UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM 8-K

 

 

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)

OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): April 15, 2014

 

 

Crown Castle International Corp.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

 

 

 

Delaware   001-16441   76-0470458

(State or Other Jurisdiction

of Incorporation)

 

(Commission

File Number)

 

(IRS Employer

Identification Number)

1220 Augusta Drive

Suite 600

Houston, TX 77057

(Address of Principal Executive Office)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (713) 570-3000

 

 

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

On April 15, 2014, Crown Castle International Corp. (“Company”) closed its previously announced public offering of $850 million principal amount of the Company’s 4.875% Senior Notes due 2022 (“2022 Notes”). The 2022 Notes were issued pursuant to an indenture dated as of April 15, 2014 (“Base Indenture”), between the Company and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as trustee (“Trustee”), as supplemented by the first supplemental indenture dated as of April 15, 2014 (“Supplemental Indenture” and, together with the Base Indenture, “Indenture”), between the Company and the Trustee. The Company used a portion of the net proceeds received from the issuance of the 2022 Notes to repay in full the $300,000,000 aggregate principal amount of Senior Secured Tower Revenue Notes, Series 2010-1, Class C-2015, together with the related prepayment premiums, fees and expenses. The Company intends to use the remaining net proceeds, together with cash on hand, to redeem all of the then outstanding 7.125% Senior Notes due 2019, pursuant to the previously announced redemption, on May 2, 2014. The Company is filing the Base Indenture and the Supplemental Indenture as Exhibits 4.1 and 4.2, respectively, to this report. By filing this report, the Company is causing these exhibits to be incorporated by reference herein and into the registration statement on Form S-3 filed on April 3, 2012 (File No. 333-180526).

The 2022 Notes are senior unsecured obligations of the Company, which rank equally with all existing and future senior indebtedness and senior to all future subordinated indebtedness of the Company. The 2022 Notes will be structurally subordinated to all existing and future liabilities and obligations of each subsidiary of the Company. The 2022 Notes will bear interest at a rate of 4.875% per annum, payable semi-annually on April 15 and October 15 of each year, beginning on October 15, 2014, to persons who are registered holders of the 2022 Notes on the immediately preceding April 1 and October 1, respectively.

The Indenture limits the ability of the Company and its restricted subsidiaries to make restricted payments, incur indebtedness, issue preferred stock, incur liens, create dividend restrictions and other payment restrictions that affect the Company’s subsidiaries, sell assets, enter into transactions with affiliates, enter into sale and leaseback transactions, issue guarantees of indebtedness and engage in certain business activities, in each case subject to certain qualifications set forth in the Indenture.

In the event of a Change of Control (as defined in the Indenture), holders of the 2022 Notes will have the right to require the Company to repurchase all or any part of the 2022 Notes at a purchase price equal to 101% of the principal amount of such 2022 Notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to the date of such repurchase.

The 2022 Notes will mature on April 15, 2022. However, the Company, at its option, may redeem the 2022 Notes in whole or in part at any time by paying 100% of the principal amount of the 2022 Notes, together with accrued and unpaid interest, if any, plus a “make-whole” premium. In addition, on or before April 15, 2017 and subject to certain conditions, the Company may, at its option, redeem up to 35% of the 2022 Notes at the redemption price set forth in the Indenture with the proceeds of certain equity offerings by the Company.

The above description of the Indenture does not purport to be a complete statement of the parties’ rights and obligations under the Indenture and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the terms of the Base Indenture and the Supplemental Indenture attached hereto as Exhibits 4.1 and 4.2, respectively.

ITEM 2.03 — CREATION OF A DIRECT FINANCIAL OBLIGATION OR AN OBLIGATION UNDER AN OFF-BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENT OF A REGISTRANT

The information in Item 1.01 is incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 9.01 — FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS

 

(d) Exhibits

 

Exhibit
No.

  

Description

4.1    Indenture dated April 15, 2014, between Crown Castle International Corp. and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as trustee
4.2    First Supplemental Indenture dated April 15, 2014, between Crown Castle International Corp. and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as trustee
5.1    Opinion of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, relating to the 2022 Notes (including the consent required with respect thereto)


SIGNATURES

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

 

CROWN CASTLE INTERNATIONAL CORP.
By:  

/s/ E. Blake Hawk

Name:   E. Blake Hawk
Title:  

Executive Vice President

and General Counsel

Date: April 15, 2014


EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit
No.

  

Description

4.1    Indenture dated April 15, 2014, between Crown Castle International Corp. and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as trustee
4.2    First Supplemental Indenture dated April 15, 2014, between Crown Castle International Corp. and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as trustee
5.1    Opinion of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, relating to the 2022 Notes (including the consent required with respect thereto)

Exhibit 4.1

EXECUTION VERSION

CROWN CASTLE INTERNATIONAL CORP.

as Issuer

and

THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A.

as Trustee

INDENTURE

Dated as of April 15, 2014


 

 

Table Showing Reflection in Indenture of Certain Provisions

of Trust Indenture Act of 1939,

as amended by the Trust Indenture Reform Act of 1990*

 

 

Reflected in Indenture

 

 

Trust Indenture Act Section

  

Indenture Section

310 (a) (1)

   7.10

(a) (2)

   7.10

(a) (3)

   N.A.

(a) (4)

   N.A.

(a) (5)

   7.10

(b)

   7.10

(c)

   N.A.

311 (a)

   7.11

(b)

   7.11

(c)

   N.A.

312 (a)

   2.06

(b)

   10.03

(c)

   10.03

313 (a)

   7.06

(b) (1)

   N.A.

(b) (2)

   7.06

(c)

   7.06; 10.02

(d)

   7.06

314 (a)

   4.02; 4.03; 10.02(b)

(b)

   N.A.

(c) (1)

   10.04

(c) (2)

   10.04

(c) (3)

   N.A.

(d)

   N.A.

(e)

   10.05

(f)

   N.A.

315 (a)

   7.01

(b)

   7.05; 10.02

(c)

   7.01

(d)

   7.01

(e)

   6.11

316 (a)

   2.09

(a) (1)(A)

   6.05

(a) (1)(B)

   6.04

(a) (2)

   N.A.

(b)

   6.07

(c)

   2.13

317 (a) (1)

   6.08

(a) (2)

   6.09

 

i


Trust Indenture Act Section

  

Indenture Section

(b)

   2.05

318 (a)

   10.01

(b)

   N.A.

(c)

   10.01

 

N.A. means not applicable.

 

* This Cross Reference Table is not part of the Indenture.

 

ii


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

          Page  
ARTICLE I   
Definitions And Incorporation By Reference   

SECTION 1.01.

  

Definitions

     1   

SECTION 1.02.

  

Other Definitions

     5   

SECTION 1.03.

  

Incorporation by Reference of Trust Indenture Act

     5   

SECTION 1.04.

  

Rules of Construction

     5   
ARTICLE II   
The Securities   

SECTION 2.01.

  

Issuable in Series

     6   

SECTION 2.02.

  

Establishment of Terms of Series of Securities

     6   

SECTION 2.03.

  

Execution and Authentication

     9   

SECTION 2.04.

  

Registrar and Paying Agent

     10   

SECTION 2.05.

  

Paying Agent to Hold Money in Trust

     11   

SECTION 2.06.

  

Holder Lists

     11   

SECTION 2.07.

  

Transfer and Exchange

     12   

SECTION 2.08.

  

Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost and Stolen Securities

     12   

SECTION 2.09.

  

Outstanding Securities

     13   

SECTION 2.10.

  

Treasury Securities

     13   

SECTION 2.11.

  

Temporary Securities

     13   

SECTION 2.12.

  

Cancellation

     14   

SECTION 2.13.

  

Defaulted Interest

     14   

SECTION 2.14.

  

Global Securities

     14   

SECTION 2.15.

  

CUSIP Numbers

     15   
ARTICLE III   
Redemption   

SECTION 3.01.

  

Notices to Trustee

     16   

SECTION 3.02.

  

Selection of Securities To Be Redeemed

     16   

SECTION 3.03.

  

Notice of Redemption

     16   

SECTION 3.04.

  

Effect of Notice of Redemption

     17   

SECTION 3.05.

  

Deposit of Redemption Price

     17   

SECTION 3.06.

  

Securities Redeemed in Part 

     18   

 

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ARTICLE IV   
Covenants   

SECTION 4.01.

  

Payment of Securities

     18   

SECTION 4.02.

  

SEC Reports

     18   

SECTION 4.03.

  

Compliance Certificate

     19   

SECTION 4.04.

  

Further Instruments and Acts

     19   
ARTICLE V   
Successor Companies   

SECTION 5.01.

  

Merger and Consolidation

     19   
ARTICLE VI   
Defaults And Remedies   

SECTION 6.01.

  

Events of Default

     20   

SECTION 6.02.

  

Acceleration

     21   

SECTION 6.03.

  

Other Remedies

     22   

SECTION 6.04.

  

Waiver of Past Defaults

     22   

SECTION 6.05.

  

Control by Majority

     22   

SECTION 6.06.

  

Limitation on Suits

     23   

SECTION 6.07.

  

Rights of Holders to Receive Payment

     23   

SECTION 6.08.

  

Collection Suit by Trustee

     23   

SECTION 6.09.

  

Trustee May File Proofs of Claim

     24   

SECTION 6.10.

  

Priorities

     24   

SECTION 6.11.

  

Undertaking for Costs

     24   

SECTION 6.12.

  

Waiver of Stay or Extension Laws

     25   
ARTICLE VII   
Trustee   

SECTION 7.01.

  

Duties of Trustee

     25   

SECTION 7.02.

  

Rights of Trustee

     26   

SECTION 7.03.

  

Individual Rights of Trustee

     27   

SECTION 7.04.

  

Trustee’s Disclaimer

     28   

SECTION 7.05.

  

Notice of Defaults

     28   

SECTION 7.06.

  

Reports by Trustee to Holder

     28   

SECTION 7.07.

  

Compensation and Indemnity

     28   

SECTION 7.08.

  

Replacement of Trustee

     29   

SECTION 7.09.

  

Successor Trustee by Merger

     30   

SECTION 7.10.

  

Eligibility; Disqualification

     30   

SECTION 7.11.

  

Preferential Collection of Claims Against the Issuer

     30   

 

iv


ARTICLE VIII   
Legal Defeasance And Covenant Defeasance   

SECTION 8.01.

  

Option to Effect Legal Defeasance or Covenant Defeasance

     31   

SECTION 8.02.

  

Legal Defeasance and Discharge

     31   

SECTION 8.03.

  

Covenant Defeasance

     32   

SECTION 8.04.

  

Conditions to Legal or Covenant Defeasance

     32   

SECTION 8.05.

  

Deposited Money and Government Securities to be Held in Trust; Other Miscellaneous Provisions

     34   

SECTION 8.06.

  

Repayment to the Issuer

     34   

SECTION 8.07.

  

Reinstatement

     35   
ARTICLE IX   
Amendments   

SECTION 9.01.

  

Without Consent of Holders

     35   

SECTION 9.02.

  

With Consent of Holders

     37   

SECTION 9.03.

  

Compliance with Trust Indenture Act

     38   

SECTION 9.04.

  

Revocation and Effect of Consents and Waivers

     38   

SECTION 9.05.

  

Notation on or Exchange of Securities

     38   

SECTION 9.06.

  

Trustee To Sign Amendments

     38   

SECTION 9.07.

  

Payment for Consent

     39   
ARTICLE X   
Miscellaneous   

SECTION 10.01.

  

Trust Indenture Act Controls

     39   

SECTION 10.02.

  

Notices

     39   

SECTION 10.03.

  

Communication by Holders with Other Holders

     40   

SECTION 10.04.

  

Certificate and Opinion as to Conditions Precedent

     40   

SECTION 10.05.

  

Statements Required in Certificate or Opinion

     40   

SECTION 10.06.

  

When Securities Disregarded

     41   

SECTION 10.07.

  

Rules by Trustee, Paying Agent and Registrar

     41   

SECTION 10.08.

  

Legal Holidays

     41   

SECTION 10.09.

  

Governing Law

     41   

SECTION 10.10.

  

No Recourse Against Others

     41   

SECTION 10.11.

  

Successors

     41   

SECTION 10.12.

  

Multiple Originals

     42   

SECTION 10.13.

  

Table of Contents; Headings

     42   

SECTION 10.14.

  

Severability

     42   

SECTION 10.15.

  

Waiver of Jury Trial

     42   

SECTION 10.16.

  

Force Majeure

     42   

 

v


INDENTURE dated as of April 15, 2014, between CROWN CASTLE INTERNATIONAL CORP., a Delaware corporation (the “Issuer”), and THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., a national banking association, as trustee (the “Trustee”).

Each party agrees as follows for the benefit of the other parties and for the equal and ratable benefit of the Holders of the securities issued under this Indenture (the “Securities”):

ARTICLE I

Definitions And Incorporation By Reference

SECTION 1.01. Definitions.

Affiliate ” of any specified Person means any other Person, directly or indirectly, controlling or controlled by or under direct or indirect common control with such specified Person. For the purposes of this definition, “control” when used with respect to any Person means the power to direct the management and policies of such Person, directly or indirectly, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise; and the terms “controlling” and “controlled” have meanings correlative to the foregoing.

Agent ” means any Registrar, Paying Agent or co-registrar.

Board of Directors ” means the Board of Directors of the Issuer or any committee thereof duly authorized to act on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Issuer.

Board Resolution ” means a copy of a resolution certified by the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the Issuer to have been adopted by the Board of Directors or pursuant to authorization by the Board of Directors and to be in full force and effect on the date of the certificate and delivered to the Trustee.

Business Day ” means each day which is not a Legal Holiday.

Capital Stock ” of any Person means any and all shares, interests, rights to purchase, warrants, options, participations or other equivalents of or interests in (however designated) equity of such Person, including any preferred stock, but excluding any debt securities convertible into such equity.

Closing Date ” means the date of this Indenture.

Code ” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

Corporate Trust Office ” means The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. which at the date hereof is located at 601 Travis Street, 16th floor, Houston, Texas 77002, Attention: Corporate Trust Services, re: Crown Castle International Corp., or such


other address as the Trustee may designate from time to time by notice to the Holders and the Issuer, or the principal corporate trust office of any successor Trustee (or such other address as such successor Trustee may designate from time to time by notice to the Holders and the Issuer).

Default ” means any event which is, or after notice or passage of time or both would be, an Event of Default.

Definitive Securities ” means a certificated Security registered in the name of the Holder thereof and issued in accordance with Section 2.11 hereof.

Depositary ” means, with respect to the Securities issuable in whole or in part in global form, the Person specified pursuant to Section 2.14 hereof as the initial Depositary with respect to the Securities, until a successor shall have been appointed and become such pursuant to the applicable provisions of this Indenture, and thereafter “Depositary” shall mean or include such successor.

Dollar ” means a dollar or other equivalent unit in such coin or currency of the United States as at the time shall be legal tender for the payment of public and private debt.

Exchange Act ” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Fiscal Year ” means the fiscal year of the Issuer, which at the date hereof ends on December 31.

Foreign Currency ” means any currency or currency unit issued by a government other than the government of the United States of America.

GAAP ” means generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America as in effect from time to time, including those principles set forth in (i) the opinions and pronouncements of the Accounting Principles Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, (ii) statements and pronouncements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, (iii) such other statements by such other entity as approved by a significant segment of the accounting profession and (iv) the rules and regulations of the SEC governing the inclusion of financial statements (including pro forma financial statements) in periodic reports required to be filed pursuant to Section 13 of the Exchange Act, including opinions and pronouncements in staff accounting bulletins and similar written statements from the accounting staff of the SEC. All ratios and computations based on GAAP contained in this Indenture shall be computed in conformity with GAAP.

Global Security ” when used with respect to any Series of Securities issued hereunder, means a Security which is executed by the Issuer and authenticated and delivered by the Trustee to the Depositary or pursuant to the Depositary’s instruction, all in accordance with this Indenture and an indenture supplemental hereto, if any, or Board Resolution and pursuant to an Issuer Order, which shall be registered in the name of the Depositary or its nominee and which shall represent, and shall be denominated in an

 

2


amount equal to the aggregate principal amount of, all the outstanding Securities of such Series or any portion thereof, in either case having the same terms, including, without limitation, the same original issue date, date or dates on which principal is due, and interest rate or method of determining interest and which shall bear the legend as prescribed by Section 2.14(c).

Global Securities Legend ” means the legend set forth in Section 2.14(c), which is required to be placed on all Global Securities issued under this Indenture.

Government Securities ” means direct obligations of, or obligations guaranteed by, the United States of America, and the payment for which the United States pledges its full faith and credit.

Guarantee ” means a guarantee (other than by endorsement of negotiable instruments for collection in the ordinary course of business), direct or indirect, in any manner (including, without limitation, by way of a pledge of assets or through letters of credit or reimbursement agreements in respect thereof), of all or any part of any Indebtedness. The term “Guarantor” shall mean any Person Guaranteeing any obligation.

Holder ” means the Person in whose name a Security is registered on the Registrar’s books.

Indebtedness ” has the meaning specified in the applicable Board Resolution, supplemental indenture or Officers’ Certificate relating to a particular Series of Securities.

Indenture ” means this Indenture as amended or supplemented from time to time.

Interest Payment Date ” when used with respect to any Series of Securities, means the date specified in such Securities for the payment of any installment of interest on those Securities.

Issuer ” means Crown Castle International Corp., a Delaware corporation, until a successor replaces it and, thereafter, means the successor and, for purposes of any provision contained herein and required by the Trust Indenture Act, each other obligor on the indenture securities.

Issuer Order ” means a written order signed in the name of the Issuer by two Officers of the Issuer.

Maturity ”, when used with respect to any Security or installment of principal thereof, means the date on which the principal of such Security or such installment of principal becomes due and payable as therein or herein provided, whether at the Stated Maturity or by declaration of acceleration or otherwise.

Officer ” means the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial Officer, the President, any Vice President, the Treasurer, the Controller or the Secretary of the Issuer.

 

3


Officers’ Certificate ” means a certificate signed by two Officers of the Issuer, that meets the requirements of Section 10.04 hereof.

Opinion of Counsel ” means a written opinion from legal counsel, that meets the requirements of Section 10.04 hereof. The counsel may be an employee of or counsel to the Issuer or any Subsidiary of the Issuer.

Original Issue Discount Security ” means (i) any Security that provides for an amount less than the stated principal amount thereof to be due and payable upon a declaration of acceleration of the Maturity thereof and (ii) any other security which is issued with “original issue discount” within the meaning of Section 1273(a) of the Code.

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

SEC ” means the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Securities ” has the meaning specified in the preamble to this Indenture.

Securities Act ” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Securities Custodian ” means the custodian with respect to a Global Security (as appointed by the Depositary) or any successor thereto, who shall initially be the Trustee.

Series ” or “ Series of Securities ” means each series of debentures, notes or other debt instruments of the Issuer created pursuant to Sections 2.01 and 2.02 hereof.

Significant Subsidiary ” means, at any time, any Subsidiary of the Issuer which would be a “Significant Subsidiary” at such time, as such term is defined in Regulation S-X promulgated by the SEC, as in effect on the Closing Date.

Stated Maturity ”, when used with respect to any Security, means the date specified in such Security as the fixed date on which an amount equal to the principal amount of such Security is due and payable.

Subsidiary ” of any Person means any corporation, association, partnership or other business entity of which more than 50% of the total voting power of shares of Capital Stock or other interests (including partnership interests) entitled (without regard to the occurrence of any contingency) to vote in the election of directors, managers or trustees thereof is at the time owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by (i) such Person, (ii) such Person and one or more Subsidiaries of such Person or (iii) one or more Subsidiaries of such Person.

Trust Indenture Act ” means the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 (15 U.S.C. §§77aaa–77bbbb) and the rules and regulations thereunder as in effect on the Closing Date.

 

4


Trust Officer ” means any Vice President, Assistant Vice President, Assistant Treasurer or any other officer or assistant officer of the Trustee assigned by the Trustee to administer its corporate trust matters.

Trustee ” means the party named as such in this Indenture until a successor replaces it and, thereafter, means the successor.

SECTION 1.02. Other Definitions.

 

Term

  

Defined in Section

“Bankruptcy Law”

   6.01

“Covenant Defeasance”

   8.03

“Custodian”

   6.01

“Event of Default”

   6.01

“Legal Defeasance”

   8.02

“Legal Holiday”

   10.08

“Notice of Default”

   6.01

“Paying Agent”

   2.04

“Registrar”

   2.04

“Successor Company”

   5.01

SECTION 1.03. Incorporation by Reference of Trust Indenture Act. This Indenture is subject to the mandatory provisions of the Trust Indenture Act, which are incorporated by reference in and made a part of this Indenture. The following Trust Indenture Act terms have the following meanings:

“Commission” means the SEC.

“indenture securities” means the Securities.

“indenture security holder” means a Holder.

“indenture to be qualified” means this Indenture.

“indenture trustee” or “institutional trustee” means the Trustee.

“obligor” on the Securities means the Issuer and any other obligor on the Securities.

All other terms used in this Indenture that are defined by the Trust Indenture Act, defined by Trust Indenture Act reference to another statute or defined by SEC rule have the meanings assigned to them by such definitions.

SECTION 1.04. Rules of Construction. Unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) a term has the meaning assigned to it;

 

5


(2) an accounting term not otherwise defined has the meaning assigned to it in accordance with GAAP;

(3) “or” is not exclusive;

(4) “including” means including without limitation;

(5) words in the singular include the plural and words in the plural include the singular; and

(6) the principal amount of any non-interest bearing or other discount security at any date shall be the principal amount thereof that would be shown on a balance sheet of the issuer dated such date prepared in accordance with GAAP.

ARTICLE II

The Securities

SECTION 2.01. Issuable in Series. The aggregate principal amount of Securities that may be authenticated and delivered under this Indenture is unlimited. The Securities may be issued in one or more Series as the Issuer may authorize from time to time. All Securities of a Series shall be identical except as may be set forth in a Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture or an Officers’ Certificate detailing the adoption of the terms thereof pursuant to the authority granted under a Board Resolution. In the case of Securities of a Series to be issued from time to time, the Board Resolution, supplemental indenture or Officers’ Certificate may provide for the method by which specified terms (such as interest rate, maturity date, record date or date from which interest shall accrue) are to be determined. Securities may differ between Series in respect of any matters.

SECTION 2.02. Establishment of Terms of Series of Securities. At or prior to the issuance of any Securities within a Series, the following shall be established (as to the Series generally, in the case of Section 2.02(a) and either as to such Securities within the Series or as to the Series generally in the case of Sections 2.02(b) through 2.02(z)) by a Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture or an Officers’ Certificate pursuant to authority granted under a Board Resolution:

(a) the title of the Securities of the Series (which shall distinguish the Securities of that particular Series from the Securities of any other Series);

(b) the price or prices of the Securities of the Series;

(c) any limit upon the aggregate principal amount of the Securities of the Series which may be authenticated and delivered under this Indenture (except for Securities authenticated and delivered upon registration of transfer of, or in exchange for, or in lieu of, other Securities of the Series);

(d) the date or dates on which the principal and premium with respect to

 

6


the Securities of the Series are payable;

(e) the rate or rates (which may be fixed or variable) at which the Securities of the Series shall bear interest, if any, or the method of determining such rate or rates, the date or dates from which such interest, if any, shall accrue, the Interest Payment Dates on which such interest, if any, shall be payable or the method by which such dates will be determined, the record dates, for the determination of holders thereof to whom such interest is payable (in the case of Securities in registered form), and the basis upon which such interest will be calculated if other than that of a 360-day year of twelve 30-day months;

(f) the currency or currencies in which Securities of the Series shall be denominated, if other than Dollars, the place or places, if any, in addition to or instead of the Corporate Trust Office of the Trustee, where the principal, premium and interest with respect to Securities of such Series shall be payable or the method of such payment, if by wire transfer, mail or other means;

(g) the price or prices at which, the period or periods within which, and the terms and conditions upon which, Securities of the Series may be redeemed, in whole or in part at the option of the Issuer or otherwise;

(h) whether Securities of the Series are to be issued as Securities in registered form or as Securities in bearer form or both and, if Securities in bearer form are to be issued, whether coupons will be attached to them, whether Securities in bearer form of the Series may be exchanged for Securities in registered form of the Series, and the circumstances under which and the places at which any such exchanges, if permitted, may be made;

(i) if any Securities of the Series are to be issued as Securities in bearer form or as one or more Global Securities representing individual Securities in bearer form of the Series, whether certain provisions for the payment of additional interest or tax redemptions shall apply; whether interest with respect to any portion of a temporary bearer Security of the Series payable with respect to any Interest Payment Date prior to the exchange of such temporary bearer Security for definitive Securities in bearer form of the Series shall be paid to any clearing organization with respect to the portion of such temporary bearer Security held for its account and, in such event, the terms and conditions (including any certification requirements) upon which any such interest payment received by a clearing organization will be credited to the Persons entitled to interest payable on such Interest Payment Date; and the terms upon which a temporary Security in bearer form may be exchanged for one or more definitive Securities in bearer form of the Series;

(j) the Issuer’s obligation, if any, to redeem, purchase or repay the Securities of the Series pursuant to any sinking fund or analogous provisions or at the option of a Holder of such Securities and the price or prices at which, the period or periods within which, and the terms and conditions upon which,

 

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Securities of the Series shall be redeemed, purchased or repaid, in whole or in part, pursuant to such obligations;

(k) the terms, if any, upon which the Securities of the Series may be convertible into or exchanged for the Issuer’s common stock, preferred stock, other debt securities or warrants for common stock, preferred stock, Indebtedness or other securities of any kind and the terms and conditions upon which such conversion or exchange shall be effected, including the initial conversion or exchange price or rate, the conversion or exchange period and any other additional provisions;

(l) if other than denominations of $1,000 and any integral multiple thereof, the denominations in which the Securities of the Series shall be issuable;

(m) if the amount of principal, premium or interest with respect to the Securities of the Series may be determined with reference to an index or pursuant to a formula, the manner in which such amounts will be determined;

(n) if the principal amount payable at the Stated Maturity of Securities of the Series will not be determinable as of any one or more dates prior to such Stated Maturity, the amount that will be deemed to be such principal amount as of any such date for any purpose, including the principal amount thereof which will be due and payable upon any Maturity other than the Stated Maturity or which will be deemed to be outstanding as of any such date (or, in any such case, the manner in which such deemed principal amount is to be determined), and if necessary, the manner of determining the equivalent thereof in Dollars;

(o) any changes or additions to Article VIII;

(p) if other than the principal amount thereof, the portion of the principal amount of the Securities of the Series that shall be payable upon declaration of acceleration of the maturity thereof pursuant to Section 6.02 or provable in bankruptcy;

(q) the terms, if any, of the transfer, mortgage, pledge or assignment as security for the Securities of the Series of any properties, assets, moneys, proceeds, securities or other collateral, including whether certain provisions of the Trust Indenture Act are applicable and any corresponding changes to provisions of this Indenture as then in effect;

(r) any addition to or change in the Events of Default with respect to any Securities of the Series and any change in the right of the Trustee or the Holders of such Series of Securities to declare the principal, premium and interest, if any, on such Series of Securities due and payable pursuant to Section 6.02;

(s) if the Securities of the Series shall be issued in whole or in part in the form of a Global Security, the terms and conditions, if any, upon which such Global Security may be exchanged in whole or in part for other individual

 

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Securities of such Series in definitive registered form, the Depositary for such Global Security and the form of any legend or legends to be borne by any such Global Security in addition to or in lieu of the Global Securities Legend;

(t) any Trustee, authenticating agent, Paying Agent, transfer agent or Registrar;

(u) the applicability of, and any addition to or change in, the covenants and definitions set forth in Articles IV or V which apply to Securities of the Series;

(v) the terms, if any, of any Guarantee of the payment of principal, premium and interest with respect to Securities of the Series and any corresponding changes to the provisions of this Indenture and as then in effect;

(w) the subordination, if any, of the Securities of the Series pursuant to this Indenture and any changes or additions to the provisions of this Indenture then in effect;

(x) with regard to Securities of the Series that do not bear interest, the dates for certain required reports to the Trustee;

(y) any U.S. Federal Income tax consequences applicable to the Securities; and

(z) any other terms of Securities of the Series (which terms shall not be prohibited by the provisions of this Indenture).

All Securities of any one Series need not be issued at the same time and may be issued from time to time, consistent with the terms of this Indenture, if so provided by or pursuant to the Board Resolution, supplemental indenture or Officers’ Certificate referred to above, and the authorized principal amount of any Series may not be increased to provide for issuances of additional Securities of such Series, unless otherwise provided in such Board Resolution, supplemental indenture or Officers’ Certificate.

SECTION 2.03. Execution and Authentication. One or more Officers of the Issuer shall sign the Securities on behalf of the Issuer by manual or facsimile signature. The Issuer’s seal, if any, shall be impressed, affixed, imprinted or reproduced on the Securities and may be in facsimile form.

If an Officer whose signature is on a Security no longer holds that office at the time the Security is authenticated, the Security shall nevertheless be valid.

A Security shall not be valid until authenticated by the manual signature of the Trustee or an authenticating agent. The signature shall be conclusive evidence that the Security has been authenticated under this Indenture. A Security shall be dated the date of its authentication, unless otherwise provided by a Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture or an Officers’ Certificate.

 

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The Trustee shall at any time, and from time to time, authenticate Securities for original issue in the principal amount provided in the Board Resolution, supplemental indenture hereto or Officers’ Certificate, upon receipt by the Trustee of an Issuer Order, an Officers’ Certificate delivered in accordance with section 10.04 and an Opinion of Counsel which shall state:

(1) that the terms of such Securities have been established by a supplemental indenture or by or pursuant to a Board Resolution in accordance with Sections 2.01 and 2.02 and in conformity with the provisions of this Indenture;

(2) that such Securities when authenticated and delivered by the Trustee and issued by the Issuer in the manner and subject to any conditions specified in such Opinion of Counsel, will have been duly authorized, executed and delivered, and constitute valid and legally binding obligations of the Issuer, enforceable in accordance with their terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, fraudulent conveyance, moratorium or other similar laws relating to or affecting creditors’ rights generally and subject to general principles of equity, including concepts of materiality, reasonableness, good faith and fair dealing, regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law; and

(3) that all conditions precedent in respect of the execution and delivery by the Issuer of such Securities have been complied with.

The aggregate principal amount of Securities of any Series outstanding at any time may not exceed any limit upon the maximum principal amount for such Series set forth in the Board Resolution, supplemental indenture hereto or Officers’ Certificate delivered pursuant to Section 2.02, except as provided in Section 2.08.

The Trustee may appoint an authenticating agent reasonably acceptable to the Issuer to authenticate the Securities. Any such appointment shall be evidenced by an instrument signed by a Trust Officer, a copy of which shall be furnished to the Issuer. Unless limited by the terms of such appointment, an authenticating agent may authenticate Securities whenever the Trustee may do so. Each reference in this Indenture to authentication by the Trustee includes authentication by such agent. An authenticating agent has the same rights as any Registrar, Paying Agent or agent for service of notices and demands.

SECTION 2.04. Registrar and Paying Agent. The Issuer shall maintain, with respect to each Series of Securities, at the place or places specified with respect to such Series pursuant to Section 2.02, an office or agency where Securities of such Series may be presented for registration of transfer or for exchange (the “Registrar”) and an office or agency where Securities of such Series may be presented for payment (the “Paying Agent”). The Registrar shall keep a register with respect to each Series of Securities and of their transfer and exchange. The Issuer may have one or more co-registrars and one or more additional paying agents. The term “Paying Agent” includes any additional paying agent and the term “Registrar” includes any co-registrars. The

 

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Issuer hereby appoints the Trustee as Registrar and Paying Agent for each Series of Securities unless another Registrar or Paying Agent, as the case may be, is appointed prior to the time Securities of that Series are first issued.

The Issuer shall enter into an appropriate agency agreement with any Registrar or Paying Agent not a party to this Indenture, which shall incorporate the terms of the Trust Indenture Act. The agreement shall implement the provisions of this Indenture that relate to such agent. The Issuer shall notify the Trustee of the name and address of any such agent. If the Issuer fails to maintain a Registrar or Paying Agent, the Trustee shall act as such and shall be entitled to appropriate compensation therefor pursuant to Section 7.07. The Issuer or any of its domestically organized Significant Subsidiaries may act as Paying Agent or Registrar.

The Issuer may remove any Registrar or Paying Agent upon written notice to such Registrar or Paying Agent and to the Trustee; provided , however , that no such removal shall become effective until (1) acceptance of any appointment by a successor as evidenced by an appropriate agreement entered into by the Issuer and such successor Registrar or Paying Agent, as the case may be, and delivered to the Trustee or (2) notification to the Trustee that the Trustee shall serve as Registrar or Paying Agent until the appointment of a successor in accordance with clause (1) above. The Registrar or Paying Agent may resign at any time upon written notice; provided , however , that the Trustee may resign as Registrar or Paying Agent only if the Trustee also resigns as Trustee in accordance with Section 7.08.

SECTION 2.05. Paying Agent to Hold Money in Trust. The Issuer shall require each Paying Agent other than the Trustee to agree in writing that the Paying Agent will hold in trust, for the benefit of Holders of any Series of Securities, or the Trustee, all money held by the Paying Agent for the payment of principal of or interest on the Series of Securities, and will notify the Trustee of any default by the Issuer in making any such payment. While any such default continues, the Trustee may require a Paying Agent to pay all money held by it to the Trustee. The Issuer at any time may require a Paying Agent to pay all money held by it to the Trustee. Upon payment over to the Trustee, the Paying Agent (if other than the Issuer or any of its Significant Subsidiaries) shall have no further liability for the money. If the Issuer or any of its Significant Subsidiaries acts as Paying Agent, it shall segregate and hold in a separate trust fund for the benefit of Holders of any Series of Securities all money held by it as Paying Agent.

SECTION 2.06. Holder Lists. The Trustee shall preserve in as current a form as is reasonably practicable the most recent list available to it of the names and addresses of Holders of each Series of Securities and shall otherwise comply with Trust Indenture Act Section 312(a). If the Trustee is not the Registrar, the Issuer shall furnish to the Trustee at least ten days before each interest payment date and at such other times as the Trustee may request in writing a list, in such form and as of such date as the Trustee may reasonably require, of the names and addresses of Holders of each Series of Securities.

 

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SECTION 2.07. Transfer and Exchange. Where Securities of a Series are presented to the Registrar or a co-registrar with a request to register a transfer or to exchange them for an equal principal amount of Securities of the same Series, the Registrar shall register the transfer or make the exchange if its requirements for such transactions are met. To permit registrations of transfers and exchanges, the Trustee shall authenticate Securities at the Registrar’s request. No service charge shall be made for any registration of transfer or exchange (except as otherwise expressly permitted herein), but the Issuer may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any transfer tax or similar governmental charge payable in connection therewith (other than any such transfer tax or similar governmental charge payable upon exchanges pursuant to Sections 2.11, 3.06 or 9.05).

Neither the Issuer nor the Registrar shall be required (a) to issue, register the transfer of, or exchange Securities of any Series for the period beginning at the opening of business fifteen days immediately preceding the mailing of a notice of redemption of Securities of that Series selected for redemption and ending at the close of business on the day of such mailing or (b) to register the transfer of or exchange Securities of any Series selected, called or being called for redemption as a whole or the portion being redeemed of any such Securities selected, called or being called for redemption in part.

SECTION 2.08. Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost and Stolen Securities. If any mutilated Security is surrendered to the Trustee, the Issuer shall execute and the Trustee, upon receipt of an Issuer Order, shall authenticate and deliver in exchange therefor a new Security of the same Series and of like tenor and principal amount and bearing a number not contemporaneously outstanding.

If there shall be delivered to the Issuer and the Trustee (i) evidence to their satisfaction of the destruction, loss or theft of any Security and (ii) such security or indemnity as may be required by them to save each of them and any agent of either of them harmless, then, in the absence of notice to the Issuer or the Trustee that such Security has been acquired by a bona fide purchaser, the Issuer shall execute and the Trustee, upon receipt of an Issuer Order, shall authenticate and make available for delivery, in lieu of any such destroyed, lost or stolen Security, a new Security of the same Series and of like tenor and principal amount and bearing a number not contemporaneously outstanding.

In case any such mutilated, destroyed, lost or stolen Security has become or is about to become due and payable, the Issuer in its discretion may, instead of issuing a new Security, pay such Security.

Upon the issuance of any new Security under this Section, the Issuer may require the payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge that may be imposed in relation thereto and any other expenses (including the fees and expenses of the Trustee) connected therewith.

Every new Security of any Series issued pursuant to this Section in lieu of any destroyed, lost or stolen Security shall constitute an original additional contractual

 

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obligation of the Issuer, whether or not the destroyed, lost or stolen Security shall be at any time enforceable by anyone, and shall be entitled to all the benefits of this Indenture equally and proportionately with any and all other Securities of that Series duly issued hereunder.

The provisions of this Section are exclusive and shall preclude (to the extent lawful) all other rights and remedies with respect to the replacement or payment of mutilated, destroyed, lost or stolen Securities.

SECTION 2.09. Outstanding Securities. The Securities outstanding at any time are all the Securities authenticated by the Trustee except for those canceled by it, those delivered to it for cancellation, those reductions in the interest on a Global Security effected by the Trustee in accordance with the provisions hereof and those described in this Section as not outstanding.

If a Security is replaced pursuant to Section 2.08, it ceases to be outstanding until the Trustee receives proof satisfactory to it that the replaced Security is held by a bona fide purchaser.

If the Paying Agent holds at the Maturity of Securities of a Series money sufficient to pay such Securities payable on that date, then on and after that date such Securities of the Series cease to be outstanding and interest on them ceases to accrue.

