UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): May 17, 2012
Frontier Communications Corporation
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware | 001-11001 | 06-0619596 | ||
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) |
(Commission File Number) |
(IRS Employer Identification No.) |
||
3 High Ridge Park, Stamford, Connecticut | 06905 | |||
(Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) |
Registrants telephone number, including area code: (203) 614-5600
Not Applicable
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions ( see General Instruction A.2. below):
¨ | Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
¨ | Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
¨ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
¨ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
Item 1.01. | Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement. |
On May 17, 2012, Frontier Communications Corporation (the Company) entered into an underwriting agreement (the Underwriting Agreement) with Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., as the representative of the several underwriters named therein, in connection with the Companys previously announced offering of $500 million of 9.250% Senior Notes due 2021 (the Notes). The Underwriting Agreement includes the terms and conditions of the offer and sale of the Notes, indemnification and contribution obligations and other terms and conditions customary in agreements of this type. The foregoing disclosure is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Underwriting Agreement, which is attached hereto as Exhibit 1.1 and incorporated by reference herein. The Underwriting Agreement is also incorporated by reference into the Companys Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333- 181299), pursuant to which the Notes will be issued (the Registration Statement).
In connection with the offering, the Company is filing as Exhibit 5.1 hereto an opinion of counsel addressing the validity of the Notes. Such opinion is incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement.
Item 2.03. | Creation of a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation Under an Off-Balance Sheet Arrangement of a Registrant. |
On May 22, 2012, the Company completed its registered offering of Notes. The Notes were issued pursuant to an indenture dated as of April 9, 2009, as amended, and a third supplemental indenture dated as of May 22, 2012, with The Bank of New York Mellon as trustee. The Notes bear interest at the rate of 9.250% per year. Interest on the Notes is payable on January 1 and July 1 of each year, beginning on January 1, 2013. The Notes will mature on July 1, 2021. The Company may, at its option, redeem some or all of the Notes at any time by paying a make-whole premium, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to the date of redemption. The Notes are senior unsecured obligations of the Company and rank equally with all of its other existing and future senior unsecured indebtedness. The indenture and third supplemental indenture contain certain covenants and events of default and other customary provisions.
The foregoing descriptions of the Notes, the indenture and the third supplemental indenture are summaries only and are qualified in their entirety by reference to the full text of such documents. A copy of the third supplemental indenture is attached hereto as Exhibit 4.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 9.01. | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
(d) | Exhibits . |
Exhibit
|
Description |
|
1.1 | Underwriting Agreement dated May 17, 2012, between Frontier Communications Corporation and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., as representative of the several underwriters named therein | |
4.1 | Third Supplemental Indenture dated as of May 22, 2012, between Frontier Communications Corporation and The Bank of New York Mellon, as Trustee | |
4.2 | Form of 9.250% Senior Notes due 2021 | |
5.1 | Opinion of Jones Day | |
23.1 | Consent of Jones Day (included in Exhibit 5.1 hereof) |
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 hereunto duly authorized.
FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION | ||||||
By: | /s/ Nancy S. Rights | |||||
Name: | Nancy S. Rights | |||||
Title: | Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Secretary |
Date: May 22, 2012
INDEX TO EXHIBITS
Exhibit
|
Description |
|
1.1 | Underwriting Agreement dated May 17, 2012, between Frontier Communications Corporation and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., as representative of the several underwriters named therein | |
4.1 | Third Supplemental Indenture dated as of May 22, 2012, between Frontier Communications Corporation and The Bank of New York Mellon, as Trustee | |
4.2 | Form of 9.250% Senior Notes due 2021 | |
5.1 | Opinion of Jones Day | |
23.1 | Consent of Jones Day (included in Exhibit 5.1 hereof) |
Exhibit 1.1
$500,000,000
FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION
9.25% Senior Notes due 2021
Underwriting Agreement
May 17, 2012
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.
As Representative of the
several Underwriters listed
in Schedule 1 hereto
c/o Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.
60 Wall Street
New York, New York 10005
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Frontier Communications Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the Company), proposes to issue and sell to the several Underwriters listed in Schedule 1 hereto (the Underwriters), for whom you are acting as representative (the Representative), $500,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its 9.25% Senior Notes due 2021 (the Securities). The Securities will be issued pursuant to the Indenture dated as of April 9, 2009 (the Base Indenture), as supplemented by the third supplemental indenture to be dated as of May 22, 2012 (the Third Supplemental Indenture, and, together with the Base Indenture, the Indenture), in each case between the Company and The Bank of New York Mellon, as trustee (the Trustee).
The Company hereby confirms its agreement with the several Underwriters concerning the purchase and sale of the Securities, as follows:
1. Registration Statement . The Company has prepared and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (collectively, the Securities Act), an automatic shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-181299), including a prospectus, relating to the Companys debt securities. Such registration statement, at the time it became effective, including the information, if any, deemed pursuant to Rule 430A, 430B or 430C under the Securities Act to be part of the registration statement at the time of its effectiveness (Rule 430 Information), is referred to herein as the Registration Statement; and as used herein, the term Preliminary Prospectus means any preliminary prospectus relating to the
offering of the Securities, including any preliminary prospectus supplement thereto relating to the Securities filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(a) under the Securities Act and the prospectus included in the Registration Statement at the time of its effectiveness that omits Rule 430 Information, and the term Prospectus means the final prospectus and any final prospectus supplement in the form first used (or made available upon request of purchasers pursuant to Rule 173 under the Securities Act) in connection with confirmation of sales of the Securities. Any reference in this Agreement to the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 under the Securities Act, as of the effective date of the Registration Statement or the date of such Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be and any reference to amend, amendment or supplement with respect to the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include any documents filed after such date under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (collectively, the Exchange Act) that are deemed to be incorporated by reference therein. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings given to such terms in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.
At or prior to the time when sales of the Securities were first made (the Time of Sale), the Company had prepared the following information (collectively, the Time of Sale Information): a Preliminary Prospectus dated May 17, 2012, and each free-writing prospectus (as defined pursuant to Rule 405 under the Securities Act) listed on Annex B hereto as constituting part of the Time of Sale Information.
2. Purchase of the Securities by the Underwriters . (a) The Company agrees to issue and sell the Securities to the several Underwriters as provided in this Agreement, and each Underwriter, on the basis of the representations, warranties and agreements set forth herein and subject to the conditions set forth herein, agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company the respective principal amount of Securities set forth opposite such Underwriters name in Schedule 1 hereto at a price equal to 98.125% of the principal amount thereof plus accrued interest, if any, from May 22, 2012 to the Closing Date (as defined below). The Company will not be obligated to deliver any of the Securities except upon payment for all the Securities to be purchased as provided herein.
(b) The Company understands that the Underwriters intend to make a public offering of the Securities as soon after the effectiveness of this Agreement as in the judgment of the Representative is advisable, and initially to offer the Securities on the terms set forth in the Prospectus. The Company acknowledges and agrees that the Underwriters may offer and sell Securities to or through any affiliate of an Underwriter and that any such affiliate may offer and sell Securities purchased by it to or through any Underwriter.
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(c) Payment for and delivery of the Securities will be made at the offices of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, 767 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10153 at 10:00 A.M., New York City time, on May 22, 2012, or at such other time or place on the same or such other date, not later than the fifth business day thereafter, as the Representative and the Company may agree upon in writing. The time and date of such payment and delivery is referred to herein as the Closing Date.
(d) Payment for the Securities shall be made by wire transfer in immediately available funds to the account(s) specified by the Company to the Representative against delivery to the nominee of The Depository Trust Company, for the account of the Underwriters, of one or more global notes representing the Securities (collectively, the Global Note), with transfer taxes (if any) payable in connection with the sale of the Securities duly paid by the Company. The Global Note will be made available for inspection by the Representative not later than 1:00 P.M., New York City time, on the business day prior to the Closing Date.
(e) The Company acknowledges and agrees that the Underwriters are acting solely in the capacity of an arms length contractual counterparty to the Company with respect to the offering of Securities contemplated hereby (including in connection with determining the terms of the offering) and not as a financial advisor or a fiduciary to, or an agent of, the Company or any other person. Additionally, neither the Representative nor any other Underwriter is advising the Company or any other person as to any legal, tax, investment, accounting or regulatory matters in any jurisdiction. The Company shall consult with its own advisors concerning such matters and shall be responsible for making its own independent investigation and appraisal of the transactions contemplated hereby, and the Underwriters shall have no responsibility or liability to the Company with respect thereto. Any review by the Underwriters of the Company, the transactions contemplated hereby or other matters relating to such transactions will be performed solely for the benefit of the Underwriters and shall not be on behalf of the Company.
3. Representations and Warranties of the Company . The Company represents and warrants to each Underwriter that:
(a) Preliminary Prospectus. No order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus has been issued by the Commission, and each Preliminary Prospectus, at the time of filing thereof, complied in all material respects with the Securities Act and did not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact (other than Rule 430 Information) required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that the Company makes no representation and warranty with respect to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to any Underwriter furnished to the Company in writing by such Underwriter through the Representative expressly for use in any Preliminary Prospectus as set forth in Section 7(b) hereof.
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(b) Time of Sale Information . The Time of Sale Information, at the Time of Sale did not, and at the Closing Date will not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that the Company makes no representation and warranty with respect to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to any Underwriter furnished to the Company in writing by such Underwriter through the Representative expressly for use in such Time of Sale Information as set forth in Section 7(b) hereof. No statement of material fact included in the Prospectus has been omitted from the Time of Sale Information and no statement of material fact included in the Time of Sale Information that is required to be included in the Prospectus has been omitted therefrom.
(c) Issuer Free Writing Prospectus. The Company (including its agents and representatives, other than the Underwriters in their capacity as such) has not prepared, made, used, authorized, approved or referred to and will not prepare, make, use, authorize, approve or refer to any written communication (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) that constitutes an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy the Securities (each such communication by the Company or its agents and representatives (other than a communication referred to in clauses (i), (ii) and (iii), below) an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus) other than (i) any document not constituting a prospectus pursuant to Section 2(a)(10)(a) of the Securities Act or Rule 134 under the Securities Act, (ii) the Preliminary Prospectus, (iii) the Prospectus, (iv) the documents listed on Annex B hereto as constituting part of the Time of Sale Information and (v) any electronic road show or other written communications, in each case approved in writing in advance by the Representative (such approval not to be unreasonably withheld). Each such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus described in clauses (iv) and (v) above complied in all material respects with the Securities Act, has been or will be (within the time period specified in Rule 433) filed in accordance with the Securities Act (to the extent required thereby) and, when taken together with the Preliminary Prospectus filed prior to the first use of such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, did not, and at the Closing Date will not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that the Company makes no representation and warranty with respect to any statements or omissions made in each such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to any Underwriter furnished to the Company in writing by such Underwriter through the Representative expressly for use in any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus.
(d) Registration Statement and Prospectus. The Registration Statement is an automatic shelf registration statement as defined under Rule 405 of the Securities Act that has been filed with the Commission not earlier than three years prior to the date hereof; and no notice of objection of the Commission to the use of such registration statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Securities Act has been received by the Company. No order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued by the Commission and no
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proceeding for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act against the Company or related to the offering has been initiated or overtly threatened by the Commission; as of the applicable effective date of the Registration Statement and any amendment thereto, the Registration Statement complied and will comply in all material respects with the Securities Act and the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (collectively, the Trust Indenture Act), and did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading; and as of the date of the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto and as of the Closing Date, the Prospectus will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that the Company makes no representation and warranty with respect to (i) that part of the Registration Statement that constitutes the Statement of Eligibility and Qualification (Form T-1) of the Trustee under the Trust Indenture Act or (ii) any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to any Underwriter furnished to the Company in writing by such Underwriter through the Representative expressly for use in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as set forth in Section 7(b) hereof and any amendment or supplement thereto.
(e) Incorporated Documents. The documents incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Time of Sale Information, when they were filed with the Commission, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Exchange Act and none of such documents contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and any further documents so filed and incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or the Time of Sale Information, when such documents become effective or are filed with the Commission, as the case may be, will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
(f) Independent Accountants; Financial Statements. KPMG LLP is an independent registered public accounting firm with respect to the Company and its subsidiaries within the applicable rules and regulations adopted by the Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (the PCAOB) and as required by the Securities Act. The financial statements (including the related notes) of the Company contained or incorporated by reference in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus comply as to form in all material respects with the applicable requirements under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act; such financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles consistently applied with respect to the
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Company throughout the periods covered thereby and fairly present in all material respects the financial position of the entities purported to be covered thereby at the respective dates indicated and the results of their operations and their cash flows for the respective periods indicated; and the financial information contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus is derived from the accounting records of the Company and its subsidiaries and fairly presents in all material respects the information purported to be shown thereby. The operating data included in the Registration Statement, Time of Sale Information and Prospectus are, in all material respects, accurate.
(g) Ernst & Young . To the Companys knowledge, Ernst & Young LLP is an independent registered public accounting firm with respect to Verizons Separate Telephone Operations (as such term is defined in the financial statements incorporated by reference in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus) within the applicable rules and regulations adopted by the Commission and the PCAOB and as required by the Securities Act. The financial statements (including the related notes) of Verizons Separate Telephone Operations incorporated by reference in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus comply as to form in all material respects with the applicable requirements under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act; such financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles consistently applied with respect to Verizons Separate Telephone Operations throughout the periods covered thereby; and fairly present in all material respects the financial position of Verizons Separate Telephone Operations purported to be covered thereby at the respective dates indicated and the results of their operations and their cash flows and changes in parent funding, for the respective periods indicated in each case solely as to Verizons Separate Telephone Operations and except as otherwise noted therein.
(h) No Material Adverse Change. Since the date of the most recent financial statements of the Company included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus, and as of the date hereof, except as otherwise disclosed therein (in each case, exclusive of any amendment or supplement thereto after the date hereof), (i) the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole, have not sustained any material loss or interference with their business from (x) fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor disturbance or dispute or (y) any action, order or decree of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, except in each case as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus, (ii) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has entered into any transaction or agreement that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole or incurred any liability or obligation, direct or contingent that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole; (iii) there has not been any change in the capital stock or long-term debt of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or any dividend or distribution of any kind declared, set aside for payment, paid or made by the Company on any class of capital stock, or any redemption in respect thereof, except (A)
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that capital stock may have changed due to the exercise of stock options and grants of restricted stock, and the surrender thereof, in the ordinary course of business, (B) for the regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.10 per share declared on May 8, 2012 to be paid on June 29, 2012 to holders of record of the Companys common stock at the close of business on June 8, 2012 and (C) that long-term debt may have changed due to open-market or privately negotiated debt repurchases consistent with past practices, and (iv) there has not been any material adverse change, or any development involving a prospective material adverse change, in or affecting the consolidated financial position, results of operations or business of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole.
