CORE LABORATORIES N.V. 1,475,000 Shares of Common Stock Par Value EUR 0.02 per Share UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

EX-1.1 2 d178293dex11.htm EX-1.1 EX-1.1

Exhibit 1.1

Execution Version

CORE LABORATORIES N.V.

1,475,000 Shares of Common Stock Par Value EUR 0.02 per Share

UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

May 11, 2016

CREDIT SUISSE SECURITIES (USA) LLC

Eleven Madison Avenue,

New York, NY 10010-3629

Dear Sirs:

1. Introductory. Core Laboratories N.V., a public company with limited liability (naamloze vennootschap) incorporated under the laws of The Netherlands (the “Company”), agrees with Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC (the “Underwriter”) to issue and sell 1,475,000 shares (the “Firm Securities”) of its common stock, EUR 0.02 par value (“Securities”). The Company also proposes to issue and sell to the Underwriter, at the option of the Underwriter, an aggregate of not more than 221,250 additional shares of its Securities (the “Optional Securities”) as set forth below. The Firm Securities and the Optional Securities are herein collectively called the “Offered Securities”.

2. Representations and Warranties of the Company. The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, the Underwriter that:

(a) Filing and Effectiveness of Registration Statement; Certain Defined Terms. The Company has filed with the Commission a registration statement on Form S-3 (No. 333-211291), including a related prospectus or prospectuses, covering the registration of the Offered Securities under the Act, which has become effective. “Registration Statement” at any particular time means such registration statement in the form then filed with the Commission, including any amendment or supplement thereto, any document incorporated by reference therein and all 430B Information and all 430C Information with respect to such registration statement, that in any case has not been superseded or modified. “Registration Statement” without reference to a time means the Registration Statement as of the Effective Time. For purposes of this definition, 430B Information shall be considered to be included in the Registration Statement as of the time specified in Rule 430B.

For purposes of this Underwriting Agreement, dated May 11, 2016 (this “Agreement”):

430B Information” means information included in a prospectus then deemed to be a part of the Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 430B(e) or retroactively deemed to be a part of the Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 430B(f).

430C Information” means information included in a prospectus then deemed to be a part of the Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 430C.

Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Applicable Time” means 6:30 p.m. (New York time) on the date of this Agreement.

Closing Date” has the meaning set forth in Section 3 hereof.

Commission” means the Securities and Exchange Commission.


Effective Time” of the Registration Statement relating to the Offered Securities means the time of the first contract of sale for the Offered Securities.

Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Final Prospectus” means the Statutory Prospectus that discloses the public offering price, other 430B Information and other final terms of the Offered Securities and otherwise satisfies Section 10(a) of the Act and any document incorporated by reference therein.

General Use Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is intended for general distribution to prospective investors, as evidenced by its being so specified in Schedule A to this Agreement.

Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, relating to the Offered Securities in the form filed or required to be filed with the Commission or, if not required to be filed, in the form retained in the Company’s records pursuant to Rule 433(g).

Limited Use Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is not a General Use Issuer Free Writing Prospectus.

Rules and Regulations” means the rules and regulations of the Commission.

Securities Laws” means, collectively, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended (“Sarbanes-Oxley”), the Act, the Exchange Act, the Rules and Regulations, the auditing principles, rules, standards and practices applicable to auditors of “issuers” (as defined in Sarbanes-Oxley) promulgated or approved by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) and, as applicable, the rules of the New York Stock Exchange and the Euronext Amsterdam Stock Exchange (the “Euronext Amsterdam”).

Statutory Prospectus” with reference to any particular time means the prospectus relating to the Offered Securities that is included in the Registration Statement immediately prior to that time, including any documents incorporated by reference therein and all 430B Information and all 430C Information with respect to the Registration Statement. For purposes of the foregoing definition, 430B Information shall be considered to be included in the Statutory Prospectus only as of the actual time that form of prospectus (including a prospectus supplement) is filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) and not retroactively.

Unless otherwise specified, a reference to a “rule” is to the indicated rule under the Act.

(b) Compliance with Securities Act Requirements. (i) (A) At the time the Registration Statement initially became effective, (B) at the time of each amendment thereto for the purposes of complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Act (whether by post-effective amendment, incorporated report or form of prospectus), (C) at the Effective Time relating to the Offered Securities and (D) on the Closing Date, the Registration Statement conformed, and will conform, in all respects to the requirements of the Act and the Rules and Regulations and did not and will not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading and (ii) (A) on its date, (B) at the time of filing the Final Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) and (C) on the Closing Date, the Final Prospectus will conform in all respects to the requirements of the Act and the Rules and Regulations, and will not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The preceding sentence does not apply to statements in or omissions from any such document based upon written information furnished to the Company by the Underwriter specifically for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information is that described as such in Section 8(b) hereof.

 

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The documents incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the General Disclosure Package (as defined below), when they were filed or became effective with the Commission conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Exchange Act and the Rules and Regulations thereunder and none of such documents contained any 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, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and any further documents so filed and incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or the General Disclosure Package, 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 will not contain any 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, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

(c) Automatic Shelf Registration Statement. (i) Well-Known Seasoned Issuer Status. (A) At the time of initial filing of the Registration Statement, (B) at the time of the most recent amendment thereto for the purposes of complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Act (whether such amendment was by post-effective amendment, incorporated report filed pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act or form of prospectus), and (C) at the time the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this clause only, of Rule 163(c)) made any offer relating to the Offered Securities in reliance on the exemption of Rule 163, the Company was a “well known seasoned issuer” as defined in Rule 405, including not having been an “ineligible issuer” as defined in Rule 405.

(ii) Effectiveness of Automatic Shelf Registration Statement. The Registration Statement is an “automatic shelf registration statement,” as defined in Rule 405, that initially became effective upon filing on May 11, 2016. If immediately prior to the Renewal Deadline (as defined below), any of the Offered Securities remain unsold by the Underwriter, the Company will prior to the Renewal Deadline file, if it has not already done so and is eligible to do so, a new automatic shelf registration statement relating to the Offered Securities, in a form satisfactory to the Underwriter (as defined in Section 3). If the Company is no longer eligible to file an automatic shelf registration statement, the Company will prior to the Renewal Deadline, if it has not already done so, file a new shelf registration statement relating to the Offered Securities, in a form satisfactory to the Underwriter, and will use its best efforts to cause such registration statement to be declared effective within 180 days after the Renewal Deadline. The Company will take all other action necessary or appropriate to permit the public offering and sale of the Offered Securities to continue as contemplated in the expired registration statement relating to the Offered Securities. References herein to the Registration Statement shall include such new automatic shelf registration statement or such new shelf registration statement, as the case may be. “Renewal Deadline” means the third anniversary of the initial effective time of the Registration Statement.

(iii) Eligibility to Use Automatic Shelf Registration Form. The Company has not received from the Commission any notice pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) objecting to use of the automatic shelf registration statement form. If at any time when the Offered Securities remain unsold by the Underwriter the Company receives from the Commission a notice pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) or otherwise ceases to be eligible to use the automatic shelf registration statement form, the Company will (i) promptly notify the Underwriter, (ii) promptly file a new registration statement or a post-effective amendment on the proper form relating to the Offered Securities, in a form satisfactory to the Underwriter, (iii) use its reasonable best efforts to cause such registration statement or post-effective amendment to be declared effective as soon as practicable, and (iv) promptly notify the Underwriter of such effectiveness. The Company will take all other action necessary or appropriate to permit the public offering and sale of the Offered Securities to continue as contemplated in the registration statement that was the subject of the Rule 401(g)(2) notice or for which the Company has otherwise become ineligible. References herein to the Registration Statement shall include such new registration statement or post-effective amendment, as the case may be.

 

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(iv) Filing Fees. The Company has paid or shall pay the required Commission filing fees relating to the Offered Securities within the time required by Rule 456(b)(1) without regard to the proviso therein and otherwise in accordance with Rules 456(b) and 457(r).

(d) Ineligible Issuer Status. (i) At the earliest time after the filing of the Registration Statement that the Company or another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2)) of the Offered Securities and (ii) at the date of this Agreement, the Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer,” as defined in Rule 405, including (x) the Company or any other subsidiary in the preceding three years not having been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor or having been made the subject of a judicial or administrative decree or order as referred to or described in Rule 405 and (y) the Company in the preceding three years not having been the subject of a bankruptcy petition or insolvency or similar proceeding, not having had a registration statement be the subject of a proceeding under Section 8 of the Act and not being the subject of a proceeding under Section 8A of the Act in connection with the offering of the Securities, all as described in Rule 405, without taking account of any determination by the Commission pursuant to Rule 405 under the Act that it is not necessary that the Company be considered an ineligible issuer.

(e) General Disclosure Package. As of the Applicable Time, neither (i) the General Use Issuer Free Writing Prospectus(es) issued at or prior to the Applicable Time the base prospectus, dated May 11, 2016, (which is the most recent Statutory Prospectus distributed to investors generally), and the other information, if any, stated in Schedule A to this Agreement to be included in the General Disclosure Package, all considered together (collectively, the “General Disclosure Package”), nor (ii) any individual Limited Use Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, when considered together with the General Disclosure Package, included any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The preceding sentence does not apply to statements in or omissions from any Statutory Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Underwriter specifically for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by the Underwriter consists of the information described as such in Section 8(b) hereof.

