Exhibit 1.1
EXECUTION COPY
The Kroger Co.
Debt Securities
Underwriting
Agreement
September 24,
2009
To the Representatives of
the
several Underwriters named in
the
respective Pricing
Agreements
hereinafter described.
Dear Sirs:
From time to time The Kroger Co., an
Ohio corporation (the “Company”), and the Guarantors on
Schedule I and the signature pages hereto propose to enter into one
or more Pricing Agreements (each a “Pricing Agreement”)
in the form of Annex I hereto, with such additions and deletions as
the parties thereto may determine, and, subject to the terms and
conditions stated herein and therein, to issue and sell to the
firms named in Schedule I to the applicable Pricing Agreement (such
firms constituting the “Underwriters” with respect to
such Pricing Agreement and the securities specified therein)
certain of its debt securities (the “Securities”)
specified in Schedule II to such Pricing Agreement (with respect to
such Pricing Agreement, the “Designated
Securities”).
The terms and rights of any
particular issuance of Designated Securities shall be as specified
in the Pricing Agreement relating thereto and in or pursuant to the
indenture (the “Indenture”) identified in such Pricing
Agreement.
1. Particular sales of
Designated Securities may be made from time to time to the
Underwriters of such Securities, for whom the firms designated as
representatives of the Underwriters of such Securities in the
Pricing Agreement relating thereto will act as representatives (the
“Representatives”). The term
“Representatives” also refers to a single firm acting
as sole representative of the Underwriters and to Underwriters who
act without any firm being designated as their
representative. This Underwriting Agreement shall not be
construed as an obligation of the Company to sell any of the
Securities or as an obligation of any of the Underwriters to
purchase the Securities. The obligation of the Company to
issue and sell any of the Securities and the obligation of any of
the Underwriters to purchase any of the Securities shall be
evidenced by the Pricing Agreement with respect to the Designated
Securities specified therein. Each Pricing Agreement shall
specify the aggregate principal amount of such Designated
Securities, the initial public offering price of such Designated
Securities, the purchase price to the Underwriters of such
Designated Securities, the names of the Underwriters of such
Designated Securities, the names of the Representatives of such
Underwriters and the principal amount of such Designated Securities
to be purchased by each Underwriter and shall set forth the date,
time and manner of delivery to such Designated Securities and
payment therefor. The Pricing Agreement shall also specify
(to the extent not set forth in the Indenture and the registration
statement and
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prospectus with respect thereto) the
terms of such Designated Securities. A Pricing Agreement
shall be in the form of an executed writing (which may be in
counterparts), and may be evidenced by an exchange of telegraphic
communications or any other rapid transmission device designed to
produce a written record of communications transmitted. The
obligations of the Underwriters under this Agreement and each
Pricing Agreement shall be several and not joint.
2.
The Company represents and warrants
to, and agrees with, each of the Underwriters that:
(a)
A registration statement in respect
of the Securities has been filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (the “Commission”); such registration
statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, each in the
form heretofore delivered or to be delivered to the Representatives
and, excluding exhibits to such registration statement, but
including all documents incorporated by reference in the prospectus
contained therein, to the Representatives for each of the other
Underwriters, have been declared effective by the Commission in
such form; no other document with respect to such registration
statement or document incorporated by reference therein has
heretofore been filed or transmitted for filing with the
Commission; and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of such
registration statement has been issued and no proceeding for that
purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended (the “Act”) against the Company or related to
the offering of the Designated Securities has been initiated or
threatened by the Commission (any preliminary prospectus included
in such registration statement or filed with the Commission
pursuant to Rule 424(a) or 424(b) of the rules and regulations of
the Commission under the Act, including the prospectus filed as
part of the Registration Statement together with a preliminary
prospectus supplement relating to the Designated Securities, being
hereinafter called a “Preliminary Prospectus”; the
various parts of such registration statement, including all
exhibits thereto and the documents incorporated by reference in the
prospectus contained in the registration statement at the time such
part of the registration statement became effective but excluding
Form T-1, each as amended at the time such part of the registration
statement became effective, and including the information, if any,
deemed pursuant to Rules 430A, 430B or 430C to be part of the
Registration Statement at its effective time, being hereinafter
called the “Registration Statement”; the prospectus
relating to the Securities, together with a final prospectus
supplement relating to the Designated Securities, in the form in
which it has most recently been filed, or transmitted for filing,
with the Commission (or made available upon request of purchasers
pursuant to Rule 173 under the Act) in connection with confirmation
of sales of the Designated Securities, being hereinafter called the
“Prospectus”; any reference herein to any Preliminary
Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and
include the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to
the applicable form under the Act, as of the date of such
Preliminary Prospectus or Prospectus, as the case may be; any
