General Maritime Corporation Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share Underwriting Agreement

Contract Categories: Business Finance - Underwriting Agreements
EX-1.1 2 a11-9150_1ex1d1.htm EX-1.1

Exhibit 1.1

Execution Copy

 

General Maritime Corporation

 

Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share

 


 

Underwriting Agreement

 

March 31, 2011

 

Jefferies & Company, Inc.

and

Dahlman Rose & Company, LLC,

 

As representatives of the several Underwriters
named in Schedule I hereto (the “Representatives”),

 

c/o Jefferies & Company, Inc.

520 Madison Avenue

New York, NY 10022

and

Dahlman Rose & Company, LLC

1301 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10019

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

General Maritime Corporation, a Marshall Islands corporation (the “Company”), proposes, subject to the terms and conditions stated herein, to issue and sell to the Underwriters named in Schedule I hereto (the “Underwriters”) an aggregate of 23,000,000 shares (the “Firm Shares”) and, at the election of the Underwriters, up to 3,450,000 additional shares (the “Optional Shares”) of Common Stock with a par value of $0.01 per share (“Stock”) of the Company (the Firm Shares and the Optional Shares that the Underwriters elect to purchase pursuant to Section 2 hereof being collectively called the “Shares”).

 

The Company and the Underwriters agree that up to 1,068,432 of the Shares to be purchased by the Underwriters (the “Reserved Shares”) shall be reserved for sale by the Underwriters to certain directors and executive officers of the Company as part of the distribution of the Shares by the Underwriters, subject to the terms of this Agreement, and all other applicable laws, rules and regulations. To the extent such Reserved Shares are not orally confirmed for purchase by such directors and executive officers by 8:30 a.m. (Eastern Time) on the date of this

 



 

Agreement, such Reserved Shares may be offered to the public as part of the public offering contemplated hereby.

 

As described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus (each as defined below), the Company and/or certain of its subsidiaries: (i) have entered into certain agreements (collectively, the “Oaktree Agreements”) with affiliates of Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (collectively, “Oaktree”), pursuant to which, among other things, Oaktree has agreed, subject to the consummation of certain conditions, to make a $200 million loan evidenced by pay-in-kind toggle floating rate secured notes pursuant to a credit agreement, along with detachable warrants to be issued by the Company to Oaktree for the purchase of up to 19.9% of the Company’s outstanding Common Stock determined as of immediately prior to the closing thereof at an exercise price of $0.01 per share, (ii) have received a commitment letter from DnB NOR Bank ASA and Nordea Bank Finland PLC (the “2011 Commitment Letter”) to fund, subject to the consummation of certain conditions, a portion of a new revolving credit facility that the Company intends to use as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, (iii) intend to seek a partial repayment of, and an amendment to certain of the covenants under, the Company’s Credit Agreement, dated as of July 16, 2010, as amended (the “2010 Credit Facility”), and (iv) prior to the amendment of the 2010 Credit Facility contemplated by clause (iii), intend to borrow approximately $46.1 million under the 2010 Credit Facility in order to finance a portion of the purchase of a vessel, which vessel will secure payment of such borrowings (collectively, the “Company’s Financing Transactions”).

 

1.                           The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, each of the Underwriters that:

 

(a)                            A registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 33-157215) relating to the Shares has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”);  such registration statement, including any post-effective amendment thereto and any documents incorporated by reference therein, each in the form heretofore made available to you, excluding exhibits thereto but including all documents incorporated by reference in the prospectus included therein, have been declared effective by the Commission in such form; no other document with respect to such registration statement or document incorporated by reference therein has heretofore been filed, or transmitted for filing, with the Commission (other than prospectuses filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the rules and regulations of the Commission under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), each in the form heretofore made available to the Representatives); and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of such registration statement, any post-effective amendment thereto or any part thereof, has been issued and no proceeding for that purpose has been initiated or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened by the Commission (the base prospectus filed as part of such registration statement, in the form in which it has most recently been filed with the Commission on or prior to the date of this Agreement, is hereinafter called the “Basic Prospectus”; any preliminary prospectus (including any preliminary prospectus supplement) relating to the Shares

 

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filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act is hereinafter called a “Preliminary Prospectus”; the various parts of such registration statement, as amended through the date hereof, including all exhibits thereto and any documents incorporated by reference therein and including any prospectus supplement relating to the Shares that is filed with the Commission and deemed by virtue of Rule 430B under the Securities Act to be part of such registration statement, each as amended at the time such part of the registration statement became or hereafter becomes effective, are hereinafter collectively called the “Registration Statement”; the Basic Prospectus, as amended and supplemented immediately prior to the Applicable Time (as defined in Section 1(c) hereof), together with an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (as defined below) containing only information relating to the terms of the offering of the Shares listed on Schedule II hereto, is hereinafter called the “Pricing Prospectus”; the form of the final prospectus relating to the Shares filed with Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act in accordance with Section 5(a) hereof is hereinafter called the “Prospectus”; any reference herein to the Basic Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3, as of the date of such prospectus; any reference to any amendment or supplement to the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement, any prospectus supplement relating to the Shares filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act and any documents filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and incorporated therein, in each case after the date of the Basic Prospectus, such Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be; any reference to any amendment to the Registration Statement shall be deemed to refer to and include any annual report of the Company filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the effective date of the Registration Statement that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement; and any “issuer free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act relating to the Shares is hereinafter called an “Issuer Free Writing Prospectus”);

 

(b)                           No order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus has been issued by the Commission, and each Preliminary Prospectus, at the time of filing thereof, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and did not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through Jefferies & Company, Inc. expressly for use therein (as set forth in Section 9(g));

 

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(c)                            For the purposes of this Agreement, the “Applicable Time” is 8:30 a.m. (Eastern time) on the date of this Agreement.  The Pricing Prospectus, as of the Applicable Time, did not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus listed on Schedule II hereto does not conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus and each such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as supplemented by and taken together with the Pricing Prospectus as of the Applicable Time, did not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to statements or omissions made in the Pricing Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through Jefferies & Company, Inc. expressly for use therein (as set forth in Section 9(g));

 

(d)                           The documents incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus and Prospectus, when they became effective or were filed with the Commission, as the case may be, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and none of such documents contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; and any further documents so filed and incorporated by reference in the Prospectus or any further amendment or supplement thereto, when such documents become effective or are filed with the Commission, as the case may be, will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; provided, however, that the representations and warranties contained in this Section 1(d) shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through Jefferies & Company, Inc. expressly for use therein (as set forth in Section 9(g)); and no such documents were filed with the Commission since the Commission’s close of business on the business day immediately prior to the date of this Agreement and prior to the execution of this Agreement, except as set forth on Schedule III(b) hereto;

 

(e)                            The Registration Statement conforms, and the Prospectus and any further amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus will conform, in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and do not and will not, as of the applicable effective date as to each part of the Registration Statement and as of the applicable filing date as to the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto,

 

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contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through Jefferies & Company, Inc. expressly for use therein (as set forth in Section 9(g));

 

(f)                              Since the date of the most recent financial statements of the Company included or incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus (i) there has not been any change in the capital stock or long-term debt of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or any dividend or distribution of any kind declared, set aside for payment, paid or made by the Company on any class of capital stock, or any material adverse change, or any development involving a prospective material adverse change, in or affecting the business, properties, management, financial position or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole; (ii) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has entered into any transaction or agreement that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole or incurred any liability or obligation, direct or contingent, that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole; (iii) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has sustained any material 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; (iv) there has not been a material loss (whether actual or constructive or partial or total) of or to any of the vessels that are described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus as owned or to be acquired by the Company or any Subsidiary; and (v) no such vessel has been arrested or requisitioned for title or hire; except in the case of clauses (i) through (v) above as otherwise disclosed in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus;

