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): February 22, 2017

 

 

 

Commission

File No.

 

Exact Name of Registrant as
Specified in its Charter and
Principal Office Address and
Telephone Number

 

State of

Incorporation

 

I.R.S. Employer

Identification Number

1-16681   Spire Inc.   Missouri   74-2976504
 

700 Market Street

St. Louis, MO 63101

314-342-0500

   

 

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

 

Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 

Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

 

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 13e-4(c))

 

 

 


Item 2.03 Creation of a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation under an Off-Balance Sheet Arrangement of a Registrant.

The information set forth below under Item 8.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K is incorporated herein by reference into this Item 2.03.

Item 8.01 Other Events.

On February 22, 2017, the selling securityholders (as defined below) agreed to purchase $143,750,000 aggregate principal amount of 2014 Series A 2.00% remarketable junior subordinated notes due 2022 (the “Junior Notes”) of Spire Inc. (“Spire”) in connection with the remarketing of the junior subordinated notes comprising a component of the equity units originally issued in June 2014 pursuant to the Purchase Contract and Pledge Agreement (the “Purchase Contract and Pledge Agreement”), dated as of June 11, 2014, between Spire and U.S. Bank National Association, as purchase contract agent, attorney-in-fact of the holders of certain purchase contracts, collateral agent, custodial agent and securities intermediary.

Also on February 22, 2017, Spire entered into a Securities Purchase and Registration Rights Agreement (the “SPRRA”), among Spire and the several purchasers named therein (the “selling securityholders”), pursuant to which the selling securityholders agreed to sell the Junior Notes to Spire on or about February 27, 2017 in exchange for $143,750,000 aggregate principal amount of 3.543% Senior Notes due 2024 (the “Senior Notes”) of Spire and a cash payment.

The SPRRA granted the selling securityholders the right, by written notice to Spire, to offer the Senior Notes to the public in secondary public offerings from time to time. Each of the selling securityholders delivered a public offer notice to Spire on February 22, 2017 with respect to all the Senior Notes they held. On February 22, 2017, Spire entered into an underwriting agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) with the selling securityholders and the several underwriters named therein in connection with the public offering (the “Public Offering”) of $150,000,000 aggregate principal amount of Senior Notes consisting of $6,250,000 aggregate principal amount of the Senior Notes issued and sold by Spire and $143,750,000 aggregate principal amount of the Senior Notes sold by the selling securityholders.

The Public Offering was completed on February 27, 2017. Spire intends to use the net proceeds from its sale of the Senior Notes to repay short-term debt. Spire did not receive any proceeds from the sale of the Senior Notes by the selling securityholders. The sum of the amount received by the selling securityholders for the Senior Notes in the Public Offering and the amount of cash the selling securityholders received from Spire pursuant to the SPRRA is equal to the purchase price of the Junior Notes purchased by such selling securityholders in the remarketing transaction. Copies of the SPRRA and the Underwriting Agreement are filed as Exhibits 1.1 and 1.2 to this Current Report, respectively, and are expressly incorporated by reference herein and into the Registration Statement on Form S-3 (Registration No. 333-213759) (the “Registration Statement”) of Spire which became automatically effective upon filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 23, 2016. The foregoing descriptions of the SPRRA and the Underwriting Agreement are qualified in their entirety by reference to these exhibits.


The Senior Notes were issued on February 27, 2017 under the Indenture (as supplemented, the “Indenture”), dated as of August 19, 2014, between Spire and UMB Bank & Trust, N.A., as trustee, and as further supplemented by the Second Supplemental Indenture (the “Second Supplemental Indenture”), dated as of February 27, 2017, and pursuant to the Registration Statement and the related prospectus dated September 23, 2016 and prospectus supplement dated February 22, 2017. Copies of the Indenture, the Second Supplemental Indenture and the form of Senior Notes are filed herewith, or incorporated by reference to, this Current Report as Exhibits 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3, respectively. The foregoing descriptions of the Indenture, the Second Supplemental Indenture and the form of Senior Notes are qualified in their entirety by reference to these exhibits.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d)  Exhibits.

The following exhibits are filed as part of this report.

 

Exhibit

Number

  

Exhibit

  1.1

   Securities Purchase and Registration Rights Agreement, dated February 22, 2017, between Spire Inc. and the several purchasers named in Schedule B thereto.

  1.2

   Underwriting Agreement, dated February 22, 2017, among Spire Inc., the several selling securityholders named in Exhibit A thereto and the several underwriters named in Exhibit B thereto.

  4.1

   Indenture, dated as of August 19, 2014, between Spire Inc. and UMB Bank & Trust, N.A., as Trustee (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to Spire Inc.’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on August 19, 2014, File No. 1-16681).

  4.2

   Second Supplemental Indenture, dated as of February 27, 2017, between Spire Inc. and UMB Bank & Trust, N.A., as Trustee.

  4.3

   Form of 3.543% Senior Notes due 2024 (included in Exhibit 4.2).

  5.1

   Opinion of Mark C. Darrell, Esq.

  5.2

   Opinion of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.

23.1

   Consent of Mark C. Darrell, Esq. (included in Exhibit 5.1).

23.2

   Consent of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP (included in Exhibit 5.2).


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.

 

    SPIRE INC.
  Date: February 27, 2017     By:   /s/ Steven P. Rasche
        Steven P. Rasche
       

Executive Vice President,

Chief Financial Officer


Exhibit Index

 

Exhibit

Number

  

Exhibit

  1.1

   Securities Purchase and Registration Rights Agreement, dated February 22, 2017, between Spire Inc. and the several purchasers named in Schedule B thereto.

  1.2

   Underwriting Agreement, dated February 22, 2017, among Spire Inc., the several selling securityholders named in Exhibit A thereto and the several underwriters named in Exhibit B thereto.

  4.1

   Indenture, dated as of August 19, 2014, between Spire Inc. and UMB Bank & Trust, N.A., as Trustee (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to Spire Inc.’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on August 19, 2014, File No. 1-16681).

  4.2

   Second Supplemental Indenture, dated as of February 27, 2017, between Spire Inc. and UMB Bank & Trust, N.A., as Trustee.

  4.3

   Form of 3.543% Senior Notes due 2024 (included in Exhibit 4.2).

  5.1

   Opinion of Mark C. Darrell, Esq.

  5.2

   Opinion of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.

23.1

   Consent of Mark C. Darrell, Esq. (included in Exhibit 5.1).

23.2

   Consent of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP (included in Exhibit 5.2).

Exhibit 1.1

Spire Inc.

$143,750,000 3.543% Senior Notes due 2024

Securities Purchase and Registration Rights Agreement

This S ECURITIES P URCHASE AND R EGISTRATION R IGHTS A GREEMENT (this “ Senior Notes Purchase Agreement ”) is entered into on February 22, 2017 between Spire Inc., a Missouri corporation (the “ Company ”), and each of the several purchasers named in Schedule B hereto (the “ Purchasers ”).

The Company proposes to issue and sell to the several Purchasers $143,750,000 aggregate principal amount of 3.543% Senior Notes due 2024 of the Company (the “ Senior Notes ”). The Senior Notes are to be issued under the indenture identified in Schedule A hereto (the “ Senior Indenture ”), with UMB Bank & Trust, n.a. as the trustee (the “ Senior Trustee ”). The several Purchasers have agreed to purchase, in a remarketing transaction, $143,750,000 aggregate principal amount of the Company’s Series A 2.00% remarketable junior subordinated notes due 2022 (the “ Junior Notes ”). The Junior Notes were issued pursuant to the Junior Subordinated Indenture, dated as of June 11, 2014, between the Company and U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee (in such capacity, and including any successor-in-interest, the “ Junior Trustee ”), as supplemented by the First Supplemental Indenture dated as of June 11, 2014, between the Company and the Junior Trustee.

1.     Purchase and Sale. Subject to the terms and conditions and in reliance upon the representations and warranties herein set forth, the Company agrees to issue and sell to each Purchaser, and each Purchaser agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company, the principal amount of the Senior Notes set forth opposite the name of such Purchaser on Schedule B hereto, and the Company agrees to pay the cash amount set forth opposite the name of such Purchaser on Schedule B hereto (each such amount, a “ Cash Payment ”) to such Purchaser, in exchange for consideration consisting of the principal amount of the Junior Notes set forth opposite the name of such Purchaser on Schedule B hereto. Each Purchaser represents and warrants to the Company that it is an accredited investor as defined in Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “ Act ”). To the extent the aggregate principal amount of the Junior Notes purchased by any Purchaser in the remarketing transaction referred to above is different from the aggregate principal amount of Junior Notes set forth opposite its name in Schedule B, the aggregate principal amount of Senior Notes to be purchased by such Purchaser hereunder, and the Cash Payment payable to such Purchaser hereunder, shall be increased (or decreased) in proportion to the increase (or decrease) in such principal amount of Junior Notes, and the principal amount of Junior Notes to be delivered by such Purchaser in respect thereof shall be correspondingly increased (or decreased).

2.     Delivery and Payment.   Delivery of, and payment for, the Senior Notes shall be made at the office, on the date and at the time specified in Schedule A hereto (such date and time of delivery and payment for the Senior Notes being herein called the “ Closing Date ”) and the aggregate Cash Payment due to all Purchasers shall be made to Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC on behalf of the several Purchasers by wire transfer of immediately available funds on the Closing Date. Such aggregate Cash Payment may be netted against amounts owed to the Company by Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC on behalf of the several Purchasers. Payment for the Senior Notes to be purchased on the Closing Date shall be made by the Purchasers’ tender of the Junior Notes to the Company. Delivery of the Senior Notes to be purchased on the Closing Date shall be made to the Purchasers, with any transfer taxes payable in connection with the sale of such Senior Notes to the Purchasers duly paid by the Company, against delivery by the Purchasers of the Junior Notes. The Senior Notes shall be delivered registered in the names of the Purchasers or their nominee, unless the Purchasers shall otherwise instruct.


3.     Representations and Warranties . The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, each Purchaser that:

(a)     No Material Adverse Change in Business . Since September 30, 2016, except as otherwise stated in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended on such date (the “ Annual Report ”) or any subsequent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Current Report on Form 8-K of the Company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “ Commission ”) (such Annual Report, Quarterly Reports and Current Reports, collectively, the “ Disclosure ”), (A) there has been no material adverse change, or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a material adverse change, in the condition (financial or other), results of operations, business, properties, management or business prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business (a “ Material Adverse Effect ”); (B) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has incurred any liability or obligation or entered into any transaction or agreement that, individually or in the aggregate, is material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole, and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has sustained any loss or interference with its business or operations from fire, explosion, flood, earthquake or other natural disaster or calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or disturbance or court or governmental action, order or decree that could reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect; and (C) except for regular quarterly cash dividends on the Company’s common stock in amounts per share that are consistent with past practice, there has been no dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made by the Company on any class of its capital stock.

(b)     Good Standing of the Company . The Company has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of Missouri and has power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business and to enter into and perform its obligations under this Senior Notes Purchase Agreement, the Senior Indenture and the Senior Notes; and the Company is duly qualified as a foreign corporation to transact business and is in good standing in each other jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure to so qualify or to be in good standing would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(c)     Good Standing of Subsidiaries . Each subsidiary of the Company has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation or limited liability company, as the case may be, in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, has power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business and is duly qualified as a foreign corporation or limited liability company, as the case may be, to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure to so qualify or to be in good standing would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect; except as otherwise disclosed in the Disclosure, all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of each such subsidiary that is a corporation and all of the issued and outstanding limited liability company interests, membership interests or other similar interests of each such subsidiary that is a limited liability company have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and are owned by the Company, directly or through subsidiaries, free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance, claim or equity (a “ Lien ”). The only subsidiaries of the Company are the subsidiaries listed on Exhibit C hereto and Exhibit C hereto accurately sets forth whether each such subsidiary is a corporation or limited liability company and the jurisdiction of organization of each such subsidiary.

 

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(d)     Authorization of Agreement . This Senior Notes Purchase Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.

(e)     The Senior Notes . The Senior Notes are in the form contemplated by the Senior Indenture and have been duly authorized by the Company and, at the Closing Date, will have been duly executed by the Company and, when duly authenticated by the Senior Trustee and delivered against delivery of the Junior Notes as provided in this Senior Notes Purchase Agreement, will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, except as enforcement thereof may be limited by (i) bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent transfer and conveyance, reorganization, moratorium and similar laws affecting creditors’ rights and remedies generally including court decisions interpreting such laws, (ii) general principles of equity, including, without limitation, concepts of materiality, reasonableness, good faith and fair dealing (regardless of whether enforcement is sought in a proceeding at law or in equity), (iii) the power of courts to award damages in lieu of equitable remedies, (iv) laws and public policy underlying such laws with respect to rights to indemnification and contribution and (v) constitutional bounds on laws that govern the enforceability of choice of law provisions in agreements (the “ Enforceability Exceptions ”), and will be entitled to the benefits provided by the Senior Indenture.

(f)     The Senior Indenture . The Senior Indenture has been duly authorized by the Company; the Base Indenture has been and, at the Closing Date, the Supplemental Indenture will have been duly executed and delivered by the Company; assuming due authorization, execution and delivery by the Senior Trustee, the Base Indenture constitutes and, as of the Closing Date, the Supplemental Indenture will constitute a valid and binding agreement of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except as enforcement thereof may be limited by the Enforceability Exceptions; and the Senior Indenture was duly qualified under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended (the “ Trust Indenture Act ”).

(g)     Absence of Defaults and Conflicts . Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in violation of its Organizational Documents (as defined below) or in default in the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any Company Document (as defined below), except for such defaults that would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect. The execution and delivery of, and the performance by the Company of its obligations under, this Senior Notes Purchase Agreement, the Senior Indenture and the Senior Notes, and the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein and therein, do not and will not, whether with or without the giving of notice or passage of time or both, conflict with or constitute a breach of, or default, Termination Event or Repayment Event (each as defined below) under, or result in the creation or imposition of any Lien upon any property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries pursuant to, any Company Documents, except for such conflicts, breaches, defaults or Liens that would neither, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect nor materially and adversely affect the performance by the Company of its obligations under this Senior Notes Purchase Agreement or the Senior Indenture, nor will such action result in any violation of (i) the provisions of the Organizational Documents of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or (ii) any applicable law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any government, government instrumentality or court, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their respective assets, properties or operations, except, in the case of clause (ii), for such violations that would neither, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect nor materially and adversely affect the performance by the Company of its obligations under this Senior Notes Purchase Agreement.

 

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Company Documents ” means all other contracts, indentures, mortgages, deeds of trust, loan or credit agreements, bonds, notes, debentures, evidences of indebtedness, swap agreements, hedging agreements, leases or other instruments or agreements to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject, including the Existing Indentures and any other instruments, agreements and documents filed or incorporated by reference as exhibits to the Annual Report or any subsequent report filed by the Company under the Exchange Act pursuant to Rule 601(b)(10) of Regulation S-K of the Commission; provided that if any instrument, agreement or other document filed or incorporated by reference as such an exhibit has been redacted or if any portion thereof has been deleted or is otherwise not included as part of such exhibit (whether pursuant to a request for confidential treatment or otherwise), the term “Company Documents” shall nonetheless mean such instrument, agreement or other document, as the case may be, in its entirety, including any portions thereof which shall have been so redacted, deleted or otherwise not filed.

Existing Indentures ” means (i) the Mortgage and Deed of Trust dated as of February 1, 1945 between Laclede Gas Company, a Missouri Corporation, and (ii) UMB Bank & Trust, N.A., as successor trustee, as amended or supplemented, and the Amended and Restated Indenture of Mortgage, dated as of September 1, 2011, between Mobile Gas Service Corporation and Regions Bank, as trustee, in each case as amended or supplemented.

Organizational Documents ” means (a) in the case of a corporation, its articles of incorporation and bylaws; (b) in the case of a limited liability company, its articles of organization, certificate of formation or similar organizational documents and its operating agreement, limited liability company agreement, membership agreement or other similar agreement; and (c) in the case of any other entity, the organizational and governing documents of such entity.

Repayment Event ” means any event or condition which, either immediately or with notice or passage of time or both, (i) gives the holder of any bond, note, debenture or other evidence of indebtedness (or any person or entity acting on such holder’s behalf) the right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a portion of such indebtedness by the Company or any subsidiary of the Company, or (ii) gives any counterparty (or any person or entity acting on such counterparty’s behalf) under any swap agreement, hedging agreement or similar agreement or instrument to which the Company or any subsidiary of the Company is a party the right to liquidate or accelerate the payment obligations, or designate an early termination date under such agreement or instrument, as the case may be.

Termination Event ” means any event or condition which gives any person or entity the right, either immediately or with notice or passage of time or both, to terminate or limit (in whole or in part) any Company Documents or any rights of the Company or any of its subsidiaries thereunder, including, without limitation, upon the occurrence of a change of control of the Company or other similar events.

(h)     Absence of Labor Dispute . No labor dispute with the employees of the Company or any subsidiary of the Company exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is imminent, and the Company is not aware of any existing or imminent labor disturbance by the employees of any of the principal suppliers, manufacturers, customers or contractors of the Company or any of its subsidiaries that might reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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(i)     Absence of Proceedings . Except as otherwise disclosed in the Disclosure, there is no action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation before or brought by any court or governmental agency or body, domestic or foreign, now pending, or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, against or affecting the Company or any of its subsidiaries that might reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect or to materially and adversely affect the consummation of the transactions contemplated in this Senior Notes Purchase Agreement or the performance by the Company of its obligations under this Senior Notes Purchase Agreement; and the aggregate of all pending legal or governmental proceedings to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or of which any of their respective property or assets is the subject that are not disclosed in the Disclosure, including ordinary routine litigation incidental to the business, would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(j)     Absence of Further Requirements . (A) No filing with, or authorization, approval, consent, license, order, registration, qualification or decree of, any court or governmental authority or agency, domestic or foreign, (B) no authorization, approval, vote or consent of any holder of capital stock or other securities of the Company or creditor of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, (C) no authorization, approval, waiver or consent under any Company Document and (D) no authorization, approval, vote or consent of any other person or entity is necessary or required for the authorization, execution, delivery or performance of this Senior Notes Purchase Agreement, the Senior Indenture or the Senior Notes by the Company, for the offering of the Senior Notes as contemplated by this Senior Notes Purchase Agreement, or for the consummation of any of the other transactions contemplated by this Senior Notes Purchase Agreement, the Senior Indenture or the Senior Notes, except (i) such as have been obtained or made, (ii) under the Act, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “ Exchange Act ”), and, in each case, the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, (iii) under the Trust Indenture Act and (iv) that no representation is made as to such as may be required under state or foreign securities laws.

(k)     Possession of Licenses and Permits . The Company and its subsidiaries possess such permits, licenses, approvals, consents and other authorizations (collectively, “ Governmental Licenses ”) issued by the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign regulatory agencies or bodies necessary to conduct the business now operated by them; and, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect, the Company and its subsidiaries are in compliance with the terms and conditions of all such Governmental Licenses, all such Governmental Licenses are valid and in full force and effect; and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any such Governmental Licenses that individually or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, might reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(l)     Title to Property . The Company and its subsidiaries have good and marketable title in fee simple to all real property owned by any of them (if any) and good title to all other properties and assets owned by any of them, in each case, free and clear of all Liens (other than the Lien of the Existing Indentures) except such as (a) are disclosed in the Disclosure or (b) are not, individually or in the aggregate, material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole, are not required to be disclosed by the Company under Exchange Act, do not, individually or in the aggregate, materially affect the value of such property and do not interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company or any of its subsidiaries; all real property, buildings and other improvements, and all equipment and other property held under lease or sublease by the Company or any of its subsidiaries is held by them under valid, subsisting

 

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and enforceable leases or subleases, as the case may be, with, solely in the case of leases or subleases relating to real property, buildings or other improvements, such exceptions as are not material and do not interfere with the use made or proposed to be made of such property and buildings or other improvements by the Company and its subsidiaries, and all such leases and subleases are in full force and effect; and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any notice of any claim of any sort that has been asserted by anyone adverse to the rights of the Company or any of its subsidiaries under any of the leases or subleases mentioned above or affecting or questioning the rights of the Company or any of its subsidiaries to the continued possession of the leased or subleased premises or to the continued use of the leased or subleased equipment or other property except for such claims that, if successfully asserted against the Company or any of its subsidiaries, would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(m)     Investment Company Act . The Company is not, and upon the issuance and sale of the Senior Notes as herein contemplated will not be, an “investment company” or an entity “controlled” by an “investment company” (as such terms are defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended).

(n)     Environmental Laws . Except as disclosed in the Disclosure and except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect, (A) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in violation of any federal, state, local or foreign statute, law, rule, regulation, ordinance, code, policy or rule of common law or any judicial or administrative interpretation thereof, including any judicial or administrative order, consent, decree or judgment, relating to pollution or protection of human health, the environment (including, without limitation, ambient air, surface water, groundwater, land surface or subsurface strata) or wildlife, including, without limitation, laws and regulations relating to the release or threatened release of chemicals, pollutants, contaminants, wastes, toxic substances, hazardous substances, petroleum or petroleum products (collectively, “ Hazardous Materials ”) or to the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal, transport or handling of Hazardous Materials (collectively, “ Environmental Laws ”), (B) the Company and its subsidiaries have all permits, authorizations and approvals required under any applicable Environmental Laws and are each in compliance with their requirements, (C) there are no pending or threatened administrative, regulatory or judicial actions, suits, demands, demand letters, claims, Liens, notices of noncompliance or violation, investigation or proceedings relating to any Environmental Law against the Company or any of its subsidiaries and (D) there are no events or circumstances that might reasonably be expected to form the basis of an order for clean-up or remediation, or an action, suit or proceeding by any private party or governmental body or agency, against or affecting the Company or any of its subsidiaries relating to Hazardous Materials or any Environmental Laws.

(o)     Absence of Registration Rights . Other than the Purchasers, there are no persons or entities with registration rights or other similar rights to have any securities (debt or equity) registered by the Company under the Act, and there are no persons or entities with co-sale rights, tag-along rights or other similar rights to have any securities (debt or equity) included in the offering contemplated hereby or sold in connection with the sale of the Senior Notes.

(p)     Tax Returns . The Company and its subsidiaries have filed all federal, state and local tax returns that are required to be filed (or have obtained extensions thereof), except where the failure so to file would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect, and have paid all taxes (including, without limitation, any estimated taxes) required to be paid and any other assessment, fine or penalty, to the extent that any of the foregoing is due and

 

6


payable, except for any such tax, assessment, fine or penalty that is currently being contested in good faith by appropriate actions and except for such taxes, assessments, fines or penalties the nonpayment of which would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(q)     Insurance . The Company and its subsidiaries are insured by insurers of recognized financial responsibility against such losses and risks and in such amounts as are prudent and customary in the businesses in which they are engaged; all policies of insurance and any fidelity or surety bonds insuring the Company or any of its subsidiaries or their respective businesses, assets, employees, officers and directors are in full force and effect; the Company and its subsidiaries are in compliance with the terms of such policies and instruments in all material respects; and neither the Company nor any such subsidiary has any reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage from similar insurers at a cost that would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(r)     Foreign Corrupt Practices Act . Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee, affiliate or other person or entity acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is aware of or has taken any action, directly or indirectly, that has resulted or would result in a violation by any such person or entity of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “ FCPA ”), including, without limitation, any offer, payment, promise to pay or authorization of the payment of any money, or other property, gift, promise to give, or authorization of the giving of anything of value to any “foreign official” (as such term is defined in the FCPA) or any foreign political party or official thereof or any candidate for foreign political office, in contravention of the FCPA and the Company and its subsidiaries, and, to the knowledge of the Company, its other affiliates have conducted their businesses in compliance with the FCPA and have instituted and maintain policies and procedures designed to ensure, and that are reasonably expected to ensure, continued compliance therewith.

(s)     Money Laundering Laws . The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in material compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements, including those of the Bank Secrecy Act, as amended by Title III of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), the money laundering statutes of all applicable jurisdictions, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, “ Money Laundering Laws ”) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.

(t)     OFAC . Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee, affiliate or other person or entity acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department (“ OFAC ”); and the Company will not directly or indirectly use any of the proceeds from the sale of the Senior Notes by the Company in the offering contemplated by this Senior Notes Purchase Agreement, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available any such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity, for the purpose of financing the activities of any person or entity currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC.

 

7


(u)     ERISA Compliance. None of the following events has occurred or exists that might reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect: (i) a failure to fulfill the obligations, if any, under the minimum funding standards of Section 302 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, as amended (“ ERISA ”), with respect to a Plan (as defined below) determined without regard to any waiver of such obligations or extension of any amortization period; (ii) an audit or investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation or any other federal, state or foreign governmental or regulatory agency with respect to the employment or compensation of employees by the Company or any of its subsidiaries; or (iii) any breach of any contractual obligation, or any violation of law or applicable qualification standards, with respect to the employment or compensation of employees by the Company or any of its subsidiaries. None of the following events has occurred or is reasonably likely to occur that, individually or in the aggregate, could result in a Material Adverse Effect: (A) a material increase in the aggregate amount of contributions required to be made to all Plans in the current fiscal year of the Company and its subsidiaries compared to the amount of such contributions made in the Company’s most recently completed fiscal year; (B) a material increase in the “accumulated post-retirement benefit obligations” (within the meaning of Accounting Standards Codification Topic No. 715) of the Company and its subsidiaries compared to the amount of such obligations in the Company’s most recently completed fiscal year; (C) any event or condition giving rise to a liability under Title IV of ERISA; or (D) the filing of a claim by one or more employees or former employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries related to its or their employment. For purposes of this paragraph and the definition of ERISA, the term “ Plan ” means a plan (within the meaning of Section 3(3) of ERISA, which is subject to Title IV of ERISA, other than a “multiemployer plan” as defined in Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA) with respect to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries may have any liability.

(v)     No Restrictions on Dividends . Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is a party to or otherwise bound by any instrument or agreement that limits or prohibits or could limit or prohibit, directly or indirectly, the Company from paying any dividends or making other distributions on its capital stock, and no subsidiary of the Company is a party to or otherwise bound by any instrument or agreement that limits or prohibits or could limit or prohibit, directly or indirectly, any subsidiary of the Company from paying any dividends or making any other distributions on its capital stock, limited or general partnership interests, limited liability company interests, or other equity interests, as the case may be, or from repaying any loans or advances from, or (except for instruments or agreements that by their express terms prohibit the transfer or assignment thereof or of any rights thereunder) transferring any of its properties or assets to, the Company or any other subsidiary, in each case except as under the Existing Indentures or as otherwise disclosed in the Disclosure.

