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Exhibit 10.22.1
CONTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
AMONG
WESTFIELD AMERICA LIMITED
PARTNERSHIP,
as Transferor
AND
CW JOINT VENTURE, LLC,
as Transferee
AND
CBL & ASSOCIATES LIMITED
PARTNERSHIP
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CONTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
THIS CONTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
(this “ Agreement ”) is made as of
August 9, 2007, by and among WESTFIELD AMERICA LIMITED PARTNERSHIP,
a Delaware limited partnership (“ Transferor ”), CW JOINT
VENTURE, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“
Transferee ”), and CBL & ASSOCIATES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, a
Delaware limited partnership (“ CBL OP ”). All capitalized
terms used but not otherwise defined herein shall have the
respective meanings set forth herein or in Schedule 1 attached
hereto.
RECITALS
WHEREAS, Transferee was formed on July 17, 2007 by
filing a Certificate of Formation with the Secretary of State of
the State of Delaware.
WHEREAS, CBL OP, as the sole member of Transferee,
adopted that certain Limited Liability Company Agreement of CW
Joint Venture, LLC, dated effective as of July 17, 2007 (the
“ Original Operating
Agreement ”).
WHEREAS, CBL OP entered into that certain
Contribution Agreement, dated as of even date herewith, by and
between CBL OP, as transferor, and Transferee, as transferee (the
“ CBL Contribution
Agreement ”), pursuant to which
CBL OP has agreed to contribute to Transferee (the “
CBL Contribution ”) those certain properties more particularly described
therein.
WHEREAS, in consideration for the CBL Contribution,
Transferee has agreed to issue to CBL OP, upon the closing under
the CBL Contribution Agreement, common units in Transferee that,
following their issuance, will represent 100% of all of the
authorized, issued and outstanding common units in Transferee (the
“ Common Membership
Interests ”). Each holder of
the Common Membership Interests shall be referred to herein as the
“ Common Member
”.
WHEREAS, Transferor owns, and immediately prior to
Closing will own, directly or indirectly, 100% of the limited
liability company interests (collectively, the “
Contributed Interests
”) in each of (a) Mid Rivers Mall LLC, a
Delaware limited liability company (“
Mid Rivers Mall Owner
”), (b) Mid Rivers Land LLC, a Delaware
limited liability company (“ Mid
Rivers Land I Owner ”), (c) Mid
Rivers Land LLC II, a Delaware limited liability company
(“ Mid Rivers Land II
Owner ”), (d) South County
Shoppingtown LLC, a Delaware limited liability company
(“ South County Mall
Owner ”), (e) West County
Shoppingtown LLC, a Delaware limited liability company
(“ West County Mall
Owner ”), and (f) West County
Parcel, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“
L&T Owner ”; and together with Mid Rivers Mall Owner, Mid Rivers
Land I Owner, Mid Rivers Land II Owner, South County Mall Owner,
and West County Mall Owner, collectively, the “
Property Owners ”, and each, a “ Property Owner ”).
WHEREAS, each of the Property Owners is disregarded
as an entity separate from Transferor for tax purposes.
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WHEREAS, (a) Mid Rivers Mall Owner owns fee
title to the shopping center located at St. Peters, Missouri,
commonly known as “Westfield Mid Rivers” (including the
Land described on Exhibit
G-1 attached hereto and all
Improvements located thereon, the “ Mid Rivers Mall Property ”), (b) Mid Rivers Land II Owner owns fee title to a
certain parcel of real property upon which a Best Buy store is
located (including the Land described on Exhibit G-2 attached hereto and
all Improvements located thereon, the “
Mid Rivers Land II Property
”), (c) South County Mall Owner owns fee title
to the shopping center located in St. Louis, Missouri, commonly
known as “Westfield South County” (including the Land
described on Exhibit G-3
attached hereto and all Improvements located
thereon, the “ South County Mall
Property ”), (d) West County
Mall Owner owns fee title to the shopping center located in Des
Peres, Missouri, commonly known as “Westfield West
County” (including the Land described on
Exhibit G-4 attached hereto and all Improvements located thereon, the
“ West County Mall
Property ”), and (e) L&T
Owner owns fee title to a certain parcel of real property adjacent
to the West County Mall Property upon which a former Lord &
Taylor department store is located (including the Land described
on Exhibit G-5
attached hereto and all Improvements located
thereon, the “ L&T
Property ”).
WHEREAS, Mid Rivers Land I Owner will own at Closing
fee title to those certain parcels of real property set forth
on Schedule 2
attached hereto, including a certain parcel of real
property located in the vicinity of the Mid Rivers Mall Property
upon which an office building is located (including the Land
described on Exhibit G-6
attached hereto and all Improvements located
thereon, the “ Mid Rivers Office
Property ”), which parcel of
real property is subject to that certain Ground Lease, dated as of
June 1, 1982, by and between May Centers, Inc. (as
predecessor-in-interest to Mid Rivers Land I Owner), as ground
lessor, and Mid Rivers Limited Partnership (the “
MRO Leasehold Owner ”), as ground lessee (as amended, supplemented or
otherwise modified to date, collectively, the “
MRO Ground Lease ”).
WHEREAS, Transferor desires to contribute, or to
cause to be contributed, to Transferee, and Transferee desires to
accept, the Contributed Interests (the “
Contribution ”), in exchange for the Preferred Membership Interests,
upon and subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this
Agreement. Each holder of the Preferred Membership Interests shall
be referred to herein as the “ Preferred Member ”.
WHEREAS, upon consummation of the Contribution,
Transferor shall be admitted as a Preferred Member in
Transferee.
WHEREAS, simultaneous with the consummation of the
Contribution and the admission of Transferor as a Preferred Member
in Transferee, the Original Operating Agreement will be amended and
restated in its entirety.
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AGREEMENT
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual
covenants and agreements contained herein, and other good and
valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are
hereby acknowledged, it is agreed as follows:
ARTICLE I
Contribution of
Contributed Interests
1.1 Contribution . For the consideration
hereinafter set forth, but subject to the terms, provisions,
covenants and conditions contained herein, Transferor hereby agrees
to make, or cause to be made, the Contribution. In consideration of
the Contribution, Transferor shall be admitted as a Preferred
Member in Transferee and shall receive preferred units in
Transferee that, (a) immediately following their issuance, will
constitute 100% of all of the authorized, issued and outstanding
preferred units in Transferee (the “ Preferred Membership Interests ”), and (b) will have a total liquidation preference
equal to the initial Contributed Interests Value. Any subsequent
adjustments to the Contributed Interests Value in accordance with
the terms hereof shall be allocated, to the extent feasible, to the
Contributed Interests to which such adjustment relates, and
otherwise shall be allocated among the Contributed Interests in
proportion to their respective Allocated Contributed Interests
Value.
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1.2
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Contributed Interests Value
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(a) The
total value of the Contributed Interests shall be
$741,975,333 , less the
outstanding principal balances of the Existing Mortgage Loans as of
the Closing Date, and subject to the adjustments as set forth
in Sections 1.2(b)
and (c)
and Section
10.1 (such reduced and adjusted
amount being hereinafter referred to as the “
Contributed Interests Value
”). The Contributed Interests Value has
initially been allocated among the Contributed Interests as set
forth on Schedule 1.2(a)
attached hereto. Such allocations may be revised
pursuant to Section 3.1(c) of the Amended and Restated Operating
Agreement. The Contributed Interest Value may also be subsequently
increased as set forth in Section 3.1(b) of the LLC Agreement to
reflect the resolution of a disagreement as to value of the
Contributed Interests.
(b) The
Contributed Interests Value shall be increased by an amount equal
to:
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[ 97% of
(
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New Income – Lost Rent
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) ]
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0.06
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; provided
, however
, that if the above-described amount is equal to
less than zero, the Contributed Interests Value shall not be
adjusted pursuant to this Section
1.2(b) . The adjustments made to the
Contributed Interests Value pursuant to this
Section 1.2(b) shall be deemed final and not subject to further adjustments if
no such adjustments have been requested in good faith within one
year after the Closing Date. All post-Closing adjustments to
the
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Contributed Interests Value pursuant to this
Section 1.2(b) shall be subject to Sections
10.1(h) and (m) . For purposes of this
Section 1.2(b) ,
the following definitions shall apply:
(i) “
Early Terminated Tenant Lease
” shall mean each Tenant Lease which expires
or terminates after April 24, 2007 and prior to the Closing
Date.
(ii) “
Lost Rent ” means the aggregate annualized reduction in income
which is expected to occur from the Early Terminated Tenant Leases,
calculated based on the annualized amount of minimum rent payable
under each Early Terminated Tenant Lease during the last full
calendar month period immediately prior to the expiration or
termination thereof.
(iii) “
New Income ” means the aggregate annualized increase in income which
is expected to occur from the New Tenant Leases, calculated based
on the annualized amount of minimum rent payable under each New
Tenant Lease for the first full calendar month after the rent
commencement date thereunder.
(iv) “
New Tenant Lease ” means each new Tenant Lease entered into by any
Property Owner after April 24, 2007 and prior to the Closing Date
in accordance with Section
6.1(c) or otherwise with the approval
of Transferee; provided
, that the Tenant thereunder is scheduled to open
for business on or prior to December 31, 2007 (except as may
otherwise be agreed to by Transferee); provided , further , that, with respect to each
New Tenant Lease:
(1) Transferee
shall receive a credit for (A) all unpaid, non-disbursed Tenant
incentives, allowances or inducements (including work to be
performed by or at the applicable Property Owner’s expense
pursuant to the terms of such New Tenant Lease) for the initial
term of such Tenant Lease, and (B) all third party brokerage and
leasing agreements for which fees or commissions are or will be
payable relating to such New Tenant Lease, in each case, as and to
the extent set forth in Section
10.1(k) ; and
(2) without
duplication of any credits received under clause (1) , Transferee shall
receive a credit for the value of any rent concessions, abatements,
free rent amounts, rent “holidays”, or other
“lost” rent between the Closing Date and the scheduled
(as of the Closing Date) rent commencement date under such New
Tenant Lease; provided
, that there shall be a post-closing adjustment
based on the actual rent commencement date under such New Tenant
Lease.
(c)
Deposit . Within 2
Business Days after the full execution and delivery of this
Agreement by Transferor and Transferee, Transferee shall deliver to
Escrow Agent the amount of Eleven Million Two Hundred Fifty
Thousand and No/100 Dollars ($11,250,000.00)
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(which sum, together with any and all interest and
dividends earned thereon, shall hereinafter be referred to as the
“ Deposit
”). Transferee may, at its election, deliver
all or any portion of the Deposit in the form of either (i) cash
(by Federal funds wire transfer to a U.S. bank account specified by
Escrow Agent), or (ii) an unconditional and irrevocable letter of
credit, that is payable to Transferor (x) at sight in the State of
New York or (y) upon presentation via facsimile followed by
overnight courier delivery of the original, and expires no earlier
than the 60 th day after the last possible date for
Closing under Section
9.1 , and is issued from Regions Bank
or another creditworthy bank or financial institution reasonably
acceptable to Transferor. Transferor hereby approves the form of
letter of credit attached hereto as Exhibit I . Escrow Agent shall
hold the Deposit (including any proceeds from draws under any
letter of credit) pursuant to the provisions of
Article XII . If
the Contribution is not consummated for any reason (other than a
termination of this Agreement in accordance with its terms arising
out of a default by Transferee or CBL OP of any provision hereof,
the CBL Contribution Agreement or any other agreement between or
among Transferor, Transferee and CBL OP or their respective
affiliates), then the Deposit shall be
returned to Transferee. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary
contained herein, at Closing, upon admission of Transferor as a
Preferred Member of Transferee holding the Preferred Membership
Interests, the Deposit shall be returned to Transferee. The parties
hereto shall promptly take any action required to cause the Deposit
to be delivered to any party entitled thereto pursuant to the terms
of this Agreement.