 

(g)                           The Company and its subsidiaries have good and marketable title in fee simple to all real property and good and marketable title to all personal property owned by them, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and defects except such as are described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus or such as do not materially affect the value of such property, do not interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and its subsidiaries or could not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect (as defined below); and any real property and buildings held under lease by the Company and its subsidiaries are held by them under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases with such exceptions as are not material, do not interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property and buildings by the Company and its subsidiaries or could not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(h)                           The Company and each of its subsidiaries have been duly organized and are validly existing and in good standing under the laws of their respective jurisdictions of organization, are duly qualified to do business and are in good standing in each

 

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jurisdiction in which their respective ownership or lease of property or the conduct of their respective businesses requires such qualification, and have all power and authority necessary to own or hold their respective properties and to conduct the businesses in which they are engaged, except where the failure to be so qualified, in good standing or have such power or authority would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on the business, properties, management, financial position, results of operations or prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole or on the performance by the Company of its obligations under this Agreement (a “Material Adverse Effect”);

 

(i)                               This Agreement and the Shares have been duly authorized by the Company. This Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by the Company and, when duly executed and delivered in accordance with its terms by each of the other parties thereto, will constitute a valid and legally binding agreement of the Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except as enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent transfer or similar laws affecting the enforceability of creditors’ rights generally or by equitable principles relating to enforceability (regardless of whether enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law) and except that rights to indemnity and contribution thereunder may be limited by applicable law and public policy;

 

(j)                               The Company has full right, power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement, to issue, sell and deliver the Shares, as applicable, under this Agreement, and to perform its obligations hereunder and thereunder; and all action required to be taken for the due and proper authorization, execution and delivery of this Agreement, the issuance and sale of the Shares and the consummation of the transactions contemplated thereby has been duly and validly taken;

 

(k)                            No consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority is required for the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement, the issuance and sale of the Shares, compliance by the Company with this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein, except for such consents, approvals, authorizations, orders and registrations or qualifications as may be required under applicable state securities laws in connection with the purchase and resale of the Shares by the Underwriters;

 

(l)                               The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement, the issuance and sale of the Shares and the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement will not: (i) conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries pursuant to, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the

 

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Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject, (ii) result in any violation of the provisions of the charter or by-laws or similar organizational documents of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or (iii) result in the violation of any law or statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, except, in the case of clauses (i) and (iii) above, for any such conflict, breach, violation, default, lien, charge or encumbrance that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(m)                         The Company has an authorized capitalization as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus under the heading “Capitalization” and all the outstanding shares of capital stock or other equity interests of each subsidiary of the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and are owned directly or indirectly by the Company (except, in the case of any foreign subsidiary, for directors’ qualifying shares or shares otherwise required to be owned by other persons other than the Company pursuant to applicable law), free and clear of any lien, charge, encumbrance, security interest, restriction on voting or transfer or any other claim of any third party, other than those arising under the Company’s Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, dated as of October 20, 2008 (as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified as of the date hereof) and the 2010 Credit Facility as described in each of the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus;

 

(n) The Company has full right and power to enter into the Company’s Financing Transactions.  The Oaktree Agreements have been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company. Except as disclosed in each of the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, no consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority is required for the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Oaktree Agreements and the 2011 Commitment Letter and the performance by the Company of its obligations thereunder, except where the failure to obtain such consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification, individually or in the aggregate, would not be reasonably expected to materially interfere with the consummation of such transactions by the Company.  Except as disclosed in each of the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Oaktree Agreements and the 2011 Commitment Letter and the performance by the Company of its obligations thereunder will not: (i) except as set forth in each of the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries pursuant to, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject, (ii) result in any violation of the provisions of the charter or by-laws or similar organizational documents of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or

 

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(iii) result in the violation of any law or statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, except, in the case of clauses (i) and (iii) above, for any such conflict, breach, violation, default, lien, charge or encumbrance that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect or would not reasonably be expected to materially interfere with the consummation of such transaction by the Company;

 

(o)                           Other than as set forth in each of the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, there are no legal, governmental or regulatory investigations, actions, suits or proceedings pending to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or of which any property of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is the subject, which, if determined adversely to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, would individually or in the aggregate have a Material Adverse Effect; and, to the Company’s knowledge, no such investigations, actions, suits or proceedings are threatened or contemplated by governmental authorities or threatened by others;

 

(p)                           Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is (i) in violation of its charter or by-laws or similar organizational documents; (ii) in default, and no event has occurred that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute such a default, in the due performance or observance of any term, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, lease or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject; or (iii) in violation of any law or statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, except, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) above, for any such default or violation that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(q)                           The statements set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus under the caption “Description of Capital Stock”, insofar as they purport to constitute a summary of the terms of the Stock, and under the caption “Tax Considerations”, insofar as they purport to describe the provisions of the laws and documents referred to therein and subject to the conditions and limitations expressly set forth therein, constitute accurate summaries in all material respects;

 

(r)                              Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Shares and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, none of them will be an “investment company” or an entity “controlled” by an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (collectively, “Investment Company Act”);

 

(s)                            Deloitte & Touche LLP, who have certified certain financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries, are independent public accountants with respect to the Company and its subsidiaries within the applicable rules and regulations adopted

 

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by the Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) and as required by the Securities Act;

 

(t)                    The Company and its subsidiaries own or possess adequate rights to use all material patents, patent applications, trademarks, service marks, trade names, trademark registrations, service mark registrations, copyrights, licenses and know-how (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures) necessary for the conduct of their respective businesses as presently conducted (“Intellectual Property”), except where the failure to own or possess any such Intellectual Property would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect; and the Company and its subsidiaries have not received any notice of any claim of infringement of or conflict with any such rights of others which, individually or in aggregate, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(u)                     No relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among the Company or any of its subsidiaries, on the one hand, and the directors, officers, stockholders, customers or suppliers of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, on the other, that would be required by the Securities Act to be described in a registration statement to be filed with the Commission and that is not so described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus;

 

(v)                 Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, the Company and its subsidiaries have paid all federal, state, local and foreign taxes and filed all tax returns required to be paid or filed through the date hereof or have established adequate reserves for the payment thereof; and, except as otherwise disclosed in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, there is no tax deficiency that has been, or would reasonably be expected to be, asserted against the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their respective properties or assets that would, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. All material tax liabilities have been adequately provided for in the financial statements of the Company to the extent required under generally accepted accounting principles and the Securities Act and Exchange Act;

 

(w)                   Except as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, with respect to non-residents of the Marshall Islands, there are no stamp or other issuance or transfer taxes or duties and no capital gains, income, withholding or other taxes payable to the Marshall Islands or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof or therein in connection with (i) the delivery of the Shares by the Company to the Underwriters in the manner contemplated by this Agreement; or (ii) the sale and delivery of the Shares by the Underwriters to subsequent purchasers thereof in accordance with the terms of this Agreement;

 

(x)                       Neither any of the holders of the Shares, nor any of the Underwriters will be deemed resident, domiciled, carrying on business or subject to taxation in the Marshall Islands on an overall income basis solely by the execution, delivery,

 

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performance or enforcement of this Agreement or the issuance or sale of the Shares or by virtue of the ownership or transfer of Shares or the receipt of payments thereon;

