Exhibit 10.2
FORM OF
TAX SHARING AND INDEMNIFICATION
AGREEMENT
PREAMBLE
This Tax Sharing and Indemnification
Agreement (this “ Agreement ”), dated as of
[ • ] , 1 is made and entered into by and
among The Walt Disney Company, a Delaware corporation (“
TWDC ”), ABC Chicago FM Radio, Inc., a Delaware
corporation (“ Spinco ”), and Citadel
Broadcasting Corporation, a Delaware corporation (“
Citadel ”) (each a “ Party ” and,
collectively, the “ Parties ”).
RECITALS
WHEREAS, (a) TWDC and Spinco
have entered into a Separation Agreement, dated as of
February 6, 2006 (the “ Separation Agreement
”), pursuant to which TWDC will (i) engage in the
Restructuring (as defined below) and (ii) distribute to
holders of TWDC Common Stock (not including shares of TWDC Common
Stock held in the treasury of TWDC) all of the outstanding shares
of Spinco Common Stock either, at TWDC’s sole discretion,
through (x) a pro rata distribution of Spinco Common Stock in
a spin-off, (y) an exchange of Spinco Common Stock for TWDC
Common Stock in a split-off, or (z) a combination thereof (the
“ Public Distribution ” and, together with the
Restructuring, the “ Separation ”) and
(b) the Parties have entered into an Agreement and Plan of
Merger, dated as of February 6, 2006 (the “ Merger
Agreement ”), by and among TWDC, Spinco, Citadel and a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Citadel (“ Merger Sub
”), pursuant to which, Merger Sub will merge with and into
Spinco in accordance with applicable Law, whereupon the separate
corporate existence of Merger Sub shall cease and
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Insert closing date of the
Merger.
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Spinco shall be the surviving corporation
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(the “
Merger ,” and together with the Separation, the
“ Transaction ”);
WHEREAS, in order to consummate the
Public Distribution and the Merger, it is necessary and desirable
to effectuate the Restructuring;
WHEREAS, it is the intention of the
Parties that, for Federal Income Tax purposes, (a) the
transactions undertaken in connection with the Restructuring will
qualify as tax-free transactions under Sections 332, 351, 355, 361,
368 and other applicable provisions of the Code, (b) the
Public Distribution will qualify as a tax-free transaction under
Section 355 of the Code, and (c) the Merger will qualify
as a “reorganization” within the meaning of
Section 368(a) of the Code;
WHEREAS, TWDC and Spinco have
received a private letter ruling from the Internal Revenue Service
(“ IRS ”) setting forth certain Federal Income
Tax consequences of the Transaction and one or more opinions from
Dewey Ballantine LLP (the “ DB Opinion ”)
setting forth certain Federal Income Tax consequences of the
Transaction;
WHEREAS, TWDC and Spinco have
received an opinion of Dewey Ballantine LLP, and Citadel has
received an opinion of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, setting forth
certain Federal Income Tax consequences of the Merger (together,
the “ Merger Tax Opinions ”); and
WHEREAS, the Parties wish to
(a) provide for the payment of Tax liabilities and entitlement
to refunds thereof, (b) allocate responsibility for and
provide for cooperation in the filing of Tax Returns,
(c) provide for certain other matters relating to Taxes, and
(d) set forth
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The
Parties agree that this Agreement shall be modified prior to
execution to the extent necessary to reflect changes to the
contemplated structure of the Transaction or any portion
thereof.
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certain covenants and indemnities relating to
the preservation of the tax-free status of the Transaction, as
described in the Letter Ruling (as defined below) and the DB
Opinion;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of
their mutual promises, the Parties hereby agree as
follows:
ARTICLE I
DEFINITIONS AND
CONSTRUCTION
Section 1.01 Certain
Definitions . As used in this Agreement, the following terms
shall have the following meanings:
“ Affiliate ”
means, with respect to a specified Person, (i) a Subsidiary
and (ii) any “controlling shareholder” or member
of a “coordinating group” that constitutes a
controlling shareholder, in each case within the meaning of
Treasury Regulations Section 1.355-7(h). For the avoidance of
doubt, (i) Farid Suleman, Forstmann Little & Co.
Equity Partnership-VI, L.P., Forstmann Little & Co. Equity
Partnership-VII, L.P., Forstmann Little & Co. Subordinated
Debt and Equity Management Buyout Partnership-VII, L.P., and
Forstmann Little & Co. Subordinated Debt and Equity
Management Buyout Partnership-VIII, L.P. shall be considered
Affiliates of Citadel, and (ii) upon and after consummation of
the Merger, Citadel and its Affiliates shall be Affiliates of
Spinco.
