Exhibit 10.1
FIFTH AMENDED AND RESTATED
AGREEMENT OF LIMITED PARTNERSHIP
OF
QUALITYTECH, LP
October 15, 2013
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page | ||||||
ARTICLE I DEFINED TERMS | 2 | |||||
ARTICLE II ORGANIZATIONAL MATTERS | 16 | |||||
Section 2.1 | Organization | 16 | ||||
Section 2.2 | Name | 17 | ||||
Section 2.3 | Registered Office and Agent; Principal Office | 17 | ||||
Section 2.4 | Term | 17 | ||||
ARTICLE III PURPOSE | 18 | |||||
Section 3.1 | Purpose and Business | 18 | ||||
Section 3.2 | Powers | 18 | ||||
ARTICLE IV CAPITAL CONTRIBUTIONS AND ISSUANCES OF PARTNERSHIP INTERESTS | 19 | |||||
Section 4.1 | Capital Contributions of the Partners | 19 | ||||
Section 4.2 | Issuances of Partnership Interests | 19 | ||||
Section 4.3 | No Preemptive Rights | 20 | ||||
Section 4.4 | Other Contribution Provisions | 20 | ||||
Section 4.5 | No Interest on Capital | 21 | ||||
Section 4.6 | Class RS LTIP Units | 21 | ||||
Section 4.7 | Conversion of Class RS LTIP Units | 23 | ||||
Section 4.8 | Class O LTIP Units | 25 | ||||
Section 4.9 | Conversion of Class O LTIP Units | 27 | ||||
ARTICLE V DISTRIBUTIONS | 30 | |||||
Section 5.1 | Requirement and Characterization of Distributions | 30 | ||||
Section 5.2 | Amounts Withheld | 33 | ||||
Section 5.3 | Distributions upon Liquidation | 33 | ||||
Section 5.4 | Revisions to Reflect Issuance of Partnership Interests | 33 | ||||
ARTICLE VI ALLOCATIONS | 34 | |||||
Section 6.1 | Allocations for Capital Account Purposes | 34 | ||||
Section 6.2 | Revisions to Allocations to Reflect Issuance of Partnership Interests | 37 | ||||
ARTICLE VII MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS OF BUSINESS | 37 | |||||
Section 7.1 | Management | 37 | ||||
Section 7.2 | Certificate of Limited Partnership | 41 | ||||
Section 7.3 | Title to Partnership Assets | 42 |
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Section 7.4 | Reimbursement of the General Partner | 42 | ||||
Section 7.5 | Outside Activities of the General Partner; Relationship of Shares to Partnership Units; Funding Debt | 45 | ||||
Section 7.6 | Transactions with Affiliates | 47 | ||||
Section 7.7 | Indemnification | 48 | ||||
Section 7.8 | Liability of the General Partner | 50 | ||||
Section 7.9 | Other Matters Concerning the General Partner | 51 | ||||
Section 7.10 | Reliance by Third Parties | 52 | ||||
Section 7.11 | Loans by Third Parties | 52 | ||||
ARTICLE VIII RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF LIMITED PARTNERS | 53 | |||||
Section 8.1 | Limitation of Liability | 53 | ||||
Section 8.2 | Management of Business | 53 | ||||
Section 8.3 | Outside Activities of Limited Partners | 53 | ||||
Section 8.4 | Return of Capital | 53 | ||||
Section 8.5 | Rights of Limited Partners Relating to the Partnership | 54 | ||||
Section 8.6 | Redemption Right | 55 | ||||
ARTICLE IX BOOKS, RECORDS, ACCOUNTING AND REPORTS | 58 | |||||
Section 9.1 | Records and Accounting | 58 | ||||
Section 9.2 | Fiscal Year | 59 | ||||
Section 9.3 | Reports | 59 | ||||
ARTICLE X TAX MATTERS | 59 | |||||
Section 10.1 | Preparation of Tax Returns | 59 | ||||
Section 10.2 | Tax Elections | 59 | ||||
Section 10.3 | Tax Matters Partner | 60 | ||||
Section 10.4 | Organizational Expenses | 61 | ||||
Section 10.5 | Withholding | 62 | ||||
ARTICLE XI TRANSFERS AND WITHDRAWALS | 62 | |||||
Section 11.1 | Transfer | 62 | ||||
Section 11.2 | Transfers of Partnership Interests of General Partner | 63 | ||||
Section 11.3 | Limited Partners’ Rights to Transfer | 64 | ||||
Section 11.4 | Substituted Limited Partners | 65 | ||||
Section 11.5 | Assignees | 66 | ||||
Section 11.6 | General Provisions | 66 | ||||
ARTICLE XII ADMISSION OF PARTNERS | 68 | |||||
Section 12.1 | Admission of a Successor General Partner | 68 | ||||
Section 12.2 | Admission of Additional Limited Partners | 68 | ||||
Section 12.3 | Amendment of Agreement and Certificate of Limited Partnership | 69 |
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ARTICLE XIII DISSOLUTION AND LIQUIDATION | 69 | |||||
Section 13.1 | Dissolution | 69 | ||||
Section 13.2 | Winding Up | 70 | ||||
Section 13.3 | Compliance with Timing Requirements of Regulations; Restoration of Deficit Capital Accounts | 71 | ||||
Section 13.4 | Rights of Limited Partners | 73 | ||||
Section 13.5 | Notice of Dissolution | 73 | ||||
Section 13.6 | Cancellation of Certificate of Limited Partnership | 73 | ||||
Section 13.7 | Reasonable Time for Winding Up | 73 | ||||
Section 13.8 | Waiver of Partition | 74 | ||||
Section 13.9 | Liability of Liquidator | 74 | ||||
ARTICLE XIV AMENDMENT OF PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT; MEETINGS | 74 | |||||
Section 14.1 | Amendments | 74 | ||||
Section 14.2 | Meetings of the Partners | 75 | ||||
ARTICLE XV GENERAL PROVISIONS | 76 | |||||
Section 15.1 | Addresses and Notice | 76 | ||||
Section 15.2 | Titles and Captions | 76 | ||||
Section 15.3 | Pronouns and Plurals | 76 | ||||
Section 15.4 | Further Action | 76 | ||||
Section 15.5 | Binding Effect | 77 | ||||
Section 15.6 | Creditors | 77 | ||||
Section 15.7 | Waiver | 77 | ||||
Section 15.8 | Counterparts | 77 | ||||
Section 15.9 | Applicable Law | 77 | ||||
Section 15.10 | Invalidity of Provisions | 77 | ||||
Section 15.11 | Power of Attorney | 77 | ||||
Section 15.12 | Entire Agreement | 79 | ||||
Section 15.13 | No Rights as Shareholders | 79 | ||||
Section 15.14 | Limitation to Preserve REIT Status | 79 |
List of Exhibits | ||
Exhibit A | Form of Partner Registry | |
Exhibit B | Capital Account Maintenance | |
Exhibit C | Special Allocation Rules | |
Exhibit D | Notice of Redemption | |
Exhibit E | Form of DRO Registry | |
Exhibit F | Notice of Election by Holder to Convert Class RS LTIP Units into Class A Units | |
Exhibit G | Notice of Election by Partnership to Force Conversion of Class RS LTIP Units into Class A Units | |
Exhibit H | Notice of Election by Holder to Convert Class O LTIP Units into Class A Units | |
Exhibit I | Notice of Election by Partnership to Force Conversion of Class O LTIP Units into Class A Units |
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FIFTH AMENDED AND RESTATED
AGREEMENT OF LIMITED PARTNERSHIP
OF
QUALITYTECH, LP
THIS FIFTH AMENDED AND RESTATED AGREEMENT OF LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, dated as of October 15, 2013, is entered into by and among QTS Realty Trust, Inc., a Maryland corporation, as the General Partner, and the Persons whose names are set forth on the Partner Registry (as hereinafter defined) as Limited Partners, together with any other Persons who become Partners in QualityTech, LP (the “Partnership”) as provided herein.
WHEREAS, on August 5, 2009, QualityTech GP, LLC, the former general partner of the Partnership (the “Former General Partner”), formed the Partnership as a limited partnership pursuant to Delaware law by the filing of the Certificate of Limited Partnership with the Delaware Secretary of State;
WHEREAS, the Former General Partner and Chad L. Williams (the “Organizational Limited Partner”) entered into that certain Agreement of Limited Partnership of the Partnership dated as of August 5, 2009 (the “Original Agreement”);
WHEREAS, the Original Agreement subsequently was amended and restated from time to time by the Former General Partner and the then Limited Partners, with the most recent such amendment and restatement being the Fourth Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership, dated September 28, 2012, as amended (the “Fourth Amended Agreement”);
WHEREAS, in connection with the initial public offering of the General Partner (the “IPO”), (i) the Class C and Class D units of limited partnership interest of the Partnership have converted into Class A Units in accordance with their terms, (ii) General Atlantic REIT, Inc. has merged with and into the General Partner, with the General Partner surviving and continuing to hold the Partnership Interests formerly held by General Atlantic REIT, Inc., (iii) the General Partner has been admitted to the Partnership as successor general partner, and the Former General Partner has withdrawn as general partner of the Partnership, with the continuation of the business of the Partnership and the appointment, effective as of the date of withdrawal of the Former General Partner, of the General Partner as successor general partner having been approved by Consent of the Outside Limited Partners, (v) QualityTech Employee Pool, LLC has distributed to its members the LTIP Units held by it in accordance with each such member’s LTIP Unit grants, with such members now being Partners in the Partnership and (vi) the General Partner has contributed to the Partnership the net proceeds of the IPO in exchange for a number of Class A Units equal to the numbers of shares of common stock issued in the IPO; and
WHEREAS, the Partners now wish to amend and restate the partnership agreement as set forth herein, which shall amend, restate and supersede in its entirety the Fourth Amended Agreement and which shall constitute.