1.3 Closing Costs . At Closing, (i)
Transferee shall cause Transferee’s Closing Costs to be paid
in full by delivering the amount thereof to Escrow Agent (by
Federal funds wire transfer), (ii) Transferor shall cause
Transferor’s Closing Costs to be paid in full by delivering
the amount thereof to Escrow Agent (by Federal funds wire
transfer), and (iii) Transferee and Transferor shall cause Escrow
Agent to deliver all such amounts directly to the Persons to whom
such amounts are owed (all as described in Section 10.2 ). CBL OP shall make
a cash contribution to Transferee in an amount and as and when
required to enable Transferee to satisfy its obligations
under clause (i)
of this Section
1.3 .
ARTICLE II
Investigation of the
Properties and Titles
2.1 Inspection of Properties; Indemnity .
Until Closing or earlier termination of this Agreement, Transferee,
through its sole member CBL OP, shall continue to have the rights
set forth in that certain Access Agreement, dated as of May 10,
2007, by and between Transferor, on behalf of itself and its
subsidiaries and affiliates, as owner, and CBL OP, as inspector (as
the same may be amended, supplemented or otherwise modified, the
“ Access Agreement
”), as amended by this Agreement. Without
limiting the provisions of the Access Agreement, each of CBL OP and
Transferee shall, jointly and severally, indemnify, hold harmless
and defend Transferor and each Transferor Related Party from and
against any mechanics’ or materialmen’s lien or claim
therefor, any claim, cause of action, lawsuit, damage, liability,
loss, cost, expense or any other Losses (including, without
limitation, attorneys’ fees) due to injury to persons or
damage to property arising out of any entry by CBL OP, Transferee
or CBL OP’s or Transferee’s
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engineers, architects and other employees,
representatives, contractors, subcontractors and agents, or out of
any inspections, tests or surveys conducted by or on behalf of
Transferee or CBL OP, in connection with the transactions
contemplated herein, in each case, except to the extent caused by
the gross negligence or willful misconduct of Transferor or such
Transferor Related Party.
(a)
Schedule 2.2(a) attached hereto is a schedule with respect to each Property of
the Liens, defects and other exceptions to title to which such
Property will be subject at Closing when Transferee shall acquire
the Contributed Interests and accept indirect possession of the
Properties (such exceptions, together with (a) Liens for Taxes that
are not yet due and payable, (b) rights of Tenants, as tenants
only, under Tenant Leases and the rights of MRO Leasehold Owner, as
ground lessee only, under the MRO Ground Lease, (c) any Liens
arising out of any act of Transferee or CBL OP, and (d) any other
matters that are approved or deemed approved by Transferee
hereunder being collectively, the “ Permitted Exceptions ”).
(b) Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary contained herein, on or before the tenth
(10th) day after the Effective Date, Transferee shall have the
right to object to any matter shown on a Title Commitment or Survey
heretofore delivered to Transferee, but only with respect to any
matter reported or shown thereon which has or could have a Material
Adverse Title Effect (as hereinafter defined) (such objections,
“ Transferee’s
Objections ”). Notwithstanding
anything herein to the contrary contained herein, from and after
the Effective Date until Closing, Transferee shall have until the
10 th day after Transferee’s receipt, after the
Effective Date, of any update to a Survey or Title Commitment (and
legible copies of all documents referenced in any such update) to
notify Transferor in writing of any objection (also, “
Transferee’s Objections
”) which Transferee may have to any matter
disclosed, reported or shown thereon and not disclosed, reported or
shown on a Title Commitment or Survey previously delivered to
Transferee as to which Transferee has already responded or failed
to timely respond pursuant to the preceding sentence, but only if
such matter or thing has or could have a Material Adverse Title
Effect. The term “ Material
Adverse Title Effect ” means
any matter that has a material adverse effect on the use, value or
operation of the Property in question, that breaches a law or that
breaches a contract, but only if such breach would have a material
adverse effect on the use, value or operation of the Property in
question. The preceding three (3) sentences do not apply to Liens,
as to which the express provisions of this Agreement as to Liens
shall apply. Transferor will and (prior to Closing) will cause the
Property Owners to cooperate reasonably and in good faith with
Transferee in Transferee’s attempts to obtain customary and
reasonable title insurance with respect to Permitted Exceptions
(e.g., the omission of recorded memoranda of lease for leases that
have expired or been terminated). As a condition to Closing,
Transferor shall remove or discharge from title to the Properties
(i) any Liens which secure an obligation to pay sums of money
borrowed by Transferor, any Property Owner or any affiliate thereof
(other than the Existing Mortgage Loans) or which are set forth
on Schedule 2.2(b)
attached hereto and any other matters set forth
on Schedule 2.2(b)
attached hereto as
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Transferor’s obligation to remove or
discharge, (ii) any exceptions and matters objected to by
Transferee which were created or caused by Transferor, any Property
Owner or any affiliate thereof between the Effective Date and the
Closing Date, and (iii) any other exceptions and matters
timely objected to by Transferee in Transferee’s Objections
that may be discharged by the payment of an ascertainable amount of
money (the exceptions and matters described in
clauses (i) , (ii) and (iii)
, other than mechanic’s lien or
materialman’s lien arising from work performed by or on
behalf of a Tenant or MRO Leasehold Owner (other than by any
Property Owner as the landlord of such Tenant or MRO Leasehold
Owner, or such Property Owner’s contractors), collectively,
the “ Curable Title
Objections ”);
provided ,
however , that
Transferor shall have no obligation to spend more than Three
Million and No/100 Dollars ($3,000,000.00) in the aggregate in
connection with the curing and/or insuring over of the Curable
Title Objections described in clause
(iii) , and Transferor shall have no
obligation to remove any mechanic’s lien or
materialman’s lien arising from work performed by or on
behalf of a Tenant or MRO Leasehold Owner (other than by any
Property Owner as the landlord of such Tenant or MRO Leasehold
Owner, or such Property Owner’s contractors). Alternatively,
in lieu of removing or discharging any of the Curable Title
Objections from title to the Properties (other than any
mechanic’s lien or materialman’s lien arising from work
performed by any Property Owner or such Property Owner’s
contractors), Transferor may obtain for Transferee, title insurance
coverage reasonably acceptable to Transferee from the Title Company
insuring over any such exceptions or matters, and subject to the
same $3,000,000 limitation described above and without limiting the
provisions of Section
10.2(ii) , Transferor shall be
responsible for the incremental costs and expenses charged by the
Title Company to insure over any such exceptions and matters (the
“ Incremental Title
Costs ”). Without limiting the
foregoing, Transferor and Transferee hereby agree to cooperate to
cause to be removed from title to the Properties, at
Transferor’s expense, any mechanic’s lien or
materialman’s lien arising from work performed by any
Property Owner or such Property Owner’s contractors which
were of record prior to the Closing Date and which remain uncured
after the Closing Date. The provisions of the immediately preceding
sentence shall survive Closing.
(c) As
a condition to Closing, Transferor shall, at Transferor’s
expense, remove or discharge from title to the Contributed
Interests any Liens which were created or caused by Transferor, any
Property Owner or any affiliate thereof.
(d) On
or before the 10 th day following Transferor’s
receipt of Transferee’s Objections (or by the Outside Closing
Date, if earlier), Transferor shall deliver written notice to
Transferee (“ Transferor’s
Response ”) indicating whether
Transferor elects to remove or insure over those Transferee’s
Objections that Transferor is not obligated to remove or insure
over in accordance with Sections
2.2(b) . If Transferor fails to
deliver Transferor’s Response within the time frame set forth
above, it shall be deemed to be an election by Transferor to not
remove or insure over all of such Transferee’s Objections. If
Transferor elects not to (or is deemed to have elected not to)
remove or insure over all of such Transferee’s Objections,
then Transferee must elect, by delivering written notice of such
election to Transferor on or before the earlier to occur of (i) the
10 th day following Transferee’s receipt
of
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Transferor’s Response (or by the Outside
Closing Date, if earlier), or (ii) if no Transferor’s
Response is received by Transferee, the 10 th day
following the date on which Transferor shall have been deemed to
have responded, as provided above (or by the Outside Closing Date,
if earlier), to: (x) terminate this Agreement (in which case none
of the parties thereafter shall have any rights or obligations to
the other hereunder, other than pursuant to any provision hereof
which expressly survives the termination of this Agreement); or (y)
proceed to a timely Closing whereupon such objected to exceptions
or matters shall be deemed to be approved by Transferee and
constitute Permitted Exceptions. If Transferee fails to deliver a
response within such 10 day period (or by the Outside Date, if
earlier), then Transferee shall be deemed to have elected to
proceed to Closing pursuant to clause
(y) above.
2.3 Status of Title . At Closing,
Transferor shall contribute, or cause to be contributed, to
Transferee all of Transferor’s and/or its affiliates’
rights, titles and interests in and to the Contributed Interests,
and Transferee shall accept (a) the Contributed Interests, and (b)
indirect ownership and possession of the Properties, subject only
to the Permitted Exceptions.
