Exhibit 1.2
LASALLE HOTEL PROPERTIES
Common Shares of Beneficial Interest
(Par Value $.01 Per Share)
EQUITY DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
Dated: April 21, 2010
Table of Contents
Page | ||
SECTION 1.Description of Securities | 1 | |
SECTION 2.Placements | 2 | |
SECTION 3.Sale of Placement Securities by Raymond James | 4 | |
SECTION 4.Suspension of Sales | 4 | |
SECTION 5.Representations and Warranties | 4 | |
SECTION 6.Sale and Delivery to Raymond James; Settlement | 17 | |
SECTION 7.Covenants of the Company | 20 | |
SECTION 8.Payment of Expenses | 27 | |
SECTION 9.Conditions of Raymond James’s Obligations | 28 | |
SECTION 10.Indemnification | 30 | |
SECTION 11.Contribution | 32 | |
SECTION 12. Representations, Warranties and Agreements to Survive Delivery | 33 | |
SECTION 13.Termination of Agreement | 34 | |
SECTION 14.Notices | 35 | |
SECTION 15.Parties | 35 | |
SECTION 16.Adjustments for Stock Splits | 35 | |
SECTION 17.Governing Law and Time | 35 | |
SECTION 18.Effect of Headings | 35 | |
SECTION 19.Definitions | 35 | |
SECTION 20.Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses | 37 | |
SECTION 21.Absence of Fiduciary Relationship | 37 |
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EXHIBITS
Exhibit A | – | Form of Placement Notice | ||
Exhibit B | – | Authorized Individuals for Placement Notices and Acceptances | ||
Exhibit C | – | Compensation | ||
Exhibit D-1 | – | Form of Opinion of DLA Piper LLP (US) | ||
Exhibit D-2 | – | Form of Opinion of Hagan & Vidovic, L.L.P. | ||
Exhibit E | – | Officers’ Certificate | ||
Exhibit F | – | Permitted Free Writing Prospectus |
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LaSalle Hotel Properties
(a Maryland real estate investment trust)
Common Shares of Beneficial Interest
(Par Value $.01 Per Share)
EQUITY DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
April 21, 2010
Raymond James & Associates, Inc.
880 Carillon Parkway
St. Petersburg, Florida 33716
Ladies and Gentlemen:
LaSalle Hotel Properties, a Maryland real estate investment trust (the “Company”), and LaSalle Hotel Operating Partnership, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (the “Operating Partnership”), of which the Company is the sole general partner, each confirms its agreement (this “Agreement”) with Raymond James & Associates, Inc. (“Raymond James”), as follows:
SECTION 1.Description of Securities.
Each of the Company and the Operating Partnership agrees that, from time to time during the term of this Agreement, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, the Company may issue and sell through Raymond James, acting as agent and/or principal, shares (the “Securities”) of the Company’s common shares of beneficial interest, par value $.01 per share (the “Common Shares”), having an aggregate offering price of up to $150,000,000 (the “Maximum Amount”). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the parties hereto agree that compliance with the limitations set forth in this Section 1 regarding the aggregate offering price of the Securities issued and sold under this Agreement shall be the sole responsibility of the Company, and Raymond James shall have no obligation in connection with such compliance. The issuance and sale of the Securities through Raymond James will be effected pursuant to the Registration Statement (as defined below) that was filed by the Company and became effective upon filing under Rule 462(e) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (collectively with the rules and regulations thereunder, the “Securities Act”) (“Rule 462(e)”), although nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as requiring the Company to use the Registration Statement to issue the Securities.
The Company has filed, in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Act, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) an automatic shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-163296), including a base prospectus, relating to certain securities, including the Securities to be issued from time to time by the Company, and which incorporates by reference documents that the Company has filed or will file in accordance with
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the provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Exchange Act”). The Company has prepared a prospectus supplement specifically relating to the Securities (the “Prospectus Supplement”) to the base prospectus included as part of such registration statement. The Company will furnish to Raymond James, for use by Raymond James, copies of the prospectus included as part of such registration statement, as supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement, relating to the Securities. Except where the context otherwise requires, such registration statement, as amended when it became effective, including all documents filed as part thereof or incorporated by reference therein, and including any information contained in a Prospectus (as defined below) subsequently filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) or deemed to be a part of such registration statement pursuant to Rule 430B (the “Rule 430B Information”), is herein called the “Registration Statement.” The Registration Statement at the time it originally became effective is herein called the “Original Registration Statement.” The base prospectus, including all documents incorporated therein by reference, included in the Registration Statement, as it may be supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement, in the form in which such prospectus and/or Prospectus Supplement have most recently been filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) is herein called the “Prospectus.” Any reference herein to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein, and any reference herein to the terms “amend,” “amendment” or “supplement” with respect to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the filing after the execution hereof of any document with the Commission deemed to be incorporated by reference therein. For purposes of this Agreement, all references to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or to any amendment or supplement thereto shall be deemed to include any copy filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR.
The Company will contribute the Net Proceeds (as defined in Section 6(b)) from the sale of the Securities from time to time pursuant to this Agreement to the Operating Partnership, and in exchange therefor, at each Settlement Date (as defined in Section 6(b)), the Operating Partnership will issue to the Company units of limited partnership interest in the Operating Partnership (“Units”).
The Company and the Operating Partnership have also entered into separate equity distribution agreements (collectively, the “Alternative Distribution Agreements”), dated as of even date herewith, with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC (collectively, the “Alternative Managers”). The aggregate offering price of the Securities that may be sold pursuant to this Agreement and the Alternative Distribution Agreements shall not exceed the Maximum Amount.
SECTION 2.Placements.
Each time that the Company wishes to issue and sell the Securities hereunder (each, a “Placement”), it will notify Raymond James by email notice (or other method mutually agreed to in writing by the parties) containing the parameters in accordance with which it desires the Securities to be sold, which shall at a minimum include the number of Securities to be issued (the “Placement Securities”), the time period during which sales are requested to be made, any limitation on the number of Securities that may be sold in any one day and any minimum price
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below which sales may not be made (a “Placement Notice”), a form of which containing such minimum sales parameters necessary is attached hereto asExhibit A. The Placement Notice shall originate from any of the individuals from the Company set forth onExhibit B (with a copy to each of the other individuals from the Company listed on such schedule), and shall be addressed to each of the individuals from Raymond James set forth onExhibit B, as suchExhibit B may be amended from time to time.
If Raymond James wishes to accept such proposed terms included in the Placement Notice (which it may decline to do for any reason in its sole discretion) or, following discussion with the Company, wishes to accept amended terms, Raymond James will, prior to 4:30 p.m. (New York City Time) on the business day following the business day on which such Placement Notice is delivered to Raymond James, issue to the Company a notice by email (or other method mutually agreed to in writing by the parties) addressed to all of the individuals from the Company and Raymond James set forth onExhibit B) setting forth the terms that Raymond James is willing to accept. Where the terms provided in the Placement Notice are amended as provided for in the immediately preceding sentence, such terms will not be binding on the Company or Raymond James until the Company delivers to Raymond James an acceptance by email (or other method mutually agreed to in writing by the parties) of all of the terms of such Placement Notice, as amended (the “Acceptance”), which email shall be addressed to all of the individuals from the Company and Raymond James set forth onExhibit B. The Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable) shall be effective upon receipt by the Company of Raymond James’s acceptance of the terms of the Placement Notice or upon receipt by Raymond James of the Company’s Acceptance, as the case may be, unless and until (i) the entire amount of the Placement Securities has been sold, (ii) in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in the second sentence of this paragraph, the Company terminates the Placement Notice, (iii) the Company issues a subsequent Placement Notice with parameters superseding those on the earlier dated Placement Notice, (iv) this Agreement has been terminated under the provisions of Section 13 or (v) either party shall have suspended the sale of the Placement Securities in accordance with Section 4 below. The amount of any commission, discount or other compensation to be paid by the Company to Raymond James, when Raymond James is acting as agent, in connection with the sale of the Placement Securities shall be calculated in accordance with the terms set forth inExhibit C. The amount of any commission, discount or other compensation to be paid by the Company to Raymond James, when Raymond James is acting as principal, in connection with the sale of the Placement Securities shall be as separately agreed among the parties hereto at the time of any such sales. It is expressly acknowledged and agreed that neither the Company nor Raymond James will have any obligation whatsoever with respect to a Placement or any Placement Securities unless and until the Company delivers a Placement Notice to Raymond James and either (i) Raymond James accepts the terms of such Placement Notice or (ii) where the terms of such Placement Notice are amended, the Company accepts such amended terms by means of an Acceptance pursuant to the terms set forth above, and then only upon the terms specified in the Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable) and herein. In the event of a conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the terms of a Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable), the terms of the Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable) will control.
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SECTION 3.Sale of Placement Securities by Raymond James.
Subject to the provisions of Section 6(a), Raymond James, for the period specified in the Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable), will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices to sell the Placement Securities at market prevailing prices up to the amount specified, and otherwise in accordance with the terms of such Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable). Raymond James will provide written confirmation to the Company no later than the opening of the Trading Day (as defined below) immediately following the Trading Day on which it has made sales of Placement Securities hereunder setting forth the number of Placement Securities sold on such day, the compensation payable by the Company to Raymond James pursuant to Section 2 with respect to such sales, and the Net Proceeds payable to the Company, with an itemization of the deductions made by Raymond James (as set forth in Section 6(b)) from the gross proceeds that it receives from such sales. Subject to the terms of the Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable), Raymond James may sell Placement Securities by any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at the market” offering as defined in Rule 415 of the Securities Act, including without limitation sales made directly on the NYSE, on any other existing trading market for the Common Shares or to or through a market maker. Subject to the terms of the Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable), Raymond James may also sell Placement Securities by any other method permitted by law, including but not limited to privately negotiated transactions. For the purposes hereof, “Trading Day” means any day on which Common Shares are purchased and sold on the principal market on which the Common Shares are listed or quoted.
SECTION 4.Suspension of Sales. The Company or Raymond James may, upon notice to the other party in writing (including by email correspondence to each of the individuals of the other party set forth onExhibit B, if receipt of such correspondence is actually acknowledged by any of the individuals to whom the notice is sent, other than via auto-reply) or by telephone (confirmed immediately by verifiable facsimile transmission or email correspondence to each of the individuals of the other party set forth onExhibit B), suspend any sale of Placement Securities;provided,however, that such suspension shall not affect or impair either party’s obligations with respect to any Placement Securities sold hereunder prior to the receipt of such notice or any Placement Securities sold under either Alternative Distribution Agreement. Each of the parties agrees that no such notice under this Section 4 shall be effective against the other unless it is made to one of the individuals named onExhibit B hereto, as such Exhibit may be amended from time to time.
