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AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER

Agreement and Plan of Merger

AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER | Document Parties: CAMERON INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION | OCTANE ACQUISITION SUB, INC You are currently viewing:
This Agreement and Plan of Merger involves

CAMERON INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION | OCTANE ACQUISITION SUB, INC

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Title: AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER
Governing Law: Delaware     Date: 6/3/2009
Industry: Oil Well Services and Equipment     Law Firm: Lord Bissell;Porter Hedges     Sector: Energy

AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER, Parties: cameron international corporation , octane acquisition sub  inc
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Exhibit 2.1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER

 

BY AND AMONG

 

CAMERON INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION

 

NATCO GROUP INC.

 

AND

 

OCTANE ACQUISITION SUB, INC.

 

Dated as of June 1, 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

Page

Article 1

Definitions

 1

 

Section 1.1

Defined Terms

 1

 

Section 1.2

References, Construction and Titles.

13

Article 2

The Merger

14

 

Section 2.1

The Merger

14

 

Section 2.2

Effect of the Merger

14

 

Section 2.3

Governing Instruments, Directors and Officers of the Surviving Corporation

14

 

Section 2.4

Effect on Equity Securities

14

 

Section 2.5

Exchange of Certificates

17

 

Section 2.6

Closing

20

 

Section 2.7

Effective Time of the Merger

20

 

Section 2.8

Withholding

20

 

Section 2.9

Tax Consequences

20

Article 3

Representations and Warranties of the Company

20

 

Section 3.1

Corporate Existence; Good Standing; Corporate Authority

21

 

Section 3.2

Authorization, Validity and Effect of Agreements

21

 

Section 3.3

Capitalization

22

 

Section 3.4

Subsidiaries

22

 

Section 3.5

Compliance with Laws; Permits

23

 

Section 3.6

No Violations; Consents

24

 

Section 3.7

SEC Documents

25

 

Section 3.8

Litigation

26

 

Section 3.9

Absence of Company Material Adverse Effect and Certain Other Changes

26

 

Section 3.10

Taxes

27

 

Section 3.11

Employee Benefit Plans

28

 

Section 3.12

Labor Matters

31

 

Section 3.13

Environmental Matters

32

 

Section 3.14

Intellectual Property

33

 

Section 3.15

Insurance

33

 

Section 3.16

No Brokers

33

 

Section 3.17

Opinion of Financial Advisor

33

 

Section 3.18

Parent Share Ownership

33

 

Section 3.19

Vote Required; Board of Director Approval

33

 

Section 3.20

Undisclosed Liabilities

34

 

Section 3.21

Certain Contracts

34

 

Section 3.22

State Takeover Statutes

35

 

Section 3.23

Improper Payments

35

 

Section 3.24

Amendment to the Company Rights Agreement

35

 

Section 3.25

No Other Representations or Warranties

35

Article 4

Representations and Warranties of Parent and Merger Sub

36

 

Section 4.1

Corporate Existence; Good Standing; Corporate Authority

36

 

Section 4.2

Authorization, Validity and Effect of Agreements

37

 

Section 4.3

Capitalization.

37

 

Section 4.4

Merger Sub

38

 

Section 4.5

Compliance with Laws

38

 

Section 4.6

No Violations; Consents

38

 

Section 4.7

SEC Documents

38

 

Section 4.8

Litigation

40

 

Section 4.9

No Brokers

40

 

Section 4.10

Opinion of Financial Advisor

40

 

Section 4.11

No Parent Vote Required; Board of Director Approval

40

 

Section 4.12

Improper Payments

41

 

Section 4.13

No Other Representations or Warranties

41

Article 5

Covenants

41

 

Section 5.1

Business in Ordinary Course

41

 

Section 5.2

Conduct of Business Pending Closing

42

 

Section 5.3

Access to Assets, Personnel and Information

45

 

Section 5.4

No Solicitation.

47

 

Section 5.5

Company Stockholder Meeting

50

 

Section 5.6

Registration Statement and Proxy Statement/Prospectus

51

 

Section 5.7

NYSE Listing

53

 

Section 5.8

Reasonable Best Efforts; Consents and Governmental Approvals

53

 

Section 5.9

Section 16

55

 

Section 5.10

Public Announcements

55

 

Section 5.11

Notification of Certain Matters.

55

 

Section 5.12

Payment of Expenses

56

 

Section 5.13

Indemnification and Insurance

56

 

Section 5.14

Employee Matters

58

 

Section 5.15

Company Board and Executive Officers

59

 

Section 5.16

Tax Matters

59

 

Section 5.17

Continuing Obligation to Call, Hold and Convene Stockholders’ Meeting; No Other Vote

60

 

Section 5.18

Additional Instruments and Agreements

60

 

Section 5.19

Control of Other Party’s Business

60

 

Section 5.20

Agreements Regarding Change of Control

60

 

Section 5.21

Takeover Laws

61

 

Section 5.22

Subsequent Filings

61

 

Section 5.23

Stockholder Litigation

61

 

Section 5.24

Sanctioned Countries

61

Article 6

Conditions

61

 

Section 6.1

Conditions to Each Party’s Obligation to Effect the Merger

61

 

Section 6.2

Conditions to Obligations of Parent and Merger Sub

62

 

Section 6.3

Conditions to Obligation of the Company

63

Article 7

Termination

64

 

Section 7.1

Termination Rights

64

 

Section 7.2

Effect of Termination

66

 

Section 7.3

Fees and Expenses

66

Article 8

Miscellaneous

68

 

Section 8.1

Nonsurvival of Representations and Warranties

68

 

Section 8.2

Amendment

68

 

Section 8.3

Notices

68

 

Section 8.4

Counterparts

69

 

Section 8.5

Severability

69

 

Section 8.6

Entire Agreement; No Third Party Beneficiaries

69

 

Section 8.7

Applicable Law

70

 

Section 8.8

Assignment

70

 

Section 8.9

Waivers

70

 

Section 8.10

Confidentiality Agreement

70

 

Section 8.11

Incorporation

70

 

Section 8.12

Specific Performance; Remedies

70

 

Section 8.13

Waiver of Jury Trial

71

 

Section 8.14

Jurisdiction; Venue

71

 

 

 

 


 

 

AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER

 

This Agreement and Plan of Merger (as amended, supplemented or modified from time to time, this “ Agreement ”), dated as of June 1, 2009, is by and among Cameron International Corporation, a Delaware corporation (“ Parent ”), Octane Acquisition Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of Parent (“ Merger Sub ”), and NATCO Group Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “ Company ”).

 

Recitals

 

WHEREAS , the boards of directors of each of Parent, Merger Sub and the Company (each a “ Party ,” and collectively, the “ Parties ”) have approved this Agreement and the merger of Merger Sub with and into the Company, with the Company continuing as the surviving corporation, upon the terms and subject to the conditions of this Agreement and the Delaware General Corporation Law, as amended (the “ DGCL ”);

 

WHEREAS , the boards of directors of each of Parent, Merger Sub and the Company have determined that the Merger (as defined below) and this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby are advisable and in the best interests of their respective companies and stockholders;

 

WHEREAS , for United States federal income tax purposes, it is intended that the Merger shall qualify as a reorganization within the meaning of Section 368(a) of the Internal Revenue Code (as defined below), and any comparable provision of state or local law and this Agreement is intended to be as is adopted as a “plan of reorganization” for purposes of Sections 354 and 361 of the Internal Revenue Code; and

 

WHEREAS , the Parties desire to make certain representations, warranties, covenants and agreements in connection with the Merger and also to set forth various conditions to the consummation of the Merger;

 

NOW, THEREFORE , for and in consideration of the recitals and the mutual covenants and agreements set forth in this Agreement, the Parties agree as follows:

 

Article 1

 

Definitions

 

Section 1.1   Defined Terms . As used in this Agreement, capitalized terms shall have the meanings set forth below or shall have the meanings set forth for such terms in the sections of this Agreement referenced below:

 

Acquired Companies ” means the Company and each of the Company’s Subsidiaries.

 

Acquisition Proposal ” means, for any Person, any proposal, offer or other inquiry or indication of interest (regardless of whether in writing and regardless of whether delivered to such Person’s stockholders) relating to any of the following (other than the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the Merger): (a) any merger, reorganization, share exchange, take-over bid, tender offer, recapitalization, consolidation, liquidation, dissolution or other business combination, purchase or similar transaction or series of transactions directly or indirectly involving 15% or more of the assets, net revenues or net income of such Person and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole; (b) the sale, lease, exchange, transfer or other disposition, directly or indirectly, of any business or assets involving 15% or more of the assets, net revenues or net income of such Person and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or any license, lease, exchange, mortgage, pledge or other agreement or arrangement having a similar economic effect, in each case in a single transaction or a series of related transactions; or (c) any direct or indirect acquisition of beneficial ownership (as defined in Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act) or any direct or indirect acquisition of the right to acquire beneficial ownership (as defined in Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act) by any Person or any “group” (as defined in the Exchange Act) of 15% or more of the shares of any class of the issued and outstanding Equity Interests of such Person, whether in a single transaction or a series of related transactions.

 

 

1


Affiliate ” means, with respect to any Person, each other Person that directly or indirectly Controls, is Controlled by, or is under common Control with such Person.

 

Agreement ” has the meaning given to such term in the preamble.

 

Assumed Option ” has the meaning given such term in Section 2.4(c)(iii)(A) .