(f) Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses. Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as of its issue date and at all subsequent times through the completion of the public offer and sale of the Offered Securities or until any earlier date that the Company notified or notifies the Underwriter as described in the next sentence, did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information then contained in the Registration Statement. If at any time following issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus there occurred or occurs an event or development as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus conflicted or would conflict with the information then contained in the Registration Statement or as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, if republished immediately following such event or development, would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would 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, (i) the Company has promptly notified or will promptly notify the Underwriter and (ii) the Company has promptly amended or supplemented or will promptly amend or supplement such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to eliminate or correct such conflict, untrue statement or omission.

(g) Good Standing of the Company. The Company has been duly formed and is existing and in good standing (an expression, however, which has no recognized meaning under Dutch law) under the laws of The Netherlands, with power and authority (corporate or other) to own and/or lease its properties and conduct its business as described in the General Disclosure Package; and the Company is duly qualified to do business and in good standing as a foreign company with limited liability company in all other jurisdictions in which its ownership or lease of property or the conduct of its business requires such qualification, except where the failure to be so qualified and in good standing would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a material adverse effect on the condition (financial or otherwise), results of operations, business, properties or prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole (“Material Adverse Effect”).

 

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(h) Subsidiaries. Each “significant subsidiary” of the Company as defined in Rule 1-02(w) of Regulation S-X of the Company has been duly formed and is existing and in good standing, to the extent such concept is recognized in the relevant jurisdiction, under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, with power and authority (corporate or other) to own its properties and conduct its business as described in the General Disclosure Package, except where the failure to be so qualified would not have a Material Adverse Effect; and each significant subsidiary of the Company is duly qualified to do business as a foreign corporation, partnership limited liability company or other business entity, as the case may be, in good standing in all other jurisdictions in which its ownership or lease of property or the conduct of its business requires such qualification, except where the failure to be so qualified would not have a Material Adverse Effect; all of the issued and outstanding capital stock or equity interests, as the case may be, in each significant subsidiary of the Company has been duly authorized and validly issued and is fully paid and nonassessable; and capital stock or equity interests, as the case may be, of each significant subsidiary are owned by the Company, directly or through subsidiaries, free from liens, encumbrances and defects; except for those liens, encumbrances and defects in connection with the Company’s Sixth Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, dated as of August 29, 2014 (as amended, the “Credit Agreement”) and as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package. The significant subsidiaries of the Company listed on Schedule B hereto are the only significant subsidiaries, direct or indirect, of the Company and, except as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package, each significant subsidiary of the Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary, direct or indirect, of the Company.

(i) Offered Securities. The Offered Securities and all other outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company have been duly authorized; the authorized equity capitalization of the Company is as set forth in the General Disclosure Package; all outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company are, and, when the Offered Securities have been delivered and paid for in accordance with this Agreement on each Closing Date, such Offered Securities will have been, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, will conform to the information in the General Disclosure Package and to the description of such Offered Securities contained in the Final Prospectus; the stockholders of the Company have no preemptive rights with respect to the Securities; and none of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company have been issued in violation of any preemptive or similar rights of any security holder. Except as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package, there are no outstanding (A) securities or obligations of the Company convertible into or exchangeable for any capital stock of the Company, (B) warrants, rights or options to subscribe for or purchase from the Company any such capital stock or any such convertible or exchangeable securities or obligations or (C) obligations of the Company to issue or sell any shares of capital stock, any such convertible or exchangeable securities or obligations or any such warrants, rights or options. The Company has not, directly or indirectly, offered or sold any of the Offered Securities by means of any “prospectus” (within the meaning of the Act and the Rules and Regulations) or used any “prospectus” or made any offer (within the meaning of the Act and the Rules and Regulations) in connection with the offer or sale of the Offered Securities, in each case other than Statutory Prospectus.

(j) Other Offerings. The Company has not sold, issued or distributed any Securities during the six-month period preceding the date hereof, including any sales pursuant to Rule 144A under, or Regulation D or S of, the Act, other than Securities issued pursuant to employee benefit plans, qualified stock option plans or other employee compensation plans or pursuant to outstanding options, rights or warrants.

(k) No Finder’s Fee. Except as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package, there are no contracts, agreements or understandings between the Company and any person that would give rise to a valid claim against the Company or the Underwriter for a brokerage commission, finder’s fee or other like payment in connection with this offering.

(l) No Registration Rights. Except as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package, there are no contracts, agreements or understandings between the Company and any person granting such person the right to require the Company to file a registration statement under the Act with respect to any securities of the Company owned or to be owned by such person or to require the Company to include such securities in the securities registered pursuant to the Registration Statement or in any securities being registered pursuant to any other registration statement filed by the Company under the Act (collectively, “registration rights”), and any person to whom the Company has granted registration rights has agreed not to exercise such rights until after the expiration of the Lock-Up Period referred to in Section 5 hereof.

 

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(m) Listing. The Offered Securities have been approved for listing on the New York Stock Exchange, subject to notice of issuance.

(n) Absence of Further Requirements. No consent, approval, authorization, or order of, or filing or registration with, any person (including any governmental agency or body or any court) is required for the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement in connection with the offering, issuance and sale of the Offered Securities by the Company, except for (i) such consents, approvals, authorizations, orders and registrations or qualifications as may be required under applicable state securities laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Offered Securities by the Underwriter, (ii) consents that have been, or prior to the Closing Date will be, obtained, and (iii) consents that, if not obtained, would not materially impair the ability of the Company to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

(o) Title to Property. Except as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package, the Company and its subsidiaries have good and marketable title to all real properties and all other properties and assets owned by them that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole, in each case free from liens, charges, encumbrances and defects that would materially affect the value thereof or materially interfere with the use made or to be made thereof by them except for liens arising under the Company’s Credit Agreement and, except as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package, the Company and its subsidiaries hold any leased real or personal property under valid and enforceable leases with no terms or provisions that would interfere with the use made or to be made thereof by them, except to the extent the failure to hold such valid and enforceable leases would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(p) Related Party Transactions. No relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among the Company or any of its subsidiaries on the one hand, and the directors, officers, shareholders, customers or suppliers of the Company or any of its subsidiaries on the other hand, which is required by the Act to be described (including by way of incorporation by reference) in the Registration Statement and the General Disclosure Package which is not so described.

(q) Absence of Defaults and Conflicts Resulting from Transaction. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the issuance and sale of the Offered Securities will not (i) result in a breach or violation of any of the terms and provisions of, or constitute a default or a Debt Repayment Triggering Event (as defined below) under, or result in the imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, (ii) result in any violation of the provisions of the charter, articles of association or similar organizational documents of the Company or any of its subsidiaries,(iii) result in the violation of any statute, rule, regulation or order of any governmental agency or body or any court, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their properties, or (iv) result in the violation of any 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 properties of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject, except, in the case of clauses (i), (iii) and (iv) above, for any such default or violation that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. A “Debt Repayment Triggering Event” means any event or condition that gives, or with the giving of notice or lapse of time would give, the holder of any note, debenture or other evidence of indebtedness (or any person acting on such holder’s behalf) the right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a portion of such indebtedness by the Company or any of its subsidiaries.

(r) Absence of Existing Defaults and Conflicts. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in violation of its respective charter, articles of association, bylaws or other organizational documents, or in default (or with the giving of notice or lapse of time would be in default) under any existing obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, loan agreement, mortgage, lease or other agreement or instrument to which any of them is a party or by which any of them

is bound or to which any of the properties of any of them is subject, except such defaults that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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(s) Authorization of Agreement. This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.

(t) Authority and Authorization. The Company has all requisite power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and perform its obligations hereunder. The Company has all requisite power and authority (corporate or other) to issue, sell and deliver the Offered Securities, in accordance with and upon the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus. All action required to be taken by the Company or any of its securityholders for (i) the due and proper authorization, execution and delivery of this Agreement, (ii) the authorization, issuance, sale and delivery of the Offered Securities and (iii) the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby has been duly and validly taken.

(u) Possession of Licenses and Permits. The Company and its subsidiaries possess, and are in compliance with the terms and conditions of, all adequate certificates, authorizations, franchises, licenses and permits issued by appropriate federal, state, local or foreign regulatory bodies (collectively, “Licenses”) necessary to the ownership of their assets or material to the conduct of the business now conducted or proposed in the General Disclosure Package to be conducted by them and have not received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any Licenses that, if determined adversely to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, would, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.

(v) Absence of Labor Dispute. No labor dispute with the employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is imminent that would, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.

