

$

1,000,000

 

Each Occurrence

$

50,000

 

Fire Damage Limit (any one fire)

$

5,000

 

Medical Expense Limit (any one person)

 

Said policy shall have a commercially reasonable deductible or Self Insured Retention.

 

2.                                       UMBRELLA / EXCESS LIABILITY

 

General Limits :

 

$

1,000,000

 

Each Occurrence

$

1,000,000

 

General Aggregate

 

3.                                       WORKERS COMPENSATION

 

The policy must comply with all statutory requirements

 

Employer’s Liability :

 

$

100,000

 

Bodily injury by accident

$

500,000

 

Policy limit by disease

$

100,000

 

Bodily injury by disease each employee

 

4.                                       BUSINESS INTERRUPTION INSURANCE

 

This policy must equal to not less than twelve months of Rent payable by Tenant at the Premises pursuant to the terms of this Lease which insurance shall be issued on an “all risks” basis (or its equivalent).

 

5.                                       TENANT PROPERTY AND IMPROVEMENTS

 

The policy must cover all direct physical loss equal to 100% replacement cost of Tenant’s personal property, all improvements and alterations to the Premises, together with Tenant’s fixtures and equipment.

 

All of said policies shall: (i) name Landlord, Landlord’s agent and Childress Klein Properties, Inc., together with their respective affiliates, as additional insureds and insure Landlord’s contingent liability under this Lease (except for the worker’s compensation policy, which shall instead include a waiver of subrogation endorsement in favor of Landlord), (ii) be issued by an insurance company licensed to do business in the State of Georgia which is acceptable to Landlord and rated at least “A VIII” by A.M. Bests Rating Guide, and (iii) provide that said insurance shall not be canceled unless thirty (30) days prior written notice shall have been given to Landlord and Landlord’s property manager at the following address:                                                                                    .  Said policies or certificates thereof shall be delivered to Landlord and Landlord’s property manager by Tenant upon commencement of the term of the Lease and upon each renewal of said insurance.

 

1



 

EXHIBIT “I”

SPECIAL STIPULATIONS

 

Special Stipulation Number 1.                              Abatement of Rent.

 

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, Net Rent and Expense Stop Rent shall be conditionally abated from the period commencing on the Commencement Date and through and until the end of the 12 th full calendar month thereafter (“Rent Start Date”).  Commencing upon the Rent Start Date, Tenant shall make Net Rent and Expense Stop Rent payments as otherwise provided in the Lease.  Notwithstanding such abatement of Net Rent, Expense Stop Rent and all other sums due under the Lease, any increases in Net Rent and Expense Stop Rent set forth in the Lease shall occur on the dates scheduled therefor but the Tenant shall not be responsible for the payment of such increases until the Rent Start Date.  The abatement of Net Rent and Expense Stop Rent provided for in this provision is conditioned upon the Tenant not being in an Event of Default .  If at any time during the Term an Event of Default by Tenant occurs, then the abatement of Net Rent and Expense Stop Rent provided for in this provision shall be voided during the period while such Event of Default remains uncured, and during such period, Tenant shall pay to Landlord, in addition to all other amounts due to Landlord under this Lease, the full amount of all Net Rent and Expense Stop Rent which would have otherwise been due but for the abatement provided for in this Special Stipulation Number 1.  Under no circumstances shall Tenant be obligated to reimburse Landlord for previously abated Rent.

 

Special Stipulation Number 2.                              Option to Renew:

 

A.            Following the Commencement Date and thereafter during the Term (excluding any holdover period), so long as, both as of the exercise date and as of the first day of the Extended Term (as hereinafter defined), the Lease is in full force and effect (provided that Tenant’s exercise of its right to renew this Lease shall not be forfeited pursuant to Landlord’s actions rendering the Lease not in full force and effect) and, both as of the exercise date and the first day of the Extended Term, no Event of Default exists, Landlord hereby grants to Tenant two (2) options to extend the Term with respect to all but not any lesser portion of the Premises for successive periods of five (5) years each (each “Extended Term”), beginning immediately upon the expiration of the Term for the first Extended Term and beginning immediately upon the expiration of the first Extended Term for the second Extended Term, such options to be exercised by Tenant giving written notice of its exercise to Landlord in the manner provided in this Lease at least twelve months (12) months prior, but not more than fifteen (15) months prior, to the expiration of the Term for the first Extended Term and the expiration of the first Extended Term for the second Extended Term.  Time is of the essence with respect to the foregoing.  Tenant may not exercise the option for the second Extended Term unless it exercised the option for the first Extended Term.

 

B.              Net Rent for the Extended Term shall be ninety-five percent (95%) of the prevailing market rate (the “Prevailing Market Rate”) for net effective rental calculated on a per square foot basis for comparable renewal leases during the Extended Term covering the Building and comparable class A suburban office buildings comparable to the Building (as adjusted for any variances between such buildings and the Building and as adjusted for other relevant factors, including, but not limited to, size of space, location of space within the building, signage rights, age, location and quality of building, length of term, credit standing of tenant, tenant improvement contributions, leasing commissions and rent concessions) located in the immediate market area of the Building, not to exceed a three mile radius therefrom (hereinafter referred to as the “Market Area”).

 

C.              Landlord shall, within twenty (20) days after the receipt of Tenant’s notice of exercise, notify Tenant in writing of Landlord’s reasonable determination of the Prevailing Market Rate for the Premises for the Extended Term.  Thereafter, Tenant shall have ten (10) business days from its receipt of Landlord’s notice to notify Landlord in writing that Tenant does not agree with Landlord’s determination of the Prevailing Market Rate.  If Tenant fails to object as aforesaid, Landlord’s determination shall be deemed to be the Prevailing Market Rate for the Extended Term.  Upon receipt of Tenant’s objection, Landlord and Tenant shall meet for a period of ninety (90) additional days (the “Negotiation Period”) to negotiate the Prevailing Market Rate, with each acting in good faith.  If such negotiations are successful, the rate so negotiated by the parties will be deemed to be the Prevailing Market Rate for the Extended Term.  If such negotiations are not successful, the Prevailing Market Rate will be determined in accordance with the following arbitration procedure:

 

Within five (5) days after the expiration of the Negotiation Period, Tenant shall notify Landlord of Tenant’s selection of a real estate broker who shall act on Tenant’s behalf in determining the Prevailing Market Rate.  Within five (5) days after Tenant delivers its notice to Landlord as set forth above, Landlord shall notify Tenant of Landlord’s selection of a real estate broker who shall act on Landlord behalf in determining the Prevailing Market Rate.  Within twenty (20) days after the selection of Tenant’s and Landlord’s broker, the two (2) brokers shall render a joint written determination of the Prevailing Market Rate, which joint determination shall be final, conclusive and binding for the Extended Term.  If the two (2) brokers are unable to agree upon a joint written determination within said twenty (20) day period, the two brokers shall select a third broker within such twenty (20) day period and shall each submit a determination of the Prevailing Market Rate to such third broker.  In the event the two brokers cannot agree on a third, Landlord or Tenant may request that the local chapter of the Board of Realtors appoint a party to act as the third broker.  Within ten (10) days after the appointment of the third broker, the third broker shall render a written determination of the Prevailing Market Rate, which must be either the Landlord’s broker’s determination as submitted or the Tenant’s broker’s determination as submitted, but no other amount and no compromise between the two, with the third broker’s determination being final, conclusive and binding on both parties.  All brokers selected or appointed in accordance with this subparagraph shall have at least ten (10) years prior experience in the commercial office leasing market of the Market Area.  If either Landlord or Tenant fails or refuses to select a broker, the other broker shall alone determine the Prevailing Market Rate.  Landlord and Tenant agree that they shall be bound by the determination of Prevailing Market Rate pursuant to this paragraph.  Landlord shall bear the fee and expenses of its broker; Tenant shall bear the fee and expenses of its broker; and Landlord and Tenant shall share equally the fee and expenses of the third broker, if any.

 



 

D.  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, in the event the Prevailing Market Rate determined in accordance with subsection C above is less than the rate payable upon the expiration of the initial Term (or the first Extended Term, as applicable) of the Lease, the Prevailing Market Rate will be automatically adjusted to be the annual Net Rent in effect during the last year of the Term subject to the same rate of escalation as was in place during the initial Term (or the first Extended Term, as applicable).  The Prevailing Market Rate determined in accordance with this Special Stipulation Number 2 shall be final, binding and conclusive upon the parties and such determination shall not be subject to dispute or challenge in court or otherwise.

 

E.               Except for the Net Rent, which shall be determined as set forth above, leasing of the Premises by Tenant for the Extended Term shall be subject to all of the same terms and conditions set forth in this Lease, including, but not limited to, the same Expense Stop; provided, however, that any construction provisions, improvement allowances, rent abatements or other concessions applicable to the Premises during the initial Term shall not be applicable during the Extended Term (unless otherwise mutually acceptable to both Landlord and Tenant in the sole discretion of each at the time Tenant exercises its option to extend).  Landlord and Tenant shall enter into an amendment to this Lease to evidence Tenant’s exercise of this extension option.  If this Lease is guaranteed now or at any time in the future, Tenant simultaneously shall deliver to Landlord an original, signed reaffirmation of each guarantor’s guaranty, in form and substance acceptable to Landlord.

 

F.               These options to extend the Term are personal to Neenah Corporation, a Delaware corporation, may not be exercised by any party other than Neenah Corporation, a Delaware corporation or a Permitted Affiliate or Permitted Successor and shall become null and void upon the occurrence of an assignment of the Lease or a sublet of all or a part of the Premises.

 

Special Stipulation Number 3.  Right of Refusal.

 

A.  Following the Commencement Date and thereafter during the initial Term (excluding any Extended Terms or holdover period), so long as the Lease is in full force and effect (provided that Tenant’s Right of Refusal shall not be forfeited pursuant to Landlord’s actions rendering the Lease not in full force and effect) and both at the time of Landlord’s Offer (as hereinafter defined) and as of the effective date of the expansion to include the Refusal Space (as hereinafter defined) if applicable, no Event of Default exists, Landlord hereby grants to Tenant a Right of Refusal (the “Right of Refusal”) to expand the Premises to include additional space subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein.

 

B.  After Landlord has received a “bona-fide” offer to lease space (the “Refusal Space”) which is limited to space on the fifth (5th) floor of the Building by a third party prospective tenant (as determined by Landlord) and which Landlord is willing to accept in its sole discretion (the “Third Party Offer”), Landlord shall not lease to such third party tenant the Refusal Space without first offering (the “Offer”) Tenant the right to lease such Refusal Space as set forth herein.  As used herein, a “bona-fide” offer to lease space shall mean a signed written offer (by Tenant or Tenant’s representative) to lease any portion of the Refusal Space to a third party, setting forth all of the material terms of such proposed lease, and which the Landlord tends to accept, but shall not include any proposed assignment, sublease or re-let of all or any portion of the Refusal Space by renewal, extension, or renegotiation by either (i) a current tenant existing as of the date hereof currently occupying any of the Refusal Space, or (ii) a future tenant arising in the event that Landlord leases any or all of the Refusal Space to such tenant following Tenant’s decline or failure to exercise this Right of Refusal with respect to such Refusal Space.

 

C.  The Offer shall contain (i) all terms and conditions of the Third Party Offer; (ii) the date on which Landlord expects the Refusal Space to become available; (iii) the increase in Tenant’s operating expense percentage, and (iv) such other provisions as Landlord may reasonably include (collectively, the “Proposed Terms”) and which have been agreed to in writing by the proposed third party tenant.  Upon receipt of the Offer, Tenant shall have the right, for a period of ten (10) business days after receipt of the Offer, to exercise the Right of Refusal by giving Landlord written notice that Tenant desires to lease the Refusal Space upon the same terms and conditions contained in this Lease (as modified by the Offer); provided, however, that any construction provisions, improvement allowances, rent abatements (such as that granted in Special Stipulation Number 1 but excluding abatements applicable for casualties or service interruptions) or other concessions applicable to the Premises shall not be applicable to the Refusal Space unless expressly included in the Offer.  Time is of the essence with respect to the foregoing.  The term of the Lease with respect to the Refusal Space shall be coterminous with the Term of the Lease, unless otherwise provided in the Offer.

 

D.  If, within such ten (10) business day period, Tenant exercises the Right of Refusal, then Landlord and Tenant shall amend the Lease within an additional ten (10) business day period (provided however that such 10 day period shall be extended for such longer period so long as Tenant is diligently negotiating the amendment, but in no event shall such time period exceed thirty (30) days) to include the Refusal Space subject to the same terms and conditions as the Lease, as modified by the terms and conditions of the Offer; provided, however, that any construction provisions, improvement allowances, rent abatements (as provided and qualified above) or other concessions applicable to the Premises shall not be applicable to the Refusal Space unless expressly included in the Offer.  If this Lease is guaranteed now or at anytime in the future, and such Guaranty is still in effect at the time of the effective date of Tenant’s lease of the Refusal Space, Tenant simultaneously shall deliver to Landlord an original, signed, and notarized reaffirmation of each Guarantor’s personal guaranty, in form and substance acceptable to Landlord.

 

E.  If, within such ten (10) business day period, Tenant declines or fails to exercise the Right of Refusal or within the additional ten (10) business day period provided above (as same may be extended as provided above), Tenant fails to sign an amendment to include the Refusal Space, Landlord shall then have the right to lease the Refusal Space to the third party that was subject to the Offer provided that the financial terms thereof are not materially more favorable than the financial terms of the Proposed Terms offered to Tenant (if such standard is not met, the provisions hereof will again be triggered requiring Landlord to deliver a notice of the Proposed Terms as modified by such materially more favorable financial terms whereupon the offer and response process described herein shall begin again).  Financial terms and conditions that in Landlord’s reasonable discretion are less than ninety percent (90%) of the financial terms offered to Tenant as part of the Proposed Terms shall be considered to be “materially more favorable” for purposes of this Right of Refusal.  If Tenant so declines or so fails to exercise, this Right of Refusal shall terminate and be of no further force and effect until such time as Landlord has received another Third Party Offer  to lease any of the Refusal Space.

 

F.  This Right of Refusal is personal to Neenah Corporation, a Delaware corporation, may not be exercised by any party other than Neenah Corporation, a Delaware corporation  or a Permitted Affiliate or Permitted Successor and shall become null and void upon the occurrence of an assignment of the Lease or a sublet of all or a part of the Premises.

 



 

EXHIBIT J

ARBITRATION

 

Whenever in Section 19(d) of the Lease it is provided that a dispute may be resolved by arbitration, the arbitration shall be conducted in Atlanta, Georgia, as provided in this Exhibit J.  The party desiring such arbitration shall give written notice thereof to the other specifying the dispute to be arbitrated.  Within ten (10) days after the date on which the arbitration procedure is invoked as provided in this Lease, each party shall appoint an experienced arbitrator and notify the other party of the arbitrator’s name and address.  The two arbitrators so appointed shall appoint a third experienced arbitrator.  If the three arbitrators to be so appointed are not appointed within twenty (20) days after the date the arbitration procedure is invoked as provided in this Lease, then the arbitrator or arbitrators, if any, who have been selected shall proceed to carry out the arbitration.  The arbitrator(s) selected shall furnish Landlord and Tenant with a written decision within ten (10) days after the date of selection of the last of the arbitrators to be so selected. Any decision so submitted shall be signed by a majority of the arbitrators, if more than two have been selected.  If only two arbitrators have been selected and they are unable to agree, then either Landlord or Tenant shall be entitled to apply to the presiding judge of the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia (“Court”) for the selection of a third arbitrator who shall be selected from a list of names of experienced arbitrators submitted by Landlord or from a list of names so submitted by Tenant, as the case may be, unless both Landlord and Tenant submit lists of names, in which case the Court, in its sole discretion, shall select the arbitrator from the lists.  In designating arbitrators and in deciding the dispute, the arbitrators shall act in accordance with the Commercial Rules of Arbitration and the Real Estate Valuation Arbitration Rules then in force of the American Arbitration Association, subject, however, to such limitations as may be placed on them by the provisions of this Lease.  The decision of the arbitrators shall be final and binding upon the parties, and judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrators may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.

 

 The obligation of Landlord and Tenant to submit a dispute to arbitration is limited to disputes arising under Section 19(d) of the Lease which specifically permits arbitration.  Neither party shall be in default under the Lease with respect to any provision hereof during the time period commencing as of the date the arbitration procedure hereunder is invoked and ending on the date of resolution by the arbitrators; provided, however, that during said period each party shall continue to make all payments of money required by this Lease and shall otherwise perform all duties and obligations to be performed by such party under this Lease and, with respect to the issue under arbitration, shall maintain the status quo.

 



 

EXHIBIT “K”

SNDA

 

This instrument was prepared by

and upon recordation should be

returned to:

 

 

 

SUBORDINATION, NON-DISTURBANCE & ATTORNMENT AGREEMENT

 

THIS SUBORDINATION, NON-DISTURBANCE & ATTORNMENT AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) made and entered into this              day of                             , 19        , by and among                                                   ,  a                                                         , whose mailing address is                                                                                      (the “Landlord”),                                                 , a                                                 , whose mailing address is                                                                                            (the “Tenant”), and STATE FARM LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY , an Illinois corporation, whose mailing address is One State Farm Plaza, Bloomington, Illinois  61710 (“State Farm”);

 

WITNESSETH:

 

WHEREAS, Landlord and Tenant have heretofore entered into a certain lease (the “Lease”) dated                                   , 19           with respect to and governing the terms of Tenant’s use and occupancy of all or a portion of certain real estate and improvements legally described on Exhibit A attached hereto and made a part hereof (the “Premises”) ; and

 

WHEREAS, State Farm, in connection with its loan to Landlord in the principal amount of                      (the “Loan”), which is secured by a Mortgage and Security Agreement executed by Landlord to and in favor of State Farm (the “Mortgage”) constituting a first lien upon and encumbering the Premises, and further secured by an Assignment of Rents and Leases executed by Landlord to and in favor of State Farm (the “Assignment of Rents and Leases”) assigning to State Farm all leases of and all rents derived from the Premises, has required the execution of this Agreement.

 

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants and agreements herein contained, and in consideration of the sum of One Dollar ($1.00) by each of the parties hereto paid to the other, receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto do hereby covenant, stipulate and agree as follows:

 

1.                                        The Lease, and any and all modifications thereof and amendments thereto, all of Tenant’s rights thereunder and Tenant’s leasehold interest and estate in the Premises shall be and are hereby made junior, inferior, subordinate and subject in all respects to the lien and encumbrance of the Mortgage on the Premises and to the lien and encumbrance of all renewals, modifications, consolidations, replacements and extensions of the Mortgage, to the full extent of the principal sum secured thereby, all interest thereon and all other sums due or hereafter becoming due thereunder.

 

2.                                        Tenant agrees that it shall promptly deliver or mail to State Farm a copy of each written notice given by Tenant to Landlord of a default by the Landlord under the Lease.  Tenant further agrees that if, within the time provided in the Lease to cure defaults thereunder, State Farm, at its option, shall elect to perform or cause to be performed the obligations with respect to which Landlord is in default under the Lease, as specified in such written notice, any right of Tenant to terminate the Lease by reason or on account of such default of Landlord shall cease and be null and void.

 

3.                                        Tenant is advised and hereby acknowledges that the Mortgage, Assignment of Rents and Leases and other documents which evidence and secure the Loan (collectively the “Loan Documents”) grant and provide to State Farm the right to collect rents and other sums payable under the Lease (collectively, the “Rents”) directly from Tenant upon the occurrence of an Event of  Default by Landlord under the Loan Documents; Landlord and Tenant hereby agree that upon Tenant’s receipt from State Farm of written notice of the occurrence of any Event of Default by Landlord under the Loan Documents, Tenant shall thereafter pay all Rents directly to State Farm (or as State Farm shall direct). Landlord joins in this Agreement to confirm to Tenant that payment of rents in such fashion is consented to and approved for all purposes under the Lease, and that payment by Tenant to Lender instead of Landlord shall not result in or be construed to be a default under the Lease.

 

4.                                        State Farm agrees that in the event it should become necessary for State Farm to foreclose the Mortgage, and provided that Tenant is not in default of its obligations under the Lease, Tenant shall be entitled to continue in possession of the Premises undisturbed.  State Farm further agrees that unless required by law, State Farm will not join Tenant as a defendant in any such foreclosure proceedings, and if such joinder is required by law, State Farm will not seek to terminate the Lease or Tenant’s possession of the Premises.

 

5.                                        It is further agreed that in the event State Farm should succeed to the interest of the Landlord under the Lease, State Farm agrees to be bound to the Tenant under the Lease.  The Tenant agrees from and after such event to attorn to State Farm. From the date of acquisition, Tenant shall have the same rights and remedies against and obligations to State Farm that Tenant has against and to

 



 

the prior Landlord for any default that is in existence and continues beyond the date of acquisition (a “Continuing Default”).  However, State Farm shall not be:

 

(a)                                   liable for the consequences of any act or omission of the prior Landlord that occurred prior to State Farm’s acquisition, except with regard to a Continuing Default;

 

(b)                                  subject to any offsets or defenses which the Tenant might have against the prior Landlord, for acts, omissions, or defaults which occurred prior to State Farm’s acquisition, except with regard to a Continuing Default;

 

(c)                                   bound by any rent or additional rent which the Tenant might have paid in advance for more than one month;

 

(d)                                  bound by any amendment or modification of the Lease made after the date of this Agreement without State Farm’s prior written consent; or

 

(e)                                   liable for any security deposit, unless actually received by State Farm from the prior Landlord.

 

6.                                        Tenant agrees that notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, in the Lease or in any other instrument, any interest of the Tenant in or under any option to purchase or right of first refusal to purchase the property of which the Premises are a part of, or with respect to all or any part of the Premises is hereby specifically subordinated to the rights of State Farm under the Mortgage and other Loan Documents and such option to purchase or right of the first refusal shall not be binding upon State Farm, its successors and assigns.

 

7.                                        This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and shall also bind and benefit the heirs, legal representatives, successors and assigns of the respective parties hereto, and all covenants, conditions and agreements herein contained shall be construed as running with the title to the land comprising the Premises.

 

8.                                        Landlord and Tenant hereby waive to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the right to trial by jury in any action, proceeding or counterclaim filed by any party, whether in contract, tort or otherwise relating directly or indirectly to this Agreement or any acts or omissions of the Landlord and Tenant in connection therewith or contemplated thereby.

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused these presents to be executed as of the day and year first above written.

 

 

[Witnesses, if required]

 

[Signature block for Landlord]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Witnesses, if required]

 

[Signature block for Tenant]

 



 

[Witnesses, if required]

STATE FARM LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY,

 

 

an Illinois corporation

 

 

By:

 

 

 

 

Its:

 

 

 

 

By:

 

 

 

 

Its:

 

 

 

 

Address:

 

 

One State Farm Plaza

 

 

Bloomington, Illinois 61710

 

 

Corporate Law-Investments E-8

 

 

Attn: (Name of Attorney)

 

[Appropriate Acknowledgments for each of

 

 

Landlord, Tenant and State Farm

 

 

sufficient for recording purposes]

 


Exhibit 10.4

 

INDUSTRIAL

LEASE AGREEMENT

 

 

THIS INDUSTRIAL LEASE AGREEMENT (this “Lease”) is executed as of this 8 th day of October, 2004, by and between DUKE REALTY LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, an Indiana limited partnership (“Landlord”), and NEENAH PAPER, INC., a Delaware corporation (“Tenant”).

 

WITNESSETH:

 

ARTICLE 1 - LEASE OF PREMISES

 

Section 1.01 Basic Lease Provisions and Definitions .

 

(a)                                   Leased Premises (shown outlined in Exhibit A hereto):  Suite B of the building (the “Building”) located at 655 Hembree Park Drive, Roswell, Georgia 30076, within Hembree Park (the “Park”).

 

(b)                                  Rentable Area:  approximately 14,189 rentable square feet.

 

(c)                                   Tenant’s Proportionate Share:  32.30%.

 

(d)                                  Minimum Annual Rent:

 

Year 1

 

$

46,114.25

 

Year 2

 

$

92,228.50

 

Year 3

 

$

92,228.50

 

Year 4

 

$

92,228.50

 

Year 5

 

$

92,228.50

 

Year 6

 

$

103,295.92

 

Year 7

 

$

103,295.92

 

Year 8

 

$

103,295.92

 

Year 9

 

$

103,295.92

 

Year 10

 

$

77,471.91

 

 

(e)                                   Monthly Rental Installments:

 

Months 1 – 6

 

$

0.00

 

Months 7 – 12

 

$

7,685.71

 

Months 13 – 24

 

$

7,685.71

 

Months 25 – 36

 

$

7,685.71

 

Months 37 – 48

 

$

7,685.71

 

Months 49 – 60

 

$

7,685.71

 

Months 61 – 72

 

$

8,607.99

 

Months 73 – 84

 

$

8,607.99

 

Months 85 – 96

 

$

8,607.99

 

Months 97 – 108

 

$

8,607.99

 

Months 109 – 117

 

$

8,607.99

 

 

(f)                                     Base Year:  2005.

 

(g)                                  Commencement Date:  December 1, 2004, subject to possible extension pursuant to Special Stipulation 1(b) of Exhibit B to the Lease.

 

(h)                                  Lease Term:  Nine (9) years and nine (9) months.

 

(i)                                      Security Deposit:  $25,823.97.

 

(j)                                      Broker(s):  Duke Realty Services Limited Partnership representing Landlord and Carter & Associates, L.L.C. representing Tenant.

 

(k)                                   Permitted Use:  Warehousing, research and development of paper and pulp products and related laboratory uses, and office and administrative uses reasonably ancillary thereto.

 

(l)                                      Address for notices and payments are as follows:

 



 

Landlord:

Duke Realty Limited Partnership

 

c/o Duke Realty Corporation

 

Attn.: Atlanta Market – Senior Property Manager

 

3950 Shackleford Road, Suite 300

 

Duluth, Georgia 30096

 

 

With Rental Payments to:

Duke Realty Limited Partnership

 

75 Remittance Drive, Suite 3205

 

Chicago, IL 60675-3205

 

 

Tenant:

Neenah Paper, Inc.

 

c/o General Counsel

 

Preston Ridge III, Suite 600

 

3460 Preston Ridge Road

 

Alpharetta, Georgia 30302

 

 

With a copy to:

Kimberly-Clark Corporation

 

c/o John Wesley

 

351 Phelps Drive

 

Irving, Texas 75038

(provided, however, a copy to Kimberly-Clark Corporation shall only be required for so long as the Guaranty (as hereinafter defined) is in effect)

 

(m)                                Guarantor(s):  Kimberly-Clark Corporation.

 

EXHIBITS

 

Exhibit A:

Leased Premises

Exhibit B:

Tenant Improvements

Exhibit B-1:

Preliminary Plans

Exhibit B-2:

Compliance Work

Exhibit C:

Letter of Understanding

Exhibit D:

Rules and Regulations

Exhibit E:

Special Stipulations

Exhibit F:

Form of Unconditional Guaranty of Lease

Exhibit G:

Parking Area

 

Section 1.02 Lease of Leased Premises .  Landlord hereby leases to Tenant and Tenant hereby leases from Landlord the Leased Premises, under the terms and conditions herein, together with a non-exclusive right, in common with others, to use the following (collectively, the “Common Areas”): the areas of the Building and the underlying land and improvements thereto that are designed for use in common by all tenants of the Building and their respective employees, agents, customers, invitees and others, including the parking areas and access drives.

 

ARTICLE 2 - TERM AND POSSESSION

 

Section 2.01 Term .  The Commencement Date and Lease Term shall be as set forth in Sections 1.01(g) and 1.01(h) above.

 

Section 2.02 Construction of Tenant Improvements .  Tenant shall construct and install all leasehold improvements to the Leased Premises (collectively, the “Tenant Improvements”) in accordance with Exhibit B attached hereto and made a part hereof.

 

Section 2.03 Surrender of the Leased Premises .  Upon the expiration or earlier termination of this Lease (and except as otherwise expressly set forth in the Lease), Tenant shall, at its sole cost and expense, immediately (a) surrender the Leased Premises to Landlord in broom-clean condition and in good order, condition and repair, normal wear and tear, damage by fire and other casualty excepted, (b) remove from the Leased Premises (i) Tenant’s Property (as defined in Section 8.01 below), (ii) all phone and data wiring and cabling (including above ceiling, below raised floors and behind walls) installed by or on behalf of Tenant or otherwise used by Tenant, and (iii) any alterations required to be removed pursuant to Section 7.03 below, and (c) repair any damage caused by any such removal.  All of Tenant’s Property that is not removed within ten (10) days following Landlord’s written demand therefor shall be conclusively deemed to have been abandoned and Landlord shall be entitled to dispose of such property at Tenant’s cost without incurring any liability to Tenant.  Notwithstanding clause (b)(ii) above, at Landlord’s option, in lieu of removing such wiring and cabling, Tenant shall leave such wiring and

 

2



 

cabling in good and usable condition for the next tenant’s use of the Leased Premises, legibly tagged for future use.  This Section 2.03 shall survive the expiration or any earlier termination of this Lease.

 

Section 2.04 Holding Over .  If Tenant retains possession of the Leased Premises after the expiration or earlier termination of this Lease, Tenant shall be a tenant at sufferance at one hundred fifty percent (150%) of the Monthly Rental Installments and Additional Rent (as hereinafter defined) for the Leased Premises in effect upon the date of such expiration or earlier termination, and otherwise upon the terms, covenants and conditions herein specified, so far as applicable.  Acceptance by Landlord of rent after such expiration or earlier termination shall not result in a renewal of this Lease, nor shall such acceptance create a month-to-month tenancy.  In the event a month-to-month tenancy is created by operation of law, either party shall have the right to terminate such month-to-month tenancy upon thirty (30) days’ prior written notice to the other, whether or not said notice is given on the rent paying date.  This Section 2.04 shall in no way constitute a consent by Landlord to any holding over by Tenant upon the expiration or earlier termination of this Lease, nor limit Landlord’s remedies in such event.

 

ARTICLE 3 - RENT

 

Section 3.01 Base Rent .  Tenant shall pay to Landlord the Minimum Annual Rent in the Monthly Rental Installments, in advance, without demand and without abatement, deduction or offset, except as otherwise expressly provided herein, beginning on the Commencement Date and on or before the first day of each and every calendar month thereafter during the Lease Term.  The Monthly Rental Installments for partial calendar months shall be prorated based on the number of days in such month.

 

Section 3.02 Additional Rent .

 

(a)                                   Any amount required to be paid by Tenant hereunder (in addition to Minimum Annual Rent) and any charges or expenses incurred by Landlord on behalf of Tenant under the terms of this Lease shall be considered “Additional Rent” payable in the same manner and upon the same terms and conditions as the Minimum Annual Rent reserved hereunder except as set forth herein to the contrary.  Any failure on the part of Tenant to pay such Additional Rent when and as the same shall become due shall entitle Landlord to the remedies available to it for non-payment of Minimum Annual Rent.

 

(b)                                  In addition to the Minimum Annual Rent, Tenant shall pay to Landlord for each calendar year during the Lease Term, as Additional Rent, Tenant’s Proportionate Share of all costs and expenses incurred by Landlord during the Lease Term for Operating Expenses (as hereinafter defined) for the Building and Common Areas.  Said Operating Expenses are estimated to be $1.00 per rentable square foot for calendar year 2004.  Tenant acknowledges that said amount is only an estimate and agrees to reimburse Landlord for the actual Operating Expenses under the Lease in accordance with this Section 3.02(b) .  Notwithstanding the foregoing, Tenant’s Proportionate Share of Operating Expenses for the first six (6) months following the Commencement Date shall be $0.00.

 

(c)                                   In addition to the Minimum Annual Rent and Tenant’s share of Operating Expenses, Tenant shall pay to Landlord for each calendar year during the Lease Term, as Additional Rent, Tenant’s Proportionate Share of (i) any increase in Insurance Premiums (as herein defined) over the base amount paid by Landlord in the Base Year; and (ii) the amount by which all Real Estate Taxes (as herein defined) for each tax year exceeds all Real Estate Taxes for the Base Year.  All Additional Rent payable by Tenant pursuant to Section 3.02(b) above and this Section 3.02(c) shall be referred to herein, collectively, as the “TICAM Charges”.

 

(d)                                  For purposes of this Lease, “Operating Expenses” shall mean the amount of all of Landlord’s costs and expenses paid or incurred in operating, repairing, replacing and maintaining the Building and the Common Areas in good condition and repair for a particular calendar year (including all additional costs and expenses that Landlord reasonably determines that it would have paid or incurred during such year if the Building had been fully occupied; provided, however, that any such “grossing up” shall be done in accordance with generally accepted accounting principals), including by way of illustration and not limitation, the following: insurance deductibles; water, sewer, electrical and other utility charges other than the separately billed electrical and other charges paid by Tenant as provided in this Lease (or other tenants in the Building); painting; stormwater discharge fees; tools and supplies; repair costs not attributable to a particular tenant’s premises; landscape maintenance costs; access patrols; license, permit and inspection fees; management fees (not to exceed 4% of gross rent for the Building); supplies, costs, wages and related employee benefits payable for the management, maintenance and operation of the Building; maintenance, repair and replacement of the driveways, parking areas, curbs and sidewalk areas (including snow and ice removal), landscaped areas, drainage strips, sewer lines, gutters and lighting; and dues, fees and assessments incurred under any covenants or charged by any owners association.  The cost of any Operating Expenses that are capital in nature shall be amortized

 

3



 

over the useful life of the improvement (as reasonably determined by Landlord), and only the amortized portion shall be included in Operating Expenses.   Notwithstanding the foregoing, Operating Expenses shall not include the following:

 

(i)                                      advertising and promotional expenditures;

 

(ii)                                   leasing commissions, finders’ fees, brokerage fees and similar fees, and costs incurred with the negotiation or enforcement of leases (other than management fees);

 

(iii)                                rent under any ground leases;

 

(iv)                               costs of furnishing services to other tenants or occupants to the extent that such services are materially in excess of services Landlord offers to all tenants at Landlord’s expense;

 

(v)                                  lease takeover costs incurred by Landlord in connection with new leases at the Building;

 

(vi)                               costs and expenses of the sale of all or any portion of the Building or Common Areas;

 

(vii)                            amounts actually received by Landlord through the proceeds of insurance to the extent the proceeds are compensation for expenses which were previously included in Operating Expenses;

 

(viii)                         costs incurred by Landlord with respect to repairs, goods, and services (including utilities sold and supplied to tenants and occupants of the Building) to the extent that Landlord is reimbursed for such costs or provides the same selectively to one or more tenants;

 

(ix)                                 costs incurred by Landlord due to the violation by Landlord of the terms and conditions of any lease of space in the Building, any loan documents, or ground leases;

 

(x)                                    interest, points and fees on debt or amortization or for any mortgage or mortgages encumbering the Building or Common Areas, or any part thereof, and all principal, escrow deposits and other sums paid on or in respect to any indebtedness (whether or not secured by a mortgage lien) and on any equity participations of any lender or lessor, and all costs incurred in connection with any financing, refinancing or syndication of the Building or Common Areas, or any part thereof;

 

(xi)                                 depreciation and amortization;

 

(xii)                              the costs of the original construction of the Building;

 

(xiii)                           salaries, fringe benefits and other compensation for personnel not directly involved in the operation or management of the Building;

 

(xiv)                          costs and expenses of the sale of all or a portion of the Building or Common Areas;

 

(xv)                             costs (including permit, license, and inspection fees) for performing tenant installations for any individual tenant or for performing work or furnishing services to or for individual tenants at such tenant’s expense and any other contribution by Landlord to the cost of tenant improvements and any costs or expenses incurred in the procurement of tenants for the Building;

 

(xvi)                          costs incurred by Landlord in discharging its obligations under the Lease that expressly are to be discharged at Landlord’s sole cost and expense;

 

(xvii)                       costs incurred in operation of any private club, now or in the future, located within the Park and expenses incurred by Landlord, if any, in connection with the operation, cleaning, repair, safety, management security, maintenance or other services of any kind provided in any portions of the Buildings that are leased or designed to be used for retail, garage or third-party storage purposes;

 

(xviii)                    costs incurred for repairs or maintenance that are covered by warranties, guarantees or service contracts or condemnation proceeds to the extent that Landlord is actually reimbursed under such warranties, guaranties, service contracts, or condemnation proceeds;

 

4



 

(xix)                            except for making repairs or keeping permanent systems in operation while repairs are being made, rentals and other related expenses incurred in leasing equipment ordinarily considered to be of a capital nature, except equipment not affixed to the Building that is used in providing janitorial or similar services;

 

(xx)                               repairs, alterations, and general maintenance necessitated by the negligence or willful misconduct of Landlord not otherwise waived by Tenant pursuant to Section 8.06 below or any other provision of this Lease; and

 

(xxi)                            costs to replace (but not maintain and repair) the truck court or parking area for the Building.

 

(e)            For purposes of this Lease, “Real Estate Taxes” shall include any form of real estate tax or assessment or service payments in lieu thereof, and any license fee, commercial rental tax, improvement bond or other similar charge or tax (other than inheritance, personal income or estate taxes) imposed upon the Building or the Common Areas (or against Landlord’s business of leasing the Building) by any authority having the power to so charge or tax, together with reasonable costs and expenses of contesting the validity or amount of Real Estate Taxes.  Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, Real Estate Taxes shall not include income, franchise, transfer, inheritance, capital stock, estate, profit, gift, gross receipts or succession taxes.  Additionally, Tenant shall pay, prior to delinquency, all taxes assessed against and levied upon trade fixtures, furnishings, equipment and all personal property of Tenant contained in the Leased Premises.

 

(f)                                     For purposes of this Lease, “Insurance Premiums” shall include insurance premiums for insurance coverage on the Building or Common Areas and shall include all fire and extended coverage insurance on the Building and all liability insurance coverage on the Common Areas of the Building, and the grounds, sidewalks, driveways and parking areas related thereto, together with such other insurance coverages, including, but not limited to, rent interruption insurance, as are from time to time obtained by Landlord.

 

Section 3.03 Payment of Additional Rent .

 

(a)                                   Landlord shall estimate the total amount of Additional Rent to be paid by Tenant during each calendar year of the Lease Term, pro-rated for any partial years.  Commencing on the Commencement Date, Tenant shall pay to Landlord each month, at the same time the Monthly Rental Installments are due, an amount equal to one-twelfth (1/12 th ) of the estimated Additional Rent for such year.  Within a reasonable time after the end of each calendar year, but in no event later than one hundred twenty (120) days following the end of such calendar year, Landlord shall submit to Tenant a statement (the “Statement”) of the actual amount of such Additional Rent, which statement shall contain a reasonable breakdown of the Additional Rent by categories of expense, and within thirty (30) days after receipt of such statement, Tenant shall pay any deficiency between the actual amount owed and the estimates paid during such calendar year.  In the event of overpayment, Landlord shall credit the amount of such overpayment toward the next installments of Minimum Annual Rent.

 

(b)                                  Within thirty (30) days following Tenant’s receipt of the Statement and provided that Tenant is not then in default of this Lease, Tenant may contest the Statement by providing written notice thereof (the “Contest Notice”) to Landlord; provided, however, that Tenant shall be required to pay all Additional Rent during the period of such contest.  If Tenant timely contests the Statement, Tenant shall have the right to inspect and examine, at reasonable times during normal business hours, Landlord’s books of account and records pertaining to the Operating Expenses, Real Estate Taxes and Insurance Premiums, all at Tenant’s sole cost and expense subject to reimbursement by Landlord as set forth below.  Such inspection shall be conducted at Landlord’s offices where such records are kept within thirty (30) days after the date of Tenant’s delivery of the Contest Notice or at such other time as agreed in writing by both parties.  Such inspection shall be conducted by a certified public accountant retained by Tenant, at its expense, subject to reimbursement by Landlord as set forth below.  Landlord and/or Landlord’s Building manager shall cooperate reasonably with Tenant and/or Tenant’s representatives with respect to any such specific inquiries or questions and with respect to the conduct of such inspection.  Tenant shall notify Landlord of the results of such inspection in writing.  Landlord may have an agent or employee present during such inspection.  If Landlord and Tenant agree that Landlord’s calculation of Tenant’s Proportionate Share of Operating Expenses, Real Estate Taxes and Insurance Premiums for the inspected calendar year was incorrect, the parties shall enter into a written agreement confirming such error and then, and only then, Tenant shall be entitled to a credit against future Minimum Annual Rent for said overpayment (or a refund of any overpayment if the Lease Term has expired) or Tenant shall pay to Landlord the amount of any underpayment, as the case may be.

 

5



 

(c)                                   If, following Tenant’s inspection of Landlord’s books of account and records pursuant to subsection (b) above, Landlord and Tenant fail to agree on Landlord’s calculation of Tenant’s Proportionate Share of Operating Expenses, Real Estate Taxes, and Insurance Premiums, Landlord and Tenant shall use good faith efforts to try to resolve the issue.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, however, if Landlord and Tenant fail to resolve the issue within thirty (30) days following such inspection by Tenant, either party may, by delivery of written notice to the other party (the “Operating Expenses Arbitration Notice”), elect to resolve the issue through arbitration.  If either party delivers an Operating Expenses Arbitration Notice, then each of Landlord and Tenant shall, within ten (10) days thereafter, select an arbitrator to resolve the issue.  Each arbitrator so selected shall be an accountant, unaffiliated with Landlord or Tenant, specializing in real estate matters, with at least ten years prior experience in the metropolitan area in which the Leased Premises are located and with a working knowledge of current operating expense pass-through practices.  Upon selection, the parties’ arbitrators shall work together in good faith to resolve the issue.  The determination of such arbitrators shall be binding on both Landlord and Tenant.  If the two arbitrators cannot agree within twenty (20) days after their appointment, then, within ten (10) days after the expiration of such twenty (20) day period, the two arbitrators shall select a third arbitrator meeting the above criteria.  Once the third arbitrator has been selected as provided for above, then such third arbitrator shall within ten (10) days after appointment make its determination of which of the arbitrators’ two determinations is correct, and such determination shall be binding on both Landlord and Tenant, thereby establishing the Additional Rent for the applicable calendar year.  Following such determination by the arbitrators, Tenant shall be entitled to a credit against future Monthly Rental Installment(s) for said overpayment (or a refund of any overpayment if the Lease Term has expired) or Tenant shall pay to Landlord the amount of any underpayment, as the case may be.  Each party shall pay for its own arbitrator and shall share equally in the costs of the third arbitrator, if applicable.

 

(d)                                  If Tenant’s inspection proves that Landlord’s calculation of Tenant’s Proportionate Share of Operating Expenses, Real Estate Taxes and Insurance Premiums for the inspected calendar year resulted in an overpayment by more than five percent (5%) of Tenant’s share, Landlord shall also pay the reasonable fees and expenses of Tenant’s independent professionals, if any, conducting said inspection.  All of the information obtained through Tenant’s inspection with respect to financial matters (including, without limitation, costs, expenses and income) and any other matters pertaining to Landlord, the Leased Premises, the Building and/or the Park as well as any compromise, settlement or adjustment reached between Landlord and Tenant relative to the results of the inspection shall be held in strict confidence by Tenant and its officers, agents, and employees; and Tenant shall cause its independent professionals to be similarly bound.  The obligations within the preceding sentence shall survive the expiration or earlier termination of the Lease

 

Section 3.04 Late Charges .  Tenant acknowledges that Landlord shall incur certain additional unanticipated administrative and legal costs and expenses if Tenant fails to pay timely any payment required hereunder.  Therefore, in addition to the other remedies available to Landlord hereunder, if any payment required to be paid by Tenant to Landlord hereunder shall become overdue, such unpaid amount shall bear interest from the due date thereof to the date of payment at the prime rate of interest, as reported in the Wall Street Journal (the “Prime Rate”) plus six percent (6%) per annum; provided, however, that in no event shall such interest rate exceed twelve percent (12%) per annum.

 

ARTICLE 4 - SECURITY DEPOSIT

 

Section 4.01 Security Deposit .  On or before the date that Tenant delivers the Closing Notice, as defined in Special Stipulation 12 of Exhibit E hereto, , Tenant shall deposit the Security Deposit with Landlord as security for the performance by Tenant of all of Tenant’s obligations contained in this Lease.  In the event of a default by Tenant, Landlord may apply all or any part of the Security Deposit to cure all or any part of such default; provided, however, that any such application by Landlord shall not be or be deemed to be an election of remedies by Landlord or considered or deemed to be liquidated damages.  Tenant agrees promptly, upon demand, to deposit such additional sum with Landlord as may be required to maintain the full amount of the Security Deposit.  All sums held by Landlord pursuant to this Article 4 shall be without interest and may be commingled by Landlord.  At the end of the Lease Term (including, without limitation, due to a termination of the Lease pursuant to Special Stipulation 11 of Exhibit E to the Lease), provided that there is then no uncured default or any repairs required to be made by Tenant pursuant to Section 2.03 above or Section 7.03 below, Landlord shall return the Security Deposit to Tenant.

 

Section 4.02 Reduction .  The Security Deposit shall be reduced to $0.00 at the end of the twenty-fourth (24 th ) full calendar month of the Lease Term provided that (a) Tenant is not in default hereunder (or, if Tenant is in default hereunder, Tenant cures such default within the applicable cure period), (b) Landlord has not theretofore drawn on the Security Deposit, and (c) Tenant’s tangible net

 

6



 

worth is at least $10,000,000.00.  In the event the Security Deposit is so reduced, Landlord shall apply the Security Deposit toward the next Monthly Rental Installments due under the Lease.  For all purposes under this Lease, “tangible net worth” shall mean the value of tangible assets (i.e., assets excluding those which are intangibles such as goodwill, patents and trademarks) over liabilities.

 

ARTICLE 5 - USE

 

Section 5.01 Use .  Tenant shall use the Leased Premises for the Permitted Use and for no other purpose without the prior written consent of Landlord.

 

Section 5.02 Covenants of Tenant Regarding Use .

 

(a)                                   Tenant shall (i) use and maintain the Leased Premises and conduct its business thereon in a safe, careful, reputable and lawful manner, (ii) comply with all laws, rules, regulations, orders, ordinances, directions and requirements of any governmental authority or agency, now in force or which may hereafter be in force, including, without limitation, those which shall impose upon Landlord or Tenant any duty with respect to or triggered by a change in the use or occupation of, or any improvement or alteration to, the Leased Premises, (iii) comply with all covenants that encumber the Building which are in effect as of the date hereof and with respect to which Tenant has been given notice, (iv) comply with any commercially reasonable covenants applicable to the Building as may hereafter be adopted and promulgated (provided such protective covenants do not materially and adversely interfere with the Permitted Use), and (v) comply with and obey all commercially reasonable directions, rules and regulations of Landlord, provided the same are uniformly enforced and applied in a non discriminatory manner, and provided the same do not materially and adversely effect Tenant’s use of the Leased Premises for the Permitted Use.

 

(b)                                  Tenant shall not do or permit anything to be done in or about the Leased Premises that will in any way cause a nuisance, obstruct or interfere with the rights of other tenants or occupants of the Building or injure or annoy them.  Landlord shall not be responsible to Tenant for the non-performance by any other tenant or occupant of the Building of any of Landlord’s directions, rules and regulations, but agrees that any enforcement thereof shall be done uniformly.  Tenant shall not use the Leased Premises, nor allow the Leased Premises to be used, for any purpose or in any manner that would (i) invalidate any policy of insurance now or hereafter carried by Landlord on the Building, or (ii) increase the rate of premiums payable on any such insurance policy unless Tenant reimburses Landlord for any increase in premium charged.

 

(c)                                   Tenant shall not overload the floors of the Leased Premises.  All damage to the floor structure or foundation of the Building due to improper positioning or storage of items or materials shall be repaired by Landlord at the sole expense of Tenant, who shall reimburse Landlord immediately therefor upon demand.

 

Section 5.03 Landlord’s Rights Regarding Use .  Without limiting any of Landlord’s rights specified elsewhere in this Lease (a) Landlord shall have the right at any time, without notice to Tenant, to control, change or otherwise alter the Common Areas in such manner as it deems necessary or proper so long as any such control, change or alteration does not materially and adversely affect Tenant’s use of the Leased Premises for the Permitted Use, and (b) Landlord, its agents, employees and contractors and any mortgagee of the Building shall have the right to enter any part of the Leased Premises at reasonable times upon reasonable advance written notice (except in the event of an emergency where no notice shall be required) and accompanied by a representative of Tenant (provided one is made available to Landlord) for the purposes of examining or inspecting the same (including, without limitation, testing to confirm Tenant’s compliance with this Lease), showing the same to prospective purchasers, mortgagees or tenants, and making such repairs, alterations or improvements to the Leased Premises or the Building as Landlord may deem necessary or desirable so long as any such alteration or improvements do not materially and adversely affect Tenant’s use of the Leased Premises for the Permitted Use.  Landlord covenants and agrees that in exercising any of its rights under this Section 5.03 , Landlord shall use reasonable efforts to minimize any interference with Tenant’s use of the Leased Premises for the Permitted Use.  Without limiting the foregoing, Landlord shall incur no liability to Tenant for such entry, nor shall such entry constitute an eviction of Tenant or a termination of this Lease, or entitle Tenant to any abatement of rent therefor; provided, however, if, as a result of Landlord’s negligence or willful misconduct in exercising its rights pursuant to this Section 5.03 , the Leased Premises (or portion thereof) is untenantable for a period of more than six (6) consecutive business days, Minimum Annual Rent and the TICAM Charges shall abate for each such consecutive day after said six (6) business day period that such area of the Leased Premises is so rendered until such area is no longer untenantable.  To the extent that the Leased Premises, or portion thereof, is untenantable, however, as a result of (a) force majeure (as defined in Section 16.03 hereof), or (b) the negligence or willful misconduct of Tenant, its agents,

 

7



 

employees, contractors, subtenants, invitees or assignees, Tenant shall not be entitled to any abatement hereunder.  The Leased Premises shall be considered untenantable to the extent that Tenant does not use the Leased Premises or portion thereof affected in the conduct of its normal business operations as a result of Landlord’s activities.  It is agreed and understood that Tenant shall not use nor be entitled to use the portion of the Leased Premises during any day for which Landlord is obligated to abate Minimum Annual Rent hereunder.

 

ARTICLE 6 - UTILITIES AND SERVICES

 

Tenant shall obtain in its own name and pay directly to the appropriate supplier the cost of all utilities and services serving the Leased Premises.  However, if any services or utilities are jointly metered with other property, Landlord shall make a reasonable determination of Tenant’s proportionate share of the cost of such utilities and services (at rates that would have been payable if such utilities and services had been directly billed by the utilities or services providers) and Tenant shall pay such share to Landlord within fifteen (15) days after receipt of Landlord’s written statement.  Landlord shall not be liable in damages or otherwise for any failure or interruption of any utility or other Building service and no such failure or interruption shall entitle Tenant to terminate this Lease or withhold sums due hereunder.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent that (a) such interruption of service is caused by the negligence or willful misconduct of Landlord or its employees and (b) such interruption of service renders the Leased Premises or any portion of the Leased Premises untenantable for a period of six (6) consecutive business days after Landlord receives written notice from Tenant of such interruption of service, Minimum Annual Rent and the TICAM Charges shall abate with respect to the area which is affected for each such consecutive day after said six (6) business day period that such area of the Leased Premises is so rendered until such service is restored.  The rent abatement shall equal the Monthly Rental Installment due for the period of the interruption with respect to the square footage affected.  Provided, however, to the extent that such interruption is caused or continues as a result of (i) force majeure (as defined in Section 16.03 hereof), or (ii) the negligence or willful misconduct of Tenant, its agents, employees, contractors, subtenants, invitees or assignees, Tenant shall not be entitled to any abatement hereunder.  The Leased Premises shall be considered untenantable if Tenant does not use the Leased Premises or portion thereof affected in the conduct of its normal business operations as a result of said interruption of service to the Leased Premises.  It is agreed and understood that Tenant shall not use nor be entitled to use the Leased Premises or portion thereof affected to conduct its normal business operations during any day for which Landlord is obligated to abate rent hereunder.  The abatement herein provided shall be Tenant’s sole and exclusive remedy for interruption of service.  Landlord agrees to use its reasonable efforts to restore such utility service as soon as possible.  If, however, such interruption of service renders the Leased Premises or any material portion of the Leased Premises untenantable for a period of greater than twenty (20) consecutive business days after Landlord receives written notice from Tenant of such interruption of service, Landlord, upon the request of Tenant, shall use reasonable efforts to provide Tenant with temporary space from which to operate at a rental rate to be agreed upon at that time; provided, however, that such rental rate shall not be in excess of the Minimum Annual Rent that would have been payable hereunder absent such interruption in service.  Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, Landlord acknowledges that Tenant shall be permitted (subject to Section 7.03 below) to upgrade the transformer and or install a new transformer at the Leased Premises, which shall become the property of Landlord upon installation.  If, however, Tenant installs an additional new and specialized transformer at the Leased Premises, then, notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth in Section 7.03 below such transformer shall be deemed Tenant’s Property (as defined in Section 8.01 below).

 

ARTICLE 7 - MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS

 

Section 7.01 Repair and Maintenance of the Building .  During the Lease Term, Landlord shall maintain in good condition and repair the parking (including the truck court and car parking areas), sidewalks, and landscaped areas, the costs of which shall be included in Operating Expenses to the extent provided in Section 3.02 above; provided, however, that to the extent any of the foregoing items require repair because of the negligence, misuse, or default of Tenant, its employees, agents, customers or invitees, Landlord shall make such repairs solely at Tenant’s expense.  In addition, during the Lease Term, Landlord shall maintain in good condition and repair, at its sole cost and expense (and not included in Operating Expenses), the roof, foundation, exterior walls and structural frame of the Building; provided, however, that to the extent any of the foregoing items require repair because of the negligence, misuse or default of Tenant, its employees, agents, customers or invitees, Landlord shall make such repairs solely at Tenant’s expense.

 

Section 7.02 Repair and Maintenance of Leased Premises .  Except for Landlord’s maintenance and repair obligations set forth in Section 7.01 above, Tenant shall, at its own cost and expense, maintain the Leased Premises in good condition, regularly servicing and promptly making all repairs and replacements thereto, including but not limited to the electrical systems (to the extent exclusively serving

 

8



 

the Leased Premises), heating and air conditioning systems (to the extent exclusively serving the Leased Premises), plate glass, floors, windows and doors, and sprinkler and plumbing systems (to the extent exclusively serving the Leased Premises).  Tenant shall obtain a preventive maintenance contract on the heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems, and provide Landlord with a copy thereof.  The preventive maintenance contract shall meet or exceed Landlord’s standard maintenance criteria, and shall provide for the inspection and maintenance of the heating, ventilating and air conditioning system on not less than a semi-annual basis.

 

Section 7.03 Alterations .  Tenant shall not permit alterations in or to the Leased Premises unless and until Landlord has approved the plans therefor in writing; provided, however, that Tenant shall have the right to make alterations to the Leased Premises without obtaining Landlord’s prior written consent provided that (a) such alterations do not exceed Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) in cost in any one instance and Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) in cost in the aggregate during the Lease Term; (b) such alterations are non-structural in nature; and (c) Tenant provides Landlord with prior written notice of its intention to make such alterations stating in reasonable detail the nature, extent and estimated cost of such alterations together with the plans and specifications for the same.  As a condition of such approval, Landlord may require Tenant to remove the alterations and restore the Leased Premises upon termination of this Lease; otherwise, all such alterations shall at Landlord’s option become a part of the realty and the property of Landlord, and shall not be removed by Tenant.  Tenant shall ensure that all alterations made by or on behalf of Tenant shall be made in accordance with all applicable laws, regulations and building codes, in a good and workmanlike manner and of quality equal to or better than the original construction of the Building.  No person shall be entitled to any lien derived through or under Tenant for any labor or material furnished to the Leased Premises, and nothing in this Lease shall be construed to constitute Landlord’s consent to the creation of any lien.  If any lien is filed against the Leased Premises for work claimed to have been done for or material claimed to have been furnished to Tenant, Tenant shall cause such lien to be discharged of record within thirty (30) days after Tenant’s notice or actual knowledge of its filing.  Tenant shall indemnify Landlord from all costs, losses, expenses and attorneys’ fees in connection with any liens related to any construction or alteration performed by or on behalf of Tenant.  Notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, Tenant shall have no obligation hereunder to (x) remove any alterations or improvements which have been made by Tenant with the express written consent of Landlord, and/or (y) restore any part of the Leased Premises that has been altered due to the installation of such alterations or improvements, unless, at the time of granting such consent, Landlord has expressly required (i) the removal of any such proposed alterations or improvements, and/or (ii) the restoration of any part of the Leased Premises, as a condition to granting such consent.

 

ARTICLE 8 - INDEMNITY AND INSURANCE

 

Section 8.01 Release .  All of Tenant’s trade fixtures, merchandise, inventory and all other personal property in or about the Leased Premises, the Building or the Common Areas, which is deemed to include the trade fixtures, merchandise, inventory and personal property of others located in or about the Leased Premises or Common Areas at the invitation, direction or acquiescence (express or implied) of Tenant (all of which property shall be referred to herein, collectively, as “Tenant’s Property”), shall be and remain at Tenant’s sole risk.  Landlord shall not be liable to Tenant or to any other person for, and Tenant hereby releases Landlord from (a) any and all liability for theft or damage to Tenant’s Property, and (b) any and all liability for any injury to Tenant or its employees, agents, contractors, guests and invitees in the Leased Premises, except to the extent of personal injury (but not property loss or damage) caused directly by the negligence or willful misconduct of Landlord, its agents, employees or contractors.  Nothing contained in this Section 8.01 shall limit (or be deemed to limit) the waivers contained in Section 8.06 below.  In the event of any conflict between the provisions of Section 8.06 below and this Section 8.01 , the provisions of Section 8.06 shall prevail.  This Section 8.01 shall survive the expiration or earlier termination of this Lease.

 

Section 8.02 Indemnification by Tenant .  Tenant shall protect, defend, indemnify and hold Landlord, its agents, employees and contractors harmless from and against any and all claims, damages, demands, penalties, costs, liabilities, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses actually incurred, without regard to statutory interpretation) to the extent (a) arising out of or relating to any act, omission, negligence, or willful misconduct of Tenant or Tenant’s agents, employees, contractors, customers or invitees in or about the Leased Premises, the Building or the Common Areas, or (b) arising out of any other act or occurrence within the Leased Premises, in all such cases except to the extent of personal injury (but not property loss or damage) caused directly by Landlord, its agents, employees or contractors.  Nothing contained in this Section 8.02 shall limit (or be deemed to limit) the waivers contained in Section 8.06 below.  In the event of any conflict between the provisions of Section 8.06 below and this Section 8.02 , the provisions of Section 8.06 shall prevail.  This Section 8.02 shall survive the expiration or earlier termination of this Lease.

 

9



 

Section 8.03 Indemnification by Landlord.   Landlord shall protect, defend, indemnify and hold Tenant, its agents, employees and contractors harmless from and against any and all claims, damages, demands, penalties, costs, liabilities, losses and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses actually incurred, without regard to statutory interpretation) to the extent arising out of or relating to any act, omission, negligence or willful misconduct of Landlord or Landlord’s agents, employees or contractors.  Nothing contained in this Section 8.03 shall limit (or be deemed to limit) the waivers contained in Section 8.06 below.  In the event of any conflict between the provisions of Section 8.06 below and this Section 8.03 , the provisions of Section 8.06 shall prevail.  This Section 8.03 shall survive the expiration or earlier termination of this Lease.

 

Section 8.04 Tenant’s Insurance .

 

(a)                                   During the Lease Term (and any period of early entry or occupancy or holding over by Tenant, if applicable), Tenant shall maintain the following types of insurance, in the amounts specified below:

 

(i)                                      Liability Insurance .  Commercial General Liability Insurance (which insurance shall not exclude blanket contractual liability, broad form property damage, personal injury, or fire damage coverage) covering the Leased Premises and Tenant’s use thereof against claims for bodily injury or death and property damage, which insurance shall provide coverage on an occurrence basis with a combined single limit of not less than $3,000,000 per occurrence, and with general aggregate limits of not less than $5,000,000 for each policy year, which limits may be satisfied by any combination of primary and excess or umbrella per occurrence policies.

 

(ii)                                   Casualty Insurance .  Special Form Insurance (which insurance shall not exclude flood or earthquake) in the amount of the full replacement cost of Tenant’s Property and betterments (including alterations or additions performed by Tenant pursuant hereto, but excluding those improvements, if any, made pursuant to Section 2.02 above), which insurance shall include a provision waiving coinsurance limitations.

 

(iii)                                Worker’s Compensation Insurance .  Worker’s Compensation insurance in amounts required by applicable law.

 

(b)                                  All insurance required by Tenant hereunder shall (i) be issued by one or more insurance companies reasonably acceptable to Landlord, licensed to do business in the State in which the Leased Premises is located and having an AM Best’s rating of A IX or better, and (ii) provide that said insurance shall not be materially changed, canceled or permitted to lapse on less than thirty (30) days’ prior written notice to Landlord.  In addition, Tenant’s insurance shall protect Tenant and Landlord as their interests may appear, naming Landlord, Landlord’s managing agent, and any mortgagee requested by Landlord, as additional insureds under its commercial general liability policies.  On or before the Commencement Date (or the date of any earlier entry or occupancy by Tenant), and thereafter, within thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of each such policy, Tenant shall furnish Landlord with certificates of insurance in the form of ACORD 28 (or such other evidence of insurance reasonably acceptable to Landlord), evidencing all required coverages, together with a copy of the endorsements to Tenant’s commercial general liability policies naming the appropriate additional insureds.  Upon Tenant’s receipt of a request from Landlord, Tenant shall provide Landlord with an opportunity to review all insurance policies, including all endorsements, evidencing the coverages required hereunder.  If Tenant fails to carry such insurance and furnish Landlord with such certificates of insurance or copies of insurance policies (if applicable), Landlord may, upon ten (10) days’ notice and opportunity to cure, obtain such insurance on Tenant’s behalf and Tenant shall reimburse Landlord upon demand for the cost thereof as Additional Rent.  If Tenant elects not to carry business interruption insurance, Tenant releases Landlord from any and all liability arising during the Lease Term which would have been covered by business interruption insurance had Tenant carried such insurance.  Tenant shall be permitted to satisfy any insurance requirements contained herein via a blanket policy of insurance.

 

(c)                                   Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, Neenah Paper, Inc. (“Neenah Paper”) may maintain deductibles or other forms of non-insurance similar to other commercial companies with similar financial resources with respect to the policies of insurance provided for in this Section 8.04 provided that (i) Neenah Paper has in effect a program of “self insurance” insuring Neenah Paper as a named insured against such risk, which program complies with any and all applicable laws regarding self insurance in the State of Georgia, (ii) the tangible net worth of Neenah Paper shall be at least $30,000,000.00, (iii) Neenah Paper agrees upon Landlord’s request to provide Landlord with financial information reasonably sufficient to allow Landlord to evaluate Neenah Paper’s tangible net worth and ability to meet the insurance criteria set forth in this Section 8.04 of the Lease, (iv) Neenah Paper agrees

 

10



 

to indemnify and hold harmless Landlord from and against any loss, cost, damage, expense (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and court costs actually incurred without regard to statutory interpretation), claim, cause of action or liability that Landlord may incur that would have been covered by the insurance policies replaced by the self insurance, but only to the extent that Tenant would have been responsible for such loss, cost, damage, expense, claim, cause of action or liability under this Lease (Landlord and Tenant acknowledging and agreeing that the indemnity contained in this subsection (iv) is not intended to expand the obligations of Tenant under the Lease beyond those that would exist if Tenant carried the required insurance), (v) such self insurance shall not affect the non-liability of Landlord described in this Lease, and (vi) Landlord, Landlord’s managing agent and any mortgagee of which Tenant has been given notice appear as additional covered parties on the Certificate of Coverage for liability under Tenant’s self insurance program for an amount consistent with the requirements set forth in this Section 8.04 .  By means of the insurance certificate described above, Neenah Paper shall deliver to Landlord notice in writing of the required coverages which it is self insuring setting forth the amount, limits and scope of the self insurance with respect to each type of coverage self insured.  This provision is personal to Neenah Paper and shall automatically terminate if Neenah Paper assigns or sublets all or any portion of its interest in this Lease other than to a Permitted Transferee.

 

Section 8.05 Landlord’s Insurance .  During the Lease Term, Landlord shall maintain the following types of insurance, in the amounts specified below (the cost of which shall be included in Operating Expenses to the extent permitted in Article 3 above):

 

(a)                                   Liability Insurance .  Commercial General Liability Insurance (which insurance shall not exclude blanket, contractual liability, broad form property damage, personal injury, or fire damage coverage) covering the Building and Common Areas against claims for bodily injury or death and property damage, which insurance shall provide coverage on an occurrence basis with a combined single limit of not less than $3,000,000 per occurrence, and with general aggregate limits of not less than $10,000,000 for each policy year, which limits may be satisfied by any combination of primary and excess or umbrella per occurrence policies.

 

(b)                                  Casualty Insurance .  Special Form Insurance (which insurance shall not exclude flood or earthquake) in the amount of the full replacement cost of the Building, including, without limitation, any improvements, if any, made pursuant to Section 2.02 above, but excluding Tenant’s Property and any other items required to be insured by Tenant pursuant to Section 8.04 above.

 

Section 8.06 Waiver of Subrogation .  Notwithstanding anything contained in this Lease to the contrary, Landlord and Tenant hereby waive any rights each may have against the other on account of any loss of or damage to their respective property, the Leased Premises, its contents, or other portions of the Building or Common Areas arising from any risk which is required to be insured against by Sections 8.04(a)(ii) and 8.05(b) above, or which is actually insured against under any other casualty insurance held by such party at such time.  The special form coverage insurance policies maintained by Landlord and Tenant as provided in this Lease shall include an endorsement containing an express waiver of any rights of subrogation by the insurance company against Landlord and Tenant, as applicable.  Any deductible amounts shall be deemed amounts covered by insurance for purposes of this Section 8.06 .

 

ARTICLE 9 - CASUALTY

 

In the event of total or partial destruction of the Building, the Leased Premises, or the Common Areas by fire or other casualty, Landlord agrees promptly to restore and repair same; provided, however, Landlord’s obligation hereunder with respect to the Leased Premises shall not include Tenant’s Property.  Rent shall proportionately abate during the time that the Leased Premises or part thereof are unusable because of any such damage.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Landlord determines that Building or the Leased Premises are (a) so destroyed that they cannot be repaired or rebuilt within one hundred eighty (180) days from the casualty date (or, within ninety (90) days from the casualty date, if the damage or destruction occurs during the final twelve (12) months of the Lease Term); or (b) destroyed by a casualty that is not covered by the insurance required hereunder or, if covered, such insurance proceeds are not released by any mortgagee entitled thereto or are insufficient to rebuild the Building and the Leased Premises, then Landlord shall give written notice to Tenant of such determination (the “Casualty Notice”) within sixty (60) days of such casualty.  Either Landlord or Tenant may terminate this Lease by giving written notice (the “Termination Notice”) to the other party within thirty (30) days after Tenant’s receipt of the Casualty Notice.  In the event this Lease is terminated pursuant to the preceding sentence, such termination shall be effective as of the forty-fifth (45 th ) day following a party’s delivery of the Termination Notice.  During any time period of construction following a casualty, Landlord shall use reasonable efforts to provide Tenant with temporary space from which to operate at a rental rate to be agreed upon at that time.  If the Lease is not terminated pursuant to the provisions above and Landlord fails to substantially complete the restoration and repair of the Leased Premises within three hundred

 

11



 

sixty-five (365) days after the date of the casualty (as such period may be extended due to force majeure, as defined in Section 16.03 below, and any delay caused by Tenant’s acts or omissions), then Tenant shall have the right to terminate this Lease upon written notice to Landlord, so long as Tenant’s written notice is received by Landlord prior to Landlord’s substantial completion of such restoration and repair.

 

ARTICLE 10 - EMINENT DOMAIN

 

If all or any substantial part of the Building or Common Areas (including access thereto) shall be acquired by the exercise of eminent domain, Landlord may terminate this Lease by giving written notice to Tenant on or before the date possession thereof is so taken.  If all or any part of the Leased Premises, the Building or the Common Areas shall be acquired by the exercise of eminent domain so that the Leased Premises shall become impractical for Tenant to use for the Permitted Use, Tenant may terminate this Lease by giving written notice to Landlord on or before the date possession thereof is so taken.  If this Lease is terminated pursuant to this Article 10, to the extent possible, the effective date of termination shall be the forty-fifth (45 th ) day following a party’s delivery of notice of termination.  All damages awarded shall belong to Landlord; provided, however, that Tenant may claim dislocation damages if such amount is not subtracted from Landlord’s award.  If only part of the Leased Premises is acquired by the exercise of eminent domain and this Lease does not terminate pursuant to this Article 10, Landlord shall, to the extent of the award it receives, restore the Leased Premises and the Common Areas to a condition and to a size as nearly comparable as reasonably possible to the condition and size thereof immediately prior to the taking, and there shall be an equitable adjustment to the Minimum Annual Rent and Additional Rent based on the actual loss of use of the Leased Premises suffered by Tenant from the taking.

 

ARTICLE 11 - ASSIGNMENT AND SUBLEASE

 

Section 11.01 Assignment and Sublease .

 

(a)                                   Tenant shall not assign this Lease or sublet the Leased Premises in whole or in part without Landlord’s prior written consent.  In the event of any permitted assignment or subletting, Tenant shall remain primarily liable hereunder, and any extension, expansion, rights of first offer, rights of first refusal or other options granted to Tenant under this Lease shall be rendered void and of no further force or effect unless the parties otherwise agree at such time.  The acceptance of rent from any other person shall not be deemed to be a waiver of any of the provisions of this Lease or to be a consent to the assignment of this Lease or the subletting of the Leased Premises.  Any assignment or sublease consented to by Landlord shall not relieve Tenant (or its assignee) from obtaining Landlord’s consent to any subsequent assignment or sublease.

 

(b)                                  By way of example and not limitation, Landlord shall be deemed to have reasonably withheld consent to a proposed assignment or sublease if in Landlord’s reasonable opinion (i) the business reputation of the proposed assignee or subtenant is unacceptable; (ii) the financial worth of the proposed assignee or subtenant is insufficient to meet the obligations hereunder, or (iii) the prospective assignee or subtenant is a current tenant at the Park or is a bona-fide third-party prospective tenant and Landlord has space available within the Park to meet such tenant’s or prospective tenant’s needs.  Landlord further expressly reserves the right to refuse to give its consent to any subletting if the proposed rent is publicly advertised to be less than the then current rent for similar premises in the Building.  If Landlord refuses to give its consent to any proposed assignment or subletting, Landlord may, at its option, within thirty (30) days after receiving a request to consent, terminate this Lease by giving Tenant thirty (30) days prior written notice of such termination, whereupon each party shall be released from all further obligations and liability hereunder, except those which expressly survive the termination of this Lease.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event Landlord elects to terminate this Lease pursuant to the immediately preceding sentence, Tenant shall have the right to withdraw its assignment or sublet request within two (2) business days after receipt of Landlord’s termination notice, whereupon Landlord’s termination shall be ineffective and this Lease shall continue in full force and effect.

 

(c)                                   If Tenant shall make any assignment or sublease, with Landlord’s consent, for a rental in excess of the rent payable under this Lease, Tenant shall pay to Landlord fifty percent (50%) of any such excess rental upon receipt (less any actual third party out of pocket expenses incurred by Tenant in connection with such assignment or subleasing).  Tenant agrees to pay Landlord $500.00 upon demand by Landlord for reasonable accounting and attorneys’ fees incurred in conjunction with the processing and documentation of any requested assignment, subletting or any other hypothecation of this Lease or Tenant’s interest in and to the Leased Premises as consideration for Landlord’s consent.

 

Section 11.02 Permitted Transfer .  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in Section 11.01 above, Tenant shall have the right, without Landlord’s consent, but upon ten (10) days

 

12



 

prior notice to Landlord, to (a) sublet all or part of the Leased Premises to any related corporation or other entity which controls Tenant, is controlled by Tenant or is under common control with Tenant; (b) assign all or any part of this Lease to any related corporation or other entity which controls Tenant, is controlled by Tenant, or is under common control with Tenant, or to a successor entity into which or with which Tenant is merged or consolidated or which acquires substantially all of Tenant’s assets, stock or property; or (c) effectuate any public offering of Tenant’s stock on the New York Stock Exchange or in the NASDAQ over the counter market, provided that in the event of a transfer pursuant to clause (b), the tangible net worth after any such transaction is not less than the greater of (i) the tangible net worth of Tenant as of the date that the Closing occurs pursuant to Special Stipulation 11 of Exhibit E to the Lease, and (ii) $10,000,000.00, and provided further that such successor entity assumes all of the obligations and liabilities of Tenant (any such entity hereinafter referred to as a “Permitted Transferee”).  For the purpose of this Article 11 “control” shall mean ownership of not less than fifty percent (50%) of all voting stock or legal and equitable interest in such corporation or entity.  Any such transfer shall not relieve Tenant of its obligations under this Lease.  Nothing in this paragraph is intended to nor shall permit Tenant to transfer its interest under this Lease as part of a fraud or subterfuge to intentionally avoid its obligations under this Lease (for example, transferring its interest to a shell corporation that subsequently files a bankruptcy), and any such transfer shall constitute a Default hereunder.  Any change in control of Tenant resulting from a merger, consolidation, or stock transfer, or any sale of substantially all of the assets of Tenant that do not meet the requirements of this Section 11.02 shall be deemed an assignment or transfer that requires Landlord’s prior written consent pursuant to Section 11.01 above.

