Exhibit 4.6
EXECUTION
VERSION
AAR CORP.
2.25 % Convertible Senior Notes due 20
16
Registration Rights
Agreement
February 11 , 2008
MERRILL
LYNCH & CO.
Merrill Lynch, Pierce,
Fenner & Smith
Incorporated
as Representative of
the several Purchasers
4 World Financial
Center
New York, New
York 10080
Ladies and
Gentlemen:
AAR CORP., a Delaware
corporation (the “Company”), proposes to issue and sell
to the Purchasers (as defined herein) upon the terms set forth in
the Purchase Agreement (as defined herein) its 2.25 % Convertible Senior Notes due 20
16 (the “Securities”). As
an inducement to the Purchasers to enter into the Purchase
Agreement and in satisfaction of a condition to the obligations of
the Purchasers thereunder, the Company agrees with the Purchasers
for the benefit of Holders (as defined herein) from time to time of
the Registrable Securities (as defined herein) as
follows:
1.
Definitions.
(a)
Capitalized terms used
herein without definition shall have the meanings ascribed to them
in the Purchase Agreement. As used in this Agreement, the
following defined terms shall have the following
meanings:
“Affiliate” of any specified person
means any other person which, directly or indirectly, is in control
of, is controlled by, or is under common control with such
specified person. For purposes of this definition, control of
a person means the power, direct or indirect, to direct or cause
the direction of the management and policies of such person whether
by contract or otherwise; and the terms “controlling”
and “controlled” have meanings correlative to the
foregoing.
“Closing
Date” means the Initial Closing Time as defined in the
Purchase Agreement.
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“Commission” means the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission, or any other federal
agency at the time administering the Exchange Act or the Securities
Act, whichever is the relevant statute for the particular
purpose.
“Common
Stock” means the Company’s common stock, par value
$1.00 per share, together with any associated share purchase
rights.
“DTC”
means The Depository Trust Company.
“Effectiveness Period” has the
meaning assigned thereto in
Section 2(b)(i) hereof.
“Effective
Time” means the time at which the Commission declares the
Shelf Registration Statement effective or at which the Shelf
Registration Statement otherwise becomes effective.
“Electing
Holder” has the meaning assigned thereto in
Section 3(a)(iii) hereof.
“Exchange
Act” means the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
as amended.
“FINRA
Rules” means the Rules of the Financial Industry
Regulatory Authority, as amended from time to time.
“Holder” means any person that is
the record owner of Registrable Securities (and includes any person
that has a beneficial interest in any Registrable Security in
book-entry form).
“Indenture” means the Indenture,
dated as of February 11 , 2008, between the Company and U.S. Bank
National Association, as trustee, as amended and supplemented from
time to time in accordance with its terms.
“Issuer Free
Writing Prospectus” has the meaning assigned thereto in
Section 2(d) hereof.
“Liquidated
Damages” has the meaning assigned thereto in
Section 7(a) hereof.
“Managing
Underwriters” means the investment banker or investment
bankers and manager or managers that shall administer an
underwritten offering, if any, conducted pursuant to Section 6
hereof.
“Notice and
Questionnaire” means a Notice of Registration Statement and
Selling Securityholder Questionnaire substantially in the form of
Appendix A hereto.
The term
“person” means an individual, partnership, corporation,
limited liability company, trust or unincorporated organization, or
a government or agency or political subdivision thereof.
“Prospectus” means the prospectus
(including, without limitation, any preliminary prospectus, any
final prospectus and any prospectus that discloses information
previously omitted from a prospectus filed as part of an effective
registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430B under the
Securities Act) included in the Shelf Registration Statement, as
amended or
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supplemented by
any prospectus supplement with respect to the terms of the offering
of any portion of the Registrable Securities covered by the Shelf
Registration Statement and by all other amendments and supplements
to such prospectus, including all material incorporated by
reference in such prospectus and all documents filed after the date
of such prospectus by the Company under the Exchange Act and
incorporated by reference therein. Any information included
in the Prospectus that was omitted from the Shelf Registration
Statement at the time it became effective but that is deemed to be
part of and included in the Shelf Registration Statement pursuant
to Rule 430B(f) is referred to as the
“Rule 430B Information.”
