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AMENDED AND RESTATED TENGELMANN STOCKHOLDER AGREEMENT

Shareholder Agreement

AMENDED AND RESTATED TENGELMANN STOCKHOLDER AGREEMENT | Document Parties: GREAT ATLANTIC & PACIFIC TEA CO INC | Banc of America Securities LLC | Emil Capital Partners, LLC You are currently viewing:
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GREAT ATLANTIC & PACIFIC TEA CO INC | Banc of America Securities LLC | Emil Capital Partners, LLC

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Title: AMENDED AND RESTATED TENGELMANN STOCKHOLDER AGREEMENT
Governing Law: New York     Date: 8/5/2009
Industry: Retail (Grocery)     Law Firm: Cahill Gordon;McGuireWoods;Cravath Swaine;Akin Gump     Sector: Services

AMENDED AND RESTATED TENGELMANN STOCKHOLDER AGREEMENT, Parties: great atlantic & pacific tea co inc , banc of america securities llc , emil capital partners  llc
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EXHIBIT 10.1

EXECUTION COPY

 

AMENDED AND RESTATED TENGELMANN STOCKHOLDER AGREEMENT

by and among

THE GREAT ATLANTIC & PACIFIC TEA COMPANY, INC.

and

TENGELMANN WARENHANDELSGESELLSCHAFT KG

Dated as of August 4, 2009

 


 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Page

 

ARTICLE I

 

 

 

 

 

Definitions

 

 

 

 

 

SECTION 1.01. Definitions

 

 

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE II

 

 

 

 

 

Corporate Governance

 

 

 

 

 

SECTION 2.01. Composition of the Board of Directors

 

 

11

 

SECTION 2.02. Committees

 

 

16

 

SECTION 2.03. Solicitation of Shares

 

 

16

 

SECTION 2.04. Approval Required for Certain Actions

 

 

16

 

SECTION 2.05. Charter and By-Laws

 

 

20

 

SECTION 2.06. Change in Law

 

 

20

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE III

 

 

 

 

 

Registration Rights

 

 

 

 

 

SECTION 3.01. Registration

 

 

21

 

SECTION 3.02. Piggyback Registration

 

 

23

 

SECTION 3.03. Reduction of Underwritten Offering

 

 

24

 

SECTION 3.04. Registration Procedures

 

 

25

 

SECTION 3.05. Conditions to Offerings

 

 

29

 

SECTION 3.06. Blackout Period

 

 

29

 

SECTION 3.07. Registration Expenses

 

 

30

 

SECTION 3.08. Indemnification; Contribution

 

 

31

 

SECTION 3.09. Lockup

 

 

34

 

SECTION 3.10. Termination of Registration Rights

 

 

34

 

SECTION 3.11. Specific Performance

 

 

34

 

SECTION 3.12. Other Registration Rights

 

 

34

 

SECTION 3.13. Rule 144

 

 

35

 

SECTION 3.14. Transfer of Registration Rights

 

 

35

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE IV

 

 

 

 

 

Preemptive Rights

 

 

 

 

 

SECTION 4.01. Rights To Purchase New Equity Securities

 

 

35

 

  i


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Page

 

ARTICLE V

 

 

 

 

 

Put Right

 

 

 

 

 

SECTION 5.01. Put Right

 

 

37

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE VI

 

 

 

 

 

Covenants

 

 

 

 

 

SECTION 6.01. Stockholder Approvals

 

 

38

 

SECTION 6.02. Voting Agreement

 

 

39

 

SECTION 6.03. Petition for Bankruptcy

 

 

40

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE VII

 

 

 

 

 

Right of First Offer

 

 

 

 

 

SECTION 7.01. First Offer Exercise Rights

 

 

40

 

SECTION 7.02. Convertible Note Purchase

 

 

41

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE VIII

 

 

 

 

 

Miscellaneous

 

 

 

 

 

SECTION 8.01. Corporate Opportunities

 

 

42

 

SECTION 8.02. Adjustments

 

 

44

 

SECTION 8.03. Changes in Tengelmann Percentage Interest Attributable to Issuances of the Company’s Equity Securities

 

 

44

 

SECTION 8.04. Notices

 

 

45

 

SECTION 8.05. Reasonable Efforts; Further Actions

 

 

46

 

SECTION 8.06. Consents

 

 

46

 

SECTION 8.07. Fees and Expenses

 

 

46

 

SECTION 8.08. Access to Information; Financial Statements

 

 

47

 

SECTION 8.09. Amendments; Waivers

 

 

47

 

SECTION 8.10. Interpretation

 

 

48

 

SECTION 8.11. Severability

 

 

48

 

SECTION 8.12. Counterparts

 

 

48

 

SECTION 8.13. Entire Agreement; No Third-Party Beneficiaries

 

 

48

 

SECTION 8.14. Governing Law

 

 

49

 

SECTION 8.15. Assignment

 

 

49

 

SECTION 8.16. Enforcement

 

 

49

 

SECTION 8.17. Automatic Termination

 

 

50

 

SECTION 8.18. Confidentiality

 

 

50

 

SECTION 8.19. No Liability of Partners

 

 

51

 

ii


 

 

     AMENDED AND RESTATED TENGELMANN STOCKHOLDER AGREEMENT dated as of August 4, 2009 (this “ Agreement ”), among THE GREAT ATLANTIC & PACIFIC TEA COMPANY, INC., a Maryland corporation (the “ Company ”) and TENGELMANN WARENHANDELSGESELLSCHAFT KG, a limited partnership organized under the laws of Germany (“ Tengelmann ”).

          WHEREAS, the Company, Sand Merger Corp., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned Subsidiary of the Company, and Pathmark Stores, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“ Pathmark ”), entered into a Merger Agreement, dated as of March 4, 2007, pursuant to which the Company acquired Pathmark (the “ Merger ”);

          WHEREAS, in connection with the Merger, the parties hereto entered into that certain Stockholder Agreement dated as of March 4, 2007 (the “ Existing Agreement ”), to establish certain terms and conditions concerning the corporate governance of the Company and certain other matters;

          WHEREAS, the Company and Erivan Karl Haub, Christian Wilhelm Erich Haub, Karl-Erivan Warder Haub and Georg Rudolf Otto Haub (collectively, the “ Tengelmann Partners ”) have entered into an investment agreement dated as of July 23, 2009 (the “ Investment Agreement ”), pursuant to which the Tengelmann Partners are purchasing from the Company, and the Company is issuing and selling to the Tengelmann Partners (the “ Transaction ”), subject to the terms and conditions set forth therein, an aggregate of 60,000 shares of Convertible Preferred Stock (capitalized terms used in this Agreement shall have the meanings given to such terms in Article I) (the “ Initial Shares ”, together with any shares of Convertible Preferred Stock issued to Tengelmann pursuant to the Convertible Preferred Stock PIK Dividend Provision, the “ Tengelmann Shares ”), and immediately following such purchase, the Tengelmann Partners shall contribute the Initial Shares to Tengelmann;

          WHEREAS, the Company and Yucaipa have entered into an investment agreement dated as of July 23, 2009, pursuant to which Yucaipa American Alliance Fund II, LP and Yucaipa American Alliance (Parallel) Fund II, LP (the “ New Investors ”) are purchasing from the Company, and the Company is issuing and selling to the New Investors, subject to the terms and conditions set forth therein, an aggregate of 115,000 shares of Convertible Preferred Stock; and

          WHEREAS, it is a condition to the closing under the Investment Agreement that the parties hereto amend and restate in its entirety the Existing Agreement as provided herein.

          NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants and agreements set forth herein and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties agree as follows:


 

  2

ARTICLE I

Definitions

          SECTION 1.01. Definitions . (a) As used in this Agreement, the following terms will have the following meanings:

          “ 13D Group ” means any group of Persons formed for the purpose of acquiring, holding, voting or disposing of Voting Stock of the Company that would be required under Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act (as in effect on, and based on legal interpretations thereof existing on, the date hereof) to file a statement on Schedule 13D with the SEC as a “person” within the meaning of Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act if such group beneficially owned Voting Stock of the Company representing more than 5% of any class of Voting Stock of the Company (whether or not registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act) then outstanding.

          “ 2000 Warrants ” means the warrants issued by Pathmark pursuant to the Warrant Agreement dated as of September 19, 2000, between Pathmark and ChaseMellon Shareholder Services, LLC.

          “ 2011 Convertible Notes ” means the Company’s 5.125% Convertible Senior Notes due June 15, 2011.

          “ 2012 Convertible Notes ” means the Company’s 6.75% Convertible Senior Notes due December 15, 2012.

          “ ABL Credit Agreement ” means the Company’s five-year amended and restated asset-based senior secured revolving credit agreement, dated as of December 27, 2007, among the Company, the other borrowers party thereto and the lenders party thereto, Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent and collateral agent, and Banc of America Securities LLC, as lead arranger (as amended thereafter in accordance with the terms hereof, if applicable).

          An “ Affiliate ” of any Person means another Person that directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, such first Person. The Company and its Subsidiaries shall not be deemed Affiliates of Tengelmann for any reason under this Agreement.

          “ Amended and Restated Yucaipa Stockholder Agreement ” means the Amended and Restated Yucaipa Stockholder Agreement, dated as of the date hereof, between the Company and Yucaipa.

          “ Authorized Capital Stock Charter Amendment ” means an amendment to the Charter increasing the number of authorized shares of Company Common Stock by up to 100,000,000 shares.

          “ Automatic Shelf Registration Statement ” means an “automatic shelf registration statement” as defined in Rule 405 promulgated under the Securities Act.


 

3

          “ beneficial owner ” and words of similar import have the meaning assigned to such terms in Rule 13d-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act as in effect on the date of this Agreement, but without reference to whether or not an Equity Security is exercisable or convertible for Voting Stock in less than 60 days. The term “beneficially own” has a meaning correlative to the foregoing.

          “ Board ” or “ Board of Directors ” means the board of directors of the Company.

          “ Business Combination ” with respect to any Person means any of the following: (i) the sale, lease, transfer, conveyance or other disposition (other than by way of merger or consolidation) of all or substantially all of the assets of such Person and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, to any other Person or (ii) any transaction (including any merger or consolidation) the consummation of which would result in any other Person (or, in the case of a merger or consolidation, the shareholders of such other Person) becoming, directly or indirectly, the beneficial owner of more than 50% of the Voting Stock or Equity Securities (other than debt securities) of such Person (measured in the case of Voting Stock by Voting Power rather than number of shares).

          “ Business Day ” means any day on which banks are not required or authorized by law to close in New York, New York.

          “ By-Laws ” means the By-Laws of the Company, as in effect from time to time.

          “ Charter ” means the Articles of Amendment and Restatement of the Articles of Incorporation of the Company, as in effect from time to time.

          “ Charter Amendment Stockholder Approval ” means the approval of the Authorized Capital Stock Charter Amendment by the affirmative vote of holders entitled to cast two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter.

          “ Closing ” means the closing of the Transaction.

          “ Closing Date ” means the date of the Closing.

          “ Company Common Stock ” means the common stock of the Company, par value $1.00 per share, and any other common stock of the Company that may be issued from time to time.

          “ Conversion Date ” means any date on which shares of Convertible Preferred Stock are converted into shares of Company Common Stock subject to the terms and conditions of the Convertible Preferred Articles Supplementary.

          “ Conversion Stockholder Approval ” means the approval, as required pursuant to NYSE Rule 312, of (x) the shares of Convertible Preferred Stock when voting together with the Common Stock becoming entitled to cast the full number of votes on an as converted basis and (y) the issuance of the full amount of Company Common Stock


 

4

upon the exercise of conversion rights of the Convertible Preferred Stock, in each case, by the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the votes present and entitled to vote at the stockholders’ meeting duly called, noticed and convened for such purpose, at which the total votes cast represent over 50% in interest of all Voting Stock entitled to vote on such proposal.

          “ Convertible Notes ” means the 2011 Convertible Notes and the 2012 Convertible Notes.

          “ Convertible Preferred Articles Supplementary ” means the articles supplementary filed with the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation on August 3, 2009, which govern the designation, voting powers, preferences, conversions and other rights, qualifications, limitations as to dividends, terms and conditions of redemption and restrictions of the Convertible Preferred Stock.

          “ Convertible Preferred Stock ” means the shares of the Company’s 8.00% Convertible Preferred Stock redeemable August 1, 2016, designated in four separate series as “8% Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock, Series A-T”, “8% Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock, Series A-Y”, “8% Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock, Series B-T” and “8% Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock, Series B-Y”.

          “ Convertible Preferred Stock PIK Dividend Provision ” means the Company’s ability to issue Convertible Preferred Stock as dividends pursuant to the Convertible Preferred Articles Supplementary.

          “ Convertible Underlying Securities ” means the shares of Company Common Stock issuable upon the conversion of any Convertible Preferred Stock.

          “ Director ” means a member of the Board of Directors.

          “ Discriminatory Transaction ” means any corporate action (other than those taken pursuant to the express terms of this Agreement) that would (i) impose material limitations on the legal rights of Tengelmann as a holder of a class of Voting Stock of the Company (including any action that would impose material restrictions without lawful exemption on Tengelmann that are based upon the size of security holding, the business in which a security holder is engaged or other considerations applicable to Tengelmann and not to holders of the same class of Voting Stock of the Company generally, but excluding any such action which is expressly required by applicable Law without any provision to exclude Tengelmann), which limitations are disproportionately (i.e., other than in a proportionate manner consistent with Tengelmann’s pro rata ownership of such class of Voting Stock) borne by Tengelmann as opposed to other holders of such class of Voting Stock or (ii) deny any material benefit to Tengelmann proportionately as a holder of any class of Voting Stock of the Company that is made available to other holders of that same class of Voting Stock of the Company generally, but excluding any such action which is expressly required by applicable Law without any provision to exclude Tengelmann.


 

5

          “ Dissolution ” means with respect to any Person the dissolution of such Person, the adoption of a plan of liquidation of such Person or any action by such Person to commence any suit, case, proceeding or other action (i) under any existing or future Law of any jurisdiction relating to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or relief of debtors seeking to have an order for relief entered with respect to such Person, or seeking to adjudicate such Person bankrupt or insolvent, or seeking reorganization, arrangement, adjustment, winding up, liquidation, dissolution, composition or other relief with respect to such Person or (ii) seeking appointment of a receiver, trustee, custodian or other similar official for such Person, or making a general assignment for the benefit of the creditors of such Person. Any verb forms of this term have corresponding meanings.

