UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) March 14, 2018 (March 9, 2018)
THE PROGRESSIVE CORPORATION
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Ohio | 1-9518 | 34-0963169 | ||
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(Commission File Number) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
6300 Wilson Mills Road, Mayfield Village, Ohio | 44143 | |
(Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) |
Registrants telephone number, including area code (440) 461-5000
Not Applicable
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):
☐ | Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
☐ | Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§204.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging Growth Company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act ☐
Item 3.03. | Material Modification to Rights of Security Holders. |
On March 13, 2018, The Progressive Corporation (the Company) filed a Certificate of Amendment (the Amendment) to its Amended Articles of Incorporation, as amended (the Articles), with the Secretary of State of the State of Ohio, establishing and fixing the rights and preferences of 500,000 Series B Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Perpetual Serial Preferred Shares, without par value (the Preferred Shares). The Preferred Shares have a liquidation preference of $1,000 per share (the stated amount).
Holders of the Preferred Shares will be entitled to receive, when, as and if declared by the Companys board of directors (or a duly authorized committee of the board), but only out of funds legally available therefor, cumulative cash dividends:
| for each dividend period during the period commencing on the original issue date and continuing to, but excluding, March 15, 2023, at an annual rate of 5.375% of the stated amount per share, and no more, payable semi-annually in arrears on the 15 th day of each March and September, respectively, in each year, beginning on September 15, 2018; and |
| for each dividend period during the period commencing on March 15, 2023 and continuing to, but excluding, the first date, if any, as of which all Preferred Shares have been redeemed, at an annual rate equal to Three Month LIBOR (as defined in the Amendment) for such dividend period plus a spread of 2.539% applied to the stated amount per share, and no more, payable quarterly in arrears on the 15 th day of each March, June, September and December, respectively, in each year, beginning on June 15, 2023. |
The Company may, at the option of its board of directors (or a duly authorized committee of the board), redeem the Preferred Shares:
| in whole but not in part, at any time prior to March 15, 2023, within 90 days after the occurrence of a rating agency event (as defined in the Amendment) at a cash redemption price per share equal to $1,020, together (except as otherwise provided in the Amendment) with an amount equal to all accrued and unpaid dividends to, but excluding, the redemption date; and |
| in whole or in part, from time to time on or after March 15, 2023, at a cash redemption price per share equal to the stated amount, together (except as otherwise provided in the Amendment) with an amount equal to all accrued and unpaid dividends to, but excluding, the redemption date. |
With respect to the payment of dividends and distributions of assets upon any liquidation, dissolution or winding up, the Preferred Shares will rank:
| senior to the Companys common shares, $1.00 par value, and any class or series of shares ranking junior to the Preferred Shares; |
| on a parity with each other series of Serial Preferred Shares or Voting Preference Shares (as those terms are defined in the Articles) that the Company may issue; and |
| junior to all the Companys existing and future indebtedness and other non-equity claims against the Company. |
In the event of any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the affairs of the Company, the holders of the Preferred Shares shall be entitled to receive in full out of the assets of the Company, including its capital, before any amount shall be paid or distributed among the holders of the common shares of the Company or any other shares ranking junior to the Preferred Shares, an amount equal to the stated amount per share, plus an amount equal to all dividends accrued and unpaid thereon to the date of payment of the amount due pursuant to such liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the affairs of the Company.
Except in the limited circumstances described in the Articles, the Preferred Shares do not have voting rights. The Preferred Shares are perpetual and do not have any maturity date, and will not be subject to any mandatory redemption, sinking fund or other similar provisions. Holders of the Preferred Shares do not have any preemptive rights. The Preferred Shares are not convertible into or exchangeable for property or shares of any other series or class.
Upon the issuance of the Preferred Shares, the ability of the Company to declare or pay dividends on, or purchase, retire or otherwise acquire, its common shares or any shares that rank junior to the Preferred Shares, will be subject to certain restrictions in the event that the Company does not declare and pay (or set apart a sum sufficient for payment therefor) all accrued and unpaid dividends on the Preferred Shares.
The foregoing is a summary and is not complete. The full terms of the Preferred Shares are set forth in the Amendment, filed as Exhibit 3.1 hereto and incorporated herein by reference, and the Articles.
Item 5.03. | Amendments to Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws; Change in Fiscal Year. |
On March 13, 2018, the Company filed the Amendment with the Secretary of State of Ohio. The information included under Item 3.03 above is incorporated by reference in this Item 5.03.
Item 8.01. | Other Events. |
On March 9, 2018, the Company entered into Underwriting Agreements (the Underwriting Agreements) with Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, as representatives of the underwriters named therein (the Underwriters), in connection with (i) the offer and sale of $600 million aggregate principal amount of the Companys 4.20% Senior Notes due 2048 (the Notes) and (ii) the offer and sale of 500,000 Preferred Shares. The Underwriting Agreements include customary representations, warranties and covenants by the Company. They also provide for customary indemnification by the Company and each of the Underwriters against certain liabilities arising out of or in connection with the sale of the Notes and the Preferred Shares. The Underwriting Agreements are being filed as Exhibits 1.1 and 1.2 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and are incorporated herein by reference.
The separate offerings of the Notes and the Preferred Shares (each, an Offering) are registered pursuant to an automatic shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (SEC File No. 333-223538) filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) on March 9, 2018 (the Registration Statement), which became immediately effective upon filing, and separate Prospectus Supplements each dated March 9, 2018 (the Prospectus Supplements).
The net proceeds of the Notes Offering is estimated to be $589.5 million and the net proceeds of the Preferred Shares Offering is estimated to be $493.9 million, in each case after giving effect to underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated expenses of the Offering.
The Notes were issued pursuant to an Indenture dated as of September 15, 1993, as supplemented and amended to date (the Indenture), between the Company and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee, including, without limitation, an Eleventh Supplemental Indenture (the Eleventh Supplemental Indenture) dated as of March 14, 2018. The Eleventh Supplemental Indenture and the form of Notes are being filed as Exhibits 4.1 and 4.2, respectively, to this Current Report on Form 8-K and are incorporated herein by reference.
The Notes will bear interest at the rate of 4.20% per annum. Interest on the Notes will be payable semi-annually in arrears on March 15 and September 15 of each year, beginning on September 15, 2018. The Notes will mature on March 15, 2048. Further information concerning the Notes and related matters is set forth in the Prospectus Supplement and the related Prospectus with respect to the Notes that was filed as part of the Registration Statement, and in the Eleventh Supplemental Indenture and the form of Notes attached hereto.
Baker & Hostetler LLP, counsel to the Company, has issued opinions to the Company, each dated March 14, 2018, regarding the Notes and Preferred Shares. Copies of the opinions are being filed as Exhibits 5.1 and 5.2 to this Current Report on Form 8-K.
Item 9.01. | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
The documents filed herewith are incorporated by reference into the Companys Registration Statement on Form S-3, File Number 333-223538.
(d) Exhibits
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.
Date: March 14, 2018
THE PROGRESSIVE CORPORATION | ||||
By: |
/s/ Patrick S. Brennan |
|||
Name: Patrick S. Brennan | ||||
Title: Treasurer |
Exhibit 1.1
EXECUTION VERSION
The Progressive Corporation
4.20% Senior Notes due 2048
Underwriting Agreement
March 9, 2018
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC
11 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10010
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC
200 West Street
New York, New York 10282
As Representatives of the several Underwriters
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The Progressive Corporation, an Ohio corporation (the Company), proposes, subject to the terms and conditions stated herein, to issue and sell to the several Underwriters named in Schedule I hereto (the Underwriters), for whom you are acting as representatives (the Representatives) an aggregate of $600,000,000 principal amount of its 4.20% Senior Notes due 2048 (the Notes).
1. The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, each of the Underwriters that:
(a) An automatic shelf registration statement as defined under Rule 405 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Act) on Form S-3 (File No. 333-223538) in respect of the Notes has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) not earlier than three years prior to the date hereof; such registration statement, and any post-effective amendment thereto, became effective on filing; and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of such registration statement or any part thereof has been issued and no proceeding for that purpose has been initiated or threatened by the Commission, and no notice of objection of the Commission to the use of such registration statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Act has been received by the Company (the base prospectus filed as part
of such registration statement, in the form in which it has most recently been filed with the Commission on or prior to the date of this Agreement, is hereinafter called the Basic Prospectus; any preliminary prospectus (including any preliminary prospectus supplement) relating to the Notes filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act is hereinafter called a Preliminary Prospectus; the various parts of such registration statement, including all exhibits thereto but excluding any Form T-1 and including any prospectus supplement relating to the Notes that is filed with the Commission and deemed by virtue of Rule 430B to be part of such registration statement, each as amended at the time such part of the registration statement became effective, are hereinafter collectively called the Registration Statement; the Basic Prospectus, as amended and supplemented immediately prior to the Applicable Time (as defined in Section 1(c) hereof), is hereinafter called the Pricing Prospectus; the form of the final prospectus relating to the Notes filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act in accordance with Section 5(a) hereof is hereinafter called the Prospectus; any reference herein to the Basic Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 under the Act, as of the date of such prospectus; any reference to any amendment or supplement to the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement, any prospectus supplement relating to the Notes filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act and any documents filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act), and incorporated therein, in each case after the date of the Basic Prospectus, such Preliminary Prospectus, or the Prospectus, as the case may be; any reference to any amendment to the Registration Statement shall be deemed to refer to and include any annual report of the Company on Form 10-K filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the effective date of the Registration Statement that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement; and any issuer free writing prospectus as defined in Rule 433 under the Act relating to the Notes is hereinafter called an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus);
(b) No order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus has been issued by the Commission, and each Preliminary Prospectus, at the time of filing thereof, conformed in all material respects to the applicable requirements of the Act and the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended (the Trust Indenture Act) and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and did 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, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein;
-2-
(c) For the purposes of this Agreement, the Applicable Time is 3:09 p.m. (Eastern time) on the date of this Agreement; the Pricing Prospectus as supplemented by the final term sheet prepared and filed pursuant to Section 5(a) hereof, taken together (collectively, the Pricing Disclosure Package) as of the Applicable Time, did not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus listed on Schedule II(a) hereto does not conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus and each such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as supplemented by and taken together with the Pricing Disclosure Package as of the Applicable Time, did not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to statements or omissions made in the Pricing Disclosure Package and any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein;
(d) The documents incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, when they became effective or were filed with the Commission, as the case may be, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and none of such documents contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; any further documents so filed and incorporated by reference in the Prospectus or any further amendment or supplement thereto, when such documents become effective or are filed with the Commission, as the case may be, will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder 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; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein or the Statement of Eligibility and Qualification on Form T-1 under the Trust Indenture Act; and no such documents were filed with the Commission since the Commissions close of business on the business day immediately prior to the date of this Agreement and prior to the execution of this Agreement, except as set forth on Schedule II(b) hereto;
-3-
(e) The Registration Statement conforms, and the Prospectus and any further amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus will conform, in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the Trust Indenture Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and do not and will not, as of the applicable effective date as to each part of the Registration Statement and as of the applicable filing date as to the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto, 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; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein;
(f) Neither the Company nor any of its Principal Subsidiaries (Principal Subsidiaries means and includes Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Progressive Direct Insurance Company; other than the Principal Subsidiaries, no subsidiary of the Company is a significant subsidiary of the Company within the meaning of Rule 1.02(w) of Regulation S-X under the Act) has sustained since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus any material loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus; and, since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement and the Pricing Prospectus, there has not been any change in the capital stock (other than as a result of share repurchases authorized by the Companys board of directors in amount that does not exceed the amount that would enable the Company to rely upon the safe harbor provisions of Rule 10b-18 promulgated under the Exchange Act (without giving effect to the carve out set forth in subsection (b)(4) of Rule 10b-18 in relation to weekly block purchases)) or long term debt of the Company or any of its Principal Subsidiaries, or any material adverse change or development involving a prospective material adverse change, in or affecting the business, financial position, stockholders equity or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus;
(g) The Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of Ohio, with the corporate power and authority to own its properties and conduct its business as described in the Pricing Prospectus, and has been duly qualified as a foreign corporation for the transaction of business and is in good standing under the laws of each other jurisdiction in which it owns or leases properties or conducts any
-4-
business, except to the extent that the failure to be so qualified or be in good standing would not have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole; and each Principal Subsidiary of the Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation, except to the extent that the failure to be so qualified or in good standing would not individually or in the aggregate have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole;
(h) The Company has an authorized capitalization as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued and are fully paid and non-assessable; and all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of each Principal Subsidiary have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and are owned directly or indirectly by the Company, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities or claims except to the extent that such liens, encumbrances, equities or claims would not individually or in the aggregate have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole;
(i) The Notes have been duly authorized and, when issued and delivered pursuant to this Agreement, will have been duly executed, authenticated, issued and delivered and will constitute valid and legally binding obligations of the Company entitled to the benefits provided by the indenture, dated as of September 15, 1993, as amended and supplemented to the date hereof (the Base Indenture) and as further supplemented by the Eleventh Supplemental Indenture thereto to be dated as of March 14, 2018 (together with the Base Indenture, the Indenture) between the Company and U.S. Bank National Association (as successor in interest to State Street Bank and Trust Company), as Trustee (the Trustee), under which they are to be issued, which Base Indenture is substantially in the form filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement; the Indenture has been or will be duly authorized and duly qualified under the Trust Indenture Act and constitutes a valid and legally binding instrument, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject, as to enforcement, to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization and other laws of general applicability relating to or affecting creditors rights and to general equity principles (the Bankruptcy Exceptions); and the Notes and the Indenture will conform to the descriptions thereof in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus;
(j) The issue and sale of the Notes and the compliance by the Company with all of the provisions of the Notes, the Indenture and this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions herein and therein contemplated (A) will not conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the
-5-
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, (B) nor will such action result in any violation of (x) the provisions of the Companys Amended Articles of Incorporation, as amended (the Certificate of Incorporation) or Code of Regulations (the Code of Regulations) or (y) any statute or any order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their properties, other than, in the case of clause (A) and (B)(y), such breaches, conflicts, violations or defaults which, individually or in the aggregate, would not have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole; and no consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any such court or governmental agency or body is required for the issue and sale of the Notes or the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the Indenture except such as have been obtained under the Act and the Trust Indenture Act and such consents, approvals, authorizations, registrations or qualifications as may be required under state securities or Blue Sky laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Notes by the Underwriters;
(k) Neither the Company nor any of its Principal Subsidiaries is (i) in violation of its Certificate of Incorporation, By-laws or Code of Regulations or (ii) in default in the performance or observance of any obligation, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, lease or other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it or any of its properties may be bound, except, in the case of this clause (ii), where such defaults would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole;
(l) Other than as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus, there are no legal or governmental proceedings pending to which the Company or any of its Principal Subsidiaries is a party or of which any property of the Company or any of its Principal Subsidiaries is the subject which would individually or in the aggregate be reasonably expected to have a material adverse effect on the current or future financial position, shareholders equity or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole; and, to the best of the Companys knowledge, no such proceedings are threatened or, to the best knowledge of the Company, contemplated by governmental authorities or others;
(m) The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Notes and the application of the proceeds thereof, will not be an investment company, as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the Investment Company Act);
-6-
(n) (A)(i) At the time of filing the Registration Statement, (ii) at the time of the most recent amendment thereto 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), and (iii) at the time the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this clause only, of Rule 163(c) under the Act) made any offer relating to the Notes in reliance on the exemption of Rule 163 under the Act, the Company was a well-known seasoned issuer as defined in Rule 405 under the Act; and (B) at the earliest time after the filing of the Registration Statement that the Company or another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) under the Act) of the Notes, the Company was not an ineligible issuer as defined in Rule 405 under the Act;
(o) PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, who have issued their report with respect to certain financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries and have audited the Companys internal control over financial reporting, are independent public accountants with respect to the Company as required by the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder;
(p) The Company maintains a system of internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that complies in all material respects with the applicable requirements of the Exchange Act and has been designed by the Companys principal executive officer and principal financial officer, or under their supervision, that is sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that: (i) transactions are executed in accordance with managements general or specific authorization; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and to maintain accountability for assets; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with managements general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences; in each case, within the meaning of and to the extent required by Section 13(b)(2)(B) of the Exchange Act;
(q) Since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus, there has been no change in the Companys internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Companys internal control over financial reporting;
(r) The Company maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act) that comply in all material respects with the applicable requirements of the Exchange Act; such disclosure controls and procedures are effective in providing reasonable assurance that material information required to be disclosed in its reports filed with or submitted to the Commission under the Exchange Act relating to the Company
-7-
and its subsidiaries and Progressive County Mutual Insurance Company and ASI Lloyds is made known to the Companys principal executive officer and principal financial officer by others within those entities as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure;
(s) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries or affiliates nor any director or officer of the Company, nor to the Companys knowledge, any employee of the Company or any agent or representative of the Company or of any of its subsidiaries or affiliates who are authorized by and acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates, has taken or will take any action in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay, or authorization or approval of the payment or giving of money, property, gifts or anything else of value, directly or indirectly, to any government official (including any officer or employee of a government or government-owned or controlled entity or of a public international organization, or any person acting in an official capacity for or on behalf of any of the foregoing, or any political party or party official or candidate for political office) to influence official action or secure an improper advantage in violation of applicable law; and the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates have conducted their businesses in compliance in all material respects with applicable anti-corruption laws and have instituted and maintain and will continue to maintain policies and procedures reasonably designed to promote and achieve compliance with such laws and with the representation and warranty contained herein;
(t) The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in material compliance with all 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), and the applicable anti-money laundering statutes of jurisdictions where the Company and its subsidiaries conduct business, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the Anti-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 Anti-Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the best knowledge of the Company, threatened; and
(u) (i) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries, nor any director, officer, or employee thereof, nor, to the Companys knowledge, any agent, affiliate or representative of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, is an individual or entity (Person) that is, or is owned or controlled by a Person that is:
-8-
(A) the subject of any sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. Department of Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the European Union (EU), Her Majestys Treasury (HMT), or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, Sanctions), nor
(B) located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is, or whose government is, the subject of Sanctions (including, without limitation, Cuba, the Crimea region of Ukraine, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria).
