Exhibit 10.1

PREFERRED STOCK PURCHASE AGREEMENT

AMONG

FIRSTENERGY CORP.

AND

INVESTORS

Dated as of January 22, 2018

    

SCHEDULES AND EXHIBITS

PREFERRED STOCK PURCHASE AGREEMENT

THIS PREFERRED STOCK PURCHASE AGREEMENT (this “ Agreement ”), dated as of January 22, 2018, is made by and among FirstEnergy Corp., an Ohio corporation (the “ Company ”), on the one hand, and Elliott Associates, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership, Elliott International, L.P., a Cayman Islands limited partnership, Elliott International Capital Advisors Inc., a Delaware corporation, and Permian Investments S.à.r.l, a Luxembourg private limited liability company (each, an “ Elliott Investor ,” and together, “ Elliott ”), and the entities listed on Schedule B attached hereto (each, a “ Non-Elliott Investor ,” and together with Elliott, the “ Investors ”), on the other hand. The Company and the Investors are referred to herein, individually, as a “ Party ,” and, collectively, as the “ Parties .” Capitalized terms that are used but not otherwise defined in this Agreement shall have the meanings given to them in Section 1.1 hereof.

RECITALS

WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of the Company (the “ Board ”) has deemed it advisable and has authorized the issuance and sale of 1,616,000 shares of the Company’s Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, with a par value of $100 per share (the “ Series A Preferred Stock ”), to the Investors (each such Investor to receive the number of shares of Series A Preferred Stock set forth across from such Investor’s name in Schedule A or Schedule B hereto) (the “ Private Placement Shares ,” including shares of the Series A Preferred Stock that may be reallocated in the amounts and at the times further described herein (such shares subject to reallocation, the “ Reallocation Private Placement Shares ”));

WHEREAS, subject to the terms and conditions contained in this Agreement, the Company has agreed to issue and sell, and the Investors have agreed to purchase, the Private Placement Shares, upon the terms and conditions set forth herein. The rights, preferences and privileges of the Private Placement Shares, including the terms upon which such Private Placement Shares may be converted into shares of common stock, par value $0.10 per share, of the Company (the “ Common Stock ”), are set forth in the form of Amendment to the Amended Articles of Incorporation of the Company attached hereto as Exhibit A (the “ Preferred Stock Amendment ”); and

WHEREAS, concurrently with the consummation of the Closing (as defined below), the Company is consummating the transactions contemplated by the Common Stock Purchase Agreement (as defined below);

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises, agreements, representations, warranties and covenants contained herein, the Company and the Investors hereby agree as follows:

ARTICLE I

DEFINITIONS

Section 1.1     Definitions. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement, whenever used in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the respective meanings specified below:

“ AES ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.4(a) .

“ Affiliate ” means, with respect to any Person, any other Person that, directly or indirectly, Controls or is Controlled by or is under common Control with such Person. “ Affiliated ” has a correlative meaning.

“ Agreement ” has the meaning set forth in the Preamble.

“ Articles of Incorporation ” means the Amended Articles of Incorporation of the Company, as amended, as in effect on the date hereof.

“ Authorized Preferred Stock ” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.2(a) .

“ Bankruptcy Code ” means Title 11 of the United States Code, 11 U.S.C. §§ 101-1532, as it may be amended from time to time.

“ Basket Investments ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.4 .

“ Beneficial Ownership ” means, with respect to any security, (a) record ownership of such security, or (b) beneficial ownership of such security as defined under Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act, provided that such beneficial ownership shall further be deemed to include any shares or other units of such security as to which (i) such Person has a right to acquire record ownership or beneficial ownership at any time in the future, whether such right is exercisable immediately, only after the passage of time or only upon the satisfaction of certain conditions precedent, and (ii) any shares or units of such security that are referenced in any total return swap contracts or similar financial instruments or transactions, whether or not cash-settled, that are owned of record or beneficially by such Person. “ Beneficially Own ,” “ Beneficially Owns ,” “ Beneficially Owned , ” “ Beneficially Owning ” and “ Beneficial Owner ” shall have correlative meanings.

“ Board ” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

“ Business Day ” means any day except any Saturday, any Sunday, any day which is a federal legal holiday in the United States or any day on which banking institutions in the State of New York are authorized or required by Law or other governmental action to close.

“ Chapter 11 ” means Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code.

“ Closing ” has the meaning set forth in ‎Section 2.3(a ).

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

“ Code of Regulations ” means the Amended Code of Regulations of the Company, as amended, as in effect on the date hereof.

“ Common Stock ” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

“ Common Stock Purchase Agreement ” means that certain Common Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of January 22, 2018, by and among the Company and the investors party thereto, pursuant to which the Company is issuing and selling 30,120,482 shares of Common Stock to such investors for an aggregate purchase price of $850,000,002.04.

“ Communication Conditions ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.4(b) .

“ Company ” has the meaning set forth in the Preamble.

“ Company Business Representations ” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.11 .

“ Company Investments ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.4(a) .

“ Company Members ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.5(a) .

“ Company SEC Documents ” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.8(a) .

“ Confidential Disclosure Letter ” means the confidential disclosure letter furnished by the Company contemporaneously with the execution hereof.

“ Confidential Information ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.1(a) .

“ Contract ” means any agreement, contract or instrument, including any loan, note, bond, mortgage, indenture, guarantee, deed of trust, license, franchise, commitment, lease, franchise agreement, letter of intent, memorandum of understanding or other obligation, and any amendments thereto, whether written or oral.

“ Control ” means, with respect to any Person, the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such Person, whether through the ownership of voting securities or by Contract or agency or otherwise. “ Controlled ” has a correlative meaning.

“ Cutback Participant ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.2(c)(ii) .

“ Elliott ” has the meaning set forth in the Preamble.

“ Elliott Investor ” has the meaning set forth in the Preamble.

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

“ FES ” means FirstEnergy Solutions Corp. and/or First Energy Nuclear Operating Company (together with their respective Subsidiaries).

“ Filing Deadline ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.1(a) .

“ Form S-1 Shelf ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.1(a) .

“ Form S-3 Shelf ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.1(a) .

“ GAAP ” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.9 .

“ GIC Investor ” means Cheyne Walk Investment Pte. Ltd.

“ Governmental Entity ” means any federal, state, or local governmental or quasi-governmental instrumentality, agency, board, commission, department, court or tribunal; or any regulatory agency, bureau, commission, or authority.

“ HSR Act ” means the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended.

“ Investors ” has the meaning set forth in the Preamble.

“ Law ” means any law (statutory or common), statute, regulation, rule, code or ordinance enacted, adopted, issued or promulgated by any Governmental Entity.

“ Legal Proceedings ” means any legal, governmental, administrative, judicial or regulatory investigations, audits, actions, suits, claims, arbitrations, demands, demand letters, notices of noncompliance or violations, or proceedings.

“ Legend ” has the meaning set forth in ‎Section 5.3 .

“ Lien ” means any lien, adverse claim, charge, option, right of first refusal, servitude, security interest, mortgage, pledge, deed of trust, easement, encumbrance, restriction on transfer, conditional sale or other title retention agreement, defect in title, lien or judicial lien or other restrictions of a similar kind.

“ Maximum Offering Size ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.2(c) .

“ Non-Elliott Investor ” has the meaning set forth in the Preamble.

“ Order ” means any judgment, order, award, injunction, writ, permit, license or decree of any Governmental Entity or arbitrator of applicable jurisdiction.

“ Outside RWG Members ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 5.5(a) .

“ Participation Conditions ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 6.2(b) .

“ Party ” and “ Parties ” have the meaning set forth in the Preamble.

“ Person ” means an individual, firm, corporation (including any non-profit corporation), partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, association, trust, Governmental Entity or other entity or organization.

“ Potential Takedown Participant ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.2(b) .

“ Preferred Stock Amendment ” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

“ Private Placement ” means the purchase by the Investors of the Private Placement Shares for the Purchase Amount on the terms reflected in this Agreement.

“ Private Placement Shares ” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

“ Public Offering ” means the offer and sale of Registrable Securities for cash pursuant to an effective Registration Statement.

“ Public Communications ” means any communications by or on behalf of the Company or its Subsidiaries (which shall cease to be deemed to include FES from and after the date on which FES voluntarily files petitions under Chapter 11) in its SEC filings, press releases, earnings calls, analyst calls or on its website, or any other communications by or on behalf of the Company or its Subsidiaries (which shall cease to be deemed to include FES from and after the date on which FES voluntarily files petitions under Chapter 11) that are publicly available, including statements made by officers of the Company to media and news outlets that are publicly disseminated.

“ Purchase ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.4(a) .

“ Purchase Amount ” means the aggregate purchase price of $1,616,000,000.00 for the Private Placement Shares.

“ Reallocation Date ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.4 .

“ Reallocation Private Placement Shares ” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals, and represents in the aggregate 14,819 Private Placement Shares.

“ Registrable Securities ” means shares of Common Stock received or receivable upon conversion of the Private Placement Shares; provided, that any such shares shall cease to constitute “Registrable Securities” upon the earliest to occur of (i) the date on which such shares are disposed of pursuant to an effective Registration Statement under the Securities Act or pursuant to Rule 144, (ii) the date on which such shares cease to be outstanding and (iii) the third anniversary of the date hereof.

“ Registration Statement ” means any registration statement of the Company filed with, or to be filed with, the SEC under the Securities Act, including the related prospectus, amendments and supplements to such registration statement, including pre- and post-effective amendments, and all exhibits and all material incorporated by reference in such registration statement other than a registration statement (and related prospectus) filed on Form S-4 or Form S-8 or any successor form thereto.

“ Related Parties ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.5(f) .

“ Released Matters ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.5(g) .

“ Remaining Securities ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.2(c)(ii) .

“ Representatives ” means, with respect to any Person, such Person’s directors, officers, members, partners, limited partners, general partners, management companies, investment managers, shareholders, managers, employees, agents, investment bankers, attorneys, accountants, advisors and other representatives.

“ Requisite Investors ” means the holders of a majority of the Registrable Securities then held by the Investors.

“ Restricted Investor ” means Elliott, so long as Elliott together with its Affiliates, Beneficially Owns at least 3.00% of the Common Stock, in the aggregate.

“ Restructuring Working Group ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.5 .

“ RWG Confidentiality Agreement ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.5(b) .

“ RWG Period ” means the period commencing on the date hereof and continuing until such termination date that is determined by the Board which shall not, in any event, be before the earliest to occur of (i) June 30, 2020, (ii) the date on which Elliott ceases to Beneficially Own a “net long” position of at least 3.00% of the Common Stock, in the aggregate (it being understood for these purposes that any shares of Common Stock that have been sold short, and any options, derivatives or hedges that have the economic effect of Transferring shares of Common Stock (such as selling cash-settled swaps utilizing Common Stock as the reference security) will be subtracted from such position), (iii) the date on which Elliott breaches any of the provisions of Section 5.4 hereof, (iv) the date on which the Company provides written notice to Elliott, in good faith, of the conclusion to or substantial consummation of any in- or out-of-court process to restructure FES, or (v) the date on which Elliott provides written notice to the Company to terminate the Restructuring Working Group.

“ S-1 Shelf Filing Deadline ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.1(a).

“ S-3 Shelf Filing Deadline ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.1(a).

“ SEC ” means the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

“ Series A Preferred Stock ” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

“ Shelf Period ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.1(b) .

“ Shelf Registration ” means the registration of an offering of Registrable Securities on a Form S-1 Shelf or a Form S-3 Shelf, as applicable, on a delayed or continuous basis under Rule 415 under the Securities Act, pursuant to Section 6.1 .

“ Shelf Registration Statement ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.1(b) .

“ Shelf Takedown Notice ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.2(b) .

“ Shelf Takedown Request ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.2(a) .

“ Standstill Period ” means with respect to any Restricted Investor, the period of time commencing on the date hereof (or, if later, the date on which such Investor first becomes a Restricted Investor), and ending on the later of (i) the one-year anniversary of the date on which such Investor ceased to be a Restricted Investor and (ii) June 30, 2020.

“ Subsidiary ” means, with respect to any Person, any corporation, partnership, joint venture or other legal entity as to which such Person (either alone or through or together with any other subsidiary), (a) owns, directly or indirectly, more than 50% of the stock or other equity interests, (b) has the power to elect a majority of the board of directors or similar governing body, or (c) has the power to direct the business and policies.

“ Suspension Period ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.3(a)(v) .

“ Takedown Requesting Investo r” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.2(a) .

“ Taxes ” means all taxes, assessments, duties, levies or other mandatory governmental charges paid to a Governmental Entity, including all federal, state, local, foreign and other income, franchise, profits, gross receipts, capital gains, capital stock, transfer, property, sales, use, value-added, occupation, excise, severance, windfall profits, stamp, payroll, social security, withholding and other taxes, assessments, duties, levies or other mandatory governmental charges of any kind whatsoever paid to a Governmental Entity (whether payable directly or by withholding and whether or not requiring the filing of a return), all estimated taxes, deficiency assessments, additions to tax, penalties and interest thereon and shall include any liability for such amounts as a result of being a member of a combined, consolidated, unitary or affiliated group.

“ Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.9 .

“ Tax Forms ” has the meaning set forth in ‎Section 7.10 .

“ Transfer ” means to voluntarily or involuntarily sell, transfer, assign, pledge, hypothecate, participate, donate or otherwise encumber or dispose of, directly or indirectly. “ Transfer ” used as a noun has a correlative meaning. Notwithstanding the foregoing, each of the following shall be deemed not be a “ Transfer ” for the purposes of this Agreement: (i) a pledge of or grant of a security interest by a holder in any Private Placement Shares Beneficially Owned by such holder in connection with such holder’s financing activities to any creditor, lender or other person performing similar functions in the ordinary course of such creditor’s, lender’s or other person’s business to which such pledge or grant is made and (ii) the exercise by any pledgee or grantee described in the foregoing clause (i) of its rights to foreclose on or by similar remedy otherwise acquire such shares.

“ Transfer Restricted Period ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.5(a) .

“ Underwritten Public Offering ” means an underwritten Public Offering, including any bought deal or block sale to a financial institution conducted as an underwritten Public Offering.

“ Underwritten Shelf Takedown ” means an Underwritten Public Offering pursuant to an effective Shelf Registration Statement.

Section 1.2     Construction. In this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a)     references to Articles, Sections, Exhibits and Schedules are references to the articles and sections or subsections of, and the exhibits and schedules attached to, this Agreement;

(b)     references in this Agreement to “writing” or comparable expressions include a reference to a written document transmitted by means of electronic mail in portable document format (pdf), facsimile transmission or comparable means of communication;

(c)     words expressed in the singular number shall include the plural and vice versa; words expressed in the masculine shall include the feminine and neuter gender and vice versa;

(d)     the words “hereof,” “herein,” “hereto” and “hereunder,” and words of similar import, when used in this Agreement, shall refer to this Agreement as a whole, including all Exhibits and Schedules attached to this Agreement, and not to any provision of this Agreement;

(e)     the term “this Agreement” shall be construed as a reference to this Agreement as the same may have been, or may from time to time be, amended, modified, varied, novated or supplemented;

(f)     “include,” “includes” and “including” are deemed to be followed by “without limitation” whether or not they are in fact followed by such words;

(g)     references to “day” or “days” are to calendar days;

(h)     references to “the date hereof” means the date of this Agreement;

(i)     unless otherwise specified, references to a statute means such statute as amended from time to time and includes any successor legislation thereto and any rules or regulations promulgated thereunder in effect from time to time; and

(j)     references to “dollars” or “$” refer to currency of the United States of America, unless otherwise expressly provided.

ARTICLE II

PRIVATE PLACEMENT

Section 2.1     The Private Placement . On and subject to the terms and conditions hereof, the Investors agree to purchase, and the Company agrees to issue and sell to the Investors, on the date hereof for the Purchase Amount, the Private Placement Shares (it being understood that certain Reallocation Private Placement Shares may be distributed on the Reallocation Date as contemplated by Section 2.4 ), free and clear of any Liens or other restrictions on transfer (other than applicable federal and state securities Law restrictions or as set forth herein or in the Preferred Stock Amendment). The offer and sale of the Private Placement Shares purchased by the Investors pursuant to this Agreement will be made in reliance on the exemption from registration provided by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act or another available exemption from registration under the Securities Act.