          “ Encumbrance ” means any security interest, pledge, mortgage, lien, or other material encumbrance, except for any restrictions arising under any applicable securities Laws.

          “ Equity Security ” means (i) any common stock or other Voting Stock, (ii) any securities convertible into or exchangeable for common stock or other Voting Stock or (iii) any options, rights or warrants (or any similar securities) to acquire common stock or other Voting Stock.

          “ Exchange Act ” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

          “ Exempt Transfer ” has the meaning set forth in the Amended and Restated Yucaipa Stockholder Agreement.

          “ Existing Registrable Securities ” means all shares of Company Common Stock beneficially owned by Tengelmann immediately prior to the Closing.

          “ Fair Market Value ” means (i) with respect to cash or cash equivalents, the amount of such cash or cash equivalents, (ii) with respect to any security listed on a national securities exchange or otherwise traded on any national securities exchange or other trading system, the average of the closing prices of such security as reported on such exchange or trading system for each of the five Trading Days prior to the date of determination and (iii) with respect to property other than cash or securities of the type described in clauses (i) and (ii), the cash price at which a willing seller would sell and a willing buyer would buy such property in an arm’s-length negotiated transaction without time constraints as determined in good faith by the Board.

          “ GAAP ” means U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, as in effect at the time such term is relevant.

          “ Governance Committee ” means the Governance Committee of the Board of Directors or any successor committee thereto.

          “ Governmental Entity ” means any transnational, Federal, state, local or foreign government, or any court of competent jurisdiction, administrative agency or commission or other governmental authority or instrumentality, domestic or foreign, or


 

6

any national securities exchange or national quotation system on which securities issued by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries are listed or quoted.

          “ Indebtedness ” means, with respect to any Person, without duplication: (i) (A) indebtedness for borrowed money, (B) all obligations of such Person evidenced by bonds, debentures, notes or similar instruments, (C) all obligations of such Person under interest rate or currency hedging transactions (valued at the termination value thereof), (D) all letters of credit issued for the account of such Person and (E) obligations of such Person to pay rent or other amounts under any lease of real property or personal property, which obligations are required to be classified as capital leases in accordance with GAAP; (ii) indebtedness for borrowed money of any other Person guaranteed, directly or indirectly, in any manner by such Person; and (iii) indebtedness of the type described in clause (i) above secured by any Encumbrance upon property owned by such Person, even though such Person has not in any manner become liable for the payment of such indebtedness; provided , however , that Indebtedness shall not be deemed to include (i) any accounts payable or trade payables incurred in the ordinary course of business of such Person, or (ii) any intercompany indebtedness between any Person and any wholly owned Subsidiary of such Person or between any wholly owned Subsidiaries of such Person.

          “ Issuer FWP ” has the meaning assigned to “issuer free writing prospectus” in Rule 433 under the Securities Act.

          “ Law ” means any law, treaty, statute, ordinance, code, rule, regulation, judgment, decree, order, writ, award, injunction, authorization or determination enacted, entered, promulgated, enforced or issued by any Governmental Entity.

          “ Market Price ” for any security on each business day means: (A) if such security is listed or admitted to trading on any securities exchange, the closing price, regular way, on such day on the principal exchange on which such security is traded, or if no sale takes place on such day, the average of the closing bid and asked prices on such day; (B) if such security is not then listed or admitted to trading on any securities exchange, the last reported sale price on such day, or if there is no such last reported sale price on such day, the average of the closing bid and the asked prices on such day, as reported by a reputable quotation source designated by the Company; or (C) if neither clause (A) nor (B) is applicable, the average of the reported high bid and low asked prices on such day, as reported by a reputable quotation service, or a newspaper of general circulation in the Borough of Manhattan, City of New York, customarily published on each business day, designated by the Company. If there are no such prices on a business day, then the Market Price shall not be determinable on such business day.

          “ Maturity Date ” means August 1, 2016.

          “ MGCL ” means the Maryland General Corporation Law, codified in Md. Code Ann., Corps. & Ass’ns, Titles 1-3, as may be in effect from time to time.

          “ NYSE ” means the New York Stock Exchange.


 

7

          “ Original Yucaipa Stockholders ” means Yucaipa Corporate Initiative Fund I, LP, Yucaipa American Alliance Fund II, LP and Yucaipa American Alliance (Parallel) Fund II, LP.

          “ Other Directors ” means any Director who is not a Tengelmann Director.

          “ Other Investors ” means any holder of Convertible Preferred Stock with which the Company has or enters into a stockholder agreement (other than Tengelmann and its Affiliates).

          “ Partner ” means any partner of such Person.

          “ Permitted Transferee ” means, with respect to a specified Person, any controlled Affiliate of such Person or any Partner of such Person and with respect to Tengelmann, any controlled Affiliate of either Erivan Karl Haub, Christian Wilhelm Erich Haub, Karl-Erivan Warder Haub, Georg Rudolf Otto Haub or Tengelmann.

          “ Person ” means any individual, firm, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, company, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, association, Governmental Entity, unincorporated organization, syndicate or other entity, foreign or domestic.

          “ Piggyback Percentage ” of Tengelmann or Yucaipa, as applicable, means the result of dividing (i) the product of the number of shares requested to be registered by such Person (including, in the case of Yucaipa, shares issuable under the Series B Warrants) and the number of shares beneficially owned by such Person as of the date of any notice given pursuant to Section 3.02 or, if not practicably obtainable as of such date, as of the most recent date practicably obtainable (excluding, in the case of Yucaipa, shares issuable under the Series B Warrants to the extent not requested to be registered) (in the case of Tengelmann, the “ Tengelmann Amount ” and, in the case of Yucaipa, the “ Yucaipa Amount ”), by (ii) the sum of the Tengelmann Amount and the Yucaipa Amount.

          “ Public Director ” means a Director who is not a Tengelmann Director or a Yucaipa Director.

          “ Public Equity Holders ” means holders of Equity Securities of the Company, other than (i) Tengelmann and its Affiliates and any Person included in any 13D Group with Tengelmann or any of its Affiliates and (ii) Yucaipa and its Affiliates and any Person included in any 13D Group with Yucaipa or any of its Affiliates.

          “ Registrable Securities ” means (i) all shares of Company Common Stock beneficially owned by Tengelmann on the date hereof or purchased by Tengelmann and beneficially owned at any time by Tengelmann, (ii) any Convertible Underlying Securities beneficially owned by Tengelmann and (iii) any securities issued or issuable with respect to any such shares of Company Common Stock by way of a stock dividend or other similar distribution or stock split, or in connection with a combination of shares, recapitalization, merger, consolidation or other reorganization or otherwise; provided that


 

8

such securities shall cease to be Registrable Securities when (A) Tengelmann Transfers such securities to any Person other than an Affiliate of Tengelmann or a Registration Rights Transferee or (B) Tengelmann or Registration Rights Transferee, as applicable, has beneficial ownership of less than 1% of the outstanding Company Common Stock.