(w) Possession of Intellectual Property. The Company and its subsidiaries own, possess or can acquire on reasonable terms sufficient trademarks, trade names, patent rights, copyrights, domain names, licenses, approvals, trade secrets, inventions, technology, know-how and other intellectual property and similar rights, including registrations and applications for registration thereof (collectively, “Intellectual Property Rights”) necessary or material to the conduct of the business now conducted or proposed in the General Disclosure Package to be conducted by them, and the expected expiration of any such Intellectual Property Rights would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. Except as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package (i) to the Company’s knowledge, there are no rights of third parties to any of the Intellectual Property Rights owned by the Company or its subsidiaries; (ii) to the Company’s knowledge, there is no material infringement, misappropriation breach, default or other violation, or the occurrence of any event that with notice or the passage of time would constitute any of the foregoing, by the Company, its subsidiaries or third parties of any of the Intellectual Property Rights of the Company or its subsidiaries; (iii) there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the Company’s or any subsidiary’s rights in or to, or the violation of any of the terms of, any of their Intellectual Property Rights; (iv) to the Company’s knowledge, there is no pending or threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the validity, enforceability or scope of any such Intellectual Property Rights; (v) there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others that the Company or any subsidiary infringes, misappropriates or otherwise violates or conflicts with any Intellectual Property Rights or other proprietary rights of others; and (vi) to the Company’s knowledge, none of the Intellectual Property Rights used by the Company or its subsidiaries in their businesses has been obtained or is being used by the Company or its subsidiaries in violation of any contractual obligation binding on the Company, any of its subsidiaries in violation of the rights of any persons, except in each case covered by clauses (i) – (vi) such as would not, if determined adversely to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, would individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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(x) Environmental Laws. Except as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package or except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, 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 to the Company’s knowledge is subject to any claim relating to any environmental laws; and the Company is not aware of any pending investigation which might lead to such a claim.

(y) Accurate Disclosure; Exhibits. The statements in the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus under the headings “Description of Share Capital,” “Material Netherlands Income and Estate Tax Considerations” and “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations”, insofar as such statements summarize legal matters, agreements, documents or proceedings discussed therein, are accurate and fair summaries of such legal matters, agreements, documents or proceedings and present the information required to be shown. There are no material contracts or documents which are required to be described in the Registration Statement or the General Disclosure Package pursuant to Form S-3 or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement pursuant to Item 601 of Regulation S-K or incorporated by reference therein which have not been so described, filed or incorporated as required.

(z) Absence of Manipulation. The Company has not taken, directly or indirectly, any action that is designed to or that has constituted or that would reasonably be expected to cause or result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Offered Securities.

(aa) Statistical and Market-Related Data. Nothing has come to the attention of the Company that has caused the Company to believe that any third-party statistical and market-related data included or incorporated by reference in a Registration Statement, a Statutory Prospectus or the General Disclosure Package is not based on or derived from sources that are reliable and accurate in all material respects.

(bb) Internal Controls and Compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley. Except as set forth in the General Disclosure Package, the Company, and its Supervisory Board (the “Supervisory Board”) and officers are in compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and the rules and regulations promulgated in connection thereunder. The Company maintains a system of internal controls, including, but not limited to, disclosure controls and procedures, internal controls over accounting matters and financial reporting and legal and regulatory compliance controls (collectively, “Internal Controls”) that comply with the Securities Laws and have been designed by, or under the supervision of, their respective principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, to provide reasonable assurances that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”), including, but not limited to, internal controls sufficient to provide assurances that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations, (ii) transactions are recorded to maintain accountability for assets, (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. Except as set forth in the General Disclosure Package, there are no material weaknesses in the Company’s internal controls and there has been no material fraud that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the Company’s internal controls. The Company’s auditors and the Audit Committee of the Company have been advised of: (i) all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting which have adversely affected or are reasonably likely to adversely affect the Company’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and (ii) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting.

(cc) No Changes in Internal Controls. Since the date of the most recent balance sheet of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries reviewed or audited by KPMG LLP, (i) the Company has not been advised of or become aware of (A) any significant deficiencies in the design or operation of internal

 

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controls that are reasonable likely to adversely affect the ability of the Company to record, process, summarize and report financial data, or any material weaknesses in internal controls, and (B) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the internal controls of the Company; and (ii) there have been no significant changes in internal controls or in other factors that are reasonable likely to significantly affect internal controls, including any corrective actions with regard to significant deficiencies and material weaknesses.

(dd) Disclosure Controls. The Company and its subsidiaries maintain an effective system of “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Exchange Act) that complies with the requirements of the Exchange Act and that has been designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms, including controls and procedures designed to ensure that such information is accumulated and 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.

(ee) Litigation. Except as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package, there are no pending actions, suits or proceedings (including any inquiries or investigations by any court or governmental agency or body, domestic or foreign) against or affecting the Company, any of its subsidiaries or any of their respective properties that, if determined adversely to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, would individually or in the aggregate have a Material Adverse Effect, or would materially and adversely affect the ability of the Company to perform its obligations under this Agreement or the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement; and no such actions, suits or proceedings (including any inquiries or investigations by any court or governmental agency or body, domestic or foreign) are threatened or, to the Company’s knowledge, contemplated.

(ff) Financial Statements; Auditor Independence. The consolidated financial statements and the related notes included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the General Disclosure Package present fairly in all material respects the financial position of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries as of and at the dates shown, and the consolidated statements of operations, changes in equity, comprehensive income and cash flows of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries for the periods shown, and such financial statements have been prepared in conformity with GAAP applied on a consistent basis (except as otherwise noted therein). The other financial information, including non-GAAP financial measures, if any, has been derived from the accounting records of the Company and fairly presents in all material respects the information purported to be shown thereby. The interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the General Disclosure Package fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and has been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto. Each of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and KPMG LLP, which have certified the financial statements of the Company included in, or incorporated by reference into, the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus, are an independent registered public accounting firm with respect to the Company within the Rules and Regulations and as required by the Act and the applicable rules and guidance from the PCAOB.

(gg) No Material Adverse Change. Except as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package, since the end of the period covered by the latest audited financial statements included in the General Disclosure Package (i) there has been no change, nor any development or event involving a prospective change, in the condition (financial or otherwise), results of operations, business, properties or prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, that is material and adverse, (ii) except as disclosed in or contemplated by the General Disclosure Package, there has been no dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made by the Company on any class of its capital stock, (iii) except as disclosed in or contemplated by the General Disclosure Package, there has been no material adverse change in the capital stock, short-term indebtedness, long-term indebtedness, net current assets or net assets of the Company and its subsidiaries, (iv) there has been no material transaction entered into and there is no material transaction that is probable of being entered into by the Company other than transactions in the ordinary course of

 

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business, (v) there has been no obligation, direct or contingent, that is material to the Company taken as a whole, incurred by the Company, except obligations incurred in the ordinary course of business, (vi) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has sustained any loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor disturbance or dispute or any action, order or decree of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority (vii) there has not been any material transaction entered into or any material transaction that is probable of being entered into by the Company, other than transactions in the ordinary course of business and changes and transactions described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus and (viii) there has not been any obligation, direct or contingent, which is material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole, incurred by the Company, except obligations incurred in the ordinary course of business.

(hh) Investment Company Act. The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Offered Securities and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in the General Disclosure Package, will not be an “investment company” as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”).

(ii) ERISA Compliance. Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect, (i) each “employee benefit plan” (as defined under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (as amended, “ERISA,” which term, as used herein, includes the regulations and published interpretations thereunder) established or maintained by the Company, its subsidiaries or their ERISA Affiliates (as defined below) is in material compliance with ERISA, (ii) no “reportable event” (as defined under ERISA) has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur with respect to any “employee benefit plan” established or maintained by the Company, its subsidiaries or any of their ERISA Affiliates, (iii) no “employee benefit plan” for which the Company or any ERISA Affiliate would have any liability has failed to satisfy the minimum funding standard (within the meaning of Section 412 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as amended, the “Code,” which term, as used herein, includes the regulations and published interpretations thereunder) or Section 302 of ERISA) applicable to such plan or filed pursuant to Section 412(c) of the Code or Section 302(c) of ERISA an application for a waiver of the minimum funding standard with respect to any such “employee benefit plan,” and (iv) neither the Company, its subsidiaries nor any of their ERISA Affiliates has incurred or reasonably expects to incur any liability under (A) Title IV of ERISA with respect to termination of, or withdrawal from, any “employee benefit plan” that has not been satisfied in full or (B) Sections 4971 or 4975 of the Code and (v) each “employee benefit plan” established or maintained by the Company, its subsidiaries or any of their ERISA Affiliates that is intended to be qualified under Section 401 of the Code is so qualified and nothing has occurred, whether by action or failure to act, which would cause the loss of such qualification. “ERISA Affiliate” means, with respect to the Company or a subsidiary, any member of any group of organizations described in Section 414 of the Code of which the Company or such subsidiary is a member.

(jj) Ratings. No “nationally recognized statistical rating organization,” as such term is defined in Section 3(a)(62) of the Exchange Act, (i) has imposed (or has informed the Company that it is considering imposing) any condition (financial or otherwise) on the Company’s retaining any rating assigned to the Company or any securities of the Company or (ii) has indicated to the Company that it is considering any of the actions described in Section 7(c)(ii) hereof.

(kk) PFIC Status. The Company was not a “passive foreign investment company” (“PFIC”) as defined in Section 1297 of the Code, for its most recently completed taxable year and, based on the Company’s current projected income, assets and activities, the Company does not expect to be classified as a PFIC for any subsequent taxable year.

