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AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER
by and among
GREATBANC TRUST COMPANY,
solely as trustee of the
TRIBUNE EMPLOYEE STOCK OWNERSHIP TRUST
which forms a part of the
TRIBUNE EMPLOYEE STOCK OWNERSHIP PLAN,
TESOP CORPORATION,
TRIBUNE COMPANY
and
EGI-TRB, L.L.C.
(solely for the limited purposes of Section 8.12 hereof)
Dated as of April 1, 2007
AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER, dated as of April 1, 2007 (the "Agreement"), among
GreatBanc Trust Company, not in its individual or corporate capacity, but solely
as trustee (the "ESOP Fiduciary") of the Tribune Employee Stock Ownership Trust,
which forms a part of the Tribune Employee Stock Ownership Plan (the "ESOP"), Tesop
Corporation, a Delaware corporation all of the common stock of which is owned by
the ESOP ("Merger Sub"), Tribune Company, a Delaware corporation (the "Company"),
and EGI-TRB, L.L.C., a Delaware limited liability company ("Tribune Acquisition")
(solely for the limited purposes of Section 8.12 hereof).W I T N E S S E T H
:
WHEREAS, the parties intend that Merger Sub be merged with and into the Company
(the "Merger"), with the Company surviving the Merger.
WHEREAS, concurrently herewith, the Company, Tribune Acquisition and Samuel Zell
have entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the "Tribune Purchase Agreement")
pursuant to which Tribune Acquisition has, on the terms and subject to the conditions
set forth in the Tribune Purchase Agreement, agreed to purchase (a) 1,470,588 shares
of Company Common Stock (as defined below) and an unsecured $200,000,000 subordinated
exchangeable note (the "Subordinated Exchangeable Note") prior to consummation of
the Merger and (b) an unsecured $225,000,000 subordinated promissory note (the "Subordinated
Note") and a warrant (the "Warrant") to purchase 43,478,261 shares of common stock
of the Surviving Corporation (as defined below) immediately following consummation
of the Merger.
WHEREAS, concurrently herewith, the ESOP Fiduciary, on behalf of the ESOP, and
the Company have entered into an Equity Purchase Agreement (the "ESOP Purchase Agreement")
pursuant to which the ESOP has, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth
in the ESOP Purchase Agreement, agreed to purchase 8,928,571 shares of Company Common
Stock prior to consummation of the Merger.
WHEREAS, concurrently herewith, the Company has entered into a Voting Agreement
with Chandler Trust No. 1 and Chandler Trust No. 2, pursuant to which Chandler Trust
No. 1 and Chandler Trust No. 2 have agreed, among other things, to vote in favor
of this Agreement and the Merger.
WHEREAS, concurrently herewith, the Company, Tribune Acquisition and the ESOP
Fiduciary, on behalf of the ESOP, have entered into an Investor Rights Agreement
(the "Investor Rights Agreement") pursuant to which the parties thereto will have
certain rights and obligations as the Surviving Corporation and the stockholders
of the Surviving Corporation, as applicable.
WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of the Company, acting upon the recommendation
of a special committee of independent directors of the Company (the "Special Committee"),
has (a) determined that it is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders,
and declared it advisable, to enter into this Agreement, (b) approved the execution,
delivery and performance of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions
contemplated hereby, including the Merger, and (c) resolved to recommend to its
shareholders approval and adoption of this Agreement.
WHEREAS, the ESOP Fiduciary, on behalf of the ESOP, and the board of directors
of Merger Sub have approved this Agreement and declared it advisable for the ESOP
and Merger Sub, respectively, to enter into this Agreement.
WHEREAS, the ESOP, Merger Sub and the Company desire to make certain representations,
warranties, covenants and agreements specified herein in connection with this Agreement.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing and the representations, warranties,
covenants and agreements contained herein, and intending to be legally bound hereby,
the ESOP, Merger Sub and the Company agree as follows:
ARTICLE I
THE MERGER
Section 1.1 The Merger. On the terms and subject to the conditions set forth
in this Agreement, and in accordance with the General Corporation Law of the State
of Delaware (the "DGCL"), at the Effective Time (as hereinafter defined), Merger
Sub will merge with and into the Company, the separate corporate existence of Merger
Sub will cease and the Company will continue its corporate existence under Delaware
law as the surviving corporation in the Merger (the "Surviving Corporation").
Section 1.2 Closing. The closing of the Merger (the "Closing") shall take place
at the offices of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, 51 West 52nd Street, New York,
New York at 10:00 a.m., local time, on a date to be specified by the parties (the
"Closing Date") which shall be no later than the third business day after the satisfaction
or waiver (to the extent permitted by applicable Law (as hereinafter defined)) of
the conditions set forth in Article VI (other than those conditions that by their
nature are to be satisfied at the Closing, but subject to the satisfaction or waiver
of such conditions), or at such other place, date and time as the Company and the
ESOP may agree in writing.
Section 1.3 Effective Time. Subject to the provisions of this Agreement, at the
Closing, the Company will cause a certificate of merger in a form reasonably satisfactory
to the ESOP and Tribune Acquisition (the "Certificate of Merger") to be executed,
acknowledged and filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware in accordance
with Section 251 of the DGCL. The Merger will become effective at such time as the
Certificate of Merger has been duly filed with the Secretary of State of the State
of Delaware or at such later date or time as may be agreed by the Company and Merger
Sub in writing and specified in the Certificate of Merger in accordance with the
DGCL (the effective time of the Merger being hereinafter referred to as the "Effective
Time").
Section 1.4 Effects of the Merger. The Merger shall have the effects set forth
in this Agreement and the applicable provisions of the DGCL. Without limiting the
generality of the foregoing, and subject thereto, from and after the Effective Time,
all property, rights, privileges, immunities, powers, franchises, licenses and authority
of the Company and Merger Sub shall vest in the Surviving Corporation, and all debts,
liabilities, obligations, restrictions and duties of each of the Company and Merger
Sub shall become the debts, liabilities, obligations, restrictions and duties of
the Surviving Corporation. At and after the Effective Time, the officers and directors
of the Surviving Corporation shall be authorized to execute and deliver, in the
name and on behalf of the Company, its Subsidiaries or Merger Sub, any deeds, bills
of sale, assignments or assurances and to take and do, in the name and on behalf
of the Company, its Subsidiaries or Merger Sub, any other actions and things to
vest, perfect or confirm of record or otherwise in the Surviving Corporation any
and all right, title and interest in, to and under any of the rights, properties
or assets of the Company, its Subsidiaries and Merger Sub.
Section 1.5 Certificate of Incorporation and By-laws of the Surviving Corporation.
Subject to Section 5.9, at the Effective Time, (a) the Certificate of Incorporation
of the Surviving Corporation shall be amended to read in its entirety as the Certificate
of Incorporation of Merger Sub read immediately prior to the Effective Time, in
the form attached hereto as Exhibit A, except that the name of the Surviving Corporation
shall be Tribune Company and the provision in the Certificate of Incorporation of
Merger Sub naming its incorporator shall be omitted, and (b) the bylaws of the Surviving
Corporation shall be amended so as to read in their entirety as the bylaws of Merger
Sub as in effect immediately prior to the Effective Time, in the form attached hereto
as Exhibit B, with such changes as may be necessary to comply with any applicable
Law or the rules and regulations of any national securities exchange, in each case,
until thereafter amended in accordance with applicable Law, except the references
to Merger Subs name shall be replaced by references to Tribune Company.
Section 1.6 Directors. Subject to applicable Law, the directors of Merger Sub
as of the Effective Time shall be the initial directors of the Surviving Corporation
and shall hold office until their respective successors are duly elected and qualified,
or their earlier death, resignation or removal.
Section 1.7 Officers. The officers of the Company as of the Effective Time shall
be the initial officers of the Surviving Corporation and shall hold office until
their respective successors are duly elected and qualified, or their earlier death,
resignation or removal.
ARTICLE II
CONVERSION OF SHARES; EXCHANGE OF CERTIFICATES
Section 2.1 Effect on Capital Stock. At the Effective Time, by virtue of the
Merger and without any action on the part of the Company, Merger Sub or the holders
of any securities of the Company or Merger Sub:
(a) Conversion of Company Common Stock. Each share of Common Stock, par value
$.01 per share, of the Company outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time
(such shares, collectively, "Company Common Stock," and each, a "Share"), other
than (i) Shares to be cancelled pursuant to Section 2.1(b) and (ii) Dissenting Shares
(as hereinafter defined), shall be converted automatically into and shall thereafter
represent the right to receive Thirty-four Dollars ($34.00) in cash plus the Additional
Per Share Consideration (the "Merger Consideration"). The "Additional Per Share
Consideration" shall mean an amount per share, if any, rounded to the nearest whole
cent, equal to (1) Thirty-four Dollars ($34) multiplied by (2) eight percent (8%)
multiplied by (3) the Annualized Portion (as hereinafter defined). The "Annualized
Portion" shall mean the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the number of days actually
elapsed from and excluding January 1, 2008 to and including the Closing Date by
(y) 365. All Shares that have been converted into the right to receive the Merger
Consideration as provided in this Section 2.1 shall be automatically cancelled and
shall cease to exist, and the holders of certificates which immediately prior to
the Effective Time represented such Shares shall cease to have any rights with respect
to such Shares other than the right to receive the Merger Consideration.
(b) ESOP and Merger Sub-Owned Shares. Each Share that is owned, directly or indirectly,
by the ESOP or Merger Sub immediately prior to the Effective Time or held by the
Company immediately prior to the Effective Time (in each case, other than any such
Shares held on behalf of third parties) (the "Cancelled Shares") shall be cancelled
and retired and shall cease to exist, and no consideration shall be delivered in
exchange for such cancellation and retirement.
(c) Treatment of Company Preferred Stock. Each share of Series E Preferred Stock
of the Company that is owned immediately prior to the Effective Time by an Eagle
Entity, which shares constitute all the outstanding shares of Series E Preferred
Stock, shall remain outstanding following the Merger in accordance with their terms.
(d) Conversion of Merger Sub Common Stock. All the shares of common stock, par
value $.01 per share, of Merger Sub issued and outstanding immediately prior to
the Effective Time shall be converted into and become, in the aggregate, 56,521,739
validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable shares of common stock, par value $.01
per share, of the Surviving Corporation with the same rights, powers and privileges
as the shares so converted and, together with the shares of Series E Preferred Stock
referred to above in Section 2.1(c), shall constitute the only outstanding shares
of capital stock of the Surviving Corporation. From and after the Effective Time,
all certificates representing the common stock of Merger Sub shall be deemed for
all purposes to represent the number of shares of common stock of the Surviving
Corporation into which they were converted in accordance with the immediately preceding
sentence.