reference to any amendment or supplement to any Preliminary
Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and
include any documents filed after the date of such Preliminary
Prospectus or Prospectus, as the case may be, under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”),
and
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incorporated by reference in such
Preliminary Prospectus or Prospectus, as the case may be; any
reference to any amendment to the Registration Statement shall be
deemed to refer to and include any annual report of the Company
filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after
the effective date of the Registration Statement that is
incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement; and any
reference to the Prospectus as amended or supplemented shall be
deemed to refer to the Prospectus as amended or supplemented in
relation to the applicable Designated Securities in the form in
which it is filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under
the Act in accordance with Section 5(a) hereof, including any
documents incorporated by reference therein as of the date of such
filing); for purposes of this Agreement, the term
“effective date” means the effective date of the
Registration Statement with respect to the offering of the
Designated Securities, as determined for the Company pursuant to
Section 11 of the Act and Item 512 of Regulation S-K, as
applicable; at or prior to the time when sales of the
Designated Securities will be first made (the “Time of
Sale”), the Company will prepare certain information
(collectively, the “Time of Sale Information”) which
information will be identified in Schedule III to the Pricing
Agreement for such offering of Designated Securities as
constituting part of the Time of Sale Information.
(b)
The documents incorporated by
reference in the Prospectus and the Time of Sale Information, when
they became effective or were filed with the Commission, as the
case may be, conformed in all material respects to the requirements
of the Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and the rules and
regulations of the Commission thereunder, and none of such
documents contained an untrue statement of a material fact or
omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or
necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; and any
further documents so filed and incorporated by reference in the
Prospectus or any further amendment or supplement thereto, when
such documents become effective or are filed with the Commission,
as the case may be, will conform in all material respects to the
requirements of the Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and the
rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and will not
contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a
material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make
the statements therein not misleading; provided ,
however , that this representation and warranty shall not
apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in
conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by
an Underwriter of Designated Securities through the Representatives
expressly for use in the Prospectus as amended or supplemented
relating to such Securities;
(c)
The Registration Statement and the
Prospectus conform, and any further amendments or supplements to
the Registration Statement or the Prospectus will conform, in all
material respects to the requirements of the Act and the Trust
Indenture Act of 1939, as amended (the “Trust Indenture
Act”) and the rules and regulations of the Commission
thereunder and do not and will not, as of the applicable effective
date as to the Registration Statement and any amendment thereto and
as of the applicable filing date as to the Prospectus and any
amendment or supplement thereto, contain an untrue statement of a
material fact or omit
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to state a material fact required to
be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not
misleading; provided , however , that this
representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or
omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information
furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter of Designated
Securities through the Representatives expressly for use in the
Prospectus as amended or supplemented relating to such
Securities;
(d)
The Time of Sale Information, at the
Time of Sale and at the Time of Delivery for the Designated
Securities (as defined in Section 4 herein), 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 , however , that this
representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or
omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information
furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter of Designated
Securities through the Representatives expressly for use in the
Time of Sale Information relating to such Securities. 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.
(e)
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 Act) that constitutes an offer to sell or
solicitation of an offer to buy the Securities (each such
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 Act or Rule 134 under the Act, (ii) the
Preliminary Prospectus with respect to the Designated Securities,
(iii) the Prospectus, (iv) the documents listed on Schedule III to
the Pricing Agreement 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 Act, has been or will be
(within the time period specified in Rule 433) filed in accordance
with the 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 Time of
Delivery for the Designated Securities 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 , however , that this representation and
warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions in an
Issuer Free Writing Prospectus made in reliance upon and in
conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by
an Underwriter of Designated Securities through the Representatives
expressly for use in an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus relating to
such Securities.