(w)     Brokers . There is not a broker, finder or other party that is entitled to receive from the Company any brokerage or finder’s fee or other fee or commission as a result of any of the transactions contemplated by this Senior Notes Purchase Agreement, except for underwriting discounts and commissions in connection with a public offering of the Senior Notes as described in Section 7 hereof.

 

8


4.     Agreements. The Company agrees with each Purchaser that:

(a)    The Company will pay all expenses incident to the performance of its obligations under this Senior Notes Purchase Agreement, and it shall reimburse the Purchasers for reasonable fees and disbursements for their outside counsel for the transaction in an amount not in excess of $250,000.

(b)    The Company will cooperate with the Purchasers and use all commercially reasonable efforts to permit the Senior Notes to be eligible for clearance and settlement through the Depository Trust Company (“ DTC ”), including its direct and indirect participants, the Euroclear System and Clearstream Banking S.A., as applicable.

5.     Conditions to the Obligations of the Purchasers. The obligations of the several Purchasers to purchase the Senior Notes shall be subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties on the part of the Company contained herein at the date hereof and the Closing Date, to the accuracy of the statements of the Company made in any certificates pursuant to the provisions hereof, to the performance by the Company of their obligations hereunder and to the following additional conditions:

(a)    The Company shall have furnished to the Purchasers in form and substance satisfactory to the Purchasers, the opinion of Mark C. Darrell, Esq., Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of the Company, or such other counsel for the Company as may be acceptable to the Purchasers, dated the Closing Date, to the effect set forth hereto as Exhibit A-1, the opinion of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, dated the Closing Date, to the effect set forth hereto as Exhibit A-2, and the opinion of G. Edgar Downing, Jr., Esq., Corporate Counsel of Alabama Gas Corporation, an Alabama corporation that is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, dated the Closing Date, to the effect set forth hereto as Exhibit A-3.

(b)    The Purchasers shall have received from their counsel such opinion or opinions, dated the Closing Date, with respect to the issuance and sale of the Senior Notes, the Senior Indenture and such other related matters as the Purchasers may reasonably require, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel such documents as it requests for the purpose of enabling it to pass upon such matters.

(c)    The Company shall have furnished to the Purchasers a certificate signed on behalf of the Company by the President, an Executive Vice President or a Senior Vice President of the Company and the Chief Financial Officer or principal accounting officer of the Company, dated the Closing Date, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit B.

(d)    At or prior to the Closing Date, the Purchasers shall be in possession of the Junior Notes purchased by such Purchasers pursuant to the Junior Note Purchase Agreement, dated the date hereof.

If (i) any of the conditions specified in this Section 5 shall not have been fulfilled when and as provided in this Senior Notes Purchase Agreement, or (ii) any of the opinions and certificates mentioned above or elsewhere in this Senior Notes Purchase Agreement shall not be reasonably satisfactory in form and substance to the Purchasers and their counsel, this Senior Notes Purchase Agreement and all obligations of the Purchasers hereunder may be cancelled on, or at any time prior to, the Closing Date by the Purchasers. Notice of such cancellation shall be given to the Company in writing or by telephone or facsimile confirmed in writing.

 

9


6.     Reimbursement of Purchasers’ Expenses. If the sale of the Senior Notes provided for herein is not consummated because any condition to the obligations of the Purchasers set forth in Section 5 hereof is not satisfied, or because of any refusal, inability or failure on the part of the Company to perform any agreement herein or comply with any provision hereof, the Company will reimburse the Purchasers upon demand for all out-of-pocket expenses (including, without limitation, reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel (subject to Section 4(a) above)) that shall have been incurred by it in connection with the proposed purchase and sale of the Senior Notes.

7.     Resale of Senior Notes by Purchasers. (a)  The Company understands that each Purchaser may retain or sell the Senior Notes from time to time in its absolute discretion. If one or more Purchasers provide a written notice in the form set forth in Schedule C hereto that such Purchaser or Purchasers propose to make a public offering of the Senior Notes (a “ Public Offer Notice ”) with respect to at least $50 million aggregate principal amount of Senior Notes, then the provisions set forth in Annex A to Schedule C shall apply, and at the request of such Purchaser or Purchasers the Company shall enter into an underwriting agreement (the “ Underwriting Agreement ”), including terms and conditions consistent with the provisions of Annex A hereto, and take such other actions in connection therewith as such Purchaser or Purchasers shall request in order to expedite or facilitate the disposition of Senior Notes in the United States. Each Purchaser represents and warrants to, and agrees with, the Company that any sale or other disposition of the Senior Notes shall be made only pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Act, as contemplated by the provisions set forth in Annex A to Schedule C hereto.

(b)    Notwithstanding Section 7(a), the Company may suspend the use of the Prospectus (as defined in Annex A to Schedule C hereto) for a period not to exceed 60 consecutive days or an aggregate of 120 days in any 12-month period (each a “ Suspension Period ”) if (i) required by applicable law or (ii) the Chief Executive Officer or the Chief Financial Officer of the Company shall have determined in good faith that under circumstances related to acquisition or divestiture of assets, pending corporate developments, public filings with the Commission, or other similar events, it is in the best interests of the Company to suspend the use of the Prospectus, by giving written notice of such suspension to the Purchasers, which notice need not specify the nature of the event giving rise to such suspension; provided, however, that no Suspension Period pursuant to clause (ii) of this Section 7(b) shall commence prior to the date 10 days after the date of this Agreement.

8.     Representations and Agreements to Survive.  The respective agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of the Company or its officers set forth in or made pursuant to this Senior Notes Purchase Agreement will remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of the Purchasers or any of their officers, directors or controlling persons, and will survive delivery of and payment for the Senior Notes.

9.     Notices. Unless otherwise provided herein, all notices required under the terms and provisions hereof shall be in writing, either delivered by hand, by mail or by facsimile or electronic mail and confirmed to the recipient, and any such notice shall be effective when received: if sent to any Purchaser, at the address specified in Schedule A hereto; or if sent to the Company, to:

Spire Inc.

700 Market Street

St. Louis, Missouri 63101

Attn: Mark C. Darrell

Facsimile number: (314) 421-1979

 

10


10.     Successors.   This Senior Notes Purchase Agreement will inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors, and no other person will have any right or obligation hereunder.

11.     No Fiduciary Duty.  The Company acknowledges and agrees that:

(a)    each of the Purchasers is acting solely as a purchaser in connection with the sale of the Senior Notes and no fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship between the Company, on the one hand, and any of the Purchasers, on the other hand, has been created in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Senior Notes Purchase Agreement, irrespective of whether or not any of the Purchasers has advised or is advising the Company on other matters;

(b)    the price to be paid by the Purchasers for the Senior Notes set forth in this Senior Notes Purchase Agreement was established by the Company and the Purchasers following discussions and arms-length negotiations with the Purchasers;

(c)    it is capable of evaluating and understanding, and understands and accepts, the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated by this Senior Notes Purchase Agreement;

(d)    the Purchasers have not provided any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to the offering contemplated hereby and the Company has consulted its own legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate;

(e)    it is aware that the Purchasers and their respective affiliates are engaged in a broad range of transactions that may involve interests that differ from those of the Company and that none of the Purchasers has any obligation to disclose such interests and transactions to the Company by virtue of any fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship or otherwise; and

(f)    it waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims it may have against any of the Purchasers for breach of fiduciary duty or alleged breach of fiduciary duty and agrees that none of the Purchasers shall have any liability (whether direct or indirect, in contract, tort or otherwise) to it in respect of such a fiduciary duty claim or to any person or entity asserting a fiduciary duty claim on its behalf or in right of the Company or any stockholders, employees or creditors thereof.

12.     Integration. This Senior Notes Purchase Agreement supersedes all prior agreements and understandings (whether written or oral) among the Company and the Purchasers, or any of them, with respect to the subject matter hereof.

13.     Applicable Law. This Senior Notes Purchase Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

 

11


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the parties hereto has caused this Senior Notes Purchase Agreement to be executed as of the date first above written.

 

SPIRE INC.
By:  

/s/ Lynn D. Rawlings

  Name:   Lynn D. Rawlings
  Title:   Vice President, Treasurer and Assistant Corporate Secretary

[ Signature Page to the Securities Purchase and Registration Rights Agreement ]


CREDIT SUISSE SECURITIES (USA) LLC,

for itself and as Attorney-in-Fact for each of the several Purchasers named on Schedule B hereto

By:

 

/s/ Michael Proskin

 

Name: Michael Proskin

 

Title:   Managing Director

WELLS FARGO SECURITIES, LLC,

for itself and as Attorney-in-Fact for each of the several Purchasers named on Schedule B hereto

By:

 

/s/ Carolyn Hurley

 

Name: Carolyn Hurley

 

Title:   Director

[Signature Page to the Securities Purchase and Registration Rights Agreement]


EXHIBIT B

FORM OF OFFICERS’ CERTIFICATE

We the undersigned, hereby certify that we are duly elected, qualified and acting officers of Spire Inc., a Missouri corporation (the “ Company ”), and that, as such, we are authorized to execute and deliver this Officers’ Certificate on behalf of the Company. This Officers’ Certificate is being delivered in connection with the purchase of $143,750,000 3.543% Senior Notes due 2024 (collectively, the “ Senior Notes ”) of the Company by the several purchasers party to a Securities Purchase and Registration Rights Agreement, dated February 22, 2017, among the Company and such purchasers (the “ Senior Notes Purchase Agreement ”), and, if applicable, the resale by one or more of such purchasers of such Senior Notes pursuant to the Public Offer Notice(s), (each) dated                     , 2017, given by or on behalf of the purchasers named therein and received by the Company (collectively, the “ Public Offer Notices ”), hereby certifies to the several purchasers pursuant to Section 5(c) of the Senior Notes Purchase Agreement and, if applicable, Section 3(d) of Annex A to Schedule C of the Senior Notes Purchase Agreement and the Public Offer Notices that to the best of their knowledge after reasonable investigation:

(a)    The representations and warranties of the Company in the Senior Notes Purchase Agreement and, if applicable, Annex A to Schedule C of the Senior Notes Purchase Agreement are true and correct in all material respects as of the date hereof as though made on and as of this date;

(b)    The Company has complied in all material respects with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied pursuant to the Senior Notes Purchase Agreement and, if applicable, Annex A to Schedule C of the Senior Notes Purchase Agreement at or prior to the date hereof; and

(c)    If applicable, no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement and/or notice objecting to its use has been issued, and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are pending by the Securities and Exchange Commission as of the date hereof.

Capitalized terms used herein that are not otherwise defined shall have the meanings ascribed thereto in the Public Offer Notice(s) and the Senior Notes Purchase Agreement.

[ Signature Page Follows ]

 

E X . B-1


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto signed my name this            day of                    , 2017.

 

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

E X . B-2


EXHIBIT C

SUBSIDIARIES OF THE COMPANY

 

Name

  

Jurisdiction

of

Organization

  

Type of Entity

  

Names of General

Partners/Managing

Members

Alabama Gas Corporation

   Alabama    Corporation   

EnergySouth, Inc.

   Delaware    Corporation   

Laclede Gas Company

   Missouri    Corporation   

Laclede Pipeline Company

   Missouri    Corporation   

Laclede Investment LLC

   Missouri    Limited Liability Company    Spire Inc.

Laclede Development Company

   Missouri    Corporation   

Laclede Venture Corp.

   Missouri    Corporation   

Laclede Oil Services, LLC

   Missouri    Limited Liability Company    Laclede Development Company

Laclede Insurance Risk Services, Inc.

   South Carolina    Corporation   

Mobile Gas Service Corporation

   Alabama    Corporation   

Spire Marketing, Inc.

   Missouri    Corporation   

Spire Midstream LLC

   Missouri    Limited Liability Company    Spire Resources LLC

Spire Resources LLC

   Missouri    Limited Liability Company    Spire Inc.

Spire Storage Inc.

   Missouri    Corporation   

Spire STL Pipeline LLC

   Missouri    Limited Liability Company    Spire Midstream LLC

Willmut Gas and Oil Company

   Mississippi    Corporation   

 

E X . C-1


SCHEDULE A

Securities Purchase and Registration Rights Agreement dated February 22, 2017

 

Senior Indenture:    Indenture (for Unsecured Debt Securities), dated as of August 19, 2014 (the “Base Indenture”), between the Company and UMB Bank & Trust n.a., as the trustee (the “Senior Trustee”), as supplemented by the Second Supplemental Indenture, between the Company and the Trustee, dated as of February 27, 2017.
Title and Description of the Senior Notes:

Title:

   3.543% Senior Notes due 2024

Principal Amount:

   $143,750,000

Interest Rate:

   3.543% per annum

Interest Payment Dates:

   February 27 and August 27, commencing August 27, 2017, and at maturity
   Interest will accrue on the Senior Notes from and including the Closing Date at the Interest Rate set forth above

Maturity:

   February 27, 2024

Denominations:

   Beneficial interests in the Senior Notes will be held in minimum denominations of $2,000 and integral multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof

Sinking fund provisions:

   None

Redemption provisions:

   The notes may be redeemed (1) in whole or in part, at the Issuer’s option, at any time and from time to time on or after April 1, 2019 and prior to December 27, 2023 at Treasury Rate + 20 bps and (2) in whole, at the Issuer’s option, at any time on or after December 27, 2023 at par

Provisions regarding repayment at the option of Holders:

   None

 

Sch. A-1


Closing Date, Time and Location:    9:00 A.M., New York City Time, February 27, 2017, at the offices of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, 1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036, or at such other place as shall be agreed upon by the Company and the Purchasers

 

Sch. A-2


SCHEDULE B

 

Purchaser

   Principal
Amount of

Senior Notes
     Cash Payment      Principal
Amount of
Junior Notes
 

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC

   $ 49,550,000      $ 635,310.20      $ 49,550,000  

Wells Fargo Securities, LLC

   $ 49,550,000      $ 635,310.20      $ 49,550,000  

RBC Capital Markets, LLC

   $ 18,241,000      $ 233,878.78      $ 18,241,000  

Regions Securities LLC

   $ 18,241,000      $ 233,878.78      $ 18,241,000  

Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated

   $ 5,445,000      $ 69,813.60      $ 5,445,000  

Samuel A. Ramirez & Company, Inc.

   $ 2,723,000      $ 34,913.21      $ 2,723,000  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 143,750,000      $ 1,843,104.77      $ 143,750,000  

 

Sch. B-1


SCHEDULE C

FORM OF PUBLIC OFFER NOTICE

Public Offer Notice

                     , 2017

Spire Inc.

700 Market Street

St. Louis, Missouri 63101

Attn: Mark C. Darrell

Facsimile number: (314) 421-1979

Re:     3.543% Senior Notes due 2024

To Whom it May Concern:

Reference is made to the Securities Purchase and Registration Rights Agreement, dated February 22, 2017 (the “ Senior Notes Purchase Agreement ”), among Spire Inc. (the “ Company ”) and the several purchasers set forth on Schedule B thereto (the “ Purchasers ”).

This notice by or on behalf of the undersigned Purchaser or Purchasers (the “ Selling Securityholder(s) ”) constitutes a Public Offer Notice in accordance with Section 7 of the Senior Notes Purchase Agreement. The Selling Securityholder(s) intend(s) to make a public offering of the Senior Notes as soon after the execution hereof as in the judgment of the Selling Securityholder(s) is advisable, but in any event on or prior to the Applicable Time, and initially offer the Senior Notes on the terms set forth in the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus (each as defined in Annex A hereto). In accordance with Section 7 of the Senior Notes Purchase Agreement, the provisions of Annex A hereto shall apply to such public offering of the Senior Notes. For the purposes of this notice, including Annex A hereto, the “ Applicable Time ” shall be      :      [A.M.][P.M.], New York City time,                      , 20      , the “ Resale Closing Date ” shall be 9:00 A.M., New York City time,                      , 20      , and all deliveries required to be made on the Resale Closing Date shall be made at the offices of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, 1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036, or at such other place as shall be agreed upon by the Selling Securityholders and the Company.

 

Sch. C-1


 

Very truly yours,
CREDIT SUISSE SECURITIES (USA) LLC,
for itself and as Attorney-in-Fact for each of the several Selling Securityholders
By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:
WELLS FARGO SECURITIES, LLC,
for itself and as Attorney-in-Fact for each of the several Selling Securityholders
By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:

[ Signature Page to Public Offer Notice ]


Annex A

Capitalized terms used herein but not otherwise defined shall have the respective meanings ascribed thereto in the Senior Notes Purchase Agreement.

1.     Representations and Warranties . The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with the Selling Securityholders that:

(a)    The Company has prepared and previously delivered to the Selling Securityholders a preliminary prospectus supplement dated [●] relating to the Senior Notes and a related prospectus dated [●] (the “ Base Prospectus ”). Such preliminary prospectus supplement and Base Prospectus, including the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 under the Act, are hereinafter called, collectively, the “ Pre-Pricing Prospectus .” Promptly after the execution and delivery of this Agreement, the Company will prepare and file with the Commission a prospectus supplement dated [●] (the “ Prospectus Supplement ”) and will file the Prospectus Supplement and the Base Prospectus with the Commission , all in accordance with the provisions of Rule 430B and Rule 424(b), and the Company has previously advised the Selling Securityholders of all information (financial and other) that will be set forth therein. The Prospectus Supplement and the Base Prospectus, in the form first furnished to the Selling Securityholders for use in connection with the offering of the Senior Notes (whether to meet the request of purchasers pursuant to Rule 173(d) or otherwise), including the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 under the Act, are herein called, collectively, the “ Prospectus .”

(b)     Status as a Well-Known Seasoned Issuer . (A) At the respective times the Registration Statement or any amendments thereto were filed with the Commission, (B) at the time of the most recent amendment to the Registration Statement for the purposes of complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Act (whether such amendment was by post-effective amendment, incorporated report filed pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act or form of prospectus), (C) at any time the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this clause only, of paragraph (c) of Rule 163) made any offer relating to the Senior Notes in reliance on the exemption of Rule 163 and (D) at the date hereof, the Company was and is a “well-known seasoned issuer” as defined in Rule 405, including not having been and not being an “ineligible issuer” as defined in Rule 405 (without taking into account any determination made by the Commission pursuant to paragraph (2) of the definition of such term in Rule 405). The Registration Statement is an “automatic shelf registration statement,” as defined in Rule 405 and the Senior Notes, since their registration on the Registration Statement, have been and remain eligible for registration by the Company on such “automatic shelf registration statement.” The Company has not received from the Commission any notice pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) objecting to the use of the automatic shelf registration statement form. Any written communication that was an offer relating to the Senior Notes made by the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this sentence only, of paragraph (c) of Rule 163) prior to the filing of the Registration Statement has been filed with the Commission in accordance with Rule 163 and otherwise complied with the requirements of Rule 163, including without limitation the legending requirement, to qualify such offer for the exemption from Section 5(c) of the Act provided by Rule 163.

Registration Statement ” means the Company’s registration statement on Form S–3 (Registration No. 333-213759), as amended, and the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S–3 under the Act and the Rule 430B Information; provided that any Rule 430B Information shall be deemed part of the Registration Statement only from and after the time specified pursuant to Rule 430B.

 

An. A-1


(c)     Compliance with Registration Requirements . The Company meets the requirements for use of Form S-3 under the Act and the Senior Notes have been duly registered under the Act pursuant to the Registration Statement. The Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto has become effective under the Act, no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued under the Act, no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, are contemplated by the Commission, and any request on the part of the Commission for additional information has been complied with. The Registration Statement was initially filed with the Commission on [●].

(d)     Registration Statement, Prospectus and Disclosure at Time of Sale . At the respective times that the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto became effective, at the time the Company filed the Annual Report (including any amendment thereto) with the Commission, at each deemed effective date with respect to the Selling Securityholders pursuant to paragraph (f)(2) of Rule 430B, and at the Closing Date, the Registration Statement and any amendments to any of the foregoing complied and will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Act, the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder and the Trust Indenture Act and did not and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.

At the respective times the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto was filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) or issued, at the Closing Date, and at any time when a prospectus is required (or, but for the provisions of Rule 172, would be required) by applicable law to be delivered in connection with sales of Senior Notes (whether to meet the requests of purchasers pursuant to Rule 173(d) or otherwise), neither the Prospectus nor any amendment or supplement thereto included or will include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or will omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

As of the Applicable Time (except in the case of clause (z) below) and as of each time prior to the Closing Date that an investor agrees (orally or in writing) to purchase or, if applicable, reconfirms (orally or in writing) an agreement to purchase any Senior Notes from the Selling Securityholders, neither (x) the Pricing Term Sheet (as defined in Section 2(l) below), any other Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, issued at or prior to the Applicable Time and the Pre-Pricing Prospectus as of the Applicable Time, all considered together (collectively, the “ General Disclosure Package ”), nor (y) any individual Issuer Limited Use Free Writing Prospectus, when considered together with the General Disclosure Package, nor (z) any Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectuses issued subsequent to the Applicable Time, when considered together with the General Disclosure Package, included or will include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or will omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

Each preliminary prospectus and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements to any of the foregoing filed as part of the Registration Statement or any amendment thereto, or filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act, or delivered to the Selling Securityholders for use in connection with the offering of the Senior Notes, complied when so filed or when so delivered, as the case may be, in all material respects with the Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

An. A-2


The representations and warranties in the preceding paragraphs of this Section 1(d) do not apply to statements in or omissions from the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus, the General Disclosure Package or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Selling Securityholders expressly for use therein, or to any statements in or omissions from the Statement of Eligibility of the Trustee under the Indenture. The Indenture has been qualified under and conforms in all material respects to the Trust Indenture Act.

At the respective times that the Registration Statement or any amendment to any of the foregoing were filed and as of the earliest time after the filing of the Registration Statement that the Company or any other offering participant made a bona fide offer of the Senior Notes within the meaning of paragraph (h)(2) of Rule 164, and at the date hereof, the Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer” as defined in Rule 405, in each case without taking into account any determination made by the Commission pursuant to paragraph (2) of the definition of such term in Rule 405; and without limitation to the foregoing, the Company has at all relevant times met, meets and will at all relevant times meet the requirements of Rule 164 for the use of a free writing prospectus (as defined in Rule 405) in connection with the offering contemplated hereby.

The copies of the Registration Statement and any amendments to any of the foregoing and the copies of each preliminary prospectus, each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is required to be filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433 and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements to any of the foregoing that have been or subsequently are delivered to the Selling Securityholders in connection with the offering of the Senior Notes (whether to meet the request of purchasers pursuant to Rule 173(d) or otherwise) were and will be identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T of the Commission. For purposes of this Agreement, references to the “delivery” or “furnishing” of any of the foregoing documents to the Selling Securityholders, and any similar terms, include, without limitation, electronic delivery.

Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as of its issue date and at all subsequent times through the completion of the public offering and sale of the Senior Notes did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus that has not been superseded or modified.

As used in this subsection and elsewhere in this Annex A to the Public Offer Notice:

Issuer Free Writing Prospectus ” means any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, relating to the offering of the Senior Notes that (i) is required to be filed with the Commission by the Company, (ii) is a “road show” that is a “written communication” within the meaning of Rule 433(d)(8)(i), whether or not required to be filed with the Commission, or (iii) is exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i) because it contains a description of the Senior Notes or of the offering that does not reflect the final terms, and all free writing prospectuses that are listed in Schedule I hereto, in each case in the form filed or required to be filed with the Commission or, if not required to be filed, in the form retained in the Company’s records pursuant to Rule 433(g).

 

An. A-3


Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectus ” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is intended for general distribution to prospective investors, as evidenced by its being specified in Schedule I hereto.

Issuer Limited Use Free Writing Prospectus ” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is not an Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectus.

Statutory Prospectus ” as of any time means the prospectus relating to the Senior Notes that is included in the Registration Statement immediately prior to that time, including any document incorporated by reference therein and any preliminary or other prospectus deemed to be a part thereof.

(e)     Incorporated Documents . The documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus and the Prospectus, at the respective times they were or hereafter are filed with the Commission, complied and will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder and did not and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.

(f)     Independent Accountants . Deloitte & Touche LLP (“ D&T ”) are independent public accountants with respect to the Company as required by the Act, the Exchange Act, and, in each case, the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, and the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“ PCAOB ”).

(g)     Financial Statements . The financial statements of the Company included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, together with the related schedules (if any) and notes, present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries at the dates indicated and the results of operations, changes in stockholders’ equity and cash flows of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries for the periods specified; such financial statements have been prepared in conformity with GAAP applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved and comply with all applicable accounting requirements under the Act, the Exchange Act and, in each case, the regulations promulgated thereunder, as applicable. Any supporting schedules included in the Registration Statement presents fairly, in all material respects, in accordance with GAAP, the information required to be stated therein. The information in the Pre-Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus under the captions “Summary Historical Financial Information” presents fairly, in all material respects, the information shown therein and has been compiled on a basis consistent with that of the financial statements of the Company included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. No pro forma financial statements, and no financial statements of any entity or business other than the Company, are required to be included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus. The Company’s ratios of earnings to fixed charges included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus comply with Item 503(d) of Regulation S-K of the Commission. All “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined in the rules and regulations of the Commission), if any, contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus comply with Item 10(e) of Regulation S-K of the Commission, to the extent applicable.

(h)     Capitalization . The capitalization of the Company as of [●] is as set forth in the column entitled “Actual” and in the corresponding line items under the caption “Capitalization”

 

An. A-4


in the Pre-Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus and, at the time of the purchase of the Senior Notes by the Selling Securityholders on the Closing Date, the capitalization of the Company will be as set forth in the column entitled “As Adjusted” and in the corresponding line items under such caption (in each case except for issuances, if any, subsequent to [●] pursuant to employee or director stock option, stock purchase or other equity incentive plans or any dividend reinvestment plan described in the Pre-Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, upon the exercise of options issued pursuant to any such stock option, stock purchase or other equity incentive plans as so described, or upon the exercise of options described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus). The shares of issued and outstanding capital stock of the Company have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and non-assessable; and none of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company was issued in violation of any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other similar rights of any securityholder of the Company or any other person or entity.

