Exhibit 10.2
TRANSFER RIGHTS AGREEMENT
AMONG
ACCENTURE SCA
and
THE COVERED PERSONS SIGNATORY HERETO
Amended and Restated as of February 3,
2005
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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ARTICLE I DEFINITIONS AND OTHER
MATTERS
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1
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1
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5
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ARTICLE II LIMITATIONS ON TRANSFER OF
SHARES
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5
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5
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5
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Section 2.3. Certain Additional
Restrictions
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5
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5
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ARTICLE III REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF
THE PARTIES
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5
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ARTICLE IV OTHER AGREEMENTS OF THE
PARTIES
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7
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Section 4.1. Redemption Price
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7
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Section 4.2. Accenture SCA Partners
Committee
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7
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Section 4.3. Indemnification and
Expenses
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8
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Section 4.4. Adjustment upon Changes in
Capitalization; Adjustments upon Changes of Control;
Representatives, Successors and Assigns
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9
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Section 4.5. Filing of Schedule 13D or
13G
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10
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Section 4.6. Further Assurances
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11
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11
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Section 5.1. Term of the Agreement;
Termination of Certain Provisions
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11
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12
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13
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Section 5.4. GOVERNING LAW
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14
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Section 5.5. Resolution of
Disputes
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14
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Section 5.6. Relationship of
Parties
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15
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16
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Section 5.8. Severability
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17
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Section 5.9. Right to Determine Tender
Confidentially
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17
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Section 5.10. No Third-Party
Rights
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17
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Section 5.11.
Section Headings
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17
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Section 5.12. Execution in
Counterparts
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17
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Appendix A – Covered
Persons
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This Transfer
Rights Agreement, amended and restated as of April 18,
2001 1
(as amended, supplemented, waived or
otherwise modified from time to time in accordance with its terms,
this “Agreement”), among Accenture SCA, a Luxembourg
société en commandite par actions
(“Accenture SCA”), and the Covered Persons (hereinafter
defined).
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS, the
Covered Persons may in the future become beneficial owners of
Class I Common Shares, par value 1.25 euro per share, of
Accenture SCA (the “Common Shares”).
WHEREAS, the
Covered Persons desire to address herein certain relationships
among themselves with respect to the disposition of their Common
Shares and various other matters and desire to give to the
Accenture SCA Partners Committee (hereinafter defined) the power to
enforce their agreements with respect thereto on their
behalf.
NOW, THEREFORE, in
consideration of the premises and of the mutual agreements,
covenants and provisions herein contained, the parties hereto agree
as follows:
ARTICLE I
DEFINITIONS AND OTHER MATTERS
Section 1.1.
Definitions . The following words and phrases as used herein
shall have the following meanings, except as otherwise expressly
provided or unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) “Accenture
Ltd Class A Common Shares” shall mean the Class A
Common Shares of Accenture Ltd, an exempted company limited by
shares organized under the laws of Bermuda.
(b) “Accenture
SCA” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in the
preamble hereto.
(c) “Accenture
SCA Partners Committee” shall have the meaning ascribed to
such term in Section 4.2 hereof.
(d) This
“Agreement” shall have the meaning ascribed to such
term in the preamble hereto.
(e) “Base
Eligible Sales” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term
in Section 2.2 hereof.
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1
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This Transfer
Rights Agreement is amended and restated as of February 3,
2005.
