INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT TRUST AGREEMENTInvestment Management Trust Agreement |
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Search Investment Management Trust Agreement by:
Exhibit 10.32
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT TRUST AGREEMENT
This
Agreement is made as of December 28, 2006 by and between FREEDOM
ACQUISITION HOLDINGS, INC. (the “Company”) and Continental
Stock Transfer & Trust Company (the “Trustee”).
WHEREAS,
the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1, as amended,
No. 333-136248 (together with any registration statement filed pursuant to
Rule 462(b), the “Registration Statement”), for its
initial public offering of securities (the “IPO”) has been
declared effective as of December 21, 2006 by the Securities and Exchange
Commission (the “Effective Date”); and
WHEREAS,
Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“Citigroup”) is acting as the
representative of the underwriters in the IPO; and
WHEREAS,
as described in the Registration Statement, $466,320,000 ($535,728,000 if the
underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) consisting of
(i) $461,820,000 of the net proceeds of the IPO ($531,228,000 if the
underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) after adjusting
for certain offering expenses and (ii) $4,500,000 of the proceeds from the sale
of the Sponsors’ Warrants, will be delivered to the Trustee to be
deposited and held in a trust account for the benefit of the Company and the holders
of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001, issued in the IPO. The
amount to be delivered to the Trustee will be referred to herein as the “Property,”
the stockholders for whose benefit the Trustee shall hold the Property will be
referred to as the “Public Stockholders,” and the Public
Stockholders and the Company will be referred to together as the “Beneficiaries”);
and
WHEREAS,
a portion of the Property consists of $16,320,000 (or $18,768,000 if the
underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) attributable to
the underwriters’ discount which Citigroup has agreed to deposit in the
Trust Account (as defined below); and
WHEREAS,
the Company and the Trustee desire to enter into this Agreement to set forth
the terms and conditions pursuant to which the Trustee shall hold the Property;
IT
IS AGREED:
1. Agreements
and Covenants of Trustee. The Trustee hereby agrees and covenants to:
(a) Hold
the Property in trust for the Beneficiaries in accordance with the terms of
this Agreement in segregated trust accounts (the “Trust Account”)
established by the Trustee at branches of J.P. Morgan Chase N.Y. and Smith
Barney, a division of Citigroup Global Markets, each selected by the Trustee;
(b) Manage,
supervise and administer the Trust Account subject to the terms and conditions
set forth herein;
(c) In
a timely manner, upon the written instruction of the Company, to invest and
reinvest the Property in United States “government securities”
and/or in any open ended money market fund(s) selected by the Company meeting
the conditions of Sections (c)(2), (c)(3) and (c)(4) of Rule 2a-7
promulgated under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, as determined
by the Company. As used herein, “Government Security” means
any Treasury Bill issued by the United States, having a maturity of one hundred
and eighty days or less;
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(d) Collect
and receive, when due, all principal and income arising from the Property,
which income, net of taxes, shall become part of the “Property,” as
such term is used herein; and the remaining income arising from the Property,
net of taxes, up to $3,900,000 may be released to the Company periodically to
fund its working capital requirements;
(e) Notify
the Company and Citigroup of all communications received by it with respect to
any Property requiring action by the Company;
(f) Supply
any necessary information or documents as may be requested by the Company in
connection with the Company’s preparation of the tax returns relating to
income from the Property in the Trust Account or otherwise;
(g) Participate
in any plan or proceeding for protecting or enforcing any right or interest
arising from the Property if, as and when instructed by the Company and/or
Citigroup in writing to do so;
(h) Render
to the Company and to Citigroup, and to such other person as the Company may
instruct, monthly written statements of the activities of and amounts in the
Trust Account reflecting all receipts and disbursements of the Trust Account;
(i) If
there is any income or other tax obligation relating to the income from the
Property in the Trust Account as determined by the Company, then, from time to
time, at the written instruction of the Company, the Trustee shall promptly, to
the extent there is not sufficient cash in the Trust Account to pay such tax
obligation, liquidate such assets held in the Trust Account as shall be
designated by the Company in writing, and disburse to the Company by wire
transfer, out of the Property in the Trust Account, the amount indicated by the
Company as owing in respect of such income tax obligation; and
(j) Commence
liquidation of the Trust Account only upon receipt of and only in accordance
with the terms of a letter (the “Termination Letter”), in a
form substantially similar to that attached hereto as either Exhibit A
or Exhibit B, signed on behalf of the Company by its Chief
Executive Officer or other authorized officer, and complete the liquidation of
the Trust Account and distribute the Property in the Trust Account only as
directed in the Termination Letter and the other documents referred to therein.
