Exhibit 10.1
EXECUTION COPY
STOCKHOLDERS AGREEMENT
by and among
General Motors Company,
United States Department of the
Treasury,
7176384 Canada Inc.,
and
UAW Retiree Medical Benefits
Trust
Dated as of July 10,
2009
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Page
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ARTICLE I
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DEFINITIONS
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Section 1.1
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Certain Defined
Terms
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1
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Section 1.2
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Terms
Generally
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6
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ARTICLE II
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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Section 2.1
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Size of Initial
Board
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6
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Section 2.2
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Composition of
Board
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6
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Section 2.3
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Agreement to
Nominate VEBA Nominee
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7
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Section 2.4
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Agreement to
Nominate Canada Nominee
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8
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ARTICLE III
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CERTAIN COVENANTS AND
RESTRICTIONS
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Section 3.1
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Initial Public
Offering
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8
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Section 3.2
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Reserved
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8
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Section 3.3
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Transfer
Restrictions
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8
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Section 3.4
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Restrictions on
Certain Corporate Actions
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9
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Section 3.5
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Certificate
Legends
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9
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ARTICLE IV
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VOTING AGREEMENT
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Section 4.1
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Government
Holder Participation to Establish Quorum
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10
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Section 4.2
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Government
Holder Agreement to Vote
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10
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Section 4.3
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VEBA Agreement
to Vote
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11
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Section 4.4
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Irrevocable
Proxy
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11
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Section 4.5
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Inconsistent
Voting Agreements
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12
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ARTICLE V
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OTHER AGREEMENTS
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Section 5.1
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Tag-Along
Rights
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12
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Section 5.2
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Drag-Along
Rights
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13
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Section 5.3
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Preemptive
Rights
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15
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Section 5.4
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Information
Rights
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16
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i
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ARTICLE VI
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MISCELLANEOUS
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Section 6.1
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Notices
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17
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Section 6.2
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Termination
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18
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Section 6.3
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Authority
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18
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Section 6.4
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No Third Party
Beneficiaries
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19
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Section 6.5
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No Personal
Liability by the VEBA Signatory
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19
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Section 6.6
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Cooperation
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19
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Section 6.7
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Governing Law;
Forum Selection
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19
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Section 6.8
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WAIVER OF JURY
TRIAL
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19
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Section 6.9
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Assignment;
Successors and Assigns
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19
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Section 6.10
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After Acquired
Securities
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20
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Section 6.11
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Entire
Agreement
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20
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Section 6.12
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Severability
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20
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Section 6.13
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Enforcement of
this Agreement
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20
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Section 6.14
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Amendment
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20
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Section 6.15
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Headings
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21
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Section 6.16
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Counterparts;
Facsimiles
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21
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Section 6.17
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UST
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21
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Section 6.18
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Canada
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21
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Section 6.19
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Time
Periods
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21
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ii
STOCKHOLDERS
AGREEMENT
This STOCKHOLDERS AGREEMENT (this
“ Agreement ”) is entered into as of
July 10, 2009 by and among General Motors Company (formerly
known as NGMCO, Inc.), a Delaware corporation and
successor-in-interest to Vehicle Acquisition Holdings LLC (the
“ Corporation ”), the United States Department
of the Treasury (together with its Permitted Transferees, the
“ UST ”), 7176384 Canada Inc., a corporation
organized under the laws of Canada (together with its Permitted
Transferees, “ Canada ”), and the UAW Retiree
Medical Benefits Trust, a voluntary employees’ beneficiary
association (together with its Permitted Transferees, the “
VEBA ”).
WHEREAS, each of the Government
Holders and the VEBA owns, as of the date hereof, that number of
shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the
Corporation (the “ Common Stock ”) and that
number of shares of Series A preferred stock, par value $0.01 per
share, of the Corporation, set forth opposite such Holder’s
name on Annex I hereto;
WHEREAS, the VEBA will also be
issued, as of the date hereof, a warrant to acquire 15,151,515
shares of Common Stock (the “ Warrant ”);
and
WHEREAS, the parties hereto wish to
enter into this Agreement to govern the rights and obligations of
the parties with respect to certain matters relating to the
Corporation and the Holders’ ownership and voting of the
Common Stock.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of
the foregoing and the mutual covenants contained in this Agreement
and for other good and valuable consideration, the value, receipt
and sufficiency of which are acknowledged, the parties hereby agree
as follows:
ARTICLE I
DEFINITIONS
Section 1.1 Certain Defined
Terms. As used in this
Agreement, the following terms have the following meanings set
forth below or in the Sections set forth below:
“ Affiliate ”
means, with respect to any Person, any other Person which directly
or indirectly Controls or is Controlled by or is under common
Control with such Person. For the avoidance of doubt, for purposes
of this Agreement, the UAW and its Affiliates shall be deemed to be
Affiliates of the VEBA.
