WILLIS NORTH AMERICA
INC.,
WILLIS GROUP HOLDINGS
LIMITED
WILLIS INVESTMENT UK HOLDINGS
LIMITED
TA I LIMITED
THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON
(as successor to JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.)
Fourth Supplemental
Indenture
Dated as of September 29,
2009
to the Indenture dated as of
July 1, 2005
Creating one series of Securities
designated
7.0% Senior Notes Due
2019
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Page
|
|
ARTICLE I
|
|
7.0% SENIOR NOTES DUE
2019
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Creation of
Series; Establishment of Form
|
|
|
2
|
|
|
|
|
Definitions
|
|
|
3
|
|
|
|
|
Payment of
Principal and Interest
|
|
|
5
|
|
|
|
|
Global
Securities
|
|
|
5
|
|
|
|
|
Redemption
|
|
|
6
|
|
|
|
|
Additional
Covenants
|
|
|
7
|
|
|
|
|
Interest Rate
Adjustment
|
|
|
8
|
|
|
|
|
Additional
Amounts
|
|
|
9
|
|
|
|
|
Events of
Default
|
|
|
10
|
|
|
|
|
Notice of
Defaults
|
|
|
11
|
|
|
|
|
Legal
Defeasance and Discharge and Covenant Defeasance
|
|
|
12
|
|
|
ARTICLE II
|
|
MISCELLANEOUS
PROVISIONS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Integral
Part
|
|
|
12
|
|
|
|
|
Adoption,
Ratification and Confirmation
|
|
|
12
|
|
|
|
|
Counterparts
|
|
|
12
|
|
|
|
|
Governing
Law
|
|
|
12
|
|
|
|
|
Conflict with
Trust Indenture Act
|
|
|
12
|
|
|
|
|
Effect of
Headings and Table of Contents
|
|
|
12
|
|
|
|
|
Separability
Clause
|
|
|
12
|
|
|
|
|
Successors and
Assigns
|
|
|
13
|
|
|
|
|
Benefit of
Indenture
|
|
|
13
|
|
|
|
|
The
Trustee
|
|
|
13
|
|
|
EXHIBIT A
A-1
|
|
|
|
|
i
FOURTH
SUPPLEMENTAL INDENTURE, dated as of September 29, 2009,
between WILLIS NORTH AMERICA INC., a Delaware corporation (the
“ Issuer ”), WILLIS GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED, a
company organized and existing under the laws of Bermuda (the
“ Parent Guarantor ”), TA I LIMITED, a company
organized and existing under the laws of England and Wales, TA II
LIMITED, a company organized and existing under the laws of England
and Wales, TA III LIMITED, a company organized and existing under
the laws of England and Wales, TRINITY ACQUISITION PLC, a company
organized and existing under the laws of England and Wales, TA IV
LIMITED, a company organized and existing under the laws of England
and Wales, and WILLIS GROUP LIMITED, a company organized and
existing under the laws of England and Wales (collectively,
including the Parent Guarantor, the “ Original
Guarantors ”) and WILLIS INVESTMENT UK HOLDINGS LIMITED,
a company organized and existing under the laws of England and
Wales (together with the Original Guarantors, the “
Guarantors ”) and THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON
(formerly known as THE BANK OF NEW YORK) (as successor to JPMORGAN
CHASE BANK, N.A.), a New York banking corporation, as trustee (the
“ Trustee ”).
