interests in the notes, or for maintaining, supervising or reviewing any of DTC’s records or any participant’s or indirect participant’s records relating to the beneficial ownership interests in the notes or any other matter relating to the actions and practices of DTC or any of its participants or indirect participants.
Euroclear and Clearstream, Luxembourg
If the depository for a global security is DTC, you may hold interests in the global notes through Euroclear Bank S.A./N.V., as operator of the Euroclear or Clearstream, Luxembourg, in each case, as a participant in DTC.
Euroclear and Clearstream, Luxembourg will hold interests, in each case, on behalf of their participants through customers’ securities accounts in the names of Euroclear and Clearstream, Luxembourg on the books of their respective depositaries, which in turn will hold such interests in customers’ securities in the depositaries’ names on DTC’s books.
Payments, deliveries, transfers, exchanges, notices and other matters relating to the notes made through Euroclear or Clearstream, Luxembourg must comply with the rules and procedures of those systems. Those systems could change their rules and procedures at any time. The Company has no control over those systems or their participants, and the Company takes no responsibility for their activities. Transactions between participants in Euroclear or Clearstream, Luxembourg, on the one hand, and other participants in DTC, on the other hand, would also be effected through DTC in accordance with DTC’s rules and procedures on behalf of Euroclear or Clearstream, as the case may be, by its respective depository.
Investors will be able to make and receive through Euroclear and Clearstream, Luxembourg payments, deliveries, transfers, exchanges, notices and other transactions involving any securities held through those systems only on days when those systems are open for business. Those systems may not be open for business on days when banks, brokers and other institutions are open for business in the United States of America.
In addition, because of time-zone differences, U.S. investors who hold their interests in the notes through these systems and wish, on a particular day, to transfer their interests, or to receive or make a payment or delivery or exercise any other right with respect to their interests, may find that the transaction will not be effected until the next Business Day in Luxembourg or Brussels, as applicable. Thus, investors who wish to exercise rights that expire on a particular day may need to act before the expiration date. In addition, investors who hold their interests through both DTC and Euroclear or Clearstream, Luxembourg may need to make special arrangements to finance any purchase or sales of their interests between the U.S. and European clearing systems, and those transactions may settle later than transactions within one clearing system.
Although DTC, Euroclear and Clearstream, Luxembourg have agreed to the procedures described above to facilitate transfers of interests in the notes among participants in DTC, Euroclear and Clearstream, Luxembourg, they are under no obligation to perform or to continue to perform those procedures, and those procedures may be discontinued or changed at any time. Neither the Company, the trustee nor any agent shall have any responsibility for the performance by DTC, Euroclear or Clearstream or their respective participants or indirect participants of their respective obligations under the rules and procedures governing their operations.
S-29