(e) Dissenters Rights. Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the
contrary, if required by the DGCL (but only to the extent required thereby), Shares
that are issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time (other than
Cancelled Shares) and that are held by holders of such Shares who have not voted
in favor of the adoption of this Agreement or consented thereto in writing and who
have properly exercised appraisal rights with respect thereto in accordance with,
and who have complied with, Section 262 of the DGCL (the "Dissenting Shares") will
not be converted into the right to receive the Merger Consideration, and holders
of such Dissenting Shares will be entitled to receive payment of the fair value
of such Dissenting Shares in accordance with the provisions of such Section 262
unless and until any such holder fails to perfect or effectively waives, withdraws
or loses its rights to appraisal and payment under the DGCL. If, after the Effective
Time, any such holder fails to perfect or effectively waives, withdraws or loses
such right, such Shares shall not be deemed Dissenting Shares and will thereupon
be treated as if they had been converted into and have become exchangeable for,
at the Effective Time, the right to receive the Merger Consideration, without any
interest thereon, and the Surviving Corporation shall remain liable for payment
of the Merger Consideration for such Shares. At the Effective Time, any holder of
Dissenting Shares shall cease to have any rights with respect thereto, except the
rights provided in Section 262 of the DGCL and as provided in the previous sentence.
Any portion of the Merger Consideration made available to the Paying Agent pursuant
to Section 2.2 to pay for Dissenting Shares for which appraisal rights have been
perfected shall be paid to the Surviving Corporation upon demand. The Company will
give the ESOP (i) prompt notice of any demands received by the Company for appraisals
of Shares, withdrawals of such demands, and any other instruments served pursuant
to the DGCL and received by the Company that relate to any such demand for dissenters
rights and (ii) the opportunity to participate in and direct all negotiations and
proceedings with respect to such notices and demands. The Company shall not, except
with the prior written consent of the ESOP, make any payment with respect to any
demands for appraisal or settle or offer to settle any such demands.
(f) Adjustments. If at any time during the period between the date of this Agreement
and the Effective Time, any change in the outstanding shares of capital stock of
the Company shall occur as a result of any reclassification, recapitalization, stock
split (including a reverse stock split) or combination, exchange or readjustment
of shares, or any stock dividend or stock distribution is declared with a record
date during such period, the Merger Consideration shall be equitably adjusted to
reflect such change.
Section 2.2 Exchange of Certificates.
(a) Paying Agent. At or prior to the Effective Time, the Company shall deposit,
or shall cause to be deposited, with a U.S. bank or trust company to act as a paying
agent hereunder pursuant to an agreement customary in form and substance (the "Paying
Agent"), in trust for the benefit of holders of the Shares, the Company Stock Options
(as hereinafter defined) and the Company Stock-Based Awards (as hereinafter defined),
cash in U.S. dollars sufficient to pay (i) the aggregate Merger Consideration in
exchange for all of the Shares outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time
(other than the Cancelled Shares), payable upon due surrender of the certificates
that immediately prior to the Effective Time represented Shares ("Certificates")
(or effective affidavits of loss in lieu thereof) or non-certificated Shares represented
by book-entry ("Book-Entry Shares") pursuant to the provisions of this Article II
and (ii) the Option and Stock-Based Consideration (as hereinafter defined) payable
pursuant to Section 5.5 (such cash referred to in subsections (a)(i) and (a)(ii)
being hereinafter referred to as the "Exchange Fund").
(b) Payment Procedures.
(i) As soon as reasonably practicable after the Effective Time and in any event
not later than the second business day following the Effective Time, the Paying
Agent shall mail (x) to each holder of record of Shares whose Shares were converted
into the Merger Consideration pursuant to Section 2.1, (A) a letter of transmittal
(which shall specify that delivery shall be effected, and risk of loss and title
to Certificates shall pass, only upon delivery of Certificates (or effective affidavits
of loss in lieu thereof) or Book-Entry Shares to the Paying Agent and shall be in
such form and have such other provisions as the ESOP and the Company may mutually
agree), and (B) instructions for use in effecting the surrender of Certificates
(or effective affidavits of loss in lieu thereof) or Book-Entry Shares in exchange
for the Merger Consideration and (y) upon surrender of such documents as may reasonably
be required by the Paying Agent, to each holder of a Company Stock Option or a Company
Stock-Based Award, a check in an amount, if any, due and payable to such holder
pursuant to Section 5.5 hereof in respect of such Company Stock Option or Company
Stock-Based Award.
(ii) Upon surrender of Certificates (or effective affidavits of loss in lieu
thereof) or Book-Entry Shares to the Paying Agent together with such letter of transmittal,
duly completed and validly executed in accordance with the instructions thereto,
and such other documents as may reasonably be required by the Paying Agent, the
holder of such Certificates or Book-Entry Shares shall be entitled to receive in
exchange therefor a check in an amount equal to the product of (x) the number of
Shares represented by such holders properly surrendered Certificates (or effective
affidavits of loss in lieu thereof) or Book-Entry Shares multiplied by (y) the Merger
Consideration. No interest will be paid or accrued on any amount payable upon due
surrender of Certificates or Book-Entry Shares. In the event of a transfer of ownership
of Shares that is not registered in the transfer records of the Company, a check
for any cash to be paid upon due surrender of the Certificate may be paid to such
a transferee if the Certificate formerly representing such Shares is presented to
the Paying Agent, accompanied by all documents required to evidence and effect such
transfer and to evidence that any applicable stock transfer Taxes (as hereinafter
defined) have been paid or are not applicable.
(iii) The Paying Agent or the Surviving Corporation shall be entitled to deduct
and withhold from the consideration otherwise payable under this Agreement to any
holder of Shares or holder of Company Stock Options or Company Stock-Based Awards,
such amounts as are required to be withheld or deducted under the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 (the "Code") or any provision of applicable Federal, state, local or
foreign Tax Law with respect to the making of such payment. To the extent that amounts
are so withheld or deducted and paid over to the applicable Governmental Entity
(as hereinafter defined), such withheld or deducted amounts shall be treated for
all purposes of this Agreement as having been paid to the holder of the Shares or
holder of the Company Stock Options or Company Stock-Based Awards, in respect of
which such deduction and withholding were made.
(c) Closing of Transfer Books. At the Effective Time, the stock transfer books
of the Company shall be closed, and there shall be no further registration of transfers
on the stock transfer books of the Surviving Corporation of the Shares that were
outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time. If, after the Effective Time,
Certificates are presented to the Surviving Corporation for transfer, they shall
be cancelled and exchanged for a check in the proper amount pursuant to this Article
II.
(d) Termination of Exchange Fund. Any portion of the Exchange Fund (including
the proceeds of any investments thereof) that remains undistributed to the former
holders of Shares for one year after the Effective Time shall be delivered to the
Surviving Corporation upon demand, and any former holders of Shares who have not
surrendered their Shares in accordance with Section 2.2 shall thereafter look only
to the Surviving Corporation as general unsecured creditors of the Surviving Corporation
for payment of their claim for the Merger Consideration, without any interest thereon,
upon due surrender of their Shares.
(e) No Liability. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, none of the
Company, the ESOP, Merger Sub, the Surviving Corporation, the Paying Agent or any
other person shall be liable to any former holder of Shares for any amount properly
delivered to a public official pursuant to any applicable abandoned property, escheat
or similar Law.
(f) Investment of Exchange Fund. The Paying Agent shall invest all cash included
in the Exchange Fund as reasonably directed by the Company; provided, however, that
any investment of such cash shall be limited to direct short-term obligations of,
or short-term obligations fully guaranteed as to principal and interest by, the
U.S. government, or commercial paper obligations receiving the highest rating from
either Moodys Investor Services, Inc. or Standard & Poors Corporation, a division
of The McGraw Hill Companies, or in certificates of deposit, bank repurchase agreements
or bankers acceptances of commercial banks with capital exceeding $1 billion (based
on the most recent financial statements of such bank that are then publicly available),
or a combination thereof. Any interest and other income resulting from such investments
shall be paid to the Surviving Corporation pursuant to Section 2.2(d).
(g) Lost Certificates. In the case of any Certificate that has been lost, stolen
or destroyed, upon the making of an affidavit of that fact by the person claiming
such Certificate to be lost, stolen or destroyed and, if required by the Surviving
Corporation, the posting by such person of a bond in customary amount as indemnity
against any claim that may be made against it with respect to such Certificate,
the Paying Agent will issue in exchange for such lost, stolen or destroyed Certificate
a check in the amount of the number of Shares represented by such lost, stolen or
destroyed Certificate multiplied by the Merger Consideration.
ARTICLE III
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY
Except as disclosed in the Company SEC Documents (as hereinafter defined) filed
prior to the date hereof, other than risk factor and similar cautionary disclosure
contained in the Company SEC Documents under the headings "Risk Factors" or "Forward-Looking
Statements" or under any other similar heading, or as disclosed in the disclosure
schedule delivered by the Company to the ESOP immediately prior to the execution
of this Agreement (the "Company Disclosure Schedule"), the Company represents and
warrants to the ESOP and Merger Sub as follows:
Section 3.01 Qualification, Organization, Subsidiaries, etc. Each of the Company
and its Subsidiaries and, to the knowledge of the Company, each Company Joint Venture
is a legal entity duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the
Laws of its respective jurisdiction of organization and has all requisite corporate
or similar power and authority to own, lease, hold and operate its properties and
assets and to carry on its business as presently conducted and is qualified to do
business and is in good standing as a foreign corporation in each jurisdiction where
the ownership, leasing, holding or operation of its assets or properties or conduct
of its business requires such qualification, except where the failure to be so organized,
validly existing, qualified or in good standing, or to have such power or authority,
would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Company
Material Adverse Effect. As used in this Agreement, "Company Joint Venture" means CareerBuilder, LLC, ShopLocal, LLC, Topix LLC, Television Food Network, G.P., Comcast
SportsNet Chicago, LLC, Eagle New Media Investments, LLC ("Eagle New Media"), and
Eagle Publishing Investments, LLC ("Eagle Publishing" and together with Eagle New
Media, the "Eagle Entities"). As used in this Agreement, any reference to any facts,
circumstances, events or changes having a "Company Material Adverse Effect" means
any facts, circumstances, events or changes that are materially adverse to the business,
assets, financial condition, results of operations on an ongoing basis or continuing
operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or that have a
material adverse effect on the ability of the Company to perform its obligations
under this Agreement, or to consummate the Merger and the other transactions to
be performed or consummated by the Company; provided, however that "Company Material
Adverse Effect" shall not include facts, circumstances, events or changes resulting
from (a) changes in general economic or political conditions or the securities,
credit or financial markets in general, (b) general changes or developments in the
industries in which the Company and its Subsidiaries operate, including general
changes in law or regulation across such industries, (c) the announcement of this
Agreement or the pendency or consummation of the Merger, (d) compliance with the
terms of, or the taking of any action required by, this Agreement or consented to
by Tribune Acquisition and the ESOP, (e) any acts of terrorism or war (other than
any of the foregoing that causes any damage or destruction to or renders unusable
any facility or property of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries), (f) the identity
of Tribune Acquisition or the ESOP or any of their affiliates as participants in
the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the other agreements described
in the recitals hereof or (g) changes in GAAP or the interpretation thereof by the
Financial Accounting Standards Board, the Accounting Principles Board, the American
Institute of Certified Public Accountants and other similar organizations generally
considered authoritative with respect to the interpretation of GAAP, except, in
the case of the foregoing clauses (a) and (b), to the extent such facts, circumstances,
events, changes or developments referred to therein have a disproportionate impact
on the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, relative to other companies
in the industries or in the geographic markets in which the Company conducts its
businesses after taking into account the size of the Company relative to such other
companies. For the avoidance of doubt, the parties agree that any decline in the
stock price of the Company Common Stock on the New York Stock Exchange or any failure
to meet internal or published projections, forecasts or revenue or earning predictions
for any period shall not, in and of itself, constitute a Company Material Adverse
Effect, but the underlying causes of such decline or failure shall be considered
to the extent applicable (and subject to the proviso set forth in the immediately
preceding sentence) in determining whether there is a Company Material Adverse Effect.