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NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants set forth herein, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto hereby agree to amend and restate the Fourth Amended Agreement in its entirety and agree to continue the Partnership as a limited partnership under the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act, as amended from time to time, as follows:
ARTICLE I
DEFINED TERMS
The following definitions shall be for all purposes, unless otherwise clearly indicated to the contrary, applied to the terms used in this Agreement.
“Act” means the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act, as it may be amended from time to time, and any successor to such statute.
“Additional Limited Partner” means a Person admitted to the Partnership as a Limited Partner pursuant toSection 12.2 hereof and who is shown as a Limited Partner on the Partnership Registry.
“Adjusted Capital Account” means the Capital Account maintained for each Partner as of the end of each Fiscal Year (i) increased by any amounts which such Partner is obligated to restore pursuant to any provision of this Agreement or is deemed to be obligated to restore pursuant to the penultimate sentences of Regulations Sections 1.704-2(g)(1) and 1.704-2(i)(5) and (ii) decreased by the items described in Regulations Sections 1.704-1(b)(2)(ii)(d)(4), 1.704-1(b)(2)(ii)(d)(5) and 1.704-1(b)(2)(ii)(d)(6). The foregoing definition of Adjusted Capital Account is intended to comply with the provisions of Regulations Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(ii)(d) and shall be interpreted consistently therewith.
“Adjusted Capital Account Deficit” means, with respect to any Partner, the deficit balance, if any, in such Partner’s Adjusted Capital Account as of the end of the relevant Fiscal Year.
“Adjusted Property” means any property the Carrying Value of which has been adjusted pursuant toExhibit B.
“Adjustment Event” means an event in which (i) the Partnership makes a distribution of Partnership Units on all outstanding Class A Units, (ii) the Partnership subdivides the outstanding Class A Units into a greater number of Class A Units or a lesser number of Class A Units, (iii) the Partnership issues any Partnership Units in exchange for its outstanding Class A Units by way of a reclassification or recapitalization of its Class A Units, or (iv) a similar transaction involving Class A Units where consideration is not received in connection with such transaction. For the avoidance of doubt, the following shall not be Adjustment Event: (a) the issuance of Partnership Units in a financing, reorganization, acquisition or similar business transaction; (b) the issuance of Partnership Units pursuant to the Equity Incentive Plan or other compensation plan, or under a distribution reinvestment plan; or (c) the issuance of any Partnership Units to the General Partner or other Persons in respect of a Capital Contribution to the Partnership.
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“Affiliate” means, with respect to any Person, (i) any Person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with such Person, or (ii) any officer, director, general partner or trustee of such Person or any Person referred to in the foregoing clause (i). For purposes of this definition, “control,” when used with respect to any Person, means the power to direct the management and policies of such Person, directly or indirectly, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise, and the terms “controlling” and “controlled” have meanings correlative to the foregoing.
“Aggregate DRO Amount” means the aggregate balances of the DRO Amounts, if any, of all DRO Partners, if any, as determined on the date in question.
“Agreed Value” means (i) in the case of any Contributed Property, the Section 704(c) Value of such property as of the time of its contribution to the Partnership, reduced by any liabilities either assumed by the Partnership upon such contribution or to which such property is subject when contributed as determined under Section 752 of the Code and the regulations thereunder; and (ii) in the case of any property distributed to a Partner by the Partnership, the Partnership’s Carrying Value of such property at the time such property is distributed, reduced by any indebtedness either assumed by such Partner upon such distribution or to which such property is subject at the time of distribution.
“Agreement” means this Fifth Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership, as it may be amended, supplemented or restated from time to time.
“Assignee” means a Person to whom one or more Partnership Units have been transferred in a manner permitted under this Agreement, but who has not become a Substituted Limited Partner, and who has the rights set forth inSection 11.5.
“Automatic RS Conversion” has the meaning set forth inSection 4.7.C.
“Available Cash” means, with respect to any period for which such calculation is being made, cash of the Partnership, regardless of source (including Capital Contributions and loans to the Partnership), that the General Partner, in its sole and absolute discretion, determines is appropriate for distribution to the Partners.
“Award Agreement” means each or any, as the context implies, agreement or instrument entered into between the Partnership and a grantee upon acceptance of an award of LTIP Units under the Equity Incentive Plan, in each case in form and substance satisfactory to the General Partner.
“Book-Tax Disparities” means, with respect to any item of Contributed Property or Adjusted Property, as of the date of any determination, the difference between the Carrying Value of such Contributed Property or Adjusted Property and the adjusted basis thereof for federal income tax purposes as of such date. A Partner’s share of the Partnership’s Book-Tax Disparities in all of its Contributed Property and Adjusted Property will be reflected by the difference between such Partner’s Capital Account balance as maintained pursuant toExhibit B and the hypothetical balance of such Partner’s Capital Account computed as if it had been maintained strictly in accordance with federal income tax accounting principles.
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“Business Day” means any day except a Saturday, Sunday or other day on which commercial banks in Overland Park, Kansas or New York, New York are authorized or required by law to close.
“Capital Account” means the Capital Account maintained for a Partner pursuant toExhibit B. The Capital Account balance for each Partner who is a Partner on the date hereof shall be the amount set forth opposite such Partner’s name on the Partner Registry. In connection with the IPO, the Carrying Values of all Partnership Assets are being revalued in accordance with Section 1.D. of Exhibit B so that after giving effect to the allocations of Unrealized Gains and Unrealized Losses resulting therefrom in accordance with the provisions ofArticle VI hereof, (i) the Capital Account of each Class A Unit shall be $21.00, the issue price of a Share of the General Partner Entity in the IPO, (ii) the Capital Account of each Class RS LTIP Units issued prior to and not in connection with the IPO shall be $21.00, the issue price of a Share of the General Partner Entity in the IPO, (iii) the Capital Account of each Class O LTIP Units issued prior to September 1, 2012 shall be $1.00, the excess of the issue price of a Share of the General Partner Entity in the IPO over the Class O LTIP Unit Adjusted Conversion Factor for such Units, (iv) the Capital Account of each Class O LTIP Units issued on or after September 1, 2012 and not in connection with the IPO shall be $0, the excess of the issue price of a Share of General Partner in the IPO over the Class O LTIP Unit Adjusted Conversion Factor for such Units.
“Capital Contribution” means, with respect to any Partner, any cash and the Agreed Value of Contributed Property which such Partner contributes or is deemed to contribute to the Partnership.
“Carrying Value” means (i) with respect to a Contributed Property or Adjusted Property, the Section 704(c) Value of such property reduced (but not below zero) by all Depreciation with respect to such Contributed Property or Adjusted Property, as the case may be, charged to the Partners’ Capital Accounts and (ii) with respect to any other Partnership property, the adjusted basis of such property for federal income tax purposes, all as of the time of determination. The Carrying Value of any property shall be adjusted from time to time in accordance withExhibit B, and to reflect changes, additions (including capital improvements thereto) or other adjustments to the Carrying Value for dispositions and acquisitions of Partnership properties, as deemed appropriate by the General Partner.
“Cash Amount” means an amount of cash equal to the Value on the Valuation Date of the Shares Amount.
“Certificate of Limited Partnership” means the Certificate of Limited Partnership relating to the Partnership filed in the office of the Delaware Secretary of State, as amended from time to time in accordance with the terms hereof and the Act.
“Class A” has the meaning set forth inSection 5.1.C.
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“Class A Share” has the meaning set forth inSection 5.1.C.
“Class A Unit” means any Partnership Unit that is not specifically designated by the General Partner as being of another specified class of Partnership Units.
“Class A Unit Distribution” has the meaning set forth inSection 4.6.B.
“Class A Unit Economic Capital Account Balance” means (i) the Capital Account balance of the General Partner, plus the amount of the General Partner’s share of any Partner Minimum Gain or Partnership Minimum Gain, in either case to the extent attributable to the General Partner’s ownership of Class A Units and computed on a hypothetical basis after taking into account all allocations through the date on which any allocation is made underSection 6.1.E, divided by (ii) the number of the General Partner’s Class A Units.
“Class A Unit Profit Balance” as of any date of determination means the excess, if any, of (i) the Class A Unit Economic Capital Account Balance on such date for purposes of eitherSection 4.9 orSection 6.1.F(ii) over (ii) the Class O LTIP Unit Adjusted Conversion Factor as of such date.
“Class A Unit Transaction” has the meaning set forth inSection 4.7.F.
“Class B” has the meaning set forth inSection 5.1.C.
“Class B Share” has the meaning set forth inSection 5.1.C.
“Class B Unit” means a Partnership Unit that is specifically designated by the General Partner as being a Class B Unit.
“Class O LTIP Unit” means a Partnership Unit that is specifically designated by the General Partner as being a Class O LTIP Unit.