“Purchase
Agreement” means the purchase agreement, dated as of
February 5 , 2008, between the Purchasers and the Company
relating to the Securities.
“Purchasers” means the Purchasers
named in Schedule A to the Purchase Agreement.
“Registrable
Securities” means all or any portion of the Securities issued
from time to time under the Indenture in registered form and the
shares of Common Stock issuable upon conversion of such Securities;
provided, however, that a Security or a share of Common Stock
ceases to be a Registrable Security when it is no longer a
Restricted Security.
“Registration Default” has the
meaning assigned thereto in
Section 7(a) hereof.
“Restricted
Securities” means any Securities or shares of Common Stock
issuable upon conversion thereof except any such Securities or
shares of Common Stock where (i) a Shelf Registration
Statement with respect to such Securities or shares of Common Stock
shall have become effective under the Securities Act and such
Securities or shares of Common Stock shall have been disposed of
pursuant to such Shelf Registration Statement, (ii) such
Securities or shares of Common Stock shall have been sold to the
public pursuant to Rule l44 (or any similar provision then in
force, but not Rule 144A) under the Securities Act
, (iii) one year has
passed since the issue date of the Securities or (iv) such
Securities or shares of Common Stock shall have ceased to be
outstanding.
“Rules and Regulations” means
the published rules and regulations of the Commission
promulgated under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, as in
effect at any relevant time.
“Securities
Act” means the United States Securities Act of 1933, as
amended.
“Shelf
Registration” means a registration effected pursuant to
Section 2 hereof.
“Shelf
Registration Statement” means a “shelf”
registration statement filed under the Securities Act providing for
the registration of, and the sale on a continuous or delayed basis
by the Holders of, all of the Registrable Securities pursuant to
Rule 415 under the Securities Act and/or any similar
rule that may be adopted by the Commission, filed by the
Company pursuant to the provisions of Section 2 of this
Agreement, including the Prospectus contained therein, any
amendments and supplements to such registration statement,
including post-effective amendments, and all exhibits and all
material incorporated by reference in such registration
statement.
“Suspension
Period” has the meaning assigned thereto in
Section 2(c) hereof.
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“Trust
Indenture Act” means the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, or any
successor thereto, and the rules, regulations and forms promulgated
thereunder, as the same shall be amended from time to
time.
“Underwritten Offering” means a
registration in which Registrable Securities are sold to one or
more underwriters for reoffering to the public.
The term
“underwriter” means any underwriter of Registrable
Securities in connection with an offering thereof under a Shelf
Registration Statement.
(b)
Wherever there is a reference in this Agreement to a percentage of
the “principal amount” of Registrable Securities or to
a percentage of Registrable Securities, shares of Common Stock
shall be treated as representing the principal amount of Securities
that was surrendered for conversion or exchange in order to receive
such number of shares of Common Stock.
2.
Shelf
Registration.
(a)
Subject to
Section 2(e) of this Agreement, the Company shall, no
later than six months of the Closing Date, file with the Commission
a Shelf Registration Statement or designate an existing Shelf
Registration Statement filed with the Commission relating to the
offer and sale of the Registrable Securities by the Holders from
time to time in accordance with the methods of distribution elected
by such Holders and set forth in such Shelf Registration Statement
and, thereafter, shall use its reasonable best efforts to cause
such Shelf Registration Statement to be declared or otherwise
become effective under the Securities Act no later than six months
of the Closing Date; provided, however, that the Company may, upon
written notice to all Holders, postpone having the Shelf
Registration Statement become effective for a reasonable period not
to exceed 90 days if the Company possesses material non-public
information, the disclosure of which would have a material adverse
effect on the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole, if a
pending transaction that would be material to the Company and its
subsidiaries, taken as a whole, could be materially adversely
affected as a result, or if the Company is unable to file financial
statements required to be included in a shelf registration
statement as a result of a pending litigation; provided, further,
however, that no Holder shall be entitled to be named as a selling
securityholder in the Shelf Registration Statement or to use the
Prospectus forming a part thereof for resales of Registrable
Securities unless such Holder is an Electing Holder.
