Other Matters Relating to the Underwriters
We have agreed to indemnify the several underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, and to contribute to payments that the underwriters may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.
The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include sales and trading, commercial and investment banking, advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, market making, brokerage and other financial and non-financial activities and services. Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have provided, and may in the future provide, a variety of these services to us and to persons and entities with relationships with us, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses. Affiliates of certain of the underwriters are lenders under the MPLX Credit Agreement, for which they have received, and in the future would receive, customary fees. In particular, Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, an affiliate of Wells Fargo Securities, LLC is the administrative agent, Wells Fargo Securities LLC, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., an affiliate of J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Barclays Bank PLC, an affiliate of Barclays Capital Inc., BofA Securities, Inc., Citibank, N.A., an affiliate of Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Mizuho Bank, Ltd., an affiliate of Mizuho Securities USA LLC, MUFG Bank, Ltd., an affiliate of MUFG Securities Americas Inc., RBC Capital Markets, LLC and TD Securities (USA) LLC, are joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., is syndication agent and Bank of America, N.A., an affiliate of BofA Securities, Inc., Barclays Bank PLC, Citibank, N.A., Mizuho Bank Ltd., MUFG Bank, Ltd., Royal Bank of Canada, an affiliate of RBC Capital Markets, LLC and The Toronto-Dominion Bank, New York Branch, an affiliate of TD Securities (USA) LLC, are documentation agents to the MPLX Credit Agreement.
In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates, officers, directors and employees may purchase, sell or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade securities, derivatives, loans, commodities, currencies, credit default swaps and other financial instruments for their own account and for the accounts of their customers, and such investment and trading activities may involve or relate to assets, securities and/or instruments of us (directly, as collateral securing other obligations or otherwise) and/or persons and entities with relationships with us. The underwriters and their respective affiliates may also communicate independent investment recommendations, market color or trading ideas and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such assets, securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they should acquire, long and/or short positions in such assets, securities and instruments.
Certain of the underwriters or their affiliates have a lending relationship with us. Certain of those underwriters or their affiliates routinely hedge, and certain other of those underwriters or their affiliates may hedge, their credit exposure to us consistent with their customary risk management policies. Typically, such underwriters and their affiliates would hedge such exposure by entering into transactions which consist of either the purchase of credit default swaps or the creation of short positions in our securities, including potentially the notes offered hereby. Any such credit default swaps or short positions could adversely affect future trading prices of the notes offered hereby.
Conflicts of Interest
Certain of the underwriters or their affiliates may hold certain of the notes that are being repaid, redeemed or otherwise retired and, accordingly, may receive a portion of the net proceeds of this offering. At least 5% of the net proceeds of this offering may be directed to one or more of the underwriters (or their affiliates). The receipt of at least 5% of the net proceeds of this offering by any underwriter (or its affiliates) would be considered a “conflict of interest” under FINRA Rule 5121. As such, this offering is being conducted in accordance with the applicable requirements of Rule 5121 regarding the underwriting of securities of a company with a member that has a conflict of interest within the meaning of those rules. Rule 5121 requires prominent disclosure of the nature of the conflict of interest in the prospectus supplement for the public offering. Pursuant to Rule 5121(a)(1)(C), the appointment of a qualified independent underwriter is not necessary in connection with this offering as the securities offered are investment grade rated.
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