 

ARTICLE 12 - TRANSFERS BY LANDLORD

 

Section 12.01 Sale of the Building .  Landlord shall have the right to sell the Building at any time during the Lease Term, subject only to the rights of Tenant hereunder; and such sale shall operate to release Landlord from liability hereunder for any matter occurring after the date of such conveyance provided the purchaser or other transferee assumes all obligations of Landlord under this Lease.

 

Section 12.02 Estoppel Certificate .

 

(a)                                   Within ten (10) days following receipt of a written request from Landlord, Tenant shall execute and deliver to Landlord, without cost to Landlord, an estoppel certificate in such form as Landlord may reasonably request certifying (a) that this Lease is in full force and effect and unmodified or stating the nature of any modification, (b) the date to which rent has been paid, (c) that there are not, to Tenant’s knowledge, any uncured defaults or specifying such defaults if any are claimed, and (d) any other matters or state of facts reasonably required respecting the Lease.  Such estoppel may be relied upon by Landlord and by any purchaser or mortgagee of the Building.

 

(b)                                  Within ten (10) days following receipt of a written request from Tenant, Landlord shall execute and deliver to Tenant an estoppel certificate in such form as Tenant may reasonably request certifying (i) that this Lease is in full force and effect and unmodified or stating the nature of any modification, (ii) the date to which rent has been paid, (iii) that there are not, to Landlord’s knowledge, any uncured defaults or specifying such defaults if any are claimed, and (iv) any other matters or state of facts reasonably required respecting the Lease, it being intended that any such statement delivered pursuant hereto may be relied upon by Tenant, by any assignee or sublessee of the Leased Premises, and by any other person or entity reasonably requested by Tenant.

 

Section 12.03 Subordination .  Landlord shall have the right to subordinate this Lease to any mortgage, deed to secure debt, deed of trust or other instrument in the nature thereof, and any amendments or modifications thereto (collectively, a “Mortgage”) presently existing or hereafter encumbering the Building by so declaring in such Mortgage provided that the holder of said Mortgage agrees not to disturb Tenant’s possession of the Leased Premises so long as Tenant is not in default hereunder, as evidenced by a subordination, non-disturbance agreement signed by said holder and reasonably acceptable to Tenant.  Promptly following Landlord’s request, Tenant shall execute such a subordination and non-disturbance agreement.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the holder of the Mortgage shall take title to the Leased Premises through foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure, Tenant shall be allowed to continue in possession of the Leased Premises as provided for in this Lease so long as Tenant is not in Default.  As of the date of this Lease, there is no Mortgage encumbering the Building.

 

ARTICLE 13 - DEFAULT AND REMEDY

 

Section 13.01 Default .  The occurrence of any of the following shall be a “Default”:

 

13



 

(a)                                   Tenant fails to pay any Monthly Rental Installments or Additional Rent (i) within five (5) business days following written notice from Landlord on the first two (2) occasions in any twelve (12) month period, and (ii) within five (5) business days after the same is due on any subsequent occasion within said twelve (12) month period.

 

(b)                                  Tenant fails to perform or observe any other term, condition, covenant or obligation required under this Lease for a period of thirty (30) days after written notice thereof from Landlord; provided, however, that if the nature of Tenant’s default is such that more than thirty (30) days are reasonably required to cure, then such default shall be deemed to have been cured if Tenant commences such performance within said thirty (30) day period and thereafter diligently completes the required action within a reasonable time.

 

(c)                                   Intentionally Omitted.

 

(d)                                  Tenant shall assign or sublet all or a portion of the Leased Premises in contravention of the provisions of Article 11 of this Lease and does not cure such default within ten (10) business days following notice of the same.

 

(e)                                   All or substantially all of Tenant’s assets in the Leased Premises or Tenant’s interest in this Lease are attached or levied under execution (and Tenant does not discharge the same within sixty (60) days thereafter); a petition in bankruptcy, insolvency or for reorganization or arrangement is filed by or against Tenant (and Tenant fails to secure a stay or discharge thereof within sixty (60) days thereafter); Tenant is insolvent and unable to pay its debts as they become due; Tenant makes a general assignment for the benefit of creditors; Tenant takes the benefit of any insolvency action or law; the appointment of a receiver or trustee in bankruptcy for Tenant or its assets if such receivership has not been vacated or set aside within thirty (30) days thereafter; or, dissolution or other termination of Tenant’s corporate charter if Tenant is a corporation and provided this Lease has not been assigned as permitted herein.

 

Section 13.02 Remedies .  Upon the occurrence of any Default, Landlord shall have the following rights and remedies, in addition to those allowed by law or in equity, any one or more of which may be exercised without further notice to Tenant:

 

                                                (a)                                   Terminate this Lease by giving Tenant notice of termination, in which event this Lease shall expire and terminate on the date specified in such notice of termination and all rights of Tenant under this Lease and in and to the Leased Premises shall terminate.  Tenant shall remain liable for all obligations under this Lease arising up to the date of such termination, and Tenant shall surrender the Leased Premises to Landlord on the date specified in such notice.  Furthermore, provided Landlord has not collected in full from Tenant under subsection (c) below, Tenant shall be liable to Landlord for the unamortized balance of any Tenant improvement allowance and brokerage fees paid in connection with the Lease, except to the extent Landlord exercises any remedy to collect the present value of the remaining rent due under this Lease.

 

(b)                                  Without terminating this Lease, and with or without notice to Tenant, re-enter the Leased Premises and cure any default of Tenant, and Tenant shall reimburse Landlord as Additional Rent for any costs and expenses which Landlord thereby incurs; and Landlord shall not be liable to Tenant for any loss or damage which Tenant may sustain by reason of Landlord’s action except to the extent of Landlord’s negligence or willful misconduct not otherwise waived by Tenant pursuant to Section 8.06 above or any other provision of this Lease.

 

(c)                                   Terminate this Lease as provided in subparagraph (a) above and recover from Tenant all damages Landlord may incur by reason of Tenant’s default, including, without limitation, an amount which, at the date of such termination is equal to the sum of the following:  (i) the value of the excess, if any, discounted at the prime rate of interest (as reported in the Wall Street Journal ), of (A) the Minimum Annual Rent, Additional Rent and all other sums that would have been payable hereunder by Tenant for the period for the remainder of the Lease Term had this Lease not been terminated (said period being referred to herein as the “Remaining Term”), less (B) the aggregate reasonable rental value of the Leased Premises for the Remaining Term, as determined by a real estate broker licensed in the State of Georgia who has at least ten (10) years of experience; (ii) the costs of recovering possession of the Leased Premises and all other expenses incurred by Landlord due to Tenant’s Default, including, without limitation, reasonable attorney’s fees and the cost to prepare the Leased Premises for re-letting; provided, however, that for purposes of this clause (ii), the cost to prepare the Leased Premises for re-letting shall not exceed $7.00 per rentable square foot of space within the Leased Premises (all costs and expenses set forth in this clause (ii) being referred to herein, collectively, as the “Default Damages”); and (iii) the unpaid Minimum Annual Rent and Additional Rent that accrued prior to the date of termination, plus any

 

14



 

interest and late fees due hereunder and any other sums of money and damages owing on the date of termination by Tenant to Landlord under this Lease or in connection with the Leased Premises (all amounts set forth in this clause (iii) being referred to herein, collectively, as the “Prior Obligations”).  The amount as calculated above shall be deemed immediately due and payable.  Landlord and Tenant acknowledge and agree that the payment of the amount set forth in clause (i) above shall not be deemed a penalty, but shall merely constitute payment of liquidated damages, it being understood that actual damages to Landlord are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain.  Tenant expressly acknowledges and agrees that the liabilities and remedies specified in this subparagraph (c) shall survive the termination of this Lease.

 

(d)                                  Intentionally Omitted.

 

(e)                                   Without terminating this Lease, terminate Tenant’s right to possession of the Leased Premises as of the date of Tenant’s Default, and thereafter (i) neither Tenant nor any person claiming under or through Tenant shall be entitled to possession of the Leased Premises, and Tenant shall immediately surrender the Leased Premises to Landlord; and (ii) Landlord may re-enter the Leased Premises and dispossess Tenant and any other occupants of the Leased Premises by any lawful means and may remove their effects, without prejudice to any other remedy which Landlord may have.  Thereafter, Landlord may, but shall not be obligated to, re-let all or any part of the Leased Premises as the agent of Tenant for a term different from that which would otherwise have constituted the balance of the Lease Term and for rent and on terms and conditions different from those contained herein, whereupon Tenant shall be obligated to pay to Landlord as liquidated damages the difference between the rent provided for herein and that provided for in any lease covering a subsequent re-letting of the Leased Premises, for the Remaining Term, together with all Default Damages.  Neither the filing of a dispossessory proceeding nor an eviction of personalty in the Leased Premises shall be deemed to terminate the Lease.

 

(f)                                     Allow the Leased Premises to remain unoccupied and collect rent from Tenant as it comes due; provided, however, that to the extent required by applicable law, Landlord will use reasonable efforts to mitigate its damages.  Without limiting the foregoing, Landlord agrees to add the Leased Premises to its inventory of vacant space.

 

(g)                                  Sue for injunctive relief or to recover damages for any loss resulting from the Default.

 

Section 13.03 Landlord’s Default and Tenant’s Remedies .  Landlord shall be in default if it fails to perform any term, condition, covenant or obligation required under this Lease for a period of thirty (30) days after written notice thereof from Tenant to Landlord; provided, however, that if the term, condition, covenant or obligation to be performed by Landlord is such that it cannot reasonably be performed within thirty (30) days, such default shall be deemed to have been cured if Landlord commences such performance within said thirty-day period and thereafter diligently undertakes to complete the same and does in fact, within a reasonable time thereafter, complete the same.  Upon the occurrence of any such default, Tenant may sue for injunctive relief or to recover damages for any loss directly resulting from the breach, but Tenant shall not be entitled to terminate this Lease or withhold, offset or abate any sums due hereunder; provided, however, that the foregoing shall not be deemed to waive Tenant’s right to make a constructive eviction claim under Georgia law. As to Landlord’s maintenance and repair obligations hereunder, if Landlord has not cured or commenced to cure a maintenance or repair default set forth in said notice from Tenant within said 30-day period (or, in the event of an emergency, such lesser period of time as is reasonable under the circumstances), Tenant may undertake all reasonable action to cure Landlord’s failure of performance.  If Tenant elects to cure said default, Tenant shall, prior to commencement of said work, provide to Landlord a specific description of the work to be performed by Tenant and the name of Tenant’s contractor.  Any materials used shall be of equal or better quality than currently exists in the Building and Tenant’s contractor shall be adequately insured and of good reputation. Landlord agrees to reimburse Tenant on demand for all reasonable, third party out-of-pocket expenses incurred by Tenant in connection therewith plus an administrative fee equal to five percent (5%) of such expenses, provided that Tenant delivers to Landlord adequate bills or other supporting evidence substantiating said cost.  If Landlord fails to reimburse Tenant or give Tenant notice of objection to such reimbursement within sixty (60) days following Tenant’s demand, and if Landlord’s objection to such reimbursement is resolved against Landlord by agreement of the parties or by a court of competent jurisdiction to which the dispute has been submitted by the parties, Tenant shall have the right to set off said reimbursement from the rental payable by Tenant to Landlord hereunder.

 

Section 13.04 Limitation of Landlord’s Liability .  If Landlord shall fail to perform any term, condition, covenant or obligation required to be performed by it under this Lease and if Tenant shall, as a consequence thereof, recover a money judgment against Landlord, Tenant agrees that it shall look solely to Landlord’s right, title and interest in and to the Building including any rents and profits therefrom, net

 

15



 

proceeds of the sale or refinancing (after paying off any encumbrances), and any insurance proceeds or condemnation awards not applied to the reconstruction or restoration of the Building or the Leased Premises for the collection of such judgment; and Tenant further agrees that no other assets of Landlord shall be subject to levy, execution or other process for the satisfaction of Tenant’s judgment.

 

Section 13.05 Nonwaiver of Defaults .  Neither party’s failure or delay in exercising any of its rights or remedies or other provisions of this Lease shall constitute a waiver thereof or affect its right thereafter to exercise or enforce such right or remedy or other provision.  No waiver of any default shall be deemed to be a waiver of any other default.  Landlord’s receipt of less than the full rent due shall not be construed to be other than a payment on account of rent then due, nor shall any statement on Tenant’s check or any letter accompanying Tenant’s check be deemed an accord and satisfaction.  No act or omission by Landlord or its employees or agents during the Lease Term shall be deemed an acceptance of a surrender of the Leased Premises, and no agreement to accept such a surrender shall be valid unless in writing and signed by Landlord.

 

Section 13.06 Attorneys’ Fees .  If either party defaults in the performance or observance of any of the terms, conditions, covenants or obligations contained in this Lease and the non-defaulting party obtains a judgment against the defaulting party, then the defaulting party agrees to reimburse the non-defaulting party for reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred in connection therewith.  In addition, if a monetary Default shall occur and Landlord engages outside counsel to exercise its remedies hereunder, and then Tenant cures such monetary Default, Tenant shall pay to Landlord, on demand, all expenses incurred by Landlord as a result thereof, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, court costs and expenses actually incurred.

 

ARTICLE 14 - LANDLORD’S RIGHT TO RELOCATE TENANT

 

INTENTIONALLY OMITTED

 

ARTICLE 15 - TENANT’S RESPONSIBILITY REGARDING

ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES

 

Section 15.01 Environmental Definitions .

 

(a)                                   “Environmental Laws” shall mean all present or future federal, state and municipal laws, ordinances, rules and regulations applicable to the environmental and ecological condition of the Leased Premises, and the rules and regulations of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency and any other federal, state or municipal agency or governmental board or entity having jurisdiction over the Leased Premises.

 

(b)                                  “Hazardous Substances” shall mean those substances included within the definitions of “hazardous substances,” “hazardous materials,” “toxic substances” “solid waste” or “infectious waste” under Environmental Laws and petroleum products.

 

Section 15.02 Restrictions on Tenant .  Tenant shall not cause or permit the use, generation, release, manufacture, refining, production, processing, storage or disposal of any Hazardous Substances on, under or about the Leased Premises, or the transportation to or from the Leased Premises of any Hazardous Substances, except with Landlord’s prior consent, in which case the use, storage or disposal of such Hazardous Substances shall be performed in compliance with the Environmental Laws and the highest standards prevailing in the industry.

 

Section 15.03 Notices, Affidavits, Etc .  Tenant shall immediately (a) notify Landlord of (i) any violation by Tenant, its employees, agents, representatives, customers, invitees or contractors of any Environmental Laws on, under or about the Leased Premises, or (ii) the presence or suspected presence of any Hazardous Substances on, under or about the Leased Premises, and (b) deliver to Landlord any notice received by Tenant relating to (a)(i) and (a)(ii) above from any source.  Tenant shall execute affidavits, representations and the like within five (5) days of Landlord’s request therefor concerning Tenant’s actual knowledge and belief regarding the presence of any Hazardous Substances on, under or about the Leased Premises.

 

Section 15.04 Tenant’s Indemnification .  Tenant shall indemnify Landlord and Landlord’s managing agent from any and all claims, losses, liabilities, costs, expenses and damages, including attorneys’ fees, costs of testing and remediation costs, incurred by Landlord in connection with any breach by Tenant of its obligations under this Article 15.  The covenants and obligations under this Article 15 shall survive the expiration or earlier termination of this Lease.

 

16



 

Section 15.05 Existing Conditions .  Notwithstanding anything contained in this Article 15 to the contrary, Tenant shall not have any liability to Landlord under this Article 15 resulting from any conditions existing, or events occurring, or any Hazardous Substances existing or generated, at, in, on, under or in connection with the Leased Premises prior to the Commencement Date of this Lease (or any earlier occupancy of the Leased Premises by Tenant) except to the extent Tenant exacerbates the same.

 

Section 15.06 Landlord’s Representations Regarding Existing Conditions .  Landlord represents that to Landlord’s actual knowledge, neither Landlord nor any predecessor owner of the Building or underlying land has treated, stored or disposed of any Hazardous Substances upon or within the Building or underlying land.

 

Section 15.07 Landlord’s Indemnification .  Landlord hereby agrees to indemnify Tenant and hold Tenant harmless from and against any and all reasonable and actual expense, loss and liability suffered by Tenant (with the exception of any and all punitive or consequential damages) by reason of (a) Hazardous Substances disposed upon or within the Leased Premises during the Lease Term by Landlord or its agents, or (b) Landlord’s breach of the representations set forth in Section 15.06 above.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, Landlord shall have the right to undertake and perform any studying, remedying, removing, disposing or otherwise addressing the existence of any Hazardous Substances that are the responsibility of Landlord hereunder and of all communications with regulatory or governmental agencies with respect thereto, and Tenant shall not perform such acts and communications nor be entitled to any indemnification hereunder unless (x) Tenant is specifically required by Environmental Laws to perform such acts, and (y) Landlord has failed or refused to perform such acts and communications after having been afforded reasonable written notice by Tenant and having had reasonable opportunity to perform such acts and communications.

 

ARTICLE 16 - MISCELLANEOUS

 

Section 16.01 Benefit of Landlord and Tenant .  This Lease shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon Landlord and Tenant and their respective successors and assigns.

 

Section 16.02 Governing Law .  This Lease shall be governed in accordance with the laws of the State where the Building is located.

 

Section 16.03 Force Majeure .  Landlord and Tenant (except with respect to the payment of any monetary obligation) shall be excused for the period of any delay in the performance of any obligation hereunder when such delay is occasioned by causes beyond its control, including but not limited to work stoppages, boycotts, slowdowns or strikes; shortages of materials, equipment, labor or energy; unusual weather conditions; or acts or omissions of governmental or political bodies; provided, however, that the foregoing shall be subject to Tenant’s rights of abatement as set forth above.

 

Section 16.04 Examination of Lease .  Submission of this instrument by Landlord to Tenant for examination or signature does not constitute an offer by Landlord to lease the Leased Premises.  This Lease shall become effective, if at all, only upon the execution by and delivery to both Landlord and Tenant.  Execution and delivery of this Lease by Tenant to Landlord constitutes an offer to lease the Leased Premises on the terms contained herein.

 

Section 16.05 Indemnification for Leasing Commissions .  The parties hereby represent and warrant that the only real estate brokers involved in the negotiation and execution of this Lease are the Brokers and that no other party is entitled, as a result of the actions of the respective party, to a commission or other fee resulting from the execution of this Lease.  Each party shall indemnify the other from any and all liability for the breach of this representation and warranty on its part or for any liability resulting from a broker or similar party’s claim that it is entitled to a commission or similar compensation based on the acts or omissions of a party to this Lease, and shall pay any compensation to any other broker or person who may be entitled thereto.  Landlord shall pay any commissions due Brokers based on this Lease pursuant to separate agreements between Landlord and Brokers.

 

Section 16.06 Notices .  Any notice required or permitted to be given under this Lease or by law shall be deemed to have been given if it is written and delivered in person or by overnight courier or mailed by certified mail, postage prepaid, to the party who is to receive such notice at the address specified in Section 1.01(l) .  Notice shall be deemed to have been given on the date that such notice is received or on the date such receipt is refused.  Rejection or other refusal by the addressed to accept or the inability to deliver because of a changed address of which no notice was given shall be deemed to be receipt of the notice sent.  Either party may change its address by giving written notice thereof to the other party.

 

17



 

Section 16.07 Partial Invalidity; Complete Agreement .  If any provision of this Lease shall be held to be invalid, void or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.  This Lease represents the entire agreement between Landlord and Tenant covering everything agreed upon or understood in this transaction.  There are no oral promises, conditions, representations, understandings, interpretations or terms of any kind as conditions or inducements to the execution hereof or in effect between the parties.  No change or addition shall be made to this Lease except by a written agreement executed by Landlord and Tenant.

 

Section 16.08 Financial Statements .  Following the Closing, during the Lease Term and any extensions thereof, Tenant shall, upon request, provide to Landlord on an annual basis, within ninety (90) days following the end of Tenant’s fiscal year, a copy of Tenant’s most recent annual report prepared as of the end of Tenant’s fiscal year.  Without limiting the foregoing, in the event that Tenant is no longer a publicly traded company, Tenant shall provide to Landlord on an annual basis, within ninety (90) days following the end of Tenant’s fiscal year, a copy of Tenant’s most recent financial statements prepared as of the end of Tenant’s fiscal year.  Such financial statements shall be signed by Tenant (or an officer of Tenant, if applicable) who shall attest to the truth and accuracy of the information set forth in such statements, or if the Minimum Annual Rent hereunder exceeds $100,000.00, said statements shall be certified and audited, if available.  All financial statements provided by Tenant to Landlord hereunder shall be prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles, consistently applied.  Landlord agrees that it shall maintain the confidentiality of such financial statements during the Lease Term; provided, however, that said obligation shall not be construed so as to prohibit Landlord from disclosing the contents of the financial statements to (a) officers and employees of Landlord and those agents, attorneys and consultants of Landlord reasonably requiring access, (b) actual or prospective lenders, purchasers, investors or shareholders of Landlord, (c) any entity or agency required by law, or (d) any entity or agency which is reasonably necessary to protect Landlord’s interest in any action, suit or proceeding brought by or against Landlord and relating to the subject matter of this Lease.

 

Section 16.09 Representations and Warranties .

 

(a)                                   Tenant hereby represents and warrants that (i) Tenant is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing (if applicable) in accordance with the laws of the State under which it was organized; (ii) Tenant is authorized to do business in the State where the Building is located; and (iii) the individual(s) executing and delivering this Lease on behalf of Tenant has been properly authorized to do so, and such execution and delivery shall bind Tenant to its terms.

 

(b)                                  Landlord hereby represents and warrants that (i) Landlord is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing (if applicable) in accordance with the laws of the State under which it was organized; (ii) Landlord is authorized to do business in the State where the Building is located; and (iii) the individual(s) executing and delivering this Lease on behalf of Landlord has been properly authorized to do so, and such execution and delivery shall bind Landlord to its terms.

 

Section 16.10 Signage .  Tenant may, at its own expense, erect a sign concerning the business of Tenant that shall be in keeping with the decor and other signs on the Building.  All signage (including the signage described in the preceding sentence) in or about the Leased Premises shall be first approved by Landlord and shall be in compliance with any codes and recorded restrictions applicable to the sign or the Building.  The location, size and style of all signs shall be approved by Landlord.  Tenant agrees to maintain any sign in good state of repair, and upon expiration of the Lease Term, Tenant agrees to remove such signs promptly and repair any damage to the Leased Premises.

 

Section 16.11 Consent .  Where the consent of a party is required hereunder, such consent will not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed.

 

Section 16.12.   Time.   Time is of the essence of each term and provision of this Lease.

 

Section 16.13 Usufruct .  Tenant’s interest in the Leased Premises is a usufruct, not subject to levy and sale, and not assignable by Tenant except as expressly set forth herein.

 

Section 16.14 Guaranty .  In consideration of Landlord’s leasing the Leased Premises to Tenant, Tenant shall provide Landlord with an Unconditional Guaranty of Lease in the form attached hereto as Exhibit F , executed by the Guarantor, subject to the terms and conditions of Special Stipulation 12 attached as Exhibit E hereto.

 

 

(SIGNATURES CONTAINED ON FOLLOWING PAGE)

 

18



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Lease as of the day and year first above written.

 

 

Signed, sealed and delivered

LANDLORD:

as to Landlord, in the

 

presence of:

DUKE REALTY LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, an
Indiana limited partnership

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unofficial Witness

 

 

By:

Duke Realty Corporation,
its General Partner

 

 

 

 

 

 

[notarized]

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Bob Chapman

 

Notary Public

 

 

 

Name:

Bob Chapman

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

SEVP

 

 

 

Signed, sealed and delivered

TENANT:

as to Tenant, in the

 

presence of:

NEENAH PAPER, INC., a Delaware corporation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Sean T. Erwin

 

Unofficial Witness

 

Name:

Sean T. Erwin

 

 

 

Title:

President and CEO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[notarized]

 

 

 

 

Notary Public

 

Attest:

/s/ Steve S. Heinrichs

 

 

 

Name:

Steve S. Heinrichs

 

 

 

Title:

Assistant Secretary

 

 

19



 

EXHIBIT A

 

SITE PLAN OF LEASED PREMISES

 

[TO BE ADDED]

 



 

EXHIBIT B

 

TENANT IMPROVEMENTS

 

1.                                        Condition of Leased Premises .

 

(a)                                   Tenant has personally inspected the Leased Premises and accepts the same “AS IS” without representation or warranty by Landlord of any kind, except as otherwise expressly set forth herein; provided, however, nothing herein shall be deemed to negate Landlord’s maintenance and repair obligations as expressly set forth herein.  Tenant shall be responsible for constructing the interior improvements within the Leased Premises as described in Exhibit B-1 attached hereto (the “Tenant Improvements”).  Landlord hereby approves (i) Gobbell Hays Partners, Inc., HESM&, Inc., Harris, Perry & Associates, Inc., and Facilities Consulting Services, Inc., as Tenant’s architect/engineer, (ii) Malone Construction Co. as Tenant’s construction contractor, (iii) Inglett & Stubbs as Tenant’s electrical subcontractor, and (iv) Mallory and Evans as Tenant’s mechanical and plumbing subcontractor.  Promptly following the execution of this Lease, Tenant shall forward to its architect/engineer (and copy Landlord on the transmittal) Landlord’s building standards heretofore delivered to Tenant, and Tenant shall cause its architect/engineer to comply with said building standards.  Promptly following the execution of this Lease, Tenant shall forward to its contractor (and copy Landlord on the transmittal) Landlord’s mechanical, electrical and plumbing specifications and Landlord’s rules of conduct, all of which have been delivered to Tenant prior to the date of this Lease, and Tenant shall cause said contractor to comply with said specifications and rules of conduct.  At Landlord’s request, Tenant shall coordinate a meeting among Landlord, Tenant and Tenant’s contractor to discuss the Building systems and other matters related to the construction of the Tenant Improvements.

 

(b)                                  Landlord shall deliver the Leased Premises to Tenant in broom-clean condition upon the later to occur of (i) full execution of this Lease, and (ii) Tenant’s delivery to Landlord of Tenant’s certificates of insurance as required under Section 8.04 of the Lease.  In the event that Landlord fails to deliver the Leased Premises within two (2) business days following the later to occur of subsection (i) or (ii) above, the Commencement Date (and the expiration of the Lease Term) shall be postponed one day for each day that Landlord fails to deliver the Leased Premises.  Tenant’s acceptance of the Leased Premises prior to the Commencement Date shall not be deemed to create an obligation to pay Minimum Annual Rent or Additional Rent prior to the dates set forth herein; provided, however, that Tenant shall otherwise comply with all of the terms and conditions of this Lease upon acceptance of the Leased Premises.

 

(c)                                   Prior to the Commencement Date, Tenant shall perform the work described on Exhibit B-2 attached hereto (the “Compliance Work”).  Following Tenant’s completion of the Compliance Work, Landlord shall reimburse Tenant for the cost of the Compliance Work, up to $62,083.00 (the “Compliance Allowance”), within thirty (30) days following Tenant’s request therefor (which request shall be accompanied by evidence of such cost reasonably acceptable to Landlord).  Tenant acknowledges and agrees that, to Tenant’s knowledge, following the Compliance Work (i) the restrooms will comply with all ADA (as hereinafter defined) requirements, (ii) there will be no code compliance issues with regard to the separation of walls with adjacent tenants, and (iii) the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system will be in compliance with code with regard to the outside air and installation.  Landlord shall not charge a construction management fee in connection with the Compliance Work.

 

2.                                        Preparation of CD’s .  On or before the forty-fifth (45 th ) day following the date hereof, Tenant shall, at Tenant’s sole cost and expense, prepare and submit to Landlord a set of permittable construction drawings (the “CD’s”), based on the preliminary plans attached hereto as Exhibit B-1 and made a part hereof, covering all work to be performed by Tenant in constructing the Tenant Improvements.  Tenant shall have no right to request any Tenant Improvements that would materially alter the exterior appearance or basic nature of the Building or the Building systems without Landlord’s consent.  Landlord shall have seven (7) days after receipt of the CD’s in which to review the CD’s and in which to give Tenant written notice of its approval of the CD’s or its requested changes to the CD’s.  If Landlord reasonably requests any changes to the CD’s, Tenant shall make such changes and shall, within seven (7) days of its receipt of Landlord’s requested changes (if any), submit the revised portion of the CD’s to Landlord.  Landlord shall have five (5) business days after receipt of the revised CD’s in which to review said revised CD’s and in which to give to Tenant written notice of its approval of the revised CD’s or its requested changes thereto.  This process shall continue until such time, if at all, that Landlord approves the CD’s in accordance with this paragraph.  Tenant shall at all times in its preparation of the CD’s, and of any revisions thereto, act reasonably and in good faith.  Landlord shall at all times in its review of the CD’s, and any revisions thereto, act reasonably and in good faith.  Landlord’s failure to respond within the time periods set forth in this paragraph shall result in Landlord’s approval being deemed given.

 

B-1



 

3.                                        Construction of Tenant Improvements .  Prior to commencing the construction of the Tenant Improvements, Tenant shall deliver to Landlord (a) evidence of insurance (whether carried by Tenant or its contractor), which insurance shall be maintained throughout the construction of the Tenant Improvements, and (b) a project schedule in detail reasonably satisfactory to Landlord.  Throughout the construction of the Tenant Improvements, Tenant shall notify Landlord promptly of any material deviations from such project schedule.  Tenant or its contractor shall construct the Tenant Improvements in a good, first-class and workmanlike manner and in accordance with the CD’s, subject to such changes as may be requested by Tenant and reasonably approved by Landlord, and all applicable governmental regulations.  In the event Tenant intends to change the CD’s after the same have been approved by Landlord, Tenant shall submit such change orders to Landlord and Landlord shall respond with comments to the same within five (5) business days of receipt of the change order, or Landlord shall be deemed to have approved the change order.  Except as otherwise set forth herein, if Tenant shall fail to complete the Tenant Improvements by the Commencement Date, Tenant’s obligation to pay Minimum Annual Rent and Additional Rent hereunder shall nevertheless begin on the Commencement Date.  Landlord shall have the right, from time to time throughout the construction process, to enter upon the Leased Premises to perform periodic inspections of the Tenant Improvements provided that such inspection follows advance written notice from the Landlord and provided such inspection does not unreasonably interrupt or interfere with the completion of the Tenant Improvements.  Tenant agrees to respond to and address promptly any reasonable concerns raised by Landlord during or as a result of such inspections.

 

4.                                        Punchlist .  Upon substantial completion of the Tenant Improvements, a representative of Landlord and a representative of Tenant together shall inspect the Leased Premises and generate a punchlist of defective or uncompleted items relating to the completion of construction of the Tenant Improvements.  Tenant shall, within a reasonable time after such punchlist is prepared and agreed upon by Landlord and Tenant, complete such incomplete work and remedy such defective work as are set forth on the punchlist.

 

5.                                        Improvement Costs .  Landlord shall reimburse Tenant for the Improvement Costs (as hereinafter defined) incurred in constructing the Tenant Improvements, up to an amount equal to $212,835.00 (the “Tenant Allowance”), as follows:

 

(a)                                   Landlord shall pay fifty percent (50%) of the Tenant Allowance, less a holdback (the “Holdback”) equal to ten percent (10%), to Tenant at such time as:

 

(i)                                      Tenant has delivered to Landlord a copy of Tenant’s building permit;

 

(ii)                                   Tenant has received Landlord’s written approval of the CD’s (or Landlord’s approval of the CD’s has been deemed given);

 

(iii)                                Tenant’s contractor has completed fifty percent (50%) of the Tenant Improvements within the Leased Premises, as evidenced by a certificate from Tenant’s architect and invoices, receipts and other evidence reasonably required by Landlord to evidence the cost of the Tenant Improvements made as of the date of Tenant’s request for payment; and

 

(iv)                               Tenant has delivered to Landlord partial lien waivers for the first fifty percent (50%) of the Tenant Improvements from Tenant’s contractor relating to the construction of the first fifty percent (50%) of the Tenant Improvements.

 

(b)                                  Landlord shall pay the remainder of the Tenant Allowance (less the Holdback and the Fee, as hereinafter defined) to Tenant at such time as Tenant’s contractor has:

 

(i)                                      substantially completed the Tenant Improvements and received a certificate of occupancy from the applicable governing authority;

 

(ii)                                   delivered to Landlord lien waivers and affidavits from Tenant’s contractor, together with any other evidence reasonably required by Landlord to satisfy Landlord’s title insurer that there are no parties entitled to file a lien against the real property underlying the Park in connection with such work; and

 

(iii)                                delivered to Landlord all invoices, receipts and other evidence reasonably required by Landlord to evidence the cost of the Tenant Improvements.

 

2



 

(c)                                   Landlord shall pay the Holdback to Tenant at such time as Tenant has completed the incomplete work and remedied the defective work set forth on the punchlist.

 

(d)                                  Landlord shall be entitled to a construction management fee in an amount equal to three percent (3%) of the Tenant Allowance (the “Fee”).  At Landlord’s option, the Fee shall either be (A) applied against the Tenant Allowance, or (B) billed to Tenant (in which case Tenant shall pay the Fee to Landlord within ten (10) days following Landlord’s delivery of an invoice to Tenant).

 

(e)                                   For purposes of this Lease, the term “Improvement Costs” shall mean the cost of the CD’s and any other design related costs and all tenant buildout, including, without limitation, demising walls and utilities.  Tenant shall be responsible for all Improvement Costs in excess of the Tenant Allowance.

 

(f)                                     In the event that Landlord fails to make any required payment of the Tenant Allowance or the Compliance Allowance, such unpaid amount shall bear interest from the due date thereof to the date of payment at the Prime Rate (as defined in Section 3.04 of the Lease) plus six percent (6%) per annum; provided, however, that in no event shall such interest rate exceed twelve percent (12%) per annum.  In addition, to the extent that such payments from Landlord remain unpaid, provided that Tenant has complied with all of the terms and conditions of this paragraph 5 and Tenant is not in default under the Lease, Tenant shall have the right to set off the amount of such payment from the next Monthly Rental Installment(s) due under the Lease.

 

6.                                        Certificate of Occupancy .  Tenant acknowledges and agrees that Tenant shall have no right to conduct its business at the Leased Premises unless and until Tenant delivers to Landlord an original certificate of occupancy for the Leased Premises, to the extent applicable.

 

3



 

EXHIBIT B-1

 

PRELIMINARY PLANS

 

[TO BE ADDED]

 

B-1-1



 

EXHIBIT B-2

 

COMPLIANCE WORK

 

[TO BE ADDED]

 



 

EXHIBIT C

 

LETTER OF UNDERSTANDING

 

Duke Realty Limited Partnership

Attention:                                           , Property Manager

[Address]

[City, State Zip]

 

RE:                               Lease Agreement between Duke Realty Limited Partnership, an Indiana limited partnership (“Landlord”) and                                                                                      (“Tenant”) for the Leased Premises located at                                                                     ,                           ,                               (the “Leased Premises”), dated                                   (the “Lease”).

 

Dear                                   :

 

The undersigned, on behalf of Tenant, certifies to Landlord as follows:

 

1.                                        The Commencement Date under the Lease is December 1, 2004.

 

2.                                        The rent commencement date is June 1, 2005.

 

3.                                        The expiration date of the Lease is September 30, 2014.

 

4.                                        The Lease (including amendments or guaranty, if any) is the entire agreement between Landlord and Tenant as to the leasing of the Leased Premises and is in full force and effect.

 

5.                                        The Landlord has completed the improvements designated as Landlord’s obligation under the Lease (excluding punchlist items as agreed upon by Landlord and Tenant), if any, and Tenant has accepted the Leased Premises as of the Commencement Date, subject to the terms and conditions of the Lease.

 

6.                                        To the undersigned’s actual knowledge, there are no uncured events of default by either Tenant or Landlord under the Lease.

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned has caused this Letter of Understanding to be executed this            day of                                 , 20      .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Printed Name:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

 

 

 

C-1



 

EXHIBIT D

 

RULES AND REGULATIONS

 

1.                                        The sidewalks, entrances, driveways and roadways serving and adjacent to the Leased Premises shall not be obstructed or used for any purpose other than ingress and egress.  Landlord shall control the Common Areas.

 

2.                                        No awnings or other projections shall be attached to the outside walls of the Building.  No curtains, blinds, shades or screens shall be attached to or hung in, or used in connection with, any window or door of the Leased Premises other than Landlord standard window coverings without Landlord’s prior written approval.  All electric ceiling fixtures hung in offices or spaces along the perimeter of the Building must be fluorescent, of a quality, type, design and tube color approved by Landlord.  Neither the interior nor the exterior of any windows shall be coated or otherwise sunscreened without written consent of Landlord.

 

3.                                        No sign, advertisement, notice or handbill shall be exhibited, distributed, painted or affixed by any tenant on, about or from any part of the Leased Premises, the Building or in the Common Areas including the parking area without the prior written consent of Landlord.  In the event of the violation of the foregoing by any tenant, Landlord may remove or stop same without any liability, and may charge the expense incurred in such removal or stopping to tenant.

 

4.                                        The sinks and toilets and other plumbing fixtures shall not be used for any purpose other than those for which they were constructed, and no sweepings, rubbish, rags, or other substances shall be thrown therein.  All damages resulting from any misuse of the fixtures shall be borne by the tenant who, or whose subtenants, assignees or any of their servants, employees, agents, visitors or licensees shall have caused the same.

 

5.                                        No boring, cutting or stringing of wires or laying of any floor coverings shall be permitted, except with the prior written consent of the Landlord and as the Landlord may direct.  Landlord shall direct electricians as to where and how telephone or data cabling are to be introduced.  The location of telephones, call boxes and other office equipment affixed to the Leased Premises shall be subject to the approval of Landlord.  Tenant shall not have access to the roof without prior written notice to Landlord.

 

6.                                        No bicycles, vehicles, birds or animals of any kind (except seeing eye dogs) shall be brought into or kept in or about the Leased Premises, and no cooking shall be done or permitted by any tenant on the Leased Premises, except microwave cooking, and the preparation of coffee, tea, hot chocolate and similar items for tenants and their employees.  No tenant shall cause or permit any unusual or objectionable odors to be produced in or permeate from the Leased Premises.

 

7.                                        The Leased Premises shall not be used for manufacturing, unless such use conforms to the zoning applicable to the area, and the Landlord provides written consent.  No tenant shall occupy or permit any portion of the Leased Premises to be occupied as an office for the manufacture or sale of liquor, narcotics, or tobacco in any form, or as a medical office, or as a barber or manicure shop, or a dance, exercise or music studio, or any type of school or daycare or copy, photographic or print shop or an employment bureau without the express written consent of Landlord.  The Leased Premises shall not be used for lodging or sleeping or for any immoral or illegal purpose.

 

8.                                        No tenant shall make, or permit to be made any unseemly, excessive or disturbing noises or disturb or interfere with occupants of this or neighboring buildings or premises or those having business with them, whether by the use of any musical instrument, radio, phonograph, unusual noise, or in any other way.  No tenant shall throw anything out of doors, windows or down the passageways.

 

9.                                        No tenant, subtenant or assignee nor any of its servants, employees, agents, visitors or licensees, shall at any time bring or keep upon the Leased Premises any flammable, combustible or explosive fluid, chemical or substance or firearm, except as otherwise expressly permitted in such tenant’s lease.

 

10.                                  No additional locks or bolts of any kind shall be placed upon any of the doors or windows by any tenant, nor shall any changes be made to existing locks or the mechanism thereof.  Each tenant must upon the termination of his tenancy, restore to the Landlord all keys of doors, offices, and toilet rooms, either furnished to, or otherwise procured by, such tenant and in the event of the loss of keys so furnished, such tenant shall pay to the Landlord the cost of replacing the same or of changing the lock or locks opened by such lost key if Landlord shall deem it necessary to make such changes.

 

D-1



 

11.                                  No tenant shall overload the floors of the Leased Premises.  All damage to the floor, structure or foundation of the Building due to improper positioning or storage items or materials shall be repaired by Landlord at the sole cost and expense of tenant, who shall reimburse Landlord immediately therefor upon demand.

 

12.                                  Each tenant shall be responsible for all persons entering the Building at tenant’s invitation, express or implied.  Landlord shall in no case be liable for damages for any error with regard to the admission to or exclusion from the Building of any person.  In case of an invasion, mob riot, public excitement or other circumstances rendering such action advisable in Landlord’s opinion, Landlord reserves the right without any abatement of rent to require all persons to vacate the Building and to prevent access to the Building during the continuance of the same for the safety of the tenants and the protection of the Building and the property in the Building.

 

13.                                  Canvassing, soliciting and peddling in the Building are prohibited, and each tenant shall report and otherwise cooperate to prevent the same.

 

14.                                  All equipment of any electrical or mechanical nature shall be placed by tenant in the Leased Premises in settings that will, to the maximum extent possible, absorb or prevent any vibration, noise and annoyance.

 

15.                                  There shall not be used in any space, either by any tenant or others, any hand trucks except those equipped with rubber tires and rubber side guards.

 

16.                                  Intentionally Omitted.

 

17.                                  The Building is a smoke-free Building.  Smoking is strictly prohibited within the Building.  Smoking shall only be allowed in areas designated as a smoking area by Landlord.  Tenant and its employees, representatives, contractors or invitees shall not smoke within the Building or throw cigar or cigarette butts or other substances or litter of any kind in or about the Building, except in receptacles for that purpose.  Landlord may, at its sole discretion, impose a charge against monthly rent of $50.00 per violation by tenant or any of its employees, representatives, contractors or invitees, of this smoking policy.

 

18.                                  Tenants will insure that all doors are securely locked and water faucets are turned off before leaving the Building.

 

19.                                  Tenant, its employees, customers, invitees and guests shall, when using the parking facilities in and around the Building, observe and obey all signs regarding fire lanes and no-parking and driving speed zones and designated handicapped and visitor spaces, and when parking always park between the designated lines.  Landlord reserves the right to tow away, at the expense of the owner, any vehicle which is improperly parked or parked in a no-parking zone or in a designated handicapped area, and any vehicle which is left in any parking lot in violation of the foregoing regulation.  All vehicles shall be parked at the sole risk of the owner, and Landlord assumes no responsibility for any damage to or loss of vehicles.

 

20.                                  Tenant shall be responsible for and cause the proper disposal of medical waste, including hypodermic needles, created by its employees.

 

21.                                  No outside storage is permitted including without limitation the storage of trucks and other vehicles.

 

22.                                  No tenant shall be allowed to conduct an auction from the Leased Premises without the prior written consent of Landlord.

 

It is Landlord’s desire to maintain in the Building and Common Areas the highest standard of dignity and good taste consistent with comfort and convenience for tenants.  Any action or condition not meeting this high standard should be reported directly to Landlord.  The Landlord reserves the right to make such other and further rules and regulations as in its judgment may from time to time be necessary for the safety, care and cleanliness of the Building and Common Areas, and for the preservation of good order therein.  In the event of an express conflict between the terms and provisions of the Lease and these Building Rules and Regulations, the terms of the Lease shall govern and prevail in each and every instance.

 

2



 

EXHIBIT E

 

SPECIAL STIPULATIONS

 

The Special Stipulations set forth herein are hereby incorporated into the body of the lease to which these Special Stipulations are attached (the “Lease”), and to the extent of any conflict between these Special Stipulations and the Lease, these Special Stipulations shall govern and control.

 

1.                                        Option to Extend .

 

(a)                                   Grant and Exercise of Option .  Provided that (i) the Lease is in full force and effect, (ii) no Default has occurred and is then continuing and no facts or circumstances exist which, with the giving of notice or the passage of time, or both, would constitute a Default, and (iii) the tangible net worth of Tenant is at least $10,000,000.00, Tenant shall have two (2) options to extend the prior Lease Term (the “Prior Term”) for five (5) years each (each an “Extension Term”).  Each Extension Term shall be upon the same terms and conditions contained in the Lease except (i) this provision giving two (2) extension options shall be amended to reflect the remaining options to extend, if any, (ii) any improvement allowances or other concessions applicable to the Leased Premises during the Prior Term shall not apply to the Extension Term, and (iii) the Minimum Annual Rent shall be adjusted as set forth herein (said adjustment being referred to herein as the “Rent Adjustment”).  Tenant shall exercise each option by delivering to Landlord, no later than one hundred eighty (180) days prior to the expiration of the Prior Term, written notice of Tenant’s desire to extend the Prior Term.   Tenant’s failure to timely exercise such option shall be deemed a waiver of such option.  If Tenant timely exercises its option to extend, Landlord and Tenant shall execute an amendment to the Lease (or, at Landlord’s option, a new lease on the form then in use for the Building) reflecting the terms and conditions of the Extension Term within thirty (30) days after Tenant’s exercise of its option to extend.

 

(b)                                  Rent Adjustment .  The Minimum Annual Rent for the Extension Term shall be as follows:

 

First Extension Term

$8.15 per square foot

Second Extension Term

$9.13 per square foot

 

(c)                                   Monthly Rental . The Monthly Rental Installments shall be an amount equal to one-twelfth (1/12) of the Minimum Annual Rent for the Extension Term and shall be paid at the same time and in the same manner as provided in the Lease.

 

(d)                                  Personal .  The option to extend provided in subparagraph (a) above is personal to Neenah Paper, Inc. (or its Permitted Transferee) and shall automatically terminate and be of no further force and effect in the event that Neenah Paper, Inc. assigns or sublets all or any portion of its interest in the Lease (except to a Permitted Transferee).

 

2.                                        Compliance With Law .

 

(a)                                   Existing Governmental Regulations .  If any federal, state or local laws, ordinances, orders, rules, regulations or requirements (collectively, “Governmental Requirements”) in existence as of the date of the Lease require an alteration or modification of the Leased Premises (a “Code Modification”) and such Code Modification (i) is not made necessary as a result of the specific use being made by Tenant of the Leased Premises (as distinguished from an alteration or improvement which would be required to be made by the owner of any warehouse-office building comparable to the Building irrespective of the use thereof by any particular occupant), and (ii) is not made necessary as a result of any alteration of the Leased Premises by Tenant, such Code Modification shall be performed by Landlord, at Landlord’s sole cost and expense, and not included in Operating Expenses.

 

(b)                                  Governmental Regulations – Landlord Responsibility .  If, as a result of one or more Governmental Requirements that are not in existence as of the date of this Lease, it is necessary from time to time during the Lease Term, to perform a Code Modification to the Building or the Common Areas that (i) is not made necessary as a result of the specific use being made by Tenant of Leased Premises (as distinguished from an alteration or improvement which would be required to be made by the owner of any warehouse-office building comparable to the Building irrespective of the use thereof by any particular occupant), and (ii) is not made necessary as a result of any alteration of the Leased Premises by Tenant, such Code Modification shall be performed by Landlord and cost thereof shall be included in Operating Expenses without being subject to any applicable cap on expenses set forth herein.

 

E-1



 

(c)                                   Governmental Regulations – Tenant Responsibility .  If, as a result of one or more Governmental Requirements, it is necessary from time to time during the Lease Term to perform a Code Modification to the Building or the Common Areas that is made necessary as a result of the specific use being made by Tenant of the Leased Premises or as a result of any alteration of the Leased Premises by Tenant (excluding the Tenant Improvements under the Lease), such Code Modification shall be the sole and exclusive responsibility of Tenant in all respects; provided, however, that Tenant shall have the right to retract its request to perform a proposed alteration in the event that the performance of such alteration would trigger the requirement for a Code Modification.

 

3.                                        Quiet Enjoyment .   So long as Tenant is not in Default hereunder, Landlord agrees that Tenant shall have the right to quietly use and enjoy the Leased Premises for the Lease Term.

 

4.                                        Cap on Controllable Expenses .  Notwithstanding anything in this Lease to the contrary, Tenant will be responsible for Tenant’s Proportionate Share of Real Estate Taxes, Insurance Premiums, utilities, snow removal, landscaping (other than of a capital nature) and charges assessed against or attributed to the Building pursuant to any applicable declaration of protective covenants (“Uncontrollable Expenses”), without regard to the level of increase in any or all of the above in any year or other period of time.  Tenant’s obligation to pay all other Operating Expenses that are not Uncontrollable Expenses (herein “Controllable Expenses”) shall be limited to a seven percent (7%) per annum increase over the amount the Controllable Expenses for the immediately preceding calendar year would have been had the Controllable Expenses increased at the rate of seven percent (7%) in all previous calendar years beginning with the actual Controllable Expenses for the year ending December 31, 2005.

 

5.                                        Building Compliance .  Landlord represents and warrants to Tenant that, to Landlord’s actual knowledge, the design and construction of the Building materially complies with all applicable federal, state, county and municipal laws, ordinances and codes in effect as of the date of the Lease, excepting therefrom any requirements related to Tenant’s specific use of the Leased Premises.

 

6.                                        ADA .  Subject to the last sentence hereof, Landlord, at its sole cost and expense, shall be responsible for causing the Building to comply with Title III of the American With Disabilities Act of 1990 (the “ADA”), or the regulations promulgated thereunder (as the ADA is in effect and pertains to the general public), as of the Commencement Date.  During the Lease Term, Tenant hereby agrees that it shall be responsible, at its sole cost and expense, for causing the Building, the Common Area and the Leased Premises to comply with the ADA as a result of (i) any special requirements of the ADA relating to accommodations for individual employees, invitees and/or guests of Tenant, and (ii) any alterations made to the Leased Premises by Tenant (excluding the Tenant Improvements under the Lease).

 

7.                                        Landlord Lien Subordination .  Landlord does hereby agree to subordinate any statutory lien on Tenant’s Property granted to Landlord to the lien of any institutional lender providing financing to Tenant that is secured by Tenant’s trade fixtures, equipment, inventory or other personal property located at the Leased Premises, all pursuant to a landlord lien subordination agreement in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Landlord.

 

8.                                        Parking .   Throughout the term of this Lease and any extensions thereof, Landlord shall make available to Tenant a number of automobile parking spaces (on an unassigned, non-exclusive basis) in the parking area of the Park, said parking area being shown on Exhibit G attached hereto and made a part hereof, based on a formula of six (6) parking spaces for each 1,000 square feet of rentable area within the Leased Premises, rounded to the nearest whole number of spaces.  Such parking shall be at no additional cost to Tenant.  Tenant agrees not to overburden the parking facilities and agrees to cooperate with Landlord and other tenants in the use of parking facilities.  Landlord reserves the right in its absolute discretion to determine whether parking facilities are becoming crowded and, in such event, to allocate parking spaces among Tenant and other tenants; provided, however, that in no event shall the number of parking spaces allocated to Tenant be decreased.  There will be no assigned parking unless Landlord, in its sole discretion, may deem advisable.  No vehicle may be repaired or serviced in the parking area and any vehicle deemed abandoned by Landlord will be towed from the project and all costs therein shall be borne by the Tenant.  All driveways, ingress and egress, and all parking spaces are for the joint use of all tenants.  There shall be no parking permitted on any of the streets or roadways located within the Park.

 

9.                                        Confidential Materials .  Landlord shall use reasonable efforts to cause its employees, affiliates and the employees of its affiliates not to disseminate any confidential materials located within the Leased Premises.  This Special Stipulation 9 shall survive the expiration or any earlier termination of the Lease for a period of five (5) years.

 

10.                                  Environmental Matters .  Notwithstanding anything set forth in the Lease to the contrary, if and only if Tenant complies with all of the following conditions and with Article 15 of the Lease, Tenant may

 

2



 

use and store in the Leased Premises certain Hazardous Substances:  (a) prior to using or storing any Hazardous Substances in the Leased Premises, Tenant delivers to Landlord written notice setting forth the name and quantity of all such Hazardous Substances, together with the Materials Safety Data Sheets (the “MSDS Sheets”) for such Hazardous Substances (to the extent not previously delivered to Landlord), (b) Tenant takes all precautions necessary or advisable and uses its best efforts to prevent the dissemination of any Hazardous Substances outside of the Leased Premises, (c) Tenant uses and stores all Hazardous Substances in accordance with the MSDS Sheets that Tenant provides to Landlord, (d) Tenant does not use or store any Hazardous Substances in a manner that would cause the Leased Premises to become subject to regulation as a hazardous waste treatment, storage or disposal facility under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”) or the regulations promulgated thereunder, (e) Tenant shall not use or store any Hazardous Substances in a manner as to cause Tenant to become regulated as a generator under RCRA other than as a “Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator”, which shall mean the current RCRA definition of a generator of not more than 100kg. of hazardous wastes per month, and (f) if, following a review of the MSDS Sheets by Landlord’s environmental consultant, such consultant recommends any alterations to the Leased Premises due to the volatile nature of such Hazardous Substances (e.g. secondary containment), Tenant shall either (i) withdraw its request to use or store such Hazardous Substances in the Leased Premises, or (ii) make such alterations, at Tenant’s sole cost, promptly following Landlord’s request.  If Landlord requests any alterations to the Leased Premises pursuant to clause (f) above, at the time Landlord makes such request, Landlord shall specify whether Tenant will be required to remove such alterations upon the expiration or earlier termination of the Lease.

 

11.                                  Option to Terminate .

 

(a)                                   Termination Right .  Landlord and Tenant acknowledge that as of the date hereof, Tenant is a wholly-owned subsidiary of guarantor.  Landlord and Tenant further acknowledge that Guarantor intends to spin-off Tenant, at which time Tenant will be a publicly traded company unaffiliated with Guarantor.  The consummation of said spin-off is referred to herein as the “Closing.”  Provided that the Closing has not theretofore occurred, Tenant shall have the right to terminate the Lease by delivering written notice of such termination (the “Termination Notice”) to Landlord on or before April 1, 2005, and together with such Termination Notice, Tenant shall deliver to Landlord as an agreed upon termination fee the amount of $364,976.00 (the “Termination Fee”).  Landlord agrees, however, that (i) the Termination Fee shall be reduced by the amount of any unpaid portion of the Tenant Allowance, and (ii) if the Termination Notice is delivered prior to the construction and installation of the Tenant Improvements, Tenant shall have no right to construct and install any of the Tenant Improvements and the Termination Fee shall be reduced by $85,134.00.  If Tenant terminates the Lease pursuant to this subsection (a), such termination shall be effective as of the forty-fifth (45 th ) day following Tenant’s delivery of the Termination Notice.

 

(b)                                  Personal .  The termination option provided in subparagraph (a) above is personal to Neenah Paper, Inc. and shall automatically terminate and be of no further force and effect in the event that Neenah Paper, Inc. assigns or sublets all or any portion of its interest in the Lease.

 

12.                                  Release of Guaranty .

 

(a)                                   If the Closing, as described in Special Stipulation 11 above, should occur, Tenant agrees to notify Landlord promptly in writing (the “Closing Notice”).  Upon Landlord’s receipt of the Closing Notice, Tenant’s right to terminate the Lease pursuant to Special Stipulation 11 above, shall be deemed waived.  If Tenant delivers the Closing Notice as aforesaid, the Unconditional Guaranty of Lease (the “Guaranty”) shall be null and void and have no further force or effect upon the later to occur of the following: (i) Tenant’s delivery of the Security Deposit pursuant to Section 4.01 of this Lease, and (ii) if a default has occurred under this Lease of which Guarantor has been given notice and such default is then continuing, at such time as such default has been cured (provided, however, that the Guaranty shall not be effective with respect to matters accruing after Landlord’s receipt of the Closing Notice).

 

(b)                                  If this Lease is terminated pursuant to Special Stipulation 11 above, the Guaranty shall terminate and be of no force upon the later to occur of the following:  (i) Tenant’s delivery of the Termination Notice together with the $364,976.00 fee, and (ii) if a default has occurred under the Lease that is then continuing, at such time as such default has been cured.

 

13.                                  Security Interest .  Landlord does hereby agree to subordinate any statutory lien on Tenant’s Property granted to Landlord to the lien of any institutional lender providing financing to Tenant that is secured by Tenant’s trade fixtures, equipment, inventory or other personal property located at the Leased Premises, all pursuant to a landlord lien subordination agreement in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Landlord.

 

3



 

EXHIBIT F

 

FORM OF UNCONDITIONAL GUARANTY OF LEASE

 

This Unconditional Guaranty of Lease is entered into as of the        day of                 , 2004, by the undersigned, KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION, a Delaware corporation (“Guarantor”).

 

R E C I T A L S

 

WHEREAS, Neenah Paper, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Tenant”) desires to enter into a certain Lease with Duke Realty Limited Partnership, an Indiana limited partnership (“Landlord”), for certain space described therein and more commonly known as 655 Hembree Park Drive, Suite G, Roswell, Georgia 30076 (the “Lease”); and

 

WHEREAS, Landlord is willing to enter into the Lease only if it receives a guaranty of obligations thereunder from the undersigned upon the terms and conditions set forth below; and

 

WHEREAS, in order to induce Landlord to enter into the Lease, Guarantor is willing and agrees to enter into this Unconditional Guaranty of Lease upon the following terms and conditions; and

 

WHEREAS, Guarantor is a related company to Tenant as of the date hereof and will be benefited by the Lease;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing recitals and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, Guarantor agrees as follows:

 

1.                                        Guarantor hereby becomes surety for and unconditionally guarantees (i) the prompt payment of all rents, additional rents and other sums to be paid by Tenant under the terms of the Lease; and (ii) the performance by Tenant of the covenants, conditions and terms of the Lease (such payment and performance to be referred to collectively as “Obligations”).  In the event Tenant defaults in the performance of the Obligations during the term of the Lease, Guarantor hereby promises and agrees to pay to Landlord all rents and any arrearages thereof and any other amounts that may be or become due and to fully satisfy all conditions and covenants of the Lease to be kept and performed by Tenant.

 

2.                                        As conditions of liability pursuant to this Guaranty, Guarantor hereby unconditionally waives (a) any notice of default by Tenant in the payment of rent or any other amount or any other term, covenant or condition of the Lease; (b) any requirement that Landlord exercise or exhaust its rights and remedies against Tenant or against any person, firm or corporation prior to enforcing its rights against Guarantor, and (c) any and all rights of reimbursement, indemnity, subrogation or otherwise which, upon payment under this Guaranty, Guarantor may have against Tenant.

 

3.                                        Landlord may, without notice to Guarantor, and Guarantor hereby consents thereto, (a) modify or otherwise change or alter the terms and conditions of the Lease; and (b) waive any of its rights under the Lease or forbear to take steps to enforce the payment of rent or any other term or condition of the Lease against Tenant.

 

4.                                        Guarantor hereby agrees, upon the request of Landlord, to execute, acknowledge and deliver to Landlord a statement in writing certifying, if this be the fact, that this Guaranty of the referenced Lease is unmodified, in full force and effect, and there are no defenses or offsets thereto; certifying that the referenced Lease is unmodified, in full force and effect, and there are no defenses or offsets to such Lease (or if modified, that the Lease is in full force and effect as modified and that this Guaranty extends to and fully covers such Lease, as modified); and certifying the dates to which Minimum Annual Rent, Annual Rental Adjustment, if any, and any other additional rentals have been paid.

 

5.                                        In the event Tenant fails during the term of this Lease to pay any rent, additional rent or other payments when due or fails to comply with any other term, covenant or condition of the Lease, Guarantor, upon demand of Landlord, shall make such payments and perform such covenants as if they constituted the direct and primary obligations of Guarantor; and such obligations of Guarantor shall be due with attorneys’ fees and all costs of litigation and without deduction or offset.

 

6.                                        The rights and obligations created by this Guaranty shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the successors, assigns and legal representatives of Guarantor and Landlord.

 

F-1



 

7.                                        Anything herein or in the Lease to the contrary notwithstanding, Guarantor hereby acknowledges and agrees that any security deposit or other credit in favor of the Tenant may be applied to cure any Tenant default or offset any damages incurred by Landlord under the Lease, as Landlord determines in its sole and absolute discretion, and Landlord shall not be obligated to apply any such deposit or credit to any such default or damages before bringing any action or pursuing any remedy available to Landlord against Guarantor.  Guarantor further acknowledges that its liability under this Guaranty shall not be affected in any manner by such deposit or credit, or Landlord’s application thereof.

 

8.                                        In the event that Guarantor is no longer a publicly traded company with publicly available financial statements, Guarantor shall provide to Landlord upon request, a copy of Guarantor’s most recent financial statements (certified and audited, if available).  Such financial statements shall be signed by Guarantor (or an officer of Guarantor, if applicable) who shall attest to the truth and accuracy of the information set forth in such statements.  All financial statements provided by Guarantor to Landlord hereunder shall be prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles, consistently applied.

 

9.                                        If the Lease is terminated pursuant to Special Stipulation 11 of Exhibit E to the Lease, this Unconditional Guaranty of Lease shall terminate and be of no force upon the later to occur of the following:  (i) Tenant’s delivery of the Termination Notice (as defined in said Special Stipulation 11) together with a fee in the amount of $364,976.00, and (ii) if a default has occurred under the Lease that is then continuing, at such time as such default has been cured.

 

10.                                  If the Closing, as defined in Special Stipulation 12 of Exhibit E to the Lease, occurs, this Unconditional Guaranty of Lease shall terminate upon the later to occur of (a) Tenant’s delivery to Landlord of the Security Deposit pursuant to Section 4.01 of the Lease, and (b) if a default has occurred under the Lease of which Guarantor has been given notice and such default is then continuing, at such time as such default has been cured (provided, however, that this Unconditional Guaranty of Lease shall not be effective with respect to matters accruing after Landlord’s receipt of the Closing Notice, as defined in Special Stipulation 12 of Exhibit E to the Lease).

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Guarantor has executed this Unconditional Guaranty of Lease as of the date set forth above.

 

Signed, sealed and delivered

GUARANTOR:

as to Landlord, in the

 

presence of:

KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION, a
Delaware Corporation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

 

 

Unofficial Witness

 

Name:

 

 

 

 

Title:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notary Public

 

Attest:

 

 

 

 

Name:

 

 

 

 

Title:

 

 

 

2



 

EXHIBIT G

 

PARKING AREA

 

[TO BE ADDED]

 

G-1


 

Exhibit 10.5

 

 

 

NEENAH PAPER

SUPPLEMENTAL PENSION PLAN

 



 

NEENAH PAPER SUPPLEMENTAL PENSION PLAN

 

ARTICLE I

INTRODUCTION

 

1.1                                  Establishment of the Plan .  Neenah Paper, Inc. (the “Company”) hereby establishes a supplemental benefits plan for its Employees, to be known as the Neenah Paper Supplemental Pension Plan (the “Plan”), as set forth in this document.

 

1.2                                  Background.   Effective as of November 30, 2004 (the “Distribution Date”), a spinoff of the Company, then a subsidiary of Kimberly-Clark Corporation, was effectuated by the distribution of Company shares to Kimberly-Clark Corporation’s shareholders.  In connection with the spinoff transaction, the Company agreed to establish a supplemental pension plan similar to the Supplemental Benefit Plan to the Kimberly-Clark Corporation Pension Plan and the Second Supplemental Benefit Plan to the Kimberly-Clark Corporation Pension Plan for the benefit of certain employees who were hired by the Company.

 

1.3                                  Type of Plan .  This Plan is intended to be both (i) an unfunded “excess benefit plan” within the meaning of Section 3(36) and 4(b)(5) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”) and (ii) an unfunded plan of deferred compensation for a select group of management or highly compensated employees, within the meaning of Title I of ERISA.

 

1.4                                  Purpose .  As an unfunded excess benefit plan and an unfunded plan of deferred compensation, the purpose of this Plan is solely to provide benefits to participants in the Neenah Paper Pension Plan, as amended and restated from time to time (the “Pension Plan”), which exceed the limitation on benefits imposed by Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any comparable provision of any future legislation which amends, supplements or supersedes that Section (“Section 415 of the Code”).  Additionally, this Plan will provide such benefits in addition to the Pension Plan, which are necessary to fulfill the Pension Plan’s intent without regard to Code Section 401(a)(17) or any dollar limit imposed by the Code on the amount of compensation considered under the Pension Plan.

 

1.5                                  Effective Date.   The effective date of the Plan is December 1, 2004.

 



 

ARTICLE II

DEFINITIONS & CONSTRUCTION

 

Each term that is used in this Plan and also used in the Pension Plan shall have the same meaning herein as under the Pension Plan.

 

Notwithstanding the above, for purposes of this Plan, where the following words and phrases appear in this Plan they shall have the respective meanings set forth below unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

 

2.1                                  Affiliate .  The Company and any company, person or organization which, on the date of determination, (A) is a member of a controlled group of corporations (as defined in Code section 414(b)) which includes the Company; (B) is a trade or business (whether or not incorporated) which controls, is controlled by or is under common control with (within the meaning of Code section 414(c)) the Company; (C) is a member of an affiliated service group (as defined in Code section 414(m)) which includes the Company; or (D) is otherwise required to be aggregated with the Company pursuant to Code section 414(o) and regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

2.2                                  Benefit .  Any benefit payable pursuant to, and determined in accordance with the provisions of this Plan.

 

2.3                                  Board .  The Board of Directors of Neenah Paper, Inc.

 

2.4                                  Change of Control .  A Change of Control shall be deemed to have taken place upon:

 

(A)                               Acquisition of Substantial Percentage .  The acquisition by any Person of Beneficial Ownership of thirty percent (30%) or more of the combined voting power of the then outstanding voting securities of the Company entitled to vote generally in the election of Directors (the “Outstanding Company Voting Securities”); provided, however, that for purposes of this Section, the following acquisitions shall not constitute a Change in Control:  (i) any acquisition by a Person who on the Effective Date is the Beneficial Owner of thirty percent (30%) or more of the Outstanding Company Voting Securities, (ii) any acquisition directly from the Company, including without limitation, a public offering of securities, (iii) any acquisition by the Company, (iv) any acquisition by any employee benefit plan (or related trust) sponsored or maintained by the Company or any of its Affiliates, or (v) any acquisition by any corporation pursuant to a transaction which complies with subparagraphs (i), (ii), and (iii) of Section 2.4(C) hereof;

 

(B)                                 Change in Majority of Board Members .  During any period of two consecutive years, individuals who at the beginning of such period constitute the Board (the “Incumbent Board”) cease for any reason to constitute at least a majority of the Board, provided that any individual becoming a Director whose election, or nomination for election by the Company’s shareholders, was approved by a vote of at least a majority of the Directors then comprising the Incumbent Board shall

 

2



 

be considered as though such individual were a member of the Incumbent Board, but excluding, for this purpose, any such individual whose initial assumption of office is in connection with an actual or threatened election contest relating to the election or removal of the Directors of the Company or other actual or threatened solicitation of proxies of consents by or on behalf of a Person other than the Board;

 

(C)                                 Reorganization, Merger or Consolidation .  Consummation of a reorganization, merger, or consolidation to which the Company is a party or a sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company (a “Business Combination”), in each case unless, following such Business Combination: (i) all or substantially all of the individuals and entities who were the Beneficial Owners of Outstanding Company Voting Securities immediately prior to such Business Combination beneficially own, directly or indirectly, more than sixty percent (60%) of the combined voting power of the outstanding voting securities entitled to vote generally in the election of Directors of the Company resulting from the Business Combination (including, without limitation, a corporation which as a result of such transaction owns the Company or all or substantially all of the Company’s assets either directly or through one or more Affiliates) (the “Successor Entity”) in substantially the same proportions as their ownership immediately prior to such Business Combination of the Outstanding Company Voting Securities; and (ii) no Person (excluding any Successor Entity or any employee benefit plan, or related trust, of the Company or such Successor Entity) beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, thirty percent (30%) or more of the combined voting power of the then outstanding voting securities of the Successor Entity, except to the extent that such ownership existed prior to the Business Combination; and (iii) at least a majority of the members of the board of directors of the Successor Entity were members of the Incumbent Board (including persons deemed to be members of the Incumbent Board by reason of the proviso to paragraph (b) of this Section) at the time of the execution of the initial Participation Agreement or of the action of the Board providing for such Business Combination; or

 

(D)                                Liquidation or Dissolution .  Approval by the shareholders of the Company of a complete liquidation or dissolution of the Company.

 

2.5                                  Code .  The Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to time, and as construed and interpreted by valid regulations or rulings issued thereunder.

 

2.6                                  Company .  Neenah Paper, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

 

2.7                                  Supplemental Benefit .  The Supplemental Benefit shall be the difference between:

 

(A)                               the monthly amount payable under the Pension Plan, which monthly amount shall be calculated (i) without regard to Article XII of the Pension Plan and (ii) using the term Earnings defined as set forth in Section 2.9; less

 

3



 

(B)                                 the sum of (i) the monthly amount payable under the Pension Plan and (ii) the monthly amount payable as an Excess Benefit under this Plan.

 

2.8                                  Distribution Date .  November 30, 2004, the date upon which a spinoff of the Company, then a subsidiary of Kimberly-Clark Corporation, was effected through the distribution of Company shares to Kimberly-Clark Corporation’s shareholders.

 

2.9                                  Earnings .  Earnings shall have the same meaning herein as under the Pension Plan.  For the purposes of this Plan, however, the Earnings paid to an Employee for a Plan Year in excess of $200,000 (or such limit as adjusted at the same time and in the same manner as under Section 401(a)(17)(B) of the Code for that Plan Year) shall be included in determining the Supplemental Benefit under this Plan.

 

2.10                            Effective Date .  December 1, 2004, or with respect to a particular Affiliate, such later date as of which the Plan Administrative Committee deems such Affiliate to be a Participating Employer in the Plan.

 

2.11                            Employee .  An Employee as defined in the Schedules to the Pension Plan; provided, notwithstanding any other provision in the Plan, a person whose only relationship to the Plan is that of a leased employee shall not be an Employee and shall not be entitled to benefit under the Plan. For purposes of the preceding sentence, the term “leased employee” means any person (other than an employee of recipient) who pursuant to an agreement between the recipient and any other person (a “leasing organization”) has performed services for the recipient (or for the recipient and related persons determined in accordance with section 414(n) of the Code) on a substantially full-time basis for a period of at least one year, and such services are performed under the primary direction and control of the recipient.

 

2.12                            Employer .  The Company and each Affiliate that the Plan Administrative Committee shall from time to time designate as a Participating Employer for purposes of the Plan as shown in Appendix A of the Pension Plan.

 

2.13                            ERISA .  The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended from time to time, and as construed and interpreted by valid regulations or rulings issued thereunder.

 

2.14                            Excess Benefit .  The amounts paid to a Pensioner (or such spouse or designated beneficiary, as the case may be) of Disability Benefit, Basic Benefit, Optional Joint and Survivor Benefit, Pensioners Benefit, Survivors Benefit, Optional Years Certain and Life Benefit, Deferred Benefit, Automatic Survivor’s Benefit, (all as defined in the Pension Plan) and any other benefits including benefits distributed upon termination of the Plan (as the case may be) as would have been paid to such person under the Pension Plan without regard to the limitation on benefits imposed by Section 415 of the Code, but only to the extent that the amount of such benefits exceeds such limitation.

 

2.15                            Lump Sum Payment .  A form of benefit payable as a lump sum cash payment, actuarially determined based on the rate of interest equivalent to the yield on a 20-year Treasury Bond as published in the Federal Reserve Statistical Release for the week that contains

 

4



 

the first business day of the month prior to the date such Lump Sum payment is payable under this Plan, or such other rate as determined pursuant to uniform Plan Administrative Committee rules, and the mortality table set forth for determining actuarial equivalent benefits under Section 10.1(a) of the Pension Plan, and (i) in the case of a lump sum payment pursuant to Section 4.1(A) of this Plan, based on the Participant’s Benefit payable from this plan and his age at the date of such lump sum payment, and (ii) in the case of a lump sum payment pursuant to Section 4.1(B) of this Plan, based on the Participant’s Benefit payable under this Plan, the earliest age at which his Benefit from the Pension Plan could commence if he terminated employment, and the early retirement reduction factor applicable at such age of commencement.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the 20-year Treasury Bond yield shall be used in determining a lump sum cash payment so long as such rate is published by the Federal Reserve.  In the event that the Federal Reserve ceases to publish the 20-year Treasury Bond rate, a lump sum cash payment will be actuarially determined based on the rate of interest equivalent to the yield on the longest term Treasury Bond published in the Federal Reserve Statistical Release which is no more than 20-years but not less than for a 10-year term.

 

2.16                            Participant .  A participant in this Plan is a Participant in the Pension Plan and

 

(A)                               is eligible to receive an Excess Benefit, pursuant to Section 3.1(A), upon his termination of employment; and/or

 

(B)                                 is eligible to receive a Supplemental Benefit, pursuant to Section 3.1(B); except, no individual shall be a Participant herein to the extent that such participation is precluded by an agreement between the Company and such individual or such individual is subject to a separate agreement regarding deferred compensation which provides for similar benefits.

 

2.17                            Participating Employer .  An Employer that has been approved by the Plan Administrative Committee as an Employer participating in the Plan.  Appendix A to the Pension Plan sets forth a list of Participating Employers and may be amended from time to time by the Plan Administrative Committee without Board action or approval.

 

2.18                            Pension Plan .  The Neenah Paper Pension Plan.

 

2.19                            Pensioner .  A person whose employment with an Employer has terminated and who is receiving a Benefit from the Pension Plan based upon such employment.

 

2.20                            Plan .  This Neenah Paper Supplemental Pension Plan, as amended from time to time.

 

2.21                            Plan Administrative Committee .  The committee appointed by the Board to administer and regulate the Plan as provided in Section 5.3 of this Plan.

