UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
 
FORM 10-Q

R      QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
 
For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2014

or

£      TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ________________  to ________________
 
Commission File Number 001-31921


Compass Minerals International, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware
36-3972986
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)

9900 West 109th Street
Suite 100
Overland Park, KS 66210
(913) 344-9200
(Address of principal executive offices, zip code and telephone number, including area code)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
Yes: R      No:  £

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).
Yes: R      No:  £

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company.  See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer R
Accelerated filer £
Non-accelerated filer £
Smaller reporting company £

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
Yes: £      No: R

The number of shares outstanding of the registrant’s common stock, $0.01 par value per share, at April 25, 2014 was 33,533,232 shares.


COMPASS MINERALS INTERNATIONAL, INC.
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
     
Page
 
 
PART I.  FINANCIAL INFORMATION
 
 
 
 
Item 1.
Financial Statements
 
 
 
 
 
2
 
 
 
 
3
 
 
 
 
4
 
 
 
 
5
 
 
 
 
6
 
 
 
 
7
 
 
 
Item 2.
18
 
 
 
Item 3.
25
 
 
 
Item 4.
25
 
 
 
 
PART II.  OTHER INFORMATION
 
 
 
 
Item 1.
25
 
 
 
Item 1A.
25
 
 
 
Item 2.
25
 
 
 
Item 3.
25
 
 
 
Item 4.
25
 
 
 
Item 5.
26
 
 
 
Item 6.
26
 
 
 
27
1

PART I.  FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item 1.   Financial Statements

COMPASS MINERALS INTERNATIONAL, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in millions, except share data)

 
 
(Unaudited)
   
 
 
 
March 31,
   
December 31,
 
 
 
2014
   
2013
 
ASSETS
 
Current assets:
 
   
 
Cash and cash equivalents
 
$
283.4
   
$
159.6
 
Receivables, less allowance for doubtful accounts of $1.3   in 2014 and $1.6 in 2013
   
158.4
     
211.9
 
Inventories
   
94.1
     
180.7
 
Deferred income taxes, net
   
6.6
     
7.9
 
Other
   
13.7
     
17.3
 
Total current assets
   
556.2
     
577.4
 
Property, plant and equipment, net
   
676.2
     
677.3
 
Intangible assets, net
   
70.7
     
72.5
 
Other
   
76.1
     
77.6
 
Total assets
 
$
1,379.2
   
$
1,404.8
 
 
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
 
Current liabilities:
               
Current portion of long-term debt
 
$
3.9
   
$
3.9
 
Accounts payable
   
69.5
     
109.4
 
Accrued expenses
   
49.7
     
54.3
 
Deferred revenue
   
68.0
     
56.5
 
Accrued salaries and wages
   
17.7
     
21.6
 
Income taxes payable
   
6.4
     
11.0
 
Accrued interest
   
3.0
     
0.9
 
Total current liabilities
   
218.2
     
257.6
 
Long-term debt, net of current portion
   
473.8
     
474.7
 
Deferred income taxes, net
   
77.8
     
78.4
 
Other noncurrent liabilities
   
37.1
     
39.9
 
Commitments and contingencies (Note 9)
               
Stockholders' equity:
               
Common stock:  $0.01 par value, 200,000,000 authorized shares; 35,367,264 issued shares
   
0.4
     
0.4
 
Additional paid-in capital
   
73.4
     
70.4
 
Treasury stock, at cost — 1,834,588 shares at March 31, 2014 and 1,890,367 shares at December 31, 2013
   
(3.5
)
   
(3.6
)
Retained earnings
   
482.5
     
452.5
 
Accumulated other comprehensive income
   
19.5
     
34.5
 
Total stockholders' equity
   
572.3
     
554.2
 
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity
 
$
1,379.2
   
$
1,404.8
 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

COMPASS MINERALS INTERNATIONAL, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(Unaudited, in millions, except share and per share data)
 
 
 
Three Months Ended
 
 
 
March 31,
 
 
 
2014
   
2013
 
 
 
   
 
Sales
 
$
422.0
   
$
383.7
 
Shipping and handling cost
   
130.7
     
115.3
 
Product cost
   
199.0
     
177.1
 
Gross profit
   
92.3
     
91.3
 
Selling, general and administrative expenses
   
25.3
     
23.8
 
Operating earnings
   
67.0
     
67.5
 
 
Other (income) expense:
               
Interest expense
   
4.4
     
4.4
 
Other, net
   
(3.1
)
   
(0.4
)
Earnings before income taxes
   
65.7
     
63.5
 
Income tax expense
   
15.5
     
17.1
 
Net earnings
 
$
50.2
   
$
46.4
 
 
Basic net earnings per common share
 
$
1.49
   
$
1.38
 
Diluted net earnings per common share
 
$
1.49
   
$
1.38
 
 
               
Weighted-average common shares outstanding (in thousands):
               
Basic
   
33,502
     
33,282
 
Diluted
   
33,520
     
33,309
 
 
               
Cash dividends per share
 
$
0.60
   
$
0.545
 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

COMPASS MINERALS INTERNATIONAL, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
(Unaudited, in millions)
 
 
Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
 
 
2014
   
2013
 
Net earnings
 
$
50.2
   
$
46.4
 
Other comprehensive income (loss):
               
Unrealized gain from change in pension obligation, net of tax of $(0.1) in 2014 and 2013
   
0.3
     
0.3
 
Unrealized gain on cash flow hedges, net of tax of $(0.2) and $(0.4) in 2014 and 2013
   
0.2
     
0.7
 
Cumulative translation adjustment
   
(15.5
)
   
(13.4
)
Comprehensive income
 
$
35.2
   
$
34.0
 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.


COMPASS MINERALS INTERNATIONAL, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
For the three months ended March 31, 2014
(Unaudited, in millions)
 
 
 
 
Common
Stock
   
Additional
Paid-In
Capital
   
Treasury
Stock
   
Retained
Earnings
   
Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Income
   
Total
 
Balance, December 31, 2013
 
$
0.4
   
$
70.4
   
$
(3.6
)
 
$
452.5
   
$
34.5
   
$
554.2
 
Dividends on common stock
                           
(20.2
)
           
(20.2
)
Stock options exercised
           
2.0
     
0.1
                     
2.1
 
Income tax deficiency from equity awards
           
(0.2
)
                           
(0.2
)
Stock-based compensation
           
1.2
                             
1.2
 
Comprehensive income (loss)
                           
50.2
     
(15.0
)
   
35.2
 
Balance, March 31, 2014
 
$
0.4
   
$
73.4
   
$
(3.5
)
 
$
482.5
   
$
19.5
   
$
572.3
 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

COMPASS MINERALS INTERNATIONAL, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(Unaudited, in millions)

 
 
Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
 
 
2014
   
2013
 
Cash flows from operating activities:
 
   
 
Net earnings
 
$
50.2
   
$
46.4
 
Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to net cash flows provided by operating activities:
         
Depreciation, depletion and amortization
   
18.4
     
17.3
 
Finance fee amortization
   
0.3
     
0.3
 
Stock-based compensation
   
1.2
     
1.5
 
Deferred income taxes
   
3.0
     
0.6
 
Other, net
   
(1.6
)
   
0.5
 
Insurance advances for operating purposes, Goderich tornado
   
5.0
     
2.4
 
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
               
Receivables
   
47.2
     
(8.2
)
Inventories
   
85.0
     
93.0
 
Other assets
   
3.3
     
5.8
 
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
   
(51.0
)
   
(31.3
)
Other liabilities
   
(0.3
)
   
0.5
 
Net cash provided by operating activities
   
160.7
     
128.8
 
Cash flows from investing activities:
               
Capital expenditures
   
(25.0
)
   
(36.5
)
Insurance advances for investment purposes, Goderich tornado
   
8.7
     
4.3
 
Other, net
   
2.9
     
0.8
 
Net cash used in investing activities
   
(13.4
)
   
(31.4
)
Cash flows from financing activities:
               
Principal payments on long-term debt
   
(0.9
)
   
(1.0
)
Dividends paid
   
(20.2
)
   
(18.3
)
Proceeds received from stock option exercises
   
2.1
     
0.3
 
Excess tax benefit (deficiency) from equity compensation awards
   
(0.2
)
   
0.1
 
Net cash used in financing activities
   
(19.2
)
   
(18.9
)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents
   
(4.3
)
   
(3.1
)
Net change in cash and cash equivalents
   
123.8
     
75.4
 
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of the year
   
159.6
     
100.1
 
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period
 
$
283.4
   
$
175.5
 
 
Supplemental cash flow information:
               
Interest paid, net of amounts capitalized
 
$
2.0
   
$
2.3
 
Income taxes paid, net of refunds
 
$
12.5
   
$
6.7
 
 
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
COMPASS MINERALS INTERNATIONAL, INC.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unaudited)
 
1.  Accounting Policies and Basis of Presentation:
 
Compass Minerals International, Inc. (“CMP”, “Compass Minerals”, or the “Company”), through its subsidiaries, is a producer and marketer of inorganic mineral products with manufacturing sites in North America and the U.K.  Its principal products are salt, consisting of sodium chloride and magnesium chloride, and sulfate of potash (“SOP”), a specialty fertilizer.  The Company provides highway deicing products to customers in North America and the U.K., and specialty fertilizer to growers worldwide.  The Company also produces and markets consumer deicing and water conditioning products, salt ingredients used in consumer and commercial food preparation, and other mineral-based products for consumer, agricultural and industrial applications.  CMP also provides records management services to businesses located in the U.K.
 
CMP is a holding company with no operations other than those of its wholly owned subsidiaries.  The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of CMP and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
 
The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for complete financial statements. These unaudited consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements of CMP for the year ended December 31, 2013 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in its Annual Report on Form 10-K. In the opinion of management, all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring accruals considered necessary for a fair presentation, have been included.
 
The Company experiences a substantial amount of seasonality in salt segment sales, primarily with respect to its deicing products. As a result, sales and operating income are generally higher in the first and fourth quarters and lower during the second and third quarters of each year.  In particular, sales of highway and consumer deicing salt and magnesium chloride products vary based on the severity of the winter conditions in areas where the product is used. Following industry practice in North America and the U.K., the Company seeks to stockpile sufficient quantities of deicing salt throughout the second, third and fourth quarters to meet the estimated requirements for the upcoming winter season. Production of deicing salt can vary based on the severity or mildness of the preceding winter season.  Due to the seasonal nature of the deicing product lines, operating results for the interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full year.
 
Recent Accounting Pronouncements – In April 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued guidance which changes the requirements for reporting discontinued operations and requires additional disclosures about discontinued operations.  Under the new guidance, disposals that represent a strategic shift that have or will have a major effect on an entity’s operations or financial results should be reported as discontinued operations.  The guidance is effective prospectively for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2014.  The Company does not expect that the guidance will have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
 
In January 2014, the FASB issued guidance related to service concession arrangements.  The guidance states that entities should not account for certain service concession arrangements with public-sector entities as leases and should not recognize any infrastructure as property, plant and equipment.  The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2014.  The Company does not expect that this guidance will have an impact on its consolidated financial statements.

2. Goderich Tornado:
 
In August 2011, a tornado struck the Company’s salt mine and its salt mechanical evaporation plant, both located in Goderich, Ontario.  There was no damage to the underground operations at the mine.  However, some of the mine’s surface structures and the evaporation plant incurred significant damage which temporarily ceased production at both facilities.  Both facilities resumed normal production and shipping activities in 2012.  The Company has substantially completed its repairs and reconstruction activities to fully restore the damaged surface structures and operating assets at both facilities.
 
The Company maintains comprehensive property and casualty insurance, including business interruption, which is expected to provide substantial coverage for the losses that have occurred at these facilities and to the Company’s business losses related to the tornado. The Company recorded impairment of its property, plant and equipment during 2011 through 2013 related to the impacted areas at both of the Goderich facilities.  In addition, the Company incurred clean-up costs related to the storm. The Company expects to be reimbursed for losses from its insurers for substantially all of the replacement and repair costs for its property, plant and equipment and associated clean-up costs incurred, net of the Company’s deductible.
The Company received $13.7 million and $7.5 million of insurance advances in the first quarters of 2014 and 2013, respectively.  The Company recorded $0.8 million of insurance advances as a reduction to salt product cost for the first quarter of 2013 in its consolidated statements of operations to offset recognized impairment charges and site clean-up and restoration costs.  The Company has also recorded approximately $13.7 million and $6.7 million of the insurance advances as deferred revenue in the first quarters of 2014 and 2013, respectively, in the consolidated balance sheets and has presented these amounts in its operating and investing section of the consolidated statements of cash flows for their respective period.  In total, the Company has received $100.0 million of insurance advances since the tornado occurred and recorded approximately $68.0 million and $56.5 million of deferred revenue in its consolidated balance sheets as of March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, respectively.  The actual insurance recoveries related to the replacement cost of property, plant and equipment are expected to exceed the net book value of the damaged property, plant and equipment and the related impairment charges.  However, U.S. GAAP limits the recognition of insurance recoveries in the consolidated financial statements to the amount of recognized losses, provided the Company believes the recoveries are probable. Any gains related to the replacement of property, plant and equipment from insurance recoveries will be recorded in product cost in the consolidated statements of operations when all contingencies relating to the insurance claim have been resolved.
 
The Company has submitted a substantial business interruption claim to compensate it for lost profits and certain additional expenses incurred related to the ongoing operations.  The Company estimates that the effects from the tornado were immaterial in the first quarters of 2014 and 2013. The Company believes its losses, including the impact of estimated lost sales, lost production and additional expenses that have been incurred related to the tornado will be substantially covered by the Company’s insurance policies as business interruption losses.  The amount of actual business interruption recoveries may differ materially from the Company’s estimates.  Any insurance recoveries related to business interruption will be recognized as a reduction to product cost in the consolidated statements of operations when the insurance claim has been settled.  The Company has not recognized any reduction to product cost from insurance recoveries related to estimated business interruption losses.

3.  Inventories:
 
Inventories consist of the following (in millions):

 
 
 
March 31,
2014
   
December 31,
2013
 
Finished goods
 
$
52.2
   
$
139.4
 
Raw materials and supplies
   
41.9
     
41.3
 
Total inventories
 
$
94.1
   
$
180.7
 

4.  Property, Plant and Equipment, Net:
 
Property, plant and equipment, net consists of the following (in millions):

 
 
March 31,
2014
   
December 31,
2013
 
Land, buildings and structures and leasehold improvements
 
$
344.2
   
$
347.1
 
Machinery and equipment
   
666.5
     
668.0
 
Office furniture and equipment
   
21.5
     
21.5
 
Mineral interests
   
183.3
     
180.9
 
Construction in progress
   
78.3
     
69.5
 
 
   
1,293.8
     
1,287.0
 
Less accumulated depreciation and depletion
   
(617.6
)
   
(609.7
)
Property, plant and equipment, net
 
$
676.2
   
$
677.3
 

5.  Goodwill and Intangible Assets, Net:
 
Intangible assets consist primarily of a potassium chloride (“KCl”) supply agreement, puchased rights to produce SOP, lease rights, water rights, a tradename and customer relationships.  The supply agreement, SOP production rights, lease rights and customer relationships are being amortized over 50 years, 25 years, 25 years and 7-10 years, respectively.  The Company has water rights of $22.9 million as of March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, and a tradename, which has a value of $0.7
million in each period.  The water rights and tradename have indefinite lives.   None of the finite-lived intangible assets have a residual value.  Aggregate amortization expense was $0.5 million in both the first quarters of 2014 and 2013.

The Company has recorded goodwill of approximately $20.0 million and $20.5 million as of March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, in other assets of its consolidated balance sheets.  Approximately $13.2 million and $13.8 million of the amounts recorded for goodwill as of March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, respectively, were recorded in the Company’s specialty fertilizer segment and the remaining amounts in both periods were recorded in corporate and other.  The decrease in the balance of goodwill in the first quarter of 2014 was a result of the impact of foreign exchange.

6.  Income Taxes:
 
The Company’s effective income tax rate differs from the U.S. statutory federal income tax rate primarily due to U.S. statutory depletion, state income taxes (net of federal tax benefit), foreign income tax rate differentials, foreign mining taxes, domestic manufacturing deductions, and interest expense recognition differences for book and tax purposes.
 
At both March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, the Company had approximately $4.1 million of gross foreign federal net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforwards that have no expiration date and $0.1 million of tax-effected state NOL carryforwards which expire in 2033. In the future, if the Company determines, based on the existence of sufficient evidence, that it should realize more or less of its deferred tax assets, an adjustment to any existing valuation allowance will be made in the period such determination is made.
 
Canadian provincial tax authorities have challenged tax positions claimed by one of the Company’s Canadian subsidiaries and have issued tax reassessments for years 2002-2008.  The reassessments are a result of ongoing audits and total approximately $73 million, including interest through March 2014.  The Company disputes these reassessments and plans to continue to work with the appropriate authorities in Canada to resolve the dispute.  There is a reasonable possibility that the ultimate resolution of this dispute, and any related disputes for other open tax years, may be materially higher or lower than the amounts the Company has reserved for such disputes.  In connection with this dispute, local regulations require the Company to post security with the tax authority until the dispute is resolved.  The Company and the tax authority have agreed that it will post collateral in the form of a $30 million performance bond (including approximately $6 million of the performance bond which will be cancelled pro rata as the outstanding assessment balance falls below the outstanding amount of the performance bond).  As part of the additional required collateral, the Company has previously paid approximately $28 million and it has agreed to pay an additional approximately $3 million during the remainder of 2014 with the remaining collateral balance to be paid after 2014.  The Company will be required by the same local regulations to provide security for additional interest on the above disputed amounts and for any future reassessments issued by these Canadian tax authorities in the form of cash, letters of credit, performance bonds, asset liens or other arrangements agreeable with the tax authorities until the dispute is resolved.
 
In addition, Canadian federal and provincial taxing authorities have reassessed the Company for years 2004-2006 which have been previously settled by agreement among the Company, the Canadian federal taxing authority and the U.S. federal taxing authority.  The Company has fully complied with the agreement since entering into it and it believes this action is highly unusual.  The Company is seeking to enforce the agreement which provided the basis upon which the returns were previously filed and settled.  The total amount of the reassessments, including penalties and interest through March 31, 2014, related to this matter is approximately $99 million.  The Company has agreed to post collateral in the form of a performance bond for approximately $21 million and has previously made cash payments of approximately $2 million.  The Company is currently in discussions with the Canadian tax authorities regarding the remaining required collateral of approximately $42 million.
 
The Company expects that the ultimate outcome of these matters will not have a material impact on its results of operations or financial condition. However, the Company can provide no assurance as to the ultimate outcome of these matters and the impact could be material if they are not resolved in the Company’s favor.  As of March 31, 2014, the amount reserved related to these reassessments was immaterial to the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
 
Additionally, the Company has other uncertain tax positions as well as assessments and disputed positions with taxing authorities in its various jurisdictions.
7.  Long-term Debt:
 
Long-term debt consists of the following (in millions):

 
 
March 31,
2014
   
December 31,
2013
 
Term Loan due May 2017
 
$
379.3
   
$
380.2
 
Revolving Credit Facility due August 2017
   
-
     
-
 
8% Senior Notes due June 2019
   
98.4
     
98.4
 
 
   
477.7
     
478.6
 
Less current portion
   
(3.9
)
   
(3.9
)
Long-term debt
 
$
473.8
   
$
474.7
 
 
The Term Loan and Revolving Credit Facility are secured by substantially all existing and future assets of the Company’s subsidiaries.

8.  U.K. Pension Plan:
 
The components of net periodic benefit cost related to its U.K. defined benefit pension plan for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013 are as follows (in millions):

 
 
Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
 
 
2014
   
2013
 
Interest cost on projected benefit obligation
 
$
0.8
   
$
0.8
 
Expected return on plan assets
   
(0.9
)
   
(0.7
)
Net amortization
   
0.4
     
0.4
 
Net pension expense
 
$
0.3
   
$
0.5
 

During the first quarters of 2014 and 2013, the Company made $0.4 million of contributions in each period to its U.K. defined benefit pension plan.

9.  Commitments and Contingencies:
 
The Company is involved in legal and administrative proceedings and claims of various types from normal Company activities.
 
The Company is aware of an aboriginal land claim filed in 2003 by The Chippewas of Nawash and The Chippewas of Saugeen (the “Chippewas”) in the Ontario Superior Court against The Attorney General of Canada and Her Majesty The Queen In Right of Ontario. The Chippewas claim that a large part of the land under Lake Huron was never conveyed by treaty and therefore belongs to the Chippewas. The land claimed includes land under which the Company’s Goderich mine operates and has mining rights granted to it by the government of Ontario. The Company is not a party to this court action.
 
Similar claims are pending with respect to other parts of the Great Lakes by other aboriginal claimants. The Company has been informed by the Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario that “Canada takes the position that the common law does not recognize aboriginal title to the Great Lakes and its connecting waterways.”
 
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (“DATCP”) has information indicating that agricultural chemicals are present within the subsurface area of the Kenosha, Wisconsin plant. The agricultural chemicals were used by previous owners and operators of the site.  None of the identified chemicals have been used in association with Compass Minerals’ operations since it acquired the property in 2002.  DATCP directed the Company to conduct further investigations into the possible presence of agricultural chemicals in soil and ground water at the Kenosha plant.  The Company has completed such investigations of the soils and ground water and has provided the findings to DATCP. The Company is presently proceeding with select remediation activities to mitigate agricultural chemical impact to soils and ground water at the site.  All investigations and mitigation activities to date, and any potential future remediation work, are being conducted under the Wisconsin Agricultural Chemical Cleanup Program (“ACCP”), which would provide for reimbursement of
some of the costs. The Company may seek participation by, or cost reimbursement from, other parties responsible for the presence of any agricultural chemicals found in soil and ground water at this site if the Company does not receive an acknowledgement of no further action and is required to conduct further investigation or remedial work that may not be eligible for reimbursement under the ACCP.
 
In December 2009, a surface salt storage dome which was under construction collapsed at the Company’s mine in Goderich, Ontario. The Company is involved in construction litigation and other contract claims relating to the dome’s collapse.  Claims asserted against the Company total approximately $13 million.  The Company has also counterclaimed for damages.
 
The Company is also involved in legal and administrative proceedings and claims of various types from normal Company activities.
 
The Company does not believe that these actions will have a material adverse financial effect on the Company. Furthermore, while any litigation contains an element of uncertainty, management presently believes that the outcome of each such proceeding or claim, which is pending or known to be threatened, or all of them combined, will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations, cash flows or financial position.

10.  Operating Segments:
 
Segment information is as follows (in millions):
 
 
 
Three Months Ended March 31, 2014
 
 
 
Salt
   
Specialty
Fertilizer
   
Corporate
 and Other (a)
   
Total
 
Sales to external customers
 
$
353.2
   
$
66.1
   
$
2.7
   
$
422.0
 
Intersegment sales
   
0.2
     
0.5
     
(0.7
)
   
-
 
Shipping and handling cost
   
123.1
     
7.6
     
-
     
130.7
 
Operating earnings (loss)
   
63.5
     
16.3
     
(12.8
)
   
67.0
 
Depreciation, depletion and amortization
   
11.4
     
6.0
     
1.0
     
18.4
 
Total assets
   
922.9
     
392.1
     
64.2
     
1,379.2
 

 
 
Three Months Ended March 31, 2013
 
 
 
Salt
   
Specialty
 Fertilizer
   
Corporate
 and Other (a)
   
Total
 
Sales to external customers
 
$
327.5
   
$
54.0
   
$
2.2
   
$
383.7
 
Intersegment sales
   
0.2
     
0.2
     
(0.4
)
   
-
 
Shipping and handling cost
   
109.1
     
6.2
     
-
     
115.3
 
Operating earnings (loss)
   
65.4
     
15.4
     
(13.3
)
   
67.5
 
Depreciation, depletion and amortization
   
10.4
     
5.9
     
1.0
     
17.3
 
Total assets
   
823.9
     
394.7
     
71.3
     
1,289.9
 
 
(a)
“Corporate and Other” includes corporate entities, the records management business, other incidental business operations and eliminations.  Corporate assets include deferred tax assets, deferred financing fees, investments related to the non-qualified retirement plan, and other assets not allocated to the operating segments.

11.  Stockholders’ Equity and Equity Instruments:
 
In the first quarter of 2014, the Company granted 95,610 stock options, 16,725 restricted stock units (“RSUs”) and 27,574 performance stock units (“PSUs”) to certain employees under its 2005 Incentive Award Plan.  The Company’s closing stock price on the grant date was used to set the exercise price for the options and the fair value of the RSUs.  The options vest ratably on each anniversary date over a four-year service period. Unexercised options expire after seven years. The RSUs vest on the third anniversary following the grant date. None of the awards granted have voting rights.  The RSUs granted entitle the holders to receive non-forfeitable dividends or other distributions equal to those declared on the Company’s common stock for RSUs earned.
 
The PSUs granted in 2014 have a three-year performance period beginning in 2014 and ending in 2016.  The PSUs earn between 0% and 150% based upon the Company’s total shareholder return, compared to the total shareholder return for each company comprising the Russell 3000 Index over the three-year period.  The performance units will vest three years after the
grant date.  The PSUs granted entitle the holders to receive non-forfeitable dividends or other distributions equal to those declared on the Company’s common stock from the grant date through the vest date for PSUs earned.
 
To estimate the fair value of options on the grant date, the Company uses the Black-Scholes option valuation model.  Award recipients are grouped according to expected exercise behavior. Unless better information is available to estimate the expected term of the options, the estimate is based on historical exercise experience. The risk-free rate, using U.S. Treasury yield curves in effect at the time of grant, is selected based on the expected term of each group. The Company’s historical stock price is used to estimate expected volatility.  The range of estimates and calculated fair values for options granted during the first quarter of 2014 is included in the table below. The weighted-average grant date fair value of these options was $15.25.
 
 
 
Range
 
Fair value of options granted
 
$
14.08 - $16.23
 
Exercise price
 
$
87.18
 
Expected term (years)
   
4-5
 
Expected volatility
   
26.5% - 28.8 %
Dividend yield
   
3.4%
Risk-free rate of return
   
1.4% - 1.6%

To estimate the fair value of the PSUs on the grant date, the Company uses a Monte-Carlo simulation model, which simulates future stock prices of the Company as well as the companies comprising the Russell 3000 Index.  This model uses historical stock prices to estimate expected volatility and the Company’s correlation to the Russell 3000 Index.  The risk-free rate was determined using the same methodology as the option valuations as discussed above. The estimated fair value of the PSUs granted in 2014 is $105.77 per unit.
 
During the three months ended March 31, 2014, the Company reissued 36,433 shares of treasury stock related to the exercise of stock options, 15,348 shares related to the release of RSUs which vested and 3,998 shares related to the release of PSUs which vested.  The Company recorded additional tax expense of $0.2 million from its equity compensation awards as a reduction of additional paid-in capital during the first quarter of 2014. During the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, the Company recorded $1.2 million and $1.5 million, respectively, of compensation expense pursuant to its stock-based compensation plans.  No amounts have been capitalized. The following table summarizes stock-based compensation activity during the three months ended March 31, 2014.
 
 
 
Stock Options
   
RSUs
   
PSUs (a)
 
 
 
Number
   
Weighted-average
exercise price
   
Number
   
Weighted-average
fair value
   
Number
   
Weighted-average
fair value
 
Outstanding at December 31, 2013
   
328,364
   
$
72.88
     
95,718
   
$
76.09
     
55,149
   
$
80.89
 
Granted
   
95,610
     
87.18
     
16,725
     
87.18
     
27,574
     
105.77
 
Exercised (b)
   
(36,433
)
   
57.09
     
-
     
-
     
-
     
-
 
Released from restriction (b)
   
-
     
-
     
(15,348
)
   
86.47
     
(3,998
)
   
93.82
 
Cancelled/Expired
   
(7,660
)
   
77.33
     
(2,639
)
   
77.98
     
(11,016
)
   
92.17
 
Outstanding at March 31, 2014
   
379,881
   
$
77.90
     
94,456
   
$
76.32
     
67,709
   
$
88.43
 

(a) Until they vest, PSUs are included in the table at the 100% attainment level at their grant date and at that level represent one share per unit.  The final performance period for the 2011 PSU grant was completed in 2013.  The Company issued 3,998 shares and cancelled 9,330 PSUs in March 2014 related to the 2011 PSU grant.
(b) Common stock issued for exercised options and RSUs and PSUs released from restriction were issued from treasury stock.

Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)
 
The Company’s comprehensive income (loss) is comprised of net earnings, net amortization of the unrealized loss of the pension obligation, the change in the unrealized gain (loss) on natural gas cash flow hedges and foreign currency translation adjustments.  The components of and changes in accumulated other comprehensive income (“AOCI”) as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013 are as follows (in millions):
 
Three Months Ended March 31, 2014 (a)
 
Gains and
(Losses) on
Cash Flow
Hedges
   
Defined
Benefit
Pension
   
Foreign
Currency
   
Total
 
Beginning balance
 
$
0.3
   
$
(9.3
)
 
$
43.5
   
$
34.5
 
 
                               
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications (b)
   
0.6
     
-
     
(15.5
)
   
(14.9
)
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income
   
(0.4
)
   
0.3
     
-
     
(0.1
)
Net current period other comprehensive income (loss)
   
0.2
     
0.3
     
(15.5
)
   
(15.0
)
 
                               
Ending balance
 
$
0.5
   
$
(9.0
)
 
$
28.0
   
$
19.5
 
 
Three Months Ended March 31, 2013 (a)
 
Gains and
(Losses) on
Cash Flow
Hedges
   
Defined
Benefit
Pension
   
Foreign
Currency
   
Total
 
Beginning balance
 
$
(0.7
)
 
$
(9.6
)
 
$
67.9
   
$
57.6
 
 
                               
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications (b)
   
0.4
     
-
     
(13.4
)
   
(13.0
)
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income
   
0.3
     
0.3
     
-
     
0.6
 
Net current period other comprehensive income (loss)
   
0.7
     
0.3
     
(13.4
)
   
(12.4
)
 
                               
Ending balance
 
$
-
   
$
(9.3
)
 
$
54.5
   
$
45.2
 

(a) With the exception of the cumulative foreign currency translation adjustment, for which no tax effect is recorded, the changes in the components of accumulated other comprehensive gain (loss) presented in the table above are reflected net of applicable income taxes.
(b) The Company recorded foreign exchange losses of approximately $8.3 million and $4.9 million in the first quarters of 2014 and 2013, respectively, in accumulated other comprehensive income related to intercompany notes which were deemed to be of long-term investment nature.

The amounts reclassified from AOCI to income for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013 are shown below (in millions):
 
 
 
Amount Reclassified from AOCI
 
 
 
 
Three Months Ended
March 31, 2014
   
Three Months Ended
March 31, 2013
 
Line Item Impacted in the
Consolidated Statement of Operations
Gains and (losses) on cash flow hedges:
 
   
 
    
Natural gas instruments
 
$
(0.6
)
 
$
0.5
 
Product cost
 
   
0.2
     
(0.2
)
Income tax expense (benefit)
Reclassifications, net of income taxes
   
(0.4
)
   
0.3
 
 
 
               
    
Amortization of defined benefit pension:
               
    
Amortization of loss
 
$
0.4
   
$
0.4
 
Product cost
 
   
(0.1
)
   
(0.1
)
Income tax expense (benefit)
Reclassifications, net of income taxes
   
0.3
     
0.3
 
 
 
               
    
Total reclassifications, net of income taxes
 
$
(0.1
)
 
$
0.6
 
 

12.  Derivative Financial Instruments:
 
The Company is subject to various types of market risks including interest rate risk, foreign currency exchange rate transaction and translation risk, and commodity pricing risk.  Management may take actions to mitigate the exposure to these types of risks, including entering into forward purchase contracts and other financial instruments.  Currently, the Company manages a portion of its commodity pricing risk by using derivative instruments.  The Company does not seek to engage in trading activities or take speculative positions with any financial instrument arrangements. The Company has entered into natural gas derivative instruments with counterparties it views as creditworthy.  However, management does attempt to mitigate its counterparty credit risk exposures by, among other things, entering into master netting agreements with these counterparties.

Cash Flow Hedges
 
As of March 31, 2014, the Company has entered into natural gas derivative instruments. The Company records derivative financial instruments as either assets or liabilities at fair value in the consolidated statements of financial position.  Derivatives qualify for treatment as hedges when there is a high correlation between the change in fair value of the derivative instrument and the related change in value of the underlying hedged item. Depending on the exposure being hedged, the Company must designate the hedging instrument as a fair value hedge, a cash flow hedge or a net investment in foreign operations hedge.  All derivative instruments held by the Company as of March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 qualified as cash flow hedges. For these qualifying hedges, the effective portion of the change in fair value is recognized through earnings when the underlying transaction being hedged affects earnings, allowing a derivative’s gains and losses to offset related results from the hedged item in the statements of operations (see Note 11). For derivative instruments that are not accounted for as hedges, or for the ineffective portions of qualifying hedges, the change in fair value is recorded through earnings in the period of change. The Company formally documents, designates, and assesses the effectiveness of transactions that receive hedge accounting treatment initially and on an ongoing basis.  Any ineffectiveness related to these hedges was not material for any of the periods presented.
 
Natural gas is consumed at several of the Company’s production facilities, and a change in natural gas prices impacts the Company’s operating margin.  As of March 31, 2014, the Company had entered into natural gas derivative instruments to hedge a portion of its natural gas purchase requirements through December 2016.  The Company’s objective is to reduce the earnings and cash flow impacts of changes in market prices of natural gas by fixing the purchase price of up to 90% of its forecasted natural gas usage.  It is the Company’s policy to consider hedging portions of its natural gas usage up to 36 months in advance of the forecasted purchase. As of March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, the Company had agreements in place to hedge forecasted natural gas purchases of 3.1 and 2.1 million MMBtus, respectively.
 
As of March 31, 2014, the Company expects to reclassify from accumulated other comprehensive income to earnings during the next twelve months approximately $0.9 million of net gains on derivative instruments related to its natural gas hedges.
 
The following tables present the fair value of the Company’s hedged items as of March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, (in millions):

 
Asset Derivatives
 
Liability Derivatives
 
Derivatives designated as hedging instruments (a) :
Balance Sheet
 Location
 
March 31,
2014
 
Balance Sheet
 Location
 
March 31,
2014
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Commodity contracts (b)
Other current assets
 
$
1.0
 
Accrued expenses
 
$
0.1
 
Commodity contracts
Other assets
   
-
 
Other noncurrent liabilities
   
0.1
 
Total derivatives designated as hedging instruments 
 
 
$
1.0
 
 
 
$
0.2
 

(a) As of March 31, 2014, the Company has commodity hedge agreements with four counterparties.  The amounts recorded as liabilities are due to one counterparty.  The amount recorded as an asset is due from three counterparties
(b) The Company has master netting agreements with its counterparties and accordingly has netted in its consolidated balance sheets approximately $0.1 million of its commodity contracts that are in a payable position against its contracts in receivable positions.
 
Asset Derivatives
 
Liability Derivatives
 
Derivatives designated as hedging instruments (a) :
Balance Sheet
Location
 
December 31,
 2013
 
Balance Sheet
Location
 
December 31,
 2013
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Commodity contracts (b)
Other current assets
 
$
0.7
 
Accrued expenses
 
$
0.4
 
Commodity contracts
Other assets
   
-
 
Other noncurrent liabilities
   
-
 
Total derivatives designated as hedging instruments 
 
 
$
0.7
 
 
 
$
0.4
 

(a) The Company has commodity hedge agreements with three counterparties.  Amounts recorded as liabilities for the Company’s commodity contracts are payable to two counterparties.  The amount recorded as an asset is due from one counterparty.
(b) The Company has master netting agreements with its counterparties and accordingly has netted in its consolidated balance sheets approximately $0.2 million of its commodity contracts that are in a receivable position against its contracts in payable positions and approximately $0.2 million of its commodity contracts that are in a payable position against its contracts in receivable positions.

13.  Fair Value Measurements:

As required, the Company’s financial instruments are measured and reported at their estimated fair value.  Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction.  When available, the Company uses quoted prices in active markets to determine the fair values for its financial instruments (level one inputs), or absent quoted market prices, observable market-corroborated inputs over the term of the financial instruments (level two inputs). The Company does not have any unobservable inputs that are not corroborated by market inputs (level three inputs).
 
The Company holds marketable securities associated with its non-qualified retirement plan, which are valued based on readily available quoted market prices.  The Company utilizes derivative instruments to manage its risk of changes in natural gas prices.  The fair value of the natural gas derivative instruments are determined using market data of forward prices for all of the Company’s contracts.  The estimated fair values for each type of instrument are presented below (in millions).

 
 
March 31,
2014
   
Level One
   
Level Two
   
Level Three
 
Asset Class:
 
   
   
   
 
Mutual fund investments in a non-qualified retirement plan (a)  
 
$
2.6
   
$
2.6
   
$
-
   
$
-
 
Derivatives – natural gas instruments
   
0.9
     
-
     
0.9
     
-
 
Total Assets
 
$
3.5
   
$
2.6
   
$
0.9
   
$
-
 
Liability Class:
                               
Liabilities related to non-qualified retirement plan
 
$
(2.6
)
 
$
(2.6
)
 
$
-
   
$
-
 
Derivatives – natural gas instruments
   
(0.1
)
   
-
     
(0.1
)
   
-
 
Total Liabilities
 
$
(2.7
)
 
$
(2.6
)
 
$
(0.1
)
 
$
-
 

(a) Includes mutual fund investments of approximately 10% in the common stock of large-cap U.S. companies, approximately 5% in the common stock of small-cap U.S. companies, approximately 5% in the common stock of international companies, approximately 5% in debt securities of U.S. companies, approximately 35% in short-term investments and approximately 40% in blended funds.
 
 
December 31,
2013
   
Level One
   
Level Two
   
Level Three
 
Asset Class:
 
   
   
   
 
Mutual fund investments in a non-qualified retirement plan (a)
 
$
4.5
   
$
4.5
   
$
-
   
$
-
 
Derivatives – natural gas instruments
   
0.5
     
-
     
0.5
     
-
 
Total Assets
 
$
5.0
   
$
4.5
   
$
0.5
   
$
-
 
Liability Class:
                               
Liabilities related to non-qualified retirement plan
 
$
(4.5
)
 
$
(4.5
)
 
$
-
   
$
-
 
Derivatives – natural gas instruments
   
(0.2
)
   
-
     
(0.2
)
   
-
 
Total Liabilities
 
$
(4.7
)
 
$
(4.5
)
 
$
(0.2
)
 
$
-
 

(a) Includes mutual fund investments of approximately 5% in the common stock of large-cap U.S. companies, approximately 5% in the common stock of small to mid-cap U.S. companies, approximately 65% in short-term investments and approximately 25% in blended funds.

Cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable (net of allowance for bad debts) and payables are carried at cost, which approximates fair value due to their liquid and short-term nature. The Company’s investments related to its nonqualified retirement plan of $2.6 million and $4.5 million as of March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, respectively, are stated at fair value based on quoted market prices.  As of March 31 2014, the estimated fair value of the fixed-rate 8% Senior Notes, based on available trading information, totaled $105.0 million (level 2) compared with the aggregate principal amount at maturity of $100 million. The fair value at March 31, 2014 of amounts outstanding under the Credit Agreement, based upon available bid information received from the Company’s lender, approximates its carrying value of $379.3 million (level 2).

14.  Earnings per Share:
 
The Company calculates earnings per share using the two-class method.  The two-class method requires allocating the Company’s net earnings to both common shares and participating securities.  The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings per common share (in millions, except for share and per-share data):

 
 
Three months ended
 
 
 
March 31,
 
 
 
2014
   
2013
 
Numerator:
 
   
 
Net earnings
 
$
50.2
   
$
46.4
 
Less: net earnings allocated to participating securities (a)
   
(0.4
)
   
(0.5
)
Net earnings available to common shareholders
 
$
49.8
   
$
45.9
 
 
Denominator (in thousands):
               
Weighted-average common shares outstanding, shares for basic earnings per share
   
33,502
     
33,282
 
Weighted-average awards outstanding (b)
   
18
     
27
 
Shares for diluted earnings per share
   
33,520
     
33,309
 
Net earnings per common share, basic
 
$
1.49
   
$
1.38
 
Net earnings per common share, diluted
 
$
1.49
   
$
1.38
 

(a)
Participating securities include options, PSUs and RSUs that receive non-forfeitable dividends. Net earnings were allocated to participating securities of 220,000 and 322,000 for the three months ended 2014 and 2013, respectively.
(b)
For the calculation of diluted earnings per share, the Company uses the more dilutive of either the treasury stock method or the two-class method, to determine the weighted average number of outstanding common shares.  In addition, the Company had 373,000 and 597,000 weighted-awards outstanding for the three months ended 2014 and 2013, respectively, which were anti-dilutive and therefore not included in the diluted earnings per-share calculation.
15.  Subsequent Event
 
In April 2014, the Company completed the acquisition of Wolf Trax Inc., a privately held corporation, which develops and distributes plant nutrition products.  The Company purchased all of the stock of Wolf Trax, Inc. for $95 million Canadian dollars (approximately $86 million U.S. dollars at the closing date), subject to customary adjustments.

Item 2.   Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained herein constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
 
Forward-looking statements relate to future events or our future financial performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the following: domestic and international general business and economic conditions; uninsured risks and hazards associated with underground mining operations; losses for acts of nature which may not  be fully reimbursable through our insurance carriers; the timing of any insurance reimbursements may not correspond to the period in which the loss was incurred; governmental policies affecting the agricultural industry, consumer and industrial industry or highway maintenance programs in localities where we or our customers operate; weather conditions; the impact of competitive products; pressure on prices realized by the Company for its products; constraints on supplies and prices of raw materials and energy used in manufacturing certain of our products and the price or availability of transportation services; capacity constraints limiting the production of certain products; the ability to attract and retain skilled personnel as well as labor relations including without limitation, the impact of work rules, strikes or other disruptions, wage and benefit requirements; difficulties or delays in the development, production, testing and marketing of products; difficulties or delays in receiving or renewing required governmental and regulatory approvals; the impact of new technology on the demand for our products; market acceptance issues, including the failure of products to generate anticipated sales levels; the effects of and changes in trade, monetary, environmental and fiscal policies, laws and regulations; the impact of the Company’s indebtedness and interest rates changes; foreign exchange rates and fluctuations in those rates; the costs and effects of legal and tax proceedings, including environmental and administrative proceedings involving the Company; customer expectations about future potash market prices and availability and agricultural economics; the impact of credit and capital markets, including the risks of customer and counterparty defaults and declining credit availability; changes in tax laws or estimates; cyber security issues; and other risk factors reported in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) as updated quarterly on Form 10-Q.
 
In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions. Actual events or results may differ materially.
 
Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. We undertake no duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
 
Unless the context requires otherwise, references in this quarterly report to the “Company,” “Compass,” “Compass Minerals,” “CMP,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Compass Minerals International, Inc. (“CMI”, the parent holding company) and its consolidated subsidiaries.
 
Critical Accounting Estimates
 
Preparation of our consolidated financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses. Management believes the most complex and sensitive judgments result primarily from the need to make estimates about matters that are inherently uncertain. Management’s Discussion and Analysis and Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 24, 2014, describe the significant accounting estimates and policies used in preparation of our consolidated financial statements. Actual results in these areas could differ from management’s estimates.
 
Results of Operations
 
Salt Segment
 
Salt is indispensable and enormously versatile with thousands of reported uses. In addition, there are no known cost-effective alternatives for most high-volume uses. As a result, our cash flows from salt have not been materially impacted through a variety of economic cycles. We are among the lowest-cost salt producers in our markets because our salt deposits are high-grade quality and among the most extensive in the world, and because we use effective mining techniques and efficient production processes.  Since the highway deicing business accounts for nearly half of our annual sales, our business is seasonal; therefore results and cash flows will vary depending on the severity of the winter weather in our markets.
 
Deicing products, consisting of deicing salt and magnesium chloride used by highway deicing and consumer and industrial customers, constitute a significant portion of our salt segment sales.  Our deicing sales are seasonal and can fluctuate from year to year depending on the severity of the winter season weather in the markets we serve.  Inventory management practices are employed to respond to the varying level of sales demand which impacts our production volumes, the resulting
per-ton cost of inventory and ultimately profit margins, particularly during the second and third quarters when we build our inventory levels for the upcoming winter and earnings are typically lower than the first and fourth quarters.
 
We assess the severity of winter weather compared to recent averages, using official government snow data and comparisons of our sales volumes to historical trends and other relevant data. Weather affects our highway and consumer and industrial deicing salt sales volumes and resulting gross profit. The frequency of winter weather events was above average in both the first quarter of 2014 and the first quarter of 2013 in the markets we serve.  The more severe winter in the first quarter of 2014 favorably impacted our sales and our operating earnings when compared to the first quarter of 2013.

Specialty Fertilizer Segment
 
Our sulfate of potash (“SOP”) product is used in the production of specialty fertilizers for high-value crops and turf. Our domestic sales of SOP are concentrated in the Western and Southeastern U.S. where the crops and soil conditions favor the use of low-chloride potassium nutrients, such as SOP.  Consequently, weather patterns and field conditions in these locations can impact the amount of specialty fertilizer sales volumes.  Additionally, the demand for and market price of SOP is affected by the broader potash market.  The potash market is influenced by many factors such as world grain and food supply, changes in consumer diets, general levels of economic activity, governmental food programs, and governmental agriculture and energy policies around the world.  Economic factors may impact the amount or type of crop grown in certain locations, or the type of fertilizer product used.  The yields and/or quality of high-value or chloride-sensitive crops are generally better when SOP is used as a potassium nutrient rather than potassium chloride (“MOP” or “KCl”).
 
Worldwide consumption of potash has increased in response to growing populations and the need for additional food supplies.  We expect the long-term demand for potassium nutrients to continue to grow as arable land per capita decreases, thereby encouraging improved crop yield efficiencies.  In recent years, potash prices, including SOP, have experienced more volatility when compared to prices experienced in previous years, although our average realized price for SOP has been relatively stable over the past 3 years.
 
Our SOP production facility in Ogden, Utah, the largest in North America and one of only three SOP solar brine evaporation operations in the world, utilizes naturally occurring brines in its production process.  The brine moves through a series of solar evaporation ponds over a two- to three-year production cycle. Since our production process relies on solar evaporation during the summer to produce SOP at our Ogden facility, the intensity of heat and wind speeds, and relative dryness of the weather conditions during that time impacts the amount of solar evaporation which occurs and correspondingly, the amount of raw SOP mineral feedstock available to convert into finished product.  Due to lower raw material solar pond harvest in 2012, we purchased and consumed potassium mineral feedstock for SOP production, which was at a higher per-unit cost than our solar evaporated feedstock. The higher per-unit production costs for the inventory produced in 2012 significantly impacted our margins in the first quarter of 2013 when the remaining inventory produced in 2012 was sold.  In 2013, our SOP production facility in Ogden experienced operational issues which impacted the process that converts these raw materials to finished goods.  In addition, the Ogden facility began operating at production volumes which were lower than the anticipated design capacities of the expansion.  We expect the current solar pond-based effective capacity to be up to 320,000 tons annually for the Ogden facility beginning in 2014. We are focusing our sales efforts domestically in markets which typically yield higher average selling prices, net of shipping and handling costs, due to their proximity to our facilities when compared to international markets.  Beginning in the latter half of 2013, we purchased and consumed KCl feedstock at our Ogden facility for conversion into SOP.  These KCl feedstock purchases helped increase production volumes, yet resulted in increased per-unit costs.  As the spread between market prices for SOP and KCl has increased, the economics of producing SOP partly from KCl has improved for our unique KCl conversion process.  While these KCl purchases will increase our expected full year product cost and reduce the resulting margin percentages, they also are expected to increase the amount of our gross profit.  Future purchases of KCl will be based upon several factors, including but not limited to, the cost of converting KCl to SOP and SOP market prices.

General
 
We contract with bulk shipping vessels, barge, trucking and rail services to move products from our production facilities to distribution outlets and customers.  Our North American salt mines and SOP production facilities are near either water or rail transport systems, which reduces our shipping and handling costs when compared to alternative methods of distribution, although shipping and handling costs still account for a relatively large portion of the total delivered cost of our products.  Future period per-unit costs will continue to be influenced by oil-based fuel costs, a significant component of shipping and handling costs.  Shipping and handling costs on a per-ton basis for the first quarter of 2014 were approximately the same as the first quarter of 2013.
 
Manpower costs, energy costs, packaging, and certain raw material costs, particularly KCl, which can be used to make a portion of our SOP, deicing and water conditioning products, are also significant.  Our production workforce is typically represented by labor unions with multi-year collective bargaining agreements.  Our energy costs result from the consumption
of electricity with relatively stable, rate-regulated pricing, and natural gas, which can have significant pricing volatility. We manage the pricing volatility of our natural gas purchases with natural gas forward swap contracts up to 36 months in advance of purchases, helping to reduce the impact of short-term spot market price volatility.  The market-based price for KCl increased significantly in recent years, causing continued price increases under our supply contracts.  We have continued to purchase KCl for certain water conditioning and consumer deicing applications at higher prices, which increased input costs.  Our SOP production facility in Saskatchewan, Canada, purchases KCl under a long-term supply agreement, which is not based upon the market price of KCl.  One of the production methods uses the brine of Big Quill Lake, which is rich in sodium sulfate, and adds the purchased KCl to create high-purity SOP.
 