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(f) A
“beneficial owner” of a security includes any person
who, directly or indirectly, through any contract, arrangement,
understanding, relationship or otherwise has, or shares: (i) voting
power, which includes the power to vote, or to direct the voting
of, such security and/or (ii) investment power, which includes
the power to dispose, or to direct the disposition of, such
security, but for purposes of this Agreement a person shall not be
deemed a beneficial owner of Common Shares (A) solely by
virtue of the Application of Exchange Act Rule 13d-3(d) or
Exchange Act Rule 13d-5 as in effect on the date hereof,
(B) solely by virtue of the possession of the legal right to
vote securities under applicable law (such as by proxy, power of
attorney or appointment as corporate representative) or
(C) held of record by a “private foundation”
subject to the requirements of Section 509 of the Code (or
equivalent in other jurisdictions as determined from time to time
by the Accenture SCA Partners Committee). “Beneficially
own” and “beneficial ownership” shall have
correlative meanings. For purposes of the determination of
beneficial ownership only, the provisions of Article II hereof
shall not be deemed to transfer the investment power with respect
to any Common Shares.
(g) “Code”
shall mean the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended from time to time, and the applicable rulings and
regulations thereunder.
(h) “Common
Shares” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in the
recitals hereto.
(i) “Company”
shall mean Accenture SCA, together with its general partner and its
Subsidiaries from time to time.
(j) “Continuing
Provisions” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in
Section 5.1(b) hereof.
(k) “Covered
Persons” shall mean those persons, other than Accenture SCA,
who are from time to time parties to this Agreement and whose names
are, or are required to be, listed on Appendix A hereto, in
each case in accordance with the terms hereof.
(l) A Covered
Person’s “Covered Shares” shall mean any Common
Shares beneficially owned by such Covered Person at the time in
question but, shall not include any Common Shares excluded from the
definition of Covered Shares by action of the Accenture SCA
Partners Committee prior to the IPO Date. “Covered
Shares” shall also include the securities that are defined to
be “Covered Shares” in Section 4.4 hereof. A
Covered Person “acquires” Covered Shares when such
Covered Person first acquires beneficial ownership over such
Covered Shares.
(m) The term
“disabled” shall mean “disabled” as defined
(i) in any employment agreement then in effect between the
employee and the Company, or (ii) if not defined therein, or
if there shall be no such agreement, as defined in the
Company’s long-term disability plan as in effect from time to
time, or (iii) if there shall be no plan, the inability of an
employee to perform in all material respects his duties and
responsibilities to the
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Company for a period of six
(6) consecutive months or for an aggregate of nine
(9) months in any twenty- four (24) consecutive month
period by reason of a physical or mental incapacity. Any question
as to the existence of a disability as to which the employee and
the Company cannot agree shall be determined in writing by a
qualified independent physician mutually acceptable to the employee
and the Company. If the employee and the Company cannot agree as to
a qualified independent physician, each shall appoint such a
physician and those two physicians shall select a third who shall
make such determinations in writing. The determination of
disability made in writing to the Company and the employee shall be
final and conclusive for all purposes of this Agreement.
(n) “Disabled
Employee” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in
Section 2.2 hereof.
(o) An
“employee” shall include, without limitation, the
owners and employees of partner personal service companies in
certain countries with which the Company has personal service
contracts (in each case as agreed by the Accenture SCA Partners
Committee), and any other similarly situated person designated as
an “employee” by the Accenture SCA Partners
Committee.
(p) “Employee
Covered Person” shall mean a Covered Person that is an
employee of the Company at the time in question, provided that if
the Company has received notice that any Covered Person intends to
terminate such Covered Person’s employment with the Company
(except in the case of notice with respect to retirement or
disability), such Covered Person shall be deemed not to be an
Employee Covered Person.
(q) “Employee
Covered Shares” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term
in Section 5.1 hereof.
(r) “Exchange
Act” shall mean the United States Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended to date and as further amended from time to
time.
(s) A
reference to an “Exchange Act Rule” shall mean such
rule or regulation of the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission under the Exchange Act, as in effect from time to time
or as replaced by a successor rule thereto.
(t) “IPO
Date” shall mean the closing date of the initial public
offering of the Accenture Ltd Class A Common
Shares.
(u) “Market
Price of an Accenture Ltd Class A Common Share” shall
have the meaning ascribed to such term in the Articles of
Association of Accenture SCA, as such term may be amended from time
to time pursuant to the Articles of Association of Accenture
SCA.