 

2.22                            Plan Year .  The short period beginning on December 1, 2004, and ending on December 31, 2004; and thereafter, each twelve calendar month period beginning on January 1 and ending on the following December 31.

 

5



 

2.23                            Timely Elected .  Shall mean as follows:

 

(A)                               The Participant has elected to receive a Lump Sum Payment no later than the calendar year prior to the year in which the payments are eligible to commence under the Pension Plan.

 

(B)                                 In the event of the death of the Participant who has not commenced payments under this Plan, the Participant’s surviving spouse or designated beneficiary, as the case may be, may, with the consent of the Plan Administrative Committee, elect a Lump Sum Payment in writing no later than thirty (30) days after the Participant’s date of death.

 

(C)                                 In the event that a Participant terminates service due to a Disability as described in the relevant Schedule to the Pension Plan, the Participant may, with the consent of the Plan Administrative Committee, elect a Lump Sum Payment in writing no later than thirty (30) days after the date the Participant is determined to be disabled under the Pension Plan.

 

Construction .  Where appearing in the Plan, the masculine shall include the feminine and the plural shall include the singular, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.  The words “hereof,” “herein,” “hereunder” and other similar compounds of the word “here” shall mean and refer to the entire Plan and not to any particular Section or subsection.

 

ARTICLE III

BENEFITS

 

3.1                                  Eligibility .

 

(A)                               Excess Benefit .  A Participant in the Pension Plan is eligible to receive an Excess Benefit under this Plan if such Participant

 

(1)                                   is entitled to receive benefits under the Pension Plan; and

 

(2)                                   would have received additional benefits under the Pension Plan were it not for the limitation on benefits imposed by Section 415 of the Code.

 

(B)                                 Supplemental Benefit.   A Participant in the Pension Plan is eligible to receive a Supplemental Benefit under this Plan if such Participant

 

(1)                                   is a managerial or highly compensated employee of an Employer within the meaning of Title I of ERISA; and

 

(2)                                   has earnings in excess of the limit provided under Section 401(a)(17) of the Code for any calendar year in which the Participant participates in the Pension Plan; and

 

6



 

(3)                                   would have received additional benefits under the Pension Plan were it not for the limitation on benefits imposed by Section 401(a)(17) of the Code.

 

3.2                                  Payment of Benefits .  All amounts payable to a Participant as an Excess Benefit and Supplemental Benefit shall be paid to such Participant at the same times, on the same terms and conditions, and pursuant to the same elections made by the Employee, as they would have been if paid under the Pension Plan, were it not for the limitations imposed on benefits by Sections 415 and 401(a)(17) of the Code.

 

ARTICLE IV

LUMP SUM PAYMENTS

 

4.1                                  Election.   Notwithstanding any other provision of the Pension Plan, a Participant (or surviving spouse or designated beneficiary, as the case may be) shall receive his Benefit payable under Article III as a Lump Sum Payment (subject to any applicable payroll or other taxes required to be withheld) under the following circumstances:

 

(A)                               The Participant (or surviving spouse or designated beneficiary, as the case may be) has Timely Elected to receive such Lump Sum Payment;

 

(B)                                 if the Company experiences a Change of Control, the Participant shall, within the time period specified below, receive his or her Benefit as a Lump Sum Payment; or

 

(C)                                 in any event, the amount of the Lump Sum Payment is equal to or less than $100,000.

 

4.2                                  Timing of Payment.   A Lump Sum Payment shall be payable:

 

(A)                               if a Participant has Timely Elected to receive a Lump Sum Payment, then such Lump Sum Payment shall be payable at the same time as payments are eligible to commence under the Pension Plan; and

 

(B)                                 if a Participant is to receive a Lump Sum Payment pursuant to a Change of Control, then such Lump Sum Payment shall be paid within thirty (30) days of the date of the Change of Control.

 

4.3                                  Limitations on Timing of Payment .  Notwithstanding anything in the Plan or the Pension Plan to the contrary, any amounts payable to a Participant under the Plan shall be subject to the limitations on timing of payment specified by the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, and regulations issued thereunder, so that payment shall not be distributed earlier than:

 

(A)                               With respect to a “key employee” as defined in Code Section 416(i) (without regard to paragraph (5) thereof), the date six (6) months after the Participant’s

 

7



 

date of separation from service with all Affiliates, or with respect to all other Participants, the date of the Participant’s separation from service with all Affiliates;

 

(B)                                 The date that Participant becomes disabled, as defined below;

 

(C)                                 The date of the Participant’s death;

 

(D)                                If applicable under the Plan, a fixed date or schedule, if specified under the Pension Plan as of the date that Supplemental Benefits or Excess Benefits accrue under this Plan with respect to the Participant;

 

(E)                                  The date on which a Change of Control occurs; or

 

(F)                                  If applicable under the Plan, the date of the Participant’s unforeseeable emergency.

 

4.4                                  Discretion of Plan Administrative Committee .  If a Participant (or surviving spouse or designated beneficiary, as the case may be) elects a Lump Sum Payment pursuant to subsection 4.1 (A) above, such election is subject to approval by the Plan Administrative Committee in its sole discretion.

 

4.5                                  Penalties.   If a Participant (or surviving spouse or designated beneficiary, as the case may be) receives a Lump Sum Payment pursuant to subsection 4.1 (B) above, the Lump Sum Payment shall be reduced for active Employees by a penalty equal to ten percent (10%) of the Benefit otherwise payable and for former Employees (or spouses or designated beneficiaries) by a penalty equal to five percent (5%) of the Benefit otherwise payable.  Such penalty shall be permanently forfeited and shall not be paid to, or in respect of, the Employee, former Employee, or spouse or designated beneficiary.

 

4.6                                  Form of Benefit .  Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Plan to the contrary, except where waived by the Participant’s spouse as required under the provisions of the Pension Plan, all Benefits payable to a Participant shall be paid in the same form as the benefits would be payable under the Pension Plan; provided, however, if the amount of the Lump Sum Payment, calculated as if such Participant (or surviving spouse or designated beneficiary, as the case may be) had made an election to receive a Lump Sum Payment at the earliest time that such person could have made an election under subsection 4.1 (A), does not exceed $100,000, then such Lump Sum Payment shall be paid at the earliest time such person could have made an election under subsection 4.1 (A).

 

4.7                                  Postponement of Payment .  Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Plan to the contrary, in the event that a portion of the Lump Sum Payment due a Participant pursuant to this Article IV would not be deductible by the Company pursuant to Section 162(m) of the Code, the Company, at its discretion, may postpone payment of such amounts to the Participant until such time that the payments would be deductible by the Company; provided, however, that no payment postponed pursuant to this paragraph shall be postponed beyond the first anniversary of the date such Participant terminated

 

8



 

employment.  Any Lump Sum Payment postponed pursuant to this paragraph shall include interest for the period such Lump Sum Payment is postponed at a rate yielding interest equivalent to the per annum secondary market discount rate for six-month U.S. Treasury Bills as published by the Federal Reserve Board for the calendar week ending prior to January 1 (for interest to be credited for either of the two subsequent fiscal quarters ending March 31 or June 30) or prior to July 1 (for interest to be credited for either of the subsequent fiscal quarters ending on September 30 or December 31), or such other rate as determined pursuant to uniform Plan Administrative Committee rules.

 

4.8                                  Additional Accrual .  If a Participant has received a Lump Sum Payment pursuant to this Article IV, such Participant may accrue an additional Benefit under this Plan after the date of such Lump Sum Payment, provided, however, that such future participation shall not result in duplication of benefits.  Accordingly, if he has received a distribution of a Benefit under the Plan by reason of prior participation, his Benefit shall be reduced by the actuarial equivalent (at the date of the later distribution) of the present value of the Benefit previously paid hereunder.

 

ARTICLE V

 

MISCELLANEOUS

 

5.1                                  Funding .  This Plan shall not be a funded plan, and the Company shall be under no obligation to set aside any funds for the purpose of making payments under this Plan.  Any payments hereunder shall be made out of the general assets of the Employer.

 

5.2                                  Amendment and Termination .  The Company, by action of the Board, shall have the right at any time to amend this Plan in any respect or to terminate this Plan.

 

5.3                                  Plan Administrative Committee .  The Plan Administrative Committee under the Pension Plan, as constituted from time to time, shall administer this Plan and shall have the same powers and duties, and shall be subject to the same limitations as are set forth in the Pension Plan.

 

5.4                                  Termination of Pension Plan .  Subject to the provisions of Section 5.2, this Plan shall terminate when the Pension Plan terminates.

 

5.5                                  Plan Sponsor .  The Company is the Plan Sponsor and Named Fiduciary of the Plan, within the meaning of ERISA.

 

5.6                                  Coordination with Pension Plan.   An application or claim for a benefit under the Pension Plan, or an election to receive his benefit in a Lump Sum Payment, shall constitute a claim for a Benefit under this Plan.

 

9



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company has caused this Plan to be executed by its duly authorized officer.

 

 

NEENAH PAPER, INC.

 

 

 

By:

 

 

 

Name:

 

 

 

Title:

 

 

 

Date:

 

 

 

10


Exhibit 10.6

 

 

NEENAH PAPER

SUPPLEMENTAL RETIREMENT
CONTRIBUTION PLAN

 



 

NEENAH PAPER SUPPLEMENTAL RETIREMENT

CONTRIBUTION PLAN

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

ARTICLE I

INTRODUCTION

 

1.1

Establishment of the Plan

 

1.2

Background

 

1.3

Purpose

 

1.4

Type of Plan

 

1.5

Effective Date

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE II

DEFINITIONS

 

2.1

Account

 

2.2

Affiliate

 

2.3

Beneficiary

 

2.4

Board

 

2.5

Change of Control

 

2.6

Code

 

2.7

Company

 

2.8

Distribution Date

 

2.9

Earnings

 

2.10

Effective Date

 

2.11

Employee

 

2.12

Employer

 

2.13

ERISA

 

2.14

Excess Contribution

 

2.15

Excess Benefit

 

2.16

Investment Funds

 

2.17

Participant

 

2.18

Participating Employer

 

2.19

Plan

 

2.20

Plan Administrative Committee

 

2.21

RCP

 

2.22

RCP Contribution

 

2.23

Retirement Date

 

2.24

Spouse

 

2.25

Supplemental Benefit

 

2.26

Supplemental Contribution

 

2.27

Termination of Employment

 

2.28

Year of Service

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE III

ELIGIBILITY

 

3.1

Eligibility for Excess Benefit

 

 

i



 

3.2

Eligibility for Supplemental Benefit

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE IV

CONTRIBUTIONS, INVESTMENT AND VESTING

 

4.1

Establishment of Accounts

 

4.2

Company Contributions

 

4.3

Investment Elections

 

4.4

Investment Changes

 

4.5

Account Credit

 

4.6

Valuation of Accounts

 

4.7

Vesting

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE V

DISTRIBUTIONS

 

5.1

Eligibility to Receive a Distribution

 

5.2

Form of Benefit Payment

 

5.3

Limitations on the Annual Amount Paid to a Participant

 

5.4

Tax Withholding

 

5.5

Commencement of Payments

 

5.6

Recipients of Payments; Designation of Beneficiary

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE VI

PLAN ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE

 

6.1

Plan Administrative Committee

 

6.2

Committee Membership

 

6.3

Powers

 

6.4

Organization and Procedures

 

6.5

Rules and Decisions

 

6.6

Authorization of Payments

 

6.7

Books and Records

 

6.8

Perpetuation of the Plan Administrative Committee

 

6.9

Claims Procedure

 

6.10

Allocation or Reallocation of Responsibilities

 

6.11

Service of Process

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE VII

Miscellaneous

 

7.1

Funding

 

7.2

Amendment and Termination

 

7.3

Termination of RCP

 

7.4

Effect of Plan

 

7.5

Offset

 

7.6

Amounts Payable

 

7.7

Rights and Obligations

 

7.8

Notice

 

7.9

Governing Law

 

 

ii



 

7.10

Assignment of Rights

 

7.11

Liability

 

7.12

Coordination with RCP

 

7.13

Plan Sponsor

 

 

iii



 

NEENAH PAPER

SUPPLEMENTAL RETIREMENT CONTRIBUTION PLAN

 

ARTICLE I

INTRODUCTION

 

1.1            Establishment of the Plan .  Neenah Paper, Inc. (the “Company”) hereby establishes a supplemental retirement benefit plan for certain Employees, to be known as the Neenah Paper Supplemental Retirement Contribution Plan (the “Plan”), as set forth in this document.

 

1.2            Background .   Effective as of November 30, 2004 (the “Distribution Date”), a spinoff of the Company, then a subsidiary of Kimberly-Clark Corporation, was effectuated by the distribution of Company shares to Kimberly-Clark Corporation’s shareholders.  In connection with the spinoff transaction, the Company agreed to establish a supplemental benefit plan similar to the Kimberly-Clark Corporation Retirement Contribution Plan Excess Program for the benefit of certain employees who were hired by the Company.

 

1.3            Purpose .  In recognition of the valuable services provided to the Company, and its Affiliates, by its employees, the Board wishes to provide additional retirement benefits to those individuals whose benefits under the Neenah Paper Retirement Contribution Plan (the “RCP”) are restricted by the operation of the provisions of the Code.  It is the intent of the Company to provide these benefits under the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth.

 

1.4            Type of Plan .  This Plan is intended to encompass two types of benefit: (i) an “excess benefit plan” within the meaning of Section 3(36) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), and, as such, to be exempt from all of the provisions of ERISA pursuant to Section 4(b)(5) thereof; and (ii) a nonqualified supplemental retirement plan, which is unfunded and maintained primarily for the purpose of providing deferred compensation for a select group of management or highly compensated employees of the Company, pursuant to Sections 201, 301 and 401 of ERISA and, as such, exempt from the provisions of Parts II, III and IV of Title I of ERISA.

 

1.5            Effective Date .   The effective date of the Plan is December 1, 2004.

 



 

ARTICLE II

DEFINITIONS

 

Each term that is used in this Plan and also used in the RCP shall have the same meaning herein as the RCP.  Notwithstanding the above, for purposes of this Plan, where the following words and phrases appear in this Plan, they shall have the respective meanings set forth below unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

 

2.1            Account .  The individual account established pursuant to Article IV of this Plan to credit Excess Contributions or Supplemental Contributions.

 

2.2            Affiliate.  The Company and any company, person or organization which, on the date of determination, (A) is a member of a controlled group of corporations (as defined in Code section 414(b)) which includes the Company; (B) is a trade or business (whether or not incorporated) which controls, is controlled by or is under common control with (within the meaning of Code section 414(c)) the Company; (C) is a member of an affiliated service group (as defined in Code section 414(m)) which includes the Company; or (D) is otherwise required to be aggregated with the Company pursuant to Code section 414(o) and regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

2.3            Beneficiary .  The person or persons who, under this Plan, become entitled to receive a Participant’s interest in the event of the Participant’s death.

 

2.4            Board .  The Board of Directors of the Company.

 

2.5            Change of Control .  A Change of Control shall be deemed to have taken place if:

 

(A)           Acquisition of Substantial Percentage .  The acquisition by any Person of Beneficial Ownership of thirty percent (30%) or more of the combined voting power of the then outstanding voting securities of the Company entitled to vote generally in the election of Directors (the “Outstanding Company Voting Securities”); provided, however, that for purposes of this Section, the following acquisitions shall not constitute a Change in Control:  (i) any acquisition by a Person who on the Effective Date is the Beneficial Owner of thirty percent (30%) or more of the Outstanding Company Voting Securities, (ii) any acquisition directly from the Company, including without limitation, a public offering of securities, (iii) any acquisition by the Company, (iv) any acquisition by any employee benefit plan (or related trust) sponsored or maintained by the Company or any of its Affiliates, or (v) any acquisition by any corporation pursuant to a transaction which complies with subparagraphs (i), (ii), and (iii) of Section 2.5(C) hereof;

 

(B)            Change in Majority of Board Members .  During any period of two consecutive years, individuals who at the beginning of such period constitute the Board (the “Incumbent Board”) cease for any reason to constitute at least a majority of the Board, provided that any individual becoming a Director whose election, or nomination for election by the Company’s shareholders, was approved by a

 

2



 

vote of at least a majority of the Directors then comprising the Incumbent Board shall be considered as though such individual were a member of the Incumbent Board, but excluding, for this purpose, any such individual whose initial assumption of office is in connection with an actual or threatened election contest relating to the election or removal of the Directors of the Company or other actual or threatened solicitation of proxies of consents by or on behalf of a Person other than the Board;

 

(C)            Reorganization, Merger or Consolidation .  Consummation of a reorganization, merger, or consolidation to which the Company is a party or a sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company (a “Business Combination”), in each case unless, following such Business Combination: (i) all or substantially all of the individuals and entities who were the Beneficial Owners of Outstanding Company Voting Securities immediately prior to such Business Combination beneficially own, directly or indirectly, more than sixty percent (60%) of the combined voting power of the outstanding voting securities entitled to vote generally in the election of Directors of the Company resulting from the Business Combination (including, without limitation, a corporation which as a result of such transaction owns the Company or all or substantially all of the Company’s assets either directly or through one or more Affiliates) (the “Successor Entity”) in substantially the same proportions as their ownership immediately prior to such Business Combination of the Outstanding Company Voting Securities; and (ii) no Person (excluding any Successor Entity or any employee benefit plan, or related trust, of the Company or such Successor Entity) beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, thirty percent (30%) or more of the combined voting power of the then outstanding voting securities of the Successor Entity, except to the extent that such ownership existed prior to the Business Combination; and (iii) at least a majority of the members of the board of directors of the Successor Entity were members of the Incumbent Board (including persons deemed to be members of the Incumbent Board by reason of the proviso to paragraph (b) of this Section) at the time of the execution of the initial Participation Agreement or of the action of the Board providing for such Business Combination; or

 

(D)           Liquidation or Dissolution .  Approval by the shareholders of the Company of a complete liquidation or dissolution of the Company.

 

2.6            Code .  The Internal Revenue Code for 1986, as amended from time to time, and as construed and interpreted by valid regulations and rulings issued thereunder.

 

2.7            Company .  Neenah Paper, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

 

2.8            Distribution Date .  November 30, 2004, the date upon which a spinoff of the Company, then a subsidiary of Kimberly-Clark Corporation, was effected through the distribution of Company shares to Kimberly-Clark Corporation’s shareholders.

 

3



 

2.9            Earnings .  Earnings shall have the same meaning herein as under the RCP; provided, however, that for the purposes of this Plan, the limitations on compensation provided under Code Section 401(a)(17) shall not apply.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, Earnings shall not include any remuneration paid to a Participant after payment of such individual’s Account commences in accordance with Section 5.5 following the Participant’s Termination of Employment.

 

2.10          Effective Date .  December 1, 2004, or with respect to a particular Affiliate, such later date as of which the Plan Administrative Committee deems such Affiliate to be a Participating Employer in the Plan.

 

2.11          Employee .  A common law employee of an Employer, as reflected in the payroll records of the Employer.

 

2.12          Employer .  The Company and each Affiliate that the Plan Administrative Committee shall from time to time designate as a Participating Employer for purposes of the Plan.

 

2.13          ERISA .  The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended from time to time, and as construed and interpreted by valid regulations and rulings issued thereunder.

 

2.14          Excess Contribution .  The amount contributed for a Participant under the Excess Benefit portion of the Plan that would have been contributed for such a Participant under the RCP if it were not for the limitation on benefits imposed by Section 415 of the Code; such amount shall be calculated using Earnings as defined in this Plan, but only to the extent that such amount exceeds such limitations.

 

2.15          Excess Benefit .  The benefit provided under this Plan for Participants whose RCP Contributions to the RCP are limited solely by Code Section 415.

 

2.16          Investment Funds .  The phantom investment funds established under this Plan which will accrue earnings and losses as if the Participant’s Account were invested in the actual Investment Funds as offered under the RCP from time to time.

 

2.17          Participant .  Any Employee who satisfies the eligibility requirements set forth in Article III for participation in the Plan.  In the event of the death or incompetency of a Participant, the term shall mean the executor or administrator of the Participant’s estate or the Participant’s legal guardian.

 

2.18          Participating Employer .  An Affiliate that has been approved by the Plan Administrative Committee as an Employer participating in the Plan.

 

2.19          Plan .  The Neenah Paper Supplemental Retirement Contribution Plan as set forth herein and as amended from time to time.

 

2.20          Plan Administrative Committee .  The committee appointed by the Board to administer and regulate the Plan as provided in Article VI, which shall be the same committee appointed to administer and regulate the RCP.

 

4



 

2.21          RCP .   The Neenah Paper Retirement Contribution Plan, as amended from time to time.

 

2.22          RCP Contribution .  Employer contributions made pursuant to the RCP.

 

2.23          Retirement Date .  The date of Termination of Employment of the Participant on or after he attains age 55 and has completed five (5) Years of Service with the Company.

 

2.24          Spouse .  The Employee’s husband or wife (as applicable) pursuant to a legal marriage, as defined under the laws of the state of the Employee’s residence.

 

2.25          Supplemental Benefit .  The benefit established as part of this Plan for Participants whose RCP Contributions to the RCP are limited by the application of the rules or regulations of Code Section 401(a)(4) or the limitations of Code Section 401(a)(17), or whose Earnings are not fully taken into account in determining the Employee’s RCP Contributions to the RCP.

 

2.26          Supplemental Contribution .   The amount contributed for a Participant under the Supplemental Benefit portion of the Plan that would have been contributed for a Participant under the RCP if it were not for the limitations on benefits imposed by Code Sections 401(a)(17) and/or 401(a)(4), and calculated using Earnings as defined in this Plan, but only to the extent that such amount exceeds the RCP Contributions under the RCP.

 

2.27          Termination of Employment .  The Participant’s cessation of his employment with the Company for any reason whatsoever, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, including by reasons of retirement or death.

 

2.28          Year of Service .  Year of Service shall have the same meaning herein as under the RCP.

 

Construction .  Where appearing in the Plan, the masculine shall include the feminine and the plural shall include the singular, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.  The words “hereof,” “herein,” “hereunder” and other similar compounds of the word “here” shall mean and refer to the entire Plan and not to any particular Section or subsection.

 

ARTICLE III

ELIGIBILITY

 

3.1            Eligibility for Excess Benefit .  An Employee shall participate in the Excess Benefit under this Plan only if:

 

(A)           such Employee is a Participant in the RCP; and

 

(B)            such Employee’s RCP Contributions to the RCP are limited solely by Code Section 415.

 

5



 

3.2            Eligibility for Supplemental Benefit .   An Employee shall participate in the Supplemental Benefit under the Plan only if:

 

(A)           such Employee is a Participant in the RCP;

 

(B)            the Employee’s RCP Contributions to the RCP are limited by the application of the rules or regulations of Code Section 401(a)(4) and/or the limitations of Code Section 401(a)(17), or whose Earnings are not fully taken into account in determining the Employee’s RCP Contributions to the RCP; and

 

(C)            such Employee is a member of a select group of management or highly compensated Employees of the Company.

 

ARTICLE IV

CONTRIBUTIONS, INVESTMENT AND VESTING

 

4.1            Establishment of Accounts .  The Company shall create and maintain an unfunded individual Account for each Participant eligible to participate in either the Excess Benefit or the Supplemental Benefit, as applicable, to each of which it shall credit the amounts described in this Article IV.

 

4.2            Company Contributions .  Excess Contributions and Supplemental Contributions, as applicable, shall be made for each Participant on the same terms and conditions, at the same times, and pursuant to the same elections made by the Participant as they would have been if paid under the RCP were it not for Code limitations on benefits or Earnings.

 

4.3            Investment Elections .  Each Participant’s Excess Contributions, Supplemental Contributions, and Accounts under this Plan shall be considered allocated among the Investment Funds in accordance with the Participant’s actual investment elections under the RCP.

 

4.4            Investment Changes .  Reallocations between Investment Funds in this Plan shall be considered made according to the Participant’s elections under the RCP.

 

4.5            Account Credi t .  The Company shall credit each Participant’s Account with earnings, gains and losses as if such Accounts were actually invested among the Investment Funds according to the Participant’s elections under the RCP.

 

4.6            Valuation of Accounts .  In accordance with the provisions regarding the valuation of accounts under the RCP, each Participant’s Account shall be valued and adjusted each business day as if such Participant’s Account was actually invested in the applicable Investment Funds according to the Participant’s elections under the RCP.

 

6



 

4.7            Vesting .  The balance of a Participant’s Account shall become 100% vested at the same time as if the amounts had been credited to the Participant’s Account under the RCP.

 

ARTICLE V

DISTRIBUTIONS

 

5.1            Eligibility to Receive a Distribution .

 

(A)           Retirement Benefit : Subject to Section 5.3 below, upon a Participant’s Retirement Date, he shall be entitled to receive the amount of his Account.  The form of benefit payment, and the time of commencement of such benefit, shall be as provided in Sections 5.2 and 5.5.

 

(B)            Termination Benefit : Upon the Termination of Employment of a Participant prior to his Retirement Date for reasons other than death, the Company shall pay to the Participant a benefit equal to his Account.

 

Unless otherwise directed by the Plan Administrative Committee, the benefit payable upon termination shall be payable in a lump sum as a cash distribution as set forth in Section 5.2 following the Participant’s Termination of Employment.  Upon payment following a Termination of Employment, the Participant shall immediately cease to be eligible for any other benefit provided under this Plan.

 

(C)            Death Benefits :  Upon the death of a Participant, the Beneficiary of such Participant shall receive all of the Participant’s remaining Account.  Payment of a Participant’s remaining Account shall be made in accordance with Section 5.2.

 

(D)           Change of Control :

 

(1)            If there is a Change of Control, notwithstanding any other provision of this Plan, any Participant who has an Account hereunder shall, following a Change of Control, receive an immediate lump sum payment of the balance of his Account, reduced by a penalty equal to ten percent (10%) of the Participant’s Account as of the last business day of the month preceding the date of the Change of Control.  The ten percent (10%) penalty shall be permanently forfeited and shall not be paid to, or in respect of, the Participant.

 

(2)            If there is a Change of Control, notwithstanding any other provision of this Plan, any retired Participant, or Beneficiary, who has an Account hereunder shall, following a Change of Control, receive an immediate lump sum payment of the balance of his Account, reduced by a penalty

 

7



 

equal to five percent (5%) of the Participant’s Account as of the last business day of the month preceding the date of the Change of Control.  The five percent (5%) penalty of the retired Participant’s or Beneficiary’s Account shall be permanently forfeited and shall not be paid to, or in respect of, the retired Participant or Beneficiary.

 

5.2            Form of Benefit Paymen t .  Upon the happening of an event described in Section 5.1, the Company shall pay to the Participant the amount specified therein in a lump sum cash distribution.

 

5.3            Limitations on the Annual Amount Paid to a Participan t .  Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Plan to the contrary, in the event that a portion of the payments due a Participant pursuant to Sections 5.1 (A) -(D) would not be deductible by the Company pursuant to Section 162(m) of the Code, the Company, at its discretion, may postpone payment of such amounts to the Participant until such time that the payments would be deductible by the Company; provided, however, that no payment postponed pursuant to this Section 5.3 shall be postponed beyond the first anniversary of such Participant’s Termination of Employment.

 

5.4            Tax Withholding .  To the extent required by law, the Company shall withhold any taxes required to be withheld by any Federal, State or local government.

 

5.5            Commencement of Payments .  Commencement of payments under Section 5.1 (A)-(C) of this Plan from a Participant’s Account shall be payable in the first calendar quarter of the year following the Plan Year in which the Participant terminates employment from the Company for any reason (but in no event earlier than six (6) months following the Participant’s termination of employment).  Commencement of payments pursuant to a Change of Control under Section 5.1 (D) of this Plan from a Participant’s Account shall be as soon as administratively feasible on or after the last business day of the month following a Change of Control event which entitles a Participant or a Beneficiary to payments under this Plan (or such later date as legally required).

 

5.6            Recipients of Payments; Designation of Beneficiary .  All payments to be made by the Company under the Plan shall be made to the Participant during his lifetime, provided that if the Participant dies prior to the completion of such payments, then all subsequent payments under the Plan shall be made by the Company to the Beneficiary determined in accordance with this Section.  The Participant may designate a Beneficiary by filing a written notice of such designation with the Plan Administrative Committee in such form as the Plan Administrative Committee requires and may include contingent Beneficiaries.  The Participant may from time-to-time change the designated Beneficiary by filing a new designation in writing with the Plan Administrative Committee.  If a married Participant designates a Beneficiary or Beneficiaries other than his Spouse at the time of such designation, such designation shall not be effective (and the Participant’s Spouse shall be the Beneficiary) unless:

 

(A)           the Spouse consents in writing to such designation;

 

8



 

(B)            the Spouse’s consent acknowledges the effect of such designation, which consent shall be irrevocable; and

 

(C)            the Spouse executes the consent in the presence of either a Plan representative designated by the Plan Administrative Committee or a notary public.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, such consent shall not be required if the Participant establishes to the satisfaction of the Plan Administrative Committee that such consent cannot be obtained because (i) there is no Spouse; (ii) the Spouse cannot be located after reasonable efforts have been made; or (iii) other circumstances exist to excuse spousal consent as determined by the Plan Administrative Committee.  If no designation is in effect at the time when any benefits payable under this Plan shall become due, the Beneficiary shall be the Spouse of the Participant, or if no Spouse is then living, the representatives of the Participant’s estate.

 

ARTICLE VI

PLAN ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE

 

6.1            Plan Administrative Committee.   The Company may designate one or more persons to serve on the Plan Administrative Committee to carry out its fiduciary responsibility and authority under the Plan (other than to manage and control Plan assets and investment of the assets) and its duties as the plan administrator.  The members of the Plan Administrative Committee for this Plan shall be the same as the members of the Plan Administrative Committee for the RCP.

 

6.2            Committee Membership .

 

(A)           The Plan Administrative Committee shall consist of at least three (3) persons who shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Board.

 

(B)            The Board shall have the right to remove any member of the Plan Administrative Committee at any time.  A member may resign at any time by written resignation to the Board.  If a vacancy in the Plan Administrative Committee should occur, a successor may be appointed by the Board.

 

6.3            Powers .  The Plan Administrative Committee shall have all powers specified in the Plan in addition to all others as may be necessary to discharge its duties hereunder, including, but not by way of limitation, the power to construe or interpret the Plan, to determine all questions of eligibility hereunder, to determine the method of payment of any Account hereunder, to adopt rules relating to the giving of timely notice, and to perform such other duties as may from time to time be delegated to it by the Board.  The Plan Administrative Committee may take such voluntary correction action as it considers necessary or appropriate to remedy any inequity that results from incorrect information received or communicated in good faith or as a consequence of administrative or operational error, including but not limited to reallocation of plan assets, adjustments in amounts of future payments to Participants or beneficiaries and

 

9



 

institution of prosecution of actions to recover benefit payments made in error or on the basis of incorrect or incomplete information.  The  Plan Administrative Committee may prescribe such forms and systems and adopt such rules and actuarial methods and tables as it deems advisable.  It may employ such agents, attorneys, accountants, actuaries, medical advisors, or clerical assistants (none of whom need be members of the Plan Administrative Committee) as it deems necessary for the effective exercise of its duties, and may delegate to such agents any power and duties both ministerial and discretionary, as it may deem necessary and appropriate.  The compensation of such agents who are not full-time employees of an Employer shall be fixed by the Plan Administrative Committee within limits set by the Board and shall be paid by the Company as determined by the Plan Administrative Committee.

 

6.4            Organization and Procedures .   The Plan Administrative Committee shall elect one of its members as chairman.  Its members shall serve as such without compensation.  Plan Administrative Committee expenses shall be paid by the Company.  A majority of the Plan Administrative Committee members shall constitute a quorum.  The Plan Administrative Committee may take any action upon a majority vote at any meeting at which a quorum is present, and may take any action without a meeting upon the unanimous written consent of all members.  All action by the Plan Administrative Committee shall be evidenced by a certificate signed by a member of the Plan Administrative Committee.  The Plan Administrative Committee shall appoint a secretary to the Plan Administrative Committee who need not be a member of the Plan Administrative Committee, and all acts and determinations of the Plan Administrative Committee shall be recorded by the secretary, or under his supervision.  All such records, together with such other documents as may be necessary for the administration of the Plan, shall be preserved in the custody of the secretary.

 

6.5            Rules and Decisions .  The Plan Administrative Committee shall have absolute discretion in carrying out its duties under the Plan and its decisions shall be final and binding.

 

6.6            Authorization of Payments .  If the Board authorizes the establishment of a trust to serve as the funding vehicle for the benefits described herein, subject to the provisions hereof, it shall be the duty of the Plan Administrative Committee to furnish the trustee of such trust with all facts and directions necessary or pertinent to the proper disbursement of the trust funds.

 

6.7            Books and Records .  The records of the Employers shall be conclusive evidence as to all information contained therein with respect to the basis for participation in the Plan and for the calculation of Excess Contributions and Supplemental Contributions.  The Plan Administrative Committee shall keep all individual and group records relating to Participants and Beneficiaries and all other records necessary for the proper operation of the Plan.  Such records shall be made available to the Employers and to each Participant and Beneficiary for examination during normal business hours except that a Participant or Beneficiary shall examine only such records as pertain exclusively to the examining Participant or Beneficiary and the Plan.  The Plan Administrative Committee shall prepare and shall file as required by law or regulation all reports,

 

10



 

forms, documents and other items required by ERISA, the Code and every other relevant statute, each as amended, and all regulations thereunder.  This provision shall not be construed as imposing upon the Plan Administrative Committee the responsibility or authority for the preparation, preservation, publication or filing of any document required to be prepared, preserved or filed by any other named fiduciary to whom such responsibilities are delegated by law or by the Plan.

 

6.8            Perpetuation of the Plan Administrative Committee .  In the event that the Company shall for any reason cease to exist, then, unless the Plan is adopted and continued by a successor, the members of the Plan Administrative Committee at that time shall remain in office until the final termination of the Plan, and any vacancies in the membership of the Plan Administrative Committee caused by death, resignation, disability or other cause, shall be filled by the remaining member or members of the Plan Administrative Committee.

 

6.9            Claims Procedure .

 

(A)           Authorized Representative .  A Participant or Beneficiary under the Plan may name an authorized representative to act on his or her behalf under the claims procedures of the Plan, by providing written documentation of such authorization in such form as is acceptable to the Plan Administrative Committee.

 

(B)            Procedure for Making Initial Claims .  Claims for benefits under the Plan may be made by submitting forms to the Plan Administrative Committee pursuant to procedures established by the Plan Administrative Committee from time to time.

 

(C)            Review of Claims for Benefits .

 

(1)            Determination Regarding Initial Claims .  If a claim for Plan benefits is denied, the Plan Administrative Committee shall provide a written notice within 90 days to the claimant that contains (i) specific reasons for the denial, (ii) specific references to Plan provisions on which the Plan Administrative Committee based its denial, (iii) a description of any additional material or information necessary for the claimant to perfect the claim and an explanation of why such material or information is necessary and (iv) a description of the Plan’s review procedures and time limits applicable to such procedures, including a statement of the claimant’s right to bring a civil action under section 502(a) of ERISA following an adverse benefit determination on review.

 

The notice shall also contain a statement that the claimant may (i) request a review upon written application to the Plan Administrative Committee within 60 days, (ii) submit written comments, documents, records and other information relating to the claim, and (iii) request copies of all documents, records, and other information relevant to the

 

11



 

claimant’s claim.  If a claim is denied because of incomplete information, the notice shall also indicate what additional information is required.

 

If additional time is required to make a decision on the claim, the Plan Administrative Committee shall notify the claimant of the delay within the original 90 day period.  This notice will also indicate the special circumstances requiring the extension and the date by which a decision is expected.  This extension period may not exceed 90 days beyond the end of the first 90-day period.

 

(2)            Appeals .  The claimant may appeal a denied claim by submitting a written request for an appeal review to the Plan Administrative Committee.  The appeal request must, however, be made within 60 days after the claimant’s receipt of notice of the denial of the claim.  Pertinent documents may be reviewed in preparing an appeal, and issues and comments may be submitted in writing.  The claimant shall be provided, upon request and free of charge, reasonable access to, and copies of, all documents, records and other information relevant to the claimant’s claim for benefits (as determined under applicable regulations).  An appeal shall be given a complete review by the Plan Administrative Committee, taking into account all comments, documents, records and other information submitted by the claimant without regard to whether such information was submitted or considered in the initial benefit determination.

 

The Plan Administrative Committee shall review an appeal of a denied claim no later than the date of the next Plan Administrative Committee meeting immediately following such request for review, unless the request for review is filed within 30 days preceding the date of such meeting.  In such case, a benefit determination may be made by no later than the date of the second meeting following the Plan Administrative Committee’s receipt of a request for review.  If special circumstances require a further extension of time for processing, a benefit determination shall be rendered no later than the third meeting of the Plan Administrative Committee following the Plan Administrative Committee’s receipt of the request for review.  If such an extension of time for review is required because of special circumstances, the Plan Administrative Committee shall provide the claimant with written notice of the extension, describing the special circumstances and the date as of which the benefit determination will be made, prior to the commencement of the extension.  The Plan Administrative Committee shall notify the claimant of the benefit determination as soon as possible, but not later than 5 days after the benefit determination is made.

 

12



 

6.10          Allocation or Reallocation of Responsibilities .  The Plan Administrative Committee may allocate their responsibilities under the Plan among themselves.  Any such allocation, reallocation, or designation shall be in writing and shall be filed with and retained by the secretary of the Plan Administrative Committee with the records of the Plan Administrative Committee.  If applicable, notwithstanding the foregoing, no reallocation of the responsibilities provided in a trust to manage or control the trust assets shall be made other than by an amendment to the trust.

 

6.11          Service of Process .  The Company shall be the designated recipient of service of process with respect to legal actions regarding the Plan.

 

ARTICLE VII

 

MISCELLANEOUS

 

7.1            Funding .  The Board may, but shall not be required to, authorize the establishment of a trust by the Company to serve as the funding vehicle for the benefits described herein.  In any event, the Company’s obligations hereunder shall constitute a general, unsecured obligation, payable solely out of its general assets, and no Participant shall have any right to any specific assets of the Company.  Nothing contained in the Plan constitutes a guarantee by the Company that the assets of the Company shall be sufficient to pay any benefit to any person.

 

7.2            Amendment and Termination .  The Company, by action of the Board, shall have the right at any time to amend this Plan in any respect, or to terminate this Plan; provided, however, that no such amendment or termination shall operate to reduce the benefit that has accrued for any Participant who is participating in the Plan nor the payment due to a terminated Participant at the time the amendment or termination is adopted.  Continuance of the Plan is completely voluntary and is not assumed as a contractual obligation of the Company.

 

7.3            Termination of RCP .  Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Plan shall terminate when the RCP terminates.

 

7.4            Effect of Plan .  Nothing contained herein (a) shall be deemed to exclude a Participant from any compensation, bonus, pension, insurance, termination pay or other benefit to which he otherwise is or might become entitled to as an Employee or (b) shall be construed as conferring upon an Employee the right to continue in the employ of the Company as an executive or in any other capacity.

 

7.5            Offset .  If, at the time payments are to be made hereunder, the Participant or the Beneficiary is indebted or obligated to the Company, then the payments remaining to be made to the Participant or the Beneficiary may, at the discretion of the Company, be reduced by the amount of such indebtedness or obligation, provided, however, that an election by the Company not to reduce any such payment or payments shall not constitute a waiver of its claim for such indebtedness or obligation.

 

13



 

7.6            Amounts Payable .  Any amounts payable by the Company hereunder shall not be deemed salary or other compensation to a Participant for the purposes of computing benefits to which the Participant may be entitled under any other arrangement established by the Company for the benefit of its Employees.

 

7.7            Rights and Obligations .  The rights and obligations created hereunder shall be binding on a Participant’s heirs, executors and administrators and on the successors and assigns of the Company.

 

7.8            Notice .  Any notice required or permitted to be given under the Plan shall be sufficient if in writing and hand delivered, or sent by registered or certified mail, and if given to the Company, delivered to the principal office of the Company, directed to the attention of the Plan Administrative Committee.  Such notice shall be deemed given as of the date of delivery or, if delivery is made by mail, as of the date shown on the postmark or the receipt for registration or certification.

 

7.9            Governing Law .  The Plan shall be construed and governed by the laws of the State of Wisconsin.

 

7.10          Assignment of Rights .  The rights of any Participant under this Plan are personal and may not be assigned, transferred, pledged or encumbered.  Any attempt to do so shall be void.

 

7.11          Liability .   Neither the Company, its Employees, agents, any member of the Board, the plan administrator nor the Plan Administrative Committee shall be responsible or liable in any manner to any Participant, Beneficiary, or any person claiming through them for any benefit or action taken or omitted in connection with the granting of benefits, the continuation of benefits or the interpretation and administration of this Plan.

 

7.12          Coordination with RCP .  An application or claim for a benefit under the RCP shall constitute a claim for a benefit under this Plan.

 

7.13          Plan Sponsor .  The Company is the plan sponsor within the meaning of ERISA.  All actions shall be taken by the Company in its sole discretion, not as a fiduciary, and need not be applied uniformly to similarly situated individuals.

 

14



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company has caused this Plan to be executed by its duly authorized officer.

 

 

NEENAH PAPER, INC.

 

 

 

By:

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

 

 

 

 

 

Date:

 

 

 

15


Exhibit 10.7

 

 

 

NEENAH PAPER

 

EXECUTIVE SEVERANCE PLAN

 



 

NEENAH PAPER INC.

EXECUTIVE SEVERANCE PLAN

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

ARTICLE I

ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE OF THE PLAN

 

1.1

Establishment of the Plan

 

1.2

Background

 

1.3

Purpose of Plan

 

1.4

Type of Plan

 

1.5

Effective Date

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE II

DEFINITIONS

 

2.1

Accounting Firm

 

2.2

Affiliate

 

2.3

Annual Bonus Amount

 

2.4

Board

 

2.5

Cause

 

2.6

Change of Control

 

2.7

Code

 

2.8

Committee

 

2.9

Company

 

2.10

Eligible Executive

 

2.11

Equity Plan

 

2.12

Excise Tax

 

2.13

Good Reason

 

2.14

Net After-Tax Receipt

 

2.15

Parachute Value

 

2.16

Participant

 

2.17

Payment

 

2.18

Plan Year

 

2.19

Qualified Termination of Employment

 

2.20

Reduced Amount

 

2.21

Relevant Date

 

2.22

Separation Payment

 

2.23

Severance Period

 

2.24

Value

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE III

PARTICIPATION

 

3.1

Participation

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE IV

TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT OF PARTICIPANTS

 

4.1

Termination of Employment of Participants

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE V

PAYMENTS UPON QUALIFIED TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT

 

5.1

Cash Severance Payment

 

5.2

Outplacement Services

 

 



 

 

 

 

ARTICLE VI

CERTAIN REDUCTION OF PAYMENTS BY THE COMPANY

 

6.1

Determination of Need for Reduction

 

6.2

Participant Election of Reduced Payments

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE VII

CERTAIN ADDITIONAL PAYMENTS BY THE COMPANY

 

7.1

Gross-Up Payment

 

7.2

Determinations by Accounting Firm

 

7.3

Timing of Gross-Up Payment

 

7.4

Claims by Internal Revenue Service

 

7.5

Refunds of Excise Taxes

 

7.6

Tax Withholding

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE VIII

RELEASE AND RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE IX

OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE X

NONASSIGNABILITY

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE XI

UNFUNDED PLAN

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE XII

MITIGATION AND SETTLEMENT OF CLAIMS

 

12.1

No Duty to Mitigate

 

12.2

Full Settlement

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE XIII

TERMINATION AND AMENDMENT OF THIS PLAN

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE XIV

SUCCESSORS

 

 

2



 

NEENAH PAPER

EXECUTIVE SEVERANCE PLAN

 

ARTICLE I

ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE OF THE PLAN

 

1.1                                  Establishment of the Plan .  Neenah Paper, Inc. (the “Company”) hereby establishes a flexible benefits plan for its Eligible Employees, to be known as the Neenah Paper Executive Severance Plan (the “Plan”), as set forth in this document.

 

1.2                                  Background .  Effective as of November 30, 2004 (the “Distribution Date”), a spin-off of the Company, then an affiliate of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (“KC”), was effectuated by the distribution of Company shares to Kimberly-Clark Corporation’s shareholders.  In connection with the spin-off transaction, the Company agreed to establish an executive severance plan similar to the Kimberly-Clark Corporation Executive Severance Plan (the “KC Plan”) for the benefit of certain key executives of the Company.

 

1.3                                  Purpose of Plan .  The purpose of this Plan is to assure the Company that it will have the continued dedication of, and the availability of objective advice and counsel from, key executives of the Company notwithstanding the possibility, threat or occurrence of a change of control of the Company.  In the event the Company receives any proposal from a third person concerning a possible business combination with the Company, or acquisition of the Company’s equity securities, or otherwise considers or pursues a transaction that could lead to a change of control, the Board of Directors of the Company believes it imperative that the Company and the Board be able to rely upon key executives to continue in their positions and be available for advice, if requested, without concern that those individuals might be distracted by the personal uncertainties and risks created by such a possibility.  Should the Company receive or consider any such proposal or transaction, in addition to their regular duties, such key executives may be called upon to assist in the assessment of the proposal or transaction, to advise management and the Board as to whether the proposal or transaction would be in the best interest of the Company and its stockholders, and to take such other actions as the Board might determine to be appropriate.

 

1.4                                  Type of Plan .  This Plan is intended to be an employee welfare benefit plan for severance benefits within the meaning of Section 3(1) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended.

 

1.5                                  Effective Date .  The effective date of the Plan is December 1, 2004.

 



 

ARTICLE II

DEFINITIONS

 

As used in this plan, the following terms shall have the following respective meanings:

 

2.1                                  Accounting Firm .  Deloitte & Touche LLP or such other certified public accounting firm designated by the Company.

 

2.2                                  Affiliate .  The Company and any company, person or organization which, on the date of determination, (A) is a member of a controlled group of corporations (as defined in Code section 414(b)) which includes the Company; (B) is a trade or business (whether or not incorporated) which controls, is controlled by or is under common control with (within the meaning of Code section 414(c)) the Company; (C) is a member of an affiliated service group (as defined in Code section 414(m)) which includes the Company; or (D) is otherwise required to be aggregated with the Company pursuant to Code section 414(o) and regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

2.3                                  Annual Bonus Amount .  For any Participant, the target-level award payable to the Participant for the year in which the Relevant Date occurred (or, if such target-level award has not been established at that time, for the preceding year) or, if higher, for any subsequent year that begins before the Qualified Termination of Employment, under the Neenah Paper, Inc. Management Achievement Award Program, as applicable, or any successor or additional plan.

 

2.4                                  Board .  The Board of Directors of the Company.

 

2.5                                  Cause .  Any of the following:

 

(A)                               Willful failure to perform his duties and responsibilities;

 

(B)                                 Embezzlement, fraud, or misappropriation against or with respect to the Company, its subsidiaries and/or their assets;

 

(C)                                 Conviction of a felony charge or a plea of guilty or nolo contendre to a felony charge;

 

(D)                                Use of alcohol and/or drugs (whether prescription or nonprescription) which impairs the Participant’s ability to perform his duties and responsibilities;

 

(E)                                  Unlawful trading in the securities of any corporation (including the Company) based on information gained as a result of the Participant’s performance of services for the Company;

 

(F)                                  Violation of any of the corporate policies, work rules or standards of the Company, including but not limited to the Code of Conduct, sexual harassment policy and insider trading policy, or violation of any applicable statute, regulation, or rule, or provision of any applicable code of professional ethics; or

 

2



 

(G)                                 Willful disclosure to unauthorized persons of confidential information or trade secrets of the Company.

 

2.6                                  Change of Control .  Any of the following events:

 

(A)                               Acquisition of Substantial Percentage .  The acquisition by any Person of Beneficial Ownership of thirty percent (30%) or more of the combined voting power of the then outstanding voting securities of the Company entitled to vote generally in the election of Directors (the “Outstanding Company Voting Securities”); provided, however, that for purposes of this Section, the following acquisitions shall not constitute a Change in Control:  (i) any acquisition by a Person who on the Effective Date is the Beneficial Owner of thirty percent (30%) or more of the Outstanding Company Voting Securities, (ii) any acquisition directly from the Company, including without limitation, a public offering of securities, (iii) any acquisition by the Company, (iv) any acquisition by any employee benefit plan (or related trust) sponsored or maintained by the Company or any of its Affiliates, or (v) any acquisition by any corporation pursuant to a transaction which complies with subparagraphs (i), (ii), and (iii) of Section 2.6(C) hereof;

 

(B)                                 Change in Majority of Board Members .  During any period of two consecutive years, individuals who at the beginning of such period constitute the Board (the “Incumbent Board”) cease for any reason to constitute at least a majority of the Board, provided that any individual becoming a Director whose election, or nomination for election by the Company’s shareholders, was approved by a vote of at least a majority of the Directors then comprising the Incumbent Board shall be considered as though such individual were a member of the Incumbent Board, but excluding, for this purpose, any such individual whose initial assumption of office is in connection with an actual or threatened election contest relating to the election or removal of the Directors of the Company or other actual or threatened solicitation of proxies of consents by or on behalf of a Person other than the Board;

 

(C)                                 Reorganization, Merger or Consolidation .  Consummation of a reorganization, merger, or consolidation to which the Company is a party or a sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company (a “Business Combination”), in each case unless, following such Business Combination: (i) all or substantially all of the individuals and entities who were the Beneficial Owners of Outstanding Company Voting Securities immediately prior to such Business Combination beneficially own, directly or indirectly, more than sixty percent (60%) of the combined voting power of the outstanding voting securities entitled to vote generally in the election of Directors of the Company resulting from the Business Combination (including, without limitation, a corporation which as a result of such transaction owns the Company or all or substantially all of the Company’s assets either directly or through one or more Affiliates) (the “Successor Entity”) in substantially the same proportions as their ownership immediately prior to such Business Combination of the Outstanding Company Voting Securities; and (ii) no Person (excluding any Successor Entity or any employee benefit

 

3



 

plan, or related trust, of the Company or such Successor Entity) beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, thirty percent (30%) or more of the combined voting power of the then outstanding voting securities of the Successor Entity, except to the extent that such ownership existed prior to the Business Combination; and (iii) at least a majority of the members of the board of directors of the Successor Entity were members of the Incumbent Board (including persons deemed to be members of the Incumbent Board by reason of the proviso to paragraph (b) of this Section) at the time of the execution of the initial Participation Agreement or of the action of the Board providing for such Business Combination; or

 

(D)                                Liquidation or Dissolution .  Approval by the shareholders of the Company of a complete liquidation or dissolution of the Company.

 

2.7                                  Code .  The Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to time, and as construed and interpreted by valid regulations or rulings issued thereunder.

 

2.8                                  Committee .  The Compensation Committee of the Board.

 

2.9                                  Company .  Neenah Paper, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

 

2.10                            Eligible Executive .  Those key executives of the Company and its Affiliates who are from time to time designated by the Chief Executive Officer as eligible to participate in the Plan and are so designated on Exhibit “A” hereto.  Notwithstanding the above, the Committee may approve criteria for the Chief Executive Officer to use for eligibility purposes of the Plan and shall approve participation in the Plan by the executive officers of the Company.

 

2.11                            Equity Plan .  The Neenah Paper, Inc. 2004 Omnibus Stock and Incentive Plan, and any successor or additional plans under which a Participant receives stock options, restricted stock or other equity-based compensation.

 

2.12                            Excise Tax .  The excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code, together with any interest or penalties imposed with respect to such excise tax.

 

2.13                            Good Reason .  Any of the following:

 

(A)                               the assignment to the Participant of any duties inconsistent with the Participant’s position as a key executive officer of the Company or a substantial adverse alteration in the nature of the Participant’s responsibilities and position from those in effect immediately prior to the Change of Control, other than such alteration primarily attributable to the fact that the Company is no longer a public company;

 

(B)                                 a reduction by the Company of the Participant’s annual base salary by five percent (5%) or more as in effect immediately prior to the Change of Control, except for across-the-board salary reductions similarly affecting all key executives of the Company;

 

4



 

(C)                                 without the express written agreement of the Participant, any assignment or change in duties that would require the relocation of the Participant’s work place to a location that is more than fifty (50) miles from the Participant’s work place immediately prior to a Change in Control of the Company; provided however, the relocation of the Participant’s work place must also increase the regular commute distance between the Participant’s residence and work place by more than fifty miles (one-way).

 

(D)                                the failure of the Company to pay as soon as administratively feasible, after notice from the Participant, any portion of the Participant’s current compensation;

 

(E)                                  the failure of the Company to continue in effect any compensation plan in which the Participant participates immediately prior to the Change of Control which is material to the Participant’s total compensation, including but not limited to the Company’s stock option, incentive compensation, and bonus plans, or any substitute plans adopted prior to the Change of Control, unless an equitable arrangement (which is embodied in an ongoing substitute or alternative plan but which need not provide the Participant with equity-based incentives) has been made with respect to such plan, or the failure by the Company to continue the Participant’s participation therein (or in such substitute or alternative plan) on a basis not materially less favorable than the benefits provided to other participants;

 

(F)                                  the failure by the Company to continue to provide the Participant with benefits substantially similar to those enjoyed by the Participant under any of the Company’s pension, life insurance, medical, health and accident, or disability plans in which the Participant was participating at the time of the Change of Control, the taking of any action by the Company which would directly or indirectly materially reduce any of such benefits or deprive the Participant of any material fringe benefit enjoyed by the Participant at the time of the Change of Control, or the failure by the Company to provide the Participant with the number of paid vacation days to which the Participant is entitled on the basis of years of service with the Company in accordance with the Company’s normal vacation policy in effect at the time of the Change of Control.

 

The Participant’s right to terminate the Participant’s employment for Good Reason shall not be affected by the Participant’s incapacity due to physical or mental illness.  However, in order to terminate employment for Good Reason, (1) the Participant must give the Company a notice setting forth the circumstances of the act or failure to act alleged to constitute Good Reason within 30 days after the Participant first has actual notice of such act or failure, and stating that the Participant has determined that such act or failure constitutes “Good Reason” hereunder, (2) the Company must fail to correct such act or failure within 30 days after it receives such notice from the Participant, and (3) the Participant must actually terminate his or her employment during the period of 30 days beginning 30 days after the Company receives such notice.

 

2.14                            Net After-Tax Receipt .  The Value of a Payment, net of all taxes imposed on a Participant with respect thereto under Sections 1 and 4999 of the Code, determined by applying the

 

5



 

highest marginal rate under Section 1 of the Code which applied to the Participant’s taxable income for the immediately preceding taxable year.

 

2.15                            Parachute Value .  With respect to a Payment, the present value as of the date of the Change of Control for purposes of Code Section 280G of the portion of such Payment that constitutes a “parachute payment” under Code Section 280G(b)(2), as determined by the Accounting Firm for purposes of determining whether and to what extent the Excise Tax will apply to such Payment.

 

2.16                            Participant .  An Eligible Executive who is a party to a Participation Agreement which has not been terminated in accordance with the terms of this Plan.

 

2.17                            Payment .  Any payment or distribution in the nature of compensation (within the meaning of Code Section 280G(b)(2)) to or for the benefit of a Participant, whether paid or payable pursuant to this Plan or otherwise.

 

2.18                            Plan Year .  The short period beginning on the Effective Date and ending on December 31, 2004; and thereafter, each twelve calendar month period beginning on January 1 and ending on the following December 31.

 

2.19                            Qualified Termination of Employment .  The termination of a Participant’s employment with the Company and/or its Affiliates either:

 

(A)                               within the two (2) year period following a Change of Control of the Company due to the following:  (i) by the Company without Cause, or (ii) by the Participant with Good Reason;

 

(B)                                 by the Company without Cause before a Change of Control, if a Change of Control occurs within one year after such termination and it is reasonably demonstrated by the Participant that such termination of employment was at the request of a third party that had taken steps reasonably calculated to effect a Change of Control or otherwise arose in connection with or in anticipation of a Change of Control.

 

A transfer of employment for administrative purposes among the Company and its Affiliates shall not be deemed a Qualified Termination of Employment, but if such a transfer results in the occurrence of Good Reason, the affected Participant shall have the right to terminate employment for Good Reason and such termination shall be a Qualified Termination of Employment.

 

2.20                            Reduced Amount .  With respect to a Participant, the greatest aggregate amount of Separation Payments which (a) is less than the sum of all Separation Payments and (b) results in aggregate Net After Tax Receipts which are equal to or greater than the Net After Tax Receipts which would result if the Participant were paid the sum of all Separation Payments.

 

2.21                            Relevant Date .  In the case of a Qualified Termination of Employment as described in subsection (B) of the definition of “Qualified Termination of Employment,” the date of

 

6



 

such Qualified Termination of Employment, and, in all other cases, the date of the Change of Control.

 

2.22                            Separation Payment .  With respect to a Participant, a Payment paid or payable to the Participant pursuant to this Plan (disregarding Article VII of this Plan).

 

2.23                            Severance Period .  The period of two (2) years beginning on the date of the Qualified Termination of Employment.

 

2.24                            Value .  With respect to a Payment, the economic present value of a Payment as of the date of the Change of Control for purposes of Code Section 280G, as determined by the Accounting Firm using the discount rate required by Code Section 280G(d)(4).

 

ARTICLE III

PARTICIPATION

 

3.1                                  Participation .  Upon designation as an Eligible Executive, the Executive shall be offered a Participation Agreement in the Plan and upon execution and delivery thereof by the Eligible Executive evidencing such Eligible Executive’s agreement not to voluntarily leave the employ of the Company and its Affiliates and to continue to render services during the period of any threatened Change of Control of the Company, such Eligible Executive shall become a Participant in the Plan.  A Participant shall cease to be a Participant in the Plan upon the termination of the Participant’s Participation Agreement or the termination of the Plan.

 

ARTICLE IV

TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT OF PARTICIPANTS

 

4.1                                  Termination of Employment of Participants .  Nothing in this Plan shall be deemed to entitle a Participant to continued employment with the Company and its Affiliates and the rights of the Company to terminate the employment of a Participant shall continue as fully as though this Plan were not in effect, provided that any Qualified Termination of Employment shall entitle the Participant to the benefits herein provided.  In addition, nothing in this Plan shall be deemed to entitle a Participant under this Plan to any rights, or to payments under this Plan, with respect to any plan in which the Participant was not a participant prior to a Qualified Termination of Employment.

 

7



 

ARTICLE V

PAYMENTS UPON QUALIFIED TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT

 

5.1                                  Cash Severance Paymen t .  Subject to Article VIII hereof, in the event of a Qualified Termination of Employment of a Participant, a lump sum cash payment shall be made to such Participant as compensation for services rendered, in an amount (subject to any applicable payroll or other taxes required to be withheld) equal to the sum of the amounts specified in subsections (A) through (F) below.  Payment shall be made to the Participant within fifteen (15) days following the last day of employment with the Company, except (i) to the extent any amount is not then calculable, such portion shall be paid as soon as practicable following the ability to calculate the amount; (ii) to the extent amounts are payable under subsections (C), (D) and/or (E), such amounts shall not be payable until the date following six (6) months after the last day of employment; and (iii) to the extent otherwise as may be required by law:

 

(A)                               Salary Plus Incentive Compensation .  A lump sum amount equal to two (2) times the sum of (a) the Participant’s annual base salary at the rate in effect immediately prior to the Relevant Date or, if higher, immediately before the Qualified Termination of Employment, plus (b) the Annual Bonus Amount;

 

(B)                                 Equity Plan .  All grants and awards that were granted to the Participant under the Company’s Equity Plan, including but not limited to any substitute plans adopted prior to the Relevant Date (or any successor or additional plan), that were outstanding both on the Relevant Date and on the date immediately before the Qualified Termination of Employment, shall be governed by and subject to the provisions of the Equity Plan.

 

(C)                                 Neenah Paper 401(k) Retirement Plan .  A lump sum amount equal to any benefits under the Neenah Paper 401(k) Retirement Plan (or any successor or additional plan) that the Participant forfeits as a result of his or her termination of employment, based upon the value of the Participant’s account as of the most recent valuation date before the date of the Qualified Termination of Employment; provided that this benefit shall be payable from the general assets of the Company;

 

(D)                                Neenah Paper Retirement Contribution Plan .  A lump sum amount equal to (a) in the case of a Participant, the Participant’s annual Retirement Contributions under the Neenah Paper Company Retirement Contribution Plan (or any successor or additional plans) and the Neenah Paper Supplemental Retirement Contribution Plan (or any successor or additional plans) (collectively, the “Retirement Contribution Plan”) to which the Participant would have been entitled if he had remained employed by the Company for the Severance Period at the rate of annual compensation specified in Section 5.1(A) above except that the Annual Bonus Amount shall be treated as earned for the year in which termination occurred and the balance of the Severance Period and no award actually earned in, and paid for, the year in which termination occurred shall be considered, plus (b) for all Participants, an amount equal to any benefits under the Retirement Contribution Plan

 

8



 

(or any successor or additional plan) that the Participant forfeits as a result of his or her termination of employment, based upon the value of the Participant’s account as of the most recent valuation date before the date of the Qualified Termination of Employment, provided that this benefit shall be payable from the general assets of the Company;

 

(E)                                  Neenah Paper Pension Plan .  In the case of a Participant who participates in the Neenah Paper Pension Plan, a lump sum retirement benefit, in addition to any benefits received under the to the Neenah Paper Supplemental Pension Plan (or any successor or additional plans) and (the “Supplemental Plan”) and the Neenah Paper Pension Plan (or any successor or additional plans) (the “Pension Plan”), in an amount equal to the difference between (a) the benefits under the Pension Plan and the Supplemental Plan to which the Participant would have been entitled if such Participant had remained employed by the Company for the Severance Period, at the rate of annual compensation specified in Section 5.1 (A) above except that the Annual Bonus Amount shall be treated as earned for the year in which termination occurred and the balance of the Severance Period and no award actually earned in, and paid for, the year in which termination occurred shall be considered, minus (b) the benefits to which the Participant would actually have been entitled under the Pension Plan and the Supplemental Plan; provided that this benefit shall be equal to the actuarial present value of a straight life annuity without level income option; and provided further that this benefit shall be payable from the general assets of the Company; and

 

(F)                                  Medical and Dental Benefits .  A lump sum amount equal to the amount of the monthly premiums that the Participant would be required to pay, if he or she elected “COBRA” continuation coverage under the medical and dental plans of the Company in which the Participant was participating immediately before the Qualified Termination of Employment, based upon the premium rates in effect as of the date of the Qualified Termination of Employment, times 24.  In addition, the Participant shall receive a cash payment for his or her accrued retiree medical credits (with no additional age or service provided and no additional enhanced access to retiree medical).

 

5.2                                  Outplacement Services .   In addition to the cash Payments described in Section 5.1, the Participant shall be entitled to receive professional outplacement services for up to the lesser of (i) two (2) years or (ii) a total of $50,000 cost, by an outplacement service provider selected by the Company.

 

ARTICLE VI

CERTAIN REDUCTION OF PAYMENTS BY THE COMPANY

 

6.1                                  Determination of Need for Reduction .  Notwithstanding anything in this Plan or any Participation Agreement to the contrary, in the event that the Accounting Firm shall be determined

 

9



 

that (i) any Payment to a Participant would be subject to the Excise Tax, but (ii) the Parachute Value of all Payments to the Participant does not exceed 110% of the Safe Harbor Amount, then the Accounting Firm shall determine the amount of the necessary reduction of the Participant’s Separation Payments in order to meet the definition of a Reduced Amount.  All fees payable to the Accounting Firm with respect to this Section shall be paid solely by the Company.

 

6.2                                  Participant Election of Reduced Payments .

 

(A)                               Notice and Election by Participant .  If the Accounting Firm determines that aggregate Separation Payments should be reduced to the Reduced Amount, the Company shall promptly give the Participant notice to that effect and a copy of the detailed calculation thereof, and the Participant may then elect, in his or her sole discretion, which and how much of the Separation Payments shall be eliminated or reduced (as long as after such election the Value of the aggregate Separation Payments equals the Reduced Amount), and shall advise the Company in writing of his or her election within ten (10) days of his receipt of notice.

 

(B)                                 Failure of Participant to Make Election .  If no such election is made by the Participant within such ten-day period, the Company shall elect which of such Separation Payments shall be eliminated or reduced (as long as after such election the Value of the aggregate Separation Payments equals the Reduced Amount) and shall notify the Participant promptly of such election.

 

(C)                                 Binding Determinations by Accounting Firm .  All determinations made by the Accounting Firm under this Section shall be binding upon the Company and the Participant and shall be made within sixty (60) days of a termination of employment of the Participant.

 

(D)                                Timing of Payment .  As promptly as practicable following such determination of the Reduced Amount, the Company shall pay to or distribute for the benefit of the Participant such Separation Payments as are then due to the Participant under this Plan.

 

(E)                                  Overpayments and Underpayments .  While it is the intention of the Company to reduce the amounts payable or distributable to a Participant hereunder only if the aggregate Net After Tax Receipts to the Participant would thereby be increased, as a result of the uncertainty in the application of Code Section 4999 at the time of the initial determination by the Accounting Firm hereunder, it is possible that amounts will have been paid or distributed by the Company to or for the benefit of a Participant pursuant to this Plan which should not have been so paid or distributed (“Overpayment”) or that additional amounts which will have not been paid or distributed by the Company to or for the benefit of a Participant pursuant to this Plan could have been so paid or distributed (“Underpayment”), in each case, consistent with the calculation of the Reduced Amount hereunder.

 

10



 

(F)                                  Overpayment .  In the event that the Accounting Firm determines that an Overpayment has been made, based upon the assertion of a deficiency by the Internal Revenue Service against the Company or the Participant which the Accounting Firm believes has a high probability of success, any such benefit of a Participant shall be treated for all purposes as a loan to the Participant which the Participant shall repay to the Company together with interest at the applicable federal rate provided for in Code Section 7872(f)(2); provided, however, that no such loan shall be deemed to have been made and no amount shall be payable by a Participant to the Company if and to the extent (i) such deemed loan and payment would not either reduce the amount on which the Participant is subject to tax under Code Sections 1 and 4999 or generate a refund of such taxes, or (ii) such deemed loan would violate any applicable laws or regulations.

 

(G)                                 Underpayment .  In the event that the Accounting Firm, based upon controlling precedent or substantial authority, determines that an Underpayment has occurred, any such Underpayment shall be promptly paid by the Company to or for the benefit of the Participant together with interest at the applicable federal rate provided for in Code Section 7872(f)(2).

 

ARTICLE VII

CERTAIN ADDITIONAL PAYMENTS BY THE COMPANY

 

7.1                                  Gross-Up Payment .  Notwithstanding anything in this Plan or any Participation Agreement to the contrary, in the event that the Accounting Firm shall determine that (i) any Payment to a Participant would be subject to the Excise Tax, and (ii) the Parachute Value of all Payments to the Participant exceeds 110% of the Safe Harbor Amount, then the Participant shall be entitled to receive an additional payment (the “Gross-Up Payment”) in an amount such that, after payment by the Participant of all taxes (and any interest or penalties imposed with respect to such taxes), including, without limitation, any income taxes and Excise Tax imposed upon the Gross-Up Payment, the Participant retains an amount of the Gross-Up Payment equal to the Excise Tax imposed upon the Payments.  If it shall be determined that (i) any Payment to a Participant would be subject to the Excise Tax, but the Parachute Value of all Payments does not exceed 110% of the Safe Harbor Amount, then no Gross-Up Payment shall be made to the Participant and the provisions of Article VI of this Plan shall apply to that Participant.  The Company’s obligation to make Gross-Up Payments under this Article VII shall be conditioned upon the Participant’s termination of employment.

 

7.2                                  Determinations by Accounting Firm .  Subject to the provisions of Section 7.4, all determinations required to be made under this Article VII, including whether and when a Gross-Up Payment is required, the amount of such Gross-Up Payment and the assumptions to be utilized in arriving at such determination, shall be made by the Accounting Firm.  The Accounting Firm shall provide detailed supporting calculations both to the Company and the Participant within fifteen (15) business days of the receipt of notice

 

11



 

from the Participant that there has been a Payment or such earlier time as is requested by the Company.  All fees and expenses of the Accounting Firm shall be borne solely by the Company.  Any determination by the Accounting Firm shall be binding upon the Company and the Participant.  As a result of the uncertainty in the application of Section 4999 of the Code at the time of the initial determination by the Accounting Firm hereunder, it is possible that Gross-Up Payments that will not have been made by the Company should have been made (an “Underpayment”), consistent with the calculations required to be made hereunder.  In the event the Company exhausts its remedies pursuant to Section 7.4 and the Participant thereafter is required to make a payment of any Excise Tax, the Accounting Firm shall determine the amount of the Underpayment that has occurred and any such Underpayment shall be promptly paid by the Company to or for the benefit of the Participant.

 

7.3                                  Timing of Gross-Up Payment .  Any Gross-Up Payment, as determined pursuant to this Article, shall be paid by the Company to or for the benefit of the applicable Participant within five (5) days of the receipt of the Accounting Firm’s determination.

 

7.4                                  Claims by Internal Revenue Service .  Each Participant shall notify the Company in writing of any claim by the Internal Revenue Service that, if successful, would require the payment by the Company of the Gross-Up Payment.  Such notification shall be given as soon as practicable, but no later than ten (10) business days after the Participant is informed in writing of such claim.  The Participant shall apprise the Company of the nature of such claim and the date on which such claim is requested to be paid.  The Participant shall not pay such claim prior to the expiration of the 30-day period following the date on which the Participant gives such notice to the Company (or such shorter period ending on the date that any payment of taxes with respect to such claim is due).  If the Company notifies the Participant in writing prior to the expiration of such period that the Company desires to contest such claim, the Participant shall:

 

(A)                               give the Company any information reasonably requested by the Company relating to such claim,

 

(B)                                 take such action in connection with contesting such claim as the Company shall reasonably request in writing from time to time, including, without limitation, accepting legal representation with respect to such claim by an attorney reasonably selected by the Company,

 

(C)                                 cooperate with the Company in good faith in order effectively to contest such claim, and

 

(D)                                permit the Company to participate in any proceedings relating to such claim; provided, however, that the Company shall bear and pay directly all costs and expenses (including additional interest and penalties) incurred in connection with such contest, and shall indemnify and hold the Participant harmless, on an after-tax basis, for any Excise Tax or income tax (including interest and penalties) imposed as a result of such representation and payment of costs and expenses.  Without limitation of the foregoing provisions of this Section 7.4, the Company

 

12



 

shall control all proceedings taken in connection with such contest, and, at its sole discretion, may pursue or forgo any and all administrative appeals, proceedings, hearings and conferences with the applicable taxing authority in respect of such claim and may, at its sole discretion, either pay the tax claimed to the appropriate taxing authority on behalf of the Participant and direct the Participant to sue for a refund or contest the claim in any permissible manner, and the Participant agrees to prosecute such contest to a determination before any administrative tribunal, in a court of initial jurisdiction and in one or more appellate courts, as the Company shall determine; provided, however, that, if the Company directs the Participant to pay such claim and directs the Participant to sue for a refund, the Company shall indemnify and hold the Participant harmless, on an after-tax basis, from any Excise Tax or income tax (including interest or penalties) imposed with respect to such payment or with respect to any imputed income in connection with such payment; and provided, further, that any extension of the statute of limitations relating to payment of taxes for the taxable year of the Participant with respect to which such contested amount is claimed to be due is limited solely to such contested amount.  Furthermore, the Company’s control of the contest shall be limited to issues with respect to which the Gross-Up Payment would be payable hereunder, and the Participant shall be entitled to settle or contest, as the case may be, any other issue raised by the Internal Revenue Service or any other taxing authority.

 

7.5                                  Refunds of Excise Taxes .  If, after the receipt by a Participant of a Gross-Up Payment or payment by the Company of an amount on the Participant’s behalf pursuant to Section 7.4, the Participant becomes entitled to receive any refund with respect to the Excise Tax to which such Gross-Up Payment relates or with respect to such claim, the Participant shall (subject to the Company’s complying with the requirements of Section 7.4, if applicable) promptly pay to the Company the amount of such refund (together with any interest paid or credited thereon after taxes applicable thereto).  If, after payment by the Company of an amount on the Participant’s behalf pursuant to Section 7.4, a determination is made that the Participant shall not be entitled to any refund with respect to such claim and the Company does not notify the Participant in writing of its intent to contest such denial of refund prior to the expiration of thirty (30) days after such determination, then the amount of such payment shall offset, to the extent thereof, the amount of Gross-Up Payment required to be paid.

 

7.6                                  Tax Withholding .  Notwithstanding any other provision of this Plan, the Company may, in its sole discretion, withhold and pay over to the Internal Revenue Service or any other applicable taxing authority, for the benefit of a Participant, all or any portion of any Gross-Up Payment, and by signing an Participation Agreement, the Participant shall consent to such withholding.

 

13



 

ARTICLE VIII

RELEASE AND RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS

 

Any and all Payments and other benefits provided under this Plan are contingent upon, and shall not become payable until, the Participant executes an agreement providing for a general release of all claims against the Company, as well as noncompete, nondisclosure, nonsolicitation of customers and employers and nondisparagement provisions upon his or her termination of employment.