The consolidated financial statements have been prepared to present the historical financial condition and results of operations and cash flows for the Company which include our salt segment, specialty fertilizer segment, our records management business and unallocated corporate activities.  The results of operations of the records management business and other incidental revenues include sales of $2.7 million and $2.2 million for the first quarters of 2014 and 2013, respectively, and are not material to our consolidated financial statements and consequently, are not included in the table below.  The following tables and discussion should be read in conjunction with the information contained in our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes included elsewhere in this quarterly report.
 
 
 
Three Months Ended
 
 
 
March 31,
 
 
 
2014
   
2013
 
Salt Sales (in millions)
 
   
 
Salt sales
 
$
353.2
   
$
327.5
 
Less: salt shipping and handling
   
123.1
     
109.1
 
Salt product sales
 
$
230.1
   
$
218.4
 
 
Salt Sales Volumes (thousands of tons)
               
Highway deicing
   
4,742
     
4,358
 
Consumer and industrial
   
654
     
535
 
Total tons sold
   
5,396
     
4,893
 
 
Average Salt Sales Price (per ton)
               
Highway deicing
 
$
53.75
   
$
57.31
 
Consumer and industrial
   
150.28
     
145.37
 
Combined
   
65.45
     
66.93
 
 
Specialty Fertilizer ("SOP") Sales (in millions)
               
SOP sales
 
$
66.1
   
$
54.0
 
Less: SOP shipping and handling
   
7.6
     
6.2
 
SOP product sales
 
$
58.5
   
$
47.8
 
 
SOP Sales Volumes (thousands of tons)
   
107
     
88
 
SOP Average Price (per ton)
 
$
616
   
$
615
 
 
Three Months Ended March 31, 2014 Compared to Three Months Ended March 31, 2013
 
Sales
 
Sales for the first quarter of 2014 of $422.0 million increased $38.3 million, or 10% compared to $383.7 million for the same quarter of 2013. Sales primarily include revenues from the sale of our salt and specialty fertilizer products and shipping and handling costs incurred to deliver salt and specialty fertilizer products to our customers, or “product sales,” and revenues from our records management business.  Shipping and handling costs were $130.7 million during the first quarter of 2014, an increase of $15.4 million or 13% compared to $115.3 million for the same quarter of 2013.  The increase in shipping and handling costs is primarily due to higher salt and specialty fertilizer sales volumes in the first quarter of 2014 when compared to the same period of 2013.
 
Product sales for the first quarter of 2014 of $288.6 million increased $22.4 million, or 8% compared to $266.2 million for the same period in 2013, reflecting higher product sales in both the salt and specialty fertilizer segments.
Salt product sales for the first quarter of 2014 of $230.1 million increased $11.7 million, or 5% compared to $218.4 million for the same period in 2013.  The increase in the first quarter of 2014 was due to higher salt segment sales volumes, which contributed approximately $48 million to the increase in salt product sales.  Salt sales volumes in 2014 increased by approximately 0.5 million tons from 2013 levels consisting of higher highway and consumer deicing sales volumes principally due to the more severe winter weather experienced in the first quarter of 2014 in North America when compared to the winter weather experienced in the first quarter of 2013 in the markets we serve, which was partially offset by lower salt sales volumes in the U.K. due to their mild winter.  The increase in salt product sales was partially offset by a decline in average salt sales prices due primarily to a decline in the average highway sales price as a result of lower contract pricing experienced from the 2014 bid season when compared to the prior year. In addition, the exchange rates used to translate our operations denominated in foreign currencies into U.S. dollars in the first quarter of 2014 unfavorably impacted salt product sales by approximately $6 million when compared to the exchange rates used in the first quarter of 2013.
 
SOP product sales during the first quarter of 2014 of $58.5 million increased $10.7 million, or 22% compared to $47.8 million for the same period in 2013.  This increase was due to a 22% increase in sales volumes in the first quarter of 2014 compared to the same period in the prior year.  The average selling price of specialty fertilizer in the first quarter of 2014 was approximately the same as the same period in 2013.
 
Gross Profit
 
Gross profit for the first quarter of 2014 of $92.3 million increased $1.0 million, or 1% compared to $91.3 million in the same period of 2013.  As a percent of sales, gross margin decreased by two percentage points, from 24% in the first quarter of 2013 to 22% in the first quarter of 2014.  The increase in specialty fertilizer segment gross profit of approximately $2 million in the first quarter of 2014 was principally due to higher sales volumes when compared to the same period in the prior year. Both periods were impacted by higher per-unit production costs as we purchased and consumed KCl and mineral feedstock to supplement production although costs in the first quarter of 2014 were elevated when compared to the same period in 2013.
 
The gross profit for the salt segment decreased by approximately $1 million due primarily to lower average selling prices for highway deicing products, which was substantially offset by higher salt sales volumes.  In addition, the effects of exchange rates used to translate our operations denominated in foreign currencies into U.S. dollars in the first quarter of 2014 unfavorably impacted salt gross profit by approximately $1 million when compared to the exchange rates used in the first quarter of 2013.
 
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
 
Selling, general and administrative expenses for the first quarter of 2014 of $25.3 million increased $1.5 million, or 6% compared to $23.8 million for the same period in 2013. The increase in expense is primarily due to costs related to an acquisition which was subsequently completed in April 2014.
 
Other income, net
 
Other income was $3.1 million for the first quarter of 2014 compared to income of $0.4 million in the first quarter of 2013.  Net foreign exchange gains increased by $2.7 million in the first quarter of 2014 when compared to the same period in 2013.
Income Tax Expense
 
Income tax expense for the first quarter of 2014 was $15.5 million, a decrease of $1.6 million compared to $17.1 million for the same quarter of 2013 partially due to a higher proportion of pre-tax income in lower tax jurisdictions.  Our effective income tax rate differs from the U.S. statutory federal income tax rate primarily due to U.S. statutory depletion, state income taxes (net of federal tax benefit), foreign income tax rate differentials, foreign mining taxes, domestic manufacturing deductions, and interest expense recognition differences for book and tax purposes.
 
Liquidity and Capital Resources
 
Historically, we have used cash generated from operations to meet our working capital needs, to fund capital expenditures, to pay dividends and to repay our debt. Principally due to the nature of our deicing business, our cash flows from operations are seasonal, with the majority of our cash flows from operations generated during the first half of the calendar year.  When we have not been able to meet our short-term liquidity or capital needs with cash from operations, whether as a result of the seasonality of our business or other causes, we have met those needs with borrowings under our $125 million revolving credit facility.  We expect to meet the ongoing requirements for debt service, any declared dividends and capital expenditures from these sources. This, to a certain extent, is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory and other factors that are beyond our control.
 
Cash and cash equivalents of $283.4 million as of March 31, 2014 increased $123.8 million over December 31, 2013 resulting from operating cash flows of $160.7 million generated in the first quarter of 2014.  We used a portion of those cash flows to fund capital expenditures of $25.0 million and to pay dividends on our common stock of $20.2 million.  Subsequent to the end of the first quarter of 2014, we used approximately $95 million Canadian dollars (approximately $86 million U.S. dollars at the closing date) of our cash on hand to purchase Wolf Trax Inc.
As of March 31, 2014, we had $477.7 million of principal indebtedness consisting of $98.4 million 8% senior notes ($100 million at maturity) due 2019 and $379.3 million of borrowings outstanding under our credit agreement.  No amounts were outstanding under our $125 million revolving credit facility as of March 31, 2014. We had $7.7 million of outstanding letters of credit as of March 31, 2014, which reduced our revolving credit facility borrowing availability to $117.3 million.
 
Our debt service obligations could, under certain circumstances, materially affect our financial condition and impair our ability to operate our business or pursue our business strategies.  As a holding company, CMI’s investments in its operating subsidiaries constitute substantially all of its assets. Consequently, our subsidiaries conduct all of our consolidated operating activities and own substantially all of our operating assets. The principal source of the cash needed to pay our obligations is the cash generated from our subsidiaries’ operations and their borrowings. Our subsidiaries are not obligated to make funds available to CMI.  Furthermore, we must remain in compliance with the terms of our credit agreement, including the total leverage ratio and interest coverage ratio, in order to make payments on our 8% senior notes or pay dividends to our stockholders.  We must also comply with the terms of our indenture, which limits the amount of dividends we can pay to our stockholders.  Although we are in compliance with our debt covenants as of March 31, 2014, we can make no assurance that we will remain in compliance with these ratios nor can we make any assurance that the agreements governing the current and future indebtedness of our subsidiaries will permit our subsidiaries to provide us with sufficient dividends, distributions or loans to fund scheduled interest payments on the 8% senior notes, when due. If we consummate an additional acquisition, our debt service requirements could increase. Furthermore, we may need to refinance all or a portion of our indebtedness on or before maturity, however we cannot assure you that we will be able to refinance any of our indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms or at all.
 
We have been able to manage our cash flows generated and used across the Company to permanently reinvest earnings in our foreign jurisdictions or efficiently repatriate those funds to the U.S.  As of March 31, 2014, a substantial portion of our cash and cash equivalents (in the consolidated balance sheets) was either held directly or indirectly by foreign subsidiaries.  Due in part to the seasonality of our domestic business, we experience large changes in our working capital requirements from quarter to quarter.  Typically, our consolidated working capital requirements are the highest in the fourth quarter and lowest in the second quarter.  When needed, we fund short-term working capital requirements by accessing our $125 million revolving line of credit.  Due to our ability to generate adequate levels of domestic cash flow on an annual basis, it is our current intention to permanently reinvest our foreign earnings outside of the U.S.  However, if we were to repatriate our foreign earnings to the U.S., we may be required to accrue and pay U.S. taxes in accordance with the applicable U.S. tax rules and regulations as a result of the repatriation.  We review our tax position on a regular basis with the intent of optimizing cash accessibility and minimizing tax expense.
 
The amount of permanently reinvested earnings is influenced by, among other things, the profits generated by our foreign subsidiaries and the amount of investment in those same subsidiaries.  The profits generated by our domestic and foreign subsidiaries are, to some extent, impacted by the values charged on the transfer of our products between them.  We calculate values charged on transfers based on guidelines established by the multi-national organization which publishes accepted tax guidelines recognized in all of the jurisdictions in which we operate, and those calculated values are the basis upon which our subsidiary income taxes, profits and cash flows are realized.  Some of our calculated values have been approved by taxing authorities for certain periods while the values for those same periods or different periods have been challenged by the same or other taxing authorities.  While we believe our calculations are proper and consistent with the accepted guidelines, we can make no assurance that the final resolution of these matters with all of the relevant taxing authorities will be consistent with our existing calculations and resulting financial statements.  Additionally, the timing for settling these challenges may not occur for many years.  We currently expect the outcome of these matters will not have a material impact on our results of operations.  However, it is possible the resolution could impact the amount of earnings attributable to our domestic and foreign subsidiaries, which could impact the amount of permanently reinvested earnings and the tax-efficient access to consolidated cash on hand in all jurisdictions, as well as future cash flows from operations. 
 
Canadian provincial tax authorities have challenged tax positions claimed by one of our Canadian subsidiaries and have issued tax reassessments for years 2002-2008.  The reassessments are a result of ongoing audits and total approximately $73 million, including interest through March 2014.  We dispute these reassessments and plan to continue to work with the appropriate authorities in Canada to resolve the dispute.  There is a reasonable possibility that the ultimate resolution of this dispute, and any related disputes for other open tax years, may be materially higher or lower than the amounts we have reserved for such disputes.  In connection with this dispute, local regulations require us to post security with the tax authority until the dispute is resolved.  We and the tax authority have agreed that we will post collateral in the form of a $30 million performance bond (including approximately $6 million of the performance bond which will be cancelled pro rata as the outstanding assessment balance falls below the outstanding amount of the performance bond).  As part of the additional required collateral, we have previously paid approximately $28 million and we have agreed to pay an additional approximately $3 million during the remainder of 2014 with the remaining collateral balance to be paid after 2014.  We will be required by the same local regulations to provide security for additional interest on the above disputed amounts and for any future reassessments issued by these Canadian tax authorities in the form of cash, letters of credit, performance bonds, asset liens or other arrangements agreeable with the tax authorities until the dispute is resolved.
In addition, Canadian federal and provincial taxing authorities have reassessed us for years 2004-2006 which have been previously settled by agreement among the Company, the Canadian federal taxing authority and the U.S. federal taxing authority.  We have fully complied with the agreement since entering into it and we believe this action is highly unusual.  We are seeking to enforce the agreement which provided the basis upon which the returns were previously filed and settled.  The total amount of the reassessments, including penalties and interest through March 31, 2014, related to this matter is approximately $99 million.  We have agreed to post collateral in the form of a performance bond for approximately $21 million and have previously made cash payments of approximately $2 million.  We are currently in discussions with the Canadian tax authorities regarding the remaining required collateral of approximately $42 million.
 
In December 2009, a surface salt storage dome which was under construction collapsed at our mine in Goderich, Ontario. We are involved in construction litigation and other contract claims relating to the dome’s collapse.  Claims asserted against us total approximately $13 million. We have also counterclaimed for damages.
 
While these matters involve an element of uncertainty, management expects that their ultimate outcome will not have a material impact on our results of operations, cash flows or financial position.
 
In August 2011, a tornado in Goderich, Ontario, struck our salt mine and our salt mechanical evaporation plant.  There was no damage to the underground operations at the mine.  However, some of the mine’s surface structures and the evaporation plant incurred significant damage which temporarily ceased production at both facilities. We expect to be reimbursed by our insurers for substantially all of the replacement and repair costs for our property, plant and equipment and associated clean-up costs incurred. However, there can be no assurance that all losses will be fully or even substantially reimbursed. Currently, we believe a final settlement will occur in 2014. We had approximately $4 million of capital expenditures (including expenditures for improvements to our existing property, plant and equipment which are not fully reimbursable) in the first quarter of 2013 due to the tornado.   
 
We also have submitted a substantial business interruption claim to compensate us for lost profits and certain additional expenses incurred related to the ongoing operations.  We estimate that the effects from the tornado were immaterial in the first quarters of 2014 and 2013.  We believe our losses, including the impact of estimated lost sales, lost production and additional expenses that have been incurred related to the tornado will be substantially covered by our insurance policies as business interruption losses.  However, the amount of actual business interruption recoveries may differ materially from our current and future estimates and the ultimate collection and timing of any insurance recoveries could materially impact our short-term or long-term financial position and liquidity. Since the tornado occurred, we have received insurance advances totaling $100.0 million, including $13.7 million and $7.5 million in the first quarters of 2014 and 2013, respectively.  We have approximately $68.0 million of deferred revenue recorded as of March 31, 2014 in our consolidated balance sheets. The actual insurance recoveries related to the replacement cost of property, plant and equipment are expected to exceed the net book value of the damaged and destroyed property, plant and equipment and the related impairment charges.
 
For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2014 and 2013
 
Net cash flows provided by operating activities for the three months ended March 31, 2014 were $160.7 million, an increase of $31.9 million compared to $128.8 million for the first quarter of 2013. We had a reduction in working capital items of $84.5 million in the first quarter of 2014 compared to a reduction of $59.3 million in the first quarter 2013. These reductions provided a portion of our cash flows from operations, and reflect the seasonal nature of our deicing products and will vary largely due to the severity and timing of the winter weather in our regions.
 
Net cash flows used by investing activities of $13.4 million and $31.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively, resulted from capital expenditures of $25.0 million and $36.5 million, respectively.  Our capital expenditures in 2013 include expenditures of approximately $4 million (including expenditures for improvements to our existing property, plant and equipment which are not fully reimbursable) for the replacement of property, plant and equipment damaged or destroyed by the tornado. The remaining capital expenditures were primarily for routine replacements. In addition, we received $8.7 million and $4.3 million of insurance advances that were presented as investment activities during the first quarters of 2014 and 2013, respectively.
 
Financing activities during the first quarter of 2014 used $19.2 million of cash flows, primarily to make $20.2 million of dividend payments and $0.9 million of debt payments.  During the first quarter of 2013, we used $18.9 million of cash flows, primarily to make $18.3 million of dividend payments and $1.0 million of debt payment.  Both periods were partially offset by proceeds received from stock option exercises.
 
Sensitivity Analysis Related to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA
 
Management uses a variety of measures to evaluate the performance of CMP.  While the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, provide an understanding of our overall results of operations, financial condition and cash flows, we analyze components of the consolidated financial statements to identify certain trends and evaluate specific performance areas.  In addition to using U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) financial measures, such as gross profit, net earnings and cash flows generated by operating activities, management uses EBITDA and EBITDA adjusted for items which
management believes are not indicative of our ongoing operating performance (“Adjusted EBITDA”).  Both EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP financial measures used to evaluate the operating performance of our core business operations. Our resource allocation, financing methods and cost of capital, and income tax positions are managed at a corporate level, apart from the activities of the operating segments, and the operating facilities are located in different taxing jurisdictions, which can cause considerable variation in net earnings.  We also use EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to assess our operating performance and return on capital, and to evaluate potential acquisitions or other capital projects.  EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not calculated under GAAP and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for net earnings, cash flows or other financial data prepared in accordance with GAAP or as a measure of our overall profitability or liquidity.  EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA exclude interest expense, income taxes and depreciation and amortization, each of which are essential elements of our cost structure and cannot be eliminated.  Furthermore, Adjusted EBITDA excludes other cash and non-cash items in other (income) expense.  Our borrowings are a significant component of our capital structure and interest expense is a continuing cost of debt.  We are also required to pay income taxes, a required and ongoing consequence of our operations.  We have a significant investment in capital assets and depreciation and amortization reflect the utilization of those assets in order to generate revenues.  Consequently, any measure that excludes these elements has material limitations.  While EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are frequently used as measures of operating performance, these terms are not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies due to the potential inconsistencies in the method of calculation.  The calculation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA as used by management is set forth in the table below (in millions).
 
 
 
 
Three Months Ended March 31,
 
 
 
2014
   
2013
 
Net earnings
 
$
50.2
   
$
46.4
 
Interest expense
   
4.4
     
4.4
 
Income tax expense
   
15.5
     
17.1
 
Depreciation, depletion and amortization
   
18.4
     
17.3
 
EBITDA
   
88.5
     
85.2
 
Other non-operating expenses:
               
Other income, net
   
(3.1
)
   
(0.4
)
Adjusted EBITDA
 
$
85.4
   
$
84.8
 

Our operating earnings were favorably impacted in the first quarter of 2014 and to a lesser degree in the first quarter of 2013 by the winter weather in the markets we serve.
 
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
 
In April 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued guidance which changes the requirements for reporting discontinued operations and requires additional disclosures about discontinued operations.  Under the new guidance, disposals that represent a strategic shift that have or will have a major effect on an entity’s operations or financial results should be reported as discontinued operations.  The guidance is effective prospectively for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2014.  We do not expect that the guidance will have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
 
In January 2014, the FASB issued guidance related to service concession arrangements.  The guidance states that entities should not account for certain service concession arrangements with public-sector entities as leases and should not recognize any infrastructure as property, plant and equipment.  The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2014.  We do not expect that this guidance will have an impact on its consolidated financial statements.
 
Effects of Currency Fluctuations
 
We conduct operations in Canada and the U.K. Therefore, our results of operations are subject to both currency transaction risk and currency translation risk. We incur currency transaction risk whenever we or one of our subsidiaries enter into either a purchase or sales transaction using a currency other than the local currency of the transacting entity. With respect to currency translation risk, our financial condition and results of operations are measured and recorded in the relevant local currency and then translated into U.S. dollars for inclusion in our historical consolidated financial statements. Exchange rates between these currencies and the U.S. dollar have fluctuated significantly from time to time and may do so in the future. The majority of our revenues and costs are denominated in U.S. dollars, with British pounds sterling and Canadian dollars also being significant. Significant changes in the value of the Canadian dollar or British pound sterling relative to the U.S. dollar could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and our ability to meet interest and principal payments on U.S. dollar denominated debt, including borrowings under our senior secured credit facilities.
Although inflation has not had a significant impact on the Company’s operations, our efforts to recover cost increases due to inflation may be hampered as a result of the competitive industries in which we operate.
 
Seasonality
 
We experience a substantial amount of seasonality in our sales, primarily with respect to our deicing products.  Consequently, sales and operating income are generally higher in the first and fourth quarters and lower during the second and third quarters of each year. In particular, sales of highway and consumer deicing salt and magnesium chloride products vary based on the severity of the winter conditions in areas where the product is used. Following industry practice in North America, we seek to stockpile sufficient quantities of deicing salt in the second, third and fourth quarters to meet the estimated requirements for the winter season.
 
Item 3.   Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
 
Our business is subject to various types of market risks that include, but are not limited to, interest rate risk, foreign currency exchange rate risk and commodity pricing risk. Management has taken actions to mitigate our exposure to commodity pricing by entering into forward derivative instruments, and may take further actions to mitigate our exposure to interest rates and to changes in the cost of transporting our products due to variations in our contracted carriers’ cost of fuel, which is typically diesel fuel .  However, there can be no assurance that our hedging activities will eliminate or substantially reduce these risks.  We do not enter into any financial instrument arrangements for speculative purposes. The Company’s market risk exposure related to these items has not changed materially since December 31, 2013.
 
Item 4.   Controls and Procedures
 
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures – As of the end of the period covered by this report, an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act) was performed under the supervision and with the participation of the Company’s management, including the CEO and CFO. Based on that evaluation, the Company’s CEO and CFO concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of March 31, 2014 to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the reports it files and submits under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC's rules and forms.

For this purpose, disclosure controls and procedures include controls and procedures designed to ensure that information that is required to be disclosed under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the Company's management, including the CEO and CFO, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting - There has been no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting during the most recently completed fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
 
PART II.  OTHER INFORMATION
 
Item 1.   Legal Proceedings
 
The Company from time to time is involved in various routine legal proceedings. These primarily involve commercial claims, product liability claims, personal injury claims and workers’ compensation claims. We cannot predict the outcome of these lawsuits, legal proceedings and claims with certainty. Nevertheless, we believe that the outcome of these proceedings, even if determined adversely, would not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. There have been no material developments during 2014 with respect to legal proceedings.
 
Item 1A. Risk Factors
 
There have been no material changes to the risk factors previously discussed in Item 1A of the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013.
 
Item 2.   Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
 
None.
 
Item 3.   Defaults upon Senior Securities
 
None.
 
Item 4.  Mine Safety Disclosures
 
Information concerning mine safety violations or other regulatory matters required by Section 1503(a) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and Item 104 of Regulation S-K is included in Exhibit 95 to this quarterly report.

Item 5.  Other Information
 
There have been no material changes to the procedures by which security holders may recommend nominees to the Company's board of directors since the filing of the Company's most recent proxy statement.
 
Item 6.   Exhibits
 
EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit
No.
Description of Exhibit
 
 
2014 Summary of Executive Cash Compensation and Award Targets Under the Annual Incentive Plan
Management Annual Incentive Compensation Plan Summary
Current Form of Three-Year Performance Stock Unit Award Agreement
Current Form of Non-Qualified Stock Option Award Agreement
Current Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement
Current Form of Foreign Director Deferred Compensation Award Agreement
Amended and Restated Salt and Surface Lease dated January 1, 2014 by and between Island Partnership, L.L.C., JMB Cote Blanche L.L.C., CFB, LLC, and Carey Salt Company
Share Purchase Agreement dated March 19, 2014 by and between Compass Minerals Manitoba Inc, Compass Minerals International, Inc and the shareholders of Wolf Trax Inc.
Section 302 Certifications of Francis J. Malecha, President and Chief Executive Officer
Section 302 Certifications of Rodney L. Underdown, Chief Financial Officer
Certification Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §1350 of Francis J. Malecha, President and Chief Executive Officer and Rodney L. Underdown, Chief Financial Officer
Mine Safety Disclosures
101**
 
The following financial statements from the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2014, formatted in Extensive Business Reporting Language (XBRL): (i) consolidated balance sheets, (ii) consolidated statements of operations, (iii) consolidated statements of comprehensive income, (iv) consolidated statement of stockholders’ equity, (v) consolidated statements of cash flows, and (vi) the notes to the consolidated financial statements

*
Filed herewith
**
Furnished herewith

SIGNATURES

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, thereunto duly authorized.
 
 
COMPASS MINERALS INTERNATIONAL, INC.
 
 
Date: April 29, 2014
/s/ FRANCIS J. MALECHA
 
Francis J. Malecha
 
President and Chief Executive Officer
 
(Principal Executive Officer)

Date: April 29, 2014
/s/ RODNEY L. UNDERDOWN
 
Rodney L. Underdown
 
Chief Financial Officer
 
(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

 
27


Exhibit 10.1
 
2014 Summary of Executive Cash Compensation
 and Award Targets Under the Annual Incentive Plan

The following table sets forth the current base salaries provided for the Company’s CEO, CFO and three most highly compensated executive officers.  Salary increases are determined annually in March and effective April 1, 2014:

Executive Officers
 
Current Salary
 
 
 
 
Francis Malecha
 
$
740,000
 
Rodney Underdown
 
$
416,120
 
Robert Miller
 
$
300,000
 
Steve Berger
 
$
367,200
 
David Goadby
 
£
216,172
*
 
* Salary is denominated in pounds, so U.S. dollar equivalent may vary.

Executive officers are also eligible to receive a bonus each year under the Company’s Annual Incentive Plan.  The target percentages (based on percentage of salary) under this plan for the Company’s CEO, CFO and three most highly compensated executive officers are as shown in the following table.

Executive Officers
 
Target Percentage
 
 
 
 
Francis Malecha
   
100
%
Rodney Underdown
   
55
%
Robert Miller
   
55
%
Steve Berger
   
50
%
David Goadby
   
50
%

 





Exhibit 10.2
 
COMPASS MINERALS (CMP)
MANAGEMENT ANNUAL INCENTIVE COMPENSATION PLAN (MAIP)

(Fiscal Year 2014)

OVERVIEW

This is a discretionary incentive compensation plan adopted and established by the CMP Board of Directors pursuant to the Compass Minerals International, Inc. 2005 Incentive Award Plan.  This plan is designed and authorized for execution on an annual basis.  The policies, objectives, purposes and guidelines of this plan are defined by the Compensation Committee, as designated by the Board.  All awards and bonus payments described herein are entirely variable and at the sole discretion of the Compensation Committee may be evaluated, modified or revoked at any time.

All awards and bonus payments are based upon specific performance related criterion and as such, are not considered standard payment for services and are not guaranteed.

OBJECTIVES AND PURPOSE

The objective of the Management Annual Incentive Plan (MAIP) is to establish a clear linkage between annual business results and alignment of compensation for executives and key management contributors.

The purpose of this discretionary incentive plan is to:
· Reward employees for achieving and exceeding individual and CMP objectives.
· Promote teamwork across Business Units and Functions.
· Reinforce and motivate participants to fully utilize CMP resources and continual efforts to maximize earnings, cash flow and growth.
· Establish Safety results as a common, primary multiplier for all MAIP awards.

ELIGIBILITY

Employee participation is based on recommendations of the CEO and the Executive Staff.  The CEO, in keeping with established policies, determines and recommends the individual awards for the executive and key management group.  These participants are approved by the Compensation Committee.  A participant may be removed from the Plan at any time at the discretion of the Company.

AWARD CRITERIA

· MAIP awards are dependent upon accomplishment of CMP Corporate and Business Unit goals and objectives.  Payments will be based on performance targets established for an incentive period beginning January 1 through December 31 of a particular year.

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· The CEO and Senior Vice President Corporate Services will develop recommendations for the Compensation Committee for the Target Percentage assigned to executive and key participants in the MAIP Plan.  Each participant's overall incentive award is capped and shall not exceed 200% of base salary.

· Participants in the MAIP are assigned an overall Target Percentage; this is a percent of base salary and the corresponding dollar amount is the participant’s Target Award.

o Example :  A participant with a base salary of $50,000 and Target Percentage
     of 10% would have a Target Award of $5,000 (= 100% of Target) .

· Participant’s base salary reported as of December 31 of the performance year, excluding bonuses, special pay and other forms of compensation, will be used to calculate MAIP Awards.

· Overall MAIP payments (aggregate) made under this plan require approval of the Compensation Committee.

In the event of an accounting restatement which reduces the corporate or divisional financials on which this incentive award was based, the Company may, at its sole discretion, require repayment from participants of all or any portion of any incentive awards which were incorrectly stated or reduce any compensation or other payments the participant would otherwise receive from the Company by the amount of such repayment obligation.  All participants who receive an MAIP incentive award shall be required to repay the amount specified upon written notification.

PLAN DESIGN

Specific MAIP targets are established each year for each participant based on goals relating to overall Company performance, business-unit performance, environmental, health and safety and personal performance. Goals are specified as follows:

 
·
Corporate Adjusted EBITDA
 
·
Business-unit Adjusted EBITDA (Adjusted EBITDA is Operating Income plus depreciation and amortization each as applicable to the Business-unit and on a combined basis.)
 
·
Cost Per Ton (Cost to produce finished goods divided by finished goods production tons)
 
·
Personal Performance Objectives
 
·
Environmental, Health and Safety (“EHS”) Performance (Incidence rates)
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The weighting of these components is based on the responsibilities of the participant. Targets for participants responsible for a business-unit differ from those for participants with overall “corporate” responsibility (e.g., Finance ), as shown below:
 
SVP
Division (Salt, Specialty Fertilizer, CMP UK - Commercial)
 
Operations (including CMP UK Operations)
 
Corporate Enabling
Team Alignment
Plan Metric
Weighting
 
Team Alignment
Plan Metric
Weighting
 
Team Alignment
Plan Metric
Weighting
Corporate
Corporate EBITDA
50%
 
Corporate
Corporate EBITDA
50%
 
Corporate
Corporate EBITDA
80%
Division
Division EBITDA
30%
 
Operations
Cost Per Ton
20%
 
Personal
Personal Objectives
20%
Personal
Personal Objectives
20%
 
Operations
Wtg Avg NAS and Spec. Fert. EBITDA
10%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Personal
Personal Objectives
20%
 
 
 
 
 
VP
Division (Salt, Specialty Fertilizer, CMP UK - Commercial)
 
Operations (including CMP UK Operations)
 
Corporate Enabling
Team Alignment
Plan Metric
Weighting
 
Team Alignment
Plan Metric
Weighting
 
Team Alignment
Plan Metric
Weighting
Corporate
Corporate EBITDA
40%
 
Corporate
Corporate EBITDA
40%
 
Corporate
Corporate EBITDA
70%
Division
Division EBITDA
30%
 
Operations
Cost Per Ton
20%
 
Personal
Personal Objectives
30%
Personal
Personal Objectives
30%
 
Operations
Wtg Avg NAS and Spec. Fert. EBITDA
10%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Personal
Personal Objectives
30%
 
 
 
 
 
Directors/Managers
Division (Salt, Specialty Fertilizer, CMP UK - Commercial)
 
Operations (including CMP UK Operations)
 
Corporate Enabling
Team Alignment
Plan Metric
Weighting
 
Team Alignment
Plan Metric
Weighting
 
Team Alignment
Plan Metric
Weighting
Corporate
Corporate EBITDA
30%
 
Corporate
Corporate EBITDA
30%
 
Corporate
Corporate EBITDA
70%
Division
Division EBITDA
40%
 
Operations
Cost Per Ton
30%
 
Personal
Personal Objectives
30%
Personal
Personal Objectives
30%
 
Operations
Wtg Avg NAS and Spec. Fert. EBITDA
10%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Personal
Personal Objectives
30%
 
 
 
 
 
Safety Multiplier +/- 10% Applies to All Plans
 
Award levels with respect to EBITDA and Cost Per Ton are based on performance as follows:
 
PERCENT OF GOAL ACHIEVED
 
PERCENT OF AIP TARGET PAID
≤  75%
 
0%
75%
25%
   100%
 
100%
≥ 150%
 
           200% (maximum)

Participants are evaluated on individual personal performance objectives, and the maximum potential award for the personal performance portion of the potential award equals 200% of the personal performance target.  Overall payments for AIP awards may range from 0% to 200% of the AIP award target.
 
Finally, an EHS multiplier will be applied to the combined AIP award for all components calculated above as follows:
 
EHS RATING ACHIEVED
 
MULTIPLER APPLIED
125% of goal
 
0.9
100% of goal
 
1.0
75% of goal
 
1.1

This EHS multiplier is also applied on a sliding scale in the ranges shown above.

ALLOCATION OF PAYMENTS

Ø AIP bonus payments are made in the year following the year with respect to which the bonus relates.  The actual payment will be made as soon as practical after annual
Page | 3

 
financial statements are available and upon final approval of the Compensation Committee.
 
Ø To be eligible to receive an AIP bonus payment, a participant must have been actively employed at the time of any approved pay-out or, if earlier, February 28 of the year following the year with respect to which the payment relates.

Ø Any participant who terminates employment, voluntarily or involuntarily, prior to the approved pay-out date (or February 28, if earlier) will not receive an AIP bonus payment, except as stipulated below:

o In the event of normal retirement, disability or death prior to the end of an incentive period, an otherwise eligible participant may receive a pro-rated AIP payment amount, provided an AIP award was approved for the applicable incentive period.

o In the event of a change in ownership or control resulting in termination of employment prior to end of the incentive period, an otherwise eligible participant may receive a pro-rated AIP payment amount, provided an AIP award was approved for the applicable incentive period.

Ø An employee hired into a position approved for participation after the beginning of an incentive period may be considered for a pro-rated participation in this plan upon recommendation of the Senior Vice President, Corporate Services and CEO, unless other arrangements are approved as part of the offer letter.

Ø AIP bonus payments are paid-out on a one-time basis as a lump-sum, in cash, as such are considered compensation and reportable income for all tax reporting purposes.

Ø AIP bonus payments are included in total annual earnings and must be counted for the purpose of calculating 401k contributions, profit sharing contributions and other applicable deductions.

Ø A participant, who is not meeting business objectives or job performance expectations during an incentive period, may be removed from eligibility in the AIP Plan upon approval of the SVP Corporate Services and the CEO.

Ø A participant on a Performance Improvement Plan for job performance is not eligible to receive an AIP bonus payment.

Ø All Support Enabling functions will be paid on the Corporate Enabling plan. A support enabling function is one that reports into an SVP Corporate Services or the CFO.

Ø A participant must have a score of Solid (“3”) or better on their annual Performance review to be eligible for an MAIP payout.

Page | 4

This document supersedes all other documents that may establish or describe any criteria for participation in this plan or any other Compass Minerals compensation plan.  This plan can be modified or terminated at any time by the President and CEO of the Company.  This document does not provide nor is it intended to infer any instance of guarantee regarding participation or bonus pay-out.  Furthermore, this document does not establish any contract of employment between the Company and any employee, nor does it establish any guarantee of employment for any specific period of time.
 
 
Page | 5


Exhibit 10.3
 
THREE-YEAR PERFORMANCE STOCK UNIT AWARD AGREEMENT
 
Name of Grantee:
«First_Name» «Middle» «Last_Name»
   
Grant Date:
 
   
Number of Shares of Performance Stock Units:
 
   
Performance Period:
 
   

This Agreement evidences the grant by Compass Minerals International, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”) of performance stock units to the above-referenced “Grantee” as of the “Grant Date” hereof pursuant to the Compass Minerals International, Inc. 2005 Incentive Award Plan, as amended from time to time (the “Plan”). By accepting the Award, Grantee agrees to be bound in accordance with the provisions of the Plan, the terms and conditions of which are hereby incorporated in this Agreement by reference. Capitalized terms not defined herein shall have the same meaning as used in the Plan, as amended from time to time, unless otherwise superseded by any other agreement between the Company and Grantee.
 
1.              Performance Stock Units Awarded .  Grantee is hereby awarded the number of common stock units (the “Performance Stock Units”) first set forth above, subject to the other terms and conditions of this Agreement and the Plan.  Each unit represents the right to receive one share of the Company’s Stock.  The Performance Stock Units shall be subject to the Performance Criteria set forth in Exhibit A attached hereto.
 
2.              Vesting Period .  The Performance Stock Units shall be subject to a three-year  vesting period beginning on the Grant Date and ending on the third anniversary of such Grant Date (the "Vesting Period").
 
3.              Payment .  Except as provided in paragraph 5, within 30 days following the conclusion of the Vesting Period, Grantee shall receive a number of shares of Stock (in certificate or book entry form and rounded to the nearest whole share) equal to the number of Performance Stock Units with respect to which the Performance Criteria have been satisfied.  Any non-vested Performance Stock Units will be forfeited by Grantee and no benefits will be payable under this Agreement with respect to such non-vested Performance Stock Units.
 
4.              Termination Prior to the End of the Vesting Period .
 
(a)              Except as provided below, if Grantee terminates employment with the Company and its Subsidiaries prior to the last day of the Vesting Period, then the Performance Stock Units subject to this Agreement shall be forfeited as of such termination of employment and no benefits will be payable under this Agreement.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, if Grantee terminates employment with the Company and its Subsidiaries prior to the last day of the Vesting Period due
1

to death or Disability, then the Performance Stock Units subject to this Agreement shall not be forfeited due to Grantee's termination of employment prior to the last day of the Vesting Period.
 
(b)              The term “Disability” means Grantee is unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve (12) months; or is, by reason of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve (12) months, receiving replacement benefits for a period of not less than three (3) months under an accident and health plan covering employees of the Company.
 
5.              Payment Following Change of Control .  Notwithstanding any provision in this Agreement to the contrary, if following a Change of Control:  (a) the Performance Stock Units are not assumed or an economically equivalent right is not substituted by the surviving or successor entity, or (b) Grantee’s employment is involuntarily terminated without Cause (as defined in Exhibit B) or voluntarily terminated for Good Reason (as defined in Exhibit B) within 18 months of such Change of Control and prior to the end of the Performance Period, then the number of Performance Stock Units earned with respect to the Performance Period shall be determined based on the Company’s actual performance through the effective date of such Change of Control or termination of employment (as applicable), or the most recent practicable measurement date if TSR data is not available through such date.  Grantee shall then receive, within 30 days following such Change in Control or termination of employment (as applicable), a number of shares of Stock of the Company or stock of the surviving or successor entity (in certificate or book entry form and rounded to the nearest whole share) equal to the number of Performance Stock Units determined to have been earned; provided, however, payment shall be made in cash if the Stock of the Company or the stock of the surviving or successor entity with respect to which such Stock is converted is not traded on a national securities exchange or automated dealer quotation system.
 
6.              Voting and Dividend Rights . Grantee shall have no voting rights with respect to the Performance Stock Units awarded hereunder.  Pursuant to Section 8.4 of the Plan and subject to Exhibit A, Grantee shall be entitled to receive Dividend Equivalents based upon the number of Performance Stock Units earned by Grantee.  Such Dividend Equivalents shall be paid in cash (or other property being distributed) at the same time payment is made with respect to Grantee’s Performance Stock Units.
 
7.              Permitted Transfers .  The rights under this Agreement may not be assigned, transferred or otherwise disposed of except by will or the laws of descent and distribution and may be exercised during the lifetime of Grantee only by Grantee.  Upon any attempt to assign, transfer or otherwise dispose of this Agreement, or any right or privilege conferred hereby, or upon any attempted sale under any execution, attachment or similar process, this Agreement and the rights and privileges conferred hereby immediately will become null and void.
 
8.              Unfunded Obligation .  This Agreement is designed and shall be administered at all times as an unfunded arrangement and Grantee shall be treated as an unsecured general creditor and shall have no beneficial ownership of any assets of the Company.
 
9.              Taxes .  Grantee will be solely responsible for any federal, state or other taxes imposed in connection with the granting of the Performance Stock Units or the delivery of shares of Stock pursuant thereto, and Grantee authorizes the Company or any Subsidiary to make any withholding for taxes which the Company or any Subsidiary deems necessary or proper in
2

connection therewith.  Upon recognition of income by Grantee with respect to the Award hereunder, the Company shall withhold taxes pursuant to the terms of the Plan.
 
10.              Changes in Circumstances .  It is expressly understood and agreed that Grantee assumes all risks incident to any change hereafter in the applicable laws or regulations or incident to any change in the value of the Performance Stock Units or the shares of Stock issued pursuant thereto after the date hereof.
 
11.              Conflict Between  Plan and This Agreement .  In the event of a conflict between this Agreement and the Plan, the provisions of the Plan shall govern.  In the event of any inconsistencies between the definitions and other terms and conditions under Grantee’s employment agreement, if any, and this Agreement or the Plan, Grantee’s employment agreement shall control.
 
12.              Notices .  All notices, claims, certificates, requests, demands and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given and delivered if personally delivered or if sent by nationally-recognized overnight courier, by telecopy, or by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested and postage prepaid, addressed as follows:
 
If to the Company, to it at:
Compass Minerals International, Inc.
9900 West 109th Street, Suite 100
Overland Park KS 66210
 
Attn: Senior Vice President Corporate Services
 
If to Grantee, to him or her at the address set forth on the signature page hereto or to such other address as the party to whom notice is to be given may have furnished to the other party in writing in accordance herewith.  Any such notice or communications shall be deemed to have been received (a) in the case of personal delivery, on the date of such delivery (or if such date is not a business day, on the next business day after the date of delivery), (b) in the case of nationally-recognized overnight courier, on the next business day after the date sent, (c) the case of telecopy transmission, when received (or if not sent on a business day, on the next business day after the date sent), and (d) in the case of mailing, on the third business day following that on which the piece of mail containing such communication is posted.
 
13.              No Guarantee of Employment .  Nothing in this Agreement shall confer upon Grantee any right to continue in the employ of the Company or any Subsidiary or interfere in any way with the right of the Company or Subsidiary, as the case may be, to sever Grantee’s employment or to increase or decrease Grantee’s compensation at any time.
 
14.              Governing Law .  This Agreement shall be governed under the laws of the State of Delaware without regard to the principles of conflicts of laws.  Each party hereto submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas (Kansas City, Kansas).  Each party hereto irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any objections that either party may now or hereafter have to the aforesaid venue, including without limitation any claim that any such proceeding brought in either such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum, provided however, this provision shall not limit the ability of either party to enforce the other provisions of this paragraph.
3

15.              Severability . It is the desire and intent of the parties hereto that the provisions of this Agreement be enforced to the fullest extent permissible under the laws and public policies applied in each jurisdiction in which enforcement is sought.  Accordingly, if any particular provision of this Agreement shall be adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, prohibited or unenforceable for any reason, such provision, as to such jurisdiction, shall be ineffective, without invalidating the remaining provisions of this Agreement or affecting the validity or enforceability of such provision in any other jurisdiction.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, if such provision could be more narrowly drawn so as not to be invalid, prohibited or unenforceable in such jurisdiction, it shall, as to such jurisdiction, be so narrowly drawn, without invalidating the remaining provisions of this Agreement or affecting the validity or enforceability of such provision in any other jurisdiction.
 
16.              Enforcement .  In the event the Company or Grantee institutes litigation to enforce or protect its rights under this Agreement or the Plan, the party prevailing in any such litigation shall be paid by the non-prevailing party, in addition to all other relief, all reasonable attorneys’ fees, out-of-pocket costs and disbursements of such party relating to such litigation.
 
17.              Waiver of Jury Trial .  Each party hereto hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waives, to the fullest extent it may legally and effectively do so, trial by jury in any suit, action or proceeding arising hereunder
 
18.              Committee Authority .  The Committee will have the power and discretion to interpret this Agreement and to adopt such rules for the administration, interpretation and application of this Agreement as are consistent with the Plan and this Agreement and to interpret or revoke any such rules, including, but not limited to, the determination of whether or not the Performance Criteria with respect to the Performance Stock Units have been satisfied.  All actions taken and all interpretations and determinations made by the Committee in good faith will be final and binding upon Grantee, the Company and all other interested persons.  No member of the Committee will be personally liable for any action, determination or interpretation made in good faith with respect to this Agreement.
 
19.              Counterparts .  This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, and each such counterpart shall be deemed to be an original, but all such counterparts together shall constitute but one agreement.
 
20.              Restrictive Covenant .  Notwithstanding any provision in this Agreement to the contrary, the award hereunder is expressly conditioned upon Grantee’s execution of a Restricted Covenant Agreement in the form designated by the Company.  If Grantee fails or refuses to execute such Restricted Covenant Agreement, this Agreement shall be null and void ab initio.
 
21.              Compliance with Section 409A .  To the extent applicable and notwithstanding any provision in this Agreement to the contrary, this Agreement shall be interpreted and administered in accordance with  Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code and regulations and other guidance issued thereunder.  For purposes of determining whether any payment made pursuant to the Plan results in a "deferral of compensation" within the meaning of Treasury Regulation §1.409A-1(b), the Company shall maximize the exemptions described in such section, as applicable.  Any reference to a “termination of employment” or similar term or phrase shall be interpreted as a “separation from service” within the meaning of Section 409A and the regulations issued thereunder.  If any deferred compensation payment is payable upon separation from service and is required to be delayed pursuant to Section 409A(a)(2)(B) because Grantee is a “specified employee”, then payment of such amount shall be delayed for a period of six months
4

and paid in a lump sum on the first payroll payment date following expiration of such six month period.
 
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the Grant Date.
 
 
COMPASS MINERALS INTERNATIONAL, INC.
 
 
 
 
 
By:
 
 
 
Name:
Steven N. Berger
 
 
Title:
Senior Vice President Corporate Services
 
 
 
GRANTEE
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
«First_Name» «Middle» «Last_Name»
 
5

EXHIBIT A
PERFORMANCE CRITERIA FOR PERFORMANCE STOCK UNIT AWARD

All of the Performance Stock Units will be forfeited at the end of the applicable Performance Period unless the following Performance Criteria are satisfied:
6

EXHIBIT B
DEFINITIONS OF CAUSE AND GOOD REASON

Definition of Cause

“Cause” means (i) the conviction of Grantee of, or plea of guilty or nolo contendere by Grantee to, a felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, (ii) the indictment of Grantee for a felony or misdemeanor under the federal securities laws, (iii) the willful misconduct or gross negligence by Grantee resulting in material harm to the Company or any Subsidiary, (iv) fraud, embezzlement, theft, or dishonesty by Grantee against the Company or any Subsidiary, or willful violation by Grantee of a policy or procedure of the Company, resulting in any case in material harm to the Company, or (v) breach of any confidentiality agreement or obligation and/or breach of any Restrictive Covenant Agreement or similar agreement by and between Grantee and Company.  For purpose of this paragraph, no act or failure to act by Grantee shall be considered “willful” unless done or omitted to be done by Grantee in bad faith and without reasonable belief that Grantee’s action or omission was in the best interests of the Company or its Subsidiaries.  Any act, or failure to act, based upon authority given pursuant to a resolution duly adopted by the Board shall be conclusively presumed to be done, or omitted to be done, by Grantee in good faith and in the best interests of the Company. The Company must notify Grantee of any event constituting Cause within ninety (90) days following the Company’s knowledge of its existence or such event shall not constitute Cause under this Agreement.
 
Definition of Good Reason

“Good Reason” means, without Grantee’s express written consent, the occurrence of any of the following events within 18 months after a Change of Control:

(i)              a material adverse change in Grantee’s duties or responsibilities as of the Change of Control (or as the same may be increased from time to time thereafter); provided, however, that Good Reason shall not be deemed to occur upon a change in Grantee’s reporting structure, upon a change in Grantee’s duties or responsibilities that is a result of the Company no longer being a publicly traded entity and does not involve any other event set forth in this paragraph, or upon a change in Grantee’s duties or responsibilities that is part of an across the board change in duties or responsibilities of employees at Grantee’s level;

(ii)              any material reduction in Grantee’s annual base salary or annual target or maximum bonus opportunity in effect as of the Change of Control (or as the same may be increased from time to time thereafter); provided, however, that Good Reason shall not include such a reduction of less than 10% that is part of an across the board reduction applicable to employees at Grantee’s level;

(iii)              Company’s (A) relocation of Grantee more than 50 miles from Grantee’s primary office location and more than 50 miles from Grantee’s principal residence as of the Change of Control or (B) requirement that Grantee travel on Company business to an extent substantially greater than Grantee’s travel obligations immediately before such Change of Control; or

7

(iv)              any material breach of this Agreement.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, Grantee must provide notice of termination of employment to the Company within 90 days of Grantee’s knowledge of an event constituting Good Reason or such event shall not constitute Good Reason under this Agreement.  The Company shall have a period of 30 days to cure any such event without triggering the obligations under this Agreement.
 
 
8

 

Exhibit 10.4
 
 
NON QUALIFIED STOCK OPTION AWARD AGREEMENT
 
Name of Optionee:
«First_Name» «Middle» «Last_Name»
   
Grant Date:
 
   
Number of Option Shares:
 
   
Option Price per Share:
 
   

This Agreement evidences the grant by Compass Minerals International, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”) of a non-qualified stock option to the above-referenced “Optionee” as of the “Grant Date” hereof pursuant to the Compass Minerals International, Inc. 2005 Incentive Award Plan, as amended (the “Plan”).
 