The Company has made available to the ESOP prior to the date of this Agreement a
true and complete copy of the Companys amended and restated certificate of incorporation
and by-laws and the charter and comparable organizational documents of each Company
Joint Venture, each as amended through the date hereof. The amended and restated
certificate of incorporation and by-laws of the Company are in full force and effect,
and the certificate of incorporation and by-laws or similar organizational documents
of each Subsidiary of the Company and, to the knowledge of the Company, each Company
Joint Venture are in full force and effect. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary
nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any Company Joint Venture is in material violation
of any provision of its certificate of incorporation or by-laws or similar organizational
documents.
Section 3.02 Capital Stock.
(a) The authorized capital stock of the Company consists of 1,400,000,000 shares
of Company Common Stock and 12,000,000 shares of preferred stock, without par value
("Company Preferred Stock"), of which 6,000,000 shares are designated as Series
A Junior Participating Preferred Stock and 380,972 shares are designated as Series
D-1 Preferred Stock (the "Series D-1 Preferred Stock"). At the close of business
on March 14, 2007, (i) 388,098,408 shares of Company Common Stock were issued and
outstanding (including 18,000 Restricted Shares), (ii) 87,035,996 shares of Company
Common Stock were held in treasury, (iii) 60,671,319 shares of Company Common Stock
were held by the Eagle Entities, (iv) 32,853,240 shares of Company Common Stock
were reserved for issuance under the employee and director stock plans of the Company
or of the former Times Mirror Company (the "Company Stock Plans") and (v) 137,643
shares of Series D-1 Preferred Stock were issued and outstanding and held by the
Eagle Entities. All outstanding shares of Company Common Stock and Company Preferred
Stock, and all shares of Company Common Stock reserved for issuance as noted in
clause (iv), when issued in accordance with the respective terms thereof, are or
will be duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable and free
of pre-emptive rights and all Liens. As of immediately prior to the Effective Time,
there will be (i) no shares of Series D-1 Preferred Stock issued and outstanding
and (ii) issued and outstanding shares of Series E Preferred Stock, all of which
will be held by the Eagle Entities, as contemplated by that certain Exchange Agreement
by and among the Company, Eagle New Media and Eagle Publishing (the "Exchange Agreement").
Such Series E Preferred Stock, when issued in accordance with the terms of the Exchange
Agreement, will be fully authorized, validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable
and free of pre-emptive rights and all Liens.
(b) Section 3.2(b) of the Company Disclosure Schedule sets forth as of March
14, 2007, a complete and correct list of all outstanding Company Stock-Based Awards,
Restricted Shares, Company Stock Options and each right of any kind, contingent
or accrued, to receive shares of Company Common Stock or benefits measured in whole
or in part by the value of a number of shares of Company Common Stock granted under
the Company Stock Plans, Company Benefit Plans or otherwise (including restricted
stock units, phantom units, deferred stock units and dividend equivalents), the
number of shares of Company Common Stock issuable thereunder or with respect thereto
and the exercise price (if any) and the Company has granted no other such awards
since March 14, 2007 and prior to the date hereof. Each grant of a Company Stock
Option was duly authorized no later than the date on which the grant of such Company
Stock Option was by its terms to be effective by all necessary corporate action,
including any required shareholder approval by the necessary number of votes or
written consents, and each such grant was made in all material respects in accordance
with the terms of the applicable compensation plan or arrangement of the Company,
the Exchange Act, and all other applicable Laws and regulatory rules or requirements,
including the rules of the New York Stock Exchange. The per share exercise price
of each Company Stock Option was equal to the fair market value (as such term is
defined in the applicable Company Stock Plan) of a share of Company Common Stock
on the applicable grant date. The Company has not knowingly granted, and there is
no and has been no Company policy or intentional practice to grant, Company Stock
Options prior to, or otherwise intentionally coordinate the grant of Company Stock
Options with, the release or other public announcement of material information regarding
the Company or its Subsidiaries or their financial results or prospects. No outstanding
Company Stock Option is intended to qualify as an "incentive stock option" under
Section 422 of the Code.
(c) All outstanding shares of capital stock of, or other equity interests in,
each Subsidiary of the Company are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and
non-assessable, were not issued in violation of any preemptive or similar rights,
purchase option, call or right of first refusal or similar rights, and are owned
by the Company or by a wholly owned Subsidiary of the Company, free and clear of
all Liens. To the knowledge of the Company, all of the outstanding ownership interests
in each of the Company Joint Ventures are duly authorized, validly issued, fully
paid and nonassessable, and were not issued in violation of any preemptive or similar
rights, purchase option, call or right of first refusal or similar rights. All the
outstanding shares of capital stock of, or other equity interests in, each Company
Joint Venture that are owned by the Company or a wholly owned Subsidiary of the
Company, are owned free and clear of all Liens.
(d) Except as set forth in subsection (a) above, as of the date hereof, (i) the
Company does not have any shares of its capital stock or other voting securities
issued or outstanding other than shares of Company Common Stock that have become
outstanding after March 14, 2007, which were reserved for issuance as of March 14,
2007 as set forth in subsection (a) above with respect to awards outstanding as
of such date under Company Stock Plans, and (ii) there are no outstanding subscriptions,
options, warrants, calls, convertible or exchangeable securities, or other similar
rights, undertakings, agreements or commitments of any kind to which the Company
or any of the Companys Subsidiaries is a party obligating the Company or any of
the Companys Subsidiaries to (A) issue, transfer or sell, or cause to be issued,
transferred or sold, any shares of capital stock or other equity interests of the
Company or any Subsidiary of the Company or securities convertible into or exchangeable
for such shares or equity interests, (B) issue, grant, extend or enter into any
such subscription, option, warrant, call, convertible securities or other similar
right, undertaking, agreement or arrangement, (C) repurchase, redeem or otherwise
acquire any such shares of capital stock or other equity interests, (D) provide
a material amount of funds to, or make any material investment (in the form of a
loan, capital contribution or otherwise) in, any Subsidiary or Company Joint Venture
or (E) give any person the right to receive any economic benefit or right similar
to or derived from the economic benefits and rights occurring to holders of Company
Common Stock. Except for the issuance of shares of Company Common Stock that were
reserved for issuance as set forth in subsection (a) above, and except for regular
quarterly cash dividends, from March 9, 2007 to the date hereof, the Company has
not declared or paid any dividend or distribution in respect of the Company Common
Stock, and has not issued, sold, repurchased, redeemed or otherwise acquired any
Company Common Stock, and its Board of Directors has not authorized any of the foregoing.
(e) Except for awards to acquire or receive shares of Company Common Stock under
a Company Stock Plan, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has outstanding
bonds, debentures, notes or other obligations, the holders of which have the right
to vote (or which are convertible into or exercisable for securities having the
right to vote) with the shareholders of the Company on any matter.
(f) There are no voting trusts or other agreements or understandings to which
the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party with respect to the voting of
the capital stock or other equity interest of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.
Section 3.3 Corporate Authority Relative to This Agreement; No Violation.
(a) The Company has all requisite corporate power and authority to enter into
this Agreement and, subject to receipt of the Company Shareholder Approval (as hereinafter
defined) in the case of the Merger, to consummate the Merger and the other transactions
contemplated hereby. The Board of Directors of the Company, acting upon the recommendation
of the Special Committee, at a duly held meeting has (i) determined that it is fair
to and in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders, and declared it
advisable, to enter into this Agreement, (ii) approved the execution, delivery and
performance of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated
hereby, including the Merger, and (iii) resolved to recommend that the shareholders
of the Company approve the adoption of this Agreement (the "Recommendation") and
directed that this Agreement and the Merger be submitted for consideration of the
shareholders of the Company at the Company Meeting (as hereinafter defined). Assuming
the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the ESOP and Merger Sub set
forth in Section 4.9, (i) the determinations, approvals and resolutions by the Board
of Directors of the Company are sufficient to render inapplicable to the ESOP and
Merger Sub and this Agreement, the Merger and the other transactions contemplated
hereby the restrictions on "business combinations" contained in Section 203 of the
DGCL and (ii) to the knowledge of the Company, no other "fair price," "moratorium,"
"control share acquisition," "business combination" or other similar antitakeover
statute or regulation enacted under state or Federal laws in the United States applicable
to the Company is applicable to the ESOP and Merger Sub and this Agreement, the
Merger or the other transactions contemplated hereby. Except for the Company Shareholder
Approval and the filing of the Certificate of Merger with the Secretary of State
of the State of Delaware, no other corporate proceedings on the part of the Company
are necessary to authorize this Agreement or the consummation of the transactions
contemplated hereby. This Agreement has been duly and validly executed and delivered
by the Company and, assuming this Agreement constitutes the legal, valid and binding
agreement of the ESOP and Merger Sub, constitutes the legal, valid and binding agreement
of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms.
