Voting Agreement, dated as of July 14, 2021, between and among certain stockholders of the Company and Parent
Exhibit 10.1
Execution Version
VOTING AND SUPPORT AGREEMENT
This Voting and Support Agreement (this Agreement) is made and entered into as of July 14, 2021, by and among Covert Intermediate, Inc., a Delaware corporation (Parent), and the stockholders of Covanta Holding Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the Company), listed on Schedule A hereto (each, a Stockholder and, collectively, the Stockholders). Parent and the Stockholders are referred to individually as a Party and collectively as Parties.
RECITALS
WHEREAS, concurrently with the execution and delivery of this Agreement, Parent, Covert Mergeco, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of Parent (Merger Sub), and the Company, are entering into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (as it may be amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the Merger Agreement) that, among other things and subject to the terms and conditions set forth therein, provides for the merger of Merger Sub with and into the Company, with the Company being the surviving entity in such merger (the Merger);
WHEREAS, as of the date hereof, each Stockholder is the record and/or beneficial owner (within the meaning of Rule 13d- 3 under the Exchange Act) of the number of shares of common stock, par value $0.10 per share, of the Company (the Company Stock) set forth next to such Stockholders name on Schedule A hereto, being all of the shares of Company Stock owned of record or beneficially by such Stockholder as of the date hereof (with respect to such Stockholder, the Owned Shares, and the Owned Shares together with any additional shares of Company Stock and any additional Company Securities that such Stockholder may acquire record and/or beneficial ownership of after the date hereof, such Stockholders Covered Shares);
WHEREAS, the Company Board has unanimously (a) determined that the terms of the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby, including the Merger, are fair to, and in the best interests of, the Company and its stockholders, (b) determined that it is in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders and declared it advisable to enter into the Merger Agreement, (c) approved the execution and delivery by the Company of the Merger Agreement, the performance by the Company of its covenants and agreements contained therein and the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, including the Merger, upon the terms and subject to the conditions contained therein, (d) resolved to recommend that the Companys stockholders approve the Merger and adopt the Merger Agreement and (e) directed that the Merger Agreement be submitted to the Companys stockholders for their adoption; and
WHEREAS, as an inducement and condition for Parent and Merger Sub to enter into the Merger Agreement, each Stockholder has agreed to enter into this Agreement with respect to such Stockholders Covered Shares.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing and the respective representations, warranties, covenants and agreements set forth below and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the Parties, intending to be legally bound, do hereby agree as follows:
1. Definitions. Capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined herein shall have the respective meanings ascribed to such terms in the Merger Agreement. When used in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the meanings assigned to them in this Section 1.
Expiration Time shall mean the earliest to occur of (a) the Effective Time and (b) such date and time as the Merger Agreement shall be validly terminated pursuant to Article IX thereof.
Transfer shall mean (a) any direct or indirect offer, sale, assignment, encumbrance, pledge, hypothecation, disposition, loan or other transfer (by operation of Law or otherwise), either voluntary or involuntary, or entry into any option or other Contract, arrangement or understanding with respect to any offer, sale, assignment, encumbrance, pledge, hypothecation, disposition, loan or other transfer (by operation of Law or otherwise), of any Covered Shares or any interest in any Covered Shares (in each case other than this Agreement), (b) the deposit of such Covered Shares into a voting trust, the entry into a voting agreement or arrangement (other than this Agreement) with respect to such Covered Shares or the grant of any proxy or power of attorney (other than this Agreement) with respect to such Covered Shares, (c) entry into any hedge, swap or other transaction or Contract which is designed to (or is reasonably expected to lead to or result in) a transfer of the economic consequences of ownership of any Covered Shares, whether any such transaction is to be settled by delivery of Covered Shares, in cash or otherwise or (d) any Contract or commitment (whether or not in writing) to take any of the actions referred to in the foregoing clauses (a), (b) or (c) above.
