Exhibit 10.3
TRANSITION SERVICES
AGREEMENT
THIS TRANSITION SERVICES
AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made as of
December 31, 2005 (“Effective Date”), by and
between ALCOA INC., a Pennsylvania corporation
(“Seller”), and SGS International, Inc., a
corporation organized under the laws of Delaware
(“Purchaser”).
WHEREAS, Purchaser and Seller entered into an Acquisition
Agreement dated November 11, 2005 (the “Acquisition
Agreement”) pursuant to which Purchaser will acquire the
Purchased Business, as such term is defined in the Acquisition
Agreement;
WHEREAS, Purchaser desires that Seller provide certain
temporary transition services to Purchaser, the Companies and the
Subsidiaries (as each such term is defined in the Acquisition
Agreement) related to the Purchased Business following the Closing
Date, and Seller is willing to provide such services;
and
WHEREAS, Section 10.02(g) of the Acquisition
Agreement provides that the parties will enter into this Agreement
as a condition to Closing the transaction.
NOW, THEREFORE,
the parties agree as
follows:
1. INTRODUCTION . For
purposes of this Agreement and unless otherwise specified,
capitalized terms not otherwise defined herein have the meanings
given to them in the Acquisition Agreement.
2. SERVICES . Seller will
supply and Purchaser will purchase the individual services listed
in Schedule A (each a “Transition Service”) on the
terms and conditions set forth herein. Schedule A sets forth the
maximum time period and fee for each Transition Service. Any
Transition Service requiring a third party consent is contingent on
Purchaser obtaining such consent from such party. Seller agrees to
provide or cause to be provided to Purchaser those Transition
Services in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and subject
to any conditions specified in Schedule A . In addition,
Seller shall cooperate with Purchaser, at Purchaser’s expense
and request, in transferring any Transition Service to Purchaser or
an alternate supplier prior to the end of the Term.
3. FEES . The fee methodology
for each Transition Service is set forth in Schedule A
(“Fees”).
4. TAXES . Purchaser is
responsible for and will pay any and all taxes or any other
governmental charges (not including those based upon Seller’s
income) which may now or later be imposed upon the purchase and
sale or use of the Transition Services provided pursuant to this
Agreement.
5. PAYMENT . Purchaser will
pay for each Transition Service incurred by it in accordance with
the terms hereof. Seller will invoice Purchaser on a monthly basis
(except if specified
differently in Schedule A) for Fees related to
such Transition Service provided by Sellers during the prior month.
Purchaser will pay all invoices related to the Transition Services
provided in this Agreement within 30 days of the date of each
invoice. Seller reserves the right to terminate this Agreement if
Purchaser defaults on its payment obligations hereunder and fails
to cure such default within ten days after receipt of written
notice from Seller.
6. TERM . This Agreement
commences on the Effective Date and will remain in effect through
June 30, 2006 (the “Term”). Notwithstanding the
foregoing, Schedule A sets forth the length of time that
Seller is required to provide each Transition Service to Purchaser,
and Seller’s obligation to provide such Transition Service
shall expire on the earlier of the end of such length of time or
the end of the Term.
7. TERMINATION . Purchaser
may terminate any Transition Service at any time upon 15 days
written notice to Seller or such other length of time as set forth
in the Schedules hereto. Upon such termination, Purchaser will pay
Seller the actual Fees for such terminated Transition Service up
until the effective date of termination. Upon the termination of
any Transition Services (including without limitation expiration of
the Term), Purchaser will return to Seller, as soon as practicable,
any equipment or other property of Seller relating to such
Transition Service which is owned or leased by Seller and is then
in Purchaser’s possession or control. If Purchaser breaches
any of the terms of this Agreement in any material respect or fails
to perform in any material respect any of its obligations under
this Agreement, Seller shall give Purchaser written notice of such
breach and, if Purchaser fails to cure such breach within ten days
of receipt of such notice, Seller may terminate this Agreement in
whole or in part.