(i)     Accuracy of Descriptions and Exhibits . The information in the Pre-Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus under the captions “Material United States Federal Income Tax Consequences” and the information in the Annual Report under the captions “Business—Regulatory Matters,” “Legal Proceedings,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Critical Accounting Estimates—Regulatory Accounting” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Regulatory and Other Matters,” and in Item 13 thereof under the caption “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence,” in each case to the extent that it constitutes matters of law, summaries of legal matters, summaries of provisions of the Company’s articles of incorporation or bylaws or any other instruments or agreements, summaries of legal proceedings, or legal conclusions, is correct in all material respects; all descriptions in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus of any other Company Documents are accurate in all material respects; and there are no franchises, contracts, indentures, mortgages, deeds of trust, loan or credit agreements, bonds, notes, debentures, evidences of indebtedness, leases or other instruments, agreements or documents required to be described or referred to in the Registration Statement, the Pre-Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus or the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement or the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein that have not been so described and filed as required.

(j)     Accounting and Disclosure Controls . The Company and its subsidiaries maintain and have established and maintained effective “internal control over financial reporting” (as defined in Rule 13a-15 under the Exchange Act). The Company and its subsidiaries maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (A) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (B) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain asset accountability; (C) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (D) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. Except as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there has not been, at any time during the Company’s three consecutive fiscal years ended with and including the Company’s most recent fiscal year for which audited financial statements are included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or at any time subsequent thereto, any material weakness (as defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X of the Commission) in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (whether or not remediated) and, except as otherwise disclosed in the Annual Report and the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for

 

An. A-5


the quarter ended [●], since the end of the Company’s most recent fiscal year for which audited financial statements are included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there has been no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. The Company and its subsidiaries have established, maintained and periodically evaluate the effectiveness of “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined in Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act); such disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act and the interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement are recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms, and is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its principal executive officer or officers and principal financial officer or officers, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding disclosure.

The Company’s independent public accountants and the audit committee of the Company’s board of directors have been advised of all material weaknesses, if any, and significant deficiencies (as defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X of the Commission), if any, in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting and of all fraud, if any, whether or not material, involving management or other employees who have a role in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting, in each case that occurred or existed, or was first detected, at any time during the Company’s five consecutive fiscal years ended with and including the Company’s most recent fiscal year for which audited financial statements are included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or at any time subsequent thereto.

(k)     Compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act . There is and has been no failure on the part of the Company or any of the Company’s directors or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply in all material respects with any provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder with which any of them is required to comply, including Section 402 thereof related to loans and Sections 302 and 906 thereof related to certifications.

(l)     Absence of Manipulation . The Company has not taken and will not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that would constitute or that might reasonably be expected to cause or result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security to facilitate the sale or resale of the Senior Notes.

(m)     Statistical and Market-Related Data . Any statistical, demographic, market-related and similar data included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company believes to be reliable and accurate and accurately reflect the materials upon which such data is based or from which it was derived.

(n)     Lending and Other Relationship . Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, (i) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has any lending or similar relationship with any Selling Securityholder or any bank or other lending institution affiliated with any Selling Securityholder; and (ii) there are and have been no transactions, arrangements or dealings between the Company or any of its subsidiaries, on one hand, and any Selling Securityholder or any of its “affiliates” or “associated persons” (as so defined), on the other hand, that, under FINRA Rule 5110 or 5121, must be disclosed in a submission to FINRA in connection with the sale of the Senior Notes contemplated hereby. Or disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or Prospectus

 

An. A-6


(o)     Offering Materials . Without limitation to the provisions of Section 8 hereof, the Company has not distributed and will not distribute, directly or indirectly (other than through the Selling Securityholders), any “written communication” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Act) or other offering materials in connection with the offering or sale of the Senior Notes, other than the Pre-Pricing Prospectus, the Prospectus, any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing that are filed with the SEC and any Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses (as defined in Section 8 hereof).

(p)     Interactive Data . The interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and has been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto.

(q)     No Conflict. The resale of the Senior Notes as contemplated by the Senior Notes Purchase Agreement and the Public Offer Notice and the compliance by the Company with all of the provisions of, and the consummation of the transactions contemplated in, the Senior Notes Purchase Agreement and the Public Offer Notice with respect to such resale will not (i) violate any law or any regulation, order, writ, injunction or decree of any court or governmental instrumentality applicable to the Company, (ii) result in a breach or violation of any of the terms and provisions of, or constitute a default under, the Articles of Incorporation or by-laws of the Company, or (iii) result in a breach or violation of any of the terms and provisions of, or constitute a default under, any material agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which it is bound, except in case of clause (i) or (iii) for such violations, breaches or defaults that would not in the aggregate have a material adverse effect on the ability of the Company to perform its obligations hereunder or thereunder.”

2.     Agreements . The Company agrees with the Selling Securityholders:

(a)      Compliance with Securities Regulations and Commission Requests . The Company, subject to Section 2(b) hereof, will comply with the requirements of Rule 430B and Rule 433 and will notify the Selling Securityholders immediately, and confirm the notice in writing, (i) when the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement shall become effective, or when any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing shall have been filed, (ii) of the receipt of any comments from the Commission (and shall promptly furnish the Representatives with a copy of any comment letters and any transcript of oral comments, and shall furnish the Selling Securityholders with copies of any written responses thereto a reasonable amount of time prior to the proposed filing thereof with the Commission and will not file any such response to which the Selling Securityholders or counsel for the Selling Securityholders shall reasonably object), (iii) of any request by the Commission for any amendment to the Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement to any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus, any document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or for additional information, (iv) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing, or any notice from the Commission objecting to the use of the form of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto, or of the suspension of the qualification of

 

An. A-7


the Senior Notes for offering or sale in any jurisdiction or of the loss or suspension of any exemption from any such qualification, or of the initiation or threatening of any proceedings for any of such purposes, or of any examination pursuant to Section 8(e) of the Act concerning the Registration Statement and (v) if the Company becomes the subject of a proceeding under Section 8A of the Act in connection with the offering of the Senior Notes. The Company will make every reasonable effort to prevent the issuance of any stop order and the suspension or loss of any qualification of the Senior Notes for offering or sale and any loss or suspension of any exemption from any such qualification, and if any such stop order is issued, or any such suspension or loss occurs, to obtain the lifting thereof at the earliest possible moment. The Company shall pay the required Commission filing fees relating to the Senior Notes within the time required by Rule 456(b)(1)(i) under the Act without regard to the proviso therein and otherwise in accordance with Rules 456(b) and 457(r) under the Act, except to the extent such filing fees have been paid prior to the date hereof.

(b)     Filing of Amendments. The Company will give the Selling Securityholders notice of its intention to file or prepare any amendment to the Registration Statement, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any amendment, supplement or revision to any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, whether pursuant to the Act or otherwise, and the Company will furnish the Selling Securityholders with copies of any such documents within a reasonable amount of time prior to such proposed filing or use, as the case may be, and will not file or use any such document to which the Selling Securityholders or counsel for the Selling Securityholders shall reasonably object. The Company has given the Selling Securityholders notice of any filings made pursuant to the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder within 48 hours prior to the Applicable Time. The Company will give the Representatives notice of its intention to make any filing pursuant to the Act or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder from the Applicable Time through the Closing Date (or, if later, through the end of the period during which the Prospectus is required (or, but for the provisions of Rule 172, would be required) to be delivered by applicable law (whether to meet the requests of purchasers pursuant to Rule 173(d) or otherwise)) and will furnish the Selling Securityholders with copies of any such documents a reasonable amount of time prior to such proposed filing, as the case may be, and will not file or use any such document to which the Selling Securityholders or counsel for the Selling Securityholders shall reasonably object.

(c)     Delivery of Registration Statements. The Company has furnished or will deliver to the Selling Securityholders and counsel for the Selling Securityholders, without charge, copies of the Registration Statement and of each amendment thereto (including exhibits filed therewith or incorporated by reference therein and documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein or otherwise deemed to be a part thereof) and copies of all consents and certificates of experts.

(d)     Delivery of Prospectuses. The Company will deliver to each Selling Securityholder, without charge, as many copies of each preliminary prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto as such Selling Securityholder reasonably requests, and the Company hereby consents to the use of such copies for purposes permitted by the Act. The Company will furnish to each Selling Securityholder, without charge, during the period when the Prospectus is required (or, but for the provisions of Rule 172, would be required) to be delivered by applicable law (whether to meet the request of purchasers pursuant to Rule 173(d) or otherwise), such number of copies of the Pre-Pricing Prospectus, the Prospectus and any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and any amendments or supplements to any of the foregoing as such Selling Securityholder may reasonably request.

 

An. A-8


(e)     Continued Compliance with Securities Laws. The Company will comply with the Act, the Exchange Act and, in each case, the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder so as to permit the completion of the distribution of the Senior Notes as contemplated by this Annex A, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. If at any time when a prospectus is required (or, but for the provisions of Rule 172, would be required) by applicable law to be delivered in connection with sales of the Senior Notes (whether to meet the request of purchasers pursuant to Rule 173(d) or otherwise), any event shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which it is necessary (or if the Selling Securityholders or counsel for the Selling Securityholders shall notify the Company that, in their judgment, it is necessary) to amend the Registration Statement or amend or supplement the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus so that the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, as the case may be, will not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made or then prevailing, not misleading or if it is necessary (or, if the Selling Securityholders or counsel for the Selling Securityholders shall notify the Company that, in their judgment, it is necessary) to amend the Registration Statement or amend or supplement the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus in order to comply with the requirements of the Act, the Exchange Act and, in each case, the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the Company will promptly notify the Selling Securityholders of such event or condition and of its intention to file such amendment or supplement (or, if the Selling Securityholders or counsel for the Selling Securityholders shall have notified the Company as aforesaid, the Company will promptly notify the Selling Securityholders of its intention to prepare such amendment or supplement) and will promptly prepare and file with the Commission, subject to Section 2(b) hereof, such amendment or supplement as may be necessary to correct such untrue statement or omission or to comply with such requirements, and, in the case of an amendment or post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement, the Company will use its reasonable best efforts to have such amendment become effective as soon as practicable, and the Company will furnish to the Selling Securityholders such number of copies of such amendment or supplement as the Selling Securityholders may reasonably request. If at any time an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus conflicts with the information contained in the Registration Statement or if an event shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which it is necessary (or, if the Selling Securityholders or counsel for the Selling Securityholders shall notify the Company that, in their judgment, it is necessary) to amend or supplement such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus so that it will not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made or then prevailing, not misleading, or if it is necessary (or, if the Selling Securityholders or counsel for the Selling Securityholders shall notify the Company that, in their judgment, it is necessary) to amend or supplement such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in order to comply with the requirements of the Act or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the Company will promptly notify the Selling Securityholders of such event or condition and of its intention to file such amendment or supplement (or, if the Selling Securityholders or counsel for the Selling Securityholders shall have notified the Company as aforesaid, the Company will promptly notify the Selling Securityholders of its intention to prepare such amendment or supplement) and will promptly prepare and, if required by the Act or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, file with the Commission, subject to Section 2(b) hereof, such amendment or supplement as may be necessary to eliminate or correct such conflict, untrue statement or omission or to comply with such requirements, and the Company will furnish to the Selling Securityholders such number of copies of such amendment or supplement as the Selling Securityholders may reasonably request.

(f)     Blue Sky and Other Qualifications . The Company will use its reasonable best efforts, in cooperation with the Selling Securityholders, to qualify the Senior Notes for offering

 

An. A-9


and sale, or to obtain an exemption for the Senior Notes to be offered and sold, under the applicable securities laws of such states and other jurisdictions (domestic or foreign) as the Selling Securityholders may designate and to maintain such qualifications and exemptions in effect for so long as required for the distribution of the Senior Notes (but in no event for a period of not less than one year from the date of this Annex A); provided, however, that the Company shall not be obligated to file any general consent to service of process or to qualify as a foreign corporation or as a dealer in securities in any jurisdiction in which it is not so qualified or to subject itself to taxation in respect of doing business in any jurisdiction in which it is not otherwise so subject. In each jurisdiction in which the Senior Notes have been so qualified or exempt, the Company will file such statements and reports as may be required by the laws of such jurisdiction to continue such qualification or exemption, as the case may be, in effect for so long as required for the distribution of the Senior Notes (but in no event for a period of not less than one year from the date of this Annex A).

(g)     Rule 158. The Company will timely file such reports pursuant to the Exchange Act as are necessary in order to make generally available to its securityholders as soon as practicable an earnings statement for the purposes of, and to provide to the Selling Securityholders the benefits contemplated by, the last paragraph of Section 11(a) of the Act.

(h)     Restriction on Sale of Securities. From and including the date of this Annex A through and including the earlier to occur of (i) Closing Date and (ii) the date of the termination of the fixed price offering restrictions applicable to the Selling Securityholders, the Company will not, without the prior written consent of the Selling Securityholders, issue, offer, pledge, assign, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option or right to sell or otherwise transfer or dispose of any debt securities of the Company that are similar to the Senior Notes (other than the Senior Notes issued under this Agreement or, if applicable, the Underwriting Agreement) or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for any debt securities of the Company that are similar to the Senior Notes.

(i)     Reporting Requirements. The Company, during the period when the Prospectus is required (or, but for the provisions of Rule 172, would be required) by applicable law to be delivered (whether to meet the request of purchasers pursuant to Rule 173(d) or otherwise), will file all documents required to be filed with the Commission pursuant to the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder within the time periods required by the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

(k)     Preparation of Prospectus. Immediately following the delivery of the Public Offer Notice or, if entry into an Underwriting Agreement is requested, the execution of the Underwriting Agreement, the Company will, subject to Section 2(b) hereof, prepare the Prospectus, which shall contain the public offering price and terms of the Senior Notes, the plan of distribution thereof and such other information as may be required by the Act or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder or as the Selling Securityholders and the Company may deem appropriate, and will file or transmit for filing the Prospectus with the Commission in accordance with the provisions of Rule 430B and in the manner and within the time period required by Rule 424(b) (without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8)).

(l)     Pricing Term Sheet . The Company will prepare a pricing term sheet (the “ Pricing Term Sheet ”) containing certain final terms of the Senior Notes in form and substance satisfactory to the Selling Securityholders, and will file the Term Sheet as an “issuer free writing prospectus” pursuant to Rule 433 in the manner and within the time period required by Rule 433;

 

An. A-10


provided that the Company shall furnish the Selling Securityholders with copies of the Pricing Term Sheet a reasonable amount of time prior to such proposed filing and will not use or file any such document to which the Selling Securityholders or counsel to the Selling Securityholders shall reasonably object.

3.     Conditions to the Resale of the Senior Notes .

The resale of the Senior Notes pursuant to this Annex A shall be subject, in the discretion of the Selling Securityholders, to the condition that all representations and warranties and other statements of the Company herein, or in certificates signed by any officer of the Company or any subsidiary of the Company (whether signed on behalf of such officer, the Company or such subsidiary) delivered to the Selling Securityholders or counsel for the Selling Securityholders, are, at and as of the date of the Public Offering Notice, as of the date of the effectiveness of any amendment to the Registration Statement filed, and the Resale Closing Date, true and correct, the condition that the Company shall have performed all of its covenants and other obligations hereunder theretofore to be performed, and the following additional conditions:

(a)     Effectiveness of Registration Statement. The Registration Statement shall have become effective, and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall have been issued under the Act or proceedings therefor initiated or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened by the Commission, any request on the part of the Commission for additional information shall have been complied with to the reasonable satisfaction of the Selling Securityholders and the Commission shall not have notified the Company of any objection to the use of the form of the Registration Statement. The Prospectus shall have been filed with the Commission in the manner and within the time period required by Rule 424(b) (without reliance upon clause (8) of Rule 424(b)) and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus required to be filed with the Commission shall have been filed in the manner and within the time period required by Rule 433, and, prior to the Closing Date, the Company shall have provided evidence satisfactory to the Representatives of such timely filings.

(b)     Opinion of Counsel for Company. At the Closing Date, the Selling Securityholders shall have received the favorable opinion, dated as of the Closing Date, of each of (i) Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, counsel for the Company, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives, to the effect set forth in Exhibit A to this Annex A and to such further effect as the Selling Securityholders may reasonably request and (ii) Mark C. Darrell, Esq., Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of the Company, in form and substance satisfactory to the Selling Securityholders, to the effect set forth in Exhibit B to this Annex A and to such further effect as the Selling Securityholders may reasonably request.

(c)     Opinion of Counsel for Selling Securityholders. At the Closing Date, the Selling Securityholders shall have received the favorable letter, dated as of the Closing Date, of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, counsel for the Selling Securityholders, with respect to the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto and such other matters as the Selling Securityholders may reasonably request.

(d)     Officers Certificate . At the Closing Date, there shall not have been, since the date hereof or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (in each case exclusive of any amendments or supplements thereto subsequent to the date of this Annex A), any material adverse change or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a material

 

An. A-11


adverse change in the condition (financial or other), results of operations, business, properties, management or business prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business, and, at the Closing Date, the Selling Securityholders shall have received a certificate, signed on behalf of the Company by the President, an Executive Vice President or a Senior Vice President of the Company and the Chief Financial Officer or principal accounting officer of the Company, dated as of the Closing Date, to the effect that (i) there has been no such material adverse change, (ii) the representations and warranties of the Company in this Annex A or, if entry into an Underwriting Agreement is requested, the Underwriting Agreement are true and correct at and as of the Closing Date with the same force and effect as though expressly made at and as of the Closing Date, (iii) the Company has complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied at or prior to the Closing Date under or pursuant to this Annex A or, if entry into an Underwriting Agreement is requested, the Underwriting Agreement and (iv) no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, are contemplated by the Commission and the Commission has not notified the Company of any objection to the use of the form of the Registration Statement.

(e)     Accountant’s Comfort Letter. At the time of the delivery of the Public Offer Notice or, if entry into an Underwriting Agreement is requested, the execution of the Underwriting Agreement, the Selling Securityholders shall have received the letter of D&T dated the date of the Public Offer Notice or Underwriting Agreement and in form and substance satisfactory to the Selling Securityholders and addressed to the Selling Securityholders, confirming that they are independent public accountants within the meaning of the Act with respect to the Company and are in compliance with the applicable requirements relating to the qualifications of accountants under Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X of the Commission and containing statements and information of the type ordinarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters with respect to the financial statements of the Company and certain financial information included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses (other than any electronic road show) and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements to any of the foregoing.

(f)     Bring-down Comfort Letter. At the Closing Date, the Selling Securityholders shall have received the letter of D&T dated as of the Closing Date and in form and substance satisfactory to the Selling Securityholders, to the effect that they reaffirm the statements made in their letter furnished pursuant to Section 5(e) hereof, except that the specified date referred to shall be a date not more than three business days prior to the Closing Date.

(g)     Additional Documents. At the Closing Date, counsel for the Selling Securityholders shall have been furnished with such documents and opinions as they may reasonably require for the purpose of enabling them to pass upon the issuance and sale of the Senior Notes as herein contemplated, or in order to evidence the accuracy of any of the representations or warranties, or the fulfillment of any of the conditions, contained herein or in the Underwriting Agreement, if applicable, or as the Selling Securityholders or counsel for the Selling Securityholders may otherwise reasonably request; and all proceedings taken by the Company in connection with the issuance and sale of the Senior Notes as herein contemplated and in connection with the other transactions contemplated hereby or by the Underwriting Agreement shall be satisfactory in form and substance to the Selling Securityholders.

If any condition specified in this Section 3 shall not have been fulfilled when and as required to be fulfilled, this Annex A may be terminated by the Selling Securityholders by notice to the Company at

 

An. A-12


any time on or prior to the Closing Date, and such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except as provided in Section 4 hereof and except that, in the case of any such termination of this Annex A, Sections 5, 7 and 8 hereof shall survive such termination of this Annex A and remain in full force and effect.

4.     Payment of Expenses.

(a)     Expenses. The Company will pay all expenses incident to the performance of its obligations, including (i) the preparation, printing and filing of the Registration Statement and each amendment thereto (in each case including exhibits) and any costs associated with electronic delivery of any of the foregoing, (ii) the word processing and delivery to the Selling Securityholders of the Underwriting Agreement and such other documents as may be required in connection with the offering, purchase, sale, issuance or delivery of the Senior Notes, (iii) the preparation, issuance and delivery of the certificates for the Senior Notes and the issuance and delivery of the Senior Notes to be sold by the Company to the Selling Securityholders, including any issue or other transfer taxes and any stamp or other taxes or duties payable in connection with the sale, issuance or delivery of the Senior Notes to the Selling Securityholders, (iv) the fees and disbursements of the counsel, accountants and other advisors to the Company, (v) the qualification or exemption of the Senior Notes under securities laws in accordance with the provisions of Section 2(f) hereof, including filing fees and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Selling Securityholders in connection therewith and in connection with the preparation of a blue sky survey and any supplements thereto, (vi) the preparation, printing and delivery to the Selling Securityholders of copies of each preliminary prospectus, any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements to any of the foregoing and any costs associated with electronic delivery of any of the foregoing, (vii) the preparation, printing and delivery to the Selling Securityholders of copies of a blue sky survey and any Canadian “wrapper” and any supplements thereto and any costs associated with electronic delivery of any of the foregoing, (viii) the fees and expenses of (including fees and disbursements of counsel for) the Senior Trustee in connection with the offer and sale of the Senior Notes, (ix) the filing fees incident to, and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel to the Selling Securityholders in connection with, the review, if any, by FINRA of the terms of the sale of the Senior Notes, (x) all fees charged by any rating agencies for rating the Senior Notes, (xi) all expenses and application fees incurred in connection with the approval of the Senior Notes for clearance, settlement and book-entry transfer through DTC and (xii) the costs and expenses of the Company and any of its officers, directors, counsel or other representatives in connection with presentations or meetings undertaken in connection with the offering of the Senior Notes, including, without limitation, expenses associated with the production of road show slides and graphics and the production and hosting of any electronic road shows, fees and expenses of any consultants engaged in connection with road show presentations, and travel, lodging, transportation, and other expenses of the officers, directors, counsel and other representatives of the Company incurred in connection with any such presentations or meetings.

(b)     Termination of Agreement. If this Annex A is terminated by the Selling Securityholders in accordance with the provisions of Section 3, 6(a)(i), 6(a)(iii)(A) or 6(a)(v) hereof, the Company shall reimburse the Selling Securityholders for all of its out-of-pocket expenses, including the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Selling Securityholders.

 

An. A-13


5.     Indemnification and Contribution.

(a)     Indemnification by the Company. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Selling Securityholder, its affiliates, and its and their officers, directors, employees, partners and members and each person, if any, who controls any Selling Securityholder within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act (each, a “ Company Indemnified Party ”) as follows:

(i) against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, to which such Company Indemnified Party may become subject, under the Act, the Exchange Act, other federal or state statutory law or regulation or otherwise, as incurred, arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, or arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact included in any preliminary prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing), or any “issuer information” (as defined in Rule 433), or any “road show” (as defined in Rule 433) that does not constitute an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;

(ii) against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred by such Company Indemnified Party, to the extent of the aggregate amount paid in settlement of any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or of any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission; provided that any such settlement is effected with the written consent of the Company; and

(iii) against any and all expense whatsoever, as incurred (including the fees and disbursements of counsel), reasonably incurred by such Company Indemnified Party in investigating, preparing for or defending against any subpoena or litigation, or any proceeding, subpoena or investigation by any governmental agency or body, whether commenced or threatened, or any loss, claim, damage, liability or action whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission, to the extent that any such expense is not paid under (i) or (ii) above,

provided, however, that this indemnity agreement shall not apply to any loss, liability, claim, damage or expense to the extent arising out of any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Selling Securityholders expressly for use in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), or arises out of, or is based on, statements or omissions from the part of the Registration Statement that shall constitute the Statement of Eligibility under the Trust Indenture Act of the Senior Trustee under the Senior Indenture, or in any preliminary prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (or in any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing), it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by the Selling Securityholders as aforesaid consists of the information described as such in Section 5(b) hereof.

 

An. A-14


(b)     Indemnification by the Selling Securityholders . Each Selling Securityholder agrees, severally and not jointly, to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its directors, each of its officers who signed the Registration Statement and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act (each, a “ Selling Securityholder Indemnified Party ”), against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense described in the indemnity contained in Section 5(a) hereof, to which such Selling Securityholder Indemnified Party may become subject, under the Act, the Exchange Act, other federal or state statutory law or regulation or otherwise, as incurred, but only with respect to untrue statements or omissions, or alleged untrue statements or omissions, made in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), or in any preliminary prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing), in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Selling Securityholders expressly for use therein. The Company hereby acknowledges and agrees that the information furnished to the Company by such Selling Securityholder expressly for use in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), or in any preliminary prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing), consists exclusively of the information regarding the beneficial ownership by such Selling Securityholder of the Secondary Notes set forth in the table under the caption “Selling Securityholders” in the Pre-Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus.

(c)     Actions Against Parties; Notification . Each Company Indemnified Party or Selling Securityholder Indemnified Party (in any such case, an “ Indemnified Party ”) shall give notice as promptly as reasonably practicable to each indemnifying party of any action commenced against it, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party under Section 5(a) or 5(b) hereof, but failure to so notify an indemnifying party shall not relieve such indemnifying party from any liability hereunder except to the extent that it has been materially prejudiced (through the forfeiture or impairment of procedural or substantive rights or defenses) by such failure, provided that the failure to notify such indemnifying party shall not relieve such indemnifying party from any liability that it may have to an Indemnified Party otherwise than under Section 5(a) or 5(b) above. Counsel to the Indemnified Parties shall be selected as follows: counsel to the Company Indemnified Parties shall be selected by the Selling Securityholders, and counsel to the Selling Securityholder Indemnified Parties shall be selected by the Company. An indemnifying party may, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, participate at its own expense in the defense of any such action; provided, however, that counsel to the indemnifying party shall not (except with the consent of an Indemnified Party) also be counsel to such Indemnified Party, and after notice from the indemnifying party to such Indemnified Party of its election so to assume the defense thereof, the indemnifying party will not be liable to such Indemnified Party under this Section 5 for any legal or other expenses subsequently incurred by such Indemnified Party in connection with the defense thereof other than reasonable costs of investigation. In no event shall the indemnifying party be liable for the fees and expenses of more than one counsel (in addition to any local counsel) separate from their own counsel for the Company Indemnified Parties and the fees and expenses of more than one counsel (in addition to any local counsel) separate from their own counsel for the Selling Securityholder Indemnified Parties, in each case in connection with any one action or separate but similar or related actions in the same jurisdiction arising out of the same general allegations or circumstances. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the Indemnified Parties, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever in respect of which indemnification or contribution could be sought under this Section 5 (whether or not the Indemnified Parties are actual or potential

 

An. A-15


parties thereto), unless such settlement, compromise or consent (i) includes an unconditional release of each Indemnified Party from all liability arising out of such litigation, investigation, proceeding or claim and (ii) does not include a statement as to, or an admission of, fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any Indemnified Party.

