Amerant Bancorp Inc. (Form: S-3, Received: 12/19/2019 17:46:36)

Large accelerated filer o

Accelerated filer o

Smaller reporting company o

Emerging growth company ý

Non-accelerated filer ý (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 19, 2019

Registration No. 333-

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

____________________________________________

Form S-3

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

____________________________________________

Amerant Bancorp Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)



Florida (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)	65-0032379 (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

220 Alhambra Circle

Coral Gables Florida 33134

(305) 460-4038

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

Millar Wilson

Vice-Chairman Chief Executive Officer

Amerant Bancorp Inc.

220 Alhambra Circle

Coral Gables, Florida 33134

(305) 460-8728

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

With a copy to:

Alfred G. Smith, Esq.

Shutts & Bowen LLP

Suite 4100

200 S. Biscayne Blvd.

Miami, Florida 33131

Telephone: (305) 358-6300

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to time after the effective date of this registration statement.

If the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box. o

If any of the securities being registered on this form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, check the following box. ý

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. o

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. o

If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.D. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box. o

If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.D. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box. o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of Securities Act. o

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE



Title of Each Class of Securities to be Registered(1)	Amount to be registered(2)	Proposed maximum offering price per unit(3)	Proposed maximum aggregate offering price(4)	Amount of Registration Fee
Debt Securities
Preferred Stock, par value $0.10 per share
Common Stock, par value $0.10 per share
Warrants
Depositary Shares
Subscription Rights
Stock Purchase Contracts
Stock Purchase Units
Total			$200,000,000	$25,960.00


(1)	Securities registered hereunder may be sold separately, together or as units with other securities registered hereunder


(2)	An indeterminate aggregate initial offering price or number of the securities of each identified class is being registered as may be sold from time to time at indeterminate prices. Separate consideration may or may not be received for securities that are issuable on exercise, conversion or exchange of other securities or that are issued in units.


(3)	The proposed maximum aggregate price per unit will be determined from time to time by the registrant in connection with the issuance by the registrants of the securities registered.


(4)	The proposed maximum aggregate offering price has been estimated for the sole purpose of computing the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and is exclusive of accrued interest, distributions and dividends, if any.

The registrant hereby amends this Form S-3 on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Form S-3 shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until this Form S-3 shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities or accept an offer to buy these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting offers to buy these securities in any state where such offer or sale is not permitted.

Subject to Completion, dated December 19, 2019

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS

Amerant Bancorp Inc.

$200,000,000

Debt Securities

Preferred Stock

Common Stock

Warrants

Depositary Shares

Subscription Rights

Stock Purchase Contracts

Stock Purchase Units

By this prospectus, we may offer from time to time up to $200,000,000 of any combination of the securities described in this prospectus.

We will provide the specific terms of these securities in supplements to this prospectus. We can only use this prospectus to offer and sell any specific security by also including a prospectus supplement for that security. You should read this prospectus and the prospectus supplements carefully before you invest.

We may sell the securities directly or to or through underwriters or dealers, and also to other purchasers or through agents. The names of any underwriters or agents that are included in a sale of securities to you, and any applicable commissions or discounts, will be stated in an accompanying prospectus supplement. In addition, the underwriters, if any, may over-allot a portion of the securities.

You should read this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement carefully before you invest in the securities described in the applicable prospectus supplement. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus.

Our Class A common stock and our Class B common stock are listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the trading symbols “AMTB” and “AMTBB,” respectively. Each prospectus supplement will indicate if the securities offered thereby will be listed on any securities exchange.

We are an “emerging growth company” as defined by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 and, as such, we are subject to reduced public company reporting requirements.

Investing in our securities involves risks. You should carefully read and consider the risk factors included in our periodic reports and other information that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission before you invest in our securities.

These securities are not deposits or savings accounts, are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency, and are not obligations of, or guaranteed by, a bank.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The date of this prospectus is , 2019.



ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS	1
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION	2
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE	3
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS	4
THE COMPANY	5
RISK FACTORS	5
USE OF PROCEEDS	5
DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES	5
DESCRIPTION OF COMMON STOCK	11
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED STOCK	14
DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS	15
DESCRIPTION OF DEPOSITARY SHARES	15
DESCRIPTION OF SUBSCRIPTION RIGHTS	18
DESCRIPTION OF STOCK PURCHASE CONTRACTS AND STOCK PURCHASE UNITS	18
GLOBAL SECURITIES	19
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION	21
LEGAL MATTERS	22
EXPERTS	23

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we have filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) using a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf process, we may sell the securities described in the prospectus from time to time.

This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. We may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus through one or more supplements to this prospectus. Any statement made in this prospectus will be modified or superseded by any inconsistent statement made in a prospectus supplement. The rules of the SEC allow us to incorporate by reference information into this prospectus. This information incorporated by reference is considered to be a part of this prospectus, and information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and supersede this information. You should read both this prospectus and any prospectus supplement together with additional information described under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information.”

No person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations, other than those contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus and, if given or made, such information or representation must not be relied upon as having been authorized by Amerant Bancorp Inc., or any underwriter, agent, dealer or remarketing firm. Neither the delivery of this prospectus nor any sale made hereunder shall under any circumstances create any implication that there has been no change in the affairs of Amerant Bancorp Inc. since the date hereof or that the information contained or incorporated by reference herein is correct as of any time subsequent to the date of such information. This prospectus does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities by anyone in any jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation is not authorized or in which the person making such offer or solicitation is not qualified to do so or to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation.

The prospectus contained herein relates to all of the following: the initial offering of debt securities, preferred stock, common stock, warrants, depositary shares, subscription rights, stock purchase contracts and stock purchase units issuable by Amerant Bancorp Inc. and the offering of such securities by the holders thereof.

This prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement or other offering materials do not contain all of the information included in the registration statement as permitted by the rules and regulations of the SEC. For further information, we refer you to the registration statement on Form S-3, including its exhibits. We are subject to the informational requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), and, therefore, file reports and other information with the SEC. Statements contained in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement or other offering materials about the provisions or contents of any agreement or other document are only summaries. If SEC rules require that any agreement or document be filed as an exhibit to the registration statement, you should refer to that agreement or document for its complete contents.

You should assume that the information in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement or any other offering materials is accurate as of the date of the applicable document or other date referred to in that document. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.

Unless we state otherwise or the context otherwise requires, references in this prospectus to “we,” “our,” “us” or the “Company” refer to Amerant Bancorp Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.

EMERGING GROWTH COMPANY STATUS

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”). As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies,” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, the trading market for our securities may be reduced, and the prices of our securities may be traded at lower prices and experience greater volatility.

In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of

certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period, for as long as it is available.

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the date of the first sale of our common equity securities pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act and (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, (2) the date on which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter, and (3) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” have the meaning provided in the JOBS Act.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We file annual, quarterly and special reports, prospectus and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy any document we file at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC maintains a website that contains our reports, proxy and other information regarding us http://www.sec.gov . Our SEC filings are also available free of charge at our website (investor.amerantbank.com). The information on our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

The SEC allows “incorporation by reference” into this prospectus of information that we file with the SEC. This permits us to disclose important information to you by referencing these filed documents. Any information referenced this way is considered to be a part of this prospectus and any information filed by us with the SEC subsequent to the date of this prospectus automatically will be deemed to update and supersede this information. We incorporate by reference the following documents which we have filed with the SEC (excluding any portions of such documents that have been “furnished” but not “filed” for purposes of the Exchange Act):


•	our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, filed on April 1, 2019;


•	our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2019, June 30, 2019 and September 30, 2019, filed on May 10, 2019, August 12, 2019 and November 11, 2019, respectively;


•	our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed on January 2, 2019, January 4, 2019, January 30, 2019, February 6, 2019, March 1, 2019, March 6, 2019, March 8, 2019, March 21, 2019 , March 25, 2019, April 26, 2019, May 21. 2019, June 7, 2019, July 11, 2019, July 19, 2019, July 26, 2019, July 29, 2019, October 29, 2019, November 13, 2019, November 20, 2019, December 9, 2019 and December 18, 2019;


•	the information specifically incorporated by reference into our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 from our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A, filed on April 22, 2019; and


•	the description of our common stock set forth in our registration statement on Form S-1/A filed on December 18, 2018.

We incorporate by reference any filings made with the SEC in accordance with Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act on or after the date of this prospectus and the date all of the securities offered hereby are sold or the offering is otherwise terminated, with the exception of any information furnished under Item 2.02 and Item 7.01 of Form 8-K, which is not deemed filed and which is not incorporated by reference herein. Any such filings shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference and to be a part of this prospectus from the respective dates of filing of those documents.

We will provide to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom a prospectus is delivered, without charge, upon written or oral request, a copy of any or all of the documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus but not delivered with this prospectus, excluding any exhibits to those documents unless the exhibit is specifically incorporated by reference as an exhibit in this prospectus. You should direct requests for documents to:

Amerant Bancorp Inc.

Attention: Investor Relations

220 Alhambra Circle

Coral Gables, Florida 33134

(305) 460-8728

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that reflect the Company’s current views with respect to, among other things, future events and financial performance. Words such as “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on the historical performance of the Company or on the Company’s current plans, estimates and expectations. The inclusion of this forward-looking information should not be regarded as a representation by the Company that the future plans, estimates or expectations so contemplated will be achieved. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties and assumptions relating to the Company’s operations, financial results, financial condition, business prospects, growth strategy and liquidity. If one or more of these or other risks or uncertainties materialize, or if the Company’s underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, the Company’s actual results may vary materially from those indicated in these statements. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the risk factors described in Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, and any updates to those risk factors or new risk factors contained in our subsequent annual reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC, all of which are incorporated by reference herein. The Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

THE COMPANY

Amerant Bancorp Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida, with $7.9 billion in assets, $5.8 billion in loans, $5.8 billion in deposits, $0.8 billion of shareholders’ equity and $1.7 billion in assets under management and custody as of September 30, 2019. We provide individuals and businesses a comprehensive array of deposit, credit, investment, wealth management, retail banking and fiduciary services. We serve customers in our U.S. markets and select international customers. These services are offered through Amerant Bank, N.A., or the Bank, which is also headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida, and its subsidiaries. Fiduciary, investment and wealth management services are provided by the Bank’s national trust company subsidiary, Amerant Trust, N.A., or Amerant Trust, and the Bank’s securities broker-dealer subsidiary, Amerant Investments, Inc., or Amerant Investments.

We serve our market areas from our headquarters in Coral Gables, Florida, and through a network of 18 banking locations in South Florida and eight banking locations in the greater Houston, Texas area. We also maintain a loan production office in New York, New York that focuses on originating commercial real estate loans, and a loan production office in Dallas, Texas that originates all types of commercial loans.

We have adopted and are in the process of implementing our strategic plan to simplify our business model and focus our activities as a community bank serving our domestic customers and select foreign depositors and wealth management customers. Our plan includes a focus on profitable growth, cross selling to gain a larger share of our respective customers' business, core deposit generation, loan growth in our local markets, changes in loan mix to higher margin loans, and improving our customer experience, improving our processes, and achieving operating efficiencies and cost reductions.

Corporate Information

Our principal executive offices are located at 220 Alhambra Circle, Coral Gables, Florida 33134. Our telephone number is (305) 460-4038. Our website is www.amerantbank.com. Information on, or accessible through, our website is not part of this prospectus.

RISK FACTORS

For a discussion of risk factors affecting Amerant Bancorp Inc. and its business, see the Risk Factors section in our latest Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC and any updates to those risk factors or new risk factors contained in our subsequent annual reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC, all of which we incorporate by reference herein.

Additional risks specific to a particular offering will be detailed in the applicable prospectus supplements.

USE OF PROCEEDS

Unless otherwise specified in connection with a particular offering of securities, the net proceeds from the sale of the securities offered by this prospectus will be used for general corporate purposes.

DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES

We have summarized below general terms and conditions of the debt securities that we will offer and sell pursuant to this prospectus. When we offer to sell a particular series of debt securities, we will describe the specific terms and conditions of the series in a prospectus supplement to this prospectus. We will also indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement whether the general terms and conditions described in this prospectus apply to the series of debt securities. The terms and conditions of the debt securities of a series may be different in one or more respects from the terms and conditions described below. If so, those differences will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.

We will issue the debt securities in one or more series under an indenture between us and The Bank of New York Mellon, as trustee. The following summary of provisions of the indenture does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by reference to, all of the provisions of the indenture, including, but not limited to, definitions therein of certain terms. This summary may not contain all of the information that you may find useful. The terms and conditions of the debt securities of each series will be set forth in those debt securities and in the indenture and in the applicable prospectus

supplement. For a comprehensive description of any series of debt securities being offered to you pursuant to this prospectus, you should read both this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement.

The form of indenture has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. A form of each debt security, reflecting the specific terms and provisions of that series of debt securities, will be filed with the SEC in connection with each offering and will be incorporated by reference in the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. You may obtain a copy of the indenture and any form of debt security that has been filed with the SEC in the manner described under “Where You Can Find More Information.”

For information on our debt outstanding, see our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Also, see “Where You Can Find More Information.”

Capitalized terms used and not defined in this summary have the meanings specified in the indenture. For purposes of this section of this prospectus, references to “we,” “us” and “our” are to Amerant Bancorp Inc. only and not to any of its subsidiaries. References to the “applicable prospectus supplement” are to the prospectus supplement to this prospectus that describes the specific terms and conditions of a series of debt securities.

General

We may offer the debt securities from time to time in as many distinct series as we may determine. The indenture will not limit the amount of debt securities that we may issue. Unless otherwise specified in a prospectus supplement for a series of debt securities, we may, without the consent of the holders of the debt securities of any series, issue additional debt securities ranking equally with, and otherwise similar in all respects to, the debt securities of the series (except for the public offering price, the issue date and the first interest payment date, if applicable) so that those additional debt securities will be consolidated and form a single series with the debt securities of the series previously offered and sold.

The debt securities of each series will be issued in fully registered form without interest coupons. Debt securities denominated in U.S. dollars will be issued in denominations of $1,000 and any integral multiple of $1,000 in excess thereof, unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement. If the debt securities of a series are denominated in a foreign or composite currency, the applicable prospectus supplement will specify the denomination or denominations in which those debt securities will be issued.

Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will repay the debt securities of each series at 100% of their principal amount, together with any premium and accrued and unpaid interest thereon at maturity, except if those debt securities have been previously redeemed or purchased and cancelled.

Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, the debt securities of each series will not be listed on any securities exchange.

Provisions of Indenture

The indenture will provide that debt securities may be issued under it from time to time in one or more series. For each series of debt securities, this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement will describe the following terms and conditions of that series of debt securities:


•	the title of the series;


•	any limit upon the aggregate principal amount of the debt securities of the series that may be authenticated and delivered (except for debt securities authenticated and delivered upon registration of transfer of, or in exchange for, or in lieu of, other debt securities of that series);


•	whether any of the debt securities of the series will be issuable in whole or in part in temporary or permanent global form or in the form of book-entry securities and, in such case, the identity of the depositary for the series;

•the date or dates on which the principal of the debt securities of the series is payable;


•	the rate or rates, which may be fixed or variable, at which the debt securities of the series will bear interest or the manner of calculation of such rate or rates, if any;


•	the date or dates from which interest will accrue, the interest payment dates on which such interest will be payable or the manner of determination of such interest payment dates and the record date for the determination of holders to whom interest is payable on any such interest payment dates or the manner of determination of such record dates;

•the place or places where payments with respect to the debt securities of the series will be payable;


•	the right, if any, to defer or extend payment of interest on the debt securities and the maximum length of any deferral or extension period;


•	the dates, if any, on which, the price or prices at which and the terms and conditions upon which, the debt securities of the series may be redeemed, in whole or in part, at our option;

•

our obligation, if any, to redeem or purchase debt securities of the series pursuant to any sinking fund or analogous provisions (including payments made in cash in satisfaction of future sinking fund obligations) or at the option of a holder thereof and the date or dates, if any, on which, the price or prices at which, and the terms and conditions upon which, debt securities of the series will be redeemed or purchased, in whole or in part, pursuant to such obligation;


•	If other than denominations of $1,000 or any integral multiple thereof, the denominations in which the debt securities of the series will be issuable;


•	the currency or currency units in which payment of the principal of and any premium and interest on the debt securities of the series will be payable;


•	whether and under what circumstances we will pay additional amounts on the debt securities of the series held by non-U.S. persons in respect of any tax, assessment or governmental charge withheld or deducted and, if so, whether we will have the option to redeem such debt securities rather than pay such additional amounts;


•	the terms pursuant to which the debt securities of the series are subject to defeasance and satisfaction and discharge;


•	any addition to, or modification or deletion of, any events of default or covenants provided for with respect to the debt securities of the series;


•	the terms and conditions, if any, pursuant to which the debt securities of the series are secured;

•

whether the debt securities of the series will be convertible into shares of common stock or any of our other securities and, if so, the terms and conditions upon which such debt securities will be so convertible, including whether conversion is mandatory, at the option of the holder, or at our option, the conversion price, the conversion period and any provisions pursuant to which the number of shares of common stock or our other securities to be received by the holders of such series of debt securities would be subject to adjustment;


•	if other than the principal amount thereof, the portion of the principal amount of debt securities of the series which will be payable upon declaration of acceleration of the maturity thereof pursuant to the indenture;


•	any provisions granting special rights to holders when a specified event occurs;


•	any special tax implications of the debt securities of the series, including provisions for original issue discount securities, if offered;


•	the form of the debt securities of the series, including the form of the certificate of authentication for such series;


•	any subordination terms of the debt securities of the series; and


•	any and all other terms with respect to such series, including any terms which may be required by or advisable under U.S. laws or regulations or advisable in connection with the marketing of debt securities of that series.

Interest and Interest Rates

In the applicable prospectus supplement, we will designate the debt securities of a series as being either debt securities bearing interest at a fixed rate of interest or debt securities bearing interest at a floating rate of interest. Each debt security will

begin to accrue interest from the date on which it is originally issued. Interest on each such debt security will be payable in arrears on the interest payment dates set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement and as otherwise described below and at maturity or, if earlier, the redemption date described below. Interest will be payable to the holder of record of the debt securities at the close of business on the record date for each interest payment date, which record dates will be specified in such prospectus supplement.

As used in the indenture, the term “business day” will mean, with respect to debt securities of a series, unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, any day other than a day on which Federal or State banking institutions in the City of New York or place of payment, are authorized or obligated by law, executive order or regulation to close.

If any interest payment date, redemption date, repurchase date or stated maturity of a debt security, or any date on which a holder has the right to convert such debt security, falls on a date that is not a business day, then payment of principal and premium, if any, or interest, or the redemption price or conversion of such debt security, will be made on the next succeeding business day at such place of payment with the same force and effect as if made on the interest payment date, redemption date or repurchase date, or at the stated maturity, or on such conversion date. In the case, however, of debt securities bearing interest at a floating rate based on the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”), if the interest payment date (other than the redemption date, repurchase date or stated maturity) falls on a date that is not a business day and the following business day falls in the next succeeding calendar month, then the interest payment date for such debt securities shall be the business day immediately preceding the scheduled interest payment date. No interest shall accrue for the period from and after any such interest payment date, redemption date, repurchase date, stated maturity or conversion date, as the case may be, to the date of such payment unless, as provided in the indenture, we default in the payment on that date.

Optional Redemption

If specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, we may elect to redeem all or part of the outstanding debt securities of a series from time to time before the maturity date of the debt securities of that series. Upon such election, we will notify the trustee of the redemption date and the principal amount of debt securities of the series to be redeemed. If less than all the debt securities of the series are to be redeemed, the particular debt securities of that series to be redeemed will be selected in accordance with the procedures of the depositary. If we shall so direct, debt securities registered in our name or the name of any of our affiliates or subsidiaries shall not be included in the debt securities for redemption. The applicable prospectus supplement will specify the redemption price for the debt securities to be redeemed (or the method of calculating such price), in each case in accordance with the terms and conditions of those debt securities.

Notice of redemption will be given to each holder of the debt securities to be redeemed not less than 30 nor more than 60 days prior to the date set for such redemption (or within such period as otherwise specified as contemplated by the indenture for debt securities of a series). This notice will identify the debt securities to be redeemed and will include the following information: the redemption date; the redemption price (or the method of calculating such price); if less than all of the outstanding debt securities of such series are to be redeemed, the identification (and, in the case of partial redemption, the respective principal amounts) of the particular debt securities to be redeemed; the place or places where such debt securities are to be surrendered for payment of the redemption price; and, if applicable, the CUSIP number of the debt securities to be redeemed.

By no later than the time specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, on the redemption date we will deposit or cause to be deposited with the trustee or with a paying agent (or, if we are acting as our own paying agent with respect to the debt securities being redeemed, we will segregate and hold in trust as provided in the indenture) an amount of money sufficient to pay the aggregate redemption price of, and (except if the redemption date shall be an interest payment date or the debt securities of such series provide otherwise) accrued interest on, all of the debt securities or the part thereof to be redeemed on that date. On the redemption date, the redemption price will become due and payable upon all of the debt securities to be redeemed, and interest, if any, on the debt securities to be redeemed will cease to accrue from and after that date unless, as provided in the indenture, we default in the payment on that date. Upon surrender of any such debt securities for redemption, we will pay those debt securities surrendered at the redemption price together, if applicable, with accrued interest to the redemption date. If the redemption date is after a regular record date and on or prior to the applicable interest payment date, the accrued and unpaid interest shall be payable to the holder of the redeemed securities registered on the relevant regular record date.

Any debt securities to be redeemed only in part must be surrendered at the office or agency established by us for such purpose, and we will execute, and the trustee will authenticate and deliver to a holder without service charge, new debt

securities of the same series and of like tenor, of any authorized denominations as requested by that holder, in a principal amount equal to and in exchange for the unredeemed portion of the debt securities that holder surrenders.

Early Repayment

If specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, the debt securities may give you the right to cause us to repurchase them prior to their stated maturity date, in whole or from time to time in part, as specified in the

Certificated Notes

If the applicable prospectus supplement indicates that the debt securities are to be issued in certificated form, those certificated notes may not be exchanged into book-entry form.

Events of Default

“Event of Default” with respect to a series of debt securities means any one of the following:

(1) failure to pay any interest on any debt securities of any such series within 30 days after the same becomes due and payable;

(2) failure to pay the principal of or premium, if any, or any payment required by sinking or analogous fund, on any debt securities of any such series when it becomes due and payable;

(3) failure to perform or breach, of any of our covenants or agreements in the debt securities, or in their indenture (other than a covenant or agreements relating solely to another series of notes) for 60 days after written notice of failure, either from the trustee or from holders of at least 25% of the principal amount outstanding of notes in the series;

(4) certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization of Amerant Bancorp Inc.; and

(5) any other event of default specified with respect to notes of such series.

An Event of Default for a particular series of notes does not necessarily constitute an Event of Default for any other series of notes issued under the indenture.

Remedies

If an Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing (other than an “event of default” specified in clause (4) above), then either the trustee or the holders of at least 25% in principal amount of the affected series may require us to repay the entire principal amount of that series, including any premium and any interest immediately.

If an Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing as specified in clause (4) above, all unpaid principal of, any premium and any accrued interest, on the affected series will become automatically due and payable immediately, without any declaration or other act on the part of the trustee or any holder.

If an Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the affected series will have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting proceedings for any remedy, or the exercising of any power, available to the trustee. No such direction may be in conflict with any rule of law or with the indenture or be unduly prejudicial to the rights of holders such affected series not consenting, and must not involve the trustee in personal liability in circumstances where indemnity, in the trustee’s sole discretion, would not be adequate. The trustee will not be obligated to exercise any of its rights or powers at the request of the holders, unless the holders have offered to the trustee reasonable indemnity satisfactory to it. The trustee may take any other action it deems proper that is not inconsistent with such direction.

The right of a holder to institute a proceeding is subject to certain conditions precedent, but each holder has an absolute right to receive payment of principal and premium, if any, and interest, if any, when due.

We will be required to furnish annually to the trustee a statement as to our performance of certain obligations under the indenture and as to any default in such performance.

Covenants

In addition to covenants specified in the indenture, the debt securities of any series will benefit from any covenants specified in the prospectus supplement for such series. Covenants for a particular series of debt securities do not necessarily benefit any other series of debt securities issued under the indenture.

