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 Earliest Event reported):

April 3, 2013

 

 

Pinnacle Foods Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Delaware   001-35844   35-2215019

(State or other jurisdiction

of incorporation)

 

(Commission

File Number)

 

(IRS Employer

Identification No.)

399 Jefferson Road

Parsippany, New Jersey 07054

(973) 541-6620

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number,

including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

 

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:

 

¨ 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.

In connection with the completion of the initial public offering (the “ Offering ”) of its common stock, par value $0.01 per share, described in the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-185565), as amended (the “ Registration Statement ”), on April 3, 2013, Pinnacle Foods Inc. (the “ Company ”) entered into the following agreements, effective as of April 3, 2013: (i) a Registration Rights Agreement (the “ Registration Rights Agreement ”) by and among the Company, Blackstone Capital Partners V L.P., Blackstone Capital Partners V-AC L.P., Blackstone Family Investment Partnership V L.P., Blackstone Family Investment Partnership V-SMD L.P., Blackstone Participation Partnership V L.P., Blackstone Capital Partners (Cayman) V L.P., Blackstone Capital Partners (Cayman) V-A L.P., Blackstone Capital Partners (Cayman) V-AC L.P., Blackstone Family Investment Partnership (Cayman) V L.P., Blackstone Family Investment Partnership (Cayman) V-SMD L.P. and Blackstone Participation Partnership (Cayman) V L.P. (collectively, the “ Blackstone Entities ”) and certain management stockholders of the Company’s common stock, substantially in the form previously filed as Exhibit 10.10 to the Registration Statement; and (ii) a Stockholders Agreement (the “ New Stockholders Agreement ”) between the Company and the Blackstone Entities, substantially in the form previously filed as Exhibit 10.9 to the Registration Statement.

Copies of the Registration Rights Agreement and the New Stockholders Agreement are filed herewith as exhibits 4.1 and 4.2, respectively, and are incorporated herein by reference.

Affiliates of the Blackstone Entities have various relationships with the Company. For further information concerning the other material relationships between the Company, the Blackstone Entities and their affiliates, see the section entitled “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions” in the Company’s prospectus (the “ Prospectus ”), dated March 27, 2013, filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “ Act ”).

 

Item 1.02 Termination of a Material Definitive Agreement.

Termination of the Securityholders Agreement

The Company was party to a Securityholders Agreement, dated as of May 28, 2008, by and among the Company, Peak Holdings LLC (“ Holdings ”) and certain employees of the Company (the “ Employees ”) (the “ Securityholders Agreement ”), which restricted transfers of the Company’s common stock and provided the parties thereto with customary tag and drag rights with respect to certain sales of the Company’s common stock.

On April 3, 2013 and in connection with the Offering, the Company entered into a Termination Agreement (the “ Securityholders Agreement Termination Agreement ”), by and among the Company, Holdings and the Employees pursuant to which the Securityholders Agreement was terminated.

A copy of the Securityholders Agreement Termination Agreement is attached as Exhibit 10.1 and incorporated herein by reference.

Termination of the Amended and Restated Transaction and Advisory Fee Agreement

The Company was a party to an Amended and Restated Transaction and Advisory Fee Agreement (the “ Advisory Agreement ”), dated as of December 23, 2009, by and between the Company and Blackstone Management Partners V L.L.C. (“ BMP ”).

On April 3, 2013 and in connection with the Offering, the Company entered into a Termination Agreement (the “ Advisory Agreement Termination Agreement ”), by and between the Company and BMP,


pursuant to which the Advisory Agreement was terminated in accordance with its terms. In connection with such termination, the Company has paid a termination fee equal to approximately $15.1 million with available cash on hand.

A copy of the Advisory Agreement Termination Agreement is attached as Exhibit 10.2 and incorporated herein by reference.

Affiliates of BMP are controlling stockholders of the Company and an affiliate of BMP acted as underwriter in connection with the Offering.

 

Item 3.03 Material Modification to Rights of Security Holders.

The information set forth under Item 5.03 below is incorporated by reference in this Item 3.03.

 

Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers

2013 Omnibus Incentive Plan

Effective upon the closing of the Offering, the Company’s Board of Directors and its stockholders adopted the 2013 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “ Omnibus Incentive Plan ”). The Omnibus Incentive Plan provides for the granting of stock option, restricted stock and other stock-based or performance-based awards to key employees, directors or other persons having a service relationship with the Company and its affiliates. For further information regarding the Omnibus Incentive Plan, see “Management — Compensation Arrangements to be Adopted in Connection with This Offering — 2013 Omnibus Incentive Plan” in the Prospectus.

A copy of the Omnibus Incentive Plan is attached as Exhibit 10.3 and incorporated herein by reference. The above description of the Omnibus Incentive Plan is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to such exhibit.

 

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

As contemplated in the Registration Statement, the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “ Charter ”) became effective upon the closing of the Offering. The Charter, among other things, provides that the Company’s authorized capital stock consists of 500,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, and 50,000,000 shares of preferred stock.

The Company’s bylaws were also amended and restated as of April 3, 2013, as contemplated in the Registration Statement (the “ Bylaws ”).

The foregoing description of the Charter and Bylaws is only a summary. For further information regarding the foregoing and other provisions of the Charter and the Bylaws, see “Description of Capital Stock” in the Prospectus. The Charter and the Bylaws are filed as Exhibit 3.1 and Exhibit 3.2 hereto, respectively, and such exhibits are incorporated by reference herein.

 

Item 8.01 Other Events.

On April 3, 2013, the Company completed its Offering of 33,350,000 shares (including 4,350,000 shares of common stock pursuant to the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares) of common stock for cash consideration of $20 per share ($18.80 per share net of underwriting discounts) to a syndicate of underwriters led by joint-book running managers Barclays Capital Inc., Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Goldman, Sachs & Co., Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and UBS Securities LLC. In the Offering, the Company sold 33,350,000 shares for approximately $627.0 million in net proceeds.


Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

 

(d) Exhibits.

See the Exhibit Index immediately following the signature page hereto, which is incorporated herein by reference.


Signatures

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

 

    PINNACLE FOODS INC.
Date: April 3, 2013   By:  

/s/ Craig Steeneck

  Name:   Craig Steeneck
  Title:  

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial

Officer


EXHIBIT INDEX

 

  3.1    Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Pinnacle Foods Inc.
  3.2    Amended and Restated Bylaws of Pinnacle Foods Inc.
  4.1    Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of April 3, 2013 among Pinnacle Foods Inc. and the other parties named thereto.
  4.2    Stockholders Agreement, dated as of April 3, 2013, among Pinnacle Foods Inc. and the other parties named thereto.
10.1    Termination Agreement, dated as of April 3, 2013, among Pinnacle Foods Inc., Peak Holdings LLC and certain Employees party thereto.
10.2    Termination Agreement, dated as of April 3, 2013, by and between Pinnacle Foods Inc. and Blackstone Management Partners V L.L.C.
10.3    2013 Omnibus Incentive Plan.

Exhibit 3.1

AMENDED AND RESTATED CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION

OF

PINNACLE FOODS INC.

* * * * *

The present name of the corporation is Pinnacle Foods Inc. (the “Corporation). The Corporation was incorporated under the name “Crunch Holding Corp.” by the filing of its original Certificate of Incorporation with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on July 28, 2003. This Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation, which restates and integrates and also further amends the provisions of the Corporation’s Certificate of Incorporation, as amended and restated, was duly adopted in accordance with the provisions of Sections 242 and 245 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware and by the written consent of its stockholders in accordance with Section 228 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware. The Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation, as amended and restated, is hereby amended, integrated and restated to read in its entirety as follows:

ARTICLE I

NAME

The name of the Corporation is Pinnacle Foods Inc.

ARTICLE II

REGISTERED OFFICE AND AGENT

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

ARTICLE III

PURPOSE

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


ARTICLE IV

CAPITAL STOCK

The total number of shares of all classes of stock that the Corporation shall have authority to issue is 550,000,000, which shall be divided into two classes as follows:

500,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share (“ Common Stock ”); and

50,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share (“ Preferred Stock ”).

I. Capital Stock .

A. Common Stock and Preferred Stock may be issued from time to time by the Corporation for such consideration as may be fixed by the Board of Directors of the Corporation. The Board of Directors is hereby expressly authorized, by resolution or resolutions, to provide, out of the unissued shares of Preferred Stock, for one or more series of Preferred Stock and, with respect to each such series, to fix, without further stockholder approval, the powers (including voting powers), preferences and relative, participating, optional and other special rights, and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, of such series of Preferred Stock and the number of shares of such series, and as may be permitted by the DGCL. The powers, preferences and relative, participating, optional and other special rights of, and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, of each series of Preferred Stock, if any, may differ from those of any and all other series at any time outstanding.

B. Each holder of record of Common Stock, as such, shall have one vote for each share of Common Stock which is outstanding in his, her or its name on the books of the Corporation on all matters on which stockholders are entitled to vote generally. Except as otherwise required by law, holders of Common Stock shall not be entitled to vote on any amendment to this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (including any certificate of designation relating to any series of Preferred Stock) that relates solely to the terms of one or more outstanding series of Preferred Stock if the holders of such affected series are entitled, either separately or together with the holders of one or more other such series, to vote thereon pursuant to this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (including any certificate of designation relating to any series of Preferred Stock) or pursuant to the DGCL.

C. Except as otherwise required by law, holders of any series of Preferred Stock shall be entitled to only such voting rights, if any, as shall expressly be granted thereto by this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (including any certificate of designation relating to such series of Preferred Stock).

D. Subject to applicable law and the rights, if any, of the holders of any outstanding series of Preferred Stock or any class or series of stock having a preference over or the right to participate with the Common Stock with respect to the payment of dividends, dividends may be declared and paid ratably on the Common Stock out of the assets of the Corporation which are legally available for this purpose at such times and in such amounts as the Board of Directors in its discretion shall determine.

 

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E. Upon the dissolution, liquidation or winding up of the Corporation, after payment or provision for payment of the debts and other liabilities of the Corporation and subject to the rights, if any, of the holders of any outstanding series of Preferred Stock or any class or series of stock having a preference over or the right to participate with the Common Stock with respect to the distribution of assets of the Corporation upon such dissolution, liquidation or winding up of the Corporation, the holders of Common Stock shall be entitled to receive the remaining assets of the Corporation available for distribution to its stockholders ratably in proportion to the number of shares held by them.

F. The number of authorized shares of Preferred Stock or Common Stock may be increased or decreased (but not below the number of shares thereof then outstanding) by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority in voting power of the stock of the Corporation entitled to vote thereon irrespective of the provisions of Section 242(b)(2) of the DGCL (or any successor provision thereto), and no vote of the holders of any of the Common Stock or the Preferred Stock voting separately as a class shall be required therefor, unless a vote of any such holder is required pursuant to this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (including any certificate of designation relating to any series of Preferred Stock).

ARTICLE V

AMENDMENT OF THE CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION AND BYLAWS

A. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to the contrary, at any time when Blackstone (as defined below) beneficially owns, in the aggregate, less than 40% in voting power of the stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, in addition to any vote required by applicable law, the following provisions in this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation may be amended, altered, repealed or rescinded, in whole or in part, or any provision inconsistent therewith or herewith may be adopted, only by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% in voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of stock of the Corporation entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class: this Article V, Article VI, Article VII, Article VIII, Article IX and Article X. For the purposes of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, beneficial ownership of shares shall be determined in accordance with Rule 13d-3 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “ Exchange Act ”).

B. The Board of Directors is expressly authorized to make, repeal, alter, amend and rescind, in whole or in part, the bylaws of the Corporation (as in effect from time to time, the “Bylaws”) without the assent or vote of the stockholders in any manner not inconsistent with the laws of the State of Delaware or this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation or any provision of law which might otherwise permit a lesser vote of the stockholders, at any time when Blackstone (as defined below) beneficially owns, in the aggregate, less than 40% in voting power of the stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, in addition to any vote of the holders of any class or series of capital stock of the Corporation required herein (including any certificate of designation relating to any series of Preferred Stock), the Bylaws or applicable law, the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% in voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of stock of the Corporation entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class, shall be required in order for the stockholders of the Corporation to alter, amend, repeal or rescind, in whole or in part, any provision of the Bylaws or to adopt any provision inconsistent therewith.

 

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ARTICLE VI

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

A. The business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by or under the direction of the Board of Directors. Except as otherwise provided for or fixed pursuant to the provisions of Article IV (including any certificate of designation with respect to any series of Preferred Stock) and this Article VI relating to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock to elect additional directors, the total number of directors shall be determined from time to time exclusively by resolution adopted by the Board of Directors. The directors (other than those directors elected by the holders of any series of Preferred Stock, voting separately as a series or together with one or more other such series, as the case may be) shall be divided into three classes designated Class I, Class II and Class III. Each class shall consist, as nearly as possible, of one-third of the total number of such directors. Class I directors shall initially serve for a term expiring at the first annual meeting of stockholders following the date the Common Stock is first publicly traded (the “ IPO Date ”), Class II directors shall initially serve for a term expiring at the second annual meeting of stockholders following the IPO Date and Class III directors shall initially serve for a term expiring at the third annual meeting of stockholders following the IPO Date. At each succeeding annual meeting, successors to the class of directors whose term expires at that annual meeting shall be elected for a term expiring at the third succeeding annual meeting of stockholders. If the number of such directors is changed, any increase or decrease shall be apportioned among the classes so as to maintain the number of directors in each class as nearly equal as possible, and any such additional director of any class elected to fill a newly created directorship resulting from an increase in such class shall hold office for a term that shall coincide with the remaining term of that class, but in no case shall a decrease in the number of directors remove or shorten the term of any incumbent director. Any such director shall hold office until the annual meeting at which his or her term expires and until his or her successor shall be elected and qualified, or his or her death, resignation, retirement, disqualification or removal from office. The Board of Directors is authorized to assign members of the Board of Directors already in office to their respective class.

B. Subject to the rights granted to the holders of any one or more series of Preferred Stock then outstanding or the rights granted pursuant to the Stockholders Agreement, dated as of April 3, 2013, by and among the Corporation and certain affiliates of The Blackstone Group L.P. (together with its affiliates (including, without limitation, Blackstone Group Management L.L.C.), subsidiaries, successors and assigns (other than the Corporation and its subsidiaries), collectively, “ Blackstone ”) (as the same may be amended, supplemented, restated or otherwise modified from time to time, the “ Stockholders Agreement ”), any newly-created directorship on the Board of Directors that results from an increase in the number of directors and any vacancy occurring in the Board of Directors (whether by death, resignation, retirement, disqualification, removal or other cause) shall be filled by a majority of the directors then in office, although less than a quorum, by a sole remaining director or by the stockholders; provided, however, that at any time when Blackstone beneficially owns, in the aggregate, less than 40% in voting power of the stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, any newly-

 

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created directorship on the Board of Directors that results from an increase in the number of directors and any vacancy occurring in the Board of Directors shall be filled only by a majority of the directors then in office, although less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director (and not by stockholders). Any director elected to fill a vacancy or newly created directorship shall hold office until the next election of the class for which such director shall have been chosen and until his or her successor shall be elected and qualified, or until his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement, disqualification or removal.

C. Any or all of the directors (other than the directors elected by the holders of any series of Preferred Stock of the Corporation, voting separately as a series or together with one or more other such series, as the case may be) may be removed at any time either with or without cause by the affirmative vote of a majority in voting power of all outstanding shares of stock of the Corporation entitled to vote thereon, voting as a single class; provided, however, that at any time when Blackstone beneficially owns, in the aggregate, less than 40% in voting power of the stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, any such director or all such directors may be removed only for cause and only by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% in voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of stock of the Corporation entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class.

D. Elections of directors need not be by written ballot unless the Bylaws shall so provide.

E. During any period when the holders of any series of Preferred Stock have the right to elect additional directors, then upon commencement and for the duration of the period during which such right continues: (i) the then otherwise total authorized number of directors of the Corporation shall automatically be increased by such specified number of directors, and the holders of such Preferred Stock shall be entitled to elect the additional directors so provided for or fixed pursuant to said provisions, and (ii) each such additional director shall serve until such director’s successor shall have been duly elected and qualified, or until such director’s right to hold such office terminates pursuant to said provisions, whichever occurs earlier, subject to his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement, disqualification or removal. Except as otherwise provided by the Board of Directors in the resolution or resolutions establishing such series, whenever the holders of any series of Preferred Stock having such right to elect additional directors are divested of such right pursuant to the provisions of such stock, the terms of office of all such additional directors elected by the holders of such stock, or elected to fill any vacancies resulting from the death, resignation, disqualification or removal of such additional directors, shall forthwith terminate and the total authorized number of directors of the Corporation shall be reduced accordingly.

ARTICLE VII

LIMITATION OF DIRECTOR LIABILITY

A. To the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL as it now exists or may hereafter be amended, a director of the Corporation shall not be personally liable to the Corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty owed to the Corporation or its stockholders.

 

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B. Neither the amendment nor repeal of this Article VII, nor the adoption of any provision of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, nor, to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, any modification of law shall eliminate, reduce or otherwise adversely affect any right or protection of a current or former director of the Corporation existing at the time of such amendment, repeal, adoption or modification.

ARTICLE VIII

CONSENT OF STOCKHOLDERS IN LIEU OF MEETING, ANNUAL AND SPECIAL MEETINGS OF STOCKHOLDERS

A. At any time when Blackstone beneficially owns, in the aggregate, at least 40% in voting power of the stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, any action required or permitted to be taken at any annual or special meeting of stockholders of the Corporation may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, if a consent or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be signed by the holders of outstanding stock having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares entitled to vote thereon were present and voted and shall be delivered to the Corporation by delivery to its registered office in the State of Delaware, its principal place of business, or an officer or agent of the Corporation having custody of the books in which proceedings of meetings of stockholders are recorded. Delivery made to the Corporation’s registered office shall be made by hand, overnight courier or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested. At any time when Blackstone beneficially owns, in the aggregate, less than 40% in voting power of the stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, any action required or permitted to be taken by the stockholders of the Corporation must be effected at a duly called annual or special meeting of such holders and may not be effected by any consent in writing by such holders; provided , however , that any action required or permitted to be taken by the holders of Preferred Stock, voting separately as a series or separately as a class with one or more other such series, may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, to the extent expressly so provided by the applicable certificate of designation relating to such series of Preferred Stock.

B. Except as otherwise required by law and subject to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock, special meetings of the stockholders of the Corporation for any purpose or purposes may be called at any time only by or at the direction of the Board of Directors or the Chairman of the Board of Directors; provided, however, that at any time when Blackstone beneficially owns, in the aggregate, at least 40% in voting power of the stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, special meetings of the stockholders of the Corporation for any purpose or purposes shall also be called by or at the direction of the Board of Directors or the Chairman of the Board of Directors at the request of Blackstone.

C. An annual meeting of stockholders for the election of directors to succeed those whose terms expire and for the transaction of such other business as may properly come before the meeting, shall be held at such place, if any, on such date, and at such time as shall be fixed exclusively by resolution of the Board of Directors or a duly authorized committee thereof.

 

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ARTICLE IX

COMPETITION AND CORPORATE OPPORTUNITIES

A. In recognition and anticipation that (i) certain directors, principals, officers, employees and/or other representatives of The Blackstone Group L.P. (the “ Original Stockholder ”) and its Affiliates (as defined below) may serve as directors, officers or agents of the Corporation, (ii) the Original Stockholder and its Affiliates may now engage and may continue to engage in the same or similar activities or related lines of business as those in which the Corporation, directly or indirectly, may engage and/or other business activities that overlap with or compete with those in which the Corporation, directly or indirectly, may engage, and (iii) members of the Board of Directors who are not employees of the Corporation (“ Non-Employee Directors ”) and their respective Affiliates may now engage and may continue to engage in the same or similar activities or related lines of business as those in which the Corporation, directly or indirectly, may engage and/or other business activities that overlap with or compete with those in which the Corporation, directly or indirectly, may engage, the provisions of this Article IX are set forth to regulate and define the conduct of certain affairs of the Corporation with respect to certain classes or categories of business opportunities as they may involve any of the Original Stockholder, the Non-Employee Directors or their respective Affiliates and the powers, rights, duties and liabilities of the Corporation and its directors, officers and stockholders in connection therewith.

B. None of (i) the Original Stockholder or any of its Affiliates or (ii) any Non-Employee Director (including any Non-Employee Director who serves as an officer of the Corporation in both his or her director and officer capacities) or his or her Affiliates (the Persons (as defined below) identified in (i) and (ii) above being referred to, collectively, as “ Identified Persons ” and, individually, as an “ Identified Person ”) shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, have any duty to refrain from directly or indirectly (1) engaging in the same or similar business activities or lines of business in which the Corporation or any of its Affiliates now engages or proposes to engage or (2) otherwise competing with the Corporation or any of its Affiliates, and, to the fullest extent permitted by law, no Identified Person shall be liable to the Corporation or its stockholders or to any Affiliate of the Corporation for breach of any fiduciary duty solely by reason of the fact that such Identified Person engages in any such activities. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Corporation hereby renounces any interest or expectancy in, or right to be offered an opportunity to participate in, any business opportunity which may be a corporate opportunity for an Identified Person and the Corporation or any of its Affiliates, except as provided in Section (C) of this Article IX. Subject to said Section (C) of this Article IX, in the event that any Identified Person acquires knowledge of a potential transaction or other business opportunity which may be a corporate opportunity for itself, herself or himself and the Corporation or any of its Affiliates, such Identified Person shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, have no duty to communicate or offer such transaction or other business opportunity to the Corporation or any of its Affiliates and, to the fullest extent permitted by law, shall not be liable to the Corporation or its stockholders or to any Affiliate of the Corporation for breach of any fiduciary duty as a stockholder, director or officer of the Corporation solely by reason of the fact that such Identified Person pursues or acquires such corporate opportunity for itself, herself or himself, or offers or directs such corporate opportunity to another Person.

 

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C. The Corporation does not renounce its interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any Non-Employee Director (including any Non-Employee Director who serves as an officer of this Corporation) if such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the Corporation, and the provisions of Section (B) of this Article IX shall not apply to any such corporate opportunity.

D. In addition to and notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Article IX, a corporate opportunity shall not be deemed to be a potential corporate opportunity for the Corporation if it is a business opportunity that (i) the Corporation is neither financially or legally able, nor contractually permitted to undertake, (ii) from its nature, is not in the line of the Corporation’s business or is of no practical advantage to the Corporation or (iii) is one in which the Corporation has no interest or reasonable expectancy.

E. For purposes of this Article IX, (i) “ Affiliate ” shall mean (a) in respect of the Original Stockholder, any Person that, directly or indirectly, is controlled by the Original Stockholder, controls the Original Stockholder or is under common control with the Original Stockholder and shall include any principal, member, director, partner, stockholder, officer, employee or other representative of any of the foregoing (other than the Corporation and any entity that is controlled by the Corporation), (b) in respect of a Non-Employee Director, any Person that, directly or indirectly, is controlled by such Non-Employee Director (other than the Corporation and any entity that is controlled by the Corporation) and (c) in respect of the Corporation, any Person that, directly or indirectly, is controlled by the Corporation; and (ii) “ Person ” shall mean any individual, corporation, general or limited partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, trust, association or any other entity.

F. To the fullest extent permitted by law, any Person purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any shares of capital stock of the Corporation shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the provisions of this Article IX.

ARTICLE X

DGCL SECTION 203 AND BUSINESS COMBINATIONS

A. The Corporation hereby expressly elects not to be governed by Section 203 of the DGCL.

B. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Corporation shall not engage in any business combination (as defined below), at any point in time at which the Corporation’s Common Stock is registered under Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange Act, with any interested stockholder (as defined below) for a period of three (3) years following the time that such stockholder became an interested stockholder, unless:

 

  1. prior to such time, the Board of Directors approved either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, or

 

  2.

upon consummation of the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at

 

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  least 85% of the voting stock (as defined below) of the Corporation outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding for purposes of determining the voting stock outstanding (but not the outstanding voting stock owned by the interested stockholder) those shares owned (i) by persons who are directors and also officers and (ii) employee stock plans in which employee participants do not have the right to determine confidentially whether shares held subject to the plan will be tendered in a tender or exchange offer, or

 

  3. at or subsequent to such time, the business combination is approved by the Board of Directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least 66 2/3% of the outstanding voting stock of the Corporation which is not owned by the interested stockholder.

C. For purposes of this Article X, references to:

 

  1. affiliate ” means a person that directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with, another person.

 

  2. associate ,” when used to indicate a relationship with any person, means: (i) any corporation, partnership, unincorporated association or other entity of which such person is a director, officer or partner or is, directly or indirectly, the owner of 20% or more of any class of voting stock; (ii) any trust or other estate in which such person has at least a 20% beneficial interest or as to which such person serves as trustee or in a similar fiduciary capacity; and (iii) any relative or spouse of such person, or any relative of such spouse, who has the same residence as such person.

 

  3. Blackstone Direct Transferee ” means any person that acquires (other than in a registered public offering) directly from Blackstone or any of its affiliates or successors or any “group”, or any member of any such group, of which such persons are a party under Rule 13d-5 of the Exchange Act beneficial ownership of 15% or more of the then outstanding voting stock of the Corporation.

 

  4. Blackstone Indirect Transferee ” means any person that acquires (other than in a registered public offering) directly from any Blackstone Direct Transferee or any other Blackstone Indirect Transferee beneficial ownership of 15% or more of the then outstanding voting stock of the Corporation.

 

  5. business combination ,” when used in reference to the Corporation and any interested stockholder of the Corporation, means:

 

  (i)

any merger or consolidation of the Corporation or any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the Corporation (a) with the interested stockholder, or (b) with any other corporation, partnership, unincorporated association or other entity if the

 

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  merger or consolidation is caused by the interested stockholder and as a result of such merger or consolidation Section (B) of this Article X is not applicable to the surviving entity;

 

  (ii) any sale, lease, exchange, mortgage, pledge, transfer or other disposition (in one transaction or a series of transactions), except proportionately as a stockholder of the Corporation, to or with the interested stockholder, whether as part of a dissolution or otherwise, of assets of the Corporation or of any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the Corporation which assets have an aggregate market value equal to 10% or more of either the aggregate market value of all the assets of the Corporation determined on a consolidated basis or the aggregate market value of all the outstanding stock of the Corporation;

 

  (iii) any transaction which results in the issuance or transfer by the Corporation or by any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the Corporation of any stock of the Corporation or of such subsidiary to the interested stockholder, except: (a) pursuant to the exercise, exchange or conversion of securities exercisable for, exchangeable for or convertible into stock of the Corporation or any such subsidiary which securities were outstanding prior to the time that the interested stockholder became such; (b) pursuant to a merger under Section 251(g) of the DGCL; (c) pursuant to a dividend or distribution paid or made, or the exercise, exchange or conversion of securities exercisable for, exchangeable for or convertible into stock of the Corporation or any such subsidiary which security is distributed, pro rata to all holders of a class or series of stock of the Corporation subsequent to the time the interested stockholder became such; (d) pursuant to an exchange offer by the Corporation to purchase stock made on the same terms to all holders of said stock; or (e) any issuance or transfer of stock by the Corporation; provided , however , that in no case under items (c)-(e) of this subsection (iii) shall there be an increase in the interested stockholder’s proportionate share of the stock of any class or series of the Corporation or of the voting stock of the Corporation (except as a result of immaterial changes due to fractional share adjustments);

 

  (iv) any transaction involving the Corporation or any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the Corporation which has the effect, directly or indirectly, of increasing the proportionate share of the stock of any class or series, or securities convertible into the stock of any class or series, of the Corporation or of any such subsidiary which is owned by the interested stockholder, except as a result of immaterial changes due to fractional share adjustments or as a result of any purchase or redemption of any shares of stock not caused, directly or indirectly, by the interested stockholder; or

 

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  (v) any receipt by the interested stockholder of the benefit, directly or indirectly (except proportionately as a stockholder of the Corporation), of any loans, advances, guarantees, pledges, or other financial benefits (other than those expressly permitted in subsections (i)-(iv) above) provided by or through the Corporation or any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary.

 

  6. control ,” including the terms “ controlling ,” “ controlled by ” and “ under common control with ,” means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a person, whether through the ownership of voting stock, by contract, or otherwise. A person who is the owner of 20% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the Corporation, partnership, unincorporated association or other entity shall be presumed to have control of such entity, in the absence of proof by a preponderance of the evidence to the contrary. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a presumption of control shall not apply where such person holds voting stock, in good faith and not for the purpose of circumventing this Section, as an agent, bank, broker, nominee, custodian or trustee for one or more owners who do not individually or as a group have control of such entity.

 

  7. interested stockholder ” means any person (other than the Corporation or any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the Corporation) that (i) is the owner of 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the Corporation, or (ii) is an affiliate or associate of the Corporation and was the owner of 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the Corporation at any time within the three (3) year period immediately prior to the date on which it is sought to be determined whether such person is an interested stockholder; and the affiliates and associates of such person; but “interested stockholder” shall not include (a) Blackstone, any Blackstone Direct Transferee, any Blackstone Indirect Transferee or any of their respective affiliates or successors or any “group”, or any member of any such group, to which such persons are a party under Rule 13d-5 of the Exchange Act, or (b) any person whose ownership of shares in excess of the 15% limitation set forth herein is the result of any action taken solely by the Corporation, provided that such person shall be an interested stockholder if thereafter such person acquires additional shares of voting stock of the Corporation, except as a result of further corporate action not caused, directly or indirectly, by such person. For the purpose of determining whether a person is an interested stockholder, the voting stock of the Corporation deemed to be outstanding shall include stock deemed to be owned by the person through application of the definition of “owner” below but shall not include any other unissued stock of the Corporation which may be issuable pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding, or upon exercise of conversion rights, warrants or options, or otherwise.

 

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  8. owner ,” including the terms “ own ” and “ owned ,” when used with respect to any stock, means a person that individually or with or through any of its affiliates or associates:

 

  (i) beneficially owns such stock, directly or indirectly; or

 

  (ii) has (a) the right to acquire such stock (whether such right is exercisable immediately or only after the passage of time) pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding, or upon the exercise of conversion rights, exchange rights, warrants or options, or otherwise; provided , however , that a person shall not be deemed the owner of stock tendered pursuant to a tender or exchange offer made by such person or any of such person’s affiliates or associates until such tendered stock is accepted for purchase or exchange; or (b) the right to vote such stock pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding; provided , however , that a person shall not be deemed the owner of any stock because of such person’s right to vote such stock if the agreement, arrangement or understanding to vote such stock arises solely from a revocable proxy or consent given in response to a proxy or consent solicitation made to ten (10) or more persons; or

 

  (iii) has any agreement, arrangement or understanding for the purpose of acquiring, holding, voting (except voting pursuant to a revocable proxy or consent as described in item (b) of subsection (ii) above), or disposing of such stock with any other person that beneficially owns, or whose affiliates or associates beneficially own, directly or indirectly, such stock.

 

  9. person ” means any individual, corporation, partnership, unincorporated association or other entity.

 

  10. stock ” means, with respect to any corporation, capital stock and, with respect to any other entity, any equity interest.

 

  11. voting stock ” means stock of any class or series entitled to vote generally in the election of directors.

ARTICLE XI

MISCELLANEOUS

A. If any provision or provisions of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation shall be held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable as applied to any circumstance for any reason whatsoever: (i) the validity, legality and enforceability of such provisions in any other circumstance and of the remaining provisions of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (including, without limitation, each portion of any paragraph of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable that is not itself held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby and (ii) to the fullest extent possible, the provisions of this

 

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Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (including, without limitation, each such portion of any paragraph of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall be construed so as to permit the Corporation to protect its directors, officers, employees and agents from personal liability in respect of their good faith service or for the benefit of the Corporation to the fullest extent permitted by law.

B. Unless the Corporation consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Corporation, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director or officer of the Corporation to the Corporation or the Corporation’s stockholders, creditors or other constituents, (iii) any action asserting a claim against the Corporation or any director or officer of the Corporation arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation or the Bylaws (as either may be amended and/or restated from time to time), or (iv) any action asserting a claim against the Corporation or any director or officer of the Corporation governed by the internal affairs doctrine, in each such case subject to said court having personal jurisdiction over the indispensable parties named as defendants therein; provided, that, if and only if the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware dismisses any such action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, such action may be brought in another state court sitting in the State of Delaware. To the fullest extent permitted by law, any person purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of capital stock of the Corporation shall be deemed to have notice of and consents to the provisions of this Article XI(B).

[ Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank ]

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Pinnacle Foods Inc. has caused this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to be executed by its duly authorized officer on this 3rd day of April, 2013.

 

PINNACLE FOODS INC.
By:  

/s/ M. Kelley Maggs

Name:   M. Kelley Maggs
Title:   Executive Vice President,
  Secretary and General Counsel

 

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Exhibit 3.2

AMENDED AND RESTATED

BYLAWS

OF

PINNACLE FOODS INC.

ARTICLE I

Offices

SECTION 1.01 Registered Office . The registered office and registered agent of Pinnacle Foods Inc. (the “ Corporation ”) shall be as set forth in the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (as defined below). The Corporation may also have offices in such other places in the United States or elsewhere (and may change the Corporation’s registered agent) as the Board of Directors may, from time to time, determine or as the business of the Corporation may require.

ARTICLE II

Meetings of Stockholders

SECTION 2.01 Annual Meetings . Annual meetings of stockholders may be held at such place, if any, either within or without the State of Delaware, and at such time and date as the Board of Directors shall determine and state in the notice of meeting. The Board of Directors may, in its sole discretion, determine that the meeting shall not be held at any place, but may instead be held solely by means of remote communication as described in Section 2.11 of these Bylaws in accordance with Section 211(a)(2) of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “ DGCL ”). The Board of Directors may postpone, reschedule or cancel any annual meeting of stockholders previously scheduled by the Board of Directors.