2. Agreement to Not Transfer the Covered Shares.
2.1 No Transfer of Covered Shares . Until the Expiration Time, each Stockholder agrees not to Transfer or cause or permit the Transfer of any of such Stockholders Covered Shares, other than (a) with the prior written consent of Parent (to be granted or withheld in Parents sole discretion) or (b) with respect to the Covered Shares set forth on Schedule A hereto, pursuant to and as currently required by pledge arrangements with a third-party banking institution in existence as of the date of this Agreement. Any Transfer or attempted Transfer of any Covered Shares in violation of this Section 2.1 shall be null and void and of no effect whatsoever; provided, however, that any Stockholder may Transfer any such Covered Shares to (i) any other Stockholder or any Affiliate of any such Stockholder, (ii) any immediate family member (or trust solely for such immediate family members benefit) of such Stockholder or (iii) any charitable foundation or organization, in each case of clauses (i) through (iii), only if the transferee of such Covered Shares evidences in a writing reasonably satisfactory to Parent such transferees agreement to be bound by and subject to the terms and provisions hereof to the same effect as such transferring Stockholder; provided, however, that notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, Stockholders shall be permitted to Transfer by gift an aggregate of not more than 1,487,209 Covered Shares to any charitable foundations or organizations without any restrictions hereunder; provided, further, that any such Transfers after the date hereof pursuant to the preceding proviso by any Stockholder to the Zell Family Foundation shall not be deemed to be Covered Shares and shall not be subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement.
-2-
2.2 Update of Beneficial Ownership Information . Promptly following the written request of Parent, or upon a Stockholders or any of its Affiliates acquisition of beneficial (as defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) or record ownership of additional shares of Company Stock or other Company Securities after the date hereof, such Stockholder will send to Parent a written notice setting forth the number of Covered Shares beneficially owned by such Stockholder or any of its Affiliates and indicating the capacity in which such Covered Shares are owned. Each Stockholder agrees to cause any of its Affiliates that acquires any shares of Company Stock or other Company Securities on or after the date hereof to execute an agreement in a form reasonably acceptable to Parent to be bound with respect to this Agreement with respect to such shares to the same extent such shares would be subject to this Agreement had they been acquired by such Stockholder, and such shares or other Company Securities shall be deemed Covered Shares for all purposes hereunder.
3. Agreement to Vote the Covered Shares.
3.1 Until the Expiration Time, at every meeting of the Companys stockholders at which any of the following matters are to be voted on (and at every adjournment or postponement thereof), and on any action or approval of Companys stockholders by written consent with respect to any of the following matters, each Stockholder shall vote (including via proxy) all of such Stockholders Covered Shares (or cause the holder(s) of record on any applicable record date to vote (including via proxy) all of such Stockholders Covered Shares):
(a) in favor of (i) the adoption of the Merger Agreement and (ii) the approval of any other matter considered and voted upon by the stockholders of the Company at the Company Meeting as contemplated as of the date hereof by Section 5.3 of the Merger Agreement; and
(b) against (i) any action or agreement that would reasonably be expected to result in a breach of the Merger Agreement or result in any condition set forth in Article VIII of the Merger Agreement not being satisfied on a timely basis, (ii) any Company Acquisition Proposal, or any other proposal made in opposition to, in competition with, or inconsistent with, the Merger Agreement, the Merger or the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement and (iii) any other action, agreement or proposal which could reasonably be expected to delay, postpone or adversely affect the consummation of the Merger or the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement.
3.2 Until the Expiration Time, at every meeting of the Companys stockholders (and at every adjournment or postponement thereof), each Stockholder shall be represented in person or by proxy at such meeting (or cause the holders of record on any applicable record date to be represented in person or by proxy at such meeting) in order for the Covered Shares to be counted as present for purposes of establishing a quorum.
3.3 Each Stockholder shall execute and deliver (or cause the holders of record to execute and deliver), within 48 hours of receipt, any proxy card or voting instructions it receives that is sent to stockholders of the Company soliciting proxies with respect to any matter described in Section 3.1, which shall be voted in the manner described in Section 3.1 (with Parent to be promptly notified (and provided reasonable evidence of) such execution and delivery of such proxy card or voting instructions).