“ Agreement ”
shall have the meaning set forth in the Preamble.
“ Beneficial Ownership
” or “ Beneficially Owned ” have the
meanings given to such terms in Rule 13d-3 of the Exchange
Act.
“ Board ” means
the board of directors of the Corporation.
“ Business Day ”
means any day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or any other day on
which banks are required or authorized by Law to be closed in New
York City, New York.
“ Canada ” shall
have the meaning set forth in the Preamble.
“ Canada Director
” shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 2.2(a)(ii) .
“ Canada Nominee
” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.4
.
“ Canada Owned Shares
” means the shares of Common Stock Beneficially Owned by
Canada as of the relevant time.
“ Change of Control
” means (A) any acquisition or purchase of capital stock
of the Corporation, or of all or substantially all of the assets of
the Corporation or (B) any merger, consolidation, business
combination, recapitalization, reorganization or other
extraordinary business transaction involving or otherwise relating
to the Corporation, in each case, which would require the vote of
the stockholders of the Corporation pursuant to the DGCL or the
Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation.
“ Chief Executive
Officer ” means the duly appointed Chief Executive
Officer of the Corporation.
“ Common Stock ”
shall have the meaning set forth in the Recitals.
“ Compelled Sale
” shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 5.2.
“ Compelled Sale Notice
” shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 5.2.
“ Consent ” means
any consent, approval, authorization, waiver, grant, franchise,
concession, agreement, license, exemption or other permit or order
of, registration, declaration or filing with, or report or notice
to, any Person.
“ Control ” means
the direct or indirect power to direct or cause the direction of
management or policies of a Person, whether through the ownership
of voting securities, general partnership interests or management
member interests, by contract or trust agreement, pursuant to a
voting trust or otherwise. “Controlling” and
“Controlled” have the correlative meanings.
“ Corporation ”
shall have the meaning set forth in the Preamble.
“ Co-Sale Holders
” shall have the meaning set forth in Section
5.1.
“ Co-Sale Notice
” shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 5.1.
“ Debtor ” means
Motors Liquidation Company, a Delaware corporation formerly known
as General Motors Corporation.
“ DGCL ” means
the Delaware General Corporation Law, as amended from time to
time.
“ Drag-Along Buyer
” shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 5.2.
“ Electing Holder
” shall have the meaning set forth in Section
5.2.
2
“ Equity Registration
Rights Agreement ” means the Equity Registration Rights
Agreement, dated as of the date hereof, by and among the
Corporation, the VEBA, UST, Canada and Debtor.
“ Exchange Act ”
means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the
rules and regulations thereunder.
“ Executive Officer
” means any officer who (i) is subject to
Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act or (ii) would be
subject to Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act if the Common
Stock was registered under Section 12 of the Exchange
Act.
“ Fiscal Year ”
means the fiscal year of the Corporation. Each Fiscal Year shall
commence on the day immediately following the last day of the
immediately preceding Fiscal Year.
“ GAAP ” means
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of
America as in effect from time to time, consistently applied and
maintained throughout the applicable periods both as to
classification of items and amounts.
“ Government Holder
” means UST or Canada.
“ Governmental Approval
” means any Consent of, with or to any Governmental
Authority, and includes any applicable waiting periods associated
with any Governmental Approvals.
“ Governmental
Authority ” means any United States or non-United States
federal, provincial, state or local government or other political
subdivision thereof, any entity, authority, agency or body
exercising executive, legislative, judicial, regulatory or
administrative functions of any such government or political
subdivision, and any supranational organization of sovereign states
exercising such functions for such sovereign states.
“ Governmental Order
” means any Order, stipulation, agreement, determination or
award entered or issued by or with any Governmental Authority and
binding on a Person.
“ Group ” has the
meaning given to such term in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange
Act.
“ Holder ” or
“ Holders ” means, individually or collectively
as the context may require, UST, Canada, and the VEBA.
“ Independent ”
shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 2.2(b).
“ Initial Shares
” means, with respect to any Holder, that number of shares of
Common Stock, set forth opposite such Holder’s name on
Annex I hereto.