“Class O LTIP Unit Adjusted Conversion Factor” means the Class A Unit Economic Capital Account Balance on the date on which the Class O Units in question were issued, reduced by the excess, if any, of (i) the aggregate distributions per Class A Unit made with respect to the Class A Units held by the General Partner from the date on which such Class O Units were issued to the date of determination for purposes ofSection 4.9 orSection 6.1.F over (ii) aggregate Net Income per Class A Unit allocated pursuant toSection 6.1.A(7) (reduced by any Net Losses allocated with respect to such Class A Units pursuant toSection 6.1.B(2) to the extent not offset with subsequent allocations of Net Income pursuant toSection 6.1A(6) during the applicable period) with respect to the Class A Units held by the General Partner during such period.
“Class O LTIP Unit Capital Account Limitation” has the meaning set forth inSection 4.9.A.
“Class O LTIP Unit Conversion Right” has the meaning set forth inSection 4.9.A.
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“Class O Unit Economic Capital Account Balance” means the Capital Account balance of a holder of Class O LTIP Units to the extent attributable to its ownership of Class O LTIP Units.
“Class O LTIP Unit Mandatory Conversion” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.9.C.
“Class O LTIP Unit Mandatory Conversion Notice” has the meaning set forth inSection 4.9.C.
“Class O LTIP Unit Tax Distribution” has the meaning set forth inSection 5.1.F.
“Class RS LTIP Unit” means a Partnership Unit that is specifically designated by the General Partner as being a Class RS LTIP Unit.
“Class RS LTIP Unit Capital Account Limitation” has the meaning set forth inSection 4.7.B.
“Class RS LTIP Unit Conversion Date” has the meaning set forth inSection 4.7.B.
“Class RS LTIP Unit Conversion Notice” has the meaning set forth inSection 4.7.B.
“Class RS LTIP Unit Conversion Right” has the meaning set forth inSection 4.7.A.
“Class RS LTIP Unit Economic Capital Account Balance” means the Capital Account balance of the holder of a Class RS LTIP Unit to the extent attributable to its ownership of Class RS LTIP Units.
“Class RS LTIP Unit Mandatory Conversion” has the meaning set forth inSection 4.7.C.
“Class RS LTIP Unit Mandatory Conversion Notice” has the meaning set forth inSection 4.7.C.
“Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended and in effect from time to time, as interpreted by the applicable regulations thereunder. Any reference herein to a specific section or sections of the Code shall be deemed to include a reference to any corresponding provision of future law.
“Consent” means the consent or approval of a proposed action by a Partner given in accordance withArticle XIV.
“Consent of the Outside Limited Partners” means the Consent of Limited Partners (excluding for this purpose any Limited Partner Interests held by the General Partner or the General Partner Entity) holding Class A Units representing more than fifty percent (50%) of the Percentage Interest of the Class A Units of all Limited Partners (excluding for this purpose any Class A Units held by the General Partner or the General Partner Entity).
“Constituent Person” has the meaning set forth inSection 4.7.F.
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“Contributed Property” means each property or other asset contributed to the Partnership, in such form as may be permitted by the Act, but excluding cash contributed or deemed contributed to the Partnership. Once the Carrying Value of a Contributed Property is adjusted pursuant toExhibit B, such property shall no longer constitute a Contributed Property for purposes ofExhibit B, but shall be deemed an Adjusted Property for such purposes.
“Conversion Factor” means 1.0; provided, however, that, if the General Partner Entity (i) declares or pays a dividend on its outstanding Shares in Shares or makes a distribution to all holders of its outstanding Shares in Shares, (ii) subdivides its outstanding Shares, or (iii) combines its outstanding Shares into a smaller number of Shares, the Conversion Factor shall be adjusted by multiplying the Conversion Factor by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the number of Shares issued and outstanding on the record date for such dividend, distribution, subdivision or combination (assuming for such purposes that such dividend, distribution, subdivision or combination has occurred as of such time) and the denominator of which shall be the actual number of Shares (determined without the above assumption) issued and outstanding on the record date for such dividend, distribution, subdivision or combination; and provided further that if an entity shall cease to be the General Partner Entity (the “Predecessor Entity”) and another entity shall become the General Partner Entity (the “Successor Entity”), the Conversion Factor shall be adjusted by multiplying the Conversion Factor by a fraction, the numerator of which is the Value of one Share of the Predecessor Entity, determined as of the date when the Successor Entity becomes the General Partner Entity, and the denominator of which is the Value of one Share of the Successor Entity, determined as of that same date. (For purposes of the second proviso in the preceding sentence, if any shareholders of the Predecessor Entity will receive consideration in connection with the transaction in which the Successor Entity becomes the General Partner Entity, the numerator in the fraction described above for determining the adjustment to the Conversion Factor (that is, the Value of one Share of the Predecessor Entity) shall be the sum of the greatest amount of cash and the fair market value (as determined in good faith by the General Partner) of any securities and other consideration that the holder of one Share in the Predecessor Entity could have received in such transaction (determined without regard to any provisions governing fractional shares).) Any adjustment to the Conversion Factor shall become effective immediately after the effective date of the event retroactive to the record date, if any, for the event giving rise thereto, it being intended that (x) adjustments to the Conversion Factor are to be made to avoid unintended dilution or anti-dilution as a result of transactions in which Shares are issued, redeemed or exchanged without a corresponding issuance, redemption or exchange of Partnership Units and (y) if a Specified Redemption Date shall fall between the record date and the effective date of any event of the type described above, that the Conversion Factor applicable to such redemption shall be adjusted to take into account such event.
“Convertible Funding Debt” has the meaning set forth inSection 7.5.D.
“Debt” means, as to any Person, as of any date of determination, (i) all indebtedness of such Person for borrowed money or for the deferred purchase price of property or services, (ii) all amounts owed by such Person to banks or other Persons in respect of reimbursement obligations under letters of credit, surety bonds and other similar instruments guaranteeing payment or other performance of obligations by such Person, (iii) all indebtedness for borrowed money or for the
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deferred purchase price of property or services secured by any lien on any property owned by such Person, to the extent attributable to such Person’s interest in such property, even though such Person has not assumed or become liable for the payment thereof, and (iv) obligations of such Person incurred in connection with entering into a lease which, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, should be capitalized.
“Depreciation” means, for each Fiscal Year, an amount equal to the U.S. federal income tax depreciation, amortization, or other cost recovery deduction allowable with respect to an asset for such year, except that if the Carrying Value of an asset differs from its adjusted basis for U.S. federal income tax purposes at the beginning of such year or other period, Depreciation shall be an amount which bears the same ratio to such beginning Carrying Value as the federal income tax depreciation, amortization, or other cost recovery deduction for such year bears to such beginning adjusted tax basis; provided, however, that if the U.S. federal income tax depreciation, amortization, or other cost recovery deduction for such year is zero, Depreciation shall be determined with reference to such beginning Carrying Value using any reasonable method selected by the General Partner.
“Distribution Period” has the meaning set forth inSection 5.1.C.
“DRO Amount” means the amount specified in the DRO Registry with respect to any DRO Partner, as such DRO Registry may be amended from time to time.
“DRO Partner” means a Partner who has agreed in writing to be a DRO Partner and has agreed and is obligated to make certain contributions, not in excess of such DRO Partner’s DRO Amount, to the Partnership with respect to any deficit balance in such Partner’s Capital Account upon the occurrence of certain events. A DRO Partner who is obligated to make any such contribution only upon liquidation of the Partnership shall be designated in the DRO Registry as a “Part I DRO Partner” and a DRO Partner who is obligated to make any such contribution to the Partnership either upon liquidation of the Partnership or upon liquidation of such DRO Partner’s Partnership Interest shall be designated in the DRO Registry as a “Part II DRO Partner.”
“DRO Registry” means the DRO Registry maintained by the General Partner in the books and records of the Partnership containing substantially the same information as would be necessary to complete the Form of DRO Registry attached hereto asExhibit E.
“Equity Incentive Plan” means any equity incentive or compensation plan hereafter adopted by the Partnership or the General Partner, including, without limitation, the QTS Realty Trust, Inc. 2013 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended from time to time.
“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
“Extraordinary Transaction” means in a single transaction or a series of related transactions, (A) a sale, conveyance, exchange or transfer to another Person of (i) all or substantially all of the assets of the General Partner Entity or the Partnership or (ii) a majority of outstanding Shares or other equity securities of the General Partner Entity or a majority of outstanding Limited Partner Interests, or (B) a merger, consolidation or similar business combination of (i) the General
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Partner Entity or the Partnership with or into one or more Persons or (ii) one or more Persons with or into the General Partner Entity or the Partnership, except, in the case of (B)(i) or (B)(ii), a merger, consolidation or similar business combination solely to effect a reincorporation of the General Partner Entity in a different jurisdiction.
“Fiscal Quarter” means any three calendar month quarter of any Fiscal Year of the Partnership, which quarters shall end on March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31 of each Fiscal Year.
“Fiscal Year” means the fiscal year of the Partnership, which shall be the calendar year as provided inSection 9.2.
“Funding Debt” means any Debt incurred for the purpose of providing funds to the Partnership by or on behalf of the General Partner, the General Partner Entity or any wholly owned subsidiary of either the General Partner or the General Partner Entity.
“General Partner” means QTS Realty Trust, Inc., a Maryland corporation, or its successor or permitted assignee, as general partner of the Partnership.