SECTION 5.Representations and Warranties.
(a)Representations and Warranties by the Company and the Operating Partnership.The Company and the Operating Partnership each severally represents and warrants to Raymond James as of the date hereof and as of each Representation Date (as defined below) on which a certificate is required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(o) of this Agreement, as of each Applicable Time and as of each Settlement Date, and agrees with Raymond James, as follows:
(1)Status as a Well-Known Seasoned Issuer; Registration Statement Effective; Conform to Securities Act; No Misleading Statements; Conformity with
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EDGAR filings. (A) At the time of filing the Original Registration Statement, (B) at the time of the most recent amendment thereto for the purposes of complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act (whether such amendment was by post-effective amendment, incorporated report filed pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act or form of prospectus, (C) at the time the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this clause only, of Rule 163(c) of the Securities Act) made any offer relating to the Securities in reliance on the exemption of Rule 163 of the Securities Act (“Rule 163”), (D) at the earliest time that the Company or another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) under the Securities Act) of the Securities and (E) at the date hereof, the Company was, is and will be a “well-known seasoned issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act (“Rule 405”), including not having been and not being an “ineligible issuer,” as defined in Rule 405. The Registration Statement is an “automatic shelf registration statement,” as defined in Rule 405, and the Securities, since their registration on the Registration Statement, have been and remain eligible for registration by the Company on a Rule 405 “automatic shelf registration statement”. The Company has not received from the Commission any notice pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Securities Act objecting to the use of the automatic shelf registration statement form. The Company has paid, or if the Prospectus Supplement has not yet been filed with the Commission will pay, the required Commission filing fees relating to the Securities within the time required by Rule 456(b)(1)(i) of the Securities Act without regard to the proviso therein and otherwise in accordance with Rules 456(b) and 457(r) of the Securities Act (including, if applicable, by updating the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in accordance with Rule 456(b)(1)(ii) either in a post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement or on the cover page of the Prospectus).
The Original Registration Statement became effective upon filing under Rule 462(e) on November 23, 2009, and any post-effective amendment thereto also became effective upon filing under Rule 462(e). No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued under the Securities Act and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the knowledge of the Company or the Operating Partnership, are contemplated by the Commission, and any request on the part of the Commission for additional information has been complied with.
Any offer that is a written communication relating to the Securities made prior to the filing of the Original Registration Statement by the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this paragraph only, of Rule 163(c)) has been filed (unless exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 163) with the Commission in accordance with the exemption provided by Rule 163 and otherwise complied with the requirements of Rule 163, including without limitation the legending requirement, to qualify such offer for the exemption from Section 5(c) of the Securities Act provided by Rule 163.
At the respective times the Original Registration Statement and any amendment thereto became effective, at each deemed effective date with respect to Raymond James and the Securities pursuant to Rule 430B(f)(2), and at each relevant Settlement Date, the Registration Statement complied, complies and will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act, and did not and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.
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The Prospectus and each amendment or supplement thereto, if any, at the time the Prospectus or any such amendment or supplement is issued and at each relevant Settlement Date, complied, complies and will comply, in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and neither the Prospectus nor any amendments or supplements thereto, at the time the Prospectus or any such amendment or supplement was issued, or at any Settlement Date, included, includes or will include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or will omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
Each preliminary prospectus (including the base prospectus or propsectuses filed as part of the Original Registration Statement or any amendment thereto) complied when so filed in all material respects with the Securities Act. Each preliminary prospectus and the Prospectus delivered to Raymond James for use in connection with the offering of any Securities was identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.
Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as of its issue date and as of the relevant Applicable Time and Settlement Date, or until any earlier date that the issuer notified or notifies Raymond James as described in Section 7(d), did not, does not and will not (i) include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, including any document incorporated by reference therein and any preliminary or other prospectus deemed to be a part thereof that has not been superseded or modified or (ii) when taken together with the Prospectus, include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
The representations and warranties in this Section 5(a)(1) shall not apply to statements in or omissions from the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by Raymond James expressly for use therein.
(2)Incorporated Documents. The documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus (the “Incorporated Documents”), when they became effective or at the time they were or hereafter are filed with the Commission, complied, comply and will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Exchange Act and, when read together with the other information in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, (a) at the time the Original Registration Statement became effective, (b) with respect to any offering of Placement Securities, at the earlier of the time the Prospectus was first used and the date and time of the first contract of sale of such Placement Securities, (c) at each relevant Settlement Date, did not and will not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
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(3)Independent Accountants. The accounting firm that certified the financial statements and supporting schedules incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus is an independent registered public accounting firm as required by the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”).
(4)Financial Statements; Non-GAAP Financial Measures. The financial statements of the Company and its consolidated Subsidiaries set forth in or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, together with the related schedules and notes, present fairly the financial position, results of operations and cash flows of the Company and its consolidated Subsidiaries at the dates and for the periods specified, and such financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved. The supporting schedules, if any, set forth in or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus present fairly in accordance with GAAP the information required to be stated therein. Any selected historical operating and financial data set forth in or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus present fairly the information shown therein and have been compiled on a basis consistent with the books and records of the Company and that of the audited financial statements set forth in or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus. The financial statements of the businesses or properties acquired or proposed to be acquired, if any, included in, or incorporated by reference into, the Registration Statement or the Prospectus present fairly in all material respects the information set forth therein, have been prepared in conformity with GAAP applied on a consistent basis and otherwise have been prepared in accordance with the applicable financial statement requirements of Rule 3-05 or Rule 3-14 of Regulation S-X with respect to real estate operations acquired or to be acquired. In addition, any pro forma financial statements and the related notes thereto set forth in or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus present fairly the information shown therein, have been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines with respect to pro forma financial statements and have been properly compiled on the basis described therein, and the assumptions used in the preparation thereof are reasonable and the adjustments used therein are appropriate to give effect to the transactions and circumstances referred to therein; other than as set forth therein, the Company is not required to include any financial statements or pro forma financial statements in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus under the Securities Act or any document required to be filed with the Commission under the Exchange Act. All disclosures contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of the Commission) comply with Regulation G of the Exchange Act and Item 10 of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act, to the extent applicable.
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(5)No Material Adverse Change in Business. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus: (A) there has been no material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the properties, earnings, business affairs or business prospects of the Company, the Operating Partnership and the Subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business (a “Material Adverse Effect”), (B) there have been no transactions entered into by the Company, the Operating Partnership or any Subsidiary, other than those in the ordinary course of business, which are material with respect to the Company, the Operating Partnership and the Subsidiaries considered as one enterprise and (C) except for regular quarterly dividends on the Common Shares in amounts per share that are consistent with past practice, regular quarterly distributions on the Company’s outstanding preferred shares of beneficial interest and regular quarterly distributions on the Operating Partnership’s common and preferred units of limited partnership, there has been no dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made by the Company on any class of its capital shares or any distribution by the Operating Partnership with respect to any of its limited partnership interests.
(6)Good Standing of the Company. The Company is a real estate investment trust duly formed and validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of Maryland, with full trust power and authority to own and lease its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement; and the Company is duly qualified or registered as a foreign real estate investment trust and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification or registration is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure so to qualify or to be in good standing would not result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(7)Good Standing of the Operating Partnership. The Operating Partnership has been duly formed and is validly existing as a limited partnership in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware and has the partnership power and partnership authority under the Operating Partnership Agreement (as defined below) and the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct the business in which it is engaged as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement. The Operating Partnership is duly qualified or registered as a foreign partnership to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification or registration is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure to so qualify or register would not result in a Material Adverse Effect. The Company is the sole general partner of the Operating Partnership and holds such number and/or percentage of common and preferred units of limited partnership interest as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as of the dates set forth therein, free and clear of any perfected security interest or any other security interests, claims, liens or encumbrances. The Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of the Operating Partnership, dated as of April 29, 1998, as amended by the First Amendment thereto, dated as of March 6, 2002, the Second Amendment thereto, dated as of September 30, 2003, the Third Amendment thereto, dated as of August 31, 2005, the
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Fourth Amendment thereto, dated as of August 22, 2005, the Fifth Amendment thereto, dated as of February 8, 2006, the Sixth Amendment thereto, dated as of November 17, 2006, the Seventh Amendment thereto, dated as of November 17, 2006 and the Eighth Amendment thereto, dated as of April 15, 2009 (collectively, the “Operating Partnership Agreement”), is in full force and effect.
(8)Good Standing of Subsidiaries. The only Subsidiaries of the Company that may constitute a “significant subsidiary” within the meaning of Rule 1-02(w) of Regulation S-X are the Subsidiaries listed on Exhibit 21 to the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K. Each of the Subsidiaries of the Company or the Operating Partnership has been duly incorporated or organized and is validly existing as a corporation, limited partnership, general partnership or limited liability company, as applicable, in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction in which it is chartered or organized and has the requisite power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, and is duly qualified or registered as a foreign corporation, limited partnership, general partnership or limited liability company, as applicable, and is in good standing in the jurisdiction in which such qualification or registration is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure to so qualify or register would not result in a Material Adverse Effect. All the outstanding shares of capital stock, partnership interests, limited liability company interests or other equivalent equity interests of each such Subsidiary have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and non-assessable, and, except as otherwise set forth in each of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, all outstanding shares of capital stock, partnership interests, limited liability company interests or other equivalent equity interest of the Subsidiaries are owned by the Company or the Operating Partnership, as applicable, either directly or through wholly-owned Subsidiaries free and clear of any perfected security interest or any other security interests, claims, liens or encumbrances.
(9)Capitalization. If the Registration Statement or the Prospectus contains a “Capitalization” section, the authorized, issued and outstanding capital shares of the Company are as set forth in the column entitled “Actual” under such section (except for subsequent issuances thereof, if any, contemplated under this Agreement or the Alternative Distribution Agreements, pursuant to reservations, agreements or employee benefit plans referred to in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus or pursuant to the exercise of convertible securities or options referred to in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus). The issued and outstanding capital shares have been duly authorized and validly issued by the Company and are fully paid and non-assessable, and none of the outstanding capital shares was issued in violation of preemptive or other similar rights of any securityholder of the Company.
(10)Authorization of Units and Preferred Units. All issued and outstanding common and preferred units of limited partnership interest have been duly authorized and are validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable and have been offered and sold or exchanged by the Operating Partnership in compliance with applicable laws. The Units to be issued to the Company in connection with the offering and sales of the Securities
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contemplated by this Agreement have been duly authorized and, when issued and delivered from time to time by the Operating Partnership to the Company in exchange for the Net Proceeds of the offering and sale of the Securities from time to time pursuant to this Agreement, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable, and the issuance of such Units will not be subject to the preemptive or other similar rights of any securityholder or partner of the Operating Partnership.