“ IPO ” means the
earlier to occur of (i) the initial public offering of the
Common Stock, (whether such offering is primary or secondary) that
is underwritten by a nationally recognized investment bank,
pursuant to an effective registration statement filed under the
Securities Act (other than a registration effected solely to
implement an employee benefit plan or a transaction to which Rule
145 under the Securities Act is applicable, or a registration
statement on Form S-4, Form S-8 or a successor to one of those
forms) or
3
(ii) the later of (A) the date on
which a Corporation registration statement filed under
Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange Act shall have been
declared effective by the SEC or otherwise become effective under
the Exchange Act and (B) the date of distribution of the
shares of Common Stock Beneficially Owned by Debtor pursuant to its
plan of reorganization.
“ IPO Date ”
means the effective date of the registration statement relating to
the IPO.
“ Joint Slate Procedure
” shall mean the following process by which the Government
Holders select nominees for directors: In the event that UST
intends to propose a slate of candidates for election (whether at
an annual meeting of the Corporation’s stockholders, a
special meeting of the Corporation’s stockholders called for
the purpose of electing directors of the Corporation or at any
adjournment or postponement thereof), UST shall provide Canada with
written notice of its intent to propose a competing slate of
candidates, in the case of an annual meeting, not less than 150
days prior to the one-year anniversary of the date of the annual
meeting held in the prior year (or no later than January 2,
2010 in the case of the Corporation’s initial annual
meeting), and, in the case of a special meeting, not more than five
days after notice of the meeting was first mailed to the Government
Holders, in the case of a special meeting; provided that in either
case UST shall use commercially reasonable efforts to give Canada
as much advance notice of its intent to propose a competing slate
of candidates as reasonably possible. Within ten Business Days, in
the case of an annual meeting, and five days, in the case of a
special meeting, of receiving UST’s written notice, Canada
shall indicate in writing to UST whether or not Canada intends to
participate in the slate. If Canada provides written notice of its
intent to participate, such notice must include a list of
Canada’s nominees. The number of nominees that Canada may
select shall be determined based on Canada’s proportional
ownership interest in shares of Common Stock Beneficially Owned by
the Government Holders in the aggregate at the time of such nominee
selection. If Canada provides timely written notice of its intent
to participate (including a list of its nominees), each Government
Holder agrees to vote “for” the joint slate of
candidates nominated by the Government Holders. If Canada does not
provide timely written notice of its intent to participate
(including a list of its nominees) or notifies UST that it does not
wish to participate, UST may propose a slate of candidates for
election composed entirely of its own nominees, but Canada is under
no obligation to vote “for” the candidates nominated by
UST. Neither Government Holder shall propose a slate of candidates,
or any individual candidate, for election other than in compliance
with this Joint Slate Procedure.
“ Law ” means any
and all applicable United States or non-United States federal,
provincial, state or local laws, rules, regulations, directives,
decrees, treaties, statutes, provisions of any constitution and
principles (including principles of common law) of any Governmental
Authority, as well as any applicable Governmental Order.
“ New UST Director
” shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 2.2(a)(i).
“ Nominee ” shall
have the meaning set forth in Section 4.4.
“ Non-Electing Holders
” shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 5.2.
4
“ Order ” means
any writ, judgment, decree, injunction or similar order of any
Governmental Authority, whether temporary, preliminary or
permanent.
“ Owned Shares ”
means UST Owned Shares, the Canada Owned Shares, and the VEBA Owned
Shares, as applicable.
“ Permitted Transferees
” shall mean for each Holder, any Affiliate of such
Holder.
“ Person ” means
any individual, partnership, firm, corporation, association, trust,
unincorporated organization, joint venture, limited liability
company, Governmental Authority or other entity.
“ Preemptive Rights
Period ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section
5.3.
“ Preemptive Rights
Shares ” shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 5.3.
“ Proxy ” or
“ Proxies ” has the meaning given to such term
in Rule 14a-1 of the Exchange Act.
“ SEC ” means the
United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
“ Securities Act
” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules
and regulations thereunder.
“ Selling Holder
” shall have the meaning set forth in Section
5.1.
“ Sold Shares ”
shall have the meaning set forth in Section 5.1.
“ Transfer ”
means, directly or indirectly, to sell, transfer, distribute,
assign, pledge, hedge, encumber, hypothecate or similarly dispose
of, or to enter into any contract, option or other arrangement or
understanding with respect to the sale, transfer, distribution,
assignment, pledge, hedge, encumbrance, hypothecation or similar
disposition with or without consideration, voluntarily or by
operation of Law.
“ UAW ” means the
International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural
Implement Workers of America.
“ UST ” shall
have the meaning set forth in the Preamble.
“ UST Owned Shares
” means the shares of Common Stock Beneficially Owned by UST
as of the relevant time.