“General Partner Entity” means the General Partner;provided,however, that if (i) the common shares of beneficial interest (or other comparable equity interests) of the General Partner are at any time not Publicly Traded and (ii) the common shares of beneficial interest (or other comparable equity interests) of an entity that owns, directly or indirectly, fifty percent (50%) or more of the common shares of beneficial interest (or other comparable equity interests) of the General Partner are Publicly Traded, the term “General Partner Entity” shall refer to such entity whose common shares of beneficial interest (or other comparable equity securities) are Publicly Traded. If both requirements set forth in clauses (i) and (ii) above are not satisfied, then the term “General Partner Entity” shall mean the General Partner.
“General Partner Interest” means a Partnership Interest held by the General Partner that is not designated a Limited Partner Interest. A General Partner Interest may be expressed as a number of Partnership Units.
“General Partner Payment” has the meaning set forth inSection 15.14 hereof.
“Immediate Family” means, with respect to any natural Person, such natural Person’s spouse, parents, descendants, nephews, nieces, brothers, and sisters.
“Incapacity” or “Incapacitated” means, (i) as to any individual who is a Partner, death, total physical disability or entry by a court of competent jurisdiction adjudicating such Partner incompetent to manage his or her Person or estate, (ii) as to any corporation which is a Partner, the filing of a certificate of dissolution, or its equivalent, for the corporation or the revocation of its charter, (iii) as to any partnership or limited liability company which is a Partner, the dissolution and commencement of winding up of the partnership or limited liability company, (iv) as to any estate which is a Partner, the distribution by the fiduciary of the estate’s entire interest in the Partnership,
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(v) as to any trustee of a trust which is a Partner, the termination of the trust (but not the substitution of a new trustee) or (vi) as to any Partner, the bankruptcy of such Partner. For purposes of this definition, bankruptcy of a Partner shall be deemed to have occurred when (a) the Partner commences a voluntary proceeding seeking liquidation, reorganization or other relief under any bankruptcy, insolvency or other similar law now or hereafter in effect, (b) the Partner is adjudged as bankrupt or insolvent, or a final and nonappealable order for relief under any bankruptcy, insolvency or similar law now or hereafter in effect has been entered against the Partner, (c) the Partner executes and delivers a general assignment for the benefit of the Partner’s creditors, (d) the Partner files an answer or other pleading admitting or failing to contest the material allegations of a petition filed against the Partner in any proceeding of the nature described in clause (b) above, (e) the Partner seeks, consents to or acquiesces in the appointment of a trustee, receiver or liquidator for the Partner or for all or any substantial part of the Partner’s properties, (f) any proceeding seeking liquidation, reorganization or other relief under any bankruptcy, insolvency or other similar law now or hereafter in effect has not been dismissed within one hundred twenty (120) days after the commencement thereof, (g) the appointment without the Partner’s consent or acquiescence of a trustee, receiver or liquidator has not been vacated or stayed within ninety (90) days of such appointment or (h) an appointment referred to in clause (g) is not vacated within ninety (90) days after the expiration of any such stay.
“Indemnitee” means (i) any Person made a party to a proceeding by reason of its status as (A) the General Partner, (B) the General Partner Entity, (C) a Limited Partner, or (D) any direct or indirect trustee, manager, director, officer, member, shareholder or partner of the Partnership, the General Partner, the General Partner Entity or a Limited Partner, and (ii) such other Persons (including Affiliates of the General Partner or the General Partner Entity, a Limited Partner or the Partnership) as the General Partner may designate from time to time (whether before or after the event giving rise to potential liability), in its sole and absolute discretion.
“IPO” has the meaning set forth in the recitals hereto.
“IRS” means the Internal Revenue Service, which administers the internal revenue laws of the United States.
“Limited Partner” means any Person named as a Limited Partner in the Partner Registry or any Substituted Limited Partner or Additional Limited Partner, in such Person’s capacity as a Limited Partner in the Partnership.
“Limited Partner Interest” means a Partnership Interest of a Limited Partner in the Partnership representing a fractional part of the Partnership Interests of all Limited Partners and includes any and all benefits to which the holder of such a Partnership Interest may be entitled as provided in this Agreement, together with all obligations of such Person to comply with the terms and provisions of this Agreement. A Limited Partner Interest may be expressed as a number of Partnership Units.
“Liquidating Event” has the meaning set forth inSection 13.1.
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“Liquidating Gains” means net capital gains realized in connection with the actual or hypothetical sale of all or substantially all of the assets of the Partnership, including but not limited to net capital gain realized in connection with an adjustment to the value of Partnership assets under Section 704(b) of the Code made pursuant toSection 1.D. ofExhibit B of this Agreement.
“Liquidator” has the meaning set forth inSection 13.2.A.
“LTIP Unit” means a Partnership Unit that is designated as an LTIP Unit and that may be awarded by the General Partner under the Equity Incentive Plan, which term initially shall include both the Class RS LTIP Units and the Class O LTIP Units, and which has the rights, preferences and other privileges designated inSections 4.6 and4.7 hereof orSections 4.8 and4.9 hereof, whichever shall be applicable, and elsewhere in this Agreement.
“LV Safe Harbor” has the meaning set forth inSection 10.2.B.
“LV Safe Harbor Election” has the meaning set forth inSection 10.2.B.
“LV Safe Harbor Interest” has the meaning set forth inSection 10.2.B.
“Net Income” means, for any taxable period, the excess, if any, of the Partnership’s items of income and gain for such taxable period over the Partnership’s items of loss and deduction for such taxable period. The items included in the calculation of Net Income shall be determined in accordance withExhibit B. If an item of income, gain, loss or deduction that has been included in the initial computation of Net Income is subjected to the special allocation rules inExhibit C, Net Income or the resulting Net Loss, whichever the case may be, shall be recomputed without regard to such item.
“Net Loss” means, for any taxable period, the excess, if any, of the Partnership’s items of loss and deduction for such taxable period over the Partnership’s items of income and gain for such taxable period. The items included in the calculation of Net Loss shall be determined in accordance withExhibit B. If an item of income, gain, loss or deduction that has been included in the initial computation of Net Loss is subjected to the special allocation rules inExhibit C, Net Loss or the resulting Net Income, whichever the case may be, shall be recomputed without regard to such item.
“New Securities” means (i) any rights, options, warrants or convertible or exchangeable securities having the right to subscribe for or purchase Shares, excluding grants under the Equity Incentive Plan, or (ii) any Debt issued by the General Partner that provides any of the rights described in clause (i).
“Nonrecourse Built-in Gain” means, with respect to any Contributed Properties or Adjusted Properties that are subject to a mortgage or negative pledge securing a Nonrecourse Liability, the amount of any taxable gain that would be allocated to the Partners pursuant toSection 2.B ofExhibit C if such properties were disposed of in a taxable transaction in full satisfaction of such liabilities and for no other consideration.
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“Nonrecourse Deductions” has the meaning set forth in Regulations Section 1.704-2(b)(1), and the amount of Nonrecourse Deductions for a Fiscal Year shall be determined in accordance with the rules of Regulations Section 1.704-2(c).
“Nonrecourse Liability” has the meaning set forth in Regulations Section 1.752-1(a)(2).
“Notice of Redemption” means a Notice of Redemption substantially in the form ofExhibit D.
“Organizational Limited Partner” has the meaning set forth in the recitals hereto.
“Original Agreement” has the meaning set forth in the recitals hereto.
“Partner” means the General Partner or a Limited Partner, and “Partners” means the General Partner and the Limited Partners.
“Partner Minimum Gain” means an amount, with respect to each Partner Nonrecourse Debt, equal to the Partnership Minimum Gain that would result if such Partner Nonrecourse Debt were treated as a Nonrecourse Liability, determined in accordance with Regulations Section 1.704-2(i)(3).
“Partner Nonrecourse Debt” has the meaning set forth in Regulations Section 1.704-2(b)(4).
“Partner Nonrecourse Deductions” has the meaning set forth in Regulations Section 1.704-2(i), and the amount of Partner Nonrecourse Deductions with respect to a Partner Nonrecourse Debt for a Fiscal Year shall be determined in accordance with the rules of Regulations Section 1.704-2(i)(2).
“Partner Registry” means the Partner Registry maintained by the General Partner in the books and records of the Partnership, which contains substantially the same information as would be necessary to complete the form of the Partner Registry attached hereto asExhibit A.
“Partnership” has the meaning set forth in the recitals hereto.
“Partnership Interest” means a Limited Partner Interest or a General Partner Interest and includes any and all benefits to which the holder of such a partnership interest may be entitled as provided in this Agreement, together with all obligations of such Person to comply with the terms and provisions of this Agreement. A Partnership Interest may be expressed as a number of Partnership Units.
“Partnership Minimum Gain” has the meaning set forth in Regulations Section 1.704-2(b)(2), and the amount of Partnership Minimum Gain, as well as any net increase or decrease in Partnership Minimum Gain, for a Fiscal Year shall be determined in accordance with the rules of Regulations Section 1.704-2(d).
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“Partnership Record Date” means the record date established by the General Partner either (i) for the distribution of Available Cash pursuant toSection 5.1.A hereof, which record date shall be the same as the record date established by the General Partner Entity for a distribution to its shareholders of some or all of its portion of such distribution, or (ii) if applicable, for determining the Partners entitled to vote on or consent to any proposed action for which the consent or approval of the Partners is sought pursuant toSection 14.2 hereof.