          “ Registration Statement ” means any registration statement of the Company that covers Registrable Securities pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement, including the prospectus, amendments and supplements to such registration statement, including pre- and post-effective amendments, and all exhibits and all material incorporated by reference in such registration statement.

          “ Rule 144 ” means Rule 144 promulgated under the Security Act or any similar rule or regulation hereafter adopted by the SEC as a replacement thereto having substantially the same effect as such Rule.

          “ SEC ” means the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

          “ Securities Act ” means the Securities Act of 1933, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

          “ Series B Warrants ” means the Series B warrants issued as part of the Merger by the Company to the Original Yucaipa Stockholders, which entitled the Original Yucaipa Stockholders to purchase 6,965,858 shares of common stock of the Company at an exercise price of $32.40 per share which will expire on June 9, 2015, as such share amount and exercise price may be adjusted from time to time in accordance with the terms of such warrants in effect on the date hereof.

          “ Stockholder Approvals ” means the Conversion Stockholder Approval and the Charter Amendment Stockholder Approval.

          “ Subsidiary ” of any Person means, on any date, any Person (i) the accounts of which would be consolidated with and into those of the applicable Person in such Person’s consolidated financial statements if such financial statements were prepared in accordance with GAAP or (ii) of which (a) securities or other ownership interests representing more than 50% of the equity or (b) more than 50% of the ordinary voting power or, in the case of a partnership, more than 50% of the general partnership interests, as of such date, are owned, controlled or held by the applicable Person or one or more Subsidiaries of such Person.

          “ Tengelmann Director ” means a Director either (i) elected by Tengelmann in accordance with Section 15(b) of the Convertible Preferred Articles Supplementary or (ii) designated for nomination by Tengelmann and actually elected or appointed pursuant to the provisions of Section 2.01.

          “ Tengelmann Percentage Interest ” means, as of any date of determination, the percentage of Voting Power in the Company (determined on the basis of the number of votes entitled to be cast by all outstanding shares of Voting Stock of the Company, as set forth in the most recent SEC filing of the Company prior to such date that contained


 

9

such information) that is beneficially owned by Tengelmann and its Affiliates as of such date (including any Equity Securities owned prior to the date of this Agreement); provided , however , that for purposes of this calculation (x) all determinations shall be made as if the Conversion Stockholder Approval has been obtained and (y) notwithstanding the definition of “beneficial ownership” or Voting Power, all determinations shall be made as if Tengelmann beneficially owns any and all Voting Stock or Equity Securities subject to any swap, hedge, forward contract, credit default swap or any other agreement that hedges the economic consequences of ownership of any Voting Stock or Equity Securities.

          “ Trading Day ” means (i) for so long as Company Common Stock is listed or admitted for trading on the NYSE or another national securities exchange, a day on which the NYSE or such other national securities exchange is open for business and trading in Company Common Stock is not suspended or restricted or (ii) if Company Common Stock ceases to be so listed, any day other than a Saturday or Sunday or a day on which banking institutions in the State of New York are authorized or obligated by Law or executive order to close.

          “ Transfer ” means, with respect to any security, any sale, assignment, transfer or distribution, whether voluntarily or by operation of Law, whether in a single transaction or a series of related transactions and whether to a single Person or a 13D Group. The terms “Transferred”, “Transferring”, “Transferor”, “Transferee” and “Transferable” have meanings correlative to the foregoing.

          “ Underwriter ” means, with respect to any Underwritten Offering, a securities dealer who purchases any Registrable Securities as a principal in connection with a distribution of such Registrable Securities and not as part of such dealer’s market-making activities.

          “ Underwritten Offering ” means a public offering of securities registered under the Securities Act in which an Underwriter, placement agent or other intermediary participates in the distribution of such securities.

          “ Voting Power ” means the ability to vote or to control, directly or indirectly, by proxy or otherwise, the vote of any Voting Stock at the time such determination is made; provided that a Person will not be deemed to have Voting Power as a result of an agreement, arrangement or understanding to vote such Voting Stock if such agreement, arrangement or understanding (i) arises solely from a revocable proxy or consent given in response to a public proxy or consent solicitation made pursuant to the applicable rules and regulations under the Exchange Act and (ii) is not also then reportable by such Person on Schedule 13D under the Exchange Act (or any comparable or successor report). For purposes of determining the percentage of Voting Power of any class or series (or classes or series) beneficially owned by Tengelmann, any Voting Stock not outstanding which is issuable pursuant to conversion, exchange or other rights, warrants, options or similar securities will not be deemed to be outstanding for the purpose of computing the Voting Power of any Person.


 

10

          “ Voting Stock ” of any Person means securities having the right to vote generally in any election of directors or comparable governing Persons of such Person.

          “ Yucaipa ” means Yucaipa Corporate Initiatives Fund I, LP, Yucaipa American Alliance Fund I, LP, Yucaipa American Alliance (Parallel) Fund I, LP, Yucaipa American Alliance Fund II, LP, and Yucaipa American Alliance (Parallel) Fund II, LP.

          “ Yucaipa Director ” means a Director either (i) elected by Tengelmann in accordance with Section 15(b) of the Convertible Preferred Articles Supplementary or (ii) designated for nomination by Yucaipa and actually elected or appointed pursuant to Section 2.01 of the Amended and Restated Yucaipa Stockholder Agreement.

          “ Yucaipa Representative ” means Yucaipa American Alliance Fund II, LLC.

          (b) As used in this Agreement, the terms set forth below will have the meanings assigned in the corresponding Section listed below:

 

 

 

Term

 

Section

Acceptance Date

 

7.01(b) 

Accepted Offered Stock

 

7.01(b) 

Agreement

 

Preamble

Company

 

Preamble

Deferral Period

 

3.06(a)

Demand Notice

 

3.01(c)

Demand Offering

 

3.01(c)

EDGAR

 

3.04(a)(i)

effective date

 

3.04(a)(xii)

Election Notice

 

7.01(d)

Effectiveness Date

 

3.01(a)

Effectiveness Period

 

3.01(a)

Existing Agreement

 

Recitals

First Offer Acceptance

 

7.01(b)

Filing Date

 

3.01(a)

First Offer Exercise Notice

 

7.01(a)

First Offer Transferor

 

7.01(a)

fraudulent misrepresentation

 

3.08(e)

IDEA

 

3.04(a)(i)

indemnified party

 

3.08(c)

Indemnified Persons

 

3.08(a)

indemnifying party

 

3.08(c)

Initial Shares

 

Recitals

Inspectors

 

3.04(a)(viii)

Investment Agreement

 

Recitals

Liquidated Damages

 

3.01(b)

Liquidity Impairment

 

5.01(f)


 

11

 

 

 

Term

 

Section

Lock-up

 

3.09

Merger

 

Recitals

New Equity Securities

 

4.01(a)

New Investors

 

Recitals

Notice of Issuance

 

4.01(b)

Offer Price

 

7.01(a)

Offered Stock

 

7.01(a)

Pathmark

 

Recitals

Piggyback Registration

 

3.02

Proposed Stock Settlement Amount

 

5.01(b)

Proxy Statement

 

6.01(a)

Put Notice

 