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(f)
The Company and its subsidiaries
have not sustained since the date of the latest audited financial
statements included or incorporated by reference in the Time of
Sale Information and the Prospectus any material loss or
interference with their businesses, taken as a whole, from fire,
explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by
insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental
action, order or decree, otherwise than as set forth or
contemplated in the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus;
and, 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 change in the capital
stock or long-term debt of the Company and its subsidiaries on a
consolidated basis or any material adverse change, or any
development involving a prospective material adverse change, in or
affecting the general affairs, management, financial position,
stockholders’ equity or results of operations of the Company
and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, otherwise than as set forth
or contemplated in the Time of Sale Information and the
Prospectus;
(g)
The Company and its subsidiaries
have good and marketable title in fee simple to all real property
and good and marketable title to all personal property owned by
them, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and
defects except such as are described in the Time of Sale
Information and the Prospectus or such as do not materially affect
the value of such property and do not interfere with the use made
and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and its
subsidiaries; and any real property and buildings held under lease
by the Company and its subsidiaries are held by them under valid,
subsisting and enforceable leases with such exceptions as are not
material and do not interfere with the use made and proposed to be
made of such property and buildings by the Company and its
subsidiaries;
(h)
The Company has been duly
incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good
standing under the laws of the State of Ohio, with power and
authority (corporate and other) to own its properties and conduct
its business as described in the Time of Sale Information and the
Prospectus, and has been duly qualified as a foreign corporation
for the transaction of business and is in good standing under the
laws of each other jurisdiction in which it owns or leases
properties, or conducts any business, so as to require such
qualification, or is subject to no material liability or disability
by reason of the failure to be qualified in any such jurisdiction;
and each subsidiary of the Company has been duly incorporated and
is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the
laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation, or is subject to no
material liability or disability by reason of the failure to be in
good standing in any such jurisdiction;
(i)
The Company has an authorized
capitalization as set forth in the Time of Sale Information and the
Prospectus, and 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; and all of the issued shares of
capital stock of each subsidiary of the Company have been duly and
validly authorized and issued, are fully paid and non-assessable
and
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(except for directors’
qualifying shares) are owned directly or indirectly by the Company,
free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities or
claims;
(j)
The Securities have been duly
authorized, and, when Designated Securities are issued and
delivered pursuant to this Agreement and the Pricing Agreement with
respect to such Designated Securities against payment of the
consideration specified in the Pricing Agreement, such Designated
Securities will have been duly executed, authenticated, issued and
delivered and will constitute valid and legally binding obligations
of the Company, enforceable in accordance with their terms,
subject, as to enforcement, to bankruptcy, insolvency,
reorganization and other laws of general applicability relating to
or affecting creditors’ rights and to general equity
principles and will be entitled to the benefits provided by the
Indenture under which they are to be issued which will be
substantially in the form filed as an exhibit to the Registration
Statement; the Indenture has been duly authorized and duly
qualified under the Trust Indenture Act and, at the Time of
Delivery for such Designated Securities (as defined in Section 4
hereof), the Indenture will constitute a valid and legally binding
instrument, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject, as
to enforcement, to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization and other
laws of general applicability relating to or affecting
creditors’ rights and to general equity principles; and the
Indenture conforms, and the Designated Securities will conform, in
all material respects, to the descriptions thereof contained in the
Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus as amended or
supplemented with respect to such Designated Securities;
(k)
The issue and sale of the Securities
and the compliance by the Company with all of the provisions of the
Securities, the Indenture, this Agreement and any Pricing
Agreement, and the consummation of the transactions herein and
therein contemplated will not conflict with or result in a breach
of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default
under, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or
other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its
subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its
subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of
the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject, nor will such
action result in any violation of the provisions of the Articles of
Incorporation, as amended, or the Regulations of the Company or any
statute or any order, rule or regulation of any court or
governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or
any of its subsidiaries or any of their properties; and no consent,
approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or
with any such court or governmental agency or body is required for
the issue and sale of the Securities or the consummation by the
Company of the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement or
any Pricing Agreement or the Indenture, except such as have been,
or will have been prior to the Time of Delivery, obtained under the
Act and the Trust Indenture Act and such consents, approvals,
authorizations, registrations or qualifications as may be required
under state securities or Blue Sky laws in connection with the
purchase and distribution of the Securities by the
Underwriters;
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(l)
Other than as set forth or
contemplated in the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus,
there are no legal or governmental proceedings pending to which the
Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or of which any
property of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is the subject
with respect to which there is a reasonable likelihood of a
determination which would individually or in the aggregate have a
material adverse effect on the consolidated financial position,
stockholders’ equity or results of operations of the Company
and its subsidiaries; and, to the best of the Company’s
knowledge, no such proceedings are threatened or contemplated by
governmental authorities or threatened by others;
(m)
None of the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement, any Pricing Agreement or the
Indenture (including, without limitation, the use of the proceeds
from the sale of the Securities) will violate or result in a
violation of Section 7 of the Exchange Act, or any regulation
promulgated thereunder, including, without limitation, Regulations
G, T, U and X of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System;
(n)
The Company is not subject to
regulation under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as
amended;
(o)
The Company will apply the net
proceeds from the sale of Securities for the purpose set forth in
the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus under the caption
“Use of Proceeds”;
(p)
PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P., who
has audited certain financial statements of the Company and its
subsidiaries, is an independent registered public accounting firm
as required by the Act and the rules and regulations of the
Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
(United States) thereunder; and
(q)
The Company is not an
“ineligible issuer” as defined under the Act at the
times specified in the Act in connection with the offering of the
Securities.