1.  The Plan .  The terms and provisions of the Plan are hereby incorporated into this Agreement as if set forth herein in their entirety.  In the event of a conflict between any provision of this Agreement and the Plan, the provisions of the Plan shall control.  A copy of the Plan may be obtained from the Company by Optionee upon request.  Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the meanings ascribed thereto in the Plan, unless otherwise superseded by any other agreement between the Company and Grantee.
 
2.  Option Price .  On the terms and subject to the conditions of the Plan and this Agreement, Optionee shall have the option (the “Option”) to purchase shares of Stock at the price per share (the “Option Price”) and in the amounts set forth above.  Payment of the Option Price may be made in any manner specified under Section 5.1(c) of the Plan.  The Option is not intended to qualify for federal income tax purposes as an “incentive stock option” within the meaning of Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).  Upon Optionee’s termination of employment or service with the Company for any reason, the unvested portion of the Option shall terminate.
 
3.  Term .  The term of the Option shall commence on the Grant Date and expire on the seventh (7 th ) anniversary of the Grant Date, unless the Option shall have sooner been terminated in accordance with the terms of the Plan or this Agreement.
 
4.  Vesting .  The Option shall become non-forfeitable and shall become exercisable according to the following provisions:
 
(a)              Twenty-five percent (25%) of the Option shall become vested and exercisable on each of the four anniversaries of the Grant Date; provided , however , if a Change of Control shall occur prior thereto, then one hundred percent (100%) of the Option shall become immediately vested and exercisable if:  (i) the Option is not assumed or an economically equivalent option or right is not substituted by the surviving entity following such Change in Control, or (ii) Optionee’s employment is involuntarily terminated without Cause (as defined in paragraph 8 below) or voluntarily terminated for Good Reason (as defined in Section 4(d) below) within 18 months following such Change of Control.
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(b)              To the extent vested, the Option may be exercised in whole or in part by delivery of notice of exercise and the Option Price to the Company no later than the earliest of the dates set forth in paragraph 5.
 
(c)              Notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, the Option shall cease vesting upon Optionee’s termination of employment or service with the Company and/or its Subsidiaries for any reason other than retirement or disability, and no portion of the Option which is not vested as of such time shall become vested thereafter.  All decisions by the Committee with respect to any calculations pursuant to this paragraph shall be final and binding on Optionee.
 
(d)              For purposes of this Agreement, “Good Reason” means, without Optionee’s express written consent, the occurrence of any of the following events within 18 months after a Change of Control:
 
(i)              a material adverse change in Optionee’s duties or responsibilities as of the Change of Control (or as the same may be increased from time to time thereafter); provided, however, that Good Reason shall not be deemed to occur upon a change in Optionee’s reporting structure, upon a change in Optionee’s duties or responsibilities that is a result of the Company no longer being a publicly traded entity and does not involve any other event set forth in this paragraph, or upon a change in Optionee’s duties or responsibilities that is part of an across-the-board change in duties or responsibilities of employees at Optionee’s level;
 
(ii)              any reduction in Optionee’s annual base salary or annual target or maximum bonus opportunity in effect as of the Change of Control (or as the same may be increased from time to time thereafter); provided, however, that Good Reason shall not include such a reducti on of less than 10% that is part of an across-the-board reduction applicable to employees at Optionee’s level;
 
(iii)              Company’s (A) relocation of Optionee more than 50 miles from Optionee’s primary office location and more than 50 miles from Optionee’s principal residence as of the Change of Control or (B) requirement that Optionee travel on Company business to an extent substantially greater than Optionee’s travel obligations immediately before such Change of Control; or
 
(iv)              a reduction of more than 10% in the aggregate benefits provided to Optionee under the Company’s employee benefit plans, including but not limited to any “top hat” plans designated for key employees, in which Optionee is participating as of the Change of Control.
 
Notwithstanding the foregoing, Optionee must provide notice of termination of employment to the Company within 90 days of Optionee’s knowledge of an event constituting Good Reason or such event shall not constitute Good Reason under this Agreement.  Additionally, an isolated, insubstantial, and inadvertent action taken in good faith and that is remedied by the Company within 10 days after receipt of notice thereof given by Optionee shall not constitute Good Reason.
 
5.  Exercise of Option .  The Option shall automatically terminate and shall be null and void and be of no further force and effect upon the earliest of:
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(a)              The third (3 rd ) anniversary of Optionee’s termination of employment or service with the Company or Subsidiary due to retirement or disability; or
 
(b)              The first (1 st ) anniversary of Optionee’s death; or
 
(c)              The first (1 st ) anniversary of Optionee’s termination of employment or service without Cause or for Good Reason within 18 months following a Change of Control; or
 
(d)              The date Optionee's employment or service with the Company or Subsidiary is involuntarily terminated for Cause (either before or after a Change of Control); or
 
(e)              The ninetieth (90 th ) day following Optionee’s termination of employment or service with the Company and/or its Subsidiaries for any reason not described in (a), (b), (c) or (d) above; or
 
(f)              The seventh (7 th ) anniversary of the Grant Date.
 
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if Optionee’s right to exercise the Option expires during a blackout trading period and Optionee is prohibited from exercising the Option during such period due to trading restrictions, Optionee shall have an additional thirty (30) days following the expiration of such blackout period to exercise the Option.
 
For purposes of this Agreement, “retirement” means a voluntary termination of employment or service on or after age sixty-two (62) and with a combined age and years of service of at least sixty-seven (67).  The term “disability” means Optionee is unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve (12) months; or is, by reason of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve (12) months, receiving replacement benefits for a period of not less than three (3) months under an accident and health plan covering employees of the Company.
 
6.  Restriction on Transfer .  The Option may not be transferred, pledged, assigned, hypothecated or otherwise disposed of in any way by Optionee and may be exercised during the lifetime of Optionee only by Optionee.  If Optionee dies, the Option shall thereafter be exercisable, during the period specified in paragraph 5 of this Agreement, by his or her executors or administrators to the full extent to which the Option was exercisable by Optionee at the time of his or her death.  The Option shall not be subject to execution, attachment or similar process.  Any attempted assignment, transfer, pledge, hypothecation or other disposition of the Option contrary to the provisions hereof, and the levy of any execution, attachment or similar process upon the Option shall be null and void and without effect.
 
7.  Optionee’s Employment .  Nothing in the Option shall confer upon Optionee any right to continue in the employ or service of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or interfere in any way with the right of the Company or its Subsidiaries, as the case may be, to terminate Optionee’s employment or service or to increase or decrease Optionee’s compensation at any time.
 
8.  Definition of Cause .  For purposes of this Agreement, “Cause” means (i) the conviction of Optionee of, or plea of guilty or nolo contendere by Optionee to, a felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, (ii) the indictment of Optionee for a felony or misdemeanor under the federal securities laws, (iii) the willful misconduct or gross negligence by Optionee resulting in material harm to the Company or any Subsidiary, (iv) fraud, embezzlement, theft, or dishonesty by Optionee against the Company or any Subsidiary, or willful violation by Optionee of a policy or procedure of the Company,
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resulting in any case in material harm to the Company, or (v) breach of any confidentiality / invention assignment agreement or obligation and/or breach of any Restrictive Covenant Agreement or similar agreement by and between Optionee and the Company.  For purpose of this paragraph, no act or failure to act by Optionee shall be considered “willful” unless done or omitted to be done by Optionee in bad faith and without reasonable belief that Optionee’s action or omission was in the best interests of the Company or its Subsidiaries.  Any act, or failure to act, based upon authority given pursuant to a resolution duly adopted by the Board shall be conclusively presumed to be done, or omitted to be done, by Optionee in good faith and in the best interests of the Company.  The Company must notify Optionee of any event constituting Cause within ninety (90) days following the Company’s knowledge of its existence or such event shall not constitute Cause under this Agreement.
 
Notwithstanding any provision in this Agreement to the contrary, it is a condition precedent to the exercise of the Option that no event constituting Cause shall have occurred at any time coincident with or preceding Optionee’s delivery of notice of exercise to the Company or its designee.  Upon the occurrence of any such event constituting Cause, the Option may not be exercised with respect to any remaining shares subject to the Option.
 
9.  Notices .  All notices, claims, certificates, requests, demands and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given and delivered if personally delivered or if sent by nationally-recognized overnight courier, by telecopy, or by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested and postage prepaid, addressed as follows:
If to the Company, to it at:

Compass Minerals International, Inc.
9900 West 109th Street
Overland Park KS 66210
Attn: Senior Vice President, Corporate Services

If to Optionee, to him or her at the address set forth on the signature page hereto or to such other address as the party to whom notice is to be given may have furnished to the other party in writing in accordance herewith.  Any such notice or communications shall be deemed to have been received (a) in the case of personal delivery, on the date of such delivery (or if such date is not a business day, on the next business day after the date of delivery), (b) in the case of nationally-recognized overnight courier, on the next business day after the date sent, (c) the case of telecopy transmission, when received (or if not sent on a business day, on the next business day after the date sent), and (d) in the case of mailing, on the third business day following that on which the piece of mail containing such communication is posted.
 
10.  Waiver of Breach .  The waiver by either party of a breach of any provision of this Agreement must be in writing and shall not operate or be construed as a waiver of any other or subsequent breach.
 
11.  Optionee’s Undertaking .  Optionee hereby agrees to take whatever additional actions and execute whatever additional documents the Company may in its reasonable judgment deem necessary or advisable in order to carry out or effect one or more of the obligations or restrictions imposed on Optionee pursuant to the express provisions of this Agreement and the Plan.
 
12.  Modification of Rights .  The rights of Optionee are subject to modification and termination in certain events as provided in this Agreement and the Plan (with respect to the Option granted hereby).
 
13.  Governing Law .  This Agreement shall be governed under the laws of the State of Delaware without regard to the principles of conflicts of laws.  Each party hereto submits to the exclusive
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jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas (Kansas City, Kansas). Each party hereto irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any objections that either party may now or hereafter have to the aforesaid venue, including without limitation any claim that any such proceeding brought in either such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum, provided however, this provision shall not limit the ability of either party to enforce the other provisions of this paragraph.
 
14.  Counterparts .  This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, and each such counterpart shall be deemed to be an original, but all such counterparts together shall constitute but one agreement.
 
15.  Entire Agreement .  This Agreement and the Plan (and the other writings referred to herein) constitute the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and thereof and supersede all prior written or oral negotiations, commitments, representations and agreements with respect thereto.
 
16.  Severability .  It is the desire and intent of the parties hereto that the provisions of this Agreement be enforced to the fullest extent permissible under the laws and public policies applied in each jurisdiction in which enforcement is sought.  Accordingly, if any particular provision of this Agreement shall be adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, prohibited or unenforceable for any reason, such provision, as to such jurisdiction, shall be ineffective, without invalidating the remaining provisions of this Agreement or affecting the validity or enforceability of such provision in any other jurisdiction.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, if such provision could be more narrowly drawn so as not to be invalid, prohibited or unenforceable in such jurisdiction, it shall, as to such jurisdiction, be so narrowly drawn, without invalidating the remaining provisions of this Agreement or affecting the validity or enforceability of such provision in any other jurisdiction.
 
17.  Enforcement .  In the event the Company or any Optionee institutes litigation to enforce or protect its rights under this Agreement or the Plan, the party prevailing in any such litigation shall be paid by the non-prevailing party, in addition to all other relief, all reasonable attorneys’ fees, out-of-pocket costs and disbursements relating to such litigation.
 
18.  Waiver of Jury Trial .  Each party hereto hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waives, to the fullest extent it may legally and effectively do so, trial by jury in any suit, action or proceeding arising hereunder.
 
19.  Restrictive Covenant .  Notwithstanding any provision in this Agreement to the contrary, the award hereunder is expressly conditioned upon Optionee’s execution of a confidentiality agreement/ invention assignment agreement and a Restricted Covenant Agreement in the form designated by the Company.  If Optionee fails or refuses to execute such confidentiality agreement/ invention assignment agreement and Restricted Covenant Agreement, this Agreement shall be null and void ab initio.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the Grant Date.
 
 
COMPASS MINERALS INTERNATIONAL, INC.
 
 
 
 
By:
 
 
Name:
Steven N. Berger
 
Title:
Senior Vice President, Corporate Services
 
 
 
 
OPTIONEE
 
 
 
 
«First_Name» «Middle» «Last_Name»

 
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Exhibit 10.5
 
PERFORMANCE BASED RESTRICTED STOCK UNIT AWARD AGREEMENT
 
Name of Grantee:
 
«First_Name» «Middle» «Last_Name»
 
Grant Date:
 
 
Number of Shares of Restricted Stock Units:
 
 

This Agreement evidences the grant by Compass Minerals International, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”) of restricted stock units to the above-referenced “Grantee” as of the “Grant Date” hereof pursuant to the Compass Minerals International, Inc. 2005 Incentive Award Plan, as amended from time to time (the “Plan”). By accepting the Award, Grantee agrees to be bound in accordance with the provisions of the Plan, the terms and conditions of which are hereby incorporated in this Agreement by reference. Capitalized terms not defined herein shall have the same meaning as used in the Plan, as amended from time to time, unless otherwise superseded by any other agreement between the Company and Grantee.
 
1.              Restricted Stock Units Awarded .  Grantee is hereby awarded the number of restricted stock units (the “Restricted Stock Units”) first set forth above, subject to the other terms and conditions of this Agreement and the Plan.  Each unit represents one share of the Company’s Stock.
 
2.              Vesting .  The Restricted Stock Units shall be non-vested, and subject to forfeiture as provided in paragraph 3, until the third (3rd) anniversary of the Grant Date (the “Vesting Date”); provided that the performance criteria set forth on Exhibit A attached hereto have been timely satisfied.
 
3.              Payment .  Subject to paragraph 9, Grantee shall receive  a number of shares of Stock (in either certificate or book entry form) equal to the Restricted Stock Units subject to this Agreement within 30 days following the Vesting Date.
 
4.              Forfeiture .  In the event Grantee’s employment with the Company and its Subsidiaries terminates prior to the date on which the Restricted Stock Units have vested, such Restricted Stock  Units will be forfeited by Grantee and no benefits will be payable under this Agreement.  For purposes of this Agreement, neither an authorized leave of absence (authorized by the Company in writing to Grantee) nor the retirement or disability of the Grantee shall be deemed a termination of employment hereunder.  The term “retirement” means a voluntary separation from service on or after attaining age 62 and having a combined age and years of service of at least 67.  The term “disability” means Grantee is unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve (12) months; or is, by reason of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve (12) months, receiving replacement benefits for a period of not less than three (3) months under an accident and health plan covering employees of the Company.
 
5.              Payment Following Change of Control .  Notwithstanding any provision in this Agreement to the contrary, in the event of a Change of Control, the Grantee’s Restricted Stock Units shall become vested and payable as follows:  (i) if the surviving entity does not agree prior to such Change of Control to substitute immediately after the Change of Control an economically equivalent right as appropriate under the circumstances, payment shall be made within 30 days following the Change of Control or (ii) if clause (i) does not apply and Grantee’s employment is involuntarily terminated without Cause or voluntarily terminated for Good Reason within 18 months following such Change of Control,

payment shall be made within 30 days following Grantee’s termination; provided , however , if payment is made pursuant to clause (i) and the Change of Control event does not constitute a “change in control” within the meaning of section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code, then payment will be delayed until the Vesting Date or, if earlier, the Grantee’s termination of employment following the Change of Control event.
 
If Grantee’s employment is involuntarily terminated for Cause either before or after a Change of Control, but prior to the Vesting Date, then the Restricted Stock Units will be forfeited by Grantee and no benefit shall be payable under this Agreement.
 
For purposes of this Agreement, “Cause” means (i) the conviction of Grantee of, or plea of guilty or nolo contendere by Grantee to, a felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, (ii) the indictment of Grantee for a felony or misdemeanor under the federal securities laws, (iii) the willful misconduct or gross negligence by Grantee resulting in material harm to the Company or any Subsidiary, (iv) fraud, embezzlement, theft, or dishonesty by Grantee against the Company or any Subsidiary, or willful violation by Grantee of a policy or procedure of the Company, resulting in any case in material harm to the Company, or (v) breach of any confidentiality agreement or obligation and/or breach of any Restrictive Covenant Agreement or similar agreement by and between Grantee and Company.  For purpose of this paragraph, no act or failure to act by Grantee shall be considered “willful” unless done or omitted to be done by Grantee in bad faith and without reasonable belief that Grantee’s action or omission was in the best interests of the Company or its Subsidiaries.  Any act, or failure to act, based upon authority given pursuant to a resolution duly adopted by the Board shall be conclusively presumed to be done, or omitted to be done, by Grantee in good faith and in the best interests of the Company. The Company must notify Grantee of any event constituting Cause within ninety (90) days following the Company’s knowledge of its existence or such event shall not constitute Cause under this Agreement.
 
For purposes of this Agreement, “Good Reason” means, without Grantee’s express written consent, the occurrence of any of the following events within 18 months after a Change of Control:
 
(i)         a material adverse change in Grantee’s duties or responsibilities as of the Change of Control (or as the same may be increased from time to time thereafter); provided, however, that Good Reason shall not be deemed to occur upon a change in Grantee’s reporting structure, upon a change in Grantee’s duties or responsibilities that is a result of the Company no longer being a publicly traded entity and does not involve any other event set forth in this paragraph, or upon a change in Grantee’s duties or responsibilities that is part of an across‑the‑board change in duties or responsibilities of employees at Grantee’s level;
 
(ii)         any material reduction in Grantee’s annual base salary or annual target or maximum bonus opportunity in effect as of the Change of Control (or as the same may be increased from time to time thereafter); provided, however, that Good Reason shall not include such a reduction of less than 10% that is part of an across‑the‑board reduction applicable to employees at Grantee’s level;
 
(iii)         Company’s (A) relocation of Grantee more than 50 miles from Grantee’s primary office location and more than 50 miles from Grantee’s principal residence as of the Change of Control or (B) requirement that Grantee travel on Company business to an extent substantially greater than Grantee’s travel obligations immediately before such Change of Control; or
 
(iv)         any material breach of this Agreement.
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Notwithstanding the foregoing, Grantee must provide notice of termination of employment to the Company within 90 days of Grantee’s knowledge of an event constituting Good Reason or such event shall not constitute Good Reason under this Agreement.  The Company shall have a period of 30 days to cure any such event without triggering the obligations under this Agreement .
 
6.              Voting and Dividend Rights .  Grantee shall have no voting rights with respect to the Restricted Stock Units awarded hereunder.  Pursuant to Section 8.4 of the Plan and subject to Exhibit A, Grantee shall be entitled to receive Dividend Equivalents based upon the number of Restricted Stock Units subject to this Agreement.  Such Dividend Equivalents shall be paid no later than March 15 of the year following the year with respect to which such Dividend Equivalents relate and shall be equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the value of the cash dividend (or other property being distributed) per share being paid on the Company’s Stock times the number of Restricted Stock Units subject to this Agreement.  Dividend Equivalents shall paid in cash, shares of the Company’s Stock or such other property as may be distributed to the Company’s stockholders.
 
7.              Permitted Transfers .  The rights under this Agreement may not be assigned, transferred or otherwise disposed of except by will or the laws of descent and distribution and may be exercised during the lifetime of Grantee only by Grantee.  Upon any attempt to assign, transfer or otherwise dispose of this Agreement, or any right or privilege conferred hereby, or upon any attempted sale under any execution, attachment or similar process, this Agreement and the rights and privileges conferred hereby immediately will become null and void.
 
8.              Unfunded Obligation .  This Agreement is designed and shall be administered at all times as an unfunded arrangement and Grantee shall be treated as an unsecured general creditor and shall have no beneficial ownership of any assets of the Company.
 
9.              Taxes .  Grantee will be solely responsible for any federal, state or other taxes imposed in connection with the granting of the Restricted Stock Units or the delivery of shares of Stock pursuant thereto, and Grantee authorizes the Company or any Subsidiary to make any withholding for taxes which the Company or any Subsidiary deems necessary or proper in connection therewith.  Upon recognition of income by Grantee with respect to the Award hereunder, the Company shall withhold taxes pursuant to the terms of the Plan.
 
10.              Changes in Circumstances .  It is expressly understood and agreed that Grantee assumes all risks incident to any change hereafter in the applicable laws or regulations or incident to any change in the value of the Restricted Stock Units or the shares of Stock issued pursuant thereto after the date hereof.
 
11.              Conflict Between Plan and This Agreement .  In the event of a conflict between this Agreement and the Plan, the provisions of the Plan shall govern.
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12.              Notices .  All notices, claims, certificates, requests, demands and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given and delivered if personally delivered or if sent by nationally-recognized overnight courier, by telecopy, or by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested and postage prepaid, addressed as follows:
 
If to the Company, to it at:
 
Compass Minerals International, Inc.
9900 West 109th Street
Overland Park KS 66210
Attn: Senior Vice President, Corporate Services
 
If to Grantee, to him or her at the address set forth on the signature page hereto or to such other address as the party to whom notice is to be given may have furnished to the other party in writing in accordance herewith.  Any such notice or communications shall be deemed to have been received (a) in the case of personal delivery, on the date of such delivery (or if such date is not a business day, on the next business day after the date of delivery), (b) in the case of nationally-recognized overnight courier, on the next business day after the date sent, (c) the case of telecopy transmission, when received (or if not sent on a business day, on the next business day after the date sent), and (d) in the case of mailing, on the third business day following that on which the piece of mail containing such communication is posted.
 
13.              No Guarantee of Employment .  Nothing in this Agreement shall confer upon Grantee any right to continue in the employ of the Company or any Subsidiary or interfere in any way with the right of the Company or Subsidiary, as the case may be, to sever Grantee’s employment or to increase or decrease Grantee’s compensation at any time.
 
14.              Governing Law .  This Agreement shall be governed under the laws of the State of Delaware without regard to the principles of conflicts of laws.  Each party hereto submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas (Kansas City, Kansas).  Each party hereto irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any objections that either party may now or hereafter have to the aforesaid venue, including without limitation any claim that any such proceeding brought in either such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum, provided however, this provision shall not limit the ability of either party to enforce the other provisions of this paragraph.
 
15.              Severability . It is the desire and intent of the parties hereto that the provisions of this Agreement be enforced to the fullest extent permissible under the laws and public policies applied in each jurisdiction in which enforcement is sought.  Accordingly, if any particular provision of this Agreement shall be adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, prohibited or unenforceable for any reason, such provision, as to such jurisdiction, shall be ineffective, without invalidating the remaining provisions of this Agreement or affecting the validity or enforceability of such provision in any other jurisdiction.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, if such provision could be more narrowly drawn so as not to be invalid, prohibited or unenforceable in such jurisdiction, it shall, as to such jurisdiction, be so narrowly drawn, without invalidating the remaining provisions of this Agreement or affecting the validity or enforceability of such provision in any other jurisdiction.
 
16.              Enforcement .  In the event the Company or Grantee institutes litigation to enforce or protect its rights under this Agreement or the Plan, the party prevailing in any such litigation shall be paid by the non-prevailing party, in addition to all other relief, all reasonable attorneys’ fees, out-of-pocket costs and disbursements of such party relating to such litigation.
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17.              Waiver of Jury Trial .  Each party hereto hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waives, to the fullest extent it may legally and effectively do so, trial by jury in any suit, action or proceeding arising hereunder
 
18.              Committee Authority .  The Committee will have the power and discretion to interpret this Agreement and to adopt such rules for the administration, interpretation and application of this Agreement as are consistent with the Plan and this Agreement and to interpret or revoke any such rules, including, but not limited to, the determination of whether or not any shares of Restricted Stock Units have vested.  All actions taken and all interpretations and determinations made by the Committee in good faith will be final and binding upon Grantee, the Company and all other interested persons.  No member of the Committee will be personally liable for any action, determination or interpretation made in good faith with respect to this Agreement.
 
19.              Counterparts .  This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, and each such counterpart shall be deemed to be an original, but all such counterparts together shall constitute but one agreement.
 
20.              Restrictive Covenant .  Notwithstanding any provision in this Agreement to the contrary, the award hereunder is expressly conditioned upon Grantee’s execution of a Restricted Covenant Agreement in the form designated by the Company.  If Grantee fails or refuses to execute such Restricted Covenant Agreement, this Agreement shall be null and void ab initio.
 
21.              Compliance with Section 409A .  To the extent applicable and notwithstanding any provision in this Agreement to the contrary, this Agreement shall be interpreted and administered in accordance with  Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code and regulations and other guidance issued thereunder.  For purposes of determining whether any payment made pursuant to the Plan results in a "deferral of compensation" within the meaning of Treasury Regulation §1.409A-1(b), the Company shall maximize the exemptions described in such section, as applicable.  Any reference to a “termination of employment” or similar term or phrase shall be interpreted as a “separation from service” within the meaning of Section 409A and the regulations issued thereunder.  If any deferred compensation payment is payable upon separation from service and is required to be delayed pursuant to Section 409A(a)(2)(B) because Grantee is a “specified employee”, then payment of such amount shall be delayed for a period of six months and paid in a lump sum on the first payroll payment date following expiration of such six month period.
 
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the Grant Date.
 
 
COMPASS MINERALS INTERNATIONAL, INC.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
By:
 
 
 
Name:
Steven N. Berger
 
 
Title:
Senior Vice President Corporate Services
 
 
 
GRANTEE
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
«First_Name» «Middle» «Last_Name»
 
 
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EXHIBIT A
PERFORMANCE CRITERIA FOR RESTRICTED STOCK UNIT AWARD

The Restricted Stock Units described in this Agreement will never vest, and related Dividend Equivalents will never be paid, unless the following performance requirement is satisfied:
 
 
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Exhibit 10.6
 
 
FORM OF FOREIGN INDEPENDENT DIRECTOR
DEFERRED STOCK AWARD AGREEMENT
 
Name of Independent Director:
 
 
This Agreement evidences the grant by Compass Minerals International, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”) of Deferred Stock to the above-referenced “Director” on April 1, 20__; July 1, 20__; October 1, 20__; and January 1, 20__ (each a “Quarterly Grant Date”) pursuant to the Compass Minerals International, Inc. 2005 Incentive Award Plan, as amended from time to time (the “Plan”).  By accepting the Award, Director agrees to be bound in accordance with the provisions of the Plan, the terms and conditions of which are hereby incorporated in this Agreement by reference.  Capitalized terms not defined herein shall have the same meaning as used in the Plan.
 
1.      Deferred Stock .  The number of shares of Deferred Stock subject to this Agreement shall be determined as of each Quarterly Grant Date and shall be equal to the ratio of (A) the aggregate value of the Director’s fees for the applicable calendar quarter to be paid in the form of Deferred Stock pursuant to Director’s election on Exhibit A attached hereto, to (B) the Fair Market Value per share of Stock as of such Quarterly Grant Date.
 
2.      Accounting for Deferred Stock .  The Company shall maintain a separate bookkeeping account (the “Deferred Stock Account”) to reflect the shares of Deferred Stock subject to this Agreement.  Such Deferred Stock Account shall be administered in a manner consistent with the Compass Minerals International, Inc. Directors’ Deferred Compensation Plan.
 
3.      Vesting .  The Deferred Stock shall be 100% vested at all times.
 
4.      Payment Following Separation or Other Specified Date .  At the time Director ceases to be a member of the Board for any reason or any earlier date if elected by Director, Director shall be entitled to receive, within five (5) business days,  payment equal to the number of shares of Deferred Stock subject to this Agreement.  Such payment shall be made in whole shares of Stock (with cash for fractional shares) in either (i) a single lump sum or (ii) annual installments over a period of not less than two years nor more than ten years.  Director shall designate the time and form of payment on an election form filed with the Secretary of the Company no later than the close of Director’s taxable year immediately preceding the taxable year with respect to which this Agreement relates.
 
5.  Payment Following Change of Control .  Notwithstanding Section 4 or any other provision of the Agreement to the contrary, if a Change of Control of the Company occurs prior to the complete distribution of a Director’s benefit under this Agreement, then any portion of such benefit that has not theretofore been distributed shall be distributed in a single lump sum to Director (or, as applicable, his beneficiary) immediately following the Change of Control.
 
6.      Payment Upon Death; Beneficiary Designation .  Director shall have the right to designate a beneficiary who is to succeed to his or her right to receive payments hereunder in the event of death.  Any designated beneficiary shall receive payments in the same manner as Director if he or she had  lived.  In case of a failure of designation or the death of a designated beneficiary without a designated successor, Director’s remaining benefit shall be paid in full to his or her surviving spouse (or if none, Director’s

 
estate) within 60 days following Director’s death.  No designation of beneficiary or change in beneficiary shall be valid unless it is in writing signed by the Director and filed with the Secretary of the Company.
 
7.      Voting and Dividend Rights .  Director shall have no voting rights with respect to the Deferred Stock awarded hereunder.  Pursuant to Section 8.4 of the Plan, Director shall be entitled to receive Dividend Equivalents with respect to the Deferred Stock subject to this Agreement.  Such Dividend Equivalents shall be credited to the Deferred Stock Account as of  the date the Company pays any dividend (whether in cash or in kind) on shares of Stock in an amount equal to the ratio of (A) the aggregate value of the dividend that would have been payable on the Deferred Stock held by the Director immediately prior to such payment date had the shares of Stock represented by such Deferred Stock been outstanding as of such payment date to (B) the Fair Market Value per share of Stock as of such date.
 
8.      Permitted Transfers . The rights under this Agreement may not be assigned, transferred or otherwise disposed of except by will or the laws of descent and distribution and may be exercised during the lifetime of Director only by Director. Upon any attempt to assign, transfer or otherwise dispose of this Agreement, or any right or privilege conferred hereby, or upon any attempted sale under any execution, attachment or similar process, this Agreement and the rights and privileges conferred hereby immediately will become null and void.
 
9.  Unfunded Obligation .  This Agreement is designed and shall be administered at all times as an unfunded arrangement and Director shall be treated as an unsecured general creditor and shall have no beneficial ownership of any assets of the Company.
 
10.  Taxes .  Director will be solely responsible for any federal, state or other taxes imposed in connection with the granting of the Deferred Stock or the delivery of shares of Stock pursuant thereto, and Director authorizes the Company or any Subsidiary to make any withholding for taxes which the Company or any Subsidiary deems necessary or proper in connection therewith.
 
11. Acceleration of Payment to Pay State, Local or Foreign Taxes .   Notwithstanding any provision in this Agreement to the contrary, the Company may accelerate the payment of a portion of the shares of Deferred Stock credited to Director’s Deferred Stock Account for the sole purpose of allowing Director to pay applicable state, local and foreign taxes relating to such Deferred Stock.  The number of shares of Deferred Stock subject to acceleration shall be limited to the amount of taxes due and payable as a result of Director’s participation in the directors deferred compensation program, all as certified by Director’s personal tax advisor.  Director acknowledges and agrees that he shall be solely responsible for any tax consequences relating to or resulting from the accelerated payment from his Deferred Stock Account.
 
12.  Changes in Circumstances .  It is expressly understood and agreed that Director assumes all risks incident to any change hereafter in the applicable laws or regulations or incident to any change in the value of the Deferred Stock or the shares of Stock issued pursuant thereto after the date hereof.
 
13. Conflict Between Plan and This Agreement .  In the event of a conflict between this Agreement and the Plan, the provisions of the Plan shall govern.
 
14. Notices .  All notices, claims, certificates, requests, demands and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given and delivered if personally delivered or if sent by nationally-recognized overnight courier, by telecopy, or by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested and postage prepaid, addressed as follows:

 
If to the Company, to it at:
 
Compass Minerals International, Inc.
9900 West 109th Street
Overland Park KS 66210
Attn: Senior Vice President, Corporate Services

If to Director, to him or her at the address set forth on the signature page hereto or to such other address as the party to whom notice is to be given may have furnished to the other party in writing in accordance herewith.  Any such notice or communications shall be deemed to have been received (a) in the case of personal delivery, on the date of such delivery (or if such date is not a business day, on the next business day after the date of delivery), (b) in the case of nationally-recognized overnight courier, on the next business day after the date sent, (c) the case of telecopy transmission, when received (or if not sent on a business day, on the next business day after the date sent), and (d) in the case of mailing, on the third business day following that on which the piece of mail containing such communication is posted.
 
15.      Governing Law .  This Agreement shall be governed under the laws of the State of Delaware without regard to the principles of conflicts of laws.  Each party hereto submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas (Kansas City, Kansas). Each party hereto irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any objections that either party may now or hereafter have to the aforesaid venue, including without limitation any claim that any such proceeding brought in either such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum, provided however, this provision shall not limit the ability of either party to enforce the other provisions of this paragraph.
 
16.  Severability . It is the desire and intent of the parties hereto that the provisions of this Agreement be enforced to the fullest extent permissible under the laws and public policies applied in each jurisdiction in which enforcement is sought.  Accordingly, if any particular provision of this Agreement shall be adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, prohibited or unenforceable for any reason, such provision, as to such jurisdiction, shall be ineffective, without invalidating the remaining provisions of this Agreement or affecting the validity or enforceability of such provision in any other jurisdiction.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, if such provision could be more narrowly drawn so as not to be invalid, prohibited or unenforceable in such jurisdiction, it shall, as to such jurisdiction, be so narrowly drawn, without invalidating the remaining provisions of this Agreement or affecting the validity or enforceability of such provision in any other jurisdiction.
 
17.  Enforcement .  In the event the Company or Director institutes litigation to enforce or protect its rights under this Agreement or the Plan, the party prevailing in any such litigation shall be paid by the non-prevailing party, in addition to all other relief, all reasonable attorneys’ fees, out-of-pocket costs and disbursements of such party relating to such litigation.
 
18.  Waiver of Jury Trial .  Each party hereto hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waives, to the fullest extent it may legally and effectively do so, trial by jury in any suit, action or proceeding arising hereunder.
 
19.   Counterparts .  This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, and each such counterpart shall be deemed to be an original, but all such counterparts together shall constitute but one agreement.
 
[Signature page to follow]

 
IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties hereto have executed this Agreement.
 
COMPASS MINERALS INTERNATIONAL, INC.
 
 
By:
 
 
Name:
 
 
Date:
 
 
 
 
DIRECTOR
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
 
Date
 



 
EXHIBIT A TO FOREIGN INDEPENDENT DIRECTOR DEFERRED STOCK AWARD
 
  
Last Name
 
First Name
MI
 
   Social Security Number
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Mailing Address
 
City
State
 
Zip Code
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Telephone
 
Email Address
 
 
 
 
 
Instruction:  Elections must be made on or before December 31 of the year immediately preceding the year with respect to which the award relates.  Any person who first becomes a Director during a calendar year, and who was not a Director of the Company on the preceding December 31, may elect, no later than seven days after the Director’s term begins, to defer payment of all or a specified part of his or her fees payable for the remainder of such year.  Please complete and return by December _________.  You must complete both Parts A and B below .
 
SECTION 1 - DEFERRAL ELECTION
 
A.              Cash Retainer

I irrevocably elect to receive the following portion of my annual cash retainer in the form of Deferred Stock under the Compass Minerals International, Inc. Incentive Award Plan:

_______% (insert 0%; 25%; 50%; 75%; or 100%)

B.              Stock Retainer

Instruction:  In connection with the minimum shareholder ownership requirements for non-employee directors, your annual stock retainer will be automatically issued in the form of Deferred Stock until your total shareholder ownership (or equivalent) equals or exceeds five times your annual cash retainer.  Once you attain the minimum shareholder ownership threshold, the automatic deferral requirement will no longer apply, beginning with the first year following the year in which the minimum threshold is achieved.

I irrevocably elect to receive the following portion of my annual stock retainer in the form of Deferred Stock under the Compass Minerals International, Inc. Incentive Award Plan:
 
_______% (insert 0%; 25%; 50%; 75%; or 100%)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
 
SECTION 2 – DISTRIBUTION  ELECTION
 
Instruction:  Your elections under this Section only apply to your 20__ Deferred Stock Award.   Your Deferred Stock attributable to earlier years, if any, will be paid pursuant to the terms of the Deferred Stock Award for each of those years.   You must complete both Parts A and B below .  Part A addresses the time of payment and Part B addresses the form of payment.

A.              Commencement of Distribution
 
Except as otherwise set forth in Section 2C, below, I irrevocably elect to receive payment of my Deferred Stock at the following time (check one):
 
 
o
January 2, 20__ or, if earlier, the date I cease being a Director for any reason; or
 
o
The date I cease being a Director for any reason.

 
B.              Form of Distribution
 
Except as otherwise set forth in Section 2C, below, I irrevocably elect to receive distributions of my Deferred Stock benefit in accordance with the following election (check one):
 
 
o
In one lump sum ( default form ); or
 
o
In _______ (insert number) annual installments (not less than 2 or more than 10).
 
I understand that the first distribution will be payable as of the date set forth in Section 2A, above, and that if I elect annual installment payments I will receive an installment as of each January 1 immediately following the first distribution until my entire Deferred Stock benefit has been distributed in full.
 
C.              Change in Control
 
I understand that, notwithstanding any other provision of this form to the contrary, my entire Deferred Stock benefit will be distributed in a single lump sum immediately following the occurrence of a Change in Control of the Company.
 

 
SECTION 3 - BENEFICIARY DESIGNATION
 
If you die before you receive full payment of your Deferred Stock benefit, your remaining benefit will be paid to your Beneficiary designated in this Section 3.  Payment will be made in the same manner as specified under Section 2B.  Your designation below supersedes all prior Beneficiary Designations on file and applies to your 20__ Deferred Stock Award and all prior years unless you specifically direct otherwise.
 
Social Security Number
 
Last Name
First Name
 
MI
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Mailing Address
 
City
State
Zip Code
Zip Code
 

 
SECTION 4 - SIGNATURE
 

 
Signature
 

 
Date
 




Exhibit 10.7
 
AMENDED AND RESTATED SALT AND SURFACE LEASE
 
Effective as of January 1, 2014

by and between Lessors:

ISLAND PARTNERSHIP, L.L.C.
JMB COTE BLANCHE, L.L.C., and
CFB, LLC

and Lessee:

CAREY SALT COMPANY


AMENDED AND RESTATED SALT AND SURFACE LEASE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
 
PAGE
NO.
 
 
Section 1 – Grant of Lease
2
Section 2 – Lessee’s Surface Rights
3
Section 3 – Lessors’ Right to Use Surface
5
Section 4 – Future Oil, Gas and Mineral Leases
6
Section 5 – Salt Mining Limitations
6
Section 6 – No Pressurized Gas Storage; 115 Acre Tract
6
Section 7 – Shell Oil Lease
8
Section 8 – Surveying and Mapping
8
Section 9 – Royalty
9
Section 10 – Royalty Review
9
Section 11 – Term of the Lease
10
Section 12 – Extension of Lease
11
Section 14 – Payment of Taxes by Lessee
11
Section 15 – Copies of Severance Tax Reports
12
Section 16 – Minimum Salt Hoisted
12
Section 17 – Additional Taxes Paid by Lessee
12
Section 18 – Payment of Royalties
13
Section 19 – Good Faith Royalty Payment
13
Section 20 – Records of Salt Shipped
13
Section 21 – Lessor Right of Entry, Inspection and Visitation
14
Section 22 – Private Roads
14
Section 23 – Termination of Lease; Lessor Option to Purchase
14
Section 24 – Indemnity; Insurance
15
Section 25 – Right of First Refusal
16
Section 26 – Assignment or Sublease
17
Section 28 – Division of Ownership
17
i

 
PAGE
NO.
 
Section 29 – Warranty of Title and Peaceable Possession
17
Section 30 – Reduction for Partial Interest
18
Section 31 – Compliance Subject to Law
18
Section 32 – Brine Operations; Royalty; Use of Cavity
18
Section 33 – Notice of Default; Opportunity to Cure
19
Section 34 – Force Majeure
19
Section 35 – Title Opinions
20
Section 36 – Surveys
20
Section 37 – Protection of Oak Trees
20
Section 38 – Notice
20
Section 39 – Binding Effect
22
Section 40 – Counterparts
22
Section 41 – Leasehold Mortgage Provisions
22
Section 42 – Organization and Authority of Signing Parties
25
Section 43 – Lessor’s Estoppel
26
Section 44 – Recordation
27
Exhibit A
 
Exhibit B
33
ii

AMENDED AND RESTATED SALT AND SURFACE LEASE

THIS AMENDED AND RESTATED SALT AND SURFACE LEASE is made and entered into as of January 1, 2014, (the “Effective Date”) by and between

ISLAND PARTNERSHIP, L.L.C. (TIN: XX-XXX7477), a Louisiana limited liability company whose Articles of Organization were recorded October 24, 2000, domiciled in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, appearing herein through and being represented by Rader Jackson, Robert P. McCay and Caroline Senter, being all of the Members of the Management Committee of Island Partnership, L.L.C., duly authorized pursuant to the terms and provisions of Island Partnership, L.L.C. Operating Agreement;

JMB COTE BLANCHE, L.L.C. (TIN: XX-XXX6126), a Louisiana limited liability company, domiciled in Franklin, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, appearing herein through and being represented by Glenn J. Vice, its President, duly authorized; and

CFB, LLC (TIN: XX-XXX5049), a Louisiana limited liability company, domiciled in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, appearing herein through and being represented by its sole manager, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., in its capacity as Trustee of the Caroline F. Baker Trust No. 1, said bank appearing herein through and being represented by Michael G. Redin, Executive Director, duly authorized;

(hereinafter collectively referred to as “LESSOR” or “LESSORS”),

AND
CAREY SALT COMPANY (TIN: XX-XXX3048), a Delaware corporation, authorized to do and doing business in the State of Louisiana, appearing herein through and being represented by   Joseph P. Havasi, its Director, Natural Resources, duly authorized,

(hereinafter referred to as “LESSEE”)

(1)

WITNESSETH:

WHEREAS, John Taylor Caffrey, individually and as Agent and Attorney in Fact and The J.M. Burguieres Company, Ltd., a Louisiana corporation, and Lessee entered into a Salt and Surface Lease dated June 21, 1961 and recorded in Conveyance Book 11-U under Entry No. 111822 of the Records of St. Mary Parish Louisiana; as amended by Act of Amendment to Salt Lease dated as of May 30, 1973 by and among John Taylor Caffrey, individually and as Agent and Attorney in Fact and The J.M. Burguieres Company, Ltd. and Lessee and recorded in Conveyance Book 17-S at folio 870 under Entry No. 153936 of the Records of St. Mary Parish Louisiana; as amended by Agreement dated as of November 21, 1990, by and among The J.M. Burguieres, Co., Ltd., Island Partnership, Domtar Industries, Inc. and Lessee and recorded in Conveyance Book 33-V at folio 186 under Entry No. 232548 of the Records of St. Mary Parish Louisiana; and as amended by Amendment to Salt and Surface Lease dated as of July 1, 1997 by and among Island Partnership, The J.M. Burguieres Company, Ltd. and Caroline F. Baker Trust No. 1 and Lessee and recorded in Conveyance Book 40-O at folio 532 under Entry No. 258785 of the Records of St. Mary Parish Louisiana (collectively, the “Lease”); and

WHEREAS , the parties hereto desire to further amend and restate the Lease.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the sum of FOUR AND ONE HALF MILLION DOLLARS ($4,500,000.00) CASH IN HAND PAID by Lessee to Lessor for additional mineral reserves and extension options granted hereunder, and of the premises, the parties hereto do hereby amend and restate the Lease, effective as of the Effective Date, it being the intent of the parties that the Lease shall govern the relationship of the parties prior to the Effective Date and that this Amended and Restated Salt and Surface Lease (hereinafter, this “Amended and Restated Lease”) shall govern on and after the Effective Date, as follows, to wit:

Section 1.  Grant of Lease Lessor, in consideration of the Royalty herein provided to be paid to Lessor, of the agreements of Lessee herein contained, and other valuable considerations, hereby grants, leases and lets exclusively unto Lessee for the purposes of digging, sinking, constructing and building a shaft or shafts necessary or proper for the establishment and operation of a salt mine, and/or boring, drilling or sinking a well or wells into the salt, and mining and producing salt from the mine or mines and/or well or wells established or to be established by Lessee (collectively, the “Cote Blanche Mine”), including the building of the necessary surface facilities, structures, plants, conveyors, wharves, docks, warehouses, power stations, telephone and telegraph lines, pipe lines, utility lines and other structures and appurtenances in order to, produce, take care of, treat, process, transport, store and own salt produced from the Leased Property (as hereinafter defined) and for dredging and maintaining the Barge Load-Out Area hereinafter defined, constructing roads and bridges, housing its employees, drilling and operating water wells and  equipment in connection therewith for use in connection with or incidental to operation of the salt mine or mines and/or well or wells and other physical facilities, and for all structures, equipment, servitudes, privileges and all other rights necessary, useful or convenient in connection with any such operations conducted by Lessee on the Leased Property, all, however, subject to the terms and to the conditions hereinafter stated, the following lands situated in the Parish of St. Mary, State of Louisiana, to-wit:

(2)

That certain Island or tract of land, together with all of the rights, ways, privileges, servitudes and advantages thereunto belonging or in anywise appertaining, situated in the Parish of St. Mary, State of Louisiana, known as COTE BLANCHE ISLAND, sometimes described as comprising all of Sections 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25 of T15S, R7E, containing 1635 Ac.±; sometimes described as lying in T15S, R7E and being bounded on the south by Cote Blanche Bay, on the west by lands of John M. Caffery in Sections 6 & 11 and the lands of Cypremont Land Company in Section 14, on the north by lands of John M. Caffery in Sections 5, 6 & 12 and on the east by lands of John M. Caffery in Section 12, by lands of The Chicago Title and Trust Company in Section 7, and by lands of John M. Caffery in Section 13;

LESS AND EXCEPT from the above described property:

That portion of the extreme northern edge of Cote Blanche Hummoch, commonly called Cote Blanche Island, situated in T15S, R7E, Southwestern Land District of Louisiana, in the Parish of St. Mary, immediately south of and rendering fractional, Section 5 of said Township and Range, and containing in the aggregate 7.76 acres and to be composed of three tracts of 0.94 acres, 1.86 acres and 4.96 acres, all as delineated upon a map or plat made by Walter Y. Kamper, Surveyor and Civil Engineer, dated in May, 1917, attached to and made part thereof for a full description of the property conveyed, to an act of sale by The J.M. Burgieres Company Ltd., and Donelson Caffery to The Albert Hanson Lumber Company, Ltd. Dated August 31, 1917, recorded January 4, 1919, book 3-T, page 473 No. 45501, conveyance records of St. Mary Parish, Louisiana.

Being the same property shown on the plat by the office of Gandolfo Kuhn, L.L.C., Land Surveyors, dated March 10, 2014, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit A (hereinafter, the “Plat”).  All of the said property is hereinafter referred to as the “Leased Property.”

Section 2.  Lessee’s Surface Rights .  Lessee, in exercising the rights herein granted, shall not use any portion of the surface of the Leased Property other than as provided in this Section 2:

(A).              Minehead Tract Lessee shall have the exclusive use of an approximately 160 acre tract of land, more fully described as that certain tract or parcel of land lying and being situated on Cote Blanche Island in Sections 19 and 20, T15S-R7E, Southwest District of Louisiana, St. Mary Parish, comprised of 160 acres as shown on a plan by the office of Gandolfo Kuhn, L.L.C., Land Surveyors, dated March 10, 2014, drawing no. T-174A-1 and more fully shown on the Plat attached hereto as Exhibit A and made a part hereof and is more particularly described as follows:

From the northeast corner of Section 24 at Point E, go along the 1903-1904 meander line of J.P. Kemper, U.S. Deputy Surveyor in a westerly direction for six courses, S 71°40' W a distance of 38.94 feet to a point; thence S 85°45' W a distance of 518.76 feet to a point; thence S 82°40' W a distance of 221.76 feet to a point; thence S 61°55' W a distance of
(3)

163.68 feet to a point; S61°15'W a distance of 239.58 feet to a point; thence N 89°45' W a distance of 84.27 feet to Point Z at the northeast corner of the original 160 acre lease site; thence along the former easterly line of the original 160 acre lease site S 3°57'30" W a distance of 1932.58 feet to Point L-1 at the northeast corner of the 160 Acre Revised Surface Lease Site and the Point of Beginning; thence continue  S 3°57'30" W a distance of 1801.23 feet to Point L-2 and the northwest corner of the 10.059 Acre site added to lease by Act of Amendment Recorded Entry No. 258785 COB 40-0 fo 532 on September 3, 1997; thence along the northerly line of said 10.059 Acre site S 86°02'30" E a distance of 555.00 feet to Point L-3 and the northeast corner of said 10.059 Acre site; thence S 3°57'30" W a distance of 789.49 feet to Point L-4 and the southeast corner of said 10.059 Acre site; thence along the southeasterly line of the 160 Acre Revised Surface Lease Site S 30°44'31" W a distance of 930.88 feet to Point L-5; thence N 88°28'43" W a distance of 597.44 feet to Point L-6; thence S 1°31'17" W a distance of 168.49 feet to Point L-7; thence N 88°28'43" W a distance of 80.79 feet to Point L-8 on the 1903-1904 meander line of J.P. Kemper, U.S. Deputy Surveyor; thence along said meander line for the next 18 courses N 45°00' W a distance of 244.40 feet to point 24; thence N 88°35" W a distance of 479.82 feet to Point 25; thence N 45°20' W a distance of 187.44 feet to Point 26; thence S 79°00' W a distance of 104.94 feet to Point 27; thence S 77°30' W a distance of 84.48 feet to Point 28; thence N71°45'W a distance of 81.84 feet to Point 29; thence S 68°20"W a distance of 87.12 feet to Point 30; thence N 61°00'W a distance of 125.40 feet to Point 31; thence N 14°15'W a distance of 403.26 feet to Point 32; thence N 19°05' W a distance of 114.68 feet to Point 33; thence N 35°20' E a distance of 483.12 feet to Point 34; thence N 12°45' E a distance of 89.76 feet to Point 35; thence N 15°30" W a distance of 389.40 feet to Point 36; thence N16°20'E a distance of 634.26 feet to Point 37; thence N 29°05' W a distance of 409.20 feet to Point 38; thence N 25°30' E a distance of 324.06 feet to Point 39; thence N 0°55' E a distance of 443.52 feet to Point 40; thence N 4°05' W a distance of 246.84 feet to Point 41; thence N 8°05' E a distance of 62.42 feet to Point L-9 and the northerly line of the 160 Acre Revised Surface Lease Site; thence along said line S 86°02'30 E a distance of 1845.09 feet to Point L-1 and the Point of Beginning.  Containing 160.00 Acres.  (the “Minehead Tract”).  Lessee shall have the right to fence or otherwise enclose same, and may use the surface thereof for any and all legal uses and purposes whatsoever that it may desire in connection with the salt business contemplated herein.