(11)Authorization and Description of Securities. The Securities to be sold through Raymond James, as principal or agent, have been duly authorized for issuance, sale and delivery pursuant to this Agreement and, when issued and delivered by the Company pursuant to this Agreement against payment of the consideration provided for herein, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable. The Securities conform to all statements relating thereto contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. No holder of the Securities will be subject to personal liability by reason of being such a holder. The issuance of the Securities is not subject to the preemptive or other similar rights of any securityholder of the Company. The form of certificate used to evidence the Securities will be in substantially the form to be filed or incorporated by reference, as the case may be, as an exhibit to the Registration Statement, and such form complies with all applicable statutory requirements, requirements of the Company’s Articles of Amendment and Restatement of Declaration of Trust, dated as of April 24, 1998, as amended and supplemented by Articles Supplementary dated February 28, 2002, Articles Supplementary dated September 23, 2003, Articles Supplementary dated August 24, 2005, Articles Supplementary dated August 22, 2005, Articles Supplementary dated February 6, 2006, Articles Supplementary dated November 16, 2006, Articles of Amendment dated July 3, 2007 and Articles Supplementary dated April 14, 2009 (collectively, the “Declaration of Trust”), the Third Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Company (the “Bylaws”), and requirements of the NYSE.
(12)Authorization of Agreement. This Agreement and the transactions contemplated herein have been duly authorized by the Company and the Operating Partnership, and this Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by the Company and the Operating Partnership and constitutes a valid and binding obligation of the Company and the Operating Partnership enforceable in accordance with its terms except to the extent that the indemnification provisions hereof may be limited by federal or state securities laws and public policy considerations in respect thereof and except as enforcement may be limited by bankruptcy, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally and general principles of equity.
(13)Absence of Defaults and Conflicts. None of the Company, the Operating Partnership or any Subsidiary is (A) in violation of its declaration of trust, partnership agreement, charter, by-laws or other governing instrument (“Governing Instruments”) or (B) in default in the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any contract, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan or credit agreement, note, lease or other agreement or instrument to which the Company, the Operating Partnership or any Subsidiary is a party or by which it or any of them may be bound, or to which any of the property or assets of the Company, the Operating Partnership or any Subsidiary is subject (collectively, “Agreements and Instruments”) or
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(C) in violation of any applicable law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any government, government instrumentality or court, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company, the Operating Partnership or any Subsidiary or any of their assets, properties or operations (“Laws”), except for such violations or defaults of any Agreements and Instruments or Laws that would not result in a Material Adverse Effect. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein and in the Prospectus (including the issuance and sale of the Securities from time to time pursuant to this Agreement or the Alternative Distribution Agreements and the use of the Net Proceeds from the sale of the Securities as described in the Prospectus under the caption “Use of Proceeds”) and compliance by the Company and the Operating Partnership with their respective obligations hereunder have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate or limited partnership action and do not and will not, whether with or without the giving of notice or passage of time or both, conflict with or constitute a breach of, or default or Repayment Event (as defined below) under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company, the Operating Partnership or any Subsidiary pursuant to, the Agreements and Instruments or Laws (except for such conflicts, breaches, defaults or Repayment Events or liens, charges or encumbrances that would not result in a Material Adverse Effect), nor will such action result in any violation of the provisions of the Governing Instruments of the Company, the Operating Partnership or any Subsidiary or of any Laws, except for such violations that would not have a Material Adverse Effect. As used herein, a “Repayment Event” means any event or condition which gives the holder of any note, debenture or other evidence of indebtedness (or any person acting on such holder’s behalf) the right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a material portion of such indebtedness by the Company, the Operating Partnership or any Subsidiary.
(14)Absence of Labor Dispute. No labor dispute with the employees of the Company, the Operating Partnership or any Subsidiary exists or, to the knowledge of the Company or the Operating Partnership, is imminent, and the Company and the Operating Partnership are not aware of any existing or imminent labor disturbance by the employees of any of their or any Subsidiary’s principal suppliers, manufacturers, customers or contractors, which, in either case, may reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(15)Absence of Proceedings. There is no action, arbitration, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation before or brought by any arbitrator or court or governmental agency or body, domestic or foreign, now pending, or, to the knowledge of the Company or the Operating Partnership, threatened, against or affecting the Company, the Operating Partnership or any Subsidiary, which is required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus (other than as disclosed therein), or which might reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect or which might materially and adversely affect the consummation of the transactions contemplated in this Agreement or the performance by the Company or the Operating Partnership of their respective obligations hereunder. The aggregate of all pending legal or governmental proceedings to which the Company, the Operating Partnership or any Subsidiary is a party or of which any of their respective properties or assets is the subject which are not described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, including ordinary routine litigation, could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
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(16)Accuracy of Exhibits. There are no contracts or documents which are required to be described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or the documents incorporated by reference therein or to be filed as exhibits thereto which have not been so described and filed as required.
(17)Possession of Intellectual Property. The Company, the Operating Partnership and the Subsidiaries own or possess, or can acquire on reasonable terms, adequate patents, patent rights, licenses, inventions, copyrights, know-how (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures), trademarks, service marks, trade names or other intellectual property (collectively, “Intellectual Property”) necessary to carry on the business now operated by them, and none of the Company, the Operating Partnership or any Subsidiary has received any written notice or is otherwise aware of any infringement of or conflict with asserted rights of others with respect to any Intellectual Property or of any facts or circumstances which would render any Intellectual Property invalid or inadequate to protect the interest of the Company, the Operating Partnership or any Subsidiary therein, and which infringement or conflict (if the subject of any unfavorable decision, ruling or finding) or invalidity or inadequacy, singly or in the aggregate, would result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(18)Absence of Further Requirements. No filing with, or authorization, approval, consent, license, order, registration, qualification or decree of, any court or governmental authority or agency is necessary or required for the performance by the Company or the Operating Partnership of their respective obligations hereunder, in connection with the offering, issuance or sale of the Securities hereunder or the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except such as have already been obtained or will be obtained under the Securities Act or as required under state securities laws or the rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”).
(19)Possession of Licenses and Permits. Each of the Company, the Operating Partnership and the Subsidiaries possess such permits, licenses, approvals, consents and other authorizations (collectively, “Governmental Licenses”) issued by the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign regulatory agencies or bodies necessary to conduct the business now operated by them, except where failure to possess any such Governmental Licenses would not result, singly or in the aggregate, in a Material Adverse Effect; the Company, the Operating Partnership and the Subsidiaries are in compliance with the terms and conditions of all such Governmental Licenses, except where the failure so to comply would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect; all of the Governmental Licenses are valid and in full force and effect, except when the invalidity of such Governmental Licenses or the failure of such Governmental Licenses to be in full force and effect would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect; and none of the Company, the Operating Partnership or any of the Subsidiaries has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any such Governmental Licenses which, singly or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would result in a Material Adverse Effect.
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(20)Title to Property. The Company, the Operating Partnership, the Subsidiaries and any joint venture in which the Company, the Operating Partnership or any Subsidiary owns an interest, as the case may be, have good and insurable title to all real property owned by them, and good title to all other properties owned by them, in each case, free and clear of all mortgages, pledges, liens, security interests, claims, restrictions or encumbrances of any kind, except (A) as otherwise stated in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus or (B) those which do not, singly or in the aggregate, materially affect the value of such property and do not interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company, the Operating Partnership, any Subsidiary or the applicable joint venture. Each of the properties of any of the Company, the Operating Partnership or the Subsidiaries complies with all applicable codes and zoning laws and regulations except in any case where such non-compliance would not have a material adverse effect on the conditions, operations, prospects or earnings of the non-compliant property; and none of the Company, the Operating Partnership or any Subsidiary has knowledge of any pending or threatened condemnation, zoning change or other proceeding or action that will in any manner affect the size of, use of, improvements on, construction on, or access to the properties of any of the Company, the Operating Partnership or any Subsidiary except in any case where such action or proceeding would not have a material adverse effect on the conditions, operations, prospects or earnings of the affected property. All of the leases and subleases material to the business of the Company, the Operating Partnership and the Subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, and under which the Company, the Operating Partnership or any Subsidiary holds properties described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, are in full force and effect, and none of the Company, the Operating Partnership or any Subsidiary has received any notice of any material claim of any sort that has been asserted by anyone adverse to the rights of the Company, the Operating Partnership or any Subsidiary under any of the leases or subleases mentioned above, or affecting or questioning the rights of the Company, the Operating Partnership or any Subsidiary of the continued possession of the leased or subleased premises under any such lease or sublease. Except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus or as would not result in a Material Adverse Effect, no tenant under any lease to which the Company, the Operating Partnership or any Subsidiary leases any portion of its property is in default under such lease.
(21)Title Insurance. Title insurance in favor of the Company, the Operating Partnership and the Subsidiaries has been obtained with respect to each property owned by any such entity in an amount at least equal to (A) the cost of acquisition of such property or (B) the cost of construction of such property (measured at the time of such construction), except where the failure to maintain such title insurance would not have a Material Adverse Effect.
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(22)Mortgages and Deeds of Trust. The mortgages and deeds of trust encumbering the properties and assets described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (A) are not convertible (in the absence of foreclosure) into an equity interest in the property or asset described therein or in the Company, the Operating Partnership or any Subsidiary, nor does any of the Company, the Operating Partnership or any Subsidiary hold a participating interest therein, (B) except as set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, are not cross-defaulted to any indebtedness other than indebtedness of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries and (C) are not cross-collateralized to any property not owned by the Company, the Operating Partnership or any of the Subsidiaries.
(23)Real Property. The real property of the Company, the Operating Partnership and the Subsidiaries is free of material structural defects and all building systems contained therein are in good working order in all material respects, subject to ordinary wear and tear or, in each instance, the Company maintains adequate reserves to effect reasonably required repairs, maintenance and capital expenditures.
(24)Investment Company Act. None of the Company, the Operating Partnership or any Subsidiary is, or upon the issuance and sale of the Securities from time to time as herein contemplated and the application of the Net Proceeds therefrom as described in the Prospectus will be, an “investment company” or an entity “controlled” by an “investment company” as such terms are defined in the Investment Company Act.