Section 2.2     Funding . On the date hereof, and subject to the issuance of the Private Placement Shares as contemplated by Section 2.3(b ), including any right to receive Reallocation Private Placement Shares as contemplated by Section 2.4 , the Investors shall deliver and pay the Purchase Amount by wire transfer of immediately available funds in U.S. dollars into the bank account designated by the Company in satisfaction of the Investors’ obligation to purchase the Private Placement Shares.

Section 2.3     Closing.

(a)     The closing of the Private Placement (the “ Closing ”) shall take place at the offices of Jones Day, 250 Vesey Street, New York, New York 10281, or such other place as shall be agreed to by the Parties, on the date hereof.

(b)     At the Closing, issuance of the Private Placement Shares will be made by the Company to the Investors or, in the case of the GIC Investor, to its designee, against payment of the Purchase Amount for the Private Placement Shares. In addition, at the Closing the Investors shall have received (i) evidence that the Preferred Stock Amendment has been filed by the Company with the Secretary of State of the State of Ohio and (ii) the opinion of Jones Day, counsel to the Company, in the form set forth in Exhibit B attached hereto. The Closing Private Placement Shares to be delivered pursuant to this ‎Section 2.3(b ) shall be represented by physical certificates which shall be delivered to the Investors or, in the case of the GIC Investor, to its designee, immediately following the Closing. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, all Private Placement Shares deliverable pursuant to this Agreement will be delivered with all issue, stamp, transfer, sales and use, or similar transfer Taxes or duties that are due and payable (if any) in connection with such delivery duly paid by the Company.

Section 2.4     Reallocation Private Placement Shares . On or before April 26, 2018, the Company shall reallocate the Reallocation Private Placement Shares to the Investors as may be required by the allocations determined in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 2.4 (the date on which such reallocation is made, the “ Reallocation Date ”). The Company shall not receive any incremental consideration in connection with the reallocation of the Reallocation Private Placement Shares. Any dividends declared following the date hereof and prior to the

Reallocation Date with respect to any Reallocation Private Placement Share, irrespective of how such Reallocation Private Placement Share may be reallocated, shall remain with and be for the account of and paid to the Investor who held such Reallocation Private Placement Share at the record date established for such dividend. The Reallocation Private Placement Shares to be delivered pursuant to this ‎ Section 2.4 shall be represented by physical certificates, which shall be delivered to the Investors or, in the case of the GIC Investor, to its designee, promptly following the Reallocation Date. On or before April 26, 2018, each Investor whose Private Placement Shares are subject to reallocation pursuant to this Section 2.4 shall (i) return to the Company the stock certificates representing the Private Placement Shares delivered to such Investor on the date hereof and (ii) provide information, instructions or documents reasonably required by the Company’s transfer agent to give effect to the reallocation of the Reallocation Private Placement Shares. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, the Company shall not be obligated to effect the reallocation of any Reallocation Private Placement Shares until each Investor has complied with its obligations in the preceding sentence.

Section 2.5     Restrictions on Transferability of Preferred Stock.

(a)     Starting from the date hereof and until the date that is six months after the date of this Agreement, no Investor, including Elliott, may Transfer the Private Placement Shares (such period, the “ Transfer Restricted Period ”) to any other Person except with the prior written consent of the Company in its sole discretion, and, in the case of any such Transfer, subject to compliance with applicable Law. After the date of expiration of the Transfer Restricted Period, each Investor (and any subsequent permitted transferees) may Transfer the Private Placement Shares, subject to compliance with applicable Law.

(b)     In no case will any Transfer of the Private Placement Shares be permitted if such Transfer would result in Elliott ceasing to qualify as a Restricted Investor.

ARTICLE III

REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY

The Company hereby represents and warrants to the Investors (unless otherwise set forth herein, as of the date hereof) as set forth below.

Section 3.1     Organization and Qualification . The Company has been incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the Laws of the State of Ohio, has the corporate power and authority to own, lease or operate its property and to conduct its business in which it is currently engaged and presently proposes to engage and is qualified as a foreign corporation to transact business and is in good standing in each other jurisdiction in which the conduct of its business or its ownership or leasing of property requires such qualification, except to the extent that any such failure to be so qualified or be in good standing would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition or results of operations or the Company’s ability to perform its obligations under this Agreement.

Section 3.2     Capitalization.

(a)     The authorized stock of the Company consists of 700,000,000 shares of Common Stock and 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $100 par value (“ Authorized Preferred Stock ”).  As of September 30, 2017, (i) 444,858,003 shares of Common Stock were issued and outstanding, (ii) 48,782 shares of Common Stock were held in treasury, (iii) 1,367,535 shares of Common Stock were issuable upon exercise in respect of each outstanding option to purchase shares of Common Stock granted under any employee, director or similar stock plans of the Company, whether vested or unvested, with a weighted average exercise price of $44.43, (iv) 5,068,923 shares of Common Stock were issuable in respect of settlement of any outstanding awards of restricted share units, phantom shares, restricted stock or similar equity awards with respect to shares of Common Stock and (v) no shares of Authorized Preferred Stock were outstanding.

(b)     Except as contemplated by this Agreement, the Common Stock Purchase Agreement or as disclosed in the Company SEC Documents or with respect to securities issued or issuable under (i) existing equity compensation plans of the Company and (ii) the Company’s Stock Investment Plan, there are no outstanding subscriptions, options, warrants, calls, convertible securities or other contracts relating to the issuance or repurchase of capital stock, or other equity interests of the Company to which the Company is a party, or by which it is bound, obligating the Company to (A) issue, transfer or sell or cause to be issued, transferred or sold, any shares of capital stock or other equity interests of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or securities convertible into or exchangeable for such shares of capital stock or other equity interests, (B) grant, extend or enter into any such subscription, option, warrant, call, convertible securities or contract, or (C) redeem or otherwise acquire any number of such shares of capital stock or other equity interests.

(c)     Except as disclosed in the Company SEC Documents or as contemplated by this Agreement or the Common Stock Purchase Agreement, there are no voting trusts or other contracts to which the Company is a party with respect to voting or registration of the capital stock or other equity interests of the Company.

(d)     The Company or one or more of its direct or indirect Subsidiaries owns the common stock, membership interests or other ownership interests, as applicable, in each of its Subsidiaries free and clear of all Liens, encumbrances and adverse claims, except for such Liens, encumbrances and adverse claims as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition or results of operations or the Company’s ability to perform its obligations under this Agreement.

Section 3.3     Authorization, Execution and Delivery . The Company has requisite corporate power and authority to enter into this Agreement, to perform its obligations hereunder and to consummate the Private Placement. The execution and delivery of this Agreement and the consummation of the Private Placement have been duly authorized by the Board and no other corporate proceedings on the part of the Company are necessary to authorize the Private Placement. This Agreement has been duly and validly executed and delivered by the Company and constitutes the legal, valid and binding agreement of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except that such enforcement may be subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar Laws, now or hereinafter in effect, relating to creditors’ rights generally or equitable considerations.

Section 3.4     No Conflict . Neither the offer and sale of the Private Placement Shares nor the execution and delivery by the Company of, and the performance by the Company of its obligations under, this Agreement will result in a violation or default of, or the imposition of any Lien upon any property or assets of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries pursuant to (a) any provision of applicable Law, (b) the Articles of Incorporation or Code of Regulations, as the case may be, or other organizational documents, each as amended, of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company, (c) any agreement or other instrument binding upon the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company or (d) any Order any Governmental Entity, agency or court having jurisdiction over the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company or any of their properties, except in the case of clauses (a), (c) and (d) for any such violation, default or Lien that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition or results of operations or the Company’s ability to perform its obligations under this Agreement.

Section 3.5     Consents and Approvals . No consent, approval, authorization, Order, registration, qualification or filing of or with any Governmental Entity by the Company is required in connection with the transactions contemplated herein, except (a) such as may be required under the Exchange Act, the Securities Act or “Blue Sky” Laws and (b) the filing of the Preferred Stock Amendment with the Secretary of State of the State of Ohio, which shall have been filed as of the Closing.

Section 3.6     Issuance; Valid Issuance. The Private Placement Shares to be issued in connection with the consummation of the Private Placement and pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, and the Common Stock to be issued upon conversion of the Private Placement Shares, will, when issued and delivered on the date hereof (or the applicable date of conversion with respect to any Common Stock issued upon the conversion of the Private Placement Shares) and any time thereafter, be duly and validly authorized, issued and delivered and shall be fully paid and non-assessable, and such Common Stock and Private Placement Shares will be free and clear of all Taxes (except for any Taxes arising as a result of an Investor’s failure to provide a Tax Form in accordance with ‎ Section 7.10 establishing a complete exemption from withholding), Liens (other than transfer restrictions imposed hereunder, under the Articles of Incorporation or by applicable Law), preemptive rights, subscription and similar rights. Assuming the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Investors set forth in Article IV , it is not necessary in connection with the issuance and sale of such Common Stock and Private Placement Shares to the Investors in the manner contemplated by this Agreement to register such Private Placement Shares and Common Stock under the Securities Act.

Section 3.7     Investment Company Act . The Company is not an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

Section 3.8     Compliance with SEC Filings .

(a)     The Company has filed or furnished all forms, documents and reports required to be filed or furnished by it with the SEC since January 1, 2015 (such documents together with all other forms, documents and reports filed or furnished by the Company with the SEC, including the exhibits thereto and documents incorporated by reference therein, the “ Company SEC Documents ”). As of their respective dates or, if amended, as of the date of such amendment,

the Company SEC Documents complied in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act, Exchange Act and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, and none of the Company SEC Documents included any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state any 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.

(b)     The Company maintains (x) systems of “internal control over financial reporting” (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act) that comply with the requirements of the Exchange Act and have been designed by, or under the supervision of, its principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and to maintain asset accountability; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences; and (y) a system of “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Exchange Act) that is designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in reports that it files with the SEC pursuant to the SEC’s rules and forms, including controls and procedures designed to ensure that such information is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure, and such disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of the times indicated in the Company SEC Documents. The Company’s internal control over financial reporting was effective as of the times indicated in the Company SEC Documents and, at such times, the Company was not aware of any material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting.

Section 3.9     Financial Statements. The audited consolidated financial statements and unaudited consolidated financial statements (including all related notes and schedules) of the Company included in the Company SEC Documents complied as to form in all material respects with the rules and regulations of the SEC then in effect, fairly present in all material respects the consolidated financial position of the Company and its consolidated Subsidiaries, as of the respective dates thereof, and the consolidated results of their operations and their consolidated cash flows for the respective periods then ended (subject, in the case of the unaudited statements, to normal recurring year-end audit adjustments that were not or are not expected to be, individually or in the aggregate, materially adverse to the Company), and were prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“ GAAP ”) applied on a consistent basis during the periods involved, except as otherwise disclosed in the Company SEC Documents or with respect to any changes or recasting of prior periods that may result from, or arise in connection with, (i) Public Law 115-97 (the “ Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ”) or (ii) any in- or out-of-court process to restructure FES.

Section 3.10     No Undisclosed Liabilities. Except (a) as reflected or reserved against in the Company’s most recent consolidated balance sheets (or stated in the notes thereto) included in the Company SEC Documents or otherwise disclosed in the Confidential Disclosure Letter, (b) for liabilities or obligations that may result from, or in connection with, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and (c) for liabilities and obligations incurred since September 30, 2017 in

the ordinary course of business, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, has any liabilities or obligations of any nature, whether or not accrued, contingent or otherwise, that would be required by GAAP to be reflected on a consolidated balance sheet of the Company and its consolidated Subsidiaries (or in the notes thereto) other than those which would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition or results of operations or the Company’s ability to perform its obligations under this Agreement.

Section 3.11     Absence of Certain Changes or Events . Since the date of the Company’s most recent consolidated balance sheet included in the Company SEC Documents, there has not occurred any change, event or development that has, individually or in the aggregate, materially and adversely affected the Company’s business, financial condition or results of operations or the Company’s ability to perform its obligations under this Agreement, or would, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to do so, other than (a) any changes that may result from, or in connection with, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, (b) as disclosed in or contemplated by the Company SEC Documents, (c) any changes, events or developments that may result from actions or proceedings of the U.S. Department of Energy or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, (d) with respect to the transactions contemplated by the Common Stock Purchase Agreement or (e) as otherwise disclosed in the Confidential Disclosure Letter.

Section 3.12     Litigation and Regulatory Proceedings . Other than (a) as disclosed in the Company SEC Documents, including with respect to any potential restructuring of FES and any potential proceedings arising in connection therewith, or otherwise disclosed in the Confidential Disclosure Letter, (b) with respect to U.S. Department of Energy or Federal Energy Regulatory Commission actions in support of baseload generation or (c) in connection with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, there are no legal or governmental proceedings pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, to which the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company is a party or to which any of the properties of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company are subject wherein an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding would, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition or results of operations or the Company’s ability to perform its obligations under this Agreement .

Section 3.13     Compliance with Law . The Company and each of its Subsidiaries are, and since January 1, 2015 have been, in compliance with and not in default under or in violation of any Law, except where such non-compliance would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition or results of operations or the Company’s ability to perform its obligations under this Agreement. Within the past three years, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has received any notice or other communication from any Governmental Entity regarding any actual or possible violation of, or failure to comply with, any Law, except as otherwise disclosed in the Confidential Disclosure Letter or as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition or results of operations or the Company’s ability to perform its obligations under this Agreement.

Section 3.14     No Broker’s Fees. The Company is not a party to any Contract with any Person that would give rise to a valid claim against an Investor for a brokerage commission, finder’s fee or like payment in connection with the Private Placement or the sale of the Private Placement Shares.

ARTICLE IV
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE INVESTORS

Each Investor hereby represents and warrants to the Company, severally and not jointly (unless otherwise set forth herein, as of the date hereof) as set forth below in Sections 4.1 through Section 4.7 ; and each Restricted Investor hereby represents and warrants to the Company severally and not jointly (as of the date hereof) as set forth below in Section 4.8(a) ; and each Non-Elliott Investor hereby represents and warrants to the Company severally and not jointly (as of the date hereof) as set forth in Section 4.8(b) .

Section 4.1     Organization, Authority, Execution and Delivery . Such Investor (a) is a legal entity organized, validly existing and, if applicable, in good standing (or the equivalent thereof) under the Laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation or organization, (b) has the requisite power and authority (corporate or otherwise) to enter into this Agreement, perform its obligations under this Agreement and to consummate the Private Placement (c) has duly authorized the execution and delivery of this Agreement and no other corporate proceedings on the part of such Investor are necessary to authorizing the Private Placement and (d) has duly and validly executed and delivered this Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the legal, valid and binding agreement of such Investor, enforceable against such Investor in accordance with its terms, except that such enforcement may be subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar Laws, now or hereinafter in effect, relating to creditors’ rights generally or equitable considerations.

Section 4.2     No Conflict . The execution and delivery by such Investor of this Agreement, the compliance by such Investor with all of the provisions hereof and the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein (a) will not conflict with, or result in breach, modification, termination or violation of, any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under (with or without notice or lapse of time or both), or result in the acceleration of, or the creation of any Lien under, any Contract to which such Investor is party or is bound or to which any of the property or assets of such Investor are subject, (b) will not result in any violation of the provisions of the certificate of incorporation or bylaws (or comparable organizational documents) of such Investor and (c) will not result in any violation of any Law or Order applicable to such Investor or any of its properties, except in each of the cases described in clauses (a) or (c), for any conflict, breach, modification, termination, violation, default, acceleration or Lien which would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to prohibit or materially and adversely impact such Investor’s performance of its obligations under this Agreement.

Section 4.3     Consents and Approvals . No consent, approval, authorization, Order, registration, qualification or filing of or with any Governmental Entity having jurisdiction over such Investor or any of its properties is required for the execution and delivery by such Investor of this Agreement, the compliance by such Investor with the provisions hereof and the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein.