“ UST Secured Credit
Agreement ” means the Secured Credit Agreement, dated as
of July 10, 2009, by and among the Corporation, as the
borrower, the Guarantors (as defined therein), and The United
States Department of the Treasury, as the lender.
“ VEBA ” shall
have the meaning set forth in the Preamble.
“ VEBA Nominee ”
shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 2.3.
5
“ VEBA Owned Shares
” shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 4.3.
“ VEBA Secured Note
Agreement ” means the Secured Note Agreement, dated as of
July 10, 2009 by and among the Corporation, as the issuer, the
Guarantors (as defined therein), and the VEBA, as the
noteholder.
“ Voting Securities
” means securities of the Corporation, including the Common
Stock, with the power to vote with respect to the election of
directors of the Corporation generally and all securities
convertible into or exchangeable for securities of the Corporation
with the power to vote with respect to the election of directors of
the Corporation generally.
“ Warrant ” shall
have the meaning set forth in the Recitals.
Section 1.2 Terms
Generally. The
definitions in Section 1.1 shall apply equally to both
the singular and plural forms of the terms defined. Whenever the
context may require, any pronoun shall include the corresponding
masculine, feminine and neuter forms. The words
“include,” “includes” and
“including” shall be deemed to be followed by the
phrase “without limitation,” unless the context
expressly provides otherwise. All references herein to Articles,
Sections, paragraphs, subparagraphs or clauses shall be deemed
references to Articles, Sections, paragraphs, subparagraphs or
clauses of this Agreement, unless the context requires otherwise.
Unless otherwise specified, the words “this Agreement,”
“herein,” “hereof,” “hereto”
and “hereunder” and other words of similar import refer
to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular provision of
this Agreement. The word “extent” in the phrase
“to the extent” shall mean the degree to which a
subject or other thing extends, and such phrase shall not mean
simply “if.” Unless expressly stated otherwise, any Law
defined or referred to herein means such Law as from time to time
amended, modified or supplemented, including by succession of
comparable successor Laws and references to all attachments thereto
and instruments incorporated therein.
ARTICLE II
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Section 2.1 Size of Initial
Board. The Board shall
initially consist of thirteen (13) directors. The number of
directors may be changed only by vote of the Board in accordance
with the charter, certificates of designations and bylaws of the
Corporation.
Section 2.2 Composition of
Board. (a) The initial
members of the Board shall be constituted as follows:
(i) the Board agrees to nominate and
the Holders agree to take all action to cause the election or
appointment of ten (10) directors designated by UST, no more
than five of whom shall have been directors of the Debtor,
immediately prior to the date of this Agreement, provided that all
directors who have not been directors of the Debtor, immediately
prior to the date of this Agreement (such directors, the “
New UST Directors ”) shall be Independent, or if any
New UST Director is not Independent, UST and Canada shall consult
with each other in good faith prior to the election or appointment
of such non-Independent New UST Director;
6
(ii) the Board agrees to nominate
and the Holders agree to take all action to cause the election or
appointment of one director designated by Canada (the “
Canada Director ”), which Canada Director shall be
Independent, or if such Canada Director is not Independent, UST and
Canada shall consult with each other in good faith prior to the
election or appointment of such non-Independent Canada
Director;
(iii) the Board agrees to nominate
and the Holders agree to take all action to cause the election or
appointment of one director designated by the VEBA with the prior
written consent of the UAW (which director shall be Independent or,
if not Independent, approved by UST, which approval shall not be
unreasonably withheld); and
(iv) the Board agrees to nominate
and the Holders agree to take all action to cause the election or
appointment of the Chief Executive Officer as a director of the
Corporation.
(b) Notwithstanding anything to the
contrary herein, the Holders agree that at all times prior to
termination of this Agreement, at least two-thirds of the directors
of the Corporation shall be required to be determined by the Board
to be independent of the Corporation within the meaning of Rule
303A.02 of New York Stock Exchange Listed Company Manual (or any
successor provision) (“ Independent ”), whether
or not any of the shares of Common Stock are then listed on the New
York Stock Exchange.
(c) The nominees to stand for
election at any time at which the Corporation’s stockholders
shall have the right to, or shall, vote for or consent in writing
to the election of directors of the Corporation (whether at an
annual meeting of the Corporation’s stockholders, a special
meeting of the Corporation’s stockholders called for the
purpose of electing directors of the Corporation or at any
adjournment or postponement thereof) shall be nominated by the
Board in accordance with the bylaws of the Corporation and
Sections 2.3 and 2.4 hereof.