(i) Organization and Good Standing. The Company has been duly incorporated, is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation, has the corporate power and authority to own its property and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus and is duly qualified to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which the conduct of its business or its ownership or leasing of property requires such qualification, except to the extent that the failure to be so qualified, in good standing or have such power or authority would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the consolidated financial position, results of operations or business of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole (a Material Adverse Effect).
(j) Capitalization; Significant Subsidiaries. The Company has an authorized capitalization as set forth or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus under the heading Capitalization and all of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued and are fully paid and non-assessable. Each significant subsidiary, as defined in Rule 1-02(w) of Regulation S-X under the Exchange Act, of the Company (each, a Significant Subsidiary) has been duly incorporated or formed, as applicable, is validly existing as a corporation, limited liability company or similar entity in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or formation, as the case may be, has all the power and authority to own its property and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus and is duly qualified to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which the conduct of its business or its ownership or leasing of property requires such qualification, except to the extent that the failure to be so qualified or be in good standing would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole; all of the membership interests or outstanding shares of capital stock, as applicable, of each Significant Subsidiary of the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and are owned directly by the Company, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities or claims.
(k) Due Authorization. The Company has the right, corporate power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement, the Securities and the Indenture (collectively, the Transaction Documents) and to perform its obligations hereunder and thereunder; and all action required for the due and proper authorization, execution and delivery of each of the Transaction Documents and the consummation of the transactions contemplated thereby has been duly and validly taken.
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(l) The Indenture. The Indenture has been duly authorized by the Company and upon effectiveness of the Registration Statement was or will have been duly qualified under the Trust Indenture Act and, when duly executed and delivered in accordance with its terms by each of the parties thereto, will constitute a valid and legally binding agreement of the Company enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent conveyance, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors rights generally from time to time in effect and to general principles of equity.
(m) The Securities . The Securities have been duly authorized by the Company and, when duly executed, authenticated in accordance with the provisions of the Indenture and delivered to and paid for by the Underwriters in accordance with the terms of this Agreement will be entitled to the benefits of the Indenture and will be duly and validly issued and outstanding and will constitute valid, binding and enforceable obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent conveyance, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors rights generally from time to time in effect and general principles of equity.
(n) Underwriting Agreement . This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.
(o) Descriptions of the Transaction Documents . The statements in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus under the headings Description of the Notes and Description of Other Indebtedness fairly summarize the matters therein described.
(p) No Default. (i) Neither the Company nor any Significant Subsidiary is in violation of its charter or by-laws or similar organizational documents; (ii) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in default, and no event has occurred that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute such a default, in the due performance or observance of any term, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject; or (iii) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in violation of any law or statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, except, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) above, for any such default or violation that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
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(q) No Conflicts; No Consents Required. The execution and delivery by the Company of, and the performance by the Company of its obligations under the Transaction Documents will not (i) conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries pursuant to any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other material agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject, except where such violation, default, lien, charge, or encumbrance would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; (ii) contravene any provision of applicable law or the certificate of incorporation or bylaws of the Company; or (iii) result in the violation of any law, judgment, order or decree of any governmental body, agency or court having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries, and no consent, approval, authorization or order of, or qualification with, any governmental body or agency is required for the performance by the Company of its obligations under the Transaction Documents, except for the registration of the Securities under the Securities Act, the qualification of the Indenture under the Trust Indenture Act and such as may be required by the securities or Blue Sky laws of the various states in connection with the offer and sale of the Securities and except in the case of this clause (iii) where any such violation or failure to obtain a consent or other approval would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to cause a Material Adverse Effect or prevent the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby.
(r) Legal Proceedings. No action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries or its or their property is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened that (i) would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the performance of this Agreement, the Securities, the Indenture or the consummation of any of the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby or (ii) would, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, except as set forth in or contemplated in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus (exclusive of an amendment or supplement thereto).
(s) Investment Company Act. The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Securities and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus, will not be, an investment company as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (collectively, Investment Company Act).
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(t) Licenses and Permits. The Company and each of its subsidiaries possess all licenses, certificates, authorizations and permits issued by, and have made all declarations and filings with, the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory agencies or bodies which are necessary or desirable for the ownership or lease of their respective properties or the conduct of their respective businesses as described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus, except where the failure to possess or make the same would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received notification of any revocation or modification of any such license, certificate, authorization or permit or has any reason to believe that any such license, certificate, authorization or permit will not be renewed in the ordinary course in each case where such revocation, modification or failure of renewal would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(u) No Labor Disputes. No labor disturbance by or dispute with employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries exists or, to the best knowledge of the Company, is imminent, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(v) Compliance with Environmental Laws. The Company and its subsidiaries (i) are, to the Companys knowledge, in compliance with any and all applicable foreign, federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to the protection of human health and safety, the environment or hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants (Environmental Laws), (ii) to the Companys knowledge, have received all permits, licenses or other approvals required of them under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct their respective businesses and (iii) are, to the Companys knowledge, in compliance with all terms and conditions of any such permit, license or approval, except where such noncompliance with Environmental Laws, failure to receive required permits, licenses or other approvals or failure to comply with the terms and conditions of such permits, licenses or approvals would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Except as disclosed in each of the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus, there are no costs or liabilities associated with Environmental Laws (including, without limitation, any capital or operating expenditures required for clean-up, closure of properties or compliance with Environmental Laws or any permit, license or approval, any related constraints on operating activities and any potential liabilities to third parties) which would, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(w) Compliance with ERISA. Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company, (i) the minimum funding standard under Section 302 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, and the regulations and published interpretations thereunder (ERISA), has been satisfied by each pension plan (as defined in Section 3(2) of ERISA) which is maintained by the Company and/or one or more of its subsidiaries; (ii) the trust forming part of each such plan which is intended to be qualified under Section 401 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, is so qualified; (iii) each pension plan and welfare plan maintained by the Company and/or one or more of its subsidiaries is in compliance in all material respects with the currently
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applicable provisions of ERISA; and (iv) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has incurred, within the past five years, or could reasonably be expected to incur any withdrawal liability under Section 4201 of ERISA, any liability under Section 4062, 4063, or 4064 of ERISA, or any other liability under Title IV of ERISA (other than for premiums payable to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation).
(x) Disclosure Controls . The Company maintains a system of disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Exchange Act) that is designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Commissions rules and forms, and all such information is accumulated and communicated to the Companys management as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. The Company has carried out evaluations of the effectiveness of its disclosure controls and procedures as required by Rule 13a-15 of the Exchange Act.
(y) Accounting Controls. The Company maintains a system of internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act, sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with managements general or specific authorizations; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States and to maintain asset accountability; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with managements general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any material differences. As of March 31, 2012, there were no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in the Companys internal controls.
(z) Compliance with Money Laundering Laws. The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements and the money laundering statutes and the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the Money Laundering Laws) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the best knowledge of the Company, threatened.
(aa) Solvency. On the Closing Date, the Company (after giving effect to the issuance of the Securities and the other transactions related thereto as described in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus) will be Solvent. As used in this paragraph, the term Solvent means, with respect to a particular date, that on such date (i) the present fair market value (or present fair saleable value) of the assets of the Company is not less than the total amount required to pay the liabilities of the Company on its total existing debts and liabilities (including contingent liabilities) as they become absolute and matured; (ii) the Company is able to realize upon its assets and
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pay its debts and other liabilities, contingent obligations and commitments as they mature and become due in the normal course of business; (iii) assuming consummation of the issuance of the Securities as contemplated by this Agreement, the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus, the Company is not incurring debts or liabilities beyond its ability to pay as such debts and liabilities mature; (iv) the Company is not engaged in any business or transaction, and does not propose to engage in any business or transaction, for which its property would constitute unreasonably small capital after giving due consideration to the prevailing practice in the industry in which the Company is engaged; and (v) the Company is not a defendant in any civil action that would reasonably be expected to result in a judgment that the Company is or would become unable to satisfy.
(bb) Stamp Tax . There are no stamp or other issuance or transfer taxes or duties or other similar fees or charges required to be paid in connection with the execution and delivery of this Agreement or the issuance or sale of the Securities.
(cc) No Restrictions on Subsidiaries . No subsidiary of the Company is currently prohibited, directly or indirectly, from paying any dividends to the Company, from making any other distribution on such subsidiarys capital stock, from repaying to the Company any loans or advances to such subsidiary from the Company or from transferring any of such subsidiarys property or assets to the Company or any other subsidiary of the Company, except as described or contemplated in each of the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus (in each case, exclusive of any amendment or supplement thereto).
(dd) No Stabilization. The Company has not taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that has constituted or that might reasonably be expected to cause or result, under the Exchange Act or otherwise, in stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Securities.
(ee) Sarbanes-Oxley Act . The Company is in material compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules and regulations promulgated in connection therewith that are currently in effect, including Section 402 relating to loans and Sections 302 and 906 relating to certifications.
(ff) OFAC . Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department (OFAC); and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering contemplated hereby, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity, for the purpose of financing the activities of any person currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC.
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(gg) Status under the Securities Act . The Company is not an ineligible issuer and is a well-known seasoned issuer, in each case as defined under the Securities Act, in each case at the times specified in the Securities Act in connection with the offering of the Securities.
(hh) Certificates . Any certificate signed by any officer of the Company and delivered to the Representative or counsel for the Underwriters in connection with the offering of the Securities shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company, as to matters covered thereby, to each Underwriter.
(ii) No Registration Rights . No person has the right to require the Company or any of its subsidiaries to register any securities for sale under the Securities Act by reason of the filing of the Registration Statement with the Commission or the issuance and sale of the Securities.
4. Further Agreements of the Company . The Company covenants and agrees with each Underwriter that:
(a) Required Filings. The Company will file the final Prospectus with the Commission within the time periods specified by Rule 424(b) and Rule 430A, 430B or 430C under the Securities Act, will file any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (including the Term Sheet in the form of Annex C hereto) to the extent required by Rule 433 under the Securities Act; and, for so long as the delivery of a prospectus is required in connection with the offering or sale of the Securities, will file promptly all reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act subsequent to the date of the Prospectus, and the Company will furnish copies of the Prospectus and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (to the extent not previously delivered) to the Underwriters in New York City prior to 10:00 A.M., New York City time, on the business day next succeeding the date of this Agreement in such quantities as the Representative may reasonably request. The Company will pay the registration fees for this offering within the time period required by Rule 456(b)(1)(i) under the Securities Act (without giving effect to the proviso therein) and in any event prior to the Closing Date.
(b) Delivery of Copies. The Company will deliver, if requested, without charge, (i) to the Representative, two conformed copies of the Registration Statement as originally filed and each amendment thereto, in each case including all exhibits and consents filed therewith and documents incorporated by reference therein; and (ii) to each Underwriter (A) a conformed copy of the Registration Statement as originally filed and each amendment thereto, in each case including all exhibits and consents filed therewith and (B) during the Prospectus Delivery Period (as defined below), as many copies of the Prospectus (including all amendments and supplements thereto and documents incorporated by reference therein) and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus as the Representative may reasonably request. As used herein, the term Prospectus Delivery Period means such period of time after the first date of the public offering of
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the Securities as in the opinion of counsel for the Underwriters a prospectus relating to the Securities is required by law to be delivered (or required to be delivered but for Rule 172 under the Securities Act) in connection with sales of the Securities by any Underwriter or dealer.
(c) Amendments or Supplements; Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses. Prior to the later of the Closing Date and the date of completion of offers and sales of the Securities, before making, preparing, using, authorizing, approving, referring to or filing any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, and before filing any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, the Company will furnish to the Representative and counsel for the Underwriters a copy of the proposed Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, amendment or supplement for review and will not make, prepare, use, authorize, approve, refer to or file any such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or file any such proposed amendment or supplement to which the Representative reasonably objects in writing.
(d) Notice to the Representative. During the Prospectus Delivery Period, the Company will advise the Representative promptly, and confirm such advice in writing, (i) when any amendment to the Registration Statement has been filed or becomes effective; (ii) when any supplement to the Prospectus or any amendment to the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus has been filed; (iii) of any request by the Commission for any amendment to the Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus or the receipt of any comments from the Commission relating to the Registration Statement or any other request by the Commission for any additional information; (iv) of the issuance by the Commission of any order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act; (v) of the occurrence of any event within the Prospectus Delivery Period as a result of which the Prospectus, the Time of Sale Information or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances existing when the Prospectus, the Time of Sale Information or any such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus is delivered to a purchaser, not misleading; (vi) of the receipt by the Company of any notice of objection of the Commission to the use of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Securities Act; and (vii) of the receipt by the Company of any notice with respect to any suspension of the qualification of the Securities for offer and sale in any jurisdiction or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose; and the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to prevent the issuance of any such order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus or suspending any such qualification of the Securities and, if any such order is issued, will use its commercially reasonably efforts to obtain as soon as possible the withdrawal thereof.
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(e) Time of Sale Information. If at any time prior to the Closing Date (i) any event shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which the Time of Sale Information as then amended or supplemented would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances, not misleading or (ii) it is necessary to amend or supplement the Time of Sale Information to comply with law, the Company will immediately notify the Underwriters thereof and forthwith prepare and, subject to paragraph (c) above, file with the Commission (to the extent required) and furnish to the Underwriters and to such dealers as the Representative may designate, such amendments or supplements to the Time of Sale Information as may be necessary so that the statements in the Time of Sale Information as so amended or supplemented will not, in the light of the circumstances, be misleading or so that the Time of Sale Information will comply with law.
(f) Ongoing Compliance. If during the Prospectus Delivery Period (i) any event shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances existing when the Prospectus is delivered to a purchaser, not misleading or (ii) it is necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus to comply with law, the Company will immediately notify the Underwriters thereof and forthwith prepare and, subject to paragraph (c) above, file with the Commission and furnish to the Underwriters and to such dealers as the Representative may designate, such amendments or supplements to the Prospectus as may be necessary so that the statements in the Prospectus as so amended or supplemented will not, in the light of the circumstances existing when the Prospectus is delivered to a purchaser, be misleading or so that the Prospectus will comply with law.