(d)     Settlement Without Consent if Failure to Reimburse . If at any time an Indemnified Party shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse such Indemnified Party for fees and expenses of counsel as contemplated by this Section 5, such indemnifying party agrees that it shall be liable for any settlement of the nature contemplated by Section 5(a)(ii) hereof effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 45 days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the aforesaid request, (ii) such indemnifying party shall have received notice of the terms of such settlement at least 30 days prior to such settlement being entered into and (iii) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed such Indemnified Party in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement.

(e)     Contribution . If the indemnification provided for in clauses (a) through (d) of this Section 5 is for any reason unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an Indemnified Party in respect of any losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such Indemnified Party as a result of such losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses incurred by such Indemnified Party, as incurred, (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Selling Securityholders on the other hand from the offering of the Senior Notes hereunder or pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and of the Selling Securityholders on the other hand in connection with the statements or omissions that resulted in such losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations.

The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Selling Securityholders on the other hand in connection with the offering of the Senior Notes hereunder or pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the total net proceeds from the sale of the Senior Notes to the Selling Securityholders pursuant to the Senior Notes Purchase Agreement (before deducting expenses) received by the Company and the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Selling Securityholders, in each case as set forth on the cover of the Prospectus, bear to the aggregate initial public offering price of the Senior Notes as set forth on such cover.

The relative fault of the Company on the one hand and the Selling Securityholders on the other hand shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether any such untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company on the one hand or by the Selling Securityholders on the other hand and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.

The Company and the Selling Securityholders agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this clause (e) were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Selling Securityholders were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation that does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above in this clause (e). The aggregate amount of losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses incurred by an Indemnified Party and referred to above in this clause (e) shall be deemed to include any legal

 

An. A-16


or other expenses reasonably incurred by such Indemnified Party in investigating, preparing for or defending against any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this clause (e), no Selling Securityholder shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Senior Notes underwritten by it and distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages that such Selling Securityholder has otherwise been required to pay by reason of any such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission.

No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person or entity who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.

For purposes of this clause (e), each affiliate of any Selling Securityholder, each officer, director, employee, partner and member of any Selling Securityholder or any such affiliate, and each person, if any, who controls any Selling Securityholder within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act shall have the same rights to contribution as such Selling Securityholder, and each director of the Company, each officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act shall have the same rights to contribution as the Company. The Selling Securityholders’ respective obligations to contribute pursuant to this clause (e) are several in proportion to the aggregate principal amount of Senior Notes set forth opposite their respective names in Schedule B to the Senior Notes Purchase Agreement and not joint.

6.     Termination of Agreement.

(a)     Termination; General. The Selling Securityholders may terminate this Annex A, by notice to the Company, at any time on or prior to the Closing Date (i) if there has been, at any time on or after the date of this Agreement or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (in each case exclusive of any amendments or supplements thereto subsequent to the date of delivery of the Public Offer Notice), any Material Adverse Effect or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, or (ii) if there has occurred any material adverse change in the financial markets in the United States or the international financial markets, any declaration of a national emergency or war by the United States, any outbreak of hostilities or escalation thereof or other calamity or crisis or any change or development involving a prospective change in national or international political, financial or economic conditions (including, without limitation, as a result of terrorist activities), in each case the effect of which is such as to make it, in the judgment of the Selling Securityholders, impracticable or inadvisable to market the Senior Notes or to enforce contracts for the sale of the Senior Notes, or (iii) if (A) trading in any securities of the Company has been suspended or materially limited by the Commission or the NYSE, or (B) trading generally on the NYSE, the Nasdaq Stock Market, or in the over-the-counter market has been suspended or limited, or minimum or maximum prices for trading have been fixed, or maximum ranges for prices have been required, by the NYSE or the Nasdaq Stock Market or by order of the Commission, FINRA or any other governmental authority, or (C) a material disruption has occurred in commercial banking or securities settlement, payment or clearance services in the United States or in Europe, or (iv) if a banking moratorium has been declared by either federal or New York authorities or (v) if there shall have occurred, at any time on or after

 

An. A-17


the date of the delivery of the Public Offer Notice, any downgrading in the rating of any debt securities of the Company or any of its subsidiaries by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization” (as defined in Section 3(a)(62) of the Exchange Act) or any public announcement that any such organization has placed its rating on the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any such debt securities under surveillance or review or on a so-called “watch list” (other than an announcement with positive implications of a possible upgrading, and no implication of a possible downgrading, of such rating) or any announcement by any such organization that the Company or any such debt securities has been placed on negative outlook.

(b)     Liabilities . If this Annex A is terminated in accordance with the procedures described in this Section 6, such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except as provided in Section 4 hereof and except that Sections 5, 7 and 8 hereof shall survive such termination and remain in full force and effect.

7.     Parties to Agreement.   This Annex A shall each inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Selling Securityholders, the Company and their respective successors. Nothing expressed or mentioned in this Annex A is intended or shall be construed to give any person, firm or corporation, other than the Selling Securityholders, the Company and their respective successors and the other Indemnified Parties and their successors, heirs and legal representatives, any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of this Annex A or any provision herein contained. This Annex A and all conditions and provisions hereof are intended to be for the sole and exclusive benefit of the Selling Securityholders and the Company and their respective successors, and the other Indemnified Parties and their successors, heirs and legal representatives, and for the benefit of no other person or entity. No purchaser of Senior Notes from any Selling Securityholder shall be deemed to be a successor by reason merely of such purchase.

8.     Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses . The Company represents, warrants and agrees that it has not made and, unless it obtains the prior written consent of the Selling Securityholders, it will not make, any offer relating to the Senior Notes that constitutes or would constitute an “issuer free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 433) or that otherwise constitutes or would constitute a “free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 405) or portion thereof required to be filed with the Commission or required to be retained by the Company pursuant to Rule 433; provided that the prior written consent of the Selling Securityholders shall be deemed to have been given in respect of the Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, listed on Schedule I hereto and, to any electronic road show in the form previously provided by the Company to and approved by the Representatives. Any such free writing prospectus consented to or deemed to have been consented to as aforesaid is hereinafter referred to as a “ Permitted Free Writing Prospectus ”. The Company represents, warrants and agrees that it has treated and will treat each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, and has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 applicable to any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the Commission where required, legending and record keeping. For the purposes of clarity, the parties hereto agree that all free writing prospectuses, if any, listed in Schedule I hereto are Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses.

 

An. A-18


SCHEDULE I TO ANNEX A

Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectus

Final Term Sheet dated [●].

 

(An. A) Sch I.-1

Exhibit 1.2

Executed Copy

 

 

Spire Inc.

$150,000,000 3.543% Senior Notes due 2024

UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

Dated: February 22, 2017

 

 

 


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

        Page  

SECTION 1.

  

REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

     2  

SECTION 2.

  

SALE AND DELIVERY TO UNDERWRITERS; CLOSING

     16  

SECTION 3.

  

COVENANTS OF THE COMPANY

     18  

SECTION 4.

  

PAYMENT OF EXPENSES

     22  

SECTION 5.

  

CONDITIONS OF UNDERWRITERS’ OBLIGATIONS

     22  

SECTION 6.

  

CONDITIONS OF THE SELLING SECURITYHOLDERS’ OBLIGATIONS

     25  

SECTION 7.

  

INDEMNIFICATION

     25  

SECTION 8.

  

CONTRIBUTION

     28  

SECTION 9.

  

REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES AND AGREEMENTS TO SURVIVE DELIVERY

     30  

SECTION 10.

  

TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT

     30  

SECTION 11.

  

DEFAULT BY ONE OR MORE OF THE UNDERWRITERS

     31  

SECTION 12.

  

NOTICES

     32  

SECTION 13.

  

PARTIES

     32  

SECTION 14.

  

GOVERNING LAW AND TIME

     32  

SECTION 15.

  

EFFECT OF HEADINGS; COUNTERPARTS

     32  

SECTION 16.

  

DEFINITIONS

     32  

SECTION 17.

  

PERMITTED FREE WRITING PROSPECTUSES

     36  

SECTION 18.

  

ABSENCE OF FIDUCIARY RELATIONSHIP

     36  

SECTION 19.

  

RESEARCH ANALYST INDEPENDENCE

     37  

SECTION 20.

  

TRIAL BY JURY

     37  

 

i


EXHIBITS

Exhibit A  –   Selling Securityholders

Exhibit B  –   Underwriters

Exhibit C  –   Pricing Term Sheet

Exhibit D  –   Subsidiaries of the Company

Exhibit E  –   Form of Opinion of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Exhibit F  –   Form of Opinion of Mark C. Darrell, Esq.

Exhibit G  –   Form of Opinion of G. Edgar Downing, Jr., Esq.

Exhibit H  –   Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectuses

 

 

ii


Spire Inc.

$150,000,000 3.543% Senior Notes due 2024

UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

February 22, 2017

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC

11 Madison Avenue

New York, New York 10010

Wells Fargo Securities, LLC

550 South Tryon Street, 5 th Floor

Charlotte, North Carolina 28202

As Representatives of the several Underwriters

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Spire Inc., a Missouri corporation (the “ Company ”), confirms its agreement with the several selling securityholders named in Exhibit A hereto (collectively, the “ Selling Securityholders ”) and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC (“ Credit Suisse ”) and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC (“ Wells Fargo ”) and each of the other Underwriters named in Exhibit B hereto (collectively, including Credit Suisse and Wells Fargo, the “ Underwriters ,” which term shall also include any underwriter substituted as hereinafter provided in Section 11 hereof), for whom Credit Suisse and Wells Fargo are acting as representatives (each of Credit Suisse and Wells Fargo, in such capacity, a “ Representative ” and, collectively, the “ Representatives ”), with respect to the sale by each of the Company and the Selling Securityholders and the purchase by the several Underwriters of an aggregate of $150,000,000 principal amount of the Company’s 3.543% Senior Notes due 2024 (the “ Securities ”), of which (i) an aggregate of $143,750,000 principal amount thereof (the “ Secondary Notes ”) are proposed to be sold by the Selling Securityholders and purchased by the Underwriters, in each case acting severally and not jointly, and (ii) an aggregate of $6,250,000 principal amount thereof (the “ Primary Notes ”) are proposed to be issued and sold by the Company and purchased by the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly. Certain terms used in this Underwriting Agreement (this “ Agreement ”) are defined in Section 16 hereof. If the Representatives are the only firms listed in Exhibit B hereto, then the terms “Underwriters” and “Representatives” as used herein shall each be deemed to refer to such firms.

The Securities will be issued pursuant to an Indenture, dated as of August 19, 2014, between the Company and UMB Bank & Trust, N.A., as trustee (the “ Trustee ”), as amended or supplemented prior to the Closing Date (as defined in Section 2(b) hereof) (as so amended or supplemented, the “ Base Indenture ”), and as to be further amended or supplemented by the Second Supplemental Indenture, dated as of the Closing Date, between the Company and the Trustee (the “ Supplemental Indenture ” and, together with the Base Indenture, the “ Indenture ”).

 

1


The Company understands that the Underwriters propose to make a public offering of the Securities as soon as the Representatives deem advisable after this Agreement has been executed and delivered.

The Company has prepared and previously delivered to you a preliminary prospectus supplement dated February 22, 2017 relating to the Securities and a related prospectus dated September 23, 2016 (the “ Base Prospectus ”). Such preliminary prospectus supplement and the Base Prospectus, including the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 under the 1933 Act, are hereinafter called, collectively, the “ Pre-Pricing Prospectus .” Promptly after the execution and delivery of this Agreement, the Company will prepare and file with the Commission a prospectus supplement dated February 22, 2017 (the “ Prospectus Supplement ”) and will file the Prospectus Supplement and the Base Prospectus with the Commission, all in accordance with the provisions of Rule 430B and Rule 424(b), and the Company has previously advised you of all information (financial and other) that will be set forth therein. The Prospectus Supplement and the Base Prospectus, in the form first furnished to the Underwriters for use in connection with the offering of the Securities (whether to meet the request of purchasers pursuant to Rule 173(d) or otherwise), including the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 under the 1933 Act, are herein called, collectively, the “ Prospectus .”

SECTION 1.     Representations and Warranties .

(a)     Representations and Warranties by the Company . The Company represents and warrants to each Underwriter as of the date hereof, as of the Applicable Time and as of the Closing Date and agrees with each Underwriter, as follows:

(1)     Status as a Well-Known Seasoned Issuer . (A) At the respective times the Registration Statement or any amendments thereto were filed with the Commission, (B) at the time of the most recent amendment to the Registration Statement for the purposes of complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the 1933 Act (whether such amendment was by post-effective amendment, incorporated report filed pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the 1934 Act or form of prospectus), (C) at any time the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this clause only, of paragraph (c) of Rule 163) made any offer relating to the Securities in reliance on the exemption of Rule 163 and (D) at the date hereof, the Company was and is a “well-known seasoned issuer” as defined in Rule 405, including not having been and not being an “ineligible issuer” as defined in Rule 405 (without taking into account any determination made by the Commission pursuant to paragraph (2) of the definition of such term in Rule 405). The Registration Statement is an “automatic shelf registration statement,” as defined in Rule 405 and the Securities, since their registration on the Registration Statement, have been and remain eligible for registration by the Company on such “automatic shelf registration statement.” The Company has not received from the Commission any notice pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) objecting to the use of the automatic shelf registration statement form. Any written communication that was an offer relating to the Securities made by the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this sentence only, of paragraph (c) of Rule 163) prior to the filing of the Registration

 

2


Statement has been filed with the Commission in accordance with Rule 163 and otherwise complied with the requirements of Rule 163, including without limitation the legending requirement, to qualify such offer for the exemption from Section 5(c) of the 1933 Act provided by Rule 163.

(2)     Compliance with Registration Requirements . The Company meets the requirements for use of Form S-3 under the 1933 Act and the Securities have been duly registered under the 1933 Act pursuant to the Registration Statement. The Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto has become effective under the 1933 Act, no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued under the 1933 Act, no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, are contemplated by the Commission, and any request on the part of the Commission for additional information has been complied with. The Registration Statement was initially filed with the Commission on September 23, 2016.

(3)     Registration Statement, Prospectus and Disclosure at Time of Sale . At the respective times that the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto became effective, at the time the Company filed the Annual Report (including any amendment thereto) with the Commission, at each deemed effective date with respect to the Underwriters pursuant to paragraph (f)(2) of Rule 430B, and at the Closing Date, the Registration Statement and any amendments to any of the foregoing complied and will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the 1933 Act, the 1933 Act Regulations and the 1939 Act and did not and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.

At the respective times the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto was filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) or issued, at the Closing Date, and at any time when a prospectus is required (or, but for the provisions of Rule 172, would be required) by applicable law to be delivered in connection with sales of Securities (whether to meet the requests of purchasers pursuant to Rule 173(d) or otherwise), neither the Prospectus nor any amendment or supplement thereto included or will include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or will omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

As of the Applicable Time (except in the case of clause (z) below) and as of each time prior to the Closing Date that an investor agrees (orally or in writing) to purchase or, if applicable, reconfirms (orally or in writing) an agreement to purchase any Securities from the Underwriters, neither (x) the Pricing Term Sheet (as defined in Section 3(l) below), any other Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, issued at or prior to the Applicable Time and the Pre-Pricing Prospectus as of the Applicable Time, all considered together (collectively, the “ General Disclosure Package ”), nor (y) any individual Issuer Limited Use Free Writing Prospectus, when considered together with the General Disclosure Package, nor (z) any Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectuses issued subsequent to the Applicable Time, when considered together with

 

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the General Disclosure Package, included or will include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or will omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

Each preliminary prospectus and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements to any of the foregoing filed as part of the Registration Statement or any amendment thereto, or filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the 1933 Act, or delivered to the Underwriters for use in connection with the offering of the Securities, complied when so filed or when so delivered, as the case may be, in all material respects with the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations.

The representations and warranties in the preceding paragraphs of this Section 1(a)(3) do not apply to statements in or omissions from the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus, the General Disclosure Package or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by any Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein or by any Selling Securityholder expressly for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by such Underwriter as aforesaid consists of the information described as such in Section 7(c) hereof and the only information furnished by such Selling Securityholder as aforesaid consists of the information described as such in Section 7(b) hereof, or to any statements in or omissions from the Statement of Eligibility of the Trustee under the Indenture. The Indenture has been qualified under and conforms in all material respects to the 1939 Act.

At the respective times that the Registration Statement or any amendment to any of the foregoing were filed and as of the earliest time after the filing of the Registration Statement that the Company or any other offering participant made a bona fide offer of the Securities within the meaning of paragraph (h)(2) of Rule 164, and at the date hereof, the Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer” as defined in Rule 405, in each case without taking into account any determination made by the Commission pursuant to paragraph (2) of the definition of such term in Rule 405; and without limitation to the foregoing, the Company has at all relevant times met, meets and will at all relevant times meet the requirements of Rule 164 for the use of a free writing prospectus (as defined in Rule 405) in connection with the offering contemplated hereby.

The copies of the Registration Statement and any amendments to any of the foregoing and the copies of each preliminary prospectus, each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is required to be filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433 and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements to any of the foregoing that have been or subsequently are delivered to the Underwriters in connection with the offering of the Securities (whether to meet the request of purchasers pursuant to Rule 173(d) or otherwise) were and will be identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T of the Commission. For purposes of this Agreement, references to the “delivery” or “furnishing” of any of the foregoing documents to the Underwriters, and any similar terms, include, without limitation, electronic delivery.

 

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Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as of its issue date and at all subsequent times through the completion of the public offering and sale of the Securities did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus that has not been superseded or modified.

(4)     Incorporated Documents . The documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus and the Prospectus, at the respective times they were or hereafter are filed with the Commission, complied and will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the 1934 Act and the 1934 Act Regulations and did not and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.

(5)     Independent Accountants . Deloitte & Touche LLP (“ D&T ”) are independent public accountants with respect to the Company as required by the 1933 Act, the 1933 Act Regulations, the 1934 Act, the 1934 Act Regulations and the PCAOB.

(6)     Financial Statements . The financial statements of the Company included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, together with the related schedules (if any) and notes, present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries at the dates indicated and the results of operations, changes in stockholders’ equity and cash flows of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries for the periods specified; such financial statements have been prepared in conformity with GAAP applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved and comply with all applicable accounting requirements under the 1933 Act, the 1933 Act Regulations, the 1934 Act and the 1934 Act Regulations, as applicable. Any supporting schedules included in the Registration Statement presents fairly, in all material respects, in accordance with GAAP, the information required to be stated therein. The information in the Pre-Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus under the caption “Summary Historical Financial Information” present fairly, in all material respects, the information shown therein and has been compiled on a basis consistent with that of the financial statements of the Company included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. No pro forma financial statements, and no financial statements of any entity or business other than the Company, are required to be included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus. The Company’s ratios of earnings to fixed charges included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus comply with Item 503(d) of Regulation S-K of the Commission. All “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined in the rules and regulations of the Commission), if any, contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus comply with Item 10(e) of Regulation S-K of the Commission, to the extent applicable.

 

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(7)     No Material Adverse Change in Business . Since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (in each case exclusive of any amendments or supplements thereto subsequent to the date of this Agreement), (A) there has been no material adverse change, or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a material adverse change, in the condition (financial or other), results of operations, business, properties, management or business prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business (a “ Material Adverse Effect ”); (B) except as otherwise disclosed in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (in each case exclusive of any amendments or supplements thereto subsequent to the date of this Agreement), neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has incurred any liability or obligation or entered into any transaction or agreement that, individually or in the aggregate, is material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole, and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has sustained any loss or interference with its business or operations from fire, explosion, flood, earthquake or other natural disaster or calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or disturbance or court or governmental action, order or decree that could reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect; and (C) except for regular quarterly cash dividends on the Company’s common stock in amounts per share that are consistent with past practice, there has been no dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made by the Company on any class of its capital stock.

(8)     Good Standing of the Company . The Company has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of Missouri and has power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement, the Indenture and the Securities; and the Company is duly qualified as a foreign corporation to transact business and is in good standing in each other jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure to so qualify or to be in good standing would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(9)     Good Standing of Subsidiaries . Each subsidiary of the Company has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation or limited liability company, as the case may be, in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, has power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus and is duly qualified as a foreign corporation or limited liability company, as the case may be, to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure to so qualify or to be in good standing would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect; except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of

 

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each such subsidiary that is a corporation and all of the issued and outstanding limited liability company interests, membership interests or other similar interests of each such subsidiary that is a limited liability company have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and are owned by the Company, directly or through subsidiaries, free and clear of any Lien. The only subsidiaries of the Company are the subsidiaries listed on Exhibit D hereto and Exhibit D hereto accurately sets forth whether each such subsidiary is a corporation or limited liability company and the jurisdiction of organization of each such subsidiary.

(10)     Capitalization . The capitalization of the Company as of December 31, 2016 is as set forth in the column entitled “Actual” and in the corresponding line items under the caption “Capitalization” in the Pre-Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus and, at the time of the purchase of the Securities by the Underwriters on the Closing Date, the capitalization of the Company will be as set forth in the column entitled “As Adjusted” and in the corresponding line items under such caption (in each case except for issuances, if any, subsequent to December 31, 2016 pursuant to employee or director stock option, stock purchase or other equity incentive plans or any dividend reinvestment plan described in the Pre-Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, upon the exercise of options issued pursuant to any such stock option, stock purchase or other equity incentive plans as so described, or upon the exercise of options described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus). The shares of issued and outstanding capital stock of the Company have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and non-assessable; and none of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company was issued in violation of any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other similar rights of any securityholder of the Company or any other person or entity.

(11)     Authorization of Agreement . This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.

(12)     The Securities . The Securities are in the form contemplated by the Indenture and have been duly authorized by the Company and, at the Closing Date, will have been duly executed by the Company and, when the Primary Notes are duly authenticated by the Trustee and delivered by the Company to the Underwriters against payment of the purchase price therefor as provided in this Agreement and the Secondary Notes are duly authenticated by the Trustee and delivered by the Company to the Selling Securityholders against payment of the purchase price therefor as provided in the Securities Purchase and Registration Rights Agreement, dated the date hereof, between the Company and the Selling Securityholders (the “ Securities Purchase and Registration Rights Agreement ”), the Securities will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, except as enforcement thereof may be limited by (i) bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent transfer and conveyance, reorganization, moratorium and similar laws affecting creditors’ rights and remedies generally including court decisions interpreting such laws, (ii) general principles of equity, including, without limitation, concepts of materiality, reasonableness, good faith and fair dealing (regardless of whether enforcement is sought in a proceeding at law or in equity), (iii) the power of courts to award damages in lieu of equitable remedies, (iv) laws and public policy underlying such laws with respect to

 

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rights to indemnification and contribution and (v) constitutional bounds on laws that govern the enforceability of choice of law provisions in agreements (the “ Enforceability Exceptions ”), and will be entitled to the benefits provided by the Indenture; and the Securities will conform in all material respects to the statements relating thereto contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.

(13)     The Indenture . The Indenture has been duly authorized by the Company; the Base Indenture has been and, at the Closing Date, the Supplemental Indenture will have been duly executed and delivered by the Company; assuming due authorization, execution and delivery by the Trustee, the Base Indenture constitutes and, as of the Closing Date, the Supplemental Indenture will constitute a valid and binding agreement of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except as enforcement thereof may be limited by the Enforceability Exceptions; and the Indenture will conform in all material respects to the statements relating thereto contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; and at the most recent effective date of the Registration Statement, the Indenture was duly qualified under the 1939 Act.

(14)     Absence of Defaults and Conflicts . Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in violation of its Organizational Documents or in default in the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any Company Document, except for such defaults that would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect. The execution and delivery of, and the performance by the Company of its obligations under, this Agreement, the Indenture and the Securities, and the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein and therein, do not and will not, whether with or without the giving of notice or passage of time or both, conflict with or constitute a breach of, or default, Termination Event or Repayment Event under, or result in the creation or imposition of any Lien upon any property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries pursuant to, any Company Documents, except for such conflicts, breaches, defaults or Liens that would neither, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect nor materially and adversely affect the performance by the Company of its obligations under this Agreement, the Indenture or the Securities, nor will such action result in any violation of (i) the provisions of the Organizational Documents of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or (ii) any applicable law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any government, government instrumentality or court, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their respective assets, properties or operations, except, in the case of clause (ii), for such violations that would neither, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect nor materially and adversely affect the performance by the Company of its obligations under this Agreement, the Indenture or the Securities.

(15)     Absence of Labor Dispute . No labor dispute with the employees of the Company or any subsidiary of the Company exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is imminent, and the Company is not aware of any existing or imminent labor disturbance by the employees of any of the principal suppliers, manufacturers, customers or contractors of the Company or any of its subsidiaries that might reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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(16)     Absence of Proceedings . There is no action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation before or brought by any court or governmental agency or body, domestic or foreign, now pending, or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, against or affecting the Company or any of its subsidiaries that is required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Pre-Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus (other than as disclosed therein), or that might reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect or to materially and adversely affect the consummation of the transactions contemplated in this Agreement or the performance by the Company of its obligations under this Agreement; and the aggregate of all pending legal or governmental proceedings to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or of which any of their respective property or assets is the subject that are not described in the Registration Statement, the Pre-Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, including ordinary routine litigation incidental to the business, would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(17)     Accuracy of Descriptions and Exhibits . The information in the Pre-Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus under the caption “Material United States Federal Income Tax Consequences” and the information in the Annual Report under the captions “Business—Regulatory Matters,” “Legal Proceedings,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Critical Accounting Estimates—Regulatory Accounting” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Regulatory and Other Matters,” and in Item 13 thereof under the caption “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence,” in each case to the extent that it constitutes matters of law, summaries of legal matters, summaries of provisions of the Company’s articles of incorporation or bylaws or any other instruments or agreements, summaries of legal proceedings, or legal conclusions, is correct in all material respects; all descriptions in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus of any other Company Documents are accurate in all material respects; and there are no franchises, contracts, indentures, mortgages, deeds of trust, loan or credit agreements, bonds, notes, debentures, evidences of indebtedness, leases or other instruments, agreements or documents required to be described or referred to in the Registration Statement, the Pre-Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus or the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement or the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein that have not been so described and filed as required.