(ii) The Company will not (to its knowledge with respect to any portion of the proceeds of the offering to be used for the repayment of outstanding debt securities of the Company), directly or indirectly, use the proceeds of the offering, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other Person:
(A) to fund or facilitate any activities or business of or with any Person or in any country or territory that, at the time of such funding or facilitation, is, or whose government is, the subject of Sanctions; or
(B) in any other manner that will result in a violation of Sanctions by any Person (including any Person participating in the offering, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise).
(iii) The Company and its subsidiaries have not knowingly engaged in, are not now knowingly engaged in, and will not knowingly engage in, any dealings or transactions with any Person, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was, or whose government is or was, the subject of Sanctions.
(v) The Company and its subsidiaries have taken commercially reasonable measures to maintain protections against unauthorized access to, or disruption or failure of, their information technology systems. To the Companys knowledge, during the past twelve months, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has been subject to any unauthorized access to their information technology systems or data maintained by them, except as would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole.
2. Subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company agrees to issue and sell to each of the Underwriters, and each of the Underwriters agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company, at the purchase price of 98.423% of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued interest, if any, from March 14, 2018 to the Time of Delivery (as defined below) hereunder, the principal amount of Notes set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule I hereto.
-9-
3. The several Underwriters propose to offer the Notes for sale upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Prospectus.
4. (a) The Notes to be purchased by each Underwriter hereunder will be represented by one or more definitive global Notes in book-entry form which will be deposited by or on behalf of the Company with The Depository Trust Company (DTC) or its designated custodian. The Company will deliver the Notes to the Representatives, for the account of each Underwriter, against payment by or on behalf of such Underwriter of the purchase price therefor by wire transfer of Federal (same-day) funds to the account specified by the Company to the Representatives, by causing DTC to credit the Notes to the account of the Representatives at DTC. The time and date of such delivery and payment shall be 9:30 a.m., New York City time, on March 14, 2018 or such other time and date as the Representatives and the Company may agree upon in writing. Such time and date are herein called the Time of Delivery.
(b) The documents to be delivered at the Time of Delivery by or on behalf of the parties hereto pursuant to Section 8 hereof, including the cross-receipt for the Notes and any additional documents requested by the Underwriters pursuant to Section 8(j) hereof, will be delivered at the offices of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, 125 Broad Street, New York, New York 10004 (the Closing Location), and the Notes will be delivered at the office of DTC or its designated custodian (the Designated Office), all at the Time of Delivery. A meeting will be held at the Closing Location at 4:00 p.m., New York City time, on the New York Business Day next preceding the Time of Delivery, at which meeting the final drafts of the documents to be delivered pursuant to the preceding sentence will be available for review by the parties hereto. For the purposes of this Section 4, New York Business Day shall mean each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday which is not a day on which banking institutions in New York City are generally authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close.
5. The Company agrees with each of the Underwriters:
(a) To prepare the Prospectus in a form approved by you and to file such Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act not later than the Commissions close of business on the second business day following the date of this Agreement; to make no further amendment or any supplement to the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus or the Prospectus prior to the Time of Delivery which shall be disapproved by you promptly after reasonable notice thereof; to advise you, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the time when any amendment to the Registration Statement has been filed or becomes effective or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus has been filed and to furnish you with copies thereof; to prepare a final term sheet, containing solely a description of the Notes, in a form approved by you, and to file such term sheet pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act within the time required by such Rule; to file promptly all other material required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act; to file promptly all reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Company with the Commission
-10-
pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act subsequent to the date of the Prospectus and for so long as the delivery of a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is required in connection with the offering or sale of the Notes; to advise you, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or other prospectus in respect of the Notes, of any notice of objection of the Commission to the use of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Act, of the suspension of the qualification of the Notes for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose, or of any request by the Commission for the amending or supplementing of the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or for additional information; and, in the event of the issuance of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or other prospectus or suspending any such qualification, to promptly use its best efforts to obtain the withdrawal of such order; and in the event of any such issuance of a notice of objection, promptly to take such steps including, without limitation, amending the Registration Statement or filing a new registration statement, at its own expense, as may be necessary to permit offers and sales of the Notes by the Underwriters (references herein to the Registration Statement shall include any such amendment or new registration statement);
(b) If required by Rule 430B(h) under the Act, to prepare a form of prospectus in a form approved by you and to file such form of prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act not later than may be required by Rule 424(b) under the Act; and to make no further amendment or supplement to such form of prospectus which shall be disapproved by you promptly after reasonable notice thereof;
(c) If by the third anniversary (the Renewal Deadline) of the initial effective date of the Registration Statement, any of the Notes remain unsold by the Underwriters, the Company will file, if it has not already done so and is eligible to do so, a new automatic shelf registration statement relating to the Notes, in a form satisfactory to you. If at the Renewal Deadline the Company is no longer eligible to file an automatic shelf registration statement, the Company, if it has not already done so, will file a new shelf registration statement relating to the Notes, in a form satisfactory to you, and will use commercially reasonable efforts to cause such registration statement to be declared effective within 180 days after the Renewal Deadline. The Company will take all other commercially reasonable action necessary or appropriate to permit the public offering and sale of the Notes to continue as contemplated in the expired registration statement relating to the Notes. References herein to the Registration Statement shall include such new automatic shelf registration statement or such new shelf registration statement, as the case may be;
-11-
(d) Promptly from time to time to take such action as you may reasonably request to qualify the Notes for offering and sale under the securities laws of such United States jurisdictions as you may request and to comply with such laws so as to permit the continuance of sales and dealings therein in such jurisdictions for as long as may be necessary to complete the distribution of the Notes, provided that in connection therewith the Company shall not be required to qualify as a foreign corporation or to file a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction;
(e) Prior to 2:00 p.m., New York City time, on the New York Business Day next succeeding the date of this Agreement and from time to time, to furnish the Underwriters with written and electronic copies of the Prospectus in New York City in such quantities as you may reasonably request, and, if the delivery of a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is required at any time prior to the expiration of nine months after the time of issue of the Prospectus in connection with the offering or sale of the Notes and if at such time any event shall have occurred as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made when such Prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is delivered, not misleading, or, if for any other reason it shall be necessary during such same period to amend or supplement the Prospectus or to file under the Exchange Act any document incorporated by reference in the Prospectus in order to comply with the Act, the Exchange Act or the Trust Indenture Act, to notify you and upon your request to file such document and to prepare and furnish without charge to each Underwriter and to any dealer in securities as many written and electronic copies as you may from time to time reasonably request of an amended Prospectus or a supplement to the Prospectus which will correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance; and in case any Underwriter is required to deliver a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) in connection with sales of any of the Notes at any time nine months or more after the time of issue of the Prospectus, upon your request but at the expense of such Underwriter, to prepare and deliver to such Underwriter as many written and electronic copies as you may request of an amended or supplemented Prospectus complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Act;
(f) To make generally available to its securityholders as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than sixteen months after the effective date of the Registration Statement (as defined in Rule 158(c) under the Act), an earnings statement of the Company and its subsidiaries (which need not be audited) complying with Section 11(a) of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (including, at the option of the Company, Rule 158);
(g) During the period beginning from the date hereof and continuing to and including the date 30 days after the date of the Prospectus, not to offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, grant any option to purchase, make any short sale or otherwise dispose, except as provided hereunder of, any securities of the Company that are substantially similar to the Notes without your prior written consent;
-12-
(h) To pay the required Commission filing fees relating to the Notes within the time required by Rule 456(b)(1) under the Act and otherwise in accordance with Rules 456(b) and 457(r) under the Act; and
(i) To use the net proceeds received by it from the sale of the Notes pursuant to this Agreement in the manner specified in the Pricing Prospectus under the caption Use of Proceeds.
6. (a)(i) The Company represents and agrees that, other than as set forth in Schedule II(a), without the prior consent of the Representatives (not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed), it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Notes that would constitute a free writing prospectus as defined in Rule 405 under the Act;
(ii) Each Underwriter represents and agrees that, without the prior written consent of the Company and the Representatives, other than one or more final term sheets relating to the Notes containing substantially similar, customary information set forth therein and conveyed to purchasers of Notes, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Notes that would constitute a free writing prospectus that is required to be filed with the Commission; and
(iii) Any such free writing prospectus the use of which has been consented to by the Company and the Representatives (including the final term sheet prepared and filed pursuant to Section 5(a) hereof) is listed on Schedule II(a) hereto;
(b) The Company has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 under the Act applicable to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the Commission or retention where required and legending; and
(c) The Company agrees that if at any time following issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus any event occurred or occurs as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus would conflict with the information in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances then prevailing, not misleading, the Company will give prompt notice thereof to the Representatives and, if requested by the Representatives, will prepare and furnish without charge to each Underwriter an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or other document which will correct such conflict, statement or omission; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions in an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein.
7. The Company covenants and agrees with the several Underwriters that the Company will pay or cause to be paid the following: (i) the fees, disbursements and expenses of the Companys counsel and accountants in connection with the registration of the Notes under the Act and all other expenses in connection with the preparation,
-13-
printing, reproduction and filing of the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and the Prospectus and amendments and supplements thereto and the mailing and delivering of copies thereof to the Underwriters and dealers; (ii) the cost of printing or producing this Agreement, the Indenture, the Blue Sky Memorandum, and closing documents (including any compilations thereof) contemplated by this Agreement or the Indenture; (iii) all expenses in connection with the qualification of the Notes for offering and sale under state securities laws as provided in Section 5(d) hereof, including the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection with such qualification and in connection with the Blue Sky survey; (iv) any fees charged by securities rating services for rating the Notes; (v) the filing fees incident to, and the fees and disbursements of counsel for each Underwriter in connection with, any required review by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. of the terms of the sale of the Notes; (vi) the cost of preparing the Notes; (vii) the fees and expenses of the Trustee and any agent of the Trustee and the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Trustee in connection with the Indenture and the Notes; and (viii) all other costs and expenses incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder which are not otherwise specifically provided for in this Section. It is understood, however, that, except as provided in this Section, and Sections 9 and 12 hereof, the Underwriters will pay all of their own costs and expenses, including the fees of their counsel, transfer taxes on resale of any of the Notes by them, and any advertising expenses connected with any offers they may make.
8. The obligations of the Underwriters hereunder shall be subject, in their discretion, to the condition that all representations and warranties and other statements of the Company herein are, at and as of the Time of Delivery, true and correct, the condition that the Company shall have performed all of its obligations hereunder theretofore to be performed, and the following additional conditions:
(a) The Prospectus shall have been filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by the rules and regulations under the Act and in accordance with Section 5(a) hereof; the final term sheet contemplated by Section 5(a) hereof, and any other material required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act, shall have been filed with the Commission within the applicable time periods prescribed for such filings by Rule 433; no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any part thereof shall have been issued and no proceeding for that purpose shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission and no notice of objection of the Commission to the use of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Act shall have been received; no stop order suspending or preventing the use of the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission; and all requests for additional information on the part of the Commission shall have been complied with to your reasonable satisfaction;
-14-
(b) Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, shall have furnished to you such written opinion or opinions, dated the Time of Delivery, in form and substance satisfactory to you, with respect to such matters as you shall reasonably request, and such counsel shall have received such papers and information as they may reasonably request to enable them to pass upon such matters;
(c) Baker & Hostetler LLP, counsel for the Company, shall have furnished to you their written opinion, dated the Time of Delivery, in form and substance satisfactory to you, to the effect that:
(i) The Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of Ohio, with corporate power and authority to own its properties and conduct its business as described in the Prospectus;
(ii) To the best of such counsels knowledge and other than as set forth in the Prospectus, there are no legal or governmental proceedings pending to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or of which any property of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is the subject which would individually or in the aggregate be reasonably expected to have a material adverse effect on the current or future consolidated financial position, stockholders equity or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole; and, to the best of such counsels knowledge, no such proceedings are threatened by governmental authorities or threatened by others;
(iii) This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company;
(iv) The Notes have been duly authorized, executed, issued and delivered by the Company and, when executed and authenticated in accordance with the provisions of the Indenture and delivered to and paid for by the Underwriters in accordance with this Agreement, will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject, as to enforcement, to the Bankruptcy Exceptions, and entitled to the benefits provided by the Indenture; and the Notes and the Indenture conform in all material respects to the descriptions thereof in the Prospectus;
(v) The Indenture has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and, assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery by the other parties thereto, constitutes a valid and binding instrument, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject, as to enforcement, to the Bankruptcy Exceptions; and the Indenture has been duly qualified under the Trust Indenture Act;
-15-
(vi) The issue and sale of the Notes and the compliance by the Company with all of the provisions of the Notes and the Indenture and this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions herein and therein contemplated will not result in any (A) violation of the provisions of the Articles of Incorporation or Code of Regulations of the Company or (B) result in the violation of any statute or any order, rule or regulation known to such counsel of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their properties except, in the case of clause (B), in any such instance or instances in which the breach or violation would not have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole or on the Companys ability to perform its respective obligations hereunder and under the Indenture and the Notes and provided, that the terms statute, order, rule and regulation are limited to those under the state laws of the State of Ohio and the State of New York and federal laws of the United States of America which, in the experience of such counsel and without independent investigation, are normally applicable to transactions of the type contemplated by this Agreement and shall not include federal or state securities or blue sky laws, including, without limitation, the Act, the Exchange Act, the Trust Indenture Act or the Investment Company Act, antifraud laws, or in each case any rules or regulations thereunder, or any law, rule or regulation relating to insurance or similar matters;
(vii) No consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any such court or governmental agency or body is required for the issue and sale of the Notes or the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the Indenture, except such as have been obtained under the Act and the Trust Indenture Act and such consents, approvals, authorizations, registrations or qualifications as may be required under any state securities or Blue Sky laws or any insurance laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Notes by the Underwriters;
(viii) The statements set forth in the Prospectus under the captions Description of Notes and Description of Senior Debt Securities and in the Pricing Disclosure Package under the captions Description of Notes and Description of Senior Debt Securities, when taken together with the information in the final term sheet comprising a part of the Pricing Disclosure Package, insofar as they purport to constitute a summary of the terms of the Notes, and the statements set forth in the Prospectus under the caption Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences, insofar as they purport to describe the provisions of the laws and documents referred to therein, are fair summaries thereof;
(ix) The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Notes and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in the Prospectus, will not be an investment company, as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act;
-16-
(x) The documents incorporated by reference in the Prospectus or any further amendment or supplement thereto made by the Company prior to the Time of Delivery (other than the financial statements and related schedules or other financial or statistical data included or incorporated by reference therein, as to which such counsel need express no opinion), when they became effective or were filed with the Commission, as the case may be, complied as to form in all material respects with the requirements of the Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder;
(xi) The Registration Statement, the Prospectus and any further amendments and supplements thereto, as applicable, made by the Company prior to the Time of Delivery (other than the financial statements and related schedules or other financial or statistical data included or incorporated by reference therein, as to which such counsel need express no opinion) comply as to form in all material respects with the requirements of the Act and the Trust Indenture Act and the rules and regulations thereunder; and they do not know of any amendment to the Registration Statement required to be filed such as would be necessary for the Registration Statement to so comply or of any contracts or other documents of a character required to be filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement or required to be incorporated by reference into the Prospectus or required to be described in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus or the Prospectus which are not filed or incorporated by reference or described as required; and
(xii) Although they do not assume any responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the statements contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, except for those referred to in the opinion in subsection (viii) of this Section 8(c), such counsel has no reason to believe that (i) the Registration Statement or any further amendment thereto made by the Company prior to the Time of Delivery (other than the financial statements and related schedules or other financial or statistical information contained or incorporated by reference therein, as to which such counsel need express no opinion), when such part or amendment became effective, contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; (ii) the Pricing Disclosure Package (other than the financial statements and related schedules or other financial or statistical information contained or incorporated by reference therein, as to which such counsel need express no opinion), as of the Applicable Time, contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; or (iii) as of its date and as of the Time of Delivery, the Prospectus or any further amendment or supplement thereto made by the Company prior to the Time of Delivery (other than the financial statements and related schedules or other financial or statistical information contained or incorporated by reference therein, as to which such counsel need express no opinion) contained or contains an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or omits to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;
-17-
(d) Daniel P. Mascaro, Chief Legal Officer for the Company, shall have furnished to you his written opinion, dated the Time of Delivery in form and substance satisfactory to you, to the effect that:
(i) each Principal Subsidiary of the Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation; and all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of each such Principal Subsidiary have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are fully paid and non-assessable, and (except for directors qualifying shares) are owned directly or indirectly by the Company, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities or claims;
(ii) the issue and sale of the Notes and the compliance by the Company with all of the provisions of the Notes, the Indenture and this Agreement, and the consummation of the transactions herein and therein contemplated will not conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument known to such counsel 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 other than as would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole; and
(iii) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in violation of its Certificate of Incorporation, Code of Regulations or By-laws or in default in the performance or observance of any material obligation, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, lease or other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it or any of its properties may be bound other than as would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole.
