REGISTRATION RIGHTS
AGREEMENT
This Registration
Rights Agreement (this “ Agreement ”) is
made and entered into as of May 18, 2009, by and among Linn
Energy, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “
Company ”), Linn Energy Finance Corp., a
Delaware corporation (“ LinnCo ” and,
together with the Company, the “ Issuers
”), the guarantors listed on Schedule A hereto
(collectively, the “ Guarantors ”) and
Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Barclays Capital Inc., BNP Paribas
Securities Corp., Calyon Securities (USA) Inc., RBC Capital
Markets Corporation and RBS Securities Inc., as representatives of
the several Initial Purchasers named in the Purchase Agreement (as
defined below) (collectively, the “ Initial
Purchasers ”), who have agreed to purchase the
Issuers’ 11.75% Senior Notes due 2017 (the “
Initial Notes ”) fully and unconditionally
guaranteed by the Guarantors (the “ Guarantees
”) pursuant to the Purchase Agreement. The Initial Notes and
the Guarantees are herein collectively referred to as the “
Initial Securities .”
This Agreement is
made pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, dated May 12, 2009
(the “ Purchase Agreement ”), among
the Issuers, the Guarantors and the Initial Purchasers (i) for
the benefit of the Initial Purchasers and (ii) for the benefit
of the Holders from time to time of the Initial Securities,
including the Initial Purchasers. In order to induce the Initial
Purchasers to purchase the Initial Securities, the Issuers have
agreed to provide the registration rights set forth in this
Agreement. The execution and delivery of this Agreement is a
condition to the obligations of the Initial Purchasers set forth in
Section 7(m) of the Purchase Agreement.
The parties hereby
agree as follows:
Section 1.
Definitions. As used in this Agreement, the following
capitalized terms shall have the following meanings:
Additional
Interest: As defined in Section 5(a)
hereof.
Advice: As
defined in the last paragraph of Section 6(c)
hereof.
Affiliates: As defined in Rule 144 under the Securities
Act.
Agreement:
As defined in the preamble hereto.
Blackout
Period: As defined in the last paragraph of
Section 4(a) hereof.
Broker-Dealer: Any broker or dealer registered under the
Exchange Act.
Business
Day: As defined in the Indenture.
Closing
Date: The date of this Agreement.
Commission: The Securities and Exchange
Commission.
Company:
As defined in the preamble hereto.
Consummate: A registered Exchange Offer shall be deemed
“Consummated” for purposes of this Agreement upon the
occurrence of (i) the filing and effectiveness under the
Securities Act of the Exchange Offer Registration Statement
relating to the Exchange Securities to be issued in the Exchange
Offer, (ii) the maintenance of such Registration Statement
continuously effective and the keeping of the Exchange Offer open
for a period not less than the minimum period required pursuant to
Section 3(b) hereof, and (iii) the delivery by the
Issuers to the Registrar under the Indenture of Exchange Securities
in the same aggregate principal amount as the aggregate principal
amount of Initial Securities that were tendered by Holders thereof
pursuant to the Exchange Offer.
Exchange
Act: The Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended.
Exchange
Offer: The Issuers’ offer to the Holders of all
outstanding Transfer Restricted Securities of the opportunity to
exchange all such outstanding Transfer Restricted Securities held
by such Holders for Exchange Securities in an aggregate principal
amount equal to the aggregate principal amount of the Transfer
Restricted Securities tendered in such exchange offer by such
Holders.
Exchange Offer
Registration Statement: The Registration Statement relating to
the Exchange Offer, including the related Prospectus.
Exempt
Resales: The transactions in which the Initial Purchasers
propose to sell the Initial Securities to certain “qualified
institutional buyers,” as such term is defined in
Rule 144A under the Securities Act and to certain non-U.S.
persons pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities
Act.
Exchange
Securities: The 11.75% Senior Notes due 2017, of the same
series under the Indenture as the Initial Notes, and the Guarantees
related thereto, issued to Holders in exchange for Transfer
Restricted Securities pursuant to this Agreement.
FINRA: The
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.
Guarantees: As defined in the preamble hereto.
Holder: As
defined in Section 2(b) hereof.