A Security does not cease to be outstanding because the Issuer or an Affiliate of the Issuer holds the Security.

In determining whether the Holders of the requisite principal amount of outstanding Securities of any Series have given any request, demand, authorization, direction, notice, consent or waiver hereunder, the principal amount of an Original Issue Discount Security that shall be deemed to be outstanding for such purposes shall be the amount of the principal thereof that would be due and payable as of the date of such determination upon a declaration of acceleration of the Maturity thereof pursuant to Section 6.02.

SECTION 2.10. Treasury Securities. In determining whether the Holders of the required principal amount of Securities of a Series have concurred in any request, demand, authorization, direction, notice, consent or waiver, Securities of a Series owned by the Issuer shall be disregarded, except that for the purposes of determining whether the Trustee shall be protected in relying on any such request, demand, authorization, direction, notice, consent or waiver only Securities of a Series that the Trustee knows are so owned shall be so disregarded.

SECTION 2.11. Temporary Securities. Until Definitive Securities are ready for delivery, the Issuer may prepare and the Trustee, upon receipt of an Issuer Order, shall authenticate temporary Securities upon the Issuer’s Order. Temporary Securities shall be substantially in the form of Definitive Securities but may have variations that the Issuer considers appropriate for temporary Securities. Without unreasonable delay, the Issuer shall prepare and the Trustee, upon receipt of an Issuer

 

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Order, shall authenticate Definitive Securities of the same Series and date of maturity in exchange for temporary Securities. Until so exchanged, temporary Securities shall have the same rights under this Indenture as the Definitive Securities.

SECTION 2.12. Cancellation. The Issuer at any time may deliver Securities to the Trustee for cancellation. The Registrar and the Paying Agent shall forward to the Trustee any Securities surrendered to them for registration of transfer, exchange or payment. The Trustee shall cancel all Securities surrendered for transfer, exchange, payment, replacement or cancellation and shall destroy such canceled Securities (subject to the record retention requirement of the Exchange Act) and deliver a certificate of such destruction to the Issuer, unless the Issuer otherwise directs. The Issuer may not issue new Securities to replace Securities that it has paid for or delivered to the Trustee for cancellation.

SECTION 2.13. Defaulted Interest. If the Issuer defaults in a payment of interest on a Series of Securities, it shall pay the defaulted interest, plus, to the extent permitted by law, any interest payable on the defaulted interest, to the persons who are Holders of the Series on a subsequent special record date. The Issuer shall fix the record date and payment date. At least 30 days before the record date, the Issuer shall mail to the Trustee and to each Holder of the Series a notice that states the record date, the payment date and the amount of interest to be paid. The Issuer may pay defaulted interest in any other lawful manner.

SECTION 2.14. Global Securities.

(a) Terms of Securities. A Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture hereto or an Officers’ Certificate shall establish whether the Securities of a Series shall be issued in whole or in part in the form of one or more Global Securities and the Depositary for such Global Security or Securities.

(b) Transfer and Exchange. Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary contained in Section 2.07 of this Indenture and in addition thereto, any Global Security shall be exchangeable pursuant to Section 2.07 of this Indenture for Securities registered in the names of Holders other than the Depositary for such Security or its nominee only if (i) such Depositary notifies the Issuer that it is unwilling or unable to continue as Depositary for such Global Security or if at any time such Depositary ceases to be a clearing agency registered under the Exchange Act, and, in either case, the Issuer fails to appoint a successor Depositary within 90 days of such event, (ii) the Issuer executes and delivers to the Trustee an Officers’ Certificate to the effect that such Global Security shall be so exchangeable or (iii) an Event of Default with respect to the Securities represented by such Global Security shall have happened and be continuing. Any Global Security that is exchangeable pursuant to the preceding sentence shall be exchangeable for Securities registered in such names as the Depositary shall direct in writing in an aggregate principal amount equal to the principal amount of the Global Security with like tenor and terms.

 

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Except as provided in this Section 2.14(b) a Global Security may not be transferred except as a whole by the Depositary with respect to such Global Security to a nominee of such Depositary, by a nominee of such Depositary to such Depositary or another nominee of such Depositary or by the Depositary or any such nominee to a successor Depositary or a nominee of such a successor Depositary.

(c) Legend. Any Global Security issued hereunder shall bear a legend in substantially the following form:

“THIS GLOBAL SECURITY IS HELD BY THE DEPOSITARY (AS DEFINED IN THE INDENTURE GOVERNING THIS SECURITY) OR ITS NOMINEE IN CUSTODY FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE BENEFICIAL OWNERS HEREOF, AND IS NOT TRANSFERABLE TO ANY PERSON UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES EXCEPT THAT (I) THE TRUSTEE MAY MAKE SUCH NOTATIONS HEREON AS MAY BE REQUIRED PURSUANT TO SECTION 9.05 OF THE INDENTURE, (II) THIS GLOBAL SECURITY MAY BE EXCHANGED IN WHOLE BUT NOT IN PART PURSUANT TO SECTION 2.07 OF THE INDENTURE, (III) THIS GLOBAL SECURITY MAY BE DELIVERED TO THE TRUSTEE FOR CANCELLATION PURSUANT TO SECTION 2.12 OF THE INDENTURE AND (IV) THIS GLOBAL SECURITY MAY BE TRANSFERRED TO A SUCCESSOR DEPOSITARY WITH THE PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE ISSUER (AS DEFINED IN THE INDENTURE GOVERNING THIS SECURITY).”

(d) Acts of Holders. The Depositary, as a Holder, may appoint agents and otherwise authorize participants to give or take any request, demand, authorization, direction, notice, consent, waiver or other action which a Holder is entitled to give or take under this Indenture.

(e) Payments. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Indenture, unless otherwise specified as contemplated by Section 2.02, payment of the principal of and interest, if any, on any Global Security shall be made to the Holder thereof.

(f) Consents, Declaration and Directions. Except as provided in Section 2.14(e), the Issuer, the Trustee and any Agent shall treat a person as the Holder of such principal amount of outstanding Securities of such Series represented by a Global Security as shall be specified in a written statement of the Depositary with respect to such Global Security, for purposes of obtaining any consents, declarations, waivers or directions required to be given by the Holders pursuant to this Indenture.

SECTION 2.15. CUSIP Numbers. The Issuer in issuing the Securities may use “CUSIP” numbers (if then generally in use), and, if so, the Trustee shall use “CUSIP” numbers in notices of redemption as a convenience to Holders; provided that any such notice may state that no representation is made as to the correctness of such numbers either as printed on the Securities or as contained in any notice of redemption and that reliance may be placed only on the other elements of identification printed on the Securities, and any such redemption shall not be affected by any defect in or omission of such numbers.

 

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ARTICLE III

Redemption

SECTION 3.01. Notices to Trustee. The Issuer, with respect to any Series of Securities, may elect to redeem and pay the Series of Securities or may covenant to redeem and pay the Series of Securities or any part thereof prior to the Stated Maturity thereof at such time and on such terms provided for in such Series of Securities. If a Series of Securities is redeemable and the Issuer wants or is obligated to redeem prior to the Stated Maturity thereof all or part of the Series of Securities pursuant to the terms of such Securities, it shall notify the Trustee in writing of the redemption date and the principal amount of Securities of the Series to be redeemed and the redemption price. The Issuer shall give such notice to the Trustee at least 30 days before the redemption date unless the Trustee consents to a shorter period.

SECTION 3.02. Selection of Securities To Be Redeemed. Unless otherwise provided for a particular Series of Securities by a Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture or an Officers’ Certificate, if fewer than all the Securities of a particular Series are to be redeemed or purchased, the Trustee shall select the Securities of such Series to be redeemed or purchased pro rata or by lot or by a method that complies with applicable legal and securities exchange requirements, if any, and that the Trustee in its sole discretion shall deem to be fair and appropriate and in accordance with methods generally used at the time of selection by fiduciaries in similar circumstances. The Trustee shall make the selection at least 30 days but no more than 60 days before the redemption date from outstanding Securities of a Series not previously called for redemption. Securities and portions thereof that the Trustee selects shall be in principal amounts of $1,000 or integral multiples of $1,000. Provisions of this Indenture that apply to Securities called for redemption also apply to portions of Securities called for redemption. The Trustee shall promptly notify the Issuer of the Securities (or portions thereof) to be redeemed.

SECTION 3.03. Notice of Redemption. Unless otherwise provided for a particular Series of Securities by a Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture or an Officers’ Certificate, at least 30 days but not more than 60 days before a date for redemption of Securities, the Issuer shall mail a notice of redemption by first-class mail to each Holder of Securities to be redeemed at such Holder’s registered address.

The notice shall identify the Securities to be redeemed and shall state:

(1) the redemption date;

(2) the redemption price;

(3) if any Security is being redeemed in part, the portion of the principal amount of such Security to be redeemed and that, after the redemption date upon surrender of such Security, a new Security or Securities in principal amount equal to the unredeemed portion shall be issued upon cancellation of the original

 

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Security;

(4) the name and address of the Paying Agent;

(5) that Securities called for redemption must be surrendered to the Paying Agent to collect the redemption price;

(6) that, upon the satisfaction of any conditions to such redemption set forth in the notice of redemption, and unless the Issuer defaults in making such redemption payment or the Paying Agent is prohibited from making such payment pursuant to the terms of this Indenture, interest on Securities (or portion thereof) called for redemption ceases to accrue on and after the redemption date;

(7) the paragraph of the Securities and/or provision of this Indenture pursuant to which the Securities called for redemption are being redeemed;

(8) the CUSIP or ISIN number, if any, printed on the Securities being redeemed; and

(9) that no representation is made as to the correctness or accuracy of the CUSIP or ISIN number, if any, listed in such notice or printed on the Securities.

In addition, if such redemption is subject to the satisfaction of one or more conditions precedent, such notice shall describe each such condition and, if applicable, shall state that, in the Issuer’s discretion, the redemption date may be delayed until such time as any or all such conditions shall be satisfied, or such redemption may not occur and such notice may be rescinded in the event that any or all such conditions shall not have been satisfied by the redemption date stated in such notice, or by the redemption date as so delayed.

At the Issuer’s request, the Trustee shall give the notice of redemption as provided to it in the Issuer’s name and at the Issuer’s expense. In such event, the Issuer shall provide the Trustee with the information required by this Section.

SECTION 3.04. Effect of Notice of Redemption. Once notice of redemption is mailed, Securities called for redemption become due and payable on the redemption date and at the redemption price stated in the notice, subject to the satisfaction of any conditions precedent provided in such notice. Upon surrender to the Paying Agent, such Securities shall be paid at the redemption price stated in the notice.

Failure to give notice or any defect in the notice to any Holder shall not affect the validity of the notice to any other Holder.

SECTION 3.05. Deposit of Redemption Price. Prior to 11:00 a.m. (New York City time) on the redemption date, the Issuer shall deposit with the Paying Agent (or, if the Issuer or a Subsidiary of the Issuer is the Paying Agent, shall segregate and hold in trust) money sufficient to pay the redemption price of, and accrued interest on, all Securities to be redeemed on that date, other than Securities or portions of Securities

 

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called for redemption that have been delivered by the Issuer to the Trustee for cancellation. The Paying Agent shall as promptly as practicable return to the Issuer any money deposited with it by the Issuer in excess of the amounts necessary to pay the redemption price of, and accrued interest on, all Securities to be redeemed. If such money is then held by the Issuer in trust and is not required for such purpose it shall be discharged from such trust. The Issuer at any time may require a Paying Agent to pay all money held by it to the Trustee and to account for any funds disbursed by the Paying Agent. Upon complying with this Section, the Paying Agent shall have no further liability for the money delivered to the Trustee.

SECTION 3.06. Securities Redeemed in Part. Upon surrender of a Security that is redeemed in part, the Issuer shall execute and the Trustee shall authenticate for the Holder (at the Issuer’s expense) a new Security equal in principal amount to the unredeemed portion of the Security surrendered.

ARTICLE IV

Covenants

SECTION 4.01. Payment of Securities. The Issuer shall promptly make all payments in respect of each Series of Securities on the dates and in the manner provided in such Series of Securities and in this Indenture. Such payments shall be considered made on the date due if on such date the Trustee or the Paying Agent holds, in accordance with this Indenture, money sufficient to make all payments with respect to such Securities then due and the Trustee or the Paying Agent, as the case may be, is not prohibited from paying such money to the Holders on that date pursuant to the terms of this Indenture.

SECTION 4.02. SEC Reports. Unless otherwise provided for a particular Series of Securities in a Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture or an Officers’ Certificate, notwithstanding that the Issuer may not be subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, the Issuer shall provide the Trustee and Holders within the time periods (including any extensions thereof) specified in the SEC’s rules and regulations copies of its annual report and certain information, documents and other reports that are specified in Sections 13 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act; provided that, with respect to current reports that would be required to be filed with the SEC on Form 8-K, only such reports that would be required to be filed pursuant to Items 1.01 (Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement), 1.02 (Termination of a Material Definitive Agreement), 1.03 (Bankruptcy or Receivership), 2.01 (Completion of Acquisition or Disposition of Assets), 2.03 (Creation of a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation under an Off-Balance Sheet Arrangement), 2.04 (Triggering Events that Accelerate or Increase a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation under an Off-Balance Sheet Arrangement), 4.01 (Changes in Registrant’s Certifying Accountant), 4.02 (Non-Reliance on Previously Issued Financial Statements or a Related Audit Report or Completed Interim Review) or 5.01 (Changes in Control of Registrant) shall be provided to the Trustee and the Holders; provided , however , that no such report shall be required to be furnished if the Issuer determines in its good faith judgment that the event to be

 

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disclosed in such report is not material to the Holders or the business, assets, operations, financial position or prospects of the Issuer and its Significant Subsidiaries taken as a whole. Delivery of such reports, information and documents to the Trustee is for informational purposes only and the Trustee’s receipt of such shall not constitute constructive notice of any information contained therein or determinable from information contained therein, including the Issuer’s compliance with any of its covenants hereunder (as to which the Trustee is entitled to rely exclusively on Officers’ Certificates). The Issuer also shall comply with the other provisions of Trust Indenture Act Section 314(a).

SECTION 4.03. Compliance Certificate. The Issuer shall deliver to the Trustee within 120 days after the end of each Fiscal Year of the Issuer (commencing with the Fiscal Year ended December 31, 2014) an Officers’ Certificate stating that in the course of the performance by the signers of their duties as Officers of the Issuer they would normally have knowledge of any Default and whether or not the signers know of any Default that occurred during such period. If they do, the certificate shall describe the Default, its status and what action the Issuer is taking or proposes to take with respect thereto. The Issuer also shall comply with Trust Indenture Act Section 314(a)(4).

SECTION 4.04. Further Instruments and Acts. The Issuer shall execute and deliver to the Trustee such further instruments and do such further acts as may be reasonably necessary or proper to carry out more effectively the purpose of this Indenture.

ARTICLE V

Successor Companies

SECTION 5.01. Merger and Consolidation. Unless otherwise provided for a particular Series of Securities in a Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture or an Officers’ Certificate, the Issuer shall not consolidate with or merge with or into, or convey, transfer or lease all or substantially all its properties and assets to, any Person unless:

(i) the resulting, surviving or transferee Person (the “Successor Company”) shall be a corporation or limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the United States of America, any State thereof or the District of Columbia, and the Successor Company (if not the Issuer) shall expressly assume, by a supplemental indenture, executed and delivered to the Trustee, in form satisfactory to the Trustee, all the obligations of the Issuer under the Securities and this Indenture;

(ii) immediately after giving effect to such transaction no Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing; and

 

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(iii) the Issuer shall have delivered to the Trustee an Officers’ Certificate and an Opinion of Counsel, each stating that such consolidation, merger or transfer and such supplemental indenture (if any) comply with this Indenture.

The Successor Company shall succeed to, and be substituted for, and may exercise every right and power of, the Issuer under this Indenture (as modified or supplemented by a Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture or an Officers’ Certificate), and the predecessor Issuer, except in the case of a lease of all or substantially all of its assets, shall be released from the obligation to pay the principal of and interest on the Securities.

ARTICLE VI

Defaults And Remedies

SECTION 6.01. Events of Default. Unless otherwise provided for a particular Series of Securities by a Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture or an Officers’ Certificate, each of the following constitutes an “Event of Default” with respect to each Series of Securities:

(1) the Issuer’s default in any payment of the principal amount of (or, in the case of Original Issue Discount Securities of that Series, the portion thereby specified in the terms of such Security), or premium, if any, on any Security of that Series when such amount becomes due and payable at Stated Maturity, upon acceleration, required redemption or otherwise;

(2) the Issuer’s failure to pay interest on any Security of that Series when such interest becomes due and payable, and such failure continues for a period of 30 days;

(3) the Issuer fails to comply with Section 5.01;

(4) the Issuer fails to comply with any of its covenants or agreements contained in the Securities of that Series or this Indenture (other than those referred to in (1), (2), or (3) above) and such failure continues for 60 days after the notice specified below;

(5) the Issuer or a Significant Subsidiary pursuant to or within the meaning of any Bankruptcy Law:

(A) commences a voluntary case;

(B) consents to the entry of an order for relief against it in an involuntary case;

(C) consents to the appointment of a Custodian of it or for any substantial part of its property; or

 

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(D) makes a general assignment for the benefit of its creditors or takes any comparable action under any foreign laws relating to insolvency; or

(6) a court of competent jurisdiction enters an order or decree under any Bankruptcy Law that:

(A) is for relief against the Issuer or a Significant Subsidiary in an involuntary case;

(B) appoints a Custodian of the Issuer or a Significant Subsidiary or for any substantial part of its property; or

(C) orders the winding up or liquidation of the Issuer or a Significant Subsidiary or any similar relief is granted under any foreign laws and the order or decree remains unstayed and in effect for 60 days.

The foregoing shall constitute Events of Default whatever the reason for any such Event of Default and whether it is voluntary or involuntary or is effected by operation of law or pursuant to any judgment, decree or order of any court or any order, rule or regulation of any administrative or governmental body.

The term “Bankruptcy Law” means Title 11, United States Code, or any similar Federal or state law for the relief of debtors. The term “Custodian” means any receiver, trustee, assignee, liquidator, custodian or similar official under any Bankruptcy Law.

A Default under clause (4) above is not an Event of Default with respect to any Series of Securities until the Trustee or the Holders of at least 25% in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of that Series notify the Issuer of the Default and the Issuer does not cure such Default within the time specified in clause (4) after receipt of such notice. Such notice must specify the Default, demand that it be remedied and state that such notice is a “Notice of Default.”

The Issuer shall deliver to the Trustee, within 30 days after the occurrence thereof, written notice in the form of an Officers’ Certificate of any event which with the giving of notice or the lapse of time would become an Event of Default under clause (4), its status and what action the Issuer is taking or proposes to take with respect thereto.

SECTION 6.02. Acceleration. If an Event of Default with respect to any Series of Securities at the time outstanding (other than an Event of Default specified in Section 6.01(5) or (6) with respect to the Issuer) occurs and is continuing, the Trustee or the Holders of at least 25% in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of that Series by notice to the Issuer (and to the Trustee if such notice is given by the Holders), may declare the principal amount of (or, in the case of Original Issue Discount Securities of that Series, the portion thereby specified in the terms of such Security), premium, if any, and accrued and unpaid interest on all the Securities of that Series to be due and payable. Upon such a declaration, such amounts shall be due and payable immediately. If an Event of Default specified in Section 6.01(5) or (6) with respect to the Issuer occurs, the principal amount of (or, in the case of Original Issue Discount Securities of that

 

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Series, the portion thereby specified in the terms of such Security), premium, if any, and accrued and unpaid interest on all the Securities of each Series of Security shall ipso facto become and be immediately due and payable without any declaration or other act on the part of the Trustee or any Holder. The Holders of a majority in principal amount of the Securities of any Series of Securities by notice to the Trustee may rescind an acceleration of that Series of Securities and its consequences if the rescission would not conflict with any judgment or decree and if all existing Events of Default with respect to such Series of Securities have been cured or waived except nonpayment of the principal amount of (or, in the case of Original Issue Discount Securities of that Series, the portion thereby specified in the terms of such Security), premium, if any, and accrued and unpaid interest on all Securities of that Series that has become due solely because of acceleration. No such rescission shall affect any subsequent Default or impair any right consequent thereto.

SECTION 6.03. Other Remedies. If an Event of Default with respect to any Series of Securities occurs and is continuing, the Trustee may pursue any available remedy to collect the payment of the principal amount of (or, in the case of Original Issue Discount Securities of that Series, the portion thereby specified in the terms of such Security), premium, if any, and accrued and unpaid interest on the Securities of that Series or to enforce the performance of any provision of the Securities of that Series or this Indenture.

The Trustee may institute and maintain a suit or legal proceeding even if it does not possess any of the Securities of a Series or does not produce any of them in the proceeding. A delay or omission by the Trustee or any Holder in exercising any right or remedy accruing upon an Event of Default with respect to any Series of Securities shall not impair the right or remedy or constitute a waiver of or acquiescence in the Event of Default. No remedy is exclusive of any other remedy. All available remedies are cumulative.

SECTION 6.04. Waiver of Past Defaults. The Holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the Securities of any Series then outstanding may by notice to the Trustee waive an existing Default and its consequences except (i) a Default in the payment of the principal amount of (or, in the case of Original Issue Discount Securities of that Series, the portion thereby specified in the terms of such Security), premium, if any, and accrued and unpaid interest on a Security of that Series, (ii) a Default arising from the failure to redeem or purchase any Security of that Series when required pursuant to the terms of this Indenture or (iii) a Default in respect of a provision that under Section 9.02 cannot be amended without the consent of each Holder of that Series affected. When a Default is waived, it is deemed cured, but no such waiver shall extend to any subsequent or other Default or impair any consequent right.

SECTION 6.05. Control by Majority. The Holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of any Series may direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the Trustee or of exercising any trust or power conferred on the Trustee with respect to that Series. However, the Trustee may refuse to follow any direction that conflicts with law or this

 

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Indenture or, subject to Section 7.01, that the Trustee determines is unduly prejudicial to the rights of any other Holder of that Series or that would subject the Trustee to personal liability; provided , however , that the Trustee may take any other action deemed proper by the Trustee that is not inconsistent with such direction. Prior to taking any action hereunder, the Trustee shall be entitled to indemnification satisfactory to it in its sole discretion against all losses and expenses caused by taking or not taking such action.

SECTION 6.06. Limitation on Suits. Except to enforce the right to receive payment of the principal amount of (or, in the case of Original Issue Discount Securities, the portion thereby specified in the terms of such Security), premium, if any, and accrued and unpaid interest on a Security of any Series when due, no Holder of a Security of that Series may pursue any remedy with respect to this Indenture or the Securities of that Series unless:

(1) the Holder previously gave the Trustee written notice stating that an Event of Default with respect to that Series is continuing;

(2) the Holders of at least 25% in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of that Series make a written request to the Trustee to pursue the remedy;

(3) such Holder or Holders of that Series offer to the Trustee security or indemnity satisfactory to the Trustee against any loss, liability or expense;

(4) the Trustee does not comply with the request within 60 days after receipt of the request and the offer of security or indemnity; and

(5) the Holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of that Series do not give the Trustee a direction inconsistent with such request during such 60-day period.

A Holder of Securities of any Series may not use this Indenture to prejudice the rights of another Holder of that Series or to obtain a preference or priority over another Holder of that Series.

SECTION 6.07. Rights of Holders to Receive Payment. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Indenture, the right of any Holder to receive payment of the principal amount of (or, in the case of Original Issue Discount Securities, the portion thereby specified in the terms of such Security), premium, if any, and accrued and unpaid interest on the Securities held by such Holder, on or after their Maturity, or to bring suit for the enforcement of any such payment on or after their Maturity, shall not be impaired or affected without the consent of such Holder.

SECTION 6.08. Collection Suit by Trustee. If an Event of Default specified in Section 6.01(1) or (2) occurs and is continuing, the Trustee may recover judgment in its own name and as trustee of an express trust against the Issuer for the whole amount then due and owing (together with interest on any unpaid interest to the extent lawful) and the amounts provided for in Section 7.07 to cover the costs and

 

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expenses of collection, including the reasonable compensation, expenses disbursement and advances of the Trustee, its agents and its counsel.

SECTION 6.09. Trustee May File Proofs of Claim. The Trustee may file such proofs of claim and other papers or documents as may be necessary or advisable in order to have the claims of the Trustee and the Holders allowed in any judicial proceedings relative to the Issuer or any of its Subsidiaries, their creditors or their property and, unless prohibited by law or applicable regulations, may vote on behalf of the Holders in any election of a trustee in bankruptcy or other Person performing similar functions, and any Custodian in any such judicial proceeding is hereby authorized by each Holder to make payments to the Trustee and, in the event that the Trustee shall consent to the making of such payments directly to the Holders, to pay to the Trustee any amount due it for the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the Trustee, its agents and its counsel, and any other amounts due the Trustee under Section 7.07.

SECTION 6.10. Priorities. If the Trustee collects any money or property pursuant to this Article VI with respect to any Series of Securities, it shall pay out the money or property in the following order:

FIRST: costs and expenses of collection, including all sums paid or advanced by the Trustee hereunder and the compensation, expenses and disbursements of the Trustee, its agents and its counsel and all other amounts due to the Trustee under Section 7.07;

SECOND: to Holders for amounts due and unpaid on the Securities of that Series for the principal amount of (or, in the case of Original Issue Discount Securities of that Series, the portion thereby specified in the terms of such Security), premium, if any, and accrued and unpaid interest, ratably, without preference or priority of any kind, according to the amounts due and payable on the Securities of that Series for the principal amount of (or, in the case of Original Issue Discount Securities of that Series, the portion thereby specified in the terms of such Security), premium, if any, and accrued and unpaid interest, respectively; and

THIRD: to the Issuer.

The Trustee may fix a record date and payment date for any payment to Holders pursuant to this Section. At least 15 days before such record date, the Trustee shall mail to each Holder and the Issuer a notice that states the record date, the payment date and amount to be paid.

SECTION 6.11. Undertaking for Costs. In any suit for the enforcement of any right or remedy under this Indenture or in any suit against the Trustee for any action taken or omitted by it as Trustee, a court in its discretion may require the filing, by any party litigant in the suit, of an undertaking to pay the costs of the suit, and the court in its discretion may assess reasonable costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses, against any party litigant in the suit, having due regard to the merits and good faith of the claims or defenses made by the party litigant. This Section does not apply to

 

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a suit by the Trustee, a suit by a Holder pursuant to Section 6.07 or a suit by Holders of more than 10% in principal amount of the Securities of any Series.

SECTION 6.12. Waiver of Stay or Extension Laws. The Issuer (to the extent it may lawfully do so) shall not at any time insist upon, plead, or in any manner whatsoever claim to take the benefit or advantage of, any stay or extension law, wherever enacted, now or at any time hereafter in force, which may affect the covenants or the performance of this Indenture; and the Issuer (to the extent that it may lawfully do so) hereby expressly waives all benefit or advantage of any such law, and shall not hinder, delay or impede the execution of any power herein granted to the Trustee, but shall suffer and permit the execution of every such power as though no such law had been enacted.

ARTICLE VII

Trustee

SECTION 7.01. Duties of Trustee. (a) If an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing with respect to any Series of Securities, the Trustee shall exercise the rights and powers vested in it by this Indenture and use the same degree of care and skill in its exercise thereof as a prudent Person would exercise or use under the circumstances in the conduct of such Person’s own affairs.

(b) Except during the continuance of an Event of Default with respect to any Series of Securities:

(1) the Trustee undertakes to perform such duties and only such duties as are specifically set forth in this Indenture with respect to the Securities of that Series, as modified or supplemented by a Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture or an Officers’ Certificate and no implied covenants or obligations shall be read into this Indenture against the Trustee; and

(2) in the absence of bad faith on its part, the Trustee may, with respect to Securities of that Series, conclusively rely, as to the truth of the statements and the correctness of the opinions expressed therein, upon certificates or opinions furnished to the Trustee and conforming to the requirements of this Indenture. However, the Trustee shall examine the certificates and opinions to determine whether or, not they conform to the requirements of this Indenture (but need not confirm or investigate the accuracy of mathematical calculations or other facts stated therein).

(c) The Trustee may not be relieved from liability for its own grossly negligent action, its own grossly negligent failure to act or its own willful misconduct, except that:

(1) this paragraph does not limit the effect of paragraph (b) of this Section;

(2) the Trustee shall not be liable for any error of judgment made in good faith by a Trust Officer unless it is proved that the Trustee was grossly negligent

 

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in ascertaining the pertinent facts; and

(3) the Trustee shall not be liable with respect to any action it takes or omits to take in good faith in accordance with a direction received by it pursuant to Section 6.05.

(d) Every provision of this Indenture that in any way relates to the Trustee is subject to paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (g) of this Section.

(e) The Trustee shall not be liable for interest on any money received by it except as the Trustee may agree in writing with the Issuer.

(f) Money held in trust by the Trustee need not be segregated from funds except to the extent required by law.

(g) No provision of this Indenture shall require the Trustee to expend or risk its own funds or otherwise incur financial liability in the performance of any of its duties hereunder or in the exercise of any of its rights or powers.

(h) Every provision of this Indenture relating to the conduct or affecting the liability of or affording protection to the Trustee shall be subject to the provisions of this Section and to the provisions of the Trust Indenture Act.

SECTION 7.02. Rights of Trustee. (a) The Trustee may conclusively rely on any document believed by it to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper Person. The Trustee need not investigate any fact or matter stated in the document.

(b) Before the Trustee acts or refrains from acting, it may require an Officers’ Certificate or an Opinion of Counsel or both. The Trustee shall not be liable for any action it takes or omits to take in good, faith in reliance on the Officers’ Certificate or Opinion of Counsel.

(c) The Trustee may act through agents or attorneys and shall not be responsible for the misconduct or negligence of any agent or attorney appointed with due care.

(d) The Trustee shall not be liable for any action it takes or omits to take in good faith which it believes to be authorized or within its rights or powers; provided , however , that the Trustee’s conduct does not constitute willful misconduct or gross negligence.

(e) The Trustee may consult with counsel of its selection, and the advice or opinion of counsel with respect to legal matters relating to this Indenture and the Securities, shall be full and complete authorization and protection from liability in respect to any action taken, omitted or suffered by it hereunder in good faith and in accordance with the advice or opinion of such counsel.

 

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(f) The Trustee shall not be bound to make any investigation into the facts or matters stated in any resolution, certificate, statement, instrument, opinion, report, notice, request, consent, order, approval, bond, debenture, note or other paper or document.

(g) The Trustee shall not be deemed to have notice or charged with knowledge of any Default or Event of Default with respect to the Securities of any Series unless a Trust Officer of the Trustee has actual knowledge thereof or unless written notice of any event which is in fact such a default is received from the Issuer or any Holders of such Securities by the Trustee at the Corporate Trust Office of the Trustee, and such notice references such Securities and this Indenture.

(h) The rights, privileges, protections, immunities and benefits given to the Trustee, including, without limitation, its right to be indemnified, are extended to and shall be enforceable by, the Trustee in each of its capacities hereunder, and to each agent, custodian and other Person employed to act hereunder.

(i) The Trustee shall be under no obligation to exercise any of the rights or powers vested in it by this Indenture at the request or direction of any of the Holders pursuant to this Indenture, unless such Holders shall have offered to the Trustee security or indemnity satisfactory to the Trustee against the costs, expenses and liabilities which might be incurred by the Trustee in compliance with such request or direction.

(j) The Trustee may from time to time request that the Issuer deliver an Officers’ Certificate setting forth the names of individuals and/or titles of officers authorized at such time to take specified actions pursuant to the Indenture, which Officers’ Certificate may be signed by any persons authorized to sign an Officers’ Certificate, including any person specified as so authorized in any such certificate previously delivered and not superseded.

(k) The permissive right of the Trustee to take any action under this Indenture shall not be construed as a duty to so act.

(l) In no event shall the Trustee be responsible or liable for special, indirect, or consequential loss or damage of any kind whatsoever (including loss of profit) irrespective of whether the Trustee has been advised of the likelihood of such loss or damage and regardless of the form of action.

(m) Any request or direction of the Issuer mentioned herein shall be sufficiently evidenced by an Issuer Order and any resolution of the Board of Directors may be sufficiently evidenced by a Board Resolution.

SECTION 7.03. Individual Rights of Trustee. The Trustee in its individual or any other capacity may become the owner or pledgee of Securities and may otherwise deal with the Issuer or its Affiliates with the same rights it would have if it were not Trustee. Any Paying Agent, Registrar or co-paying agent may do the same with like rights. However, the Trustee must comply with Sections 7.10 and 7.11.

 

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SECTION 7.04. Trustee’s Disclaimer. The Trustee shall not be responsible for and makes no representation as to the validity or adequacy of this Indenture or the Securities, it shall not be accountable for the Issuer’s use of the proceeds from the Securities, it will not be responsible for the use or application of any money received by any Paying Agent (other than itself as Paying Agent), and it shall not be responsible for any statement in this Indenture, in the Securities, or in any document executed in connection with the sale of the Securities, other than those set forth in a Trustee’s certificate of authentication.

SECTION 7.05. Notice of Defaults. If a Default with respect to Securities of any Series occurs and is continuing and if it is actually known to a Trust Officer of the Trustee, the Trustee shall mail to each Holder of that Series notice of the Default within 90 days after it occurs. Except in the case of a Default with respect to Securities of any Series in payment of the principal amount of (or, in the case of Original Issue Discount Securities of that Series, the portion thereby specified in the terms of such Security), premium, if any, and accrued and unpaid interest on any Security of that Series, the Trustee may withhold the notice if and so long as a committee of its Trust Officers in good faith determines that withholding the notice is in the interests of Holders.

SECTION 7.06. Reports by Trustee to Holder. As promptly as practicable after each May 15 beginning with the first May 15 after the issuance of Securities pursuant to this Indenture , for so long as Securities remain outstanding, the Trustee shall mail to each Holder a brief report dated as of such reporting date that complies with Section 313(a) of the Trust Indenture Act. The Trustee shall also comply with Section 313(b) of the Trust Indenture Act.

A copy of each report at the time of its mailing to Holders shall be filed with the SEC and each stock exchange (if any) on which the Securities are listed. The Issuer agrees to notify promptly the Trustee whenever the Securities become listed on any stock exchange and of any delisting thereof.

SECTION 7.07. Compensation and Indemnity. The Issuer shall pay to the Trustee from time to time such compensation for its services as the Issuer and the Trustee shall from time to time agree in writing. The Trustee’s compensation shall not be limited by any law on compensation of a trustee of an express trust. The Issuer shall reimburse the Trustee upon request for all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred or made by it, including costs of collection, costs of preparation and mailing of notices to Holders and reasonable costs of counsel retained by the Trustee in connection with the delivery of an Opinion of Counsel or otherwise in addition to the compensation for its services. Such expenses shall include the reasonable compensation and expenses, disbursements and advances of the Trustee’s agents, counsel, accountants and experts. The Issuer shall indemnify the Trustee against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage or expense (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) incurred by or in connection with the administration of this trust and the performance of its duties hereunder, including the costs and expenses of enforcing the Indenture (including this Section 7.07) and of defending itself against any claims (whether asserted by any Holder, the Issuer or

 

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otherwise). The Trustee shall notify the Issuer of any claim for which it may seek indemnity promptly upon obtaining actual knowledge thereof; provided , however , that any failure so to notify the Issuer shall not relieve the Issuer of its indemnity obligations hereunder. The Issuer need not reimburse any expense or indemnify against any loss, liability or expense incurred by an indemnified party through such party’s own willful misconduct, gross negligence or bad faith.

To secure the Issuer’s payment obligations in this Section, the Trustee shall have a lien prior to the Securities on all money or property held or collected by the Trustee other than money or property held in trust to pay the principal of and interest and any liquidated damages on particular Securities.

The Issuer’s payment obligations pursuant to this Section shall survive the satisfaction or discharge of this Indenture, any rejection or termination of this Indenture under any bankruptcy law or the resignation or removal of the Trustee. When the Trustee incurs expenses after the occurrence of a Default specified in Section 6.01(5) or (6) with respect to the Issuer, the expenses are intended to constitute expenses of administration under the Bankruptcy Law.

SECTION 7.08. Replacement of Trustee. The Trustee may resign at any time with respect to the Securities of any Series by so notifying the Issuer. The Holders of a majority in principal amount of the Securities of any Series may remove the Trustee and may appoint a successor Trustee with respect to such Series of Securities. The Issuer shall remove the Trustee if:

(1) the Trustee fails to comply with Section 7.10;

(2) the Trustee is adjudged bankrupt or insolvent;

(3) a receiver or other public officer takes charge of the Trustee or its property; or

(4) the Trustee otherwise becomes incapable of acting.

If the Trustee resigns, is removed by the Issuer or by the Holders of a majority in principal amount of the Securities of any Series and such Holders do not reasonably promptly appoint a successor Trustee or if a vacancy exists in the office of Trustee for any reason (the Trustee in such event being referred to herein as the retiring Trustee), the Issuer shall promptly appoint a successor Trustee. Within one year after the successor Trustee takes office, the Holders of a majority in principal amount of the then outstanding Securities may appoint a successor Trustee to replace the successor Trustee appointed by the Company.

A successor Trustee shall deliver a written acceptance of its appointment to the retiring Trustee and to the Issuer. Thereupon the resignation or removal of the retiring Trustee shall become effective, and the successor Trustee shall have all the rights, powers and duties of the Trustee under this Indenture. The successor Trustee shall mail a notice of its succession to Holders of that Series of Securities. The retiring Trustee shall

 

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promptly transfer all property held by it as Trustee to the successor Trustee, subject to the lien provided for in Section 7.07.