(ll) Taxes. The Company and its subsidiaries have filed all foreign, federal, state and local tax returns that are required to be filed or have requested extensions thereof (except in any case in which the failure so to file would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect); and the Company and its subsidiaries have paid all taxes (including any assessments, interest, fines or penalties) required to be paid by them, except for any such taxes, assessments, interest, fines or penalties currently being contested in good faith or as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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(mm) Securities Free of Taxes. Other than as described in the General Disclosure Package and other than in respect of any net income or profits earned by the Underwriter, no value added tax (“VAT”) will have to be charged by the Company and no stamp or other issuance or transfer taxes or duties and no capital gains, income, or withholding taxes are payable by or on behalf of the Underwriter to The Netherlands or the United States or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof or therein, in connection with (i) the execution, delivery, consummation or enforcement of this Agreement or any other document or instrument to be furnished hereunder; (ii) the sale of the Offered Securities to the Underwriter in the manner contemplated herein; or (iii) the resale and delivery of such Securities by the Underwriter in the manner contemplated in the General Disclosure Package.

(nn) Residency of Company. The Company is a resident in The Netherlands for tax purposes.

(pp) Insurance. The Company and its subsidiaries are insured by insurers with appropriately rated claims paying abilities against such losses and risks and in such amounts as are prudent and customary for the businesses in which they are engaged; all material policies of insurance insuring the Company or any of its subsidiaries or their respective businesses, assets, employees, officers and directors are in full force and effect; the Company and its subsidiaries are in compliance with the terms of such policies and instruments in all material respects; and there are no claims by the Company or any of its subsidiaries under any such policy or instrument as to which any insurance company is denying liability or defending under a reservation of rights clause; neither the Company nor any such subsidiary has been refused any insurance coverage sought or applied for; and neither the Company nor any such subsidiary has any reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business at a cost that would not have a Material Adverse Effect, except as set forth in or contemplated in the General Disclosure Package.

(qq) Payments in Foreign Currency. Except as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package, under current laws and regulations of The Netherlands and any political subdivision thereof, all dividends and other distributions declared and payable on the Offered Securities may be paid by the Company to the holder thereof in United States dollars that may be converted into foreign currency and freely transferred out of The Netherlands.

(rr) No Unlawful Payments. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries, nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries has (i) used any corporate funds for any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expense relating to political activity; (ii) made any direct or indirect unlawful payment to any foreign or domestic government official or employee from corporate funds; (iii) violated or is in violation of any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (“FCPA”), including, without limitation, making use of the mails or any means or instrumentality of interstate commerce corruptly in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay or authorization of the payment of any money, or other property, gift, promise to give, or authorization of the giving of anything of value, directly or indirectly, to any foreign official (as such term is defined in the FCPA); (iv) violated or in violation of any provision of the Bribery Act of 2010 of the United Kingdom; or (v) made any bribe, rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful payment. No action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to anti-corruption laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened. The Company and its subsidiaries have conducted their businesses in compliance with the FCPA and maintain policies and procedures designed to promote and ensure compliance therewith.

(ss) Compliance with Anti-Money Laundering Laws. The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the anti-money laundering statutes of all jurisdictions, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related

 

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or similar rules, regulations and guidelines issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Anti-Money Laundering Laws”) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Anti-Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.

(tt) Compliance with OFAC. None of the Company, any of its subsidiaries or any director or officer, or to the knowledge of the Company, any agent, employee or affiliate of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“OFAC”), and the Company will not, directly or indirectly, use the proceeds of the offering and sale of the Offered Securities, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity, for the purpose of financing the activities of any person currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC.

(uu) No Restrictions on Payments by Subsidiaries. Except as set forth in the Credit Agreement or the Company’s Master Note Purchase Agreement, dated as of September 30, 2011, no subsidiary of the Company is currently prohibited, directly or indirectly, under any agreement or other instrument to which it is a party or is subject, (i) from paying any dividends to the Company, (ii) from making any other distribution on such subsidiary’s capital stock, (iii) from repaying to the Company any loans or advances to such subsidiary from the Company or (iv) from transferring any of such subsidiary’s material properties or assets to the Company or any other subsidiary of the Company.

(vv) Local Qualification. It is not necessary under the laws of The Netherlands (i) to enable the Underwriter to enforce their rights under this Agreement or any other document or instrument to be furnished hereunder, to enable any holder of Offered Securities to enforce their respective rights thereunder or any other document or instrument to be furnished thereunder, provided that they are not otherwise engaged in business in The Netherlands, or (ii) solely by reason of the execution, delivery or consummation of this Agreement or the offering or sale by the Company of the Offered Securities, for the Underwriter or any holder of Offered Securities or the Company to be licensed, qualified or entitled to carry out business in The Netherlands.

(ww) Form of This Agreement. This Agreement and any other document or instrument to be furnished hereunder are in proper form under the laws of The Netherlands for the enforcement thereof against the Company, and to ensure the legality, validity, enforceability or admissibility into evidence in The Netherlands of this Agreement and any other document or instrument to be furnished hereunder, it is not necessary that any such document or instrument to be furnished hereunder be filed or recorded with any court or other authority in The Netherlands.

(xx) Submission to Jurisdiction; Agent for Service of Process. The Company has the power to submit, and pursuant to Section 15(a) of this Agreement has, to the extent permitted by law, legally, validly, effectively and irrevocably submitted, to the jurisdiction of the Specified Courts (as defined in Section 15(a) of this Agreement), and has the power to designate, appoint and empower, and pursuant to Section 15(a) of this Agreement, has legally, validly and effectively designated, appointed and empowered an agent for service of process in any suit or proceeding based on or arising under this Agreement in any of the Specified Courts.

(yy) Immunity from Jurisdiction. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor any of its or their properties or assets has any immunity from the jurisdiction of any court or from any legal process (whether through service or notice, attachment prior to judgment, attachment in aid of execution or otherwise) under the laws of The Netherlands.

 

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3. Purchase, Sale and Delivery of Offered Securities. On the basis of the representations, warranties and agreements and subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Company agrees to sell to the Underwriter, and the Underwriter agrees to purchase from the Company, at a purchase price of $116.67 per share, the Firm Securities.

The Company will deliver the Firm Securities to the Underwriter in a form reasonably acceptable to the Underwriter against payment of the purchase price by the Underwriter in Federal (same day) funds by a wire transfer to an account at a bank specified by the Company (and acceptable to the Underwriter) drawn to the order of the Company at the office of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., 1001 Fannin Street, Suite 2500, Houston at 10:00 A.M., New York time, on May 17, 2016, or at such other time not later than seven full business days thereafter as shall be agreed upon by the Underwriter and the Company, such time being herein referred to as the “First Closing Date.” For purposes of Rule 15c6-1 under the Exchange Act, the First Closing Date (if later than the otherwise applicable settlement date) shall be the settlement date for payment of funds and delivery of securities for all the Offered Securities sold pursuant to the offering. Delivery of the Firm Securities will be made through the facilities of the Depository Trust Company (the “DTC”) unless the Underwriter shall otherwise instruct.

In addition, upon written notice from the Underwriter given to the Company from time to time not more than 30 days subsequent to the date of the Final Prospectus, the Underwriter may purchase all or less than all of the Optional Securities at the purchase price per Security to be paid for the Firm Securities. The Company agrees to sell to the Underwriter the number of shares of Optional Securities specified in such notice and the Underwriter agrees, to purchase such Optional Securities. Such Optional Securities shall be purchased for the account of the Underwriter. No Optional Securities shall be sold or delivered unless the Firm Securities previously have been, or simultaneously are, sold and delivered. The right to purchase the Optional Securities or any portion thereof may be exercised from time to time and to the extent not previously exercised may be surrendered and terminated at any time upon notice by the Underwriter to the Company.

Each time for the delivery of and payment for the Optional Securities, being herein referred to as an “Optional Closing Date”, which may be the First Closing Date (the First Closing Date and each Optional Closing Date, if any, being sometimes referred to as a “Closing Date”), shall be determined by the Underwriter but shall be not later than five full business days after written notice of election to purchase Optional Securities is given. The Company will deliver the Optional Securities being purchased on each Optional Closing Date to or as instructed by the Underwriter for its account in a form reasonably acceptable to the Underwriter against payment of the purchase price therefor in Federal (same day) funds by wire transfer to an account at a bank specified by the Company (and acceptable to the Underwriter) drawn to the order of the Company, at the above office of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. Delivery of the Optional Securities will be made through the facilities of the DTC unless the Underwriter shall otherwise instruct.

4. Offering by Underwriter. It is understood that the Underwriter proposes to offer the Offered Securities for sale to the public as set forth in the Final Prospectus.

5. Certain Agreements of the Company. The Company agrees with the Underwriter that:

(a) Filing of Prospectuses. The Company has filed or will file each Statutory Prospectus (including the Final Prospectus) pursuant to and in accordance with Rule 424(b)(2) (or, if applicable and consented to by the Underwriter, subparagraph (5)) not later than the second business day following the earlier of the date it is first used or the execution and delivery of this Agreement. The Company has complied and will comply with Rule 433.

(b) Filing of Amendments; Response to Commission Requests. The Company will promptly advise the Underwriter of any proposal to amend or supplement the Registration Statement or any Statutory Prospectus at any time and will offer the Underwriter a reasonable opportunity to comment on any such amendment or supplement; and the Company will also advise the Underwriter promptly of (i) the filing of any such amendment or supplement, (ii) any request by the Commission or its staff for any amendment to the Registration Statement, for any supplement to any Statutory Prospectus or for any additional information, (iii) the institution by the Commission of any stop order proceedings in respect of the Registration Statement or the threatening of any proceeding for that purpose, and (iv) the receipt by the

 

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Company of any notification with respect to the suspension of the qualification of the Offered Securities in any jurisdiction or the institution or threatening of any proceedings for such purpose. The Company will

use its best efforts to prevent the issuance of any such stop order or the suspension of any such qualification and, if issued, to obtain as soon as possible the withdrawal thereof.