(25)Environmental Laws. Except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and except as would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect, (A) none of the Company, the Operating Partnership or any of the Subsidiaries is in violation of any federal, state or local statute, law, rule, regulation, ordinance, code, policy or rule of common law or any judicial or administrative interpretation thereof, including any judicial or administrative order, consent, decree or judgment, relating to pollution or protection of human health, the environment (including, without limitation, ambient air, surface water, groundwater, land surface or subsurface strata) or wildlife, including, without limitation, laws and regulations relating to the release or threatened release of chemicals, pollutants, contaminants, wastes, toxic substances, hazardous substances, petroleum or petroleum products, asbestos-containing materials or mold (collectively, “Hazardous Materials”) or to the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal, transport or handling of Hazardous Materials (collectively, “Environmental Laws”), (B) the Company, the Operating Partnership and the Subsidiaries have all permits, authorizations and approvals required under any applicable Environmental Laws and are each in compliance with their requirements, (C) there are no pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, the Operating Partnership or any Subsidiary, threatened administrative, regulatory or judicial actions, suits, demands, demand letters, claims, liens, notices of noncompliance or violations, investigations or proceedings relating to any Environmental Law against the Company, the Operating Partnership or any of the Subsidiaries and (D) there are no events or circumstances that might reasonably be expected to form the basis of an order for clean-up or remediation, or an action, suit or proceeding by any private party or governmental body or agency, against or affecting the Company, the Operating Partnership or any of the Subsidiaries relating to Hazardous Materials or any Environmental Laws.
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(26)Registration Statement. No holders of securities or other equity interests of the Company or the Operating Partnership have rights to the registration of such securities or equity interests under a registration statement except for those that have been effectively waived or are inapplicable to the offering of Securities from time to time.
(27)NYSE. The outstanding Common Shares and the Securities to be sold by the Company from time to time hereunder have been approved for listing, subject only to official notice of issuance, on the NYSE, and are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act, and the Company has taken no action designed to, or likely to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Securities under the Exchange Act or delisting any such securities from the NYSE, nor has the Company received any notification that the Commission or the NYSE is contemplating terminating such registration or listing.
(28)Transfer Taxes. There are no transfer taxes or other similar fees or charges under federal law or the laws of any state, or any political subdivision thereof, required to be paid in connection with the execution and delivery of this Agreement or the issuance or sale by the Company of the Securities from time to time as contemplated by this Agreement.
(29)Tax Returns. The Company has filed all foreign, federal, state and local tax returns that are required to be filed or has requested extensions thereof (except in any case in which the failure so to file would not have a Material Adverse Effect), whether or not arising from transactions in the ordinary course of business, except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, and has paid all taxes required to be paid by it and any other assessment, fine or penalty levied against it, to the extent that any of the foregoing is due and payable, except for any such assessment, fine or penalty that is currently being contested in good faith or as would not have a Material Adverse Effect, whether or not arising from transactions in the ordinary course of business, except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.
(30)Insurance. The Company, the Operating Partnership, the Subsidiaries and each of their properties are insured by insurers of recognized financial responsibility against such losses and risks and in such amounts as are prudent and customary in the businesses in which they are engaged; all policies of insurance and fidelity or surety bonds insuring the Company, the Operating Partnership or any of the Subsidiaries or their respective properties, businesses, employees, officers and directors are in full force and effect.
(31)Disclosure Controls and Procedures; Internal Controls. The Company, the Operating Partnership and the Subsidiaries have established and maintain disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act); such disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that material information relating to the Company, the Operating Partnership and the Subsidiaries is made known to the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and its Chief Financial Officer by others within those entities, and such disclosure controls and procedures are effective to perform the functions for which they were established; the
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Company’s auditors and the Audit Committee of the Board of Trustees have been advised of: (i) any significant deficiencies in the design or operation of internal controls which could adversely affect the Company’s ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial data; and (ii) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees of the Company who have a role in the Company’s internal controls and any fraud that is material or known to the Company that involves persons other than management or employees of the Company who have a role in the Company’s internal controls; any material weakness or other material significant deficiency in internal controls have been identified for the Company’s auditors and disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus; and since the date of the most recent evaluation of such disclosure controls and procedures, there have been no significant changes in internal controls or in other factors that could significantly affect internal controls, including any corrective actions with regard to any material weakness or significant deficiency.
(32)Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Company, the Operating Partnership and the Subsidiaries and any of the officers, trustees and directors of the Company, the Operating Partnership and any of the Subsidiaries, in their capacities as such, are in compliance in all material respects with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
(33)Permitted Free Writing Prospectus. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has distributed or will distribute any offering material in connection with the offering and sale of the Securities to be sold hereunder by Raymond James as principal or agent for the Company, other than the Prospectus and any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus (as defined in Section 20) reviewed and consented to by Raymond James.
(34)Actively Traded Security. The Common Shares are “actively traded securities” excepted from the requirements of Rule 101 of Regulation M under the Exchange Act by subsection (c)(1) of such rule.
(35)Absence of Manipulation. None of the Company, the Operating Partnership or any of the Subsidiaries, nor any of the officers, directors, trustees or partners thereof has taken, nor will any of them take, directly or indirectly, any action resulting in a violation of Regulation M under the Exchange Act or designed to cause or result in, or which has constituted or which reasonably might be expected to constitute, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Securities or facilitation of the sale or resale of the Securities.
(36)REIT Qualification. Commencing with its taxable year ended December 31, 1998, the Company has been, and upon the sale of the Securities from time to time as contemplated in this Agreement and in the Alternative Distribution Agreements, the Company will continue to be, organized and operated in conformity with the requirements for qualification and taxation as a real estate investment trust (a “REIT”) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and the Company’s present and proposed method of operation as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus will enable it to continue to meet the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under the Code. The Operating Partnership will be taxed as a partnership for federal income tax purposes.
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(37)Proprietary Trading by Raymond James. The Company acknowledges and agrees that Raymond James has informed the Company that Raymond James may, to the extent permitted under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, purchase and sell Common Shares for its own account while this Agreement is in effect, and shall be under no obligation to purchase Securities on a principal basis pursuant to this Agreement, except as otherwise agreed by Raymond James in the Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable); provided, that no such purchase or sales shall take place while a Placement Notice is in effect (except (i) as agreed by Raymond James in the Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable) or (ii) to the extent Raymond James may engage in sales of Placement Securities purchased or deemed purchased from the Company as a “riskless principal” or in a similar capacity).
(38)Pending Proceedings and Examinations. The Registration Statement is not the subject of a pending proceeding or examination under Section 8(d) or 8(e) of the Securities Act, and the Company is not the subject of a pending proceeding under Section 8A of the Securities Act in connection with the offering of the Securities from time to time pursuant to this Agreement.
(b)Certificates.Any certificate signed by any officer of the Company or the Operating Partnership and delivered to Raymond James or to counsel for Raymond James shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company and the Operating Partnership, as the case may be, to Raymond James as to the matters covered thereby.
SECTION 6.Sale and Delivery to Raymond James; Settlement.
(a)Sale of Placement Securities.On the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, upon Raymond James’s acceptance of the terms of a Placement Notice or upon receipt by Raymond James of an Acceptance, as the case may be, and unless the sale of the Placement Securities described therein has been declined, suspended, or otherwise terminated in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, Raymond James, for the period specified in the Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable), will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices to sell such Placement Securities at market prevailing prices up to the amount specified, and otherwise in accordance with the terms of such Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable). Each of the Company and the Operating Partnership acknowledges and agrees that (i) there can be no assurance that Raymond James will be successful in selling Placement Securities, (ii) Raymond James will incur no liability or obligation to the Company, the Operating Partnership or any other person or entity if it does not sell Placement Securities for any reason other than a failure by Raymond James to use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices to sell such Placement Securities as required under this Section 6 and (iii) Raymond James shall be under no obligation to purchase Securities on a principal basis pursuant to this Agreement, except as otherwise agreed by Raymond James in the Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable).
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(b)Settlement of Placement Securities.Unless otherwise specified in the applicable Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable), settlement for sales of Placement Securities will occur on the third (3rd) Trading Day (or such earlier day as is industry practice for regular-way trading) following the date on which such sales are made (each, a “Settlement Date”). The amount of proceeds to be delivered to the Company on a Settlement Date against receipt of the Placement Securities sold (the “Net Proceeds”) will be equal to the aggregate offering price received by Raymond James at which such Placement Securities were sold, after deduction for (i) Raymond James’s commission, discount or other compensation for such sales payable by the Company pursuant to Section 2 hereof, (ii) any other amounts due and payable by the Company to Raymond James hereunder pursuant to Section 8(a) hereof, and (iii) any transaction fees imposed by any governmental or self-regulatory organization in respect of such sales.
(c)Delivery of Placement Securities. On or before each Settlement Date, the Company will, or will cause its transfer agent to, electronically transfer the Placement Securities being sold by crediting Raymond James’s or its designee’s account (provided Raymond James shall have given the Company written notice of such designee prior to the Settlement Date) at The Depository Trust Company through its Deposit and Withdrawal at Custodian System or by such other means of delivery as may be mutually agreed upon by the parties hereto which in all cases shall be freely tradable, transferable, registered shares in good deliverable form. On each Settlement Date, Raymond James will deliver the related Net Proceeds in same day funds to an account designated by the Company prior to the Settlement Date. The Company agrees that if the Company, or its transfer agent (if applicable), defaults in its obligation to deliver Placement Securities on a Settlement Date, the Company agrees that in addition to and in no way limiting the rights and obligations set forth in Section 10(a) and Section 11 hereto, it will (i) hold Raymond James harmless against any loss, liability, claim, damage, or expense whatsoever (including reasonable legal fees and expenses), as incurred, arising out of or in connection with such default by the Company or its transfer agent (if applicable) and (ii) pay to Raymond James any commission, discount, or other compensation to which it would otherwise have been entitled absent such default.
(d)Denominations; Registration.The Securities shall be in such denominations and registered in such names as Raymond James may request in writing at least one full business day before the Settlement Date. The Company shall deliver the Securities, if any, through the facilities of The Depository Trust Company unless Raymond James shall otherwise instruct.
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(e)Limitations on Offering Size. Under no circumstances shall the Company cause or request the offer or sale of any Securities, if after giving effect to the sale of such Securities, the aggregate offering price of the Securities sold pursuant to this Agreement would exceed the lesser of (A) together with all sales of Securities under this Agreement and each of the Alternative Distribution Agreements, the Maximum Amount and (B) the amount authorized from time to time to be issued and sold under this Agreement by the Company and notified to Raymond James in writing. Under no circumstances shall the Company cause or request the offer or sale of any Securities pursuant to this Agreement at a price lower than the minimum price authorized from time to time by the Company and notified to Raymond James in writing. Further, under no circumstances shall the aggregate offering price of Securities sold pursuant to this Agreement and the Alternative Distribution Agreements, including any separate underwriting or similar agreement covering principal transactions described in Section 1 of this Agreement and the Alternative Distribution Agreements, exceed the Maximum Amount.