If a successor Trustee does not take office within 30 days after the retiring Trustee resigns or is removed, the retiring Trustee or the Holders of 10% in principal amount of the Securities of that Series may petition, at the expense of the Issuer, any court of competent jurisdiction for the appointment of a successor Trustee.

If the Trustee fails to comply with Section 7.10, after written notice hereto, the Holders of at least 10% in principal amount of that Series of Securities may petition any court of competent jurisdiction for the removal of the Trustee and the appointment of a successor Trustee.

Notwithstanding the replacement of the Trustee pursuant to this Section 7.08, the Issuer’s obligations under Section 7.07 shall continue for the benefit of the retiring Trustee.

SECTION 7.09. Successor Trustee by Merger. If the Trustee consolidates with, merges or converts into, or transfers all or substantially all its corporate-trust business or assets to, another corporation or banking association, the resulting, surviving or transferee corporation without any further act shall be the successor Trustee.

In case at the time such successor or successors by merger, conversion or consolidation to the Trustee shall succeed to the trusts created by this Indenture any of the Securities shall have been authenticated but not delivered, any such successor to the Trustee may adopt the certificate of authentication of any predecessor trustee, and deliver such Securities so authenticated; and if at that time any of the Securities shall not have been authenticated, any such successor to the Trustee may authenticate such Securities either in the name of any predecessor hereunder or in the name of the successor to the Trustee; and in all such cases such certificates shall have the full force which it is anywhere in the Securities or in this Indenture provided that the certificate of the Trustee shall have.

SECTION 7.10. Eligibility; Disqualification. The Trustee shall at all times satisfy the requirements of Trust Indenture Act Section 310(a). The Trustee shall have a combined capital and surplus of at least $100,000,000 as set forth in its most recent published annual report of condition. The Trustee shall comply with Trust Indenture Act Section 310(b); provided , however , that there shall be excluded from the operation of Trust Indenture Act Section 310(b)(1) any indenture or indentures under which other securities or certificates of interest or participation in other securities of the Issuer are outstanding if the requirements for such exclusion set forth in Trust Indenture Act Section 310(b)(1) are met.

SECTION 7.11. Preferential Collection of Claims Against the Issuer. The Trustee shall comply with Trust Indenture Act Section 311(a), excluding any creditor relationship listed in Trust Indenture Act Section 311(b). A Trustee who has resigned or

 

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has been removed shall be subject to Trust Indenture Act Section 311(a) to the extent indicated.

ARTICLE VIII

Legal Defeasance And Covenant Defeasance

SECTION 8.01. Option to Effect Legal Defeasance or Covenant Defeasance. The Issuer may, at the option of its Board of Directors evidenced by resolutions set forth in an Officers’ Certificate, at any time, elect to have either Section 8.02 or 8.03 hereof be applied to all outstanding Securities of any Series upon compliance with the conditions set forth below in this Article VIII.

Unless otherwise provided for in a Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture or an Officers’ Certificate, when (a) the Issuer has delivered to the Trustee for cancellation all Securities of a Series or (b) all outstanding Securities of a Series not theretofore delivered to the Trustee for cancellation shall have become due and payable, or are by their terms to become due and payable within one year or are to be called for redemption within one year, and the Issuer shall have deposited with the Trustee as trust funds the entire amount sufficient to pay at maturity or upon redemption of all outstanding Securities of the Series, and if, in either case, the Issuer shall also pay or cause to be paid all other sums payable under the Indenture by the Issuer, then the Indenture shall cease to be of further effect with respect to such Securities of such Series. The Trustee shall acknowledge satisfaction and discharge of the Indenture on demand of the Issuer accompanied by an Officers’ Certificate and an Opinion of Counsel and at the cost and expense of the Issuer.

SECTION 8.02. Legal Defeasance and Discharge. Upon the Issuer’s exercise under Section 8.01 hereof of the option applicable to this Section 8.02 with respect to any Series of Securities, the Issuer shall, subject to the satisfaction of the conditions set forth in Section 8.04 hereof, be deemed to have been discharged from its obligations with respect to all outstanding Securities of that Series on the date the conditions set forth below are satisfied (hereinafter, “Legal Defeasance”). For this purpose, Legal Defeasance means that the Issuer shall be deemed to have paid and discharged the entire Indebtedness represented by the outstanding Securities of that Series, which shall thereafter be deemed to be “outstanding” only for the purposes of Section 8.05 hereof and the other Sections of this Indenture referred to in (a) and (b) below, and to have satisfied all its other obligations under such Securities and this Indenture with respect to such Securities of such Series (and the Trustee, on demand of and at the expense of the Issuer, shall execute proper instruments acknowledging the same), except for the following provisions which shall survive until otherwise terminated or discharged hereunder:

(a) the rights of Holders of outstanding Securities of that Series to receive solely from the trust fund described in Section 8.04 hereof, and as more fully set forth in such Section, payments in respect of the principal of (or, in the case of Original

 

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Issue Discount Securities of that Series, the portion thereby specified in the terms of such Security), premium, if any, and interest on such Securities when such payment are due;

(b) the Issuer’s obligations with respect to such Securities of that Series under Article II;

(c) the rights, powers, trusts, duties and immunities of the Trustee hereunder and the Issuer’s obligations in connection therewith; and this Article VIII.

(d) Subject to compliance with this Article VIII, the Issuer may exercise its option under this Section 8.02 notwithstanding the prior exercise of its option under Section 8.03 hereof.

SECTION 8.03. Covenant Defeasance. Upon the Issuer’s exercise under Section 8.01 hereof of the option applicable to this Section 8.03 with respect to any Series of Securities, the Issuer shall, subject to the satisfaction of the conditions set forth in Section 8.04 hereof, be released from its obligations under the covenants contained in a Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture or an Officers’ Certificate with respect to the outstanding Securities of that Series on and after the date the conditions set forth in Section 8.04 are satisfied (hereinafter, “Covenant Defeasance”), and the Securities of that Series shall thereafter be deemed not “outstanding” for the purposes of any direction, waiver, consent or declaration or act of Holders (and the consequences of any thereof) in connection with such covenants, but shall continue to be deemed “outstanding” for all other purposes hereunder (it being understood that such Securities shall not be deemed outstanding for accounting purposes). For this purpose, Covenant Defeasance means that, with respect to the outstanding Securities of that Series, the Issuer may omit to comply with and shall have no liability in respect of any term, condition or limitation set forth in any such covenant, whether directly or indirectly, by reason of any reference elsewhere herein to any such covenant or by reason of any reference in any such covenant to any other provision herein or in any other document and such omission to comply shall not constitute a Default or an Event of Default with respect to such Securities under Section 6.01 hereof, but, except as specified above, the remainder of this Indenture and such Securities shall be unaffected thereby. In addition, upon the Issuer’s exercise under Section 8.01 hereof of the option applicable to this Section 8.03 hereof with respect to any Series of Securities, subject to the satisfaction of the conditions set forth in Section 8.04 hereof and Sections 6.01(3) and 6.01(4) hereof shall not constitute Events of Default with respect to such Securities.

SECTION 8.04. Conditions to Legal or Covenant Defeasance. The following shall be the conditions to the application of either Section 8.02 or 8.03 hereof to the outstanding Securities:

In order to exercise either Legal Defeasance or Covenant Defeasance with respect to any Series of Securities:

(1) the Issuer must irrevocably deposit with the Trustee, in trust, for the benefit of the Holders of that Series of Securities, cash in U.S. dollars, non-

 

32


callable Government Securities, or a combination thereof, in such amounts as will be sufficient, in the opinion of a nationally recognized independent registered public accounting firm, to pay the principal amount of (or, in the case of Original Issue Discount Securities of that Series, the portion thereby specified in the terms of such Security), premium, if any, and interest on the outstanding Securities of that Series on the stated date for payment thereof or on the applicable redemption date, as the case may be;

(2) in the case of an election under Section 8.02 hereof, the Issuer shall have delivered to the Trustee an Opinion of Counsel in the United States reasonably acceptable to the Trustee confirming that:

(a) the Issuer has received from, or there has been published by, the Internal Revenue Service a ruling; or

(b) since the date of this Indenture, there has been a change in the applicable federal income tax law, in either case to the effect that, and based thereon such Opinion of Counsel shall confirm that, the Holders of the outstanding Securities of that Series will not recognize income, gain or loss for federal income tax purposes as a result of such Legal Defeasance and will be subject to federal income tax on the same amounts, in the same manner and at the same time as would have been the case if such Legal Defeasance had not occurred;

(3) in the case of an election under Section 8.03 hereof, the Issuer shall have delivered to the Trustee an Opinion of Counsel in the United States reasonably acceptable to the Trustee confirming that the Holders of the outstanding Securities of that Series will not recognize income, gain or loss for federal income tax purposes as a result of such Covenant Defeasance and will be subject to federal income tax on the same amounts, in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if such Covenant Defeasance had not occurred;

(4) no Default or Event of Default with respect to that Series of Securities shall have occurred and be continuing either:

(c) on the date of such deposit (other than a Default or Event of Default with respect to that Series of Securities resulting from the borrowing of funds to be applied to such deposit); or

(d) insofar as Sections 6.01(5) or 6.01(6) hereof are concerned, at any time in the period ending on the 91st day after the date of deposit;

(5) such Legal Defeasance or Covenant Defeasance shall not result in a breach or violation of, or constitute a default under, any material agreement or instrument (other than this Indenture) to which the Issuer or any of its Significant Subsidiaries are a party or by which the Issuer or any of its Significant Subsidiaries are bound;

 

33


(6) the Issuer shall have delivered to the Trustee an Opinion of Counsel to the effect that on the 91st day following the deposit, the trust funds will not be subject to the effect of any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally;

(7) the Issuer shall have delivered to the Trustee an Officers’ Certificate stating that the deposit was not made by the Issuer with the intent of preferring the Holders of that Series of Securities over any other creditors of the Issuer or with the intent of defeating, hindering, delaying or defrauding any other creditors of the Issuer or others; and

(8) the Issuer shall have delivered to the Trustee an Officers’ Certificate and an Opinion of Counsel, each stating that all conditions precedent provided for or relating to the Legal Defeasance or the Covenant Defeasance have been complied with.

SECTION 8.05. Deposited Money and Government Securities to be Held in Trust; Other Miscellaneous Provisions. Subject to Section 8.06 hereof, all money and non-callable Government Securities (including the proceeds thereof) deposited with the Trustee (or other qualifying trustee, collectively for purposes of this Section 8.05, the “Trustee”) pursuant to Section 8.04 hereof in respect of any outstanding Series of Securities shall be held in trust and applied by the Trustee, in accordance with the provisions of such Securities and this Indenture, to the payment, either directly or through any Paying Agent (including the Issuer acting as Paying Agent) as the Trustee may determine, to the Holders of such Securities of all sums due and to become due thereon in respect of principal, premium, if any, and interest, but such money need not be segregated from other funds except to the extent required by law.

The Issuer shall pay and indemnify the Trustee against any tax, fee or other charge imposed on or assessed against the cash or non-callable Government Securities deposited pursuant to Section 8.04 hereof or the principal and interest received in respect thereof other than any such tax, fee or other charge which by law is for the account of the Holders of the outstanding Securities of that Series.

Anything in this Article VIII to the contrary notwithstanding, the Trustee shall deliver or pay to the Issuer from time to time upon the request of the Issuer any money or non-callable Government Securities held by it as provided in Section 8.04 hereof which, in the opinion of a nationally recognized independent registered public accounting firm expressed in a written certification thereof delivered to the Trustee (which may be the opinion delivered under Section 8.04(1) hereof), are in excess of the amount thereof that would then be required to be deposited to effect an equivalent Legal Defeasance or Covenant Defeasance.

SECTION 8.06. Repayment to the Issuer. Any money deposited with the Trustee or any Paying Agent, or then held by the Issuer, in trust for the payment of the principal of, premium, if any, or interest on any Security and remaining unclaimed for two years after such principal, and premium, if any, or interest has become due and

 

34


payable shall be paid to the Issuer on its request or (if then held by the Issuer) shall be discharged from such trust; and the Holder of such Security shall thereafter look only to the Issuer for payment thereof, and all liability of the Trustee or such Paying Agent with respect to such trust money, and all liability of the Issuer as trustee thereof, shall thereupon cease; provided , however , that the Trustee or such Paying Agent, before being required to make any such repayment, may at the expense of the Issuer cause to be published once, in the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal (national edition), notice that such money remains unclaimed and that, after a date specified therein, which shall not be less than 30 days from the date of such notification or publication, any unclaimed balance of such money then remaining will be repaid to the Issuer.

SECTION 8.07. Reinstatement. If the Trustee or Paying Agent is unable to apply any U.S. dollars or non-callable Government Securities in accordance with Section 8.02 or 8.03 thereof, as the case may be, by reason of any order or judgment of any court or governmental authority enjoining, restraining or otherwise prohibiting such application, then the Issuer’s obligations under this Indenture and the Securities shall be revived and reinstated as though no deposit had occurred pursuant to Section 8.02 or 8.03 hereof until such time as the Trustee or Paying Agent is permitted to apply all such money in accordance with Section 8.02 or 8.03 hereof, as the case may be; provided , however , that, if the Issuer makes any payment of principal of, premium, if any, or interest on any Security following the reinstatement of its obligations, the Issuer shall be subrogated to the rights of the Holders of such Securities to receive such payment from the money held by the Trustee or Paying Agent.

ARTICLE IX

Amendments

SECTION 9.01. Without Consent of Holders. The Issuer and the Trustee may amend this Indenture or the Securities without notice to or consent of any Holder:

(1) to evidence the succession of another Person to the Issuer pursuant to Article V and the assumption by such successor of the Issuer’s covenants, agreements and obligations in this Indenture and in the Securities;

(2) to surrender any right or power conferred upon the Issuer by this Indenture, to add to the covenants of the Issuer such further covenants, restrictions, conditions or provisions for the protection of the Holders of all or any Series of Securities as the Board of Directors of the Issuer shall consider to be for the protection of the Holders of such Securities, and to make the occurrence, or the occurrence and continuance, of a default in respect of any such additional covenants, restrictions, conditions or provisions a Default or an Event of Default under this Indenture; provided , however , that with respect to any such additional covenant, restriction, condition or provision, such amendment may provide for a period of grace after default, which may be shorter or longer than that allowed in the case of other Defaults, may provide for an immediate enforcement upon such

 

35


Default, may limit the remedies available to the Trustee upon such Default or may limit the right of Holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the Securities of any Series to waive such default;

(3) to cure any ambiguity or correct or supplement any provision contained in this Indenture, in any supplemental indenture or in any Securities that may be defective or inconsistent with any other provision contained therein;

(4) to convey, transfer, assign, mortgage or pledge any property to or with the Trustee, or to make such other provisions in regard to matters or questions arising under this Indenture as shall not adversely affect the interests of any Holders of Securities of any Series;

(5) to modify or amend this Indenture in such a manner as to permit the qualification of this Indenture or any supplemental indenture under the Trust Indenture Act as then in effect;

(6) to add or to change any of the provisions of this Indenture to provide that Securities in bearer form may be registrable as to principal, to change or eliminate any restrictions on the payment of principal or premium with respect to Securities in registered form or of principal, premium or interest with respect to Securities in bearer form, or to permit Securities in registered form to be exchanged for Securities in bearer form, so as to not adversely affect the interests of the Holders of Securities or any coupons of any Series in any material respect or permit or facilitate the issuance of Securities of any Series in uncertificated form;

(7) in the case of subordinated Securities, to make any change in the provisions of this Indenture or any supplemental indenture relating to subordination that would limit or terminate the benefits available to any holder of senior Indebtedness under such provisions (but only if each such holder of senior Indebtedness consents to such change);

(8) to add Guarantees with respect to the Securities or to secure the Securities;

(9) to make any change that does not adversely affect the rights of any Holder;

(10) to add to, change, or eliminate any of the provisions of this Indenture with respect to one or more Series of Securities, so long as any such addition, change or elimination not otherwise permitted under this Indenture shall (A) neither apply to any Security of any Series created prior to the execution of such supplemental indenture and entitled to the benefit of such provision nor modify the rights of the Holders of any such Security with respect to the benefit of such provision or (B) become effective only when there is no such Security outstanding;

 

36


(11) to evidence and provide for the acceptance of appointment by a successor or separate Trustee with respect to the Securities of one or more Series and to add to or change any of the provisions of this Indenture as shall be necessary to provide for or facilitate the administration of this Indenture by more than one Trustee; or

(12) to establish the form or terms of Securities and coupons of any Series pursuant to Article II.

SECTION 9.02. With Consent of Holders. The Issuer and the Trustee may amend this Indenture or the Securities of any Series without notice to any Holder but with the written consent of the Holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the Securities of each Series then outstanding (including consents obtained in connection with a tender offer or exchange for the Securities) affected by such amendment. However, without the consent of each Holder affected, an amendment may not:

(1) make any change to the percentage of principal amount of the outstanding Securities of any Series, the consent of whose Holders is required for any amendment, or the consent of whose Holders is required for any waiver (of compliance with certain provisions of this Indenture or certain defaults hereunder and their consequences) provided for in this Indenture;

(2) reduce the principal amount of, premium, if any, or interest on, or extend the Stated Maturity or interest payment periods of any Security;

(3) make any Security payable in money or securities other than those stated in the Security;

(4) make any change that adversely affects such Holder’s right to require the Issuer to purchase the Securities in accordance with the terms thereof and this Indenture;

(5) impair the right of any Holder to institute suit for the enforcement of any payment with respect to the Securities;

(6) in the case of any subordinated Securities, or coupons appertaining thereto, make any change in the provisions of this Indenture relating to subordination that adversely affects the rights of any Holder under such provisions; or

(7) make any change in Section 6.04 or 6.07 or the second sentence of this Section 9.02.

It shall not be necessary for the consent of the Holders under this Section to approve the particular form of any proposed amendment, but it shall be sufficient if such consent approves the substance thereof. After an amendment under this Section becomes effective, the Issuer shall mail to all affected Holders a notice briefly describing such

 

37


amendment. The failure to give such notice to all such Holders, or any defect therein, shall not impair or affect the validity of an amendment under this Section.

SECTION 9.03. Compliance with Trust Indenture Act. Every amendment to this Indenture or the Securities shall comply with the Trust Indenture Act as then in effect.

SECTION 9.04. Revocation and Effect of Consents and Waivers. A consent to an amendment or a waiver by a Holder of a Security shall bind the Holder and every subsequent Holder of that Security or portion of the Security that evidences the same debt as the consenting Holder’s Security, even if notation of the consent or waiver is not made on the Security. However, any such Holder or subsequent Holder may revoke the consent or waiver as to such Holder’s Security or portion of the Security if the Trustee receives the notice of revocation before the date the amendment or waiver becomes effective. After an amendment or waiver becomes effective, it shall bind every Holder. An amendment or waiver becomes effective once both (i) the requisite number of consents have been received by the Issuer or the Trustee and (ii) such amendment or waiver has been executed by the Issuer and the Trustee.

The Issuer may, but shall not be obligated to, fix a record date for the purpose of determining the Holders entitled to give their consent or take any other action described above or required or permitted to be taken pursuant to this Indenture. If a record date is fixed, then notwithstanding the immediately preceding paragraph, those Persons who were Holders at such record date (or their duly designated proxies), and only those Persons, shall be entitled to give such consent or to revoke any consent previously given or to take any such action, whether or not such Persons continue to be Holders after such record date. No such consent shall be valid or effective for more than 120 days after such record date.

SECTION 9.05. Notation on or Exchange of Securities. If an amendment changes the terms of a Security, the Trustee may require the Holder of the Security to deliver it to the Trustee. The Trustee may place an appropriate notation on the Security regarding the changed terms and return it to the Holder. Alternatively, if the Issuer or the Trustee so determines, the Issuer in exchange for the Security shall issue and the Trustee shall, upon receipt of an Issuer Order, authenticate a new Security that reflects the changed terms. Failure to make the appropriate notation or to issue a new Security shall not affect the validity of such amendment.

SECTION 9.06. Trustee To Sign Amendments. The Trustee shall sign any amendment authorized pursuant to this Article IX if the amendment does not affect the rights, duties, liabilities or immunities of the Trustee. If it does, the Trustee may but need not sign it. In signing such amendment the Trustee shall receive indemnity satisfactory to it, and (subject to Section 7.01) shall be fully protected in relying upon, an Officers’ Certificate and an Opinion of Counsel stating that such amendment is authorized or permitted by this Indenture and that such amendment is the legal, valid and binding obligation of the Issuer enforceable against it in accordance with its terms,

 

38


subject to customary exceptions, and complies with the provisions hereof (including Section 9.03).

SECTION 9.07. Payment for Consent. Neither the Issuer nor any Affiliate of the Issuer shall, directly or indirectly, pay or cause to be paid any consideration, whether by way of interest, fee or otherwise, to any Holder for or as an inducement to any consent, waiver or amendment of any of the terms or provisions of this Indenture or the Securities unless such consideration is offered to be paid to all Holders of such Series of Securities, ratably, that so consent, waive or agree to amend in the time frame set forth in solicitation documents relating to such consent, waiver or agreement.

ARTICLE X

Miscellaneous

SECTION 10.01. Trust Indenture Act Controls. If any provision of this Indenture limits, qualifies or conflicts with another provision which is required to be included in this Indenture by the Trust Indenture Act, the required provision shall control.

SECTION 10.02. Notices. Unless otherwise provided herein, any notice or communication shall be in writing and delivered in person or mailed by first-class mail addressed as follows:

If to the Issuer:

Crown Castle International Corp.

1220 Augusta Drive

Suite 600

Houston, TX 77057

Fax: (713) 570-3150

Attention: Chief Financial Officer

with a copy to:

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP

825 Eighth Avenue

New York, NY 10019

Fax: (212) 474-3700

Attention: Stephen L. Burns, Esq.

If to the Trustee:

The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A.

601 Travis Street, 16th Floor

Houston, TX 77002

Fax: (713) 483-6959

Attention: Corporate Trust Services, re: Crown Castle International Corp.

 

39


The Issuer or the Trustee by notice to the other may designate additional or different addresses for subsequent notices or communications.

Any notice or communication mailed to a Holder shall be mailed to the Holder at the Holder’s address as it appears on the registration books of the Registrar and shall be sufficiently given if so mailed within the time prescribed.

Failure to mail a notice or communication to a Holder or any defect in it shall not affect its sufficiency with respect to other Holders. If a notice or communication is mailed in the manner provided above, it is duly given, whether or not the addressee receives it.

The Trustee agrees to accept and act upon instructions and directions pursuant to this Indenture sent by unsecured e-mail, pdf, facsimile transmission or other similar unsecured electronic methods; provided , however , that the Trustee shall have received an incumbency certificate listing persons designated to give such instructions or directions and containing specimen signatures of such designated persons, which such incumbency certificate shall be amended and replaced whenever a person is to be added or deleted from the listing.

SECTION 10.03. Communication by Holders with Other Holders. Holders may communicate pursuant to Trust Indenture Act Section 312(b) with other Holders with respect to their rights under this Indenture or the Securities. The Issuer, the Trustee, the Registrar and anyone else shall have the protection of Trust Indenture Act Section 312(c).

SECTION 10.04. Certificate and Opinion as to Conditions Precedent. Upon any request or application by the Issuer to the Trustee to take or refrain from taking any action under this Indenture, the Issuer shall furnish to the Trustee:

(1) an Officers’ Certificate of the Issuer in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Trustee stating that, in the opinion of the signers, all conditions precedent, if any, provided for in this Indenture relating to the proposed action have been complied with; and

(2) an Opinion of Counsel in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Trustee stating that, in the opinion of such counsel, all such conditions precedent have been complied with.

SECTION 10.05. Statements Required in Certificate or Opinion. Each certificate or opinion with respect to compliance with a covenant or condition provided for in this Indenture shall include:

(1) a statement that the individual making such certificate or opinion has read such covenant or condition;

(2) a brief statement as to the nature and scope of the examination or investigation upon which the statements or opinions contained in such certificate

 

40


or opinion are based;

(3) a statement that, in the opinion of such individual, he has made such examination or investigation as is necessary to enable him to express an informed opinion as to whether or not such covenant or condition has been complied with; and

(4) a statement as to whether or not, in the opinion of such individual, such covenant or condition has been complied with.

SECTION 10.06. When Securities Disregarded. In determining whether the Holders of the required principal amount of Securities have concurred in any direction, waiver or consent, Securities owned by the Issuer, or by any Person directly or indirectly controlling or controlled by or under direct or indirect common control with the Issuer shall be disregarded and deemed not to be outstanding, except that, for the purpose of determining whether the Trustee shall be protected in relying on any such direction, waiver or consent, only Securities which the Trustee knows are so owned shall be so disregarded. Subject to the foregoing, only Securities outstanding at the time shall be considered in any such determination.

SECTION 10.07. Rules by Trustee, Paying Agent and Registrar. The Trustee may make reasonable rules for action by or a meeting of Holders. The Registrar and the Paying Agent may make reasonable rules for their functions.

SECTION 10.08. Legal Holidays. A “Legal Holiday” is a Saturday, Sunday or other day on which banking institutions in New York State are authorized or required by law to close. If a payment date is a Legal Holiday, payment shall be made on the next succeeding day that is not a Legal Holiday, and no interest shall accrue for the intervening period. If a regular record date is a Legal Holiday, the record date shall not be affected.

SECTION 10.09. Governing Law. THIS INDENTURE AND THE SECURITIES SHALL BE GOVERNED BY, AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH, THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK BUT WITHOUT GIVING EFFECT TO APPLICABLE PRINCIPLES OF CONFLICTS OF LAW TO THE EXTENT THAT THE APPLICATION OF THE LAWS OF ANOTHER JURISDICTION WOULD BE REQUIRED THEREBY.

SECTION 10.10. No Recourse Against Others. A director, officer, employee or shareholder, as such, of the Issuer shall not have any liability for any obligations of the Issuer under the Securities or this Indenture or for any claim based on, in respect of or by reason of such obligations or their creation. By accepting a Security, each Holder shall waive and release all such liability. The waiver and release shall be part of the consideration for the issuance of the Securities.

SECTION 10.11. Successors. All agreements of the Issuer in this Indenture and the Securities shall bind its successors. All agreements of the Trustee in this Indenture shall bind its successors.

 

41


SECTION 10.12. Multiple Originals. The parties may sign any number of copies of this Indenture. Each signed copy shall be an original, but all of them together represent the same agreement. One signed copy of the Indenture is enough to prove this Indenture.

SECTION 10.13. Table of Contents; Headings. The table of contents, cross-reference sheet and headings of the Articles and Sections of this Indenture have been inserted for convenience of reference only, are not intended to be considered a part hereof and shall not modify or restrict any of the terms or provisions hereof.

SECTION 10.14. Severability. If any provision in this Indenture is deemed unenforceable, it shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision set forth herein, or of the Indenture as a whole.

SECTION 10.15. Waiver of Jury Trial. EACH OF THE ISSUER AND THE TRUSTEE HEREBY IRREVOCABLE WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY AND ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING ARISING OUR OF OR RELATING TO THIS INDENTURE, THE SECURITIES OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY.

SECTION 10.16. Force Majeure. In no event shall the Trustee be responsible or liable for any failure or delay in the performance of its obligations hereunder arising out of or caused by, directly or indirectly, forces beyond its control, including, without limitation, strikes, work stoppages, accidents, acts of war or terrorism, civil or military disturbances, nuclear or natural catastrophes or acts of God; it being understood that the Trustee shall use reasonable efforts which are consistent with accepted practices in the banking industry to resume performance as soon as practicable under the circumstances.

 

42


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Indenture to be duly executed as of the date first written above.

 

CROWN CASTLE INTERNATIONAL CORP.,
  by  

/s/ Jay A. Brown

    Name:   Jay A. Brown
    Title:   Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A.,

as Trustee

  by  

/s/ Michael Countryman

    Name:   Michael Countryman
    Title:   Vice President

[Signature Page to Base Indenture]

 

43

Exhibit 4.2

EXECUTION VERSION

 

 

 

CROWN CASTLE INTERNATIONAL CORP.,

ISSUER

$850,000,000 AGGREGATE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT

OF

4.875% SENIOR NOTES DUE 2022

 

 

FIRST

SUPPLEMENTAL

INDENTURE

DATED AS OF APRIL 15, 2014

TO THE INDENTURE

DATED AS OF APRIL 15, 2014

THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A.,

TRUSTEE

 

 

 


CROSS-REFERENCE TABLE*

 

Trust Indenture Act Section

   Supplemental Indenture Section

310  (a)(1)

   7.10

(a)(2)

   7.10

(a)(3)

   N.A.

(a)(4)

   N.A.

(a)(5)

   7.10

(b)

   7.10

(c)

   N.A.

311  (a)

   7.11

(b)

   7.11

(c)

   N.A.

312  (a)

   2.05

(b)

   11.03

(c)

   11.03

313  (a)

   7.06

(b)(1)

   N.A.

(b)(2)

   7.07

(c)

   7.06;11.02

(d)

   7.06

314  (a)

   4.03;11.02

(b)

   N.A.

(c)(1)

   11.04

(c)(2)

   11.04

(c)(3)

   N.A.

(d)

   N.A.

(e)

   11.05

(f)

   N.A.

315  (a)

   7.01

(b)

   7.05; 11.02

(c)

   7.01

(d)

   7.01

(e)

   6.11

316  (a) (last sentence)

   2.09

(a)(1)(A)

   6.05

(a)(1)(B)

   6.04

(a)(2)

   N.A.

(b)

   6.07

(c)

   N.A.

317  (a)(1)

   6.08

(a)(2)

   6.09

(b)

   2.04

318  (a)

   11.01

(b)

   N.A.

(c)

   11.01

N.A. means not applicable.

*This Cross Reference Table is not part of the Supplemental Indenture.

 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

     Page  
ARTICLE 1   

APPLICATION OF SUPPLEMENTAL INDENTURE AND CREATION OF NOTES;

DEFINITIONS AND INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

  

Section 1.01   Application of this Supplemental Indenture

     1   

Section 1.02   Effect of Supplemental Indenture

     1   

Section 1.03   Definitions

     2   

Section 1.04   Other Definitions

     19   

Section 1.05   Incorporation by Reference of Trust Indenture Act

     19   

Section 1.06   Rules of Construction

     20   
ARTICLE 2   
THE NOTES   

Section 2.01   Issuance; Form and Dating

     20   

Section 2.02   Execution and Authentication

     21   

Section 2.03   Registrar and Paying Agent

     21   

Section 2.04   Maintenance of Office or Agency; Paying Agent to Hold Money in Trust

     21   

Section 2.05   Holder Lists

     22   

Section 2.06   Transfer and Exchange

     22   

Section 2.07   Additional Transfer and Exchange Requirements

     23   

Section 2.08   Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost and Stolen Notes

     24   

Section 2.09   Outstanding Notes

     25   

Section 2.10   Treasury Notes

     25   

Section 2.11   Temporary Notes

     25   

Section 2.12   Cancellation

     25   

Section 2.13   Defaulted Interest

     26   

Section 2.14   CUSIP Numbers

     26   

Section 2.15   No Sinking Fund

     26   

Section 2.16   Issuance of Additional Notes

     26   
ARTICLE 3   
REDEMPTION AND PREPAYMENT   

Section 3.01   Notices to Trustee

     26   

Section 3.02   Selection of Notes to Be Redeemed

     26   

Section 3.03   Notice of Redemption

     27   

Section 3.04   Effect of Notice of Redemption

     28   

Section 3.05   Deposit of Redemption Price

     28   

Section 3.06   Notes Redeemed in Part

     28   

Section 3.07   Optional Redemption

     28   

Section 3.08   Offer to Purchase by Application of Excess Proceeds

     29   

 

ii


ARTICLE 4   
COVENANTS   

Section 4.01   Payment of Notes

     31   

Section 4.02   Maintenance of Office or Agency

     31   

Section 4.03   Reports

     31   

Section 4.04   Compliance Certificate

     33   

Section 4.05   Taxes

     33   

Section 4.06   Stay, Extension and Usury Laws

     33   

Section 4.07   Restricted Payments

     33   

Section 4.08   Dividend and Other Payment Restrictions Affecting Subsidiaries

     35   

Section 4.09   Incurrence of Indebtedness and Issuance of Preferred Stock

     37   

Section 4.10   Asset Sales

     40   

Section 4.11   Transactions with Affiliates

     42   

Section 4.12   Liens

     43   

Section 4.13   Business Activities

     43   

Section 4.14   Reserved

     43   

Section 4.15   Offer to Repurchase Upon Change of Control

     43   

Section 4.16   Sale and Leaseback Transactions

     44   

Section 4.17   Reserved

     45   

Section 4.18   Limitation on Issuances of Guarantees of Indebtedness

     45   

Section 4.19   Effectiveness of Covenants

     45   
ARTICLE 5   
SUCCESSORS   

Section 5.01   Merger, Consolidation or Sale of Assets

     45   

Section 5.02   Successor Corporation Substituted

     47   
ARTICLE 6   
DEFAULTS AND REMEDIES   

Section 6.01   Events of Default

     47   

Section 6.02   Acceleration

     48   

Section 6.03   Other Remedies

     49   

Section 6.04   Waiver of Past Defaults

     49   

Section 6.05   Control by Majority

     49   

Section 6.06   Limitation on Suits

     49   

Section 6.07   Rights of Holders of Notes to Receive Payment

     50   

Section 6.08   Collection Suit by Trustee

     50   

Section 6.09   Trustee May File Proofs of Claim

     50   

Section 6.10   Priorities

     50   

Section 6.11   Undertaking for Costs

     51   
ARTICLE 7   
TRUSTEE   

 

iii


Section 7.01   Duties of Trustee

     51   

Section 7.02   Rights of Trustee

     52   

Section 7.03   Individual Rights of Trustee

     53   

Section 7.04   Trustee’s Disclaimer

     53   

Section 7.05   Notice of Defaults

     53   

Section 7.06   Reports by Trustee to Holders

     53   

Section 7.07   Compensation and Indemnity

     53   

Section 7.08   Replacement of Trustee

     54   

Section 7.09   Successor Trustee by Merger, etc.

     55   

Section 7.10   Eligibility; Disqualification

     55   

Section 7.11   Preferential Collection of Claims Against Company

     55   
ARTICLE 8   
LEGAL DEFEASANCE AND COVENANT DEFEASANCE   

Section 8.01   Option to Effect Legal Defeasance or Covenant Defeasance

     56   

Section 8.02   Legal Defeasance and Discharge

     56   

Section 8.03   Covenant Defeasance

     56   

Section 8.04   Conditions to Legal or Covenant Defeasance

     57   

Section 8.05   Deposited Money and Government Securities to be Held in Trust; Other Miscellaneous Provisions

     58   

Section 8.06   Repayment to Company

     58   

Section 8.07   Reinstatement

     59   
ARTICLE 9   
AMENDMENT, SUPPLEMENT AND WAIVER   

Section 9.01   Without Consent of Holders of Notes

     59   

Section 9.02   With Consent of Holders of Notes

     60   

Section 9.03   Compliance with Trust Indenture Act

     61   

Section 9.04   Revocation and Effect of Consents

     61   

Section 9.05   Notation on or Exchange of Notes

     61   

Section 9.06   Trustee to Sign Amendments, etc.

     61   
ARTICLE 10   
SATISFACTION AND DISCHARGE   

Section 10.01   Satisfaction and Discharge

     62   
ARTICLE 11   
MISCELLANEOUS   

Section 11.01   Trust Indenture Act Controls

     62   

Section 11.02   Notices

     62   

Section 11.03   Communication by Holders of Notes with Other Holders of Notes

     64   

Section 11.04   Certificate and Opinion as to Conditions Precedent

     64   

Section 11.05   Statements Required in Certificate or Opinion

     64   

 

iv


Section 11.06   Rules by Trustee and Agents

     65   

Section 11.07   No Personal Liability of Directors, Officers, Employees and Stockholders

     65   

Section 11.08   Governing Law

     65   

Section 11.09   Ratification of Base Indenture; No Adverse Interpretation of Other Agreements

     65   

Section 11.10   Successors

     65   

Section 11.11   Severability

     65   

Section 11.12   Counterpart Originals

     65   

Section 11.13   Table of Contents, Headings, etc.

     65   

Section 11.14   Waiver of Jury Trial

     65   

Section 11.15   Force Majeure

     65   

 

v


FIRST SUPPLEMENTAL INDENTURE (this “ Supplemental Indenture ”) dated as of April 15, 2014 to the Indenture dated as of April 15, 2014 (the “ Base Indenture ,” together with this Supplemental Indenture, the “ Indenture ”) between Crown Castle International Corp., a Delaware corporation, and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as trustee (the “ Trustee ”).

WHEREAS, the Company has executed and delivered to the Trustee the Base Indenture providing for the issuance from time to time of one or more series of Securities;

WHEREAS, Section 9.01 of the Base Indenture provides for the Company and the Trustee to enter into an indenture supplemental to the Base Indenture without the consent of any Holders (as defined in the Base Indenture) to establish the forms or terms of Securities of any series as permitted by Section 2.02 and Section 2.03 of the Base Indenture;

WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 2.02 of the Base Indenture, the Company wishes to provide for the issuance of the 4.875% Senior Notes due 2022 (the “Notes”), the forms and terms of such Notes and the terms, provisions and conditions thereof to be set forth as provided in this Supplemental Indenture; and

WHEREAS, the Company has requested that the Trustee execute and deliver this Supplemental Indenture, and all requirements necessary to make this Supplemental Indenture a valid, binding and enforceable instrument in accordance with its terms, and to make the Notes, when executed by the Company and authenticated and delivered by the Trustee, the valid, binding and enforceable obligations of the Company, have been done and performed, and the execution and delivery of this Supplemental Indenture has been duly authorized in all respects;

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

ARTICLE 1

APPLICATION OF SUPPLEMENTAL INDENTURE AND CREATION OF NOTES;

DEFINITIONS AND INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

Section 1.01 Application of this Supplemental Indenture. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Supplemental Indenture, the provisions of this Supplemental Indenture, including as provided in Section 1.02, and any amendments or modifications to the terms of the Base Indenture made herein, are expressly and solely for the benefit of the Holders (and not for the benefit of any other series of Securities (as defined in the Base Indenture)). The Notes constitute a series of Securities as provided in Section 2.01 of the Base Indenture. Unless otherwise expressly specified, references in this Supplemental Indenture to specific Article numbers or Section numbers refer to Articles and Sections contained in this Supplemental Indenture, and not the Base Indenture or any other document. All the Notes issued under this Supplemental Indenture shall be treated as a single class for all purposes of the Indenture, including waivers, amendments, redemptions and offers to purchase.