It is understood and agreed that on the Minehead Tract Lessee’s principal surface facilities shall be situated, including, but without limitation on the rights and uses otherwise authorized, the surface entrance to Lessee’s mine or mines, shaft or shafts, well or wells, and Lessee’s plants, offices, warehouses, power stations and all other surface structures other than those hereinbelow mentioned.

(B)              Navigation Canal.   A canal (the “Navigation Canal”) presently exists from the Intracoastal Canal running in a southerly direction near the western edge of the Leased Property and an extension of the Navigational Canal turning east and traversing the island a sufficient distance to have barges reasonably close to the surface facilities of Lessee (such easterly portion of the Navigational Canal hereinafter referred to as the “Barge Load-Out Area”), all as shown on the Plat attached hereto as Exhibit A and made
(4)

a part hereof.  Lessor grants to Lessee the exclusive right to use the portion of the Navigation Canal owned by Lessor.  Lessor grants to Lessee the exclusive use of the Barge Load-Out Area.  Lessee will maintain the width of the Barge Load-Out Area as shown on the Plat within a range of 5% above or below its current width as shown on the Plat (the “Current Width Threshold”).  Lessee will measure the width of the Barge Load-Out Area at the multiple transects shown on the Plat annually and deliver a report thereof (the “Annual Survey Report”) to Lessors.  If the Annual Survey Report reveals that the Barge Load-Out Area width exceeds the Current Width Threshold, such exceedance will not constitute a default under this Amended and Restated Lease, if Lessee commences implementation of remedial measures to restore conditions to the Current Width Threshold within one-hundred twenty (120) calendar days after Lessor’s receipt of Lessee’s notice.  For the purposes hereof, preparation and submittal of applications to appropriate local, state and/or federal agencies for any work required to be compliant under the Amended and Restated Lease shall be deemed commencing remedial measures.

(C)              Additional Lessee Surface Rights Lessee shall also have the right to use the surface of such additional portions of the Leased Property as may be reasonably necessary for drilling, maintaining and operating water wells and brine wells at any reasonable place or places on the Leased Property (including the Minehead Tract hereinabove described), with water and brine lines therefrom to Lessee’s surface facilities, and for constructing and maintaining telephone and telegraph lines, pipe lines, power lines, gas lines, roads and other like facilities contemplated hereunder, together with the use of existing roads and the right of ingress to and egress from and across said Leased Property for the proper enjoyment of the rights granted herein.  At the request of Lessor, Lessee shall bury below plow depth and properly mark any water, pipe or brine lines installed by it outside of the Minehead Tract, and provide an as-built survey and permits to each Lessor.

(D)              Exploratory Drilling by Lessee Lessee shall have the right to conduct exploratory drilling to define and confirm the configuration of the salt within the Leased Property without prior Lessor approval, and shall have access to all surface and subsurface areas of the Leased Property which are reasonably necessary to conduct such drilling.  Lessee shall comply with all environmental and reclamation regulations.  Lessee shall notify Lessors at least sixty (60) days in advance of any such drilling, and provide Lessors copies of any written drilling reports and required permits within sixty (60) days of receipt.  Lessors agree to keep any such results, permits and/or reports confidential.

Section 3.  Lessor Right to Use Surface Lessor shall have the right to the full use and enjoyment of the surface of all other portions of the Leased Property (other than the Minehead Tract where Lessee’s rights to use the surface are exclusive), insofar as Lessor’s use thereof does not interfere with or disturb the rights of Lessee herein set forth.

Before undertaking significant construction or business development on the surface of the Leased Property, Lessors will notify Lessee in writing with specific information regarding the proposed plan.  Lessee will have sixty (60) calendar days after receipt of such notice to evaluate whether the proposal represents a threat to the safety, existence or operation of the salt mine,
(5)

including consideration of Lessee’s mining rights or future operations, or whether the activity will impair Lessee’s full enjoyment of its rights under the Amended and Restated Lease under its current mining methodologies.  If Lessee objects to the proposal for any reason as stated above within the sixty (60) day period, Lessor and Lessee will meet within thirty (30) days to jointly consider the matter.  Lessor will not proceed with the development if Lessee reasonably determines that the proposed development presents a threat to the safety, existence or operation of the salt mine as described above.  Lessor may seek a judicial determination as to the reasonableness of Lessee’s decision from a Federal or State court of competent jurisdiction in the State of Louisiana.

During the Term of this Amended and Restated Lease, Lessors will not directly or indirectly grant any conservation servitude or similar encumbrance on the Leased Property, including, without limitation, any conservation servitude with the State of Louisiana Coastal Forest Incentive Program or similar agreements with third parties prohibiting the undertaking of various activities which may be permitted by this Amended and Restated Lease, such as, but not limited to, altering the surface of the land, building roads and other constructions and other activities related thereto which may have adverse environmental impact or granting anyone the right to monitor the effect of such activities on the Leased Property.

Section 4.  Future Oil, Gas and Mineral Leases Lessor shall have the full right to grant future oil, gas and other mineral leases, except salt, provided that each such future oil, gas and mineral lease shall expressly obligate the lessee therein to cooperate with Lessee herein in the conduct of its operations in order that the purposes of both leases may be best effectuated, and Lessee herein expressly agrees to cooperate with any such future oil, gas and mineral lessee in the conduct of its operations in order that the purposes of both leases may be best effectuated, particularly, but not limited to, arranging with the oil, gas and mineral lessee so as to permit drilling of oil and/or gas wells within the areas affected by this Amended and Restated Lease.

Section 5.  Salt Mining Limitations .  It is expressly understood and agreed that unless written permission of Lessor is first obtained, there is to be no digging for or mining of rock salt by Lessee, or anyone claiming by or through Lessee, in or from any formation, strata or horizon lying below a depth of 3,000 feet from the surface of the earth, provided this shall not restrict the right of Lessee to drill brine wells and conduct brine operations at a greater depth.

Section 6.  No Pressurized Gas Storage; 115 Acre Tract

(A)              No Pressurized Gas Storage. For a period of twenty-five (25) years from the Effective Date, Lessors will not directly or indirectly, store, allow or grant rights to any third party to store hydrocarbons (including liquefied natural gas) at pressures above atmospheric pressure on or under Cote Blanche Island (including the 115 Acre Tract, as defined below).  Lessors represent and warrant to Lessee that no third-party has the right to pursue, initiate or permit the storage of hydrocarbons under such pressure. Lessors retain the right to store liquid hydrocarbons or other liquids at atmospheric pressure on Cote Blanche Island below 3,000 feet or above 3,000 feet within the 115 Acre Tract.

(6)

(B)              115 Acre Tract Lessor shall have the right to leach out or excavate or grant to others the right to leach out or excavate salt cavities on the 115 acre Tract more fully described as that certain tract or parcel of land lying and being situated on Cote Blanche Island in Section 22, T15S-R7E, Southwest District of Louisiana, St. Mary Parish, comprised of 115 acres as shown on a plan by the office of Gandolfo Kuhn, L.L.C., Land Surveyors, dated March 10, 2014, drawing no. T-174A-1 and shown on the Plat attached hereto as Exhibit A and made a part hereof (the “115 Acre Tract”) and is more particularly described as follows:

From the northeast corner of Section 22 at Point F, go along the 1903-1904 meander line of J.P. Kemper, U.S. Deputy Surveyor in a southerly direction for nine courses, S 11°35' E a distance of 43.56 feet to Point 72; thence N 75°50' E a distance of 166.32 feet to Point 73; thence S 59° E a distance of 149.82 feet to Point 74; thence S 05°12' E a distance of 1012.44 feet to Point 75; thence S 47°08' W  a distance of 662.64 feet to Point 76; thence S 05°15' W a distance of 528 feet to Point 77; thence S 82°45' E, a distance of 960.30 feet to Point 78; thence S 36° E a distance of 589.38 feet to Point 79; thence S 23°35' E, a distance of 280.95 feet to Point NL-1 at the north corner of the 115 Acre Lease Site and the Point of Beginning; thence continue along said meander line for the next 31 courses, S 23°35' E a distance of 955.89 feet to Point 80; thence S 31°30' E a distance of 167.64 feet to Point 81; thence S 24°30' E a distance of 186.78 feet to Point 82; thence South a distance of 332.64 feet to Point 83; thence S 02°15' W a distance of 64.68 feet to Point 84; thence S 51°50' E a distance of 79.86 feet to Point 85; thence S 20°40' W a distance of 195.38 feet to Point 86; thence S 11°15' W a distance of 151.80 feet to Point 87; thence S 19°15' W a distance of 243.54 feet to Point 88; thence S 17°50' W a distance of 253.44 feet to Point 89; thence S 18°55' W a distance of 196.22 feet to Point 90; thence S 32°15' W a distance of 223.74 feet to Point 91; thence S 40° W a distance of 288.42 feet to Point 92; thence S 24°35' W a distance of 231 feet to Point 93; thence S 10°10' W a distance of 264 feet to Point 94; thence S 20°15' W a distance of 149.16 feet to Point 95; thence S 22°15' W a distance of 112.20 feet to Point 96; thence N 84° W a distance 185.46 feet to Point 97; thence S 35°40' W a distance of 61.38 feet to Point 98; thence N 76°25' W a distance of 242.22 feet to Point 99; thence S 60°35' W a distance of 184.18 feet to Point 100; thence S 54° E a distance of 282.48 feet to Point 101; thence S 49°28' E a distance of 133.32 feet to Point 103; thence S 04°15' W a distance of 135.96 feet to Point 104; thence S 44°50' W a distance of 157.08 feet to Point 105; thence N 83°50' W a distance of 133.98 feet to Point 106; thence N 44°50' W a distance of 142.56 feet to Point 107; thence N 68° W a distance of 162.36 feet to Point 108; thence  N88°05'W a distance of 207.90 feet to Point 109; thence S 35°25' W a distance of 282.48 feet to Point 110; thence S 12°50' W a distance of 271.92 feet to Point 111; thence S 73°57'28" W a distance of 206.64 feet to Point NL-2 at the southwest corner of the new 115 Acre Lease; thence  N11°00'39" W a distance of 612.61 feet to Point NL-3; thence N 09°48'49" E a distance of 616.70 feet to Point NL-4; thence N 26°03'17" E a distance of 3861.56 feet to Point NL-1 and the Point of Beginning.  Containing 115.00 Acres.

and said right is hereby expressly reserved to Lessor.

(7)

The reservation by Lessor of the rights herein set forth with respect to the 115 Acre Tract, is, among other purposes, specifically reserved to Lessor in order that Lessor may retain sufficient area and salt wherein salt cavities may be created for the storage of gaseous and liquid substances, and, accordingly, Lessor shall have the right to use and/or authorize others to use such cavities for the storage of gaseous and liquid substances; provided, however, that:

(i)              Lessor complies with the provision of Section 6(A) regarding pressurized gas storage;

(ii)             No fissionable or radioactive materials shall be stored in any such cavity or cavities at any time;

(iii)           Lessor assumes full responsibility and liability for any loss or damage that Lessee may sustain in any manner arising out of or in connection with the excavation, construction, installation, care and/or maintenance of any such cavity or cavities or the use thereof, or the exercise by Lessor or any one claiming by, through or under Lessor, of any of the rights reserved above, including, but not limited to, breaking into any mine or mines, and/or well or wells, of Lessee, or loss or damage to any surface facilities or structures of Lessee; and Lessor agrees, immediately prior to the commencement of any such operations, to indemnify Lessee against any and all such loss and damage, and to furnish bond or carry adequate insurance for the purpose, delivering to Lessee evidence thereof in an acceptable form.

(iv)           Lessor agrees to utilize the rights to possess the Leased Property retained by it, including the 115 Acre Tract, in a way that will not impair the ability of Lessee to conduct operations permitted by this Amended and Restated Lease on the Leased Property, including but not limited to conducting operations in such a way that the set back obligations under the permits associated with such Lessor operations will not restrict Lessee’s operations.

Section 7.  Shell Oil Lease Lessors warrant to Lessee that the Leased Property is no longer subject to an oil, gas and mineral lease executed by John Taylor Caffery, et al, as lessor, under date of November 25th, 1953, in favor of Shell Oil Company, as lessee, an extract of the provisions of which lease is recorded in St. Mary Parish, Conveyance Book 8-Q, Entry Number 89040, and amended by instrument dated November 25th, 1953, recorded in St. Mary Parish, Conveyance Book 8-W, Entry No. 90665.

Section 8.  Surveying and Mapping No map or plat herein referred to, or required to be furnished hereunder, shall be used by anyone other than the parties hereto for the purposes of this agreement as a basis of attempting to establish what any person may believe to be the boundary of Cote Blanche Island, and the parties hereto shall not be estopped from asserting as against third parties that some other boundary is the correct boundary of Cote Blanche Island.  In other words, any such map used or referred to in connection herewith is for the purposes of this agreement and the convenience of the parties hereto, and shall have no other effect, bearing, consequence, result, applicability, reference or relevancy to any other ownership, map, thing, or otherwise whatsoever.

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Section 9.  Royalty Lessee shall pay to Lessor a royalty for each calendar year equal to the Net F.O.B. Mine Sales Revenue per ton multiplied by the Applicable Royalty Rate multiplied by the number of tons of salt hoisted from the Cote Blanche mine in that calendar year (the “Royalty”).  The “Net F.O.B. Mine Sales Revenue Per Ton” for each calendar year is the quotient of the total bulk sales revenue (after all sales taxes are excluded) for Lessee and its affiliates in that calendar year for salt from the Cote Blanche Mine sold in bulk (in units of 1 short ton or more) (“Total Bulk Sales Revenue”) reduced for all freight in, freight out, fuel surcharge, additives, depot/warehouse storage, handling and operating costs, promotions/discounts and other costs as are properly deducted under generally accepted accounting principles (currently using US GAAP) in that calendar year divided by the total number of tons sold in that calendar year.  The number of tons sold is the same number of tons used to generate the Total Bulk Sales Revenue.  The “Applicable Royalty Rate” for each of the following calendar years is as follows: 2014- 4.7%, 2015- 4.9%, 2016 - 5.1%, 2017- 5.3%, 2018 and thereafter 5.5%.

Total Bulk Sales Revenue in Year 2018   
 
 
   
$
40,000,000
 
(After all sales taxes excluded)
 
 
         
Less:            Freight to customers    -
 
$
5,000,000
         
Freight to depot/warehouse   
   
4, 000,000
         
Freight fuel surcharge   
   
2,000,000
         
Depot/warehouse handling   
   
1,250,000
         
Depot/warehouse storage/operating   
   
1,250,000
         
Pallets   
   
200,000
         
Promo/Discount Allowances   
   
200,000
         
Other GAAP allowed costs
   
100,000
         
Total   
           
14,000,000
 
Less the following cost/variances:
               
Additives
   
50,000
         
Depot/Whse Costs   
   
2,000,000
         
Distribution costs   
   
900,000
         
Other GAAP allowed costs
   
100,000
         
Total
            3,050,000  
 
Net FOB Mine Sales Revenue
         
$
22,950,000
 
Divided by tons sold
           
2,000,000
 
Net FOB Mine Sales Revenue Per Ton
         
$
11.48
 
Multiplied by applicable royalty rate
           
5.5
%
Royalty Per Ton
         
$
0.6314
 
Multiplied by Tons Hoisted
           
2,800,000
 
Total Royalty for 2018
          $ 1,767,920  

Section 10.  Royalty Review If, on or before January 1 of 2034, 2059, or 2084 (each, a “Review Year”), Lessor or Lessee determine that in operation the royalty provisions of this Amended and Restated Lease result in Lessor receiving more or less than 5.5% of the fair value
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of salt at the minehead free of all costs at that point (the “Royalty Standard”), such party shall deliver to the other party on or before January 1 of the Review Year a written statement of its reasons why the Royalty Standard is not being met, a computation of the amount that will satisfy the Royalty Standard and a proposed revision to the Royalty provisions of this Amended and Restated Lease which will cause the Royalty provisions to comply with the Royalty Standard.  On or before January 30 of the Review Year, the other party will deliver to the first party a written statement of its opinion as to whether the Royalty provisions then comply with the Royalty Standard and a response to the first party’s statement delivered under the preceding sentence.  If the parties are not in agreement, then the parties shall commence arbitration in accordance with the terms of Section 27. The arbitrator or arbitrators appointed to resolve issues related to the Royalty shall have knowledge of the value of salt and shall determine a Royalty provision that complies with the Royalty Standard.  Such Royalty provision shall become effective at the end of the Review Year.

Section 11.  Term of the Lease The “Term” of this Amended and Restated Lease shall mean the Primary Term and any relevant Extension Term, as described below. Subject to the terms, conditions and provisions hereinafter set forth, this Amended and Restated Lease shall continue and remain in force for a period commencing on the Effective Date hereof and ending on June 30, 2060, unless sooner terminated pursuant to the provisions hereof (the “Primary Term”).  (The foregoing represents an extension of nine (9) days to the term from the term specified in the Lease to which the parties do hereby consent.)

In the event actual mining operations are not conducted during any five (5) consecutive years, Lessor shall, at its option, have the right to cancel and terminate this Amended and Restated Lease, notwithstanding the payment of minimum Royalties during any such five (5) year period.  Lessor shall exercise this right by giving notice in writing to Lessee that it exercises its option for such cancellation and termination, such cancellation and termination to become effective sixty (60) days from the date of receipt by Lessee of such notice from Lessor of its intent to terminate. Upon compliance with this provision, this Amended and Restated Lease shall cease and terminate on the effective date of the surrender as set forth in the above mentioned notice, and the rights and obligations of the parties shall be the same as though the Amended and Restated Lease had come to an end through expiration of its Term.

Lessee shall have the right to surrender and terminate this Amended and Restated Lease upon giving Lessor notice in writing of its intent to so surrender and terminate the Amended and Restated Lease at least two (2) years prior to the date on which such surrender and termination is to become effective, and said notice shall state specifically the date on which said termination shall become effective.  Upon compliance with this provision, this Amended and Restated Lease shall cease and terminate on the effective date of the surrender as set forth in the above mentioned notice, and the rights and obligations of the parties shall be the same as though the Amended and Restated Lease had come to an end through expiration of its Term.

Subject to the additional payment hereinafter set forth (the “Termination Payment”), Lessee shall have the right to surrender and terminate this Amended and Restated Lease upon shorter notice of its intention to do so, provided it gives Lessor notice in writing of its intent to so surrender and terminate the Amended and Restated Lease and sets forth specifically the date on
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which such surrender and termination is to become effective.  In the event of termination on less than two (2) years notice, Lessee agrees that it will pay the Royalty for the period through the date of termination, and it will pay a Termination Payment equal to ten (10) percent of the highest Royalty paid in any full calendar year within the three full calendar years immediately preceding notice of termination.

Section 12.  Extension of Lease Lessee shall have and may exercise two (2) options to extend the Term of this Amended and Restated Lease each for an additional term of twenty-five (25) years (each an “Extension Term”) upon the same terms and conditions contained in this Amended and Restated Lease.  If Lessee desires to extend this Amended and Restated Lease, Lessee must notify Lessor in writing of its intention to extend on or before the date which is at least six (6) months prior to the expiration date of the then current term, be it the Primary Term or the first Extension Term.  If Lessee timely notifies Lessor of Lessee’s election to exercise its option to renew timely, this Amended and Restated Lease shall be extended as provided herein and Lessor and Lessee shall enter into an amendment to this Amended and Restated Lease to reflect the extension of the term.

On or before the first day of each Extension Term, Lessee shall pay to Lessor a lease extension fee in an amount equal to the sum of the Royalties and other sums payable hereunder during the highest two (2) years of the prior three (3) years of the then expiring term.  Failure to do so shall be a default under this Amended and Restated Lease.

Section 13.  Royalty Payment Times Lessee shall pay the Royalty to Lessor thirty (30) days following the end of each calendar quarter in each year, each payment to be determined based on the Royalty computation set forth in Section 9.  Each payment shall be equal to the number of tons of salt hoisted from the Cote Blanche mine in the immediately preceding three (3) month period multiplied by the Applicable Royalty Rate multiplied by the Net F.O.B. Mine Sales Revenue per ton in the preceding calendar year.

For the purpose of determining whether an underpayment or overpayment of royalties has occurred in the preceding calendar year, within the first quarter of each year, Lessee shall determine Net F.O.B. Mine Sales Revenue Per Ton for the preceding calendar year (herein referred to as “Actual Sales Revenue Per Ton”). In the event the total Royalty paid by Lessee to Lessors during such preceding year (herein referred to as “Actual Royalty Paid”) is less than that which would have been paid had the Actual Sales Revenue Per Ton been utilized as the basis for such royalty payments (herein referred to as “Adjusted Royalty”), Lessee shall pay with the January 30 payment to Lessors the difference between Actual Royalty Paid and Adjusted Royalty. In the event Actual Royalty Paid exceeds Adjusted Royalty, Lessee may retain royalty thereafter accruing to Lessors until Lessee has been fully reimbursed the amount of such excess Royalty Payment. (Nothing herein contained shall change Lessee's obligations under Section 14 hereof.) The payment on January 30 of each year shall also include any amount payable under the provisions of Section 16 hereof.

Section 14.  Payment of Taxes by Lessee In addition to the Royalty set out above, Lessee also agrees to pay all severance, sales, use and/or production taxes with respect to the salt mined, produced and shipped by Lessee or with respect to other operations of Lessee under this
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Amended and Restated Lease, required by local, State or Federal laws, even though the said laws may impose the payment of said taxes upon Lessor.

Section 15.  Copies of Severance Tax Reports Each Lessor shall be furnished with copies of all the severance tax reports filed by Lessee with the appropriate authorities.

Section 16.  Minimum Salt Hoisted During the Term of this Amended and Restated Lease the minimum tons of salt hoisted by Lessee each year for which Royalty must be paid is 1,500,000 tons, in order to keep the Amended and Restated Lease in full force and effect.  Any amount paid in a year in excess of the amount due for actual tons hoisted that year will reduce the Royalty for actual tons hoisted in the first future year in which Royalty is paid for actual tons hoisted but will not reduce any Royalty resulting from minimum tons in such future year.

In the event the Term of this Amended and Restated Lease ends on other than the last day of a calendar year, the minimum Salt required to be hoisted (to avoid Minimum Royalty) for the first fractional part of the calendar year which is in the Term of this Amended and Restated Lease ends shall be equal to the requirement for an entire year (i.e. 1,500,000 tons) prorated in the proportion that such fractional part of the year in which the Amended and Restated Lease is in effect bears to a full calendar year.  Minimum Royalty is due on such prorated minimum amount for such partial year.

If there are actual sales of Salt from the Cote Blanche Mine during the calendar year, the Royalty for that calendar year shall use the Net FOB Mine Sales Revenue Per Ton derived from those actual sales to compute the minimum Royalty for that calendar year.  If there are no actual sales of Salt from the Cote Blanche Mine during the calendar year, the Royalty for that calendar year shall use the Net FOB Mine Sales Revenue Per Ton reasonably estimated by Lessee as the Net FOB Mine Sales Revenue Per Ton which would have been obtained if Salt had been lifted and sold from the Cote Blanche Mine, based upon its knowledge of the value of Salt and the market and the costs associated therewith which are used in the computation of Net FOB Mine Sales Revenue Per Ton in the computation of the Royalty.  Lessee shall deliver to Lessor with its payment of the minimum Royalty, a detailed computation thereof and the basis therefore, particularly its basis for the Net FOB Mine Sales Revenue Per Ton which it determined.  Lessor shall then have thirty (30) days to object to the computation or determination and present to Lessee its revised computation of the minimum Royalty.  Lessor and Lessee will then have a period of sixty (60) days to meet and resolve their differences through good faith negotiations.  If they fail to agree within such sixty (60) day period, then the matter shall be referred to arbitration pursuant to Section 27 hereof.

Section 17.  Additional Taxes Paid by Lessee In addition to the taxes referred to in Section 14, Lessee shall bear and pay all taxes imposed upon the entire Minehead Tract.

Lessee shall also bear and pay all taxes imposed upon property and improvements placed by Lessee on the Leased Property, and shall likewise bear and pay all additional taxes which are imposed upon or are directly or indirectly attributable to Lessee’s operations and activities upon the Leased Property, provided that the Lessee shall not be obligated to pay increased taxes on the
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Lessor’s lands other than those portions hereinabove set forth and those in actual physical use by Lessee.  All other taxes are to be borne and paid by Lessor.

When the properties are not assessed separately, each party shall bear his proportionate share on the basis of their respective areas or values, whichever is the more appropriate.

Section 18.  Payment of Royalties Until such time as Lessee may be notified of a change in ownership in accordance with the provisions of Section 28 the Royalty and all other sums payable to Lessor hereunder shall be paid to Lessor in the following percentages, by bank wire transfer by Lessee as instructed by each of the Lessors, and failing such instructions, by mailing to the address shown following each respective name:
 
NAME OF LESSOR
 
PERCENTAGE
 
ISLAND PARTNERSHIP, L.L.C.
   
58.59375
%
Suite 1800, 1010 Common Street
       
New Orleans LA 70112
       
 
       
JMB COTE BLANCHE, L.L.C.
   
37.5
%
203 Main Street
       
Franklin LA 70538
       
 
       
CFB, LLC
   
3.90625
%
c/o Cassidy Turley
       
721 Emerson Road, Suite 333
       
St. Louis, MO 63141
       
Attn: Deborah Carter
        
 
   
100.00
%

Section 19.  Good Faith Royalty Payment It is specially agreed that if Lessee makes a bona fide effort to properly pay any Royalty hereunder, this Amended and Restated Lease shall not be cancelled because of an error in judgment or other mistake made in good faith by Lessee in the payment of the Royalty; but the person to whom the Royalty may legally be due, and after the requirements of this Amended and Restated Lease as to notices of change of ownership set out in Section 28 have been complied with, may make demand upon Lessee therefor.  Thereafter no default may be claimed until sixty (60) days after the demand has been made upon Lessee by registered or certified mail, and Lessee has failed to pay such Royalty or to file a concursus proceeding and to deposit the amount in question in the registry of the court.

Section 20.  Records of Salt Shipped Lessee agrees that it will keep accurate records of line items used to determine Royalty payments due under this Amended and Restated Lease, and to deliver statements thereof to Lessor.

Lessor, its agents and representatives, including certified public accountants, shall have the right, annually, to inspect the records of Lessee regarding the matters above set forth in this Section.

(13)

It is specifically provided that neither the making by Lessee nor the acceptance by Lessor of any payment hereunder, including the payment of any Royalty, shall prejudice the right of Lessor or Lessee to protest the correctness thereof; provided, however, that unless same is protested in writing within three (3) years after the close of the calendar year in which such payment was made, the same shall, for all purposes, be considered correct, conclusive and binding; and provided, further that as additional consideration for the execution of this Amended and Restated Lease, the Lessor and Lessee agree that the payment of any Royalty, as defined in the Lease, in calendar year 2012 and all preceding years was correct, conclusive and binding.

Section 21.  Lessor Right of Entry, Inspection and Visitation Lessee agrees that Lessor, its agents, engineers, and other representatives shall have the right at its or their own risk and responsibility to enter into the Cote Blanche Mine and other facilities, whether above or below the surface of the earth, in order to survey, inspect, examine, certify or measure the same, or any part or parts thereof, for any legal purpose, and for these purposes to freely use the means of access to said mine or mines without hindrance or molestation, and also to examine the maps of Lessee showing the mine workings and improvements in and upon the Leased Property.  When requested to do so by Lessor, Lessee shall furnish such copies of Lessee’s blue prints or maps as may be desired by Lessor.

The rights of entry, inspection and visitation herein granted shall be limited to only once in any three (3) month period, and in each instance shall be exercised only at a reasonable time, upon Lessor first giving Lessee five (5) days advance notice in writing of the date or dates on which Lessor desires to exercise such rights.

The rights of entry, inspection and visitation shall apply to Lessor as an entirety, and not to individual lessors, it being intended that Lessee shall not be required to make its facilities available for such entry, inspection and visitation more often than once in any three (3) month period.  Each exercise of the right as herein authorized may be by more than one of the individual lessors, together with their agents, engineers and other representatives.

Section 22.  Private Roads All of the roads on Cote Blanche Island are private, none having ever been made public, and Lessee agrees that it will at no time grant permission to any state, parish, ward or other governmental subdivision to maintain or otherwise work on any of said roads unless requested by Lessor in writing to grant such permission.  Lessee agrees to maintain 100% of any road which may service facilities or places used commercially by Lessee only.  As to all roads or parts of roads which are used in common by Lessee and other present or future tenants or lessees, Lessee shall arrange with said other tenant or tenants for the costs of such upkeep, and any dispute between Lessor and Lessee with respect to such upkeep shall be determined by arbitration in accordance with the provisions of Section 27.  Lessor, its successors, heirs, agents and representatives shall at all times have the free right to use all roads for its private purposes.  No main roads shall be fenced off or blocked.  Auxiliary roads within Lessee’s Minehead Tract may be enclosed at the discretion of Lessee.

Section 23.  Termination of Lease; Lessor Option to Purchase At such time as this Amended and Restated Lease terminates for any cause or reason whatsoever, the following
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provisions shall be applicable with reference to the machinery, equipment, buildings and all things used in connection with the operation of the mine:

A.              In any and all events the mine shaft, guides and buildings shall be left on the Leased Property, without the necessity of payment by Lessor to Lessee therefor.

B.              As to all other property used in connection with the operation of the mine (the “Other Property”), Lessor shall have the option to purchase the same from Lessee at its then fair market value as is where is, but only if Lessor purchases all of the Other Property.  To determine whether it wishes to exercise this option, Lessor shall have a period of sixty (60) days after receipt of notice of termination of the Amended and Restated Lease from Lessee to inspect the Other Property.  On or before the end of the sixty (60) day period Lessor shall notify Lessee in writing whether or not it elects to exercise the option to so purchase the Other Property.  If Lessor elects to purchase the Other Property, it shall have an additional sixty (60) days within which to arrange for the payment therefor, which shall be made in cash to Lessee, title and right to possession thereof shall pass to Lessor on the date of termination of the Amended and Restated Lease.

C.              If Lessor fails to give the notice required by Subsection 23B above, or in the event Lessor does not elect to exercise its option to purchase said Other Property, Lessee shall have the right to remove the Other Property from the Leased Property, and shall have a period of six (6) months from the date of termination of the Amended and Restated Lease to do so.  This right of Lessee to remove the remaining Other Property includes the right to remove all machinery, equipment and materials and other property, regardless of whether or not attached to the building in which it is situated or the manner of such attachment.

D.              Any Other Property remaining at the end of the said six months period shall become the property of the Lessor without the necessity of Lessor paying Lessee therefor.  On the other hand, at Lessor’s option, Lessor may within ninety (90) days thereafter require Lessee to remove any property of Lessee it does not wish to remain on the Leased Property, other than the mine shaft, guides and buildings.

E.              Any dispute between Lessor and Lessee in connection with the matters contained in this Section 23 shall be determined by arbitration in accordance with the provisions of Section 27.

Section 24.  Indemnity; Insurance .

A. Indemnity.  Lessee agrees to hold Lessor harmless from all claims for damages or injuries, including death of any person, or damage to property in connection with the Leased Property occurring through the negligence of Lessee, and to defend any such suit brought against Lessor on account of such claim, and to pay any judgment against Lessor resulting from any such suit.  Lessee further agrees that it will use due care and diligence to avoid damage to property or injuries to persons, and Lessee will compensate Lessor for any damage or injury, including reasonable attorney fees in case of suit, suffered by it as the result of any damage or injury occurring through the negligence of Lessee.  Correspondingly, Lessor agrees to hold Lessee harmless from all claims for damages or injuries, including death of any person, or damage to property in connection with the Leased Property, occurring through the negligence of Lessor, and to defend any suit brought against Lessee on account of such claim, and to pay any judgment against Lessee resulting from any such suit.  Lessor further agrees that it will use due care and diligence to avoid damage to property or injuries to persons and Lessor will compensate Lessee for any damage or injury,
(15)

including reasonable attorney fees in case of suit, suffered by it as the result of any damage or injury occurring through the negligence of Lessor.  If injury, loss-or damage is caused by the joint or concurring negligence of Lessor and Lessee, then Lessor and Lessee shall be liable in solido therefor, with right of contribution against the other party.  Both Lessor and Lessee agree to notify the other in writing within ten (10) days of the receipt of notice by said party that a suit has been filed against it which may result in any liability on the part of the other under the provisions of this Amended and Restated Lease, and within sixty (60) days of the receipt of notice by said party that a claim is being asserted against it, which may result in any liability on the part of the other under the provisions of this Amended and Restated Lease.

B. Insurance
1. Lessor will be named as an additional insured in Lessee’s premises liability insurance policies in the minimum insured amount of $20,000,000.00 per occurrence or at the same dollar amount of Lessee’s coverage, whichever is greater, with no lesser ceiling per claimant relating to the mine which is located in and under the Leased Property.
2. Lessee shall carry business interruption insurance as part of the coverage to the extent it is reasonably available, in sufficient amounts with carriers reasonably acceptable to Lessor and having a financial strength rating at least equal to an AM Best (or equivalent rating agency) rating of Secure, which shall insure the continuation of the payment of Royalties for at least two (2) years in annual amounts equal to the annual Royalty payable with respect to 2,000,000 tons of salt even though the mine on the Leased Property may be unable to produce for any reason (subject to typical exclusions and proof of loss limitations for such policies) including but not limited to mine disaster or any other business interruption.
3. Notwithstanding the foregoing provision, alternatively at Lessee’s option, for the business interruption insurance coverage only, Lessee may provide a reasonably comparable financial commitment to Lessor, which may be satisfied by a similar commitment by an affiliated entity having assets in excess of $500 million.
4. Lessee shall deliver such certificates of insurance or financial commitment documentation annually or as Lessor may reasonably request to evidence the existence of the coverage’s or financial commitment required by this Section.

Section 25.  Right of First Refusal In the event, that Lessee wishes to sell any of its rights hereunder, Lessor shall be given the privilege of purchasing, the same if it meets any offer or bid which Lessee has received for the same, by cash purchase within thirty (30) days of receipt of notice from Lessee that such interest is for sale.  A conveyance to a subsidiary or affiliated company, or to the stockholders of Lessee, a merger, or the granting of a mortgage or other security device shall not be considered a sale or assignment for the purpose of this Section.

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Section 26.  Assignment or Sublease It is agreed and understood that the estate of either party hereto may be assigned or sub-leased in whole or in part, subject to the provisions set forth in Section 25 above; provided, however, that in the event Lessor, after receiving notice of any proposed sale to be given by Lessee to Lessor, and within the thirty (30) days granted Lessor to purchase the interest offered for sale, does not wish to exercise its rights to purchase the interest, but considers the prospective purchaser to be either financially or morally undesirable, Lessor shall so advise Lessee in writing, setting forth its objection to such prospective purchaser and its reasons therefor.  If Lessee is of the opinion that Lessor’s objections are justified, Lessee will not consummate the proposed sale.  If, however, Lessee is of the opinion that Lessor’s objections are not justified, it shall so notify Lessor, and Lessor and Lessee agree that this dispute shall be determined by arbitration in accordance with the provisions of Section 27.

Section 27.  Arbitration For the determination of any matter made subject to arbitration hereunder, either party hereto may by written notice to the other appoint an arbitrator.  Thereupon, within twenty (20) days after giving of such notice, the other shall by written notice to the former appoint another arbitrator.  In default of such second appointment within the twenty (20) day period, the arbitrator first appointed shall be sole arbitrator.  When any two arbitrators have been appointed as aforesaid, they shall, if possible, agree upon a third arbitrator and shall appoint him by notice in writing, signed by both of them in triplicate, one of which triplicate notices shall be given to each party hereto.  If twenty (20) days shall elapse after the appointment of the second arbitrator without notice of appointment of the third arbitrator being given as aforesaid, then either party hereto, or both parties jointly, may apply to the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) to appoint the third arbitrator, in which event such appointment so made by AAA shall be binding upon the parties.  Upon appointment of the arbitrator or arbitrators (whichever way appointed as aforesaid), the arbitration shall be conducted in New Orleans LA in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules of AAA, except to the extent altered by the agreement of the parties.

Each party shall pay the expense of the arbitrator selected by or for it, and the costs and expenses incurred in the preparation and presentation of its evidence and the fees and charges of its witnesses and counsel, and all other costs of the arbitration shall be equally divided between the parties hereto.

Section 28.  Division of Ownership No change or division whatsoever and howsoever arising, relative to ownership of the Leased Property, Royalties or this Amended and Restated Lease, or any part of the same, shall operate to increase the obligations or diminish the rights of either party hereto, and that regardless of any such change or division of ownership the Leased Property shall be developed and operated as an entirety; and that notwithstanding any other actual or constructive knowledge or notice whatsoever thereof, no such change or division shall be binding upon either party unless and until after thirty (30) days written notice thereof, together with certified copies of recordable written instruments evidencing such change or divisions, shall have been delivered to the other party.

Section 29.  Warranty of Title and Peaceable Possession . Lessor warrants and agrees to defend the title to the Leased Property and to maintain Lessee in possession thereof for all purposes of this Amended and Restated Lease, but it is stipulated and agreed that, in the event of
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loss or failure of title, or eviction of the Lessee, the responsibility of Lessor to Lessee for restitution, reimbursement and/or damages, under such warranty, shall be limited solely to the reimbursement of Lessee for all money actually received by Lessor as a Royalty.  This return of Royalty is further restricted in that no Royalty received by Lessor more than one (1) year prior to the very date upon which demand for return of Royalty shall be made need be returned or shall be returnable hereunder.  Nor shall the returnable Royalty include either interest or severance taxes accrued or paid.  Also, only that portion of the returnable Royalty need be returned which shall be applicable to that portion of the property from which Lessee may be evicted in the event such eviction be from less than the entire property.  Lessee hereby waives and renounces in favor of Lessor any claim, right, demand or cause of action for a greater return or for damages.  However, it is agreed that Lessee may, at its option, discharge any tax, mortgage or other lien or privilege which may rank prior to this Amended and Restated Lease and be subrogated to the rights of the holders thereof, and to apply any Royalty accruing hereunder toward satisfying the same.

Section 30.  Reduction for Partial Interest . If Lessor owns an interest in the Leased Property less than the entire fee simple estate, or no estate therein, then the Royalties herein provided for shall be paid to Lessor only in the proportion which its interest, if any, bears to the whole and undivided fee.

Section 31.  Compliance Subject to Law All terms and express or implied covenants of this Amended and Restated Lease shall be subject to all valid federal and state laws, executive orders, rules and regulations of any regulatory authority having jurisdiction, and this Amended and Restated Lease shall neither be terminated in whole or in part, nor Lessee be held liable in damages, or failure to comply therewith, if compliance is prevented by or if such failure is the result of any such law, order, rule or regulation.

Section 32.     Brine Operations; Royalty; Use of Cavity If Lessee should conduct any brine operations on the Leased Property, Royalty for the salt thus produced and shipped shall be computed hereunder just as though the number of tons of salt hoisted had been rock salt.  In the event Lessee advises Lessor that it has no further use for any cavity so created and that such cavity may be used by Lessor, such cavity shall be offered to Lessor free of cost to Lessor for use by Lessor, its successors and assigns, in storing liquids.  The outside casing or pipe installed for production from any brine well or wells shall not be pulled by Lessee but shall remain for use by Lessor, free of cost to Lessor.  Lessee’s use of any cavity created by its brine operations shall not include the right to use same for storage, but Lessee’s right to use cavities otherwise created for such purpose is expressly recognized.  Lessee, however, shall not store any radioactive or fissionable material in any such cavity.  It is understood that Lessee, in its sole judgment, shall determine when it has no further use for any such cavity and as to whether or not to notify Lessor that it shall have the right to use such cavity for its purposes.

It is agreed and understood that in the use of any such cavity or cavities by Lessor no radioactive or fissionable materials shall be stored.  With respect to such storage, Lessor agrees to comply with the provisions of Section 6 hereof.  Lessor further agrees specifically to assume full responsibility and liability for any loss or damage that Lessee may sustain in any manner arising out of or in connection with the care and maintenance of any such cavity or cavities or the
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use thereof, including, but not limited to, breaking into any mine or mines and/or well or wells of Lessee, or loss or damage to any surface facilities or structures of Lessee, and Lessor agrees immediately prior to the use of any such cavities to indemnify Lessee against any and all such loss and damage, and to furnish bond or carry adequate insurance for the purpose, delivering to Lessee evidence hereof in an acceptable form; provided, however, that before any such cavity is turned over to Lessor and becomes the responsibility of Lessor, Lessor shall be given ample opportunity and time to inspect and test the cavity, and shall be furnished access to all records of Lessee concerning the physical characteristics of the cavity promptly upon request by Lessor.  If Lessor does not desire to assume responsibility for the cavity it may refuse the tender thereof, in which event Lessee may remove therefrom such portions of its equipment or material as it may desire and plug and abandon such cavity, or Lessee may use such cavity for such purposes as it may see fit, including the right of storage.

The term radioactive and fissionable, as herein used, does not apply to normal hydrocarbons or chemical compounds but relates to material in an active state of atomic decomposition, such as to be radioactive and which is dangerous to persons or property. Storage activities related to hydrocarbons or chemical compounds are addressed in Section 6(A), above.

Section 33.      Notice of Default; Opportunity to Cure In the event Lessor considers that Lessee has failed to conform or comply with any of the express or implied obligations of this agreement, Lessor shall notify Lessee in writing, setting forth specifically the respects in which Lessor considers that Lessee has so failed to perform or comply, and Lessee shall have sixty (60) days after receipt of such notice within which to remedy or commence to remedy any such .defaults so alleged by Lessor.  The delivery of said notice to Lessee and the lapse of sixty (60) days thereafter shall be a precedent condition to the bringing of any action by Lessor under this agreement.  If an adverse claim is asserted against the title of Lessor, or any portion thereof, Lessee shall be entitled to withhold payment to Lessor to the extent of the disputed portion, or to provoke a concursus and deposit the disputed amount in the registry of the court until such claim has been finally determined or until Lessor shall have furnished bond to Lessee in an amount and with sureties satisfactory to Lessee, or other adequate security with respect to such claim.

Section 34.     Force Majeure When performance by Lessee hereunder is delayed or interrupted by lack of labor or materials, or by fire, storm, flood, war, rebellion, insurrection, riot, strike, differences with workmen or failure of carriers to transport or furnish facilities for transportation, or as a result of some order, requisition or necessity of the federal or state government, or any governmental subdivision, or as the result of any cause whatsoever beyond the control of Lessee, the time of such delay or interruption shall not be counted against Lessee, anything in this Amended and Restated Lease to the contrary notwithstanding.  During any calendar year within which less than the minimum number of tons of salt may be shipped and such force majeure as is defined herein shall occur, then and in that event, the minimum number of tons of salt required to be shipped shall be reduced proportionately, that is to say, as the ratio of the number of days covered by the force majeure shall bear to 365 days (for example, if the force majeure should cover a period of 14 days, the minimum number of tons of salt required to be shipped shall be reduced by 14/365).

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The foregoing provisions of this force majeure clause shall not be so interpreted under any circumstances as to extend the term of this Amended and Restated Lease beyond its term.

By the same token, in the event any such force majeure as described above, shall occur and operate to impair the ability of Lessor to perform any obligations hereunder Lessor shall be similarly excused from performing during the existence of the force majeure and shall have a similar length of time after the force majeure has ended to perform.

Section 35.  Title Opinions In the event Lessee obtains a title opinion or title opinions or supplemental title opinion or opinions upon the Leased Property, an unsigned copy thereof shall be furnished to each Lessor.

Section 36.  Surveys If Lessee shall cause any of the exterior or interior lines of the property covered by this Amended and Restated Lease to be surveyed, Lessee shall furnish Lessor with four copies or prints of such survey or surveys.  Lessee shall also furnish Lessor with four copies or prints of all maps submitted by it to any parish, state or federal regulatory body in connection with any proposed action, if there is such regulatory body or if such map is required.

Section 37.  Protection of Oak Trees Lessee shall not cut, damage or use oak trees growing upon the Leased Property wherever it is possible to conduct its operations without disturbing the same; provided, however, that Lessee shall have no liability for damage to trees resulting from its normal operations.

Section 38.  Notice Any notice, request, approval, consent, exercise of an option or election, furnishing of a report, statement, record, map, document, or other instrument or communication pursuant to any provision hereof shall be deemed sufficiently given, delivered, furnished or served if sent by certified or registered mail addressed, respectively, to the following:

A.              To the Lessor:

1.               ISLAND PARTNERSHIP, L.L.C.
Suite 1800, 1010 Common Street
New Orleans LA 70112

2.               JMB COTE BLANCHE, L.L.C.
203 Main Street
Franklin LA 70538

And

3.                CFB, L.L.C.
c/o JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.
Attn: Closely Held Asset Mgmt, mail code: OH1-1275
1111 Polaris Parkway
Columbus, OH 43240

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B.              TO THE LESSEE:

Carey Salt Company
9900 West 109th Street, Suite 100
Overland Park, KS 66210
Attn:  Director, Natural Resources

Either Lessor or Lessee shall have the right to change the person or persons above designated to receive any such communication or instrument, or the address to which any such person should be addressed, by giving written notice thereof to the other signed by the persons then designated, or with respect to Lessor, if not signed by those designated, in lieu thereof signed by such of the parties constituting Lessor then entitled in the aggregate to receive at least 51% of-the royalties due hereunder; provided, however, that neither Lessee nor Lessor shall be entitled to designate more than three (3) such parties and, in the event more than three (3) are designated, the other party may, at its option, select any two of those designated as to whom the provisions of this Section shall apply.

In the event of the death or incapacity of any individual or the liquidation or dissolution of any corporate party designated by Lessor under the provisions of this Section, another person shall be designated in his stead, by written notice signed by such of the parties constituting Lessor as are then entitled in the aggregate to receive at least 51% of the royalties due hereunder; provided that in absence of such notification and designation communications and instruments sent in accordance with the previous designations shall be valid and binding.

In all instances in which Lessor is required or empowered herein to give notices to Lessee, to make requests of Lessee, to advise Lessee of approvals or grant consents to Lessee, to appoint arbitrators, to exercise options or any similar rights or privileges hereunder, same shall be made, given or sent to Lessee by the parties designated by Lessor to receive notices under the provisions of this Section and, when so given, shall be conclusively presumed to be on behalf of and shall be binding upon all parties constituting Lessor.  Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding sentence, however, whenever Lessor is required to consent to or approve of a proposed action or operation by Lessee hereunder, such consent or approval of such of the parties constituting Lessor and then being entitled in the aggregate to receive at least 51% of the royalties due hereunder shall be sufficient to enable Lessee to so act or operate and shall bind all of the parties then constituting Lessor and their heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns, whether or not notice of such consent or approval is given by Lessor in the manner otherwise provided in this Section 38, and whether or not the parties designated by Lessor under the provision of this Section join in such consent or approval.  Failure of Lessor to communicate to Lessee whether or not any consent or approval requested of Lessor by Lessee is granted within sixty (60) days from the mailing of such request shall be equivalent to approval or consent of Lessor.

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Section 39.  Binding Effect This agreement shall be binding upon, and, subject to other provisions of this agreement, inure to the benefit of, the heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assign of the parties hereto.

Section 40.  Counterparts This Amended and Restated Lease may be executed by the parties separately, on different dates, and in counterparts, but shall nevertheless be binding and effective as of the date first written on the first page hereof.