Indemnified
Holder: As defined in Section 8(a)
hereof.
Indenture:
The Indenture, dated as of May 18, 2009 by and among the
Issuers, the Guarantors and the Trustee, pursuant to which the
Securities are to be issued, as such Indenture is amended or
supplemented from time-to-time in accordance with the terms
thereof.
Initial
Purchasers: As defined in the preamble hereto.
Initial
Notes: As defined in the preamble hereto.
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Initial
Placement: The issuance and sale by the Issuers of the Initial
Securities to the Initial Purchasers pursuant to the Purchase
Agreement.
Initial
Securities: As defined in the preamble hereto.
Issuers:
As defined in the preamble hereto.
LinnCo: As
defined in the preamble hereto.
Person: An
individual, partnership, limited liability company, corporation,
trust or unincorporated organization, or a government or agency or
political subdivision thereof.
Prospectus: The prospectus included in a Registration
Statement, as amended or supplemented by any prospectus supplement
and by all other amendments thereto, including post-effective
amendments, and all material incorporated by reference into such
Prospectus.
Registration
Default: Any of the following events:
(a) the Initial
Securities are not freely tradeable (by Persons other than
Affiliates of the Company) pursuant to Rule 144 under the
Securities Act as of the 366th day after the Closing
Date;
(b) the
restrictive legend on the Initial Securities (other than with
respect to Persons that are Affiliates of the Company) has not been
removed as of the 366th day after the Closing Date; or
(c) after the
Shelf Registration Statement is declared (or becomes automatically)
effective (i) such Shelf Registration Statement thereafter
ceases to be effective or (ii) such Shelf Registration Statement or
the related Prospectus ceases to be usable in connection with
resales of Transfer Restricted Securities during the periods
specified herein because (but excluding any Blackout Period) either
(A) any event occurs as a result of which the related
Prospectus forming part of such Shelf Registration Statement would
include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state
any material fact necessary to make the statements therein in the
light of the circumstances under which they were made not
misleading, (B) it shall be necessary to amend such Shelf
Registration Statement or supplement the related Prospectus, to
comply with the Securities Act or the Exchange Act or the
respective rules thereunder or (C) such Shelf Registration
Statement has expired before a replacement Shelf Registration
Statement has become effective.
Registration
Statement: Any registration statement of the Company relating
to (a) an offering of Exchange Securities pursuant to an
Exchange Offer or (b) the registration for resale of Transfer
Restricted Securities pursuant to the Shelf Registration Statement,
which is filed pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement, in
each case, including the Prospectus.
Securities: The Initial Securities and the Exchange
Securities.
Securities
Act: The Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
3
Shelf
Registration Statement: As defined in
Section 4(a)(x) hereof.
Trustee:
U. S. Bank National Association.
Trust
Indenture Act: The Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as
amended.
Transfer
Restricted Securities: Each Initial Security, until the
earliest to occur of (a) the date on which such Initial
Security is exchanged in the Exchange Offer for an Exchange
Security entitled to be resold to the public by the Holder thereof
without complying with the prospectus delivery requirements of the
Securities Act, (b) the date on which such Initial Security
has been effectively registered under the Securities Act and
disposed of in accordance with a Shelf Registration Statement,
(c) the date on which the restrictive legend on such Initial
Security has been removed (other than with respect to Persons that
are Affiliates of the Company) and the Initial Security is freely
tradeable (by Persons other than Affiliates of the Company)
pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act, (d) the
date on which such Initial Security is distributed to the public by
a Broker-Dealer pursuant to the “Plan of Distribution”
contemplated by the Exchange Offer Registration Statement
(including delivery of the Prospectus contained therein) and
(e) the date on which such Initial Security ceases to be
outstanding for purposes of the Indenture.
Underwritten
Registration or Underwritten Offering: A registration in which
securities of the Company are sold to an underwriter for reoffering
to the public.
Section 2. Securities
Subject to this Agreement.
(a)
Transfer Restricted Securities. The Transfer Restricted
Securities are entitled to the benefits of this
Agreement.