Modification of Indenture

We may, without the consent of any holders, at any time and from time to time, enter into one or more supplemental indentures with the trustee for any of the following purposes:


•	to cure any ambiguity, omission, defect or inconsistency in the indenture or in the debt securities of any series;


•	to evidence succession and the assumption by the successor of our covenants in the indenture and the debt securities;


•	to provide for debt securities of any series in bearer form, or uncertificated debt securities in addition to or in place of certificated debt securities;


•	to add guarantees or to release guarantees in accordance with the terms of the applicable series of the applicable debt securities or to secure a series of debt securities;


•	to add to the covenants binding us for the benefit of the holders of all or any series of debt securities or to surrender any right or power conferred upon us under the indenture;


•	to add to, delete from, or revise the conditions, limitations and restrictions on the authorized amount, terms or purposes of issue, authentication and delivery of debt securities, as provided in the indenture;


•	to make any change that does not adversely affect the rights of any holder of debt securities in any material respect, provided that any amendment to conform to the terms of any debt securities of a series to its description contained in the final offering document shall not be deemed to be adverse to any holder;


•	to provide for the issuance of and establish the form and terms and conditions of the debt securities of any series as provided in the indenture, to establish the form of any certifications required to be furnished under the terms of the indenture or any series of debt securities, or to add to the rights of the holders of any series of debt securities;


•	to comply with any requirements of the SEC in connection with registration of the debt securities under the Securities Act, qualifying, or maintaining the qualification of, the indenture under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended (the “Trust Indenture Act”), or to comply with the Trust Indenture Act; or


•	to secure any series of debt securities.

Except as described above, the consent of the holders of not less than a majority in aggregate principal amount of the debt securities of each series affected by such supplemental indenture or indentures is required for the purpose of adding any provisions to, or changing in any manner or eliminating any of the provisions of, the current indenture, pursuant to a new indenture or supplemental indenture or modifying in any manner matters not covered by the immediately preceding paragraph.

In no case will we, without consent of each affected holder of debt securities, do any of the following:


•	change the maturity date of any debt securities of any series, or reduce the principal amount thereof, or reduce the rate or extend the time of payment of interest thereon, or reduce any premium payable upon the redemption thereof;


•	reduce the amount of principal of any debt security issued with original issue discount or any other debt security payable upon acceleration of maturity;


•	change the currency in which any debt security or any premium or interest is payable;


•	impair the right to receive payment of principal of and interest on any debt security (whether upon redemption, repurchase, maturity, or otherwise) or payment or delivery of any amounts due upon conversion of debt securities of

any series that are convertible into shares of common stock or other securities on or after the due dates or to institute suit for the enforcement of any payment on or with respect to any debt security;


•	adversely change the right to convert or exchange, including decreasing the conversion rate or increasing the conversion price of, any debt security;


•	if the debt securities are secured, change the terms and conditions pursuant to which the debt securities are secured in a manner adverse to the holders of the debt securities;


•	reduce the percentage in principal amount of outstanding debt securities of any series, the consent of whose holders is required for modification or amendment of the indenture or for waiver of compliance with any provision of the indenture;


•	reduce the requirements contained in the indenture for a quorum for a meeting or for voting;


•	change any of our obligations to maintain an office or agency in the places and for the purposes required by the indenture;


•	in the case any series of debt securities is subordinated to other indebtedness of ours pursuant to a supplemental indenture, modify the subordination provisions in such supplemental indenture in a manner adverse to the holders of the debt securities; or


•	or modify the indenture modification provisions set forth in the indenture.

A supplemental indenture that changes or eliminates any covenant or other provision of the indenture solely for the benefit of one or more particular series shall not affect the rights of any other note holders.

Global Securities

Unless we inform you otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the debt securities of a series may be issued in whole or in part in the form of one or more global securities that will be deposited with, or on behalf of, a depositary identified in the applicable prospectus supplement. Global securities will be issued in registered form and in either temporary or definitive form. Unless and until it is exchanged in whole or in part for the individual debt securities, a global security may not be transferred except as a whole by the depositary for such global security to a nominee of such depositary or by a nominee of such depositary to such depositary or another nominee of such depositary or by such depositary or any such nominee to a successor of such depositary or a nominee of such successor. The specific terms of the depositary arrangement with respect to any debt securities of a series and the rights of and limitations upon owners of beneficial interests in a global security will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.

Governing Law

The indentures and the debt securities shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of the State of New York.

DESCRIPTION OF COMMON STOCK

The following description includes summaries of the material terms of our amended and restated articles of incorporation, our amended and restated by-laws and the applicable provisions of the Florida Business Corporation Act (the “FBCA”). For more information on how you can obtain our amended and restated articles of incorporation and our amended and restated by-laws, see “Where You Can Find More Information.” We urge you to read our amended and restated articles of incorporation and our amended and restated by-laws in their entirety.

Authorized Capital Stock

Our authorized capital stock consists of 400 million shares of Class A common stock, 100 million shares of Class B common stock and 50 million shares of Preferred Stock. Our Class A common stock and Class B common stock are registered under the Exchange Act.

Class A Common Stock

Holders of shares of our Class A common stock are entitled to one vote for each share on all matters to be voted on by the shareholders. Holders of our Class A common stock are entitled to share ratably upon liquidation of the Company, and in dividends, if any, as may be declared from time to time by our board of directors in its discretion from funds legally available therefor.

As of September 30, 2019, 28,985,996 shares of our Class A common stock are outstanding and there are approximately 1,364 holders of record of our Class A common stock.

Class B Common Stock

Holders of shares of our Class B common stock have no voting rights, except as mandated by Florida law, and separately as a voting group as to amendments or changes to our amended and restated articles of incorporation that would significantly and adversely affect the rights of Class B common stock, or upon a reorganization event, such as a merger, where the Class B common stock does not remain outstanding or the rights and powers of the Class B common stock are changed materially and adversely. If and when we ask our shareholders to approve our recommendation of independent certified accountants for a given fiscal year, holders of shares of our Class B common stock will be entitled to one-tenth of a vote for each share, voting together with the holders of the Class A common stock on the matter. Shares of Class B common stock otherwise have the same rights and entitlements as the Class A common stock, including the right to share ratably upon liquidation of the Company, and in dividends, if any, as may be declared from time to time by our board of directors in its discretion from funds legally available therefor, except that shares of Class B common stock are not entitled to receive dividends in the form of shares of Class A common stock. Shares of Class B common stock are not convertible into Shares of Class A common stock.

As of September 30, 2019, 14,218,597 shares of our Class B common stock are outstanding and there are approximately 1,406 holders of record of our Class B common stock.

Preferred Stock

Our board of directors has the authority to fix the price, dividend rates, rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions, including voting rights, of one or more series of our preferred stock, from time to time, without any further vote or action by our shareholders. There are currently no shares of our preferred stock outstanding.

Anti-Takeover Effects of our Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation and Amended and Restated Bylaws, Florida Law and U.S. Banking Laws

Some provisions of our amended and restated articles of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, as well as certain provisions of Florida law and U.S. banking laws, could make the following more difficult:


•	acquisition of us by means of a tender offer;


•	acquisition of us by means of a proxy contest or otherwise; or


•	removal of our incumbent officers and directors.

These provisions, summarized below, are expected to discourage coercive takeover practices and takeover bids that are not in the best interest of our shareholders. These provisions also are designed to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of us to first negotiate with our board of directors. We believe that the benefits of this increased protection give us the potential ability to negotiate with the proponent of an unfriendly or unsolicited proposal to acquire or restructure us and outweigh the disadvantages of discouraging those proposals because negotiation of them could result in an improvement of their terms.

Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws

Our amended and restated articles of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws contain provisions that could make more difficult the acquisition of us by means of a tender offer, a proxy contest or otherwise. These provisions are summarized below.

Authorized but Unissued Shares of Common Stock. As of September 30, 2019, we have approximately 371,014,004 shares of Class A common stock and 82,248,947 shares of Class B common stock authorized but unissued, and available for

future issuance without additional shareholder approval, except as otherwise restricted by the rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market, Florida law, or federal banking laws. While the additional shares are not designed to deter or prevent a change of control, under some circumstances we could use the additional shares to create voting impediments or to frustrate persons seeking to effect a takeover or otherwise gain control by, for example, issuing those shares in private placements to purchasers who might side with our board of directors in opposing a hostile takeover bid.

Undesignated Preferred Stock. Our amended and restated articles of incorporation authorize 50 million shares of preferred stock, which our board has the authority, without any further vote or action by our shareholders, to issue from time to time, in one or more series of preferred stock, to fix the number of shares constituting such series and the designation of such series, the voting powers, if any, of the shares of such series, and the preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights, if any, and any qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, of the shares of such series. The existence of authorized but unissued preferred stock could reduce our attractiveness as a target for an unsolicited takeover bid since we could, for example, issue shares of preferred stock to parties who might oppose such a takeover bid, or the shares may contain terms, such as “poison pill” rights, that a potential acquirer may find unattractive. This may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control, may discourage bids for the Company Shares at a premium over the market price of the Company Shares, and may adversely affect the market price of, and the voting and other rights of the holders of, the Company Shares.

Size of Board and Vacancies. Our amended and restated articles of incorporation provide that the number of directors on our board will be fixed exclusively by our board. Newly created directorships resulting from any increase in our authorized number of directors or any vacancies in our board resulting from death, resignation, retirement, disqualification, removal from office or other causes will be filled solely by the vote of our remaining directors in office.

Shareholder Meetings. Under our amended and restated articles of incorporation, a special meeting of shareholders may only be called by our board, the chairman, CEO, or president, or by the holders of not less than 25% of all the votes entitled to be cast on any issue proposed. In addition, our shareholders are prohibited from taking action by written consent.

Advance Notice Requirements. Our amended and restated bylaws establish an advance notice procedure for shareholders to make nominations of candidates for election as directors before an annual meeting of our shareholders, or to bring other business before an annual or special meeting of our shareholders. The amended and restated bylaws provide that any shareholder wishing to nominate persons for election as directors at, or bring other business before, a meeting must deliver to our corporate secretary a written notice of the shareholder’s intention to do so. These provisions make it more procedurally difficult for a shareholder to place a proposal or nomination on the meeting agenda, and therefore may reduce the likelihood that a shareholder will seek to take independent action to replace directors or seek a shareholder vote with respect to other matters that are not supported by management. We expect that these provisions may also discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our company.

Florida Law and Federal Banking Laws

The Florida Business Corporation Act contains a control-share acquisition statute that provides that a person who acquires shares in an “issuing public corporation,” as defined in the statute, in excess of certain specified thresholds generally will not have any voting rights with respect to such shares unless such voting rights are approved by the holders of a majority of the votes of each class of securities entitled to vote separately, excluding shares held or controlled by the acquiring person.

The Florida Business Corporation Act also provides that an “affiliated transaction” between a Florida corporation with an “interested shareholder,” as those terms are defined in the statute, generally must be approved by the affirmative vote of the holders of two-thirds of the outstanding voting shares, other than the shares beneficially owned by the interested shareholder. The Florida Business Corporation Act defines an “interested shareholder” as any person who is the beneficial owner of 10% or more of the outstanding voting shares of the corporation.

Furthermore, the Bank Holding Company Act and Change in Bank Control Act banking laws impose notice, application and approvals and ongoing regulatory requirements on any shareholder or other party that seeks to acquire direct or indirect “control” of bank holding companies. These laws could delay or prevent an acquisition.

Annual Meeting of Shareholders

Our amended and restated bylaws provide that an annual meeting of shareholders will be held each year on a date fixed by resolution of our board.

In order for a shareholder to bring, pursuant to our amended and restated bylaws, nominations or other proposals before the 2020 annual shareholders meeting, the shareholder must comply with the requirements for shareholder proposals set forth in our amended and restated bylaws and described in a proxy statement that we will prepare and distribute relating to such meeting.

Transfer Agent and Registrar

Computershare Trust Company, N.A. is the transfer agent and Computershare, Inc. is the registrar for all Company Shares.

Stock Exchange Listing

Our Class A common stock and our Class B common stock are listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the trading symbols “AMTB” and “AMTBB,” respectively.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED STOCK

Our board of directors has the authority, without action by our stockholders, to issue preferred stock and to fix voting powers for each class or series of preferred stock, and to provide that any class or series may be subject to redemption, entitled to receive dividends, entitled to rights upon dissolution, or convertible or exchangeable for shares of any other class or classes of capital stock. The rights with respect to a series or class of preferred stock may be greater than the rights attached to our common stock. It is not possible to state the actual effect of the issuance of any shares of our preferred stock on the rights of holders of our common stock until our board of directors determines the specific rights attached to that preferred stock. The effect of issuing preferred stock could include, among other things, one or more of the following:


•	restricting dividends with respect to our common stock;


•	diluting the voting power of our common stock or providing that holders of preferred stock have the right to vote on matters as a class;


•	impairing the liquidation rights of our common stock; or


•	delaying or preventing a change of control of us.

Our amended and restated articles of incorporation authorizes us to issue up to 50,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.10 par value per share. As of the date of this prospectus, no shares of our preferred stock were issued and outstanding. The prospectus supplement relating to a series of preferred stock we offer will include specific terms of such series. These terms will include some or all of the following:


•	the title and stated value of the preferred stock;


•	the aggregate number of shares of preferred stock offered;


•	the offering price or prices of the preferred stock;


•	the dividend rate or rates or method of calculation, the dividend period, and the dates dividends will be payable;


•	whether dividends are cumulative or noncumulative, and, if cumulative, the date the dividends will begin to cumulate;


•	the dividend and liquidation preference rights of the preferred stock relative to any existing or future series of our preferred stock;


•	the dates the preferred stock become subject to redemption at our option, and any redemption terms;


•	any redemption or sinking fund provisions, including any restriction on the repurchase or redemption of the preferred stock while there is an arrearage in the payment of dividends;


•	whether the preferred stock will be issued in other than book-entry form;


•	whether the preferred stock will be listed on any securities exchange;


•	any rights on the part of the stockholder or us to convert the preferred stock into shares of our common stock or any other security; and


•	any additional voting, liquidation, preemptive, and other rights, preferences, privileges, limitations, and restrictions.

The description in the applicable prospectus supplement of any series of preferred stock that we may offer will not necessarily be complete and will be qualified in its entirety by reference to our amended and restated articles of incorporation and the respective certificates of designations for each series of our preferred stock, which will be filed with the SEC.

DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS

We may issue warrants to purchase debt securities, preferred stock, common stock or other securities. We may issue warrants independently or together with other securities. Warrants sold with other securities may be attached to or separate from the other securities. Any warrants we issue will be under one or more warrant agreements between us and a warrant agent named in the applicable prospectus supplement.

The prospectus supplement relating to any warrants we offer will include specific terms relating to the offering. These terms may include:


•	the title of the warrants;


•	the aggregate number of warrants offered;


•	the designation, number and terms of the debt securities, preferred stock, common stock or other securities purchasable upon exercise of the warrants and procedures by which those numbers may be adjusted;


•	the exercise price of the warrants;


•	the dates or periods during which the warrants are exercisable;


•	the designation and terms of any securities with which the warrants are issued;


•	if the warrants are issued as a unit with another security, the date on and after which the warrants and the other security will be separately transferable;


•	if the exercise price is not payable in United States dollars, the foreign currency, currency unit or composite currency in which the exercise price is denominated;


•	any minimum or maximum amount of warrants that may be exercised at any one time;


•	any terms relating to the modification of the warrants;


•	any terms, procedures and limitations relating to the transferability, exchange or exercise of the warrants; and


•	any other specific terms of the warrants.

The description in the applicable prospectus supplement of any warrants that we may offer will not necessarily be complete and will be qualified in its entirety by reference to the applicable warrant agreement, which will be filed with the SEC.

DESCRIPTION OF DEPOSITARY SHARES

We may, at our option, elect to offer fractional shares of preferred stock, rather than full shares of preferred stock. In such event, we will issue receipts for depositary shares, each of which will represent a fraction of a particular series of preferred stock. If we issue depositary shares, the applicable prospectus supplement will describe the specific terms of the depositary shares offered by that prospectus supplement, which may supersede any general terms outlined in this section.

We will deposit shares of any series of preferred stock represented by depositary shares under a deposit agreement between us and a bank or trust company, having its principal office in the United States and having a combined capital and surplus of at least $50,000,000, that we will select as preferred stock depositary. Each owner of a depositary share will be entitled to all the rights and preferences of the underlying preferred stock, including dividend, voting, redemption, conversion and liquidation rights, in proportion to the applicable fraction of a share of preferred stock represented by such depositary share.

The depositary shares will be evidenced by depositary receipts issued pursuant to the deposit agreement. Depositary receipts will be distributed to those persons purchasing the fractional shares of preferred stock in accordance with the terms of the applicable prospectus supplement.

Dividends and Other Distributions

The preferred stock depositary will distribute all cash dividends or other cash distributions received in respect of the deposited preferred stock to the record holders of depositary shares relating to such preferred stock in proportion to the number of such depositary shares owned by such holders.

The preferred stock depositary will distribute any property received by it other than cash to the record holders of depositary shares entitled thereto. If the preferred stock depositary determines that it is not feasible to make such distribution, it may, with our approval, sell such property and distribute the net proceeds from such sale to such holders.

Redemption of Preferred Stock

If a series of preferred stock represented by depositary shares is to be redeemed, the depositary shares will be redeemed from the proceeds received by the preferred stock depositary resulting from the redemption, in whole or in part, of such series of preferred stock. The depositary shares will be redeemed by the preferred stock depositary at a price per depositary share equal to the applicable fraction of the redemption price per share payable in respect of the shares of preferred stock so redeemed.

Whenever we redeem shares of preferred stock held by the preferred stock depositary, the preferred stock depositary will redeem as of the same date the number of depositary shares representing the shares of preferred stock so redeemed. If fewer than all the depositary shares are to be redeemed, the depositary shares to be redeemed will be selected by the preferred stock depositary by lot or ratably or by any other equitable method as the preferred stock depositary may decide.

Withdrawal of Preferred Stock

Unless the related depositary shares have previously been called for redemption, any holder of depositary shares may receive the number of whole shares of the related series of preferred stock and any money or other property represented by such depositary receipts after surrendering the depositary receipts at the corporate trust office of the preferred stock depositary. Holders of depositary shares making such withdrawals will be entitled to receive whole shares of preferred stock on the basis set forth in the related prospectus supplement for such series of preferred stock.

Holders of such whole shares of preferred stock, however, will not be entitled to deposit such preferred stock under the deposit agreement or to receive depositary receipts for such preferred stock after such withdrawal. If the depositary shares surrendered by the holder in connection with such withdrawal exceed the number of depositary shares that represent the number of whole shares of preferred stock to be withdrawn, the preferred stock depositary will deliver to such holder at the same time a new depositary receipt evidencing such excess number of depositary shares.

Voting Deposited Preferred Stock

Upon receipt of notice of any meeting at which the holders of any series of deposited preferred stock are entitled to vote, the preferred stock depositary will mail the information contained in such notice of meeting to the record holders of the depositary shares relating to such series of preferred stock. Each record holder of such depositary shares on the record date will be entitled to instruct the preferred stock depositary to vote the amount of the preferred stock represented by such holder’s depositary shares. The preferred stock depositary will try to vote the amount of such series of preferred stock represented by such depositary shares in accordance with such instructions.

We will agree to take all reasonable action requested by the preferred stock depositary to enable the preferred stock depositary to vote as instructed. The preferred stock depositary will vote all shares of any series of preferred stock held by it

proportionately with instructions received if it does not receive specific instructions from the holders of depositary shares representing such series of preferred stock.

Amendment and Termination of the Deposit Agreement

The form of depositary receipt evidencing the depositary shares and any provision of the deposit agreement may at any time be amended by agreement between us and the preferred stock depositary. However, any amendment that imposes additional charges or materially and adversely alters any substantial existing right of the holders of depositary shares will not be effective unless such amendment has been approved by the holders of at least a majority of the affected depositary shares then outstanding. Every holder of an outstanding depositary receipt at the time any such amendment becomes effective, or any transferee of such holder, shall be deemed, by continuing to hold such depositary receipt, or by reason of the acquisition thereof, to consent and agree to such amendment and to be bound by the deposit agreement, which has been amended thereby. The deposit agreement automatically terminates if:


•	all outstanding depositary shares have been redeemed;


•	each share of preferred stock has been converted into or exchanged for common stock; or


•	a final distribution in respect of the preferred stock has been made to the holders of depositary shares in connection with our liquidation, dissolution or winding up.

The deposit agreement may be terminated by us at any time and the preferred stock depositary will give notice of such termination to the record holders of all outstanding depositary receipts not less than 30 days prior to the termination date. In such event, the preferred stock depositary will deliver or make available for delivery to holders of depositary shares, upon surrender of such depositary shares, the number of whole or fractional shares of the related series of preferred stock as are represented by such depositary shares.

Charges of Preferred Stock Depositary; Taxes and Other Governmental Charges

No fees, charges and expenses of the preferred stock depositary or any agent of the preferred stock depositary or of any registrar shall be payable by any person other than us, except for any taxes and other governmental charges and except as provided in the deposit agreement. If the preferred stock depositary incurs fees, charges or expenses for which it is not otherwise liable hereunder at the election of a holder of a depositary receipt or other person, such holder or other person will be liable for such fees, charges and expenses.

Resignation and Removal of Depositary

The preferred stock depositary may resign at any time by delivering to us notice of its intent to do so, and we may at any time remove the preferred stock depositary, any such resignation or removal to take effect upon the appointment of a successor preferred stock depositary and its acceptance of such appointment. Such successor preferred stock depositary must be appointed within 60 days after delivery of the notice of resignation or removal and must be a bank or trust company having its principal office in the United States and having a combined capital and surplus of at least $50,000,000.

Miscellaneous

The preferred stock depositary will forward all reports and communications from us that are delivered to the preferred stock depositary and that we are required to furnish to the holders of the deposited preferred stock.

Neither we nor the preferred stock depositary will be liable if the preferred stock depositary is prevented or delayed by law or any circumstances beyond its control in performing its obligations under the deposit agreement. Our obligations and the obligations of the preferred stock depositary under the deposit agreement will be limited to performance with honest intentions of their duties thereunder. Neither we nor the preferred stock depositary will be obligated to prosecute or defend any legal proceeding in respect of any depositary shares, depositary receipts or shares of preferred stock unless satisfactory indemnity is furnished. We and the preferred stock depositary may rely upon written advice of counsel or accountants, or upon information provided by holders of depositary receipts or other persons believed to be competent and on documents believed to be genuine.

The description in the applicable prospectus supplement of any depositary shares that we may offer will not necessarily be complete and will be qualified in its entirety by reference to the applicable deposit agreement, which will be filed with the SEC.

DESCRIPTION OF SUBSCRIPTION RIGHTS

We may issue rights to purchase debt securities, preferred stock, common stock or other securities. These rights may be issued independently or together with any other security offered hereby and may or may not be transferable by the stockholder receiving the rights in such offering. In connection with any offering of such rights, we may enter into a standby arrangement with one or more underwriters or other purchasers pursuant to which the underwriters or other purchasers may be required to purchase any securities remaining unsubscribed for after such offering.

The applicable prospectus supplement will describe the specific terms of any offering of rights for which this prospectus is being delivered, which may include:


•	the price, if any, per right;


•	the exercise price payable for debt securities, preferred stock, common stock, or other securities upon the exercise of the rights;


•	the number of rights issued or to be issued to each stockholder;


•	the number and terms of debt securities, preferred stock, common stock, or other securities which may be purchased per right;


•	the extent to which the rights are transferable;


•	any other terms of the rights, including the terms, procedures and limitations relating to the exchange and exercise of the rights;


•	the date on which the holder’s ability to exercise the rights shall commence, and the date on which the rights shall expire;


•	the extent to which the rights may include an over-subscription privilege with respect to unsubscribed securities; and


•	if applicable, the material terms of any standby underwriting or purchase arrangement entered into by us in connection with the offering of such rights.

The description in the applicable prospectus supplement of any rights that we may offer will not necessarily be complete and will be qualified in its entirety by reference to the applicable rights certificate, which will be filed with the SEC.

DESCRIPTION OF STOCK PURCHASE CONTRACTS

AND STOCK PURCHASE UNITS

We may issue stock purchase contracts, including contracts obligating holders to purchase from or sell to us, and obligating us to sell to or purchase from the holders, a specified number of shares of common stock, preferred stock or other securities at a future date or dates. The price per share of the securities and the number of shares of the securities may be fixed at the time the stock purchase contracts are issued or may be determined by reference to a specific formula set forth in the stock purchase contracts, and may be subject to adjustment under anti-dilution formulas. The stock purchase contracts may be issued separately or as part of stock purchase units consisting of a stock purchase contract and any combination of debt securities, shares of our common stock or preferred stock or depositary shares. The stock purchase units may require holders to secure their obligations under the stock purchase contracts in a specified manner. The stock purchase units also may require us to make periodic payments to the holders of the stock purchase contracts or the stock purchase units or vice versa, and those payments may be unsecured or pre-funded on some basis.