 

Benefit Plan ” means any qualified or non-qualified employee benefit plan, program, policy, practice, agreement, Contract or other arrangement, regardless of whether written, regardless of whether U.S.-based, including any “employee welfare benefit plan” within the meaning of Section 3(1) of ERISA (including post-retirement medical and life insurance and regardless of whether such plan is subject to ERISA), any “employee pension benefit plan” within the meaning of Section 3(2) of ERISA (regardless of whether such plan is subject to ERISA), including any multiemployer plan (as defined in Section 3(37) of ERISA) or multiple employer plan (as defined in Section 413 of the Internal Revenue Code), any employment or severance agreement or other arrangement, and any employee benefit, bonus, incentive, deferred compensation, profit sharing, vacation, stock, stock purchase, stock option, severance, retention, change of control, fringe benefit or other plan, program, policy, practice, agreement, Contract, or other arrangement, regardless of whether subject to ERISA and regardless of whether funded.

 

Business Day ” means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or any day on which banks in the State of Texas are authorized or required by federal Law to be closed.

 

Certificate of Merger ” means the certificate of merger, prepared and executed in accordance with the applicable provisions of the DGCL and this Agreement, filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware to effect the Merger.

 

Claim ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 5.13(b) .

 

Closing ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 2.6 .

 

Closing Date ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 2.6 .

 

Company ” has the meaning given to such term in the preamble.

 

 

2


Company Acquisition Proposal ” means an Acquisition Proposal with respect to the Company.

 

Company Adverse Recommendation Change ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 5.4(a) .

 

Company Benefit Plan ” means a Benefit Plan (a) providing benefits to (i) any current or former employee, officer or director of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or ERISA Affiliates or (ii) any beneficiary or dependent of any such employee, officer or director, (b) in which any of the foregoing is a participant, (c) that is sponsored, maintained or contributed to by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or ERISA Affiliates or to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or ERISA Affiliates is a party or is obligated to contribute, or (d) with respect to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or ERISA Affiliates has any liability, whether direct or indirect, contingent or otherwise.

 

Company Board ” means the board of directors of the Company.

 

Company Board Recommendation ” means the duly adopted resolution of the Company Board to recommend the Company Proposal in accordance with Section 251 of the DGCL, subject to Section 5.4(d) and Section 5.4(e) of this Agreement.

 

Company Certificate ” means a certificate representing a share or shares of Company Common Stock or other appropriate evidence of a share or shares of Company Common Stock issued in book-entry form.

 

Company Charter Documents ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 3.1 .

 

Company Common Stock ” means the common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company.

 

Company Disclosure Letter ” has the meaning given to such term in the introduction to Article 3 .

 

Company Employees ” means the individuals who are employed as employees by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries immediately prior to the Effective Time and who remain employed as employees of Parent or any of its Subsidiaries after the Effective Time.

 

Company Financial Statements ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 3.7(a) .

 

Company Incentive Plans ” means the Directors Compensation Plan, as amended, the 1998 Employee Stock Incentive Plan, the 2000 Employee Stock Option Plan, the 2001 Stock Incentive Plan, the 2004 Stock Incentive Plan, the 2006 Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plan and the 2009 Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plan.

 

Company Information ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 5.3(b) .

 

Company Intervening Event ” means with respect to the Acquired Companies, an event or circumstance arising after the date of this Agreement or that was not known by the Company Board as of the date of this Agreement (or if known, the material consequences of which are not known to or understood by the Company Board as of such date), which event or circumstance, or any material consequence thereof, becomes known to or understood by the Company Board prior to the Required Company Vote and which causes the Company Board to conclude in good faith, after consultation with its outside counsel and financial advisors that its failure to effect a Company Adverse Recommendation Change would be reasonably expected to be a breach its fiduciary duties to the stockholders of the Company under applicable Law; provided, however , that in no event shall the receipt, existence or terms of a Company Acquisition Proposal or any matter relating thereto or consequences thereof constitute a Company Intervening Event.

 

 

3


Company Leased Real Property ” means real property leased by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.

 

Company Material Adverse Effect ” means a Material Adverse Effect with respect to the Company.

 

Company Material Contracts ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 3.21(a) .

 

Company Meeting ” means a meeting of the stockholders of the Company duly called and held for the purpose specified in the Proxy Statement/Prospectus, including the Company Proposal.

 

Company Notice Period ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 5.4(d) .

 

Company Owned Real Property ” means real property owned by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.

 

Company Permits ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 3.5(b) .

 

Company Proposal ” means the proposal to adopt this Agreement, which proposal is to be presented to the stockholders of the Company in the Proxy Statement/Prospectus.

 

Company Real Property ” means the Company Leased Real Property and the Company Owned Real Property.

 

Company Regulatory Filings ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 3.6(b) .

 

Company Reports ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 3.7(a) .

 

Company Representative ” means a Representative of the Company or its Subsidiaries.

 

Company Restricted Stock ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 2.4(c)(iv) .

 

Company Rights Agreement ” means the Amended and Restated Rights Agreement between the Company and Mellon Investor Services, L.L.C. dated May 15, 2008.

 

Company Securities ” means the Company Common Stock and Company Restricted Stock.

 

 

4


Company Stock Option ” means an option issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time to acquire shares of Company Common Stock granted to an employee, non-employee director or any other Person pursuant to a Company Incentive Plan.

 

Company Subsidiary ” means a Subsidiary of the Company.

 

Company Subsidiary Charter Documents ” means the certificate of incorporation, articles of incorporation, certificate of formation, certificate of limited partnership, bylaws, limited liability company agreement, operating agreement, partnership agreement or other governing or organizational documents of each of the Company Subsidiaries.

 

Company Superior Proposal ” means a Company Acquisition Proposal that is a Superior Proposal.

 

Company Termination Fee ” has the meaning given such term in Section 7.3(f) .

 

Confidentiality Agreement ” means the Mutual Confidentiality Agreement, dated as of April 14, 2009, between the Company and Parent.

 

Contract ” means any agreement, arrangement, commitment or instrument, written or oral, including, without limitation, any loan or credit agreement or other agreement evidencing Indebtedness, promissory note, bond, mortgage, indenture, guarantee, permit, lease, sublease, license, agreement to render services, or other agreement, arrangement, commitment or instrument evidencing rights or obligations of any kind or nature, including all amendments, modifications, supplements and options relating thereto.

 

Control ” (and related terms) means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management policies of a Person, whether through the ownership of stock, by contract, credit arrangement or otherwise.

 

D&O Insurance ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 5.13(c) .

 

DGCL ” has the meaning given to such term in the Recitals.

 

Disclosure Letter ” means, as applicable, the Company Disclosure Letter or the Parent Disclosure Letter.

 

DOJ ” means the United States Department of Justice.

 

Effective Time ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 2.7 .

 

Environmental, Health and Safety Laws ” means any Laws relating to (a) emissions, discharges, releases or threatened releases of Hazardous Materials into the environment, including into ambient air, soil, sediments, land surface or subsurface, buildings or facilities, surface water, groundwater, publicly-owned treatment works, or septic systems, (b) the generation, treatment, storage, disposal, use, handling, manufacturing, recycling, transportation or shipment of Hazardous Materials, (c) occupational health and safety, or (d) the pollution of the environment, solid waste handling, treatment or disposal, reclamation or remediation activities, or protection of environmentally sensitive areas.

 

 

5


Equity Interests ” means (a) with respect to a corporation, any and all shares, interests, participation, phantom stock plans or arrangements or other equivalents (however designated) of corporate stock, including all common stock, preferred stock and other equity and voting interests, and warrants, options, calls, subscriptions or other convertible securities or other rights to acquire any of the foregoing, and (b) with respect to a partnership, limited liability company or similar Person, any and all units, membership or other interests, including rights to purchase, warrants, options, calls, subscriptions or other equivalents of, or other interests convertible into, any beneficial or legal ownership interest in such Person.

 

ERISA ” means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, and any regulations promulgated pursuant thereto.

 

ERISA Affiliate ” means any trade or business, regardless of whether incorporated, which is required to be treated as a single employer together with an entity pursuant to Section 414(b), (c), (m) or (o) of the Internal Revenue Code or Section 4001(b)(1) of ERISA.

 

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

 

Exchange Agent ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 2.5(a) .

 

Exchange Fund ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 2.5(a) .

 

Exchange Ratio ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 2.4(c)(i)(A) .

 

FTC ” means the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

 

GAAP ” means generally accepted accounting principles, as recognized by the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (or any generally recognized successor).

 

Governmental Authority ” means any national, state, local, county, parish or municipal government, domestic or foreign, any agency, board, bureau, commission, court, tribunal, subdivision, department or other governmental or regulatory authority or instrumentality, or any arbitrator in any case that has jurisdiction over any of the Acquired Companies or Parent Companies, as the case may be, or any of their respective properties or assets.

 

Hazardous Material ” means any chemical, pollutant, contaminant, material, waste or substance the generation, management, treatment, storage, escape, release, discharge, emission or disposal of which is regulated by any Governmental Authority or subject to liability under any Environmental, Health and Safety Law, including, but not limited to, any hazardous waste, hazardous substance, toxic substance, radioactive material (including any naturally occurring radioactive material), asbestos-containing materials in any form or condition, polychlorinated biphenyls in any form or condition, chloride or petroleum, petroleum hydrocarbons, petroleum products or any fraction or byproducts thereof.

 

HSR Act ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 3.6(b) .