5.01(c)

Put Price

 

5.01(c)

Put Right

 

5.01(a)

Records

 

3.04(a)(viii)

Registration Default

 

3.01(b)

Registration Default Date

 

3.01(b)

Registration Default Period

 

3.01(b)

Registration Rights Transferee

 

3.14

Representative

 

8.19

Required Financial Statements

 

3.06(b)

Share Number

 

5.01(b)

Subject Securities

 

6.02(a)

Tengelmann

 

Preamble

Tengelmann Mirror Vote

 

2.01(d)

Tengelmann Nominee

 

2.01(c)(i)

Tengelmann Partners

 

Recitals

Tengelmann Shares

 

Recitals

Transaction

 

Recitals

Warrant Exercise Notice

 

5.01(b)

ARTICLE II

Corporate Governance

          SECTION 2.01. Composition of the Board of Directors . The composition of the Board of Directors will be as follows:

          (a) Immediately after the Closing Date, the By-Laws shall be amended to provide that the authorized number of directors comprising the Board of Directors shall be eleven Directors, and, subject to any additional requirements provided for in the Charter or the By-Laws, the number of such Directors may not be (i) increased without the consent of Tengelmann (except in accordance with Section 15(d) of the Convertible Preferred Articles Supplementary) and that number of directors that is at least 66.67% of the total number of directorships (including vacancies) or (ii) decreased without the


 

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approval of that number of directors that is at least 66.67% of the total number of directorships (including vacancies); provided , however , that any decrease in the number of directorships that has the effect of reducing the number of Directors that Tengelmann is entitled to nominate hereunder shall require the consent of Tengelmann.

          (b) Immediately upon the Closing, the Board of Directors will be comprised of (i) four Tengelmann Directors that, immediately prior to the Closing, were Tengelmann Directors serving on the Board of Directors, (ii) five Public Directors that, immediately prior to the Closing, were Public Directors serving on the Board of Directors and (iii) two Yucaipa Directors selected in accordance with Section 2.01 of the Amended and Restated Yucaipa Stockholder Agreement and Section 15 of the Convertible Preferred Articles Supplementary.

          (c) From and after the Closing Date (without duplication of Tengelmann’s rights to elect a Tengelmann Director pursuant to Section 15(b) of the Convertible Preferred Articles Supplementary), so long as the Tengelmann Percentage Interest has been continuously since the Closing Date 10% or more, then the manner of selecting members of the Board of Directors will be as follows:

     (i) Tengelmann will have the right to designate for nomination (it being understood that such nomination will include any nomination of any incumbent Tengelmann Director for reelection to the Board of Directors) to the Board of Directors that number of individuals equal to (i) the product of the total number of directorships (including vacancies) at such time and the Tengelmann Percentage Interest at such time (rounded to the nearest whole number), minus (ii) the number of Tengelmann Directors who are not then subject to election or who will otherwise be continuing to serve on the Board following such election, and each such designee (each, a “ Tengelmann Nominee ”) will be nominated and recommended for election to the Board of Directors by the Governance Committee; provided , however , that so long as the Stockholder Percentage Interest (as defined in the Amended and Restated Yucaipa Stockholder Agreement) is and has continuously been since the Closing at least 20%, if the calculation set forth above would result in a number of Directors equal to five, then Tengelmann shall have the right to designate for nomination to the Board of Directors the number of individuals equal to (x) four, minus (y) the number of Tengelmann Directors who are not then subject to election or who will otherwise be continuing to serve on the Board following such election, and each such Tengelmann Nominee will be nominated and recommended for election to the Board of Directors by the Governance Committee. In the event that the Tengelmann Percentage Interest is at any time less than 10%, Tengelmann shall not have any right to designate any Directors, and, at the request of a majority of the Other Directors then in office, shall cause any Tengelmann Directors then in office to resign immediately upon such event.

     (ii) Subject to Section 2.01(c)(iii), the Company and the Board of Directors, including the Governance Committee, shall cause each Tengelmann Nominee to be included in management’s slate of nominees for such


 

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stockholders’ meeting at which Directors are elected and shall recommend such Person for election to the Board of Directors.

     (iii) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 2.01, neither the Governance Committee, the Company nor the Board of Directors shall be under any obligation to nominate and recommend a Tengelmann Nominee to the extent it determines, in good faith and after consideration of specific written advice of outside counsel (a copy of which will be provided to Tengelmann), that such recommendation would reasonably be expected to violate their duties under MGCL § 2-405.1(a) because (A) such nominee is unfit to serve as a director of a company listed or quoted on the primary stock exchange or quotation system on which the Company’s Common Stock is listed or quoted or (B) service by such nominee as a Director would reasonably be expected to violate applicable Law, the NYSE Listed Company Manual or, if the Company is not listed on the NYSE, any comparable rule or regulation of the primary stock exchange or quotation system on which the Company Common Stock is listed or quoted, in which case the Company shall provide Tengelmann with a reasonable opportunity (but in any event not less than 30 days) to designate an alternate Tengelmann Nominee.

     (iv) Without limiting the generality of Section 2.01(c), and except as otherwise specified in Section 2.01(c)(ii) in the event that the number of Tengelmann Directors on the Board of Directors differs from the number that Tengelmann has the right (and wishes) to designate pursuant to this Section 2.01, (i) if the number of Tengelmann Directors exceeds such number, Tengelmann shall use reasonable best efforts to take all necessary action to remove or cause to resign that number of Tengelmann Directors as is required to make the remaining number of such Tengelmann Directors conform to this Section 2.01 or (ii) if the number of Tengelmann Directors is less than such number, the number of Directors shall automatically be increased by a number sufficient to permit Tengelmann to designate the full number of Tengelmann Directors that it is entitled (and wishes) to designate pursuant to this Section 2.01 or, alternatively, at the request of Tengelmann, the Secretary of the Company shall call a special meeting of the stockholders of the Company for the purpose of removing Other Directors (other than a Yucaipa Director, if the number of Yucaipa Directors on the Board of Directors at such time equals the number of Directors Yucaipa is entitled to designate pursuant to Section 2.01(c) of the Amended and Restated Yucaipa Stockholder Agreement) to create such vacancies as are necessary to permit Tengelmann to designate the full number of Tengelmann Directors that it is entitled (and wishes) to designate pursuant to this Section 2.01. Upon the creation of any vacancy pursuant to clause (ii) of the preceding sentence, Tengelmann shall designate the person to fill such vacancy in accordance with this Section 2.01 and, subject to Section 2.01(c)(iii), the Board of Directors shall appoint each person so designated. In the event that the number of Directors is increased pursuant to this Section 2.01(c)(iv), the Board of Directors shall cause the number of Directors to be reduced at the first available opportunity to comply with the number of Directors otherwise specified by Section 2.01(a).