SECTION 2.02 Special Meetings . Special meetings of the stockholders may only be called in the manner provided in the Corporation’s certificate of incorporation as then in effect (as the same may be amended from time to time, the “ Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation ”) and may be held either within or without the State of Delaware. The Board of Directors may postpone, reschedule or cancel any special meeting of stockholders previously scheduled by the Board of Directors or the Chairman of the Board of Directors; provided, however, that with respect to any special meeting of stockholders previously scheduled by the Board of Directors or the Chairman of the Board of Directors at the request of Blackstone (as defined in the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation), the Board of Directors shall not postpone, reschedule or cancel such special meeting without the prior written consent of Blackstone.


SECTION 2.03 Notice of Stockholder Business and Nominations .

(A) Annual Meetings of Stockholders .

(1) Nominations of persons for election to the Board of Directors and the proposal of other business to be considered by the stockholders may be made at an annual meeting of stockholders only (a) as provided in the Stockholders Agreement (as defined in the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation) (with respect to nominations of persons for election to the Board of Directors only), (b) pursuant to the Corporation’s notice of meeting (or any supplement thereto) delivered pursuant to Section 2.04 of Article II of these Bylaws, (c) by or at the direction of the Board of Directors or any authorized committee thereof or (d) by any stockholder of the Corporation who is entitled to vote at the meeting, who, subject to paragraph (C)(4) of this Section 2.03, complied with the notice procedures set forth in paragraphs (A)(2) and (A)(3) of this Section 2.03 and who was a stockholder of record at the time such notice is delivered to the Secretary of the Corporation.

(2) For nominations or other business to be properly brought before an annual meeting by a stockholder pursuant to clause (d) of paragraph (A)(1) of this Section 2.03, the stockholder must have given timely notice thereof in writing to the Secretary of the Corporation, and, in the case of business other than nominations of persons for election to the Board of Directors, such other business must constitute a proper matter for stockholder action. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice shall be delivered to the Secretary of the Corporation at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not less than ninety (90) days nor more than one hundred and twenty (120) days prior to the first anniversary of the preceding year’s annual meeting (which date shall, for purposes of the Corporation’s first annual meeting of stockholders after its shares of Common Stock are first publicly traded, be deemed to have occurred on April 2, 2013); provided, however , that in the event that the date of the annual meeting is advanced by more than thirty (30) days, or delayed by more than seventy (70) days, from the anniversary date of the previous year’s meeting, or if no annual meeting was held in the preceding year, notice by the stockholder to be timely must be so delivered not earlier than one hundred and twenty (120) days prior to such annual meeting and not later than the close of business on the later of the ninetieth (90th) day prior to such annual meeting or the tenth (10th) day following the day on which public announcement of the date of such meeting is first made. Public announcement of an adjournment or postponement of an annual meeting shall not commence a new time period (or extend any time period) for the giving of a stockholder’s notice. Notwithstanding anything in this Section 2.03(A)(2) to the contrary, if the number of directors to be elected to the Board of Directors of the Corporation at an annual meeting is increased and there is no public announcement by the Corporation naming all of the nominees for director or specifying the size of the increased board of directors at least one hundred (100) calendar days prior to the first anniversary of the prior year’s annual meeting of stockholders, then a stockholder’s notice required by this Section shall be considered timely, but only with respect to nominees for any new positions created by such increase, if it is received by the Secretary of the Corporation not later than the close of business on the tenth (10th) calendar day following the day on which such public announcement is first made by the Corporation.

(3) Such stockholder’s notice shall set forth (a) as to each person whom the stockholder proposes to nominate for election or re-election as a director, all information relating to such person that is required to be disclosed in solicitations of proxies for election of directors in an election contest, or is otherwise required, in each case pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “ Exchange Act ”), and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, including such person’s written consent to being named in

 

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the proxy statement as a nominee and to serving as a director if elected; (b) as to any other business that the stockholder proposes to bring before the meeting, a brief description of the business desired to be brought before the meeting, the text of the proposal or business (including the text of any resolutions proposed for consideration and, in the event that such business includes a proposal to amend these Bylaws of the Corporation, the language of the proposed amendment), the reasons for conducting such business at the meeting and any material interest in such business of such stockholder and the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the proposal is made; (c) as to the stockholder giving the notice and the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the nomination or proposal is made (i) the name and address of such stockholder, as they appear on the Corporation’s books and records, and of such beneficial owner, (ii) the class or series and number of shares of capital stock of the Corporation which are owned, directly or indirectly, beneficially and of record by such stockholder and such beneficial owner, (iii) a representation that the stockholder is a holder of record of the stock of the Corporation at the time of the giving of the notice, will be entitled to vote at such meeting and will appear in person or by proxy at the meeting to propose such business or nomination, (iv) a representation whether the stockholder or the beneficial owner, if any, will be or is part of a group which will (x) deliver a proxy statement and/or form of proxy to holders of at least the percentage of the voting power of the Corporation’s outstanding capital stock required to approve or adopt the proposal or elect the nominee and/or (y) otherwise to solicit proxies or votes from stockholders in support of such proposal or nomination, (v) a certification regarding whether such stockholder and beneficial owner, if any, have complied with all applicable federal, state and other legal requirements in connection with the stockholder’s and/or beneficial owner’s acquisition of shares of capital stock or other securities of the Corporation and/or the stockholder’s and/or beneficial owner’s acts or omissions as a stockholder of the Corporation and (vi) any other information relating to such stockholder and beneficial owner, if any, required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filings required to be made in connection with solicitations of proxies for, as applicable, the proposal and/or for the election of directors in an election contest pursuant to and in accordance with Section 14(a) of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder; (d) a description of any agreement, arrangement or understanding with respect to the nomination or proposal and/or the voting of shares of any class or series of stock of the Corporation between or among the stockholder giving the notice, the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the nomination or proposal is made, any of their respective affiliates or associates and/or any others acting in concert with any of the foregoing (collectively, “ proponent persons ”); and (e) a description of any agreement, arrangement or understanding (including without limitation any contract to purchase or sell, acquisition or grant of any option, right or warrant to purchase or sell, swap or other instrument) to which any proponent person is a party, the intent or effect of which may be (i) to transfer to or from any proponent person, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of any security of the Corporation, (ii) to increase or decrease the voting power of any proponent person with respect to shares of any class or series of stock of the Corporation and/or (iii) to provide any proponent person, directly or indirectly, with the opportunity to profit or share in any profit derived from, or to otherwise benefit economically from, any increase or decrease in the value of any security of the Corporation. A stockholder providing notice of a proposed nomination for election to the Board of Directors or other business proposed to be brought before a meeting (whether given pursuant to this paragraph (A)(3) or paragraph (B) of this Section 2.03 of these Bylaws) shall update and supplement such notice from time to time to the extent necessary so that the information

 

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provided or required to be provided in such notice shall be true and correct (x) as of the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to notice of the meeting and (y) as of the date that is fifteen (15) days prior to the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof, provided that if the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting is less than fifteen (15) days prior to the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof, the information shall be supplemented and updated as of such later date. Any such update and supplement shall be delivered in writing to the Secretary of the Corporation at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not later than five (5) days after the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to notice of the meeting (in the case of any update and supplement required to be made as of the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to notice of the meeting), not later than ten (10) days prior to the date for the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof (in the case of any update or supplement required to be made as of fifteen (15) days prior to the meeting or adjournment or postponement thereof) and not later than five (5) days after the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting, but no later than the date prior to the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof (in the case of any update and supplement required to be made as of a date less than fifteen (15) days prior the date of the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof). The Corporation may require any proposed nominee to furnish such other information as it may reasonably require to determine the eligibility of such proposed nominee to serve as a director of the Corporation and to determine the independence of such director under the Exchange Act and rules and regulations thereunder and applicable stock exchange rules.

(B) Special Meetings of Stockholders . Only such business shall be conducted at a special meeting of stockholders as shall have been brought before the meeting pursuant to the Corporation’s notice of meeting. Nominations of persons for election to the Board of Directors may be made at a special meeting of stockholders at which directors are to be elected pursuant to the Corporation’s notice of meeting (1) as provided in the Stockholders Agreement, (2) by or at the direction of the Board of Directors or any committee thereof or (3) provided that the Board of Directors (or Blackstone pursuant to Section B of Article VIII of the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation) has determined that directors shall be elected at such meeting, by any stockholder of the Corporation who is entitled to vote at the meeting, who (subject to paragraph (C)(4) of this Section 2.03) complies with the notice procedures set forth in this Section 2.03 and who is a stockholder of record at the time such notice is delivered to the Secretary of the Corporation. In the event the Corporation calls a special meeting of stockholders for the purpose of electing one or more directors to the Board of Directors, any such stockholder entitled to vote in such election of directors may nominate a person or persons (as the case may be) for election to such position(s) as specified in the Corporation’s notice of meeting if the stockholder’s notice as required by paragraph (A)(2) of this Section 2.03 shall be delivered to the Secretary at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not earlier than the close of business on the 120th day prior to such special meeting and not later than the close of business on the later of the 90th day prior to such special meeting or the 10th day following the day on which public announcement is first made of the date of the special meeting and of the nominees proposed by the Board of Directors to be elected at such meeting. In no event shall the public announcement of an adjournment or postponement of a special meeting commence a new time period (or extend any time period) for the giving of a stockholder’s notice as described above.

 

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(C) General . (1) Except as provided in paragraph (C)(4) of this Section 2.03, only such persons who are nominated in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Section 2.03 or the Stockholders Agreement shall be eligible to serve as directors and only such business shall be conducted at an annual or special meeting of stockholders as shall have been brought before the meeting in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Section. Except as otherwise provided by law, the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, the chairman of the meeting shall, in addition to making any other determination that may be appropriate for the conduct of the meeting, have the power and duty to determine whether a nomination or any business proposed to be brought before the meeting was made or proposed, as the case may be, in accordance with the procedures set forth in these Bylaws and, if any proposed nomination or business is not in compliance with these Bylaws, to declare that such defective proposal or nomination shall be disregarded. The date and time of the opening and the closing of the polls for each matter upon which the stockholders will vote at a meeting shall be announced at the meeting by the chairman of the meeting. The Board of Directors may adopt by resolution such rules and regulations for the conduct of the meeting of stockholders as it shall deem appropriate. Except to the extent inconsistent with such rules and regulations as adopted by the Board of Directors, the chairman of the meeting shall have the right and authority to convene and (for any or no reason) to recess and/or adjourn the meeting, to prescribe such rules, regulations and procedures and to do all such acts as, in the judgment of such chairman, are appropriate for the proper conduct of the meeting. Such rules, regulations or procedures, whether adopted by the Board of Directors or prescribed by the chairman of the meeting, may include, without limitation, the following: (i) the establishment of an agenda or order of business for the meeting, (ii) rules and procedures for maintaining order at the meeting and the safety of those present; (iii) limitations on attendance at or participation in the meeting to stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting, their duly authorized and constituted proxies or such other persons as the chairman of the meeting shall determine; (iv) restrictions on entry to the meeting after the time fixed for the commencement thereof; and (v) limitations on the time allotted to questions or comments by participants. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 2.03, unless otherwise required by law, if the stockholder (or a qualified representative of the stockholder) does not appear at the annual or special meeting of stockholders of the Corporation to present a nomination or business, such nomination shall be disregarded and such proposed business shall not be transacted, notwithstanding that proxies in respect of such vote may have been received by the Corporation. For purposes of this Section 2.03, to be considered a qualified representative of the stockholder, a person must be a duly authorized officer, manager or partner of such stockholder or must be authorized by a writing executed by such stockholder or an electronic transmission delivered by such stockholder to act for such stockholder as proxy at the meeting of stockholders and such person must produce such writing or electronic transmission, or a reliable reproduction of the writing or electronic transmission, at the meeting of stockholders. Unless and to the extent determined by the Board of Directors or the chairman of the meeting, meeting of stockholders shall not be required to be held in accordance with the rules of parliamentary procedure.

(2) Whenever used in these Bylaws, “public announcement” shall mean disclosure (a) in a press release released by the Corporation, provided such press release is released by the Corporation following its customary procedures, is reported by the Dow Jones News Service, Associated Press or comparable national news service, or is generally available on internet news sites, or (b) in a document publicly filed by the Corporation with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Section 13, 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

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(3) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 2.03, a stockholder shall also comply with all applicable requirements of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder with respect to the matters set forth in this Section 2.03; provided, however , that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any references in these Bylaws to the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder are not intended to and shall not limit any requirements applicable to nominations or proposals as to any other business to be considered pursuant to these Bylaws (including paragraphs (A)(1)(d) and (B) hereof), and compliance with paragraphs (A)(1)(d) and (B) of this Section 2.03 of these Bylaws shall be the exclusive means for a stockholder to make nominations or submit other business. Nothing in these Bylaws shall be deemed to affect any rights of the holders of any class or series of stock having a preference over the Common Stock as to dividends or upon liquidation to elect directors under specified circumstances.

(4) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Section 2.03, for as long as the Stockholders Agreement remains in effect with respect to Blackstone, Blackstone (to the extent then subject to the Stockholders Agreement) shall not be subject to the notice procedures set forth in paragraphs (A)(2), (A)(3) or (B) of this Section 2.03 with respect to any annual or special meeting of stockholders.

SECTION 2.04 Notice of Meetings . Whenever stockholders are required or permitted to take any action at a meeting, a timely notice in writing or by electronic transmission, in the manner provided in Section 232 of the DGCL, of the meeting, which shall state the place, if any, date and time of the meeting, the means of remote communications, if any, by which stockholders and proxyholders may be deemed to be present in person and vote at such meeting, the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting, if such date is different from the record date for determining stockholders entitled to notice of the meeting, and, in the case of a special meeting, the purposes for which the meeting is called, shall be mailed to or transmitted electronically by the Secretary of the Corporation to each stockholder of record entitled to vote thereat as of the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to notice of the meeting. Unless otherwise provided by law, the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, the notice of any meeting shall be given not less than ten (10) nor more than sixty (60) days before the date of the meeting to each stockholder entitled to vote at such meeting as of the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to notice of the meeting.

SECTION 2.05 Quorum . Unless otherwise required by law, the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation or the rules of any stock exchange upon which the Corporation’s securities are listed, the holders of record of a majority of the voting power of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Corporation entitled to vote thereat, present in person or represented by proxy, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at all meetings of stockholders. Once a quorum is present to organize a meeting, it shall not be broken by the subsequent withdrawal of any stockholders.

 

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SECTION 2.06 Voting . Except as otherwise provided by or pursuant to the provisions of the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, each stockholder entitled to vote at any meeting of stockholders shall be entitled to one vote for each share of stock held by such stockholder which has voting power upon the matter in question. Each stockholder entitled to vote at a meeting of stockholders or to express consent to corporate action in writing without a meeting may authorize another person or persons to act for such stockholder by proxy in any manner provided by applicable law, but no such proxy shall be voted or acted upon after three years from its date, unless the proxy provides for a longer period. A proxy shall be irrevocable if it states that it is irrevocable and if, and only as long as, it is coupled with an interest sufficient in law to support an irrevocable power. A stockholder may revoke any proxy which is not irrevocable by attending the meeting and voting in person or by delivering to the Secretary of the Corporation a revocation of the proxy or a new proxy bearing a later date. Unless required by the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation or applicable law, or determined by the chairman of the meeting to be advisable, the vote on any question need not be by ballot. On a vote by ballot, each ballot shall be signed by the stockholder voting, or by such stockholder’s proxy, if there be such proxy. When a quorum is present or represented at any meeting, the vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of the shares of stock present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote on the subject matter shall decide any question brought before such meeting, unless the question is one upon which, by express provision of applicable law, of the rules or regulations of any stock exchange applicable to the Corporation, of any regulation applicable to the Corporation or its securities, of the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation or of these Bylaws, a different vote is required, in which case such express provision shall govern and control the decision of such question. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence and subject to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, all elections of directors shall be determined by a plurality of the votes cast in respect of the shares present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote on the election of directors.

SECTION 2.07 Chairman of Meetings . The Chairman of the Board of Directors, if one is elected, or, in his or her absence or disability, the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation, or the absence of the Chairman of the Board of Directors and the Chief Executive Officer, a person designated by the Board of Directors shall be the chairman of the meeting and, as such, preside at all meetings of the stockholders.

SECTION 2.08 Secretary of Meetings . The Secretary of the Corporation shall act as Secretary at all meetings of the stockholders. In the absence or disability of the Secretary, the Chairman of the Board of Directors or the Chief Executive Officer shall appoint a person to act as Secretary at such meetings.

SECTION 2.09 Consent of Stockholders in Lieu of Meeting . Any action required or permitted to be taken at any annual or special meeting of stockholders of the Corporation may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote only in the manner provided in the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and in accordance with applicable law.

SECTION 2.10 Adjournment . At any meeting of stockholders of the Corporation, if less than a quorum be present, the chairman of the meeting or stockholders

 

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holding a majority in voting power of the shares of stock of the Corporation, present in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereat, shall have the power to adjourn the meeting from time to time without notice other than announcement at the meeting until a quorum shall be present. Any business may be transacted at the adjourned meeting that might have been transacted at the meeting originally noticed. If the adjournment is for more than thirty (30) days, a notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given to each stockholder of record entitled to vote at the meeting. If after the adjournment a new record date for determination of stockholders entitled to vote is fixed for the adjourned meeting, the Board of Directors shall fix as the record date for determining stockholders entitled to notice of such adjourned meeting the same or an earlier date as that fixed for determination of stockholders entitled to vote at the adjourned meeting, and shall give notice of the adjourned meeting to each stockholder of record entitled to vote at such adjourned meeting as of the record date so fixed for notice of such adjourned meeting.

SECTION 2.11 Remote Communication . If authorized by the Board of Directors in its sole discretion, and subject to such guidelines and procedures as the Board of Directors may adopt, stockholders and proxy holders not physically present at a meeting of stockholders may, by means of remote communication:

(a) participate in a meeting of stockholders; and

(b) be deemed present in person and vote at a meeting of stockholders whether such meeting is to be held at a designated place or solely by means of remote communication,

provided , that

(i) the Corporation shall implement reasonable measures to verify that each person deemed present and permitted to vote at the meeting by means of remote communication is a stockholder or proxyholder;

(ii) the Corporation shall implement reasonable measures to provide such stockholders and proxyholders a reasonable opportunity to participate in the meeting and to vote on matters submitted to the stockholders, including an opportunity to read or hear the proceedings of the meeting substantially concurrently with such proceedings; and

(iii) if any stockholder or proxyholder votes or takes other action at the meeting by means of remote communication, a record of such vote or other action shall be maintained by the Corporation.

SECTION 2.12 Inspectors of Election . The Corporation may, and shall if required by law, in advance of any meeting of stockholders, appoint one or more inspectors of election, who may be employees of the Corporation, to act at the meeting or any adjournment thereof and to make a written report thereof. The Corporation may designate one or more persons as alternate inspectors to replace any inspector who fails to act. In the event that no inspector so appointed or designated is able to act at a meeting of stockholders, the chairman of the meeting shall appoint one or more inspectors to act at the meeting. Each inspector, before entering upon the discharge of his or her duties, shall take and sign an oath to execute faithfully the duties of inspector with strict impartiality and according to the best of his or her ability. The inspector or inspectors so appointed or designated shall (i) ascertain the number of shares of

 

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capital stock of the Corporation outstanding and the voting power of each such share, (ii) determine the shares of capital stock of the corporation represented at the meeting and the validity of proxies and ballots, (iii) count all votes and ballots, (iv) determine and retain for a reasonable period a record of the disposition of any challenges made to any determination by the inspectors, and (v) certify their determination of the number of shares of capital stock of the Corporation represented at the meeting and such inspectors’ count of all votes and ballots. Such certification and report shall specify such other information as may be required by law. In determining the validity and counting of proxies and ballots cast at any meeting of stockholders of the Corporation, the inspectors may consider such information as is permitted by applicable law. No person who is a candidate for an office at an election may serve as an inspector at such election.

ARTICLE III

Board of Directors

SECTION 3.01 Powers . The business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by or under the direction of its Board of Directors. The Board of Directors may exercise all such authority and powers of the Corporation and do all such lawful acts and things as are not by the DGCL or the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation directed or required to be exercised or done by the stockholders.

SECTION 3.02 Number and Term; Chairman . Subject to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, the number of directors shall be fixed exclusively by resolution of the Board of Directors. Directors shall be elected by the stockholders at their annual meeting, and the term of each director so elected shall be as set forth in the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation. Directors need not be stockholders. The Board of Directors shall elect a Chairman of the Board, who shall have the powers and perform such duties as provided in these Bylaws and as the Board of Directors may from time to time prescribe. The Chairman of the Board shall preside at all meetings of the Board of Directors at which he or she is present. If the Chairman of the Board is not present at a meeting of the Board of Directors, the Chief Executive Officer (if the Chief Executive Officer is a director and is not also the Chairman of the Board) shall preside at such meeting, and, if the Chief Executive Officer is not present at such meeting or is not a director, a majority of the directors present at such meeting shall elect one (1) of their members to preside.

SECTION 3.03 Resignations . Any director may resign at any time upon notice given in writing or by electronic transmission to the Board of Directors, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, the Chief Executive Officer or the Secretary of the Corporation. The resignation shall take effect at the time specified therein, and if no time is specified, at the time of its receipt. The acceptance of a resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective unless otherwise expressly provided in the resignation.

SECTION 3.04 Removal . Directors of the Corporation may be removed in the manner provided in the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and applicable law.

 

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SECTION 3.05 Vacancies and Newly Created Directorships . Except as otherwise provided by law and subject to the Stockholders Agreement, vacancies occurring in any directorship (whether by death, resignation, retirement, disqualification, removal or other cause) and newly created directorships resulting from any increase in the number of directors shall be filled in accordance with the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation. Any director elected to fill a vacancy or newly created directorship shall hold office until the next election of the class for which such director shall have been chosen and until his or her successor shall be elected and qualified, or until his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement, disqualification or removal.

SECTION 3.06 Meetings . Regular meetings of the Board of Directors may be held at such places and times as shall be determined from time to time by the Board of Directors. Special meetings of the Board of Directors may be called by the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation or the Chairman of the Board of Directors, and shall be called by the Chief Executive Officer or the Secretary of the Corporation if directed by the Board of Directors and shall be at such places and times as they or he or she shall fix. Notice need not be given of regular meetings of the Board of Directors. At least twenty four (24) hours before each special meeting of the Board of Directors, either written notice, notice by electronic transmission or oral notice (either in person or by telephone) notice of the time, date and place of the meeting shall be given to each director. Unless otherwise indicated in the notice thereof, any and all business may be transacted at a special meeting.

SECTION 3.07 Quorum, Voting and Adjournment . A majority of the total number of directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Except as otherwise provided by law, the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, the act of a majority of the directors present at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the Board of Directors. In the absence of a quorum, a majority of the directors present thereat may adjourn such meeting to another time and place. Notice of such adjourned meeting need not be given if the time and place of such adjourned meeting are announced at the meeting so adjourned.

SECTION 3.08 Committees; Committee Rules . The Board of Directors may designate one or more committees, including but not limited to an Audit Committee, a Compensation Committee and a Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, each such committee to consist of one or more of the directors of the Corporation. The Board of Directors may designate one or more directors as alternate members of any committee to replace any absent or disqualified member at any meeting of the committee. Any such committee, to the extent provided in the resolution of the Board of Directors establishing such committee, shall have and may exercise all the powers and authority of the Board of Directors in the management of the business and affairs of the Corporation, and may authorize the seal of the Corporation to be affixed to all papers which may require it; but no such committee shall have the power or authority in reference to the following matters: (a) approving or adopting, or recommending to the stockholders, any action or matter (other than the election or removal of directors) expressly required by the DGCL to be submitted to stockholders for approval or (b) adopting, amending or repealing any Bylaw of the Corporation. All committees of the Board of Directors shall keep minutes of their meetings and shall report their proceedings to the Board of Directors when requested or required by the Board of Directors. Each committee of the Board of Directors may

 

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fix its own rules of procedure and shall hold its meetings as provided by such rules, except as may otherwise be provided by a resolution of the Board of Directors designating such committee. Unless otherwise provided in such a resolution, the presence of at least a majority of the members of the committee shall be necessary to constitute a quorum unless the committee shall consist of one or two members, in which event one member shall constitute a quorum; and all matters shall be determined by a majority vote of the members present at a meeting of the committee at which a quorum is present. Unless otherwise provided in such a resolution, in the event that a member and that member’s alternate, if alternates are designated by the Board of Directors, of such committee is or are absent or disqualified, the member or members thereof present at any meeting and not disqualified from voting, whether or not such member or members constitute a quorum, may unanimously appoint another member of the Board of Directors to act at the meeting in place of any such absent or disqualified member.

SECTION 3.09 Action Without a Meeting . Unless otherwise restricted by the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the Board of Directors or of any committee thereof may be taken without a meeting if all members of the Board of Directors or any committee thereof, as the case may be, consent thereto in writing or by electronic transmission, and the writing or writings or electronic transmission or transmissions are filed in the minutes of proceedings of the Board of Directors. Such filing shall be in paper form if the minutes are maintained in paper form or shall be in electronic form if the minutes are maintained in electronic form.

SECTION 3.10 Remote Meeting . Unless otherwise restricted by the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, members of the Board of Directors, or any committee designated by the Board of Directors, may participate in a meeting by means of conference telephone or other communications equipment in which all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other. Participation in a meeting by means of conference telephone or other communications equipment shall constitute presence in person at such meeting.

SECTION 3.11 Compensation. The Board of Directors shall have the authority to fix the compensation, including fees and reimbursement of expenses, of directors for services to the Corporation in any capacity.

SECTION 3.12 Reliance on Books and Records. A member of the Board of Directors, or a member of any committee designated by the Board of Directors shall, in the performance of such person’s duties, be fully protected in relying in good faith upon records of the Corporation and upon such information, opinions, reports or statements presented to the Corporation by any of the Corporation’s officers or employees, or committees of the Board of Directors, or by any other person as to matters the member reasonably believes are within such other person’s professional or expert competence and who has been selected with reasonable care by or on behalf of the Corporation.

 

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ARTICLE IV

Officers

SECTION 4.01 Number. The officers of the Corporation shall include a Chief Executive Officer and a Secretary, each of whom shall be elected by the Board of Directors and who shall hold office for such terms as shall be determined by the Board of Directors and until their successors are elected and qualify or until their earlier resignation or removal. In addition, the Board of Directors may elect one or more Vice Presidents, including one or more Executive Vice Presidents, Senior Vice Presidents, a Treasurer and one or more Assistant Treasurers and one or more Assistant Secretaries, who shall hold their office for such terms and shall exercise such powers and perform such duties as shall be determined from time to time by the Board of Directors. Any number of offices may be held by the same person.

SECTION 4.02 Other Officers and Agents . The Board of Directors may appoint such other officers and agents as it deems advisable, who shall hold their office for such terms and shall exercise and perform such powers and duties as shall be determined from time to time by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors may appoint one or more officers called a Vice Chairman, each of whom does not need to be a member of the Board of Directors.

SECTION 4.03 Chief Executive Officer . The Chief Executive Officer, subject to the determination of the Board of Directors, shall have general executive charge, management, and control of the properties and operations of the Corporation in the ordinary course of its business, with all such powers with respect to such properties and operations as may be reasonably incident to such responsibilities. If the Board of Directors has not elected a Chairman of the Board or in the absence or inability to act as the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer shall exercise all of the powers and discharge all of the duties of the Chairman of the Board, but only if the Chief Executive Officer is a director of the Corporation.

SECTION 4.04 Vice Presidents . Each Vice President, if any are elected, of whom one or more may be designated an Executive Vice President or Senior Vice President, shall have such powers and shall perform such duties as shall be assigned to him by the Chief Executive Officer or the Board of Directors.

SECTION 4.05 Treasurer . The Treasurer shall have custody of the corporate funds, securities, evidences of indebtedness and other valuables of the Corporation and shall keep full and accurate accounts of receipts and disbursements in books belonging to the Corporation. He shall deposit all moneys and other valuables in the name and to the credit of the Corporation in such depositories as may be designated by the Board of Directors or its designees selected for such purposes. The Treasurer shall disburse the funds of the Corporation, taking proper vouchers therefor. He shall render to the Chief Executive Officer and the Board of Directors, upon their request, a report of the financial condition of the Corporation. If required by the Board of Directors, the Treasurer shall give the Corporation a bond for the faithful discharge of his or her duties in such amount and with such surety as the Board of Directors shall prescribe.

In addition, the Treasurer shall have such further powers and perform such other duties incident to the office of Treasurer as from time to time are assigned to him by the Chief Executive Officer or the Board of Directors.

 

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SECTION 4.06 Secretary . The Secretary shall: (a) cause minutes of all meetings of the stockholders and directors to be recorded and kept properly; (b) cause all notices required by these Bylaws or otherwise to be given properly; (c) see that the minute books, stock books, and other nonfinancial books, records and papers of the Corporation are kept properly; and (d) cause all reports, statements, returns, certificates and other documents to be prepared and filed when and as required. The Secretary shall have such further powers and perform such other duties as prescribed from time to time by the Chief Executive Officer or the Board of Directors.

SECTION 4.07 Assistant Treasurers and Assistant Secretaries . Each Assistant Treasurer and each Assistant Secretary, if any are elected, shall be vested with all the powers and shall perform all the duties of the Treasurer and Secretary, respectively, in the absence or disability of such officer, unless or until the Chief Executive Officer or the Board of Directors shall otherwise determine. In addition, Assistant Treasurers and Assistant Secretaries shall have such powers and shall perform such duties as shall be assigned to them by the Chief Executive Officer or the Board of Directors.

SECTION 4.08 Corporate Funds and Checks . The funds of the Corporation shall be kept in such depositories as shall from time to time be prescribed by the Board of Directors or its designees selected for such purposes. All checks or other orders for the payment of money shall be signed by the Chief Executive Officer, a Vice President, the Treasurer or the Secretary or such other person or agent as may from time to time be authorized and with such countersignature, if any, as may be required by the Board of Directors.

SECTION 4.09 Contracts and Other Documents . The Chief Executive Officer and the Secretary, or such other officer or officers as may from time to time be authorized by the Board of Directors or any other committee given specific authority in the premises by the Board of Directors during the intervals between the meetings of the Board of Directors, shall have power to sign and execute on behalf of the Corporation deeds, conveyances and contracts, and any and all other documents requiring execution by the Corporation.

SECTION 4.10 Ownership of Stock of Another Corporation . Unless otherwise directed by the Board of Directors, the Chief Executive Officer, a Vice President, the Treasurer or the Secretary, or such other officer or agent as shall be authorized by the Board of Directors, shall have the power and authority, on behalf of the Corporation, to attend and to vote at any meeting of securityholders of any entity in which the Corporation holds securities or equity interests and may exercise, on behalf of the Corporation, any and all of the rights and powers incident to the ownership of such securities or equity interests at any such meeting, including the authority to execute and deliver proxies and consents on behalf of the Corporation.

SECTION 4.11 Delegation of Duties . In the absence, disability or refusal of any officer to exercise and perform his or her duties, the Board of Directors may delegate to another officer such powers or duties.

SECTION 4.12 Resignation and Removal . Any officer of the Corporation may be removed from office for or without cause at any time by the Board of Directors. Any officer may resign at any time in the same manner prescribed under Section 3.03 of these Bylaws.

 

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SECTION 4.13 Vacancies . The Board of Directors shall have the power to fill vacancies occurring in any office.

ARTICLE V

Stock

SECTION 5.01 Shares With Certificates . The shares of stock of the Corporation shall be represented by certificates, provided that the Board of Directors may provide by resolution or resolutions that some or all of any or all classes or series of the Corporation’s stock shall be uncertificated shares. Any such resolution shall not apply to shares represented by a certificate until such certificate is surrendered to the Corporation. Every holder of stock in the Corporation represented by certificates shall be entitled to have a certificate signed by, or in the name of the Corporation by, the Chairman of the Board of Directors or the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, or the President or a Vice President, and by the Treasurer or an Assistant Treasurer or the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the Corporation, certifying the number and class of shares of stock of the Corporation owned by such holder. Any or all of the signatures on the certificate may be a facsimile. The Board of Directors shall have the power to appoint one or more transfer agents and/or registrars for the transfer or registration of certificates of stock of any class, and may require stock certificates to be countersigned or registered by one or more of such transfer agents and/or registrars.

SECTION 5.02 Shares Without Certificates . If the Board of Directors chooses to issue shares of stock without certificates, the Corporation, if required by the DGCL, shall, within a reasonable time after the issue or transfer of shares without certificates, send the stockholder a written statement of the information required by the DGCL. The Corporation may adopt a system of issuance, recordation and transfer of its shares of stock by electronic or other means not involving the issuance of certificates, provided the use of such system by the Corporation is permitted in accordance with applicable law.

SECTION 5.03 Transfer of Shares . Shares of stock of the Corporation shall be transferable upon its books by the holders thereof, in person or by their duly authorized attorneys or legal representatives, upon surrender to the Corporation by delivery thereof to the person in charge of the stock and transfer books and ledgers. Certificates representing such shares, if any, shall be cancelled and new certificates, if the shares are to be certificated, shall thereupon be issued. Shares of capital stock of the Corporation that are not represented by a certificate shall be transferred in accordance with applicable law. A record shall be made of each transfer. Whenever any transfer of shares shall be made for collateral security, and not absolutely, it shall be so expressed in the entry of the transfer if, when the certificates are presented, both the transferor and transferee request the Corporation to do so. The Board of Directors shall have power and authority to make such rules and regulations as it may deem necessary or proper concerning the issue, transfer and registration of certificates for shares of stock of the Corporation.