 

ARTICLE IX

OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS

 

The Participation Agreement to be entered into pursuant to this Plan shall contain such other terms, provisions and conditions not inconsistent with this Plan as shall be determined by the Board.  Where appearing in this Plan or the Participation Agreement, the masculine shall include the feminine and the plural shall include the singular, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

 

ARTICLE X

NONASSIGNABILITY

 

Each Participant’s rights under this Plan shall be nontransferable except by will or by the laws of descent and distribution.

 

ARTICLE XI

UNFUNDED PLAN

 

The Plan shall be unfunded and all costs of the Plan shall be paid from the Company’s general assets.  Neither the Company nor the Board shall be required to segregate any assets that may at any time be represented by benefits under the Plan.  Neither the Company nor the Board shall be deemed to be a trustee of any amounts to be paid under the Plan.  Any liability of the Company to any Participant with respect to any benefit shall be based solely upon any contractual obligations created by the Plan and the Participation Agreement; no such obligation shall be deemed to be secured by any pledge or any encumbrance on any property of the Company.

 

14



 

ARTICLE XII

MITIGATION AND SETTLEMENT OF CLAIMS

 

12.1                            No Duty to Mitigate .  In no event shall any Participant be obligated to seek other employment or take any other action by way of mitigation of the amounts payable to the Participant under any of the provisions of this Plan, and such amounts shall not be reduced whether or not the Participant obtains other employment.

 

12.2                            Full Settlement .   In the event that a Participant contests the Company’s interpretation of any provision of this Plan or the value of any Payment hereunder, and such Participant prevails through legal arbitration proceedings on at least a major point or significant portion of such contest, the Company agrees to reimburse the Participant, to the full extent permitted by law, all legal fees reasonably incurred by the Participant in such contest, up to a maximum of $50,000.

 

ARTICLE XIII

TERMINATION AND AMENDMENT OF THIS PLAN

 

The Board shall have power at any time, in its discretion, to amend or terminate this Plan, in whole or in part; except that no amendment or termination shall impair or abridge the obligations of the Company under any Participation Agreements previously entered into pursuant to this Plan except as expressly permitted by the terms of such Participation Agreements.

 

ARTICLE XIV

SUCCESSORS

 

The Company shall require any successor (whether direct or indirect, by purchase, merger, consolidation or otherwise) to all or substantially all of its business and/or assets to assume expressly and agree to perform this Plan and the Participation Agreements in the same manner and to the same extent that the Company would be required to perform them if no such succession had taken place.

 

15



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company has caused this Plan to be executed by its duly authorized officer.

 

 

NEENAH PAPER, INC.

 

 

 

 

 

By:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

 

 

 

 

 

Date:

 

 

 

16


Exhibit 10.8

 

EXECUTION COPY

 

 

NEENAH PAPER, INC.

 

$225,000,000

 

7 3 / 8 % SENIOR NOTES DUE 2014

 


 

INDENTURE

 

Dated as of November 30, 2004

 


 

THE BANK OF NEW YORK TRUST COMPANY, N.A,

 

as Trustee

 

 



 

This INDENTURE dated as of November 30, 2004, is by and among Neenah Paper, Inc., a Delaware corporation, each Subsidiary Guarantor listed on the signature pages hereto, and The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A., as trustee (the “ Trustee ”).

 

The Company, each Subsidiary Guarantor and the Trustee agree as follows for the benefit of each other and for the equal and ratable benefit of the Holders of the 7 3 / 8 % Senior Notes due 2014 (the “ Notes ”) issued under this Indenture:

 

ARTICLE 1 .

 

DEFINITIONS AND INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

 

Section 1.01 .                          Definitions .

 

For all purposes of this Indenture, except as otherwise expressly provided or unless the context otherwise requires:

 

144A Global Note ” means a Global Note in the form of Exhibit A hereto bearing the Global Note Legend and the Private Placement Legend and deposited with and registered in the name of the Depositary or its nominee issued in a denomination equal to the outstanding principal amount of the Notes sold for initial resale in reliance on Rule 144A.

 

“Additional Assets” means:

 

(a) any Property (other than cash, Cash Equivalents and securities) to be owned by the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary and used in a Related Business; or

 

(b) Capital Stock of a Person that becomes a Restricted Subsidiary as a result of the acquisition of such Capital Stock by the Company or another Restricted Subsidiary from any Person other than the Company or an Affiliate of the Company; provided, however , that, in the case of clause (b), such Restricted Subsidiary is primarily engaged in a Related Business.

 

Additional Notes ” means any Notes (other than Initial Notes, Exchange Notes and Notes issued under Sections 2.06, 2.07, 2.10 and 3.06 hereof) issued under this Indenture in accordance with Sections 2.02, 2.15 and 4.10 hereof, as part of the same series as the Initial Notes or as an additional series.

 

Affiliate ” of any specified Person means:

 

(a) any other Person directly or indirectly controlling or controlled by or under direct or indirect common control with such specified Person, or

 

(b) any other Person who is a director or officer of:

 

(1) such specified Person,

 

(2) any Subsidiary of such specified Person, or

 

(3) any Person described in clause (a) above.

 

For the purposes of this definition, “control,” when used with respect to any Person, means the power to direct the management and policies of such Person, directly or indirectly, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise; and the terms “controlling” and “controlled” have meanings correlative to the foregoing.  For purposes of Section 4.13 and 4.15 and the definition of “Additional Assets” only, “Affiliate” shall also mean any beneficial owner of shares representing 10% or more of the total voting power of the Voting Stock (on a fully diluted basis) of the Company or of rights or warrants to purchase such Voting Stock (whether or not currently

 



 

exercisable) and any Person who would be an Affiliate of any such beneficial owner pursuant to the first sentence hereof.

 

Agent ” means any Registrar, co-registrar, Paying Agent or additional paying agent.

 

Applicable Procedures ” means, with respect to any transfer, redemption or exchange of or for beneficial interests in any Global Note, the rules and procedures of the Depositary that apply to such transfer, redemption or exchange.

 

Asset Sale ” means any sale, lease, transfer, issuance or other disposition (or series of related sales, leases, transfers, issuances or dispositions) by the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary, including any disposition by means of a merger, consolidation or similar transaction (each referred to for the purposes of this definition as a “disposition”), of

 

(a) any shares of Capital Stock of a Restricted Subsidiary (other than directors’ qualifying shares), or

 

(b) any other Property of the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary outside of the ordinary course of business of the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary,

 

other than, in the case of clause (a) or (b) above,

 

(1) any disposition by a Restricted Subsidiary to the Company or by the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary to a Wholly Owned Restricted Subsidiary,

 

(2) any disposition of inventory in the ordinary course of business,

 

(3) any disposition that constitutes a Permitted Investment or Restricted Payment permitted by Section  4.11,

 

(4) any disposition effected in compliance with the first paragraph of Section 5.01,

 

(5) any disposition in a single transaction or a series of related transactions of assets for aggregate consideration of less than $5.0 million, and

 

(6) any tendering to the Trustee for cancellation of any Notes or Additional Notes acquired in open market transactions.

 

Attributable Debt ” in respect of a Sale and Leaseback Transaction means, at any date of determination,

 

(a) if such Sale and Leaseback Transaction is a Capital Lease Obligation, the amount of Debt represented thereby according to the definition of “Capital Lease Obligations,” and

 

(b) in all other instances, but solely for purposes of Section 4.12, the greater of:

 

(1) the Fair Market Value of the Property subject to such Sale and Leaseback Transaction, and

 

(2) the present value (discounted at the interest rate borne by the Notes, compounded annually) of the total obligations of the lessee for rental payments during the remaining term of the lease included in such Sale and Leaseback Transaction (including any period for which such lease has been extended).

 

2



 

Average Life ” means, as of any date of determination, with respect to any Debt or Preferred Stock, the quotient obtained by dividing:

 

(a) the sum of the product of the numbers of years (rounded to the nearest one-twelfth of one year) from the date of determination to the dates of each successive scheduled principal payment of such Debt or redemption or similar payment with respect to such Preferred Stock multiplied by the amount of such payment by

 

(b) the sum of all such payments.

 

Bankruptcy Law ” means Title 11, U.S. Code or any similar federal or state law for the relief of debtors, the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada), the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (Canada) or any other Canadian federal or provincial law, or the law of any other jurisdiction relating to bankruptcy, insolvency, winding up, liquidation, reorganization or relief of debtors.

 

Board of Directors ” means the board of directors of the Company.

 

Board Resolution” of a Person means a copy of a resolution certified by the secretary or an assistant secretary (or individual performing comparable duties) of the applicable Person to have been duly adopted by the Board of Directors of such Person and to be in full force and effect on the date of such certification, and delivered to the Trustee.

 

Business Day ” means each day which is not a Saturday, a Sunday or a day on which commercial banks are authorized or required to close in New York City.

 

Capital Lease Obligations ” means any obligation under a lease that is required to be capitalized for financial reporting purposes in accordance with GAAP; and the amount of Debt represented by such obligation shall be the capitalized amount of such obligation determined in accordance with GAAP; and the Stated Maturity thereof shall be the date of the last payment of rent or any other amount due under such lease prior to the first date upon which such lease may be terminated by the lessee without payment of a penalty.  For purposes of Section 4.12, a Capital Lease Obligation shall be deemed secured by a Lien on the Property being leased.

 

Capital Stock ” means, with respect to any Person, any shares or other equivalents (however designated) of any class of corporate stock or partnership interests or any other participations, rights, warrants, options or other interests in the nature of an equity interest in such Person, including Preferred Stock, but excluding any debt security convertible or exchangeable into such equity interest.

 

“Capital Stock Sale Proceeds” means the aggregate cash proceeds received by the Company from the issuance or sale (other than to a Subsidiary of the Company or an employee stock ownership plan or trust established by the Company or any such Subsidiary for the benefit of their employees) by the Company of its Capital Stock (other than Disqualified Stock) after the Issue Date, net of attorneys’ fees, accountants’ fees, underwriters’ or placement agents’ fees, discounts or commissions and brokerage, consultant and other fees actually incurred in connection with such issuance or sale and net of taxes paid or payable as a result thereof.

 

Cash Equivalents ” means any of the following:

 

(a) Investments in U.S. Government Obligations maturing within 365 days of the date of acquisition thereof;

 

(b) Investments in time deposit accounts, certificates of deposit and money market deposits maturing within one year of the date of acquisition thereof issued by a bank or trust company organized under the laws of the United States of America or any state thereof or the District of Columbia having, at the date of acquisition thereof, combined capital, surplus and undivided profits aggregating in excess of $500.0 million and whose long-term debt is rated “A-3” or “A-” or

 

3



 

higher according to Moody’s or S&P (or such similar equivalent rating by at least one “nationally recognized statistical rating organization” (as defined in Rule 436 under the Securities Act));

 

(c) repurchase obligations with a term of not more than 30 days for underlying securities of the types described in clause (a) entered into with:

 

(1) a bank meeting the qualifications described in clause (b) above, or

 

(2) any primary government securities dealer reporting to the Market Reports Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York;

 

(d) Investments in commercial paper, maturing not more than one year after the date of acquisition, issued by a corporation (other than an Affiliate of the Company) organized and in existence under the laws of the United States of America with a rating at the time as of which any Investment therein is made of “P-1” (or higher) according to Moody’s or “A-1” (or higher) according to S&P (or such similar equivalent rating by at least one “nationally recognized statistical rating organization” (as defined in Rule 436 under the Securities Act));

 

(e) direct obligations (or certificates representing an ownership interest in such obligations) of any state of the United States of America (including any agency or instrumentality thereof) for the payment of which the full faith and credit of such state is pledged and which are not callable or redeemable at the issuer’s option, provided that:

 

(1) the long-term debt of such state is rated “A-3” or “A-” or higher according to Moody’s or S&P (or such similar equivalent rating by at least one “nationally recognized statistical rating organization” (as defined in Rule 436 under the Securities Act)), and

 

(2) such obligations mature within one year of the date of acquisition thereof; and

 

(f) Investments in money market funds which invest substantially all of their assets in securities of the type described in clauses (a) through (e) above.

 

Change of Control ” means the occurrence, after the consummation of the Spin-Off, of any of the following events:

 

(a) any “person” or “group” (as such terms are used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Exchange Act or any successor provisions to either of the foregoing), including any group acting for the purpose of acquiring, holding, voting or disposing of securities within the meaning of Rule 13d-5(b)(1) under the Exchange Act, becomes the “beneficial owner” (as defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act), directly or indirectly, of 50% or more of the total voting power of the Voting Stock of the Company (for purposes of this clause (a), such person or group shall be deemed to beneficially own any Voting Stock of a corporation held by any other corporation (the “parent corporation”) so long as such person or group beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, in the aggregate at least a majority of the total voting power of the Voting Stock of such parent corporation); or

 

(b) the sale, transfer, assignment, lease, conveyance or other disposition, directly or indirectly, of all or substantially all the Property of the Company and the Restricted Subsidiaries, considered as a whole (other than a disposition of such Property as an entirety or virtually as an entirety to a Wholly Owned Restricted Subsidiary), shall have occurred, or the Company merges, consolidates or amalgamates with or into any other Person or any other Person merges, consolidates or amalgamates with or into the Company, in any such event pursuant to a transaction in which the outstanding Voting Stock of the Company is reclassified into or exchanged for cash, securities or other Property, other than any such transaction where:

 

4



 

(1) the outstanding Voting Stock of the Company is reclassified into or exchanged for other Voting Stock of the Company or for Voting Stock of the Surviving Person, and

 

(2) the holders of the Voting Stock of the Company immediately prior to such transaction own, directly or indirectly, not less than a majority of the Voting Stock of the Company or the Surviving Person immediately after such transaction and in substantially the same proportion as before the transaction; or

 

(c) during any period of two consecutive years, individuals who at the beginning of such period constituted the Board of Directors (together with any new directors whose election or appointment by such Board of Directors or whose nomination for election by the shareholders of the Company was approved by a vote of not less than three-fourths of the directors then still in office who were either directors at the beginning of such period or whose election or nomination for election was previously so approved) cease for any reason to constitute at least a majority of the Board of Directors then in office; or

 

(d) the shareholders of the Company shall have approved any plan of liquidation or dissolution of the Company.

 

“Code ” means the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

 

“Commission” means the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

“Commodity Price Protection Agreement ” means, in respect of a Person, any forward contract, commodity swap agreement, commodity option agreement or other similar agreement or arrangement designed to protect such Person against fluctuations in commodity prices.

 

“Company” means Neenah Paper, Inc., and any successor thereto.

 

“Comparable Treasury Issue ” means the United States treasury security selected by the Reference Treasury Dealer as having a maturity closest to November 15, 2009 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 November 15, 2009.

 

“Comparable Treasury Price” means, with respect to the Change of Control Redemption Date:

 

(a) the average of the bid and ask prices for the Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed in each case as a percentage of its principal amount) on the third Business Day preceding the Change of Control Redemption Date, as set forth in the most recently published statistical release designated “H.15(519)” (or any successor release) published by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and which establishes yields on actively traded United States treasury securities adjusted to constant maturity under the caption “Treasury Constant Maturities,” or

 

(b) if such release (or any successor release) is not published or does not contain such prices on such Business Day, the Reference Treasury Dealer Quotation for the Change of Control Redemption Date.

 

Consolidated Current Liabilities ” means, as of any date of determination, the aggregate amount of liabilities of the Company and its consolidated Restricted Subsidiaries which may properly be classified as current liabilities (including taxes accrued as estimated), after eliminating:

 

(a) all intercompany items between the Company and any Restricted Subsidiary or between Restricted Subsidiaries, and

 

(b) all current maturities of long-term Debt.

 

5



 

“Consolidated Interest Coverage Ratio” means, as of any date of determination, the ratio of:

 

(a) the aggregate amount of EBITDA for the most recent four consecutive fiscal quarters for which financial statements are publicly available, to

 

(b) Consolidated Interest Expense for such four fiscal quarters;

 

provided, however , that:

 

(1) if

 

(A) since the beginning of such period the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary has Incurred any Debt that remains outstanding or Repaid any Debt, or

 

(B) the transaction giving rise to the need to calculate the Consolidated Interest Coverage Ratio is an Incurrence or Repayment of Debt,

 

Consolidated Interest Expense for such period shall be calculated after giving effect on a pro forma basis to such Incurrence or Repayment as if such Debt was Incurred or Repaid on the first day of such period, provided that, in the event of any such Repayment of Debt, EBITDA for such period shall be calculated as if the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary had not earned any interest income actually earned during such period in respect of the funds used to Repay such Debt, and

 

(2) if

 

(A) since the beginning of such period the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary shall have made any Asset Sale or an Investment (by merger or otherwise) in any Restricted Subsidiary (or any Person which becomes a Restricted Subsidiary) or an acquisition of Property which constitutes all or substantially all of an operating unit of a business,

 

(B) the transaction giving rise to the need to calculate the Consolidated Interest Coverage Ratio is such an Asset Sale, Investment or acquisition, or

 

(C) since the beginning of such period any Person (that subsequently became a Restricted Subsidiary or was merged with or into the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary since the beginning of such period) shall have made such an Asset Sale, Investment or acquisition,

 

then EBITDA for such period shall be calculated after giving pro forma effect to such Asset Sale, Investment or acquisition as if such Asset Sale, Investment or acquisition had occurred on the first day of such period.

 

If any Debt bears a floating rate of interest and is being given pro forma effect, the interest expense on such Debt shall be calculated as if the base interest rate in effect for such floating rate of interest on the date of determination had been the applicable base interest rate for the entire period (taking into account any Interest Rate Agreement applicable to such Debt if such Interest Rate Agreement has a remaining term in excess of 12 months).  In the event the Capital Stock of any Restricted Subsidiary is sold during the period, the Company shall be deemed, for purposes of clause (1) above, to have Repaid during such period the Debt of such Restricted Subsidiary to the extent the Company and its continuing Restricted Subsidiaries are no longer liable for such Debt after such sale.

 

6



 

Consolidated Interest Expense ” means, for any period, the total interest expense of the Company and its consolidated Restricted Subsidiaries, plus, to the extent not included in such total interest expense, and to the extent Incurred by the Company or its Restricted Subsidiaries,

 

(a) interest expense attributable to Capital Lease Obligations (including any Capital Lease Obligation Incurred in connection with a Sale and Leaseback Transaction),

 

(b) amortization of debt discount and debt issuance cost, including commitment fees,

 

(c) capitalized interest,

 

(d) non-cash interest expense,

 

(e) commissions, discounts and other fees and charges owed with respect to letters of credit and banker’s acceptance financing,

 

(f) net costs associated with Hedging Obligations (including amortization of fees),

 

(g) Disqualified Stock Dividends to the extent made to Persons other than the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary,

 

(h) Preferred Stock Dividends to the extent made to Persons other than the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary,

 

(i) interest Incurred in connection with Investments in discontinued operations,

 

(j) interest accruing on any Debt of any other Person to the extent such Debt is Guaranteed by the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary, and

 

(k) the cash contributions to any employee stock ownership plan or similar trust to the extent such contributions are used by such plan or trust to pay interest or fees to any Person (other than the Company) in connection with Debt Incurred by such plan or trust.

 

Consolidated Net Income ” means, for any period, the net income (loss) of the Company and its consolidated Restricted Subsidiaries; provided, however, that there shall not be included in such Consolidated Net Income:

 

(a) any net income (loss) of any Person (other than the Company) if such Person is not a Restricted Subsidiary, except that:

 

(1) subject to the exclusion contained in clause (c) below, equity of the Company and its consolidated Restricted Subsidiaries in the net income of any such Person for such period shall be included in such Consolidated Net Income up to the aggregate amount of cash distributed by such Person during such period to the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary as a dividend or other distribution (subject, in the case of a dividend or other distribution to a Restricted Subsidiary, to the limitations contained in clause (b) below), and

 

(2) the equity of the Company and its consolidated Restricted Subsidiaries in a net loss of any such Person other than an Unrestricted Subsidiary for such period shall be included in determining such Consolidated Net Income,

 

(b) any net income (loss) of any Restricted Subsidiary if such Restricted Subsidiary is subject to restrictions, directly or indirectly, on the payment of dividends or the making of distributions, directly or indirectly, to the Company, except that:

 

7



 

(1) subject to the exclusion contained in clause (c) below, the equity of the Company and its consolidated Restricted Subsidiaries in the net income of any such Restricted Subsidiary for such period shall be included in such Consolidated Net Income up to the aggregate amount of cash distributed by such Restricted Subsidiary during such period to the Company or another Restricted Subsidiary as a dividend or other distribution (subject, in the case of a dividend or other distribution to another Restricted Subsidiary, to the limitation contained in this clause), and

 

(2) the equity of the Company and its consolidated Restricted Subsidiaries in a net loss of any such Restricted Subsidiary for such period shall be included in determining such Consolidated Net Income,

 

(c) any gain or loss realized upon the sale or other disposition of any Property of the Company or any of its consolidated Subsidiaries (including pursuant to any Sale and Leaseback Transaction) that is not sold or otherwise disposed of in the ordinary course of business,

 

(d) any extraordinary gain or loss,

 

(e) the impairment charge relating to the Terrace Bay pulp facility described in the Offering Memorandum,

 

(f) the cumulative effect of a change in accounting principles,

 

(g) any non-cash compensation expense realized for grants of performance shares, stock options or other rights to officers, directors and employees of the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary, provided that such shares, options or other rights can be redeemed at the option of the holder only for Capital Stock of the Company (other than Disqualified Stock), and

 

(h) any losses of Neenah and Menasha Water Power Company to the extent paid from funds contributed by Kimberly-Clark into a separate account of Neenah and Menasha Water Power Company prior to the Spin-Off.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, for purposes of Section 4.11 only, there shall be excluded from Consolidated Net Income any dividends, repayments of loans or advances or other transfers of Property from Unrestricted Subsidiaries to the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary to the extent such dividends, repayments or transfers increase the amount of Restricted Payments permitted under Section 4.11 pursuant to clause (c)(4) thereof.

 

Consolidated Tangible Assets means, as of any date of determination, the sum of the amounts that would appear on a consolidated balance sheet of the Company and its consolidated Restricted Subsidiaries as the total assets of the Company and its Restricted Subsidiaries, excluding goodwill, patents, trade names, trademarks, copyrights, franchises, experimental expense, organization expense and any other assets properly classified as intangible assets in accordance with GAAP, determined in accordance with GAAP.

 

Corporate Trust Office of the Trustee ” shall be at the address of the Trustee specified in Section 12.02 hereof, or such other address as to which the Trustee may give notice to the Company.

 

Credit Facilities ” means, with respect to the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary, one or more debt or commercial paper facilities with banks or other institutional lenders (including the New Credit Facility) providing for revolving credit loans, term loans, receivables or inventory financing (including through the sale of receivables or inventory to such lenders or to special purpose, bankruptcy remote entities formed to borrow from such lenders against such receivables or inventory) or trade letters of credit, in each case together with any Refinancings thereof by a lender or syndicate of lenders.

 

8



 

Currency Exchange Protection Agreement ” means, in respect of a Person, any foreign exchange contract, currency swap agreement, currency option or other similar agreement or arrangement designed to protect such Person against fluctuations in currency exchange rates.

 

Custodian ” means, with respect to the Notes issuable or issued in whole or in part in global form, the Person specified in Section 2.03(c) as Custodian with respect to the Notes, and any and all successors thereto appointed as custodian hereunder and having become such pursuant to the applicable provisions of this Indenture.

 

Debt ” means, with respect to any Person on any date of determination (without duplication):

 

(a) the principal of and premium (if any) in respect of:

 

(1) debt of such Person for money borrowed, and

 

(2) debt evidenced by notes, debentures, bonds or other similar instruments for the payment of which such Person is responsible or liable;

 

(b) all Capital Lease Obligations of such Person;

 

(c) all obligations of such Person representing the deferred purchase price of Property, all conditional sale obligations of such Person and all obligations of such Person under any title retention agreement (but excluding trade accounts payable arising in the ordinary course of business);

 

(d) all obligations of such Person for the reimbursement of any obligor on any letter of credit, banker’s acceptance or similar credit transaction (other than obligations with respect to letters of credit securing obligations (other than obligations described in (a) through (c) above) entered into in the ordinary course of business of such Person to the extent such letters of credit are not drawn upon or, if and to the extent drawn upon, such drawing is reimbursed no later than the third Business Day following receipt by such Person of a demand for reimbursement following payment on the letter of credit);

 

(e) the amount of all obligations of such Person with respect to the Repayment of any Disqualified Stock or, with respect to any Subsidiary of such Person, any Preferred Stock (but excluding, in each case, any accrued dividends);

 

(f) all obligations of the type referred to in clauses (a) through (e) above of other Persons and all dividends of other Persons for the payment of which, in either case, such Person is responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, as obligor, guarantor or otherwise, including by means of any Guarantee;

 

(g) all obligations of the type referred to in clauses (a) through (f) above of other Persons secured by any Lien on any Property of such Person (whether or not such obligation is assumed by such Person), the amount of such obligation being deemed to be the lesser of the Fair Market Value of such Property and the amount of the obligation so secured; and

 

(h) to the extent not otherwise included in this definition, Hedging Obligations of such Person.

 

The amount of Debt of any Person at any date shall be the outstanding balance, or the accreted value of such Debt in the case of Debt issued with original issue discount, at such date of all unconditional obligations as described above and the maximum liability, upon the occurrence of the contingency giving rise to the obligation, of any contingent obligations at such date.  The amount of Debt represented by a Hedging Obligation shall be equal to:

 

9



 

(1) zero if such Hedging Obligation has been Incurred pursuant to clause (e), (f) or (g) of the second paragraph of Section 4.10, or

 

(2) the notional amount of such Hedging Obligation if not Incurred pursuant to such clauses.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, Debt shall not include (a) any endorsements for collection or deposits in the ordinary course of business, (b) any realization of a Permitted Lien, (c) Debt that has been defeased or satisfied in accordance with the terms of the documents governing such Debt, (d) any Debt between any of the Company, its Restricted Subsidiaries and Kimberly-Clark existing on the Issue Date that is extinguished on or prior to the consummation of the Spin-Off or (e) any liabilities not required to be reflected as debt on the Company’s balance sheet in accordance with GAAP that are assumed by the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary as contemplated by the Distribution Agreement in connection with the contribution of assets by Kimberly-Clark or an affiliate thereof to the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary prior to the consummation of the Spin-Off.

 

Default ” means any event which is, or after notice or passage of time or both would be, an Event of Default.

 

Definitive Note ” means a certificated Note registered in the name of the Holder thereof and issued in accordance with Section 2.06 or 2.10 hereof, in substantially the form of Exhibit A hereto, except that such Note shall not bear the Global Note Legend and shall not have the “Schedule of Exchanges of Interests in the Global Note” attached thereto.

 

Depositary ” means, with respect to the Notes issuable or issued in whole or in part in global form, the Person specified in Section 2.03(b) hereof as the Depositary with respect to the Notes, and any and all successors thereto appointed as depositary hereunder and having become such pursuant to the applicable provisions of this Indenture.

 

Disqualified Stock ” means any Capital Stock of the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries that by its terms (or by the terms of any security into which it is convertible or for which it is exchangeable, in either case at the option of the holder thereof) or otherwise:

 

(a) matures or is mandatorily redeemable pursuant to a sinking fund obligation or otherwise,

 

(b) is or may become redeemable or repurchaseable at the option of the holder thereof, in whole or in part, or

 

(c) is convertible or exchangeable at the option of the holder thereof for Debt or Disqualified Stock,

 

on or prior to, in the case of clause (a), (b) or (c), 180 days after the Stated Maturity of the Notes.

 

Disqualified Stock Dividends” means all dividends with respect to Disqualified Stock of the Company held by Persons other than a Wholly Owned Restricted Subsidiary.  The amount of any such dividend shall be equal to the quotient of such dividend divided by the difference between one and the maximum statutory federal income tax rate (expressed as a decimal number between 1 and 0) then applicable to the Company.

 

Distribution Agreement ” means the Distribution Agreement, dated as of November 30, 2004, between Kimberly-Clark and the Company.

 

Distribution Compliance Period ” means the 40-day distribution compliance period as defined in Regulation S.

 

10



 

Domestic Restricted Subsidiary ” means any Restricted Subsidiary other than (a) a Foreign Restricted Subsidiary or (b) a Subsidiary of a Foreign Restricted Subsidiary.

 

EBITDA ” means, for any period, an amount equal to, for the Company and its consolidated Restricted Subsidiaries:

 

(a) the sum of Consolidated Net Income for such period, plus the following to the extent reducing Consolidated Net Income for such period:

 

(1) the provision for taxes based on income or profits or utilized in computing net loss,

 

(2) Consolidated Interest Expense,

 

(3) depreciation,

 

(4) amortization,

 

(5) any other non-cash items (other than any such non-cash item to the extent that it represents an accrual of, or reserve for, cash expenditures in any future period),

 

(6) any non-recurring fees, charges or other expenses that are related to the Spin-Off, and

 

(7) any non-recurring fees, charges or other expenses related to the restructuring or permanent closure of any operating facility, minus

 

(b) all non-cash items increasing Consolidated Net Income for such period (other than any such non-cash item to the extent that it will result in the receipt of cash payments in any future period).

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing clause (a), the provision for taxes and the depreciation, amortization and non-cash items of a Restricted Subsidiary shall be added to Consolidated Net Income to compute EBITDA only to the extent (and in the same proportion) that the net income of such Restricted Subsidiary was included in calculating Consolidated Net Income and only if a corresponding amount would be permitted at the date of determination to be dividended to the Company by such Restricted Subsidiary without prior approval (that has not been obtained), pursuant to the terms of its charter and all agreements, instruments, judgments, decrees, orders, statutes, rules and governmental regulations applicable to such Restricted Subsidiary or its shareholders.

 

Equity Offering ” means an offering of Capital Stock of the Company (but excluding any Disqualified Stock).

 

Exchange Act ” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

 

Exchange Notes ” means Notes issued in exchange for the Initial Notes or any Additional Notes pursuant to a Registration Rights Agreement.

 

Exchange Offer Registration Statement ” has the meaning set forth in a Registration Rights Agreement.

 

Fair Market Value ” means, with respect to any Property, the price that could be negotiated in an arm’s-length free market transaction, for cash, between a willing seller and a willing buyer, neither of whom is under undue pressure or compulsion to complete the transaction.  Fair Market Value shall be determined, except as otherwise provided,

 

(a) if such Property has a Fair Market Value equal to or less than $20.0 million, by any Officer of the Company, or

 

11



 

(b) if such Property has a Fair Market Value in excess of $20.0 million, by at least a majority of the Board of Directors and evidenced by a Board Resolution, dated within 30 days of the relevant transaction and delivered to the Trustee.

 

“Foreign Restricted Subsidiary” means any Restricted Subsidiary which is not organized under the laws of the United States of America or any State thereof or the District of Columbia.

 

GAAP ” means United States generally accepted accounting principles as in effect on the Issue Date, including those set forth in:

 

(a) the opinions and pronouncements of the Accounting Principles Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants,

 

(b) the statements and pronouncements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board,

 

(c) such other statements by such other entity as approved by a significant segment of the accounting profession, and

 

(d) the rules and regulations of the Commission governing the inclusion of financial statements (including pro forma financial statements) in periodic reports required to be filed pursuant to Section 13 of the Exchange Act, including opinions and pronouncements in staff accounting bulletins and similar written statements from the accounting staff of the Commission.

 

All ratios and computations based on GAAP contained in this Indenture will be computed in conformity with GAAP.

 

Global Note Legend ” means the legend set forth in Section 2.06(g)(ii), which is required to be placed on all Global Notes issued under this Indenture.

 

Global Notes ” means the global Notes in the form of Exhibit A hereto issued in accordance with Article 2 hereof.

 

Guarantee ” means any obligation, contingent or otherwise, of any Person directly or indirectly guaranteeing any Debt of any other Person and any obligation, direct or indirect, contingent or otherwise, of such Person:

 

(a) to purchase or pay (or advance or supply funds for the purchase or payment of) such Debt of such other Person (whether arising by virtue of partnership arrangements, or by agreements to keep-well, to purchase assets, goods, securities or services, to take-or-pay or to maintain financial statement conditions or otherwise), or

 

(b) entered into for the purpose of assuring in any other manner the obligee against loss in respect thereof (in whole or in part);

 

provided, however, that the term “Guarantee” shall not include:

 

(1) endorsements for collection or deposit in the ordinary course of business, or

 

(2) a contractual commitment by one Person to invest in another Person for so long as such Investment is reasonably expected to constitute a Permitted Investment under clause (a), (b) or (c) of the definition of “Permitted Investment.”

 

The term “Guarantee” used as a verb has a corresponding meaning.  The term “Subsidiary Guarantor” shall mean any Person Guaranteeing any obligation.

 

12



 

Hedging Obligation ” of any Person means any obligation of such Person pursuant to any Interest Rate Agreement, Currency Exchange Protection Agreement, Commodity Price Protection Agreement or any other similar agreement or arrangement.

 

Holder ” means a Person in whose name a Note is registered in the Security Register.

 

IAI Global Note ” means a Global Note in the form of Exhibit A hereto bearing the Global Note Legend and the Private Placement Legend and deposited with and registered in the name of the Depositary or its nominee issued in a denomination equal to the outstanding principal amount of the Notes sold to Institutional Accredited Investors, if any, to the extent required by the Applicable Procedures.

 

Incur ” means, with respect to any Debt or other obligation of any Person, to create, issue, incur (by merger, conversion, exchange or otherwise), extend, assume, Guarantee or become liable in respect of such Debt or other obligation or the recording, as required pursuant to GAAP or otherwise, of any such Debt or obligation on the balance sheet of such Person (and “Incurrence” and “Incurred” shall have meanings correlative to the foregoing); provided, however, that a change in GAAP that results in an obligation of such Person that exists at such time, and is not theretofore classified as Debt, becoming Debt shall not be deemed an Incurrence of such Debt; provided further , however , that any Debt or other obligations of a Person existing at the time such Person becomes a Subsidiary (whether by merger, consolidation, acquisition or otherwise) shall be deemed to be Incurred by such Subsidiary at the time it becomes a Subsidiary; and provided further, however, that solely for purposes of determining compliance with Section 4.10, amortization of debt discount shall not be deemed to be the Incurrence of Debt, provided that in the case of Debt sold at a discount, the amount of such Debt Incurred shall at all times be the aggregate principal amount at Stated Maturity.

 

Indenture ” means this instrument, as originally executed or as it may from time to time be supplemented or amended in accordance with Article 9 hereof.

 

Independent Financial Advisor ” means an investment banking firm of national standing or any third party appraiser of national standing, provided that such firm or appraiser is not an Affiliate of the Company.

 

Indirect Participant ” means a Person who holds a beneficial interest in a Global Note through a Participant.

 

Initial Notes ” means $225,000,000 aggregate principal amount of Notes issued under this Indenture on the Issue Date.

 

Institutional Accredited Investor ” means an institution that is an “accredited investor” as defined in Rule 501(a)(1), (2), (3) or (7) under the Securities Act.

 

Interest Payment Dates ” shall have the meaning set forth in paragraph 1 of each Note.

 

Interest Rate Agreement ” means, for any Person, any interest rate swap agreement, interest rate cap agreement, interest rate collar agreement or other similar agreement designed to protect against fluctuations in interest rates.

 

Investment ” by any Person means any direct or indirect loan (other than advances to customers in the ordinary course of business that are recorded as accounts receivable on the balance sheet of such Person), advance or other extension of credit or capital contribution (by means of transfers of cash or other Property to others or payments for Property or services for the account or use of others, or otherwise) to, or Incurrence of a Guarantee of any obligation of, or purchase or acquisition of Capital Stock, bonds, notes, debentures or other securities or evidence of Debt issued by, any other Person.  For purposes of Section 4.11 and Section 4.17 and the definition of “Restricted Payment,”  the term “Investment” shall include the portion (proportionate to the Company’s equity interest in such Subsidiary) of the Fair Market Value of the net assets of any Subsidiary of the Company at the time that such Subsidiary is designated an Unrestricted Subsidiary; provided, however, that upon a redesignation of such

 

13



 

Subsidiary as a Restricted Subsidiary, the Company shall be deemed to continue to have a permanent “Investment” in an Unrestricted Subsidiary of an amount (if positive) equal to:

 

(a) the Company’s “Investment” in such Subsidiary at the time of such redesignation, less

 

(b) the portion (proportionate to the Company’s equity interest in such Subsidiary) of the Fair Market Value of the net assets of such Subsidiary at the time of such redesignation.

 

In determining the amount of any Investment made by transfer of any Property other than cash, such Property shall be valued at its Fair Market Value at the time of such Investment.

 

“Investment Grade Rating” means a rating equal to or higher than Baa3 (or the equivalent) by Moody’s and BBB- (or the equivalent) by S&P.

 

Issue Date ” means November 30, 2004 .

 

“Kimberly-Clark” means Kimberly-Clark Corporation.

 

Legal Holiday ” means a Saturday, a Sunday or a day on which commercial banks are authorized or required to close in New York City.

 

Letter of Transmittal ” means the letter of transmittal, or its electronic equivalent in accordance with the Applicable Procedures, to be prepared by the Company and sent to all Holders of the Initial Notes or any Additional Notes for use by such Holders in connection with a Registered Exchange Offer.

 

Lien ” means, with respect to any Property of any Person, any mortgage or deed of trust, pledge, hypothecation, assignment, deposit arrangement, security interest, lien, charge, easement (other than any easement not materially impairing usefulness or marketability), encumbrance, preference, priority or other security agreement or preferential arrangement of any kind or nature whatsoever on or with respect to such Property (including any Capital Lease Obligation, conditional sale or other title retention agreement having substantially the same economic effect as any of the foregoing or any Sale and Leaseback Transaction).

 

Moody’s ” means Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. or any successor to the rating agency business thereof.

 

Net Available Cash ” from any Asset Sale means cash payments received therefrom (including any cash payments received by way of deferred payment of principal pursuant to a note or installment receivable or otherwise, but only as and when received, but excluding any other consideration received in the form of assumption by the acquiring Person of Debt or other obligations relating to the Property that is the subject of such Asset Sale or received in any other non-cash form), in each case net of:

 

(a) all legal, title and recording tax expenses, commissions and other fees and expenses incurred, and all Federal, state, provincial, foreign and local taxes required to be accrued as a liability under GAAP, as a consequence of such Asset Sale;

 

(b) all payments made on or in respect of any Debt that is secured by any Property subject to such Asset Sale, in accordance with the terms of any Lien upon such Property, or which must by its terms, or in order to obtain a necessary consent to such Asset Sale, or by applicable law, be repaid out of the proceeds from such Asset Sale;

 

(c) all distributions and other payments required to be made to minority interest holders in Subsidiaries or joint ventures as a result of such Asset Sale;

 

(d) the deduction of appropriate amounts provided by the seller as a reserve, in accordance with GAAP, against any liabilities associated with the Property disposed of in such

 

14



 

Asset Sale and retained by the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary after such Asset Sale, including pension and other post-employment benefit liabilities, liabilities related to environmental matters and liabilities under any indemnification obligations associated with such Asset Sale; and

 

(e) payments of unassumed liabilities (other than Subordinated Obligations) relating to the assets sold at the time of, or within 30 days after, the date of such Asset Sale.

 

“New Credit Facility” means the Credit Agreement, to be entered into on or prior to the Issue Date, among the Company, the Subsidiary Guarantors, the financial institutions party thereto, JPMorgan Chase Bank, as agent, and JPMorgan Chase Bank, Toronto, as Canadian collateral agent, as the same may be amended, supplemented, refinanced or otherwise modified from time to time.

 

“Non-Recourse Debt,” means Debt:

 

(a) as to which neither the Company nor any Restricted Subsidiary (i) provides credit support of any kind (including any undertaking, agreement or instrument that would constitute Debt), (ii) is directly or indirectly liable as a guarantor or otherwise or (iii) constitutes the lender;

 

(b) no default with respect to which (including any rights that the holders thereof may have to take enforcement action against an Unrestricted Subsidiary) would permit upon notice, lapse of time or both any holder of any Debt (other than the Notes) of the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary to declare a default on such other Debt or cause the payment thereof to be accelerated or payable prior to its stated maturity; and

 

(c) as to which the lenders have been notified in writing that they will not have any recourse to the stock or assets of the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary.

 

Obligations ” means all obligations for principal, premium, interest, penalties, fees, indemnifications, reimbursements, damages and other liabilities payable under the documentation governing any Debt.

 

Offering Memorandum ” means the offering memorandum, dated November 18, 2004, relating to the Initial Notes.

 

Officer ” means the Chief Executive Officer, the President, the Chief Financial Officer or any Vice President of the Company.

 

Officers’ Certificate ” means a certificate signed by two Officers of the Company, at least one of whom shall be the principal executive officer or principal financial officer of the Company, which meets the requirements of Section 12.05 hereof and is delivered to the Trustee.

 

Opinion of Counsel ” means a written opinion from legal counsel who is acceptable to the Trustee and which meets the requirements of Section 12.05 hereof. The counsel may be an employee of or counsel to the Company or the Trustee.

 

Participant ” means, with respect to the Depositary, a Person who has an account with the Depositary.

 

Permitted Investment ” means any Investment by the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary in:

 

(a) the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary,

 

15



 

(b) any Person that will, upon the making of such Investment, become a Restricted Subsidiary, provided that the primary business of such Restricted Subsidiary is a Related Business;

 

(c) any Person if as a result of such Investment such Person is merged or consolidated with or into, or transfers or conveys all or substantially all its Property to, the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary, provided that such Person’s primary business is a Related Business;

 

(d) Cash Equivalents;

 

(e) receivables owing to the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary, if created or acquired in the ordinary course of business and payable or dischargeable in accordance with customary trade terms; provided, however , that such trade terms may include such concessionary trade terms as the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary deems reasonable under the circumstances;

 

(f) payroll, travel and similar advances to cover matters that are expected at the time of such advances ultimately to be treated as expenses for accounting purposes and that are made in the ordinary course of business;

 

(g) loans and advances to employees made in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practices of the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary, as the case may be, provided that such loans and advances do not exceed $2.0 million in the aggregate at any one time outstanding;

 

(h) stock, obligations or other securities received in settlement of debts created in the ordinary course of business and owing to the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary or in satisfaction of judgments, including as the result of any plan of reorganization or similar arrangement upon the bankruptcy or insolvency of a trade creditor or customer;

 

(i) any Person to the extent such Investment represents the non-cash portion of the consideration received in connection with (A) an Asset Sale consummated in compliance with Section 4.13, or (B) any disposition of Property not constituting an Asset Sale;

 

(j) other Investments in Related Businesses made for Fair Market Value that do not exceed 5% of Consolidated Tangible Assets in the aggregate outstanding at any one time;

 

(k) lease, utility and other similar deposits in the ordinary course of business;

 

(l) any assets or Capital Stock of any Person made out of the net cash proceeds of the substantially concurrent sale of Capital Stock of the Company (other than Disqualified Stock) or the consideration for which consists solely of Capital Stock (other than Disqualified Stock) of the Company; provided that the issuance of such Capital Stock shall be excluded in the calculation set forth in clause (c)(2) of Section 4.11;

 

(m) Hedging Obligations entered into for bona fide hedging purposes and not for speculation and otherwise permitted by this Indenture;

 

(n) any assets acquired as a result of a foreclosure by the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary with respect to any secured Permitted Investment or other transfer of title with respect to any secured Permitted Investment in default;

 

(o) purchases and acquisitions of inventory, supplies, materials and equipment or licenses or leases or intellectual property, in any case, in the ordinary course of business and otherwise in accordance with this Indenture;

 

16



 

(p) Investments in the Terrace Bay Co-Generation Facility (or in the Capital Stock of the Person that owns such facility) made for Fair Market Value that do not exceed $10.0 million; and

 

(q) other Investments made for Fair Market Value that do not exceed $15.0 million in the aggregate outstanding at any one time.

 

Permitted Liens ” means:

 

(a) Liens to secure Debt permitted to be Incurred under clause (b) of the second paragraph of Section 4.10;

 

(b) Liens to secure Debt permitted to be Incurred under clause (c) of the second paragraph of Section 4.10, provided that any such Lien may not extend to any Property of the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary, other than the Property acquired, constructed or leased with the proceeds of such Debt and any improvements or accessions to such Property;

 

(c) Liens for taxes, assessments or governmental charges or levies on the Property of the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary if the same shall not at the time be delinquent or thereafter can be paid without penalty, or are being contested in good faith and by appropriate proceedings promptly instituted and diligently concluded, provided that any reserve or other appropriate provision that shall be required in conformity with GAAP shall have been made therefor;

 

(d) Liens imposed by law, such as carriers’, warehousemen’s and mechanics’ Liens and other similar Liens, on the Property of the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary arising in the ordinary course of business and securing payment of obligations that are not more than 60 days past due or are being contested in good faith and by appropriate proceedings;

 

(e)  Liens in favor of customs and revenue authorities arising in the ordinary course of business and as a matter of law to secure payment of customs duties;

 

(f) Liens arising as a result of litigation or legal proceedings that are currently being contested in good faith by appropriate and diligent action, including any Lien arising as a result of any judgment against the Company;

 

(g) Liens on the Property of the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary Incurred in the ordinary course of business to secure performance of obligations with respect to statutory or regulatory requirements, performance or return-of-money bonds, surety bonds or other obligations of a like nature and Incurred in a manner consistent with industry practice, in each case which are not Incurred in connection with the borrowing of money, the obtaining of advances or credit or the payment of the deferred purchase price of Property and which do not in the aggregate impair in any material respect the use of Property in the operation of the business of the Company and the Restricted Subsidiaries taken as a whole;

 

(h) Liens on Property at the time the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary acquired such Property, including any acquisition by means of a merger or consolidation with or into the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary; provided, however , that any such Lien may not extend to any other Property of the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary; provided further, however , that such Liens shall not have been Incurred in anticipation of or in connection with the transaction or series of transactions pursuant to which such Property was acquired by the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary;

 

(i) Liens on the Property of a Person at the time such Person becomes a Restricted Subsidiary or is merged into or consolidated with the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary; provided, however , that any such Lien may not extend to any other Property of the Company or any other Restricted Subsidiary that is not a direct Subsidiary of such Person; provided further,

 

17



 

however , that any such Lien was not Incurred in anticipation of or in connection with the transaction or series of transactions pursuant to which such Person became a Restricted Subsidiary;

 

(j) pledges or deposits by the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary under workers’ compensation laws, unemployment insurance laws or similar legislation, or good faith deposits in connection with bids, tenders, contracts (other than for the payment of Debt) or leases to which the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary is party, or deposits to secure public or statutory obligations of the Company, or deposits for the payment of rent, in each case Incurred in the ordinary course of business;

 

(k) utility easements, building restrictions, rights-of-way, irregularities of title and such other encumbrances or charges against real Property as are of a nature generally existing with respect to properties of a similar character;

 

(l) Liens to secure Hedging Obligations made in the ordinary course of business and not for the purpose of speculation to the extent otherwise permitted by this Indenture;

 

(m) Liens to secure Debt permitted to be Incurred under clause (m) of the second paragraph of Section 4.10, provided that any such Lien may not extend to any Property of the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary other than the Terrace Bay Co-Generation Facility and any improvements or accessions thereto and/or, in the event the Terrace Bay Co-Generation Facility is owned by a Person that is not a Restricted Subsidiary, the Capital Stock of such Person;

 

(n) Liens existing on the Issue Date not otherwise described in clauses (a) through (m) above;

 

(o) Liens in favor of the Company or any Subsidiary Guarantor;

 

(p) Liens, if any, granted to secure the Notes pursuant to Section 4.12;

 

(q) Liens on the Property of the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary to secure any Refinancing, in whole or in part, of any Debt secured by Liens referred to in clause (b), (h), (i), (m) or (n) above; provided, however , that any such Lien shall be limited to all or part of the same Property that secured the original Lien (together with improvements and accessions to such Property), and the aggregate principal amount of Debt that is secured by such Lien shall not be increased to an amount greater than the sum of:

 

(1) the outstanding principal amount, or, if greater, the committed amount, of the Debt secured by Liens described under clause (b), (h), (i), (m) or (n) above, as the case may be, at the time the original Lien became a Permitted Lien under this Indenture, and

 

(2) an amount necessary to pay any fees and expenses, including premiums and defeasance costs, incurred by the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary in connection with such Refinancing; and

 

(r) Liens not otherwise permitted by clauses (a) through (q) above encumbering Property having an aggregate Fair Market Value not in excess of 5% of Consolidated Tangible Assets, as determined based on the consolidated balance sheet of the Company as of the end of the most recent fiscal quarter for which financial statements are publicly available.

 

Permitted Refinancing Debt ” means any Debt that Refinances any other Debt, including any successive Refinancings, so long as:

 

18



 

(a) such Debt is in an aggregate principal amount (or if Incurred with original issue discount, an aggregate issue price) not in excess of the sum of:

 

(1) the aggregate principal amount (or if Incurred with original issue discount, the aggregate accreted value) then outstanding of the Debt being Refinanced, and

 

(2) an amount necessary to pay any fees and expenses, including premiums and defeasance costs, related to such Refinancing,

 

(b) the Average Life of such Debt is equal to or greater than the Average Life of the Debt being Refinanced,

 

(c) the Stated Maturity of such Debt is no earlier than the Stated Maturity of the Debt being Refinanced, and

 

(d) the new Debt shall not be senior in right of payment to the Debt that is being Refinanced;

 

provided, however , that Permitted Refinancing Debt shall not include:

 

(x) Debt of a Subsidiary that is not a Subsidiary Guarantor that Refinances Debt of the Company or a Subsidiary Guarantor, or

 

(y) Debt of the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary that Refinances Debt of an Unrestricted Subsidiary.

 

“Person” means any individual, corporation, company (including any limited liability company), association, partnership, joint venture, trust, unincorporated organization, government or any agency or political subdivision thereof or any other entity.

 

Predecessor Note of any particular Note means every previous Note evidencing all or a portion of the same Debt as that evidenced by such particular Note; and any Note authenticated and delivered under Section 2.07 in lieu of a lost, destroyed or stolen Note shall be deemed to evidence the same Debt as the lost, destroyed or stolen Note.

 

Preferred Stock” means any Capital Stock of a Person, however designated, which entitles the holder thereof to a preference with respect to the payment of dividends, or as to the distribution of assets upon any voluntary or involuntary liquidation or dissolution of such Person, over shares of any other class of Capital Stock issued by such Person.

 

Preferred Stock Dividends ” means all dividends with respect to Preferred Stock of Restricted Subsidiaries held by Persons other than the Company or a Wholly Owned Restricted Subsidiary.  The amount of any such dividend shall be equal to the quotient of such dividend divided by the difference between one and the maximum statutory federal income rate (expressed as a decimal number between 1 and 0) then applicable to the issuer of such Preferred Stock.

 

Private Placement Legend ” means the legend set forth in Section 2.06(g)(i) hereof to be placed on all Notes issued under this Indenture except as otherwise permitted by the provisions of this Indenture.

 

pro forma ” means, with respect to any calculation made or required to be made pursuant to the terms hereof, a calculation performed in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation S-X promulgated under the Securities Act, as interpreted in good faith by the Board of Directors after consultation with the independent certified public accountants of the Company, or otherwise a calculation made in good faith by the Board of Directors after consultation with the independent certified public accountants of the Company, as the case may be.

 

19



 

Property ” means, with respect to any Person, any interest of such Person in any kind of property or asset, whether real, personal or mixed, or tangible or intangible, including Capital Stock in, and other securities of, any other Person.  For purposes of any calculation required pursuant to this Indenture, the value of any Property shall be its Fair Market Value.

 

Purchase Money Debt ” means Debt:

 

(a) consisting of the deferred purchase price of Property, conditional sale obligations, obligations under any title retention agreement, other purchase money obligations and obligations in respect of industrial revenue bonds, in each case where the maturity of such Debt does not exceed the anticipated useful life of the Property being financed, and

 

(b) Incurred to finance the acquisition, construction or lease by the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary of such Property, including additions and improvements thereto (whether through the direct purchase of assets or through the acquisition of at least a majority of the Voting Stock of any Person owning such assets);

 

provided, however , that such Debt is Incurred within 180 days after the acquisition, construction or lease of such Property by the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary.

 

QIB ” means a “qualified institutional buyer” as defined in Rule 144A.

 

“Rating Agencies” means Moody’s and S&P.

 

Reference Treasury Dealer ” means Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and its successors; provided, however , that if any of the foregoing shall cease to be a primary U.S. government securities dealer in New York City (a “Primary Treasury Dealer”), the Company shall substitute therefor another Primary Treasury Dealer.

 

Reference Treasury Dealer Quotation ” means, with respect to the Reference Treasury Dealer and the Change of Control Redemption Date, the average, as determined by the Trustee, of the bid and ask prices for the Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed in each case as a percentage of its principal amount) quoted in writing to the Trustee by the Reference Treasury Dealer at 5:00 p.m. on the third Business Day preceding the Change of Control Redemption Date, such quotation to be determined by the Reference Treasury Dealer in accordance with customary market practice.

 

Refinance ” means, in respect of any Debt, to refinance, extend, renew, refund or Repay, or to issue other Debt, in exchange or replacement for, such Debt.  “Refinanced” and “Refinancing” shall have correlative meanings.

 

Registered Exchange Offer ” has the meaning set forth in a Registration Rights Agreement relating to an exchange of Notes registered under the Securities Act for Notes not so registered.

 

Registration Rights Agreement ” means the Registration Rights Agreement dated as of the Issue Date, among the Company, the Subsidiary Guarantors and the initial purchasers named therein, as such agreement may be amended, modified or supplemented from time to time and, with respect to any Additional Notes, one or more registration rights agreements among the Company, the Subsidiary Guarantors and the other parties thereto, as such agreement(s) may be amended, modified or supplemented from time to time, relating to rights given by the Company and the Subsidiary Guarantors to the purchasers of Additional Notes to register such Additional Notes, or exchange such Additional Notes for registered Notes, under the Securities Act.

 

Regular Record Date ” for the interest payable on any Interest Payment Date means the applicable date specified as a “Record Date” on the face of the Note.

 

Regulation S ” means Regulation S promulgated under the Securities Act.

 

20



 

Regulation S Global Note ” means a Global Note in the form of Exhibit A hereto bearing the Global Note Legend and the Private Placement Legend and deposited with and registered in the name of the Depositary or its nominee, issued in a denomination equal to the outstanding principal amount of the Notes sold for initial resale in reliance on Rule 903 of Regulation S.

 

Related Business ” means any business that is related, ancillary or complementary to the businesses of the Company and the Restricted Subsidiaries on the Issue Date.

 

Repay ” means, in respect of any Debt, to repay, prepay, repurchase, redeem, legally defease or otherwise retire such Debt.  “Repayment” and “Repaid” shall have correlative meanings.  For purposes of Section 4.13 and the definition of “Consolidated Interest Coverage Ratio,” Debt shall be considered to have been Repaid only to the extent the related loan commitment, if any, shall have been permanently reduced in connection therewith.

 

Responsible Officer ,” when used with respect to the Trustee, means any officer within the Corporate Trust Department of the Trustee (or any successor group of the Trustee) with direct responsibility for the administration of this Indenture and also means, with respect to a particular corporate trust matter, any other officer to whom such matter is referred because of his or her knowledge of and familiarity with the particular subject.

 

Restricted Definitive Note ” means one or more Definitive Notes bearing the Private Placement Legend.

 

Restricted Global Notes ” means 144A Global Notes, IAI Global Notes and Regulation S Global Notes.

 

Restricted Payment ” means:

 

(a) any dividend or distribution (whether made in cash, securities or other Property) declared or paid on or with respect to any shares of Capital Stock of the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary (including any payment in connection with any merger or consolidation with or into the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary), except for any dividend or distribution that is made solely to the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary (and, if such Restricted Subsidiary is not a Wholly Owned Restricted Subsidiary, to the other shareholders of such Restricted Subsidiary on a pro rata basis or on a basis that results in the receipt by the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary of dividends or distributions of greater value than it would receive on a pro rata basis) or any dividend or distribution payable solely in shares of Capital Stock (other than Disqualified Stock) of the Company;

 

(b) the purchase, repurchase, redemption, acquisition or retirement for value of any Capital Stock of the Company, any parent of the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary (other than from the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary) or any securities exchangeable for or convertible into any such Capital Stock, including the exercise of any option to exchange any Capital Stock (other than for or into Capital Stock of the Company that is not Disqualified Stock);

 

(c) the purchase, repurchase, redemption, acquisition or retirement for value, prior to the date for any scheduled maturity, sinking fund or amortization or other installment payment, of any Subordinated Obligation (other than the purchase, repurchase or other acquisition of any Subordinated Obligation purchased in anticipation of satisfying a scheduled maturity, sinking fund or amortization or other installment obligation, in each case due within one year of the date of acquisition); or

 

(d) any Investment (other than Permitted Investments) in any Person;

 

provided, however, that the term “Restricted Payment” shall not include those payments or investments made in connection with the consummation of the Spin-Off and described in the Offering Memorandum.

 

21



 

Restricted Subsidiary ” means any Subsidiary of the Company other than an Unrestricted Subsidiary.

 

Rule 144 ” means Rule 144 promulgated under the Securities Act.

 

Rule 144A ” means Rule 144A promulgated under the Securities Act.

 

Rule 903 ” means Rule 903 promulgated under the Securities Act.

 

Rule 904 ” means Rule 904 promulgated under the Securities Act.

 

S&P ” means Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services or any successor to the rating agency business thereof.

 

Sale and Leaseback Transaction ” means any direct or indirect arrangement relating to Property now owned or hereafter acquired whereby the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary transfers such Property to another Person and the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary leases it from such Person.

 

Securities Act ” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

 

Senior Debt ” of the Company means:

 

(a) all obligations consisting of the principal, premium, if any, and accrued and unpaid interest (including interest accruing on or after the filing of any petition in bankruptcy or for reorganization relating to the Company whether or not such post-filing interest is allowed in such proceeding) in respect of:

 

(1) Debt of the Company for borrowed money, and

 

(2) Debt of the Company evidenced by notes, debentures, bonds or other similar instruments permitted under this Indenture for the payment of which the Company is responsible or liable;

 

(b) all Capital Lease Obligations of the Company and all Attributable Debt in respect of Sale and Leaseback Transactions entered into by the Company;

 

(c) all obligations of the Company

 

(1) for the reimbursement of any obligor on any letter of credit, banker’s acceptance or similar credit transaction,

 

(2) under Hedging Obligations, or

 

(3) issued or assumed as the deferred purchase price of Property and all conditional sale obligations of the Company and all obligations under any title retention agreement permitted under this Indenture; and

 

(d) all obligations of other Persons of the type referred to in clauses (a), (b) and (c) for the payment of which the Company is responsible or liable as Subsidiary Guarantor;

 

provided, however , that Senior Debt shall not include:

 

(A) Debt of the Company that is by its terms subordinate in right of payment to the Notes , including any Subordinated Obligations;

 

22



 

(B) any Debt Incurred in violation of the provisions of this Indenture;

 

(C) accounts payable or any other obligations of the Company to trade creditors created or assumed by the Company in the ordinary course of business in connection with the obtaining of materials or services (including Guarantees thereof or instruments evidencing such liabilities);

 

(D) any liability for Federal, state, local or other taxes owed or owing by the Company;

 

(E) any obligation of the Company to any Subsidiary; or

 

(F) any obligations with respect to any Capital Stock of the Company.

 

To the extent that any payment of Senior Debt (whether by or on behalf of the Company as proceeds of security or enforcement or any right of setoff or otherwise) is declared to be fraudulent or preferential, set aside or required to be paid to a trustee, receiver or other similar party under any bankruptcy, insolvency, receivership or similar law, then if such payment is recovered by, or paid over to, such trustee, receiver or other similar party, the Senior Debt or part thereof originally intended to be satisfied shall be deemed to be reinstated and outstanding as if such payment had not occurred.  “Senior Debt” of any Subsidiary Guarantor has a correlative meaning.

 

Shelf Registration Statement ” means the registration statement relating to the registration of the Notes under Rule 415 of the Securities Act, as may be set forth in a Registration Rights Agreement.

 

Significant Subsidiary ” means any Subsidiary that would be a “significant subsidiary” of the Company within the meaning of Rule 1-02 under Regulation S-X promulgated by the Commission.

 

Special Interest ” has the meaning set forth in a Registration Rights Agreement relating to amounts to be paid in the event the Company and the Subsidiary Guarantors fail to satisfy certain conditions set forth herein.  For all purposes of this Indenture, the term “interest” shall include Special Interest, if any, with respect to the Notes.

 

Spin-Off ” means the distribution of all of the outstanding capital stock of the Company by its parent, Kimberly-Clark, to Kimberly-Clark’s shareholders.

 

Spin-Off Agreements ” means the Distribution Agreement, tax sharing agreement, corporate services agreement, employee matters agreement and pulp supply agreement, each to be entered into by the Company and Kimberly-Clark or Kimberly-Clark Global Sales, Inc., as applicable, in connection with the Spin-Off.

 

Stated Maturity ” means, with respect to any security, the date specified in such security as the fixed date on which the payment of principal of such security is due and payable, including pursuant to any mandatory redemption provision (but excluding any provision providing for the repurchase of such security at the option of the holder thereof upon the happening of any contingency beyond the control of the issuer unless such contingency has occurred).

 

Subordinated Obligation ” means any Debt of the Company or any Subsidiary Guarantor (whether outstanding on the Issue Date or thereafter Incurred) that is subordinate or junior in right of payment to the Notes or the applicable Subsidiary Guaranty pursuant to a written agreement to that effect.

 

Subsidiary ” means, in respect of any Person, any corporation, company (including any limited liability company), association, partnership, joint venture or other business entity of which at least a majority of the total voting power of the Voting Stock is at the time owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by:

 

(a) such Person,

 

(b) such Person and one or more Subsidiaries of such Person, or

 

23



 

(c) one or more Subsidiaries of such Person.

 

“Subsidiary Guarantor” means (1) each Domestic Restricted Subsidiary (other than Neenah and Menasha Water Power Company), (2) each Foreign Restricted Subsidiary that has Guaranteed other Debt of the Company or any Domestic Restricted Subsidiary and (3) any other Person that becomes a Subsidiary Guarantor pursuant to Section 4.19 or who otherwise executes and delivers a supplemental indenture to the Trustee providing for a Subsidiary Guaranty, and, in each case, who has not been released from such Subsidiary Guaranty in accordance with this Indenture.

 

Subsidiary Guaranty ” means the Guarantee of the Notes by each of the Subsidiary Guarantors pursuant to Article 10 and in the form of the Guarantee attached as Exhibit E and any additional Guarantee of the Notes to be executed by any Subsidiary of the Company pursuant to Section 4.19.

 

 “Surviving Person” means the surviving Person formed by a merger, consolidation or amalgamation and, for purposes of Section 5.01, a Person to whom all or substantially all the Property of the Company or a Subsidiary Guarantor is sold, transferred, assigned, leased, conveyed or otherwise disposed.

 

TIA ” means the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder.

 

“Terrace Bay Co-Generation Facility” means the co-generation facility proposed to be constructed by the Company and/or its Subsidiary, Neenah Paper Company of Canada, in connection with the Company’s pulp operations located in Terrace Bay, Ontario, Canada.

 

Treasury Rate ” means, with respect to the Change of Control Redemption Date, the rate per annum equal to the yield to maturity of the Comparable Treasury Issue, compounded semi-annually, assuming a price for such Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed as a percentage of its principal amount) equal to the Comparable Treasury Price for the Change of Control Redemption Date.

 

Trustee ” means the Person named as the “Trustee” in the first paragraph of this instrument until a successor Trustee shall have become such pursuant to the applicable provisions of this Indenture, and thereafter “Trustee” shall mean such successor Trustee.

 

Unrestricted Definitive Notes ” means one or more Definitive Notes that do not and are not required to bear the Private Placement Legend.

 

Unrestricted Global Notes ” means one or more Global Notes that do not and are not required to bear the Private Placement Legend and are deposited with and registered in the name of the Depositary or its nominee.

 

Unrestricted Subsidiary ” means:

 

(a)  any Subsidiary of the Company that is designated after the Issue Date as an Unrestricted Subsidiary as permitted or required pursuant to Section 4.17 and is not thereafter redesignated as a Restricted Subsidiary as permitted pursuant thereto; and

 

(b) any Subsidiary of an Unrestricted Subsidiary.

 

U.S. Government Obligations ” means direct obligations (or certificates representing an ownership interest in such obligations) of the United States of America (including any agency or instrumentality thereof) for the payment of which the full faith and credit of the United States of America is pledged and which are not callable or redeemable at the issuer’s option.

 

U.S. Subsidiary Guarantors ” means Neenah Paper Sales, Inc. and Neenah Paper Michigan, Inc.

 

24



 

U.S. Subsidiary Stock Contribution ” means the contribution of all the outstanding shares of Capital Stock of the U.S. Subsidiary Guarantors to the Company.

 

Voting Stock ” of any Person means all classes of Capital Stock or other interests (including partnership interests) of such Person then outstanding and normally entitled (without regard to the occurrence of any contingency) to vote in the election of directors, managers or trustees thereof.

 

 “ Wholly Owned Restricted Subsidiary ” means, at any time, a Restricted Subsidiary all the Voting Stock of which (except directors’ qualifying shares) is at such time owned, directly or indirectly, by the Company and its other Wholly Owned Restricted Subsidiaries.

 

Section 1.02 .                          Other Definitions .

 

Term

 

Defined in
Section

 

“Affiliate Transaction”

 

4.15

 

“Allocable Excess Proceeds”

 

4.13

 

“Authentication Order”

 

2.02

 

“Benefited Party”

 

10.01

 

“Change of Control Offer”

 

4.18

 

“Change of Control Purchase Price”

 

4.18

 

“Change of Control Redemption Date

 

3.07

 

“Change of Control Redemption Notice

 

3.07

 

“Covenant Defeasance”

 

8.03

 

“defeasance trust”

 

8.04

 

“DTC”

 

2.03

 

“Event of Default”

 

6.01

 

“Excess Proceeds”

 

4.13

 

“Legal Defeasance”

 

8.02

 

“losses”

 

7.07

 

“Notice of Default”

 

6.02

 

“Offer Amount”

 

3.09

 

“Offer Period”

 

3.09

 

“Offer to Purchase”

 

3.09

 

“Paying Agent”

 

2.03

 

“Prepayment Offer”

 

4.13

 

“Purchase Date”

 

3.09

 

“Purchase Price”

 

3.09

 

“Registrar”

 

2.03

 

“Security Register”

 

2.03

 

“Special Mandatory Redemption”

 

3.08

 

“Special Mandatory Redemption Date”

 

3.08

 

“Special Mandatory Redemption Event”

 

3.08

 

“Special Mandatory Redemption Payment”

 

3.08

 

“Suspended Covenants”

 

4.09

 

“Untendered Notes”

 

3.07

 

 

Section 1.03 .                          Incorporation by Reference of Trust Indenture Act .

 

(a)           Whenever this Indenture refers to a provision of the TIA, the provision is incorporated by reference in and made a part of this Indenture.

 

(b)           The following TIA terms used in this Indenture have the following meanings:

 

“indenture securities” means the Notes and the Subsidiary Guaranties;

 

25



 

“indenture security holder” means a Holder of a Note;

 

“indenture to be qualified” means this Indenture;

 

“indenture trustee” or “institutional trustee” means the Trustee; and

 

“obligor” on the Notes means the Company and any successor obligor upon the Notes.

 

(c)           All other terms used in this Indenture that are defined by the TIA, defined by TIA reference to another statute or defined by Commission rule under the TIA and not otherwise defined herein have the meanings so assigned to them either in the TIA, by another statute or Commission rule, as applicable.

 

Section 1.04 .                          Rules of Construction .

 

Unless the context otherwise requires:

 

(a)           a term has the meaning assigned to it;

 

(b)          an accounting term not otherwise defined herein has the meaning assigned to it in accordance with GAAP;

 

(c)           “or” is not exclusive;

 

(d)          words in the singular include the plural, and in the plural include the singular;

 

(e)           all references in this instrument to “Articles,” “Sections” and other subdivisions are to the designated Articles, Sections and subdivisions of this instrument as originally executed;

 

(f)             the words “herein,” “hereof” and “hereunder” and other words of similar import refer to this Indenture as a whole and not to any particular Article, Section or other subdivision.

 

(g)          “including” means “including without limitation;”

 

(h)          provisions apply to successive events and transactions; and

 

(i)              references to sections of or rules under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or the TIA shall be deemed to include substitute, replacement or successor sections or rules adopted by the Commission from time to time thereunder.

 

ARTICLE 2 .

THE NOTES

 

Section 2.01 .                          Form and Dating .

 

(a)           General .  The Notes and the Trustee’s certificate of authentication shall be substantially in the form included in Exhibit A hereto, which is hereby incorporated in and expressly made part of this Indenture.  The Notes may have notations, legends or endorsements required by law, exchange rule or usage in addition to those set forth on Exhibit A.  Each Note shall be dated the date of its authentication.  The Notes shall be in denominations of $1,000 and integral multiples thereof.  The terms and provisions contained in the Notes shall constitute a part of this Indenture and the Company, the Subsidiary Guarantors and the Trustee, by their execution and delivery of this Indenture, expressly agree to such terms and provisions and to be bound thereby.  To the extent any provision of any Note conflicts with the express provisions of this Indenture, the provisions of this Indenture shall govern and be controlling.

 

26



 

(b)          Form of Notes .  Notes shall be issued initially in global form and shall be substantially in the form of Exhibit A attached hereto (including the Global Note Legend thereon and the “Schedule of Exchanges of Interests in the Global Note” attached thereto).  Notes issued in definitive form shall be substantially in the form of Exhibit A attached hereto (but without the Global Note Legend thereon and without the “Schedule of Exchanges of Interests in the Global Note” attached thereto).  Each Global Note shall represent such aggregate principal amount of the outstanding Notes as shall be specified therein and each shall provide that it shall represent the aggregate principal amount of outstanding Notes from time to time endorsed thereon and that the aggregate principal amount of outstanding Notes represented thereby may from time to time be reduced or increased, as appropriate, to reflect exchanges and redemptions and transfers of interests therein.  Any endorsement of a Global Note to reflect the amount of any increase or decrease in the aggregate principal amount of outstanding Notes represented thereby shall be made by the Trustee or the Custodian, at the direction of the Trustee, in accordance with instructions given by the Holder thereof as required by Section 2.06 hereof.

 

(c)           Book-Entry Provisions .  This Section 2.01(c) shall apply only to Global Notes deposited with the Trustee, as custodian for the Depositary.  Participants and Indirect Participants shall have no rights under this Indenture or any Global Note with respect to any Global Note held on their behalf by the Depositary or by the Trustee as custodian for the Depositary, and the Depositary shall be treated by the Company, the Trustee and any agent of the Company or the Trustee as the absolute owner of such Global Note for all purposes whatsoever.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing herein shall prevent the Company, the Trustee or any agent of the Company or the Trustee from giving effect to any written certification, proxy or other authorization furnished by the Depositary or impair, as between the Depositary and its Participants or Indirect Participants, the Applicable Procedures or the operation of customary practices of the Depositary governing the exercise of the rights of a holder of a beneficial interest in any Global Note.

 

(d)          Certificated Securities .  The Company shall exchange Global Notes for Definitive Notes if: (1) at any time the Depositary notifies the Company that it is unwilling or unable to continue to act as Depositary for the Global Notes or if at any time the Depositary shall no longer be eligible to act as such because it ceases to be a clearing agency registered under the Exchange Act, and, in either case, the Company shall not have appointed a successor Depositary within 120 days after the Company receives such notice or becomes aware of such ineligibility, or (2) upon written request of a Holder or the Trustee if a Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing.  Upon the occurrence of any of the events set forth in clauses (1) or (2) above, the Company shall execute, and, upon receipt of an Authentication Order in accordance with Section 2.02 hereof, the Trustee shall authenticate and deliver Definitive Notes, in authorized denominations, in an aggregate principal amount equal to the principal amount of the Global Notes in exchange for such Global Notes.

 

The Company shall issue Definitive Notes to a Holder of, or an owner of a beneficial interest in, a Global Note in exchange for such Global Note or beneficial interest, as the case may be, upon written request from a Holder of, or an owner of a beneficial interest in, a Global Note if a Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing.  Upon the occurrence of the foregoing, the Company shall execute, and, upon receipt of an Authentication Order in accordance with Section 2.02 hereof, the Trustee shall authenticate and deliver, Definitive Notes, in authorized denominations, in an aggregate principal amount equal to the principal amount of the Global Note owned by such Holder or such owner of a beneficial interest.  Upon the exchange of all or a portion of a Global Note for Definitive Notes, such Global Note shall be cancelled or correspondingly reduced by the Trustee or an agent of the Company or the Trustee.  In the event that the Definitive Notes are not issued to an owner of a beneficial interest in a Global Note promptly after the Company has received a request from such owner, the Company expressly acknowledges, with respect to the right of any Holder to pursue a remedy pursuant to this Indenture, the right of any such owner to pursue such remedy with respect to the portion of the Global Note that represents such owner’s beneficial interest as if such Definitive Notes had been issued.

 

Upon the exchange of a Global Note for Definitive Notes, such Global Note shall be cancelled by the Trustee or an agent of the Company or the Trustee.  Subject to Section 2.06, Definitive Notes issued in exchange for a Global Note pursuant to this Section 2.01 shall be registered in such names and in such authorized denominations as the Depositary, pursuant to instructions from its Participants or its Applicable Procedures, shall instruct the Trustee or an agent of the Company or the Trustee in writing.  Subject to Section 2.06, the Trustee or such agent shall deliver such Definitive Notes to or as directed by the Persons in whose names such Definitive Notes are so registered or to the Depositary.