The applicable prospectus supplement will describe the terms of the stock purchase contracts or stock purchase units including, if applicable, collateral or depositary arrangements. The description in the applicable prospectus supplement will not necessarily be complete and will be qualified in its entirety by reference to the stock purchase contracts, and, if applicable, collateral or depositary arrangements relating to the stock purchase contracts or stock purchase units, which will be filed with the SEC.

GLOBAL SECURITIES

Book-Entry, Delivery and Form

Unless we indicate differently in any applicable prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus, the securities initially will be issued in book-entry form and represented by one or more global notes or global securities, or, collectively, global securities. The global securities will be deposited with, or on behalf of, The Depository Trust Company, New York, New York, as depositary, or DTC, and registered in the name of Cede & Co., the nominee of DTC. Unless and until it is exchanged for individual certificates evidencing securities under the limited circumstances described below, a global security may not be transferred except as a whole by the depositary to its nominee or by the nominee to the depositary, or by the depositary or its nominee to a successor depositary or to a nominee of the successor depositary.

DTC has advised us that it is:

•a limited-purpose trust company organized under the New York Banking Law;

•a “banking organization” within the meaning of the New York Banking Law;

•a member of the Federal Reserve System;

•a “clearing corporation” within the meaning of the New York Uniform Commercial Code; and

•a “clearing agency” registered pursuant to the provisions of Section 17A of the Exchange Act.

DTC holds securities that its participants deposit with DTC. DTC also facilitates the settlement among its participants of securities transactions, such as transfers and pledges, in deposited securities through electronic computerized book-entry changes in participants’ accounts, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of securities certificates. “Direct participants” in DTC include securities brokers and dealers, including underwriters, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other organizations. DTC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, or DTCC. DTCC is the holding company for DTC, National Securities Clearing Corporation and Fixed Income Clearing Corporation, all of which are registered clearing agencies. DTCC is owned by the users of its regulated subsidiaries. Access to the DTC system is also available to others, which we sometimes refer to as indirect participants, that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a direct participant, either directly or indirectly. The rules applicable to DTC and its participants are on file with the SEC.

Purchases of securities under the DTC system must be made by or through direct participants, which will receive a credit for the securities on DTC’s records. The ownership interest of the actual purchaser of a security, which we sometimes refer to as a beneficial owner, is in turn recorded on the direct and indirect participants’ records. Beneficial owners of securities will not receive written confirmation from DTC of their purchases. However, beneficial owners are expected to receive written confirmations providing details of their transactions, as well as periodic statements of their holdings, from the direct or indirect participants through which they purchased securities. Transfers of ownership interests in global securities are to be accomplished by entries made on the books of participants acting on behalf of beneficial owners. Beneficial owners will not receive certificates representing their ownership interests in the global securities, except under the limited circumstances described below.

To facilitate subsequent transfers, all global securities deposited by direct participants with DTC will be registered in the name of DTC’s partnership nominee, Cede & Co., or such other name as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC. The deposit of securities with DTC and their registration in the name of Cede & Co. or such other nominee will not change the beneficial ownership of the securities. DTC has no knowledge of the actual beneficial owners of the securities. DTC’s records reflect only the identity of the direct participants to whose accounts the securities are credited, which may or may not be the beneficial owners. The participants are responsible for keeping account of their holdings on behalf of their customers.

So long as the securities are in book-entry form, you will receive payments and may transfer securities only through the facilities of the depositary and its direct and indirect participants. We will maintain an office or agency in the location specified in the prospectus supplement for the applicable securities, where notices and demands in respect of the securities and the indenture may be delivered to us and where certificated securities may be surrendered for payment, registration of transfer or exchange.

Conveyance of notices and other communications by DTC to direct participants, by direct participants to indirect participants and by direct participants and indirect participants to beneficial owners will be governed by arrangements among them, subject to any legal requirements in effect from time to time.

Redemption notices will be sent to DTC. If less than all of the securities of a particular series are being redeemed, DTC’s practice is to determine by lot the amount of the interest of each direct participant in the securities of such series to be redeemed.

Neither DTC nor Cede & Co. (or such other DTC nominee) will consent or vote with respect to the securities. Under its usual procedures, DTC will mail an omnibus proxy to us as soon as possible after the record date. The omnibus proxy assigns the consenting or voting rights of Cede & Co. to those direct participants to whose accounts the securities of such series are credited on the record date, identified in a listing attached to the omnibus proxy.

So long as securities are in book-entry form, we will make payments on those securities to the depositary or its nominee, as the registered owner of such securities, by wire transfer of immediately available funds. If securities are issued in definitive certificated form under the limited circumstances described below and unless if otherwise provided in the description of the applicable securities herein or in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will have the option of making payments by check mailed to the addresses of the persons entitled to payment or by wire transfer to bank accounts in the United States designated in writing to the applicable trustee or other designated party at least 15 days before the applicable payment date by the persons entitled to payment, unless a shorter period is satisfactory to the applicable trustee or other designated party.

Redemption proceeds, distributions and dividend payments on the securities will be made to Cede & Co., or such other nominee as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC. DTC’s practice is to credit direct participants’ accounts upon DTC’s receipt of funds and corresponding detail information from us on the payment date in accordance with their respective holdings shown on DTC records. Payments by participants to beneficial owners will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is the case with securities held for the account of customers in bearer form or registered in “street name.” Those payments will be the responsibility of participants and not of DTC or us, subject to any statutory or regulatory requirements in effect from time to time. Payment of redemption proceeds, distributions and dividend payments to Cede & Co., or such other nominee as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC, is our responsibility, disbursement of payments to direct participants is the responsibility of DTC, and disbursement of payments to the beneficial owners is the responsibility of direct and indirect participants.

Except under the limited circumstances described below, purchasers of securities will not be entitled to have securities registered in their names and will not receive physical delivery of securities. Accordingly, each beneficial owner must rely on the procedures of DTC and its participants to exercise any rights under the securities and the indenture.

The laws of some jurisdictions may require that some purchasers of securities take physical delivery of securities in definitive form. Those laws may impair the ability to transfer or pledge beneficial interests in securities.

DTC may discontinue providing its services as securities depositary with respect to the securities at any time by giving reasonable notice to us. Under such circumstances, in the event that a successor depositary is not obtained, securities certificates are required to be printed and delivered.

As noted above, beneficial owners of a particular series of securities generally will not receive certificates representing their ownership interests in those securities. However, if:

•

DTC notifies us that it is unwilling or unable to continue as a depositary for the global security or securities representing such series of securities or if DTC ceases to be a clearing agency registered under the Exchange Act at a time when it is required to be registered and a successor depositary is not appointed within 90 days of the notification to us or of our becoming aware of DTC’s ceasing to be so registered, as the case may be;


•	we determine, in our sole discretion, not to have such securities represented by one or more global securities; or


•	an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing with respect to such series of securities,

we will prepare and deliver certificates for such securities in exchange for beneficial interests in the global securities. Any beneficial interest in a global security that is exchangeable under the circumstances described in the preceding sentence will be exchangeable for securities in definitive certificated form registered in the names that the depositary directs. It is expected that these directions will be based upon directions received by the depositary from its participants with respect to ownership of beneficial interests in the global securities.

Euroclear and Clearstream

If so provided in the applicable prospectus supplement, you may hold interests in a global security through Clearstream

Banking S.A., which we refer to as “Clearstream,” or Euroclear Bank S.A./N.V., as operator of the Euroclear System, which we refer to as “Euroclear,” either directly if you are a participant in Clearstream or Euroclear or indirectly through organizations which are participants in Clearstream or Euroclear. Clearstream and Euroclear will hold interests on behalf of their respective participants through customers’ securities accounts in the names of Clearstream and Euroclear, respectively, on the books of their respective U.S. depositaries, which in turn will hold such interests in customers’ securities accounts in such depositaries’ names on DTC’s books.

Clearstream and Euroclear are securities clearance systems in Europe. Clearstream and Euroclear hold securities for their respective participating organizations and facilitate the clearance and settlement of securities transactions between those participants through electronic book-entry changes in their accounts, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of certificates.

Payments, deliveries, transfers, exchanges, notices and other matters relating to beneficial interests in global securities owned through Euroclear or Clearstream must comply with the rules and procedures of those systems. Transactions between participants in Euroclear or Clearstream, on one hand, and other participants in DTC, on the other hand, are also subject to DTC’s rules and procedures.

Investors will be able to make and receive through Euroclear and Clearstream payments, deliveries, transfers and other transactions involving any beneficial interests in global securities held through those systems only on days when those systems are open for business. Those systems may not be open for business on days when banks, brokers and other institutions are open for business in the United States.

Cross-market transfers between participants in DTC, on the one hand, and participants in Euroclear or Clearstream, on the other hand, will be effected through DTC in accordance with the DTC’s rules on behalf of Euroclear or Clearstream, as the case may be, by their respective U.S. depositaries; however, such cross-market transactions will require delivery of instructions to Euroclear or Clearstream, as the case may be, by the counterparty in such system in accordance with the rules and procedures and within the established deadlines (European time) of such system. Euroclear or Clearstream, as the case may be, will, if the transaction meets its settlement requirements, deliver instructions to its U.S. depositary to take action to effect final settlement on its behalf by delivering or receiving interests in the global securities through DTC, and making or receiving payment in accordance with normal procedures for same-day fund settlement. Participants in Euroclear or Clearstream may not deliver instructions directly to their respective U.S. depositaries.

Due to time zone differences, the securities accounts of a participant in Euroclear or Clearstream purchasing an interest in a global security from a direct participant in DTC will be credited, and any such crediting will be reported to the relevant participant in Euroclear or Clearstream, during the securities settlement processing day (which must be a business day for Euroclear or Clearstream) immediately following the settlement date of DTC. Cash received in Euroclear or Clearstream as a result of sales of interests in a global security by or through a participant in Euroclear or Clearstream to a direct participant in DTC will be received with value on the settlement date of DTC but will be available in the relevant Euroclear or Clearstream cash account only as of the business day for Euroclear or Clearstream following DTC’s settlement date.

The information in this section of this prospectus concerning DTC, Clearstream, Euroclear and their respective book-entry systems has been obtained from sources that we believe to be reliable, but we do not take responsibility for this information. This information has been provided solely as a matter of convenience. The rules and procedures of DTC, Clearstream and Euroclear are solely within the control of those organizations and could change at any time. Neither we nor the trustee nor any agent of ours or of the trustee has any control over those entities and none of us takes any responsibility for their activities. You are urged to contact DTC, Clearstream and Euroclear or their respective participants directly to discuss those matters. In addition, although we expect that DTC, Clearstream and Euroclear will perform the foregoing procedures, none of them is under any obligation to perform or continue to perform such procedures and such procedures may be discontinued at any time. Neither we nor any agent of ours will have any responsibility for the performance or nonperformance by DTC, Clearstream and Euroclear or their respective participants of these or any other rules or procedures governing their respective operations.

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

We may offer the securities to or through underwriters or dealers, by ourselves directly, through agents, or through a combination of any of these methods of sale. The details of any such offering will be set forth in any prospectus supplement relating to the offering.

We may sell any series of debt securities, preferred stock, common stock, warrants, depositary shares, subscription rights,

stock purchase contracts and stock purchase units being offered directly to one or more purchasers, through agents, to or through underwriters or dealers, or through a combination of any such methods of sale. The distribution of the securities may be effected from time to time in one or more transactions at fixed prices, which may be changed, at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to such prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices. The prospectus supplement will set forth the terms of the offering, including the names of any underwriters, dealers or agents, the purchase price of such securities and the proceeds to us from such sale, any underwriting discounts and commissions or agency fees and other items constituting underwriters’ or agents’ compensation, any initial public offering price and any discounts or concessions allowed or paid to dealers or any securities exchange on which such securities may be listed. Any initial public offering price, discounts or concessions allowed or paid to dealers may be changed from time to time.

Any discounts, concessions or commissions received by underwriters or agents and any profits on the resale of securities by them may be deemed to be underwriting discounts and commissions under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Unless otherwise set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement, the obligations of underwriters to purchase the offered securities will be subject to certain conditions precedent, and such underwriters will be obligated to purchase all such securities, if any are purchased. Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, any agent will be acting on a best efforts basis for the period of its appointment.

We may also offer and sell securities, if so indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, in connection with a remarketing upon their purchase, in accordance with a redemption or repayment pursuant to their terms, or otherwise, by one or more firms referred to as remarketing firms, acting as principals for their own accounts or as agents for us. Any remarketing firm will be identified and the terms of its agreement, if any, with us and its compensation will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement. Remarketing firms may be deemed to be underwriters under the Securities Act in connection with the securities they remarket.

We may authorize underwriters, dealers or other persons acting as agents for us to solicit offers by certain institutions to purchase securities from us, pursuant to contracts providing for payment and delivery on a future date. Institutions with which such contracts may be made include commercial and savings banks, insurance companies, pension funds, investment companies, educational and charitable institutions and others, but in all cases such institutions must be approved by us. The obligations of any purchaser under any such contract will be subject to the conditions that the purchase of the offered securities shall not at the time of delivery be prohibited under the laws of the jurisdiction to which such purchaser is subject. The underwriters and such other agents will not have any responsibility in respect of the validity or performance of such contracts.

We may authorize underwriters, dealers or other persons acting as agents for us to make sales in privately negotiated transactions and/or any other method permitted by law, including sales deemed to be an at-the-market offering as defined in Rule 415 promulgated under the Securities Act, which includes sales made directly on or through The NASDAQ Global Select Market, the existing trading market for our common stock, or sales made to or through a market maker other than on an exchange.

In connection with the offering of securities, we may grant to the underwriters an option to purchase additional securities to cover over-allotments at the initial public offering price, with an additional underwriting commission, as may be set forth in the accompanying prospectus supplement. If we grant any over-allotment option, the terms of such over-allotment option will be set forth in the prospectus supplement for such securities.

The securities may be a new issue of securities that have no established trading market. Any underwriters to whom securities are sold for public offering and sale may make a market in such securities, but such underwriters will not be obligated to do so and may discontinue any market making at any time without notice. Such securities may or may not be listed on a national securities exchange. No assurance can be given as to the liquidity of or the existence of trading markets for any securities.

We may indemnify agents, underwriters, dealers and remarketing firms against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Our agents, underwriters, dealers and remarketing firms, or their affiliates, may be customers of, engage in transactions with or perform services for us, in the ordinary course of business.

LEGAL MATTERS

Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, Shutts & Bowen LLP, Miami, Florida, will provide opinions regarding the authorization and, if applicable, validity of the securities. Shutts & Bowen LLP may also provide opinions regarding certain other matters. Any underwriters will also be advised about legal matters by their own counsel, which will be named in the prospectus supplement.

EXPERTS

The consolidated financial statements of Amerant Bancorp Inc. and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2018 and 2017, and for each of the three years in period ended December 31, 2018, included in this prospectus, have been so included in reliance upon the report of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent certified public accountants, given on the authority of that firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

PART II

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

Item 14. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.

The expenses relating to the registration of the securities will be borne by the registrant. Such expenses are estimated to be as follows:



	Amount to be Paid*
SEC registration fee	$	24,240.00
Accounting fees and expenses		**
Legal fees and expenses		**
Transfer agent, registrar and trustee fees and expenses		**
Miscellaneous		**
Total	$	**


*	Fees and expenses (other than the SEC Registration Fee to be paid upon filing of this registration statement) will depend on the securities offered, the number of issuances and the nature of offerings, and cannot be estimated at this time.

Item 15. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

The Florida Business Corporation Act permits, under certain circumstances, the indemnification of officers, directors, employees and agents of a corporation with respect to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, and whether formal or informal, to which such person was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party, by reason of his or her being an officer, director, employee or agent of a corporation, or is or was serving at the request of, such corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against liability incurred in connection with such proceeding, including appeals thereof; provided, however, that the officer, director, employee or agent acted in good faith and in a manner that he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful. The termination of any such third-party action by judgment, order, settlement, or conviction or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent does not, of itself, create a presumption that the person (1) did not act in good faith and in a manner which he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation or (2) with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful.

In the case of proceedings by or in the right of the corporation, the statute permits indemnification of any person by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of, such corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses and certain amounts paid in settlement in connection with such proceeding, including appeals thereof; provided, however, that the officer, director, employee or agent acted in good faith and in a manner that he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation, except that no indemnification is made where such person is adjudged liable, unless, and only to the extent that, the court in which such proceeding was brought, or any other court of competent jurisdiction, determines that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which such court shall deem proper.

To the extent that such person is successful on the merits or otherwise in defending against any such proceeding, the statute provides that he or she shall be indemnified against expenses actually and reasonably incurred by him or her in connection therewith.

Also, under the statute, expenses incurred by an officer or director in defending a civil or criminal proceeding may be paid by the corporation in advance of the final disposition of such proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of

such director or officer to repay such amount if he or she is ultimately found not to be entitled to indemnification by the corporation pursuant to this section. Expenses incurred by other employees and agents may be paid in advance upon such terms or conditions that the board of directors deems appropriate.

Our amended and restated articles of incorporation provide that our officers and directors will be indemnified by us to the fullest extent authorized by Florida law and any other applicable law, as it now exists or may in the future be amended.

Our amended and restated bylaws contain indemnification provisions similar to the Florida Business Corporation Act, and further provide that we may purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of our directors, officers, employees and agents in their capacities as such, or serving at the request of us, against any liabilities asserted against such persons and incurred by such persons in any capacity, or arising of such persons status as such, whether or not we would have the power to indemnify such persons against such liability under our amended and restated bylaws.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted for our directors and officers, or for persons controlling us, pursuant to our amended and restated articles of incorporation, amended and restated bylaws or the Florida Business Corporation Act, we acknowledge that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.

In addition to the authority granted to us by the Florida Business Corporation Act to indemnify our directors, certain other provisions of the Florida Business Corporation Act have the effect of further limiting the personal liability of our directors. For example, a director of a Florida corporation cannot be held personally liable for monetary damages to the corporation or any other person for any statement, vote, decision or failure to act regarding corporate management or policy except in the case of certain qualifying breaches of the director’s duties.

Item 16. Exhibits.

The exhibits to this registration statement are listed in the “Index to Exhibits” at the end of this registration statement and are incorporated by reference herein.

Item 17. Undertakings.

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

(i)To include any prospectus required by section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;

(ii)To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement.

(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement;

Provided, however, that paragraphs (A)(1)(i), (A)(1)(ii) and (A)(1)(iii) above do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the SEC by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of the registration statement.

(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

(4) That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act to any purchaser:

A. Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and

B. Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by section 10(a) of the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date; or

(5) That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

(i)Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;

(ii)Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;

(iii)The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and

(iv)Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser

(6) To file an application for the purpose of determining the eligibility of the trustee to act under subsection (a) of Section 310 of the Trust Indenture Act in accordance with the rules and regulations prescribed by the SEC under Section 305(b)(2) of the Trust Indenture Act.

(7) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(8) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that, in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities

(other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Coral Gables, State of Florida, on the 19th day of December, 2019.



	Amerant Bancorp Inc.
	By:	/s/ Millar Wilson Name: Millar Wilson Title: Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

SIGNATURES AND POWER OF ATTORNEY

In accordance with the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates stated. Each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Millar Wilson, Alberto Peraza and Iván E. Trujillo and each of them severally, as his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, each acting along with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any or all amendments (including post-effective amendments) and exhibits to the Registration Statement on Form S-3, and to any registration statement filed under SEC Rule 462, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and all documents in connection therewith, with the SEC, granting unto said attorney-in-fact and agent, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney-in-fact and agent, or his or her substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the date indicated.



Signature	Title	Date
/s/ Millar Wilson	Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer)	December 16, 2019

/s/ Alberto Peraza	Chief Financial Officer and Co-President (principal financial officer)	December 16, 2019

/s/ Jorge Trabanco	Chief Accounting Officer (principal accounting officer)	December 16, 2019

/s/ Frederick C. Copeland, Jr.	Chairman	December 16, 2019

/s/ Miguel A. Capriles L.	Director	December 16, 2019

/s/ Rosa M. Costantino	Director	December 16, 2019

/s/ Pamella J. Dana, Ph.D.	Director	December 16, 2019

/s/ Gustavo Marturet M.	Director	December 16, 2019

/s/ Gerald P. Plush	Director	December 16, 2019

/s/ John W. Quill	Director	December 16, 2019

/s/ Jose Antonio Villamil	Director	December 16, 2019

/s/ Guillermo Villar	Director	December 16, 2019

/s/ Gustavo J. Vollmer A.	Director	December 16, 2019

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit

Number



1.1	Form of Underwriting Agreement.*
4.1	Form of Indenture between the Company and The Bank of New York Mellon, as trustee.**
4.2	Form of Debt Security.*
4.3	Form of Deposit Agreement including form of Depositary Receipt for Depositary Shares*
4.4	Form of Preferred Stock Certificate.*
4.5	Form of Warrant Agreement (including form of Warrant Certificate).*
4.6	Form of Subscription Rights Agreement (including form of Subscription Rights Certificate).*
4.7	Form of Stock Purchase Contract (including form of Stock Purchase Contract Certificate).*
4.8	Form of Stock Purchase Unit Agreement (including form of Stock Purchase Unit Certificate).*
5.1	Opinion of Shutts & Bowen LLP**
23.1	Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP**
23.2	Consent of Shutts & Bowen LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1)**
24.1	Power of Attorney (included on signature page hereto)**
25.1	Form T-1 Statement of Eligibility under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 of The Bank of New York Mellon, as trustee under the Senior Indenture**


*	To be filed by amendment to this registration statement or incorporated by reference from documents filed or to be filed with the SEC under the Exchange Act.


**	Filed herewith.

Exhibit 4.1

Amerant Bancorp Inc.,

Issuer

and

The Bank of New York Mellon,

Trustee

FORM OF
INDENTURE

Dated as of [ ] [ ], [ ]

TABLE OF CONTENTS*

CROSS-REFERENCE TABLE**



Section of Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended	Section of Indenture

310(a)	7.9
310(b)	7.8
310(c)	Inapplicable
311(a)	7.13
311(b)	7.13
311(c)	Inapplicable
312(a)	5.01, 5.02	(a)
312(b)	5.2	(c)
312(c)	5.2	(c)
313(a)	5.4	(a)
313(b)	5.4	(b)
313(c)	5.4	(b)
313(d)	5.4	(c)
314(a)	5.3	(a)
314(b)	Inapplicable
314(c)	13.7	(a)
314(d)	Inapplicable
314(e)	13.7	(b)
314(f)	Inapplicable
315(a)	7.1	(b)
315(b)	7.14
315(c)	7.1	(a)
315(d)	7.1	(b)
315(e)	6.7
316(a)	6.6, 8.4
316(b)	6.4
316(c)	8.1
317(a)	6.2
317(b)	4.3
318(a)	13.9
318(c)	13.9

* This Table of Contents does not constitute part of the Indenture and shall not have any bearing upon the interpretation of any of its terms or provisions.

** This Cross-Reference Table does not constitute part of the Indenture and shall not have any bearing on the interpretation of any of its terms or provisions.