“Partnership Unit” means a fractional, undivided share of the Partnership Interests of all Partners issued pursuant toSections 4.1 and 4.2, and includes Class A Units, Class B Units, LTIP Units and any other classes or series of Partnership Units established after the date hereof. The number of Partnership Units outstanding and the Percentage Interests in the Partnership represented by such Partnership Units are set forth in the Partner Registry.
“Percentage Interest” means, as to a Partner holding a class of Partnership Interests, its interest in such class, determined by dividing the Partnership Units of such class owned by such Partner by the total number of Partnership Units of such class then outstanding. For purposes of determining the Percentage Interest of the Partners at any time when there are Class B Units outstanding, all Class B Units shall be treated as Class A Units.
“Person” means an individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, association, trust, joint venture, unincorporated organization and any government, governmental department or agency or political subdivision thereof.
“Predecessor Entity” has the meaning set forth in the definition of “Conversion Factor” herein.
“Publicly Traded” means listed or admitted to trading on the New York Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ Stock Market, any nationally or internationally recognized stock exchange or any successor to any of the foregoing.
“Qualified Assets” means any of the following assets: (i) interests, rights, options, warrants or convertible or exchangeable securities of the Partnership; (ii) Debt issued by the Partnership or any Subsidiary thereof in connection with the incurrence of Funding Debt; (iii) equity interests in Qualified REIT Subsidiaries and limited liability companies (or other entities disregarded from their sole owner for U.S. federal income tax purposes, including wholly owned grantor trusts) whose assets consist solely of Qualified Assets; (iv) up to a one percent (1%) equity interest in any partnership or limited liability company at least ninety-nine percent (99%) of the equity of which is owned, directly or indirectly, by the Partnership; (v) cash held for payment of administrative expenses or pending distribution to security holders of the General Partner Entity or any wholly owned Subsidiary thereof or pending contribution to the Partnership; and (vi) other tangible and intangible assets that, taken as a whole, are de minimis in relation to the net assets of the Partnership and its Subsidiaries.
“Qualified REIT Subsidiary” means any Subsidiary of the General Partner Entity that is a “qualified REIT subsidiary” within the meaning of Section 856(i) of the Code.
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“Recapture Income” means any gain recognized by the Partnership (computed without regard to any adjustment pursuant to Section 754 of the Code) upon the disposition of any property or asset of the Partnership, which gain is characterized either as ordinary income or as “unrecaptured Section 1250 gain” (as defined in Section 1(h)(6) of the Code) because it represents the recapture of depreciation deductions previously taken with respect to such property or asset.
“Recourse Liabilities” means the amount of liabilities owed by the Partnership (other than Nonrecourse Liabilities and liabilities to which Partner Nonrecourse Deductions are attributable in accordance with Section 1.704-(2)(i) of the Regulations).
“Redeeming Partner” has the meaning set forth inSection 8.6.A.
“Redemption Amount” means either the Cash Amount or the Shares Amount, as determined by the General Partner, in its sole and absolute discretion. A Redeeming Partner shall have no right, without the General Partner’s consent, in its sole and absolute discretion, to receive the Redemption Amount in the form of the Shares Amount.
“Redemption Right” has the meaning set forth inSection 8.6.A.
“Regulations” means the Treasury Regulations promulgated under the Code, as such regulations may be amended from time to time (including corresponding provisions of succeeding regulations).
“REIT” means an entity that qualifies as a real estate investment trust under the Code.
“REIT Requirements” has the meaning set forth inSection 5.1.A.
“Residual Gain” or “Residual Loss” means any item of gain or loss, as the case may be, of the Partnership recognized for U.S. federal income tax purposes resulting from a sale, exchange or other disposition of Contributed Property or Adjusted Property, to the extent such item of gain or loss is not allocated pursuant toSection 2.B.1(a) or2.B.2(a) ofExhibit C to eliminate Book-Tax Disparities.
“Safe Harbor” has the meaning set forth inSection 11.6.F.
“Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
“Section 704(c) Value” of any Contributed Property means the fair market value of such property at the time of contribution as determined by the General Partner using such reasonable method of valuation as it may adopt; provided, however, subject toExhibit B, the General Partner shall, in its sole and absolute discretion, use such method as it deems reasonable and appropriate to allocate the aggregate of the Section 704(c) Value of Contributed Properties in a single or integrated transaction among each separate property on a basis proportional to its fair market values.
“Share” means a share of common stock (or other comparable equity interest) of the General Partner Entity. Shares may be issued in one or more classes or series in accordance with the terms of
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the Articles of Incorporation (or, if the General Partner is not the General Partner Entity, the organizational documents of the General Partner Entity). Shares issued in lieu of the Cash Amount may be either registered or unregistered Shares at the option of the General Partner. If there is more than one class or series of Shares, the term “Shares” shall, as the context requires, be deemed to refer to the class or series of Shares that corresponds to the class or series of Partnership Interests for which the reference to Shares is made. When used with reference to Class A Units, the term “Shares” refers to shares of common stock (or other comparable equity interest) of the General Partner Entity.
“Shares Amount” means a number of Shares equal to the product of the number of Partnership Units offered for redemption by a Redeeming Partner times the Conversion Factor; provided, however, that if the General Partner Entity issues to holders of Shares securities, rights, options, warrants or convertible or exchangeable securities entitling such holders to subscribe for or purchase Shares or any other securities or property (collectively, the “rights”), then the Shares Amount shall also include such rights that a holder of that number of Shares would be entitled to receive unless the Partnership issues corresponding rights to holders of Partnership Units.
“Specified Redemption Date” means the twentieth (20th) Business Day after the Valuation Date or such shorter period as the General Partner, in its sole and absolute discretion, may determine;provided,however, that, if the Shares are not Publicly Traded, the Specified Redemption Date means the thirtieth (30th) Business Day after receipt by the General Partner of a Notice of Redemption.
“Subsidiary” means, with respect to any Person, any corporation, limited liability company, trust, partnership or joint venture, or other entity of which a majority of (i) the voting power of the voting equity securities or (ii) the outstanding equity interests is owned, directly or indirectly, by such Person.
“Substituted Limited Partner” means a Person who is admitted as a Limited Partner to the Partnership pursuant toSection 11.4 and who is shown as a Limited Partner in the Partner Registry.
“Successor Entity” has the meaning set forth in the definition of “Conversion Factor” herein.
“Termination Transaction” has the meaning set forth inSection 11.2.B.
“Unrealized Gain” attributable to any item of Partnership property means, as of any date of determination, the excess, if any, of (i) the fair market value of such property (as determined underExhibit B) as of such date, over (ii) the Carrying Value of such property (prior to any adjustment to be made pursuant toExhibit B) as of such date.
“Unrealized Loss” attributable to any item of Partnership property means, as of any date of determination, the excess, if any, of (i) the Carrying Value of such property (prior to any adjustment to be made pursuant toExhibit B) as of such date, over (ii) the fair market value of such property (as determined underExhibit B) as of such date.
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“Unvested Class O LTIP Units” has the meaning set forth inSection 4.8.B.
“Unvested Class RS LTIP Units” has the meaning set forth inSection 4.6.E.
“Valuation Date” means the date of receipt by the General Partner of a Notice of Redemption or, if such date is not a Business Day, the first Business Day thereafter.
“Value” means, with respect to one Share of a class of outstanding Shares of the General Partner Entity that are Publicly Traded, the average of the daily market price for the ten consecutive trading days immediately preceding the date with respect to which value must be determined. The market price for each such trading day shall be the closing price, regular way, on such day, or if no such sale takes place on such day, the average of the closing bid and asked prices on such day. If the outstanding Shares of the General Partner Entity are Publicly Traded and the Shares Amount includes, in addition to the Shares, rights or interests that a holder of Shares has received or would be entitled to receive, then the Value of such rights shall be determined by the General Partner acting in good faith on the basis of such quotations and other information as it considers, in its reasonable judgment, appropriate. If the Shares of the General Partner Entity are not Publicly Traded, the Value of the Shares Amount per Partnership Unit tendered for redemption (which will be the Cash Amount per Partnership Unit offered for redemption payable pursuant toSection 8.6.A) means the amount that a holder of one Partnership Unit would receive if each of the assets of the Partnership were to be sold for its fair market value on the Specified Redemption Date, the Partnership were to pay all of its outstanding liabilities, and the remaining proceeds were to be distributed to the Partners in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. Such Value shall be determined by the General Partner, acting in good faith and based upon a commercially reasonable estimate of the amount that would be realized by the Partnership if each asset of the Partnership (and each asset of each partnership, limited liability company, trust, joint venture or other entity in which the Partnership owns a direct or indirect interest) were sold to an unrelated purchaser in an arms’ length transaction where neither the purchaser nor the seller were under economic compulsion to enter into the transaction (without regard to any discount in value as a result of the Partnership’s minority interest in any property or any illiquidity of the Partnership’s interest in any property).
“Vested Class O LTIP Units” has the meaning set forth inSection 4.8.B.
“Vested Class RS LTIP Units” has the meaning set forth inSection 4.6.E.