(b) The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement
and the consummation of the Merger and the other transactions contemplated by this
Agreement by the Company do not and will not require any consent, approval, license,
authorization, order or permit of, action by, filing with or notification to any
Federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory agency, commission,
court, body, entity or authority (each, a "Governmental Entity"), other than (i)
the filing of the Certificate of Merger, (ii) compliance with the applicable requirements
of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (the "HSR
Act"), (iii) compliance with the applicable requirements of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), including the filing of the Proxy
Statement (as hereinafter defined) and the Schedule 13E-3 (as hereinafter defined),
(iv) compliance with the rules and regulations of the New York Stock Exchange, (v)
filings with the Federal Communications Commission (the "FCC"), the FCC Order (as
hereinafter defined), and the state regulatory bodies (the "State Commissions")
set forth on Section 3.3(b) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, (vi) compliance
with any applicable foreign or state securities or blue sky laws, (vii) such of
the foregoing as may be required in connection with the Financing, and (viii) the
other consents and/or notices set forth on Section 3.3(b) of the Company Disclosure
Schedule (collectively, clauses (i) through (viii), the "Company Approvals"), and
other than any consent, approval, authorization, permit, action, filing or notification
the failure of which to make or obtain would not reasonably be expected to, individually
or in the aggregate, (A) have a Company Material Adverse Effect or (B) prevent or
materially delay the consummation of the Merger. As used herein, "FCC Order" means
one or more orders or decisions of the FCC (or its staff) which grant all consents
or approvals required under the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the "Communications
Act") or the rules, regulations and published policies of the FCC promulgated thereunder
(the "FCC Rules") for the transfer of control or assignment of all FCC licenses,
permits or other authorizations held by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to
the ESOP, Merger Sub or an affiliate of the ESOP or Merger Sub and the consummation
of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, whether or not any (x) appeal
or request for reconsideration or review of such order is pending, or whether the
time for filing any such appeal or request for reconsideration or review, or any
sua sponte action by the FCC with similar effect, has expired or (y) such order
is subject to any condition or provision of law or regulation of the FCC (whether
such law or regulation is now existing or is proposed in any proceeding pending
at the time of receipt of the FCC Order). There is not pending or, to the knowledge
of the Company, threatened by or before the FCC any proceeding, notice of violation,
order of forfeiture, complaint or investigation against or relating to the Company,
any of its Subsidiaries or a Company Station or, to the knowledge of the Company,
any Company Joint Venture, nor, to the knowledge of the Company, is there any fact
or circumstance related to the Company, any of its Subsidiaries, any Company Joint
Venture or a Company Station, that would reasonably be expected to prevent the FCC
from issuing the FCC Order.
(c) The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement
and the consummation by the Company of the Merger and the other transactions contemplated
hereby do not and will not (i) contravene or conflict with the organizational or
governing documents of the Company, any of its Subsidiaries or any Company Joint
Venture, (ii) assuming compliance with the matters referenced in Section 3.3(b)
and the receipt of the Company Shareholder Approval, contravene or conflict with
or constitute a violation of any provision of any Law binding upon or applicable
to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or any of their respective properties
or assets, (iii) assuming compliance with the matters referenced in Section 3.3(b),
conflict with, contravene, result in any violation of, or default (with or without
notice or lapse of time, or both) under, or give rise to a right of termination,
cancellation or acceleration of any material obligation or to the loss of a material
benefit under, or to increased, additional, accelerated or guaranteed rights or
entitlements of any person (other than employees of the Company) under, any loan,
guarantee of indebtedness or credit agreement, note, bond, mortgage, indenture,
lease, agreement, contract, instrument, permit, concession, franchise, right or
license to which the Company or any of the Companys Subsidiaries is a party or
by which any of their respective properties or assets is bound, or (iv) result in
the creation of any liens, claims, mortgages, encumbrances, pledges, security interests,
equities or charges of any kind (each, a "Lien"), other than any such Lien (A) for
Taxes or governmental assessments, charges or claims of payment not yet due, being
contested in good faith or for which adequate accruals or reserves have been established
on the most recent consolidated balance sheet included in Company SEC Documents
filed prior to the date hereof, (B) which is a carriers, warehousemens, mechanics,
materialmens, repairmens or other similar lien arising in the ordinary course
of business, (C) which is disclosed on the most recent consolidated balance sheet
of the Company or notes thereto or securing liabilities reflected on such balance
sheet or (D) which was incurred in the ordinary course of business since the date
of the most recent consolidated balance sheet of the Company (each of the foregoing,
a "Permitted Lien"), upon any of the properties or assets of the Company or any
of the Companys Subsidiaries, other than, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii),
any such items that would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in
the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect.
Section 3.4 Reports and Financial Statements.
(a) The Company has filed or furnished all forms, documents and reports required
to be filed or furnished prior to the date hereof by it with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the "SEC") since December 25, 2005 (the "Company SEC Documents").
As of their respective dates, or, if amended, as of the date of the last such amendment,
the Company SEC Documents complied in all material respects with the requirements
of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and the Exchange
Act, as the case may be, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder,
and none of the Company SEC Documents contained any untrue statement of a material
fact or omitted to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary
to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were
made, not misleading. None of the Subsidiaries of the Company is, or at any time
since December 25, 2005 has been, required to file any form or report with the SEC.
(b) The consolidated financial statements of the Company included in the Company
SEC Documents (including all related notes and schedules, where applicable) fairly
present in all material respects the consolidated financial position of the Company
and its consolidated Subsidiaries, as at the respective dates thereof, and the consolidated
results of their operations and their consolidated cash flows for the respective
periods then ended (subject, in the case of the unaudited statements, to normal
year-end audit adjustments and to any other adjustments described therein, including
the notes thereto), in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting
principles ("GAAP") (except, in the case of the unaudited statements, as permitted
by the SEC) applied on a consistent basis during the periods involved (except as
may be indicated therein or in the notes thereto), and comply as to form with applicable
accounting requirements and the published rules and regulations of the SEC with
respect thereto. Since December 25, 2005, there has been no material change in the
Companys accounting methods or principles that would be required to be disclosed
in the Companys financial statements in accordance with GAAP, except as described
in the notes to such Company financial statements.
(c) To the knowledge of the Company, there is no applicable accounting rule,
consensus or pronouncement that, as of the date of this Agreement, has been adopted
by the SEC, the Financial Accounting Standards Board or the Emerging Issues Task
Force that is not in effect as of the date of this Agreement but that, if implemented,
could reasonably be expected to have a Company Material Adverse Effect.
Section 3.5 Internal Controls and Procedures. The Company has established and
maintains disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial
reporting (as such terms are defined in paragraphs (e) and (f), respectively, of
Rule 13a-15 under the Exchange Act) as required by Rule 13a-15 under the Exchange
Act. The Companys disclosure controls and procedures are reasonably designed to
ensure that all material information required to be disclosed by the Company in
the reports that it files or furnishes under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed,
summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the rules and forms
of the SEC, and that all such material information is accumulated and communicated
to the Companys management as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required
disclosure and to make the certifications required pursuant to Sections 302 and
906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the "Sarbanes-Oxley Act"). The Companys
management has completed an assessment of the effectiveness of the Companys internal
control over financial reporting in compliance with the requirements of Section
404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the year ended December 31, 2006, and such assessment
concluded that such controls were effective.
Section 3.6 No Undisclosed Liabilities. Except (a) as reflected or reserved against
in the Companys most recent consolidated balance sheet (or the notes thereto) included
in the Company SEC Documents, (b) as expressly permitted or contemplated by this
Agreement, (c) for liabilities and obligations incurred in the ordinary course of
business since December 31, 2006 and (d) for liabilities or obligations which have
been discharged or paid in full in the ordinary course of business, as of the date
hereof, neither the Company nor any Subsidiary of the Company has any liabilities
or obligations of any nature, whether or not accrued, absolute, contingent or otherwise,
that would be required by GAAP to be reflected on a consolidated balance sheet of
the Company and its Subsidiaries (or in the notes thereto), other than those that
would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company
Material Adverse Effect.
Section 3.7 Compliance with Law; Permits.
(a) The Company, each of the Companys Subsidiaries, their relevant personnel
and operations and, to the knowledge of the Company, each of the Company Joint Ventures
are, and since December 31, 2006, have been, in compliance with and are not in default
under or in violation of any applicable federal, state, local or foreign law, statute,
ordinance, rule, regulation, judgment, order, injunction, decree or agency requirement
of any Governmental Entity (collectively, "Laws" and each, a "Law"), except where
such non-compliance, default or violation would not reasonably be expected to have,
individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect. Notwithstanding
anything contained in this Section 3.7(a), no representation or warranty shall be
deemed to be made in this Section 3.7(a) in respect of the matters referenced in
Sections 3.4 or 3.5, or in respect of environmental, Tax, employee benefits or labor
Law matters, each of which matters is addressed by other sections of this Agreement.
(b) The Company, the Companys Subsidiaries and, to the knowledge of the Company,
each of the Company Joint Ventures are in possession of and have in effect all franchises,
grants, authorizations, licenses, permits (other than the Company FCC Licenses),
easements, variances, exceptions, consents, certificates, approvals and orders of
any Governmental Entity necessary for the Company and the Companys Subsidiaries
to own, lease and operate their properties and assets or to carry on their businesses
as they are now being conducted (the "Company Permits"), and no non-renewal, suspension,
cancellation or materially adverse modification of any of the Company Permits is
pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, except where the failure
to have any of the Company Permits or the suspension, cancellation or materially
adverse modification of any of the Company Permits would not reasonably be expected
to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect, and
there has occurred no violation of, default (with or without the lapse or time or
the giving of notice, or both) under, or event giving to others any right of termination,
amendment or cancellation of, with or without notice or lapse of time or both, any
such Company Permit, except as would not reasonably be expected to have, individually
or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect. All Company Permits are
in full force and effect in accordance with their terms and, to the Companys knowledge,
there is no event which would reasonably be expected to result in the revocation,
cancellation, non-renewal or adverse modification of any such Company Permit, except
where the failure to be in full force and effect, or where such revocation, cancellation,
non-renewal or adverse modification, would not reasonably be expected to have, individually
or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect.
(c) Section 3.7(c) of the Company Disclosure Schedule sets forth (i) all main
television and radio station licenses, permits, authorizations and approvals issued
by the FCC to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries for the operation of the Company
Stations ("Company FCC Licenses") and the legal name of the entity to which each
such Company FCC License was issued and (ii) all time brokerage agreements and joint
sales agreements between the Company or any of its Subsidiaries and any other broadcast
licensee with respect to any broadcast television or radio station. The Company
FCC Licenses are in full force and effect in accordance with their terms in all
material respects and are not subject to any material conditions except for conditions
applicable to television or radio broadcast licenses generally or as otherwise disclosed
on the face of the Company FCC Licenses. The Company and its Subsidiaries have constructed
and operated and currently are constructing and operating the Company Stations in
material compliance with the terms of the Company FCC Licenses, the Communications
Act, the FCC Rules and applicable requirements of the Federal Aviation Administration
(the "FAA"). Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Company and its
Subsidiaries have timely filed or made all applications, reports and other disclosures
required by the FCC or FAA to be filed or made with respect to the Company Stations
and have timely paid all FCC regulatory fees with respect to the Company Stations,
except for such noncompliance, failure to file or failure to pay as would not, individually
or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Company Material Adverse Effect.
The Company and its Subsidiaries hold all Company FCC Licenses necessary for the
Company and its Subsidiaries to construct and operate the Company Stations as they
are now being constructed and operated, and no suspension, cancellation or adverse
modification of any of the Company FCC Licenses is pending or, to the knowledge
of the Company, threatened, except where the failure to have any of the Company
FCC Licenses or the non-renewal, suspension, cancellation or materially adverse
modification of any of the Company FCC Licenses would not, individually or in the
aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Company Material Adverse Effect. There
is not pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened by or before the
FCC any proceeding, notice of violation, order of forfeiture, complaint or investigation
against or relating to the Company, any of its Subsidiaries, any Company Station
or, to the knowledge of the Company, any Company Joint Venture, except for any such
proceedings, notices, orders, complaints or investigations that would not, individually
or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Company Material Adverse Effect.