Section 41.  Leasehold Mortgage Provisions .                (a)              For the purpose of this Section 41, the following definitions shall apply: The term “Mortgagee” shall mean any bank, bank holding company, savings and loan association, trust company, credit corporation, insurance company or pension fund (including any entity acting as trustee or agent for any of the foregoing), having assets in excess of One Billion Dollars ($1,000,000,000.00), or a wholly-owned subsidiary of any of the foregoing entities. The term “Nominee” shall mean a direct or indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of a Mortgagee.

(b)              Lessee is hereby given the right by Lessor to mortgage to one or more Mortgagees its interest in the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease, under one or more mortgages or other security devices (a “Mortgage”), and as collateral security for such Mortgage(s), to give to such Mortgagee(s) a lien, assignment and/or security interest in (i) any personal property included within the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease and (ii) the income, receipts, revenues and profits of the Leased Property save and except the Lessor’s royalties. If Lessee shall mortgage the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease and if any such Mortgagee shall send to Lessor a true copy thereof, together with written notice specifying the name and address of the Mortgagee, Lessor agrees that so long as such Mortgage shall remain unsatisfied, the following provisions shall apply: (i) Lessor shall not agree to a consensual cancellation, termination, surrender, or modification of the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease by Lessee, without the prior consent in writing of such Mortgagee and no such consensual cancellation, termination, surrender or modification without such prior consent shall be binding on such Mortgagee; and (ii) Lessor shall, upon sending Lessee any notice of default, simultaneously send a copy of such notice to such Mortgagee(s), at the same time and in the same manner that such notice is sent to Lessee, and to such addresses as may be designated in a written notice from such Mortgagee(s) received by Lessor. No notice given by Lessor to Lessee shall be binding upon or affect a Mortgagee unless a copy of such notice shall be given to the Mortgagee pursuant to this subparagraph (b). In addition to the other rights of the Mortgagee(s) set forth in this Section 41, such Mortgagee(s) shall, after service of any such notice upon it, have the right to cure and cause the cure of any default by Lessee hereunder, and Lessor shall accept such performance by or at the instigation of such Mortgagee(s) as if the same had been done by Lessee.

(c)              Before giving any notice of election to terminate the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease, Lessor shall allow Mortgagee the same cure periods given to Lessee hereunder to cure such default, running concurrently with the cure period afforded to Lessee.

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(d)              In the event of a default by Lessee in the performance of any term, covenant, condition or agreement on Lessee’s part to be performed under this lease of a nature that cannot practicably be cured by Mortgagee without taking possession of the Leased Property, or of a nature that is not susceptible of being cured by Mortgagee, Lessor shall not terminate the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease by reason of such default, if and so long as (i) in the case of a default which cannot practicably be cured by Mortgagee without taking possession of the Leased Property, Mortgagee shall deliver to Lessor, prior to the date of which Lessor shall be entitled to terminate the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease, a written instrument in which Mortgagee agrees to commence foreclosure proceedings or take any other steps or actions to obtain possession of the Leased Property, and Mortgagee thereafter commences such proceedings or actions within a reasonable time, diligently prosecutes the same to completion (unless in the meantime the Mortgagee acquires Lessee’s interest under the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease, either in its own name or through a Nominee), and upon obtaining possession of the Leased Property (including possession by a keeper, receiver, Nominee of purchaser at a foreclosure or other sale), diligently and with continuity proceeds to cure such default and effects a cure of such default; or (ii) in the case of a default which is not susceptible of being cured by Mortgagee, Mortgagee shall, within a reasonable time, institute foreclosure proceedings or take any other steps or actions to obtain possession of the Leased Property, and diligently prosecute the same to completion (unless in the meantime, Mortgagee acquires Lessee’s interest under the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease, either in its own name or through a Nominee).  Mortgagee shall not be required to continue to proceed to obtain possession, or to continue in possession of the Leased Property pursuant to clause (i), or continue to prosecute foreclosure proceedings or any other action pursuant to clause (ii) above, if and when such default shall be cured. If Mortgagee, its Nominee, or a purchaser at a foreclosure or other sale shall acquire title to Lessee’s interest in the the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease and shall cure all of Lessee’s defaults under the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease, which defaults Mortgagee received notice of in accordance with the terms of this Section 41, and which are susceptible of being cured by such Mortgagee or by such Nominee or purchaser, as the case may be, within the time reasonably required therefor, then the defaults of any prior holder of Lessee’s interest in the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease which are not susceptible of being cured by such Mortgagee (or by such Nominee or purchaser) shall not be deemed to be defaults under the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease as between Lessor and the Mortgagee, its Nominee or such purchaser.

(e)              No Mortgagee or its Nominee shall become liable under the provisions of the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease unless and until such time as it becomes the owner of Lessee’s interest in the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease.

(f)              (i)              In the case of termination of the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease by reason of any default or for any other reason prior to the end of the stated term of the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease and if an assignment under subsection (g) hereof is prohibited as a result of a bankruptcy, Lessor shall give prompt notice thereof to each Mortgagee in the manner provided in subsection (b) hereof.
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Lessor, on written request of any such Mortgagee, made any time within sixty (60) days after the receipt of such notice by such Mortgagee, shall execute and deliver a new lease of the Leased Property to the Mortgagee, or its Nominee, for the remainder of the term of the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease had the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease not been terminated, upon all of the terms, covenants and conditions contained in the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease, provided that the prospective tenant thereunder agrees to comply with the requirements of this subparagraph (f). The tenant under such new lease shall (x) simultaneously with the delivery of such new lease, pay to Lessor all unpaid rental, royalties and any other amounts of money due under the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease as if the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease had continued in effect up to and including the date of the commencement of the term of such new lease, and all reasonable expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, incurred by Lessor in connection with any defaults by Lessee under the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease, the termination of the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease and the preparation of the new lease, less any amounts collected by Lessor from any subtenants or, other occupants of the Leased Property in payment of any obligations described hereinabove, and (y) cure all defaults existing under the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease which are susceptible of being cured by such tenant under the new lease within the time reasonably required therefor.

(ii)              Any such new lease shall maintain the same priority as the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease with regard to any mortgage affecting the Leased Property or any part thereof or any other rights, liens or encumbrances thereon.  The provisions of the immediately preceding sentence shall be self-executing, and Lessor shall have no obligation to do anything, other than to execute and deliver such new lease, to assure to the tenant under such new lease good title to the leasehold estate created thereby.

(iii)              If more than one Mortgagee requests a new lease pursuant to this subparagraph (f), the Lessor shall recognize as the Mortgagee entitled to receive such new lease the holder of the Mortgage with the highest lien priority.

(iv)              Any new Lessee must accept all Lessee obliga­tions and responsibilities and acquire all Lessee’s assets (relating to or used in connection with the Leased Property that are necessary to discharge Lessee’s obligations under the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease), which are then in existence and owned by Lessee at the time of the execution of the new lease. Further, there may be no partial assignment of Lessee’s rights under the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease.

(g)              Lessee shall have the right to assign the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease to a Mortgagee or to a Nominee of such Mortgagee (provided that, in the case of an assignment to a Nominee of a Mortgagee, the Mortgagee shall guarantee the Nominee’s obligations to pay royalties and to maintain the insurance provided for herein). The provisions of Sections 25 and 26 of the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease shall not apply to the acquisition by the Mortgagee or such Nominee of Lessee’s interest hereunder as a result of foreclosure of a mortgage, exercise of a power of sale or by
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assignment in lieu of foreclosure or any first transferee of either of them, provided the Mortgagee or a Nominee or the first transferee of the Mortgagee or such Nominee of the estate created under the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease (i) shall have a net worth immediately after such transfer that is equal to or greater than the net worth of Carey Salt Company immediately after its acquisition of the Lessee’s interest in the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease, (ii) has or will have supervisory personnel at the Leased Property who are experienced in underground mining operations, and (iii) as to the Mortgagee at the time of such taking of title (or if there is more than one Mortgagee, then the holders or participants of at least ten per cent (10%) of the debt secured by the Mortgage) shall have a rating by Moody’s or Standard and Poor’s on their respective long term debt of at least the minimum “investment” grade.  Any transfers of the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease thereafter occurring shall be subject to Sections 25 and 26 of the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease. Unless an assignment pursuant to this sub­section (g) is prohibited by bankruptcy, Lessee will take any steps necessary to effectuate an assignment and render unnecessary the execution of a new lease pursuant to sub-section 6(f).”

(h)              Lessor and Lessee acknowledge that Lessee has given and Lessor has received notice that Lessee has mortgaged its interest in the Lease, including but not limited to this Amended and Restated Lease to JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. as Collateral Agent and Lessee has sent Lessor a true copy of the Mortgage to Lessor who has received it.

Section 42.  Organization and Authority of Signing Parties .

(a)              Island Partnership, L.L.C. and each person signing this Amended and Restated Lease on behalf of Island Partnership, L.L.C. represents to the remaining parties as follows: Island Partnership, L.L.C. is duly formed and legally and validly existing as a limited liability company under the laws of the State of Louisiana.  Island Partnership, L.L.C. has all requisite power and all governmental certificates of authority, licenses, permits, qualifications and other documentation to own and lease the Leased Property and to carry on its business as now conducted and as contemplated to be conducted.  Each person signing on behalf of Island Partnership, L.L.C. is authorized to do so.  This Amended and Restated Lease has been duly authorized, executed and delivered on behalf of Island Partnership, L.L.C. and constitutes the legal, valid and binding obligation of Island Partnership, L.L.C. enforceable in accordance with its terms.

(b)              JMB Cote Blanche, L.L.C. and each person signing this Amended and Restated Lease on behalf of JMB Cote Blanche, L.L.C. represents to the remaining parties as follows: JMB Cote Blanche, L.L.C.  is duly organized and legally and validly existing as a limited liability company under the laws of the State of Louisiana.  JMB Cote Blanche, L.L.C. has all requisite power and all governmental certificates of authority, licenses, permits, qualifications and other documentation to own and lease the Leased Property and to carry on its business as now conducted and as contemplated to be conducted.  Each person signing on behalf of JMB Cote Blanche, L.L.C. is authorized to do so.  This Amended and Restated Lease has been duly authorized, executed and delivered on behalf of JMB Cote Blanche, L.L.C.  and constitutes the
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legal, valid and binding obligation of JMB Cote Blanche, L.L.C.  enforceable in accordance with its terms.

(c)              CFB, LLC and each person signing this Amended and Restated Lease on behalf of CFB, LLC represents to the remaining parties as follows: CFB, LLC is duly organized and legally and validly existing as a limited liability company under the laws of the State of Louisiana.  CFB, LLC has all requisite power and all governmental certificates of authority, licenses, permits, qualifications and other documentation to own and lease the Leased Property and to carry on its business as now conducted and as contemplated to be conducted.  Each person signing on behalf of CFB, LLC is authorized to do so.  This Amended and Restated Lease has been duly authorized, executed and delivered on behalf of CFB, LLC  and constitutes the legal valid and binding obligation of CFB, LLC enforceable in accordance with its terms.

(d)              Carey Salt Company and each person signing this Amended and Restated Lease on behalf of Carey Salt Company represents to the remaining parties as follows: Carey Salt Company is duly incorporated and legally and validly existing under the laws of the State of Delaware.  Carey Salt Company has all requisite power and all governmental certificates of authority, licenses, permits, qualifications and other documentation to lease the Leased Property and to carry on its business as now conducted and as contemplated to be conducted.  Each person signing on behalf of Carey Salt Company is authorized to do so.  This Amended and Restated Lease has been duly authorized, executed and delivered on behalf of Carey Salt Company and constitutes the legal valid and binding obligation of Carey Salt Company enforceable in accordance with its terms.

Section 43.  Lessor’s Estoppel.   The Lessor certifies that:

1. This Amended and Restated Lease represents the entire agreement between the parties as to the Leased Property, it is now in full force and effect, and has not been further amended, modified or supplemented.  All conditions of the Lease and this Amended and Restated Lease to be performed by Lessee have been performed or satisfied.

2. All sums payable under the Lease and this Amended and Restated Lease by Lessee to Lessor have been paid.

3. (a) There are no defaults on the part of Lessee under the Lease or this Amended and Restated Lease, and (b) there are no events currently existing (or with the passage of time, giving of notice or both, which would exist) which give Lessor the right to cancel or terminate the Lease or this Amended and Restated Lease.

4. Except as specifically stated in this Amended and Restated Lease, Lessor has no defense as to its obligations under the Lease or this Amended and Restated Lease and has no claims, offsets or counterclaims against Lessee.

5. There are no actions, whether voluntary or otherwise, pending against the Lessor pursuant to the bankruptcy or insolvency laws of the United States or any state thereof.

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6. There are no current defaults with respect to Lessor’s obligations under the Lease or this Amended and Restated Lease.

Section 44.  Recordation .  This Amended and Restated Lease shall not be recorded in the public records of St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, and any recordation of the Amended and Restated Lease in violation of this Section shall be a default under this Amended and Restated Lease and shall have no effect.  However, there shall be recorded a Notice of Lease in substantially the form of Exhibit B hereto to put third parties on notice of the existence of this Amended and Restated Lease pursuant to the provisions of La. R.S. 9:2742.  The parties agree to join in the execution of such Notice of Lease.

Section 45.  Miscellaneous.

A.  Nothing in this Amended and Restated Salt and Surface Lease shall constitute the satisfaction or extinguishment of all the obligations owed under the Lease or this Amended and Restated Lease, nor shall it be a novation of the obligations under the Lease or this Amended and Restated Lease.  As amended hereby, the parties hereto do hereby ratify confirm and adopt the Lease as amended and restated herein.

B.  This Amended and Restated Lease and the Notice of Amended and Restated Lease may be executed simultaneously in two or more counterparts , each of which shall be deemed an original and all of which, when taken together, constitute one and the same document. The signature of any party to any counterpart shall be deemed a signature to, and may be appended to, any other counterpart .

C.  The headings of the various Sections of this Amended and Restated Lease are for convenience of reference only and are not to be construed as defining or limiting, in any way, the scope or intent of the provisions hereof.

The Rest of This Page is Intentionally Left Blank
(27)

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Lessor, ISLAND PARTNERSHIP, L.L.C. has executed this Amended and Restated Salt and Surface Lease in the presence of the undersigned competent witnesses.
 
WITNESSES:
 
LESSOR:
 
 
 
 
ISLAND PARTNERSHIP, L.L.C.
/s/ Lynne Crumhorn  
 
 
 
/s/ Kathleen C. Murphy
 
By:
/s/ Rader Jackson
 
 
Rader Jackson
 
 
 
 
By:
/s/ Caroline Senter
 
 
Caroline Senter
 
 
 
 
By:
/s/ Robert P. McCay
 
 
Robert P. McCay
 
(28)

THE STATE OF LOUISIANA   §
PARISH OF Orleans §

On this 13 th day of March, 2014, before me personally appeared RADER JACKSON, CAROLINE SENTER and ROBERT P. MCCAY, to me personally known, who, being by me duly sworn, did say that they are all the Members of the Management Committee of ISLAND PARTNERSHIP, L.L.C. and said appearer acknowledged to me, Notary, in the presence of the undersigned competent witnesses, that the foregoing instrument was signed on behalf of said limited liability company by authority granted pursuant to its operating agreement, and said appearers acknowledged said instrument to be the free act and deed of said limited liability company.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, said appearers have executed these presents together with me, Notary, and the undersigned competent witnesses, in the Parish and State aforesaid, on the date first above written.

WITNESSES:
 
/s/ Lynne Crumhorn
/s/ Rader Jackson
 
Rader Jackson
 
/s/ Kathleen C. Murphy
/s/ Caroline Senter
 
Caroline Senter
 
 
/s/ Robert P. McCay
 
Robert P. McCay
 
/s/ Nadine B. Hammonds
 
NOTARY PUBLIC
NOTARY/BAR NO. 8679
MY COMMISSION EXPIRES AT DEATH

(29)

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Lessor, JMB COTE BLANCHE, L.L.C., has executed this Amended and Restated Salt and Surface Lease in the presence of the undersigned competent witnesses.

WITNESSES:
 
LESSOR :
 
 
 
/s/ Destiny Ghergich
JMB COTE BLANCHE, L.L.C.
 
 
 
/s/ Stephanie M. Frost
By:
/s/ Glenn J. Vice
 
 
Glenn J. Vice, President
 
THE STATE OF LOUISIANA   §
PARISH OF St. Mary  §
 
On this 13 th day of March, 2014, before me personally appeared GLENN J. VICE, to me personally known, who, being by me duly sworn, did say that he is the President of JMB COTE BLANCHE, L.L.C. and said appearer acknowledged to me, Notary, in the presence of the undersigned competent witnesses, that the foregoing instrument was signed on behalf of said limited liability company by authority granted pursuant to its operating agreement and a resolution of its Managing Board, and said appearer acknowledged said instrument to be the free act and deed of said limited liability company.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, said appearer has executed these presents together with me, Notary, and the undersigned competent witnesses, in the Parish and State aforesaid, on the date first above written.
 
WITNESSES:
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Destiny Ghergich
 
/s/ Glenn J. Vice
 
 
Glenn J. Vice
 
 
 
/s/ Stephanie M. Frost
 
 
 
/s/ Margaret E. Judice
 
NOTARY PUBLIC
NOTARY/BAR NO. 24133
MY COMMISSION EXPIRES AT MY DEATH
(30)

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Lessor, CFB, LLC, has executed this Amended and Restated Salt and Surface Lease in the presence of the undersigned competent witnesses.

WITNESSES:
 
LESSOR :
 
 
 
 
CFB, LLC
 
By:
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as
 
 
Trustee of the Caroline F. Baker
Trust No. 1
 
 
 
ATTEST:
By:
/s/ Michael G. Redin
 
 
Michael G. Redin,
/s/ Lee C. Ritter
 
Executive Director
Lee C. Ritter, Vice President
 
 
 
 
 
STATE OF _____Ohio________________________________ §
 
 
Country   OF   Franklin ___________________§
 
 

On this 13 th day of March, 2014, before me personally appeared MICHAEL G. REDIN, to me personally known, who, being by me duly sworn, did say that he is the Executive Director of JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA who as Trustee of the Caroline F. Baker Trust No. 1 is the sole Manager of CFB, LLC and said appearer acknowledged to me, Notary, in the presence of the undersigned competent witnesses, that the foregoing instrument was signed on behalf of said limited liability company by authority granted pursuant to its operating agreement and a resolution of the Board of Directors of JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA, and said appearer acknowledged said instrument to be the free act and deed of said trust and limited liability company.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, said appearer has executed these presents together with me, Notary, and the undersigned competent witnesses, in the Parish and State aforesaid, on the date first above written.

WITNESSES:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Michael G. Redin
 
 
Michael G. Redin
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                                                                                         
 
                                                                                                                                      
 
/s/ Denise Chamberlain

NOTARY PUBLIC
MY COMMISSION EXPIRES ____  9-20-2017 ______

(31)

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Lessee, CAREY SALT COMPANY, has executed this Amended and Restated Salt and Surface Lease in the presence of the undersigned competent witnesses.

WITNESSES:
 
LESSEE :
 
 
 
/s/ James D. Standen
CAREY SALT COMPANY
 
 
 
/s/ Todd Rohr
By:
/s/ Joseph Havasi
 
 
Joseph Havasi
 
 
 
THE STATE OF __________Kansas__________ §
 
 
 
 
 
COUNTY OF______________Johnson____________  §
 
 

On this 13 th day of March, 2014, before me personally appeared Joseph Havasi, to me personally known, who, being by me duly sworn, did say that he is the Director, Natural Resources, of CAREY SALT COMPANY and said appearer acknowledged to me, Notary, in the presence of the undersigned competent witnesses, that the foregoing instrument was signed on behalf of said corporation by authority of its Board of Directors, and said appearer acknowledged said instrument to be the free act and deed of said corporation.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, said appearer has executed these presents together with me, Notary, and the undersigned competent witnesses, in the County and State aforesaid, on the date first above written.

WITNESSES:
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ James D. Stander
 
/s/ Joseph Havasi
 
Joseph Havasi
 
 
 
/s/ Todd Rohr
 
 
 
/s/ Norma Frazier
NOTARY PUBLIC
My commission expires: ______  9-25-2014 ________
 
(32)

EXHIBIT “B”
 
NOTICE OF AMENDED AND RESTATED SALT AND SURFACE LEASE
 
THIS NOTICE OF AMENDED AND RESTATED SALT AND SURFACE LEASE (the “Notice”) is made by and between:
 
ISLAND PARTNERSHIP, L.L.C. (TIN: XX-XXX7477), a Louisiana limited liability company whose Articles of Organization were recorded October 24, 2000, whose address is Suite1800, 1010 Common Street, New Orleans LA 70112, appearing herein through and being represented by Rader Jackson, Robert P. McCay and Caroline Senter, being all of the Members of the Management Committee of Island Partnership, L.L.C., duly authorized pursuant to the terms and provisions of Island Partnership, L.L.C. Operating Agreement;

JMB COTE BLANCHE, L.L.C. (TIN: XX-XXX6126), a Louisiana limited liability company, whose address is 203 Manin Street Franklin, Louisiana 70538, appearing herein through and being represented by Glenn J. Vice, its President, duly authorized; and

CFB, LLC (TIN: XX-XXX5049), a Louisiana limited liability company, whose address is c/o JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Attn: Closely Held Asset Mgmt., 1111 Polaris Parkway, Columbus OH 43240, appearing herein through and being represented by its sole manager, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., in its capacity as Trustee of the Caroline F. Baker Trust No. 1, said bank appearing herein through and being represented by Michael G. Redin, Executive Director, duly authorized;
 (hereinafter collectively referred to as “LESSOR” or “LESSORS”),

AND

CAREY SALT COMPANY (TIN: 13-3563048), a Delaware corporation, authorized to do and doing business in the State of Louisiana, appearing herein through and being represented by Joseph Havasi, its Director, National Resources, duly authorized, whose address is 9900 West 109 th Street, Suite 100, Overland Park, KS, 66210.
(hereinafter referred to as “LESSEE”),

RECITALS:

(33)

A. John Taylor Caffrey, individually and as Agent and Attorney in Fact and The J.M. Burguieres Company, Ltd., a Louisiana corporation, and Lessee entered into a Salt and Surface Lease dated June 21, 1961 and recorded in Conveyance Book 11-U under Entry No. 111822 of the Records of St. Mary Parish Louisiana; as amended by Act of Amendment to Salt Lease dated as of May 30, 1973 by and among John Taylor Caffrey, individually and as Agent and Attorney in Fact and The J.M. Burguieres Company, Ltd. and Lessee and recorded in Conveyance Book 17-S at folio 870 under Entry No. 153936 of the Records of St. Mary Parish Louisiana; as amended by Agreement dated as of November 21, 1990, by and among The J.M. Burguieres, Co., Ltd., Island Partnership, Domtar Industries, Inc. and Lessee and recorded in Conveyance Book 33-V at folio 186 under Entry No. 232548 of the Records of St. Mary Parish Louisiana; and as amended by Amendment to Salt and Surface Lease dated as of July 1, 1997 by and among Island Partnership, The J.M. Burguieres Company, Ltd. and Caroline F. Baker Trust No. 1 and Lessee and recorded in Conveyance Book 40-O at folio 532 under Entry No. 258785 of the Records of St. Mary Parish Louisiana (the “Lease”);

B. The parties have further amended and restated the Lease by entering into an Amended and Restated Salt and Surface Lease (the “Amended and Restated Lease”) and desire to place of record a Notice of Lease to give third parties notice of thereof;

NOW, THEREFORE, they execute and record this Notice of Lease for the purpose of giving third parties notice of the provisions of the Amended and Restated Lease, to wit:

1.              Date of Amended and Restated Lease.   The Amended and Restated Lease was executed on March 13, 2014, but effective as of January 1, 2014.
 
2.              Description of Leased Property.   The Leased Property (the “Leased Property”) is the following lands situated in the Parish of St. Mary, State of Louisiana, to-wit:

That certain Island or tract of land, together with all of the rights, ways, privileges, servitudes and advantages thereunto belonging or in anywise appertaining, situated in the Parish of St. Mary, State of Louisiana, known as COTE BLANCHE ISLAND, sometimes described as comprising all of Sections 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25 of T15S, R7E, containing 1635 Ac.±; sometimes described as lying in T15S, R7E and being bounded on the south by Cote Blanche Bay, on the west by lands of John M. Caffery in Sections 6 & 11 and the lands of Cypremont Land Company in Section 14, on the north by lands of John M. Caffery in Sections 5, 6 & 12 and on the east by lands of John M. Caffery in Section 12, by lands of The Chicago Title and Trust Company in Section 7, and by lands of John M. Caffery in Section 13;

LESS AND EXCEPT from the above described property:

That portion of the extreme northern edge of Cote Blanche Hummoch, commonly called Cote Blanche Island, situated in T15S, R7E, Southwestern Land District of
(34)

Louisiana, in the Parish of St. Mary, immediately south of and rendering fractional, Section 5 of said Township and Range, and containing in the aggregate 7.76 acres and to be composed of three tracts of 0.94 acres, 1.86 acres and 4.96 acres, all as delineated upon a map or plat made by Walter Y. Kamper, Surveyor and Civil Engineer, dated in May, 1917, attached to and made part thereof for a full description of the property conveyed, to an act of sale by The J.M. Burgieres Company Ltd., and Donelson Caffery to The Albert Hanson Lumber Company, Ltd. Dated August 31, 1917, recorded January 4, 1919, book 3-T, page 473 No. 45501, conveyance records of St. Mary Parish, Louisiana.

Being the same property shown on the plat of Gandolfo Kuhn, L.L.C., Land Surveyors, dated March 10, 2014, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit A (hereinafter, the “Plat”).  All of the said property is hereinafter referred to as the “Leased Property.”

3.              Date of Commencement.   The initial term of the Lease commenced on June 21, 1961 (the “Commencement Date”).
 
4.              Initial Term.   The initial term of the Lease expires on June 30, 2060.
 
5.              Renewal Options.   The Amended and Restated Lease provides the Lessee with two (2) options to extend the Amended and Restated Lease each for an additional term of twenty-five (25) years (each an “Extension Term”) upon the same terms and conditions contained in the Amended and Restated Lease.
 
6.              Right of First Refusal.   The Amended and Restated Lease contains a right of first refusal in favor of the Lessor in the event the Lessee desires to sell any of its rights under the Amended and Restated Lease.
 
7.              Purpose.   This Notice is not a complete summary of the Amended and Restated Lease and is made by the parties hereto for the purpose of recording the same in the public records.  This Notice is for information purposes only and it is subject to all of the terms, provisions and conditions of the Amended and Restated Lease, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.  Nothing contained in this Notice shall be deemed to in any way modify, supplement, negate or otherwise affect any of the terms, provisions or conditions of the Amended and Restated Lease.  In the event of any inconsistency between the terms of the Amended and Restated Lease and this Notice, the terms of the Amended and Restated Lease shall prevail.
 
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Lessor, ISLAND PARTNERSHIP, L.L.C. has executed this Notice of Amended and Restated Salt and Surface Lease in the presence of the undersigned competent witnesses.

WITNESSES:
 
LESSOR:
 
(35)

 
 
ISLAND PARTNERSHIP, L.L.C.
 
 
 
 
 
By:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
By:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
By:
 
(36)

THE STATE OF LOUISIANA   §
PARISH OF  §

On this __ day of March, 2014, before me personally appeared RADER JACKSON, CAROLINE SENTER and ROBERT P. MCCAY, to me personally known, who, being by me duly sworn, did say that they are all the Members of the Management Committee of ISLAND PARTNERSHIP, L.L.C. and said appearer acknowledged to me, Notary, in the presence of the undersigned competent witnesses, that the foregoing instrument was signed on behalf of said limited liability company by authority granted pursuant to its operating agreement, and said appearers acknowledged said instrument to be the free act and deed of said limited liability company.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, said appearers have executed these presents together with me, Notary, and the undersigned competent witnesses, in the Parish and State aforesaid, on the date first above written.

WITNESSES:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTARY PUBLIC
NOTARY/BAR NO.       
MY COMMISSION EXPIRES AT DEATH

(37)

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Lessor, JMB COTE BLANCHE, L.L.C., has executed this Notice of Amended and Restated Salt and Surface Lease in the presence of the undersigned competent witnesses.

WITNESSES:
 
LESSOR :
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
JMB COTE BLANCHE, L.L.C.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
By:
 
 
 
 
Glenn J. Vice, President
 
THE STATE OF LOUISIANA   §
PARISH OF §

On this __ day of March, 2014, before me personally appeared GLENN J. VICE, to me personally known, who, being by me duly sworn, did say that he is the President of JMB COTE BLANCHE, L.L.C. and said appearer acknowledged to me, Notary, in the presence of the undersigned competent witnesses, that the foregoing instrument was signed on behalf of said limited liability company by authority granted pursuant to its operating agreement and a resolution of its Managing Board, and said appearer acknowledged said instrument to be the free act and deed of said limited liability company.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, said appearer has executed these presents together with me, Notary, and the undersigned competent witnesses, in the Parish and State aforesaid, on the date first above written.

WITNESSES:
 
 
 
 
 
 
Glenn J. Vice
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTARY PUBLIC
NOTARY/BAR NO.
MY COMMISSION EXPIRES AT MY DEATH
(38)

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Lessor, CFB, LLC, has executed this Notice of Amended and Restated Salt and Surface Lease in the presence of the undersigned competent witnesses.

WITNESSES:
 
LESSOR :
 
 
 
 
 
CFB, LLC
 
 
By:
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as
 
 
 
Trustee of the Caroline F. Baker
 
 
 
Trust No. 1
 
ATTEST:
 
By:
 
 
 
 
Michael G. Redin,
 
 
 
Executive Director
Lee C. Ritter, Vice President
 
 
 
 
 STATE OF      §
 
County OF       §
 
On this __ day of March, 2014, before me personally appeared MICHAEL G. REDIN, to me personally known, who, being by me duly sworn, did say that he is the Executive Director of JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA who as Trustee of the Caroline F. Baker Trust No. 1 is the sole Manager of CFB, LLC and said appearer acknowledged to me, Notary, in the presence of the undersigned competent witnesses, that the foregoing instrument was signed on behalf of said limited liability company by authority granted pursuant to its operating agreement and a resolution of the Board of Directors of JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA, and said appearer acknowledged said instrument to be the free act and deed of said trust and limited liability company.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, said appearer has executed these presents together with me, Notary, and the undersigned competent witnesses, in the Parish and State aforesaid, on the date first above written.

WITNESSES:
 
 
 
 
 
 
Michael G. Redin
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTARY PUBLIC
MY COMMISSION EXPIRES
(39)

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Lessee, CAREY SALT COMPANY, has executed this Notice of Amended and Restated Salt and Surface Lease in the presence of the undersigned competent witnesses.

WITNESSES:
 
LESSEE :
 
 
 
 
 
CAREY SALT COMPANY
 
 
 
 
 
By:
 
 
 
Joseph Havasi
 
THE STATE OF __________________§

COUNTY OF ____________________§
 
On this __ day of March, 2014, before me personally appeared Joseph Havasi, to me personally known, who, being by me duly sworn, did say that he is the Director, Natural Resources, of CAREY SALT COMPANY and said appearer acknowledged to me, Notary, in the presence of the undersigned competent witnesses, that the foregoing instrument was signed on behalf of said corporation by authority of its Board of Directors, and said appearer acknowledged said instrument to be the free act and deed of said corporation.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, said appearer has executed these presents together with me, Notary, and the undersigned competent witnesses, in the County and State aforesaid, on the date first above written.

WITNESSES:
 
 
 
 
 
 
Joseph Havasi
 
 
 
 
NOTARY PUBLIC
My commission expires:
 
(40)


Exhibit 10.8
 
SHARE PURCHASE AGREEMENT

This Agreement made as of the 19 th day of March, 2014

BETWEEN:
Compass Minerals Manitoba Inc.

(the "Purchaser" )

- and -

Compass Minerals International, Inc.

(the “Guarantor” )

‑ and ‑

those persons listed on Schedule A to this Agreement

(each a "Vendor" , and collectively, the “Vendors” )

- and –

Geoffrey Gyles, Kerry Green and Mark Anseeuw , in their capacity as trustees of the Trust

(collectively, the “ Trustees ”)


WHEREAS each Vendor is the beneficial owner of that number of Class A common shares in the capital of Wolf Trax Inc. (the “Corporation” ) set opposite its, her or his name in Schedule A attached to this Agreement, and collectively the Vendors beneficially own all of the issued and outstanding shares in the capital of the Corporation.

AND WHEREAS the Purchaser wishes to purchase, and the Vendors wish to sell, all of the issued and outstanding shares in the capital of the Corporation on the terms and conditions herein contained.

AND WHEREAS the Guarantor is being made a party to this Agreement to guarantee the Purchaser’s representations, warranties, covenants and obligations hereunder as specified herein.

NOW THEREFORE in consideration of the premises and the mutual agreements and covenants herein contained, the Parties hereto hereby covenant and agree as follows:

ARTICLE 1   -        INTERPRETATION
 
1.1
Defined Terms
 
In this Agreement and in the Schedules attached hereto, unless there is something in the subject-matter or context inconsistent therewith, the following terms and expressions will have the following meanings:

 
(a)
Accounting Firm ” means Deloitte LLP, or if Deloitte LLP refuses to act, then such other independent accounting firm as the Parties may agree upon or as appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to an application for same made by either the Vendors’ Representative or the Purchaser.
 
 
(b)
Adjustment Date ” means the tenth (10th) Business Day after the Dispute Date unless a Dispute Notice is given by the Vendors’ Representative pursuant to Section 2.9 in which event “Adjustment Date” means the fifth (5th) Business Day after a final determination made by the Accounting Firm pursuant to that same Section.
 
 
(c)
Affiliate ” of any specified person means any person which, directly or indirectly, is Controlled by, Controls or is under direct or indirect common Control with such specified person.
 
 
(d)
Agent ” has the meaning ascribed to it in Subsection 8.7(b).
 
 
(e)
Applicable Law ” means: (i) any domestic or foreign statute, law (including the common and civil law and equity), constitution, code, ordinance, rule, regulation, restriction, regulatory policy or guideline having the force of law, by-law (zoning or otherwise) or Order; (ii) any consent, exemption, approval or Permit of any Governmental Authority; and (iii) any policy, practice or guideline of, or contract with, any Governmental Authority of which Geoff Gyles and Kerry Green have actual knowledge (without having made due inquiry) and which, although not actually having the force of law, is considered by such Governmental Authority as if having the force of law.
 
 
(f)
Audited Financial   Statements ” means the audited consolidated financial statements of the Corporate Group as at and for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, consisting of a balance sheet, a statement of operations and deficit, and a statement of cash flows together with the notes thereto and the opinion of the Corporate Group's auditors thereon, a copy of which is attached hereto as Schedule B.
 
 
(g)
Audited Statements Date ” means December 31, 2013.
 
 
(h)
Avrio ” means Avrio Ventures Limited Partnership, being one of the Vendors to this Agreement.
 
 
(i)
Avrio Debenture ” means the convertible debentures issued to Avrio by the Corporation, pursuant to which Avrio has the right to convert the debt evidenced thereby into that number of Class A Common Shares set forth opposite its name in Schedule A.
 
 
(j)
Books and Records ” means the accounting and tax records and other financial data and information of the Corporate Group, the corporate records of the Corporate Group and all other books, documents, files, records, correspondence, data and information relating to the foregoing, which are under the control of the Corporate Group or the Business, including all data and information stored electronically or on computer related media.
 
 
(k)
Business ” means the business carried on by the Corporate Group, namely the manufacture and sale of nutrients for crops.
- 2 -

 
(l)
Business Day ” means any day other than a day which is a Saturday, a Sunday or a statutory holiday in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
 
 
(m)
Calculation Method ” has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 8.3.
 
 
(n)
Cash ” means (i) cash; (ii) money in bank accounts; and (iii) Short Term Investments.
 
 
(o)
Closing ” means the closing of the purchase and sale of the Purchased Shares provided for herein.
 
 
(p)
Closing Date ” means April 1, 2014, or such other date as the Vendors and the Purchaser may agree upon.
 
 
(q)
Closing Time ” means one o’clock (1:00 p.m.) in Winnipeg, Manitoba on the Closing Date or such other time on the Closing Date as the Parties hereto may agree upon.
 
 
(r)
Closing Working Capital ” has the meaning ascribed to it in Subsection 2.6(a).
 
 
(s)
“Closing Working Capital Statement ” has the meaning ascribed to it in Subsection 2.6(b).
 
 
(t)
Condition of the Corporate Group ” means the condition of the assets, liabilities, operations, activities, earnings, prospects, affairs and financial position of the Corporate Group.
 
 
(u)
Confidentiality Agreement ” means the confidentiality agreement dated November 8, 2013 between the Corporation and Compass Minerals International, Inc.
 
 
(v)
Control ” or “ Controlled ” means, with respect to any person, control in any manner whatsoever that results in control in fact of that person by the other person (or by that other person and any person or persons with whom that other person is acting jointly or in concert), whether directly or indirectly, and whether through the ownership of securities (including any shares which are voting only upon the occurrence of a contingency where such contingency has occurred and is continuing), a trust, a contract or otherwise.
 
 
(w)
Corporate Group ” means collectively Wolf Trax Inc. and the Subsidiaries, or each or any of them, as the context permits or requires.
 
 
(x)
Corporate Group Company ” means any member of the Corporate Group.
 
 
(y)
Corporation ” has the meaning ascribed to it in the first paragraph of the recitals on the first page of this Agreement.
 
 
(z)
Current Assets ” means accounts receivable (excluding any debt owed by a Vendor (or a person that is an affiliate of the Vendor or not at arm’s length with the Vendor) to the Corporate Group and excluding any debt owed by any Corporate Group Company to any other Corporate Group Company), Inventory, prepaid expenses, income tax credits and refunds receivable resulting from the imposition of any taxes in the United States, Goods and Services Tax and other sales tax credits and other current assets of the Corporate Group, in each case as determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and for greater certainty does not include Cash.
- 3 -

 
 
(aa)
Current Liabilities ” means accounts payable and accrued charges, taxes payable (including income taxes, Goods and Services Tax taxes and other sales taxes and including the amount of Governmental Charges required to be withheld but not yet remitted to the proper tax or other receiving authorities ) including accruals therefor, deferred revenue and other current liabilities of the Corporate Group, including outstanding cheques, amounts due and payable to trade creditors, amounts due pursuant to any contract (including rebates, rewards, funding and royalties), lease, obligation, commitment, Permit, marketing program (including the Promotional Programs) or other arrangement to which any Corporate Group Company is a party,   amounts payable with respect to utilities and other amounts usually adjusted with respect to real property,   wages, bonuses, commissions, sick pay, vacation pay, contributions to benefit plans, change in control payments and other remuneration payable to employees of the Corporate Group, including severance for former employees of the Corporate Group, and for greater certainty does not include any Debt.
 
 
(bb)
Customer and Supplier Records ” means all sales and purchase records, lists of suppliers and customers, customer sales information, supplier sales information, credit and pricing information, plans and projections of or relating to the Corporate Group or the Business.
 
 
(cc)
Debt ” means, without duplication, the sum of (i) the principal amount of any indebtedness of the Corporate Group for borrowed money outstanding immediately prior to the Closing Time, together with all prepayment premiums or penalties and other amounts in respect thereof becoming due as a result of the Closing, including for greater certainty, the current portion of any long term debt and the outstanding balance on any credit cards; (ii) all payment obligations of the Corporate Group for the deferred purchase price for purchases of property outside the ordinary course of business arising in connection with transactions occurring prior to the Closing which are not evidenced by the trade payables; (iii) any off-balance sheet financing of the Corporate Group in existence immediately prior to the Closing; (iv) any payment obligations of the Corporate Group in respect of banker’s acceptances or letters of credit in existence immediately prior to the Closing which are not evidenced by the trade payables; (v) any issued and outstanding shares or securities of the Corporate Group where a person may require the redemption or purchase by the Corporate Group of such shares or securities and any declared but unpaid dividends on shares of the Corporate Group; (vi) any indebtedness of the type referred to in clauses (i) through (v) above of any person other than a Corporate Group Company in existence immediately prior to the Closing which is either guaranteed by, or secured by a security interest upon any property owned by, the Corporate Group; (vii) any unpaid interest, prepayment premiums or penalties accrued or owing on any such indebtedness of the Corporate Group; and (viii) any debt owed by a Vendor (or a person that is an affiliate of the Vendor or not at arm’s length with the Vendor) to the Corporate Group or owed by any Corporate Group Company to any other Corporate Group Company,   and for greater certainty does not include any Current Liabilities.

 
(dd)
Dispute Date ” means the 20th Business Day after the Purchaser has delivered the Closing Working Capital Statement to the Vendors’ Representative pursuant to Subsection 2.6(b).
 
 
(ee)
Dispute Notice ” has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 2.9.
 
 
(ff)
“Effective Time” means 12:01 am on the Closing Date.
- 4 -

 
(gg)
Encumbrances ” means any encumbrance of any kind whatsoever (registered or unregistered) and includes mortgages, charges, pledges, security interests, liens, encumbrances, conditional sales, actions, claims, demands, equities, hypothecs, deposits by way of security, hypothecations, assignments, security under Section 426 or Section 427 of the Bank Act (Canada), trust or deemed trust (whether contractual, statutory or otherwise arising), voting trust or pooling agreement with respect to securities, any adverse claim, easement, restrictive covenant, limitation agreement, reservation, right-of-way, restriction, preferential arrangement, encroachment or burden, joint ownership interest, grant of any license, unwaived moral rights in respect of material works only, or any other right, option or claim of others of any kind whatsoever or however arising and any rights or privileges capable of becoming any of the foregoing.
 
 
(hh)
Environmental Laws   has the meaning ascribed to it in Subsection 3.1(t).
 
 
(ii)
Escrow Account ” means the bank account to be established by the Escrow Agent pursuant to the Escrow Agreement.
 
 
(jj)
Escrow Agent ” means the person acting as escrow agent pursuant to the provisions of the Escrow Agreement.
 
 
(kk)
Escrow Agreement ” means the escrow agreement to be executed on Closing by each of the Vendors, the Purchaser and the Escrow Agent.
 
 
(ll)
Escrow Fund ” has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 2.4.
 
 
(mm)
“Estimated Closing Working Capital” has the meaning ascribed to it in Subsection 2.6(a).
 
 
(nn)
Facilities ” has the meaning ascribed to it in Subsection 3.1(ww).
 
 
(oo)
“Final Decision” has the meaning ascribed to it in Subsection 8.4(b).
 
 
(pp)
generally accepted accounting principles ” means the accounting principles so described and promulgated by The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, as described in the handbook prepared by them, as amended from time to time, for private enterprises which are applicable as at the date on which any calculation made hereunder is to be effective or as at the date of any financial statements referred to herein, as the case may be, and where The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants includes a specific recommendation in its handbook concerning the treatment of any accounting matter, such recommendation shall be regarded as the only generally accepted accounting principle applicable to the circumstance that it covers.
 
 
(qq)
Governmental Authority ” means: (i) any court, judicial body or arbitral body; (ii) any domestic or foreign government whether multinational, national, federal, provincial, territorial, state, municipal or local and any governmental agency, board, authority, tribunal, commission, bureau, department, commissioner or minister; (iii) any subdivision or authority of any of the foregoing; (iv) any quasi-governmental or private body exercising any regulatory, expropriation or taxing authority under or for the account of any of the above; and (v) any stock exchange, in each case having jurisdiction over the respective person or persons of its or their respective business, undertaking, property or securities.
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(rr)
Governmental Charges ” has the meaning ascribed to it in Subsection 3.1(r).
 
 
(ss)
Guarantor ” means Compass Minerals International, Inc.
 
 
(tt)
Hazardous Substances ” has the meaning ascribed to in Subsection 3.1(t).
 
 
(uu)
Holdback ” means Nine Million and Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($9,500,000.00), unless otherwise agreed between the Parties and evidenced by the terms of the Escrow Agreement.
 
 
(vv)
Indemnity Claim ” has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 8.2.
 
 
(ww)
Initial Purchase Price” has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 2.2.
 
 
(xx)
Intellectual Property ” has the meaning ascribed to it in Subsection 3.1(cc).
 
 
(yy)
Interim Financial Statements ” means the unaudited consolidated financial statements of the Corporate Group as at and for the two (2) month period ended February 28, 2014, consisting of a balance sheet, a statement of operations and deficit, and a statement of cash flows, a copy of which is attached hereto as Schedule C.
 
 
(zz)
Interim Period ” means the period from and including the date of this Agreement to and including the Closing Date.
 
 
(aaa)
Inventory ” means all inventories of raw materials, work-in-progress, re-worked product (product to be re-mixed and re-packaged), stock-in-trade, finished goods, supplies, packaging and advertising and publicity materials of the Corporate Group, wherever located, and whether on consignment or not.
 
 
(bbb)
Leased Premises ” means all premises leased by the Corporate Group under the Leases as listed in Schedule D attached hereto.
 
 
(ccc)
Leases ” means the leases and the agreements to lease under which the Corporate Group leases any real property as listed in Schedule D attached hereto.
 
 
(ddd)
Licensed Intellectual Property ” has the meaning ascribed to it in Paragraph 3.1(cc)(ii).
 
 
(eee)
Loss ” has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 8.1.
 
 
(fff)
Non-Financial Records   means the non-financial records of the Corporate Group, including formulas, plans, specifications, data, surveys, contracts and non-financial documents; business, engineering and consulting reports; research and development information, including information relating to Nu-Trax, results and data from field trials and other testing; patents, patent applications, results of and information relating to patent infringement and other patent related searches; business and marketing plans, and other non-financial records relating to the Corporate Group.
 
 
(ggg)
Order ” means any order, judgment, injunction, decree, stipulation, determination, award, decision, ruling or writ of any Governmental Authority or other person.
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(hhh)
“Owned Intellectual Property” has the meaning ascribed to it in Paragraph 3.1(cc)(ii).
 
 
(iii)
Party ” means the Purchaser or the Vendors individually and “ Parties ” means all of them.
 
 
(jjj)
Permits ” means all of the permits, licences, registrations, certifications, authorizations, approvals and qualifications to do business held by the Corporation or any of its Subsidiaries, including any product registration, product testing approval, right or privilege issued, granted, conferred or otherwise created by a Governmental Authority, including those relating to organic products and REACH.
 
 
(kkk)
person ” shall be broadly interpreted and includes any individual, corporation, partnership, firm, joint venture, syndicate, association, trust, Governmental Authority, unincorporated organization, the executors, administrators or other legal representatives of an individual in such capacity and any other form of entity or organization.
 
 
(lll)
Personal Information ” means any information about an identifiable individual which is protected by any Privacy Law.
 
 
(mmm)
Privacy Law ” means any Applicable Law relating to the protection of Personal Information including the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (Canada), The   Personal Information Protection Act (Alberta), and The   Personal Information Protection Act (British Columbia).
 
 
(nnn)
Privacy Policies ” means the practices policies and procedures of the Corporate Group in respect of Personal Information.
 
 
(ooo)
Promotional Programs ” means the Corporation’s: (i) PROTINUS ® Start Healthy Program pursuant to which customers of the Business are rewarded with funding which can be applied to promotional programs based on product purchases; (ii) Microcharger Equipment Program pursuant to which customers of the Business are furnished with a Microcharger applicator in exchange for a commitment to purchase a minimum volume of product through an authorized distributor of the Corporation; (iii) Best Price Protection program pursuant to which customers are entitled to receive a rebate if published prices are reduced; (iv) Wolf Trax ® Growing Forward ® Reward Program; and all similar programs offered by the Corporate Group.
 
 
(ppp)
Purchase Price ” has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 2.2.
 
 
(qqq)
Purchased Shares ” means the 10,822.32 issued and outstanding Class A common shares in the capital of Wolf Trax Inc. being sold by the Vendors and purchased by the Purchaser hereunder.

 
(rrr)
Purchaser ” means Compass Minerals Manitoba Inc. or its permitted assignee.
 
 
(sss)
Release ” has the meaning ascribed to in Subparagraph 3.1(t)(i)(C).
 
 
(ttt)
Required Closing Working Capital ” has the meaning ascribed to in Subsection 2.6(a).
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(uuu)
Short Term Investments ” means certificates of deposit, banker’s acceptances and similar instruments issued by a Canadian financial institution and having a maturity of 90 days of less.
 
 
(vvv)
Subsidiaries ” means Wolf Trax Holdings Inc., Wolf Trax USA Inc. and Wolf Trax Europe Limited.
 
 
(www)
Tax Gross-Up ” has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 8.3.
 
 
(xxx)
" Third Party Liability " has the meaning ascribed to it in Subsection 8.2(b).
 
 
(yyy)
Trademarks ” has the meaning ascribed to it in Subparagraph 3.1(cc)(i)(A).
 
 
(zzz)
Trust ” means the trust governed by the Voting Trust Agreement.
 
 
(aaaa)
Trustees ” means the trustees of the Trust .
 