 

27



 

Section 2.02 .                          Execution and Authentication .

 

(a)           One Officer shall execute the Notes on behalf of the Company by manual or facsimile signature.

 

(b)          If an Officer whose signature is on a Note no longer holds that office at the time a Note is authenticated by the Trustee, the Note shall nevertheless be valid.

 

(c)           A Note shall not be valid until authenticated by the manual signature of the Trustee.  The signature shall be conclusive evidence that the Note has been authenticated under this Indenture.

 

(d)          The Trustee shall, upon a written order of the Company signed by an Officer (an “ Authentication Order ”), authenticate Notes for issuance.

 

(e)           The Trustee may appoint an authenticating agent acceptable to the Company to authenticate Notes.  Unless otherwise provided in such appointment, an authenticating agent may authenticate Notes whenever the Trustee may do so.  Each reference in this Indenture to authentication by the Trustee includes authentication by such agent.  An authenticating agent shall have the same rights as the Trustee to deal with Holders, the Company or an Affiliate of the Company.

 

Section 2.03 .                          Registrar and Paying Agent .

 

(a)           The Company shall maintain an office or agency where Notes may be presented for registration of transfer or for exchange (“ Registrar ”) and an office or agency where Notes may be presented for payment (“ Paying Agent ”).  The Registrar shall keep a register (the “ Security Register ”) of the Notes and of their transfer and exchange.  The Company may appoint one or more co-registrars and one or more additional paying agents.  The term “Registrar” includes any co-registrar and the term “Paying Agent” includes any additional paying agent.  The Company may change any Paying Agent or Registrar without notice to any Holder.  The Company shall notify the Trustee in writing of the name and address of any Agent not a party to this Indenture.  If the Company fails to appoint or maintain another entity as Registrar or Paying Agent, the Trustee shall act as such.  The Company or any of its Subsidiaries may act as Paying Agent or Registrar.

 

(b)          The Company initially appoints The Depository Trust Company (“ DTC ”) to act as Depositary with respect to the Global Notes.

 

(c)           The Company initially appoints the Trustee to act as Registrar and Paying Agent and to act as Custodian with respect to the Global Notes, and the Trustee hereby agrees so to initially act.

 

Section 2.04 .                          Paying Agent to Hold Money in Trust .

 

The Company shall require each Paying Agent other than the Trustee to agree in writing that the Paying Agent shall hold in trust for the benefit of Holders or the Trustee all money held by the Paying Agent for the payment of principal, premium, if any, or interest on the Notes, and shall notify the Trustee of any default by the Company in making any such payment.  While any such default continues, the Trustee may require a Paying Agent to pay all funds held by it relating to the Notes to the Trustee.  The Company at any time may require a Paying Agent to pay all funds held by it to the Trustee.  Upon payment over to the Trustee, the Paying Agent (if other than the Company or a Subsidiary) shall have no further liability for such funds.  If the Company or a Subsidiary acts as Paying Agent, it shall segregate and hold in a separate trust fund for the benefit of the Holders all funds held by it as Paying Agent.  Upon any Event of Default under Sections 6.01(viii) and (ix) hereof relating to the Company, the Trustee shall serve as Paying Agent for the Notes.

 

Section 2.05 .                          Holder Lists .

 

The Trustee shall preserve in as current a form as is reasonably practicable the most recent list available to it of the names and addresses of all Holders and shall otherwise comply with TIA §312(a).  If the

 

28



 

Trustee is not the Registrar, the Company shall furnish or cause to be furnished to the Trustee at least seven Business Days before each Interest Payment Date and at such other times as the Trustee may request in writing, a list in such form and as of such date or such shorter time as the Trustee may allow, as the Trustee may reasonably require of the names and addresses of the Holders and the Company shall otherwise comply with TIA §312(a).

 

Section 2.06 .                          Transfer and Exchange .

 

(a)           Transfer and Exchange of Global Notes .  A Global Note may not be transferred as a whole except by the Depositary to a nominee of the Depositary, by a nominee of the Depositary to the Depositary or to another nominee of the Depositary, or by the Depositary or any such nominee to a successor Depositary or a nominee of such successor Depositary.  Upon the occurrence of any of the events set forth in Section 2.01(d) above, Definitive Notes shall be issued in denominations of $1,000 or integral multiples thereof and in such names as the Depositary shall instruct the Trustee in writing.  Global Notes also may be exchanged or replaced, in whole or in part, as provided in Sections 2.07 and 2.10 hereof.  Except as provided above, every Note authenticated and delivered in exchange for, or in lieu of, a Global Note or any portion thereof, pursuant to this Section 2.06 or Section 2.07 or 2.10 hereof, shall be authenticated and delivered in the form of, and shall be, a Global Note.  A Global Note may not be exchanged for another Note other than as provided in this Section 2.06(a), and beneficial interests in a Global Note may not be transferred and exchanged other than as provided in Section 2.06(b), (c) or (f) hereof.

 

(b)          Transfer and Exchange of Beneficial Interests in the Global Notes .  The transfer and exchange of beneficial interests in the Global Notes shall be effected through the Depositary, in accordance with the provisions of this Indenture and the Applicable Procedures.  Beneficial interests in the Restricted Global Notes shall be subject to restrictions on transfer comparable to those set forth herein to the extent required by the Securities Act.  Transfers of beneficial interests in Global Notes also shall require compliance with either clause (i) or (ii) below, as applicable, as well as one or more of the other following clauses, as applicable:

 

(i)              Transfer of Beneficial Interests in the Same Global Note .  Beneficial interests in any Restricted Global Note may be transferred to Persons who take delivery thereof in the form of a beneficial interest in the same Restricted Global Note in accordance with the transfer restrictions set forth in the Private Placement Legend and any Applicable Procedures.  Beneficial interests in any Unrestricted Global Note may be transferred to Persons who take delivery thereof in the form of a beneficial interest in an Unrestricted Global Note.  Except as may be required by any Applicable Procedures, no written orders or instructions shall be required to be delivered to the Registrar to effect the transfers described in this Section 2.06(b)(i).

 

(ii)           All Other Transfers and Exchanges of Beneficial Interests in Global Notes .  In connection with all transfers and exchanges of beneficial interests that are not subject to Section 2.06(b)(i) above, the transferor of such beneficial interest must deliver to the Registrar either (A)(1) a written order from a Participant or an Indirect Participant given to the Depositary in accordance with the Applicable Procedures directing the Depositary to credit or cause to be credited a beneficial interest in another Global Note in an amount equal to the beneficial interest to be transferred or exchanged and (2) instructions given in accordance with the Applicable Procedures containing information regarding the Participant account to be credited with such increase or (B)(1) if permitted under Section 2.06(a), a written order from a Participant or an Indirect Participant given to the Depositary in accordance with the Applicable Procedures directing the Depositary to cause to be issued a Definitive Note in an amount equal to the beneficial interest to be transferred or exchanged and (2) instructions given by the Depositary to the Registrar containing information regarding the Person in whose name such Definitive Note shall be registered to effect the transfer or exchange referred to in (B)(1) above.  Upon consummation of a Registered Exchange Offer by the Company in accordance with Section 2.06(f) hereof, the requirements of this Section 2.06(b)(ii) shall be deemed to have been satisfied upon receipt by the Registrar of the instructions contained in the Letter of Transmittal delivered by the Holder of such beneficial interests in the Restricted Global Notes.  Upon satisfaction of all of the requirements for transfer or exchange of beneficial interests in Global Notes contained in this Indenture and the Notes or otherwise applicable under the Securities Act, the Trustee shall adjust the principal amount of the relevant Global Note(s) pursuant to Section 2.06(h) hereof.

 

29



 

(iii)        Transfer of Beneficial Interests in a Restricted Global Note to Another Restricted Global Note .  A holder of a beneficial interest in a Restricted Global Note may transfer such beneficial interest to a Person who takes delivery thereof in the form of a beneficial interest in another Restricted Global Note if the transfer complies with the requirements of Section 2.06(b)(ii) above and the Registrar receives the following:

 

(A)  if the transferee will take delivery in the form of a beneficial interest in the 144A Global Note, then the transferor must deliver a certificate in the form of Exhibit B hereto, including the certifications in item (1) thereof or, if permitted by the Applicable Procedures, item (3) thereof;

 

(B)  if the transferee will take delivery in the form of a beneficial interest in the Regulation S Global Note, then the transferor must deliver a certificate in the form of Exhibit B hereto, including the certifications in item (2) thereof; and

 

(C)  if the transferee is required by the Applicable Procedures to take delivery in the form of a beneficial interest in the IAI Global Note, then the transferor must deliver a certificate in the form of Exhibit B hereto, including the certifications and certificates and Opinion of Counsel required by item (3) thereof, if applicable.

 

(iv)       Transfer or Exchange of Beneficial Interests in a Restricted Global Note for Beneficial Interests in an Unrestricted Global Note .  A holder of a beneficial interest in a Restricted Global Note may exchange such beneficial interest for a beneficial interest in an Unrestricted Global Note or may transfer such beneficial interest to a Person who takes delivery thereof in the form of a beneficial interest in an Unrestricted Global Note only if the exchange or transfer complies with the requirements of Section 2.06(b)(ii) above and:

 

(A)  such exchange or transfer is effected pursuant to the Registered Exchange Offer in accordance with a Registration Rights Agreement and the holder of the beneficial interest, in the case of an exchange, or the transferee, in the case of a transfer, makes any and all certifications required in the applicable Letter of Transmittal (or is deemed to have made such certifications if delivery is made through the Applicable Procedures) as may be required by such Registration Rights Agreement;

 

(B)  such transfer is effected pursuant to a Shelf Registration Statement in accordance with a Registration Rights Agreement;

 

(C)  such transfer is effected by a broker-dealer pursuant to an Exchange Offer Registration Statement in accordance with a Registration Rights Agreement; or

 

(D)  the Registrar receives the following:

 

(1)           if the holder of such beneficial interest in a Restricted Global Note proposes to exchange such beneficial interest for a beneficial interest in an Unrestricted Global Note, a certificate from such holder in the form of Exhibit C hereto, including the certifications in item (1)(a) thereof; or

 

(2)           if the holder of such beneficial interest in a Restricted Global Note proposes to transfer such beneficial interest to a Person who shall take delivery thereof in the form of a beneficial interest in an Unrestricted Global Note, a certificate from such holder in the form of Exhibit B hereto, including the certifications in item (4) thereof;

 

30



 

and, in each such case set forth in this clause (D), if the Registrar so requests or if the Applicable Procedures so require, an Opinion of Counsel in form reasonably acceptable to the Registrar to the effect that such exchange or transfer complies with the Securities Act and that the restrictions on transfer contained herein and in the Private Placement Legend are no longer required in order to maintain compliance with the Securities Act.

 

If any such transfer is effected pursuant to clause (B) or (D) above at a time when an Unrestricted Global Note has not yet been issued, the Company shall execute and, upon receipt of an Authentication Order in accordance with Section 2.02 hereof, the Trustee shall authenticate one or more Unrestricted Global Notes in an aggregate principal amount equal to the aggregate principal amount of beneficial interests transferred pursuant to clause (B) or (D) above.

 

(v)          Transfer or Exchange of Beneficial Interests in an Unrestricted Global Note for Beneficial Interests in a Restricted Global Note Prohibited .  Beneficial interests in an Unrestricted Global Note may not be exchanged for, or transferred to Persons who take delivery thereof in the form of, beneficial interests in a Restricted Global Note.

 

(c)           Transfer and Exchange of Beneficial Interests in Global Notes for Definitive Notes .

 

(i)              Transfer or Exchange of Beneficial Interests in Restricted Global Notes to Restricted Definitive Notes .  Subject to Section 2.06(a) hereof, if any holder of a beneficial interest in a Restricted Global Note proposes to exchange such beneficial interest for a Restricted Definitive Note or to transfer such beneficial interest to a Person who takes delivery thereof in the form of a Restricted Definitive Note, then, upon receipt by the Registrar of the following documentation:

 

(A)  if the holder of such beneficial interest in a Restricted Global Note proposes to exchange such beneficial interest for a Restricted Definitive Note, a certificate from such holder in the form of Exhibit C hereto, including the certifications in item (2)(a) thereof;

 

(B)  if such beneficial interest is being transferred to a QIB in accordance with Rule 144A, a certificate to the effect set forth in Exhibit B hereto, including the certifications in item (1) thereof;

 

(C)  if such beneficial interest is being transferred to a “Non-U.S. Person” in an offshore transaction (as defined in Section 902(k) of Regulation S) in accordance with Rule 903 or Rule 904, a certificate to the effect set forth in Exhibit B hereto, including the certifications in item (2) thereof;

 

(D)  if such beneficial interest is being transferred pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act in accordance with Rule 144 under the Securities Act, a certificate to the effect set forth in Exhibit B hereto, including the certifications in item (3)(a) thereof;

 

(E)  if such beneficial interest is being transferred to an Institutional Accredited Investor in reliance on an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act other than those listed in clauses (B) through (D) above, a certificate to the effect set forth in Exhibit B hereto, including the certifications, certificates and Opinion of Counsel required by item (3)(d) thereof, if applicable; or

 

(F)  if such beneficial interest is being transferred to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, a certificate to the effect set forth in Exhibit B hereto, including the certifications in item (3)(b) thereof,

 

31



 

the Trustee shall reduce or cause to be reduced in a corresponding amount pursuant to Section 2.06(h) hereof, the aggregate principal amount of the applicable Restricted Global Note, and the Company shall execute and, upon receipt of an Authentication Order in accordance with Section 2.02 hereof, the Trustee shall authenticate and deliver a Restricted Definitive Note in the appropriate principal amount to the Person designated by the holder of such beneficial interest in the instructions delivered to the Registrar by the Depositary and the applicable Participant or Indirect Participant on behalf of such holder.  Any Restricted Definitive Note issued in exchange for beneficial interests in a Restricted Global Note pursuant to this Section 2.06(c)(i) shall be registered in such name or names and in such authorized denomination or denominations as the holder of such beneficial interest shall designate in such instructions.  The Trustee shall deliver such Restricted Definitive Notes to the Persons in whose names such Notes are so registered.  Any Restricted Definitive Note issued in exchange for a beneficial interest in a Restricted Global Note pursuant to this Section 2.06(c)(i) shall bear the Private Placement Legend and shall be subject to all restrictions on transfer contained therein.

 

(ii)           Transfer or Exchange of Beneficial Interests in Restricted Global Notes to Unrestricted Definitive Notes .  Subject to Section 2.06(a) hereof, a holder of a beneficial interest in a Restricted Global Note may exchange such beneficial interest for an Unrestricted Definitive Note or may transfer such beneficial interest to a Person who takes delivery thereof in the form of an Unrestricted Definitive Note only if:

 

(A)  such exchange or transfer is effected pursuant to a Registered Exchange Offer in accordance with a Registration Rights Agreement and the holder of such beneficial interest, in the case of an exchange, or the transferee, in the case of a transfer, makes any and all certifications in the applicable Letter of Transmittal (or is deemed to have made such certifications if delivery is made through the Applicable Procedures) as may be required by such Registration Rights Agreement;

 

(B)  such transfer is effected pursuant to a Shelf Registration Statement in accordance with a Registration Rights Agreement;

 

(C)  such transfer is effected by a broker-dealer pursuant to an Exchange Offer Registration Statement in accordance with a Registration Rights Agreement; or

 

(D)  the Registrar receives the following:

 

(1)           if the holder of such beneficial interest in a Restricted Global Note proposes to exchange such beneficial interest for an Unrestricted Definitive Note, a certificate from such holder in the form of Exhibit C hereto, including the certifications in item (1)(b) thereof; or

 

(2)           if the holder of such beneficial interest in a Restricted Global Note proposes to transfer such beneficial interest to a Person who shall take delivery thereof in the form of an Unrestricted Definitive Note, a certificate from such holder in the form of Exhibit B hereto, including the certifications in item (4) thereof;

and, in each such case set forth in this clause (D), if the Registrar so requests or if the Applicable Procedures so require, an Opinion of Counsel in form reasonably acceptable to the Registrar to the effect that such exchange or transfer complies with the Securities Act and that the restrictions on transfer contained herein and in the Private Placement Legend are no longer required in order to maintain compliance with the Securities Act.

 

Upon satisfaction of any of the conditions of any of the clauses of this Section 2.06(c)(ii), the Company shall execute and, upon receipt of an Authentication Order in accordance with Section 2.02 hereof, the Trustee shall authenticate and deliver an Unrestricted Definitive Note in the appropriate

 

32



 

principal amount to the Person designated by the holder of such beneficial interest in instructions delivered to the Registrar by the Depositary and the applicable Participant or Indirect Participant on behalf of such holder, and the Trustee shall reduce or cause to be reduced in a corresponding amount pursuant to Section 2.06(h), the aggregate principal amount of the applicable Restricted Global Note.

 

(iii)        Transfer or Exchange of Beneficial Interests in Unrestricted Global Notes to Unrestricted Definitive Notes .  Subject to Section 2.06(a) hereof, if any holder of a beneficial interest in an Unrestricted Global Note proposes to exchange such beneficial interest for an Unrestricted Definitive Note or to transfer such beneficial interest to a Person who takes delivery thereof in the form of an Unrestricted Definitive Note, then, upon satisfaction of the applicable conditions set forth in Section 2.06(b)(ii) hereof, the Trustee shall reduce or cause to be reduced in a corresponding amount pursuant to Section 2.06(h) hereof, the aggregate principal amount of the applicable Unrestricted Global Note, and the Company shall execute, and, upon receipt of an Authentication Order in accordance with Section 2.02 hereof, the Trustee shall authenticate and deliver an Unrestricted Definitive Note in the appropriate principal amount to the Person designated by the holder of such beneficial interest in instructions delivered to the Registrar by the Depositary and the applicable Participant or Indirect Participant on behalf of such holder.  Any Unrestricted Definitive Note issued in exchange for a beneficial interest pursuant to this Section 2.06(c)(iii) shall be registered in such name or names and in such authorized denomination or denominations as the holder of such beneficial interest shall designate in such instructions.  The Trustee shall deliver such Unrestricted Definitive Notes to the Persons in whose names such Notes are so registered.  Any Unrestricted Definitive Note issued in exchange for a beneficial interest pursuant to this Section 2.06(c)(iii) shall not bear the Private Placement Legend.

 

(d)          Transfer and Exchange of Definitive Notes for Beneficial Interests in the Global Notes.

 

(i)              Transfer or Exchange of Restricted Definitive Notes to Beneficial Interests in Restricted Global Notes .  If any holder of a Restricted Definitive Note proposes to exchange such Restricted Definitive Note for a beneficial interest in a Restricted Global Note or to transfer such Restricted Definitive Notes to a Person who takes delivery thereof in the form of a beneficial interest in a Restricted Global Note, then, upon receipt by the Registrar of the following documentation:

 

(A)  if the holder of such Restricted Definitive Note proposes to exchange such Restricted Definitive Note for a beneficial interest in a Restricted Global Note, a certificate from such holder in the form of Exhibit C hereto, including the certifications in item (2)(b) thereof;

 

(B)  if such Restricted Definitive Note is being transferred to a QIB in accordance with Rule 144A, a certificate to the effect set forth in Exhibit B hereto, including the certifications in item (1) thereof;

 

(C)  if such Restricted Definitive Note is being transferred to a “non-U.S. Person” in an offshore transaction (as defined in Rule 902(k) of Regulation S) in accordance with Rule 903 or Rule 904, a certificate to the effect set forth in Exhibit B hereto, including the certifications in item (2) thereof;

 

(D)  if such Restricted Definitive Note is being transferred pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act in accordance with Rule 144, a certificate to the effect set forth in Exhibit B hereto, including the certifications in item (3)(a) thereof;

 

(E)  if such Restricted Definitive Note is being transferred to an Institutional Accredited Investor in reliance on an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act other than those listed in clauses

 

33



 

(B) through (D) above, a certificate to the effect set forth in Exhibit B hereto, including the certifications, certificates and Opinion of Counsel required by item (3)(d) thereof, if applicable; or

 

(F)  if such Restricted Definitive Note is being transferred to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, a certificate to the effect set forth in Exhibit B hereto, including the certifications in item (3)(b) thereof,

 

the Trustee shall cancel the Restricted Definitive Note, increase or cause to be increased in a corresponding amount pursuant to Section 2.06(h) hereof, the aggregate principal amount of, in the case of clause (A) above, the appropriate Restricted Global Note, in the case of clause (B) above, a 144A Global Note, in the case of clause (C) above, a Regulation S Global Note, and in all other cases, a IAI Global Note.

 

(ii)           Transfer or Exchange of Restricted Definitive Notes to Beneficial Interests in Unrestricted Global Notes .  A holder of a Restricted Definitive Note may exchange such Restricted Definitive Note for a beneficial interest in an Unrestricted Global Note or transfer such Restricted Definitive Note to a Person who takes delivery thereof in the form of a beneficial interest in an Unrestricted Global Note only if:

 

(A)  such exchange or transfer is effected pursuant to a Registered Exchange Offer in accordance with a Registration Rights Agreement and the holder of such beneficial interest, in the case of an exchange, or the transferee, in the case of a transfer, makes any and all certifications in the applicable Letter of Transmittal (or is deemed to have made such certifications if delivery is made through the Applicable Procedures) as may be required by such Registration Rights Agreement;

 

(B)  such transfer is effected pursuant to a Shelf Registration Statement in accordance with a Registration Rights Agreement;

 

(C)  such transfer is effected by a broker-dealer pursuant to an Exchange Offer Registration Statement in accordance with a Registration Rights Agreement; or

 

(D)  the Registrar receives the following:

 

(1)           if the holder of such Restricted Definitive Note proposes to exchange such Restricted Definitive Note for a beneficial interest in an Unrestricted Global Note, a certificate from such holder in the form of Exhibit C hereto, including the certifications in item (1)(c) thereof; or

 

(2)           if the holder of such Restricted Definitive Note proposes to transfer such Restricted Definitive Note to a Person who shall take delivery thereof in the form of a beneficial interest in an Unrestricted Global Note, a certificate from such Holder in the form of Exhibit B hereto, including the certifications in item (4) thereof;

and, in each such case set forth in this clause (D), if the Registrar so requests or if the Applicable Procedures so require, an Opinion of Counsel in form reasonably acceptable to the Registrar to the effect that such exchange or transfer shall be effected in compliance with the Securities Act and that the restrictions on transfer contained herein and in the Private Placement Legend shall no longer be required in order to maintain compliance with the Securities Act.

 

34



 

Upon satisfaction of the conditions of any of the clauses in this Section 2.06(d)(ii), the Trustee shall cancel such Restricted Definitive Note and increase or cause to be increased in a corresponding amount pursuant to Section 2.06(h) hereof, the aggregate principal amount of the Unrestricted Global Note.

 

(iii)        Transfer or Exchange of Unrestricted Definitive Notes to Beneficial Interests in Unrestricted Global Notes .  A holder of an Unrestricted Definitive Note may exchange such Unrestricted Definitive Note for a beneficial interest in an Unrestricted Global Note or transfer such Unrestricted Definitive Note to a Person who takes delivery thereof in the form of a beneficial interest in an Unrestricted Global Note at any time.  Upon receipt of a request for such an exchange or transfer, the Trustee shall cancel the applicable Unrestricted Definitive Note and increase or cause to be increased in a corresponding amount pursuant to Section 2.06(h) hereof the aggregate principal amount of one of the Unrestricted Global Notes.

 

(iv)       Transfer or Exchange of Unrestricted Definitive Notes to Beneficial Interests in Restricted Global Notes Prohibited .  An Unrestricted Definitive Note may not be exchanged for, or transferred to Persons who take delivery thereof in the form of, beneficial interests in a Restricted Global Note.

 

(v)          Issuance of Unrestricted Global Notes .  If any such exchange or transfer of a Definitive Note for a beneficial interest in an Unrestricted Global Note is effected pursuant to clause (ii)(B), (ii)(D) or (iii) at a time when an Unrestricted Global Note has not yet been issued, the Company shall issue and, upon receipt of an Authentication Order in accordance with Section 2.02 hereof, the Trustee shall authenticate one or more Unrestricted Global Notes in an aggregate principal amount equal to the principal amount of Definitive Notes so transferred.

 

(e)           Transfer and Exchange of Definitive Notes for Definitive Notes .  Upon request by a holder of Definitive Notes and such holder’s compliance with the provisions of this Section 2.06(e), the Registrar shall register the transfer or exchange of Definitive Notes.  Prior to such registration of transfer or exchange, the requesting Holder shall present or surrender to the Registrar the Definitive Notes duly endorsed or accompanied by a written instruction of transfer in form satisfactory to the Registrar duly executed by such holder.  In addition, the requesting holder shall provide any additional certifications, documents and information, as applicable, required pursuant to the following provisions of this Section 2.06(e).

 

(i)              Transfer of Restricted Definitive Notes to Restricted Definitive Notes .  Any Restricted Definitive Note may be transferred to and registered in the name of Persons who take delivery thereof in the form of a Restricted Definitive Note if the Registrar receives the following:

 

(A)  if the transfer will be made pursuant to Rule 144A, a certificate in the form of Exhibit B hereto, including the certifications in item (1) thereof;

 

(B)  if the transfer will be made pursuant to Rule 903 or Rule 904, a certificate in the form of Exhibit B hereto, including the certifications in item (2) thereof; and

 

(C)  if the transfer will be made pursuant to any other exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act, a certificate in the form of Exhibit B hereto, including the certifications, certificates and Opinion of Counsel required by item (3) thereof, if applicable.

 

(ii)           Transfer or Exchange of Restricted Definitive Notes to Unrestricted Definitive Notes .  Any Restricted Definitive Note may be exchanged by the holder thereof for an Unrestricted Definitive Note or transferred to a Person or Persons who take delivery thereof in the form of an Unrestricted Definitive Note only if:

 

35



 

(A)  such exchange or transfer is effected pursuant to a Registered Exchange Offer in accordance with a Registration Rights Agreement and the holder, in the case of an exchange, or the transferee, in the case of a transfer, makes any and all certifications in the applicable Letter of Transmittal (or is deemed to have made such certifications if delivery is made through the Applicable Procedures) as may be required by a Registration Rights Agreement;

 

(B)  any such transfer is effected pursuant to a Shelf Registration Statement in accordance with a Registration Rights Agreement;

 

(C)  any such transfer is effected by a broker-dealer pursuant to an Exchange Offer Registration Statement in accordance with a Registration Rights Agreement; or

 

(D)  the Registrar receives the following:

 

(1)           if the holder of such Restricted Definitive Note proposes to exchange such Restricted Definitive Notes for an Unrestricted Definitive Note, a certificate from such holder in the form of Exhibit C hereto, including the certifications in item (1)(d) thereof; or

 

(2)           if the holder of such Restricted Definitive Notes proposes to transfer such Restricted Definitive Notes to a Person who shall take delivery thereof in the form of an Unrestricted Definitive Note, a certificate from such holder in the form of Exhibit B hereto, including the certifications in item (4) thereof;

and, in each such case set forth in this clause (D), if the Registrar so requests, an Opinion of Counsel in form reasonably acceptable to the Registrar to the effect that such exchange or transfer complies with the Securities Act and that the restrictions on transfer contained herein and in the Private Placement Legend are no longer required in order to maintain compliance with the Securities Act.

 

Upon satisfaction of the conditions of any of the clauses of this Section 2.06(e)(ii), the Trustee shall cancel the prior Restricted Definitive Note and the Company shall execute, and upon receipt of an Authentication Order in accordance with Section 2.02 hereof, the Trustee shall authenticate and deliver an Unrestricted Definitive Note in the appropriate aggregate principal amount to the Person designated by the holder of such prior Restricted Definitive Note in instructions delivered to the Registrar by such holder.

 

(iii)        Transfer of Unrestricted Definitive Notes to Unrestricted Definitive Notes .  A holder of Unrestricted Definitive Notes may transfer such Unrestricted Definitive Notes to a Person who takes delivery thereof in the form of an Unrestricted Definitive Note.  Upon receipt of a request to register such a transfer, the Registrar shall register the Unrestricted Definitive Notes pursuant to the instructions from the holder thereof.

 

(f)             Registered Exchange Offer .  Upon the occurrence of a Registered Exchange Offer in accordance with a Registration Rights Agreement, the Company shall issue and, upon receipt of an Authentication Order in accordance with Section 2.02 hereof, the Trustee shall authenticate (A) one or more Unrestricted Global Notes in an aggregate principal amount equal to the aggregate principal amount of the beneficial interests in the applicable Restricted Global Notes (1) tendered for acceptance by Persons that make any and all certifications in the applicable Letters of Transmittal (or are deemed to have made such certifications if delivery is made through the Applicable Procedures) as may be required by such Registration Rights Agreement and (2) accepted for exchange in such Registered Exchange Offer and (B) Unrestricted Definitive Notes in an aggregate principal amount equal to the aggregate principal amount of the Restricted Definitive Notes tendered for acceptance by Persons who made the foregoing certifications and accepted for exchange in the Registered Exchange Offer.  Concurrently with the issuance of such Notes, the Trustee shall reduce or cause to be reduced in a corresponding amount the aggregate

 

36



 

principal amount of the applicable Restricted Global Notes, and the Company shall execute and, upon receipt of an Authentication Order in accordance with Section 2.02 hereof, the Trustee shall authenticate and deliver to the Persons designated by the holders of Restricted Definitive Notes so accepted Unrestricted Definitive Notes in the appropriate aggregate principal amount.

 

(g)          Legends .  The following legends shall appear on the face of all Global Notes and Definitive Notes issued under this Indenture unless specifically stated otherwise in the applicable provisions of this Indenture.

 

(i)              Private Placement Legend.

 

(A) Except as permitted by clause (B) below, each Global Note and each Definitive Note (and all Notes issued in exchange therefor or substitution thereof) shall bear the legend in substantially the following form:

 

“THIS SECURITY (OR ITS PREDECESSOR) HAS NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE U.S. SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE “SECURITIES ACT”), AND, ACCORDINGLY, MAY NOT BE OFFERED, SOLD, PLEDGED OR OTHERWISE TRANSFERRED WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OR TO, OR FOR THE ACCOUNT OR BENEFIT OF, U.S. PERSONS, EXCEPT AS SET FORTH IN THE NEXT SENTENCE.  BY ITS ACQUISITION HEREOF OR OF A BENEFICIAL INTEREST HEREIN, THE HOLDER:

 

(1)           REPRESENTS THAT (A) IT IS A “QUALIFIED INSTITUTIONAL BUYER” (AS DEFINED IN RULE 144A UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT) (A “QIB”), (B) IT IS ACQUIRING THIS SECURITY IN AN OFFSHORE TRANSACTION IN COMPLIANCE WITH REGULATION S UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT, (C) IT IS AN INSTITUTIONAL “ACCREDITED INVESTOR” (AS DEFINED IN RULE 501(A)(1), (2), (3) OR (7) OF REGULATION D UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT) (AN “IAI”) OR (D) IT IS A PERSON WHO HAS OTHERWISE ACQUIRED THIS SECURITY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPH (2) BELOW;

 

(2)           AGREES THAT IT WILL NOT RESELL OR OTHERWISE TRANSFER THIS SECURITY EXCEPT (A) TO THE ISSUER OR ANY OF ITS SUBSIDIARIES, (B) TO A PERSON WHOM THE SELLER REASONABLY BELIEVES IS A QIB PURCHASING FOR ITS OWN ACCOUNT OR FOR THE ACCOUNT OF A QIB IN A TRANSACTION MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS OF RULE 144A, (C) IN AN OFFSHORE TRANSACTION MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS OF RULE 903 OR 904 OF REGULATION S UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT, (D) IN A TRANSACTION MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS OF RULE 144 UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT THAT, PRIOR TO SUCH TRANSFER, FURNISHES THE TRUSTEE A SIGNED LETTER CONTAINING CERTAIN REPRESENTATIONS AND AGREEMENTS RELATING TO THE TRANSFER OF THIS SECURITY (THE FORM OF WHICH CAN BE OBTAINED FROM THE TRUSTEE), (E) TO AN IAI, THAT, PRIOR TO SUCH TRANSFER, FURNISHS THE TRUSTEE A SIGNED LETTER CONTAINING CERTAIN REPRESENTATIONS AND AGREEMENTS RELATING TO THE TRANSFER OF THIS SECURITY (THE FORM OF WHICH CAN BE OBTAINED FROM THE TRUSTEE) AND IN EACH CASE, IF SUCH TRANSFER IS IN RESPECT OF AN AGGREGATE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OF SECURITIES LESS THAN $250,000, AN OPINION OF COUNSEL ACCEPTABLE TO THE ISSUER, IF THE ISSUER SO REQUESTS, THAT SUCH TRANSFER COMPLIES WITH THE SECURITIES ACT, (F) IN ACCORDANCE WITH ANOTHER EXEMPTION FROM THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE SECURITIES ACT (AND BASED UPON AN OPINION OF COUNSEL ACCEPTABLE TO THE ISSUER), OR (G) PURSUANT TO AN EFFECTIVE REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT AND, IN EACH CASE, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE APPLICABLE SECURITIES LAWS OF ANY STATE OF THE UNITED STATES OR ANY OTHER APPLICABLE JURISDICTION; AND

 

37



 

(3)           AGREES THAT IT WILL DELIVER TO EACH PERSON TO WHOM THIS SECURITY OR AN INTEREST HEREIN IS TRANSFERRED A NOTICE SUBSTANTIALLY TO THE EFFECT OF THIS LEGEND.

 

AS USED HEREIN, THE TERMS “OFFSHORE TRANSACTION” AND “UNITED STATES” HAVE THE MEANINGS GIVEN TO THEM BY RULE 902 OF REGULATION S UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT.  THE INDENTURE GOVERNING THIS SECURITY CONTAINS A PROVISION REQUIRING THE TRUSTEE TO REFUSE TO REGISTER ANY TRANSFER OF THIS SECURITY IN VIOLATION OF THE FOREGOING.”

 

(B) Notwithstanding the foregoing, any Global Note or Definitive Note issued pursuant to clauses (b)(iv), (c)(ii), (c)(iii), (d)(ii), (d)(iii), (e)(ii), (e)(iii) or (f) to this Section 2.06 (and all Notes issued in exchange therefor or substitution thereof) shall not bear the Private Placement Legend.

 

(ii)           Global Note Legend .  Each Global Note shall bear a legend in substantially the following form:

 

“THIS GLOBAL NOTE IS HELD BY THE DEPOSITARY (AS DEFINED IN THE INDENTURE GOVERNING THIS NOTE) OR ITS NOMINEE IN CUSTODY FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE BENEFICIAL OWNERS HEREOF, AND IS NOT TRANSFERABLE TO ANY PERSON UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES EXCEPT THAT (I) THE TRUSTEE MAY MAKE SUCH NOTATIONS HEREON AS MAY BE REQUIRED PURSUANT TO SECTION 2.06 OF THE INDENTURE, (II) THIS GLOBAL NOTE MAY BE EXCHANGED IN WHOLE BUT NOT IN PART PURSUANT TO SECTION 2.06(a) OF THE INDENTURE, (III) THIS GLOBAL NOTE MAY BE DELIVERED TO THE TRUSTEE FOR CANCELLATION PURSUANT TO SECTION 2.11 OF THE INDENTURE AND (IV) THIS GLOBAL NOTE MAY BE TRANSFERRED TO A SUCCESSOR DEPOSITARY WITH THE PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE COMPANY.

 

UNLESS AND UNTIL IT IS EXCHANGED IN WHOLE OR IN PART FOR NOTES IN DEFINITIVE FORM, THIS NOTE MAY NOT BE TRANSFERRED EXCEPT AS A WHOLE BY THE DEPOSITARY TO A NOMINEE OF THE DEPOSITARY OR BY A NOMINEE OF THE DEPOSITARY TO THE DEPOSITARY OR ANOTHER NOMINEE OF THE DEPOSITARY OR BY THE DEPOSITARY OR ANY SUCH NOMINEE TO A SUCCESSOR DEPOSITARY OR A NOMINEE OF SUCH SUCCESSOR DEPOSITARY.  UNLESS THIS NOTE IS PRESENTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY, A NEW YORK CORPORATION (“DTC”), TO THE COMPANY OR ITS AGENT FOR REGISTRATION OF TRANSFER, EXCHANGE OR PAYMENT, AND ANY NOTE ISSUED IS REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF CEDE & CO. OR IN SUCH OTHER NAME AS MAY BE REQUESTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF DTC (AND ANY PAYMENT IS MADE TO CEDE & CO. OR TO SUCH OTHER ENTITY AS MAY BE REQUESTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF DTC), ANY TRANSFER, PLEDGE OR OTHER USE HEREOF FOR VALUE OR OTHERWISE BY OR TO ANY PERSON IS WRONGFUL INASMUCH AS THE REGISTERED OWNER HEREOF, CEDE & CO., HAS AN INTEREST HEREIN.”

 

(h)          Cancellation and/or Adjustment of Global Notes .  At such time as all beneficial interests in a particular Global Note have been exchanged for Definitive Notes or a particular Global Note has been redeemed, repurchased or cancelled in whole and not in part, each such Global Note shall be returned to or retained and cancelled by the Trustee in accordance with Section 2.11 hereof.  At any time prior to such cancellation, if any beneficial interest in a Global Note is exchanged for or transferred to a Person who will take delivery thereof in the form of a beneficial interest in another Global Note or for Definitive Notes, the aggregate principal amount of Notes represented by such Global Note shall be reduced accordingly and an endorsement shall be made on such Global Note by the Trustee or by the Depositary at the direction of the Trustee to reflect such reduction; and if the beneficial interest is being exchanged for or transferred to a Person who will take delivery thereof in the form of a beneficial interest in another Global Note, the aggregate principal amount of such other Global Note shall be

 

38



 

increased accordingly and an endorsement shall be made on such Global Note by the Trustee or by the Depositary at the direction of the Trustee to reflect such increase.

 

(i)              General Provisions Relating to Transfers and Exchanges.

 

(i)              No service charge shall be made to a holder of a beneficial interest in a Global Note or to a Holder of a Definitive Note for any registration of transfer or exchange, but the Company may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any transfer tax or similar governmental charge payable in connection therewith (other than any such transfer taxes or similar governmental charge payable upon exchange or transfer pursuant to Sections 2.10, 3.06, 4.13, 4.18 and 9.05 hereof).

 

(ii)           All Global Notes and Definitive Notes issued upon any registration of transfer or exchange of Global Notes or Definitive Notes shall be the valid obligations of the Company, evidencing the same debt as the Global Notes or Definitive Notes surrendered upon such registration of transfer or exchange and shall be entitled to all of the benefits of this Indenture equally and proportionately with all other Notes duly issued hereunder.

 

(iii)        Neither the Registrar nor the Company shall be required (A) to issue, to register the transfer of or to exchange any Notes during a period beginning at the opening of business 15 days before the day of any selection of Notes for redemption under Section 3.02 hereof and ending at the close of business on the date of selection, (B) to register the transfer of or to exchange any Note so selected for redemption in whole or in part, except the unredeemed portion of any Note being redeemed in part or (C) to register the transfer of or to exchange a Note between a record date (including a Regular Record Date) and the next succeeding Interest Payment Date.

 

(iv)       Prior to due presentment for the registration of transfer of any Note, the Trustee, any Agent and the Company may deem and treat the Person in whose name any Note is registered as the absolute owner of such Note for the purpose of receiving payment of principal of, premium, if any, and interest on such Note and for all other purposes, in each case regardless of any notice to the contrary.

 

(v)          All certifications, certificates and Opinions of Counsel required to be submitted to the Registrar pursuant to this Section 2.06 to effect a registration of transfer or exchange may be submitted by facsimile.

 

(vi)       The Trustee is hereby authorized and directed to enter into a letter of representation with the Depositary in the form provided by the Company and to act in accordance with such letter.

 

Section 2.07 .                          Replacement Notes .

 

If any mutilated Note is surrendered to the Trustee or the Company and each of the Trustee and the Company receives evidence to its satisfaction of the destruction, loss or theft of any Note, the Company shall issue and, upon receipt of an Authentication Order in accordance with Section 2.02 hereof, the Trustee shall authenticate a replacement Note.  If required by the Trustee or the Company, the Holder of such Note shall provide indemnity that is sufficient, in the judgment of the Trustee or the Company, to protect the Company, the Trustee, any Agent and any authenticating agent from any loss that any of them may suffer in connection with such replacement.  If required by the Company, such Holder shall reimburse the Company for its reasonable expenses in connection with such replacement.

 

Every replacement Note issued in accordance with this Section 2.07 shall be the valid obligation of the Company, evidencing the same debt as the destroyed, lost or stolen Note, and shall be entitled to all of the benefits of this Indenture equally and proportionately with all other Notes duly issued hereunder.

 

39



 

Section 2.08 .                          Outstanding Notes .

 

(a)           The Notes outstanding at any time shall be the entire principal amount of Notes represented by all of the Global Notes and Definitive Notes authenticated by the Trustee except for those cancelled by it, those delivered to it for cancellation, those subject to reductions in beneficial interests effected by the Trustee in accordance with Section 2.06 hereof, and those described in this Section 2.08 as not outstanding.  Except as set forth in Section 2.09 hereof, a Note shall not cease to be outstanding because the Company or an Affiliate of the Company holds the Note; provided , however , that Notes held by the Company or a Subsidiary of the Company shall be deemed not to be outstanding for purposes of Section 3.07(c) hereof.

 

(b)          If a Note is replaced pursuant to Section 2.07 hereof, it shall cease to be outstanding unless the Trustee receives proof satisfactory to it that the replaced note is held by a bona fide purchaser.

 

(c)           If the principal amount of any Note is considered paid under Section 4.01 hereof, it shall cease to be outstanding and interest on it shall cease to accrue.

 

(d)          If the Paying Agent (other than the Company, a Subsidiary or an Affiliate of any thereof) holds, on a redemption date, a Purchase Date or a maturity date, funds sufficient to pay Notes payable on that date, then on and after that date such Notes shall be deemed to be no longer outstanding and shall cease to accrue interest.

 

Section 2.09 .                          Treasury Notes .

 

In determining whether the Holders of the required principal amount of Notes have concurred in any direction, waiver or consent, Notes owned by the Company, or by any Affiliate of the Company, shall be considered as though not outstanding, except that for the purposes of determining whether the Trustee shall be protected in relying on any such direction, waiver or consent, only Notes that the Trustee has actual notice are so owned shall be so disregarded.

 

Section 2.10 .                          Temporary Notes .

 

Until certificates representing Notes are ready for delivery, the Company may prepare and, upon receipt of an Authentication Order in accordance with Section 2.02 hereof, the Trustee shall authenticate temporary Notes.  Temporary Notes shall be substantially in the form of Definitive Notes but may have variations that the Company considers appropriate for temporary Notes and as shall be reasonably acceptable to the Trustee.  Without unreasonable delay, the Company shall prepare and the Trustee shall authenticate Global Notes or Definitive Notes in exchange for temporary Notes, as applicable.  After preparation of Definitive Notes, the Temporary Note will be exchangeable for Definitive Notes upon surrender of the Temporary Notes.

 

Holders of temporary Notes shall be entitled to all of the benefits of this Indenture equally and proportionately with all other Notes duly issued hereunder.

 

Section 2.11 .                          Cancellation .

 

The Company at any time may deliver Notes to the Trustee for cancellation.  The Registrar and Paying Agent shall forward to the Trustee any Notes surrendered to them for registration of transfer, exchange or payment.  Upon sole direction of the Company, the Trustee and no one else shall cancel all Notes surrendered for registration of transfer, exchange, payment, replacement or cancellation and shall destroy cancelled Notes (subject to the record retention requirements of the Exchange Act or other applicable laws) unless by written order, signed by an Officer of the Company, the Company directs them to be returned to it.  Certification of the destruction of all cancelled Notes shall be delivered to the Company from time to time upon request.  The Company may not issue new Notes to replace Notes that it has paid or that have been delivered to the Trustee for cancellation.

 

40



 

Section 2.12 .                          Payment of Interest; Defaulted Interest .

 

If the Company defaults in a payment of interest on the Notes, it shall pay the defaulted interest in any lawful manner plus, to the extent lawful, interest payable on the defaulted interest, to the Persons who are Holders on a subsequent special record date, in each case at the rate provided in the Notes and in Section 4.01 hereof. The Company shall notify the Trustee in writing of the amount of defaulted interest proposed to be paid on each Note and the date of the proposed payment. The Company shall fix or cause to be fixed each such special record date and payment date; provided that no such special record date shall be less than 10 days prior to the related Interest Payment Date for such defaulted interest. At least 15 days before the special record date, the Company (or, upon the written request of the Company, the Trustee in the name and at the expense of the Company) shall mail or cause to be mailed to Holders a notice that states the special record date, the related Interest Payment Date and the amount of such interest to be paid.

 

Section 2.13 .                          CUSIP or ISIN Numbers .

 

The Company in issuing the Notes may use “CUSIP” and/or “ISIN” numbers (if then generally in use), and, if so, the Trustee shall use “CUSIP” and/or “ISIN” numbers in notices of redemption or Offers to Purchase as a convenience to Holders; provided, however, that any such notice may state that no representation is made as to the correctness of such numbers either as printed on the Notes or as contained in any notice of a redemption or notice of an Offer to Purchase and that reliance may be placed only on the other identification numbers printed on the Notes, and any such redemption or Offer to Purchase shall not be affected by any defect in or omission of such numbers.  The Company shall promptly notify the Trustee of any change in the “CUSIP” and/or “ISIN” numbers.

 

Section 2.14 .                          Special Interest .

 

If Special Interest is payable by the Company pursuant to a Registration Rights Agreement and paragraph 1 of the Notes, the Company shall deliver to the Trustee a certificate to that effect stating (i) the amount of such Special Interest that is payable and (ii) the date on which such interest is payable pursuant to Section 4.01 hereof.  Unless and until a Responsible Officer of the Trustee receives such a certificate or instruction or direction from the Holders in accordance with the terms of this Indenture, the Trustee may assume without inquiry that no Special Interest is payable.  The foregoing shall not prejudice the rights of the Holders with respect to their entitlement to Special Interest as otherwise set forth in this Indenture or the Notes and pursuing any action against the Company directly or otherwise directing the Trustee to take any such action in accordance with the terms of this Indenture and the Notes.  If the Company has paid Special Interest directly to the Persons entitled to it, the Company shall deliver to the Trustee an Officers’ Certificate setting forth the details of such payment.

 

Section 2.15 .                          Issuance of Additional Notes .

 

The Company shall be entitled, subject to its compliance with Section 4.10 hereof, to issue Additional Notes under this Indenture which shall have identical terms as the Initial Notes issued on the date hereof, other than with respect to the date of issuance, issue price and rights under a related Registration Rights Agreement, if any.  The Initial Notes issued on the date hereof, any Additional Notes and all Exchange Notes issued in exchange therefor shall be treated as a single class for all purposes under this Indenture, including directions, waivers, amendments, consents, redemptions and Offers to Purchase.

 

With respect to any Additional Notes, the Company shall set forth in a Board Resolution and an Officers’ Certificate, a copy of each of which shall be delivered to the Trustee, the following information:

 

(a)           the aggregate principal amount of such Additional Notes to be authenticated and delivered pursuant to this Indenture;

 

(b)          the issue price, the issue date and the CUSIP and/or ISIN number of such Additional Notes; provided, however, that no Additional Notes may be issued at a price that would cause such Additional Notes to

 

41



 

have “original issue discount” within the meaning of Section 1273 of the Code, other than a de minimis original issue discount within the meaning of Section 1273 of the Code; and

 

(c)           whether such Additional Notes shall be subject to the restrictions on transfer set forth in Section 2.06 hereof relating to Restricted Global Notes and Restricted Definitive Notes.

 

Section 2.16 .                          Record Date .

 

The record date for purposes of determining the identity of Holders of Notes entitled to vote or consent to any action by vote or consent or permitted under this Indenture shall be determined as provided for in TIA Section 316(c).

 

ARTICLE 3 .

REDEMPTION AND PREPAYMENT

 

Section 3.01 .                          Notices to Trustee .

 

If the Company elects to redeem Notes pursuant to the optional redemption provisions of Section 3.07 hereof, it shall furnish to the Trustee, at least 30 days (subject to the last paragraph of Section 3.03) but not more than 60 days before a redemption date (or such shorter period as allowed by the Trustee), an Officers’ Certificate setting forth (a) the applicable section of this Indenture pursuant to which the redemption shall occur, (b) the redemption date, (c) the principal amount of Notes to be redeemed and (d) the appropriate method of calculation of the redemption price, but need not include the redemption price itself; the actual redemption price shall be set forth in an Officers’ Certificate delivered to the Trustee no later than two (2) Business Days prior to the redemption date unless clause (b) of the definition of “Comparable Treasury Price” is applicable, in which case such Officers’ Certificate should be delivered by 10:00 a.m. Eastern time on the redemption date.

 

Section 3.02 .                          Selection of Notes to Be Redeemed .

 

If less than all of the Notes are to be redeemed at any time, the Trustee shall select the Notes to be redeemed among the Holders of the Notes in compliance with the requirements of the principal national securities exchange, if any, on which the Notes are listed or, if the Notes are not so listed, on a pro rata basis, by lot or in accordance with any other method the Trustee deems fair and appropriate.  In the event of partial redemption by lot, the particular Notes to be redeemed shall be selected, unless otherwise provided herein, not less than 30 nor more than 60 days prior to the redemption date by the Trustee from the outstanding Notes not previously called for redemption.

 

The Trustee shall promptly notify the Company in writing of the Notes selected for redemption and, in the case of any Note selected for partial redemption, the principal amount thereof to be redeemed.  Notes and portions of Notes selected shall be in amounts of $1,000 or integral multiples thereof; except that if all of the Notes of a Holder are to be redeemed, the entire outstanding amount of Notes held by such Holder, even if not an integral multiple of $1,000, shall be redeemed.  Except as provided in the preceding sentence, provisions of this Indenture that apply to Notes called for redemption also apply to portions of Notes called for redemption.

 

Section 3.03 .                          Notice of Redemption .

 

At least 30 days but not more than 60 days prior to a redemption date, the Company shall mail or cause to be mailed, by first class mail, a notice of redemption to each Holder whose Notes are to be redeemed at such Holder’s registered address appearing in the Security Register.

 

The notice shall identify the Notes to be redeemed and shall state:

 

(a)           the redemption date;

 

42



 

(b)          the appropriate method of calculation of the redemption price, but need not include the redemption price itself; the actual redemption price shall be set forth in an Officers’ Certificate delivered to the Trustee no later than two (2) Business Days prior to the redemption date unless clause (b) of the definition of “Comparable Treasury Price” is applicable, in which case such Officers’ Certificate should be delivered by 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on the redemption date;

 

(c)           if any Note is being redeemed in part, the portion of the principal amount of such Note to be redeemed and that, after the redemption date upon surrender of such Note, if applicable, a new Note or Notes in principal amount equal to the unredeemed portion shall be issued upon cancellation of the original Note;

 

(d)          the name and address of the Paying Agent;

 

(e)           that Notes called for redemption must be surrendered to the Paying Agent to collect the redemption price;

 

(f)             that, unless the Company defaults in making such redemption payment, interest on Notes called for redemption ceases to accrue on and after the redemption date;

 

(g)          the applicable section of this Indenture pursuant to which the Notes called for redemption are being redeemed; and

 

(h)          that no representation is made as to the correctness of the CUSIP and/or ISIN numbers, if any, listed in such notice or printed on the Notes.

 

At the Company’s request, the Trustee shall give the notice of redemption in the Company’s name and at its expense; provided, however , that the Company shall have delivered to the Trustee, at least 45 days (or such shorter period allowed by the Trustee), prior to the redemption date, an Officers’ Certificate requesting that the Trustee give such notice (in the name and at the expense of the Company) and setting forth the information to be stated in such notice as provided in this Section 3.03.

 

Section 3.04 .                          Effect of Notice of Redemption .

 

Once notice of redemption is mailed in accordance with Section 3.03 hereof, Notes called for redemption shall become irrevocably due and payable on the redemption date at the redemption price.  A notice of redemption may not be conditional.

 

Section 3.05 .                          Deposit of Redemption Price .

 

On or prior to 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on the Business Day prior to any redemption date, the Company shall deposit with the Trustee or with the Paying Agent money sufficient to pay the redemption price of and, if applicable, accrued and unpaid interest on all Notes to be redeemed on that date.  The Trustee or the Paying Agent shall promptly, return to the Company any money deposited with the Trustee or the Paying Agent by the Company in excess of the amounts necessary to pay the redemption price of, and accrued and unpaid interest, if any, on, all Notes to be redeemed.

 

If the Company complies with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, on and after the redemption date, interest shall cease to accrue on the Notes or the portions of Notes called for purchase or redemption in accordance with Section 2.08(d) hereof, whether or not such Notes are presented for payment.  If a Note is redeemed on or after a Regular Record Date but on or prior to the related Interest Payment Date, then any accrued and unpaid interest, if any, shall be paid to the Person in whose name such Note was registered at the close of business on such Regular Record Date.  If any Note called for redemption shall not be so paid upon surrender for redemption because of the failure of the Company to comply with the preceding paragraph, interest shall be paid on the unpaid principal from the redemption date until such principal is paid, and to the extent lawful on any interest not paid on such unpaid principal, in each case at the rate provided in the Notes and in Section 4.01 hereof.

 

43



 

Section 3.06 .                          Notes Redeemed in Part .

 

Upon surrender of a Note that is redeemed in part, the Company shall issue and, upon receipt of an authentication order in accordance with Section 2.02 hereof, the Trustee shall authenticate for the Holder at the expense of the Company a new Note equal in principal amount to the unredeemed portion of the Note surrendered.

 

Section 3.07 .                          Optional Redemption .

 

(a)           Except as set forth in clauses (b) and (c) of this Section 3.07, the Notes shall not be redeemable at the option of the Company prior to November 15, 2009.  Starting on November 15, 2009, the Company may redeem all or any portion of the Notes, at once or over time, after giving the notice required pursuant to Section 3.03 hereof, at the redemption prices set forth below, plus accrued and unpaid interest, including Special Interest, if any, to but not including the applicable redemption date (subject to the right of Holders of record on the relevant Regular Record Date to receive interest due on the relevant Interest Payment Date), if redeemed during the 12-month period commencing on November 15, 2009 of the years set forth below, and are expressed as percentages of principal amount:

 

Year

 

Redemption
Price

 

2009

 

103.688

%

2010

 

102.458

%

2011

 

101.229

%

2012 and thereafter

 

100.000

%

 

(b)          At any time and from time to time, prior to November 15, 2007, the Company may redeem up to a maximum of 35% of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes (including any Additional Notes) with the proceeds of one or more Equity Offerings, at a redemption price equal to 107.375% of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued and unpaid interest, including Special Interest, if any, to but not including the redemption date (subject to the right of Holders of record on the relevant Regular Record Date to receive interest due on the relevant Interest Payment Date); provided , however , that after giving effect to any such redemption, at least 65% of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes (including any Additional Notes) remains outstanding.  Any such redemption shall be made within 90 days of such Equity Offering upon not less than 30 nor more than 60 days’ prior notice.

 

(c)           At any time prior to November 15, 2009, after the completion of a Change of Control Offer (as defined in Section 4.18) that was accepted by Holders of not less than 75% of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes then outstanding, the Company may redeem all of the Notes of any Holder who has not accepted the Change of Control Offer (the “ Untendered Notes ”) upon not less than 30 nor more than 60 days’ prior notice (the “ Change of Control Redemption Notice ”) but in no event more than 90 days after the completion of such Change of Control Offer, such notice to be provided in the manner required under Section 3.03, at a redemption price equal to the greater of:

 

(i)              101% of the principal amount of the Untendered Notes; and

 

(ii)           the sum of the present values of (A) the redemption price of the Notes as of November 15, 2009 (as set forth in clause (a) above) and (B) the remaining scheduled payments of interest from the redemption date (the “ Change of Control Redemption Date ”) through November 15, 2009, but excluding accrued and unpaid interest through the Change of Control Redemption Date and excluding Special Interest, discounted to the Change of Control Redemption Date (assuming a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months) at the Treasury Rate plus 50 basis points;

 

plus, in either case, accrued and unpaid interest, including Special Interest, if any, to but not including the Change of Control Redemption Date (subject to the right of Holders of record on the relevant Regular Record Date to receive interest due on the relevant Interest Payment Date).

 

44



 

Any Change of Control Redemption Notice pursuant to this Section 3.07(c) shall include the applicable method of calculation of the redemption price but need not include the redemption price itself.  The actual redemption price, calculated as described above, shall be set forth in an Officers’ Certificate delivered to the Trustee no later than two Business Days prior to the Change of Control Redemption Date unless clause (b) of the definition of “Comparable Treasury Price” is applicable, in which case such Officers’ Certificate should be delivered by 10:00 a.m. Eastern time on the Change of Control Redemption Date.

 

(d)          Any prepayment pursuant to this Section 3.07 shall be made pursuant to the provisions of Sections 3.01 through 3.06 hereof.

 

Section 3.08 .                          Mandatory Redemption .

 

(a)           If the Spin-Off is not consummated on or prior to 11:59 pm, New York City time, on November 30, 2004 (the “ Special Mandatory Redemption Event ”), then the Company shall notify the Trustee of such Special Mandatory Redemption Event, and the Company shall redeem all of the Notes (the “ Special Mandatory Redemption ”) within two Business Days of the date of the Special Mandatory Redemption Event, at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but not including the redemption date (the “ Special Mandatory Redemption Payment ”) (subject to the right of Holders of record on the relevant Regular Record Date to receive interest due on the relevant Interest Payment Date).  The Company shall commence the Special Mandatory Redemption by sending or causing to be sent on the Business Day following such Special Mandatory Redemption Event, by first class mail, with a copy to the Trustee, a notice of redemption to each Holder at such Holder’s registered address appearing in the Security Register, which notice shall state:

 

(1)                                   that the Special Mandatory Redemption is being made pursuant to this Section 3.08;

 

(2)                                   the redemption date and the Special Mandatory Redemption Payment; provided , however , that the redemption date shall be the second Business Day after the Special Mandatory Redemption Event (the “ Special Mandatory Redemption Date ”);

 

(3)                                   the name and address of the Paying Agent;

 

(4)                                   that the Notes must be surrendered to the Paying Agent to collect the Special Mandatory Redemption Payment; and

 

(5)                                   that, unless the Company defaults in making such Special Mandatory Redemption Payment, interest on the Notes shall cease to accrue on and after the Special Mandatory Redemption Date.

 

(b)  Except as set forth in this Section 3.08, the Company shall not be required to make any other mandatory redemption or sinking fund payments with respect to, or offer to purchase, the Notes.

 

Section 3.09 .                          Offer To Purchase .

 

(a)           In the event that, pursuant to Section 4.13 or 4.18 hereof, the Company shall be required to commence a Prepayment Offer or a Change of Control Offer (each, an “ Offer to Purchase ”), it shall follow the procedures specified below.

 

(b)          The Company shall cause a notice of the Offer to Purchase to be sent at least once to the Dow Jones News Service or similar business news service in the United States.

 

(c)           The Company shall commence the Offer to Purchase by sending or causing to be sent, by first-class mail, with a copy to the Trustee, to each Holder at such Holder’s address appearing in the Security Register, a notice the terms of which shall govern the Offer to Purchase stating:

 

45



 

(i)                   that the Offer to Purchase is being made pursuant to this Section 3.09 and Section 4.13 or Section 4.18, as the case may be, and, in the case of a Change of Control Offer, that a Change of Control has occurred, the circumstances and relevant facts regarding the Change of Control and that a Change of Control Offer is being made pursuant to Section 4.18;

 

(ii)                the principal amount of Notes required to be purchased pursuant to Section 4.13 or Section 4.18, as the case may be (the “ Offer Amount ”), the purchase price set forth in Section 4.13 or Section 4.18, as applicable (the “ Purchase Price ”), the Offer Period and the Purchase Date (each as defined below);

 

(iii)             except as provided in clause (ix), that all Notes timely tendered and not withdrawn shall be accepted for payment;

 

(iv)            that any Note not tendered or accepted for payment shall continue to accrue interest;

 

(v)               that, unless the Company defaults in making such payment, any Note accepted for payment pursuant to the Offer to Purchase shall cease to accrue interest on and after the Purchase Date;

 

(vi)            that Holders electing to have a Note purchased pursuant to an Offer to Purchase may elect to have Notes purchased in integral multiples of $1,000 only;

 

(vii)         that Holders electing to have a Note purchased pursuant to any Offer to Purchase shall be required to surrender the Note, with the form entitled “Option of Holder to Elect Purchase” on the reverse of the Note completed, or transfer by book-entry transfer, to the Company, the Depositary, if appointed by the Company, or a Paying Agent at the address specified in the notice before the close of business on the third Business Day before the Purchase Date;

 

(viii)  that Holders shall be entitled to withdraw their election if the Company, the Depositary or the Paying Agent, as the case may be, receives, not later than the expiration of the Offer Period, a telegram, facsimile transmission or letter setting forth the name of the Holder, the principal amount of the Note (or portions thereof) the Holder delivered for purchase and a statement that such Holder is withdrawing his election to have such Note purchased;

 

(ix)              that, in the case of a Prepayment Offer, if the aggregate principal amount of Notes surrendered by Holders exceeds the Offer Amount, the Company shall select the Notes to be purchased on a pro rata basis (with such adjustments as may be deemed appropriate by the Company so that only Notes in denominations of $1,000 or integral multiples thereof shall be purchased);

 

(x)                 that Holders whose Notes were purchased in part shall be issued new Notes equal in principal amount to the unpurchased portion of the Notes surrendered (or transferred by book-entry transfer); and

 

(xi)         any other procedures the Holders must follow in order to tender their Notes (or portions thereof) for payment and the procedures that Holders must follow in order to withdraw an election to tender Notes (or portions thereof) for payment.

 

(d)          The Offer to Purchase shall remain open for a period of at least 30 days but no more than 60 days following its commencement, except to the extent that a longer period is required by applicable law (the “ Offer Period ”).  No later than five (5) Business Days (and in any event no later than the 90th day following the Change of Control) after the termination of the Offer Period (the “ Purchase Date ”), the Company shall purchase the Offer Amount or, if less than the Offer Amount has been tendered, all Notes tendered in response to the Offer to Purchase.

 

46



 

Payment for any Notes so purchased shall be made in the same manner as interest payments are made.  The Company shall publicly announce the results of the Offer to Purchase on the Purchase Date.

 

(e)           On or prior to the Purchase Date, the Company shall, to the extent lawful:

 

(i)              accept for payment (on a pro rata basis to the extent necessary in connection with a Prepayment Offer), the Offer Amount of Notes or portions of Notes properly tendered and not withdrawn pursuant to the Offer to Purchase, or if less than the Offer Amount has been tendered, all Notes tendered;

 

(ii)           deposit with the Paying Agent funds in an amount equal to the Purchase Price in respect of all Notes or portions of 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 or portions of Notes being purchased by the Company and that such Notes or portions thereof were accepted for payment by the Company in accordance with the terms of this Section 3.09.

 

(f)             The Paying Agent (or the Company, if acting as the Paying Agent) shall promptly (but in the case of a Change of Control, not later than 90 days from the date of the Change of Control) deliver to each tendering Holder the Purchase Price.  In the event that any portion of the Notes surrendered is not purchased by the Company, the Company shall promptly execute and issue a new Note in a principal amount equal to such unpurchased portion of the Note surrendered, and, upon receipt of an Authentication Order in accordance with Section 2.02 hereof, the Trustee shall authenticate and deliver (or cause to be transferred by book-entry) such new Note to such Holder, in a principal amount equal to any unpurchased portion of the Note surrendered; provided , however , that each such new Note shall be in a principal amount of $1,000 or an integral multiple thereof.  Any Note not so accepted shall be promptly mailed or delivered by the Company to the Holder thereof.

 

(g)          If the Purchase Date is on or after a Regular Record Date and on or before the related Interest Payment Date, any accrued and unpaid interest shall be paid to the Person in whose name a Note is registered at the close of business on such Regular Record Date, and no additional interest shall be payable to Holders who tender Notes pursuant to the Offer to Purchase.

 

(h)          The Company shall comply, to the extent applicable, 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 Offer to Purchase.  To the extent that the provisions of any securities laws or regulations conflict with Sections 4.13 or 4.18, as applicable, this Section 3.09 or other provisions of this Indenture, the Company shall comply with applicable securities laws and regulations and shall not be deemed to have breached its obligations under Sections 4.13 or 4.18, as applicable, this Section 3.09 or such other provision by virtue of such compliance.

 

(i)              Other than as specifically provided in this Section 3.09, any purchase pursuant to this Section 3.09 shall be made in accordance with the provisions of Section 3.01 through 3.06 hereof.

 

ARTICLE 4 .

COVENANTS

 

Section 4.01 .                          Payment of Notes .

 

The Company shall pay or cause to be paid the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on, the Notes on the dates and in the manner provided in this Indenture and the Notes.  Principal, premium, if any, and interest shall be considered paid on the date due if the Paying Agent, if other than the Company or a Subsidiary thereof, holds as of 10:00 a.m Eastern Time on the due date money deposited by the Company in immediately available funds and designated for and sufficient to pay all principal, premium, if any, and interest then due.  Such

 

47



 

Paying Agent shall return to the Company promptly any money (including accrued interest) that exceeds such amount of principal, premium, if any, and interest paid on the Notes.  The Company shall pay Special Interest, if any, in the same manner, on the dates and in the amounts set forth in a Registration Rights Agreement, the Notes and this Indenture.  If a payment date is a Legal Holiday at a place of payment, payment may be made at that place on the next succeeding day that is not a Legal Holiday, and no interest shall accrue on such payment for the intervening period.

 

The Company shall pay interest (including post-petition interest in any proceeding under any Bankruptcy Law) on overdue principal and premium, if any, from time to time on demand at a rate that is 1% per annum in excess of the rate then in effect; it shall pay interest (including post-petition interest in any proceeding under any Bankruptcy Law) on overdue installments of interest (without regard to any applicable grace periods), from time to time on demand at the same rate to the extent lawful.

 

Interest shall be computed on the basis of a 360-day year of twelve 30-day months.

 

Section 4.02 .                          Maintenance of Office or Agency .

 

(a)           The Company shall maintain in the Borough of Manhattan, The City of New York, an office or agency (which may be an office or drop facility of the Trustee or an affiliate of the Trustee, Registrar or co-registrar) where Notes may be presented or surrendered for registration of transfer or for exchange and where notices and demands to or upon the Company in respect of the Notes and this Indenture may be served.  The Company shall give prompt written notice to the Trustee of the location, and any change in the location, of such office or agency.  If at any time the Company shall fail to maintain any such required office or agency or shall fail to furnish the Trustee with the address thereof, such presentations, surrenders, notices and demands may be made or served at the Corporate Trust Office of the Trustee, and the Company hereby appoints the Trustee as its agent to receive all such presentations, surrenders, notices and demands.

 

(b)          The Company may also from time to time designate one or more other offices or agencies where the Notes may be presented or surrendered for any or all such purposes and may from time to time rescind such designations.  The Company shall give prompt written notice to the Trustee of any such designation or rescission and of any change in the location of any such other office or agency.

 

(c)           The Company hereby designates the Corporate Trust Office of the Trustee, as one such office, drop facility or agency of the Company in accordance with Section 2.03 hereof.

 

Section 4.03 .                          SEC Reports .

 

Notwithstanding that the Company may not be subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, the Company shall file with the Commission and provide the Trustee and the Holders with such annual reports and such information, documents and other reports as are specified in Sections 13 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act and applicable to a U.S. corporation subject to such Sections, such information, documents and reports to be so filed with the Commission at the times specified for the filing of such information, documents and reports under such Sections and provided to the Trustee and the Holders promptly following such filing; provided , however , that the Company shall not be so obligated to file such information, documents and reports with the Commission if the Commission does not permit such filings, in which case such information, documents and reports shall be provided to the Trustee and the Holders promptly after such filing with the Commission would otherwise have been required.

 

Section 4.04 .                          Compliance Certificate .

 

(a)           The Company shall deliver to the Trustee, within 90 days after the end of each fiscal year, an Officers’ Certificate stating that a review of the activities of the Company, the Subsidiary Guarantors and their respective Subsidiaries during the preceding fiscal year has been made under the supervision of the signing Officers with a view to determining whether the Company, the Subsidiary Guarantors and their respective Subsidiaries have kept, observed, performed and fulfilled their obligations under this Indenture, and further stating, as to each such

 

48



 

Officer signing such certificate, that to the best of his or her knowledge the Company, the Subsidiary Guarantors and their respective Subsidiaries have kept, observed, performed and fulfilled each and every covenant contained in this Indenture and are not in default in the performance or observance of any of the terms, provisions and conditions of this Indenture (or, if a Default or Event of Default shall have occurred, describing all such Defaults or Events of Default of which he or she may have knowledge and what action the Company is taking or proposes to take with respect thereto) and that to the best of his or her knowledge no event has occurred and remains in existence by reason of which payments on account of the principal of, premium, if any, or interest on the Notes is prohibited or if such event has occurred, a description of the event and what action the Company is taking or proposes to take with respect thereto.

 

(b)          The Company shall otherwise comply with TIA §314(a)(2).

 

(c)           The Company shall deliver to the Trustee, within 30 days after the occurrence thereof, written notice in the form of an Officers’ Certificate of any event that with the giving of notice or the lapse of time or both would become an Event of Default, its status and what action the Company is taking or proposes to take with respect thereto.

 

Section 4.05 .                          Taxes .

 

The Company shall pay, and shall cause each of its Subsidiaries to pay, prior to delinquency, all material taxes, assessments and governmental levies, except such as are being contested in good faith and by appropriate proceedings or where the failure to effect such payment is not adverse in any material respect to the Holders.

 

Section 4.06 .                          Stay, Extension and Usury Laws .

 

The Company and the Subsidiary Guarantors covenant (to the extent that they may lawfully do so) that they shall not at any time insist upon, plead, or in any manner whatsoever claim or take the benefit or advantage of, any stay, extension or usury law wherever enacted, now or at any time hereafter in force, that may affect the covenants or the performance of this Indenture; and the Company and the Subsidiary Guarantors hereby expressly waive (to the extent that they may lawfully do so) all benefit or advantage of any such law, and covenant (to the extent that they may lawfully do so) that they shall not, by resort to any such law, hinder, delay or impede the execution of any power herein granted to the Trustee, but shall suffer and permit the execution of every such power as though no such law has been enacted.

 

Section 4.07 .                          Corporate Existence .

 

Subject to Article 5 hereof, the Company shall do or cause to be done all things necessary to preserve and keep in full force and effect (i) its corporate existence, and the corporate, partnership or other existence of each Restricted Subsidiary, in accordance with the respective organizational documents (as the same may be amended from time to time) of the Company or any such Restricted Subsidiary and (ii) the rights (charter and statutory), licenses and franchises of the Company and its Restricted Subsidiaries; provided, however , that the Company shall not be required to preserve any such right, license or franchise, or the corporate, partnership or other existence of any Restricted Subsidiary, if the Board of Directors shall determine that the preservation thereof is no longer desirable in the conduct of the business of the Company and its Restricted Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, and that the loss thereof is not adverse in any material respect to the Holders, or that such preservation is not necessary in connection with any transaction not prohibited by this Indenture.

 

Section 4.08 .                          Payments for Consents .

 

The Company shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, directly or indirectly, pay or cause to be paid any consideration, whether by way of interest, fee or otherwise, to any Holder for or as an inducement to any consent, waiver or amendment of any of the terms or provisions of this Indenture or the Notes unless such consideration is offered to be paid or is paid to all Holders that consent, waive or agree to amend in the time frame set forth in the solicitation documents relating to such consent, waiver or agreement.

 

49



 

Section 4.09 .                          Covenant Suspension .

 

During any period of time that:

 

(a) the Notes have Investment Grade Ratings from both Rating Agencies; and

 

(b) no Default or Event of Default has occurred and is continuing under this Indenture,

 

the Company and the Restricted Subsidiaries shall not be subject to:

 

(1)           Section 4.10,

 

(2)           Section 4.11,

 

(3)           Section 4.13,

 

(4)           Section 4.14,

 

(5)           Section 4.15,

 

(6)           clauses (a)(1) and (b) of Section 4.16,

 

(7)           clause (x) of the third paragraph (and such clause (x) as referred to in the first paragraph) of Section 4.17, and

 

(8)           clause (v) of the first and second paragraphs of Section 5.01

 

(collectively, the “ Suspended Covenants ”), and payment of the Notes may not be accelerated because of an Event of Default specified in clauses (iii), (iv) or (v) of Section 6.01, in each case with respect to the Suspended Covenants only.  In the event that the Company and the Restricted Subsidiaries are not subject to the Suspended Covenants and corresponding Events of Default for any period of time as a result of the preceding sentence and, subsequently, one or both of the Rating Agencies withdraws its ratings or downgrades the ratings assigned to the Notes below the required Investment Grade Ratings or a Default or Event of Default occurs and is continuing, then the Company and the Restricted Subsidiaries shall thereafter again be subject to the Suspended Covenants and corresponding Events of Default, and compliance with the Suspended Covenants with respect to Restricted Payments made after the time of such withdrawal, downgrade, Default or Event of Default shall be calculated in accordance with the terms of Section 4.11 as though such Section 4.11 had been in effect during the entire period of time from the Issue Date.