ARTICLE III
Transferee’s
Acknowledgement
THE PARTIES HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT: (A)
TRANSFEREE IS A SOPHISTICATED INVESTOR IN REAL PROPERTY WHO IS
FAMILIAR WITH INVESTMENTS SIMILAR TO THE PROPERTIES AND THE
CONTRIBUTED INTERESTS; (B) EXCEPT AS MAY BE SPECIFICALLY SET FORTH
IN THIS AGREEMENT OR THE CLOSING DOCUMENTS, NEITHER TRANSFEROR NOR
ANY TRANSFEROR RELATED PARTY HAS MADE OR WILL MAKE ANY
REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER, WHETHER ORAL OR
WRITTEN, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, WITH RESPECT TO ANY OF THE PROPERTY
OWNERS, ANY OF THE CONTRIBUTED INTERESTS, ANY OF THE PROPERTIES,
THE PERMITTED USE OF ANY OF THE PROPERTIES, OR THE ZONING AND OTHER
LAWS, REGULATIONS AND RULES APPLICABLE THERETO, OR THE COMPLIANCE
BY ANY OF THE PROPERTIES THEREWITH, THE REVENUES AND EXPENSES
GENERATED BY OR ASSOCIATED WITH ANY OF THE PROPERTIES OR ANY OF THE
CONTRIBUTED INTERESTS, OR OTHERWISE RELATING TO ANY OF THE PROPERTY
OWNERS, ANY OF THE PROPERTIES, ANY OF THE CONTRIBUTED INTERESTS, OR
THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREIN; AND (C) EXCEPT AS MAY BE
SPECIFICALLY SET FORTH IN THIS AGREEMENT OR THE CLOSING DOCUMENTS,
THE CONTRIBUTED INTERESTS ARE BEING TRANSFERRED TO TRANSFEREE AND
TRANSFEREE IS ACCEPTING THE CONTRIBUTED INTERESTS AND INDIRECT
POSSESSION OF THE PROPERTIES, IN EACH CASE, IN THEIR PRESENT
“AS IS, WHERE IS” CONDITION “WITH ALL
FAULTS”, WITH NO RIGHT OF SETOFF OR DEDUCTION IN THE
CONTRIBUTED INTERESTS VALUE. IN ADDITION, TRANSFEREE EXPRESSLY
UNDERSTANDS, ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES THAT UNKNOWN CONDITIONS MAY
EXIST WITH RESPECT TO ANY OF THE PROPERTIES,
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THE PROPERTY OWNERS, AND/OR THE CONTRIBUTED
INTERESTS AND THAT TRANSFEREE EXPLICITLY TOOK THE POSSIBILITY OF
SUCH UNKNOWN CONDITIONS INTO ACCOUNT, TOGETHER WITH THE EXPRESS
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES CONTAINED HEREIN, IN DETERMINING AND
AGREEING TO THE CONTRIBUTED INTERESTS VALUE. SUBJECT TO THE TERMS
HEREOF, TRANSFEREE HAS BEEN AFFORDED THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE ANY
AND ALL INSPECTIONS AND DUE DILIGENCE OF THE PROPERTIES, THE
PROPERTY OWNERS, AND ANY OTHER MATTERS RELATED TO THE CONTRIBUTED
INTERESTS AND THE CONTRIBUTION AS TRANSFEREE REASONABLY DESIRED
AND, ACCORDINGLY, EXCEPT AS MAY BE SPECIFICALLY SET FORTH IN THIS
AGREEMENT OR THE CLOSING DOCUMENTS, TRANSFEREE WILL RELY SOLELY ON
ITS OWN DUE DILIGENCE AND INVESTIGATIONS IN ACQUIRING THE
CONTRIBUTED INTERESTS. TRANSFEREE HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES
THAT, EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY SET FORTH IN THIS AGREEMENT OR THE
CLOSING DOCUMENTS, NONE OF TRANSFEROR, ANY TRANSFEROR RELATED PARTY
OR ANY PERSON ACTING ON BEHALF OF ANY OF THEM, NOR ANY PERSON WHICH
PREPARED OR PROVIDED ANY OF THE MATERIALS REVIEWED BY TRANSFEREE IN
CONDUCTING ITS DUE DILIGENCE, NOR ANY REPRESENTATIVE, BROKER,
ACCOUNTANT, ADVISOR, ATTORNEY, CONSULTANT, SUCCESSOR OR ASSIGN OF
ANY OF THE FOREGOING PARTIES, HAS MADE OR SHALL BE DEEMED TO HAVE
MADE ANY ORAL OR WRITTEN REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, WHETHER
EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, BY OPERATION OF LAW OR OTHERWISE (INCLUDING,
WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF HABITABILITY, MERCHANTABILITY OR
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE), WITH RESPECT TO ANY OF THE
PROPERTY OWNERS, ANY OF THE CONTRIBUTED INTERESTS, OR ANY OF THE
PROPERTIES, OTHER THAN THOSE EXPRESSLY CONTAINED HEREIN. TRANSFEREE
FURTHER ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES THAT, EXCEPT AS MAY BE SPECIFICALLY
SET FORTH IN THIS AGREEMENT AND THE CLOSING DOCUMENTS, ALL
MATERIALS WHICH HAVE BEEN PROVIDED BY TRANSFEROR OR ANY TRANSFEROR
RELATED PARTY OR ANY REPRESENTATIVE, BROKER, ACCOUNTANT, ADVISOR,
ATTORNEY, CONSULTANT, SUCCESSOR OR ASSIGN OF ANY OF THE FOREGOING
PARTIES, HAVE BEEN PROVIDED WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION,
EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, AS TO THEIR CONTENT, SUITABILITY FOR ANY
PURPOSE, ACCURACY, TRUTHFULNESS OR COMPLETENESS AND TRANSFEREE
SHALL NOT HAVE ANY RECOURSE AGAINST TRANSFEROR, ANY TRANSFEROR
RELATED PARTY OR ANY REPRESENTATIVE, BROKER, ACCOUNTANT, ADVISOR,
ATTORNEY, CONSULTANT, SUCCESSOR OR ASSIGN OF ANY OF THE FOREGOING
PARTIES IN THE EVENT OF ANY ERRORS THEREIN OR OMISSIONS THEREFROM.
THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ARTICLE
III SHALL SURVIVE CLOSING.
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ARTICLE IV
Transferor’s
Representation & Warranties
Transferor represents and warrants to Transferee as
follows as of the Effective Date and (except with respect to any
representation or warranty set forth in the Bringdown Certificate
which is updated as of the Closing Date in accordance with the
terms of Section 6.1(c)
) as of the Closing Date:
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4.1
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Authority; Ownership of Contributed
Interests .
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(a) (i)
Each of Transferor and each Property Owner is duly formed or
organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of
the state of its formation identified in the 5 th
Recital hereto, (ii) each Property Owner is qualified to do
business in the state in which the Property owned by such Property
Owner is located, and (iii) except as otherwise disclosed in
Schedule 4.1(a) attached hereto, no Property Owner has existed or operated
under any other name, and Transferor has not existed under any
other name since July 1, 2002. Each Property Owner has made all
filings necessary in the state in which such Property Owner’s
Property is located to own and operate such Property, except to the
extent such failure would not have a material adverse effect on the
business operations, financial condition or results of operations
of such Property Owner's Properties.
(b) Other
than as may be limited by the Existing Mortgage Loans, Transferor
has the full right, power and authority to enter into this
Agreement, the Closing Documents and all other documents
contemplated hereby, and to consummate the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement, the Closing Documents and such
other documents. All requisite partnership, limited liability
company and corporate, as applicable, action have been taken by
Transferor to authorize the execution and delivery of this
Agreement, and will be taken by Transferor prior to Closing to
authorize the execution and delivery of the instruments referenced
herein and the consummation of the transactions contemplated
hereby. Each of the Persons signing this Agreement, the Closing
Documents, and the other documents contemplated by this Agreement
on behalf of Transferor has the legal right, power and authority to
bind Transferor.
(c) Transferor
owns, and will own immediately prior to Closing, directly or
indirectly, beneficially and, to the extent applicable, of record,
the Contributed Interests free and clear of any Lien of any nature
whatsoever (subject to the rights of Transferee pursuant to this
Agreement and the covenants, conditions and restrictions set forth
in the Existing Loan Documents). The Contributed Interests are the
only authorized, issued and outstanding direct equity interests in
the Property Owners. Except for this Agreement, the Existing Loan
Documents and any agreements entered into by Transferee, none of
the Contributed Interests are subject to any written agreements or
understandings among Persons with respect to the voting or transfer
thereof to which Transferee or any Property Owner would be subject
on or after the Closing Date. Except for this Agreement, the
Amended and Restated Operating Agreement and any agreements entered
into by Transferee, there are no subscriptions, options, warrants,
calls,
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rights, convertible securities or other agreements
or commitments of any character obligating Transferor, any Property
Owner or any of their respective affiliates to issue, transfer or
sell, or cause the issuance, transfer or sale of, any direct equity
interests or other securities (whether or not such securities have
voting rights) of any Property Owner to which Transferee or any
Property Owner would be subject on or after the Closing
Date.
4.2 No Conflicts . The execution,
delivery and performance by Transferor of this Agreement and the
instruments referenced herein and the transaction contemplated
hereby will not conflict with, or with or without notice or the
passage of time or both, (i) result in a breach of, violation of,
or constitute a default under any material term or provision of any
articles of formation, certificate of incorporation, bylaws,
certificate of limited partnership, certificate of limited
liability company, partnership agreement (oral or written)
(including any designation supplemental thereto), limited liability
company agreement (oral or written) (including any designation
supplemental thereto) or other operating agreement (oral or
written) (including any designation supplemental thereto), as
applicable, of Transferor or any Property Owner, (ii) result in a
breach of, violation of, or constitute a default under (subject to
obtaining any consents required under the Existing Mortgage Loans)
any material term or provision of, any indenture, deed of trust,
mortgage, judicial or administrative order or Law, applicable to
Transferor or any Property Owner or by which Transferor, any
Property Owner, any of the Contributed Interests, any of the
Properties (or any portion thereof), or any other asset of any
Property Owner is bound, or (iii) result in a breach of, violation
of, or constitute a default under, any material term or provision
of any Continuing Contract which breaches, violations and defaults
would, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse
effect on the business operations, financial condition or results
of operations of the applicable Property or the applicable Property
Owner in question.
4.3 Consents; Binding Obligations . Other
than with respect to any approval required under the Existing Loan
Documents, no approval or consent (other than those which have
already been obtained and have not been revoked) is required from
any Person for Transferor to execute, deliver or perform this
Agreement, the Closing Documents or the other instruments
contemplated hereby, or for Transferor to consummate the
transaction contemplated hereby, and (b) this Agreement, the
Closing Documents and all other documents required hereby to be
executed by Transferor are and shall be valid, legally binding
obligations of Transferor, enforceable against Transferor in
accordance with their respective terms. Transferor has delivered to
Transferee copies of the Property Owner Organizational Documents,
including all amendments thereto, which are true and complete in
all material respects.
4.4 No Bankruptcy . No petition in
bankruptcy (voluntary or otherwise), attachment, execution
proceeding, assignment for the benefit of creditors, or petition
seeking reorganization or insolvency, arrangement or other action
or proceeding under Federal or state bankruptcy law is pending
against or contemplated (or, to Transferor’s Actual
Knowledge, threatened) by or against Transferor, any general
partner of Transferor or any Property Owner.
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4.5
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Tenant Leases, Contracts, Permitted Exceptions
and Permits .
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(a) Transferor
has delivered to Transferee copies of the Tenant Leases, including
all amendments, modifications and guaranties relating thereto which
are true and complete in all material respects. Transferor has also
made available to Transferee other material documents and notices
relating to the Tenant Leases. The Property Owners are the lessors
under the Tenant Leases, and no Property Owner has, directly or
indirectly, voluntarily or involuntarily, by operation of law or
otherwise, assigned, transferred, encumbered, hypothecated, pledged
or granted a security interest in any of the Tenant Leases or its
interest therein (other than in connection with the Existing
Mortgage Loans).
(b) To
Transferor’s Actual Knowledge, except as otherwise disclosed
in Schedule 4.5(b)
attached hereto, each of the Tenant Leases is in
full force and effect. To Transferor’s Actual Knowledge,
except as otherwise disclosed in Schedule 4.5(b) attached hereto, none of
the Property Owners has sent or received any written notice of
default under any of the material Tenant Leases. Transferor is not
an affiliate of any Tenant under a Tenant Lease which will survive
Closing, and Transferor does not have any direct or indirect
ownership interest in any Tenant under a Tenant Lease which will
survive Closing. Without limiting the foregoing, the parties hereto
acknowledge that an affiliate of Transferor owns a limited
partnership interest in MRO Leasehold Owner which is the ground
lessee under the MRO Ground Lease. For purposes of this
Section 4.5(b) and Section 6.1(i)
, the term “material Tenant Lease” shall
mean a Tenant Lease demising more than 10,000 square feet of
space.