2. Limited
Distributions of Income From Trust Account.
(a) If
there is any income or other tax obligation relating to the income from the
Property in the Trust Account as determined by the Company, then, at the
written instruction of the Company, the Trustee shall disburse to the Company
by wire transfer, out of the Property in the Trust Account, the amount
indicated by the Company as required to pay income taxes; and
(b) Upon
written request from the Company in a form substantially similar to that
attached hereto as Exhibit C, which may be given not more than once
in any calendar quarter, the Trustee shall distribute to the Company by wire
transfer an amount equal to the income collected on the Property through the
last day of the calendar quarter immediately
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preceding the date of receipt
of the Company’s request; provided, however, that the
maximum amount of distributions, net of taxes, that the Company may request and
the Trustee shall distribute pursuant to this Section 2(b) shall be $3,900,000.
The first such distribution shall include income through the first full
calendar quarter following the effective date of the IPO, with the
Company’s request made after such date. It is understood that the
Trustee’s only responsibility under this section is to follow the
instruction of the Company; and
(c) Except
as provided in Sections 2(a) and 2(b) above, no other distributions from the
Trust Account shall be permitted except in accordance with Sections 1(i) and
1(j) hereof.
3. Agreements
and Covenants of the Company. The Company hereby agrees and covenants to:
(a) Give
all instructions to the Trustee hereunder in writing, signed by the
Company’s Chief Executive Officer or other authorized officer. In
addition, except with respect to its duties under Section 1(i) above, the
Trustee shall be entitled to rely on, and shall be protected in relying on, any
verbal or telephonic advice or instruction which it in good faith believes to
be given by any one of the persons authorized above to give written
instructions, provided that the Company shall promptly confirm such
instructions in writing;
(b) Hold
the Trustee harmless and indemnify the Trustee from and against, any and all
expenses, including reasonable counsel fees and disbursements, or loss suffered
by the Trustee in connection with any action, suit or other proceeding brought
against the Trustee involving any claim, or in connection with any claim or
demand which in any way arises out of or relates to this Agreement, the
services of the Trustee hereunder, or the Property or any income earned from
investment of the Property, except for expenses and losses resulting from the
Trustee’s gross negligence or willful misconduct. Promptly after the
receipt by the Trustee of notice of demand or claim or the commencement of any action,
suit or proceeding, pursuant to which the Trustee intends to seek
indemnification under this Section, it shall notify the Company in writing of
such claim (hereinafter referred to as the “Indemnified Claim”).
The Trustee shall have the right to conduct and manage the defense against such
Indemnified Claim. The Company may participate in such action with its
own counsel; and
(c) Pay
the Trustee an initial acceptance fee, an annual fee and a transaction
processing fee for each disbursement made pursuant to Sections 2(a) and 2(b) as
set forth on Schedule A hereto, which fees shall be subject to
modification by the parties from time to time. It is expressly understood that
the Property shall not be used to pay such fees and further agreed that said transaction
processing fees shall be deducted by the Trustee from the disbursements made to
the Company pursuant to Section 2(b). The Company shall pay the Trustee
the initial acceptance fee and first year’s fee at the consummation of
the IPO and thereafter on the anniversary of the Effective Date. The Trustee
shall refund to the Company the annual fee (on a pro rata basis) with
respect to any period after the liquidation of the Trust Fund. The Company
shall not be responsible for any other fees or charges of the Trustee except as
set forth in this Section 3(c) and as may be provided in Section 3(b) hereof
(it being expressly understood that the Property shall not be used to make any
payments to the Trustee under such Sections).