(e) At the time of the execution of this Agreement, you shall have received from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP a letter dated such date, in form and substance satisfactory to you, that contains statements and information of the type ordinarily included in accountants comfort letters to underwriters with respect to the financial statements and certain financial information contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. At the Time of Delivery, you shall have received from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP a letter, dated as of the Time of Delivery, to the effect that they reaffirm the statements made in the letter furnished pursuant to the preceding sentence, except that the specified date referred to shall be a date not more than three business days prior to the Time of Delivery;
-18-
(f) (i) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries shall have sustained since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus any loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus, and (ii) since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Pricing Prospectus there shall not have been any change in the capital stock (other than as a result of share repurchases authorized by the Companys board of directors in amount that does not exceed the amount that would enable the Company to rely upon the safe harbor provisions of Rule 10b-18 promulgated under the Exchange Act (without giving effect to the carve out set forth in subsection (b)(4) of Rule 10b-18 in relation to weekly block purchases)) or long term debt of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any change, or any development involving a prospective change, in or affecting the business, financial position, stockholders equity or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus, the effect of which, in any such case described in clause (i) or (ii), is in your judgment so material and adverse as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or the delivery of the Notes on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Prospectus;
(g) On or after the Applicable Time (i) no downgrading shall have occurred in the rating accorded the Companys debt securities by any nationally recognized statistical rating organization, as that term is defined in Section 3(a)(62) of the Exchange Act, and (ii) no such organization shall have publicly announced that it has under surveillance or review, and noting an intended or possible decrease in its rating of any of the Companys debt securities;
(h) On or after the Applicable Time there shall not have occurred any of the following: (i) a suspension or material limitation in trading in securities generally on the New York Stock Exchange; (ii) a suspension or material limitation in trading in the Companys securities on the New York Stock Exchange; (iii) a general moratorium on commercial banking activities declared by either Federal or New York State authorities or a material disruption in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services in the United States; (iv) the outbreak or escalation of hostilities involving the United States or the declaration by the United States of a national emergency or war or (v) the occurrence of any other calamity or crisis or any change in financial, political or economic conditions in the United States or elsewhere, if the effect of any such event specified in clause (iv) or (v) in your judgment makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or the delivery of the Notes on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Prospectus;
-19-
(i) The Company shall have complied with the provisions of Section 5(e) hereof with respect to the furnishing of prospectuses on the New York Business Day next succeeding the date of this Agreement; and
(j) The Company shall have furnished or caused to be furnished to you at the Time of Delivery certificates of officers of the Company satisfactory to it as to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company herein at and as of such time, as to the performance by the Company of all of its obligations hereunder to be performed at or prior to such time, and as to the matters set forth in subsection (a) of this Section.
9. (a) The Company will indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which such Underwriter may become subject, under the Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any issuer information filed or required to be filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, and will reimburse such Underwriter for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such Underwriter in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim as such expenses are incurred; provided, however, that the Company shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage or liability arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by any Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein.
(b) Each Underwriter will indemnify and hold harmless the Company against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which the Company may become subject, under the Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, in each case to the extent, but only to the extent, that such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or
-20-
the Prospectus or any such amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by such Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein; and will reimburse the Company for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by the Company in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim as such expenses are incurred.
(c) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under subsection (a) or (b) above of notice of the commencement of any such action, such indemnified party shall, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party under such subsection, notify the indemnifying party in writing of the commencement thereof; but the failure to so notify an indemnifying party shall not relieve such indemnifying party from any liability hereunder except to the extent that the indemnifying party is prejudiced as a result thereof and in any event shall not relieve it from any liability which it may have otherwise than on account of this Section 9. In case any such action shall be brought against any indemnified party and it shall notify the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof, the indemnifying party shall be entitled to participate therein and, to the extent that it shall wish, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense thereof, with counsel satisfactory to such indemnified party (who shall not, except with the consent of the indemnified party, be counsel to the indemnifying party, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld), and, after notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of its election so to assume the defense thereof, the indemnifying party shall not be liable to such indemnified party under such subsection for any legal expenses of other counsel or any other expenses, in each case subsequently incurred by such indemnified party, in connection with the defense thereof other than reasonable out-of-pocket costs of investigation. No indemnifying party shall, without the written consent of the indemnified party, effect the settlement or compromise of, or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to, any pending or threatened action or claim in respect of which indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder (whether or not the indemnified party is an actual or potential party to such action or claim) unless such settlement, compromise or judgment (i) includes an unconditional release of the indemnified party from all liability arising out of such action 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) If the indemnification provided for in this Section 9 is unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under subsection (a) or (b) above in respect of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) 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, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other from the offering of the Notes. If, however, the allocation provided by the immediately preceding sentence is not permitted by applicable law or if the indemnified party failed to give the notice required under subsection (c) above (unless the failure to give such notice does not
-21-
materially prejudice the indemnifying party), then each indemnifying party shall contribute to such amount paid or payable by such indemnified party in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only such relative benefits received, but also the relative fault of, the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof), as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the offering (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters, in each case as set forth in the table on the cover page of the Prospectus. The relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company on the one hand or the Underwriters on the other and the parties relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Company and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this subsection (d) 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 which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above in this subsection (d). The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to above in this subsection (d) shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection (d), no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Notes underwritten by it and distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages which such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. The Underwriters obligations in this subsection (d) to contribute are several in proportion to their respective underwriting obligations and are not joint.
(e) The obligations of the Company under this Section 9 shall be in addition to any liability which the Company may otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of the Act and each broker-dealer affiliate of any Underwriter; and the obligations of Underwriters under this Section 9 shall be in addition to any liability which the respective Underwriters may otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to each officer and director of the Company and to each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of the Act.
-22-
10. (a) If any Underwriter shall default in its obligation to purchase the Notes which it has agreed to purchase hereunder, you may in your discretion arrange for you or another party or other parties satisfactory to the Company to purchase such Notes on the terms contained herein. If within thirty six hours after such default by any Underwriter you do not arrange for the purchase of such Notes, then the Company shall be entitled to a further period of thirty six hours within which to procure another party or other parties satisfactory to you to purchase such Notes on such terms. In the event that, within the respective prescribed periods, you notify the Company that you have so arranged for the purchase of such Notes, or the Company notifies you that it has so arranged for the purchase of such Notes, you or the Company shall have the right to postpone the Time of Delivery for a period of not more than seven days, in order to effect whatever changes may thereby be made necessary in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or in any other documents or arrangements, and the Company agrees to file promptly any amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus which in your opinion may thereby be made necessary. The term Underwriter as used in this Agreement shall include any person substituted under this Section with like effect as if such person had originally been a party to this Agreement with respect to such Notes.
(b) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Notes of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by you and the Company as provided in subsection (a) above, the aggregate principal amount of such Notes which remains unpurchased does not exceed one eleventh of the aggregate principal amount of all the Notes, then the Company shall have the right to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase the principal amount of Notes which such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder and, in addition, to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase its pro rata share (based on the principal amount of Notes which such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder) of the Notes of such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters for which such arrangements have not been made; but nothing herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter from liability for its default.
(c) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Notes of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by you and the Company as provided in subsection (a) above, the aggregate principal amount of Notes which remains unpurchased exceeds one eleventh of the aggregate principal amount of all the Notes, or if the Company shall not exercise the right described in subsection (b) above to require non-defaulting Underwriters to purchase Notes of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters, then this Agreement shall thereupon terminate, without liability on the part of any non-defaulting Underwriter or the Company, except for the expenses to be borne by the Company and the Underwriters as provided in Section 7 hereof and the indemnity and contribution agreements in Section 9 hereof; but nothing herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter from liability for its default.
-23-
11. The respective indemnities, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of the Company and the several Underwriters, as set forth in this Agreement or made by or on behalf of them, respectively, pursuant to this Agreement, shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation (or any statement as to the results thereof) made by or on behalf of any Underwriter or any controlling person of any Underwriter, or the Company, or any officer or director or controlling person of the Company, and shall survive delivery of and payment for the Notes.
12. If this Agreement shall be terminated pursuant to Section 10 hereof, the Company shall not then be under any liability to any Underwriter except as provided in Sections 7 and 9 hereof; but, if for any other reason the Notes are not delivered by or on behalf of the Company as provided herein, the Company will reimburse the Underwriters through you for all reasonable out of pocket expenses approved in writing by you, including fees and disbursements of counsel, reasonably incurred by the Underwriters in making preparations for the purchase, sale and delivery of the Notes, but the Company shall then be under no further liability to any Underwriter except as provided in Sections 7 and 9 hereof.
13. All statements, requests, notices and agreements hereunder shall be in writing, and if to the Underwriters shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, at 11 Madison Avenue, New York NY 10010, Attention: IBCM Legal and to Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282-2198, Attention: Registration Department; and if to the Company shall be sent by mail to the address of the Company set forth in the Registration Statement, Attention: Secretary. Any such statements, requests, notices or agreements shall take effect upon receipt thereof.
14. This Agreement shall be binding upon, and inure solely to the benefit of, the Underwriters, the Company and, to the extent provided in Sections 9 and 11 hereof, the officers and directors of the Company and each person who controls the Company or any Underwriter, and their respective heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns, and no other person shall acquire or have any right under or by virtue of this Agreement. No purchaser of any of the Notes from any Underwriter shall be deemed a successor or assign by reason merely of such purchase.
15. Time shall be of the essence of this Agreement.
16. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) the purchase and sale of the Notes pursuant to this Agreement is an arms-length commercial transaction between the Company, on the one hand, and the several Underwriters, on the other, (ii) in connection therewith and with the process leading to such transaction, each Underwriter is acting solely as a principal and not the agent or fiduciary of the Company, (iii) no Underwriter has assumed an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company with respect to the offering contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether such Underwriter has advised or is currently advising the Company on other matters) or any other obligation to the Company except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement and (iv) the Company has consulted its own legal and financial advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate. The Company agrees that it will not claim that the Underwriters, or any of them, has rendered advisory services of any nature or respect, or owes a fiduciary or similar duty to the Company, in connection with such transaction or the process leading thereto.
-24-
17. This Agreement supersedes all prior agreements and understandings (whether written or oral) between the Company and the Underwriters, or any of them, with respect to the subject matter hereof.
18. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.
19. The Company 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.
20. 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.
21. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Company is authorized to disclose to any persons the U.S. federal and state income tax treatment and tax structure of the potential transaction and all materials of any kind (including tax opinions and other tax analyses) provided to the Company relating to that treatment and structure, without any Underwriter imposing any limitation of any kind. However, any information relating to the tax treatment and tax structure shall remain confidential (and the foregoing sentence shall not apply) to the extent necessary to enable any person to comply with securities laws. For this purpose, tax structure is limited to any facts that may be relevant to that treatment.
-25-
If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding, please sign and return to us counterparts hereof, and upon the acceptance hereof by you, on behalf of each of the Underwriters, this letter and such acceptance hereof shall constitute a binding agreement between each of the Underwriters and the Company.
Very truly yours, | ||
The Progressive Corporation | ||
By: |
/s/ John P. Sauerland |
|
Name: John P. Sauerland | ||
Title: Vice President and Chief Financial Officer |
[ Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement ]
Accepted as of the date hereof:
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC | ||
By: |
/s/ Sharon Harrison |
|
Name: Sharon Harrison | ||
Title: Director | ||
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC | ||
By: |
/s/ Raffael Fiumara |
|
Name: Raffael Fiumara | ||
Title: Vice President |
On behalf of each of the Underwriters
[ Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement ]
SCHEDULE I
Principal
Amount of Notes to be Purchased |
||||
Underwriter |
||||
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC |
$ | 228,000,000 | ||
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC |
$ | 228,000,000 | ||
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC |
$ | 48,000,000 | ||
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC |
$ | 48,000,000 | ||
PNC Capital Markets LLC |
$ | 48,000,000 | ||
|
|
|||
Total |
$ | 600,000,000 | ||
|
|
SCHEDULE II(a)
1. Final Term Sheet dated March 9, 2018.
2. Additional Documents Incorporated by Reference: No
Exhibit 1.2
EXECUTION VERSION
The Progressive Corporation
Series B Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Perpetual Serial Preferred Shares
Underwriting Agreement
March 9, 2018
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC
11 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10010
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC
200 West Street
New York, New York 10282
As Representatives of the several Underwriters
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The Progressive Corporation, an Ohio corporation (the Company), proposes, subject to the terms and conditions stated herein, to issue and sell to the several Underwriters named in Schedule I hereto (the Underwriters), for whom you are acting as representatives (the Representatives) an aggregate of 500,000 shares of its Series B Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Perpetual Serial Preferred Shares (the Preferred Shares).