(c) Attached
hereto as Schedule
4.5(c) is a true and correct copy of
the rent roll for each Property (each, a “
Rent Roll ”) based upon which the applicable Property Owner
operates such Property as of the date indicated therein, together
with a schedule, to Transferor’s Actual Knowledge, of the
amount of (i) all Tenant Deposits and pre-paid rent of more than
one month in advance paid by each Tenant under each Tenant Lease,
less amounts previously applied or returned to such Tenant, and
(ii) any and all unpaid incentives, concessions, abatements, free
rent amounts, allowances or inducements granted to each Tenant
(other than those expressly set forth in the Tenant
Leases).
(d) Attached
hereto as Schedule
4.5(d) is a list (the “
Contract List ”) that is true and complete in all material respects of
all management, service, supply, repair and maintenance agreements,
equipment leases, leasing and/or brokerage agreements and all other
contracts and agreements (including the Contracts, but excluding
the Tenant Leases and the MRO Ground Lease) with respect to or
affecting each Property, or by which any Property Owner is bound,
or under which any Property Owner is liable, in each case, as of
the Effective Date. Transferor has delivered to Transferee copies
of all written material Continuing Contracts, which are true and
complete in all material respects. The Contracts which are national
contracts are identified on Schedule
4.5(d) attached hereto. Transferor
has no direct or indirect ownership interest in any service
provider under any Continuing Contract.
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(e) Except
as otherwise disclosed in Schedule
4.5(e) attached hereto, neither the
applicable Property Owner nor any other party thereto is in default
under (i) any of the material Continuing Contracts or Permits
beyond the expiration of any applicable grace or cure period,
except to the extent such default would not have, individually or
in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on the business
operations, financial condition or results of operations of the
applicable Property or the applicable Property Owner, or (ii) any
of the Permitted Exceptions beyond the expiration of any applicable
grace or cure period, except to the extent such default would not
have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect
on the business operations, financial condition or results of
operations of the applicable Property or the applicable Property
Owner.
(f) Except
as otherwise disclosed in Schedule
4.5(f) attached hereto, there are no
third party brokerage and leasing agreements for which fees or
commissions are or will be payable relating to the Tenant Leases
which would be payable by Transferee or any Property Owner after
Closing.
4.6 No Actions/Compliance With Laws .
Except as otherwise disclosed in Schedule 4.6 attached hereto, there are no
actions, suits, proceedings, claims or investigations before any
court or governmental authority pending, or to Transferor’s
Actual Knowledge, threatened, against Transferor or any Property
Owner with respect to or affecting all of any portion of any
Property (other than actions, suits, proceedings or claims fully
covered (other than any applicable deductible) by insurance) which,
if determined adversely to Transferor or any Property Owner, could
reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the
business operations, financial condition or results of operations
of the applicable Property or the applicable Property Owner, or on
Transferor’s ability to consummate the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement. None of Transferor, any Property
Owner or any affiliate thereof is a party to or otherwise bound by
any consent decree, judgment, other decree or order, or settlement
agreement which could reasonably be expected to have (i) an adverse
effect on Transferor’s ability to perform its obligations
hereunder, or (ii) a material adverse effect on the business
operations, financial conditions or results of operations of the
applicable Property or the applicable Property Owner. To
Transferor’s Actual Knowledge, except as otherwise disclosed
in Schedule 4.6 attached hereto, neither Transferor nor any Property Owner has
received any written notice that a Property is in material
violation of any Laws or requirements of any governmental
authority, agency or officer having jurisdiction against or
affecting such Property (a “ Violation ”), which have
not previously been complied with in all material respects. Except
as otherwise disclosed in Schedule 4.6 attached hereto, there are no
proceedings pending nor, to Transferor’s Actual Knowledge,
threatened, to alter or restrict the zoning or other use
restrictions applicable to any Property, or to condemn all or any
portion of such Property by eminent domain proceedings or otherwise
(including a study or plan for road widening, realignment or
relocation).
4.7 Hazardous Materials and Repairs . Schedule 4.7
attached hereto describes the most recent
environmental report for each Property in Transferor’s
Possession or Reasonable Control.
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Transferor has delivered to Transferee copies of all
such environmental reports, which are true and complete in all
material respects.
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4.8
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Taxes and Special Assessments
.
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(a) Transferor
has delivered to Transferee copies of all ad valorem and other
property tax statements and assessments covering any Property for
the current plus 2 preceding years, together with a copy of any
notice of increase in valuation received by Transferor or any
Property Owner since the most recent of such tax statements that
were issued, which copies are true and complete in all material
respects. There are no special assessments or charges which have
been levied against any Property that are not reflected on the tax
bills with respect to any such Property. Except as set forth
on Schedule 4.8(a)
attached hereto, to Transferor’s Actual
Knowledge, no application or proceeding is pending to seek a
reduction or increase in taxes or assessments for any of the
Properties.
(b) No
Property Owner has ever elected to be taxed other than as a
partnership or a disregarded entity for Federal, state or local
income tax purposes and each Property Owner is currently classified
for Federal, state or local income tax purposes as an entity which
is disregarded as an entity separate from its owner. Each Property
Owner has filed, or caused to be filed, all federal, state and
material local tax returns, informational filings and reports
(collectively, “ Tax
Returns ”) that are required to
be filed by them. All such returns, reports, and filings are true
and complete in all material respects. Each Property Owner has
paid, or caused to be paid, all Taxes shown to be due on such Tax
Returns, and have paid, or caused to paid, all other Taxes that are
shown on such return. None of the Property Owners has any liability
for Taxes (i) of another Person by reason of an agreement,
transferee liability, joint and several liability, or otherwise, or
(ii) of any predecessor. None of the Property Owners owns any
direct or indirect ownership interest in any Person which is liable
for any Taxes, including liability for Taxes (x) of another Person
by reason of an agreement, transferee liability, joint and several
liability, or otherwise, or (y) of any predecessor. Transferor has
not received from any governmental authority any written notice the
subject of which remains uncured (1) of underpayment of any
material Tax which could become a Lien on any of the Properties if
not paid, (2) that any actions relating to the Tax liability of, or
relating to, any Property, and which could become a Lien on any
Property if not paid, are pending, and/or (3) that the institution
of any such action is contemplated by any governmental authority.
No Property Owner has waived any restrictions on the assessment or
collection of Taxes which, if unpaid, could become a Lien on any
Property, or has consented to the extension of any statute of
limitations with respect to any such Tax that has not since
expired. As of the Effective Date, and except as set forth
on Schedule 4.8(b)
attached hereto, none of the Property Owners or
Transferor has received any written notice (A) of an actual or
threatened audit of any tax return filed by or on behalf of a
Property Owner, or (B) that the applicable governmental entity
disputes any material position taken by any Property Owner or (if
applicable to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and
the Closing Documents) Transferor, in any tax return subject to
such audit.
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(c) None
of the Property Owners holds securities, directly or indirectly,
possessing more than 10% of the total voting power or total value
of the outstanding securities of any one issuer for purposes of
Section 856(c)(4)(B) of the Code, and not more than 5% of the total
value of the total assets of the Property Owners (treating them as
one entity for this purpose) is represented by securities of any
one issuer for purposes of Section 856(c)(4)(B) of the Code. None
of the Property Owners owns any direct or indirect ownership
interest in any Person which is classified as a corporation for
Federal, state, or local income tax purposes. Except for this
Agreement, the Amended and Restated Operating Agreement, the Tax
Protection Agreement, and the agreements listed on
Schedule 4.8(c) attached hereto, there are no Tax Matters Agreements to which
any Property Owner or any subsidiary thereof is currently subject.
For purposes of this Section
4.8(c) , “
Tax Matters Agreement
” shall mean any agreement pursuant to which
any Property Owner or any subsidiary thereof may have any liability
relating to Taxes of another Person, whether or not as a result of
the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement.
(d) The
adjusted tax basis of each Property (including all of its
components) as set forth on Schedule
4.8(d) attached hereto are true and
complete in all material respects as of March 31, 2007.
(e) Annual
tax depreciation amounts for the 2007 tax year and subsequent tax
years for each Property (including all of its components), based on
assets in place as of March 31, 2007 as set forth on
Schedule 4.8(e) attached hereto are true and complete in all material respects
as of March 31, 2007.
4.9 Non-Foreign Status . None of the
Property Owners or Transferor is a “foreign person”
within the meaning of Section 1445 of the Code.
4.10 Not a
Prohibited Person . (a) Neither
Transferor nor any Property Owner is a Prohibited Person; (b) to
Transferor’s Actual Knowledge, none of its investors,
affiliates or brokers or other agents (if any), acting or
benefiting in any capacity in connection with this Agreement is a
Prohibited Person; and (c) to Transferor’s Actual Knowledge,
the Contributed Interests are not the property of, and are not
beneficially owned, directly or indirectly, by a Prohibited Person,
nor are any of such assets the proceeds of specified unlawful
activity as defined by 18 U.S.C. §1956(c)(7).
4.11 Union
Contracts; Employees . No Property Owner
is a party to, and no Property Owner or Property is bound by, and
Transferee shall have no obligation to assume, any collective
bargaining agreement, union contract, retirement plan, benefit plan
or other employment agreement with respect to the Properties, and
neither Transferor nor Westfield, LLC is subject to any such
collective bargaining agreement, union contract, retirement plan,
benefit plan or other employment agreement that will be binding
upon any Property Owner or applicable to any Property Owner’s
employees from and after Closing. Attached hereto as
Schedule 4.11 is
a list of all managers, leasing directors and other employees who
are located at or specifically assigned to each Property
(collectively, the “ Property
Employees ”) as of the
Effective Date,
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their base salaries, their hire dates and a summary
of their employment benefits, which list is true and complete in
all material respects. All of the Property Employees are employees
of Westfield, LLC, and none of the Property Owners has any
employees.
4.12 Single-Purpose . Each Property Owner
(a) has been formed solely for the purpose of acquiring, owning,
operating, managing, leasing, financing and disposing of the
Property owned by such Property Owner (and/or acquiring, owning,
operating, managing, leasing, financing and disposing of a Related
Property) and transacting any lawful business that is incidental to
accomplish the foregoing, (b) has not engaged in any business that
is unrelated to the activities set forth in the preceding
clause (a) (including such activities related to a Related Property
previously owned by such Property Owner), (c) does not have any
assets or liabilities other than those related to the Property
owned by such Property Owner (and/or those related to a Related
Property previously owned by such Property Owner) and that are
reflected in such Property Owner’s financial statements, to
the extent such Property Owner has financial statements, and (d)
has never had any assets or liabilities other than those related to
the Property owned by such Property Owner (and/or those related to
a Related Property previously owned by such Property
Owner).
4.13 ERISA . None of the assets of
Transferor or any Property Owner constitutes assets of any
“employee benefit plan” within the meaning of Section
3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as
amended, a “plan” within the meaning of Section 4975 of
the Code, or a Person deemed to hold “plan assets”
within the meaning of 29 C.F.R. 2510.3-101 of any such employee
benefit plan or plans.
4.14 Financial Statements . Transferor has
delivered to Transferee copies of financial statements for Mid
Rivers Mall Owner, South County Mall Owner, West County Mall Owner,
in each case, as of December 31, 2006. Each of such financial
statements has been prepared in accordance with United States
generally accepted accounting principles, consistently applied,
without footnotes, and present fairly in all material respects and
in accordance with such principles, the financial position and
result of the operations of the applicable entity as the date or
period specified therein. Except as set forth in
Schedule 4.14 attached hereto, no Property Owner has incurred any material
liability other than (i) liabilities reflected in such Property
Owner’s financial statements described above, and (ii)
liabilities incurred in the ordinary course of business of owning
or operating its Property (or any Related Property previously owned
by such Property Owner).