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(v) “Non-Competition
Agreement” shall mean, collectively, any Non- Competition
Agreement, dated as of the date hereof, among the Company and the
partners from time to time party thereto.
(w) “Permitted
Basket Transaction” shall mean the purchase or sale of, or
the establishment of a long or short position in, a basket or index
of securities (or of a derivative financial instrument with respect
to a basket or index of securities) that includes securities of the
Company, in each case if such purchase, sale or establishment is
permitted under the Company’s policy on hedging with respect
to securities of the Company and other relevant policies, including
insider trading policies, as announced from time to
time.
(x) A
“person” shall include, as applicable, any individual,
estate, trust, corporation, partnership, limited liability company,
unlimited liability company, foundation, association or other
entity.
(y) “Retired
Employee” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in
Section 2.2 hereof.
(z) “Securities
Act” shall mean the United States Securities Act of 1933, as
amended from time to time.
(aa) “Sole
Beneficial Owner” shall mean a person who is the beneficial
owner of Covered Shares, who does not share beneficial ownership of
such Covered Shares with any other person (other than pursuant to
this Agreement, the Non-Competition Agreement or applicable
community property laws) and who is the only person (other than
pursuant to applicable community property laws) with a direct
economic interest in the Covered Shares. An economic interest of
the Company (or of any other person with respect to which the
Company has expressly agreed to in writing) as pledgee shall be
disregarded for this purpose. A Covered Person that holds Covered
Shares indirectly through a wholly-owned personal holding company
shall be considered the “Sole Beneficial Owner” of such
Covered Shares, provided that such personal holding company is a
Covered Person hereunder.
(bb) “Subsidiary”
shall mean any person in which Accenture SCA owns, directly or
indirectly, at least a majority of the equity, economic or voting
interest.
(cc) “Transfer”
shall mean any sale, transfer, pledge, hypothecation or other
disposition, whether direct or indirect, whether or not for value,
and shall include any disposition of the economic or other risks of
ownership of Covered Shares, including short sales of securities of
the Company, option transactions (whether physical or cash settled)
with respect to securities of the Company, use of equity or other
derivative financial instruments relating to securities of the
Company and other hedging arrangements with respect to securities
of the Company, in each such case other than Permitted Basket
Transactions.
(dd) “Transfer
Restrictions” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in
Section 2.1 hereof.
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(ee) “Valuation
Ratio” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in the
Articles of Association of Accenture SCA, as such ratio may be
adjusted from time to time pursuant to the Articles of Association
of Accenture SCA.
(ff) “vote”
shall include, without limitation, actions taken or proposed to be
taken by written consent.
Section 1.2.
Gender . For the purposes of this Agreement, the words
“he,” “his” or “himself” shall
be interpreted to include the masculine, feminine and corporate,
other entity or trust form.
ARTICLE II
LIMITATIONS ON TRANSFER OF SHARES
Section 2.1.
[RESERVED]
Section 2.2
[RESERVED]
Section 2.3.
Certain Additional Restrictions .
Each Covered
Person agrees for the benefit of every other Covered Person that
for so long as such Covered Person is an Employee Covered Person,
such Covered Person will comply with any restrictions on Transfer
relating to Common Shares imposed by the Company and notified to
such Covered Person from time to time to enable the Company or any
party to an agreement with the Company to (i) account for a
business combination by the pooling of interests method or (ii)
pursuant to the Company’s insider trading policies from time
to time.
Section 2.4.