1. The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, each of the Underwriters that:
(a) An automatic shelf registration statement as defined under Rule 405 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Act) on Form S-3 (File No. 333-223538) in respect of the Preferred Shares has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) not earlier than three years prior to the date hereof; such registration statement, and any post-effective amendment thereto, became effective on filing; and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of such registration statement or any part thereof has been issued and no proceeding for that purpose has been initiated or threatened by the Commission, and no notice of objection of the Commission to the use of such registration statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Act has been received by the Company (the base
prospectus filed as part of such registration statement, in the form in which it has most recently been filed with the Commission on or prior to the date of this Agreement, is hereinafter called the Basic Prospectus; any preliminary prospectus (including any preliminary prospectus supplement) relating to the Preferred Shares filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act is hereinafter called a Preliminary Prospectus; the various parts of such registration statement, including all exhibits thereto but excluding any Form T-1 and including any prospectus supplement relating to the Preferred Shares that is filed with the Commission and deemed by virtue of Rule 430B to be part of such registration statement, each as amended at the time such part of the registration statement became effective, are hereinafter collectively called the Registration Statement; the Basic Prospectus, as amended and supplemented immediately prior to the Applicable Time (as defined in Section 1(c) hereof), is hereinafter called the Pricing Prospectus; the form of the final prospectus relating to the Preferred Shares filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act in accordance with Section 5(a) hereof is hereinafter called the Prospectus; any reference herein to the Basic Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 under the Act, as of the date of such prospectus; any reference to any amendment or supplement to the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement, any prospectus supplement relating to the Preferred Shares filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act and any documents filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act), and incorporated therein, in each case after the date of the Basic Prospectus, such Preliminary Prospectus, or the Prospectus, as the case may be; any reference to any amendment to the Registration Statement shall be deemed to refer to and include any annual report of the Company on Form 10-K filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the effective date of the Registration Statement that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement; and any issuer free writing prospectus as defined in Rule 433 under the Act relating to the Preferred Shares is hereinafter called an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus);
(b) No order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus has been issued by the Commission, and each Preliminary Prospectus, at the time of filing thereof, conformed in all material respects to the applicable requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and did 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, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein;
-2-
(c) For the purposes of this Agreement, the Applicable Time is 3:09 p.m. (Eastern time) on the date of this Agreement; the Pricing Prospectus as supplemented by the final term sheet prepared and filed pursuant to Section 5(a) hereof, taken together (collectively, the Pricing Disclosure Package) as of the Applicable Time, did not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus listed on Schedule II(a) hereto does not conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus and each such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as supplemented by and taken together with the Pricing Disclosure Package as of the Applicable Time, did not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to statements or omissions made in the Pricing Disclosure Package and any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein;
(d) The documents incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, when they became effective or were filed with the Commission, as the case may be, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and none of such documents contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; any further documents so filed and incorporated by reference in the Prospectus or any further amendment or supplement thereto, when such documents become effective or are filed with the Commission, as the case may be, will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder 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; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein; and no such documents were filed with the Commission since the Commissions close of business on the business day immediately prior to the date of this Agreement and prior to the execution of this Agreement, except as set forth on Schedule II(b) hereto;
-3-
(e) The Registration Statement conforms, and the Prospectus and any further amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus will conform, in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and do not and will not, as of the applicable effective date as to each part of the Registration Statement and as of the applicable filing date as to the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto, 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; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein;
(f) Neither the Company nor any of its Principal Subsidiaries (Principal Subsidiaries means and includes Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Progressive Direct Insurance Company; other than the Principal Subsidiaries, no subsidiary of the Company is a significant subsidiary of the Company within the meaning of Rule 1.02(w) of Regulation S-X under the Act) has sustained since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus any material loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus; and, since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement and the Pricing Prospectus, there has not been any change in the capital stock (other than as a result of share repurchases authorized by the Companys board of directors in amount that does not exceed the amount that would enable the Company to rely upon the safe harbor provisions of Rule 10b-18 promulgated under the Exchange Act (without giving effect to the carve out set forth in subsection (b)(4) of Rule 10b-18 in relation to weekly block purchases)) or long term debt of the Company or any of its Principal Subsidiaries, or any material adverse change or development involving a prospective material adverse change, in or affecting the business, financial position, stockholders equity or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus;
(g) The Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of Ohio, with the corporate power and authority to own its properties and conduct its business as described in the Pricing Prospectus, and has been duly qualified as a foreign corporation for the transaction of business and is in good standing under the laws of each other jurisdiction in which it owns or leases properties or conducts any business, except to the extent that the failure to be so qualified or be in good
-4-
standing would not have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole; and each Principal Subsidiary of the Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation, except to the extent that the failure to be so qualified or in good standing would not individually or in the aggregate have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole;
(h) The Company has an authorized capitalization as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued and are fully paid and non-assessable; and all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of each Principal Subsidiary have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and are owned directly or indirectly by the Company, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities or claims except to the extent that such liens, encumbrances, equities or claims would not individually or in the aggregate have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole;
(i) The Preferred Shares have been duly and validly authorized, and when the Preferred Shares are issued and delivered pursuant to this Agreement, such Preferred Shares will be duly and validly issued and fully paid and non-assessable; the Preferred Shares conform to the description thereof contained in the Pricing Prospectus and will conform to the description thereof contained in the Prospectus; the issue and sale of the Preferred Shares and the compliance by the Company with all of the provisions of the Preferred Shares, this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions herein and therein contemplated (A) will not conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject, (B) nor will such action result in any violation of (x) the provisions of the Companys Amended Articles of Incorporation, as amended (the Certificate of Incorporation) or Code of Regulations (the Code of Regulations) or (y) any statute or any order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their properties, other than, in the case of clause (A) and (B)(y), such breaches, conflicts, violations or defaults which, individually or in the aggregate, would not have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole; and no consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any such court or governmental agency or body is required for the issue and sale of the Preferred Shares or the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement except such as have been obtained under the Act and such consents, approvals, authorizations, registrations or qualifications as may be required under state securities or Blue Sky laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Preferred Shares by the Underwriters;
-5-
(j) Neither the Company nor any of its Principal Subsidiaries is (i) in violation of its Certificate of Incorporation, By-laws or Code of Regulations or (ii) in default in the performance or observance of any obligation, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, lease or other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it or any of its properties may be bound, except, in the case of this clause (ii), where such defaults would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole;
(k) Other than as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus, there are no legal or governmental proceedings pending to which the Company or any of its Principal Subsidiaries is a party or of which any property of the Company or any of its Principal Subsidiaries is the subject which would individually or in the aggregate be reasonably expected to have a material adverse effect on the current or future financial position, shareholders equity or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole; and, to the best of the Companys knowledge, no such proceedings are threatened or, to the best knowledge of the Company, contemplated by governmental authorities or others;
(l) The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Preferred Shares and the application of the proceeds thereof, will not be an investment company, as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the Investment Company Act);
(m) (A)(i) At the time of filing the Registration Statement, (ii) at the time of the most recent amendment thereto 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), and (iii) at the time the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this clause only, of Rule 163(c) under the Act) made any offer relating to the Preferred Shares in reliance on the exemption of Rule 163 under the Act, the Company was a well-known seasoned issuer as defined in Rule 405 under the Act; and (B) at the earliest time after the filing of the Registration Statement that the Company or another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) under the Act) of the Preferred Shares, the Company was not an ineligible issuer as defined in Rule 405 under the Act;
(n) PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, who have issued their report with respect to certain financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries and have audited the Companys internal control over financial reporting, are independent public accountants with respect to the Company as required by the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder;
-6-
(o) The Company maintains a system of internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that complies in all material respects with the applicable requirements of the Exchange Act and has been designed by the Companys principal executive officer and principal financial officer, or under their supervision, that is sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that: (i) transactions are executed in accordance with managements general or specific authorization; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and to maintain accountability for assets; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with managements general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences; in each case, within the meaning of and to the extent required by Section 13(b)(2)(B) of the Exchange Act;
(p) Since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus, there has been no change in the Companys internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Companys internal control over financial reporting;
(q) The Company maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act) that comply in all material respects with the applicable requirements of the Exchange Act; such disclosure controls and procedures are effective in providing reasonable assurance that material information required to be disclosed in its reports filed with or submitted to the Commission under the Exchange Act relating to the Company and its subsidiaries and Progressive County Mutual Insurance Company and ASI Lloyds is made known to the Companys principal executive officer and principal financial officer by others within those entities as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure;
(r) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries or affiliates nor any director or officer of the Company, nor to the Companys knowledge, any employee of the Company or any agent or representative of the Company or of any of its subsidiaries or affiliates who are authorized by and acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates, has taken or will take any action in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay, or authorization or approval of the payment or giving of money, property, gifts or anything else of value, directly or indirectly, to any government official (including any officer or employee of a government or government-owned or controlled entity or of a public international organization, or any person acting in an official capacity for
-7-
or on behalf of any of the foregoing, or any political party or party official or candidate for political office) to influence official action or secure an improper advantage in violation of applicable law; and the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates have conducted their businesses in compliance in all material respects with applicable anti-corruption laws and have instituted and maintain and will continue to maintain policies and procedures reasonably designed to promote and achieve compliance with such laws and with the representation and warranty contained herein;
(s) The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in material compliance with all 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), and the applicable anti-money laundering statutes of jurisdictions where the Company and its subsidiaries conduct business, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the Anti-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 Anti-Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the best knowledge of the Company, threatened; and
(t) (i) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries, nor any director, officer, or employee thereof, nor, to the Companys knowledge, any agent, affiliate or representative of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, is an individual or entity (Person) that is, or is owned or controlled by a Person that is:
(A) the subject of any sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. Department of Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the European Union (EU), Her Majestys Treasury (HMT), or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, Sanctions), nor
(B) located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is, or whose government is, the subject of Sanctions (including, without limitation, Cuba, the Crimea region of Ukraine, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria).
(ii) The Company will not (to its knowledge with respect to any portion of the proceeds of the offering to be used for the repayment of outstanding debt securities of the Company), directly or indirectly, use the proceeds of the offering, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other Person:
-8-
(A) to fund or facilitate any activities or business of or with any Person or in any country or territory that, at the time of such funding or facilitation, is, or whose government is, the subject of Sanctions; or
(B) in any other manner that will result in a violation of Sanctions by any Person (including any Person participating in the offering, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise).
(iii) The Company and its subsidiaries have not knowingly engaged in, are not now knowingly engaged in, and will not knowingly engage in, any dealings or transactions with any Person, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was, or whose government is or was, the subject of Sanctions.
(u) The Company and its subsidiaries have taken commercially reasonable measures to maintain protections against unauthorized access to, or disruption or failure of, their information technology systems. To the Companys knowledge, during the past twelve months, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has been subject to any unauthorized access to their information technology systems or data maintained by them, except as would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole.
2. Subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company agrees to issue and sell to each of the Underwriters, and each of the Underwriters agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company, at the purchase price of $990 per share, the number of Preferred Shares set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule I hereto.
3. The several Underwriters propose to offer the Preferred Shares for sale upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Prospectus.
4. (a) The Preferred Shares to be purchased by each Underwriter hereunder will be represented by one or more definitive Preferred Share certificates in book-entry form which will be deposited by or on behalf of the Company with The Depository Trust Company (DTC) or its designated custodian. The Company will deliver the Preferred Shares to the Representatives, for the account of each Underwriter, against payment by or on behalf of such Underwriter of the purchase price therefor by wire transfer of Federal (same-day) funds to the account specified by the Company to the Representatives, by causing DTC to credit the Preferred Shares to the account of the Representatives at DTC. The time and date of such delivery and payment shall be 9:30 a.m., New York City time, on March 14, 2018 or such other time and date as the Representatives and the Company may agree upon in writing. Such time and date are herein called the Time of Delivery.
-9-
(b) The documents to be delivered at the Time of Delivery by or on behalf of the parties hereto pursuant to Section 8 hereof, including the cross-receipt for the Preferred Shares and any additional documents requested by the Underwriters pursuant to Section 8(j) hereof, will be delivered at the offices of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, 125 Broad Street, New York, New York 10004 (the Closing Location), and the Preferred Shares will be delivered at the office of DTC or its designated custodian (the Designated Office), all at the Time of Delivery. A meeting will be held at the Closing Location at 4:00 p.m., New York City time, on the New York Business Day next preceding the Time of Delivery, at which meeting the final drafts of the documents to be delivered pursuant to the preceding sentence will be available for review by the parties hereto. For the purposes of this Section 4, New York Business Day shall mean each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday which is not a day on which banking institutions in New York City are generally authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close.
5. The Company agrees with each of the Underwriters:
(a) To prepare the Prospectus in a form approved by you and to file such Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act not later than the Commissions close of business on the second business day following the date of this Agreement; to make no further amendment or any supplement to the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus or the Prospectus prior to the Time of Delivery which shall be disapproved by you promptly after reasonable notice thereof; to advise you, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the time when any amendment to the Registration Statement has been filed or becomes effective or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus has been filed and to furnish you with copies thereof; to prepare a final term sheet, containing solely a description of the Preferred Shares, in a form approved by you, and to file such term sheet pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act within the time required by such Rule; to file promptly all other material required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act; to file promptly all reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act subsequent to the date of the Prospectus and for so long as the delivery of a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is required in connection with the offering or sale of the Preferred Shares; to advise you, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or other prospectus in respect of the Preferred Shares, of any notice of objection of the Commission to the use of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Act, of the suspension of the qualification of the Preferred Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose, or of any request by the Commission for the amending or supplementing of the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or for additional information; and, in the event of the issuance of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or other prospectus or suspending any such qualification, to promptly use its best efforts to obtain the withdrawal of such order; and in the event of any such issuance of a notice of objection, promptly to take such steps including, without limitation, amending the Registration Statement or filing a new registration statement, at its own expense, as may be necessary to permit offers and sales of the Preferred Shares by the Underwriters (references herein to the Registration Statement shall include any such amendment or new registration statement);
-10-
(b) If required by Rule 430B(h) under the Act, to prepare a form of prospectus in a form approved by you and to file such form of prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act not later than may be required by Rule 424(b) under the Act; and to make no further amendment or supplement to such form of prospectus which shall be disapproved by you promptly after reasonable notice thereof;
(c) If by the third anniversary (the Renewal Deadline) of the initial effective date of the Registration Statement, any of the Preferred Shares remain unsold by the Underwriters, the Company will file, if it has not already done so and is eligible to do so, a new automatic shelf registration statement relating to the Preferred Shares, in a form satisfactory to you. If at the Renewal Deadline the Company is no longer eligible to file an automatic shelf registration statement, the Company, if it has not already done so, will file a new shelf registration statement relating to the Preferred Shares, in a form satisfactory to you, and will use commercially reasonable efforts to cause such registration statement to be declared effective within 180 days after the Renewal Deadline. The Company will take all other commercially reasonable action necessary or appropriate to permit the public offering and sale of the Preferred Shares to continue as contemplated in the expired registration statement relating to the Preferred Shares. References herein to the Registration Statement shall include such new automatic shelf registration statement or such new shelf registration statement, as the case may be;
(d) Promptly from time to time to take such action as you may reasonably request to qualify the Preferred Shares for offering and sale under the securities laws of such United States jurisdictions as you may request and to comply with such laws so as to permit the continuance of sales and dealings therein in such jurisdictions for as long as may be necessary to complete the distribution of the Preferred Shares, provided that in connection therewith the Company shall not be required to qualify as a foreign corporation or to file a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction;
(e) Prior to 2:00 p.m., New York City time, on the New York Business Day next succeeding the date of this Agreement and from time to time, to furnish the Underwriters with written and electronic copies of the Prospectus in New York City in such quantities as you may reasonably request, and, if the delivery of a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is required at any time prior to the expiration of nine months after the time of issue of the Prospectus in connection with the offering or sale of the Preferred Shares and if at such time any event shall have occurred as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made when such Prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is delivered, not misleading, or, if for any other reason it shall
-11-
be necessary during such same period to amend or supplement the Prospectus or to file under the Exchange Act any document incorporated by reference in the Prospectus in order to comply with the Act or the Exchange Act, to notify you and upon your request to file such document and to prepare and furnish without charge to each Underwriter and to any dealer in securities as many written and electronic copies as you may from time to time reasonably request of an amended Prospectus or a supplement to the Prospectus which will correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance; and in case any Underwriter is required to deliver a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) in connection with sales of any of the Preferred Shares at any time nine months or more after the time of issue of the Prospectus, upon your request but at the expense of such Underwriter, to prepare and deliver to such Underwriter as many written and electronic copies as you may request of an amended or supplemented Prospectus complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Act;
(f) To make generally available to its securityholders as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than sixteen months after the effective date of the Registration Statement (as defined in Rule 158(c) under the Act), an earnings statement of the Company and its subsidiaries (which need not be audited) complying with Section 11(a) of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (including, at the option of the Company, Rule 158);
(g) During the period beginning from the date hereof and continuing to and including the date 30 days after the date of the Prospectus, not to offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, grant any option to purchase, make any short sale or otherwise dispose, except as provided hereunder of, any securities of the Company that are substantially similar to the Preferred Shares, including but not limited to securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive, Preferred Shares or any such substantially similar securities without your prior written consent;
(h) To pay the required Commission filing fees relating to the Preferred Shares within the time required by Rule 456(b)(1) under the Act and otherwise in accordance with Rules 456(b) and 457(r) under the Act; and
(i) To use the net proceeds received by it from the sale of the Preferred Shares pursuant to this Agreement in the manner specified in the Pricing Prospectus under the caption Use of Proceeds.
6. (a)(i) The Company represents and agrees that, other than as set forth in Schedule II(a), without the prior consent of the Representatives (not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed), it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Preferred Shares that would constitute a free writing prospectus as defined in Rule 405 under the Act;
(ii) Each Underwriter represents and agrees that, without the prior written consent of the Company and the Representatives, other than one or more final term sheets relating to the Preferred Shares containing substantially similar, customary information set forth therein and conveyed to purchasers of Preferred Shares, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Preferred Shares that would constitute a free writing prospectus that is required to be filed with the Commission; and
-12-
(iii) Any such free writing prospectus the use of which has been consented to by the Company and the Representatives (including the final term sheet prepared and filed pursuant to Section 5(a) hereof) is listed on Schedule II(a) hereto;
(b) The Company has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 under the Act applicable to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the Commission or retention where required and legending; and
(c) The Company agrees that if at any time following issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus any event occurred or occurs as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus would conflict with the information in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances then prevailing, not misleading, the Company will give prompt notice thereof to the Representatives and, if requested by the Representatives, will prepare and furnish without charge to each Underwriter an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or other document which will correct such conflict, statement or omission; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions in an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein.