ARTICLE I		DEFINITIONS		1
	Section 1.1		Definition of Terms	1
ARTICLE II		ISSUE, DESCRIPTION, TERMS, EXECUTION, REGISTRATION AND EXCHANGE OF SECURITIES		5
	Section 2.2		Form of Securities and Trustee’s Certificate	7
	Section 2.3		Denominations; Provisions for Payment	7
	Section 2.4		Execution and Authentication	8
	Section 2.5		Registration of Transfer and Exchange	9
	Section 2.6		Temporary Securities	9
	Section 2.7		Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Securities	10
	Section 2.8		Cancellation	10
	Section 2.9		Benefits of Indenture	10
	Section 2.10		Authenticating Agent	11
	Section 2.11		Global Securities	11
	Section 2.12		No Obligation of the Trustee	12
ARTICLE III		REDEMPTION OF SECURITIES AND SINKING FUND PROVISIONS		12
	Section 3.1		Redemption	12
	Section 3.2		Notice of Redemption	13
	Section 3.3		Payment Upon Redemption	13
	Section 3.4		Sinking Fund	14
	Section 3.5		Satisfaction of Sinking Fund Payments with Securities	14
	Section 3.6		Redemption of Securities for Sinking Fund	14
ARTICLE IV		CERTAIN COVENANTS		14
	Section 4.1		Payment of Principal, Premium and Interest	14
	Section 4.2		Maintenance of Office or Agency	15
	Section 4.3		Paying Agents	15
	Section 4.4		Appointment to Fill Vacancy in Office of Trustee	16
	Section 4.5		Compliance with Consolidation Provisions	16
	Section 4.6		Statement by Officers as to Default	16
ARTICLE V		SECURITYHOLDERS’ LISTS AND REPORTS BY THE COMPANY AND THE TRUSTEE		16
	Section 5.1		Company to Furnish Names and Addresses of Securityholders to Trustee	16
	Section 5.2		Preservation of Information; Communications with Securityholders	16
	Section 5.3		Reports by the Company	17
	Section 5.4		Reports by the Trustee	17
ARTICLE VI		REMEDIES OF THE TRUSTEE AND SECURITYHOLDERS ON EVENT OF DEFAULT		18
	Section 6.1		Events of Default	18
	Section 6.2		Collection of Indebtedness and Suits for Enforcement by Trustee	19
	Section 6.3		Application of Moneys Collected	20
	Section 6.4		Limitation on Suits	20
	Section 6.5		Rights and Remedies Cumulative; Delay or Omission Not Waiver	21
	Section 6.6		Control by Securityholders	21
	Section 6.7		Undertaking to Pay Costs	22
ARTICLE VII		CONCERNING THE TRUSTEE		22
	Section 7.1		Certain Duties and Responsibilities of Trustee	22



	Section 7.2		Certain Rights of Trustee	23
	Section 7.3		Trustee Not Responsible for Recitals or Issuance or Securities	24
	Section 7.4		May Hold Securities	25
	Section 7.5		Moneys Held in Trust	25
	Section 7.6		Compensation and Reimbursement	25
	Section 7.7		Reliance on Officers’ Certificate	26
	Section 7.8		Disqualification; Conflicting Interests	26
	Section 7.9		Corporate Trustee Required; Eligibility	26
	Section 7.10		Resignation and Removal; Appointment of Successor	26
	Section 7.11		Acceptance of Appointment by Successor	27
	Section 7.12		Merger, Conversion, Consolidation or Succession to Business	28
	Section 7.13		Preferential Collection of Claims Against the Company	28
	Section 7.14		Notice of Defaults	28
ARTICLE VIII		CONCERNING THE SECURITYHOLDERS		29
	Section 8.1		Evidence of Action by Securityholders	29
	Section 8.2		Proof of Execution by Securityholders	29
	Section 8.3		Who May be Deemed Owners	29
	Section 8.4		Certain Securities Owned by Company Disregarded	29
	Section 8.5		Actions Binding on Future Securityholders	30
ARTICLE IX		SUPPLEMENTAL INDENTURES		30
	Section 9.1		Supplemental Indentures Without the Consent of Securityholders	30
	Section 9.2		Supplemental Indentures with Consent of Securityholders	31
	Section 9.3		Effect of Supplemental Indentures	32
	Section 9.4		Securities Affected by Supplemental Indentures	32
	Section 9.5		Execution of Supplemental Indentures	32
	Section 9.6		Conformity with Trust Indenture Act	32
ARTICLE X		SUCCESSOR CORPORATION		32
	Section 10.1		Company May Consolidate, Etc.	32
	Section 10.2		Successor Substituted	33
	Section 10.3		Evidence of Consolidation, Etc	33
ARTICLE XI		SATISFACTION AND DISCHARGE		33
	Section 11.1		Satisfaction and Discharge of Indenture	33
	Section 11.2		Discharge of Obligations	34
	Section 11.3		Deposited Moneys to be Held in Trust	34
	Section 11.4		Payment of Moneys Held by Paying Agents	34
	Section 11.5		Repayment to Company	34
ARTICLE XII		IMMUNITY OF INCORPORATORS, STOCKHOLDERS, OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS		35
	Section 12.1		No Recourse	35
ARTICLE XIII		MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS		35
	Section 13.1		Effect on Successors and Assigns	35
	Section 13.2		Actions by Successor	35
	Section 13.3		Notices	35
	Section 13.4		Notice to Securityholders of Securities; Waiver	36
	Section 13.5		Governing Law	36



Section 13.6	Effect of Headings and Table of Contents	36
Section 13.7	Compliance Certificates and Opinions	37
Section 13.8	Payments on Business Days	37
Section 13.9	Conflict with Trust Indenture Act	37
Section 13.10	Counterparts	37
Section 13.11	Separability	37
Section 13.12	Assignment	37
Section 13.13	WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL	38
Section 13.14	FATCA	38

iii

INDENTURE, dated as of [ ] [ ], [ ], among AMERANT BANCORP INC., a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Florida (the “Company”), and The Bank of New York Mellon, as trustee (the “Trustee”):

WHEREAS, for its lawful corporate purposes, the Company has duly authorized the execution and delivery of this Indenture to provide for the issuance of debt securities (hereinafter referred to as the “Securities”), in an unlimited aggregate principal amount to be issued from time to time in one or more series as in this Indenture provided, as registered Securities without coupons, to be authenticated by the certificate of the Trustee;

WHEREAS, to provide the terms and conditions upon which the Securities are to be authenticated, issued and delivered, the Company has duly authorized the execution of this Indenture; and

WHEREAS, all things necessary to make this Indenture a valid agreement of the Company, in accordance with its terms, have been done.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the purchase of the Securities by the holders thereof, it is mutually covenanted and agreed as follows for the equal and ratable benefit of the holders of Securities:

ARTICLE I

DEFINITIONS

Section 1.1 Definitions of Terms.

The terms defined in this Section 1.1 (except as in this Indenture or any indenture supplemental hereto otherwise expressly provided or unless the context otherwise requires) for all purposes of this Indenture and of any indenture supplemental hereto shall have the respective meanings specified in this Section 1.1 and shall include the plural as well as the singular. All other terms used in this Indenture that are defined in the Trust Indenture Act, or that are by reference therein defined in the Securities Act (except as herein or any indenture supplemental hereto otherwise expressly provided or unless the context otherwise requires), shall have the meanings assigned to such terms in said Trust Indenture Act and in said Securities Act as in force at the date of the execution of this instrument.

“Affiliate” means, with respect to a specified Person, (a) any Person directly or indirectly owning, controlling or holding with power to vote 10% or more of the outstanding voting securities or other ownership interests of the specified Person, (b) any Person 10% or more of whose outstanding voting securities or other ownership interests are directly or indirectly owned, controlled or held with power to vote by the specified Person, (c) any Person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the specified Person, (d) a partnership in which the specified Person is a general partner, (e) any officer or director of the specified Person, and (f) if the specified Person is an individual, any entity of which the specified Person is an officer, director or general partner.

“Authenticating Agent” means the Trustee or an authenticating agent with respect to all or any of the series of Securities appointed by the Trustee pursuant to Section 2.10.

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

“Board of Directors” means the Board of Directors of the Company or any duly authorized committee of such Board.

“Board Resolution” means a copy of a resolution certified by the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the Company to have been duly adopted by the Board of Directors (or duly authorized committee thereof) and to be in full force and effect on the date of such certification.

“Business Day” means, with respect to any series of Securities, any day other than a day on which Federal or State banking institutions in the City of New York or place of payment, are authorized or obligated by law, executive order or regulation to close.

“Company” means Amerant Bancorp Inc., a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Florida and, subject to the provisions of ARTICLE X, shall also include its successors and assigns.

“Corporate Trust Office” means the office of the Trustee at which, at any particular time, its corporate trust business shall be principally administered, which office at the date hereof is located at 240 Greenwich Street, 7E, New York, NY 10286, Attn: Corporate Trust Administration.

“Commission” means the Securities and Exchange Commission, as from time to time constituted, created under the Exchange Act, or, if at any time after the execution of this instrument such Commission is not existing and performing the duties now assigned to it under the Trust Indenture Act, then the body performing such duties at such time.

“Custodian” means any receiver, trustee, assignee, liquidator, or similar official under any Bankruptcy Law.

“Default” means any event, act or condition that with notice or lapse of time, or both, would constitute an Event of Default.

“Defaulted Interest” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.3 hereof.

“Depositary” means, with respect to Securities of any series, for which the Company shall determine that such Securities will be issued as a Global Security, The Depository Trust Company, New York, New York, another clearing agency, or any successor registered as a clearing agency under the Exchange Act, or other applicable statute or regulation, which, in each case, shall be designated by the Company pursuant to either Section 2.1 or 2.11.

“Dollars” or “$” mean the coin or currency of the United States that at the time is legal tender for public and private debt.

“Event of Default” means, with respect to Securities of a particular series any event specified in Section 6.1, continued for the period of time, if any, therein designated.

“Exchange Act” means the United States Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated by the Commission thereunder.

The term “given”, “mailed”, “notify” or “sent” with respect to any notice to be given to a Securityholder pursuant to this Indenture, shall mean notice (x) given to the Depositary (or its designee) pursuant to the standing instructions from the Depositary or its designee, including by electronic mail in accordance with accepted practices or procedures at the Depositary (in the case of a Global Security) or (y) mailed to such Holder by first class mail, postage prepaid, at its address as it appears on the Security Register (in the case of a definitive Security). Notice so “given” shall be deemed to include any notice to be “mailed” or “delivered,” as applicable, under this Indenture.

“Global Security” means a Security issued to evidence all or a part of any series of Securities which is executed by the Company and authenticated and delivered by the Trustee to the Depositary or pursuant to the Depositary’s instruction, all in accordance with the Indenture, which shall be registered in the name of the Depositary or its nominee.

“Governmental Obligations” means securities that are (i) direct obligations of the United States for the payment of which its full faith and credit is pledged or (ii) obligations of a Person controlled or supervised by and acting as an agency or instrumentality of the United States, the payment of which is unconditionally guaranteed as a full faith and credit obligation by the United States that, in either case, are not callable or redeemable at the option of the issuer thereof, and shall also include a depositary receipt issued by a bank (as defined in Section 3(a)(2) of the

Securities Act) as custodian with respect to any such Governmental Obligation or a specific payment of principal of or interest on any such Governmental Obligation held by such custodian for the account of the holder of such depositary receipt, provided, however, that (except as required by law) such custodian is not authorized to make any deduction from the amount payable to the holder of such depositary receipt from any amount received by the custodian in respect of the Governmental Obligation or the specific payment of principal of or interest on the Governmental Obligation evidenced by such depositary receipt.

“Guarantee” means any obligation, contingent or otherwise, of any Person directly or indirectly guaranteeing any indebtedness of any other Person and any obligation, direct or indirect, contingent or otherwise, of such Person (a) to purchase or pay (or advance or supply funds for the purchase or payment of) such indebtedness or other obligation of such Person (whether arising by virtue of partnership arrangements, or by agreements to keep-well, to purchase assets, goods, securities or services, to take-or-pay or to maintain financial statement conditions or otherwise) or (b) entered into for the purpose of assuring in any other manner the obligee of such indebtedness of the payment thereof or to protect such obligee against loss in respect thereof (in whole or in part), provided, however, that the term “Guarantee” shall not include endorsements for collection or deposit in the ordinary course of business. The term “Guarantee” used as a verb has a corresponding meaning.

“Guarantor” means any Person Guaranteeing any obligation.

“Guaranty Agreement” means a supplemental indenture, in a form satisfactory to the Trustee, pursuant to which a Person Guarantees the Company’s obligations with respect to a series of Securities.

“herein”, “hereof” and “hereunder”, and other words of similar import, refer to this Indenture as a whole and not to any particular Article, Section or other subdivision.

“Indenture” means this instrument as originally executed or as it may from time to time be supplemented or amended by one or more indentures supplemental hereto entered into in accordance with the terms hereof.

“Interest Payment Date”, when used with respect to any installment of interest on a Security of a particular series, means the date specified in such Security or in a Board Resolution or in an indenture supplemental hereto with respect to such series as the fixed date on which an installment of interest with respect to Securities of that series is due and payable.

“Officer” means the chairman of the board, the vice-chairman & chief executive officer, the co-president & chief financial officer, the co-president & chief operating officer , the treasurer, the secretary or any assistant secretary of the Company.

“Officers’ Certificate” means a certificate signed by two Officers that is delivered to the Trustee in accordance with the terms hereof. Each such certificate shall include the statements provided for in Section 13.7, if and to the extent required by the provisions thereof.

“Opinion of Counsel” means an opinion in writing subject to customary exceptions of legal counsel, who may be an employee of or outside counsel for the Company, that is delivered to the Trustee in accordance with the terms hereof. Each such opinion shall include the statements provided for in Section 13.7, if and to the extent required by the provisions thereof.

“Original Issue Discount Security” means any Security which (i) is issued at a price lower than the amount payable upon the maturity thereof and (ii) provides for an amount less than the principal amount thereof to be due and payable upon redemption or a declaration of acceleration of the maturity thereof pursuant to Section 6.1.

“Outstanding”, when used with reference to Securities of any series, means, subject to the provisions of Section 8.4, as of any particular time, all Securities of that series theretofore authenticated and delivered by the Trustee under this Indenture, except (a) Securities theretofore cancelled by the Trustee or any paying agent, or delivered to the Trustee or any paying agent for cancellation or that have previously been cancelled; (b) Securities or

portions thereof for the payment or redemption of which moneys or Governmental Obligations in the necessary amount shall have been deposited in trust with the Trustee or with any paying agent (other than the Company) or shall have been set aside and segregated in trust by the Company (if the Company shall act as its own paying agent), provided, however, that if such Securities or portions of such Securities are to be redeemed prior to the maturity thereof, notice of such redemption shall have been given as provided in Article III, or provision satisfactory to the Trustee shall have been made for giving such notice; and (c) Securities in lieu of or in substitution for which other Securities shall have been authenticated and delivered pursuant to the terms of Section 2.7.

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

“Predecessor Security” of any particular Security means every previous Security evidencing all or a portion of the same debt as that evidenced by such particular Security; and, for the purposes of this definition, any Security authenticated and delivered under Section 2.7 in lieu of a lost, destroyed or stolen Security shall be deemed to evidence the same debt as the lost, destroyed or stolen Security.

“Regular Record Date” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.3 hereof.

“Responsible Officer” when used with respect to the Trustee means any authorized officer within the Corporate Trust Department (or corresponding department bearing a different name) of the Trustee, including the president, any vice president, trust officer or any other officer of the Trustee who customarily performs functions similar to those performed by the Person who at the time shall be such officers, respectively, or to whom any corporate trust matter is referred because of his or her knowledge of and familiarity with the particular subject and who shall have direct responsibility for the administration of this Indenture.

“Securities” means the debt Securities authenticated and delivered under this Indenture.

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

“Security Register” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.5(b) hereof.

“Security Registrar” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.5(b) hereof.

“Securityholder”, “holder of Securities”, “registered holder”, or other similar term, means the Person or Persons in whose name or names a particular Security shall be registered on the books of the Company kept for that purpose in accordance with the terms of this Indenture.

“Special Record Date” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.3 hereof.

“Subsidiary” means, in respect of any Person, any corporation, association, partnership, limited liability company, or other business entity of which more than 50% of the total voting power of shares of capital stock or other interests (including partnership interests) entitled (without regard to the occurrence of any contingency) to vote in the election of directors, managers or trustees thereof is at the time owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by (a) such Person, (b) such Person and one or more Subsidiaries of such Person or (c) one or more Subsidiaries of such Person.

“Subsidiary Guarantor” means any Subsidiary of the Company that provides a Guarantee of the obligations of the Company with respect to any series of Securities or enters into a Guaranty Agreement that becomes a Subsidiary Guarantor.

“Subsidiary Guarantee” means a Guarantee, including any Guaranty Agreement, provided by a Subsidiary Guarantor of the Company’s obligations with respect to any series of Securities.

“Trustee” means The Bank of New York Mellon and, subject to the provisions of ARTICLE VII, shall also include its successors and assigns and, if at any time there is more than one Person acting in such capacity hereunder, “Trustee” shall mean each such Person. The term “Trustee” as used with respect to a particular series of the Securities shall mean the trustee with respect to that series.

“Trust Indenture Act” means the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended, as in effect at the date of execution of this instrument, subject to the provisions of Section 9.1, Section 9.2, Section 9.6 and Section 10.1.

“United States” and “U.S.” mean the United States of America.

ARTICLE II

ISSUE, DESCRIPTION, TERMS, EXECUTION,
REGISTRATION AND EXCHANGE OF SECURITIES

Section 2.1 Designation and Terms of Securities.

(a) The aggregate principal amount of Securities that may be authenticated and delivered under this Indenture is unlimited. The Securities may be issued in one or more series up to the aggregate principal amount of Securities of that series from time to time authorized by or pursuant to a Board Resolution or pursuant to one or more indentures supplemental hereto. Prior to the initial issuance of Securities of any series, there shall be established in or pursuant to a Board Resolution, and set forth in an Officers’ Certificate, or established in one or more indentures supplemental hereto:

(1) the title of the Security of the series (which shall distinguish the Securities of the series from all other Securities);

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

(3) whether any of the Securities of the series will be issuable in whole or in part in temporary or permanent global form or in the form of book-entry securities and, in such case, the identity of the Depositary for such series;

(4) the date or dates on which the principal of the Securities of the series is payable;

(5) the rate or rates, which may be fixed or variable, at which the Securities of the series shall bear interest or the manner of calculation of such rate or rates, if any;

(6) the date or dates from which such interest shall accrue, the Interest Payment Dates on which such interest will be payable or the manner of determination of such Interest Payment Dates and the record date for the determination of holders to whom interest is payable on any such Interest Payment Dates or the manner of determination of such record dates;

(7) the place or places where payments with respect to the Securities of the series shall be payable;

(8) the right, if any, to defer or extend payment of interest on the debt securities and the maximum length of any deferral or extension period;

(9) the dates, if any, on which, the price or prices at which and the terms and conditions upon which, Securities of the series may be redeemed, in whole or in part, at the option of the Company;

(10) the obligation, if any, of the Company to redeem or purchase Securities of the series pursuant to any sinking fund or analogous provisions (including payments made in cash in satisfaction of future sinking fund obligations) or at the option of a holder thereof and the date or dates, if any, on which, the price or prices at which, and the terms and conditions upon which, Securities of the series shall be redeemed or purchased, in whole or in part, pursuant to such obligation;

(11) if other than denominations of one thousand Dollars ($1,000) or any integral multiple thereof, the denominations in which the Securities of the series shall be issuable;

(12) whether the series of Securities will be subject to any mandatory or optional sinking fund or similar provisions;

(13) the currency or currency units in which payment of the principal of and any premium and interest on the Securities of the series shall be payable;

(14) whether and under what circumstances the Company will pay additional amounts on the Securities of the series held by non-U.S. Persons in respect of any tax, assessment or governmental charge withheld or deducted and, if so, whether the Company will have the option to redeem such Securities rather than pay such additional amounts;

(15) the terms pursuant to which the Securities of the series are subject to defeasance and satisfaction and discharge;

(16) any addition to, or modification or deletion of, any Events of Default or covenants provided for with respect to the Securities of the series;

(17) the terms and conditions, if any, pursuant to which the Securities of the series are secured;

(18) whether the Securities of the series will be convertible into shares of common stock or any other securities of the Company and, if so, the terms and conditions upon which such Securities will be so convertible, including whether conversion is mandatory, at the option of the holder, or at the option of the Company, the conversion price, the conversion period and any provisions pursuant to which the number of shares of common stock or other securities of the Company to be received by the holders of such series of Securities would be subject to adjustment;

(19) if other than the principal amount thereof, the portion of the principal amount of Securities of the series which shall be payable upon declaration of acceleration of the maturity thereof pursuant to Section 6.1;

(20) any provisions granting special rights to holders when a specified event occurs;

(21) any special tax implications of the Securities of the series, including provisions for Original Issue Discount Securities, if offered;

(22) the form of the Securities of the series, including the form of the certificate of authentication for such series; and

(23) any subordination terms of the Securities of the series; and

(24) any and all other terms with respect to such series, including any terms which may be required by or advisable under United States laws or regulations or advisable in connection with the marketing of Securities of that series.

All Securities of any one series shall be substantially identical except as to denomination and except as may otherwise be provided in or pursuant to any such Board Resolution or in any indentures supplemental hereto.

If any of the terms of the series are established by action taken pursuant to a Board Resolution, a copy of an appropriate record of such action shall be certified by the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the Company and delivered to the Trustee at or prior to the delivery of the Officers’ Certificate setting forth the terms of the series.

Securities of any particular series may be issued at various times, with different dates on which the principal or any installment of principal is payable, with different rates of interest, if any, or different methods by which rates of interest may be determined, with different dates on which such interest may be payable and with different redemption dates. Unless otherwise provided, a series may be reopened for issuances of additional Securities of such series.

Section 2.2 Form of Securities and Trustee’s Certificate.

The Securities of any series and the Trustee’s certificate of authentication to be borne by such Securities shall be substantially of the tenor and purport as set forth in one or more indentures supplemental hereto or as provided in a Board Resolution of the Company and as set forth in an Officers’ Certificate and may have such letters, numbers or other marks of identification or designation and such legends or endorsements printed, lithographed or engraved thereon as the Company may deem appropriate and as are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Indenture, or as may be required to comply with any law or with any rule or regulation made pursuant thereto or with any rule or regulation of any stock exchange on which Securities of that series may be listed, or to conform to usage.

Section 2.3 Denominations; Provisions for Payment.

The Securities shall be issuable as registered Securities and in the minimum denominations of one thousand Dollars ($1,000) or any integral multiple thereof, subject to Section 2.1(a)(11). The Securities of a particular series shall bear interest payable on the Interest Payment Dates and at the rate specified with respect to that series. Unless otherwise provided pursuant to Section 2.1, the principal of and the interest on the Securities of any series, as well as any premium thereon in case of early redemption thereof, shall be payable in Dollars, at the office or agency of the Company maintained for that purpose in the United States, unless otherwise specified with respect to any series of Securities, by the Corporate Trust Office of the Trustee. Each Security shall be dated the date of its authentication. Unless otherwise provided pursuant to Section 2.1, interest on the Securities shall be computed on the basis of a 360-day year composed of twelve 30-day months.

The interest installment on any Security that is payable, and is punctually paid or duly provided for, on any Interest Payment Date for Securities of that series shall be paid to the Person in whose name said Security (or one or more Predecessor Securities) is registered at the close of business on the applicable Business Day that is the Regular Record Date for such interest installment. Unless otherwise provided in the terms of a series of Securities, at the option of the Company, payment of interest may be mailed by check to the holders of the Securities of any series at their respective addresses set forth in the Security Register or wired if held in book-entry form at The Depository Trust Company. In the event that any Security of a particular series or portion thereof is called for redemption and the redemption date is subsequent to a Regular Record Date with respect to any Interest Payment Date and on or prior to such Interest Payment Date, interest on such Security will be paid upon presentation and surrender of such Security as provided in Section 3.3.

Any interest on any Security that is payable, but is not punctually paid or duly provided for, on any Interest Payment Date for Securities of the same series (herein called “Defaulted Interest”) shall forthwith cease to be payable to the registered holder on the relevant Regular Record Date by virtue of having been such holder, and such Defaulted Interest shall be paid by the Company, at its election, as provided in clause (1) or clause (2) below:

(1) The Company may make payment of any Defaulted Interest on Securities to the Persons in whose names such Securities (or their respective Predecessor Securities) are registered at the close of business on

the applicable Business Day that is fixed by the Trustee for payment of such Defaulted Interest (a “Special Record Date”), which shall be fixed in the following manner: the Company shall notify the Trustee in writing of the amount of Defaulted Interest proposed to be paid on each such Security and the date of the proposed payment, and at the same time the Company shall deposit with the Trustee an amount of money equal to the aggregate amount proposed to be paid in respect of such Defaulted Interest or shall make arrangements satisfactory to the Trustee for such deposit prior to the date of the proposed payment, such money when deposited to be held in trust for the benefit of the Persons entitled to such Defaulted Interest as in this clause provided. The Trustee shall then fix a Special Record Date for the payment of such Defaulted Interest which shall not be more than 15 or less than 10 days prior to the date of the proposed payment. The Trustee shall promptly notify the Company of such Special Record Date and, in the name and at the expense of the Company, shall cause notice of the proposed payment of such Defaulted Interest and the Special Record Date therefor to be transmitted, to each Securityholder at his or her address as it appears in the Security Register, not less than 10 days prior to such Special Record Date. Notice of the proposed payment of such Defaulted Interest and the Special Record Date therefor having been transmitted as aforesaid, such Defaulted Interest shall be paid to the Persons in whose names such Securities (or their respective Predecessor Securities) are registered on such Special Record Date and shall be no longer payable pursuant to the following clause (2).