(g) Blue Sky Compliance. The Company will qualify the Securities for offer and sale under the securities or Blue Sky laws of such jurisdictions as the Representative shall reasonably request and will continue such qualifications in effect so long as required for distribution of the Securities; provided that the Company shall not be required to (i) qualify as a foreign corporation or other entity or as a dealer in securities in any such jurisdiction where it would not otherwise be required to so qualify, (ii) file any general consent to service of process in any such jurisdiction or (iii) subject itself to taxation in any such jurisdiction if it is not otherwise so subject.
(h) Earning Statement. The Company will make generally available to its security holders as soon as practicable an earning statement that satisfies the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and Rule 158 of the Commission promulgated thereunder covering a period of at least twelve months beginning with the first fiscal quarter of the Company occurring after the effective date (as defined in Rule 158) of the Registration Statement.
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(i) Clear Market. The Company will not for a period of 30 days following the Time of Sale, without the prior written consent of the Representative offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, otherwise dispose of, or enter into any transaction which is designed to, or might reasonably be expected to, result in the disposition (whether by actual disposition or effective economic disposition due to cash settlement or otherwise) by the Company or any affiliate of the Company or any person in privity with the Company or any affiliate of the Company, directly or indirectly, or announce the offering, of any debt securities issued or guaranteed by the Company (other than the Securities).
(j) Use of Proceeds. The Company will apply the net proceeds from the sale of the Securities as described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus under the heading Use of Proceeds.
(k) No Stabilization. The Company will not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that has constituted or that would reasonably be expected to cause or result, under the Exchange Act or otherwise, in stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Securities.
(l) Record Retention . The Company will, pursuant to reasonable procedures developed in good faith, retain copies of each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is not filed with the Commission in accordance with Rule 433 under the Securities Act.
(m) DTC . The Company will cooperate with the Representative and use its best efforts to permit the Securities to be eligible for clearance and settlement through The Depository Trust Company.
5. Certain Agreements of the Underwriters . Each Underwriter hereby represents and agrees that
(a) It has not and will not use, authorize use of, refer to, or participate in the planning for use of, any free writing prospectus, as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act (which term includes use of any written information furnished to the Commission by the Company and not incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement and any press release issued by the Company) other than (i) a free writing prospectus that, solely as a result of use by such Underwriter, would not trigger an obligation to file such free writing prospectus with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433, (ii) any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus listed on Annex B or prepared pursuant to Section 3(c) or Section 4(c) above (including any electronic road show), or (iii) any free writing prospectus prepared by such Underwriter and approved by the Company in advance in writing (each such free writing prospectus referred to in clauses (i) or (iii), an Underwriter Free Writing Prospectus). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Underwriters may use a term sheet substantially in the form of Annex C hereto without the consent of the Company.
(b) It is not subject to any pending proceeding under Section 8A of the Securities Act with respect to the offering (and will promptly notify the Company if any such proceeding against it is initiated during the Prospectus Delivery Period).
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(c) In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area which has implemented the Prospectus Directive (each, a Relevant Member State), with effect from and including the date on which the Prospectus Directive is implemented in that Relevant Member State (the Relevant Implementation Date) it has not made and will not make an offer of the Securities to the public in that Relevant Member State prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the Securities which has been approved by the competent authority in that Relevant Member State or, where appropriate, approved in another Relevant Member State and notified to the competent authority in that Relevant Member State, all in accordance with the Prospectus Directive, except that it may, with effect from and including the Relevant Implementation Date, make an offer of the Securities to the public in that Relevant Member State:
(i) | to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Directive; |
(ii) | to fewer than 100 or, if the Relevant Member State has implemented the relevant provision of the 2010 PD Amending Directive, 150, natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors, as defined in the Prospectus Directive), as permitted under the Prospectus Directive, subject to obtaining the prior consent of the Representative for any such offer; or; |
(iii) | in any other circumstances falling within article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive. |
provided that no such offer of the Securities shall result in a requirement for the publication by the Company or the Representative of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 16 of the Prospectus Directive.
For the purposes of this provision, the expression an offer of Securities to the public in relation to any Securities in any Relevant Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the Securities to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe the Securities, as the same may be varied in that Relevant Member State by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that Relevant Member State and the expression Prospectus Directive means Directive 2003/71/EC (and amendments thereto, including the 2010 PD Amending Directive, to the extent implemented in the Relevant Member State), and includes any relevant implementing measure in the Relevant Member State and the expression 2010 PD Amending Directive means Directive 2010/73/EU.
(d) It has only communicated and caused to be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated any invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA)) received by it in connection with the issue or sale of any Securities in circumstances in which section 21(1) of the FSMA does not apply to the Company.
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(e) It has complied and will comply with all applicable provisions of the FSMA with respect to anything done by it in relation to the Securities in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom.
6. Conditions of Underwriters Obligations. The obligation of each Underwriter to purchase Securities on the Closing Date as provided herein is subject to the performance by the Company of its covenants and other obligations hereunder and to the following additional conditions:
(a) Registration Compliance; No Stop Order. No order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall be in effect, and no proceeding for such purpose, pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) or pursuant to Section 8A under the Securities Act shall be pending before or overtly threatened by the Commission; the Prospectus and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus shall have been timely filed with the Commission under the Securities Act (in the case of a Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, to the extent required by Rule 433 under the Securities Act) and in accordance with Section 4(a) hereof; and all requests by the Commission for additional information to be included in the Registration Statement or Prospectus shall have been complied with to the reasonable satisfaction of the Representative.
(b) Representations and Warranties. The representations and warranties of the Company contained herein shall be true and correct on the date hereof and on and as of the Closing Date; and the statements of the Company and its officers made in any certificates delivered pursuant to this Agreement shall be true and correct on and as of the Closing Date.
(c) No Downgrade. Subsequent to the earlier of (A) the Time of Sale and (B) the execution and delivery of this Agreement, (i) no downgrading shall have occurred in the rating accorded the Securities or any other debt securities or preferred stock of or guaranteed by the Company or any of its subsidiaries by any nationally recognized statistical rating organization, as such term is defined by the Commission for purposes of Section 3(a)(62) of the Exchange Act and (ii) no such organization shall have publicly announced that it has under surveillance or review, or has changed its outlook with respect to, its rating of the Securities or of any other debt securities or preferred stock of or guaranteed by the Company or any of its subsidiaries (other than an announcement with positive implications of a possible upgrading).
(d) No Material Adverse Change. No event or condition of a type described in Section 3(g) hereof shall have occurred or shall exist, which event or condition is not described in the Time of Sale Information (excluding any amendment or supplement thereto) and the Prospectus (excluding any amendment or supplement thereto) and the effect of which in the judgment of the Representative makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offering, sale or delivery of the Securities on the terms and in the manner contemplated by this Agreement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus.
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(e) Officers Certificate. The Representative shall have received on and as of the Closing Date a certificate of an executive officer of the Company who has specific knowledge of the Companys financial matters and is reasonably satisfactory to the Representative (i) confirming that such officer has carefully reviewed the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus and, to the best knowledge of such officer, the representations set forth in Sections 3(b) and 3(d) hereof are true and correct, as of the date of this Agreement and the Closing Date, (ii) confirming that the other representations and warranties of the Company in this Agreement are true and correct, as of the date of this Agreement and the Closing Date, and that the Company has complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied hereunder at or prior to the Closing Date and (iii) to the effect set forth in paragraphs (a), (c) and (d) above.
(f) Comfort Letters of KPMG. On the date of this Agreement and on the Closing Date, KPMG LLP shall have furnished to the Representative, at the request of the Company, letters, dated the respective dates of delivery thereof and addressed to the Underwriters, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representative, containing statements and information of the type customarily included in accountants comfort letters to underwriters with respect to the financial statements and certain financial information contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus; provided that the letter delivered on the Closing Date shall use a cut-off date no more than three business days prior to the Closing Date.
(g) Comfort Letters of Ernst & Young. On the date of this Agreement and on the Closing Date, Ernst & Young LLP shall have furnished to the Representative, at the request of the Company, letters, dated the respective dates of delivery thereof and addressed to the Underwriters, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representative, containing statements and information of the type customarily included in accountants comfort letters to underwriters with respect to the financial statements and certain financial information contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus.
(h) Opinion and 10b-5 Statement of Counsel for the Company. Jones Day, counsel for the Company, shall have furnished to the Representative, at the request of the Company, their written opinion (including a 10b-5 statement), dated the Closing Date and addressed to the Underwriters, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representative, substantially in the form attached as Annex A-1 hereto. Kathleen Quinn Abernathy, Chief Legal Officer and Executive Vice President, Regulatory and Government Affairs for the Company, shall have furnished to the Representative, at the request of the Company, her written opinion, dated the Closing Date and addressed to the Underwriters, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representative, substantially in the form attached as Annex A-2 hereto.
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(i) Opinion and 10b-5 Statement of Counsel for the Underwriters. The Representative shall have received from Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, such opinion or opinions, dated the Closing Date and addressed to the Representative, with respect to such matters as the Representative may reasonably request, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel such documents and information as they may reasonably request for the purpose of enabling them to pass upon such matters.
(j) No Legal Impediment to Issuance. No action shall have been taken and no statute, rule, regulation or order shall have been enacted, adopted or issued by any federal, state or foreign governmental or regulatory authority that would, as of the Closing Date, prevent the issuance or sale of the Securities; and no injunction or order of any federal, state or foreign court shall have been issued that would, as of the Closing Date, prevent the issuance or sale of the Securities.
(k) Good Standing . The Representative shall have received on and as of the Closing Date satisfactory evidence of the good standing of each of the Company and each Significant Subsidiary in their respective jurisdiction of organization and their respective good standing in such other jurisdictions as the Representative may reasonably request, in each case in writing or any standard form of telecommunication from the appropriate governmental authorities of such jurisdictions.
(l) DTC. The Securities shall be eligible for clearance and settlement through The Depository Trust Company.
(m) Additional Documents. On or prior to the Closing Date, the Company shall have furnished to the Representative such further information, certificates and documents as the Representative may reasonably request.
All opinions, letters, certificates and evidence mentioned above or elsewhere in this Agreement shall be deemed to be in compliance with the provisions hereof only if they are in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters.
7. Indemnification and Contribution .
(a) Indemnification of the Underwriters. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, its affiliates, directors and officers and each person, if any, who controls such Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, from and against any and all losses, claims, damages and liabilities (including, without limitation, legal fees and other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with any suit, action or proceeding or any claim asserted, as such fees and expenses are incurred), joint or several, that arise out of, or are based upon, (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement or caused by any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in
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order to make the statements therein, not misleading, (ii) or any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any Time of Sale Information, or caused by any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, in each case except insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities arise out of, or are based upon, any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with any information relating to any Underwriter furnished to the Company in writing by such Underwriter through the Representative expressly for use therein.
(b) Indemnification of the Company. Each Underwriter agrees, severally and not jointly, to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its directors, its officers who signed the Registration Statement and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act to the same extent as the indemnity set forth in paragraph (a) above, but only with respect to any losses, claims, damages or liabilities that arise out of, or are based upon, any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with any information relating to such Underwriter furnished to the Company in writing by such Underwriter through the Representative expressly for use in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any Time of Sale Information, it being understood and agreed that the only such information consists of the following: the third, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh paragraphs in the section entitled Underwriting in the Prospectus.
(c) Notice and Procedures. If any suit, action, proceeding (including any governmental or regulatory investigation), claim or demand shall be brought or asserted against any person in respect of which indemnification may be sought pursuant to either paragraph (a) or (b) above, such person (the Indemnified Person) shall promptly notify the person against whom such indemnification may be sought (the Indemnifying Person) in writing; provided that the failure to notify the Indemnifying Person shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have under paragraph (a) or (b) above except to the extent that it has been materially prejudiced (through the forfeiture of substantive rights or defenses) by such failure; and provided, further, that the failure to notify the Indemnifying Person shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have to an Indemnified Person otherwise than under paragraph (a) or (b) above. If any such proceeding shall be brought or asserted against an Indemnified Person and it shall have notified the Indemnifying Person thereof, the Indemnifying Person shall retain counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Indemnified Person (who shall not, without the consent of the Indemnified Person, be counsel to the Indemnifying Person) to represent the Indemnified Person and any others entitled to indemnification pursuant to Section 7 that the Indemnifying Party may designate in such proceeding and shall pay the fees and expenses of such proceeding and shall pay the fees and expenses of counsel related to such proceeding, as reasonably incurred. In any such proceeding, any Indemnified
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Person shall have the right to retain its own counsel, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of such Indemnified Person unless (i) the Indemnifying Person and the Indemnified Person shall have mutually agreed to the contrary; (ii) the Indemnifying Person has failed within a reasonable time to retain counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Indemnified Person; (iii) the Indemnified Person shall have reasonably concluded that there may be legal defenses available to it that are different from or in addition to those available to the Indemnifying Person; or (iv) the named parties in any such proceeding (including any impleaded parties) include both the Indemnifying Person and the Indemnified Person and representation of both parties by the same counsel would be inappropriate due to actual or potential differing interest between them. It is understood and agreed that the Indemnifying Person shall not, in connection with any proceeding or related proceeding in the same jurisdiction, be liable for the fees and expenses of more than one separate firm (in addition to any local counsel) for all Indemnified Persons, and that all such fees and expenses shall be reimbursed as they are incurred. Any such separate firm for any Underwriter, its affiliates, directors and officers and any control persons of such Underwriter shall be designated in writing by Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and any such separate firm for the Company, its directors, its officers who signed the Registration Statement and any control persons of the Company shall be designated in writing by the Company. The Indemnifying Person shall not be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent, but if settled with such consent or if there be a final judgment for the plaintiff, the Indemnifying Person agrees to indemnify each Indemnified Person from and against any loss or liability by reason of such settlement or judgment. No Indemnifying Person shall, without the written consent of the Indemnified Person, effect any settlement of any pending or threatened proceeding in respect of which any Indemnified Person is or could reasonably have been expected to become a party and indemnification could have been sought hereunder by such Indemnified Person, unless such settlement (x) includes an unconditional release of such Indemnified Person, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to such Indemnified Person, from all liability on claims that are the subject matter of such proceeding and (y) does not include any statement as to or any admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any Indemnified Person.