4.15 No
Other Assets . Transferor has no material
assets related to the ownership or operation of the Properties
other than Transferor’s interest in the Contributed Interests
to be conveyed to Transferee upon Closing.
4.16 Gift
Certificates; Merchants Associations .
None of the Property Owners operates any gift certificate program
other than the Westfield Gift Card Program currently being run
through American Express. There are no Merchants Associations at
any of the Properties.
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4.17
Existing Mortgage Loans . Attached hereto as Schedule
4.17 , is a list of all of the
material loan documents related to the Existing Mortgage Loans,
including all amendments and modifications thereto (the
“ Existing Loan
Documents ”). Transferor has
delivered to Transferee copies of the Existing Loan Documents which
are true and complete in all material respects. To
Transferor’s Actual Knowledge, the outstanding principal
balance of each Existing Mortgage Loan as of June 30, 2007 is set
forth on Schedule 4.17
attached hereto. None of the Property Owners or
Transferor has received any written notice of default under any of
the Existing Mortgage Loans. The only guarantees or letters of
credit contemplated by the Existing Loan Documents that are
currently applicable to the Properties and which will be binding on
Transferee, CBL OP and/or CBL REIT after Closing are the Assumed
Guarantees. No Property Owner is currently required to make any
cash escrow deposits under any of the Existing Loan Documents
except for, (i) a cash escrow for real estate taxes under the
Existing Loan Documents related to the West County Mortgage Loan,
(ii) cash escrows for replacement and rollover reserves under the
Existing Loan Documents related to the Cross-Collateralized
Mortgage Loan, and (iii) a cash escrow for real estate taxes under
the Existing Loan Documents related to the Cross-Collateralized
Mortgage Loan. If Transferee, CBL OP and/or CBL REIT are required
to assume the obligations of Transferor under that certain Guaranty
of Required Repairs related to the Cross-Collateralized Mortgage
Loan, Transferor hereby agrees to indemnify, defend and hold
harmless Transferee, CBL OP and/or CBL REIT from and against all
Losses (including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys’
fees and expenses) suffered by Transferee, CBL OP and/or CBL REIT
arising from claims made by the applicable Existing Lender with
respect to the repair obligations assumed by Transferee, CBL OP
and/or CBL REIT pursuant to such Guaranty of Required
Repairs.
4.18 REAs . Transferor has delivered to
Transferee copies of the REAs, which are true and complete in all
material respects. To Transferor’s Actual Knowledge, each of
the REAs are in full force and effect. None of the Property Owners
or Transferor has received or given any written notice of default
under any of the REAs.
4.19 Insurance Certificates . Transferor
has delivered to Transferee copies of the certificates of the
casualty and commercial liability insurance policies being
maintained for the Properties as of the Effective Date, which are
true and complete in all material respects. The parties hereto
acknowledge and agree that the insurance policies which will be
maintained for the Properties as of the Closing Date may not be the
same as the insurance policies which are currently being maintained
for the Properties as of the Effective Date, but Transferor
represents that the insurance policies which will be maintained for
the Properties through the Closing Date will afford substantially
the same coverage as the insurance policies then being maintained
for other properties directly or indirectly owned by Transferor
which are similar to the Properties.
4.20 MRO
Ground Lease . Transferor has delivered
to Transferee a copy of the MRO Ground Lease, which is true and
complete in all material respects. The MRO Ground Lease is in full
force and effect. Mid Rivers Land I Owner has not sent or received
any written notice of default under the MRO Ground Lease. Mid
Rivers Land I Owner has not voluntarily or
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involuntarily, by operation of law or otherwise,
assigned, transferred, encumbered, hypothecated, pledged or granted
a security interest in the MRO Ground Lease.
Each of the representations and warranties contained
in this Article IV
(as the same may be updated in the Bringdown
Certificate delivered in accordance with Section 6.1(c) ) are acknowledged
by Transferor to be material and to be relied upon by Transferee in
proceeding with this transaction, and (except for any
representation or warranty set forth in the Bringdown Certificate
which is updated as of the Closing Date in accordance with the
terms of Section 6.1(c)
) shall be deemed to have been remade by Transferor
as of the Closing Date. Transferor shall promptly notify
Transferee, in writing, of any event or condition known to
Transferor which occurs prior to the Closing Date and which causes
a material adverse change in the facts relating to, or the truth
of, any of the above representations or warranties.
Transferor shall not be deemed to be in breach of
the representations and warranties contained in
Sections 4.5 or 4.11 , as the case may be, with respect to any Contract(s) or
employee matter(s), if Transferee does not assume responsibility
for such Contract(s) or such employee matter(s), respectively,
which violate(s) such representations and warranties, and none of
Transferee, any Property Owner or any Property would otherwise be
bound thereby or have any liability with respect thereto on or
after the Closing Date.
Except with respect to (i) any
claims or actions arising out of any breach of covenants,
agreements, indemnities, representations or warranties expressly
set forth herein, (ii) any claims or actions for which a Property
Owner has liability insurance coverage, in which case the release
set forth herein shall not include any amounts which are actually
received from the applicable insurance company for such claim or
action or the right of the Property Owners to seek reimbursement
under such policies, and (iii) any claims or actions for fraud on
the part of Transferor or any Property Owner or any of their
respective affiliates, Transferee, for itself and its agents,
affiliates, successors and assigns, hereby releases and forever
discharges Transferor and each Transferor Related Party and their
respective successors and assigns from any and all rights, claims
and demands at law or in equity, whether known or unknown at the
time of this Agreement, which Transferee has or may have in the
future, arising out of the physical, environmental, economic or
legal condition of any Property, or any tax, legal, economic or
financial matters or condition relating to the Property Owners or
the Contributed Interests.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth
in this Agreement, (x) Transferee hereby expressly waives,
relinquishes and releases any right or remedy available to it at
law, in equity or under this Agreement, in the event Closing
occurs, to make a claim against Transferor for damages that
Transferee may incur, or to rescind this Agreement and the
transactions contemplated hereby, as the result of any of
Transferor’s representations or warranties in this
Article IV being
untrue, inaccurate or incorrect if, to Transferee’s Actual
Knowledge and/or CBL OP’s Actual Knowledge, such
representation or warranty shall be untrue, inaccurate or incorrect
at the time of Closing and Transferee shall nevertheless proceed
with Closing hereunder, and (y) without limiting the
provisions of Section
13.4 , Transferor’s liability
for breach of any representations or warranties of Transferor
contained in this Article
IV , any
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22452514v30
Closing Document, and/or in any other document
executed by Transferor pursuant to this Agreement, including any
instruments delivered at Closing, shall be deferred until such
claims equal or exceed Three Hundred Seventy Five Thousand and
No/100 Dollars ($375,000.00) in the aggregate (to be valued and
paid from the first dollar of loss in the event that such aggregate
amount is exceeded), and Transferor’s aggregate liability for
all claims arising out of any such covenants, representations and
warranties shall not exceed Seven Million Five Hundred Thousand and
No/100 Dollars ($7,500,000.00).
For purposes of this Agreement, whenever a
determination is being made as to the impact or effect on the
business operations, financial condition, results of operations, or
on any other aspect, of a Property or Property Owner, (x) Mid
Rivers Mall Owner, Mid Rivers Land I Owner and Mid Rivers Land II
Owner, and their respective Properties, shall be taken as a whole,
and (y) West County Mall Owner and L&T Owner, and their
respective Properties, shall be taken as a whole).
ARTICLE V
Transferee’s
Representations and Warranties
Each of CBL OP and Transferee represents and
warrants, jointly and severally, to Transferor as follows as of the
Effective Date and (except with respect to any representation or
warranty set forth in the certificate delivered at Closing which is
updated as of the Closing Date in accordance with the terms
of Section 8.1(a)
) as of the Closing Date:
(a) Transferee
is a Delaware limited liability company duly formed or organized,
validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the state
of its organization and Transferee is qualified to do business in
the states in which it presently conducts its business. Transferee
has not existed or operated under any name other than CW Joint
Venture, LLC. Transferee has made all filings necessary in the
states in which it presently conducts its business to so conduct
its business, except to the extent such failure would not have a
material adverse effect on the business operations, financial
conditions or results of operations of Transferee. Transferee has
the full limited liability company right, power and authority to
enter into this Agreement, the Closing Documents, and all other
documents contemplated hereby, and to consummate the transaction
contemplated by this Agreement, the Closing Documents and such
other documents. All requisite partnership, limited liability
company and corporate, as applicable, action have been taken by
Transferee to authorize the execution and delivery of this
Agreement, and will be taken by Transferee prior to the Closing to
authorize the execution and delivery of the instruments referenced
herein and the consummation of the transactions contemplated
hereby. Each of the Persons signing this Agreement, the Closing
Documents and the other documents contemplated by this Agreement on
behalf of Transferee has the legal right, power and authority to
bind Transferee.
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22452514v30
(b) CBL
OP is a Delaware limited partnership duly formed or organized,
validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the state
of its organization and CBL OP is qualified to do business in the
states in which it presently conducts its business. CBL OP has made
all filings necessary in the states in which it presently conducts
its business to so conduct its business, except to the extent such
failure would not have a material adverse effect on the business
operations, financial conditions or results of operations of CBL
OP. CBL OP has the full limited partnership right, power and
authority to enter into this Agreement, the Closing Documents and
all other documents contemplated hereby, and to consummate the
transaction contemplated by this Agreement, the Closing Documents
and such other documents. All requisite partnership, limited
liability company and corporate, as applicable, action have been
taken by CBL OP to authorize the execution and delivery of this
Agreement, and will be taken by CBL OP prior to the Closing to
authorize the execution and delivery of the instruments referenced
herein and the consummation of the transactions contemplated
hereby. Each of the Persons signing this Agreement, the Closing
Documents and the other documents contemplated by this Agreement on
behalf of CBL OP has the legal right, power and authority to bind
CBL OP.
5.2 No Conflicts . The execution,
delivery and performance by each of Transferee and CBL OP of this
Agreement and the instruments referenced herein and the transaction
contemplated hereby will not conflict with, or with or without
notice or the passage of time or both, (i) result in a breach of,
violation of, or constitute a default under the Original Operating
Agreement or the Amended and Restated Operating Agreement, or any
material term or provision of any articles of formation,
certificate of incorporation, bylaws, certificate of limited
partnership, certificate of limited liability company, partnership
agreement (oral or written) (including any designation supplemental
thereto), limited liability company agreement (oral or written)
(including any designation supplemental thereto) or other operating
agreement (oral or written) (including any designation supplemental
thereto), as applicable, of Transferee or CBL OP, or (ii) result in
a breach of, violation of, or constitute a default under any
material term or provision of any indenture, deed of trust,
mortgage, contract, agreement, judicial or administrative order or
Law applicable to Transferee or CBL OP, or by which Transferee, CBL
OP or their respective assets are bound.