Section 4.4     No Registration . Such Investor understands that (a) the Private Placement Shares, as well as the Common Stock into which the Private Placement Shares may be converted, have not been registered under the Securities Act by reason of a specific exemption from the registration provisions of the Securities Act, the availability of which depends on, among other things, the bona fide nature of the investment intent and the accuracy of such Investor’s representations as expressed herein or otherwise made pursuant hereto and (b) the foregoing Private Placement Shares, as well as the Common Stock into which the Private Placement Shares may be converted, cannot be sold unless subsequently registered under the Securities Act or an exemption from registration is available.

Section 4.5     Purchasing Intent . Such Investor is acquiring the Private Placement Shares for its own account or accounts or funds over which it holds voting discretion, not otherwise as a nominee or agent, and not otherwise with the view to, or for resale in connection with, any distribution thereof not in compliance with applicable securities Laws, and such Investor has no present intention of selling, granting any other participation in, or otherwise distributing the same, except in compliance with applicable securities Laws and subject to compliance with the provisions hereof.

Section 4.6     Sophistication; Investigation.

(a)     Such Investor has such knowledge and experience in financial and business matters such that it is capable of evaluating the merits and risks of its investment in the Private Placement Shares. Such Investor is an “accredited investor” within the meaning of Rule 501(a) of the Securities Act or a “qualified institutional buyer” within the meaning of Rule 144A of the Securities Act. Such Investor understands and is able to bear any economic risks associated with its investment in the Private Placement Shares (including the necessity of holding such shares for an indefinite period of time and including an entire loss of its investment in the Private Placement Shares and the Common Stock into which the Private Placement Shares may be converted). Except for the representations and warranties expressly set forth in this Agreement, such Investor has independently evaluated the merits and risks of its decision to enter into this Agreement, is consummating the transactions contemplated by this Agreement with a full understanding, based exclusively on its own independent review, of all of the terms, conditions and risks and willingly assumes those terms, conditions and risks, and disclaims reliance on any representations or warranties, either expressed or implied, by or on behalf of the Company.

(b)     Such Investor acknowledges and understands that the Company has not been requested to provide, and has not provided, such Investor with any information or advice with respect to the Private Placement Shares (or the Common Stock into which the Private Placement Shares may be converted), and such information or advice is neither necessary nor desired.

(c)     Such Investor acknowledges and understands that the Company may possess material nonpublic information regarding the Company or its Subsidiaries not known to such Investor that may impact the value of the Private Placement Shares and the Common Stock into which the Private Placement Shares may be converted, and that the Company is not disclosing such information to such Investor. Such Investor understands, based on its experience, the disadvantage to which such Investor is subject due to the disparity of information between the Company and such

Investor. Notwithstanding such disparity, such Investor has deemed it appropriate to enter into this Agreement and to consummate transactions contemplated hereby .

Section 4.7     No Broker’s Fees . Such Investor is not a party to any Contract with any Person that would give rise to a valid claim against the Company for a brokerage commission, finder’s fee or like payment in connection with the Private Placement or the sale of the Private Placement Shares or payment of the Purchase Amount.

Section 4.8     Current Ownership .

(a)    Each Restricted Investor represents and warrants on behalf of itself and all of its Affiliates that, as of the date hereof, such Restricted Investor has informed the Company in a separate writing of any Company Investments Beneficially Owned by such Restricted Investor, except Basket Investments and the Private Placement Shares issued to such Restricted Investor pursuant to this Agreement.

(b)     As of the date hereof, assuming the accuracy of the Company’s representations and warranties in Section 3.2 , such Non-Elliott Investor together with any of its Affiliates whose holdings would be aggregated for purposes of Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act (including, with respect to the GIC Investor, the designee of the GIC Investor), do not in the aggregate beneficially own (as such term is used in Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act), 5% or more of the shares of Common Stock of the Company (assuming the conversion of all Private Placement Shares held by such Non-Elliott Investor (including, with respect to the GIC Investor, the designee of the GIC Investor) to shares of Common Stock as of the date hereof).

ARTICLE V

ADDITIONAL COVENANTS

Section 5.1     Access to Information; Confidentiality

(a)     From and after the date hereof until the date that is eighteen months after the date hereof, each Party hereto shall, and shall cause its Representatives to:

(i)     keep confidential and not provide or disclose to any Person (A) the discussions or any draft documents, proposals, strategies or compromises discussed or considered by the Parties hereto in connection with the negotiation and execution of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, in each case occurring prior to the date hereof (the “ Confidential Information ”), or (B) any information related to any derivatives, options, swaps, forward sales or other transactions entered into by an Investor or any Affiliate of an Investor with respect to any Company Investments that are not otherwise prohibited pursuant to Section 5.4(e) hereof (the “ Section 5.4(e) Information ”) (except that provision or disclosure of the Confidential Information or the Section 5.4(e) Information may be made to (X) any Affiliate or Representative of such Party who needs to know such information for purposes of this Agreement and who agrees to observe the terms of this Section 5.1 or (Y) any Person that has entered into a confidentiality agreement with the Company with respect to the confidential treatment and non-disclosure of the Confidential Information or the Section 5.4(e) Information (provided that nothing in this Section 5.1 shall be taken as an understanding or commitment by Company to enter into a

confidentiality agreement with any Person), (and such Party will remain liable for any breach of such terms by any such Affiliate or Representative) and the provision or disclosure of the Section 5.4(e) Information may be made to any counterparty or agent thereof who needs to know the Section 5.4(e) Information for the purposes of such counterparty’s or agent’s involvement in any derivatives, options, swaps, forward sales or other transactions entered into by an Investor with respect to any Company Investments that are not otherwise prohibited pursuant to Section 5.4(e) hereof); and

(ii)     not use the Confidential Information for any purpose other than in connection with this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.

(b)     Notwithstanding the foregoing, for purposes of this Agreement the term “ Confidential Information ” or “ Section 5.4(e) Information ” shall not include documents or information that (i) is now or subsequently becomes generally available to or known by the public (other than as a result of its disclosure in violation of this Section 5.1 ), (ii) is or becomes available to a Party or its Representatives on a non-confidential basis from a source other than the Company or its respective Representatives, provided that such source is not known to such Party to be subject to confidentiality obligations with respect to such documents or information that would prohibit their disclosure by such source, (iii) is independently derived by or on behalf of a Party or its Representative without the aid, application or use of any Confidential Information of any other Party or any Section 5.4(e) Information, (iv) confirmed or designated in writing by the Parties as documents or information that is not Confidential Information or Section 5.4(e) Information, or that is otherwise authorized to be disclosed, (v) becomes available to a Party or its Representatives through document production or discovery in connection with judicial, legal or administrative process, but subject to any confidentiality restrictions imposed by such process, or (vi) a Party or any Representative thereof is required to disclose pursuant to judicial, legal or administrative process (including but not limited to deposition, interrogatory, request for documents, subpoena and civil investigative demand) or pursuant to applicable Law or applicable securities exchange rules; provided, that, such Party or such Representative shall provide, to the extent reasonably practicable and legally permissible, the other Parties with prompt written notice of such legal compulsion (along with, to the extent applicable, a copy of the request or requirement and proposed disclosure, the circumstances surrounding such request or requirement, the reason that such disclosure is requested or required and the time and place such disclosure is expected to be made) and if requested by any of the other Parties, cooperate with such other requesting Parties to obtain a protective Order or appropriate remedy to cause such information or documents not to be disclosed, including interposing all available objections thereto, at the other requesting Parties’ sole cost and expense; provided, further, that, in the event that such protective Order or other appropriate remedy is not obtained, the disclosing party shall furnish only that portion of such information or documents that in the advice of its counsel (which may include in-house counsel) is legally required to be disclosed and shall exercise all commercially reasonable efforts (at the other requesting Parties’ sole cost and expense) to obtain reliable assurance that confidential treatment will be accorded such disclosed information or documents. The provisions of this Section 5.1 shall not apply to any Representative that, as of the date hereof, is party to a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement with the Company, for so long as such agreement remains in full force and effect.

(c)     Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, (i) each Party and its Representatives will be permitted to disclose the Confidential Information or any Section 5.4(e) Information or any portion thereof, without notice to the other Parties, upon the routine request of

any Governmental Entity having authority to regulate or oversee any aspect of such disclosing Party’s or its Representatives’ business, provided that such Party or its applicable Representatives shall advise the Governmental Entity of the confidential nature of the Confidential Information or the Section 5.4(e) Information and further provided that the other Parties or the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are not the specific target of such request and (ii) nothing in this Section 5.1 shall require the GIC Investor to commence or participate in any litigation.

(d)     Each Party shall bear its own costs or expenses in respect of complying with the terms of, or protecting the confidentiality, or limiting the disclosure of any Confidential Information or any Section 5.4(e) Information, pursuant to the terms of this Section 5.1 .

(e)     No portfolio company of any Investor shall receive Confidential Information or any Section 5.4(e) Information without the prior written consent of the Company. The Company agrees that no portfolio company of an Investor shall be deemed to be such Investor’s Representative, unless such portfolio company, including any director, officer or employee of such portfolio company, has actually received Confidential Information or any Section 5.4(e) Information.

(f)     At any time upon the written request of a Party, each other Party will, subject to applicable Law, destroy or return to such requesting Party (at the sole option of such requesting Party), all copies of such requesting Party’s Confidential Information in its possession and in the possession of its Representatives. Notwithstanding the foregoing, (i) any return is subject to applicable Law, regulation, and compliance with bona fide document retention policies, and (ii) nothing shall require the alteration, modification, deletion or destruction of back up tapes or other back up media made in the ordinary course of business; provided that any such Confidential Information retained pursuant to clauses (i) or (ii) shall be kept confidential by the Party or its Representative retaining such Confidential Information.

Section 5.2     Blue Sky . The Company shall take such action as the Company shall reasonably determine is necessary in order to obtain an exemption for, or to qualify the offer and sale of the Private Placement Shares to the Investors pursuant to this Agreement under applicable securities and “Blue Sky” Laws of the states of the United States (or to obtain an exemption from such qualification) and any applicable foreign jurisdictions, and shall provide evidence of any such action so taken to the Investors on the date hereof. The Company shall timely make all filings and reports relating to the offer and sale of the Private Placement Shares issued hereunder required under applicable securities and “Blue Sky” Laws of the states of the United States following the date hereof. The Company shall pay all fees and expenses in connection with satisfying its obligations under this Section 5.2 .

Section 5.3     Legends . Each certificate evidencing securities issued hereunder and each certificate issued in exchange for or upon the Transfer of any such securities, shall be stamped or otherwise imprinted with a legend (the “ Legend ”) in substantially the following form:

“THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE “ACT”), OR ANY OTHER APPLICABLE STATE SECURITIES LAWS, AND MAY NOT BE SOLD OR TRANSFERRED IN THE ABSENCE OF AN EFFECTIVE REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE ACT OR AN AVAILABLE EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION THEREUNDER.

THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE ARE SUBJECT TO TRANSFER, OWNERSHIP AND OTHER RESTRICTIONS SET FORTH IN THE PREFERRED STOCK PURCHASE AGREEMENT, DATED JANUARY 22, 2018, BY AND BETWEEN FIRSTENERGY CORP. AND THE INVESTORS PARTY THERETO, AS MAY BE AMENDED FROM TIME TO TIME, COPIES OF WHICH ARE ON FILE WITH AND AVAILABLE FROM THE SECRETARY OF THE ISSUER, WITHOUT COST.

FIRSTENERGY CORP. WILL MAIL TO ANY SHAREHOLDER WITHOUT CHARGE, WITHIN FIVE DAYS AFTER RECEIPT OF WRITTEN REQUEST THEREFOR, ADDRESSED TO THE SECRETARY OF THE CORPORATION, 76 SOUTH MAIN STREET, AKRON, OHIO 44308, A COPY OF THE EXPRESS TERMS OF THE SHARES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE AND OF OTHER CLASSES AND SERIES OF SHARES WHICH THE CORPORATION IS AUTHORIZED TO ISSUE.”

In the event that any such securities are uncertificated, such securities shall be subject to a restrictive notation substantially similar to the Legend in the stock ledger or other appropriate records maintained by the Company or agent and the term “Legend” shall include such restrictive notation. The Company shall remove the Legend (or restrictive notation, as applicable) set forth above from the certificates evidencing any such securities (or the securities register or other appropriate Company records, in the case of uncertified securities), upon request, at any time after the restrictions described in such Legend cease to be applicable, including, as applicable, with respect to the second paragraph of the Legend upon the expiration of the Transfer Restricted Period and, with respect to the first paragraph of the Legend, when such securities may be sold under Rule 144 of the Securities Act and under this Agreement. The Company may reasonably request such opinions, certificates or other evidence that such restrictions no longer apply as a condition to removing the Legend.

Section 5.4     Restricted Investor Standstill . For the duration of the applicable Standstill Period, and subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, each Restricted Investor agrees that it will not, and will not permit any of its Affiliates to, directly or indirectly (including through any of its or its Affiliates’ respective Representatives), acting alone or in concert with others, without the prior written consent of the Company:

(a)     acquire, agree to acquire, propose, offer to acquire, or facilitate the acquisition or ownership of (collectively, “ Purchase ”), any securities or other indebtedness of the Company or its Subsidiaries, any warrant or option to purchase such securities or other indebtedness, any security convertible into any such securities or other indebtedness, any derivatives or other instruments (whether or not cash settled) that utilize any such securities as a reference price or security, or any other right to acquire such securities or other indebtedness (collectively, “ Company Investments ”), provided, however, that (i) such Restricted Investor will be permitted to Purchase Common Stock so long as such Restricted Investor together with its Affiliates would Beneficially

Own 9.9% or less of the outstanding Common Stock after giving effect to such acquisition (and for purposes of this proviso, the limitation on Common Stock issuable upon conversion of Series A Preferred Stock set forth in Section 9 of the Preferred Stock Amendment shall be disregarded) and (ii) such Restricted Investor will be permitted to Purchase indebtedness of the Company and its Subsidiaries (except for FES, Allegheny Energy Supply Company, LLC (“ AES ”) and FES’s and AES’s Subsidiaries). For the avoidance of doubt, “Purchase” as used in this Section 5.4 shall not be deemed to include any sale or other disposition of any nature;

(b)     (i) propose, or announce an intention to propose, a change in the management of the Company or its Subsidiaries or any of their respective boards of directors, or to obtain representation on any of such boards of directors, or solicit, or participate in the solicitation of, any proxies, consents or other votes with respect to any Company Investments, (ii) publicly or privately disparage or otherwise criticize the management of the Company or its Subsidiaries or any members of their respective boards of directors (individually or collectively) or the policies or practices of any of the foregoing to a Person other than the executive officers of the Company; provided that, notwithstanding the foregoing, the Restricted Investor shall be permitted to privately respond to any unsolicited inquiry made by a third party with respect to the Private Placement Shares, the Company, the Restructuring Working Group or FES, so long as, in making any such response, (A) the Restricted Investor does not reference individual members of the management of the Company or its Subsidiaries or any members of their respective boards of directors, (B) the Restricted Investor does not make any statement or implication that is reasonably known by the Restricted Investor to be inconsistent or in conflict with any Public Communication on such subject), and (C) the Restricted Investor provides the Company with prompt notice (and in any case within one Business Day) that it has made such communication (which notice shall identify the Person with whom the Restricted Investor has communicated and a description of the nature of the discussion) (the conditions in clauses (A)-(C), the “ Communication Conditions ”), (iii) make any request (written or oral), or announcement of an intention to request, that the Company amend, waive or terminate any provision of this Agreement, or its Articles of Incorporation or Code of Regulations (or any equivalent documents or amendments thereto of any of the foregoing), or (iv) demand a copy of the Company’s stockholder list or other books or records;

(c)     make any statement or proposal (written or oral) to any of the Company’s or its Subsidiaries’ boards of directors, individual directors or management of such entities, or make any statement or proposal (written or oral) with respect to, a merger, restructuring, business combination, sale of assets, recapitalization, dividend, share repurchase or liquidation, or any similar or comparable transaction, or that require any such entity to make a public action or statement (written or oral) regarding the possibility of any of the foregoing;

(d)     (i) take any action to oppose any plan of reorganization, plan of liquidation, debtor-in-possession financing arrangements or cash collateral arrangements contemplated by the Company or its Subsidiaries pursuant to any Chapter 11 case that may be filed in respect of any of the Company’s Subsidiaries, or make any statement (written or oral) related thereto, or (ii) otherwise communicate with FES or its advisors, or the creditors of FES or their advisors, in either case with respect to FES, unless, in the case of this clause (ii), the Restricted Investor complies with the Communication Conditions;

(e)     take a net economic short interest in the Common Stock or debt securities of the Company, in each case on an as-converted, as-exercised basis for any securities of or other interests (including any hedging or derivative transactions) in the Company then-held by the Restricted Investor;

(f)     disclose any intention, plan or arrangement prohibited by, or inconsistent with, the foregoing;

(g)     advise, assist or encourage or enter into any discussions, negotiations, agreements or arrangements with any other Person in connection with any conduct proscribed by the foregoing; or

(h)     form a “group” (within the meaning of Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act) with any other Person (other than Affiliates).