(d) Contribution. If the indemnification provided for in paragraphs (a) and (b) above is unavailable to an Indemnified Person or insufficient in respect of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities referred to therein, then each Indemnifying Person under such paragraph, in lieu of indemnifying such Indemnified Person thereunder, shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such Indemnified Person as a result of such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other from the offering of the Securities or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) but also the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other in connection with the statements or omissions that resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company
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on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the net proceeds (before deducting expenses) received by the Company from the sale of the Securities and the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters in connection therewith, in each case as set forth in the table on the cover of the Prospectus, bear to the aggregate offering price of the Securities. The relative fault of the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or by the Underwriters and the parties relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.
(e) Limitation on Liability. The Company and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 7 were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation that does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in paragraph (d) above. The amount paid or payable by an Indemnified Person as a result of the losses, claims, damages and liabilities referred to in paragraph (d) above shall be deemed to include, subject to the limitations set forth above, any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such Indemnified Person in connection with any such action or claim. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 7, in no event shall an Underwriter be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by such Underwriter with respect to the offering of the Securities exceeds the amount of any damages that such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. The Underwriters obligations to contribute pursuant to this Section 7 are several in proportion to their respective purchase obligations hereunder and not joint.
(f) Non-Exclusive Remedies. The remedies provided for in this Section 7 are not exclusive and shall not limit any rights or remedies which may otherwise be available to any Indemnified Person at law or in equity.
8. Effectiveness of Agreement . This Agreement shall become effective upon the execution and delivery hereof by the parties hereto.
9. Termination . This Agreement may be terminated in the absolute discretion of the Representative, by notice to the Company, if after the execution and delivery of this Agreement and prior to the Closing Date (i) trading generally shall have been suspended or materially limited on the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq or the over-the-counter market; (ii) trading of any securities issued or guaranteed by the Company shall have been suspended on any exchange or in any over-the-counter market; (iii) a general moratorium on commercial banking activities shall have been declared by
23
federal or New York State authorities; or (iv) there shall have occurred any outbreak or escalation of hostilities or any change in financial markets or any calamity or crisis, either within or outside the United States, that, in the judgment of the Representative, is material and adverse and makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offering, sale or delivery of the Securities on the terms and in the manner contemplated by this Agreement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus.
10. Defaulting Underwriter . (a) If, on the Closing Date, any Underwriter defaults on its obligation to purchase the Securities that it has agreed to purchase hereunder, the non-defaulting Underwriters may in their discretion arrange for the purchase of such Securities by other persons satisfactory to the Company on the terms contained in this Agreement. If, within 36 hours after any such default by any Underwriter, the non-defaulting Underwriters do not arrange for the purchase of such Securities, then the Company shall be entitled to a further period of 36 hours within which to procure other persons satisfactory to the non-defaulting Underwriters to purchase such Securities on such terms. If other persons become obligated or agree to purchase the Securities of a defaulting Underwriter, either the non-defaulting Underwriters or the Company may postpone the Closing Date for up to five full business days in order to effect any changes that in the opinion of counsel for the Company or counsel for the Underwriters may be necessary in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus or in any other document or arrangement, and the Company agrees to promptly prepare any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus that effects any such changes. As used in this Agreement, the term Underwriter includes, for all purposes of this Agreement unless the context otherwise requires, any person not listed in Schedule 1 hereto that, pursuant to this Section 10, purchases Securities that a defaulting Underwriter agreed but failed to purchase.
(b) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Securities of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by the non-defaulting Underwriters, on the one hand, and the Company, on the other hand, as provided in paragraph (a) above, the aggregate principal amount of such Securities that remains unpurchased does not exceed one-eleventh of the aggregate principal amount of all the Securities, then the Company shall have the right to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase the principal amount of Securities that such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder plus such Underwriters pro rata share (based on the principal amount of Securities that such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder) of the Securities of such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters for which such arrangements have not been made.
(c) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Securities of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by the non-defaulting Underwriters, on the one hand, and the Company, on the other hand, as provided in paragraph (a) above, the aggregate principal amount of such Securities that remains unpurchased exceeds one-eleventh of the aggregate principal amount of all the Securities, or if the Company shall not exercise the right described in paragraph (b) above, then this Agreement shall terminate without liability on the part of the non-defaulting Underwriters. Any termination of this Agreement pursuant to this Section 10 shall be without liability on the part of the Company, except that the Company will continue to be liable for the payment of expenses as set forth in Section 11 hereof and except that the provisions of Section 7 hereof shall not terminate and shall remain in effect.
24
(d) Nothing contained herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter of any liability it may have to the Company or any non-defaulting Underwriter for damages caused by its default.
11. Payment of Expenses . (a) Whether or not the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are consummated or this Agreement is terminated, the Company will pay or cause to be paid all costs and expenses incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder, including without limitation, (i) the costs incident to the authorization, issuance, sale, preparation and delivery of the Securities and any taxes payable in that connection; (ii) the costs incident to the preparation, printing and filing under the Securities Act of the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus (including all exhibits, amendments and supplements thereto) and the distribution thereof; (iii) the costs of reproducing and distributing each of the Transaction Documents; (iv) the fees and expenses of the Companys counsel and independent accountants; (v) the fees and expenses incurred in connection with the registration or qualification and determination of eligibility for investment of the Securities under the laws of such jurisdictions as the Representative may designate and the preparation, printing and distribution of a Blue Sky Memorandum (including the related fees and expenses of counsel for the Underwriters); (vi) any fees charged by rating agencies for rating the Securities; (vii) the fees and expenses of the Trustee and any paying agent (including related fees and expenses of any counsel to such parties); and (viii) all expenses incurred by the Company in connection with any road show presentation to potential investors.
(b) If (i) this Agreement is terminated pursuant to Section 9, (ii) the Company for any reason fails to tender the Securities for delivery to the Underwriters or (iii) the Underwriters decline to purchase the Securities for any reason permitted under this Agreement, the Company agrees to reimburse the Underwriters for all out-of-pocket costs and expenses (including the reasonable fees and expenses of their counsel) reasonably incurred by the Underwriters in connection with this Agreement and the offering contemplated hereby.
12. Persons Entitled to Benefit of Agreement . This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors and the officers and directors and any controlling persons referred to herein, and the affiliates of each Underwriter referred to in Section 7 hereof. Nothing in this Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give any other person any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement or any provision contained herein. No purchaser of Securities from any Underwriter shall be deemed to be a successor merely by reason of such purchase.
25
13. Survival . The respective indemnities, rights of contribution, representations, warranties, agreements and other statements of the Company or its officers and the Underwriters contained in this Agreement or made by or on behalf of the Company or its officers or the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement or any certificate delivered pursuant hereto shall survive the delivery of and payment for the Securities and shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of any termination of this Agreement or any investigation made by or on behalf of the Company or the Underwriters or any of the Indemnified Persons referred to in Section 7 hereof.
14. Certain Defined Terms . For purposes of this Agreement, (a) except where otherwise expressly provided, the term affiliate has the meaning set forth in Rule 405 under the Securities Act; (b) the term business day means any day other than a day on which banks are permitted or required to be closed in New York City and (c) the term subsidiary has the meaning set forth in Rule 405 under the Securities Act.
15. Miscellaneous . (a) Authority of the Representative. Any action by the Underwriters hereunder may be taken by Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. on behalf of the Underwriters, and any such action taken by Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. shall be binding upon the Underwriters.
(b) Notices. All notices and other communications hereunder will be in writing and effective only on receipt, and, if sent to the Representative, will be mailed, delivered or telefaxed to Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., 60 Wall Street, New York, New York 10005, Attention: Leveraged Debt Capital Markets, (fax no.: (212) 797-4877), with a copy to General Counsel, 36th Floor (fax no.: (212) 797-4561). With a copy to: Corey Chivers, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, 767 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10153 (fax no.: (212) 310-8007). If sent to the Company, notices will be mailed, delivered or telefaxed to (203) 614-4602 and confirmed to it at 3 High Ridge Park, Stamford, CT 06905, attention of the Legal Department.
(c) Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.
(d) Counterparts. This Agreement may be signed in one or more counterparts (which may include counterparts delivered by any standard form of telecommunication), each of which shall constitute an original and all of which together shall constitute one and the same agreement.
(e) Integration . This Agreement supersedes all prior agreements and understandings (whether written or oral) between the Company and the Underwriters, or any of them, with respect to the subject matter hereof.
(f) Waiver of Jury Trial . The Company hereby irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.
26
(g) Waiver of Tax Confidentiality . Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, purchasers of the Securities (and each employee, representative or other agent of a purchaser) may disclose to any and all persons, without limitation of any kind, the U.S. tax treatment and U.S. tax structure of any transaction contemplated herein and all materials of any kind (including opinions or other tax analyses) that are provided to the purchasers of the Securities relating to such U.S. tax treatment and U.S tax structure, other than any information for which nondisclosure is reasonably necessary in order to comply with applicable securities laws.
(h) USA Patriot Act . In accordance with the requirements of the USA Patriot Act (Title III of Pub. L. 107-56 (signed into law October 26, 2001)), the Underwriters are required to obtain, verify and record information that identifies their respective clients, including the Company, which information may include the name and address of their respective clients, as well as other information that will allow the Underwriters to properly identify their respective clients.
(i) Amendments or Waivers. No amendment or waiver of any provision of this Agreement, nor any consent or approval to any departure therefrom, shall in any event be effective unless the same shall be in writing and signed by the parties hereto.
(j) Headings. The headings herein are included for convenience of reference only and are not intended to be part of, or to affect the meaning or interpretation of, this Agreement.
27
If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding, please indicate your acceptance of this Agreement by signing in the space provided below, whereupon this letter and your acceptance shall represent a binding agreement between the Company and the several Underwriters.
Very truly yours, | ||||||||
FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION | ||||||||
By: | /s/ Donald R. Shassian | |||||||
Name: | Donald R. Shassian | |||||||
Title: |
Executive Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer |
28
The foregoing Agreement is hereby confirmed and accepted as of the date first above written.
DEUTSCHE BANK SECURITIES INC. | ||
By: | /s/ Alexandra Barth | |
Name: | Alexandra Barth | |
Title: | Managing Director | |
By: | /s/ Scott Sartorius | |
Name: | Scott Sartorius | |
Title: | Managing Director |
For itself and the other several Underwriters named in Schedule I to the foregoing Agreement.
29
Schedule 1
Underwriter |
Principal Amount | |||
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. |
$ | 152,500,000 | ||
Barclays Capital Inc. |
82,500,000 | |||
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC |
82,500,000 | |||
RBS Securities Inc. |
82,500,000 | |||
Citigroup Global Markets Inc. |
25,000,000 | |||
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC |
25,000,000 | |||
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC |
25,000,000 | |||
Mitsubishi UFJ Securities (USA), Inc. |
5,000,000 | |||
TD Securities (USA) LLC |
5,000,000 | |||
Goldman, Sachs & Co. |
5,000,000 | |||
RBC Capital Markets, LLC |
5,000,000 | |||
Raymond James & Associates, Inc. |
5,000,000 | |||
|
|
|||
Total |
$ | 500,000,000 |
30
Annex A-1
[Form of Jones Day Opinion]
31
Annex A-2
May [ ], 2012
DEUTSCHE BANK SECURITIES INC.
As Representative of the several Underwriters
named in Schedule 1 to the Underwriting
Agreement referred to below
c/o DEUTSCHE BANK SECURITIES INC.
60 Wall Street
New York, NY 10005
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I am Chief Legal Officer and Executive Vice President, Regulatory and Government Affairs of Frontier Communications Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the Company). In connection with the Underwriting Agreement dated May [17], 2012 (the Underwriting Agreement) between the Company and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., as Representative of the several underwriters (the Underwriters) listed in Schedule 1 to the Underwriting Agreement, the Underwriters intend to purchase $[ ] million aggregate principal amount of the Companys [ ]% Senior Notes due 20[ ] (the Notes) to be issued pursuant to the Indenture dated as of April 9, 2009, as supplemented by the Third Supplemental Indenture, dated as of May [ ], 2012 (together, the Indenture), between The Bank of New York Mellon, as trustee, and the Company.
This opinion is being delivered to you pursuant to Section 6(h) of the Underwriting Agreement. Capitalized terms used herein but not defined shall have the meanings assigned to such terms in the Underwriting Agreement.
In connection with this opinion, I, or attorneys under my supervision, have examined originals, or copies certified or otherwise identified to my satisfaction, of the Restated Certificate of Incorporation and By-laws of the Company and Frontier Communications ILEC Holdings Inc. (the Significant Subsidiary), in each case as amended to date, and such documents and records and other instruments as I have deemed appropriate for purposes of the opinions set forth herein, including but not limited to the following documents (the documents referred to in clauses (1) through (3) below are referred to herein as the Transaction Documents):
1. | the Underwriting Agreement; |
2. | the Indenture; |
3. | the global securities representing the Notes to be issued on the date hereof; |
4. | the Time of Sale Information; and |
5. | the Prospectus. |
32
For the purposes of this opinion, I have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the authenticity of all documents submitted to me as originals and the conformity to the originals of all documents submitted to me as copies. As to facts that are material to the opinions hereinafter expressed that I did not independently establish or verify, I have relied upon certificates of officers or directors of the Company and upon those certificates of public officials I considered appropriate.
I am admitted to practice only in the District of Columbia, and I express no opinion as to matters governed by any laws other than the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware and the federal law of the United States of America.