SECTION 5.04 Lost, Stolen, Destroyed or Mutilated Certificates . A new certificate of stock or uncertificated shares may be issued in the place of any certificate previously issued by the Corporation alleged to have been lost, stolen or destroyed, and the

 

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Corporation may, in its discretion, require the owner of such lost, stolen or destroyed certificate, or his or her legal representative, to give the Corporation a bond, in such sum as the Corporation may direct, in order to indemnify the Corporation against any claims that may be made against it in connection therewith. A new certificate or uncertificated shares of stock may be issued in the place of any certificate previously issued by the Corporation that has become mutilated upon the surrender by such owner of such mutilated certificate and, if required by the Corporation, the posting of a bond by such owner in an amount sufficient to indemnify the Corporation against any claim that may be made against it in connection therewith.

SECTION 5.05 List of Stockholders Entitled To Vote . The officer who has charge of the stock ledger shall prepare and make, at least ten (10) days before every meeting of stockholders, a complete list of the stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting ( provided, however , if the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to vote is less than ten (10) days before the date of the meeting, the list shall reflect the stockholders entitled to vote as of the tenth day before the meeting date), arranged in alphabetical order, and showing the address of each stockholder and the number of shares registered in the name of each stockholder. Such list shall be open to the examination of any stockholder, for any purpose germane to the meeting at least ten (10) days prior to the meeting (a) on a reasonably accessible electronic network; provided that the information required to gain access to such list is provided with the notice of meeting or (b) during ordinary business hours at the principal place of business of the Corporation. In the event that the Corporation determines to make the list available on an electronic network, the Corporation may take reasonable steps to ensure that such information is available only to stockholders of the Corporation. If the meeting is to be held at a place, then a list of stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting shall be produced and kept at the time and place of the meeting during the whole time thereof and may be examined by any stockholder who is present. If the meeting is to be held solely by means of remote communication, then the list shall also be open to the examination of any stockholder during the whole time of the meeting on a reasonably accessible electronic network, and the information required to access such list shall be provided with the notice of the meeting. Except as otherwise provided by law, the stock ledger shall be the only evidence as to who are the stockholders entitled to examine the list of stockholders required by this Section 5.05 or to vote in person or by proxy at any meeting of stockholders.

SECTION 5.06 Fixing Date for Determination of Stockholders of Record.

(A) In order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to notice of any meeting of stockholders or any adjournment thereof, the Board of Directors may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the Board of Directors, and which record date shall, unless otherwise required by law, not be more than sixty (60) nor less than ten (10) days before the date of such meeting. If the Board of Directors so fixes a date, such date shall also be the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to vote at such meeting unless the Board of Directors determines, at the time it fixes such record date, that a later date on or before the date of the meeting shall be the date for making such determination. If no record date is fixed by the Board of Directors, the record date for determining stockholders entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of stockholders shall be at the close of business on the day next preceding the day on which notice is given, or, if notice is waived, at the close of business on the day next preceding

 

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the day on which the meeting is held. A determination of stockholders of record entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of stockholders shall apply to any adjournment of the meeting; provided, however , that the Board of Directors may fix a new record date for determination of stockholders entitled to vote at the adjourned meeting, and in such case shall also fix as the record date for stockholders entitled to notice of such adjourned meeting the same or an earlier date as that fixed for determination of stockholders entitled to vote in accordance herewith at the adjourned meeting.

(B) In order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to receive payment of any dividend or other distribution or allotment of any rights, or entitled to exercise any rights in respect of any change, conversion or exchange of stock or for the purpose of any other lawful action, the Board of Directors may fix a record date, which record date shall not proceed the date upon which the record date fixing the record date is adopted, and which record date shall not be more than sixty (60) days prior to such action. If no such record date is fixed, the record date for determining stockholders for any such purpose shall be at the close of business on the day on which the Board of Directors adopts the resolution relating thereto.

(C) Unless otherwise restricted by the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, in order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to express consent to corporate action in writing without a meeting, the Board of Directors may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the Board of Directors, and which record date shall not be more than ten (10) days after the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the Board of Directors. If no record date for determining stockholders entitled to express consent to corporate action in writing without a meeting is fixed by the Board of Directors, (i) when no prior action of the Board of Directors is required by law, the record date for such purpose shall be the first date on which a signed written consent setting forth the action taken or proposed to be taken is delivered to the Corporation in accordance with applicable law, and (ii) if prior action by the Board of Directors is required by law, the record date for such purpose shall be at the close of business on the day on which the Board of Directors adopts the resolution taking such prior action.

SECTION 5.07 Registered Stockholders . Prior to the surrender to the Corporation of the certificate or certificates for a share or shares of stock or notification to the Corporation of the transfer of uncertificated shares with a request to record the transfer of such share or shares, the Corporation may treat the registered owner of such share or shares as the person entitled to receive dividends, to vote, to receive notifications and otherwise to exercise all the rights and powers of an owner of such share or shares. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Corporation shall not be bound to recognize any equitable or other claim to or interest in such share or shares on the part of any other person, whether or not it shall have express or other notice thereof.

 

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ARTICLE VI

Notice and Waiver of Notice

SECTION 6.01 Notice . If mailed, notice to stockholders shall be deemed given when deposited in the mail, postage prepaid, directed to the stockholder at such stockholder’s address as it appears on the records of the Corporation. Without limiting the manner by which notice otherwise may be given effectively to stockholders, any notice to stockholders may be given by electronic transmission in the manner provided in Section 232 of the DGCL.

SECTION 6.02 Waiver of Notice . A written waiver of any notice, signed by a stockholder or director, or waiver by electronic transmission by such person, whether given before or after the time of the event for which notice is to be given, shall be deemed equivalent to the notice required to be given to such person. Neither the business nor the purpose of any meeting need be specified in such a waiver. Attendance at any meeting (in person or by remote communication) shall constitute waiver of notice except attendance for the express purpose of objecting at the beginning of the meeting to the transaction of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called or convened.

ARTICLE VII

Indemnification

SECTION 7.01 Right to Indemnification . Each person who was or is made a party or is threatened to be made a party to or is otherwise involved in any action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (hereinafter a “ proceeding ”), by reason of the fact that he or she is or was a director or an officer of the Corporation or, while a director or officer of the Corporation, is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee, agent or trustee of another corporation or of a partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, including service with respect to an employee benefit plan (hereinafter an “ indemnitee ”), whether the basis of such proceeding is alleged action in an official capacity as a director, officer, employee, agent or trustee or in any other capacity while serving as a director, officer, employee, agent or trustee, shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Corporation to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law, as the same exists or may hereafter be amended (but, in the case of any such amendment, only to the extent that such amendment permits the Corporation to provide broader indemnification rights than such law permitted the Corporation to provide prior to such amendment), against all expense, liability and loss (including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines, ERISA excise taxes or penalties and amounts paid in settlement) reasonably incurred or suffered by such indemnitee in connection therewith; provided, however, that, except as provided in Section 7.03 with respect to proceedings to enforce rights to indemnification or advancement of expenses or with respect to any compulsory counterclaim brought by such indemnitee, the Corporation shall indemnify any such indemnitee in connection with a proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such indemnitee only if such proceeding (or part thereof) was authorized by the Board of Directors.

 

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SECTION 7.02 Right to Advancement of Expenses . In addition to the right to indemnification conferred in Section 7.01, an indemnitee shall also have the right to be paid by the Corporation the expenses (including attorney’s fees) incurred in appearing at, participating in or defending any such proceeding in advance of its final disposition or in connection with a proceeding brought to establish or enforce a right to indemnification or advancement of expenses under this Article VII (which shall be governed by Section 7.03 (hereinafter an “ advancement of expenses ”); provided, however, that, if the DGCL requires or in the case of an advance made in a proceeding brought to establish or enforce a right to indemnification or advancement, an advancement of expenses incurred by an indemnitee in his or her capacity as a director or officer (and not in any other capacity in which service was or is rendered by such indemnitee, including, without limitation, service to an employee benefit plan) shall be made solely upon delivery to the Corporation of an undertaking (hereinafter an “ undertaking ”), by or on behalf of such indemnitee, to repay all amounts so advanced if it shall ultimately be determined by final judicial decision from which there is no further right to appeal (hereinafter a “ final adjudication ”) that such indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified or entitled to advancement of expenses under Sections 7.01 and 7.02 or otherwise.

SECTION 7.03 Right of Indemnitee to Bring Suit. If a claim under Section 7.01 or 7.02 is not paid in full by the Corporation within (i) 60 days after a written claim for indemnification has been received by the Corporation or (ii) 20 days after a claim for an advancement of expenses has been received by the Corporation, the indemnitee may at any time thereafter bring suit against the Corporation to recover the unpaid amount of the claim or to obtain advancement of expenses, as applicable. To the fullest extent permitted by law, if successful in whole or in part in any such suit, or in a suit brought by the Corporation to recover an advancement of expenses pursuant to the terms of an undertaking, the indemnitee shall be entitled to be paid also the expense of prosecuting or defending such suit. In (i) any suit brought by the indemnitee to enforce a right to indemnification hereunder (but not in a suit brought by the indemnitee to enforce a right to an advancement of expenses) it shall be a defense that, and (ii) any suit brought by the Corporation to recover an advancement of expenses pursuant to the terms of an undertaking, the Corporation shall be entitled to recover such expenses upon a final adjudication that, the indemnitee has not met any applicable standard for indemnification set forth in the DGCL. Neither the failure of the Corporation (including its directors who are not parties to such action, a committee of such directors, independent legal counsel, or its stockholders) to have made a determination prior to the commencement of such suit that indemnification of the indemnitee is proper in the circumstances because the indemnitee has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in the DGCL, nor an actual determination by the Corporation (including its directors who are not parties to such action, a committee of such directors, independent legal counsel, or its stockholders) that the indemnitee has not met such applicable standard of conduct, shall create a presumption that the indemnitee has not met the applicable standard of conduct or, in the case of such a suit brought by the indemnitee, be a defense to such suit. In any suit brought by the indemnitee to enforce a right to indemnification or to an advancement of expenses hereunder, or brought by the Corporation to recover an advancement of expenses pursuant to the terms of an undertaking, the burden of proving that the indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified, or to such advancement of expenses, under this Article VII or otherwise shall be on the Corporation.

 

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SECTION 7.04 Indemnification Not Exclusive .

(A) The provision of indemnification to or the advancement of expenses and costs to any indemnitee under this Article VII, or the entitlement of any indemnitee to indemnification or advancement of expenses and costs under this Article VII, shall not limit or restrict in any way the power of the Corporation to indemnify or advance expenses and costs to such indemnitee in any other way permitted by law or be deemed exclusive of, or invalidate, any right to which any indemnitee seeking indemnification or advancement of expenses and costs may be entitled under any law, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise, both as to action in such indemnitee’s capacity as an officer, director, employee or agent of the Corporation and as to action in any other capacity.

(B) Given that certain jointly indemnifiable claims (as defined below) may arise due to the service of the indemnitee as a director of the Corporation at the request of the indemnitee-related entities (as defined below), the Corporation shall be fully and primarily responsible for the payment to the indemnitee in respect of indemnification or advancement of expenses in connection with any such jointly indemnifiable claims, pursuant to and in accordance with the terms of this Article VII, irrespective of any right of recovery the indemnitee may have from the indemnitee-related entities. Under no circumstance shall the Corporation be entitled to any right of subrogation or contribution by the indemnitee-related entities and no right of advancement or recovery the indemnitee may have from the indemnitee-related entities shall reduce or otherwise alter the rights of the indemnitee or the obligations of the Corporation hereunder. In the event that any of the indemnitee-related entities shall make any payment to the indemnitee in respect of indemnification or advancement of expenses with respect to any jointly indemnifiable claim, the indemnitee-related entity making such payment shall be subrogated to the extent of such payment to all of the rights of recovery of the indemnitee against the Corporation, and the indemnitee shall execute all papers reasonably required and shall do all things that may be reasonably necessary to secure such rights, including the execution of such documents as may be necessary to enable the indemnitee-related entities effectively to bring suit to enforce such rights. Each of the indemnitee-related entities shall be third-party beneficiaries with respect to this Section 7.04(B) of Article VII, entitled to enforce this Section 7.04(B) of Article VII.

For purposes of this Section 7.04(B) of Article VII, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(1) The term “ indemnitee-related entities ” means any corporation, limited liability company, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise (other than the Corporation or any other corporation, limited liability company, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise for which the indemnitee has agreed, on behalf of the Corporation or at the Corporation’s request, to serve as a director, officer, employee or agent and which service is covered by the indemnity described herein) from whom an indemnitee may be entitled to indemnification or advancement of expenses with respect to which, in whole or in part, the Corporation may also have an indemnification or advancement obligation.

(2) The term “ jointly indemnifiable claims ” shall be broadly construed and shall include, without limitation, any action, suit or proceeding for which the indemnitee shall be entitled to indemnification or advancement of expenses from both the indemnitee-related entities and the

 

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Corporation pursuant to Delaware law, any agreement or certificate of incorporation, bylaws, partnership agreement, operating agreement, certificate of formation, certificate of limited partnership or comparable organizational documents of the Corporation or the indemnitee-related entities, as applicable.

SECTION 7.05 Corporate Obligations; Reliance . The rights granted pursuant to the provisions of this Article VII shall vest at the time a person becomes a director or officer of the Corporation and shall be deemed to create a binding contractual obligation on the part of the Corporation to the persons who from time to time are elected as officers or directors of the Corporation, and such persons in acting in their capacities as officers or directors of the Corporation or any subsidiary shall be entitled to rely on such provisions of this Article VII without giving notice thereof to the Corporation.

SECTION 7.06 Nature of Rights. The rights conferred upon indemnitees in this Article VII shall be contract rights and such rights shall continue as to an indemnitee who has ceased to be a director or officer and shall inure to the benefit of the indemnitee’s heirs, executors and administrators. Any amendment, alteration or repeal of this Article VII that adversely affects any right of an indemnitee or its successors shall be prospective only and shall not limit, eliminate, or impair any such right with respect to any proceeding involving any occurrence or alleged occurrence of any action or omission to act that took place prior to such amendment or repeal.

SECTION 7.07 Insurance . The Corporation may maintain insurance, at its expense, to protect itself and any director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation or another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any expense, liability or loss, whether or not the Corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such expense, liability or loss under the DGCL.

SECTION 7.08 Indemnification of Employees and Agents of the Corporation . The Corporation may, to the extent authorized from time to time by the Board of Directors, grant rights to indemnification and to the advancement of expenses to any employee or agent of the Corporation to the fullest extent of the provisions of this Article VII with respect to the indemnification and advancement of expenses of directors and officers of the Corporation.

ARTICLE VIII

Miscellaneous

SECTION 8.01 Electronic Transmission . For purposes of these Bylaws, “electronic transmission” means any form of communication, not directly involving the physical transmission of paper, that creates a record that may be retained, retrieved, and reviewed by a recipient thereof, and that may be directly reproduced in paper form by such a recipient through an automated process.

SECTION 8.02 Corporate Seal . The Board of Directors may provide a suitable seal, containing the name of the Corporation, which seal shall be in the charge of the

 

20


Secretary. If and when so directed by the Board of Directors or a committee thereof, duplicates of the seal may be kept and used by the Treasurer or by an Assistant Secretary or Assistant Treasurer.

SECTION 8.03 Fiscal Year . The fiscal year of the Corporation shall end on the last Sunday in December of each year, or such other day as the Board of Directors may designate.

SECTION 8.04 Loans . Subject to compliance with applicable law (including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended), the Corporation may lend money to, or guarantee any obligation of, or otherwise assist any officer or other employee of the Corporation or of its subsidiaries, including any officer or employee who is a director of the Corporation or its subsidiaries, whenever, in the judgment of the directors, such loan, guaranty or assistance may reasonably be expected to benefit the Corporation. The loan, guaranty or other assistance may be with or without interest, and may be unsecured, or secured in such manner as the Board of Directors shall approve, including, without limitation, a pledge of shares of stock of the Corporation. Nothing in this Section 8.04 shall be deemed to deny, limit or restrict the powers of guaranty or warranty of the Corporation at common law or under any statute.

SECTION 8.05 Section Headings . Section headings in these Bylaws are for convenience of reference only and shall not be given any substantive effect in limiting or otherwise construing any provision herein.

SECTION 8.06 Inconsistent Provisions . In the event that any provision of these Bylaws is or becomes inconsistent with any provision of the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, the DGCL or any other applicable law, such provision of these Bylaws shall not be given any effect to the extent of such inconsistency but shall otherwise be given full force and effect.

ARTICLE IX

Amendments

SECTION 9.01 Amendments . The Board of Directors is authorized to make, repeal, alter, amend and rescind, in whole or in part, these Bylaws without the assent or vote of the stockholders in any manner not inconsistent with the laws of the State of Delaware or the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation. Notwithstanding any other provisions of these Bylaws or any provision of law which might otherwise permit a lesser vote of the stockholders, at any time when Blackstone beneficially owns, in the aggregate, of less than 40% in voting power of the stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, in addition to any vote of the holders of any class or series of capital stock of the Corporation required by the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (including any certificate of designation relating to any series of Preferred Stock (as defined in the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation), these Bylaws or applicable law, the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% in voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of stock of the Corporation entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class, shall be required in order for the stockholders of the Corporation to alter, amend, repeal or rescind, in whole or in

 

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part, any provision of these Bylaws (including, without limitation, this Section 9.01) or to adopt any provision inconsistent herewith.

[ Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank ]

 

22

Exhibit 4.1

 

 

REGISTRATION RIGHTS AGREEMENT

by and among

PINNACLE FOODS INC.

and

the other parties hereto

Dated as of April 3, 2013

 

 


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

     Page  

ARTICLE I DEFINITIONS

     1   

SECTION 1.1

  

Certain Definitions

     1   

SECTION 1.2

  

Other Definitional Provisions; Interpretation

     5   

ARTICLE II REGISTRATION RIGHTS

     5   

SECTION 2.1

  

Piggyback Rights

     5   

SECTION 2.2

  

Demand Registration

     7   

SECTION 2.3

  

Registration Procedures

     8   

SECTION 2.4

  

Other Registration-Related Matters

     12   

ARTICLE III INDEMNIFICATION

     14   

SECTION 3.1

  

Indemnification by the Company

     14   

SECTION 3.2

  

Indemnification by the Holders and Underwriters

     15   

SECTION 3.3

  

Notices of Claims, Etc.

     15   

SECTION 3.4

  

Contribution

     16   

SECTION 3.5

  

Other Indemnification

     16   

SECTION 3.6

  

Non-Exclusivity

     16   

ARTICLE IV OTHER

     16   

SECTION 4.1

  

Notices

     16   

SECTION 4.2

  

Assignment; Transfer of Rights

     17   

SECTION 4.3

  

Amendments; Waiver

     18   

SECTION 4.4

  

Third Parties

     18   

SECTION 4.5

  

Governing Law

     18   

SECTION 4.6

  

Jurisdiction

     18   

SECTION 4.7

  

MUTUAL WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL

     18   

 

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SECTION 4.8

  

Specific Performance

     18   

SECTION 4.9

  

Entire Agreement

     19   

SECTION 4.10

  

Severability

     19   

SECTION 4.11

  

Counterparts

     19   

SECTION 4.12

  

Effectiveness

     19   

 

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REGISTRATION RIGHTS AGREEMENT

THIS REGISTRATION RIGHTS AGREEMENT (the “ Agreement ”) is dated as of April 3, 2013 and is by and among Pinnacle Foods Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “ Company ”), the Blackstone Group (as defined below) and the Management Stockholders (as defined below).

BACKGROUND

WHEREAS, the Company is currently contemplating an underwritten initial public offering (“ IPO ”) of shares of its Common Stock (as defined below); and

WHEREAS, the Company desires to grant registration rights to the Blackstone Group and the Management Stockholders on the terms and conditions set out in this Agreement.

NOW, THEREFORE, the parties agree as follows:

ARTICLE I

DEFINITIONS

SECTION 1.1 Certain Definitions . As used in this Agreement:

Affiliate ” has the meaning ascribed thereto in Rule 12b-2 promulgated under the Exchange Act, as in effect on the date hereof.

Agreement ” has the meaning set forth in the preamble.

Blackstone Group ” means the entities listed on the signature pages hereto under the heading “Blackstone Group.”

Blackstone Entities ” means the entities comprising the Blackstone Group, their respective Affiliates and the successors and permitted assigns of the entities and their respective Affiliates.

Board ” means the board of directors of the Company.

Business Day ” means a day other than a Saturday, Sunday, federal or New York State holiday or other day on which commercial banks in New York City are authorized or required by law to close.

Closing Date ” means the date of completion of the IPO.

Company ” has the meaning set forth in the preamble.

Common Stock ” means the shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company, and any other capital stock of the Company into which such stock is reclassified or reconstituted and any other common stock of the Company.


Control ” (including its correlative meanings, “ Controlled by ” and “ under common Control with ”) means possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of management or policies (whether through ownership of securities or partnership or other ownership interests, by contract or otherwise) of a Person.

Demand Party ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.2(a).

Exchange Act ” means the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, as the same may be amended from time to time.

FINRA ” means the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

Governmental Authority ” means any nation or government, any state or other political subdivision thereof, and any entity exercising executive, legislative, judicial, regulatory or administrative functions of or pertaining to government.

Holder ” means each member of the Blackstone Group and each Management Stockholder that is a holder of Registrable Securities or Securities exercisable, exchangeable or convertible into Registrable Securities or any Transferee of such Person to whom registration rights are assigned pursuant to Section 4.2.

Indemnified Parties ” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.1.

IPO ” has the meaning set forth in the recitals.

Law ” means any statute, law, regulation, ordinance, rule, injunction, order, decree, governmental approval, directive, requirement, or other governmental restriction or any similar form of decision of, or determination by, or any interpretation or administration of any of the foregoing by, any Governmental Authority.

Lockup Period ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.4(d)(i).

Management Stockholder ” means those stockholders of the Company who are identified as Management Stockholders on Schedule A hereto, and shall include their respective Transferees who have become stockholders of the Company.

Person ” means an individual, a partnership, a corporation, a limited liability company, an association, a joint stock company, a trust, a joint venture, a cooperative, an unincorporated organization, or other form of business organization, whether or not regarded as a legal entity under applicable Law, or any Governmental Authority or any department, agency or political subdivision thereof.

Public Offering ” means a public offering of equity securities of the Company or any successor thereto or any Subsidiary of the Company pursuant to a registration statement declared effective under the Securities Act.

 

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Registrable Securities ” means all shares of Common Stock and any Securities into which the Common Stock may be converted or exchanged pursuant to any merger, consolidation, sale of all or any part of its assets, corporate conversion or other extraordinary transaction of the Company held by a Holder (whether now held or hereafter acquired, and including any such Securities received by a Holder upon the conversion or exchange of, or pursuant to such a transaction with respect to, other Securities held by such Holder). As to any Registrable Securities, such Securities will cease to be Registrable Securities when:

 

  (a) a registration statement covering such Registrable Securities has been declared effective and such Registrable Securities have been disposed of pursuant to such effective registration statement;

 

  (b) such Registrable Securities shall have been sold pursuant to Rule 144 or 145 (or any similar provision then in effect) under the Securities Act;

 

  (c) such Registrable Securities may be sold pursuant to Rule 144 or 145 (or any similar provision then in effect) under the Securities Act, without reporting obligations or restriction; or

 

  (d) such Registrable Securities cease to be outstanding.

Registration Expenses ” means any and all expenses incurred in connection with the performance of or compliance with this Agreement, including:

 

  (a) all SEC, stock exchange, or FINRA registration and filing fees (including, if applicable, the fees and expenses of any “qualified independent underwriter,” as such term is defined in Rule 2720 of FINRA, and of its counsel);

 

  (b) all fees and expenses of complying with securities or blue sky Laws (including fees and disbursements of counsel for the underwriters in connection with blue sky qualifications of the Registrable Securities);

 

  (c) all printing, messenger and delivery expenses;

 

  (d) all fees and expenses incurred in connection with the listing of the Registrable Securities on any securities exchange or FINRA and all rating agency fees;

 

  (e) the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Company and of its independent public accountants, including the expenses of any special audits and/or “cold comfort” letters required by or incident to such performance and compliance;

 

  (f) any fees and disbursements of underwriters customarily paid by the issuers or sellers of Securities, including liability insurance if the Company so desires or if the underwriters so require, and the reasonable fees and expenses of any special experts retained in connection with the requested registration, but excluding underwriting discounts and commissions and transfer taxes, if any;

 

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  (g) the reasonable fees and out-of-pocket expenses of not more than one law firm (as selected by the holders of a majority of the Registrable Securities included in such registration) incurred by all the Holders in connection with the registration;

 

  (h) the costs and expenses of the Company relating to analyst and investor presentations or any “road show” undertaken in connection with the registration and/or marketing of the Registrable Securities (including the reasonable out-of-pocket expenses of the Holders); and

 

  (i) any other fees and disbursements customarily paid by the issuers of securities.

SEC ” means the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or any successor agency.

Securities ” means capital stock, limited partnership interests, limited liability company interests, beneficial interests, warrants, options, notes, bonds, debentures, and other securities, equity interests, ownership interests and similar obligations of every kind and nature of any Person.

Securities Act ” means the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, as the same may be amended from time to time.

Subsidiary ” means, with respect to any Person, any corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association or other business entity of which: (i) if a corporation, a majority of the total voting power of shares of stock entitled (without regard to the occurrence of any contingency) to vote in the election of directors, representatives or trustees thereof is at the time owned or Controlled, directly or indirectly, by that Person or one or more of the other Subsidiaries of that Person or a combination thereof; or (ii) if a limited liability company, partnership, association or other business entity, a majority of the total voting power of stock (or equivalent ownership interest) of the limited liability company, partnership, association or other business entity is at the time owned or Controlled, directly or indirectly, by any Person or one or more Subsidiaries of that Person or a combination thereof. For purposes hereof, a Person or Persons shall be deemed to have a majority ownership interest in a limited liability company, partnership, association or other business entity if such Person or Persons shall be allocated a majority of limited liability company, partnership, association or other business entity gains or losses or shall be or Control the managing director or general partner of such limited liability company, partnership, association or other business entity.

Transfer ” (including its correlative meanings, “ Transferor ”, “ Transferee ” and “ Transferred ”) shall mean, with respect to any security, directly or indirectly, to sell, contract to sell, give, assign, hypothecate, pledge, encumber, grant a security interest in, offer, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, lend or otherwise transfer or dispose of any economic, voting or other rights in or to such security. When used as a noun, “ Transfer ” shall have such correlative meaning as the context may require.

 

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SECTION 1.2 Other Definitional Provisions; Interpretation .

(a) The words “hereof,” “herein,” and “hereunder” and words of similar import when used in this Agreement refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular provision of this Agreement, and references in this Agreement to a designated “Article” or “Section” refer to an Article or Section of this Agreement unless otherwise specified.

(b) The headings in this Agreement are included for convenience of reference only and do not limit or otherwise affect the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement.

(c) The meanings given to terms defined herein are equally applicable to both the singular and plural forms of such terms.

ARTICLE II

REGISTRATION RIGHTS

SECTION 2.1 Piggyback Rights .

(a) If at any time following expiration of the Lockup Period (or, if earlier, such time as the Demand Party exercises a demand right pursuant to Section 2.2(a)) the Company proposes to register Securities for public sale (whether proposed to be offered for sale by the Company or by any other Person) under the Securities Act (other than a registration on Form S-4 or S-8, or any successor or other forms promulgated for similar purposes) in a manner which would permit registration of Registrable Securities for sale to the public under the Securities Act, it will, at each such time following expiration of the Lockup Period (or if earlier, such time as the Demand Party exercises a demand right pursuant to Section 2.2(a)), give prompt written notice (which notice shall specify the intended method or methods of disposition) to the Holders of its intention to do so and of such Holder’s rights under this Section 2.1. Upon the written request of any Holder made within fifteen (15) days after the receipt of any such notice (which request shall specify the number of Registrable Securities intended to be disposed of by such Holder), the Company will use its best efforts to effect the registration under the Securities Act of all Registrable Securities which the Holders have so requested to be registered; provided that: (i) if, at any time after giving written notice of its intention to register any Securities and prior to the effective date of the registration statement filed in connection with such registration, the Company shall determine for any reason not to proceed with the proposed registration of the Securities to be sold by it, the Company may, at its election, give written notice of such determination to the Holders and, thereupon, the Company shall be relieved of its obligation to register any Registrable Securities in connection with such registration (but not from its obligation to pay the Registration Expenses incurred in connection therewith) without prejudice to the rights of the Demand Party to request that such registration be effected as a registration under Section 2.2(a); and (ii) if such registration involves an underwritten offering, the Holders of Registrable Securities requesting to be included in the registration must, upon the written request of the Company, sell their Registrable Securities to the underwriters on the same terms and conditions as apply to the other Securities being sold through underwriters under such

 

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registration, with, in the case of a combined primary and secondary offering, only such differences, including any with respect to representations and warranties, indemnification and liability insurance, as may be customary or appropriate in combined primary and secondary offerings.

(b) Expenses . The Company will pay all Registration Expenses in connection with each registration of Registrable Securities requested pursuant to this Section 2.1.

(c) Priority in Piggyback Registrations . If a registration pursuant to this Section 2.1 involves an underwritten offering and the managing underwriter advises the Company in writing (a copy of which shall be provided to the Holders) that, in its opinion, the number of Registrable Securities and other Securities requested to be included in such registration exceeds the number which can be sold in such offering, so as to be likely to have a material and adverse effect on the price, timing or distribution of the Securities offered in such offering, then the Company will include in such registration: (i) first, the Securities the Company proposes to sell for its own account; and (ii) second, such number of Registrable Securities requested to be included in such registration which, in the opinion of such managing underwriter, can be sold without having the material and adverse effect referred to above, which number of Registrable Securities shall be allocated pro rata among all such requesting holders of Registrable Securities on the basis of the relative number of Registrable Securities then held by each such Holder ( provided that any Securities thereby allocated to any such Holder that exceed such Holder’s request will be reallocated among the remaining requesting Holders in like manner).

(d) Excluded Transactions . The Company shall not be obligated to effect any registration of Registrable Securities under this Section 2.1 incidental to the registration of any of its Securities in connection with:

 

  (1) any Public Offering relating to employee benefits plans or dividend reinvestment plans; or

 

  (2) any Public Offering relating to the acquisition or merger after the date hereof by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of or with any other businesses.

(e) Selection of Underwriters . If a registration pursuant to this Section 2.1 involves an underwritten offering, the Blackstone Group shall have the right to select the investment banker or bankers and managers to administer the offering, including the lead managing underwriter; provided , however , that such investment banker or bankers and managers shall be reasonably satisfactory to the Company.

(f) Shelf Takedowns . In connection with any shelf takedown (whether pursuant to Section 2.2(f) or at the initiative of the Company), the Holders may exercise “piggyback” rights in the manner described in this Agreement to have included in such takedown Registrable Securities held by them that are registered on such shelf registration statement.

 

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SECTION 2.2 Demand Registration .

(a) General . At any time, upon the written request of the Blackstone Group (the “ Demand Party ”) requesting that the Company effect the registration under the Securities Act of Registrable Securities and specifying the amount and intended method of disposition thereof (including, but not limited to, an underwritten public offering), the Company will (i) promptly give written notice of such requested registration to the other Holders and other holders of Securities entitled to notice of such registration, if any, and (ii) as expeditiously as possible, use its best efforts to file a registration statement to effect the registration under the Securities Act of:

(1) such Registrable Securities which the Company has been so requested to register by the Demand Party in accordance with the intended method of disposition thereof; and

(2) the Registrable Securities of other Holders which the Company has been requested to register by written request given to the Company within fifteen (15) days after the giving of such written notice by the Company.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not be obligated to file a registration statement relating to any registration request under this Section 2.2(a):

(x) within a period of one hundred eighty (180) days (or such lesser period as the managing underwriters in an underwritten offering may permit) after the effective date of any other registration statement relating to any registration request under this Section 2.2(a) or relating to any registration referred to in Section 2.1; or

(y) if, in the good faith judgment of the Board, the Company is in possession of material non-public information the disclosure of which would be materially adverse to the Company and would not otherwise be required under Law, in which case the filing of the registration statement may be delayed until the earlier of the second Business Day after such conditions shall have ceased to exist and the 60th day after receipt by the Company of the written request from a Demand Party to register Registrable Securities under this Section 2.2(a); provided that the Company shall not effect such a delay more than two times in any twelve (12) month period.

(b) Form . Each registration statement prepared at the request of a Demand Party shall be effected on such form as reasonably requested by the Demand Party, including by a shelf registration pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act on a Form S-3 (or any successor rule or form thereto) if so requested by the Demand Party and if the Company is then eligible to effect a shelf registration and use such form for such disposition.

(c) Expenses . The Company will pay all Registration Expenses in connection with each registration of Registrable Securities requested pursuant to this Section 2.2.

(d) Selection of Underwriters . If a requested registration pursuant to this Section 2.2 involves an underwritten offering, the Demand Party shall have the right to select the investment banker or bankers and managers to administer the offering, including the lead managing underwriter; provided , however , that such investment banker or bankers and managers shall be reasonably satisfactory to the Company.