 

(y)       The Company and its subsidiaries possess all licenses, certificates, permits and other authorizations issued by, and have made all declarations and filings with, the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory authorities that are necessary for the ownership or lease of their respective properties or the conduct of their respective businesses as described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, except where the failure to possess or make the same would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; and, except as described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received notice of any revocation or modification of any such license, certificate, permit or authorization or has any reason to believe that any such license, certificate, permit or authorization will not be renewed in the ordinary course, which could reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(z)        No labor disturbance by or dispute with employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries exists or, to the knowledge of the Company and each of the subsidiary, is contemplated or threatened, in each case that would reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(aa)     Except as described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, (i) the Company and its subsidiaries (i) are in compliance with, and have not violated, any and all applicable federal, state, local and foreign and international laws, rules, regulations, decisions and orders relating to the protection of human health and safety, the environment or natural resources or to hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants (collectively, “Environmental Laws”); (ii) have received and are in compliance with all permits, licenses or other approvals required of them under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct their respective businesses; and (iii) have not received notice of any actual or potential liability under or relating to any Environmental Laws, including for the investigation or remediation of any disposal or release of hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants, except in any such case for any such failure to comply with, or failure to receive required permits, licenses or approvals, or liability, as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. Except as described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, there are no proceedings that are pending or, to the knowledge of the Company or its subsidiaries, contemplated against the Company or any of its subsidiaries under any Environmental Laws in which a governmental entity is also a party, other than such proceedings regarding which it is reasonably believed no monetary sanctions of $100,000 or more will be imposed, and none of the Company and its subsidiaries anticipates material capital expenditures relating to any Environmental Laws;

 

(bb)     Each employee benefit plan, within the meaning of Section 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), for which

 

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the Company or any member of its Controlled Group (defined as any organization which is a member of a controlled group of corporations within the meaning of Section 414 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”)) would have any liability (each, a “Plan”)  has been maintained in compliance with its terms and the requirements of any applicable statutes, orders, rules and regulations, including but not limited to ERISA and the Code, except where the failure to be in compliance would not, individually or in the aggregate,  have a Material Adverse Effect; no “reportable event” (within the meaning of Section 4043(c) of ERISA) has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur and no prohibited transaction, within the meaning of Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code, has occurred with respect to any such Plan excluding transactions effected pursuant to a statutory or administrative exemption; for each such Plan that is subject to the funding rules of Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA, no Plan has failed, or is reasonably expected to fail, to satisfy the minimum funding standards (within the meaning of Section 302 of ERISA or Section 412 of the Code), whether or not waived, and the fair market value of the assets of each such Plan (excluding for these purposes accrued but unpaid contributions) exceeds the present value of all benefits accrued under such Plan determined based on those actuarial assumptions used to fund such Plan;  neither the Company or any member of its Controlled Group has incurred, or reasonably expects to incur, any liability under Title IV of ERISA (other than contributions to the plan or premiums to the PBGC in the ordinary course and without default) in respect of a Plan (including a “multiemployer plan”, within the meaning of Section 4001(c)(3) of ERISA); and each Plan that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code is so qualified and nothing has occurred, whether by action or by failure to act, which would cause the loss of such qualification;

 

(cc)     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 is 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;

 

(dd)     The Company and its subsidiaries maintain systems of “internal control over financial reporting” (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act) that comply with the requirements of the Exchange Act 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 assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.  The

 

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Company and its subsidiaries maintain internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and to maintain asset accountability; (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 disclosed in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, there are no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in the Company’s internal controls;

 

(ee)     The Company and its subsidiaries have insurance covering their respective properties, operations, personnel and businesses, including protection and indemnity and business interruption insurance, which insurance is in amounts and insures against such losses and risks as are adequate to protect the Company and its subsidiaries and their respective businesses as consistent with industry practice; and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has (i) received notice from any insurer or agent of such insurer that capital improvements or other expenditures are required or necessary to be made in order to continue such insurance or (ii) 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 could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(ff)       Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company and each of its subsidiaries, 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; or (iv) made any bribe, rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful payment;

 

(gg)     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 money laundering statutes of all jurisdictions, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “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 Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company and its subsidiaries, threatened;

 

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(hh)     None of the Company, any of its subsidiaries or, to the knowledge of the Company and its subsidiaries, any director, officer, 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 of the Shares hereunder, 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;

 

(ii)       Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is a party to any contract agreement or understanding with any person (other than this Agreement) that would give rise to a valid claim against any of them or any Underwriter for a brokerage commission, finder’s fee or like payment in connection with the offering and sale of the Shares;

 

(jj)       Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that could reasonably be expected to cause or result in any stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Shares;

 

(kk)     No forward-looking statement (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act) included or incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith;

 

(ll)       Nothing has come to the attention of the Company that has caused the Company to believe that the statistical and market-related data included or incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus is not based on or derived from sources that are reliable and accurate in all material respects;

 

(mm)   There is and has been no failure on the part of the Company or, to the knowledge of the Company, any of the Company’s directors or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply in all material respects with any provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules and regulations promulgated in connection therewith (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), including Section 402 related to loans and Sections 302 and 906 related to certifications;

 

(nn)     Each of the vessels owned by the Company or one of its subsidiaries has been duly registered in the name of the subsidiary of the Company that owns it under the laws and regulations and the flag of the nation of its registration and no other action is necessary to establish and perfect such subsidiary’s title to and interest in such vessels against any charterer or third party;

 

(oo)     Based on the Company’s existing operations as described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, the Company does not believe that it is, and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Shares and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, does not believe

 

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that it will become, a “passive foreign investment company” as such term is defined in Section 1297 of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended; and

 

(pp)  On and immediately after the Time of Delivery, the Company (after giving effect to the issuance of the Shares and the other transactions related thereto as described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus) will not be Insolvent. As used in this paragraph, the term “Insolvent” means being unable to pay debts as they become due in the usual course of the debtor’s business in accordance with Section 2(g) of the Marshall Islands Business Corporations Act.

 

2.         Subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, (a) the Company agrees to issue and sell to each of the Underwriters, and each of the Underwriters agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company, at a purchase price per share of $1.89, the number of Firm Shares set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule I hereto and (b) in the event and to the extent that the Underwriters shall exercise the election to purchase Optional Shares as provided below, the Company agrees to issue and sell to each of the Underwriters, and each of the Underwriters agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company, at the purchase price per share set forth in clause (a) of this Section 2, that portion of the number of Optional Shares as to which such election shall have been exercised (to be adjusted by you so as to eliminate fractional shares) determined by multiplying such number of Optional Shares by a fraction, the numerator of which is the maximum number of Optional Shares which such Underwriter is entitled to purchase as set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule I hereto and the denominator of which is the maximum number of Optional Shares that all of the Underwriters are entitled to purchase hereunder.

 

The Company hereby grants to the Underwriters the right to purchase at their election up to 3,450,000 Optional Shares, at the purchase price per share set forth in the paragraph above, for the sole purpose of covering sales of shares in excess of the number of Firm Shares, provided that the purchase price per Optional Share shall be reduced by an amount per share equal to any dividends or distributions declared by the Company and payable on the Firm Shares but not payable on the Optional Shares.  Any such election to purchase Optional Shares may be exercised only by written notice from you to the Company, given within a period of 30 calendar days after the date of this Agreement, setting forth the aggregate number of Optional Shares to be purchased and the date on which such Optional Shares are to be delivered, as determined by you but in no event earlier than the First Time of Delivery (as defined in Section 4 hereof) or, unless you and the Company otherwise agree in writing, earlier than two or later than ten business days after the date of such notice.