-3-
3.4 Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, if at any time following the date hereof and prior to the Expiration Time a Governmental Authority enters an order restraining, enjoining or otherwise prohibiting the Stockholders from taking any action pursuant to Section 3.1, Section 3.2 or Section 3.3 of this Agreement, then (a) the obligations of each Stockholder set forth in Section 3.1, Section 3.2 or Section 3.3 of this Agreement shall be of no force and effect for so long as such order is in effect solely to the extent such order restrains, enjoins or otherwise prohibits such Stockholder from taking any such action, and (b) each Stockholder shall cause the Covered Shares to not be represented in person or by proxy at any meeting at which a vote of such Stockholder on the Merger Agreement or the transactions contemplated thereby is sought or requested.
4. Waiver of Appraisal Rights. Stockholder hereby waives all appraisal rights under Section 262 of the DGCL with respect to all of such Stockholders Covered Shares owned (beneficially or of record) by such Stockholder.
5. Acquisition Proposals.
5.1 From and after the date hereof until the earlier to occur of the Effective Time and the termination of the Merger Agreement in accordance with Article IX thereof (and in no event beyond November 10, 2022) (a) each Stockholder (solely in the capacity as a stockholder of the Company) shall, and shall cause its Representatives to, immediately cease and cause to be terminated any existing discussions or negotiations with any Third Party with respect to a Company Acquisition Proposal or any inquiry, proposal or offer which constitutes, or could reasonably be expected to lead to, a Company Acquisition Proposal and (b) each Stockholder (solely in the capacity as a stockholder of the Company) shall not, and shall cause its Representatives not to, directly or indirectly, (i) solicit, initiate or knowingly encourage any Company Acquisition Proposal or any inquiry, proposal or offer which constitutes, or could reasonably be expected to lead to, a Company Acquisition Proposal, (ii) participate in any negotiations or discussions regarding, or furnish to any Person (other than Parent, its Affiliates and their respective Representatives) any nonpublic information relating to the Company and its Subsidiaries in connection with, any Company Acquisition Proposal or any inquiry, proposal or offer which constitutes, or could reasonably be expected to lead to, a Company Acquisition Proposal, (iii) otherwise cooperate or assist with, or facilitate, any inquiries, proposals, offers, discussions or negotiations that constitute, or could reasonably be expected to lead to, a Company Acquisition Proposal, (iv) encourage or recommend any other holder of Company Stock to not adopt the Merger Agreement or approve the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, including the Merger, or make any public statement approving or recommending a Company Acquisition Proposal, (v) enter into any Alternative Acquisition Agreement or any voting agreement, support agreement or other similar agreement in connection with any Company Acquisition Proposal or any proposal or offer which could reasonably be expected to lead to a Company Acquisition Proposal or (vi) agree to do any of the foregoing. In addition, each Stockholder (solely in the capacity as a stockholder of the Company) agrees to notify Parent promptly (and in any event within one (1) Business Day) after receipt of any Company Acquisition Proposal, any inquiry, proposal or offer which constitutes, or could
-4-
reasonably be expected to lead to a Company Acquisition Proposal or any inquiry or request for nonpublic information relating to the Company and its Subsidiaries by any Third Party who has made or would reasonably be expected to make a Company Acquisition Proposal. Such notice shall (A) indicate the identity of the Third Party who has made or could reasonably be expected to make a Company Acquisition Proposal and (B) include a copy of any relevant written documents or agreements delivered to such Stockholder or its Representatives in connection with such inquiry, proposal or offer (or, if not delivered in writing, a summary of the material terms and conditions of any such proposal or offer or the nature of the information requested pursuant to such inquiry or request). Thereafter, such Stockholder shall keep Parent reasonably informed, on a prompt basis (and in any event within one (1) Business Day), regarding any material changes to the status and material terms of any such inquiry, proposal or offer (and shall provide Parent with a copy of any relevant written documents or agreements delivered to the Company or its Representatives that contain any material amendments thereto or any material change to the scope or material terms or conditions thereof (or, if not delivered in writing, a summary of any such material amendments or material changes)).