 

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(e) Priority in Demand Registrations . If a requested registration pursuant to this Section 2.2 involves an underwritten offering and the managing underwriter advises the Company in writing (a copy of which shall be provided to the Holders) that, in its opinion, the number of Registrable Securities requested to be included in such registration (including Securities of the Company which are not Registrable Securities) exceeds the number which can be sold in such offering, so as to be likely to have a material and adverse effect on the price, timing or distribution of the Securities offered in such offering, then the number of such Registrable Securities to be included in such registration shall be allocated pro rata among the Demand Party and all of the following parties on the basis of the relative number of Securities proposed to be offered in such offering ( provided that any Securities thereby allocated to any such Holder that exceed such Holder’s request will be reallocated among all such remaining parties in like manner): (i) the Registrable Securities the Demand Party proposes to sell; and (ii) the Registrable Securities requested to be sold by Holders pursuant to Section 2.1(a).

(f) Shelf Takedowns . Upon the written request of the Demand Party at any time and from time to time, the Company will facilitate in the manner described in this Agreement a “takedown” of the Demand Party’s Registrable Securities off of an effective shelf registration statement. Upon the written request of the Demand Party, the Company will file and seek the effectiveness of a post-effective amendment to an existing shelf registration statement in order to register up to the number of the Demand Party’s Registrable Securities previously taken down off of such shelf by the Demand Party and not yet “reloaded” onto such shelf registration statement.

(g) Additional Rights . Any grant by the Company to any other holders of Securities of any rights to request the Company to effect the registration under the Securities Act of any Securities will be made pursuant to this Agreement or an amendment hereto. In the event the Company engages in a merger or consolidation in which the shares of Common Stock are converted into Securities of another company, appropriate arrangements will be made so that the registration rights provided under this Agreement continue to be provided to Holders by the issuer of such Securities. To the extent such new issuer, or any other company acquired by the Company in a merger or consolidation, was bound by registration rights that would conflict with the provisions of this Agreement, the Company will use its reasonable best efforts to modify any such “inherited” registration rights so as not to interfere in any material respects with the rights provided under this Agreement, unless otherwise agreed by Holders then holding a majority of Registrable Securities.

SECTION 2.3 Registration Procedures . If and whenever the Company is required to file a registration statement with respect to, or to use its best efforts to effect or cause the registration of, any Registrable Securities under the Securities Act as provided in this Agreement, the Company will as expeditiously as possible:

(a) prepare and, in any event within ninety (90) days after a request for registration is given to the Company pursuant to Section 2.2, file with the SEC a registration statement on an appropriate form with respect to such Registrable Securities and use its best

 

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efforts to cause such registration statement to become effective; provided , however , that the Company may discontinue any registration of Securities which it has initiated for its own account at any time prior to the effective date of the registration statement relating thereto (and, in such event, the Company shall pay the Registration Expenses incurred in connection therewith); and provided , further , that before filing a registration statement or prospectus, or any amendments or supplements thereto, the Company will (i) furnish to counsel for the sellers of Registrable Securities covered by such registration statement copies of all documents proposed to be filed, which documents will be subject to the review of such counsel, (ii) fairly consider such reasonable changes in any such documents prior to or after the filing thereof as the counsel to the sellers of Registrable Securities being sold may request, and (iii) make such of the representatives of the Company as shall be reasonably requested by the sellers of the Registrable Securities being sold available for discussion of such documents;

(b) prepare and file with the SEC such amendments and supplements to such registration statement and the prospectus used in connection therewith as may be necessary to keep such registration statement effective for a period not in excess of two (2) years (which period shall not be applicable in the case of a shelf registration effected pursuant to a request under Section 2.2(b)) and to comply with the provisions of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act with respect to the disposition of all Securities covered by such registration statement during such period in accordance with the intended methods of disposition by the seller or sellers thereof set forth in such registration statement; provided that before filing a registration statement or prospectus, or any amendments or supplements thereto, the Company will (i) furnish to counsel for the sellers of Registrable Securities covered by such registration statement copies of all documents proposed to be filed, which documents will be subject to the review of such counsel, (ii) fairly consider such reasonable changes in any such documents prior to or after the filing thereof as the counsel to the sellers of Registrable Securities being sold may request, and (iii) make such of the representatives of the Company as shall be reasonably requested by the sellers of the Registrable Securities being sold available for discussion of such documents;

(c) furnish to each seller of such Registrable Securities such number of copies of such registration statement and of each amendment and supplement thereto (in each case including all exhibits filed therewith, including any documents incorporated by reference), such number of copies of the prospectus included in such registration statement (including each preliminary prospectus and summary prospectus), in conformity with the requirements of the Securities Act, and such other documents as such seller may reasonably request in order to facilitate the disposition of the Registrable Securities by such seller;

(d) use its best efforts to register or qualify such Registrable Securities covered by such registration in such jurisdictions as each seller shall reasonably request, and do any and all other acts and things which may be reasonably necessary or advisable to enable such seller to consummate the disposition in such jurisdictions of the Registrable Securities owned by such seller;

(e) use its best efforts to cause such Registrable Securities covered by such registration statement to be registered with or approved by such other governmental agencies or authorities as may be necessary to enable the seller or sellers thereof to consummate the disposition of such Registrable Securities;

 

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(f) notify each seller of any such Registrable Securities covered by such registration statement, at any time when a prospectus relating thereto is required to be delivered under the Securities Act, of the Company’s becoming aware that the prospectus included in such registration statement, as then in effect, includes an untrue statement of a material fact or omits to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading in the light of the circumstances then existing, and at the request of any such seller, prepare and furnish to such seller a reasonable number of copies of an amended or supplemental prospectus as may be necessary so that, as thereafter delivered to the purchasers of such Registrable Securities, such prospectus shall not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading in the light of the circumstances then existing;

(g) otherwise use its best efforts to comply with all applicable rules and regulations of the SEC, and make available to its Security holders, as soon as reasonably practicable (but not more than eighteen (18) months) after the effective date of the registration statement, an earnings statement which shall satisfy the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Securities Act;

(h) (1) use its best efforts to list such Registrable Securities on any securities exchange on which other Securities of the Company are then listed if such Registrable Securities are not already so listed and if such listing is then permitted under the rules of such exchange; and (2) use its best efforts to provide a transfer agent and registrar for such Registrable Securities covered by such registration statement not later than the effective date of such registration statement;

(i) enter into such customary agreements (including an underwriting agreement in customary form), which may include indemnification provisions in favor of underwriters and other Persons in addition to, or in substitution for the indemnification provisions hereof, and take such other actions as sellers of a majority of such Registrable Securities or the underwriters, if any, reasonably request in order to expedite or facilitate the disposition of such Registrable Securities;

(j) obtain a “cold comfort” letter or letters from the Company’s independent public accountants in customary form and covering matters of the type customarily covered by “cold comfort” letters as the seller or sellers of a majority of such Registrable Securities shall reasonably request;

(k) make available for inspection by any seller of such Registrable Securities covered by such registration statement, by any underwriter participating in any disposition to be effected pursuant to such registration statement and by any attorney, accountant or other agent retained by any such seller or any such underwriter, all pertinent financial and other records, pertinent corporate documents and properties of the Company, and cause all of the Company’s officers, directors and employees to supply all information reasonably requested by any such seller, underwriter, attorney, accountant or agent in connection with such registration statement;

(l) notify counsel for the holders of Registrable Securities included in such registration statement and the managing underwriter or agent, immediately, and confirm the

 

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notice in writing: (i) when the registration statement, or any post-effective amendment to the registration statement, shall have become effective, or any supplement to the prospectus or any amendment to any prospectus shall have been filed; (ii) of the receipt of any comments from the SEC; (iii) of any request of the SEC to amend the registration statement or amend or supplement the prospectus or for additional information; and (iv) of the issuance by the SEC of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the registration statement or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus, or of the suspension of the qualification of the registration statement for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or of the institution or threatening of any proceedings for any of such purposes;

(m) provide each holder of Registrable Securities included in such registration statement reasonable opportunity to comment on the registration statement, any post-effective amendments to the registration statement, any supplement to the prospectus or any amendment to any prospectus;

(n) make every reasonable effort to prevent the issuance of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the registration statement or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus and, if any such order is issued, to obtain the withdrawal of any such order at the earliest possible moment;

(o) if requested by the managing underwriter or agent or any holder of Registrable Securities covered by the registration statement, promptly incorporate in a prospectus supplement or post-effective amendment such information as the managing underwriter or agent or such holder reasonably requests to be included therein, including, with respect to the number of Registrable Securities being sold by such holder to such underwriter or agent, the purchase price being paid therefor by such underwriter or agent and with respect to any other terms of the underwritten offering of the Registrable Securities to be sold in such offering; and make all required filings of such prospectus supplement or post-effective amendment as soon as practicable after being notified of the matters incorporated in such prospectus supplement or post-effective amendment;

(p) cooperate with the holders of Registrable Securities covered by the registration statement and the managing underwriter or agent, if any, to facilitate the timely preparation and delivery of certificates (not bearing any restrictive legends) representing Securities to be sold under the registration statement, and enable such Securities to be in such denominations and registered in such names as the managing underwriter or agent, if any, or the Holders may request;

(q) use its best efforts to make available the executive officers of the Company to participate with the holders of Registrable Securities and any underwriters in any “road shows” that may be reasonably requested by the holders in connection with distribution of Registrable Securities;

(r) obtain for delivery to the holders of Registrable Securities being registered and to the underwriter or agent an opinion or opinions from counsel for the Company in customary form and in form, substance and scope reasonably satisfactory to such holders, underwriters or agents and their counsel; and

 

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(s) cooperate with each seller of Registrable Securities and each underwriter or agent participating in the disposition of such Registrable Securities and their respective counsel in connection with any filings required to be made with FINRA.

SECTION 2.4 Other Registration-Related Matters .

(a) The Company may require any Person that is Transferring Securities in a Public Offering pursuant to Sections 2.1 or 2.2 to furnish to the Company in writing such information regarding such Person and pertinent to the disclosure requirements relating to the registration and the distribution of the Registrable Securities which are included in such Public Offering as the Company may from time to time reasonably request in writing.

(b) Each Holder agrees that, upon receipt of any notice from the Company of the happening of any event of the kind described in Section 2.3(f), it will forthwith discontinue disposition of Registrable Securities pursuant to the registration statement covering such Registrable Securities until its receipt of the copies of the amended or supplemented prospectus contemplated by Section 2.3(f) and, if so directed by the Company, each Holder will deliver to the Company or destroy (at the Company’s expense) all copies, other than permanent file copies then in their possession, of the prospectus covering such Registrable Securities current at the time of receipt of such notice. In the event the Company gives any such notice, the period for which the Company will be required to keep the registration statement effective will be extended by the number of days during the period from and including the date of the giving of such notice pursuant to Section 2.3(f) to and including the date when each seller of Registrable Securities covered by such registration statement has received the copies of the supplemented or amended prospectus contemplated by Section 2.3(f).

(c) Each Holder agrees that, upon receipt of any notice from the Company of the happening of any event of the kind described in Section 2.3(l)(iv), it will forthwith discontinue disposition of Registrable Securities pursuant to the registration statement covering such Registrable Securities until the lifting of such stop order, other order or suspension or the termination of such proceedings and, if so directed by the Company, each Holder will deliver to the Company or destroy (at the Company’s expense) all copies, other than permanent file copies then in its possession, of the prospectus covering such Registrable Securities current at the time of receipt of such notice. In the event the Company gives any such notice, the period for which the Company will be required to keep the registration statement effective will be extended by the number of days during the period from and including the date of the giving of such notice pursuant to Section 2.3(l)(iv) to and including the date when such stop order, other order or suspension is lifted or such proceedings are terminated.

(d) (i) Each Holder (x) hereby agrees, with respect to the Registrable Securities owned by such Holder, to be bound by any and all restrictions on the sale, disposition, distribution, hedging or other Transfer of any interest in Registrable Securities imposed on the Blackstone Group and/or its Affiliates in connection with the IPO by the underwriters managing such offering for the duration of the term of such restriction (the period in which such sale, disposition, distribution, hedging or other Transfer of any interest is restricted, the “ Lockup Period ”) and (y) will, in connection with a Public Offering of the Company’s equity Securities (whether for the Company’s account or for the account of any Holder or Holders, or both), upon

 

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the request of the Company or of the underwriters managing any underwritten offering of the Company’s Securities, agree in writing not to effect any sale, disposition or distribution of Registrable Securities (other than those included in the Public Offering) without the prior written consent of the managing underwriter for such period of time commencing seven (7) days before and ending one hundred eighty (180) days (or such earlier date as the managing underwriter shall agree) after the effective date of such registration; provided that all directors and officers of the Company, holders of more than 5% of the Registrable Securities and all other Persons with registration rights with respect to the Company’s Securities (whether or not pursuant to this Agreement) shall enter into agreements similar to those contained in this Section 2.4(d)(i) (without regard to this proviso); and (ii) the Company and its Subsidiaries will, in connection with an underwritten Public Offering of the Company’s Securities in respect of which Registrable Securities are included, upon the request of the underwriters managing such offering, agree in writing not to effect any sale, disposition or distribution of equity Securities of the Company (other than those included in such Public Offering, offered on Form S-8, issuable upon conversion of Securities or upon the exercise of options, or the grant of options in the ordinary course of business pursuant to then-existing management equity plans or equity-based employee benefit plans, in each case outstanding on the date a notice is given by the Company pursuant to Section 2.1(a) or a request is made pursuant to Section 2.2(a), as the case may be), without the prior written consent of the managing underwriter, for such period of time commencing seven (7) days before and ending one hundred eighty (180) days (or such earlier date as the managing underwriter shall agree) after the effective date of such registration.

(e) With a view to making available the benefits of certain rules and regulations of the SEC which may at any time permit the sale of Securities of the Company to the public without registration after such time as a public market exists for Registrable Securities, the Company agrees:

(1) to make and keep public information available, as those terms are understood and defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act, at all times after the effective date of the first registration under the Securities Act filed by the Company for an offering of its Securities to the public;

(2) to use its commercially reasonable efforts to then file with the SEC in a timely manner all reports and other documents required of the Company under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act (at any time after it has become subject to such reporting requirements); and

(3) so long as a Holder owns any Registrable Securities, to furnish to such Holder promptly upon request: (A) a written statement by the Company as to its compliance with the reporting requirements of Rule 144 (at any time after ninety (90) days after the effective date of the first registration statement filed by the Company for an offering of its Securities to the public), and of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act (at any time after it has become subject to such reporting requirements); (B) a copy of the most recent annual or quarterly report of the Company; and (C) such other reports and documents of the Company as such Holder may reasonably request in availing itself or himself of any rule or regulation of the SEC allowing such Holder to sell any such Securities without registration.

 

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(f) Counsel to represent holders of Registrable Securities shall be selected by the holders of at least a majority of the Registrable Securities included in the relevant registration.

(g) Each of the parties hereto agrees that the registration rights provided to the Holders herein are not intended to, and shall not be deemed to, override or limit any other restrictions on Transfer to which any such Holder may otherwise be subject.

ARTICLE III

INDEMNIFICATION

SECTION 3.1 Indemnification by the Company . In the event of any registration of any Securities of the Company under the Securities Act pursuant to Section 2.1 or 2.2, the Company hereby indemnifies and agrees to hold harmless, to the fullest extent permitted by Law, each Holder who sells Registrable Securities covered by such registration statement, each Affiliate of such Holder and their respective directors and officers or general and limited partners (and the directors, officers, employees, Affiliates and controlling Persons of any of the foregoing), each other Person who participates as an underwriter in the offering or sale of such Securities and each other Person, if any, who controls such Holder or any such underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act (collectively, the “ Indemnified Parties ”), against any and all losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, and reasonable and documented expenses to which such Indemnified Party may become subject under the Securities Act, common law or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions or proceedings in respect thereof, whether or not such Indemnified Party is a party thereto) arise out of or are based upon: (a) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of any material fact contained in any registration statement under which such Securities were registered under the Securities Act, any preliminary, final or summary prospectus contained therein, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any document incorporated by reference therein, or any other such disclosure document (including reports and other documents filed under the Exchange Act and any document incorporated by reference therein) or related document or report; (b) any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, in the case of a prospectus, in the light of the circumstances when they were made; or (c) any violation or alleged violation by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of any federal, state, foreign or common law rule or regulation applicable to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries and relating to action or inaction in connection with any such registration, disclosure document or related document or report, and the Company will reimburse such Indemnified Party for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by it in connection with investigating or defending any such loss, claim, liability, action or proceeding; provided that the Company will not be liable to any Indemnified Party in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage, liability (or action or proceeding in respect thereof) or expense arises out of or is based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in such registration statement, in any such preliminary, final or summary prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto in reliance upon and in conformity with written information with respect to such Indemnified Party furnished to the Company by such Indemnified Party expressly for use in the preparation thereof. Such indemnity will remain in full force and effect regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of such Holder or any Indemnified Party and will survive the Transfer of such Securities by such Holder or any termination of this Agreement.

 

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SECTION 3.2 Indemnification by the Holders and Underwriters . The Company may require, as a condition to including any Registrable Securities in any registration statement filed in accordance with Section 2.1 or 2.2, that the Company shall have received an undertaking reasonably satisfactory to it from the Holder of such Registrable Securities or any prospective underwriter to indemnify and hold harmless (in the same manner and to the same extent as set forth in Section 3.1) the Company, all other Holders or any prospective underwriter, as the case may be, and any of their respective Affiliates, directors, officers and controlling Persons, with respect to any untrue statement in or omission from such registration statement, any preliminary, final or summary prospectus contained therein, or any amendment or supplement, if such untrue statement or omission was made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information with respect to such Holder or underwriter furnished to the Company by such Holder or underwriter expressly for use in the preparation of such registration statement, preliminary, final or summary prospectus or amendment or supplement, or a document incorporated by reference into any of the foregoing. Such indemnity will remain in full force and effect regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of the Company or any of the Holders, or any of their respective Affiliates, directors, officers or controlling Persons and will survive the Transfer of such Securities by such Holder. In no event shall the liability of any selling Holder of Registrable Securities hereunder be greater in amount than the dollar amount of the proceeds actually received by such Holder upon the sale of the Registrable Securities giving rise to such indemnification obligation.

SECTION 3.3 Notices of Claims, Etc. . Promptly after receipt by an Indemnified Party hereunder of written notice of the commencement of any action or proceeding with respect to which a claim for indemnification may be made pursuant to this Article III, such Indemnified Party will, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against an indemnifying party, give written notice to the latter of the commencement of such action; provided that the failure of the Indemnified Party to give notice as provided herein will not relieve the indemnifying party of its obligations under Section 3.1 or 3.2, except to the extent that the indemnifying party is actually prejudiced by such failure to give notice. In case any such action is brought against an Indemnified Party, unless in such Indemnified Party’s reasonable judgment a conflict of interest between such indemnified and indemnifying parties may exist in respect of such claim, the indemnifying party will be entitled to participate in and to assume the defense thereof, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified to the extent that it may wish, with counsel selected by the Holders of at least a majority of the Registrable Securities included in the relevant registration, and after notice from the indemnifying party to such Indemnified Party of its election so to assume the defense thereof, the indemnifying party will not be liable to such Indemnified Party for any legal or other expenses subsequently incurred by the latter in connection with the defense thereof other than reasonable costs of investigation. If, in such Indemnified Party’s reasonable judgment, having common counsel would result in a conflict of interest between the interests of such indemnified and indemnifying parties, then such Indemnified Party may employ separate counsel reasonably acceptable to the indemnifying party to represent or defend such Indemnified Party in such action, it being understood, however, that the indemnifying party will not be liable for the reasonable fees and expenses of more than one separate firm of attorneys at any time for all such Indemnified Parties (and not more than one

 

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separate firm of local counsel at any time for all such Indemnified Parties) in such action. No indemnifying party will consent to entry of any judgment or enter into any settlement which does not include as an unconditional term thereof the giving by the claimant or plaintiff to such Indemnified Party of a release from all liability in respect of such claim or litigation.

SECTION 3.4 Contribution . If the indemnification provided for hereunder from the indemnifying party is unavailable to an Indemnified Party hereunder in respect of any losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses referred to herein for reasons other than those described in the proviso in the first sentence of Section 3.1, then the indemnifying party, in lieu of indemnifying such Indemnified Party, shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such Indemnified Party as a result of such losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative fault of the indemnifying party and Indemnified Parties in connection with the actions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative fault of such indemnifying party and Indemnified Parties shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether any action in question, including any untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact, has been made by, or relates to information supplied by, such indemnifying party or Indemnified Parties, and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such action. The amount paid or payable by a party under this Section 3.4 as a result of the losses, claims, damages, liabilities and expenses referred to above shall be deemed to include any legal or other fees or expenses reasonably incurred by such party in connection with any investigation or proceeding. In no event shall the liability of any selling Holder of Registrable Securities hereunder be greater in amount than the dollar amount of the proceeds actually received by such Holder upon the sale of the Registrable Securities giving rise to such contribution obligation.

The parties hereto agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 3.4 were determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in the immediately preceding paragraph. 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.

SECTION 3.5 Other Indemnification . Indemnification similar to that specified in this Article III (with appropriate modifications) shall be given by the Company and each seller of Registrable Securities with respect to any required registration or other qualification of Securities under any Law or with any Governmental Authority other than as required by the Securities Act.

SECTION 3.6 Non-Exclusivity . The obligations of the parties under this Article III will be in addition to any liability which any party may otherwise have to any other party.

ARTICLE IV

OTHER

SECTION 4.1 Notices . Any notice, request, instruction or other document to be given hereunder by any party hereto to another party hereto shall be in writing and shall be deemed given (a) when delivered personally, (b) five (5) Business Days after being sent by

 

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certified or registered mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, (c) one (1) Business Day after being sent by Federal Express or other nationally recognized overnight courier, or (d) if transmitted by facsimile, if confirmed within 24 hours thereafter by a signed original sent in the manner provided in clause (a), (b) or (c) to parties at the following addresses (or at such other address for a party as shall be specified by prior written notice from such party):

if to the Company:

Pinnacle Foods Inc.

399 Jefferson Road

Parsippany, New Jersey 07054

Attention: General Counsel

Fax: (973) 386-8984

if to the Blackstone Group:

The Blackstone Group L.P.

345 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10154

Attention: Prakash Melwani

Fax: (212) 583-5722

with an additional copy (not constituting notice) to:

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

1999 Avenue of the Stars, 29 th Floor

Los Angeles, California 90067

Attention: Daniel Clivner, Esq.

Fax: (310) 407-7502

if to any Management Stockholder:

c/o Pinnacle Foods Inc.

399 Jefferson Road

Parsippany, New Jersey 07054

Attention: General Counsel

Fax: (973) 386-8984

SECTION 4.2 Assignment . Neither the Company nor any Holder shall assign all or any part of this Agreement without the prior written consent of the Company and the Blackstone Group; provided, however, that any Blackstone Entity may assign its rights and obligations under this Agreement in whole or in part to any of its Affiliates. Except as otherwise provided herein, this Agreement will inure to the benefit of and be binding on the parties hereto and their respective successors and permitted assigns.

 

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SECTION 4.3 Amendments; Waiver . This Agreement may be amended, supplemented or otherwise modified only by a written instrument executed by the Company and the Holders holding a majority of the Registrable Securities subject to this Agreement; provided that no such amendment, supplement or other modification shall adversely affect the economic interests of any Holder hereunder disproportionately to other Holders without the written consent of such Holder. For the avoidance of doubt, no consent pursuant to this Section 4.3 shall be required in connection with any amendment or revision to Schedule A unless such amendment or revision is to remove a Holder from such schedule at a time when such Holder would otherwise be entitled to registration rights herein. No waiver by any party of any of the provisions hereof will be effective unless explicitly set forth in writing and executed by the party so waiving. Except as provided in the preceding sentence, no action taken pursuant to this Agreement, including without limitation, any investigation by or on behalf of any party, will be deemed to constitute a waiver by the party taking such action of compliance with any covenants or agreements contained herein. The waiver by any party hereto of a breach of any provision of this Agreement will not operate or be construed as a waiver of any subsequent breach.

SECTION 4.4 Third Parties . This Agreement does not create any rights, claims or benefits inuring to any person that is not a party hereto nor create or establish any third party beneficiary hereto.

SECTION 4.5 Governing Law . This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed and enforced in accordance with, the laws of the State of Delaware.

SECTION 4.6 Jurisdiction . The Delaware Court of Chancery and any state appellate court therefrom within the State of Delaware (or, if the Delaware Court of Chancery declines to accept jurisdiction over a particular matter, any state or federal court within the State of Delaware) shall have exclusive jurisdiction over the parties with respect to any dispute or controversy between them arising under or in connection with this agreement and, by execution and delivery of this agreement, each of the parties to this Agreement submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of those courts, including but not limited to the in personam and subject matter jurisdiction of those courts, waives any objections to such jurisdiction on the grounds of venue or forum non conveniens , the absence of in personam or subject matter jurisdiction and any similar grounds, consents to service of process by mail (in accordance with the notice provisions of this Agreement) or any other manner permitted by Law, and irrevocably agrees to be bound by any judgment rendered thereby in connection with this Agreement.

SECTION 4.7 MUTUAL WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL . THE PARTIES HERETO WAIVE ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY ACTION, SUIT OR PROCEEDING BROUGHT TO ENFORCE OR DEFEND ANY RIGHTS OR REMEDIES UNDER THIS AGREEMENT.

SECTION 4.8 Specific Performance . Each of the parties hereto acknowledges and agrees that in the event of any breach of this Agreement by any of them, the non-breaching party would be irreparably harmed and could not be made whole by monetary damages. Each party accordingly agrees to waive the defense in any action for specific performance that a remedy at law would be adequate and that the parties, in addition to any other remedy to which they may be entitled at law or in equity, shall be entitled to compel specific performance of this Agreement.

 

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SECTION 4.9 Entire Agreement . This Agreement sets forth the entire understanding of the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof. There are no agreements, representations, warranties, covenants or undertakings with respect to the subject matter hereof other than those expressly set forth herein. This Agreement supersedes all other prior agreements and understandings between the parties with respect to such subject matter.

SECTION 4.10 Severability . If one or more of the provisions, paragraphs, words, clauses, phrases or sentences contained herein, or the application thereof in any circumstances, is held invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect for any reason, the validity, legality and enforceability of any such provision, paragraph, word, clause, phrase or sentence in every other respect and of the remaining provisions, paragraphs, words, clauses, phrases or sentences hereof shall not be in any way impaired, it being intended that all rights, powers and privileges of the parties hereto shall be enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by Law.

SECTION 4.11 Counterparts . This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which will be deemed to be an original and all of which together will be deemed to be one and the same instrument.

SECTION 4.12 Effectiveness . This Agreement shall become effective, as to any Holder, as of the date signed by the Company and countersigned by such Holder.

[ Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank ]

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

COMPANY:
PINNACLE FOODS INC.
By:  

/s/ Craig Steeneck

Name:   Craig Steeneck
Title:   Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

[Signature Page to Registration Rights Agreement]


BLACKSTONE GROUP:
BLACKSTONE CAPITAL PARTNERS V L.P.
By:   Blackstone Management Associates V L.L.C.,
  its general partner
By:   BMA V L.L.C.,
  its sole member
By:  

/s/ Prakash Melwani

Name:   Prakash Melwani
Title:   Senior Managing Director
BLACKSTONE CAPITAL PARTNERS V-AC L.P.
By:   Blackstone Management Associates V L.L.C.,
  its general partner
By:   BMA V L.L.C.,
  its sole member
By:  

/s/ Prakash Melwani

Name:   Prakash Melwani
Title:   Senior Managing Director
BLACKSTONE FAMILY INVESTMENT
PARTNERSHIP V L.P.
By:   BCP V Side-by-Side GP L.L.C.,
  its general partner
By:  

/s/ Prakash Melwani

Name:   Prakash Melwani

Title:

  Senior Managing Director

[Signature Page to Registration Rights Agreement]


BLACKSTONE GROUP (CONTINUED):
BLACKSTONE FAMILY INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP V-SMD L.P.
By:   Blackstone Family GP L.L.C.,
  its general partner
By:  

/s/ Prakash Melwani

Name:   Prakash Melwani
Title:   Senior Managing Director
BLACKSTONE PARTICIPATION PARTNERSHIP V L.P.
By:   BCP V Side-by-Side GP L.L.C.,
  its general partner
By:  

/s/ Prakash Melwani

Name:   Prakash Melwani
Title:   Senior Managing Director
BLACKSTONE CAPITAL PARTNERS (CAYMAN) V L.P.

By: Blackstone Management Associates (Cayman) V L.P.,

                its General Partner

By: BCP V GP L.L.C.,
      its General Partner
          By:  

/s/ Prakash Melwani

          Name:   Prakash Melwani
          Title:   Senior Managing Director

[Signature Page to Registration Rights Agreement]


BLACKSTONE GROUP (CONTINUED):
BLACKSTONE CAPITAL PARTNERS (CAYMAN) V-A L.P.
By:   Blackstone Management Associates (Cayman) V L.P.,
      its General Partner
By:   BCP V GP L.L.C.,
      its General Partner
          By:  

/s/ Prakash Melwani

          Name:   Prakash Melwani
          Title:   Senior Managing Director
BLACKSTONE CAPITAL PARTNERS (CAYMAN) V-AC L.P.
By:   Blackstone Management Associates (Cayman) V L.P.,
      its General Partner
By:   BCP V GP L.L.C.,
      its General Partner
          By:  

/s/ Prakash Melwani

          Name   : Prakash Melwani
          Title:   Senior Managing Director
BLACKSTONE FAMILY INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP (CAYMAN) V L.P.
By:   BCP V GP L.L.C.
      its General Partner
          By:  

/s/ Prakash Melwani

          Name:   Prakash Melwani
          Title:   Senior Managing Director

[Signature Page to Registration Rights Agreement]


BLACKSTONE GROUP (CONTINUED):
BLACKSTONE FAMILY INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP (CAYMAN) V-SMD L.P.
By:   Blackstone Family GP L.L.C.
      its General Partner
          By:  

/s/ Prakash Melwani

          Name:   Prakash Melwani
          Title:   Senior Managing Director
BLACKSTONE PARTICIPATION PARTNERSHIP (CAYMAN) V L.P.
By:   Blackstone Management Associates (Cayman) V L.P.,
      its General Partner
By:   BCP V GP L.L.C.
      its General Partner
          By:  

/s/ Prakash Melwani

          Name:   Prakash Melwani
          Title:   Senior Managing Director

[Signature Page to Registration Rights Agreement]


Schedule A

Management Stockholders

 

Joseph Adler   Brian Langerud
Glenn Album   Robert Lillibridge
Charles E. Arnold   Anthony P. LoBue
David R. Baldwin   Michael Kelley Maggs
Philip Barone   William McLaughlin
Robert F. Batic   Lynne M. Misericordia
Christopher J. Boever   Marc S. Mongulla
R. Kurt Buckman   Joseph E. Mrozek
John L. Butler, ELT   John M. Naes
James Clifton   Matt Petronio
Jerry L. Cook   Andrew Reichgut
Pablo E. Cussatti   Timothy Reith
Jill W. Denison   Sara Genster Robling
Roger Deromedi   Mark L. Schiller
Ann Fandozzi   Ray Silcock
Antonio F. Fernandez   Amy Skalny
Evan T. Frisch   Jerry S. Smola
Robert James Gamgort   David J. Socolow
Richard J. Glass   Craig D. Steeneck
Stephen A. Gunther   David Stone
John Heslin   Christopher Straub
Eric B. Hintz   Douglas P. Strobel
Anthony M. Hipszer   Rodrigo Francisco Troni Pena
Joe Jimenez   Michael Urban
David Johnston   Gregory L. Watkins
Derek J. Kamholz   Jeffrey A. West
John F. Kroeger  

Exhibit 4.2

STOCKHOLDERS AGREEMENT

DATED AS OF April 3, 2013

AMONG

PINNACLE FOODS INC.

AND

THE OTHER PARTIES HERETO


Table of Contents

 

        Page  
ARTICLE I. INTRODUCTORY MATTERS     1   

1.1

 

Defined Terms

    1   

1.2

 

Construction

    3   
ARTICLE II. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE MATTERS     3   

2.1

 

Election of Directors

    3   
ARTICLE III. INFORMATION; VCOC     5   

3.1

 

Books and Records; Access

    5   

3.2

 

Certain Reports

    5   

3.3

 

VCOC

    5   
ARTICLE IV. GENERAL PROVISIONS     7   

4.1

 

Termination

    7   

4.2

 

Notices

    7   

4.3

 

Amendment; Waiver

    8   

4.4

 

Further Assurances

    8   

4.5

 

Assignment

    9   

4.6

 

Third Parties

    9   

4.7

 

Governing Law

    9   

4.8

 

Jurisdiction; Waiver of Jury Trial

    9   

4.9

 

Specific Performance

    9   

4.10

 

Entire Agreement

    10   

4.11

 

Severability

    10   

4.12

 

Table of Contents, Headings and Captions

    10   

4.13

 

Grant of Consent

    10   

4.14

 

Counterparts

    10   

4.15

 

Effectiveness

    10   

4.16

 

No Recourse

    10   

 

i


STOCKHOLDERS AGREEMENT

This Stockholders Agreement is entered into as of April 3, 2013 by and among Pinnacle Foods Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “ Company ”), and each of the other parties identified on the signature pages hereto (the “ Investor Parties ”).

BACKGROUND:

WHEREAS, the Company is currently contemplating an underwritten initial public offering (“ IPO ”) of shares of its Common Stock (as defined below); and

WHEREAS, in connection with, and effective upon, the date of completion of the IPO (the “ Closing Date ”), the Company and the Investor Parties wish to set forth certain understandings between such parties, including with respect to certain governance matters.

NOW, THEREFORE, the parties agree as follows:

ARTICLE I.

INTRODUCTORY MATTERS

1.1 Defined Terms . In addition to the terms defined elsewhere herein, the following terms have the following meanings when used herein with initial capital letters:

Affiliate ” has the meaning set forth in Rule 12b-2 promulgated under the Exchange Act, as in effect on the date hereof.