 

3.         Upon the authorization by you of the release of the Shares, the several Underwriters propose to offer the Shares for sale upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Prospectus.

 

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4.         (a)               The Shares to be purchased by each Underwriter hereunder, in definitive form, and in such authorized denominations and registered in such names as Jefferies & Company, Inc. may request upon at least forty-eight hours’ prior notice to the Company, shall be delivered by or on behalf of the Company to Jefferies & Company, Inc., through the facilities of the Depository Trust Company (“DTC”), for the account of such Underwriter, against payment by or on behalf of such Underwriter of the purchase price therefor by wire transfer of Federal (same-day) funds to the account specified by the Company to Jefferies & Company, Inc. at least forty-eight hours in advance. The time and date of such delivery and payment shall be, with respect to the Firm Shares, 9:30 a.m., New York City time, on April 5, 2011 or such other time and date as Jefferies & Company, Inc. and the Company may agree upon in writing, and, with respect to the Optional Shares, 9:30 a.m., New York time, on the date specified by Jefferies & Company, Inc. in the written notice given by Jefferies & Company, Inc. of the Underwriters’ election to purchase such Optional Shares, or such other time and date as Jefferies & Company, Inc. and the Company may agree upon in writing.  Such time and date for delivery of the Firm Shares is herein called the “First Time of Delivery”, such time and date for delivery of the Optional Shares, if not the First Time of Delivery, is herein called the “Second Time of Delivery”, and each such time and date for delivery is herein called a “Time of Delivery”.

 

(b)       The documents to be delivered at each Time of Delivery by or on behalf of the parties hereto pursuant to Section 8 hereof, including the cross receipt for the Shares and any additional documents requested by the Underwriters pursuant to Section 8(j) hereof, will be delivered at the offices of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP at 425 Lexington Ave, New York, New York 10017 (the “Closing Location”).  A meeting will be held at the Closing Location at 4:00p.m., New York City time, on the New York Business Day next preceding such Time of Delivery, at which meeting the final drafts of the documents to be delivered pursuant to the preceding sentence will be available for review by the parties hereto.  For the purposes of this Section 4, “New York Business Day” shall mean each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday which is not a day on which banking institutions in New York are generally authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close.

 

5.         The Company agrees with each of the Underwriters:

 

(a)           To prepare the Prospectus in a form reasonably approved by you and to file such Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act not later than the Commission’s close of business on the second business day following the date of this Agreement or such earlier time as may be required under the Securities Act; to make no further amendment or any supplement to the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus or the Prospectus prior to the last Time of Delivery which shall be disapproved by you promptly after reasonable notice thereof; to advise you, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the time when any amendment to the Registration Statement has been filed or becomes effective or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus has been filed and to furnish you with copies thereof; to file promptly all material required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act; within the

 

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time required by such Rule; to file promptly all reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act subsequent to the date of the Prospectus and for so long as the delivery of a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Securities Act) is required in connection with the offering or sale of the Shares; to advise you, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or other prospectus in respect of the Shares, of the suspension of the qualification of the Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose, or of any request by the Commission for the amending or supplementing of the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or for additional information; and, in the event of the issuance of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or other prospectus or suspending any such qualification, to promptly use its best efforts to obtain the withdrawal of such order;

 

(b)           Promptly from time to time to take such action as you may reasonably request to qualify the Shares for offering and sale under the securities laws of such jurisdictions as you may request and to comply with such laws so as to permit the continuance of sales and dealings therein in such jurisdictions for as long as may be necessary to complete the distribution of the Shares, provided that in connection therewith the Company shall not be required to qualify as a foreign corporation or to file a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction;

 

(c)          Prior to 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on the New York Business Day next succeeding the date of this Agreement and from time to time, to furnish the Underwriters with written and electronic copies of the Prospectus in New York City in such quantities as you may reasonably request, and, if the delivery of a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Securities Act) is required at any time prior to the expiration of nine months after the time of issue of the Prospectus in connection with the offering or sale of the Shares and if at such time any event shall have occurred as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made when such Prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Securities Act) is delivered, not misleading, or, if for any other reason it shall be necessary during such same period to amend or supplement the Prospectus or to file under the Exchange Act any document incorporated by reference in the Prospectus in order to comply with the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, to notify you and upon your request to file such document and to prepare and furnish without charge to each Underwriter and to any dealer in securities as many written and electronic copies as you may from time to time reasonably request of an amended Prospectus or a supplement to the Prospectus which will correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance; and in case any Underwriter is required to deliver a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Securities Act) in connection with sales of any of the Shares at any time nine months or more after the time of issue of the

 

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Prospectus, upon your request but at the expense of such Underwriter, to prepare and deliver to such Underwriter as many written and electronic copies as you may request of an amended or supplemented Prospectus complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;

 

(d)           To make generally available to its security holders as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than sixteen months after the effective date of the Registration Statement (as defined in Rule 158(c) under the Securities Act), an earnings statement of the Company and its subsidiaries (which need not be audited) complying with Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (including, at the option of the Company, Rule 158);

 

(e)           During the period beginning from the date hereof and continuing to and including the date 60 days after the date of the Prospectus, not to offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, grant any option to purchase, make any short sale or otherwise dispose, except as provided hereunder, of any securities of the Company that are substantially similar to the Shares, including but not limited to any options or warrants to purchase shares of Stock or any securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive, Stock or any such substantially similar securities (other than pursuant to employee stock option plans existing on, or upon the conversion or exchange of convertible or exchangeable securities outstanding as of, the date of this Agreement, pursuant to the Oaktree Agreements, or pursuant to the Company’s proposed 2011 Stock Incentive Plan, as described in the Company’s Preliminary Proxy Statement filed with the SEC on March 9, 2011, or in connection with the implementation by the Board of Directors of the Company of a shareholders rights plan), without the prior written consent of Jefferies & Company, Inc.;

 

(f)            If the Company elects to rely upon Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, the Company shall file a registration statement with the Commission in compliance with Rule 462(b) by 10:00 p.m., Washington, D.C. time, on the date of this Agreement, and the Company shall at the time of filing either pay to the Commission the filing fee for such Rule 462(b) registration statement or give irrevocable instructions for the payment of such fee pursuant to Rule 111(b) under the Securities Act;

 

(g)           Upon the reasonable request of any Underwriter, to furnish, or cause to be furnished, to such Underwriter an electronic version of the Company’s trademarks, servicemarks and corporate logo for use on the website, if any, operated by such Underwriter for the purpose of facilitating the on-line offering of the Shares (the “License”); provided, however, that the License shall be used solely for the purpose described above, is granted without any fee and may not be assigned or transferred;

 

(h)           To use the net proceeds received by it from the sale of the Shares in the manner specified in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus under the caption “Use of Proceeds”; and

 

(i)            To use its best efforts to list, subject to notice of issuance, the Shares on the New York Stock Exchange.

 

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6.             (a) The Company represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of Jefferies & Company, Inc., it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute a “free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act; each Underwriter represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of the Company and Jefferies & Company, Inc., it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute a free writing prospectus; any such free writing prospectus contains only information relating to the terms of the offering of the Shares, the use of which has been consented to by the Company and Jefferies & Company, Inc., is listed on Schedule II hereto.

 

(b)           The Company has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 under the Act applicable to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the Commission or retention where required and legending.