4. Limitations
of Liability. The Trustee shall have no responsibility or liability to:
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(a) Take
any action with respect to the Property, other than as directed in
Section 1 hereof and the Trustee shall have no liability to any party
except for liability arising out of its own gross negligence or willful
misconduct;
(b) Institute
any proceeding for the collection of any principal and income arising from, or
institute, appear in or defend any proceeding of any kind with respect to, any
of the Property unless and until it shall have received written instructions
from the Company given as provided herein to do so and the Company shall have
advanced or guaranteed to it funds sufficient to pay any expenses incident
thereto;
(c) Change
the investment of any Property, other than in compliance with
Section 1(c);
(d) Refund
any depreciation in principal of any Property;
(e) Assume
that the authority of any person designated by the Company to give instructions
hereunder shall not be continuing unless provided otherwise in such
designation, or unless the Company shall have delivered a written revocation of
such authority to the Trustee;
(f) The
other parties hereto or to anyone else for any action taken or omitted by it,
or any action suffered by it to be taken or omitted, in good faith and in the
exercise of its own best judgment, except for its gross negligence or willful
misconduct. The Trustee may rely conclusively and shall be protected in acting
upon any order, judgment, instruction, notice, demand, certificate, opinion or
advice of counsel (including counsel chosen by the Trustee), statement,
instrument, report or other paper or document (not only as to its due execution
and the validity and effectiveness of its provisions, but also as to the truth
and acceptability of any information therein contained) which is believed by
the Trustee, in good faith, to be genuine and to be signed or presented by the
proper person or persons. The Trustee shall not be bound by any notice or
demand, or any waiver, modification, termination or rescission of this
agreement or any of the terms hereof, unless evidenced by a written instrument
delivered to the Trustee signed by the proper party or parties and, if the
duties or rights of the Trustee are affected, unless it shall give its prior
written consent thereto;
(g) Verify
the correctness of the information set forth in the Registration Statement or
to confirm or assure that any acquisition made by the Company or any other
action taken by it is as contemplated by the Registration Statement;
(h) As
and to the extent requested from time to time by the Company, prepare, execute
and file such tax reports, income or other tax returns and pay any taxes with
respect to income and activities relating to the Trust Account, regardless of
whether such tax is payable by the Trust Account or the Company (including but
not limited to income tax obligations), it being expressly understood that as
set forth in Section 1(i), if there is any income or other tax obligation
relating to the Trust Account or the Property in the Trust Account, as
determined from time to time by the Company and regardless of whether such tax
is payable by the Company or the Trust, at the written instruction of the
Company, the Trustee shall make funds available in cash from the Property in
the Trust Account an amount specified by the Company as owing to the applicable
taxing authority, which amount shall be paid directly to the Company by
electronic funds transfer, account debit or other method of payment, and the
Company shall forward such payment to the taxing authority; and
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(i) Verify
calculations, qualify or otherwise approve Company requests for distributions
pursuant to Sections 1(i), 2(a) or 2(b) above.
5. Termination.
This Agreement shall terminate as follows:
(a) If
the Trustee gives written notice to the Company that it desires to resign under
this Agreement, the Company shall use its reasonable efforts to locate a successor
trustee. At such time that the Company notifies the Trustee that a successor
trustee has been appointed by the Company and has agreed to become subject to
the terms of this Agreement, the Trustee shall transfer the management of the
Trust Account to the successor trustee, including but not limited to the
transfer of copies of the reports and statements relating to the Trust Account,
whereupon this Agreement shall terminate; provided, however,
that, in the event that the Company does not locate a successor trustee within
ninety days of receipt of the resignation notice from the Trustee, the Trustee
may submit an application to have the Property deposited with the United States
District Court for the Southern District of New York and upon such deposit, the
Trustee shall be immune from any liability; or
(b) At
such time that the Trustee has completed the liquidation of the Trust Account
in accordance with the provisions of Section 1(j) hereof, and distributed the
Property in accordance with the provisions of the Termination Letter, this
Agreement shall terminate except with respect to Section 3(b).