 

6


 

Indebtedness ” of any Person means and includes any obligations consisting of (a) the outstanding principal amount of and accrued and unpaid interest on, and other payment obligations for, borrowed money, or payment obligations issued or incurred in substitution or exchange for payment obligations for borrowed money, (b) amounts owing as deferred purchase price for property or services, including “earn-out” payments, (c) payment obligations evidenced by any promissory note, bond, debenture, mortgage or other debt instrument or debt security, (d) commitments or obligations by which such Person assures a creditor against loss, including contingent reimbursement obligations with respect to letters of credit, (e) payment obligations secured by a Lien, other than a Permitted Lien, on assets or properties of such Person, (f) obligations to repay deposits or other amounts advanced by and owing to third parties, (g) obligations under capitalized leases, (h) obligations under any interest rate, currency or other hedging agreement or derivatives transaction, (i) guarantees or other contingent liabilities with respect to any amounts of a type described in clauses (a) through (h) above, and (j) any change of control payments or prepayment premiums, penalties, charges or equivalents thereof with respect to any indebtedness, obligation or liability of a type described in clauses (a) through (i) above that are required to be paid at the time of, or the payment of which would become due and payable solely as a result of, the execution of this Agreement or the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement at such time, in each case determined in accordance with GAAP; provided , however , that Indebtedness shall not include accounts payable to trade creditors and accrued expenses arising in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and shall not include the endorsement of negotiable instruments for collection in the ordinary course of business.

 

Indemnified Party ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 5.13(b) .

 

Intellectual Property ” means all United States and foreign (a) patents and patent applications and all reissues, renewals, divisions, extensions, provisionals, continuations and continuations in part thereof, (b) inventions (regardless of whether patentable), invention disclosures, trade secrets, proprietary information, industrial designs and registrations and applications, mask works and applications and registrations therefor, (c) copyrights and copyright applications and corresponding rights, (d) trade dress, trade names, logos, URLs, common law trademarks and service marks, registered trademarks and trademark applications, registered service marks and service mark applications, (e) domain name rights and registrations, (f) databases, customer lists, data collections and rights therein, and (g) licenses, proprietary information and know-how, confidentiality rights and other intellectual property rights of any nature, in each case throughout the world.

 

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

 

International Plans ” means Company Benefit Plans subject to the Laws of any jurisdiction outside the United States.

 

IRS ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 3.11(b) .

 

knowledge ” of a Person means, with respect to the matter in question, the actual knowledge of any executive officer of such Person after inquiry of their respective direct reports.

 

7


 

Law ” means any federal, state, local or foreign statute, code, ordinance, rule, regulation, permit, consent, approval, license, judgment, Order, writ, decree, injunction or other authorization, treaty, convention, or governmental certification requirement of any Governmental Authority.

 

Lien ” means any lien, mortgage, security interest, indenture, deed of trust, pledge, deposit, restriction, burden, lien, license, lease, sublease, right of first refusal, right of first offer, charge, privilege, easement, right of way, reservation, option, preferential purchase right, right of a vendor under any title retention or conditional sale agreement, or other arrangement substantially equivalent thereto, in each case regardless of whether relating to the extension of credit or the borrowing of money.

 

Material Adverse Effect ” means, with respect to any Person, any fact, circumstance, event, change, effect or occurrence that, individually or in the aggregate with all other facts, circumstances, events, changes, effects or occurrences, has had or caused or would reasonably be expected to have or cause a material adverse effect on (i) the assets, properties, business, results of operations or condition (financial or otherwise) of such Person and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or (ii) the ability of such Person to timely perform its obligations under this Agreement or timely consummate the Merger, but, in either case, shall not include any fact, circumstance, event, change, effect or occurrence relating to (a)(1) the industry in which such Person and its Subsidiaries operate or (2) the economy or the financial, securities or credit markets in the U.S. or elsewhere in the world, including natural disasters, any regulatory or political conditions or developments, or any outbreak or escalation of hostilities or declared or undeclared acts of war, terrorism or insurrection, whether occurring before or after the date hereof, unless any such fact, circumstance, event, change, effect or occurrence disproportionately affects the assets, properties, business, results of operations or financial condition of such Person and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, relative to other industry participants, (b) the negotiation or performance of this Agreement, the announcement of the execution of this Agreement or the consummation or the pendency of the Merger (including, without limitation, and solely by way of example of such facts, circumstances, events, changes, effects or occurrences, the direct and substantiated effect of the public announcement of this Agreement or the Merger on the relationships of such Person or any of its Subsidiaries with customers, suppliers, distributors or employees); (c) fluctuations in the price or trading volume of shares of any trading stock of such Person ( provided , however , that the exception in this clause (c) shall not prevent or otherwise affect a determination that any fact, circumstance, event, change, effect or occurrence underlying such fluctuation has resulted in, or contributed to, a Material Adverse Effect with respect to such Person), (d) any changes in Law or in GAAP (or the interpretation thereof) after the date hereof, (e) any legal proceedings initiated by any of the current or former stockholders of such Person (or on their behalf or on behalf of such Person) and related to this Agreement or any of the transactions contemplated hereby, (f) any failure by such Person to meet any published analyst estimates or expectations regarding such Person’s revenue, earnings or other financial performance or results of operations for any period or any failure by such Person to meet its internal budgets, plans or forecasts regarding its revenues, earnings or other financial performance or results of operations ( provided , however , that the exception in this clause (f) shall not prevent or otherwise affect a determination that any fact, circumstance, event, change, effect or occurrence underlying such failure has resulted in, or contributed to, a Material Adverse Effect), (g) any change or announcement of a potential change in the credit rating of any Person or any of its Subsidiaries, (h) any actions taken by the Company or its Subsidiaries that are expressly requested or consented to by Parent or Merger Sub, (i) the failure to take action as a result of any restrictions or prohibitions set forth in Section 5.2 of this Agreement, or (j) any change in the price of oil or natural gas or the number of active drilling rigs operating in the geographic areas in which such Person and its Subsidiaries have significant operations or sales.

 

 

8


 

Maximum Amount ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 5.13(c) .

 

Merger ” means the merger of Merger Sub with and into the Company under the DGCL, with the Company continuing as the surviving corporation, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement, and in accordance with the requirements of the DGCL.

 

Merger Consideration ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 2.4(c)(i)(A) .

 

Merger Sub ” has the meaning given to such term in the preamble.

 

Merger Sub Charter Documents ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 4.1 .

 

Notification and Report Forms ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 3.6(b) .

 

NYSE ” means the New York Stock Exchange, Inc.

 

Order ” means any order, writ, fine, injunction, decree, judgment, award or enforceable determination of any Governmental Authority.

 

Outside Date ” means March 31, 2010 or such later date to which the “Outside Date” shall be extended pursuant to Section 5.5 .

 

 “ Parent ” has the meaning given to such term in the preamble.

 

Parent Board ” means the board of directors of Parent.

 

Parent Certificate ” means a certificate representing a share or shares of Parent Common Stock or other appropriate evidence of a share or shares of Parent Common Stock issued in book-entry form.

 

Parent Charter Documents ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 4.1 .

 

Parent Common Stock ” means the common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of Parent.

 

Parent Companies ” means Parent and each of the Parent Subsidiaries.

 

Parent Disclosure Letter ” has the meaning given to such term in the introduction to Article 4 .

 

Parent Financial Statements ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 4.7(a) .

 

Parent Incentive Plans ” means the 2005 Equity Incentive Plan (as amended and restated as of February 18, 2009), the Long-Term Incentive Plan, as amended and restated as of November 2002, the Broadbased 2000 Incentive Plan and the Second Amended and Restated 1995 Stock Option Plan for Non-Employee Directors.

 

9


Parent Information ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 5.3(a) .

 

Parent Material Adverse Effect ” means a Material Adverse Effect with respect to Parent.

 

Parent Preferred Stock ” means the preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share, of Parent.

 

Parent Regulatory Filings ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 4.6 .

 

Parent Reports ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 4.7(a) .

 

Parent Representative ” means a Representative of Parent or its Subsidiaries.

 

Parent Rights Agreement ” means the Rights Agreement between Parent and Computershare Trust Company, N.A., dated October 1, 2007.

 

Parent Stock Consideration ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 2.4(c)(i)(A) .

 

Parent Subsidiary ” means a Subsidiary of Parent identified on the Parent Disclosure Letter.

 

Parent Subsidiary Charter Documents ” means the certificate of incorporation, articles of incorporation, certificate of formation, certificate of limited partnership, bylaws, limited liability company agreement, operating agreement, partnership agreement or other governing or organizational documents of each of the Parent Subsidiaries.

 

Parties ” has the meaning given to such term in the Recitals.

 

Party ” has the meaning given to such term in the Recitals.

 

PBGC ” means the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

 

Permitted Liens ” means (a) Liens for Taxes, assessments or other governmental charges or levies that are not yet due and payable or that are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings and for which adequate reserves in accordance with GAAP have been established and described in the applicable Disclosure Letter, (b) Liens in connection with workmen’s compensation, unemployment insurance or other social security, old age pension or public liability obligations not yet due or which are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings and for which adequate reserves in accordance with GAAP have been established and described in the applicable Disclosure Letter, (c) operators’, vendors’, suppliers’, carriers’, warehousemen’s, repairmen’s, mechanics’, workmen’s, materialmen’s, or construction Liens (during repair or upgrade periods) or other like Liens arising by operation of Law in the ordinary course of business or statutory landlord’s Liens, each of which is in respect of obligations that have not been outstanding more than 90 days (so long as no action has been taken to file or enforce such Liens within said 90-day period) or which are being contested in good faith, (d) Liens described in the applicable Disclosure Letter or (e) any other Lien, encumbrance or other imperfection of title that does not materially affect the value or use of the property subject thereto.

 

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Person ” means any natural person, corporation, company, limited or general partnership, joint stock company, joint venture, association, limited liability company, trust, bank, trust company, land trust, business trust or other entity or organization, regardless of whether a Governmental Authority.

 

Post-Merger Plans ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 5.14 .

 

Pre-Merger Plan ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 5.14 .

 

Proxy Statement/Prospectus ” means the proxy statement in definitive form relating to the Company Meeting, which proxy statement will be included in the prospectus contained in the Registration Statement.

 

Registration Statement ” means the Registration Statement on Form S-4 to be filed by Parent in connection with the issuance of Parent Common Stock in the Merger.

 

Regulatory Filings ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 5.8(a) .