(f)Limitation on Managers.The Company agrees that any offer to sell, any solicitation of an offer to buy or any sales of Securities shall only be effected by or through only one of Raymond James or an Alternative Manager on any single given day, but in no event more than one, and the Company shall in no event request that Raymond James and one or both of the Alternative Managers sell Securities on the same day;provided,however, that (a) the foregoing limitation shall not apply to (i) exercise of any option, warrant, right or any conversion privilege set forth in the instrument governing such security or (ii) sales solely to employees or security holders of the Company or its Subsidiaries, or to a trustee or other person acquiring such securities for the accounts of such persons, and (b) such limitation shall not apply on any day during which no sales are made pursuant to this Agreement.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Company shall not offer, sell or deliver, or request the offer or sale of, any Securities and, by notice to Raymond James given by telephone (confirmed promptly by facsimile transmission or email), shall cancel any instructions for the offer or sale of any Securities, and Raymond James shall not be obligated to offer or sell any Securities, (i) during any period in which the Company’s insider trading policy, as it exists on the date of this Agreement, would prohibit the purchases or sales of the Company’s Common Shares by its officers or directors, (ii) during any other period in which the Company is, or could be deemed to be, in possession of material non-public information or (iii) except as provided in Section 6(h) below, at any time from and including the date (each, an “Announcement Date”) on which the Company shall issue a press release containing, or shall otherwise publicly announce, its earnings, revenues or other results of operations (each, an “Earnings Announcement”) through and including the time that is 24 hours after the time that the Company files (a “Filing Time”) a Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or an Annual Report on Form 10-K that includes consolidated financial statements as of and for the same period or periods, as the case may be, covered by such Earnings Announcement.
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(h) If the Company wishes to offer, sell or deliver Securities at any time during the period from and including an Announcement Date through and including the time that is 24 hours after the corresponding Filing Time, the Company shall (i) prepare and deliver to Raymond James (with a copy to its counsel) a Current Report on Form 8-K which shall include substantially the same financial and related information as was set forth in the relevant Earnings Announcement (other than any earnings projections, similar forward-looking data and officers’ quotations) (each, an “Earnings 8-K”), in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Raymond James, and obtain the consent of Raymond James to the filing thereof (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld), (ii) provide Raymond James with the officers’ certificate, opinions/letters of counsel and accountants’ letter called for by Sections 7(o), (p), (q) and (r) hereof; respectively, (iii) afford Raymond James the opportunity to conduct a due diligence review in accordance with Section 7(m) hereof and (iv) file such Earnings 8-K with the Commission, then the provisions of clause (iii) of Section 6(g) shall not be applicable for the period from and after the time at which the foregoing conditions shall have been satisfied (or, if later, the time that is 24 hours after the time that the relevant Earnings Announcement was first publicly released) through and including the time that is 24 hours after the Filing Time of the relevant Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Annual Report on Form 10-K under the Exchange Act, as the case may be. For purposes of clarity, the parties hereto agree that (A) the delivery of any officers’ certificate, opinions/letters of counsel and accountants’ letter pursuant to this Section 6(h) shall not relieve the Company from any of its obligations under this Agreement with respect to any Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Annual Report on Form 10-K, as the case may be, including, without limitation, the obligation to deliver officers’ certificates, opinions/letters of counsel and accountants’ letters as provided in Section 7 hereof and (B) this Section 6(h) shall in no way affect or limit the operation of the provisions of clauses (i) and (ii) of Section 6(g), which shall have independent application.
SECTION 7.Covenants of the Company and the Operating Partnership. Each of the Company and the Operating Partnership covenants with Raymond James as follows:
(a)Registration Statement Amendments. After the date of this Agreement and during any period in which a Prospectus relating to any Placement Securities is required to be delivered by Raymond James under the Securities Act (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act), (i) the Company will notify Raymond James promptly of the time when any subsequent amendment to the Registration Statement, other than documents incorporated by reference, has been filed with the Commission and/or has become effective or any subsequent supplement to the Prospectus has been filed and of any comment letter from the Commission or any request by the Commission for any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus or for additional information; (ii) the Company will prepare and file with the Commission, promptly upon Raymond James’s request, any amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus that, in Raymond James’s reasonable opinion, may be necessary or advisable in connection with the distribution of the Placement Securities by Raymond James (provided,however, that the failure of Raymond James to make such request shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder, or affect Raymond James’s right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company and the Operating Partnership in this Agreement); (iii) the Company will not file any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus, other than documents incorporated by reference, relating to the
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Placement Securities or a security convertible into the Placement Securities unless a copy thereof has been submitted to Raymond James within a reasonable period of time before the filing and Raymond James has not reasonably objected thereto (provided,however, that the failure of Raymond James to make such objection shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder, or affect Raymond James’s right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company and the Operating Partnership in this Agreement) and the Company will furnish to Raymond James at the time of filing thereof a copy of any document that upon filing is deemed to be incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement or Prospectus, except for those documents available via EDGAR; and (iv) the Company will cause each amendment or supplement to the Prospectus, other than documents incorporated by reference, to be filed with the Commission as required pursuant to the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) (without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8)).
(b)Notice of Commission Stop Orders. The Company will advise Raymond James, promptly after it receives notice or obtains knowledge thereof, of the issuance or threatened issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or of any other order preventing or suspending the use of the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or of the suspension of the qualification of the Placement Securities for offering or sale in any jurisdiction or of the loss or suspension of any exemption from any such qualification, or of the initiation or threatening of any proceedings for any of such purposes, or of any examination pursuant to Section 8(e) of the Securities Act concerning the Registration Statement or if the Company becomes the subject of a proceeding under Section 8A of the Securities Act in connection with the offering of the Securities. The Company will make every reasonable effort to prevent the issuance of any stop order, the suspension of any qualification of the Securities for offering or sale and any loss or suspension of any exemption from any such qualification, and if any such stop order is issued or any such suspension or loss occurs, to obtain the lifting thereof at the earliest possible moment.
(c)Delivery of Registration Statement and Prospectus.The Company will furnish to Raymond James and its counsel (at the expense of the Company) copies of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus (including all documents incorporated by reference therein) and all amendments and supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus, and any Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses, that are filed with the Commission during any period in which a Prospectus relating to the Placement Securities is required to be delivered under the Securities Act, in each case as soon as reasonably practicable and in such quantities and at such locations as Raymond James may from time to time reasonably request;provided,however, that the Company shall not be required to furnish any document (other than the Prospectus) to Raymond James to the extent such document is available on EDGAR. The copies of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and any supplements or amendments thereto furnished to Raymond James will be identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.
(d)Continued Compliance with Securities Laws.If at any time when a Prospectus is required by the Securities Act or the Exchange Act to be delivered in connection with a pending sale of the Placement Securities (including, without limitation, pursuant to Rule 172), any event shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which it is necessary, in the opinion of counsel for Raymond James or for the Company, to amend the Registration Statement or amend or
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supplement the Prospectus in order that the Prospectus will not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading in the light of the circumstances existing at the time it is delivered to a purchaser, or if it shall be necessary, in the opinion of such counsel, at any such time to amend the Registration Statement or amend or supplement the Prospectus in order to comply with the requirements of the Securities Act, the Company will promptly notify Raymond James to suspend the offering of Placement Securities during such period and the Company will promptly prepare and file with the Commission such amendment or supplement as may be necessary to correct such statement or omission or to make the Registration Statement or the Prospectus comply with such requirements, and the Company will furnish to Raymond James such number of copies of such amendment or supplement as Raymond James may reasonably request. If at any time following issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus there occurred or occurs an event or development as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus conflicted, conflicts or would conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or included, includes or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted, omits or would omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances, prevailing at that subsequent time, not misleading, the Company will promptly notify Raymond James to suspend the offering of Placement Securities during such period and the Company will, subject to Section 7(a) hereof, promptly amend or supplement such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to eliminate or correct such conflict, untrue statement or omission.
(e)Blue Sky and Other Qualifications.The Company will use its best efforts, in cooperation with Raymond James, to qualify the Placement Securities for offering and sale, or to obtain an exemption for the Securities to be offered and sold, under the applicable securities laws of such states and other jurisdictions (domestic or foreign) as Raymond James may designate and to maintain such qualifications and exemptions in effect for so long as required for the distribution of the Placement Securities (but in no event for less than one year from the date of this Agreement);provided,however, that the Company shall not be obligated to file any general consent to service of process or to qualify as a foreign corporation or as a dealer in securities in any jurisdiction in which it is not so qualified or to subject itself to taxation in respect of doing business in any jurisdiction in which it is not otherwise so subject. In each jurisdiction in which the Placement Securities have been so qualified or exempt, the Company will file such statements and reports as may be required by the laws of such jurisdiction to continue such qualification or exemption, as the case may be, in effect for so long as required for the distribution of the Placement Securities (but in no event for less than one year from the date of this Agreement).
(f)Rule 158.The Company will timely file such reports pursuant to the Exchange Act as are necessary in order to make generally available to its securityholders as soon as practicable an earnings statement for the purposes of, and to provide to Raymond James the benefits contemplated by, the last paragraph of Section 11(a) of the Securities Act.
(g)Use of Proceeds. The Company will use the Net Proceeds received by it from the sale of the Securities in the manner specified in the Prospectus under “Use of Proceeds.”
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(h)Listing. During any period in which the Prospectus relating to the Placement Securities is required to be delivered by Raymond James under the Securities Act with respect to a pending sale of the Placement Securities (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act), the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the Placement Securities to be listed on the NYSE.
(i)Filings with the NYSE. The Company will timely file with the NYSE all material documents and notices required by the NYSE of companies that have or will issue securities that are traded on the NYSE.
(j)Reporting Requirements.The Company, during any period when the Prospectus is required to be delivered under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act), will file all documents required to be filed with the Commission pursuant to the Exchange Act within the time periods required by the Exchange Act.
(k)Notice of Other Sales. During the pendency of any Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable) given hereunder, the Company shall provide Raymond James notice as promptly as reasonably possible before it offers to sell, contracts to sell, sells, grants any option to sell or otherwise disposes of any Common Shares (other than Placement Securities offered pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement or the Alternative Distribution Agreements) or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Common Shares, warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire Common Shares;provided, that such notice shall not be required in connection with the (i) issuance, grant or sale of Common Shares, options to purchase Common Shares or Common Shares issuable upon the exercise of options or other equity awards pursuant to any stock option, stock bonus or other stock or compensatory plan or arrangement described in the Prospectus, including Common Shares issuable upon redemption of limited partnership units in the Operating Partnership, (ii) the issuance of securities in connection with an acquisition, merger or sale or purchase of assets described in the Prospectus, or (iii) the issuance or sale of Common Shares pursuant to any dividend reinvestment plan that the Company may adopt from time to time, provided the implementation of such is disclosed to Raymond James in advance.