Section 1.02 Effect of Supplemental Indenture. With respect to the Notes only, the Base Indenture shall be supplemented pursuant to Section 9.01 thereof to establish the terms of the Notes as set forth in this Supplemental Indenture, including as follows:

(a)         Definitions. The definitions and other provisions of general application set forth in Sections 1.01, 1.02, 1.03 and 1.04 of the Base Indenture are deleted and replaced in their entirety by the provisions of Sections 1.03, 1.04, 1.05 and 1.06 of this Supplemental Indenture;

 

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(b)         The Securities. The provisions of Article II of the Base Indenture are deleted and replaced in their entirety by the provisions of Article 2 of this Supplemental Indenture;

(c)         Redemption. The provisions of Article III of the Base Indenture are deleted and replaced in their entirety by the provisions of Article 3 of this Supplemental Indenture;

(d)         Covenants. The provisions of Article IV of the Base Indenture are deleted and replaced in their entirety by the provisions of Article 4 of this Supplemental Indenture;

(e)         Successors. The provisions of Article V of the Base Indenture are deleted and replaced in their entirety by Article 5 of this Supplemental Indenture;

(f)         Defaults and Remedies. The provisions of Article VI of the Base Indenture are deleted and replaced in their entirety by the provisions of Article 6 of this Supplemental Indenture;

(g)         Trustee. The provisions of Article VII of the Base Indenture are deleted and replaced in their entirety by the provisions of Article 7 of this Supplemental Indenture;

(h)         Legal Defeasance and Covenant Defeasance. The provisions of Article VIII of the Base Indenture are deleted and replaced in their entirety by the provisions of Article 8 of this Supplemental Indenture;

(i)         Amendments. The provisions of Article IX of the Base Indenture are deleted and replaced in their entirety by the provisions of Article 9 of this Supplemental Indenture; and

(j)         Miscellaneous. The provisions of Article X of the Base Indenture are deleted and replaced in their entirety by the provisions of Article 11 of this Supplemental Indenture.

To the extent that the provisions of this Supplemental Indenture (including those referred to in clauses (a) through (j) above) conflict with any provision of the Base Indenture, the provisions of this Supplemental Indenture shall govern and be controlling solely with respect to the Notes.

Section 1.03 Definitions. For all purposes of the Indenture, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

Acquired Debt ” means, with respect to any specified Person:

(1) Indebtedness of such Person or any other Person existing at the time such other Person is merged with or into or became a Subsidiary of such specified Person or in connection with the acquisition of the assets of such Person, including, without limitation, Indebtedness incurred in connection with, or in contemplation of, such other Person merging with or into or becoming a Subsidiary of such specified Person or such Person acquiring assets; and

(2) Indebtedness secured by a Lien encumbering any asset acquired by such specified Person.

Additional Notes ” means additional Notes (other than the Initial Notes) issued from time to time under the Indenture in accordance with Sections 2.02, 2.16 and 4.09 hereof, as part of the same or a different series as the Initial Notes.

Adjusted Consolidated Cash Flow ” means, as of any date of determination, the sum of:

 

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(1) the Consolidated Cash Flow of the Company for the four most recent full fiscal quarters ending immediately prior to such date for which internal financial statements are available, less the Company’s Tower Cash Flow for such four-quarter period; plus

(2) the product of four times the Company’s Tower Cash Flow for the most recent fiscal quarter for which internal financial statements are available.

For purposes of making the computation referred to above:

(1) acquisitions that have been made by the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, including through mergers or consolidations and including any related financing transactions, during the reference period or subsequent to such reference period and on or prior to the calculation date shall be deemed to have occurred on the first day of the reference period and Consolidated Cash Flow for such reference period shall be calculated without giving effect to clause (2) of the proviso set forth in the definition of Consolidated Net Income; and

(2) the Consolidated Cash Flow attributable to discontinued operations, as determined in accordance with GAAP, and operations or businesses disposed of prior to the calculation date, shall be excluded.

Affiliate ” of any specified Person means any other Person directly or indirectly controlling or controlled by or under direct or indirect common control with such specified Person. For purposes of this definition, “control” (including, with correlative meanings, the terms “controlling”, “controlled by” and “under common control with”), as used with respect to any Person, shall mean the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management or policies of such Person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by agreement or otherwise.

Agent ” means any Registrar or Paying Agent.

Applicable Procedures ” means, with respect to any transfer or exchange of beneficial ownership interests in a Global Note, the rules and procedures of the Depositary that are applicable to such transfer or exchange.

Asset Sale ” means:

(1) the sale, lease, conveyance or other disposition of any assets or rights (including, without limitation, by way of a sale and leaseback); provided that the sale, lease, conveyance or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole shall be governed by Section 4.15 and/or Section 5.01 and not by Section 4.10; and

(2) the issue or sale by the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries of Equity Interests of any of the Company’s Subsidiaries (other than directors’ qualifying shares or shares required by applicable law to be held by a Person other than the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary),

in the case of either clause (1) or (2), whether in a single transaction or a series of related transactions:

(a) that have a fair market value in excess of $10.0 million; or

(b) for net proceeds in excess of $10.0 million.

 

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Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this definition, the following items shall not be deemed to be Asset Sales:

(1) a transfer of assets by the Company to a Restricted Subsidiary or by a Restricted Subsidiary to the Company or to another Restricted Subsidiary;

(2) an issuance of Equity Interests by a Subsidiary to the Company or to another Restricted Subsidiary;

(3) a transfer or issuance of Equity Interests of an Unrestricted Subsidiary to an Unrestricted Subsidiary; provided, however , that such transfer or issuance does not result in a decrease in the percentage of ownership of the voting securities of such transferee Unrestricted Subsidiary that are collectively held by the Company and its Subsidiaries;

(4) a Restricted Payment that is permitted by Section 4.07;

(5) grants of leases or licenses in the ordinary course of business;

(6) disposals of Cash Equivalents;

(7) any disposition of property or equipment that has become damaged, worn out or obsolete or that is no longer useful in the conduct of the business of the Company and its Restricted Subsidiaries;

(8) dispositions in connection with the foreclosure of any Lien not prohibited by the Indenture;

(9) licenses or sublicenses of intellectual property;

(10) any surrender or waiver of contract rights or the settlement, release or surrender of contract, tort or other claims of any kind; and

(11) any disposition arising from foreclosure, condemnation or similar action with respect to any property or other assets, or exercise of termination rights under any lease, license, concession or other agreement.

Attributable Debt ” in respect of a sale and leaseback transaction means, at the time of determination, the present value (discounted at the rate of interest implicit in such transaction, determined in accordance with GAAP) of the obligation of the lessee for net rental payments during the remaining term of the lease included in such sale and leaseback transaction (including any period for which such lease has been extended or may, at the option of the lessor, be extended).

Bankruptcy Law ” means Title 11, U.S. Code or any similar federal or state law for the relief of debtors.

Board of Directors ” means the Board of Directors of the Company, or any authorized committee of the Board of Directors.

Board Resolution ” means a copy of a resolution certified by the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the Company to have been adopted by the Board of Directors or pursuant to authorization by the Board of Directors and to be in full force and effect on the date of the certificate and delivered to the Trustee.

Business Day ” means any day other than a Legal Holiday.

 

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Capital Lease Obligation ” means, at the time any determination thereof is to be made, the amount of the liability in respect of a capital lease that would at such time be required to be capitalized on a balance sheet in accordance with GAAP.

Capital Stock ” means:

(1) in the case of a corporation, corporate stock;

(2) in the case of an association or business entity, any and all shares, interests, participations, rights or other equivalents (however designated) of corporate stock;

(3) in the case of a partnership or limited liability company, partnership or membership interests (whether general or limited); and

(4) any other interest or participation that confers on a Person the right to receive a share of the profits and losses of, or distributions of assets of, the issuing Person.

Cash Equivalents ” means:

(1) United States dollars;

(2) securities issued or directly and fully guaranteed or insured by the United States government, or any agency or instrumentality thereof ( provided that the full faith and credit of the United States is pledged in support thereof) having maturities of not more than six months from the date of acquisition;

(3) certificates of deposit and eurodollar time deposits with maturities of six months or less from the date of acquisition, bankers’ acceptances with maturities not exceeding six months and overnight bank deposits, in each case with any domestic commercial bank having capital and surplus in excess of $500.0 million and a Thompson Bank Watch Rating of “B” or better;

(4) repurchase obligations with a term of not more than seven days for underlying securities of the types described in clauses (2) and (3) of this definition entered into with any financial institution meeting the qualifications specified in clause (3) of this definition;

(5) commercial paper having the highest rating obtainable from Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. or Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group and in each case maturing within six months after the date of acquisition; and

(6) money market funds at least 95% of the assets of which constitute Cash Equivalents of the kinds described in clauses (1) through (5) of this definition.

Certificated Note ” means a Note that is in substantially the form attached hereto as Exhibit A and that is not a Global Note.

Change of Control ” means the occurrence of any of the following:

(1) the sale, lease, transfer, conveyance or other disposition (other than by way of merger or consolidation), in one or a series of related transactions, of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company and its Restricted Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, to any “person” (as such term is used in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act);

(2) the adoption of a plan relating to the liquidation or dissolution of the Company;

 

5


(3) the Company becomes aware of (by way of a report or any other filing pursuant to Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act, proxy, vote, written notice or otherwise) the consummation of any transaction (including, without limitation, any merger or consolidation) the result of which is that any “person” (as defined in clause (1) above) becomes the “beneficial owner” (as, such term is defined in Rule 13d-3 and Rule 13d-5 under the Exchange Act, except that a person shall be deemed to have “beneficial ownership” of all securities that such person has the right to acquire, whether such right is currently exercisable or is exercisable only upon the occurrence of a subsequent condition), directly or indirectly, of more than 50% of the Voting Stock of the Company (measured by voting power rather than number of shares);

(4) the first day on which a majority of the members of the Board of Directors are not Continuing Directors; or

(5) the Company consolidates with, or merges with or into, any Person, or any Person consolidates with, or merges with or into, the Company, in any such event pursuant to a transaction in which any of the outstanding Voting Stock of the Company is converted into or exchanged for cash, securities or other property, other than any such transaction where the Voting Stock of the Company outstanding immediately prior to such transaction is converted into or exchanged for Voting Stock (other than Disqualified Stock) of the surviving or transferee Person constituting a majority of the outstanding shares of such Voting Stock of such surviving or transferee Person (immediately after giving effect to such issuance).

Company ” means Crown Castle International Corp., a Delaware corporation, and any and all successors thereto.

Company Order ” means a written order signed in the name of the Company by two Officers, one of whom must be the Company’s principal executive officer, principal financial officer or principal accounting officer.

Comparable Treasury Issue ” means the United States Treasury security selected by an Independent Investment Banker as having an actual or interpolated maturity comparable to the remaining term of the Notes to be redeemed that would be utilized, at the time of selection and in accordance with customary financial practice, in pricing new issues of corporate debt securities of comparable maturity to the remaining term of such Notes.

Comparable Treasury Price ” means (1) the arithmetic average of the Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations for the redemption date after excluding the highest and lowest Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations, or (2) if the Company is given fewer than four Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations, the arithmetic average of all Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations for such redemption date.

Consolidated Cash Flow ” means, with respect to any Person for any period, the Consolidated Net Income of such Person for such period; plus:

(1) provision for taxes based on income or profits of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries for such period, to the extent that such provision for taxes was included in computing such Consolidated Net Income; plus

(2) consolidated interest expense of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries for such period, whether paid or accrued and whether or not capitalized (including, without limitation, amortization of debt issuance costs and original issue discount, non-cash interest payments, the interest component of any deferred payment obligations, the interest component of all payments associated with Capital Lease Obligations, commissions, discounts and other fees and charges incurred in respect of letters of credit or

 

6


bankers’ acceptance financings, and actual net payments made (if any) pursuant to Hedging Obligations), to the extent that any such expense was deducted in computing such Consolidated Net Income; plus

(3) depreciation, amortization (including amortization of goodwill and other intangibles) and other non-cash expenses (excluding any such non-cash expense to the extent that it represents an accrual of or reserve for cash expenses in any future period) of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries for such period to the extent that such depreciation, amortization and other non-cash expenses were deducted in computing such Consolidated Net Income; minus

(4) non-cash items increasing such Consolidated Net Income for such period (excluding any items that were accrued in the ordinary course of business), in each case on a consolidated basis and determined in accordance with GAAP.

Consolidated Indebtedness ” means, with respect to any Person as of any date of determination, the sum, without duplication, of:

(1) the total amount of Indebtedness of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries; plus

(2) the total amount of Indebtedness of any other Person, to the extent that such Indebtedness has been Guaranteed by the referent Person or one or more of its Restricted Subsidiaries; plus

(3) the aggregate liquidation value of all Disqualified Stock of such Person and all preferred stock of Restricted Subsidiaries of such Person, in each case, determined on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP.

For the avoidance of doubt, Consolidated Indebtedness shall not include Indebtedness of any Restricted Subsidiary acquired by the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary and which is to be held by the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary to redemption or maturity of such Indebtedness. Consolidated Indebtedness shall also be calculated on a pro forma basis to exclude (i) any Indebtedness incurred on such date that is incurred (including as a result of classification pursuant to Section 4.09(d)) as Permitted Debt and (ii) any Indebtedness which is redeemable pursuant to its terms and which has been unconditionally called for redemption with a scheduled redemption date within 45 days of the date of determination.

Consolidated Net Income ” means, with respect to any Person for any period, the aggregate of the Net Income of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries for such period, on a consolidated basis, determined in accordance with GAAP; provided that:

(1) the Net Income (but not loss) of any Person other than the Company that is not a Restricted Subsidiary or that is accounted for by the equity method of accounting shall be included only to the extent of the amount of dividends or distributions paid in cash to the referent Person or a Restricted Subsidiary thereof;

(2) the Net Income of any Person acquired in a pooling of interests transaction for any period prior to the date of such acquisition shall be excluded; and

(3) the cumulative effect of a change in accounting principles shall be excluded.

Consolidated Tangible Assets ” means, with respect to the Company, the total consolidated assets of the Company and its Restricted Subsidiaries, less the total intangible assets of the Company and

 

7


its Restricted Subsidiaries, as shown on the most recent internal consolidated balance sheet of the Company and such Restricted Subsidiaries calculated on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP.

Continuing Director ” means, as of any date of determination, any member of the Board of Directors who:

(1) was a member of the Board of Directors on the date hereof; or

(2) was nominated for election or elected to the Board of Directors with the approval of a majority of the Continuing Directors who were members of the Board of Directors at the time of such nomination or election.

Corporate Trust Office ” means, solely for purposes of presenting the Notes, The Bank of New York Mellon located at 101 Barclay Street, 7 East, New York, New York 10286 and, for all other purposes the office of the Trustee at which any time its corporate trust business shall be administered, which at the date hereof is located at 601 Travis Street, 16th floor, Houston, Texas 77002, Attention: Corporate Trust Services, re: Crown Castle International Corp., or such other address as the Trustee may designate from time to time by notice to the Holders and the Company, or the principal corporate trust office of any successor Trustee (or such other address as such successor Trustee may designate from time to time by notice to the Holders and the Company).

Credit Facilities ” means, with respect to the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary, one or more debt facilities, including the agreements governing the Senior Credit Facility, the Tower Cash Flow Facilities or other financing arrangements (including, without limitation, commercial paper facilities or indentures) providing for revolving credit loans, term loans, letters of credit, bankers’ acceptances and other similar obligations or other long-term indebtedness, including any notes, mortgages, guarantees, collateral documents, instruments and agreements executed in connection therewith, and any amendments, supplements, modifications, extensions, renewals, restatements, replacements or refundings thereof and any indentures or credit facilities or commercial paper facilities that replace, refund or refinance any part of the loans, notes, other credit facilities or commitments thereunder, including any such replacement, refunding or refinancing facility or indenture that increases the amount permitted to be borrowed thereunder or alters the maturity thereof ( provided that such increase in borrowings is permitted under Section 4.09) or adds Restricted Subsidiaries as additional borrowers or guarantors thereunder and whether by the same or any other agent, lender or group of lenders.

Custodian ” means the Trustee, as Custodian with respect to the Notes in global form, or any successor entity thereto.

Debt to Adjusted Consolidated Cash Flow Ratio ” means, as of any date of determination, the ratio of:

(1) the Consolidated Indebtedness of the Company as of such date to

(2) the Adjusted Consolidated Cash Flow of the Company as of such date.

Default ” means any event that is, or with the passage of time or the giving of notice or both would be, an Event of Default.

Designated Noncash Consideration ” means the fair market value of noncash consideration received by the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary in connection with an Asset Sale that is so designated as Designated Noncash Consideration pursuant to an Officers’ Certificate, setting forth the

 

8


basis of such valuation less the amount of cash or cash equivalents received in connection with a subsequent sale of or collection on such Designated Noncash Consideration.

Disqualified Stock ” means any Capital Stock that, by its terms (or by the terms of any security into which it is convertible or for which it is exchangeable, in each case, at the option of the holder thereof), or upon the happening of any event, matures or is mandatorily redeemable, pursuant to a sinking fund obligation or otherwise, or redeemable at the option of the holder thereof, in whole or in part, on or prior to the date that is 91 days after the date on which the Notes mature; provided , however , that any class of Capital Stock that by its terms authorizes the issuer to satisfy in full its obligations upon maturity, redemption, exchange or repurchase thereof or otherwise, by the delivery of Capital Stock that is not Disqualified Stock, will not be Disqualified Stock; provided , further , however , that any Capital Stock that would constitute Disqualified Stock solely because the holders thereof have the right to require the Company to repurchase such Capital Stock upon the occurrence of a change of control or an asset sale shall not constitute Disqualified Stock if the terms of such Capital Stock provide that the Company may not repurchase or redeem any such Capital Stock pursuant to such provisions unless such repurchase or redemption complies with Section 4.07.

Equity Interests ” means Capital Stock, and all warrants, options or other rights to acquire Capital Stock (but excluding any debt security that is convertible into, or exchangeable for, Capital Stock).

Equity Offering ” means any public or private primary offering for cash of common stock of the Company (other than public offerings of common stock of the Company registered on Form S-8 or any successor form).

Exchange Act ” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Excluded Capital Lease Obligations ” means Capital Lease Obligations (or obligations pursuant to consolidated variable interest entities accounting that would otherwise be reflected as a liability) in respect of interests in real property on which cell towers of the Company or a Subsidiary of the Company are located in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $200.0 million at any one time outstanding.

Existing Indebtedness ” means Indebtedness of the Company and its Subsidiaries in existence, and in such amount as is outstanding, on the date hereof.

Fiscal Year ” means the fiscal year of the Company, which as of the date hereof ends on December 31.

Foreign Subsidiary ” means any Restricted Subsidiary of the Company that is not organized under the laws of the United States of America or any state thereof or the District of Columbia.

GAAP ” means generally accepted accounting principles set forth in the opinions and pronouncements of the Accounting Principles Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and statements and pronouncements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board or in such other statements by such other entity as have been approved by a significant segment of the accounting profession, as such are in effect on the date hereof.

Global Note ” means a global note that is in substantially the form attached hereto as Exhibit A and that includes the information and schedule called for by footnotes 1, 2 and 3 thereof and which is deposited with the Depositary or its custodian and registered in the name of the Depositary or its nominee.

 

9


Government Securities ” means direct obligations of, or obligations guaranteed by, the United States of America, and the payment for which the United States pledges its full faith and credit.

Guarantee ” means a guarantee (other than by endorsement of negotiable instruments for collection in the ordinary course of business), direct or indirect, in any manner (including, without limitation, by way of a pledge of assets or through letters of credit or reimbursement agreements in respect thereof), of all or any part of any Indebtedness.

Hedging Obligations ” means, with respect to any Person, the obligations of such Person under:

(1) interest rate swap agreements, interest rate cap agreements and interest rate collar agreements; and

(2) other agreements or arrangements designed to protect such Person against fluctuations in interest rates or currency exchange rates.

Holder ” means a Person in whose name a Note is registered.

Indebtedness ” means, with respect to any Person, any indebtedness of such Person in respect of borrowed money or evidenced by bonds, notes, debentures or similar instruments or letters of credit (or reimbursement agreements in respect thereof) or banker’s acceptances or representing Capital Lease Obligations or the balance deferred and unpaid of the purchase price of any property or representing any Hedging Obligations (to the extent of any payment that has become due and payable), except any such balance that constitutes an accrued expense or trade payable, if and to the extent any of the foregoing indebtedness (other than letters of credit and Hedging Obligations) would appear as a liability upon a balance sheet of such Person prepared in accordance with GAAP, as well as all Indebtedness of others secured by a Lien on any asset of such Person whether or not such Indebtedness is assumed by such Person (the amount of such Indebtedness as of any date being deemed to be the lesser of the value of such property or assets as of such date or the principal amount of such Indebtedness of such other Person so secured) and, to the extent not otherwise included, the Guarantee by such Person of any Indebtedness of any other Person, provided that “Indebtedness” shall not include any Excluded Capital Lease Obligations. The amount of any Indebtedness outstanding as of any date shall be the outstanding balance at such date of all unconditional obligations described above; provided that, in the case of any Indebtedness issued with original issue discount, the amount of such Indebtedness shall be the accreted value thereof.

Indenture ” means the Indenture as defined in the preamble hereto, as amended or further supplemented from time to time.

Independent Investment Banker ” means Barclays Capital Inc. or Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, or their respective successors as may be appointed from time to time by the Company; provided , however , that if any of the foregoing ceases to be a primary U.S. Government securities dealer in New York City (a “primary treasury dealer”), the Company will substitute another primary treasury dealer.

Initial Notes ” means the first $850,000,000 aggregate principal amount of Notes issued under the Indenture on the date hereof.

Investment Grade Status ” shall occur when the Notes receive a rating of “BBB-” or better from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group and a rating of “Baa3” or better from Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (or, if either such entity ceases to rate the Notes for reasons outside of the control of the Company, the equivalent investment grade credit rating from any other “nationally recognized statistical rating

 

10


organization” within the meaning of Section 3(a)(62) under the Exchange Act, selected by the Company as a replacement agency).

Investments ” means, with respect to any Person, all investments by such Person in other Persons (including Affiliates) in the forms of direct or indirect loans (including guarantees of Indebtedness or other obligations), advances or capital contributions (excluding commission, travel and similar advances to officers and employees made in the ordinary course of business), purchases or other acquisitions for consideration of Indebtedness, Equity Interests or other securities, together with all items that are or would be classified as investments on a balance sheet prepared in accordance with GAAP. If the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary of the Company sells or otherwise disposes of any Equity Interests of any direct or indirect Subsidiary of the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary of the Company issues any of its Equity Interests such that, in each case, after giving effect to any such sale or disposition, such Person is no longer a Restricted Subsidiary of the Company, the Company shall be deemed to have made an Investment on the date of any such sale or disposition equal to the fair market value of the Equity Interests of such Subsidiary not sold or disposed of in an amount determined as provided in Section 4.07(d).

Legal Holiday ” means a Saturday, a Sunday or a day on which banking institutions in the City of New York or at a place of payment are authorized by law, regulation or executive order to remain closed. If a payment date is a Legal Holiday at a place of payment, payment may be made at that place on the next succeeding day that is not a Legal Holiday, and no interest shall accrue on such payment for the intervening period.

Lien ” means, with respect to any asset, any mortgage, lien, pledge, charge, security interest or encumbrance of any kind in respect of such asset, whether or not filed, recorded or otherwise perfected under applicable law (including any conditional sale or other title retention agreement, any lease in the nature thereof, any option or other agreement to sell or give a security interest in and any filing of or agreement to give any financing statement under the Uniform Commercial Code (or equivalent statutes) of any jurisdiction).

Net Income ” means, with respect to any Person, the net income (loss) of such Person, determined in accordance with GAAP and before any reduction in respect of preferred stock dividends, excluding, however:

(1) any gain or loss, together with any related provision for taxes on such gain or loss, realized in connection with:

(a) any Asset Sale (including, without limitation, dispositions pursuant to sale and leaseback transactions); or

(b) the disposition of any securities by such Person or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries or the extinguishment of any Indebtedness or Excluded Capital Lease Obligations of such Person or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries; and

(2) any extraordinary gain or loss, together with any related provision for taxes on such extraordinary gain or loss.

Net Proceeds ” means the aggregate cash proceeds received by the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries in respect of any Asset Sale (including, without limitation, any cash received upon the sale or other disposition of any non-cash consideration received in any Asset Sale), net of:

 

11


(1) the direct costs relating to such Asset Sale (including, without limitation, legal, accounting and investment banking fees, and sales commissions) and any relocation expenses incurred as a result thereof;

(2) taxes paid or payable as a result thereof (after taking into account any available tax credits or deductions and any tax sharing arrangements);

(3) amounts required to be applied to the repayment of Indebtedness or Excluded Capital Lease Obligations secured by a Lien on the asset or assets that were the subject of such Asset Sale;

(4) all distributions and other payments required to be made to minority interest holders in Restricted Subsidiaries as a result of such Asset Sale;

(5) the deduction of appropriate amounts provided by the seller as a reserve in accordance with GAAP against any liabilities associated with the assets disposed of in such Asset Sale and retained by the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary after such Asset Sale; and

(6) without duplication, any reserves that the Board of Directors determines in good faith should be made in respect of the sale price of such asset or assets for post closing adjustments;

provided that in the case of any reversal of any reserve referred to in clause (5) or (6) of this definition, the amount so reversed shall be deemed to be Net Proceeds from an Asset Sale as of the date of such reversal.

Notes ” has the meaning assigned to it in the preamble to this Supplemental Indenture. The Notes issued under the Indenture include the Initial Notes and Additional Notes, if any, unless the context otherwise requires.

Officer ” means, with respect to any Person, the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer, the President, the Chief Operating Officer, the Chief Financial Officer, the Treasurer, any Assistant Treasurer, the Controller, the Secretary or any Vice-President of such Person.

Officers’ Certificate ” means a certificate signed on behalf of the Company by two Officers of the Company, one of whom must be the principal executive officer, the principal financial officer, the treasurer or the principal accounting officer of the Company, that meets the requirements of Section 11.04.

Opinion of Counsel ” means an opinion from legal counsel who is reasonably acceptable to the Trustee, that meets the requirements of Section 11.04. The counsel may be an employee of or counsel to the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company.

Permitted Business ” means any business conducted by the Company and its Restricted Subsidiaries on the date hereof and any other business reasonably related, ancillary or complementary to any such business.

Permitted Investment ” means:

(1) any Investment in the Company or in a Restricted Subsidiary of the Company;

(2) any Investment in Cash Equivalents;

 

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(3) any Investment by the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary of the Company in a Person, if as a result of such Investment:

(a) such Person becomes a Restricted Subsidiary of the Company; or

(b) such Person is merged, consolidated or amalgamated with or into, or transfers or conveys substantially all of its assets to, or is liquidated into, the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary of the Company;

(4) any Restricted Investment made as a result of the receipt of non-cash consideration from an Asset Sale that was made pursuant to and in compliance with Section 4.10;

(5) any acquisition of assets solely in exchange for the issuance of Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Stock) of the Company;

(6) receivables created in the ordinary course of business;

(7) loans or advances to employees made in the ordinary course of business since the date hereof not to exceed $4.0 million at any one time outstanding;

(8) securities and other assets received in settlement of trade debts or other claims arising in the ordinary course of business;

(9) Investments since the date hereof of up to an aggregate of $100.0 million outstanding (each such Investment being measured as of the date made and without giving effect to subsequent changes in value);

(10) other Investments in Permitted Businesses since the date hereof not to exceed an amount equal to $10.0 million plus 2.5% of the Company’s Consolidated Tangible Assets at any one time outstanding (each such Investment being measured as of the date made and without giving effect to subsequent changes in value);

(11) stock, obligations, securities or other Investments received in settlement of debts created in the ordinary course of business and owing to, or of other claims asserted by, the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary, in satisfaction of judgments, or as a result of foreclosure, perfection or enforcement of any Lien, or in satisfaction of judgments, including in connection with any bankruptcy proceeding or other reorganization of another Person;

(12) Hedging Obligations permitted under Section 4.09(b)(vii);

(13) pledges or deposits (a) with respect to leases or utilities provided to third parties in the ordinary course of business or (b) otherwise described in the definition of “Permitted Liens” or made in connection with Liens permitted under Section 4.12;

(14) Guarantees not prohibited by Section 4.09;

(15) any Investment deemed to result from variable interest entities accounting in respect of lease payments made with respect to interests in real property on which cell towers of the Company or a Subsidiary of the Company are located; and

 

13


(16) any Investment by the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary of the Company in a Person to the extent such Investment exists on the date hereof, and any extension, modification or renewal of any such Investment existing on the date hereof, but only to the extent not involving additional advances, contributions or other Investments of cash or other assets or other increases thereof (other than as a result of the accrual or accretion of interest or original issue discount or the issuance of pay-in-kind securities, in each case, pursuant to the terms of such Investment as in effect on the date hereof).

Permitted Liens ” means:

(1) Liens existing on the date hereof;

(2) Liens for taxes, assessments or governmental charges or claims that are not yet delinquent or that are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings promptly instituted and diligently concluded; provided that any reserve or other appropriate provision as shall be required in conformity with GAAP shall have been made therefor;

(3) Liens securing Indebtedness permitted to be incurred under Section 4.09(b)(iv);

(4) Liens securing Indebtedness under the Senior Credit Facility permitted to be incurred under Section 4.09(b)(i), (ii) or (v);

(5) Liens incurred in the ordinary course of business of the Company since the date hereof with respect to obligations that do not exceed $15.0 million at any one time outstanding and that:

(a) are not incurred in connection with the borrowing of money or the obtaining of advances or credit (other than trade, credit in the ordinary course of business); and

(b) do not in the aggregate materially detract from the value of the property or materially impair the use thereof in the operation of business by the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary;

(6) Liens on property at the time the Company acquires such property, including any acquisition by means of a merger or consolidation with or into the Company; provided , however , that such Liens are not created, incurred or assumed in connection with, or in contemplation of, such acquisition; provided further , however, that such Liens do not extend to any other property of the Company (plus improvements, accessions, proceeds or dividends or distributions in respect thereof);

(7) Pledges of stock or other equity interests of the Company’s direct Subsidiaries and pledges of intercompany indebtedness between or among the Company and its Subsidiaries (and books and records, proceeds and products of the foregoing), in each case securing Indebtedness permitted to be incurred under Section 4.09; and

(8) Liens to secure any amendments, supplements, modifications, extensions, renewals, restatements, replacements or refundings (or successive amendments, supplements, modifications, extensions, renewals, restatements, replacements or refundings), in whole or in part, of any Indebtedness secured by any Lien referred to in clauses (1), (3), (4) and (6) of this definition; provided , however , that (A) such new Lien shall be limited to all or part of the same property that secured the original Lien (plus improvements, accessions, proceeds or dividends or distributions in respect thereof); and (B) the Indebtedness secured by such Lien at such time is not increased to any amount greater than the sum of: (i) the outstanding principal amount, or, if issued with original issue discount, the aggregate accreted value of, or, if greater, the committed amount of the Indebtedness secured by Liens described under clauses (1), (3), (4) or (6) of this definition at the time such original Lien became a Permitted Lien; and (ii) an amount

 

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necessary to pay any fees, underwriting discounts and other costs and expenses, including premiums, related to such amendments, modifications, restatements, renewals, increases, supplements, refundings, replacements or refinancings.

Permitted Refinancing Indebtedness ” means any Indebtedness of the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries issued in exchange for, or the net proceeds of which are used to extend, refinance, renew, replace, defease or refund other Indebtedness of the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries (other than intercompany Indebtedness); provided that:

(1) the principal amount (or initial accreted value, if applicable) of such Permitted Refinancing Indebtedness does not exceed the principal amount of (or accreted value, if applicable), plus accrued interest on, the Indebtedness so extended, refinanced, renewed, replaced, defeased or refunded (plus the amount of expenses and prepayment premiums incurred in connection therewith);

(2) such Permitted Refinancing Indebtedness has (i) a Weighted Average Life to Maturity equal to or greater than the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of the Indebtedness being extended, refinanced, renewed, replaced, defeased or refunded or (ii) a final maturity date later than 90 days after the scheduled final maturity of the Notes; provided that, for purposes of clause (2)(i), in the case of any Indebtedness being extended, refinanced, renewed, replaced, defeased or refunded that contains an anticipated repayment date by which such Indebtedness must be repaid in full in order to avoid dividend or other cash trap restrictions, the final maturity date of such Indebtedness (for purposes of determining the Weighted Average Life to Maturity) shall be deemed to be such anticipated repayment date; and

(3) if the Indebtedness being extended, refinanced, renewed, replaced, defeased or refunded is subordinated in right of payment to the Notes, such Permitted Refinancing Indebtedness is subordinated in right of payment to, the Notes on terms at least as favorable to the Holders as those contained in the documentation governing the Indebtedness being extended, refinanced, renewed, replaced, defeased or refunded.

Person ” means any individual, corporation, partnership, joint venture, association, joint-stock company, trust, unincorporated organization or government or agency or political subdivision thereof (including any subdivision or ongoing business of any such entity or substantially all of the assets of any such entity, subdivision or business).

Prospectus ” means the Prospectus, dated April 3, 2012, as supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement, dated April 1, 2014, with respect to the Notes, as supplemented or amended and including all documents incorporated by reference therein as of the date of the Prospectus Supplement.

Reference Treasury Dealer ” means Barclays Capital Inc. or Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, or two other primary treasury dealers selected by the Company, and each of their respective successors and any other primary treasury dealers selected by the Company.

Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations ” means, with respect to each Reference Treasury Dealer and any redemption date, the arithmetic average, as determined by the Company, of the bid and asked prices for the Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed in each case as a percentage of its principal amount) quoted in writing to the Company by such Reference Treasury Dealer by 3:30 p.m., New York City time, on the third Business Day preceding such redemption date.

Remaining Scheduled Payments ” means, with respect to any Note to be redeemed, the remaining scheduled payments of the principal and interest thereon that would be due after the related redemption date but for such redemption; provided , however , that, if such redemption date is not an

 

15


interest payment date with respect to such Note, the amount of the next scheduled interest payment thereon will be reduced by the amount of interest accrued thereon to such redemption date.

Responsible Officer ” with respect to the Trustee, means any officer within the Corporate Trust Administration of the Trustee (or any successor group of the Trustee) or any other officer of the Trustee customarily performing functions similar to those performed by any of the above designated officers and also means, with respect to a particular corporate trust matter, any other officer to whom such matter is referred because of his knowledge of and familiarity with the particular subject and who shall have direct responsibility for the administration of this Indenture.

Restricted Investment ” means an Investment other than a Permitted Investment.

Restricted Subsidiary ” of a Person means any Subsidiary of such Person that is not an Unrestricted Subsidiary.

SEC ” means the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Securities Act ” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Senior Credit Facility ” means that certain Credit Agreement dated as of January 31, 2012, among the Company, Crown Castle Operating Company, as borrower, the lenders and issuing banks from time to time party thereto and The Royal Bank of Scotland plc, as administrative agent, including any amendments, supplements, modifications, extensions, renewals, restatements, replacements or refundings thereof and any indentures or credit facilities or commercial paper facilities that replace, refund or refinance any part of the loans, notes, other credit facilities or commitments thereunder, including any such replacement, refunding or refinancing facility or indenture that increases the amount permitted to be borrowed thereunder or alters the maturity thereof ( provided that such increase in borrowings is permitted under Section 4.09) or adds Restricted Subsidiaries as additional borrowers or guarantors thereunder and whether by the same or any other agent, investor, lender or group of investors or lenders.

Significant Subsidiary ” means, with respect to any Person, any Restricted Subsidiary of such Person that would be a “significant subsidiary” of such Person as defined in Article 1, Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X, promulgated pursuant to the Act, as such Regulation is in effect on the date hereof, except that all references to “10 percent” in Rule 1-02(w)(1), (2) and (3) shall mean “5 percent” and that all Unrestricted Subsidiaries of the Company shall be excluded from all calculations under Rule 1-02(w).

Stated Maturity ” means, with respect to any installment of interest or principal on any series of Indebtedness, the date on which such payment of interest or principal was scheduled to be paid in the original documentation governing such Indebtedness, and shall not include any contingent obligations to repay, redeem or repurchase any such interest or principal prior to the date originally scheduled for the payment thereof.

Subsidiary ” means, with respect to any Person:

(1) any corporation, association or other business entity of which more than 50% of the total voting power of shares of Capital Stock entitled (without regard to the occurrence of any contingency) to vote in the election of directors, managers or trustees thereof is at the time owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by such Person or one or more of the other Subsidiaries of that Person (or a combination thereof); and

(2) any partnership:

 

16


(a) the sole general partner or the managing general partner of which is such Person or a Subsidiary of such Person; or

(b) the only general partners of which are such Person or one or more Subsidiaries of such Person (or any combination thereof).