“ Agreement ” has
the meaning set forth in the Preamble hereof.
“ Ancillary Agreements
” has the meaning set forth in the Merger Agreement, but
excluding any agreements referenced in clause “(n)” in
such definition.
“ Benefited Party
” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.04 of this
Agreement.
“ Citadel ” has
the meaning set forth in the Preamble to this Agreement.
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“ Citadel Indemnified
Parties ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.02
of this Agreement.
“ Citadel Indemnifying
Parties ” has the meaning set forth in
Section 6.01(b) of this Agreement.
“ Citadel Tainting Act
” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.01(a) of this
Agreement.
“ Closing Date ”
has the meaning set forth in the Merger Agreement.
“ Code ” means
the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or any
successor thereto, as in effect for the taxable period in
question.
“ Company Convertible
Notes ” has the meaning set forth in the Merger
Agreement.
“ Company Option
” has the meaning set forth in the Merger
Agreement.
“ Contributing Tainting
Act ” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.04 of
this Agreement.
“ DB Opinion ”
has the meaning set forth in the Recitals to this
Agreement.
“ Detrimented Party
” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.04 of this
Agreement.
“ Distribution Date
” means the date of this Agreement.
“ Distribution
Disqualification ” means the failure of the Public
Distribution to qualify as a nonrecognition transaction to TWDC and
its stockholders under Sections 355(a) and (e) of the
Code.
“ Distribution Tainting
Act ” means any action, or any failure to take a Required
Action (including, in either case, entering into any agreement,
understanding or arrangement or any substantial negotiations with
respect to any action or any failure to take a Required
Action)
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by (a) Citadel or any of its
Affiliates (but not including the Spinco Group for actions taken,
or failures to take Required Actions, prior to the Merger) or
(b) after the Merger, Spinco or any of its Affiliates, that
causes a Distribution Disqualification to occur; provided ,
however , that the term “Distribution Tainting
Act” shall not include any of the following actions (unless,
in the case of any action or any failure to take a Required Action
on the part of Citadel or any of its Affiliates (including, after
the Merger, the Spinco Group) described in clauses (iv),
(vi) and (vii) below, at the time of such action, Citadel
or any of its Affiliates (including, after the Merger, the Spinco
Group) has actual knowledge that such action or failure to take a
Required Action could cause a Distribution Disqualification,
provided , that in the case of an action or failure to take
a Required Action for which TWDC has received a favorable Letter
Ruling or Citadel has received TWDC Approval as described in
(vi) or (vii) below, the provision contained in this
parenthetical shall apply only to the extent such knowledge is
based on information not known to the Parties at the time such
Letter Ruling or TWDC Approval was received): (i) for the
avoidance of doubt, any action taken by Spinco or any of its
Affiliates prior to the Merger, (ii) any action that is
required to be taken by Citadel or Spinco pursuant to the
Transaction Agreements, (iii) any action taken at the written
request of TWDC to mitigate the adverse effects on the tax-free
status of the Transaction of a breach by TWDC, Spinco or any of
their Affiliates, occurring prior to the Merger, of a
representation, warranty or covenant contained in the Transaction
Agreements or any representation made in connection with the Letter
Ruling or DB Opinion, regardless of whether such breach or its
effects continues after the Public Distribution, (iv) any
conversion of a convertible bond, vesting of restricted stock or a
restricted stock unit of Citadel or exercise of a Company Option,
in each case to the extent taken into account in calculating the
number of Company Diluted Shares Outstanding, or any exercise of a
TWDC Converted Option, (v) any
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action or failure to take a Required
Action, to the extent there has been a Final Determination that a
previous TWDC Action has already caused a Distribution
Disqualification, (vi) any action expressly permitted (when
taken together with all prior Letter Rulings, the DB Opinion and
any Opinions of Counsel) by a valid Letter Ruling on which TWDC is
entitled to rely, provided that for the avoidance of doubt,
TWDC will not be considered to be entitled to rely on any Letter
Ruling if it is based on any misrepresentation or material
misstatement or omission of fact by Citadel or any of its
Affiliates, (vii) any action for which Spinco or Citadel has
received TWDC Approval and (viii) any conversion of the Company
Convertible Notes, to the extent that TWDC has made the election
provided in clause (c) of the definition of Company Diluted Shares
Outstanding in the Merger Agreement. 3
“ Federal Income Tax
” means any Tax imposed under Subtitle A of the Code
(including the Taxes imposed by Sections 11, 55, 59A, 1201(a) and
1502 of the Code and the Treasury Regulations promulgated
thereunder), and any other income-based United States federal Tax
that is hereinafter imposed, plus any interest, additions to Tax or
penalties applicable or related thereto.