RECITALS OF THE ISSUER AND THE
GUARANTORS
WHEREAS,
the Issuer and the Original Guarantors have heretofore executed and
delivered to the Trustee an Indenture, dated as of July 1,
2005 (the “ Original Indenture ” ), as
supplemented by the First Supplemental Indenture dated July 1,
2005, (the “ First Supplemental Indenture ”),
the Second Supplemental Indenture dated as of March 28, 2007,
(the “ Second Supplemental Indenture ”) and the
Third Supplemental Indenture dated as of October 1, 2008
(entered into between the Issuer, the Guarantors and the Trustee)
(the “ Third Supplemental Indenture ” and
together with the Original Indenture, the First Supplemental
Indenture and the Second Supplemental Indenture, the “
Existing Indenture ” ) providing for the
issuance from time to time of its unsecured senior debentures,
notes or other evidences of Indebtedness (the “
Securities ” ), to be issued in one or more
series as provided in the Original Indenture;
WHEREAS,
Section 10.01 of the Original Indenture provides that the
Issuer, each Guarantor and the Trustee may from time to time enter
into one or more indentures supplemental thereto to establish a new
series of Securities and add certain provisions to the Original
Indenture;
WHEREAS,
Section 3.01 of the Original Indenture provides that the
Issuer may enter into one or more indentures supplemental thereto
to establish the form and terms of a series of Securities issued
pursuant to the Original Indenture;
WHEREAS,
the Issuer, pursuant to the foregoing authority, proposes in and by
this Fourth Supplemental Indenture (the “ Supplemental
Indenture ” and, together with the Original Indenture,
the “ Indenture ” ) to supplement the
Original Indenture insofar as it will apply only to the one series
of securities to be known as the Issuer’s
“7.0%
Senior Notes due 2019” (the “ Notes ”
) issued hereunder (and not to any other series);
WHEREAS,
the Issuer and the Guarantors have duly authorized the execution
and delivery of this Supplemental Indenture; and
WHEREAS,
all things necessary have been done to make this Supplemental
Indenture a valid agreement of the Issuer and the Guarantors, in
accordance with its terms and the terms of the Original
Indenture.
NOW,
THEREFORE, for and in consideration of the premises and the
covenants and agreements contained herein, and for other good and
valuable consideration the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged,
the parties hereto agree as follows:
7.0% Senior Notes due
2019
SECTION
1.01. Creation of Series; Establishment of Form .
7.0% Senior Notes
due 2019
(1) There
is hereby established a new series of Securities under the
Indenture entitled “7.0% Senior Notes due
2019”.
(2) The
form of the Notes, including the form of the certificate of
authentication, is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
(3) The
Trustee shall authenticate and deliver the Notes for original issue
in an aggregate principal amount of $300,000,000 upon an Issuer
Order for the authentication and delivery of the Notes. The Issuer
may from time to time issue additional Notes in accordance with
Sections 3.01 and 10.01 of the Original Indenture. Any
additional Notes subsequently issued shall not be limited by the
aggregate principal amount of this Supplemental Indenture. The
Notes issued originally hereunder, together with any additional
Notes subsequently issued, shall be treated as a single series for
purposes of the Indenture.
(4) The
Notes shall be issued in registered form without
coupons.
(5) The
Notes shall not have a sinking fund.
(6) The
principal of the Notes shall be due on September 29,
2019.
(7) Subject
to Section 1.07 of this Supplemental Indenture, the
outstanding principal amount of the Notes shall bear interest at
the rate of 7.0% per annum, from September 29, 2009 or from
the most recent Interest Payment Date (as
2
defined below)
to which interest has been paid or duly provided for, as the case
may be, payable semi-annually in arrears on March 15 and
September 15 (each, an “ Interest Payment Date
”), commencing on March 15, 2010, to the Persons in
whose names the Notes are registered at the close of business on
the Regular Record Date (as defined in Section 1.02) for such
interest and at the Stated Maturity of the Notes, until the
principal thereof is paid or made available for payment. Interest
on the Notes will be computed on the basis of a 360-day year
comprised of twelve 30-day months. Any such interest due on an
Interest Payment Date that is not so punctually paid or duly
provided for shall forthwith cease to be payable to the Holders on
such Regular Record Date and may either be paid to the Person or
Persons in whose name the Notes are registered at the close of
business on a Special Record Date for the payment of such Defaulted
Interest to be fixed by the Trustee ( “ Special
Record Date ” ), notice whereof shall be given to
Holders of the Notes not less than ten (10) days prior to such
Special Record Date, or be paid at any time in any other lawful
manner not inconsistent with the requirements of any securities
exchange, if any, on which the Notes may be listed, and upon such
notice as may be required by any such exchange, all as more fully
provided in the Original Indenture.
(8) The
Notes shall be issued in denominations of $2,000 or any integral
multiple of $1,000 in excess thereof.
