Exhibit 1.1
KELLOGG COMPANY
4.25% Senior Notes due 2013
Underwriting Agreement
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| March 3, 2008 |
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Banc of America
Securities LLC
Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
As representatives of the Several Underwriters
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c/o
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Banc of America Securities LLC |
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9 West 57 th Street |
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New York, New York 10019 |
Ladies
and Gentlemen:
Kellogg Company, a Delaware
corporation (the “Company”), proposes to issue and sell
to the several Underwriters listed in Schedule 1 hereto (the
“Underwriters”), for whom you are acting as
representatives (the “Representatives”), $750,000,000
principal amount of its 4.25% Senior Notes due 2013 (the
“Securities”). The Securities will be issued pursuant
to an Indenture dated as of March 15, 2001 between the Company
and The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A. (successor to BNY
Midwest Trust Company), as trustee (the “Trustee”), as
supplemented by Supplemental Indenture No. 1 thereto, dated as
of March 29, 2001 (as so supplemented, the
“Indenture”).
1. Registration
Statement . The Company has prepared and filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”)
under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and
regulations of the Commission thereunder (collectively, the
“Securities Act”), a registration statement on Form S-3
(File No. 333-72312), including a prospectus (the “Basic
Prospectus”), relating to the debt securities to be issued
from time to time by the Company. The Company has also filed, or
proposes to file, with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424
under the Securities Act a prospectus supplement specifically
relating to the Securities (the “Prospectus
Supplement”). The registration statement, as amended at the
time it becomes effective, including the information, if any,
deemed pursuant to Rule 430A, 430B or 430C under the
Securities Act to be part of the registration statement at the time
of its effectiveness (“Rule 430 Information”), is
referred to herein as the “Registration Statement”; and
as used herein, the term “Prospectus” means the Basic
Prospectus as supplemented by the prospectus supplement
specifically relating to the Securities in the form first used to
confirm sales (or made available upon request of purchasers
pursuant to Rule 173 under the Securities Act) of the Securities
and the term “Preliminary Prospectus” means the
preliminary prospectus supplement, if any, specifically relating to
the Securities together with the Basic Prospectus. If the Company
has filed an abbreviated registration statement pursuant to Rule
462(b) under the Securities Act (the “Rule 462
Registration Statement”), then any reference herein to the
term “Registration Statement” shall be deemed to
include such Rule 462 Registration Statement. Capitalized
terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings given to
such terms in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.
References herein to the Registration Statement, the Basic
Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be
deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by
reference therein. The terms “supplement,”
“amendment” and
“amend” as used herein as used herein with respect to
the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus or the
Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include any documents
filed by the Company under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder
(the “Exchange Act”) subsequent to the date of this
Underwriting Agreement which are deemed to be incorporated by
reference therein. For purposes of this Underwriting Agreement, the
term “Effective Time” means each effective date of the
Registration Statement with respect to the offering of Securities,
as determined for purposes of Section 11 of the Securities
Act.
At or prior to the time when sales of
the Securities will be first made (the “Time of Sale”),
the Company will prepare certain information (collectively, the
“Time of Sale Information”) which information will
include the Preliminary Prospectus and which will be identified in
Schedule 2 hereto for such offering of Securities as
constituting part of the Time of Sale Information.
2. Purchase of the
Securities by the Underwriters . (a) The Company agrees to
issue and sell the Securities to the several Underwriters named in
Schedule 1 hereto, and each Underwriter, on the basis of the
representations, warranties and agreements set forth herein and
subject to the conditions set forth herein, agrees, severally and
not jointly, to purchase from the Company the respective principal
amount of Securities set forth opposite such Underwriter’s
name in Schedule 1 hereto at a purchase price equal to 99.813%
of the principal amount thereof plus accrued interest, if any, from
March 6, 2008 to the Closing Date (as defined below). The
Company will not be obligated to deliver any of the Securities
except upon payment for all the Securities to be purchased as
provided herein.
(b) Payment for and delivery of
the Securities shall be made at the offices of Mayer Brown LLP,
Chicago, Illinois at 9:00 A.M., Chicago time, on March 6,
2008, or at such other time or place on the same or such other
date, not later than the fifth business day thereafter, as the
Representatives and the Company may agree upon in writing. The time
and date of such payment and delivery is referred to herein as the
“Closing Date.”