“ Final Determination
” means the final resolution of liability for any Tax for a
taxable period by: (i) IRS Form 870-AD (or any successor forms
thereto), on the date of acceptance by or on behalf of the IRS, or
a comparable form under the laws of other jurisdictions, on the
date of acceptance by or on behalf of the Taxing Authority of such
jurisdiction, except that an IRS Form 870-AD or comparable form
that reserves (whether by its terms or by operation of law) the
right of the taxpayer to file a claim for refund and/or the
right
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The
Parties agree that, prior to the execution of this Agreement, the
parties shall in good faith negotiate expansions or contractions to
this list, as appropriate based on continuing discussions with the
Internal Revenue Service in connection with the Original Ruling
Request.
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of the IRS or other Taxing Authority
to assert a further deficiency with respect to the Tax liability
for any such taxable period shall not constitute a Final
Determination; (ii) a decision, judgment, decree or other
order by a court of competent jurisdiction, on the date on which it
becomes final and unappealable; (iii) a closing agreement as
to final determination of liability on IRS Form 866 (or any
successor form thereto) or offer in compromise with respect to the
Tax liability for any such taxable period under Section 7121
or 7122 of the Code, on the date of acceptance by or on behalf of
the IRS, or by comparable agreements under the laws of other
jurisdictions, on the date of acceptance by or on behalf of the
Taxing Authority of such jurisdiction, except that a closing
agreement or offer in compromise or comparable agreement that
reserves (whether by its terms, stipulations or operation of law)
the right of the taxpayer to file a claim for refund and/or the
right of the IRS or other Taxing Authority to assert a further
deficiency with respect to the Tax liability for any such taxable
period shall not constitute a Final Determination; or (iv) any
other final disposition with respect to the Tax liability for any
such taxable period, including by reason of the expiration of the
applicable statute of limitations.
“ IRS ” has the
meaning set forth in the Recitals of this Agreement.
“ Indemnified Party
” means any Party that receives any payment or indemnity
required by Article VI of this Agreement.
“ Indemnifying Party
” means any Party that makes any payment or indemnity
required by Article VI of this Agreement.
“ Letter Ruling ”
means the Original Letter Ruling and any supplemental or additional
private letter rulings obtained with the advance written consent of
TWDC that may be issued by the IRS to any Party with respect to the
Transaction or any part thereof.
“ Liability Issue
” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.01(b) of this
Agreement.
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“ Merger ” has
the meaning set forth in the Recitals of this Agreement.
“ Merger Agreement
” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals of this
Agreement.
“ Merger Sub ”
has the meaning set forth in the Recitals of this
Agreement.
“ Merger Tax Opinions
” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals of this
Agreement.
“ Notifying Party
” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.01(b) of this
Agreement.
“ Opinion of Counsel
” means an unqualified “will” opinion of Dewey
Ballantine LLP that is in form and substance reasonably
satisfactory to TWDC.
“ Option ” has
the meaning contained in Treasury Regulations
Section 1.355-7(e)(3).
“ Original Letter
Ruling ” means the private letter ruling dated
[•] issued by the IRS to TWDC and Spinco, setting
forth certain Federal Income Tax consequences of the
Transaction.
“ Original Ruling
Request ” means the ruling request submissions (together
with all exhibits and appendices thereto) submitted to the IRS on
behalf of TWDC and Spinco pursuant to which the Original Letter
Ruling was issued.
“ Party ” and
“ Parties ” have the meaning set forth in the
Preamble of this Agreement.
“ Person ” means
any natural person, corporation, business trust, joint venture,
association, company, partnership, limited liability company or
other entity (regardless of whether such entity is disregarded as
an entity for Federal Income Tax purposes).
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“ Plan Shares ”
means shares of Spinco or Citadel (as a successor to or acquiror of
Spinco) to be treated as acquired pursuant to a “plan”
for purposes of Section 355(e) of the Code and Treasury
Regulations Section 1.355-7.
“ Post-Distribution
Period ” means a taxable period that begins after the
Distribution Date, and, in the case of any Straddle Period, that
part of the Straddle Period that begins at the beginning of the day
after the Distribution Date.