8. LIMITATION ON SERVICES
PROVIDED . Seller is excused from performing a particular
Transition Service under this Agreement (i) when doing so
would unreasonably interfere with the ability of Seller or
Seller’s Affiliates to conduct business as currently
conducted, provided that Seller shall provide Purchaser at least
thirty days notice prior to the time it ceases providing such
service; (ii) if a third party consent is required to provide
such Transition Service and such third party refuses, delays in
granting, or is unable to grant the required consent; or
(iii) if and to the extent performance of such Transition
Services results in a breach of any existing agreement of Seller or
an Affiliate of Seller. In providing the Transition Services,
Seller is not obligated to: (i) hire any additional employees;
(ii) maintain the employment of any specific employee;
(iii) purchase, lease or license any additional equipment or
software; (iv) pay any costs related to the transfer or
conversion of Purchaser’s data to Purchaser or any alternate
supplier of Transition Services; or (v) make any major capital
investment, in Seller’s sole and absolute discretion, to
provide or continue providing the Transition Services. Seller has
no responsibility to verify the correctness of any information
given to it by or on behalf of Purchaser for the purpose of
providing the Transition Services.
9. LIMITATIONS OF SERVICES .
At the conclusion of each transition period of each respective
Transition Service, Seller will have no further obligation to
furnish the Transition Service to Purchaser and will have no
obligation to maintain the capability to furnish the Transition
Service to Purchaser. It is Purchaser’s sole responsibility
to arrange for another provider for each Transition Service to
furnish the Transition Service to Purchaser that was previously
provided by Seller. In the event that Purchaser fails to make such
arrangements, or
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fails to make such arrangements in a manner that
allows Purchaser to begin procuring the Transition Service from the
other provider immediately after the conclusion of the respective
transition period of the Transition Service set forth in Schedule
A, then Seller, in its sole and absolute discretion, may, but is
not obligated to, continue to furnish the Transition Service to
Purchaser at a price equal to twice that otherwise provided herein
for such Transition Service, and Seller shall retain the right to
cease providing the Transition Service to Purchaser at any time
after the conclusion of the respective transition period of each
Transition Service.
10. FORCE MAJEURE EVENT .
Force Majeure Event means any event or circumstance or combination
of events or circumstances beyond the reasonable control of Seller
that directly results in or causes a failure or delay by or
hindrance to or interference with Seller’s fulfillment wholly
or in part of any of its obligations under this Agreement, which
circumstances cannot be overcome by the exercise of reasonable
efforts by Seller. Without limiting the generality of the
foregoing, Force Majeure Event includes the following events and
circumstances to the extent that they satisfy the above
requirements: riots, wars (declared or undeclared), insurrections,
sabotage, rebellions, terrorist acts, civil disturbances,
embargoes, blockages, acts of God, lightning, earthquakes, floods,
storms, hurricanes, freezes, cyclones, tidal waves, tornadoes,
unusual weather conditions, epidemics, plagues, explosions,
chemical contaminations, fires, major equipment failures, strikes,
lockouts, go-slows or other labor difficulties or labor shortages,
a change in law, and interruptions of fuel supply, power, water,
utilities, wastewater disposal or product distribution. Seller will
have no liability to Purchaser for its failure to provide such
Transition Service during the time when the provision of all or a
portion of such Transition Service by Seller is prevented,
hindered, delayed or rendered impracticable due to a Force Majeure
Event, provided that during such Force Majeure Event Seller shall
continue to provide all Transition Services under this Agreement to
the extent reasonably possible. Seller will promptly give notice of
any Force Majeure Event to Purchaser and will indicate in such
notice the effect of such event on Seller’s ability to
perform hereunder and the anticipated duration of such event.
Neither the transition period of any Transition Service nor the
Term will be extended due to the occurrence of a Force Majeure
Event. If suspension of Seller’s performance continues for
more than six consecutive months as a result of a Force Majeure
Event, either party may terminate this Agreement by giving notice
to the other party pursuant to the notice provision of the
Acquisition Agreement.
11. THIRD PARTY LICENSES AND
CONTRACTS . Purchaser is responsible for obtaining any
supplemental licenses or third party consents necessary for Seller
to provide Transition Services to Purchaser. Purchaser may, at its
sole discretion, pay all required fees and expenses to obtain such
required licenses and consents and, if Purchaser chooses not to pay
such fees, then Seller may, at Seller’s sole discretion,
discontinue the provision of the applicable Transition
Service.
12. SUPPORT BY PURCHASER .
Purchaser is responsible for providing all consumables required for
the Transition Services (including but not limited to office
supplies, computers, computer software, office equipment, copy and
fax machines and the like) that are used on Purchaser’s
premises by Purchaser’s employees or by Seller’s
employees. Purchaser is responsible for security of all equipment
in its possession.