3.
Upon the execution of the Pricing
Agreement applicable to any Designated Securities and authorization
by the Representatives of the release of such Designated
Securities, the several Underwriters propose to offer such
Designated Securities for sale upon the terms and conditions set
forth in the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus as amended
or supplemented.
4.
The Designated Securities to be
purchased by each Underwriter pursuant to the Pricing Agreement
relating thereto, in definitive form to the extent practicable, and
in such authorized denominations and registered in such names as
the Representatives may request upon at least forty-eight
hours’ prior notice to the Company, shall be delivered by or
on behalf of the Company to the Representatives for the account of
such Underwriter, against payment by such Underwriter or on its
behalf of the purchase price therefor by certified or official bank
check or checks, payable to the order of the Company in the funds
specified in such Pricing Agreement, all at the place and time and
date specified in such Pricing Agreement or at such other place and
time and date as the Representatives and the Company may agree upon
in writing, such time and date being herein called the “Time
of Delivery” for such Securities.
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5.
The Company agrees with each of the
Underwriters of any Designated Securities:
(a)
To prepare the Prospectus as amended
and supplemented in relation to the applicable Designated
Securities in a form approved by the Representatives and to file
such Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act not later
than the Commission’s close of business on the second
business day following the execution and delivery of the Pricing
Agreement relating to the applicable Designated Securities or, if
applicable, such earlier time as may be required by Rule 424(b); to
make no further amendment or any supplement to the Registration
Statement or Prospectus as amended or supplemented after the date
of the Pricing Agreement relating to such Securities and prior to
the Time of Delivery for such Securities which shall be disapproved
by the Representatives for such Securities promptly after
reasonable notice thereof; to advise the Representatives promptly
of any such amendment or supplement after such Time of Delivery and
furnish the Representatives with copies thereof; to furnish the
Representatives a copy of any proposed Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus relating to such Securities prior to its use; not to
use, authorize, approve, refer to or file any Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus which shall be disapproved by the Representatives for
such Securities promptly after reasonable notice thereof; to file
promptly any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (including the Term
Sheet in the form of Schedule IV to the Pricing Agreement) to the
extent required by Rule 433 under the Act; to file promptly all
reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required
to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Section
13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act for so long as the
delivery of a prospectus is required in connection with the
offering or sale of such Securities, and during such same period to
advise the Representatives, promptly after it receives notice
thereof, of the time when any amendment to the Registration
Statement has been filed or becomes effective or any supplement to
the Prospectus or any amended Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus has been filed with the Commission, of the issuance by
the Commission of any stop order or of any order preventing or
suspending the use of any prospectus relating to the Securities, of
the suspension of the qualification of such Securities for offering
or sale in any jurisdiction, of the initiation of or threatening of
any proceeding for any such purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of
the Act, or of any request by the Commission for the amending or
supplementing of the Registration Statement or Prospectus or any
Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or for additional information; and,
in the event of the issuance of any such stop order or of any such
order preventing or suspending the use of any prospectus relating
to the Securities or suspending any such qualification, to use
promptly its best efforts to obtain its withdrawal;
(b)
Promptly from time to time to take
such action as the Representatives may reasonably request to
qualify such Securities for offering and sale under the securities
laws of such jurisdictions in the United States as the
Representatives may request and to comply with such laws so as to
permit the continuance of sales and dealings therein in such
jurisdictions for as long as may be necessary to complete the
distribution of such Securities, provided that in connection
therewith the Company shall not be required to
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qualify as a foreign corporation or
to file a general consent to service of process in any
jurisdiction;
(c)
To furnish the Underwriters with