(18)     Absence of Further Requirements . (A) No filing with, or authorization, approval, consent, license, order, registration, qualification or decree of, any court or governmental authority or agency, domestic or foreign, (B) no authorization, approval, vote or consent of any holder of capital stock or other securities of the Company or creditor of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, (C) no authorization, approval, waiver or consent under any Company Document and (D) no authorization, approval, vote or consent of any other person or entity is necessary or required for the authorization,

 

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execution, delivery or performance of this Agreement, the Indenture or the Securities by the Company, for the offering of the Securities as contemplated by this Agreement, or for the consummation of any of the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement, the Indenture or the Securities, in each case on the terms contemplated by the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, except (i) such as have been obtained or made, (ii) under the 1933 Act, the 1933 Act Regulations, the 1934 Act, the 1934 Act Regulations and the 1939 Act and (iii) that no representation is made as to such as may be required under state or foreign securities laws.

(19)     Possession of Licenses and Permits . The Company and its subsidiaries possess such permits, licenses, approvals, consents and other authorizations (collectively, “ Governmental Licenses ”) issued by the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign regulatory agencies or bodies necessary to conduct the business now operated by them; and, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect, the Company and its subsidiaries are in compliance with the terms and conditions of all such Governmental Licenses, all such Governmental Licenses are valid and in full force and effect; and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any such Governmental Licenses that individually or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, might reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(20)     Title to Property . The Company and its subsidiaries have good and marketable title in fee simple to all real property owned by any of them (if any) and good title to all other properties and assets owned by any of them, in each case, free and clear of all Liens (other than the Lien of the Existing Indentures) except such as (a) are described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or (b) are not, individually or in the aggregate, material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole, are not required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Pre-Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, do not, individually or in the aggregate, materially affect the value of such property and do not interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company or any of its subsidiaries; all real property, buildings and other improvements, and all equipment and other property held under lease or sublease by the Company or any of its subsidiaries is held by them under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases or subleases, as the case may be, with, solely in the case of leases or subleases relating to real property, buildings or other improvements, such exceptions as are not material and do not interfere with the use made or proposed to be made of such property and buildings or other improvements by the Company and its subsidiaries, and all such leases and subleases are in full force and effect; and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any notice of any claim of any sort that has been asserted by anyone adverse to the rights of the Company or any of its subsidiaries under any of the leases or subleases mentioned above or affecting or questioning the rights of the Company or any of its subsidiaries to the continued possession of the leased or subleased premises or to the continued use of the leased or subleased equipment or other property except for such claims that, if successfully asserted against the Company or any of its subsidiaries, would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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(21)     Investment Company Act . The Company is not, and upon the issuance and sale of the Securities as herein contemplated and the receipt and application of the net proceeds therefrom as described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus under the caption “Use Of Proceeds” will not be, an “investment company” or an entity “controlled” by an “investment company” (as such terms are defined in the 1940 Act).

(22)     Environmental Laws . Except as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect, (A) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in violation of any federal, state, local or foreign statute, law, rule, regulation, ordinance, code, policy or rule of common law or any judicial or administrative interpretation thereof, including any judicial or administrative order, consent, decree or judgment, relating to pollution or protection of human health, the environment (including, without limitation, ambient air, surface water, groundwater, land surface or subsurface strata) or wildlife, including, without limitation, laws and regulations relating to the release or threatened release of chemicals, pollutants, contaminants, wastes, toxic substances, hazardous substances, petroleum or petroleum products (collectively, “ Hazardous Materials ”) or to the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal, transport or handling of Hazardous Materials (collectively, “ Environmental Laws ”), (B) the Company and its subsidiaries have all permits, authorizations and approvals required under any applicable Environmental Laws and are each in compliance with their requirements, (C) there are no pending or threatened administrative, regulatory or judicial actions, suits, demands, demand letters, claims, Liens, notices of noncompliance or violation, investigation or proceedings relating to any Environmental Law against the Company or any of its subsidiaries and (D) there are no events or circumstances that might reasonably be expected to form the basis of an order for clean-up or remediation, or an action, suit or proceeding by any private party or governmental body or agency, against or affecting the Company or any of its subsidiaries relating to Hazardous Materials or any Environmental Laws.

(23)     Absence of Registration Rights . Other than the Selling Securityholders, there are no persons or entities with registration rights or other similar rights to have any securities (debt or equity) (A) registered pursuant to the Registration Statement or included in the offering contemplated by this Agreement or (B) otherwise registered by the Company under the 1933 Act, and there are no persons or entities with co-sale rights, tag-along rights or other similar rights to have any securities (debt or equity) included in the offering contemplated by this Agreement or sold in connection with the sale of the Securities.

(24)     Tax Returns . The Company and its subsidiaries have filed all federal, state and local tax returns that are required to be filed (or have obtained extensions thereof), except where the failure so to file would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect, and have paid all taxes (including, without limitation, any estimated taxes) required to be paid and any other assessment, fine or penalty, to the extent that any of the foregoing is due and payable, except for any such tax, assessment, fine or penalty that is currently being contested in good faith by appropriate actions and except for such taxes, assessments, fines or penalties the nonpayment of which would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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(25)     Insurance . The Company and its subsidiaries are insured by insurers of recognized financial responsibility against such losses and risks and in such amounts as are prudent and customary in the businesses in which they are engaged; all policies of insurance and any fidelity or surety bonds insuring the Company or any of its subsidiaries or their respective businesses, assets, employees, officers and directors are in full force and effect; the Company and its subsidiaries are in compliance with the terms of such policies and instruments in all material respects; and neither the Company nor any such subsidiary has any reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage from similar insurers at a cost that would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(26)     Accounting and Disclosure Controls . The Company and its subsidiaries maintain and have established and maintained effective “internal control over financial reporting” (as defined in Rule 13a-15 of the 1934 Act Regulations). The Company and its subsidiaries maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (A) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (B) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain asset accountability; (C) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (D) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. Except as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there has not been, at any time during the Company’s three consecutive fiscal years ended with and including the Company’s most recent fiscal year for which audited financial statements are included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or at any time subsequent thereto, any material weakness (as defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X of the Commission) in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (whether or not remediated) and, except as otherwise disclosed in the Annual Report and the Quarterly Report, since the end of the Company’s most recent fiscal year for which audited financial statements are included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there has been no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. The Company and its subsidiaries have established, maintained and periodically evaluate the effectiveness of “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined in Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 of the 1934 Act Regulations); such disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the 1934 Act and the interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement are recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms, and is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its principal executive officer or officers and principal financial officer or officers, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding disclosure.

 

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The Company’s independent public accountants and the audit committee of the Company’s board of directors have been advised of all material weaknesses, if any, and significant deficiencies (as defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X of the Commission), if any, in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting and of all fraud, if any, whether or not material, involving management or other employees who have a role in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting, in each case that occurred or existed, or was first detected, at any time during the Company’s five consecutive fiscal years ended with and including the Company’s most recent fiscal year for which audited financial statements are included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or at any time subsequent thereto.

(27)     Compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act . There is and has been no failure on the part of the Company or any of the Company’s directors or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply in all material respects with any provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act with which any of them is required to comply, including Section 402 thereof related to loans and Sections 302 and 906 thereof related to certifications.

(28)     Absence of Manipulation . The Company has not taken and will not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that would constitute or that might reasonably be expected to cause or result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security to facilitate the sale or resale of the Securities.

(29)     Statistical and Market-Related Data . Any statistical, demographic, market-related and similar data included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company believes to be reliable and accurate and accurately reflect the materials upon which such data is based or from which it was derived.

(30)     Foreign Corrupt Practices Act . Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee, affiliate or other person or entity acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is aware of or has taken any action, directly or indirectly, that has resulted or would result in a violation by any such person or entity of the FCPA, including, without limitation, any offer, payment, promise to pay or authorization of the payment of any money, or other property, gift, promise to give, or authorization of the giving of anything of value to any “foreign official” (as such term is defined in the FCPA) or any foreign political party or official thereof or any candidate for foreign political office, in contravention of the FCPA and the Company and its subsidiaries, and, to the knowledge of the Company, its other affiliates have conducted their businesses in compliance with the FCPA and have instituted and maintain policies and procedures designed to ensure, and that are reasonably expected to ensure, continued compliance therewith.

(31)     Money Laundering Laws . The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in material compliance with

 

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applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements, including those of the Bank Secrecy Act, as amended by Title III of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), the money laundering statutes of all applicable jurisdictions, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, “ Money Laundering Laws ”) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.

(32)     OFAC . Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee, affiliate or other person or entity acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC; and the Company will not directly or indirectly use any of the proceeds from the sale of the Securities by the Company in the offering contemplated by this Agreement, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available any such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity, for the purpose of financing the activities of any person or entity currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC.

(33)     ERISA Compliance . None of the following events has occurred or exists that might reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect: (i) a failure to fulfill the obligations, if any, under the minimum funding standards of Section 302 of ERISA with respect to a Plan (as defined below) determined without regard to any waiver of such obligations or extension of any amortization period; (ii) an audit or investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation or any other federal, state or foreign governmental or regulatory agency with respect to the employment or compensation of employees by the Company or any of its subsidiaries; or (iii) any breach of any contractual obligation, or any violation of law or applicable qualification standards, with respect to the employment or compensation of employees by the Company or any of its subsidiaries. None of the following events has occurred or is reasonably likely to occur that, individually or in the aggregate, could result in a Material Adverse Effect: (A) a material increase in the aggregate amount of contributions required to be made to all Plans in the current fiscal year of the Company and its subsidiaries compared to the amount of such contributions made in the Company’s most recently completed fiscal year; (B) a material increase in the “accumulated post-retirement benefit obligations” (within the meaning of Accounting Standards Codification Topic No. 715) of the Company and its subsidiaries compared to the amount of such obligations in the Company’s most recently completed fiscal year; (C) any event or condition giving rise to a liability under Title IV of ERISA; or (D) the filing of a claim by one or more employees or former employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries related to its or their employment. For purposes of this paragraph and the definition of ERISA, the term “ Plan ” means a plan (within the meaning of Section 3(3) of ERISA, which is subject to Title IV of ERISA, other than a “multiemployer plan” as defined in Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA) with respect to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries may have any liability.

 

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(34)     Lending and Other Relationship . Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, (i) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has any lending or similar relationship with any Underwriter or any bank or other lending institution affiliated with any Underwriter; (ii) the Company will not, directly or indirectly, use any of the proceeds from the sale of the Securities by the Company hereunder to reduce or retire the balance of any loan or credit facility extended by any Underwriter or any of its “affiliates” or “associated persons” (as such terms are used in FINRA Rule 5121) or otherwise direct any such proceeds to any Underwriter or any of its “affiliates” or “associated persons” (as so defined); and (iii) there are and have been no transactions, arrangements or dealings between the Company or any of its subsidiaries, on one hand, and any Underwriter or any of its “affiliates” or “associated persons” (as so defined), on the other hand, that, under FINRA Rule 5110 or 5121, must be disclosed in a submission to FINRA in connection with the offering of the Securities contemplated hereby or disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or Prospectus.

(35)     Offering Materials . Without limitation to the provisions of Section 17 hereof, the Company has not distributed and will not distribute, directly or indirectly (other than through the Underwriters), any “written communication” (as defined in Rule 405) or other offering materials in connection with the offering or sale of the Securities, other than the Pre-Pricing Prospectus, the Prospectus, any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing that are filed with the SEC and any Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses (as defined in Section 17 hereof).

(36)     No Restrictions on Dividends . Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is a party to or otherwise bound by any instrument or agreement that limits or prohibits or could limit or prohibit, directly or indirectly, the Company from paying any dividends or making other distributions on its capital stock, and no subsidiary of the Company is a party to or otherwise bound by any instrument or agreement that limits or prohibits or could limit or prohibit, directly or indirectly, any subsidiary of the Company from paying any dividends or making any other distributions on its capital stock, limited or general partnership interests, limited liability company interests, or other equity interests, as the case may be, or from repaying any loans or advances from, or (except for instruments or agreements that by their express terms prohibit the transfer or assignment thereof or of any rights thereunder) transferring any of its properties or assets to, the Company or any other subsidiary, in each case except under the Existing Indentures or as otherwise described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.

(37)     Brokers . There is not a broker, finder or other party that is entitled to receive from the Company any brokerage or finder’s fee or other fee or commission as a result of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except for underwriting discounts and commissions in connection with the sale of the Securities to the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement.

(38)     Interactive Data . The interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and has been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto.

 

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(b)     Representations and Warranties of the Selling Securityholders . Each Selling Securityholder, severally and not jointly, represents and warrants to each Underwriter as of the date hereof, as of the Applicable Time and as of the Closing Date and agrees with each Underwriter, as follows:

(1)    At the Closing Date, such Selling Securityholder will have good and marketable title to the Secondary Notes to be sold by it, free and clear of all Liens, and full right, power and authority to effect the sale and delivery of the Secondary Notes; and upon the delivery of, against payment for, the Secondary Notes pursuant to this Agreement, and assuming an Underwriter does not have notice of any adverse claim, such Underwriter will acquire good and marketable title thereto, free and clear of all Liens.

(2)    Such Selling Securityholder has full right, power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder, and this Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by or on behalf of such Selling Securityholder.

(3)    No consent, approval or waiver is required under any instrument or agreement to which such Selling Securityholder is a party or by which such Selling Securityholder is bound in connection with the offering, sale or purchase by the Underwriters of any of the Secondary Notes that may be sold by such Selling Securityholder under this Agreement or the consummation by such Selling Securityholder of any of the other transactions contemplated hereby.

(4)    Such Selling Securityholder will deliver to you prior to or at the Closing Date a properly completed and executed Internal Revenue Service Form W-9 (or other applicable form or statement specified by U.S. Treasury Department regulations in lieu thereof).

(6)    Such Selling Securityholder has not and until the Closing Date will not create any derivative or security linked to the Secondary Notes.

(c)     Certificates . Any certificate signed by any officer of the Company or any of its subsidiaries (whether signed on behalf of such officer, the Company or such subsidiary) or any representative of the Selling Securityholders and delivered to the Representatives or to counsel for the Underwriters shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company or the Selling Securityholders, as the case may be, to each Underwriter as to the matters covered thereby.

SECTION 2.     Sale and Delivery to Underwriters; Closing .

(a)     The Securities . On the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, (i) each Selling Securityholder, severally and not jointly, agrees to sell the principal amount of the Secondary

 

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Notes set forth opposite its name in Exhibit A hereto to the several Underwriters, and each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, agrees to purchase the principal amount of the Secondary Notes set forth opposite its name in Exhibit B hereto (plus any additional principal amount of the Secondary Notes that such Underwriter may become obligated to purchase pursuant to the provisions of Section 11 hereof) from the several Selling Securityholders, at a price equal to 99.175% of the principal amount thereof, and (ii) the Company agrees to sell to the Underwriters, severally and not jointly, the aggregate principal amount of the Primary Notes set forth in Exhibit B hereto, and each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, agrees to purchase the principal amount of the Primary Notes set forth opposite its name in Exhibit B hereto (plus any additional aggregate principal amount of Primary Notes that such Underwriter may become obligated to purchase pursuant to the provisions of Section 11 hereof) from the Company, at a price equal to 99.175% of the principal amount thereof.

(b)     Payment . Payment of the purchase price for, and delivery of, the Securities shall be made at the offices of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, 1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036, or at such other place as shall be agreed upon by the Representatives, the Selling Securityholders and the Company, at 9:00 a.m. (New York City time) on February 27, 2017 (unless postponed in accordance with the provisions of Section 11 hereof), or such other time not later than five business days after such date as shall be agreed upon by the Representatives, the Selling Securityholders and the Company (such time and date of payment and delivery being herein called the “ Closing Date ”).

Payment for the Securities will be made by wire transfer of immediately available funds to (i) in the case of the Secondary Notes, Credit Suisse, for the respective accounts of the Selling Securityholders, to a bank account designated by Credit Suisse against delivery to the Representatives, for the respective accounts of the Underwriters, of the Secondary Notes to be purchased by them and (ii) in the case of the Primary Notes, to the Company to a single bank account designated by the Company against delivery to the Representatives, for the respective accounts of the Underwriters, of the Primary Notes to be purchased by them, in each case with any transfer taxes payable in connection therewith duly paid by the Company. It is understood that each Underwriter has authorized the Representatives, for its account, to accept delivery of, receipt for, and make payment of the purchase price for, the Securities that it has agreed to purchase. Each of the Representatives, individually and not as a Representative of the Underwriters, may (but shall not be obligated to) make payment of the purchase price for the Securities to be purchased by any Underwriter whose funds have not been received by the Closing Date, but such payment shall not relieve such Underwriter from its obligations hereunder.

(c)     Delivery of Securities . The Company shall make one or more global certificates (collectively, the “ Global Securities ”) representing the Securities available for inspection by the Representatives not later than 1:00 p.m., New York City time, on the business day prior to the Closing Date and, on the Closing Date, the Company shall, upon the surrender for transfer of the Secondary Notes by the Representatives, deliver, or cause to be delivered, the Global Securities to DTC or to the Trustee, acting as custodian for DTC, as applicable, in accordance with the Indenture.

 

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SECTION 3.     Covenants of the Company . The Company covenants with each Underwriter as follows:

(a)     Compliance with Securities Regulations and Commission Requests . The Company, subject to Section 3(b) hereof, will comply with the requirements of Rule 430B and Rule 433 and will notify the Representatives immediately, and confirm the notice in writing, (i) when the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement shall become effective, or when any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing shall have been filed, (ii) of the receipt of any comments from the Commission (and shall promptly furnish the Representatives with a copy of any comment letters and any transcript of oral comments, and shall furnish the Representatives with copies of any written responses thereto a reasonable amount of time prior to the proposed filing thereof with the Commission and will not file any such response to which either Representative or counsel for the Underwriters shall reasonably object), (iii) of any request by the Commission for any amendment to the Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement to any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus, any document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or for additional information, (iv) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing, or any notice from the Commission objecting to the use of the form of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto, or of the suspension of the qualification of the Securities for offering or sale in any jurisdiction or of the loss or suspension of any exemption from any such qualification, or of the initiation or threatening of any proceedings for any of such purposes, or of any examination pursuant to Section 8(e) of the 1933 Act concerning the Registration Statement and (v) if the Company becomes the subject of a proceeding under Section 8A of the 1933 Act in connection with the offering of the Securities. The Company will make every reasonable effort to prevent the issuance of any stop order and the suspension or loss of any qualification of the Securities for offering or sale and any loss or suspension of any exemption from any such qualification, and if any such stop order is issued, or any such suspension or loss occurs, to obtain the lifting thereof at the earliest possible moment. The Company shall pay the required Commission filing fees relating to the Securities within the time required by Rule 456(b)(1)(i) of the 1933 Act Regulations without regard to the proviso therein and otherwise in accordance with Rules 456(b) and 457(r) of the 1933 Act Regulations, except to the extent such filing fees have been paid prior to the date hereof.

(b)     Filing of Amendments . The Company will give the Representatives notice of its intention to file or prepare any amendment to the Registration Statement, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any amendment, supplement or revision to any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, whether pursuant to the 1933 Act or otherwise, and the Company will furnish the Representatives with copies of any such documents within a reasonable amount of time prior to such proposed filing or use, as the case may be, and will not file or use any such document to which either

 

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Representative or counsel for the Underwriters shall reasonably object. The Company has given the Representatives notice of any filings made pursuant to the 1934 Act or the 1934 Act Regulations within 48 hours prior to the Applicable Time. The Company will give the Representatives notice of its intention to make any filing pursuant to the 1934 Act or the 1934 Act Regulations from the Applicable Time through the Closing Date (or, if later, through the end of the period during which the Prospectus is required (or, but for the provisions of Rule 172, would be required) to be delivered by applicable law (whether to meet the requests of purchasers pursuant to Rule 173(d) or otherwise)) and will furnish the Representatives with copies of any such documents a reasonable amount of time prior to such proposed filing, as the case may be, and will not file or use any such document to which either Representative or counsel for the Underwriters shall reasonably object.

(c)     Delivery of Registration Statements . The Company has furnished or will deliver to the Representatives and counsel for the Underwriters, without charge, copies of the Registration Statement and of each amendment thereto (including exhibits filed therewith or incorporated by reference therein and documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein or otherwise deemed to be a part thereof) and copies of all consents and certificates of experts.

(d)     Delivery of Prospectuses . The Company has delivered to each Underwriter, without charge, as many copies of each preliminary prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto as such Underwriter reasonably requested, and the Company hereby consents to the use of such copies for purposes permitted by the 1933 Act. The Company will furnish to each Underwriter, without charge, during the period when the Prospectus is required (or, but for the provisions of Rule 172, would be required) to be delivered by applicable law (whether to meet the request of purchasers pursuant to Rule 173(d) or otherwise), such number of copies of the Pre-Pricing Prospectus, the Prospectus and any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and any amendments or supplements to any of the foregoing as such Underwriter may reasonably request.

(e)     Continued Compliance with Securities Laws . The Company will comply with the 1933 Act, the 1933 Act Regulations, the 1934 Act and the 1934 Act Regulations so as to permit the completion of the distribution of the Securities as contemplated by this Agreement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. If at any time when a prospectus is required (or, but for the provisions of Rule 172, would be required) by applicable law to be delivered in connection with sales of the Securities (whether to meet the request of purchasers pursuant to Rule 173(d) or otherwise), any event shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which it is necessary (or if either Representative or counsel for the Underwriters shall notify the Company that, in its judgment, it is necessary) to amend the Registration Statement or amend or supplement the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus so that the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, as the case may be, will not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made or then prevailing, not misleading or if it is necessary (or, if either Representative or counsel for the Underwriters shall notify the Company that, in its judgment, it is necessary) to amend the Registration Statement or amend or supplement the General Disclosure Package or

 

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the Prospectus in order to comply with the requirements of the 1933 Act, the 1933 Act Regulations, the 1934 Act or the 1934 Act Regulations, the Company will promptly notify the Representatives of such event or condition and of its intention to file such amendment or supplement (or, if either Representative or counsel for the Underwriters shall have notified the Company as aforesaid, the Company will promptly notify the Representatives of its intention to prepare such amendment or supplement) and will promptly prepare and file with the Commission, subject to Section 3(b) hereof, such amendment or supplement as may be necessary to correct such untrue statement or omission or to comply with such requirements, and, in the case of an amendment or post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement, the Company will use its reasonable best efforts to have such amendment become effective as soon as practicable, and the Company will furnish to the Underwriters such number of copies of such amendment or supplement as the Underwriters may reasonably request. If at any time an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus conflicts with the information contained in the Registration Statement or if an event shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which it is necessary (or, if either Representative or counsel for the Underwriters shall notify the Company that, in its judgment, it is necessary) to amend or supplement such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus so that it will not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made or then prevailing, not misleading, or if it is necessary (or, if either Representative or counsel for the Underwriters shall notify the Company that, in its judgment, it is necessary) to amend or supplement such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in order to comply with the requirements of the 1933 Act or the 1933 Act Regulations, the Company will promptly notify the Representatives of such event or condition and of its intention to file such amendment or supplement (or, if either Representative or counsel for the Underwriters shall have notified the Company as aforesaid, the Company will promptly notify the Representatives of its intention to prepare such amendment or supplement) and will promptly prepare and, if required by the 1933 Act or the 1933 Act Regulations, file with the Commission, subject to Section 3(b) hereof, such amendment or supplement as may be necessary to eliminate or correct such conflict, untrue statement or omission or to comply with such requirements, and the Company will furnish to the Underwriters such number of copies of such amendment or supplement as the Underwriters may reasonably request.

(f)     Blue Sky and Other Qualifications . The Company will use its reasonable best efforts, in cooperation with the Underwriters, to qualify the Securities for offering and sale, or to obtain an exemption for the Securities to be offered and sold, under the applicable securities laws of such states and other jurisdictions (domestic or foreign) as the Representatives may designate and to maintain such qualifications and exemptions in effect for so long as required for the distribution of the Securities (but in no event for a period of not less than one year from the date of this Agreement); provided, however, that the Company shall not be obligated to file any general consent to service of process or to qualify as a foreign corporation or as a dealer in securities in any jurisdiction in which it is not so qualified or to subject itself to taxation in respect of doing business in any jurisdiction in which it is not otherwise so subject. In each jurisdiction in which the Securities have been so qualified or exempt, the Company will file such statements and reports as may be required by the laws of such jurisdiction to continue such qualification

 

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or exemption, as the case may be, in effect for so long as required for the distribution of the Securities (but in no event for a period of not less than one year from the date of this Agreement).

(g)     Rule  158 . The Company will timely file such reports pursuant to the 1934 Act as are necessary in order to make generally available to its securityholders as soon as practicable an earnings statement for the purposes of, and to provide to the Underwriters the benefits contemplated by, the last paragraph of Section 11(a) of the 1933 Act.

(h)     Use of Proceeds . The Company will use the net proceeds received by it from the sale of the Primary Notes in the manner specified in the Pre-Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus under “Use of Proceeds.”

(i)     Restriction on Sale of Securities . From and including the date of this Agreement through and including the earlier to occur of (i) Closing Date and (ii) the date of the termination of the fixed price offering restrictions applicable to the Underwriters, the Company will not, without the prior written consent of the Representatives, issue, offer, pledge, assign, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option or right to sell or otherwise transfer or dispose of any debt securities of the Company that are similar to the Securities (other than the Securities issued under this Agreement or the Securities Purchase and Registration Rights Agreement) or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for any debt securities of the Company that are similar to the Securities.

(j)     Reporting Requirements . The Company, during the period when the Prospectus is required (or, but for the provisions of Rule 172, would be required) by applicable law to be delivered (whether to meet the request of purchasers pursuant to Rule 173(d) or otherwise), will file all documents required to be filed with the Commission pursuant to the 1934 Act and the 1934 Act Regulations within the time periods required by the 1934 Act and the 1934 Act Regulations.

(k)     Preparation of Prospectus . Immediately following the execution of this Agreement, the Company will, subject to Section 3(b) hereof, prepare the Prospectus, which shall contain the public offering price and terms of the Securities, the plan of distribution thereof and such other information as may be required by the 1933 Act or the 1933 Act Regulations or as the Representatives and the Company may deem appropriate, and will file or transmit for filing the Prospectus with the Commission in accordance with the provisions of Rule 430B and in the manner and within the time period required by Rule 424(b) (without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8)).

