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Title: TRANSITION SERVICES AGREEMENT Date: 11/9/2007 Industry: Auto and Truck Parts Sector: Consumer Cyclical
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EXHIBIT
10.3
TRANSITION SERVICES
AGREEMENT
THIS TRANSITION SERVICES
AGREEMENT (this “ Agreement ”) is made as of
August 31, 2007, by and between ARCELOR S.A. , a
Luxembourg corporation with an address at 19, avenue de la
Liberté, L-2930 Luxembourg (“ Arcelor ”)
and NOBLE EUROPEAN HOLDINGS B.V. , a private limited
liability company (besloten vennootschap) organized under the laws
of the Netherland with an address at 28213 Van Dyke Avenue, Warren,
Michigan 48093 USA (“ Noble BV ”).
Recitals
A. Noble International, Ltd.
(“ Noble ”) and Arcelor have entered into a
Share Purchase Agreement, dated March 15, 2007 (the “
Purchase Agreement ”), providing, among other things,
for the acquisition by Noble of the laser-welding assets and
certain related liabilities of Arcelor (the “ TBA
Business ”) in exchange for cash, a subordinated
promissory note and 9,375,000 shares of common stock of Noble (the
“ Acquisition ”). Execution and delivery of this
Agreement is a condition to the effectiveness of the Acquisition.
Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined herein have
the meanings specified in the Purchase Agreement.
B. At the request of certain
commercial lenders, Noble, Noble BV, Noble TSA, LLC, a Delaware
limited liability company (“ Noble, LLC ”) and
Arcelor have entered into an Assignment and Assumption Agreement on
the date hereof whereby Noble assigned its contractual rights under
the Purchase Agreement with regard to purchasing TB Holding, BV, a
private limited liability company (besloten vennotschap) organized
under the laws of the Netherlands to Noble BV and Noble assigned
its contractual rights in the Purchase Agreement with regard to
purchasing Tailor Steel America, LLC, a Delaware limited liability
company to Noble, LLC.
C. In order to provide a
smooth transition of the TBA Business from Arcelor to Noble BV, the
parties desire to enter into an interim arrangement for the
provision of certain transition services on the terms and
conditions set forth herein.
Terms of
Agreement
Accordingly, the parties
hereby agree as follows:
1. General Cooperation
. During the term of this Agreement, the parties shall use their
reasonable efforts to cooperate with each other with a view to
achieving a smooth transition following the Acquisition, including
(a) permitting Noble BV to manage the TBA Business efficiently
while integrating the TBA Business into Noble BV’s business,
and (b) permitting Arcelor to fulfill any contractual or other
obligations not transferred to Noble BV that would, but for the
Acquisition, have been be fulfilled by Arcelor through the TBA
Business.
2. Services to be
Provided . Subject to the terms and conditions of this
Agreement, (a) Arcelor, directly or through one or more of its
Affiliates, shall provide to Noble BV the corporate, financial,
legal, human resources, accounting, controlling, administrative,
on-site support, payroll management, training, SAP software and
maintenance support, software and hardware supply, support
and
maintenance, network access and other
services and support described on Schedule A to this Agreement
(collectively, the “ Arcelor Services ”), in
each case, on the same terms and conditions as such services were
provided to the Group Members effective as of January 1, 2007;
and (b) Noble BV, directly or through one or more of its
Affiliates, shall provide to Arcelor all such reasonable transition
services as Arcelor and its Affiliates need or that are desirable
in order to fulfill any contractual or other obligations not
transferred to Noble BV that would, but for the Acquisition, be
fulfilled by Arcelor or its Affiliates with use of the personnel
and assets of the TBA Business and the other services and support
(if any) described on Schedule B to this Agreement
(collectively, the “ Noble BV Services ”, and
together with the Arcelor Services, the “ Services
”). The Arcelor Services are services which Arcelor, directly
or through one or more of its Affiliates, provided to the TBA
Business during the 24 months prior to the date of this Agreement.
Each of Noble BV (with respect to the Arcelor Services listed on
Schedule A) and Arcelor (with respect to the Noble BV Services
listed on Schedule B) acknowledges and agrees that the services
listed are, to the best of its knowledge and belief, all of the
services it will require the other party to perform under this
Agreement.