(b)
Holders of Transfer Restricted Securities. A Person is
deemed to be a holder of Transfer Restricted Securities (each, a
“ Holder ”) whenever such Person owns
Transfer Restricted Securities.
Section 3. Registered
Exchange Offer.
(a) If the
restrictive legend on the Initial Securities has not been removed
(other than with respect to Persons that are Affiliates of the
Company) and the Initial Securities are not freely tradeable
pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act (by Persons
other than Affiliates of the Issuers) as of the 366th day after the
Closing Date, each of the Issuers and the Guarantors shall, at
their cost, (i) cause to be filed with the Commission, a
Registration Statement under the Securities Act relating to the
Exchange Securities (other than Transfer Restricted Securities
acquired by any Broker-Dealer directly from the Issuers) and the
Exchange Offer (the “ Exchange Offer Registration
Statement ”), (ii) use their reasonable best
efforts (which shall include the filing of all necessary amendments
to such Registration Statement) to cause the Exchange Offer
Registration Statement to be declared effective by the Commission
and (iii) upon the effectiveness of the Exchange Offer
Registration Statement, promptly commence the Exchange Offer. The
Exchange Offer shall be on the appropriate form permitting
registration of the Exchange Securities to be offered in exchange
for the Transfer Restricted Securities (other than Transfer
Restricted Securities acquired by any Broker-Dealer directly from
the Issuers) and to permit resales of Initial Securities held by
Broker-Dealers as contemplated by
Section 3(c)
4
hereof;
provided, however , that if prior to the time that the
Exchange Offer is Consummated the Initial Securities become freely
tradeable pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act (by
Persons other than Affiliates of the Issuers), then the obligations
of the Issuers and the Guarantors under this
Section 3(a) shall cease and be of no further force and
effect.
(b) If the
Issuers and the Guarantors are required to commence the Exchange
Offer pursuant to Section 3(a) above, the Issuers and
the Guarantors shall cause the Exchange Offer Registration
Statement to be effective continuously and shall keep the Exchange
Offer open for a period of not less than 20 Business Days (or
longer if required under applicable law) after the date that notice
of the Exchange Offer is mailed to Holders. The Issuers shall cause
the Exchange Offer to comply with all applicable federal and state
securities laws. No securities other than the Exchange Securities
shall be included in the Exchange Offer Registration
Statement.
(c) If the
Issuers and the Guarantors are required to commence the Exchange
Offer pursuant to Section 3(a) above, the Issuers shall
indicate in a “Plan of Distribution” section contained
in the Prospectus forming a part of the Exchange Offer Registration
Statement that any Broker-Dealer who holds Initial Securities that
are Transfer Restricted Securities that were acquired for its own
account as a result of market-making activities or other trading
activities (other than Transfer Restricted Securities acquired
directly from the Issuers) may exchange such Initial Securities
pursuant to the Exchange Offer; however, such Broker-Dealer may be
deemed to be an “underwriter” within the meaning of the
Securities Act and must, therefore, deliver a prospectus meeting
the requirements of the Securities Act in connection with any
resales of the Exchange Securities received by such Broker-Dealer
in the Exchange Offer, which prospectus delivery requirement may be
satisfied by the delivery by such Broker-Dealer of the Prospectus
contained in the Exchange Offer Registration Statement. Such
“Plan of Distribution” section shall also contain all
other information with respect to such resales by Broker-Dealers
that the Commission may require in order to permit such resales
pursuant thereto, but such “Plan of Distribution” shall
not name any such Broker-Dealer or disclose the amount of Initial
Securities held by any such Broker-Dealer except to the extent
required by the Commission.
(d) If the
Issuers and the Guarantors are required to commence the Exchange
Offer pursuant to Section 3(a) above and if requested
by any such Broker-Dealer, each of the Issuers and the Guarantors
shall use its reasonable best efforts to keep the Exchange Offer
Registration Statement continuously effective, supplemented and
amended as required by the provisions of Section 6(c) hereof
to the extent necessary to ensure that it is available for resales
of Initial Securities acquired by Broker-Dealers for their own
accounts as a result of market-making activities or other trading
activities, and to ensure that it conforms with the requirements of
this Agreement, the Securities Act and the policies, rules and
regulations of the Commission as announced from time to time, for a
period ending on the earlier of (i) 210 days after the
Consummation of the Exchange Offer and (ii) the date on which
a Broker-Dealer is no longer required to deliver a prospectus in
connection with market-making or other trading
activities.