(c) Continued Compliance with Securities Laws. If, at any time when a prospectus relating to the Offered Securities is (or but for the exemption in Rule 172 would be) required to be delivered under the Act by the Underwriter or dealer, any event occurs as a result of which the Final Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an 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, or if it is necessary at any time to amend the Registration Statement or supplement the Final Prospectus to comply with the Act, the Company will promptly notify the Underwriter of such event and will promptly prepare and file with the Commission and furnish, at its own expense, to the Underwriter and the dealers and any other dealers upon request of the Underwriter, an amendment or supplement which will correct such statement or omission or an amendment which will effect such compliance. Neither the Underwriter’s consent to, nor its delivery of, any such amendment or supplement shall constitute a waiver of any of the conditions set forth in Section 7 hereof.

(d) Rule 158. As soon as practicable, the Company will make generally available to its security holders an earnings statement covering a period of at least 12 months beginning after the date of this Agreement and satisfying the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Act and Rule 158.

(e) Furnishing of Prospectuses. The Company will furnish to the Underwriter copies of the Registration Statement, including all exhibits, any Statutory Prospectus, the Final Prospectus and all amendments and supplements to such documents, in each case as soon as available and in such quantities as the Underwriter reasonably requests. The Company will pay the expenses of printing and distributing to the Underwriter all such documents.

(f) Blue Sky Qualifications. The Company will arrange for the qualification of the Offered Securities for sale under the laws of such jurisdictions as the Underwriter designates and will continue such qualifications in effect so long as required for the distribution.

(g) Reporting Requirements. During the period of five years hereafter, the Company will furnish to the Underwriter and, as soon as practicable after the end of each fiscal year, a copy of its annual report to stockholders for such year; and the Company will furnish to the Underwriter (i) as soon as available, a copy of each report and any definitive proxy statement of the Company filed with the Commission under the Exchange Act or mailed to stockholders and (ii) from time to time, such other information concerning the Company as the Underwriter may reasonably request. However, so long as the Company is subject to the reporting requirements of either Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act and is timely filing reports with the Commission on its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system (“EDGAR”), it is not required to furnish such reports or statements to the Underwriter.

(h) Payment of Expenses. The Company will pay all expenses incident to the performance of its obligations under this Agreement, including but not limited to (i) any filing fees and other expenses (including reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel to the Underwriter) incurred in connection with qualification of the Offered Securities for sale under the laws of such jurisdictions as the Underwriter designates and the preparation and printing of memoranda relating thereto, (ii) costs and expenses related to the review by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority of the Offered Securities (including filing fees and the fees and expenses of counsel for the Underwriter relating to such review), (iii) costs and expenses relating to investor presentations or any “road show” in connection with the offering and sale of the Offered Securities including, without limitation, any travel expenses of the Company’s officers and employees and any other expenses of the Company including the chartering of airplanes, (iv) fees and expenses incident to listing the Offered Securities on the New York Stock Exchange, Euronext Amsterdam and other national and foreign exchanges, (v) fees and expenses in connection with the registration of the Offered Securities under the Exchange Act, (vi) expenses incurred in distributing preliminary prospectuses and the Final Prospectus (including any amendments and supplements thereto) to the Underwriter, (vii) expenses

 

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incurred for preparing, printing and distributing any Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses to investors or prospective investors, (viii) any fees and expenses of any transfer agent or registrar of the Offered

Securities and any agent of the transfer agent or registrar and the fees and disbursements of counsel for the transfer agent or registrar in connection with the Offered Securities and (ix) all other fees, costs and expenses referred to in Item 14 of part II of the Registration Statement.

(i) Use of Proceeds. The Company will use the net proceeds received by it in connection with this offering in the manner described in the “Use of Proceeds” section of the General Disclosure Package and, except as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package, the Company does not intend to use any of the proceeds from the sale of the Offered Securities hereunder to repay any outstanding debt owed to any affiliate of the Underwriter.

(j) Absence of Manipulation. The Company will not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that would constitute or that would reasonably be expected to cause or result in, stabilization or manipulation of the price of any securities of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Offered Securities.

(k) Taxes. The Company will indemnify and hold harmless the Underwriter against any documentary, stamp or similar issue tax on the creation, issue and sale of the Offered Securities and on the execution and delivery of this Agreement. All payments to be made by the Company to the Underwriter under Sections 3, 5(H), 5(K) and 8 of this Agreement shall be made without withholding or deduction for or on account of any present or future taxes, duties or governmental charges whatsoever unless the Company is compelled by law to deduct or withhold such taxes, duties or charges. If the Company is required to make such deductions or withholdings (other than deductions or withholdings of taxes on net income or profits or similar taxes), the Company shall pay such additional amounts to the Underwriter as may be necessary in order that the net amounts received by the Underwriter after such withholding or deduction shall equal the amounts that would have been received if no withholding or deduction had been made.

(l) Restriction on Sale of Securities. For the period specified below (the “Lock-Up Period”), the Company will not, directly or indirectly, take any of the following actions with respect to its Securities or any securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for any of its Securities (“Lock-Up Securities”): (i) offer, sell, issue, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of Lock-Up Securities, (ii) offer, sell, issue, contract to sell, contract to purchase or grant any option, right or warrant to purchase Lock-Up Securities, (iii) enter into any swap, hedge or any other agreement that transfers, in whole or in part, the economic consequences of ownership of Lock-Up Securities, (iv) establish or increase a put equivalent position or liquidate or decrease a call equivalent position in Lock-Up Securities within the meaning of Section 16 of the Exchange Act or (v) file with the Commission a registration statement under the Act relating to Lock-Up Securities, or publicly disclose the intention to take any such action, without the prior written consent of the Underwriter; provided that the foregoing restrictions shall not apply to, (i) the Offered Securities offered hereby, (ii) any Securities issued by us upon the exercise of an option or warrant or the conversion of a security outstanding on the date hereof, (iii) any Securities issued or options to purchase Securities granted pursuant to existing employee benefit plans as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package, (iv) issuances to employees under the terms of the employee stock purchase plan in effect on the date hereof as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package, and (v) any Securities issued pursuant to any non-employee director stock plan or dividend reinvestment plan as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package. The initial Lock-Up Period will commence on the date hereof and continue for 60 days after the date hereof or such earlier date that the Underwriter consents to in writing.

6. Free Writing Prospectuses. The Company represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior consent of the Underwriter, and the Underwriter represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior consent of the Company, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Offered Securities that would constitute an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or that would otherwise constitute a “free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 405, required to be filed with the Commission. Any such free writing prospectus consented to by the Company and the Underwriter is hereinafter referred to as a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus.” The Company represents that it has treated and agrees that it will treat each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, and has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rules 164 and 433

applicable to any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, including timely Commission filing where required, legending and record keeping.

 

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7. Conditions of the Obligations of the Underwriter. The obligations of the Underwriter to purchase and pay for the Firm Securities on the First Closing Date and the Optional Securities to be purchased on each Optional Closing Date will be subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company herein (as though made on such Closing Date), to the accuracy of the statements of Company officers made pursuant to the provisions hereof, to the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder and to the following additional conditions precedent:

(a) Accountants’ Comfort Letters. The Underwriter shall have received letters, dated, respectively, the date hereof and each Closing Date, of each PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and KPMG LLP and confirming that they are a registered public accounting firm and independent public accountants within the meaning of the Securities Laws and substantially in the forms and substance heretofore approved by the Underwriter and Baker Botts L.L.P., counsel to the Underwriter.

(b) Filing of Prospectus. The Final Prospectus shall have been filed with the Commission in accordance with the Rules and Regulations and Section 5(a) hereof. No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or of any part thereof shall have been issued and no proceedings for that purpose shall have been instituted or, to the knowledge of the Company or the Underwriter, shall be contemplated by the Commission.

(c) No Material Adverse Change. Subsequent to the execution and delivery of this Agreement, there shall not have occurred (i) any change, or any development or event involving a prospective change, in the condition (financial or otherwise), results of operations, business, properties or prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole which, in the judgment of the Underwriter, is so material and adverse and makes it impractical or inadvisable to market the Offered Securities; (ii) any downgrading in the rating of any debt securities or preferred stock of the Company by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization” (as such term is defined in Section 3(a)(62) of the Exchange Act), or any public announcement that any such organization has under surveillance or review its rating of any debt securities or preferred stock of the Company (other than an announcement with positive implications of a possible upgrading, and no implication of a possible downgrading, of such rating) or any announcement that the Company has been placed on negative outlook; (iii) any change in U.S. or international financial, political or economic conditions or currency exchange rates or exchange controls the effect of which is such as to make it, in the judgment of the Underwriter, impractical to market or to enforce contracts for the sale of the Offered Securities, whether in the primary market or in respect of dealings in the secondary market; (iv) any suspension or material limitation of trading in securities generally on the New York Stock Exchange or Euronext Amsterdam, or any setting of minimum or maximum prices for trading on such exchange; (v) or any suspension of trading of any securities of the Company on any exchange or in the over-the-counter market; (vi) any banking moratorium declared by any U.S. Federal, New York or The Netherlands authorities; (vii) any major disruption of settlements of securities, payment, or clearance services in the United States or The Netherlands or any other country where such securities are listed or (viii) any attack on, outbreak or escalation of hostilities or act of terrorism involving the United States or The Netherlands, any declaration of war by Congress of the United States or any other national or international calamity or emergency if, in the judgment of the Underwriter, the effect of any such attack, outbreak, escalation, act, declaration, calamity or emergency is such to make it impractical or inadvisable to market the Offered Securities or to enforce contracts for the sale of the Offered Securities.