(c) Payment for the Securities
shall be made by wire transfer in immediately available funds to
the account specified by the Company to the Representatives against
delivery to the nominee of The Depository Trust Company, for the
account of the Underwriters, of one or more global notes
representing the Securities (collectively, the “Global
Note”), with any transfer taxes payable in connection with
the sale of the Securities duly paid by the Company. The Global
Note will be made available for inspection by the Representatives
not later than 12:00 P.M., Chicago time, on the business day
prior to the Closing Date.
(d) The Company acknowledges and
agrees that the Underwriters named in the Underwriting Agreement
are acting solely in the capacity of an arm’s length
contractual counterparty to the Company with respect to any
offering of Securities contemplated hereby (including in connection
with determining the terms of the offering) and not as a financial
advisor or a fiduciary to, or an agent of, the Company or any other
person. Additionally, no such Underwriter is advising the Company
or any other person as to any legal, tax, investment, accounting or
regulatory matters in any jurisdiction. The Company shall consult
with its own advisors concerning such matters and shall be
responsible for making its own independent
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investigation and appraisal of the transactions contemplated
hereby, and such Underwriters shall have no responsibility or
liability to the Company with respect thereto. Any review by such
Underwriters named in the Underwriting Agreement of the Company,
the transactions contemplated thereby or other matters relating to
such transactions will be performed solely for the benefit of the
Underwriters and shall not be on behalf of the Company.
3. Representations and
Warranties of the Company . The Company represents and warrants
to each Underwriter that:
(a) Registration Statement
and Prospectus . The Registration Statement has become
effective under the Securities Act; no order suspending the
effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued by the
Commission and, to the Company’s knowledge, no proceeding for
that purpose has been initiated or threatened by the Commission
against the Company or related to the offering; as of the Effective
Time, the Registration Statement complied in all material respects
with the Securities Act and the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as
amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder
(collectively, the “Trust Indenture Act”), and did not
or will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit
to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary
in order to make the statements therein not misleading; and as of
the date of the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto
and as of the Closing Date, the Prospectus did not and will not
contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a
material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order
to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances
under which they were made, not misleading; provided that
the Company makes no representation and warranty with respect to
(i) that part of the Registration Statement that constitutes
the Statement of Eligibility (Form T-1) of the Trustee under the
Trust Indenture Act or (ii) the information contained in or
omitted from the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement
thereto, in reliance upon and in conformity with information
furnished in writing to the Company by or on behalf of the
Underwriters through the Representatives specifically for inclusion
therein. The statistical and market-related data included in the
Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company
reasonably believes to be reliable and accurate.
(b) Time of Sale
Information . The Time of Sale Information, at the Time of Sale
and at the Closing Date did not and will not, contain any untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of
the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;
provided that the Company makes no representation and warranty with
respect to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in
conformity with information relating to any Underwriter furnished
to the Company in writing by such Underwriter through the
Representatives expressly for use in such Time of Sale Information.
No statement of material fact included in the Prospectus has been
omitted from the Time of Sale Information and no statement of
material fact included in the Time of Sale Information that is
required to be included in the Prospectus has been omitted
therefrom.
(c) Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus . The Company (including its agents and
representatives, other than the Underwriters in their capacity as
such) has not prepared, made, used, authorized, approved or
referred to and will not prepare, make, use, authorize, approve or
refer to any “written communication” (as defined in
Rule 405 under the Securities Act) that constitutes an offer
to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy the Securities (each
such
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communication by the Company or its agents and representatives
(other than a communication referred to in clauses (i),
(ii) and (iii) below) an “Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus”) other than (i) any document not
constituting a prospectus pursuant to Section 2(a)(10)(a) of
the Securities Act or Rule 134 under the Securities Act,
(ii) the Preliminary Prospectus, (iii) the Prospectus,
(iv) the documents listed on Schedule 2 hereto as
constituting the Time of Sale Information and (v) any electronic
road show or other written communications, in each case approved in
writing in advance by the Representatives. Each such Issuer Free
Writing Prospectus complied in all material respects with the
Securities Act, has been or will be (within the time period
specified in Rule 433) filed in accordance with the Securities Act
(to the extent required thereby) and, when taken together with the
Preliminary Prospectus accompanying, or delivered prior to delivery
of, or filed prior to the first use of such Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus, did not, and at the Closing Date will not, contain any
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material
fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the
light of the circumstances under which they were made, not
misleading; provided that the Company makes no representation and
warranty with respect to any statements or omissions made in each
such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon and in
conformity with information relating to any Underwriter furnished
to the Company in writing by such Underwriter through the
Representatives expressly for use in any Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus.