“ Pre-Distribution
Period ” means a taxable period that ends on or before
the Distribution Date, and, in the case of any Straddle Period,
that part of the Straddle Period through the close of the
Distribution Date.
“ Public Distribution
” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals of this
Agreement.
“ Representative
” means, with respect to any Person, any of such
Person’s directors, officers, employees, agents, consultants,
advisors, accountants, attorneys and representatives.
“ Required Action
” means (i) any action that is required of Citadel or
any of its Affiliates under this Agreement or under any Transaction
Agreement, or (ii) any action that is required of Citadel,
Spinco or their respective Affiliates so as not to cause any
statement, representation or covenant made with respect to Citadel,
Spinco or their respective Affiliates in connection with any Letter
Ruling, DB Opinion or Opinion of Counsel to be untrue, breached or
violated (but, in the case of (ii), only to the extent such
statements, representations or covenants made in connection with a
Letter Ruling or Opinion of Counsel obtained after the date hereof
were approved by Citadel, which approval shall not to be
unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed).
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“ Restricted Period
” means the portion of the Distribution Date following the
Public Distribution and the two-year period following the
Distribution Date.
“ Restructuring ”
has the meaning set forth in the Separation Agreement.
“ Restructuring
Disqualification ” means the failure of any of the
transactions undertaken in connection with the Restructuring to
qualify as a nonrecognition transaction under Section 332,
351, 355, 361 or 368 of the Code, as applicable, as specified in
the Letter Ruling and/or the DB Opinion. For purposes of this
definition, a transaction that may qualify as a nonrecognition
transaction under both Section 332 and Section 368 of the
Code and with respect which the IRS does not specify the Code
section under which it grants nonrecognition treatment shall be
treated as a transaction qualifying under both Section 332 and
Section 368 of the Code.
“ Restructuring Tainting
Act ” means any action, or any failure to take a Required
Action (including, in either case, entering into any agreement,
understanding or arrangement or any substantial negotiations with
respect to any action, or any failure to take a Required Action),
by (a) Citadel or any of its Affiliates (but not including the
Spinco Group for actions taken or failures to take Required Actions
prior to the Merger) or (b) after the Merger, Spinco or any of
its Affiliates, that causes a Restructuring Disqualification to
occur; provided , however , that the term
“Restructuring Tainting Act” shall not include any of
the following actions (unless, in the case of any action or any
failure to take a Required Action on the part of Citadel or any of
its Affiliates (including, after the Merger, the Spinco Group)
described in clauses (iv), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix), (x) and
(xi) below, at the time of such action, Citadel or any of its
Affiliates (including, after the Merger, the Spinco Group) has
actual knowledge that such action or failure to take a Required
Action could cause a Restructuring Disqualification,
provided , that in the case of an action or failure to take
a Required Action for which TWDC has received a
favorable
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Letter Ruling or Citadel has
received TWDC Approval as described in (vi) or
(vii) below, the provision contained in this parenthetical
shall apply only to the extent such knowledge is based on
information not known to the Parties at the time such Letter Ruling
or TWDC Approval was received): (i) for the avoidance of
doubt, any action taken by Spinco or any of its Affiliates prior to
the Merger, (ii) any action that is required to be taken by
Citadel or Spinco pursuant to the Transaction Agreements,
(iii) any action taken at the written request of TWDC to
mitigate the adverse effects on the tax-free status of the
Transaction of a breach by TWDC, Spinco or any of their Affiliates,
occurring prior to the Merger, of a representation, warranty or
covenant contained in the Transaction Agreements or any
representation made in connection with the Letter Ruling or DB
Opinion, regardless of whether such breach or its effects continues
after the Public Distribution, (iv) any conversion of a
convertible bond, vesting of restricted stock or a restricted stock
unit of Citadel or exercise of a Company Option, in each case to
the extent taken into account in calculating the number of Company
Diluted Shares Outstanding, or any exercise of a TWDC Converted
Option, (v) any action or failure to take a Required Action,
to the extent there has been a Final Determination that a previous
TWDC Action has already caused a Restructuring Disqualification
with respect to the same aspect of the Restructuring, (vi) any
action expressly permitted (when taken together with all prior