(l)Change of Circumstances. The Company will, at any time during a fiscal quarter in which the Company intends to tender a Placement Notice or sell Placement Securities, advise Raymond James promptly after it shall have received notice or obtained knowledge thereof, of any information or fact that would alter or affect in any material respect any opinion, certificate, letter or other document provided to Raymond James pursuant to this Agreement.
(m)Due Diligence Cooperation. The Company will cooperate with any reasonable due diligence review conducted by Raymond James or its agents in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, including, without limitation, providing information and making available documents and senior officers, during regular business hours and at the Company’s principal offices, as Raymond James may reasonably request.
(n)Disclosure of Sales.The Company will disclose in its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, in its annual report on Form 10-K and/or in a Current Report on Form 8-K, the number of Placement Securities sold through Raymond James, the Net Proceeds to the Company and the compensation payable by the Company to Raymond James with respect to such Placement Securities.
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(o)Representation Dates; Certificates. On or prior to the date that the first Securities are sold pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, each time Securities are delivered to Raymond James as principal on a Settlement Date and:
(1) each time the Company:
(i) | files the Prospectus relating to the Securities or amends or supplements the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Securities by means of a post-effective amendment, sticker, or supplement but not by means of incorporation of documents by reference into the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Securities; |
(ii) | files an Annual Report on Form 10-K under the Exchange Act; |
(iii) | files a Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q under the Exchange Act; or |
(iv) | files a report on Form 8-K containing amended financial information (other than an Earnings Announcement, to “furnish” information pursuant to Items 2.02 or 7.01 of Form 8-K or to provide disclosure pursuant to Item 8.01 of Form 8-K relating to the reclassifications of certain properties as discontinued operations in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 144) under the Exchange Act; and |
(2) at any other time reasonably requested by Raymond James (each such date of filing of one or more of the documents referred to in clauses (1)(i) through (iv) and any time of request pursuant to this Section 7(o) shall be a “Representation Date”),
the Company shall furnish Raymond James with a certificate, in the form attached hereto asExhibit E as promptly as possible and in no event later than three (3) Trading Days of any Representation Date. The requirement to provide a certificate under this Section 7(o) shall be waived for any Representation Date occurring at a time at which no Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable) is pending, which waiver shall continue until the earlier to occur of the date the Company delivers a Placement Notice hereunder (which for such calendar quarter shall be considered a Representation Date) and the next occurring Representation Date;provided,however, that such waiver shall not apply for any Representation Date on which the Company files its annual report on Form 10-K. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company subsequently decides to sell Placement Securities following a Representation Date when the Company relied on such waiver and did not provide Raymond James with a certificate under this Section 7(o), then before the Company delivers the Placement Notice or Raymond James sells any Placement Securities, the Company shall provide Raymond James with a certificate, in the form attached hereto asExhibit E, dated the date of the Placement Notice.
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(p)Company Counsel Legal Opinions. On or prior to the date that the first Securities are sold pursuant to the terms of this Agreement and each time Securities are delivered to Raymond James as principal on a Settlement Date, as promptly as possible and in no event later than three (3) Trading Days of each Representation Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate in the form attached hereto asExhibit E for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause to be furnished to Raymond James written opinions of DLA Piper LLP (US) and Hagan & Vidovic, L.L.P. (collectively, “Company Counsel”), or other counsel satisfactory to Raymond James, in form and substance satisfactory to Raymond James and its counsel, dated the date that the opinion is required to be delivered, substantially similar to the forms attached hereto asExhibit D-1 andExhibit D-2, modified, as necessary, to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented;provided,however, that in lieu of such opinions for subsequent Representation Dates, any such counsel may furnish Raymond James with a letter (a “Reliance Letter”) to the effect that Raymond James may rely on a prior opinion delivered under this Section 7(p) to the same extent as if it were dated the date of such letter (except that statements in such prior opinion shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented at such Representation Date).
(q)Manager Counsel Legal Opinion. On or prior to the date that the first Securities are sold pursuant to the terms of this Agreement and each time Securities are delivered to Raymond James as principal on a Settlement Date, as promptly as possible and in no event later than three (3) Trading Days of each Representation Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate in the form attached hereto asExhibit E for which no waiver is applicable, Raymond James shall have received the favorable opinion of Sidley AustinLLP, counsel to Raymond James, dated the date that the opinion is required to be delivered, in customary form and substance satisfactory to Raymond James, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel such documents as they reasonably request for the purpose of enabling them to pass upon such matters. In rendering such opinion, Sidley AustinLLP may rely as to matters involving the laws of the State of Maryland upon the opinion of DLA Piper LLP (US) referred to above.
(r)Comfort Letter. On or prior to the date that the first Securities are sold pursuant to the terms of this Agreement and each time Securities are delivered to Raymond James as principal on a Settlement Date, as promptly as possible and in no event later than three (3) Trading Days of each Representation Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate in the form attached hereto asExhibit E for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause its independent accountants to furnish Raymond James a letter (a “Comfort Letter”), dated the date the Comfort Letter is delivered, in form and substance satisfactory to Raymond James, (i) confirming that they are an independent registered public accounting firm within the meaning of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and the PCAOB, (ii) stating, as of such date, the conclusions and findings of such firm with respect to the financial information and other matters ordinarily covered by accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters in connection with registered public offerings (the first such letter, the “Initial Comfort Letter”) and (iii) updating the Initial Comfort Letter with any information that would have been included in the Initial Comfort Letter had it been given on such date and modified as necessary to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, as amended and supplemented to the date of such letter.
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(s)Market Activities. Neither the Company nor the Operating Partnership will, directly or indirectly, (i) take any action designed to cause or result in, or that constitutes or might reasonably be expected to constitute, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Securities or (ii) sell, bid for, or purchase the Securities to be issued and sold pursuant to this Agreement, or pay anyone any compensation for soliciting purchases of the Securities to be issued and sold pursuant to this Agreement other than Raymond James;provided,however, that the Company may bid for and purchase its Common Shares in accordance with Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act.
(t)Insurance. The Company, the Operating Partnership and the Subsidiaries shall maintain, or caused to be maintained, insurance in such amounts and covering such risks as is reasonable and customary for companies engaged in similar businesses in similar industries.
(u)Compliance with Laws. The Company, the Operating Partnership and the Subsidiaries shall maintain, or cause to be maintained, all material environmental permits, licenses and other authorizations required by federal, state and local law in order to conduct their businesses as described in the Prospectus, and the Company and each of the Subsidiaries shall conduct their businesses, or cause their businesses to be conducted, in substantial compliance with such permits, licenses and authorizations and with applicable Environmental Laws, except where the failure to maintain or be in compliance with such permits, licenses and authorizations could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(v)Investment Company Act. Each of the Company and the Operating Partnership will conduct its affairs in such a manner so as to reasonably ensure that none of the Company, the Operating Partnership nor any of the Subsidiaries will be or become, at any time prior to the termination of this Agreement, required to register as an “investment company,” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act, assuming no change in the Commission’s current interpretation as to entities that are not considered an investment company.
(w)Securities Act and Exchange Act. The Company will use its best efforts to comply with all requirements imposed upon it by the Securities Act and the Exchange Act as from time to time in force, so far as necessary to permit the continuance of sales of, or dealings in, the Placement Securities as contemplated by the provisions hereof and the Prospectus.
(x)No Offer to Sell. Other than a free writing prospectus (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) approved in advance in writing by the Company and Raymond James in its capacity as principal or agent hereunder, the Company (including its agents and representatives, other than Raymond James in its capacity as such) will not, directly or indirectly, make, use, prepare, authorize, approve or refer to any free writing prospectus relating to the Securities to be sold by Raymond James as principal or agent hereunder.
(y)Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Company, the Operating Partnership and the Subsidiaries shall comply in all material respects with all effective applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
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(z)Regulation M. If the Company has reason to believe that the exemptive provisions set forth in Rule 101(c)(1) of Regulation M under the Exchange Act are not satisfied with respect to the Company or the Common Shares, it shall promptly notify Raymond James and sales of the Placement Securities under this Agreement shall be suspended until that or other exemptive provisions have been satisfied in the judgment of each party.
(aa)REIT Treatment. The Company will use its best efforts to meet the requirements for qualification as a “real estate investment trust” under the Code for each of its taxable years for so long as the Board of Trustees deems it in the best interests of the Company’s securityholders to remain so qualified.
(bb)Renewal of Registration Statement.The date of this Agreement is not more than three years subsequent to the initial effective date of the Registration Statement (the “Renewal Date”). If, immediately prior to the third anniversary of the Renewal Date, this Agreement has not terminated and a prospectus is required to be delivered or made available by Raymond James under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act in connection with the sale of such Securities, the Company will, prior to the Renewal Date, file, if it has not already done so, a new shelf registration statement or, if applicable, an automatic shelf registration statement relating to such Securities, and, if such registration statement is not an automatic shelf registration statement, will use its best efforts to cause such registration statement to be declared effective within 180 days after the Renewal Date, and will take all other reasonable actions necessary or appropriate to permit the public offer and sale of such Securities to continue as contemplated in the expired registration statement relating to such Securities. References herein to the “Registration Statement” shall include such new shelf registration statement or automatic shelf registration statement, as the case may be.
(cc)Rights to Refuse Purchase. If, to the knowledge of the Company, all filings required by Rule 424 in connection with the offering of the Securities shall not have been made or the representations and warranties of the Company and the Operating Partnership in Section 5 hereof shall not be true and correct on any applicable Settlement Date, the Company will offer to any person who has agreed to purchase Securities from the Company as a result of an offer to purchase solicited by Raymond James the right to refuse to purchase and pay for such Securities.
SECTION 8.Payment of Expenses.
(a)Expenses.The Company will pay all expenses incident to the performance of its obligations under this Agreement, including (i) the preparation, printing and filing of the Registration Statement (including financial statements and exhibits) as originally filed and of each amendment and supplement thereto, (ii) the word processing, printing and delivery to Raymond James of this Agreement and such other documents as may be required in connection with the offering, purchase, sale, issuance or delivery of the Placement Securities, (iii) the preparation, issuance and delivery of the certificates for the Placement Securities to Raymond James, including any stock or other transfer taxes and any capital duties, stamp duties or other duties or taxes payable upon the sale, issuance or delivery of the Placement Securities to Raymond James, (iv) the fees and disbursements of the counsel, accountants and other advisors to the Company, (v) the qualification or exemption of the Placement Securities under securities laws in accordance with the provisions of Section 7(e) hereof, including filing fees and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for Raymond James in connection therewith and in connection with the preparation of a state securities law or “blue sky” survey and any
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supplements thereto, (vi) the printing and delivery to Raymond James of copies of any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto and any costs associated with electronic delivery of any of the foregoing by Raymond James to investors, (vii) the preparation, printing and delivery to Raymond James of copies of the Blue Sky Survey and any Canadian “wrapper” and any supplements thereto, (viii) the fees and expenses of the custodian and the transfer agent and registrar for the Securities, (ix) the filing fees incident to, and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel to Raymond James in connection with, the review by FINRA of the terms of the sale of the Securities, (x) the fees and expenses incurred in connection with the listing of the Placement Securities on the NYSE, (xi) the disbursements of counsel for Raymond James in connection with the copying and delivery of closing documents delivered by the Company or the Company’s accountants or counsel (including any local counsel) and (xii) if Securities having an aggregate offering price of $25,000,000.00 or more have not been offered and sold under this Agreement and/or the Alternative Distribution Agreements by the one-year anniversary of this Agreement (or such earlier date at which the Company terminates this Agreement) (the “Determination Date”), the Company shall reimburse Raymond James and the Alternative Managers for all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, including the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel incurred by Raymond James and the Alternative Managers in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement (the “Expenses”);provided,however, that the Expenses shall not exceed an aggregate under this Agreement and each of the Alternative Distribution Agreements of $50,000. Any Expenses shall be due and payable by the Company within five (5) business days of the Determination Date.