TIA ” means the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 (15 U.S.C. §§ 77aaa-77bbbb) as in effect on the date on which this Indenture is qualified under the TIA.

Tower Asset Exchange ” means any transaction in which the Company or one of its Restricted Subsidiaries exchanges assets for Tower Assets and/or cash or Cash Equivalents where the fair market value (evidenced by an Officers’ Certificate delivered to the Trustee) of the Tower Assets and cash or Cash Equivalents received by the Company and its Restricted Subsidiaries in such exchange is at least equal to the fair market value (which determination shall be made in the good faith judgment of the Company) of the assets disposed of in such exchange.

Tower Assets ” means wireless transmission towers and other assets used or usable in a Permitted Business.

Tower Cash Flow ” means, for any period, the Consolidated Cash Flow of the Company and its Restricted Subsidiaries for such period that is directly attributable to site rental revenue or license fees paid to lease or sublease space on communication sites owned or leased by the Company ( provided that distributions of cash received by the Company or its Restricted Subsidiaries that was generated from any Unrestricted Subsidiary’s leasing activities, including with respect to spectrum licenses, shall constitute Tower Cash Flow), all determined on a consolidated basis and in accordance with GAAP. Tower Cash Flow shall not include revenue or expenses attributable to non-site rental services provided by the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to lessees of communication sites or revenues derived from the sale of assets.

Tower Cash Flow Facilities ” means, with respect to the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary, the agreements governing the Senior Secured Tower Revenue Notes, Series 2010-1, the Senior Secured Tower Revenue Notes, Series 2010-2, the Senior Secured Tower Revenue Notes, Series 2010-3, the Senior Secured Tower Revenue Notes, Series 2010-4, the Senior Secured Tower Revenue Notes, Series 2010-5, the Senior Secured Tower Revenue Notes, Series 2010-6, the 2.381% Senior Secured Notes due 2017, the 3.849% Senior Secured Notes due 2023, the Senior Secured Notes, Series 2009-1 and the Series 2010-1 WCP Notes or other similar financing arrangements which obligations thereunder are paid from the cash flows generated by the operations of towers, and any amendments, supplements, modifications, extensions, renewals, restatements, replacements or refundings thereof and any indentures or credit facilities or commercial paper facilities that replace, refund or refinance any part of the loans, notes, other credit facilities or commitments thereunder, including any such replacement, refunding or refinancing facility or indenture that increases the amount permitted to be borrowed thereunder or alters the maturity thereof ( provided that such increase in borrowings is permitted under Section 4.09) or adds Restricted Subsidiaries as additional borrowers or guarantors thereunder and whether by the same or any other agent, investor, lender or group of investors or lenders.

Treasury Rate ” means, with respect to any redemption date, the rate per annum equal to the semi-annual equivalent yield to maturity (computed as of the third Business Day immediately preceding that redemption date) of the Comparable Treasury Issue. In determining this rate, the Company assumes a price for the Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed as a percentage of its principal amount) equal to the Comparable Treasury Price for such redemption date.

 

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Trustee ” means the party named as such above until a successor replaces it in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Indenture and thereafter means the successor serving hereunder.

Unrestricted Subsidiary ” means any Subsidiary of the Company that is designated by the Board of Directors as an Unrestricted Subsidiary pursuant to a Board Resolution; but only to the extent that such Subsidiary:

(1) is a Person with respect to which neither the Company nor any of its Restricted Subsidiaries has any direct or indirect obligation to subscribe for additional Equity Interests; and

(2) has not Guaranteed or otherwise directly or indirectly provided credit support for any Indebtedness or Excluded Capital Lease Obligations of the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries.

Any such designation by the Board of Directors shall be evidenced to the Trustee by filing with the Trustee a certified copy of the Board Resolution giving effect to such designation and an Officers’ Certificate certifying that such designation complied with the foregoing conditions and was permitted by Section 4.07. If, at any time, any Unrestricted Subsidiary would fail to meet the foregoing requirements as an Unrestricted Subsidiary, it shall thereafter cease to be an Unrestricted Subsidiary for purposes of the Indenture and any Indebtedness of that Subsidiary shall be deemed to be incurred by a Restricted Subsidiary of the Company as of such date (and, if such Indebtedness is not permitted to be incurred as of such date under Section 4.09, the Company shall be in Default of such covenant). Any Subsidiary of an Unrestricted Subsidiary that was properly designated an Unrestricted Subsidiary shall also constitute an Unrestricted Subsidiary. During any period that the covenants set forth in Section 4.19 are suspended, the Board of Directors shall not designate any Subsidiaries as Unrestricted Subsidiaries. Each of Crown Castle Investment Corp. and Crown Castle Investment II Corp. and their respective Subsidiaries shall be considered properly designated and shall constitute Unrestricted Subsidiaries as of the date hereof. The Board of Directors may at any time designate any Unrestricted Subsidiary to be a Restricted Subsidiary; provided that the designation shall be deemed to be an incurrence of Indebtedness by a Restricted Subsidiary of the Company of any outstanding Indebtedness of such Unrestricted Subsidiary and the designation shall only be permitted if:

(1) such Indebtedness is permitted under Section 4.09, calculated on a pro forma basis as if such designation had occurred at the beginning of the four-quarter reference period; and

(2) no Default would occur or be in existence following such designation.

Voting Stock ” of any Person as of any date means the Capital Stock of such Person that is at the time entitled to vote in the election of the board of directors of such Person.

Weighted Average Life to Maturity ” means, when applied to any Indebtedness at any date, the number of years obtained by dividing:

(1) the sum of the products obtained by multiplying:

(a) the amount of each then remaining installment, sinking fund, serial maturity or other required payments of principal, including payment at final maturity, in respect thereof; by

(b) the number of years (calculated to the nearest one-twelfth) that shall elapse between such date and the making of such payment; by

(2) the then outstanding principal amount of such Indebtedness.

 

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Wholly Owned Restricted Subsidiary ” of any Person means a Restricted Subsidiary of such Person all of the outstanding Capital Stock or other ownership interests of which (other than directors’ qualifying shares) shall at the time be owned by such Person or by one or more Wholly Owned Restricted Subsidiaries of such Person and one or more Wholly Owned Restricted Subsidiaries of such Person.

Section 1.04 Other Definitions.

 

Term

  

Defined in Section

“Affiliate Transaction”

   4.11(a)

“Agent Members”

   2.01(d)

“Asset Sale Offer”

   4.10(e)

“Change of Control Offer”

   4.15(a)

“Change of Control Payment”

   4.15(a)

“Change of Control Payment Date”

   4.15(a)

“Covenant Defeasance”

   8.03

“Depositary”

   2.01(b)

“DTC”

   2.01(b)

“Event of Default”

   6.01(a)

“Excess Proceeds”

   4.10(e)

“Legal Defeasance”

   8.02(a)

“Offer Amount”

   3.08(b)

“Offer Period”

   3.08(b)

“Paying Agent”

   2.03(a)

“Payment Default”

   6.01(a)

“Permitted Debt”

   4.09(b)

“Purchase Date”

   3.08(b)

“Registrar”

   2.03(a)

“Restricted Payment”

   4.07(a)

“Suspended Covenants”

   4.19

Section 1.05 Incorporation by Reference of Trust Indenture Act. Whenever the Indenture refers to a provision of the TIA, the provision is incorporated by reference in and made a part of the Indenture.

The following TIA terms used in the Indenture have the following meanings:

“indenture securities” means the Notes;

“indenture security Holder” means a Holder of a Note;

“indenture to be qualified” means the Indenture;

“indenture trustee” or “institutional trustee” means the Trustee; and

“obligor” on the Notes means the Company and any successor obligor upon the Notes.

All other terms used in the Indenture that are defined by the TIA, defined by the TIA’s reference to another statute or defined by SEC rule under the TIA have the meanings so assigned to them.

 

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Section 1.06 Rules of Construction. Unless the context otherwise requires:

(a)        a term has the meaning assigned to it;

(b)        an accounting term not otherwise defined has the meaning assigned to it in accordance with GAAP;

(c)        “or” is not exclusive;

(d)        the term “including” means “including without limitation”;

(e)        in the singular include the plural, and in the plural include the singular;

(f)        provisions apply to successive events and transactions; and

(g)        references to sections of or rules under the Securities Act shall be deemed to include substitute, replacement or successor sections or rules adopted by the SEC from time to time.

ARTICLE 2

THE NOTES

Section 2.01 Issuance; Form and Dating. (a) The Notes and the Trustee’s certificate of authentication shall be substantially in the form of Exhibit A, which is hereby incorporated in and expressly made part of the Indenture. The Notes may have notations, legends or endorsements required by law, stock exchange rule, agreements to which the Company is subject, if any, or usage ( provided that any such notation, legend or endorsement is in a form acceptable to the Company). The Notes shall be issued in registered form without interest coupons and only in denominations of $2,000 and integral multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof.

(b)        All of the Notes shall be issued initially in the form of one or more Global Notes, which shall be deposited on behalf of the purchasers of the Notes represented thereby with the Trustee as Custodian for the depositary, The Depository Trust Company (“ DTC ”) (such depositary, or any successor thereto, being hereinafter referred to as the “ Depositary ”), and registered in the name of its nominee, Cede & Co., duly executed by the Company and authenticated by the Trustee as hereinafter provided. The aggregate principal amount of each Global Note may from time to time be increased or decreased by adjustments made on the records of the Custodian as hereinafter provided, subject in each case to compliance with the Applicable Procedures.

(c)        Each Global Note shall represent such of the outstanding Notes as shall be specified therein and each shall provide that it shall represent the aggregate amount of outstanding Notes from time to time endorsed thereon and that the aggregate amount of outstanding Notes represented thereby may from time to time be reduced or increased, as appropriate, to reflect exchanges, purchases or conversions of such Notes. Any endorsement of a Global Note to reflect the amount of any increase or decrease in the amount of outstanding Notes represented thereby shall be made by the Custodian in accordance with the standing instructions and procedures existing between the Depositary and the Custodian.

(d)        Members of, or participants in, the Depositary (“ Agent Members ”) shall have no rights under the Indenture with respect to any Global Note held on their behalf by the Depositary or under

 

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any Global Note, and the Depositary (including, for this purpose, its nominee) may be treated by the Company, the Trustee and any agent of the Company or the Trustee as the absolute owner and Holder of such Global Note for all purposes whatsoever. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing herein shall (1) prevent the Company, the Trustee or any agent of the Company or the Trustee from giving effect to any written certification, proxy or other authorization furnished by the Depositary or (2) impair, as between the Depositary and its Agent Members, the operation of customary practices governing the exercise of the rights of a Holder of any Note.

Section 2.02 Execution and Authentication. (a) An Officer shall sign the Notes for the Company by manual or facsimile signature. Typographic and other minor defects in any facsimile signature shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any Note which has been authenticated and delivered by the Trustee.

(b)        If an Officer whose signature is on a Note no longer holds that office at the time the Trustee authenticates the Note, the Note shall be valid nevertheless.

(c)        A Note shall not be valid until an authorized signatory of the Trustee manually signs the certificate of authentication on the Note. The signature shall be conclusive evidence that the Note has been authenticated under the Indenture.

(d)        The Trustee will, upon receipt of a Company Order, authenticate Notes for original issue that may be validly issued under the Indenture, including any Additional Notes. The aggregate principal amount of Notes outstanding at any time may not exceed the aggregate principal amount of Notes authorized for issuance by the Company pursuant to one or more Company Orders, except as provided in Section 2.08 hereof.

(e)        The Trustee may appoint an authenticating agent acceptable to the Company to authenticate the Notes. Unless limited by the terms of such appointment, an authenticating agent may authenticate Notes whenever the Trustee may do so. Each reference in the Indenture to authentication by the Trustee includes authentication by such agent. An authenticating agent has the same rights as any Registrar, Paying Agent or agent for service of notices and demands.

Section 2.03 Registrar and Paying Agent. (a) The Company shall maintain an office or agency where the Notes may be presented for registration of transfer or for exchange (the “ Registrar ”), and an office or agency where Notes may be presented for payment (“ Paying Agent ”). The Trustee shall initially act as the Registrar and Paying Agent. The Registrar shall keep a register of the Notes and of their transfer and exchange. The Company may appoint one or more co-registrars and one or more additional paying agents. The term “Registrar” includes any co-registrar and the term “Paying Agent” includes any additional paying agent. The Company may change any Paying Agent or Registrar without notice to any Holder. The Company shall notify the Trustee in writing of the name and address of any agent not a party to the Indenture. If the Company fails to appoint or maintain another entity as the Registrar or Paying Agent, the Trustee shall act as such. The Company or any of its Subsidiaries may act as Paying Agent or Registrar.

(b)        The Company initially appoints the Trustee to act as the Registrar and Paying Agent and to act as Custodian with respect to the Notes.

Section 2.04 Maintenance of Office or Agency; Paying Agent to Hold Money in Trust. (a) The Company shall maintain in the Borough of Manhattan, the City of New York, an office or agency (which may be an office of the Trustee or an affiliate of the Trustee, Registrar or co-registrar) where Notes may be surrendered for registration of transfer or for exchange and where notices and demands to or upon the

 

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Company in respect of the Notes and the Indenture may be served. Such office shall initially be the office of the Trustee.

(b)        The Company shall require each Paying Agent other than the Trustee to agree in writing that the Paying Agent shall hold in trust for the benefit of the Holders or the Trustee all money held by the Paying Agent for the payment of principal of, or premium, if any, or interest on the Notes, and shall notify the Trustee of any Default by the Company in making any such payment. While any such Default continues, the Trustee may require a Paying Agent to pay all money held by it to the Trustee. The Company at any time may require a Paying Agent to pay all money held by it to the Trustee. Upon payment over to the Trustee, the Paying Agent (if other than the Company or a Subsidiary) shall have no further liability for the money. If the Company or a Subsidiary acts as Paying Agent, it shall segregate and hold in a separate trust fund for the benefit of the Holders all money held by it as Paying Agent. Upon any bankruptcy or reorganization proceedings relating to the Company, the Trustee shall serve as Paying Agent for the Notes.

Section 2.05 Holder Lists. The Trustee shall preserve in as current a form as is reasonably practicable the most recent list available to it of the names and addresses of Holders and shall otherwise comply with TIA § 312(a). If the Trustee is not the Registrar, the Company shall furnish to the Trustee at least 10 days before each interest payment date and at such other times as the Trustee may request in writing a list, in such form and as of such date as the Trustee may reasonably require, of the names and addresses of Holders, and the Company shall otherwise comply with TIA § 312(a).

Section 2.06 Transfer and Exchange. (a) The Notes shall be issued in registered form without interest coupons and only in denominations of $2,000 and integral multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof. The Notes shall be transferable only upon the surrender of a Note for registration of transfer. When a Note is presented to the Registrar with a request to register a transfer, the Registrar shall register the transfer as requested if the requirements of the Indenture are satisfied. When Notes are presented to the Registrar with a request to exchange them for an equal principal amount of Notes of other denominations, the Registrar shall make the exchange as requested if the requirements of the Indenture are met. To permit registration of transfers and exchanges, the Company shall execute and the Trustee shall authenticate Notes at the Registrar’s request. The Company or the Registrar may require payment by the Holder of a sum sufficient to pay all taxes, assessments or other governmental charges in connection with any transfer or exchange pursuant to this Section 2.06.

(b)        Prior to the due presentation for registration of transfer of any Note, the Company, the Trustee, the Paying Agent or the Registrar may deem and treat the Person in whose name a Note is registered as the absolute owner of such Note for the purpose of receiving payment of principal of and (subject to the provisions of the Notes with respect to record dates) interest on such Note and for all other purposes whatsoever, whether or not such Note is overdue, and none of the Company, the Trustee, the Paying Agent or the Registrar shall be affected by notice to the contrary.

(c)        Neither the Company nor the Registrar shall be required (x) to issue, register the transfer of, or exchange the Notes for the period beginning at the opening of business 15 days immediately preceding the sending of a notice of redemption of the Notes selected for redemption and ending at the close of business on the day of such sending, or (y) to register the transfer of or exchange the Notes selected, called or being called for redemption as a whole or the portion being redeemed of any such Notes selected, called or being called for redemption in part.

(d)        All Notes issued upon any transfer or exchange pursuant to the terms of the Indenture shall evidence the same debt and shall be entitled to the same benefits under the Indenture as the Notes surrendered upon such transfer or exchange.

 

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Section 2.07 Additional Transfer and Exchange Requirements.

(a)         Transfer and Exchange of Global Notes. (1) Certificated Notes shall be issued in exchange for interests in a Global Note only if (x) the Depositary notifies the Company that it is unwilling or unable to continue as depositary for the Global Note or if it at any time ceases to be a “clearing agency” registered under the Exchange Act, (y) the Company in its discretion at any time determines not to have all the Notes represented by such Global Note or (z) upon an Event of Default or a Default has occurred and is continuing. In either such case, the Company shall execute, and the Trustee shall, upon receipt of a Company Order and an Officers’ Certificate, authenticate and deliver Certificated Notes in an aggregate principal amount equal to the principal amount of such Global Notes in exchange therefor. Certificated Notes issued in exchange for beneficial interests in Global Notes shall be issued only in registered form and only in denominations of $2,000 and integral multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof, and shall be registered in such names as the Depositary, pursuant to instructions from its direct or indirect participants or otherwise, shall instruct the Trustee. The Trustee shall deliver or cause to be delivered such Certificated Notes to the persons in whose names such Notes are so registered. Such exchange shall be effected in accordance with the Applicable Procedures. (2) Notwithstanding any other provisions of the Indenture other than the provisions set forth in Section 2.07(a)(1), a Global Note may not be transferred as a whole except by the Depositary to a nominee of the Depositary or by a nominee of the Depositary to the Depositary or another nominee of the Depositary or by the Depositary or any such nominee to a successor Depositary or a nominee of such successor Depositary.

(b)         Transfer and Exchange of Certificated Notes. In the event that Certificated Notes are issued in exchange for beneficial interests in Global Notes in accordance with Section 2.07(a)(1) hereof, on or after such event when Certificated Notes are presented by a Holder to a Registrar with a request: (x) to register the transfer of the Certificated Notes to a person who shall take delivery thereof in the form of Certificated Notes only; or (y) to exchange such Certificated Notes for an equal principal amount of Certificated Notes of other authorized denominations, such Registrar shall register the transfer or make the exchange as requested if the requirements for such transaction under the Indenture are satisfied; provided , however , that the Certificated Notes presented or surrendered for register of transfer or exchange shall be duly endorsed or accompanied by an assignment form and, if applicable, a transfer certificate each in the form included in Exhibit A, and in a form satisfactory to the Registrar duly executed by the Holder thereof or its attorney duly authorized in writing.

(c)         Transfers of Certificated Notes for Beneficial Interest in Global Notes. In the event that Certificated Notes are issued in exchange for beneficial interests in Global Notes and, thereafter, the events or conditions specified in Section 2.07(a)(1) hereof, which required such exchange shall cease to exist, the Company shall send notice to the Trustee and to the Holders stating that Holders may exchange Certificated Notes for interests in Global Notes by complying with the procedures set forth in the Indenture and briefly describing such procedures and the events or circumstances requiring that such notice be given. Thereafter, if Certificated Notes are presented by a Holder to a Registrar with a request: (x) to register the transfer of such Certificated Notes to a person who shall take delivery thereof in the form of a beneficial interest in a Global Note; or (y) to exchange such Certificated Notes for an equal principal amount of beneficial interests in a Global Note, which beneficial interests shall be owned by the Holder transferring such Certificated Notes, the Registrar shall register the transfer or make the exchange as requested by canceling such Certificated Note and causing, or directing the Custodian to cause, the aggregate principal amount of the applicable Global Note to be increased accordingly and, if no such Global Note is then outstanding, the Company shall issue and the Trustee shall authenticate and deliver a new Global Note; provided , however , that the Certificated Notes presented or surrendered for registration of transfer or exchange shall be duly endorsed and accompanied by an assignment form and, if applicable, a transfer certificate each in the form included in Exhibit A, and in a form satisfactory to the Registrar duly executed by the Holder thereof or its attorney duly authorized in writing.

 

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(d)         Transfers to the Company. Nothing in the Indenture or in the Notes shall prohibit the sale or other transfer of any Notes (including beneficial interests in Global Notes) to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.

(e)         No Obligation of the Trustee.

(i)        The Trustee shall have no responsibility or obligation to any beneficial owner of a Global Note, an Agent Member or other Person with respect to the accuracy of the books or records, or the acts or omissions, of the Depositary or its nominee or of any Agent Member thereof, with respect to any ownership interest in the Notes or with respect to the delivery to any Agent Member, beneficial owner or other Person (other than the Depositary) of any notice or the payment of any amount, under or with respect to such Notes. All notices and communications to be given to the Holders and all payments to be made to Holders under the Notes shall be given or made only to or upon the order of the registered Holders (which shall be the Depositary or its nominee in the case of a Global Note). The rights of beneficial owners in any Global Note shall be exercised only through the Depositary subject to the Applicable Procedures of the Depositary. The Trustee may rely and shall be fully protected in relying upon information furnished by the Depositary with respect to its Agent Members and any beneficial owners.

(ii)        The Trustee shall have no obligation or duty to monitor, determine or inquire as to compliance with any restrictions on transfer imposed under the Indenture or under applicable law with respect to any transfer of any interest in any Note (including any transfers between or among Agent Members or beneficial owners in any Global Note) other than to require delivery of such certificates and other documentation or evidence as are expressly required by, and to do so if and when expressly required by, the terms of the Indenture, and to examine the same to determine substantial compliance as to form with the express requirements hereof.

Section 2.08 Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost and Stolen Notes. (a) If any mutilated Note is surrendered to the Trustee, the Company shall execute and the Trustee, upon receipt of a Company Order, shall authenticate and deliver in exchange therefor a new Note of like tenor and principal amount and bearing a number not contemporaneously outstanding.

(b)        If there shall be delivered to the Company and the Trustee (i) evidence to their satisfaction of the destruction, loss or theft of any Note and (ii) such security or indemnity as may be required by them to save each of them and any agent of either of them harmless, then, in the absence of notice to the Company or the Trustee that such Note has been acquired by a bona fide purchaser, the Company shall execute and the Trustee, upon receipt of a Company Order, shall authenticate and make available for delivery, in lieu of any such destroyed, lost or stolen Note, a new Note of like tenor and principal amount and bearing a number not contemporaneously outstanding.

(c)        In case any such mutilated, destroyed, lost or stolen Note has become or is about to become due and payable, the Company in its discretion may, instead of issuing a new Note, pay such Note.

(d)        Upon the issuance of any new Note under this Section 2.08, the Company may require the payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge that may be imposed in relation thereto and any other expenses (including the fees and expenses of the Trustee) connected therewith.

 

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(e)        Every new Note issued pursuant to this Section 2.08 in lieu of any destroyed, lost or stolen Note shall constitute an original additional contractual obligation of the Company, whether or not the destroyed, lost or stolen Note shall be at any time enforceable by anyone, and shall be entitled to all the benefits of the Indenture equally and proportionately with any and all other Notes duly issued hereunder.

(f)        The provisions of this Section 2.08 are exclusive and shall preclude (to the extent lawful) all other rights and remedies with respect to the replacement or payment of mutilated, destroyed, lost or stolen Notes.

Section 2.09 Outstanding Notes. (a) The Notes outstanding at any time are all the Notes authenticated by the Trustee except for those canceled by it, those delivered to it for cancellation, those reductions in the interest in a Global Note effected by the Trustee in accordance with the provisions hereof, and those described in this Section 2.09 as not outstanding.

(b)        If a Note is replaced pursuant to Section 2.08 hereof, it ceases to be outstanding unless the Trustee receives proof satisfactory to it that the replaced Note is held by a bona fide purchaser.

(c)        If the principal amount of any Note is considered paid under Section 4.01 hereof, it ceases to be outstanding and interest on it ceases to accrue.

(d)        If the Paying Agent (other than the Company, a Subsidiary or an Affiliate of any thereof) holds, on a redemption date or maturity date, money sufficient to pay the Notes payable on that date, then on and after that date such Notes shall be deemed to be no longer outstanding and shall cease to accrue interest.

(e)        A Note does not cease to be outstanding because the Company or an Affiliate holds the Note.

Section 2.10 Treasury Notes. In determining whether the Holders of the required principal amount of Notes have concurred in any direction, waiver or consent, Notes owned by the Company, or by any Affiliate of the Company, shall be considered as though not outstanding, except that for the purposes of determining whether the Trustee shall be protected in relying on any such direction, waiver or consent, only Notes that the Trustee actually knows are so owned shall be so disregarded.

Section 2.11 Temporary Notes. In the event Certificated Notes are to be issued under the terms of the Indenture, until certificates representing the Notes are ready for delivery, the Company may prepare and the Trustee, upon receipt of a Company Order, shall authenticate temporary Notes. Temporary Notes shall be substantially in the form of Certificated Notes but may have variations that the Company considers appropriate for temporary Notes and as shall be reasonably acceptable to the Trustee. Without unreasonable delay, the Company shall prepare and the Trustee, upon receipt of a Company Order, shall authenticate Certificated Notes in exchange for temporary Notes. Until so exchanged, temporary Notes shall have the same rights under the Indenture as the Certificated Notes.

Section 2.12 Cancellation. The Company at any time may deliver Notes to the Trustee for cancellation. The Registrar and the Paying Agent shall forward to the Trustee any Notes surrendered to them for registration of transfer, exchange or payment. The Trustee shall cancel all Notes surrendered for transfer, exchange, payment, replacement or cancellation and shall destroy such canceled Notes (subject to the record retention requirement of the Exchange Act) and deliver a certificate of such destruction to the Company, unless the Company otherwise directs. The Company may not issue new Notes to replace Notes that it has paid or delivered to the Trustee for cancellation.

 

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Section 2.13 Defaulted Interest. If the Company defaults in a payment of interest on the Notes, it shall pay the defaulted interest, plus, to the extent permitted by law, any interest payable on the defaulted interest, to the persons who are Holders on a subsequent special record date. The Company shall fix the special record date and payment date. At least 30 days before the special record date, the Company shall send to the Trustee and to each Holder of the Notes a notice that states the special record date, the payment date and the amount of defaulted interest and the amount of interest payable on such defaulted interest, if any, to be paid. The Company may pay defaulted interest in any other lawful manner.

Section 2.14 CUSIP Numbers. The Company in issuing the Notes may use “CUSIP” numbers (if then generally in use), and, if so, the Trustee shall use “CUSIP” numbers in notices of redemption as a convenience to Holders; provided , however , that any such notice may state that no representation is made as to the correctness of such numbers either as printed on the Notes or as contained in any notice of a redemption and that reliance may be placed only on the other elements of identification printed on the Notes, and any such redemption shall not be affected by any defect in or omission of such numbers.

Section 2.15 No Sinking Fund. No sinking fund shall be provided with respect to the Notes.

Section 2.16 Issuance of Additional Notes. (a) After the date hereof, the Company shall be entitled, subject to its compliance with Section 4.09, to issue Additional Notes under the Indenture, which Additional Notes shall have identical terms as the Initial Notes, other than with respect to the date of issuance and the amount of the issue price. All the Notes issued under the Indenture shall be treated as a single class for all purposes of the Indenture including waivers, amendments, redemptions and offers to purchase.

(b)        With respect to any Additional Notes, the Company shall set forth in a Board Resolution and an Officers’ Certificate, a copy of each which shall be delivered to the Trustee, the following information:

(i)         the aggregate principal amount of such Additional Notes to be authenticated and delivered pursuant to the Indenture and the provision of Section 4.09 that the Company is relying on to issue such Additional Notes; and

(ii)         the issue price, the issue date and the CUSIP number of such Additional Notes; provided, however , that no Additional Notes may be issued at a price that would cause such Additional Notes to not be fungible for U.S. federal income tax purposes with any other Notes issued under the Indenture.

ARTICLE 3

REDEMPTION AND PREPAYMENT

Section 3.01 Notices to Trustee. If the Company desires to redeem all or part of the Notes pursuant to Section 3.07, it shall notify the Trustee of the redemption date and the principal amount of the Notes to be redeemed. The Company shall give the notice to the Trustee at least 30 but no more that 60 days before the redemption date.

Section 3.02 Selection of Notes to Be Redeemed.

(a)        If less than all of the Notes are to be redeemed at any time, the Notes to be redeemed will be selected in accordance with the procedures of the Depositary.

 

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(b)        No Notes of $2,000 of principal amount at maturity or less shall be redeemed in part. Notice of redemption shall be sent at least 30 but not more than 60 days before the redemption date to each Holder of Notes to be redeemed at its registered address. Notices of redemption may be conditional.

(c)        If any Note is to be redeemed in part only, the notice of redemption that relates to such Note shall state the portion of the principal amount of that Note to be redeemed. A new Note in principal amount equal to the unredeemed portion of the original Note presented for redemption shall be issued in the name of the Holder thereof upon cancellation of the original Note. Notes called for redemption, subject to any condition included in such notice of redemption, become due on the date fixed for redemption. On and after the redemption date, interest ceases to accrue on Notes or portions of them called for redemption.

Section 3.03 Notice of Redemption. (a) At least 30 days but not more than 60 days before a redemption date, the Company shall send a notice of redemption to each Holder whose Notes are to be redeemed at its registered address. The notice shall identify the Notes to be redeemed and shall state:

(i)        the redemption date;

(ii)        the redemption price, or if not then ascertainable, either (i) the manner of calculation thereof or (ii) the redemption price calculated using the Treasury Rate as of the Business Day immediately prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is delivered;

(iii)        if any Note is being redeemed in part, the portion of the principal amount of such Note to be redeemed and that, after the redemption date upon surrender of such Note, a new Note or Notes in principal amount equal to the unredeemed portion shall be issued upon cancellation of the original Note;

(iv)        the name and address of the Paying Agent;

(v)        that Notes called for redemption must be surrendered to the Paying Agent to collect the redemption price;

(vi)        that, upon the satisfaction of any conditions to such redemption set forth in the notice of redemption and unless the Company defaults in making such redemption payment, interest on the Notes called for redemption ceases to accrue on and after the redemption date;

(vii)        the paragraph of the Notes and/or provision of the Indenture pursuant to which the Notes called for redemption are being redeemed; and

(viii)        that no representation is made as to the correctness or accuracy of the CUSIP number, if any, listed in such notice or printed on the Notes.

In addition, if such redemption is subject to the satisfaction of one or more conditions precedent, such notice shall describe each such condition and, if applicable, shall state that, in the Company’s discretion, the redemption date may be delayed until such time as any or all such conditions shall be satisfied, or such redemption may not occur and such notice may be rescinded in the event that any or all such conditions shall not have been satisfied by the redemption date stated in such notice, or by the redemption date as so delayed.

 

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(b)        At the Company’s request, the Trustee shall give the notice of redemption in the Company’s name and at its expense; provided, however, that the Company shall have delivered to the Trustee, at least five Business Days before such notice is to be given (or such shorter period of time as the Trustee may agree), an Officers’ Certificate requesting that the Trustee give such notice and setting forth the information to be stated in such notice as provided in Section 3.03(a) hereof.

(c)        If the redemption price is not ascertainable on the date on which the notice of redemption is delivered, the Company shall send to the Trustee, at least one Business Day prior to the redemption date, notice of the redemption price.

Section 3.04 Effect of Notice of Redemption. Once notice of redemption is sent in accordance with Section 3.03 hereof, the Notes called for redemption, subject to any condition included in the applicable notice of redemption, become irrevocably due and payable on the redemption date at the redemption price. A notice of redemption may be conditional.

Section 3.05 Deposit of Redemption Price. (a) One Business Day prior to the redemption date, the Company shall deposit with the Trustee or with the Paying Agent money sufficient to pay the redemption price of and accrued interest on all the Notes to be redeemed on that date. The Trustee or the Paying Agent shall promptly return to the Company any money deposited with the Trustee or the Paying Agent by the Company in excess of the amounts necessary to pay the redemption price of, and accrued interest on, all Notes to be redeemed.

(b)        If the Company complies with the provisions of Section 3.05(a), on and after the redemption date, interest shall cease to accrue on the Notes or the portions of the Notes called for redemption. If a Note is redeemed on or after an interest record date but on or prior to the related interest payment date, then any accrued and unpaid interest shall be paid to the Person in whose name such Note was registered at the close of business on such record date. If any Note called for redemption shall not be so paid upon surrender for redemption because of the failure of the Company to comply with Section 3.05(a), interest shall be paid on the unpaid principal, from the redemption date until such principal is paid, and, to the extent lawful, on any interest not paid on such unpaid principal, in each case at the rate provided in the Notes.

Section 3.06 Notes Redeemed in Part. Upon surrender of a Note that is redeemed in part, the Company shall issue and the Trustee, upon receipt of a Company Order, shall authenticate for the Holder at the expense of the Company a new Note equal in principal amount to the unredeemed portion of the Note surrendered.

Section 3.07 Optional Redemption.

(a)        At the Company’s option, the Notes may be redeemed at any time in whole or in part. If the Company elects to redeem the Notes, the Company will pay a redemption price equal to the greater of the following amounts, plus, in each case, accrued and unpaid interest thereon to but excluding the redemption date: (1) 100% of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes to be redeemed or (2) the sum of the present values of the Remaining Scheduled Payments. In determining the present values of the Remaining Scheduled Payments, the Company will discount such payments to the redemption date on a semi-annual basis (assuming a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months) using a discount rate equal to the Treasury Rate plus 50 basis points.

(b)        Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 3.07(a) hereof, on or before April 15, 2017, the Company may on any one or more occasions redeem up to 35% of the aggregate principal amount of Notes issued, including any Additional Notes issued pursuant to Section 2.16 hereof, at a

 

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redemption price of 104.875% of the principal amount of the Notes to be redeemed on the redemption date with the net cash proceeds of one or more Equity Offerings; provided that:

(i)        at least 65% of the aggregate principal amount of Notes issued, including any Additional Notes issued pursuant to Section 2.16 hereof, remains outstanding immediately after the occurrence of such redemption, excluding Notes held by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; and

(ii)        the redemption occurs within 120 days of the date of the closing of the Equity Offering.

(c)        Any redemption pursuant to this Section 3.07 shall be made pursuant to the provisions of Section 3.01 through 3.06 hereof.

Section 3.08 Offer to Purchase by Application of Excess Proceeds. (a) In the event that, pursuant to Section 4.10(e) hereof, the Company shall be required to commence an Asset Sale Offer, it shall follow the procedures specified below.

(b)        The Asset Sale Offer shall remain open for a period of 20 Business Days following its commencement and no longer, except to the extent that a longer period is required by applicable law (the “ Offer Period ”). No later than five Business Days after the termination of the Offer Period (the “ Purchase Date ”), the Company shall purchase the aggregate principal amount (or accreted value, as applicable), plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any (except as provided in Section 3.08(c) hereof), of Notes and other senior Indebtedness of the Company required to be purchased pursuant to Section 4.10(e) hereof (on a pro rata basis if Notes and other senior Indebtedness of the Company tendered are in excess of the Excess Proceeds) (which maximum amount shall be the “ Offer Amount ”) or, if less than the Offer Amount has been tendered, all Notes and other senior Indebtedness tendered in response to the Asset Sale Offer. Payment for any Notes so purchased shall be made in the same manner as interest payments are made.

(c)        If the Purchase Date is on or after an interest record date and on or before the related interest payment date, any accrued and unpaid interest, if any, shall be paid to the Person in whose name a Note is registered at the close of business on such record date, and no additional interest shall be payable to Holders who tender Notes pursuant to the Asset Sale Offer.

(d)        Upon the commencement of an Asset Sale Offer, the Company shall send a notice to the Trustee and each of the Holders, with a copy to the Trustee. The notice shall contain all instructions and materials necessary to enable such Holders to tender Notes pursuant to the Asset Sale Offer. The Asset Sale Offer shall be made to all Holders. The notice, which shall govern the terms of the Asset Sale Offer, shall state:

(i)        that the Asset Sale Offer is being made pursuant to this Section 3.08 and Section 4.10 hereof and the length of time the Asset Sale Offer shall remain open;

(ii)        that any Note not tendered or accepted for payment shall continue to accrue interest;

(iii)        that, unless the Company defaults in making such payment, any Note accepted for payment pursuant to the Asset Sale Offer shall cease to accrue interest after the Purchase Date;

 

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(iv)        that Holders electing to have a Note purchased pursuant to an Asset Sale Offer may elect to have Notes purchased in a minimum denomination of $2,000 and integral multiples of $1,000 only;

(v)        that Holders electing to have a Note purchased pursuant to any Asset Sale Offer shall be required to surrender the Note, with the form entitled “Option of Holder to Elect Purchase” on the reverse of the Note completed, or transfer by book-entry transfer, to the Company, a depositary, if appointed by the Company, or a Paying Agent, at the address specified in the notice at least three days before the Purchase Date;

(vi)        that Holders shall be entitled to withdraw their election if the Company, the Depositary or the Paying Agent, as the case may be, receives, not later than the expiration of the Offer Period, a telegram, facsimile transmission or letter setting forth the name of the Holder, the principal amount of the Note the Holder delivered for purchase and a statement that such Holder is withdrawing his election to have such Note purchased;

(vii)        that, if the aggregate principal amount (or accreted value, as applicable) of Notes and other senior Indebtedness of the Company surrendered by Holders exceeds the Offer Amount, the Company shall select the Notes to be purchased on a pro rata basis (with such adjustments as may be deemed appropriate by the Company so that only Notes in minimum denominations of $2,000 and integral multiples of $1,000, shall be purchased); and

(viii)        that Holders whose Notes were purchased only in part shall be issued new Notes equal in principal amount to the unpurchased portion of the Notes surrendered (or transferred by book-entry transfer).