Letter Rulings, the DB Opinion and any Opinions of Counsel) by a
valid Letter Ruling on which TWDC is entitled to rely,
provided that for the avoidance of doubt, TWDC will not be
considered to be entitled to rely on any Letter Ruling if it is
based on any misrepresentation or material misstatement or omission
of fact by Citadel or any of its Affiliates, (vii) any action
for which Spinco or Citadel has received TWDC Approval,
(viii) actions, other than any action either during or after
the Restricted Period that would be prohibited under
Section 4.04(b), (c) or (d) of this Agreement if
taken during the
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Restricted Period, taken in the
ordinary course of operating a radio station or radio network, so
long as Citadel and its Subsidiaries continue to engage in the
business of operating radio stations and radio networks and
continue to use a significant portion of Spinco’s assets in
that business (within the meaning of Treasury Regulations
Section 1.368-1(d)), which actions include programming changes
(including changes in format), adoption and change of call signs,
contracts and other relationships with talent, sales, employment
and labor matters, including non-equity employee benefits, capital
expenditures, and ordinary-course acquisitions and dispositions of
assets for cash, (ix) acquisitions for cash or debt,
(x) ordinary ( i.e. , non-equity-linked and not part of
an investment unit) “straight” debt financing and
refinancing (as described in Section 1361 of the Code, but
without regard to the identity of the borrower or the lender),
(xi) actions, other than any action either during or after the
Restricted Period that would be prohibited under
Section 4.04(b), (c) or (d) of this Agreement if
taken during the Restricted Period, taken by any Party or its
Subsidiaries specifically required under any Ancillary Agreement,
the termination or renegotiation of any Ancillary Agreement or any
other actions taken by Citadel or its Subsidiaries to replace the
subject matter of any Ancillary Agreement and (xii) any conversion
of the Company Convertible Notes, to the extent that TWDC has made
the election provided in clause (c) of the definition of Company
Diluted Shares Outstanding in the Merger Agreement.
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“ Ruling Request
” means the Original Ruling Request, any supplemental
submission relating thereto and any supplemental letter ruling
requests submitted to the IRS, pursuant to which any Letter Ruling
is issued.
“ Separation ”
has the meaning set forth in the Recitals of this
Agreement.
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The
Parties agree that, prior to the execution of this Agreement, the
parties shall in good faith negotiate expansions or contractions to
this list, as appropriate based on continuing discussions with the
Internal Revenue Service in connection with the Original Ruling
Request.
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“ Separation Agreement
” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals of this
Agreement.
“ Specified Restructuring
Business ” means (i) Spinco’s radio network
business of producing and distributing radio programming and
(ii) the businesses of the following radio stations: WZZN(FM),
KQRS-FM, KXXR(FM), WGVX/WGVY/WGVZ(FM), WMAL(AM), WJZW(FM), KGO(AM),
KSFO(AM), KABC(AM), KLOS(FM), KSCS(FM), KTYS(FM), WABC(AM),
WBAP(AM), WDRQ(FM), WDVD(FM), WJR(AM), WKHX(FM), WLS(AM), WPLJ(FM),
WRQX(FM), and WYAY(FM). 5
“ Specified Restructuring
Entity ” means, as to a Specified Restructuring Business,
the Subsidiary of Spinco that holds and conducts that business at
the time of the Public Distribution.
“ Spinco ” has
the meaning set forth in the Preamble of this Agreement.
“ Spinco Common Stock
” has the meaning set forth in the Separation
Agreement.
“ Spinco Group ”
means Spinco and all entities that are Subsidiaries of Spinco
immediately after the Public Distribution and prior to the
Merger.
“ Spinco Return ”
has the meaning set forth in Section 2.02(b) of this
Agreement.
“ Straddle Period
” means a taxable period that begins on or before and ends
after the Distribution Date.
“ Subsidiary ”
has the meaning set forth in the Merger Agreement.
“ Tax ” has the
meaning set forth in the Merger Agreement.
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The
Parties agree that, prior to the execution of this Agreement, this
list shall be modified to take into account any changes to the
contemplated steps in the Restructuring and continuing discussions
with the Internal Revenue Service in connection with the Original
Ruling Request.
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“ Tax Benefit ”
means an amount by which the Tax liability of a Party is reduced
(including by deduction, reduction of income by virtue of increased
Tax basis or otherwise, or entitlement to a Tax refund, credit or
otherwise).
“ Tax Controversy
” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.02(a) of this
Agreement.
“ Tax Detriment ”
means an amount by which the Tax liability of a Party is increased
(including decreases in Tax refunds and credits).