Based upon and relying upon the foregoing, and subject to the assumptions and qualifications contained herein, I am of the opinion, as of the date hereof, that:
1. | The Company is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware, with all necessary corporate power and authority to execute and deliver each Transaction Document and to perform its obligations thereunder, to own and operate its properties and assets and to carry on its business as currently conducted and as described in the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus; |
2. | The statements in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011 under the headings Item 3 Legal Proceedings, Business Regulatory Environment and Risk Factors Risks Related to Regulation, in each case insofar as such statements constitute summaries of the legal matters, documents, conclusions, or proceedings referred to therein, in all material respects fairly present the information called for with respect to such legal matters, documents, conclusions, and proceedings and fairly summarize the matters referred to therein; |
3. | No authorization, approval or other action by, and no notice to, consent of, order of, or filing with, any governmental authority in charge of laws and regulations relating to the provision of telecommunication services is required to be made or obtained by the Company for the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Underwriting Agreement, other than those that have been obtained or made prior to the date hereof; |
4. | There is no pending or, to my knowledge, overtly threatened action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or the Significant Subsidiary or their respective properties that is not adequately disclosed in the Time of Sale Information and theProspectus, except in each case for such proceedings that would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; |
33
5. | None of the execution and delivery of the Indenture or the Underwriting Agreement, the issuance and sale of the Notes, the consummation of any other of the transactions contemplated thereby, or the fulfillment of the terms thereof will conflict with, result in a breach or violation of, or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or asset of the Company or the Significant Subsidiary pursuant any Federal Communications Commission statute, law, rule or regulation applicable to the Company or the Significant Subsidiary of any court, regulatory body, administrative agency, governmental body, arbitrator or other authority having jurisdiction over the Company, its Significant Subsidiary or any of their respective properties; |
6. | The Significant Subsidiary is validly existing, and based solely on certificates from the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware, the Significant Subsidiary is in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its formation; and |
7. | The Company, either directly or through wholly owned subsidiaries, owns all outstanding limited liability company or similar entity interests of the Significant Subsidiary free and clear of any perfected security interest and any other security interest, claim, lien or encumbrance. |
The opinions expressed herein are furnished by me as Chief Legal Officer of the Company and are solely for the benefit of the Underwriters and solely with respect to the purchase of the Notes from the Company by the Underwriters, and, other than as stated hereunder, may not be relied upon in any manner for any other purpose, or by any other persons, without my prior written consent.
I hereby consent to reliance on the opinions expressed herein by Jones Day, counsel to the Company, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, counsel to the Underwriters, solely for the purpose of their respective opinions also to be rendered under the Underwriting Agreement, and not in any other manner for any other purpose, or by any other persons, without my prior written consent.
Yours faithfully,
KATHLEEN QUINN ABERNATHY
Chief Legal Officer
Executive Vice President, Regulatory and
Government Affairs
34
Annex B
Time of Sale Information
Pricing Term Sheet, dated May 17, 2012, relating to the Notes, as filed pursuant to Rule 433 under the Securities Act and attached to the Underwriting Agreement as Annex C.
35
Annex C
Frontier Communications Corporation
Pricing Term Sheet
Issuer: |
Frontier Communications Corporation | |
Security: |
Senior Notes due 2021 | |
Size: |
$500,000,000 | |
Maturity: |
July 1, 2021 | |
Coupon: |
9.250% | |
Price: |
100.00% of aggregate principal amount | |
Yield to maturity: |
9.250% | |
Spread to Benchmark Treasury: |
774 basis points | |
Benchmark Treasury: |
3.125% due 5/15/2021 | |
Benchmark Treasury Yield: |
1.52% | |
Interest Payment Dates: |
January 1st and July 1st, commencing January 1st, 2013 | |
Make-whole call: |
At any time at a discount rate of Treasury plus 50 basis points | |
Settlement: |
T+3; May 22, 2012 | |
CUSIP: |
35906AAL2 | |
Underwriting discount: |
1.875% | |
Proceeds to Frontier (before expenses): |
$490,625,000 |
The issuer has filed a registration statement (including a prospectus) with the SEC for the offering to which this communication relates. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in that registration statement, the related prospectus supplement and other documents the issuer has filed with the SEC for more complete information about the issuer and this offering. You may get these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC Web site at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, the issuer, any underwriter or any dealer participating in the offering will arrange to send you the prospectus if you request it by calling Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. toll-free at 1-800-503-4611.
Any disclaimers or other notices that may appear below are not applicable to this communication and should be disregarded. Such disclaimers or other notices were automatically generated as a result of this communication being sent via Bloomberg or another email system.
36
Exhibit 4.1
FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION
and
The Bank of New York Mellon,
as Trustee
THIRD SUPPLEMENTAL INDENTURE
Dated as of May 22, 2012
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page | ||||||
ARTICLE 1. DEFINITIONS |
2 | |||||
Section 1.01. |
Generally |
2 | ||||
Section 1.02. |
Definitions Used Herein |
2 | ||||
ARTICLE 2. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE NOTES |
7 | |||||
Section 2.01. |
Designation and Principal Terms |
7 | ||||
Section 2.02. |
Issuance of Additional Notes |
8 | ||||
Section 2.03. |
Denominations |
8 | ||||
Section 2.04. |
Form of Note |
8 | ||||
Section 2.05. |
Global Notes |
8 | ||||
Section 2.06. |
Other Terms |
8 | ||||
ARTICLE 3. COVENANTS |
8 | |||||
Section 3.01. |
Limitation on Subsidiary Indebtedness |
8 | ||||
Section 3.02. |
Limitations on Liens |
9 | ||||
Section 3.03. |
Repurchase of Notes upon a Change of Control Triggering Event |
10 | ||||
Section 3.04. |
Termination of Certain Covenants |
11 | ||||
Section 3.05. |
Defeasance |
12 | ||||
ARTICLE 4. REDEMPTION |
12 | |||||
Section 4.01. |
Optional Redemption |
12 | ||||
Section 4.02. |
Partial Redemption |
13 | ||||
ARTICLE 5. MISCELLANEOUS |
13 | |||||
Section 5.01. |
Ratification of Indenture |
13 | ||||
Section 5.02. |
Governing Law |
13 | ||||
Section 5.03. |
Direction to Trustee |
13 | ||||
Section 5.04. |
The Trustee |
13 | ||||
Section 5.05. |
Successors |
13 | ||||
Section 5.06. |
Severability |
13 | ||||
Section 5.07. |
Counterpart Originals |
13 | ||||
Section 5.08. |
Table of Contents, Headings, etc |
13 | ||||
EXHIBIT A |
A-1 |
i
THIRD SUPPLEMENTAL INDENTURE, dated as of May 22, 2012 (this Supplemental Indenture), between FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION, a Delaware corporation (the Company), and THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON, a New York banking corporation, as trustee (the Trustee).
W I T N E S S E T H :
WHEREAS, the Company and the Trustee have duly executed and delivered an Indenture, dated as of April 9, 2009 (the Base Indenture), as supplemented and amended by the First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of April 9, 2009 (the First Supplemental Indenture) and the Second Supplemental Indenture, dated as of October 1, 2009 (the Second Supplemental Indenture and, together with the Base Indenture and the First Supplemental Indenture, the Indenture), providing for the authentication, issuance and delivery of notes to be issued in one or more series from time to time by the Company (the Securities);
WHEREAS, pursuant to the terms of the Base Indenture, the Company desires to provide for the establishment of a new series of Securities to be known as its 9.250% Senior Notes due 2021 (the Notes) to be issued under the Indenture in an aggregate principal amount of $500,000,000, which may be authenticated and delivered as provided in the Base Indenture;
WHEREAS, the Company desires to supplement and amend the provisions of the Indenture to issue the Notes;
WHEREAS, Section 9.01 of the Base Indenture expressly permits the Company, when authorized by a Board Resolution, and the Trustee, upon the written request of the Company, to enter into one or more supplemental indentures for the purposes, inter alia , of providing for the issuance of and establishing the forms and terms of Notes of any series as permitted by Sections 2.01 and 2.02 of the Base Indenture, and permits the execution of such supplemental indentures without the consent of the Holders of any Notes then Outstanding;
WHEREAS, for the purposes hereinabove recited, and pursuant to a Board Resolution and due corporate action, the Company has duly determined to execute and deliver to the Trustee this Supplemental Indenture;
WHEREAS, the Company has requested that the Trustee execute and deliver this Supplemental Indenture;
WHEREAS, no consent of any Holder is required to execute and deliver this Supplemental Indenture; and
WHEREAS, all conditions and requirements necessary to make this Supplemental Indenture a valid and binding instrument in accordance with its terms have been done and performed, and the execution and delivery hereof has been in all respects duly authorized.
1
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the covenants and agreements set forth herein and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the Company and the Trustee mutually covenant and agree as follows:
Article 1. Definitions .
Section 1.01. Generally . Unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) A term not defined herein that is defined in the Base Indenture has the same meaning when used in this Supplemental Indenture;
(b) A term defined anywhere in this Supplemental Indenture has the same meaning throughout;
(c) A reference to a Section or Article is to a Section or Article of this Supplemental Indenture; and
(d) All dollars are United States dollars.
Section 1.02. Definitions Used Herein . For all purposes of this Supplemental Indenture, except as expressly provided or unless the context otherwise requires, the terms defined in this Section 1.02 shall have the respective meanings specified in this Section 1.02.
Acquired Indebtedness means Indebtedness of a Person existing at the time such Person becomes a Subsidiary of the Company or Indebtedness of a Subsidiary of the Company assumed in connection with an Asset Acquisition by such Subsidiary; provided such Indebtedness was not Incurred in connection with or in contemplation of such Person becoming a Subsidiary or such Asset Acquisition.
Adjusted Treasury Rate means, with respect to any redemption date:
(1) | the yield, under the heading which represents the average for the immediately preceding week, appearing in the most recently published statistical release designated H.15(519) or any successor publication which is published weekly by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and which establishes yields on actively traded United States Treasury securities adjusted to constant maturity under the caption Treasury Constant Maturities, for the maturity corresponding to the Comparable Treasury Issue (if no maturity is within three months before or after the Remaining Life, yields for the two published maturities most closely corresponding to the Comparable Treasury Issue shall be determined and the Adjusted Treasury Rate shall be interpolated or extrapolated from such yields on a straight line basis, rounding to the nearest month); or |
(2) | if such release (or any successor release) is not published during the week preceding the calculation date or does not contain such yields, the rate per annum equal to the semiannual equivalent yield to maturity of the Comparable Treasury Issue, calculated using a price for the Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed as a percentage of its principal amount) equal to the Comparable Treasury Price for such redemption date. |
The Adjusted Treasury Rate shall be calculated on the third Business Day preceding the redemption date.
Asset Acquisition means (1) an investment by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries in any other Person pursuant to which such Person shall become a Subsidiary or shall be merged into or consolidated with the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; or (2) an acquisition by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of the property and assets of any Person other than the Company or any of its Subsidiaries that constitute substantially all of a division, operating unit or line of business of such Person.
2
Beneficial Owner has the meaning assigned to such term in Rule 13d-3 and Rule 13d-5 under the Exchange Act, except that in calculating the beneficial ownership of any particular person as such term is used in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act, such person shall be deemed to have beneficial ownership of all securities that such person has the right to acquire by conversion or exercise of other securities, whether such right is currently exercisable or is exercisable only upon the occurrence of a subsequent condition.
Capital Lease Obligations means Indebtedness represented by obligations under a lease that is required to be capitalized for financial reporting purposes in accordance with GAAP. The amount of Indebtedness shall be the capitalized amount of the obligations determined in accordance with GAAP consistently applied.
Capital Stock means, with respect to any entity, any and all shares, interests, participations or other equivalents (however designated) of or in such entitys Common Stock or other equity interests, and options, rights or warrants to purchase such Common Stock or other equity interests, whether now outstanding or issued after the Issue Date.
Change of Control means the occurrence of any of the following:
(1) | the adoption of a plan relating to the liquidation or dissolution of the Company; |
(2) | any person, as such term is used in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act, becomes the Beneficial Owner, directly or indirectly, of more than 50% of the voting power of the Voting Stock of the Company; provided that a transaction in which the Company becomes a Subsidiary of another Person shall not constitute a Change of Control if (a) the stockholders of the Company immediately prior to such transaction beneficially own, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, 50% or more of the voting power of the outstanding Voting Stock of such other Person of whom the Company is then a Subsidiary and (b) immediately following such transaction no person (as defined above) other than such other Person, Beneficially Owns, directly or indirectly, more than 50% of the voting power of the Voting Stock of the Company; or |
(3) | the first day on which a majority of the members of the Board of Directors of the Company are not Continuing Directors. |
Change of Control Triggering Event means the occurrence of both a Change of Control and a Ratings Decline.
Commodity Agreement means any forward contract, commodity swap agreement, commodity option agreement or other similar agreement or arrangement.
Common Stock means:
(1) | in the case of a corporation, corporate stock; |
(2) | in the case of an association or business entity, any and all shares, interests, participations, rights or other equivalents (however designated) of corporate stock; |
(3) | in the case of a partnership or limited liability company, partnership or membership interests (whether general or limited); and |
(4) | any other interest or participation that confers on a Person the right to receive a share of the profits and losses of, or distributions of assets of, the issuing Person. |
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Comparable Treasury Issue means the United States Treasury security selected by an Independent Investment Banker as having a maturity comparable to the remaining term of the Notes that would be utilized, at the time of selection and in accordance with customary financial practice in pricing new issues of corporate debt securities of comparable maturity to the remaining term of the Notes ( Remaining Life ).
Comparable Treasury Price means, for any redemption date, (1) the average of four Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations for such redemption date, after excluding the highest and lowest Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations, or (2) if the Independent Investment Banker obtains fewer than four such Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations the average of all such quotations.
Continuing Director means, as of any date of determination, any member of the Board of Directors of the Company who:
(1) | was a member of such Board of Directors on the Issue Date; or |
(2) | was nominated for election or elected to such Board of Directors with the approval of a majority of the Continuing Directors who were members of such Board at the time of such nomination or election. |
Credit Facilities means one or more debt facilities or commercial paper facilities, in each case with banks or other lenders, providing for revolving credit loans, term loans, receivables financings, including through the sale of receivables to such lenders or to special purpose entities formed to borrow from such lenders against such receivables, letters of credit or other borrowings, including capital markets debt, in each case, as amended, restated, modified, renewed, refunded, replaced or refinanced in whole or in part from time to time.
Currency Agreement means any foreign exchange contract, currency swap agreement or other similar agreement or arrangement.
Designated Subsidiary means any Subsidiary of the Company (a) the Capital Stock of which the Company intends to distribute to its shareholders or (b) the assets or Capital Stock of which the Company intends to sell or otherwise dispose of to any Person other than the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, in each case, as evidenced by a Board Resolution.
Disqualified Stock means any class or series of Capital Stock of any Person that by its terms or otherwise is (1) required to be redeemed prior to the Stated Maturity of the Notes, (2) redeemable at the option of the holder of such class or series of Capital Stock at any time prior to the Stated Maturity of the Notes or (3) convertible into or exchangeable for Capital Stock referred to in clause (1) or (2) above or Indebtedness having a scheduled maturity prior to the Stated Maturity of the Notes.