 

Section 4.10 .                          Limitation on Debt .

 

The Company shall not, and shall not permit any Restricted Subsidiary to, Incur, directly or indirectly, any Debt unless, after giving effect to the application of the proceeds thereof, no Default or Event of Default would occur as a consequence of such Incurrence or be continuing following such Incurrence and either (1) such Debt is Debt of the Company or a Subsidiary Guarantor and, after giving effect to the Incurrence of such Debt and the application of the proceeds thereof, the Consolidated Interest Coverage Ratio would be greater than 2.00 to 1.00, or (2) such Debt is Permitted Debt.

 

The term “ Permitted Debt ” is defined to include the following:

 

(a) (i) Debt of the Company evidenced by the Initial Notes and the Exchange Notes issued in exchange for such Initial Notes and in exchange for any Additional Notes and (ii) Debt of the Subsidiary Guarantors evidenced by Subsidiary Guaranties relating to the Initial Notes issued in this offering and the Exchange Notes issued in exchange for such Initial Notes and in exchange for any Additional Notes;

 

50



 

(b) Debt of the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary under Credit Facilities, provided that the aggregate principal amount of all such Debt under Credit Facilities at any one time outstanding shall not exceed the greater of (i) $150.0 million, which amount shall be permanently reduced by the amount of Net Available Cash used to Repay Debt under Credit Facilities and not subsequently reinvested in Additional Assets or used to purchase Notes or Repay other Debt, pursuant to Section 4.13 and (ii) the sum of (A) 85% of the book value of the accounts receivable of the Company and the Restricted Subsidiaries and (B) 75% of the book value of the inventory of the Company and the Restricted Subsidiaries, in each case as of the most recently ended quarter of the Company for which financial statements of the Company are publicly available;

 

(c) Debt of the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary in respect of Capital Lease Obligations and Purchase Money Debt, provided that:

 

(1) the aggregate principal amount of such Debt does not exceed the Fair Market Value (on the date of the Incurrence thereof) of the Property acquired, constructed or leased, and

 

(2) the aggregate principal amount of all Debt Incurred and then outstanding pursuant to this clause (c) (together with all Permitted Refinancing Debt Incurred and then outstanding in respect of Debt previously Incurred pursuant to this clause (c)) does not exceed 5% of Consolidated Tangible Assets;

 

(d) Debt of the Company owing to and held by any Restricted Subsidiary and Debt of a Restricted Subsidiary owing to and held by the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary; provided , however , that:

 

(1) if the Company or any Subsidiary Guarantor is the obligor on such Debt and the lender is a Restricted Subsidiary that is not a Subsidiary Guarantor, such Debt shall be expressly subordinated to the prior payment in full in cash of all obligations with respect to the Notes and the applicable Subsidiary Guaranty, as the case may be; and

 

(2) any subsequent issue or transfer of Capital Stock or other event that results in any such Restricted Subsidiary ceasing to be a Restricted Subsidiary or any subsequent transfer of any such Debt (except to the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary) shall be deemed, in each case, to constitute the Incurrence of such Debt by the issuer thereof;

 

(e) Debt under Interest Rate Agreements entered into by the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary for the purpose of limiting interest rate risk in the ordinary course of the financial management of the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary and not for speculative purposes, provided that the obligations under such agreements are directly related to payment obligations on Debt otherwise permitted by the terms of this Section 4.10;

 

(f) Debt under Currency Exchange Protection Agreements entered into by the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary for the purpose of limiting currency exchange rate risks directly related to transactions entered into by the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary in the ordinary course of business and not for speculative purposes;

 

(g) Debt under Commodity Price Protection Agreements entered into by the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary in the ordinary course of the financial management of the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary and not for speculative purposes;

 

(h) Debt in connection with one or more standby letters of credit or performance bonds issued by the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary in the ordinary course of business or pursuant to self-insurance obligations and not in connection with the borrowing of money or the obtaining of advances or credit;

 

(i) Guarantees by the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary of Debt or any other obligation of the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary that the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary could otherwise have Incurred pursuant to this Section 4.10;

 

51


 


(j) Debt of the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary Incurred in the ordinary course of business relating to (i) workers’ compensation claims, (ii) payment obligations in connection with self-insurance or similar obligations and (iii) bankers’ acceptances, performance, surety, judgment, appeal and similar bonds, instruments or obligations;

 

(k) Debt of the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary arising from the honoring of a check, draft or similar instrument drawn against insufficient funds, provided such Debt is extinguished within five Business Days of the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary receiving notice;

 

(l) Debt of the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary arising from agreements providing for indemnification, purchase price adjustment, earn-out or similar obligations, in each case either (i) incurred under the Spin-Off Agreements or (ii) incurred or assumed in connection with the disposition of any business or assets of the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary otherwise permitted by and in accordance with the provisions of this Indenture;

 

(m) Debt of the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary Incurred to finance the Terrace Bay Co-Generation Facility in an aggregate principal amount outstanding at any one time not to exceed $25.0 million;

 

(n) Debt of the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary outstanding on the Issue Date not otherwise described in clauses (a) through (m) above;

 

(o) Debt of the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary in an aggregate principal amount outstanding at any one time not to exceed $50.0 million; and

 

(p) Permitted Refinancing Debt Incurred in respect of Debt Incurred pursuant to clause (1) of the first paragraph of this covenant and clauses (a), (c) and (n) above.

 

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Section 4.10, accrual of interest, accretion or amortization of original issue discount and the payment of interest or dividends in the form of additional Debt, as well as covenants, guarantees or obligations with respect to letters of credit supporting Debt already included in determining compliance with this Section 4.10, will be deemed not to be an Incurrence of Debt for purposes of this Section 4.10.  In addition, the maximum amount of Debt that the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary may Incur pursuant to this Section 4.10 will not be deemed to be exceeded with respect to any outstanding Debt solely as a result of the fluctuation in exchange rates of currencies.

 

For purposes of determining compliance with this Section 4.10, in the event that an item of Debt meets the criteria of more than one of the categories of Permitted Debt described in clauses (a) through (o) above or is entitled to be incurred pursuant to clause (1) of the first paragraph of this Section 4.10, the Company shall, in its sole discretion, classify (or later reclassify in whole or in part, in its sole discretion) such item of Debt in any manner that complies with this Section 4.10.

 

Section 4.11 .         Limitation on Restricted Payments .

 

The Company shall not make, and shall not permit any Restricted Subsidiary to make, directly or indirectly, any Restricted Payment if at the time of, and after giving effect to, such proposed Restricted Payment,

 

(a) a Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing,

 

(b) the Company could not Incur at least $1.00 of additional Debt pursuant to clause (1) of the first paragraph of Section 4.10, or

 

(c) the aggregate amount of such Restricted Payment and all other Restricted Payments declared or made since the Issue Date (the amount of any Restricted Payment, if made other than in cash, to be based upon Fair Market Value at the time of such Restricted Payment) would exceed an amount equal to the sum of:

 

52



 

(1) 50% of the aggregate amount of Consolidated Net Income accrued during the period (treated as one accounting period) from the beginning of the fiscal quarter during which the Issue Date occurs to the end of the most recent fiscal quarter for which financial statements of the Company are publicly available (or if the aggregate amount of Consolidated Net Income for such period shall be a deficit, minus 100% of such deficit), plus

 

(2) 100% of the Capital Stock Sale Proceeds, plus

 

(3) the sum of:

 

(A) the aggregate net cash proceeds received by the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary from the issuance or sale after the Issue Date of convertible or exchangeable Debt that has been converted into or exchanged for Capital Stock (other than Disqualified Stock) of the Company, and

 

(B) the aggregate amount by which Debt (other than Subordinated Obligations) of the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary is reduced on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet on or after the Issue Date upon the conversion or exchange of any Debt issued or sold on or prior to the Issue Date that is convertible or exchangeable for Capital Stock (other than Disqualified Stock) of the Company,

 

excluding, in the case of clause (A) or (B):

 

(x) any such Debt issued or sold to the Company or a Subsidiary of the Company or an employee stock ownership plan or trust established by the Company or any such Subsidiary for the benefit of their employees, and

 

(y) the aggregate amount of any cash or other Property distributed by the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary upon any such conversion or exchange, plus

 

(4) an amount equal to the sum of:

 

(A) the net reduction in Investments in any Person other than the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary resulting from dividends, repayments, forgiveness or cancellation of loans or advances or other transfers of Property, in each case to the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary from such Person, and

 

(B) the portion (proportionate to the Company’s equity interest in such Unrestricted Subsidiary) of the Fair Market Value of the net assets of an Unrestricted Subsidiary at the time such Unrestricted Subsidiary is designated a Restricted Subsidiary; provided , however , that the foregoing sum shall not exceed, in the case of any Person, the amount of Investments previously made (and treated as a Restricted Payment) by the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary in such Person.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing limitation, the Company may:

 

(a) pay dividends on its Capital Stock within 60 days of the declaration thereof if, on the declaration date, such dividends could have been paid in compliance with this Indenture; provided , however , that at the time of such payment of such dividend, no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing (or result therefrom); provided further, however , that such dividend shall be included in the calculation of the amount of Restricted Payments;

 

(b) purchase, repurchase, redeem, legally defease, acquire or retire for value Capital Stock of the Company or of a Restricted Subsidiary or Subordinated Obligations in exchange for, or out of the proceeds of the substantially concurrent sale of, Capital Stock of the Company (other than Disqualified Stock and other than Capital Stock issued or sold to a Subsidiary of the Company or an employee stock ownership plan or trust established by the Company or any such Subsidiary for the benefit of their employees); provided , however , that

 

53



 

(1) such purchase, repurchase, redemption, legal defeasance, acquisition or retirement shall be excluded in the calculation of the amount of Restricted Payments, and

 

(2) the Capital Stock Sale Proceeds from such exchange or sale shall be excluded from the calculation pursuant to clause (c)(2) above;

 

(c) purchase, repurchase, redeem, legally defease, acquire or retire for value any Subordinated Obligations in exchange for, or out of the proceeds of the substantially concurrent sale of, Permitted Refinancing Debt; provided , however , that such purchase, repurchase, redemption, legal defeasance, acquisition or retirement shall be excluded in the calculation of the amount of Restricted Payments;

 

(d) purchase, repurchase or redeem any Subordinated Obligations, the Incurrence of which was permitted pursuant to Section 4.10, pursuant to a right of the holders thereof to require the Company to effect such purchase, repurchase or redemption upon the occurrence of a change of control; provided , however , that the Company shall have first made a Change of Control Offer as required by Section 4.18; and provided further, however, that such purchase, repurchase or redemption shall be included in the calculation of the amount of Restricted Payments;

 

(e) make a Restricted Payment, if at the time the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary first Incurred a commitment for such Restricted Payment, such Restricted Payment could have been made; provided, however, that all commitments Incurred and outstanding shall be treated as if such commitments were Restricted Payments expended by the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary at the time the commitments were Incurred, except that commitments Incurred and outstanding that are treated as a Restricted Payment expended by the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary and that are terminated shall no longer be treated as a Restricted Payment expended by the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary upon the termination of such commitment; provided further , however , that such payments shall be included in the calculation of the amount of Restricted Payments;

 

(f) beginning on January 1, 2005, repurchase shares of, or options to purchase shares of, common stock of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries from current or former officers, directors or employees of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (or permitted transferees of such current or former officers, directors or employees), pursuant to the terms of agreements (including employment agreements) or plans (or amendments thereto) approved by the Board of Directors under which such individuals purchase or sell, or are granted the option to purchase or sell, shares of such common stock; provided , however , that:

 

(1) the aggregate amount of such repurchases shall not exceed $3.0 million in any calendar year plus the aggregate amount by which repurchases in each of the prior two calendar years was less than $3.0 million, and

 

(2) at the time of such repurchase, no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing (or result therefrom);

 

provided further , however , that such repurchases shall be included in the calculation of the amount of Restricted Payments;

 

(g) the repurchase of equity interests of the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary deemed to occur upon the exercise of stock options upon the surrender of equity interests to pay the exercise price of such options;

 

(h) pay regular dividends on the Company’s outstanding common stock in an amount which does not exceed $8 million in the aggregate in any calendar year; provided, however, that at the time of such dividend, no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing (or result therefrom); and provided further , however , that such dividends shall be included in the calculation of the amount of Restricted Payments;

 

(i) make payments on intercompany Debt, the Incurrence of which was permitted pursuant to Section 4.10; provided, however, that, except with respect to intercompany Debt Incurred by the Company or a Subsidiary Guarantor, no Default or Event of Default has occurred and is continuing or would otherwise result therefrom;

 

54



 

provided further, however, that such payments shall be excluded in the calculation of the amount of Restricted Payments; and

 

(j) make other Restricted Payments in an amount which does not exceed $15.0 million in the aggregate; provided, however, that, at the time of any such payment, no Default or Event of Default has occurred and is continuing or would otherwise result therefrom; provided further, however, that such payment shall be excluded from the calculation of the amount of Restricted Payments.

 

Section 4.12 .         Limitation on Liens .

 

The Company shall not, and shall not permit any Restricted Subsidiary to, directly or indirectly, Incur or suffer to exist, any Lien (other than Permitted Liens) upon any of its Property (including Capital Stock of a Restricted Subsidiary), whether owned at the Issue Date or thereafter acquired, or any interest therein or any income or profits therefrom, unless it has made or will make effective provision whereby the Notes or the applicable Subsidiary Guaranty will be secured by such Lien equally and ratably with (or, if such other Debt constitutes Subordinated Obligations, prior to) all other Debt of the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary secured by such Lien for so long as such other Debt is secured by such Lien.

 

Section 4.13 .         Limitation on Asset Sales .

 

(a)  The Company shall not, and shall not permit any Restricted Subsidiary to, directly or indirectly, consummate any Asset Sale unless:

 

(i) the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary receives consideration at the time of such Asset Sale at least equal to the Fair Market Value of the Property subject to such Asset Sale;

 

(ii) at least 75% of the consideration paid to the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary in connection with such Asset Sale is in the form of cash or Cash Equivalents or the assumption by the purchaser of liabilities of the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary (other than contingent liabilities or liabilities that are by their terms subordinated to the Notes or the applicable Subsidiary Guaranty) as a result of which the Company and the Restricted Subsidiaries are no longer obligated with respect to such liabilities; and

 

(iii) the Company delivers an Officers’ Certificate to the Trustee certifying that such Asset Sale complies with the foregoing clauses (i) and (ii).

 

For purposes of clause (ii) above, any securities, notes or other obligations received by the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary from the purchaser that are converted by the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary into cash within 180 days following the closing of such Asset Sale shall be deemed to be cash (to the extent of the cash received).

 

(b)  The Net Available Cash (or any portion thereof) from Asset Sales may be applied by the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary, to the extent the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary elects (or is required by the terms of any Debt):

 

(i) to Repay the New Credit Facility or any other Senior Debt of the Company or any Subsidiary Guarantor (excluding, in any such case, any Debt owed to the Company or an Affiliate of the Company);

 

(ii) to reinvest in Additional Assets (including by means of an Investment in Additional Assets by a Restricted Subsidiary with Net Available Cash received by the Company or another Restricted Subsidiary); or

 

(iii)  to make capital expenditures to improve or maintain existing assets.

 

(c)  Any Net Available Cash from an Asset Sale not applied in accordance with the preceding paragraph within 365 days from the date of the receipt of such Net Available Cash shall constitute “ Excess Proceeds ,”

 

55



 

provided that if during such 365-day period the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary enters into a definitive agreement committing it to apply such Net Available Cash in accordance with the requirements of clause (b)(ii) or (b)(iii), such 365-day period will be extended with respect to the amount of Net Available Cash so committed for a period not to exceed 180 days until required to be paid in accordance with such agreement (or, if earlier, until termination of such agreement).  Pending the final application of any Net Available Cash, the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary may temporarily reduce borrowings under a Credit Facility or otherwise invest such Net Available Cash in any manner that is not prohibited by this Indenture.

 

(d)  When the aggregate amount of Excess Proceeds exceeds $15.0 million, the Company shall be required to make an offer to repurchase (the “ Prepayment Offer ”) the Notes, which offer shall be in the amount of the Allocable Excess Proceeds (rounded to the nearest $1,000), on a pro rata basis according to principal amount, at a purchase price equal to 100% of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued and unpaid interest, including Special Interest, if any, to but not including the repurchase date (subject to the right of Holders of record on the relevant Regular Record Date to receive interest due on the relevant Interest Payment Date), in accordance with the procedures (including prorating in the event of oversubscription) set forth in this Indenture.  To the extent that any portion of the amount of Net Available Cash remains after compliance with the preceding sentence and provided that all Holders have been given the opportunity to tender their Notes for repurchase in accordance with this Indenture, the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary may use such remaining amount for any purpose permitted by this Indenture, and the amount of Excess Proceeds will be reset to zero.

 

(e) The term “ Allocable Excess Proceeds ” shall mean the product of:

 

(i) the Excess Proceeds and

 

(ii) a fraction,

 

(A) the numerator of which is the aggregate principal amount of the Notes outstanding on the date of the Prepayment Offer, and

 

(B) the denominator of which is the sum of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes outstanding on the date of the Prepayment Offer and the aggregate principal amount of other Debt of the Company outstanding on the date of the Prepayment Offer that is pari passu in right of payment with the Notes and subject to terms and conditions in respect of Asset Sales similar in all material respects to this Section 4.13 and requiring the Company to make an offer to repurchase such Debt at substantially the same time as the Prepayment Offer.

 

(f)  Within five Business Days after the Company is obligated to make a Prepayment Offer as described in this Section 4.13, the Company shall send a written notice to the Holders, pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 3.09, accompanied by such information regarding the Company and its Subsidiaries as the Company in good faith believes will enable such holders to make an informed decision with respect to such Prepayment Offer.

 

(g)  The Company shall comply, to the extent applicable, with the requirements of Section 14(e) of the Exchange Act and any other securities laws or regulations in connection with the repurchase of Notes pursuant to this Section 4.13.  To the extent that the provisions of any securities laws or regulations conflict with provisions of Section 3.09 or this Section 4.13, the Company shall comply with the applicable securities laws and regulations and will not be deemed to have breached its obligations under Section 3.09 or this Section 4.13 by virtue of such compliance.

 

Section 4.14 .         Limitation on Restrictions on Distributions from Restricted Subsidiaries .

 

(a)  The Company shall not, and shall not permit any Restricted Subsidiary to, directly or indirectly, create or otherwise cause or suffer to exist any consensual restriction on the right of any Restricted Subsidiary to:

 

56



 

(i) pay dividends, in cash or otherwise, or make any other distributions on or in respect of its Capital Stock, or pay any Debt or other obligation owed, to the Company or any other Restricted Subsidiary,

 

(ii) make any loans or advances to the Company or any other Restricted Subsidiary, or

 

(iii) transfer any of its Property to the Company or any other Restricted Subsidiary.

 

(b)  The foregoing limitations will not apply:

 

(i) with respect to clauses (a)(i), (ii) and (iii), to restrictions:

 

(A) in effect on the Issue Date (including, without limitation, restrictions pursuant to the Notes, this Indenture and the New Credit Facility),

 

(B) relating to Debt of a Restricted Subsidiary and existing at the time it became a Restricted Subsidiary if such restriction was not created in connection with or in anticipation of the transaction or series of transactions pursuant to which such Restricted Subsidiary became a Restricted Subsidiary or was acquired by the Company,

 

(C) relating to Debt of a Foreign Restricted Subsidiary; provided, however, that the aggregate principal amount of such Debt shall not exceed $25.0 million, or

 

(D) that result from the Refinancing of Debt Incurred pursuant to an agreement referred to in clause (b)(i)(A), (B) or (C) above or in clause (b)(ii)(A) or (B) below, provided such restrictions are not less favorable, taken as a whole, to the Holders than those under the agreement evidencing the Debt so Refinanced, or

 

(E) existing under or by reason of applicable law, and

 

(ii) with respect to clause (a)(iii) only, to restrictions:

 

(A) relating to Debt that is permitted to be Incurred and secured without also securing the Notes or the applicable Subsidiary Guaranty pursuant to Section 4.10 and Section 4.12 that limit the right of the debtor to dispose of the Property securing such Debt,

 

(B) encumbering Property at the time such Property was acquired by the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary, so long as such restrictions relate solely to the Property so acquired and were not created in connection with or in anticipation of such acquisition,

 

(C) resulting from customary provisions restricting subletting or assignment of leases or customary provisions in other agreements that restrict assignment of such agreements or rights thereunder, or

 

(D) customary restrictions contained in asset sale agreements limiting the transfer of such Property pending the closing of such sale.

 

Section 4.15 .         Limitation on Transactions with Affiliates .

 

(a)  The Company shall not, and shall not permit any Restricted Subsidiary to, directly or indirectly, conduct any business or enter into or suffer to exist any transaction or series of transactions (including the purchase, sale, transfer, assignment, lease, conveyance or exchange of any Property or the rendering of any service) with, or for the benefit of, any Affiliate of the Company (an “ Affiliate Transaction ”), unless:

 

(i) the terms of such Affiliate Transaction are:

 

57



 

(A) set forth in writing; and

 

(B) no less favorable to the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary, as the case may be, than those that could be obtained in a comparable arm’s-length transaction with a Person that is not an Affiliate of the Company;

 

(ii) if such Affiliate Transaction involves aggregate payments or value in excess of $5.0 million, the Board of Directors (including at least a majority of the disinterested members of the Board of Directors) approves such Affiliate Transaction and, in its good faith judgment, believes that such Affiliate Transaction complies with clauses (a)(i)(B) of this Section 4.15 as evidenced by a Board Resolution promptly delivered to the Trustee; and

 

(iii) if such Affiliate Transaction involves aggregate payments or value in excess of $20.0 million, the Company obtains a written opinion from an Independent Financial Advisor to the effect that the consideration to be paid or received in connection with such Affiliate Transaction is fair, from a financial point of view, to the Company and the Restricted Subsidiaries.

 

(b)  Notwithstanding the foregoing limitation, the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary may enter into or suffer to exist the following:

 

(i) any transaction or series of transactions between the Company and one or more Restricted Subsidiaries or between two or more Restricted Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business, provided that, if one of the parties to such transaction or series of transactions is a Restricted Subsidiary that is not a Subsidiary Guarantor, then no more than 10% of the total voting power of the Voting Stock (on a fully diluted basis) of such Restricted Subsidiary is owned by an Affiliate of the Company (other than a Restricted Subsidiary);

 

(ii) any Restricted Payment permitted to be made pursuant to Section 4.11 or any Permitted Investment;

 

(iii) the payment of compensation (including amounts paid pursuant to employee benefit plans) for the personal services of officers, directors and employees of the Company or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries, so long as the Board of Directors in good faith shall have approved the terms thereof and deemed the services theretofore or thereafter to be performed for such compensation to be fair consideration therefor;

 

(iv) loans and advances to employees made in the ordinary course of business and consistent with the past practices of the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary, as the case may be, provided that such loans and advances do not exceed $2.0 million in the aggregate at any one time outstanding;

 

(v) agreements in effect on the Issue Date and described in the Offering Memorandum and any modifications, extensions or renewals thereto that are no less favorable to the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary than such agreements as in effect on the Issue Date; and

 

(vi) the Spin-Off Agreements and any modifications, extensions or renewals thereto that are no less favorable to the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary than such agreements as in effect on the date of completion of the Spin-Off.

 

Section 4.16 .         Limitation on Sale and Leaseback Transactions .

 

The Company shall not, and shall not permit any Restricted Subsidiary to, enter into any Sale and Leaseback Transaction with respect to any Property unless:

 

(a) the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary would be entitled to:

 

58



 

(i) solely in the case where the lease that is entered into in connection with the Sale and Leaseback Transaction is a Capital Lease Obligation, Incur Debt in an amount equal to the Attributable Debt with respect to such Sale and Leaseback Transaction pursuant to Section 4.10, and

 

(ii) in all cases, create a Lien on such Property securing such Attributable Debt without also securing the Notes or the applicable Subsidiary Guaranty pursuant to Section 4.12, and

 

(b) such Sale and Leaseback Transaction is effected in compliance with Section 4.13.

 

Section 4.17 .         Designation of Restricted and Unrestricted Subsidiaries .

 

The Board of Directors may designate any Subsidiary of the Company (including any newly acquired or newly formed Subsidiary) to be an Unrestricted Subsidiary if such designation is permitted under Section 4.11 (the amount of such Restricted Payment being calculated in the manner set forth in the definition of the term “Investments”) and the Subsidiary to be so designated:

 

(a) does not own any Capital Stock or Debt of, or own or hold any Lien on any Property of, the Company or any other Restricted Subsidiary;

 

(b) has no Debt other than Non-Recourse Debt;

 

(c) is not party to any agreement, contract, arrangement or understanding with the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary unless the terms of any such agreement, contract, arrangement or understanding are no less favorable to the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary than those that might be obtained at the time from Persons who are not Affiliates of the Company;

 

(d) is a Person with respect to which neither the Company nor any Restricted Subsidiary has any direct or indirect obligation (1) to subscribe for additional Capital Stock or (2) to maintain or preserve such Person’s financial condition or to cause such Person to achieve any specified levels of operating results; and

 

(e) has not Guaranteed or otherwise directly or indirectly provided credit support for any Debt of the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary.

 

Unless so designated as an Unrestricted Subsidiary, any Person that becomes a Subsidiary of the Company shall be classified as a Restricted Subsidiary; provided , however , that such Subsidiary shall not be designated a Restricted Subsidiary and shall be automatically classified as an Unrestricted Subsidiary if either of the requirements set forth in clauses (x) and (y) of the second immediately following paragraph will not be satisfied after giving pro forma effect to such classification or if such Person is a Subsidiary of an Unrestricted Subsidiary.

 

Except as provided in the first sentence of the preceding paragraph, no Restricted Subsidiary may be redesignated as an Unrestricted Subsidiary, and neither the Company nor any Restricted Subsidiary shall at any time be directly or indirectly liable for any Debt that provides that the holder thereof may (with the passage of time or notice or both) declare a default thereon or cause the payment thereof to be accelerated or payable prior to its Stated Maturity upon the occurrence of a default with respect to any Debt, Lien or other obligation of any Unrestricted Subsidiary (including any right to take enforcement action against such Unrestricted Subsidiary).  Upon designation of a Restricted Subsidiary as an Unrestricted Subsidiary in compliance with this Section 4.17, such Restricted Subsidiary shall, by execution and delivery of a supplemental indenture in form satisfactory to the Trustee, be released from any Subsidiary Guaranty previously made by such Restricted Subsidiary.

 

The Board of Directors may designate any Unrestricted Subsidiary to be a Restricted Subsidiary if, immediately after giving pro forma effect to such designation,

 

(x) the Company could Incur at least $1.00 of additional Debt pursuant to clause (1) of the first paragraph of Section 4.10, and

 

59



 

(y) no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing or would result therefrom.

 

Any such designation or redesignation by the Board of Directors shall be evidenced to the Trustee by filing with the Trustee a Board Resolution giving effect to such designation or redesignation and an Officers’ Certificate that:

 

(a) certifies that such designation or redesignation complies with the foregoing provisions, and

 

(b) gives the effective date of such designation or redesignation,

 

such filing with the Trustee to occur within 45 days after the end of the fiscal quarter of the Company in which such designation or redesignation is made (or, in the case of a designation or redesignation made during the last fiscal quarter of the Company’s fiscal year, within 90 days after the end of such fiscal year).

 

Section 4.18 .         Repurchase at the Option of Holders Upon a Change of Control .

 

(a)  Upon the occurrence of a Change of Control, the Company shall, within 30 days following any Change of Control, make an offer (the “ Change of Control Offer ”) pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 3.09.  Each Holder shall have the right to accept such offer and require the Company to repurchase all or any part (equal to $1,000 or an integral multiple of $1,000) of such Holder’s Notes pursuant to the Change of Control Offer at a purchase price (the “ Change of Control Purchase Price ”) equal to 101% of the aggregate principal amount thereof, plus accrued and unpaid interest, including Special Interest, if any, to but not including the Purchase Date (subject to the right of Holders of record on the relevant Regular Record Date to receive interest due on the relevant Interest Payment Date).

 

(b)  The Company shall not be required to make a Change of Control Offer following a Change of Control (1) if a third party makes the Change of Control Offer in the manner, at the times and otherwise in compliance with the requirements set forth in this Indenture applicable to a Change of Control Offer made by the Company and purchases all Notes validly tendered and not withdrawn under such Change of Control Offer or (2) with respect to any Notes for which the Company has exercised its redemption rights, as described under Section 3.07.

 

(c)  The Company shall comply, to the extent applicable, with the requirements of Section 14(e) of the Exchange Act and any other securities laws or regulations in connection with the repurchase of Notes pursuant to a Change of Control Offer.  To the extent that the provisions of any securities laws or regulations conflict with the provisions of Section 3.09 or this Section 4.18, the Company shall comply with the applicable securities laws and regulations and will not be deemed to have breached its obligations under Section 3.09 or this Section 4.18 by virtue of such compliance.

 

Section 4.19 .         Future Subsidiary Guarantors .

 

The Company shall cause:

 

(a) each Person that becomes a Domestic Restricted Subsidiary following the consummation of the Spin-Off to execute and deliver to the Trustee a Subsidiary Guaranty at the time such Person becomes a Domestic Restricted Subsidiary and

 

(b) any Foreign Restricted Subsidiary that Guarantees any Debt of the Company or a Domestic Restricted Subsidiary following the Issue Date to execute and deliver to the Trustee a Subsidiary Guaranty at the time of such Guarantee; provided, however, that any such Subsidiary Guaranty will provide by its terms that it will be automatically and unconditionally released upon the release or discharge of such Guarantee of such other Debt of the Company or any Domestic Restricted Subsidiary for any reason whatsoever (except a discharge by or as a result of payment under such Guarantee), or if such other Guaranteed Debt of the Company or any Domestic Restricted Subsidiary is repaid in full by the Company or such Domestic Restricted Subsidiary or refinanced with other Debt that is not Guaranteed by such Foreign Restricted Subsidiary.

 

60



 

ARTICLE 5 .

SUCCESSORS

 

Section 5.01 .         Merger, Consolidation and Sale of Property .

 

(a)  The Company shall not merge, consolidate or amalgamate with or into any other Person (other than a merger of a Wholly Owned Restricted Subsidiary into the Company) or sell, transfer, assign, lease, convey or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all its Property in any one transaction or series of transactions (other than to a domestic Subsidiary Guarantor) unless:

 

(i) the Company shall be the Surviving Person in such merger, consolidation or amalgamation, or the Surviving Person (if other than the Company) formed by such merger, consolidation or amalgamation or to which such sale, transfer, assignment, lease, conveyance or disposition is made shall be a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the United States of America, any State thereof or the District of Columbia;

 

(ii) the Surviving Person (if other than the Company) expressly assumes, by supplemental indenture in form satisfactory to the Trustee, executed and delivered to the Trustee by such Surviving Person, the due and punctual payment of the principal of, and premium, if any, and interest on, all the Notes, according to their tenor, and the due and punctual performance and observance of all the covenants and conditions of this Indenture to be performed by the Company;

 

(iii) in the case of a sale, transfer, assignment, lease, conveyance or other disposition of all or substantially all the Property of the Company, such Property shall have been transferred as an entirety or virtually as an entirety to one Person;

 

(iv) immediately before and after giving effect to such transaction or series of transactions on a pro forma basis (and treating, for purposes of this clause (iv) and clause (v) below, any Debt that becomes, or is anticipated to become, an obligation of the Surviving Person or any Restricted Subsidiary as a result of such transaction or series of transactions as having been Incurred by the Surviving Person or such Restricted Subsidiary at the time of such transaction or series of transactions), no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing;

 

(v) immediately after giving effect to such transaction or series of transactions on a pro forma basis, the Company or the Surviving Person, as the case may be, would be able to Incur at least $1.00 of additional Debt under clause (1) of the first paragraph of Section 4.10; and

 

(vi) the Company shall deliver, or cause to be delivered, to the Trustee, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Trustee, an Officers’ Certificate and an Opinion of Counsel, each stating that such transaction or series of transactions and the supplemental indenture, if any, in respect thereto comply with this Section 5.01 and that all conditions precedent herein provided for relating to such transaction or series of transactions have been satisfied.

 

(b) The Company shall not permit any Subsidiary Guarantor to merge, consolidate or amalgamate with or into any other Person (other than a merger of a Wholly Owned Restricted Subsidiary into the Company or such Subsidiary Guarantor) or sell, transfer, assign, lease, convey or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all its Property in any one transaction or series of transactions (other than to the Company or a domestic Subsidiary Guarantor) unless:

 

(i) the Surviving Person (if not such Subsidiary Guarantor) formed by such merger, consolidation or amalgamation or to which such sale, transfer, assignment, lease, conveyance or disposition is made shall be a corporation, company (including a limited liability company) or partnership organized and existing under the laws of the United States of America, any State thereof or the District of Columbia;

 

61



 

(ii) the Surviving Person (if other than such Subsidiary Guarantor) expressly assumes, by supplemental indenture in form satisfactory to the Trustee, executed and delivered to the Trustee by such Surviving Person, the due and punctual performance and observance of all the obligations of such Subsidiary Guarantor under its Subsidiary Guaranty;

 

(iii) in the case of a sale, transfer, assignment, lease, conveyance or other disposition of all or substantially all the Property of such Subsidiary Guarantor, such Property shall have been transferred as an entirety or virtually as an entirety to one Person;

 

(iv) immediately before and after giving effect to such transaction or series of transactions on a pro forma basis (and treating, for purposes of this clause (iv) and clause (v) below, any Debt that becomes, or is anticipated to become, an obligation of the Surviving Person, the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary as a result of such transaction or series of transactions as having been Incurred by the Surviving Person, the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary at the time of such transaction or series of transactions), no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing;

 

(v) immediately after giving effect to such transaction or series of transactions on a pro forma basis, the Company would be able to Incur at least $1.00 of additional Debt under clause (1) of the first paragraph of Section 4.10; and

 

(vi) the Company shall deliver, or cause to be delivered, to the Trustee, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Trustee, an Officers’ Certificate and an Opinion of Counsel, each stating that such transaction or series of transactions and such Subsidiary Guaranty, if any, in respect thereto comply with this Section 5.01 and that all conditions precedent herein provided for relating to such transaction or series of transactions have been satisfied.

 

The foregoing provisions (other than clause (iv)) shall not apply to any transaction or series of transactions which constitute an Asset Sale if the Company has complied with Section 4.13.

 

Section 5.02 .         Successor Corporation Substituted .

 

The Surviving Person shall succeed to, and be substituted for, and may exercise every right and power of the Company under this Indenture (or of the Subsidiary Guarantor under the Subsidiary Guaranty, as the case may be), but the predecessor Company in the case of:

 

(i) a sale, transfer, assignment, conveyance or other disposition (unless such sale, transfer, assignment, conveyance or other disposition is of all the assets of the Company as an entirety or virtually as an entirety), or

 

(ii) a lease,

 

shall not be released from any of the obligations or covenants under this Indenture, including with respect to the payment of the Notes.

 

ARTICLE 6 .

DEFAULTS AND REMEDIES

 

Section 6.01 .         Events of Default .

 

                Each of the following constitutes an “Event of Default” in respect of the Notes:

 

(i) failure to make the payment of any interest or Special Interest, if any, on the Notes when the same becomes due and payable, and such failure continues for a period of 30 days;

 

62



 

(ii) failure to make the payment of any principal of, or premium, if any, on, any of the Notes when the same becomes due and payable at its Stated Maturity, upon acceleration, redemption, optional redemption, required repurchase or otherwise;

 

(iii) failure by the Company or any Subsidiary Guarantor to comply with Section 5.01;

 

(iv) failure by the Company to comply with its obligations under Section 4.18 (other than a failure to purchase Notes) or under Section 4.10, Section 4.11, Section 4.12, Section 4.13 (other than a failure to purchase the Notes), Section 4.14, Section 4.15 or Section 4.19, and such failure continues for 30 days after written notice is given to the Company as provided below;

 

(v)  failure by the Company or any Subsidiary Guarantor to comply with any other covenant or agreement in the Notes or in this Indenture (other than a failure that is the subject of the foregoing clause (i), (ii), (iii) or (iv)), and such failure continues for 60 days after written notice is given to the Company as provided below;

 

(vi) a default under any Debt by the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary that results in acceleration of the maturity of such Debt, or failure to pay any such Debt at maturity, in an aggregate amount greater than $10.0 million or its foreign currency equivalent at the time;

 

(vii) any judgment or judgments for the payment of money in an aggregate amount in excess of $7.0 million (or its foreign currency equivalent at the time) that shall be rendered against the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary and that shall not be waived, satisfied or discharged for any period of 60 consecutive days during which a stay of enforcement shall not be in effect;

 

(viii) the Company, any of its Significant Subsidiaries or any group of Subsidiaries that, when taken together, would constitute a Significant Subsidiary pursuant to or within the meaning of any Bankruptcy Law:

 

(A)   commences a voluntary case or gives notice of intention to make a proposal under any Bankruptcy Law;

 

(B)    consents to the entry of an order for relief against it in an involuntary case or consents to its dissolution or winding up;

 

(C)    consents to the appointment of a receiver, interim receiver, receiver and manager, liquidator, trustee or custodian of it or for all or substantially all of its property;

 

(D)   makes a general assignment for the benefit of its creditors; or

 

(E)    admits in writing its inability to pay its debts as they become due or otherwise admits its insolvency;

 

(ix)  a court of competent jurisdiction enters an order or decree under any Bankruptcy Law that:

 

(A)   is for relief against the Company, any of its Significant Subsidiaries or any group of Subsidiaries that, when taken together, would constitute a Significant Subsidiary in an involuntary case; or

 

(B)    appoints a receiver, interim receiver, receiver and manager, liquidator, trustee or custodian of the Company or any of its Significant Subsidiaries or any group of Subsidiaries that, when taken together, would constitute a Significant Subsidiary or for all or substantially all of the property of the

 

63



 

Company, any of its Significant Subsidiaries or any group of Subsidiaries that, when taken together, would constitute a Significant Subsidiary; or

 

(C)    orders the liquidation of the Company, any of its Significant Subsidiaries or any group of Subsidiaries that, when taken together, would constitute a Significant Subsidiary;

 

and such order or decree remains unstayed and in effect for 60 consecutive days; and

 

(x) any Subsidiary Guaranty of a Subsidiary Guarantor that is a Significant Subsidiary ceases, or the Subsidiary Guaranties of any group of Subsidiary Guarantors that, when taken together, would constitute a Significant Subsidiary, cease, to be in full force and effect (other than in accordance with the terms of such Subsidiary Guaranty) or any Subsidiary Guarantor that is a Significant Subsidiary denies or disaffirms its obligations under its Subsidiary Guaranty, or any group of Subsidiary Guarantors that, when taken together, would constitute a Significant Subsidiary, deny or disaffirm their obligations under their Subsidiary Guaranties.

 

Section 6.02 .         Acceleration .

 

If an Event of Default (other than those of the type described in Section 6.01(viii) or (ix) occurs and is continuing, the Trustee may, and the Trustee upon the request of Holders of not less than 25% in aggregate principal amount of the Notes then outstanding shall, or the Holders of not less than 25% in aggregate principal amount of the Notes then outstanding may, declare the principal of all the Notes, together with all accrued and unpaid interest and premium, if any, to be due and payable by notice in writing to the Company and the Trustee specifying the Default demand that it be remedied and state that such notice is a notice of Default (the “ Notice of Default ”), and the same shall become immediately due and payable.

 

In the event of a declaration of acceleration of the Notes because an Event of Default described in clause (vi) of Section 6.01 has occurred and is continuing, the declaration of acceleration of the Notes shall be automatically annulled if the default or payment default triggering such Event of Default shall be remedied or cured by the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary or waived by the holders of the relevant Debt within 30 days after the declaration of acceleration with respect thereto and if (1) the annulment of the acceleration of the Notes would not conflict with any judgment or decree of a court of competent jurisdiction and (2) all existing Events of Default, except non-payment of principal of, premium, if any, or interest, including Special Interest, if any, on, the Notes that became due solely because of the acceleration of the Notes have been cured or waived.

 

In case an Event of Default specified in clause (viii) or (ix) of Section 6.01 shall occur, all outstanding Notes shall become due and payable immediately without any declaration or other act on the part of the Trustee or the Holders.  Holders may not enforce this Indenture or the Notes except as provided in this Indenture.

 

Section 6.03 .         Other Remedies .

 

If an Event of Default occurs and is continuing, the Trustee may pursue any available remedy to collect the payment of principal, premium, if any, and interest on the Notes or to enforce the performance of any provision of the Notes or this Indenture.

 

The Trustee may maintain a proceeding even if it does not possess any of the Notes or does not produce any of them in the proceeding.  A delay or omission by the Trustee or any Holder in exercising any right or remedy accruing upon an Event of Default shall not impair the right or remedy or constitute a waiver of or acquiescence in the Event of Default.  All remedies shall be cumulative to the extent permitted by law.

 

Section 6.04 .         Waiver of Defaults .

 

The Holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of the Notes then outstanding by notice to the Trustee may on behalf of the Holders of all of the Notes, waive any existing Default or Event of

 

64



 

Default, and its consequences, except a continuing Default or Event of Default (i) in the payment of the principal of, premium, if any, or interest, on the Notes and (ii) in respect of a covenant or provision which under this Indenture cannot be modified or amended without the consent of the Holder of each Note affected by such modification or amendment.

 

Upon any waiver of a Default or Event of Default, such Default shall cease to exist, and any Event of Default arising therefrom shall be deemed cured for every purpose of this Indenture but no such waiver shall extend to any subsequent or other Default or Event of Default or impair any right consequent thereon.

 

Section 6.05 .         Control by Majority .

 

Subject to Section 7.01 (including the Trustee’s receipt of the security or indemnification described therein) and Section 7.07 hereof, in case an Event of Default shall occur and be continuing, the Holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of the Notes then outstanding shall have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the Trustee or exercising any trust or power conferred on the Trustee with respect to the Notes.

 

Section 6.06 .         Limitation on Suits .

 

No Holder shall have any right to institute any proceeding with respect to this Indenture, or for the appointment of a receiver or trustee, or for any remedy thereunder, unless:

 

(a)    such Holder has previously given to the Trustee written notice of a continuing Event of Default;

 

(b)    Holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of the Notes then outstanding have made written request and offered reasonable indemnity to the Trustee to institute such proceeding as trustee; and

 

(c)    the Trustee shall not have received from the Holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of the Notes then outstanding a direction inconsistent with such request and shall have failed to institute such proceeding within 60 days.

 

The preceding limitations shall not apply to a suit instituted by a Holder for enforcement of payment of the principal of, and premium, if any, or interest, including Special Interest, if any, on, such Note on or after the respective due dates expressed in such Note.

 

A Holder may not use this Indenture to affect, disturb or prejudice the rights of another Holder or to obtain a preference or priority over another Holder.

 

Section 6.07 .         Rights of Holders to Receive Payment .

 

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Indenture (including Section 6.06), the right of any Holder to receive payment of principal, premium, if any, and interest on the Notes held by such Holder, on or after the respective due dates expressed in the Notes (including in connection with an offer to purchase), or to bring suit for the enforcement of any such payment on or after such respective dates, shall not be impaired or affected without the consent of such Holder.

 

Section 6.08 .         Collection Suit by Trustee .

 

If an Event of Default specified in Section 6.01 (i) or (ii) occurs and is continuing, the Trustee is authorized to recover judgment in its own name and as trustee of an express trust against the Company for the whole amount of principal of, premium, if any, and interest then due and owing (together with interest on overdue principal and, to the extent lawful, interest) and such further amount as shall be sufficient to cover the costs and expenses of collection, including the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the Trustee, its agents and counsel.

 

65



 

Section 6.09 .         Trustee May File Proofs of Claim .

 

The Trustee shall be authorized to file such proofs of claim and other papers or documents as may be necessary or advisable in order to have the claims of the Trustee (including any claim for the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the Trustee, its agents and counsel) and the Holders allowed in any judicial proceedings relative to the Company (or any other obligor upon the Notes), its creditors or its property and shall be entitled and empowered to collect, receive and distribute any money or other property payable or deliverable on any such claims and any custodian in any such judicial proceeding is hereby authorized by each Holder to make such payments to the Trustee, and in the event that the Trustee shall consent to the making of such payments directly to the Holders, to pay to the Trustee any amount due to it for the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the Trustee, its agents and counsel, and any other amounts due the Trustee under Section 7.07  hereof.  To the extent that the payment of any such compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the Trustee and its agents and counsel, and any other amounts due the Trustee under Section 7.07 hereof out of the estate in any such proceeding, shall be denied for any reason, payment of the same shall be secured by a Lien on, and shall be paid out of, any and all distributions, moneys, securities and any other properties that the Holders may be entitled to receive in such proceeding whether in liquidation or under any plan of reorganization or arrangement or otherwise.  Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to authorize the Trustee to authorize or consent to or accept or adopt on behalf of any Holder any plan of reorganization, arrangement, adjustment or composition affecting the Notes or the rights of any Holder, or to authorize the Trustee to vote in respect of the claim of any Holder in any such proceeding.

 

Section 6.10 .         Priorities .

 

If the Trustee collects any money pursuant to this Article 6, it shall pay out the money in the following order:

 

First:   to the Trustee, its agents and attorneys for amounts due under Section 7.07 hereof, including payment of all compensation, expenses and liabilities incurred, and all advances made, by the Trustee and the costs and expenses of collection;

 

Second:  to Holders  for amounts due and unpaid on the Notes for principal, premium, if any, and interest ratably, without preference or priority of any kind, according to the amounts due and payable on the Notes for principal, premium, if any, and interest, respectively; and

 

Third:   to the Company or to such party as a court of competent jurisdiction shall direct.

 

The Trustee may fix a record date and payment date for any payment to Holders pursuant to this Section 6.10.

 

Section 6.11 .         Undertaking for Costs .

 

In any suit for the enforcement of any right or remedy under this Indenture or in any suit against the Trustee for any action taken or omitted by it as a Trustee, a court in its discretion may require the filing by any party litigant in such suit of an undertaking to pay the costs of such suit, and the court in its discretion may assess reasonable costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, against any party litigant in such suit, having due regard to the merits and good faith of the claims or defenses made by the party litigant.  This Section 6.11 shall not apply to a suit by the Trustee, a suit by the Company, a suit by a Holder pursuant to Section 6.07 hereof, or a suit by Holders of more than 10% in principal amount of the then outstanding Notes.

 

66



 

ARTICLE 7 .

TRUSTEE

 

Section 7.01 .         Duties of Trustee .

 

(a)    If an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, the Trustee shall exercise such of the rights and powers vested in it by this Indenture, and use the same degree of care and skill in its exercise, as a prudent Person would exercise or use under the circumstances in the conduct of such Person’s own affairs.

 

(b)    Except during the continuance of an Event of Default:

 

(1)    the duties of the Trustee shall be determined solely by the express provisions of this Indenture and the Trustee need perform only those duties that are specifically set forth in this Indenture and no others, and no implied covenants or obligations shall be read into this Indenture against the Trustee; and

 

(2)    in the absence of bad faith on its part, the Trustee may conclusively rely, as to the truth of the statements and the correctness of the opinions expressed therein, upon certificates or opinions furnished to the Trustee and conforming to the requirements of this Indenture.  However, the Trustee shall examine the certificates and opinions to determine whether or not they conform to the requirements of this Indenture (but need not confirm or investigate the accuracy of mathematical calculations or other facts stated therein).

 

(c)    The Trustee may not be relieved from liabilities for its own negligent action, its own negligent failure to act, or its own willful misconduct, except that:

 

(1)    this paragraph does not limit the effect of paragraph (b) of this Section;

 

(2)    the Trustee shall not be liable for any error of judgment made in good faith by a Responsible Officer, unless it is proved that the Trustee was negligent in ascertaining the pertinent facts; and

 

(3)    the Trustee shall not be liable with respect to any action it takes or omits to take in good faith in accordance with a direction received by it pursuant to Section 6.05 hereof.

 

(d)    Whether or not therein expressly so provided, every provision of this Indenture that in any way relates to the Trustee is subject to paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this Section 7.01.

 

(e)    No provision of this Indenture shall require the Trustee to expend or risk its own funds or incur any liability.  The Trustee shall be under no obligation to exercise any of its rights or powers under this Indenture at the request or direction of any Holders, unless such Holders shall have offered to the Trustee security and indemnity satisfactory to it against any loss, liability or expense.

 

(f)     The Trustee shall not be liable for interest on any money received by it except as the Trustee may agree in writing with the Company.  Money held in trust by the Trustee need not be segregate from other funds except to the extent required by law.

 

67



 

Section 7.02 .         Rights of Trustee .

 

Subject to TIA §315:

 

(a)    The Trustee may conclusively rely upon any document believed by it to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper Person.  The Trustee need not investigate any fact or matter stated in any such document.

 

(b)    Before the Trustee acts or refrains from acting, it may require an Officers’ Certificate or an Opinion of Counsel or both.  The Trustee shall not be liable for any action it takes or omits to take in good faith in reliance on such Officers’ Certificate or Opinion of Counsel.  The Trustee may consult with counsel and the written advice of such counsel or any Opinion of Counsel shall be full and complete authorization and protection from liability in respect of any action taken, suffered or omitted by it hereunder in good faith and in reliance thereon.

 

(c)    The Trustee shall not be liable for any action it takes or omits to take in good faith that it believes to be authorized or within the rights or powers conferred upon it by this Indenture.

 

(d)    Unless otherwise specifically provided in this Indenture, any demand, request, direction or notice from the Company shall be sufficient if signed by an Officer of the Company.

 

(e)    The Trustee shall not be deemed to have notice of any Default or Event of Default unless a Responsible Officer of the Trustee has actual knowledge thereof or unless written notice of any event which is in fact such a Default or Event of Default is received by a Responsible Officer of the Trustee at the Corporate Trust Office of the Trustee from the Company or the Holders of 25% in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding Notes, and such notice references the specific Default or Event of Default, the Notes and this Indenture.

 

(f)     The Trustee shall not be required to give any bond or surety in respect of the performance of its power and duties hereunder.

 

(g)    The Trustee shall have no duty to inquire as to the performance of the Company’s covenants herein.

 

(h)    The Trustee may execute any of the trusts or powers hereunder or perform any duties hereunder either directly or by or through agents or attorneys and the Trustee shall not be responsible for any misconduct or negligence on the part of any agent or attorney appointed with due care by it hereunder.

 

Section 7.03 .         Individual Rights of Trustee .

 

The Trustee in its individual or any other capacity may become the owner or pledgee of Notes and may otherwise deal with the Company or any Affiliate of the Company with the same rights it would have if it were not Trustee.  However, in the event that the Trustee acquires any conflicting interest it must eliminate such conflict within 90 days, apply to the Commission for permission to continue as Trustee or resign.  Any Agent may do the same with like rights and duties.  The Trustee shall also be subject to Sections 7.10 and 7.11 hereof.

 

Section 7.04 .         Trustee’s Disclaimer .

 

The Trustee shall not be responsible for and makes no representation as to the validity or adequacy of this Indenture or the Notes, it shall not be accountable for the Company’s use of the proceeds from the Notes or any money paid to the Company or upon the Company’s direction under any provision of this Indenture, it shall not be responsible for the use or application of any money received by any Paying Agent other than the Trustee, and it shall not be responsible for any statement or recital herein or any statement in the Notes or any other document in connection with the sale of the Notes or pursuant to this Indenture other than its certificate of authentication.

 

68



 

Section 7.05 .         Notice of Defaults .

 

If a Default or Event of Default occurs and is continuing and if it is known to the Trustee, the Trustee shall mail to Holders a notice of the Default or Event of Default within 90 days after it occurs.  Except in the case of a Default or Event of Default in payment of principal of, premium, if any, or interest on any Note, the Trustee may withhold the notice if and so long as a committee of its Responsible Officers in good faith determines that withholding the notice is in the interests of the Holders.

 

Section 7.06 .         Reports by Trustee to Holders .

 

Within 60 days after each May 15 beginning with the May 15 following the date of this Indenture, and for so long as Notes remain outstanding, the Trustee shall mail to the Holders  a brief report dated as of such reporting date that complies with TIA §313(a) (but if no event described in TIA §313(a) has occurred within the twelve months preceding the reporting date, no report need be transmitted).  The Trustee also shall comply with TIA §313(b)(2).  The Trustee shall also transmit by mail all reports as required by TIA §313(c).

 

A copy of each report at the time of its mailing to the Holders shall be mailed to the Company and filed with the Commission and each stock exchange on which the Notes are listed in accordance with TIA §313(d).  The Company shall promptly notify the Trustee when the Notes are listed on any stock exchange and any delisting thereof.

 

Section 7.07 .         Compensation and Indemnity .

 

The Company shall pay to the Trustee from time to time reasonable compensation for its acceptance of this Indenture and services hereunder.  The Trustee’s compensation shall not be limited by any law on compensation of a trustee of an express trust.  The Company shall reimburse the Trustee promptly upon request for all reasonable disbursements, advances and expenses incurred or made by it in addition to the compensation for its services.  Such expenses shall include the reasonable compensation, disbursements and expenses of the Trustee’s agents and counsel.

 

The Company shall indemnify the Trustee (in its capacity as Trustee) or any predecessor Trustee (in its capacity as Trustee) against any and all losses, claims, damages, penalties, fines, liabilities or expenses, including incidental and out-of-pocket expenses and reasonable attorneys fees (for purposes of this Article, “ losses ”) incurred by it arising out of or in connection with the acceptance or administration of its duties under this Indenture, including the costs and expenses of enforcing this Indenture against the Company (including this Section 7.07) and defending itself against any claim (whether asserted by the Company or any Holder or any other Person) or liability in connection with the exercise or performance of any of its powers or duties hereunder, except to the extent such losses may be attributable to its negligence or bad faith.  The Trustee shall notify the Company promptly of any claim for which it may seek indemnity.  Failure by the Trustee to so notify the Company shall not relieve the Company of its obligations under this Section 7.07, except to the extent the Company has been prejudiced thereby.  The Company shall defend the claim, and the Trustee shall cooperate in the defense.  The Trustee may have separate counsel if the Trustee has been reasonably advised by counsel that there may be one or more legal defenses available to it that are different from or additional to those available to the Company and in the reasonable judgment of such counsel it is advisable for the Trustee to engage separate counsel, and the Company shall pay the reasonable fees and expenses of such counsel.  The Company need not pay for any settlement made without its consent, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld.  The Company need not reimburse any expense or indemnify against any loss incurred by the Trustee through the Trustee’s own willful misconduct, gross negligence or bad faith.

 

The obligations of the Company under this Section 7.07 shall survive the satisfaction and discharge of this Indenture, the resignation or removal of the Trustee and payment in full of the Notes through the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations.

 

To secure the Company’s payment obligations in this Section, the Trustee shall have a Lien prior to the Notes on all money or property held or collected by the Trustee, except that held in trust to pay principal,

 

69



 

premium, if any, and interest on particular Notes.  Such Lien shall survive the satisfaction and discharge of this Indenture.

 

When the Trustee incurs expenses or renders services after an Event of Default specified in Section 6.01(viii) or (ix) hereof occurs, the expenses and the compensation for the services (including the fees and expenses of its agents and counsel) are intended to constitute expenses of administration under any Bankruptcy Law.

 

Section 7.08 .         Replacement of Trustee .

 

A resignation or removal of the Trustee and appointment of a successor Trustee shall become effective only upon the successor Trustee’s acceptance of appointment as provided in this Section 7.08.

 

The Trustee may resign in writing at any time upon 30 days’ prior notice to the Company and be discharged from the trust hereby created by so notifying the Company.  The Holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the then outstanding Notes may remove the Trustee by so notifying the Trustee and the Company in writing.  The Company may remove the Trustee if:

 

(a)    the Trustee fails to comply with Section 7.10 hereof;

 

(b)    the Trustee is adjudged bankrupt or insolvent or an order for relief is entered with respect to the Trustee under any Bankruptcy Law;

 

(c)    a custodian or public officer takes charge of the Trustee or its property; or

 

(d)    the Trustee becomes incapable of acting.

 

If the Trustee resigns or is removed or if a vacancy exists in the office of Trustee for any reason (the Trustee in such event being referred to herein as the retiring Trustee), the Company shall promptly appoint a successor Trustee.  Within one year after the successor Trustee takes office, the Holders of a majority in principal amount of the then outstanding Notes may appoint a successor Trustee to replace the successor Trustee appointed by the Company.

 

If a successor Trustee does not take office within 30 days after the retiring Trustee resigns or is removed, the retiring Trustee, the Company, or the Holders of at least 10% in aggregate principal amount of the then outstanding Notes may petition any court of competent jurisdiction for the appointment of a successor Trustee.

 

If the Trustee, after written request by any Holder who has been a Holder for at least six months, fails to comply with Section 7.10 hereof, such Holder may petition any court of competent jurisdiction for the removal of the Trustee and the appointment of a successor Trustee.

 

A successor Trustee shall deliver a written acceptance of its appointment to the retiring Trustee and to the Company.  Thereupon, the resignation or removal of the retiring Trustee shall become effective, and the successor Trustee shall have all the rights, powers and duties of the Trustee under this Indenture.  The successor Trustee shall mail a notice of its succession to Holders.  Subject to the Lien provided for in Section 7.07 hereof, the retiring Trustee shall promptly transfer all property held by it as Trustee to the successor Trustee; provided , however , that all sums owing to the Trustee hereunder shall have been paid.  Notwithstanding replacement of the Trustee pursuant to this Section 7.08, the Company’s obligations under Section 7.07 hereof shall continue for the benefit of the retiring Trustee.

 

In the case of an appointment hereunder of a separate or successor Trustee with respect to the Notes, the Company, the Subsidiary Guarantors, any retiring Trustee and each successor or separate Trustee with respect to the Notes shall execute and deliver an Indenture supplemental hereto (1) which shall contain such provisions as shall be deemed necessary or desirable to confirm that all the rights, powers, trusts and duties of any retiring Trustee with respect to the Notes as to which any such retiring Trustee is not retiring shall continue to be vested in such retiring Trustee and (2) that shall add to or change any of the provisions of this Indenture as shall be

 

70



 

necessary to provide for or facilitate the administration of the trusts hereunder by more than one Trustee, it being understood that nothing herein or in such supplemental indenture shall constitute such Trustee co-trustees of the same trust and that each such separate, retiring or successor Trustee shall be Trustee of a trust or trusts hereunder separate and apart from any trust or trusts hereunder administered by any such other Trustee.

 

Section 7.09 .         Successor Trustee by Merger, etc .

 

If the Trustee consolidates, merges or converts into, or transfers all or substantially all of its corporate trust business to, another corporation or banking association, the successor corporation or banking association without any further act shall, if such successor corporation or banking association is otherwise eligible hereunder, be the successor Trustee.

 

Section 7.10 .         Eligibility; Disqualification .

 

There shall at all times be a Trustee hereunder that is a Person organized and doing business under the laws of the United States of America or of any state thereof that is authorized under such laws to exercise corporate trustee power, that is subject to supervision or examination by federal or state authorities and that has a combined capital and surplus of at least $50.0 million (or a wholly-owned subsidiary of a bank or trust company, or of a bank holding company, the principal subsidiary of which is a bank or trust company having a combined capital and surplus of at least $50.0 million) as set forth in its most recent published annual report of condition.

 

This Indenture shall always have a Trustee who satisfies the requirements of TIA §310(a)(1), (2) and (5).  The Trustee is subject to TIA §310(b).

 

Section 7.11 .         Preferential Collection of Claims Against Company .

 

The Trustee is subject to TIA §311(a), excluding any creditor relationship listed in TIA §311(b).  A Trustee who has resigned or been removed shall be subject to TIA §311(a) to the extent indicated therein.

 

ARTICLE 8 .

LEGAL DEFEASANCE AND COVENANT DEFEASANCE

 

Section 8.01 .         Option to Effect Legal Defeasance or Covenant Defeasance .

 

The Company may, at its option and at any time, elect to have either Section 8.02 or 8.03 hereof be applied to all outstanding Notes upon compliance with the conditions set forth in this Article 8.

 

Section 8.02 .         Legal Defeasance and Discharge .

 

Upon the Company’s exercise under Section 8.01 of the option applicable to this Section 8.02, the Company shall, subject to the satisfaction of the conditions set forth in Section 8.04, be deemed to have been discharged from all its obligations with respect to all outstanding Notes on and after the date the conditions set forth in Section 8.04 are satisfied (hereinafter, Legal Defeasance ”) and each Subsidiary Guarantor shall be released from all its obligations under its Subsidiary Guaranty.  For this purpose, Legal Defeasance means that the Company shall be deemed to have paid and discharged the entire Debt represented by the outstanding Notes, which shall thereafter be deemed to be “outstanding” only for the purposes of Section 8.05 and the other Sections of this Indenture referred to in (a) and (b) below, and to have satisfied all its other obligations under the Notes and this Indenture (and the Trustee, on demand of and at the expense of the Company, shall execute proper instruments acknowledging the same), except for the following provisions which shall survive until otherwise terminated or discharged hereunder:  (a) the rights of Holders of outstanding Notes to receive solely from the trust fund described in Section 8.04, and as more fully set forth in such Section, payments in respect of the principal of, premium, if any, or interest on such Notes when such payments are due, (b) the Company’s obligations with respect to such Notes under Article 2 and Section 4.02, (c) the rights, powers, trusts, duties and immunities of the Trustee hereunder and the Company’s obligations in connection therewith and (d) this Article 8.  If the Company exercises under Section

 

71



 

8.01 the option applicable to this Section 8.02, subject to the satisfaction of the conditions set forth in Section 8.04, payment of the Notes may not be accelerated because of an Event of Default.  Subject to compliance with this Article 8, the Company may exercise its option under this Section 8.02 notwithstanding its prior exercise of its option under Section 8.03.

 

Section 8.03 .         Covenant Defeasance .

 

Upon the Company’s exercise under Section 8.01 of the option applicable to this Section 8.03, the Company shall, subject to the satisfaction of the conditions set forth in Section 8.04, be released from its obligations under the covenants contained in Sections 4.10 through 4.19 hereof, and the operation of Section 5.01(a)(v) and (b)(v), with respect to the outstanding Notes on and after the date the conditions set forth in Section 8.04 are satisfied (hereinafter, Covenant Defeasance ) and each Subsidiary Guarantor shall be released from all its obligations under its Subsidiary Guaranty with respect to such covenants in connection with such outstanding Notes and the Notes shall thereafter be deemed not “outstanding” for the purposes of any direction, waiver, consent or declaration or act of Holders (and the consequences of any thereof) in connection with such covenants, but shall continue to be deemed “outstanding” for all other purposes hereunder (it being understood that such Notes shall not be deemed outstanding for accounting purposes).  For this purpose, Covenant Defeasance means that, with respect to the outstanding Notes, the Company may omit to comply with and shall have no liability in respect of any term, condition or limitation set forth in any such covenant, whether directly or indirectly, by reason of any reference elsewhere herein to any such covenant or by reason of any reference in any such covenant to any other provision herein or in any other document and such omission to comply shall not constitute a Default or an Event of Default under Section 6.01, but, except as specified above, the remainder of this Indenture and such Notes shall be unaffected thereby.  If the Company exercises under Section 8.01 the option applicable to this Section 8.03, subject to the satisfaction of the conditions set forth in Section 8.04, payment of the Notes may not be accelerated because of an Event of Default specified in clause (a)(iii) (with respect to the covenants contained in Section 5.01(a)(v) and (b)(v) hereof), (a)(iv), (a)(v) (with respect to the covenants contained in Sections 4.16 through 4.17 hereof), (a)(vi), (a)(vii), (a)(viii) and (a)(ix) (but in the case of (a)(viii) and (ix) of Section 6.01, with respect to Significant Subsidiaries only) or (x).

 

Section 8.04 .         Conditions to Legal or Covenant Defeasance .

 

The following shall be the conditions to the application of either Section 8.02 or 8.03 to the outstanding Notes.

 

The Legal Defeasance option or the Covenant Defeasance option may be exercised only if:

 

(a)    the Company irrevocably deposits with the Trustee, in trust (the “ defeasance trust ”), for the benefit of the Holders, cash in U.S. dollars, U.S. Government, or a combination of cash in U.S. dollars and U.S. Government Obligations for the payment of principal, premium, if any, and interest, including Special Interest, if any, on, the outstanding Notes to the Stated Maturity or on the next redemption date, as the case may be, and the Company shall specify whether the Notes are being defeased to Stated Maturity or to such particular redemption date;

 

(b)    the Company delivers to the Trustee a certificate from a nationally recognized firm of independent certified public accountants expressing their opinion that the payment of principal of, premium, if any, and interest, including Special Interest, if any, when due and without reinvestment on the deposited U.S. Government Obligations plus any deposited cash in U.S. dollars without investment will provide cash at such times and in such amounts as will be sufficient to pay principal of, premium, if any, and interest, including Special Interest, if any, when due on all the Notes to be defeased to Stated Maturity or redemption, as the case may be;

 

(c)    123 days pass after the deposit is made, and during the 123-day period, no Default described in clause (viii) in Section 6.01 occurs with respect to the Company or any other Person making such deposit which is continuing at the end of the period;

 

72



 

(d) no Default or Event of Default has occurred and is continuing on the date of such deposit and after giving effect thereto;

 

(e) such deposit does not constitute a default under any other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is bound;

 

(f) the Company delivers to the Trustee an Opinion of Counsel to the effect that the trust resulting from the deposit does not constitute, or is qualified as, a regulated investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940;

 

(g) in the case of the legal defeasance option, the Company delivers to the Trustee an Opinion of Counsel stating that:

 

(1) the Company has received from, or there has been published by, the Internal Revenue Service a ruling, or

 

(2) since the date of the Indenture, there has been a change in the applicable Federal income tax law,

 

to the effect, in either case, that, and based thereon such Opinion of Counsel shall confirm that, the holders of the Notes will not recognize income, gain or loss for Federal income tax purposes as a result of such defeasance and will be subject to Federal income tax on the same amounts, in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if such defeasance has not occurred;

 

(h) in the case of the covenant defeasance option, the Company delivers to the Trustee an Opinion of Counsel to the effect that the holders of the Notes will not recognize income, gain or loss for Federal income tax purposes as a result of such covenant defeasance and will be subject to Federal income tax on the same amounts, in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if such covenant defeasance had not occurred;

 

(i) the Company delivers to the Trustee an Officers’ Certificate stating that the deposit was not made by the Company with the intent of preferring the holders of the Notes over the other creditors of the Company or others; and

 

(j) the Company delivers to the Trustee an Officers’ Certificate and an Opinion of Counsel, each stating that all conditions precedent to the defeasance and discharge of the Notes have been complied with as required by the Indenture.

 

Section 8.05 .         Deposited Cash and U.S. Government Obligations to be Held in Trust; Other Miscellaneous Provisions .

 

Subject to Section 8.06, all cash and U.S. Government Obligations (including the proceeds thereof) deposited with the Trustee (or other qualifying trustee, collectively for purposes of this Section 8.05, the “ Trustee ”) pursuant to Section 8.04 in respect of the outstanding Notes shall be held in trust and applied by the Trustee, in accordance with the provisions of such Notes and this Indenture, to the payment, either directly or through any Paying Agent (including the Company acting as Paying Agent) as the Trustee may determine, to the Holders of all sums due and to become due thereon in respect of principal, premium, if any, and interest, but such cash and securities need not be segregated from other funds except to the extent required by law.

 

The Company shall pay and indemnify the Trustee against any tax, fee or other charge imposed on or assessed against the cash or U.S. Government Obligations deposited pursuant to Section 8.04 hereof or the principal and interest received in respect thereof other than any such tax, fee or other charge which by law is for the account of the Holders of the outstanding Notes.

 

73



 

Anything in this Article 8 to the contrary notwithstanding, the Trustee shall deliver or pay to the Company from time to time upon the request of the Company any cash or U.S. Government Obligations held by it as provided in Section 8.04 which, in the opinion of a nationally recognized firm of independent certified public accountants expressed in a written certification thereof delivered to the Trustee (which may be the certification delivered under Section 8.04(a)), are in excess of the amount thereof that would then be required to be deposited to effect an equivalent Legal Defeasance or Covenant Defeasance.

 

Section 8.06 .         Repayment to the Company .

 

The Trustee shall promptly, and in any event pay to the Company after request therefor, any excess money held with respect to the Notes at such time in excess of amounts required to pay any of the Company’s Obligations then owing with respect to the Notes.

 

Any cash or U.S. Government Obligations deposited with the Trustee or any Paying Agent, or then held by the Company, in trust for the payment of the principal, premium, if any, or interest on, any Note and remaining unclaimed for one year after such principal of, premium, if any, or interest has become due and payable shall be paid to the Company on its request or (if then held by the Company) shall be discharged from such trust; and the Holder shall thereafter, as an unsecured creditor, look only to the Company for payment thereof, and all liability of the Trustee or such Paying Agent with respect to such cash and U.S. Government Obligations, and all liability of the Company as trustee thereof, shall thereupon cease; provided, however , that the Trustee or such Paying Agent, before being required to make any such repayment, may at the expense of the Company cause to be published once, in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal (national edition), notice that such cash and securities remains unclaimed and that, after a date specified therein, which shall not be less than 30 days from the date of such notification or publication, any unclaimed balance of such cash and securities then remaining shall be repaid to the Company.

 

Section 8.07 .         Reinstatement .

 

If the Trustee or Paying Agent is unable to apply any cash or U.S. Government Obligations in accordance with Section 8.02 or 8.03, as the case may be, by reason of any order or judgment of any court or governmental authority enjoining, restraining or otherwise prohibiting such application, then the Company’s obligations under this Indenture and the Notes shall be revived and reinstated as though no deposit had occurred pursuant to Section 8.02 or 8.03 until such time as the Trustee or Paying Agent is permitted to apply all such cash and U.S. Government Obligations in accordance with Section 8.02 or 8.03, as the case may be; provided, however , that, if the Company makes any payment of principal of, premium, if any, or interest on any Note following the reinstatement of its obligations, the Company shall be subrogated to the rights of the Holders to receive such payment from the cash and securities held by the Trustee or Paying Agent.

 

ARTICLE 9 .

AMENDMENT, SUPPLEMENT AND WAIVER

 

Section 9.01 .         Without Consent of Holders of Notes .

 

Notwithstanding Section 9.02 of this Indenture, the Company and the Trustee may amend or supplement this Indenture or the Notes without the consent of any Holder to:

 

(a)    cure any ambiguity, omission, defect or inconsistency,

 

(b)    provide for the assumption by a Surviving Person of the obligations of the Company under this Indenture,

 

(c)    provide for uncertificated Notes in addition to or in place of certificated Notes ( provided that the uncertificated Notes are issued in registered form for purposes of

 

74



 

Section 163(f) of the Code, or in a manner such that the uncertificated Notes are described in Section 163(f)(2)(B) of the Code),

 

(d)    add additional Guarantees with respect to the Notes or release Subsidiary Guarantors from Subsidiary Guaranties as provided or permitted by the terms of this Indenture,

 

(e)    secure the Notes, add to the covenants of the Company for the benefit of the Holders or surrender any right or power conferred upon the Company,

 

(f)     make any change that does not adversely affect the rights of any Holder ,

 

(g)    comply with any requirement of the Commission in connection with the qualification of this Indenture under the TIA, or

 

(h)    provide for the issuance of Additional Notes in accordance with this Indenture.

 

Section 9.02 .         With Consent of Holders of Notes .

 

Except as provided below in this Section 9.02, the Company and the Trustee may amend or supplement this Indenture and the Notes with the consent of the Holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of the Notes, including Additional Notes, if any, then outstanding voting as a single class (including consents obtained in connection with a purchase of or tender offer or exchange offer for the Notes), and, subject to Sections 6.04 and 6.07, any existing Default or Event of Default (except a continuing Default or Event of Default (i) in the payment of principal, premium, if any, or interest, including Special Interest, if any, on, the Notes and (ii) in respect of a covenant or provision which under this Indenture cannot be amended without the consent of each Holder) or compliance with any provisions of this Indenture and the Notes may be waived with the consent of the Holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of the Notes, including Additional Notes, if any, then outstanding voting as a single class (including consents obtained in connection with a purchase of or tender offer or exchange offer for the Notes).

 

Without the consent of each Holder, an amendment or waiver under this Section 9.02 may not:

 

(a) reduce the amount of Notes whose Holders must consent to an amendment or waiver,

 

(b) reduce the rate of, or extend the time for payment of, interest, including Special Interest, if any, on, any Note,

 

(c) reduce the principal of, or extend the Stated Maturity of, any Note,

 

(d) make any Note payable in money other than that stated in the Note,

 

(e) impair the right of any Holder to receive payment of principal of, premium, if any, and interest, including Special Interest, if any, on, such Holder’s Notes on or after the due dates therefor or to institute suit for the enforcement of any payment on or with respect to such Holder’s Notes or any Subsidiary Guaranty,

 

(f) subordinate the Notes or any Subsidiary Guaranty to any other obligation of the Company or the applicable Subsidiary Guarantor,

 

(g) release any security interest that may have been granted in favor of the Holders other than pursuant to the terms of such security interest,

 

(h) reduce the premium payable upon the redemption of any Note or change the time at which any Note may be redeemed, as described under Section 3.07,

 

75



 

(i) reduce the premium payable upon a Change of Control or, at any time after a Change of Control has occurred, extend the time at which the Change of Control Offer relating thereto must be made or at which the Notes must be repurchased pursuant to such Change of Control Offer,

 

(j) at any time after the Company is obligated to make a Prepayment Offer with the Excess Proceeds from Asset Sales, extend the time at which such Prepayment Offer must be made or at which the Notes must be repurchased pursuant thereto, or

 

(k) make any change in any Subsidiary Guaranty that would adversely affect the Holders.