5.2 Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company is permitted, pursuant to Section 7.2(b) of the Merger Agreement, to have discussions or negotiations with respect to a Company Acquisition Proposal, each Stockholder and its Representatives shall be permitted to participate in such discussions or negotiations with the Person or group making such Company Acquisition Proposal to the same extent as the Company is permitted to do so under Section 7.2(b) of the Merger Agreement, subject to compliance by such Stockholder with the last three sentences of Section 5.1 above.
6. No Legal Action. Each Stockholder shall not, and shall cause its Representatives not to, bring, commence, institute, maintain, prosecute or voluntarily aid any claim, appeal, or proceeding which (a) challenges the validity of or seeks to enjoin the operation of any provision of this Agreement or (b) alleges that the execution and delivery of this Agreement by any of the Stockholders (or their performance hereunder solely in the capacity as a stockholder of the Company) breaches any fiduciary duty of the Company Board (or any member thereof) or any duty that any of the Stockholders have (or may be alleged to have) to the Company or to the other holders of the Company Stock.
7. Fiduciary Duties. Each Stockholder is entering into this Agreement solely in its capacity as the record holder or beneficial owner of such Stockholders Covered Shares. Nothing in this Agreement shall in any way attempt to limit or affect any actions taken by any of Stockholders or its Affiliates designee(s) or beneficial owner(s) serving on the Company Board or any such Stockholder or in his or her capacity as a director, officer or employee of the Company or any of its Affiliates, from complying with his or her fiduciary obligations while acting in such designees or beneficial owners capacity as a director, officer or employee of the Company. No action taken (or omitted to be taken) in any such capacity as a director, officer or employee shall be deemed to constitute a breach of this Agreement.
-5-
8. Notice of Certain Events. Each Stockholder shall notify Parent in writing promptly of (a) any fact, event or circumstance that would cause, or reasonably be expected to cause or constitute, a breach of the representations and warranties of such Stockholder under this Agreement or (b) the receipt by such Stockholder of any notice or other communication from any Person alleging that the consent of such Person is or may be required in connection with this Agreement.
9. Representations and Warranties of the Stockholder. Each Stockholder hereby represents and warrants to Parent that:
9.1 Due Authority. The Stockholder has the full power and capacity to make, enter into and carry out the terms of this Agreement and to grant the irrevocable proxy as set forth in Section 3.5 hereof. If the Stockholder is not a natural person, (a) the Stockholder is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing in accordance with the laws of its jurisdiction of formation, as applicable, and (b) the execution and delivery of this Agreement, the performance of the Stockholders obligations hereunder, and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby have been validly authorized, and no other consents or authorizations are required to give effect to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. This Agreement has been duly and validly executed and delivered by the Stockholder and constitutes a valid and binding obligation of the Stockholder enforceable against it in accordance with its terms, except as enforcement may be limited by general principles of equity whether applied in a court of law or a court of equity and by bankruptcy, insolvency and similar Laws affecting creditors rights and remedies generally.
9.2 Ownership of the Covered Shares. (a) The Stockholder is, as of the date hereof, the beneficial or record owner of such Stockholders Covered Shares, free and clear of any and all Liens, other than those (i) created by this Agreement or (ii) as disclosed on Schedule A hereto, and (b) the Stockholder has sole voting power over all of the Covered Shares beneficially owned by the Stockholder. Except for the Covered Shares subject to the pledge arrangements as set forth on Schedule A hereto, the Stockholder has not entered into any agreement to Transfer any Covered Shares. As of the date hereof, the Stockholder does not own, beneficially or of record, any shares of Company Stock or other voting shares of the Company (or any securities convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for, or rights to purchase or acquire, any shares of Company Stock or other voting shares of the Company) other than the Owned Shares.