(2) The Company may make payment of any Defaulted Interest on any Securities in any other lawful manner not inconsistent with the requirements of any securities exchange on which such Securities may be listed, and upon such notice as may be required by such exchange, if, after notice given by the Company to the Trustee of the proposed payment pursuant to this clause, such manner of payment shall be deemed practicable by the Trustee.

Unless otherwise set forth in a Board Resolution or one or more indentures supplemental hereto establishing the terms of any series of Securities pursuant to Section 2.1 hereof, the term “Regular Record Date”, as used in this Section 2.3, with respect to a series of Securities with respect to any Interest Payment Date for such series shall mean either (i) the fifteenth day of the month immediately preceding the month in which an Interest Payment Date established for such series pursuant to Section 2.1 hereof shall occur, if such Interest Payment Date is the first day of a month, or (ii) the last day of the month immediately preceding the month in which an Interest Payment Date established for such series pursuant to Section 2.1 hereof shall occur, if such Interest Payment Date is the fifteenth day of a month, whether or not such date is a Business Day.

Subject to the foregoing provisions of this Section 2.3, each Security of a series delivered under this Indenture upon transfer of or in exchange for or in lieu of any other Security of such series shall carry the rights to interest accrued and unpaid, and to accrue, that were carried by such other Security.

Section 2.4 Execution and Authentication.

Two Officers shall sign the Securities for the Company by manual or facsimile signature. If an Officer whose signature is on a Security no longer holds that office at the time the Trustee authenticates the Security, the Security shall be valid nevertheless.

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

At any time and from time to time after the execution and delivery of this Indenture, the Company may deliver Securities of any series executed by the Company to the Trustee for authentication, together with a written order of the Company for the authentication and delivery of such Securities, signed by two Officers, and the Trustee shall authenticate and deliver such Securities in accordance with such written order.

In authenticating such Securities and accepting the additional responsibilities under this Indenture in relation to such Securities, the Trustee shall be provided with, and (subject to Section 7.1) shall be fully protected in relying upon, an Opinion of Counsel and an Officers’ Certificate stating that the form and terms thereof have been established in conformity with the provisions of this Indenture.

The Trustee shall not be required to authenticate such Securities if the issue of such Securities pursuant to this Indenture will affect the Trustee’s own rights, duties or immunities under the Securities and this Indenture or otherwise in a manner that is not reasonably acceptable to the Trustee.

Section 2.5 Registration of Transfer and Exchange.

(a) Securities of any series may be exchanged upon presentation thereof at the office or agency of the Company designated for such purpose in the United States, or such other location designated by the Company, for other Securities of such series of authorized denominations, and for a like aggregate principal amount, upon payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge in relation thereto, all as provided in this Section 2.5. In respect of any Securities so surrendered for exchange, the Company shall execute, the Trustee shall authenticate and such office or agency shall deliver in exchange therefor the Security or Securities of the same series that the Securityholder making the exchange shall be entitled to receive, bearing numbers not contemporaneously outstanding.

(b) The Company shall keep, or cause to be kept, at its office or agency designated for such purpose in the United States, or such other location designated by the Company a register or registers (herein referred to as the “Security Register”) in which, subject to such reasonable regulations as it may prescribe, the Company shall register the Securities and the transfers of Securities as provided in this Article and which at all reasonable times shall be open for inspection by the Trustee. Unless otherwise specified in a supplemental indenture, the Trustee is hereby appointed as “Security Registrar” for the purpose of registering the Securities and the transfer of Securities of each series.

Upon surrender for transfer of any Security at the office or agency of the Company designated for such purpose, the Company shall execute, the Trustee shall authenticate and such office or agency shall deliver in the name of the transferee or transferees a new Security or Securities of the same series as the Security presented for a like aggregate principal amount.

All Securities presented or surrendered for exchange or registration of transfer, as provided in this Section 2.5, shall be accompanied (if so required by the Company or the Security Registrar) by a written instrument or instruments of transfer, in form satisfactory to the Company or the Security Registrar, duly executed by the registered holder or by such holder’s duly authorized attorney in writing.

(c) Except as provided pursuant to Section 2.1 pursuant to a Board Resolution, and set forth in an Officer’s Certificate, or established in one or more indentures supplemental to this Indenture, no service charge shall be made for any exchange or registration of transfer of Securities, or issue of new Securities in case of partial redemption of any series or repurchase, conversion or exchange of less than the entire principal amount of a Security, but the Company may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge in relation thereto, other than exchanges pursuant to Section 2.6, Section 3.3(b) and Section 9.4 not involving any transfer.

(d) The Company shall not be required (i) to issue, exchange or register the transfer of any Securities during a period beginning at the opening of business 15 days before the day of the mailing of a notice of redemption of less than all the Outstanding Securities of the same series and ending at the close of business on the day of such mailing, nor (ii) to register the transfer of or exchange any Securities of any series or portions thereof called for redemption except the unredeemed portion of any Securities of any series being redeemed in part. The provisions of this Section 2.5 are, with respect to any Global Security, subject to Section 2.11 hereof.

Section 2.6 Temporary Securities.

Pending the preparation of definitive Securities of any series, the Company may execute, and the Trustee shall authenticate and deliver, temporary Securities (printed, lithographed or typewritten) of any authorized denomination. Such temporary Securities shall be substantially in the form of the definitive Securities in lieu of which they are issued, but with such omissions, insertions and variations as may be appropriate for temporary

Securities, all as may be determined by the Company. Every temporary Security of any series shall be executed by the Company and be authenticated by the Trustee upon the same conditions and in substantially the same manner, and with like effect, as the definitive Securities of such series. Without unnecessary delay, the Company will execute and will furnish definitive Securities of such series, and thereupon any or all temporary Securities of such series may be surrendered in exchange therefor (without charge to the holders), at the office or agency of the Company designated for the purpose, and the Trustee shall authenticate and such office or agency shall deliver in exchange for such temporary Securities an equal aggregate principal amount of definitive Securities of such series, unless the Company advises the Trustee to the effect that definitive Securities need not be executed and furnished until further notice from the Company. Until so exchanged, the temporary Securities of such series shall be entitled to the same benefits under this Indenture as definitive Securities of such series authenticated and delivered hereunder.

Section 2.7 Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Securities.

In case any temporary or definitive Security shall become mutilated or be destroyed, lost or stolen, the Company (subject to the next succeeding sentence) shall execute, and upon the Company’s request the Trustee (subject as aforesaid) shall authenticate and deliver, a new Security of the same series, bearing a number not contemporaneously outstanding, in exchange and substitution for the mutilated Security, or in lieu of and in substitution for the Security so destroyed, lost or stolen. In every case the applicant for a substituted Security shall furnish to the Company and the Trustee such security or indemnity as may be required by them to save each of them harmless and, in every case of destruction, loss or theft, the applicant shall also furnish to the Company and the Trustee evidence to their satisfaction of the destruction, loss or theft of the applicant’s Security and of the ownership thereof. The Trustee may authenticate any such substituted Security and deliver the same upon the written request or authorization of any Officer. Upon the issuance of any substituted Security, the Company may require the payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge that may be imposed in relation thereto and any other expenses (including the fees and expenses of the Trustee) connected therewith. In case any Security that has matured or is about to mature shall become mutilated or be destroyed, lost or stolen, the Company may, instead of issuing a substitute Security, pay or authorize the payment of the same (without surrender thereof, except in the case of a mutilated Security) if the applicant for such payment shall furnish to the Company and the Trustee such security or indemnity as they may require to save each of them harmless and, in case of destruction, loss or theft, evidence to the satisfaction of the Company and the Trustee of the destruction, loss or theft of such Security and of the ownership thereof.

Every replacement Security issued pursuant to the provisions of this Section 2.7 shall constitute an additional contractual obligation of the Company, whether or not the mutilated, destroyed, lost or stolen Security shall be found at any time, or be enforceable by anyone, and shall be entitled to all the benefits of this Indenture equally and proportionately with any and all other Securities of the same series duly issued hereunder. All Securities shall be held and owned upon the express condition that the foregoing provisions are exclusive with respect to the replacement or payment of mutilated, destroyed, lost or stolen Securities, and shall preclude (to the extent lawful) any and all other rights or remedies, notwithstanding any law or statute existing or hereafter enacted to the contrary with respect to the replacement or payment of negotiable instruments or other securities without their surrender.

Section 2.8 Cancellation.

All Securities surrendered for the purpose of payment, redemption, exchange or registration of transfer shall, if surrendered to the Company or any paying agent, be delivered to the Trustee for cancellation or, if surrendered to the Trustee, shall be cancelled by it, and no Securities shall be issued in lieu thereof except as expressly required or permitted by any of the provisions of this Indenture. On request of the Company at the time of such surrender, the Trustee shall deliver to the Company any cancelled Securities held by the Trustee. In the absence of such request, the Trustee may dispose of cancelled Securities in accordance with its standard procedures and deliver a certificate of disposition to the Company upon its request therefor. If the Company shall otherwise acquire any of the Securities, however, such acquisition shall not operate as a redemption or satisfaction of the indebtedness represented by such Securities unless and until the same are delivered to the Trustee for cancellation.

Section 2.9 Benefits of Indenture.

Nothing in this Indenture or in the Securities, express or implied, shall give or be construed to give to any Person, other than the parties hereto and the holders of the Securities (and, if the Securities of a series are subordinated to any other indebtedness of the Company pursuant to the terms of a supplemental indenture hereto, the holders of the senior indebtedness designated in such supplemental indenture with respect to the applicable series), any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of this Indenture, or under any covenant, condition or provision herein contained, all such covenants, conditions and provisions being for the sole benefit of the parties hereto and of the holders of the Securities (and the holders of any such senior indebtedness with respect to the applicable series).

Section 2.10 Authenticating Agent.

So long as any of the Securities of any series remain Outstanding there may be an Authenticating Agent for any or all such series of Securities which the Trustee, with the written consent of the Company, shall have the right to appoint. Said Authenticating Agent shall be authorized to act on behalf of the Trustee to authenticate Securities of such series issued upon original issuance thereof, exchange, transfer or partial redemption thereof, and Securities so authenticated shall be entitled to the benefits of this Indenture and shall be valid and obligatory for all purposes as if authenticated by the Trustee hereunder. All references in this Indenture to the authentication of Securities by the Trustee shall be deemed to include authentication by an Authenticating Agent for such series. Each Authenticating Agent shall be a corporation that has a combined capital and surplus, as most recently reported or determined by it, sufficient under the laws of any jurisdiction under which it is organized or in which it is doing business to conduct a trust business, and that is otherwise authorized under such laws to conduct such business and is subject to supervision or examination by Federal or State authorities. If at any time any Authenticating Agent shall cease to be eligible in accordance with these provisions, it shall resign immediately.

Any Authenticating Agent may at any time resign by giving written notice of resignation to the Trustee and to the Company. The Trustee may at any time (and upon request by the Company shall) terminate the agency of any Authenticating Agent by giving written notice of termination to such Authenticating Agent and to the Company. Upon resignation, termination or cessation of eligibility of any Authenticating Agent, the Trustee may appoint an eligible successor Authenticating Agent acceptable to the Company. Any successor Authenticating Agent, upon acceptance of its appointment hereunder, shall become vested with all the rights, powers and duties of its predecessor hereunder as if originally named as an Authenticating Agent pursuant hereto.

Section 2.11 Global Securities.

(a) If the Company shall establish pursuant to Section 2.1 that the Securities of a particular series are issuable as a Global Security, then the Company shall execute and the Trustee shall, in accordance with Section 2.4, authenticate and deliver, a Global Security that (i) shall represent, and shall be denominated in an amount equal to the aggregate principal amount of, such of the Outstanding Securities of such series as shall be specified therein and that the aggregate amount of Outstanding Securities represented thereby may from time to time be increased or reduced to reflect exchanges, (ii) shall be registered in the name of the Depositary or its nominee, (iii) shall be delivered by the Trustee to the Depositary or pursuant to the Depositary’s instruction and (iv) shall bear a legend substantially to the following effect: “Except as otherwise provided in Section 2.11 of the Indenture, this Security may be transferred, in whole but not in part, only to another nominee of the Depositary or to a successor Depositary or to a nominee of such successor Depositary.” Any endorsement of a Security in global form to reflect the amount, or any increase or decrease in the amount, of Outstanding Securities represented thereby shall be made by the Trustee in such manner and upon instructions given by such Person or Persons as shall be specified therein or in the written request signed in the name of the Company, by two Officers thereof to be delivered to the Trustee pursuant to Section 2.4 or Section 2.6.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 2.5, the Global Security of a series may be transferred, in whole but not in part, and in the manner provided in Section 2.5, only to another nominee of the Depositary for such series, or to a successor Depositary for such series selected or approved by the Company or to a nominee of such successor Depositary.

(c) If at any time the Depositary for a series of the Securities notifies the Company that it is unwilling or unable to continue as Depositary for such series or if at any time the Depositary for such series shall no longer be registered or in good standing under the Exchange Act, or other applicable statute or regulation, and a successor Depositary for such series is not appointed by the Company within 90 days after the Company receives such notice or becomes aware of such condition, as the case may be, this Section 2.11 shall no longer be applicable to the Securities of such series and the Company will execute, and subject to Section 2.5, the Trustee will authenticate and deliver the Securities of such series in definitive registered form without coupons, in authorized denominations, and in an aggregate principal amount equal to the principal amount of the Global Security of such series in exchange for such Global Security. In addition, the Company may at any time determine that the Securities of any series shall no longer be represented by a Global Security and that the provisions of this Section 2.11 shall no longer apply to the Securities of such series. In such event the Company will execute and subject to Section 2.5, the Trustee, upon receipt of an Officers’ Certificate evidencing such determination by the Company, will authenticate and deliver the Securities of such series in definitive registered form without coupons, in authorized denominations, and in an aggregate principal amount equal to the principal amount of the Global Security of such series in exchange for such Global Security. Upon the exchange of the Global Security for such Securities in definitive registered form without coupons, in authorized denominations, the Global Security shall be cancelled by the Trustee. Such Securities in definitive registered form issued in exchange for the Global Security pursuant to this Section 2.11(c) shall be registered in such names and in such authorized denominations as the Depositary, pursuant to instructions from its direct or indirect participants or otherwise, shall instruct the Trustee. The Trustee shall deliver such Securities to the Depositary for delivery to the Persons in whose names such Securities are so registered.

Section 2.12 No Obligation of the Trustee.

(a) The Trustee shall have no responsibility or obligation to any beneficial owner of a Global Security, a member of, or a participant in, the Depositary or other Person with respect to the accuracy of the records of the Depositary or its nominee or of any participant or member thereof, with respect to any ownership interest in the Securities or with respect to the delivery to any participant, member, beneficial owner or other Person (other than the Depositary) of any notice (including any notice of redemption) or the payment of any amount or delivery of any Securities (or other security or property) under or with respect to such Securities. All notices and communications to be given to the Securityholders and all payments to be made to Securityholders in respect of the Securities shall be given or made only to or upon the order of the registered Securityholder or Securityholders (which shall be the Depositary or its nominee in the case of a Global Security). The rights of beneficial owners in any Global Security shall be exercised only through the Depositary, subject to the applicable rules and procedures of the Depositary. The Trustee may rely and shall be fully protected in relying upon information furnished by the Depositary with respect to its members, participants and any beneficial owners.

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

ARTICLE III

REDEMPTION OF SECURITIES AND SINKING FUND PROVISIONS

Section 3.1 Redemption.

The Company may redeem the Securities of any series issued hereunder on and after the dates and in accordance with the terms established for such series pursuant to Section 2.1 hereof.

Section 3.2 Notice of Redemption.

(a) In case the Company shall desire to exercise such right to redeem all or, as the case may be, a portion of the Securities of any series in accordance with the right reserved in such Securities so to do, the Company shall, or shall cause the Trustee to, give notice of such redemption to holders of the Securities of such series to be redeemed by sending electronically or by mailing, first class postage prepaid, a notice of such redemption not less than 30 days and not more than 60 days before the date fixed for redemption of that series to such holders at their last addresses as they shall appear upon the Security Register, unless a shorter period is specified in the Securities to be redeemed. Any notice that is sent in the manner herein provided shall be conclusively presumed to have been duly given, whether or not the registered holder receives the notice. In any case, failure to duly give such notice to the holder of any Security of any series designated for redemption in whole or in part, or any defect in the notice, shall not affect the validity of the proceedings for the redemption of any other Securities of such series or any other series. In the case of any redemption of Securities prior to the expiration of any restriction on such redemption provided in the terms of such Securities or elsewhere in this Indenture, the Company shall furnish the Trustee with an Officers’ Certificate evidencing compliance with any such restriction.

Each such notice of redemption shall specify the date fixed for redemption and the redemption price (or the manner of calculation thereof) at which Securities of that series are to be redeemed, and shall state that payment of the redemption price of such Securities to be redeemed will be made at the office or agency of the Company in the United States, upon presentation and surrender of such Securities, that interest accrued to the date fixed for redemption will be paid as specified in said notice, that from and after said date interest will cease to accrue and that the redemption is for a sinking fund, if such is the case. If less than all the Securities of a series are to be redeemed, the notice to the holders of Securities of that series to be redeemed in whole or in part shall specify the amount of Securities to be so redeemed.

(b) If less than all the Securities of a series are to be redeemed, the Securities to be redeemed shall be selected by the Trustee on a pro rata basis, by lot or in accordance with any other method as the Trustee shall deem appropriate, or, if the Securities to be redeemed are held in global form, in accordance with the procedures of the Depositary. The portion of the principal amount of Securities so selected for partial redemption shall be equal to the minimum authorized denomination for Securities of that series or any integral multiple thereof.

Unless otherwise provided in the applicable supplemental indenture, the Company shall not be required to issue, register the transfer of, or exchange any Securities of a series that are subject to redemption during a period beginning at the opening of business 15 days before the day of mailing of a notice of redemption of less than all of that series of Securities that may be selected for redemption and ending at the close of business on the day of such mailing.

The Company may, if and whenever it shall so elect, by delivery of instructions signed on its behalf by any Officer, instruct the Trustee or any paying agent to call all or any part of the Securities of a particular series for redemption and to give notice of redemption in the manner set forth in this Section 3.2, such notice to be in the name of the Company or its own name, as the Trustee or such paying agent may deem advisable. In any case in which notice of redemption is to be given by the Trustee or any such paying agent, the Company shall deliver or cause to be delivered to, or permit to remain with, the Trustee or such paying agent, as the case may be, such Security Register, transfer books or other records, or suitable copies or extracts therefrom, sufficient to enable the Trustee or such paying agent to give any notice by mail that may be required under this Section 3.2.

Section 3.3 Payment Upon Redemption.

(a) If the giving of notice of redemption shall have been completed as above provided, the Securities or portions of Securities of the series to be redeemed specified in such notice shall become due and payable on the date and at the place stated in such notice at the applicable redemption price, together with interest accrued to but excluding the date fixed for redemption. Interest on such Securities or portions of Securities shall cease to accrue on and after the date fixed for redemption, unless the Company shall default in the payment of such redemption price and accrued interest with respect to any such Security or portion thereof. On presentation and surrender of such

Securities on or after the date fixed for redemption at the place of payment specified in the notice, said Securities shall be paid and redeemed at the applicable redemption price for such series, together with interest accrued thereon to but excluding the date fixed for redemption. However, if the date fixed for redemption is subsequent to a Regular Record Date with respect to any Interest Payment Date and on or prior to such Interest Payment Date, the interest installment payable on such date shall be payable to the registered holder at the close of business on the applicable Regular Record Date pursuant to Section 2.3.

(b) Upon presentation of any Security of such series that is to be redeemed in part only, the Company shall execute and the Trustee shall authenticate and the office or agency where the Security is presented shall deliver to the holder thereof, at the expense of the Company, a new Security of the same series of authorized denominations in principal amount equal to the unredeemed portion of the Security so presented.

Section 3.4 Sinking Fund.

The provisions of Section 3.4, Section 3.5 and Section 3.6 shall be applicable to any sinking fund for the retirement of Securities of a series, except as otherwise specified as contemplated by Section 2.1 for Securities of such series.

The minimum amount of any sinking fund payment provided for by the terms of Securities of any series is herein referred to as a “mandatory sinking fund payment”, and any payment in excess of such minimum amount provided for by the terms of Securities of any series is herein referred to as an “optional sinking fund payment”. If provided for by the terms of Securities of any series, the cash amount of any sinking fund payment may be subject to reduction as provided in Section 3.5. Each sinking fund payment shall be applied to the redemption of Securities of any series as provided for by the terms of Securities of such series.

Section 3.5 Satisfaction of Sinking Fund Payments with Securities.

The Company (i) may deliver Outstanding Securities of a series (other than any Securities previously called for redemption) and (ii) may apply as a credit Securities of a series that have been redeemed either at the election of the Company pursuant to the terms of such Securities or through the application of permitted optional sinking fund payments pursuant to the terms of such Securities, in each case in satisfaction of all or any part of any sinking fund payment with respect to the Securities of such series required to be made pursuant to the terms of such Securities as provided for by the terms of such series, provided that such Securities have not been previously so credited. Such Securities shall be received and credited for such purpose by the Trustee at the redemption price specified in such Securities for redemption through operation of the sinking fund and the amount of such sinking fund payment shall be reduced accordingly.

Section 3.6 Redemption of Securities for Sinking Fund.

Not less than 45 days prior to each sinking fund payment date for any series of Securities (unless a shorter period shall be satisfactory to the Trustee), the Company will deliver to the Trustee an Officers’ Certificate specifying the amount of the next ensuing sinking fund payment for that series pursuant to the terms of the series, the portion thereof, if any, that is to be satisfied by delivering and crediting Securities of that series pursuant to Section 3.5 and the basis for such credit and will, together with such Officers’ Certificate, deliver to the Trustee any Securities to be so delivered. Not less than 30 days before each such sinking fund payment date, the Securities to be redeemed shall be selected upon such sinking fund payment date in the manner specified in Section 3.2. The Company shall cause notice of the redemption thereof to be given in the name of and at the expense of the Company in the manner provided in Section 3.2. Such notice having been duly given, the redemption of such Securities shall be made upon the terms and in the manner stated in Section 3.3.

ARTICLE IV

CERTAIN COVENANTS

Section 4.1 Payment of Principal, Premium and Interest.

The Company will duly and punctually pay or cause to be paid the principal of and any premium and interest on the Securities of that series at the time and place and in the manner provided herein and established with respect to such Securities.

Section 4.2 Maintenance of Office or Agency.

So long as any series of the Securities remain Outstanding, the Company agrees to maintain an office or agency in the United States with respect to each such series, where (i) Securities of that series may be presented for payment, (ii) Securities of that series may be presented as hereinabove authorized for registration of transfer and exchange and (iii) notices and demands to or upon the Company in respect of the Securities of that series and this Indenture may be given or served, such designation to continue with respect to such office or agency until the Company shall, by written notice signed by an Officer and delivered to the Trustee, designate some other office or agency for such purposes or any of them. If at any time the Company shall fail to maintain any such required office or agency or shall fail to furnish the Trustee with the address thereof, such presentations, notices and demands may be made or served at the Corporate Trust Office of the Trustee, and the Company hereby appoints the Trustee as its agent to receive all such presentations, notices and demands. The Company initially appoints the Corporate Trust Office of the Trustee as its paying agent with respect to the Securities.

Section 4.3 Paying Agents.

(a) If the Company shall appoint one or more paying agents for all or any series of the Securities, other than the Trustee, the Company will cause each such paying agent to execute and deliver to the Trustee an instrument in which such agent shall agree with the Trustee, subject to the provisions of this Section 4.3:

(1) that it will hold all sums held by it as such agent for the payment of the principal of and any premium or interest on the Securities of that series (whether such sums have been paid to it by the Company or by any other obligor of such Securities) in trust for the benefit of the Persons entitled thereto;

(2) that it will give the Trustee notice of any failure by the Company (or by any other obligor of such Securities) to make any payment of the principal of and any premium or interest on the Securities of that series when the same shall be due and payable;

(3) that it will, at any time during the continuance of any failure referred to in the preceding paragraph (a)(2) above, upon the written request of the Trustee, forthwith pay to the Trustee all sums so held in trust by such paying agent; and

(4) that it will perform all other duties of paying agent as set forth in this Indenture.