 

(c)           The Company agrees that if at any time following issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus any event occurred or occurs as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus would conflict with the information in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances then prevailing, not misleading, the Company will give prompt notice thereof to Jefferies & Company, Inc. and, if requested by Jefferies & Company, Inc., will prepare and furnish without charge to each Underwriter an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or other document which will correct such conflict, statement or omission; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions in an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through Jefferies & Company, Inc. expressly for use therein.

 

7.             The Company covenants and agrees with the several Underwriters that the Company will pay or cause to be paid the following: (i) the reasonable fees, disbursements and expenses of the Company’s counsel and accountants in connection with the registration of the Shares under the Securities Act and all other expenses in connection with the preparation, printing, reproduction and filing of the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, and the Prospectus and amendments and supplements thereto and the mailing and delivering of copies thereof to the Underwriters and dealers; (ii) the cost of printing or producing any Agreement among Underwriters, this Agreement, any Blue Sky Memorandum, closing documents (including any compilations thereof) and any other documents in connection with the offering, purchase, sale and delivery of the Shares; (iii) all reasonable expenses in connection with the qualification of the Shares for offering and sale under state securities laws as provided in Section 5(b) hereof, including the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection with such qualification and in connection with the Blue Sky survey(s); (iv) any filing fees incident to, and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection with, any required reviews by the Financial Industry Regulatory

 

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Authority, Inc. of the terms of the sale of the Shares; (v) the reasonable cost of preparing certificates for the Shares; (vi) the cost and charges of any transfer agent or registrar or dividend disbursing agent; (vii) all reasonable fees and expenses in connection with listing the Shares on the New York Stock Exchange; and (viii) all other reasonable costs and expenses incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder which are not otherwise specifically provided for in this Section. It is understood, however, that, except as provided in this Section, and Sections 9 and 12 hereof, the Underwriters will pay all of their own costs and expenses, including the fees of their counsel, transfer taxes on resale of any of the Shares by them, and any advertising expenses connected with any offers they may make.

 

8.             The obligations of the Underwriters hereunder, as to the Shares to be delivered at each Time of Delivery, shall be subject, in their discretion, to the condition that all representations and warranties and other statements of the Company herein are, at and as of such Time of Delivery, true and correct, the condition that the Company shall have performed all of its obligations hereunder theretofore to be performed, and the following additional conditions:

 

(a)           The Prospectus shall have been filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by the rules and regulations under the Securities Act and in accordance with Section 5(a) hereof; all material required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act shall have been filed with the Commission within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by Rule 433; no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any part thereof shall have been issued and no proceeding for that purpose shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission; no stop order suspending or preventing the use of the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission; and all requests for additional information on the part of the Commission shall have been complied with to your reasonable satisfaction;

 

(b)           Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, shall have furnished to you (i) such written opinion or opinions dated such Time of Delivery, with respect to matters as the Representatives may reasonably request and (ii) a 10b-5 statement, and such counsel shall have received such papers and information as they may reasonably request to enable them to pass upon such matters;

 

(c)           (i) Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, U.S. counsel for the Company, shall have furnished to the Representatives, at the request of the Company, their written opinions and 10b-5 statement, dated the Time of Delivery and addressed to the Underwriters, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives, to the effect substantially as set forth in Annex I(a) hereto; (ii) Reeder & Simpson P.C., Marshall Islands counsel for the Company, shall have furnished to the Representatives, at the request of the Company, their written opinions, dated the Time of Delivery and addressed to the Underwriters, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives, to the effect substantially as set forth in Annex I(b) hereto; and (iii) Seward & Kissel LLP, special counsel to the Company, shall have furnished to the Representatives, at the request of the Company, their written opinions and 10b-5 statement, dated the Time of Delivery and addressed to the

 

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Underwriters, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives, to the effect substantially as set forth in Annex I(c) hereto;

 

(d)                     On the date of the Prospectus at a time prior to the execution of this Agreement, at 9:30 a.m., New York City time, on the effective date of any post effective amendment to the Registration Statement filed subsequent to the date of this Agreement and also at each Time of Delivery, Deloitte & Touche LLP shall have furnished to you a letter or letters, dated the respective dates of delivery thereof, in form and substance satisfactory to you;

 

(e)                     (i)  Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries shall have sustained since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus any loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus, and (ii) since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Pricing Prospectus there shall not have been any change in the capital stock or long-term debt of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any change, or any development involving a prospective change, in or affecting the general affairs, management, financial position, stockholders’ equity or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus, the effect of which, in any such case described in clause (i) or (ii), is in your judgment so material and adverse as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or the delivery of the Shares being delivered at such Time of Delivery on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Prospectus;

 

(f)                      On or after the Applicable Time (i) no downgrading shall have occurred in the rating accorded the Company’s debt securities or preferred stock by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization”, as that term is defined by the Commission for purposes of Rule 436(g)(2) under the Securities Act, and (ii) no such organization shall have publicly announced that it has under surveillance or review, with possible negative implications, its rating of any of the Company’s debt securities or preferred stock;

 

(g)                     On or after the Applicable Time there shall not have occurred any of the following: (i) a suspension or material limitation in trading in securities generally on the New York Stock Exchange; (ii) a suspension or material limitation in trading in the Company’s securities on New York Stock Exchange; (iii) a general moratorium on commercial banking activities declared by either Federal or New York State authorities or a material disruption in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services in the United States; (iv) the outbreak or escalation of hostilities involving the United States or the declaration by the United States of a national emergency or war or (v) the occurrence of any other calamity or crisis or any change in financial, political or economic conditions in the United States or elsewhere, if the effect of any such event specified in clause (iv) or (v) in your judgment makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or the delivery of the Shares being delivered at such Time of Delivery on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Prospectus;

 

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(h)                     The Shares to be sold at each Time of Delivery shall have been duly listed, subject to notice of issuance, on the New York Stock Exchange;

 

(i)                      The Company shall have complied with the provisions of Section 5(c) hereof with respect to the furnishing of prospectuses on the New York Business Day next succeeding the date of this Agreement; and

 

(j)                      The Company shall have furnished or caused to be furnished to you at such Time of Delivery certificates of officers of the Company satisfactory to you as to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company herein at and as of such Time of Delivery, as to the performance by the Company of all of its obligations hereunder to be performed at or prior to such Time of Delivery, as to the matters set forth in subsections (a) and (e) of this Section and as to such other matters as you may reasonably request.

 

(k)                     The “lock-up” agreements, each substantially in the form of Annex II hereto, between the Representatives and the officers and directors of the Company listed on Schedule III hereof, relating to sales and certain other dispositions of Shares and certain other securities, delivered to the Representatives on or before the date hereof, shall be in full force and effect on each Time of Delivery.

 

(l)                      The Company (including its agents and representatives) will not prepare, make, use, authorize, approve or refer to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus other than any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that need not be filed with the Commission under Rule 433 of the Securities Act and in accordance with Section 6 hereof.

 

9.         (a)  The Company will indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which such Underwriter may become subject, under the Securities Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or any “issuer information” filed or required to be filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, and will reimburse each Underwriter for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such Underwriter in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim as such expenses are incurred; provided, however, that the Company shall 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 or omission or alleged omission made in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by any Underwriter through Jefferies & Company, Inc. expressly for use therein (as set forth on Section 9(g)).

 

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(b)       Each Underwriter will indemnify and hold harmless the Company against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which the Company may become subject, under the Securities Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein 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 the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by any Underwriter through Jefferies & Company, Inc. expressly for the use therein (as set forth on Section 9(g)); and will reimburse the Company for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by the Company in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim as such expenses are incurred.