9.3 No Conflict; Consents.
(a) The execution and delivery of this Agreement by the Stockholder does not, and the performance by the Stockholder of its obligations under this Agreement and the compliance by the Stockholder with any provisions hereof does not and will not: (i) conflict with or violate any Laws applicable to the Stockholder, or (ii) result in any breach of or constitute a default (or an event that with notice or lapse of time or both would become a default) under, or give to others any rights of termination, amendment, acceleration or cancellation of, or result in the creation of a Lien on any of the Covered Shares beneficially owned by the Stockholder pursuant to any Contract or obligation to which the Stockholder is a party or by which the Stockholder is subject; provided, however, that the Parties acknowledge and agree that a portion
-6-
of the Covered Shares are subject to existing pledge arrangements (as set forth on Schedule A hereto) and may be subject to Transfer in the event of a default under such pledge arrangements. As of the date hereof, there is no event of default (or event that with notice or lapse of time or both would become a default) under any such pledge arrangements.
(b) No consent, approval, order or authorization of, or registration, declaration or, except as required by the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act, filing with, any Governmental Authority or any other Person, is required by or with respect to the Stockholder in connection with the execution and delivery of this Agreement or the consummation by them of the transactions contemplated hereby.
9.4 Absence of Litigation. As of the date hereof, there is no legal action pending against, or, to the knowledge of the Stockholder, threatened against or affecting the Stockholder that would reasonably be expected to materially impair the ability of the Stockholder to perform its obligations hereunder or to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby on a timely basis.
9.5 Finders Fees. No broker, investment bank, financial advisor or other person is entitled to any brokers, finders, financial advisers or similar fee or commission in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby based upon arrangements made by or on behalf of the Stockholder.
10. Representations and Warranties of Parent. Parent hereby represents and warrants to the Stockholder that:
10.1 Due Authority. Parent has the full power and capacity to make, enter into and carry out the terms of this Agreement. Parent is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing in accordance with the laws of its jurisdiction of formation. The execution and delivery of this Agreement, the performance of Parents obligations hereunder, and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby has been validly authorized, and no other consents or authorizations are required to give effect to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. This Agreement has been duly and validly executed and delivered by Parent and constitutes a valid and binding obligation of Parent enforceable against it in accordance with its terms, except as enforcement may be limited by general principles of equity whether applied in a court of law or a court of equity and by bankruptcy, insolvency and similar Laws affecting creditors rights and remedies generally.
10.2 No Conflict; Consents.
(a) The execution and delivery of this Agreement by Parent does not, and the performance by Parent of its obligations under this Agreement and the compliance by Parent with the provisions hereof do not and will not: (i) conflict with or violate any Laws applicable to Parent, or (ii) result in any breach of or constitute a default (or an event that with notice or lapse of time or both would become a material default) under, or give to others any rights of termination, amendment, acceleration or cancellation of, pursuant to any Contract or obligation to which Parent is a party or by which Parent is subject.
-7-
(b) No consent, approval, order or authorization of, or registration, declaration or, except as required by the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act, filing with, any Governmental Authority or any other Person, is required by or with respect to Parent in connection with the execution and delivery of this Agreement or the consummation by Parent of the transactions contemplated hereby.
10.3 Absence of Litigation. As of the date hereof, there is no legal action pending against, or, to the knowledge of Parent, threatened against or affecting Parent that would reasonably be expected to materially impair the ability of Parent to perform its obligations hereunder or to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby on a timely basis.
11. Miscellaneous.
11.1 No Ownership Interest. Nothing contained in this Agreement shall be deemed to vest in Parent any direct or indirect ownership or incidence of ownership of or with respect to the Covered Shares. All rights, ownership and economic benefits of and relating to the Covered Shares shall remain vested in and belong to the Stockholders, and Parent shall have no authority to direct any Stockholder in the voting or disposition of any of the Covered Shares, except as otherwise provided herein.
11.2 Certain Adjustments. In the event of a stock split, stock dividend or distribution, or any change in the Company Stock by reason of any split-up, reverse stock split, recapitalization, combination, reclassification, exchange of shares or the like, the terms Company Stock and Covered Shares shall be deemed to refer to and include such shares as well as all such stock dividends and distributions and any securities into which or for which any or all of such shares may be changed or exchanged or which are received in such transaction.
11.3 Amendments and Modifications. This Agreement may not be modified, amended, altered or supplemented except upon the execution and delivery of a written agreement executed by all of the Parties.
11.4 Expenses. All costs and expenses incurred in connection with this Agreement shall be paid by the Party incurring such cost or expense.