(b)Termination of Agreement.If this Agreement is terminated by Raymond James in accordance with the provisions of Section 9 or Section 13(a)(i) or (iii) (with respect to the first clause only) hereof, the Company shall reimburse Raymond James for all of its out-of-pocket expenses, including the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for Raymond James, unless Securities having an aggregate offering price of $25,000,000.00 or more have previously been offered and sold under this Agreement and/or the Alternative Distribution Agreements.
SECTION 9.Conditions of Raymond James’s Obligations. The obligations of Raymond James hereunder with respect to a Placement will be subject to the continuing accuracy and completeness of the representations and warranties of the Company and the Operating Partnership contained in this Agreement or in certificates of any officer of the Company, the Operating Partnership or any Subsidiary of the Company delivered pursuant to the provisions hereof, to the performance by the Company of its covenants and other obligations hereunder, and to the following further conditions:
(a)Effectiveness of Registration Statement; Payment of Filing Fee.The Registration Statement shall have become effective and shall be available for (i) all sales of Placement Securities issued pursuant to all prior Placement Notices (each as amended by a corresponding Acceptance, if applicable) and (ii) the sale of all Placement Securities contemplated to be issued by any Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable). The Company shall have paid the required Commission filing fees relating to the Securities within the time required by Rule 456(b)(1)(i) of the Securities Act without regard to the proviso therein and otherwise in accordance with Rules 456(b) and 457(r) of the Securities Act (including, if applicable, by updating the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in accordance with Rule 456(b)(1)(ii) either in a post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement or on the cover page of the Prospectus).
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(b)No Material Notices. None of the following events shall have occurred and be continuing: (i) receipt by the Company or any of the Subsidiaries of any request for additional information from the Commission or any other federal or state governmental authority during the period of effectiveness of the Registration Statement, the response to which would require any post-effective amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus; (ii) the issuance by the Commission or any other federal or state governmental authority of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the initiation of any proceedings for that purpose; (iii) receipt by the Company of any notification with respect to the suspension of the qualification or exemption from qualification of any of the Placement Securities for sale in any jurisdiction or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose; (iv) the occurrence of any event that makes any material statement made in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or any material document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated therein by reference untrue in any material respect or that requires the making of any changes in the Registration Statement, related Prospectus, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or such documents so that, in the case of the Registration Statement, it will not contain any materially untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading and, that in the case of the Prospectus and any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, it will not contain any materially untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
(c)No Misstatement or Material Omission. Raymond James shall not have advised the Company that the Registration Statement or Prospectus, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, contains an untrue statement of fact that in Raymond James’s opinion is material, or omits to state a fact that in Raymond James’s opinion is material and is required to be stated therein or is necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.
(d)Material Changes. Except as contemplated in the Prospectus, or disclosed in the Company’s reports filed with the Commission, there shall not have been any material adverse change to the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the properties, earnings, business affairs or business prospects of the Company, the Operating Partnership and its Subsidiaries considered as one enterprise.
(e)Opinion of Counsel for Company.Raymond James shall have received the favorable opinions of Company Counsel, required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(p) on or before the date on which such delivery of such opinion is required pursuant to Section 7(p).
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(f)Opinion of Counsel for Raymond James. Raymond James shall have received the favorable opinion of Sidley AustinLLP required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(q) on or before the date on which the delivery of such opinion is required pursuant to Section 7(q).
(g)Representation Certificate.Raymond James shall have received the certificate required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(o) on or before the date on which delivery of such certificate is required pursuant to Section 7(o).
(h)Accountant’s Comfort Letter.Raymond James shall have received the Comfort Letter required to be delivered pursuant Section 7(r) on or before the date on which such delivery of such Comfort Letter is required pursuant to Section 7(r).
(i)Approval for Listing. The Placement Securities shall either have been (i) approved for listing on NYSE, subject only to notice of issuance, or (ii) the Company shall have filed an application for listing of the Placement Securities on NYSE at, or prior to, the issuance of any Placement Notice.
(j)No Suspension. Trading in the Securities shall not have been suspended on the NYSE.
(k)Additional Documents.On each date on which the Company is required to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(o), counsel for Raymond James shall have been furnished with such documents and opinions as they may reasonably require for the purpose of enabling them to pass upon the issuance and sale of the Securities as herein contemplated, or in order to evidence the accuracy of any of the representations or warranties, or the fulfillment of any of the conditions, contained in this Agreement.
(l)Securities Act Filings Made. All filings with the Commission required by Rule 424 under the Securities Act to have been filed prior to the issuance of any Placement Notice hereunder shall have been made within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by Rule 424.
(m)Termination of Agreement.If any condition specified in this Section 9 shall not have been fulfilled when and as required to be fulfilled, this Agreement may be terminated by Raymond James by notice to the Company, and such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except as provided in Section 8 hereof and except that, in the case of any termination of this Agreement, Sections 5, 10, 11, 12 and 21 hereof shall survive such termination and remain in full force and effect.
SECTION 10.Indemnification.
(a)Indemnification by the Company.The Company and the Operating Partnership, jointly and severally, agree to indemnify and hold harmless Raymond James and each person, if any, who controls Raymond James within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act and any director, officer, employee or affiliate thereof as follows:
(i) against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred, arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material
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fact contained in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, or arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact included in any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;
(ii) against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred, to the extent of the aggregate amount paid in settlement of any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or of any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission; provided that (subject to Section 10(d) below) any such settlement is effected with the written consent of the Company; and
(iii) against any and all expense whatsoever, as incurred (including the fees and disbursements of counsel chosen by Raymond James), reasonably incurred in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission, to the extent that any such expense is not paid under (i) or (ii) above,
provided,however, that this indemnity agreement shall not apply to any loss, liability, claim, damage or expense to the extent arising out of any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by Raymond James expressly for use in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), or in any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto).
(b)Indemnification by Raymond James. Raymond James agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company and the Operating Partnership, each person, if any, who controls the Company or the Operating Partnership within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, and any officer, director, trustee, employee or affiliate thereof, against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense described in the indemnity contained in subsection (a) of this Section 10, as incurred, but only with respect to untrue statements or omissions, or alleged untrue statements or omissions, made in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by Raymond James expressly for use therein.
(c)Actions against Parties; Notification.Each indemnified party shall give notice as promptly as reasonably practicable to each indemnifying party of any action commenced against it in respect of which indemnity may be sought hereunder, but failure to so notify an indemnifying party shall not relieve such indemnifying party from any liability hereunder to the extent it is not materially prejudiced as a result thereof and in any event shall not relieve it from
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any liability which it may have otherwise than on account of this indemnity agreement. In the case of parties indemnified pursuant to Section 10(a) above, counsel to the indemnified parties shall be selected by Raymond James, and, in the case of parties indemnified pursuant to Section 10(b) above, counsel to the indemnified parties shall be selected by the Company. An indemnifying party may participate at its own expense in the defense of any such action;provided,however, that counsel to the indemnifying party shall not (except with the consent of the indemnified party) also be counsel to the indemnified party. In no event shall the indemnifying parties be liable for fees and expenses of more than one counsel (in addition to any local counsel) separate from their own counsel for all indemnified parties in connection with any one action or separate but similar or related actions in the same jurisdiction arising out of the same general allegations or circumstances. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified parties, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever in respect of which indemnification or contribution could be sought under this Section 10 or Section 11 hereof (whether or not the indemnified parties are actual or potential parties thereto, unless (x) such settlement, compromise or consent (i) includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party from all liability arising out of such litigation, investigation, proceeding or claim and (ii) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified party and (y) the indemnifying party confirms in writing its indemnification obligations hereunder with respect to such settlement, compromise or judgment.
SECTION 11.Contribution. If the indemnification provided for in Section 10 hereof is for any reason unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party in respect of any losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the aggregate amount of such losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses incurred by such indemnified party, as incurred, (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company and the Operating Partnership, on the one hand, and Raymond James, on the other hand, from the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the Company and the Operating Partnership, on the one hand, and of Raymond James, on the other hand, in connection with the statements or omissions that resulted in such losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations.
The relative benefits received by the Company and the Operating Partnership, on the one hand, and Raymond James, on the other hand, in connection with the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the total net proceeds from the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement (before deducting expenses) received by the Company and the total commissions received by Raymond James, in each case as set forth on the cover of the Prospectus, bear to the aggregate public offering price of the Securities as set forth on such cover.
The relative fault of the Company and the Operating Partnership, on the one hand, and Raymond James, on the other hand, shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether any such untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company and the Operating Partnership or by Raymond James and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.
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The Company, the Operating Partnership and Raymond James agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 11 were determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above in this Section 11. The aggregate amount of losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses incurred by an indemnified party and referred to above in this Section 11 shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 11, Raymond James shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Securities underwritten by it and distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages which Raymond James has otherwise been required to pay by reason of any such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission.
No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.
For purposes of this Section 11, each director, officer, employee or affiliate of Raymond James and each person, if any who controls Raymond James within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act shall have the same rights to contribution as Raymond James, and each trustee of the Company, each officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act shall have the same rights to contribution as the Company, subject in each case to the preceding two paragraphs.
For purposes of this Section 11, the Company and the Operating Partnership shall be deemed one party, jointly and severally liable for any obligations hereunder.
SECTION 12.Representations, Warranties and Agreements to Survive Delivery. All representations, warranties and agreements contained in this Agreement or in certificates of officers of the Company, the Operating Partnership or any Subsidiary of the Company submitted pursuant hereto, shall remain operative and in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of Raymond James or controlling person, or by or on behalf of the Company or the Operating Partnership, and shall survive delivery of the Securities to Raymond James.