(9) The
Notes due shall be redeemable, in whole at any time or in part from
time to time, at the option of the Issuer on any date (a
“ Redemption Date ” ), at a Redemption
Price equal to the greater of (i) 100% of the principal amount
of the Notes to be redeemed and (ii) the sum of the present
values of the remaining scheduled payments of principal and
interest thereon (exclusive of interest accrued to such Redemption
Date) discounted to such Redemption Date on a semi-annual basis
(assuming a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months) at the
Treasury Rate plus 50 basis points, plus, in either case, accrued
and unpaid interest on the principal amount being redeemed to such
Redemption Date.
SECTION
1.02. Definitions . The following defined terms used herein
shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the meanings
specified below. Each capitalized term that is used in this
Supplemental Indenture but not defined herein shall have the
meaning specified in the Original Indenture.
“
Comparable Treasury Issue ” means the United States
Treasury security selected by the Independent Investment Banker as
having a maturity comparable to the remaining term of the Notes to
be redeemed that would be utilized, at the time of selection and in
accordance with customary financial practice, in pricing new issues
of corporate debt securities of comparable maturity to the
remaining term of the Notes.
“
Comparable Treasury Price ” means, with respect to any
Redemption Date for the Notes, (1) the average of five
Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations for such Redemption Date,
after excluding the highest and lowest Reference Treasury Dealer
Quotations, or (2) if the Independent Investment Banker
obtains fewer than five such Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations,
the average of all such quotations.
3
“
Depositary ” means The Depository Trust Company or any
successor thereto.
“
Independent Investment Banker ” means one of the
Reference Treasury Dealers that the Issuer appoints to act as the
Independent Investment Banker from time to time.
“
Interest Payment Date ” means March 15 and
September 15 of each year.
“
Reference Treasury Dealer ” means (1) each of
Banc of America Securities LLC and J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. and
their respective successors; provided, however, that if any of the
foregoing ceases to be a primary dealer of U.S. government
securities in the United States (a “Primary Treasury
Dealer”), the Issuer shall substitute another Primary
Treasury Dealer and (2) any other Primary Treasury Dealers
selected by the Issuer.
“
Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations ” means, with
respect to each Reference Treasury Dealer and any Redemption Date,
the average, as determined by the Independent Investment Banker, of
the bid and asked prices for the Comparable Treasury Issue
(expressed in each case as a percentage of its principal amount)
quoted in writing to the Independent Investment Banker by such
Reference Treasury Dealer at 5:00 p.m. New York City time on the
third (3rd) Business Day preceding such Redemption Date.
“
Regular Record Date ” means, with respect to each
Interest Payment Date, the close of business on the respective
March 1 and September 1 (whether or not a Business Day) prior to
such Interest Payment Date.
“
Security Register ” means the register, in such office
as the Issuer shall keep at the Corporate Trust Office of the
Trustee or in any office or agency to be maintained by the Issuer
in accordance with Section 3.05 of the Original Indenture, in
which the Issuer shall, subject to such reasonable regulations as
it may prescribe, provide for the registration of Securities and of
registration of transfers of Securities.
“
Treasury Rate ” means, with respect to any Redemption
Date, (a) the yield, under the heading that represents the
average for the immediately preceding week, appearing in the most
recently published statistical release designated “H.15
(519)” or any successor publication that is published weekly
by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and that
establishes yields on actively traded U.S. Treasury securities
adjusted to constant maturity under the caption “Treasury
Constant Maturities,” for the maturity corresponding to the
Comparable Treasury Issue (if no maturity is within three
(3) months before or after the remaining term of the Notes,
yields for the two published maturities most closely corresponding
to the Comparable Treasury Issue will be determined and the
Treasury Rate will be interpolated or extrapolated from such yields
on a straight line basis, rounding to the nearest month); or
(b) if such release (or any successor release) is not
published during the week preceding the calculation date or does
not contain such yields, the rate per annum equal to the
semi-annual equivalent yield to
4
maturity of the
Comparable Treasury Issue, calculated using a price for the
Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed as a percentage of its
principal amount) equal to the Comparable Treasury Price for such
Redemption Date. The Treasury Rate shall be calculated on the third
(3rd) Business Day preceding the Redemption Date.
SECTION
1.03. Payment of Principal and Interest .
(1) If
any Interest Payment Date, Redemption Date or the Stated Maturity
of the Notes is not a Business Day, the payment of principal,
premium, if any, or interest, as applicable, will be made on the
next succeeding Business Day. No interest will accrue on the amount
so payable for the period from such Interest Payment Date,
Redemption Date or Stated Maturity, as the case may be, to the next
succeeding Business Day. “Business Day” means each
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday which is not a day
on which banking institutions in New York, New York are authorized
or obligated by law or executive order to close.