(l)     Pricing Term Sheet . The Company will prepare a pricing term sheet (the “ Pricing Term Sheet ”) containing certain final terms of the Securities, in substantially the form attached hereto as Exhibit C and otherwise in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives, and will file the Term Sheet as an “issuer free writing prospectus” pursuant to Rule 433 in the manner and within the time period required by Rule 433; provided that the Company shall furnish the Representatives with copies of the Pricing Term Sheet a reasonable amount of time prior to such proposed filing and will not use or file any such document to which the Representatives or counsel for the Underwriters shall reasonably object.

 

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SECTION 4.     Payment of Expenses .

(a)     Expenses . The Company will pay all expenses incident to the performance of its obligations, including (i) the preparation, printing and filing of the Registration Statement and each amendment thereto (in each case including exhibits) and any costs associated with electronic delivery of any of the foregoing, (ii) the word processing and delivery to the Underwriters of this Agreement, the Supplemental Indenture and such other documents as may be required in connection with the offering, purchase, sale, issuance or delivery of the Securities, (iii) the preparation, issuance and delivery of the certificates for the Securities and the issuance and delivery of the Securities to be sold by the Company to the Underwriters, including any issue or other transfer taxes and any stamp or other taxes or duties payable in connection with the sale, issuance or delivery of the Securities to the Underwriters, (iv) the fees and disbursements of the counsel, accountants and other advisors to the Company, (v) the qualification or exemption of the Securities under securities laws in accordance with the provisions of Section 3(f) hereof, including filing fees and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection therewith and in connection with the preparation of a blue sky survey and any supplements thereto, (vi) the preparation, printing and delivery to the Underwriters of copies of each preliminary prospectus, any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements to any of the foregoing and any costs associated with electronic delivery of any of the foregoing, (vii) the preparation, printing and delivery to the Underwriters of copies of a blue sky survey and any Canadian “wrapper” and any supplements thereto and any costs associated with electronic delivery of any of the foregoing, (viii) the fees and expenses of (including fees and disbursements of counsel for) the Trustee in connection with the offer and sale of the Securities, (ix) the filing fees incident to, and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection with, the review, if any, by FINRA of the terms of the sale of the Securities, (x) all fees charged by any rating agencies for rating the Securities, (xi) all expenses and application fees incurred in connection with the approval of the Securities for clearance, settlement and book-entry transfer through DTC and (xii) the costs and expenses of the Company and any of its officers, directors, counsel or other representatives in connection with presentations or meetings undertaken in connection with the offering of the Securities, including, without limitation, expenses associated with the production of road show slides and graphics and the production and hosting of any electronic road shows, fees and expenses of any consultants engaged in connection with road show presentations, and travel, lodging, transportation, and other expenses of the officers, directors, counsel and other representatives of the Company incurred in connection with any such presentations or meetings.

(b)     Termination of Agreement . If this Agreement is terminated by the Representatives in accordance with the provisions of Section 5, 10(a)(i), 10(a)(iii)(A) or 10(a)(v) hereof, the Company shall reimburse the Underwriters for all of their out-of-pocket expenses, including the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters.

SECTION 5.     Conditions of Underwriters Obligations . The obligations of the several Underwriters hereunder are subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company and the Selling Securityholders contained in this Agreement, or in certificates signed

 

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by any officer of the Company or any subsidiary of the Company (whether signed on behalf of such officer, the Company or such subsidiary) or any representative of the Selling Securityholders delivered to the Representatives or counsel for the Underwriters, to the performance by the Company and the Selling Securityholders of their respective covenants and other obligations hereunder, and to the following further conditions:

(a)     Effectiveness of Registration Statement . The Registration Statement shall have become effective, and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall have been issued under the 1933 Act or proceedings therefor initiated or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened by the Commission, any request on the part of the Commission for additional information shall have been complied with to the reasonable satisfaction of the Representatives and the Commission shall not have notified the Company of any objection to the use of the form of the Registration Statement. The Prospectus shall have been filed with the Commission in the manner and within the time period required by Rule 424(b) (without reliance upon clause (8) of Rule 424(b)) and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus required to be filed with the Commission shall have been filed in the manner and within the time period required by Rule 433, and, prior to the Closing Date, the Company shall have provided evidence satisfactory to the Representatives of such timely filings.

(b)     Opinion of Counsel for Company . At the Closing Date, the Representatives shall have received the favorable opinion, dated as of the Closing Date, of each of (i) Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, counsel for the Company, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives, together with signed or reproduced copies of such opinion for each of the other Underwriters, to the effect set forth in Exhibit E hereto and to such further effect as the Representatives may reasonably request, (ii) Mark C. Darrell, Esq., Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of the Company, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives, together with signed or reproduced copies of such opinion for each of the other Underwriters, to the effect set forth in Exhibit F hereto and to such further effect as the Representatives may reasonably request and (iii) G. Edgar Downing, Jr., Esq., Corporate Counsel of Alabama Gas Corporation, an Alabama corporation that is wholly owned by the Company, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative, together with signed or reproduced copies of such opinion for each of the other Underwriters, to the effect set forth in Exhibit G hereto and to such further effect as the Representatives may reasonably request.

(c)     Opinion of Counsel for Underwriters . At the Closing Date, the Representatives shall have received the favorable letter, dated as of the Closing Date, of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, counsel for the Underwriters (“ Underwriters’ Counsel ”), together with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for each of the other Underwriters, with respect to the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto and such other matters as the Representatives may reasonably request.

(d)     Officers Certificate . At the Closing Date, there shall not have been, since the date hereof or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the

 

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Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (in each case exclusive of any amendments or supplements thereto subsequent to the date of this Agreement), any material adverse change or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a material adverse change in the condition (financial or other), results of operations, business, properties, management or business prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business, and, at the Closing Date, the Representatives shall have received a certificate, signed on behalf of the Company by the President, an Executive Vice President or a Senior Vice President of the Company and the Chief Financial Officer or principal accounting officer of the Company, dated as of the Closing Date, to the effect that (i) there has been no such material adverse change, (ii) the representations and warranties of the Company in this Agreement are true and correct at and as of the Closing Date with the same force and effect as though expressly made at and as of the Closing Date, (iii) the Company has complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied at or prior to the Closing Date under or pursuant to this Agreement and (iv) no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, are contemplated by the Commission and the Commission has not notified the Company of any objection to the use of the form of the Registration Statement.

(e)     Accountant’s Comfort Letter . At the time of the execution of this Agreement, the Representatives shall have received the letter of D&T dated the date of this Agreement and in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives and addressed to the Underwriters, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for each of the other Underwriters, confirming that they are independent public accountants within the meaning of the 1933 Act with respect to the Company and are in compliance with the applicable requirements relating to the qualifications of accountants under Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X of the Commission and containing statements and information of the type ordinarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters with respect to the financial statements of the Company and certain financial information included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses (other than any electronic road show) and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements to any of the foregoing.

(f)     Bring-down Comfort Letter . At the Closing Date, the Representatives shall have received the letter of D&T dated as of the Closing Date and in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives, to the effect that they reaffirm the statements made in their letter furnished pursuant to Section 5(e) hereof, except that the specified date referred to shall be a date not more than three business days prior to the Closing Date.

(g)     Additional Documents . At the Closing Date, counsel for the Underwriters shall have been furnished with such documents and opinions as they may reasonably require for the purpose of enabling them to pass upon the issuance and sale of the Securities as herein contemplated, or in order to evidence the accuracy of any of the representations or warranties, or the fulfillment of any of the conditions, contained in this

 

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Agreement, or as either Representative or counsel for the Underwriters may otherwise reasonably request; and all proceedings taken by the Company in connection with the issuance and sale of the Securities as herein contemplated and in connection with the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement shall be satisfactory in form and substance to the Representatives.

(h)     Termination of Agreement . If any condition specified in this Section 5 shall not have been fulfilled when and as required to be fulfilled, this Agreement may be terminated by the Representatives by notice to the Company and the Selling Securityholders at any time on or prior to the Closing Date, and such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except as provided in Section 4 hereof and except that, in the case of any such termination of this Agreement, Sections 1, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19 and 20 hereof shall survive such termination of this Agreement and remain in full force and effect.

SECTION 6.     Conditions of the Selling Securityholders Obligations . The obligations of the Selling Securityholders to sell and deliver the Secondary Notes on the Closing Date are subject to the conditions that at the Closing Date (i) they shall have purchased the Secondary Notes pursuant to the Securities Purchase and Registration Rights Agreement and (ii) no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued under the 1933 Act and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, are contemplated by the Commission. If such conditions shall not have been satisfied, this Agreement may be terminated by the Selling Securityholders by notice to the Company and the Representatives, without liability of any party to any other party except as provided in Section 4 hereof and except that, in the case of any such termination of this Agreement, Sections 1, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19 and 20 hereof shall survive such termination of this Agreement and remain in full force and effect.

SECTION 7.     Indemnification .

(a)     Indemnification by the Company . The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless (i) each Underwriter, its affiliates and its and their officers, directors, employees, partners and members and each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act (each, an “ Underwriter Indemnified Party ”) and (ii) each Selling Securityholder, its affiliates and its and their officers, directors, employees, partners and members and each person, if any, who controls any Selling Securityholder within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act (each, a “ Selling Securityholder Indemnified Party ”) as follows:

(A)    against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, to which any such Indemnified Party may become subject, under the 1933 Act, the 1934 Act, other federal or state statutory law or regulation or otherwise, as incurred, arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, or arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue

 

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statement of a material fact included in any preliminary prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing), or any “issuer information” (as defined in Rule 433), or any “road show” (as defined in Rule 433) that does not constitute an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;

(B)    against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred by any such Indemnified Party, to the extent of the aggregate amount paid in settlement of any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or of any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission; provided that any such settlement is effected with the written consent of the Company; and

(C)    against any and all expense whatsoever, as incurred (including the fees and disbursements of counsel), reasonably incurred by any such Indemnified Party in investigating, preparing for or defending against any subpoena or litigation, or any proceeding, subpoena or investigation by any governmental agency or body, whether commenced or threatened, or any loss, claim, damage, liability or action whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission, to the extent that any such expense is not paid under paragraph (A) or (B) above,

provided, however, that this indemnity agreement shall not apply to any loss, liability, claim, damage or expense to the extent arising out of any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by any Underwriter through the Representatives or by any Selling Securityholder, in each case expressly for use in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), or arises out of, or is based on, statements or omissions from the part of the Registration Statement that shall constitute the Statement of Eligibility under the 1939 Act of the Trustee under the Indenture, or in any preliminary prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (or in any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing), it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by such Underwriter as aforesaid consists of the information described as such in Section 7(c) hereof and the only information furnished by such Selling Securityholder as aforesaid consists of the information described as such in Section 7(b) hereof.

(b)     Indemnification by the Selling Securityholders . Each Selling Securityholder agrees, severally and not jointly, to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its directors, each of its officers who signed the Registration Statement (each, a “ Company Indemnified Party ”), each Underwriter Indemnified Party and each other Selling Securityholder Indemnified Party against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense described in the indemnity contained in Section 7(a) hereof, to which any such Indemnified Party may become subject, under the 1933 Act, the 1934 Act, other federal or state statutory law or regulation or otherwise, as incurred, but only with respect to untrue statements or omissions, or alleged untrue statements

 

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or omissions, made in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), or in any preliminary prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing), in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by such Selling Securityholder expressly for use therein. The Company hereby acknowledges and agrees that the information furnished to the Company by such Selling Securityholder expressly for use in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), or in any preliminary prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing), consists exclusively of the information regarding the beneficial ownership by such Selling Securityholder of the Secondary Notes set forth in the table under the caption “Selling Securityholders” in the Pre-Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus.

(c)     Indemnification by the Underwriters . Each Underwriter agrees, severally and not jointly, to indemnify and hold harmless each Company Indemnified Party and each Selling Securityholder Indemnified Party against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense described in the indemnity contained in Section 7(a) hereof, to which such Indemnified Party may become subject, under the 1933 Act, the 1934 Act, other federal or state statutory law or regulation or otherwise, as incurred, but only with respect to untrue statements or omissions, or alleged untrue statements or omissions, made in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), or in any preliminary prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing), in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by such Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein. The Company hereby acknowledges and agrees that the information furnished to the Company by the Underwriters through the Representatives expressly for use in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), or in any preliminary prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing), consists exclusively of the following information appearing in the Pre-Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus: (i) the information regarding the concession and reallowance appearing in the third paragraph under the caption “Underwriting” therein and (ii) the information regarding market making, stabilization, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids appearing in the second, third and fourth paragraphs under the second table set forth in such caption (but only insofar as such information concerns the Underwriters).

(d)     Actions Against Parties; Notification . Each Company Indemnified Party, Selling Securityholder Indemnified Party or Underwriter Indemnified Party (in any such case, an “ Indemnified Party ”) shall give notice as promptly as reasonably practicable to each indemnifying party of any action commenced against it, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party under Section 7(a), 7(b) or 7(c) hereof, but failure to so notify an indemnifying party shall not relieve such indemnifying party from any liability hereunder except to the extent that it has been materially prejudiced (through the forfeiture or impairment of procedural or substantive rights or defenses) by such failure, provided that the failure to notify such indemnifying party shall not relieve such indemnifying party from any liability that it may have to an Indemnified Party otherwise than under Section 7(a), 7(b) or 7(c) above. Counsel for the Indemnified Parties shall be selected as follows: counsel for the Company Indemnified Parties shall be selected by the Company, counsel for the Selling Securityholder Indemnified Parties shall be selected by Credit Suisse and Wells Fargo and counsel for the

 

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Underwriter Indemnified Parties shall be selected by the Representatives. An indemnifying party may, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, participate at its own expense in the defense of any such action; provided, however, that counsel for the indemnifying party shall not (except with the consent of an Indemnified Party) also be counsel for such Indemnified Party. In no event shall the indemnifying party be liable for the fees and expenses of more than one counsel (in addition to any local counsel) separate from their own counsel for the Company Indemnified Parties, the fees and expenses of more than one counsel (in addition to any local counsel) separate from their own counsel for the Selling Securityholder Indemnified Parties and the fees and expenses of more than one counsel (in addition to any local counsel) separate from their own counsel for the Underwriter Indemnified Parties, in each case in connection with any one action or separate but similar or related actions in the same jurisdiction arising out of the same general allegations or circumstances. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the Indemnified Parties, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever in respect of which indemnification or contribution could be sought under this Section 7 or Section 8 hereof (whether or not the Indemnified Parties are actual or potential parties thereto), unless such settlement, compromise or consent (i) includes an unconditional release of each Indemnified Party from all liability arising out of such litigation, investigation, proceeding or claim and (ii) does not include a statement as to, or an admission of, fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any Indemnified Party.

(e)     Settlement Without Consent if Failure to Reimburse . If at any time an Indemnified Party shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse such Indemnified Party for fees and expenses of counsel as contemplated by this Section 7, such indemnifying party agrees that it shall be liable for any settlement of the nature contemplated by paragraph (B) of Section 7(a) hereof effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 45 days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the aforesaid request, (ii) such indemnifying party shall have received notice of the terms of such settlement at least 30 days prior to such settlement being entered into and (iii) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed such Indemnified Party in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement.

SECTION 8.     Contribution . If the indemnification provided for in Section 7 hereof is for any reason unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an Indemnified Party in respect of any losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such Indemnified Party as a result of such losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses incurred by such Indemnified Party, as incurred, (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company or the Selling Securityholders, as the case may be, on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other hand from the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the Company or the Selling Securityholders, as the case may be, on the one hand and of the Underwriters on the other hand in connection with the statements or omissions that resulted in such losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations.

 

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The relative benefits received by the Company, the Selling Securityholders and the Underwriters, respectively, in connection with the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the total net proceeds from the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement (before deducting expenses) received by the Company or the Selling Securityholders, as the case may be, and the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters, in each case as set forth on the cover of the Prospectus, bear to the aggregate initial public offering price of the Securities as set forth on such cover.

The relative fault of the Company, the Selling Securityholders and the Underwriters, respectively, shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether any such untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company, the Selling Securityholders or the Underwriters, and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 8, no Selling Securityholder shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the aggregate proceeds from the sale of the Secondary Notes sold by such Selling Securityholder exceeds the amount of the purchase price paid by such Selling Securityholder for such Secondary Notes pursuant to the Securities Purchase and Registration Rights Agreement, which amount shall be deemed to equal the purchase price paid by such Selling Securityholder for the Junior Notes (as defined in the Securities Purchase and Registration Rights Agreement) delivered by such Selling Securityholder thereunder net of the cash payment received by such Selling Securityholder pursuant thereto.

The Company, the Selling Securityholders and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 8 were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation that does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above in this Section 8. The aggregate amount of losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses incurred by an Indemnified Party and referred to above in this Section 8 shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such Indemnified Party in investigating, preparing for or defending against any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 8, no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Securities underwritten by it and distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages that such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of any such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission.

No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the 1933 Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person or entity who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.

 

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For purposes of this Section 8, each affiliate of any Selling Securityholder or Underwriter, each officer, director, employee, partner and member of any Selling Securityholder or Underwriter or any such affiliate, and each person, if any, who controls any Selling Securityholder or Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act shall have the same rights to contribution as such Selling Securityholder or Underwriter, and each director of the Company, each officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act shall have the same rights to contribution as the Company. Each Underwriter’s obligation to contribute pursuant to this Section 8 is several in proportion to the principal amount of Securities set forth opposite its name in Exhibit B hereto and not joint.

SECTION 9.     Representations, Warranties and Agreements to Survive Delivery . All representations, warranties and agreements contained in this Agreement or in certificates signed by any officer of the Company or any of its subsidiaries (whether signed on behalf of such officer, the Company or such subsidiary) or any representative of the Selling Securityholders and delivered to the Representatives or counsel for the Underwriters, shall remain operative and in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of any Underwriter, any officer, director, employee, partner, member or agent of any Underwriter or any person or entity controlling any Underwriter, by or on behalf of any Selling Securityholder, any officer, director, employee, partner, member or agent of any Selling Securityholder or any person or entity controlling any Selling Securityholder or by or on behalf of the Company, any officer, director or employee of the Company or any person or entity controlling the Company and shall survive delivery of and payment for the Securities.

SECTION 10.     Termination of Agreement .

(a)     Termination; General . The Representatives may terminate this Agreement, by notice to the Company and the Selling Securityholders, at any time on or prior to the Closing Date (i) if there has been, at any time on or after the date of this Agreement or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (in each case exclusive of any amendments or supplements thereto subsequent to the date of this Agreement), any Material Adverse Effect or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, or (ii) if there has occurred any material adverse change in the financial markets in the United States or the international financial markets, any declaration of a national emergency or war by the United States, any outbreak of hostilities or escalation thereof or other calamity or crisis or any change or development involving a prospective change in national or international political, financial or economic conditions (including, without limitation, as a result of terrorist activities), in each case the effect of which is such as to make it, in the judgment of the Representatives, impracticable or inadvisable to market the Securities or to enforce contracts for the sale of the Securities, or (iii) if (A) trading in any securities of the Company has been suspended or materially limited by the Commission or the NYSE or (B) trading generally on the NYSE, the Nasdaq Stock Market, or in the over-the-counter market has been suspended or limited, or minimum or maximum prices for trading have been fixed, or maximum ranges for prices have been required, by the NYSE or the Nasdaq Stock Market or by order of the Commission, FINRA or any other governmental authority, or (C) a material disruption has occurred in commercial banking or securities

 

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settlement, payment or clearance services in the United States or in Europe, or (iv) if a banking moratorium has been declared by either federal or New York authorities or (v) if there shall have occurred, at any time on or after the date of this Agreement, any downgrading in the rating of any debt securities of the Company or any of its subsidiaries by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization” (as defined in Section 3(a)(62) of the 1934 Act) or any public announcement that any such organization has placed its rating on the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any such debt securities under surveillance or review or on a so-called “watch list” (other than an announcement with positive implications of a possible upgrading, and no implication of a possible downgrading, of such rating) or any announcement by any such organization that the Company or any such debt securities has been placed on negative outlook.

(b)     Liabilities . If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to this Section 10, such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except as provided in Section 4 hereof and except that Sections 1, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19 and 20 hereof shall survive such termination and remain in full force and effect.

SECTION 11.     Default by One or More of the Underwriters . If one or more of the Underwriters shall fail at the Closing Date to purchase the Securities that it or they are obligated to purchase under this Agreement (the “ Defaulted Securities ”), the Representatives shall have the right, within 24 hours thereafter, to make arrangements for one or more of the non-defaulting Underwriters, or any other underwriters, to purchase all, but not less than all, of the Defaulted Securities in such amounts as may be agreed upon and upon the terms herein set forth; if, however, the Representatives shall not have completed such arrangements within such 24-hour period, then:

(1)    if the aggregate principal amount of Defaulted Securities does not exceed 10% of the aggregate principal amount of Securities to be purchased on such date, each of the non-defaulting Underwriters shall be obligated, severally and not jointly, to purchase the full amount of such Defaulted Securities in the proportions that their respective underwriting obligations hereunder bear to the underwriting obligations of all non-defaulting Underwriters; or

(2)    if the aggregate principal amount of Defaulted Securities exceeds 10% of the aggregate principal amount of Securities to be purchased on such date, this Agreement shall terminate without liability on the part of any non-defaulting Underwriter.

No action taken pursuant to this Section 11 shall relieve any defaulting Underwriter from liability in respect of its default.

In the event of any such default that does not result in a termination of this Agreement, the Representatives shall have the right to postpone the Closing Date for a period not exceeding seven days in order to effect any required changes in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or Prospectus or in any other documents or arrangements. As used herein, the term “Underwriter” includes any person substituted for an Underwriter under this Section 11.

 

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SECTION 12.     Notices . All notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing, shall be effective only upon receipt and shall be mailed, delivered by hand or overnight courier, or transmitted by fax (with the receipt of such fax to be confirmed by telephone). Notices to (a) the Underwriters shall be directed to the Representatives c/o Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Eleven Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10010-3629, Attention: LCD-IBD and c/o Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, 550 South Tryon Street, 5 th Floor, Charlotte, North Carolina 28202, Attention: Transaction Management, (b) the Selling Securityholders shall be directed to Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Eleven Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10010-3629, Attention: LCD-IBD and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, 550 South Tryon Street, 5 th Floor, Charlotte, North Carolina 28202, Attention: Transaction Management and (c) the Company shall be directed to it at Spire Inc., 700 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri, 63101, Attention of Mark C. Darrell, fax no. 314-421-1979 (with such fax to be confirmed by telephone to 314-342-0520).

SECTION 13.     Parties . This Agreement shall each inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Underwriters, the Selling Securityholders and the Company and their respective successors. Nothing expressed or mentioned in this Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give any person, firm or corporation, other than the Underwriters, the Selling Securityholders, the Company and their respective successors and the other Indemnified Parties and their successors, heirs and legal representatives, any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement or any provision herein contained. This Agreement and all conditions and provisions hereof are intended to be for the sole and exclusive benefit of the Underwriters, the Selling Securityholders and the Company and their respective successors, and the other Indemnified Parties and their successors, heirs and legal representatives, and for the benefit of no other person or entity. No purchaser of Securities from any Underwriter shall be deemed to be a successor by reason merely of such purchase.

SECTION 14.     GOVERNING LAW AND TIME . THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE EXPRESSLY SET FORTH HEREIN, SPECIFIED TIMES OF DAY REFER TO NEW YORK CITY TIME.

SECTION 15.     Effect of Headings ; Counterparts . The Section and Exhibit headings herein are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction hereof. This Agreement may be executed by any one or more of the parties hereto in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all such respective counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument.

SECTION 16.     Definitions . As used in this Agreement, the following terms have the respective meanings set forth below:

Annual Report ” means the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2016, as amended.

Applicable Time ” means 3:35 p.m. (New York City time) on February 22, 2017 or such other time as agreed by the Company, the Selling Securityholders and the Representatives.

 

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Commission ” means the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Company Documents ” means all other contracts, indentures, mortgages, deeds of trust, loan or credit agreements, bonds, notes, debentures, evidences of indebtedness, swap agreements, hedging agreements, leases or other instruments or agreements to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject, including the Existing Indentures and any other instruments, agreements and documents filed or incorporated by reference as exhibits to the Annual Report or any subsequent report filed by the Company under the Exchange Act (including the Quarterly Report) pursuant to Rule 601(b)(10) of Regulation S-K of the Commission; provided that if any instrument, agreement or other document filed or incorporated by reference as such an exhibit has been redacted or if any portion thereof has been deleted or is otherwise not included as part of such exhibit (whether pursuant to a request for confidential treatment or otherwise), the term “ Company Documents ” shall nonetheless mean such instrument, agreement or other document, as the case may be, in its entirety, including any portions thereof which shall have been so redacted, deleted or otherwise not filed.

DTC ” means The Depository Trust Company.

EDGAR ” means the Commission’s Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval System.

ERISA ” means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, and the regulations and published interpretations thereunder.

Existing Indentures means (i) the Mortgage and Deed of Trust dated as of February 1, 1945 between Laclede Gas Company, a Missouri Corporation, and UMB Bank & Trust, N.A., as successor trustee, and (ii) the Amended and Restated Indenture of Mortgage, dated as of September 1, 2011, between Mobile Gas Service Corporation and Regions Bank, as trustee, in each case as amended or supplemented.

FCPA ” means the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder.

FINRA ” means the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. or the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., or both, as the context shall require.

GAAP ” means generally accepted accounting principles.

Issuer Free Writing Prospectus ” means any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, relating to the offering of the Securities that (i) is required to be filed with the Commission by the Company, (ii) is a “road show” that is a “written communication” within the meaning of Rule 433(d)(8)(i), whether or not required to be filed with the Commission, or (iii) is exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i) because it contains a description of the Securities or of the offering that does not reflect the final terms, and all free writing prospectuses that are listed in Exhibit H hereto, in each case in the form filed or required to be filed with the Commission or, if not required to be filed, in the form retained in the Company’s records pursuant to Rule 433(g).

 

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Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectus ” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is intended for general distribution to prospective investors, as evidenced by its being specified in Exhibit H hereto.

Issuer Limited Use Free Writing Prospectus ” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is not an Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectus.

Lien ” means any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance, claim or equity.

NYSE ” means the New York Stock Exchange.

OFAC ” means the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department.

Organizational Documents ” means (a) in the case of a corporation, its articles of incorporation and bylaws; (b) in the case of a limited liability company, its articles of organization, certificate of formation or similar organizational documents and its operating agreement, limited liability company agreement, membership agreement or other similar agreement; and (c) in the case of any other entity, the organizational and governing documents of such entity.