 

Related Documents ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 3.2(a) .

 

Representative ” means any director, officer, employee, agent or advisor (including legal, accounting and financial advisors).

 

Required Company Vote ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 3.19 .

 

Responsible Officers ” means, with respect to each Party, the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer of such Party.

 

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

 

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

 

SOX ” means the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended.

 

Subsidiary ” means for any Person at any time (a) any corporation of which such Person owns, either directly or through its Subsidiaries, 50% or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of voting securities of such corporation, or (b) any partnership, association, joint venture, limited liability company or other business organization, regardless of whether such constitutes a legal entity, in which such Person directly or indirectly owns 50% or more of the total Equity Interests.  With respect to the Company, “Subsidiary” includes the entities listed in Schedule 3.4(b) of the Company Disclosure Letter.

 

Superior Proposal ” means a bona fide written Acquisition Proposal (with all percentages used in the definition of Acquisition Proposal increased to 50% for purposes of this definition) made by a Third Party after the date of this Agreement through the Effective Time (or such earlier date that this Agreement is terminated in accordance with the terms set forth herein), if the Company Board determines in good faith (after receipt of the advice of its independent financial advisors, and after consultation with its outside counsel and taking into account all legal, financial, regulatory and other aspects of the Acquisition Proposal) that such Acquisition Proposal (a) would, if consummated in accordance with its terms, result in a transaction that is more favorable, from a financial point of view, to the holders of the common stock of the Company than the transactions contemplated by this Agreement (taking into account the time frame considered appropriate by the Company Board given the strategic nature of the Merger, and any Parent adjusted offer made under Section 5.4(d) ), (b) contains conditions which are all reasonably capable of being satisfied in a timely manner, and (c) is not subject to any financing contingency or, to the extent financing for such proposal is required, that such financing is then committed in writing.

 

 

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Surviving Corporation ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 2.2 .

 

Takeover Law ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 3.22 .

 

Tax ” or “ Taxes ” (including with correlative meaning, “ Taxable ”) means (a) any federal, foreign, state or local tax, including any income, gross income, gross receipts, ad valorem, excise, sales, use, value added, admissions, business, occupation, license, franchise, margin, capital, net worth, customs, premium, real property, personal property, intangibles, capital stock, transfer, profits, windfall profits, environmental, severance, fuel, utility, payroll, social security, employment, withholding, disability, stamp, rent, recording, registration, alternative minimum, add-on minimum, or other tax, assessment, duty, fee, levy or other governmental charge of any kind whatsoever imposed by a Governmental Authority (a “ Tax Authority ”), together with and including, without limitation, any and all interest, fines, penalties, assessments and additions to tax resulting from, relating to, or incurred in connection with any such tax or any contest or dispute thereof, (b) any liability for the payment of any amount of the type described in the immediately preceding clause (a) as a result of being a member of a consolidated, affiliated, unitary or combined group with any other corporation or entity at any time prior to and through the Closing Date, and (c) any liability for the payment of any amount of the type described in the preceding clauses (a) or (b) as a result of a contractual obligation to any other Person or of transferee, successor or secondary liability.

 

Tax Authority ” has the meaning given to such term in the definition of Tax.

 

Tax Return ” means any report, return, document, declaration or other information (including any attached schedules and any amendments to such report, return, document, declaration or other information) required to be supplied to or filed with any Tax Authority with respect to any Tax, including an information return and any document with respect to or accompanying payments, deposits or estimated Taxes, or with respect to or accompanying requests for the extension of time in which to file any such report, return, document, declaration or other information.

 

Third Party ” means a Person other than any of the Acquired Companies or any of the Parent Companies.

 

 

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Treasury Regulations ” means the regulations promulgated by the United States Treasury Department under the Internal Revenue Code.

 

U.S. ” means the United States of America.

 

Voting Debt ” of any Person, means any bonds, debentures, promissory notes or other obligations, the holders of which have the right to vote (or which are convertible into or exercisable for Equity Interests having the right to vote) with the stockholders of such Person on any matter.

 

Section 1.2   References, Construction and Titles.

 

(a)   All references in this Agreement to Exhibits, Schedules, Articles, Sections, subsections and other subdivisions refer to the corresponding Exhibits, Schedules, Articles, Sections, subsections and other subdivisions of or to this Agreement, unless expressly provided otherwise. Titles appearing at the beginning of any Articles, Sections, subsections or other subdivisions of this Agreement are for convenience only, do not constitute any part of this Agreement, and shall be disregarded in construing the language hereof. The words “this Agreement,” “herein,” “hereby,” “hereunder” and “hereof,” and words of similar import, refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular Article, Section, Subsection or subdivision unless expressly so limited. The words “this Article” and “this Section,” and words of similar import, refer only to the Article or Section hereof in which such words occur.

 

(b)   The word “or” is not exclusive, and the word “including” (in its various forms) means including without limitation. Pronouns in masculine, feminine or neuter genders shall be construed to state and include any other gender, and words, terms and titles (including terms defined herein) in the singular form shall be construed to include the plural and vice versa, unless the context otherwise requires.

 

(c)   As used in the representations and warranties contained in this Agreement, the phrase “to the knowledge” of the representing Party or “known” to a representing Party shall mean to the actual knowledge (and not constructive or imputed knowledge) of one or more of the Responsible Officers of the representing Party.

 

(d)   The Parties have participated jointly in negotiating and drafting this Agreement. In the event an ambiguity or a question of intent or interpretation arises, this Agreement shall be construed as if drafted jointly by the Parties, and no presumption or burden of proof shall arise favoring or disfavoring any Party by virtue of the authorship of any provision(s) of this Agreement.

 

(e)   Provisions hereof referring to delivery of documents by one Party to another Party prior to the date hereof shall be deemed to refer to either actual physical delivery of such documents or making such documents available for review in a data room or computer based virtual data room at least three Business Days prior to the date hereof.

 

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Article 2

 

The Merger

 

Section 2.1   The Merger . On the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement and in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, the Certificate of Merger and the DGCL, at the Effective Time, Merger Sub shall be merged with and into the Company.

 

Section 2.2   Effect of the Merger . Upon the effectiveness of the Merger, the separate corporate existence of Merger Sub shall cease and the Company shall be the surviving entity in the Merger (referred to from time to time herein as the “ Surviving Corporation ”). The Company shall continue its company existence under the Laws of the State of Delaware with all its rights, privileges, immunities and franchises continuing unaffected by the Merger. The Merger shall have the effects specified in this Agreement and the DGCL.

 

Section 2.3   Governing Instruments, Directors and Officers of the Surviving Corporation.

 

(a)   At the Effective Time, the certificate of incorporation of the Company shall be amended to read in its entirety as the certificate of incorporation of Merger Sub, as in effect immediately prior to the Effective Time, except that the name of the Company shall remain “NATCO Group Inc.” and the incorporator of the Company shall not be amended, and as so amended shall be the certificate of incorporation of the Surviving Corporation until subsequently amended in accordance with applicable Law.

 

(b)   At the Effective Time, the bylaws of the Company shall be amended to read in their entirety as the bylaws of Merger Sub as in effect immediately prior to the Effective Time, and as so amended shall be the bylaws of the Surviving Corporation until subsequently amended in accordance with applicable Law.

 

(c)   The directors and officers of Merger Sub at the Effective Time shall be the initial directors and officers, respectively, of the Surviving Corporation from the Effective Time until their respective successors have been duly elected or appointed in accordance with the certificate of incorporation and bylaws of the Surviving Corporation and applicable Law.

 

Section 2.4   Effect on Equity Securities .

 

(a)   Merger Sub Capital Stock . At the Effective Time, by virtue of the Merger and without any action on the part of Parent, Merger Sub, the Company or its stockholders, each share of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of Merger Sub then issued and outstanding shall be converted into one fully paid and nonassessable share of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Surviving Corporation.

 

(b)   Parent Capital Stock . At the Effective Time, each share of Parent capital stock then issued and outstanding shall remain issued, outstanding and unchanged.

 

 

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(c)   Company Securities .

 

(i)   Company Common Stock .

 

(A)   At the Effective Time, by virtue of the Merger and without any action on the part of Merger Sub, Parent, the Company or any holder thereof (but subject to the provisions of Section 2.5(e) ), each share of Company Common Stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time (excluding shares to be cancelled pursuant to Section 2.4(c)(ii) , but including, without limitation, shares of Company Common Stock that are issued prior to the Effective Time in connection with Company Stock Options) shall be converted into the right to receive a number of fully paid and nonassessable shares of Parent Common Stock (the “ Parent Stock Consideration ”) equal to the Exchange Ratio. “ Exchange Ratio ” means 1.185.  The Parent Stock Consideration using the Exchange Ratio shall be calculated to the nearest one-ten thousandth of a share of Parent Stock.  The Parent Stock Consideration to be received by the holders of Company Common Stock hereunder (together with the cash in lieu of fractional shares of Parent Stock as specified below) is referred to herein as the “ Merger Consideration .”

 

(B)   Each share of Company Common Stock, when so converted, shall automatically be cancelled and retired, shall cease to exist and shall no longer be outstanding; each certificate that, immediately prior to the Effective Time, represented any such shares (other than shares to be cancelled pursuant to Section 2.4(c)(ii) ) shall thereafter represent the right to receive the Merger Consideration therefor and the holder of any Company Certificate shall cease to have any rights with respect to such Company Common Stock, except the right to receive the Merger Consideration (including any cash in lieu of fractional shares of Parent Common Stock as provided in Section 2.5(e) and any unpaid dividends and distributions with respect to such shares of Parent Common Stock as provided in Section 2.5(c) ), without interest, upon the surrender of such Company Certificate in accordance with Section 2.5(b) .