(2) Payments
of principal of, premium, if any, and interest on the Notes
represented by a Global Security shall be made by wire transfer of
immediately available funds to the Holder of such Global Security;
provided, however, that in the case of payments of principal
and premium, if any, such Global Security is first surrendered to
the Paying Agent. If any of the Notes are no longer represented by
a Global Security, (i) payments of principal, premium, if any,
and interest due at the Stated Maturity or on a Redemption Date, if
any, (except, in the case of interest, where the Redemption Date is
an Interest Payment Date) shall be made at the office of the Paying
Agent upon surrender of such Notes to the Paying Agent and
(ii) payments of interest shall be made, at the option of the
Issuer, subject to such surrender where applicable, (A) by
check mailed to the address of the Person entitled thereto as such
address shall appear in the Security Register or (B) by wire
transfer at such place and to such account at a banking institution
in the United States as may be designated in writing to the Trustee
at least sixteen (16) days prior to the date for payment by
the Person entitled thereto.
(3) The
Trustee shall initially serve as the Paying Agent with respect to
the Notes, with the Place of Payment initially being the Corporate
Trust Office.
SECTION
1.04. Global Securities . The Notes shall initially be
issued in the form of one or more Global Securities registered in
the name of a nominee of the Depositary. Except under the limited
circumstances described below, Notes represented by such Global
Security or Global Securities shall not be exchangeable for, and
shall not otherwise be issuable as, Notes in definitive form. The
Global Securities described above may not be transferred except as
a whole by the Depositary to a nominee of the Depositary or by a
nominee of the Depositary to the Depositary or another nominee of
the Depositary or to a successor Depositary or its nominee or by
the Depositary or any such nominee to a successor Depositary or a
nominee of such successor Depositary, unless and until the Notes
are exchanged in whole or in part for Notes in definitive
form.
5
Subject
to the procedures of the Depositary, a Global Security shall be
exchangeable for the Notes registered in the names of Persons other
than the Depositary or its nominee only if (i) the Depositary
notifies the Trustee and the Issuer that it is no longer willing or
able to properly discharge its responsibilities as a Depositary for
such Global Security and no qualified successor Depositary shall
have been appointed by the Issuer within ninety (90) days of
receipt by the Issuer of such notification, or if at any time the
Depositary ceases to be a clearing agency registered under the
Exchange Act at a time when the Depositary is required to be so
registered to act as such Depositary and no qualified successor
Depositary shall have been appointed by the Issuer within ninety
(90) days after it becomes aware of such cessation,
(ii) the Issuer executes and delivers to the Trustee an Issuer
Order stating that the Issuer elects to terminate the book-entry
system through the Depositary, or (iii) there shall have
occurred and be continuing an Event of Default with respect to the
Global Security. Any Global Security that is exchangeable pursuant
to the preceding sentence shall be exchangeable for the Notes as
provided in the Original Indenture.
SECTION
1.05. Redemption .
(1) The
Issuer shall mail notice of redemption not less than 30 nor more
than 60 days prior to the Redemption Date, to each Holder of
the Notes to be redeemed. Notwithstanding Section 12.04 of the
Original Indenture, the notice of redemption with respect to the
foregoing redemption need not set forth the Redemption Price or an
estimate thereof, but only the appropriate calculation thereof. The
Issuer shall deliver to the Trustee an Officers’ Certificate
setting forth the Redemption Price with respect to the foregoing
redemption no later than two (2) Business Days prior to the
Redemption Date. The Trustee shall have no responsibility for
determining said Redemption Price
(2) On
the Redemption Date, and from and after such date (unless the
Issuer shall default in the payment of the Redemption Price and
accrued interest) such Notes shall cease to bear
interest.