(d) Incorporated
Documents . The documents incorporated by reference in the
Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Time of Sale
Information, when they were filed with the Commission, conformed in
all material respects to the requirements of the Exchange Act, and
any further documents so filed and incorporated or deemed to be
incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or
Prospectus, when such documents are filed with the Commission, will
conform in all material respects to the requirements of the
Exchange Act; and the documents incorporated by reference in the
Registration Statement and the Prospectus, when read together with
the other information in the Registration Statement and the
Prospectus, at the time filed did not, and at the Closing Date will
not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to
state any material fact necessary to make the statements therein,
in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not
misleading.
(e) No Material Adverse
Effect . Since the respective dates as of which information is
given in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information
and the Prospectus, there has not been any material adverse change,
or any development that would reasonably be likely to result in a
material adverse change, in the general affairs, management,
financial position, stockholders’ equity or results of
operations of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole,
whether or not in the ordinary course of business (a
“Material Adverse Change”), in each case, otherwise
than as set forth or contemplated in the Registration Statement,
the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus.
(f) Organization and Good
Standing . The Company has been duly incorporated and is
validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws
of the State of Delaware, with the corporate power and authority to
own its properties and conduct its business as described in the
Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus; the Company is duly
qualified as a foreign corporation to transact business and is in
good standing in each other jurisdiction in which such
qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or
leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the
failure to qualify or to be in good standing would not have
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a
material adverse effect on the general affairs, management,
financial position, stockholders’ equity or results of
operations of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole (a
“Material Adverse Effect”); each of the Subsidiaries
has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation
in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its
incorporation, with the corporate power and authority to own its
properties and conduct its business as described in the Time of
Sale Information and the Prospectus and is duly qualified as a
foreign corporation to transact business and is in good standing in
each other jurisdiction in which such qualification is required,
whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the
conduct of business, except where the failure to qualify, to have
been duly incorporated or to be in existence or good standing would
not have a Material Adverse Effect.
(g) Capitalization . All
of the issued shares of capital stock of the Company have been duly
and validly authorized and issued and are fully paid and
non-assessable; except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration
Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus, all of
the issued and outstanding capital stock or other ownership
interests of each Subsidiary have been duly authorized and validly
issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and (except for shares
necessary to qualify directors or to maintain any minimum number of
stockholders required by law or are immaterial to the
Company’s ability to control such Subsidiary) are or, at the
Closing Date will be, owned by the Company, directly or through
subsidiaries, free and clear of any security interest, mortgage,
pledge, lien, encumbrance, claim or equity except (i) as
described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale
Information and the Prospectus and (ii) for such security
interests, mortgages, pledges, liens, encumbrances, claims or
equities that are immaterial to the Company and the Subsidiaries
taken as a whole.
(h) Due Authorization .
This Underwriting Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and
delivered by the Company.
(i) The Indenture . The
Indenture has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the
Company and has been duly qualified under the Trust Indenture Act
and constitutes a valid and legally binding agreement of the
Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with its
terms, except as enforceability may be limited by applicable
bankruptcy, insolvency or similar laws affecting the enforcement of
creditors’ rights generally or by equitable principles
relating to enforceability.
(j) The Securities . The
Securities have been duly authorized and, when issued and
authenticated in the manner provided for in the Indenture and
delivered as provided herein, will have been duly executed,
authenticated, issued and delivered and will constitute valid and
legally binding obligations of the Company, will be entitled to the
benefits of the Indenture and will be enforceable against the
Company in accordance with the terms thereof, except as
enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency
or similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’
rights generally or by equitable principles relating to
enforceability .
(k) Descriptions of
Documents . The Indenture and the Securities will each conform,
in all material respects, to the descriptions thereof in the
Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the
Prospectus.