 

The Company may, but shall not be obligated to, fix a record date for the purpose of determining the Persons entitled to consent to any supplemental indenture.  If a record date is fixed, the Holders on such record date, or their duly designated proxies, and only such Persons, shall be entitled to consent to such supplemental indenture, whether or not such Holders remain Holders after such record date; provided that unless such consent shall have become effective by virtue of the requisite percentage having been obtained prior to the date which is 120 days after such record date, any such consent previously given shall automatically and without further action by any Holder be cancelled and of no further effect.

 

It shall not be necessary for the consent of the Holders under this Section 9.02 to approve the particular form of any proposed amendment or waiver, but it shall be sufficient if such consent approves the substance thereof.

 

After an amendment, supplement or waiver under this Section 9.02 becomes effective, the Company shall mail to each Holder at such Holder’s address appearing in the Security Register a notice briefly describing the amendment, supplement or waiver.  Any failure of the Company to give such notice to all Holders, or any defect therein, shall not, however, in any way impair or affect the validity of any such amendment, supplement or waiver.

 

Section 9.03 .         Compliance with Trust Indenture Act .

 

Every amendment or supplement to this Indenture or the Notes shall be set forth in an amended or supplemental indenture that complies with the TIA as then in effect.

 

Section 9.04 .         Revocation and Effect of Consents .

 

Until an amendment, supplement or waiver becomes effective, a consent to it by a Holder is a continuing consent by the Holder of a Note and every subsequent Holder of a Note or portion thereof that evidences the same debt as the consenting Holder’s Note, even if notation of the consent is not made on any Note.  However, any such Holder or subsequent Holder may revoke the consent as to its Note or portion thereof if the Trustee receives written notice of revocation before the date the waiver, supplement or amendment becomes effective.  An amendment, supplement or waiver shall become effective in accordance with its terms and thereafter shall bind every Holder.

 

Section 9.05 .         Notation on or Exchange of Notes .

 

The Trustee may place an appropriate notation about an amendment, supplement or waiver on any Note thereafter authenticated.  The Company in exchange for all Notes may issue and, upon receipt of an Authentication Order in accordance with Section 2.02 hereof, the Trustee shall authenticate new Notes that reflect the amendment, supplement or waiver.

 

Failure to make the appropriate notation or issue a new Note shall not affect the validity and effect of such amendment, supplement or waiver.

 

76



 

Section 9.06 .                          Trustee to Sign Amendments, etc .

 

The Trustee shall sign any amended or supplemental indenture authorized pursuant to this Article 9 if the amendment or supplement does not adversely affect the rights, duties, liabilities or immunities of the Trustee.  None of the Company nor any Subsidiary Guarantor may sign an amended or supplemental indenture until its board of directors (or committee serving a similar function) approves it.  In executing any amended or supplemental indenture, the Trustee shall be entitled to receive and (subject to Section 7.01 hereof) shall be fully protected in relying upon an Officers’ Certificate and an Opinion of Counsel stating that the execution of such amended or supplemental indenture is authorized or permitted by this Indenture and that such amended or supplemental indenture is the legal, valid and binding obligation of the Company enforceable against it in accordance with its terms, subject to customary exceptions and that such amended or supplemental indenture complies with the provisions hereof (including Section 9.03).

 

ARTICLE 10 .

 

SUBSIDIARY GUARANTIES

 

Section 10.01 .                   Subsidiary Guaranty .

 

Subject to this Article 10, the Subsidiary Guarantors hereby unconditionally guarantee to each Holder of a Note authenticated and delivered by the Trustee and to the Trustee and its successors and assigns:  (a) the due and punctual payment of the principal of, premium, if any, and interest, including Special Interest, if any, on, the Notes, subject to any applicable grace period, whether at Stated Maturity, by acceleration, redemption or otherwise, the due and punctual payment of interest on the overdue principal of and premium, if any, and, to the extent permitted by law, interest on, the Notes, and the due and punctual performance of all other obligations of the Company to the Holders or the Trustee under this Indenture, any Registration Rights Agreement or any other agreement with or for the benefit of the Holders or the Trustee, all in accordance with the terms hereof and thereof; and (b) in case of any extension of time of payment or renewal of any Notes or any of such other obligations, that the same shall be promptly paid in full when due or performed in accordance with the terms of the extension or renewal, whether at Stated Maturity, by acceleration pursuant to Section 6.02, redemption or otherwise.  Failing payment when due of any amount so guaranteed or any performance so guaranteed for whatever reason, the Subsidiary Guarantors shall be jointly and severally obligated to pay the same immediately.  Each Subsidiary Guarantor agrees that this is a guarantee of payment and not a guarantee of collection.

 

Each Subsidiary Guarantor hereby agrees that its obligations with regard to its Subsidiary Guarantee shall be joint and several, and unconditional, irrespective of the validity or enforceability of the Notes or the obligations of the Company under this Indenture, the absence of any action to enforce the same, the recovery of any judgment against the Company or any other obligor with respect to this Indenture, the Notes or the Obligations of the Company under this Indenture or the Notes, any action to enforce the same or any other circumstances (other than complete performance) which might otherwise constitute a legal or equitable discharge or defense of a Subsidiary Guarantor.  Each Subsidiary Guarantor further, to the extent permitted by law, waives and relinquishes all claims, rights and remedies accorded by applicable law to guarantors and agrees not to assert or take advantage of any such claims, rights or remedies, including but not limited to:  (a) any right to require any of the Trustee, the Holders or the Company (each a “ Benefited Party ”), as a condition of payment or performance by such Subsidiary Guarantor, to (1) proceed against the Company, any other guarantor (including any other Subsidiary Guarantor) of the Obligations under the Subsidiary Guaranties or any other Person, (2) proceed against or exhaust any security held from the Company, any such other guarantor or any other Person, (3) proceed against or have resort to any balance of any deposit account or credit on the books of any Benefited Party in favor of the Company or any other Person, or (4) pursue any other remedy in the power of any Benefited Party whatsoever; (b) any defense arising by reason of the incapacity, lack of authority or any disability or other defense of the Company, including any defense based on or arising out of the lack of validity or the unenforceability of the Obligations under the Subsidiary Guaranties or any agreement or instrument relating thereto or by reason of the cessation of the liability of the Company from any cause other than payment in full of the Obligations under the Subsidiary Guaranties; (c) any defense based upon any statute or rule of law which provides that the obligation of a surety must be neither larger in amount nor in other respects more burdensome than that of the principal; (d) any defense based upon any Benefited Party’s errors or omissions in the administration of the Obligations under the Subsidiary Guaranties, except behavior

 

77



 

which amounts to bad faith; (e)(1) any principles or provisions of law, statutory or otherwise, which are or might be in conflict with the terms of the Subsidiary Guaranties and any legal or equitable discharge of such Subsidiary Guarantor’s obligations hereunder, (2) the benefit of any statute of limitations affecting such Subsidiary Guarantor’s liability hereunder or the enforcement hereof, (3) any rights to set-offs, recoupments and counterclaims and (4) the requirements of promptness, diligence or that any Benefited Party protect, secure, perfect or insure any security interest or lien or any property subject thereto; (f) notices, demands, presentations, protests, notices of protest, notices of dishonor and notices of any action or inaction, including acceptance of the Subsidiary Guaranties, notices of Default under the Notes or any agreement or instrument related thereto, notices of any renewal, extension or modification of the Obligations under the Subsidiary Guaranties or any agreement related thereto, and notices of any extension of credit to the Company and any right to consent to any thereof; (g) to the extent permitted under applicable law, the benefits of any “One Action” rule; and (h) any defenses or benefits that may be derived from or afforded by law which limit the liability of or exonerate guarantors or sureties, or which may conflict with the terms of the Subsidiary Guaranties.  Except to the extent expressly provided herein, including Sections 8.02, 8.03 and 10.05, each Subsidiary Guarantor hereby covenants that its Subsidiary Guaranties shall not be discharged except by complete performance of the obligations contained in its Subsidiary Guaranty and this Indenture.

 

If any Holder or the Trustee is required by any court or otherwise to return to the Company, the Subsidiary Guarantors or any custodian, trustee, liquidator or other similar official acting in relation to either the Company or the Subsidiary Guarantors, any amount paid by either to the Trustee or such Holder, this Subsidiary Guaranty, to the extent theretofore discharged, shall be reinstated in full force and effect.

 

Each Subsidiary Guarantor agrees that it shall not be entitled to any right of subrogation in relation to the Holders in respect of any obligations guaranteed hereby until payment in full of all obligations guaranteed hereby.  Each Subsidiary Guarantor further agrees that, as between the Subsidiary Guarantors, on the one hand, and the Holders and the Trustee, on the other hand, (x) the maturity of the obligations guaranteed hereby may be accelerated as provided in Section 6.02 hereof for the purposes of this Subsidiary Guaranty, notwithstanding any stay, injunction or other prohibition preventing such acceleration in respect of the obligations guaranteed hereby and (y) in the event of any declaration of acceleration of such obligations as provided in Section 6.02 hereof, such obligations (whether or not due and payable) shall forthwith become due and payable by the Subsidiary Guarantors for the purpose of this Subsidiary Guaranty.  The Subsidiary Guarantors shall have the right to seek contribution from any non-paying Subsidiary Guarantor so long as the exercise of such right does not impair the rights of the Holders under the Subsidiary Guaranty.

 

Section 10.02 .                   Limitation on Subsidiary Guarantor Liability .

 

(a)           Each Subsidiary Guarantor, and by its acceptance of the Notes, each Holder, hereby confirms that it is the intention of all such parties that the Subsidiary Guaranty of such Subsidiary Guarantor not constitute a fraudulent transfer or conveyance for purposes of any Bankruptcy Law, the Uniform Fraudulent Conveyance Act, the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act or any similar federal or state law to the extent applicable to any Subsidiary Guaranty.  To effectuate the foregoing intention, the Trustee, the Holders and the Subsidiary Guarantors hereby irrevocably agree that each Subsidiary Guarantor’s liability shall be that amount from time to time equal to the aggregate liability of such Subsidiary Guarantor under the Subsidiary Guaranty, but shall be limited to the lesser of (a) the aggregate amount of the Company’s obligations under the Notes and this Indenture or (b) the amount, if any, which would not have (1) rendered the Subsidiary Guarantor “insolvent” (as such term is defined in the Federal Bankruptcy Code and in the Debtor and Creditor Law of the State of New York) or (2) left it with unreasonably small capital at the time its Subsidiary Guaranty with respect to the Notes was entered into, after giving effect to the incurrence of existing Debt immediately before such time; provided , however , it shall be a presumption in any lawsuit or proceeding in which a Subsidiary Guarantor is a party that the amount guaranteed pursuant to the Subsidiary Guaranty with respect to the Notes is the amount described in clause (a) above unless any creditor, or representative of creditors of the Subsidiary Guarantor, or debtor in possession or trustee in bankruptcy of the Subsidiary Guarantor, otherwise proves in a lawsuit that the aggregate liability of the Subsidiary Guarantor is limited to the amount described in clause (b).

 

(b)          In making any determination as to the solvency or sufficiency of capital of a Subsidiary Guarantor in accordance with the proviso of Section 10.02(a), the right of each Subsidiary Guarantor to contribution

 

78



 

from other Subsidiary Guarantors and any other rights such Subsidiary Guarantor may have, contractual or otherwise, shall be taken into account.

 

Section 10.03 .                   Execution, Delivery and Effectiveness of Subsidiary Guaranties .

 

(a)           To evidence its Subsidiary Guaranty set forth in Section 10.01, each Subsidiary Guarantor hereby agrees that a notation of such Subsidiary Guaranty in substantially the form included in Exhibit E attached hereto shall be endorsed by an Officer of such Subsidiary Guarantor on each Note authenticated and delivered by the Trustee and that this Indenture shall be executed on behalf of such Subsidiary Guarantor by its Chief Executive Officer, President, Chief Financial Officer or one of its Vice Presidents.

 

(b)          Each Subsidiary Guarantor hereby agrees that its Subsidiary Guaranty set forth in Section 10.01 shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding any failure to endorse on each Note a notation of such Subsidiary Guaranty.

 

(c)           If an Officer whose signature is on this Indenture or on the Subsidiary Guaranty no longer holds that office at the time the Trustee authenticates the Note on which a Subsidiary Guaranty is endorsed, the Subsidiary Guaranty shall be valid nevertheless.

 

(d)          The delivery of any Note by the Trustee, after the authentication thereof hereunder, shall constitute due delivery of the Subsidiary Guaranty set forth in this Indenture on behalf of the Subsidiary Guarantors.

 

(e)           The Company hereby agrees that it shall cause each Person that becomes obligated to provide a Subsidiary Guaranty pursuant to Section 4.19 to execute a supplemental indenture in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Trustee, pursuant to which such Person provides the guarantee set forth in this Article 10 and otherwise assumes the obligations and accepts the rights of a Subsidiary Guarantor under this Indenture, in each case with the same effect and to the same extent as if such Person had been named herein as a Subsidiary Guarantor.  The Company also hereby agrees to cause each such new Subsidiary Guarantor to evidence its Subsidiary Guaranty by endorsing a notation of such Subsidiary Guaranty on each Note as provided in this Section 10.03.

 

(f)             Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Indenture, the Subsidiary Guaranties of the U.S. Subsidiary Guarantors shall not become effective until the U.S. Subsidiary Stock Contribution has taken place.  Upon the consummation of the U.S. Subsidiary Stock Contribution, the Company shall provide to the Trustee the Officers’ Certificate in substantially the form included in Exhibit F attached hereto.

 

Section 10.04 .                   Subsidiary Guarantors May Consolidate, etc., on Certain Terms .

 

Except as otherwise provided in Section 10.05, no Subsidiary Guarantor may consolidate with or merge with or into (whether or not such Subsidiary Guarantor is the Surviving Person) another Person whether or not affiliated with such Subsidiary Guarantor unless:

 

(a)           subject to Section 10.05, the Person formed by or surviving any such consolidation or merger (if other than a Subsidiary Guarantor or the Company) unconditionally assumes all the obligations of such Subsidiary Guarantor, pursuant to a supplemental indenture in form satisfactory to the Trustee, under this Indenture, the Subsidiary Guaranty and any Registration Rights Agreement on the terms set forth herein or therein; and

 

(b)          the Subsidiary Guarantor complies with the requirements of Article 5 hereof.

 

In case of any such consolidation, merger, sale or conveyance and upon the assumption by the Surviving Person, by supplemental indenture, executed and delivered to the Trustee and satisfactory in form to the Trustee, of the Subsidiary Guaranty endorsed upon the Notes and the due and punctual performance of all of the covenants and conditions of this Indenture to be performed by the Subsidiary Guarantor, such Surviving Person shall succeed to and be substituted for the Subsidiary Guarantor with the same effect as if it had been named herein as a Subsidiary Guarantor.  Such Surviving Person thereupon may cause to be signed any or all of the Subsidiary

 

79



 

Guaranties to be endorsed upon all of the Notes issuable hereunder which theretofore shall not have been signed by the Company and delivered to the Trustee.  All the Subsidiary Guaranties so issued shall in all respects have the same legal rank and benefit under this Indenture as the Subsidiary Guaranties theretofore and thereafter issued in accordance with the terms of this Indenture as though all of such Subsidiary Guaranties had been issued at the date of the execution hereof.

 

Except as set forth in Articles 4 and 5, and notwithstanding clauses (a) and (b) above, nothing contained in this Indenture or in any of the Notes shall prevent any consolidation or merger of a Subsidiary Guarantor with or into the Company or another domestic Subsidiary Guarantor, or shall prevent any sale or conveyance of the property of a Subsidiary Guarantor as an entirety or substantially as an entirety to the Company or another domestic Subsidiary Guarantor.

 

Section 10.05 .                   Releases Following Merger, Consolidation or Sale of Assets, Etc ..

 

In the event of a sale or other disposition of all or substantially all the assets of any Subsidiary Guarantor, by way of merger, consolidation or otherwise, or a sale or other disposition of all the Capital Stock of any Subsidiary Guarantor, in each case in accordance with the provisions of this Indenture to a Person that is not (either before or after giving effect to such transactions) a Subsidiary of the Company, then such Subsidiary Guarantor (in the event of a sale or other disposition, by way of merger, consolidation or otherwise, of all the Capital Stock of such Subsidiary Guarantor) or the corporation acquiring the property (in the event of a sale or other disposition of all or substantially all the assets of such Subsidiary Guarantor) shall be released and relieved of any obligations under its Subsidiary Guaranty; provided that the net proceeds of such sale or other disposition shall be applied in accordance with the applicable provisions of this Indenture, including without limitation Section 4.13.  If a Foreign Restricted Subsidiary that is a Subsidiary Guarantor is released or discharged from its Guaranty of other Debt of the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary for any reason whatsoever (except a discharge by or as a result of payment under such Guarantee), or if such other Guaranteed Debt of the Company or any Domestic Restricted Subsidiary is repaid in full by the Company or such Domestic Restricted Subsidiary or refinanced with other Debt that is not Guaranteed by such Foreign Restricted Subsidiary, then such Foreign Restricted Subsidiary shall also be released and relieved of any obligations under its Subsidiary Guaranty.  If the Company redesignates a Subsidiary Guarantor as an Unrestricted Subsidiary in accordance with the provisions of Section 4.17, such Subsidiary Guarantor shall be released and relieved of any obligations under its Subsidiary Guaranty.  Upon delivery by the Company to the Trustee of an Officers’ Certificate and an Opinion of Counsel to the effect that such sale or other disposition was made by the Company in accordance with the provisions of this Indenture, including without limitation Section 4.13, such Foreign Restricted Subsidiary that is a Subsidiary Guarantor is entitled to release from its Subsidiary Guaranty in accordance with the provisions of this Indenture or such Subsidiary Guarantor has been redesignated as an Unrestricted Subsidiary in accordance with the provisions of this Indenture, including without limitation Section 4.17, the Trustee shall execute any documents reasonably required in order to evidence the release of any Subsidiary Guarantor from its obligations under its Subsidiary Guaranty.

 

Any Subsidiary Guarantor not released from its obligations under its Guaranty shall remain liable for the full amount of principal of and interest on the Notes and for the other obligations of any Subsidiary Guarantor under this Indenture as provided in this Article 10.

 

80



 

ARTICLE 11 .

 

SATISFACTION AND DISCHARGE

 

Section 11.01 .                   Satisfaction and Discharge .

 

This Indenture shall be discharged and shall cease to be of further effect, except as to surviving rights of registration of transfer or exchange of the Notes, as to all Notes issued hereunder, when

 

(a)           either:

 

(i)                                      all Notes that have been previously authenticated and delivered (except lost, stolen or destroyed Notes that have been replaced or paid or Notes whose payment has previously been deposited in trust or segregated and held in trust by the Company and thereafter repaid to the Company or discharged from such trust) have been delivered to the Trustee for cancellation; or

 

(ii)                                   all Notes that have not been previously delivered to the Trustee for cancellation, (x) have become due and payable by their terms, (y) will become due and payable at their Stated Maturity within one year or (z) are to be called for redemption within one year under arrangements reasonably satisfactory to the Trustee for the giving of notice of redemption by the Trustee in the name, and at the expense, of the Company; and the Company has irrevocably deposited or caused to be deposited with the Trustee as trust funds in trust solely for the benefit of the Holders, cash in U.S. dollars in such amounts as shall be sufficient without consideration of any reinvestment of interest, to pay and discharge the entire Debt represented by the Notes not previously delivered to the Trustee for cancellation or redemption for principal, premium, if any, and interest, including Special Interest, if any, on, the Notes at such maturity;

 

(b)          the Company has paid or caused to be paid all other sums payable by the Company under this Indenture; and

 

(c)           the Company has delivered to the Trustee an Officers’ Certificate and Opinion of Counsel, each stating that (i) all conditions precedent relating to the satisfaction and discharge of this Indenture have been complied with, and (ii) such satisfaction and discharge will not result in a Default under this Indenture or any other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is bound..

 

Section 11.02 .                   Deposited Cash to be Held in Trust; Other Miscellaneous Provisions .

 

Subject to Section 11.03, all cash (including the proceeds thereof) deposited with the Trustee (or other qualifying trustee, collectively for purposes of this Section 11.02, the “ Trustee ”) pursuant to Section 11.01 in respect of the outstanding Notes shall be held in trust and applied by the Trustee, in accordance with the provisions of such Notes and this Indenture, to the payment, either directly or through any Paying Agent (including the Company acting as Paying Agent) as the Trustee may determine, to the Holders of all sums due and to become due thereon in respect of principal, premium, if any, and interest, but such cash need not be segregated from other funds except to the extent required by law.

 

The Company shall pay and indemnify the Trustee against any tax, fee or other charge imposed on or assessed against the cash deposited pursuant to Section 11.01 hereof or the interest received in respect thereof other than any such tax, fee or other charge which by law is for the account of the Holders of the outstanding Notes.

 

Section 11.03 .                   Repayment to the Company .

 

Any cash deposited with the Trustee or any Paying Agent, or then held by the Company, in trust for the payment of the principal of, premium, if any, or interest on, any Note and remaining unclaimed for one year after such principal, and premium, if any, or interest has become due and payable shall be paid to the Company on

 

81



 

its request or (if then held by the Company) shall be discharged from such trust; and the Holder shall thereafter, as an unsecured creditor, look only to the Company for payment thereof, and all liability of the Trustee or such Paying Agent with respect to such cash, and all liability of the Company as trustee thereof, shall thereupon cease; provided, however , that the Trustee or such Paying Agent, before being required to make any such repayment, may at the expense of the Company cause to be published once, in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal (national edition), notice that such cash remains unclaimed and that, after a date specified therein, which shall not be less than 30 days from the date of such notification or publication, any unclaimed balance of such cash then remaining shall be repaid to the Company.

 

ARTICLE 12.

 

MISCELLANEOUS

 

Section 12.01 .                   Trust Indenture Act Controls .

 

If any provision of this Indenture limits, qualifies or conflicts with another provision which is required to be included in this Indenture by the TIA, the provision required by the TIA shall control.

 

Section 12.02 .                   Notices .

 

Any notice or communication by the Company or the Subsidiary Guarantors and the Trustee to the other is duly given if in writing and delivered in person or mailed by first class mail (registered or certified, return receipt requested), facsimile transmission or overnight air courier guaranteeing next-day delivery, to the other’s address:

 

If to the Company or the Subsidiary Guarantors:

 

Neenah Paper, Inc.

Preston Ridge III

3460 Preston Ridge Road, Suite 600

Alpharetta, Georgia 30005

Attention:  General Counsel

Telecopier No.:  (678) 518-3283

 

With a copy to:

 

If to the Trustee:

 

Bank of New York, Trust Company, N.A.

100 Ashford Center North

Suite 520

Atlanta, Georgia 30338

Attention:  Corporate Trust Department

Telecopier No.:  (770) 698-5195

 

The Company or the Subsidiary Guarantors and the Trustee, by notice to the other, may designate additional or different addresses for subsequent notices or communications.

 

All notices and communications (other than those sent to the Trustee or Holders) shall be deemed to have been duly given: at the time delivered by hand, if personally delivered; five Business Days after being deposited in the mail, postage prepaid, if mailed; when receipt acknowledged, if sent by facsimile transmission; and the next Business Day after timely delivery to the courier, if sent by overnight air courier guaranteeing next-day delivery.  All notices and communications to the Trustee shall be deemed duly given and effective only upon receipt.

 

82



 

Any notice or communication to a Holder shall be mailed by first class mail, certified or registered, return receipt requested, or by overnight air courier guaranteeing next-day delivery to its address shown on the Security Register.  Any notice or communication shall also be so mailed to any Person described in TIA § 313(c), to the extent required by the TIA.  Failure to mail a notice or communication to a Holder or any defect in it shall not affect its sufficiency with respect to other Holders.

 

If a notice or communication is mailed in the manner provided above within the time prescribed, it is duly given, whether or not the addressee receives it.

 

If the Company mails a notice or communication to Holders, it shall mail a copy to the Trustee and each Agent at the same time.

 

Section 12.03 .                   Communication by Holders of Notes with Other Holders of Notes .

 

Holders may communicate pursuant to TIA §312(b) with other Holders with respect to their rights under this Indenture or the Notes.  The Company, the Trustee, the Registrar and anyone else shall have the protection of TIA §312(c).

 

Section 12.04 .                   Certificate and Opinion as to Conditions Precedent .

 

Upon any request or application by the Company to the Trustee to take any action under any provision of this Indenture, the Company shall furnish to the Trustee:

 

(a)           an Officers’ Certificate in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Trustee (which shall include the statements set forth in Section 12.05 hereof) stating that, in the opinion of the signers, all conditions precedent and covenants, if any, provided for in this Indenture relating to the proposed action have been complied with; and

 

(b)          an Opinion of Counsel in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Trustee (which shall include the statements set forth in Section 12.05 hereof) stating that, in the opinion of such counsel, all such conditions precedent and covenants have been complied with.

 

Section 12.05 .                   Statements Required in Certificate or Opinion .

 

Each certificate or opinion with respect to compliance with a condition or covenant provided for in this Indenture (other than a certificate provided pursuant to TIA §314(a)(4)) shall comply with the provisions of TIA §314(e) and shall include:

 

(a)           a statement that the Person making such certificate or opinion has read such covenant or condition;

 

(b)          a brief statement as to the nature and scope of the examination or investigation upon which the statements or opinions contained in such certificate or opinion are based;

 

(c)           a statement that, in the opinion of such Person, he or she has made such examination or investigation as is necessary to enable such Person to express an informed opinion as to whether or not such covenant or condition has been complied with; and

 

(d)          a statement as to whether or not, in the opinion of such Person, such condition or covenant has been complied with.

 

With respect to matters of fact, an Opinion of Counsel may rely on an Officers’ Certificate, certificates of public officials or reports or opinions of experts.

 

83



 

Section 12.06 .                   Rules by Trustee and Agents .

 

The Trustee may make reasonable rules for action by or at a meeting of Holders.  The Registrar or Paying Agent may make reasonable rules and set reasonable requirements for its functions.

 

Section 12.07 .                   No Personal Liability of Directors, Officers, Employees and Stockholders .

 

No past, present or future director, officer, employee, incorporator or stockholder of the Company or any Subsidiary Guarantor, as such, shall have any liability for any obligations of the Company or any Subsidiary Subsidiary Guarantor under the Notes, any Subsidiary Guaranty or this Indenture or for any claim based on, in respect of, or by reason of, such obligations or their creation.  Each Holder by accepting a Note waives and releases all such liability.  The waiver and release are part of the consideration for issuance of the Notes.  The waiver and release may not be effective to waive or release liabilities under the U.S. federal securities laws.

 

Section 12.08 .                   Governing Law .

 

THE INTERNAL LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK SHALL GOVERN AND BE USED TO CONSTRUE THIS INDENTURE AND THE NOTES WITHOUT GIVING EFFECT TO APPLICABLE PRINCIPLES OF CONFLICTS OF LAW TO THE EXTENT THAT THE APPLICATION OF THE LAWS OF ANOTHER JURISDICTION WOULD BE REQUIRED THEREBY.

 

Section 12.09 .                   No Adverse Interpretation of Other Agreements .

 

This Indenture may not be used to interpret any other indenture, loan or debt agreement of the Company or its Subsidiaries or of any other Person.  Any such indenture, loan or debt agreement may not be used to interpret this Indenture.

 

Section 12.10 .                   Successors .

 

All covenants and agreements of the Company and the Subsidiary Guarantors in this Indenture and the Notes shall bind its successors.  All covenants and agreements of the Trustee in this Indenture shall bind their respective successors.

 

Section 12.11 .                   Severability .

 

In case any provision in this Indenture or in the Notes 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.

 

Section 12.12 .                   Consent to Jurisdiction and Service of Process .

 

(a)           The Company and each Subsidiary Guarantor irrevocably consents to the jurisdiction of the courts of the State of New York and the courts of the United States of America located in the City of New York and County of New York, over any suit, action or proceeding with respect to this Indenture or the transactions contemplated hereby.  The Company and each Subsidiary Guarantor waives any objection that it may have to the venue of any suit, action or proceeding with respect to this Indenture or the transactions contemplated hereby in the courts of the State of New York or the courts of the United States of America, in each case, located in the City of New York and County of New York, or that such suit, action or proceeding brought in the courts of the State of New York or the United States of America, in each case, located in the City of New York and County of New York was brought in an inconvenient court and agrees not to plead or claim the same.

 

(b)          The Company and each Subsidiary Guarantor irrevocably appoints CT Corporation System, as its authorized agent in the State of New York upon which process may be served in any such suit or proceedings, and agrees that service of process upon such agent, and written notice of said service to 111 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10011, by the person serving the same to the address provided in Section 12.02, shall be deemed in every respect effective service of process upon the Company and each Subsidiary Guarantor in any such suit or

 

84



 

proceeding.  The Company and each Subsidiary Guarantor further agrees to take any and all action as may be necessary to maintain such designation and appointment of such agent in full force and effect for the term of this Indenture.

 

Section 12.13 .                   Counterpart Originals .

 

The parties may sign any number of copies of this Indenture.  Each signed copy shall be an original, but all of them together represent the same agreement.

 

Section 12.14 .                   Table of Contents, Headings, etc .

 

The Table of Contents, Cross-Reference Table and Headings in this Indenture have been inserted for convenience of reference only, are not to be considered a part of this Indenture and shall in no way modify or restrict any of the terms or provisions hereof.

 

Section 12.15 .                   Qualification of this Indenture .

 

The Company shall qualify this Indenture under the TIA in accordance with the terms and conditions of any Registration Rights Agreement and shall pay all reasonable costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees and expenses for the Company, the Trustee and the Holders) incurred in connection therewith, including, but not limited to, costs and expenses of qualification of this Indenture and the Notes and printing this Indenture and the Notes.  The Trustee shall be entitled to receive from the Company any such Officers’ Certificates, Opinions of Counsel or other documentation as it may reasonably request in connection with any such qualification of this Indenture under the TIA.

 

[Signatures on following page]

 

85



 

SIGNATURES

 

 

 

 

Dated as of November 30, 2004

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEENAH PAPER, INC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Bonnie C. Lind

 

 

 

 Name: Bonnie C. Lind

 

 

 

 Title: Vice President

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEENAH PAPER SALES, INC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Bonnie C. Lind

 

 

 

 Name: Bonnie C. Lind

 

 

 

 Title: Vice President

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEENAH PAPER MICHIGAN, INC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Bonnie C. Lind

 

 

 

 Name: Bonnie C. Lind

 

 

 

 Title: Vice President

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEENAH PAPER COMPANY OF CANADA

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Bonnie C. Lind

 

 

 

 Name: Bonnie C. Lind

 

 

 

 Title: Vice President

 

 



 

 

THE BANK OF NEW YORK TRUST COMPANY, N.A.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Barbara K. Royal

 

 

 

 Name: Barbara K. Royal

 

 

 

 Title: Assistant Vice President

 

 



 

EXHIBIT A

 

(Face of Note)

 

7 3 / 8 % SENIOR NOTES DUE 2014

 

 

CUSIP

No.

$

 

NEENAH PAPER, INC.

 

promises to pay to CEDE & CO., INC. or registered assigns, the principal sum of                            Dollars ($                          ) on November 15, 2014.

 

Interest Payment Dates:  May 15 and November 15, commencing May 15, 2005.

 

Record Dates:  May 1 and November 1.

 

Dated:                           , 20[   ].

 

A-1



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company has caused this Note to be signed manually or by facsimile by its duly authorized officer.

 

 

 

NEENAH PAPER, INC.

 

 

 

 

 

By:

 

 

 

 

Name:

 

 

Title:

 

 

This is one of the [Global]

Notes referred to in the

within-mentioned Indenture:

 

THE BANK OF NEW YORK TRUST COMPANY, N.A.,

as Trustee

 

By:

 

 

 

Authorized Signatory

 

Dated:                        , 20[   ]

 

A-2



 

(Back of Note)

 

7 3 / 8 % SENIOR NOTES DUE 2014

 

[Insert the Global Note Legend, if applicable pursuant to the terms of the Indenture]

 

[Insert the Private Placement Legend, if applicable pursuant to the terms of the Indenture]

 

Capitalized terms used herein shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Indenture referred to below unless otherwise indicated.

 

1.                                        Interest .  Neenah Paper, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “ Company ”), promises to pay interest on the principal amount of this Note at 7 3 / 8 % per annum until maturity and shall pay Special Interest, if any, as provided in Section 8 of the Registration Rights Agreement.  The Company shall pay interest semi-annually on May 15 and November 15 of each year, or if any such day is not a Business Day, on the next succeeding Business Day (each an “ Interest Payment Date ”).  Interest shall accrue from the most recent date to which interest has been paid on the Notes (or one or more Predecessor Notes) or, if no interest has been paid, from November 30, 2004; provided, however , that if there is no existing Default in the payment of interest, and if this Note is authenticated between a record date referred to on the face hereof and the next succeeding Interest Payment Date, interest shall accrue from such next succeeding Interest Payment Date; provided , further , that the first Interest Payment Date shall be the first of May 15 or November 15 to occur after the date of issuance, unless such May 15 or November 15 occurs within one calendar month of such date of issuance, in which case the first Interest Payment Date shall be the second of May 15 and November 15 to occur after the date of issuance.  The Company shall pay interest (including post-petition interest in any proceeding under any Bankruptcy Law) on overdue principal and premium, if any, from time to time at a rate that is 1% per annum in excess of the interest rate then in effect under the Indenture and this Note; it shall pay interest (including post-petition interest in any proceeding under any Bankruptcy Law) on overdue installments of interest and Special Interest, if any (without regard to any applicable grace periods), from time to time at the same rate to the extent lawful.  Interest shall be computed on the basis of a 360-day year of twelve 30-day months.

 

2.                                        Method of Payment .  The Company shall pay interest on the Notes (except defaulted interest) to the Persons in whose name this Note (or one or more Predecessor Notes) is registered at the close of business on the May 15 or November 15 next preceding the Interest Payment Date, even if such Notes are cancelled after such record date and on or before such Interest Payment Date, except as provided in Section 2.12 of the Indenture with respect to defaulted interest.  The Notes shall be payable as to principal, premium, if any, and interest and Special Interest, if any, at the office or agency of the Company maintained for such purpose, or, at the option of the Company, payment of interest may be made by check mailed to the Holders at their addresses set forth in the Security Register; provided , however , that payment by wire transfer of immediately available funds shall be required with respect to principal of and interest and Special Interest, if any, and premium, if any, on, all Global Notes and all other Notes the Holders of which shall have provided wire transfer instructions to the Company or the Paying Agent.  Such payment shall be 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.

 

3.                                        Paying Agent and Registrar .  Initially, The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A., the Trustee under the Indenture, shall act as Paying Agent and Registrar.  The Company may change any Paying Agent or Registrar without notice to any Holder.  The Company or any of its Subsidiaries may act in any such capacity.

 

4.                                        Indenture .  The Company issued the Notes under an Indenture dated as of November 30, 2004 (“ Indenture ”) among the Company, the guarantors party thereto (the “ Subsidiary Guarantors ”) and the Trustee.  The terms of the Notes include those stated in the Indenture and those made part of the Indenture by reference to the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended (15 U.S. Code §§ 77aaa-77bbbb).  The Notes are subject to all such terms, and Holders are referred to the Indenture and such Act for a statement of such terms.  To the extent any provision of this Note conflicts with the express provisions of the Indenture, the provisions of the Indenture shall govern and be controlling.

 

A-3



 

5.                                        Optional Redemption .

 

(a)           Except as set forth in clauses (b) and (c) of Section 3.07 of the Indenture, the Notes shall not be redeemable at the option of the Company prior to November 15, 2009.  Starting on November 15, 2009, the Company may redeem all or a portion of the Notes, at once or over time, after giving the notice required pursuant to Section 3.03 of the Indenture, at the redemption prices set forth below, plus accrued and unpaid interest, including Special Interest, if any, to but not including the applicable redemption date (subject to the right of Holders of record on the relevant Regular Record Date to receive interest due on the relevant Interest Payment Date), if redeemed during the 12-month period commencing on November 15, 2009 of the years indicated below, and are expressed as percentages of principal amount:

 

Year

 

Redemption
Price

 

2009

 

103.688

%

2010

 

102.458

%

2011

 

101.229

%

2012 and thereafter

 

100.000

%

 

(b)          At any time and from time to time, prior to November 15, 2007, the Company may redeem up to a maximum of 35% of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes (including any Additional Notes) with the proceeds of one or more Equity Offerings, at a redemption price equal to 107.375% of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued and unpaid interest, including Special Interest, if any, to but not including the redemption date (subject to the right of Holders of record on the relevant Regular Record Date to receive interest due on the relevant Interest Payment Date); provided , however , that after giving effect to any such redemption, at least 65% of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes (including any Additional Notes) remains outstanding.  Any such redemption shall be made within 90 days of such Equity Offering upon not less than 30 nor more than 60 days’ prior notice.

 

(c)           At any time prior to November 15, 2009, after the completion of a Change of Control Offer (as defined in Section 4.18 of the Indenture) that was accepted by Holders of not less than 75% of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes then outstanding, the Company may redeem all of the Notes of any Holder who has not accepted the Change of Control Offer (the “ Untendered Notes ”) upon not less than 30 nor more than 60 days’ prior notice (the “ Change of Control Redemption Notice ”) but in no event more than 90 days after the completion of such Change of Control Offer, such notice to be provided in the manner required under Section 3.03, at a redemption price equal to the greater of:

 

(i)                                      101% of the principal amount of the Untendered Notes; and

 

(ii)                                   the sum of the present values of (A) the redemption price of the Notes as of November 15, 2009 (as set forth in clause (a) above) and (B) the remaining scheduled payments of interest from the redemption date (the “ Change of Control Redemption Date ”) through November 15, 2009, but excluding accrued and unpaid interest through the Change of Control Redemption Date and excluding Special Interest, discounted to the Change of Control Redemption Date (assuming a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months) at the Treasury Rate plus 50 basis points;

 

plus, in either case, accrued and unpaid interest, including Special Interest, if any, to but not including the Change of Control Redemption Date (subject to the right of Holders of record on the relevant Regular Record Date to receive interest due on the relevant Interest Payment Date).

 

Any Change of Control Redemption Notice pursuant to this clause (c) above shall include the applicable method of calculation of the redemption price but need not include the redemption price itself.  The actual redemption price, calculated as described above, shall be set forth in an Officers’ Certificate delivered to the Trustee no later than two Business Days prior to the Change of Control Redemption Date unless clause (b) of the definition of “Comparable Treasury Price” in the Indenture is applicable, in which case such Officers’ Certificate should be delivered by 10:00 a.m. Eastern time on the Change of Control Redemption Date.

 

A-4



 

(d)          Any prepayment pursuant to this paragraph shall be made pursuant to the provisions of Sections 3.01 through 3.06 of the Indenture.

 

6.                                        Mandatory Redemption .

 

(a)                                                           If the Spin-Off is not consummated on or prior to 11:59 pm, New York City time, on November 30, 2004 (the “ Special Mandatory Redemption Event ”), then the Company shall notify the Trustee of such Special Mandatory Redemption Event, and the Company shall redeem all of the Notes (the “ Special Mandatory Redemption ”) within two Business Days of the date of the Special Mandatory Redemption Event, at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to but not including the redemption date (the “ Special Mandatory Redemption Payment ”) (subject to the right of Holders of record on the relevant Regular Record Date to receive interest due on the relevant Interest Payment Date).  The Company shall commence the Special Mandatory Redemption by sending or causing to be sent on the Business Day following such Special Mandatory Redemption Event, by first class mail, with a copy to the Trustee, a notice of redemption to each Holder at such Holder’s registered address appearing in the Security Register, which notice shall state:

 

(1)           that the Special Mandatory Redemption is being made pursuant to this paragraph;

 

(2)           the redemption date and the Special Mandatory Redemption Payment; provided , however , that the redemption date shall be the second Business Day after the Special Mandatory Redemption Event (the “ Special Mandatory Redemption Date ”);

 

(3)           the name and address of the Paying Agent;

 

(4)           that the Notes must be surrendered to the Paying Agent to collect the Special Mandatory Redemption Payment; and

 

(5)           that, unless the Company defaults in making such Special Mandatory Redemption Payment, interest on the Notes shall cease to accrue on and after the Special Mandatory Redemption Date.

 

(b)  Except as set forth in this paragraph, the Company shall not be required to make any other mandatory redemption or sinking fund payments with respect to, or offer to purchase, the Notes.

 

7.                                        Repurchase at Option of Holder .

 

(a)  Upon the occurrence of a Change of Control, the Company shall within 30 days following any Change of Control, make an offer (the “ Change of Control Offer ”) pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 3.09 of the Indenture.  Each Holder shall have the right to accept such offer and require the Company to repurchase all or any part (equal to $1,000 or an integral multiple of $1,000) of such Holder’s Notes pursuant to the Change of Control Offer at a purchase price (the “ Change of Control Purchase Price ”) equal to 101% of the aggregate principal amount thereof, plus accrued and unpaid interest, including Special Interest, if any, to but not including the Purchase Date (subject to the right of Holders of record on the relevant Regular Record Date to receive interest due on the relevant Interest Payment Date).

 

(b)  When the aggregate amount of Excess Proceeds from Asset Sales exceeds $15.0 million, the Company shall make an offer to repurchase (the “ Prepayment Offer ”) the Notes, which offer shall be in the amount of the Allocable Excess Proceeds (rounded to the nearest $1,000), on a pro rata basis according to principal amount, at a purchase price equal to 100% of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued and unpaid interest, including Special Interest, if any, to but not including the repurchase date (subject to the right of Holders of record on the relevant Regular Record Date to receive interest due on the relevant Interest Payment Date), in accordance with the procedures (including prorating in the event of oversubscription) set forth in this Indenture.  To the extent that any portion of the amount of Net Available Cash remains after compliance with the preceding sentence and provided that all Holders have been given the opportunity to tender their Notes for repurchase in accordance with the

 

A-5



 

Indenture, the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary may use such remaining amount for any purpose permitted by the Indenture, and the amount of Excess Proceeds will be reset to zero.

 

8.                                        Notice of Redemption .  Notice of redemption shall be mailed at least 30 days but not more than 60 days before the redemption date to each Holder whose Notes are to be redeemed at its registered address.  Notes in denominations larger than $1,000 may be redeemed in part but only in whole multiples of $1,000, unless all of the Notes held by a Holder are to be redeemed.  On and after the redemption date interest ceases to accrue on Notes or portions thereof called for redemption.

 

9.                                        Denominations, Transfer, Exchange .  The Notes are in registered form without coupons in denominations of $1,000 and integral multiples of $1,000.  [This Note shall represent the aggregate principal amount of outstanding Notes from time to time endorsed hereon and the aggregate principal amount of Notes represented hereby may from time to time be reduced or increased, as appropriate, to reflect exchanges and redemptions.](1) The transfer of Notes may be registered and Notes may be exchanged as provided in the Indenture.  The Registrar and the Trustee may require a Holder, among other things, to furnish appropriate endorsements and transfer documents and the Company may require a Holder to pay any taxes and fees required by law or permitted by the Indenture.  The Company need not exchange or register the transfer of any Note or portion of a Note selected for redemption, except for the unredeemed portion of any Note being redeemed in part.  Also, the Company need not exchange or register the transfer of any Notes for a period of 15 days before a selection of Notes to be redeemed or during the period between a record date and the corresponding Interest Payment Date.

 

10.                                  Persons Deemed Owners .  The registered Holder of a Note may be treated as its owner for all purposes.

 

11.                                  Amendment, Supplement and Waiver .  Subject to certain exceptions, the Company and the Trustee may amend or supplement the Indenture or the Notes with the consent of the Holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the Notes, including Additional Notes, if any, then outstanding voting as a single class (including consents obtained in connection with a purchase of or tender offer or exchange offer for the Notes), and, subject to Sections 6.04 and 6.07 of the Indenture, any existing Default or Event of Default (except a continuing Default or Event of Default (i) in the payment of principal, premium, if any, or interest, including Special Interest, if any, on, the Notes and (ii) in respect of a covenant or provision which under the Indenture cannot be amended without the consent of each Holder) or compliance with any provision of the Indenture or the Notes may be waived with the consent of the Holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the Notes, including Additional Notes, if any, then outstanding voting as a single class (including consents obtained in connection with a purchase of or tender offer or exchange offer for the Notes).  Without the consent of any Holder, the Company and the Trustee may amend or supplement the Indenture or the Notes to cure any ambiguity, omission, defect or inconsistency, to provide for the assumption by a Surviving Person of the obligations of the Company under the Indenture, to provide for uncertificated Notes in addition to or in place of certificated Notes, to add additional Guarantees with respect to the Notes or release Subsidiary Guarantors from Subsidiary Guaranties as provided or permitted by the terms of the Indenture, to secure the Notes, to add to the covenants of the Company for the benefit of the Holders of the Notes or to surrender any right or power conferred upon the Company, to make any change that does not adversely affect the rights of any Holder, to comply with any requirement of the Commission in connection with the qualification of the Indenture under the TIA or to provide for the issuance of Additional Notes.

 

12.                                  Defaults and Remedies .  Each of the following is an Event of Default under the Indenture:  (i) failure to make the payment of any interest or Special Interest, if any, on the Notes when the same becomes due and payable, and such failure continues for a period of 30 days; (ii) failure to make the payment of any principal of, or premium, if any, on, any of the Notes when the same becomes due and payable at its Stated Maturity, upon acceleration, redemption, optional redemption, required repurchase or otherwise; (iii) failure by the Company or any Subsidiary Guarantor to comply with Section 5.01 of the Indenture; (iv) failure by the Company to comply with its obligations under Section 4.18 (other than a failure to purchase Notes) or under Section 4.10, Section 4.11, Section 4.12, Section 4.13 (other than a failure to purchase the Notes), Section 4.14, Section 4.15 or Section 4.19 of the Indenture, and such failure continues for 30 days after written notice is given to the Company as provided below;

 


(1) Include only if a global note.

 

A-6



 

(v) failure by the Company or any Subsidiary Guarantor to comply with any other covenant or agreement in the Notes or in the Indenture (other than a failure that is the subject of the foregoing clause (i), (ii), (iii) or (iv)), and such failure continues for 60 days after written notice is given to the Company as provided below; (vi) a default under any Debt by the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary that results in acceleration of the maturity of such Debt, or failure to pay any such Debt at maturity, in an aggregate amount greater than $10.0 million or its foreign currency equivalent at the time; (vii) any judgment or judgments for the payment of money in an aggregate amount in excess of $7.0 million (or its foreign currency equivalent at the time) that shall be rendered against the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary and that shall not be waived, satisfied or discharged for any period of 60 consecutive days during which a stay of enforcement shall not be in effect; (viii) certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization affecting the Company or any of its Significant Subsidiaries; and (ix) any Subsidiary Guaranty of a Subsidiary Guarantor that is a Significant Subsidiary ceases, or the Subsidiary Guaranties of any group of Subsidiary Guarantors that, when taken together, would constitute a Significant Subsidiary, cease, to be in full force and effect (other than in accordance with the terms of such Subsidiary Guaranty) or any Subsidiary Guarantor that is a Significant Subsidiary denies or disaffirms its obligations under its Subsidiary Guaranty, or any group of Subsidiary Guarantors that, when taken together, would constitute a Significant Subsidiary, deny or disaffirm their obligations under their Subsidiary Guaranties.

 

If any Event of Default occurs and is continuing, the Trustee or the Holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of the then outstanding Notes may declare all the Notes to be due and payable.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of an Event of Default arising from certain events of bankruptcy or insolvency described in the Indenture, all outstanding Notes shall become due and payable without further action or notice.  Holders may not enforce the Indenture or the Notes except as provided in the Indenture.  Subject to certain limitations, if an Event of Default occurs and is continuing, Holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the then outstanding Notes may direct the Trustee in its exercise of any trust or power. The Trustee may withhold from Holders notice of any continuing Default or Event of Default (except a Default or Event of Default relating to the payment of principal, premium, if any, or interest or Special Interest) if it determines that withholding notice is in their interest. The Holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the Notes then outstanding by notice to the Trustee may on behalf of the Holders of all of the Notes waive any existing Default or Event of Default and its consequences under the Indenture except a continuing Default or Event of Default (i) in the payment of the principal of, premium, if any, or interest, on the Notes and (ii) in respect of a covenant or provision which under the Indenture cannot be modified or amended without the consent of the Holder of each Note affected by such modification or amendment.  The Company is required to deliver to the Trustee annually a statement regarding compliance with the Indenture, and the Company is required upon becoming aware of any Default or Event of Default, to deliver to the Trustee a statement specifying such Default or Event of Default.

 

13.                                  Trustee Dealings with Company .  Subject to certain limitations, the Trustee in its individual or any other capacity may become the owner or pledgee of Notes and may otherwise deal with the Company or any Affiliate of the Company with the same rights it would have if it were not Trustee.

 

14.                                  No Recourse Against Others .  No past, present or future director, officer, employee, incorporator or stockholder of the Company or of any Subsidiary Guarantor, as such, shall have any liability for any obligations of the Company or any Subsidiary Guarantor under the Indenture, the Notes, the Guarantees or for any claim based on, in respect of, or by reason of, such obligations or their creation.  Each Holder by accepting a Note waives and releases all such liability.  The waiver and release are part of the consideration for issuance of the Notes.  The waiver and release may not be effective to waive or release the liabilities under the U.S. federal securities laws.

 

15.                                  Authentication .  This Note shall not be valid until authenticated by the manual signature of the Trustee or an authenticating agent.

 

16.                                  Abbreviations .  Customary abbreviations may be used in the name of a Holder or an assignee, such as:  TEN COM (= tenants in common), TEN ENT (= tenants by the entireties), JT TEN (= joint tenants with right of survivorship and not as tenants in common), CUST (= Custodian), and U/G/M/A (= Uniform Gifts to Minors Act).

 

17.                                  Additional Rights of Holders of Restricted Global Notes and Restricted Definitive Notes .  In addition to the rights provided to Holders of Notes under the Indenture, Holders of Restricted Global Notes and

 

A-7



 

Restricted Definitive Notes that are Initial Notes shall have all the rights set forth in the Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of November 30 , 2004, between the Company and the parties named on the signature pages thereto or, in the case of Additional Notes, Holders of Restricted Global Notes and Restricted Definitive Notes shall have the rights set forth in one or more registration rights agreement, if any, among the Company and the other parties thereto, relating to rights given by the Company to the purchasers of any Additional Notes.

 

18.                                  CUSIP Numbers .  Pursuant to a recommendation promulgated by the Committee on Uniform Security Identification Procedures, the Company has caused CUSIP numbers to be printed on the Notes and has directed the Trustee to use CUSIP numbers in notices of redemption as a convenience to Holders.  No representation is made as to the accuracy of such numbers either as printed on the Notes or as contained in any notice of redemption and reliance may be placed only on the other identification numbers placed thereon.

 

The Company shall furnish to any Holder upon written request and without charge a copy of the Indenture.  Requests may be made to:

 

Neenah Paper, Inc.

Preston Ridge III

3460 Preston Ridge Road, Suite 600

Alpharetta, Georgia 30005

Attention: General Counsel

 

19.                                  Governing Law .  The internal law of the State of New York shall govern and be used to construe this Note without giving effect to applicable principals of conflicts of law to the extent that the application of the laws of another jurisdiction would be required thereby.

 

A-8



 

Option of Holder to Elect Purchase

 

If you want to elect to have this Note purchased by the Company pursuant to Section 4.13 or 4.18 of the Indenture, check the box below:

 

o                                     Section 4.13

 

o                                     Section 4.18

 

If you want to elect to have only part of the Note purchased by the Company pursuant to Section 4.13 or Section 4.18 of the Indenture, state the amount you elect to have purchased:  $                                   

 

Date:

 

 

Your Signature:

 

 

 

(Sign exactly as your name appears on the Note)

 

 

 

Tax Identification No.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SIGNATURE GUARANTEE:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Signatures must be guaranteed by an “eligible guarantor institution” meeting the requirements of the Registrar, which requirements include membership or participation in the Security Transfer Agent Medallion Program (“STAMP”) or such other “signature guarantee program” as may be determined by the Registrar in addition to, or in substitution for, STAMP, all in accordance with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

 

A-9



 

Assignment Form

 

To assign this Note, fill in the form below:

 

(I) or (we) assign and transfer this Note to

 

 

(Insert assignee’s social security or other tax I.D. no.)

 

 

 

 

(Print or type assignee’s name, address and zip code)

 

and irrevocably appoint

 

as agent to transfer this Note on the books of the Company.  The agent may substitute another to act for him.

 

 

 

Date:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your Signature:

 

 

 

(Sign exactly as your name appears on the face of this Note)

 

 

 

Signature Guarantee:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Signatures must be guaranteed by an “eligible guarantor institution” meeting the requirements of the Registrar, which requirements include membership or participation in the Security Transfer Agent Medallion Program (“STAMP”) or such other “signature guarantee program” as may be determined by the Registrar in addition to, or in substitution for, STAMP, all in accordance with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

 

A-10



 

SCHEDULE OF EXCHANGES OF INTERESTS IN THE GLOBAL NOTE

 

The following exchanges of a part of this Global Note for an interest in another Global Note or for a Definitive Note, or exchanges of a part of another Global Note or Definitive Note for an interest in this Global Note, have been made:

 

Date of Exchange

 

Amount of
decrease in
Principal Amount
of this Global Note

 

Amount of increase
in Principal Amount
of this Global Note

 

Principal Amount
of this Global Note
following such
decrease (or
increase)

 

Signature of
authorized signatory
of Trustee or
Note Custodian

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

EXHIBIT B

 

FORM OF CERTIFICATE OF TRANSFER

 

Neenah Paper, Inc.

Preston Ridge III

3460 Preston Ridge Road, Suite 600

Alpharetta, Georgia 30005

Attention:  General Counsel

Telecopier No.: (678) 518-3283

 

The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A.

100 Ashford Center North
Suite 520
Atlanta, Georgia 30338

Attention: Corporate Trust Department

Telecopier No.: (770) 698-5195

 

Re:                                7 3 / 8 % SENIOR NOTES DUE 2014

 

Reference is hereby made to the Indenture, dated as of November 30, 2004 (the “ Indenture ”), among Neenah Paper, Inc., as issuer (the “ Company ”), the Subsidiary Guarantors party thereto and The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A., as trustee.  Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings given to them in the Indenture.

 

                                        , (the “ Transferor ”) owns and proposes to transfer the Note[s] or interest in such Note[s] specified in Annex A hereto, in the principal amount of $                   in such Note[s] or interests (the “ Transfer ”), to                                  (the “ Transferee ”), as further specified in Annex A hereto.  In connection with the Transfer, the Transferor hereby certifies that:

 

[CHECK ALL THAT APPLY]

 

1.   o   Check if Transferee will take delivery of a beneficial interest in the 144A Global Note or a Definitive Note Pursuant to Rule 144A .  The Transfer is being effected pursuant to and in accordance with Rule 144A under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “ Securities Act ”), and, accordingly, the Transferor hereby further certifies that the beneficial interest or Definitive Note is being transferred to a Person that the Transferor reasonably believed and believes is purchasing the beneficial interest or Definitive Note for its own account, or for one or more accounts with respect to which such Person exercises sole investment discretion, and such Person and each such account is a “qualified institutional buyer” within the meaning of Rule 144A in a transaction meeting the requirements of Rule 144A and such Transfer is in compliance with any applicable blue sky securities laws of any state of the United States.  Upon consummation of the proposed Transfer in accordance with the terms of the Indenture, the transferred beneficial interest or Definitive Note will be subject to the restrictions on transfer enumerated in the Private Placement Legend printed on the 144A Global Note and/or the Definitive Note and in the Indenture and the Securities Act.

 

2.   o   Check if Transferee will take delivery of a beneficial interest in the Regulation S Global Note or a Definitive Note pursuant to Regulation S .  The Transfer is being effected pursuant to and in accordance with Rule 903 or Rule 904 under the Securities Act and, accordingly, the Transferor hereby further certifies that (i) the Transfer is not being made to a Person in the United States and (x) at the time the buy order was originated, the Transferee was outside the United States or such Transferor and any Person acting on its behalf reasonably believed and believes that the Transferee was outside the United States or (y) the transaction was executed in, on or through the facilities of a designated offshore securities market and neither such Transferor nor any Person acting on its behalf knows that the transaction was prearranged with a buyer in the United States, (ii) no directed selling efforts have been made in contravention of the requirements of Rule 903(b) or Rule 904(a) of Regulation S under the Securities Act, (iii) the transaction is not part of a plan or scheme to evade the registration requirements of the Securities Act and (iv) if the proposed transfer is being made prior to the expiration of the

 

B-1



 

Distribution Compliance Period, the transfer is not being made to a U.S. Person or for the account or benefit of a U.S. Person (other than an Initial Purchaser).  Upon consummation of the proposed transfer in accordance with the terms of the Indenture, the transferred beneficial interest or Definitive Note will be subject to the restrictions on Transfer enumerated in the Private Placement Legend printed on the Regulation S Global Note, the Temporary Regulation S Global Note and/or the Definitive Note and in the Indenture and the Securities Act.

 

3.   o   Check and complete if Transferee will take delivery of a beneficial interest in the IAI Global Note or a Definitive Note pursuant to any provision of the Securities Act other than Rule 144A or Regulation S .  The Transfer is being effected in compliance with the transfer restrictions applicable to beneficial interests in Restricted Global Notes and Restricted Definitive Notes and pursuant to and in accordance with the Securities Act and any applicable blue sky securities laws of any state of the United States, and accordingly the Transferor hereby further certifies that (check one):

 

(a)                                   o   such Transfer is being effected pursuant to and in accordance with Rule 144 under the Securities Act;

 

or

 

(b)                                  o   such Transfer is being effected to the Company or a subsidiary thereof;

 

or

 

(c)                                   o   such Transfer is being effected pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act and in compliance with the prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act;

 

or

 

(d)                                  o   such Transfer is being effected to an Institutional Accredited Investor and pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act other than Rule 144A, Rule 144 or Rule 904, and the Transferor hereby further certifies that it has not engaged in any general solicitation within the meaning of Regulation D under the Securities Act and the Transfer complies with the transfer restrictions applicable to beneficial interests in a Restricted Global Note or Restricted Definitive Notes and the requirements of the exemption claimed, which certification is supported by (1) a certificate executed by the Transferee in the form of Exhibit D to the Indenture and (2) if such Transfer is in respect of a principal amount of Notes at the time of transfer of less than $250,000, an Opinion of Counsel provided by the Transferor or the Transferee (a copy of which the Transferor has attached to this certification), to the effect that such Transfer is in compliance with the Securities Act.  Upon consummation of the proposed transfer in accordance with the terms of the Indenture, the transferred beneficial interest or Definitive Note will be subject to the restrictions on transfer enumerated in the Private Placement Legend printed on the IAI Global Note and/or the Definitive Notes and in the Indenture and the Securities Act.

 

B-2



 

4.   o   Check if Transferee will take delivery of a beneficial interest in an Unrestricted Global Note or of an Unrestricted Definitive Note .

 

(a)   o   Check if Transfer is pursuant to Rule 144 .  (i) The Transfer is being effected pursuant to and in accordance with Rule 144 under the Securities Act and in compliance with the transfer restrictions contained in the Indenture and any applicable blue sky securities laws of any state of the United States and (ii) the restrictions on transfer contained in the Indenture and the Private Placement Legend are not required in order to maintain compliance with the Securities Act.  Upon consummation of the proposed Transfer in accordance with the terms of the Indenture, the transferred beneficial interest or Definitive Note will no longer be subject to the restrictions on transfer enumerated in the Private Placement Legend printed on the Restricted Global Notes, on Restricted Definitive Notes and in the Indenture.

 

(b)   o   Check if Transfer is Pursuant to Regulation S .  (i) The Transfer is being effected pursuant to and in accordance with Rule 903 or Rule 904 under the Securities Act and in compliance with the transfer restrictions contained in the Indenture and any applicable blue sky securities laws of any state of the United States and (ii) the restrictions on transfer contained in the Indenture and the Private Placement Legend are not required in order to maintain compliance with the Securities Act.  Upon consummation of the proposed Transfer in accordance with the terms of the Indenture, the transferred beneficial interest or Definitive Note will no longer be subject to the restrictions on transfer enumerated in the Private Placement Legend printed on the Restricted Global Notes, on Restricted Definitive Notes and in the Indenture.

 

(c)   o   Check if Transfer is Pursuant to Other Exemption .  (i) The Transfer is being effected pursuant to and in compliance with an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act other than Rule 144, Rule 903 or Rule 904 and in compliance with the transfer restrictions contained in the Indenture and any applicable blue sky securities laws of any State of the United States and (ii) the restrictions on transfer contained in the Indenture and the Private Placement Legend are not required in order to maintain compliance with the Securities Act.  Upon consummation of the proposed Transfer in accordance with the terms of the Indenture, the transferred beneficial interest or Definitive Note will not be subject to the restrictions on transfer enumerated in the Private Placement Legend printed on the Restricted Global Notes or Restricted Definitive Notes and in the Indenture.

 

This certificate and the statements contained herein are made for your benefit and the benefit of the Company.

 

 

 

 

 

[Insert Name of Transferor]

 

 

 

 

 

By:

 

 

 

 

Name:

 

 

Title:

 

 

 

Dated:

 

 

 

B-3



 

ANNEX A TO CERTIFICATE OF TRANSFER

 

1.                                        The Transferor owns and proposes to transfer the following:

 

[CHECK ONE OF (a) OR (b)]

 

(a)                                   o    a beneficial interest in the:

 

  (i)                                o    144A Global Note (CUSIP                   ), or

 

  (ii)                             o    Regulation S Global Note (CUSIP                   ), or

 

  (iii)                          o    IAI Global Note (CUSIP                   ); or

 

(b)                                  o    a Restricted Definitive Note.

 

2.                                        After the Transfer the Transferee will hold:

 

[CHECK ONE OF (a), (b) OR (c)]

 

(a)                                   o    a beneficial interest in the:

 

  (i)                                o    144A Global Note (CUSIP                   ), or

 

  (ii)                             o    Regulation S Global Note (CUSIP                   ), or

 

  (iii)                          o    IAI Global Note (CUSIP                   ); or

 

  (iv)                         o    Unrestricted Global Note (CUSIP                   ); or

 

(b)                                  o    a Restricted Definitive Note; or

 

(c)                                   o    an Unrestricted Definitive Note,

 

in accordance with the terms of the Indenture.

 

B-4



 

EXHIBIT C

 

FORM OF CERTIFICATE OF EXCHANGE

 

Neenah Paper, Inc.

Preston Ridge III

3460 Preston Ridge Road, Suite 600

Alpharetta, Georgia 30005

Attention: General Counsel

Telecopier No.: (678) 518-3283

 

The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A.

100 Ashford Center North
Suite 520
Atlanta, Georgia 30338

Attention: Corporate Trust Department

Telecopier No.: (770) 698-5195

 

Re:                                                   7 3 / 8 % SENIOR NOTES DUE 2014

 

Reference is hereby made to the Indenture, dated as of November 30, 2004 (the “ Indenture ”), among Neenah Paper, Inc., as issuer (the “ Company ”), the Subsidiary Guarantors party thereto and The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A., as trustee.  Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings given to them in the Indenture.

 

                          , (the “ Owner ”) owns and proposes to exchange the Note[s] or interest in such Note[s] specified herein, in the principal amount of $             in such Note[s] or interests (the “ Exchange ”).  In connection with the Exchange, the Owner hereby certifies that:

 

1.                                        Exchange of Restricted Definitive Notes or Beneficial Interests in a Restricted Global Note for Unrestricted Definitive Notes or Beneficial Interests in an Unrestricted Global Note

 

(a)   o   Check if Exchange is from beneficial interest in a Restricted Global Note to beneficial interest in an Unrestricted Global Note .  In connection with the Exchange of the Owner’s beneficial interest in a Restricted Global Note for a beneficial interest in an Unrestricted Global Note in an equal principal amount, the Owner hereby certifies (i) the beneficial interest is being acquired for the Owner’s own account without transfer, (ii) such Exchange has been effected in compliance with the transfer restrictions applicable to the Restricted Global Note and pursuant to and in accordance with the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “ Securities Act ”), (iii) the restrictions on transfer contained in the Indenture and the Private Placement Legend are not required in order to maintain compliance with the Securities Act and (iv) the beneficial interest in an Unrestricted Global Note is being acquired in compliance with any applicable blue sky securities laws of any state of the United States.

 

(b)   o   Check if Exchange is from beneficial interest in a Restricted Global Note to Unrestricted Definitive Note .  In connection with the Exchange of the Owner’s beneficial interest in a Restricted Global Note for an Unrestricted Definitive Note, the Owner hereby certifies (i) the Unrestricted Definitive Note is being acquired for the Owner’s own account without transfer, (ii) such Exchange has been effected in compliance with the transfer restrictions applicable to the Restricted Global Note and pursuant to and in accordance with the Securities Act, (iii) the restrictions on transfer contained in the Indenture and the Private Placement Legend are not required in order to maintain compliance with the Securities Act and (iv) the Unrestricted Definitive Note is being acquired in compliance with any applicable blue sky securities laws of any state of the United States.

 

(c)   o   Check if Exchange is from Restricted Definitive Note to beneficial interest in an Unrestricted Global Note .  In connection with the Owner’s Exchange of a Restricted Definitive Note for a beneficial interest in an Unrestricted Global Note, the Owner hereby certifies (i) the beneficial interest is being acquired for the Owner’s own account without transfer, (ii) such Exchange has been effected in compliance with the transfer restrictions applicable to Restricted Definitive Notes and pursuant to and in accordance with the Securities Act, (iii) the restrictions on transfer contained in the Indenture and the Private Placement Legend are not required in order to maintain compliance with the Securities Act and (iv) the beneficial interest is being acquired in compliance with any applicable blue sky securities laws of any state of the United States.

 

C-1



 

(d)   o   Check if Exchange is from Restricted Definitive Note to Unrestricted Definitive Note .  In connection with the Owner’s Exchange of a Restricted Definitive Note for an Unrestricted Definitive Note, the Owner hereby certifies (i) the Unrestricted Definitive Note is being acquired for the Owner’s own account without transfer, (ii) such Exchange has been effected in compliance with the transfer restrictions applicable to Restricted Definitive Notes and pursuant to and in accordance with the Securities Act, (iii) the restrictions on transfer contained in the Indenture and the Private Placement Legend are not required in order to maintain compliance with the Securities Act and (iv) the Unrestricted Definitive Note is being acquired in compliance with any applicable blue sky securities laws of any state of the United States.

 

2.                                        Exchange of Restricted Definitive Notes or Beneficial Interests in Restricted Global Notes for Restricted Definitive Notes or Beneficial Interests in Restricted Global Notes

 

(a)   o   Check if Exchange is from beneficial interest in a Restricted Global Note to Restricted Definitive Note .  In connection with the Exchange of the Owner’s beneficial interest in a Restricted Global Note for a Restricted Definitive Note with an equal principal amount, the Owner hereby certifies that the Restricted Definitive Note is being acquired for the Owner’s own account without transfer.  Upon consummation of the proposed Exchange in accordance with the terms of the Indenture, the Restricted Definitive Note issued will continue to be subject to the restrictions on transfer enumerated in the Private Placement Legend printed on the Restricted Definitive Note and in the Indenture and the Securities Act.

 

(b)   o   Check if Exchange is from Restricted Definitive Note to beneficial interest in a Restricted Global Note .  In connection with the Exchange of the Owner’s Restricted Definitive Note for a beneficial interest in the [CIRCLE ONE] 144A Global Note, Regulation S Global Note, IAI Global Note with an equal principal amount, the Owner hereby certifies (i) the beneficial interest is being acquired for the Owner’s own account without transfer and (ii) such Exchange has been effected in compliance with the transfer restrictions applicable to the Restricted Definitive Note and pursuant to and in accordance with the Securities Act, and in compliance with any applicable blue sky securities laws of any state of the United States.  Upon consummation of the proposed Exchange in accordance with the terms of the Indenture, the beneficial interest issued will be subject to the restrictions on transfer enumerated in the Private Placement Legend printed on the relevant Restricted Global Note and in the Indenture and the Securities Act.

 

C-2



 

This certificate and the statements contained herein are made for your benefit and the benefit of the Company.

 

 

 

 

 

[Insert Name of Transferor]

 

 

 

 

 

By:

 

 

 

 

Name:

 

 

Title:

 

 

 

Dated:

 

 

 

C-3



 

EXHIBIT D

 

FORM OF CERTIFICATE FROM
ACQUIRING INSTITUTIONAL ACCREDITED INVESTOR

 

Neenah Paper, Inc.

Preston Ridge III

3460 Preston Ridge Road, Suite 600

Alpharetta, Georgia 30005

Attention: General Counsel

Telecopier No.: (678) 518-3283

 

The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A.

100 Ashford Center North
Suite 520
Atlanta, Georgia 30338

Attention: Corporate Trust Department

Telecopier No.: (678) 698-5195

 

Re:                                7 3 / 8 % SENIOR NOTES DUE 2014

 

Reference is hereby made to the Indenture, dated as of November 30, 2004 (the “ Indenture ”), among Neenah Paper, Inc., as issuer (the “ Company ”), the Subsidiary Guarantors party thereto and The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A., as trustee.  Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings given to them in the Indenture.

 

In connection with our proposed purchase of $             aggregate principal amount of:

 

(a)   o   a beneficial interest in a Global Note, or

 

(b)   o   a Definitive Note,

 

we confirm that:

 

1.                                        We understand that any subsequent transfer of the Notes or any interest therein is subject to certain restrictions and conditions set forth in the Indenture and the undersigned agrees to be bound by, and not to resell, pledge or otherwise transfer the Notes or any interest therein except in compliance with, such restrictions and conditions and the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “ Securities Act ”).

 

2.                                        We understand that the offer and sale of the Notes have not been registered under the Securities Act, and that the Notes and any interest therein may not be offered or sold except as permitted in the following sentence.  We agree, on our own behalf and on behalf of any accounts for which we are acting as hereinafter stated, that if we should sell the Notes or any interest therein, we will do so only (A) to the Company or any subsidiary thereof, (B) in accordance with Rule 144A under the Securities Act to a “qualified institutional buyer” (as defined therein), (C) to an institutional “accredited investor” (as defined below) that, prior to such transfer, furnishes (or has furnished on its behalf by a U.S. broker-dealer) to you and to the Company a signed letter substantially in the form of this letter and, if such transfer is in respect of a principal amount of Notes, at the time of transfer of less than $250,000, an Opinion of Counsel in form reasonably acceptable to the Company to the effect that such transfer is in compliance with the Securities Act, (D) outside the United States in accordance with Rule 904 of Regulation S under the Securities Act, (E) pursuant to the provisions of Rule 144(k) under the Securities Act or (F) pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act, and we further agree to provide to any Person purchasing the Definitive Note or beneficial interest in a Global Note from us in a transaction meeting the requirements of clauses (A) through (E) of this paragraph a notice advising such purchaser that resales thereof are restricted as stated herein.

 

3.                                        We understand that, on any proposed resale of the Notes or beneficial interest therein, we will be required to furnish to you and the Company such certifications, legal opinions and other information as you and the Company may reasonably require to confirm that the proposed sale complies with the foregoing restrictions.  We further understand that the Notes purchased by us will bear a legend to the foregoing effect.

 

D-1



 

4.                                        We are an institutional “accredited investor” (as defined in Rule 501(a)(1), (2), (3) or (7) of Regulation D under the Securities Act) and have such knowledge and experience in financial and business matters as to be capable of evaluating the merits and risks of our investment in the Notes, and we and any accounts for which we are acting are each able to bear the economic risk of our or its investment.  We have had access to such financial and other information and have been afforded the opportunity to ask such questions of representatives of the Company and receive answers thereto, as we deem necessary in connection with our decision to purchase the Notes.

 

5.                                        We are acquiring the Notes or beneficial interest therein purchased by us for our own account or for one or more accounts (each of which is an institutional “accredited investor”) as to each of which we exercise sole investment discretion and are not acquiring the Notes with a view to any distribution thereof in a transaction that would violate the Securities Act of the securities laws of any state of the United States or any other applicable jurisdiction.

 

You and the Company are entitled to rely upon this letter and are irrevocably authorized to produce this letter or a copy hereof to any interested party in any administrative or legal proceedings or official inquiry with respect to the matters covered hereby.  This letter shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York.