7. The Company covenants and agrees with the several Underwriters that the Company will pay or cause to be paid the following: (i) the fees, disbursements and expenses of the Companys counsel and accountants in connection with the registration of the Preferred Shares under the Act and all other expenses in connection with the preparation, printing, reproduction and filing of the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and the Prospectus and amendments and supplements thereto and the mailing and delivering of copies thereof to the Underwriters and dealers; (ii) the cost of printing or producing this Agreement, the Blue Sky Memorandum, and closing documents (including any compilations thereof) contemplated by this Agreement; (iii) all expenses in connection with the qualification of the Preferred Shares for offering and sale under state securities laws as provided in Section 5(d) hereof, including the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection with such qualification and in connection with the Blue Sky survey; (iv) any fees charged by securities rating services for rating the Preferred Shares; (v) the filing fees incident to, and the fees and disbursements of counsel for each Underwriter in connection with, any required review by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. of the terms of the sale of the Preferred Shares; (vi) the cost of preparing the Preferred Shares; (vii) the fees and charges of any transfer agent or registrar or dividend distributing agent; and (viii) all other costs and expenses incident to the
-13-
performance of its obligations hereunder which are not otherwise specifically provided for in this Section. It is understood, however, that, except as provided in this Section, and Sections 9 and 12 hereof, the Underwriters will pay all of their own costs and expenses, including the fees of their counsel, transfer taxes on resale of any of the Preferred Shares by them, and any advertising expenses connected with any offers they may make.
8. The obligations of the Underwriters hereunder shall be subject, in their discretion, to the condition that all representations and warranties and other statements of the Company herein are, at and as of the Time of Delivery, true and correct, the condition that the Company shall have performed all of its obligations hereunder theretofore to be performed, and the following additional conditions:
(a) The Prospectus shall have been filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by the rules and regulations under the Act and in accordance with Section 5(a) hereof; the final term sheet contemplated by Section 5(a) hereof, and any other material required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act, shall have been filed with the Commission within the applicable time periods prescribed for such filings by Rule 433; no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any part thereof shall have been issued and no proceeding for that purpose shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission and no notice of objection of the Commission to the use of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Act shall have been received; no stop order suspending or preventing the use of the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission; and all requests for additional information on the part of the Commission shall have been complied with to your reasonable satisfaction;
(b) Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, shall have furnished to you such written opinion or opinions, dated the Time of Delivery, in form and substance satisfactory to you, with respect to such matters as you shall reasonably request, and such counsel shall have received such papers and information as they may reasonably request to enable them to pass upon such matters;
(c) Baker & Hostetler LLP, counsel for the Company, shall have furnished to you their written opinion, dated the Time of Delivery, in form and substance satisfactory to you, to the effect that:
(i) The Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of Ohio, with corporate power and authority to own its properties and conduct its business as described in the Prospectus;
(ii) To the best of such counsels knowledge and other than as set forth in the Prospectus, there are no legal or governmental proceedings pending to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or of which any property
-14-
of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is the subject which would individually or in the aggregate be reasonably expected to have a material adverse effect on the current or future consolidated financial position, stockholders equity or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole; and, to the best of such counsels knowledge, no such proceedings are threatened by governmental authorities or threatened by others;
(iii) This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company;
(iv) The Preferred Shares have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and non-assessable;
(v) The issue and sale of the Preferred Shares and the compliance by the Company with all of the provisions of the Preferred Shares and this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions herein and therein contemplated will not result in any (A) violation of the provisions of the Articles of Incorporation or Code of Regulations of the Company or (B) result in the violation of any statute or any order, rule or regulation known to such counsel of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their properties except, in the case of clause (B), in any such instance or instances in which the breach or violation would not have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole or on the Companys ability to perform its respective obligations hereunder and under the Preferred Shares and provided, that the terms statute, order, rule and regulation are limited to those under the state laws of the State of Ohio and the State of New York and federal laws of the United States of America which, in the experience of such counsel and without independent investigation, are normally applicable to transactions of the type contemplated by this Agreement and shall not include federal or state securities or blue sky laws, including, without limitation, the Act, the Exchange Act or the Investment Company Act, antifraud laws, or in each case any rules or regulations thereunder, or any law, rule or regulation relating to insurance or similar matters;
(vi) No consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any such court or governmental agency or body is required for the issue and sale of the Preferred Shares or the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except such as have been obtained under the Act and such consents, approvals, authorizations, registrations or qualifications as may be required under any state securities or Blue Sky laws or any insurance laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Preferred Shares by the Underwriters;
-15-
(vii) The statements set forth in the Prospectus under the captions Description of the Series B Preferred Shares and Description of Serial Preferred Shares and in the Pricing Disclosure Package under the captions Description of the Series B Preferred Shares and Description of Serial Preferred Shares, when taken together with the information in the final term sheet comprising a part of the Pricing Disclosure Package, insofar as they purport to constitute a summary of the terms of the Preferred Shares, and the statements set forth in the Prospectus under the caption Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences, insofar as they purport to describe the provisions of the laws and documents referred to therein, are fair summaries thereof;
(viii) The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Preferred Shares and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in the Prospectus, will not be an investment company, as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act;
(ix) The documents incorporated by reference in the Prospectus or any further amendment or supplement thereto made by the Company prior to the Time of Delivery (other than the financial statements and related schedules or other financial or statistical data included or incorporated by reference therein, as to which such counsel need express no opinion), when they became effective or were filed with the Commission, as the case may be, complied as to form in all material respects with the requirements of the Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder;
(x) The Registration Statement, the Prospectus and any further amendments and supplements thereto, as applicable, made by the Company prior to the Time of Delivery (other than the financial statements and related schedules or other financial or statistical data included or incorporated by reference therein, as to which such counsel need express no opinion) comply as to form in all material respects with the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations thereunder; and they do not know of any amendment to the Registration Statement required to be filed such as would be necessary for the Registration Statement to so comply or of any contracts or other documents of a character required to be filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement or required to be incorporated by reference into the Prospectus or required to be described in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus or the Prospectus which are not filed or incorporated by reference or described as required; and
(xi) Although they do not assume any responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the statements contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, except for those referred to in the opinion in subsection (viii) of this Section 8(c), such counsel has no reason to believe that (i) the Registration Statement or any further amendment thereto made by the Company prior to the Time of Delivery (other than the financial statements and related schedules or other financial or statistical information contained or incorporated by reference therein, as to which such counsel need express no opinion), when such part or amendment became effective, contained an untrue
-16-
statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; (ii) the Pricing Disclosure Package (other than the financial statements and related schedules or other financial or statistical information contained or incorporated by reference therein, as to which such counsel need express no opinion), as of the Applicable Time, contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; or (iii) as of its date and as of the Time of Delivery, the Prospectus or any further amendment or supplement thereto made by the Company prior to the Time of Delivery (other than the financial statements and related schedules or other financial or statistical information contained or incorporated by reference therein, as to which such counsel need express no opinion) contained or contains an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or omits to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;
(d) Daniel P. Mascaro, Chief Legal Officer for the Company, shall have furnished to you his written opinion, dated the Time of Delivery in form and substance satisfactory to you, to the effect that:
(i) each Principal Subsidiary of the Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation; and all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of each such Principal Subsidiary have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are fully paid and non-assessable, and (except for directors qualifying shares) are owned directly or indirectly by the Company, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities or claims;
(ii) the issue and sale of the Preferred Shares and the compliance by the Company with all of the provisions of the Preferred Shares and this Agreement, and the consummation of the transactions herein and therein contemplated will not conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument known to such counsel 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 other than as would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole; and
(iii) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in violation of its Certificate of Incorporation, Code of Regulations or By-laws or in default in the performance or observance of any material obligation, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, lease or other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it or any of its properties may be bound other than as would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole.
-17-
(e) At the time of the execution of this Agreement, you shall have received from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP a letter dated such date, in form and substance satisfactory to you, that contains statements and information of the type ordinarily included in accountants comfort letters to underwriters with respect to the financial statements and certain financial information contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. At the Time of Delivery, you shall have received from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP a letter, dated as of the Time of Delivery, to the effect that they reaffirm the statements made in the letter furnished pursuant to the preceding sentence, except that the specified date referred to shall be a date not more than three business days prior to the Time of Delivery;
(f) (i) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries shall have sustained since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus any loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus, and (ii) since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Pricing Prospectus there shall not have been any change in the capital stock (other than as a result of share repurchases authorized by the Companys board of directors in amount that does not exceed the amount that would enable the Company to rely upon the safe harbor provisions of Rule 10b-18 promulgated under the Exchange Act (without giving effect to the carve out set forth in subsection (b)(4) of Rule 10b-18 in relation to weekly block purchases)) or long term debt of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any change, or any development involving a prospective change, in or affecting the business, financial position, stockholders equity or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus, the effect of which, in any such case described in clause (i) or (ii), is in your judgment so material and adverse as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or the delivery of the Preferred Shares on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Prospectus;
(g) On or after the Applicable Time (i) no downgrading shall have occurred in the rating accorded the Companys debt securities and Preferred Shares by any nationally recognized statistical rating organization, as that term is defined in Section 3(a)(62) of the Exchange Act, and (ii) no such organization shall have publicly announced that it has under surveillance or review, and noting an intended or possible decrease in its rating of any of the Companys debt securities;
-18-
(h) On or after the Applicable Time there shall not have occurred any of the following: (i) a suspension or material limitation in trading in securities generally on the New York Stock Exchange; (ii) a suspension or material limitation in trading in the Companys securities on the New York Stock Exchange; (iii) a general moratorium on commercial banking activities declared by either Federal or New York State authorities or a material disruption in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services in the United States; (iv) the outbreak or escalation of hostilities involving the United States or the declaration by the United States of a national emergency or war or (v) the occurrence of any other calamity or crisis or any change in financial, political or economic conditions in the United States or elsewhere, if the effect of any such event specified in clause (iv) or (v) in your judgment makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or the delivery of the Preferred Shares on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Prospectus;
(i) The Company shall have complied with the provisions of Section 5(e) hereof with respect to the furnishing of prospectuses on the New York Business Day next succeeding the date of this Agreement; and
(j) The Company shall have furnished or caused to be furnished to you at the Time of Delivery certificates of officers of the Company satisfactory to it as to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company herein at and as of such time, as to the performance by the Company of all of its obligations hereunder to be performed at or prior to such time, and as to the matters set forth in subsection (a) of this Section.
9. (a) The Company will indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which such Underwriter may become subject, under the Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any issuer information filed or required to be filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, and will reimburse such Underwriter for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such Underwriter in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim as such expenses are incurred; provided, however, that the Company shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage or liability arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by any Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein.
-19-
(b) Each Underwriter will indemnify and hold harmless the Company against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which the Company may become subject, under the Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, in each case to the extent, but only to the extent, that such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus or any such amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by such Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein; and will reimburse the Company for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by the Company in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim as such expenses are incurred.
(c) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under subsection (a) or (b) above of notice of the commencement of any such action, such indemnified party shall, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party under such subsection, notify the indemnifying party in writing of the commencement thereof; but the failure to so notify an indemnifying party shall not relieve such indemnifying party from any liability hereunder except to the extent that the indemnifying party is prejudiced as a result thereof and in any event shall not relieve it from any liability which it may have otherwise than on account of this Section 9. In case any such action shall be brought against any indemnified party and it shall notify the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof, the indemnifying party shall be entitled to participate therein and, to the extent that it shall wish, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense thereof, with counsel satisfactory to such indemnified party (who shall not, except with the consent of the indemnified party, be counsel to the indemnifying party, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld), and, after notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of its election so to assume the defense thereof, the indemnifying party shall not be liable to such indemnified party under such subsection for any legal expenses of other counsel or any other expenses, in each case subsequently incurred by such indemnified party, in connection with the defense thereof other than reasonable out-of-pocket costs of investigation. No indemnifying party shall, without the written consent of the indemnified party, effect the settlement or compromise of, or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to, any pending or threatened action or claim in respect of which indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder (whether or not the indemnified party is an actual or potential party to such action or claim) unless such settlement, compromise or judgment (i) includes an unconditional release of the indemnified party from all liability arising out of such action 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.
-20-
(d) If the indemnification provided for in this Section 9 is unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under subsection (a) or (b) above in respect of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) 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, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other from the offering of the Preferred Shares. If, however, the allocation provided by the immediately preceding sentence is not permitted by applicable law or if the indemnified party failed to give the notice required under subsection (c) above (unless the failure to give such notice does not materially prejudice the indemnifying party), then each indemnifying party shall contribute to such amount paid or payable by such indemnified party in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only such relative benefits received, but also the relative fault of, the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof), as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the offering (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters, in each case as set forth in the table on the cover page of the Prospectus. The relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company on the one hand or the Underwriters on the other and the parties relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Company and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this subsection (d) 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 which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above in this subsection (d). The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to above in this subsection (d) shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection (d), no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Preferred Shares underwritten by it and distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages which such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. The Underwriters obligations in this subsection (d) to contribute are several in proportion to their respective underwriting obligations and are not joint.
-21-
(e) The obligations of the Company under this Section 9 shall be in addition to any liability which the Company may otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of the Act and each broker-dealer affiliate of any Underwriter; and the obligations of Underwriters under this Section 9 shall be in addition to any liability which the respective Underwriters may otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to each officer and director of the Company and to each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of the Act.
10. (a) If any Underwriter shall default in its obligation to purchase the Preferred Shares which it has agreed to purchase hereunder, you may in your discretion arrange for you or another party or other parties satisfactory to the Company to purchase such Preferred Shares on the terms contained herein. If within thirty six hours after such default by any Underwriter you do not arrange for the purchase of such Preferred Shares, then the Company shall be entitled to a further period of thirty six hours within which to procure another party or other parties satisfactory to you to purchase such Preferred Shares on such terms. In the event that, within the respective prescribed periods, you notify the Company that you have so arranged for the purchase of such Preferred Shares, or the Company notifies you that it has so arranged for the purchase of such Preferred Shares, you or the Company shall have the right to postpone the Time of Delivery for a period of not more than seven days, in order to effect whatever changes may thereby be made necessary in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or in any other documents or arrangements, and the Company agrees to file promptly any amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus which in your opinion may thereby be made necessary. The term Underwriter as used in this Agreement shall include any person substituted under this Section with like effect as if such person had originally been a party to this Agreement with respect to such Preferred Shares.
(b) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Preferred Shares of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by you and the Company as provided in subsection (a) above, the aggregate number of such Preferred Shares that remains unpurchased does not exceed one eleventh of the aggregate number of all the Preferred Shares to be purchased, then the Company shall have the right to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase the number of Preferred Shares that such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder and, in addition, to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase its pro rata share (based on the number of Preferred Shares that such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder) of the Preferred Shares of such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters for which such arrangements have not been made; but nothing herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter from liability for its default.
-22-
(c) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Preferred Shares of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by you and the Company as provided in subsection (a) above, the aggregate number of such Preferred Shares that remains unpurchased exceeds one eleventh of the aggregate number of all the Preferred Shares to be purchased, or if the Company shall not exercise the right described in subsection (b) above to require non-defaulting Underwriters to purchase Preferred Shares of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters, then this Agreement shall thereupon terminate, without liability on the part of any non-defaulting Underwriter or the Company, except for the expenses to be borne by the Company and the Underwriters as provided in Section 7 hereof and the indemnity and contribution agreements in Section 9 hereof; but nothing herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter from liability for its default.
11. The respective indemnities, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of the Company and the several Underwriters, as set forth in this Agreement or made by or on behalf of them, respectively, pursuant to this Agreement, shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation (or any statement as to the results thereof) made by or on behalf of any Underwriter or any controlling person of any Underwriter, or the Company, or any officer or director or controlling person of the Company, and shall survive delivery of and payment for the Preferred Shares.
12. If this Agreement shall be terminated pursuant to Section 10 hereof, the Company shall not then be under any liability to any Underwriter, except as provided in Sections 7 and 9 hereof; but, if for any other reason the Preferred Shares are not delivered by or on behalf of the Company as provided herein, the Company will reimburse the Underwriters through you for all reasonable out of pocket expenses approved in writing by you, including fees and disbursements of counsel, reasonably incurred by the Underwriters in making preparations for the purchase, sale and delivery of the Preferred Shares, but the Company shall then be under no further liability to any Underwriter except as provided in Sections 7 and 9 hereof.
13. All statements, requests, notices and agreements hereunder shall be in writing, and if to the Underwriters shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, at 11 Madison Avenue, New York NY 10010, Attention: IBCM Legal and to Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282, Attention: Registration Department; and if to the Company shall be sent by mail to the address of the Company set forth in the Registration Statement, Attention: Secretary. Any such statements, requests, notices or agreements shall take effect upon receipt thereof.