 

(ii)   Company Treasury Stock . At the Effective Time, by virtue of the Merger and without any action on the part of Merger Sub, Parent, the Company or any holder thereof, all shares of Company Common Stock that are held immediately prior to the Effective Time by the Company, by Parent or Merger Sub or by any direct or indirect wholly owned Subsidiary of Parent or the Company shall be cancelled and retired without any conversion and shall cease to exist, and no Merger Consideration shall be paid or payable in exchange therefor.

 

(iii)   Company Stock Options .

 

(A)   At the Effective Time, Company Stock Options granted to holders that are outstanding and unexercised immediately prior to the Effective Time shall cease to represent a right to acquire shares of Company Common Stock, and Parent shall assume each such Company Stock Option (hereinafter an “ Assumed Option ”) subject to the terms of the applicable Company Incentive Plan and stock option award agreement; provided, however , that the (1) number of shares of Parent Common Stock purchasable upon such exercise of such Assumed Option shall be equal to the number of shares of the Company Common Stock that were purchasable under such Company Stock Option immediately prior to the Effective Time multiplied by the Exchange Ratio and rounded down to the nearest whole share, and (2) the per share exercise price under such Assumed Option shall be adjusted by dividing the per share exercise price under such Company Stock Option immediately prior to the Effective Time by the Exchange Ratio, and rounding up to the nearest whole cent, each in compliance with the “ratio test” and the “spread test” of the Treasury Regulations under Section 424 of the Internal Revenue Code.  As soon as practicable following the date of this Agreement, the Company Board (or, if appropriate, any committee thereof administering the Company Incentive Plans) shall adopt such resolutions and the Company Board (or any such committee) and the Company shall take such other actions as may be required to effect the provisions of the preceding sentence and to provide for the full vesting of Assumed Options to the extent provided in Section 2.4(c)(iii)(B) .  At the Effective Time, Parent shall assume the Company Incentive Plans with such amendments thereto as may be required to reflect the Merger, including the substitution of Parent Common Stock for Company Common Stock thereunder.

 

 

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(B)   Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, any adjustment pursuant to Parent’s assumption of the Company Stock Options shall be determined in a manner so the Assumed Option will be exempt from Code Section 409A and the Parties to this Agreement shall agree to any adjustments to the foregoing to comply therewith.  All Assumed Options shall be fully vested; provided that each Assumed Option that is attributable to a Company Stock Option issued after the date hereof pursuant to Section 5.2(a)(iv) shall provide the holder with the same vesting rights that were included in such Company Stock Option immediately prior to the Effective Time. Following the Effective Time, no holder of a Company Stock Option that becomes an Assumed Option shall have any right to receive any shares of Company Common Stock in respect of such option or any Merger Consideration.

 

(iv)   Company Restricted Stock . Immediately prior to the Effective Time, each share of Company Common Stock then outstanding that is unvested or is subject to a repurchase option, risk of forfeiture or other condition or restriction under any Company Incentive Plans or any applicable restricted stock purchase agreement or other agreement with the Company (“ Company Restricted Stock ”) shall be immediately vested and become free of such conditions or restrictions and the holder thereof shall be entitled to receive the Merger Consideration upon surrender of the Company Certificate(s) representing such shares of Company Common Stock to the Exchange Agent; provided that each share of Parent Common Stock received in exchange for each such outstanding share of Company Common Stock  that is attributable to a grant issued after the date hereof pursuant to Section 5.2(a)(iv) shall provide the holder with the same vesting, repurchase option, risk of forfeiture or other condition or restriction that were applicable to such Company Common Stock immediately prior to the Effective Time.

 

(v)   Certain Adjustments . If between the date of this Agreement and the Effective Time, regardless of whether permitted pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, the outstanding Parent Common Stock or Company Common Stock shall be changed into a different number or type of securities by reason of any stock split, combination, merger, consolidation, reorganization or other similar transaction, or any distribution of shares of Parent Common Stock or Company Common Stock shall be declared with a record date within such period, the Merger Consideration shall be appropriately adjusted to provide the holders of Company Common Stock and Company Restricted Stock with the same economic effect as was contemplated by this Agreement prior to giving effect to such event.

 

 

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Section 2.5   Exchange of Certificates .

 

(a)   Exchange Fund . Prior to the Effective Time, Parent shall appoint an exchange agent selected by Parent that is reasonably satisfactory to the Company (the “ Exchange Agent ”), and enter into an exchange agent agreement, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Company, with such Exchange Agent to act as agent for payment of the Merger Consideration in respect of Company Certificates upon surrender of such Company Certificates (or affidavits of loss in lieu thereof) in accordance with this Article 2 from time to time after the Effective Time. At the Effective Time, Parent shall deposit with the Exchange Agent, in trust for the benefit of the holders of shares of Company Securities, (i) Parent Certificates representing shares of Parent Stock Consideration to be issued pursuant to Section 2.4(c)(i) and Section 2.4(c)(iv) and delivered pursuant to Section 2.5(b) and (ii) cash for payment in lieu of fractional shares pursuant to Section 2.5(e) . Such shares of Parent Common Stock, together with any interest, dividends or distributions with respect thereto (as provided in Section 2.5(c) ) and such cash, are referred to herein as the “ Exchange Fund .” The Exchange Agent, pursuant to irrevocable instructions consistent with the terms of this Agreement given on the Closing Date, shall deliver the Parent Common Stock to be issued pursuant to Section 2.4(c)(i) and Section 2.4(c)(iv) as well as cash in lieu of fractional shares pursuant to Section 2.5(e) out of the Exchange Fund, and the Exchange Fund shall not be used for any other purpose whatsoever; provided that the Exchange Agent shall invest or hold the cash portion of the Exchange Fund only in cash or direct, short-term obligations of, or short-term obligations fully guaranteed as to principal and interest by, the United States of America or in commercial paper obligations rated A-1 or P-1 or better by Moody’s Investor Services, Inc. or Standard & Poor’s Corporation, respectively, in each case as directed by Parent and acceptable to the Exchange Agent; provided , however , that no such investment or losses thereon shall affect the Merger Consideration payable to the holders of the Company Securities and following any losses, Parent shall promptly provide additional funds to the Exchange Agent for the benefit of the holders of the Company Securities in the amount of any such losses to the extent necessary to pay the Merger Consideration to such holders. The Exchange Agent shall not be entitled to vote or exercise any rights of ownership with respect to the Parent Common Stock held by it from time to time hereunder, except that it shall receive and hold all dividends or other distributions paid or distributed with respect thereto after the establishment of such Exchange Fund for the account of Persons entitled thereto.

 

(b)   Exchange Procedures .

 

(i)   As soon as reasonably practicable after the Effective Time (but in no event later than five Business Days following the Effective Time), Parent shall cause the Exchange Agent to mail to each holder of record of a Company Certificate that, immediately prior to the Effective Time, represented shares of Company Common Stock, a letter of transmittal (in customary form and reasonably acceptable to the Company) to be used to effect the exchange of such Company Certificate for the Merger Consideration payable in respect of the shares of Company Common Stock represented by such Company Certificate, along with instructions for using such letter of transmittal to effect such exchange. The letter of transmittal (or the instructions thereto) shall specify that delivery of any Company Certificate shall be effected, and risk of loss and title thereto shall pass, only upon proper delivery of such Company Certificate to the Exchange Agent. Such letter of transmittal shall be in such form and have such other provisions as Parent may reasonably specify.

 

 

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(ii)   Upon surrender to the Exchange Agent of a Company Certificate for cancellation, together with a duly completed and executed letter of transmittal and any other documents that may reasonably be required by the Exchange Agent:  (A) the holder of such Company Certificate shall be entitled to receive in exchange therefor a Parent Certificate representing the number of whole shares of Parent Common Stock, if any, and that such holder has the right to receive pursuant to Section 2.4(c)(i) and Section 2.4(c)(iv) , any cash in lieu of fractional shares of Parent Common Stock as provided in Section 2.5(e) , and any unpaid dividends and distributions that such holder has the right to receive pursuant to Section 2.5(c) (all after giving effect to any required withholding of Taxes); and (B) the Company Certificate so surrendered shall forthwith be cancelled. No interest shall be paid or accrue on any Merger Consideration, cash in lieu of fractional shares or unpaid dividends and distributions, if any, payable to holders of Company Certificates.

 

(iii)   In the event of a transfer of ownership of Company Common Stock that is not registered in the transfer records of the Company, the Merger Consideration payable in respect of such shares of Company Common Stock (including any cash in lieu of fractional shares and any unpaid dividends and distributions that such holder has the right to receive under this Agreement) may be issued or paid to a transferee if the Company Certificate representing such shares of Company Common Stock is presented to the Exchange Agent accompanied by all documents required to evidence and effect such transfer, including such signature guarantees as Parent or the Exchange Agent may request, and to evidence that any applicable stock transfer Taxes have been paid.

 

(iv)   Until surrendered as contemplated by this Section 2.5(b) , each Company Certificate shall be deemed at any time after the Effective Time to represent only the right to receive, upon surrender of a Company Certificate and execution of such other documents as the Exchange Agent may require, the Merger Consideration payable in respect of the shares of Company Common Stock represented by such Company Certificate as provided in Section 2.4(c)(i) and Section 2.4(c)(iv) (including any cash in lieu of fractional shares and any unpaid dividends and distributions payable pursuant to the terms of this Agreement).