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(l) No Violation or
Default . The issue and sale of the Securities and the
compliance by the Company and the Subsidiaries, as applicable, with
all of the provisions of the Securities, the Indenture, this
Underwriting Agreement and the consummation of the transactions
contemplated herein and therein, will not conflict with or result
in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or
constitute a default under, or result in the creation or imposition
of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any of the property or
assets of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries pursuant to the
terms of, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan or credit
agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or
any of the Subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any
of the Subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or
assets of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries is subject, except
where any such conflict, breach, violation, default, creation or
imposition (individually or in the aggregate) would not reasonably
be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect or a material adverse
effect on the ability of the Company and the Subsidiaries to
perform their respective obligations hereunder; nor will such
action result in any violation of the provisions of the Restated
Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, or the By-Laws of the
Company, or the charter or bylaws of any of Kellogg USA Inc.,
Kellogg Company of Great Britain Limited or Keebler Foods Company
(collectively, the “Significant Subsidiaries”); nor
will such action result in any violation of the provisions of any
statute or law or any order, rule or regulation of any court or
governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or
any of the Subsidiaries or any of their properties, except where
any such violation (individually or in the aggregate) would not
reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect or a
material adverse effect on the ability of the Company and the
Subsidiaries to perform their respective obligations
hereunder.
(m) No Consents Required
. No consent, approval, authorization, order, registration, filing
or qualification of or with any court or governmental agency or
body having jurisdiction over the Company or any of the
Subsidiaries or any of their properties is required for the issue
and sale of the Securities or the consummation of the other
transactions contemplated by the Indenture and this Underwriting
Agreement, except for such consents, approvals, authorizations,
orders, registrations, filings or qualifications which shall have
been obtained or made prior to the Closing Date or as may be
required by the securities or blue sky laws of the various states,
the Securities Act, the Trust Indenture Act and the securities laws
of any jurisdiction outside the United States in which the
Securities are offered.
(n) Legal Proceedings .
Other than as set forth in the Registration Statement, the Time of
Sale Information or the Prospectus, there are no legal or
governmental proceedings pending to which the Company or any of the
Subsidiaries is a party or of which any property of the Company or
any of the Subsidiaries is the subject which would reasonably be
expected to, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material
Adverse Effect or which would materially and adversely affect the
consummation of the transactions contemplated under this
Underwriting Agreement or the Indenture; and, to the best of the
Company’s knowledge, no such proceedings are threatened or
contemplated by governmental authorities or threatened by
others.
(o) PricewaterhouseCoopers
LLP . PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, who have audited certain
financial statements of each of the Company and its subsidiaries
and delivered their reports with respect to the audited financial
statements of each of the Company and its subsidiaries, is an
independent registered public accounting firm with respect to the
Company
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within
the applicable rules and regulations thereunder adopted by the
Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
(United States).
(p) Financial Statements
. The financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries
included or incorporated by reference in the Registration
Statement, the Time of Sale Information and Prospectus present
fairly in all material respects the financial condition, results of
operations and cash flows of each of the Company and its
consolidated subsidiaries as of the dates and for the periods
indicated, comply in all material respects as to form with the
applicable accounting requirements of the Securities Act and the
Exchange Act, as applicable, and have been prepared in conformity
with generally accepted accounting principles applied on a
consistent basis throughout the periods involved (except as
otherwise noted therein); the selected financial data set forth
under the captions “Selected Consolidated Financial
Data” and “Capitalization” in the Time of Sale
Information and the Prospectus fairly present in all material
respects, the information included therein.
(q) Disclosure Controls
. The Company maintains required “disclosure controls and
procedures” (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)
under the Exchange Act) and the Company’s “disclosure
controls and procedures” are designed to provide reasonable
assurance that material information required to be disclosed by the
Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange
Act is communicated to the Company’s management as
appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required
disclosure. The Company and its subsidiaries have carried out
evaluations of the effectiveness of their disclosure controls and
procedures as required by Rule 13a-15 of the Exchange Act.
(r) Accounting Controls
. The Company “maintains a system of internal control over
financial reporting” (as such term is defined in
Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act) that complies with the
requirements of the Exchange Act and has been designed by the
Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial
officer, or under their supervision, to provide reasonable
assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the
preparation of financial statements for external purposes in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; as of
December 29, 2007, the Company’s internal control over
financial reporting is effective and the Company is not aware of
any changes in its internal control over financial reporting that
have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially
affect, its internal control over financial reporting.