 

(c)       The Company will indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which such Underwriter may become subject, under the Securities Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) (i) were caused by the failure of any director or executive officer of the Company to pay for and accept delivery of Reserved Shares which have been orally confirmed for purchase by any such director or executive officer by 8:30 a.m. (Eastern time) on the date hereof; or (ii) relate to, or arise out of or in connection with, the offering of the Reserved Shares.

 

(d)       Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under this Section 9 of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party shall, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party under such subsection, notify the indemnifying party in writing of the commencement thereof; but the omission so to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability which it may have to any indemnified party otherwise than under such subsection except to the extent that it has been materially prejudiced (through the forfeiture of substantive rights or defenses) by such failure.  In case any such action shall be brought against any indemnified party and it shall notify the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof, the indemnifying party shall be entitled to participate therein and, to the extent that it shall wish, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense thereof, with counsel reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party (who shall not, except with the consent of the indemnified party, be 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 shall not be liable to such indemnified party under such subsection for any legal expenses of other counsel or any other expenses, in each case subsequently incurred by such indemnified party, in connection with the defense thereof other than reasonable costs of

 

22



 

investigation.  No indemnifying party shall, without the written consent of the indemnified party, effect the settlement or compromise of, or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to, any pending or threatened action or claim in respect of which indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder (whether or not the indemnified party is an actual or potential party to such action or claim) unless such settlement, compromise or judgment (i) includes an unconditional release of the indemnified party from all liability arising out of such action or claim and (ii) does not include any statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act, by or on behalf of any indemnified party.

 

(e)       If the indemnification provided for in this Section 9 is unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under subsection (a) or (b) above in respect of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other from the offering of the Shares.  If, however, the allocation provided by the immediately preceding sentence is not permitted by applicable law or if the indemnified party failed to give the notice required under subsection (c) above, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to such amount paid or payable by such indemnified party in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only such relative benefits but also the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof), as well as any other relevant equitable considerations.  The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters 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 Underwriters, in each case as set forth in the table on the cover page of the Prospectus.  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 on the one hand or the Underwriters on the other and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.  The Company and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this subsection (e) were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above in this subsection (e).  The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to above in this subsection (e) shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim.  Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection (e), no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Shares underwritten by it and distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages which such

 

23



 

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 Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.  The Underwriters’ obligations in this subsection (e) to contribute are several in proportion to their respective underwriting obligations and not joint.

 

(f)        The obligations of the Company under this Section 9 shall be in addition to any liability which the Company may otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act and each broker-dealer affiliate of any Underwriter; and the obligations of the Underwriters under this Section 9 shall be in addition to any liability which the respective Underwriters may otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to each officer and director of the Company (including any person who, with his or her consent, is named in the Registration Statement as about to become a director of the Company) and to each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act.

 

(g)       The statements set forth in each of (i) the first sentence of the fourth paragraph, (ii) the sixth paragraph, (iii) the eleventh paragraph and (iv) the first sentence of the seventeenth paragraph under the caption “Underwriting” in the Prospectus constitute the only information furnished by the Representatives to the Company for the purpose of Section 1 and Section 9 hereof.

 

10.       (a)  If any Underwriter shall default in its obligation to purchase the Shares which it has agreed to purchase hereunder, you may in your discretion arrange for you or another party or other parties to purchase such Shares on the terms contained herein.  If within thirty six hours after such default by any Underwriter you do not arrange for the purchase of such Shares, then the Company shall be entitled to a further period of thirty six hours within which to procure another party or other parties satisfactory to you to purchase such Shares on such terms.  In the event that, within the respective prescribed periods, you notify the Company that you have so arranged for the purchase of such Shares, or the Company notifies you that it has so arranged for the purchase of such Shares, you or the Company shall have the right to postpone such Time of Delivery for a period of not more than seven days, in order to effect whatever changes may thereby be made necessary in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or in any other documents or arrangements, and the Company agrees to file promptly any amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus which in your opinion may thereby be made necessary. The term “Underwriter” as used in this Agreement shall include any person substituted under this Section with like effect as if such person had originally been a party to this Agreement with respect to such Shares.

 

(b)       If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Shares of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by you and the Company as provided in subsection (a) above, the aggregate number of such Shares which remains unpurchased does not exceed one-eleventh of the aggregate number of all the Shares to be purchased at such Time of Delivery, then the Company shall have the right to require each non-defaulting

 

24



 

Underwriter to purchase the number of shares which such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder at such Time of Delivery and, in addition, to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase its pro rata share (based on the number of Shares which such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder) of the Shares of such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters for which such arrangements have not been made; but nothing herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter from liability for its default.

 

(c)       If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Shares of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by you and the Company as provided in subsection (a) above, the aggregate number of such Shares which remains unpurchased exceeds one-eleventh of the aggregate number of all the Shares to be purchased at such Time of Delivery, or if the Company shall not exercise the right described in subsection (b) above to require non-defaulting Underwriters to purchase Shares of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters, then this Agreement (or, with respect to the Second Time of Delivery, the obligations of the Underwriters to purchase and of the Company to sell the Optional Shares) shall thereupon terminate, without liability on the part of any non-defaulting Underwriter or the Company, except for the expenses to be borne by the Company and the Underwriters as provided in Section 7 hereof and the indemnity and contribution agreements in Section 9 hereof; but nothing herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter from liability for its default.

 

11. Each of the Representatives hereby confirms having made the representations and agreements in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus as set forth on Schedule V hereto.

 

12.       The respective indemnities, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of the Company and the several Underwriters, as set forth in this Agreement or made by or on behalf of them, respectively, pursuant to this Agreement, shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation (or any statement as to the results thereof) made by or on behalf of any Underwriter or any controlling person of any Underwriter, or the Company, or any officer or director or controlling person of the Company, and shall survive delivery of and payment for the Shares.

 

13.       If this Agreement shall be terminated pursuant to Section 10 hereof, the Company shall not then be under any liability to any Underwriter except as provided in Sections 7 and 9 hereof; but, if for any other reason, any Shares are not delivered by or on behalf of the Company as provided herein, the Company will reimburse the Underwriters through you for all out-of-pocket expenses approved in writing by you, including fees and disbursements of counsel, reasonably incurred by the Underwriters in making preparations for the purchase, sale and delivery of the Shares not so delivered, but the Company shall then be under no further liability to any Underwriter except as provided in Sections 7 and 9 hereof.

 

25



 

14.       In all dealings hereunder, you shall act on behalf of each of the Underwriters, and the parties hereto shall be entitled to act and rely upon any statement, request, notice or agreement on behalf of any Underwriter made or given by you.

 

All statements, requests, notices and agreements hereunder shall be in writing, and if to the Underwriters shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to you as the Representatives in care of Jefferies & Company, Inc., at 520 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10022  Attention: General Counsel; and if to the Company shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to the address of the Company set forth in the Registration Statement, Attention: Secretary; provided, however, that any notice to an Underwriter pursuant to Section 9(c) hereof shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to such Underwriter at its address set forth in its Underwriters’ Questionnaire, or telex constituting such Questionnaire, which address will be supplied to the Company by you upon request.  Any such statements, requests, notices or agreements shall take effect upon receipt thereof.

 

In accordance with the requirements of the USA Patriot Act (Title III of Pub. L. 107-56 (signed into law October 26, 2001)), the underwriters are required to obtain, verify and record information that identifies their respective clients, including the Company, which information may include the name and address of their respective clients, as well as other information that will allow the underwriters to properly identify their respective clients.