(d) Opinions of Counsel for Company. The Underwriter shall have received an opinion, dated each Closing Date, of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., U.S. counsel for the Company, substantially in the form of Exhibit A hereto, NautaDutilh N.V., Dutch counsel for the Company, substantially in the form of Exhibit B hereto, and Mark F. Elvig , Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel for the Company, substantially in the form of Exhibit C hereto.

 

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(e) Opinion of Counsel for Underwriter. The Underwriter shall have received from Baker Botts L.L.P., counsel for the Underwriter, such opinion or opinions, dated each Closing Date, with respect to such matters as the Underwriter may require, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel such documents as they request for the purpose of enabling them to pass upon such matters. In rendering such opinion, Baker Botts L.L.P. may rely as to the incorporation of the Company and all other matters governed by laws of The Netherlands upon the opinion of NautaDutilh N.V. referred to above.

(f) Officer’s Certificate. The Underwriter shall have received a certificate, dated each Closing Date, of an executive officer of the Company and a principal financial or accounting officer of the Company in which such officers shall state that: (i) to the best of each such officer’s knowledge after reasonable investigation, the representations set forth in Sections 3(b)(ii) and 3(e)(i) of the Company in this Agreement are true and correct; (ii) other than as provided in the preceding clause, the representations and warranties of the Company in this Agreement are true and correct; (iii) the Company has complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied hereunder at or prior to such Closing Date; (iv) no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or, to the best of their knowledge and after reasonable investigation, are contemplated by the Commission; and (v) subsequent to the date of the most recent financial statements in the General Disclosure Package, there has been no material adverse change, nor any development or event involving a prospective material adverse change, in the condition (financial or otherwise), results of operations, business, properties or prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole except as set forth in the General Disclosure Package or as described in such certificate.

(g) Lock-Up Agreements. On or prior to the date hereof, the Underwriter shall have received lock-up letters substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit D (“Lock-Up Agreement”) and reasonably satisfactory to the Underwriter from each of the executive officers and directors of the Company.

(h) Amsterdam Euronext. The Company will use its reasonable best efforts to cause the Offered Securities to be listed on the Euronext Amsterdam.

The Company will furnish the Underwriter with any additional opinions, certificates, letters and documents as the Underwriter reasonably requests and conformed copies of documents delivered pursuant to this Section 7. The Underwriter may in its sole discretion waive compliance with any conditions to its obligations hereunder, whether in respect of an Optional Closing Date or otherwise.

 

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8. Indemnification and Contribution. (a) Indemnification of Underwriter. The Company will indemnify and hold harmless the Underwriter, its partners, members, directors, officers, employees, agents and its affiliates and each person, if any, who controls the Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act (each, an “Indemnified Party”), against any and all losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which such Indemnified Party may become subject, under the Act, the Exchange Act, other Federal or state statutory law or regulation or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of any material fact contained in any part of the Registration Statement at any time, any Statutory Prospectus as of any time, the Final Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, and will reimburse each Indemnified Party for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such Indemnified Party in connection with investigating or defending against any loss, claim, damage, liability, action, litigation, investigation or proceeding whatsoever (whether or not such Indemnified Party is a party thereto), whether threatened or commenced, and in connection with the enforcement of this provision with respect to any of the above as such expenses are incurred; provided, however, that the Company will not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage or liability arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement in or omission or alleged omission from any of such documents in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Underwriter specifically for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by the Underwriter consists of the information described as such in subsection (b) below.

(b) Indemnification of Company. The Underwriter will indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its supervisory directors, the members of the Management Board, and each of its officers who signs a Registration Statement and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act (each, an “Underwriter Indemnified Party”), against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which such Underwriter Indemnified Party may become subject, under the Act, the Exchange Act, other Federal or state statutory law or regulation or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of any material fact contained in any part of the Registration Statement at any time, any Statutory Prospectus as of any time, the Final Prospectus, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or the alleged omission of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, in each case to the extent, but only to the extent, that such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Underwriter specifically for use therein, and will reimburse any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such Underwriter Indemnified Party in connection with investigating or defending against any such loss, claim, damage, liability, action, litigation, investigation or proceeding whatsoever (whether or not such Underwriter Indemnified Party is a party thereto), whether threatened or commenced, based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission as such expenses are incurred, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by the Underwriter consists of the following information in the Final Prospectus furnished on behalf of the Underwriter: the paragraphs related to stabilization under the caption “Underwriting—Price Stabilization, Short Positions.”

(c) Actions against Parties; Notification. Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under this Section of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party will, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party under subsection (a) or (b) above, notify the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof; but the failure to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have under subsection (a) or (b) above except to the extent that it has been materially prejudiced (through the forfeiture of substantive rights or defenses) by such failure; and provided further that the failure to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have to an indemnified party otherwise than under subsection (a) or (b) above. In case any such action is brought against any indemnified party and it notifies the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof, the indemnifying party will be entitled to participate therein and, to the extent that it may wish, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense thereof, with counsel satisfactory to such indemnified party (who shall not, except with the consent of the indemnified party, be

 

18


counsel to the indemnifying party), and after notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of its election so to assume the defense thereof, the indemnifying party will not be liable to such indemnified party under this Section for any legal or other expenses subsequently incurred by such indemnified party in connection with the defense thereof other than reasonable costs of investigation. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified party, effect any settlement of any pending or threatened action in respect of which any indemnified party is or could have been a party and indemnity could have been sought hereunder by such indemnified party unless such settlement (i) includes an unconditional release of such indemnified party from all liability on any claims that are the subject matter of such action and (ii) does not include a statement as to, or an admission of, fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified party.

(d) Contribution. If the indemnification provided for in this Section is unavailable or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under subsection (a) or (b) above, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages or liabilities referred to in subsection (a) or (b) above (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriter on the other from the offering of the Offered Securities or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) above is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and the Underwriter on the other in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriter on the other shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the offering (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriter. The relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or the Underwriter and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such untrue statement or omission. The amount paid by an indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages or liabilities referred to in the first sentence of this subsection (d) shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any action or claim which is the subject of this subsection (d). Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection (d), the Underwriter shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Securities underwritten by it and distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages which the Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. The Company and the Underwriter agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 8(d) were determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in this Section 8(d).

 

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9. [Reserved.]

10. Survival of Certain Representations and Obligations. The respective indemnities, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of the Company or its officers and of the Underwriter set forth in or made pursuant to this Agreement will remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation, or statement as to the results thereof, made by or on behalf of the Underwriter, the Company or any of their respective representatives, officers or directors or any controlling person, and will survive delivery of and payment for the Offered Securities. If (i) the Company for any reason fails to tender the Offered Securities for delivery to the Underwriter or (ii) the Underwriter decline to purchase the Offered Securities for any reason permitted under this Agreement (other than the events described in Section 7(c)(iv), 7(c)(vi) and 7(c)(viii)), the Company agrees to reimburse the Underwriter for all out-of-pocket costs and expenses (including the fees and expenses of their counsel) reasonably incurred by the Underwriter in connection with this Agreement and the offering contemplated hereby.

11. Notices. All communications hereunder will be in writing and, if sent to the Underwriter, will be mailed, delivered or telegraphed and confirmed to Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Eleven Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010-3629, Attention: LCD-IBD, or, if sent to the Company, will be mailed, delivered or telegraphed and confirmed to it at Core Laboratories N.V. c/o Mark F. Elvig, 6316 Windfern Road, Houston, Texas 77040; provided, however, that any notice to the Underwriter pursuant to Section 8 will be mailed, delivered or telegraphed and confirmed to the Underwriter.

12. Successors. This Agreement will inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors and the officers and directors and controlling persons referred to in Section 8, and no other person will have any right or obligation hereunder.

13. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same Agreement.

14. Absence of Fiduciary Relationship. The Company acknowledges and agrees that:

(a) No Other Relationship. The Underwriter has been retained solely to act as underwriter in connection with the sale of Offered Securities and that no fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship between the Company and the Underwriter has been created in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the Final Prospectus, irrespective of whether the Underwriter has advised or is advising the Company on other matters;

(b) Arms’ Length Negotiations. The price of the Offered Securities set forth in this Agreement was established by the Company following discussions and arms-length negotiations with the Underwriter, and the Company is capable of evaluating and understanding and understands and accepts the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;

(c) Absence of Obligation to Disclose. The Company has been advised that the Underwriter and its affiliates are engaged in a broad range of transactions which may involve interests that differ from those of the Company and that the Underwriter has no obligation to disclose such interests and transactions to the Company by virtue of any fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship; and

(d) Waiver. The Company waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims it may have against the Underwriter for breach of fiduciary duty or alleged breach of fiduciary duty and agrees that the Underwriter shall have no liability (whether direct or indirect) to the Company in respect of such a fiduciary duty claim or to any person asserting a fiduciary duty claim on behalf of or in right of the Company, including stockholders, employees or creditors of the Company.