Fair Market Value means the price that would be paid in an arms length transaction between an informed and willing seller under no compulsion to sell and an informed and willing buyer under no compulsion to buy, as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors, whose determination, unless otherwise specified, shall be conclusive if evidenced by a Board Resolution.
GAAP means generally accepted accounting principles set forth in the opinions and pronouncements of the Accounting Principles Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and in the statements and pronouncements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board or in such other statements by such other entity as have been approved by a significant segment of the accounting profession, as in effect from time to time. All ratios and computations contained or referred to in this Supplemental Indenture and the Base Indenture shall be computed in conformity with GAAP applied on a consistent basis.
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Global Notes means, individually and collectively, each of the Notes that is a Global Security, issued in accordance with Section 2.05 hereof, substantially in the form of Exhibit A hereto.
Guarantee means any obligation, contingent or otherwise, of any Person directly or indirectly guaranteeing any Indebtedness of any other Person and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, any obligation, direct or indirect, contingent or otherwise, of such Person (1) to purchase or pay (or advance or supply funds for the purchase or payment of) such Indebtedness of such other Person (whether arising by virtue of partnership arrangements, or by agreements to keep-well, to purchase assets, goods, securities or services (unless such purchase arrangements are on arms-length terms and are entered into in the ordinary course of business), to take-or-pay, or to maintain financial statement conditions or otherwise) or (2) entered into for purposes of assuring in any other manner the obligee of such Indebtedness of the payment thereof or to protect such obligee against loss in respect thereof (in whole or in part); provided that the term Guarantee shall not include endorsements for collection or deposit in the ordinary course of business. The term Guarantee used as a verb has a corresponding meaning.
Incur means, with respect to any Indebtedness, to incur, create, issue, assume, Guarantee or otherwise become liable for or with respect to, or become responsible for, the payment of, contingently or otherwise, such Indebtedness; provided that (1) any Indebtedness of a Person existing at the time such Person becomes a Subsidiary shall be deemed to be incurred by such Subsidiary at the time it becomes a Subsidiary and (2) neither the accrual of interest nor the accretion or amortization of original issue discount nor the payment of interest or dividend in the form of additional Indebtedness shall be considered an Incurrence of Indebtedness.
Indebtedness means, with respect to any Person at any date of determination (without duplication):
(1) | all indebtedness of such Person for borrowed money; |
(2) | all obligations of such Person evidenced by bonds, debentures, notes or other similar instruments; |
(3) | all obligations of such Person in respect of letters of credit or other similar instruments (including reimbursement obligations with respect thereto, but excluding obligations with respect to letters of credit (including trade letters of credit) securing obligations entered into in the ordinary course of business of such Person to the extent such letters of credit are not drawn upon or, if drawn upon, to the extent such drawing is reimbursed no later than the fifth Business Day following receipt by such Person of a demand for reimbursement); |
(4) | all obligations of such Person to pay the deferred and unpaid purchase price of property or services, which purchase price is due more than one year after the date of placing such property in service or taking delivery and title thereto or the completion of such services, except Trade Payables; |
(5) | all Capital Lease Obligations of such Person; |
(6) | all Indebtedness of other Persons secured by a Lien on any asset of such Person, whether or not such Indebtedness is assumed by such Person; provided that the amount of such Indebtedness shall be the lesser of (A) the Fair Market Value of such asset at such date of determination and (B) the amount of such Indebtedness; |
(7) | all Indebtedness of other Persons Guaranteed by such Person to the extent such Indebtedness is Guaranteed by such Person; |
(8) | to the extent not otherwise included in this definition, obligations under Interest Rate Agreements, Commodity Agreements and Currency Agreements, except for Interest Rate Agreements, Commodity Agreements and Currency Agreements entered into for the purpose of fixing, hedging or swapping interest rate, commodity price or foreign currency exchange rate risk; and |
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(9) | all Disqualified Stock issued by such Person with the amount of Indebtedness represented by such Disqualified Stock being equal to the greater of its voluntary or involuntary liquidation preference and its maximum fixed repurchase price, but excluding accrued dividends, if any. |
The amount of Indebtedness of any Person at any date shall be the outstanding balance at such date of all unconditional obligations as described above and, with respect to contingent obligations, the maximum liability upon the occurrence of the contingency giving rise to the obligation, provided :
(A) | that the amount outstanding at any time of any Indebtedness issued with original issue discount is the face amount of such Indebtedness less the remaining unamortized portion of the original issue discount of such Indebtedness at such time as determined in conformity with GAAP; |
(B) | that money borrowed and set aside at the time of the Incurrence of any Indebtedness in order to prefund the payment of the interest on such Indebtedness shall not be deemed to be Indebtedness so long as such money is held to secure the payment of such interest; and |
(C) | that Indebtedness shall not include: |
(I) | any liability for federal, state, local or other taxes; |
(II) | workers compensation claims, self-insurance obligations, performance, surety, appeal and similar bonds and completion guarantees provided in the ordinary course of business; |
(III) | obligations arising from the honoring by a bank or other financial institution of a check, draft or similar instrument drawn against insufficient funds in the ordinary course of business, provided that such Indebtedness is extinguished within two business days of its Incurrence; or |
(IV) | any Indebtedness defeased or called for redemption. |
Independent Investment Banker means one of the Reference Treasury Dealers appointed by the Company.
Interest Rate Agreement means any interest rate protection agreement, interest rate future agreement, interest rate option agreement, interest rate swap agreement, interest rate cap agreement, interest rate collar agreement, interest rate hedge agreement, option or future contract or other similar agreement or arrangement.
Issue Date means May 22, 2012.
Lien means, with respect to any property or assets, including Capital Stock, any mortgage or deed of trust, pledge, lien, hypothecation, assignment, deposit arrangement, security interest, charge, easement or zoning restriction that materially impairs usefulness or marketability, encumbrance, security agreement, Capital Lease Obligation, conditional sale, any other agreement that has the same economic effect as any of the above, or any sale and leaseback transaction.
Moodys means Moodys Investor Services, Inc. or any successor rating agency.
Permitted Amount means, at any time, the sum of (a) 10% of the value of the consolidated total assets of the Company and (b) 20% of the sum of the total consolidated current assets and net property, plant and equipment of the Company, in each case, as shown on, or computed from, the most recent quarterly or annual consolidated balance sheet filed by the Company with the Commission or provided to the Trustee.
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Ratings Agencies means Moodys and S&P.
Ratings Decline means the occurrence of the following on, or within 90 days after, the date of the public notice of the occurrence of a Change of Control or of the intention by the Company or any third-party to effect a Change of Control (which period shall be extended so long as the rating of the Notes is under publicly announced consideration for possible downgrade by any of the Ratings Agencies): (1) in the event that the Notes have an Investment Grade Rating by both Ratings Agencies, the Notes cease to have an Investment Grade Rating by one or both of the Ratings Agencies, or (2) in any other event, the rating of the Notes by either of the Ratings Agencies decreases by one or more gradations (including gradations within ratings categories as well as between rating categories) or is withdrawn.
Reference Treasury Dealer means any of the primary U.S. Government securities dealers in New York City.
Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations means, with respect to each Reference Treasury Dealer and any redemption date, the average, as determined by the Independent Investment Banker, of the bid and asked prices for the Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed in each case as a percentage of its principal amount) quoted in writing to the Independent Investment Banker at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the third Business Day preceding such redemption date.
S&P means Standard & Poors Rating Services, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., or any successor rating agency.
Stated Maturity means, (1) with respect to any debt security, the date specified in such debt security as the fixed date on which the final installment of principal of such debt security is due and payable and (2) with respect to any scheduled installment of principal of or interest on any debt security, the date specified in such debt security as the fixed date on which such installment is due and payable.
Subsidiary means, with respect to any Person, any corporation, association or other business entity of which more than 50% of the voting power of the outstanding Voting Stock is owned, directly or indirectly, by such Person and one or more other Subsidiaries of such Person.
Trade Payables means, with respect to any Person, any accounts payable or any other indebtedness or monetary obligation to trade creditors created, assumed or Guaranteed by such Person or any of its Subsidiaries arising in the ordinary course of business in connection with the acquisition of goods or services.
Voting Stock of any Person as of any date means the Capital Stock of such Person that is normally entitled to vote in the election of the Board of Directors of such Person.
Article 2. Terms and Conditions of the Notes .
There is hereby authorized the following new series of Notes:
Section 2.01. Designation and Principal Terms .
(a) The Notes are hereby authorized and designated as the 9.250% Senior Notes due 2021.
(b) The Notes shall be in an aggregate principal amount of $500,000,000, shall bear interest at a rate of 9.250% per annum, shall mature on July 1, 2021 and are subject to optional redemption, in whole or in part, at any time prior to the stated maturity date thereof pursuant to the terms set forth in Article 4 hereof. The Specified Currency of the Notes shall be U.S. dollars. The Notes are not subject to a sinking fund.
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(c) The date from which interest shall accrue on the Notes, the interest payment dates of the Notes, the record date with respect to each payment of interest on the Notes and all other terms of the Notes are set forth in the form of Note attached hereto.
Section 2.02. Issuance of Additional Notes . Subject to Section 2.02 of the Base Indenture, the Company shall be permitted to amend this Supplemental Indenture in order to increase the aggregate principal amount of the Notes issued hereunder without the consent of the Holders of Notes.
Section 2.03. Denominations . The Notes shall be issuable only in registered form, without interest coupons, in minimum denominations of $2,000 and any integral multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof.
Section 2.04. Form of Note . The Notes are to be substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A and shall have the terms set forth therein.
Section 2.05. Global Notes . The Notes shall be issued in the form of Global Notes. Each Global Note shall represent such of the Outstanding Notes as shall be specified therein and each shall provide that it shall represent the aggregate principal amount of Outstanding Notes from time to time endorsed thereon and that the aggregate principal amount of Outstanding Notes represented thereby may from time to time be reduced or increased, as appropriate, to reflect exchanges and redemptions. Any endorsement of a Global Note to reflect the amount of any increase or decrease in the aggregate principal amount of Outstanding Notes represented thereby shall be made by the Trustee, in accordance with instructions as required by the Indenture.
Section 2.06. Other Terms . The Notes shall be senior unsecured indebtedness of the Company and shall rank pari passu with all of the Companys other senior unsecured indebtedness outstanding from time to time. The Notes shall not be convertible into, or exchangeable for, any other securities of the Company, except that Notes shall be exchangeable for other Notes to the extent provided herein or in the Base Indenture.
Article 3. Covenants .
In addition to the covenants set forth in Article Four of the Base Indenture, the following additional covenants shall apply to the Company in connection with the Notes:
Section 3.01. Limitation on Subsidiary Indebtedness . The Company shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to Incur any Indebtedness, other than
(A) | Indebtedness of any Subsidiary of the Company consisting of (i) Guarantees by such Subsidiary of Indebtedness of the Company under Credit Facilities or (ii) Liens granted by such Subsidiary to secure such Guarantee or such Indebtedness of the Company, in an aggregate principal amount (without duplication), when taken together with the aggregate principal amount of Indebtedness secured by Liens on the property or assets (which includes capital stock) of the Company and its Subsidiaries Incurred pursuant to the second sentence and clause (1) of the first paragraph of Section 3.02, not to exceed the Permitted Amount at the time of Incurrence of such Guarantee or Lien; |
(B) | Indebtedness of any Designated Subsidiary or any Subsidiary of such Designated Subsidiary, provided that, with respect to this clause (B) only, no portion of such Indebtedness is recourse to the Company or any of its other Subsidiaries; |
(C) | Acquired Indebtedness; |
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(D) | Indebtedness existing on the Issue Date of any Subsidiary of the Company; |
(E) | Indebtedness of any Subsidiary of the Company issued in exchange for, or the net proceeds of which are used or will be used to extend, refinance, renew, replace, defease or refund, other Indebtedness that was permitted by this Supplemental Indenture to be Incurred under clause (C) or (D) of this Section 3.01; or |
(F) | Indebtedness in an aggregate principal amount, at anytime outstanding, not to exceed $250.0 million. |
The maximum amount of Indebtedness that may be Incurred pursuant to this Section 3.01 shall not be deemed to be exceeded with respect to any outstanding Indebtedness due solely to the result of fluctuations in the exchange rates of currencies.
Section 3.02. Limitations on Liens . The Company will not, and will not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, allow any Lien on any of the Companys or its Subsidiaries property or assets (which includes capital stock) securing Indebtedness, unless the Lien secures the Notes equally and ratably with, or prior to, any such Indebtedness secured by such Lien, for so long as such other Indebtedness is so secured, subject to certain exceptions described in this Section 3.02. This Section 3.02 shall not apply to secured debt which the Company or its Subsidiaries may issue, assume, guarantee or permit to exist up to 10% of the value of the consolidated total assets of the Company as shown on, or computed from, the most recent quarterly or annual balance sheet prepared in accordance with GAAP and filed by the Company with the Commission or provided to the Trustee. In addition, this Section 3.02 shall not apply to:
(1) | Liens securing Indebtedness and other obligations under any senior bank financing of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, including Guarantees of Indebtedness and other obligations under such senior bank financings, in an amount of up to 20% of the sum of the total consolidated current assets and net property, plant and equipment of the Company as shown on, or computed from, the most recent quarterly or annual balance sheet prepared in accordance with GAAP and filed by the Company with the Commission or provided to the Trustee; |
(2) | Liens existing on the Issue Date; |
(3) | Liens on property that exist when the Company acquires the property that secure payment of the purchase price of the property; |
(4) | Liens securing debt that any Subsidiary of the Company owes to the Company or to any other Subsidiary of the Company; |
(5) | Liens on property, shares of stock or Indebtedness of any entity that exists when (a) it becomes a Subsidiary of the Company, (b) it is merged into or consolidated with the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or (c) the Company or any of its Subsidiaries acquires all or substantially all of the assets of the entity, provided that no such Lien extends to any other property of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; |
(6) | Liens on property to secure debt incurred for development or improvement of the property; |
(7) | Liens securing (a) nondelinquent performance of bids or contracts (other than for borrowed money, obtaining of advances or credit or the securing of debt), (b) contingent obligations on surety and appeal bonds and (c) other similar nondelinquent obligations, in each case incurred in the ordinary course of business; |
(8) | Liens securing purchase money Indebtedness or Capital Lease Obligations, provided that (a) any such Lien attaches to the property within 270 days after the acquisition thereof and (b) such Lien attaches solely to the property so acquired; |
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(9) | Liens arising solely by virtue of any statutory or common law provision relating to bankers Liens, rights of set-off or similar rights and remedies as to deposit account or other funds, provided that such deposit account is not a dedicated cash collateral account and is not subject to restrictions against the Companys access in excess of those set forth by regulations promulgated by the Federal Reserve Board and such deposit account is not intended by the Company to provide collateral to the depository institution; |
(10) | pledges or deposits under workers compensation laws, unemployment insurance laws or similar legislation; |
(11) | statutory and tax Liens for sums not yet due or delinquent or which are being contested or appealed in good faith by appropriate proceedings; |
(12) | Liens arising solely by operation of law and in the ordinary course of business, such as mechanics, materialmens, warehousemens and carriers Liens and Liens of landlords or of mortgages of landlords on fixtures and movable property located on premises leased in the ordinary course of business; |
(13) | Liens on personal property (other than shares or debt of the Companys Subsidiaries) securing loans maturing in not more than one year or on accounts receivables in connection with a receivables financing program; |
(14) | Liens securing financings in amounts up to the value of assets, businesses and properties acquired after the Issue Date; or any Lien upon any property to secure all or part of the cost of construction thereof or to secure debt incurred prior to, at the time of, or within twelve months after completion of such construction or the commencement of full operations thereof (whichever is later), to provide funds for such purpose; and |
(15) | extensions, renewals or replacement of any of the Liens described above, if limited to all or any part of the same property securing the original Lien. |
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company will not, and will not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, Incur Liens securing Indebtedness or other obligations pursuant to the second sentence or clause (1) of the first paragraph of this Section 3.02, unless, after giving effect to the Incurrence of such Liens, the aggregate amount (without duplication) of (a) the Indebtedness and other obligations secured by Liens on the property or assets (which includes Capital Stock) of the Company and its Subsidiaries Incurred pursuant to the second sentence and clause (1) of the first paragraph of this Section 3.02 plus (b) the Indebtedness of the Companys Subsidiaries Incurred pursuant to clause (A) of the first paragraph of Section 3.01 shall not exceed the Permitted Amount at the time of the Incurrence of such Liens.