(e) If the
Issuers and the Guarantors are required to commence the Exchange
Offer pursuant to Section 3(a) above, the Issuers shall
provide sufficient copies of the latest version of such Prospectus
to Broker-Dealers promptly upon request at any time during such
210-day (or shorter as provided in the foregoing sentence) period
in order to facilitate such resales.
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Section 4. Shelf
Registration.
If
(i) because of any change in law or in applicable
interpretations thereof by the staff of the Commission, the Company
is not permitted to effect an Exchange Offer that is required by
Section 3 hereof, (ii) for any reason the Exchange
Offer is required by Section 3 hereof to be but is not
Consummated within one year and 90 days of the Closing Date
and the Transfer Restricted Securities are not freely tradeable
pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act (unless an
Exchange Offer Registration Statement has been filed within one
year and 45 days of the Closing Date and has not yet been
declared effective by the Commission other than as a result of the
fault of any Issuer or Guarantor), (iii) any Initial Purchaser
so requests with respect to the Initial Securities not eligible to
be exchanged for Exchange Securities in any Exchange Offer required
by Section 3 hereof and held by it following
Consummation of such Exchange Offer or (iv) any Holder (other
than a Broker-Dealer who holds Transfer Restricted Securities that
were acquired for its own account as a result of market-making
activities or other trading activities) is not eligible to
participate in any Exchange Offer required by Section 3
hereof or, in the case of any Holder (other than a Broker-Dealer
who holds Transfer Restricted Securities that were acquired for its
own account as a result of market-making activities or other
trading activities) that participates in any such Exchange Offer,
such Holder does not receive freely tradeable Exchange Securities
on the date of the exchange, then the Issuers and the Guarantors
shall, at their cost:
(x) as promptly as
practicable, cause to be filed a shelf registration statement
pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act, which may be an
amendment to the Exchange Offer Registration Statement (in either
event, the “ Shelf Registration Statement
”), which Shelf Registration Statement shall provide for
resales of all Transfer Restricted Securities the Holders of which
shall have provided the information required pursuant to Section
4(b) hereof; and
(y) use their
reasonable best efforts to cause such Shelf Registration Statement
to be declared effective by the Commission on or before the 90th
day after the date on which the filing obligation
arises.
Each of the
Issuers and the Guarantors shall use its reasonable best efforts to
keep such Shelf Registration Statement continuously effective,
supplemented and amended as required by the provisions of
Sections 6(b) and (c) hereof to the extent
necessary to ensure that it is available for resales of Initial
Securities by the Holders of Transfer Restricted Securities
entitled to the benefit of this Section 4(a) and to
ensure that it conforms with the requirements of this Agreement,
the Securities Act and the policies, rules and regulations of the
Commission as announced from time to time, for a period of at least
one year following the effective date of the Shelf Registration
Statement or such shorter period that will terminate when all the
Initial Securities covered by such Shelf Registration Statement
(A) have been sold pursuant to such Shelf Registration
Statement or (B) may be sold without a restrictive legend or
volume limitations pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities
Act or any successor rule thereof. Each of the Issuers and the
Guarantors shall be deemed not to have used its reasonable best
efforts to keep the Shelf Registration Statement effective during
the requisite period if any of the Issuers or the Guarantors
voluntarily takes any action that would result in Holders of
Transfer Restricted
6
Securities
covered thereby not being able to offer and sell such Transfer
Restricted Securities during that period, unless (X) such
action is required by applicable law; or (Y) such action is
taken by any of the Issuers or Guarantors in good faith and for
valid business reasons (not including avoidance of the Issuers or
the Guarantors obligations hereunder) including, but not limited
to, the acquisition or divestiture of assets, so long as the
Issuers and the Guarantors promptly thereafter comply with the
requirements of the last paragraph of Section 6(c)
hereof (the period during which the Shelf Registration Statement is
not available under clauses (X) or (Y) above, the “
Blackout Period ”). The Blackout Period shall
not exceed 45 days in any three-month period or 90 days
in any twelve-month period, except as a result of a review of any
post-effective amendment to the Shelf Registration Statement by the
Commission before declaring any post-effective amendment to the
Shelf Registration Statement effective, provided that the
Issuers have used their reasonable best efforts to cause such
post-effective amendment to be declared effective.