11.5 Notices. All notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed given if delivered personally, by email (with confirmation of receipt) or sent by a nationally recognized overnight courier service, such as Federal Express, to the Parties at the following addresses (or at such other address for a Party as shall be specified by like notice made pursuant to this Section 11.5):
(i) if to the Stockholders, to:
Equity Group Investments
2 N. Riverside Drive, Suite 600
Chicago, Illinois 60606
Attention: Joseph Miron
Email:   ***@***
-8-
(ii) if to Parent, to:
c/o EQT Partners Inc.
1114 Avenue of the Americas, 45th Floor
New York, NY 10036
Attention: Alex N. Darden
Juan Diego Vargas
Email:   ***@***;
  ***@***
with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
601 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Attention: Jai Agrawal, P.C.
David B. Feirstein, P.C.
Sarkis Jebejian, P.C.
Romain Dambre
Email:   ***@***
  ***@***
  ***@***
  ***@***
(iii) if to Company, to:
Covanta Holding Corporation
445 South Street
Morristown, NJ 07960
Attention: Tom Kenyon
Matthew Mulcahy
Email:   ***@***
  ***@***
with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
919 Third Avenue
New York, New York 10022
Attention: Jonathan E. Levitsky
William D. Regner
Email:   ***@***
  ***@***
-9-
11.6 Enforcement; Exclusive Jurisdiction.
(a) The rights and remedies of the Parties shall be cumulative with and not exclusive of any other remedy conferred hereby. The Parties agree that irreparable damage would occur and that the Parties would not have any adequate remedy at law in the event that any of the provisions of this Agreement were not performed in accordance with their specific terms or were otherwise breached. It is accordingly agreed that the Parties shall be entitled to an injunction or injunctions to prevent breaches or threatened breaches of this Agreement and to enforce specifically the terms and provisions of this Agreement in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or, if under applicable Law exclusive jurisdiction over such matter is vested in the federal courts, any federal court located in the State of Delaware without proof of actual damages or otherwise (and each Party hereby waives any requirement for the securing or posting of any bond in connection with such remedy), this being in addition to any other remedy to which they are entitled at law or in equity. The Parties rights in this 11.6 are an integral part of the transactions contemplated hereby and each Party hereby waives any objections to any remedy referred to in this Section 11.6.
(b) In addition, each of the Parties (i) consents to submit itself, and hereby submits itself, to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware and any federal court located in the State of Delaware, or, if neither of such courts has subject matter jurisdiction, any state court of the State of Delaware having subject matter jurisdiction, in the event any dispute arises out of this Agreement or any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, (ii) agrees that it will not attempt to deny or defeat such personal jurisdiction by motion or other request for leave from any such court, and agrees not to plead or claim any objection to the laying of venue in any such court or that any judicial proceeding in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum, (iii) agrees that it will not bring any action relating to this Agreement or any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement in any court other than the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware and any federal court located in the State of Delaware, or, if neither of such courts has subject matter jurisdiction, any state court of the State of Delaware having subject matter jurisdiction and (iv) consents to service of process being made through the notice procedures set forth in Section 11.5.
11.7 Waiver of Jury Trial. EACH OF THE PARTIES HEREBY KNOWINGLY, INTENTIONALLY AND VOLUNTARILY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES ANY AND ALL RIGHTS TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY.
11.8 Documentation and Information. Each Stockholder consents to and authorizes the publication and disclosure by Parent and the Company of such Stockholders identity and holding of the Covered Shares, and the terms of this Agreement (including, for the avoidance of doubt, the disclosure of this Agreement), in any press release, the Proxy Statement and any other disclosure document required in connection with the Merger Agreement, the Merger and the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement.