Agreement ” means this Stockholders Agreement, as the same may be amended, supplemented, restated or otherwise modified from time to time in accordance with the terms hereof.

beneficially own ” has the meaning set forth in Rule 13d-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act.

Blackstone Designee ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.1(b).

Blackstone Group ” means the entities listed on the signature pages hereto under the heading “Blackstone Group.”

Blackstone Entities ” means the entities comprising the Blackstone Group, their Affiliates and their respective successors and Permitted Assigns.

Board ” means the board of directors of the Company.

Business Day ” means a day other than a Saturday, Sunday, federal or New York State holiday or other day on which commercial banks in New York City are authorized or required by law to close.


Closing Date ” has the meaning set forth in the Background.

Company ” has the meaning set forth in the Preamble.

Common Stock ” means the shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company, and any other capital stock of the Company into which such stock is reclassified or reconstituted and any other common stock of the Company.

Control ” (including its correlative meanings, “ Controlled by ” and “ under common Control with ”) means possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of management or policies (whether through ownership of securities or partnership or other ownership interests, by contract or otherwise) of a Person.

Director ” means any member of the Board.

Exchange Act ” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, as the same may be amended from time to time.

Governmental Authority ” means any nation or government, any state or other political subdivision thereof, and any entity exercising executive, legislative, judicial, regulatory or administrative functions of or pertaining to government.

Investor Parties ” has the meaning set forth in the Preamble.

IPO ” has the meaning set forth in the Background.

Law ” means any statute, law, regulation, ordinance, rule, injunction, order, decree, governmental approval, directive, requirement, or other governmental restriction or any similar form of decision of, or determination by, or any interpretation or administration of any of the foregoing by, any Governmental Authority.

Permitted Assigns ” means with respect to a Blackstone Entity, a Transferee of shares of Common Stock that agrees to become party to, and to be bound to the same extent as its Transferor by the terms of, this Agreement.

Person ” means an individual, a partnership, a corporation, a limited liability company, an association, a joint stock company, a trust, a joint venture, an unincorporated organization, or other form of business organization, whether or not regarded as a legal entity under applicable Law, or any Governmental Authority or any department, agency or political subdivision thereof.

Plan Asset Regulation ” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.3.

Subsidiary ” means, with respect to any Person, any corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association or other business entity of which: (i) if a corporation, a majority of the total voting power of shares of stock entitled (without regard to the occurrence of any contingency) to vote in the election of directors,

 

2


representatives or trustees thereof is at the time owned or Controlled, directly or indirectly, by that Person or one or more of the other Subsidiaries of that Person or a combination thereof; or (ii) if a limited liability company, partnership, association or other business entity, a majority of the total voting power of stock (or equivalent ownership interest) of the limited liability company, partnership, association or other business entity is at the time owned or Controlled, directly or indirectly, by any Person or one or more Subsidiaries of that Person or a combination thereof. For purposes hereof, a Person or Persons shall be deemed to have a majority ownership interest in a limited liability company, partnership, association or other business entity if such Person or Persons shall be allocated a majority of limited liability company, partnership, association or other business entity gains or losses or shall be or Control the managing member, managing director or other governing body or general partner of such limited liability company, partnership, association or other business entity.

Total Number of Directors ” means the total number of directors comprising the Board.

Transfer ” (including its correlative meanings, “ Transferor ”, “ Transferee ” and “ Transferred ”) shall mean, with respect to any security, directly or indirectly, to sell, contract to sell, give, assign, hypothecate, pledge, encumber, grant a security interest in, offer, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, lend or otherwise transfer or dispose of any economic, voting or other rights in or to such security. When used as a noun, “ Transfer ” shall have such correlative meaning as the context may require.

VCOC Investor ” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.3.

1.2 Construction . The language used in this Agreement will be deemed to be the language chosen by the parties to express their mutual intent, and no rule of strict construction will be applied against any party. Unless the context otherwise requires: (a) “ or ” is disjunctive but not exclusive, (b) words in the singular include the plural, and in the plural include the singular, and (c) the words “ hereof ”, “ herein ”, and “ hereunder ” and words of similar import when used in this Agreement refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular provision of this Agreement, and Section references are to this Agreement unless otherwise specified.

ARTICLE II.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE MATTERS

2.1 Election of Directors .

(a) Following the Closing Date, the Blackstone Group shall have the right, but not the obligation, to nominate to the Board a number of designees equal to at least: (i) a majority of the Total Number of Directors, so long as the Blackstone Entities collectively beneficially own 50% or more of the outstanding shares of Common Stock; (ii) 40% of the Total Number of Directors, in the event that the Blackstone Entities collectively beneficially own 40% or more, but less than 50%, of the outstanding shares

 

3


of Common Stock; (iii) 30% of the Total Number of Directors, in the event that the Blackstone Entities collectively beneficially own 30% or more, but less than 40%, of the outstanding shares of Common Stock; (iv) 20% of the Total Number of Directors, in the event that the Blackstone Entities collectively beneficially own 20% or more, but less than 30%, of the outstanding shares of Common Stock; and (v) 10% of the Total Number of Directors, in the event that the Blackstone Entities collectively beneficially own 5% or more, but less than 20%, of the outstanding shares of Common Stock. For purposes of calculating the number of directors that the Blackstone Group is entitled to designate pursuant to the immediately preceding sentence, any fractional amounts shall automatically be rounded up to the nearest whole number (e.g., one and one quarter (1 1 / 4 ) Directors shall equate to two (2) Directors) and any such calculations shall be made after taking into account any increase in the Total Number of Directors.

(b) In the event that the Blackstone Group has nominated less than the total number of designees the Blackstone Group shall be entitled to nominate pursuant to Section 2.1(a), the Blackstone Group shall have the right, at any time, to nominate such additional designees to which it is entitled, in which case, the Company and the Directors shall take all necessary corporation action, to the fullest extent permitted by law, to (x) enable the Blackstone Group to nominate and effect the election or appointment of such additional individuals, whether by increasing the size of the Board, or otherwise and (y) to designate such additional individuals nominated by the Blackstone Group to fill such newly-created vacancies or to fill any other existing vacancies. Each such person whom the Blackstone Group shall actually nominate pursuant to this Section 2.1 and who is thereafter elected to the Board to serve as a Director shall be referred to herein as a “ Blackstone Designee ”.

(c) In the event that a vacancy is created at any time by the death, disability, retirement or resignation of any Director designated pursuant to this Section 2.1, the remaining Directors and the Company shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, cause the vacancy created thereby to be filled by a new designee of the Blackstone Group, if such Director was designated by the Blackstone Group, as soon as possible, and the Company hereby agrees to take, to the fullest extent permitted by law, at any time and from time to time, all actions necessary to accomplish the same.

(d) The Company agrees, to the fullest extent permitted by law, to include in the slate of nominees recommended by the Board at any meeting of stockholders called for the purpose of electing directors the persons designated pursuant to this Section 2.1 and to use its best efforts to cause the election of each such designee to the Board, including nominating each such individual to be elected as a Director as provided herein, recommending such individual’s election and soliciting proxies or consents in favor thereof.

 

6


ARTICLE III.

INFORMATION; VCOC

3.1 Books and Records; Access . The Company shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to, keep proper books, records and accounts, in which full and correct entries shall be made of all financial transactions and the assets and business of the Company and each of its Subsidiaries in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The Company shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to, permit the Blackstone Entities and their respective designated representatives, at reasonable times and upon reasonable prior notice to the Company, to review the books and records of the Company or any of such Subsidiaries and to discuss the affairs, finances and condition of the Company or any of such Subsidiaries with the officers of the Company or any such Subsidiary; provided , however , that the Company shall not be required to disclose any privileged information of the Company so long as the Company has used its best efforts to enter into an arrangement pursuant to which it may provide such information to the Blackstone Entities without the loss of any such privilege.

3.2 Certain Reports . The Company shall deliver or cause to be delivered to the Blackstone Entities, at their request:

(a) to the extent otherwise prepared by the Company, operating and capital expenditure budgets and periodic information packages relating to the operations and cash flows of the Company and its Subsidiaries; and

(b) such other reports and information as may be reasonably requested by the Blackstone Entities; provided , however , that the Company shall not be required to disclose any privileged information of the Company so long as the Company has used its best efforts to enter into an arrangement pursuant to which it may provide such information to the Blackstone Entities without the loss of any such privilege.

3.3 VCOC . With respect to each Blackstone Entity that is intended to qualify its direct or indirect investment in the Company as a “venture capital investment” as defined in the Department of Labor regulations codified at 29 CFR Section 2510.3-101 (the “ Plan Asset Regulation ”) (each, a “ VCOC Investor ”), for so long as the VCOC Investor, directly or through one or more subsidiaries, continues to hold any shares of Common Stock (or other securities of the company into which such shares of Common Stock may be converted or for which such shares of Common Stock may be exchanged), without limitation or prejudice of any the rights provided to the Blackstone Entities hereunder, the Company shall, with respect to each such VCOC Investor:

(a) provide each VCOC Investor or its designated representative with:

(i) the right to visit and inspect any of the offices and properties of the Company and its Subsidiaries and inspect and copy the books and records of the Company and its Subsidiaries, at such times as the VCOC Investor shall reasonably request;

 

5


(ii) as soon as available and in any event within 45 days after the end of each of the first three quarters of each fiscal year of the Company, consolidated balance sheets of the Company and its Subsidiaries as of the end of such period, and consolidated statements of income and cash flows of the Company and its Subsidiaries for the period then ended prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States applied on a consistent basis, except as otherwise noted therein, and subject to the absence of footnotes and to year-end adjustments;

(iii) as soon as available and in any event within 120 days after the end of each fiscal year of the Company, a consolidated balance sheet of the Company and its Subsidiaries as of the end of such year, and consolidated statements of income and cash flows of the Company and its Subsidiaries for the year then ended prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States applied on a consistent basis, except as otherwise noted therein, together with an auditor’s report thereon of a firm of established national reputation;

(iv) to the extent the Company is required by law or pursuant to the terms of any outstanding indebtedness of the Company to prepare such reports, any annual reports, quarterly reports and other periodic reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, actually prepared by the Company as soon as available; and

(v) copies of all materials provided to the Board, subject to appropriate protections with respect to confidentiality and preservation of attorney-client privilege;

provided , that , in each case, if the Company makes the information described in clauses (ii), (iii) and (iv) of this clause (a) available through public filings on the EDGAR System or any successor or replacement system of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the delivery of such information shall be deemed satisfied;

(b) make appropriate officers and/or Directors of the Company available, and cause the officers and directors of its Subsidiaries to be made available, periodically and at such times as reasonably requested by each VCOC Investor for consultation with such VCOC Investor or its designated representative with respect to matters relating to the business and affairs of the Company and its Subsidiaries;

(c) to the extent consistent with applicable law, rule, regulation or listing standards (and with respect to events which require public disclosure, only following the Company’s public disclosure thereof through applicable securities law filings or otherwise), inform each VCOC Investor or its designated representative in advance with respect to any significant corporate actions, and to provide (or cause to be provided) each VCOC Investor or its designated representative with the right to consult with the Company and its Subsidiaries with respect to such actions should the VCOC Investor elect to do so and provided that the Company shall be under no obligation to provide the VCOC Investor with any material non-public information with respect to such corporate action; and

 

6


(d) provide each VCOC Investor or its designated representative with such other rights of consultation which the VCOC Investor’s counsel may determine to be reasonably necessary under applicable legal authorities promulgated after the date hereof to qualify its investment in the Company as a “venture capital investment” for purposes of the United States Department of Labor Regulation published the Plan Asset Regulation.

The Company agrees to consider, in good faith, the recommendations of each VCOC Investor or its designated representative in connection with the matters on which it is consulted as described above in this Section 3.3, recognizing that the ultimate discretion with respect to all such matters shall be retained by the Company.

In the event the VCOC Investor or any of its Affiliates transfers all or any portion of their investment in the Company to an Affiliated entity that is intended to qualify as a “venture capital operating company” (as defined in the Plan Asset Regulation), such Transferee shall be afforded the same rights with respect to the Company afforded to the VCOC Investor hereunder and shall be treated, for such purposes, as a third party beneficiary hereunder.

In the event that the Company ceases to qualify as an “operating company” (as defined in the first sentence of 2510.3-101(c)(1) of the Plan Asset Regulation), or the investment in the Company by a VCOC Investor does not qualify as a “venture capital investment” as defined in the Plan Asset Regulation, then the Company and each Blackstone Entity will cooperate in good faith to take all reasonable actions necessary, subject to applicable law, to preserve the VCOC status of each VCOC Investor or the qualification of the investment as a “venture capital investment,” it being understood that such reasonable actions shall not require a VCOC Investor to purchase or sell any investments.

ARTICLE IV.

GENERAL PROVISIONS

4.1 Termination . This Agreement shall terminate on the earlier to occur of (i) such time as the Blackstone Group is no longer entitled to nominate a Director pursuant to Section 2.1(a) and (ii) upon the delivery of a written notice by the Blackstone Group to the Company requesting that this Agreement terminate.

4.2 Notices . Any notice provided for in this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be either personally delivered, or mailed first class mail (postage prepaid) or sent by reputable overnight courier service (charges prepaid) to the Company at the address set forth below and to any other recipient at the address indicated on the Company’s records, or at such address or to the attention of such other Person as the recipient party has specified by prior written notice to the sending party. Notices will be deemed to have been given hereunder when sent by facsimile (receipt confirmed) delivered personally, five (5) days after deposit in the U.S. mail and one (1) day after deposit with a reputable overnight courier service.

 

7


The Company’s address is:

Pinnacle Foods Inc.

399 Jefferson Road

Parsippany, New Jersey 07054

Attention: General Counsel

Fax: (973) 386-8984

with a copy (not constituting notice) to:

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

1999 Avenue of the Stars, 29 th Floor

Los Angeles, California 90067

Attention: Daniel Clivner, Esq.

Fax: (310) 407-7502

The Blackstone Entities’ address is:

The Blackstone Group L.P.

345 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10154

Attention: Prakash Melwani

Fax: (212) 583-5722

with a copy (not constituting notice) to:

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

1999 Avenue of the Stars, 29 th Floor

Los Angeles, California 90067

Attention: Daniel Clivner, Esq.

Fax: (310) 407-7502

4.3 Amendment; Waiver . This Agreement may be amended, supplemented or otherwise modified only by a written instrument executed by the Company and the other parties hereto. Neither the failure nor delay on the part of any party hereto to exercise any right, remedy, power or privilege under this Agreement shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise of any right, remedy, power or privilege preclude any other or further exercise of the same or of any other right, remedy, power or privilege, nor shall any waiver of any right, remedy, power or privilege with respect to any occurrence be construed as a waiver of such right, remedy, power or privilege with respect to any other occurrence. No waiver shall be effective unless it is in writing and is signed by the party asserted to have granted such waiver.

4.4 Further Assurances . The parties hereto will sign such further documents, cause such meetings to be held, resolutions passed, exercise their votes and

 

8


do and perform and cause to be done such further acts and things necessary, proper or advisable in order to give full effect to this Agreement and every provision hereof. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Company shall not directly or indirectly take any action that is intended to, or would reasonably be expected to result in, any Blackstone Entity being deprived of the rights contemplated by this Agreement.

4.5 Assignment . This Agreement will inure to the benefit of and be binding on the parties hereto and their respective successors and permitted assigns. This Agreement may not be assigned without the express prior written consent of the other parties hereto, and any attempted assignment, without such consents, will be null and void; provided , however , that each Blackstone Entity shall be entitled to assign, in whole or in part, to any of its Permitted Assigns without such prior written consent any of its rights hereunder.

4.6 Third Parties . Except as provided for in Section 3.3 with respect to any Blackstone Entity, this Agreement does not create any rights, claims or benefits inuring to any person that is not a party hereto nor create or establish any third party beneficiary hereto.

4.7 Governing Law . This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to principles of conflicts of laws thereof.

4.8 Jurisdiction; Waiver of Jury Trial . In any judicial proceeding involving any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement, each of the parties unconditionally accepts the jurisdiction and venue of or, if the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction over this matter, the Superior Court of the State of Delaware (Complex Commercial Division), or if jurisdiction over the matter is vested exclusively in federal courts, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, and the appellate courts to which orders and judgments thereof may be appealed. In any such judicial proceeding, the parties agree that in addition to any method for the service of process permitted or required by such courts, to the fullest extent permitted by law, service of process may be made by delivery provided pursuant to the directions in Section 4.2. EACH OF THE PARTIES HEREBY WAIVES TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY JUDICIAL PROCEEDING INVOLVING ANY DISPUTE, CONTROVERSY OR CLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT.

4.9 Specific Performance . Each party hereto acknowledges and agrees that in the event of any breach of this Agreement by any of them, the other parties hereto would be irreparably harmed and could not be made whole by monetary damages. Each party accordingly agrees to waive the defense in any action for specific performance that a remedy at law would be adequate and that the parties, in addition to any other remedy to which they may be entitled at law or in equity, shall be entitled to specific performance of this Agreement without the posting of bond.

 

9


4.10 Entire Agreement . This Agreement sets forth the entire understanding of the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof. There are no agreements, representations, warranties, covenants or understandings with respect to the subject matter hereof or thereof other than those expressly set forth herein and therein. This Agreement supersedes all other prior agreements and understandings between the parties with respect to such subject matter.

4.11 Severability . If any provision of this Agreement, or the application of such provision to any Person or circumstance or in any jurisdiction, shall be held to be invalid or unenforceable to any extent, (i) the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby, and each other provision hereof shall be valid and enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law, (ii) as to such Person or circumstance or in such jurisdiction such provision shall be reformed to be valid and enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law and (iii) the application of such provision to other Persons or circumstances or in other jurisdictions shall not be affected thereby.

4.12 Table of Contents, Headings and Captions . The table of contents, headings, subheadings and captions contained in this Agreement are included for convenience of reference only, and in no way define, limit or describe the scope of this Agreement or the intent of any provision hereof.

4.13 Grant of Consent . Any vote, consent or approval of the Blackstone Group or a Blackstone Entity hereunder shall be deemed to be given with respect to such entities or entity if such vote, consent or approval is given by members of such entities or entity having a pecuniary interest in a majority of the shares of Common Stock over which all members of such entities or entity then have a pecuniary interest.

4.14 Counterparts . This Agreement and any amendment hereto may be signed in any number of separate counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which taken together shall constitute one Agreement (or amendment, as applicable).

4.15 Effectiveness . This Agreement shall become effective upon the Closing Date.

4.16 No Recourse . This Agreement may only be enforced against, and any claims or cause of action that may be based upon, arise out of or relate to this Agreement, or the negotiation, execution or performance of this Agreement may only be made against the entities that are expressly identified as parties hereto and no past, present or future Affiliate, director, officer, employee, incorporator, member, manager, partner, stockholder, agent, attorney or representative of any party hereto shall have any liability for any obligations or liabilities of the parties to this Agreement or for any claim based on, in respect of, or by reason of, the transactions contemplated hereby.

[ Remainder Of Page Intentionally Left Blank ]

 

10


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Stockholders Agreement on the day and year first above written.

 

COMPANY

PINNACLE FOODS INC.

 

By:  

/s/ Craig Steeneck

Name:   Craig Steeneck
Title:   Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

[Signature Page to Stockholders Agreement]


BLACKSTONE GROUP:

 

BLACKSTONE CAPITAL PARTNERS V L.P.

 

By:   Blackstone Management Associates V L.L.C.,
 

its general partner

 

By:   BMA V L.L.C.,
 

its sole member

 

By:  

/s/ Prakash Melwani

Name:   Prakash Melwani
Title:   Senior Managing Director
BLACKSTONE CAPITAL PARTNERS V-AC L.P.
By:   Blackstone Management Associates V L.L.C.,
  its general partner
By:   BMA V L.L.C.,
  its sole member
By:  

/s/ Prakash Melwani

Name:   Prakash Melwani
Title:   Senior Managing Director
BLACKSTONE FAMILY INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP V L.P.
By:   BCP V Side-by-Side GP L.L.C.,
  its general partner
By:  

/s/ Prakash Melwani

Name:   Prakash Melwani
Title:   Senior Managing Director

[Signature Page to Stockholders Agreement]


BLACKSTONE GROUP (CONTINUED):
BLACKSTONE FAMILY INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP V-SMD L.P.
By:   Blackstone Family GP L.L.C.,
  its general partner
By:  

/s/ Prakash Melwani

Name:   Prakash Melwani
Title:   Senior Managing Director
BLACKSTONE PARTICIPATION PARTNERSHIP V L.P.
By:   BCP V Side-by-Side GP L.L.C.,
  its general partner
By:  

/s/ Prakash Melwani

Name:   Prakash Melwani
Title:   Senior Managing Director
BLACKSTONE CAPITAL PARTNERS (CAYMAN) V L.P.

By: Blackstone Management Associates (Cayman) V L.P.,
its General Partner

By: BCP V GP L.L.C.,
 

its General Partner

 

By:

 

/s/ Prakash Melwani

 

Name:

  Prakash Melwani
 

Title:

  Senior Managing Director

[Signature Page to Stockholders Agreement]


BLACKSTONE GROUP (CONTINUED):
BLACKSTONE CAPITAL PARTNERS (CAYMAN) V-A L.P.
By:   Blackstone Management Associates (Cayman) V L.P.,
      its General Partner
By:   BCP V GP L.L.C.,
      its General Partner
          By:  

/s/ Prakash Melwani

          Name:   Prakash Melwani
          Title:   Senior Managing Director
BLACKSTONE CAPITAL PARTNERS (CAYMAN) V-AC L.P.
By:   Blackstone Management Associates (Cayman) V L.P.,
      its General Partner
By:   BCP V GP L.L.C.,
      its General Partner
          By:  

/s/ Prakash Melwani

          Name:   Prakash Melwani
          Title:   Senior Managing Director
BLACKSTONE FAMILY INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP (CAYMAN) V L.P.
By:   BCP V GP L.L.C.
      its General Partner
          By:  

/s/ Prakash Melwani

          Name:   Prakash Melwani
          Title:   Senior Managing Director

[Signature Page to Stockholders Agreement]


BLACKSTONE GROUP (CONTINUED):
BLACKSTONE FAMILY INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP
(CAYMAN) V-SMD L.P.
By:     Blackstone Family GP L.L.C.
      its General Partner
          By:  

/s/ Prakash Melwani

          Name:   Prakash Melwani
          Title:   Senior Managing Director
BLACKSTONE PARTICIPATION PARTNERSHIP
(CAYMAN) V L.P.
By:    Blackstone Management Associates (Cayman) V L.P.,
      its General Partner
By:    BCP V GP L.L.C.
      its General Partner
          By:  

/s/ Prakash Melwani

          Name:   Prakash Melwani
          Title:   Senior Managing Director

[Signature Page to Stockholders Agreement]

Exhibit 10.1

TERMINATION AGREEMENT

This TERMINATION AGREEMENT (this “ Agreement ”) is entered into as of April 3, 2013 (and effective as set forth in Section 7 of this Agreement), by and among Peak Holdings LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“ Holdings ”), Pinnacle Foods Inc. (f/k/a Crunch Holding Corp.), a Delaware corporation (the “ Corporation ”), and the employees listed on the signature pages hereto (collectively, the “ Employees ”).

WHEREAS, the parties hereto are parties to that certain Securityholders’ Agreement, dated as of May 28, 2008, as amended from time to time and a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit A (the “ Securityholders’ Agreement ”);

WHEREAS, the Employees have beneficial ownership of a majority of the Common Stock (as defined in the Securityholders’ Agreement) constituting Employee Securities (as defined in the Securityholders’ Agreement); and

WHEREAS, the parties hereto wish to terminate the Securityholders’ Agreement pursuant to Section 5.2(a) thereof.

NOW, THEREFORE, for and in consideration of the mutual promises and covenants herein contained, and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows:

1. Termination of the Securityholders’ Agreement : The parties hereto hereby agree that, as of the effective date set forth in Section 7 of this Agreement, the Securityholders’ Agreement shall terminate and be of no further force and effect.

2. Third Party Beneficiary : Nothing in this Agreement, express or implied, is intended to or shall confer upon anyone other than the parties any right, benefit or remedy of any nature whatsoever under or by reason of this Agreement.

3. Section Headings : Headings contained in this Agreement are inserted only as a matter of convenience and in no way define, limit or extend the scope or intent of this Agreement or any provisions thereof.

4. Choice of Law : This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without regard to any choice or conflict of law provision which would require the application of any law other than that of the State of New York.

5. Jurisdiction : Each party to this Agreement irrevocably agrees that any suit, action or proceeding which may arise out of or in connection with this Agreement shall be brought in the courts of the State of New York in New York County or the courts of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, which shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any disputes arising out of or in connection with this Agreement and for such purpose each Party hereby irrevocably and unconditionally submits to the jurisdiction of such courts.


6. Counterparts : This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same agreement of the parties hereto.

7. Effective Date : This Agreement shall become effective upon the closing of the initial public offering and sale of shares of common stock of the Corporation (the “ IPO ”) and shall be of no force and effect (i) prior to the closing of the IPO and (ii) if the closing of the IPO has not been consummated within ten (10) business days from the date of this Agreement.

[The remainder of this page is intentionally left blank.]


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Agreement to be executed and delivered by their duly authorized officers or agents as of the date first above written.

 

PEAK HOLDINGS LLC
By:  

/s/ Craig Steeneck

Name:   Craig Steeneck
Title:  

Executive Vice President and Chief

Financial Officer

PINNACLE FOODS INC.
By:  

/s/ Craig Steeneck

Name:   Craig Steeneck
Title:  

Executive Vice President and Chief

Financial Officer


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Agreement to be executed and delivered by their duly authorized officers or agents as of the date first above written.

 

Scott Farell

/s/ Scott Farell


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Agreement to be executed and delivered by their duly authorized officers or agents as of the date first above written.

 

Jay Bendik

/s/ Jay Bendik


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Agreement to be executed and delivered by their duly authorized officers or agents as of the date first above written.

 

Thomas Lindenmuth

/s/ Thomas Lindenmuth


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Agreement to be executed and delivered by their duly authorized officers or agents as of the date first above written.

 

Rebecca Moncher

/s/ Rebecca Moncher


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Agreement to be executed and delivered by their duly authorized officers or agents as of the date first above written.

 

Michael Riddle

/s/ Michael Riddle


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Agreement to be executed and delivered by their duly authorized officers or agents as of the date first above written.

 

Joseph Rosito

/s/ Joseph Rosito


EXHIBIT A

SECURITYHOLDERS’ AGREEMENT


SECURITYHOLDERS AGREEMENT

This Securityholders Agreement (this “ Agreement ”) is entered into as of May 28, 2008 by and among Crunch Holding Corp., a Delaware corporation (the “ Company ), Peak Holdings LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“ Holdings ”), parties to this Agreement who are identified as Employees on the signature page hereto (each, an “ Employee ” and, collectively, the “ Employees ”), and each other holder of Securities who hereafter executes a separate agreement to be bound by the terms hereof (Holdings, the Employees and each other Person that is or may become a party to this Agreement as contemplated hereby are sometimes referred to herein collectively as the “ Securityholders ” and individually as a “ Securityholder ”). Certain capitalized terms used herein are defined in Section 6.1.

The parties hereto agree as follows:

ARTICLE I

REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

OF THE PARTIES

1.1 Representations and Warranties of the Company . The Company hereby represents and warrants to the Securityholders that as of the date of this Agreement:

(a) it is a corporation, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware, it has full power and authority to execute, deliver and perform this Agreement and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby, and the execution, delivery and performance by it of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action;

(b) this Agreement has been duly and validly executed and delivered by the Company and constitutes a legal and binding obligation of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms; and

(c) the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement and the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated hereby will not, with or without the giving of notice or lapse of time, or both (i) violate any provision of law, statute, rule or regulation to which the Company is subject, (ii) violate any order, judgment or decree applicable to the Company, or (iii) conflict with, or result in a breach or default under, any term or condition of the Company’s organizational documents or any agreement or instrument to which the Company is a party or by which it is bound.

 

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1.2 Representations and Warranties of the Securityholders . Each Securityholder (as to himself or itself only) represents and warrants to the Company and the other Securityholders that, as of the time such Securityholder becomes a party to this Agreement:

(a) this Agreement (or the separate joinder agreement executed by such Securityholder) has been duly and validly executed and delivered by such Securityholder, and this Agreement constitutes a legal and binding obligation of such Securityholder, enforceable against such Securityholder in accordance with its terms; and

(b) the execution, delivery and performance by such Securityholder of this Agreement (or any joinder to this Agreement) and the consummation by such Securityholder of the transactions contemplated hereby (and thereby) will not, with or without the giving of notice or lapse of time, or both, (i) violate any provision of law, statute, rule or regulation to which such Securityholder is subject, (ii) violate any order, judgment or decree applicable to such Securityholder, or (iii) conflict with, or result in a breach or default under, any term or condition of any agreement or other instrument to which such Securityholder is a party or by which such Securityholder is bound.

ARTICLE II

VOTING AGREEMENTS

2.1 Election of Directors .

(a) On or prior to the Lapse Date, each Person, other than the Company, that is a party to this Agreement hereby agrees that such Person will vote, or cause to be voted, all voting securities of the Company over which such Person has the power to vote or direct the voting, and will take all other necessary or desirable action within such Person’s control, and the Company will take all necessary and desirable actions within its control, to cause the authorized number of directors for each of the respective boards of directors of the Company and its Subsidiaries to be established at up to ten directors, and to elect or cause to be elected to the respective boards of directors of the Company and each of its Subsidiaries and cause to be continued in office, such individuals as are designated from time to time by Holdings.

(b) If at any time on or prior to the Lapse Date, Holdings shall notify the other parties to this Agreement of their desire to remove, with or without cause, any individual from a Company or Subsidiary directorship, all such parties so notified will vote, or cause to be voted, all voting securities of the Company and the aforementioned Subsidiaries over which they have the power to vote or direct the voting, and shall take all such other actions promptly as shall be necessary or desirable to cause the removal of such director.

(c) If at any time on or prior to the Lapse Date, any director ceases to serve on the board of directors of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (whether due to resignation, removal or otherwise), Holdings shall be entitled to designate a successor member/director to fill the vacancy created thereby. Each Person that is a party hereto agrees to vote, or cause to be voted, all voting securities of the Company and the aforementioned Subsidiaries over which such Person has the power to vote or direct the voting, and shall take all such other actions as shall be necessary or desirable to cause the designated successor to be elected to fill such vacancy.

 

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(d) Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to impair any rights that the unitholders or stockholders of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company may have to remove any director for cause under applicable law or the organizational documents of the Company or such Subsidiary, as the case may be. No such removal of an individual designated pursuant to this Section 2.1 for cause shall affect any of Holdings’ rights to designate a different individual pursuant to this Section 2.1 to fill the position from which such individual was removed.

(e) The provisions of this Section 2.1 shall remain in effect following the first Public Offering.

2.2 Other Voting Matters .

(a) Each party to this Agreement hereby agrees that such party will vote, or cause to be voted, all voting securities of the Company and its Subsidiaries over which such party has the power to vote or direct the voting, either in person or by proxy, whether at a securityholders meeting, or by written consent, in the manner in which Holdings directs in connection with the approval of any amendment or amendments to the Company’s organizational documents, the merger, security exchange, combination or consolidation of the Company with any other Person or Persons, the sale, lease or exchange of all or substantially all of the property and assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, and the reorganization, recapitalization, liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the Company.

(b) In order to effectuate the provisions of Sections 2.1 and 2.2 hereof, each holder of Employee Securities hereby grants to Jeffrey P. Ansell, or if Jeffrey P. Ansell shall cease to be the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, to his successor in such position with the Company, or if the Chief Executive Officer of the Company shall be unable to exercise this proxy due to illness or absence or if the position of Chief Executive Officer of the Company shall be vacant, to the General Counsel of the Company, a proxy to vote at any annual or special meeting of Securityholders, or to take any action by written consent in lieu of such meeting with respect to, or to otherwise take action in respect of, all of the Securities owned or held of record by such holder in connection with the matters set forth in Sections 2.1 and 2.2 hereof in accordance with the provisions of Sections 2.1 and 2.2 hereof. Each of the proxies granted hereby is irrevocable and is coupled with an interest. To effectuate the provisions of this Section 2.2(b), the Secretary of each of the Company and each of the aforementioned Subsidiaries of the Company, or if there be no Secretary such other officer or employee of the Company or such Subsidiaries as the board of directors of the Company or such Subsidiaries may appoint to fulfill the duties of the Secretary, shall not record any vote or consent or other action contrary to the terms of this Section 2.2(b).

ARTICLE III

TRANSFERS OF SECURITIES

3.1 Restrictions on Transfer of Employee Securities . Prior to the earliest of (i) a Qualified Public Offering, (ii) the occurrence of a Change of Control and (ii) April 2, 2014 (the “Lapse Date”), no holder of Employee Securities may Transfer any Employee Securities except in an Exempt Employee Transfer.

 

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3.2 Right of First Refusal .

(a) If, at any time on or after the Lapse Date and prior to a Public Offering, any holder of Employee Securities (for purposes of this Section 3.2(a), a “ Selling Employee Holder ”) proposes to sell any or all of his Employee Securities (other than an Exempt Employee Transfer) to a third party (a “ Proposed Sale ”), such Selling Employee Holder shall first notify the Company in writing. Such Selling Employee Holder’s notice to the Company (the “ Proposed Sale Notice ”) shall (i) state such Selling Employee Holder’s intention to sell Employee Securities to one or more persons, the amount of Employee Securities to be sold, the purchase price therefor, and the other material terms of the Proposed Sale and (ii) contain an irrevocable offer to sell such Employee Securities to the Company (in the manner set forth below) at a purchase price equal to the price contained in, and on the same terms and conditions of, the Proposed Sale.