 

14

          (d) In any election of Directors at a meeting of the stockholders of the Company, if (x) Tengelmann has elected the applicable number of Tengelmann Directors in accordance with Section 15(b) of the Convertible Preferred Articles Supplementary, or (y) the Company has nominated and recommended the Tengelmann Nominees (to the extent required by Section 2.01(c)) that Tengelmann wished to nominate (subject to Section 2.01(c)(iii) above), then Tengelmann, (i) agrees (A) to cause all Voting Stock held by Tengelmann to be present at such meeting either in person or by proxy and (B) to vote such Voting Stock beneficially owned by it for all nominees (other than the Tengelmann Nominees) included in management’s slate, in a manner identical (on a proportionate basis) to the manner in which the Public Equity Holders vote their shares of Voting Stock in such elections (the “ Tengelmann Mirror Vote ”) and (ii) shall be entitled to vote all Voting Stock held by Tengelmann for any Tengelmann Nominee in its sole discretion. For purposes of allocating the Tengelmann Mirror Vote, abstentions and broker non-votes shall be disregarded. As promptly as practicable following the nomination and recommendation of the Tengelmann Nominees in accordance with Section 2.01(c) above, Tengelmann shall, and shall cause its Affiliates to, provide the Company a proxy (which will be subject to Section 2.01(k)) for purposes of effecting the first sentence of this Section 2.01(d). Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Section 2.01(d) shall not apply with respect to any election of Directors in connection with which any Person (other than (x) Tengelmann or any Affiliate of Tengelmann, (y) any member of any 13D Group that includes Tengelmann or any Affiliate of Tengelmann or (z) any other Person with whom Tengelmann is acting in concert) (i) has initiated (and is continuing) a “proxy contest” or other solicitation of proxies, consents or votes in favor of one or more nominees for election to the Board of Directors that are different from the nominees to the Board of Directors in management’s slate, (ii) has initiated (and is continuing) a “proxy contest” or other solicitation of proxies, consents or votes against one or more of the nominees to the Board of Directors in management’s slate or (iii) has included one or more stockholder nominated director candidates in the Company’s proxy materials using the direct proxy access procedures under the Exchange Act or otherwise.

          (e) In any matter submitted to a vote of stockholders not subject to Section 2.01(d) or 6.02, Tengelmann may vote any or all of its Voting Stock in its sole discretion subject to applicable Law.

          (f) For so long as (x) Tengelmann has elected the applicable number of Tengelmann Directors in accordance with Section 15(b) of the Convertible Preferred Articles Supplementary, or (y) the Board of Directors or Governance Committee nominates and recommends (subject to Section 2.01(c)(iii) above), the number of Tengelmann Nominees contemplated by Section 2.01(c) that Tengelmann wishes to nominate and so long as the Company has complied with Section 2.01(c)(iv), Tengelmann agrees not to take, without the consent of a majority of the Other Directors, any action to remove or oppose any Other Director or to seek to change the size of the Board of Directors or otherwise seek to expand Tengelmann’s representation on the Board of Directors in a manner inconsistent with Section 2.01(d) (except in accordance with Section 15(d) of the Convertible Preferred Articles Supplementary).


 

15

          (g) No Tengelmann Nominee or Tengelmann director shall be qualified to be a Director unless at all times during his or her term, he or she remains acceptable to Tengelmann.

          (h) Upon the death, resignation, retirement, incapacity, disqualification or removal from office for any other reason of any Tengelmann Director, Tengelmann will have the right to designate the replacement for such Tengelmann Director and the Board of Directors will, subject to Section 2.01(c)(iii), elect each such Person so designated in accordance with this Section 2.01(h). Upon the death, resignation, incapacity, disqualification or removal of any Public Director, a majority of the Public Directors will have the exclusive right to designate the replacement for such Public Director and elect same.

          (i) For the avoidance of doubt, Tengelmann Directors shall be entitled to compensation and expense reimbursement in accordance with the Company’s policies and practices applicable to Directors generally. The Company will also provide and hereby agrees to enter into indemnification agreements with the Tengelmann Directors on terms not less favorable to the Tengelmann Directors than any indemnification agreement entered into with any Other Director

          (j) The rights and obligations of Tengelmann shall apply to any and all Affiliate(s) of Tengelmann which currently beneficially own Voting Stock and any and all Affiliate(s) of Tengelmann to whom any shares of Voting Stock are transferred in any manner, and any such transfer shall be conditioned on such transferee entering into a written agreement in form and substance acceptable to the Company extending the rights and obligations of Tengelmann under this Agreement to such transferee(s), in which cases all references to Tengelmann herein shall be deemed to refer to Tengelmann and such Affiliates except as the context otherwise requires.

          (k) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 2.01, Tengelmann shall be under no obligation to vote in favor of an Other Director nominee who has been nominated by a Person other than the Governance Committee or the Board of Directors to the extent Tengelmann determines, in good faith and after consideration of specific written advice of outside counsel (a copy of which will be provided to the Company and the Board of Directors), that the hypothetical nomination or recommendation of such nominee by the Board of Directors would have been reasonably expected to violate the Directors’ duties under MGCL § 2-405.1(a) because (i) such nominee is unfit to serve as a director of a company listed or quoted on the primary stock exchange or quotation system on which Company’s Common Stock is listed or quoted or (ii) service by such nominee as a Director would reasonably be expected to violate applicable Law, the NYSE Listed Company Manual or, if the Company is not listed on the NYSE, any comparable rule or regulation of the primary stock exchange or quotation system on which the Company Common Stock is listed or quoted; provided that Tengelmann shall make such determination as soon as practicable and, if applicable, provide written notice thereof to the Company and the Board of Directors as soon as practicable thereafter.


 

16

          (l) If the Stockholder Percentage Interest (as defined in the Amended and Restated Yucaipa Stockholder Agreement) falls below 10%, the By-Laws shall promptly be amended to provide that the authorized number of directors comprising the Board of Directors shall be nine Directors and Tengelmann shall continue to have the right to designate for nomination a number of Tengelmann Nominees as set forth in Section 15 of the Convertible Preferred Articles Supplementary or 2.01(c)(i) of this Agreement.

          (m) The Board of Directors will use reasonable best efforts to ensure, to the extent lawful, at all times that the Charter, By-Laws and corporate governance policies and guidelines of the Company are not at any time inconsistent in any material respect with the provisions of this Article II and in the event of any such inconsistency, shall negotiate in good faith to revise this Article II to achieve the parties’ intention set forth herein to the greatest extent possible.

          SECTION 2.02. Committees . Tengelmann Directors shall have the right (at Tengelmann’s election) to serve on each committee of the Board of Directors and the number of Tengelmann Directors on a committee of the Board of Directors shall be not less than (x) the number of Tengelmann Directors at such time divided by (y) the total number of seats on the Board of Directors at such time multiplied by (z) the number of Directors serving on such committee (rounded to the nearest whole number). Tengelmann shall have the right to select the Tengelmann Directors that will serve on each committee of the Board of Directors; provided that, so long as there are any Tengelmann Directors serving on the Board of Directors, at least one Tengelmann Director shall have the right to serve on each committee of the Board of Directors. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a Tengelmann Director shall not serve on any committee if such service would violate any Law , the NYSE Listed Company Manual or, if the Company is not listed on the NYSE, any comparable rule or regulation of the primary stock exchange or quotation system on which the Company Common Stock is listed or quoted. Upon any request by Tengelmann, as soon as reasonably practicable, one Tengelmann Director shall be appointed to the board of directors (or similar governing body) of each Subsidiary of the Company requested by Tengelmann and each committee of each such Subsidiary.