(s) Sarbanes-Oxley Act .
The Company is in compliance in all material respects with all
applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the
rules and regulations promulgated in connection therewith.
(t) Compliance with
Environmental Laws . Neither the Company nor any of its
subsidiaries is in violation of any statute, any rule, regulation,
decision or order of any governmental agency or body or any court,
domestic or foreign, relating to the use, disposal or release of
hazardous or toxic substances or relating to the protection or
restoration of the environment or human exposure to hazardous or
toxic substances (collectively, “Environmental Laws”),
owns or operates any real property contaminated with any substance
that is subject to any environmental laws, is liable for any
off-site disposal or contamination pursuant to any environmental
laws, or is subject to any claim relating to any environmental
laws, which
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violation, contamination, liability or claim would individually or
in the aggregate have a Material Adverse Effect; and the Company is
not aware of any pending investigation which might lead to such a
claim.
(u) Title to Intellectual
Property . The Company and the Subsidiaries own, possess,
license or have other rights to use, on reasonable terms, all
patents, patent applications, trade and service marks, trade and
service mark registrations, trade names, copyrights, licenses,
inventions, trade secrets, technology, know-how and other
intellectual property (collectively, the “Intellectual
Property”) necessary for the conduct of their respective
businesses as now conducted free and clear of any material security
interests, claims, liens or encumbrances, except as would not
reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect or as set
forth in or contemplated in the Registration Statement, the Time of
Sale Information and the Prospectus; and none of the Intellectual
Property, to the knowledge of the Company, conflicts with the valid
trademark, trade name, copyright, patent, patent right or
intangible asset of any other person to the extent that such
conflict has or would reasonably be expected to have a Material
Adverse Effect.
(v) Investment Company .
The Company is not, and upon the issuance and sale of the
Securities as herein contemplated and the application of the net
proceeds therefrom as described in the Time of Sale Information and
the Prospectus will not be, an “investment company”
within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as
amended.
(w) No Stabilization .
Neither the Company nor any of its Affiliates nor any person acting
on its or their behalf (other than the Underwriters, as to whom the
Company makes no representation) has taken, directly or indirectly,
any action designed to cause or that constituted or that might
reasonably be expected to cause or constitute, under the Exchange
Act or otherwise, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of
any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the
Securities.
(x) Forward-Looking
Statements . No forward-looking statement (within the meaning
of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of
the Exchange Act) contained or incorporated by reference in the
Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the
Prospectus has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis
or has been disclosed other than in good faith.
(y) Status Under the
Securities Act. At the earliest time after a “bona fide
offer” (as used in Rule 164(h)(2) under the Securities
Act) of the Notes is first made by the Company or any Underwriter,
the Company was not an “ineligible issuer” (as defined
in Rule 405 of the Securities Act).
4. Further Agreements of the
Company . The Company covenants and agrees with each
Underwriter that:
(a) Filings with the
Commission . The Company will (i) prepare the Rule 462(b)
Registration Statement, if necessary, in a form approved by the
Underwriters and file such Rule 462(b) Registration Statement with
the Commission in compliance with Rule 462(b) under the Securities
Act on the second day immediately following the date of
determination of the
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public
offering price of the Securities and, at the time of filing, either
pay to the Commission the filing fee for the Rule 462(b)
Registration Statement or give irrevocable instructions for the
payment of such fee pursuant to Rule 111(b) under the Securities
Act and (ii) file the Prospectus in a form approved by the
Underwriters with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424 under
the Securities Act not later than the close of business on the
second business day following the date of determination of the
public offering price of the Securities or, if applicable, such
earlier time as may be required by Rule 424(b) and Rule 430A,
430B or 430C under the Securities Act. The Company will file any
Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (including the Term Sheet in the
form of Schedule 3 to the Underwriting Agreement) to the
extent required by Rule 433 under the Securities Act; and the
Company will furnish copies of the Prospectus to the Underwriters
in New York City prior to 10:00 A.M., New York City time, on
the second day succeeding the date of this Underwriting Agreement
in such quantities as the Representatives may reasonably
request.
(b) Delivery of Copies .
The Company will deliver, without charge, to each Underwriter
during the Prospectus Delivery Period (as defined belo
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