ARTICLE II
ORGANIZATIONAL MATTERS
Section 2.1 | Organization |
A.Organization, Status and Rights. The Partnership is a limited partnership organized pursuant to the provisions of the Act and upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Original Agreement. The Partners hereby confirm and agree to their status as partners of the Partnership and to continue the business of the Partnership on the terms set forth in this Agreement. Immediately after the admission of the Additional Limited Partners, the Organizational Limited Partner withdrew from the Partnership and relinquished any and all rights or interest he may have had in the
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Partnership, and the Partnership was continued without dissolution. Except as expressly provided herein, the rights and obligations of the Partners and the administration and termination of the Partnership shall be governed by the Act. The Partnership Interest of each Partner shall be personal property for all purposes.
B.Qualification of Partnership. The Partners (i) agree that if the laws of any jurisdiction in which the Partnership transacts business so require, the appropriate officers or other authorized representatives of the Partnership shall file, or shall cause to be filed, with the appropriate office in that jurisdiction, any documents necessary for the Partnership to qualify to transact business under such laws; and (ii) agree and obligate themselves to execute, acknowledge and cause to be filed for record, in the place or places and manner prescribed by law, any amendments to the Certificate of Limited Partnership as may be required, either by the Act, by the laws of any jurisdiction in which the Partnership transacts business, or by this Agreement, to reflect changes in the information contained therein or otherwise to comply with the requirements of law for the continuation, preservation and operation of the Partnership as a limited partnership under the Act.
C.Representations. Each Partner represents and warrants that such Partner is duly authorized to execute, deliver and perform its obligations under this Agreement and that the Person, if any, executing this Agreement on behalf of such Partner is duly authorized to do so and that this Agreement is binding on and enforceable against such Partner in accordance with its terms.
Section 2.2 | Name |
The name of the Partnership shall be QualityTech, LP. The Partnership’s business may be conducted under any other name or names deemed advisable by the General Partner, including the name of any of the General Partner or any Affiliate thereof. The words “Limited Partnership,” “L.P.,” “Ltd.” or similar words or letters shall be included in the Partnership’s name where necessary for the purposes of complying with the laws of any jurisdiction that so requires. The General Partner in its sole and absolute discretion may change the name of the Partnership at any time and from time to time and shall notify the Limited Partners of such change in the next regular communication to the Limited Partners.
Section 2.3 | Registered Office and Agent; Principal Office |
The address of the registered office of the Partnership in the State of Delaware shall be located at 615 South DuPont, Dover, Kent County, Delaware 19901, and the registered agent for service of process on the Partnership in the State of Delaware at such registered office shall be Capitol Services, Inc. The principal office of the Partnership shall be 12851 Foster Street, Suite 205, Overland, Kansas, 66213, or such other place as the General Partner may from time to time designate by notice to the Limited Partners. The Partnership may maintain offices at such other place or places within or outside the State of Delaware as the General Partner deems advisable.
Section 2.4 | Term |
The term of the Partnership commenced on August 5, 2009, and shall continue until dissolved pursuant to the provisions ofArticle XIII or as otherwise provided by law.
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ARTICLE III
PURPOSE
Section 3.1 | Purpose and Business |
The purpose and nature of the business to be conducted by the Partnership is (i) to conduct any business that may be lawfully conducted by a limited partnership organized pursuant to the Act; (ii) to enter into any corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, limited liability company or other similar arrangement to engage in any of the foregoing or the ownership of interests in any entity engaged, directly or indirectly, in any of the foregoing; and (iii) to do anything necessary or incidental to the foregoing;provided,however, that any business shall be limited to and conducted in such a manner as to permit the General Partner and, if different, the General Partner Entity, at all times to be classified as a REIT, unless the General Partner or General Partner Entity, as applicable, in its sole and absolute discretion has chosen to cease to qualify as a REIT or has chosen not to attempt to qualify as a REIT for any reason or reasons whether or not related to the business conducted by the Partnership. In connection with the foregoing, and without limiting the General Partner or the General Partner Entity’s right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to cease qualifying as a REIT, the Partners acknowledge that the status of the General Partner Entity as a REIT inures to the benefit of all the Partners and not solely to the General Partner, the General Partner Entity or their or its Affiliates, members and shareholders.
Section 3.2 | Powers |
The Partnership is empowered to do any and all acts and things necessary, appropriate, proper, advisable, incidental to or convenient for the furtherance and accomplishment of the purposes and business described herein and for the protection and benefit of the Partnership, including, without limitation, full power and authority, directly or through its ownership interest in other entities, to enter into, perform and carry out contracts of any kind, borrow money and issue evidences of indebtedness, whether or not secured by mortgage, deed of trust, pledge or other lien, acquire, own, manage, improve and develop real property, and lease, sell, transfer and dispose of real property;provided,however, that the Partnership shall not take, or shall refrain from taking, any action which, in the judgment of the General Partner, in its sole and absolute discretion, (i) could adversely affect the ability of the General Partner Entity to continue to qualify as a REIT (if the General Partner Entity has chosen to attempt to qualify as a REIT), (ii) could subject the General Partner Entity to any taxes under Section 857 or Section 4981 of the Code, or (iii) could violate any law or regulation of any governmental body or agency having jurisdiction over either the General Partner or the General Partner Entity or its securities, unless such action (or inaction) shall have been specifically consented to by the General Partner in writing.
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ARTICLE IV
CAPITAL CONTRIBUTIONS AND ISSUANCES
OF PARTNERSHIP INTERESTS
Section 4.1 | Capital Contributions of the Partners |
Prior to or concurrently with the execution of this Agreement, the Partners have made the Capital Contributions as set forth in the Partner Registry. On the date hereof, the Partners own Partnership Units in the amounts set forth in the Partner Registry and have Percentage Interests in the Partnership as set forth in the Partner Registry. The number of Partnership Units and Percentage Interest shall be adjusted in the Partner Registry from time to time by the General Partner to the extent necessary to reflect accurately exchanges, redemptions, Capital Contributions, the issuance of additional Partnership Units or similar events having an effect on a Partner’s Percentage Interest occurring after the date hereof in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. One thousand (1,000) Partnership Units shall be deemed to be the General Partner’s Partnership Units and shall be the General Partner Interest of the General Partner, and all other Partnership Units held by the General Partner shall be deemed to be Limited Partner Interests and shall be held by the General Partner in its capacity as a Limited Partner in the Partnership. Except as provided inSections 7.5,10.5, and13.3 hereof, the Partners shall have no obligation to make any additional Capital Contributions or provide any additional funding to the Partnership (whether in the form of loans, repayments of loans or otherwise). Except as otherwise set forth inSection 13.3 hereof, no Partner shall have any obligation to restore any deficit that may exist in its Capital Account, either upon a liquidation of the Partnership or otherwise, provided that such Capital Account deficit did not arise by reason of distributions in violation of this Agreement or applicable law or other actions in violation of this Agreement or applicable law.
Section 4.2 | Issuances of Partnership Interests |
A.General. The General Partner is hereby authorized to cause the Partnership from time to time to issue to Partners (including the General Partner and its Affiliates) or other Persons (including, without limitation, in connection with the contribution of property to the Partnership or any of its Subsidiaries) Partnership Units or other Partnership Interests in one or more classes, or in one or more series of any of such classes, with such designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights, powers and duties, including rights, powers and duties senior to one or more other classes of Partnership Interests, all as shall be determined, subject to applicable Delaware law, by the General Partner in its sole and absolute discretion, including, without limitation, (i) the allocations of items of Partnership income, gain, loss, deduction and credit to each such class or series of Partnership Interests, (ii) the right of each such class or series of Partnership Interests to share in Partnership distributions, (iii) the rights of each such class or series of Partnership Interests upon dissolution and liquidation of the Partnership, (iv) the rights, if any, of each such class to vote on matters that require the vote or Consent of the Limited Partners, and (v) the consideration, if any, to be received by the Partnership;provided,however, that no such Partnership Units or other Partnership Interests shall be issued to the General Partner unless either (a) the Partnership Interests are issued in connection with the grant, award or issuance of Shares or other equity interests in the General Partner Entity (including a transaction described in
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Section 7.4.F) having designations, preferences and other rights such that the economic interests attributable to such Shares or other equity interests are substantially similar to the designations, preferences and other rights (except voting rights) of the Partnership Interests issued to the General Partner in accordance with thisSection 4.2.A, or (b) the additional Partnership Interests are issued to all Partners holding Partnership Interests in the same class in proportion to their respective Percentage Interests in such class. If the Partnership issues Partnership Interests pursuant to thisSection 4.2.A, the General Partner shall make such revisions to this Agreement (including but not limited to the revisions described inSection 5.4,Section 6.2 andSection 8.6) as it deems necessary to reflect the issuance of such Partnership Interests.
B.Classes of Partnership Units. From and after the date of the Agreement, the Partnership shall have four classes of Partnership Units entitled “Class A Units,” “Class B Units,” “Class RS LTIP Units” and “Class O LTIP Units,” and such additional classes of Partnership Units as may be created by the General Partner pursuant toSection 4.2.A. Class A Units, Class B Units or a class of Partnership Interests created pursuant toSection 4.2.A, at the election of the General Partner, in its sole and absolute discretion, may be issued to newly admitted Partners in exchange for the contribution by such Partners of cash, real estate partnership interests, stock, notes or other assets or consideration;provided,however, that any Partnership Unit that is not specifically designated by the General Partner as being of a particular class shall be deemed to be a Class A Unit. Each Class B Unit shall be converted automatically into a corresponding series of Class A Unit on the day immediately following the Partnership Record Date for the Distribution Period in which such Class B Unit was issued, without the requirement for any action by the General Partner, the Partnership or the Partner holding the Class B Unit. The terms of the LTIP Units shall be in accordance withSections 4.6, 4.7,4.8 and 4.9.