          SECTION 2.03. Solicitation of Shares . The Company will use its reasonable best efforts to solicit proxies in favor of the Tengelmann Nominees selected in accordance with Section 2.01 from its stockholders eligible to vote for the election of Directors.

          SECTION 2.04. Approval Required for Certain Actions . (a) For so long as the Tengelmann Percentage Interest is at least 25%, the approval of Tengelmann will be required for the Company to do (or authorize or permit any of its Subsidiaries to do) any of the following actions (in addition to any other Board of Directors or stockholder approval required by any Law, the Charter or By-Laws); provided , however , that the approval of Tengelmann will not be required in connection with the actions specified in clauses (v) and (vii) below until the Stockholder Percentage Interest (as defined in the Amended and Restated Yucaipa Stockholder Agreement) falls below 17.8%:


 

17

     (i) any Business Combination by the Company, except for any Business Combination involving consideration with a Fair Market Value not exceeding $50,000,000 to be paid by or to the Company or its stockholders, as the case may be;

     (ii) the issuance of any Equity Security of the Company, the creation of any right to acquire such Equity Security or any amendment to the terms of any such Equity Security, to the extent such issuance, creation or amendment requires stockholder approval; provided , however, that this clause (ii) shall not include any issuance (A) of any Series B Warrants, (B) pursuant to any employee compensation plan or other benefit plan, including stock option, restricted stock or other equity based compensation plans, (C) of any Equity Security issued or issuable under rights existing as of Closing Date or (D) of any Equity Security issued or issuable upon conversion of any Convertible Preferred Stock or pursuant to the Convertible Preferred Stock PIK Dividend Provision or pursuant to the conversion of any of the Convertible Notes outstanding on the date hereof;

     (iii) any amendment to the Charter or the By-Laws (other than amendments contemplated by (A) this Agreement, (B) the Investment Agreement or (C) the Authorized Capital Stock Charter Amendment);

     (iv) any amendment to the charter of any committee of the Board of Directors or to any corporate governance guideline relating to any matter addressed by this Agreement that would reasonably be expected to circumvent in any manner any of Tengelmann’s rights hereunder or the exercise thereof;

     (v) the adoption, implementation or amendment of, or redemption under, any takeover defense measures (including a rights plan);

     (vi) any Discriminatory Transaction;

     (vii) any transaction between (A) the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, on the one hand, and (B) any Affiliate of the Company (other than (1) any Director, officer or Subsidiary of the Company and (2) Tengelmann or any of its Affiliates), on the other hand;

     (viii) a change of the Company’s policies concerning the need for Board approval intended or reasonably likely to circumvent any of Tengelmann’s rights hereunder or the exercise thereof;

     (ix) the issuance and delivery to Yucaipa of any Company Common Stock upon exercise by Yucaipa of the Series B Warrants, except to the extent that a cash settlement of any Series B Warrants would reasonably be expected to cause a Liquidity Impairment (as defined in Section 5.01(f)), in which case the Company shall be permitted to issue and deliver Company Common Stock to Yucaipa upon exercise of such Series B Warrants to the extent necessary to avoid a Liquidity Impairment;


 

18

     (x) prior to the Maturity Date, any amendment or refinancing of the ABL Credit Agreement, except for changes that could not reasonably be expected to adversely affect Tengelmann in its capacity as a holder of the Convertible Preferred Stock or adversely affect any rights, privileges or preferences of the Convertible Preferred Stock; or

     (xi) any action by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (including borrowings) that could cause the ABL Credit Facility to limit, restrict, prohibit or prevent the Company from paying dividends in full in cash on the Convertible Preferred Stock in the amounts contemplated by the Convertible Preferred Articles Supplementary, except to the extent approved in advance by a majority of Independent Directors of the Board; or

     (xii) any action by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, including entering into any contract or other agreement, that could limit, restrict, prohibit or prevent the Company’s ability to pay dividends in full in cash on the Convertible Preferred Stock in the amounts contemplated by the Convertible Preferred Articles Supplementary.

          (b) For so long as the Tengelmann Percentage Interest is at least 25%, the approval of a majority of the Tengelmann Directors will be required for the Board of Directors to approve or authorize, and for the Company to do (or authorize or permit any of its Subsidiaries to do), any of the following (in addition to any other Board of Directors or stockholder approval required by any Law, the Charter or By-Laws); provided , however , that the approval of a majority of the Tengelmann Directors will not be required in connection with the actions specified in clauses (v), (vi), (vii)(B), (viii) and (ix) until the Stockholder Percentage Interest (as defined in the Amended and Restated Yucaipa Stockholders Agreement) falls below 17.8%:

     (i) any acquisition or disposition (in one transaction or a series of related transactions) of any assets (including any Equity Securities of any Subsidiary of the Company), business operations or securities (other than Equity Securities of the Company), with a Fair Market Value of more than $50,000,000, but excluding any disposition to, or acquisition from or of, a wholly owned Subsidiary of the Company or any disposition that (A) occurs in connection with creating or granting any Encumbrances to a Third Party that is not a Subsidiary or Affiliate of the Company in connection with a bona fide financing or (B) arises as a matter of Law or occurs pursuant to a court order;

     (ii) the issuance of any Equity Security or any other stock or equity interests (voting, non-voting, preferred or common) of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (other than to the Company or any wholly owned Subsidiary of the Company), the creation of any obligation to acquire such Equity Security or any amendment to the terms of any such Equity Security; provided , however , that this clause (ii) shall not include any issuance (A) of any Series B Warrants, (B) pursuant to any employee compensation plan or other benefit plan, including stock option, restricted stock or other equity-based compensation plans, (C) of


 

19

any Equity Security issued or issuable under rights existing as of the Closing Date or (D) of any Equity Security issued or issuable under conversion of any Convertible Preferred Stock or pursuant to the Convertible Preferred Stock PIK Dividend Provision or pursuant to the conversion of any of the Convertible Notes outstanding on the date hereof;

     (iii) any repurchase of Equity Securities of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (other than wholly owned Subsidiaries) pursuant to a self-tender offer, stock repurchase program, open market transaction or otherwise other than (A) a repurchase of Equity Securities of the Company from employees or former employees subject to the terms and conditions of employee stock plans or a purchase of Equity Securities of the Company from Tengelmann pursuant to this Agreement, (B) the settlement of all or any portion of any exercised Series B Warrants in cash pursuant to the terms of the Series B Warrants or (C) a repurchase by the Company of the Convertible Notes;

     (iv) the declaration of any dividends or other distributions (whether in cash or property) on shares of Company Common Stock.