(b) At any time within thirty (30) days after the date of the receipt by the Company of the Proposed Sale Notice, the Company shall have the right and option to purchase, or to arrange for a third party to purchase, all of the Employee Securities covered by the Proposed Sale Notice at the same price and on the same terms and conditions of the Proposed Sale (or, if the Proposed Sale includes any consideration other than cash, then, at the sole option of the Company, at the equivalent all cash price, determined in good faith by the board directors of the Company), by delivering a certified bank check or checks in the appropriate amount (or by wire transfer of immediately available funds, if the Selling Employee Holder provides to the Company wire transfer instructions) (and any such non-cash consideration to be paid) to the Selling Employee Holder at the principal office of the Company against delivery of certificates or other instruments representing the Employee Securities so purchased, appropriately endorsed by the Selling Employee Holder. If at the end of the 30-day period, the Company or such third party has not tendered the purchase price for such Employee Securities in the manner set forth above, the Selling Employee Holder may, during the succeeding 30-day period, sell not less than all of the Employee Securities covered by the Proposed Sale to a third party on terms no less favorable to the Selling Employee Holder than those contained in the Proposed Sale Notice. Promptly after such sale, the Selling Employee Holder shall notify the Company of the consummation thereof and shall furnish such evidence of the completion and time of completion of such sale and of the terms thereof as may reasonably be requested by the Company. If, at the end of thirty (30) days following the expiration of the 30-day period, during which the Company is entitled hereunder to purchase the Employee Securities, the Selling Employee Holder has not completed the sale of such Employee Securities as aforesaid, all of the restrictions on sale, transfer or assignment contained in this Agreement shall again be in effect with respect to such Employee Securities.

3.3 Securities Act Compliance No Securities may be transferred by a holder of Employee Securities (other than pursuant to an effective registration statement

 

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under the Securities Act) unless such Securityholder first delivers to the Company an opinion of counsel, which opinion and counsel shall be reasonably satisfactory to the Company, to the effect that such Transfer is not required to be registered under the Securities Act.

3.4 Certain Transferees Bound by Agreement Subject to compliance with the other provisions of this Article III, any Securityholder may Transfer any Securities held by such Securityholder in accordance with applicable law; provided, however, that if the Transfer is not made pursuant to a Public Sale or a transaction the consummation of which will cause the termination of this Agreement pursuant to Article V, then the Transferor of such Security shall first deliver to the Company a written agreement of the proposed Transferee (excluding a Transferee that is a Limited Partner) to become a Securityholder and to be bound by the terms of this Agreement (unless such proposed Transferee is already a Securityholder). All Employee Securities will continue to be Employee Securities in the hands of any Transferee (other than the Company, Blackstone or any Transferee in a Public Sale). All Blackstone Securities will continue to be Blackstone Securities in the hands of any Transferee (other than the Company, the Employees or a Transferee in a Public Sale).

3.5 Transfers in Violation of Agreement Any Transfer or attempted Transfer of any Securities in violation of any provision of this Agreement shall be void, and the Company shall not record such Transfer on its books or treat any purported transferee of such Securities as the owner of such Securities for any purpose.

ARTICLE IV

DRAG-ALONG RIGHTS

ON APPROVED SALE

4.1 Drag-Along Rights .

(a) Subject to the next paragraph, if Blackstone or Holdings elects to consummate, or to cause the Company to consummate, a transaction constituting a Change of Control, Blackstone or Holdings, as applicable, shall notify the Company and the other Securityholders in writing of that election, the other Securityholders will consent to and raise no objections to the proposed transaction, and the Securityholders and the Company will take all other actions reasonably necessary or desirable to cause the consummation of such transaction on the terms proposed by Blackstone or Holdings (a “ Drag Along Sale ”). Without limiting the foregoing, (i) if the proposed Drag Along Sale is structured as a sale of assets or a merger or consolidation, or otherwise requires stockholder approval, the Securityholders and the Company will vote or cause to be voted all Securities that they hold or with respect to which such Securityholder has the power to direct the voting and which are entitled to vote on such transaction in favor of such transaction and will waive any appraisal rights which they may have in connection therewith, and (ii) if the proposed Drag Along Sale is structured as or involves a sale or redemption of Securities, the Securityholders will agree to sell their pro-rata share of the Securities being sold in such Drag Along Sale on the terms and conditions approved by Blackstone or Holdings, and the Securityholders will execute any merger, asset purchase, security purchase, recapitalization or other sale agreement approved by Blackstone in connection with such Change of Control.

 

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(b) The obligations of the Securityholders with respect to the Drag Along Sale are subject to the satisfaction of the following conditions: (i) upon the consummation of the Drag Along Sale, all of the holders of a particular class or series of Securities (if any consideration is to be received by any of them) shall receive the same form and amount of consideration per share, unit or amount of Securities, or if any holders of a particular class or series of Securities are given an option as to the form and amount of consideration to be received, all holders of such class or series will be given the same option and (ii) if consideration is to be received by holders of Securities, all holders of then currently exercisable rights to acquire a particular class or series of Securities will be given an opportunity to either (A) exercise such rights prior to the consummation of the Drag Along Sale and participate in such sale as holders of such Securities or (B) upon the consummation of the Drag Along Sale, receive in exchange for such rights consideration equal to the amount determined by multiplying (1) the same amount of consideration per share, unit or amount of Securities received by the holders of such type and class of Securities in connection with the Drag Along Sale less the exercise price per share, unit or amount of such rights to acquire such Securities by (2) the number of shares, units or aggregate amount of Securities represented by such rights.

(c) Each Securityholder will bear its or his pro-rata share (based upon the relative amount of proceeds received for the Securities sold) of the reasonable costs of any sale of Securities pursuant to a Drag Along Sale to the extent such costs are incurred for the benefit of all Securityholders and are not otherwise paid by the Company or the acquiring party. Costs incurred by or on behalf of a Securityholder for its or his sole benefit will not be considered costs of the transaction hereunder. In the event that any transaction that Blackstone elects to consummate or cause to be consummated pursuant to this Section 4.1 is not consummated for any reason, the Company will reimburse Blackstone for all actual and reasonable expenses paid or incurred by Blackstone in connection therewith.

(d) Notwithstanding any provision in this Agreement to the contrary, Blackstone and its Affiliates shall be entitled to be paid customary and reasonable fees by Holdings, the Company or any Subsidiary for any investment banking services provided by it in connection with a Change of Control.

(e) The provisions of this Section 4.1 shall remain in effect following the first Public Offering.

 

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ARTICLE V

AMENDMENT AND TERMINATION

5.1 Amendment and Waiver . Except as otherwise provided herein, no modification, amendment or waiver of any provision of this Agreement shall be effective against the Company or the Securityholders unless such modification, amendment or waiver is approved in writing by each of the Company and Holdings; provided that no such modification, amendment or waiver may materially adversely affect Employee Securities or the rights or obligations hereunder of holders of Employee Securities unless approved in writing by the Employee Majority Holders. The failure of any party to enforce any of the provisions of this Agreement shall in no way be construed as a waiver of such provisions and shall not affect the right of such party thereafter to enforce each and every provision of this Agreement in accordance with its terms.

5.2 Termination of Agreement . This Agreement will terminate in respect of all Securityholders (a) with the written consent of the Company, Holdings and the Employee Majority Holders, (b) upon the dissolution, liquidation or winding-up of the Company or (c) upon the consummation of a transaction, whether in a single transaction or in a series of related transactions that are consummated contemporaneously (or consummated pursuant to contemporaneous agreements), with any other Person or Persons on an arms-length basis, pursuant to which such party or parties acquire (whether by merger, stock purchase, recapitalization, reorganization, redemption, issuance of capital stock or otherwise) more than 50% of the Fully Diluted Shares or voting stock of the Company.

5.3 Termination as to a Party . Any Person who ceases to hold any Securities shall cease to be a Securityholder and shall have no further rights or obligations under this.

ARTICLE VI

MISCELLANEOUS

6.1 Certain Defined Terms . As used in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth or as referenced below:

Affiliate ” of any particular Person means any other Person Controlling, Controlled by or under common Control with such particular Person or, in the case of a natural Person, any other member of such Person’s Family Group.

Agreement ” has the meaning set forth in the preface.

Blackstone ” means Blackstone Capital Partners V L.P. and its Affiliates.

Blackstone Securities ” means (a) Securities, Common Stock, Common Stock Equivalents, Preferred Units or Preferred Stock hereafter acquired by Blackstone, and (b) any securities of the Company issued with respect to the securities referred to in clause (a) above by way of a payment-in-kind, stock dividend, or stock split or in connection with a combination of shares, exchange, conversion, recapitalization, merger, consolidation or other reorganization, or otherwise.

 

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Change of Control ” means (i) the sale or disposition, in one or a series of related transactions, of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company or Holdings to any “person” or “group” (as such terms are defined in Sections 13(d)(3) and 14(d)(2) of the Exchange Act) other than Blackstone or its affiliates (as defined in Rule 501 (b) of the Securities Act of 1933) or (ii) any person or group, other than the Blackstone or its affiliates, is or becomes the “beneficial owner” (as defined in Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 under the Exchange Act), directly or indirectly, of more than 50% of the total voting power of the voting stock of the Company or Holdings, including by way of merger, consolidation or otherwise and the Blackstone ceases to directly or indirectly control the Board.

Common Stock ” has the meaning set forth in the Holdings Securityholders’ Agreement.

Common Stock Equivalents ” means (without duplication with any Units, Common Stock or other Common Stock Equivalents) rights, warrants, options, convertible securities, or exchangeable securities or indebtedness, or other rights, exercisable for or convertible or exchangeable into, directly or indirectly, Units, Common Stock or securities exercisable for or convertible or exchangeable into Units or Common Stock, as the case may be, whether at the time of issuance or upon the passage of time or the occurrence of some future event.

Company ” has the meaning set forth in the preface.

Control ” (including, with correlative meaning, all conjugations thereof) means with respect to any Person, the ability of another Person to control or direct the actions or policies of such first Person, whether by ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise.

Drag Along Sale ” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.1(a).

Employee Majority Holders ” means the Person or Persons having beneficial ownership of a majority of the Common Stock constituting Employee Securities.

Employee Securities ” means (a) Securities acquired by the Employees on or after the date of this Agreement under the Management Equity Subscription Agreements and/or Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement, (b) any Securities, Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents hereafter acquired by any holder of Employee Securities, and (c) any securities issued with respect to the securities referred to in clauses (a) or (b) above by way of a payment-in-kind, stock dividend or stock split or in connection with a combination of shares, exchange, conversion, recapitalization, merger, consolidation or other reorganization, or otherwise.

Employees ” has the meaning set forth in the preface.

 

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Exchange Act ” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the SEC promulgated thereunder.

Exempt Employee Transfer ” means a Transfer of Employee Securities (a) pursuant to a Change of Control under Section 3.1 or other transaction approved under Section 2.2, (b) to the Company pursuant to a call option under an option agreement or subscription agreement, (c) upon the death of the holder pursuant to the applicable laws of descent and distribution, (d) if expressly permitted by an Employee’s option agreement or subscription agreement, (e) solely to or among such Employee’s Family Group, (f) incidental to the exercise, conversion or exchange of such securities in accordance with their terms, any combination of shares (including any reverse stock split) or (g) to Blackstone or any of its Affiliates.

Family Group ” means, with respect to any individual, such individual’s spouse and descendants (whether natural or adopted) and any trust, partnership, limited liability company or similar vehicle established and maintained solely for the benefit of (or the sole members or partners of which are) such individual, such individual’s spouse and/or such individual’s descendants.

Fully-Diluted Shares ” means, as of any date of determination, the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding plus, as the case may be, all shares of Common Stock issuable, whether at such time or upon the passage of time or the occurrence of future events, upon the exercise, conversion or exchange of all then-outstanding Common Stock Equivalents.

Holdings ” has the meaning set forth in the preface.

Holdings Securityholders Agreement ” means the Securityholders Agreement among Holdings and its members, as it may be amended from time to time.

Lapse Date ” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.1.

Ownership Percentage ” means, for each Securityholder and with respect to a type and class of Security, the percentage obtained by dividing the number of units or shares of such Security held by such Securityholder by the total number of units or shares of such Security (other than Excluded Securities) outstanding.

Person ” means an individual, a partnership, a joint venture, a corporation, an association, a joint stock company, a limited liability company, a trust, an unincorporated organization or a government or any department or agency or political subdivision thereof.

Proposed Sale ” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.2(a).

Proposed Sale Notice ” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.2(a).

Public Offering ” means a sale of Common Stock to the public in an offering pursuant to an effective registration statement filed with the SEC pursuant to the Securities Act, as then in effect, provided that a Public Offering shall not include an offering made in connection with a business acquisition or combination or an employee benefit plan.

 

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Public Sale ” means a sale of Securities pursuant to a Public Offering or a Rule 144 Sale.

Qualified Public Offering ” means a Public Offering which results in (i) at least 25% of the Company’s or Holdings’ outstanding equity securities on a fully diluted basis having been issued as a result of such Public Offering or (ii) aggregate gross proceeds to Blackstone equal to 50% of the value of Blackstone’s equity interest in Holdings or the Company as of April 2, 2007.

Rule 144 ” means Rule 144 adopted under the Securities Act (or any successor rule or regulation).

Rule 144 Sale ” means a sale of Securities to the public through a broker, dealer or market-maker pursuant to the provisions of Rule 144 adopted under the Securities Act (or any successor rule or regulation).

SEC ” means the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Securities ” means, collectively, the Blackstone Securities and the Employee Securities.

Securityholder ” has the meaning set forth in the preface.

Securities Act ” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended from time to time.

Selling Employee Holder ” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.2(a).

Selling Blackstone Holder ” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.3(a).

Subsidiary ” means any corporation, limited liability company, partnership or other entity with respect to which another specified entity has the power to vote or direct the voting of sufficient securities to elect directors (or comparable authorized persons of such entity) having a majority of the voting power of the board of directors (or comparable governing body) of such entity.

Transfer ” means (in either the noun or the verb form, including with respect to the verb form, all conjugations thereof within their correlative meanings) with respect to any security, the gift, sale, assignment, transfer, pledge, hypothecation or other disposition (whether for or without consideration, whether directly or indirectly, and whether voluntary, involuntary or by operation of law) of such Security or any interest therein.

 

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6.2 Legends .

(a) Securityholders Agreement . Each certificate or instrument evidencing Employee Securities, if any, and each certificate or instrument, if any, issued in exchange for or upon the Transfer of any such Employee Securities (if such securities remain subject to this Agreement after Such Transfer) shall be stamped or otherwise imprinted with a legend (as appropriately completed under the circumstances) in substantially the following form:

“THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE CONSTITUTE EMPLOYEE SECURITIES UNDER A CERTAIN SECURITYHOLDERS AGREEMENT DATED AS OF MAY 28, 2008 AMONG THE ISSUER OF SUCH SECURITIES (THE “COMPANY”) AND CERTAIN OF THE COMPANY’S SECURITYHOLDERS AND, AS SUCH, ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN VOTING PROVISIONS, PURCHASE RIGHTS AND RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSFER SET FORTH IN THE SECURITYHOLDERS AGREEMENT. A COPY OF SUCH SECURITYHOLDERS AGREEMENT WILL BE FURNISHED WITHOUT CHARGE BY THE COMPANY TO THE HOLDER HEREOF UPON WRITTEN REQUEST.”

(b) Restricted Securities . Each instrument or certificate, if any, evidencing Securities and each instrument or certificate, if any, issued in exchange or upon the Transfer of any Securities shall be stamped or otherwise imprinted with a legend substantially in the following form:

“THIS SECURITY HAS NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE “SECURITIES ACT”), AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD UNLESS IT HAS BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OR UNLESS AN EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION IS AVAILABLE (AND, IN SUCH CASE, AN OPINION OF COUNSEL REASONABLY SATISFACTORY TO THE COMPANY SHALL HAVE BEEN DELIVERED TO THE COMPANY TO THE EFFECT THAT SUCH OFFER OR SALE IS NOT REQUIRED TO BE REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT).”

(c) Removal of Legends . Whenever in the opinion of the Company and counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Company (which opinion shall be delivered to the Company in writing) the restrictions described in any legend set forth above cease to be applicable to any Securities, the holder thereof shall be entitled to receive from the Company, without expense to the holder, a new instrument or certificate not bearing a legend stating such restriction.

 

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6.3 Severability . Whenever possible, each provision of this Agreement shall be interpreted in such manner as to be effective and valid under applicable law, but if any provision of this Agreement is held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect under any applicable law or rule in any jurisdiction, such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability shall not affect any other provision or any other jurisdiction, but this Agreement shall be reformed, construed and enforced in such jurisdiction as if such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision had never been contained herein.

6.4 Entire Agreement . Except as otherwise expressly set forth herein, this document embodies the complete agreement and understanding among the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes and preempts any prior understandings, agreements or representations by or among the parties, written or oral, which may have related to the subject matter hereof in any way.

6.5 Successors and Assigns . Except as otherwise provided herein, this Agreement shall bind and inure to the benefit of and be enforceable by the Company and its successors and assigns and the Securityholders and any subsequent holders of Securities and the respective successors and assigns of each of them, so long as they hold Securities.

6.6 Counterparts . This Agreement may be executed in separate counterparts each of which shall be an original and all of which taken together shall constitute one and the same agreement.

6.7 Remedies . The Company and the Securityholders shall be entitled to enforce their rights under this Agreement specifically, to recover damages by reason of any breach of any provision of this Agreement (including costs of enforcement) and to exercise all other rights existing in their favor. The parties hereto agree and acknowledge that money damages may not be an adequate remedy for any breach of the provisions of this Agreement and that the Company or any Securityholder may in its or his sole discretion apply to any court of law or equity of competent jurisdiction for specific performance or injunctive relief (without posting a bond or other security) in order to enforce or prevent any violation of the provisions of this Agreement.

6.8 Notices . Any notice provided for in this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be either personally delivered, or mailed first class mail (postage prepaid) or sent by reputable overnight courier service (charges prepaid) to the Company at the address set forth below and to any other recipient at the address indicated on the Company’s records, or at such address or to the attention of such other person as the recipient party has specified by prior written notice to the sending party. Notices will be deemed to have been given hereunder when sent by facsimile (receipt confirmed) delivered personally, five days after deposit in the U.S. mail and one day after deposit with a reputable overnight courier service. The Company’s address is:

 

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Crunch Holding Corp.

c/o The Blackstone Group

345 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10154

Attention:   Prakash Melwani
Fax:   212-583-5722
with 2 copies to :

Pinnacle Foods Group

Mountain Lakes, NJ 07046

Attention:  

General Counsel (first copy)

Treasurer (second copy)

Fax:   973-541-6693

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

425 Lexington Avenue

New York, New York 10017-3954

Attention:   Gregory T. Grogan, Esq.
Fax:   212-455-2502

6.9 Governing Law . This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to conflicts of laws principles thereof.

6.10 Descriptive Headings . The descriptive headings of this Agreement are inserted for convenience only and do not constitute a part of this Agreement.

[REMAINDER OF PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK]

[SIGNATURE PAGES FOLLOW]

 

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Exhibit 10.2

TERMINATION AGREEMENT

This TERMINATION AGREEMENT (this “ Agreement ”) is dated as of April 3, 2013, by and between Pinnacle Foods Finance LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “ Company ”), and Blackstone Management Partners V L.L.C., a Delaware limited liability company (“ BMP ”).

WHEREAS, the Company and BMP are parties to that certain Amended and Restated Transaction and Advisory Fee Agreement, dated as of December 23, 2009 (the “ TAF Agreement ”); and

WHEREAS, the Company and BMP desire to terminate the TAF Agreement on the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement.

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the agreements set forth herein, the parties hereto agree as follows:

1. Termination . The parties hereby terminate the TAF Agreement as amended and supplemented through the date hereof. The parties hereby acknowledge that the TAF Agreement shall be of no further force or effect, and that all rights and obligations of the parties thereunder are hereby terminated, except as specifically provided in Section 8 of the TAF Agreement.

2. Payment . In consideration of the termination of the TAF Agreement, the Company will pay to BMP the aggregate sum of $15.1 million immediately following the closing of the IPO (as defined below) by wire transfer in same-day funds to the bank account designated by BMP.

3. Miscellaneous .

(a) This Agreement and the TAF Agreement contain the sole and entire agreement between the parties relating to the subject matter hereof and supersede all previous negotiations, commitments, agreements and understandings relating hereto. Nothing in this Agreement, express or implied, is intended to or shall confer upon anyone other than the parties any right, benefit or remedy of any nature whatsoever under or by reason of this Agreement. This Agreement may be modified only in a writing signed by an authorized representative of the parties.

(b) This Agreement shall be governed by, and interpreted in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York. Each party to this Agreement irrevocably agrees that any suit, action or proceeding which may arise out of or in connection with this Agreement shall be brought in the courts of the State of New York in New York County or the courts of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, which shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any disputes arising out of or in connection with this Agreement and for such purpose each Party hereby irrevocably and unconditionally submits to the jurisdiction of such courts.


(c) The provisions of this Agreement will be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their permitted successors and assigns. No party may assign or transfer its rights, interests or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of the other parties.

(d) This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original instrument, but all of which taken together shall constitute one and the same agreement. This Agreement and any counterpart hereof, to the extent signed and delivered by means of a facsimile machine or as a scanned electronic file, shall be treated in all manner and respects as an original agreement, counterpart or instrument and shall be considered to have the same binding legal effect as if it were the original signed version thereof delivered in person.

(e) This Agreement shall become effective upon the closing of the initial public offering and sale of shares of common stock of Pinnacle Foods Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “ IPO ”), and shall be of no force and effect (i) prior to the closing of the IPO and (ii) if the closing of the IPO has not been consummated within ten (10) business days from the date of this Agreement.

[Signature page follows]


I N W ITNESS W HEREOF , the undersigned has caused this to be executed as of the date first above written.

 

PINNACLE FOODS FINANCE, LLC
By:  

/s/ Craig Steeneck

Name:   Craig Steeneck
Title:   Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
BLACKSTONE MANAGEMENT PARTNERS V L.L.C.
By:  

/s/ Prakash Melwani

Name:   Prakash Melwani
Title:   Authorized Person

[SIGNATURE PAGE TO TERMINATION AGREEMENT]

Exhibit 10.3

PINNACLE FOODS INC.

2013 OMNIBUS INCENTIVE PLAN

1. Purpose. The purpose of the Pinnacle Foods Inc. 2013 Omnibus Incentive Plan is to provide a means through which the Company and its Affiliates may attract and retain key personnel and to provide a means whereby directors, officers, employees, consultants and advisors (and prospective directors, officers, employees, consultants and advisors) of the Company and its Affiliates can acquire and maintain an equity interest in the Company, or be paid incentive compensation, including incentive compensation measured by reference to the value of Common Stock, thereby strengthening their commitment to the welfare of the Company and its Affiliates and aligning their interests with those of the Company’s stockholders.

2. Definitions . The following definitions shall be applicable throughout the Plan.

(a) “ Absolute Share Limit ” has the meaning given such term in Section 5(b).

(b) “ Affiliate ” means (i) any person or entity that directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by or is under common control with the Company and/or (ii) to the extent provided by the Committee, any person or entity in which the Company has a significant interest. The term “control” (including, with correlative meaning, the terms “controlled by” and “under common control with”), as applied to any person or entity, means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such person or entity, whether through the ownership of voting or other securities, by contract or otherwise.

(c) “ Award ” means, individually or collectively, any Incentive Stock Option, Nonqualified Stock Option, Stock Appreciation Right, Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Unit, Other Stock-Based Award and Performance Compensation Award granted under the Plan.

(d) “ Board ” means the Board of Directors of the Company.

(e) “ Cause ” means, in the case of a particular Award, unless the applicable Award agreement states otherwise, (i) the Company or an Affiliate having “cause” to terminate a Participant’s employment or service, as defined in any employment or consulting agreement between the Participant and the Company or an Affiliate in effect at the time of such termination or (ii) in the absence of any such employment or consulting agreement (or the absence of any definition of “Cause” contained therein), (A) the Participant has failed to reasonably perform his or her duties to the Service Recipient, or has failed to follow the lawful instructions of the Board or his or her direct superiors, in each case other than as a result of his or her incapacity due to physical or mental illness or injury, that could reasonably be expected to result in harm (whether financially, reputationally or otherwise) to the Company or an Affiliate, (B) the Participant has engaged or is about to engage in conduct harmful (whether financially, reputationally or otherwise) to the Company or an Affiliate, (C) the Participant has been convicted of, or plead guilty or no contest to, a felony or any crime involving as a material element fraud or dishonesty, (D) the willful misconduct or gross neglect of the Participant that


could reasonably be expected to result in harm (whether financially, reputationally or otherwise) to the Company or an Affiliate, (E) the willful violation by the Participant of the Company’s written policies that could reasonably be expected to result in harm (whether financially, reputationally or otherwise) to the Company or an Affiliate; (F) the Participant’s fraud or misappropriation, embezzlement or misuse of funds or property belonging to the Company or an Affiliate (other than good faith expense account disputes); (G) the Participant’s act of personal dishonesty which involves personal profit in connection with the Participant’s employment or service with the Company or an Affiliate, or (H) the willful breach by the Participant of fiduciary duty owed to the Company or an Affiliate.

(f) “ Change in Control ” means:

(i) the acquisition (whether by purchase, merger, consolidation, combination or other similar transaction) by any Person of beneficial ownership (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act) of more than 50% (on a fully diluted basis) of either (A) the then outstanding shares of Common Stock, taking into account as outstanding for this purpose such Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of options or warrants, the conversion of convertible stock or debt, and the exercise of any similar right to acquire such Common Stock (the “ Outstanding Company Common Stock ”) or (B) the combined voting power of the then outstanding voting securities of the Company entitled to vote generally in the election of directors (the “ Outstanding Company Voting Securities ”); provided, however, that for purposes of this Plan, the following acquisitions shall not constitute a Change in Control: (I) any acquisition by the Company or any Affiliate, (II) any acquisition by any employee benefit plan sponsored or maintained by the Company or any Affiliate, or (III) in respect of an Award held by a particular Participant, any acquisition by the Participant or any group of persons including the Participant (or any entity controlled by the Participant or any group of persons including the Participant);

(ii) during any period of twenty-four months, individuals who, at the beginning of such period, constitute the Board (the “ Incumbent Directors ”) cease for any reason to constitute at least a majority of the Board, provided that any person becoming a director subsequent to the date hereof, whose election or nomination for election was approved by a vote of at least two-thirds of the Incumbent Directors then on the Board (either by a specific vote or by approval of the proxy statement of the Company in which such person is named as a nominee for director, without written objection to such nomination) shall be an Incumbent Director; provided, however, that no individual initially elected or nominated as a director of the Company as a result of an actual or threatened election contest, as such terms are used in Rule 14a-12 of Regulation 14A promulgated under the Exchange Act, with respect to directors or as a result of any other actual or threatened solicitation of proxies or consents by or on behalf of any person other than the Board shall be deemed to be an Incumbent Director;

(iii) the sale, transfer or other disposition of all or substantially all of the business or assets of the Company’s Affiliates; or

 

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(iv) the consummation of a reorganization, recapitalization, merger, consolidation, or other similar transaction involving the Company (a “ Business Combination ”), unless immediately following such Business Combination 50% or more of the total voting power of the entity resulting from such Business Combination (or, if applicable, the ultimate parent entity that directly or indirectly has beneficial ownership of sufficient voting securities eligible to elect a majority of the board of directors (or the analogous governing body) of such resulting entity), is held by the holders of the Outstanding Company Voting Securities immediately prior to such Business Combination.

(g) “ Code ” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and any successor thereto. Reference in the Plan to any section of the Code shall be deemed to include any regulations or other interpretative guidance under such section, and any amendments or successor provisions to such section, regulations or guidance.

(h) “ Committee ” means the Compensation Committee of the Board or subcommittee thereof if required with respect to actions taken to comply with Section 162(m) of the Code in respect of Awards or, if no such Compensation Committee or subcommittee thereof exists, the Board.

(i) “ Common Stock ” means the common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company (and any stock or other securities into which such Common Stock may be converted or into which it may be exchanged).

(j) “ Company ” means Pinnacle Foods Inc., a Delaware corporation, and any successor thereto.

(k) “ Date of Grant ” means the date on which the granting of an Award is authorized, or such other date as may be specified in such authorization.

(l) “ Detrimental Activity ” means any of the following: (i) unauthorized disclosure of any confidential or proprietary information of the Company or its Affiliates, (ii) any activity that would be grounds to terminate the Participant’s employment or service with the Company or an Affiliate for Cause, (iii) whether in writing or orally, maligning, denigrating or disparaging the Company, its Affiliates or their respective predecessors and successors, or any of the current or former directors, officers, employees, shareholders, partners, members, agents or representatives of any of the foregoing, with respect to any of their respective past or present activities, or otherwise publishing (whether in writing or orally) statements that tend to portray any of the aforementioned persons or entities in an unfavorable light, or (iv) the breach of any noncompetition, nonsolicitation or other agreement containing restrictive covenants, with the Company or its Affiliates.

(m) “ Designated Foreign Subsidiaries ” means all Affiliates organized under the laws of any jurisdiction or country other than the United States of America that may be designated by the Board or the Committee from time to time.

(n) “ Disability ” means, unless in the case of a particular Award the applicable Award agreement states otherwise, the Company or an Affiliate having cause to terminate a

 

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Participant’s employment or service on account of “disability,” as defined in any then-existing employment, consulting or other similar agreement between the Participant and the Company or an Affiliate or, in the absence of such an employment, consulting or other similar agreement, a condition entitling the Participant to receive benefits under a long-term disability plan of the Company or an Affiliate, or, in the absence of such a plan, the complete and permanent inability by reason of illness or accident to perform the duties of the occupation at which a Participant was employed or served when such disability commenced. Any determination of whether Disability exists shall be made by the Committee in its sole discretion.

(o) “ Effective Date ” means March 11, 2013.

(p) “ Eligible Director ” means a person who is (i) a “non-employee director” within the meaning of Rule 16b-3 under the Exchange Act, (ii) an “outside director” within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Code and (iii) an “independent director” under the rules of the NYSE or any other securities exchange or inter-dealer quotation system on which the Common Stock is listed or quoted, or a person meeting any similar requirement under any successor rule or regulation.

(q) “ Eligible Person ” means any (i) individual employed by the Company or an Affiliate; provided, however , that no such employee covered by a collective bargaining agreement shall be an Eligible Person unless and to the extent that such eligibility is set forth in such collective bargaining agreement or in an agreement or instrument relating thereto; (ii) director or officer of the Company or an Affiliate; (iii) consultant or advisor to the Company or an Affiliate who may be offered securities registrable pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-8 under the Securities Act; or (iv) any prospective employees, directors, officers, consultants or advisors who have accepted offers of employment or consultancy from the Company or its Affiliates (and would satisfy the provisions of clauses (i) through (iii) above once he or she begins employment with or providing services to the Company or its Affiliates), who, in the case of each of clauses (i) through (iv) above has entered into an Award agreement or who has received written notification from the Committee or its designee that they have been selected to participate in the Plan. Solely for purposes of this Section 2(q), “Affiliate” shall be limited to (1) a Subsidiary, (2) any parent corporation of the Company within the meaning of Section 424(e) of the Code (“ Parent ”), (3) any corporation, trade or business 50% or more of the combined voting power of such entity’s outstanding securities is directly or indirectly controlled by the Company or any Subsidiary or Parent, (4) any corporation, trade or business which directly or indirectly controls 50% or more of the combined voting power of the outstanding securities of the Company and (5) any other entity in which the Company or any Subsidiary or Parent has a material equity interest and which is designated as an “Affiliate” by the Committee.

(r) “ Exchange Act ” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and any successor thereto. Reference in the Plan to any section of (or rule promulgated under) the Exchange Act shall be deemed to include any rules, regulations or other interpretative guidance under such section or rule, and any amendments or successor provisions to such section, rules, regulations or guidance.

(s) “ Exercise Price ” has the meaning given such term in Section 7(b) of the Plan.

 

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(t) “ Fair Market Value ” means, on a given date, (i) if the Common Stock is listed on a national securities exchange, the closing sales price of the Common Stock reported on the primary exchange on which the Common Stock is listed and traded on such date, or, if there are no such sales on that date, then on the last preceding date on which such sales were reported; (ii) if the Common Stock is not listed on any national securities exchange but is quoted in an inter-dealer quotation system on a last sale basis, the average between the closing bid price and ask price reported on such date, or, if there is no such sale on that date, then on the last preceding date on which a sale was reported; or (iii) if the Common Stock is not listed on a national securities exchange or quoted in an inter-dealer quotation system on a last sale basis, the amount determined by the Committee in good faith to be the fair market value of the Common Stock; provided , however , as to any Awards granted on the date of the Company’s initial public offering, “Fair Market Value” shall be equal to the per share price the Common Stock is offered to the public in connection with such initial public offering.

(u) “ Immediate Family Members ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 14(b).

(v) “ Incentive Stock Option ” means an Option which is designated by the Committee as an incentive stock option as described in Section 422 of the Code and otherwise meets the requirements set forth in the Plan.

(w) “ Indemnifiable Person ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 4(e) of the Plan.

(x) “ Negative Discretion ” shall mean the discretion authorized by the Plan to be applied by the Committee to eliminate or reduce the size of a Performance Compensation Award consistent with Section 162(m) of the Code.

(y) “ Nonqualified Stock Option ” means an Option which is not designated by the Committee as an Incentive Stock Option.

