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): March 24, 2015

 

 

Town Sports International Holdings, Inc.

(Exact Name of Issuer as Specified in Charter)

 

 

 

Delaware   001-36803   20-0640002

(State or Other Jurisdiction of

Incorporation or Organization)

 

(Commission

File Number)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification Number)

 

5 Penn Plaza (4th Floor),

New York, New York

  10001
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)   (Zip Code)

(212) 246-6700

(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)

 

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

 

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K 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

 

  ¨ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act

 

  ¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act

 

  ¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act

 

 

 


Item 1.01. Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.

On March 24, 2015, Town Sports International Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: CLUB) (“ TSI ” or the “ Company ”) announced that the Board of Directors (the “ Board ”) unanimously approved, effective immediately, the appointment of Martin J. Annese, Jason M. Fish, Mark A. McEachen, Patrick Walsh, and L. Spencer Wells, as members of the Board and the resignations of Paul N. Arnold, J. Rice Edmonds, John H. Flood III and Kevin McCall. The changes in the Board were made in accordance with two separate agreements by the Company that together involve its three largest shareholders, HG Vora Capital Management LLC (“ HG Vora Capital Management ”), PW Partners Atlas Fund III LP (“ Atlas Fund III ”) and Farallon Capital Management, L.L.C. (“ Farallon ”). In connection with the appointments, the Board increased its size from seven to eight directors, effective immediately.

Nomination and Standstill Agreement

On March 24, 2015, the Company entered into a nomination and standstill agreement (the “ Nomination and Standstill Agreement ”) with Atlas Fund III, PW Partners Master Fund LP (“ PW Master Fund ”), PW Partners Atlas Funds, LLC (“ Atlas Fund GP ”), PW Partners, LLC (“ PW Master Fund GP ”), PW Partners Capital Management LLC (“ PW Capital Management ”), Patrick Walsh (“ Mr. Walsh ” and collectively, with Atlas Fund III, Atlas Fund GP, PW Master Fund, PW Master Fund GP and PW Capital Management, the “ PW Group Shareholders ”), HG Vora Special Opportunities Master Fund, Ltd. (“ HG Vora Master Fund ”), HG Vora Capital Management and Parag Vora (“ Mr. Vora ” and collectively, with HG Vora Master Fund and HG Vora Capital Management, the “ HG Vora Group Shareholders, ” and collectively, with the PW Group Shareholders, the “ PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders ”).

In accordance with the Nomination and Standstill Agreement, the Board has (i) increased the size of the Board from seven (7) to eight (8) members and (ii) appointed Messrs. McEachen, Walsh and Wells (collectively, the “ PW/HG Vora Nominees ”) to the Board. Simultaneously with such appointment, Messrs. Arnold and Edmonds resigned from the Board. In addition, the Company agreed to include the PW/HG Vora Nominees in its slate of directors for election at the Company’s 2015 annual meeting of shareholders (the “ 2015 Annual Meeting ”) together with three incumbent Company directors, Bruce C. Bruckmann, Thomas J. Galligan III and Robert J. Giardina (the “ TSI Legacy Directors ”) and to recommend and solicit proxies for their election.

If any of the PW/HG Vora Nominees or his replacement is unable or unwilling to serve for any reason as a director nominee at the 2015 Annual Meeting or as a director at any time during the Covered Period (as defined below) and the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders continue to own in the aggregate at least 5% of the then outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock, the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders will be entitled to select and submit a replacement who is qualified and is independent under the applicable NASDAQ rules, applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “ SEC ”) and is reasonably acceptable to, and approved by, the Board.

If the PW Group Shareholders shall cease to own at least 3% of the then outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock, Mr. Walsh or his replacement at the time shall resign from the


Board, provided, that for so long as the HG Vora Group Shareholders continue at such time to own at least 5% of the then outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock, the HG Vora Group Shareholders shall be entitled to select and submit a replacement for Mr. Walsh or his replacement, as applicable.

As part of the Nomination and Standstill Agreement, upon the first of the TSI Legacy Directors being unable or unwilling to serve for any reason as a director nominee at the 2015 Annual Meeting or as a director at any time during the Covered Period (as defined below), the size of the Board shall be reduced from eight to seven members, and no individual shall be nominated for election or appointed as a director to replace such TSI Legacy Director. For all subsequent TSI Legacy Directors that are unable or unwilling to serve as a director nominee at the 2015 Annual Meeting or as a director during the Covered Period (as defined below) the remaining TSI Legacy Directors shall be entitled to select and submit a replacement who is qualified.

As part of the Nomination and Standstill Agreement, the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders (i) withdrew their nomination notice dated January 7, 2015, pursuant to which the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders had nominated a slate of six director nominees to stand for election at the 2015 Annual Meeting, and (ii) agreed to vote in favor of the Company Slate (as defined below) at the 2015 Annual Meeting.

The Nomination and Standstill Agreement also imposes certain “standstill” restrictions on the PW Group Shareholders and the HG Vora Group Shareholders which will (with certain exceptions limited to action by written consent which restrictions will survive until the earlier of May 15, 2016 and the 2016 annual meeting) terminate on the date ten (10) business days prior to the deadline for shareholders to submit director nominations at the Company’s 2016 Annual Meeting (the “ Covered Period ”). During the Covered Period, the PW Group Shareholders, the HG Vora Group Shareholders and their respective affiliates shall not, among other things, (i) engage in various proxy or other solicitation activities, (ii) form or join a “group” (as defined under Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “ Exchange Act ”)) with other persons, (iii) with respect to (A) PW Group Shareholders (together with their affiliates and associates and any other persons with whom they may be a Section 13(d) Group), have ownership of more than 17.49% of the then outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock, and (B) HG Vora Group Shareholders (together with their affiliates and associates and any other persons with whom they may be a Section 13(d) Group), have ownership of more than 17.49% of the then outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock, (iv) engage in a sale of the securities of the Company that would result in a third party owning or controlling more than 5% of the then outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock, subject to certain limited exceptions, (v) propose or participate in any merger, tender offer or other extraordinary transaction involving the Company, subject to certain exceptions, (vi) engage in short sales or any purchase of any right with respect to any security the majority of the value of which relates to a decline in the value of the securities of the Company, subject to certain exceptions, (vii) call or seek to call a special meeting of shareholders, nominate any candidate to the Board, seek the removal of any member of the Board, solicit or seek to solicit consents from, or execute consents received from shareholders, conduct a referendum of shareholders or make a request for any shareholder list or other Company books and records, (viii) take any action in support of or make any proposal or request that constitutes (A) advising, controlling, changing or influencing the Board, except as set forth in the Nomination and Standstill Agreement, (B) any change in the


capitalization, stock repurchase programs and practices or dividend policy of the Company, (C) any other change in the Company’s management, business or corporate structure, (D) seeking to have the Company waive or make amendments or modifications to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws, or other actions that may impede or facilitate the acquisition of control of the Company by any person, (E) causing a class of securities of the Company to be delisted from, or to cease to be authorized to be quoted on, any securities exchange, or (F) causing a class of securities of the Company to become eligible for termination of registration pursuant to Section 12(g)(4) of the Exchange Act, (ix) make any public disclosure with respect to the Board, the Company, its management, policies or affairs or its securities that is inconsistent with the Nomination and Standstill Agreement, (x) enter into any discussions, negotiations, agreements, or understandings with any third party with respect to any of the foregoing actions or advise, assist, knowingly encourage or seek to persuade any third party to take any action or make any statement with respect to any of the foregoing actions, or otherwise take or cause any action or make any statement inconsistent with any of the foregoing or (xi) publicly request an amendment or waiver to the Nomination and Standstill Agreement.

Pursuant to the Nomination and Standstill Agreement, the Company also agreed to redeem, effective immediately, the rights issued pursuant to the Rights Agreement, dated December 31, 2014, between the Company and Computershare, Inc. as Rights Agent (the “ Rights Agreement ”).

The above summary of the Nomination and Standstill Agreement does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by the full text of the Nomination and Standstill Agreement, which is attached as Exhibit 10.1 and incorporated herein by reference.

Letter Agreement

Concurrently with the execution of the Nomination and Standstill Agreement, at the invitation of the Company, Farallon entered into an agreement with the Company (the “ Letter Agreement ” and together with the Nomination and Standstill Agreement, the “ Agreements ”).

In accordance with the Letter Agreement, the Board has appointed Messrs. Annese and Fish (together, the “ Farallon Nominees ”) to the Board. Simultaneously with such appointment, John H. Flood III and Kevin McCall have resigned from the Board.

In addition, as part of the Letter Agreement (i) the Company agreed to include the Farallon Nominees in its slate of directors for election at the 2015 Annual Meeting and to recommend and solicit proxies for their election; and (ii) Farallon agreed to vote in favor of the Company Slate (as defined below) at the 2015 Annual Meeting.

If any of the Farallon Nominees or his replacement is unable or unwilling to serve for any reason as a director nominee at the 2015 Annual Meeting or a director at any time prior to 30 days prior to the 2016 annual meeting of shareholders of the Company, Farallon will be entitled to nominate a replacement who is qualified and is independent under the applicable NASDAQ rules, applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and is reasonably acceptable to, and approved by the Board.


The above summary of the Letter Agreement does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by the full text of the Letter Agreement, which is attached as Exhibit 10.2 and incorporated herein by reference.

Other Board Arrangements

Immediately following the transactions described above, the Board consists of the following eight (8) members: Messrs. Annese, Bruckmann, Fish, Galligan, Giardina, McEachen, Walsh, and Wells, who (or their applicable replacements) will comprise the Company’s slate of nominees for election at the 2015 Annual Meeting (the “ Company Slate ”). The Company expects to file proxy materials for the 2015 Annual Meeting in the near future.

Committees of the Board

In accordance with the Agreements, the Board fixed the size of each of the Board’s Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee (the “ Nominating Committee ”) and Executive Committee at three directors with the Chairman of each committee to be selected by majority vote of such committee, and appointed one of the PW/HG Vora Nominees, one of the TSI Legacy Directors and one of the Farallon Nominees to each committee.