(e)        On or before the Purchase Date, the Company shall, to the extent lawful, accept for payment, on a pro rata basis to the extent necessary, the Offer Amount of Notes and other senior Indebtedness, or portions thereof, tendered pursuant to the Asset Sale Offer, or if less than the Offer Amount has been tendered, all Notes and other senior Indebtedness tendered, and shall deliver to the Trustee an Officers’ Certificate stating that such Notes or portions thereof were accepted for payment by the Company in accordance with the terms of this Section 3.08. The Company, the Depositary or the Paying Agent, as the case may be, shall promptly (but in any case not later than five days after the Purchase Date) mail or deliver to each tendering Holder an amount equal to the purchase price of the Notes tendered by such Holder and accepted by the Company for purchase, and if the Note surrendered was a Certificated Note, the Company shall promptly issue a new Certificated Note, without service charge, and the Trustee, upon receipt of a Company Order, shall authenticate and mail such new Certificated Note to such Holder, in a principal amount equal to any unpurchased portion of the Certificated Note surrendered. Any Note not so accepted shall be promptly mailed or delivered by the Company to the Holder thereof. The Company shall publicly announce the results of the Asset Sale Offer on the Purchase Date.

(f)        The Company shall comply with the requirements of Rule 14e-1 under the Exchange Act and any other securities laws and regulations thereunder to the extent those laws and regulations are applicable in connection with each repurchase of Notes pursuant to this Section 3.08. To the extent that the provisions of any securities laws or regulations conflict with this Section 3.08 hereof, the Company will comply with the applicable securities laws and regulations and will not be deemed to have breached its obligations under this Section 3.08 or Section 4.10 hereof by virtue of such compliance.

 

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(g)        Other than as specifically provided in this Section 3.08, any purchase pursuant to this Section 3.08 shall be made pursuant to the provisions of Sections 3.01 through 3.06 hereof.

ARTICLE 4

COVENANTS

Section 4.01 Payment of Notes. (a) The Company shall pay or cause to be paid the principal of and interest on the Notes on the dates and in the manner provided in the Notes. Principal of and interest on the Notes shall be considered paid on the date due if the Paying Agent, if other than the Company or a Subsidiary thereof, holds as of 10:00 a.m., New York Time, on the due date money deposited by the Company in immediately available funds and designated for and sufficient to pay all principal, premium, if any, and interest then due.

(b)        The Company shall pay interest (including post-petition interest in any proceeding under any Bankruptcy Law) on overdue principal at the rate equal to 1% per annum in excess of the then applicable interest rate on the Notes to the extent lawful; it shall pay interest (including post-petition interest in any proceeding under any Bankruptcy Law) on overdue installments of interest (without regard to any applicable grace period) at the same rate to the extent lawful.

Section 4.02 Maintenance of Office or Agency. (a) The Company shall maintain in the Borough of Manhattan, the City of New York, an office or agency (which may be an office of the Trustee or an affiliate of the Trustee, Registrar or co-registrar) where Notes may be surrendered for registration of transfer or for exchange and where notices and demands to or upon the Company in respect of the Notes and the Indenture may be served. The Company shall give prompt written notice to the Trustee of the location, and any change in the location, of such office or agency. If at any time the Company shall fail to maintain any such required office or agency or shall fail to furnish the Trustee with the address thereof, such presentations, surrenders, notices and demands may be made or served at the Corporate Trust Office of the Trustee.

(b)        The Company may also from time to time designate one or more other offices or agencies where the Notes may be presented or surrendered for any or all such purposes and may from time to time rescind such designations; provided , however , that no such designation or rescission shall in any manner relieve the Company of its obligation to maintain an office or agency in the Borough of Manhattan, the City of New York, for such purposes. The Company shall give prompt written notice to the Trustee of any such designation or rescission and of any change in the location of any such other office or agency.

(c)        The Company hereby designates the Corporate Trust Office of the Trustee as one such office or agency of the Company in accordance with Section 2.03 hereof.

Section 4.03 Reports. (a) Whether or not required by the SEC’s rules and regulations, so long as any Notes are outstanding, the Company shall furnish to the Trustee and the Holders, within the time periods (including any extensions thereof) specified in the SEC’s rules and regulations:

(i)        all quarterly and annual reports that would be required to be filed with the SEC on Forms 10-Q and 10-K if the Company were required to file such reports; and

(ii)        all current reports that would be required to be filed with the SEC on Form 8-K pursuant to Items 1.01 (Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement), 1.02 (Termination of a Material Definitive Agreement), 1.03 (Bankruptcy or Receivership),

 

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2.01 (Completion of Acquisition or Disposition of Assets), 2.03 (Creation of a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation under an Off-Balance Sheet Arrangement), 2.04 (Triggering Events that Accelerate or Increase a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation under an Off-Balance Sheet Arrangement), 4.01 (Changes in Registrant’s Certifying Accountant), 4.02 (Non-Reliance on Previously Issued Financial Statements or a Related Audit Report or Completed Interim Review) or 5.01 (Changes in Control of Registrant) if the Company were required to file such reports; provided , however , that no such report shall be required to be furnished if the Company determines in its good faith judgment that the event to be disclosed in such report is not material to the Holders or the business, assets, operations, financial position or prospects of the Company and its Restricted Subsidiaries taken as a whole.

(b)        All such reports shall be prepared in all material respects in accordance with all of the rules and regulations applicable to such reports. Each annual report on Form 10-K shall include a report on the Company’s consolidated financial statements by the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm. In addition, the Company shall file a copy of each of the reports referred to in clauses (i) and (ii) above with the SEC for public availability within the time periods (including any extensions thereof) specified in the rules and regulations applicable to such reports (unless the SEC will not accept such a filing). To the extent such filings are made, the reports shall be deemed to be furnished to the Trustee and the Holders.

(c)        If the Company is no longer subject to the periodic reporting requirements of the Exchange Act for any reason, the Company shall nevertheless continue filing the reports specified in Section 4.03(a) with the SEC within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and regulations applicable to a registrant that is not an accelerated filer or a large accelerated filer unless the SEC will not accept such a filing. If, notwithstanding the foregoing, the SEC will not accept the Company’s filings for any reason, the Company shall post the reports referred to in clause (a) above on its website within the time periods specified above.

(d)        In the event that the rules and regulations of the SEC permit the Company and any direct or indirect parent of the Company to report at such parent entity’s level on a consolidated basis and such parent entity is not engaged in any business in any material respect other than incidental to its ownership, directly or indirectly, of the capital stock of the Company, consolidating reporting at the parent entity’s level in a manner consistent with that described in this Section 4.03 for the Company will satisfy this Section 4.03, and the Company will satisfy its obligations under this Section 4.03 with respect to financial information relating to the Company by furnishing financial information relating to such direct or indirect parent; provided that such financial information is accompanied by consolidating information that explains in reasonable detail the differences between the information relating to such direct or indirect parent and any of its Subsidiaries other than the Company and its Subsidiaries, on the one hand, and the information relating to the Company and its Subsidiaries on a standalone basis, on the other hand. Delivery of such reports, information and documents to the Trustee is for informational purposes only and the Trustee’s receipt of such shall not constitute constructive notice of any information contained therein or determinable from information contained therein, including the Company’s compliance with any of its covenants hereunder (as to which the Trustee is entitled to rely exclusively on Officers’ Certificates).

(e)        The Company agrees that, for so long as any Notes remain outstanding, at any time it is not required to file the reports required pursuant to this Section 4.03 with the SEC, it shall furnish to the Holders and to securities analysts and prospective investors, upon their request, the information required to be delivered pursuant to Rule 144A(d)(4) under the Securities Act.

 

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Section 4.04 Compliance Certificate. (a) The Company shall deliver to the Trustee, within 90 days after the end of each Fiscal Year, an Officers’ Certificate stating that a review of the activities of the Company and its Subsidiaries during the preceding Fiscal Year has been made under the supervision of the signing Officers with a view to determining whether the Company has kept, observed, performed and fulfilled its obligations under the Indenture, and further stating, as to each such Officer signing such certificate, that to the best of his or her knowledge the Company has kept, observed, performed and fulfilled each and every covenant contained in the Indenture and is not in Default in the performance or observance of any of the terms, provisions and conditions of the Indenture (or, if a Default or Event of Default shall have occurred, describing all such Defaults or Events of Default of which he or she may have knowledge and what action the Company is taking or proposes to take with respect thereto) and that to the best of his or her knowledge no event has occurred and remains in existence by reason of which payments on account of the principal of or interest, if any, on the Notes is prohibited or if such event has occurred, a description of the event and what action the Company is taking or proposes to take with respect thereto.

(b)        So long as not contrary to the then current recommendations of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the year-end financial statements delivered pursuant to Section 4.03(a) above shall be accompanied by a written statement of the Company’s independent public accountants (who shall be a firm of established national reputation) that in making the examination necessary for certification of such financial statements, nothing has come to their attention that would lead them to believe that the Company has violated any provisions of Article 4 or Article 5 hereof or, if any such violation has occurred, specifying the nature and period of existence thereof, it being understood that such accountants shall not be liable directly or indirectly to any Person for any failure to obtain knowledge of any such violation.

(c)        The Company shall, so long as any of the Notes are outstanding, deliver to the Trustee, promptly after the occurrence thereof, notice of any event that constitutes or, with the giving of notice or the passage of time or both, would constitute a Default or Event of Default, an Officers’ Certificate specifying such Default or Event of Default and what action the Company is taking or proposes to take with respect thereto.

Section 4.05 Taxes. The Company shall pay, and shall cause each of its Subsidiaries to pay, prior to delinquency, all material taxes, assessments, and governmental levies except such as are contested in good faith and by appropriate proceedings or where the failure to effect such payment is not adverse in any material respect to the Holders.

Section 4.06 Stay, Extension and Usury Laws. The Company covenants (to the extent that it may lawfully do so) that it shall not at any time insist upon, plead, or in any manner whatsoever claim or take the benefit or advantage of, any stay, extension or usury law wherever enacted, now or at any time hereafter in force, that may affect the covenants or the performance of the Indenture; and the Company (to the extent that it may lawfully do so) hereby expressly waives all benefit or advantage of any such law, and covenants that it shall not, by resort to any such law, hinder, delay or impede the execution of any power herein granted to the Trustee, but shall suffer and permit the execution of every such power as though no such law has been enacted.

Section 4.07 Restricted Payments. (a) The Company shall not, and shall not permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, directly or indirectly:

(i)        declare or pay any dividend or make any other payment or distribution on account of the Company’s or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries’ Equity Interests (including, without limitation, any payment in connection with any merger or

 

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consolidation involving the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries) or to the direct or indirect holders of the Company’s or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries’ Equity Interests in their capacity as such (other than dividends or distributions payable in Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Stock) of the Company or to the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary of the Company);

(ii)        purchase, redeem or otherwise acquire or retire for value (including, without limitation, in connection with any merger or consolidation involving the Company) any Equity Interests of the Company or any direct or indirect parent of the Company (other than (1) any such Equity Interests owned by the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries or (2) any acquisition of Equity Interests deemed to occur upon the exercise of options or restricted stock rights if such Equity Interests represent a portion of the exercise price thereof or taxes due in connection therewith);

(iii)        make any payment on or with respect to, or purchase, redeem, defease or otherwise acquire or retire for value any Indebtedness that is subordinated to the Notes (other than intercompany Indebtedness), except a payment of interest or a payment of principal at Stated Maturity (or within one year of final maturity); or

(iv)        make any Restricted Investment (all such payments and other actions set forth in these clauses (i) through (iv) of this Section 4.07(a) occurring since the date of this Supplemental Indenture, being collectively referred to as “ Restricted Payments ”);

unless, at the time of and after giving effect to such Restricted Payment:

(i)        no Default has occurred and is continuing or would occur as a consequence of the Restricted Payment; and

(ii)        the Company’s Debt to Adjusted Consolidated Cash Flow Ratio would have been no greater than 7.0 to 1 after giving effect to the incurrence of any Consolidated Indebtedness the net proceeds of which are used to finance such Restricted Payment as if the same had occurred at the beginning of the most recently ended four full fiscal quarter period of the Company for which internal financial statements are available.

(b)        The preceding provisions shall not prohibit:

(i)        the payment of any dividend within 60 days after the date of declaration of that dividend if at said date of declaration such payment would have complied with the provisions of the Indenture;

(ii)        the making of any Restricted Payment in exchange for, or out of the net cash proceeds from the sale (other than to a Subsidiary of the Company) of, Equity Interests of the Company (other than any Disqualified Stock);

(iii)        the defeasance, redemption, repurchase, or other acquisition of subordinated Indebtedness with the net cash proceeds from an incurrence of Permitted Refinancing Indebtedness;

(iv)        the payment of any dividend by a Restricted Subsidiary of the Company to the holders of such Restricted Subsidiary’s Equity Interests on a pro rata basis;

 

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(v)        the repurchase, redemption or other acquisition or retirement for value of any Equity Interests of the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary of the Company held by any member of the Company’s (or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries’) management pursuant to any management equity subscription agreement, restricted stock arrangement, or stock option or similar agreement in effect as of the date of this Supplemental Indenture; provided that the aggregate price paid for all of the repurchased, redeemed, acquired or retired Equity Interests pursuant to this Section 4.07(b)(v) shall not exceed $15.0 million in any Fiscal Year; or

(vi)        other Restricted Payments in an aggregate amount not to exceed $50.0 million at any time outstanding.

(c)        The Board of Directors may designate any Restricted Subsidiary to be an Unrestricted Subsidiary if such designation would not cause a Default. For purposes of making such determination, all outstanding Investments by the Company and its Restricted Subsidiaries (except to the extent repaid in cash) in the Subsidiary so designated shall be deemed to be Restricted Payments at the time of the designation. All of those outstanding Investments shall be deemed to constitute Investments in an amount equal to the fair market value of the Investments at the time of such designation. Such designation shall only be permitted if the Restricted Payment would be permitted at the time and if the Restricted Subsidiary otherwise meets the definition of an Unrestricted Subsidiary. The Board of Directors may designate any Unrestricted Subsidiary to be a Restricted Subsidiary if the designation would not cause a Default.

(d)        The amount of all Restricted Payments (other than cash) shall be the fair market value on the date of the Restricted Payment of the assets or securities proposed to be transferred or issued by the Company or the applicable Restricted Subsidiary, as the case may be, pursuant to the Restricted Payment. The fair market value of any property, assets or Investments required by this Section 4.07 to be valued will be valued by the Company and evidenced by an Officers’ Certificate delivered to the Trustee.

Section 4.08 Dividend and Other Payment Restrictions Affecting Subsidiaries. (a) The Company shall not, and shall not permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, directly or indirectly, create or otherwise cause or suffer to exist or become effective any consensual encumbrance or restriction on the ability of any Restricted Subsidiary to:

(i)        pay dividends or make any other distributions to the Company on its Capital Stock or with respect to any other interest or participation in, or measured by, its profits;

(ii)        pay any Indebtedness owed to the Company;

(iii)        make loans or advances to the Company; or

(iv)        transfer any of its properties or assets to the Company.

(b)        The restrictions set forth in clause (a) above shall not apply to encumbrances or restrictions existing under or by reason of:

(i)        Existing Indebtedness or other agreements as in effect on the date hereof, and any amendments, modifications, restatements, renewals, increases, supplements, refundings, replacements or refinancings thereof; provided that either (1) such amendments, modifications, restatements, renewals, increases, supplements, refundings,

 

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replacements or refinancings are not materially more restrictive, taken as a whole, with respect to such dividend and other payment restrictions than those contained in the applicable series of Existing Indebtedness or agreement as in effect on the date hereof or (2) the Company determines that any such encumbrance or restriction shall not materially affect the Company’s ability to pay interest or principal, when due, on the Notes (which determination shall be made in the good faith judgment of the Company, which determination shall be conclusively binding);

(ii)        Indebtedness of any Restricted Subsidiary under any Credit Facility that is permitted to be incurred or outstanding pursuant to Section 4.09 hereof; provided that such Credit Facility and Indebtedness contain only such encumbrances and restrictions on such Restricted Subsidiary’s ability to engage in the activities set forth in clauses (i) through (iv) of Section 4.08(a) hereof as are, at the time such Credit Facility is entered into or amended, modified, restated, renewed, increased, supplemented, refunded, replaced or refinanced, ordinary and customary for a Credit Facility of that type as determined in the good faith judgment of the Company, which determination shall be conclusively binding;

(iii)        encumbrances and restrictions applicable to any Person, as the same are in effect as of the date on which such Person becomes a Restricted Subsidiary, and as the same may be amended, modified, restated, renewed, increased, supplemented, refunded, replaced or refinanced; provided that such amendments, modifications, restatements, renewals, increases, supplements, refundings, replacement or refinancings are no more restrictive, taken as a whole, with respect to the dividend and other payment restrictions than those contained in the applicable series of Indebtedness of such Person as in effect on the date on which such Person becomes a Restricted Subsidiary;

(iv)        any Indebtedness incurred in compliance with Section 4.09 hereof or any agreement pursuant to which such Indebtedness is issued if the encumbrance or restriction applies only in the event of a payment default or default with respect to a financial covenant contained in the Indebtedness or agreement and the encumbrance or restriction is not materially more disadvantageous to the Holders than is customary in comparable financings (as determined in the good faith judgment of the Company, which determination shall be conclusively binding) and the Company determines that any such encumbrance or restriction shall not materially affect the Company’s ability to pay interest or principal on the Notes;

(v)        the Indenture;

(vi)        applicable law;

(vii)        any instrument governing Indebtedness or Capital Stock of a Person acquired by the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries as in effect at the time that Person is acquired by the Company (except to the extent the Indebtedness was incurred in connection with or in contemplation of the acquisition), which encumbrance or restriction is not applicable to any Person, or the properties or assets of any Person, other than the Person, or the property or assets of the Person, so acquired, provided that, in the case of Indebtedness, the Indebtedness was permitted by the terms of the Indenture to be incurred;

 

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(viii)        customary non-assignment and other restrictive provisions in leases, licenses, easements or similar arrangements entered into in the ordinary course of business;

(ix)        purchase money obligations for property acquired in the ordinary course of business of the nature described in Section 4.09(b)(iv) hereof on the property so acquired or under Excluded Capital Lease Obligations with respect to the property subject thereto;

(x)        any agreement for the sale of a Restricted Subsidiary that restricts that Restricted Subsidiary pending its sale;

(xi)        Permitted Refinancing Indebtedness, provided that either (1) the restrictions contained in the agreements governing the Permitted Refinancing Indebtedness are not materially more restrictive, taken as a whole, than those contained in the agreements governing the Indebtedness being refinanced or (2) the Company determines that any such encumbrance or restriction shall not materially affect the Company’s ability to pay interest or principal, when due, on the Notes (which determination shall be made in the good faith judgment of the Company, which determination shall be conclusively binding);

(xii)        Liens permitted to be incurred pursuant to Section 4.12 hereof that limit the right of the debtor to transfer the assets subject to such Liens;

(xiii)        provisions with respect to the disposition or distribution of assets or property in joint venture agreements, asset acquisition agreements, asset disposition agreements and other similar agreements or arrangements;

(xiv)        restrictions on cash or other deposits or net worth imposed by customers under contracts entered into in the ordinary course of business;

(xv)        customary separateness, bankruptcy remoteness and similar provisions included in governing or other documents related to entities structured as special purpose entities in anticipation of financing arrangements, acquisitions of assets or similar transactions; provided that the Company determines that any such encumbrance or restriction will not materially affect the Company’s ability to pay interest or principal, when due, on the Notes (which determination shall be made in the good faith judgment of the Company, which determination shall be conclusively binding); and

(xvi)        Indebtedness permitted to be incurred pursuant to Section 4.09(b)(xiv) hereof; provided that the Company determines that any such encumbrance or restriction shall not materially affect the Company’s ability to pay interest or principal, when due, on the Notes (which determination shall be made in the good faith judgment of the Company, which determination shall be conclusively binding).

Section 4.09 Incurrence of Indebtedness and Issuance of Preferred Stock. (a) The Company shall not, and shall not permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, directly or indirectly, create, incur, issue, assume, guarantee or otherwise become directly or indirectly liable, contingently or otherwise, with respect to (collectively, “incur”) any Indebtedness (including Acquired Debt) and the Company shall not issue any Disqualified Stock and shall not permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to issue any shares of preferred stock; provided that the Company may incur Indebtedness (including Acquired Debt) or issue

 

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shares of Disqualified Stock and the Company’s Restricted Subsidiaries may incur Indebtedness (including Acquired Debt) or issue preferred stock if, in each case, the Company’s Debt to Adjusted Consolidated Cash Flow Ratio at the time of incurrence of the Indebtedness or the issuance of the Disqualified Stock or preferred stock, after giving pro forma effect to such incurrence or issuance as of such date and to the use of proceeds from such incurrence or issuance as if the same had occurred at the beginning of the most recently ended four full fiscal quarter period of the Company for which internal financial statements are available, would have been no greater than 7.0 to 1.

(b)        Section 4.09(a) shall not prohibit the incurrence of any of the following items of Indebtedness or the issuance of any of the following items of Disqualified Stock or preferred stock (collectively, “ Permitted Debt ”):

(i)        the incurrence by the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries of Indebtedness under the Senior Credit Facility in an aggregate principal amount (with letters of credit being deemed to have a principal amount equal to the maximum potential liability of the Company and its Restricted Subsidiaries thereunder) at any one time outstanding not to exceed $1.5 billion;

(ii)        the incurrence by the Company or its Restricted Subsidiaries of the Existing Indebtedness;

(iii)        the incurrence by the Company of the Indebtedness represented by the Notes to be issued on the date hereof;

(iv)        the incurrence by the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries of Indebtedness since the date hereof represented by Capital Lease Obligations, mortgage financings or purchase money obligations, in each case incurred for the purpose of financing all or any part of the purchase price or cost of construction or improvement of property, plant or equipment used in the business of the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary (including any Indebtedness incurred for such purpose within 270 days of such purchase, construction or improvement), in an aggregate principal amount, including all Permitted Refinancing Indebtedness incurred to refund, refinance or replace any other Indebtedness incurred pursuant to this Section 4.09(b)(iv), not to exceed $75.0 million at any one time outstanding;

(v)        the incurrence by the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries of Permitted Refinancing Indebtedness in exchange for, or the net proceeds of which are used to extend, refinance, renew, replace, defease or refund Indebtedness of the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries or Disqualified Stock of the Company (other than intercompany Indebtedness) that was permitted by the Indenture to be incurred under Section 4.09(a) or clauses (ii), (iii), this clause (v) or clause (ix) of Section 4.09(b);

(vi)        the incurrence by the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries of intercompany Indebtedness between or among the Company and any of its Restricted Subsidiaries; provided , however , that if the Company is the obligor on such Indebtedness, such Indebtedness is expressly subordinated to the prior payment in full in cash of all obligations with respect to the Notes and that:

(A)        any subsequent issuance or transfer of Equity Interests that results in any such Indebtedness being held by a Person other than the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary; and

 

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(B)        any sale or other transfer of any such Indebtedness to a Person that is not either the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary;

shall be deemed, in each case, to constitute an incurrence of the Indebtedness by the Company or the Restricted Subsidiary, as the case may be;

(vii)        the incurrence by the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries of Hedging Obligations that are incurred for the purpose of fixing or hedging (1) interest rate risk or (2) currency exchange risk, and, in either case, not for speculative purposes;

(viii)        the guarantee by the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries of Indebtedness of the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary of the Company that was permitted to be incurred by another provision of the Indenture;

(ix)        the incurrence by the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries of Acquired Debt in connection with the acquisition of assets or a new Subsidiary and the incurrence by the Company’s Restricted Subsidiaries of Indebtedness as a result of the designation of an Unrestricted Subsidiary as a Restricted Subsidiary; provided that, in the case of any such incurrence of Acquired Debt, such Acquired Debt was incurred by the prior owner of such assets or such Restricted Subsidiary prior to such acquisition by the Company or one of its Restricted Subsidiaries and was not incurred in connection with, or in contemplation of, the acquisition by the Company or one of its Restricted Subsidiaries; and provided further that, in the case of any incurrence pursuant to this Section 4.09(b)(ix), as a result of such acquisition by the Company or one of its Restricted Subsidiaries, the Company’s Debt to Adjusted Consolidated Cash Flow Ratio at the time of incurrence of such Acquired Debt, after giving pro forma effect to such transaction as if the same had occurred at the beginning of the most recently ended four full fiscal quarter period of the Company for which internal financial statements are available, would have been either (1) no greater than 7.0 to 1 or (2) less than the Company’s Debt to Adjusted Consolidated Cash Flow Ratio for the same period without giving pro forma effect to such transaction;

(x)        the incurrence by the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries of any Indebtedness in respect of (1) performance bonds, bankers’ acceptances, letters of credit, surety or appeal bonds or similar instruments provided by the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary in the ordinary course of business, (2) the financing of insurance premiums in the ordinary course of business or (3) netting, overdraft protection and other arrangements arising under standard business terms of any bank at which the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary maintains an overdraft, cash pooling or other similar facility or arrangement;

(xi)        the incurrence by the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries of any Indebtedness arising from the honoring by a bank or other financial institution of a check, draft or similar instrument drawn against insufficient funds in the ordinary course of business, provided that such Indebtedness is extinguished within five Business Days of its incurrence;

(xii)        the incurrence by the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries of any Indebtedness consisting of indemnification, adjustment of purchase price, earn-out or similar obligations of the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary, in each case incurred in

 

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connection with the acquisition or disposition of any assets, business or Person by the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary;

(xiii)         the incurrence by the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries of any Guarantees in the ordinary course of business of the obligations of suppliers, customers, franchisers and licensees;

(xiv)        the incurrence by Foreign Subsidiaries of additional Indebtedness, the proceeds of which are used for ordinary course business purposes, in an aggregate principal amount, at any time outstanding, not to exceed $25.0 million; and

(xv)        the incurrence by the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries since the date hereof of additional Indebtedness and/or the issuance by the Company of Disqualified Stock in an aggregate principal amount, accreted value or liquidation preference, as applicable, at any time outstanding, not to exceed $100.0 million.

(c)        The Company shall not incur any Indebtedness that is contractually subordinated in right of payment to any other Indebtedness of the Company unless such Indebtedness is also contractually subordinated in right of payment to the Notes on substantially identical terms; provided , however , that no Indebtedness the Company shall be deemed to be contractually subordinated in right of payment to any other indebtedness of the Company solely by virtue of being unsecured or secured on a junior priority basis.

(d)        For purposes of determining compliance with this Section 4.09, in the event that an item of Indebtedness meets the criteria of more than one of the categories of Permitted Debt described in clauses (i) through (xv) of Section 4.09(b) above or is entitled to be incurred pursuant to Section 4.09(a), the Company shall, in its sole discretion, classify (or later reclassify in whole or in part) such item of Indebtedness in any manner (and in any order) that complies with this Section 4.09, including in circumstances where such Indebtedness is otherwise incurred substantially concurrently. Accrual of interest, accretion or amortization of original issue discount and the payment of interest in the form of additional Indebtedness shall not be deemed to be an incurrence of Indebtedness for purposes of this Section 4.09. For the avoidance of doubt, any such accretion or payment is considered, for purposes of Section 4.09(b)(v) hereof, to be permitted and outstanding under the paragraph or clause pursuant to which the underlying Indebtedness was incurred. Indebtedness under the revolving portion of the Senior Credit Facility, if any, outstanding on the date hereof shall be deemed to have been incurred on such date in reliance on the exception provided by Section 4.09(b)(i) hereof, and all other Indebtedness under the Senior Credit Facility or the Tower Cash Flow Facilities outstanding on the date hereof shall be deemed to have been incurred on such date in reliance on the exception provided by Section 4.09(b)(ii) hereof.

Section 4.10 Asset Sales. (a) The Company shall not, and shall not permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, consummate an Asset Sale unless:

(i)        the Company (or the Restricted Subsidiary, as the case may be) receives consideration at the time of the Asset Sale at least equal to the fair market value of the assets or Equity Interests issued or sold or otherwise disposed of;

(ii)        in the case of any Asset Sale in excess of $100.0 million, fair market value is determined by the Board of Directors and evidenced by a Board Resolution set forth in an Officers’ Certificate delivered to the Trustee; and

 

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(iii) except in the case of a Tower Asset Exchange, at least 75% of the consideration received in such Asset Sale by the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary is in the form of cash or Cash Equivalents.

(b)        For purposes of Section 4.10(a)(iii) above only, each of the following shall be deemed to be cash:

(i)        any liabilities, as shown on the Company’s or such Restricted Subsidiary’s most recent balance sheet, of the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary (other than contingent liabilities and liabilities that are by their terms subordinated to the Notes or any Guarantee of the Notes) that are assumed by the transferee of any assets pursuant to a customary novation agreement that releases the Company or the Restricted Subsidiary from further liability;

(ii)        any securities, notes or other obligations received by the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary from the transferee that are converted by the Company or the Restricted Subsidiary into cash within 270 days of the applicable Asset Sale, to the extent of the cash received in that conversion; and

(iii)        any Designated Noncash Consideration received by the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries in an Asset Sale having an aggregate fair market value, taken together with all other Designated Noncash Consideration received pursuant to this Section 4.10(b)(iii), not to exceed $150.0 million in the aggregate at any time outstanding (with the fair market value of each item of Designated Noncash Consideration being measured at the time received and without giving effect to subsequent changes in value).

(c)        Within 365 days after the receipt of any Net Proceeds from an Asset Sale, the Company or the Restricted Subsidiary may apply those Net Proceeds to:

(i)        reduce non-subordinated Indebtedness of the Company;

(ii)        reduce Indebtedness or Excluded Capital Lease Obligations of any of the Company’s Restricted Subsidiaries (including by way of the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary acquiring outstanding Indebtedness of any Restricted Subsidiary to be held by the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary to redemption or maturity of such Indebtedness);

(iii)        acquire all or substantially all the assets of a Permitted Business;

(iv)        acquire Voting Stock of a Permitted Business from a Person that is not a Subsidiary of the Company; provided that, after giving effect to the acquisition, the Company or its Restricted Subsidiary owns a majority of the Voting Stock of that Permitted Business; or

(v)        make a capital expenditure or acquire other long-term assets (including long-term land use easements, ground leases and similar land rights) that are used or useful in a Permitted Business.

(d)        Pending the final application of any Net Proceeds, the Company may temporarily reduce revolving credit borrowings or otherwise apply or invest the Net Proceeds in any manner that is not prohibited by the Indenture.

 

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(e)        Any Net Proceeds from Asset Sales that are not applied or invested as provided in Section 4.10(c) (whether by election or the passage of time) shall be deemed to constitute “ Excess Proceeds .” When the aggregate amount of Excess Proceeds exceeds $25.0 million, the Company shall be required to make an offer to all Holders, and all holders of other senior Indebtedness of the Company containing provisions similar to those set forth in the Indenture with respect to offers to purchase or redeem with the proceeds of sales of assets, to purchase the maximum principal amount of Notes and such other senior Indebtedness of the Company that may be purchased out of the Excess Proceeds (an “ Asset Sale Offer ”). The offer price in any Asset Sale Offer shall be payable in cash and shall be 100% of the principal amount of any Notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any (except as provided in Section 3.08(c) hereof), to the date of purchase. In the case of any other senior Indebtedness, the offer price shall be 100% of the principal amount (or accreted value, as applicable) of the Indebtedness plus accrued and unpaid interest thereon, if any, to the date of purchase. Each Asset Sale Offer shall be made in accordance with the procedures set forth in the Indenture and the other senior Indebtedness of the Company. If any Excess Proceeds remain after consummation of an Asset Sale Offer, the Company may use the remaining Excess Proceeds for any purpose not otherwise prohibited by the Indenture. If the aggregate principal amount of Notes and the other senior Indebtedness of the Company tendered into the Asset Sale Offer exceeds the amount of Excess Proceeds, the Company shall select the Notes to be purchased on a pro rata basis. Upon completion of the Asset Sale Offer, the amount of Excess Proceeds shall be reset at zero.

(f)        The Company shall comply with the requirements of Section 14(e) of the Exchange Act and any other securities laws or regulations to the extent those laws and regulations are applicable to any Asset Sale Offer. If the provisions of any of the applicable securities laws or securities regulations conflict with the provisions of this Section 4.10, the Company shall comply with the applicable securities laws and regulations and shall not be deemed to have breached its obligations under this Section 4.10 by virtue of the compliance.

Section 4.11 Transactions with Affiliates. (a) The Company shall not, and shall not permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, make any payment to, or sell, lease, transfer or otherwise dispose of any of its properties or assets to, or purchase any property or assets from, or enter into or make or amend any transaction, contract, agreement, understanding, loan, advance or guarantee with, or for the benefit of, any Affiliate (each of the foregoing, an “ Affiliate Transaction ”), unless:

(i)        such Affiliate Transaction is on terms that are no less favorable to the Company or the relevant Restricted Subsidiary than those that would have been obtained in a comparable transaction by the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary with an unrelated Person; and

(ii)        the Company delivers to the Trustee, with respect to any Affiliate Transaction or series of related Affiliate Transactions involving aggregate consideration in excess of $10.0 million, a Board Resolution set forth in an Officers’ Certificate certifying that the Affiliate Transaction complies with Section 4.11(a)(i) above and that the Affiliate Transaction has been approved by a majority of the disinterested members of the Board of Directors.

(b)        Notwithstanding the foregoing, the following items shall not be deemed to be Affiliate Transactions:

(i)        any employment arrangements with any executive officer of the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary that is entered into by the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business and consistent with

 

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compensation arrangements of similarly situated executive officers at comparable companies engaged in Permitted Businesses;

(ii)        transactions between or among the Company and/or its Restricted Subsidiaries;

(iii)        payment of reasonable and customary directors’ fees;

(iv)        Restricted Payments that are permitted by Section 4.07 hereof (including Permitted Investments) and loans or advances to employees made in the ordinary course of business and consistent with past practices;

(v)        the issuance or sale of Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Stock) of the Company; and

(vi)        payments of customary fees by the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to any independent investment bank or Affiliate of an independent investment bank made for any corporate advisory services or financial advisory, financing, underwriting or placement services or in respect of other investment banking activities including, without limitation, in connection with acquisitions or divestitures, which are approved by a majority of the Board of Directors in good faith.

Section 4.12 Liens. The Company shall not, directly or indirectly, create, incur, assume or suffer to exist any Lien securing Indebtedness on any asset directly held by the Company now owned or hereafter acquired, or any income or profits therefrom or assign or convey any right to receive income therefrom, except Permitted Liens, without providing that the Notes shall be secured equally and ratably with (or prior to) the obligations so secured for so long as such obligations are so secured.

Section 4.13 Business Activities. The Company shall not, and shall not permit any Restricted Subsidiary to, engage in any business other than Permitted Businesses, except to the extent as would not be material to the Company and its Restricted Subsidiaries taken as a whole.

Section 4.14 Reserved.

Section 4.15 Offer to Repurchase Upon Change of Control. (a) If a Change of Control occurs, each Holder shall have the right to require the Company to repurchase all or any part of the principal amount of such Holder’s Notes equal to $2,000 or an integral multiple of $1,000 pursuant to the offer described below (the “ Change of Control Offer ”). The offer price in any Change of Control Offer shall be payable in cash and shall be equal to 101% of the aggregate principal amount of any Notes repurchased plus accrued and unpaid interest on the Notes, if any (subject to the right of Holders of record on the relevant record date to receive interest due on the relevant interest payment date), to the date of purchase (the “ Change of Control Payment ”). Within 30 days following any Change of Control, the Company shall send a notice to each Holder describing the transaction or transactions that constitute the Change of Control and offering to repurchase Notes on the date specified in the notice (the “ Change of Control Payment Date ”). The Change of Control Payment Date shall be no earlier than 30 days and no later than 60 days from the date the notice is sent, pursuant to the procedures required by the Indenture and described in such notice.

(b)        On the Change of Control Payment Date, the Company shall, to the extent lawful:

 

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(i)        accept for payment all Notes or portions of the Notes properly tendered pursuant to the Change of Control Offer;

(ii)        deposit with the Paying Agent an amount equal to the Change of Control Payment in respect of all Notes or portions of Notes properly tendered; and

(iii)        deliver or cause to be delivered to the Trustee the Notes so accepted together with an Officers’ Certificate stating the aggregate principal amount of Notes or portions of the Notes being purchased by the Company.

(c)        The Paying Agent shall promptly send to each Holder of Notes properly tendered the Change of Control Payment for such Notes, and the Trustee shall promptly authenticate and mail or send, or cause to be transferred by book entry, to each Holder a new Note equal in principal amount to any unpurchased portion of the Notes surrendered, if any; provided that the new Note shall be in a principal amount of $2,000 or an integral multiple of $1,000.

(d)        The Change of Control provisions described in this Section 4.15 shall be applicable whether or not any other provisions of the Indenture are applicable. The Company shall comply with the requirements of Section 14(e) of the Exchange Act and any other securities laws or regulations to the extent those laws and regulations are applicable to any Change of Control Offer. If the provisions of any of the applicable securities laws or securities regulations conflict with the provisions of this Section 4.15, the Company shall comply with the applicable securities laws and regulations and shall not be deemed to have breached its obligations under the covenant described above by virtue of the compliance.