There is no order of forfeiture or notice of liability issued by the FCC with respect
to the Company, any of its Subsidiaries, any Company Station or, to the knowledge
of the Company, any Company Joint Venture that has not been satisfied. As used herein,
"Company Station" shall mean each radio broadcast and television station currently
owned and operated by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, including full power
radio and television broadcast stations and low power television and television
translator stations.
(d) The transmission towers and other transmission facilities of the Company
Stations have been maintained in a manner consistent in all material respects with
generally accepted standards of good engineering practice. To the knowledge of the
Company, no Company Station causes interference in violation of the Communications
Act or the FCC Rules to the transmission of any other broadcast station or communications
facility.
(e) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has leased, licensed, assigned,
conveyed or otherwise encumbered any portion of the digital spectrum of a Company
Station or granted rights to any party to broadcast on any portion of the digital
spectrum of a Company Station.
Section 3.8 Environmental Laws and Regulations.
(a) Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected
to have a Company Material Adverse Effect, (i) the Company and its Subsidiaries
have conducted their respective businesses in compliance with all applicable Environmental
Laws (as hereinafter defined), (ii) none of the properties owned, leased or operated
by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries contains any Hazardous Substance (as hereinafter
defined) as a result of any activity of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries in
amounts exceeding the levels allowed or otherwise permitted by applicable Environmental
Laws, (iii) since December 31, 2006, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries
has received any notices, demand letters or requests for information from any federal,
state, local or foreign Governmental Entity indicating that the Company or any of
its Subsidiaries may be in violation of, or liable under, any Environmental Law
in connection with the ownership or operation of its businesses or any of their
respective properties or assets, (iv) there have been no Releases or transportation
of any Hazardous Substance at, onto, or from any properties presently or formerly
owned, leased or operated by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries as a result
of any activity of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries during the time such properties
were owned, leased or operated by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries and (v)
neither the Company, its Subsidiaries nor any of their respective properties are
subject to any liabilities relating to any suit, settlement, court order, administrative
order, regulatory requirement, judgment, notice of violation or written claim asserted
or arising under any Environmental Law. It is agreed and understood that no representation
or warranty is made in respect of environmental matters in any Section of this Agreement
other than this Section 3.8.
(b) As used herein, "Environmental Law" means any Law relating to (x) the protection,
preservation or restoration of human health or the environment (including air, water
vapor, surface water, groundwater, drinking water supply, surface land, subsurface
land, plant or animal life, or any other natural resource), (y) the exposure to,
or the use, storage, recycling, treatment, generation, transportation, processing,
handling, labeling, production, Release or disposal of Hazardous Substances, in
each case as in effect at the date hereof, or (z) the protection of worker health
or safety.
(c) As used herein, "Hazardous Substance" means any substance, element, compound,
mixture, solution, and/or waste presently listed, defined, designated, identified,
or classified as hazardous, toxic, radioactive, or dangerous, or otherwise regulated,
under any Environmental Law. Hazardous Substance includes any substance, element,
compound, mixture, solution and/or waste to which exposure is regulated by any Governmental
Entity or any Environmental Law, including but not limited to any toxic waste, pollutant,
contaminant, hazardous substance (including toxic mold), toxic substance, hazardous
waste, special waste, industrial substance or petroleum or any derivative or byproduct
thereof, radon, radioactive material, asbestos, or asbestos containing material,
urea formaldehyde, foam insulation or polychlorinated biphenyls.
(d) As used herein, "Release" means any releasing, spilling, leaking, pumping,
pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, storing, escaping, leaching,
migrating, dumping, discarding, burying, abandoning or disposing into the environment
of a Hazardous Substance, in each case, in violation of any Environmental Law or
in a manner which has or may give rise to any liability under any Environmental
Law.
Section 3.9 Employee Benefit Plans.
(a) Section 3.9(a) of the Company Disclosure Schedule lists all material Company
Benefit Plans. "Company Benefit Plans" means all employee or director benefit plans,
programs, policies, agreements or other arrangements, including any employee welfare
plan within the meaning of Section 3(1) of the Employee Retirement Income Security
Act of 1974, as amended ("ERISA"), any employee pension benefit plan within the
meaning of Section 3(2) of ERISA (whether or not such plan is subject to ERISA),
and any bonus, incentive, deferred compensation, vacation, stock purchase, stock
option or other equity-based plan or arrangement, severance, employment, change
of control or fringe benefit plan, program or agreement (other than any "multiemployer
plan" within the meaning of Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA and any other plan, program
or arrangement maintained by an entity other than the Company or a Company Subsidiary
pursuant to any collective bargaining agreements), in each case that are sponsored,
maintained or contributed to by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries for the benefit
of current or former employees, directors or consultants of the Company or its Subsidiaries.
(b) Section 3.9(b) of the Company Disclosure Schedule lists all "multiemployer
plans" (as defined in Regulation 4001.2 under ERISA) to which the Company or any
ERISA Affiliate (as defined below) is obligated to contribute currently or has been
obligated to contribute during the immediately preceding three years. The Company
has made available to the ESOP all material written information which it has regarding
potential withdrawal liability under such multiemployer plans, and, subject to,
and in accordance with Section 5.2, the Company will use reasonable best efforts
to assist the ESOP and Merger Sub in obtaining any additional, available material
information regarding such multiemployer plans as the ESOP or Merger Sub shall reasonably
request.
(c) The Company has heretofore made available to the ESOP true and complete copies
of each of the material Company Benefit Plans and material related documents, including
(i) each writing constituting a part of such Company Benefit Plan, including all
amendments thereto, (ii) the three most recent Annual Reports (Form 5500 Series)
and accompanying schedules, if any, and (iii) the most recent determination letter
from the Internal Revenue Services (the "IRS") (if applicable) for such Company
Benefit Plan.
(d) Except as would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material
Adverse Effect: (i) each material Company Benefit Plan has been maintained and administered
in compliance with its terms and with applicable Law, including ERISA and the Code
to the extent applicable thereto, and in each case the regulations thereunder (ii)
each of the Company Benefit Plans intended to be "qualified" within the meaning
of Section 401(a) of the Code has received a favorable determination letter from
the IRS or is entitled to rely upon a favorable opinion issued by the IRS, and there
are no existing circumstances or any events that have occurred that would reasonably
be expected to adversely affect the qualified status of any such plan, (iii) with
respect to each Company Benefit Plan that is subject to Title IV of ERISA, the present
value of the accrued benefits under such Company Benefit Plan, based upon the actuarial
assumptions used for funding purposes in the most recent actuarial report prepared
for such Company Benefit Plans actuary with respect to such Company Benefit Plan,
did not, as of its latest valuation date, exceed the then current value of the assets
of such Company Benefit Plan allocable to such accrued benefits, (iv) no Company
Benefit Plan provides benefits, including death or medical benefits (whether or
not insured), with respect to current or former employees or directors of the Company
or its Subsidiaries beyond their retirement or other termination of service, other
than (A) coverage mandated by applicable Law or (B) benefits under any "employee
pension plan" (as such term is defined in Section 3(2) of ERISA), (v) no liability
under Title IV of ERISA has been incurred by the Company, its Subsidiaries or any
ERISA Affiliate of the Company that has not been satisfied in full (other than with
respect to amounts not yet due), and, to the knowledge of the Company, no condition
exists that presents a risk to the Company, its Subsidiaries or any ERISA Affiliate
of the Company of incurring a liability thereunder, (vi) all contributions or other
amounts payable by the Company or its Subsidiaries as of the date hereof with respect
to each Company Benefit Plan in respect of current or prior plan years have been
paid or accrued in accordance with GAAP, (vii) neither the Company nor its Subsidiaries
has engaged in a transaction in connection with which the Company or its Subsidiaries
reasonably could be subject to either a civil penalty assessed pursuant to Section
409 or 502(i) of ERISA or a material Tax imposed pursuant to Section 4975 or 4976
of the Code and (viii) there are no pending, threatened or anticipated claims (other
than routine claims for benefits) by, on behalf of or against any of the Company
Benefit Plans or any trusts related thereto which could individually or in the aggregate
reasonably be expected to result in any liability of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.
"ERISA Affiliate" means, with respect to any entity, trade or business, any other
entity, trade or business that is a member of a group described in Section 414(b),
(c), (m) or (o) of the Code or Section 4001(b)(1) of ERISA that includes the first
entity, trade or business, or that is a member of the same "controlled group" as
the first entity, trade or business pursuant to Section 4001(a)(14) of ERISA.
(e) Neither the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement nor the
consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement will, either alone
or in combination with another event, (i) entitle any current or former employee,
consultant, director or officer of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to severance
pay, unemployment compensation, forgiveness of indebtedness or any other payment,
except as expressly provided in this Agreement or as required by applicable Law,
(ii) result in any "excess parachute payment" (within the meaning of Section 280G
of the Code), (iii) materially increase any benefits otherwise payable under any
Company Benefit Plan, (iv) accelerate the time of payment or vesting, or increase
the amount of compensation due any such employee, consultant, director or officer,
except as expressly provided in this Agreement, (v) require the funding of any such
benefits or (vi) limit the ability to amend or terminate any Company Benefit Plan
or related trust.
Section 3.10 Absence of Certain Changes or Events.
(a) From December 31, 2006 through the date of this Agreement, except as otherwise
contemplated, required or permitted by this Agreement, the Tribune Purchase Agreement
or the ESOP Purchase Agreement, (i) the businesses of the Company and its Subsidiaries
have been conducted, in all material respects, in the ordinary course of business,
and (ii) there has not been any event, development or state of circumstances that
has had or would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate,
a Company Material Adverse Effect.
(b) Since the date of this Agreement, there has not been any event, development
or state of circumstances that has had or would reasonably be expected to have,
individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect.
Section 3.11 Investigations; Litigation. As of the date hereof, (a) there is
no investigation or review pending (or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened)
by any Governmental Entity with respect to the Company, any of the Companys Subsidiaries
or, to the knowledge of the Company, any Company Joint Venture which would reasonably
be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse
Effect, and (b) there are no actions, suits, inquiries, investigations, arbitrations,
mediations or proceedings pending (or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened)
against or affecting the Company, any of its Subsidiaries, any of their respective
properties or, to the knowledge of the Company, any Company Joint Venture at law
or in equity (and, to the knowledge of the Company, there is no basis for any such
action, suit, inquiry, investigation or proceeding) before, and there are no orders,
judgments or decrees of, or before, any Governmental Entity, in each case which
would have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect.