 
(bbbb)
Trust Vendors ” means the Vendors who are a party to the Voting Trust Agreement.
 
 
(cccc)
Vendors ” means each of the persons listed in Schedule A attached hereto and “Vendor” means one of them.
 
 
(dddd)
Vendors’ Counsel ” means Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP, barristers and solicitors, whose main office is located in the City of Winnipeg, in the Province of Manitoba.
 
 
(eeee)
Vendors’ Representative ” means Geoffrey Gyles and Kerry Green, each a Vendor, acting jointly.
 
 
(ffff)
Vendor’s Shares ” means with respect to any Vendor the number of Purchased Shares set opposite the Vendor’s name in Schedule A attached hereto.
 
 
(gggg)
“Voting Trust Agreement” means the voting trust agreement between Geoff Gyles, Mark Anseeuw and Kerry Green (as trustees), the Corporation and those persons described in Schedule “A” thereto and those persons who have become parties to such voting trust agreement by executing Schedule “B” thereto, dated May 20, 2004.
 
 
(hhhh)
Warranty Claim ” means a claim made by either the Purchaser or the Vendor based on or with respect to the inaccuracy or non-performance or non-fulfillment or breach of any representation or warranty made by the other Party contained in this Agreement or contained in any document or certificate given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby.
 
 
(iiii)
Working Capital ” means Current Assets excluding amounts owing from related parties and Cash, less Current Liabilities.
 
1.2
Best of Knowledge
 
Any reference herein to "the best of the knowledge of the Vendors” will be deemed to mean the actual knowledge or actual awareness of (i) the Vendors, but only in respect of the representation and warranty contained in Subsection 3.1(h); and (ii) in the case of all other references, the senior officers of the Corporate Group, being Geoffrey Gyles and Kerry Green;   and in each case shall be deemed to include the knowledge and awareness they would have had if they had conducted a diligent inquiry into the relevant subject matter.  Each of Geoffrey Gyles and Kerry Green confirms
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that he has made due and diligent inquiry of Jereleen Brydon, Mark Goodwin and such other employees, officers and directors of the Corporate Group as Geoffrey Gyles and Kerry Green consider necessary or prudent as to the matters that are the subject of the representations, warranties and covenants contained in this Agreement, including (if so considered necessary or prudent) to have such individuals review the relevant representations, warranties and covenants in this Agreement.
 
1.3
Schedules
 
The Schedules which are attached to this Agreement are incorporated into this Agreement by reference and are deemed to be part hereof and are as follows:

Schedule
Title of Schedule
Schedule A
Vendors
Schedule B
Audited Financial Statements
Schedule C
Interim Financial Statements
Schedule D
Leases & Leased Premises
Schedule E
Contractual and Regulatory Consents for Vendor
Schedule F
Constating Documents; Directors and Officers
Schedule G
Permits
Schedule H
Shareholder Agreements
Schedule I
Dividends and Distributions
Schedule J
Litigation
Schedule K
Environmental Matters
Schedule L
Encumbrances
Schedule M
Leases of Personal Property
Schedule N
Intellectual Property
Schedule O
Guarantees, Warranties and Discounts
Schedule P
Licences and Distribution Agreements
Schedule Q
Agreements
Schedule R
Employment Agreements
Schedule S
Employee Benefit and Pension Plans
Schedule T
Insurance
Schedule U
Contractual & Regulatory Consents for Purchaser
Schedule V-1
INTENTIONALLY DELETED
Schedule V-2
INTENTIONALLY DELETED
Schedule W
INTENTIONALLY DELETED
Schedule X
Landlord Estoppel Certificate
Schedule Y
INTENTIONALLY DELETED
Schedule Z
INTENTIONALLY DELETED
Schedule AA
INTENTIONALLY DELETED
Schedule BB
INTENTIONALLY DELETED
Schedule CC
INTENTIONALLY DELETED
Schedule DD
Non-Competition and Confidentiality Agreement
Schedule EE
Avrio Confidentiality Agreement
Schedule FF
Retention Agreement
Schedule II
INTENTIONALLY DELETED
Schedule 3.1(kk)
Good Standing of Agreements
Schedule 2.7
Inventory Locations
Schedule 3.1(tt)
Confidential Information Disclosure
Schedule 3.1(uu)
Privacy Law Matters
Schedule 6.1(b)
Designated Employees
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1.4
Currency
 
Unless otherwise indicated, all references to dollar amounts in this Agreement are to the lawful money of Canada.
 
1.5
Choice of Law and Attornment
 
The Parties agree that:
 
 
(a)
This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Province of Manitoba and the laws of Canada applicable therein.
 
 
(b)
The courts of the Province of Manitoba will have exclusive jurisdiction to determine all disputes and claims arising between the Parties. Except as otherwise specifically provided in this Agreement, each of the Parties hereby irrevocably attorns to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Province of Manitoba (including the Supreme Court of Canada).  Notwithstanding the foregoing in this Section, either Party may bring a claim or dispute in the courts of any jurisdiction where the harmful activity is being carried out or any jurisdiction in which a Party is located or has assets.  This Subsection will not be construed to affect the rights of a Party to enforce a judgement or award outside of Manitoba, including the right to record and enforce a judgement or award in any other jurisdiction.
 
1.6
Interpretation Not Affected by Headings or Party Drafting
 
The division of this Agreement into articles, sections, paragraphs, subsections and clauses and the insertion of headings are for convenience of reference only and shall not affect the construction or interpretation of this Agreement.  The terms "this Agreement", "hereof", "herein", "hereunder" and similar expressions refer to this Agreement and the Schedules attached hereto and not to any particular article, section, paragraph, subsection, clause or other portion hereof and include any agreement or instrument supplementary or ancillary hereto.  Each Party hereto acknowledges that it and its legal counsel have reviewed and participated in settling the terms of this Agreement, and the Parties hereby agree that any rule of construction to the effect that any ambiguity is to be resolved against the drafting Party shall not be applicable in the interpretation of this Agreement.

1.7
Number and Gender
 
In this Agreement, unless there is something in the subject-matter or context inconsistent therewith:

 
(a)
words in the singular number include the plural and such words shall be construed as if the plural had been used;
 
 
(b)
words in the plural include the singular and such words shall be construed as if the singular had been used; and
 
 
(c)
words importing the use of any gender shall include all genders where the context or Party referred to so requires, and the rest of the sentence shall be construed as if the necessary grammatical and terminological changes had been made.
 
1.8
Time of Essence
 
Time shall be of the essence hereof.

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1.9
Scope of Including
 
The word “including”, when following any general statement, term or matter, will not be construed to limit such general statement, term or matter to the specific items or matters set forth immediately following such word or to similar items or matters, whether or not non-limiting language (such as “without limitation”) is used with reference to such items or matters but rather will be deemed to refer to all other items or matters that could reasonably fall within the broadest possible scope of such general statement, term or matter.
 
1.10
Accounting Terms
 
All accounting terms not defined in this Agreement have those meanings generally given them in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
 
1.11
Performance on Holidays
 
If any action is required to be taken pursuant to this Agreement on or by a specified date which is not a Business Day, then such action shall be valid if taken on or by the next Business Day.
 
1.12
Calculation of Time
 
In this Agreement, a period of days shall be deemed to begin on the first day after the event which began the period and to end at 5:00 p.m. (Winnipeg Time) on the last day of the period. If, however, the last day of the period does not fall on a Business Day, the period shall terminate at 5:00 p.m. (Winnipeg Time) on the next Business Day.
 
1.13
Several Obligations
 
Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement, a Vendor shall not be liable to the Purchaser by reason of the inaccuracy, non-performance, non-fulfillment or breach of a representation, warranty or covenant made by another Vendor with respect to the unencumbered ownership of the Purchased Shares sold hereunder by that other Vendor or the failure of that other Vendor to complete the sale of such shares. If the Vendors become obligated to the Purchaser by reason of the inaccuracy, non-performance, non-fulfillment or breach of some representation or warranty or covenant made by the Vendors hereunder other than the covenants to sell unencumbered Purchased Shares to the Purchaser and to complete the sale of such shares, each Vendor shall be responsible to the Purchaser only for the Vendor’s proportionate share of such obligation determined by dividing the number of Purchased Shares sold by the Vendor to the Purchaser hereunder by the total number of Purchased Shares.
 
1.14
Guarantor
 
The Guarantor directly or indirectly controls the Purchaser and joins in this Agreement for the purpose of:
 
 
(a)
guaranteeing that the representations and warranties of the Purchaser are true and correct; and
 
 
(b)
guaranteeing the performance of the covenants and obligations of the Purchaser.
 
The Guarantor shall be entitled to raise as a defense to the guaranteed representations, warranties covenants and obligations all defenses and rights available to be raised or relied upon by the
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Purchaser under this Agreement or otherwise, provided that the Guarantor shall not be entitled to raise as a defense the bankruptcy or insolvency of the Purchaser.
 
1.15
Disclosures
 
Any reference in this Agreement to documents or information being provided, disclosed or made available to the Purchaser, or similar references, shall be deemed to refer to documents or information provided, disclosed or made available in the following manner:
 
 
(a)
posted as an electronic document to the virtual data room established and maintained by AltaCorp Capital, financial advisor to the Vendors, on behalf of the Vendors for purposes of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and accessible to the Purchaser and its representatives and advisors;
 
 
(b)
paper copies of documents expressly made available in the boardroom attended by the Purchaser and its legal counsel at the offices of the Vendors’ Counsel for review at the time of such attendance;
 
 
(c)
paper copies of documents in expressly made available in the boardroom attended by the Purchaser and its legal counsel at the Corporation’s offices at the University of Manitoba for review at the time of such attendance;
 
 
(d)
paper copies of documents personally delivered by hand to Keith Espelien or other employees of the Purchaser or its Affiliates or their legal counsel during visits to the Corporation; and
 
 
(e)
electronic copies of documents sent by email to Keith Espelien or other employees of the Purchaser or its Affiliates or their legal counsel;
 
in each case prior to 2:00 p.m. (CDT) on March 19, 2014 and, in the case of (a), (b) and (c), above, not removed or altered from the time the document was initially provided, disclosed or made available.
 
ARTICLE 2   - PURCHASE AND SALE
 
2.1
Purchased Shares
 
On the terms and subject to the fulfillment of the conditions hereof, on the Closing Date, each Vendor (and, to the extent that the Trustees have any rights in the Purchased Shares, each Trustee) hereby agrees to sell, assign and transfer to the Purchaser, and the Purchaser hereby agrees to purchase and accept from each Vendor (and, to the extent that the Trustees have any rights in the Purchased Shares, from each Trustee), the number of Purchased Shares set opposite the name of the Vendor in Schedule A attached hereto, being all of the Purchased Shares held by that Vendor, and collectively being all of the issued and outstanding shares in the capital of Wolf Trax Inc.
 
2.2
Purchase Price
 
The initial price payable by the Purchaser to each Vendor will be the sum of Eight Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy-Eight Dollars and Fifteen Cents ($8,778.15) for each of the Purchased Shares sold by the Vendor and purchased by the Purchaser hereunder for an aggregate purchase price of Ninety Five Million Dollars ($95,000,000.00) (the “Initial Purchase Price” ).  The Initial Purchase Price as adjusted in accordance with Section 2.8 is herein called the “Purchase Price” .
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The Parties agree that for tax purposes, no amount of the Purchase Price is payable in respect of, or shall be allocated by a Party to, any non-competition agreement. Provided all of the conditions to make such an election are met, the Vendors and the Purchaser will make a joint election in prescribed form pursuant to Section 56.4 of the Income Tax Act (Canada) to reflect that the restrictive covenant contained herein, or in any document or certificate delivered in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, is of nominal value and is included in the purchase price for the Purchased Shares.
 
2.3
Payment of Purchase Price
 
The Initial Purchase Price (less the Holdback and less the Estimated Closing Working Capital Adjustment pursuant to Section 2.6 if applicable, and less the amounts on account of withholding taxes pursuant to Section 2.11 (collectively, the “Deductions from Payment of the Initial Purchase Price” )) will be paid at the Closing Time to Vendors’ Counsel by wire transfer.  The Holdback will be paid at the Closing Time to the Escrow Account in accordance with Section 2.4.  Subject to adjustments under Section 2.8, receipt by the Vendors’ Counsel of the Initial Purchase Price (less the Deductions from Payment of the Initial Purchase Price), and payment of the Holdback to the Escrow Account, shall constitute full satisfaction of the Purchaser’s obligations to each Vendor with respect to the payment required from the Purchaser for the number of Purchased Shares sold by the Vendors and purchased by the Purchaser hereunder.
 
2 .4
Escrow Fund
 
On Closing, the Purchaser shall pay the Holdback to the Escrow Account by wire transfer, to be held by the Escrow Agent pursuant to the Escrow Agreement and such amount together with any interest earned thereon is herein called the “Escrow Fund” . The Escrow Fund shall be held by the Escrow Agent as security for amounts which may become payable by one or more Vendors to the Purchaser pursuant to this Agreement, and shall be distributed by the Escrow Agent, all as provided for in the Escrow Agreement.

2.5
Pre-Closing Transactions
 
Prior to the Closing Time, the Vendors shall cause the Corporate Group to take such actions as may be necessary to:
 
 
(a)
retire and eliminate all Debt and to obtain the release and discharge of all security related thereto and certify to the Purchaser on Closing that all Debt has been eliminated; and
 
 
(b)
ensure that all Cash in the Corporate Group is paid out to the persons entitled thereto, each on a basis which creates no liability of any kind for the Corporate Group, including liability for any taxes.
 
2.6
Adjustments to Purchase Price
 
The Parties agree that:
 
 
(a)
The Initial Purchase Price set forth in Section 2.2 is based on the Corporate Group having, at the Closing Time, consolidated working capital (the “Closing Working Capital” ) of Three Million Dollars ($3,000,000.00) (the “Required Closing Working Capital” ). The Initial Purchase Price shall be increased or decreased by an amount equal to the amount, if any, by which the Closing Working Capital is greater than or
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less than the Required Closing Working Capital, pursuant to the terms set forth in Section 2.8. Not later than 48 hours prior to the Closing Time, the Vendors shall provide the Purchaser with a statement (the “Estimated Closing Working Capital” ) setting forth a good faith estimate of the Closing Working Capital, acting reasonably.  If the Estimated Closing Working Capital is less than Two Million Seven Hundred Thousand Dollars ($2,700,000.00), the payment of the Initial Purchase Price by the Purchaser at Closing shall be reduced by an amount equal to the difference between the Required Closing Working Capital and the Estimated Closing Working Capital (the “Estimated Closing Working Capital Adjustment” ).
 
 
(b)
Following the Closing Time, the Purchaser shall prepare a calculation of the Closing Working Capital (the “Closing Working Capital Statement” ). The Purchaser shall consult with the Vendors’ Representative in preparing such calculations and shall allow the Vendors’ Representative to express their views on each item forming part of such calculations. The Purchaser shall within 90 days after the Closing Date deliver the calculations of Closing Working Capital to the Vendors’ Representative for final review.  The foregoing activities of the Purchaser shall be done at the expense of the Purchaser.  The calculation of the Closing Working Capital shall be prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, applied in a manner consistent with the preparation of the latest audited balance sheet included in the Audited Financial Statements including an accrual for vacation liability, without duplication.
 
 
(c)
The Parties agree that any Canada Revenue Agency Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) claims or credits in respect of the month in which the Closing Date falls shall be for the sole account of the Purchaser.
 
2.7
Determination of Value of Inventory and Accounts Receivable
 
The Parties agree that:
 
 
(a)
The Vendors’ Representative shall, after the close of business on the day immediately preceding the Closing Date and prior to 11:00 a.m. on the Closing Date, or as soon as possible thereafter, determine the amounts of the Inventory. The Inventory shall be valued at the lower of actual cost or net realizable value determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, consistently applied, with appropriate provision being made for damaged, unusable, unsaleable and obsolete Inventory and Inventory in oversupply.
 
 
(b)
The Vendors’ Representative shall determine the quantities of Inventory as of the Closing Time by taking a physical count or measurement, as applicable (an “Inventory count” ) of the Inventory at all locations at which Inventory is located, which locations as of the date hereof are set out in Schedule 2.7.  The Vendors’ Representative shall update or confirm the locations at which Inventory is located by notice to the Purchaser no less than three (3) days prior to the physical inventory counts and measurements.  The Inventory counts will be conducted by the Corporation’s auditors, employees or other representatives, provided that for Inventory on consignment or otherwise at customer locations, the Vendors’ Representative may utilize appropriate representatives of the customers holding such Inventory as the authorized representatives to take Inventory count of such Inventory.  Representatives of the Purchaser shall be entitled to be present at, observe, make reasonable inquires and conduct test counts at each Inventory count.
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During the Inventory counts, the Vendors will use reasonable commercial efforts to ensure that incoming shipments of materials from suppliers do not affect such Inventory counts and to not make any shipments to customers.  For finished goods Inventory in transit to customers on the date of the physical counts or measurements: (i) if the terms of sale applicable to such finished goods are FOB shipping point, such finished goods shall be included in the calculation of Accounts Receivable and not in the calculation of Inventory; and (ii) if the terms of sale applicable to such finished goods are FOB destination, such finished goods shall be included in the calculation of Inventory and not in the calculation of Accounts Receivable.
 
 
(c)
In the event of any discrepancy between the Inventory count and the Corporation’s inventory records, the Inventory count shall govern.
 
 
(d)
Promptly following completion of the Inventory counts, the Vendors’ Representative shall deliver to the Purchaser a statement setting forth the value of the Inventory at the Closing Time (the “Inventory Calculation” ). The Vendors’ Representative shall concurrently with delivery of the Inventory Calculation provide the Purchaser with supporting documentation for the determination of the Inventory Calculation and the Vendor’s Representatives shall otherwise permit the Purchaser to have full access to the books, records and other documents and information pertaining to or used in connection with the preparation of the Inventory Calculation, including supporting invoices, and provide the Purchaser with copies thereof as requested by the Purchaser.
 
 
(e)
The value of the accounts receivable at the Closing Time shall be their face amount less, without duplication, a reasonable allowance for doubtful accounts, as determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, applied in a manner consistent with the preparation of the latest annual audited balance sheet included in the Audited Financial Statements.
 
2.8
Purchase Price Adjustment
 
On the Adjustment Date, the Initial Purchase Price shall be adjusted as follows:
 
 
(a)
if the Closing Working Capital is less than the Required Closing Working Capital, then the amount of such deficiency shall be deducted from the Initial Purchase Price; and
 
 
(b)
if the Closing Working Capital is greater than the Required Closing Working Capital, then the  amount of such excess shall be added to the Initial Purchase Price; and
 
 
(c)
for greater certainty, if there is any Debt at the Closing Time, an amount equal to the amount of Debt shall be deducted from the Initial Purchase Price.
 
If the Initial Purchase Price as adjusted pursuant to this Section 2.8 is greater than the Initial Purchase Price prior to any such adjustment minus any Estimated Closing Working Capital Adjustment withheld at Closing, the Purchaser shall, subject to Section 2.9, pay to the Vendors’ Counsel on the Adjustment Date an amount equal to such excess.  If the Initial Purchase Price as adjusted pursuant to this Section 2.8 is less than the amount paid as the Initial Purchase Price on Closing minus any Estimated Closing Working Capital Adjustment withheld at Closing, the
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Purchaser and the Vendors’ Representative shall direct the Escrow Agent to pay to the Purchaser on the Adjustment Date an amount equal to the amount of such deficiency.  Any amount owing by a Party to any other Party as an adjustment to the Initial Purchase Price shall be made by wire transfer to the account designated by the Purchaser or the Vendors’ Counsel, as applicable, on or prior to the Adjustment Date and shall bear interest from the date that the Closing Working Capital Statement is delivered to the date of payment at a rate per annum equal to the prime rate set by the Corporation’s bank then in effect plus 5% . Such interest shall accrue on a simple interest basis and be paid at the same time the amount owing is paid hereunder.
 
2.9
Dispute Notice
 
The Closing Working Capital Statement shall be final and binding upon the Parties for all purposes hereof unless the Vendors’ Representative shall have notified the Purchaser in writing (a “Dispute Notice”) no later than the Dispute Date that it disputes the Closing Working Capital Statement, which notice shall set forth in reasonable detail the basis of the objection and the dollar amount of such dispute. The Vendors’ Representative and the Purchaser shall then use reasonable efforts to resolve such disagreement for a period of 15 Business Days following the giving of such notice. If the Purchaser and the Vendors’ Representative are unable to agree on the Closing Working Capital within such 15 Business Days, the Purchaser and the Vendors’ Representative shall refer the dispute to the Accounting Firm for determination. The Purchaser and the Vendors’ Representative shall furnish the Accounting Firm with such information and records as the Accounting Firm may reasonably require and otherwise provide the Accounting Firm with all reasonable cooperation so as to enable the Accounting Firm to confirm a determination of the Closing Working Capital. The Purchaser and the Vendors’ Representative will direct the Accounting Firm to use its best efforts to render its determination within 20 Business Days after the referral of the matter to it. The Accounting Firm shall consider only the disputed matters that were properly included in the Dispute Notice and the Accounting Firm may not assign a value to any item in dispute greater than the greatest value assigned by the Purchaser, on the one hand, or the Vendors, on the other hand, or less than the smallest value for such item assigned by the Purchaser, on the one hand, or the Vendors, on the other hand. The cost of any fees payable to the Accounting Firm for its services in determining such amounts as contemplated herein shall be paid by the Party whose calculation of the Closing Working Capital differs the most from the determination made by the Accounting Firm. Any determination of amounts under this Section 2.9 made by the Accounting Firm shall be final and binding upon the Parties for all purposes hereof.
 
2.10
Accounts Receivable
 
To the extent that any accounts receivable are not paid by the date that is twelve (12) months after the Closing Date, the Purchaser and the Vendors’ Representative shall direct the Escrow Agent to pay to the Purchaser an amount equal to such unpaid receivable to the account designated by the Purchaser promptly upon notice from the Purchaser of such lack of payment.
 
2.11
Withholding Where Any Vendor is a Non-Resident
 
Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Purchaser, or the Vendors on behalf of the Purchaser, shall be entitled to withhold and remit any and all amounts from the Purchase Price equal to any withholding tax owed to any Governmental Authority as a result of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement to the extent required under Applicable Law.
 
2.12
Delivery of Certificates
 
Each Vendor shall transfer and deliver to the Purchaser at the Closing Time share certificates representing the Purchased Shares owned by such Vendor duly endorsed by such Vendor for transfer, or accompanied by irrevocable security transfer powers of attorney duly executed by such
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Vendor. The Vendors shall cause Wolf Trax Inc. to enter the Purchaser on the books of Wolf Trax Inc. as the holder of the Purchased Shares sold and to issue one or more share certificates representing such Purchased Shares to the Purchaser.
 
ARTICLE 3- REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES
 
3.1
Representations and Warranties by the Vendors
 
Each of the Vendors hereby represents and warrants to the Purchaser as follows, and confirms that the Purchaser is relying upon the accuracy of each of such representations and warranties in connection with the purchase of the Purchased Shares and the completion of the other transactions hereunder:

 
(a)
Authority and Binding Obligation . The Vendor (and, with respect to any Trust Vendors, together with the Trustees, to the extent applicable) has good right, full power and absolute authority to own the Purchased Shares owned by it and to enter into this Agreement and any document or certificate given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby to which it is a party, and to sell, assign and transfer the Vendor’s Shares to the Purchaser in the manner contemplated herein and to perform all of the Vendor’s obligations under this Agreement and any document or certificate given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby to which it is a party.  If the Vendor is a corporation, it and its shareholders and board of directors have taken all necessary or desirable actions, steps and corporate and other proceedings to approve or authorize, validly and effectively, the entering into, and the execution, delivery and performance of, this Agreement and any document or certificate given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby to which it is a party and the sale, assignment and transfer of the Vendor’s Shares by the Vendor to the Purchaser. If the Vendor is a limited partnership, it and its general partner(s) and, if required by the applicable limited partnership agreement governing such Vendor, its limited partners, have taken all necessary or desirable actions, steps and corporate and other proceedings to approve or authorize, validly and effectively, the entering into, and the execution, delivery and performance of, this Agreement and any document or certificate given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby to which it is a party and the sale, assignment and transfer of the Vendor’s Shares by the Vendor to the Purchaser.  With respect to the Trust, the Trustees in accordance with the Voting Trust Agreement and otherwise as required by Applicable Law have taken all necessary or desirable actions, steps and proceedings to approve or authorize, validly and effectively, the entering into, and the execution, delivery and performance of, this Agreement and any document or certificate given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby to which it is a party and the sale, assignment and transfer of the Vendor’s Shares by each of the Trust Vendors (together with the Trustees) to the Purchaser.  This Agreement has been, and each document or certificate given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby to which it is a party will be, duly executed and delivered by it and is (and will on Closing be) a legal, valid and binding obligation of the Vendor (and with respect to any Trust Vendors, together with the Trustees) enforceable against the Vendor (and with respect to any Trust Vendors, together with the Trustees) in accordance with its terms subject to:
 
(i) bankruptcy, insolvency, moratorium, reorganization and other Applicable Law relating to or affecting the enforcement of creditors' rights generally;
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(ii) the fact that equitable remedies, including the remedies of specific performance and injunction, may only be granted in the discretion of a court;
 
(iii) the statutory and inherent powers of a court to grant relief from forfeiture, to stay execution of proceedings before it and to stay executions on judgments; and
 
(iv) Applicable Law regarding limitations of actions.
 
 
(b)
No Other Purchase Agreements . Except for the Purchaser under this Agreement, no person has any agreement, option, understanding or commitment, or any right or privilege (whether by law, pre-emptive or contractual) capable of becoming an agreement, option, understanding or commitment, including convertible securities, warrants or convertible obligations of any nature, for: 
 
(i) the purchase, subscription, allotment or issuance of, or conversion into, any of the unissued shares in the capital of the Corporate Group or any securities of the Corporate Group;
 
(ii) the purchase from the Vendor (and with respect to any Trust Vendors, together with the Trustees) of any of the Purchased Shares; or
 
(iii) the purchase or other acquisition from the Corporate Group of any of its undertaking, properties or assets, other than in the ordinary course of the Business.
 
 
(c)
Contractual and Regulatory Approvals .  Except as specified in Schedule E attached hereto, neither the Corporate Group nor the Vendor (and with respect to any Trust Vendors, together with the Trustees) is under any obligation, contractual or otherwise, to request or obtain the consent of any person, and no permits, licences, certifications, authorizations or approvals of, or notifications to or filings with, any Governmental Authority are required to be obtained or made by the Corporate Group or the Vendor:
 
(i) in connection with the execution, delivery or performance by the Vendor or the Corporation of this Agreement or the completion of any of the transactions contemplated herein;
 
(ii) to avoid the loss of any Permit; or
 
(iii) in order that the authority of the Corporate Group to carry on the Business in the ordinary course and in the same manner as presently conducted remains in good standing and in full force and effect as of and following the Closing of the transactions contemplated hereunder.
 
Complete and correct copies of any agreements under which the Corporate Group or the Vendor is obligated to request or obtain any such consent have been provided to the Purchaser.

 
(d)
Status, Constating Documents and Business.   The Vendors, each of them, agree that:
 
(i)
each of the Corporate Group Companies and each Vendor that is a corporation is duly incorporated and validly subsisting in all respects under
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the Applicable Law of their respective jurisdictions of incorporation as set out in Schedule F. Each Vendor that is a limited partnership is duly formed and validly subsisting in all respects under the Applicable Law of its respective jurisdiction of formation as set out in Schedule F. The Corporation is a "private company" and not a “reporting issuer”, each as defined in The   Securities Act C.C.S.M. C. 550 (Manitoba), and the Corporation has not issued securities to the public by way of prospectus or exemption. The Corporate Group has all necessary corporate power to own its properties and assets and to carry on its Business as it is now being conducted.  No proceedings have been taken or authorized by any of the Vendors or by the Corporate Group or, to the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, by any other person, with respect to the bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidation, dissolution or winding up of any of the Vendors or the Corporate Group, as applicable.   The Trustees represent and warrant that the Trust has been established and subsists as a valid trust under the laws of Manitoba and that they are the duly appointed trustees of the Trust and have the power and capacity, on behalf of the Trust, to enter into and perform their obligations under this Agreement.  This Agreement and the execution and delivery thereof by the Trustees have been duly authorized by all necessary action on the part of the Trustees on behalf of the Trust.  The Trustees have the power and authority under the Trust to carry out their obligations contained in this Agreement.  The execution and delivery of this Agreement by the Trustees on behalf of the Trust and the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement have been duly authorized by all necessary action of the Trustees.  This Agreement constitutes a valid and binding obligation of the Trustees, on behalf of the Trust, enforceable against the Trustees and the Trust in accordance with its terms.  Neither the Trustees nor the Trust is bound or affected by or subject to any Applicable Law that would be violated, breached by, or under which any default would occur as a result of the execution and delivery of, or the performance of obligations under, this Agreement. 
 
(ii) the articles, by-laws and other constating documents of the Corporate Group, as amended to the date hereof, are listed in Schedule F attached hereto, and complete and correct copies of each of those documents have been delivered to the Purchaser.
 
(iii) the Corporate Group does not carry on, and has not at any time in the past carried on, any business other than the Business nor has it carried on the Business under any other subsidiaries or business names other than those as disclosed on Schedule F and to best of the knowledge of the Vendors no other person has any right or claim to carry on the Business as conducted by the Corporate Group.
 
 
(e)
Compliance with Constating Documents, Agreements and Laws .  Except for the consents described in Schedule E attached hereto, the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and each of the other documents or certificates given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby, and the completion of the transactions contemplated hereby, will not constitute or result in a violation or breach of or default under, or cause the acceleration of any obligations of the Corporate Group under:
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(i) any term or provision of any of the articles, by-laws or other constating documents of the Corporate Group or any directors’ or shareholders’ resolutions or equivalent documents;
 
(ii) subject to obtaining the contractual consents referred to in Schedule E attached hereto, the terms of any agreement (written or oral), indenture, instrument or understanding or other obligation or restriction to which the Corporate Group or Vendor is a party or by which either of them is bound; or
 
(iii) subject to obtaining the regulatory consents referred to in Schedule E attached hereto, any term or provision of any of the Permits or any Order of any Governmental Authority or, except where the failure to do so would not have a material adverse effect on the Corporate Group, any Applicable Law in which the Business is carried on.
 
 
(f)
Corporate Records .  The corporate records and minute books of the Corporate Group, all of which have been made available for review by the Purchaser, contain in all material respects complete and accurate minutes of all meetings of the directors and shareholders of the Corporate Group held since their respective incorporations, and original signed copies of all resolutions and by-laws duly passed or confirmed by the directors or shareholders of the Corporate Group other than at a meeting.  All such meetings were duly valid and held. The share certificate books, register of security holders, register of transfers and register of directors and any similar corporate records of the Corporate Group are complete and accurate.  No transfer tax or similar tax payable in connection with the transfer of any securities of the Corporation is payable.
 
 
(g)
Authorized and Issued Capital .  The authorized capital of each Corporate Group Company is set out in Schedule F.  No shares or other securities of the Corporate Group have been issued in violation of any Applicable Law, the articles of incorporation, by-laws or other constating documents of each Corporate Group Company or the terms of any shareholders' agreement or any agreement to which the Corporate Group Company is a party or by which it is bound, including the Voting Trust Agreement.  The Vendor (and, with respect to any Trust Vendors, together with the Trustees) is the legal and beneficial owner of the Vendor’s Shares, with good and marketable title thereto, free and clear of any and all Encumbrances.  The Vendor (and, with respect to any Trust Vendors, together with the Trustees) has the full power, right and authority to vote and transfer the Purchased Shares owned by such Vendor, subject to the restrictions on transfer in the articles of the Corporation which shall have been complied with prior to the Closing Time. There are no restrictions on the transfer of the Purchased Shares, except those set forth in the articles of the Corporation.
 
 
(h)
Vendor Litigation .  There is no claim, demand, suit, action, cause of action, dispute, proceeding, litigation, investigation, grievance, arbitration, governmental proceeding or other proceeding, including appeals and application for review, in progress against, by or relating to the Vendor (or, with respect to any Trust Vendors, the Trustees) , which could adversely affect the ability of such Vendor (or, with respect to any Trust Vendors, the Trustees) to own the Purchased Shares or to complete the transactions contemplated hereby or to otherwise observe and comply with its obligations under this Agreement or any document or certificate given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby to which it is a party, nor to best of the knowledge of such Vendor are any of the same pending or threatened.  Such
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Vendor is not aware of any state of facts which would provide a valid basis for any of the foregoing.
 
 
(i)
Shareholders' Agreements.   Except as listed in Schedule H attached hereto, there are no shareholders' agreements, pooling agreements, voting trusts, powers of attorney, proxies or other similar agreements with respect to the ownership or voting of any of the shares of the Corporate Group.
 
 
(j)
Permits.   The Vendors, each of them, agree that, each of the Corporate Group Companies is duly licenced, registered and qualified as a corporation to do Business, is up-to-date in the filing of all required corporate returns and other notices and filings and is otherwise in good standing in all respects, in each jurisdiction in which:
 
(i) it leases property; or
 
(ii) the nature or conduct of its Business or any part thereof, or the nature of the property of the Corporate Group Company or any part thereof, makes such
 
licence, registration or qualification necessary or desirable to enable the Business to be carried on as now conducted or to enable the properties and assets of the Corporate Group Company to be owned, leased and operated by it. 
 
All of the Corporate Group's Permits are listed in Schedule G (which includes a list of jurisdictions) attached hereto and are valid and subsisting. Complete and correct copies of the Permits have been made available to the Purchaser.  The Corporate Group is in compliance with all terms and conditions of the Permits in all material respects.  There are no proceedings in progress, pending or, to the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, threatened, which could result in the revocation, cancellation or suspension of any of the Permits.

 
(k)
Financial Statements .  The Vendors, each of them, agree that:
 
(i) The Audited Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles applied on a basis consistent with that of the previous fiscal year, are true, correct and complete in all material respects and present fairly the consolidated financial condition of the Corporate Group as of December 31, 2013, including the consolidated assets and liabilities of the Corporate Group and all proper accruals and adequate reserves as of that date, and the consolidated revenues, expenses  and results of the operations of the Corporate Group for the fiscal year ended on that date.
 
(ii) The Interim Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles applied on a basis consistent with the Audited Financial Statements, are true, correct and complete in all material respects and present fairly in all material respects the consolidated financial condition of the Corporate Group as of February 28, 2014, including the consolidated assets and liabilities of the Corporate Group and all proper accruals and adequate reserves as of February 28, 2014, and the consolidated revenues, expenses and results of the operations of the Corporate Group for the two (2) month period ended on February 28, 2014.
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(iii) The financial condition of the Corporate Group is now at least as good as the financial condition reflected in the Interim Financial Statements.
 
 
(l)
Books and Records . The Vendors have disclosed the existence of and made available for review by the Purchaser all of the Books and Records.  All financial transactions of the Corporate Group have been recorded in the Books and Records and the Customer and Supplier Records of the Corporate Group in accordance with good business practice. The Books and Records together with the Customer and Supplier Records:
 
(i) accurately reflect in all material respects the basis for the financial condition and the revenues, expenses and results of operations of the Corporate Group shown in the Audited Financial Statements and the Interim Financial Statements; and
 
(ii) together with all disclosures made in this Agreement or in the Schedules attached hereto, present fairly in all material respects the financial condition and the revenues, expenses and results of the operations of the Corporate Group as of and to the date hereof;
 
provided however that the Books and Records and the Customer and Supplier Records are utilized for management purposes and omit a number of disclosures which would be required in order that the financial information contained therein would be presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles consistently applied. For certainty, nothing in this Subsection 3.1(l) shall be taken to diminish the representation and warranty in Subsection 3.1(k).  All Non-Financial Records and Customer and Supplier Records that have not already been disclosed to the Purchaser will be disclosed to the Purchaser pursuant to Subsection 5.1(b).  All Non-Financial Records have been maintained in accordance with good business practice and accurately reflect in all material respects the condition of the Business and its assets.

 
(m)
Liabilities of the Corporate Group .  There are no liabilities (contingent or otherwise) of the Corporate Group of any kind whatsoever, and to the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, there is no basis for assertion against the Corporate Group of any liabilities of any kind, other than:
 
(i) liabilities disclosed or reflected in or provided for in the Audited Financial Statements or the Interim Financial Statements;
 
(ii) liabilities incurred since the Audited Statements Date which were incurred in the ordinary course of the routine daily affairs of the Business and, in the aggregate, are not materially adverse to the Business; and
 
(iii) other liabilities disclosed in this Agreement or in the Schedules attached hereto.
 
 
(n)
Indebtedness .  Except as disclosed in the Audited Financial Statements, the Corporate Group has no bonds, debentures, mortgages, promissory notes or other indebtedness, including those maturing more than one year after the date of their original creation or issuance, and is not under any obligation to create or issue any bonds, debentures, mortgages, promissory notes or other indebtedness maturing more than one year after the date of their original creation or issuance.
- 22 -

 
(o)
Absence of Certain Changes or Events .  Since the Audited Statements Date, the Corporate Group has not:
 
(i) incurred any obligation or liability (fixed or contingent), except normal trade or business obligations incurred in the ordinary course of the Business, none of which is materially adverse to the Corporate Group;
 
(ii) paid or satisfied any obligation or liability (fixed or contingent), except
 
 
A.
Current Liabilities included in the Audited Financial Statements;
 
 
B.
Current Liabilities incurred since the Audited Statements Date in the ordinary course of the Business; and
 
 
C.
scheduled payments pursuant to obligations under loan agreements or other contracts or commitments described in this Agreement or in the Schedules attached hereto;
 
(iii) created any Encumbrance upon any of its properties or assets, except as described in this Agreement or in the Schedules attached hereto;
 
(iv) sold, assigned, transferred, leased or otherwise disposed of any of its properties or assets, except in the ordinary course of the Business;
 
(v) purchased, leased or otherwise acquired any properties or assets, except in the ordinary course of the Business;
 
(vi) waived, cancelled or written-off any rights, claims, accounts receivable or any amounts payable to the Corporate Group, except in the ordinary course of the Business;
 
(vii) entered into any transaction, contract, agreement or commitment, whether written or oral, either not in the ordinary course of the Business or which may result in the payment of money of the Corporate Group of an amount in excess of $10,000 with respect to any one transaction or series of related transactions or whose term is greater than one (1) year;
 
(viii) terminated, discontinued, closed or disposed of any plant, facility or business operation;
 
(ix) had any supplier terminate, or communicate to the Corporate Group the intention or threat to terminate, its relationship with the Corporate Group, or the intention to substantially reduce the quantity of products or services it sells to the Corporate Group, except in the case of suppliers whose sales to the Corporate Group are not, in the aggregate, material to the Business or the Condition of the Corporate Group;
 
(x) had any customer terminate, or communicate to the Corporate Group the intention or threat to terminate, its relationship with the Corporate Group, or the intention to substantially reduce the quantity of products or services it purchases from the Corporate Group, or its dissatisfaction with the products or services sold by the Corporate Group, except in the case of customers whose purchases from the Corporate Group are not, in the aggregate, material to the Business or the Condition of the Corporate Group;
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(xi) had any key employee terminate or communicate to the Corporate Group the intention or threat to terminate his or her position with the Corporate Group or allege that a termination has taken place;
 
(xii) made any material change with respect to any method of management, operation or accounting in respect of the Business;
 
(xiii) suffered any damage, destruction or loss (whether or not covered by insurance) which has materially adversely affected or could materially adversely affect the Business or the Condition of the Corporate Group;
 
(xiv) increased any form of compensation or other benefits payable or to become payable to any of the employees of the Corporate Group, except increases made in the ordinary course of the Business which do not exceed one percent (1%), in the aggregate, of the amount of the aggregate salary compensation payable to all of the Corporate Group's employees prior to such increase;
 
(xv) suffered any extraordinary loss relating to the Business;
 
(xvi) made or incurred any material change in, or become aware of any event or condition which is likely to result in a material change in, the Business or the Condition of the Corporate Group or its relationships with its customers, suppliers or employees; or
 
 
(xvii)
authorized, agreed or otherwise become committed to do any of the foregoing.
 
 
(p)
Commitments for Capital Expenditures .  The Corporate Group is not committed to make any capital expenditures, nor have any capital expenditures been authorized by the Corporate Group at any time since the Audited Statements Date, except for capital expenditures made in the ordinary course of the routine daily affairs of the Business and which, in the aggregate, do not exceed One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00).
 
 
(q)
Dividends and Distributions .  Except as disclosed in Schedule I attached hereto, or as disclosed in writing to the Purchaser on or before Closing and confirmed in writing as a document delivered to the Purchaser at the Closing, since the Audited Statements Date, the Corporate Group has not declared or paid any dividend or made any other distribution on any of its shares of any class, or redeemed or purchased or otherwise acquired any of its shares of any class, or reduced its authorized capital or issued capital, or agreed to do any of the foregoing.
 
 
(r)
Tax Matters .  The Vendors, each of them, agree that:
 
(i) For purposes of this Agreement, the term "Governmental Charges" means and includes all taxes, customs duties, rates, levies, assessments, reassessments and other charges, together with all penalties, interest and fines with respect thereto, payable to any Governmental Authority.
 
(ii) The Corporate Group has duly and on a timely basis prepared and filed all tax returns and other documents required to be filed by it in respect of all Governmental Charges and such returns and documents are complete and correct. Complete and correct copies of all such returns and other
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documents filed in respect of the three fiscal years of the Corporate Group ending prior to the date hereof have been provided to the Purchaser.
 
(iii) The Corporate Group has paid all Governmental Charges which are due and payable by it on or before the date hereof.  Adequate provision was made in the Audited Financial Statements and Interim Financial Statements for all Governmental Charges for the periods covered by the Audited Financial Statements and Interim Financial Statements, respectively.  To the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, the Corporate Group has no liability for Governmental Charges other than those provided for in the Audited Financial Statements and those arising in the ordinary course of the operation of the Business since the Audited Statements Date.
 
(iv) Canadian federal and provincial income tax assessments have been issued to each Corporate Group Company covering all past periods up to and including the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012.  There are no actions, suits, proceedings, investigations, inquiries or claims now pending or made or, to the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, threatened against the Corporate Group in respect of Governmental Charges.
 
(v) Except for the application by Wolf Trax USA Inc. and the Corporation for an extension of time for the filing of their respective 2013 tax returns in the United States and Canada, there are no agreements, waivers or other arrangements providing for any extension of time with respect to the filing of any tax return or other document or the payment of any Governmental Charges by the Corporate Group or the period for any assessment or reassessment of Governmental Charges. In the ordinary course, only the fiscal years of the Corporate Group subsequent to December 31, 2009 remain open for reassessment for additional taxes.
 
(vi) The Corporate Group has withheld from each amount paid or credited to any person the amount of Governmental Charges required to be withheld therefrom and has remitted, or will remit, such Governmental Charges to the proper tax or other receiving authorities within the time required under applicable legislation.
 
(vii) The Corporation is a Canadian-controlled private corporation, as defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada), and has been one since its incorporation.
 
(viii) The Corporation does not have and has not had a Permanent Establishment in any foreign country as defined in any applicable tax treaty or convention between Canada and a foreign country that may be subject to tax by any taxing authority.
 
(ix) As of the date hereof, the value of the shares of the Corporation is not, and was not at any time during the 60-month period preceding the date hereof, derived directly or indirectly from one or any combination of:
 
(i) real or immovable property situated in Canada;
 
(ii) Canadian resource properties;
 
(iii) timber resource properties;
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(iv) options in respect of, or interests in, or for civil law rights in, property described in any of subparagraphs (i) to (iii), whether or not the property exists.
 
 
(s)
Litigation .  Except for the matters referred to in Schedule J attached hereto, there are no claims, demands, disputes, actions, suits or proceedings, judicial or administrative (whether or not purportedly on behalf of the Corporation or the Vendors) pending or, to the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, threatened, by or against or affecting the Corporate Group, at law or in equity, or before any Governmental Authority.  To the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, except for the matters referred to in Schedule J attached hereto, there are no grounds on which any such action, suit or proceeding might be commenced with any reasonable likelihood of success.
 
 
(t)
Environmental Matters .  The Vendors, each of them, agree that:
 
(i) For purposes of this Agreement, the following terms and expressions will have the following meanings:
 
 
A.
“Environmental Laws” means all Applicable Law of Canada and the United States of America relating to the environment, occupational health and safety, product safety, product liability and storage and transportation of goods;
 
 
B.
“Hazardous Substances” means any waste, pollutant, contaminant, material or substance which is or may be dangerous, hazardous, toxic, explosive, corrosive, flammable, infectious, radioactive, carcinogenic or mutagenic or which has or may have an adverse effect on the environment or which could otherwise pose a risk to health, safety or the environment or which is the subject of any Environmental Laws governing its Release, use, storage or identification, including without limitation any substance which contains polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), asbestos, lead, urea formaldehyde or radon gas; and
 
 
C.
“Release” means any planned application, release, spill, leak, emission, discharge, leach, dumping, emission, escape or other disposal.
 
(ii) Except as disclosed in Schedule K attached hereto, to the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, (A) the Corporate Group, the operation of the Business, the properties and assets owned or used by the Corporate Group and the use, maintenance and operation thereof have been and are in compliance with all Environmental Laws; and (B) the Corporate Group has complied with all reporting and monitoring requirements under all Environmental Laws. Except as disclosed in Schedule K attached hereto, the Corporate Group has not received any notice of any non-compliance with any Environmental Laws.
 
(iii) The Corporate Group has obtained all permits, certificates, approvals, registrations and licences necessary to conduct the Business and to own, use and operate the properties and assets of the Corporate Group in compliance with all Environmental Laws. All such permits, certificates, approvals, registrations and licences are listed in Schedule K attached
- 26 -

hereto and complete and correct copies thereof have been made available to the Purchaser.
 
(iv) The Corporate Group does not process potash or the minerals associated with potash to produce a concentrate nor does it conduct any associated refinery of potash or the minerals associated with potash.
 
(v) Except as disclosed in Schedule K attached hereto and except when in compliance with Environmental Laws, there are no Hazardous Substances located on or in any of the properties or assets owned or used by the Corporate Group, and no Release of any Hazardous Substances has occurred on or from the properties and assets of the Corporate Group or has resulted from the operation of the Business and the conduct of all other activities of the Corporate Group. Except as disclosed in Schedule K attached hereto and except when in compliance with Environmental Laws, the Corporate Group has not used any of its properties or assets to produce, generate, store, handle, transport or dispose of any Hazardous Substances and none of the Leased Premises has been or is being used as a landfill or waste disposal site.
 
(vi) Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, except as disclosed in Schedule K attached hereto, to the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, there are no underground or surface storage tanks or urea formaldehyde foam insulation, asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) or radioactive substances located on or in any of the properties or assets used by the Corporate Group.  The Corporate Group is not, and to the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, there is no basis upon which the Corporate Group could become, responsible for any clean-up or corrective action under any Environmental Laws.
 
(vii) The Corporate Group has never conducted or had conducted an environmental audit, assessment or study of any of the properties or assets used by the Corporate Group.
 
(viii) The Corporate Group does not transport Hazardous Substances except in accordance with Environmental Laws.
 
 
(u)
Title to Assets .  The Corporate Group is the owner of and has good and marketable title to all of its properties and assets, including, without limitation, all properties and assets reflected in the Audited Financial Statements and all properties and assets acquired by the Corporate Group after the Audited Statements Date, free and clear of all Encumbrances whatsoever, except for:
 
(i) the properties and assets disposed of, utilized or consumed by the Corporate Group since the Audited Statements Date in the ordinary course of the Business;
 
(ii) the Encumbrances disclosed or reflected in the Interim Financial Statements;
 
(iii) liens for taxes not yet due and payable; and
 
(iv) the Encumbrances described in Schedule L attached hereto.
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No other person owns any assets or properties which are being used in the Business, except for the Leased Premises and any personal property and/or intangible property leased or licensed by the Corporate Group as set out in Schedule D, Schedule M, Schedule N and Schedule P. There are no agreements or commitments to purchase properties or assets by the Corporate Group, other than in the ordinary course of the Business.

 
(v)
Accounts Receivable .  The accounts receivable of the Corporate Group reflected in the Interim Financial Statements and all accounts receivable of the Corporate Group arising since the date of the Interim Financial Statements arose from bona fide transactions in the ordinary course of the Business and are valid, enforceable and fully collectible accounts (consistent with the allowances reflected in the Audited Financial Statements). Such accounts receivable are not subject to any set-off or counterclaim and are insured by Export Development Canada up to 90% of the value of any affected account receivable.
 
 
(w)
Inventory .  The current Inventory of the Corporate Group, subject to a reasonable allowance for obsolete Inventory (consistent with the allowances reflected in the Audited Financial Statements and the Interim Financial Statements), is good and usable and is capable of being processed and sold in the ordinary course of the Business at normal profit margins.
 