Notwithstanding the foregoing:

(i)     this Section 5.4 shall be inoperative and of no force and effect if any other Person or “group” (as defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act) shall (x) enter into an agreement with the Company providing for the acquisition of or (y) make a bona fide offer, through a public announcement, to acquire (in each case, whether by tender offer, exchange offer, merger, acquisition, consolidation, or otherwise) (I) more than 40% of the outstanding voting securities of the Company or (II) assets representing more than 40% of the Company’s reported assets (as determined using the asset value of the most recent balance sheet included in the Company SEC Documents, and for the purposes of this Section 5.4, not including the assets of FES);

(ii)     if the Company enters into, or announces any plans to enter into, any agreement or understanding with respect to the sale or disposition of (x) all or substantially all of the equity or assets of any of the Company’s Subsidiaries listed on Schedule C or (y) a majority of the equity or assets of FirstEnergy Transmission, LLC and its Subsidiaries (taken as a whole), any statements (written or oral) made by a Restricted Investor with respect to such sale or disposition shall not constitute a breach of this Section 5.4 so long as, in making such statements, the Restricted Investor solely refers to such sale or disposition and complies with clause (A) of the Communication Conditions, set out above;

(iii)     nothing in this Section 5.4 shall be understood to prohibit or otherwise limit each Restricted Investor or its Affiliates from (x) trading, directly or indirectly, (I) in Common Stock or indebtedness of the Company as permitted by Section 5.4(a) , provided that such trading shall not cause the Restricted Investor to become the Beneficial Owner of more than 9.9% of the outstanding Common Stock and such trading shall comply with the restrictions in Section 5.4(e) , or (II) in any index, exchange traded fund, benchmark or other basket of securities which may contain, or otherwise reflect the performance of, any securities of the Company, including but not limited to “XLU” on the NYSE Arca Exchange (such indices, funds,

benchmarks or baskets collectively, “ Basket Investments ”) or (y) engaging in private communications solely with the executive officers of the Company or, subject to compliance with the Communications Conditions, FES; and

(iv)     (x) public responses by the Restricted Investor to any unsolicited public statement or press release by a third party with respect to the Private Placement Shares, the Company, the Restructuring Working Group, FES or any of FES’ respective Subsidiaries that specifically names or references the Restricted Investor or any of its employees, Affiliates or agents will be permitted so long as (I) the Restricted Investor complies with the Communications Conditions and (II) such public response relates only to the Private Placement Shares, the Company, the Restructuring Working Group, FES or any of FES’ respective Subsidiaries or otherwise does not violate clause 5.4(b) or (c) or (d) (or clause 5.4(f) or (g) as relates to the foregoing) and (y) receipt of any unsolicited inquiries or indications of interest relating to the Company or its Subsidiaries by a Restricted Investor or its Affiliates, shall not constitute a breach of the obligations in this Section 5.4; provided that in the case of sub-clause (y), such Restricted Investor shall promptly inform the Company of such inquiries or indications of interest.

Section 5.5     Restructuring Working Group . During the RWG Period, and any such other times as the Company may elect, the Company shall convene a working group (the “ Restructuring Working Group ”) on a periodic basis (which shall be no less than once every two weeks prior to such time as FES shall become subject of any petition for relief under Chapter 11, and thereafter no less than once per calendar month, unless otherwise agreed by the members of the Restructuring Working Group) to provide advisory services (including recommendations, suggestions and advice) to the management of the Company regarding the restructuring of FES and the Company’s participation in such restructuring (including with respect to restructuring strategies and communications with stakeholders and other related parties). Such meetings may be in-person or telephonic, and the Company shall provide reasonable advance written notice (which may be by email) of such meetings.

(a)    The Restructuring Working Group shall consist of (i) not more than two individuals proposed by Elliott, each of whom will not be employed by Elliott or any of its Affiliates, it being understood and agreed that the initial two individuals shall be C. John Wilder and Anthony R. Horton (the “ Outside RWG Members ”) and (ii) three individuals designated by the Company (the “ Company Members ”). The Company and Elliott, upon mutual written agreement, shall have the right to remove any of the Outside RWG Members (provided that Elliott will not unreasonably withhold, condition or delay its agreement in the event that an Outside RWG Member has (x) materially breached its obligations pursuant to the agreement that he or she enters into with the Company in respect of his or her service with the Restructuring Working Group and (y) failed to cure such breach within a reasonable period of time after receipt of written notice from the Company of such breach). In the event that either of the Outside RWG Members is removed, resigns or is unable to serve on the Restructuring Working Group for any reason, Elliott shall have the exclusive right to propose a replacement (with the approval of the Company at the time of proposal). The Company shall have the right to remove any of the Company Members in its sole discretion and, upon such removal, or in the event that any of the Company Members resigns or is unable to serve on the Restructuring Working Group for any reason, the Company shall have the exclusive right to

appoint a replacement. Any action to be taken by the Restructuring Working Group pursuant to this Section 5.5 or otherwise, such as the retention of counsel or the making of any recommendation, suggestion or advice to the Company, shall only be taken with the approval of a majority of the individuals then appointed to and serving on the Restructuring Working Group, and at least one of such individuals approving such action must be a designee of the Company.

(b)     An additional condition to the service of the Outside RWG Members on the Restructuring Working Group is that they execute an agreement that includes standstill, confidentiality, exculpation and indemnification provisions that are substantially consistent with the standstill, confidentiality, exculpation and indemnification provisions that are contained in the agreements that the initial Outside RWG Members are entering into with the Company in respect of their service with the Restructuring Working Group. The Company shall provide copies of any such agreement to Elliott promptly upon request.

(c)     Upon request of the Restructuring Working Group, the Company shall provide the Restructuring Working Group with reasonable access to the Company’s financial advisors and accountants and shall provide any other materials, documents, analysis, data or information that is then in the Company’s possession or control and that any member of the Restructuring Working Group reasonably believes are necessary or desirable to perform their duties relating to the role of the Restructuring Working Group; provided , however , that (i) the Company may withhold access to any materials, documents, analysis, data or information that the Company determines are subject to attorney-client privilege or other related protections or (ii) are subject to confidentiality restrictions that do not permit sharing of such information with representatives or agents of the Company (who are not the Company’s employees). The Restructuring Working Group shall be entitled to engage legal counsel on terms, and in respect of a scope of analysis, as may be reasonably necessary. The Company will pay the reasonable and documented fees and expenses of legal counsel retained by the Restructuring Working Group in accordance with the provisions of this sub-paragraph (c).

(d)     No recommendations, suggestions or other directives of the Restructuring Working Group will be binding on the Company or its Subsidiaries, and the Restructuring Working Group will have no authority to make decisions or implement actions on behalf of the Company or its Subsidiaries. The management of the Company, acting in its sole discretion, may choose whether or not to follow the recommendations, suggestions and advice of the Restructuring Working Group. The Restructuring Working Group will not be entitled to participate, directly or indirectly, in any negotiations or other discussions with any creditors or other stakeholders of FES except to the extent authorized to do so by the management of the Company. Any recommendations and suggestions of the Restructuring Working Group regarding the restructuring of FES and its Subsidiaries or otherwise shall be presented to the executive officers of the Company on a confidential basis.

(e)     Each initial Outside RWG Member will receive compensation for his or her service on the Restructuring Working Group set out in an agreement between the Company and such member. With respect to any subsequent Outside RWG Members, the Company will determine the compensation, if any, for such members in good faith. The Outside RWG Members will be entitled to reimbursement of their documented reasonable personal out-of-pocket expenses in a manner consistent with the reimbursement policies of the Company applicable to the Company’s executive officers. For the avoidance of doubt, the reimbursement rights described in the preceding

sentence will not include the right to reimbursement of the fees and expenses of legal counsel or other advisors or professionals.

(f)     The Company acknowledges that neither Elliott nor any of its past, present or future Affiliates, partners (both general and limited), members (both managing or otherwise), stockholders, directors, officers, controlling persons (if any), agents, consultants, legal advisors or employees (all such parties and their successors and assignees, together, the “ Related Parties ,” and it being understood, for the avoidance of doubt, that no Outside RWG Members shall be deemed to be Related Parties of Elliott) shall have, or be deemed or construed to have, any fiduciary duty to the Company or any other Person in connection with the work of the Restructuring Working Group.

(g)     Neither Elliott nor any of its Related Parties shall have any liability of any kind whatsoever to the Company for any damages, losses or expenses (including special, punitive, incidental or consequential damages and interest, penalties and fees and disbursements of attorneys, accountants, investment bankers and other professional advisors), whether arising under contract, in tort or otherwise, (i) with respect to the performance of any activities or services by Elliott solely in connection with the negotiation of this Agreement on or prior to the date hereof, or (ii) solely in relation to the services rendered or to be rendered by the Outside RWG Members at any time hereafter (clauses (i) and (ii), collectively, the “ Released Matters ”). To the fullest extent permitted under applicable law, none of Elliott nor any of its Related Parties shall be liable to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries and each of their respective Affiliates for breach of any duty (contractual or otherwise) by reason of any activities or omissions of the types contemplated by the terms hereof related to the Restructuring Working Group or otherwise included in the mandate of the Restructuring Working Group.  The Company (on behalf of itself and its Subsidiaries and each of their respective Affiliates), by its acceptance of the benefits hereof, covenants, agrees and acknowledges that, with respect to the Released Matters, it has no rights of recovery against, and no recourse hereunder or under any documents or instruments delivered in connection herewith against Elliott or any of its respective Related Parties, whether by or through attempted piercing of the corporate veil, by or through a claim by or on behalf of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or their respective Affiliates against any such Person, whether in tort, contract or otherwise, by enforcement of any judgment or assessment or by any legal or equitable proceeding, or by virtue of any applicable law, or otherwise.  No amendment or repeal of this Section 5.5(g) shall have any effect on any Person’s rights under this Section 5.5(g) with respect to any act or omission occurring prior to such amendment or repeal. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this Section 5.5(g) shall waive or limit any of the Parties’ respective obligations under this Agreement. For purposes of this Section 5.5(g), “Related Parties” of Elliott shall not include (i) “Affiliates,” provided, for the avoidance of doubt, that it shall include all Persons who are otherwise included within the definition of “Related Parties,” and (ii) any of the Outside RWG Members.

Section 5.6     Use of Proceeds . The Company will utilize the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Shares for general corporate purposes, including repayment of indebtedness or contributions to Company-sponsored pension or other benefit plans, as determined by the Company.

Section 5.7     HSR Cooperation . In the event any Investor would be required to file any notification and report form pursuant to the HSR Act as a result of the conversion of any Private Placement Shares into shares of Common Stock pursuant to the terms of the Preferred Stock Amendment, at the option of such Investor upon written notice to the Company, the effectiveness of such conversion shall be delayed (in whole, or at the option of such Investor, only to the extent necessary to avoid a violation of the HSR Act), until such Investor, at its sole expense, shall have made such filing under the HSR Act and such Investor shall have received early termination clearance in respect thereof or the waiting period in connection with such filing under the HSR Act shall have expired; provided, however, that in such circumstances such Investor shall use commercially reasonable efforts to make such filing and obtain such clearance or expiration of such waiting period as promptly as reasonably practical, and the Company shall make all required filings and reasonably cooperate with and assist such holder in connection with the making of such filing and obtaining such clearance or expiration of such waiting period.

Section 5.8     Certain Tax Matters . The Company shall not use any portion of the Purchase Amount to take any action (including, for example, redeeming any of its outstanding Common Stock) that would cause any Investor to Beneficially Own more than 5% of the Common Stock of the Company within the meaning of Section 897(c)(3) of the Code (including more than 5% of the Common Stock of the Company on an as-converted basis with respect to any Private Placement Shares by an Investor).

Section 5.9     Public Disclosures . (a) For the duration of the Standstill Period, except as otherwise required by applicable Law (and in that event only if time does not permit), the Company shall not issue any press release or make any other public statement related to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby or that identifies or otherwise references Elliott, without the prior consent of Elliott (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 5.9 , the Company shall be permitted, without Elliott’s prior consent, to (i) respond to any unsolicited inquiry made by a third party in a public forum that identifies or otherwise references Elliott and (ii) identify or reference Elliott in a private discussion; provided that, in making any such response or in such discussion, the Company’s statements or implications are reasonably known by the Company to be consistent with any (x) public statement made by Elliott on such subject or (y) other statement or position on such subject communicated to the Company by Elliott; and provided further that, if any of the Company’s statements in such a private discussion subsequently become public, Elliott shall be permitted to publicly or privately respond to any such statement, so long as (I) Elliott complies with the Communications Conditions and (II) such public response relates only to the Private Placement Shares, the Company, the Restructuring Working Group, FES, or any of FES’ respective Subsidiaries and otherwise does not violate Sections 5.4(b) or (c) or (d) (or clause 5.4(f) or (g) as it relates to the foregoing).

(b)     The Company shall not issue any press release or make any other public statement related to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby that identifies the GIC Investor, Bluescape Resources Company LLC or any of their respective Affiliates without the consent of the GIC Investor or Bluescape Resources Company LLC, as applicable (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed).

(c)     Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 5.9 , the Company may include in any report it files or furnishes with the SEC factual information relating to any Investor, or any of their respective Affiliates, relating to this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby that was previously included in a press release or other public statement or disclosure consented to in accordance with this Section 5.9 without the requirement of obtaining any further consent from any such party.

ARTICLE VI

REGISTRATION RIGHTS

Section 6.1     Shelf Registration Statement.

(a)     Not later than (i) 60 days after the date hereof (the “ S-3 Shelf Filing Deadline ”), the Company shall file a Registration Statement on Form S-3 covering the resale of all of the Registrable Securities held by the Investors on a delayed or continuous basis (the “ Form S-3 Shelf ”), or (ii) 90 days after the date hereof (the “ S-1 Shelf Filing Deadline ” and, along with the S-3 Shelf Filing Deadline, each, a “ Filing Deadline ”), in the event that the Company is not eligible to file Form S-3 Shelf as of or prior to the S-3 Shelf Filing Deadline, the Company shall file a Shelf Registration Statement on Form S-1 (a “ Form S-1 Shelf ” and, along with a Form S-3 Shelf, each a “ Shelf Registration Statement ”).

(b)     Subject to the terms of this Agreement, including any applicable Suspension Period, the Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the Shelf Registration Statement to be declared effective under the Securities Act promptly after the filing thereof, but in the event of no “review” by the SEC, no later than the 15th calendar day following the applicable Filing Deadline, and shall use its reasonable efforts to keep such Shelf Registration Statement, or a successor Registration Statement thereto, continuously effective under the Securities Act until the date that all Registrable Securities covered by such Shelf Registration Statement have been disposed by the Investors or are no longer Registrable Securities, provided that in no event shall the Company’s obligation to keep such Shelf Registration Statement effective extend beyond the three year anniversary of the date hereof. In the event the Company becomes ineligible to use the Form S-3 Shelf during the Shelf Period (as defined below), the Company shall file a Form S-1 Shelf not later than 60 Business Days after the date the Company becomes ineligible, and shall use its reasonable efforts to have such Shelf Registration Statement declared effective promptly (the period during which the Company shall use its reasonable efforts to keep the Shelf Registration Statement continuously effective under the Securities Act in accordance with this Section 6.1 is referred to as the “ Shelf Period ”). In the event the Company files a Form S-1 Shelf (either prior to the S-1 Shelf Filing Deadline or during the Shelf Period) and thereafter becomes eligible to use a Form S-3 Shelf, the Company shall use its reasonable efforts to convert the Form S-1 Shelf to a Form S-3 Shelf promptly after the Company becomes so eligible.