(b)
Subject to
Section 2(e) of this Agreement, the Company shall use its
reasonable best efforts:
(i)
to keep the Shelf
Registration Statement continuously effective under the Securities
Act in order to permit the Prospectus forming a part thereof to be
usable by Holders until the earlier of (1) the date on which
all of the Securities and the shares of Common Stock issued and
issuable upon conversion thereof have been sold pursuant to the
Shelf Registration Statement, (2) the date on which all of the
outstanding Securities and shares of Common Stock issued and
issuable upon conversion thereof and held by Holders who are not
Affiliates of the Company may be freely transferred
immediately
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pursuant to the second sentence of
Rule 144(b)(1)(i) (as such rule shall become
effective on February 15, 2008) or any successor
rule thereto ,
(3) one year after the issue date of the Securities and
(4) the date on which there are no outstanding Registrable
Securities (such period being referred to herein as the
“Effectiveness Period”) .
(ii)
after the Effective Time
of the Shelf Registration Statement, promptly upon the request of
any Holder of Registrable Securities that is not then an Electing
Holder, to take any action reasonably necessary to enable such
Holder to use the Prospectus forming a part thereof for resales of
Registrable Securities, including, without limitation, any action
necessary to identify such Holder as a selling securityholder in
the Shelf Registration Statement; provided, however, that nothing
in this subparagraph shall relieve such Holder of the obligation to
return a completed and signed Notice and Questionnaire to the
Company in accordance with Section 3(a)(ii) hereof;
and
(iii)
if at any time the
Securities, pursuant to Article 4.2 of the Indenture, are
convertible into securities other than Common Stock, to cause, or
to cause any successor under the Indenture to cause, such
securities to be included in the Shelf Registration Statement no
later than the date on which the Securities may then be convertible
into such securities.
The Company shall
be deemed not to have used its reasonable best efforts to keep the
Shelf Registration Statement effective during the requisite period
if the Company voluntarily takes any action that would result in
Holders of Registrable Securities covered thereby not being able to
offer and sell any of such Registrable Securities during that
period, unless such action is (A) required by applicable law
and the Company thereafter promptly complies with the requirements
of paragraph 3(j) below or (B) permitted pursuant to
Section 2(c) below.
(c)
The Company may suspend
the use of the Prospectus for a period not to exceed 30 days in any
90-day period or an aggregate of 90 days in any 12-month period
(each, a “Suspension Period”) if the Board of Directors
of the Company shall have determined in good faith that because of
valid business reasons (not including avoidance of the
Company’s obligations hereunder), including the acquisition
or divestiture of assets, pending corporate developments, public
filings with the Commission and similar events, it is in the best
interests of the Company to suspend such use, and prior to
suspending such use the Company provides the Holders with written
notice of such suspension, which notice need not specify the nature
of the event giving rise to such suspension.
(d)
The Company represents and
agrees that, unless it obtains the prior consent of the Holders of
a majority of the Registrable Securities that are registered under
the Shelf Registration Statement at such time or the consent of the
Managing Underwriter in connection with any underwritten offering
of Registrable Securities, it will not make any offer relating to
the Securities that would constitute an “issuer free writing
prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433 (an “Issuer
Free Writing Prospectus”), or that would otherwise constitute
a “free writing prospectus,” as defined in
Rule 405, required to be filed with the Commission. Each
Holder represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior
consent of the Company and any such Managing Underwriter, it will
not make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute
a “free writing prospectus,” as defined in
Rule 405, required to be filed with the
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Commission. The Company represents that
any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or a “free writing
prospectus”will not include any information that conflicts
with the information contained in the Shelf Registration Statement
or the Prospectus and, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or a
“free writing prospectus”, when taken together with the
information in the Shelf Registration Statement and the Prospectus,
will not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to
state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements
therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made,
not misleading.
(e)
The Company’s
obligations pursuant to Sections 2 and 3 of this Agreement shall be
suspended during any period in which Holders that are not
Affiliates of the Company (and have not been Affiliates of the
Company during the preceding three months) (i) do not hold any
Registrable Securities or (ii) may freely transfer their
Registrable Securities immediately pursuant to Rule 144 (or
any similar provision then in force) under the Securities Act,
including Rule 144(b)(1)(i) (as such rule shall
become effective on February 15, 2008).