The Board has determined that six of the Company’s eight directors are “independent” under the applicable NASDAQ rules and the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC, including that each such director is free of any relationship that the Board believes would interfere with his individual exercise of independent judgment. The following directors were determined to be independent by the Board: Messrs. Bruckmann, Fish, Galligan, McEachen, Walsh and Wells.

Audit Committee

The Board appointed Messrs. Fish, Galligan and Wells to the Audit Committee. The Board determined in its business judgment that each member of the Audit Committee is financially literate and is “independent” as defined in the applicable NASDAQ rules and the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC. In addition, the Board has determined that Messrs. Fish, Galligan and Wells are each “audit committee financial experts” as that term is defined in Item 407(d)(5) of Regulation S-K of the Exchange Act.

Compensation Committee

The Board appointed Messrs. Fish, Galligan and McEachen to the Compensation Committee. The Board determined in its business judgment that Messrs. Fish, Galligan and McEachen are “independent” as defined in the applicable NASDAQ listing standards. The Board also determined that the members of the Compensation Committee are non-employee directors under the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and outside directors under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.


Nominating Committee

The Board appointed Messrs. Bruckmann, Fish and Walsh to the Nominating Committee. The Board determined in its business judgment that Messrs, Bruckmann, Fish and Walsh are “independent”, as defined in the applicable NASDAQ rules and the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC.

Executive Committee

Finally, the Board appointed Messrs. Bruckmann, Fish and Walsh to the Executive Committee.

A copy of the press release issued by the Company relating to the events described above is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this report and incorporated herein by reference.

Item 3.03. Material Modifications to Rights of Security Holders.

The information set forth in Items 1.01 and 8.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K is incorporated herein by reference.

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

Election of Directors

The information set forth in Item 1.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K is incorporated into this Item 5.02 by reference.

Other than the Nomination and Standstill Agreement, the Company is not aware of any understanding or arrangement between the PW/HG Vora Nominees and any other person pursuant to which the PW/HG Vora Nominees were appointed, and there are no related-party transactions that would be required to be disclosed under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K with respect to the PW/HG Vora Nominees. Other than the Letter Agreement, the Company is not aware of any understanding or arrangement between the Farallon Nominees and any other person pursuant to which the Farallon Nominees were appointed, and there are no related-party transactions that would be required to be disclosed under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K with respect to the Farallon Nominees.

In connection with their service as members of the Board, the Nominees will be paid in accordance with the terms described in the Company’s Amended and Restated Non-Employee Director Compensation Plan which became effective on February 25, 2015 and is attached as Exhibit 10.3 and incorporated herein by reference.

The Company has agreed to, as promptly as practicable following the transactions contemplated by the Agreements, enter into an indemnification agreement with each of the directors, which will provide that the Company indemnify each director party thereto against certain liabilities that may arise as result of his or her status or service as a director.


Termination of Employment of Robert Giardina

As a result of the transactions described above, in accordance with the terms of the Letter Agreement dated February 25, 2015 between the Company and Robert Giardina (the “ Giardina Agreement ”), (i) Mr. Giardina’s employment with the Company as Executive Chairman will terminate as of March 27, 2015; and (ii) Mr. Giardina will be entitled to receive payment of $1.1 million in accordance of the terms of the Giardina Agreement which has been placed by the Company in a Rabbi Trust, subject to Mr. Giardina signing a letter releasing waiving any and all claims he may have against the Company. Mr. Giardina continues to serve as a member of the Board and will be treated as a non-employee director.

The above description is qualified in its entirety by the terms of the Giardina Agreement, previously filed.

 

Item 8.01. Other Events

Redemption of Rights

In connection with the entry by the Company into the Nomination and Standstill Agreement, the Company also announced today that the Board has approved the redemption of the rights issued pursuant to the Rights Agreement. With the redemption, the Rights Agreement is effectively terminated. Pursuant to the terms of the Rights Agreement, the Company will pay a redemption price to the holders of the rights equal to $0.01 per right in cash on April 20, 2015.

 

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

 

(d) Exhibits: The Exhibit Index annexed hereto is incorporated herein by reference.
10.1 Nomination and Standstill Agreement, dated March 24, 2015, by and among Town Sports International Holdings, Inc. and PW Partners Atlas Fund III LP, PW Partners Master Fund LP, PW Partners Atlas Funds, LLC, PW Partners, LLC, PW Partners Capital Management LLC, Patrick Walsh, HG Vora Special Opportunities Master Fund, Ltd., HG Vora Capital Management, LLC, and Parag Vora.
10.2 Letter Agreement, dated March 24, 2015 between Town Sports International Holdings, Inc. and Farallon Capital Management, L.L.C.
10.3 Amended and Restated Non-Employee Director Compensation Plan
10.4 Letter Agreement, dated February 25, 2015, between Town Sports International Holdings, Inc. and Robert Giardina (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current on Form 8-K, filed on February 25, 2015).
99.1 Press Release of Town Sports International Holdings, Inc. dated March 24, 2015


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.

 

TOWN SPORTS INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS, INC.
Date: March 24, 2015 By:

/s/ David M. Kastin

Name: David M. Kastin
Title: Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary


EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit
Number

  

Exhibit

10.1    Nomination and Standstill Agreement, dated March 24, 2015, by and among Town Sports International Holdings, Inc. and PW Partners Atlas Fund III LP, PW Partners Master Fund LP, PW Partners Atlas Funds, LLC, PW Partners, LLC, PW Partners Capital Management LLC, Patrick Walsh, HG Vora Special Opportunities Master Fund, Ltd., HG Vora Capital Management, LLC, and Parag Vora.
10.2    Letter Agreement, dated March 24, 2015 between Town Sports International Holdings, Inc. and Farallon Capital Management, L.L.C.
10.3    Amended and Restated Non-Employee Director Compensation Plan
10.4    Letter Agreement, dated February 25, 2015, between Town Sports International Holdings, Inc. and Robert Giardina (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current on Form 8-K, filed on February 25, 2015).
99.1    Press Release of Town Sports International Holdings, Inc. dated March 24, 2015

Exhibit 10.1

EXECUTION VERSION

NOMINATION AND STANDSTILL AGREEMENT

This Agreement (this “ Agreement ”) is made and entered into as of March 24, 2015, by and among Town Sports International Holdings, Inc. (the “ Company ”), PW Partners Atlas Fund III LP (“ Atlas Fund III ”), PW Partners Master Fund LP (“ PW Master Fund ”), PW Partners Atlas Funds, LLC (“ Atlas Fund GP ”), PW Partners, LLC (“ PW Master Fund GP ”), PW Partners Capital Management LLC (“ PW Capital Management ”), Patrick Walsh (“ Mr. Walsh ” and collectively, with Atlas Fund III, Atlas Fund GP, PW Master Fund, PW Master Fund GP and PW Capital Management, the “ PW Group Shareholders ”), HG Vora Special Opportunities Master Fund, Ltd. (“ HG Vora Master Fund ”), HG Vora Capital Management, LLC (“ HG Vora Capital Management ”), Parag Vora (“ Mr. Vora ” and collectively, with HG Vora Master Fund and HG Vora Capital Management, the “ HG Vora Group Shareholders, ” and collectively, with the PW Group Shareholders, the “ PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders ”) (each of the Company and the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders, a “ Party ” to this Agreement, and collectively, the “ Parties ”).

RECITALS

WHEREAS, on January 7, 2015, the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders submitted a notice to the Company (the “ Notice of Nomination ”) nominating a slate of individuals to be elected to the Company’s board of directors (the “ Board ”) at the 2015 annual meeting of shareholders of the Company, including any adjournment or postponement thereof (the “ 2015 Annual Meeting ”);

WHEREAS, the PW Group Shareholders currently beneficially own 2,496,133 shares of the Common Stock, $0.001 par value per share, of the Company (the “ Common Stock ”), which represented approximately 10.3% of the issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock as of January 7, 2015;

WHEREAS, the HG Vora Group Shareholders currently beneficially own 3,875,000 shares of the Common Stock, which represented approximately 15.9% of the issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock as of January 7, 2015;

WHEREAS, pursuant to a Group Agreement, dated as of October 20, 2014, the PW Group Shareholders and the HG Vora Group Shareholders have formed a Section 13(d) group, whereby the PW Group Shareholders and the HG Vora Group Shareholders together currently own an aggregate of 6,371,133 shares of Common Stock, which represented approximately 26.2% of the issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock as of January 7, 2015;

WHEREAS, the Company and the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders have determined that the interests of the Company and all of its shareholders would be best served at this time by, among other things, resolving issues regarding Board composition and corporate governance by mutual and constructive agreement, rather than by an election contest;

WHEREAS, the Company is restructuring its Board to more closely reflect its current shareholder base, and in connection therewith is, simultaneously herewith, entering into an agreement (a true and correct copy of which has been furnished to the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders) with another unaffiliated third-party significant shareholder pursuant to which, effective as of the date hereof, the Board is appointing two nominees of such shareholder to the Board replacing two directors that are resigning;


WHEREAS, solely to facilitate the agreements set forth herein, each of J. Rice Edmonds and Paul N. Arnold (the “ Resigning Directors ”) has delivered to the Board, on the date hereof, his resignation from the Board, with such resignation becoming effective on the date hereof;

WHEREAS, the Company and the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders have determined to come to an agreement with respect to the immediate reconstitution of the Board, the election of members of the Board at the 2015 Annual Meeting and certain other matters, as provided in this Agreement;

WHEREAS, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board (the “ Nominating Committee ”) and the Board have considered the qualifications of the Nominees (as defined below) and conducted such review as they have deemed appropriate, including as to reviewing materials provided by the Nominees and the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders; and

WHEREAS, the Nominating Committee has recommended that the Board approve and recommend the Nominees for election as a director of the Company and the Board has determined that it is in the best interests of the Company to do so on the terms set forth in this Agreement;

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of and reliance upon the mutual covenants and agreements contained herein, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the Parties hereto agree as follows:

1. Board Nomination; Board Composition .

(a) The Company shall cause the Board simultaneous with the execution and delivery of this Agreement by all Parties to adopt and make effective a resolution (i) increasing the size of the Board from seven to eight members, (ii) accepting the resignation of the Resigning Directors, and (iii) appointing Mark A. McEachen, Patrick Walsh and L. Spencer Wells (the “ Nominees ”) to fill the resulting vacancies, with each Nominee having the same term as that of his predecessor.