(b) If the Company shall act as its own paying agent with respect to any series of the Securities, it shall on or before each due date of the principal of and any premium or interest on Securities of that series, set aside, segregate and hold in trust for the benefit of the Persons entitled thereto, a sum sufficient to pay such principal and any premium or interest so becoming due on Securities of that series until such sums shall be paid to such Persons or otherwise disposed of as herein provided, and will promptly notify the Trustee of such action, or any failure (by it or any other obligor on such Securities) to take such action. Whenever the Company shall have one or more paying agents for any series of Securities, it will, prior to each due date of the principal of and any premium or interest on any Securities of that series, deposit with the paying agent a sum sufficient to pay the principal and any premium or interest so becoming due, such sum to be held in trust for the benefit of the Persons entitled to such principal, premium or interest, and (unless such paying agent is the Trustee) the Company shall promptly notify the Trustee of this action or failure so to act.

(c) Notwithstanding anything in this Section 4.3 to the contrary, (i) the agreement to hold sums in trust as provided in this Section is subject to the provisions of Section 11.5 and (ii) the Company may at any time, for the purpose of obtaining the satisfaction and discharge of this Indenture or for any other purpose, pay, or direct any paying agent to pay, to the Trustee all sums held in trust by the Company or such paying agent, such sums to be held by the Trustee upon the same terms and conditions as those upon which such sums were held by the Company or such paying agent. Upon such payment by any paying agent to the Trustee, such paying agent shall be released from all further liability with respect to such money.

Section 4.4 Appointment to Fill Vacancy in Office of Trustee.

The Company, whenever necessary to avoid or fill a vacancy in the office of Trustee, will appoint, in the manner provided in Section 7.10, a Trustee, so that there shall at all times be a Trustee hereunder.

Section 4.5 Compliance with Consolidation Provisions.

The Company will not, while any of the Securities remain Outstanding, consolidate with, or merge into, or merge into itself, or sell or convey all or substantially all of its property to any other company unless the provisions of Article X hereof are complied with.

Section 4.6 Statement by Officers as to Default.

The Company will deliver to the Trustee, within 120 days after the end of each fiscal year of the Company ending after the date hereof, an Officers’ Certificate signed by its vice-chairman & chief executive officer, the co-president & chief financial officer, the co-president & chief operating officer or principal accounting officer stating whether or not to the best knowledge of the signer thereof, the Company is in default in the performance or observance of any of the terms, provisions and conditions of this Indenture, and if the Company shall be in default, specifying all such defaults and the nature and status thereof of which they may have knowledge.

ARTICLE V

SECURITYHOLDERS’ LISTS AND REPORTS
BY THE COMPANY AND THE TRUSTEE

Section 5.1 Company to Furnish Names and Addresses of Securityholders to Trustee.

The Company will furnish or cause to be furnished to the Trustee (a) within 15 days after each Regular Record Date (as defined in Section 2.3) a list, in such form as the Trustee may reasonably require, of the names and addresses of the holders of each series of Securities as of such Regular Record Date, provided that the Company shall not be obligated to furnish or cause to furnish such list at any time that the list shall not differ in any respect from the most recent list furnished to the Trustee by the Company and (b) at such other times as the Trustee may request in writing within 30 days after the receipt by the Company of any such request, a list of similar form and content as of a date not more than 15 days prior to the time such list is furnished, provided, however, that, in either case, no such list need be furnished for any series of Securities for which the Trustee shall be the Security Registrar.

Section 5.2 Preservation of Information; Communications with Securityholders.

(a) The Trustee shall preserve, in as current a form as is reasonably practicable, all information as to the names and addresses of the holders of Securities contained in the most recent list furnished to it as provided in Section 5.1 and as to the names and addresses of holders of Securities received by the Trustee in its capacity as Security Registrar (if acting in such capacity).

(b) The Trustee may destroy any list furnished to it as provided in Section 5.1 upon receipt of a new list so furnished.

(c) Securityholders may communicate as provided in Section 312(b) of the Trust Indenture Act with other Securityholders with respect to their rights under this Indenture or under the Securities. The Company, the Trustee, the Security Registrar and anyone else shall have the protection of Section 312(c) of the Trust Indenture Act with respect to the sending of any material pursuant to a request made pursuant to Section 312(b) of the Trust Indenture Act.

Section 5.3 Reports by the Company.

(a) The Company covenants and agrees to file with the Trustee (unless such reports have been filed on the Commission’s Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system), within 15 days after the Company files the same with the Commission, copies of the annual reports and of the information, documents and other reports (or copies of such portions of any of the foregoing as the Commission may from time to time by rules and regulations prescribe) that the Company may be required to file with the Commission pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act, provided, however, the Company shall not be required to deliver to the Trustee any correspondence filed with the Commission or any materials for which the Company has sought and received confidential treatment by the Commission. If the Company is no longer required to file information, documents or reports pursuant to either of such sections of the Exchange Act, the Company shall continue to provide the Trustee with reports containing substantially the same information as would have been required to be filed with the Securities Exchange Commission had the Company continued to have been subject to such reporting requirements. In such event, such reports shall be provided to the Trustee within 15 days after the dates applicable to a registrant that is not an accelerated filer or a large accelerated filer on which the Company would have been required to provide reports to the Commission had it continued to have been subject to such reporting requirements. For the avoidance of doubt, the Company shall also comply with the other provisions of Section 314(a) of the Trust Indenture Act. For the avoidance of doubt, a failure by the Company to file annual reports, information and other reports with the Commission within the time period prescribed thereof by the Commission shall not be deemed a breach of this Section 5.3.

(b) The Company covenants and agrees to file with the Trustee and the Commission, in accordance with the rules and regulations prescribed from to time by the Commission, such additional information, documents and reports with respect to compliance by the Company with the conditions and covenants provided for in this Indenture as may be required from time to time by such rules and regulations.

(c) The Company covenants and agrees to transmit electronically or by mail, first class postage prepaid, or reputable over-night delivery service that provides for evidence of receipt, to the Securityholders, as their names and addresses appear upon the Security Register, within 30 days after the filing thereof with the Trustee, such summaries of any information, documents and reports required to be filed by the Company pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this Section 5.3 as may be required by rules and regulations prescribed from time to time by the Commission.

Section 5.4 Reports by the Trustee.

(a) If required by Section 313(a) of the Trust Indenture Act, the Trustee, within sixty (60) days after each May 1, shall send to the Securityholders a brief report dated as of such May 1, which complies with Section 313(a) of the Trust Indenture Act

(b) The Trustee shall comply with Sections 313(b) and 313(c) of the Trust Indenture Act.

(c) A copy of each such report shall, at the time of such transmission to Securityholders, be filed by the Trustee with the Company, with each stock exchange upon which any Securities are listed (if so listed) and also with the Commission. The Company agrees to notify the Trustee when any Securities become listed on any stock exchange.

ARTICLE VI

REMEDIES OF THE TRUSTEE AND SECURITYHOLDERS
ON EVENT OF DEFAULT

Section 6.1 Events of Default.

(a) Whenever used herein with respect to Securities of a particular series, “Event of Default” means any one or more of the following events that has occurred and is continuing:

(1) the Company defaults in the payment of any installment of interest upon any of the Securities of that series, as and when the same shall become due and payable, and continuance of such default for a period of 30 days, provided, however, that a valid extension of an interest payment period by the Company in accordance with the terms of any indenture supplemental hereto, shall not constitute a default in the payment of interest for this purpose;

(2) the Company defaults in the payment of the principal of (or any premium on) any of the Securities of that series as and when the same shall become due and payable whether at maturity, upon redemption, by declaration or otherwise, or (b) in any payment required by any sinking or analogous fund established with respect to that series, whether or not, in the case that such series is subordinated to any other indebtedness of the Company pursuant to the terms of the supplemental indenture hereto, such payment is prohibited by such supplemental indenture, provided, however, that a valid extension of the maturity of such Securities in accordance with the terms of any indenture supplemental hereto, shall not constitute a default in the payment of principal or any premium for this purpose;

(3) the Company fails to observe or perform any other of its covenants or agreements with respect to that series contained in this Indenture or otherwise established with respect to that series of Securities pursuant to Section 2.1 hereof (other than a covenant or agreement that has been expressly included in this Indenture solely for the benefit of one or more series of Securities other than such series) for a period of 60 days after the date on which written notice of such failure, requiring the same to be remedied and stating that such notice is a “Notice of Default” hereunder, shall have been given in writing to the Company by the Trustee, or to the Company and the Trustee by the holders of at least 25% in principal amount of the Securities of that series at the time Outstanding;

(4) the Company pursuant to or within the meaning of any Bankruptcy Law (i) commences a voluntary case, (ii) consents to the entry of an order for relief against it in an involuntary case, (iii) consents to the appointment of a Custodian of it or for all or substantially all of its property or (iv) makes a general assignment for the benefit of its creditors;

(5) a court of competent jurisdiction enters an order under any Bankruptcy Law that (i) is for relief against the Company in an involuntary case, (ii) appoints a Custodian of the Company for all or substantially all of its property or (iii) orders the liquidation of the Company and, in each such case, the order or decree remains unstayed and in effect for 90 days; or

(6) any other Event of Default provided with respect to Securities of that series.

(b) In each and every such case (other than an Event of Default specified in clauses (5) or (6) above), unless the principal of all the Securities of that series shall have already become due and payable, either the Trustee or the holders of not less than 25% in aggregate principal amount of the Securities of that series then Outstanding hereunder, by notice in writing to the Company (and to the Trustee, if given by such Securityholders), may declare the principal (or, if the Securities of such series are Original Issue Discount Securities, such portion of the principal amount as may be specified in the terms of such series) of, any premium and any accrued interest on all the Securities of that series to be due and payable immediately, and upon any such declaration the same shall become

and shall be immediately due and payable, notwithstanding anything contained in this Indenture or in the Securities of that series or established with respect to that series pursuant to Section 2.1 to the contrary. If an Event of Default specified in clauses (5) or (6) above occurs, all unpaid principal (or, if the Securities of such series are Original Issue Discount Securities, such portion of the principal amount as may be specified in the terms of such series) of, any premium and any accrued interest, on, all the Securities of that series then outstanding will become automatically due and payable immediately, without any declaration or other act on the part of the Trustee or any holder.

(c) At any time after the principal of the Securities of that series shall have been so declared due and payable, and before any judgment or decree for the payment of the moneys due shall have been obtained or entered as hereinafter provided, the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the Securities of that series then Outstanding hereunder, by written notice to the Company and the Trustee, may rescind and annul such declaration and its consequences if: (i) the Company has paid or deposited with the Trustee a sum sufficient to pay all matured installments of interest upon all the Securities of that series and the principal of (and any premium on) any and all Securities of that series that shall have become due otherwise than by acceleration (with interest upon such principal and any premium and, to the extent that such payment is enforceable under applicable law, upon overdue installments of interest, at the rate per annum expressed in the Securities of that series (or at the respective rates of interest of all the Securities, as the case may be) to the date of such payment or deposit) and any amount payable to the Trustee under Section 7.6, and (ii) any and all Events of Default under the Indenture with respect to such series, other than the non-payment of principal, any premium or interest on Securities of that series that (or, if any Securities are Original Issue Discount Securities, such portion of the principal as may be specified in the terms thereof) shall not have become due by their terms, shall have been remedied or waived as provided in Section 6.6.

No such rescission and annulment shall extend to or shall affect any subsequent default or impair any right consequent thereon.

(d) In case the Trustee shall have proceeded to enforce any right with respect to Securities of that series under this Indenture and such proceedings shall have been discontinued or abandoned because of such rescission or annulment or for any other reason or shall have been determined adversely to the Trustee, then and in every such case, the Company and the Trustee shall be restored respectively to their former positions and rights hereunder, and all rights, remedies and powers of the Company and the Trustee shall continue as though no such proceedings had been taken.

Section 6.2 Collection of Indebtedness and Suits for Enforcement by Trustee.

(a) The Company covenants that (i) in case it shall default in the payment of any installment of interest on any of the Securities of a series, or any payment required by any sinking or analogous fund established with respect to that series as and when the same shall have become due and payable, and such default shall have continued for a period of 30 days, or (ii) in case it shall default in the payment of the principal of (or any premium on) any of the Securities of a series when the same shall have become due and payable, whether upon maturity of the Securities of a series or upon redemption or upon declaration or otherwise then, upon demand of the Trustee, the Company will pay to the Trustee, for the benefit of the holders of the Securities of that series, the whole amount that then shall have been become due and payable on all such Securities for principal (and any premium) or interest, or both, as the case may be, with interest upon the overdue principal (and any premium) and (to the extent that payment of such interest is enforceable under applicable law) upon overdue installments of interest at the rate per annum expressed in the Securities of that series and, in addition thereto, such further amount as shall be sufficient to cover the reasonable costs and expenses of collection, and the amount payable to the Trustee under Section 7.6.

(b) If the Company shall fail to pay such amounts forthwith upon such demand, the Trustee, in its own name and as trustee of an express trust, shall be entitled and empowered to institute any action or proceedings at law or in equity for the collection of the sums so due and unpaid, and may prosecute any such action or proceeding to judgment or final decree, and may enforce any such judgment or final decree against the Company or other obligor upon the Securities of that series and collect the moneys adjudged or decreed to be payable in the manner provided by law out of the property of the Company or other obligor upon the Securities of that series, wherever situated.

(c) In case of any receivership, insolvency, liquidation, bankruptcy, reorganization, readjustment, arrangement, composition or judicial proceedings affecting the Company, or its creditors or property, the Trustee shall have power to intervene in such proceedings and take any action therein that may be permitted by the court and shall (except as may be otherwise provided by law) be entitled to file such proofs of claim and other papers and documents as may be necessary or advisable in order to have the claims of the Trustee and of the holders of Securities of such series allowed for the entire amount due and payable by the Company under this Indenture at the date of institution of such proceedings and for any additional amount that may become due and payable by the Company after such date, and to collect and receive any moneys or other property payable or deliverable on any such claim, and to distribute the same after the deduction of the amount payable to the Trustee under Section 7.6. Any receiver, assignee or trustee in bankruptcy or reorganization is hereby authorized by each of the holders of Securities of such series to make such payments to the Trustee and, in the event that the Trustee shall consent to the making of such payments directly to such Securityholders, to pay to the Trustee any amount due it under Section 7.6.

(d) All rights of action and of asserting claims under this Indenture, or under any of the terms established with respect to Securities of that series, may be enforced by the Trustee without the possession of any of such Securities, or the production thereof at any trial or other proceeding relating thereto, and any such suit or proceeding instituted by the Trustee shall be brought in its own name as trustee of an express trust, and any recovery of judgment shall, after provision for payment to the Trustee of any amounts due under Section 7.6, be for the ratable benefit of the holders of the Securities of such series.

In case of an Event of Default hereunder, the Trustee may, in its discretion, proceed to protect and enforce the rights vested in it by this Indenture by such appropriate judicial proceedings as the Trustee shall deem most effective to protect and enforce any of such rights, either at law or in equity or in bankruptcy or otherwise, whether for the specific enforcement of any covenant or agreement contained in the Indenture or in aid of the exercise of any power granted in this Indenture, or to enforce any other legal or equitable right vested in the Trustee by this Indenture or by law.

Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to authorize the Trustee to authorize or consent to or accept or adopt on behalf of any Securityholder any plan of reorganization, arrangement, adjustment or composition affecting the Securities of that series or the rights of any holder thereof or to authorize the Trustee to vote in respect of the claim of any Securityholder in any such proceeding.

Section 6.3 Application of Moneys Collected.

Any moneys collected by the Trustee pursuant to this Article with respect to a particular series of Securities shall be applied in the following order, at the date or dates fixed by the Trustee and, in case of the distribution of such moneys on account of principal (or any premium) or interest (upon presentation of the Securities of that series and notation thereon the payment if only partially paid) and upon surrender thereof (if fully paid):

FIRST: To the payment of costs and expenses of collection and of all amounts payable to the Trustee under Section 7.6;

SECOND: If the Securities of such series are subordinated to any other indebtedness of the Company pursuant to the terms of the supplemental indenture hereto, to the payment of all senior indebtedness of the Company designated in such supplemental indenture if and to the extent required by such supplemental indenture; and

THIRD: To the payment of the amounts then due and unpaid upon the Securities of such series for principal and any premium and interest, in respect of which or for the benefit of which such money has been collected, ratably, without preference or priority of any kind, according to the amounts due and payable on such Securities for principal and any premium and interest, respectively.

Section 6.4 Limitation on Suits.

No holder of a Security of any series shall have any right by virtue or by availing of any provision of this Indenture to institute any suit, action or proceeding in equity or at law upon or under or with respect to this Indenture or for the appointment of a receiver or trustee, or for any other remedy hereunder, unless (i) such holder previously shall have given to the Trustee written notice of an Event of Default and of the continuance thereof with respect to the Securities of such series specifying such Event of Default, as hereinbefore provided, (ii) the holders of not less than 25% in aggregate principal amount of the Securities of such series then Outstanding shall have made written request upon the Trustee to institute such action, suit or proceeding in its own name as trustee hereunder, (iii) such holder or holders shall have offered to the Trustee such reasonable indemnity satisfactory to it against the costs, expenses and liabilities to be incurred therein or thereby, (iv) the Trustee for 60 days after its receipt of such notice, request and offer of indemnity, shall have failed to institute any such action, suit or proceeding and (v) during such 60 day period, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the Securities of such series do not give the Trustee a direction inconsistent with the request.

Notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary or any other provisions of this Indenture, the right of any holder of any Security to receive payment of the principal of and any premium and (subject to Section 2.3) interest on such Security (whether upon redemption, repurchase, maturity or otherwise), as therein provided, on or after the respective due dates expressed in such Security (or in the case of redemption or repurchase, on the redemption date or repurchase date, respectively), or to institute suit for the enforcement of any such payment or delivery on or after such respective dates (including the redemption date or repurchase date, as applicable) shall not be impaired or affected without the consent of such holder. By accepting a Security hereunder, it is expressly understood, intended and covenanted by the taker and holder of every Security of such series with every other such taker and holder and the Trustee, that no one or more holders of Securities of such series shall have any right in any manner whatsoever by virtue or by availing of any provision of this Indenture to affect, disturb or prejudice the rights of the holders of any other of such Securities, or to obtain or seek to obtain priority over or preference to any other such holder, or to enforce any right under this Indenture, except in the manner herein provided and for the equal, ratable and common benefit of all holders of Securities of such series. For the protection and enforcement of the provisions of this Section 6.4, each and every Securityholder and the Trustee shall be entitled to such relief as can be given either at law or in equity.

Section 6.5 Rights and Remedies Cumulative; Delay or Omission Not Waiver.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in Section 2.7, all powers and remedies given by this Article to the Trustee or to the Securityholders shall, to the extent permitted by law, be deemed cumulative and not exclusive of any other powers and remedies available to the Trustee or the holders of the Securities, by judicial proceedings or otherwise, to enforce the performance or observance of the covenants and agreements contained in this Indenture or otherwise established with respect to such Securities.

(b) No delay or omission of the Trustee or of any holder of any of the Securities to exercise any right or power accruing upon any Event of Default occurring and continuing as aforesaid shall impair any such right or power, or shall be construed to be a waiver of any such default or on acquiescence therein. Subject to the provisions of Section 6.4, every power and remedy given by this Article or by law to the Trustee or the Securityholders may be exercised from time to time, and as often as shall be deemed expedient, by the Trustee or by the Securityholders.

Section 6.6 Control by Securityholders.

The holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the Securities of any series at the time Outstanding, determined in accordance with Section 8.4, shall have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the Trustee, or exercising any trust or power conferred on the Trustee with respect to such series, provided, however, that such direction shall not be in conflict with any rule of law or with this Indenture or be unduly prejudicial to the rights of holders of Securities of such series not consenting, and provided, further, that the Trustee may take any other action deemed proper by the Trustee which is not inconsistent with such direction. Prior to the taking of any action hereunder, the Trustee shall be entitled to reasonable indemnification satisfactory to the Trustee against all losses and expenses caused by taking or not taking such action. Subject to the provisions of Section 7.1, the Trustee shall have the right to decline to follow any such

direction if the Trustee in good faith shall, by a Responsible Officer, determine that the proceeding so directed would involve the Trustee in personal liability. The holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the Securities of any series at the time Outstanding affected thereby, determined in accordance with Section 8.4, may determine, and may have the Trustee on behalf of the holders of all of the Securities of such series waive any past default in the performance of any of the covenants contained herein or established pursuant to Section 2.1 with respect to such series and its consequences, except for a default in the payment of the principal of or any premium or interest on, any of the Securities of that series (whether upon redemption, repurchase, maturity or otherwise) as and when the same shall become due by the terms of such Securities otherwise than by acceleration (unless such default has been cured and a sum sufficient to pay all matured installments of interest and principal and any premium has been deposited with the Trustee (in accordance with Section 6.1(c)). Upon any such waiver, the default covered thereby shall be deemed to be cured for all purposes of this Indenture and the Company, the Trustee and the holders of the Securities of such series shall be restored to their former positions and rights hereunder, respectively. No such waiver shall extend to any subsequent or other default or impair any right consequent thereon.

Section 6.7 Undertaking to Pay Costs.

All parties to this Indenture agree, and each holder of any Securities, by such holder’s acceptance thereof shall be deemed to have agreed, that any court may in its discretion require, in any suit for the enforcement of any right or remedy under this Indenture, or in any suit against the Trustee for any action taken or omitted by it as Trustee, the filing by any party litigant in such suit of an undertaking to pay the costs of such suit, and that such court may in its discretion assess reasonable costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, against any party litigant in such suit, having due regard to the merits and good faith of the claims or defenses made by such party litigant, provided, however, that the provisions of this Section 6.7 shall not apply to any suit instituted by the Trustee, to any suit instituted by any Securityholder, or group of Securityholders, holding more than 10% in aggregate principal amount of the Outstanding Securities of any series, or to any suit instituted by any Securityholder for the enforcement of the payment of the principal of (or any premium) or interest on any Security of such series, on or after the respective due dates expressed in such Security or established pursuant to this Indenture.

ARTICLE VII

CONCERNING THE TRUSTEE

Section 7.1 Certain Duties and Responsibilities of Trustee.

(a) The Trustee, prior to the occurrence of an Event of Default with respect to the Securities of a series and after the curing of all Events of Default with respect to the Securities of that series that may have occurred, shall undertake to perform with respect to the Securities of such series such duties and only such duties as are specifically set forth in this Indenture, and no implied covenants shall be read into this Indenture against the Trustee. In case an Event of Default with respect to the Securities of a series has occurred (that has not been cured or waived), the Trustee shall exercise with respect to Securities of that series such of the rights and powers vested in it by this Indenture, and use the same degree of care and skill in their exercise, as a prudent Person would exercise or use under the circumstances in the conduct of such Person’s own affairs.

(b) No provision of this Indenture shall be construed to relieve the Trustee from liability for its own negligent action, its own negligent failure to act, or its own willful misconduct, except that:

(1) prior to the occurrence of an Event of Default with respect to the Securities of a series and after the curing or waiving of all such Events of Default with respect to that series that may have occurred:

(i) the duties and obligations of the Trustee shall with respect to the Securities of such series be determined solely by the express provisions of this Indenture, and the Trustee shall not be liable with respect to the Securities of such series except for the performance of such duties and obligations as are

specifically set forth in this Indenture, and no implied covenants or obligations shall be read into this Indenture against the Trustee; and

(ii) in the absence of bad faith on the part of the Trustee, the Trustee may, with respect to the Securities of such series, conclusively rely, as to the truth of the statements and the correctness of the opinions expressed therein, upon any certificates or opinions furnished to the Trustee and conforming to the requirements of this Indenture, provided however, that in the case of any such certificates or opinions that by any provision hereof are specifically required to be furnished to the Trustee, the Trustee shall be under a duty to examine the same to determine whether or not they conform to the requirements of this Indenture but need not confirm or investigate the accuracy of any mathematical calculation or other facts stated therein;

(2) the Trustee shall not be liable for any error of judgment made in good faith by a Responsible Officer, unless it shall be proved that the Trustee was negligent in ascertaining the pertinent facts;

(3) the Trustee shall not be liable with respect to any action taken or omitted to be taken by it in good faith in accordance with the direction of the holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the Securities of any series at the time Outstanding (determined as provided in Section 8.4) relating to the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the Trustee, or exercising any trust or power conferred upon the Trustee under this Indenture with respect to the Securities of that series; and

(4) none of the provisions contained in this Indenture shall require the Trustee to expend or risk its own funds or otherwise incur personal financial liability in the performance of any of its duties or in the exercise of any of its rights or powers, if there is reasonable ground for believing that the repayment of such funds or liability is not reasonably assured to it under the terms of this Indenture or adequate indemnity against such risk is not reasonably assured to it.