14. This Agreement shall be binding upon, and inure solely to the benefit of, the Underwriters, the Company and, to the extent provided in Sections 9 and 11 hereof, the officers and directors of the Company and each person who controls the Company or any Underwriter, and their respective heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns, and no other person shall acquire or have any right under or by virtue of this Agreement. No purchaser of any of the Preferred Shares from any Underwriter shall be deemed a successor or assign by reason merely of such purchase.
15. Time shall be of the essence of this Agreement.
-23-
16. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) the purchase and sale of the Preferred Shares pursuant to this Agreement is an arms-length commercial transaction between the Company, on the one hand, and the several Underwriters, on the other, (ii) in connection therewith and with the process leading to such transaction, each Underwriter is acting solely as a principal and not the agent or fiduciary of the Company, (iii) no Underwriter has assumed an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company with respect to the offering contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether such Underwriter has advised or is currently advising the Company on other matters) or any other obligation to the Company except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement and (iv) the Company has consulted its own legal and financial advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate. The Company agrees that it will not claim that the Underwriters, or any of them, has rendered advisory services of any nature or respect, or owes a fiduciary or similar duty to the Company, in connection with such transaction or the process leading thereto.
17. This Agreement supersedes all prior agreements and understandings (whether written or oral) between the Company and the Underwriters, or any of them, with respect to the subject matter hereof.
18. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.
19. The Company 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.
20. 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.
21. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Company is authorized to disclose to any persons the U.S. federal and state income tax treatment and tax structure of the potential transaction and all materials of any kind (including tax opinions and other tax analyses) provided to the Company relating to that treatment and structure, without any Underwriter imposing any limitation of any kind. However, any information relating to the tax treatment and tax structure shall remain confidential (and the foregoing sentence shall not apply) to the extent necessary to enable any person to comply with securities laws. For this purpose, tax structure is limited to any facts that may be relevant to that treatment.
-24-
If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding, please sign and return to us counterparts hereof, and upon the acceptance hereof by you, on behalf of each of the Underwriters, this letter and such acceptance hereof shall constitute a binding agreement between each of the Underwriters and the Company.
Very truly yours, | ||
The Progressive Corporation | ||
By: |
/s/ John P. Sauerland |
|
Name: John P. Sauerland | ||
Title: Vice President and Chief Financial Officer |
[ Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement ]
Accepted as of the date hereof:
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC | ||
By: |
/s/ Sharon Harrison |
|
Name: Sharon Harrison | ||
Title: Director | ||
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC | ||
By: |
/s/ Raffael Fiumara |
|
Name: Raffael Fiumara | ||
Title: Vice President |
On behalf of each of the Underwriters
[ Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement ]
SCHEDULE I
Number of
Preferred Shares to be Purchased |
||||
Underwriter |
||||
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC |
190,000 | |||
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC |
190,000 | |||
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC |
40,000 | |||
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC |
40,000 | |||
PNC Capital Markets LLC |
40,000 | |||
|
|
|||
Total |
500,000 | |||
|
|
SCHEDULE II(a)
1. Final Term Sheet dated March 9, 2018.
2. Additional Documents Incorporated by Reference: No
Exhibit 3.1
Form 540 Prescribed by:
Toll Free: (877) SOS-FILE (877-767-3453) Central Ohio: (614) 466-3910 www . OhioSecretaryofState.gov busserv@OhioSecretaryofState.gov File online or for more information: www.OHBusinessCentral.com |
Mall this form to one of the following:
Regular Filing (non expedite) P.O. Box 1329 Columbus, OH 43216
Expedite Filing (Two business day processing time. Requires an additional $100.00) P.O. Box 1390 Columbus, OH 43216 |
For screen readers, follow instructions located at this path.
Certificate of Amendment
(For-Profit, Domestic Corporation)
Filing Fee: $50
Form Must Be Typed
Check appropriate box:
☒ | Amendment to existing Articles of Incorporation (125-AMDS) |
☐ | Amended and Restated Articles (122-AMAP) - The following articles supersede the existing articles and all amendments thereto. |
Complete the following information:
Name of Corporation The Progressive Corporation
Charter Number 337395
Check one box below and provide information as required:
☐ | The articles are hereby amended by the Incorporators . Pursuant to Ohio Revised Code section 1701.70(A), incorporators may adopt an amendment to the articles by a writing signed by them if initial directors are not named in the articles or elected and before subscriptions to shares have been received. |
☒ | The articles are hereby amended by the Directors . Pursuant to Ohio Revised Code section 1701.70(A), directors may adopt amendments if initial directors were named in articles or elected, but subscriptions to shares have not been received. Also, Ohio Revised Code section 1701.70(B) sets forth additional cases in which directors may adopt an amendment to the articles. |
The resolution was adopted pursuant to Ohio Revised Code section 1701.70(B) (In this space insert the number 1 through 10 to provide basis for adoption.) |
1701.70(B)(1) |
☐ | The articles are hereby amended by the Shareholders pursuant to Ohio Revised Code section 1701.71. |
☐ | The articles are hereby amended and restated pursuant to Ohio Revised Code section 1701.72. |
Form 540 | Page 3 of 5 | Last Revised: 10/01/2017 |
A copy of the resolution of amendment is attached to this document.
Note: If amended articles were adopted, they must set forth all provisions required in original articles except that articles amended by directors or shareholders need not contain any statement with respect to initial stated capital. See Ohio Revised Code section 1701.04 for required provisions.
By signing and submitting this form to the Ohio Secretary of State, the undersigned hereby certifies that he or she has the requisite authority to execute this document.
Form 540 | Page 4 of 5 | Last Revised: 10/01/2017 |
AMENDMENT TO AMENDED ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION
OF
THE PROGRESSIVE CORPORATION
RESOLVED, that the Amended Articles of Incorporation of the Company be and they hereby are amended by adding at the end of Division A of Article FOURTH thereof a new Section 9 reading as follows:
Section 9. Series B Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Perpetual Serial Preferred Shares. Of the 20,000,000 authorized Serial Preferred Shares, without par value, 500,000 shares are designated as a series entitled Series B Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Perpetual Serial Preferred Shares (hereinafter called Series B Shares). The Series B Shares shall have the express terms set forth in this Division as being applicable to all Serial Preferred Shares as a class and, in addition, the following express terms applicable to all Series B Shares as a series of Serial Preferred Shares:
(a) General . The Series B Shares have a liquidation preference of $1,000 per share (the stated amount). The Series B Shares are perpetual and do not have any maturity date, and will not be subject to any mandatory redemption, sinking fund or other similar provisions. Holders of the Series B Shares do not have any preemptive rights. The Series B Shares are not convertible into or exchangeable for property or shares of any other series or class. The Board of Directors (or a duly authorized committee of the Board) may increase (but not in excess of total number of authorized Serial Preferred Shares) or decrease (but not below the number of Series B Shares then outstanding) the number of designated Series B Shares from time to time before or after the issuance thereof (but not below the number of Series B Shares then outstanding).
(b) Dividends .
(1) Fixed-to-Floating . Cumulative cash dividends on Series B Shares shall be payable, when and as declared by the Board of Directors (or a duly authorized committee of the Board), but only out of funds legally available therefor, as follows: (i) for each dividend period during the fixed-rate period, at an annual rate of 5.375% of the stated amount per share, and no more, payable semiannually in arrears on the 15 th day of each March and September, respectively, in each year, beginning on September 15, 2018; and (ii) for each dividend period during floating-rate period, at an annual rate equal to Three Month LIBOR for such dividend period plus a spread of 2.539% applied to the stated amount per share, and no more, payable quarterly in arrears on the 15 th day of each March, June, September and December, respectively, in each year, beginning on June 15, 2023.
(2) Amount . The amount of the dividend per Series B Share will be calculated (i) for each dividend period (or portion thereof) in the fixed-rate period, on the basis of a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months, and (ii) for each dividend period (or portion thereof) in the floating-rate period, based on the actual number of days in the dividend period and a 360-day year.
(3) Record and Payment Date. Each date on which dividends are payable pursuant to the foregoing clauses, subject to adjustment as provided below, is a dividend payment date, and dividends for each dividend payment date are payable with respect to the dividend period (or portion thereof) ending on the day preceding such dividend payment date, in each case to holders of record on the 15th calendar day before such dividend payment date or such other record date not more than 30 nor less than 10 days preceding such dividend payment date fixed for that purpose by the Board of Directors (or a duly authorized committee of the Board) in advance of
payment of each particular dividend. If any day on or before March 15, 2023 that would otherwise be a dividend payment date is not a business day, then such date will nevertheless be a dividend payment date, but dividends on the Series B Shares, when, as and if declared, will be paid on the next succeeding business day (without adjustment in the amount of the dividend per Series B Share). If any day after March 15, 2023 that would otherwise be a dividend payment date is not a business day, then the next succeeding business day will be the applicable dividend payment date and dividends on the Series B Shares, when, as and if declared, will be paid on such next succeeding business day.
(4) Accrual . With respect to the initial issuance of Series B Shares, dividends shall accrue from the date of initial issuance. With respect to any Series B Shares issued after such date of initial issuance, such additional Series B Shares may only be issued if they are fungible for U.S. tax purposes with all of the Series B Shares initially issued and dividends shall accrue from the most recent dividend payment date prior to the date such additional Series B Shares are issued (or, if no dividend payment date has occurred at the time such additional Series B Shares are issued, from the date of initial issuance of Series B Shares).
(5) Calculation Agent. The corporation will appoint a calculation agent for the Series B Shares prior to the commencement of the floating-rate period and will keep a record of such appointment at its principal offices, which will be available to any shareholder upon request. The corporation may appoint itself or an affiliate of the corporation as calculation agent.
(c) Redemption .
(1) Subject to the provisions of Subsection 5(c)(3) of this Division, the Series B Shares shall be redeemable in the manner provided in Subsections 3(b)(1) and (2) of this Division as follows:
(i) The corporation may, at the option of the Board of Directors (or a duly authorized committee of the Board), redeem the Series B Shares in whole, but not in part, at any time prior to March 15, 2023, within 90 days after the occurrence of a rating agency event, at a cash redemption price per share equal to $1,020, together with an amount equal to all accrued and unpaid dividends to, but excluding, the redemption date, or
(ii) The corporation may, at the option of the Board of Directors (or a duly authorized committee of the Board), redeem the Series B Shares in whole or in part, from time to time on or after March 15, 2023 at a cash redemption price per share equal to the stated amount, together with an amount equal to all accrued and unpaid dividends to, but excluding, the redemption date,
except that, in each case, any accrued and unpaid dividends payable on a redemption date that occurs subsequent to an applicable record date that has been fixed by the Board of Directors (or a duly authorized committee of the Board) for a dividend payment date that shall not yet have occurred at the time of redemption shall not be paid to the holder entitled to receive the redemption price on the redemption date, but rather shall be paid to the holder of record of the redeemed shares on such record date relating to the applicable dividend payment date.
(2) Each notice of redemption given to a holder of Series B Shares shall state: (i) the redemption date; (ii) the number of shares of the Series B Shares to be redeemed and, if less than all shares of the Series B Shares held by such holder are to be redeemed, the number of shares to be redeemed from such holder; (iii) the redemption price; (iv) the place or places where certificates for such shares are to be surrendered for payment of the redemption price; and (v) that dividends will cease to accrue on the redemption date.
(d) Liquidation . The amount payable per Series B Share in the event of any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the affairs of the corporation shall be the stated amount, plus an amount equal to all dividends accrued and unpaid thereon as provided in Section 4 of this Division A.
(e) Definitions . As used with respect to the Series B Shares:
Dividend period means each period commencing on (and including) a dividend payment date and continuing to, but excluding, the next succeeding dividend payment date, except that the first dividend period for the initial issuance of Series B Shares shall commence on (and include) the original issue date.
Fixed-rate period means the period commencing on the date of the initial issuance of Series B Shares and continuing to, but excluding, March 15, 2023.
Floating-rate period means the period commencing on the dividend payment date in the month of March 2023 and continuing to, but excluding, the first date, if any, as of which all shares of Series B Shares have been redeemed.
A business day means each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday on which banking institutions in The City of New York are not authorized or obligated by law, regulation or executive order to close.
Three Month LIBOR means the London interbank offered rate (LIBOR) for deposits in U.S. dollars having an index maturity of three months in amounts of at least $1,000,000, as that rate appears on Reuters screen page LIBOR01 at approximately 11:00 a.m., London time, on the relevant dividend determination date, provided that:
(1) If no offered rate appears on Reuters screen page LIBOR01 on the relevant dividend determination date at approximately 11:00 a.m., London time, then the calculation agent, after consultation with the corporation, will select four major banks in the London interbank market and will request each of their principal London offices to provide a quotation of the rate at which three-month deposits in U.S. dollars in amounts of at least $1,000,000 are offered by it to prime banks in the London interbank market, on that date and at that time, that is representative of single transactions at that time. If at least two quotations are provided, Three Month LIBOR will be the arithmetic average (rounded upward if necessary to the nearest .00001 of 1%) of the quotations provided.
(2) Otherwise, the calculation agent, after consultation with the corporation, will select three major banks in New York City and will request each of them to provide a quotation of the rate offered by it at approximately 11:00 a.m., New York City time, on the dividend determination date for loans in U.S. dollars to leading European banks having an index maturity of three months for the applicable dividend period in an amount of at least $1,000,000 that is representative of single transactions at that time. If three quotations are provided, Three Month LIBOR will be the arithmetic average (rounded upward if necessary to the nearest .00001 of 1%) of the quotations provided.
(3) Otherwise, the calculation agent, after consulting with the corporation and such sources as it deems comparable to any of the foregoing quotations or display page, or any such sources as it deems reasonable from which to estimate Three Month LIBOR or any of the foregoing lending rates, shall determine Three Month LIBOR for the relevant dividend period in its sole discretion.
Notwithstanding the foregoing: (i) if the calculation agent determines on the relevant dividend determination date that the London interbank offered rate for deposits in U.S. dollars having an index maturity of three months in amounts of at least $1,000,000 has been discontinued, then the calculation agent will use a substitute or successor base rate that it has determined in its sole discretion is most comparable to such London interbank offered rate, provided that if the calculation agent determines there is an industry-accepted successor base rate, then the calculation agent shall use such successor base rate; and (ii) if the calculation agent has determined a substitute or successor base rate in accordance with the foregoing, the calculation agent in its sole discretion may determine what business day convention to use, the definition of business day, the dividend determination date and any other relevant methodology for calculating such substitute or successor base rate, including any adjustment factor needed to make such substitute or successor base rate comparable to the LIBOR base rate, in a manner that is consistent with industry-accepted practices for such substitute or successor base rate.
The establishment of Three Month LIBOR for each dividend period by the calculation agent shall (in the absence of manifest error) be final and binding.
Dividend determination date means, with respect to a dividend period during the floating-rate period, the second London banking day prior to the beginning of such dividend period.
London banking day means any day on which dealings in deposits in U.S. dollars are transacted in the London interbank market.
Rating agency event means that any nationally recognized statistical rating organization within the meaning of Section 3(a)(62) under the Securities Exchange Act of 194, as amended, that then publishes a rating for the corporation (a rating agency) amends, clarifies or changes the criteria it uses to assign equity credit to securities such as the Series B Shares, which amendment, clarification or change results in:
(1) The shortening of the length of time the Series B Shares are assigned a particular level of equity credit by that rating agency as compared to the length of time they would have been assigned that level of equity credit by that rating agency or its predecessor on the initial issuance of the Series B Shares; or
(2) The lowering of the equity credit (including up to a lesser amount) assigned to the Series B Shares by that rating agency as compared to the equity credit assigned by that rating agency or its predecessor on the initial issuance of the Series B Shares.
Exhibit 4.1
THE PROGRESSIVE CORPORATION
and
U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, as
Trustee
ELEVENTH SUPPLEMENTAL INDENTURE
4.20% Senior Notes due 2048
THIS ELEVENTH SUPPLEMENTAL INDENTURE, dated as of March 14, 2018, between THE PROGRESSIVE CORPORATION, an Ohio corporation (the Issuer), and U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, a national banking association (U.S. Bank), in its capacity as Trustee.