(b) The Company further agrees to include (i) each of the Nominees or their Replacements (as defined below) in its slate of nominees for election as three of the eight directors (or seven pursuant to Section 1(c)(ii) below ) and (ii) each of the TSI Legacy Directors or their Replacements (as defined below) in its slate of nominees for election as three of the eight directors (or two of the seven pursuant to Section 1(c)(ii) below ), in each case, of the Company at the 2015 Annual Meeting (the “ 2015 Company Slate ”). The Board will publicly recommend and solicit proxies for the election of the Nominees or their Replacements and the TSI Legacy Directors or their Replacements, as the case may be, at the 2015 Annual Meeting in the same manner and devoting the same resources as it does for all the other members of the 2015 Company Slate, which will be no less than in past years.

 

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(c) (i) To the extent a Nominee or his Replacement, as applicable, is unable or unwilling for any reason to serve as a nominee for election at the 2015 Annual Meeting or as a director at any time during the Covered Period (as defined below), then, so long as the PW Group Shareholders and the HG Vora Group Shareholders and their Affiliates and Associates, continue at such time to beneficially own in the aggregate the number of shares of Common Stock equal to at least 5% of the then outstanding shares of Common Stock, the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders may select and submit (which submission need not comply with the nomination requirements of the Company’s Bylaws (as defined below)) a qualified candidate, who qualifies as “independent” under the applicable rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market (the “ NASDAQ ”), the applicable provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “ Exchange Act ”), and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“ SEC ”) and is reasonably acceptable to the Nominating Committee, in its good faith judgment after exercising its fiduciary duties, as a replacement nominee or director, who shall serve as the nominee for election as director or as a director, as applicable, in lieu of such Nominee or his Replacement who is unable or unwilling to so serve (each, a “ Replacement ”), provided that a Replacement for a TSI Legacy Director (as defined below) need not qualify as “independent” under the applicable rules of the NASDAQ, the applicable provisions of the Exchange Act, and the rules and regulations of the SEC. The Nominating Committee will make, and inform the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders of, its determination within 15 days of receiving the selection and the information required under Section 1(d)(ii) with respect to such selection. If the submission is rejected in accordance with this Section 1(c) , the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders may submit additional candidates satisfying these qualifications until a mutually acceptable Replacement is identified. The Board will designate the Replacement as a nominee for election as a director or appoint the Replacement as a director, as applicable, promptly after he has been agreed upon pursuant to the foregoing procedures but, in any event, no later than five business days after such Replacement has been agreed upon pursuant to the foregoing procedures. For the avoidance of doubt, the Company shall not deem the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders to be a Section 13(d) Group (as defined below) solely as a result of their selection of a Replacement pursuant to this Section 1(c) .

(ii) Upon the inability or unwillingness to serve as a nominee for reelection at the 2015 Annual Meeting or resignation or removal from the Board at any time during the Covered Period, of the first of Robert J. Giardina, Bruce C. Bruckmann or Thomas J. Galligan III (the “ TSI Legacy Directors ”), the Company shall promptly cause the Board to adopt and make effective a resolution decreasing the size of the Board from eight to seven members, and no individual shall be nominated for election or appointed as a director to replace such TSI Legacy Director. In the event that, pursuant to the foregoing sentence, there remain only two TSI Legacy Directors, and one of the remaining TSI Legacy Directors is unable or unwilling to serve as a nominee for reelection at the 2015 Annual Meeting or wishes to resign or is removed from the Board at any time during the Covered Period, the remaining TSI Legacy Director or his Replacement shall be entitled to select and submit a Replacement in compliance with the procedures set forth in Section 1(c)(i) above. In the event that, each of the remaining TSI Legacy Directors is unwilling to serve as a nominee for reelection at the 2015 Annual Meeting or they wish to resign or are removed from the Board simultaneously at any time during the Covered Period, then such remaining TSI Legacy Directors shall submit Replacements in compliance with the procedures set forth in Section 1(c)(i) above.

 

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(d) (i) The PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders on behalf of themselves and their respective Affiliates and Associates agree irrevocably to withdraw the Nomination Notice and any related materials, notices or demands submitted to the Company in connection therewith, and (ii) the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders on behalf of themselves and their respective Affiliates and Associates agree to provide to the Company all information required to be disclosed for directors, candidates for directors, and their Affiliates and representatives in a proxy statement or other filings under applicable law or stock exchange rules or listing standards, information in connection with assessing eligibility, independence and other criteria applicable to directors or satisfying compliance and legal obligations solely with respect to the Nominees or their Replacements, and such other information as the Company shall reasonably request from time to time provided that they shall not be required to provide information not traditionally requested and obtained from other Company directors.

(e) While serving as a member of the Board, the Nominees or their Replacements shall comply in the same manner as directors generally with all policies, procedures, processes, codes, rules, standards and guidelines applicable to all Board members, including without limitation the Company’s Code of Ethics and Business Conduct and the Company’s Insider Trading Policy (as each may be amended from time to time for all directors) (it being understood that nothing contained therein or herein (i) prohibits any of the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders from maintaining positions they hold as of the date hereof relating to securities of the Company or (ii) prohibits any of the PW Group Shareholders from selling securities of the Company they hold as of the date hereof or may subsequently acquire outside of any “blackout period” under the Company’s Insider Trading Policy), and preserve the confidentiality of Company business and information, including discussions or matters considered in meetings of the Board or Board committees to the extent not disclosed publicly by the Company. The Company has furnished to the Nominees, prior to the execution of this Agreement, copies of all such policies, procedures, processes, codes, rules, standards and guidelines that are currently in effect.

(f) During the Covered Period, the number of directors constituting the Board will be fixed at eight; provided , however , the number of directors constituting the Board will be fixed at seven in the event the size of the Board is decreased to seven pursuant to Section 1(c)(ii) above.

(g)

(i) The Company shall cause the Board simultaneous with the execution and delivery of this Agreement by all Parties to adopt and make effective a resolution (i) appointing Mr. McEachen to the Compensation Committee, Mr. Walsh to each of the Nominating Committee and the Executive Committee and Mr. Wells to the Audit Committee, with the Chairman of each committee to be selected by majority vote of such committee, and (ii) fixing the size of each of the Compensation Committee, Nominating Committee, Audit Committee and Executive Committee at three members. The Company further agrees that during the Covered Period (i) it will cause one Nominee or Replacement and one TSI Legacy Director or Replacement to be appointed to any committee of the Board formed after the execution of this Agreement and (ii) except as otherwise permitted hereunder, it will not cause any of the Nominees or their

 

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Replacements, or TSI Legacy Director or Replacement, as the case may be, to be removed or disqualified from any committee of the Board to which such individual was appointed pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, except to the extent the rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market or applicable provisions of the Exchange Act, or the rules and regulations of the SEC promulgated thereunder, would not allow for such continued service. During the Covered Period, in the event any Nominee or Replacement ceases to serve on the Board or any committee or subcommittee, then the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders will be entitled (so long as they otherwise remain entitled hereunder to appoint such Nominee or Replacement to the Board) to select the Nominee or Replacement who will take the place of the departing director, provided such Nominee or Replacement will be qualified under any rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market or applicable provisions of the Exchange Act, or the rules and regulations of the SEC promulgated thereunder governing such service.

(ii) On or prior to the date hereof, the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders will provide to the Company a letter agreement executed by each of the Nominees, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A (each, a “ Nominee Representation Letter ”), whereby each of the Nominees agrees that during the Covered Period (i) he will maintain the size of each of the Compensation Committee, Nominating Committee, Audit Committee and Executive Committee at three members, (ii) he will appoint one TSI Legacy Director or Replacement to any committee of the Board formed after the execution of this Agreement, and (iii) except as otherwise permitted hereunder, he will not cause any of the TSI Legacy Directors or their Replacements, as the case may be, to be removed or disqualified from any committee of the Board to which such individual was appointed, except to the extent the rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market or applicable provisions of the Exchange Act, or the rules and regulations of the SEC promulgated thereunder, would not allow for such continued service. The PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders will provide to the Company a Nominee Representation Letter executed by any Nominee Replacement appointed to the Board during the Covered Period. During the Covered Period, in the event any TSI Legacy Director or Replacement ceases to serve on the Board or any committee or subcommittee, then the remaining TSI Legacy Directors (or Director) or their Replacements will be entitled to select the TSI Legacy Director or Replacement who will take the place of the departing TSI Legacy Director, provided such TSI Legacy Director or Replacement will be qualified under any rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market or applicable provisions of the Exchange Act, or the rules and regulations of the SEC promulgated thereunder governing such service.

(h) During the Covered Period, the Board will ensure that the Nominees or any of their Replacements, as applicable, will receive the same benefits of directors’ and officers’ insurance and any indemnity and exculpation arrangements available generally to the other Board members and the same compensation and other benefits for service as a director as the compensation and other benefits received by the other Board members for service as a director. During the Covered Period, the Board will ensure that the Nominees receive the same written Company- and Board-related information as that provided to the other directors in connection with any meeting of the Board, at the same time such information is provided to the other directors.

 

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(i) The Company agrees to use its reasonable best efforts to hold the 2015 Annual Meeting on or about June 30, 2015.

(j) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, Mr. Walsh or his Replacement at the time (the “ Walsh Replacement ”) shall promptly offer to resign from the Board (and, if requested by the Company, promptly deliver his written resignation to the Board (which shall provide for his immediate resignation) it being understood that it shall be in the Board’s sole discretion whether to accept or reject such resignation) if the members of the PW Group Shareholders, collectively, cease to beneficially own at least 3% of the Company’s outstanding Common Stock. The PW Group Shareholders agree to cause Mr. Walsh or the Walsh Replacement to resign from the Board if he fails to resign if and when requested pursuant to this clause (j). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, in the event Mr. Walsh or the Walsh Replacement resigns from the Board pursuant to this clause (j), so long as the HG Vora Group Shareholders and their Affiliates and Associates, continue at such time to beneficially own in the aggregate the number of shares of Common Stock equal to at least 5% of the then outstanding shares of Common Stock, the HG Vora Group Shareholders shall be entitled to select and submit a Replacement (and the Board shall appoint such Replacement as a director) in compliance with the procedures set forth in Section 1(c)(i) above.