5.3 Consents; Binding Obligations . No
approval or consent (other than those which have already been
obtained and have not been revoked) from any Person is required for
each of Transferee and CBL OP to execute, deliver or perform this
Agreement, the Closing Documents or the other instruments
contemplated hereby, or for Transferee and CBL OP to consummate the
transactions contemplated hereby. Each of Transferee and CBL OP has
obtained all necessary consents, approvals and authorizations of
third parties in order to effect the admission of Transferor as a
Preferred Member of Transferee holding the Preferred Membership
Interests. This Agreement, the Closing Documents and all other
documents required hereby to be executed by Transferee and/or CBL
OP are and shall be valid, legally binding obligations of, and
enforceable against, Transferee and CBL OP, respectively, in
accordance with their terms.
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5.4 No
Bankruptcy . No petition in bankruptcy
(voluntary or otherwise), attachment, execution proceeding,
assignment for the benefit of creditors, or petition seeking
reorganization or insolvency, arrangement or other action or
proceeding under Federal or state bankruptcy law is pending against
or contemplated (or, to Transferee’s Actual Knowledge and/or
to CBL OP’s Actual Knowledge, threatened) by or against
Transferee, CBL OP or any general partner of CBL OP.
5.5 No Liens . CBL OP is the sole member
of Transferee and owns, and will own upon the closing under the CBL
Contribution Agreement, the Common Membership Interests, which
constitute 100% of the authorized, issued and outstanding common
units and voting interests in Transferee, free and clear of any
Lien of any nature whatsoever. No preferred interests in Transferee
are authorized, issued or outstanding other than the Preferred
Membership Interests to be issued to Transferor pursuant to this
Agreement, and upon the consummation of the transactions
contemplated herein, Transferor will be the owner of 100% of the
Preferred Membership Interests, which will, immediately following
the issuance thereof, constitute 100% of the authorized, issued and
outstanding preferred units in Transferee, free and clear of any
Liens of any nature whatsoever. The Preferred Membership Interests
and the Common Membership Interests will, immediately following the
issuance of the Preferred Membership Interests, constitute 100% of
the authorized, issued and outstanding voting and economic
interests in Transferee.
5.6 No Legal Proceedings . There are no
actions, suits, proceedings or investigations before any court or
governmental authority pending or, to Transferee’s Actual
Knowledge and/or CBL OP’s Actual Knowledge, threatened
against Transferee or CBL OP which, if determined adversely to
Transferee or CBL OP, could reasonably be expected to have
(a) an adverse effect on Transferee’s or CBL OP’s
ability to perform its obligations hereunder, or (b) a
material adverse effect on Transferee’s or CBL OP’s
business operations, financial condition or results of operations
(a “ Material Adverse
Effect ”). Neither Transferee
nor CBL OP is a party to or otherwise bound by any consent decree,
judgment, other decree or order, or settlement agreement which
could reasonably be expected to have (i) an adverse effect on
Transferee’s or CBL OP’s ability to perform its
obligations hereunder, or (ii) a Material Adverse
Effect.
5.7 No Preemptive Rights . Except as set
forth in Schedule 5.7
attached hereto, no Person has any conditional or
unconditional right and/or option (including, without limitation, a
right of first refusal or right of first offer) to purchase any
Membership Interests in Transferee. Except for this Agreement,
there are no subscriptions, options, warrants, calls, rights,
convertible securities or other agreements or commitments of any
character obligating Transferee or CBL OP or any of their
respective affiliates to issue, transfer or sell, or cause the
issuance, transfer or sale of, any equity interests (whether common
or preferred or otherwise) or other securities (whether or not such
securities have voting rights) of Transferee. Except for this
Agreement and the Amended and Restated Operating Agreement, neither
Transferee nor CLB OP is a party to any written agreements or
understandings among Persons with respect to the voting or transfer
of
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any Membership Interests to which Transferor, any
Property Owner, Transferee or CBL OP would be subject on or after
the Closing Date.
5.8 No Repurchase Obligations . Except as
set forth in Schedule
5.8 attached hereto, there are no
outstanding contractual obligations of Transferee to repurchase,
redeem or otherwise acquire any Membership Interests or other
ownership interests in Transferee.
5.9 Organizational Documents . True and
complete copies of the certificate of formation of Transferee and
the Original Operating Agreement as in effect on the Effective Date
and on the Closing Date immediately prior to Closing have been
delivered to Transferor.
5.10 Certain
Tax Matters . Transferee was formed on
July 17, 2007. Transferee has not filed, and shall not file, an
election to be taxed other than as a disregarded entity or a
partnership for Federal income tax purposes. Transferee is not a
continuation of another partnership within the meaning of Section
708 of the Code and the Regulations promulgated thereunder.
Transferee has never conducted, and does not currently conduct, any
business operations (nor has Transferee owned any assets), except
for entering into the CBL Contribution Agreement.
5.11 CBL
Contribution Agreement . Transferee has
delivered to Transferor true and complete copies of the CBL
Contribution Agreement and all documents (including, without
limitation, any organizational documents of any Person) delivered
at or in connection with the “Closing” under and as
defined in the CBL Contribution Agreement.
5.12 Not a
Prohibited Person . (a) Neither
Transferee nor CBL OP is a Prohibited Person; (b) to
Transferee’s Actual Knowledge and/or to CBL OP’s Actual
Knoweldge, none of their investors, affiliates or brokers or other
agents (if any), acting or benefiting in any capacity in connection
with this Agreement is a Prohibited Person; and (c) to
Transferee’s Actual Knowledge and/or to CBL OP’s Actual
Knowledge, the assets owned by Transferee and CBL OP are not the
property of, and are not beneficially owned, directly or
indirectly, by a Prohibited Person, nor are any of such assets the
proceeds of specified unlawful activity as defined by 18
U.S.C. §1956(c)(7).
5.13 ERISA . None of the assets of
Transferee or CBL OP constitutes assets of any “employee
benefit plan” within the meaning of Section 3(3) of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, a
“plan” within the meaning of Section 4975 of the Code,
or a Person deemed to hold “plan assets” within the
meaning of 29 C.F.R. 2510.3-101 of any such employee benefit plan
or plans.
Each of the representations and warranties contained
in this Article V
(as the same may be updated in the certificate
delivered in accordance with Section
8.1(a) ) are acknowledged by each of
Transferee and CBL OP to be material and to be relied upon by
Transferor in proceeding with this transaction, and (except for any
representation or warranty set forth in such certificate which is
updated as of the Closing Date in accordance with the terms
of Section 8.1(a)
) shall be
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deemed to have been remade jointly and severally by
each of Transferee and CBL OP as of the Closing Date. Transferee
and CBL OP shall promptly notify Transferor, in writing, of any
event or condition known to Transferee or CBL OP which occurs prior
to the Closing Date and which causes a material adverse change in
the facts relating to, or the truth of, any of the above
representations or warranties.
ARTICLE VI
Additional
Undertakings
6.1 Covenants . Until the earlier of
Closing or the termination of this Agreement, Transferor undertakes
and agrees as follows:
(a) Transferor
shall cause each Property to be operated and maintained, shall
perform or cause to be performed all of its and any Property
Owner’s obligations (including obligations under the Existing
Loan Documents, the Contracts, the REAs, the Tenant Leases and the
MRO Ground Lease), and shall timely make or cause to be made any
required payments relating to such Property in a professional
manner, in each case, in accordance, in all material respects, with
Transferor’s and the applicable Property Owner’s past
practice and all applicable Laws. Transferor shall cause each
Property Owner to maintain in existence all material licenses,
permits and approvals, if any, in its name necessary to the
continuing ownership, operation and maintenance of the
Properties.
(b) Subject
to Section 6.1(c)
, without Transferee’s prior written approval,
which may be withheld in Transferee’s sole and absolute
discretion, neither Transferor nor any Property Owner shall
directly or indirectly (i) sell, contribute or assign any of the
Contributed Interests or any of the Properties or any part thereof,
(ii) cause any voluntary mortgage, deed of trust or Lien (other
than the Permitted Exceptions) to be placed of record against any
of the Contributed Interests or any of the Properties or any part
thereof, (iii) subject to Section
2.2 , take any action which would
modify the status of title to (or the legal description of) any
Property as shown on any Title Commitment, (iv) subject to
Section 2.2 ,
take any action which would adversely affect Transferee’s
ability to obtain any Title Policy in accordance with
Section 7.1(a) ,
(v) enter into any agreement to do any of the foregoing, or (vi)
cause or permit any Property Owner to do any of the
foregoing.
(c) Without
Transferee’s prior written approval (not to be unreasonably
withheld, delayed or conditioned, except that Transferee may
withhold its consent in its sole discretion to any proposed Tenant
Lease which is not consistent with the Approved Transactions
Guidelines), Transferor shall not (i) enter into any new (or
extend, renew or replace any existing) lease, agreement, service
contract, employment contract, permit or obligation affecting any
Property which would be binding upon Transferee or any Property
Owner after the Closing, or (ii) terminate any Tenant Lease, the
MRO Ground Lease or Continuing Contract, or otherwise materially
amend, supplement or modify any of the foregoing (
provided ,
however , that nothing
in the foregoing clauses
(i) or (ii) shall prohibit Transferor or
any Property Owner from (A) entering into a Tenant Lease if such
Tenant Lease is with a reasonably creditworthy Tenant on
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terms substantially consistent with those set forth
on Schedule 6.1(c)
attached hereto (the “
Approved Transactions
Guidelines ”) (
i.e. , within 10% of
the applicable base rent set forth in the Approved Transactions
Guidelines), or (B) extending or renewing the term of any Tenant
Lease or the MRO Ground Lease, or expanding the space demised by
any Tenant Lease or the MRO Ground Lease, or otherwise amending any
Tenant Lease or the MRO Ground Lease, if such extension, renewal,
expansion or amendment is (I) pursuant to an existing option in
such Tenant Lease or the MRO Ground Lease, as the case may be, or
(II) in the case of a Tenant Lease only, on terms substantially
consistent with those set forth on the Approved Transactions
Guidelines ( i.e. , within 10% of the applicable base rent set forth in the
Approved Transactions Guidelines); in the case of each of
clauses (A) and (B) , without Transferee’s consent, and Transferor and the
Property Owners shall have the right to do any of the foregoing
without Transferee’s consent), (iii) change, alter, file
for, pursue, accept or obtain any zoning, land use permit or other
development approval or entitlement related to the Properties, (iv)
consent to the inclusion of any Property in any special district,
(v) commence any action, suit or proceeding against a defaulting
anchor Tenant or any other Tenant under a Tenant Lease involving
more than 25,000 square feet of gross leaseable area, or
(vi) cause or permit any Property Owner to do any of the
foregoing; provided , however ,
that Transferor may enter into, or cause any Property Owner to
enter into, any service or similar contract without
Transferee’s approval if such contract is entered into in the
ordinary course of Transferor’s or such Property
Owner’s business and is terminable without penalty or premium
on not more than 30 days’ notice from Transferor or such
Property Owner. Transferee shall respond to any request for consent
under this Section
6.1(c) within 5 Business Days of its
receipt of a written request for such consent together with a copy
of the document (or a summary of all material terms) for which such
consent is being requested. In the event that Transferee fails to
respond within such 5 Business Day period, Transferee shall be
deemed to have consented to such request. At Closing, Transferor
shall deliver to Transferee an updated representation certificate
(the “ Bringdown
Certificate ”), pursuant to
which Transferor shall provide, and represent and warrant to
Transferee as to, updated versions of each of the representations
and warranties set forth in Article
IV , all updated as of the Closing
Date (or such other date as may be specified in
Article IV ).