W I T N E S S E T H:
WHEREAS, the Issuer entered into an Indenture dated as of September 15, 1993 (as supplemented from time to time, the Indenture), with the First National Bank of Boston, in its capacity as Trustee, pursuant to which the Issuer may from time to time issue its unsecured debentures, notes and other evidences of indebtedness in one or more series; and
WHEREAS, the Issuer entered into a First Supplemental Indenture dated as of March 15, 1996, confirming the succession of State Street Bank and Trust Company, a Massachusetts trust company, as trustee under the Indenture; and
WHEREAS, the Issuer entered into a Second Supplemental Indenture dated as of February 26, 1999; and
WHEREAS, the Issuer entered into a Third Supplemental Indenture dated as of December 7, 2001; and
WHEREAS, the Issuer entered into a Fourth Supplemental Indenture dated as of November 21, 2002; and
WHEREAS, the Issuer entered into a Fifth Supplemental Indenture dated as of June 13, 2007 confirming the succession of U.S. Bank, as trustee under the Indenture; and
WHEREAS, the Issuer entered into a Sixth Supplemental Indenture dated as of August 22, 2011; and
WHEREAS, the Issuer entered into a Seventh Supplemental Indenture dated as of April 25, 2014; and
WHEREAS, the Issuer entered into an Eighth Supplemental Indenture dated as of January 26, 2015; and
WHEREAS, the Issuer entered into a Ninth Supplemental Indenture dated as of August 25, 2016; and
WHEREAS, the Issuer entered into a Tenth Supplemental Indenture dated as of April 6, 2017; and
WHEREAS, Article Eight of the Indenture provides for various matters with respect to any series of Securities issued under the Indenture to be established in an indenture supplemental to the Indenture; and
WHEREAS, Section 8.1 of the Indenture provides that the Issuer, when authorized by its Board of Directors, and the Trustee may from time to time and at any time enter into an indenture supplemental to the Indenture to add on to the covenants of the Issuer certain further covenants, restrictions, conditions or provisions, and to make such other provisions as such Board of Directors may deem necessary or desirable and which shall not adversely affect the interests of the holders of the Securities.
NOW THEREFORE:
In consideration of the premises and other good and valuable consideration, the parties hereto mutually covenant and agree as follows:
ARTICLE 1
RELATION TO INDENTURE; DEFINITIONS
SECTION 1.01. Integral Part . This Eleventh Supplemental Indenture constitutes an integral part of the Indenture.
SECTION 1.02. General Definitions . For all purposes of this Eleventh Supplemental Indenture:
(a) capitalized terms used herein without definition shall have the meanings specified in the Indenture;
(b) all references herein to Articles and Sections, unless otherwise specified, refer to the corresponding Articles and Sections of this Eleventh Supplemental Indenture; and
(c) the terms herein, hereof, hereunder and other words of similar import refer to this Eleventh Supplemental Indenture.
SECTION 1.03. Definitions . The following definitions shall apply to this Eleventh Supplemental Indenture:
Consolidated Tangible Net Worth means, at any date, the total assets appearing on the consolidated balance sheet of the Issuer and its consolidated subsidiaries as of the end of the then most recent fiscal quarter of the Issuer, prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, less the sum of (a) the total liabilities appearing on such balance sheet and (b) intangible assets. Intangible assets means, for the purposes of this definition, the value, as shown on or reflected in such balance sheet, of (i) all trade names, trademarks, licenses, patents, copyrights and goodwill, (ii) organizational costs and (iii) unamortized debt discount and expense, less unamortized premium.
Designated Securities means the series of Securities designated by the Issuer as its 4.20% Senior Notes due 2048.
Designated Subsidiary means (i) Progressive Casualty Insurance Company, an Ohio corporation, so long as it remains a subsidiary of the Issuer, (ii) any other consolidated subsidiary of the Issuer, the assets of which constitute 10% or more of the Total Assets, and (iii) any subsidiary that is a successor to all or substantially all of the business or properties of any such subsidiary.
Depositary shall have the meaning specified in Section 4.01.
DTC shall have the meaning specified in Section 4.01.
Global Security or Securities shall have the meaning specified in Section 4.01.
2
Total Assets means, at any date, the total assets appearing on the consolidated balance sheet of the Issuer and its consolidated subsidiaries as of the end of the then most recent fiscal quarter of the Issuer, prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
ARTICLE 2
ADDITIONAL COVENANTS
SECTION 2.01. Limitation on Liens . The Issuer will not, nor will it permit any Designated Subsidiary to, incur, issue, assume or guarantee any indebtedness for money borrowed if (i) that indebtedness is secured by a pledge, mortgage, deed of trust or other lien on any shares of stock or indebtedness of any Designated Subsidiary (a lien), and (ii) the aggregate amount of the indebtedness so secured exceeds an amount equal to 15% of the Issuers Consolidated Tangible Net Worth, unless the Designated Securities are also secured equally and ratably with such other indebtedness. For purposes of this restriction, a lien will not include the pledge to, or deposit with, any state or provincial insurance regulatory authorities of any investment securities by the Issuer or any of its subsidiaries.
The foregoing restriction shall not apply to indebtedness secured by:
(a) Liens on any shares of stock or indebtedness of or acquired from a corporation merged or consolidated with or into, or otherwise acquired by, the Issuer or a Designated Subsidiary;
(b) Liens to secure indebtedness of a Designated Subsidiary to the Issuer or to another Designated Subsidiary, but only as long as such indebtedness is owned or held by the Issuer or a Designated Subsidiary; and
(c) Any extension, renewal or replacement (or successive extensions, renewals or replacements), in whole or in part, of any lien referred to in (a) and (b).
SECTION 2.02. Consolidation, Merger, Sale, Conveyance and Lease. Clause (ii) of Section 9.1 of the Indenture is, with respect to the Designated Securities, amended to read as follows:
(ii) immediately after giving effect to the transaction, no Event of Default exists.
ARTICLE 3
REOPENING OF THE SERIES
SECTION 3.01. Reopening of the Series . The Issuer may at any time, without the consent of the holders of the Designated Securities, increase the principal amount of the Designated Securities.
ARTICLE 4
GLOBAL SECURITIES
SECTION 4.01. Global Securities. The Designated Securities shall be issued in the form of one or more global securities (Global Securities), which shall be deposited on behalf of the purchasers of the Designated Securities represented thereby with U.S. Bank National Association, at its Corporate Trust Office, as custodian for the depositary, The Depository Trust Company (DTC, and such depositary, or any successor thereto, being hereinafter referred to as the Depositary), and registered in the name of DTCs nominee, Cede & Co. (or any successor thereto), for the accounts of participants in the Depositary.
SECTION 4.02. General. Each Global Security shall represent such portion of the outstanding Designated Securities as shall be specified therein and each shall provide that it shall represent the aggregate principal amount of outstanding Designated Securities from time to time endorsed thereon.
3
The Trustee and any agent thereof shall be entitled to deal with the Depositary, and any nominee thereof, that is the registered Holder of any Global Security for all purposes of the Indenture relating to such Global Security (including the payment of principal and interest and the giving of instructions or directions by or to the owner or Holder of a beneficial ownership interest in such Global Security) as the sole Holder of such Global Security and shall have no obligations to the beneficial owners thereof. None of the Trustee or any agent shall have any responsibility or liability for any acts or omissions of the Depositary with respect to such Global Security, for the records of any such Depositary, including records in respect of beneficial ownership interests in respect of any such Global Security, for any transactions between the Depositary and any members of, or participants, in the Depositary (Agent Members) or between or among the Depositary, any such Agent Member and/or any Holder or owner of a beneficial interest in such Global Security, or for any transfers of beneficial interests in any such Global Security. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing herein shall (1) prevent the Issuer, the Trustee or any agent of the Issuer or the Trustee from giving effect to any written certification, proxy or other authorization furnished by the Depositary or (2) impair, as between the Depositary and its Agent Members, the operation of customary practices governing the exercise of the rights of a Holder of any Security. Subject to the foregoing, the registered Holder may grant proxies and otherwise authorize any Person to take any action which a Holder is entitled to take under the Indenture or the Designated Securities in accordance with the rules and procedures of such Depositary.
SECTION 4.03. Book Entry Provisions. Each Global Security shall bear a legend substantially to the following effect:
Unless this certificate is presented by an authorized representative of The Depository Trust Company, a New York corporation (DTC), to the Issuer or its agent for registration of transfer, exchange or payment, and such certificate is registered in the name of Cede & Co., or in such other name as 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.
A Global Security may not be transferred, in whole or in part, to any Person other than the Depositary or a nominee or any successor thereof, and no such transfer to any such other Person may be registered; provided that the foregoing shall not prohibit any transfer of a Designated Security that is issued in exchange for a Global Security but is not itself a Global Security.
A Global Security shall not be exchanged in whole or in part for a Designated Security registered, and no transfer of a Global Security in whole or in part shall be registered, in the name of any Person other than the Depositary or one or more nominees thereof; provided that a Global Security may be exchanged for Designated Securities registered in the names of any person designated by the Depositary in the event that (A) the Depositary has notified the Issuer that it is unwilling or unable to continue as Depositary for such Global Security or such Depositary has ceased to be a clearing agency registered under the Exchange Act, and in either case, a successor Depositary is not appointed by the Issuer within 90 days after receiving such notice or becoming aware that the Depositary has ceased to be a clearing agency or (B) the Issuer determines in its sole discretion to issue Designated Notes in exchange for a Global Security. Any Global Security exchanged pursuant to the preceding sentence shall be so exchanged as directed by the Depositary. Any Designated Security issued in exchange for a Global Security or any portion thereof shall be a Global Security; provided , however , that any such Security so issued that is registered in the name of a Person other than the Depositary or a nominee thereof shall not be a Global Security.
Designated Securities issued in exchange for a Global Security or any portion thereof that are not issued as a Global Security shall be issued in definitive, fully registered form, without interest coupons, shall have a principal amount equal to that of such Global Security or portion thereof to be so exchanged and shall be registered in such names and be in such authorized denominations as the Depositary shall designate.
4
ARTICLE 5
REDEMPTION OF THE DESIGNATED SECURITIES
SECTION 5.01. Notice of Redemption. Section 12.2 of the Indenture is, with respect to the Designated Securities, amended by deleting the words If any or all of the outstanding Securities of a series are to be redeemed, the Issuer will deliver to the Trustee at least 70 days prior to the date fixed for redemption an Officers Certificate stating the date of redemption and the aggregate principal amount of Securities to be redeemed from the fourth paragraph therein and substituting in lieu thereof the words If any or all of the outstanding Designated Securities are to be redeemed, the Issuer will deliver to the Trustee, at least five (5) days prior to the date on which notice of such redemption is delivered to the holders of such Designated Securities (unless a shorter notice shall be satisfactory to the Trustee), an Officers Certificate stating the date of redemption and the aggregate principal amount of Designated Securities to be redeemed.
ARTICLE 6
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
SECTION 6.01. Applicability of this Eleventh Supplemental Indenture . The provisions of this Eleventh Supplemental Indenture will be applicable solely to the Designated Securities.
SECTION 6.02. Adoption, Ratification and Confirmation . The Indenture, as supplemented by this Eleventh Supplemental Indenture, is in all respects hereby adopted, ratified and confirmed.
SECTION 6.03. Counterparts . This Eleventh Supplemental Indenture may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which when so executed shall be deemed an original; and all such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the same instrument.
SECTION 6.04. Governing Law. This Eleventh Supplemental Indenture shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the state of New York.
SECTION 6.05. Trustee Makes No Representation . The Trustee makes no representation as to the validity or sufficiency of this Eleventh Supplemental Indenture. The recitals contained herein are made by the Issuer and not by the Trustee, and the Trustee assumes no responsibility for the correctness thereof.
5
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Eleventh Supplemental Indenture to be duly executed as of the day and year first written above.
THE PROGRESSIVE CORPORATION | ||
By: |
/s/ Patrick S. Brennan |
|
Name: Patrick S. Brennan | ||
Title: Treasurer |
Attest |
||
By: |
/s/ Daniel P. Mascaro |
|
Name: Daniel P. Mascaro | ||
Title: Secretary |
U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, as Trustee |
||
By: |
/s/ Steven J. Gomes |
|
Name: Steven J. Gomes | ||
Title: Vice President |
STATE OF OHIO | ) ss: | |
COUNTY OF CUYAHOGA | ) |
On this day of March, 2018, before me personally came Patrick S. Brennan, to me personally known, who, being by me duly sworn, did depose and say that he is an officer of THE PROGRESSIVE CORPORATION, one of the corporations described in and which executed the above instrument; that he knows the corporate seal of said corporation; that the seal affixed to said instrument is such corporate seal; that it was so affixed by authority of the Board of Directors of said corporation, and that he signed his name thereto by like authority.
Notary Public My commission expires: |
||
[Notarial Seal]
|
||
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
|
) ss: | |
COUNTY OF SUFFOLK | ) |
On this day of March, 2018, before me personally came Steven J. Gomes, to me personally known, who, being by me duly sworn, did depose and say that he is a resident of SUFFOLK County, COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS; that he is an authorized officer of U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, the corporation described in and which executed the above instrument; and that he signed his name thereto by authority of the Board of Directors of said corporation.
Notary Public My commission expires: |
||
[Notary Seal] |
6
Exhibit 4.2
(Face of Security)
Unless this certificate is presented by an authorized representative of The Depository Trust Company, a New York corporation (DTC), to the Issuer or its agent for registration of transfer, exchange or payment, and such certificate is registered in the name of Cede & Co., or in such other name as 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.
REGISTERED NO. R-[ ] |
$[ ] |
CUSIP No. 743315AT0
THE PROGRESSIVE CORPORATION
4.20% SENIOR NOTE DUE 2048
THE PROGRESSIVE CORPORATION, an Ohio corporation (the Issuer), for value received, hereby promises to pay to CEDE & Co., c/o The Depository Trust Company, 55 Water Street, New York, New York 10041 or registered assigns, at the office or agency of the Issuer at the office of the Trustee in Boston, Massachusetts, the principal sum of [ ] ($[ ]) on March 15, 2048 (the Maturity Date), in such coin or currency of the United States of America as at the time of payment shall be legal tender for the payment of public and private debts, and to pay interest semiannually on March 15 and September 15 of each year (each, an Interest Payment Date), commencing on September 15, 2018, on said principal sum at said office or agency, in like coin or currency, at the rate per annum specified in the title of this Note, from the March 15 or the September 15, as the case may be, next preceding the date of this Note to which interest has been paid, unless no interest has been paid on this Note, in which case from March 14, 2018, until payment of said principal sum has been made or duly provided for at the office or agency maintained by the Issuer for such purpose; provided, that payment of interest may be made at the option of the Issuer by check mailed to the address of the person entitled thereto as such address shall appear on the Security Register. The interest so payable on any Interest Payment Date will, subject to certain exceptions provided in the Indenture referred to on the reverse hereof, be paid to the person in whose name this Note is registered at the close of business on the March 1 or September 1, as the case may be, next preceding the related Interest Payment Date except that any interest payable upon maturity or earlier redemption of this Note will be payable to the person to whom the principal of this Note is payable.
Reference is made to the further provisions of this Note set forth on the reverse hereof. Such further provisions shall for all purposes have the same effect as though fully set forth at this place.
This Note shall not be valid or become obligatory for any purpose until the certificate of authentication hereon shall have been signed by the Trustee under the Indenture referred to on the reverse hereof.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, The Progressive Corporation has caused this instrument to be signed by its duly authorized officers and has caused its corporate seal to be affixed hereto or imprinted hereon.
THE PROGRESSIVE CORPORATION |
[CORPORATE SEAL] | By: |
|
Attest: |
Dated: March 14, 2018
TRUSTEES CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICATION
This is one of the Securities, of the series designated herein, referred to in the within-mentioned Indenture.
U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, as Trustee |
||
By: |
|
|
Authorized Signatory |
(Back of Security)
THE PROGRESSIVE CORPORATION
4.20% SENIOR NOTE DUE 2048
This Note is one of a duly authorized issue of debentures, notes, bonds or other evidences of indebtedness of the Issuer (hereinafter called the Securities) of the series hereinafter specified, all issued or to be issued under and pursuant to an indenture dated as of September 15, 1993, as heretofore supplemented and amended (herein called the Indenture), between the Issuer and U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee (herein called the Trustee), to which Indenture and all indentures supplemental thereto reference is hereby made for a description of the rights, limitations of rights, obligations, duties and immunities thereunder of the Trustee, the Issuer and the Holders of the Securities. The Securities may be issued in one or more series, which different series may be issued in various aggregate principal amounts, may mature at different times, may bear interest (if any) at different rates, may be subject to different redemption provisions (if any), may be subject to different sinking, purchase or analogous funds (if any) and may otherwise vary as in the Indenture provided. This Security is one of a series designated as the 4.20% Senior Notes due 2048 of the Issuer (herein called the Notes) initially limited in aggregate principal amount to $600,000,000. The Issuer may, without the consent of Holders, increase the principal amount of the Notes in the future by issuing additional Notes on the same terms and conditions and with the same CUSIP Number(s) as the Notes.