Section 2.3 Agreement to Nominate
VEBA Nominee . So long as
the VEBA holds at least 50% of its Initial Shares, at any time at
which the Corporation’s stockholders shall have the right to,
or shall, vote for or consent in writing to the election of
directors of the Corporation (whether at an annual meeting of the
Corporation’s stockholders, a special meeting of the
Corporation’s stockholders called for the purpose of electing
directors of the Corporation or at any adjournment or postponement
thereof), then, and in each such event, the VEBA shall have the
right to designate one nominee, which designation shall be subject
to the prior written consent of the UAW and if the designated
nominee is not Independent, to the prior written consent of UST,
which consent of UST shall not be unreasonably withheld (the
“ VEBA Nominee ”), to serve as a
director.
(a) From and after the date hereof
to and including the IPO Date, the Board agrees to nominate and the
Holders agree to appoint such director.
(b) From and after the IPO Date, if
the Board shall approve such nominee (such approval not to be
unreasonably withheld) the Board shall (i) nominate, the VEBA
Nominee, to be elected a member of the Board and (ii) include
the VEBA Nominee in any proxy statement and related materials used
by the Corporation in respect of the election to which such
nomination pertains.
7
In the event that the Board does not
approve such nominee (or any subsequent nominee), the VEBA shall
have the right to designate a replacement VEBA Nominee (and further
replacement nominees for any subsequent nominees), which nominee
shall be subject to the prior written consent of the UAW, who shall
be subject to approval of the Board in accordance with this
Section 2.3.
Section 2.4 Agreement to Nominate
Canada Nominee . So long
as Canada holds at least 50% of its Initial Shares, at any time at
which the Corporation’s stockholders shall have the right to,
or shall, vote for or consent in writing to the election of
directors of the Corporation (whether at an annual meeting of the
Corporation’s stockholders, a special meeting of the
Corporation’s stockholders called for the purpose of electing
directors of the Corporation or at each adjournment or postponement
thereof), then, and in each such event, from and after the date
hereof to and including the IPO Date, Canada shall have the right
to designate one nominee, which nominee shall be Independent (the
“ Canada Nominee ”) (or if such Canada Nominee
is not Independent, UST and Canada shall consult with each other in
good faith prior to the election or appointment of such
non-Independent Canada Nominee), to serve as a director and the
Board agrees to nominate and the Holders agree to appoint such
director; provided, however, that the right of Canada to designate
a Canada Nominee at any election pursuant to this
Section 2.4 shall only apply in the event that if
Canada were not to designate a Canada Nominee at such election, no
member of the Board after such election would have been a Canada
Nominee. In the event that the Board nominates a former Canada
Nominee for re-election not pursuant to a designation by Canada
with respect to such election, such former Canada Nominee shall not
be considered a Canada Nominee for the purpose of determining
Canada’s right to designate a nominee at such
election.
ARTICLE III
CERTAIN COVENANTS AND
RESTRICTIONS
Section 3.1 Initial Public
Offering . The Government
Holders shall use their reasonable best efforts to exercise their
demand registration rights under the Equity Registration Rights
Agreement and cause an IPO to occur within one year of the date of
this Agreement, unless the Corporation is already taking steps and
proceeding with reasonable diligence to effect an IPO.
Section 3.2
Reserved.
Section 3.3 Transfer
Restrictions . Subject to
the restrictions set forth in this Section 3.3 (which
restrictions shall not apply with respect to sales made in an
underwritten offering pursuant to a registration statement of the
Corporation), the Holders shall have the right to Transfer all or
any portion of their respective Owned Shares, subject to compliance
with applicable law.
(a) Without the prior written
consent of the Board, no Holder shall Transfer any shares of Common
Stock or any options or warrants to acquire Common Stock, or any
interest therein, to any one Person or Group if such Person or
Group Beneficially Owns or would as a result of such Transfer
Beneficially Own (to the knowledge of the Holder after reasonable
inquiry) in excess of 10% of the Common Stock. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, any Holder may Transfer any or all of its shares of
Common Stock or any options or warrants to acquire Common Stock to
any Permitted Transferee or pursuant to an exchange offer, a tender
offer (or a request for invitation for tenders to the extent not
prohibited pursuant to Section 3.3(b) ), merger or
consolidation.
8
(b) Without the prior written
consent of the Board, no Holder shall Transfer any shares of Common
Stock or any options or warrants to acquire Common Stock to any
automotive vehicle manufacturer or any Affiliate thereof; provided,
however, that the VEBA, UST, Canada and their respective Permitted
Transferees (which shall not include Chrysler Group LLC or any
Affiliate thereof) shall not be regarded as Affiliates of Chrysler
Group LLC for purposes of this provision.
(c) No Transfer of any shares of
Common Stock or any options or warrants to acquire Commo