(z) “ Non-Employee Director ” means a member of the Board who is not an employee of the Company or any Affiliate.

(aa) “ NYSE ” means the New York Stock Exchange.

(bb) “ Option ” means an Award granted under Section 7 of the Plan.

(cc) “ Option Period ” has the meaning given such term in Section 7(c) of the Plan.

(dd) “ Other Stock-Based Award ” means an Award granted under Section 10 of the Plan.

(ee) “ Participant ” means an Eligible Person who has been selected by the Committee to participate in the Plan and to receive an Award pursuant to the Plan.

(ff) “ Performance Compensation Award ” shall mean any Award designated by the Committee as a Performance Compensation Award pursuant to Section 11 of the Plan.

 

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(gg) “ Performance Criteria ” shall mean the criterion or criteria that the Committee shall select for purposes of establishing the Performance Goals for a Performance Period with respect to any Performance Compensation Award under the Plan.

(hh) “ Performance Formula ” shall mean, for a Performance Period, the one or more objective formulae applied against the relevant Performance Goal to determine, with regard to the Performance Compensation Award of a particular Participant, whether all, some portion but less than all, or none of the Performance Compensation Award has been earned for the Performance Period.

(ii) “ Performance Goals ” shall mean, for a Performance Period, the one or more goals established by the Committee for the Performance Period based upon the Performance Criteria.

(jj) “ Performance Period ” shall mean the one or more periods of time of not less than 12 months, as the Committee may select, over which the attainment of one or more Performance Goals will be measured for the purpose of determining a Participant’s right to, and the payment of, a Performance Compensation Award.

(kk) “ Permitted Transferee ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 14(b) of the Plan.

(ll) “ Person ” means any individual, entity or group (within the meaning of Section 13(d)(3) or 14(d)(2) of the Exchange Act.

(mm) “ Plan ” means this Pinnacle Foods Inc. 2013 Omnibus Incentive Plan.

(nn) “ Restricted Period ” means the period of time determined by the Committee during which an Award is subject to restrictions or, as applicable, the period of time within which performance is measured for purposes of determining whether an Award has been earned.

(oo) “ Restricted Stock ” means Common Stock, subject to certain specified restrictions (including, without limitation, a requirement that the Participant remain continuously employed or provide continuous services for a specified period of time), granted under Section 9 of the Plan.

(pp) “ Restricted Stock Unit ” means an unfunded and unsecured promise to deliver shares of Common Stock, cash, other securities or other property, subject to certain restrictions (including, without limitation, a requirement that the Participant remain continuously employed or provide continuous services for a specified period of time), granted under Section 9 of the Plan.

(qq) “ SAR Period ” has the meaning given such term in Section 8(c) of the Plan.

(rr) “ Securities Act ” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and any successor thereto. Reference in the Plan to any section of (or rule promulgated under) the Securities Act shall be deemed to include any rules, regulations or other interpretative guidance under such section or rule, and any amendments or successor provisions to such section, rules, regulations or guidance.

 

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(ss) “ Service Recipient ” means, with respect to a Participant holding a given Award, either the Company or an Affiliate of the Company by which the original recipient of such Award is, or following a Termination was most recently, principally employed or to which such original recipient provides, or following a Termination was most recently providing, services, as applicable.

(tt) “ Stock Appreciation Right ” or “ SAR ” means an Award granted under Section 8 of the Plan.

(uu) “ Strike Price ” has the meaning given such term in Section 8(b) of the Plan.

(vv) “ Subsidiary ” means, with respect to any specified Person:

(i) any corporation, association or other business entity of which more than 50% of the total voting power of shares of such entity’s voting securities (without regard to the occurrence of any contingency and after giving effect to any voting agreement or stockholders’ agreement that effectively transfers voting power) is at the time owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by that Person or one or more of the other Subsidiaries of that Person (or a combination thereof); and

(ii) any partnership (or any comparable foreign entity) (A) the sole general partner (or functional equivalent thereof) or the managing general partner of which is such Person or Subsidiary of such Person or (B) the only general partners (or functional equivalents thereof) of which are that Person or one or more Subsidiaries of that Person (or any combination thereof).

(ww) “ Substitute Award ” has the meaning given such term in Section 5(e).

(xx) “ Sub Plans ” means, any sub-plan to this Plan that has been adopted by the Board or the Committee for the purpose of permitting the offering of Awards to employees of certain Designated Foreign Subsidiaries or otherwise outside the United States of America, with each such sub-plan designed to comply with local laws applicable to offerings in such foreign jurisdictions. Although any Sub Plan may be designated a separate and independent plan from the Plan in order to comply with applicable local laws, the Absolute Share Limit shall apply in the aggregate to the Plan and any Sub Plan adopted hereunder.

(yy) “ Termination ” means the termination of a Participant’s employment or service, as applicable, with the Service Recipient.

3. Effective Date; Duration . The Plan shall be effective as of the Effective Date. The expiration date of the Plan, on and after which date no Awards may be granted hereunder, shall be the tenth anniversary of the Effective Date; provided, however , that such expiration shall not affect Awards then outstanding, and the terms and conditions of the Plan shall continue to apply to such Awards.

 

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4. Administration .

(a) The Committee shall administer the Plan. To the extent required to comply with the provisions of Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act (if the Board is not acting as the Committee under the Plan) or necessary to obtain the exception for performance-based compensation under Section 162(m) of the Code, as applicable, it is intended that each member of the Committee shall, at the time he or she takes any action with respect to an Award under the Plan, be an Eligible Director. However, the fact that a Committee member shall fail to qualify as an Eligible Director shall not invalidate any Award granted by the Committee that is otherwise validly granted under the Plan.

(b) Subject to the provisions of the Plan and applicable law, the Committee shall have the sole and plenary authority, in addition to other express powers and authorizations conferred on the Committee by the Plan, to: (i) designate Participants; (ii) determine the type or types of Awards to be granted to a Participant; (iii) determine the number of shares of Common Stock to be covered by, or with respect to which payments, rights, or other matters are to be calculated in connection with, Awards; (iv) determine the terms and conditions of any Award; (v) determine whether, to what extent, and under what circumstances Awards may be settled or exercised in cash, shares of Common Stock, other securities, other Awards or other property, or canceled, forfeited, or suspended and the method or methods by which Awards may be settled, exercised, canceled, forfeited, or suspended; (vi) determine whether, to what extent, and under what circumstances the delivery of cash, Common Stock, other securities, other Awards or other property and other amounts payable with respect to an Award shall be deferred either automatically or at the election of the Participant or of the Committee; (vii) interpret, administer, reconcile any inconsistency in, correct any defect in and/or supply any omission in the Plan and any instrument or agreement relating to, or Award granted under, the Plan; (viii) establish, amend, suspend, or waive any rules and regulations and appoint such agents as the Committee shall deem appropriate for the proper administration of the Plan; and (ix) make any other determination and take any other action that the Committee deems necessary or desirable for the administration of the Plan.

(c) Except to the extent prohibited by applicable law or the applicable rules and regulations of any securities exchange or inter-dealer quotation system on which the securities of the Company are listed or traded, the Committee may allocate all or any portion of its responsibilities and powers to any one or more of its members and may delegate all or any part of its responsibilities and powers to any person or persons selected by it. Any such allocation or delegation may be revoked by the Committee at any time. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Committee may delegate to one or more officers of the Company or any Subsidiary the authority to act on behalf of the Committee with respect to any matter, right, obligation, or election which is the responsibility of or which is allocated to the Committee herein, and which may be so delegated as a matter of law, except for grants of Awards to persons (i) who are non-employee members of the Board or otherwise are subject to Section 16 of the Exchange Act or (ii) who are, or who are reasonably expected to be, “covered employees” for purposes of Section 162(m) of the Code.

(d) Unless otherwise expressly provided in the Plan, all designations, determinations, interpretations, and other decisions under or with respect to the Plan or any Award or any

 

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documents evidencing Awards granted pursuant to the Plan shall be within the sole discretion of the Committee, may be made at any time and shall be final, conclusive and binding upon all persons or entities, including, without limitation, the Company, any Affiliate, any Participant, any holder or beneficiary of any Award, and any stockholder of the Company.

(e) No member of the Board, the Committee or any employee or agent of the Company (each such person, an “ Indemnifiable Person ”) shall be liable for any action taken or omitted to be taken or any determination made with respect to the Plan or any Award hereunder (unless constituting fraud or a willful criminal act or omission). Each Indemnifiable Person shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Company against and from any loss, cost, liability, or expense (including attorneys’ fees) that may be imposed upon or incurred by such Indemnifiable Person in connection with or resulting from any action, suit or proceeding to which such Indemnifiable Person may be a party or in which such Indemnifiable Person may be involved by reason of any action taken or omitted to be taken or determination made under the Plan or any Award agreement and against and from any and all amounts paid by such Indemnifiable Person with the Company’s approval, in settlement thereof, or paid by such Indemnifiable Person in satisfaction of any judgment in any such action, suit or proceeding against such Indemnifiable Person, and the Company shall advance to such Indemnifiable Person any such expenses promptly upon written request (which request shall include an undertaking by the Indemnifiable Person to repay the amount of such advance if it shall ultimately be determined as provided below that the Indemnifiable Person is not entitled to be indemnified); provided that the Company shall have the right, at its own expense, to assume and defend any such action, suit or proceeding and once the Company gives notice of its intent to assume the defense, the Company shall have sole control over such defense with counsel of the Company’s choice. The foregoing right of indemnification shall not be available to an Indemnifiable Person to the extent that a final judgment or other final adjudication (in either case not subject to further appeal) binding upon such Indemnifiable Person determines that the acts or omissions or determinations of such Indemnifiable Person giving rise to the indemnification claim resulted from such Indemnifiable Person’s fraud or willful criminal act or omission or that such right of indemnification is otherwise prohibited by law or by the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws. The foregoing right of indemnification shall not be exclusive of or otherwise supersede any other rights of indemnification to which such Indemnifiable Persons may be entitled under the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws, as a matter of law, individual indemnification agreement or contract or otherwise, or any other power that the Company may have to indemnify such Indemnifiable Persons or hold them harmless.

(f) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Plan, the Board may, in its sole discretion, at any time and from time to time, grant Awards and administer the Plan with respect to such Awards. Any such actions by the Board shall be subject to the applicable rules of the NYSE or any other securities exchange or inter-dealer quotation system on which the Common Stock is listed or quoted. In any such case, the Board shall have all the authority granted to the Committee under the Plan.

 

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5. Grant of Awards; Shares Subject to the Plan; Limitations .

(a) The Committee may, from time to time, grant Awards to one or more Eligible Persons.

(b) Awards granted under the Plan shall be subject to the following limitations: (i) subject to Section 12 of the Plan, no more than 11,300,000 shares of Common Stock (the “ Absolute Share Limit ”) shall be available for Awards under the Plan; (ii) subject to Section 12 of the Plan, grants of Options or SARs under the Plan in respect of no more than 1,500,000 shares of Common Stock may be made to any individual Participant during any single fiscal year of the Company (for this purpose, if a SAR is granted in tandem with an Option (such that the SAR expires with respect to the number of shares of Common Stock for which the Option is exercised), only the shares underlying the Option shall count against this limitation); (iii) subject to Section 12 of the Plan, no more than the number of shares of Common Stock equal to the Absolute Share Limit may be delivered in the aggregate pursuant to the exercise of Incentive Stock Options granted under the Plan; (iv) subject to Section 12 of the Plan, no more than 500,000 shares of Common Stock may be delivered in respect of Performance Compensation Awards denominated in shares of Common Stock granted pursuant to Section 11 of the Plan to any individual Participant for a single fiscal year during a Performance Period (or with respect to each single fiscal year in the event a Performance Period extends beyond a single fiscal year), or in the event such share denominated Performance Compensation Award is paid in cash, other securities, other Awards or other property, no more than the Fair Market Value of such shares of Common Stock on the last day of the Performance Period to which such Award relates; (v) other than Awards made in connection with the initial public offering and described in the prospectus for such initial public offering, the maximum number of shares of Common Stock subject to Awards granted during a single fiscal year to any non-employee director, taken together with any cash fees paid to such non-employee director during the fiscal year, shall not exceed $500,000 in total value (calculating the value of any such Awards based on the grant date fair value of such Awards for financial reporting purposes and excluding, for this purpose, the value of any dividend equivalent payments paid pursuant to any Award granted in a previous fiscal year; and (vi) the maximum amount that can be paid to any individual Participant for a single fiscal year during a Performance Period (or with respect to each single fiscal year in the event a Performance Period extends beyond a single fiscal year) pursuant to a Performance Compensation Award denominated in cash (described in Section 11(a) of the Plan) shall be $5,000,000.

(c) Other than with respect to Substitute Awards, to the extent that an Award expires or is canceled, forfeited, terminated, settled in cash, or otherwise is settled without a delivery to the Participant of the full number of shares of Common Stock to which the Award related, the undelivered shares will again be available for grant. Shares of Common Stock withheld in payment of the exercise price or taxes relating to an Award and shares equal to the number of shares surrendered in payment of any Exercise Price or Strike Price, or taxes relating to an Award, shall be deemed to constitute shares not delivered to the Participant and shall be deemed to again be available for Awards under the Plan; provided, however , that such shares shall not become available for issuance hereunder if either (i) the applicable shares are withheld or surrendered following the termination of the Plan or (ii) at the time the applicable shares are withheld or surrendered, it would constitute a material revision of the Plan subject to stockholder approval under any then-applicable rules of the national securities exchange on which the Common Stock is listed.

 

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(d) Shares of Common Stock delivered by the Company in settlement of Awards may be authorized and unissued shares, shares held in the treasury of the Company, shares purchased on the open market or by private purchase or a combination of the foregoing.

(e) Awards may, in the sole discretion of the Committee, be granted under the Plan in assumption of, or in substitution for, outstanding awards previously granted by an entity directly or indirectly acquired by the Company or with which the Company combines (“ Substitute Awards ”). Substitute Awards shall not be counted against the Absolute Share Limit; provided , that Substitute Awards issued in connection with the assumption of, or in substitution for, outstanding options intended to qualify as “incentive stock options” within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code shall be counted against the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock available for Awards of Incentive Stock Options under the Plan. Subject to applicable stock exchange requirements, available shares under a stockholder approved plan of an entity directly or indirectly acquired by the Company or with which the Company combines (as appropriately adjusted to reflect the acquisition or combination transaction) may be used for Awards under the Plan and shall not reduce the number of shares of Common Stock available for delivery under the Plan.

6. Eligibility . Participation in the Plan shall be limited to Eligible Persons.

7. Options .

(a) General . Each Option granted under the Plan shall be evidenced by an Award agreement, in written or electronic form, which agreement need not be the same for each Participant. Each Option so granted shall be subject to the conditions set forth in this Section 7, and to such other conditions not inconsistent with the Plan as may be reflected in the applicable Award agreement. All Options granted under the Plan shall be Nonqualified Stock Options unless the applicable Award agreement expressly states that the Option is intended to be an Incentive Stock Option. Incentive Stock Options shall be granted only to Eligible Persons who are employees of the Company and its Affiliates, and no Incentive Stock Option shall be granted to any Eligible Person who is ineligible to receive an Incentive Stock Option under the Code. No Option shall be treated as an Incentive Stock Option unless the Plan has been approved by the stockholders of the Company in a manner intended to comply with the stockholder approval requirements of Section 422(b)(1) of the Code, provided that any Option intended to be an Incentive Stock Option shall not fail to be effective solely on account of a failure to obtain such approval, but rather such Option shall be treated as a Nonqualified Stock Option unless and until such approval is obtained. In the case of an Incentive Stock Option, the terms and conditions of such grant shall be subject to and comply with such rules as may be prescribed by Section 422 of the Code. If for any reason an Option intended to be an Incentive Stock Option (or any portion thereof) shall not qualify as an Incentive Stock Option, then, to the extent of such nonqualification, such Option or portion thereof shall be regarded as a Nonqualified Stock Option appropriately granted under the Plan.

 

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(b) Exercise Price . Except as otherwise provided by the Committee in the case of Substitute Awards, the exercise price (“ Exercise Price ”) per share of Common Stock for each Option shall not be less than 100% of the Fair Market Value of such share (determined as of the Date of Grant); provided, however , that in the case of an Incentive Stock Option granted to an employee who, at the time of the grant of such Option, owns stock representing more than 10% of the voting power of all classes of stock of the Company or any Affiliate, the Exercise Price per share shall be no less than 110% of the Fair Market Value per share on the Date of Grant.

(c) Vesting and Expiration .

(i) Options shall vest and become exercisable in such manner and on such date or dates determined by the Committee and shall expire after such period, not to exceed ten years, as may be determined by the Committee (the “ Option Period ”); provided , that if the Option Period (other than in the case of an Incentive Stock Option) would expire at a time when trading in the shares of Common Stock is prohibited by the Company’s insider trading policy (or Company-imposed “blackout period”), the Option Period shall be automatically extended until the 30 th day following the expiration of such prohibition; provided, however , that in no event shall the Option Period exceed five years from the Date of Grant in the case of an Incentive Stock Option granted to a Participant who on the Date of Grant owns stock representing more than 10% of the voting power of all classes of stock of the Company or any Affiliate.

(ii) Unless otherwise provided by the Committee, in the event of (A) a Participant’s Termination other than for Cause or (B) a Participant’s Termination due to death or Disability, in each case within 12 months following a Change in Control, each outstanding Option granted to such Participant shall become fully vested and immediately exercisable as of the date of such Termination; provided , that in the event the vesting or exercisability of any Option would otherwise be subject to the achievement of performance conditions, the portion of any such Option that shall become fully vested and immediately exercisable shall be based on (x) actual performance through the date of termination as determined by the Committee, or (y) if the Committee determines that measurement of actual performance cannot be reasonably assessed, the assumed achievement of target performance as determined by the Committee, in each case prorated based on the time elapsed from the date of grant to the date of Termination.

(iii) Unless otherwise provided by the Committee, in the event of (A) a Participant’s Termination by the Company for Cause, all outstanding Options granted to such Participant shall immediately terminate and expire, (B) a Participant’s Termination due to death or Disability, after taking into account any accelerated vesting under the preceding clause (ii), each outstanding unvested Option granted to such Participant shall immediately terminate and expire, and each outstanding vested Option shall remain exercisable for one (1) year thereafter (but in no event beyond the expiration of the Option Period) and (C) a Participant’s Termination for any other reason, after taking into account any accelerated vesting under the preceding clause (ii), each outstanding unvested Option granted to such Participant shall immediately terminate and expire, and each outstanding vested Option shall remain exercisable for ninety (90) days thereafter (but in no event beyond the expiration of the Option Period).

 

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(d) Method of Exercise and Form of Payment . No shares of Common Stock shall be delivered pursuant to any exercise of an Option until payment in full of the Exercise Price therefor is received by the Company and the Participant has paid to the Company an amount equal to any Federal, state, local and non-U.S. income and employment taxes required to be withheld. Options which have become exercisable may be exercised by delivery of written or electronic notice of exercise to the Company (or telephonic instructions to the extent provided by the Committee) in accordance with the terms of the Option accompanied by payment of the Exercise Price. The Exercise Price shall be payable (i) in cash, check, cash equivalent and/or shares of Common Stock valued at the Fair Market Value at the time the Option is exercised (including, pursuant to procedures approved by the Committee, by means of attestation of ownership of a sufficient number of shares of Common Stock in lieu of actual delivery of such shares to the Company); provided , that such shares of Common Stock are not subject to any pledge or other security interest; or (ii) by such other method as the Committee may permit in its sole discretion, including without limitation: (A) in other property having a fair market value on the date of exercise equal to the Exercise Price or (B) if there is a public market for the shares of Common Stock at such time, by means of a broker-assisted “cashless exercise” pursuant to which the Company is delivered (including telephonically to the extent permitted by the Committee) a copy of irrevocable instructions to a stockbroker to sell the shares of Common Stock otherwise deliverable upon the exercise of the Option and to deliver promptly to the Company an amount equal to the Exercise Price or (C) a “net exercise” procedure effected by withholding the minimum number of shares of Common Stock otherwise deliverable in respect of an Option that are needed to pay the Exercise Price and all applicable required withholding taxes. Any fractional shares of Common Stock shall be settled in cash.

(e) Notification upon Disqualifying Disposition of an Incentive Stock Option . Each Participant awarded an Incentive Stock Option under the Plan shall notify the Company in writing immediately after the date he or she makes a disqualifying disposition of any Common Stock acquired pursuant to the exercise of such Incentive Stock Option. A disqualifying disposition is any disposition (including, without limitation, any sale) of such Common Stock before the later of (A) two years after the Date of Grant of the Incentive Stock Option or (B) one year after the date of exercise of the Incentive Stock Option. The Company may, if determined by the Committee and in accordance with procedures established by the Committee, retain possession, as agent for the applicable Participant, of any Common Stock acquired pursuant to the exercise of an Incentive Stock Option until the end of the period described in the preceding sentence, subject to complying with any instructions from such Participant as to the sale of such Common Stock.

(f) Compliance With Laws, etc . Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event shall a Participant be permitted to exercise an Option in a manner which the Committee determines would violate the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or any other applicable law or the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission or the applicable rules and regulations of any securities exchange or inter-dealer quotation system on which the securities of the Company are listed or traded.

 

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8. Stock Appreciation Rights .

(a) General . Each SAR granted under the Plan shall be evidenced by an Award agreement. Each SAR so granted shall be subject to the conditions set forth in this Section 8, and to such other conditions not inconsistent with the Plan as may be reflected in the applicable Award agreement. Any Option granted under the Plan may include tandem SARs. The Committee also may award SARs to Eligible Persons independent of any Option.

(b) Strike Price . Except as otherwise provided by the Committee in the case of Substitute Awards, the strike price (“ Strike Price ”) per share of Common Stock for each SAR shall not be less than 100% of the Fair Market Value of such share (determined as of the Date of Grant). Notwithstanding the foregoing, a SAR granted in tandem with (or in substitution for) an Option previously granted shall have a Strike Price equal to the Exercise Price of the corresponding Option.

(c) Vesting and Expiration .

(i) A SAR granted in connection with an Option shall become exercisable and shall expire according to the same vesting schedule and expiration provisions as the corresponding Option. A SAR granted independent of an Option shall vest and become exercisable and shall expire in such manner and on such date or dates determined by the Committee and shall expire after such period, not to exceed ten years, as may be determined by the Committee (the “ SAR Period ”); provided , that if the SAR Period would expire at a time when trading in the shares of Common Stock is prohibited by the Company’s insider trading policy (or Company-imposed “blackout period”), the SAR Period shall be automatically extended until the 30th day following the expiration of such prohibition.

(ii) Unless otherwise provided by the Committee, in the event of (A) a Participant’s Termination other than for Cause or (B) a Participant’s Termination due to death or Disability, in each case within 12 months following a Change in Control, each outstanding SAR granted to such Participant shall become fully vested and immediately exercisable as of the date of such Termination; provided , that in the event the vesting or exercisability of any SAR would otherwise be subject to the achievement of performance conditions, the portion of any such SAR that shall become fully vested and immediately exercisable shall be based on (x) actual performance through the date of termination as determined by the Committee, or (y) if the Committee determines that measurement of actual performance cannot be reasonably assessed, the assumed achievement of target performance as determined by the Committee, in each case prorated based on the time elapsed from the date of grant to the date of Termination.

(iii) Unless otherwise provided by the Committee, in the event of (A) a Participant’s Termination by the Company for Cause, all outstanding SARs granted to such Participant shall immediately terminate and expire, (B) a Participant’s Termination due to death or Disability, after taking into account any accelerated vesting under the preceding clause (ii), each outstanding unvested SAR granted to such Participant shall immediately terminate and expire, and each outstanding vested SAR shall remain

 

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exercisable for one (1) year thereafter (but in no event beyond the expiration of the SAR Period) and (C) a Participant’s Termination for any other reason, after taking into account any accelerated vesting under the preceding clause (ii), each outstanding unvested SAR granted to such Participant shall immediately terminate and expire, and each outstanding vested SAR shall remain exercisable for ninety (90) days thereafter (but in no event beyond the expiration of the SAR Period).

(d) Method of Exercise . SARs which have become exercisable may be exercised by delivery of written or electronic notice of exercise to the Company in accordance with the terms of the Award, specifying the number of SARs to be exercised and the date on which such SARs were awarded.

(e) Payment . Upon the exercise of a SAR, the Company shall pay to the Participant an amount equal to the number of shares subject to the SAR that are being exercised multiplied by the excess, if any, of the Fair Market Value of one share of Common Stock on the exercise date over the Strike Price, less an amount equal to any Federal, state, local and non-U.S. income and employment taxes required to be withheld. The Company shall pay such amount in cash, in shares of Common Stock valued at Fair Market Value, or any combination thereof, as determined by the Committee. Any fractional shares of Common Stock shall be settled in cash.

(f) Substitution of SARs for Nonqualified Stock Options . The Committee shall have the authority in its sole discretion to substitute, without the consent of the affected Participant or any holder or beneficiary of SARs, SARs settled in shares of Common Stock (or settled in shares or cash in the sole discretion of the Committee) for outstanding Nonqualified Stock Options, provided that (i) the substitution shall not otherwise result in a modification of the terms of any such Nonqualified Stock Option, (ii) the number of shares of Common Stock underlying the substituted SARs shall be the same as the number of shares of Common Stock underlying such Nonqualified Stock Options and (iii) the Strike Price of the substituted SARs shall be equal to the Exercise Price of such Nonqualified Stock Options; provided, however , that if, in the opinion of the Company’s independent public auditors, the foregoing provision creates adverse accounting consequences for the Company, such provision shall be considered null and void.

9. Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units .

(a) General . Each grant of Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units shall be evidenced by an Award agreement. Each Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Unit grant shall be subject to the conditions set forth in this Section 9, and to such other conditions not inconsistent with the Plan as may be reflected in the applicable Award agreement.

(b) Stock Certificates and Book Entry; Escrow or Similar Arrangement . Upon the grant of Restricted Stock, the Committee shall cause a stock certificate registered in the name of the Participant to be issued or shall cause share(s) of Common Stock to be registered in the name of the Participant and held in book-entry form subject to the Company’s directions and, if the Committee determines that the Restricted Stock shall be held by the Company or in escrow rather than delivered to the Participant pending the release of the applicable restrictions, the Committee may require the Participant to additionally execute and deliver to the Company (i)

 

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an escrow agreement satisfactory to the Committee, if applicable, and (ii) the appropriate stock power (endorsed in blank) with respect to the Restricted Stock covered by such agreement. If a Participant shall fail to execute and deliver (in a manner permitted under Section 14(a) or as otherwise determined by the Committee) an agreement evidencing an Award of Restricted Stock and, if applicable, an escrow agreement and blank stock power within the amount of time specified by the Committee, the Award shall be null and void. Subject to the restrictions set forth in this Section 9 and the applicable Award agreement, the Participant generally shall have the rights and privileges of a stockholder as to such Restricted Stock, including without limitation the right to vote such Restricted Stock ( provided that if the lapsing of restrictions with respect to any grant of Restricted Stock is contingent on satisfaction of performance conditions (other than or in addition to the passage of time), any dividends payable on such shares of Restricted Stock shall be held by the Company and delivered (without interest) to the Participant within 15 days following the date on which the restrictions on such Restricted Stock lapse (and the right to any such accumulated dividends shall be forfeited upon the forfeiture of the Restricted Stock to which such dividends relate). To the extent shares of Restricted Stock are forfeited, any stock certificates issued to the Participant evidencing such shares shall be returned to the Company, and all rights of the Participant to such shares and as a stockholder with respect thereto shall terminate without further obligation on the part of the Company.

(c) Vesting; Acceleration of Lapse of Restrictions .

(i) The Restricted Period with respect to Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units shall lapse in such manner and on such date or dates determined by the Committee, and the Committee shall determine the treatment of the unvested portion of Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units upon termination of employment or service of the Participant granted the applicable Award.

(ii) Unless otherwise provided by the Committee, in the event of (A) a Participant’s Termination by the Company other than for Cause, or (B) a Participant’s Termination due to death or Disability, in each case within 12 months following a Change in Control, outstanding Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units granted to such Participant shall become fully vested and the restrictions thereon shall immediately lapse as of the date of such Termination; provided , that in the event the vesting or lapse of restrictions of any Restricted Stock or Restricted Stock Units would otherwise be subject to the achievement of performance conditions, the portion of any such Restricted Stock or Restricted Stock Units that shall become fully vested and free from such restrictions shall be based on (x) actual performance through the date of termination as determined by the Committee, or (y) if the Committee determines that measurement of actual performance cannot be reasonably assessed, the assumed achievement of target performance as determined by the Committee, in each case prorated based on the time elapsed from the date of grant to the date of Termination.

(d) Delivery of Restricted Stock and Settlement of Restricted Stock Units .

(i) Upon the expiration of the Restricted Period with respect to any shares of Restricted Stock, the restrictions set forth in the applicable Award agreement shall be of no further force or effect with respect to such shares, except as set forth in the applicable

 

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Award agreement. If an escrow arrangement is used, upon such expiration, the Company shall deliver to the Participant, or his or her beneficiary, without charge, the stock certificate (or, if applicable, a notice evidencing a book entry notation) evidencing the shares of Restricted Stock which have not then been forfeited and with respect to which the Restricted Period has expired (rounded down to the nearest full share). Dividends, if any, that may have been withheld by the Committee and attributable to any particular share of Restricted Stock shall be distributed to the Participant in cash or, at the sole discretion of the Committee, in shares of Common Stock having a Fair Market Value (on the date of distribution) equal to the amount of such dividends, upon the release of restrictions on such share and, if such share is forfeited, the Participant shall have no right to such dividends.

(ii) Unless otherwise provided by the Committee in an Award agreement, upon the expiration of the Restricted Period with respect to any outstanding Restricted Stock Units, the Company shall deliver to the Participant, or his or her beneficiary, without charge, one share of Common Stock (or other securities or other property, as applicable) for each such outstanding Restricted Stock Unit; provided, however , that the Committee may, in its sole discretion, elect to (i) pay cash or part cash and part Common Stock in lieu of delivering only shares of Common Stock in respect of such Restricted Stock Units or (ii) defer the delivery of Common Stock (or cash or part Common Stock and part cash, as the case may be) beyond the expiration of the Restricted Period if such extension would not cause adverse tax consequences under Section 409A of the Code. If a cash payment is made in lieu of delivering shares of Common Stock, the amount of such payment shall be equal to the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock as of the date on which the Restricted Period lapsed with respect to such Restricted Stock Units. To the extent provided in an Award agreement, the holder of outstanding Restricted Stock Units shall be entitled to be credited with dividend equivalent payments (upon the payment by the Company of dividends on shares of Common Stock) either in cash or, at the sole discretion of the Committee, in shares of Common Stock having a Fair Market Value equal to the amount of such dividends (and interest may, at the sole discretion of the Committee, be credited on the amount of cash dividend equivalents at a rate and subject to such terms as determined by the Committee), which accumulated dividend equivalents (and interest thereon, if applicable) shall be payable at the same time as the underlying Restricted Stock Units are settled following the release of restrictions on such Restricted Stock Units, and, if such Restricted Stock Units are forfeited, the Participant shall have no right to such dividend equivalent payments.

(e) Legends on Restricted Stock . Each certificate representing Restricted Stock awarded under the Plan, if any, shall bear a legend substantially in the form of the following, in addition to any other information the Company deems appropriate, until the lapse of all restrictions with respect to such Common Stock:

TRANSFER OF THIS CERTIFICATE AND THE SHARES REPRESENTED HEREBY IS RESTRICTED PURSUANT TO THE TERMS OF THE PINNACLE FOODS INC. 2013 OMNIBUS INCENTIVE PLAN AND A RESTRICTED STOCK AWARD AGREEMENT, BETWEEN PINNACLE FOODS INC. AND PARTICIPANT. A COPY OF SUCH PLAN AND AWARD AGREEMENT IS ON FILE AT THE PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICES OF PINNACLE FOODS INC.

 

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10. Other Stock-Based Awards .

(a) The Committee may issue unrestricted Common Stock, rights to receive grants of Awards at a future date, or other Awards denominated in Common Stock (including, without limitation, performance shares or performance units), under the Plan to Eligible Persons, alone or in tandem with other Awards, in such amounts as the Committee shall from time to time in its sole discretion determine. Each Other Stock-Based Award granted under the Plan shall be evidenced by an Award agreement. Each Other Stock-Based Award so granted shall be subject to such conditions not inconsistent with the Plan as may be reflected in the applicable Award agreement.

(b) Unless otherwise provided by the Committee, in the event of (A) a Participant’s Termination by the Company other than for Cause, or (B) a Participant’s Termination due to death or Disability, in each case within 12 months following a Change in Control, outstanding Other Stock-Based Awards granted to such Participant shall become fully vested and the restrictions thereon shall immediately lapse as of the date of such Termination; provided , that in the event the vesting or lapse of restrictions of any Other Stock-Based Awards would otherwise be subject to the achievement of performance conditions, the portion of any such Other Stock-Based Awards that shall become fully vested and free from such restrictions shall be based on (x) actual performance through the date of termination as determined by the Committee, or (y) if the Committee determines that measurement of actual performance cannot be reasonably assessed, the assumed achievement of target performance as determined by the Committee, in each case prorated based on the time elapsed from the date of grant to the date of Termination.

11. Performance Compensation Awards .

(a) General . The Committee shall have the authority, at or before the time of grant of any Award, to designate such Award as a Performance Compensation Award intended to qualify as “performance-based compensation” under Section 162(m) of the Code. The Committee shall also have the authority to make an award of a cash bonus to any Participant and designate such Award as a Performance Compensation Award intended to qualify as “performance-based compensation” under Section 162(m) of the Code. Notwithstanding anything in the Plan to the contrary, if the Company determines that a Participant who has been granted an Award designated as a Performance Compensation Award is not (or is no longer) a “covered employee” (within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Code), the terms and conditions of such Award may be modified without regard to any restrictions or limitations set forth in this Section 11 (but subject otherwise to the provisions of Section 13 of the Plan).