(k) The Company shall cause the Board, simultaneous with the execution and delivery of this Agreement by all Parties, to adopt and make effective a resolution ordering the immediate redemption of all outstanding Rights granted pursuant to the Rights Agreement, dated as of December 31, 2014, between the Company and Computershare Inc. (the “ Rights Agreement ”) and the taking of all action necessary to terminate the Rights Agreement in accordance with Section 23 of the Rights Agreement.

2. Standstill .

(a) Each of the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders solely on behalf of itself and its respective Affiliates and Associates hereby severally and not jointly agrees that from the date hereof until the termination of this Agreement in accordance with Section 5 (the “ Covered Period ”), except as expressly set forth in this Agreement, neither it nor any of its Affiliates or Associates will, and it will cause each of its Affiliates and Associates not to, directly or indirectly in any manner, alone or in concert with others:

(i) make, engage in, or in any way participate in, directly or indirectly, any “solicitation” of proxies (as such terms are used in the proxy rules of the SEC but without regard to the exclusion set forth in Rule 14a-1(l)(2)(iv) of the Exchange Act) or consents to vote, or seek to advise, encourage or influence any person with respect to the voting of any securities of the Company or any securities convertible or exchangeable into or exercisable for any such securities (collectively, “ securities of the Company ”) for the election of individuals to the Board or to approve shareholder proposals, or become a “participant” in any contested “solicitation” for the election of directors with respect to the Company (as such terms are defined or used under the Exchange Act) (other than a “solicitation” or acting as a “participant” in support of all of the nominees of the Board at any shareholder meeting) or make or be the proponent of any shareholder proposal (pursuant to Rule 14a-8 under the Exchange Act or otherwise);

 

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(ii) form, join, encourage, influence, advise or in any way participate in any “group” (as such term is defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act for purposes of this Agreement, any such group, a “ Section 13(d) Group ”) with any persons (other than a Section 13(d) Group that includes all or some of the persons identified on the Group 13Ds (as defined below) as of the date hereof and their Affiliates and Associates, but not including any other entities or persons not identified on the Group 13Ds as of the date hereof) with respect to any securities of the Company or otherwise in any manner agree, attempt, seek or propose to deposit any securities of the Company in any voting trust or similar arrangement, or subject any securities of the Company to any arrangement or agreement with respect to the voting thereof, except as expressly set forth in this Agreement;

(iii) acquire, offer or propose to acquire, or agree to acquire, directly or indirectly, whether by purchase, tender or exchange offer, through the acquisition of control of another person, by joining a partnership, limited partnership, syndicate or other group (including any Section 13(d) Group), through swap or hedging transactions or otherwise, any securities of the Company or any rights decoupled from the underlying securities of the Company that would result in (A) with respect to the PW Group Shareholders (together with their Affiliates and Associates and any other persons with whom they may be a Section 13(d) Group) having beneficial ownership, as determined in accordance with Rule 13d-3 of the Exchange Act, over more than 17.49% in the aggregate of the shares of Common Stock outstanding at such time, and (B) with respect to the HG Vora Group Shareholders (together with their Affiliates and Associates and any other persons with whom they may be a Section 13(d) Group) having beneficial ownership, as determined in accordance with Rule 13d-3 of the Exchange Act, over more than 17.49% in the aggregate of the shares of Common Stock outstanding at such time; provided that nothing herein will require Common Stock to be sold to the extent such persons, collectively with their Affiliates and Associates, exceed the ownership limit applicable to such persons under this paragraph solely as the result of a share repurchase or similar Company action that reduces the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock;

(iv) sell, offer or agree to sell, directly or indirectly, through swap or hedging transactions or otherwise, the securities of the Company or any rights decoupled from the underlying securities held by the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders or any of their Affiliates to any Third Party (as defined below) that would knowingly result in such Third Party, together with its Affiliates and Associates, owning, controlling or otherwise having any beneficial or other ownership interest in more than 5% in the aggregate of the shares of Common Stock outstanding at such time; provided , however , that the foregoing restriction shall not apply to (A) any transaction with a Third Party who already has a Schedule 13G on file with the SEC with respect to its ownership of Common Stock or any Third Party who represents to the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders in writing that as a result of the transaction it will file a Schedule 13G with respect to its ownership of Common Stock provided that, unless such Third Party is an Institutional Stockholder ( e.g. , Fidelity, Vanguard, Dimensional, etc.), such Third Party, together with its Affiliates and Associates, will not, after giving effect to such transaction, own, control or otherwise have beneficial ownership in more than 10% in the aggregate

 

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of the shares of Common Stock outstanding at such time, or (B) any transaction approved by written consent of a majority of the Board, excluding the Nominees and their Replacements;

(v) effect or seek to effect (including, without limitation, by entering into any discussions, negotiations, agreements or understandings whether or not legally enforceable with any person), offer or propose to effect, cause or participate in, or in any way assist or facilitate any other person to effect or seek, offer or propose to effect or participate in, any tender or exchange offer, merger, consolidation, acquisition, scheme, arrangement, business combination, recapitalization, reorganization, sale or acquisition of material assets, liquidation, dissolution or other extraordinary transaction involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries or joint ventures or any of their respective securities (each, an “ Extraordinary Transaction ”), or make any public statement with respect to an Extraordinary Transaction; provided , however , that this clause shall not (A) preclude the tender by any PW Group Shareholders or HG Vora Group Shareholders or an Affiliate or an Associate thereof of any securities of the Company into any tender or exchange offer, or vote by any PW Group Shareholders or HG Vora Group Shareholders or an Affiliate or Associate thereof of any securities of the Company with respect to any Extraordinary Transaction, (B) prohibit any PW Group Shareholders or HG Vora Group Shareholders or Affiliate or Associate thereof from offering to purchase securities or assets of the Company if the sale of such securities or assets is initiated by the Company through an open bidding process, or (C) prohibit any PW Group Shareholders or HG Vora Group Shareholders or Affiliate or Associate thereof from offering to purchase the securities of the Company in the event the Company enters into negotiations with a Third Party regarding a proposal to be acquired by such Third Party, or a Third Party commences a hostile tender offer to acquire all or substantially all of the Common Stock of the Company; provided , that, in the case of (B) and (C) above , the PW Group Shareholders or, in the event that one or more of the Nominees or their Replacements are officers, directors or employees of, or Disclosing Nominees (as defined below) to, the HG Vora Group Shareholders, the HG Vora Group Shareholders, as applicable, shall have given written notice to the Company of its election to act as a potential bidder for the Company within 10 days of the Board’s decision to initiate the sale process or negotiate the Third Party acquisition proposal or the public announcement of the commencement of the hostile tender offer, as applicable, and from after delivery of such notice and until such time as the PW Group Shareholders or, in the event that one or more of the Nominees or their Replacements are employees of, or Disclosing Nominees to, the HG Vora Group Shareholders, the HG Vora Group Shareholders, as applicable, irrevocably waive their right to participate as a bidder, then such Nominees or Replacements shall be excluded from all portions of meetings directly relating to such sale process and/or third party offers and all information, resolutions, consents and other materials provided to the Nominees or their Replacements shall be redacted to the extent relating to such sale process and/or third party offers (“ Disclosing Nominee ” means any Nominee or his Replacement who has furnished to the HG Vora Group Shareholders or their Affiliates any material, non-public information concerning the business or affairs of the Company);

(vi) engage in any short sale of shares or any purchase, sale or grant of any option, warrant, convertible security, stock appreciation right, or other similar right

 

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(including, without limitation, any put or call option or “swap” transaction) with respect to any security (other than a broad-based market basket or index) that derives the majority of its value from a decline in the market price or value of securities of the Company;

(vii) (A) call or seek to call, alone or in concert with others, any meeting of shareholders, including by written action, (B) seek representation on, or nominate any candidate to, the Board, except as set forth herein, (C) seek the removal of any member of the Board, (D) solicit or seek to solicit written consents from, or execute written consents received from other, shareholders of the Company, (E) conduct a referendum of shareholders or (F) make a request for any shareholder list or other Company books and records, whether pursuant to Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law or otherwise;

(viii) take any action in support of or make any proposal or request that constitutes: (A) advising, controlling, changing or influencing the Board or management of the Company, including any plans or proposals to change the number or term of directors or to fill any vacancies on the Board, except as set forth herein, (B) any change in the capitalization, stock repurchase programs and practices or dividend policy of the Company, (C) any other change in the Company’s management, business or corporate structure, (D) seeking to have the Company waive or make amendments or modifications to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws, or other actions that may impede or facilitate the acquisition of control of the Company by any person, (E) causing a class of securities of the Company to be delisted from, or to cease to be authorized to be quoted on, any securities exchange, or (F) causing a class of securities of the Company to become eligible for termination of registration pursuant to Section 12(g)(4) of the Exchange Act;

(ix) make any public disclosure, announcement or statement regarding any intent, purpose, plan or proposal with respect to the Board, the Company, its management, policies or affairs, any of its securities or assets or this Agreement that is inconsistent with the provisions of this Agreement;

(x) enter into any discussions, negotiations, agreements or understandings with any Third Party with respect to any of the foregoing, or advise, assist, knowingly encourage or seek to persuade any Third Party to take any action or make any statement with respect to any of the foregoing, or otherwise take or cause any action or make any statement inconsistent with any of the foregoing;

(xi) publicly request, directly or indirectly, any amendment or waiver of the foregoing; or

(xii) direct, instruct, assist or encourage any of their respective Affiliates or Associates to take any such action.

The foregoing provisions of this Section 2(a) shall not be deemed to prohibit any of the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders or their directors, officers, partners, employees,

 

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members or agents (acting in such capacity) from communicating privately with the Company’s directors, officers or advisors so long as such communications are not intended to, and would not reasonably be expected to, require any public disclosure of such communications.