 
(x)
Real Properties .  The Corporate Group does not own or have any right, title or interest in any real property, except for the Corporate Group's leasehold interest in the Leased Premises.  The Corporate Group has entered into leases, licences or otherwise been granted permission of access in respect of the application of the Corporation's
 
 
(y)
Leased Premises .  Schedule D attached hereto describes all Leases. The Corporation is exclusively entitled to all rights and benefits as lessee under the Leases and the Corporation has not sublet, assigned, licensed or otherwise conveyed any rights in the Leased Premises or in the Leases to any other person.  All rental and other payments and other obligations required to be paid and performed by the Corporation pursuant to the Leases have been duly paid and  performed. The Corporation is not in default of any of its obligations under the Leases in any material respects. To the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, none of the landlords or other parties to the Leases are in default of any of their obligations under the Leases in any material respects.  Except as set out in Schedule D, the terms and conditions of the Leases will not be affected by, nor will any of the Leases be in default as a result of, the completion of the transactions contemplated hereunder.  To the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, the use by the Corporation of the Leased Premises is not in breach of any Applicable Law or official plan which in any way materially adversely affects the Corporation or the Business.  The Corporation has adequate rights of ingress to and egress from the Leased Premises for the operation of the Business in the ordinary course.
 
 
(z)
Work Orders and Deficiencies .  To the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, there are no outstanding work orders, non-compliance orders, deficiency notices or other such notices relative to the Leased Premises, the other properties and assets of the Corporate Group or the Business which have been issued by any Governmental Authority.  To the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, there are no matters under discussion with any such department, agency or authority relating to work orders,
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non-compliance orders, deficiency notices or other such notices. To the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, the Business is not being carried on, and none of the Leased Premises or the other properties or assets of the Corporate Group are being operated, in a manner which is in contravention of any Applicable Law in any material respects.  No amounts are owing by the Corporate Group in respect of the Leased Premises to any Governmental Authority, other than current accounts which are not in arrears.
 
 
(aa)
Condition of Properties and Equipment . To the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, the buildings and structures comprising the Leased Premises are free of any structural defect. To the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, the heating, ventilating, plumbing, drainage, electrical and air-conditioning systems and all other systems used in the Leased Premises and all machinery, equipment, tools, furniture, furnishings and materials used in the Business are in good working order, fully operational and free of any defect, except for normal wear and tear.
 
 
(bb)
Leases of Personal Property . Except as set out in Schedule M attached hereto, the Corporate Group is not the lessee under any lease of personal property in respect of which the annual financial obligation exceeds One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00). Except for the vehicle leases described in Schedule M, the Corporate Group does not have any capital leases.
 
 
(cc)
Intellectual Property .
 
(i) Schedule N attached hereto accurately and completely lists and describes:
 
 
A.
all former registered trademarks and all current trademarks and (including all material common law trademarks), service marks, logos, trade names, corporate names and business names, in each case whether or not registerable or the subject of applications for registration or registrations (the “Trademarks”);
 
 
B.
except for any advertising, sales and marketing materials, all copyrights and applications and registrations therefor, including all computer programs and software (in both source and object code formats) and databases and related documentation and manuals, in each case whether or not registered or the subject of applications for registration or registrations, and identifying which copyrights are owned by and which copyrights are licensed by the Corporation;
 
 
C.
all issued patents and pending patent applications, including the filing date, issue date and jurisdiction in which each application was filed;
 
 
D.
all material trade secrets, know-how and proprietary and confidential information, including inventions, developments, methods, products, processes, including improvements to any of the foregoing, and invention disclosures;
 
 
E.
all registered industrial designs, design patents and industrial design or design patent applications;
 
 
F.
all registered or applied for domain names;
- 29 -

domestic or foreign, owned by or licensed to the Corporate Group or used by the Corporate Group (including all formerly registered Intellectual Property) in carrying on the Business (all of the foregoing, together with any copyrights and trade secrets not identified in B and D above, being collectively called the "Intellectual Property"), and identifying which of such items are owned by and which are licensed to the Corporation.
 
(ii) Except as provided in Schedule N attached hereto, the Corporation has good and valid title to all of the Intellectual Property other than Licensed Intellectual Property ( Owned Intellectual Property ), free and clear of any and all Encumbrances.  Except as provided in Schedule N attached hereto, the Corporation has a valid and subsisting right to use any Intellectual Property licensed to the Corporation ( Licensed Intellectual Property ).  The only Licensed Intellectual Property are the trademarks listed on Schedule N attached hereto as “Licensed Trademarks” and the software listed on Schedule N  attached hereto as “Licensed Copyrights”. Except as provided in Schedule N attached hereto, no rights in any of the Intellectual Property have been granted or licensed by the Corporation to any other person and no other person has any rights to any of the Intellectual Property. Complete and correct copies of all agreements whereby any rights in any of the Licensed Intellectual Property have been granted or licensed to the Corporation by any other person have been provided to the Purchaser and are listed in Schedule N attached hereto.   Except as provided in Schedule N attached hereto, no royalty or other fee is required to be paid by the Corporation to any other person in respect of the use of any of the Licensed Intellectual Property.
 
(iii) Except as provided in Schedule N attached hereto and except for the pending patents and pending Trademarks included in the Intellectual Property, all Intellectual Property is valid and subsisting. Except as provided in Schedule N attached hereto, and to the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, all of the pending patents and pending Trademarks included in the Intellectual Property are valid and subsisting. The Corporation has protected its rights in the Intellectual Property in the manner and to the extent described in Schedule N attached hereto.  All statements contained in all applications for registration of the Intellectual Property were true and correct as of the date of such applications. All Trademarks included in the Intellectual Property are in use under the applicable standard care and control provisions under all Applicable Law in Canada and in the United States.   Except as provided in Schedule N attached hereto, all of the Owned Intellectual Property which has been registered, issued, renewed or applied for has been properly filed, maintained, issued, registered and renewed, as applicable, by the Corporation in accordance with all Applicable Law.  Except as provided in Schedule N attached hereto, all renewal and maintenance fees in respect of the Owned Intellectual Property have been duly paid.  Schedule N attached hereto lists any due dates or other actions required to be taken by the Corporation to maintain, register or issue the Owned Intellectual Property within sixty (60) days after the Closing Date.
 
(iv) Except as provided in Schedule N attached hereto, the Corporation has the exclusive right to use all of the Intellectual Property. Except as provided in Schedule N attached hereto and except in respect of pending patents and pending Trademarks included in the Intellectual Property, there are no restrictions on the ability of the Corporation or any successor to or assignee from the Corporation to use and exploit all rights in the Intellectual Property.
- 30 -

Except as provided in Schedule N attached hereto, to the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, there are no restrictions on the ability of the Corporation or any successor to or assignee from the Corporation to use and exploit all rights in the pending patents and pending Trademarks included in the Intellectual Property. The Intellectual Property constitutes all intellectual property necessary for the conduct of the Business as presently conducted.
 
(v) Except as disclosed in Schedule N attached hereto, none of the rights of the Corporation in the Intellectual Property will be impaired or affected in any way by the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
 
(vi)
To the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, the making, using, and selling of all products that are only the subject of a pending patent application or products in development but not yet introduced (“New Products”), do not infringe any patent, trade mark, trade name, copyright, industrial design, trade secret or other intellectual property or proprietary right of any other person. The making, using, and selling of all products currently sold or made by or for the Corporation, other than the New Products, do not infringe any patent, trade mark, trade name, copyright, industrial design, trade secret or other intellectual property or proprietary right of any other person.  The registered Trademarks, and to the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, all other Trademarks, do not infringe the trademark rights of any third party.  To the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, the conduct of the Business does not include any activity which may constitute passing-off with respect to pending Trademarks included in the Owned Intellectual Property. The conduct of the Business does not include any activity which may constitute passing-off with respect to registered Trademarks included in the Owned Intellectual Property. The Corporation has not received any notice, complaint, threat or claim alleging that the conduct of the Business and the use of the Intellectual Property infringes upon any patent, trade mark, trade name, copyright, industrial design, trade secret or other intellectual property or proprietary right of any other person.
 
(vii) The Corporation has taken all commercially reasonable measures, as appropriate, to maintain and protect the proprietary nature of the Corporation’s owned Intellectual Property , and to maintain in confidence all trade secrets and confidential information that the Corporation owns or uses, including, but not limited to, know-how, business methods and data.  The trade secrets identified in Schedule N attached hereto have been maintained as secret as required by the Applicable Law of each jurisdiction in which they are maintained to satisfy the requirements of that jurisdiction for establishing they are trade secrets.
 
(viii) Except as disclosed in Schedule N attached hereto and to the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, no third party is infringing or has infringed the Intellectual Property. The Vendors have made available to the Purchaser all material correspondence with any potential infringers identified in Schedule N attached hereto and/or Schedule J hereto.
 
(ix) To the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, all claims of all patents included in the Owned Intellectual Property (except for the claims in issued patents) are valid and enforceable. All claims of all issued patents included in the Owned Intellectual Property are valid and enforceable. No claims of the pending patent applications filed in Canada and in the United States of
- 31 -

America have been finally rejected or otherwise dismissed in a final office action by the United States Patent & Trademark Office or the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. To the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, n o claims of the pending patent applications filed in any country other than Canada or the United States of America have been finally rejected or otherwise dismissed in a final office action by a patent or intellectual property office of such country.
 
(x) The Corporation has not at any time received a written patent opinion.
 
(xi) Except as described in Schedule N attached hereto, other than through written non-disclosure agreements or other written agreements containing confidentiality obligations, there has been no Public Disclosure of the inventions described in the issued patents included in the Intellectual Property . “Public Disclosure” includes any release of, or presentation about, any of the foregoing inventions to anyone other than the Corporation’s personnel, patent agents or legal counsel, even if that release was only to a single individual or single entity, but shall not include any such release pursuant to a written non-disclosure agreement or any other written agreement containing confidentiality obligations. Examples of Public Disclosures would include sales, discussions when trying to make a sale, marketing materials, conferences, product sampling, technical journals and other publications, trade shows and product demonstrations (whether it was inside or outside of the Corporation’s facilities).
 
(xii) All joint development agreements or similar agreements under which the technology or inventions may be developed by multiple parties are specifically listed and described in Schedule N attached hereto (even if also listed in other Schedules). Except as described in Schedule N attached hereto, no intellectual property has been developed with any third party pursuant to any joint venture or otherwise.
 
(xiii) No Person other than the Corporation has any right, title or interest, including any intellectual property rights, in or to any Owned Intellectual Property.  Without limiting the foregoing:
 
(i)              each Person who has authored, invented, created, developed or contributed to the authorship, invention, creation or development of any Owned Intellectual Property has executed and delivered: (A) an assignment in writing or an agreement in writing with an assignment provision assigning all of such Person’s right, title and interest in and to such Owned Intellectual Property to the Corporation (or one of the predecessor companies which amalgamated to form the Corporation); and (B) with respect to any such Person who is an individual (including any individual engaged by any such Person which is a corporation or other non-individual), a waiver of all moral rights in all material works in respect of such Owned Intellectual Property in favour of the Corporation (or one of the predecessor companies which amalgamated to form the Corporation) and its successors, assignees and licensees; and
 
(ii)              neither the Corporation nor any of the predecessor companies which amalgamated to form the Corporation has at any time assigned, conveyed or transferred any intellectual property of the Corporation, in whole or in part, to any other Person.
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(dd)
Subsidiaries and Other Interests . The Corporation has no subsidiaries, and has never had any subsidiaries, other than the Subsidiaries.  Neither the Corporation nor any other Corporate Group Company owns any securities issued by, or any equity or ownership interest in, any other person.  The Corporation owns, directly or indirectly, 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of each of the Subsidiaries as more particularly described in Schedule F. The Corporate Group is not subject to any obligation to make any investment in or to provide funds by way of loan, capital contribution or otherwise to any person.  Each Corporate Group Company, as applicable, has good and marketable title to the shares of the Subsidiaries, free and clear of any Encumbrances. The Corporate Group has not agreed to acquire or lease any other business operation, and the Corporate Group does not have any other investment interest in any business owned or controlled by any third party.  Schedule F sets out a true and accurate list of the directors and officers of each Corporate Group Company. The Corporation caused WOLF TRAX MEXICO " SOCIEDAD ANONIMA DE CAPITAL VARIABLE (“Wolf Trax Mexico”) to be incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary under the laws of Mexico. Wolf Trax Mexico was never registered to carry on business in Mexico, never held any assets, never carried on business and has no liabilities or obligations (and there are no grounds or circumstances that would cause any such obligations or liabilities to arise in the future) except under the guarantee it provided to Avrio of the obligations of the Corporation.
 
 
(ee)
Partnerships or Joint Ventures . The Corporate Group is not a partner or participant in any partnership, joint venture, profit-sharing arrangement or other association of any kind and is not party to any agreement under which the Corporate Group agrees to carry on any part of the Business or any other activity in such manner or by which the Corporate Group agrees to share any revenue or profit with any other person.
 
 
(ff)
Customers .  The Vendor has provided to the Purchaser on March 19, 2014 a true and complete list of all material customers (including customers representing approximately 80% of the revenues of the Corporation invoiced in the last completed fiscal year) of the Business as of the date hereof. The Corporation is the sole and exclusive owner of, and has the unrestricted right to use, such customer list.  Such customer list, nor any information relating to the customers of the Business have (except, in the case of such information only, pursuant to non-disclosure agreements or other agreements imposing confidentiality obligations) within three years prior to the date of this Agreement, been made available to any person other than the Purchaser.  The Vendors have no knowledge of any facts which could reasonably be expected to result in the loss of any customers or sources of revenue of the Business which, in the aggregate, would be material to the Business or the Condition of the Corporate Group.
 
 
(gg)
Restrictions on Doing Business .  The Corporate Group is not a party to or bound by any agreement which would restrict or limit its right to carry on any business or activity or to solicit business from any person or in any geographical area or otherwise to conduct the Business as the Corporate Group may determine.  To the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, there are no facts or circumstances which could materially adversely affect the ability of the Corporate Group to continue to operate the Business as presently conducted following the completion of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
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(hh)
Guarantees, Warranties and Discounts .  Except as described in Schedule O attached hereto and except in accordance with the standard terms as disclosed in Schedule O attached hereto:
 
(i) the Corporate Group is not a party to or bound by any agreement of guarantee, indemnification, assumption or endorsement or any other like commitment of the obligations, liabilities (contingent or otherwise) or indebtedness of any person;
 
(ii) the Corporate Group has not given any guarantee or warranty in respect of any of the products sold or the services provided by it, except in the form of the Corporation's standard written warranty with respect to the DDP micronutrients listed therein, a copy of which has been provided to the Purchaser and is described in Schedule O, and except for warranties implied by Applicable Law; all outstanding warranty claims relating to products of the Business are described in Schedule O attached hereto;
 
(iii) during each of the three fiscal years of the Corporate Group ended immediately preceding the date hereof, no claims have been made against the Corporate Group for breach of guarantee or warranty or contract requirement or negligence or for a price adjustment or other concession in respect of any defect in or failure to perform or deliver any products, services or work which had, in any such year, an aggregate cost exceeding Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00);
 
(iv) there are no repair contracts or maintenance obligations of the Corporate Group in favour of the customers or users of products of the Business, except obligations incurred in the ordinary course of the Business and in accordance with the Corporation's standard terms, a copy of which has been provided to the Purchaser;
 
(v) the Corporate Group is not now subject to any agreement or commitment, and the Corporate Group has not, within three years prior to the date hereof, entered into any agreement with or made any commitment to any customer of the Business which would require the Corporate Group to re-purchase any products sold to such customers or to adjust any price or grant any refund, discount or other concession to such customer; and
 
(vi) the Corporate Group is not required to provide any letters of credit, bonds or other financial security arrangements in connection with any transactions with its suppliers or customers.
 
 
(ii)
Licences and Distribution Agreements .  Schedule P attached hereto lists all agreements to which the Corporate Group is a party or by which it is bound under which the right to manufacture, use or market any product, service, information, data, Intellectual Property or other property has been granted, licensed or otherwise provided to the Corporate Group or by the Corporate Group to any other person, or under which the Corporate Group has been appointed or any person has been appointed by the Corporate Group as an agent, distributor, licensee or franchisee for any of the foregoing.  None of the agreements listed in Schedule P attached hereto grant to any person any authority to incur any liability or obligation or to enter into any agreement on behalf of the Corporate Group.
- 34 -

 
 
(jj)
Outstanding Agreements .  The Corporate Group is not a party to or bound by any outstanding or executory agreement, contract or commitment, whether written or oral, except for the Voting Trust Agreement:
 
(i) any contract, lease or agreement described or otherwise referred to in Schedule D (Leases and Leased Premises), Schedule E (Contractual and Regulatory Consents for Vendor), Schedule H (Shareholder Agreements), Schedule J (Litigation), Schedule L (Encumbrances), Schedule M (Leases of Personal Property), Schedule N (Intellectual Property), Schedule O (Guarantees, Warranties and Discounts), Schedule P (Licenses and Distribution Agreements), Schedule Q (Agreements), Schedule R (Employment Agreements), Schedule S (Employee Benefit and Pension Plans) and Schedule T (Insurance) attached hereto; and
 
(ii) any contract, lease or agreement made in the ordinary course of the routine daily affairs of the Business under which the Corporate Group has a financial obligation of less than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) per annum or which can be terminated by the Corporate Group without payment of any damages, penalty or other amount by giving not more than 30 days' notice, and which does not contain any provisions relating to (A) guarantees of another party’s obligations, (B) the grant by the Corporate Group of any exclusive rights, or (C) the transfer or assignment by the Corporate Group of any intellectual property rights.
 
Complete and correct copies of each of the written contracts, leases and agreements described in Schedule D (Leases and Leased Premises), Schedule H (Shareholder Agreements), Schedule M (Leases of Personal Property), Schedule N (Intellectual Property), Schedule O (Guarantees, Warranties and Discounts), Schedule P (Licenses and Distribution Agreements), Schedule Q (Agreements) and Schedule R (Employment Agreements) have been made available or provided to the Purchaser.  Reasonably detailed and accurate summaries of:
 
(iii) each of the oral contracts, leases and agreements referenced in such schedules; and
 
(iv) each oral amendment to the written contracts, leases and agreements described in such schedules;
 
will be provided to the Purchaser before the Closing Date, which summaries shall include all material terms and conditions, including financial commitments, expiry date, and any provisions relating to (A) guarantee of another party’s obligations, (B) the grant by the Corporate Group of any exclusive rights, or (C) the transfer or assignment by the Corporate Group of any intellectual property rights.
 
 
(kk)
Good Standing of Agreements .  The Corporate Group is not in default or breach of any of its obligations in any material respect under any one or more contracts, licences or agreements to which it is a party and, to the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, there exists no state of facts which, after notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute such a default or breach.  All such contracts, licences and agreements are now in good standing and in full force and effect without amendment thereto and the Corporate Group is entitled to all benefits thereunder.  Except as disclosed in Schedule 3.1(kk), to the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, the other
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parties to such contracts, licences and agreements are not in default or breach in any material respect of any of their obligations thereunder.  There are no contracts, licences, agreements, commitments, indentures or other instruments under which the Corporate Group's rights or the performance of its obligations are dependent on or supported by the guarantee of or any security provided by any other person.
 
 
(ll)
Compliance with Applicable Law . The Corporate Group has conducted and is conducting the Business in compliance with all Applicable Law and is not in breach of any Applicable Law, except for breaches which are not in the aggregate material to the Corporate Group or the Business, and neither the Vendors nor the Corporate Group has received any notice of any alleged breach of or investigation under any such Applicable Law.
 
 
(mm)
Employees .  The Vendors will provide the Purchaser with a list on or before the Closing Date setting forth the name, job title, duration of employment, vacation entitlement, vacation accrual, employee benefit entitlement and rate of remuneration (including bonus and commission entitlement) and the particulars of all other material terms and conditions of employment or engagement of each employee of the Corporate Group. The said list also sets forth the names of all employees of the Corporate Group who are now on disability, maternity or other authorized leave or who are receiving workers' compensation or short-term or long-term disability benefits. The information contained in the said list is true and correct as at the date hereof.  All employees of the Corporate Group are resident in Canada, except for eight employees who are resident in the United States of America and are employed by Wolf Trax USA Inc.  There is no pending or, to the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, threatened action involving any current or former employee of the Business (including any workplace safety claim) and none of the Corporate Group has, within the past two years, received or issued any letter alleging that any employee or former employee is, and to the actual knowledge of the Vendors without having made due inquiry, no employee or former employee is, performing any job duties or engaging in other activities either on behalf of any of the Corporate Group or on behalf of a competitor of the Corporate Group that would violate any employment, non-competition, non-solicitation or non-disclosure agreement between such individual and any former employer or the Corporate Group, as applicable.
 
 
(nn)
Employment Agreements . Except as listed in Schedule R attached hereto, the Corporate Group is not a party to any written or oral employment, service or consulting agreement relating to any one or more persons, except for oral employment agreements which are of indefinite term and without any special arrangements or commitments with respect to the continuation of employment or payment of any particular amount on termination of employment.
 
 
(oo)
Labour Matters and Employment Standards .
 
(i) The Corporate Group is not subject to any agreement with any labour union or employee association and has not made any commitment to or conducted negotiations with any labour union or employee association with respect to any future agreement and, to the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, during the period of five years preceding the date of this Agreement there has been no attempt to organize, certify or establish any labour union or employee association in relation to any of the employees of the Corporate Group.
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(ii) There are no existing or, to the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, threatened, labour strikes or labour disputes, grievances, controversies or other labour troubles affecting the Corporate Group or the Business.
 
(iii) To the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, the Corporate Group has complied with all Applicable Law applicable to it relating to employment, including those relating to wages, hours, vacation pay, collective bargaining, occupational health and safety, workers' hazardous materials, employment standards, pay equity and workers' compensation.  There are no outstanding charges or complaints against the Corporate Group relating to unfair labour practices or discrimination or under any legislation relating to employees.  All salaries, wages, commissions, bonuses, vacation pay, withholdings, remittances and other liabilities related to the employment of the employees that are due to be paid on or before the Closing Date in accordance with the Corporate Group's payment practices will be fully paid as of the Closing Date or allowances made therefor in accordance with Applicable Laws.
 
 
(pp)
Employee Benefit and Pension Plans .  Except as listed in Schedule S attached hereto, the Corporate Group does not have, and is not subject to any present or future obligation or liability under, any pension plan, deferred compensation plan, retirement income plan, stock option or stock purchase plan, profit sharing plan, bonus plan or policy, employee group insurance plan, hospitalization plan, disability plan or other employee benefit plan, program, policy or practice, formal or informal, with respect to any of its employees, other than the Canada Pension Plan.
 
 
(qq)
Insurance .  Schedule T attached hereto contains a true and complete list of all insurance policies maintained by the Corporate Group or under which the Corporate Group is covered in respect of its properties, assets, Business or personnel as of the date hereof, including the named beneficiaries thereunder.  Complete and correct copies of all such insurance policies have been provided to the Purchaser.  Such insurance policies are in full force and effect and the Corporate Group is not in default with respect to the payment of any premium. The Corporate Group is not in default in any material respect with respect to the provisions contained in any such insurance policy. Except as set out in Schedule T, the terms and conditions of such insurance policies will not be affected by the completion of the transactions contemplated hereunder.  To the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, there are no circumstances under which the Corporate Group would be required to or, in order to maintain its coverage, should give any notice to the insurers under any such insurance policies which has not been given. The Corporate Group has not received notice from any of the insurers regarding cancellation of such insurance policies.  The Corporate Group has not failed to present any claim under any such insurance policy in a due and timely fashion.  The Corporate Group has not received notice from any of the insurers denying any claims.
 
 
(rr)
Non-Arm's Length Matters . Each Corporate Group Company is not a party to or bound by any agreement with, is not indebted to, and no amount is owing to any Corporate Group Company by any of the Vendors or any of the Vendors’ Affiliates or any officers, former officers, directors, former directors, shareholders, former shareholders, employees or former employees (except for employment agreements with employees) of any Corporate Group Company or any person not dealing at arm's length with any of the foregoing.  Since the Audited Statements Date, the Corporate Group has not made or authorized any payments to the Vendor or any of the Vendor's Affiliates or any officers, former officers, directors, former directors, shareholders, former shareholders, employees or former employees of the
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Corporate Group or to any person not dealing at arm's length with any of the foregoing, except for salaries and other employment compensation payable to employees of the Corporate Group in the ordinary course of the routine daily affairs of the Business and at the regular rates payable to them.
 
 
(ss)
Vendor's Residency and Corporation Residency .  The Corporation is not a non-resident of Canada within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada).  Each of the Vendors is not a non-resident of Canada within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada), except for the following Vendors:
 
(i) Janice Trosky (Indiana, USA resident)
 
(ii) James Trosky (Indiana, USA resident)
 
(iii) Michael Lassen (Denmark resident)
 
 
(tt)
Protection of Confidential Information . The Corporate Group has taken commercially reasonable precautions and made commercially reasonable efforts to protect the confidential information related to or used in the Business from disclosure to, or access or use by, unauthorized persons, as well as from loss, harm, theft, tampering, copying, modification, destruction, sabotage and transmission.  To the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, the Vendors are not aware of any information, security or confidentiality related to the Business having been breached by any person. Except as disclosed pursuant to the agreements listed in Schedule Q, Schedule R, Schedule P and Schedule N attached hereto, the confidential information related to or used in the Business has not been disclosed by the Corporate Group, and shall not be disclosed, to any person other than the Vendors, the Vendors’ authorized agents, the Purchaser and the Purchaser’s authorized agents, and, in such cases, only to the extent usually required in a commercial transaction. Except as set out in Schedule 3.1(tt), each such disclosure was made pursuant to the terms of a non-disclosure agreement or other agreements containing confidentiality obligations and to the best of the knowledge of the Vendors the recipient of such confidential information has not disclosed or used such confidential information in violation of such non-disclosure agreement or other agreements. None of the Vendors has disclosed confidential information related to or used in the Business to any person other than another Vendor, the Vendors’ authorized agents, the Purchaser and the Purchaser’s authorized agents or the employees of the Corporate Group.  Except in accordance with this Agreement and subject to Article 8, after the Closing the Vendors shall not use or disclose any confidential information of the Corporate Group.
 
 
(uu)
Privacy Matters .
 
(i) To the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, each Corporate Group Company carries on and has carried on the Business in compliance with all Applicable Laws relating to the protection of Personal Information wherever such Personal Information may be situate;
 
(ii) To the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, where consent of an individual to the collection, use or disclosure of Personal Information is required, either by law or in accordance with the Privacy Policies, such consent has been obtained in accordance with the Privacy Law and with the Privacy Policies;
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(iii) To the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, all Personal Information held by any Corporate Group Company was collected and is used and disclosed by such Corporate Group Company for reasonable and legitimate purposes in accordance with Applicable Law and the Privacy Policies;
 
(iv) To the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, except as disclosed in Schedule 3.1(uu) , no Corporate Group Company has transferred Personal Information to any agent or other third party service provider or contractor for any purpose. Where an information protection agreement was required, such agreements were entered into by such Corporate Group Company with the agent or third party service provider and are disclosed in Schedule 3.1(uu) ;
 
(v) To the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, except as disclosed in Schedule 3.1(uu) , there are no pending or proposed changes to the Privacy Law which would render unlawful or restrict the operations of the Corporate Group, or any part thereof, or the manufacture, sale, distribution or provision of any products or services by the Corporate Group;
 
(vi) Except as disclosed in Schedule 3.1(uu),
 
A. there are no current or unresolved requests for access to Personal Information, nor are the Vendors aware that any Corporate Group Company is the subject of a complaint, audit, review, investigation or inquiry or similar proceeding, made under any Privacy Law;
 
B. no order has been issued, nor any recommendations made, by any Privacy Commissioner or other data protection authority, in respect of any Corporate Group Company or its authorized agents, of Personal Information held by or on behalf of a Corporate Group Company or of any privacy practices or procedures of a Corporate Group Company;
 
C. no Corporate Group Company has been charged with or convicted of an offence for non-compliance with or breach of any Privacy Law nor has any Corporate Group Company been fined or otherwise sentenced for non-compliance with or breach of any Privacy Law nor has a Corporate Group Company settled any prosecution short of conviction for non-compliance with or breach of any Privacy Law;
 
D. no Corporate Group Company has received any notice of any Order or commencement of proceedings of any nature, or experienced any search and seizure related to, any breach or alleged breach of or non-compliance with any Privacy Law; and
 
E. to the best of the knowledge of the Vendors, there are no facts or circumstances that could give rise to breach or alleged breach of, or non-compliance with, any Privacy Law .
 
 
(vv)
Family Law Matters :  The spouse or common law partner of the Vendor, if applicable, has not in any manner whatsoever contributed work, money, or money’s worth in respect of the acquisition, management, maintenance, operation or improvement of the Purchased Shares, the Corporate Group or its properties and assets, and has not undertaken any efforts or paid any money that could result in
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any claim being made by the spouse or common law partner of such Vendor against such Purchased Shares, the Corporate Group or its properties and assets, nor does any such spouse or common law partner have any claim of any nature or kind whatsoever whether pursuant to the Family Maintenance Act, the Family Property Act, the Married Women's Property Act, the Divorce Act and/or any similar or successor legislation of Manitoba or of any other relevant jurisdiction, including the United States and Denmark, whether federal, state or provincial or by operation of law or equity including by way of any trust, unjust enrichment, joint family venture, community property interest and/or other equitable claims which would or could potentially give him or her an interest in or claim against any or all of the Purchased Shares.  No order has been given under any legislation whether federal, state or provincial in Manitoba or in any other jurisdiction which would or does affect the Purchased Shares, the Corporate Group or its properties and assets, or the title of any Vendor thereto in any manner whatsoever nor is there any application threatened or pending under any legislation whether federal, state or provincial at law or in equity or otherwise by any such spouse or common law partner for an Order which might affect the Purchased Shares, the Corporate Group or its properties and assets or any Vendor’s title thereto.  Each of the Vendors who is an individual resides in Manitoba and Manitoba is the place of their last habitual residence together with their spouse or common law partner, except for the following Vendors:
 
(i) Janice Trosky (Indiana, USA resident);
 
(ii) James Trosky (Indiana, USA resident); and
 
(iii) Michael Lassen (Denmark resident).
 
 
(ww)
Compliance at Facilities .  To the best of the knowledge of the Vendors: (A) the operation of the Business conducted at each of the facilities used to manufacture, package, store, ship and handle the raw materials, packaging materials, finished goods and other materials and supplies of the Corporate Group (the “Facilities” ) is in compliance with all Applicable Laws, including without limitation Environmental Laws; (B) no event, condition, occurrence or other impediment of any kind or nature has existed or exists with respect to any of the Facilities that may prevent or restrict, in whole or in part, the ability of any of the Facilities to continue to perform services for the Business consistent with past practice; and (C) no member of the Corporate Group has received any notice of any complaint, order, notice of violation or other communication from any Governmental Authority with respect to the operations conducted at any of the Facilities.
 
3.2
Representations and Warranties by the Purchaser
 
The Purchaser hereby represents and warrants to the Vendors, each of them, as follows, and confirms that the Vendors, each of them, are relying on the accuracy of each of such representations and warranties in connection with the sale of the Purchased Shares and the completion of the other transactions hereunder:

 
(a)
Corporate Authority and Binding Obligation . The Purchaser is a corporation duly incorporated and validly subsisting in all respects under the Applicable Law of its jurisdiction of incorporation.  The Purchaser has good right, full corporate power and absolute authority to enter into this Agreement and any document or certificate given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby to which it is a party and
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to purchase the Purchased Shares from the Vendors in the manner contemplated herein and to perform all of the Purchaser's obligations under this Agreement and any document or certificate given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby to which it is a party. The Purchaser and its shareholders and board of directors have taken all necessary or desirable actions, steps and corporate and other proceedings to approve or authorize, validly and effectively, the entering into of, and the execution, delivery and performance of, this Agreement and any document or certificate given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby to which it is a party and the purchase of the Purchased Shares by the Purchaser from the Vendors. No proceedings have been taken or authorized by the Purchaser or by any other person with respect to the bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Purchaser. This Agreement is a legal, valid and binding obligation of the Purchaser, enforceable against it in accordance with its terms subject to:
 
(i) bankruptcy, insolvency, moratorium, reorganization and other Applicable Law relating to or affecting the enforcement of creditors' rights generally;
 
(ii) the fact that equitable remedies, including the remedies of specific performance and injunction, may only be granted in the discretion of a court;
 
(iii) the statutory and inherent powers of a court to grant relief from forfeiture, to stay execution of proceedings before it and to stay executions on judgments; and
 
(iv) Applicable Law regarding limitations of actions.
 
 
(b)
Contractual and Regulatory Approvals .  Except as specified in Schedule U attached hereto, the Purchaser is not under any obligation, contractual or otherwise, to request or obtain the consent of any person, and no permits, licences, certifications, authorizations or approvals of, or notifications to, or filings with, any Governmental Authority are required to be obtained by the Purchaser in connection with the execution, delivery or performance by the Purchaser of this Agreement or the completion of any of the transactions contemplated herein.  Complete and correct copies of any agreements under which the Purchaser is obligated to request or obtain any such consent have been provided to the Vendors.
 
 
(c)
Compliance with Constating Documents, Agreements and Laws .  The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and each of the other agreements contemplated or referred to herein by the Purchaser, and the completion of the transactions contemplated hereby, will not constitute or result in a violation or breach of or default under:
 
(i) any term or provision of any of the articles, by-laws or other constating documents of the Purchaser;
 
(ii) subject to obtaining the contractual consents referred to in Schedule U attached hereto, the terms of any indenture, agreement (written or oral), instrument or understanding or other obligation or restriction to which the Purchaser is a party or by which it is bound; or
 
(iii) subject to obtaining the regulatory consents referred to in Schedule U attached hereto, any term or provision of any licences, registrations or qualifications of the Purchaser or any Order of any Governmental Authority
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or, except where the failure to do so would not have a material adverse effect on the Corporate Group, any Applicable Law of any jurisdiction.
 
 
(d)
Purchaser’s Residency .  The Purchaser is not a non-resident of Canada within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada).
 
 
(e)
Investment Canada Act The Purchaser is a WTO Investor within the meaning of the Investment Canada Act (Canada).
 
 
(f)
Sufficient Funds .   The Purchaser has sufficient funds or committed financing available to complete the purchase of the Purchased Shares at the Purchase Price and to pay all of its related fees and expenses.
 
ARTICLE 4   - SURVIVAL AND LIMITATIONS OF REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES
 
4.1
Survival of Warranties by the Vendors
 
The representations and warranties made by the Vendors in this Agreement, or contained in any document or certificate given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby, will survive the Closing and, notwithstanding such Closing, shall continue in full force and effect for the benefit of the Purchaser, subject to the following provisions of this Section:

 
(a)
Except as provided in Subsections (b), (c) and (d) of this Section, no Warranty Claim may be made or brought by the Purchaser after the date which is 2 years from the Closing Date.
 
 
(b)
Any Warranty Claim which is based on or relates to the tax liability of the Corporate Group for a particular taxation year may be made or brought by the Purchaser at any time prior to the date that is 6 months following the expiration of the period (if any) during which an assessment, reassessment or other form of recognized document or determination assessing liability for tax, interest or penalties in respect of such taxation year under applicable tax legislation could be issued, assuming that the Corporate Group does not after Closing file any waiver or similar document extending such period as otherwise determined.
 
 
(c)
Any Warranty Claim which is based on or relates to the representations and warranties set out in Subsection 3.1( cc ) (Intellectual Property) may be made or brought by the Purchaser within 5 years and, if the Vendors obtain insurance in respect of such representation and warranties, 7 years, from the Closing Date.
 
 
(d)
Any Warranty Claim which is based on or relates to the representations and warranties set out in Subsections 3.1(a), 3.1(b), 3.1(d), 3.1(g) and 3.1(h) may be made or brought by the Purchaser at any time.
 
After the expiration of the period of time referred to in Subsections 4.1(a) (b) and (c), the Vendors will be released from all obligations and liabilities in respect of the representations and warranties made by the Vendors contained in this Agreement or in any document or certificate given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby, except with respect to any Warranty Claims made by the Purchaser in writing prior to the expiration of such period and subject to the rights of the Purchaser to make any claim permitted by Subsection 4.1(d). For greater certainty, all covenants and agreements of the Vendors contained in this Agreement or any document or certificate given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby shall survive the Closing and continue until they are fully performed. Also for greater certainty, there shall be no limitation on the right of the
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Purchaser to bring any claim, action or proceeding based on any fraudulent misrepresentation of any of the Vendors.

4.2
Survival of Warranties by the Purchaser
 
The representations and warranties made by the Purchaser in this Agreement, or contained in any document or certificate given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby, will survive the Closing and, notwithstanding such Closing, shall continue in full force and effect for the benefit of the Vendors, each of them, provided that no Warranty Claim may be made or brought by the Vendors, any of them, after the date which is 2 years from the Closing Date.  For greater certainty, all covenants and agreements of the Purchaser contained in this Agreement or any document or certificate given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby shall survive the Closing and continue until they are fully performed. Also for greater certainty, there shall be no limitation on the right of the Vendor to bring any claim, action or proceeding based on any fraudulent misrepresentation of the Purchaser.

4.3
Limitation on Warranty Claims
 
The Parties agree that:
 
 
(a)
The Purchaser shall not be entitled to make a Warranty Claim to the extent that the certificate provided by the Vendors pursuant to Subsection 6.1(a) expressly sets out the inaccuracy, non-performance, non-fulfillment or breach and identifies the applicable representation and warranty given under Section 3.1 which is the basis for such Warranty Claim and the Purchaser completes the transactions hereunder notwithstanding such inaccuracy, non-performance, non-fulfillment or breach.
 
 
(b)
The amount of any damages which may be claimed by the Purchaser pursuant to a Warranty Claim shall be calculated to be the cost or loss to the Purchaser after giving effect to:
 
(i) any insurance proceeds available to the Corporate Group in relation to the matter which is the subject of the Warranty Claim after factoring in any impact on the Purchaser’s insurance premiums; and
 
(ii) the value of any related, determinable tax benefits realized, or which will (with reasonable certainty) be realized within a 3 year period following the date of incurring such cost or loss, by the Corporate Group or the Purchaser in relation to the matter which is the subject of the Warranty Claim.
 
 
(c)
The Purchaser shall not be entitled to make any Warranty Claim until the aggregate amount of all damages, losses, liabilities and expenses incurred by the Purchaser as a result of the inaccuracy, non-performance, non-fulfillment or breach of representations and warranties contained in this Agreement or contained in any document or certificate given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby, after taking into account Subsection (b) of this Section, is equal to or greater than Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00), unless the Vendors are able to obtain insurance in respect of their representations and warranties hereunder, in which case this amount shall become Four Hundred Thousand Dollars ($400,000.00) .  After the aggregate amount of such damages, losses, liabilities and expenses incurred by the Purchaser exceeds Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) or Four Hundred Thousand Dollars ($400,000.00), as applicable, the Purchaser shall only be entitled to make Warranty Claims to the extent that such
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aggregate amount, after taking into account the provisions of Subsection (b) of this Section, exceeds Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00).
 
 
(d)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement or of any agreement, certificate or other document made in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby, the maximum aggregate liability of the Vendors in respect of all Warranty Claims by the Purchaser will be limited to:
 
(i) the Purchase Price, in respect of breaches of the representations and warranties referenced in Subsection 4.1(d);
 
(ii) in all other cases, the amount of the Holdback.
 
 
(e)
Subsections 4.3(a), 4.3(b) and 4.3(c) and paragraph 4.3(d)(ii) shall apply to Warranty Claims made by the Vendors against the Purchaser, mutatis mutandis .
 
 
(f)
Where a Party has a right to make a Warranty Claim, the right to enforce that Warranty Claim in court proceedings remains subject to applicable limitation periods imposed by law.
 
ARTICLE 5   -  COVENANTS OF THE VENDORS, PURCHASER AND GUARANTOR
 
5.1
Closing Covenants by the Vendors
 
The Vendors (and with respect to the Trust Vendors, together with the Trustees), each of them, covenant to the Purchaser that they will do or cause to be done the following:

 
(a)
Conduct of Business in Ordinary Course . During the Interim Period, the Vendors shall cause the Corporate Group to carry on the Business with reasonable diligence and in the ordinary course, including to: (i) keep accurate Books and Records; (ii) not make any modification in its usual sales, accounting or management practices; (iii) maintain good business relationships with its customers; (iv) not transfer or dispose of any of the assets of the Corporate Group, except for Inventory disposed of in the ordinary course of the Business; and (v) not make any general or specific increase in the remuneration of employees nor grant to them any additional benefits except for normal salary increases at normal review dates in accordance with the normal policy of the Business nor make any material change to their role or job description.
 
 
(b)
Access for Investigation . During the Interim Period, the Vendors shall cause the Corporate Group to permit the Purchaser’s representative, Keith Espelien and/or his designate, and such other representatives as may be approved by the Vendors, such approval not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed, to have access during the normal business hours of the Corporate Group to its assets, the Books and Records, the Non-Financial Records (other than formulas), and the key employees of the Corporate Group, including those identified on Schedule 6.1(b) attached hereto, on condition that no person given access unreasonably interferes with the ordinary conduct of the Business by the Corporate Group. The Vendors shall cause the Corporate Group to provide to the Purchaser copies of, or shall permit the Purchaser to copy, as decided by the Purchaser, the Books and Records and Non-Financial Records (other than formulas) and such operating data and other information with respect to the Business and the assets of the Corporate Group as the Purchaser shall from time to time reasonably request. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Purchaser will be provided with the formulas and the Customer and Supplier
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Records, but the Purchaser shall not be entitled to make copies of such formulas or Customer and Supplier Records.
 
Except in accordance with this Agreement, the Purchaser shall not use or disclose any confidential information of the Corporate Group during the Interim Period, except for permitted disclosures as provided for in the Confidentiality Agreement.

 
(c)
Disclosure . During the Interim Period, each of the Vendors shall promptly disclose in writing to the Purchaser any matter inconsistent in any respect with any of the representations or warranties contained herein, including any breach or suspected breach of Applicable Law.  Except as provided in Subsection 4.3(a), no such disclosure, however, shall cure any misrepresentation or breach of warranty for the purposes of Section 6.1.
 
 
(d)
Avrio Conversion . Avrio shall exercise, at or before the Closing Time, all of its rights to obtain shares of the Corporation under the Avrio Debenture.
 
 
(e)
Transfer of Purchased Shares .  At or before the Closing Time, each of the Vendors (and, with respect to any Trust Vendors, together with the Trustees) will cause all necessary steps and proceedings to be taken in order to permit the Vendor’s Shares to be duly and regularly transferred to the Purchaser free of any Encumbrances.
 
 
(f)
Worker’s Compensation . At or before the Closing Time, the Vendors shall cause the Corporate Group to provide to the Purchaser satisfactory evidence that the Corporate Group is registered under all material applicable workers’ compensation or similar legislation and is in good standing thereunder.
 
 
(g)
Resignation of and Releases by Officers and Directors .  At or before the Closing Time, the Vendors will cause each person who is a director or officer of the Corporate Group, other than such persons as may be designated in writing by the Purchaser, to (i) submit his written resignation as a director or officer to the Corporate Group which will be effective at the Closing Time, and (ii) execute and deliver to the Corporate Group a release in such form as is satisfactory to the Purchaser, acting reasonably.
 
 
(h)
Releases by the Vendors and Trustees .  At the Closing Time, the Vendors (and the Trustees with respect to any Trust Vendors) will each execute and deliver to the Corporate Group a release in such form as is satisfactory to the Purchaser, acting reasonably.  In the case of Geoffrey Gyles and Kerry Green, such releases shall include a voluntary resignation of employment and waiver and release of all severance entitlements, except to the extent contemplated by the agreement amending their employment agreements, a copy of which will be attached as Appendix I to such release.
 
 
(i)
Post-Closing Assistance .  After the Closing, upon reasonable notice, for a period of two (2) years, each Vendor will give to the representatives, employees, counsel and accountants of the Purchaser and the Corporate Group such assistance as may be reasonably requested in connection with the preparation of tax and financial reporting matters, audits, legal proceedings and governmental investigations.  The Purchaser shall reimburse each such Vendor for any reasonable out-of-pocket costs incurred by such Vendor in providing such assistance.
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(j)
Termination of Individual Pension Plans . The Vendors covenant and agree that, prior to the Closing Date, they will do as follows with respect to the Individual Pension Plan of Wolf Trax for Geoffrey Gyles and the Individual Pension Plan of Wolf Trax for Kerry Green (collectively referred to as the "Pension Plans"):
 
(i) take all actions and steps necessary to terminate the Pension Plans in their entirety;
 
(ii) ensure that said Pension Plans are fully funded and meet any and all solvency tests required by law;
 
(iii) ensure that there is no liability or potential liability on the part of the Purchasers with respect to said Pension Plans;
 
(iv) satisfy any and all regulatory requirements with respect to termination which may exist with respect to said Pension Plans; and
 
(v) in the event that the assets or commuted value of said Pension Plans are transferred to other plans or otherwise disbursed, this shall occur prior to the Closing Date and such transfers or disbursements will be done in full compliance of all applicable tax and regulatory requirements.
 
 
(k)
Termination of the Voting Trust . At or before the Closing Time, the Trustees shall cause the Voting Trust to be terminated and shall provide satisfactory evidence of such termination to the Purchaser, acting reasonably.
 
 
(l)
IP Deliveries . At or before the Closing Time, the Vendors shall provide the Purchaser with a list of all patent priority dates together with a list of all passwords and other details required to access and administer all of the registered domains set forth in Schedule N hereto.
 
 
(m)
Infringer Correspondence . Prior to Closing, the Vendors will provide to the Purchaser copies of all correspondence with any potential infringers identified in Schedule N attached hereto and/or in Schedule J attached hereto that is in the possession of the Vendors or their legal counsel.
 
5.2
Closing Covenants by the Purchaser
 
 
(a)
The Purchaser shall, at its own cost, make available to the Vendors any documentation required for the Vendors to fulfill their obligations under Subsection 5.1(i).
 
 
(b)
The Purchaser shall maintain product liability insurance in respect of products of the Corporate Group for a minimum period of two (2) years following the Closing Date.
 
 
(c)
After the Closing, upon reasonable notice, for a period of two (2) years, the Purchaser will give to the representatives, counsel and accountants of the Vendors such access and/or assistance as may be reasonably requested in connection with the preparation of tax and financial reporting matters, audits, legal proceedings and
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governmental investigations with respect to the Corporate Group and the period prior to the Closing Date, including any stub return required to be completed in respect of the period ending on or before the Closing Date.  The Vendors shall reimburse the Purchaser for any reasonable out-of-pocket costs incurred by the Purchaser in providing such tax return preparation and other assistance.
 
5.3
Covenants of the Guarantor The Guarantor hereby guarantees:
 
 
(a)
all of the representations and warranties of the Purchaser hereunder; and
 
 
(b)
the performance of the covenants and obligations of the Purchaser hereunder;
 
and, as a consequence thereof, shall itself be liable to the Vendors and each of them for any damages, losses, costs and expenses incurred or suffered by the Vendors as a result of any breach or non-fulfilment of any representation, warranty, covenant or other obligation of the Purchaser or the Guarantor contained herein to the extent that the Purchaser would be liable pursuant to this Agreement.  For certainty, the Guarantor shall be entitled to raise as a defense to the guaranteed representations, warranties, covenants and obligations all defenses and rights available to be raised or relied upon by the Purchaser under this Agreement or otherwise, provided that the Guarantor shall not be entitled to raise as a defense the bankruptcy or insolvency of the Purchaser.
 
ARTICLE 6- CONDITIONS
 
6.1
Conditions to the Obligations of the Purchaser
 
Notwithstanding anything herein contained, the obligation of the Purchaser to complete the transactions provided for herein will be subject to the fulfillment of the following conditions at or prior to the Closing Time, and the Vendors covenant to use their best efforts to ensure that such conditions are fulfilled.
 
 
(a)
Accuracy of Representations and Warranties and Performance of Covenants .  The representations and warranties of the Vendors contained in this Agreement or in any documents or certificates delivered in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby shall be true and accurate on the date hereof and at the Closing Time with the same force and effect as though such representations and warranties had been made as of the Closing Time (regardless of the date as of which the information in this Agreement or in any Schedule or other document or certificate made pursuant hereto is given).  In addition, the Vendors shall have complied with all covenants and agreements herein agreed to be performed or caused to be performed by each of them at or prior to the Closing Time.  In addition, the Vendors shall have delivered to the Purchaser a certificate in such form as is satisfactory to the Purchaser, acting reasonably, confirming that the facts with respect to each of such representations and warranties by the Vendors are as set out herein at the Closing Time and that the Vendors have performed each of the covenants required to be performed by them hereunder.  For certainty, each Vendor must sell its shares to the Purchaser such that the Purchaser is purchasing 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of Wolf Trax Inc.
 