3. Transition . During
the term of this Agreement, each party shall use commercially
reasonable efforts to obtain the Arcelor Services or the Noble BV
Services, as applicable, independently of the other party as soon
as reasonably practicable. Arcelor shall provide such assistance as
may be reasonably requested by Noble BV to transition the Arcelor
Services to Noble BV or a third party provider. Noble BV shall
provide such assistance as may be reasonably requested by Arcelor
to transition the Noble BV Services to Arcelor or a third party
provider. Arcelor shall terminate, at no cost to Noble BV, all
agreements between any Group Member, on one hand, and Arcelor or
any of its non-Group Member Affiliates, on the other hand, under
which the Arcelor Services were provided prior to the date
hereof.
4. Compensation for
Arcelor Services . In consideration for the Arcelor Services,
Noble BV shall pay to Arcelor the prices invoiced by Arcelor from
time to time, which prices shall equal the prices paid by the Group
Members for such services as of January 1, 2007;
provided , that the aggregate amount charged to Noble BV for
the Arcelor Services for each of the first two years of the Term
shall not exceed €3,300,000 (the “ Maximum Annual
Fee ”). During the first six months of the Term, Arcelor
shall pay any and all one-time fees payable to third-party
providers in connection with the transition of the Arcelor Services
to Noble BV, and such costs shall be included in the Maximum Annual
Fee. Thereafter, Arcelor may charge to Noble BV, and Noble BV shall
reimburse Arcelor for, any such one-time fees payable to
third-party providers without regard to the Maximum Annual Fee.
Arcelor shall invoice Noble BV at least quarterly for the Arcelor
Services. Except as otherwise expressly set forth in
Schedule A to this Agreement, all amounts due under this
Section 4 shall be paid by Noble BV within 30 days after the
end of the month in which the Arcelor invoice is issued.
5. Compensation for Noble
BV Services . In consideration for the Noble BV Services,
Arcelor shall pay to Noble BV the prices invoiced by Noble BV from
time to time, which prices shall not exceed the direct internal
cost (excluding overhead) actually incurred by Noble BV to provide
such Noble BV Services, without mark-up. Noble BV shall invoice
Arcelor at least quarterly for the Noble BV Services. Except as
otherwise expressly set forth in Schedule B to this Agreement,
all amounts due under this Section 5 shall be paid by Arcelor
within 30 days after the end of the month in which the Noble BV
invoice is issued.
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6. Performance
Standard . Each party shall provide, or cause its Affiliates to
provide, the Arcelor Services or Noble BV Services in accordance
with all applicable laws and otherwise in the same general manner
as the same or similar services were provided in connection with
the TBA Business immediately prior to the date of this
Agreement.
7. Employee
Obligations . Except as expressly set forth in the Purchase
Agreement or the Schedules hereto, each party and its Affiliates
(a) shall be solely responsible for payment of compensation to
their employees for the provision of services hereunder;
(b) shall be solely responsible for maintenance of and payment
for such party’s employee benefits including retirement
plans, health insurance and life insurance; (c) shall be
solely responsible for any injury to such employees suffered in the
course of providing services hereunder other than injuries arising
from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of employees or
agents of the other party, compensation for which shall be the sole
responsibility of such other party; and (d) shall have full
responsibility for payment of all federal, state and local taxes or
contributions imposed or required under unemployment insurance,
social security and income tax laws with respect to such
party’s or its Affiliates’ employees.
8. Audit of Books and
Records .
(a) During the Term and for a
period of 9 months thereafter, each party (the “ Audited
Party ”) and its Affiliates shall permit the other party
(the “ Auditing Party ”) and its Affiliates and
the Auditing Party’s employees, auditors and other
representatives to have reasonable access, during normal business
hours and upon reasonable advance notice, to the books and records
of the Audited Party and its Affiliates, to the extent such access
is reasonably required to verify the accuracy of the amounts
charged by the Audited Party or its Affiliates pursuant to
Section 4 or Section 5 of this Agreement. Audits pursuant
to this Section 8(a) may be requested no more frequently than
once per calendar year.