(e)        The Company shall not be required to make a Change of Control Offer upon a Change of Control if a third party makes the Change of Control Offer in the manner, at the times and otherwise in compliance with the requirements set forth in the Indenture applicable to a Change of Control Offer made by the Company and purchases all Notes properly tendered and not withdrawn under such Change of Control Offer. In addition, notwithstanding the occurrence of a Change of Control, the Company shall not be obligated to make a Change of Control Offer in the event it has delivered a notice of redemption (which is or has become unconditional) with respect to all of the outstanding Notes as provided under Section 3.07. A Change of Control Offer may be made in advance of a Change of Control and conditioned upon such Change of Control if a definitive agreement is in place for the Change of Control at the time of making the Change of Control Offer. The provisions under the Indenture relating to the Company’s obligation to make an offer to repurchase the Notes as a result of a Change of Control may be waived or modified with the written consent of the Holders of a majority in principal amount of the Notes then outstanding.

Section 4.16 Sale and Leaseback Transactions. The Company shall not enter into any sale and leaseback transaction; provided that the Company may enter into a sale and leaseback transaction if:

(i)        the Company could have:

(1)        incurred Indebtedness in an amount equal to the Attributable Debt relating to such sale and leaseback transaction pursuant to Section 4.09 hereof; and

(2)        incurred a Lien to secure such Indebtedness pursuant to Section 4.12 hereof; and

 

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(ii)        the transfer of assets in the sale and leaseback transaction is permitted by, and the Company applies the proceeds of such transaction in compliance with, Section 3.08, Section 4.10(c) and Section 4.10(e) hereof.

Section 4.17 Reserved.

Section 4.18 Limitation on Issuances of Guarantees of Indebtedness. The Company shall not permit any Restricted Subsidiary, directly or indirectly, to Guarantee or pledge any assets to secure the payment of any other Indebtedness of the Company unless such Subsidiary simultaneously executes and delivers a supplemental indenture to the Indenture providing for the Guarantee of the payment of the Notes by such Subsidiary for so long as such Guarantee of or pledge to secure the payment of such other Indebtedness remains in effect, which Guarantee shall be senior to or pari passu with such Subsidiary’s Guarantee of or pledge to secure such other Indebtedness. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any Guarantee by a Subsidiary of the Notes shall provide by its terms that it shall be automatically and unconditionally released and discharged upon any sale, exchange or transfer, to any Person other than a Subsidiary of the Company, of all of the Company’s stock in, or all or substantially all the assets of, such Subsidiary, which sale, exchange or transfer is made in compliance with the applicable provisions of the Indenture.

Section 4.19 Effectiveness of Covenants. The covenants described under Sections 4.07, 4.08, 4.09, 4.10, 4.11, 4.13, 4.18 and Section 5.01(ii)(4) (collectively, the “ Suspended Covenants ”) shall no longer be in effect if on any date the Company attains Investment Grade Status and no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing. If at any time the Company’s credit rating is downgraded from Investment Grade Status, then the Suspended Covenants shall thereafter be reinstated as of and from the date of such rating downgrade, unless and until the Company subsequently attains Investment Grade Status (in which event the Suspended Covenants shall again no longer be in effect for such time that the Company maintains Investment Grade Status). Calculations under the reinstated covenant in Section 4.07 hereof will be made as if such covenant had been in effect since the date hereof except that no Default will be deemed to have occurred solely by reason of a Restricted Payment made while Section 4.07 hereof was suspended. Notwithstanding the reinstatement of the Suspended Covenants, no Default, Event of Default or breach of any kind shall be deemed to exist under the Indenture with respect to the Suspended Covenants based on, and none of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries shall bear any liability for, any actions taken or events occurring after the Company attains Investment Grade Status and before any reinstatement of such Suspended Covenants as provided above, or any actions taken at any time pursuant to any contractual obligation arising prior to such reinstatement, regardless of whether such actions or events would have been permitted if the applicable Suspended Covenants remained in effect during such period.

ARTICLE 5

SUCCESSORS

Section 5.01 Merger, Consolidation or Sale of Assets. The Company shall not:

(i)        consolidate or merge with or into (whether or not the Company is the surviving corporation); or

(ii)        sell, assign, transfer, lease, convey or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of its properties or assets in one or more related transactions, to another corporation, Person or entity, unless:

(1)        either:

 

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(a)        the Company is the surviving corporation; or

(b)        the entity or the Person formed by or surviving any such consolidation or merger (if other than the Company) or to which the sale, assignment, transfer, lease, conveyance or other disposition shall have been made is a Person (which, if not a corporation, includes a corporate co-issuer) organized or existing under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia;

(2)        the entity or Person formed by or surviving any such consolidation or merger (if other than the Company) or the entity or Person to which the sale, assignment, transfer, lease, conveyance or other disposition shall have been made assumes all the obligations of the Company under the Notes and the Indenture pursuant to a supplemental indenture in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Trustee;

(3)        immediately after such transaction no Default exists; and

(4)        except in the case of:

(a)        a merger of the Company with or into a Wholly Owned Restricted Subsidiary of the Company; and

(b)        a merger entered into solely for the purpose of reincorporating the Company in another jurisdiction:

(i)        in the case of a merger or consolidation in which the Company is the surviving corporation, the Company’s Debt to Adjusted Consolidated Cash Flow Ratio at the time of the transaction, after giving pro forma effect to the transaction as of such date for balance sheet purposes and as if the transaction had occurred at the beginning of the most recently ended four full fiscal quarter period of the Company for which internal financial statements are available for income statement purposes, would have been (i) no greater than 7.0 to 1 or (ii) less than the Company’s Debt to Adjusted Consolidated Cash Flow Ratio for the same period without giving pro forma effect to such transaction; or

(ii)        in the case of any other such transaction, the Debt to Adjusted Consolidated Cash Flow of the entity or Person formed by or surviving any such consolidation or merger (if other than the Company), or to which the sale, assignment, transfer, lease, conveyance or other disposition shall have been made, at the time of the transaction, after giving pro forma effect to the transaction as of such date for balance sheet purposes and as if such transaction had occurred at the beginning of the most recently ended four full fiscal quarter period of such entity or Person for which internal financial statements are available for income statement purposes, would have been (i) no greater than 7.0 to 1 or (ii) less than the Company’s Debt to Adjusted Consolidated Cash Flow Ratio for the same period without giving pro forma effect to such transaction; provided that for purposes of determining the Debt to Adjusted Consolidated Cash Flow Ratio of any entity or Person for purposes of this Section 5.01(ii)(4)(b)(ii) the entity or Person shall be substituted for

 

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the Company in the definition of Debt to Adjusted Consolidated Cash Flow Ratio and the defined terms included in Section 1.03 hereof.

Section 5.02 Successor Corporation Substituted. Upon any consolidation or merger, or any sale, assignment, transfer, lease, conveyance or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company in accordance with Section 5.01 hereof, the successor corporation formed by such consolidation or into or with which the Company is merged or to which such sale, assignment, transfer, lease, conveyance or other disposition is made shall succeed to, and be substituted for (so that from and after the date of such consolidation, merger, sale, lease, conveyance or other disposition, the provisions of the Indenture referring to the “Company” shall refer instead to the successor corporation and not to the Company), and may exercise every right and power of the Company under the Indenture with the same effect as if such successor Person had been named as the Company herein, and the predecessor Company, except in the case of a lease that meets the requirements of Section 5.01, shall be released from the obligation to pay the principal of and interest on the Notes.

ARTICLE 6

DEFAULTS AND REMEDIES

Section 6.01 Events of Default. (a) Each of the following constitutes an “ Event of Default ”:

(i)        default for 30 days in the payment when due of interest on the Notes;

(ii)        default in payment when due of the principal of or premium, if any, on the Notes;

(iii)        failure by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to comply with the provisions in Section 5.01 or failure by the Company to consummate a Change of Control Offer or Asset Sale Offer in accordance with the provisions of the Indenture applicable to such offers;

(iv)        failure by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries for 60 days (or 120 days in the case of a failure to comply with the reporting obligations described under Section 4.03) after notice to comply with any of its other agreements in the Indenture or the Notes;

(v)        default under any Indebtedness for money borrowed by the Company or any of its Significant Subsidiaries, or the payment of which is Guaranteed by the Company or any of its Significant Subsidiaries, whether such Indebtedness or Guarantee now exists, or is created after the date hereof, which default:

(1)        is caused by a failure to pay principal of or premium, if any, or interest on the Indebtedness prior to the expiration of the grace period provided in such Indebtedness on the date of the default (a “ Payment Default ”); or

(2)        results in the acceleration of the Indebtedness prior to its express maturity,

and, in each case, the principal amount of any such Indebtedness, together with the principal amount of any other such Indebtedness under which there has been a Payment

 

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Default or the maturity of which has been so accelerated, aggregates $40.0 million or more;

(vi)        failure by the Company or any of its Significant Subsidiaries to pay final judgments aggregating (net of amounts covered by insurance policies) in excess of $40.0 million, which judgments are not paid, discharged or stayed for a period of 60 days;

(vii)        the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries pursuant to or within the meaning of Bankruptcy Law:

(1)        commences a voluntary case,

(2)        consents to the entry of an order for relief against it in an involuntary case,

(3)        consents to the appointment of a custodian of it or for all or substantially all of its property,

(4)        makes a general assignment for the benefit of its creditors, or

(5)        generally is not paying its debts as they become due; or

(viii)        a court of competent jurisdiction enters an order or decree under any Bankruptcy Law that:

(1)        is for relief against the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries in an involuntary case;

(2)        appoints a custodian of the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries or for all or substantially all of the property of the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries; or

(3)        orders the liquidation of the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries;

and the order or decree remains unstayed and in effect for 60 consecutive days.

(b)        A Default under Section 6.01(a)(iv) shall not constitute an Event of Default until the Trustee or the Holders of 25% in principal amount of the outstanding Notes notify the Company of the Default and the Company does not cure such Default within the time specified after receipt of such notice.

Section 6.02 Acceleration. If any Event of Default occurs and is continuing, the Trustee or the Holders of at least 25% in principal amount at maturity of the then outstanding Notes may declare all the principal of, and accrued and unpaid interest, if any, on such Notes to be due and payable immediately. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of an Event of Default arising from Section 6.01(a)(vii) or Section 6.01(a)(viii), with respect to the Company, all outstanding Notes shall be due and payable without further action or notice. Holders may not enforce the Indenture or the Notes except as provided in the Indenture. Subject to certain limitations, Holders of a majority in principal amount at maturity of the then outstanding Notes may direct the Trustee in its exercise of any trust or power.

 

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Section 6.03 Other Remedies. (a) If an Event of Default occurs and is continuing, the Trustee may pursue any available remedy to collect the payment of principal of, premium, if any, and interest on the Notes or to enforce the performance of any provision of the Notes or the Indenture.

(b)        The Trustee may maintain a proceeding even if it does not possess any of the Notes or does not produce any of them in the proceeding. A delay or omission by the Trustee or any Holder of the Notes in exercising any right or remedy accruing upon an Event of Default shall not impair the right or remedy or constitute a waiver of or acquiescence in the Event of Default. All remedies are cumulative to the extent permitted by law.

Section 6.04 Waiver of Past Defaults. Holders of not less than a majority in aggregate principal amount of the then outstanding Notes by notice to the Trustee may on behalf of the Holders of all of the Notes waive an existing Default or Event of Default and its consequences hereunder, except a continuing Default or Event of Default in the payment of the principal of, premium, if any, or interest on, the Notes (including in connection with an offer to purchase) ( provided , however , that the Holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the then outstanding Notes may rescind an acceleration and its consequences, including any related payment default that resulted from such acceleration). Upon any such waiver, such Default shall cease to exist, and any Event of Default arising therefrom shall be deemed to have been cured for every purpose of the Indenture; but no such waiver shall extend to any subsequent or other Default or impair any right consequent thereon.

Section 6.05 Control by Majority. Holders of a majority in principal amount of the then outstanding Notes may direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for exercising any remedy available to the Trustee or exercising any trust or power conferred on it. However, the Trustee may refuse to follow any direction that conflicts with law or the Indenture that the Trustee determines may be unduly prejudicial to the rights of other Holders of Notes or that may involve the Trustee in personal liability. Prior to taking any action hereunder, the Trustee shall be entitled to indemnification satisfactory to it in its sole discretion against all losses and expenses caused by taking or not taking such action.

Section 6.06 Limitation on Suits. (a) A Holder of a Note may pursue a remedy with respect to the Indenture or the Notes only if:

(i)        the Holder of a Note gives to the Trustee written notice of a continuing Event of Default;

(ii)        the Holders of at least 25% in principal amount of the then outstanding Notes make a written request to the Trustee to pursue the remedy;

(iii)        such Holders of Notes offer and, if requested, provide to the Trustee indemnity satisfactory to the Trustee against any loss, liability or expense;

(iv)        the Trustee does not comply with the request within 60 days after receipt of the request and the offer and, if requested, the provision of indemnity; and

(v)        during such 60-day period the Holders of a majority in principal amount of the then outstanding Notes do not give the Trustee a direction inconsistent with the request.

(b)        A Holder of a Note may not use the Indenture to prejudice the rights of another Holder of a Note or to obtain a preference or priority over another Holder of a Note.

 

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Section 6.07 Rights of Holders of Notes to Receive Payment. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Indenture, the right of any Holder of a Note to receive payment of principal of, premium, if any, and interest on the Note, on or after the respective due dates expressed in the Note (including in connection with an offer to purchase), or to bring suit for the enforcement of any such payment on or after such respective dates, shall not be impaired or affected without the consent of such Holder.

Section 6.08 Collection Suit by Trustee. If an Event of Default specified in Section 6.01(a)(i) or Section 6.01(a)(ii) occurs and is continuing, the Trustee is authorized to recover judgment in its own name and as trustee of an express trust against the Company for the whole amount of principal of, premium, if any, and interest remaining unpaid on the Notes and interest on overdue principal and, to the extent lawful, interest and such further amount as shall be sufficient to cover the costs and expenses of collection, including the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the Trustee, its agents and counsel.

Section 6.09 Trustee May File Proofs of Claim. The Trustee is authorized to file such proofs of claim and other papers or documents as may be necessary or advisable in order to have the claims of the Trustee (including any claim for the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the Trustee, its agents and counsel) and the Holders allowed in any judicial proceedings relative to the Company (or any other obligor upon the Notes), its creditors or its property and shall be entitled and empowered to collect, receive and distribute any money or other property payable or deliverable on any such claims and any Custodian in any such judicial proceeding is hereby authorized by each Holder to make such payments to the Trustee, and in the event that the Trustee shall consent to the making of such payments directly to the Holders, to pay to the Trustee any amount due to it for the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the Trustee, its agents and counsel, and any other amounts due the Trustee under Section 7.07 hereof. To the extent that the payment of any such compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the Trustee, its agents and counsel, and any other amounts due the Trustee under Section 7.07 hereof out of the estate in any such proceeding, shall be denied for any reason, payment of the same shall be secured by a Lien on, and shall be paid out of, any and all distributions, dividends, money, securities and other properties that the Holders may be entitled to receive in such proceeding whether in liquidation or under any plan of reorganization or arrangement or otherwise. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to authorize the Trustee to authorize or consent to or accept or adopt on behalf of any Holder any plan of reorganization, arrangement, adjustment or composition affecting the Notes or the rights of any Holder, or to authorize the Trustee to vote in respect of the claim of any Holder in any such proceeding.

Section 6.10 Priorities. (a) If the Trustee collects any money pursuant to this Article 6, it shall pay out the money in the following order:

First : to the Trustee, its agents and attorneys for amounts due under Section 7.07 hereof, including payment of all compensation, expense and liabilities incurred, and all advances made, by the Trustee and the costs and expenses of collection;

Second : to Holders for amounts due and unpaid on the Notes for principal, premium, if any, and interest, ratably, without preference or priority of any kind, according to the amounts due and payable on the Notes for principal, premium, if any and interest, respectively; and

Third : to the Company or to such party as a court of competent jurisdiction shall direct.

(b)        The Trustee may fix a record date and payment date for any payment to Holders pursuant to this Section 6.10.

 

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Section 6.11 Undertaking for Costs. In any suit for the enforcement of any right or remedy under the Indenture or in any suit against the Trustee for any action taken or omitted by it as a Trustee, a court in its discretion may require the filing by any party litigant in the suit of an undertaking to pay the costs of the suit, and the court in its discretion may assess reasonable costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses, against any party litigant in the suit, having due regard to the merits and good faith of the claims or defenses made by the party litigant. This Section 6.11 does not apply to a suit by the Trustee, a suit by a Holder pursuant to Section 6.07 hereof, or a suit by Holders of more than 10% in principal amount of the then outstanding Notes.

ARTICLE 7

TRUSTEE

Section 7.01 Duties of Trustee. (a) If an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, the Trustee shall exercise the rights and powers vested in it by the Indenture, and use the same degree of care and skill in its exercise thereof as a prudent Person would exercise or use under the circumstances in the conduct of such Person’s own affairs.

(b)         Except during the continuance of an Event of Default:

(i)         the Trustee undertakes to perform such duties and only such duties as are specifically set forth in the Indenture, as modified or supplemented by a supplemental indenture, if any, and no implied covenants or obligations shall be read into the Indenture against the Trustee; and

(ii)         in the absence of bad faith on its part, the Trustee may conclusively rely, as to the truth of the statements and the correctness of the opinions expressed therein, upon certificates or opinions furnished to the Trustee and conforming to the requirements of the Indenture. However, the Trustee shall examine the certificates and opinions to determine whether or not they conform to the requirements of the Indenture (but need not confirm or investigate the accuracy of mathematical calculations or other facts stated therein).

(c)         The Trustee may not be relieved from liability for its own grossly negligent action, its own grossly negligent failure to act, or its own willful misconduct, except that:

(i)         this paragraph does not limit the effect of Section 7.01(b);

(ii)         the Trustee shall not be liable for any error of judgment made in good faith by a Responsible Officer unless it is proved that the Trustee was grossly negligent in ascertaining the pertinent facts; and

(iii)         the Trustee shall not be liable with respect to any action it takes or omits to take in good faith in accordance with a direction received by it pursuant to Section 6.05 hereof.

(d)         Whether or not therein expressly so provided, every provision of the Indenture that in any way relates to the Trustee is subject to Section 7.01(a), (b), (c) and (g).

(e)         The Trustee shall not be liable for interest on any money received by it except as the Trustee may agree in writing with the Company.

 

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(f)        Money held in trust by the Trustee need not be segregated from other funds except to the extent required by law.

(g)        No provision of the Indenture shall require the Trustee to expend or risk its own funds or otherwise incur financial liability in the performance of any of its duties hereunder or in the exercise of any of its rights or powers.

(h)        Every provision of the Indenture relating to the conduct or affecting the liability of or affording protection to the Trustee shall be subject to the provisions of this Section 7.01 and to the provisions of the TIA.

Section 7.02 Rights of Trustee. (a) The Trustee may conclusively rely upon any document believed by it to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper Person. The Trustee need not investigate any fact or matter stated in the document.

(b)        Before the Trustee acts or refrains from acting, it may require an Officers’ Certificate or an Opinion of Counsel or both. The Trustee shall not be liable for any action it takes or omits to take in good faith in reliance on the Officers’ Certificate or Opinion of Counsel.

(c)        The Trustee may act through agents or attorneys and shall not be responsible for the misconduct or negligence of any agent or attorney appointed with due care.

(d)        The Trustee shall not be liable for any action it takes or omits to take in good faith which it believes to be authorized or within its rights or powers; provided , however , that the Trustee’s conduct does not constitute willful misconduct or gross negligence.

(e)        The Trustee may consult with counsel, and the advice or opinion of counsel with respect to legal matters relating to the Indenture and the Notes, shall be full and complete authorization and protection from liability in respect to any action taken, omitted or suffered by it hereunder in good faith and in accordance with the advice or opinion of such counsel.

(f)        The Trustee shall not be bound to make any investigation into the facts or matters stated in any resolution, certificate, statement, instrument, opinion, report, notice, request, consent, order, approval, bond, debenture, note or other paper or document.

(g)        The Trustee shall not be deemed to have notice or charged with knowledge of any Default or Event of Default unless a Responsible Officer of the Trustee has actual knowledge thereof or unless written notice of any event which is in fact such a default is received from the Company or any Holders by the Trustee at the Corporate Trust Office of the Trustee, and such notice references the Notes and the Indenture.

(h)        The rights, privileges, protections, immunities and benefits given to the Trustee, including, without limitation, its right to be indemnified, are extended to and shall be enforceable by, the Trustee in each of its capacities hereunder, and to each agent, custodian and other Person employed to act hereunder.

(i)        The Trustee shall be under no obligation to exercise any of the rights or powers vested in it by the Indenture at the request or direction of any of the Holders pursuant to the Indenture, unless such Holders shall have offered to the Trustee security or indemnity satisfactory to the Trustee against the costs, expenses and liabilities which might be incurred by the Trustee in compliance with such request or direction.

 

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(j)         The Trustee may from time to time request that the Company deliver an Officers’ Certificate setting forth the names of individuals and/or titles of officers authorized at such time to take specified actions pursuant to the Indenture, which Officers’ Certificate may be signed by any persons authorized to sign an Officers’ Certificate, including any person specified as so authorized in any such certificate previously delivered and not superseded.

(k)         The permissive right of the Trustee to take any action under the Indenture shall not be construed as a duty to so act.

(l)         In no event shall the Trustee be responsible or liable for any special, indirect or consequential loss or damage of any kind whatsoever (including loss of profit) irrespective of whether the Trustee has been advised of the likelihood of such loss or damage and regardless of the form of action.

Section 7.03 Individual Rights of Trustee. The Trustee in its individual or any other capacity may become the owner or pledgee of the Notes and may otherwise deal with the Company or any Affiliate of the Company with the same rights it would have if it were not Trustee. However, in the event that the Trustee acquires any conflicting interest it must eliminate such conflict within 90 days, apply to the SEC for permission to continue as trustee or resign. Any Agent may do the same with like rights and duties. The Trustee is also subject to Section 7.10 and Section 7.11 hereof.

Section 7.04 Trustee’s Disclaimer. The Trustee shall not be responsible for and makes no representation as to the validity or adequacy of the Indenture or the Notes, it shall not be accountable for the Company’s use of the proceeds from the Notes, it will not be responsible for the use or application of any money received by any Paying Agent (other than itself as Paying Agent), and it shall not be responsible for any statement in the Indenture, in the Notes, or in any document executed in connection with the sale of the Notes, other than those set forth in the Trustee’s certificate of authentication.

Section 7.05 Notice of Defaults. If a Default or Event of Default occurs and is continuing and if it is actually known to a Responsible Officer of the Trustee, the Trustee shall send to each Holder a notice of the Default within 90 days after it occurs. Except in the case of a Default or an Event of Default in payment of the principal amount of (or the portion thereby specified in the Notes), premium, if any, or accrued and unpaid interest on any Note, the Trustee may withhold the notice if and so long as a committee of its Responsible Officers in good faith determines that withholding the notice is in the interests of Holders.

Section 7.06 Reports by Trustee to Holders. (a) Within 60 days after each October 15, beginning with the first October 15 after the date hereof, for so long as the Notes remain outstanding, the Trustee shall send to the Holders a brief report dated as of such reporting date that complies with TIA § 313(a) (but if no event described in TIA § 313(a) has occurred within the 12 months preceding the reporting date, no report need be transmitted). The Trustee also shall comply with TIA § 313(b). The Trustee shall also transmit all reports as required by TIA § 313(c).

(b)         A copy of each report at the time of its sending to the Holders shall be sent to the Company and filed with the SEC and each stock exchange on which the Notes are listed in accordance with TIA § 313(d). The Company shall promptly notify the Trustee when the Notes are listed on any stock exchange.

Section 7.07 Compensation and Indemnity. (a) The Company shall pay to the Trustee from time to time such compensation for its services as the Company and the Trustee shall from time to time agree in writing. The Trustee’s compensation shall not be limited by any law on compensation of a trustee of an express trust. The Company shall reimburse the Trustee upon request for all reasonable out-of-pocket

 

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expenses incurred or made by it, including costs of collection, costs of preparation and mailing of notices to Holders and reasonable costs of counsel retained by the Trustee in connection with the delivery of an Opinion of Counsel or otherwise in addition to the compensation for its services. Such expenses shall include the reasonable compensation and expenses, disbursements and advances of the Trustee’s agents, counsel, accountants and experts. The Company shall indemnify the Trustee against any and all loss, liability or expense (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and disbursements) incurred by or in connection with the administration of this trust and the performance of its duties hereunder, including the costs and expenses of enforcing the Indenture (including this Section 7.07) and of defending itself against any claims (whether asserted by any Holder, the Company or otherwise). The Trustee shall notify the Company of any claim for which it may seek indemnity promptly upon obtaining actual knowledge thereof; provided , however , that any failure so to notify the Company shall not relieve the Company of its indemnity obligations hereunder. The Company need not reimburse any expense or indemnify against any loss, liability or expense incurred by an indemnified party through such party’s own willful misconduct, gross negligence or bad faith.

(b)         To secure the Company’s payment obligations in this Section 7.07, the Trustee shall have a Lien prior to the Notes on all money or property held or collected by the Trustee other than money or property held in trust to pay the principal of and interest and any liquidated damages on the Notes.

(c)         The Company’s payment obligations pursuant to this Section 7.07 shall survive the satisfaction or discharge of the Indenture, any rejection or termination of the Indenture under any bankruptcy law or the resignation or removal of the Trustee. When the Trustee incurs expenses after the occurrence of a Default specified in Section 6.01(a)(vii) or Section 6.01(a)(viii), the expenses are intended to constitute expenses of administration under the Bankruptcy Law.

Section 7.08 Replacement of Trustee. (a) A resignation or removal of the Trustee and appointment of a successor Trustee shall become effective only upon the successor Trustee’s acceptance of appointment as provided in this Section 7.08.

(b)         The Trustee may resign at any time by so notifying the Company. The Holders of a majority in principal amount of the then outstanding Notes may remove the Trustee and may appoint a successor Trustee. The Company shall remove the Trustee if:

(i)         the Trustee fails to comply with Section 7.10 hereof;

(ii)         the Trustee is adjudged a bankrupt or an insolvent or an order for relief is entered with respect to the Trustee under any Bankruptcy Law;

(iii)         a Custodian or public officer takes charge of the Trustee or its property; or

(iv)         the Trustee otherwise becomes incapable of acting.

(c)         If the Trustee resigns, is removed by the Company or by the Holders of a majority in principal amount of the then outstanding Notes and such Holders do not reasonably promptly appoint a successor Trustee or if a vacancy exists in the office of Trustee for any reason (the Trustee in such event being referred to herein as the retiring Trustee), the Company shall promptly appoint a successor Trustee. Within one year after the successor Trustee takes office, the Holders of a majority in principal amount of the then outstanding Notes may appoint a successor Trustee to replace the successor Trustee appointed by the Company.

 

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(d)         A successor Trustee shall deliver a written acceptance of its appointment to the retiring Trustee and to the Company. Thereupon the resignation or removal of the retiring Trustee shall become effective, and the successor Trustee shall have all the rights, powers and duties of the Trustee under the Indenture. The successor Trustee shall send a notice of its succession to Holders. The retiring Trustee shall promptly transfer all property held by it as Trustee to the successor Trustee, subject to the lien provided for in Section 7.07.

(e)         If a successor Trustee does not take office within 30 days after the retiring Trustee resigns or is removed, the retiring Trustee or the Holders of 10% in principal amount of then outstanding Notes may petition, at the expense of the Company, any court of competent jurisdiction for the appointment of a successor Trustee.

(f)         If the Trustee fails to comply with Section 7.10, after written notice hereto, the Holders of at least 10% in principal amount of the Notes may petition any court of competent jurisdiction for the removal of the Trustee and the appointment of a successor Trustee.

(g)         Notwithstanding the replacement of the Trustee pursuant to this Section 7.08, the Company’s obligations under Section 7.07 shall continue for the benefit of the retiring Trustee.

Section 7.09 Successor Trustee by Merger, etc. If the Trustee consolidates with, merges or converts into, or transfers all or substantially all its corporate trust business or assets to, another corporation or banking association, the resulting, surviving or transferee corporation without any further act shall be the successor Trustee. In case at the time such successor or successors by merger, conversion or consolidation to the Trustee shall succeed to the trusts created by the Indenture any of the Notes shall have been authenticated but not delivered, any such successor to the Trustee may adopt the certificate of authentication of any predecessor trustee, and deliver such Notes so authenticated; and if at that time any of the Notes shall not have been authenticated, any such successor to the Trustee may authenticate such Notes either in the name of any predecessor hereunder or in the name of the successor to the Trustee; and in all such cases such certificates shall have the full force which it is anywhere in the Notes or in the Indenture provided that the certificate of the Trustee shall have.

Section 7.10 Eligibility; Disqualification. (a) The Trustee shall at all times satisfy the requirements of TIA §310(a). The Trustee shall have a combined capital and surplus of at least $100 million as set forth in its most recent published annual report of condition. The Trustee shall comply with TIA §310(b); provided , however , that there shall be excluded from the operation of TIA §310(b)(1) any indenture or indentures under which other securities or certificates of interest or participation in other securities of the Company are outstanding if the requirements for such exclusion set forth in TIA §310(b)(1) are met.

(b)         The Indenture shall always have a Trustee who satisfies the requirements of TIA §310(a)(1), (2) and (5).

Section 7.11 Preferential Collection of Claims Against Company. The Trustee is subject to TIA §311(a), excluding any creditor relationship listed in TIA §311(b). A Trustee who has resigned or been removed shall be subject to TIA §311(a) to the extent indicated therein.

 

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ARTICLE 8

LEGAL DEFEASANCE AND COVENANT DEFEASANCE

Section 8.01 Option to Effect Legal Defeasance or Covenant Defeasance. The Company may, at the option of the Board of Directors evidenced by a Board Resolution set forth in an Officers’ Certificate, at any time, elect to have either Section 8.02 or 8.03 hereof be applied to all outstanding Notes upon compliance with the conditions set forth below in this Article 8.

Section 8.02 Legal Defeasance and Discharge. (a) Upon the Company’s exercise under Section 8.01 hereof of the option applicable to this Section 8.02, the Company shall, subject to the satisfaction of the conditions set forth in Section 8.04 hereof, be deemed to have been discharged from its obligations with respect to all outstanding Notes on the date the conditions set forth below are satisfied (hereinafter, “ Legal Defeasance ”). For this purpose, Legal Defeasance means that the Company shall be deemed to have paid and discharged the entire Indebtedness represented by the outstanding Notes, which shall thereafter be deemed to be “outstanding” only for the purposes of Section 8.05 hereof and the other Sections of the Indenture referred to in (i) and (ii) below, and to have satisfied all its other obligations under such Notes and the Indenture (and the Trustee, on demand of and at the expense of the Company, shall execute proper instruments acknowledging the same), except for the following provisions which shall survive until otherwise terminated or discharged hereunder:

(i)        the rights of Holders of outstanding Notes to receive payments in respect of the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on the Notes when such payments are due from the trust referred to below;

(ii)        the Company’s obligations with respect to the Notes concerning issuing temporary Notes, registration of Notes, mutilated, destroyed, lost or stolen Notes and the maintenance of an office or agency for payment and money for security payments held in trust;

(iii)        the rights, powers, trusts, duties and immunities of the Trustee, and the Company’s obligations in connection therewith; and

(iv)        the Legal Defeasance provisions of the Indenture.

(b)        Subject to compliance with this Article 8, the Company may exercise its option under this Section 8.02 notwithstanding the prior exercise of its option under Section 8.03 hereof.

Section 8.03 Covenant Defeasance. Upon the Company’s exercise under Section 8.01 hereof of the option applicable to this Section 8.03, the Company shall, subject to the satisfaction of the conditions set forth in Section 8.04 hereof, be released from its obligations under the covenants contained in Sections 4.03, 4.07, 4.08, 4.09, 4.10, 4.11, 4.12, 4.13, 4.15, 4.16 and 4.18 hereof and Section 5.01(ii)(4) hereof with respect to the outstanding Notes on and after the date the conditions set forth in Section 8.04 are satisfied (hereinafter, “ Covenant Defeasance ”), and the Notes shall thereafter be deemed not “outstanding” for the purposes of any direction, waiver, consent or declaration or act of Holders (and the consequences of any thereof) in connection with such covenants, but shall continue to be deemed “outstanding” for all other purposes hereunder (it being understood that such Notes shall not be deemed outstanding for accounting purposes). For this purpose, Covenant Defeasance means that, with respect to the outstanding Notes, the Company may omit to comply with and shall have no liability in respect of any term, condition or limitation set forth in any such covenant, whether directly or indirectly, by reason of any reference elsewhere herein to any such covenant or by reason of any reference in any such covenant

 

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to any other provision herein or in any other document and such omission to comply shall not constitute a Default or an Event of Default under Section 6.01 hereof, but, except as specified above, the remainder of the Indenture and such Notes shall be unaffected thereby. In addition, upon the Company’s exercise under Section 8.01 hereof of the option applicable to this Section 8.03 hereof, subject to the satisfaction of the conditions set forth in Section 8.04 hereof, Section 6.01(a)(iii) through Section 6.01(a)(vi) hereof shall not constitute Events of Default.

Section 8.04 Conditions to Legal or Covenant Defeasance. (a) The following shall be the conditions to the application of either Section 8.02 or 8.03 hereof to the outstanding Notes:

(i)        the Company must irrevocably deposit with the Trustee, in trust, for the benefit of the Holders, cash in United States Dollars, non-callable Government Securities, or a combination thereof, in such amounts as shall be sufficient, in the opinion of a nationally recognized firm of independent public accountants, to pay the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on the outstanding Notes on the Stated Maturity or on the redemption date, as the case may be, and the Company must specify whether the Notes are being defeased to maturity or to a particular redemption date;

(ii)        in the case of Legal Defeasance, the Company shall have delivered to the Trustee an Opinion of Counsel of a nationally recognized law firm in the United States confirming that:

(1)        the Company has received from, or there has been published by, the Internal Revenue Service a ruling; or

(2)        since the date hereof, there has been a change in the applicable federal income tax law,

in either case to the effect that, and based thereon such Opinion of Counsel shall confirm that, the Holders of the outstanding Notes shall not recognize income, gain or loss for federal income tax purposes as a result of such Legal Defeasance and shall be subject to federal income tax on the same amounts, in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if such Legal Defeasance had not occurred;

(iii)        in the case of Covenant Defeasance, the Company shall have delivered to the Trustee an Opinion of Counsel of a nationally recognized law firm in the United States confirming that the Holders of the outstanding Notes shall not recognize income, gain or loss for federal income tax purposes as a result of such Covenant Defeasance and shall be subject to federal income tax on the same amounts, in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if such Covenant Defeasance had not occurred;

(iv)        no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing either:

(1)        on the date of such deposit, other than a Default or Event of Default resulting from the borrowing of funds to be applied to such deposit; or

(2)        insofar as Events of Default from bankruptcy or insolvency events with respect to the Company are concerned, at any time in the period ending on the 91st day after the date of deposit;

 

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(v)        such Legal Defeasance or Covenant Defeasance shall not result in a breach or violation of, or constitute a default under any material agreement or instrument, other than the Indenture, to which the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries is bound;

(vi)        the Company must have delivered to the Trustee an Opinion of Counsel to the effect that after the 91st day following the deposit, the trust funds shall not be subject to the effect of any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally;

(vii)        the Company must deliver to the Trustee an Officers’ Certificate stating that the deposit was not made by the Company with the intent of preferring the Holders over the other creditors of the Company with the intent of defeating, hindering, delaying or defrauding creditors of the Company or others; and

(viii)        the Company must deliver to the Trustee an Officers’ Certificate and an Opinion of Counsel, each stating that all conditions precedent provided for relating to the Legal Defeasance or the Covenant Defeasance have been complied with.

Section 8.05 Deposited Money and Government Securities to be Held in Trust; Other Miscellaneous Provisions. (a) Subject to Section 8.06 hereof, all money and non-callable Government Securities (including the proceeds thereof) deposited with the Trustee (or other qualifying trustee, collectively for purposes of this Section 8.05, the “Trustee”) pursuant to Section 8.04 hereof in respect of the outstanding Notes shall be held in trust and applied by the Trustee, in accordance with the provisions of such Notes and the Indenture, to the payment, either directly or through any Paying Agent (including the Company acting as Paying Agent) as the Trustee may determine, to the Holders of such Notes of all sums due and to become due thereon in respect of principal, premium, if any, and interest, but such money need not be segregated from other funds except to the extent required by law.

(b)        The Company shall pay and indemnify the Trustee against any tax, fee or other charge imposed on or assessed against the cash or non-callable Government Securities deposited pursuant to Section 8.04 hereof or the principal and interest received in respect thereof other than any such tax, fee or other charge which by law is for the account of the Holders of the outstanding Notes.

(c)        Anything in this Article 8 to the contrary notwithstanding, the Trustee shall deliver or pay to the Company from time to time upon the request of the Company any money or non-callable Government Securities held by it as provided in Section 8.04 hereof which, in the opinion of a nationally recognized firm of independent public accountants expressed in a written certification thereof delivered to the Trustee (which may be the opinion delivered under Section 8.04(a) hereof), are in excess of the amount thereof that would then be required to be deposited to effect an equivalent Legal Defeasance or Covenant Defeasance.

Section 8.06 Repayment to Company. Any money deposited with the Trustee or any Paying Agent, or then held by the Company, in trust for the payment of the principal of, premium, if any, or interest on any Note and remaining unclaimed for two years after such principal, and premium, if any, or interest has become due and payable shall be paid to the Company on its request or (if then held by the Company) shall be discharged from such trust; and the Holder of such Note shall thereafter look only to the Company for payment thereof, and all liability of the Trustee or such Paying Agent with respect to such trust money, and all liability of the Company as trustee thereof, shall thereupon cease; provided , however , that the Trustee or such Paying Agent, before being required to make any such repayment, may at the expense of the Company cause to be published once, in the New York Times and The Wall Street

 

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Journal (national edition), notice that such money remains unclaimed and that, after a date specified therein, which shall not be less than 30 days from the date of such notification or publication, any unclaimed balance of such money then remaining shall be repaid to the Company.