(b) Discretion of Committee with Respect to Performance Compensation Awards . With regard to a particular Performance Period, the Committee shall have sole discretion to select the length of such Performance Period, the type(s) of Performance Compensation Awards to be issued, the Performance Criteria that will be used to establish the Performance Goal(s), the kind(s) and/or level(s) of the Performance Goals(s) that is (are) to apply and the Performance Formula. Within the first 90 days of a Performance Period (or, within any other maximum

 

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period allowed under Section 162(m) of the Code), the Committee shall, with regard to the Performance Compensation Awards to be issued for such Performance Period, exercise its discretion with respect to each of the matters enumerated in the immediately preceding sentence and record the same in writing.

(c) Performance Criteria . The Performance Criteria that will be used to establish the Performance Goal(s) may be based on the attainment of specific levels of performance of the Company (and/or one or more Affiliates, divisions or operational and/or business units, product lines, brands, business segments, administrative departments, or any combination of the foregoing) and shall be limited to the following: (i) net earnings or net income (before or after taxes); (ii) basic or diluted earnings per share (before or after taxes); (iii) net revenue or net revenue growth; (iv) gross revenue or gross revenue growth, gross profit or gross profit growth; (v) net operating profit (before or after taxes); (vi) return measures (including, but not limited to, return on investment, assets, capital, employed capital, invested capital, equity, or sales); (vii) cash flow measures (including, but not limited to, operating cash flow, free cash flow, and cash flow return on capital), which may but are not required to be measured on a per share basis; (viii) earnings before or after taxes, interest, depreciation and/or amortization (including EBIT and EBITDA); (ix) gross or net operating margins; (x) productivity ratios; (xi) share price (including, but not limited to, growth measures and total stockholder return); (xii) expense targets or cost reduction goals, general and administrative expense savings; (xiii) operating efficiency; (xiv) objective measures of customer satisfaction; (xv) working capital targets; (xvi) measures of economic value added or other ‘value creation’ metrics; (xvii) inventory control; (xviii) enterprise value; (xix) sales; (xx) stockholder return; (xxi) client retention; (xxii) competitive market metrics; (xxiii) employee retention; (xxiv) timely completion of new product rollouts; (xxv) timely launch of new facilities; (xxvi) measurements related to a new purchasing “co-op”; (xxvii) objective measures of personal targets, goals or completion of projects (including but not limited to succession and hiring projects, completion of specific acquisitions, reorganizations or other corporate transactions or capital-raising transactions, expansions of specific business operations and meeting divisional or project budgets); (xxviii) system-wide revenues; (xxix) royalty income; (xxx) comparisons of continuing operations to other operations; (xxxi) market share; (xxxii) cost of capital, debt leverage year-end cash position or book value; (xxxiii) strategic objectives, development of new product lines and related revenue, sales and margin targets, franchisee growth and retention, menu design and growth, co-branding or international operations; or (xxxiv) any combination of the foregoing. Any one or more of the Performance Criteria may be stated as a percentage of another Performance Criteria, or used on an absolute or relative basis to measure the performance of the Company and/or one or more Affiliates as a whole or any divisions or operational and/or business units, product lines, brands, business segments, administrative departments of the Company and/or one or more Affiliates or any combination thereof, as the Committee may deem appropriate, or any of the above Performance Criteria may be compared to the performance of a selected group of comparison companies, or a published or special index that the Committee, in its sole discretion, deems appropriate, or as compared to various stock market indices. The Committee also has the authority to provide for accelerated vesting of any Award based on the achievement of Performance Goals pursuant to the Performance Criteria specified in this paragraph. To the extent required under Section 162(m) of the Code, the Committee shall, within the first 90 days of a Performance Period (or, within any other maximum period allowed under Section 162(m) of the Code), define in an objective fashion the manner of calculating the Performance Criteria it selects to use for such Performance Period.

 

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(d) Modification of Performance Goal(s) . In the event that applicable tax and/or securities laws change to permit Committee discretion to alter the governing Performance Criteria without obtaining stockholder approval of such alterations, the Committee shall have sole discretion to make such alterations without obtaining stockholder approval. Unless otherwise determined by the Committee at the time a Performance Compensation Award is granted, the Committee shall, during the first 90 days of a Performance Period (or, within any other maximum period allowed under Section 162(m) of the Code), or at any time thereafter to the extent the exercise of such authority at such time would not cause the Performance Compensation Awards granted to any Participant for such Performance Period to fail to qualify as “performance-based compensation” under Section 162(m) of the Code, specify adjustments or modifications to be made to the calculation of a Performance Goal for such Performance Period, based on and in order to appropriately reflect the following events: (i) asset write-downs; (ii) litigation or claim judgments or settlements; (iii) the effect of changes in tax laws, accounting principles, or other laws or regulatory rules affecting reported results; (iv) any reorganization and restructuring programs; (v) extraordinary nonrecurring items as described in Accounting Standards Codification Topic 225-20 (or any successor pronouncement thereto) and/or in management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations appearing in the Company’s annual report to stockholders for the applicable year; (vi) acquisitions or divestitures; (vii) any other specific, unusual or nonrecurring events, or objectively determinable category thereof; (viii) foreign exchange gains and losses; (ix) discontinued operations and nonrecurring charges; and (x) a change in the Company’s fiscal year.

(e) Payment of Performance Compensation Awards .

(i) Condition to Receipt of Payment . Unless otherwise provided in the applicable Award agreement, a Participant must be employed by the Company on the last day of a Performance Period to be eligible for payment in respect of a Performance Compensation Award for such Performance Period.

(ii) Limitation . Unless otherwise provided in the applicable Award agreement, a Participant shall be eligible to receive payment in respect of a Performance Compensation Award only to the extent that: (A) the Performance Goals for such period are achieved; and (B) all or some of the portion of such Participant’s Performance Compensation Award has been earned for the Performance Period based on the application of the Performance Formula to such achieved Performance Goals; provided, however , that in the event of (x) a Participant’s Termination by the Company other than for Cause, or (y) a Participant’s Termination due to death or Disability, in each case within 12 months following a Change in Control, the Participant shall receive payment in respect of a Performance Compensation Award based on (1) actual performance through the date of Termination as determined by the Committee, or (2) if the Committee determines that measurement of actual performance cannot be reasonably assessed, the assumed achievement of target performance as determined by the Committee (but not to the extent that application of this clause (2) would cause Section 162(m) of the Code to

 

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result in the loss of the deduction of the compensation payable in respect of such Performance Compensation Award for any Participant reasonably expected to be a “covered employee” within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Code), in each case prorated based on the time elapsed from the date of grant to the date of termination of employment or service.

(iii) Certification . Following the completion of a Performance Period, the Committee shall review and certify in writing whether, and to what extent, the Performance Goals for the Performance Period have been achieved and, if so, calculate and certify in writing that amount of the Performance Compensation Awards earned for the period based upon the Performance Formula. The Committee shall then determine the amount of each Participant’s Performance Compensation Award actually payable for the Performance Period and, in so doing, may apply Negative Discretion.

(iv) Use of Negative Discretion . In determining the actual amount of an individual Participant’s Performance Compensation Award for a Performance Period, the Committee may reduce or eliminate the amount of the Performance Compensation Award earned under the Performance Formula in the Performance Period through the use of Negative Discretion. Unless otherwise provided in the applicable Award agreement, the Committee shall not have the discretion to (A) grant or provide payment in respect of Performance Compensation Awards for a Performance Period if the Performance Goals for such Performance Period have not been attained; or (B) increase a Performance Compensation Award above the applicable limitations set forth in Section 5 of the Plan.

(f) Timing of Award Payments . Unless otherwise provided in the applicable Award agreement, Performance Compensation Awards granted for a Performance Period shall be paid to Participants as soon as administratively practicable following completion of the certifications required by this Section 11. Any Performance Compensation Award that has been deferred shall not (between the date as of which the Award is deferred and the payment date) increase (i) with respect to a Performance Compensation Award that is payable in cash, by a measuring factor for each fiscal year greater than a reasonable rate of interest set by the Committee or (ii) with respect to a Performance Compensation Award that is payable in shares of Common Stock, by an amount greater than the appreciation of a share of Common Stock from the date such Award is deferred to the payment date. Any Performance Compensation Award that is deferred and is otherwise payable in shares of Common Stock shall be credited (during the period between the date as of which the Award is deferred and the payment date) with dividend equivalents (in a manner consistent with the methodology set forth in the last sentence of Section 9(d)(ii)).

12. Changes in Capital Structure and Similar Events . In the event of (a) any dividend (other than regular cash dividends) or other distribution (whether in the form of cash, shares of Common Stock, other securities or other property), recapitalization, stock split, reverse stock split, reorganization, merger, consolidation, split-up, split-off, spin-off, combination, repurchase or exchange of shares of Common Stock or other securities of the Company, issuance of warrants or other rights to acquire shares of Common Stock or other securities of the Company, or other similar corporate transaction or event (including, without limitation, a Change in Control) that affects the shares of Common Stock, or (b) unusual or nonrecurring

 

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events (including, without limitation, a Change in Control) affecting the Company, any Affiliate, or the financial statements of the Company or any Affiliate, or changes in applicable rules, rulings, regulations or other requirements of any governmental body or securities exchange or inter-dealer quotation system, accounting principles or law, such that in either case an adjustment is determined by the Committee in its sole discretion to be necessary or appropriate, then the Committee shall make any such adjustments in such manner as it may deem equitable, including without limitation, any or all of the following:

(i) adjusting any or all of (A) the Absolute Share Limit, or any other limit applicable under the Plan with respect to the number of Awards which may be granted hereunder, (B) the number of shares of Common Stock or other securities of the Company (or number and kind of other securities or other property) which may be delivered in respect of Awards or with respect to which Awards may be granted under the Plan (including, without limitation, adjusting any or all of the limitations under Section 5 of the Plan) and (C) the terms of any outstanding Award, including, without limitation, (1) the number of shares of Common Stock or other securities of the Company (or number and kind of other securities or other property) subject to outstanding Awards or to which outstanding Awards relate, (2) the Exercise Price or Strike Price with respect to any Award or (3) any applicable performance measures (including, without limitation, Performance Criteria and Performance Goals);

(ii) providing for a substitution or assumption of Awards (or awards of an acquiring company), accelerating the exercisability of, lapse of restrictions on, or termination of, Awards or providing for a period of time (which shall not be required to be more than ten (10) days) for Participants to exercise outstanding Awards prior to the occurrence of such event (and any such Award not so exercised shall terminate upon the occurrence of such event); and

(iii) cancelling any one or more outstanding Awards and causing to be paid to the holders holding vested Awards (including any Awards that would vest as a result of the occurrence of such event but for such cancellation) the value of such Awards, if any, as determined by the Committee (which if applicable may be based upon the price per share of Common Stock received or to be received by other stockholders of the Company in such event), including without limitation, in the case of an outstanding Option or SAR, a cash payment in an amount equal to the excess, if any, of the Fair Market Value (as of a date specified by the Committee) of the shares of Common Stock subject to such Option or SAR over the aggregate Exercise Price or Strike Price of such Option or SAR, respectively (it being understood that, in such event, any Option or SAR having a per share Exercise Price or Strike Price equal to, or in excess of, the Fair Market Value of a share of Common Stock subject thereto may be canceled and terminated without any payment or consideration therefor);

provided, however , that in the case of any “equity restructuring” (within the meaning of the Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification Topic 718 (or any successor pronouncement thereto)), the Committee shall make an equitable or proportionate adjustment to outstanding Awards to reflect such equity restructuring. Any adjustment in Incentive Stock Options under this Section 12 (other than any cancellation of Incentive Stock

 

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Options) shall be made only to the extent not constituting a “modification” within the meaning of Section 424(h)(3) of the Code, and any adjustments under this Section 12 shall be made in a manner which does not adversely affect the exemption provided pursuant to Rule 16b-3 under the Exchange Act. Any such adjustment shall be conclusive and binding for all purposes. Payments to holders pursuant to clause (iii) above shall be made in cash or, in the sole discretion of the Committee, in the form of such other consideration necessary for a Participant to receive property, cash, or securities (or combination thereof) as such Participant would have been entitled to receive upon the occurrence of the transaction if the Participant had been, immediately prior to such transaction, the holder of the number of shares of Common Stock covered by the Award at such time (less any applicable Exercise Price or Strike Price). In addition, prior to any payment or adjustment contemplated under this Section 12, the Committee may require a Participant to (A) represent and warrant as to the unencumbered title to his Awards, (B) bear such Participant’s pro rata share of any post-closing indemnity obligations, and be subject to the same post-closing purchase price adjustments, escrow terms, offset rights, holdback terms, and similar conditions as the other holders of Stock, and (C) deliver customary transfer documentation as reasonably determined by the Committee.

13. Amendments and Termination .

(a) Amendment and Termination of the Plan . The Board may amend, alter, suspend, discontinue, or terminate the Plan or any portion thereof at any time; provided , that no such amendment, alteration, suspension, discontinuation or termination shall be made without stockholder approval if (i) such approval is necessary to comply with any regulatory requirement applicable to the Plan (including, without limitation, as necessary to comply with any rules or regulations of any securities exchange or inter-dealer quotation system on which the securities of the Company may be listed or quoted) or for changes in GAAP to new accounting standards, (ii) it would materially increase the number of securities which may be issued under the Plan (except for increases pursuant to Section 5 or 12), or (iii) it would materially modify the requirements for participation in the Plan; provided, further , that any such amendment, alteration, suspension, discontinuance or termination that would materially and adversely affect the rights of any Participant or any holder or beneficiary of any Award theretofore granted shall not to that extent be effective without the consent of the affected Participant, holder or beneficiary. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no amendment shall be made to the last proviso of Section 13(b) without stockholder approval.

(b) Amendment of Award Agreements . The Committee may, to the extent consistent with the terms of any applicable Award agreement, waive any conditions or rights under, amend any terms of, or alter, suspend, discontinue, cancel or terminate, any Award theretofore granted or the associated Award agreement, prospectively or retroactively (including after a Participant’s termination of employment or service with the Company); provided that any such waiver, amendment, alteration, suspension, discontinuance, cancellation or termination that would materially and adversely affect the rights of any Participant with respect to any Award theretofore granted shall not to that extent be effective without the consent of the affected Participant; provided, further , that without stockholder approval, except as otherwise permitted under Section 12 of the Plan, (i) no amendment or modification may reduce the Exercise Price of any Option or the Strike Price of any SAR, (ii) the Committee may not cancel any outstanding Option or SAR and replace it with a new Option or SAR (with a lower Exercise

 

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Price or Strike Price, as the case may be) or other Award or cash payment that is greater than the value of the cancelled Option or SAR, and (iii) the Committee may not take any other action which is considered a “repricing” for purposes of the stockholder approval rules of any securities exchange or inter-dealer quotation system on which the securities of the Company are listed or quoted.

14. General .

(a) Award Agreements . Each Award under the Plan shall be evidenced by an Award agreement, which shall be delivered to the Participant and shall specify the terms and conditions of the Award and any rules applicable thereto, including without limitation, the effect on such Award of the death, Disability or termination of employment or service of a Participant, or of such other events as may be determined by the Committee. For purposes of the Plan, an Award agreement may be in any such form (written or electronic) as determined by the Committee (including, without limitation, a Board or Committee resolution, an employment agreement, a notice, a certificate or a letter) evidencing the Award. The Committee need not require an Award agreement to be signed by the Participant or a duly authorized representative of the Company.

(b) Nontransferability . (i) Each Award shall be exercisable only by a Participant during the Participant’s lifetime, or, if permissible under applicable law, by the Participant’s legal guardian or representative. No Award may be assigned, alienated, pledged, attached, sold or otherwise transferred or encumbered by a Participant other than by will or by the laws of descent and distribution and any such purported assignment, alienation, pledge, attachment, sale, transfer or encumbrance shall be void and unenforceable against the Company or an Affiliate; provided that the designation of a beneficiary shall not constitute an assignment, alienation, pledge, attachment, sale, transfer or encumbrance.

(ii) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, permit Awards (other than Incentive Stock Options) to be transferred by a Participant, without consideration, subject to such rules as the Committee may adopt consistent with any applicable Award agreement to preserve the purposes of the Plan, to: (A) any person who is a “family member” of the Participant, as such term is used in the instructions to Form S-8 under the Securities Act or any successor form of registration statement promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (collectively, the “ Immediate Family Members ”); (B) a trust solely for the benefit of the Participant and his or her Immediate Family Members; (C) a partnership or limited liability company whose only partners or stockholders are the Participant and his or her Immediate Family Members; or (D) a beneficiary to whom donations are eligible to be treated as “charitable contributions” for federal income tax purposes;

(each transferee described in clauses (A), (B), (C) and (D) above is hereinafter referred to as a “ Permitted Transferee ”); provided that the Participant gives the Committee advance written notice describing the terms and conditions of the proposed transfer and the Committee notifies the Participant in writing that such a transfer would comply with the requirements of the Plan.

 

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(iii) The terms of any Award transferred in accordance with the immediately preceding sentence shall apply to the Permitted Transferee and any reference in the Plan, or in any applicable Award agreement, to a Participant shall be deemed to refer to the Permitted Transferee, except that (A) Permitted Transferees shall not be entitled to transfer any Award, other than by will or the laws of descent and distribution; (B) Permitted Transferees shall not be entitled to exercise any transferred Option unless there shall be in effect a registration statement on an appropriate form covering the shares of Common Stock to be acquired pursuant to the exercise of such Option if the Committee determines, consistent with any applicable Award agreement, that such a registration statement is necessary or appropriate; (C) the Committee or the Company shall not be required to provide any notice to a Permitted Transferee, whether or not such notice is or would otherwise have been required to be given to the Participant under the Plan or otherwise; and (D) the consequences of the termination of the Participant’s employment by, or services to, the Company or an Affiliate under the terms of the Plan and the applicable Award agreement shall continue to be applied with respect to the Participant, including, without limitation, that an Option shall be exercisable by the Permitted Transferee only to the extent, and for the periods, specified in the Plan and the applicable Award agreement.

(c) Dividends and Dividend Equivalents . The Committee in its sole discretion may provide a Participant as part of an Award with dividends or dividend equivalents, payable in cash, shares of Common Stock, other securities, other Awards or other property, on a current or deferred basis, on such terms and conditions as may be determined by the Committee in its sole discretion, including without limitation, payment directly to the Participant, withholding of such amounts by the Company subject to vesting of the Award or reinvestment in additional shares of Common Stock, Restricted Stock or other Awards; provided , that no dividends or dividend equivalents shall be payable in respect of outstanding (i) Options or SARs or (ii) unearned Performance Compensation Awards or other unearned Awards subject to performance conditions (other than or in addition to the passage of time) (although dividends and dividend equivalents may be accumulated in respect of unearned Awards and paid within 15 days after such Awards are earned and become payable or distributable).

(d) Tax Withholding .

(i) A Participant shall be required to pay to the Company or any Affiliate, and the Company or any Affiliate shall have the right and is hereby authorized to withhold, from any cash, shares of Common Stock, other securities or other property deliverable under any Award or from any compensation or other amounts owing to a Participant, the amount (in cash, Common Stock, other securities or other property) of any required withholding taxes in respect of an Award, its exercise, or any payment or transfer under an Award or under the Plan and to take such other action as may be necessary in the opinion of the Committee or the Company to satisfy all obligations for the payment of such withholding and taxes.

(ii) Without limiting the generality of clause (i) above, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, permit a Participant to satisfy, in whole or in part, the foregoing withholding liability by (A) the delivery of shares of Common Stock (which are not

 

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subject to any pledge or other security interest) owned by the Participant having a Fair Market Value equal to such withholding liability or (B) having the Company withhold from the number of shares of Common Stock otherwise issuable or deliverable pursuant to the exercise or settlement of the Award a number of shares with a Fair Market Value equal to such withholding liability, provided that with respect to shares withheld pursuant to clause (B), the number of such shares may not have a Fair Market Value greater than the minimum required statutory withholding liability.

(e) No Claim to Awards; No Rights to Continued Employment; Waiver . No employee of the Company or an Affiliate, or other person, shall have any claim or right to be granted an Award under the Plan or, having been selected for the grant of an Award, to be selected for a grant of any other Award. There is no obligation for uniformity of treatment of Participants or holders or beneficiaries of Awards. The terms and conditions of Awards and the Committee’s determinations and interpretations with respect thereto need not be the same with respect to each Participant and may be made selectively among Participants, whether or not such Participants are similarly situated. Neither the Plan nor any action taken hereunder shall be construed as giving any Participant any right to be retained in the employ or service of the Company or an Affiliate, nor shall it be construed as giving any Participant any rights to continued service on the Board. The Company or any of its Affiliates may at any time dismiss a Participant from employment or discontinue any consulting relationship, free from any liability or any claim under the Plan, unless otherwise expressly provided in the Plan or any Award agreement. By accepting an Award under the Plan, a Participant shall thereby be deemed to have waived any claim to continued exercise or vesting of an Award or to damages or severance entitlement related to non-continuation of the Award beyond the period provided under the Plan or any Award agreement, except to the extent of any provision to the contrary in any written employment contract or other agreement between the Company and its Affiliates and the Participant, whether any such agreement is executed before, on or after the Date of Grant.

(f) International Participants . With respect to Participants who reside or work outside of the United States of America and who are not (and who are not expect to be) “covered employees” within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Code, the Committee may in its sole discretion amend the terms of the Plan or Sub-Plans or outstanding Awards with respect to such Participants in order to conform such terms with the requirements of local law or to obtain more favorable tax or other treatment for a Participant, the Company or its Affiliates.

(g) Designation and Change of Beneficiary . Each Participant may file with the Committee a written designation of one or more persons as the beneficiary(ies) who shall be entitled to receive the amounts payable with respect to an Award, if any, due under the Plan upon his or her death. A Participant may, from time to time, revoke or change his or her beneficiary designation without the consent of any prior beneficiary by filing a new designation with the Committee. The last such designation received by the Committee shall be controlling; provided, however , that no designation, or change or revocation thereof, shall be effective unless received by the Committee prior to the Participant’s death, and in no event shall it be effective as of a date prior to such receipt. If no beneficiary designation is filed by a Participant, the beneficiary shall be deemed to be his or her spouse or, if the Participant is unmarried at the time of death, his or her estate.

 

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(h) Termination . Except as otherwise provided in an Award agreement, unless determined otherwise by the Committee at any point following such event: (i) neither a temporary absence from employment or service due to illness, vacation or leave of absence (including, without limitation, a call to active duty for military service through a Reserve or National Guard unit) nor a transfer from employment or service with one Service Recipient to employment or service with another Service recipient (or vice-versa) shall be considered a Termination; and (ii) if a Participant’s undergoes a Termination of employment, but such Participant continues to provide services to the Company and its Affiliates in a non-employee capacity, such change in status shall not be considered a Termination for purposes of the Plan. Further, unless otherwise determined by the Committee, in the event that any Service Recipient ceases to be an Affiliate of the Company (by reason of sale, divestiture, spin-off, or other similar transaction), unless a Participant’s employment or service is transferred to another entity that would constitute a Service Recipient immediately following such transaction, such Participant shall be deemed to have suffered a Termination hereunder as of the date of the consummation of such transaction.

(i) No Rights as a Stockholder . Except as otherwise specifically provided in the Plan or any Award agreement, no person shall be entitled to the privileges of ownership in respect of shares of Common Stock which are subject to Awards hereunder until such shares have been issued or delivered to that person.

(j) Government and Other Regulations .

(i) The obligation of the Company to settle Awards in Common Stock or other consideration shall be subject to all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, and to such approvals by governmental agencies as may be required. Notwithstanding any terms or conditions of any Award to the contrary, the Company shall be under no obligation to offer to sell or to sell, and shall be prohibited from offering to sell or selling, any shares of Common Stock pursuant to an Award unless such shares have been properly registered for sale pursuant to the Securities Act with the Securities and Exchange Commission or unless the Company has received an opinion of counsel, satisfactory to the Company, that such shares may be offered or sold without such registration pursuant to an available exemption therefrom and the terms and conditions of such exemption have been fully complied with. The Company shall be under no obligation to register for sale under the Securities Act any of the shares of Common Stock to be offered or sold under the Plan. The Committee shall have the authority to provide that all shares of Common Stock or other securities of the Company or any Affiliate delivered under the Plan shall be subject to such stop transfer orders and other restrictions as the Committee may deem advisable under the Plan, the applicable Award agreement, the Federal securities laws, or the rules, regulations and other requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission, any securities exchange or inter- dealer quotation system on which the securities of the Company are listed or quoted and any other applicable Federal, state, local or non-U.S. laws, rules, regulations and other requirements, and, without limiting the generality of Section 9 of the Plan, the Committee may cause a legend or legends to be put on certificates representing shares of Common Stock or other securities of the Company or any Affiliate delivered under the Plan to make appropriate reference to such restrictions or may cause such Common Stock or

 

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other securities of the Company or any Affiliate delivered under the Plan in book-entry form to be held subject to the Company’s instructions or subject to appropriate stop-transfer orders. Notwithstanding any provision in the Plan to the contrary, the Committee reserves the right to add any additional terms or provisions to any Award granted under the Plan that it in its sole discretion deems necessary or advisable in order that such Award complies with the legal requirements of any governmental entity to whose jurisdiction the Award is subject.

(ii) The Committee may cancel an Award or any portion thereof if it determines, in its sole discretion, that legal or contractual restrictions and/or blockage and/or other market considerations would make the Company’s acquisition of shares of Common Stock from the public markets, the Company’s issuance of Common Stock to the Participant, the Participant’s acquisition of Common Stock from the Company and/or the Participant’s sale of Common Stock to the public markets, illegal, impracticable or inadvisable. If the Committee determines to cancel all or any portion of an Award in accordance with the foregoing, the Company shall pay to the Participant an amount equal to the excess of (A) the aggregate Fair Market Value of the shares of Common Stock subject to such Award or portion thereof canceled (determined as of the applicable exercise date, or the date that the shares would have been vested or delivered, as applicable), over (B) the aggregate Exercise Price or Strike Price (in the case of an Option or SAR, respectively) or any amount payable as a condition of delivery of shares of Common Stock (in the case of any other Award). Such amount shall be delivered to the Participant as soon as practicable following the cancellation of such Award or portion thereof.

(k) No Section 83(b) Elections Without Consent of Company . No election under Section 83(b) of the Code or under a similar provision of law may be made unless expressly permitted by the terms of the applicable Award agreement or by action of the Committee in writing prior to the making of such election. If a Participant, in connection with the acquisition of shares of Common Stock under the Plan or otherwise, is expressly permitted to make such election and the Participant makes the election, the Participant shall notify the Company of such election within ten days of filing notice of the election with the Internal Revenue Service or other governmental authority, in addition to any filing and notification required pursuant to Section 83(b) of the Code or other applicable provision.

(l) Payments to Persons Other Than Participants . If the Committee shall find that any person to whom any amount is payable under the Plan is unable to care for his or her affairs because of illness or accident, or is a minor, or has died, then any payment due to such person or his or her estate (unless a prior claim therefor has been made by a duly appointed legal representative) may, if the Committee so directs the Company, be paid to his or her spouse, child, relative, an institution maintaining or having custody of such person, or any other person deemed by the Committee to be a proper recipient on behalf of such person otherwise entitled to payment. Any such payment shall be a complete discharge of the liability of the Committee and the Company therefor.

(m) Nonexclusivity of the Plan . Neither the adoption of this Plan by the Board nor the submission of this Plan to the stockholders of the Company for approval shall be construed as

 

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creating any limitations on the power of the Board to adopt such other incentive arrangements as it may deem desirable, including, without limitation, the granting of stock options otherwise than under this Plan, and such arrangements may be either applicable generally or only in specific cases.

(n) No Trust or Fund Created . Neither the Plan nor any Award shall create or be construed to create a trust or separate fund of any kind or a fiduciary relationship between the Company or any Affiliate, on the one hand, and a Participant or other person or entity, on the other hand. No provision of the Plan or any Award shall require the Company, for the purpose of satisfying any obligations under the Plan, to purchase assets or place any assets in a trust or other entity to which contributions are made or otherwise to segregate any assets, nor shall the Company maintain separate bank accounts, books, records or other evidence of the existence of a segregated or separately maintained or administered fund for such purposes. Participants shall have no rights under the Plan other than as unsecured general creditors of the Company, except that insofar as they may have become entitled to payment of additional compensation by performance of services, they shall have the same rights as other employees under general law.

(o) Reliance on Reports . Each member of the Committee and each member of the Board shall be fully justified in acting or failing to act, as the case may be, and shall not be liable for having so acted or failed to act in good faith, in reliance upon any report made by the independent public accountant of the Company and its Affiliates and/or any other information furnished in connection with the Plan by any agent of the Company or the Committee or the Board, other than himself.

(p) Relationship to Other Benefits . No payment under the Plan shall be taken into account in determining any benefits under any pension, retirement, profit sharing, group insurance or other benefit plan of the Company except as otherwise specifically provided in such other plan.

(q) Governing Law . The Plan shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of Delaware applicable to contracts made and performed wholly within the State of Delaware, without giving effect to the conflict of laws provisions thereof.

(r) Severability . If any provision of the Plan or any Award or Award agreement is or becomes or is deemed to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable in any jurisdiction or as to any person or entity or Award, or would disqualify the Plan or any Award under any law deemed applicable by the Committee, such provision shall be construed or deemed amended to conform to the applicable laws, or if it cannot be construed or deemed amended without, in the determination of the Committee, materially altering the intent of the Plan or the Award, such provision shall be construed or deemed stricken as to such jurisdiction, person or entity or Award and the remainder of the Plan and any such Award shall remain in full force and effect.

(s) Obligations Binding on Successors . The obligations of the Company under the Plan shall be binding upon any successor corporation or organization resulting from the merger, consolidation or other reorganization of the Company, or upon any successor corporation or organization succeeding to substantially all of the assets and business of the Company.

 

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(t) 409A of the Code .

(i) Notwithstanding any provision of the Plan to the contrary, it is intended that the provisions of this Plan comply with Section 409A of the Code, and all provisions of this Plan shall be construed and interpreted in a manner consistent with the requirements for avoiding taxes or penalties under Section 409A of the Code. Each Participant is solely responsible and liable for the satisfaction of all taxes and penalties that may be imposed on or in respect of such Participant in connection with this Plan or any other plan maintained by the Company (including any taxes and penalties under Section 409A of the Code), and neither the Company nor any Affiliate shall have any obligation to indemnify or otherwise hold such Participant (or any beneficiary) harmless from any or all of such taxes or penalties. With respect to any Award that is considered “deferred compensation” subject to Section 409A of the Code, references in the Plan to “termination of employment” (and substantially similar phrases) shall mean “separation from service” within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code. For purposes of Section 409A of the Code, each of the payments that may be made in respect of any Award granted under the Plan is designated as separate payments.

(ii) Notwithstanding anything in the Plan to the contrary, if a Participant is a “specified employee” within the meaning of Section 409A(a)(2)(B)(i) of the Code, no payments in respect of any Awards that are “deferred compensation” subject to Section 409A of the Code and which would otherwise be payable upon the Participant’s “separation from service” (as defined in Section 409A of the Code) shall be made to such Participant prior to the date that is six months after the date of such Participant’s “separation from service” or, if earlier, the Participant’s date of death. Following any applicable six month delay, all such delayed payments will be paid in a single lump sum on the earliest date permitted under Section 409A of the Code that is also a business day.

(iii) Unless otherwise provided by the Committee, in the event that the timing of payments in respect of any Award (that would otherwise be considered “deferred compensation” subject to Section 409A of the Code) would be accelerated upon the occurrence of (A) a Change in Control, no such acceleration shall be permitted unless the event giving rise to the Change in Control satisfies the definition of a change in the ownership or effective control of a corporation, or a change in the ownership of a substantial portion of the assets of a corporation pursuant to Section 409A of the Code and any Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder or (B) a Disability, no such acceleration shall be permitted unless the Disability also satisfies the definition of “Disability” pursuant to Section 409A of the Code and any Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder.

(u) Clawback/Forfeiture . Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, an Award agreement may provide that the Committee may in its sole discretion cancel such Award if the Participant, without the consent of the Company, while employed by or providing services to the Company or any Affiliate or after termination of such employment or service, violates a non-competition, non-solicitation or non-disclosure covenant or agreement or otherwise has engaged in or engages in Detrimental Activity that is in conflict with or adverse to the interest of the Company or any Affiliate, including fraud or conduct contributing to any

 

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financial restatements or irregularities, as determined by the Committee in its sole discretion. The Committee may also provide in an Award agreement that if the Participant otherwise has engaged in or engages in any activity referred to in the preceding sentence, the Participant will forfeit any gain realized on the vesting or exercise of such Award, and must repay the gain to the Company. The Committee may also provide in an Award agreement that if the Participant receives any amount in excess of what the Participant should have received under the terms of the Award for any reason (including without limitation by reason of a financial restatement, mistake in calculations or other administrative error), then the Participant shall be required to repay any such excess amount to the Company. Without limiting the foregoing, all Awards shall be subject to reduction, cancellation, forfeiture or recoupment to the extent necessary to comply with applicable law.

(v) Expenses; Gender; Titles and Headings . The expenses of administering the Plan shall be borne by the Company and its Affiliates. Masculine pronouns and other words of masculine gender shall refer to both men and women. The titles and headings of the sections in the Plan are for convenience of reference only, and in the event of any conflict, the text of the Plan, rather than such titles or headings shall control.

 

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