(b) If an audit pursuant to
Section 8(a) reveals an overcharge, and the Audited Party or
its Affiliates do not successfully justify any charge questioned by
such audit, the Audited Party or its Affiliates shall promptly pay
to the Auditing Party or its Affiliates the amount of such
overcharge, together with interest from the date of receipt of such
overcharge to the date of payment at a rate per annum equal to
LIBOR, plus 100 basis points. (For purposes of this Agreement,
“ LIBOR ” means, at the time in question, the
rate per annum appearing on Barron’s Online Money Rates
(http://online.barrons.com/public/page/mlab_money_rates.html) (or
any successor Internet site) as the latest LIBOR Interbank Rate in
U.S. dollars for a six-month term.) In addition, if any such
audit reveals an overcharge of more than 10% of the audited
invoices in the aggregate for the audited period, the Audited Party
or its Affiliates shall promptly reimburse the Auditing Party or
its Affiliates for the actual out-of-pocket cost of such audit
(including auditor’s fees).
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(c) Upon request by either
party, the parties shall meet promptly upon the completion of any
audit or the issuance of an interim or final report to the parties
following such audit (but in no event more than 15 days after the
later thereof). The parties shall develop and agree upon an action
plan to address and resolve any issues discovered through such
audit within 30 days, unless a shorter resolution time is mutually
agreed to by the parties in writing, and shall implement any
remedial action required to avoid the making of overcharges in the
future.
(d) During the Term and for a
period of 9 months thereafter, the Audited Party and its Affiliates
shall permit the Auditing Party and its employees, auditors and
other representatives to have reasonable access, during normal
business hours and upon reasonable advance notice, to books and
records and appropriate personnel of the Audited Party and its
Affiliates with respect to the TBA Business, to the extent such
access is reasonably requested by the Auditing Party in order to
permit the evaluation of, and any required reporting,
certifications and attestations with respect to, internal controls,
processes and systems in connection with the provision of the
Services for purposes of compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002, as it may be amended from time to time. Nothing in this
Section 8(d) shall require an Audited Party to maintain its
books and records relating to the Services in a manner inconsistent
with the manner that it maintains its books and records with
respect to its other businesses. If the Auditing Party requests a
change to the Audited Party’s internal controls, processes or
systems, the Auditing Party shall bear the cost of any change that
is agreed to by the Audited Party.
9. Coordination
Meetings . The parties agree to meet not less frequently than
quarterly to discuss the Services as well as problems that arise in
connection with the Services. Each party agrees to provide the
other party reasonable advance notice of any issues to be addressed
at such coordination meetings. Each party shall be represented at
these meetings by an executive authorized to resolve disputes that
may arise under this Agreement or in connection with the Services.
These meetings may overlap with coordination meetings required
under other Ancillary Agreements.
10. Confidentiality
Obligations .
(a) During the Term and
thereafter, each party and its Affiliates shall maintain the
confidentiality of all confidential and proprietary information of
the other party and its Affiliates (collectively, “
Confidential Information ”) and shall not disclose
such Confidential Information without the prior written consent of
the other party, except for (i) disclosures that are required
by applicable law, (ii) disclosures that are required to
enforce the rights of such party under this Agreement, and
(iii) disclosures to any of such party’s Affiliates or
other representatives and agents that such party reasonably
believes needs to know such Confidential Information to perform its
obligations hereunder; provided , that, before any
disclosure is made pursuant to applicable law, the disclosing party
shall, if permitted by applicable law, give advance written notice
of such disclosure to the other party so that such other party may
seek a protective order against such disclosure. In the absence or
unavailability of any such protective order, the disclosing party
shall take all reasonable and lawful actions to seek confidential
treatment for such disclosure and, to the extent practicable, to
minimize the extent of such disclosure. Without limiting the
foregoing, the parties and their Affiliates shall utilize the same
methods and practices in the protection of the other’s
Confidential Information as each utilizes in protecting its own
Confidential Information.
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(b) Upon the earlier of the
expiration of this Agreement or the written request of the owner of
the Confidential Information, (i) all Confidential Information
received by a party and its Affiliates shall be returned to the
owner thereof; (ii) no copies of Confidential Information
shall be retained by any receiving party or any of its Affiliates;
and (iii) no receiving party nor any of its Affiliates shall
thereafter utilize the Confidential Information of the other party
in any respect whatsoever.