copies of the Prospectus as amended or supplemented and each Issuer
Free Writing Prospectus in such quantities as the Representatives
may from time to time reasonably request, and, if the delivery of a
prospectus is required at any time prior to the expiration of nine
months after the time of issue of the Prospectus in connection with
the offering or sale of any Designated Securities and if at such
time any event shall have occurred as a result of which the
Prospectus, the Time of Sale Information or any Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact
necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of
the circumstances under which they were made when such Prospectus,
Time of Sale Information or any such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus
is delivered, not misleading, or, if for any other reason it shall
be necessary during such same period to amend or supplement the
Prospectus, the Time of Sale Information or any Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus or to file under the Exchange Act any document
incorporated by reference in the Time of Sale Information or the
Prospectus in order to comply with the Act, the Exchange Act or the
Trust Indenture Act, to notify the Representatives and upon their
request to file such document and to prepare and furnish without
charge to each Underwriter and to any dealer in securities as many
copies as the Representatives may from time to time reasonably
request of an amended Prospectus or a supplement to the Prospectus,
Time of Sale Information or Issuer Free Writing Prospectus which
will correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance;
and in case any Underwriter is required to deliver a prospectus in
connection with sales of any Designated Securities at any time nine
months or more after the time of issue of the Prospectus as amended
or supplemented with respect to such Designated Securities, upon
the request of the Representatives but at the expense of such
Underwriter, to prepare and deliver to such Underwriter as many
copies as it may request of a further amended or supplemented
Prospectus for such Designated Securities complying with Section
10(a)(3) of the Act;
(d)
To make generally available to its
security holders as soon as practicable, but in any event not later
than eighteen months after the effective date of the Registration
Statement (as defined in Rule 158(c)), an earning statement of the
Company and its subsidiaries (which need not be audited) complying
with Section 11(a) of the Act and the rules and regulations of the
Commission thereunder (including at the option of the Company Rule
158);
(e)
During the period beginning from the
date of the Pricing Agreement for such Designated Securities and
continuing to and including the earlier of (i) the termination of
trading restrictions for such Designated Securities, as notified to
the Company by the Representatives, and (ii) the Time of Delivery
for such Designated Securities, not to offer, sell, contract to
sell or otherwise dispose of any debt securities of the Company
which mature more than one year after such Time of Delivery and
which are
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substantially similar to such
Designated Securities, without the prior written consent of the
Representatives; and
(f)
The Company will, pursuant to
reasonable procedures developed in good faith, retain copies of
each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is not filed with the
Commission in accordance with Rule 433 under the Act.
6. Each Underwriter
hereby represents and agrees that:
(a)
It has not and will not use,
authorize use of, refer to, or participate in the planning for use
of, any “free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule
405 under the Act (which term includes use of any written
information furnished to the Commission by the Company and not
incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement and any
press release issued by the Company) other than (i) a free writing
prospectus that, solely as a result of use by such underwriter,
would not trigger an obligation to file such free writing
prospectus with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433, (ii) any
Issuer Free Writing Prospectus listed on Schedule III to the
Pricing Agreement or prepared pursuant to Section 2(e) or Section
5(a) above (including any electronic road show), or (iii) any free
writing prospectus prepared by such underwriter and approved by the
Company in advance in writing (each such free writing prospectus
referred to in clauses (i) or (iii), an “Underwriter Free
Writing Prospectus”).
(b)
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the
Underwriters may use a term sheet substantially in the form of
Schedule IV to the Pricing Agreement for the Designated Securities
without the consent of the Company.
(c)
It is not subject to any pending
proceeding under Section 8A of the Act with respect to the offering
of the Designated Securities (and will promptly notify the Company
if any such proceeding against it is initiated during any period
when a prospectus is required to be delivered in connection with
the Designated Securities).