11.9 Further Assurances. Each Stockholder agrees, from time to time, at the reasonable request of Parent and without further consideration, to execute and deliver such additional documents and take all such further action as may be reasonable required to consummate and make effective, in the most expeditious manner practicable, the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
-10-
11.10 Stop Transfer Instructions. At all times commencing with the execution and delivery of this Agreement and continuing until the Expiration Time, in furtherance of this Agreement, each Stockholder hereby authorizes the Company or its counsel to notify the Companys transfer agent that there is a stop transfer order with respect to all of the Covered Shares (and that this Agreement places limits on the voting and transfer of the Covered Shares), subject to the provisions hereof and provided that any such stop transfer order and notice will immediately be withdrawn and terminated by the Company following the Expiration Time.
11.11 Entire Agreement. This Agreement, including Schedule A, constitutes the entire agreement and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings, both written and oral, among the Parties with respect to the subject matter hereof. For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to amend, alter or modify, in any respect, any of the provisions of the Merger Agreement.
11.12 Reliance. Each Stockholder understands and acknowledges that Parent and Merger Sub are entering into the Merger Agreement in reliance upon such Stockholders execution and delivery of this Agreement.
11.13 Interpretation. The words hereof, herein and hereunder and words of like import used in this Agreement shall refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular provision of this Agreement. The descriptive headings used herein are inserted for convenience of reference only and are not intended to be part of or to affect the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement. References to Articles, Sections, Exhibits and Schedules are to Articles, Sections, Exhibits and Schedules of this Agreement unless otherwise specified. All Exhibits and Schedules annexed hereto or referred to herein are hereby incorporated in and made a part of this Agreement as if set forth in full herein. Any capitalized terms used in any Exhibit or Schedule but not otherwise defined therein, shall have the meaning as defined in this Agreement. Any singular term in this Agreement shall be deemed to include the plural, and any plural term the singular. The definitions contained in this Agreement are applicable to the masculine as well as to the feminine and neuter genders of such term. Whenever the words include, includes or including are used in this Agreement, they shall be deemed to be followed by the words without limitation, whether or not they are in fact followed by those words or words of like import. Unless the context otherwise requires, neither, nor, any, either and or are not exclusive. The word extent in the phrase to the extent means the degree to which a subject or other thing extends, and does not simply mean if. Writing, written and comparable terms refer to printing, typing and other means of reproducing words (including electronic media) in a visible form. References to any statute shall be deemed to refer to such statute and to any rules or regulations promulgated thereunder. References to any Contract or Law are to that Contract or Law, as applicable, as amended, modified or supplemented (including by waiver or consent) from time to time in accordance with the terms hereof and thereof. References to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or words with a similar import shall be deemed to include the Merger. References to any Person include the successors and permitted assigns of that Person. References from or through any date mean, unless otherwise specified, from and including such date or through and including such date, respectively. References to any period of days will be deemed to be to the relevant number of calendar days unless otherwise specified and if the last day of such period is not a Business Day, the period shall end on the next succeeding Business Day. The Parties agree that they have been represented by counsel during the negotiation, drafting, preparation and execution of this Agreement and, therefore, in the event an ambiguity or question of intent or interpretation arises, this Agreement will be construed as if drafted jointly by the Parties, and no presumption or burden of proof will arise favoring or disfavoring any Party by virtue of the authorship of any of the provisions of this Agreement.
-11-
11.14 Assignment. Neither this Agreement nor any of the rights, interests or obligations hereunder shall be assigned by any of the Parties in whole or in part (whether by operation of Law or otherwise) without the prior written consent of the other Parties, and any such assignment without such consent shall be null and void; provided that Parent may transfer or assign its rights and obligations under this Agreement, in whole or from time to time in part, to one or more of its Affiliates at any time; provided, further, that any assignment by Parent shall not relieve Parent of its obligations hereunder. This Agreement shall be binding upon, inure to the benefit of and be enforceable by the Parties and their respective successors and permitted assigns.
11.15 Severability. If any term or other provision of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction or other authority to be invalid, void, unenforceable or against its regulatory policy, the remainder of the terms and provisions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired or invalidated, so long as the economic and legal substance of the transactions contemplated hereby, taken as a whole, is not affected in a manner materially adverse to any Party. Upon such a determination, the Parties shall negotiate in good faith to modify this Agreement so as to effect the original intent of the Parties as closely as possible in an acceptable manner in order that the transactions contemplated hereby be consummated as originally contemplated to the fullest extent possible.