Section 4.3 | No Preemptive Rights |
Except to the extent expressly granted by the Partnership pursuant to another Agreement, no Person shall have any preemptive, preferential or other similar right with respect to (i) additional Capital Contributions or loans to the Partnership or (ii) issuance or sale of any Partnership Units or other Partnership Interests.
Section 4.4 | Other Contribution Provisions |
A.General. If any Partner is admitted to the Partnership and is given a Capital Account in exchange for services rendered to the Partnership, such transaction shall be treated by the Partnership and the affected Partner as if the Partnership had compensated such Partner in cash, and the Partner had made a Capital Contribution of such cash to the capital of the Partnership.
B.Mergers. To the extent the Partnership acquires any property (or an indirect interest therein) by the merger of any other Person into the Partnership or with or into a Subsidiary of the Partnership, Persons who receive Partnership Interests in exchange for their interest in the Person merging into the Partnership or with or into a Subsidiary of the Partnership shall be deemed to have been admitted as Additional Limited Partners pursuant toSection 12.2 and shall be deemed to have made Capital Contributions as provided in the applicable merger agreement (or if not so provided, as determined by the General Partner in its sole and absolute discretion) and as set forth in the Partner Registry.
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Section 4.5 | No Interest on Capital |
No Partner shall be entitled to interest on its Capital Contributions or its Capital Account.
Section 4.6 | Class RS LTIP Units |
A.Issuance of Class RS LTIP Units. The General Partner may from time to time issue Class RS LTIP Units upon the grant of an award under the Equity Incentive Plan, for such consideration and subject to such other terms as the General Partner may determine to be appropriate, and admit the grantee as a Limited Partner. The Class RS LTIP Units shall not have any voting rights, rights to distributions, or other rights except as expressly set forth in this Agreement as applicable to the Class RS LTIP Units;provided,however, that subject to the following provisions of thisSection 4.6 and the special provisions ofSection 6.1.F, Class RS LTIP Units shall be treated as Class A Units solely for purposes of determining all allocations to be made underSection 6.1. If an Adjustment Event occurs, then the General Partner shall make a corresponding equitable adjustment to the Class RS LTIP Units as the General Partner, in its sole discretion, determines necessary and appropriate to maintain a one-for-one conversion and economic equivalence ratio between Class A Units and Class RS LTIP Units. If more than one Adjustment Event occurs, the adjustment to the Class RS LTIP Units need be made only once using a single formula that takes into account each and every Adjustment Event as if all Adjustment Events occurred simultaneously. If the Partnership takes an action affecting the Class A Units other than an action specifically included as an Adjustment Event and, in the opinion of the General Partner, such action should require an adjustment to the Class RS LTIP Units to maintain the one-to-one correspondence described above, the General Partner shall have the right to make such adjustment to the Class RS LTIP Units, to the extent not prohibited by law or by the Equity Incentive Plan, in such manner and at such time as the General Partner, in its sole discretion, may determine to be appropriate under the circumstances. In addition, the General Partner may at any time make an adjustment to Class RS LTIP Units as authorized under and in accordance with the terms of the Equity Incentive Plan. If an adjustment is made to the Class RS LTIP Units, as herein provided, the Partnership shall promptly file in the books and records of the Partnership an officer’s certificate setting forth such adjustment and a brief statement of the facts and circumstances relating to such adjustment, which certificate shall be conclusive evidence of such adjustment absent manifest error.
B.Distributions. Subject toSection 5.1.G, the holder of Vested Class RS LTIP Units shall, when, as and if authorized and declared by the General Partner out of assets legally available for that purpose, be entitled to receive distributions in an amount per Vested Class RS LTIP Unit equal to the distributions per Class A Unit (the “Class A Unit Distribution”) paid to holders of Class A Units on such Partnership Record Date established by the General Partner with respect to such distribution, except as set forth inSection 5.1.E.
C.Priority. Subject to the provisions of thisSection 4.6 and the special provisions ofSections 4.7 and5.1.E, the Class RS LTIP Units shall rank pari passu with the Class A Units and Class B Units as to the payment of regular and special periodic or other distributions and distribution
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of assets upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up. As to the payment of distributions and as to distribution of assets upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up, any class or series of Partnership Units which by its terms specifies that it shall rank junior to, on a parity with, or senior to the Class A Units shall also rank junior to, or pari passu with, or senior to, as the case may be, the Class RS LTIP Units.
D.Transfers. Class RS LTIP Units may not be transferred (as such term is used in Article XI) without the consent of the General Partner.
E.Special Provisions. Class RS LTIP Units shall also be subject to the following special provisions:
(i)Award Agreements. Class RS LTIP Units may be issued subject to such vesting, forfeiture and additional restrictions on transfer determined by the General Partner in its sole discretion and set forth pursuant to the terms of an Award Agreement. The General Partner may modify the terms of any Award Agreement from time to time in its sole discretion, subject to any restrictions on amendment imposed by the relevant Award Agreement or by the Equity Incentive Plan, if applicable. Class RS LTIP Units that have vested under the terms hereof and of an Award Agreement are referred to as “Vested Class RS LTIP Units”; all other Class RS LTIP Units shall be treated as “Unvested Class RS LTIP Units.”
(ii)Forfeiture. Unless otherwise specified in the Award Agreement, upon the occurrence of any event specified in an Award Agreement that provides the Partnership with the right to repurchase Class RS Units at a specified purchase price or some other forfeiture of any Class RS Units, the Partnership or the General Partner shall have the right to repurchase Class RS LTIP Units at such specified purchase price or otherwise cause the forfeiture of any Class RS LTIP Units, and if the Partnership or the General Partner exercises such right to repurchase or cause the forfeiture in accordance with the terms hereof and of the applicable Award Agreement, the relevant Class RS LTIP Units shall immediately, and without any further action, be treated as cancelled and no longer outstanding for any purpose. Unless otherwise specified in the Award Agreement, no consideration or other payment shall be due with respect to any Class RS LTIP Units that have been forfeited. In connection with any repurchase or forfeiture of Class RS LTIP Units, the balance of the portion of the Capital Account of the holder of Class RS LTIP Units that is attributable to all of its Class RS LTIP Units shall be reduced by the amount, if any, by which it exceeds the target balance contemplated bySection 6.1.E hereof, calculated with respect to the Holder’s remaining Class RS LTIP Units, if any.
(iii)Allocations. The holder of Class RS LTIP Units shall be entitled to certain special allocations of gain underSection 6.1.E hereof.
(iv)Redemption. The Redemption Right provided to the holders of Class A Units underSection 8.6 hereof shall not apply with respect to Class RS LTIP Units unless and until they are converted to Class A Units as provided in clause (v) below andSection 4.7.
(v)Conversion to Class A Units. Class RS LTIP Units are eligible to be converted into Class A Units in accordance withSection 4.7 hereof.
F.Voting Rights. Class RS LTIP Units shall have no voting rights.
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Section 4.7 | Conversion of Class RS LTIP Units |
A.Conversion Right. Each holder of Vested Class RS LTIP Units shall have the right (the “Class RS LTIP Unit Conversion Right”), at its option, at any time to convert all or a portion of its Vested Class RS LTIP Units into Class A Units. The holder of Class RS LTIP Units shall not have the right to convert Unvested Class RS LTIP Units into Class A Units until they become Vested Class RS LTIP Units;provided,however, that when the holder of Unvested Class RS LTIP Units is notified of the expected occurrence of an event that will cause its Unvested Class RS LTIP Units to become Vested Class RS Units, the holder may give the Partnership a Class RS LTIP Unit Conversion Notice conditioned upon and effective as of the time of vesting and such Class RS LTIP Unit Conversion Notice shall be accepted by the Partnership subject to such condition. The General Partner shall have the right at any time to cause a conversion of any or all Class RS LTIP Units into Class A Units, as and to the extent set forth inSection 4.7.C. In all cases, the conversion of any Class RS LTIP Units into Class A Units shall be subject to the conditions and procedures set forth in thisSection 4.7.
B.Conversion by the Holder of Vested Class RS LTIP Units. The holder of Vested Class RS LTIP Units may convert such Class RS LTIP Units into an equal number of Class A Units, giving effect to all adjustments (if any) made pursuant toSection 4.6 hereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event may a holder of Vested Class RS LTIP Units (i) convert a number of Vested Class RS LTIP Units that exceeds (x) the Class RS LTIP Unit Economic Capital Account Balance of such holder, to the extent attributable to its ownership of Vested Class RS LTIP Units, divided by (y) the Class A Unit Economic Capital Account Balance, in each case as determined as of the effective date of conversion (the “Class RS LTIP Unit Capital Account Limitation”), it being understood and agreed that any fraction of a Class A Unit resulting from applying the foregoing formula shall be disregarded and forfeited by the holder, and (ii) receive, upon conversion of a number of Vested Class RS LTIP Units, more than an equal number of Class A Units.