(b) Each of the PW Group Shareholders solely on behalf of itself and its respective Affiliates and Associates and each of the HG Vora Group Shareholders solely on behalf of itself and its respective Affiliates and Associates hereby severally and not jointly agrees to cause all shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by it as of the record date for the 2015 Annual Meeting to be present for quorum purposes and to be voted at the 2015 Annual Meeting, and further agrees that at the 2015 Annual Meeting it shall vote in favor of the 2015 Company Slate. At any subsequent special shareholders’ meeting (or adjournments or postponements thereof) during the Covered Period each of the PW Group Shareholders and each of the HG Vora Group Shareholders shall cause all shares of Common Stock beneficially owned, directly or indirectly, by it as of the applicable record date to be present for quorum purposes and to be voted in favor of the election to the Board of those director nominees nominated for election by the Board and against the removal of any directors whose removal is not recommended by the Board.

(c) Nothing in this Section 2 shall prohibit or in any way limit any actions that may be taken by the Nominees or their Replacements acting solely as a director of the Company (including, without limitation, voting on any matter submitted for consideration by the Board, participating in deliberations or discussions of the Board and making suggestions or raising issues to the Board) consistent with his fiduciary duties as a director of the Company (it being understood and agreed that no PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders or any Affiliates or Associates thereof shall seek to do indirectly through any of the Nominees or their Replacements anything that would be prohibited if done by any PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders or any Affiliates or Associates thereof).

3. Representations of the Company . The Company represents and warrants as follows: (a) the Company has the power and authority to execute, deliver and carry out the terms and provisions of this Agreement and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby; (b) this Agreement has been duly and validly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company, constitutes a valid and binding obligation and agreement of the Company and is enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms; and (c) the Bylaws and the Company policies, procedures, processes, codes, rules, standards and guidelines furnished to the Nominees pursuant to Section 1(e) are true and correct and have not been amended or modified. The Board has concluded that each of Mark A. McEachen, Patrick Walsh and L. Spencer Wells is “independent” for the purposes set forth herein.

4. Representations of the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders . Each of the PW Group Shareholders and each of the HG Vora Group Shareholders severally and not jointly represents and warrants to the Company that (a) such PW Group Shareholder or HG Vora Group Shareholder has the power and authority to execute, deliver and carry out the terms and provisions of this Agreement and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby; (b) this Agreement has been duly and validly authorized, executed and delivered by such PW Group Shareholder or HG Vora Group Shareholder, constitutes a valid and binding obligation and agreement of such PW Group Shareholder or HG Vora Group Shareholder and is enforceable

 

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against such PW Group Shareholder or HG Vora Group Shareholder in accordance with its terms; and (c) such PW Group Shareholder or HG Vora Group Shareholder beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, an aggregate number of shares of Common Stock set forth in the recitals to this Agreement for such PW Group Shareholder or HG Vora Group Shareholder, and such shares of Common Stock constitute all of the Common Stock beneficially owned by such PW Group Shareholder or HG Vora Group Shareholder or in which such PW Group Shareholder or HG Vora Group Shareholder has any interest or right to acquire, whether through derivative securities, voting agreements or otherwise.

5. Termination .

(a) This Agreement shall terminate on the date that is ten (10) business days prior to the last day upon which a notice to the Secretary of the Company of shareholder nominations of persons for election to the Board at the 2016 annual meeting of shareholders of the Company would be considered timely under Article II, Section 12 of the Bylaws; provided that, notwithstanding the foregoing, the restrictions provided in Section 2(a)(vii)(A) , (D) , and (E)  shall survive until the earlier of (i) the 2016 annual meeting of shareholders of the Company or (ii) May 15, 2016.

(b) The provisions of Section 9 through Section 18 shall survive the termination of this Agreement. No termination pursuant to Section 5(a) shall relieve any Party from liability for any breach of this Agreement prior to such termination.

6. Mutual Non-Disparagement . Subject to Section 7(d) , each of the PW Group Shareholders and each of the HG Vora Group Shareholders severally and not jointly, on the one hand, and the Company, on the other hand, agrees that, during the Covered Period, it will not, and it will cause each of their respective Affiliates, directors, officers, managers, members and employees not to, directly or indirectly, cause, express or cause to be expressed, orally or in writing, any publicly disparaging or unfavorable remarks, comments or criticisms with regard to (or make any other public statement or communication that might reasonably be construed to be derogatory or negative toward) the other party, any Affiliate thereof, its business, or any of its current, future or former directors, officers, executives, management, employees and auditors.

7. Public Announcement; SEC Filing; Communications .

(a) No later than 8:30 a.m. (Eastern Time) on the first business day following the date hereof, the Company shall issue the mutually agreeable press release (the “ Press Release ”) announcing certain terms of this Agreement, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit B .

(b) Promptly following the execution of this Agreement, the Company shall file a Form 8-K reporting entry into this Agreement and appending or incorporating by reference this Agreement as an exhibit thereto.

(c) Promptly following the execution of this Agreement, the PW Group Shareholders and the HG Vora Group Shareholders shall file amendments to their respective Group 13Ds with respect to the Company, reporting the termination of their Section 13(d) Group and the entry into this Agreement, amending applicable items to conform to their obligations hereunder and appending or incorporating by reference this Agreement as an exhibit thereto.

(d) For the avoidance of doubt, it is understood that nothing in this Agreement limits the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders’ rights (i) to make statements (A) required by law, regulation or legal process, or (B) in connection with a dispute covered by Section 11 of this Agreement or (ii) to communicate with their respective investors in quarterly or annual letters provided such communications are subject to standard confidentiality obligations. For the avoidance of doubt, it is understood that nothing in this Agreement limits the Company’s rights to make statements (i) required by law, regulation or legal process, or (ii) in connection with a dispute covered by Section 11 of this Agreement.

 

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8. Confidentiality .

(a) Each of the PW Group Shareholders and each of the HG Vora Group Shareholders, severally and not jointly, acknowledges that material, non-public information concerning the business and affairs of the Company (“ MNP Information”) may be disclosed to the Nominees or their Replacements in their capacities as directors of the Company. The Company agrees to (i) inform each director of its policies relating to the treatment of MNP Information (as discussed in Section 1(e)) , and (ii) advise the directors not to provide MNP Information to the HG Vora Group Shareholders or to the PW Group Shareholders (excluding Patrick Walsh) unless the HG Vora Group Shareholders or the PW Group Shareholders, respectively, first agree in writing to receive such information.

(b) The HG Vora Group Shareholders hereby represent that they do not intend to seek to obtain MNP Information from the Company or its subsidiaries, or from any director of the Company. In the event the HG Vora Group Shareholders wish to receive MNP Information from the Company or its subsidiaries, or from any director of the Company, and such party, as applicable, agrees to disclose such information to the HG Vora Group Shareholders, the HG Vora Group Shareholders will provide written notice to the Company and such information will be subject to a confidentiality agreement the form of which will be agreed upon between the HG Vora Group Shareholders and the Company. In the event that the HG Vora Group Shareholders obtain any MNP Information from the Company or its subsidiaries, or from any director of the Company, prior to such time as they have entered into a confidentiality agreement, the HG Vora Group Shareholders agree to maintain such MNP Information as confidential.

(c) The PW Group Shareholders (excluding Patrick Walsh) hereby represent that they do not intend to seek to obtain MNP Information from the Company or its subsidiaries, or from any director of the Company. In the event the PW Group Shareholders (excluding Patrick Walsh) wish to receive MNP Information from the Company or its subsidiaries, or from any director of the Company, and such party, as applicable, agrees to disclose such information to the PW Group Shareholders (excluding Patrick Walsh), the PW Group Shareholders will provide written notice to the Company and such information will be subject to a confidentiality agreement the form of which will be agreed upon between the PW Group Shareholders (excluding Patrick Walsh) and the Company. In the event that the PW Group Shareholders (excluding Patrick Walsh) obtain any MNP Information from the Company or its subsidiaries, or from any director of the Company, prior to such time as they have entered into a confidentiality agreement, the PW Group Shareholders agree to maintain such MNP Information as confidential.

 

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9. Release of Claims .

(a) On behalf of themselves and each of their respective directors, officers, managers, members, shareholders and employees, the Company, on the one hand and the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders on the other hand severally and not jointly release and forever discharge each other, and each of their respective successors, assigns, parent and subsidiary companies, joint ventures, partnerships, owners, directors, officers, partners, principals, managers, members, employees, attorneys, consultants, financial advisors, shareholders, insurers and agents (collectively, “ Released Persons ”) from all claims and demands, rights and causes of action of any kind arising out of or relating to this Agreement, the Nomination Notice, the Rights Agreement, and the election of directors at the 2015 Annual Meeting from the beginning of time through the date of this release. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 9 , the Company, on the one hand, and the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders on the other hand, severally and not jointly do not release any obligations or claims related to the enforcement of the terms and provisions of this Agreement.

(b) It is the intention of the Parties that the foregoing release set forth above in clause (a) shall be effective as a bar to all matters released herein. In furtherance and not in limitation of such intention, the release described herein shall be, and shall remain in effect as, a full and complete release, notwithstanding the discovery or existence of any additional or different facts or claims. It is expressly understood and agreed that this Agreement is intended to cover and does cover not only all known facts and/or claims but also any further facts and/or claims not now known or anticipated, but which may later develop or should be discovered, including all the effects and consequences thereof. Each Party expressly acknowledges and understands that it may hereafter discover facts in addition to or different from those which it now believes to be true with respect to the subject matter of the matters released herein, but expressly agrees that it has taken these possibilities into account in electing to participate in this Agreement, and that the release given herein shall be and remain in effect as a full and complete release notwithstanding the discovery or existence of any such additional or different facts, as to which each Party expressly assumes the risk.

10. Governing Law. THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY, AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH, THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE WITHOUT REGARD TO PRINCIPLES OF CONFLICTS OF LAW.