11.16 Counterparts . This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, all of which shall be considered one and the same agreement, it being understood that each Party need not sign the same counterpart. This Agreement shall become effective when each Party shall have received a counterpart hereof signed by all of the other Parties. Signatures delivered electronically or by facsimile shall be deemed to be original signatures.
11.17 Governing Law. THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY, AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH, THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE, WITHOUT GIVING EFFECT TO CONFLICTS OF LAWS PRINCIPLES THAT WOULD RESULT IN THE APPLICATION OF THE LAW OF ANY OTHER STATE.
11.18 Non-Survival of Representations and Warranties. None of the representations and warranties in this Agreement or in any schedule, instrument or other document delivered pursuant to this Agreement shall survive the Effective Time or the termination of this Agreement. This Section 11.18 shall not limit any covenant or agreement contained in this Agreement that by its terms is to be performed in whole or in part after the Effective Time or the termination of this Agreement.
-12-
11.19 Termination. This Agreement shall automatically terminate without further action by any of the Parties and shall have no further force or effect as of the earliest to occur of (a) the Expiration Time or (b) with respect to any Stockholder, the election of such Stockholder in its sole discretion to terminate this Agreement promptly following any amendment of any term or provision of the original unamended Merger Agreement dated as of the date hereof that reduces or changes the form of consideration payable pursuant to such Merger Agreement; provided that the provisions of this Article XI shall survive any such termination. Notwithstanding the foregoing, termination of this Agreement shall not prevent any Party from seeking any remedies (at law or in equity) against any other Party for that Partys breach of any of the terms of this Agreement prior to the date of termination.
[Signature page follows]
-13-
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused this Agreement to be duly executed and delivered on the date and year first above written.
COVERT INTERMEDIATE, INC. | ||
By: | /s/ Nathalie Brabers | |
Name: Nathalie Brabers | ||
Title: President | ||
By: | /s/ Ivana Milos | |
Name: Ivana Milos | ||
Title: Secretary |
[Signature Page to Voting Agreement]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused this Agreement to be duly executed and delivered on the date and year first above written.
Samuel Zell Revocable Trust | ||
By: | /s/ Samuel Zell | |
Name: Samuel Zell | ||
Title: Trustee |
[Signature Page to the Voting Agreement]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused this Agreement to be duly executed and delivered on the date and year first above written.
Zell Family Foundation | ||
By: | /s/ Joseph Miron | |
Name: Joseph Miron | ||
Title: Secretary | ||
SZ Investments LLC | ||
By: | /s/ Joseph Miron | |
Name: Joseph Miron | ||
Title: Vice President | ||
EGI-Fund (05-07) Investors, LLC | ||
By: | /s/ Joseph Miron | |
Name: Joseph Miron | ||
Title: Vice President |
[Signature Page to the Voting Agreement]
Schedule A
Name | Owned Shares | Address | Owned Shares Subject to Pledge Arrangement1 | |||
Samuel Zell Revocable | 137,663 | 2 N. Riverside Plaza, | 130,509 | |||
Trust | Suite 600 | |||||
Chicago, IL 60606 | ||||||
Attention: Joseph Miron | ||||||
Zell Family Foundation | 100,000 | 2 N. Riverside Plaza, | 0 | |||
Suite 600 | ||||||
Chicago, IL 60606 | ||||||
Attention: Joseph Miron | ||||||
SZ Investments LLC | 10,921,682 | 2 N. Riverside Plaza, | 7,734,804 | |||
Suite 600 | ||||||
Chicago, IL 60606 | ||||||
Attention: Joseph Miron | ||||||
EGI-Fund (05-07) | 2,027,500 | 2 N. Riverside Plaza, | 2,027,500 | |||
Investors, LLC | Suite 600 | |||||
Chicago, IL 60606 | ||||||
Attention: Joseph Miron |
1 | The shares of Company Stock set forth in this column are subject to existing pledge arrangements entered into by the applicable Stockholders in connection with stock loan agreements prior to the date of this Agreement. |