(b)
Provision by Holders of Certain Information in Connection with
the Shelf Registration Statement. No Holder of Transfer
Restricted Securities may include any of its Transfer Restricted
Securities in any Shelf Registration Statement pursuant to this
Agreement unless and until such Holder furnishes to the Company in
writing, within 20 Business Days after receipt of a request
therefor, such information as the Company may reasonably request
for use in connection with any Shelf Registration Statement or
Prospectus or preliminary Prospectus included therein. Each Holder
as to which any Shelf Registration Statement is being effected
agrees to furnish promptly to the Company all information required
to be disclosed in order to make the information previously
furnished to the Company by such Holder not materially
misleading.
Section 5. Additional
Interest.
(a) If any
Registration Default shall occur, the Issuers hereby agree that the
interest rate borne by the Transfer Restricted Securities shall be
increased by 0.25% per annum during the 90-day period immediately
following the occurrence of any Registration Default and shall
increase by 0.25% per annum at the end of each subsequent 90-day
period, but in no event shall such increase exceed 1.00% per annum.
Such additional interest to be paid pursuant to a Registration
Default as set forth in this Section 5 is herein
referred to as “ Additional Interest
.”
(b) Registration
Defaults shall be cured on the date that (i) the Initial
Securities are freely tradeable (by Persons other than Affiliates
of the Company) pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act
and the restrictive legend on the Initial Securities has been
removed (other than with respect to Persons that are Affiliates of
the Company), (ii) the Exchange Offer has been Consummated
(provided that this clause (ii) shall not cure a Registration
Default if a Shelf Registration Statement is required to be filed
pursuant to clause (i), (iii) or (iv) of the first
paragraph of Section 4(a) ) or (iii) a Shelf
Registration Statement is declared (or automatically becomes)
effective under the Securities Act, unless subsequent to the date
it was last declared effective it fails to remain effective or
usable for the time period contemplated by Section 4(a)
after taking into account all other periods during which such Shelf
Registration Statement was effective. Following the cure of all
Registration Defaults relating to any particular Transfer
Restricted Securities in accordance with this
Section 5(b) , the interest rate borne by the relevant
Transfer Restricted Securities will be reduced to the original
interest rate borne by such Transfer
7
Restricted
Securities; provided, however, that, if after any such
reduction in interest rate, a different Registration Default
occurs, the interest rate borne by the relevant Transfer Restricted
Securities shall again be increased pursuant to the foregoing
provisions. The Issuers shall not be required to pay Additional
Interest for more than one Registration Default at any given
time.
(c) All
Additional Interest accrued pursuant to this Section 5
shall be paid in the manner provided for in the Indenture. All
obligations of the Issuers and the Guarantors set forth in
Section 5(a) that are outstanding with respect to any
Transfer Restricted Security at the time such security ceases to be
a Transfer Restricted Security shall survive until such time as all
such obligations with respect to such security shall have been
satisfied in full.
Section 6. Registration
Procedures.