 

(c)   Distributions with Respect to Unexchanged Shares . No dividends or other distributions with respect to Parent Common Stock declared or made after the Effective Time with a record date after the Effective Time shall be paid to the holder of any unsurrendered Company Certificate. Subject to the effect of applicable Law:  (i) at the time of the surrender of a Company Certificate for exchange in accordance with the provisions of this Section 2.5 , there shall be paid to the surrendering holder, without interest, the amount of dividends or other distributions (having a record date after the Effective Time but on or prior to surrender and a payment date on or prior to surrender) not theretofore paid with respect to the number of whole shares of Parent Common Stock that such holder is entitled to receive (less the amount of any withholding Taxes that may be required with respect thereto); and (ii) at the appropriate payment date and without duplicating any payment made under clause (i) above, there shall be paid to the surrendering holder, without interest, the amount of dividends or other distributions (having a record date after the Effective Time but on or prior to surrender and a payment date subsequent to surrender) payable with respect to the number of whole shares of Parent Common Stock that such holder receives (less the amount of any withholding Taxes that may be required with respect thereto).

 

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(d)   No Further Ownership Rights in Company Common Stock . The Merger Consideration issued and paid upon the surrender for exchange of shares of Company Common Stock in accordance with the terms hereof (including any cash in lieu of fractional shares and any unpaid dividends and distributions payable pursuant to the terms of this Agreement) shall be deemed to have been issued in full satisfaction of all rights pertaining to such shares of Company Common Stock. At the Effective Time, the stock transfer books of the Company shall be closed, and, from and after the Effective Time, there shall be no further registration of transfers of the shares of Company Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time. If, after the Effective Time, a Company Certificate is presented to the Surviving Corporation or Parent for any reason, it shall be cancelled and exchanged as provided in this Section 2.5 .

 

(e)   Treatment of Fractional Shares . No Parent Certificates or scrip representing fractional shares of Parent Common Stock shall be issued in the Merger and, except as provided in this Section 2.5(e) , no dividend or other distribution, stock split or interest shall relate to any such fractional share, and such fractional share shall not entitle the owner thereof to vote or to any other rights of a stockholder of Parent. In lieu of any fractional share of Parent Common Stock to which a holder of Company Common Stock would otherwise be entitled (after taking into account all Company Certificates delivered by or on behalf of such holder), such holder, upon surrender of a Company Certificate as described in this Section 2.5 , shall be paid an amount in cash to the nearest whole cent (without interest) determined by multiplying (i) the closing price of a share of Parent Common Stock on the NYSE on the Business Day immediately preceding the Closing Date by (ii) the fraction of a share of Parent Common Stock to which such holder would otherwise be entitled, in which case Parent shall make available to the Exchange Agent, in addition to any other cash being provided to the Exchange Agent pursuant to Section 2.5(a) , the amount of cash necessary to make such payments.

 

(f)   Termination of Exchange Fund . Any portion of the Exchange Fund and cash held by the Exchange Agent in accordance with the terms of this Section 2.5 that remains unclaimed by the former stockholders of the Company as of the date that is twelve months following the Effective Time shall be delivered to Parent, upon demand. Thereafter, any former stockholders of the Company, who have not theretofore complied with the provisions of this Section 2.5 shall look only to Parent for payment of their claim for Merger Consideration, any cash in lieu of fractional shares of Parent Common Stock and any dividends or distributions with respect to Parent Common Stock (all without interest).

 

(g)   No Liability . None of Parent, the Company, the Surviving Corporation, the Exchange Agent or any other Person shall be liable to any former holder of shares of Company Common Stock for any amount properly delivered to any public official pursuant to any applicable abandoned property, escheat or similar Law.

 

(h)   Lost, Stolen, or Destroyed Company Certificates . If any Company Certificate shall have been lost, stolen or destroyed, upon the making of an affidavit of that fact by the Person claiming such Company Certificate to be lost, stolen or destroyed, and, if required by Parent or the Exchange Agent, the posting by such Person of a bond, in such reasonable amount as Parent or the Exchange Agent may direct, as indemnity against any claims that may be made against it with respect to such Company Certificate, the Exchange Agent shall issue in exchange for such lost, stolen or destroyed Company Certificate the Merger Consideration (along with any cash in lieu of fractional shares payable pursuant to Section 2.5(e) and any unpaid dividends and distributions payable pursuant to Section 2.5(c) , without interest) deliverable with respect thereto pursuant to this Agreement.

 

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Section 2.6   Closing . Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, the closing of the Merger (the “ Closing ”) shall take place (a) at the offices of Porter & Hedges, L.L.P., 1000 Main Street, 36 th Floor, Houston, Texas 77002 at 10:00 a.m., local time, as promptly as practicable, but in no event later than the third Business Day immediately following the day on which all of the conditions set forth in Article 6 have been satisfied or waived (by the party entitled to waive the condition) (except for those conditions that by their nature cannot be satisfied until the Closing, but subject to the satisfaction or waiver of those conditions) or (b) at such other time, date or place as the Parties may agree. The date on which the Closing occurs is hereinafter referred to as the “ Closing Date .”

 

Section 2.7   Effective Time of the Merger . The Merger shall become effective (the “ Effective Time ”) at the time the Certificate of Merger is accepted for filing by the Delaware Secretary of State, or at such time thereafter as is permitted by law, agreed by the Parties and provided in the Certificate of Merger. At the Closing, the Certificate of Merger shall be filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware.

 

Section 2.8   Withholding . Each of Parent, the Surviving Corporation and the Exchange Agent shall be entitled to deduct and withhold from the consideration otherwise payable pursuant to this Agreement to any holder of Company Common Stock such amounts as are required to be deducted or withheld under the Internal Revenue Code or any provision of state, local or foreign Tax Law with respect to the making of such payment (including withholding shares of Parent Common Stock). Any such withheld amounts shall be treated for all purposes of this Agreement as having been paid to the holder of Company Common Stock in respect of whom such deduction and withholding was made.

 

Section 2.9   Tax Consequences .  It is intended that the Merger shall constitute a “reorganization” within the meaning of Section 368(a) of the Internal Code, and any comparable provisions of applicable state or local Law, that each of the Parent, Merger Sub and the Company is “a party to the reorganization” pursuant to Section 368(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, and that this Agreement shall constitute a “plan of reorganization” within the meaning of Treasury Regulations Section 1.368-2(g).

 

Article 3

 

Representations and Warranties of the Company

 

As an inducement for Parent and Merger Sub to enter into this Agreement, the Company hereby makes the following representations and warranties to Parent and Merger Sub; provided , however , that such representations and warranties shall be subject to and qualified by (a) the disclosure schedule delivered by the Company to Parent as of the date hereof (each Section of which qualifies the correspondingly numbered representation and warranty or covenant to the extent specified therein) (the “ Company Disclosure Letter ”) (it being understood that (i) the disclosure of any fact or item in any Section of the Company Disclosure Letter shall, should the existence of such fact or item be relevant to any other Section, be deemed to be disclosed with respect to that other Section to the extent that the text of such disclosure is made in a manner that makes its relevance to the other Section reasonably apparent and (ii) the disclosure of any matter or item in the Company Disclosure Letter shall not be deemed to constitute an acknowledgment that such matter or item is required to be disclosed therein or is material to a representation or warranty set forth in this Agreement and shall not be used as a basis for interpreting the terms “material,” “materially,” “materiality,” “Company Material Adverse Effect” or any word or phrase of similar import and does not mean that such matter or item, alone or together with any other matter or item, would constitute a Company Material Adverse Effect) and (b) information contained in the Company Reports (excluding any exhibits thereto) filed with the SEC prior to the date hereof (but only to the extent that such disclosure on its face appears to constitute information that could reasonably be deemed a qualification or exception to the following representations and warranties; provided , that in no event shall any disclosure in such Company Reports qualify or limit the representations and warranties in Section 3.2 , Section 3.3 , Section 3.7(a) , Section 3.16 , Section 3.17 , Section 3.18 , Section 3.19 and Section 3.22 ):

 

 

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Section 3.1   Corporate Existence; Good Standing; Corporate Authority . The Company is a corporation duly incorporated, validly existing and in good standing under the Laws of the State of Delaware. The Company is duly qualified to conduct business and is in good standing (to the extent such concept exists in the relevant jurisdiction) in each jurisdiction in which the ownership, operation or lease of its property or the nature of the Company’s business requires such qualification, except for jurisdictions in which any failures to be so qualified or to be in good standing, individually or in the aggregate, do not constitute a Company Material Adverse Effect. The Company has all requisite corporate power and authority to own or lease and operate its properties and assets and to carry on its business as it is currently being conducted. The Company has delivered to Parent true, accurate and complete copies of the Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated By-laws of the Company, each as amended to date (the “ Company Charter Documents ”), and each Company Charter Document is in full force and effect, has not been amended or modified and has not been terminated, superseded or revoked. The Company is not in violation of its Company Charter Documents.

 

Section 3.2   Authorization, Validity and Effect of Agreements .

 

(a)   The Company has the requisite corporate power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and all other agreements, instruments, certificates and documents contemplated hereunder (collectively, the “ Related Documents ”) to which it is, or will become, a party, to perform its obligations hereunder and thereunder and to consummate the Merger and all other transactions contemplated hereunder and thereunder, subject to the approval of the Company Proposal by the Company’s stockholders. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the Related Documents and the consummation of the Merger and the other transactions contemplated hereunder and thereunder have been duly authorized by all requisite corporate action on behalf of the Company, and no other corporate proceedings by the Company are necessary to authorize the execution and delivery of this Agreement or the Related Documents or to consummate the Merger and the other transactions contemplated hereunder or under the Related Documents, except for the approval of the Company Proposal by the Company’s stockholders, the filing of the Certificate of Merger pursuant to the DGCL and the Governmental Authority applications and approvals described in Section 3.6(b) .

 

 

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(b)   This Agreement and each of the Related Documents to which the Company is a party have been or will be duly executed and delivered by the Company and, assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery hereof and thereof by Parent and Merger Sub to the extent either Parent or Merger Sub is a party hereof and thereof, constitute or will constitute the valid and legally binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium, fraudulent conveyance or other Laws now or hereafter in effect relating to or affecting the rights and remedies of creditors generally and to general principles of equity (regardless of whether enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at Law).