Section 7.2 Certain Rights of Trustee.

Except as otherwise provided in Section 7.1:

(a) The Trustee may conclusively rely and shall be fully protected in acting or refraining from acting upon any document (whether in its original or facsimile form) believed by it to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper Person. The Trustee need not investigate any fact or matter stated in the document. The Trustee shall receive and retain financial reports and statements of the Company as provided herein, but shall have no duty to review or analyze such reports or statements to determine compliance under covenants or other obligations of the Company.

(b) Before the Trustee acts or refrains from acting, it may require an Officers’ Certificate and an Opinion of Counsel, which shall conform to the provisions of Section 13.7. The Trustee shall not be liable for any action it takes or omits to take in good faith in reliance on such Officers’ Certificate or Opinion of Counsel.

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

(d) The Trustee shall not be required to give any bond or surety in respect of the performance of its powers and duties hereunder.

(e) The permissive rights of the Trustee to take actions enumerated in this Indenture shall not be construed as duties.

(f) Except with respect to Section 4.1, the Trustee shall have no duty to inquire as to the performance of the Company with respect to the covenants contained in ARTICLE IV. In addition, the Trustee shall not be deemed to have knowledge of an Event of Default, except (i) any Default or Event of Default occurring pursuant to Section 6.1(a)(2) or (ii) any Default or Event of Default of which a Responsible Officer shall have received written

notification from the Company or any Securityholder of such Default or Event of Default at the Corporate Trust Office, and such notice references the applicable series of Securities and this Indenture.

(g) The rights, privileges, protections, immunities and benefits given to the Trustee, including its right to be indemnified, are extended to, and shall be enforceable by, the Trustee in each of its capacities (including as paying agent) hereunder, and to each agent, custodian and other Person employed to act hereunder.

(h) Delivery of reports, information and documents to the Trustee under Section 5.3 is for informational purposes only. The Trustee’s receipt of the foregoing shall not constitute constructive notice of any information contained therein or determinable from information contained therein, including the Company’s compliance with any of its covenants hereunder (as to which the Trustee is entitled to rely exclusively on an Officers’ Certificate).

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

(j) Anything in this Indenture notwithstanding, in no event shall the Trustee be liable for special, indirect, punitive or consequential loss or damage of any kind whatsoever (including but not limited to loss of profit), even if the Trustee has been advised as to the likelihood of such loss or damage and regardless of the form of action.

(k) The Trustee shall not be responsible or liable for any failure or delay in the performance of its obligations under this Indenture arising out of or caused, directly or indirectly, by circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including, without limitation, (i) acts of God, including earthquakes, fire and flood, (ii) terrorism, wars and other military disturbances, (iii) sabotage, epidemics and riots, (iv) interruptions, loss or malfunctions of utilities, computer (hardware or software) or communication services, (v) accidents and labor disputes and (vi) acts of civil or military authorities and governmental actions.

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

(m) The Trustee shall not be bound to make any investigation into the facts or matters stated in any resolution, certificate, statement, instrument, opinion, report, notice, request, direction, consent, order, bond, debenture, note, other evidence of indebtedness or other paper or document, but the Trustee, in its discretion, may make such further inquiry or investigation into such facts or matters as it may see fit, and, if the Trustee shall determine to make such further inquiry or investigation, it shall be entitled to examine the books, records and premises of the Company, personally or by agent or attorney at the sole cost of the Company and shall incur no liability or additional liability of any kind by reason of such inquiry or investigation.

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

(o) The Trustee shall not be liable for any action taken, suffered, or omitted to be taken by it in good faith and reasonably believed by it to be authorized or within the discretion or rights or powers conferred upon it by this Indenture.

Section 7.3 Trustee Not Responsible for Recitals or Issuance or Securities.

(a) The recitals contained herein and in the Securities shall be taken as the statements of the Company, and the Trustee assumes no responsibility for the correctness of the same.

(b) The Trustee makes no representations as to the validity or sufficiency of this Indenture, the Securities, or any offering materials related thereto.

(c) The Trustee shall not be accountable for the use or application by the Company of any of the Securities or of the proceeds of such Securities, or for the use or application of any moneys paid over by the Trustee in accordance with any provision of this Indenture or established pursuant to Section 2.1, or for the use or application of any moneys received by any paying agent other than the Trustee.

Section 7.4 May Hold Securities.

The Trustee or any paying agent or Security Registrar, in its individual or any other capacity, may become the owner or pledge of Securities with the same rights it would have if it were not Trustee, paying agent or Security Registrar.

Section 7.5 Moneys Held in Trust.

Subject to the provisions of Section 11.5, all moneys received by the Trustee shall, until used or applied as herein provided, be held in trust for the purposes for which they were received, but need not be segregated from other funds of the Trustee except to the extent required by law. The Trustee shall be under no liability for interest on any moneys received by it hereunder, except such as it may agree in writing with the Company to pay thereon.

Section 7.6 Compensation and Reimbursement.

(a) The Company covenants and agrees to pay to the Trustee, and the Trustee shall be entitled to, such reasonable compensation (which shall not be limited by any provision of law in regard to the compensation of a trustee of an express trust), as the Company and the Trustee may from time to time agree in writing, for all services rendered by it in the execution of the trusts hereby created and in the exercise and performance of any of the powers and duties hereunder of the Trustee. The Company will pay or reimburse the Trustee upon its request for all reasonable expenses, disbursements and advances incurred or made by the Trustee in accordance with any of the provisions of this Indenture (including the reasonable compensation and the expenses and disbursements of its counsel and of all Persons not regularly in its employ), except any such expense, disbursement or advance as may arise from its negligence, willful misconduct or bad faith or as otherwise expressly provided herein. The Company also covenants to indemnify the Trustee (and its officers, agents, directors and employees) for, and to hold it harmless against, any loss, liability or expense incurred without negligence, willful misconduct or bad faith on the part of the Trustee (and its officers, agents, directors and employees) and arising out of or in connection with the acceptance or administration of the trusts hereby created, including the reasonable costs and expenses of defending itself against any claim of liability in the premises or in connection with its successful defense, in whole or in part, of any claim of negligence, willful misconduct or bad faith on its part.

(b) The obligations of the Company under this Section 7.6 to compensate and indemnify the Trustee and to pay or reimburse the Trustee for reasonable expenses, disbursements and advances shall constitute additional indebtedness hereunder. Such additional indebtedness shall be secured by a lien prior to that of the Securities upon all property and funds held or collected by the Trustee as such, except funds held in trust for the benefit of the holders of particular Securities. The provisions of this Section 7.6 shall survive the resignation or removal of the Trustee and the termination of this Indenture.

(c) When the Trustee incurs expenses or renders services after an Event of Default specified in Section 6.1(a)(4) and Section 6.1(a)(5) occurs and is continuing, such expenses (including the charges and expenses of its counsel) and the compensation for such services shall be paid to the extent allowed under any Bankruptcy Law and are intended to constitute expenses of administration under any Bankruptcy Law.

Section 7.7 Reliance on Officers’ Certificate.

Except as otherwise provided in Section 7.1, whenever in the administration of the provisions of this Indenture the Trustee shall deem it reasonably necessary or desirable that a matter be proved or established prior to taking or suffering or omitting to take any action hereunder, such matter (unless other evidence in respect thereof be herein specifically prescribed) may, in the absence of negligence, willful misconduct or bad faith on the part of the Trustee, be deemed to be conclusively proved and established by an Officers’ Certificate delivered to the Trustee and such Officers’ Certificate, in the absence of negligence, willful misconduct or bad faith on the part of the Trustee, shall be full warrant to the Trustee for any action taken, suffered or omitted to be taken by it under the provisions of this Indenture upon the faith thereof.

Section 7.8 Disqualification; Conflicting Interests.

If the Trustee has or shall acquire any “conflicting interest” within the meaning of the Trust Indenture Act, the Trustee and the Company shall in all respects comply with the provisions of Section 310(b) of the Trust Indenture Act.

Section 7.9 Corporate Trustee Required; Eligibility.

There shall at all times be a Trustee with respect to the Securities issued hereunder, which shall at all times be a corporation organized and doing business under the laws of the United States or any state or territory thereof or of the District of Columbia, or a corporation or other Person permitted to act as trustee by the Commission, authorized under such laws to exercise corporate trust powers, having a combined capital and surplus of at least fifty million Dollars ($50,000,000), and subject to supervision or examination by federal, state, territorial or District of Columbia authority. If such corporation publishes reports of condition at least annually, pursuant to law or to the requirements of the aforesaid supervising or examining authority, then for the purposes of this Section 7.9, the combined capital and surplus of such corporation shall be deemed to be its combined capital and surplus as set forth in its most recent report of condition so published. The Company may not, nor may any Person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with the Company, serve as Trustee. In case at any time the Trustee shall cease to be eligible in accordance with the provisions of this Section 7.9, the Trustee shall resign immediately in the manner and with the effect specified in Section 7.10.

Section 7.10 Resignation and Removal; Appointment of Successor.

(a) The Trustee or any successor hereafter appointed, may at any time resign with respect to the Securities of one or more series by giving written notice thereof to the Company and by transmitting notice of resignation electronically or by mail, first class postage prepaid, to the Securityholders of such series, as their names and addresses appear upon the Security Register. Upon receiving such notice of resignation, the Company shall promptly appoint a successor Trustee with respect to the Securities of such series by or pursuant to a Board Resolution. If no successor Trustee shall have been so appointed and have accepted such appointment within 30 days after the mailing of such notice of resignation, the resigning Trustee may petition any court of competent jurisdiction for the appointment of a successor Trustee with respect to such Securities of such series, or any Securityholder of that series who has been a bona fide holder of a Security or Securities for at least six months may on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, petition any such court for the appointment of a successor Trustee. Such court may thereupon after such notice, if any, as it may deem proper and prescribe, appoint a successor Trustee.

(b) In case at any time any one of the following shall occur:

(1) the Trustee shall fail to comply with the provisions of Section 7.8 after written request therefor by the Company or by any Securityholder who has been a bona fide holder of a Security or Securities for at least six months; or

(2) the Trustee shall cease to be eligible in accordance with the provisions of Section 7.9 and shall fail to resign after written request therefor by the Company or by any Securityholder who has been a bona fide holder of a Security or Securities for at least six months; or

(3) the Trustee shall become incapable of acting, or shall be adjudged a bankrupt or insolvent, or commence a voluntary bankruptcy proceeding, or a receiver of the Trustee or of its property shall be appointed or consented to, or any public officer shall take charge or control of the Trustee or of its property or affairs for the purpose of rehabilitation, conservation or liquidation, then, in any such case, the Company may remove the Trustee with respect to all Securities and appoint a successor Trustee by or pursuant to a Board Resolution or, unless the Trustee’s duty to resign is stayed as provided herein, any Securityholder who has been a bona fide holder of a Security or Securities for at least six months may, on behalf of that holder and all others similarly situated, petition any court of competent jurisdiction for the removal of the Trustee and the appointment of a successor Trustee. Such court may thereupon after such notice, if any, as it may deem proper and prescribe, remove the Trustee and appoint a successor Trustee.

(c) The holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the Securities of any series at the time Outstanding may at any time remove the Trustee with respect to such series by so notifying the Trustee and the Company, and may appoint a successor Trustee for such series with the written consent of the Company.

(d) Any resignation or removal of the Trustee and appointment of a successor Trustee with respect to the Securities of a series pursuant to any of the provisions of this Section 7.10 shall become effective upon acceptance of appointment by the successor Trustee as provided in Section 7.11.

(e) Any successor Trustee appointed pursuant to this Section 7.10 may be appointed with respect to the Securities of one or more series or all of such series and, at any time, there shall be only one Trustee with respect to the Securities of any particular series.

Section 7.11 Acceptance of Appointment by Successor.

(a) In case of the appointment hereunder of a successor Trustee with respect to all Securities, every such successor Trustee so appointed shall execute, acknowledge and deliver to the Company and to the retiring Trustee an instrument accepting such appointment, and thereupon the resignation or removal of the retiring Trustee shall become effective and such successor Trustee, without any further act, deed or conveyance, shall become vested with all the rights, powers, trusts and duties of the retiring Trustee, provided however that upon the request of the Company or the successor Trustee, such retiring Trustee shall, upon payment of its charges, execute and deliver an instrument transferring to such successor Trustee all the rights, powers and trusts of the retiring Trustee and shall duly assign, transfer and deliver to such successor Trustee all property and money held by such retiring Trustee hereunder.

(b) In case of the appointment hereunder of a successor Trustee with respect to the Securities of one or more (but not all) series, the Company, the retiring Trustee and each successor Trustee with respect to the Securities of one or more series shall execute and deliver an indenture supplemental hereto wherein each successor Trustee shall accept such appointment and which (1) shall contain such provisions as shall be necessary or desirable to transfer and confirm to, and to vest in, each successor Trustee all the rights, powers, trusts and duties of the retiring Trustee with respect to the Securities of that or those series to which the appointment of such successor Trustee relates, (2) shall contain such provisions as shall be deemed necessary or desirable to confirm that all the rights, powers, trusts and duties of the retiring Trustee with respect to the Securities of that or those series as to which the retiring Trustee is not retiring shall continue to be vested in the retiring Trustee and (3) shall add to or change any of the provisions of this Indenture as shall be necessary to provide for or facilitate the administration of the trusts hereunder by more than one Trustee, it being understood that nothing herein or in such supplemental indenture shall constitute such Trustees co-trustees of the same trust, that each such Trustee shall be trustee of a trust or trusts hereunder separate and apart from any trust or trusts hereunder administered by any other such Trustee and that no Trustee shall be responsible for any act or failure to act on the part of any other Trustee hereunder. The execution and delivery of such supplemental indenture, the resignation or removal of the retiring Trustee shall become

effective to the extent provided therein, such retiring Trustee shall with respect to the Securities of that or those series to which the appointment of such successor Trustee relates have no further responsibility for the exercise of rights and powers or for the performance of the duties and obligations vested in the Trustee under this Indenture, and each such successor Trustee, without any further act, deed or conveyance, shall become vested with all the rights, powers, trusts and duties of the retiring Trustee with respect to the Securities of that or those series to which the appointment of such successor Trustee relates, provided however that upon request of the Company or any successor Trustee, such retiring Trustee shall duly assign, transfer and deliver to such successor Trustee, to the extent contemplated by such supplemental indenture, the property and money held by such retiring Trustee hereunder with respect to the Securities of that or those series to which the appointment of such successor Trustee relates.

(c) Upon request of any such successor Trustee, the Company shall execute any and all instruments for more fully and certainly vesting in and confirming to such successor Trustee all such rights, powers and trusts referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of this Section 7.11, as the case may be.

(d) No successor Trustee shall accept its appointment unless at the time of such acceptance such successor Trustee shall be qualified and eligible under this Article.

(e) Upon acceptance of appointment by a successor Trustee as provided in this Section 7.11, the Company shall transmit notice of the succession of such trustee hereunder by mail, first class postage prepaid, to the Securityholders, as their names and addresses appear upon the Security Register. If the Company fails to transmit such notice within ten (10) days after acceptance of appointment by the successor Trustee, the successor Trustee shall cause such notice to be transmitted at the expense of the Company.

Section 7.12 Merger, Conversion, Consolidation or Succession to Business.

Any corporation into which the Trustee may be merged or converted or with which it may be consolidated, or any corporation resulting from any merger, conversion or consolidation to which the Trustee shall be a party, or any corporation succeeding to the corporate trust business of the Trustee, shall be the successor of the Trustee hereunder, provided that such corporation shall be qualified under the provisions of Section 7.8 and eligible under the provisions of Section 7.9, without the execution or filing of any paper or any further act on the part of any of the parties hereto, anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding. In case any Securities shall have been authenticated, but not delivered, by the Trustee then in office, any successor by merger, conversion or consolidation to such authenticating Trustee may adopt such authentication and deliver the Securities so authenticated with the same effect as if such successor Trustee had itself authenticated such Securities.

Section 7.13 Preferential Collection of Claims Against the Company.

The Trustee shall comply with Section 311(a) of the Trust Indenture Act, excluding any creditor relationship described in Section 311(b) of the Trust Indenture Act. A Trustee who has resigned or been removed shall be subject to Section 311(a) of the Trust Indenture Act to the extent included therein.

Section 7.14 Notice of Defaults.

If a Default occurs and is continuing hereunder with respect to Securities of any series and if it is actually known to a Responsible Officer, the Trustee shall send to each holder of such Securities notice of the Default within 90 days after such Default occurs, provided, however, that in the case of any Default of the character specified in Section 6.1(a)(3) with respect to Securities of such series, no such notice to Securityholders shall be given until at least 30 days after the occurrence thereof. Except in the case of a default in payment of principal of or interest on any Security (whether upon redemption, repurchase, maturity or otherwise), including payments pursuant to any redemption or repurchase provisions of such Security, the Trustee may withhold the notice if and so long as a committee of its Responsible Officers in good faith determines that withholding the notice is in the interests of the holders of such Securities.

ARTICLE VIII

CONCERNING THE SECURITYHOLDERS

Section 8.1 Evidence of Action by Securityholders.

Whenever in this Indenture it is provided that the holders of a majority or specified percentage in aggregate principal amount of the Securities of a particular series may take any action (including the making of any demand or request, the giving of any notice, consent or waiver or the taking of any other action), the fact that at the time of taking any such action the holders of such majority or specified percentage of that series have joined therein may be evidenced by any instrument or any number of instruments of similar tenor executed by such holders of Securities of that series in Person or by agent or proxy appointed in writing.

If the Company shall solicit from the Securityholders of any series any request, demand, authorization, direction, notice, consent, waiver or other action, the Company may, at its option, as evidenced by an Officers’ Certificate, fix in advance a record date (in accordance with Section 316(c) of the Trust Indenture Act) for such series for the determination of Securityholders entitled to give such request, demand, authorization, direction, notice, consent, waiver or other action, but the Company shall have no obligation to do so. If such a record date is fixed, such request, demand, authorization, direction, notice, consent, waiver or other action may be given before or after the record date, but only the Securityholders of record at the close of business on the record date shall be deemed to be Securityholders for the purpose of determining whether Securityholders of the requisite proportion of Outstanding Securities of that series have authorized or agreed or consented to such request, demand, authorization, direction, notice, consent, waiver or other action, and for that purpose the Outstanding Securities of that series shall be computed as of the record date, provided, however, that no such authorization, agreement or consent by such Securityholders on the record date shall be deemed effective unless it shall become effective pursuant to the provisions of this Indenture not later than six (6) months after the record date.

Section 8.2 Proof of Execution by Securityholders.

Subject to the provisions of Section 7.1, proof of the execution of any instrument by a Securityholder (such proof will not require notarization) or such Securityholder’s agent or proxy and proof of the holding by any Person of any of the Securities shall be sufficient if made in the following manner:

(a) The fact and date of the execution by any such Person of any instrument may be proved in any reasonable manner acceptable to the Company;

(b) The ownership of Securities shall be proved by the Security Register of such Securities or by a certificate of the Security Registrar thereof; and

(c) The Trustee or the Company may require such additional proof of any matter referred to in this Section 8.2 as it shall deem necessary.

Section 8.3 Who May be Deemed Owners.

Prior to the due presentment for registration of transfer of any Security, the Company, the Trustee, any paying agent and any Security Registrar may deem and treat the Person in whose name such Security shall be registered upon the books of the Company as the absolute owner of such Security (whether or not such Security shall be overdue and notwithstanding any notice of ownership or writing thereon made by anyone other than the Security Registrar) for the purpose of receiving payment of or on account of the principal of, any premium and, subject to Section 2.3, interest on such Security and for all other purposes. Neither the Company nor the Trustee nor any paying agent nor any Security Registrar shall be affected by any notice to the contrary.

Section 8.4 Certain Securities Owned by Company Disregarded.

In determining whether the holders of the requisite aggregate principal amount of Securities of a particular series have concurred in any direction or consent (or waiver, as the case may be) under this Indenture, the Securities of that series that are owned by the Company or any other obligor on the Securities of that series, or by any Person directly or indirectly controlling or controlled by or under direct or indirect common control with the Company or any other obligor on the Securities of that series, shall be disregarded and deemed not to be Outstanding for the purpose of any such determination, except that for the purpose of determining whether the Trustee shall be protected in relying on any such direction or consent (or waiver, as the case may be), only Securities of such series that the Trustee actually knows are so owned shall be so disregarded. The Securities so owned that have been pledged in good faith may be regarded as Outstanding for the purposes of this Section 8.4, if the pledgee shall establish to the satisfaction of the Trustee the pledgee’s right so to act with respect to such Securities and that the pledgee is not a Person directly or indirectly controlling or controlled by or under direct or indirect common control with the Company or any such other obligor. In case of a dispute as to such right, any decision by the Trustee taken upon the advice of counsel shall be full protection to the Trustee.

Section 8.5 Actions Binding on Future Securityholders.

At any time prior to (but not after) the evidencing to the Trustee, as provided in Section 8.1, of the taking of any action by the holders of the majority or percentage in aggregate principal amount of the Securities of a particular series specified in this Indenture in connection with such action, any holder of a Security of that series that is shown by the evidence to be included in the Securities the holders of which have consented to such action may, by filing written notice with the Trustee, and upon proof of holding as provided in Section 8.2, revoke such action so far as concerns such Security. Except as aforesaid, any such action taken by the holder of any Security shall be conclusive and binding upon such holder and upon all future holders and owners of such Security, and of any Security issued in exchange therefor, on registration of transfer thereof or in place thereof, irrespective of whether or not any notation in regard thereto is made upon such Security. Any action taken by the holders of the majority or percentage in aggregate principal amount of the Securities of a particular series specified in this Indenture in connection with such action shall be conclusively binding upon the Company, the Trustee and the holders of all the Securities of that series.

ARTICLE IX

SUPPLEMENTAL INDENTURES

Section 9.1 Supplemental Indentures Without the Consent of Securityholders.

In addition to any supplemental indenture otherwise authorized by this Indenture, the Company and the Trustee may from time to time and at any time enter into an indenture or indentures supplemental hereto (which shall conform to the provisions of the Trust Indenture Act as then in effect), without the consent of the Securityholders, for one or more of the following purposes:

(a) to cure any ambiguity, omission, defect or inconsistency herein or in the Securities of any series;

(b) to comply with ARTICLE X;

(c) to provide for Securities in bearer form, or uncertificated Securities in addition to or in place of certificated Securities;

(d) to add Guarantees, including Subsidiary Guarantees, with respect to debt securities or to release Subsidiary Guarantors from Subsidiary Guarantees in accordance with the terms of the applicable series of Securities or to secure a series of Securities;

(e) to add to the covenants of the Company for the benefit of the holders of all or any series of Securities (and if such covenants are to be for the benefit of less than all series of Securities, stating that such

covenants are expressly being included solely for the benefit of such series) or to surrender any right or power herein conferred upon the Company;

(f) to add to, delete from, or revise the conditions, limitations, and restrictions on the authorized amount, terms or purposes of issue, authentication and delivery of Securities, as herein set forth;

(g) to make any change that does not adversely affect the rights of any Securityholder in any material respect, provided that any amendment to conform the terms of any Securities to its description contained in the final offering document shall not be deemed to be adverse to any Securityholder;

(h) to provide for the issuance of and establish the form and terms and conditions of the Securities of any series as provided in Section 2.1, to establish the form of any certifications required to be furnished under the terms of this Indenture or any series of Securities, or to add to the rights of the holders of any series of Securities;

(i) to comply with any requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with registration of the Securities under the Securities Act, qualifying, or maintaining the qualification of, this Indenture under the Trust Indenture Act or to comply with the Trust Indenture Act; or

(j) to secure any series of Security.

The Trustee is hereby authorized to join with the Company in the execution of any such supplemental indenture, and to make any further appropriate agreements and stipulations that may be therein contained, but the Trustee shall not be obligated to enter into any such supplemental indenture that affects the Trustee’s own rights, duties or immunities under this Indenture or otherwise.

Any supplemental indenture authorized by the provisions of this Section 9.1 may be executed by the Company and the Trustee without the consent of the holders of any of the Securities at the time Outstanding, notwithstanding any of the provisions of Section 9.2.

Section 9.2 Supplemental Indentures with Consent of Securityholders.