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13. INDEMNITY . Purchaser will indemnify,
defend and hold harmless Seller and its Affiliates, directors,
officers, shareholders, employees and agents from and against any
and all Losses resulting from a demand, claim, lawsuit, action or
proceeding relating to any Person’s conduct in connection
with the provision of Transition Services to Purchaser under this
Agreement, provided that such Losses are not caused by
Seller’s gross negligence or willful misconduct.
14. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY .
NOTWITHSTANDING THE DEFINITION OF LOSSES UNDER THE ACQUISITION
AGREEMENT, EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT CAUSED BY SELLER’S GROSS
NEGLIGENCE OR WILLFUL MISCONDUCT, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL
SELLER OR SELLER’S AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL,
INDIRECT, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
(INCLUDING LOST PROFITS OR LOST REVENUES) OF PURCHASER, ITS
SUCCESSORS, ASSIGNS OR AFFILIATES, AS A RESULT OF, IN CONNECTION
WITH, OR ARISING OUT OF THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSITION SERVICES
PROVIDED UNDER THIS AGREEMENT, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SUCH LIABILITY
ARISES IN TORT, CONTRACT, BREACH OF WARRANTY, INDEMNIFICATION OR
OTHERWISE. IN ANY EVENT, SELLER’S LIABILITY UNDER THIS
AGREEMENT WILL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS $100,000.00,
EXCEPT FOR LIABILITY ARISING FROM SELLER’S GROSS NEGLIGENCE
OR WILLFUL MISCONDUCT. PURCHASER ASSUMES ALL OTHER LIABILITY FOR
ANY LOSS, DAMAGE OR INJURY TO PERSONS OR PROPERTY ARISING OUT OF,
CONNECTED WITH OR RESULTING FROM THE USE OF SELLER’S
SERVICES, INFRASTRUCTURE OR PROPERTY PURSUANT TO THIS AGREEMENT OR
THE TRANSITION SERVICES PROVIDED UNDER THIS AGREEMENT EITHER ALONE
OR IN COMBINATION.
15. SUBROGATION . In the
event any liability arises from the performance of Transition
Services hereunder by a third party contractor for which Seller may
be liable, Purchaser, the Companies and the Subsidiaries are
subrogated to such rights, if any, as the Seller may have against
such third party contractor with respect to the Transition Services
provided by such third party contractor to or on behalf of the
Seller.
16. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES
. SELLER MAKES NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY WHATSOEVER, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY REPRESENTATION OR
WARRANTY AS TO THE QUALITY OR CONDITION OR MERCHANTABILITY OR
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OF THE TRANSITION SERVICES TO BE
PROVIDED UNDER THIS AGREEMENT. SELLER DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE
SYSTEMS CONTEMPLATED UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR
ERROR FREE, OR THAT ALL ERRORS WILL BE CORRECTED. SELLER IS NOT
RESPONSIBLE FOR PROBLEMS CAUSED BY FAILURE OF SYSTEMS.
17. PROCEDURES . All of
Purchaser’s users of Seller’s Transition Services must
comply at all times with this Agreement and with Seller’s IT
policies and procedures that are applicable to a Transition Service
if such policies and procedures apply to both Purchaser and the
Seller’s
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business units. All of such current IT policies
and procedures are set forth on Schedule B hereto, and
Seller will provide Purchaser with the same notice of any future
policies, procedures, or enhancements that it provides to its other
business units. Purchaser will comply with all requirements of such
policies or projects or enhancements. Purchaser will continue to
provide data and information necessary for Alcoa to provide the
Transition Services to Purchaser consistent with the manner and
format in which such data and information is currently
provided.
18. NOTICES . All notices,
request, demands (including claims for indemnification and other
communications) arising under this Agreement will be given in
accordance with such provisions contained in the Acquisition
Agreement.
19. DISPUTES . The parties
will use Best Efforts to resolve disputes related to this
Agreement. If the dispute is unable to be resolved by using Best
Efforts then parties hereto may refer such matter in dispute to an
arbitrator for resolution by sending a written notice setting forth
the matter which requires resolution to an arbitrator and to the
other party. Any such controversy or claim in connection with this
Agreement, including its validity, interpretation, application,
scope, enforceability, performance, breach and termination, shall
be settled by in accordance with Commercial Arbitration Rules.