If any Interest Payment Date or the Maturity Date or any earlier Redemption Date (as defined below) falls on any date that is not a Business Day, then the related payment will be made on the next succeeding Business Day, without any interest or other additional payment in respect of the delay. Business Day means any day, other than a Saturday or Sunday, that is not a day on which banking institutions or trust companies are generally authorized or required by law, regulation or executive order to close in The City of New York.
In case an Event of Default, as defined in the Indenture, with respect to the Notes shall have occurred and be continuing, the principal hereof may be declared, and upon such declaration shall become, due and payable, in the manner, with the effect and subject to the conditions provided in the Indenture.
The Indenture contains provisions permitting the Issuer and the Trustee, with the consent of the Holders of not less than 66-2/3% in aggregate principal amount of the Securities at the time Outstanding of all series to be affected (voting as one class), evidenced as in the Indenture provided, to execute supplemental indentures adding any provisions to or changing in any manner or eliminating any of the provisions of the Indenture or of any supplemental indenture or modifying in any manner the rights of the Holders of the Securities of each such series; provided, however, that no such supplemental indenture shall, among other things, (i) extend the final maturity of any Security, or reduce the principal amount thereof or any amount payable upon redemption thereof, or change the currency of payment thereof, or reduce the rate or extend the time of payment of any interest thereon, or impair or affect the rights of any Holder to institute suit for the payment thereof, without the consent of the Holder of each Security so affected or (ii) reduce the aforesaid percentage of Securities, the Holders of which are required to consent to any such supplemental indenture, without the consent of the Holder of each Security so affected. It is also provided in the Indenture that, with respect to certain defaults or Events of Default regarding the Securities of any series, prior to any declaration accelerating the maturity of such Securities, the Holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount Outstanding of the Securities of such series may on behalf of the Holders of all the Securities of such series waive any such past default or Event of Default and its consequences. The preceding sentence shall not, however, apply to a default in the payment of the principal of or premium, if any, or interest on any of the Securities. Any such consent or waiver by the Holder of this Note (unless revoked as provided in the Indenture) shall be conclusive and binding upon such Holder and upon all future Holders and owners of this Note and any Note which may be issued in exchange or substitution herefor, irrespective of whether or not any notation thereof is made upon this Note or such other Note.
No reference herein to the Indenture and no provision of this Note or of the Indenture shall alter or impair the obligation of the Issuer, which is absolute and unconditional, to pay the principal of and interest on this Note in the manner, at the respective times, at the rate and in the coin or currency herein prescribed.
The Notes are issuable in registered form without coupons in minimum denominations of $2,000 and any integral multiple of $1,000 at the office or agency of the Issuer at the office of the Trustee in Boston, Massachusetts, and in the manner and subject to the limitations provided in the Indenture, but without the payment of any service charge. Notes may be exchanged for a like aggregate principal amount of Notes of other authorized denominations. The Notes are subject to redemption upon not more than 60 or less than 30 days notice by mail, in whole at any time or in part from time to time at the option of the Issuer on any date (a Redemption Date), at a redemption price equal to the accrued and unpaid interest on the principal amount being redeemed to the Redemption Date plus the greater of (i) 100% of the principal amount of the Notes to be redeemed and (ii) the sum of the present values of the Remaining Scheduled Payments (as defined below) of the Notes to be redeemed, discounted to the Redemption Date, on a semiannual basis (assuming a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months), at rate equal to the Treasury Rate (as defined below), plus 20 basis points; provided, however , that if the Issuer redeems any Notes on or after September 15, 2047, the redemption price for such Notes shall equal the accrued and unpaid interest on the principal amount being redeemed to the Redemption Date plus 100% of the principal amount of Notes to be redeemed.
Remaining Scheduled Payments means, with respect to any redemption, the remaining scheduled payments of the principal and interest, exclusive of interest accrued to the Redemption Date, that would be due after the Redemption Date of the Notes to be redeemed assuming such Notes were not redeemed and were held until September 15, 2047.
Treasury Rate means, with respect to any redemption, an annual rate equal to the semiannual equivalent yield to maturity of the Comparable Treasury Issue (as defined below), assuming a price for the Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed as a percentage of its principal amount) equal to the Comparable Treasury Price for the Redemption Date.
Comparable Treasury Issue means, with respect to any redemption, the United States Treasury security selected by an Independent Investment Banker (as defined below) as having a maturity comparable to the remaining term of the Notes to be redeemed (assuming, for such purpose, that the Notes matured on September 15, 2047) 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 such remaining term of such Notes.
Independent Investment Banker means one of the Reference Treasury Dealers (as defined below) selected by the Issuer.
Comparable Treasury Price means, with respect to any redemption, (i) the average of three Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations (as defined below) obtained by the Trustee for the Redemption Date after excluding the highest and lowest of five Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations (as defined below) obtained or (ii) if the Trustee obtains fewer than five Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations, the average of all Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations obtained.
Reference Treasury Dealers means, with respect to any redemption, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (or any of their respective affiliates so long as such affiliate is and continues to be a primary U.S. Government securities dealer) and any three other primary U.S. Government securities dealers chosen by the Issuer. If any of the foregoing ceases to be a primary U.S. Government securities dealer, the Issuer will appoint in its place another nationally recognized investment banking firm that is a primary U.S. Government securities dealer.
Reference Treasury Dealer Quotation means, with respect to any redemption, the average, as determined by the Trustee, of the bid and asked prices for the Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed in each case as a percentage of its principal amount) quoted in writing to the Trustee by a Reference Treasury Dealer at 3:30 p.m., New York City time, on the third business day preceding the Redemption Date.
In the event of redemption of this Note in part only, a new Note or Notes of this series and of like tenor for the unredeemed portion hereof will be issued in the name of the Holder hereof upon the cancellation hereof.
Upon due presentment for registration of transfer of this Note at the office or agency of the Issuer at the office of the Trustee in Boston, Massachusetts, a new Note or Notes of authorized denominations for an equal aggregate principal amount will be issued to the transferee in exchange therefor, subject to the limitations provided in the Indenture, without charge except for any tax or other governmental charge imposed in connection therewith.
The Issuer, the Trustee and any authorized agent of the Issuer or the Trustee may deem and treat the registered Holder hereof as the absolute owner of this Note (whether or not this Note shall be overdue and notwithstanding any notation of ownership or other writing hereon), for the purpose of receiving payment of, or on account of, the principal hereof and, subject to the provisions on the face hereof, interest hereon, and for all other purposes, and neither the Issuer nor the Trustee nor any authorized agent of the Issuer or the Trustee shall be affected by notice to the contrary.
No recourse under or upon any obligation, covenant or agreement of the Issuer in the Indenture or any indenture supplemental thereto or in any Note, or because of the creation of any indebtedness represented thereby, shall be had against any incorporator, shareholder, officer or director, as such, of the Issuer or of any successor corporation, either directly or through the Issuer or any successor corporation, under any rule of law, statute or constitutional provision or by the enforcement of any assessment or by any legal or equitable proceeding or otherwise, all such liability being expressly waived and released by the acceptance hereof and as part of the consideration for the issue hereof.
Terms used herein which are defined in the Indenture shall have the respective meanings assigned thereto in the Indenture.
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 Note and all rights thereunder, hereby irrevocably constituting and appointing
attorney to transfer said Note on the books of the Issuer, with full power of substitution in the premises.
Dated |
|
|
NOTICE: The signature to this assignment must correspond with the name as written upon the face of the within instrument in every particular, without alteration or enlargement or any change whatever. |
Exhibit 4.3
SERIAL PREFERRED SHARES , SERIES B |
SERIAL PREFERRED SHARES, SERIES B |
|
NUMBER |
SHARES | |
R-[ ] |
[ ] |
THE PROGRESSIVE CORPORATION
THIS CERTIFICATE IS TRANSFERABLE IN | CUSIP 743315 AU7 | |
SEE REVERSE FOR CERTAIN DEFINITIONS | ||
INCORPORATED UNDER THE LAWS OF | ||
THE STATE OF OHIO |
||
THIS CERTIFIES THAT [ ] |
||
IS THE OWNER OF [ ] |
FULLY PAID AND NONASSESSABLE SERIES B FIXED-TO-FLOATING RATE CUMULATIVE
PERPETUAL SERIAL PREFERRED SHARES, WITHOUT PAR VALUE ($1,000 LIQUIDATION
PREFERENCE PER SHARE) OF
The Progressive Corporation (the Company) transferable on the books of the Company by the holder hereof in person or by duly authorized attorney upon surrender of this certificate properly endorsed. This certificate and the shares represented hereby are issued and shall be held subject to all provisions of the Amended Articles of Incorporation and amendments thereto as filed in the office of the Secretary of the State of Ohio, to which the holder, by acceptance hereof, assents. This certificate is not valid unless countersigned and registered by the Transfer Agent and Registrar.
In Witness Whereof, the Company has caused this certificate to be executed by facsimile signatures of its duly authorized officers.
DATED: [ ]
COUNTERSIGNED AND REGISTERED: |
||
AMERICAN STOCK TRANSFER & TRUST COMPANY | ||
TRANSFER AGENT AND REGISTRAR |
||
BY: |
|
|
|
||||||||
AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE |
VICE PRESIDENT |
TREASURER |
The following abbreviations, when used in the inscription on the face of this Certificate, shall be construed as though they were written out in full according to applicable laws or regulations:
TEN COM as tenants in common | UNIF GIFT MIN ACT - |
custodian |
||||
(Cust) | (Minor) | |||||
TEN ENT as tenants by the entireties | under Uniform Gifts to Minors Act |
|
||||
JT TEN as joint tenants with right of survivorship
and not as tenants in common |
(State) |
Additional abbreviations may also be used though not in the above list.
ASSIGNMENT
For value received, hereby sell(s), assign(s) and transfer(s) unto
PLEASE INSERT SOCIAL SECURITY OR OTHER IDENTIFYING NUMBER OF ASSIGNEE |
|
Serial Preferred | |
Shares represented by the within Certificate, and do hereby irrevocably constitute and appoint | ||
|
Attorney to | |
transfer the said Serial Preferred Shares on the books of the within named Company with full power of substitution in the premises. |
Dated: |
|
Signature(s): |
|
|
||
NOTICE: THE SIGNATURE TO THIS ASSIGNMENT MUST CORRESPOND WITH THE NAME(S) AS WRITTEN UPON THE FACE OF THE CERTIFICATE IN EVERY PARTICULAR, WITHOUT ALTERATION OR ENLARGEMENT, OR ANY CHANGE WHATEVER. | ||
Signature(s) Guaranteed: |
|
|
THE SIGNATURE(S) MUST BE GUARANTEED BY AN ELIGIBLE GUARANTOR INSTITUTION (BANKS, STOCKBROKERS, SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATIONS AND CREDIT UNIONS) WITH MEMBERSHIP IN AN APPROVED SIGNATURE GUARANTEE MEDALLION PROGRAM, PURSUANT TO S.E.C. RULE 17Ad-15 |
Exhibit 5.1
Baker & Hostetler LLP | ||||
Key Tower 127 Public Square, Suite 2000 Cleveland, OH 44114-1214
T 216.621.0200 F 216.696.0740 www.bakerlaw.com |
March 14, 2018
The Progressive Corporation
6300 Wilson Mills Road
Mayfield Village, Ohio 44143
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as counsel to The Progressive Corporation, an Ohio corporation (the Company ), in connection with a prospectus supplement, dated March 9, 2018 (the Prospectus Supplement ), relating to the offer and sale by the Company of $600,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its 4.20% Senior Notes due 2048 (the Senior Notes ) pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement, dated as of March 9, 2018 (the Underwriting Agreement ), by and among the Company, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, as Representatives of the several Underwriters named in Schedule I thereto. The Prospectus Supplement supplements a prospectus, dated March 9, 2018, contained in the Registration Statement on Form S-3 (Registration No. 333-223538) (the Registration Statement ) filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission ) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act ). The Senior Notes are to be issued pursuant to an Indenture, dated as of September 15, 1993, as supplemented to the date hereof (the Senior Note Indenture ) and as to be further supplemented by an Eleventh Supplemental Indenture (the Supplemental Indenture ), between the Company and U.S. Bank National Association (successor trustee to State Street Bank and Trust Company), as trustee (the Trustee ).
In rendering this opinion, we have examined such records, agreements, documents, certificates and other statements of governmental officials and other instruments as we deemed necessary to render this opinion. We have assumed the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the genuineness of all signatures, the legal capacity of all natural persons and the conformity with the original documents of all documents submitted to us as certified or photostatic copies and the authenticity of the originals of such latter documents.
As to facts material to the opinions and assumptions expressed herein, we have relied upon oral or written statements and representations of officers and other representatives of the Company and others.
Based on the foregoing and subject to the qualifications and limitations set forth below, we are of the opinion that:
The Senior Notes will be valid and binding obligations of the Company, except to the extent enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium, fraudulent transfer or other similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors rights generally and by the effect of general principles of equity, regardless of whether enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law, when:
(a) The Registration Statement and any amendments thereto remain effective at the time of issuance of the Senior Notes;
(b) The Supplemental Indenture, in the form to be filed by the Company with the Commission, shall have been executed and delivered as provided in the Senior Note Indenture;
(c) The Senior Notes, in the form to be filed by the Company with the Commission, shall have been issued and sold against payment of the agreed consideration therefore as described in the Prospectus Supplement and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Underwriting Agreement; and
(d) The Senior Notes shall have been duly executed and authenticated in accordance with the Senior Note Indenture and the Supplemental Indenture.
Please note that we are opining only as to the matters expressly set forth herein, and no opinion should be inferred as to any other matters. This opinion is limited to matters of United States federal law and the laws of the States of New York and Ohio, and we express no opinion herein as to the laws of any other jurisdiction. This opinion is based upon currently existing statutes, rules, regulations and judicial decisions. We do not find it necessary for the purposes of this opinion to cover, and accordingly we express no opinion as to, the application of the securities or blue sky laws to the sale of the Senior Notes.
We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Companys Registration Statement on Form S-3 relating to the Senior Notes and the reference to us under the caption Legal Matters in the Prospectus Supplement. In giving this consent, we do not hereby admit that we are included in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission.
Sincerely,
/s/ Baker & Hostetler LLP
Exhibit 5.2
Baker & Hostetler LLP | ||||
Key Tower 127 Public Square, Suite 2000 Cleveland, OH 44114-1214
T 216.621.0200 F 216.696.0740 www.bakerlaw.com |
March 14, 2018
The Progressive Corporation
6300 Wilson Mills Road
Mayfield Village, Ohio 44143
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as counsel to The Progressive Corporation, an Ohio corporation (the Company ), in connection with a prospectus supplement, dated March 9, 2018 (the Prospectus Supplement ), relating to the offer and sale by the Company of 500,000 Series B Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Perpetual Serial Preferred Shares (the Preferred Shares ) pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement, dated as of March 9, 2018 (the Underwriting Agreement ), by and among the Company, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, as Representatives of the several Underwriters named in Schedule I thereto. The Prospectus Supplement supplements a prospectus, dated March 9, 2018, contained in the Registration Statement on Form S-3 (Registration No. 333-223538) (the Registration Statement ) filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission ) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act ).
In rendering this opinion, we have examined such records, agreements, documents, certificates and other statements of governmental officials and other instruments as we deemed necessary to render this opinion. We have assumed the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the genuineness of all signatures, the legal capacity of all natural persons and the conformity with the original documents of all documents submitted to us as certified or photostatic copies and the authenticity of the originals of such latter documents.
As to facts material to the opinions and assumptions expressed herein, we have relied upon oral or written statements and representations of officers and other representatives of the Company and others.
For purposes of this opinion, we have assumed that the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto remain effective at the time of issuance of the Preferred Shares.
Based on the foregoing and subject to the qualifications and limitations set forth herein, we are of the opinion that the Preferred Shares have been duly authorized and, when issued and sold against payment of the agreed consideration therefore as described in the Prospectus Supplement and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Underwriting Agreement, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.
Please note that we are opining only as to the matters expressly set forth herein, and no opinion should be inferred as to any other matters. This opinion is limited to matters of United States federal law and the laws of the State of Ohio, and we express no opinion herein as to the laws of any other jurisdiction. This opinion is based upon currently existing statutes, rules, regulations and judicial decisions. We do not find it necessary for the purposes of this opinion to cover, and accordingly we express no opinion as to, the application of the securities or blue sky laws to the sale of the Preferred Shares.
We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Companys Registration Statement on Form S-3 relating to the Preferred Shares and the reference to us under the caption Legal Matters in the Prospectus Supplement. In giving this consent, we do not hereby admit that we are included in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission.
Sincerely,
/s/ Baker & Hostetler LLP