(3) Section 12.03
(Selection by Trustee of Securities to Be Redeemed) of the Original
Indenture is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as
follows:
If less than all
the 7.0% Senior Notes due 2019 (the “ Notes ”)
are to be redeemed, the particular Notes to be redeemed shall be
selected not more than 60 days prior to the Redemption Date by
the Trustee, from the Outstanding Notes not previously called for
redemption, (i) if the Notes are listed on any securities
exchange, in accordance with the requirements of such exchange or
(ii) if the Notes are not so listed, by any method as the
Trustee shall deem fair and appropriate, and which may provide for
the selection for redemption of portions (equal to $1,000 or any
integral multiple thereof) of the principal amount of Notes of a
denomination larger than $2,000; provided, however, that
Notes registered in the name of the Issuer shall be excluded from
any such selection for redemption
6
until all Notes
not so registered shall have been previously selected for
redemption.
The Trustee shall
promptly notify the Issuer in writing of the Notes selected for
redemption and, in the case of any Notes selected for partial
redemption, the principal amount thereof to be redeemed.
For all purposes
of this Indenture, unless the context otherwise requires, all
provisions relating to the redemption of Notes shall relate, in the
case of any Notes redeemed or to be redeemed only in part, to the
portion of the principal amount of such Notes which has been or is
to be redeemed.
SECTION
1.06. Additional Covenants . The following shall be
additional covenants to the covenants set forth in the Original
Indenture for the benefit of the Notes only and shall be effective
only so long as the Notes are outstanding:
(1)
Limitation on Liens . The Parent Guarantor shall not, and
shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, directly or
indirectly, incur or suffer to exist any Lien, other than a
Permitted Lien (an “ Initial Lien ”), securing
Indebtedness upon any Capital Stock of any Significant Subsidiary
of the Parent Guarantor that is owned, directly or indirectly, by
the Parent Guarantor or any of its Subsidiaries, in each case
whether owned at the date of the original issuance of the Notes or
thereafter acquired, or any interest therein or any income or
profits therefrom unless it has made or will make effective
provision whereby the Outstanding Notes will be secured by such
Lien equally and ratably with (or prior to) all other Indebtedness
of the Parent Guarantor or any Subsidiary secured by such Lien. Any
Lien created for the benefit of the Holders of the Notes pursuant
to the preceding sentence shall provide by its terms that such Lien
will be automatically and unconditionally released and discharged
upon release and discharge of the Initial Lien.
“
Permitted Lien ” means a Lien on the Capital Stock of
a Significant Subsidiary to secure Indebtedness incurred to finance
the purchase price of such Capital Stock; provided that any
such Lien may not extend to any other property of the Parent
Guarantor or any other Subsidiary of the Parent Guarantor; and
provided further that such Indebtedness matures within
180 days from the date such Indebtedness was
incurred.
(2)
Limitation on Dispositions of Significant Subsidiaries . The
Parent Guarantor shall not, and shall not permit any of its
Subsidiaries to, directly or indirectly, sell, transfer or
otherwise dispose of, and will not permit any Significant
Subsidiary to issue, any Capital Stock of any Significant
Subsidiary. Notwithstanding the foregoing limitation, (a) the
Parent Guarantor and its Subsidiaries may sell, transfer or
otherwise dispose of, and any Significant Subsidiary may issue, any
such Capital Stock to any Subsidiary of the Parent Guarantor,
(b) any Subsidiary of the Parent Guarantor may sell, transfer
or otherwise dispose of, and any Significant Subsidiary may issue,
any such securities to the Parent Guarantor or another Subsidiary
of the Parent Guarantor, (c) the Parent Guarantor and its
Subsidiaries may sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of, and
any
7
Significant
Subsidiary may issue, any such Capital Stock if the consideration
received is at least equal to the fair market value (as determined
by the board of directors of the Parent Guarantor acting in good
faith) of such Capital Stock, and (d) the Issuer and its
Subsidiaries may sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of, and any
Significant Subsidiary may issue, any such securities if required
by law or any regulation or order of any governmental or regulatory
authority. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Parent Guarantor may
merge or consolidate any of its Significant Subsidiaries into or
with another one of its Significant Subsidiaries and may otherwise
convey, transfer or lease its properties and assets pursuant to
Article NINE of the Original Indenture.
SECTION
1.07. Interest Rate Adjustment . The interest rate payable
on the Notes will be subject to adjustment from time to time if
either Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. ( “
Moody’s ” , which term shall include any
successor thereto) or Standard & Poor’s Rating Services,
a division of McGraw-Hill, Inc. (“ S&P ”,
which term shall include any successor thereto an
|