(c)     The Company shall notify the Investors by e-mail of the effectiveness of a Shelf Registration Statement on the same Business Day that the Company telephonically confirms effectiveness with the SEC. The Company shall file a final prospectus with the SEC to the extent required by Rule 424 under the Securities Act. The “Plan of Distribution” section of such Shelf Registration Statement shall provide for permitted means of disposition of Registrable Securities,

including agented transactions, sales directly into the market, and purchases or sales by brokers. The Company shall use its reasonable efforts to cause any Registrable Securities offered for resale pursuant to an effective Shelf Registration Statement to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, or such other national securities exchange as the Common Stock may be listed during the time such Shelf Registration Statement is effective.

Section 6.2     Shelf Takedown .

(a)     At any time during the Shelf Period (subject to any Suspension Period), by notice to the Company specifying the intended method or methods of disposition thereof, any Investor or Investors holding Registrable Securities that, in the aggregate, have market value in excess of $300 million (each such Investor, a “ Takedown Requesting Investor ”) may make a written request (a “ Shelf Takedown Request ”) to the Company to effect a Public Offering, including an Underwritten Shelf Takedown, of all or a portion of such holder’s Registrable Securities that may be registered under such Shelf Registration Statement, and as soon as practicable, the Company shall amend or supplement the Shelf Registration Statement as necessary for such purpose; provided, that the Company shall not be obligated to effect more than one Shelf Takedown Request during any twelve-month period, and the Company shall not be obligated to effect any Underwritten Shelf Takedown if the aggregate proceeds expected to be received from the sale of the Registrable Securities requested to be sold in such Underwritten Shelf Takedown, in the good faith judgment of the managing underwriter(s) thereof, is less than $175.0 million.

(b)     Promptly upon receipt of a Shelf Takedown Request (but in no event more than three Business Days thereafter) for any Underwritten Shelf Takedown, the Company shall deliver a notice (a “ Shelf Takedown Notice ”) to each Investor with Registrable Securities covered by the applicable Shelf Registration Statement (each, a “ Potential Takedown Participant ”). The Shelf Takedown Notice shall offer each such Potential Takedown Participant the opportunity to include in such requested Underwritten Shelf Takedown such number of Registrable Securities as each such Potential Takedown Participant may request in writing. The Company, subject to Section 6.2(c) below, shall include in the Underwritten Shelf Takedown all such Registrable Securities with respect to which the Company has received written requests for inclusion therein within three Business Days after the date that the Shelf Takedown Notice has been delivered. Any Potential Takedown Participant’s request to participate in an Underwritten Shelf Takedown shall be binding on the Potential Takedown Participant; provided that each such Potential Takedown Participant that elects to participate may condition its participation on the Underwritten Shelf Takedown being completed within ten Business Days of its acceptance at a price per share (after giving effect to any underwriters’ discounts or commissions) to such Potential Takedown Participant of not less than such percentage specified by such Potential Takedown Participant) of the closing price for the Common Stock on their principal trading market on the Business Day immediately prior to such Potential Takedown Participant’s election to participate (the “ Participation Conditions ”). Notwithstanding the delivery of any Shelf Takedown Notice, but subject to the Participation Conditions (to the extent applicable) and Section 6.2(c) and Section 6.2(d) below, all determinations as to whether to complete any Underwritten Shelf Takedown and as to the timing, manner, price and other terms of any Underwritten Shelf Takedown contemplated by this Section 6.2(b) shall be determined by the Takedown Requesting Investors.

(c)     If the managing underwriter(s) for a requested Underwritten Shelf Takedown advise the Company and the Takedown Requesting Investors that in their reasonable view the number of Registrable Securities proposed to be included in such Underwritten Shelf Takedown exceeds the number of Registrable Securities which can be sold in an orderly manner in such offering within a price range acceptable to the Takedown Requesting Investors (the “ Maximum Offering Size ”), then the Company shall so advise any Potential Takedown Participant electing to participate in such Underwritten Shelf Takedown, and shall include in such Underwritten Shelf Takedown the number of Registrable Securities which can be so sold, allocated, if necessary for the offering not to exceed the Maximum Offering Size. The number of Registrable Securities included in such Underwritten Shelf Takedown will be allocated among the Potential Takedown Participants as follows:

(i)     first, each Potential Takedown Participant shall be allocated an amount equal to the lesser of (x) the Maximum Offering Size multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of Registrable Securities then held by each Potential Takedown Participant and the denominator of which is the aggregate number of Registrable Securities then held by all Potential Takedown Participants and (y) the number of Registrable Securities requested to be included by such Potential Takedown Participant in the offering; and

(ii)     second, to the extent that the Maximum Offering Size is not fully allocated pursuant to clause (i), the excess of (x) the Maximum Offering Size over (y) the amount allocated pursuant to clause (i) (the “ Remaining Securities ”) shall be allocated among any Potential Takedown Participant whose allocation pursuant to clause (i) is less than the number of Registrable Securities requested to be included in such offering by such Potential Takedown Participant (each, a “ Cutback Participant ”) such that each Cutback Participant shall be entitled to include pursuant to this clause (ii), the lesser of (x) the Remaining Securities multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of Registrable Securities then held by each Cutback Participant and the denominator of which is the aggregate number of Registrable Securities then held by all Cutback Participants and (y) the number of Registrable Securities requested to be included by such Cutback Participant in the offering. If any portion of the Maximum Offering Size remains unallocated, the procedure in this clause (ii) shall be recursively repeated until all Registrable Securities up to the Maximum Offering Size have been allocated.

(d)     The Takedown Requesting Investors shall have the right to select the investment banker(s) and manager(s) (which shall consist of one or more reputable nationally recognized investment banks, subject to the Company’s approval) to administer any Underwritten Shelf Takedown and one firm of counsel to represent all of the participating holders of Registrable Securities, including the Takedown Requesting Investors and any Potential Takedown Participants electing to participate in such Underwritten Shelf Takedown (along with any reasonably necessary local counsel), in connection with such Underwritten Shelf Takedown.

Section 6.3     Required Suspension Period .

(a)     Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Company shall have the right but not the obligation to defer the filing of (but not the preparation of), or suspend the use by the Investors of, any Shelf Registration Statement for a period of up to 90 days:

(i)     if an event occurs as a result of which the Shelf Registration Statement and any related prospectus as then supplemented would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary to make the statements therein in the light of the circumstances under which they were made at such time not misleading, or if it shall be necessary to amend the Shelf Registration Statement, file a new registration statement or supplement any related prospectus to comply with the Securities Act or the Exchange Act or the respective rules thereunder;

(ii)     upon issuance by the SEC of a stop order suspending the effectiveness of any Shelf Registration Statement with respect to Registrable Securities or the initiation of Legal Proceedings with respect to such Shelf Registration Statement under Section 8(d) or 8(e) of the Securities Act;

(iii)     if the Company believes that any such registration or offering (A) should not be undertaken because it would reasonably be expected to materially interfere with any material corporate development or plan of the Company or (B) would require the Company, under applicable securities Laws and other Laws, to make disclosure of material nonpublic information that would not otherwise be required to be disclosed at that time and the Company believes in good faith that such disclosures at that time would not be in the Company’s best interests; provided that this exception (B) shall continue to apply only during the time that such material nonpublic information has not been disclosed and remains material;

(iv)     if the Company elects at such time to offer equity securities of the Company to (A) fund a merger, third-party tender offer or other business combination, acquisition of assets or similar transaction or (B) meet rating agency and other capital funding requirements; or

(v)     if the Company is pursuing a primary underwritten offering of Common Stock pursuant to a Registration Statement (any such period contemplated by (i)-(v) of this Section 6.3(a) , a “ Suspension Period ”);

(b)     In no event shall the Company declare a Suspension Period more than three times in any twelve-month period or for more than an aggregate of 90 days in any twelve-month period. The Company shall give written notice to the Investors of its declaration of a Suspension Period and of the expiration of the relevant Suspension Period.

Section 6.4     Registration Procedures.

(a)     Requirements . In connection with the Company’s obligations under this Article VI , the Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to effect such registration and to permit the sale of such Registrable Securities in accordance with the intended method or

methods of distribution thereof as expeditiously as reasonably practicable, and in connection therewith the Company shall:

(i)     As promptly as practicable prepare the required Shelf Registration Statement, including all exhibits and financial statements required under the Securities Act to be filed therewith and prospectus, and, before filing a Shelf Registration Statement or prospectus or any amendments or supplements thereto, (x) furnish to the Investors whose Registrable Securities are covered by such Shelf Registration Statement, copies of all documents prepared to be filed, which documents shall be subject to the review of such Investors and their respective counsel, (y) make such changes in such documents concerning the Investors prior to the filing thereof as such Investors, or their counsel, may reasonably request and (z) not file any Shelf Registration Statement or prospectus or amendments or supplements thereto to which the Investors, in such capacity, shall reasonably object;

(ii)     prepare and file with the SEC such amendments and post-effective amendments to such Shelf Registration Statement and supplements to the prospectus as may be (x) reasonably requested by any Investor with Registrable Securities covered by such Shelf Registration Statement, or (y) necessary to keep such Shelf Registration Statement effective for the period of time required by this Agreement, and comply with provisions of the applicable securities Laws with respect to the sale or other disposition of all securities covered by such Shelf Registration Statement during such period in accordance with the intended method or methods of disposition by the sellers thereof set forth in such Shelf Registration Statement;

(iii)     notify the Investors and (if requested) confirm such notice in writing and provide copies of the relevant documents, as soon as reasonably practicable after notice thereof is received by the Company (a) when such Shelf Registration Statement or any amendment thereto has been filed or becomes effective, and when the applicable prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto has been filed, (b) of any written comments by the SEC, or any request by the SEC or other Governmental Entity for amendments or supplements to such Shelf Registration Statement or such prospectus, or for additional information (whether before or after the effective date of the Shelf Registration Statement) or any other correspondence with the SEC relating to, or which may affect, the registration, (c) of the issuance by the SEC of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of such Shelf Registration Statement or any Order by the SEC or any other regulatory authority preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary or final prospectus or the initiation or threatening of any proceedings for such purposes, and (d) of the receipt by the Company of any notification with respect to the suspension of the qualification of the Registrable Securities for offering or sale in any jurisdiction or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose;

(iv)     promptly notify the Investors when the Company becomes aware of the happening of any event as a result of which such Shelf Registration Statement or the prospectus included in such Shelf Registration Statement (as then in effect) contains any untrue statement of a material fact or omits to state a material fact

necessary to make the statements therein (in the case of such prospectus or any preliminary prospectus, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading, when any issuer free writing prospectus (as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act) relating to an offer of the Registrable Securities includes information that may materially conflict with the information contained in such Shelf Registration Statement, or, if for any other reason it shall be necessary during such time period to amend or supplement such Shelf Registration Statement or prospectus in order to comply with the Securities Act and, as promptly as reasonably practicable thereafter, prepare and file with the SEC, and furnish without charge to the Investors, an amendment or supplement to such Shelf Registration Statement or prospectus, which shall correct such misstatement or omission or effect such compliance; and

(b)     take all such other commercially reasonable actions as are necessary or advisable in order to expedite or facilitate the disposition of such Registrable Securities in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

Section 6.5     Required Information . The Company may require the Investors to furnish to the Company such information regarding the distribution of such securities and such other information relating to the Investors and their ownership of Registrable Securities as is required to be included in any Registration Statement as the Company may from time to time reasonably request in writing (provided that such information shall be used only in connection with such registration) and the Company may exclude from such registration or sale the Registrable Securities of an Investor if such Investor fails to furnish such information within a reasonable time after receiving such request. Each Investor agrees to furnish such information to the Company and to use commercially reasonable efforts to cooperate with the Company as reasonably necessary to enable the Company to comply with the provisions of this Agreement.

Section 6.6     Confidentiality . Pending any required public disclosure by the Company and subject to applicable legal requirements and the terms of this Agreement, the Parties will maintain the confidentiality of details contained in all notices and other communications regarding a prospective sale of securities hereunder.

Section 6.7     Expenses . All expenses incurred in connection with any Shelf Registration Statement or registered offering covering Registrable Securities, including all registration and filing fees, printing expenses, the fees and expenses of the independent certified public accountants, the fees and expenses of the Company’s legal counsel, transfer agent’s fees, the expense of qualifying such Registrable Securities under state “Blue Sky” Laws, and, subject to the consent of the Company (not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed) reasonable fees and expenses of one firm of attorneys selected by the Investors, will be borne by the Company; provided, however, that the Company will not be required to pay more than $75,000 in fees and expenses of any such counsel in connection with any Underwritten Shelf Takedown. Notwithstanding the foregoing, all underwriters’, brokers’ or dealers’ discounts or commissions applicable to Registrable Securities sold for the account of the Investors (and any Taxes related thereto) will be borne by the Investors.

Section 6.8     Indemnification With Regard To Certain Securities Law Matters .

(a)     Indemnification by the Company . In the event of any registration under the Securities Act by any Shelf Registration Statement pursuant to rights granted in this Agreement of Registrable Securities, or any offering made pursuant thereto, the Company will indemnify and hold harmless the Investors and their respective officers, directors, managers, employees, limited partners, general partners, equityholders, investment managers, management companies and Affiliates (in each case, in their capacities as such), and each underwriter of such securities and each other Person, if any, who controls such Investors or such underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act, against any losses, claims, damages, or liabilities (including reasonable legal fees and costs of court), joint or several, to which such Investors and their respective officers, directors, managers, employees, limited partners, general partners, equityholders, investment managers, management companies or Affiliates, or such underwriter or any such controlling Person may become subject under the Securities Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages, or liabilities (or any actions in respect thereof) (i) arise out of or are based upon any untrue or alleged untrue statement of any material fact contained, on any applicable effective date, in any Shelf Registration Statement under which such securities were registered under the Securities Act or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing, or which arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein (in the case of the prospectus or any preliminary prospectus forming a part of such Shelf Registration Statement, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading or (ii) arise out of or are based upon any untrue or alleged untrue statement of any material fact contained in any preliminary prospectus (if used prior to the filing of the final prospectus) or in the final prospectus (as amended or supplemented if the Company shall have filed with the SEC any amendment or supplement to the final prospectus) or any free writing prospectus, or which arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission (if so used) to state a material fact required to be stated in such prospectus or necessary to make the statements in such prospectus not misleading; provided, however, that the Company shall not be liable to an Investor or its respective officers, directors, managers, employees, limited partners, general partners, equityholders, investment managers, management companies and Affiliates or an underwriter or any other Person who controls such Investor or such underwriter in any such case if and 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 such Shelf Registration Statement, such amendment or supplement or such prospectus, in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by or on behalf of such Investor or such underwriter specifically for use therein.

(b)     Indemnification by Investors . Each Investor separately (and not jointly or severally) will indemnify and hold harmless (in the same manner and to the same extent as set forth in Section 6.8(a) ) the Company, its officers, directors, managers, employees, limited partners, general partners, equityholders, investment managers, management companies and Affiliates (in each case, in their capacities as such), and each other Person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act, against any losses, claims, damages, or liabilities (including reasonable legal fees and costs of court), joint or several, to which the Company and such officers, directors, managers, employees, limited partners, general partners, equityholders, investment managers, management companies or Affiliates or any such controlling Person may become subject under the Securities Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages, or liabilities (or any actions in respect thereof) (i) arise out of or are based upon any untrue or alleged untrue statement

of any material fact contained, on any applicable effective date, in any Shelf Registration Statement under which such securities were registered under the Securities Act or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing, or which arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein (in the case of the prospectus or any preliminary prospectus forming a part of such Shelf Registration Statement, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading or (ii) arise out of or are based upon any untrue or alleged untrue statement of any material fact contained in any preliminary prospectus (if used prior to the filing of the final prospectus) or in the final prospectus (as amended or supplemented if the Company shall have filed with the SEC any amendment or supplement to the final prospectus), or which arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission (if so used) to state a material fact required to be stated in such prospectus or necessary to make the statements in such prospectus not misleading, in the case of each of (i) and (ii), if and to the extent such statement or omission was made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by or on behalf of such Investor specifically for use therein; provided, however, that the total amount to be indemnified by such Investor pursuant to this Section 6.8(b) shall be limited to the net proceeds (after deducting underwriters’ discounts and commissions) received by such Investor in the offering to which such Shelf Registration Statement relates; provided, further, that an Investor shall not be liable in any case to the extent that prior to the filing of any such Shelf Registration Statement, prospectus or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto, such Investor has furnished in writing to the Company information expressly for use in, and within a reasonable period of time prior to the effectiveness of, such Shelf Registration Statement, prospectus or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto which corrected or made not misleading information previously provided by such Investor to the Company.