[RESERVED]
ARTICLE III
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE PARTIES
Each
Covered Person severally represents and warrants that:
(i) such Covered
Person has (and with respect to Covered Shares to be acquired in
the future, will have) good, valid and marketable title to the
Covered Shares, free and clear of any pledge, lien, security
interest, charge, claim, equity or encumbrance of any kind, other
than pursuant to this Agreement, another agreement with the
Company, or any other agreement with another person with respect to
which the Company has expressly agreed to in writing, by which such
Covered Person is bound and to which the Covered Shares are
subject;
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(ii) this
Agreement constitutes the legal, valid and binding obligation of
such Covered Person, enforceable against such Covered Person in
accordance with its terms (subject to the effects of bankruptcy,
insolvency, fraudulent conveyance, reorganization, moratorium and
other similar laws relating to or affecting creditors’ rights
generally and to general equitable principles (whether considered
in a proceeding in equity or at law));
(iii) there are no
actions, suits or proceedings pending, or, to the knowledge of such
Covered Person, threatened against or affecting such Covered Person
or such Covered Person’s assets in any court or before or by
any federal, state, municipal or other domestic or foreign
governmental department, commission, board, bureau, agency or
instrumentality which, if adversely determined, would impair the
ability of such Covered Person to perform or comply with this
Agreement;
(iv) such Covered
Person understands that his ability to transfer the Covered Shares
is subject to legal and contractual restrictions and that the
Covered Shares have not been registered under the United States
Securities Act of 1933, and that he is holding the Covered Shares
for his own account, for investment, and not for distribution,
assignment or resale to others, and no other person has any direct
or indirect beneficial interest in such shares (other than the
Company or at the express written consent of the Company);
and
(v) no statement,
representation or warranty made by such Covered Person in this
Agreement, nor any information provided by such Covered Person for
inclusion in a report filed pursuant to Section 4.5 hereof or
in a registration statement filed by the Company contains or will
contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omits or will
omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the
statements, representations or warranties contained herein or
information provided therein not misleading.
Each
Covered Person that is not a natural person additionally and
severally represents and warrants that:
(i) such Covered
Person is duly organized and validly existing in good standing
under the laws of the jurisdiction of such Covered Person’s
formation;
(ii) such Covered
Person has full right, power and authority to enter into and
perform this Agreement; and
(iii) the
execution and delivery of this Agreement and the performance of the
transactions contemplated herein have been duly authorized, and no
further proceedings on the part of such Covered Person are
necessary to authorize the execution, delivery and performance of
this Agreement; and this Agreement has been duly executed by such
Covered Person.
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Each Covered
Person severally agrees that the foregoing provisions of this
Article III shall be continuing representations and warranties
of such Covered Person during the period that such person shall be
a Covered Person and Common Shares of such person shall be Covered
Shares, and such Covered Person shall take all actions as shall
from time to time be necessary to cure any breach or violation and
to obtain any authorizations, consents, approvals and clearances in
order that such representations and warranties shall be true and
correct during such period.
ARTICLE IV
OTHER AGREEMENTS OF THE PARTIES
Section 4.1.
Redemption Price
Each Covered
Person agrees that the redemption price payable in connection with
any redemption of such Covered Person’s Common Shares
(i) under Article 7 of the Articles of Association of
Accenture SCA, as such redemption price is calculated in accordance
with such Article 7, or (ii) under paragraph (f) of
Section 2.2 hereof, as such redemption price is calculated in
accordance with Section 2.2 hereof, may, at the option of
Accenture SCA, be paid in cash or in Accenture Ltd Class A
Common Shares.
Section 4.2.
Accenture SCA Partners Committee .
(a) The
“Accenture SCA Partners Committee”, as of any time,
shall consist of the members of the Supervisory Board of Accenture
SCA who are also employees of the Company that hold the
“Partner” title and who agree to serve as members of
the Accenture SCA Partners Committee. If there are less than three
individuals who are both Partners and members of the Supervisory
Board of Accenture SCA and who agree to serve as members of the
Accenture SCA Partners Committee, the Accenture SCA Partners
Committee shall consist of each such individual plus such
additional individuals who are Partners and who are selected
pursuant to procedures established by the Accenture SCA Partners
Committee as shall ensure