PCAOB ” means the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States).

preliminary prospectus ” means any prospectus together with, if applicable, the accompanying prospectus supplement used in connection with the offering of the Securities that omitted the public offering price of the Securities or that was captioned “Subject to Completion,” together with the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 under the 1933 Act. The term “preliminary prospectus” includes, without limitation, the Pre-Pricing Prospectus.

Quarterly Report ” means the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 31, 2016.

Registration Statement ” means the Company’s registration statement on Form S–3 (Registration No. 333-213759) and the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S–3 under the 1933 Act and the Rule 430B Information; provided that any Rule 430B Information shall be deemed part of the Registration Statement only from and after the time specified pursuant to Rule 430B.

Repayment Event ” means any event or condition which, either immediately or with notice or passage of time or both, (i) gives the holder of any bond, note, debenture or other evidence of indebtedness (or any person or entity acting on such holder’s behalf) the right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a portion of such indebtedness by the Company or any subsidiary of the Company, or (ii) gives any counterparty (or any person or entity acting on such counterparty’s behalf) under any swap agreement, hedging agreement or similar agreement or instrument to which the Company or any subsidiary of the Company is a party the right to liquidate or accelerate the payment obligations, or designate an early termination date under such agreement or instrument, as the case may be.

 

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Rule  163 ,” “ Rule  164 ,” “ Rule  172 ,” “ Rule  173(d) ,” “ Rule  401(g)(2) ,” “ Rule  405 ,” “ Rule  424(b) Rule  430B ,” “ Rule  430C ,”and “ Rule  433 ” refer to such rules under the 1933 Act.

Rule  430B Information ” means the information included in any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5) or (b)(7) that was omitted from the Registration Statement at the time it first became effective but is deemed to be part of and included in the Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 430B.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act ” means the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder or implementing the provisions thereof.

Termination Event ” means any event or condition which gives any person or entity the right, either immediately or with notice or passage of time or both, to terminate or limit (in whole or in part) any Company Documents or any rights of the Company or any of its subsidiaries thereunder, including, without limitation, upon the occurrence of a change of control of the Company or other similar events.

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

1933 Act Regulations ” means the rules and regulations of the Commission under the 1933 Act.

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

1934 Act Regulations ” means the rules and regulations of the Commission under the 1934 Act.

1939 Act ” means the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.

1940 Act ” means the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.

All references in this Agreement to the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing shall be deemed to include the version thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR and all versions thereof delivered (physically or electronically) to the Representatives or the Underwriters.

All references in this Agreement to financial statements and schedules and other information which is “contained,” “included” or “stated” in the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus (and all other references of like import) shall be deemed to mean and include all such financial statements and schedules and other information that is incorporated by reference in or otherwise deemed by 1933 Act Regulations to be a part of

 

35


or included in the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be; and all references in this Agreement to amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to mean and include the filing of any document under the 1934 Act that is incorporated by reference in or otherwise deemed by 1933 Act Regulations to be a part of or included in the Registration Statement, such preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be.

SECTION 17.     Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses . The Company represents, warrants and agrees that it has not made and, unless it obtains the prior written consent of the Representatives, it will not make, any offer relating to the Securities that constitutes or would constitute an “issuer free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 433) or that otherwise constitutes or would constitute a “free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 405) or portion thereof required to be filed with the Commission or required to be retained by the Company pursuant to Rule 433; provided that the prior written consent of the Representatives shall be deemed to have been given in respect of the Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, listed on Exhibit H hereto and, to any electronic road show in the form previously provided by the Company to and approved by the Representatives. Any such free writing prospectus consented to or deemed to have been consented to as aforesaid is hereinafter referred to as a “ Permitted Free Writing Prospectus .” The Company represents, warrants and agrees that it has treated and will treat each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, and has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 applicable to any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the Commission where required, legending and record keeping. For the purposes of clarity, the parties hereto agree that all free writing prospectuses, if any, listed in Exhibit H hereto are Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses.

SECTION 18.     Absence of Fiduciary Relationship . Each of the Company and the Selling Securityholders acknowledges and agrees that:

(a)    each of the Underwriters is acting solely as an underwriter in connection with the sale of the Securities and no fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship between the Company or such Selling Securityholder, as the case may be, on the one hand, and any of the Underwriters, on the other hand, has been created in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, irrespective of whether or not any of the Underwriters has advised or is advising the Company or such Selling Securityholder on other matters;

(b)    the public offering price of the Securities and the price to be paid by the Underwriters for the Securities set forth in this Agreement were established by the Company and the Selling Securityholders following discussions and arms-length negotiations with the Representatives;

(c)    it is capable of evaluating and understanding, and understands and accepts, the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;

(d)    the Underwriters have not provided any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to the offering contemplated hereby and the Company and such Selling Securityholder has consulted its own legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate;

 

36


(e)    it is aware that the Underwriters and their respective affiliates are engaged in a broad range of transactions that may involve interests that differ from those of the Company and such Selling Securityholder and that none of the Underwriters has any obligation to disclose such interests and transactions to the Company or such Selling Securityholder by virtue of any fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship or otherwise; and

(f)    it waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims it may have against any of the Underwriters for breach of fiduciary duty or alleged breach of fiduciary duty and agrees that none of the Underwriters shall have any liability (whether direct or indirect, in contract, tort or otherwise) to it in respect of such a fiduciary duty claim or to any person or entity asserting a fiduciary duty claim on its behalf or in right of the Company or such Selling Securityholder or any stockholders, employees or creditors thereof.

SECTION 19.     Research Analyst Independence . The Company acknowledges that the Underwriters’ respective research analysts and research departments are required to be independent from their respective investment banking divisions and are subject to certain regulations and internal policies, and that such Underwriters’ respective research analysts and research departments may hold views and make statements or investment recommendations or publish research reports with respect to the Company or the offering that differ from the views of their respective investment banking divisions. The Company hereby waives and releases, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any claims that the Company may have against the Underwriters with respect to any conflict of interest that may arise from the fact that the views expressed by their respective research analysts and research departments may be different from or inconsistent with the views or advice communicated to the Company by such Underwriters’ respective investment banking divisions. The Company acknowledges that each of the Underwriters is a full service securities firm and as such from time to time, subject to applicable securities laws, may effect transactions for its own account or the account of its customers and hold long or short positions in debt or equity securities of the Company and other entities that may be the subject of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

SECTION 20.     Trial By Jury . The Company (on its own behalf and, to the extent permitted by applicable law, on behalf of its stockholders and affiliates), each of the Selling Securityholders and each of the Underwriters hereby irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.

[Signature Page Follows]

 

37


If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement, please sign and return to the Company a counterpart hereof, whereupon this instrument, along with all counterparts, will become a binding agreement between the Underwriters, the Selling Securityholders and the Company in accordance with its terms.

 

Very truly yours,

SPIRE INC.

By

 

            /s/ Lynn D. Rawlings

 

Name:

  Lynn D. Rawlings
  Title:  

Vice President, Treasurer and

   

Assistant Corporate Secretary

[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]


CONFIRMED AND ACCEPTED, as of the

date first above written:

CREDIT SUISSE SECURITIES (USA) LLC

By

 

    /s/ Michael Proskin

  Authorized Signatory

WELLS FARGO SECURITIES, LLC

By

 

    /s/ Carolyn Hurley

  Authorized Signatory

For themselves and as Attorneys-in-Fact for each of the several Selling Securityholders named in Exhibit A hereto.

[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]


CONFIRMED AND ACCEPTED, as of the

date first above written:

CREDIT SUISSE SECURITIES (USA) LLC

By

 

    /s/ Michael Proskin

  Authorized Signatory

WELLS FARGO SECURITIES, LLC

By

 

    /s/ Carolyn Hurley

  Authorized Signatory

For themselves and as Representatives of the Underwriters named in Exhibit B hereto.

[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]


EXHIBIT A

Selling Securityholders

 

Name of Selling Securityholder

   Principal Amount of
Secondary Notes
 

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC

   $ 49,550,000  

Wells Fargo Securities, LLC

   $ 49,550,000  

RBC Capital Markets, LLC

   $ 18,241,000  

Regions Securities LLC

   $ 18,241,000  

Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated

   $ 5,445,000  

Samuel A. Ramirez & Company, Inc.

   $ 2,723,000  

Total

   $ 143,750,000  
  

 

 

 

 

A-1


EXHIBIT B

 

Name of Underwriter

   Principal Amount of
Primary Notes
     Principal Amount of
Secondary Notes
 

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC

   $ 2,154,000      $ 49,550,000  

Wells Fargo Securities, LLC

   $ 2,155,000      $ 49,550,000  

RBC Capital Markets, LLC

   $ 793,000      $ 18,241,000  

Regions Securities LLC

   $ 793,000      $ 18,241,000  

Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated

   $ 237,000      $ 5,445,000  

Samuel A. Ramirez & Company, Inc..

   $ 118,000      $ 2,723,000  

Total

   $ 6,250,000      $ 143,750,000  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

B-1


EXHIBIT C

PRICING TERM SHEET

 

Spire Inc.

 

Pricing Term Sheet

 

$150,000,000 3.543% Senior Notes due 2024

 

Issuer:

   Spire Inc.

Selling Securityholders:

  

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC

Wells Fargo Securities, LLC

RBC Capital Markets, LLC

Regions Securities LLC

Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated

Samuel A. Ramirez & Company, Inc.

Ratings (Moody’s / S&P)*:

               /            

Pricing Date:

   February 22, 2017

Settlement Date:

   February 27, 2017 (T+3)

Security Type:

   Senior Notes

Maturity Date:

   February 27, 2024

Interest Payment Dates:

   February 27 and August 27, commencing on August 27, 2017

Principal Amount:

   $150,000,000

Benchmark Treasury:

   2.25% due January 31, 2024

Benchmark Price / Yield:

   100-07+ / 2.213%

Spread to Benchmark:

   +133 bps

Yield to Maturity:

   3.543%

Coupon:

   3.543%

Public Offering Price:

   100%

Optional Redemption:

   The notes may be redeemed (1) in whole or in part, at the Issuer’s option, at any time and from time to time on or after April 1, 2019 and prior to December 27, 2023 at Treasury Rate + 20 bps and (2) in whole, at the Issuer’s option, at any time on or after December 27, 2023 at par

CUSIP / ISIN:

   84857L AA9 / US84857LAA98

Joint Book-Running Managers:

  

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC

Wells Fargo Securities, LLC

RBC Capital Markets, LLC

Regions Securities LLC

Co-Managers:

  

Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated

Samuel A. Ramirez & Company, Inc.

 

* Note: A securities rating is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities and may be subject to revision or withdrawal at any time.

The issuer has filed a registration statement (including a preliminary prospectus supplement and a prospectus) and a prospectus supplement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the offering to which this communication relates. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus supplement for this offering, the issuer’s prospectus in that registration statement and any other documents the issuer has filed with the SEC for more complete information about the issuer and this offering. You may get these documents for free by searching the SEC online data base (EDGAR) on the SEC web site at http://www.sec.gov. Alternatively, the issuer, any underwriter or any dealer

 

C-1


participating in the offering will arrange to send you the prospectus supplement and prospectus if you request it by calling Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC toll-free at 800-221-1037 or Wells Fargo Securities, LLC toll-free at 800-645-3751.

 

C-2


EXHIBIT D

SUBSIDIARIES OF THE COMPANY

 

Name

  

Jurisdiction  of

Organization

   Type  of  Entity    Names  of  General Partners/Managing Members

Alabama Gas Corporation

   Alabama    Corporation   

EnergySouth, Inc.

   Delaware    Corporation   

Laclede Gas Company

   Missouri    Corporation   

Laclede Pipeline Company

   Missouri    Corporation   

Laclede Investment LLC

   Missouri    Limited Liability Company    Spire Inc.

Laclede Development Company

   Missouri    Corporation   

Laclede Venture Corp.

   Missouri    Corporation   

Laclede Oil Services, LLC

   Missouri    Limited Liability Company    Laclede Development Company

Laclede Insurance Risk Services, Inc.

   South Carolina    Corporation   

Mobile Gas Service Corporation

   Alabama    Corporation   

Spire Marketing Inc.

   Missouri    Corporation   

Spire Midstream LLC

   Missouri    Limited Liability Company    Spire Resources LLC

Spire Resources LLC

   Missouri    Limited Liability Company    Spire Inc.

Spire Storage Inc.

   Missouri    Corporation   

Spire STL Pipeline LLC

   Missouri    Limited Liability Company    Spire Midstream LLC

Willmut Gas and Oil Company

   Mississippi    Corporation   

 

D-1


EXHIBIT H

ISSUER GENERAL USE FREE WRITING PROSPECTUSES

1.    Pricing Term Sheet containing certain final terms of the Securities, substantially in the form of Exhibit C hereto.

 

H-1

Exhibit 4.2

Execution Version

SPIRE INC.

and

UMB BANK & TRUST, N.A.,

Trustee

SECOND SUPPLEMENTAL INDENTURE

Dated as of February 27, 2017

To

INDENTURE

Dated as of August 19, 2014

3.543% Senior Notes due 2024


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

        Page  
   ARTICLE ONE   
   DEFINITIONS   

Section 1.01.

  

Definition of Terms

     1  
   ARTICLE TWO   
   GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE 2024 NOTES   

Section 2.01.

  

Designation and Principal Amount

     2  

Section 2.02.

  

Maturity

     2  

Section 2.03.

  

Further Issues

     2  

Section 2.04.

  

Form

     2  

Section 2.05.

  

Interest

     2  

Section 2.06.

  

Authorized Denominations

     3  

Section 2.07.

  

Redemption

     3  

Section 2.08.

  

Appointment of Agents

     3  
   ARTICLE THREE   
   OPTIONAL REDEMPTION; NO SINKING FUND   

Section 3.01.

  

Optional Redemption by Company

     3  

Section 3.02.

  

No Sinking Fund

     5  
   ARTICLE FOUR   
   FORM OF 2024 NOTE   

Section 4.01.

  

Form of 2024 Note

     5  
   ARTICLE FIVE   
   MISCELLANEOUS   

Section 5.01.

  

Ratification of Indenture

     5  

Section 5.02.

  

Trustee Not Responsible for Recitals

     5  

Section 5.03.

  

Governing Law

     5  

Section 5.04.

  

Separability

     6  

Section 5.05.

  

Counterparts

     6  

Section 5.06.

  

Trust Indenture Act

     6  

 

i


Exhibits   
Exhibit A         Form of 2024 Note

 

ii


SECOND SUPPLEMENTAL INDENTURE, dated as of February 27, 2017 (this “Second Supplemental Indenture”), between Spire Inc. (formerly The Laclede Group, Inc.), a corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of the State of Missouri, having its principal office at 700 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63101 (the “Company”), and UMB Bank & Trust, N.A., as trustee (the “Trustee”).

WHEREAS, the Company executed and delivered the indenture, dated as of August 19, 2014, to the Trustee (the “Indenture”), to provide for the issuance of the Company’s debentures, notes or other evidences of indebtedness (the “Securities”), in one or more fully registered series;

WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 1201 of the Indenture, the Company issued, pursuant to that certain first supplemental indenture, dated as of August 19, 2014 (the “First Supplemental Indenture”), (i) a series of its Securities known as its Floating Rate Senior Notes due 2017, (ii) a series of its Securities known as its 2.55% Senior Notes due 2019 and (iii) a series of its Securities known as its 4.70% Senior Notes due 2044;

WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 1201 of the Indenture, the Company desires to provide for the issuance of a new series of its Securities to be known as its 3.543% Senior Notes due 2024 (the “2024 Notes”) and to establish the form of the 2024 Note thereof, as provided in Section 201 of the Indenture, and to set forth the terms thereof, as provided in Section 301 of the Indenture;

WHEREAS, the Company has requested that the Trustee execute and deliver this Second Supplemental Indenture; and

WHEREAS, all things necessary to make this Second Supplemental Indenture a valid agreement of the Company, in accordance with its terms, and to make the 2024 Notes, when executed by the Company and authenticated and delivered by the Trustee, the valid obligations of the Company, have been done;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the purchase and acceptance of the 2024 Notes by the Holders thereof, and for the purpose of setting forth, as provided in the Indenture, the form and terms of the 2024 Notes, it is mutually covenanted and agreed, for the equal and proportionate benefit of all Holders of the 2024 Notes, as follows:

ARTICLE ONE

DEFINITIONS

Section 1.01.     Definition of Terms . Unless the context otherwise requires:

(a)    each term defined in the Indenture has the same meaning when used in this Second Supplemental Indenture;

(b)    each term defined anywhere in this Second Supplemental Indenture has the same meaning throughout;

(c)    the singular includes the plural and vice versa; and


(d)    headings are for convenience of reference only and do not affect interpretation.

ARTICLE TWO

GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE 2024 NOTES

Section 2.01.     Designation and Principal Amount . There is hereby authorized and established a series of Securities under the Indenture, designated as the “3.543% Senior Notes due 2024”, which is not limited in aggregate principal amount. The aggregate principal amount of the 2024 Notes to be issued on the date hereof is $150,000,000. 2024 Notes in the aggregate principal amount of $150,000,000 may, upon execution of this Second Supplemental Indenture, be executed by the Company and delivered to the Trustee for authentication, and the Trustee shall, upon receipt of a Company Order, authenticate and deliver said 2024 Notes as provided in said Company Order.

Section 2.02.     Maturity . The Stated Maturity of principal of the 2024 Notes is February 27, 2024.

Section 2.03.     Further Issues . The Company may from time to time, without the consent of the Holders of the 2024 Notes, issue additional 2024 Notes. Any such additional 2024 Notes will have the same ranking, interest rate, maturity date and other terms as the 2024 Notes herein provided for (except for the original issue date, the public offering price and, if applicable, the initial interest payment date). Any such additional 2024 Notes, together with the 2024 Notes herein provided for, will constitute a single series of Securities under the Indenture. No additional 2024 Notes may be issued if an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing with respect to the 2024 Notes. The Company will not issue any additional 2024 Notes intended to form a single series with the 2024 Notes herein provided for unless such additional 2024 Notes will be fungible with the 2024 Notes herein provided for, for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Section 2.04.     Form . Upon the original issuance of the 2024 Notes, $143,750,000 in principal amount of the 2024 Notes will be represented by one or more definitive Securities registered in the names of the Holders thereof, and $6,250,000 in principal amount of the 2024 Notes will be represented by a Global Security registered in the name of Cede & Co., the nominee of the Depositary. The Company will deposit the Global Security with the Depositary or its custodian. In accordance with Section 203 of the Indenture, such definitive Securities may be exchanged for beneficial interests in the Global Security, in which case the principal amount of the Global Security will be increased accordingly and an endorsement will be made on the Global Security by the Trustee or by the Depositary at the direction of the Trustee to reflect such increase.

Section 2.05.     Interest .

(a)    The 2024 Notes will bear interest (computed on the basis of a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months) from February 27, 2017 at the rate of 3.543% per annum, payable semiannually in arrears; interest payable on each interest payment date (as defined in the Indenture) will include interest accrued from February 27, 2017, or from the most recent interest payment date to which interest has been paid or duly provided for; the interest payment dates on which such interest shall be payable are February 27 and August 27,

 

2


beginning on August 27, 2017; and the Regular Record Date for the interest payable on any interest payment date is the close of business on the February 15 or August 15 (whether or not a Business Day), as the case may be, immediately preceding the relevant interest payment date. If any interest payment date falls on a day that is not a Business Day, the required payment on that day will be due on the next succeeding Business Day as if made on the date the payment was due, and no interest will accrue on that payment for the period from and after that interest payment date to the date of payment on the next succeeding Business Day. If any interest payment date for the 2024 Notes falls on a day that is not a Business Day, the required payment on that day will be due on the next succeeding Business Day, and no interest on that payment shall accrue for the period from and after such interest payment date.

(b)    If the maturity date of the 2024 Notes falls on a day that is not a Business Day, the required payment on that day will be due on the next succeeding Business Day, and no interest on that payment shall accrue for the period from and after the maturity date.

Section 2.06.     Authorized Denominations . The 2024 Notes shall be issuable in denominations of $2,000 and integral multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof.

Section 2.07.     Redemption . The 2024 Notes are subject to redemption at the option of the Company as described in Article Three hereof.

Section 2.08.     Appointment of Agents . The Trustee will initially be the Security Registrar and Paying Agent for the 2024 Notes and will act as such only at its corporate trust offices in the City of St. Louis, State of Missouri.

ARTICLE THREE

OPTIONAL REDEMPTION; NO SINKING FUND

Section 3.01.     Optional Redemption by Company .

(a)    At the Company’s option, the 2024 Notes may be redeemed (the date of any such redemption, a “2024 Redemption Date”), (x) in whole or in part, at any time and from time to time on or after April 1, 2019 and prior to the Par Call Date at a redemption price to be calculated on the basis of a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months (the “2024 Redemption Price”) equal to the greater of the following amounts:

(i)    100% of the principal amount of the 2024 Notes being redeemed on the relevant 2024 Redemption Date, and

(ii)    the sum of the present values of the remaining scheduled payments of principal and interest on the 2024 Notes being redeemed on the applicable 2024 Redemption Date that would be due if such 2024 Notes matured on the Par Call Date (not including the amount, if any, of accrued and unpaid interest to, but excluding, such 2024 Redemption Date) discounted to such 2024 Redemption Date on a semi-annual basis at the Treasury Rate, as determined by the Independent Investment Banker, plus 20 basis points;

 

3


and (y) in whole only, at any time on or after the Par Call Date at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the 2024 Notes being redeemed on the relevant 2024 Redemption Date; plus, in each of the cases of (x)(i) and (ii) and (y) above, accrued and unpaid interest on the 2024 Notes being redeemed to, but excluding, such 2024 Redemption Date.

(b)    Notice of any redemption of the 2024 Notes shall be given in the manner and otherwise in accordance with the provisions of Section 404 of the Indenture to each Holder of Securities to be redeemed, at his address appearing in the Security Register, and that any such notice in lieu of stating the 2024 Redemption Price, shall state the manner in which the 2024 Redemption Price shall be calculated. If the Company has given notice of redemption as provided in the Indenture and funds for the redemption of the 2024 Notes called for redemption have been made available on the 2024 Redemption Date referred to in that notice, such Notes will cease to bear interest on such 2024 Redemption Date (unless the Company defaults in the payment of the 2024 Redemption Price and accrued and unpaid interest). Any interest accrued to the 2024 Redemption Date will be paid as specified in such notice.

(c)    The following defined terms used in this Article Three shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the meanings specified below.

“Comparable Treasury Issue” means the United States Treasury security selected by the Independent Investment Banker as having a maturity comparable to the remaining term of the 2024 Notes to be redeemed (assuming, for this purpose, that the 2024 Notes matured on the Par Call Date) that would be utilized, at the time of selection and in accordance with customary financial practice, in pricing new issues of corporate debt securities of comparable maturity to the remaining term of the 2024 Notes.

“Comparable Treasury Price” means (A) the average of the Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations for the 2024 Redemption Date and the 2024 Notes to be redeemed, after excluding the highest and lowest of such Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations, or (B) if the Independent Investment Banker obtains fewer than four such Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations, the average of such Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations, or (C) if only one Reference Treasury Dealer Quotation is received, such Reference Treasury Dealer Quotation.

“Independent Investment Banker” means one of the Reference Treasury Dealers appointed by the Company to act as the “Independent Investment Banker.”

“Par Call Date” means December 27, 2023.

“Reference Treasury Dealer” means (1) each of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC (or their respective affiliates that are Primary Treasury Dealers), and their respective successors; provided , however , that if any of the foregoing shall cease to be a primary U.S. Government securities dealer in the United States (a “Primary Treasury Dealer”), the Company will substitute therefor another Primary Treasury Dealer and (2) two other Primary Treasury Dealers selected by the Company.

“Reference Treasury Dealer Quotation” means, with respect to each Reference Treasury Dealer and the 2024 Redemption Date and the 2024 Notes to be redeemed, the average, as determined by the Independent Investment Banker, of the bid and asked prices for the

 

4


Comparable Treasury Issue for the 2024 Notes (expressed in each case as a percentage of its principal amount) quoted in writing to the Independent Investment Banker by such Reference Treasury Dealer at 5:00 p.m. (New York City time) on the third Business Day preceding the 2024 Redemption Date .

“Treasury Rate” means the rate per annum equal to the semi-annual equivalent yield to maturity of the Comparable Treasury Issue, assuming a price for such Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed as a percentage of its principal amount) equal to the Comparable Treasury Price for the 2024 Redemption Date.

(d)    In connection with any such redemption of the 2024 Notes, each Reference Treasury Dealer shall deliver the Comparable Treasury Price to the Company and the Independent Investment Banker in writing two Business Days prior to the 2024 Redemption Date. At or prior to the time of giving of any notice of redemption to the Holders of the 2024 Notes, the Company shall deliver an Officer’s Certificate to the Trustee setting forth the calculation of the 2024 Redemption Price or the manner in which the 2024 Redemption Price shall be calculated, as relevant, applicable to such redemption. The Trustee shall be under no duty to inquire into, may conclusively presume the correctness of, and shall be fully protected in relying upon, the 2024 Redemption Price as so calculated, or the manner in which the 2024 Redemption Price shall be calculated, as relevant, and set forth in such Officer’s Certificate.

Section 3.02.     No Sinking Fund . The 2024 Notes are not entitled to the benefit of any sinking fund.

ARTICLE FOUR

FORM OF 2024 NOTE

Section 4.01.     Form of 2024 Note . The 2024 Notes and the Trustee’s Certificate of Authentication to be endorsed thereon are to be substantially in the forms set forth in Exhibit A hereto.

ARTICLE FIVE

MISCELLANEOUS

Section 5.01.     Ratification of Indenture . The Indenture, as supplemented by the First Supplemental Indenture and this Second Supplemental Indenture, is in all respects ratified and confirmed, and the First Supplemental Indenture and this Second Supplemental Indenture shall be deemed part of the Indenture in the manner and to the extent herein and therein provided.

Section 5.02.     Trustee Not Responsible for Recitals . The recitals and statements herein contained are made by the Company and not by the Trustee, and the Trustee assumes no responsibility for the correctness thereof. The Trustee makes no representation as to the validity or sufficiency of this Second Supplemental Indenture.

Section 5.03.     Governing Law . This Second Supplemental Indenture and each Note shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

 

5


Section 5.04.     Separability . In case any one or more of the provisions contained in this Second Supplemental Indenture or in the 2024 Notes shall for any reason be held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect, such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability shall not affect any other provisions of this Second Supplemental Indenture or of the 2024 Notes, but this Second Supplemental Indenture and the 2024 Notes shall be construed as if such invalid or illegal or unenforceable provision had never been contained herein or therein.