Transferee’s obligation to consummate the transaction
contemplated by the Agreement shall remain subject to the
satisfaction of, or waiver by Transferee of, the condition set
forth in Section 7.1(b)
.
(d) Neither
Transferor nor any Property Owner shall (other than security
deposits and first month’s rent received at the commencement
of the term of a Tenant Lease or the MRO Ground Lease), accept any
rent from any Tenant or under the MRO Ground Lease for more than
one month in advance of the payment date.
(e) Except
as set forth in Section
6.1(c) , Transferor and each Property
Owner shall have the right to commence or prosecute any action,
suit or proceeding against a defaulting Tenant or MRO Ground Tenant
or any defaulting vendor under any Continuing Contract so long as
the commencement and prosecution of such action, suit or proceeding
is consistent with Transferor’s or the applicable Property
Owner’s past practice.
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(f) Transferor
shall not elect, and no Property Owner shall file an election, to
treat any Property Owner as other than as a disregarded entity (as
described in Section 301.7701-3(b)(1)(ii) of the Treasury
Regulations) for Federal, state or local income tax
purposes.
(g) Transferor
shall maintain, or cause to be maintained, casualty and general
commercial insurance coverage for the Properties similar to the
insurance coverage maintained for other properties directly or
indirectly owned by Transferor which are similar to the
Properties.
(h) Transferor
shall not, and shall cause the Property Owners not to, settle any
proceedings with respect to the payment of real property taxes or
assessments for any of the Properties with respect to (i) the tax
year in which the Closing Date occurs and each tax year thereafter,
and (ii) any tax year preceding the tax year in which the Closing
Date occurs in a manner that would have a material adverse effect
on Transferee after the Closing Date; provided , that the foregoing shall
not prohibit Transferor from commencing and/or pursuing, or causing
any Property Owner to commence and/or to pursue, any tax
proceedings with respect to the payment of real property taxes or
assessments in the ordinary course of business.
(i) Transferor
shall, or shall cause the applicable Property Owner to, provide
Transferee with (i) a copy of any written notice of default given
or received by Transferor or any Property Owner under any material
Tenant Lease, any Existing Mortgage Loan, any REA or the MRO Ground
Lease, and (ii) notice of any litigation (other than litigation
covered by insurance) actually commenced by or against Transferor
(with respect to the Property Owners or the Properties) or any
Property Owner, (iii) notice of any arbitration or governmental
proceeding instituted against any Property Owner, and (iv) a copy
of any written notice of eminent domain or condemnation proceedings
received by Transferor or any Property Owner. On the Closing Date,
Transferor shall, or shall cause the applicable Property Owner to,
provide Transferee with a list of all outstanding litigation
(including litigation covered by insurance) against Transferor
(with respect to the Property Owners or the Properties) or any
Property Owner.
(j) Notwithstanding
the provisions of the Access Agreement, from and after the
Effective Date, upon reasonable prior notice to Transferor,
Transferee shall have the right, during normal business hours, to
interview the Tenants under Tenant Leases, the holders of the
Existing Mortgage Loans (but only to the extent necessary for
Transferee to comply with its obligations under
Section 6.9 )
and the counterparties to the REAs; provided , that Transferor shall have
the right to have a representative of Transferor present at all
such interviews. The parties shall reasonably cooperate to
facilitate such interviews and such participation.
(k) Each
of Transferor and Transferee hereby agrees that, between the
Effective Date and Closing, each shall keep the other reasonably
informed (and shall establish procedures to keep the other
reasonably informed) of matters relating to the operation and
leasing of the Properties and satisfaction of any conditions
precedent to Closing hereunder. Each of Transferor and Transferee
shall cooperate with each other to cause any employees
of
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Transferor or its affiliates which are officers or
directors of the Community Improvement District relating to the Mid
Rivers Mall Property to be replaced with employees of Transferee of
its affiliates as of the Closing Date.
6.2 Actions by Property Owners . Except
as otherwise expressly permitted by this Agreement, prior to
Closing or termination of this Agreement, without the prior written
consent of Transferee (which consent may be withheld in
Transferee’s sole and absolute discretion), Transferor shall
not, and shall not cause or permit any Property Owner
to:
(a) issue,
sell, dispose of, or agree to issue, sell, or dispose of, any
equity interests, or any debt or any securities convertible into or
exchangeable for equity interests in any Property Owner;
(b) purchase,
redeem or otherwise acquire or retire, or offer to purchase, redeem
or otherwise acquire or retire, any equity interests in any
Property Owner, if as a result of any of the foregoing, Transferor
would fail to be able to contribute all of the Contributed
Interests to Transferor in accordance with the terms of this
Agreement;
(c) incur,
or become contingently liable with respect to, any new or
additional indebtedness or enter into any guarantee of any
indebtedness or issue any debt securities, other than trade
payables in the ordinary course of business consistent with past
practices;
(d) acquire,
or agree to acquire, by merging or consolidating with, or by
purchasing a substantial direct or indirect equity interest in or a
substantial portion of the assets of, or by any other manner, any
business or any Person;
(e) mortgage
or otherwise voluntarily place a Lien on any of the Properties,
unless such Lien is discharged or bonded over on or prior to the
Closing Date;
(f) acquiesce
in or admit liability with respect to any claim against it, or,
except in the ordinary course of business, waive, surrender or
compromise any claim it possesses unless any liability arising from
such admission, compromise or settlement is fully discharged on or
prior to the Closing Date or as to which no Property Owner would
have liability after the Closing Date;
(g) commence,
or allow to be commenced, on any Property Owner’s behalf, any
material action, suit or proceeding affecting any Property Owner or
with respect to all or any portion of any Property or any
Contributed Interests, except in the ordinary course of business or
as contemplated in Section
6.1(e) ;
(h) commence,
or allow to be commenced (other than by a Tenant or MRO Leasehold
Owner) any capital improvements or material renovations or
alterations to any Property, except as may be (i) required by
applicable law, any Tenant Lease, the MRO Ground
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Lease, a holder of any Existing Mortgage Loan, or
any REA, or (ii) set forth in the budgets delivered to Transferee
by Transferor in connection with Transferee’s due diligence
of the Contributed Interests; or
(i) be
listed for direct or indirect sale or transfer; and Transferor
shall not, and shall not cause or permit any Property Owner to,
negotiate for the same, other than to Transferee.
6.3 Termination of Contracts . Transferee
agrees to use commercially reasonable efforts to communicate with
all vendors under the Contracts and to consider in good faith
continuing the terms of such Contracts, provided , that for any Contracts
which are national contracts or which require the consent of the
other party thereto to any change-of-control in the applicable
Property Owner, if Transferee so elects, Transferee shall negotiate
with such contract parties to continue the terms of such Contracts
pursuant to a separate agreement with the applicable counterparty
to such Contract. Transferor agrees to terminate (or cause any
Property Owner to terminate) by written notice to the other party
thereto, effective as of Closing (or as soon as possible after
Closing if termination as of Closing is not possible under the
terms of such Contracts), any of the Contracts specifically
identified in Schedule
6.3 attached hereto or any other
Contract that Transferee requests Transferor prior to Closing to
terminate. Transferor shall furnish Transferee with copies of all
notices of termination given by Transferor pursuant to this
Section 6.3 , each of which notices shall be delivered to the addressee
thereof promptly after Transferor’s receipt of
Transferee’s request to terminate the related Contract. With
respect to any Contracts which Transferee timely requires to be
terminated, Transferee shall pay all termination costs, fees and/or
expenses related thereto (together with all other fees, amounts,
costs and expenses due under the terms of such Contracts whether or
not due and payable on or prior to Closing); provided , however , that, Transferor shall pay
such costs, fees and expenses to the extent related to the
termination of (a) any Contract between a Property Owner and its
affiliate, (b) any Contract that is a national contract, and (c)
any Contract that provides that a change-of-control in a Property
Owner must be consented to by any party to such Contract, but only
if Transferee desires to continue the terms of such Contract and
such consent cannot be obtained.
6.4 Casualty Damage/Condemnation .
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth in this
Agreement, if, prior to Closing, (a) either (i) Fifteen Million and
No/100 Dollars ($15,000,000.00) or more of damage is caused to any
one Property or (ii) Twenty-Five Million and No/100 Dollars
($25,000,000.00) or more of damage is caused to any one or more of
the Properties in the aggregate, in each case as a result of any
earthquake, hurricane, tornado, flood, landslide, fire, act of war,
terrorism, terrorist activity or other casualty, or (b) either (i)
any portion or portions of any one Property having an aggregate
fair market value equal to or greater than Fifteen Million and
No/100 Dollars ($15,000,000.00) or (ii) any portion or portions of
any one or more of the Properties having an aggregate fair market
value equal to or greater than Twenty-Five Million and No/100
Dollars ($25,000,000.00), in each case, is taken (or is threatened
to be taken) under the power or threat of eminent domain
(temporarily or permanently), (c) material access to any Property
or a material portion of the parking of any
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Property is destroyed as a result of a casualty or
taking (or threatened taking) under the power or threat of eminent
domain (temporarily or permanently), or (d) any portion of any
Property is rendered untenantable as a result of a casualty or
taking (or threatened taking) under the power or threat of eminent
domain (temporarily or permanently) such that, with respect
to clauses (c)
, or (d)
, the use of the balance of any Property is
materially impaired for a material period of time, and such
impairment would have a material adverse effect on the business
operations, financial condition or results of operations of the
Properties, the Contributed Interests, and the Property Owners,
taken as a whole, then, in any such event, Transferee may elect to
terminate this Agreement by giving written notice to Transferor of
its election to terminate this Agreement (a “
Material Event Termination
Notice ”), on or before the 10
th day after Transferee receives written notice of such
destruction, taking or threatened taking. If Transferee does not
give (or has no right to give) a Material Event Termination Notice
within such 10 day period, then (i) this transaction shall close as
set forth in this Agreement, (ii) Transferee shall pay the full
Contributed Interests Value (subject to clause (iv) below), (iii) to the
extent not automatically assigned indirectly to Transferee by the
making of the Contribution to Transferee, Transferor shall assign
(or cause the applicable Property Owner to assign) to Transferee
the proceeds of any insurance policies payable to Transferor or the
applicable Property Owner (or shall assign the right or claim to
receive such proceeds after Closing), or Transferor’s or the
applicable Property Owner’s right to or portion of any
condemnation award (or payment in lieu thereof), (iv) the amount of
any deductible or self-insured or uninsured amount and any portion
of the insurance proceeds or condemnation awards distributed to any
direct or indirect equity owner of any Property Owner shall be a
credit against the Contributed Interests Value in accordance
with Section 10.1(h)
, and any proceeds from rent or business
interruption insurance allocable to the period from and after the
Closing Date (less any deductibles allocable to such periods) shall
be retained by the applicable Property Owner (or Transferor shall
receive a credit for the portion of any such proceeds (less any
such deductibles) not so retained by the applicable Property
Owner). If an event described in the first sentence of this
Section 6.4 shall occur, and Transferee timely delivers a Material Event
Termination Notice with respect to such event pursuant to
this Section 6.4
, Transferee shall pay all cancellation charges, if
any, of Escrow Agent and the Title Company, and this Agreement
shall be of no further force or effect and none of the parties
shall have any further rights or obligations hereunder (other than
pursuant to any provision which expressly survives the termination
of this Agreement). Transferor shall not settle or compromise any
insurance claim or condemnation action without the prior written
consent of Transferee (not to be unreasonably withheld, delayed or
conditioned), and Transferee shall have the option to participate
in any such claim or action.