Notice of arbitration shall be deemed proper if made in accordance
with Section 18 of this Agreement. Seller and Purchaser agree
that the arbitrators have no authority to: (i) award relief in
excess of what this Agreement provides; or (ii) award punitive
damages or any other damages not measured by the prevailing
party’s actual and direct damages. The parties agree that the
arbitrators are hereby authorized to consult with and employ
attorneys, accountants or experts that may be deemed necessary to
assist them in determining issues or matters of law arising in the
course of the arbitration proceedings. The costs and fees shall be
determined in the sole discretion of the arbitrator and may be
assessed or apportioned to either or both of the parties in the
award. The results of any such arbitration proceedings shall be
final and binding upon the Parties and shall not be subject to
appeal. Such arbitration shall be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Judgment upon the award rendered may be entered in any court having
jurisdiction, or an application may be made to any court for a
judicial acceptance of the award and an order of enforcement, as
the case may be.
20. CONFIDENTIALITY .
Purchaser and Seller will maintain as confidential and not disclose
to any third party any Confidential Information provided by the
other in the performance of this Agreement. Confidential
Information includes all processes, know-how, methods, software
(including source and object code), drawings, data, reports, plans,
documents, business secrets and confidential information of any
kind written or unwritten pertaining to the business of Seller or
Purchaser, as applicable, which is non-public (“Confidential
Information”). This Agreement does not apply to Confidential
Information which:
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(a)
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can be
demonstrated to have been in the receiving party’s possession
prior to receipt from the disclosing party;
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(b)
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is or becomes
generally available to the public without breach of this
Agreement;
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(c)
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becomes
available to the receiving party from a third party which has the
legal right to disclose such information; or,
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(d)
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can be shown to
have been developed by the receiving party independent of
disclosures under this Agreement.
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Upon 10 days written request of the disclosing
party, the receiving party will return all copies of Confidential
Information to the disclosing party in accordance with the notice
provision of the Acquisition Agreement.
21. SELLER’S DATA
SYSTEMS. Seller’s data systems, procedures and related
materials provided to Purchaser are for Purchaser’s internal
use only and only as related to the Transition Services of any of
the underlying data systems used to provide the Transition
Services. Title to all data systems used in performing the
Transition Services provided hereunder will remain with Seller or
Seller’s third party vendors unless explicitly provided
otherwise in the Acquisition Agreement. Purchaser will not copy,
modify, reverse engineer, decompile or in any way alter data
systems without Seller’s express written consent.
22. GENERAL .
(a) Waiver. The failure of a
party to require performance of any provision hereof will not
affect its right at a later time to enforce the same. No waiver by
a party of any term or warranty contained herein will be effective
unless in writing. No such waiver in any one instance will be
deemed a further or continuing waiver of any such term, covenant,
representation or warranty in any other instance.
(b) Assignment. This
Agreement is not assignable, in whole or in part, by either party
without the prior written consent of the other. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, an assignment in accordance with this Agreement will not
relieve a party of its obligations, commitments, liabilities, or
responsibilities under this Agreement. Any assignment of this
Agreement in violation of this Section is null and void.
(c) Successors and Assigns.
This Agreement inures to the benefit of, and is binding on and
enforceable against, the successors and permitted assigns of the
respective parties hereto.
(d) Independent Contractor.
No partnership, joint venture, alliance, fiduciary or any
relationship other than that of independent contractors is created
hereby, expressly or by implication.
(e) Amendment. This Agreement
may be amended only by another written agreement duly executed by
the parties.
(f) Headings. The headings in
this Agreement are for convenience of reference only and will not
affect its interpretation or construction. Unless otherwise
indicated, section references are to sections of this
Agreement.
(g) Entire Agreement. This
Agreement, as to its subject matter, exclusively and completely
states the rights and duties of the parties, sets forth the
parties’ entire understanding, and merges all their
representations and promises. The schedule attached to this
Agreement is incorporated in this Agreement and made a part hereof
for all purposes.
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(h) Survival . All payment,
confidentiality and indemnity obligations will survive the
expiration or early termination of this Agreement.
(i) Governing Law . The laws
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania govern the validity,
interpretation, construction, and effect of this Agreement, without
regard to its laws or regulations regarding choice of
law.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF
, the parties have caused this
Agreement to be executed by their duly authorized
officers.