3.
Registration Procedures . In connection with the Shelf
Registration Statement, the following provisions shall apply
subject to Section 2(e) of this Agreement:
(a)
Not less than 30 calendar
days prior to the Effective Time of the Shelf Registration
Statement, the Company shall mail the Notice and Questionnaire to
the Holders of Registrable Securities. No Holder shall be
entitled to be named as a selling securityholder in the Shelf
Registration Statement as of the Effective Time, and no Holder
shall be entitled to use the Prospectus forming a part thereof for
resales of Registrable Securities until such Holder has returned a
completed and signed Notice and Questionnaire to the Company;
provided, however, to be included in the Registration Statement as
of the Effective Time, Holders of Registrable Securities shall have
at least 28 calendar days from the date on which the Notice and
Questionnaire is first mailed to such Holders to return a completed
and signed Notice and Questionnaire to the Company.
(i)
After the Effective Time
of the Shelf Registration Statement, the Company shall, upon the
request of any Holder of Registrable Securities that is not then an
Electing Holder, promptly send a Notice and Questionnaire to such
Holder. From and after the Effective Time of the Shelf
Registration Statement, the Company shall (A) use reasonable
best efforts, within 15 Business Days after receipt, to prepare and
file with the Commission (x) any Exchange Act report,
(y) a supplement to the Prospectus or, if required by
applicable law, a post-effective amendment to the Shelf
Registration Statement and (z) any other document required by
applicable law, so that the Holder delivering such Notice and
Questionnaire is named as a selling securityholder in the Shelf
Registration Statement and is permitted to deliver the Prospectus
to purchasers of such Holder’s Registrable Securities in
accordance with applicable law, and (B) if the Company shall
file a post-effective amendment to the Shelf Registration
Statement, use its reasonable best efforts to cause such
post-effective amendment to become effective under the Securities
Act as promptly as is practicable; provided, however, that if a
Notice and Questionnaire is delivered to the Company during a
Suspension Period, the Company shall not be obligated to take the
actions set forth in this clause (ii) until the termination of
such Suspension Period; provided further, the Company shall not be
obligated to file more than one post-effective amendment in any
90-day period. Notwithstanding the
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foregoing, if the Registrable Securities are
converted as provided under the Indenture, the Company shall use
its reasonable best efforts to file the Exchange Act filing,
prospectus supplement, post-effective amendment or other document
within 10 Business Days of the end of the Conversion Reference
Period, as defined in the Indenture; provided, however, that the
Company shall not be obligated to take the actions set forth in
this sentence during a Suspension Period.
(ii)
The term “Electing
Holder” shall mean any Holder of Registrable Securities that
has returned a completed and signed Notice and Questionnaire to the
Company in accordance with Section 3(a)(i) or
3(a)(ii) hereof.
(b)
The Company shall furnish
to each Electing Holder, prior to the Effective Time, a copy of the
Shelf Registration Statement initially filed with the Commission,
and shall furnish to such Holders, prior to the filing thereof with
the Commission, copies of each amendment thereto and each amendment
or supplement, if any, to the Prospectus included therein, and
shall use its reasonable best efforts to reflect in each such
document, at the Effective Time or when so filed with the
Commission, as the case may be, such comments as such Holders and
their respective counsel reasonably may propose.
(c)
The Company shall promptly
take such action as may be necessary so that (i) each of the
Shelf Registration Statement and any amendment thereto and the
Prospectus forming a part thereof and any amendment or supplement
thereto (and each report or other document incorporated therein by
reference in each case) complies in all material respects with the
Securities Act and the Exchange Act and the respective
rules and regulations thereunder, (ii) each of the Shelf
Registration Statement and any amendment thereto does not, when it
becomes effective, including any Rule 430B Information,
contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a
material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make
the statements therein not misleading and (iii) each of the
Prospectus forming a part of the Shelf Registration Statement, and
any amendment or supplement to such Prospectus, does not at any
time during the Effectiveness Period include an untrue statement of
a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order
to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances
under which they were made, not misleading.