 

Section 3.3   Capitalization .

 

(a)   The authorized capital stock of the Company consists of 50,000,000 shares of Company Common Stock and 5,000,000 shares of Company Preferred Stock. As of the close of business on May 29, 2009, there were 20,254,414 issued and outstanding shares of Company Common Stock, 339,434 shares of Company Common Stock held by the Company in its treasury, and no issued or outstanding shares of Company Preferred Stock.  As of May 29, 2009, 2,028,253 shares of Company Common Stock were reserved for future issuance pursuant to outstanding Company Stock Options under the Company Incentive Plans. As of May 29, 2009, there were 906,496 shares of Company Common Stock remaining available for the grant of awards under the Company Incentive Plans. Except as set forth in this Section 3.3(a) or Section 3.3(a) of the Company Disclosure Letter, there are no outstanding or authorized Equity Interests. All shares of Company Common Stock are, and all shares of Company Common Stock which may be issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time as permitted under this Agreement shall be when issued, duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable shares of Company Common Stock and not subject to any preemptive rights.  Each share of Company Common Stock includes one preferred stock purchase right; each such right is issued pursuant to the Company Rights Plan.

 

(b)   The Company has no outstanding Voting Debt. Except as set forth in Section 3.3(b) of the Company Disclosure Letter, the Company and its Subsidiaries are not obligated to issue, sell, grant or deliver (or to cause to be issued, sold, granted or delivered), and are not a party to any Contract or other obligation to issue, sell, grant or deliver, any Voting Debt of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries. Except as set forth in Section 3.3(b) of the Company Disclosure Letter, there are no outstanding or authorized (i) contractual or other obligations of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any Equity Interest of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or any such securities or agreements referred to in the prior sentence or (ii) voting trusts or similar agreements to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party with respect to the voting of the capital stock of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.

 

Section 3.4   Subsidiaries .

 

(a)   Each Company Subsidiary is a corporation or other legal entity duly organized or constituted and validly existing under the Laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation, organization or formation. Each Company Subsidiary has all requisite corporate, limited liability company, partnership or other business power and authority to own or lease and operate its properties and assets and to carry on its business as currently conducted, except as would have an immaterial effect on the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole. Each Company Subsidiary is duly qualified to conduct business and is in good standing (to the extent such concept exists in the relevant jurisdiction) in each jurisdiction in which the ownership or lease and operation of its property or the nature of its business requires such qualification, except for jurisdictions in which any failures to be so qualified or to be in good standing, individually or in the aggregate, do not constitute a Company Material Adverse Effect. Except as set forth in Section 3.4(a) of the Company Disclosure Letter, all of the outstanding shares of capital stock of, or other Equity Interests in, each Company Subsidiary are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and are owned, directly or indirectly, by the Company free and clear of all Liens.

 

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(b)   Section 3.4(b) of the Company Disclosure Letter and Exhibit 21.1 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008, sets forth all of the Company Subsidiaries. The Company’s U.S. Subsidiaries are not in violation of their respective Company Subsidiary Charter Documents, and the Company’s non-U.S. subsidiaries are not in material violation of their respective Company Subsidiary Charter Documents.

 

Section 3.5   Compliance with Laws; Permits . Except for such matters that, individually or in the aggregate, do not constitute a Company Material Adverse Effect, and except for (x) matters relating to Taxes, which are treated exclusively in Section 3.10 , and (y) matters relating to Company Benefit Plans, which are treated exclusively in Section 3.11 and (z) matters arising under Environmental, Health and Safety Laws, which are treated exclusively in Section 3.13 :

 

(a)   Neither the Company nor any Company Subsidiary is in violation of any applicable Law relating to its business or the ownership or operation of any of its assets, and no Claim is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened with respect to any such matters;

 

(b)   The Company and each Company Subsidiary hold all permits, licenses, certifications, variations, exemptions, Orders, franchises, registrations, filings, approvals, authorizations or other required grant of operating authority required by any Governmental Authority necessary for the conduct of their respective businesses (the “ Company Permits ”). All Company Permits are in full force and effect and there exists no default thereunder or breach thereof, and the Company has no notice or knowledge that such Company Permits will not be renewed in the ordinary course after the Effective Time. No Governmental Authority has given, or to the knowledge of the Company, threatened to give, notice of any action to terminate, cancel or reform any Company Permits; and

 

(c)   The Company and each Company Subsidiary possess all Company Permits required for the present ownership or lease, as the case may be, and operation of all Company Real Property, and there exists no default or breach with respect to, and no Person, including any Governmental Authority, has taken or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened to take, any action to terminate, cancel or reform any such Company Permit pertaining to the Company Real Property.

 

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Section 3.6   No Violations; Consents .

 

(a)   The execution and delivery by the Company of this Agreement and the Related Documents, the performance of the Company’s obligations hereunder and thereunder and the consummation by the Company of the Merger and the other transactions contemplated hereby and thereby in accordance with the terms hereof and thereof will not (i) violate any provisions of the Company Charter Documents, (ii) violate any provisions of the Company Subsidiary Charter Documents of any Company Subsidiary, (iii) except as set forth in Section 3.6(a) of the Company Disclosure Letter, violate, result in a breach of any provision of, require any consent or approval under, constitute a default (or an event which, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute a default) under, impair the Company’s rights under, alter the rights or obligations of third parties under, result in the termination of or in a right of termination or cancellation of, give rise to a right of purchase under, or accelerate the performance required by, any Company Material Contract, (iv) result in the creation of any Lien (other than Permitted Liens) upon any of the properties or assets of the Company or its Subsidiaries under any Company Material Contract, (v) result in any Company Material Contract being declared void, voidable, or without further binding effect, (vi) result in a detriment to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (constituting a Material Adverse Effect) under the terms, conditions or provisions of any Contracts by which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is bound or to which any of their properties is subject or (vii) assuming that the consents and approvals referred to in Section 3.6(b) are duly and timely made or obtained and that Company Proposal is approved by the requisite Company stockholders, contravene or constitute a violation of any provision of any applicable Law binding upon or applicable to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, other than, in the cases of clauses (iii) through (vii), any such violations, breaches, defaults, impairments, alterations, terminations, cancellations, purchase rights, accelerations, Liens, voidings or detriments that, individually or in the aggregate, do not constitute a Company Material Adverse Effect.

 

(b)   Neither the execution and delivery by the Company of this Agreement or any Related Document nor the consummation by the Company of the Merger and the other transactions contemplated hereby or thereby in accordance with the terms hereof or thereof will require any consent, approval or authorization of, notice to or filing or registration with any Governmental Authority, other than (i) the filing of the Certificate of Merger with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware and the filing of other documents required to be filed as a result of the Merger with the relevant Governmental Authorities in the states and foreign jurisdictions in which Company or any Company Subsidiary is qualified to conduct business, (ii) the filing of the Proxy Statement/Prospectus with the SEC in accordance with the Exchange Act and the filing and effectiveness of the Registration Statement, (iii) filings required under the U.S. Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (the “ HSR Act ”), including the filing of forms and other documents with the FTC and the Antitrust Division of the DOJ as required by the HSR Act (“ Notification and Report Forms ”), (iv) filings required under federal and state securities or “Blue Sky” Laws, applicable non-U.S. Laws or the rules of the NYSE or (v) any other applicable filings or notifications under the antitrust, competition or similar Laws of foreign jurisdictions ((i), (ii), (iii), (iv) and (v) collectively, the “ Company Regulatory Filings ”), except for any failures to obtain any such consent, approval or authorization or to make any such filing, notification or registration that, individually or in the aggregate, do not constitute a Company Material Adverse Effect.

 

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Section 3.7   SEC Documents .

 

(a)   The Company has filed with the SEC all documents required to be so filed by it since January 1, 2007 pursuant to Sections 13(a), 14(a) and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, and has made available to Parent each registration statement, periodic or other report, proxy statement or information statement (other than preliminary materials) it has so filed, each in the form (including exhibits and any amendments thereto) filed with the SEC (collectively, the “ Company Reports ”). As used in this Section 3.7 , the term “file” shall include any reports on Form 8-K furnished to the SEC. As of its respective date or, if amended by a subsequent filing prior to the date hereof, on the date of such filing, each Company Report complied in all material respects with the applicable requirements of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, as the case may be, and the rules and regulations thereunder, and did not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements made therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. None of the Company Subsidiaries is required to file any forms, reports or other documents with the SEC pursuant to Section 13 or 15 of the Exchange Act. There are no outstanding or unresolved comments to any comment letters received by the Company from the SEC and, to the knowledge of the Company, none of the Company Reports is the subject of any ongoing review by the SEC. Each of the consolidated balance sheets included in or incorporated by reference into the Company Reports (including the related notes and schedules) fairly presents in all material respects the consolidated financial position of the Company and its Subsidiaries as of its date, and each of the consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ equity and comprehensive income, and cash flows included in or incorporated by reference into the Company Reports (including any related notes and schedules) fairly presents in all material respects the results of operations, changes in stockholders’ equity and comprehensive income, and cash flows, as the case may be, of the Company and its Subsidiaries for the periods set forth therein (such consolidated balance sheets and consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ equity and comprehensive income, and cash flows, each including the notes and schedules thereto, the “ Company Financial Statements ”). The Company Financial Statements (i) complied as to form in all material respects with the published rules and regulations of the SEC and (ii) were prepared in accordance with GAAP consistently applied during the periods involved, except as may be noted in the Company Financial Statements or as permitted by Form 10-Q or Form 8-K.