 

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15. Applicable Law. This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York.

(a) Consent to Jurisdiction. The Company hereby submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal and state courts in the Borough of Manhattan in The City of New York in any suit, action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby (“Related Proceedings”). The Company irrevocably and unconditionally waives any objection to the laying of venue of any suit or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby in Federal and state courts in the Borough of Manhattan in The City of New York (the “Specified Courts”) and irrevocably and unconditionally irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction and waives and agrees not to plead or claim in any such court that any such suit or proceeding in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum (except for suits, actions, or proceedings instituted in regard to the enforcement of a judgment of any Specified Court in a Related Proceeding (a “Related Judgment”) as to which such jurisdiction is non-exclusive) of the Specified Courts in any Related Proceeding.

(b) Waiver of Immunity. With respect to any Related Proceeding, each party irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, all immunity (whether on the basis of sovereignty or otherwise) from jurisdiction, service of process, attachment (both before and after judgment) and execution to which it might otherwise be entitled in the Specified Courts, and with respect to any Related Judgment, each party waives any such immunity in the Specified Courts or any other court of competent jurisdiction, and will not raise or claim or cause to be pleaded any such immunity at or in respect of any such Related Proceeding or Related Judgment, including, without limitation, any immunity pursuant to the United States Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976, as amended.

(c) Judgment Currency. The obligation of the Company pursuant to this Agreement in respect of any sum due to the Underwriter shall, notwithstanding any judgment in a currency other than United States dollars, not be discharged until the first business day, following receipt by the Underwriter of any sum adjudged to be so due in such other currency, on which (and only to the extent that) the Underwriter may in accordance with normal banking procedures purchase United States dollars with such other currency; if the United States dollars so purchased are less than the sum originally due to the Underwriter hereunder, the Company agrees, as a separate obligation and notwithstanding any such judgment, to indemnify the Underwriter against such loss. If the United States dollars so purchased are greater than the sum originally due to the Underwriter hereunder, the Underwriter agrees to pay to the Company an amount equal to the excess of the dollars so purchased over the sum originally due to the Underwriter hereunder.

 

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If the foregoing is in accordance with the Underwriter’s understanding of our agreement, kindly sign and return to the Company one of the counterparts hereof, whereupon it will become a binding agreement between the Company and the Underwriter in accordance with its terms.

 

Very truly yours,
CORE LABORATORIES N.V.
By its sole managing director, Core Laboratories International B.V.
By:   /s/ Jacobus Schouten
Name:   Jacobus Schouten
Title:   Managing Director of Core Laboratories International B.V.

 

[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]


The foregoing Underwriting Agreement is hereby confirmed and accepted as of the date first above written.

 

CREDIT SUISSE SECURITIES (USA) LLC
By:   /s/ Ryan E. Tull
Name:   Ryan E. Tull
Title:   Managing Director

 

[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]


SCHEDULE A

 

1. General Use Free Writing Prospectuses (included in the General Disclosure Package)

None.

 

2. Other Information Included in the General Disclosure Package

The initial price to the public of the Offered Securities.


SCHEDULE B

 

Name    Legal Seat
Core Laboratories Australia PTY LTD    Perth, Australia
Core Laboratories Canada Ltd.    Alberta, Canada
Core Laboratories International B.V.    Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Core Laboratories LP    Delaware, United States
Core Laboratories Malaysia SDN BHD    Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Core Laboratories Sales N.V.    Willemstad, Curacao
Core Laboratories (U.K.) Limited    London, United Kingdom
Owen Oil Tools LP    Delaware, United States
Core Lab de Mexico S.A. de C.V.    Mexico City, Mexico
Saybolt Belgium N.V.    Antwerp, Belgium
Saybolt LP    Delaware, United States
Saybolt Nederland B.V.    Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Saybolt (Singapore) PTE LTD    Singapore, Singapore
Stim-Lab, Inc.    Oklahoma, United States
ZAO Petroleum Analysts    Moscow, Russian Federation


Exhibit A

Form of U.S. Company Counsel Opinion

 

1. The Underwriting Agreement. This Agreement, assuming its due authorization, and further assuming its due execution and delivery by the Company insofar as such matters are governed by Netherlands law, has been duly executed and delivered by the Company.

 

2. No Consents. No consent, approval, authorization, order, registration, or qualification with any United States federal, Delaware, Texas or New York court or governmental agency is required in connection with the execution, delivery and performance of the Agreement by the Company, or the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the issuance and sale of the Offered Securities by the Company being delivered on the date hereof pursuant to the Agreement, except (i) for such consents, approvals and similar authorizations under the Act, the Exchange Act, and state securities or “Blue Sky” laws, as to which we do not express any opinion, (ii) for such consents which have been obtained or made, (iii) for such consents which, if not obtained, would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect or a material adverse effect on the ability of the Company to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or (iv) as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus.

 

3. No Conflicts. None of the execution, delivery and performance of the Agreement by the Company, the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the application of the proceeds from the sale of the Offered Securities as described under “Use of Proceeds” in the Final Prospectus (A) conflicts or will conflict with or constitutes or will constitute a breach or violation of, or a default (or an event that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute a default) under any agreement or other instrument filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement or any document incorporated by reference therein, the or any agreement listed on Annex A hereto or (C) violates or will violate any federal, New York, Delaware or Texas statute, rule, regulation or order applicable to the Company, except, in the case of clauses (B) and (C), as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect or a material adverse effect on the ability of the Company to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement; provided, however, that we express no opinion in clause (C) of this paragraph with respect to any federal or state securities or Blue Sky laws or other anti-fraud laws.

 

4. Effectiveness of Registration Statement. The Registration Statement became effective under the 1933 Act automatically upon filing; any required filing of the Final Prospectus, and any supplements thereto or to the Registration Statement, pursuant to Rule 424(b) has been made in the manner and within the time period required Rule 424(b); to our knowledge, no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any notice objecting to its use has been issued and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or threatened.

 

5. Form of Registration Statement and the Prospectus. The Registration Statement, on the Effective Date, and the Final Prospectus, when filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) and on the Closing Date appeared on their face to comply as to form, in all material respects, to the requirements of the Act, except that in each case we express no opinion with respect to the financial statements or other financial and statistical data contained in or omitted from the Registration Statement or the Final Prospectus.

 

6. Descriptions and Summaries. The statements included in the Registration Statement and the General Disclosure Package under the caption “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” insofar as they refer to statements of law or legal conclusions, fairly summarize the matters referred to therein in all material respects, subject to the qualifications and assumptions stated therein.

 

7. Investment Company. The Company is not required, and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Offered Securities and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus, will not be required to register as, an “investment company” as defined in the Investment Company Act.

 

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In addition, we have participated in conferences with representatives of the Company, the independent public accountants of the Company and your representatives, at which the contents of the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus and related matters were discussed and, although we are not assuming any responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the statements contained in, the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Final Prospectus (except to the extent specified in the foregoing opinion), based on the foregoing, nothing has come to our attention to cause us to believe that:

(a) the Registration Statement, as of the Effective Date, 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;

(b) the General Disclosure Package, as of the Applicable Time, contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; or

(c) the Final Prospectus, as of its date and on the Closing Date, contained or contains any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or omits 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;

except that in each case, we do not express any statement or belief with respect to (i) the financial statements and related schedules, including the notes and schedules thereto and the auditor’s report thereon, or any other financial and accounting information, included in, or incorporated by reference in, the Registration Statement or the Final Prospectus or the General Disclosure Package, and (ii) representations and warranties and other statements of fact included in the exhibits to the Registration Statement or any document incorporated by reference therein.

 

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Exhibit B

Form of Dutch Company Counsel Opinion

Corporate Status

 

  1. The Company has been duly incorporated as a besloten vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid (private company with limited liability) and is validly existing as a naamloze vennootschap (public company with limited liability).

Corporate Power

 

  2. The Company has the corporate power to enter into this Agreement and perform its obligations thereunder.

Corporate Action

 

  3. The Company has taken all corporate action required by its Articles of Association and Netherlands law in connection with entering into this Agreement and the performance of its obligations thereunder.

Valid Signing

 

  4. This Agreement has been validly signed on behalf of the Company.

Sale Shares

 

  5. The Offered Securities are authorized and validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable and conform to the information in the General Disclosure Package and to the description of such Offered Securities contained in the Final Prospectus.1

Pre-emption Rights

 

  6. Any pre-emption rights (voorkeursrechten) with respect to the issue of the Offered Securities have been validly excluded.

Statements in Registration Statement

 

  7. All statements made in the Registration Statement under the caption “Description of Share Capital”, in respect of Netherlands law or the Articles of Association and to the extent they do not relate to factual statements, constitute a fair summary of the matters of Netherlands law or the Articles of Association, as the case may be, as referred to therein.

Choice of Law / Enforceability

 

  8. The Netherlands courts will recognise and give effect to the choice of New York Law to govern the obligations of the Company under this Agreement and accordingly The Netherlands courts will determine the enforceability of those obligations by reference to New York Law.