Section 3.12 Proxy Statement; Other Information. The proxy statement (including
the letter to shareholders, notice of meeting and form of proxy, and any amendments
or supplements thereto, the "Proxy Statement") and the Rule 13E-3 Transaction Statement
on Schedule 13E-3 (the "Schedule 13E-3") to be filed by the Company with the SEC
in connection with seeking the adoption of this Agreement by the shareholders of
the Company will not, at the time they are concurrently filed with the SEC, or,
in the case of the Proxy Statement, at the time it is first mailed to the shareholders
of the Company or at the time of the Company Meeting, contain any untrue statement
of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein
or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances
under which they were made, not misleading. The Company will cause the Proxy Statement
and the Schedule 13E-3 to comply as to form in all material respects with the requirements
of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations thereunder applicable thereto
as of the date of such filing. No representation is made by the Company with respect
to statements made in the Proxy Statement or the Schedule 13E-3 based on information
supplied by the ESOP, Merger Sub or any of their affiliates specifically for inclusion
or incorporation by reference therein.
Section 3.13 Rights Plan. The Board of Directors of the Company has resolved
to, and the Company promptly after the execution of this Agreement will, take all
action necessary to render the rights to purchase shares of Series A Junior Participating
Preferred Stock of the Company ("Rights"), issued pursuant to the terms of the Rights
Agreement, dated as of December 12, 1997, as amended (the "Rights Agreement"), between
the Company and Computershare Trust Company, N.A. (formerly First Chicago Trust
Company of New York), as Rights Agent, inapplicable to the Merger and the execution
and operation of this Agreement.
Section 3.14 Tax Matters.
(a) Except in the case of clauses (i), (iv) or (v) as would not, individually
or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Company Material Adverse Effect,
(i) the Company and each of its Subsidiaries have prepared and timely filed (taking
into account any extension of time within which to file) all Tax Returns required
to be filed by any of them and all such filed Tax Returns are complete and accurate,
(ii) the Company and each of its Subsidiaries have paid all material Taxes that
are required to be paid by any of them (whether or not shown on any Tax Return),
except, in the case of clause (i) or clause (ii) hereof, with respect to matters
contested in good faith or for which adequate reserves have been established in
accordance with GAAP, (iii) the U.S. consolidated federal income Tax Returns of
the Company have been examined by the IRS (or the period for assessment of the Taxes
in respect of which such Tax Returns were required to be filed has expired), (iv)
as of the date of this Agreement, there are not pending or, to the knowledge of
the Company, threatened in writing, any audits, examinations, investigations or
other proceedings in respect of Taxes or Tax matters owed or claimed to be owed
by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, (v) there are no Liens for Taxes on any
of the assets of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries other than Permitted Liens,
(vi) none of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries has been a "controlled corporation"
or a "distributing corporation" in any distribution occurring during the two-year
period ending on the date hereof that was purported or intended to be governed,
in whole or in part, by Section 355(a) or 361 of the Code (or any similar provision
of state, local or foreign Law) and (vii) neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries
has ever entered into any "reportable transaction," as defined in Treasury Regulation
Section 1.6011-4(b), required to be reported in a disclosure statement pursuant
to Treasury Regulation Section 1.6011-4(a) (other than transactions for which Form
8866 was filed with the Companys Tax Returns).
(b) None of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries will be required to include
in a taxable period ending after the Effective Time taxable income attributable
to income that accrued (for purposes of the financial statements of the Company
included in the Company SEC Documents) in a prior taxable period (or portion of
a taxable period) but was not recognized for tax purposes in any prior taxable period
as a result of (i) the installment method of accounting, (ii) the completed contract
method of accounting, (iii) the long-term contract method of accounting, (iv) the
cash method of accounting or Section 481 of the Code or (v) any comparable provisions
of state or local tax law, domestic or foreign, or for any other reason, other than
any amounts that are specifically reflected in a reserve for taxes on the financial
statements of the Company included in the Company SEC Documents.
(c) As used in this Agreement, (i) "Taxes" means any and all (whether or not
disputed) domestic or foreign, federal, state, local or other taxes of any kind
(together with any and all interest, penalties, additions to tax and additional
amounts imposed with respect thereto) imposed by any Governmental Entity, including
taxes on or with respect to income, franchises, windfall or other profits, gross
receipts, property, sales, use, capital stock, payroll, employment, unemployment,
social security, workers compensation or net worth, and taxes in the nature of
excise, withholding, ad valorem or value added, and including liability for the
payment of any such amounts as a result of being either (A) a member of an affiliated,
consolidated, combined, unitary or aggregate group or as a transferee or successor,
or (B) a party to any tax sharing agreement or as a result of any express or implied
obligation to indemnify any other person with respect to any such amounts, and (ii)
"Tax Return" means any return, report or similar filing (including the attached
schedules) required to be filed with respect to Taxes, including any information
return, claim for refund, amended return or declaration of estimated Taxes.
Section 3.15 Labor Matters. Except for matters in the case of clause (e) below
which would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate,
a Company Material Adverse Effect, as of the date hereof, (a) there are no strikes
or lockouts with respect to any employees of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries
("Employees") that, individually or in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected
to have a material adverse impact on the operations of, or result in material liability
to, the Company and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole, (b) to the knowledge of the
Company, there is no union organizing effort pending or threatened against the Company
or any of its Subsidiaries that, individually or in the aggregate, would reasonably
be expected to have a material adverse impact on the operations of, or result in
material liability to, the Company and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole, (c) there
is no unfair labor practice, labor dispute (other than routine individual grievances)
or labor arbitration proceeding pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened
against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries that, individually or in the aggregate,
would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse impact on the operations
of, or result in material liability to, the Company and its Subsidiaries taken as
a whole, (d) there is no slowdown, or work stoppage in effect or, to the knowledge
of the Company, threatened with respect to Employees that, individually or in the
aggregate, would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse impact on the
operations of, or result in material liability to, the Company and its Subsidiaries
taken as a whole, and (e) the Company and its Subsidiaries are in compliance with
all applicable Laws respecting (i) employment and employment practices, (ii) terms
and conditions of employment and wages and hours and (iii) unfair labor practices.
Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has any material liabilities under
the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act of 1998 as a result of any action taken
by the Company (other than at the written direction of the ESOP or as a result of
any of the transactions contemplated hereby) that would reasonably be expected to
have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect.
Section 3.16 Intellectual Property. Except as would not reasonably be expected
to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect, either
the Company or a Subsidiary of the Company owns, or is licensed or otherwise possesses
legally enforceable rights to use, free and clear of all material Liens, all domestic
and foreign trademarks (including call signs), trade names, service marks, service
names, assumed names, registered and unregistered copyrights and applications for
same, domain names, patents and patent applications and registrations used in their
respective businesses as currently conducted, including all rights associated therewith,
whether registered or unregistered and however documented (collectively, the "Intellectual
Property"). Except as would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or
in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect, since December 31, 2006, (a)
there has not been any pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened claims
by any person alleging infringement, misappropriation or other unauthorized use
of Intellectual Property by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or challenging
any aspect of the validity, enforceability, ownership, authorship, inventorship
or use of any of the Intellectual Property, (b) to the knowledge of the Company,
the conduct of the business of the Company and its Subsidiaries has not infringed,
misappropriated or otherwise made unauthorized use of any intellectual property
rights of any person, and neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has received
an "invitation to license" or other communication from any third party asserting
that the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is or will be obligated to take a license
under any intellectual property owned by any third party in order to continue to
conduct their respective businesses as they are currently conducted, (c) neither
the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has made any claim of infringement, misappropriation
or other unauthorized use by others of its rights to or in connection with the Intellectual
Property of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, (d) to the knowledge of the
Company, no person has or is currently infringing, misappropriating or otherwise
making unauthorized use of any Intellectual Property of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries and (e) the Company and its Subsidiaries have taken commercially reasonable
actions in accordance with normal industry practice to protect, maintain and preserve
the Intellectual Property.
Section 3.17 Real Property. Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate,
reasonably be expected to have a Company Material Adverse Effect, the Company or
a Subsidiary of the Company owns and has good and valid title to all of its owned
real property and has valid leasehold interests in all of its leased properties,
free and clear of all Liens (except for Permitted Liens and all other title exceptions,
defects, encumbrances and other matters, whether or not of record, which do not
materially affect the continued use of the property for the purposes for which the
property is currently being used by the Company or a Subsidiary of the Company as
of the date hereof).
Section 3.18 Opinion of Financial Advisor. The Board of Directors of the Company
has received the opinion of each of Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated and Merrill
Lynch & Co., Inc., dated the date of this Agreement, substantially to the effect
that, as of such date, the Merger Consideration to be received by the holders of
shares of Company Common Stock pursuant to the Merger is fair from a financial point
of view to the holders of such shares (other than certain affiliated entities).
Section 3.19 Required Vote of the Company Shareholders. Subject to the accuracy
of the representations and warranties of the ESOP and Merger Sub in Section 4.9,
the affirmative vote of the holders of outstanding shares of Company Common Stock
representing at least a majority of all the votes entitled to be cast thereupon
by holders of Company Common Stock is the only vote of holders of securities of
the Company which is required to approve this Agreement and the Merger (the "Company
Shareholder Approval").
Section 3.20 Material Contracts.
(a) Except for this Agreement, the Tribune Purchase Agreement, the ESOP Purchase
Agreement, the Company Benefit Plans or as filed with the SEC, as of the date hereof,
neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to or bound by, nor are
any of their properties or other assets bound by, any "material contract" (as such
term is defined in Item 601(b)(10) of Regulation S-K of the SEC) (all contracts
of the type described in this Section 3.20(a) being referred to herein as "Company
Material Contracts").
(b) Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary of the Company is in breach of or
default under (nor to the knowledge of the Company does there exist any condition
which upon the passage of time or the giving of notice or both would cause such
a violation of or default under) the terms of any Company Material Contract where
such breach or default would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in
the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect. To the knowledge of the Company,
no other party to any Company Material Contract is in breach of or default under
the terms of any Company Material Contract where such breach or default would reasonably
be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse
Effect. Each Company Material Contract is a valid and binding obligation of the
Company or the Subsidiary of the Company which is party thereto and, to the knowledge
of the Company, of each other party thereto, and is in full force and effect, except
that (i) such enforcement may be subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization,
moratorium or other similar Laws, now or hereafter in effect, relating to creditors
rights generally and (ii) equitable remedies of specific performance and injunctive
and other forms of equitable relief may be subject to equitable defenses and to
the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be brought.
Section 3.21 Finders or Brokers. Except for Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated,
Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (the "Company Financial
Advisors"), neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has employed any investment
banker, broker or finder in connection with the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement who might be entitled to any fee or any commission in connection with
or upon consummation of the Merger. The Company has made available to the ESOP an
accurate and complete summary of the fee arrangements with the Company Financial
Advisors.
Section 3.22 Insurance. The Company and its Subsidiaries own or hold policies
of insurance, or are self-insured, in amounts providing reasonably adequate coverage
against all risks customarily insured against by companies and subsidiaries in similar
lines of business as the Company or its Subsidiaries, and in amounts sufficient
to comply with all Company Material Contracts to which the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries are parties or are otherwise bound.