Section 3.03. Repurchase of Notes upon a Change of Control Triggering Event . If a Change of Control Triggering Event occurs with respect to the Notes, each Holder of the Notes will have the right to require the Company to repurchase all or any part, equal to $2,000 and integral multiples of $1,000, of that Holders Notes (a Change of Control Offer) on the terms set forth in this Supplemental Indenture at an offer price in cash equal to 101% of the aggregate principal amount of Notes repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest on the Notes to the applicable date of repurchase (the Change of Control Payment). Within 30 days following any Change of Control Triggering Event, if the Company had not, prior to the Change of Control Triggering Event, sent a redemption notice, with a copy to the Trustee, for all the Notes in connection with an optional redemption permitted by Article 4 hereof, the Company will mail a notice (the Change of Control Notice), with a copy to the Trustee, to each registered Holder briefly describing the transaction or transactions that constitute a Change of Control Triggering Event and offering to repurchase Notes on the date specified in such Change of Control Notice (the Change of Control Payment Date), pursuant to the procedures required by this Supplemental Indenture and described in such notice (which procedures shall be reasonably acceptable to the Trustee). Provided that a definitive agreement
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relating to the Change of Control is in place at the time the Change of Control Offer is made, the Change of Control Notice shall state that the Change of Control Offer is conditional upon the occurrence of the relevant Change of Control Triggering Event. The Change of Control Notice shall also specify the date by which such notice was required to be given, the date by which the Holders have to make an election to repurchase and the procedures therefor, and whether the Holders may withdraw their election to repurchase and the procedures therefor.
The Company shall comply with the requirements of Rule 14e-1 under the Exchange Act and any other securities laws and regulations thereunder to the extent such laws and regulations are applicable in connection with the repurchase of the Notes as a result of a Change of Control Triggering Event. To the extent that the provisions of any securities laws or regulations conflict with the provisions of this Section 3.03, the Company will comply with the applicable securities laws and regulations and will not be deemed to have breached its obligations under the provisions of this Section 3.03 by virtue of such conflict.
On the Change of Control Payment Date, the Company will, to the extent lawful:
(1) | accept for payment all Notes or portions thereof properly tendered pursuant to the Change of Control Offer; |
(2) | deposit with the Paying Agent, by 10:00 a.m. New York City time, an amount equal to the Change of Control Payment in respect of all Notes or portions thereof properly tendered; and |
(3) | deliver or cause to be delivered to the Trustee the notes so accepted together with an Officers Certificate stating the aggregate principal amount of Notes or portions thereof being purchased by the Company. |
The Company will determine whether the Notes are properly tendered, and the Trustee has no responsibility for, and may conclusively rely, upon the Companys determination with respect thereto. Subject to receipt of funds by the Paying Agent, the Paying Agent shall promptly mail to each registered Holder of Notes who has properly tendered the Change of Control Payment for such Notes, and the Trustee will promptly authenticate, pursuant to Section 2.03 of the Indenture, and mail, or cause to be transferred by book entry, to each Holder a new Note equal in principal amount to any unpurchased portion of the Notes surrendered, if any; provided that each such new Note will be in a principal amount of $2,000 and integral multiples of $1,000. Any Note so accepted for payment will cease to accrue interest on and after the Change of Control Payment Date.
This Section 3.03 shall be applicable, except as described in Section 3.03, following a Change of Control Triggering Event notwithstanding Article 4 hereof.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not be required to make a Change of Control Offer upon a Change of Control Triggering Event if a third party makes the Change of Control Offer in the manner, at the times and otherwise in compliance with the requirements set forth in this Section 3.03 applicable to a Change of Control Offer made by the Company and purchases all Notes properly tendered and not withdrawn under the Change of Control Offer.
The Company may make a Change of Control Offer in advance of a Change of Control Triggering Event, and conditional upon the occurrence of such Change of Control Triggering Event, if a definitive agreement is in place for the Change of Control Triggering Event at the time of making the Change of Control Offer.
Section 3.04. Termination of Certain Covenants . In the event that the Notes receive a rating equal to or greater than BBB- by S&P and Baa3 by Moodys or the equivalent thereof under any new ratings system if the ratings system of either such agency shall be modified after the date hereof (with a stable or better outlook in the case of a rating equal to BBB- by S&P and Baa3 by Moodys) (each such
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rating, an Investment Grade Rating), and notwithstanding that the Notes may later cease to have an Investment Grade Rating from either S&P or Moodys or both, the Company and its Subsidiaries shall be released from their obligations to comply with Section 3.01. The Trustee shall be entitled to receive, and may conclusively rely upon, an Officers Certificate specifying that an Investment Grade Rating has occurred and stating that, pursuant to this Section 3.04, the Company has been released from its obligations to comply with Section 3.01.
Section 3.05. Defeasance . The covenants herein shall be subject to defeasance as and to the extent provided in Article 8 of the Base Indenture.
Article 4. Redemption .
Section 4.01. Optional Redemption . The Notes may be redeemed at the Companys election, in whole or in part, at any time at a redemption price equal to the greater of:
(1) | 100% of the principal amount of the Notes to be redeemed then Outstanding; and |
(2) | as determined by an Independent Investment Banker, the sum of the present values of the remaining scheduled payments of principal and interest on the Notes to be redeemed (not including any portion of such payments of interest accrued to the date of redemption) discounted to the redemption date on a semiannual basis (assuming a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months) at the Adjusted Treasury Rate, plus 50 basis points; |
plus, in either of the above cases, accrued and unpaid interest to the date of redemption on the Notes to be redeemed.
If the Company selects a redemption date that is on or after an interest record date and on or before the related interest payment date, the accrued and unpaid interest, if any, shall be paid to the Person in whose name the Note is registered at the close of business on such interest record date.
The Company shall mail a notice of redemption at least 30 days but not more than 60 days before the redemption date to each Holder of the Notes to be redeemed.
Unless the Company defaults in payment of the redemption price, on and after the redemption date, interest shall cease to accrue on the Notes or portions thereof called for redemption.
To the extent any of the provisions of this Article 4 conflict with Article 3 of the Base Indenture, the terms of this Article 4 shall be controlling.
Section 4.02. Partial Redemption . If less than all of the Notes are to be redeemed, selection of the Notes for redemption shall be made by the Trustee as follows:
(a) | if the Notes are listed on any national securities exchange, in compliance with the requirements of such national securities exchange; or |
(b) | if the Notes are not so listed, on a pro rata basis (subject to the procedures of the Depositary) or, to the extent a pro rata basis is not permitted, in such manner as the Trustee shall deem to be fair and appropriate. |
No Note of $2,000 in principal amount or less shall be redeemed in part. If any Note is to be redeemed in part only, the notice of redemption mailed pursuant to Section 4.01 relating to such Note will state the portion of the principal amount to be redeemed. A new Note in principal amount equal to the unredeemed portion shall be issued upon cancellation of the original Note.
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Article 5. Miscellaneous .
Section 5.01. Ratification of Indenture . The Indenture, as supplemented by this Supplemental Indenture, is in all respects ratified and confirmed, and this Supplemental Indenture shall be deemed a part of the Indenture in the manner and to the extent herein and therein provided.
Section 5.02. GOVERNING LAW . THIS SUPPLEMENTAL INDENTURE AND EACH NOTE ISSUED HEREUNDER SHALL BE DEEMED TO BE A CONTRACT UNDER THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK AND FOR ALL PURPOSES SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF SUCH STATE, WITHOUT REGARD TO THE PRINCIPLES OF CONFLICTS OF LAWS.
Section 5.03. Direction to Trustee . The Company hereby directs the Trustee to execute and deliver this Supplemental Indenture pursuant to Section 9.01 of the Base Indenture.
Section 5.04. The Trustee . The Trustee shall not be responsible in any manner whatsoever for or in respect of the validity or sufficiency of this Supplemental Indenture or for or in respect of the recitals contained herein, all of which are made solely by the Company.
Section 5.05. Successors . All covenants and agreements of the Company in this Supplemental Indenture and the Notes shall bind its successors and assigns. All covenants and agreements of the Trustee in this Supplemental Indenture shall bind its successors and assigns.
Section 5.06. Severability . In case any provision in this Supplemental Indenture or in the Notes shall be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby.
Section 5.07. Counterpart Originals . The parties may sign counterparts of this Supplemental Indenture. Each signed counterpart shall be an original, but all of them together represent the same agreement.
Section 5.08. Table of Contents, Headings, etc. The Table of Contents and headings in this Supplemental Indenture have been inserted for convenience of reference only, are not to be considered a part of this Supplemental Indenture and shall in no way modify or restrict any of the terms or provisions hereof.
[Signatures on following pages]
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Supplemental Indenture to be executed as of the date first above written.
COMPANY: | ||
FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION | ||
By: | /s/ Donald R. Shassian | |
Name: | Donald R. Shassian | |
Title: |
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer |
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TRUSTEE: | ||
THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON, as Trustee | ||
By: | /s/ Laurence OBrien | |
Name: | Laurence OBrien | |
Title: | Vice President |
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Exhibit 4.2
FORM OF GLOBAL NOTE
THIS NOTE IS A GLOBAL NOTE WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE INDENTURE HEREINAFTER REFERRED TO AND IS REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY (DTC), OR A NOMINEE OF THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY. THIS NOTE IS EXCHANGEABLE FOR NOTES REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF A PERSON OTHER THAN THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY OR ITS NOMINEE ONLY IN THE LIMITED CIRCUMSTANCES DESCRIBED IN THE INDENTURE AND MAY NOT BE TRANSFERRED EXCEPT AS A WHOLE BY THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY TO A NOMINEE OF THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY OR BY A NOMINEE OF THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY TO THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY OR ANOTHER NOMINEE OF THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY.
UNLESS THIS CERTIFICATE IS PRESENTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF DTC TO THE COMPANY OR ITS AGENT FOR REGISTRATION OF TRANSFER, EXCHANGE, OR PAYMENT, AND ANY CERTIFICATE ISSUED IS REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF CEDE & CO. OR IN SUCH OTHER NAME AS IS REQUESTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF DTC (AND ANY PAYMENT IS MADE TO CEDE & CO. OR TO SUCH OTHER ENTITY AS IS REQUESTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF DTC), ANY TRANSFER, PLEDGE, OR OTHER USE HEREOF FOR VALUE OR OTHERWISE BY OR TO ANY PERSON IS WRONGFUL INASMUCH AS THE REGISTERED OWNER HEREOF, CEDE & CO., HAS AN INTEREST HEREIN.
PURSUANT TO A RECOMMENDATION PROMULGATED BY THE COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM SECURITY IDENTIFICATION PROCEDURES, THE COMPANY HAS CAUSED CUSIP NUMBERS TO BE PRINTED ON THE NOTES AND THE TRUSTEE MAY USE CUSIP NUMBERS IN NOTICES OF REDEMPTION OR REPURCHASE AS A CONVENIENCE TO HOLDERS. NO REPRESENTATION IS MADE AS TO THE ACCURACY OF SUCH NUMBERS EITHER AS PRINTED ON THE NOTES OR AS CONTAINED IN ANY NOTICE OF REDEMPTION OR REPURCHASE AND RELIANCE MAY BE PLACED ONLY ON THE OTHER IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS PLACED THEREON.
Frontier Communications Corporation
No. | FORM OF 9.250% SENIOR NOTE DUE 2021 | |||
CUSIP No. 35906AAL2 |
$500,000,000.00 |
Frontier Communications Corporation, a corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware (the Company ), for value received, hereby promises to pay Cede & Co., or its registered assigns, the principal sum of $500,000,000.00 (Five Hundred Million United States dollars) or such other principal amount as shall be set forth under Schedule of Increases or Decreases in Note attached hereto on July 1, 2021 (the Maturity Date ), in such coin or currency of the United States of America as at the time of payment shall be legal tender for the payment of public and private debts, and to pay semi-annually in arrears on January 1 and July 1 of each year (each, an Interest Payment Date ), commencing January 1, 2013, and on the Maturity Date (or on any redemption or repayment date) the amount of interest on said principal sum, in like coin or currency, at the rate per annum specified in the title of this Note, from and including May 22, 2012 or from but excluding the most recent Interest Payment Date to which interest has been paid or duly provided for until said principal sum has been paid or duly provided for. Interest shall be computed on the basis of a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months.