Section 8.07 Reinstatement. If the Trustee or Paying Agent is unable to apply any United States dollars or non-callable Government Securities in accordance with Section 8.02 or 8.03 hereof, as the case may be, by reason of any order or judgment of any court or governmental authority enjoining, restraining or otherwise prohibiting such application, then the Company’s obligations under the Indenture and the Notes shall be revived and reinstated as though no deposit had occurred pursuant to Section 8.02 or 8.03 hereof until such time as the Trustee or Paying Agent is permitted to apply all such money in accordance with Section 8.02 or 8.03 hereof, as the case may be; provided , however , that, if the Company makes any payment of principal of, premium, if any, or interest on any Note following the reinstatement of its obligations, the Company shall be subrogated to the rights of the Holders of such Notes to receive such payment from the money held by the Trustee or Paying Agent.

ARTICLE 9

AMENDMENT, SUPPLEMENT AND WAIVER

Section 9.01 Without Consent of Holders of Notes. (a) Notwithstanding Section 9.02 of the Indenture, the Company and the Trustee may amend or supplement the Indenture or the Notes without the consent of any Holder of the Notes to:

(i)        cure any ambiguity, omission, defect or inconsistency;

(ii)        provide for uncertificated Notes in addition to or in place of Certificated Notes;

(iii)        provide for the assumption of the Company’s obligations to Holders of Notes in the case of a merger or consolidation;

(iv)        make any change that would provide any additional rights or benefits to the Holders of Notes or that does not adversely affect the legal rights under the Indenture of any such Holder in any material respect;

(v)        comply with requirements of the SEC in order to effect or maintain the qualification of the Indenture under the TIA; or

(vi)        conform a provision of the Base Indenture or this Supplemental Indenture to the extent such provision was intended to be a substantially verbatim recitation of the applicable provision under the caption “Description of Notes” in the Prospectus.

For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Supplemental Indenture shall be construed to require any consent of any Holder to amend or supplement the Base Indenture in any manner that does not relate to the Notes.

(b)        Upon the request of the Company accompanied by a Board Resolution authorizing the execution of any such amended or supplemental indenture, and upon receipt by the Trustee of the documents described in Section 7.02 hereof, the Trustee shall join with the Company in the execution of any amended or supplemental indenture authorized or permitted by the terms of the

 

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Indenture and to make any further appropriate agreements and stipulations that may be therein contained, but the Trustee shall not be obligated to enter into such amended or supplemental indenture that affects its own rights, duties or immunities under the Indenture or otherwise.

Section 9.02 With Consent of Holders of Notes. (a) Except as provided below in this Section 9.02, the Company and the Trustee may amend or supplement the Indenture (including Section 3.08, 4.10 and 4.15 hereof) and the Notes with the consent of the Holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the Notes then outstanding, voting as a single class (including consents obtained in connection with a tender offer or exchange offer for, or purchase of, the Notes), and, subject to Sections 6.04 and 6.07 hereof, any existing Default or Event of Default (other than a Default or Event of Default in the payment of the principal of, premium, if any, or interest on the Notes, except a Payment Default resulting from an acceleration that has been rescinded) or compliance with any provision of the Indenture or the Notes may be waived with the consent of the Holders of a majority in principal amount of the then outstanding Notes, voting as a single class (including consents obtained in connection with a tender offer or exchange offer for, or purchase of, the Notes). Section 2.09 hereof shall determine which Notes are considered to be “outstanding” for purposes of this Section 9.02.

(b)        Upon the request of the Company accompanied by a Board Resolution authorizing the execution of any such amended or supplemental indenture, and upon the filing with the Trustee of evidence satisfactory to the Trustee of the consent of the Holders of Notes as aforesaid, and upon receipt by the Trustee of the documents described in Section 7.02 hereof, the Trustee shall join with the Company in the execution of such amended or supplemental indenture unless such amended or supplemental indenture directly affects the Trustee’s own rights, duties or immunities under the Indenture or otherwise, in which case the Trustee may in its discretion, but shall not be obligated to, enter into such amended or supplemental indenture.

(c)        It shall not be necessary for the consent of the Holders of Notes under this Section 9.02 to approve the particular form of any proposed amendment or waiver, but it shall be sufficient if such consent approves the substance thereof.

(d)        After an amendment, supplement or waiver under this Section 9.02 becomes effective, the Company shall send to the Holders of Notes affected thereby a notice briefly describing the amendment, supplement or waiver. Any failure of the Company to send such notice, or any defect therein, shall not, however, in any way impair or affect the validity of any such amended or supplemental indenture or waiver. Subject to Sections 6.04 and 6.07 hereof, the Holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the Notes then outstanding, voting as a single class, may waive compliance in a particular instance by the Company with any provision of the Indenture or the Notes. However, without the consent of each Holder affected, an amendment or waiver under this Section 9.02 or otherwise may not (with respect to any Notes held by a non-consenting Holder):

(i)        reduce the principal amount of Notes whose Holders must consent to an amendment, supplement or waiver;

(ii)        reduce the principal of or change the fixed maturity of any Note or alter the provisions with respect to the redemption (other than the notice period), but not any required repurchase in connection with an Asset Sale Offer or Change of Control Offer, of the Notes;

(iii)        reduce the rate of or extend the time for payment of interest on any Note;

 

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(iv)        waive a Default or Event of Default in the payment of principal of or premium, if any, or interest on the Notes, excluding a rescission of acceleration of the Notes by the Holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of the Notes and a waiver of the Payment Default that resulted from such acceleration;

(v)        make any Note payable in money other than that stated in the Notes;

(vi)        make any change in the provisions of the Indenture relating to waivers of past Defaults or the rights of Holders of Notes to receive payments of principal of or premium, if any, or interest on the Notes;

(vii)        waive a redemption payment, but not any payment upon a required repurchase in connection with an Asset Sale Offer or Change of Control Offer, with respect to any Note; or

(viii)        make any change in the foregoing amendment and waiver provisions.

Section 9.03 Compliance with Trust Indenture Act. Every amendment or supplement to the Indenture or the Notes shall be set forth in an amended or supplemental indenture that complies with the TIA as then in effect.

Section 9.04 Revocation and Effect of Consents. Until an amendment, supplement or waiver becomes effective, a consent to it by a Holder of a Note is a continuing consent by the Holder of a Note and every subsequent Holder of a Note or portion of a Note that evidences the same debt as the consenting Holder’s Note, even if notation of the consent is not made on any Note. However, any such Holder of a Note or subsequent Holder of a Note may revoke the consent as to its Note if the Trustee receives written notice of revocation before the date the waiver, supplement or amendment becomes effective. An amendment, supplement or waiver becomes effective in accordance with its terms and thereafter binds every Holder.

Section 9.05 Notation on or Exchange of Notes. (a) The Trustee may place an appropriate notation about an amendment, supplement or waiver on any Note thereafter authenticated. The Company in exchange for all Notes may issue and the Trustee shall, upon receipt of a Company Order, authenticate new Notes that reflect the amendment, supplement or waiver.

(b)        Failure to make the appropriate notation or issue a new Note shall not affect the validity and effect of such amendment, supplement or waiver.

Section 9.06 Trustee to Sign Amendments, etc. The Trustee shall sign any amended or supplemental indenture authorized pursuant to this Article 9 if the amendment or supplement does not adversely affect the rights, duties, liabilities or immunities of the Trustee. The Company may not sign an amended or supplemental indenture until the Board of Directors approves it. In executing any amended or supplemental indenture, the Trustee shall be entitled to receive and (subject to Section 7.01 hereof) shall be fully protected in relying upon an Officer’s Certificate and an Opinion of Counsel stating that the execution of such amended or supplemental indenture is authorized or permitted by the Indenture.

 

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ARTICLE 10

SATISFACTION AND DISCHARGE

Section 10.01 Satisfaction and Discharge . (a) The Indenture will be discharged and will cease to be of further effect as to all Notes issued hereunder, when:

(i)        either:

(1)        all Notes that have been authenticated, except lost, stolen or destroyed Notes that have been replaced or paid and Notes for whose payment money has theretofore been deposited in trust and thereafter repaid to the Company, have been delivered to the Trustee for cancellation; or

(2)        all Notes that have not been delivered to the Trustee for cancellation have become due and payable by reason of the sending of a notice of redemption or otherwise or will become due and payable within one year or are to be called for redemption within one year and the Company has irrevocably deposited or caused to be deposited with the Trustee as trust funds in trust solely for the benefit of the Holders, cash in U.S. dollars, non-callable Government Securities, or a combination thereof, in such amounts as will be sufficient, without consideration of any reinvestment of interest, to pay and discharge the entire principal and premium, if any, and accrued interest to the date of maturity or redemption on all Notes not delivered to the Trustee for cancellation;

(ii)        the Company has paid or caused to be paid all sums payable by it under the Indenture; and

(iii)        the Company has delivered irrevocable instructions to the Trustee under the Indenture to apply the deposited money toward the payment of the Notes at maturity or on the redemption date, as the case may be.

(b)        In addition, the Company must deliver an Officers’ Certificate and an Opinion of Counsel to the Trustee stating that all conditions precedent to satisfaction and discharge have been satisfied.

ARTICLE 11

MISCELLANEOUS

Section 11.01 Trust Indenture Act Controls. If any provision of the Indenture limits, qualifies or conflicts with the duties imposed by TIA § 318(c), the imposed duties shall control.

Section 11.02 Notices. (a) Any notice or communication by the Company or the Trustee to the others is duly given if in writing and delivered in Person or sent by first class mail (registered or certified, return receipt requested), telex, telecopier, facsimile, electronic mail in pdf format, or overnight air courier guaranteeing next day delivery, to the others’ address:

If to the Company:

 

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Crown Castle International Corp.

1220 Augusta Drive, Suite 600

Houston, TX 77057

Fax: (713) 570-3150

Attention: Chief Financial Officer

With a copy to:

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP

825 Eighth Avenue

New York, New York 10019

Fax: (212) 474-3700

Attention: Stephen L. Burns

                  Johnny G. Skumpija

If to the Trustee:

The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A.

601 Travis Street, 16th Floor

Houston, TX 77002

Fax: (713) 483-6959

Attention: Corporate Trust Services, re: Crown Castle International Corp.

(b)        The Company or the Trustee, by notice to the other, may designate additional or different addresses for subsequent notices or communications.

(c)        All notices and communications (other than those sent to Holders) shall be deemed to have been duly given: at the time delivered by hand, if personally delivered; five Business Days after being deposited in the mail, postage prepaid, if mailed; when answered back, if telexed; when receipt acknowledged, if telecopied or faxed; at the time delivered, if by electronic mail in pdf format; and the next Business Day after timely delivery to the courier, if sent by overnight air courier guaranteeing next day delivery.

(d)        Except as otherwise expressly stated in the Indenture, any notice or communication to a Holder shall be mailed by first class mail, certified or registered, return receipt requested, or by overnight air courier guaranteeing next day delivery to its address shown on the register kept by the Registrar. Any notice or communication shall also be so mailed to any Person described in TIA § 313(c), to the extent required by the TIA. Failure to mail a notice or communication to a Holder or any defect in it shall not affect its sufficiency with respect to other Holders.

(e)        If a notice or communication is mailed or sent in the manner provided above within the time prescribed, it is duly given, whether or not the addressee receives it.

(f)        If the Company mails or sends a notice or communication to Holders, it shall mail or send a copy to the Trustee and each Agent at the same time.

(g)        The Trustee agrees to accept and act upon instructions or directions pursuant to this Indenture sent by unsecured electronic mail, facsimile transmission or other similar unsecured electronic methods. If the party elects to give the Trustee electronic mail or facsimile instructions (or instructions by a similar electronic method) and the Trustee acts upon such instructions, the Trustee’s understanding of such instructions shall be deemed controlling. The Trustee shall not be liable for any

 

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losses, costs or expenses arising directly or indirectly from the Trustee’s reliance upon and compliance with such instructions notwithstanding such instructions conflict or are inconsistent with a subsequent written instruction. The party providing electronic instructions agrees to assume all risks arising out of the use of such electronic methods to submit instructions and directions to the Trustee, including without limitation the risk of the Trustee acting on unauthorized instructions, and the risk or interception and misuse by third parties.

(h)        Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, as long as the Notes are in the form of a Global Note, notice to the Holders may be made electronically in accordance with procedures of the Depositary.

Section 11.03 Communication by Holders of Notes with Other Holders of Notes. Holders may communicate pursuant to TIA § 312(b) with other Holders with respect to their rights under the Indenture or the Notes. The Company, the Trustee, the Registrar and anyone else shall have the protection of TIA § 312(c).

Section 11.04 Certificate and Opinion as to Conditions Precedent. Upon any request or application by the Company to the Trustee to take any action under the Indenture, the Company shall furnish to the Trustee:

(i)        an Officers’ Certificate in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Trustee (which shall include the statements set forth in Section 11.05 hereof) stating that, in the opinion of the signers, all conditions precedent and covenants, if any, provided for in the Indenture relating to the proposed action that are required to be satisfied as of the date thereof have been satisfied; and

(ii)        an Opinion of Counsel in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Trustee (which shall include the statements set forth in Section 11.05 hereof) stating that, in the opinion of such counsel, all such conditions precedent and covenants that are required to have been satisfied as of the date thereof have been satisfied.

Section 11.05 Statements Required in Certificate or Opinion. Each certificate or opinion with respect to compliance with a condition or covenant provided for in the Indenture (other than a certificate provided pursuant to TIA § 314(a)(4)) shall comply with the provisions of TIA § 314(e) and shall include:

(i)        a statement that the Person making such certificate or opinion has read such covenant or condition that is required to have been satisfied as of the date thereof;

(ii)        a brief statement as to the nature and scope of the examination or investigation upon which the statements or opinions contained in such certificate or opinion are based;

(iii)        a statement that, in the opinion of such Person, he or she has made such examination or investigation as is necessary to enable him to express an informed opinion as to whether or not such covenant or condition that is required to have been satisfied as of the date thereof has been satisfied; and

(iv)        a statement as to whether or not, in the opinion of such Person, such condition or covenant that is required to have been satisfied as of the date thereof has been satisfied.

 

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Section 11.06 Rules by Trustee and Agents. The Trustee may make reasonable rules for action by or at a meeting of Holders. The Registrar or Paying Agent may make reasonable rules and set reasonable requirements for its functions; provided that no such rule shall conflict with the terms of the Indenture or the TIA.

Section 11.07 No Personal Liability of Directors, Officers, Employees and Stockholders. No past, present or future director, officer, employee, incorporator or stockholder of the Company, as such, shall have any liability (except in the case of bad faith or willful misconduct) for any obligations of the Company under the Notes, the Indenture or for any claim based on, in respect of, or by reason of, such obligations or their creation. Each Holder by accepting a Note waives and releases all such liability. The waiver and release are part of the consideration for the issuance of the Notes.

Section 11.08 Governing Law. THE INTERNAL LAW OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK SHALL GOVERN AND BE USED TO CONSTRUE THE INDENTURE AND THE NOTES WITHOUT GIVING EFFECT TO APPLICABLE PRINCIPLES OF CONFLICTS OF LAW TO THE EXTENT THAT THE APPLICATION OF THE LAWS OF ANOTHER JURISDICTION WOULD BE REQUIRED THEREBY.

Section 11.09 Ratification of Base Indenture; No Adverse Interpretation of Other Agreements. The Base Indenture, as supplemented by this Supplemental Indenture, is in all respects ratified and confirmed. The Indenture may not be used to interpret any other indenture, loan or debt agreement of the Company or its Subsidiaries or of any other Person. Any such indenture, loan or debt agreement may not be used to interpret the Indenture.

Section 11.10 Successors. All agreements of the Company in the Indenture and the Notes shall bind its successors. All agreements of the Trustee in the Indenture shall bind its successors.

Section 11.11 Severability. In case any provision in the Indenture or in the Notes shall be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby.

Section 11.12 Counterpart Originals. The parties may sign any number of copies of the Indenture. Each signed copy shall be an original, but all of them together represent the same agreement.

Section 11.13 Table of Contents, Headings, etc. The Table of Contents and Headings of the Articles and Sections of the Indenture have been inserted for convenience of reference only, are not to be considered a part of the Indenture and shall in no way modify or restrict any of the terms or provisions hereof.

Section 11.14 Waiver of Jury Trial. EACH OF THE COMPANY AND THE TRUSTEE HEREBY IRREVOCABLE WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY AND ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE INDENTURE, THE NOTES OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY.

Section 11.15 Force Majeure. In no event shall the Trustee be responsible or liable for any failure or delay in the performance of its obligations hereunder arising out of or caused by, directly or indirectly, forces beyond its control, including, without limitation, strikes, work stoppages, accidents, acts of war or terrorism, civil or military disturbances, nuclear or natural catastrophes or acts of God; it being understood that the Trustee shall use reasonable efforts which are consistent with accepted practices in the banking industry to resume performance as soon as practicable under the circumstances.

 

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[Signature page follows]

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this First Supplemental Indenture to be duly executed as of April 15, 2014.

 

CROWN CASTLE INTERNATIONAL CORP.
By:  

/s/ Jay A. Brown

Name:       Jay A. Brown
Title:   Senior Vice President, Chief Financial
  Officer and Treasurer

 

THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST

COMPANY, N.A., as Trustee

By:  

/s/ Michael Countryman

Name:       Michael Countryman
Title:   Vice President

[Signature Page to Supplemental Indenture]

 

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EXHIBIT A

FORM OF NOTE

[FORM OF FACE OF NOTE]

[UNLESS THIS CERTIFICATE IS PRESENTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY TO THE COMPANY OR ITS AGENT FOR REGISTRATION OF TRANSFER, EXCHANGE OR PAYMENT, AND ANY CERTIFICATE ISSUED IS REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF CEDE & CO. OR IN SUCH OTHER NAME AS IS REQUESTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY (AND ANY PAYMENT HEREON IS MADE TO CEDE & CO. OR TO SUCH OTHER ENTITY AS IS REQUESTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY), ANY TRANSFER, PLEDGE OR OTHER USE HEREOF FOR VALUE OR OTHERWISE BY OR TO ANY PERSON IS WRONGFUL SINCE THE REGISTERED OWNER HEREOF, CEDE & CO., HAS AN INTEREST HEREIN.

THIS NOTE IS A GLOBAL NOTE WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE INDENTURE HEREINAFTER REFERRED TO AND IS REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF A DEPOSITARY OR A NOMINEE THEREOF. THIS NOTE IS EXCHANGEABLE FOR NOTES REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF A PERSON OTHER THAN THE DEPOSITARY OR ITS NOMINEE ONLY IN THE LIMITED CIRCUMSTANCES DESCRIBED IN THE INDENTURE AND, UNLESS AND UNTIL IT IS EXCHANGED IN WHOLE OR IN PART FOR NOTES IN DEFINITIVE FORM, THIS NOTE MAY NOT BE TRANSFERRED EXCEPT AS A WHOLE BY THE DEPOSITARY TO A NOMINEE OF THE DEPOSITARY OR BY A NOMINEE OF THE DEPOSITARY TO THE DEPOSITARY OR ANOTHER NOMINEE OF THE DEPOSITARY OR BY THE DEPOSITARY OR ANY SUCH NOMINEE TO A SUCCESSOR DEPOSITARY OR A NOMINEE OF SUCH SUCCESSOR DEPOSITARY.] 1

CROWN CASTLE INTERNATIONAL CORP.

4.875% Senior Notes due 2022

$                                      

No                                  .

CUSIP No. 228227BE3

CROWN CASTLE INTERNATIONAL CORP., a corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware (herein called the “ Company ,” which term includes any successor Person under the Indenture hereinafter defined), for value received, hereby promises to pay to CEDE & CO., or registered assigns, the principal sum of $                            ( Dollars)[(as such sum may be increased or decreased as set forth on the Schedule of Exchanges of Notes attached hereto)] 2 on April 15, 2022, and to pay interest thereon from April 15, 2014 or from the most recent Payment Date (as defined below) to which interest has been paid or duly provided for, semi-annually on April 15 and October 15 (each, a

 

 

         1 These paragraphs should be included only if the Note is a Global Note.

         2 Use this language only if the Note is a Global Note.


Payment Date ”) in each year, commencing October 15, 2014, at the rate of 4.875% per annum, until the principal hereof is paid or made available for payment.

The interest so payable, and punctually paid or duly provided for, on any Payment Date will, as provided in the Indenture, be paid to the Person in whose name this Note is registered at the close of business on the regular record date for such interest, which shall be April 1 or October 1, as the case may be, next preceding such Payment Date or, if such record date is not a Business Day, at the close of business of the immediately succeeding Business Day. A “ Business Day ” shall mean any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or a day on which banking institutions in the City of New York or at a place of payment are authorized by law, regulation or executive order to remain closed. If a payment date is not a Business Day at a place of payment, payment may be made at that place on the next succeeding day that is a Business Day, and no interest shall accrue on such payment for the intervening period. Any such interest not so punctually paid or duly provided for will forthwith cease to be payable to the Holder on such regular record date and shall be paid to the Person in whose name this Note is registered at the close of business on a subsequent special record date, which date shall be the fifteenth day next preceding the date fixed by the Company for the payment of defaulted interest or the next succeeding Business Day if such date is not a Business Day. At least 30 days before the special record date, the Company shall send or cause to be sent to each Holder, with a copy to the Trustee, a notice that states the special record date, the payment date and the amount of defaulted interest and the amount of interest payable on such defaulted interest, if any, to be paid.

If a Holder has given wire transfer instructions to the Company, the Company will make all payments of principal, premium and interest, if any, on that Holder’s Notes in accordance with those instructions. All other payments on the Notes will be made at the office or agency of the Paying Agent and Registrar for the Notes within the City and State of New York unless, with respect to such other payments, the Company elects to make interest payments by check mailed to the Holders at their address set forth in the register of Holders. Interest will be computed on the basis of a 360-day year composed of twelve 30-day months.

Reference is hereby made to the further provisions of this Note set forth on the reverse hereof, which further provisions shall for all purposes have the same effect as if set forth at this place.

Unless the certificate of authentication hereon has been executed by the Trustee referred to on the reverse hereof or an authenticating agent appointed by the Company, by manual signature, this Note shall not be entitled to any benefit under the Indenture or be valid or obligatory for any purpose.

[Signature page follows]

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company has caused this instrument to be duly executed and delivered.

Dated:                             

 

CROWN CASTLE INTERNATIONAL CORP.
By:    
Name:  
Title:  

 

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This is one of the Notes designated therein referred to in the within-mentioned Supplemental Indenture.

Dated:                             

 

THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., as Trustee
By:            
  Authorized Signatory

 

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[FORM OF REVERSE OF NOTE]

 

1. Notes.

This Note is one of a duly authorized issue of senior notes of the Company (herein called the “ Notes ”), issued and to be issued in one or more series under the First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of April 15, 2014 (the “ Supplemental Indenture ”), to the Indenture dated as of April 15, 2014 (the “ Base Indenture ” and, together with the Supplemental Indenture, the “ Indenture ”) between the Company and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as trustee (herein called the “ Trustee ,” which term includes any successor trustee under the Indenture), and reference is hereby made to the Indenture for a statement of the respective rights, limitations of rights, duties and immunities thereunder of the Company, the Trustee, and the Holders and of the terms upon which the Notes are, and are to be, authenticated and delivered. This Note is one of the series designated on the face hereof as “4.875% Senior Notes due 2022,” issued in an initial aggregate principal amount of $850,000,000. All terms used in this Note which are defined in the Indenture shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Indenture.

 

2. No Sinking Fund

No sinking fund is provided for the Notes.

 

3. Optional Redemption.

(a) At the Company’s option, the Notes may be redeemed at any time in whole or in part. If the Company elects to redeem the Notes, the Company will pay a redemption price equal to the greater of the following amounts, plus, in each case, accrued and unpaid interest thereon to but excluding the redemption date: (1) 100% of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes to be redeemed or (2) the sum of the present values of the Remaining Scheduled Payments. In determining the present values of the Remaining Scheduled Payments, the Company will discount such payments to the redemption date on a semi-annual basis (assuming a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months) using a discount rate equal to the Treasury Rate plus 50 basis points.

(b) During the period after the date of original issuance of the Notes until April 15, 2017, the Company may on any one or more occasions redeem up to 35% of the aggregate principal amount of Notes issued, including any Additional Notes issued pursuant to the Indenture, at a redemption price of 104.875% of the principal amount of the Notes to be redeemed on the redemption date with the net cash proceeds of one or more Equity Offerings; provided that:

(1) at least 65% of the aggregate principal amount of Notes issued, including any Additional Notes issued pursuant to the Indenture, remains outstanding immediately after the occurrence of such redemption, excluding Notes held by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; and

(2) the redemption occurs within 120 days of the date of the closing of the Equity Offering.

 

4. Selection and Notice of Redemption.

(a) If less than all of the Notes are to be redeemed at any time, the Notes to be redeemed will be selected in accordance with the procedures of the Depositary.

(b) No Notes of $2,000 of principal amount at maturity or less will be redeemed in part. Notices of redemption will be sent at least 30 but not more than 60 days before the redemption date to each Holder of Notes to be redeemed at its registered address. Notices of redemption may be conditional.

 

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5. Repurchase at Option of Holder.

(a) If a Change of Control occurs, each Holder will have the right to require the Company to repurchase all or any part, equal to $2,000 or an integral multiple of $1,000, of such Holder’s Notes (the “ Change of Control Offer ”). The offer price in any Change of Control Offer will be payable in cash and will be 101% of the aggregate principal amount of any Notes repurchased plus accrued and unpaid interest on the Notes, if any (subject to the right of Holders of record on the relevant record date to receive interest due on the relevant interest payment date), to the date of purchase (the “ Change of Control Payment ”). Within 30 days following any Change of Control, the Company will send a notice to each Holder describing the transaction or transactions that constitute the Change of Control and offering to repurchase Notes on the date specified in the notice (the “ Change of Control Payment Date ”). The Change of Control Payment Date will be no earlier than 30 days and no later than 60 days from the date the notice is sent, pursuant to the procedures required by the Indenture and described in such notice.

(b) Any Net Proceeds from Asset Sales that are not applied or invested as provided in the Indenture (whether by election or the passage of time) will be deemed to constitute Excess Proceeds. When the aggregate amount of Excess Proceeds exceeds $25.0 million, the Company will be required to make an offer to all Holders, and all holders of other senior Indebtedness of the Company containing provisions similar to those set forth in the Indenture with respect to offers to purchase or redeem with the proceeds of sales of assets, to purchase the maximum principal amount of Notes and such other senior Indebtedness of the Company that may be purchased out of the Excess Proceeds. The offer price in any Asset Sale Offer will be payable in cash and will be 100% of the principal amount of any Notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to the date of purchase. In the case of any other senior Indebtedness, the offer price will be 100% of the principal amount (or accreted value, as applicable) of the Indebtedness plus accrued and unpaid interest thereon, if any, to the date of purchase. Each Asset Sale Offer will be made in accordance with the procedures set forth in the Indenture and the other senior Indebtedness of the Company. If any Excess Proceeds remain after consummation of an Asset Sale Offer, the Company may use the remaining Excess Proceeds for any purpose not otherwise prohibited by the Indenture. If the aggregate principal amount of Notes and the other senior Indebtedness of the Company tendered into the Asset Sale Offer exceeds the amount of Excess Proceeds, the Company will select the Notes to be purchased on a pro rata basis. Upon completion of the Asset Sale Offer, the amount of Excess Proceeds will be reset at zero.

 

6. Acceleration Upon Event of Default.

(a) If any Event of Default occurs and is continuing, the Trustee or the Holders of at least 25% in principal amount at maturity of the then outstanding Notes may declare all the Notes to be due and payable immediately. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of an Event of Default arising from certain events of bankruptcy or insolvency, with respect to the Company, all outstanding Notes will become due and payable without further action or notice. Holders may not enforce the Indenture or the Notes except as provided in the Indenture. Subject to certain limitations, Holders of a majority in principal amount at maturity of the then outstanding Notes may direct the Trustee in its exercise of any trust or power.

(b) The Holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount at maturity of the Notes then outstanding by notice to the Trustee may on behalf of the Holders of all Notes waive any existing Default or Event of Default and its consequences under the Indenture except a continuing Default or Event of Default in the payment of interest on, or the principal of, the Notes ( provided, however , that the Holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the then outstanding Notes may rescind an acceleration and its consequences, including any related payment default that resulted from such acceleration).

 

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(c) The Indenture provides that if a Default occurs and is continuing and is known to the Trustee, the Trustee must send to each Holder notice of the Default within 90 days after it occurs. Except in the case of a Default in the payment of principal of or interest on any Note, the Trustee may withhold notice if and so long as a committee of its trust officers determines that withholding notice is not opposed to the interest of the Holders. In addition, the Company is required to deliver to the Trustee, within 90 days after the end of each Fiscal Year, an Officers’ Certificate indicating whether the signers thereof know of any Default that occurred during the previous year. The Company is also required to deliver to the Trustee, promptly after the occurrence thereof, written notice of any event that would constitute a Default, the status thereof and what action the Company is taking or proposes to take in respect thereof.

 

7. Amendment and Modification.

The Indenture permits, with certain exceptions as therein provided, the amendment thereof and the modification of the rights and obligations of the Company and the rights of the Holders under the Indenture at any time by the Company and the Trustee with the consent of the Holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the Notes at the time outstanding. The Indenture also contains provisions permitting the Holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the Notes at the time outstanding, on behalf of the Holders of all the Notes, to waive compliance by the Company with certain provisions of the Indenture and certain past Defaults under the Indenture and their consequences. Any such consent or waiver by the Holder of this Note shall be conclusive and binding upon such Holder and upon all future Holders of this Note and of any Note issued in exchange herefor or in lieu hereof whether or not notation of such consent or waiver is made upon this Note or such other Note.

 

8. No Impairment of Obligation to Pay or Right to Convert.

No reference herein to the Indenture and no provision of this Note or of the Indenture shall alter or impair the obligation of the Company, which is absolute and unconditional, to pay the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on this Note at the times, places and rate, and in the coin or currency, herein prescribed or to convert this Note as provided in the Indenture.

 

9. Transfer and Exchange.

As provided in the Indenture and subject to certain limitations set forth therein, the Notes shall be transferable only upon the surrender of a Note for registration of transfer. When a Note is presented to the Registrar with a request to register a transfer, the Registrar will register the transfer as requested if the requirements of the Indenture are satisfied. When Notes are presented to the Registrar with a request to exchange them for an equal principal amount of Notes of other denominations, the Registrar shall make the exchange as requested if the requirements of the Indenture are met. To permit registration of transfers and exchanges, the Company will execute and the Trustee will authenticate Notes at the Registrar’s request.

 

10. No Service Charge.

No service charge shall be made for any such registration of transfer or exchange, but the Company or the Registrar may require payment by the Holder of a sum sufficient to pay all taxes, assessments or other governmental charges in connection therewith.

 

11. Treatment as Owner.

Prior to the due presentation of this Note for registration of transfer, the Company, the Trustee, the Paying Agent or the Registrar may deem and treat the Person in whose name this Note is registered as the

 

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absolute owner of such Note for the purpose of receiving payment of principal of and (subject to the provisions with respect to record dates) interest on such Note and for all other purposes whatsoever, whether or not such Note is overdue, and none of the Company, the Trustee, the Paying Agent or the Registrar shall be affected by notice to the contrary.

 

12. No Liability.

No past, present or future director, officer, employee, incorporator or stockholder of the Company, as such, shall have any liability (except in the case of bad faith or willful misconduct) for any obligations of the Company under the Notes or the Indenture or for any claim based on, in respect of, or by reason of, such obligations or their creation. Each Holder by accepting a Note waives and releases all such liability. Such waiver and release are part of the consideration for the issuance of the Notes.

 

13. Governing Law.

THE INTERNAL LAW OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK SHALL GOVERN AND BE USED TO CONSTRUE THE INDENTURE AND THE NOTES WITHOUT GIVING EFFECT TO APPLICABLE PRINCIPLES OF CONFLICTS OF LAW TO THE EXTENT THAT THE APPLICATION OF THE LAWS OF ANOTHER JURISDICTION WOULD BE REQUIRED THEREBY.

 

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ABBREVIATIONS

The following abbreviations, when used in the inscription of the face of this Note, shall be construed as though they were written out in full according to applicable laws or regulations:

 

TEN COM   

- as tenants in common

TEN ENT

  

- as tenants by the entireties (Cust)

JT TEN

  

- as joint tenants with right of survivorship and not as tenants in common

UNIF GIFT MIN ACT

  

- Uniform Gifts to Minors Act

Additional abbreviations may also be used though not in the above list.

 

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OPTION OF HOLDER TO ELECT PURCHASE

If you want to elect to have this Note purchased by the Company pursuant to Section 4.10 or 4.15 of the Indenture, check the appropriate box below:

 

¨             ¨
Section 4.10            Section 4.15

If you want to elect to have only part of the Note purchased by the Company pursuant to Section 4.10 or Section 4.15 of the Indenture, state the amount you elect to have purchased:

$                       

Date:                 

Your Signature:                       

            (Sign exactly as your name appears on the face of this Note)

Tax Identification No.:                                                                    

Signature Guarantee*:                                                                      

 

* Participant in a recognized Signature Guarantee Medallion Program (or other signature guarantor acceptable to the Trustee).

 

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FORM OF ASSIGNMENT

For value received                                         hereby sell(s), assign(s) and transfer(s) unto [also insert social security or other identifying number of assignee] the within Note, and hereby irrevocably constitutes and appoints                         as attorney to transfer the said Note on the books of the Company, with full power of substitution in the premises.

Dated:

 

          
          
        

Signature(s)

Signature(s) must be guaranteed by an Eligible Guarantor Institution with membership in an approved signature guarantee program pursuant to Rule 17Ad-15 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

 

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SCHEDULE OF EXCHANGES OF NOTES 3

The following exchanges, repurchases or conversions of a part of this Global Note have been made:

 

Date of Exchange  

Principal Amount

of this Global Note

Following Such

Decrease (or

Increase)

 

Authorized

Signatory of

Custodian

  

Amount of

Decrease in

Principal Amount

of this Global Note

  

Amount of Increase

in Principal

Amount of this

Global Note

 

 

3  This schedule should be included only if the Note is a Global Note.

 

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Exhibit 5.1

[Letterhead of]

CRAVATH, SWAINE & MOORE LLP

[New York Office]

(212) 474-1000

April 15, 2014

Crown Castle International Corp.

4.875% Senior Notes due 2022

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as counsel to Crown Castle International Corp., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), in connection with (i) the preparation and filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) of a Registration Statement on Form S-3 (Registration No. 333-180526) (the “Registration Statement”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), and (ii) the Prospectus Supplement, dated April 1, 2014 (the “Prospectus Supplement”), of the Company, filed with the Commission and relating to the issuance and sale by the Company of $850,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 4.875% Senior Notes due 2022 (the “Notes”), to be issued under the Indenture dated as of April 15, 2014 (the “Base Indenture”), between the Company and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as trustee (the “Trustee”), as supplemented by the First Supplemental Indenture dated as of April 15, 2014 (the “Supplemental Indenture” and, together with the Base Indenture, the “Indenture”), between the Company and the Trustee, in accordance with the Underwriting Agreement, dated April 1, 2014 (the “Underwriting Agreement”), between Barclays Capital Inc., as Representative of the several Underwriters listed on Schedule I thereto (the “Underwriters”), and the Company.

In that connection, we have examined originals, or copies certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of such documents, corporate records and other instruments as we have deemed necessary or appropriate for the purposes of this opinion, including: (a) the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company; (b) the Amended and Restated By-laws of the Company; (c) the resolutions adopted by the Board of Directors of the Company on February 20, 2014; (d) the Registration Statement; and (e) the Indenture and the form of Note included therein. As to various questions of fact material to this opinion, we have relied upon representations of officers or directors of the Company and documents furnished to us by the Company without independent verification of their accuracy.

In rendering this opinion, we have assumed, with your consent and without independent investigation or verification, (a) the genuineness of all signatures, the legal capacity and competency of all natural persons, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals and the conformity to authentic original documents of all documents submitted to us as duplicates or copies and (b) that the Indenture has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by, and represents a legal, valid and binding obligation of, the Trustee.


Based on the foregoing and subject to the qualifications set forth herein and subject to compliance with applicable state securities laws, we are of opinion that the Notes, when executed and authenticated in accordance with the provisions of the Indenture and delivered to and paid for by the Underwriters pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement, and assuming due authentication of the Notes by the Trustee, will constitute legal, valid and binding obligations of the Company entitled to the benefits of the Indenture and enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms (subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium, fraudulent transfer and other similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally from time to time in effect and to general principles of equity, including, without limitation, concepts of materiality, reasonableness, good faith and fair dealing, regardless of whether considered in a proceeding in equity or at law).

We are admitted to practice in the State of New York, and we express no opinion as to matters governed by any laws other than the laws of the State of New York, the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware and the Federal laws of the United States of America.

We are aware that we are referred to under the heading “Validity of the Notes” in the Prospectus Supplement. We hereby consent to such use of our name therein and to the filing of this opinion as Exhibit 5.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on April 15, 2014, and to the incorporation by reference of this opinion into the Registration Statement. In giving this consent, we do not hereby admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission promulgated thereunder.

 

Very truly yours,
/s/ Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP

Crown Castle International Corp.

1220 Augusta Drive, Suite 600

Houston, Texas 77057-2261

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