(c) The parties shall be
responsible for any breach of this Section 10 by their
respective Affiliates, representatives and agents. The
parties’ obligations under this Section 10 shall survive
the expiration or termination of this Agreement.
11. Termination
.
(a) Unless the parties
mutually agree to extend the term of this Agreement, the term of
this Agreement (the “ Term ”) shall commence on
the date hereof and shall continue for a period of three years for
all Arcelor Services and Noble BV Services other than Arcelor
Services that are information technology-related services which
shall continue for a period of four years.
(b) Noble BV may terminate
any Arcelor Service, in whole or in part, prior to the expiration
of the Term, by providing to Arcelor written notice of termination
not less than 90 calendar days (or any shorter period to which
Arcelor has consented in writing) before the effective date of such
termination, in which case the provision of such Arcelor Service
hereunder shall terminate at the end of the period specified in
such notice; provided , that termination of any or all
Arcelor Services shall not operate as a termination of this
Agreement.
(c) Arcelor may terminate any
Noble BV Service, in whole or in part, prior to the expiration of
the Term, by providing Noble BV written notice of termination not
less than 90 calendar days (or any shorter period to which Noble BV
has consented in writing) before the effective date of such
termination, in which case the provision of such Noble BV Service
hereunder shall terminate at the end of the period specified in
such notice; provided , that termination of any or all Noble
BV Services shall not operate as a termination of this
Agreement.
(d) Subject to the provisions
of Section 12 of this Agreement, this Agreement may be
terminated by either party if:
(i) the other party is in
material breach of any provision of this Agreement; provided
that the party seeking to terminate this Agreement for breach shall
notify the other party in writing of such breach and provide such
other party with 30 calendar days to cure such breach;
or
(ii) (A) the other party
files a petition for bankruptcy or is otherwise declared or
adjudicated to be bankrupt or insolvent, (B) a petition for
bankruptcy is filed against the other party and such petition is
not dismissed within 90 calendar days, or (C) either party
discontinues its business or voluntarily submits to, or is ordered
by a bankruptcy court to undergo liquidation pursuant to
Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, as amended, or any
successor thereto.
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(e) Termination of this
Agreement shall not release any party from any obligation accrued
prior to the date of such termination.
(f) The agreements set forth
in Section 4 (Compensation for Arcelor Services),
Section 5 (Compensation for Noble BV Services), Section 8
(Audit of Books and Records), Section 10 (Confidentiality),
Section 12 (Indemnification) and Section 13
(Miscellaneous) hereof shall survive termination of this Agreement
for any reason.
12. Indemnification .
Each party shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless the other
party and the other party’s shareholders, Affiliates, and its
and their respective directors, officers, employees, controlling
persons and agents (each an “ Indemnified Party
”), from and against all claims asserted against, resulting
to, imposed upon or incurred by such Indemnified Party, directly or
indirectly, by reason of, arising out of or resulting from
(a) the breach of any representation, warranty or covenant
made by such party in this Agreement or (b) the gross
negligence or willful misconduct on the part such party or any of
its Affiliates, employees, agents, representatives or licensees in
connection with the performance of such party’s obligations
under this Agreement. Any such indemnification shall be subject to
the procedures set forth in Section 14.6 (Procedure for
Indemnification Claims) of the Purchase Agreement.
13. Relationship of
Parties . The parties understand and agree that this Agreement
does not make either of them an agent or legal representative of
the other for any purpose whatsoever. No party is granted by this
Agreement any right or authority to assume or create any obligation
or responsibilities, express or implied, on behalf of or in the
name of any other party, or to bind any other party in any manner
whatsoever. The parties expressly acknowledge that (a) the
parties and their respective Affiliates are independent contractors
in all respects, including with respect to the provision of the
Arcelor Services and the Noble BV Services; and (b) the
parties are not partners, joint venturers, employees or agents of
or with each other.
14. No Third Party
Beneficiaries . This Agreement is for the sole benefit of the
parties hereto, and nothing herein expressed or implied shall give
or be construed to give any other person any legal or equitable
rights.
15. Miscellaneous
.
(a) Notices . All
notices, requests, claims, demands or other communications that are
required or may be given to Noble BV or Arcelor pursuant to the
terms of this Agreement shall be given in accordance with
Section 17.3 (Notices) of the Purchase Agreement.