The interest payable on any Interest Payment Date which is punctually paid or duly provided for on such Interest Payment Date, will be paid to the person in whose name this Note (or one or more predecessor Notes) is registered at the close of business on December 15 or June 15 (in each case, whether or not a Business Day), as the case may be (each, a Regular Record Date ), immediately preceding such Interest Payment Date. Interest payable on this Note which is not punctually paid or duly provided for on any Interest Payment Date therefor, shall forthwith cease to be payable to the Person in whose name this Note is registered at the close of business on the Regular Record Date immediately preceding such Interest Payment Date, and such interest may either (i) be paid to the Person in whose name this Note is registered at the close of business on a special record date to be established for such payment by the Trustee or (ii) be paid in any other lawful manner not inconsistent with the requirements of any securities exchange on which the Notes may be listed, all as more fully provided in the Indenture referred to on the reverse hereof.
Payment of the principal, any premium and the interest due on the Maturity Date (or on any redemption or repayment date) of this Note will be made in immediately available funds upon surrender of this Note at the office or agency of the Paying Agent, as defined on the reverse hereof, maintained for that purpose in the Borough of Manhattan, The City of New York, or at such other paying agency as the Company may determine. At the option of the Company, interest on the Notes may be paid by check mailed to the address of the Person entitled thereto as such address shall appear in the register of Holders of the Notes.
Reference is made to the further provisions of this Note set forth on the reverse hereof. Such further provisions shall for all purposes have the same effect as though fully set forth at this place.
This Note shall not be valid or become obligatory for any purpose until the certificate of authentication hereon shall have been signed by the Trustee under the Indenture referred to on the reverse hereof.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company has caused this Note to be signed manually or by facsimile by its duly authorized officers.
Dated:
Frontier Communications Corporation | ||
By: | ||
Name: | ||
Title: |
By: | ||
Name: | ||
Title: |
This is one of the Notes of the series designated therein described in the within-mentioned Indenture.
Dated:
The Bank of New York Mellon, as Trustee | ||
By: | ||
Authorized Officer |
[REVERSE OF NOTE]
INDENTURE. (a) This Note is one of a duly authorized issue of senior debt securities of the Company (hereinafter called the Securities ), all issued or to be issued under and pursuant to the Indenture, dated as of April 9, 2009 (the Base Indenture ), between the Company and The Bank of New York Mellon, as Trustee (the Trustee , which term includes any successor trustee under the Indenture), as amended and supplemented by the First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of April 9, 2009 (the First Supplemental Indenture ), the Second Supplemental Indenture, dated as of October 1, 2009 (the Second Supplemental Indenture ) and the Third Supplemental Indenture, dated as of May 22, 2012 (together with the Base Indenture, the First Supplemental Indenture and the Second Supplemental Indenture, the Indenture ), to which Indenture and all indentures supplemental thereto reference is hereby made for a description of the rights, limitations of rights, obligations, duties and immunities thereunder of the Company, the Trustee and the Holders of the Securities, and the terms upon which the Securities are, and are to be, authenticated and delivered. The Company has appointed the Trustee as the paying agent (the Paying Agent , which term includes any additional or successor Paying Agent appointed by the Company) with respect to the Notes. To the extent not inconsistent herewith, the terms of the Indenture are hereby incorporated by reference herein. This Note is one of the series designated on the face hereof initially limited in aggregate principal amount to $500,000,000.
(b) All capitalized terms used in this Note which are defined in the Indenture and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Indenture.
AMENDMENTS AND WAIVERS. The Indenture permits, with certain exceptions as therein provided, the amendment thereof and the modification of the rights and obligations of the Company and the rights of the Holders of the Notes to be affected under the Indenture at any time by the Company and the Trustee with the consent of the Holders of a majority in principal amount of the Notes at the time Outstanding. The Indenture also contains provisions permitting the Holders of a majority in principal amount of the Notes at the time Outstanding to waive compliance by the Company with certain provisions of the Indenture and certain past defaults under the Indenture and their consequences.
OBLIGATION TO PAY PRINCIPAL, PREMIUM, IF ANY, AND INTEREST. No reference herein to the Indenture and no provision of this Note or of the Indenture shall alter or impair the obligation of the Company or any other obligor on the Securities, which is absolute and unconditional, to pay the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on this Note in the manner, at the respective times, at the rate, and in the coin or currency herein prescribed.
OPTIONAL REDEMPTION. This Note is redeemable at the Companys election, in whole or in part, at any time at a redemption price equal to the greater of:
100% of the principal amount of the Notes to be redeemed then Outstanding; and
as determined by an Independent Investment Banker, the sum of the present values of the remaining scheduled payments of principal and interest on the Notes to be redeemed (not including any portion of such payments of interest accrued to the date of redemption) discounted to the redemption date on a semiannual basis (assuming a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months) at the Adjusted Treasury Rate, plus 50-basis points;
plus , in either of the above cases, accrued and unpaid interest to the date of redemption on the Notes to be redeemed.
If the Company selects a redemption date that is on or after a Regular Record Date and on or before the related Interest Payment Date, the accrued and unpaid interest, if any, shall be paid to the person in whose name the Note is registered at the close of business on such Record Date.
The Company will mail a notice of redemption at least 30 days, but not more than 60 days, before the redemption date to each Holder of the Notes to be redeemed.
Unless the Company defaults in payment of the redemption price, on and after the redemption date, interest will cease to accrue on the Notes or portions thereof called for redemption.
For purposes of the foregoing, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
Adjusted Treasury Rate means, with respect to any redemption date:
(1) | the yield, under the heading which represents the average for the immediately preceding week, appearing in the most recently published statistical release designated H.15(519) or any successor publication which is published weekly by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and which establishes yields on actively traded United States Treasury securities adjusted to constant maturity under the caption Treasury Constant Maturities, for the maturity corresponding to the Comparable Treasury Issue (as defined below) (if no maturity is within three months before or after the Remaining Life (as defined below), yields for the two published maturities most closely corresponding to the Comparable Treasury Issue shall be determined and the Adjusted Treasury Rate shall be interpolated or extrapolated from such yields on a straight line basis, rounding to the nearest month); or |
if such release (or any successor release) is not published during the week preceding the calculation date or does not contain such yields, the rate per annum equal to the semiannual equivalent yield to maturity of the Comparable Treasury Issue, calculated using a price for the Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed as a percentage of its principal amount) equal to the Comparable Treasury Price (as defined below) for such redemption date.
The Adjusted Treasury Rate shall be calculated on the third Business Day preceding the redemption date.
Comparable Treasury Issue means the United States Treasury security selected by an Independent Investment Banker (as defined below) as having a maturity comparable to the remaining term of the Securities that would be utilized, at the time of selection and in accordance with customary financial practice, in pricing new issues of corporate debt securities of comparable maturity to the remaining term of the Securities ( Remaining Life ).
Comparable Treasury Price means, for any redemption date, (1) the average of four Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations (as defined below) for such redemption date, after excluding the highest and lowest Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations, or (2) if the Independent Investment Banker obtains fewer than four such Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations, the average of all such quotations.
Independent Investment Banker means one of the Reference Treasury Dealers appointed by the Company.
Reference Treasury Dealer means any of the primary U.S. Government securities dealers in New York City.
Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations means, with respect to each Reference Treasury Dealer and any redemption date, the average, as determined by the Independent Investment Banker, of the bid and asked prices for the Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed in each case as a percentage of its principal amount) quoted in writing to the Independent Investment Banker at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the third Business Day preceding such redemption date.
REPURCHASE AT OPTION OF HOLDER. Upon the occurrence of a Change of Control Triggering Event, and subject to certain conditions set forth in the Indenture, the Company will be required to offer to purchase all of the Outstanding Notes at a purchase price equal to 101% of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, thereon to the date of repurchase.
CERTAIN COVENANTS. The Indenture restricts the ability of the Company and its Subsidiaries to incur Indebtedness at the Companys Subsidiaries, create certain Liens and merge or consolidate with other companies. These covenants are subject to the covenant defeasance procedures outlined in the Indenture.
EFFECT OF EVENT OF DEFAULT. If an Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing under the Indenture, the principal hereof may be declared, and upon such declaration shall become, due and payable in the manner, with the effect and subject to the conditions provided in the Indenture.
DEFEASANCE. The Indenture contains provisions for legal defeasance and covenant defeasance at any time of the Indebtedness on this Note upon compliance by the Company with certain conditions set forth therein.
DENOMINATIONS; EXCHANGES. (a) The Notes are issuable in registered form without coupons in a minimum denomination of $2,000 and integral multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof at the office or agency of the Company in the Borough of Manhattan, The City of New York, and in the manner and subject to the limitations provided in the Indenture, Notes may be exchanged for a like aggregate principal amount of Notes of other authorized denomination.
HOLDER AS OWNER. Prior to the due presentment of this Note for registration of transfer, the Company, the Trustee and any Agent of the Company or the Trustee may deem and treat the registered holder hereof as the absolute owner of this Note (whether or not this Note shall be overdue and notwithstanding any notation of ownership or other writing hereon), for the purpose of receiving payment of, or on account of, the principal hereof and, subject to the provisions on the face hereof, interest hereon, and for all other purposes, and none of the Company, the Trustee or any Agent of the Company or the Trustee shall be affected by any notice to the contrary.
NO LIABILITY OF CERTAIN PERSONS. No recourse under or upon any obligation, covenant or agreement of the Company in the Indenture or any indenture supplemental thereto or in any Note, or because of the creation of any Indebtedness represented thereby, shall be had against any past, present or future incorporator, shareholder, officer or director, as such, of the Company or of any successor, either directly or through the Company, or any successor corporation, under any constitution, statute or rule of law or by the enforcement of any assessment or otherwise, all such liability being expressly waived and released by the acceptance hereof and as part of the consideration for the issue hereof.
LOSS, THEFT OR DESTRUCTION. In case any Note shall at any time become mutilated or be destroyed, lost or stolen and such Note or evidence of the loss, theft or destruction thereof (together with the indemnity hereinafter referred to and such other documents or proof as maybe required in the premises) shall be delivered to the Trustee, a new Note of like tenor will be issued by the Company in exchange for the Note so mutilated, or in lieu of the Note so destroyed or lost or stolen, but, in case of any destroyed or lost or stolen Note, only upon receipt of evidence satisfactory to the Trustee and the Company that such Note was destroyed or lost or stolen and, if required by the Company or the Trustee, upon receipt also of indemnity satisfactory to each of them. All expenses and reasonable charges associated with procuring such indemnity and with the preparation, authentication and delivery of a new Note shall be borne by the owner of the Note mutilated, defaced, destroyed, lost or stolen.
GOVERNING LAW. This Note shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York without regard to conflict of law provisions thereof.
ASSIGNMENT FORM
FOR VALUE RECEIVED, the undersigned hereby sell(s), assign(s) and transfer(s) unto:
PLEASE INSERT SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER OR TAXPAYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER OF ASSIGNEE
PLEASE PRINT OR TYPE NAME AND ADDRESS, INCLUDING ZIP CODE, OF ASSIGNEE
the within Note of Frontier Communications Corporation and all rights thereunder and hereby irrevocably constitutes and appoints such person attorney to transfer such Note on the books of Frontier Communications Corporation, with full power of substitution in the premises.
Dated:
Signature
NOTICE: | THE SIGNATURE TO THIS ASSIGNMENT MUST CORRESPOND WITH THE NAME AS WRITTEN UPON THE FACE OF THE WITHIN INSTRUMENT IN EVERY PARTICULAR, WITHOUT ALTERATION OR ENLARGEMENT OR ANY CHANGE WHATSOEVER. THE SIGNATURE SHOULD BE MEDALLION GUARANTEED BY A COMMERCIAL BANK OR TRUST COMPANY, A MEMBER ORGANIZATION OF THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE. |
Signature Guarantee: | Tax Identification No.: | |
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SCHEDULE OF INCREASES OR DECREASES IN NOTE
The initial principal amount of this Note is U.S.$500,000,000. The following increases or decreases in the principal amount of this Note have been made:
Date |
Amount of decrease in
principal amount of this Note |
Amount of increase in
principal amount of this Note |
Principal amount of
this Note following such decrease or increase |
Signature of authorized
officer of Trustee |
Exhibit 5.1
[Jones Day Letterhead]
May 22, 2012
Frontier Communications Corporation
3 High Ridge Park
Stamford, Connecticut 06905
Re: $500,000,000 Aggregate Principal Amount of 9.250% Senior Notes due 2021
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We are acting as counsel for Frontier Communications Corporation , a Delaware corporation (the Company ), in connection with the issuance and sale of $500,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 9.250% Senior Notes due 2021 (the Notes ) of the Company, pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement, dated May 17, 2012 (the Underwriting Agreement ), entered into by and among the Company and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., acting as the representative of the several underwriters named therein (collectively, the Underwriters ). The Notes have been issued pursuant to an indenture, dated as of April 9, 2009 (as supplemented or otherwise modified by the third supplemental indenture, that has been entered into, the Indenture ), by and among the Company and The Bank of New York Mellon, as trustee (the Trustee ).
In connection with the opinions expressed herein, we have examined such documents, records and matters of law as we have deemed relevant or necessary for purposes of such opinions. Based on the foregoing, and subject to the further limitations, qualifications and assumptions set forth herein, we are of the opinion that the Notes constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company.
The opinions expressed herein are limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, fraudulent transfer and fraudulent conveyance, voidable preference, moratorium or other similar laws and related regulations and judicial doctrines from time to time in effect relating to or affecting creditors rights generally, and by general equitable principles and public policy considerations, whether such principles and considerations are considered in a proceeding at law or at equity.
As to facts material to the opinions and assumptions expressed herein, we have relied upon oral or written statements and representations of officers and other representatives of the Company and others. The opinions expressed herein are limited to the laws of the State of New York and the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, in each case as currently in effect, and we express no opinion as to the effect of the laws of any other jurisdiction.
We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as Exhibit 5.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K dated the date hereof filed by the Company and incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement on Form S-3 (Registration No. 333-181299) (the Registration Statement ), filed by the Company to effect the registration of the Notes under the Securities Act of 1933 (the Act ) and to the reference to Jones Day under the caption Validity of Securities in the prospectus constituting a part of such Registration Statement. In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we are included in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Act or the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission promulgated thereunder.
Very truly yours, |
/s/ Jones Day |