(c)     Indemnification Procedures . Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party of notice of the commencement of any action involving a claim referred to in Section 6.8(a) or Section 6.8(b) , the indemnified party will, if a resulting claim is to be made or may be made against an indemnifying party, give written notice to the indemnifying party of the commencement of the action. The failure of any indemnified party to give notice shall not relieve the indemnifying party of its obligations in Section 6.8(a) or Section 6.8(b) , as applicable, except to the extent, if any, that the indemnifying party is actually materially prejudiced by the failure to give notice and then only to such extent. If any such action is brought against an indemnified party, the indemnifying party will be entitled to participate in and to assume the defense of the action with counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party, and after notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of its election to assume defense of the action, the indemnifying party will not be liable to such indemnified party for any legal or other expenses incurred by the latter in connection with the action’s defense. An indemnified party shall have the right to employ separate counsel in any action or proceeding and participate in the defense thereof, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at such indemnified party’s expense unless (i) the employment of such counsel has been specifically authorized in writing by the indemnifying party, which authorization shall not be unreasonably withheld, (ii) the indemnifying party has not assumed the defense and employed counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party within 30 days after notice of any such action or proceeding, or (iii) the named parties to any such action or proceeding (including any impleaded parties) include the indemnified party and the indemnifying party and the indemnified party shall have been advised by such counsel that there may be one or more legal defenses available

to the indemnified party that are different from or additional to those available to the indemnifying party (in which case the indemnifying party shall not have the right to assume the defense of such action or proceeding on behalf of the indemnified party), it being understood, however, that the indemnifying party shall not, in connection with any one such action or separate but substantially similar or related actions in the same jurisdiction arising out of the same general allegations or circumstances, be liable for the reasonable fees and expenses of more than one separate firm of attorneys (in addition to one (1) local counsel for each jurisdiction, if necessary, in the good faith opinion of both counsel for the indemnifying party and counsel for the indemnified party in order to adequately represent the indemnified parties) for all indemnified parties with regard to all claims arising out of similar circumstances; and that all such fees and expenses shall be reimbursed as they are incurred upon written request and presentation of invoices. Whether or not a defense is assumed by the indemnifying party, the indemnifying party will not be subject to any liability for any settlement made without its consent. No indemnifying party will consent to entry of any judgment or enter into any settlement which (i) does not include as an unconditional term the giving by the claimant or plaintiff, to the indemnified party, of a release from all liability in respect of such claim or litigation or (ii) involves the imposition of equitable remedies or the imposition of any non-financial obligations on the indemnified party.

(d)     Contribution . If the indemnification required by Section 6.8(a) or Section 6.8(b) , as applicable, from the indemnifying party is unavailable to or insufficient to indemnify and hold harmless an indemnified party in respect of any indemnifiable losses, claims, damages, liabilities, or expenses as required by Section 6.8(a) or Section 6.8(b) , as applicable, then the indemnifying party shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by the indemnified party as a result of such losses, claims, damages, liabilities, or expenses in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect (i) the relative benefit received by the indemnifying and indemnified parties from the offering of securities and (ii) if the allocation in clause (i) is not permitted by applicable Law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefit referred to in clause (i) and also the relative fault of the indemnified and indemnifying parties, in connection with the actions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages, liabilities, or expenses, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative fault of the indemnifying party and the indemnified party shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether any action in question, including any untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact, has been made by, or relates to information supplied by, such indemnifying party or parties, and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information, and opportunity to correct or prevent such action; provided, however, that the total amount to be contributed by any Investor pursuant to this Section 6.8(d) shall be limited to the net proceeds (after deducting underwriters’ discounts and commissions) received by such Investor in the offering to which such Shelf Registration Statement relates; provided, further, that an Investor shall not be liable in any case to the extent that prior to the filing of any such Shelf Registration Statement, prospectus or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto, such Investor has furnished in writing to the Company information expressly for use in, and within a reasonable period of time prior to the effectiveness of, such Shelf Registration Statement, prospectus or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto which corrected or made not misleading information previously provided by such Investor to the Company. The amount paid or payable by a party as a result of the losses, claims, damage, liabilities, and expenses referred to above shall be deemed to include any legal or other fees or expenses reasonably incurred by such party in connection with any investigation or proceeding. The Company and the Investors agree that it would not be just and

equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 6.8(d) were determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in the prior provisions of this Section 6.8(d) . For purposes of this Section 6.8(d) , each Person who controls any Investor or any underwriter thereof within the meaning of either the Securities Act or the Exchange Act and each officer, director and Affiliate of any such Investor shall have the same rights to contribution as the Company, subject in each case to the applicable terms and conditions of this Section 6.8(d) . Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 6.8(d) , no indemnifying party shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the securities were offered to the public by the indemnifying party exceeds the amount of any damages which the indemnifying party has otherwise been required to pay by reason of an untrue statement or omission. No Person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any Person who was not guilty of such a fraudulent misrepresentation.

ARTICLE VII

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Section 7.1     Notices . All notices and other communications in connection with this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed given if delivered personally, sent via electronic facsimile or email (with confirmation), mailed by registered or certified mail (return receipt requested) or delivered by an express courier (with confirmation) to the Parties at the following addresses (or at such other address for a Party as may be specified by like notice):

(a)     If to the Company:

FirstEnergy Corp.

76 South Main Street

Akron, OH 44308

Fax: (330) 384-3772

Attention: Treasurer

Email: grp-treasurycompliance@firstenergycorp.com

and

FirstEnergy Corp.

76 South Main Street

Akron, OH 44308

Fax: (330) 384-3875

Attention: Legal Department

Email: rreffner@firstenergycorp.com

with copies (which shall not constitute notice) to:

Jones Day

North Point

901 Lakeside Avenue

Cleveland, OH 44114

Fax: (216) 579-0212

Attention: Kimberly J. Pustulka, Esq.

Email: kjpustulka@jonesday.com

and

Jones Day

77 West Wacker

Chicago, IL 60601

Fax: (312) 782-8585

Attention: Edward B. Winslow, Esq.

Email: ebwinslow@jonesday.com

(b)     If to the Investors:

Notice addresses for the Investors are included on Schedule A and Schedule B attached hereto.

            

Section 7.2     Assignment; Third Party Beneficiaries . Neither this Agreement nor any of the rights, interests or obligations under this Agreement shall be assigned by any Party (whether by operation of Law or otherwise) without the prior written consent of the Company except that (a) an Investor may assign and transfer, without the prior consent of the Company, its rights pursuant to Article VI hereof to (x) a transferee to whom a Transfer of Private Placement Shares is permitted pursuant to this Agreement with respect to Private Placement Shares being Transferred or (y) with respect to the GIC Investor, to its designee pursuant to Section 2.3(b) and Section 2.4, and (b) an Investor may grant to a creditor or lender a security interest in and to the Private Placement Shares, the Common Shares and/or its rights pursuant to Article VI hereof, and such rights may be further assigned by such creditor or lender. Any assignment in violation of this Section 7.2 shall be void ab initio . This Agreement (including the documents and instruments referred to in this Agreement) is not intended to and does not confer upon any Person any rights or remedies under this Agreement other than the Parties and permitted assigns.

Section 7.3     Prior Negotiations; Entire Agreement . This Agreement (including the agreements attached as exhibits and schedules to and the documents and instruments referred to in this Agreement) constitutes the entire agreement of the Parties and supersedes all prior agreements, arrangements or understandings, whether written or oral, among the Parties (including, with respect to any Investor, any prior agreement between the Company and any of such Investor’s Affiliates) with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement.

Section 7.4     Governing Law; Venue . THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY, AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH, THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, WITHOUT REGARD TO ANY CHOICE OF LAW PROVISIONS WHICH WOULD REQUIRE THE APPLICATION OF THE LAW OF ANY OTHER JURISDICTION. BY ITS EXECUTION AND DELIVERY OF THIS AGREEMENT, EACH PARTY IRREVOCABLY AND UNCONDITIONALLY AGREES FOR ITSELF THAT ANY LEGAL ACTION, SUIT, OR PROCEEDING AGAINST IT WITH RESPECT TO ANY MATTER ARISING UNDER OR ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT OR FOR RECOGNITION OR ENFORCEMENT OF ANY JUDGMENT RENDERED IN ANY SUCH ACTION, SUIT, OR PROCEEDING, MAY BE BROUGHT IN THE COURTS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK LOCATED IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK, BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN, OR OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, AND BY EXECUTING AND DELIVERING THIS AGREEMENT, EACH OF THE PARTIES IRREVOCABLY ACCEPTS AND SUBMITS ITSELF TO THE EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OF SUCH COURT, GENERALLY AND UNCONDITIONALLY, WITH RESPECT TO ANY SUCH ACTION, SUIT OR PROCEEDING. THE PARTIES HEREBY AGREE THAT MAILING OF PROCESS OR OTHER PAPERS IN CONNECTION WITH ANY SUCH ACTION OR PROCEEDING TO AN ADDRESS PROVIDED IN WRITING BY THE RECIPIENT OF SUCH MAILING, OR IN SUCH OTHER MANNER AS MAY BE PERMITTED BY LAW, SHALL BE VALID AND SUFFICIENT SERVICE THEREOF AND HEREBY WAIVE ANY OBJECTIONS TO SERVICE ACCOMPLISHED IN THE MANNER HEREIN PROVIDED.

Section 7.5     Counterparts . This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, all of which will be considered one and the same agreement and will become effective when counterparts have been signed by each of the Parties and delivered to each other Party (including via facsimile or other electronic transmission), it being understood that each Party need not sign the same counterpart.

Section 7.6     Waivers and Amendments; Rights Cumulative; Consent . This Agreement may be amended, restated, modified or changed only upon written consent by the Company and Investors Beneficially Owning at least a majority of the outstanding Private Placement Shares; provided, however, that any amendment, restatement, modification or change to (x) Section 5.4 or Section 5.5 or the defined terms used therein shall become effective upon, and only upon, the written consent of the Company and Elliott or (y) Article 6 or the defined terms used therein shall become effective upon, and only upon, the written consent of the Company and the Investors Beneficially Owning at least 90% of the then-outstanding Registrable Securities whose rights, privileges and obligations in respect of the Registrable Securities then held by such Investors are adversely affected by such amendment, restatement, modification or change (including, for purposes of this Section 7.6 , the Registrable Securities into which the Private Placement Shares are then convertible, disregarding any limitation on convertibility set forth in the Preferred Stock Amendment). Any amendment, restatement, modification or change effected in accordance with this Section 7.6 shall be binding upon the Investors, each transferee or future holder of the Private Placement Shares, and the Company. No delay on the part of any Party in exercising any right, power or privilege pursuant to this Agreement will operate as a waiver thereof, nor will any waiver on the part of any Party of any right, power or privilege pursuant to this Agreement, nor will any single or partial exercise of any right, power or privilege pursuant to this Agreement, preclude any

other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right, power or privilege pursuant to this Agreement.

Section 7.7     Headings . The headings in this Agreement are for reference purposes only and will not in any way affect the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement.

Section 7.8     Specific Performance . Each of the Parties hereto agrees that irreparable damage would occur if any provision of this Agreement were not performed in accordance with the terms hereof and that each of the Parties hereto shall be entitled to an injunction or injunctions without the necessity of posting a bond to prevent breaches of this Agreement or to enforce specifically the performance of the terms and provisions hereof, in addition to any other remedy to which they are entitled at law or in equity. Unless otherwise expressly stated in this Agreement, no right or remedy described or provided in this Agreement is intended to be exclusive or to preclude a Party hereto from pursuing other rights and remedies to the extent available under this Agreement, at law or in equity.

Section 7.9     Relationship Among Parties .

(a)     Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the duties and obligations of the Investors, on the one hand, and the Company, on the other hand, arising under this Agreement shall be separate (and not joint or several). No Party shall have any responsibility by virtue of this Agreement for any trading by any other entity. No prior history, pattern, or practice of sharing confidences among or between the Parties shall in any way affect or negate this Agreement. The Parties hereto acknowledge that this Agreement does not constitute an agreement, arrangement, or understanding with respect to acting together for the purpose of acquiring, holding, voting, or disposing of any equity securities of the Company. The Company acknowledges and each Investor confirms that it has independently participated in the negotiation of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement with the advice of counsel and advisors.

(b)     It is understood and agreed that the Investors do not have any duty of trust or confidence in any form with the Company, or any of the Company’s other stakeholders and, except as expressly provided in this Agreement, there are no agreements, commitments or undertakings by, among or between any of them with respect to the subject matter hereof.

Section 7.10     Tax Forms . If the Company (or its agent) determines in its reasonable discretion that it is necessary or appropriate to request Internal Revenue Service tax forms (including but not limited to Form W-9, W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E, W-8ECI, W-8IMY (and attachments thereto), or any successors thereto) (“ Tax Forms ”) to determine its tax reporting and withholding obligations, if any, the Investors shall promptly provide, solely to the extent legally entitled to do so, such duly completed Tax Forms to the Company (or its agent), and the Company (or its agent) shall be entitled to rely on such forms in determining its tax reporting and withholding obligations, if any. GIC Investor represents, and the Company acknowledges GIC Investor’s representation, that GIC Investor is exempt from U.S. tax on certain dividends, interest and gain from the sale of stock and securities under Section 892 of the Code and the Treasury Regulations thereunder. Provided that GIC Investor remains eligible for such benefits under Section 892 of the Code and the Treasury Regulations thereunder and provides an effective and properly executed Internal Revenue Service Form W-8EXP claiming exemption from U.S. income tax under Section

892 of the Code, the Company shall not withhold U.S. tax on the enumerated items of exempt income (or other items otherwise exempt under Section 892 of the Code) unless (i) such withholding is otherwise required by applicable tax Law, regulations or relevant provisions of an income tax treaty or (ii) such withholding is otherwise required by a change in circumstances if as a result of such change (A) a Form W-8EXP previously delivered by GIC Investor to the Company becomes inaccurate, untrue or otherwise invalid or (B) GIC Investor is no longer in a position to provide a properly executed IRS Form W-8EXP or is otherwise unable to claim an exemption from U.S. income tax under Section 892 of the Code.

Section 7.11     Limitations Regarding the Business Representations .

(a)     The representations and warranties of the Company in Section 3.8 through Section 3.13 (the “ Company Business Representations ”) terminate and expire, and shall cease to be of any force or effect, upon the date that is the twelve-month anniversary of date of the Closing, and all liability of the Company and any other Person with respect to such representations and warranties shall thereupon be extinguished notwithstanding any longer statute of limitations period to the contrary. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, any claim for breach of the Company Business Representations that is permitted to be brought under this Agreement shall survive the time at which it would otherwise terminate pursuant to the preceding sentence if written notice of the inaccuracy thereof giving rise to such claim shall have been given to the Company prior to such time.

(b)     Without limiting the effect of any of the other limitations set forth in this Agreement, neither the Investors nor any other Person shall be entitled to recover any costs, damages, payments or monies of any kind in respect of any asserted breach of a Company Business Representation unless the aggregate amount of damages associated with the breach of such Company Business Representation, together with the damages associated with all other breaches of the Company Business Representations, actually incurred by the Investors exceeds $15,000,000, at which time the Investors shall be entitled to recover the amount of the damages actually incurred by the Investors as a direct result of all such breaches of the Company Business Representation that exceeds such amount; provided, moreover, that in no event shall the aggregate liability under this Agreement of the Company and any other Persons in respect of asserted breaches of the Company Business Representations exceed $200,000,000.