(a)
Exchange Offer Registration Statement. In connection with
the Exchange Offer, the Issuers and the Guarantors shall comply
with all of the provisions of Section 6(c) hereof,
shall use their reasonable best efforts to effect such exchange to
permit the sale of Transfer Restricted Securities being sold in
accordance with the intended method or methods of distribution
thereof. As a condition to its participation in the Exchange Offer
pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, each Holder of Transfer
Restricted Securities shall furnish, upon the request of the
Issuers, prior to the Consummation thereof, a written
representation to the Issuers (which may be contained in the letter
of transmittal contemplated by the Exchange Offer Registration
Statement) to the effect that (A) it is not an affiliate
(within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Securities Act) of
any of the Issuers or the Guarantors, (B) it is not engaged
in, and does not intend to engage in, and has no arrangement or
understanding with any Person to participate in, a distribution of
the Exchange Securities to be issued in the Exchange Offer and
(C) it is acquiring the Exchange Securities in its ordinary
course of business. In addition, all such Holders of Transfer
Restricted Securities shall otherwise cooperate in the
Issuers’ preparations for the Exchange Offer. Each Holder
hereby acknowledges and agrees that any Broker-Dealer and any such
Holder using the Exchange Offer to participate in a distribution of
the securities to be acquired in the Exchange Offer (1) could
not under Commission policy as in effect on the date of this
Agreement rely on the position of the Commission enunciated in
Morgan Stanley and Co., Inc. (available June 5, 1991)
and Exxon Capital Holdings Corporation (available
May 13, 1988), as interpreted in the Commission’s letter
to Shearman & Sterling dated July 2, 1993, and similar
no-action letters, and (2) must comply with the registration
and prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act in
connection with a secondary resale transaction and that such a
secondary resale transaction should be covered by an effective
registration statement containing the selling security holder
information required by Item 507 or 508, as applicable, of
Regulation S-K if the resales are of Exchange Securities
obtained by such Holder in exchange for Initial Securities acquired
by such Holder directly from the Issuers.
(b) Shelf
Registration Statement. In connection with the Shelf
Registration Statement, each of the Issuers and the Guarantors
shall comply with all the provisions of Section 6(c)
hereof and shall use its reasonable best efforts to effect such
registration to permit the sale of the Transfer Restricted
Securities being sold in accordance with the intended method or
methods of distribution thereof, and pursuant thereto each of the
Issuers and the Guarantors will as expeditiously as possible
prepare and file with the Commission a Registration Statement
relating to the registration on any appropriate form under the
Securities Act, which form shall be
8
available for
the sale of the Transfer Restricted Securities in accordance with
the intended method or methods of distribution thereof.
(c)
General Provisions. In connection with any Registration
Statement and any Prospectus required by this Agreement to permit
the sale or resale of Transfer Restricted Securities (including,
without limitation, any Registration Statement and the related
Prospectus required to permit resales of Initial Securities by
Broker-Dealers), each of the Issuers and the Guarantors
shall:
(i) use its
reasonable best efforts to keep such Registration Statement
continuously effective and provide all requisite financial
statements (including, if required by the Securities Act or any
regulation thereunder, financial statements of the Guarantors) for
the period specified in Section 3 or 4 hereof,
as applicable; upon the occurrence of any event that would cause
any such Registration Statement or the Prospectus contained therein
(A) to contain a material misstatement or omission or
(B) not to be effective and usable for resale of Transfer
Restricted Securities during the period required by this Agreement,
the Issuers and the Guarantors shall file promptly an appropriate
amendment to such Registration Statement, in the case of clause
(A), correcting any such misstatement or omission, and, in the case
of either clause (A) or (B), use its reasonable best efforts
to cause such amendment to be declared effective and such
Registration Statement and the related Prospectus to become usable
for their intended purpose(s) as soon as practicable
thereafter;
(ii) prepare and
file with the Commission such amendments and post-effective
amendments to the applicable Registration Statement as may be
necessary to keep the Registration Statement effective for the
applicable period set forth in Section 3 or 4
hereof, as applicable, or such shorter period as set forth in this
Agreement; cause the Prospectus to be supplemented by any required
Prospectus supplement, and as so supplemented to be filed pursuant
to Rule 424 under the Securities Act, and to comply fully with
the applicable provisions of Rules 424 and 430A under the
Securities Act in a timely manner; and comply with the provisions
of the Securities Act with respect to the disposition of all
securities covered by such Registration Statement during the
applicable period in accordance with the intended method or methods
of distribution by the sellers thereof set forth in such
Registration Statement or supplement to the Prospectus;
(iii) advise the
underwriter(s), if any, and selling Holders promptly and, if
requested by such Persons, to confirm such advice in writing,
(A) when the Prospectus or any Prospectus supplement or
post-effective amendment has been filed, and, with respect to any
Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto,
when the same has become effective, (B) of any request by the
Commission for amendments to the Registration S
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