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SECTION 13.Termination of Agreement.
(a)Termination; General.Raymond James may terminate this Agreement, by notice to the Company, as hereinafter specified at any time (i) if there has been, since the time of execution of this Agreement or since the date as of which information is given in the Prospectus, any material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the properties, earnings, business affairs or business prospects of the Company, the Operating Partnership and the Subsidiaries, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business, or (ii) if there has occurred any material adverse change in the financial markets in the United States or the international financial markets, any outbreak of hostilities or escalation thereof or other calamity or crisis or any change or development involving a prospective change in national or international political, financial or economic conditions, in each case the effect of which is such as to make it, in the judgment of Raymond James, impracticable or inadvisable to market the Securities or to enforce contracts for the sale of the Securities, or (iii) if trading in the Placement Securities has been suspended or limited by the Commission or the NYSE, or if trading generally on the NYSE Amex Equities, the NYSE or the Nasdaq Global Market has been suspended or limited, or minimum or maximum prices for trading have been fixed, or maximum ranges for prices have been required, by any of said exchanges or by order of the Commission, FINRA or any other governmental authority, or a material disruption has occurred in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services in the United States or in Europe, or (iv) if a banking moratorium has been declared by either Federal or New York authorities.
(b)Termination by the Company.Subject to Section 13(f) hereof, the Company shall have the right to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time after the date of this Agreement.
(c)Termination by Raymond James.Subject to Section 13(f) hereof, Raymond James shall have the right to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time after the date of this Agreement.
(d)Automatic Termination.Unless earlier terminated pursuant to this Section 13, this Agreement shall automatically terminate upon the issuance and sale of Placement Securities through Raymond James on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein equal to the Maximum Amount.
(e)Continued Force and Effect.This Agreement shall remain in full force and effect unless terminated pursuant to Sections 13(a), (b), (c), or (d) above or otherwise by mutual agreement of the parties.
(f)Effectiveness of Termination.Any termination of this Agreement shall be effective on the date specified in such notice of termination;provided,however, that such termination shall not be effective until the close of business on the date of receipt of such notice by Raymond James or the Company, as the case may be. If such termination shall occur prior to the Settlement Date for any sale of Placement Securities, such Placement Securities shall settle in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.
(g)Liabilities.If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to this Section 13, such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except as provided in Section 8 hereof, and except that, in the case of any termination of this Agreement, Section 5, Section 10, Section 11, Section 12, and Section 21 hereof shall survive such termination and remain in full force and effect.
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SECTION 14.Notices. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, all notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given if mailed or transmitted by any standard form of telecommunication. Notices to Raymond James shall be directed to Raymond James at Raymond James & Associates, Inc., 880 Carillon Parkway, St. Petersburg, Florida 33716, Attention of General Counsel; notices to the Company and the Operating Partnership shall be directed to it at 3 Bethesda Metro Center, Suite 1200, Bethesda, Maryland, 20814, Attention: Hans S. Weger, Chief Financial Officer, fax no. (301) 941-1553.
SECTION 15.Parties. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon Raymond James, the Company, the Operating Partnership and their respective successors. Nothing expressed or mentioned in this Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give any person, firm or corporation, other than Raymond James, the Company, the Operating Partnership and their respective successors and the controlling persons and officers, directors, employees or affiliates referred to in Sections 10 and 11 and their heirs and legal representatives, any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement or any provision herein contained. This Agreement and all conditions and provisions hereof are intended to be for the sole and exclusive benefit of Raymond James, the Company, the Operating Partnership and their respective successors, and said controlling persons and officers, directors, employees or affiliates and their heirs and legal representatives, and for the benefit of no other person, firm or corporation. No purchaser of Securities from Raymond James shall be deemed to be a successor by reason merely of such purchase.
SECTION 16.Adjustments for Share Splits. The parties acknowledge and agree that all share-related numbers contained in this Agreement shall be adjusted to take into account any share split, share dividend or similar event effected with respect to the Securities.
SECTION 17.Governing Law and Time. THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. SPECIFIED TIMES OF DAY REFER TO NEW YORK CITY TIME.
SECTION 18.Effect of Headings. The Section and Exhibit headings herein are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction hereof.
SECTION 19.Definitions. As used in this Agreement, the following terms have the respective meanings set forth below:
“Applicable Time” means the time of each sale of any Securities or any securities pursuant to this Agreement.
“Commission” means the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Common Shares” means the Company’s common shares of beneficial interest, par value $.01 per share.
“EDGAR” means the Commission’s Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system.
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“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.
“FINRA” means the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.
“GAAP” means generally accepted accounting principles.
“Investment Company Act” means the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
“Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, relating to the Securities that (i) is required to be filed with the Commission by the Company, (ii) is a “road show” that is a “written communication” within the meaning of Rule 433(d)(8)(i) whether or not required to be filed with the Commission, or (iii) is exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i) because it contains a description of the Securities or of the offering that does not reflect the final terms, and all free writing prospectuses that are listed inExhibit F hereto, in each case in the form furnished (electronically or otherwise) to Raymond James for use in connection with the offering of the Securities.
“NYSE” means the New York Stock Exchange.
“Rule 172,” “Rule 405,” “Rule 415,” “Rule 424(b),” “Rule 430B,” and “Rule 433” refer to such rules under the Securities Act.
“Sarbanes-Oxley Act” means the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder or implementing the provisions thereof.
“Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.
“Subsidiary” means a corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other entity, a majority of the outstanding voting or capital stock, partnership, membership or other voting or equity interests or general partnership interests, as the case may be, of which is owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the Company, the Operating Partnership or one or more other Subsidiaries of the Company or the Operating Partnership.
All references in this Agreement to financial statements and schedules and other information that is “contained,” “included” or “stated” in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus (and all other references of like import) shall be deemed to mean and include all such financial statements and schedules and other information that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, as the case may be.
All references in this Agreement to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing shall be deemed to include the copy filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR; all references in this Agreement to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (other than any Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses that, pursuant to Rule 433, are not required to be filed with the Commission) shall be deemed to include the copy thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR; and all references in this Agreement to “supplements” to the Prospectus shall include, without limitation, any supplements, “wrappers” or similar materials prepared in connection with any offering, sale or private placement of any Placement Securities by Raymond James outside of the United States.
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SECTION 20.Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses. Each of the Company and the Operating Partnership represents, warrants and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior consent of Raymond James, and Raymond James represents, warrants and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior consent of the Company, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or that would otherwise constitute a “free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 405, required to be filed with the Commission. Any such free writing prospectus consented to by Raymond James or by the Company, as the case may be, is hereinafter referred to as a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus.” The Company represents and warrants that it has treated and agrees that it will treat each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, and has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 applicable to any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the Commission where required, legending and record keeping. For the purposes of clarity, the parties hereto agree that all free writing prospectuses, if any, listed inExhibit F hereto are Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses.
SECTION 21.Absence of Fiduciary Relationship. Each of the Company and the Operating Partnership, severally and not jointly, acknowledges and agrees that:
(a) Raymond James is acting solely as agent and/or principal in connection with the public offering of the Securities and in connection with each transaction contemplated by this Agreement and the process leading to such transactions, and no fiduciary or advisory relationship among the Company, the Operating Partnership or any of their respective affiliates, shareholders (or other equity holders), creditors or employees or any other party, on the one hand, and Raymond James, on the other hand, has been or will be created in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, irrespective of whether or not Raymond James has advised or is advising the Company and/or the Operating Partnership on other matters, and Raymond James has no obligation to the Company or the Operating Partnership with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement;
(b) the public offering price of the Securities set forth in this Agreement was not established by Raymond James;
(c) it is capable of evaluating and understanding, and understands and accepts, the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;
(d) Raymond James has not provided any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and it has consulted its own legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it has deemed appropriate;
(e) it is aware that Raymond James and its respective affiliates are engaged in a broad range of transactions which may involve interests that differ from those of the Company and the Operating Partnership and Raymond James has no obligation to disclose such interests and transactions to the Company or the Operating Partnership by virtue of any fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship or otherwise; and
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(f) it waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims it may have against Raymond James for breach of fiduciary duty or alleged breach of fiduciary duty and agrees that Raymond James shall not have any liability (whether direct or indirect, in contract, tort or otherwise) to it in respect of such a fiduciary duty claim or to any person asserting a fiduciary duty claim on its behalf or in right of it or the Company, the Operating Partnership, employees or creditors of Company or the Operating Partnership.
[Signature Page Follows]
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If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement, please sign and return to the Company a counterpart hereof, whereupon this instrument, along with all counterparts, will become a binding agreement among Raymond James, the Operating Partnership and the Company in accordance with its terms.
Very truly yours, | ||
LASALLE HOTEL PROPERTIES | ||
By | /s/ Hans S. Weger |
Name: | Hans S. Weger | |
Title: | Chief Financial Officer |
LASALLE HOTEL OPERATING PARTNERSHIP, L.P. | ||
By: | LaSalle Hotel Properties, | |
Its general partner | ||
By | /s/ Hans S. Weger |
Name: | Hans S. Weger | |
Title: | Chief Financial Officer |
CONFIRMED AND ACCEPTED, as of the date first above written: | ||
RAYMOND JAMES & ASSOCIATES, INC. | ||
By | /s/ Brad Butcher |
Name: | Brad Butcher | |
Title: | Managing Director |
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EXHIBIT A
FORM OF PLACEMENT NOTICE
From: | [ ] | |
Cc: | [ ] | |
To: | [ ] |
Subject: Equity Distribution—Placement Notice
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions contained in the Equity Distribution Agreement among LaSalle Hotel Properties (the “Company”), LaSalle Hotel Operating Partnership, L.P. (the “Operating Partnership”) and Raymond James & Associates, Inc. (“Raymond James”), dated April 21, 2010 (the “Agreement”), I hereby request on behalf of the Company that Raymond James sell up to [•] of the Company’s common shares of beneficial interest, par value $.01 per share, at a minimum market price of $[•] per share.
The Company hereby confirms that, as of the date of this Placement Notice, neither the Prospectus, nor any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, when taken together with this Prospectus, includes an untrue statement of a material fact or omits to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
ADDITIONAL SALES PARAMETERS MAY BE ADDED, SUCH AS THE TIME PERIOD IN WHICH SALES ARE REQUESTED TO BE MADE, SPECIFIC DATES THE SHARES MAY NOT BE SOLD ON, THE MANNER IN WHICH SALES ARE TO BE MADE BY RAYMOND JAMES, AND/OR THE CAPACITY IN WHICH RAYMOND JAMES MAY ACT IN SELLING SHARES (AS PRINCIPAL, AGENT, OR BOTH).
F-1