(d)
The Company shall promptly
advise each Electing Holder, and shall confirm such advice in
writing if so requested by any such Electing Holder:
(i)
when a Shelf Registration
Statement and any amendment thereto has been filed with the
Commission and when a Shelf Registration Statement or any
post-effective amendment thereto has become effective, in each case
making a public announcement thereof by release made to Reuters
Economic Services and Bloomberg Business News;
(ii)
of any request by the
Commission for amendments or supplements to the Shelf Registration
Statement or the Prospectus included therein or for additional
information;
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(iii)
of the issuance by the
Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the
Shelf Registration Statement or the initiation of any proceedings
for such purpose;
(iv)
of the receipt by the
Company of any notification with respect to the suspension of the
qualification of the securities included in the Shelf Registration
Statement for sale in any jurisdiction or the initiation of any
proceeding for such purpose; and
(v)
of the occurrence of any
event or the existence of any state of facts that requires the
making of any changes in the Shelf Registration Statement or the
Prospectus included therein so that, as of such date, such Shelf
Registration Statement and Prospectus do not contain an untrue
statement of a material fact and do not omit to state a material
fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the
statements therein (in the case of the Prospectus, in light of the
circumstances under which they were made) not misleading (which
advice shall be accompanied by an instruction to such Holders to
suspend the use of the Prospectus until the requisite changes have
been made).
(e)
The Company shall use its
reasonable best efforts to prevent the issuance, and if issued to
obtain the withdrawal at the earliest possible time, of any order
suspending the effectiveness of the Shelf Registration
Statement.
(f)
The Company shall furnish
to each Electing Holder, without charge, at least one copy of the
Shelf Registration Statement and all post-effective amendments
thereto, including financial statements and schedules, and, if such
Electing Holder so requests in writing, all reports, other
documents and exhibits that are filed with or incorporated by
reference in the Shelf Registration Statement.
(g)
The Company shall, during
the Effectiveness Period, deliver to each Electing Holder, without
charge, as many copies of the Prospectus (including each
preliminary prospectus) included in the Shelf Registration
Statement and any amendment or supplement thereto as such Electing
Holder may reasonably request; and the Company consents (except
during a Suspension Period or during the continuance of any event
or the existence of any state of facts described in
Section 3(d)(v) above) to the use of the Prospectus and
any amendment or supplement thereto by each of the Electing Holders
in connection with the offering and sale of the Registrable
Securities covered by the Prospectus and any amendment or
supplement thereto during the Effectiveness Period.
(h)
Prior to any offering of
Registrable Securities pursuant to the Shelf Registration
Statement, the Company shall (i) register or qualify or
cooperate with the Electing Holders and their respective counsel in
connection with the registration or qualification of such
Registrable Securities for offer and sale under the securities or
“blue sky” laws of such jurisdictions within the United
States as any Electing Holder may reasonably request,
(ii) keep such registrations or qualifications in effect and
comply with such laws so as to permit the continuance of offers and
sales in such jurisdictions for so long as may be necessary to
enable any Electing Holder or underwriter, if any, to complete its
distribution of Registrable Securities pursuant to the Shelf
Registration Statement, and (iii) take any and all other
actions necessary or
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advisable to
enable the disposition in such jurisdictions of such Registrable
Securities; provided, however, that in no event shall the Company
be obligated to (A) qualify as a foreign corporation or as a
dealer in securities in any jurisdiction where it would not
otherwise be required to so qualify but for this
Section 3(h) or (B) file any general consent to
service of process in any jurisdiction where it is not as of the
date hereof so subject.
(i)
Unless any Registrable
Securities shall be in book-entry only form, the Company shall
cooperate with the Electing Holders to facilitate the timely
preparation and delivery of certificates representing Registrable
Securities to be sold pursuant to the Shelf Registration Statement,
which certificates, if so required by any securities exchange upon
which any Registrable Securities are listed, shall be penned,
lithographed or engraved, or produced by any combination of such
methods, on steel engraved borders, and which certificates shall be
free of any restrictive legends and in such permitted denominations
and registered in such names as Electing Holders may request in
connection with the sale of Registrable Securities pursuant to the
Shelf Registration Statement.