 
(b)
Material Adverse Changes .  During the Interim Period there will have been no change in the Business or the Condition of the Corporate Group, howsoever arising, except changes which have occurred in the ordinary course of the Business and which, individually or in the aggregate, have not affected the Business or the Condition of the Corporate Group in any material adverse respect and the Vendors’ Representative, on behalf of themselves and all other Vendors, shall have delivered
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to the Purchaser a bring-down certificate in such form as is satisfactory to the Purchaser, acting reasonably, at the Closing Time confirming that the condition in this Subsection has been satisfied. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, during the Interim Period:
 
(i) no damage to or destruction of any material part of the properties or assets of the Corporate Group shall have occurred, whether or not covered by insurance;
 
(ii) none of the employees of the Corporate Group whom the Purchaser has designated in a list sent to the President and is hereby reproduced as Schedule 6.1(b) of any Corporate Group Company to be “key employees” shall have resigned or have indicated their intention to resign from employment with the Corporate Group; and
 
(iii) none of the 3 largest customers of the Business based on 2013 sales revenues will have ceased, or advised the Corporate Group or the Purchaser of their intention to cease, purchasing from or doing business with the Corporate Group.
 
 
(c)
Avrio Conversion . At or before the Closing Time, the Purchaser shall have received evidence of (i) the exercise by Avrio of its right under all of the convertible debentures issued to it by the Corporation to convert the debt evidenced thereby into that number of Class A Common Shares set forth opposite its name in Schedule A, (ii) confirmation of termination of such debenture, (iii) release of all security granted by the Corporate Group and Wolf Trax Mexico in respect of such debenture, and (iv) evidence of discharge of any security interests registered by Avrio against the Corporate Group .
 
 
(d)
No Restraining Proceedings .  No Order of any Governmental Authority having jurisdiction shall have been made, and no action or  proceeding shall be pending or threatened which, in the opinion of counsel to the Purchaser, could reasonably result in an Order:
 
(i) to disallow, enjoin, prohibit or impose any limitations or conditions on the purchase and sale of the Purchased Shares contemplated hereby or the right of the Purchaser to own the Purchased Shares or otherwise prevent or restrict a Party from performing any of its obligations in this Agreement or in any documents or certificates delivered in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby; or
 
(ii) to impose any limitations or conditions which may have a material adverse effect on the Business or the Condition of the Corporate Group.
 
 
(e)
Consents .  All consents and approvals required to be obtained in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby in compliance with all Applicable Law and agreements binding on the Parties hereto shall have been obtained, including the consents and approvals referred to in Schedule E and Schedule U attached hereto.
 
 
(f)
Receipt of Closing Documentation . All documentation relating to the sale and purchase of the Purchased Shares including any documents or certificates delivered in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby relating to the due authorization and completion of such sale and purchase and all actions and proceedings taken on or prior to the Closing in connection with the performance by
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the Vendors (and, with respect to any Trust Vendors, together with the Trustees) of their obligations under this Agreement shall be satisfactory to the Purchaser and its counsel, acting reasonably. The Purchaser shall have received copies of the documents or certificates to be delivered on or before Closing and all such documentation or other evidence as it may reasonably request in order to establish the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and the taking of all corporate proceedings in connection therewith in form (as to certification and otherwise) and substance satisfactory to the Purchaser and its counsel, acting reasonably.
 
 
(g)
Termination of Voting Trust Agreement and Shareholders Agreements .  Prior to the Closing Time, the Purchaser shall have received from the Vendors’ Representative or the Vendors, as applicable, evidence of termination of:
 
(i) the Voting Trust Agreement; and
 
(ii) all shareholders agreements, including
 
(A)              the Memorandum of an Agreement between Kerry Green, Geoff Gyles, those persons described in Schedule “A” thereto (the non-employee shareholders), those persons becoming parties thereto by executing Schedule “B” thereto (the employee shareholders), Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP and the Corporation, dated May 20, 2004 (the “Suspended USA”); and
 
(B)              the Unanimous Shareholders’ and Securityholders’ Agreement among Avrio, the Corporation and Shareholders (as defined in Schedule “A” thereto), dated as of December 23, 2010 (the “Avrio USA”).
 
 
(h)
Landlord Estoppel Certificates .  Prior to the Closing Time, the Purchaser shall have received from the landlords of the Leased Premises executed copies of estoppel certificates in the form of the draft certificate attached hereto as Schedule X.
 
 
(i)
RBC.   At the Closing Time, the Purchaser shall have received:
 
(i) from Royal Bank of Canada ( “RBC” ), in writing:
 
(A)              confirmation that all amounts owing under the credit facility provided to the Corporation under that certain credit agreement dated as of February 11, 2008, as amended by agreement dated July 31, 2009 (the “RBC Loan Agreement”) have been fully paid and that such agreement and the credit facility have been terminated;
 
(B)              a release of any security interests in connection with (A) above;
 
(C)              a consent or waiver of any requirement to provide prior notice of any change of control of the Corporation under the terms of the RBC Loan Agreement; and
 
(D)              a release of any guarantees and assurances provided by the Corporate Group in respect of any loans made to, or other obligations or liabilities owing to RBC by, any of the Vendors or any of the employees of the Corporate Group; and
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(ii) from the Vendors’ Representative, evidence of discharge of any security interests registered by RBC against the Corporate Group.
 
 
(j)
Gyles and Green Confirmations . At the Closing Time, the Purchaser shall have received written confirmation from Geoff Gyles and Kerry Green that (i) no amounts are owing to them under any promissory notes or otherwise, and (ii) the license agreements granting them an interest in the intellectual property of the Corporation are terminated.
 
 
(k)
Releases by the Vendors and Trustees .  At the Closing Time, the Vendors (and Trustees with respect to any Trust Vendors) shall each have executed and delivered to the Corporate Group and the Purchaser a release in such form as is satisfactory to the Purchaser, acting reasonably.
 
 
(l)
Resignations and Releases by Directors and Officers .  At the Closing Time, each person who is a director or officer of the Corporate Group and who is resigning as such, as determined by the Purchaser, shall have executed and delivered to the Corporate Group and the Purchaser a resignation from all positions with the Corporate Group and a release in such form as is satisfactory to the Purchaser, acting reasonably.
 
 
(m)
Employment Agreements .  On or before the Closing Date, each of Michelle Le Heiget and Jereleen Brydon shall have each executed and delivered to the Purchaser and the Corporate Group amended employment agreements satisfactory to the Purchaser in its sole discretion, acting reasonably.
 
 
(n)
Non-Competition, Confidentiality, Retention, US Employment, and Consulting Agreements . At the Closing Time:
 
(i) the Vendors, other than Avrio, shall have each executed and delivered to the Purchaser and the Corporate Group a non-competition and confidentiality agreement in the form set forth in Schedule DD .
 
(ii) Avrio shall have each executed and delivered to the Purchaser and the Corporate Group a confidentiality agreement in the form set forth in Schedule EE .
 
(iii) The employees designated under Subsection 6.1(b) shall have each executed and delivered to the Purchaser and the Corporate Group retention agreements in the form set forth in Schedule FF.
 
(iv) Each of Geoffrey Gyles and Kerry Green, or a corporation controlled by them, will execute and deliver to the Purchaser and the Corporate Group consulting agreements with a term of 6 months in such form as is satisfactory to the Purchaser, acting reasonably.
 
 
(o)
Escrow Agreement . At the Closing Time, each of the Vendors and the Escrow Agent shall have executed and delivered the Escrow Agreement in such form as is satisfactory to the Purchaser and the Vendors, in each case, acting reasonably.
 
 
(p)
Opinion of Vendors’ Counsel .  At the Closing Time, the Purchaser shall have received an opinion of Vendors’ Counsel in in such form as is satisfactory to the Purchaser, acting reasonably, with respect to the due authorization and execution of this Agreement by the Vendors, which opinion may rely on certificates of one or more
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senior officers of the Vendors which are corporations as to factual matters and may rely on opinions of local counsel with respect to matters governed by Applicable Law other than the laws of the Province of Manitoba and the federal laws of Canada applicable in the Province of Manitoba.
 
6.2
Waiver or Termination by Purchaser
 
The conditions contained in Section 6.1 hereof are inserted for the exclusive benefit of the Purchaser and may be waived in whole or in part by the Purchaser at any time.  The Vendors acknowledge that the waiver by the Purchaser of any condition or any part of any condition, as the case may be, shall constitute a waiver only of such condition or such part of such condition, as the case may be, and shall not constitute a waiver of any covenant, agreement, representation or warranty made by the Vendors herein that corresponds or is related to such condition or such part of such condition, as the case may be.  If any of the conditions contained in Section 6.1 hereof are not fulfilled or complied with as herein provided, the Purchaser may, at or prior to the Closing Time at its option, rescind this Agreement by notice in writing to the Vendors and in such event the Purchaser shall be released from all obligations hereunder and, unless the condition or conditions which have not been fulfilled are reasonably capable of being fulfilled or caused to be fulfilled by the Vendors, and provided that none of the Vendors is in breach of its representations, warranties or covenants under this Agreement, then the Vendors shall also be released from all obligations hereunder.
 
6.3
Conditions to the Obligations of the Vendors
 
Notwithstanding anything herein contained, the obligation of the Vendors (and with respect to the Trust Vendors, together with the Trustees), each of them, to complete the transactions provided for herein will be subject to the fulfillment of the following conditions at or prior to the Closing Time, and the Purchaser will use its best efforts to ensure that such conditions are fulfilled.
 
 
(a)
Accuracy of Representations and Warranties and Performance of Covenants .  The representations and warranties of the Purchaser contained in this Agreement or in any documents or certificates delivered in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby shall be true and accurate on the date hereof and at the Closing Time with the same force and effect as though such representations and warranties had been made as of the Closing Time (regardless of the date as of which the information in this Agreement or in any such Schedule or other document or certificate made pursuant hereto is given).  In addition, the Purchaser shall have complied with all covenants and agreements herein agreed to be performed or caused to be performed by it at or prior to the Closing Time.  In addition, the Purchaser shall have delivered to the Vendor a certificate in such form as is satisfactory to the Vendors, acting reasonably, confirming that the facts with respect to each of the representations and warranties by the Purchaser are as set out herein at the Closing Time and that the Purchaser has performed each of the covenants required to be performed by it hereunder.
 
 
(b)
No Restraining Proceedings .  No Order of any Governmental Authority having jurisdiction shall have been made, and no action or proceeding shall be pending or threatened which, in the opinion of  the Vendors’ Counsel, could reasonably result in an Order to disallow, enjoin, prohibit or impose any limitations or conditions on the purchase and sale of the Purchased Shares contemplated hereby or otherwise prevent or restrict a Party from performing any of its obligations in this Agreement or in any documents or certificates delivered in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby.
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(c)
Receipt of Closing Documentation . All documentation relating to the sale and purchase of the Purchased Shares including any documents or certificates delivered in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby relating to the due authorization and completion of such sale and purchase and all actions and proceedings taken on or prior to the Closing in connection with the performance by the Purchaser of its obligations under this Agreement shall be satisfactory to the Vendors and Vendors’ Counsel, acting reasonably. The Vendors shall have received copies of the documents or certificates to be delivered on or before Closing and all such documentation or other evidence as it may reasonably request in order to establish the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and the taking of all corporate proceedings in connection therewith in form (as to certification and otherwise) and substance satisfactory to the Vendors and the Vendors’ Counsel, acting reasonably.
 
 
(d)
Release by the Corporate Group .  At the Closing Time, the Vendors, each of them, will have received a release from the Corporate Group in such form as is satisfactory to the Vendors, acting reasonably, releasing the Vendors from all claims, demands, covenants and obligations whatsoever based on any matter or thing arising prior to the Closing Time, except for the performance of the Vendors’ obligations under this Agreement and any document or certificate given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby.
 
 
(e)
Escrow Agreement . At the Closing Time, the Purchaser and the Escrow Agent shall have executed and delivered the Escrow Agreement in such form as is satisfactory to the Purchaser and the Vendors, in each case, acting reasonably.
 
 
(f)
Opinion of Purchaser's Counsel .  At the Closing Time, the Vendors shall have received an opinion of the Purchaser's counsel in such form as is satisfactory to the Vendors, acting reasonably, with respect to due authorization and execution of this Agreement by the Purchaser, which opinion may rely on certificates of one or more senior officers of the Purchaser as to factual matters.
 
6.4
Waiver or Termination by Vendors .
 
The conditions contained in Section 6.3 hereof are inserted for the exclusive benefit of the Vendors, each of them, and may be waived in whole or in part by the Vendors at any time.  The Purchaser acknowledges that the waiver by the Vendors of any condition or any part of any condition, as the case may be, shall constitute a waiver only of such condition or such part of such condition, as the case may be, and shall not constitute a waiver of any covenant, agreement, representation or warranty made by the Purchaser herein that corresponds or is related to such condition or such part of such condition, as the case may be.  If any of the conditions contained in Section 6.3 hereof are not fulfilled or complied with as herein provided, the Vendors may, at or prior to the Closing Time at their option, rescind this Agreement by notice in writing to the Purchaser and in such event the Vendors, each of them, shall each be released from all obligations hereunder and, unless the condition or conditions which have not been fulfilled are reasonably capable of being fulfilled or caused to be fulfilled by the Purchaser, and provided that the Purchaser is not in breach of their representations, warranties or covenants under this Agreement, then the Purchaser shall also be released from all obligations hereunder.
 
ARTICLE 7   - CLOSING
 
7.1
Closing Arrangements
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Subject to the terms and conditions hereof, the transactions contemplated herein shall be closed at the Closing Time at the offices of the Vendors’ Counsel at 2200 - 201 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba or at such other place or places as may be mutually agreed on by the Vendors and the Purchaser.
 
7.2
Purchase Price and Documents to be Delivered
 
Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, at or before the Closing Time, the Vendors (and with respect to the Trust Vendors, together with the Trustees) shall execute, or cause to be executed, and shall deliver, or cause to be delivered, to the Purchaser all documents, instruments and things which are to be delivered by the Vendors pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement, and the Purchaser shall execute, or cause to be executed, and shall deliver, or cause to be delivered, to the Vendors’ Counsel and the Escrow Agent the wire transfers required under Sections 2.3 and 2.4, respectively, and all documents, instruments and things which are to be delivered by the Purchaser pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement.
 
7.3
Effective Time
 
The Vendors and the Purchaser agree to treat the purchase and sale of the Purchased Shares as having occurred at the Effective Time for accounting purposes, notwithstanding that the Closing Time may occur after the Effective Time.
 
ARTICLE 8- INDEMNIFICATION
 
8.1
Indemnity by the Vendors
 
The Parties agree that:
 
 
(a)
Subject to the provisions of Section 1.13, the Vendors hereby jointly and severally agree to indemnify and save the Purchaser and its directors, officers and employees (collectively, “Representatives” ) harmless from and against any claims, demands, actions, causes of action, damages, losses, deficiencies, costs, liabilities and expenses, including reasonable legal fees, (collectively, “Loss” ) which may be made or brought against the Purchaser or its Representatives or which the Purchaser or its Representatives may suffer or incur as a result of, in respect of or arising out of:
 
(i) any non-performance or non-fulfillment of any covenant or agreement on the part of the Vendors contained in this Agreement or in any document or certificate given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby;
 
(ii) any misrepresentation, inaccuracy, incorrectness or breach of any representation or warranty made by the Vendors (and with respect to the Trust Vendors, together with the Trustees) contained in this Agreement or contained in any document or certificate given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby;
 
(iii) with respect to quality issues or defects in manufacture only, any product shipped or manufactured by, or any services provided by, the Company prior to the Closing Date, including in respect of any warranty or guarantee claim; or
 
(iv) any taxes required to be paid by the Corporate Group relating to any period ending on or before the Closing Date, in excess of the taxes accrued as a 
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liability on the calculation of the Closing Working Capital, net of any corresponding or related tax credit or refundable amount finally determined.
 
The Parties agree that, for the purposes of this Article 8, any and all Loss suffered or incurred by the Corporate Group as a direct or indirect result of, or arising in connection with, or related in any manner to the matters referred to in this Section 8.1 shall be deemed to be a Loss suffered or incurred by the Purchaser.  The Purchaser agrees that it accepts each indemnity in favour of any of its Representatives as agent and trustee of the Representative.  The Vendors agree that the Purchaser may enforce an indemnity in favour of any of its Representatives on behalf of that Representative.
 
 
(b)
The obligations of indemnification by the Vendors pursuant to Subsection (a) of this Section will be:
 
(i) with respect to any Warranty Claim, subject to the limitations referred to in Section 4.1 hereof with respect to the survival of the representations and warranties by the Vendors;
 
(ii) with respect to any Warranty Claim, subject to the limitations referred to in Section 4.3 hereof; and
 
(iii) subject to the provisions of Section 8.2 hereof.
 
 
(c)
For certainty, Article 4 shall not apply in respect of any claim by the Purchaser for indemnification by the Vendors pursuant to paragraphs 8.1(a)(i), 8.1(a)(iii) and 8.1(a)(iv), even if such claim could also be a Warranty Claim.
 
8.2
Provisions Relating to Indemnity Claims
 
The following provisions will apply to any claim by the Purchaser for indemnification by the Vendors pursuant to Section 8.1 hereof (an "Indemnity Claim" ).
 
 
(a)
Promptly after becoming aware of any matter that may give rise to an Indemnity Claim, the Purchaser will provide to the Vendors written notice of the Indemnity Claim specifying (to the extent that information is available) the factual basis for the Indemnity Claim and the amount of the Indemnity Claim or, if an amount is not then determinable, an estimate of the amount of the Indemnity Claim, if an estimate is feasible in the circumstances. Any failure to so notify the Vendors shall not relieve the Vendors from any duty to indemnify and hold harmless which otherwise might exist with respect to such matter unless (and only to that extent) the failure to notify materially prejudices the ability of the Vendors to exercise its right to defend as provided in this Section 8.2, or to the extent that, as a result of the failure, the Vendors were deprived of their right to recover any payment under their applicable insurance coverage or as otherwise directly and materially damaged as a result of such failure.
 
 
(b)
If an Indemnity Claim relates to an alleged liability of the Corporate Group to any other person (a "Third Party Liability"), including without limitation, any Governmental Authority, which is of a nature such that the Corporate Group is required by Applicable Law to make a payment to a third party before the relevant procedure involving that other person for challenging the existence or quantum of the alleged liability can be implemented or completed, then the Purchaser may, notwithstanding the provisions of Subsections (c), (d) and (e) of this Section, make such payment or

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cause the Corporate Group to make such payment and forthwith demand reimbursement for such payment from the Vendors in accordance with this Agreement; provided that, if the alleged Third Party Liability as finally determined on completion of settlement negotiations or related legal proceedings is less than the amount which is paid by the Vendors in respect of the related Indemnity Claim, then the Corporate Group or the Purchaser, as the case may be, shall forthwith following the final determination pay to the Vendors the amount by which the amount of the Third Party Liability as finally determined is less than the amount which is so paid by the Vendors.
 
 
(c)
The Purchaser shall not negotiate, settle, compromise or pay (except in the case of payment of a judgment) any Third Party Liability as to which it proposes to assert an Indemnity Claim, except with the prior written consent of the Vendors (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed), unless (i) there is a reasonable possibility that such Third Party Liability may materially and adversely affect the Business or the Condition of the Corporate Group, or (ii) the Vendors have not diligently commenced the defense against such Third Party Liability, in which case the Purchaser shall have the right, after notifying the Vendors, to negotiate, settle, compromise or pay such Third Party Liability without prejudice to its rights of indemnification hereunder.
 
 
(d)
With respect to any Third Party Liability, provided the Vendors first admit the Purchaser's right to indemnification for the amount of such Third Party Liability which may at any time be determined or settled, then, in any legal, administrative or other proceedings in connection with the matters forming the basis of the Third Party Liability, the following procedures will apply:
 
(i) except as contemplated by Paragraphs (iii) and (iv) of this Subsection 8.2(d), the Vendors will have the right to assume carriage of the compromise or settlement of the Third Party Liability and the conduct of any related legal, administrative or other proceedings, but  the Corporate Group shall have the right and shall be given the opportunity to participate in the defence of the Third Party Liability, to consult with the Vendors  in the settlement of the Third Party Liability and the conduct of related legal, administrative and other proceedings (including consultation with counsel) and to disagree on reasonable grounds with the selection and retention of counsel, in which case counsel satisfactory to the Vendors and the Corporate Group shall be retained by the Vendors.
 
(ii)
the Vendors will cooperate with the Purchaser in relation to the Third Party Liability, will keep it fully advised with respect thereto, will provide it with copies of all relevant documentation as it becomes available, will provide it with access to all records and files relating to the defence of the Third Party Liability and will meet with representatives of the Purchaser at all reasonable times to discuss the Third Party Liability; and
 
(iii) notwithstanding Paragraphs (i) and (ii) of this Subsection 8.2(d), the Vendors will not settle the Third Party Liability or conduct any legal, administrative or other proceedings in any manner which could, in the reasonable opinion of the Purchaser, have a material adverse effect on the Business or the Condition of the Corporate Group, except with the prior written consent of the Purchaser; and
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(iv) notwithstanding Paragraphs (i), (ii) and (ii) of this Subsection 8.2(d), the Vendors will not settle the Third Party Liability unless:
 
A. the Purchaser receives, as part of the compromise and settlement, a legally binding and enforceable unconditional satisfaction or release, which is in form and substance satisfactory to the Purchaser, acting reasonably; and
 
B. the Third Party Liability and any claim or liability of the Purchaser with respect thereto is being fully satisfied because of the compromise and settlement and the Purchaser is being released from any and all obligations or liabilities it may have with respect to the Third Party Liability and any claim or liability which may arise in respect thereof to other persons as a result of the claim being asserted against such other persons by the person making the Third Party Liability claim.
 
 
(e)
If, with respect to any Third Party Liability, the Vendors do not admit the Purchaser's right to indemnification or decline to assume carriage of the settlement or of any legal, administrative or other proceedings relating to the Third Party Liability, then the following provisions will apply:
 
(i) the Purchaser, at its discretion, may assume carriage of the settlement or of any legal, administrative or other proceedings relating to the Third Party Liability and may defend or settle the Third Party Liability on such terms as the Purchaser, acting in good faith, considers advisable; and
 
(ii) any cost, loss, damage or expense incurred or suffered by the Purchaser and the Corporate Group in the settlement or defence of such Third Party Liability or the conduct of any legal, administrative or other proceedings shall be added to the amount of the Indemnity Claim.
 
8.3
Tax Effect
 
If any indemnity payment received by the Purchaser would constitute taxable income to the Purchaser, the Vendors shall pay a Tax Gross-Up to the Purchaser at the same time and on the same terms, as to interest and otherwise, as the indemnity payment.  Tax Gross-Up means, with respect to any particular indemnity payment, such additional amount (calculated in accordance with the Calculation Method) as is necessary to place the Purchaser in the same after-tax position as it would have been in had such amount been received (and accounted for as if received) in the ordinary course of the Purchaser’s business.  Calculation Method with respect to the calculation of any Tax Gross-Up on an indemnity payment payable to the Purchaser, means that such Tax Gross-Up shall be calculated by using a combined federal and provincial/territorial income tax rate applicable to the Purchaser in respect of the indemnity payment at the time of payment.
 
8.4
Payment and Interest
 
The Parties agree that:
 
 
(a)
All amounts to be paid pursuant to this Article 8 shall bear simple interest at a rate per annum equal to the prime rate set by the Corporation’s bank then in effect, calculated and payable monthly, both before and after judgment, with interest on overdue interest at the same rate, from the date that the Purchaser disbursed funds,
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suffered damages or losses or incurred a loss, liability or expense in respect of a Loss for which the Vendors are liable to make payment pursuant to this Article 8, to the date of payment by the Vendors to the Purchaser.
 
 
(b)
The Vendors shall pay the amount of any Loss set forth in any Indemnity Claim with all accrued interest thereon within 10 Business Days of the earlier of (i) the Vendors and the Purchaser agreeing to the amount of such Loss payable by the Vendors to the Purchaser; (ii) a Final Decision that the Vendors are liable to pay the amount of the Third Party Claim as required hereunder. “Final Decision” means a decision by a Governmental Authority from which no appeal lies or in respect of which all appeal rights have been exhausted and all time periods for appeal have expired without appeals having been taken.
 
8.5
Rights in Addition
 
The rights of indemnity set forth in this Article 8 are in addition and supplemental to any equitable remedies such as specific performance which the Purchaser may have in respect of this Agreement, or in any documents or certificates delivered in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby. This Article 8 shall remain in full force and effect in all circumstances and shall not be terminated by any breach (fundamental, negligent or otherwise) by any Party of its representations, warranties or covenants hereunder or under any or in any documents or certificates delivered in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby.
 
8.6
Survival, Non Waiver
 
Unless specifically otherwise addressed in this Agreement, the rights, remedies and recourses of the Purchaser hereunder shall not be affected by any investigation made by or on behalf of the Purchaser, by the Purchaser or the Vendors, as applicable, lawfully terminating or failing to terminate this Agreement or by any other event or matter whatsoever except a specific and duly authorized written waiver or release executed by the Purchaser or the Vendors, as applicable.
 
8.7
Attorney for Indemnity Claims
 
 
(a)
By executing this Agreement, each Vendor hereby irrevocably constitutes, appoints and authorizes:
 
(i) The Vendors’ Representative to act as the true and lawful attorney and agent for all the Vendors with respect to the calculation of Working Capital, any adjustments to the Initial Purchase Price and any payments in connection therewith, the satisfaction of closing conditions, the execution and delivery of any document or certificate given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby , and as otherwise contemplated by this Agreement; and
 
(ii) Avrio to act as the true and lawful attorney and agent for all the Vendors with respect to any Indemnity Claims and as otherwise contemplated by this Agreement;
 
with full power and authority of substitution to exercise all rights and obligations of the Vendors hereunder in relation to such matters.  Each of Geoff Gyles, Kerry Green and Avrio accept such appointment and authorization.  The Vendors’ Representative agree to perform the obligations of the Vendors’ Representative on behalf of the Vendors in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and the
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Escrow Agreement.  Avrio agrees to act as agent on behalf of the Vendors with respect to any Indemnity Claims and as otherwise contemplated by this Agreement and the Escrow Agreement.
 
 
(b)
The foregoing power of attorney is given for value and coupled with an interest, and shall survive the disability, bankruptcy, insolvency, dissolution, termination or death, as applicable, of any of the Vendors, shall extend to the heirs, personal representatives, executors, administrators and other legal representatives, successors and assigns of any of the Vendors and shall survive any assignment by any of the Vendors of the whole or any part of his or her or its shares in the capital of the Corporation. Each Vendor hereby agrees to be bound by any representation or action made or taken by the said attorney pursuant to this power of attorney and each Vendor hereby waives any and all defences which may be available to contest, negate or disaffirm the action of the said attorney taken in good faith under such power of attorney.  Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, e ach Vendor fully and completely, without restriction, authorizes the Vendors’ Representative and/or Avrio, as applicable (the “Agent” ) on such Vendor’s behalf :
 
(i) to execute and deliver, and to accept delivery, on his, her or its behalf of such agreements, instruments and other documents as may be deemed by the Agent in his, her or its sole discretion to be appropriate under this Agreement or any document or certificate given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby , and the Vendor agrees to be bound by all notices received and agreements and determinations made by and documents executed and delivered by the Agent under this Agreement or any document or certificate given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby ;
 
(ii) to settle all matters relating the adjustment to the Initial Purchase Price as contemplated by Sections 2.6 to Section 2.9 inclusive;
 
(iii) on such Vendor’s behalf (A) to dispute or to refrain from disputing any claim made by Purchaser under this Agreement, (B) to negotiate and settle any dispute which may arise under, and exercise or refrain from exercising remedies available under, this Agreement, and to sign any releases or other documents with respect to any such dispute or remedy, (C) to give any and all consents under this Agreement or any document or certificate given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby , and (D) to give such instructions and do such other things and refrain from doing such things as the Agent shall deem appropriate to carry out the provisions of this Agreement or any document or certificate given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby ;
 
(iv) (A) to waive any condition contained in this Agreement, (B) to give any and all consents under this Agreement or any document or certificate given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby , and (C) to give such instructions and do such other things and refrain from doing such things as the Agent shall deem appropriate to carry out the provisions of this Agreement or any document or certificate given in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby ; and
 
(v) to receive and/or direct any and all payments made to the Vendors under this Agreement, to give receipt thereof on behalf of the Vendors to the Purchaser which shall be binding on the Vendors, and to disburse any payments due to
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 the Vendors under this Agreement in accordance with their interest, after withholding such amounts to pay costs and expenses relating to potential disputes arising with respect to indemnification or other obligations of the Vendors under this Agreement.
 
 
(c)
Each of the Vendors hereby expressly acknowledges and agrees that (i) the Agent is exclusively authorized to act on his, her or its behalf as contemplated herein, notwithstanding any dispute or disagreement among the Vendors, and (ii) any action to assert a claim for Loss or to contest a claim by the Purchaser for Loss, may only be made by the Agent in the name of all of the Vendors.  The Purchaser shall be entitled to rely on any and all actions taken by the Agent under this Agreement without any liability to, or obligation to inquire of, any Vendor.  All notices, counter-notices or other instruments or designations delivered by any Vendor or the Agent shall not be effective unless signed by the Agent and, if not, such document shall have no force and effect whatsoever hereunder, and the Purchaser may proceed without regard to any such document. The Purchaser is hereby expressly authorized to rely on the genuineness of the signatures of the Agent, and upon receipt of any writing which reasonably appears to have been signed by the Agent, the Purchaser may act upon the same without any further duty to inquire as to the genuineness of the writing.
 
 
(d)
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Purchaser has an Indemnity Claim for indemnification for Loss against a Vendor arising because of a breach of the representation and warranty of such Vendor contained in Subsection 3.1(g) or a breach of a covenant or obligation of that Vendor to the Purchaser under this Agreement, the Escrow Agreement or any documents or certificates delivered in order to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby, then such claim for indemnification may be made by the Purchaser directly against such Vendor, in which case such claim shall be defended directly by such Vendor and Avrio shall have no rights or obligations with respect to such Claim. The authorization of Avrio under this Section is irrevocable and effective until its rights and obligations under this Agreement terminate by virtue of the termination of any and all of the obligations of the Vendors and the Purchaser under this Agreement and the Escrow Agreement.
 
 
(e)
The authorization of the Agent under this Section 8.7 is irrevocable and effective until his rights and obligations under this Agreement terminate by virtue of the termination of any and all of the obligations of the Vendors and the Purchaser under this Agreement, and the rights and obligations under the Escrow Agreement terminate in accordance with its terms.
 
 
(f)
If an Agent dies or becomes mentally incapacitated, as applicable, the Vendors shall appoint a successor or successors to act as Agent pursuant to the terms of this Section 8.7 within 30 days after acquiring knowledge of such fact and give notice to the Purchaser; provided, however, that, if for any reason the Vendors do not appoint a successor within such 30 days, then, in the case of the Vendors’ Representative, the remaining surviving Agent shall act solely on behalf of the Vendors, and if there is no remaining surviving Agent, the Purchaser shall have the right to petition a court of competent jurisdiction for the appointment of one or more successor(s).  Each Agent agrees that he or it will not approve or agree to any act taken by the Vendors to terminate this irrevocable power of attorney for value.
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ARTICLE 9- GENERAL PROVISIONS
 
9.1
Further Assurances
 
Each of the Vendors (and with respect to the Trust Vendors, together with the Trustees) and the Purchaser shall any time and from time to time after the Closing Date, on the request of the other, do, execute, acknowledge and deliver or cause to be done, executed, acknowledged and delivered all such further acts, deeds, assignments, transfers, conveyances and assurances as may be required for the better carrying out and performance of all the terms of this Agreement.
 
9.2
Notices
 
Any notice, designation, communication, request, demand or other document, required or permitted to be given or sent or delivered hereunder to any Party hereto shall be in writing and shall be sufficiently sent by facsimile or courier to the following persons:
 
 
(a)
in the case of the Vendors (and with respect to the Trust Vendors, together with the Trustees):
 
P. Michael Sinclair
c/o Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP
201 Portage Avenue, Suite 2200
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 3L3
Fax Number (204) 934-0513

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Silvia de Sousa
c/o Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP
201 Portage Avenue, Suite 2200
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 3L3
Fax Number (204) 934-0592

- and -

Barry MacTavish
c/o Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP
201 Portage Avenue, Suite 2200
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 3L3
Fax Number (204) 934-0555

with a copy to: Avrio Ventures Limited Partnership

Jim Taylor
Avrio Ventures Limited Partnership
235, 600 Crowfoot Business Center NW
Calgary AB  T3G 0B4

 
(b)
in the case of the Purchaser and the Guarantor:
 
c/o Compass Minerals International, Inc.
Attention:  President & CEO
9900 West 109 th Street - Suite 100
Overland Park, Kansas, United States
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66210
Fax Number (913) 338-7919

with a copy to:

Corporate Counsel Group LLP
Attention: Sheryl Nelson
4144 Pennsylvania Ave
Kansas City MO 64111
Fax:  (816) 595-8601

and with a copy to:

Andrew S. Nunes
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
333 Bay St., Suite 2400
Bay Adelaide Centre
Toronto, ON  M5H 2T6
Fax:  (416) 364-7813

or to such other address and fax number as the Party entitled to or receiving such notice, designation, communication, request, demand or other document shall, by a notice given in accordance with this Section, have communicated to the Party giving or sending or delivering such notice, designation, communication, request, demand or other document.

 
(c)
Any notice, designation, communication, request, demand or other document sent as aforesaid shall  be deemed to have been given, sent, delivered and received (i) if sent by facsimile, on the date the sender receives the fax answer back confirming receipt by the recipient; (ii) if sent by same-day service courier, on the date of delivery if sent on a Business Day and delivery was made prior to 4:00 p.m. (local time in place of receipt) and otherwise on the next Business Day; and (iii) if sent by overnight courier, on the next Business Day.
 
9.3
Counterparts
 
This Agreement may be executed in several counterparts, each of which so executed shall be deemed to be an original and such counterparts together shall be one and the same instrument.  In addition, this Agreement may be executed by the Parties and submitted by facsimile or e-mail transmission (in PDF or other document format), and if so executed and transmitted, this Agreement shall be for all purposes as effective as if the Parties had delivered an executed original Agreement.
 
9.4
Expenses of Parties
 
Each of the Parties hereto shall bear all expenses incurred by it in connection with the negotiation and settlement of this Agreement including, without limitation, the charges of their respective counsel, accountants, financial advisors, brokers and finders, whether or not the Closing occurs. For certainty, the expenses of the Vendors (and with respect to the Trust Vendors, together with the Trustees) will be paid using the Vendors’ (and with respect to the Trust Vendors, together with the Trustees) own resources and shall not be charged to or paid directly or indirectly by the Corporate Group. If this Agreement is terminated, the obligation of each Party to pay its own fees and expenses shall be subject to any rights of such Party arising from a breach of this Agreement by the other Party.
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9.5
Announcements
 
No announcement with respect to this Agreement will be made by any Party hereto without the prior written approval of the other Parties.  The foregoing will not apply to any announcement by any Party required in order to comply with Applicable Law pertaining to timely disclosure or other securities laws (including the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission or any recognized stock exchange), provided that such Party consults (as to both the form and content of the announcement) with the other Parties before making any such announcement and provided further that if such announcement is required in advance of the Closing Time, all commercially reasonable efforts shall be made to have the announcement and any filing that may be required in connection therewith to be made on a “confidential basis” until such time as the Closing shall have occurred.

9.6
Assignment
 
The Purchaser may, without the consent of the Vendors, assign this Agreement and its rights and benefits hereunder to an Affiliate of it on condition that the Purchaser remains liable to observe and perform all of its covenants and obligations hereunder. Subject to the foregoing in this Section and Section 9.7, the rights of the Vendors hereunder shall not be assignable without the written consent of the Purchaser and the rights of the Purchaser hereunder shall not be assignable without the written consent of the Vendors.
 
9.7
Successors and Assigns
 
This Agreement shall be binding on and enure to the benefit of the Parties hereto and their respective heirs, personal representatives, executors, administrators, successors and permitted assigns.  Nothing herein, express or implied, is intended to confer on any person, other than the Parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns, any rights, remedies, obligations or liabilities under or by reason of this Agreement.
 
9.8
Entire Agreement
 
This Agreement and the Schedules referred to herein constitute the entire agreement between the Parties hereto and supersede all prior agreements, representations, warranties, statements, promises, information, arrangements and understandings, whether oral or written, express or implied, with respect to the subject matter hereof.  None of the Parties hereto shall be bound or charged with any oral or written agreements, representations, warranties, statements, promises, information, arrangements or understandings not specifically set forth in this Agreement or in the Schedules, documents and instruments to be delivered on or before the Closing Date pursuant to this Agreement.  The Parties hereto further acknowledge and agree that, in entering into this Agreement and in delivering the Schedules, documents and instruments to be delivered on or before the Closing Date, they have not in any way relied, and will not in any way rely, on any oral or written agreements, representations, warranties, statements, promises, information, arrangements or understandings, express or implied, not specifically set forth in this Agreement or in such Schedules, documents or instruments.
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9.9
Waiver
 
Any Party hereto which is entitled to the benefits of this Agreement may, and has the right to, waive any term or condition hereof at any time on or prior to the Closing Time; provided, however, that such waiver shall be evidenced by written instrument duly executed on behalf of such Party.
 
9.10
Amendments
 
No modification or amendment to this Agreement may be made unless agreed to by the Parties hereto in writing.
 
9.11
Severability
 
The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision in this Agreement will not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision or part of this Agreement, and the Parties hereby undertake to renegotiate in good faith any such invalid or unenforceable provision, with a view to concluding valid and enforceable arrangements as nearly as possible the same as those contained in this Agreement.
 
9.12
Waiver of Jury Trial
 
The Parties hereby waive any right they may have to a trial by jury in any action arising out of this Agreement or the various obligations and undertakings contemplated therein.
 
9.13
Survival
 
Subject to Section 4.1 and Section 4.2 , the terms, provisions, covenants and/or agreements contained in Article 8 and in other sections of this Agreement which, by their nature extend beyond the Closing in order to fully achieve their intended purpose, shall survive and remain in effect after the Closing of the purchase and sale transaction contemplated herein.
 
9.14
No Partnership
 
Nothing in this Agreement or in the relationship of the Parties hereto will be construed so as to create a partnership among the Parties or as giving to any Party any of the rights or subjecting any Party to any of the creditors of the other Parties.

Remainder of page intentionally left blank; signatures follow on next pages
- 63 -

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the Parties hereto have duly executed this Agreement as of the day and year first above written.
 
COMPASS MINERALS MANITOBA INC.
 
 
 
Per:
/s/ Rodney Underdown
 
 
Name: Rodney Underdown
 
 
Position: President
 
 
I have the authority to bind the Corporation.
 
 
 
Per:
/s/ James D. Standen
 
 
Name: James D. Standen
 
 
Position: Treasurer
 
 
I have the authority to bind the Corporation.
 
 
 
COMPASS MINERALS INTERNATIONAL, INC.
 
 
 
Per:
/s/ Francis J. Malecha
 
 
Name: Francis J. Malecha
 
 
Position: President & CEO
 
 
I have the authority to bind the Corporation
 
 
 
Per:
 
 
 
Name:
 
 
Position:
 
 
I have the authority to bind the Corporation
 
4262328 MANITOBA LTD.
4262336 MANITOBA LTD.
 
Per:
/s/ Geoffrey Gyles
Per:
/s/ Kerry Green
Geoffrey Gyles, President
 
KERRY GREEN, President
 
 
 
 
 
AVRIO VENTURES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, by its General Partner, Avrio Ventures General Partner Ltd.
 
 
 
 
 
Per:
/s/ Jim Taylor
 
 
 
Name: Jim Taylor
 
 
 
 
Position: President
 
- 64 -

SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED
In the presence of:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 /s/ Silvia De Sousa /s/ Geoffrey Gyles
Witness
 
GEOFFREY GYLES
 
 
 
 
 
SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED
 
 
 
In the presence of:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Silvia De Sousa /s/ Kerry Green
Witness
 
KERRY GREEN
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED
 
 
 
In the presence of:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Keith E. Espelien
/s/ Anita Anseeuw
Witness
 
ANITA ANSEEUW
 
 
 
 
 
 
SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED
 
 
 
In the presence of:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Keith E. Espelien
 
/s/ Mark J. Anseeuw
 
Witness
 
MARK J. ANSEEUW
 
 
 
 
 
SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED
 
 
 
In the presence of:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Keith E. Espelien
/s/ Jennifer Bailes
Witness
 
JENNIFER BAILES
 
 
 
 
 
SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED
 
 
 
In the presence of:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Keith E. Espelien
 
/s/ Alok Bhardwaj
 
Witness
 
ALOK BHARDWAJ
 
 
 
 
 
SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED
 
 
 
In the presence of:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Keith E. Espelien
 
/s/ Jereleen Brydon
 
Witness
 
JERELEEN BRYDON
 
SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED
In the presence of:
- 65 -

/s/ Valerie Heer /s/ Brenda Dubeck
Witness
 
BRENDA DUBECK
 
 
 
 
 
SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED
 
 
 
In the presence of:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Keith E. Espelien
/s/ Mark Goodwin
Witness
 
MARK GOODWIN
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MARK GOODWIN CONSULTING LTD.
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
Per:
/s/ Mark Goodwin
 
MARK GOODWIN, President
 
 
 
 
 
 
SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED
 
 
 
In the presence of:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Keith E. Espelien
 
/s/ Karen Green
 
Witness
 
KAREN GREEN
 
 
 
 
 
SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED
 
 
 
In the presence of:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Eric Johannson
/s/ Hannah Green
Witness
 
HANNAH GREEN
 
 
 
 
 
SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED
 
 
 
In the presence of:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Keith E. Espelien
 
/s/ Rachel Green
 
Witness
 
RACHEL GREEN
 
 
 
 
 
SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED
 
 
 
In the presence of:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Realiza Martecio
 
/s/ Collin Gyles
 
Witness
 
COLLIN GYLES
 
SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED
In the presence of
 
/s/ Realiza Martecio
/s/ Jennifer J. Gyles
Witness
JENNIFER J. GYLES
- 66 -

SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED
 
 
 
In the presence of:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Keith E. Espelien
/s/ Lindsay Gyles
Witness
 
LINDSAY GYLES
 
 
 
 
 
SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED
 
 
 
In the presence of:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Realiza Martecio
 /s/ Lindsay Gyles
Witness
 
LINDSEY GYLES
 
 
 
 
 
SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED
 
 
 
In the presence of:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
[refer to original]
/s/ Michael C. Lassen
Witness
 
MICHAEL C. LASSEN
 
 
 
 
 
SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED
 
 
 
In the presence of:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Keith E. Espelien
 
/s/ Michelle Le Heiget
 
Witness
 
MICHELLE LE HEIGET
 
 
 
 
 
SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED
 
 
 
In the presence of:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Keith E. Espelien
/s/ Mike McIlrath
Witness
 
MIKE McILRATH
 
 
 
 
 
SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED
 
 
 
In the presence of:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Karen K. Dean
/s/ Robert Sproule
Witness
 
ROBERT SPROULE
 
 
 
 
 
SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED
 
 
 
In the presence of:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Karen K. Dean
/s/ Janice E. Trosky
Witness
 
JANICE E. TROSKY
 
 
 
 
SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED
 
 
 
 
In the presence of:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
[refer to original]
/s/ James Trosky
Witness
 
JAMES TROSKY
- 67 -

SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED
 
 
 
In the presence of:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Keith E. Espelien
/s/ Mark J. Anseeuw
Witness
 
MARK J. ANSEEUW, in his capacity asTrustee under the Voting Trust Agreement
 
 
 
 
 
SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED
 
 
 
In the presence of:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Silvia De Sousa
/s/ Geoffrey Gyles
Witness
 
GEOFFREY GYLES, in his capacity as Trustee under the Voting Trust Agreement
 
 
 
 
 
 
SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED
 
 
 
In the presence of:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Silvia De Sousa
 
/s/ Kerry Green
 
Witness
 
KERRY GREEN, in his capacity as Trustee under the Voting Trust Agreement

- 68 -

SCHEDULE A

Vendors
 
Vendors
No. of Class A Common Shares
 
- 69 -

SCHEDULE B

Audited Financial Statements
 
Please see attached.
- 70 -

SCHEDULE C

Interim Financial Statements
 
Please see attached.
 

SCHEDULE D

Leases & Leased Premises
 
Leases


Leases Premises



SCHEDULE E

Contractual and Regulatory Consents for Vendor


SCHEDULE F

Constating Documents; Directors and Officers


SCHEDULE G

Permits


SCHEDULE H

Shareholder Agreements


SCHEDULE I

Dividends and Distributions


SCHEDULE J

Litigation


SCHEDULE K

Environmental Matters
 

SCHEDULE L

Encumbrances


SCHEDULE M

Leases of Personal Property


SCHEDULE N

Intellectual Property


SCHEDULE O

Guarantees, Warranties and Discounts


SCHEDULE P

Licences and Distribution Agreements


SCHEDULE Q

Agreements
 

SCHEDULE R

Employment Agreements


SCHEDULE S

Employee Benefit and Pension Plans


SCHEDULE T

Insurance


SCHEDULE U

Contractual and Regulatory Consents for Purchaser


SCHEDULE V

Release by Vendors

Please see attached.

SCHEDULE W

Bring Down Certificate by Vendors


SCHEDULE X

Estoppel Certificate


SCHEDULE Y

Releases by Directors and Officers


SCHEDULE Z

Vendors Opinion


SCHEDULE AA

Bring Down Certificate By Purchaser


SCHEDULE BB

Release by the Corporation


SCHEDULE CC

Purchaser Opinion


SCHEDULE DD

Non-Competition and Confidentiality Agreement


SCHEDULE EE

Avrio Confidentiality Agreement


SCHEDULE FF

Retention Agreement


SCHEDULE GG

US Employee Offer Letter


SCHEDULE HH

Consulting Agreements

SCHEDULE II

Escrow Agreement

SCHEDULE JJ

Omya Estoppel Certificate

SCHEDULE 2.7

Inventory Calculation
 
Inventory Locations

< @ > [Vendors to provide list.]

SCHEDULE 3.1(ff)

Material Customers

SCHEDULE 3.1(tt)

Confidential Information Disclosure

SCHEDULE 3.1(uu)

Privacy Law Matters

SCHEDULE 6.1(b)

Designated Employees
 
 


Exhibit 31.1

I, Francis J. Malecha, certify that:

1. I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Compass Minerals International, Inc.;

2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4. The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

(a) designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

(b) designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

(c) evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

(d) disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

5. The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

(a) all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

(b) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.
 
 
Date: April 29, 2014
/s/ FRANCIS J. MALECHA
 
Francis J. Malecha
 
President and Chief Executive Officer

 


Exhibit 31.2

I, Rodney L. Underdown, certify that:

1. I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Compass Minerals International, Inc.;

2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4. The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

(a) designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

(b) designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

(c) evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

(d) disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

5. The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

(a) all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

(b) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.
 
 
Date: April 29, 2014
/s/ RODNEY L. UNDERDOWN
 
Rodney L. Underdown
 
Chief Financial Officer

 


Exhibit 32
 
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO 18 U.S.C. §1350

Each of the undersigned hereby certify that this quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the three-month period ended March 31, 2014, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof, to the best of my knowledge, fully complies with the requirements of section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and that the information contained in this report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of Compass Minerals International, Inc.
 
 
 
COMPASS MINERALS INTERNATIONAL, INC.
 
 
April 29, 2014
/s/ FRANCIS J. MALECHA
 
Francis J. Malecha
 
President and Chief Executive Officer
 
 
 
/s/ RODNEY L. UNDERDOWN
 
Rodney L. Underdown
 
Chief Financial Officer
 



Exhibit 95

Dodd-Frank Act Disclosure of Mine Safety and Health Administration Safety Data
 
Section 1503 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Act”) requires mining companies to disclose in their periodic reports information about their mines subject to regulation by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (the “Mine Act”).  The operation of our mine in Cote Blanche, Louisiana is inspected by MSHA on an ongoing basis and MSHA issues citations and/or orders when it believes a violation under the Mine Act has occurred.  The following table provides the information required under §1503 of the Act for the three months ended March 31, 2014:
 
For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2014
 
Mine or Operating
Name (MSHA
Identification
Number)
 
Section
104 S&S
Citations
   
Section
 104(b) Orders
   
Section 104(d)
 Citations and
 Orders
   
Section
110(b)(2)
Violations
   
Section
 107(a)
Orders
   
Total Dollar
Value of
 MSHA
 Assessments
 Proposed
   
Total
 Number of
Mining
 Related
 Fatalities
 
Received
 Notice of
 Pattern of
Violations
Under
Section
 104(e)
Received
Notice of
Potential
to Have
 Pattern
 Under
Section
104(e)
 
Legal
Actions
 Pending
 as of Last
 Day of
 Period
   
Legal
Actions
 Initiated
During
Period
   
Legal
Actions
 Resolved
 During
Period
 
 
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
 
 
 
   
   
 
Cote Blanche, LA (16-00358)
   
2
     
0
     
0
     
0
     
0
   
$
54,151
     
0
 
No
No
   
9
     
1
     
11