11. Remedies .

(a) Each of the Parties acknowledges and agrees that a breach or threatened breach by any Party may give rise to irreparable injury inadequately compensable in damages, and accordingly each Party shall be entitled to seek injunctive relief to prevent a breach of the provisions hereof and to seek to enforce specifically the terms and provisions hereof exclusively in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware located in New Castle County, or, if jurisdiction in such court is not available, any state court located in New Castle County in the State of Delaware, in addition to any other remedies at law or in equity, in addition to any other remedy to which such aggrieved Party may be entitled to at law or in equity. Each of the Parties hereto agrees to waive any bonding or security requirement under any applicable law.

 

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(b) Furthermore, each Party (a) consents to submit itself to the personal jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware located in New Castle County, or, if jurisdiction in such court is not available, any state court located in New Castle County in the State of Delaware, in the event any dispute arises out of this Agreement or the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, (b) agrees that it shall not attempt to deny or defeat such personal jurisdiction by motion or other request for leave from such court, (c) agrees that it shall not bring any action relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated by this Agreement in any court other than the United States District Court for the District of Delaware located in New Castle County, or, if jurisdiction in such court is not available, any state court located in New Castle County in the State of Delaware, and each of the Parties irrevocably waives the right to trial by jury, and (d) each of the Parties irrevocably consents to service of process by a reputable overnight mail delivery service, signature requested, to the address set forth in Section 13 or as otherwise provided by applicable law.

12. Entire Agreement . This Agreement, along the exhibits hereto, with contains the entire agreement and understanding of the Parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes any and all prior and contemporaneous agreements, memoranda, arrangements and understandings, both written and oral, between the Parties, or any of them, with respect to the subject matter hereof.

13. Notices . All notices, consents, requests, instructions, approvals and other communications provided for herein and all legal process in regard hereto shall be in writing and shall be deemed validly given, made or served when delivered in person, sent by facsimile or email, or when sent by overnight courier, when actually received during normal business hours at the address specified in this subsection:

if to the Company:

Town Sports International Holdings, Inc.

5 Penn Plaza

New York, NY 10001

Attention: David M. Kastin, Esq. – General Counsel

Facsimile: (212) 664-1704

Email: David.Kastin@tsiclubs.com

with a copy to

Dechert LLP

1095 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10036

Attention: Derek M. Winokur, Esq.

Facsimile: (212) 698-3599

Email: Derek.Winokur@Dechert.com

 

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if to the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders:

PW Partners Atlas Fund III LP

c/o PW Partners Atlas Funds, LLC

141 W. Jackson Blvd., Suite 300

Chicago, IL 60604

Attention: Patrick Walsh

Facsimile:

Email: pwalsh@pwpartnersllc.com

HG Vora Special Opportunities Master Fund, Ltd.

c/o HG Vora Capital Management, LLC

330 Madison Avenue, 23 rd Floor

New York, NY 10017

Attention: Philip M. Garthe

Facsimile: (212) 707-5555

Email: pgarthe@hgvoracapital.com

with a copy to

Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP

Park Avenue Tower

65 East 55th Street

New York, NY 10022

Attention: Steve Wolosky, Esq.

Facsimile: (212) 451-2222

Email: swolosky@olshanlaw.com

14. Expenses . Within ten (10) business days following receipt of reasonably satisfactory documentation thereof, the Company will reimburse the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders for their reasonable out-of-pocket fees and expenses (including legal expenses) incurred in connection with the matters related to the 2015 Annual Meeting and the negotiation, execution and effectuation of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby in an amount not to exceed $250,000.

15. Severability . If at any time subsequent to the date hereof, any provision of this Agreement shall be held by any court of competent jurisdiction to be illegal, void or unenforceable, such provision shall be of no force and effect, but the illegality or unenforceability of such provision shall have no effect upon the legality or enforceability of any other provision of this Agreement.

16. Counterparts . This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts either manually or by electronic or digital signature (including by facsimile or electronic mail transmission), each of which shall be deemed to be an original and all of which together shall constitute a single binding agreement on the Parties, notwithstanding that not all Parties are signatories to the same counterpart.

 

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17. Third Party Beneficiaries; Assignment . The TSI Legacy Directors and/or their Replacements shall be third party beneficiaries of the Company’s rights hereunder as well as any provisions of this Agreement relating to the TSI Legacy Directors and/or their Replacements. Other than as set forth in the immediately preceding sentence, nothing in this Agreement, whether express or implied, is intended to or shall confer any rights, benefits or remedies under or by reason of this Agreement on any persons other than the Parties, nor is anything in this Agreement intended to relieve or discharge the obligation or liability of any third persons to any Party. No Party may assign its rights or delegate its obligations under this Agreement, whether by operation of law or otherwise, and any assignment in contravention hereof shall be null and void.

18. Amendment . This Agreement may be amended only by an agreement in writing executed by the Parties hereto, provided that (i) the Parties may only amend a provision of this Agreement directly related to the TSI Legacy Directors and/or their Replacements with the written consent of a majority of the TSI Legacy Directors or their Replacements, as applicable; and (ii) the Company may only amend this Agreement with the written consent of a majority of the Board, excluding the Nominees and their Replacements. No waiver of compliance with any provision or condition of this Agreement and no consent provided for in this Agreement shall be effective unless evidenced by a written instrument executed by the Party against whom such waiver or consent is to be effective, provided any waiver of any right of the Company herein, may only be waived with the written consent of a majority of the Board, excluding the Nominees and their Replacements. No failure or delay by a Party in exercising any right, power or privilege hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise thereof preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any right, power or privilege hereunder.

19. Interpretation and Construction . When a reference is made in this Agreement to a Section, such reference shall be to a Section of this Agreement, unless otherwise indicated. The headings contained in this Agreement are for reference purposes only and shall not affect in any way the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement. Whenever the words “include,” “includes” and “including” are used in this Agreement, they shall be deemed to be followed by the words “without limitation.” The words “hereof, “herein” and “hereunder” and words of similar import when used in this Agreement shall refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular provision of this Agreement. The word “will” shall be construed to have the same meaning as the word “shall.” The words “dates hereof” will refer to the date of this Agreement. The word “or” is not exclusive. The definitions contained in this Agreement are applicable to the singular as well as the plural forms of such terms. Any agreement, instrument, law, rule or statute defined or referred to herein means, unless otherwise indicated, such agreement, instrument, law, rule or statute as from time to time amended, modified or supplemented. Each of the Parties acknowledges that it has been represented by counsel of its choice throughout all negotiations that have preceded the execution of this Agreement, and that it has executed the same with the advice of said independent counsel. Each Party cooperated and participated in the drafting and preparation of this Agreement and the documents referred to herein, and any and all drafts relating thereto exchanged among the Parties shall be deemed the work product of all of the Parties and may not be construed against any Party by reason of its drafting or preparation. Accordingly, any rule of law or any legal decision that would require interpretation of any ambiguities in this Agreement against any Party that drafted or prepared it is of no application

 

16


and is hereby expressly waived by each of the Parties hereto, and any controversy over interpretations of this Agreement shall be decided without regards to events of drafting or preparation. The obligations of each PW Group Shareholder or HG Vora Group Shareholder herein shall be understood to apply to each of their respective Affiliates and Associates, and each PW Group Shareholder and each HG Vora Group Shareholder agrees that it will cause its respective Affiliates and Associates to comply with the terms of this Agreement. As used in this Agreement, the terms “Affiliate” and “Associate” shall have the respective meanings set forth in Rule 12b-2 promulgated by the SEC under the Exchange Act and shall include all persons or entities that at any time during the term of this Agreement become Affiliates or Associates of any person or entity referred to in this Agreement, it being understood that such terms shall not include non-employee investors in any PW Group Shareholder or HG Vora Group Shareholder, respectively, or any portfolio company of any PW Group Shareholder or HG Vora Group Shareholder, respectively, in each case that are not controlled by any of the PW Group Shareholders or Mr. Walsh, alone or in combination, or by any of the HG Vora Group Shareholders or Parag Vora, alone or in combination. As used in this Agreement, the term “Bylaws” shall mean the Third Amended and Restated By-laws of the Company filed as Exhibit 3.2 to the Form 8-K filed by the Company on September 17, 2014. As used in this Agreement, the term “Group 13Ds” shall mean the respective Schedules 13D filed by each of the PW Group Shareholders and the HG Vora Group Shareholders prior to the date hereof and as amended prior to the date hereof. As used in this Agreement, the term “Third Party” shall mean any person or entity not (A) a party to this Agreement, (B) a member of the Board, (C) an officer of the Company, or (D) an Affiliate or Associate of the PW Group/HG Vora Group Shareholders. As used in this Agreement, the term “Representatives” shall mean, with respect to any person, such person’s directors, officers, employers (and their employees), employees, managers, agents, consultants, advisors or other representatives, including legal counsel, accountants and financial advisors.

[Signature Pages Follow]

 

17


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the Parties has executed this Agreement, or caused the same to be executed by its duly authorized representative as of the date first above written.

 

TOWN SPORTS INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS, INC.
By:

/s/ David M. Kastin

Name: David M. Kastin
Title: Senior Vice President – General Counsel
PW GROUP SHAREHOLDERS
PW PARTNERS ATLAS FUND III LP
By: PW Partners Atlas Funds, LLC
General Partner
By:

/s/ Patrick Walsh

Name: Patrick Walsh
Title: Managing Member and Chief Executive Officer
PW PARTNERS MASTER FUND LP
By: PW Partners, LLC
General Partner
By:

/s/ Patrick Walsh

Name: Patrick Walsh
Title: Managing Member and Chief Executive Officer

 

[Signature Page to Nomination and Standstill Agreement]


PW PARTNERS ATLAS FUNDS, LLC
By:

/s/ Patrick Walsh

Name: Patrick Walsh
Title: Managing Member and Chief Executive Officer
PW PARTNERS, LLC
By:

/s/ Patrick Walsh

Name: Patrick Walsh
Title: Managing Member and Chief Executive Officer
PW PARTNERS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC
By:

/s/ Patrick Walsh

Name: Patrick Walsh
Title: Managing Member

/s/ Patrick Walsh

PATRICK WALSH

 

[Signature Page to Nomination and Standstill Agreement]


HG VORA GROUP SHAREHOLDERS

 

HG VORA SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES MASTER FUND, LTD
By:

/s/ Parag Vora

Name: Parag Vora
Title: Director
HG VORA CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC
By:

/s/ Parag Vora

Name: Parag Vora
Title: Managing Member

/s/ Parag Vora

PARAG VORA

 

[Signature Page to Nomination and Standstill Agreement]


EXHIBIT A

(Form of Nominee Representation Letter)

 

A-1


EXHIBIT B

(Form of Press Release)

Exhibit 10.2

TOWN SPORTS INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS, INC.