(c)     The exclusive remedy for the Investors and their Affiliates for any claim arising out of an alleged breach of the Company Business Representations will be to bring a claim for a breach of contract in respect of such Company Business Representation, to the extent permitted under this Agreement.

[ Signature pages follow .]

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

FIRSTENERGY CORP.

By: /s/ Steven R. Staub
Name: Steven R. Staub
Title: Vice President and Treasurer

ELLIOTT INTERNATIONAL, L.P.

By: /s/ Elliott Greenberg
Name: Elliott Greenberg
Title: Vice President

ELLIOTT INTERNATIONAL CAPITAL ADVISORS INC.

By: /s/ Elliott Greenberg
Name: Elliott Greenberg
Title: Vice President

ELLIOTT ASSOCIATES, L.P.

By: Elliott Capital Advisors, L.P., as general partner

By: Braxton Associates, Inc., as general partner

By: /s/ Elliott Greenberg
Name: Elliott Greenberg
Title: Vice President

PERMIAN INVESTMENTS S.A.R.L.

By: /s/ Joshua Levine /s/ Jérȏme Devillet
Name: Joshua Levine Jérȏme Devillet
Title: Manager A Manager B

BRC SPECIAL SITUATIONS III LLC

By: /s/ C. John Wilder
Name: C. John Wilder
Title: Executive Chairman

 

CHEYNE WALK INVESTMENT PTE. LTD.

By: /s/ Rhys Evenden
Name: Rhys Evenden
Title: Authorized Signatory

COVE KEY MASTER FUND LP

By: /s/ John Kiani
Name: John Kiani
Title: Authorized Signatory

^{____________________________________________}  

¹ Final Preferred Stock holdings of all Investors will be subject of adjustment on the Reallocation Date.

Exhibit 10.2

---

COMMON STOCK PURCHASE AGREEMENT

AMONG

FIRSTENERGY CORP.

AND

ZP MASTER UTILITY FUND, LTD.

P ZIMMER, LTD.

ZP ENERGY FUND, L.P.

ZP MASTER ENERGY FUND, L.P.

Dated as of January 22, 2018

Article IV REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE INVESTORS 11

COMMON STOCK PURCHASE AGREEMENT

THIS COMMON STOCK PURCHASE AGREEMENT (this “ Agreement ”), dated as of January 22, 2018, is made by and among FirstEnergy Corp., an Ohio corporation (the “ Company ”), on the one hand, and the entities listed on Schedule A attached hereto (each, an “ Investor ” and together, the “ Investors ”), on the other hand. The Company and the Investors are referred to herein, individually, as a “ Party, ” and, collectively, as the “ Parties .” Capitalized terms that are used but not otherwise defined in this Agreement shall have the meanings given to them in Section 1.1 hereof.

RECITALS

WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of the Company (the “ Board ”) has authorized the issuance and sale of 30,120,482 shares of the Company’s common stock, with a par value of $0.10 per share (the “ Common Stock ”), to the Investors (each such Investor to receive the number of shares of Common Stock set forth across from such Investor’s name in Schedule A attached hereto, and such shares are referred to herein as the “ Private Placement Shares ”);

WHEREAS, subject to the terms and conditions contained in this Agreement, the Company has agreed to issue and sell, and the Investors have agreed to purchase, the Private Placement Shares, upon the terms and conditions set forth herein; and

WHEREAS, concurrently with the consummation of the Closing (as defined below), the Company intends to consummate the transactions contemplated by the Preferred SPA (as defined below);

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises, agreements, representations, warranties and covenants contained herein, the Company and the Investors hereby agree as follows:

Article I

DEFINITIONS

Section 1.1      Definitions. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement, whenever used in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the respective meanings specified below:

“ Affiliate ” means, with respect to any Person, any other Person that, directly or indirectly, Controls or is Controlled by or is under common Control with such Person. “ Affiliated ” has a correlative meaning.

“ Agreement ” has the meaning set forth in the Preamble.

“ Articles of Incorporation ” means the Amended Articles of Incorporation of the Company, as amended, as in effect on the date hereof.

“ Authorized Preferred Stock ” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.2 .

“ Beneficial Ownership ” means, with respect to any security, (a) record ownership of such security, or (b) beneficial ownership of such security as defined under Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act, provided that such beneficial ownership shall further be deemed to include any shares or other units of such security as to which any shares or units of such security that are referenced in any total return swap contracts or similar financial instruments or transactions, whether or not cash-settled, that are owned of record or beneficially by such Person. “ Beneficially Own ,” “ Beneficially Owns ,” “ Beneficially Owned ” and “ Beneficially Owning ” shall have correlative meanings.

“ Board ” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

“ Business Day ” means any day except any Saturday, any Sunday, any day which is a federal legal holiday in the United States or any day on which banking institutions in the State of New York are authorized or required by Law or other governmental action to close.

“ Closing ” has the meaning set forth in ‎Section 2.3(a ).

“ Code of Regulations ” means the Amended Code of Regulations of the Company, as amended, as in effect on the date hereof.

“ Common Stock ” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

“ Company ” has the meaning set forth in the Preamble.

“ Company SEC Documents ” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.8(a) .

“ Company Shelf Registration Statement ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.2(b) .

“ Company Shelf Takedown Public Offering ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.2(b) .

“ Company Shelf Takedown Public Offering Notice ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.2(b) .

“ Company Shelf Takedown Public Offering Request ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.2(b) .

“ Contract ” means any agreement, contract or instrument, including any loan, note, bond, mortgage, indenture, guarantee, deed of trust, license, franchise, commitment, lease, franchise agreement, letter of intent, memorandum of understanding or other obligation, and any amendments thereto, whether written or oral.

“ Control ” means, with respect to any Person, the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such Person, whether through the ownership of voting securities or by Contract or agency or otherwise.

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

“ FES ” means FirstEnergy Solutions Corp., an Ohio corporation.

“ Filing Deadline ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.1(a) .

“ Form 8-K ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.7 .

“ Form S-1 Shelf ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.1(b) .

“ Form S-3 Shelf ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.1(a) .

“ Governmental Entity ” means any federal, state, or local governmental or quasi-governmental instrumentality, agency, board, commission, department, court or tribunal; or any regulatory agency, bureau, commission, or authority.

“ Investor ” and “ Investors ” have the meaning set forth in the Preamble.

“ Law ” means any law (statutory or common), statute, regulation, rule, code or ordinance enacted, adopted, issued or promulgated by any Governmental Entity.

“ Legal Proceedings ” means any legal, governmental, administrative, judicial or regulatory investigations, audits, actions, suits, claims, arbitrations, demands, demand letters, notices of noncompliance or violations, or proceedings.

“ Legend ” has the meaning set forth in ‎Section 5.3 .

“ Lien ” means any lien, adverse claim, charge, option, right of first refusal, servitude, security interest, mortgage, pledge, deed of trust, easement, encumbrance, restriction on transfer, conditional sale or other title retention agreement, defect in title, lien or judicial lien or other restrictions of a similar kind.

“ Maximum Offering Size ” means the number of Registrable Securities which can be sold in an orderly manner in such offering within a price range acceptable to the Company.

“ MNPI ” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.6(c) .

“ Order ” means any judgment, order, award, injunction, writ, permit, license or decree of any Governmental Entity or arbitrator of applicable jurisdiction.

“ Party ” and “ Parties ” have the meaning set forth in the Preamble.

“ Person ” means an individual, firm, corporation (including any non-profit corporation), partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, association, trust, Governmental Entity or other entity or organization.

“ Piggyback Eligible Holders ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.2(a) .

“ Piggyback Notice ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.2(a) .

“ Piggyback Registration ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.2(a) .

“ Piggyback Registration Statement ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.2(a) .

“ Piggyback Request ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.2(a) .

“ Preferred SPA ” means that certain Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of January 22, 2018 by and among the Company and the investors party thereto, pursuant to which the Company would issue and sell shares of its Series A Convertible Preferred Stock to such investors for an aggregate purchase price of $1,616,000,000.00.

“ Press Release ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.7 .

“ Private Placement ” means the purchase by the Investors of the Private Placement Shares for the Purchase Amount on the terms reflected in this Agreement.

“ Private Placement Shares ” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

“ Purchase Amount ” means the aggregate purchase price of $850,000,002.04 for the Private Placement Shares.

“ Registrable Securities ” means the Private Placement Shares; provided, that any such shares shall cease to constitute “Registrable Securities” upon the earliest to occur of (i) the date on which such shares are disposed of pursuant to an effective Registration Statement under the Securities Act or pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act; (ii) the date on which, in the opinion of counsel to the relevant holder of such shares, such shares become eligible for sale under Rule 144 under the Securities Act without volume or manner of sale restrictions thereunder and all restrictive legends and stop transfer instructions have been removed with respect to all certificates or book entries representing the applicable Registrable Securities; and (iii) the date on which such shares cease to be outstanding.

“ Registration Statement ” means any registration statement of the Company filed with, or to be filed with, the SEC under the Securities Act, including the related prospectus, amendments and supplements to such registration statement, including pre- and post-effective amendments, and all exhibits and all material incorporated by reference in such registration statement other than a registration statement (and related prospectus) filed on Form S-4 or Form S-8 or any successor form thereto.

“ SEC ” means the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

“ Shelf Period ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.1(b) .

“ Shelf Registration Statement ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.1(b) .

“ Subsidiary ” means, with respect to any Person, any corporation, partnership, joint venture or other legal entity as to which such Person (either alone or through or together with any other subsidiary), (a) owns, directly or indirectly, more than 50% of the stock or other equity interests,

(b) has the power to elect a majority of the board of directors or similar governing body, or (c) has the power to direct the business and policies.

“ Suspension Period ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.3(a) .

“ Tax Act ” means Public Law 115-97, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

“ Taxes ” means all taxes, assessments, duties, levies or other mandatory governmental charges paid to a Governmental Entity, including all federal, state, local, foreign and other income, franchise, profits, gross receipts, capital gains, capital stock, transfer, property, sales, use, value-added, occupation, excise, severance, windfall profits, stamp, payroll, social security, withholding and other taxes, assessments, duties, levies or other mandatory governmental charges of any kind whatsoever paid to a Governmental Entity (whether payable directly or by withholding and whether or not requiring the filing of a return), all estimated taxes, deficiency assessments, additions to tax, penalties and interest thereon and shall include any liability for such amounts as a result of being a member of a combined, consolidated, unitary or affiliated group. For the avoidance of doubt, such term shall exclude any tax, penalties or interest thereon that result or have resulted from the non-payment of royalties.

“ Tax Forms ” has the meaning set forth in ‎Section 8.10 .

Section 1.2      Construction. In this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a)      references to Articles, Sections, Exhibits and Schedules are references to the articles and sections or subsections of, and the exhibits and schedules attached to, this Agreement;

(b)      references in this Agreement to “writing” or comparable expressions include a reference to a written document transmitted by means of electronic mail in portable document format (pdf), facsimile transmission or comparable means of communication;

(c)      words expressed in the singular number shall include the plural and vice versa; words expressed in the masculine shall include the feminine and neuter gender and vice versa;

(d)      the words “hereof,” “herein,” “hereto” and “hereunder,” and words of similar import, when used in this Agreement, shall refer to this Agreement as a whole, including all Exhibits and Schedules attached to this Agreement, and not to any provision of this Agreement;

(e)      the term “this Agreement” shall be construed as a reference to this Agreement as the same may have been, or may from time to time be, amended, modified, varied, novated or supplemented;

(f)      “include,” “includes” and “including” are deemed to be followed by “without limitation” whether or not they are in fact followed by such words;

(g)      references to “day” or “days” are to calendar days;

(h)      references to “the date hereof” means the date of this Agreement;

(i)      unless otherwise specified, references to a statute means such statute as amended from time to time and includes any successor legislation thereto and any rules or regulations promulgated thereunder in effect from time to time; and

(j)      references to “dollars” or “$” refer to currency of the United States of America, unless otherwise expressly provided.                    

Article II

PRIVATE PLACEMENT

Section 2.1      The Private Placement. On and subject to the terms and conditions hereof, the Investors, severally and not jointly, agree to purchase, and the Company agrees to issue and sell to the Investors, on the date hereof for the Purchase Amount, the Private Placement Shares, free and clear of any Liens or other restrictions on transfer (other than applicable federal and state securities Law restrictions or as set forth herein). The offer and sale of the Private Placement Shares purchased by the Investors pursuant to this Agreement will be made in reliance on the exemption from registration provided by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act or another available exemption from registration under the Securities Act.

Section 2.2      Funding. On the date hereof, and subject to the issuance of the Private Placement Shares as contemplated by Section 2.3(b), the Investors shall deliver and pay the Purchase Amount by wire transfer of immediately available funds in U.S. dollars into the bank account designated by the Company in satisfaction of the Investors’ obligation to purchase the Private Placement Shares.

Section 2.3      Closing.

(a)      The closing of the Private Placement (the “ Closing ”) shall take place remotely by electronic mail or at the offices of Jones Day, 250 Vesey Street, New York, New York 10281, or such other place as shall be agreed to by the Parties, on the date hereof.

(b)      At the Closing, the Company shall, against payment of the Purchase Amount for the Private Placement Shares, make delivery of physical stock certificates evidencing the Private Placement Shares, duly executed on behalf of the Company and registered in the name of the applicable Investors, by making such physical stock certificates available for pick-up, by the lenders of the Investors or the Investors, in each case as indicated on Schedule A , at the address of the Company’s transfer agent at 6201 15 ^th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11219. Furthermore, at the Closing the Investors shall have received (i) the opinion of Jones Day, counsel to the Company, substantially in the form set forth in Annex A attached hereto, and (ii) an executed certificate of the Secretary or Assistant Secretary of the Company, substantially in the form set forth in Annex B attached hereto. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, the Private Placement Shares will be delivered with all issue, stamp, transfer, sales and use, or similar transfer Taxes or duties that are due and payable (if any) in connection with such delivery duly paid by the Company.

Article III

REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY

The Company hereby represents and warrants to the Investors (unless otherwise set forth herein, as of the date hereof) as set forth below.

Section 3.1      Organization and Qualification. The Company has been incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the Laws of the State of Ohio, has the corporate power and authority to own, lease or operate its property and to conduct its business in which it is currently engaged and presently proposes to engage and is qualified as a foreign corporation to transact business and is in good standing in each other jurisdiction in which the conduct of its business or its ownership or leasing of property requires such qualification, except to the extent that any such failure to be so qualified or be in good standing would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition or results of operations or the Company’s ability to perform its obligations under this Agreement.

Section 3.2      Capitalization .

(a)      The authorized stock of the Company consists of 700,000,000 shares of Common Stock and 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $100 par value (“ Authorized Preferred Stock ”).  As of September 30, 2017, (i) 444,858,003 shares of Common Stock were issued and outstanding, (ii) 48,782 shares of Common Stock were held in treasury, (iii) 1,367,535 shares of Common Stock were issuable upon exercise in respect of each outstanding option to purchase shares of Common Stock granted under any employee, director or similar stock plans of the Company, whether vested or unvested, with a weighted average exercise price of $44.43, (iv) 5,068,923 shares of Common Stock were issuable in respect of settlement of any outstanding awards of restricted share units, phantom shares, restricted stock or similar equity awards with respect to shares of Common Stock and (v) no shares of Authorized Preferred Stock were outstanding.

(b)      The Company or one or more of its direct or indirect Subsidiaries owns the common stock, membership interests or other ownership interests, as applicable, in each of its Subsidiaries free and clear of all Liens, encumbrances and adverse claims, except for such Liens, encumbrances and adverse claims as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition or results of operations or the Company’s ability to perform its obligations under this Agreement.

Section 3.3      Authorization, Execution and Delivery. The Company has requisite corporate power and authority to enter into this Agreement, to perform its obligations hereunder and to consummate the Private Placement. The execution and delivery of this Agreement and the consummation of the Private Placement have been duly authorized by the Board and no other corporate proceedings on the part of the Company are necessary to authorize the Private Placement. This Agreement has been executed and delivered by the Company.