(j)
Upon the occurrence of any
event or the existence of any state of facts contemplated by
paragraph 3(d)(v) above, the Company shall promptly prepare a
post-effective amendment to any Shelf Registration Statement or an
amendment or supplement to the related Prospectus or file any other
required document so that, as thereafter delivered to purchasers of
the Registrable Securities included therein, the Prospectus will
not include an 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. If the Company notifies the Electing Holders of
the occurrence of any event or the existence of any state of facts
contemplated by paragraph 3(d)(v) above, the Electing Holders
shall suspend the use of the Prospectus until the requisite changes
to the Prospectus have been made.
(k)
Not later than the
Effective Time of the Shelf Registration Statement, the Company
shall provide a CUSIP number for the Registrable Securities that
are debt securities.
(l)
The Company shall use its
reasonable best efforts to comply with all applicable
Rules and Regulations, and to make generally available to its
securityholders as soon as practicable, but in any event not later
than eighteen months after (i) the effective date (as defined
in Rule 158(c) under the Securities Act) of the Shelf
Registration Statement, (ii) the effective date of each
post-effective amendment to the Shelf Registration Statement, and
(iii) the date of each filing by the Company with the
Commission of an Annual Report on Form 10-K that is
incorporated by reference in the Shelf Registration Statement, an
earning statement of the Company and its subsidiaries complying
with Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and the
applicable Rules and Regulations (including, at the option of
the Company, Rule 158).
(m)
Not later than the
Effective Time of the Shelf Registration Statement, the Company
shall cause the Indenture to be qualified under the Trust Indenture
Act; in connection with such qualification, the Company shall
cooperate with the Trustee under the Indenture and the Holders (as
defined in the Indenture) to effect such changes to the Indenture
as may be required for such Indenture to be so qualified in
accordance with the terms of the Trust Indenture Act; and the
Company shall execute, and shall use all reasonable efforts to
cause the Trustee to execute, all documents that may be required to
effect such changes and all other forms and
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documents
required to be filed with the Commission to enable such Indenture
to be so qualified in a timely manner. In the event that any
such amendment or modification referred to in this
Section 3(m) involves the appointment of a new trustee
under the Indenture, the Company shall appoint a new trustee
thereunder pursuant to the applicable provisions of the
Indenture.
(n)
In the event of an
underwritten offering conducted pursuant to Section 6 hereof,
the Company shall, if requested, promptly include or incorporate in
a prospectus supplement or post-effective amendment to the Shelf
Registration Statement such information as the Managing
Underwriters reasonably agree should be included therein and to
which the Company does not reasonably object and shall make all
required filings of such prospectus supplement or post-effective
amendment as soon as practicable after it is notified of the
matters to be included or incorporated in such prospectus
supplement or post-effective amendment.
(o)
The Company shall enter
into such customary agreements (including an underwriting agreement
in customary form in the event of an underwritten offering
conducted pursuant to Section 6 hereof) and take all other
appropriate action in order to expedite and facilitate the
registration and disposition of the Registrable Securities, and in
connection therewith, if an underwriting agreement is entered into,
cause the same to contain indemnification provisions and procedures
substantially identical to those set forth in Section 5 hereof
with respect to all parties to be indemnified pursuant to
Section 5 hereof.
(p)
The Company
shall:
(i)
(A) make reasonably
available for inspection by the Electing Holders, any underwriter
participating in any disposition pursuant to the Shelf Registration
Statement, and any attorney, accountant or other agent retained by
such Electing Holders or any such underwriter all relevant
financial and other records, pertinent corporate documents and
properties of the Company and its subsidiaries, and (B) cause
the Company’s officers, directors and employees to supply all
information reasonably requested by such Electing Holders or any
such underwriter, attorney, accountant or agent in connection with
the Shelf Registration Statement, in each case, as is customary for
similar due diligence examinations; provided, however, that all
records, information and documents that are designated in writing
by the Company, in good faith, as confidential shall be kept
confidential by such Electing Holders and any such underwriter,
attorney, accountant or agent, unless such disclosure is made in
connection with a court proceeding or required by law, or such
records, information or documents become available to the public
generally
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