     (v) the adoption or amendment of any long term (i.e., three years or more) strategic plans, priorities or direction for the Company and its Subsidiaries and their businesses, except for amendments not exceeding $10,000,000 individually or in the aggregate in any 12-month period;

     (vi) the adoption or amendment of the operating plan or budget, capital expenditure budget, financing plan or any financial goal, except for amendments not exceeding $10,000,000 individually or in the aggregate in any 12-month period;

     (vii) (A) the appointment or removal of the chairman of the Board of Directors or (B) the appointment (but not removal) of the chief executive officer of the Company;

     (viii) the Dissolution of the Company;

     (ix) any capital expenditure of more than $10,000,000 (excluding any capital expenditure previously approved, or capital expenditure pursuant to a capital expenditure program or budget or plan that was previously approved, by the Board of Directors as part of the approval of the Company’s annual operating plan, capital expenditures budget or otherwise); or

     (x) any incurrence, assumption, or issuance of Indebtedness in one or a series of related transactions in an aggregate principal amount of more than $50,000,000 (other than any borrowing under the ABL Credit Agreement that do not limit, restrict, prohibit or prevent the Company from paying dividends in full in cash on the Convertible Preferred Stock in the amounts contemplated by the Convertible Preferred Articles Supplementary, except to the extent approved in advance by a majority of the Independent Directors of the Board); provided ,


 

20

however , that the foregoing shall not apply to any refinancing of Indebtedness existing on the Closing Date (except any refinancing of the ABL Credit Agreement shall be subject to Section 2.04(a)(x)); provided further , however , that such refinancing does not (1) increase the principal amount of such Indebtedness (other than as may be necessary for the payment of fees, discounts, expenses and premiums), (2) shorten the maturity thereof, (3) limit, restrict, prohibit or prevent the Company’s ability to pay dividends in full in cash on the Convertible Preferred Stock in the amounts contemplated by the Convertible Preferred Articles Supplementary, and (4) is otherwise on then market terms (as determined by the Board of Directors), and which refinancing may apply to a refinancing of commitments (whether drawn or undrawn) under any revolving credit agreement.

          (c) Any transaction between the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, on the one hand, and Tengelmann, or any Subsidiary or Affiliate of Tengelmann, on the other hand (other than the compensation of Directors and officers in the ordinary course of business), will require the approval of a majority of the Other Directors (in addition to any other Board of Directors’ or stockholders’ approval required by any Law, the Charter or By-Laws).

          (d) The Company will cause its generally applicable policies regarding matters that required approval of the Board of Directors to reflect the requirements of this Section 2.04.

          (e) Notwithstanding the foregoing, Tengelmann shall not have any approval rights with respect to any refinancing of (i) the 2011 Convertible Notes, if at the time of such contemplated refinancing, Tengelmann, together with its Affiliates own more than 25% of the aggregate principal amount of such notes or (ii) the 2012 Convertible Notes, if at the time of such contemplated refinancing, Tengelmann, together with its Affiliates own more than 25% of the aggregate principal amount of such notes.

          SECTION 2.05. Charter and By-Laws . (a) Immediately after the Closing, any Director will have the right to call a meeting of the Board of Directors.

          (b) The Company represents and warrants to Tengelmann that it has adopted resolutions providing that automatically upon the Closing and without any further act of any Person, the By-Laws will be amended substantially on the terms set forth in Exhibit A. The Company will not amend, rescind or cause to be superseded such resolution prior to the effectiveness of such amendments.

          (c) The Board of Directors will use reasonable best efforts to ensure, to the extent lawful, at all times that the Charter, By-Laws and corporate governance policies and guidelines of the Company are not at any time inconsistent in any material respect with the provisions of this Agreement.

          SECTION 2.06. Change in Law . Without limiting the obligations of the Board of Directors under Section 2.05(c), in the event any Charter provision, By-Law provision or any Law exists or hereafter comes into force or effect (including by


 

21

amendment) which conflicts with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, the parties will negotiate in good faith to revise this Agreement to achieve the parties’ intention set forth herein to the greatest extent possible.

ARTICLE III

Registration Rights

          SECTION 3.01. Registration . (a) Prior to the six-month anniversary of the date hereof (the “ Filing Date ”), the Company shall prepare and file with the SEC a Registration Statement providing for the direct primary sales for cash by Tengelmann of the Registrable Securities not already covered by an existing and effective Registration Statement for an offering to be made on a continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415. Thereafter, the Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the Registration Statement to be declared effective or otherwise to become effective under the Securities Act within 365 days after the date hereof (the “ Effectiveness Date ”), and subject to the other provisions of this Article III, shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to keep the Registration Statement continuously effective under the Securities Act until the shares of Company Common Stock subject to this Article III cease to be Registrable Securities (the “ Effectiveness Period ”). The Company agrees to supplement or make amendments to the Registration Statement as may be necessary to keep such Registration Statement effective during the Effectiveness Period, including (A) to respond to the comments of the SEC, if any, (B) as may be required by the registration form utilized by the Company for such Registration Statement or by the instructions applicable to such registration form, (C) as may be required by the Securities Act or (D) as may be reasonably requested in writing by Tengelmann or any Underwriter regarding information about Tengelmann or any Underwriter to be included in a prospectus.

          (b) If (i) the Registration Statement is not filed on or prior to the Filing Date, (ii) a Registration Statement is not declared effective by the SEC or does not otherwise become effective on or prior to its required Effectiveness Date, or (iii) after its Effectiveness Date, such Registration Statement ceases for any reason to be effective and available to Tengelmann as to all Registrable Securities to which it is required to cover at any time prior to the expiration of the Effectiveness Period (in each case, except as specifically permitted herein) (any such failure or breach being referred to as a “ Registration Default ,” and for purposes of clauses (i) or (ii) the date on which such Registration Default occurs, and for purposes of clause (iii) the date on which the Registration Statement ceases to be effective and available, being referred to as the “ Registration Default Date ” and each period from and including the Registration Default Date during which a Registration Default has occurred and is continuing, a “ Registration Default Period ”), then, during the Registration Default Period, in addition to any other rights available to Tengelmann, the Company shall pay to Tengelmann (“ Liquidated Damages ”) in an amount in cash equal to the product of (x) 1.00% per annum and (y) the difference between (1) the sum of (A) $60,000,000 and (B) the Liquidation Preference (as defined in the Convertible Preferred Articles Supplementary) attributable to any Convertible Preferred Stock issued to Tengelmann pursuant to the Convertible Preferred Articles Supplementary after the date hereof and (2) the Liquidation Preference


 

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attributable to Registrable Securities (determined based on the amount attributable to them prior to their becoming Registrable Securities) Transferred prior to the beginning of the applicable Registration Default Period to a Third Party that does not receive registration rights pursuant to Section 3.14. Liquidated Damages shall accrue from the applicable Registration Default Date until all Registration Defaults have been cured, and shall be payable quarterly in arrears on each March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15 following the applicable Registration Default Date to the record holder of the applicable security on the date that is 15 days prior to such payment date, until paid in full. Following the cure of any Registration Default, Liquidated Damages will cease to accrue with respect to such Registration Default. Liquidated Damages payable in respect of any Registration Default Period shall be computed on the basis of a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months. Liquidated Damages shall be payable only with respect to a single Registration Default at any given time, notwithstanding the fact that multiple Registration Defaults may have occurred and be continuing.

          (c) At any time and from time to time on or after the Effective Date, upon the written request (a “ Demand Notice ”) of Tengelmann requesting that the Company effect an Underwritten Offering of Registrable Securities of Tengelmann (a “ Demand Offering ”), the Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to effect, as expeditiously as possible, an Underwritten Offering of the Registrable Securities which the Company has been so requested to register; provided , however , that (A) (x) with respect to any Registrable Securities (other than Existing Registrable Securities), the Company sh


 
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