6.5 Risk of Loss . Transferor shall
retain risk of loss of the Properties until 12:01 a.m. on the
Closing Date, after which time the risk of loss shall pass to
Transferee and Transferee shall be responsible for obtaining its
own insurance thereafter.
6.6 Estoppel Certificates . On or before
the Closing Date, Transferee shall have received copies of (a)
executed estoppel certificate from each Tenant identified on
Schedule 6.6 attached hereto (each, an “ Anchor Tenant ”), each in
the form customary for such Anchor Tenant and not
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alleging any default by the applicable Property
Owner (such estoppel certificates being the “
Anchor Estoppels ”), (b) for each Property, executed estoppel certificates
from Tenants other than the Anchor Tenants and that, in the
aggregate, lease at least 75% of the gross leaseable area of such
Property that is occupied by Tenants that are not Anchor Tenants,
each in substantially the form attached hereto as
Exhibit A (each,
a “ Tenant
Estoppel ”),
provided , that any
such Tenant Estoppel shall be accepted as long as it is consistent
with the information set forth in the applicable Tenant Lease, and
does not indicate the continuing existence of an actual material
default of the applicable Property Owner under the applicable
Tenant Lease, and (c) for the Mid Rivers Mall Property, the South
County Mall Property and the West County Mall Property, executed
estoppel certificates from each party to the reciprocal easement
agreement (“ REA
”) encumbering such Property (each such party
being an “ REA
Party ”), each in the form
customary for such REA Party and not alleging any default by the
applicable Property Owner (each, an “
REA Estoppel ”). If a Tenant’s Tenant Lease prescribes a form of
estoppel that is different than the applicable estoppel form
attached to this Agreement, then an estoppel certificate executed
by such Tenant in the form attached to such Tenant Lease shall be
deemed to satisfy the requirements of this Section 6.6 with respect to such
Tenant. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if Transferor is not able to
procure the requisite number of Tenant Estoppels identified
in subsection (b)
above in accordance with the terms of this
Section 6.6 ,
then Transferor may deliver a copy of an estoppel certificate
(each, a “ Transferor’s
Estoppel ”) executed by
Transferor relating to such Tenant’s Tenant Lease (as the
case may be), in substantially the same form as the applicable
Tenant Estoppel (but limited to Transferor’s Actual
Knowledge), in substitution for up to 15% of the gross leaseable
area of the Tenant Estoppels required pursuant to
subsection (b) above. If a Tenant Estoppel is subsequently delivered to
Transferee with respect to any Tenant Lease for which a
Transferor’s Estoppel has already been provided, such
Transferor’s Estoppel shall cease to be effective and will be
considered replaced by such Tenant Estoppel. Each of the Estoppel
Certificates shall be dated effective as of no earlier than 45 days
prior to the Closing Date. At Closing, Transferor shall deliver to
Transferee each executed original Estoppel Certificate. The failure
of Tenants or REA Parties (or of Tenants, REA Parties and
Transferor, collectively) to deliver Estoppel Certificates
sufficient to satisfy the condition precedent set forth in
this Section 6.6 shall cause the closing condition set forth in
Section 7.1(e) to remain unsatisfied, but shall not give rise to any liability
on the part of Transferor, and Transferee’s rights under such
circumstances shall be limited to the rights set forth in
Section 7.2 .
Notwithstanding the foregoing, any estoppel that alleges the
existence of a material default by Transferor or a Property Owner
which remains uncured past applicable notice and cure periods shall
not count towards the percentage of estoppels required under
this Section 6.6
.
6.7 Tax Matters . As an inducement for
Transferor to enter into the Transaction Documents (as defined in
the Tax Protection Agreement), the Transaction Documents contain
Tax Protection Provisions (as defined in the Tax Protection
Agreement), including provisions that prohibit Transferee from
taking certain actions, and require Transferee to take certain
other actions as specifically set forth in the Tax Protection
Agreement and the Transaction Documents.
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(a) Transferor
shall provide, and shall cause the Property Owners to provide,
reasonable opportunities for representatives of Transferee to meet
with such Property Employees as it may desire at reasonable times
and upon reasonable notice, for the purpose of determining which of
such Property Employees Transferee may select to cause the Property
Owners, Transferee, CBL OP or an affiliate of CBL OP (each, a
“ Transferee
Employer ”; and collectively,
the “ Transferee
Employers ”) to retain after
the Closing Date. Effective as of the close of business on the day
immediately prior to the Closing Date, Transferor shall cause the
termination of all of the Property Employees. Effective as of the
Closing Date, the applicable Transferee Employer shall offer
at-will employment to substantially all of the Property Employees,
other than 4 individuals previously identified by Transferor to
Transferee (it being acknowledged by Transferee that Transferor or
its affiliates intends to retain the employment of such 4
individuals) such offer to be for a base salary not less than that
being earned by such employee as of the Effective Date and with
benefits (including bonuses and retirement benefits) consistent
with benefits that CBL OP then provides to its employees in
comparable positions at comparable properties directly or
indirectly owned by CBL OP. Subject to the immediately preceding
sentence, the applicable Transferee Employer shall give each
Property Employee who accepts its offer of employment credit for
the term of his or her employment with the relevant Transferor
affiliate for purposes of determining eligibility for vacation and
other benefits (including, without limitation, for purposes of
calculating any bonuses for the 2007 fiscal year) accruing from and
after the Closing to the extent relevant under the employment
arrangements with the relevant Transferor affiliate and permitted
under applicable law. The foregoing covenants are made to, and
solely for the benefit of, Transferor and the Property Owners, and
none of the Property Employees or any other Persons are entitled,
or shall be deemed to be entitled, to make any claim against
Transferor, Transferee or any of its affiliates, or any other
Person, based on this paragraph or any other provision of this
Agreement. The current terms and conditions of employment of the
Property Employees will not be modified, other than in the ordinary
course of business, without the consent of Transferee which consent
shall not be unreasonably withheld.
(b) Transferee
Employer shall be solely responsible for, and hereby assumes, all
costs, expenses and liabilities whatsoever with respect to, any and
all (i) salaries of those Property Employees hired by any
Transferee Employer for the period from and after the Closing Date,
(ii) benefits attributable to the period from and after the
Closing Date payable to such Property Employees and all relevant
plan contributions, (iii) benefit continuation and/or
severance payments relating to any such Property Employee that may
be payable upon any termination of employment of such Property
Employee from and after the Closing Date, and (iv) notices,
payments (including severance payments, if any, and payments on
account of accrued vacation), fines or assessments due, or other
liabilities or obligations, pursuant to any laws, rules or
regulations with respect to the employment, discharge or layoff of
such Property Employees from and after the Closing Date, including,
but not limited to, such liability as arises under the Worker
Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, 29 U.S.C.
§2101 (the “ WARN
Act ”), Section 4980B of the
Code (“ COBRA
”) and any rules or regulations as have been
issued in connection with any of the foregoing. Transferee, the
Transferee Employers and CBL OP
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22452514v30
hereby agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless,
jointly and severally, Transferor and any Transfer Related Party
from and against all Losses (including, without limitation,
reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses) and other
liabilities and obligations incurred or suffered by Transferor or
any of their affiliates as a result of any claim by any such
Property Employee that arises under federal, state or local statute
(including, without limitation, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964, the Civil Rights Act of 1991, the Age Discrimination in
Employment Act of 1967, the National Labor Relations Act, the Equal
Pay Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“
ERISA ”),
and all other statutes regulating the terms and conditions of
employment), under any regulation or ordinance, under the common
law or in equity (including any claims for wrongful discharge or
otherwise), or under any policy, agreement, understanding or
promise, written or oral, formal or informal, arising out of
actions, events or omissions that occurred (or, in the case of
omissions, failed to occur) from and after the Closing Date.
Transferor shall be solely responsible for all costs, expenses and
liabilities whatsoever with respect to any and all notices,
payments (including severance payments, if any, and payments on
account of accrued vacation), fines or assessments due, or other
liabilities or obligations, pursuant to any laws, rules or
regulations with respect to the employment, discharge or layoff of
Property Employees prior to the Closing Date, including, but not
limited to, such liability as arises under the WARN Act, COBRA and
any rules or regulations as have been issued in connection with the
foregoing. Transferor hereby agrees to indemnify, defend and hold
harmless Transferee and any of its affiliates from and against any
and all Losses (including, without limitation, reasonable
attorneys’ fees and expenses) and other liabilities and
obligations incurred or suffered by Transferee or any of its
affiliates as a result of any claim by any Property Employee that
arises under federal, state or local statute (including, without
limitation, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Civil
Rights Act of 1991, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of
1967, the National Labor Relations Act, the Equal Pay Act, the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, ERISA, and all other
statutes regulating the terms and conditions of employment), under
any regulation or ordinance, under the common law or in equity
(including any claims for wrongful discharge or otherwise), or
under any policy, agreement, understanding or promise, written or
oral, formal or informal, arising out of actions, events or
omissions that occurred (or, in the case of omissions, failed to
occur) prior to the Closing Date. The provisions of this
Section 6.8(b) shall survive Closing.
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6.9
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Existing Mortgage Loans; Lender
Consents .
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(a) The
parties hereto acknowledge and agree that (i) the Mid Rivers Mall
Property and the Mid Rivers Land II Property are subject to the
Cross-Collateralized Mortgage Loan, which has a stated maturity
date of July 11, 2011, (ii) the South County Mall Property is
subject to the South County Mortgage Loan, which has a stated
maturity date of October 11, 2033, and (iii) the West County Mall
Property is subject to the West County Mortgage Loan, which has a
stated maturity date of April 11, 2033.
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(b) The
parties further acknowledge and agree that, under the terms of the
Existing Loan Documents, the consent of each of the lenders
thereunder (the “ Existing
Lenders ”; and each, an
“ Existing Lender
”) is required in order to consummate the
transactions contemplated herein. Transferor shall contact the
Existing Lenders to enable Transferee and CBL OP to obtain each
Existing Lender’s consent (each, a “
Lender Consent ”; and collectively, the “ Lender Consents ”) on or
prior to the Closing Date, to the following:
(i) the
transfer of the Contributed Interest for the applicable Property to
Transferee;
(ii) subject
to Section 6.9(d)
, modifications to the applicable Existing Loan
Documents to reflect the new organizational structure of the
borrower thereunder which the applicable Existing Lender may
require or permit;
(iii) the
substitution of CBL OP or CBL REIT (as each Existing Lender may
require) as substitute guarantor or indemnitor in place of any and
all existing guarantor(s) and indemnitor(s) under the Assumed
Guaranties related to the South County Mortgage Loan and the West
County Mortgage Loan on terms not materially more onerous than
those set forth in the Assumed Guaranties related to the South
County Mortgage Loan and the West County Mortgage Loan,
respectively; provided
, that, and notwithstanding anything to the contrary
contained in this Agreement, each of CBL OP and Transferee hereby
acknowledges and agrees that, if any Existing Lender shall refuse
to accept CBL OP or CBL REIT as substitute guarantor or indemnitor
with respect to any or all of such Assumed Guaranties relating to
escrows or reserves required to be maintained pursuant to the
applicable Existing Loan Documen
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