(b) Entire Agreement .
This Agreement (including the Schedules attached hereto) contains
the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the
subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior agreements, written
or oral, with respect thereto.
(c) Waivers and
Amendments . This Agreement may be amended, superseded,
canceled, renewed or extended only by a written instrument signed
by all of the parties. The provisions hereof may be waived only in
writing signed by the party or parties waiving compliance. No delay
on the part of any party in exercising any right, power or
privilege hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall
any waiver on the part of any party of any such right, power or
privilege, nor any single or partial exercise of any such right,
power or privilege, preclude any further exercise thereof or the
exercise of any other such right, power or privilege.
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(d) Severability . If
any provision of this Agreement for any reason shall be held to be
illegal, invalid or unenforceable, such illegality shall not affect
any other provision of this Agreement, but this Agreement shall be
construed as if such illegal, invalid or unenforceable provision
had never been included herein.
(e) Assignment; Binding
Effect; Benefit . No assignment by any party of its rights nor
delegation by any party of its obligations under this Agreement
shall be permitted unless the other party consents in writing
thereto, except that Noble BV may, in its sole discretion and
without the consent of Arcelor, assign any or all of Noble
BV’s rights, interests and obligations under this Agreement
to any assignee of Noble BV’s rights under the Purchase
Agreement, provided that no such assignment shall relieve
Noble BV of any obligation hereunder. This Agreement shall be
binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of the parties and
their respective successors and permitted assigns.
(f) Governing Law;
Submission to Jurisdiction . This Agreement shall be governed
by, and construed and enforced in accordance with, the laws of
France other than conflict of laws principles thereof directing the
application of any law other than that of France. The provisions of
Section 17.7, subsections (b), (c), (d) and
(e) (Venue; Waiver of Jury Trial), of the Purchase Agreement
are hereby incorporated in this Agreement, mutatis mutandis
, as if fully set forth herein.
(g) Interpretation .
The parties have participated jointly in the negotiation and
drafting of this Agreement. In the event an ambiguity or question
of intent or interpretation arises, this Agreement shall be
construed as if drafted jointly by the parties, and no presumption
or burden of proof shall arise favoring or disfavoring any party by
virtue of the authorship of any provisions of this
Agreement.
(h) Rules of
Construction . All definitions 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 “but not limited to.” “Or” shall be
disjunctive but not necessarily exclusive. All references herein to
Sections and Schedules shall be deemed references to Sections of
and Schedules to this Agreement unless the context otherwise
requires. Words such as “herein,” “hereof,”
“hereto,” “hereby” and
“hereunder” refer to this Agreement and to the
Schedules, taken as a whole. Except as otherwise expressly provided
herein, any reference in this Agreement to any agreement shall mean
such agreement as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise
modified from time to time. The captions to Sections and
subdivisions thereof shall not be deemed to be a part of this
Agreement.
(i) Counterparts .
This Agreement may be executed and delivered (including by
facsimile transmission) in one or more counterparts, and by the
different parties in separate counterparts, each of which when
executed and delivered shall be deemed to be an original but all of
which taken together shall constitute one and the same
agreement.
[Signature Page
Follows]
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Execution
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the
undersigned have duly executed and delivered this Transition
Services Agreement as of the date first written above.
ARCELOR S.A.
By:
Name:
Title:
By:
Name:
Title:
NOBLE EUROPEAN HOLDINGS B.V.
By:
Name:
Title:
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SCHEDULE A
TO TRANSITION SERVICES
AGREEMENT
Arcelor
Services
Attached.
- 9 -
SCHEDULE B
TO TRANSITION SERVICES
AGREEMENT
Noble BV
Services
Attached.
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SCHEDULE A
TO TRANSITION SERVICES
AGREEMENT
Arcelor
Services
This Schedule A sets forth a
summary description of the Arcelor Services to be provided under
the terms of this Agreement and is comprised of the following
parts:
a. Part I which is a
non-exclusive and illustrative description of the Arcelor Services;
and
b. Part II which contains
more detailed descriptions of those services described on Part I
and written descriptions of certain oral arrangements for services
not described on Part I.