 

(b)   The Company has not entered into or modified any loans or arrangements with its officers and directors in violation of Section 402 of SOX. The Company has established and maintains disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting (as such terms are defined in paragraphs (e) and (f), respectively, of Rule 13a-15 under the Exchange Act) as required by Rule 13a-15 under the Exchange Act. The Company’s disclosure controls and procedures are reasonably designed to ensure that all material information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the rules and forms of the SEC, and that all such material information is accumulated and communicated to the management of the Company as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure and to make the certifications required pursuant to Sections 302 and 906 of SOX. The management of the Company has completed its assessment of the effectiveness of the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting in compliance with the requirements of Section 404 of SOX for the year ended December 31, 2008, and such assessment concluded that such controls were effective. The Company has disclosed, based on the most recent evaluations by its chief executive officer and its chief financial officer, to the Company’s outside auditors and the audit committee of the Company Board (A) any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses (as such terms are defined in the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s Auditing Standard No. 2 or No. 5, as applicable) in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting and (B) any fraud, regardless of whether material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting.

 

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(c)   Except as set forth in Section 3.7(c) of the Company Disclosure Letter, since January 1, 2007, to the knowledge of the Company, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries nor any director, officer, employee, auditor, accountant or representative of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries has received or otherwise had or obtained knowledge of any material complaint, allegation, assertion or Claim, whether written or oral, regarding the accounting or auditing practices, procedures, methodologies or methods of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, including any complaint, allegation, assertion or Claim that the Company or any of its Subsidiaries has a material weakness (as such terms is defined in the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s Auditing Standard No. 2 or No. 5, as applicable), in its internal control over financial reporting.

 

(d)   The Company is in compliance in all material respects with all current listing and corporate governance requirements of the NYSE and is in compliance in all material respects with all rules, regulations and requirements of SOX.

 

Section 3.8   Litigation . There is no litigation, arbitration, mediation, action, suit, claim, proceeding or investigation, whether legal or administrative, pending against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or any of their respective assets, properties or operations, at Law or in equity, before or by any Governmental Authority or any Order of any Governmental Authority that, individually or in the aggregate, constitutes a Company Material Adverse Effect.  Except as disclosed in Section 3.9 of the Company Disclosure Letter, there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, any threatened, litigation or other claim or demand against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries relating to asbestos or mesothelioma.

 

Section 3.9   Absence of Company Material Adverse Effect and Certain Other Changes . Since December 31, 2008, there has not been (a) any Company Material Adverse Effect, (b) any material change by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, when taken as a whole, in any of their accounting methods, principles or practices or any of their Tax methods, practices or elections, (c) any declaration, setting aside or payment of any dividend or distribution in respect of any capital stock or other Equity Interest of the Company or any redemption, purchase or other acquisition of any of its Equity Interests, or (d) except in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, any increase in or establishment of any bonus, insurance, severance, deferred compensation, pension, retirement, profit sharing, stock option, stock purchase or other Company Benefit Plan.

 

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Section 3.10   Taxes .

 

(a)   Except (x) as set forth in Section 3.10(a) of the Company Disclosure Letter, (y) as described in Company Reports or (z) for such matters that, individually or in the aggregate, do not constitute a Company Material Adverse Effect:

 

(i)   The Acquired Companies have timely filed, or have caused to be timely filed on their behalf, all Tax Returns required to be filed by or on behalf of the Acquired Companies (including any Tax Return required to be filed by an affiliated, consolidated, combined, unitary or similar group that included the Acquired Companies) in the manner prescribed by applicable Law. All such Tax Returns are complete and correct. The Acquired Companies have timely paid (or the Company has paid on each Company Subsidiary’s behalf) all Taxes due and owing, and, in accordance with GAAP, the most recent Company Financial Statements contained in the Company Reports reflect a reserve (excluding any reserve for deferred Taxes established to reflect timing differences between book and Tax income) for all Taxes payable by the Acquired Companies for all Taxable periods and portions thereof through the date of such Company Financial Statements.

 

(ii)   No Tax Return of the Acquired Companies is under audit or examination by any Tax Authority, and no written notice of such an audit or examination has been received by the Acquired Companies. Each material assessed deficiency resulting from any audit or examination relating to Taxes by any Tax Authority has been timely paid and there is no assessed deficiency, refund litigation, proposed adjustment or matter in controversy with respect to any Taxes due and owing by the Acquired Companies.

 

(iii)   Since December 31, 2007, the Acquired Companies have not made or rescinded any material election relating to Taxes or settled or compromised any Claim, action, suit, litigation, proceeding, arbitration, investigation, audit or controversy relating to any Taxes, or, except as may be required by applicable Law, made any change to any of their methods of reporting income or deductions for federal income Tax purposes from those employed in the preparation of their most recently filed federal Tax Returns.

 

(iv)   The Acquired Companies do not have any liability for any Tax under Treasury Regulation Section 1.1502-6 or any similar provision of any other Tax Law, except for Taxes of the Acquired Companies and the affiliated group of which the Company is the common parent, within the meaning of Section 1504(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code or any similar provision of any other Tax Law.

 

(v)   There is no agreement or other document extending, or having the effect of extending, the period of assessment or collection of any material Taxes and no power of attorney with respect to any such Taxes has been executed or filed with any Tax Authority by or on behalf of the Acquired Companies.

 

(vi)   Except for statutory Liens for Taxes not yet due, no Liens for Taxes exist with respect to any assets or properties of the Acquired Companies.

 

(vii)   Except for any agreements or arrangements (A) with customers, vendors, lessors or similar persons entered into in the ordinary course of business or (B) among the Acquired Companies, no Acquired Company is a party to or bound by any Tax sharing agreement, Tax indemnity obligation or agreement or arrangement with respect to Taxes (including any advance pricing agreement, closing agreement or other agreement relating to Taxes with any Tax Authority).

 

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(viii)   The Acquired Companies have complied with all applicable Laws relating to the payment and withholding of Taxes and have, within the time and the manner prescribed by applicable Law, withheld from and paid over to the proper Tax Authorities all amounts required to be so withheld and paid over under applicable Tax Law.

 

(ix)   No Acquired Company is or has been a United States real property holding corporation within the meaning of Section 897(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code.

 

(x)   No Acquired Company shall be required to include in a Taxable period ending after the Closing Date any item of income that accrued in a prior Taxable period but was not recognized in any prior Taxable period as a result of the installment method of accounting, the long-term contract method of accounting, the cash method of accounting or Sections 108(i) or 481 of the Internal Revenue Code or comparable provisions of any other Tax Law.

 

(xi)   No Acquired Company has participated in any “reportable transaction” as defined in Section 6707A of the Internal Revenue Code and Treasury Regulation Section 1.6011-4.

 

(b)   Except as set forth in Section 3.10(b) of the Company Disclosure Letter, during the five (5) year period ending on the Closing, the Company has not made any purchases of or distribution with respect to its outstanding stock other than ordinary, normal regular dividend distributions made pursuant to the historic dividend paying practice of Company and no Acquired Company has been a “distributing corporation” or a “controlled corporation” in connection with a distribution described in Section 355 of the Internal Revenue Code.

 

Section 3.11   Employee Benefit Plans .

 

(a)   Section 3.11(a) of the Company Disclosure Letter contains a list of all the Company Benefit Plans. The Company has provided or made available to Parent true and complete copies of the Company Benefit Plans and, if applicable, all amendments thereto, the most recent trust agreements, the Forms 5500 for the prior three years, the most recent IRS determination or opinion letters, summary plan descriptions, any summaries of material modifications provided to participants since the most recent summary plan descriptions, material notices to participants, funding statements, annual reports and actuarial reports, if applicable, and all correspondence with any Governmental Authority for each Company Benefit Plan.   Section 3.11(a) of the Company Disclosure Letter also contains a list of all performance units issued and outstanding under the Company Incentive Plans as of the close of business on the date hereof, and the aggregate amount that would be payable with respect to such units if the Merger was to occur either (i) on or before June 30, 2009, or (ii) on or after July 1, 2009.  Except for the performance units described in the preceding sentence and the Company Stock Options and Company Restricted Stock issued and outstanding pursuant to the Company Incentive Plans as of the close of business on the date hereof, there are no other awards issued and outstanding under the Company Incentive Plans.

 

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(b)   There has been no “reportable event,” as that term is defined in Section 4043 of ERISA, with respect to the Company Benefit Plans subject to Title IV of ERISA for which the 30-day reporting requirement has not been waived that, individually or in the aggregate with other reportable events, constitutes a Company Material Adverse Effect; to the extent applicable, the Company Benefit Plans comply in all material respects with the requirements of ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code and with the Laws and regulations of any applicable jurisdiction, and except as set forth in Section 3.11(b) of the Company Disclosure Letter, any Company Benefit Plan intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code has received a favorable determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service (the “ IRS ”) (or, if applicable, an opinion letter) and such letter has not been revoked; all required amendments since the issuance of such favorable determination letter from the IRS have been made and no amendments have been made which could reasonably be expected to result in the disqualification of any of such Company Benefit Plans; the Company Benefit Plans have been maintained and operated in compliance in all material respects with their terms and all applicable Laws; to the Company’s knowledge, there are no breaches of fiduciary duty in connection with the Company Benefit Plans for which the Acquired Companies could have, directly or indirectly, material liability; there are no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened Claims against or otherwise involving any Company Benefit Plan that, individually or in the aggregate, constitute a Company Material Adverse Effect, and no suit, action or other litigation (excluding claims for benefits incurred in the ordinary course of the Company Benefit Plan activities) has been brought against or with respect to any such Company Benefit Plan for which the Acquired Companies could be liable, that, individually or in the aggregate, constitutes a Company Material Adverse Effect; there is no matter pending (other that routine qualification determination filings) with respect to any Company Benefit Plan before any Governmental Authority; all material contributions required to be made as of the date hereof to the Company Benefit Plans ha


 
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