 

15.       This Agreement shall be binding upon, and inure solely to the benefit of, the Underwriters, the Company and, to the extent provided in Sections 8 and 10 hereof, the officers and directors of the Company and each person who controls the Company or any Underwriter, and their respective heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns, and no other person shall acquire or have any right under or by virtue of this Agreement.  No purchaser of any of the Shares from any Underwriter shall be deemed a successor or assign by reason merely of such purchase.

 

16.       Time shall be of the essence of this Agreement.  As used herein, the term “business day” shall mean any day when the Commission’s office in Washington, D.C. is open for business.

 

17.       The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) the purchase and sale of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement is an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the Company, on the one hand, and the several Underwriters, on the other, (ii) in connection therewith and with the process leading to such transaction each Underwriter is acting solely as a principal and not the agent or fiduciary of the Company, (iii) no Underwriter has assumed an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company with respect to the offering contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether such

 

26



 

Underwriter has advised or is currently advising the Company on other matters) or any other obligation to the Company except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement and (iv) the Company has consulted its own legal and financial advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate.  The Company agrees that it will not claim that the Underwriters, or any of them, has rendered advisory services of any nature or respect, or owes a fiduciary or similar duty to the Company, in connection with such transaction or the process leading thereto.

 

18.       This Agreement supersedes all prior agreements and understandings (whether written or oral) between the Company and the Underwriters, or any of them, with respect to the subject matter hereof.

 

19.      THIS AGREEMENT AND ANY MATTERS RELATED TO THIS TRANSACTION SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.  The Company agrees that any suit or proceeding arising in respect of this agreement or our engagement will be tried exclusively in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York or, if that court does not have subject matter jurisdiction, in any state court located in The City and County of New York and the Company agrees to submit to the jurisdiction of, and to venue in, such courts.

 

20.       The Company and each of the Underwriters hereby irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.

 

21.       All payments to be made by the Company to the Underwriters under this Agreement will 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. In that event, the Company will pay such additional amounts as may be necessary in order that the net amounts received after such withholding or deduction shall equal the amounts that would have been received if no withholding or deduction had been made.

 

22.       The exchange of copies of this Agreement and of signature pages by facsimile or PDF transmission shall constitute effective execution and delivery of this Agreement as to the parties hereto and may be used in lieu of the original Agreement for all purposes.  Signatures of the parties hereto transmitted by facsimile or PDF shall be deemed to be their original signatures for all purposes.

 

27



 

23.       The Agreement may be executed in counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which shall constitute the same instrument.

 

[Remainder of page intentionally left blank]

 

28



 

If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding, please sign and return to us four counterparts hereof, and upon the acceptance hereof by you, on behalf of each of the Underwriters, this letter and such acceptance hereof shall constitute a binding agreement between each of the Underwriters and the Company.  It is understood that your acceptance of this letter on behalf of each of the Underwriters is pursuant to the authority set forth in a form of Agreement among Underwriters, the form of which shall be submitted to the Company for examination upon request, but without warranty on your part as to the authority of the signers thereof.

 

 

Very truly yours,

 

 

 

General Maritime Corporation

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Jeffrey D. Pribor

 

 

Name: Jeffrey D. Pribor

 

 

Title: Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer

 

[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]

 



 

Accepted as of the date hereof:

 

Jefferies & Company, Inc.

 

 

/s/ Jefferies & Company, Inc.

 

(Jefferies & Company, Inc.)

 

[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]

 



 

Accepted as of the date hereof:

 

Dahlman Rose & Company, LLC

 

 

/s/ Dahlman Rose & Company, LLC

 

(Dahlman Rose & Company, LLC)

 

[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]

 



 

SCHEDULE I

 

Underwriter

 

Number of
Firm Shares
to be
Purchased

 

Maximum
Number

of Optional
Shares Which
May be
Purchased

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jefferies & Company, Inc.

 

12,650,000

 

1,897,500

 

Dahlman Rose & Company, LLC

 

10,350,000

 

1,552,500

 

Total

 

23,000,000

 

3,450,000

 

 



 

SCHEDULE II

 

Issuer Free Writing Prospectus dated March 31, 2011

Relating to Preliminary Prospectus Supplement dated March 30, 2011

Registration Statement No. 333-157215

 

 

23,000,000 Shares

 

Issuer:

 

General Maritime Corporation

 

 

 

Symbol:

 

GMR

 

 

 

Shares offered:

 

23,000,000 shares

 

 

 

Over-allotment option:

 

3,450,000 shares

 

 

 

Price per share to the public:

 

$2.00

 

 

 

Gross proceeds to the Company:

 

$46,000,000

 

 

 

Net proceeds to the Company (after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions, but before expenses):

 

$43,470,000

 

 

 

Shares sold to Directors and Management:

 

1,068,432 shares

 

 

 

Pricing date:

 

March 31, 2011

 

 

 

Closing date:

 

On or about April 5, 2011

 

 

 

CUSIP:

 

Y2693R101

 

 

 

Underwriters:

 

Jefferies & Company, Inc. and Dahlman Rose & Company, LLC are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering.

 

The issuer has filed a registration statement (including a prospectus) with the SEC for the offering to which this communication relates.  Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in that registration statement and other documents the issuer has filed with the SEC for more complete information about the issuer and this offering.  Copies of the final prospectus supplement and related prospectuses, when available, may be obtained from Equity Syndicate Prospectus Department, Jefferies & Company, Inc., 520 Madison Avenue, 12th Floor, New York, NY, 10022, at ###-###-####, and at ***@*** or from the offices of Dahlman Rose & Company, LLC at 1301 Avenue of the Americas, 44th Floor, New York, NY 10019, Attention: Prospectus Department, at ###-###-####, and at ***@***.

 

This term sheet shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of, these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

 

 



 

SCHEDULE III

 

(a)           None

 

(b)           None

 

2



 

SCHEDULE IV

 

List of directors and officers of the Company

 

Directors:

 

1. Peter C. Georgiopoulos

 

2. William J. Crabtree

 

3. Dr. E. Grant Gibbons

 

4. Rex W. Harrington

 

5. George J. Konomos

 

6. John P. Tavlarios

 

7. Peter S. Shaerf

 

Executive Officers:

 

1. Peter C. Georgiopoulos

 

2. John P. Tavlarios

 

3. Jeffrey D. Pribor

 

4. John C. Georgiopoulos

 

5. Peter S. Bell

 

6. Milton H. Gonzales, Jr.

 



 

SCHEDULE V

 

European Economic Area

 

In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area which has implemented the Prospectus Directive (each, a Relevant Member State), each underwriter has represented and agreed that with effect from and including the date on which the Prospectus Directive is implemented in that Relevant Member State (the Relevant Implementation Date) it has not made and will not make an offer of the common shares to the public in that Relevant Member State prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the common shares which has been approved by the competent authority in that Relevant Member State or, where appropriate, approved in another Relevant Member State and notified to the competent authority in that Relevant Member State, all in accordance with the Prospectus Directive and the 2010 PD Amending Directive to the extent implemented, except that it may, with effect from and including the Relevant Implementation Date, make an offer of common shares to the public in that Relevant Member State at any time:

 

·                  to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Directive or the 2010 PD Amending Directive if the relevant provision has been implemented;

 

·                  to fewer than (i) 100 natural or legal persons per Relevant Member State (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Directive or the 2010 PD Amending Directive if the relevant provision has been implemented) or (ii) if the Relevant Member State has implemented the relevant provision of the 2010 PD Amending Directive, 150 natural or legal persons per Relevant Member State (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Directive or the 2010 PD Amending Directive if the relevant provision has been implemented), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the relevant underwriter or underwriters nominated by the issuer for any such offer; or

 

·                  in any other circumstances falling within Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive or Article 3(2) of the 2010 PD Amending Directive to the extent implemented.