5 Pen Plaza (4 th Floor)

New York, NY 10001

March 24, 2015

Farallon Capital Management, L.L.C.

One Maritime Plaza, Suite 2100

San Francisco, CA 94111

Dear Andrew;

As we have discussed, Town Sports International Holdings, Inc. (the “ Company ”) is currently evaluating strategic alternatives for the future of the Company, which may include a possible sale of the Company (such evaluation, the “ Strategic Review ”). In connection with the Strategic Review, the Company is restructuring its board of directors (the “ Board ”) to more closely reflect its current stockholder base, and Farallon Capital Management, L.L.C. (“ Farallon ”) has agreed, at the Company’s invitation, to assist the Company by identifying and nominating qualified individuals to serve on the Board, and the Company has agreed to cause the Board to appoint such nominees, all on the following terms and conditions set forth in this letter agreement (this “ Letter Agreement ”):

I. Board Nominations

A. Nominations and Appointments . Concurrently with the execution of this Letter Agreement, each of John H. Flood III and Kevin McCall (the “ Resigning Directors ”) shall resign from the Board, effective immediately, and immediately upon such resignations the Board shall appoint Farallon’s nominees Jason M. Fish (“ Mr. Fish ”) and Martin J. Annese (“ Mr. Annese ”) (the “ Nominees ”) to fill the resulting vacancies as independent directors, with each Nominee having the same term as that of the Resigning Directors (it being acknowledged that such terms expire as of the date of the Company’s 2015 annual meeting of stockholders (the “ 2015 Annual Meeting ”)).

B. 2015 Company Slate .

1. Farallon shall also have the right to include, and the Company will include, each of the Nominees (or, if applicable, his Replacement (as defined below)) in the Company’s slate of director nominees recommended by the Board in the Company’s proxy statement and on its proxy card for election at the 2015 Annual Meeting (the “ 2015 Company Slate ”). The Board will publicly recommend and solicit proxies for the election of the Nominees (or their Replacements, as the case may be) at the 2015 Annual Meeting in a manner no less rigorous and favorable, and devoting no less resources, as it does for all the other members of the 2015 Company Slate, which manner will be no less rigorous and favorable and which resources shall be no less than in connection with past years’ annual meetings of stockholders.


2. Farallon agrees to cause all shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by Farallon and the funds and accounts managed by Farallon as of the record date for the 2015 Annual Meeting to be present for quorum purposes and to be voted in favor of the 2015 Company Slate at the 2015 Annual Meeting.

C. Replacement Nominees or Directors .

1. In the event that a Nominee (or his Replacement, as applicable) (i) resigns from the Board prior to the Termination Date (as defined below), or (ii) is unable or unwilling for any reason to be included as a nominee for election on the 2015 Company Slate, then Farallon may select and submit to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board (the “ Nominating Committee ”) a qualified candidate, who qualifies as “independent” under the applicable rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market, the applicable provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “ Exchange Act ”), and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“ SEC ”) and is reasonably acceptable to the Nominating Committee as a replacement nominee or director, who shall serve as director or as the nominee for election on the 2015 Company Slate, as applicable, in lieu of such Nominee (or his Replacement) who is unable or unwilling to so serve (any such candidate so selected and submitted by Farallon, a “ Replacement ”).

2. Within 15 days of receiving Farallon’s submission of the proposed Replacement, the Nominating Committee will make and inform Farallon of its determination whether or not to appoint such proposed Replacement to the Board (with such approval of the Nominating Committee not to be unreasonably withheld). If the proposed Replacement is rejected by the Nominating Committee, then Farallon may submit additional candidates satisfying the above “independence” qualifications until a mutually acceptable Replacement is accepted by the Nominating Committee.

3. The Board will designate the Replacement as a nominee for election as a director or appoint the Replacement as a director, as applicable, promptly after he/she has been agreed upon pursuant to the foregoing procedures but, in any event, no later than five business days after such Replacement has been agreed upon pursuant to this paragraph. Any such person who becomes a Replacement pursuant to the foregoing shall be deemed to be a “Nominee” for all purposes under this Letter Agreement.

D. Resignations . Each Nominee shall be entitled to resign from the Board at any time in his or her discretion.

II. Materials and Procedures

Farallon and the Nominees each agree to provide to the Company all information required to be or customarily disclosed for directors, candidates for directors, and their affiliates and representatives in a proxy statement or other filings under applicable law or stock exchange rules or listing standards, information in connection with assessing eligibility, independence and other criteria applicable to directors or satisfying compliance and legal obligations with respect to the Nominees, and such other information as reasonably requested by the Company.

 

2


III. Committees and Other Matters Relating to Board Membership

A. Committee Membership . Promptly following the Nominees’ appointment to the Board hereunder, the Board will appoint Mr. Fish to each of the Compensation Committee, Audit Committee, Executive Committee and Nominating Committee. The Board will, if such Nominee so wishes, cause at least one Nominee to be appointed to any committee of the Board formed after the date of this Letter Agreement but prior to the Termination Date, and will not, prior to the Termination Date, cause any of the Nominees to be removed or disqualified from (i) the Board or (ii) any committee of the Board to which such individual was appointed pursuant to the terms of this Letter Agreement, except to the extent the rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market or applicable provisions of the Exchange Act, or the rules and regulations of the SEC promulgated thereunder, would not allow for continued service on such committee. In the event any Nominee ceases to serve on the Board or any committee or subcommittee, then Farallon will be entitled to select the Nominee or Replacement who will take the place of the departing director, provided such Nominee or Replacement will be qualified under any rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market or applicable provisions of the Exchange Act, or the rules and regulations of the SEC promulgated thereunder governing such service.

B. Indemnification and Other Rights . The Board will ensure that the Nominees will receive the same benefits of directors’ and officers’ insurance and any indemnity and exculpation arrangements available generally to the other Board members (including a director indemnification agreement acceptable to Farallon and the Nominees, whether or not comparable agreements are provided to other directors, to be entered into as promptly as practicable after the date hereof) and the same compensation for service as a director as the compensation received by the other Board members. The Board will ensure that the Nominees receive the same written Company- and Board-related information as that provided to the other directors in connection with any meeting of the Board, at the same time such information is provided to the other directors.

C. Board Policies . The Nominees will comply with the same Board policies and procedures as those generally applicable to the other Board members that (i) have been adopted as of the date hereof or (ii) are adopted after the date hereof and with which the Nominees are capable of complying as of the date of their adoption (collectively, the “ Policies ”); provided, that, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Mr. Fish shall be entitled to provide certain information to Farallon and its affiliates and representatives as provided in the Confidentiality Agreement to be entered into among the Company, Farallon and Mr. Fish (the “ Confidentiality Agreement ”), the agreed form of which is attached hereto as Exhibit A , and such disclosure shall not be deemed to violate any of the Policies.

D. Confidentiality . The Company, Farallon and Mr. Fish agree to execute and deliver the Confidentiality Agreement simultaneously with Farallon’s execution and delivery of this Letter Agreement. Farallon agrees that the Nominees or their Replacements (other than Mr. Fish), will not disclose any Company Material (as defined in the Confidentiality Agreement) to Farallon, without prior written notice to the Company and such Nominee or Replacement entering into a confidentiality agreement with Farallon and the Company in the form attached as Exhibit A .

 

3


IV. Termination.

This Letter Agreement shall automatically terminate thirty (30) days prior to the 2016 annual meeting of shareholders of the Company (the “ 2016 Annual Meeting ”), including any adjournment or postponement thereof, such date being the “ Termination Date .”

V. Company Representations .

The Company hereby represents and warrants that:

 

  (i) The Board has received from each of Messrs. Fish and Annese a completed D&O questionnaire and any related materials or information that the Company or the Board has requested from either such individual or Farallon. The Board has concluded that Mr. Fish is “independent” for the purposes set forth above.

 

  (ii) The Company has provided each of Messrs. Fish and Annese and Farallon with copies of the Policies that are in effect as of the date hereof, as well as a copy of the Company’s D&O insurance policy(ies) as in effect as of the date hereof.

 

  (iii) This Letter Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and constitutes the legal, valid and binding obligation of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms. The execution and delivery by the Company of this Letter Agreement and the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder (i) do not require the approval of the Company’s stockholders and (ii) do not and will not violate, conflict with or constitute a default under (A) any agreement or instrument to which the Company or its properties are subject, (B) any law, rule or regulation (including stock exchange rules) to which the Company or its properties are subject, (C) the organizational documents of the Company, (D) any judicial or regulatory order or decree of any governmental authority or (E) any consent, approval, license, authorization or validation of, or filing, recording or registration with any governmental authority. The Company is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware and has all requisite power and authority to execute and deliver this Letter Agreement and perform its obligations hereunder.

 

  (iv) The Board, by duly adopted resolution (a copy of which has been provided by the Company to Farallon), has adopted and made effective a resolution ordering the immediate redemption of all outstanding Rights granted pursuant to the Rights Agreement, dated as of December 31, 2014, between the Company and Computershare Inc. (the “ Rights Agreement ”) in accordance with Section 23 of the Rights Agreement and all such Rights have been effectively redeemed as of the date of this Letter Agreement.

 

4


VI. Miscellaneous

A. This Letter Agreement will be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Delaware, without regards to principles of conflicts of law. All actions and proceedings arising out of or relating to this Letter Agreement shall be heard and determined exclusively in any Delaware State or federal court sitting in the County of New Hanover, of the City of Wilmington.

B. This Letter Agreement contains the entire agreement between the Company and Farallon concerning the subject matter hereof (except as expressed in the Confidentiality Agreement) and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings, both written and oral, between parties regarding the subject matter hereof.