Section 5.05.     Counterparts . This Second Supplemental Indenture may be executed in any number of counterparts each of which shall be an original; but such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the same instrument. The exchange of copies of this Second Supplemental Indenture and of signature pages by facsimile or electronic format (i.e., “pdf” or “tif”) transmission shall constitute effective execution and delivery of this Second Supplemental Indenture as to the parties hereto and may be used in lieu of the original Second Supplemental Indenture for all purposes. Signatures of the parties hereto transmitted by facsimile or electronic format (i.e., “pdf” or “tif”) shall be deemed to be their original signatures for all purposes.

Section 5.06.     Trust Indenture Act . This Second Supplemental Indenture is subject to the provisions of the Trust Indenture Act that are required to be part of the Indenture and shall, to the extent applicable, be governed by such provisions. If any provision in this Second Supplemental Indenture limits, qualifies or conflicts with another provision of hereof which is required to be included herein by any provisions of the Trust Indenture Act, such required provision shall control.

 

6


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Second Supplemental Indenture to be duly executed, all as of the day and year first above written.

 

SPIRE INC.
By:  

/s/ Lynn D. Rawlings

  Name:   Lynn D. Rawlings
  Title:   Vice President, Treasurer and Assistant Corporate Secretary
UMB BANK & TRUST, N.A., as Trustee
By:  

/s/ Richard F. Novosak

  Name:   Richard F. Novosak
  Title:   Vice President

[ Signature Page to Second Supplemental Indenture ]


EXHIBIT A

FORM OF 2024 NOTE

[FOR GLOBAL SECURITY: THIS SECURITY IS A GLOBAL SECURITY WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE INDENTURE HEREINAFTER REFERRED TO AND IS REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF A DEPOSITARY OR A NOMINEE THEREOF. THIS SECURITY MAY NOT BE EXCHANGED IN WHOLE OR IN PART FOR A SECURITY REGISTERED, AND NO TRANSFER OF THIS SECURITY IN WHOLE OR IN PART MAY BE REGISTERED, IN THE NAME OF ANY PERSON OTHER THAN SUCH DEPOSITARY OR A NOMINEE THEREOF, EXCEPT IN LIMITED CIRCUMSTANCES DESCRIBED IN THE INDENTURE. THE TRUSTEE MAY MAKE SUCH NOTATIONS ON THE SCHEDULE OF EXCHANGES OF INTERESTS IN THE GLOBAL SECURITY APPENDED HERETO AS MAY BE REQUIRED PURSUANT TO THE INDENTURE.

UNLESS THIS CERTIFICATE IS PRESENTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY, A NEW YORK CORPORATION (“DTC”), TO THE COMPANY OR ITS AGENT FOR REGISTRATION OF TRANSFER, EXCHANGE, OR PAYMENT, AND ANY CERTIFICATE ISSUED IS REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF CEDE & CO. OR IN SUCH OTHER NAME AS IS REQUESTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF DTC (AND ANY PAYMENT IS MADE TO CEDE & CO. OR TO SUCH OTHER ENTITY AS IS REQUESTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF DTC), ANY TRANSFER, PLEDGE OR OTHER USE HEREOF FOR VALUE OR OTHERWISE BY OR TO ANY PERSON IS WRONGFUL INASMUCH AS THE REGISTERED OWNER HEREOF, CEDE & CO., HAS AN INTEREST HEREIN.]

SPIRE INC.

3.543% SENIOR NOTES DUE 2024

CUSIP No. 84857L AA9

ISIN No. US84857LAA98

No. [●]

Spire Inc., a corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of Missouri (herein called the “Company”, which term includes any successor Person under the Indenture hereinafter referred to), for value received, hereby promises to pay to Cede & Co. or registered assigns, the principal sum of [●] DOLLARS ($[●])[, as revised by the Schedule of Exchanges of Interests in the Global Security attached hereto,] on February 27, 2024, and to pay interest thereon from February 27, 2017 or from the most recent interest payment date to which interest has been paid or duly provided for, semi-annually in arrears, on February 27 and August 27 in each year, beginning August 27, 2017 at the rate of 3.543% per annum until the principal hereof is paid or made available for payment. The interest so payable, and punctually paid or duly provided for, on any interest payment date will, as provided in such Indenture, be paid to the Person in whose name this Security (or one or more Predecessor Securities) is registered at the close of business

 

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on the Regular Record Date for such interest, which shall be the February 15 or August 15 (whether or not a Business Day), as the case may be, immediately preceding such interest payment date. Any such interest not so punctually paid or duly provided for will forthwith cease to be payable to the Holder on such Regular Record Date and may either be paid to the Person in whose name this Security (or one or more Predecessor Securities) is registered at the close of business on a Special Record Date for the payment of such Defaulted Interest to be fixed by the Trustee, notice whereof shall be given to Holders of Securities of this series not less than 10 days prior to such Special Record Date, or be paid at any time in any other lawful manner not inconsistent with the requirements of any securities exchange on which the Securities of this series may be listed, and upon such notice as may be required by such exchange, all as more fully provided in said Indenture.

Payment of the principal of (and premium, if any) and interest on this Security will be made at the office or agency of the Company maintained for that purpose in the City of St. Louis, State of Missouri, in such coin or currency of the United States as at the time of payment is legal tender for payment of public and private debts.

All payments of principal, premium, if any, and interest in respect of this Security will be made by the Company in immediately available funds.

Reference is hereby made to the further provisions of this Security set forth on the reverse hereof, which further provisions shall for all purposes have the same effect as if set forth at this place.

Unless the certificate of authentication hereon has been executed by the Trustee referred to on the reverse hereof by manual signature of one of its authorized signatories, this Security shall not be entitled to any benefit under the Indenture or be valid or obligatory for any purpose.

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the Company has caused this instrument to be duly executed under its corporate seal.

Dated:

 

SPIRE INC.

By:

 

 

  Name: Lynn D. Rawlings
  Title:Vice President, Treasurer and Assistant          Corporate Secretary

 

Attest:

   
  Name: Ellen L. Theroff
  Title: Vice President, Corporate and Shared Services
  Governance and Standards and Corporate Secretary

CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICATION

This is one of the Securities of the series designated therein referred to in the within-mentioned Indenture.

 

Dated:    
   

UMB Bank & Trust, N.A., as Trustee

   

By:

   
     

Authorized Signatory

     

 

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[Reverse of Security]

This Security is one of a duly authorized issue of securities of the Company (herein called the “Securities”), issued and to be issued in one or more series under an Indenture, dated as of August 19, 2014 as supplemented by the first supplemental indenture dated as of August 19, 2014 and the second supplemental indenture dated as of February 27, 2017 (herein called the “Indenture”, which then shall have the meaning assigned to it in such instrument) between the Company and UMB Bank & Trust, N.A., as Trustee (herein called the “Trustee”, which term includes any successor trustee under the Indenture), and reference is hereby made to the Indenture for a statement of the respective rights, limitations of rights, duties and immunities thereunder of the Company, the Trustee and the Holders of the Securities and of the terms upon which the Securities are, and are to be, authenticated and delivered. This Security is one of the series designated on the face hereof initially limited in aggregate principal amount to $150,000,000.

At the Company’s option, the Securities of this series may be redeemed (the date of any such redemption, a “Redemption Date”) (x) in whole or in part at any time and from time to time on or after April 1, 2019 and prior to the Par Call Date at a redemption price (the “Redemption Price”) of the Securities equal to the greater of the following amounts:

(a)    100% of the principal amount of the Securities being redeemed on the applicable Redemption Date, and

(b)    the sum of the present value of the remaining scheduled payments of principal and interest on the Securities being redeemed on such Redemption Date that would be due if such Securities matured on the Par Call Date (not including the amount, if any, of accrued and unpaid interest to, but excluding, such Redemption Date) discounted to such Redemption Date on a semi-annual basis at the Treasury Rate (as defined below), as determined by the Independent Investment Banker (as defined below), plus 20 basis points;

and (y) in whole only, at any time on or after the Par Call Date at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Securities being redeemed on the relevant Redemption Date; plus, in each case, accrued and unpaid interest on the Securities being redeemed to, but excluding, such Redemption Date.

The Redemption Price will be calculated on the basis of a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months. Once notice of redemption is mailed by the Company, the Securities called for redemption will become due and payable on the applicable Redemption Date at the applicable Redemption Price.

Notice of any redemption of the Securities shall be given in the manner and otherwise in accordance with the provisions of Section 404 of the Indenture to each Holder of Securities to be redeemed, at his address appearing in the Security Register, and that any such notice in lieu of stating the applicable Redemption Price, shall state the manner in which such Redemption Price shall be calculated. If the Company has given notice of redemption as provided in the Indenture and funds for the redemption of the Securities called for redemption have been made available on the Redemption Date referred to in that notice, such Securities will cease to bear interest on

 

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such Redemption Date (unless the Company defaults in the payment of the applicable Redemption Price and accrued and unpaid interest). Any interest accrued to such Redemption Date will be paid as specified in such notice.

“Comparable Treasury Issue” means the United States Treasury security selected by the Independent Investment Banker as having a maturity comparable to the remaining term of the applicable Securities to be redeemed (assuming, for this purpose, that the Securities matured on the Par Call Date) that would be utilized, at the time of selection and in accordance with customary financial practice, in pricing new issues of corporate debt securities of comparable maturity to the remaining term of such Securities.

“Comparable Treasury Price” means (A) the average of the Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations for the applicable Redemption Date and applicable Securities to be redeemed, after excluding the highest and lowest of such Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations, or (B) if the Independent Investment Banker obtains fewer than four such Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations, the average of such Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations, or (C) if only one Reference Treasury Dealer Quotation is received, such Reference Treasury Dealer Quotation.

“Independent Investment Banker” means one of the Reference Treasury Dealers appointed by the Company to act as the “Independent Investment Banker.”

“Par Call Date” means December 27, 2023.

“Reference Treasury Dealer” means (1) each of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC (or their respective affiliates that are Primary Treasury Dealers), and their respective successors; provided, however, that if any of the foregoing shall cease to be a primary U.S. Government securities dealer in the United States (a “Primary Treasury Dealer”), the Company will substitute therefor another Primary Treasury Dealer and (2) two other Primary Treasury Dealers selected by the Company.

“Reference Treasury Dealer Quotation” means, with respect to each Reference Treasury Dealer and any Redemption Date and Securities to be redeemed, the average, as determined by the Independent Investment Banker, of the bid and asked prices for the Comparable Treasury Issue for such Securities (expressed in each case as a percentage of its principal amount) quoted in writing to the Independent Investment Banker by such Reference Treasury Dealer at 5:00 p.m. (New York City time) on the third business day preceding such Redemption Date.

“Treasury Rate” means the rate per annum equal to the semi-annual equivalent yield to maturity of the applicable Comparable Treasury Issue, assuming a price for such Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed as a percentage of its principal amount) equal to the applicable Comparable Treasury Price for the applicable Redemption Date.

In connection with any such redemption, each Reference Treasury Dealer shall deliver the Comparable Treasury Price to the Company and the Independent Investment Banker in writing two Business Days prior to the Redemption Date. At or prior to the time of giving of any notice of redemption to the Holders of any Securities to be redeemed, the Company shall deliver an Officer’s Certificate to the Trustee setting forth the calculation of the Redemption Price or the manner in which the Redemption Price shall be calculated, as relevant, applicable to such

 

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redemption. The Trustee shall be under no duty to inquire into, may conclusively presume the correctness of, and shall be fully protected in relying upon, the Redemption Price as so calculated or the manner in which the Redemption Price shall be calculated, as relevant, and set forth in such Officer’s Certificate.

The Indenture contains certain restrictive covenants and Events of Default with respect to this Security, in each case upon compliance with certain conditions set forth in the Indenture.

If an Event of Default with respect to Securities of this series shall occur and be continuing, the principal of the Securities of this series may be declared due and payable in the manner and with the effect provided in the Indenture.

The Indenture permits, with certain exceptions as therein provided, the amendment thereof and the modification of the rights and obligations of the Company and the rights of the Holders of the Securities of each series affected under the Indenture at any time by the Company and the Trustee with the consent of the Holders of a majority in principal amount of all series at the time Outstanding affected thereby (voting as one class). The Indenture contains provisions permitting the Holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the Outstanding Securities of all series, with respect to which any default under the Indenture shall have occurred and be continuing (voting as one class), on behalf of the Holders of all the Outstanding Securities of such series, to waive, with certain exceptions, such past default with respect to such series and its consequences. The Indenture also permits the Holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the Outstanding Securities of any series, on behalf of the Holders of all Outstanding Securities of such series, to waive compliance by the Company with certain provisions of the Indenture. Any such consent or waiver by the Holder of this Security shall be conclusive and binding upon such Holder and upon all future Holders of this Security and of any Security issued upon the registration of transfer hereof or in exchange therefor or in lieu hereof, whether or not notation of such consent or waiver is made upon this Security.

As provided in and subject to the provisions of the Indenture, the Holder of this Security shall not have the right to institute any proceeding with respect to the Indenture or for the appointment of a receiver or trustee or for any other remedy thereunder unless such Holder shall have previously given the Trustee written notice of a continuing Event of Default with respect to the Securities of this series, the Holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the Securities of this series at the time Outstanding shall have made written request to the Trustee to institute proceedings in respect of such Event of Default as Trustee and offered the Trustee reasonable indemnity, and the Trustee shall not have received from the Holders of a majority in principal amount of Securities of this series at the time Outstanding a direction inconsistent with such request, and shall have failed to institute any such proceeding, for 60 days after receipt of such notice, request and offer of indemnity. The foregoing shall not apply to any suit instituted by the Holder of this Security for the enforcement of any payment of principal hereof or any premium or interest hereon on or after the respective due dates expressed herein.

No reference herein to the Indenture and no provision of this Security or of the Indenture shall alter or impair the obligation of the Company, which is absolute and unconditional, to pay the principal of and any premium and interest on this Security at the times, place and rate, and in the coin or currency, herein prescribed.

 

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As provided in the Indenture and subject to certain limitations therein set forth, the transfer of this Security is registerable in the Security Register, upon surrender of this Security for registration of transfer at the office or agency of the Company in any place where the principal of and any premium and interest on this Security are payable, duly endorsed by, or accompanied by a written instrument of transfer in form satisfactory to the Company and the Security Registrar duly executed by, the Holder hereof or his attorney duly authorized in writing, and thereupon one or more new Securities of this series and of like tenor, of authorized denominations and for the same aggregate principal amount, will be issued to the designated transferee or transferees.

The Securities of this series are issuable only in registered form without coupons in denominations of $2,000 and integral multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof. As provided in the Indenture and subject to certain limitations therein set forth, Securities of this series are exchangeable for a like aggregate principal amount of Securities of this series and of like tenor of a different authorized denomination, as requested in writing by the Holder surrendering the same.

No service charge shall be made for any such registration of transfer or exchange, but the Company may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge payable in connection therewith.

Prior to due presentment of this Security for registration of transfer, the Company, the Trustee and any agent of the Company or the Trustee may treat the Person in whose name this Security is registered as the owner hereof for all purposes, whether or not this Security be overdue, and neither the Company, the Trustee nor any such agent shall be affected by notice to the contrary.

All terms used in this Security which are defined in the Indenture shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Indenture.

No recourse for the payment of the principal of or any premium or interest on any Security, or for any claim based thereon or otherwise in respect thereof, and no recourse under or upon any obligation, covenant or agreement of the Company in the Indenture or in any supplemental indenture, or in this Security, or because of the creation of any indebtedness represented hereby, shall be had against any incorporator, stockholder, officer or director, as such, past, present or future, of the Company or any successor corporation, either directly or through the Company or any successor corporation, whether by virtue of any constitution, statute or rule of law, or by the enforcement of any assessment or penalty or otherwise; it being expressly understood that all such liability was expressly waived and released as a condition of, and as consideration for, the execution of the Indenture and is a condition of, and is consideration for, the execution of this Security.

 

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ASSIGNMENT

FOR VALUE RECEIVED, the undersigned hereby sell(s), assign(s) and transfer(s) unto

 

 

(Please insert social security or other identifying number of assignee)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Please print or typewrite name and address including postal zip code of assignee)

the within Security and all rights thereunder, hereby irrevocably constituting and appointing

 

 

Attorney to transfer said Securities on the books of the Company with full power of substitution in the premises.

 

Date:                                              
By:    
 

Name

Title

 

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[FOR GLOBAL SECURITY:

S CHEDULE OF E XCHANGES OF I NTERESTS IN THE G LOBAL S ECURITY

The following exchanges of a part of this Global Security for an interest in another Global Security or for a Security in definitive form, or exchanges of a part of another Global Security or a Security in Definitive Form for an interest in this Global Security, have been made:

 

Date of

Exchange

 

Amount of

decrease in

Principal

Amount [at

maturity] of this

Global Security

 

Amount of

increase in

Principal

Amount [at

maturity] of this

Global Security

  

Principal

Amount [at

maturity] of this

Global Security

following such

decrease (or

increase)

  

Signature of

authorized

signatory of

Trustee or

Custodian]

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

  

 

 

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Exhibit 5.1

Spire Inc.

700 Market Street

St. Louis, MO 63101

Mark C. Darrell

Senior Vice President, General Counsel &

Chief Compliance Officer

February 27, 2017

Spire Inc.

700 Market Street

St. Louis, Missouri 63101

 

Re: Registration Statement on Form S-3
  File No. 333-213759

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Spire Inc., a Missouri corporation (the “ Company ”), and have served in that capacity in connection with the registration, pursuant to a Registration Statement on Form S-3, as amended (File No. 333-213759) (the “ Registration Statement ”), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “ Commission ”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “ Act ”), of the offering and sale of $150,000,000 aggregate principal amount of the Company’s 3.543% Senior Notes due 2024 (the “ Notes ”) of which (i) $143,750,000 aggregate principal amount thereof were offered and sold by the selling securityholders named in Exhibit A to the Underwriting Agreement referenced below (the “ Selling Securityholders ” and such Notes, the “ Secondary Notes ” ) and (ii) $6,250,000 aggregate principal amount thereof were issued, offered and sold by the Company (the “ Primary Notes ”). The Primary Notes were issued and sold by the Company pursuant to the terms of an underwriting agreement, dated February 22, 2017 (the “ Underwriting Agreement ”), by and among the Company, the Selling Securityholders and the several underwriters named in Exhibit B thereto for whom Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC acted as representatives (collectively, the “ Underwriters ”). The Secondary Notes were issued and sold by the Company to the Selling Securityholders pursuant to the Securities Purchase and Registration Rights Agreement, dated February 22, 2017 (the “ SPRRA ”), by and among the Company and the several purchasers named in Schedule B thereto and were sold by the Selling Securityholders to the Underwriters pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement. The Notes were issued under an Indenture, dated as of August 19, 2014 (the “ Base Indenture ”), as supplemented by the Second Supplemental Indenture thereto, dated as of February 27, 2017 (the “ Supplemental Indenture ” and together with the Base Indenture, the “ Indenture ”), by and between the Company and UMB Bank & Trust, N.A., as trustee. This opinion is being furnished in accordance with the requirements of Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K under the Act.

I have reviewed the Registration Statement, the Indenture, the forms of global securities representing the Notes, the SPRRA, and the Underwriting Agreement. In addition, I have examined originals or certified copies of the resolutions adopted by the Board of Directors of the Company authorizing the issuance and sale of the Notes and such other corporate records of the


Company and other certificates and documents of officials of the Company, public officials and others as I have deemed appropriate for purposes of this letter. I have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the legal capacity of all natural persons, the authenticity of all documents submitted to me as originals and the conformity to authentic original documents of all copies submitted to me as conformed, certified or reproduced copies. As to various questions of fact relevant to this letter, I have relied, without independent investigation, upon certificates of public officials and certificates of officers of the Company, all of which I assume to be true, correct and complete.

Based upon the foregoing, and subject to the assumptions, exceptions, qualifications and limitations set forth herein, I am of the opinion that:

1. The Company is a validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of Missouri.

2. The Company has the corporate power and authority to issue the Notes, and the Notes have been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.

The opinions and other matters in this letter are qualified in their entirety and subject to the following:

 

A. I express no opinion as to the laws of any jurisdiction other than the laws of the State of Missouri.

 

B. This opinion letter is limited to the matters expressly stated herein and no opinion is to be inferred or implied beyond the opinion expressly set forth herein. I undertake no, and hereby disclaim any, obligation to make any inquiry after the date hereof or to advise you of any changes in any matter set forth herein, whether based on a change in the law, a change in any fact relating to the Company or any other person or any other circumstance.

I hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K filed by the Company with the Commission on or about the date hereof, to the incorporation by reference of this opinion into the Registration Statement and to the use of my name in the Prospectus dated September 23, 2016 and the Prospectus Supplement relating to the offering of the Notes, dated February 22, 2017, forming a part of the Registration Statement and under the caption “Legal Matters.” In giving this consent, I do not thereby admit that I am within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Act and the rules and regulations thereunder.

Very truly yours,

/s/ Mark C. Darrell

Mark C. Darrell

 

2

Exhibit 5.2

 

LOGO

February 27, 2017

Board of Directors

Spire Inc.

700 Market Street

St. Louis Missouri 63101

 

Re: Spire Inc.
  Registration Statement on Form S-3
  File No. 333- 213759

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as special counsel to Spire Inc., a Missouri corporation (the “ Company ”), in connection with the registration, pursuant to a Registration Statement on Form S-3 , as amended (File No. 333-190388) (the “ Registration Statement ”), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “ Commission ”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “ Act ”), of the offering and sale of $150,000,000 aggregate principal amount of the Company’s 3.543% Senior Notes due 2024 (the “ Notes ”) of which (i) $143,750,000 aggregate principal amount thereof were offered and sold by the selling securityholders named in Exhibit A to the Underwriting Agreement referenced below (the “ Selling Securityholders ” and such Notes, the “ Secondary Notes ”) and (ii) $6,250,000 aggregate principal amount thereof were issued, offered and sold by the Company (the “ Primary Notes ”). The Primary Notes were issued and sold by the Company pursuant to the terms of an underwriting agreement, dated February 22, 2017 (the “ Underwriting Agreement ”), by and among the Company, the Selling Securityholders and the several underwriters named in Exhibit B thereto for whom Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC acted as representatives (collectively, the “ Underwriters ”). The Secondary Notes were issued and sold by the Company to the Selling Securityholders pursuant to the Securities Purchase and Registration Rights Agreement, dated February 22, 2017 (the “ SPRRA ”), by and among the Company and the several purchasers named in Schedule B thereto and were sold by the Selling Securityholders to the Underwriters pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement. The Notes were issued under an Indenture, dated as of August 19, 2014 (the “ Base Indenture ”), as supplemented by the Second Supplemental Indenture thereto, dated as of February 27, 2017 (the “ Supplemental Indenture ” and together with the Base Indenture, the “ Indenture ”), by and between the Company and UMB Bank & Trust, N.A., as trustee (the “ Trustee ”). This opinion is being furnished in accordance with the requirements of Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K under the Act.

We have either participated in the preparation of or have reviewed and are familiar with, the Registration Statement, together with the exhibits thereto and the documents incorporated by reference therein, and the Prospectus dated September 23, 2016 forming part of the Registration Statement (the “ Prospectus ”), as supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement dated February 22, 2017, filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Act relating to the offering of the Notes (the “ Prospectus Supplement ”). We have also reviewed the Indenture, the forms of global securities representing the Notes, the SPRRA and the Underwriting Agreement (collectively, the “ Transaction Documents ”). In addition, we have examined originals or certified copies of such corporate records of the Company and other certificates and documents of officials of the Company, public officials and others as we have deemed appropriate for purposes of this letter.


Spire Inc.

February 27, 2017

Page 2

   LOGO

 

We have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the legal capacity of all natural persons, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals and the conformity to authentic original documents of all copies submitted to us as conformed, certified or reproduced copies and the conformity of the Notes to the forms thereof that we have reviewed. In our examination of documents, we have also assumed (a) the due organization, valid existence and good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of organization of each party to the Transaction Documents, (b) the legal capacity of natural persons, (c) the corporate or other power and due authorization of each of the Company and the other parties signatory thereto to execute, deliver and perform its obligations under the Transaction Documents, and to consummate the transactions contemplated therein, (d) the due execution and delivery of the Transaction Documents by all parties thereto and (e) that the Transaction Documents constitute the valid and binding obligation of each party thereto, other than the Company. As to various questions of fact relevant to this letter, we have relied, without independent investigation, upon, in the case of the Notes, certificates of public officials and certificates of officers of the Company, all of which we assume to be true, correct and complete.

Based upon the foregoing, and subject to the assumptions, exceptions, qualifications and limitations set forth herein, we are of the opinion that upon (a) the due execution of the Notes by the Company, (b) the due authentication of the Notes by the Trustee pursuant to the Indenture, (c) the delivery of the Primary Notes against payment therefor in accordance with the Underwriting Agreement and (d) the delivery of the Secondary Notes against payment therefor in accordance with the SPRRA, the Notes will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company.

The opinions and other matters in this letter are qualified in their entirety and subject to the following:

 

A. We express no opinion as to the laws of any jurisdiction other than the laws of the State of New York.

 

B. The matters expressed in this letter are subject to and qualified and limited by (i) applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent transfer and conveyance, reorganization, moratorium and similar laws affecting creditors’ rights and remedies generally; (ii) general principles of equity, including without limitation, concepts of materiality, reasonableness, good faith and fair dealing and the possible unavailability of specific performance or injunctive relief (regardless of whether considered in a proceeding in equity or at law); and (iii) securities laws and public policy underlying such laws with respect to rights to indemnification and contribution.

 

C. This opinion letter is limited to the matters expressly stated herein and no opinion is to be inferred or implied beyond the opinion expressly set forth herein. We undertake no, and hereby disclaim any, obligation to make any inquiry after the date hereof or to advise you of any changes in any matter set forth herein, whether based on a change in the law, a change in any fact relating to the Company or any other person or any other circumstance.


Spire Inc.

February 27, 2017

Page 3

   LOGO

 

We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K filed by the Company with the Commission on or about the date hereof, to the incorporation by reference of this opinion into the Registration Statement and to the use of our name in the Prospectus and the Prospectus Supplement, in each case forming a part of the Registration Statement and under the caption “Legal Matters.” In giving this consent, we do not thereby admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Act and the rules and regulations thereunder.

Very truly yours,

/s/ AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD LLP

AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD LLP