Section 3.23 Affiliate Transactions. As of the date hereof, there are no material
transactions, agreements, arrangements or understandings between (i) the Company
or any of its Subsidiaries, on the one hand, and (ii) any affiliate of the Company
(other than any of its Subsidiaries), on the other hand, of the type that would
be required to be disclosed under Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the
SEC which have not been so disclosed prior to the date hereof.
Section 3.24 Indebtedness. Section 3.24 of the Company Disclosure Schedule sets
forth, as of April 1, 2007, all of the outstanding indebtedness for borrowed money
of, and all the outstanding guarantees of indebtedness for borrowed money of any
person by, and all reimbursement obligations (or guarantees thereof) with respect
to letters of credit issued on behalf of, the Company and each of its Subsidiaries.
Section 3.25 Cable and Satellite Matters. Section 3.25 of the Company Disclosure
Schedule sets forth a list of the ten largest multichannel video programming distributors
(including cable systems, SMATV, open video systems, MMDS, MDS, Broadband Radio
Service and DBS systems, collectively, "MVPDs") that carry the analog and/or digital
signals of the Company Stations. No MVPD listed on Section 3.25 of the Company Disclosure
Schedule has declined or refused to carry a Company Station or disputed a Company
Stations right to carriage pursuant to such Company Stations must-carry or retransmission
consent election, as the case may be.
ARTICLE IV
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE ESOP AND MERGER SUB
The ESOP and Merger Sub jointly and severally represent and warrant to the Company
as follows:
Section 4.1 Qualification, Organization, Subsidiaries, etc. Merger Sub is a legal
entity duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the Laws of its
respective jurisdiction of organization and has all requisite corporate or similar
power and authority to own, lease, hold and operate its properties and assets and
to carry on its business as presently conducted and is qualified to do business
and is in good standing as a foreign corporation in each jurisdiction where the
ownership, leasing, holding or operation of its assets or properties or conduct
of its business requires such qualification, except where the failure to be so organized,
validly existing, qualified or in good standing, or to have such power or authority,
would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to prevent or
materially delay or materially impair the ability of the ESOP or Merger Sub to consummate
the Merger and the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement (an "ESOP Material
Adverse Effect"). The ESOP has made available to the Company prior to the date of
this Agreement a true and complete copy of the operating agreement of the ESOP and
the certificate of incorporation and by-laws of Merger Sub, each as amended through
the date hereof.
Section 4.2 Authority Relative to This Agreement; No Violation.
(a) The ESOP has all requisite power and authority to enter into this Agreement
and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby. Merger Sub has all requisite
corporate power and authority to enter into this Agreement and to consummate the
transactions contemplated hereby. The execution and delivery of this Agreement and
the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby have been duly and validly
authorized by the trustee of the ESOP, the Board of Directors of Merger Sub and
by the ESOP, as the sole shareholder of Merger Sub, and, except for the filing of
the Certificate of Merger with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware,
no other organizational proceedings on the part of the ESOP or corporate proceedings
on the part of Merger Sub are necessary to authorize this Agreement or the consummation
of the transactions contemplated hereby. This Agreement has been duly and validly
executed and delivered by the ESOP and Merger Sub and, assuming this Agreement constitutes
the legal, valid and binding agreement of the Company, this Agreement constitutes
the legal, valid and binding agreement of the ESOP and Merger Sub, enforceable against
each of the ESOP and Merger Sub in accordance with its terms.
(b) The execution, delivery and performance by the ESOP and Merger Sub of this
Agreement and the consummation of the Merger and the other transactions contemplated
by this Agreement by the ESOP and Merger Sub do not and will not require any consent,
approval, license, authorization, order or permit of, action by, filing with or
notification to any Governmental Entity, other than (i) the filing of the Certificate
of Merger, (ii) compliance with the applicable requirements of the HSR Act, (iii)
compliance with the applicable requirements of the Exchange Act, (iv) filings with
and approvals from the FCC and the State Commissions as set forth on Section 3.3(b)
of the Company Disclosure Schedule, (v) compliance with any applicable foreign or
state competition, antitrust, securities or blue sky laws, (vi) filings under any
applicable state takeover Law and (vii) such of the foregoing as may be required
in connection with the Financing (collectively, clauses (i) through (vii), the "ESOP
Approvals"), and other than any consent, approval, license, authorization, order,
permit, action, filing or notification the failure of which to make or obtain would
not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have an ESOP Material
Adverse Effect.
(c) The execution, delivery and performance by the ESOP and Merger Sub of this
Agreement and the consummation by the ESOP and Merger Sub of the Merger and the
other transactions contemplated hereby do not and will not (i) contravene or conflict
with the organizational or governing documents of the ESOP or Merger Sub, (ii) assuming
compliance with the matters referenced in Section 4.2(b), contravene or conflict
with or result in violation of any provision of any Law binding upon or applicable
to the ESOP or Merger Sub or any of their respective properties or assets, or (iii)
result in any violation of, or default (with or without notice or lapse of time,
or both) under, or give rise to a right of termination, cancellation or acceleration
of any material obligation or to the loss of a material benefit under, or to increased,
additional, accelerated or guaranteed rights or entitlements of any person under,
any loan, guarantee of indebtedness or credit agreement, note, bond, mortgage, indenture,
lease, agreement, contract, instrument, permit, concession, franchise, right or
license to which the ESOP or Merger Sub is a party or by which any of their respective
properties or assets is bound, or (iv) result in the creation of any Lien (other
than Permitted Liens) upon any of the properties or assets of the ESOP or Merger
Sub, other than, in the case of clause (ii) through (iv), any such items that would
not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have an ESOP Material
Adverse Effect.
Section 4.3 Investigations; Litigation. There is no investigation or review pending
(or, to the knowledge of the ESOP, threatened) by any Governmental Entity with respect
to the ESOP or Merger Sub which could, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably
be expected to have an ESOP Material Adverse Effect, and there are no actions, suits,
inquiries, investigations or proceedings pending (or, to the ESOPs knowledge, threatened)
against or affecting the ESOP or Merger Sub, or any of their respective properties
at law or in equity (and to the ESOPs knowledge there is no basis for any such
action, suit, inquiry, investigation, arbitration, mediation or proceeding) before,
and there are no orders, judgments or decrees of, or before, any Governmental Entity,
in each case which could, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected
to have an ESOP Material Adverse Effect.
Section 4.4 Proxy Statement; Other Information. None of the information provided
by the ESOP or Merger Sub to be included in the Proxy Statement, the Schedule TO
or the Schedule 13E-3 will, at the time the Proxy Statement, the Schedule TO and
the Schedule 13E-3 are concurrently filed with the SEC, or, in the case of the Proxy
Statement, at the time the Proxy Statement is first mailed to the shareholders of
the Company or at the time of the Company Meeting, contain any untrue statement
of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein
or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances
under which they were made, not misleading. No representation is made by the ESOP
or Merger Sub with respect to statements made in the Proxy Statement, the Schedule
TO or the Schedule 13E-3 based on information supplied by the Company, any of the
Companys Subsidiaries or any of their respective affiliates.
Section 4.5 Capitalization of Merger Sub. As of the date of this Agreement, the
authorized capital stock of Merger Sub consists of 1000 shares of common stock,
par value $.01 per share, 100 of which are validly issued and outstanding. All of
the issued and outstanding capital stock of Merger Sub is, and at the Effective
Time will be, owned by the ESOP. Merger Sub has outstanding no option, warrant,
right, or any other agreement pursuant to which any person other than the ESOP may
acquire any equity security of Merger Sub. Merger Sub has not conducted any business
prior to the date hereof, other than business and operations related to the Merger
and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and has no assets, liabilities
or obligations of any nature other than those incident to its formation and pursuant
to this Agreement and the Merger and the other transactions contemplated by this
Agreement.
Section 4.6 Lack of Ownership of Company Common Stock. Except as contemplated
by the ESOP Purchase Agreement, neither the ESOP nor any of its Subsidiaries beneficially
owns or, since December 31, 2006 has beneficially owned, directly or indirectly,
any shares of Company Common Stock or other securities convertible into, exchangeable
into or exercisable for shares of Company Common Stock.
Section 4.7 Finders or Brokers. Except for Duff & Phelps, LLC, the ESOP has not
employed any financial advisor, investment banker, broker or finder in connection
with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement who is entitled to any fee
or any commission in connection with or upon consummation of the Merger.
Section 4.8 No Additional Representations.
(a) The ESOP acknowledges that it and its Representatives (as hereinafter defined)
have received access to such books and records, facilities, equipment, contracts
and other assets of the Company which it and its Representatives have desired or
requested to review, and that it and its Representatives have had full opportunity
to meet with the management of the Company and to discuss the business and assets
of the Company.
(b) The ESOP acknowledges that neither the Company nor any person has made any
representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness
of any information regarding the Company furnished or made available to the ESOP
and its Representatives except as expressly set forth in Article III, and neither
the Company nor any other person shall be subject to any liability to the ESOP or
any other person resulting from the Companys making available to the ESOP or the
ESOPs use of such information, including the presentation materials delivered to
the ESOP, as subsequently updated, supplemented or amended (the "Information Memorandum"),
or any information, documents or material made available to the ESOP in the due
diligence materials provided to the ESOP, including in the "data room," other management
presentations (formal or informal) or in any other form in connection with the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement. Without limiting the foregoing, the Company makes
no representation or warranty to the ESOP with respect to (i) the information set
forth in the Information Memorandum or (ii) any financial projection or forecast
relating to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, whether or not included in the
Information Memorandum or any management presentation.
ARTICLE V
COVENANTS AND AGREEMENTS
Section 5.01 Conduct of Business by the Company.
(a) From and after the date hereof and prior to the Effective Time or the date,
if any, on which this Agreement is earlier terminated pursuant to Section 7.1 (the
"Termination Date"), and except (i) as may be required by applicable Law, (ii) as
may be agreed in writing by the ESOP and Tribune Acquisition (which consent shall
not be unreasonably withheld), (iii) as may be expressly required or permitted by
this Agreement, the Tribune Purchase Agreement, the Financing Commitments, the New
Credit Agreements or the ESOP Purchase Agreement, or (iv) as set forth in Section
5.1 of the Company Disclosure Schedule, the Company covenants and agrees that (A)
the business of the Company and its Subsidiaries shall be conducted in, and such
entities shall not take any action except in, the ordinary course of business and
in a manner consistent with past practice and (B) the Company and its Subsidiaries
shall use their reasonable best efforts to preserve substantially intact the Companys
business, to keep available the services of those of their present officers, employees
and consultants who are important to the operation of their business; provided,
however, that no action by the Company or its Subsidiaries with respect to matters
specifically addressed by any provision of Section 5.1(b) shall be deemed a breach
of this sentence unless such action would constitute a breach of such other provision.