 

 

1  In this opinion, “nonassessable” – which term has no equivalent in Dutch – means, in relation to a share, that the issuer of the share has no right to require the holder of the share to pay to the issuer any amount (in addition to the amount required for the share to be fully paid) solely as a result of his shareholdership.

 

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No Violation

 

  9. The entering into of this Agreement by the Company does not in itself result in a violation of Netherlands law.

No Authorisations, Consents or Approvals

 

  10. No authorisation, consent, approval, licence, dispensation, recognition or other governmental consent or order from, notice to, or registration, filing or similar governmental formalities with any regulatory or other authority or governmental body of The Netherlands is required by the Company in connection with its entering into this Agreement or the performance of its contractual obligations thereunder.

Jurisdiction

 

  11. The submission by the Company in this Agreement to the jurisdiction of any New York State or United States Federal court will be recognised by The Netherlands courts.

No Immunity

 

  12. The Company cannot claim immunity from the enforcement of judgments of the competent Netherlands courts.

Enforcement of Judgments

 

  13. There is no enforcement treaty between The Netherlands and the United States of America other than in relation to arbitral awards. Consequently, a judgment of any New York State or United States Federal court cannot be enforced in The Netherlands. In order to obtain a judgment in respect of this Agreement that can be enforced in The Netherlands against the Company, the dispute will have to be re-litigated before the competent Netherlands court. This court will have discretion to attach such weight to the judgment of the relevant New York State or United States Federal court as it deems appropriate. Given the submission by the Company to the jurisdiction of any New York State or United States Federal court, The Netherlands courts can be expected to give conclusive effect to a final and enforceable judgment of such court in respect of the contractual obligations of the Company under this Agreement without re-examination or re-litigation of the substantive matters adjudicated upon. This would require (i) the court involved accepted jurisdiction on the basis of an internationally recognized ground to accept jurisdiction, (ii) the proceedings before such court to have complied with principles of proper procedure (behoorlijke rechtspleging), (iii) such judgment not being contrary to the public policy of The Netherlands and (iv) such judgment not being incompatible with a judgment given between the same parties by a Netherlands court or with a prior judgment given between the same parties by a foreign court in a dispute concerning the same subject matter and based on the same cause of action, provided such prior judgment is recognisable in The Netherlands.

 

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Exhibit C

Form of Company In-House Counsel Opinion

 

1. Each of the Significant Subsidiaries organized under the laws of a U.S. jurisdiction has been duly organized and is validly existing under the laws of its jurisdiction of organization, with power and authority (corporate, limited liability company or limited partnership) under such laws to own or lease its properties and conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference in each of them, and has been duly qualified for the transaction of business and is in good standing under the laws of each jurisdiction in which it owns or leases properties, or conducts any business, so as to require such qualification; and all the outstanding shares of capital stock or other ownership interests of each such Significant Subsidiary have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and non-assessable, and are owned, directly or indirectly by the Company, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities and similar claims know to such counsel, without independent investigation, except for those liens, encumbrances and defects in connection with the Company’s Sixth Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, dated as of August 29, 2014 (as amended, the “Credit Agreement”) .

 

2. To the knowledge of such counsel, there are no legal or governmental proceedings pending or threatened to which the Company or any of it subsidiaries are a party or to which any of their respective properties is subject that are required to be described in or incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Final Prospectus but are not so described or incorporated by reference as required by the Act.

 

3. To the knowledge of such counsel, there are no agreements, contracts, indentures, leases or other instruments to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries are a party that are required to be described in or incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Final Prospectus or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement or incorporated by reference into that are not described, filed or incorporated by reference as required by the Act.

 

4. No permit with a Texas or Delaware court or governmental agency having jurisdiction over the Company is required in connection with the execution, delivery and performance of the Agreement by the Company, or the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the issuance and sale of the Offered Securities by the Company being delivered on the date hereof pursuant to the Agreement, except (i) for such consents, approvals and similar authorizations under the Act, the Exchange Act, and state securities or “Blue Sky” laws, as to which we do not express any opinion, (ii) for such consents which have been obtained or made, (iii) for such consents which, if not obtained, would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect or a material adverse effect on the ability of the Company to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, (iv) for such consents, which are of a routine or administrative nature expected in my reasonable judgment to be obtained in the ordinary course of business, or (v) as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus.

 

5. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus, to the best of my knowledge, there are no persons with registration or other similar rights to have any equity or debt securities registered for sale under the Registration Statement or included in the offering contemplated by this Agreement except for such rights as have been duly waived, and any person to whom the Company has granted registration rights has agreed not to exercise such rights until after the expiration of the Lock-Up Period referred to in Section 5 hereof and, except as set forth in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus, no options, warrants or other rights to purchase, agreements or other obligations to issue, or convert any obligations into or exchange any securities for, shares of capital stock of or ownership interests in the Company are outstanding.

 

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In addition, I have participated in conferences with officers and other representatives of the Company, and persons under my direction or control have participated in conferences with officers and other representatives of the Company, representatives of the independent accountants of the Company, with your representatives and your counsel at which conferences the contents of the General Disclosure Package, the Final Prospectus, portions of certain of the documents incorporated by reference in each of them and related matters were discussed. Although I did not independently verify such information and am not passing upon, and do not assume any responsibility for, the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the statements contained in the General Disclosure Package, the Final Prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference in each of them, on the basis of the foregoing (relying as to materiality, to the extent I deem reasonable, upon officers and other representatives of the Company), no facts have come to my attention to lead me to believe that (a) the Registration Statement, including the documents incorporated by reference therein (other than the financial statements, the notes thereto and the auditor’s reports thereon, management’s report on internal control over financial reporting and the other financial and accounting data contained therein or omitted therefrom), as of the Effective Date, 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; (b) the General Disclosure Package, including the documents incorporated by reference therein (other than the financial statements, the notes thereto and the auditor’s reports thereon, management’s report on internal control over financial reporting and the other financial and accounting data contained therein or omitted therefrom), as of the Applicable Time, contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading or (c) the Final Prospectus, including the documents incorporated by reference therein (other than the financial statements, the notes thereto and the auditor’s reports thereon, management’s report on internal control over financial reporting and the other financial and accounting data contained therein or omitted therefrom), as of its date and on the Closing Date, contained or contains any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or omits 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.

 

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Exhibit D

Form of Lock-Up Agreement

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC

Eleven Madison Avenue

New York, NY 10010-3629

Dear Sirs:

As an inducement to the Underwriter to execute the Underwriting Agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”), pursuant to which an offering will be made that is intended to result an orderly market for the common stock, EUR 0.02 par value (the “Securities”) of Core Laboratories N.V., and any successor (by merger or otherwise) thereto, (the “Company”), the undersigned hereby agrees that during the period specified in the following paragraph (the “Lock-Up Period”), the undersigned will not offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, any Securities or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for any Securities, enter into a transaction which would have the same effect, or enter into any swap, hedge or other arrangement that transfers, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the Securities, whether any such aforementioned transaction is to be settled by delivery of the Securities or such other securities, in cash or otherwise, or publicly disclose the intention to make any such offer, sale, pledge or disposition, or to enter into any such transaction, swap, hedge or other arrangement, without, in each case, the prior written consent of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC (“Credit Suisse. In addition, the undersigned agrees that, without the prior written consent of Credit Suisse, it will not, during the Lock-Up Period, make any demand for or exercise any right with respect to, the registration of any Securities or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for the Securities.

The initial Lock-Up Period will commence on the date of this Lock-Up Agreement and continue and include the date 60 days after the public offering date set forth on the final prospectus used to sell the Securities (the “Public Offering Date”) pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement, to which you are or expect to become parties.

The undersigned agrees that, prior to engaging in any transaction or taking any other action that is subject to the terms of this Lock-Up Agreement during the period from the date of this Lock-Up Agreement to and including the 34th day following the expiration of the initial Lock-Up Period, it will give notice thereof to the Company and will not consummate such transaction or take any such action unless it has received written confirmation from the Company that the Lock-Up Period (as may have been extended pursuant to the previous paragraph) has expired.

Any Securities received upon exercise of options granted to the undersigned will also be subject to this Lock-Up Agreement. The following will not be subject to this Lock-Up Agreement: (i) Securities issued to the Company’s directors and officers upon the vesting of restricted stock units to offset related tax obligations and (ii) bona fide gifts and transfers to any trust for the direct or indirect benefit of the Company’s directors and officers or the immediate family of the directors and officers.

In furtherance of the foregoing, the Company and its transfer agent and registrar are hereby authorized to decline to make any transfer of shares of Securities if such transfer would constitute a violation or breach of this Lock-Up Agreement.

If the undersigned is an officer or director of the Company, the undersigned further agrees that the foregoing restrictions in this Lock-Up Agreement shall be equally applicable to any issuer-directed Securities the undersigned may purchase in the above-referenced offering.

This Lock-Up Agreement shall be binding on the undersigned and the successors, heirs, personal representatives and assigns of the undersigned. This Lock-Up Agreement shall lapse and become null and void if the Public Offering Date shall not have occurred on or before June 30, 2016. This agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York.

 

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Very truly yours,
 

 

Name:
Title:

 

[Signature Page to Lock-Up Agreement]