7. The Company covenants
and agrees with the several Underwriters that the Company will pay
or cause to be paid the following: (i) the fees,
disbursements and expenses of the Company’s counsel and
accountants in connection with the registration of the Securities
under the Act and all other expenses in connection with the
preparation, printing and filing of the Registration Statement, any
Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any
Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus and amendments and
supplements thereto and the mailing and delivering of copies
thereof to the Underwriters and dealers; (ii) the cost of printing
or producing any Agreement among Underwriters, this Agreement, any
Pricing Agreement, any Indenture, any Blue Sky and Legal Investment
Memoranda and any other documents in connection with the offering,
purchase, sale and delivery of the Securities; (iii) all expenses
in connection with the qualification of the Securities for offering
and sale under state securities laws as provided in Section 5(b)
hereof, including the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel
for the Underwriters in connection with such qualification and in
connection with the Blue Sky and legal investment surveys; (iv) any
fees charged by securities rating services for rating the
Securities; (v) any filing fees incident to securing any required
review by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority,
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Inc. of the terms of the sale of the
Securities; (vi) the cost of preparing the Securities; (vii) the
fees and expenses of any Trustee and any agent of any Trustee and
the fees and disbursements of counsel for any Trustee in connection
with any Indenture and the Securities; (viii) the fees and
disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters to the extent they
exceed such amount as may be specified in the Pricing Agreements;
and (ix) all other costs and expenses incident to the performance
of its obligations hereunder which are not otherwise specifically
provided for in this Section. It is understood, however,
that, except as provided in this Section, Section 9 and Section 12
hereof, the Underwriters will pay all of their own costs and
expenses, including, but not limited to, the fees and disbursements
of their counsel up to such amount as may be specified in the
Pricing Agreements, transfer taxes on resale of any of the
Securities by them, and any advertising expenses connected with any
offers they may make.
8. The
obligations of the Underwriters of any Designated Securities under
the Pricing Agreement relating to such Designated Securities shall
be subject, in the discretion of the Representatives, to the
condition that all representations and warranties and other
statements of the Company in or incorporated by reference in the
Pricing Agreement relating to such Designated Securities are, at
and as of the Time of Delivery for such Designated Securities, true
and correct, the condition that the Company shall have performed
all of its obligations hereunder theretofore to be performed, and
the following additional conditions:
(a) The Prospectus as amended
or supplemented in relation to the applicable Designated Securities
shall have been filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b)
within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by the
rules and regulations under the Act and in accordance with Section
5 (a) hereof; each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus shall have been
filed with the Commission to the extent required by Rule 433 under
the Act; no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the
Registration Statement or any part thereof shall have been issued
and no proceeding for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A under
the Act shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission;
and all requests for additional information on the part of the
Commission shall have been complied with to the
Representatives’ reasonable satisfaction;
(b) Counsel for the
Underwriters shall have furnished to the Representatives such
opinion or opinions, dated the Time of Delivery for such Designated
Securities, with respect to the incorporation of the Company, the
validity of the Indenture, the Designated Securities, the
Registration Statement, the Prospectus as amended or supplemented
and other related matters as the Representatives may reasonably
request, and such counsel shall have received such papers and
information as they may reasonably request to enable them to pass
upon such matters;
(c) Paul Heldman, Executive
Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel of the Company, shall
have furnished to the Representatives his written opinion, dated
the Time of Delivery for such Designated Securities, in form and
substance satisfactory to the Representatives, to the effect
that:
(i) The Company has been duly
incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good
standing under the laws of Ohio, with corporate power
11
and authority to own its properties
and conduct its business as described in the Time of Sale
Information and the Prospectus as amended or
supplemented;
(ii) The Company has an
authorized capitalization as set forth in the Time of Sale
Information and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented, and 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;
(iii) The Company has been
duly qualified as a foreign corporation for the transaction of
business and is in good standing under the laws of each other
jurisdiction in which it owns or leases properties, or conducts any
business, so as to require such qualification, or is subject to no
material liability or disability by reason of the failure to be so
qualified in any such jurisdiction (such counsel being entitled to
rely in respect of the opinion in this clause upon opinions of
local counsel and in respect of matters of fact upon certificates
of officers of the Company, provided that such counsel shall state
that he believes that both the Underwriters and he are justified in
relying upon such opinions and certificates);
(iv) Each subsidiary of the
Company, with respect to which the Company owns, directly or
indirectly, an equity interest of more than 50% (each a
“subsidiary”), has been duly incorporated and is
validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws
of its jurisdiction of incorporation, or is subject to no material
liability or disability by reason of the failure to be in good
standing in any such jurisdiction; and all of the issued shares of
capital stock of each such subsidiary have been duly and validly
authorized and issued, are