C. This Letter Agreement may be amended only by an agreement in writing executed by both the Company and Farallon. If at any time subsequent to the date hereof, any provision of this Letter Agreement shall be held by any court of competent jurisdiction to be illegal, void or unenforceable, such provision shall be of no force and effect, but the illegality or unenforceability of such provision shall have no effect upon the legality or enforceability of any other provision of this Letter Agreement.

D. This Letter Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts either manually or by electronic or digital signature (including by facsimile or electronic mail transmission), each of which shall be deemed to be an original and all of which together shall constitute a single binding agreement on the parties, notwithstanding that not all parties are signatories to the same counterpart.

E. The Company will provide Farallon an opportunity to review and comment on any press release or other public disclosure the Company plans to make with respect to the appointment of the Nominees (and, if applicable, any Replacement) to the Board or any other matter relating to this Letter Agreement, and shall consider in good faith such comments as Farallon reasonably may provide to the Company and, to the extent permitted by applicable law or regulation, shall not use Farallon’s name in such press release or other public disclosure the Company plans to make with respect to the appointment of the Nominees (and, if applicable, any Replacement) to the Board or any other matter relating to this Letter Agreement without Farallon’s consent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed).

 

5


On behalf of the Company, I thank you for your consideration of our proposal and look forward to working with you.

 

Very truly yours,
TOWN SPORTS INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS, INC.
By:

/s/ David M. Kastin

Name: David M. Kastin
Title: Senior Vice President – General Counsel

Agreed to and accepted as of the date hereof:

 

FARALLON CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, L.L.C.
By:

/s/ John R. Warren

Name: John R. Warren
Title: Managing Member

/s/ Jason M. Fish

Jason M. Fish

/s/ Martin J. Annese

Martin J. Annese

 

6

Exhibit 10.3

Amended and Restated

Non-Employee Director Compensation Plan

1. The following non-employee Board members will receive the following annual retainer:

(a) The non-executive chairman of the Board, if applicable, will receive a $100,000 annual retainer;

(b) The lead director of the Board, if applicable, will receive a $75,000 annual retainer;

(c) Each non-employee Board member (other than a non-executive chairman of the Board and a lead director of the Board) will receive a $60,000 annual retainer;

(d) The chairman of the Audit Committee will receive an additional $15,000 annual retainer;

(e) The chairman of the Compensation Committee will receive an additional $7,500 annual retainer; and

(f) Each chairman of each Committee of the Board (other than the chairman of the Audit Committee and the chairman of the Compensation Committee) will receive an additional $6,000 annual retainer.

2. The annual retainer amounts set forth above shall be payable quarterly in arrears on the fifth business day prior to (but not including) the last day of each calendar quarter. For each year, any such Board member may elect (by giving written notice to the Company on or before the first business day of the applicable calendar year) to receive such annual retainer in the form of shares of Common Stock of the Company, granted under the Town Sports International Holdings, Inc. 2006 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended (the “ Plan ”), on the date such retainer would otherwise be payable, as described above (with the number of such shares of Common Stock being computed by taking the retainer divided by the Value (as defined below) of a share of Common Stock on the grant date). Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, any Board member who has so elected to receive such annual retainer in the form of shares of Common Stock of the Company may revoke such election for the balance of such calendar year by giving written notice to the Company at any time when such Board member is otherwise eligible to purchase and sell shares of Common Stock of the Company pursuant to the Company’s then existing trading policies and procedures with respect to such purchases and sales. This annual retainer will be pro-rated for any partial year.

4. Each non-employee Board member will receive an annual award of Common Stock under the Plan on the first trading day of the month of February as follows, with each award being fully vested as of the award date, and will otherwise be subject to the terms of the Plan:

(a) Non-executive chairman of the Board, if applicable: Shares with a Value of $45,000 on the award date; and

(b) Other non-employee Board member: Shares with a Value of $40,000 on the award date

Additional grants may be made from time to time.

5. Each new non-employee Board member joining the Board will receive, on the effective date of appointment, an initial award of shares of Common Stock under the Plan with a Value of $40,000, which shares shall be fully vested as of such date. Each new non-employee Board member will be eligible to receive the next annual award of Common Stock referred to in Section 4 above.

6. As used herein, the term “Value” means the average closing price of the Common Stock for the ten (10) trading days immediately prior to (but not including) the grant date. For purposes of

 

1


this plan, when computing the number of shares of Common Stock to be issued in respect of any payment resulting in a fractional share, the number of shares of Common Stock to be issued shall be rounded to the nearest whole share.

7. No member of the Board will receive any fees for attending any meetings of the Board or its committees.

8. Each non-employee Board member and each member of a Board committee will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses reasonably incurred by him or her in connection with services provided in such capacity.

9. Each non-employee Board member shall be required to hold shares of Common Stock with a Fair Market Value (as defined in the Plan) equal to four (4) times the amount of the annual cash retainer payable to directors as set forth in Section 1(b) above. All shares of Common Stock bought by the director or an immediate family member residing in the same household, all shares held in trust for the benefit of the director or his or her family, and all shares granted under the Company’s equity compensation plans shall count towards the satisfaction of these requirements.

Each non-employee Board member shall be required to attain such ownership within five years of joining the Board, or in the case of directors serving as of January 1, 2013, by January 1, 2018, and to continue to meet such requirements as of every December 31 of each successive year. If, following the fifth anniversary of joining the Board (or January 1, 2018 in the case of directors serving as of January 1, 2013), the Fair Market Value (as defined in the Plan) of the Common Stock decreases such that the director is no longer in compliance with these requirements, the director shall not be required to acquire any additional shares of Common Stock.

In the event that a director fails to comply with these share ownership requirements, he or she shall be required to tender his or her resignation from the Board, in which case the Board shall, in its discretion, determine whether or not to accept such resignation.

Effective February 25, 2015

 

2

Exhibit 99.1

Town Sports International Holdings, Inc. Announces Agreements on Board Composition

On March 24, 2015, Town Sports International Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: CLUB) (“ TSI ” or the “ Company ”) announced that the Board of Directors unanimously approved, effective immediately, the appointment of each of Martin J. Annese, Jason M. Fish, Mark A. McEachen, Patrick Walsh and L. Spencer Wells as members of the Board, and the resignation of Paul N. Arnold, J. Rice Edmonds, John H. Flood III and Kevin McCall. The changes in the Board were made in accordance with two separate agreements by the Company that together involve its three largest shareholders, HG Vora Capital Management, PW Partners Atlas Fund III LP and Farallon Capital Management, L.L.C. In connection with the appointments, the Board increased its size from seven to eight directors, effective immediately.

Further, the Company has agreed to include each of Messrs. Annese, Fish, McEachen, Walsh and Wells, along with incumbent directors Bruce C. Bruckmann, Thomas J. Galligan III and Robert J. Giardina, in the Company’s slate of director nominees for the 2015 annual meeting of shareholders.

Pursuant to the Company’s agreement with HG Vora and PW Partners, who collectively own approximately 26% of the Company’s common stock, in addition to the agreed appointment of Messrs. McEachen, Walsh, and Wells to the Board, each of HG Vora and PW Partners agreed to vote its shares for the Company’s slate of director nominees at the upcoming 2015 annual meeting of shareholders, withdraw their director nominees for consideration at the 2015 annual meeting of shareholders and comply with certain customary standstill provisions.

Farallon, who owns approximately 16% of the Company’s common stock, at the invitation of the Company, entered into an agreement with the Company pursuant to which, in addition to the agreed appointment of Messrs. Annese and Fish to the Board, Farallon has agreed to vote its shares for the Company’s slate of director nominees at the upcoming 2015 annual meeting of shareholders.

“We are pleased to have reached agreements with our largest shareholders. The Board believes these agreements are in the best interest of the Company and all of its shareholders,” said Robert Giardina, Executive Chairman of the Board. “We welcome Martin, Jason, Mark, Patrick and Spencer to our Board and believe they will enhance our Board’s collective experience and expertise. On behalf of the Board, I’d like to thank Paul, Rice, John and Kevin for their highly valuable service and significant contributions to TSI’s success over the years. They have been outstanding directors and have served with distinction.”

The Company will file copies of the HG Vora / PW Partners agreement and the Farallon agreement as exhibits to a Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company expects to file proxy materials for its 2015 annual meeting of shareholders in the near future.


TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT OF ROBERT GIARDINA

As a result of the transactions described above, in accordance with the terms of Robert Giardina’s retention agreement, Mr. Giardina’s employment with the Company will be terminated as of March 27, 2015. Mr. Giardina’s service as a member of the Board shall continue, and he will be treated as a non-employee director.

TERMINATION OF RIGHTS AGREEMENT

The Board also announced today that it has approved the redemption of the rights issued pursuant to a Rights Agreement between the Company and Computershare Inc., dated December 31, 2014. The redemption of the rights is effective immediately. The Company will pay a redemption price equal to $0.01 per right in cash on April 20, 2015.

*****

About Town Sports International Holdings, Inc.:

New York-based Town Sports International Holdings, Inc. is one of the leading owners and operators of fitness clubs in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States and, through its subsidiaries, operated 158 fitness clubs as of December 31, 2014, comprising 107 New York Sports Clubs, 30 Boston Sports Clubs, 13 Washington Sports Clubs (two of which are partly-owned), five Philadelphia Sports Clubs, and three clubs located in Switzerland, and one BFX Studio. These clubs collectively served approximately 484,000 members. For more information on TSI, visit http://www.mysportsclubs.com.

From time to time we may use our Web site as a channel of distribution of material company information. Financial and other material information regarding the Company is routinely posted on and accessible at http://www.mysportsclubs.com . In addition, you may automatically receive email alerts and other information about us by enrolling your email by visiting the “Email Alerts” section at http://www.mysportsclubs.com.

Town Sports International Holdings, Inc., New York

Contact Information:

Investor Contact:

(212) 246-6700 extension 1650

Investor.relations@town-sports.com

or

ICR, Inc.

Joseph Teklits / Farah Soi

(203) 682-8200

farah.soi@icrinc.com