With the consent (evidenced as provided in Section 8.1) of the holders of not less than a majority in aggregate principal amount of the Securities of each series affected by such supplemental indenture or indentures at the time Outstanding, the Company, when authorized by Board Resolutions, and the Trustee may from time to time and at any time enter into an indenture or indentures supplemental hereto (which shall conform to the provisions of the Trust Indenture Act as then in effect) for the purpose of adding any provisions to or changing in any manner or eliminating any of the provisions of this Indenture or of any supplemental indenture or of modifying in any manner not covered by Section 9.1 the rights of the holders of the Securities of such series under this Indenture, provided, however, that no such supplemental indenture shall, without the consent of the holders of each Security then Outstanding affected thereby, (i) change the maturity date of any Securities of any series, or reduce the principal amount thereof, or reduce the rate or extend the time of payment of interest thereon, or reduce any premium payable upon the redemption thereof, (ii) reduce the amount of principal of an Original Issue Discount Security or any other Security payable upon acceleration of maturity, (iii) change the currency in which any Security or any premium or interest is payable, (iv) impair the right to receive payment of principal of and interest on any Security (whether upon redemption, repurchase, maturity, or otherwise) or payment or delivery of any amounts due upon conversion of Securities of any series that are convertible into shares of common stock or other securities on or after the due dates or to institute suit for the enforcement of any payment on or with respect to any Security, (v) adversely change the right to convert or exchange, including decreasing the conversion rate or increasing the conversion price of, that Security (if applicable), (vi) if the Securities are secured, change the terms and conditions pursuant to which the Securities are secured in a manner adverse to the holders of the Securities, (vii) reduce the percentage in principal amount of outstanding Securities of any series, the consent of whose holders is required for modification or amendment of this Indenture or for waiver of compliance with any provision of this Indenture, (viii) reduce the requirements contained in this Indenture for a quorum for a meeting or for voting, (ix) change any obligations of the Company to maintain an office or agency in the places and for the purposes required by this Indenture, (x) in the

case such series of Securities is subordinated to other indebtedness of the Company pursuant to a supplement indenture, modify the subordination provisions in such supplemental indenture in a manner adverse to the holders of such Securities, or (xi) modify Section 9.1 or Section 9.2.

It shall not be necessary for the consent of the Securityholders of any series affected thereby under this Section 9.2 to approve the particular form of any proposed supplemental indenture, but it shall be sufficient if such consent shall approve the substance thereof.

Section 9.3 Effect of Supplemental Indentures.

Upon the execution of any supplemental indenture pursuant to the provisions of this Article or of Section 10.1, this Indenture shall, with respect to the applicable series of Securities, be deemed to be modified and amended in accordance therewith and the respective rights, limitations of rights, obligations, duties and immunities under this Indenture of the Trustee, the Company and the holders of Securities of the series affected thereby shall thereafter be determined, exercised and enforced hereunder subject in all respects to such modifications and amendments, and all the terms and conditions of any such supplemental indenture shall be and be deemed to be part of the terms and conditions of this Indenture for any and all purposes.

Section 9.4 Securities Affected by Supplemental Indentures.

Securities of any series affected by a supplemental indenture, authenticated and delivered after the execution of such supplemental indenture pursuant to the provisions of this Article or of Section 10.1, may bear a notation in form approved by the Company, provided that such form meets the requirements of any exchange upon which such series may be listed, as to any matter provided for in such supplemental indenture. If the Company shall so determine, new Securities of that series so modified as to conform, in the opinion of the Trustee and the Company, to any modification of this Indenture contained in any such supplemental indenture may be prepared and executed by the Company, authenticated by the Trustee and delivered in exchange for the Securities of that series then Outstanding.

Section 9.5 Execution of Supplemental Indentures.

Upon the request of the Company, accompanied by the Board Resolutions authorizing the execution of any such supplemental indenture, and upon the filing with the Trustee of evidence of the consent of Securityholders required to consent thereto as aforesaid, the Trustee shall join with the Company in the execution of such supplemental indenture unless such supplemental indenture affects the Trustee’s own rights, duties or immunities under this Indenture or otherwise, in which case the Trustee may, in its discretion (but without any obligation to do so) enter into such supplemental indenture. The Trustee, subject to the provisions of Section 7.1, shall be provided an Opinion of Counsel and an Officers’ Certificate as conclusive evidence that any supplemental indenture executed pursuant to this Article is authorized or permitted by, and conforms to, the terms of this Article and that it is proper for the Trustee under the provisions of this Article to join in the execution thereof, provided, however, that such Opinion of Counsel need not be provided in connection with the execution of a supplemental indenture that establishes the terms of a series of Securities pursuant to Section 2.1 hereof, unless otherwise requested by the Trustee.

Section 9.6 Conformity with Trust Indenture Act.

Every supplemental indenture executed pursuant to this Article shall conform to the requirements of the Trust Indenture Act as then in effect.

ARTICLE X

SUCCESSOR CORPORATION

Section 10.1 Company May Consolidate, Etc.

Unless otherwise specified in Section 4.2 or Section 4.5 or in a supplemental indenture hereto, nothing contained in this Indenture or in any of the Securities shall prevent any consolidation or merger of the Company with or into any other Person (whether or not affiliated with the Company) or successive consolidations or mergers in which the Company or its successor or successors shall be a party or parties, or shall prevent any sale, conveyance, transfer or other disposition of the property of the Company or its successor or successors as an entirety, or substantially as an entirety, to any other Person (whether or not affiliated with the Company or its successor or successors) authorized to acquire and operate the same. The Company hereby covenants and agrees that, upon any such consolidation or merger (in each case, if the Company is not the surviving corporation of such transaction), sale, conveyance, transfer or other disposition, the due and punctual payment of the principal of and any premium and interest on all of the Securities of all series in accordance with the terms of each series, according to their tenor and the due and punctual performance and observance of all the covenants and conditions of this Indenture with respect to each series or established with respect to such series pursuant to Section 2.1 to be kept or performed by the Company shall be expressly assumed, by supplemental indenture (which shall conform to the requirements of the Trust Indenture Act as then in effect) satisfactory in form to the Trustee executed and delivered to the Trustee by the entity formed by such consolidation, or into which the Company shall have been merged, or by the entity which shall have acquired such property.

Section 10.2 Successor Substituted.

(a) In case of any consolidation, merger, sale, conveyance, transfer or other disposition described in Section 10.1 and upon the assumption by the successor Person, by supplemental indenture, executed and delivered to the Trustee and satisfactory in form to the Trustee, of the due and punctual payment of the principal of and any premium and interest on all of the Securities of all series Outstanding and the due and punctual performance of all of the covenants and conditions of this Indenture or established with respect to each series of the Securities pursuant to Section 2.1 to be performed by the Company with respect to each series, such successor Person shall succeed to and be substituted for the Company with the same effect as if it had been named as the Company herein, and thereupon the predecessor Person shall be relieved of all obligations and covenants under this Indenture and the Securities.

(b) In case of any such consolidation, merger, sale, conveyance, transfer or other disposition such changes in phraseology and form (but not in substance) may be made in the Securities thereafter to be issued as may be appropriate.

(c) Nothing contained in this Indenture or in any of the Securities shall prevent the Company from merging into itself or acquiring by purchase or otherwise all or any part of the property of any other Person (whether or not affiliated with the Company).

Section 10.3 Evidence of Consolidation, Etc. to Trustee.

The Trustee, subject to the provisions of Section 7.1, shall be provided an Opinion of Counsel and an Officers’ Certificate as conclusive evidence that any such consolidation, merger, sale, conveyance, transfer or other disposition, and any such assumption, comply with the provisions of this Article.

ARTICLE XI

SATISFACTION AND DISCHARGE

Section 11.1 Satisfaction and Discharge of Indenture.

If at any time: (a) the Company shall have delivered to the Trustee for cancellation all Securities of a series theretofore authenticated (other than any Securities that shall have been destroyed, lost or stolen and that shall have been replaced or paid as provided in Section 2.7 and Securities for whose payment moneys or Governmental

Obligations have theretofore been deposited in trust or segregated and held in trust by the Company and thereupon repaid to the Company or discharged from such trust, as provided in Section 11.5); or (b) all such Securities of a particular series not theretofore delivered to the Trustee for cancellation shall have become due and payable, are by their terms to become due and payable within one (1) year or are to be called for redemption within one (1) year under arrangements satisfactory to the Trustee for the giving of notice of redemption, and the Company shall deposit or cause to be deposited with the Trustee as trust funds an amount of money in Dollars sufficient, or non-callable Governmental Obligations, the principal of and interest on which when due, will be sufficient or a combination thereof, sufficient in the opinion of a nationally recognized firm of independent public accountants expressed in a written certification thereof delivered to the Trustee, to pay at maturity or upon redemption all Securities of that series not theretofore delivered to the Trustee for cancellation, including principal and any premium and interest due or to become due to such date of maturity or date fixed for redemption, as the case may be, and if the Company shall also pay or cause to be paid all other sums payable hereunder with respect to such series by the Company, then this Indenture shall thereupon cease to be of further effect with respect to such series except for the provisions of Section 2.3, Section 2.5, Section 2.7, Section 4.1, Section 4.2, Section 4.3 and Section 7.10 that shall survive until the date of maturity or redemption date, as the case may be, and Section 7.6 and Section 11.5 that shall survive to such date and thereafter, and the Trustee, on demand of the Company and at the cost and expense of the Company shall execute proper instruments acknowledging satisfaction of and discharging this Indenture with respect to such series.

Section 11.2 Discharge of Obligations.

If at any time all such Securities of a particular series not heretofore delivered to the Trustee for cancellation or that have not become due and payable as described in Section 11.1 shall have been paid by the Company by depositing irrevocably with the Trustee as trust funds money in Dollars sufficient or an amount of non-callable Governmental Obligations, the principal of and interest on which when due, will be sufficient or a combination thereof, sufficient in the opinion of a nationally recognized firm of independent public accountants expressed in a written certification thereof delivered to the Trustee, to pay at maturity or upon redemption all such Securities of that series not theretofore delivered to the Trustee for cancellation, including principal and any premium and interest due or to become due to such date of maturity or date fixed for redemption, as the case may be, and if the Company shall also pay or cause to be paid all other sums payable hereunder by the Company with respect to such series, then after the date such moneys or Governmental Obligations, as the case may be, are deposited with the Trustee the obligations of the Company under this Indenture with respect to such series shall cease to be of further effect except for the provisions of Section 2.3, Section 2.5, Section 2.7, Section 4.1, Section 4.2, Section 4.3, Section 7.6, Section 7.10 and Section 11.5 hereof that shall survive until such Securities shall mature and be paid. Thereafter, Section 7.6 and Section 11.5 shall survive to such date and thereafter.

Section 11.3 Deposited Moneys to be Held in Trust.

All moneys or Governmental Obligations deposited with the Trustee pursuant to Section 11.1 or Section 11.2 shall be held in trust and shall be available for payment as due, either directly or through any paying agent (including the Company acting as its own paying agent), to the holders of the particular series of Securities for the payment or redemption of which such moneys or Governmental Obligations have been deposited with the Trustee.

Section 11.4 Payment of Moneys Held by Paying Agents.

In connection with the satisfaction and discharge of this Indenture, all moneys or Governmental Obligations then held by any paying agent under the provisions of this Indenture shall, upon demand of the Company, be paid to the Trustee, and thereupon such paying agent shall be released from all further liability with respect to such moneys or Governmental Obligations.

Section 11.5 Repayment to Company.

Any moneys or Governmental Obligations deposited with any paying agent or the Trustee, or then held by the Company, in trust for payment of principal of or any premium or interest on the Securities of a particular series that are not applied but remain unclaimed by the holders of such Securities for at least two (2) years after the date

upon which the principal of and any premium or interest on such Securities shall have respectively become due and payable, shall be repaid to the Company or (if then held by the Company) shall be discharged from such trust. The paying agent and the Trustee thereupon shall be released from all further liability with respect to such moneys or Governmental Obligations, and the holder of any of the Securities entitled to receive such payment shall thereafter, as an unsecured general creditor, look only to the Company for the payment thereof.

ARTICLE XII

IMMUNITY OF INCORPORATORS, STOCKHOLDERS,
OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS

Section 12.1 No Recourse.

No recourse under or upon any obligation, covenant or agreement of this Indenture, or of any Security, or for any claim based thereon or otherwise in respect thereof, shall be had against any incorporator, stockholder, officer or director, past, present or future as such, of the Company or of any predecessor or successor corporation, either directly or through the Company or any such predecessor or successor corporation, whether by virtue of any constitution, statute or rule of law, or by the enforcement of any assessment or penalty or otherwise, it being expressly understood that this Indenture and the obligations issued hereunder are solely corporate obligations, and that no such personal liability whatever shall attach to, or is or shall be incurred by, the incorporators, stockholders, officers or directors as such, of the Company or of any predecessor or successor corporation, or any of them, because of the creation of the indebtedness hereby authorized, or under or by reason of the obligations, covenants or agreements contained in this Indenture or in any of the Securities or implied therefrom. Any and all such personal liability of every name and nature, either at common law or in equity or by constitution or statute, of, and any and all such rights and claims against, every such incorporator, stockholder, officer or director as such, because of the creation of the indebtedness hereby authorized, or under or by reason of the obligations, covenants or agreements contained in this Indenture or in any of the Securities or implied therefrom, are hereby expressly waived and released as a condition of, and as a consideration for, the execution of this Indenture and the issuance of such Securities.

ARTICLE XIII

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Section 13.1 Effect on Successors and Assigns.

All the covenants, stipulations, promises and agreements in this Indenture contained by or on behalf of the Company shall bind its successors and assigns, whether so expressed or not.

Section 13.2 Actions by Successor.

Any act or proceeding by any provision of this Indenture authorized or required to be done or performed by any board, committee or officer of the Company shall and may be done and performed with like force and effect by the corresponding board, committee or officer of any Person that shall at the time be the lawful sole successor of the Company.

Section 13.3 Notices.

Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, any notice or demand that by any provision of this Indenture is required or permitted to be given or served by the Trustee or by the holders of Securities to or on the Company may be given or served by being deposited first class postage prepaid in a post-office letterbox addressed (until another address is filed in writing by the Company with the Trustee), as follows: Amerant Bancorp Inc., [Address of Company], Attention: [Name of Contact Person]. Any notice, election, request or demand by the

Company or any Securityholder to or upon the Trustee shall be deemed to have been sufficiently given or made, for all purposes, if given or made in writing at the Corporate Trust Office of the Trustee.

The Trustee agrees to accept and act upon instructions or directions pursuant to this Indenture sent by unsecured e-mail, pdf, facsimile transmission or other similar unsecured electronic methods, provided, however, that the Trustee shall have received an incumbency certificate listing persons designated to give such instructions or directions and containing specimen signatures of such designated persons, which such incumbency certificate shall be amended and replaced whenever a person is to be added or deleted from the listing. If the Company elects to give the Trustee e-mail or facsimile instructions (or instructions by a similar electronic method) and the Trustee in its discretion elects to act upon such instructions, the Trustee’s understanding of such instructions shall be deemed controlling. The Trustee shall not be liable for any losses, costs or expenses arising directly or indirectly from the Trustee’s reliance upon and compliance with such instructions notwithstanding such instructions conflict or are inconsistent with a subsequent written instruction. The Company agrees to assume all risks arising out of the use of such electronic methods to submit instructions and directions to the Trustee, including without limitation the risk of the Trustee acting on unauthorized instructions, and the risk or interception and misuse by third parties.

Section 13.4 Notice to Securityholders of Securities; Waiver.

Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, where this Indenture provides for notice to holders of Securities of any event, such notice shall be sufficiently given to holders of Securities if in writing and mailed, first-class postage prepaid, to each holder of a Security affected by such event, at the address of such holder as it appears in the Security Register, not earlier than the earliest date, and not later than the latest date, prescribed for the giving of such notice.

In case by reason of the suspension of regular mail service or by reason of any other cause it shall be impracticable to give such notice to holders of Securities by mail, then such notification as shall be made with the approval of the Trustee shall constitute sufficient notice to such holder for every purpose hereunder. In any case where notice to holders of Securities is given by mail, neither the failure to mail such notice, nor any defect in any notice mailed to any particular holder of a Security shall affect the sufficiency of such notice with respect to other holders of Securities given as provided herein.

Where this Indenture provides for notice in any manner, such notice may be waived in writing by the Person entitled to receive such notice, either before or after the applicable event, and such waiver shall be the equivalent of such notice. Waivers of notice by holders of Securities shall be filed with the Trustee, but such filing shall not be a condition precedent to the validity of any action taken in reliance upon such waiver.

Section 13.5 Governing Law.

This Indenture and each Security shall be deemed to be a contract made under the internal laws of the State of New York, and for all purposes shall be construed in accordance with the laws of said State.

Each party hereto irrevocably submits, for itself and its property, to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the State of New York sitting in New York County and of the United States District Court of the Southern District of New York, and any appellate court from any thereof, in any suit, action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the Notes. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable Law, each party hereto irrevocably waives and agrees not to assert, by way of motion, as a defense or otherwise, any claim that it is not subject to the jurisdiction of any such court, any objection that it may now or hereafter have to the laying of the venue of any such suit, action or proceeding brought in any such court and any claim that any such suit, action or proceeding brought in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum.

Section 13.6 Effect of Headings and Table of Contents.

The Article and Section headings herein and the Table of Contents are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction hereof.

Section 13.7 Compliance Certificates and Opinions.

(a) Upon any application or demand by the Company to the Trustee to take any action under any of the provisions of this Indenture, the Trustee may require the Company to furnish to the Trustee an Officers’ Certificate stating that all conditions precedent provided for in this Indenture relating to the proposed action have been complied with and an Opinion of Counsel stating that in the opinion of such counsel all such conditions precedent have been complied with. However, in the case of any such application or demand as to which the furnishing of such documents is specifically required by any provision of this Indenture relating to such particular application or demand, no additional certificate or opinion need be furnished.

(b) Each Officer’s Certificate or Opinion of Counsel provided for in this Indenture and delivered to the Trustee with respect to compliance with a condition or covenant in this Indenture shall include (i) a statement that the Person making such certificate or opinion has read such covenant or condition, (ii) a brief statement as to the nature and scope of the examination or investigation upon which the statements or opinions contained in such certificate or opinion are based, (iii) a statement that, in the opinion of such Person, such Person has made such examination or investigation as is necessary to enable such Person to express an informed opinion as to whether or not such covenant or condition has been complied with and (iv) a statement as to whether or not, in the opinion of such Person, such condition or covenant has been complied with. Each Opinion of Counsel delivered to the Trustee hereunder may rely on the facts stated in an Officers’ Certificate delivered therewith.

Section 13.8 Payments on Business Days.

Except as provided pursuant to Section 2.1 pursuant to a Board Resolution, and as set forth in an Officers’ Certificate, or established in one or more indentures supplemental to this Indenture, in any case where the date of maturity of interest or principal of any Security or the date of redemption or repurchase of any Security or the conversion date of any Security shall not be a Business Day, then payment of interest or principal (and any premium), whether upon repurchase, redemption, maturity, conversion, or otherwise, may be made on the next succeeding Business Day with the same force and effect as if made on the nominal date of maturity, redemption, repurchase, or conversion and no additional interest shall accrue for the period after such nominal date.

Section 13.9 Conflict with Trust Indenture Act.

If and to the extent that any provision of this Indenture limits, qualifies or conflicts with the duties imposed by Sections 310 to 317, inclusive, of the Trust Indenture Act, such imposed duties shall control.

Section 13.10 Counterparts.

This Indenture may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be an original, but such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the same instrument. The exchange of copies of this Indenture and of signature pages by facsimile or PDF transmission shall constitute effective execution and delivery of this Indenture as to the parties hereto and may be used in lieu of the original Indenture for all purposes. Signatures of the parties hereto transmitted by facsimile or PDF shall be deemed to be their original signatures for all purposes.

Section 13.11 Separability.

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

Section 13.12 Assignment.

The Company will have the right at all times to assign any of its rights or obligations under this Indenture to a direct or indirect wholly-owned Subsidiary of the Company, provided that, in the event of any such assignment, the Company, will remain liable for all such obligations. This Indenture may also be assigned by the Company in connection with any transaction described in ARTICLE X. Subject to the foregoing, the Indenture is binding upon and inures to the benefit of the parties thereto and their respective successors and assigns.

Section 13.13 WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL.

EACH OF THE COMPANY, THE TRUSTEE AND THE SECURITYHOLDERS HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY AND ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS INDENTURE, THE NOTES OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY.

Section 13.14 FATCA.

In order to comply with applicable tax laws, rules and regulations (inclusive of directives, guidelines and interpretations promulgated by competent authorities) in effect from time to time (“Applicable Law”) that a foreign financial institution, issuer, paying agent, holder or other institution is or has agreed to be subject to related to this Indenture, the Issuer agrees (i) to provide to the Trustee sufficient information about holders or other applicable parties and/or transactions (including any modification to the terms of such transactions) so the Trustee can determine whether it has tax related obligations under Applicable Law, (ii) that the Trustee shall be entitled to make any withholding or deduction from payments under Indenture to the extent necessary to comply with Applicable Law for which the Trustee shall not have any liability, and (iii) to hold harmless the Trustee for any losses it may suffer due to the actions it takes to comply with such Applicable Law. The terms of this section shall survive the termination of this Indenture.

[signatures on next page]

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

AMERANT BANCORP INC.

Name:

Title:

THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON,

as Trustee

Name:

Title:



New York (Jurisdiction of incorporation if not a U.S. national bank)	13-5160382 (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
240 Greenwich Street, New York, N.Y. (Address of principal executive offices)	10286 (Zip code)



Name	Address
Superintendent of the Department of Financial Services of the State of New York	One State Street, New York, N.Y. 10004-1417, and Albany, N.Y. 12223
Federal Reserve Bank of New York	33 Liberty Street, New York, N.Y. 10045
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation	550 17th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20429
The Clearing House Association L.L.C.	100 Broad Street, New York, N.Y. 10004



ASSETS	Dollar amounts in thousands
Cash and balances due from depository institutions:
Noninterest-bearing balances and currency and coin	5,960,000
Interest-bearing balances	91,499,000
Securities:
Held-to-maturity securities	33,769,000
Available-for-sale securities	86,659,000
Equity securities with readily determinable fair values not held for trading	48,000
Federal funds sold and securities purchased under agreements to resell:
Federal funds sold in domestic offices	0
Securities purchased under agreements to resell	30,340,000
Loans and lease financing receivables:
Loans and leases held for sale	0
Loans and leases held for investment	25,722,000
LESS: Allowance for loan and lease losses	101,000
Loans and leases held for investment, net of allowance	25,621,000
Trading assets	4,410,000
Premises and fixed assets (including capitalized leases)	2,653,000
Other real estate owned	2,000
Investments in unconsolidated subsidiaries and associated companies	1,764,000
Direct and indirect investments in real estate ventures	0
Intangible assets:	6,997,000
Other assets	14,374,000
Total assets	304,096,000



LIABILITIES
Deposits:
In domestic offices	143,571,000
Noninterest-bearing	53,707,000
Interest-bearing	89,864,000
In foreign offices, Edge and Agreement subsidiaries, and IBFs	111,933,000
Noninterest-bearing	3,725,000
Interest-bearing	108,208,000
Federal funds purchased and securities sold under agreements to repurchase:
Federal funds purchased in domestic offices	3,578,000
Securities sold under agreements to repurchase	1,375,000
Trading liabilities	2,627,000
Other borrowed money: (includes mortgage indebtedness and obligations under capitalized leases)	7,503,000
Not applicable
Not applicable
Subordinated notes and debentures	0
Other liabilities	7,506,000
Total liabilities	278,093,000
EQUITY CAPITAL
Perpetual preferred stock and related surplus	0
Common stock	1,135,000
Surplus (exclude all surplus related to preferred stock)	11,107,000
Retained earnings	15,167,000
Accumulated other comprehensive income	-1,406,000
Other equity capital components	0
Total bank equity capital	26,003,000
Noncontrolling (minority) interests in consolidated subsidiaries	0
Total equity capital	26,003,000
Total liabilities and equity capital	304,096,000



Florida (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)	65-0032379 (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
220 Alhambra Circle Coral Gables, Florida (Address of principal executive offices)	33134 (Zip code)


1.	General information. Furnish the following information as to the Trustee:


(a)	Name and address of each examining or supervising authority to which it is subject.


(b)	Whether it is authorized to exercise corporate trust powers.


4.	A copy of the existing By-laws of the Trustee (Exhibit 4 to Form T-1 filed with Registration Statement No. 333-229494).


6.	The consent of the Trustee required by Section 321(b) of the Act.


7.	A copy of the latest report of condition of the Trustee published pursuant to law or to the requirements of its supervising or examining authority.



THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON
By:	/s/ Francine Kincaid
Name:	Francine Kincaid
Title:	Vice President



Thomas P. Gibbons Samuel C. Scott Joseph J. Echevarria		Directors