 

 

 

 

 

[Insert Name of Accredited Investor]

 

 

 

 

 

By:

 

 

 

 

Name:

 

 

Title:

 

 

Dated:

 

 

 

 

 

D-2



 

EXHIBIT E

 

FORM OF NOTATION OF SUBSIDIARY GUARANTY

 

For value received, each Subsidiary Guarantor (which term includes any successor Person under the Indenture), jointly and severally, unconditionally guarantees, to the extent set forth in the Indenture and subject to the provisions in the Indenture, dated as of November 30, 2004 (the “ Indenture ”), among Neenah Paper, Inc., as issuer (the “ Company ”), the Subsidiary Guarantors listed on the signature pages thereto and The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A., as trustee (the “ Trustee ”), (a) the due and punctual payment of the principal of, premium, if any, and interest and Special Interest, if any, on, the Notes, subject to any applicable grace period, whether at maturity, by acceleration, redemption or otherwise, the due and punctual payment of interest on overdue principal and premium, if any, and, to the extent permitted by law, interest on the Notes, and the due and punctual performance of all other obligations of the Company to the Holders or the Trustee all in accordance with the terms of the Indenture and (b) in case of any extension of time of payment or renewal of any Notes or any of such other obligations, that the same will be promptly paid in full when due or performed in accordance with the terms of the extension or renewal, whether at stated maturity, by acceleration, redemption or otherwise.  The obligations of the Subsidiary Guarantors to the Holders of Notes and to the Trustee pursuant to the Subsidiary Guaranty and the Indenture are expressly set forth in Article 10 of the Indenture and reference is hereby made to the Indenture for the precise terms of the Subsidiary Guaranty.  [The effectiveness of this Subsidiary Guaranty with respect to the U.S. Subsidiary Guarantors shall be expressly subject to the provisions of Section 10.03(f) of the Indenture.]  This Subsidiary Guaranty is subject to release as and to the extent set forth in Sections 8.02, 8.03 and 10.05 of the Indenture.  Each Holder of a Note, by accepting the same agrees to and shall be bound by such provisions.  Capitalized terms used herein and not defined are used herein as so defined in the Indenture.

 

 

 

[NAME OF SUBSIDIARY GUARANTORS]

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

 

 

 

 

 Name:

 

 

 Title:

 



 

EXHIBIT F

 

OFFICERS’ CERTIFICATE PURSUANT TO SECTION 10.03 OF THE INDENTURE

 

The undersigned, [               ], the duly qualified and elected [Title] of Neenah Paper, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the Company ), and [                 ], the duly qualified and elected [Title] of the Company, pursuant to Section [    ] of that certain Indenture, dated as of November [30], 2004 (the “Indenture” ), among the Company, the Company’s direct and indirect subsidiaries set forth on the signature page thereto (the “Guarantors” ) and The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A., as trustee (the “Trustee” ), do hereby certify to the Trustee, on behalf of the Company as follows:

 

1.                                        The U.S. Subsidiary Stock Contribution has taken place.

 

2.                                        The Guarantees of the Notes by the U.S. Subsidiary Guarantors, pursuant to Section [    ] of the Indenture, have become effective.

 

Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in the Indenture.

 

[Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank]

 

F-1



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have duly executed this Officers’ Certificate as of the [   ] day of November, 2004.

 

 

By:

 

 

 

 

Name:

 

 

Title:

 

 

 

 

 

By:

 

 

 

 

Name:

 

 

Title:

 

F-2



 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

ARTICLE 1.    DEFINITIONS AND INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

 

 

 

Section 1.01.

Definitions

 

 

 

 

Section 1.02.

Other Definitions

 

 

 

 

Section 1.03.

Incorporation by Reference of Trust Indenture Act

 

 

 

 

Section 1.04.

Rules of Construction

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE 2.    THE NOTES

 

 

 

 

Section 2.01.

Form and Dating

 

 

 

 

Section 2.02.

Execution and Authentication

 

 

 

 

Section 2.03.

Registrar and Paying Agent

 

 

 

 

Section 2.04.

Paying Agent to Hold Money in Trust

 

 

 

 

Section 2.05.

Holder Lists

 

 

 

 

Section 2.06.

Transfer and Exchange

 

 

 

 

Section 2.07.

Replacement Notes

 

 

 

 

Section 2.08.

Outstanding Notes

 

 

 

 

Section 2.09.

Treasury Notes

 

 

 

 

Section 2.10.

Temporary Notes

 

 

 

 

Section 2.11.

Cancellation

 

 

 

 

Section 2.12.

Payment of Interest; Defaulted Interest.

 

 

 

 

Section 2.13.

CUSIP or ISIN Numbers

 

 

 

 

Section 2.14.

Special Interest

 

 

 

 

Section 2.15.

Issuance of Additional Notes

 

 

 

 

Section 2.16.

Record Date

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE 3.    REDEMPTION AND PREPAYMENT

 

 

 

 

Section 3.01.

Notices to Trustee

 

 

 

 

Section 3.02.

Selection of Notes to Be Redeemed

 

 

 

 

Section 3.03.

Notice of Redemption

 

 

 

 

Section 3.04.

Effect of Notice of Redemption

 

 

 

 

Section 3.05.

Deposit of Redemption Price

 

 

 

 

Section 3.06.

Notes Redeemed in Part

 

 

 

 

Section 3.07.

Optional Redemption

 

 

 

 

Section 3.08.

Mandatory Redemption

 

 

 

 

Section 3.09.

Offer To Purchase

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE 4.    COVENANTS

 

 

 

 

Section 4.01.

Payment of Notes

 

 

i



 

Section 4.02.

Maintenance of Office or Agency

 

 

 

 

Section 4.03.

SEC Reports

 

 

 

 

Section 4.04.

Compliance Certificate

 

 

 

 

Section 4.05.

Taxes

 

 

 

 

Section 4.06.

Stay, Extension and Usury Laws

 

 

 

 

Section 4.07.

Corporate Existence

 

 

 

 

Section 4.08.

Payments for Consents

 

 

 

 

Section 4.09.

Covenant Suspension

 

 

 

 

Section 4.10.

Limitation on Debt.

 

 

 

 

Section 4.11.

Limitation on Restricted Payments

 

 

 

 

Section 4.12.

Limitation on Liens

 

 

 

 

Section 4.13.

Limitation on Asset Sales

 

 

 

 

Section 4.14.

Limitation on Restrictions on Distributions from Restricted Subsidiaries

 

 

 

 

Section 4.15.

Limitation on Transactions with Affiliates

 

 

 

 

Section 4.16.

Limitation on Sale and Leaseback Transactions

 

 

 

 

Section 4.17.

Designation of Restricted and Unrestricted Subsidiaries

 

 

 

 

Section 4.18.

Repurchase at the Option of Holders Upon a Change of Control

 

 

 

 

Section 4.19.

Future Subsidiary Guarantors.

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE 5.    SUCCESSORS

 

 

 

 

Section 5.01.

Merger, Consolidation and Sale of Property

 

 

 

 

Section 5.02.

Successor Corporation Substituted

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE 6.    DEFAULTS AND REMEDIES

 

 

 

 

Section 6.01.

Events of Default

 

 

 

 

Section 6.02.

Acceleration

 

 

 

 

Section 6.03.

Other Remedies

 

 

 

 

Section 6.04.

Waiver of Defaults

 

 

 

 

Section 6.05.

Control by Majority

 

 

 

 

Section 6.06.

Limitation on Suits

 

 

 

 

Section 6.07.

Rights of Holders to Receive Payment

 

 

 

 

Section 6.08.

Collection Suit by Trustee

 

 

 

 

Section 6.09.

Trustee May File Proofs of Claim

 

 

 

 

Section 6.10.

Priorities

 

 

 

 

Section 6.11.

Undertaking for Costs

 

 

ii



 

ARTICLE 7.    TRUSTEE

 

 

 

 

Section 7.01.

Duties of Trustee

 

 

 

 

Section 7.02.

Rights of Trustee

 

 

 

 

Section 7.03.

Individual Rights of Trustee

 

 

 

 

Section 7.04.

Trustee’s Disclaimer

 

 

 

 

Section 7.05.

Notice of Defaults

 

 

 

 

Section 7.06.

Reports by Trustee to Holders

 

 

 

 

Section 7.07.

Compensation and Indemnity

 

 

 

 

Section 7.08.

Replacement of Trustee

 

 

 

 

Section 7.09.

Successor Trustee by Merger, etc.

 

 

 

 

Section 7.10.

Eligibility; Disqualification

 

 

 

 

Section 7.11.

Preferential Collection of Claims Against Company

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE 8.    LEGAL DEFEASANCE AND COVENANT DEFEASANCE

 

 

 

 

Section 8.01.

Option to Effect Legal Defeasance or Covenant Defeasance

 

 

 

 

Section 8.02.

Legal Defeasance and Discharge

 

 

 

 

Section 8.03.

Covenant Defeasance

 

 

 

 

Section 8.04.

Conditions to Legal or Covenant Defeasance

 

 

 

 

Section 8.05.

Deposited Cash and U.S. Government Obligations to be Held in Trust; Other Miscellaneous Provisions

 

 

 

 

Section 8.06.

Repayment to the Company

 

 

 

 

Section 8.07.

Reinstatement

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE 9.    AMENDMENT, SUPPLEMENT AND WAIVER

 

 

 

 

Section 9.01.

Without Consent of Holders of Notes

 

 

 

 

Section 9.02.

With Consent of Holders of Notes

 

 

 

 

Section 9.03.

Compliance with Trust Indenture Act

 

 

 

 

Section 9.04.

Revocation and Effect of Consents

 

 

 

 

Section 9.05.

Notation on or Exchange of Notes

 

 

 

 

Section 9.06.

Trustee to Sign Amendments, etc.

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE 10.    SUBSIDIARY GUARANTIES

 

 

 

 

Section 10.01.

Subsidiary Guaranty

 

 

 

 

Section 10.02.

Limitation on Subsidiary Guarantor Liability

 

 

 

 

Section 10.03.

Execution, Delivery and Effectiveness of Subsidiary Guaranties

 

 

 

 

Section 10.04.

Subsidiary Guarantors May Consolidate, etc., on Certain Terms

 

 

 

 

Section 10.05.

Releases Following Merger, Consolidation or Sale of Assets, Etc.

 

 

iii



 

ARTICLE 11.    SATISFACTION AND DISCHARGE

 

 

 

 

Section 11.01.

Satisfaction and Discharge

 

 

 

 

Section 11.02.

Deposited Cash to be Held in Trust; Other Miscellaneous Provisions

 

 

 

 

Section 11.03.

Repayment to Company

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE 12.    MISCELLANEOUS

 

 

 

 

Section 12.01.

Trust Indenture Act Controls

 

 

 

 

Section 12.02.

Notices

 

 

 

 

Section 12.03.

Communication by Holders of Notes with Other Holders of Notes

 

 

 

 

Section 12.04.

Certificate and Opinion as to Conditions Precedent

 

 

 

 

Section 12.05.

Statements Required in Certificate or Opinion

 

 

 

 

Section 12.06.

Rules by Trustee and Agents

 

 

 

 

Section 12.07.

No Personal Liability of Directors, Officers, Employees and Stockholders

 

 

 

 

Section 12.08.

Governing Law

 

 

 

 

Section 12.09.

No Adverse Interpretation of Other Agreements

 

 

 

 

Section 12.10.

Successors

 

 

 

 

Section 12.11.

Severability

 

 

 

 

Section 12.12.

Consent to Jurisdiction and Service of Process

 

 

 

 

Section 12.13.

Counterpart Originals

 

 

 

 

Section 12.14.

Table of Contents, Headings, etc.

 

 

 

 

Section 12.15.

Qualification of this Indenture.

 

 

iv



 

CROSS-REFERENCE TABLE

 

TIA Section
Reference

 

Indenture
Section

 

 

 

310(a)(1)

 

7.10

(a)(2)

 

7.10

(a)(3)

 

N.A.

(a)(4)

 

N.A.

(a)(5)

 

7.10

(b)

 

7.10

(c)

 

N.A.

311(a)

 

7.11

(b)

 

7.11

(c)

 

N.A.

312(a)

 

2.05

(b)

 

12.03

(c)

 

12.03

313(a)

 

7.06

(b)(1)

 

N.A.

(b)(2)

 

7.06

(c)

 

7.06, 12.02

(d)

 

7.06

314(a)

 

4.04, 12.05

(b)

 

N.A.

(c)(1)

 

N.A.

(c)(2)

 

N.A

(c)(3)

 

N.A.

(d)

 

N.A.

(e)

 

12.05

315(a)

 

7.02

(b)

 

7.02

(c)

 

7.02

(d)

 

7.02

(e)

 

7.02

316(a) (last sentence)

 

N.A.

(a)(1)(A)

 

N.A.

(a)(1)(B)

 

N.A.

(a)(2)

 

N.A.

(b)

 

N.A.

317(a)(1)

 

N.A.

(a)(2)

 

N.A.

(b)

 

N.A.

318(a)

 

N.A.

 


N.A. means Not Applicable.

 

Note:  This Cross-Reference Table shall not, for any purpose, be deemed to be part of this Indenture.

 

v


Exhibit 10.9

 

EXECUTION COPY

 

Neenah Paper, Inc.

 

7 3 / 8 % Senior Notes due 2014

 

REGISTRATION RIGHTS AGREEMENT

 

November 30, 2004

Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
Goldman, Sachs & Co.

J.P. Morgan Securities Inc.

As Representatives of the Initial Purchasers

 

c/o Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
388 Greenwich Street
New York, New York 10013

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

Neenah Paper, Inc., a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware (the “Company”), proposes to issue and sell to certain purchasers (the “Initial Purchasers”), for whom you (the “Representatives”) are acting as representatives, its 7 3 / 8 % Senior Notes due 2014 (the “Notes,” and together with the Guaranties (as defined below), the “Securities”), upon the terms set forth in the Purchase Agreement, dated November 18, 2004, among the Company, the Guarantors (as defined below) and the Representatives (the “Purchase Agreement”), relating to the initial placement (the “Initial Placement”) of the Securities.  The Notes will be guaranteed (the “Guaranties”) by each of the entities which, upon consummation of the Spinoff (as defined below), will be direct and indirect subsidiaries of the Company and which are set forth on the signature page hereto (the “Guarantors”).  To induce the Initial Purchasers to enter into the Purchase Agreement and to satisfy a condition to your obligations thereunder, the Company and the Guarantors agree with you for your benefit and the benefit of the holders from time to time of the Securities (including the Initial Purchasers) (each a “Holder” and, collectively, the “Holders”), as follows:

 

1.                                        Definitions .  Capitalized terms used herein without definition shall have their respective meanings set forth in the Purchase Agreement.  As used in this Agreement, the following capitalized defined terms shall have the following meanings:

 

“Act” shall mean the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission promulgated thereunder.

 

“Affiliate” shall have the meaning specified in Rule 405 under the Act, and the terms “controlling” and “controlled” shall have meanings correlative thereto.

 



 

“Broker-Dealer” shall mean any broker or dealer registered as such under the Exchange Act.

 

“Business Day” shall mean any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday or a legal holiday or a day on which banking institutions or trust companies are authorized or obligated by law to close in The City of New York.

 

“Closing Date” shall mean the date of the first issuance of the Securities.

 

“Commission” shall mean the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

“Company” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble hereto.

 

“Deferral Period” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 4(k)(ii) hereof.

 

“Exchange Act” shall mean the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission promulgated thereunder.

 

“Exchange Offer Registration Period” shall mean the 90-day period following the consummation of the Registered Exchange Offer, exclusive of any Deferral Period and any period during which any stop order shall be in effect suspending the effectiveness of the Exchange Offer Registration Statement.

 

“Exchange Offer Registration Statement” shall mean a registration statement of the Company and the Guarantors on an appropriate form under the Act with respect to the Registered Exchange Offer, all amendments and supplements to such registration statement, including post-effective amendments thereto, in each case including the Prospectus contained therein, all exhibits thereto and all material incorporated by reference therein.

 

“Exchanging Dealer” shall mean any Holder (which may include any Initial Purchaser) that is a Broker-Dealer and elects to exchange for New Securities any Securities that  it acquired for its own account as a result of market-making activities or other trading activities (but not directly from the Company or any of the Guarantors or any Affiliate of the Company or any of the Guarantors).

 

“Final Memorandum” shall mean the offering memorandum, dated November 18, 2004, relating to the Securities, including any and all exhibits thereto and any information incorporated by reference therein as of such date.

 

“Guaranties” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble hereto.

 

“Guarantors” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble hereto.

 

“Holder” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble hereto.

 

“Indenture” shall mean the Indenture relating to the Securities, dated as of November 30, 2004, among the Company, the Guarantors and The Bank of New York Trust

 

2



 

Company, N.A., as trustee, as the same may be amended, supplemented, waived or otherwise modified from time to time in accordance with the terms thereof.

 

“Initial Placement” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble hereto.

 

“Initial Purchasers” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble hereto.

 

“Losses” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 6(d) hereof.

 

“Majority Holders” shall mean, on any date, Holders of at least a majority of the aggregate principal amount of Securities or New Securities registered under a Registration Statement.

 

“Managing Underwriters” shall mean the investment banker or investment bankers and manager or managers that administer an underwritten offering, if any, under a Registration Statement.

 

“NASD Rules” shall mean the Conduct Rules and the By-Laws of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc.

 

“New Securities” shall mean debt securities of the Company and related guaranties of the Guarantors identical in all material respects to the Securities (except that the New Securities will not contain terms with respect to transfer restrictions and to be issued under the Indenture.

 

“Notes” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble hereto.

 

“Prospectus” shall mean the prospectus included in any Registration Statement (including, without limitation, a prospectus that discloses information previously omitted from a prospectus filed as part of an effective registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A under the Act), as amended or supplemented by any prospectus supplement, with respect to the terms of the offering of any portion of the Securities or the New Securities covered by such Registration Statement, all amendments and supplements thereto, all exhibits thereto and all material incorporated by reference therein.

 

“Purchase Agreement” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble hereto.

 

“Registered Exchange Offer” shall mean the proposed offer of the Company and the Guarantors to issue and deliver to the Holders of the Securities that are not prohibited by any law or policy of the Commission from participating in such offer, in exchange for the Securities, a like aggregate principal amount of the New Securities.

 

“Registrable Securities” shall mean (i) Securities other than those that (A) have been registered under a Registration Statement, (B) have been distributed to the public pursuant to Rule 144 under the Act or any successor rule or regulation thereto that may be adopted by the Commission or (C) are eligible to be distributed to the public pursuant to Rule 144(k) under the Act or any successor rule or regulation thereto that may be adopted by the Commission and (ii)

 

3



 

any New Securities held by an Exchanging Dealer, the resale of which by such Exchanging Dealer requires compliance with the prospectus delivery requirements of the Act.

 

“Registration Default” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 8 hereof.

 

“Registration Statement” shall mean any Exchange Offer Registration Statement or Shelf Registration Statement that covers any of the Securities or the New Securities pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement, all amendments and supplements to such registration statement, including post-effective amendments, in each case including the Prospectus contained therein, all exhibits thereto and all material incorporated by reference therein.

 

“Representatives” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble hereto.

 

“Securities” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble hereto.

 

“Shelf Registration” shall mean a registration effected pursuant to Section 3 hereof.

 

“Shelf Registration Period” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3(b)(ii) hereof.

 

“Shelf Registration Statement” shall mean a “shelf” registration statement of the Company and the Guarantors pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 hereof which covers some or all of the Securities or New Securities, as applicable, on an appropriate form under Rule 415 under the Act, or any similar rule that may be adopted by the Commission, all amendments and supplements to such registration statement, including post-effective amendments, in each case including the Prospectus contained therein, all exhibits thereto and all material incorporated by reference therein.

 

“Special Interest” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 8 hereof.

 

“Spinoff” shall mean the distribution of all of the outstanding capital stock of the Company by its parent, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, a Delaware corporation (“Kimberly-Clark”), to Kimberly-Clark’s shareholders.

 

“Trustee” shall mean the trustee with respect to the Securities and the New Securities under the Indenture.

 

“Trust Indenture Act” shall mean the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission promulgated thereunder.

 

“underwriter” shall mean any underwriter of Securities in connection with an offering thereof under a Shelf Registration Statement.

 

2.                                        Registered Exchange Offer .

 

(a)                                   The Company and the Guarantors shall prepare and, not later than 180 days after the Closing Date (or if such 180th day is not a Business Day, the next succeeding

 

4



 

Business Day), shall file with the Commission the Exchange Offer Registration Statement with respect to the Registered Exchange Offer.  The Company and the Guarantors shall use their respective reasonable best efforts to cause the Exchange Offer Registration Statement to be declared effective under the Act not later than 270 days after the Closing Date (or if such 270th day is not a Business Day, the next succeeding Business Day).

 

(b)                                  Upon the effectiveness of the Exchange Offer Registration Statement, the Company and the Guarantors shall promptly commence the Registered Exchange Offer, it being the objective of such Registered Exchange Offer to enable each Holder electing to exchange Securities for New Securities (assuming that such Holder is not an Affiliate of the Company or any of the Guarantors, acquires the New Securities in the ordinary course of such Holder’s business, has no arrangements with any person to participate in the distribution of the New Securities and is not prohibited by any law or policy of the Commission from participating in the Registered Exchange Offer) to trade such New Securities from and after their receipt without any limitations or restrictions under the Act and without material restrictions under the securities laws of a substantial proportion of the several states of the United States.

 

(c)                                   In connection with the Registered Exchange Offer, the Company and the Guarantors shall:

 

(i)                                      mail to each Holder a copy of the Prospectus forming part of the Exchange Offer Registration Statement, together with an appropriate letter of transmittal and related documents;

 

(ii)                                   keep the Registered Exchange Offer open for not less than 30 days after the date notice thereof is mailed to the Holders and not more than 45 days after the Exchange Offer Registration Statement is declared effective (or, in each case, longer if required by applicable law);

 

(iii)                                use their respective reasonable best efforts to keep the Exchange Offer Registration Statement continuously effective under the Act, supplemented and amended as required under the Act, to ensure that it is available for sales of New Securities by Exchanging Dealers during the Exchange Offer Registration Period;

 

(iv)                               utilize the services of a depositary for the Registered Exchange Offer with an address in the Borough of Manhattan in New York City, which may be the Trustee or an Affiliate of the Trustee;

 

(v)                                  permit Holders to withdraw tendered Securities at any time prior to 12:00 midnight, New York City time, at the end of the last Business Day on which the Registered Exchange Offer is open;

 

(vi)                               prior to the effectiveness of the Exchange Offer Registration Statement, provide a supplemental letter to the Commission (A) stating that the Company and the Guarantors are conducting the Registered Exchange Offer in reliance on the position of the Commission in Exxon Capital Holdings Corporation (pub. avail. May 13, 1988) and Morgan Stanley and Co., Inc. (pub.

 

5



 

avail. June 5, 1991); and (B) including a representation that the Company and the Guarantors have not entered into any arrangement or understanding with any person to distribute the New Securities to be received in the Registered Exchange Offer and that, to the best of the Company’s and the Guarantors’ information and belief, each Holder participating in the Registered Exchange Offer is acquiring the New Securities in the ordinary course of business and has no arrangement or understanding with any person to participate in the distribution of the New Securities; and

 

(vii)                            comply in all material respects with all applicable laws.

 

(d)                                  As soon as practicable after the close of the Registered Exchange Offer, the Company and the Guarantors shall:

 

(i)                                      accept for exchange all Securities properly tendered and not validly withdrawn pursuant to the Registered Exchange Offer;

 

(ii)                                   deliver to the Trustee for cancellation in accordance with Section 4(s) all Securities so accepted for exchange; and

 

(iii)                                cause the Trustee promptly to authenticate and deliver to each Holder of Securities a principal amount of New Securities equal to the principal amount of the Securities of such Holder so accepted for exchange.

 

(e)                                   Each Holder hereby acknowledges and agrees that any Broker-Dealer and any such Holder using the Registered Exchange Offer to participate in a distribution of the New Securities (x) could not under Commission policy as in effect on the date of this Agreement rely on the position of the Commission in Exxon Capital Holdings Corporation (pub. avail. May 13, 1988) and Morgan Stanley and Co., Inc. (pub. avail. June 5, 1991), as interpreted in the Commission’s letter to Shearman & Sterling dated July 2, 1993 and similar no-action letters; and (y) must comply with the registration and prospectus delivery requirements of the Act in connection with any secondary resale transaction, which must be covered by an effective registration statement containing the selling security holder information required by Item 507 or 508, as applicable, of Regulation S-K under the Act if the resales are of New Securities obtained by such Holder in exchange for Securities acquired by such Holder directly from the Company, any of the Guarantors or any of their respective Affiliates.  Accordingly, each Holder participating in the Registered Exchange Offer shall be required to represent to the Company that, at the time of the consummation of the Registered Exchange Offer:

 

(i)                                      any New Securities received by such Holder will be acquired in the ordinary course of business;

 

(ii)                                   such Holder has, and will have, no arrangement or understanding with any person to participate in the distribution of the Securities or the New Securities within the meaning of the Act;

 

(iii)                                such Holder is not an Affiliate of the Company or any of the Guarantors;

 

6



 

(iv)                            such Holder did not acquire the Securities directly from the Company, any of the Guarantors or any of their respective Affiliates;

 

(v)                                if such Holder is an Exchanging Dealer, it will deliver a Prospectus in connection with any resale of the New Securities; and

 

(vi)                             such Holder is not acting on behalf of any person who, to its knowledge, could not truthfully make the foregoing representations.

 

(f)                                     If any Initial Purchaser determines that it is not eligible to participate in the Registered Exchange Offer with respect to the exchange of Securities constituting any portion of an unsold allotment, at the request of such Initial Purchaser, the Company and the Guarantors shall issue and deliver to such Initial Purchaser or the person purchasing New Securities registered under a Shelf Registration Statement as contemplated by Section 3 hereof from such Initial Purchaser, in exchange for such Securities, a like principal amount of New Securities.  The Company and the Guarantors shall use their respective reasonable best efforts to cause the CUSIP Service Bureau to issue the same CUSIP number for such New Securities as for New Securities issued pursuant to the Registered Exchange Offer.

 

3.                                        Shelf Registration .

 

(a)                                   If (i) due to any change in law or applicable interpretations thereof by the Commission’s staff, the Company and the Guarantors determine upon advice of their outside counsel that they are not permitted to effect the Registered Exchange Offer as contemplated by Section 2 hereof; or (ii) for any other reason the Exchange Offer Registration Statement is not declared effective by the Commission within 270 days after the Closing Date or the Registered Exchange Offer is not consummated within 45 days after the Exchange Offer Registration Statement is declared effective; or (iii) any Initial Purchaser so requests with respect to Securities that are not eligible to be exchanged for New Securities in the Registered Exchange Offer and that are held by it following consummation of the Registered Exchange Offer; or (iv) any Holder (other than an Initial Purchaser) is not eligible to participate in the Registered Exchange Offer or does not receive freely tradeable New Securities in the Registered Exchange Offer other than by reason of such Holder being an Affiliate of the Company or any of the Guarantors (it being understood that the requirement that an Exchanging Dealer deliver a Prospectus in connection with sales of New Securities acquired in the Registered Exchange Offer in exchange for Securities acquired as a result of market-making activities or other trading activities shall not result in such New Securities being not “freely tradeable”); or (v) in the case of any Initial Purchaser that participates in the Registered Exchange Offer, such Initial Purchaser does not receive freely tradeable New Securities in exchange for Securities constituting any portion of an unsold allotment (it being understood that the requirement that an Initial Purchaser deliver a Prospectus containing the information required by Item 507 or 508 of Regulation S-K under the Act in connection with sales of New Securities acquired in exchange for such Securities shall not result in such New Securities being not “freely tradeable”), the Company and the Guarantors shall effect a Shelf Registration Statement in accordance with subsection (b) below.

 

(b)                                  (i)                                      The Company and the Guarantors shall, as promptly as practicable, (but in no event more than 180 days after so required or requested, pursuant to this

 

7



 

Section 3), file with the Commission and shall use their respective reasonable best efforts to cause to be declared effective under the Act within 270 days after so required or requested, a Shelf Registration Statement relating to the offer and sale of the Securities or the New Securities, as applicable, by the Holders thereof from time to time in accordance with the methods of distribution elected by such Holders and set forth in such Shelf Registration Statement; provided, however, that no Holder (other than an Initial Purchaser) shall be entitled to have the Securities held by it covered by such Shelf Registration Statement unless such Holder agrees in writing to be bound by all of the provisions of this Agreement applicable to such Holder; and provided further, however, that with respect to New Securities received by an Initial Purchaser in exchange for Securities constituting any portion of an unsold allotment, the Company and the Guarantors may, if permitted by current interpretations by the Commission’s staff, file a post-effective amendment to the Exchange Offer Registration Statement containing the information required by Item 507 or 508 of Regulation S-K under the Act, as applicable, in satisfaction of their obligations under this subsection with respect thereto, and any such Exchange Offer Registration Statement, as so amended, shall be referred to herein as, and governed by the provisions herein applicable to, a Shelf Registration Statement.

 

(ii)                                   The Company and the Guarantors shall use their respective reasonable best efforts to keep the Shelf Registration Statement continuously effective, supplemented and amended as required by the Act, in order to permit the Prospectus forming part thereof to be usable by Holders for a period (the “Shelf Registration Period”) from the date the Shelf Registration Statement is declared effective by the Commission until the earlier of (A) the second anniversary thereof, (B) the date upon which all the Securities or New Securities, as applicable, covered by the Shelf Registration Statement have been sold pursuant to the Shelf Registration Statement, or (C) the Securities or New Securities, as applicable, cease to be outstanding.  The Company and the Guarantors shall be deemed not to have used their respective reasonable best efforts to keep the Shelf Registration Statement effective during the Shelf Registration Period if they voluntarily take any action that would result in Holders of Securities covered thereby not being able to offer and sell such Securities at any time during the Shelf Registration Period, unless such action is (x) required by applicable law or otherwise undertaken by the Company and the Guarantors in good faith and for valid business reasons (not including avoidance of the Company’s and the Guarantors’ obligations hereunder), including the acquisition or divestiture of assets, and (y) permitted pursuant to Section 4(k)(ii) hereof.

 

(iii)                                The Company and the Guarantors shall cause the Shelf Registration Statement and the related Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto, as of the effective date of the Shelf Registration Statement or such amendment or supplement, (A) to comply in all material respects with the applicable requirements of the Act; and (B) not to contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated

 

8



 

therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein (in the case of the Prospectus, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading.

 

4.                                        Additional Registration Procedures .  In connection with any Shelf Registration Statement and, to the extent applicable, any Exchange Offer Registration Statement, the following provisions shall apply.

 

(a)                                   The Company and the Guarantors shall:

 

(i)                                      furnish to each of the Representatives and to counsel for the Holders, not less than five Business Days prior to the filing thereof with the Commission, a copy of any Exchange Offer Registration Statement and any Shelf Registration Statement, and each amendment thereof and each amendment or supplement, if any, to the Prospectus included therein (including, upon request, all documents incorporated by reference therein after the initial filing) and shall use their respective reasonable best efforts to reflect in each such document, when so filed with the Commission, such comments as the Representatives reasonably propose;

 

(ii)                                   include the information set forth in Annex A hereto on the facing page of the Exchange Offer Registration Statement, in Annex B hereto in the forepart of the Exchange Offer Registration Statement in a section setting forth details of the Exchange Offer, in Annex C hereto in the underwriting or plan of distribution section of the Prospectus contained in the Exchange Offer Registration Statement, and in Annex D hereto in the letter of transmittal delivered pursuant to the Registered Exchange Offer;

 

(iii)                                if requested by an Initial Purchaser, include the information required by Item 507 or 508 of Regulation S-K under the Act, as applicable, in the Prospectus contained in the Exchange Offer Registration Statement; and

 

(iv)                               in the case of a Shelf Registration Statement, include the names of the Holders that propose to sell Securities pursuant to the Shelf Registration Statement as selling security holders and the other information required by Item 507 of Regulation S-K under the Act.

 

(b)                                  The Company and the Guarantors shall ensure that:

 

(i)                                      any Registration Statement and any amendment thereto and any Prospectus forming a part thereof and any amendment or supplement thereto complies in all material respects with the Act; and

 

(ii)                                   any Registration Statement and any amendment thereto does not, when it becomes effective, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein (in the case of the Prospectus, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading (other than

 

9



 

information relating to a Holder furnished to the Company by or on behalf of such Holder specifically for inclusion therein).

 

(c)                                   The Company and the Guarantors shall advise the Representatives, the Holders of Securities covered by any Shelf Registration Statement and any Exchanging Dealer under any Exchange Offer Registration Statement that has provided in writing to the Company and the Guarantors a telephone or facsimile number and address for notices, and, if requested by any Representative or any such Holder or Exchanging Dealer, shall confirm such advice in writing (which notice pursuant to clauses (ii) through (v) hereof shall be accompanied by an instruction to suspend the use of the Prospectus until the Company and the Guarantors shall have remedied the basis for such suspension):

 

(i)                                      when the Registration Statement and any amendment thereto has been filed with the Commission and when the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto has become effective;

 

(ii)                                   of any request by the Commission for any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or for additional information;

 

(iii)                                of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the institution or threatening of any proceeding for that purpose;

 

(iv)                               of the receipt by the Company and the Guarantors of any notification with respect to the suspension of the qualification of the securities included therein for sale in any jurisdiction or the institution or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose; and

 

(v)                                  of the happening of any event that requires any change in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus so that, as of such date, they (A) do not contain any untrue statement of a material fact and (B) do not omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein (in the case of the Prospectus, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading.

 

(d)                                  The Company and the Guarantors shall use their respective reasonable best efforts to obtain the withdrawal of any order suspending the effectiveness of any Registration Statement or the qualification of the securities therein for sale in any jurisdiction at the earliest possible time.

 

(e)                                   The Company and the Guarantors shall furnish to each Holder of Securities covered by any Shelf Registration Statement, without charge, at least one copy of such Shelf Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, including all material incorporated therein by reference, and, if the Holder so requests in writing, all exhibits thereto (including exhibits incorporated by reference therein).

 

10



 

(f)                                     The Company and the Guarantors shall, during the Shelf Registration Period, deliver to each Holder of Securities covered by any Shelf Registration Statement, without charge, as many copies of the Prospectus (including the preliminary Prospectus) included in such Shelf Registration Statement and any amendment or supplement thereto as such Holder may reasonably request.  The Company and the Guarantors consent to the use, during the Shelf Registration Period, of the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto by each of the selling Holders of Securities in connection with the offering and sale of the Securities covered by the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, included in the Shelf Registration Statement.

 

(g)                                  The Company and the Guarantors shall furnish to each Exchanging Dealer which so requests, without charge, at least one copy of the Exchange Offer Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, including all material incorporated by reference therein, and, if the Exchanging Dealer so requests in writing, all exhibits thereto (including exhibits incorporated by reference therein).

 

(h)                                  The Company and the Guarantors shall promptly deliver to each Initial Purchaser, each Exchanging Dealer and each other person required to deliver a Prospectus during the Exchange Offer Registration Period, without charge, as many copies of the Prospectus included in such Exchange Offer Registration Statement and any amendment or supplement thereto as any such person may reasonably request.  The Company and the Guarantors consent to the use, during the Exchange Offer Registration Period, of the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto by any Initial Purchaser, any Exchanging Dealer and any such other person that may be required to deliver a Prospectus following the Registered Exchange Offer in connection with the offering and sale of the New Securities covered by the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, included in the Exchange Offer Registration Statement.

 

(i)                                      Prior to the Registered Exchange Offer or any other offering of Securities pursuant to any Registration Statement, the Company and the Guarantors shall use their respective reasonable best efforts to arrange, if necessary, for the qualification of the Securities or the New Securities for sale under the laws of such jurisdictions as any Holder shall reasonably request and shall use their respective reasonable best efforts to maintain such qualifications in effect so long as required for the sale of the Securities or the New Securities; provided that in no event shall the Company or any of the Guarantors be obligated to qualify to do business in any jurisdiction where they are not then so qualified or to take any action that would subject them to service of process in suits, other than those arising out of the Initial Placement, the Registered Exchange Offer or any offering pursuant to a Shelf Registration Statement, or taxation in any such jurisdiction where they are not then so subject.

 

(j)                                      The Company and the Guarantors shall cooperate with the Holders of Securities to facilitate the timely preparation and delivery of certificates representing New Securities or Securities to be issued or sold pursuant to any Registration Statement free of any restrictive legends and in such denominations and registered in such names as Holders may request.

 

(k)                               (i)                                      Upon the occurrence of any event contemplated by subsections (c)(ii) through (v) above during the time in which the Company and

 

11



 

the Guarantors are required to maintain an effective Registration Statement, the Company and the Guarantors shall promptly (or within the time period provided for by clause (ii) hereof, if applicable) prepare a post-effective amendment to the applicable Registration Statement or an amendment or supplement to the related Prospectus or file any other required document so that, as thereafter delivered to the Initial Purchasers of the securities included therein, the Prospectus will not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.  In such circumstances, the period of effectiveness of the Exchange Offer Registration Statement provided for in Section 2 and the Shelf Registration Statement provided for in Section 3(b) shall be extended by the number of days from and including the date of the giving of a notice of suspension pursuant to Section 4(c) to and including the date when the Initial Purchasers, the Holders of the Securities and any known Exchanging Dealer shall have received such amended or supplemented Prospectus pursuant to this Section 4.

 

(ii)                                        Upon the occurrence or existence of any pending corporate development or any other material event during the time in which the Company and the Guarantors are required to maintain an effective Registration Statement that, in the reasonable judgment of the Company and the Guarantors, makes it appropriate to suspend the availability of a Registration Statement and the related Prospectus, the Company and the Guarantors shall give notice (without notice of the nature or details of such events) to the Holders that the availability of the Exchange Offer Registration Statement or the Shelf Registration Statement, as applicable, is suspended and, upon actual receipt of any such notice, each Holder agrees not to sell any Registrable Securities pursuant to the Exchange Offer Registration Statement or the Shelf Registration Statement, as applicable, until such Holder’s receipt of copies of the supplemented or amended Prospectus provided for in Section 2 or 3 hereof, as applicable, or until it is advised in writing by the Company and the Guarantors that the Prospectus may be used, and has received copies of any additional or supplemental filings that are incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference in such Prospectus.  The period during which the availability of the Exchange Offer Registration Statement or the Shelf Registration Statement, as applicable, and any Prospectus is suspended pursuant to this Section 4(k)(ii) (the “Deferral Period”) shall not exceed 45 days in any three-month period or 90 days in any twelve-month period.

 

(l)                                      Not later than the effective date of any Registration Statement, the Company and the Guarantors shall provide a CUSIP number for the Securities or the New Securities, as the case may be, registered under such Registration Statement and provide the Trustee with printed certificates for such Securities or New Securities, in a form eligible for deposit with The Depository Trust Company.

 

(m)                                The Company and the Guarantors shall comply in all material respects with all applicable rules and regulations of the Commission and shall make generally available to

 

12



 

their security holders an earnings statement satisfying the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Act as soon as practicable after the effective date of the applicable Registration Statement and in any event no later than 45 days after the end of a 12-month period (or 90 days, if such period is a fiscal year) beginning with the first month of the Company’s first fiscal quarter commencing after the effective date of the applicable Registration Statement.

 

(n)                                  The Company and the Guarantors shall cause the Indenture to be qualified under the Trust Indenture Act in a timely manner.

 

(o)                                  The Company and the Guarantors may require each Holder of Securities or New Securities to be sold pursuant to any Shelf Registration Statement to furnish to the Company and the Guarantors such information regarding the Holder and the distribution of such Securities or New Securities as the Company and the Guarantors may from time to time reasonably require for inclusion in such Registration Statement.  The Company and the Guarantors may exclude from such Shelf Registration Statement the Securities or New Securities of any Holder that fails to furnish such information within a reasonable time after receiving such request.

 

(p)                                  In the case of any Shelf Registration Statement, the Company and the Guarantors shall enter into customary agreements (including, if requested, an underwriting agreement in customary form) and take all other appropriate actions in order to expedite or facilitate the registration or the disposition of the Securities, and in connection therewith, if an underwriting agreement is entered into, cause the same to contain indemnification provisions and procedures no less favorable than those set forth in Section 6 hereof (or such other indemnification provisions and procedures acceptable to the Majority Holders and the Managing Underwriters, if any) with respect to all parties to be indemnified pursuant to Section 6.

 

(q)                                  In the case of any Shelf Registration Statement, the Company and the Guarantors shall:

 

(i)                                      make reasonably available for inspection by the Holders of Securities to be registered thereunder, any underwriter participating in any disposition pursuant to such Registration Statement, and any attorney, accountant or other agent retained by the Holders or any such underwriter all relevant financial and other records and pertinent corporate documents of the Company, the Guarantors and their respective subsidiaries;

 

(ii)                                   cause the Company’s and each of the Guarantors’ officers, directors, employees, accountants and auditors to supply all relevant information reasonably requested by the Holders or any such underwriter, attorney, accountant or agent in connection with any such Registration Statement as is customary for similar due diligence examinations; provided, however , that the foregoing inspection and information gathering shall be coordinated on behalf of the Initial Purchasers by Citigroup Global Markets Inc. in connection with any underwritten Shelf Registration Statement for which it is acting as an underwriter and on behalf of the Holders by one counsel designated by the Holders of at least a majority of the Securities or New Securities to be

 

13



 

registered; provided further, however , that any information that is designated in writing by the Company or any Guarantor, in good faith, as confidential at the time of delivery of such information shall be kept confidential by the Holders or any such underwriter, attorney, accountant or agent, unless such disclosure is made in connection with a court proceeding or required by law, or such information becomes available to the public generally or through a third party (other than as a result of a breach of such confidentiality provisions) without an accompanying obligation of confidentiality;

 

(iii)                                make such representations and warranties to the Holders of Securities registered thereunder and the underwriters, if any, in form, substance and scope as are customarily made by issuers to underwriters in primary underwritten offerings and covering matters including, but not limited to, those set forth in the Purchase Agreement (but excluding matters relating to the Spinoff);

 

(iv)                               obtain opinions of counsel to the Company and the Guarantors and updates thereof (which counsel and opinions (in form, scope and substance) shall be reasonably satisfactory to the Managing Underwriters, if any) addressed to each selling Holder and the underwriters, if any, covering such matters as are customarily covered in opinions requested in underwritten offerings and such other matters as may be reasonably requested by such Holders and underwriters;

 

(v)                                  obtain “comfort” letters and updates thereof from the independent certified public accountants of the Company (and, if necessary, any other independent certified public accountants of any subsidiary of the Company or of any business acquired by the Company for which financial statements and financial data are, or are required to be, included in the Registration Statement), addressed to each selling Holder of Securities registered thereunder and the underwriters, if any, in customary form and covering matters of the type customarily covered in “comfort” letters in connection with primary underwritten offerings; and

 

(vi)                               deliver such documents and certificates as may be reasonably requested by the Majority Holders and the Managing Underwriters, if any, including those to evidence compliance with Section 4(k) and with any customary conditions contained in the underwriting agreement or other agreement entered into by the Company and the Guarantors.

 

The actions set forth in clauses (iii), (iv), (v) and (vi) of this paragraph (q) shall be performed at (A) the effectiveness of such Registration Statement and each post-effective amendment thereto; and (B) each closing under any underwriting or similar agreement as and to the extent required thereunder.

 

(r)                                     In the case of any Exchange Offer Registration Statement, the Company and the Guarantors shall, if requested by an Initial Purchaser that holds Securities that were acquired as a result of market making or other trading activities:

 

14



 

(i)                                      make reasonably available for inspection by the requesting party, and any attorney, accountant or other agent retained by the requesting party, all relevant financial and other records, pertinent corporate documents and properties of the Company, the Guarantors and their respective subsidiaries;

 

(ii)                                   cause the Company’s and each of the Guarantors’ officers, directors, employees, accountants and auditors to supply all relevant information reasonably requested by the requesting party or any such attorney, accountant or agent in connection with any such Registration Statement as is customary for similar due diligence examinations; provided, however , that the foregoing inspection and information gathering shall be coordinated on behalf of the Initial Purchasers by Citigroup Global Markets Inc.; provided further, however , that any information that is designated in writing by the Company or any Guarantor, in good faith, as confidential at the time of delivery of such information shall be kept confidential by the requesting party or any such attorney, accountant or agent, unless such disclosure is made in connection with a court proceeding or required by law, or such information becomes available to the public generally or through a third party (other than as a result of a breach of such confidentiality provisions) without an accompanying obligation of confidentiality;

 

(iii)                                make such representations and warranties to the requesting party, in form, substance and scope as are customarily made by issuers to underwriters in primary underwritten offerings and covering matters including, but not limited to, those set forth in the Purchase Agreement (but excluding matters relating to the Spinoff);

 

(iv)                               obtain opinions of counsel to the Company and the Guarantors and updates thereof (which counsel and opinions (in form, scope and substance) shall be reasonably satisfactory to the requesting party and its counsel, addressed to the requesting party, covering such matters as are customarily covered in opinions requested in underwritten offerings and such other matters as may be reasonably requested by the requesting party or its counsel;

 

(v)                                  obtain “comfort” letters and updates thereof from the independent certified public accountants of the Company (and, if necessary, any other independent certified public accountants of any subsidiary of the Company or of any business acquired by the Company for which financial statements and financial data are, or are required to be, included in the Registration Statement), addressed to the requesting party, in customary form and covering matters of the type customarily covered in “comfort” letters in connection with primary underwritten offerings, or if requested by the requesting party or its counsel in lieu of a “comfort” letter, an agreed-upon procedures letter under Statement on Auditing Standards No. 35, covering matters requested by the requesting party or its counsel; and

 

(vi)                               deliver such documents and certificates as may be reasonably requested by the requesting party or its counsel, including those to evidence

 

15



 

compliance with Section 4(k) and with conditions customarily contained in underwriting agreements.

 

The foregoing actions set forth in clauses (iii), (iv), (v), and (vi) of this paragraph (r) shall be performed at the close of the Registered Exchange Offer and the effective date of any post-effective amendment to the Exchange Offer Registration Statement.

 

(s)                                   If a Registered Exchange Offer is to be consummated, upon delivery of the Securities by Holders to the Company (or to such other person as directed by the Company) in exchange for the New Securities, the Company shall mark, or caused to be marked, on the Securities so exchanged that such Securities are being cancelled in exchange for the New Securities.  In no event shall the Securities be marked as paid or otherwise satisfied.

 

(t)                                     The Company and the Guarantors shall use their respective reasonable best efforts if the Securities have been rated prior to the initial sale of such Securities, to confirm such ratings will apply to the Securities or the New Securities, as the case may be, covered by a Registration Statement.

 

(u)                                  In the event that any Broker-Dealer shall underwrite any Securities or participate as a member of an underwriting syndicate or selling group or “assist in the distribution” (within the meaning of the NASD Rules) thereof, whether as a Holder of such Securities or as an underwriter, a placement or sales agent or a broker or dealer in respect thereof, or otherwise, the Company and the Guarantors shall assist such Broker-Dealer in complying with the NASD Rules.

 

(v)                                  The Company and the Guarantors shall use their respective reasonable best efforts to take all other steps necessary to effect the registration of the Securities or the New Securities, as the case may be, covered by a Registration Statement.

 

5.                                        Registration Expenses .  The Company shall bear all expenses of the Company and the Guarantors incurred in connection with the performance of its and the Guarantors’ obligations under Sections 2, 3 and 4 hereof and, in the event of any Shelf Registration Statement, will reimburse the Holders for the reasonable fees and disbursements of one U.S. firm or counsel (which shall initially be Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP but which may be another nationally recognized law firm experienced in securities matters designated by the Majority Holders) and one Canadian firm or counsel to act as counsel with respect to matters of Canadian law for the Holders in connection therewith, and, in the case of any Exchange Offer Registration Statement, will reimburse the Initial Purchasers for the reasonable fees and disbursements of one U.S. firm or counsel acting in connection therewith and one Canadian firm or counsel with respect to matters of Canadian law acting in connection therewith.

 

6.                                        Indemnification and Contribution .

 

(a)                                   The Company and the Guarantors, jointly and severally, agree to indemnify and hold harmless each Holder of Securities or New Securities, as the case may be, covered by any Registration Statement, each Initial Purchaser and, with respect to any Prospectus delivery as contemplated in Section 4(h) hereof, each Exchanging Dealer, the directors, officers, employees, Affiliates and agents of each such Holder, Initial Purchaser or

 

16



 

Exchanging Dealer and each person who controls any such Holder, Initial Purchaser or Exchanging Dealer within the meaning of either the Act or the Exchange Act against any and all losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which they or any of them may become subject under the Act, the Exchange Act or other federal or state statutory law or regulation, at common law or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement as originally filed or in any amendment thereof, or in any preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, or in any amendment thereof 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 (in the case of any preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading, and agree to reimburse each such indemnified party, as incurred, for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by it in connection with investigating or defending any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action; provided, however, that the Company and the Guarantors will not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage or liability arises out of or is based upon any such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made therein in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by or on behalf of the party claiming indemnification specifically for inclusion therein; provided further, however, that with respect to any untrue statement or omission of a material fact made in any preliminary Prospectus, the indemnity agreement contained in this Section 6(a) shall not inure to the benefit of any Holder, Initial Purchaser or Exchanging Dealer from whom the person asserting any such loss, claim, damage or liability purchased the securities concerned, to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage or liability of such Holder, Initial Purchaser or Exchanging Dealer occurs under the circumstance where it shall have been determined by a court of competent jurisdiction by final and nonappealable judgment that (w) the Company had previously furnished copies of the Prospectus to such Holder, Initial Purchaser or Exchanging Dealer, (x) delivery of the Prospectus was required by law to be made to such person, (y) the untrue statement or omission of a material fact contained in the preliminary Prospectus was corrected in the Prospectus and (z) there was not sent or given to such person, at or prior to the written confirmation of the sale of such securities to such person, a copy of the Prospectus.  This indemnity agreement will be in addition to any liability that the Company and the Guarantors may otherwise have.

 

The Company and the Guarantors also, jointly and severally, agree to indemnify as provided in this Section 6(a) or contribute as provided in Section 6(d) hereof to the Losses of each underwriter, if any, of Securities or New Securities, as the case may be, registered under a Shelf Registration Statement, their directors, officers, employees, Affiliates and agents and each person who controls any such underwriter (within the meaning of either the Act or the Exchange Act) on substantially the same basis as that of the indemnification of the Initial Purchasers and the selling Holders provided in this Section 6(a) and shall, if requested by any Holder, enter into an underwriting agreement reflecting such agreement, as provided in Section 4(p) hereof.

 

(b)                                  Each Holder of securities covered by a Registration Statement (including each Initial Purchaser that is a Holder, in such capacity and with respect to any Prospectus delivery as contemplated by Section 4(h) hereof, each Exchanging Dealer) severally, and not jointly, agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company and the Guarantors, each of their respective Affiliates, directors, officers, employees and agents and each person who controls the

 

17



 

Company or any Guarantor within the meaning of either the Act or the Exchange Act, to the same extent as the foregoing indemnity from the Company and the Guarantors to each such Holder, but only with reference to written information relating to such Holder furnished to the Company by or on behalf of such Holder specifically for inclusion in the documents referred to in the foregoing indemnity.  This indemnity agreement will be in addition to any liability that any such Holder may otherwise have.

 

(c)                                   Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under this Section 6 of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party will, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party under this Section 6, notify the indemnifying party in writing of the commencement thereof; but the failure so to notify the indemnifying party (i) will not relieve it from liability under paragraph (a) or (b) above unless and to the extent such failure results in the forfeiture by the indemnifying party of substantial rights and defenses and (ii) will not, in any event, relieve the indemnifying party from any obligations to any indemnified party other than the indemnification obligation provided in paragraph (a) or (b) above.  The indemnifying party shall be entitled to appoint counsel (including local counsel) of the indemnifying party’s choice at the indemnifying party’s expense to represent the indemnified party in any action for which indemnification is sought (in which case the indemnifying party shall not thereafter be responsible for the fees and expenses of any separate counsel, other than local counsel if not appointed by the indemnifying party, retained by the indemnified party or parties except as set forth below); provided, however, that such counsel shall be reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party.  Notwithstanding the indemnifying party’s election to appoint counsel (including local counsel) to represent the indemnified party in an action, the indemnified party shall have the right to employ separate counsel (including local counsel), and the indemnifying party shall bear the reasonable fees, costs and expenses of such separate counsel if (i) the use of counsel chosen by the indemnifying party to represent the indemnified party would present such counsel with a conflict of interest; (ii) the actual or potential defendants in, or targets of, any such action include both the indemnified party and the indemnifying party and the indemnified party shall have reasonably concluded that there may be legal defenses available to it and/or other indemnified parties that are different from or additional to those available to the indemnifying party; (iii) the indemnifying party shall not have employed counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party to represent the indemnified party within a reasonable time after notice of the institution of such action; or (iv) the indemnifying party shall authorize the indemnified party to employ separate counsel at the expense of the indemnifying party.  An indemnifying party will not, without the prior written consent of the indemnified parties, settle, compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to any pending or threatened claim, action, suit or proceeding in respect of which indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder (whether or not the indemnified parties are actual or potential parties to such claim or action) unless such settlement, compromise or consent includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party from all liability arising out of such claim, action, suit or proceeding and does not include any statement as to or any admission of fault, culpability or failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified party.

 

(d)                                  In the event that the indemnity provided in paragraph (a) or (b) of this Section 6 is unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party for any reason, then each applicable indemnifying party shall have a joint and several obligation to contribute to the aggregate losses, claims, damages and liabilities (including legal or other expenses

 

18



 

reasonably incurred in connection with investigating or defending any loss, claim, damage, liability or action) (collectively “Losses”) to which such indemnified party may be subject in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by such indemnifying party, on the one hand, and such indemnified party, on the other hand, from the Initial Placement and the Registration Statement which resulted in such Losses; provided, however, that in no case shall any Initial Purchaser be responsible, in the aggregate, for any amount in excess of the purchase discount or commission applicable to such Security, or in the case of a New Security, applicable to the Security that was exchangeable into such New Security, as set forth in the Final Memorandum, nor shall any underwriter be responsible for any amount in excess of the underwriting discount or commission applicable to the Securities or New Securities purchased by such underwriter under the Registration Statement which resulted in such Losses.  If the allocation provided by the immediately preceding sentence is unavailable for any reason, the indemnifying party and the indemnified party shall contribute in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only such relative benefits but also the relative fault of such indemnifying party, on the one hand, and such indemnified party, on the other hand, in connection with the statements or omissions that resulted in such Losses, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations.  Benefits received by the Company and the Guarantors shall be deemed to be equal to the total net proceeds from the Initial Placement (before deducting expenses) as set forth in the Final Memorandum.  Benefits received by the Initial Purchasers shall be deemed to be equal to the total purchase discounts and commissions as set forth in the Final Memorandum, and benefits received by any other Holders shall be deemed to be equal to the value of receiving Securities or New Securities, as applicable, registered under the Act.  Benefits received by any underwriter shall be deemed to be equal to the total underwriting discounts and commissions, as set forth on the cover page of the Prospectus forming a part of the Registration Statement which resulted in such Losses.  Relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether any untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information provided by the indemnifying party, on the one hand, or by the indemnified party, on the other hand, the intent of the parties and their relative knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such untrue statement or omission.  The parties agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Holders were treated as one entity for such purpose) or any other method of allocation that does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above.  Notwithstanding the provisions of this paragraph (d), no person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.  For purposes of this Section 6, each person who controls a Holder within the meaning of either the Act or the Exchange Act and each director, officer, employee, Affiliate and agent of such Holder shall have the same rights to contribution as such Holder, and each person who controls the Company or any Guarantor within the meaning of either the Act or the Exchange Act, each officer of the Company or any Guarantor who shall have signed the Registration Statement and each director of the Company or any Guarantor shall have the same rights to contribution as the Company and the Guarantors, subject in each case to the applicable terms and conditions of this paragraph (d).

 

(e)                                   The provisions of this Section 6 will remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of any Holder or the Company and the

 

19



 

Guarantors or any of the indemnified persons referred to in this Section 6, and will survive the sale by a Holder of securities covered by a Registration Statement.

 

7.                                        Underwritten Registrations .

 

(a)                                   If any of the Securities or New Securities, as the case may be, covered by any Shelf Registration Statement are to be sold in an underwritten offering, the Managing Underwriters shall be selected by the Majority Holders.

 

(b)                                  No person may participate in any underwritten offering pursuant to any Shelf Registration Statement, unless such person (i) agrees to sell such person’s Securities or New Securities, as the case may be, on the basis reasonably provided in any underwriting arrangements approved by the persons entitled hereunder to approve such arrangements; and (ii) completes and executes all questionnaires, powers of attorney, indemnities, underwriting agreements and other documents reasonably required under the terms of such underwriting arrangements.

 

8.                                        Special Interest .  If (a) on or prior to the 180 th day following the date of the original issuance of the Securities (or if such 180th day is not a Business Day, the next succeeding Business Day), neither the Exchange Offer Registration Statement nor the Shelf Registration Statement has been filed with the Commission, (b) on or prior to the 270 th day following the date of the original issuance of the Securities (or if such 270th day is not a Business Day, the next succeeding Business Day), neither the Exchange Offer Registration Statement nor the Shelf Registration Statement has been declared effective by the Commission, (c) on or prior to the 45th day following the date the Exchange Offer Registration Statement is declared effective (or if such 45th day is not a Business Day, the next succeeding Business Day), the Registered Exchange Offer has not been consummated, or (d) after either the Exchange Offer Registration Statement or the Shelf Registration Statement has been declared effective, such Registration Statement thereafter ceases to be effective or usable (except as permitted in this Agreement) in connection with resales of Securities or New Securities in accordance with and during the periods specified in this Agreement (each such event referred to in clauses (a) through (d), a (“Registration Default”), interest (“Special Interest”) will accrue on the principal amount of the affected Securities and New Securities (in addition to the stated interest on the Securities and New Securities) from and including the date on which any such Registration Default shall occur to but excluding the date on which all Registration Defaults have been cured.  Special Interest will accrue at a rate of 0.25% per annum during the 90-day period immediately following the occurrence of such Registration Default and shall increase by 0.25% per annum at the end of each subsequent 90-day period, but in no event shall such rate exceed 1.00% per annum.  Special Interest shall be the exclusive remedy available to the Holders for a Registration Default.

 

All obligations of the Company and the Guarantors set forth in the preceding paragraph that are outstanding with respect to any Security at the time such Security is exchanged for a New Security shall survive until such time as all such obligations with respect to such Security have been satisfied in full.

 

20



 

9.                                        No Inconsistent Agreements .  The Company and the Guarantors have not entered into, and agree not to enter into, any agreement with respect to their securities that is inconsistent with the rights granted to the Holders herein or that otherwise conflicts with the provisions hereof.

 

10.                                  Amendments and Waivers .  The provisions of this Agreement, may not be amended, qualified, modified or supplemented, and waivers or consents to departures from the provisions hereof may not be given, unless the Company has obtained the written consent of the Majority Holders; provided, however, that, with respect to any matter that directly or indirectly affects the rights of any Initial Purchaser hereunder, the Company shall obtain the written consent of each such Initial Purchaser against which such amendment, qualification, supplement, waiver or consent is to be effective; provided further, however, that no amendment, qualification, supplement, waiver or consent with respect to Section 8 hereof shall be effective as against any Holder of Registered Securities unless consented to in writing by such Holder; and provided further, however, that the provisions of this Section 10 may not be amended, qualified, modified or supplemented, and waivers or consents to departures from the provisions hereof may not be given, unless the Company has obtained the written consent of the Initial Purchasers and each Holder.  Notwithstanding the foregoing (except the foregoing provisos), a waiver or consent to departure from the provisions hereof with respect to a matter that relates exclusively to the rights of Holders whose Securities or New Securities, as the case may be, are being sold pursuant to a Registration Statement and that does not directly or indirectly affect the rights of other Holders may be given by the Majority Holders, determined on the basis of Securities or New Securities, as the case may be, being sold rather than registered under such Registration Statement.

 

11.                                  Notices .  All notices and other communications provided for or permitted hereunder shall be made in writing by hand-delivery, first-class mail, facsimile or air courier guaranteeing overnight delivery:

 

(a)                                   if to a Holder, at the most current address given by such Holder to the Company in accordance with the provisions of this Section 11, which address initially is, with respect to each Holder, the address of such Holder maintained by the Registrar under the Indenture;

 

(b)                                  if to the Representatives, initially at the address set forth in the Purchase Agreement; and

 

(c)                                   if to the Company and the Guarantors, initially at the address set forth in the Purchase Agreement.

 

All such notices and communications shall be deemed to have been duly given when received.

 

The Initial Purchasers, the Company or the Guarantors by notice to the other parties may designate additional or different addresses for subsequent notices or communications.

 

12.                                  Remedies .  Each Holder, in addition to being entitled to exercise all rights provided to it herein, in the Indenture or in the Purchase Agreement or granted by law, will be

 

21



 

entitled to specific performance of its rights under this Agreement. The Company and the Guarantors agree that monetary damages would not be adequate compensation for any loss incurred by reason of a breach by them of the provisions of this Agreement and hereby agree to waive in any action for specific performance the defense that a remedy at law would be adequate.  Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 12, Special Interest shall constitute liquidated damages and be the exclusive remedy available to Holders for a Registration Default.

 

13.                                  Successors .  This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto, their respective successors and assigns, including, without the need for an express assignment or any consent by the Company and the Guarantors thereto, subsequent Holders of Securities and the New Securities, and the indemnified persons referred to in Section 6 hereof.  The Company and the Guarantors hereby agree to extend the benefits of this Agreement to any Holder of Securities and the New Securities, and any such Holder may specifically enforce the provisions of this Agreement as if an original party hereto.

 

14.                                  Counterparts .  This Agreement may be signed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall constitute an original and all of which together shall constitute one and the same agreement.

 

15.                                  Headings .  The section headings used herein are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction hereof.

 

16.                                  Applicable Law .  This Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York applicable to contracts made and to be performed within the State of New York.

 

17.                                  Jurisdiction .  The Company and the Guarantors agree that any suit, action or proceeding against the Company or any of the Guarantors brought by any Holder or Initial Purchaser, the directors, officers, employees, Affiliates and agents of any Holder or Initial Purchaser, or by any person who controls any Holder or Initial Purchaser, arising out of or based upon this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby may be instituted in any State or U.S. federal court in The City of New York and County of New York, and waive any objection which they may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any such proceeding, and irrevocably submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of such courts in any suit, action or proceeding.  The Company and the Guarantors hereby appoint CT Corporation System, 111 Eight Avenue, New York, New York 10011 as their authorized agent (the “Authorized Agent” ) upon whom process may be served in any suit, action or proceeding arising out of or based upon this Agreement or the transactions contemplated herein that may be instituted in any State or U.S. federal court in The City of New York and County of New York, by any Holder or Initial Purchaser, the directors, officers, employees, Affiliates and agents of any Holder or Initial Purchaser, or by any person who controls any Holder or Initial Purchaser, and expressly accept the non-exclusive jurisdiction of any such court in respect of any such suit, action or proceeding.  The Company and the Guarantors hereby represent and warrant that the Authorized Agent has accepted such appointment and has agreed to act as said agent for service of process, and the Company and the Guarantors agree to take any and all action, including the filing of any and all documents that may be necessary to continue such appointment in full force and effect as aforesaid.  Service of process upon the Authorized Agent shall be deemed, in every respect,

 

22



 

effective service of process upon the Company or any of the Guarantors.  The parties hereto each hereby waive any right to trial by jury in any action, proceeding or counterclaim arising out of or relating to this Agreement.

 

18.                                  Waiver of Immunity .  To the extent that the Company or any of the Guarantors has or hereafter may acquire any immunity (sovereign or otherwise) from any legal action, suit or proceeding, from jurisdiction of any court or from set-off or any legal process (whether service or notice, attachment in aid or otherwise) with respect to itself or any of its property, the Company and the Guarantors hereby irrevocably waive and agree not to plead or claim such immunity in respect of their respective obligations under this Agreement.

 

19.                                  Currency .  To the fullest extent permitted by law, the obligations of the Company and the Guarantors in respect of any amount due under this Agreement will, notwithstanding any payment in any currency other than U.S. dollars (whether pursuant to a judgment or otherwise), be discharged only to the extent of the amount in U.S. dollars (the “relevant currency” ) that the party entitled to receive such payment may, in accordance with its normal procedures, purchase with the sum paid in such other currency (after any premium and costs of exchange) on the Business Day immediately following the day on which such party receives such payment.  If the amount in the relevant currency that may be so purchased for any reason falls short of the amount originally due, the Company and the Guarantors will pay such additional amounts, in the relevant currency, as may be necessary to compensate for the shortfall.  Any obligation of the Company or any of the Guarantors not discharged by such payment will, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, be due as a separate and independent obligation and, until discharged as provided herein, will continue in full force and effect.  If, however, the amount in the relevant currency that may be so purchased is in excess of the amount originally due, the party who has received such payment will return such excess amount, in the relevant currency, to the Company or such Guarantor, as applicable.

 

20.                                  Severability .  In the event that any one or more of the provisions contained herein, or the application thereof in any circumstances, is held invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect for any reason, the validity, legality and enforceability of any such provision in every other respect and of the remaining provisions hereof shall not be in any way impaired or affected thereby, it being intended that all of the rights and privileges of the parties shall be enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law.

 

21.                                  Securities Held by the Company, etc.   Whenever the consent or approval of Holders of a specified percentage of principal amount of Securities or New Securities is required hereunder, Securities or New Securities, as applicable, held by the Company or its Affiliates (other than subsequent Holders of Securities or New Securities if such subsequent Holders are deemed to be Affiliates solely by reason of their holdings of such Securities or New Securities) shall not be counted in determining whether such consent or approval was given by the Holders of such required percentage.

 

23



 

If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement, please sign and return to us the enclosed duplicate hereof, whereupon this Agreement and your acceptance shall represent a binding agreement among the Company, the Guarantors and the several Initial Purchasers.

 

 

Very truly yours,

 

 

 

Neenah Paper, Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Bonnie C. Lind

 

 

 

Name: Bonnie C. Lind

 

 

 

Title: Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Neenah Paper Sales, Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Bonnie C. Lind

 

 

 

Name: Bonnie C. Lind

 

 

 

Title: Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Neenah Paper Michigan, Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Bonnie C. Lind

 

 

 

Name: Bonnie C. Lind

 

 

 

Title: Vice President

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Neenah Paper Company of Canada

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Bonnie C. Lind

 

 

 

Name: Bonnie C. Lind

 

 

 

Title: Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

 

 



 

The foregoing Agreement is hereby confirmed and
accepted as of the date first above written.

 

Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
Goldman, Sachs & Co.
J.P. Morgan Securities Inc.

 

 

By:  Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

 

By

/s/ Whitner Marshall

 

 

Name: Whitner Marshall

 

Title: Director

 

For themselves and the other several
Initial Purchasers named in Schedule I
to the Purchase Agreement.

 



 

ANNEX A

 

Each broker-dealer that receives new securities for its own account pursuant to the Exchange Offer must acknowledge that it will deliver a prospectus in connection with any resale of such new securities.  The Letter of Transmittal states that by so acknowledging and by delivering a prospectus, a broker-dealer will not be deemed to admit that it is an “underwriter”  within the meaning of the Securities Act.  This prospectus, as it may be amended or supplemented from time to time, may be used by a broker-dealer in connection with resales of new securities received in exchange for securities where such securities were acquired by such broker-dealer as a result of market-making activities or other trading activities.  The company and the guarantors have agreed that, starting on the expiration date and ending on the close of business 90 days after the expiration date, it will make this prospectus available to any broker-dealer for use in connection with any such resale.  See “Plan of Distribution.”

 

A-1



 

ANNEX B

 

Each broker-dealer that receives new securities for its own account in exchange for securities, where such securities were acquired by such broker-dealer as a result of market-making activities or other trading activities, must acknowledge that it will deliver a prospectus in connection with any resale of such new securities.  See “Plan of Distribution.”

 

B-1



 

ANNEX C

 

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

 

Each broker-dealer that receives new securities for its own account pursuant to the Exchange Offer must acknowledge that it will deliver a prospectus in connection with any resale of such new securities.  This prospectus, as it may be amended or supplemented from time to time, may be used by a broker-dealer in connection with resales of new securities received in exchange for securities where such securities were acquired as a result of market-making activities or other trading activities.  The company and the guarantors have agreed that, starting on the expiration date and ending on the close of business 90 days after the expiration date, they will make this prospectus, as amended or supplemented, available to any broker-dealer for use in connection with any such resale.  In addition, until                    ,            , all dealers effecting transactions in the new securities may be required to deliver a prospectus.

 

The company will not receive any proceeds from any sale of new securities by broker-dealers.  New securities received by broker-dealers for their own account pursuant to the Exchange Offer may be sold from time to time in one or more transactions in the over-the-counter market, in negotiated transactions, through the writing of options on the new securities or a combination of such methods of resale, at market prices prevailing at the time of resale, at prices related to such prevailing market prices or negotiated prices.  Any such resale may be made directly to purchasers or to or through brokers or dealers who may receive compensation in the form of commissions or concessions from any such broker-dealer and/or the purchasers of any such new securities.  Any broker-dealer that resells new securities that were received by it for its own account pursuant to the Exchange Offer and any broker or dealer that participates in a distribution of such new securities may be deemed to be an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act and any profit of any such resale of new securities and any commissions or concessions received by any such persons may be deemed to be underwriting compensation under the Securities Act.  The Letter of Transmittal states that by acknowledging that it will deliver and by delivering a prospectus, a broker-dealer will not be deemed to admit that it is an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act.

 

For a period of 90 days after the expiration date, the company and the guarantors will promptly send additional copies of this prospectus and any amendment or supplement to this prospectus to any broker-dealer that requests such documents in the Letter of Transmittal.  The company has agreed to pay all expenses incident to the Exchange Offer (including the expenses of one counsel for the holder of the securities) other than commissions or concessions of any brokers or dealers and will indemnify the holders of the securities (including any broker-dealers) against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.

 

[ If applicable, add information required by Regulation S-K Items 507 and/or 508. ]

 

C-1



 

ANNEX D

 

Rider A

 

PLEASE FILL IN YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS BELOW IF YOU ARE A BROKER-DEALER AND WISH TO RECEIVE 10 ADDITIONAL COPIES OF THE PROSPECTUS AND 10 COPIES OF ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS THERETO.

 

Name:

 

 

Address:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rider B

 

If the undersigned is not a broker-dealer, the undersigned represents that it acquired the new securities in the ordinary course of its business, it is not engaged  in, and does not intend to engage in, a distribution of new securities and it has no arrangements or understandings with any person to participate in a distribution of the new securities.  If the undersigned is a broker-dealer that will receive new securities for its own account in exchange for securities, it represents that the securities to be exchanged for new securities were acquired by it as a result of market-making activities or other trading activities and acknowledges that it will deliver a prospectus in connection with any resale of such new securities; however, by so acknowledging and by delivering a prospectus, the undersigned will not be deemed to admit that it is an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act.

 


 

Exhibit 99.1

 

 

 

 

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Contact:

Neenah Paper, Inc.

 

Bill McCarthy

 

Vice President — Financial Analysis and Investor Relations

 

678-518-3278

 

 

 

 

NEENAH PAPER INC. READY TO BEGIN TRADING ON THE NYSE FOLLOWING COMPLETION OF TAX-FREE SPIN-OFF FROM KIMBERLY-CLARK

 

ALPHARETTA, GEORGIA — November 30, 2004 (NYSE:NP) — Neenah Paper, Inc. announced today that it expects that shares of its common stock will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol “NP” on December 1, 2004. Today the Company completed its announced spin-off from Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) through a distribution of one share of Neenah Paper stock for every 33 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock held by Kimberly-Clark stockholders on the November 19, 2004 record date. Coincident with the spin-off, Neenah Paper entered into new borrowing arrangements, consisting of the sale of $225 million of 7 3/8% senior unsecured notes maturing in 2014, the net proceeds of which will be paid to Kimberly-Clark, and the establishment of a four-year $150 million senior secured revolving credit facility for working capital and other requirements. The Notes have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state laws.

 

“Listing our shares on the NYSE, the world’s largest capital market, is a historic event for Neenah Paper, marking our start as a stand-alone company that can now focus on becoming the first choice in the industry for premium branded and customized paper and pulp products,” said Neenah Paper Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Sean T. Erwin.  “With some of the most-recognized brands in our markets, unique technologies and the ability to focus our resources and reinvest in our businesses, we are pleased to be able to make Neenah Paper shares accessible to investors worldwide and to be traded alongside the well-known list of global leaders on this exchange.”

 

 

About Neenah Paper, Inc.

 

Neenah Paper manufactures and distributes a wide range of premium and specialty paper grades, with leading positions in many of its markets and well-known brands such as CLASSIC®, ENVIRONMENT®, KIMDURA® and MUNISING LP® Papers. The Company also produces and sells bleached pulp, primarily for use in the manufacture of

 



 

 

 

 

tissue and writing papers. Neenah Paper is based in Alpharetta, Georgia, and has operations in Wisconsin, Michigan and in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Nova Scotia. Additional information about Neenah Paper can be found at the Company’s web site at www.neenah.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

 

Certain statements in this press release may constitute “forward-looking” statements as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “PSLRA”), or in releases made by the Securities and Exchange Commission, all as may be amended from time to time. Statements regarding the planned offering, new credit facility, use of proceeds and other statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the PSLRA. Any such forward-looking statements reflect our beliefs and assumptions and are based on information currently available to us. Forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These cautionary statements are being made pursuant to the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and the PSLRA with the intention of obtaining the benefits of the “safe harbor” provisions of such laws. Neenah Paper, Inc. cautions investors that any forward-looking statements we make are not guarantees or indicative of future performance.