Section 3.4      No Conflict. Neither the offer and sale of the Private Placement Shares nor the execution and delivery by the Company of, and the performance by the Company of its obligations under, this Agreement will result in a violation or default of, or the imposition of any Lien upon any property or assets of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries pursuant to (a) any provision of applicable Law, (b) the Articles of Incorporation or Code of Regulations, as the case may be, (c) the organizational documents, each as amended, of any Subsidiary of the Company, (d) any agreement or other instrument binding upon the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company or (e) any Order any Governmental Entity, agency or court having jurisdiction over the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company or any of their properties, except in the case of clauses (a), (c), (d) and (e) for any such violation, default or Lien that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition or results of operations or the Company’s ability to perform its obligations under this Agreement.

Section 3.5      Consents and Approvals. No consent, approval, authorization, Order, registration, qualification or filing of or with any Governmental Entity by the Company is required in connection with the transactions contemplated herein, except such as may be required under the Exchange Act, the Securities Act or “Blue Sky” Laws. No consent, approval, or authorization of any other Person is required to be obtained by the Company in connection with the transactions contemplated herein, except for any such consent, approval or authorization that would not reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition or results of operations or the Company’s ability to perform its obligations under this Agreement.

Section 3.6      Issuance; Valid Issuance. The Private Placement Shares to be issued in connection with the consummation of the Private Placement and pursuant to the terms of this Agreement will, when issued and delivered on the date hereof and any time thereafter, be duly and validly authorized, issued and delivered and shall be fully paid and non-assessable, and such Private Placement Shares will be free and clear of all Taxes (except for any Taxes arising as a result of an Investor’s failure to provide a Tax Form in accordance with ‎Section 8.10 establishing a complete exemption from withholding), Liens (other than transfer restrictions imposed hereunder, under the Articles of Incorporation or by applicable Law), preemptive rights, subscription and similar rights. Assuming the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Investors set forth in Article IV, it is not necessary in connection with the issuance and sale of such Private Placement Shares to the Investors in the manner contemplated by this Agreement to register such issuance and sale under the Securities Act.

Section 3.7      Investment Company Act. The Company is not an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

Section 3.8      Compliance with SEC Filings .

(a)      The Company has timely filed or furnished all forms, documents and reports required to be filed or furnished by it with the SEC since January 1, 2015 through the date hereof (such documents together with all other forms, documents and reports filed or furnished by the Company with the SEC, including the exhibits thereto and documents incorporated by reference therein, collectively, the “ Company SEC Documents ”). As of their respective dates or, if amended,

as of the date of such amendment, the Company SEC Documents complied in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, and none of the Company SEC Documents included any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state any 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.

(b)      The Company maintains (i) systems of “internal control over financial reporting” (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act) that comply with the requirements of the Exchange Act and have been designed by, or under the supervision of, its principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (A) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (B) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and to maintain asset accountability; (C) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (D) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences; and (ii) a system of “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Exchange Act) that is designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in reports that it files with the SEC pursuant to the SEC’s rules and forms is so disclosed and includes controls and procedures designed to ensure that such information is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure, and such disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of the times indicated in the Company SEC Documents. The Company’s internal control over financial reporting was effective as of the times indicated in the Company SEC Documents and, at such times, the Company was not aware of any material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting.

Section 3.9      Financial Statements. The audited financial statements and unaudited financial statements (including all related notes and schedules) of the Company included in the Company SEC Documents complied as to form in all material respects with the rules and regulations of the SEC then in effect, fairly present in all material respects the consolidated financial position of the Company and its consolidated Subsidiaries, as of the respective dates thereof, and the consolidated results of their operations and their consolidated cash flows for the respective periods then ended (subject, in the case of the unaudited statements, to normal recurring year-end audit adjustments that were not or are not expected to be, individually or in the aggregate, materially adverse to the Company), and were prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles applied on a consistent basis during the periods involved, except as otherwise disclosed in the Company SEC Documents or with respect to any changes or recasting of prior periods that may result from, or in connection with, (i) the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act or (ii) any in- or out-of-court process to restructure FES.

Section 3.10      Absence of Certain Changes or Events. Since the date of the most recent balance sheet included in the Company SEC Documents and after giving effect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Preferred SPA, there has not occurred any change that has materially and adversely affected the Company’s business, financial condition or results of operations or would, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to do so, other than (a) any changes that may result from, or in connection with, the Tax Act, including in

connection with any state or regulatory proceedings related thereto involving the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, (b) as disclosed in or contemplated by the Company SEC Documents or other publicly available information related to the Company or its Subsidiaries, (c) any changes that may result from actions or proceedings of the U.S. Department of Energy or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or (d) changes resulting from ordinary course year-end adjustments. No stop order suspending the effectiveness of any Registration Statement of the Company is in effect, and no proceedings for such purpose are pending before or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened by the SEC.

Section 3.11      Litigation and Regulatory Proceedings. Other than (a) as disclosed in the Company SEC Documents, including with respect to any potential restructuring of FES and any potential proceedings arising therefrom or in connection therewith and other publicly available information related to the Company or its Subsidiaries, (b) with respect to the U.S. Department of Energy or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission actions in support of baseload generation or related to transmission rates or other regulatory approvals involving the Company or its Subsidiaries, or (c) in connection with the Tax Act, including in connection with any state or regulatory proceedings related thereto involving the Company or its Subsidiaries, there are no legal or governmental claims, actions, suits, arbitrations or similar proceedings pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, to which the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company is a party or to which any of the properties of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company are subject wherein an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding would, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition or results of operations or the Company’s ability to perform its obligations under this Agreement .

Section 3.12      Compliance with Law. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries are, and since January 1, 2015 have been, in compliance with and not in default under or in violation of any Law, except as where such non-compliance would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition or results of operations or the Company’s ability to perform its obligations under this Agreement. Within the past three years, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries have received any notice or other communication from any Governmental Entity regarding any actual or possible violation of, or failure to comply with, any Law, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition or results of operations or the Company’s ability to perform its obligations under this Agreement.

Section 3.13      No Broker’s Fees. The Company is not a party to any Contract with any Person that would give rise to a valid claim against an Investor for a brokerage commission, finder’s fee or like payment in connection with the Private Placement or the sale of the Private Placement Shares.

Section 3.14      No General Solicitation. Neither the Company, nor any of its officers, directors, managers, members, employees, agents, stockholders, partners or Affiliates has either directly or indirectly engaged in any general solicitation or published any advertisement in connection with the offer and sale of the Private Placement Shares.

Section 3.15      No Integration; No Disqualifying Event. Neither the Company nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any of its Affiliates or any Person acting on its or their behalf has, directly or indirectly, made any offers or sales of any security of the Company or solicited any offers to buy any security, under circumstances that would adversely affect reliance by the Company on Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act for the exemption from the registration requirements imposed under Section 5 of the Securities Act for the transactions contemplated hereby or that would require such registration under the Securities Act. No “bad actor” disqualifying event described in Rule 506(d)(1)(i)-(viii) under the Securities Act is applicable to the Company.

Section 3.16      Compliance with Listing Requirements. The Common Stock is registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The Company is in compliance in all material respects with the listing and listing maintenance requirements of the New York Stock Exchange applicable to it for the continued trading of its Common Stock thereon. The Company has not received any notification that the New York Stock Exchange is contemplating delisting the Common Stock from the New York Stock Exchange.

Section 3.17      Use of Form S-3. The Company is a “well-known seasoned issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act and meets the registration and transaction requirements for use of the Registration Statement on Form S-3 for the registration of the resale of the Private Placement Shares by the Investors.

Article IV

REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE INVESTORS

Each Investor, as to itself only, hereby represents and warrants severally and not jointly (unless otherwise set forth herein, as of the date hereof) as set forth below.

Section 4.1      Organization, Authority, Execution and Delivery. Such Investor (a) is a legal entity organized, validly existing and, if applicable, in good standing (or the equivalent thereof) under the Laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation or organization, (b) has the requisite power and authority (corporate or otherwise) to enter into this Agreement, perform its obligations under this Agreement and to consummate the Private Placement, (c) has duly authorized the execution and delivery of this Agreement and no other corporate proceedings on the part of such Investor are necessary to authorizing the Private Placement and (d) has executed and delivered this Agreement.

Section 4.2      No Conflict. The execution and delivery by such Investor of this Agreement, the compliance by such Investor with all of the provisions hereof and the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein (a) will not conflict with, or result in breach, modification, termination or violation of, any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under (with or without notice or lapse of time or both), or result in the acceleration of, or the creation of any Lien under, any Contract to which such Investor is party or is bound or to which any of the property or assets of such Investor are subject other than any Lien in connection with a pledge by such Investor of its Private Placement Shares to a lender in connection with any financing arrangement, (b) will not result in any violation of the provisions of the certificate of incorporation or bylaws (or comparable organizational documents) of such Investor and (c) will not result in any

violation of any Law or Order applicable to such Investor or any of its properties, except in each of the cases described in clauses (a) or (c), for any conflict, breach, modification, termination, violation, default, acceleration or Lien which would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to prohibit or materially and adversely impact such Investor’s performance of its obligations under this Agreement.

Section 4.3      Consents and Approvals. No consent, approval, authorization, Order, registration, qualification or filing of or with any Governmental Entity having jurisdiction over such Investor or any of its properties is required for the execution and delivery by such Investor of this Agreement, the compliance by such Investor with the provisions hereof and the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein.

Section 4.4      No Registration. Such Investor understands that (a) the Private Placement Shares have not been registered under the Securities Act by reason of a specific exemption from the registration provisions of the Securities Act, the availability of which depends on, among other things, the bona fide nature of the investment intent and the accuracy of such Investor’s representations as expressed herein or otherwise made pursuant hereto and (b) the foregoing Private Placement Shares cannot be sold unless subsequently registered under the Securities Act or an exemption from registration is available.

Section 4.5      Purchasing Intent. Such Investor is acquiring the Private Placement Shares for its own account or accounts or funds over which it holds voting discretion, not otherwise as a nominee or agent, and not otherwise with the view to, or for resale in connection with, any distribution thereof not in compliance with applicable securities Laws, and such Investor has no present intention of selling, granting any other participation in, or otherwise distributing the same, except in compliance with applicable securities Laws and subject to compliance with the provisions hereof.

Section 4.6      Sophistication; Investigation.

(a)      Such Investor has such knowledge and experience in financial and business matters such that it is capable of evaluating the merits and risks of its investment in the Private Placement Shares. Such Investor is an “accredited investor” within the meaning of Rule 501(a) of the Securities Act or a “qualified institutional buyer” within the meaning of Rule 144A under the Securities Act. Such Investor understands and is able to bear any economic risks associated with its investment in the Private Placement Shares (including the necessity of holding such shares for an indefinite period of time and including an entire loss of its investment in the Private Placement Shares). Except for the representations and warranties expressly set forth in this Agreement, such Investor has independently evaluated the merits and risks of its decision to enter into this Agreement, is consummating the transactions contemplated by this Agreement with a full understanding, based exclusively on its own independent review, of all of the terms, conditions and risks and willingly assumes those terms, conditions and risks, and disclaims reliance on any representations or warranties, either expressed or implied, by or on behalf of the Company.

(b)      Such Investor acknowledges and understands that the Company has not been requested to provide, and has not provided, such Investor with any information or advice with respect to the Private Placement Shares, and such information or advice is neither necessary nor desired.

(c)      Such Investor acknowledges and understands that (i) the Company may possess material nonpublic information (“ MNPI ”) regarding the Company or its Subsidiaries not known to such Investor that may impact the value of the Private Placement Shares and (ii) the Company is not disclosing such information to such Investor. Such Investor understands, based on its experience, the disadvantage to which such Investor is subject due to the disparity of information between the Company and such Investor. Notwithstanding such disparity, such Investor has deemed it appropriate to enter into this Agreement and to consummate transactions contemplated hereby. Accordingly, in the light of such Investor’s experience and sophistication, such Investor agrees that the Company shall have no liability to such Investor whatsoever due to or in connection with the Company’s use or non-disclosure of MNPI regarding the Company not known to such Investor, including, without limitation, if and to the extent such information affects any representation, warranty or covenant of the Company hereunder, and such Investor irrevocably waives any claim that it might have based on the failure of the Company to disclose such information.

Section 4.7      No Broker’s Fees. Such Investor is not a party to any Contract with any Person that would give rise to a valid claim against the Company for a brokerage commission, finder’s fee or like payment in connection with the Private Placement or the sale of the Private Placement Shares or payment of the Purchase Amount.

Section 4.8      Current Ownership. Such Investor represents and warrants on behalf of itself and all of its Affiliates that (i) assuming the accuracy of Section 3.2, as of the date hereof, such Investor, together with its Affiliates, Beneficially Owns less than 9.9% of the Common Stock issued and outstanding, and, after giving effect to the issuance and sale of the Private Placement Shares to be issued to such Investor, will Beneficially Own less than 9.9% of the Common Stock and (ii) has informed the Company in a separate writing whether any Common Stock so Beneficially Owned is Beneficially Owned by a non-U.S. entity.

Article V

ADDITIONAL COVENANTS

Section 5.1      Confidentiality. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, to the extent that any Investor has executed or is otherwise bound by a confidentiality agreement in favor of the Company, such Investor shall continue to be bound by such confidentiality agreement.

Section 5.2      Blue Sky. The Company shall take such action as the Company shall reasonably determine is necessary in order to obtain an exemption for, or to qualify the offer and sale of the Private Placement Shares to the Investors pursuant to this Agreement under applicable securities and “Blue Sky” Laws of the states of the United States (or to obtain an exemption from such qualification) and any applicable foreign jurisdictions, and shall provide evidence of any such action so taken to the Investors on the date hereof. The

Company shall timely make all filings and reports relating to the offer and sale of the Private Placement Shares issued hereunder required under applicable securities and “Blue Sky” Laws of the states of the United States following the date hereof, including any Form D with respect to the Private Placement Shares as required under Regulation D under the Securities Act. The Company will provide to the Investors a reasonable opportunity to review and provide comments with respect to any such Form D prior to the filing thereof and the Company shall reasonably consider any comments promptly provided by the Investors; provided, that in no event shall the Company be obligated to delay the filing of a Form D in connection with such review and comment by the Investors past its due date. The Company shall pay all fees and expenses in connection with satisfying its obligations under this Section 5.2 .

Section 5.3      Legends. Each certificate evidencing securities issued hereunder and each certificate issued in exchange for or upon the transfer of any such securities, shall be stamped or otherwise imprinted with a legend (the “ Legend ”) in substantially the following form:

“THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE “ACT”), OR ANY OTHER APPLICABLE STATE SECURITIES LAWS, AND MAY NOT BE SOLD OR TRANSFERRED IN THE ABSENCE OF AN EFFECTIVE REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE ACT OR AN AVAILABLE EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION THEREUNDER.”

In the event that any such securities are uncertificated, such securities shall be subject to a restrictive notation substantially similar to the Legend in the stock ledger or other appropriate records maintained by the Company or agent and the term “Legend” shall include such restrictive notation. The Company shall, and shall cause its transfer agent to, remove the Legend (or restrictive notation, as applicable) set forth above from the certificates evidencing any such securities (or the securities register or other appropriate Company records, in the case of uncertified securities), promptly upon request, at any time after the restrictions described in such Legend cease to be applicable, including, as applicable, when such securities may be sold pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act, pursuant to an effective registration statement, and under this Agreement. The Company may reasonably request such opinions, certificates or other evidence that such restrictions no longer apply as a condition to removing the Legend.

Section 5.4      Use of Proceeds. The Company will utilize the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Shares for general corporate purposes, including repayment of indebtedness or contributions to Company-sponsored pension or other benefit plans, as determined by the Company.

Section 5.5      Rule 144 Reporting. With a view to making available the benefits of certain rules and regulations of the SEC that may permit the sale of the Registrable Securities to the public without registration, the Company agrees to (a) until such time as all Private Placement Shares are no longer Registrable Securities, use its commercially reasonable efforts to make and keep public information regarding the Company available, as those terms are understood and defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act, and file with the SEC in a timely manner all reports and other documents required to be filed by the Company under the Securities Act and the