6. Miscellaneous.
(a) The
Company and the Trustee each acknowledge that the Trustee will follow the
security procedures set forth below with respect to funds transferred from the
Trust Account. The Company and the Trustee will each restrict access to
confidential information relating to such security procedures to authorized
persons. Each party must notify the other party immediately if it has reason to
believe unauthorized persons may have obtained access to such information, or
of any change in its authorized personnel. In executing funds transfers, the
Trustee will rely upon account numbers or other identifying numbers of a
beneficiary, beneficiary’s bank or intermediary bank, rather than names.
The Trustee shall not be liable for any loss, liability or expense resulting
from any error in an account number or other identifying number, provided it
has accurately transmitted the numbers provided.
(b) This
Agreement shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with
the laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to conflict of laws.
It may be executed in several counterparts, each one of which shall constitute
an original, and together shall constitute but one instrument.
(c) This
Agreement contains the entire agreement and understanding of the parties hereto
with respect to the subject matter hereof. This Agreement or any provision
hereof may only be changed, amended or modified by a writing signed by each of
the parties hereto; provided, however, that no such change,
amendment or modification may be made without the prior written consent of
Citigroup. Any other change, waiver, amendment or modification to this
Agreement shall be subject to approval by a majority of the Public
Stockholders. As to any claim, cross-claim or counterclaim in any way relating
to this Agreement, each party waives the right to trial by jury.
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(d) The
parties hereto consent to the jurisdiction and venue of any state or federal
court located in the City of New York for purposes of resolving any disputes
hereunder.
(e) Any
notice, consent or request to be given in connection with any of the terms or
provisions of this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be sent by express
mail or similar private courier service, by certified mail (return receipt
requested), by hand delivery or by facsimile transmission:
if to the Trustee, to:
Continental Stock Transfer
& Trust Company
17 Battery Place, 8th Floor
New York, New York 10004
Attn: Steven Nelson, President
Fax No.: (212) 509-5150
if to the Company, to:
Freedom Acquisition Holdings,
Inc.
1114 Avenue of the Americas, 41st Floor
New York, New York 10036
Attn: Nicolas Berggruen, President
Fax No.: (212) 382-0120
in either case with a copy
to:
Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
388 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10013
Facsimile: (212) 723-8871
Attn: David Spivak
and
Greenberg Traurig, LLP
MetLife Building
200 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10166
Attn: Alan I. Annex, Esq.
Fax No.: (212) 801-6400
(f) This
Agreement may not be assigned by the Trustee without the prior written consent
of the Company and Citigroup. This Agreement may be assigned by the Company to
a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company upon written notice to the Trustee.
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(g) Each
of the Trustee and the Company hereby represents that it has the full right and
power and has been duly authorized to enter into this Agreement and to perform
its respective obligations as contemplated hereunder. The Trustee acknowledges
and agrees that it shall not make any claims or proceed against the Trust
Account, including by way of set-off, and shall not be entitled to part of the
Property under any circumstance.
(h) The
Trustee hereby consents to the inclusion of Continental Stock Transfer &
Trust Company in the Registration Statement and other materials relating to the
IPO.
[Signatures appear on following page]
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IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have duly executed this Investment Management
Trust Agreement as of the date first written above.
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CONTINENTAL STOCK TRANSFER
& TRUST COMPANY, as Trustee |
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By: |
/s/ Frank A. Di Paolo
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Name: |
Frank A. Di Paolo |
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Title: |
CFO |
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FREEDOM ACQUISITION
HOLDINGS, INC. |
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