“ Tax Item ”
means any item of income, gain, loss, deduction, credit, recapture
of credit or any other item that may have the effect of increasing
or decreasing Taxes paid or payable.
“ Tax Return ”
means any return, report, declaration, form, claim for refund,
information return or statement relating to Taxes, including any
schedule or attachment thereto, and including any amendment
thereof.
“ Taxing Authority
” means any national, municipal, governmental,
administrative, judicial, state, federal, foreign or other body
that imposes or administers the imposition of any Tax.
“ Transaction ”
has the meaning set forth in the Recitals to this
Agreement.
“ Transaction
Agreements ” mean the Merger Agreement, the Separation
Agreement and the other agreements entered into in conjunction
therewith, excluding any Ancillary Agreements referenced in clause
“(n)” in the definition thereof.
“ Treasury Regulations
” means the regulations promulgated under the Code, and any
successor provisions thereof, as in effect for the relevant taxable
period.
“ TWDC ” has the
meaning set forth in the Preamble of this Agreement.
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“ TWDC Action ”
means: (i) any action by TWDC or any of its Affiliates with
respect to the stock or assets of TWDC or any of its Subsidiaries
(other than the members of the Spinco Group), provided however,
that a transaction with respect to the stock of TWDC involving
Citadel or any of its Affiliates shall not constitute a TWDC
Action; (ii) any failure of TWDC or any of its Subsidiaries
(other than the members of the Spinco Group) to maintain its status
as a company engaged in the conduct of an active trade or business
(within the meaning of Section 355(b) of the Code);
(iii) the failure of any representation made by TWDC in
connection with any Letter Ruling, the DB Opinion or any subsequent
ruling or opinion regarding the Transaction, with respect to TWDC
or any of its Subsidiaries (other than the members of the Spinco
Group) or the plans, proposals, intentions and policies of TWDC or
any of its Subsidiaries (other than the members of the Spinco
Group) to be true and correct; or (iv) the failure by TWDC or
any of its Subsidiaries (other than the members of the Spinco
Group) to comply with any covenant made by TWDC in connection with
any Letter Ruling, the DB Opinion or any subsequent ruling or
opinion regarding the Transaction; provided , however
, that in the case of (i), (iii) and (iv), above, the term
“TWDC Action” shall not include any action that causes
shares of Spinco or Citadel (as a successor to or acquiror of
Spinco) to be treated as Plan Shares, to the extent the number of
such Plan Shares is less than or equal to [•] shares as of
the date hereof (it being understood that to the extent what would
otherwise constitute a TWDC Action results in Plan Shares in excess
of [•], such action shall constitute a TWDC Action only to
the extent of the Plan Shares in excess of [•]).
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“ TWDC Adverse Impact
” has the meaning set forth in the Merger
Agreement.
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The
number to be inserted shall be determined based upon the amount of
“headroom” available to TWDC, as finally determined on
the Merger date, taking into any adjustments to the structure
pursuant to Section 2.7 of the Merger Agreement.
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“ TWDC Approval ”
means the advance written consent of TWDC, which consent shall be
granted or withheld in the reasonable discretion of TWDC, such
discretion to be exercised in good faith solely to preserve the
tax-free status of the Transaction; provided that TWDC shall
be deemed to have reasonably withheld its consent if (i) it is
unable to obtain an Opinion of Counsel or a Letter Ruling
confirming the preservation of the tax-free status of the
Transaction or (ii) such Opinion of Counsel or Letter Ruling
would require representations that would reasonably be expected to
result in, in the aggregate, a TWDC Adverse Impact, or shifts the
burden of representations made in connection with prior Letter
Rulings, DB Opinions or Opinions of Counsel to TWDC or any of its
Affiliates in a way that TWDC determines in good faith is
burdensome to TWDC or any of its Affiliates; provided
further that TWDC may refuse to request or to allow the
filing of a request for such a Letter Ruling if TWDC determines in
good faith that (y) the filing relates to or impacts
Pre-Distribution Periods, other than with respect to the
Transaction itself or (z) filing such request might have a
more than a de minimis adverse effect upon the intended tax
consequences of the Transaction. The fact that TWDC’s refusal
to provide TWDC Approval results in a benefit to TWDC and its
Affiliates in addition to the preservation of the tax-free status
of the Transaction shall not, in and of itself, constitute a breach
of the standard described in the immediately preceding sentence.
TWDC agrees to use its reasonable best efforts to respond to a
request for TWDC Approval within 30 days of the receipt of a
written request for such consent.
“ TWDC Common Stock
&