(b) Subject to the exceptions contained in clauses (i) through (iv) of Section
5.1(a), the Company agrees, on behalf of itself and its Subsidiaries, that between
the date hereof and the Effective Time, without the prior written consent of the
ESOP, the Company:
(i) shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries that is not wholly
owned to, authorize or pay any dividends on or make any distribution with respect
to its outstanding shares of capital stock or other equity securities (whether in
cash, assets, stock or other securities of the Company or its Subsidiaries), except
(A) dividends and distributions paid or made on a pro rata basis by Subsidiaries
and (B) that the Company may continue to pay dividends on the Company Preferred
Stock in accordance with the terms thereof;
(ii) shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, split, combine
or reclassify any of its capital stock or other equity securities or issue or authorize
or propose the issuance of any other securities in respect of, in lieu of or in
substitution for shares of its capital stock or other equity securities, except
(A) for any such transaction by a wholly owned Subsidiary of the Company which remains
a wholly owned Subsidiary after consummation of such transaction and (B) as contemplated
by the Exchange Agreement;
(iii) except to the extent required by Law (including Section 409A of the Code)
or by Contracts in existence as of the date hereof or by Company Benefit Plans,
shall not and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to (A) increase in any manner
the compensation or benefits of any of its employees, directors, consultants, independent
contractors or service providers except in the ordinary course of business consistent
with past practice (the ordinary course including, for this purpose, the employee
salary, bonus and equity compensation review process and related adjustments substantially
as conducted each year), (B) pay any pension, severance or retirement benefits not
required by any existing plan or agreement to any such employees, directors, consultants,
independent contractors or service providers, (C) enter into, amend, alter (other
than amendments that do not materially increase the cost to the Company or any of
its Subsidiaries of maintaining the applicable compensation or benefit program,
policy, arrangement or agreement), adopt, implement or otherwise commit itself to
any compensation or benefit plan, program, policy, arrangement or agreement including
any pension, retirement, profit-sharing, bonus, collective bargaining or other employee
benefit or welfare benefit plan, policy, arrangement or agreement or employment
or consulting agreement with or for the benefit of any employee, director, consultant,
independent contractor or service provider, other than with respect to any employment,
severance or retention agreement (or amendment with respect thereto) entered into
in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice between the Company
or one of its Subsidiaries, on the one hand, and any consultant, independent contractor,
service provider or employee of the Company or its Subsidiaries who is not an executive
officer of the Company or its Subsidiaries, or (D) accelerate the vesting of, or
the lapsing of restrictions with respect to, any stock options or other stock-based
compensation or otherwise accelerate any rights or benefits, or make any determinations
that would result in a material increase in liabilities under any Company Benefit
Plan;
(iv) shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, change financial
accounting policies, practices or procedures or any of its methods of reporting
income, deductions or other material items for financial accounting purposes, except
as required by GAAP, SEC rule or policy or applicable Law;
(v) shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, adopt any amendments
to its certificate of incorporation or by-laws or similar applicable organizational
documents, except pursuant to the Certificate of Designation;
(vi) except for transactions among the Company and its wholly owned Subsidiaries
or among the Companys wholly owned Subsidiaries, shall not, and shall not permit
any of its Subsidiaries to, issue, sell, pledge, dispose of or encumber, or authorize
the issuance, sale, pledge, disposition or encumbrance of, any shares of its capital
stock or other ownership interest in the Company or any Subsidiaries or any securities
convertible into or exchangeable for any such shares or ownership interest, or any
rights, warrants or options to acquire or with respect to any such shares of capital
stock, ownership interest or convertible or exchangeable securities or take any
action to cause to be exercisable any otherwise unexercisable option under any existing
stock option plan (except as otherwise expressly provided by the terms of this Agreement
or the express terms of any unexercisable options outstanding on the date hereof),
other than (A) issuances of shares of Company Common Stock in respect of any exercise
of Company Stock Options and settlement of any Company Stock-Based Awards (each
as hereinafter defined) outstanding on the date hereof or as may be granted after
the date hereof as permitted under this Section 5.1(b), (B) issuances of up to 75,000
shares of Company Common Stock in the ordinary course of business pursuant to the
Company Benefit Plans, (C) the sale of shares of Company Common Stock pursuant to
the exercise of options to purchase Company Common Stock permitted under this Section
5.1(b) if necessary to effectuate an optionee direction upon exercise or for withholding
of Taxes and (D) issuances of shares of Company Common Stock and other Company securities
pursuant to the Tribune Purchase Agreement and the ESOP Purchase Agreement;
(vii) except for transactions among the Company and its wholly owned Subsidiaries
or among the Companys wholly owned Subsidiaries, shall not, and shall not permit
any of its Subsidiaries to, directly or indirectly, purchase, redeem or otherwise
acquire any shares of its capital stock or other equity securities or any rights,
warrants or options to acquire any such equity securities;
(viii) shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, incur, assume,
guarantee, prepay or otherwise become liable for any indebtedness for borrowed money
(directly, contingently or otherwise), except for (A) any indebtedness for borrowed
money among the Company and its wholly owned Subsidiaries or among the Companys
wholly owned Subsidiaries, (B) indebtedness for borrowed money incurred to replace,
renew, extend, refinance or refund any existing indebtedness for borrowed money
(x) on materially no less favorable terms and so long as such indebtedness is voluntarily
prepayable or redeemable without premium or penalty or (y) with borrowings under
and pursuant to the (1) Amended and Restated Credit Agreement and the Amended and
Restated Bridge Credit Agreement, each dated as of June 27, 2006, among the Company,
the banks, financial institutions and other institutional lenders party thereto,
and Citicorp North America, Inc., as administrative agent (together, the "Existing
Credit Agreements") or the (2) definitive credit agreements (the "New Credit Agreements")
to be entered into by the Company pursuant to the Financing Commitments, (C) guarantees
by the Company of indebtedness for borrowed money of Subsidiaries of the Company,
which indebtedness is incurred in compliance with this Section 5.1(b), (D) indebtedness
for borrowed money in an amount necessary to effect the exercise of the purchase
option for the properties currently owned by TMCT, LLC and leased to the Company
and its Subsidiaries, (E) indebtedness for borrowed money in an amount not to exceed
$100 million in aggregate principal amount outstanding at any time, incurred as
(x) a "Revolving Credit Advance" or a "Swing Line Advance" and "Term Advances" under
and pursuant to the Existing Credit Agreements or (y) as an advance under the revolving
credit facility to be included in the New Credit Agreements; provided that any amount
borrowed pursuant to this clause (E) shall reduce the amount of borrowings permitted
under clause (G) below, (F) indebtedness for borrowed money as required to consummate
the Offer, the Merger and the transactions contemplated hereby or by the New Credit
Agreements and (G) other unsecured indebtedness for borrowed money not to exceed
$100 million in aggregate principal amount outstanding at any time other than in
accordance with clauses (A)-(F) above, so long as such indebtedness is voluntarily
prepayable or redeemable (without premium or penalty) upon no more than three business
days notice; provided that any amount borrowed pursuant to this clause (G) shall
reduce the amount of borrowings permitted under clause (E)(y) above;
(ix) except for transactions among the Company and its wholly owned Subsidiaries
or among the Companys wholly owned Subsidiaries, shall not sell, lease, license,
transfer, exchange or swap, mortgage or otherwise encumber (including securitizations),
or subject to any Lien (other than Permitted Liens) or otherwise dispose of any
material portion of its properties or assets, including the capital stock or equity
securities of Subsidiaries, except (A) sales of inventory in the ordinary course
of business, (B) pursuant to existing agreements in effect prior to the execution
of this Agreement and (C) as set forth on Section 5.1(b) of the Company Disclosure
Schedule;
(x) shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, modify, amend,
terminate or waive any rights under any Company Material Contract in any material
respect in a manner which is adverse to the Company;
(xi) shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, enter into any
Company Material Contracts;
(xii) shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, (A) make, change
or revoke any material Tax election, (B) file any amended Tax Return, or (C) settle
or compromise any liability for Taxes or surrender any claim for a refund of Taxes,
other than in the case of clauses (B) and (C) hereof in respect of any Taxes that
have been identified in the reserves for Taxes in the Companys GAAP financial statements;
(xiii) shall not acquire, except in respect of any mergers, consolidations, business
combinations among the Company and its wholly owned Subsidiaries or among the Companys
wholly owned Subsidiaries, including by merger, consolidation or acquisition of
stock or assets, any corporation, partnership, limited liability company, other
business organization or any division thereof, or any material amount of assets
in connection with acquisitions or investments with a purchase price of $120 million
in the aggregate; provided that without the ESOPs consent (which consent may not
be unreasonably withheld), the Company shall not acquire or make any investment
(or agree to acquire or to make any investment) in any entity that holds, or has
an attributable interest in, any license, authorization, permit or approval issued
by the FCC;
(xiv) shall not adopt or enter into a plan of restructuring, recapitalization
or other reorganization (other than as contemplated in this Agreement);
(xv) shall not settle or compromise any claim, suit, action, arbitration, or
other proceeding, whether administrative, civil or criminal, in law or in equity,
including in connection with the Matthew Bender and Mosby Tax litigation, except
for claims that consist solely of monetary damages in an amount not to exceed $20
million individually and $75 million in the aggregate;
(xvi) shall not make any capital expenditures other than in accordance with the
Companys budget consistent with past practice and other than expenditures necessary
in response to emergencies such as natural disasters or acts of terrorism, in each
case in accordance with past practice;
(xvii) shall not enter into any transaction, agreement, arrangement or understanding
between (A) the Company or any Subsidiary, on the one hand, and (B) any affiliate
of the Company (other than the Subsidiaries), on the other hand, of the type that
would be required to be disclosed under Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by
the SEC;
(xviii) shall not knowingly take any action that would be reasonably likely to
prevent or cause a material delay in the satisfaction of the conditions contained
in Sections 6.1 and 6.3 or the consummation of the Merger; and
(xix) shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, agree, in writing
or otherwise, to take any of the foregoing actions.
(c) The Company (on behalf of itself and its Subsidiaries and affiliates) agrees
that, between the date hereof and the Effective Time, they shall not, and shall
not permit any of their respective Subsidiaries or affiliates to enter into or consummate
any agreements or arrangements for an acquisition (via stock purchase, merger, consolidation,
purchase of assets or otherwise) of any ownership interest attributable to the ESOP
or any of its affiliates under the FCC Rules in any radio or television broadcast
licensee, or the publisher of any English language daily newspaper of general circulation,
if the ownership of such interest would reasonably be expected (A) to result in
any delay in obtaining, or failure to obtain, the FCC Order or (B) to require the
FCC to issue additional waivers of its ownership rules in prior to granting the
FCC Order.
Section 5.2 Investigation. The Company shall afford to the ESOP and its accountants,
consultants, legal counsel, financial advisors, and agents and other representatives
(collectively, "Representatives") reasonable access during normal business hours,
throughout the period prior to the earlier of the Effective Time and the Termination
Date, to its and its Subsidiaries officers, employees, properties, contracts, commitments,
books and records and any report, schedule or other document filed or received by
it pursuant to the requirements of applicable Laws and shall furnish the ESOP with
financial, operating and other data and information as the ESOP, through its respective
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