 

For the purposes of this provision, the expression an ‘‘offer of common shares to the public,’’ in relation to any common shares in any Relevant Member State, means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the common shares to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe the common shares, as the same may be varied in that Member State by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that Member State, the expression Prospectus Directive means Directive 2003/71/EC, and includes any relevant implementing measure in the Relevant Member State, and the expression 2010 PD Amending Directive means Directive 2010/73/EC.

 



 

Each underwriter has represented and agreed that:

 

(a) it has only communicated or caused to be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Section 21 of the FSMA) received by it in connection with the issue or sale of the shares in circumstances in which Section 21(1) of the FSMA does not apply to the company; and

 

(b) it has complied and will comply with all applicable provisions of the FSMA with respect to anything done by it in relation to the shares in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom.

 


 


 

Annex II

 

Form of Lock-Up Agreement

 

GENERAL MARITIME CORPORATION

 

Lock-Up Agreement

 

March 31, 2011

 

Jefferies & Company, Inc.

and

Dahlman Rose & Company, LLC,

 

                As representatives of the several Underwriters
                named in Schedule I hereto,

 

c/o Jefferies & Company, Inc.

520 Madison Avenue

New York, NY 10022

and

Dahlman Rose & Company, LLC

1301 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10019

 

Re:  General Maritime Corporation - Lock-Up Agreement

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

The undersigned understands that you, as representatives (the “Representatives”), propose to enter into an underwriting agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) on behalf of the several Underwriters named in Schedule I to such Underwriting Agreement (collectively, the “Underwriters”), with General Maritime Corporation, a corporation organized under the laws of the Marshall Islands (the “Company”), providing for a public offering (the “Public Offering”) of shares of the Common Stock of the Company (the “Shares”) pursuant to a Registration Statement on Form S-3 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on February 10, 2009, as amended.

 

In consideration of the agreement by the Underwriters to offer and sell the Shares, and of other good and valuable consideration the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the undersigned agrees that, during the period specified in the following paragraph (the “Lock-Up Period”), the undersigned will not offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, grant any option to purchase, make any short sale or otherwise dispose of any shares of

 



 

Common Stock of the Company, or any options or warrants to purchase any shares of Common Stock of the Company, or any securities convertible into, exchangeable for or that represent the right to receive shares of Common Stock of the Company, whether now owned or hereinafter acquired, owned directly by the undersigned (including holding as a custodian) or with respect to which the undersigned has beneficial ownership within the rules and regulations of the SEC (collectively the “Undersigned’s Shares”). The foregoing restriction is expressly agreed to preclude the undersigned from engaging in any hedging or other transaction which is designed to or which reasonably could be expected to lead to or result in a sale or disposition of the Undersigned’s Shares even if such Shares would be disposed of by someone other than the undersigned. Such prohibited hedging or other transactions would include without limitation any short sale or any purchase, sale or grant of any right (including without limitation any put or call option) with respect to any of the Undersigned’s Shares or with respect to any security that includes, relates to, or derives any significant part of its value from such Shares.

 

The initial Lock-Up Period will commence on the date of this Lock-Up Agreement and continue for 60 days after the public offering date set forth on the final prospectus used to sell the Shares (the “Public Offering Date”) pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement; provided, however, that if (1) during the last 15 days of the initial Lock-Up Period, the Company releases earnings results or announces material news or a material event or (2) prior to the expiration of the initial Lock-Up Period, the Company announces that it will release earnings results during the 15-day period following the last day of the initial Lock-Up Period, then in each case the Lock-Up Period will be automatically extended until the expiration of the 15-day period beginning on the date of release of the earnings results or the announcement of the material news or material event, as applicable, unless Jefferies & Company, Inc. waives, in writing, such extension.

 

The undersigned hereby acknowledges that the Company has agreed in the Underwriting Agreement to provide written notice of any event that would result in an extension of the Lock-Up Period pursuant to the previous paragraph to the undersigned and agrees that any such notice properly delivered will be deemed to have been given to, and received by, the undersigned. The undersigned hereby further 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 30th 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 such may have been extended pursuant to the previous paragraph) has expired.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the undersigned may transfer the Undersigned’s Shares (i) to the Underwriters pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement, (ii) in connection with the grant of options, awards of restricted stock or restricted stock units by the Company to employees, officers, directors, advisors or consultants pursuant to any employee benefit plan existing on the date hereof; (iii) in connection with the exercise of an option or a warrant or the conversion

 



 

of a security outstanding on the date hereof;  (iv) as a bona fide gift or gifts, will or intestacy, provided that the donee or donees thereof agree to be bound in writing by the restrictions set forth herein, (v) to any trust for the direct or indirect benefit of the undersigned or the immediate family of the undersigned, provided that (a) the trustee of the trust agrees to be bound in writing by the restrictions set forth herein, (b) that any such transfer shall not involve a disposition for value and (c) that no filing by any party (transferor or transferee) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) shall be required or shall be voluntarily made in connection with such transfer, (vi) with the prior written consent of the Representatives on behalf of the Underwriters, (vii) to the Company, provided that (a) the Company execute a lock-up agreement with respect to the Shares so transferred and (b) that no filing by any party (transferor or transferee) under the Exchange Act shall be required or shall be voluntarily made in connection with such transfer,  (other than any Shares transferred to the Company for purpose of tax withholding in connection with vesting of the Shares of any officers and directors of the Company), (viii) in connection with transactions relating to Common Stock or other securities acquired in open market transactions after the completion of the Public Offering, provided that no filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act shall be required or shall be voluntarily made in connection with subsequent sales of Common Stock or other securities acquired in such open market transactions, (ix) in connection with the establishment of a written contract, instruction or plan complying with Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act (a “10b5-1 Plan”); provided that no Shares of the Undersigned shall be transferred to such 10b5-1 Plan during the Lock-Up Period, or (x) for purposes of making any tax payment in connection with the vesting of any shares of restricted stock. For purposes of this Lock-Up Agreement, “immediate family” shall mean any relationship by blood, marriage or adoption, not more remote than first cousin.  In addition, notwithstanding the foregoing, if the undersigned is a corporation, the corporation may transfer the capital stock of the Company to any wholly-owned subsidiary of such corporation; provided, however, that in any such case, it shall be a condition to the transfer that the transferee execute an agreement stating that the transferee is receiving and holding such capital stock subject to the provisions of this Agreement and there shall be no further transfer of such capital stock except in accordance with this Agreement, and provided further that any such transfer shall not involve a disposition for value.  The undersigned now has, and, except as contemplated by clause (i) to (x) above, for the duration of this Lock-Up Agreement will have, good and marketable title to the Undersigned’s Shares, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, and claims whatsoever.  The undersigned also agrees and consents to the entry of stop transfer instructions with the Company’s transfer agent and registrar against the transfer of the Undersigned’s Shares except in compliance with the foregoing restrictions.

 

The undersigned understands that the Company and the Underwriters are relying upon this Lock-Up Agreement in proceeding toward consummation of the offering.  The undersigned further understands that this Lock-Up Agreement is irrevocable and shall be binding upon the undersigned’s heirs, legal representatives, successors, and assigns.

 



 

 

 

Very truly yours,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exact Name of Shareholder

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Authorized Signature

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title