In order to exercise its Conversion Right, the holder of Class RS LTIP Units shall deliver a notice (a “Class RS LTIP Unit Conversion Notice”) in the form attached asExhibit F to this Agreement to the Partnership (with a copy to the General Partner) not less than ten nor more than 60 days prior to a date (the “Class RS LTIP Unit Conversion Date”) specified in such Class RS LTIP Unit Conversion Notice;provided,however, that if the General Partner has not given to the holder of Class RS LTIP Units notice of a proposed Class A Unit Transaction (as defined inSection 4.7.F hereof) at least 30 days prior to the effective date of such Class A Unit Transaction, then the holder of Class RS LTIP Units shall have the right to deliver a Class RS LTIP Unit Conversion Notice until the earlier of (x) the tenth day after such notice from the General Partner of a Class A Unit Transaction or (y) the third business day immediately preceding the effective date of such Class A Unit Transaction. A Class RS LTIP Unit Conversion Notice shall be provided in the manner provided inSection 15.1. Each holder of Class RS LTIP Units covenants and agrees with
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the Partnership that all Vested Class RS LTIP Units to be converted pursuant to thisSection 4.7.B shall be free and clear of all liens and encumbrances. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, a holder of Class RS LTIP Units may deliver a Notice of Redemption pursuant toSection 8.6 hereof (to the extent the Redemption Right otherwise would be exercisable) relating to those Class A Units that will be issued to the holder upon conversion of such Class RS LTIP Units into Class A Units in advance of the Class RS LTIP Unit Conversion Date;provided,however, that the redemption of such Class A Units by the Partnership shall in no event take place until after the Class RS LTIP Unit Conversion Date. For clarity, it is noted that the objective of this paragraph is to put the holder of Class RS LTIP Units in a position where, if the holder so wishes, the Class A Units into which the Vested Class RS LTIP Units will be converted can be redeemed by the Partnership simultaneously with such conversion to the extent that the Redemption Right set forth inSection 8.6 otherwise would be exercisable, with the further consequence that, if the General Partner elects to assume and perform the Partnership’s redemption obligation with respect to such Class A Units underSection 8.6 by delivering to the holder Shares rather than cash, then the holder can have such Shares issued to it simultaneously with the conversion of the Vested Class RS LTIP Units into Class A Units. The General Partner and the holder of Vested Class RS LTIP Units shall reasonably cooperate with each other to coordinate the timing of the events described in the foregoing sentence.
C.Conversion of Class RS LTIP Units by the Partnership; Automatic Conversion of Vested Class RS LTIP Units. The Partnership, at any time at the election of the General Partner, may cause any number of Class RS LTIP Units (whether such units are Vested Class RS LTIP Units or Unvested Class RS LTIP Units) to be converted (a “Class RS LTIP Unit Mandatory Conversion”) into that number of Class A Units as provided inSection 4.7.B, giving effect to all adjustments (if any) made pursuant toSection 4.6. In order to effect a Class RS LTIP Unit Mandatory Conversion, the Partnership shall deliver a notice (a “Class RS LTIP Unit Mandatory Conversion Notice”) in the form attached asExhibit G to this Agreement to the holder of Class RS LTIP Units not less than ten nor more than 60 days prior to the Conversion Date specified in such Class RS LTIP Mandatory Conversion Notice. A Class RS LTIP Unit Mandatory Conversion Notice shall be provided in the manner provided inSection 15.1 hereof. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth in this Agreement, all Vested Class RS LTIP Units held by the holder shall be automatically converted (the “Automatic RS Conversion”), without any further action by the General Partner, the Partnership or the holder, into an equal number of Class A Units on the first date on which the Class RS LTIP Unit Capital Account Limitation would not limit the number of Vested Class RS LTIP Units that could be converted.
D.Completion of Conversion. A conversion of Class RS LTIP Units (i) for which the holder thereof has given a Class RS LTIP Unit Conversion Notice, (ii) for which the Partnership has given a Class RS LTIP Unit Mandatory Conversion Notice or (iii) upon an Automatic RS Conversion, shall in each case occur automatically after the close of business on the applicable conversion date without any action on the part of the holder of Class RS LTIP Units, as of which time the holder shall be credited on the books and records of the Partnership with the issuance as of the opening of business on the next day of the number of Class A Units issuable upon such conversion. After the conversion of Class RS LTIP Units as aforesaid, the Partnership shall deliver to the holder of such Class RS LTIP Units, upon its written request, a certificate of the General Partner certifying the number of Class A Units and remaining Class RS LTIP Units, if any, held by the holder immediately after such conversion.
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E.Impact of Conversions for Purposes of Section 6.1.E. For purposes of making future allocations underSection 6.1.E hereof and for purposes of applying the Class RS LTIP Unit Capital Account Limitation, the portion of the Class RS LTIP Unit Economic Capital Account Balance of the holder of Class RS LTIP Units that is treated as attributable to its Class RS LTIP Units shall be reduced, as of the date of conversion, by the product of the number of Class RS LTIP Units converted and the Class A Unit Economic Capital Account Balance;provided that, for the avoidance of doubt and without limiting the authority of the General Partner to cause a Class RS LTIP Unit Mandatory Conversion pursuant toSection 4.7.F, if such conversion has occurred in connection with a Class A Unit Transaction, any Class RS LTIP Units that have not been so converted (whether as a result of the application of the Class RS LTIP Unit Capital Account Limitation or otherwise) shall automatically be deemed forfeited and canceled without further consideration to the holder thereof and the Class RS LTIP Unit Economic Capital Account Balance of such holder shall be deemed to equal zero.
F.Class A Unit Transactions. If the Partnership or the General Partner shall be a party to any Class A Unit Transaction (as defined below), then the General Partner shall, immediately prior to the Class A Unit Transaction, exercise its right to cause a Class RS LTIP Unit Mandatory Conversion with respect to all or any portion of the Class RS LTIP Units as the General Partner shall determine in its discretion, without regard to whether such Class RS LTIP Units are then eligible for conversion underSection 4.7.B, taking into account any allocations that occur in connection with the Class A Unit Transaction or that would occur in connection with the Class A Unit Transaction if the assets of the Partnership were sold at the Class A Unit Transaction price or, if applicable, at a value determined by the General Partner in good faith using the value attributed to the Partnership Units in the context of the Class A Unit Transaction (in which case the Class RS LTIP Unit Conversion Date shall be the effective date of the Class A Unit Transaction). For purposes of this Agreement, a “Class A Unit Transaction” means any transaction or a series of related transactions (including without limitation an Extraordinary Transaction, merger, consolidation, unit exchange, self-tender offer for all or substantially all of the Class A Units or other business combination or reorganization, or sale of all or substantially all of the Partnership’s assets, but excluding any Class A Unit Transaction which constitutes an Adjustment Event) as a result of which Class A Units shall be exchanged for or converted into the right, or the holders of such Class A Units shall otherwise be entitled, to receive cash, securities or other property or any combination thereof.
Section 4.8 | Class O LTIP Units |
A.Issuance of Class O LTIP Units. The General Partner may from time to time issue Class O LTIP Units upon the grant of an award under the Equity Incentive Plan, for such consideration and subject to such other terms as the General Partner may determine to be appropriate, and admit the grantee as a Limited Partner. Each Class O LTIP Unit is intended to represent the right to participate in all profits allocable to a Class A Unit, net of any losses allocable to a Class A Unit, including for this purpose any appreciation in the value of a Class A Unit, with such participation interest, on a per Class A Unit basis, being referred to as the Class A Unit Profit Balance.
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The Class O LTIP Units shall not have any voting rights, rights to distributions, or other rights except as expressly set forth in this Agreement as applicable to the Class O LTIP Units;provided,however, that subject to the following provisions of thisSection 4.8 and the special provisions ofSection 6.1.F, Class O LTIP Units shall be treated as Class A Units solely for purposes of determining all allocations to be made underSection 6.1. For purposes of computing the Partners’ Percentage Interests for purposes of making allocations underSection 6.1, holders of Class O LTIP Units shall be treated as holders of Class A Units, and Class O LTIP Units shall be treated as Class A Units.
If an Adjustment Event occurs, then the General Partner shall make a corresponding equitable adjustment to the Class O LTIP Units as the General Partner in its sole discretion determines necessary and appropriate to maintain a one-for-one relationship between Class A Units and Class O LTIP Units. If more than one Adjustment Event occurs, the adjustment to the Class O LTIP Units need be made only once using a single formula that takes into account each and every Adjustment Event as if all Adjustment Events occurred simultaneously. If the Partnership takes an action affecting the Class A Units other than an action specifically included as an Adjustment Event and, in the opinion of the General Partner, such action should require an adjustment to the Class O LTIP Units to maintain the one-to-one correspondence described above, the General Partner shall have the right to make such adjustment to the Class O LTIP Units, to the extent not prohibited by law or by the Equity Incentive Plan, in such manner and at such time as the General Partner, in its sole discretion, may determine to be appropriate under the circumstances. In addition, the General Partner may at any time make an adjustment to Class O LTIP Units as authorized under and in accordance with the terms of the Equity Incentive Plan. If an adjustment is made to the Class O LTIP Units, as herein provided, the Partnership shall promptly file in the books and records of the Partnership an officer’s certificate setting forth such adjustment and a brief statement of the facts and circumstances relating to such adjustment, which certificate shall be conclusive evidence of such adjustment absent manifest error.
B.Special Provisions. Class O LTIP Units shall be subject to the additional following special provisions:
(i)Award Agreements. Class O LTIP Units may be issued subject to such vesting, forfeiture and additional restrictions on transfer determined by the General Partner in its sole discretion and set forth pursuant to the terms of an Award Agreement. The General Partner may modify the terms of any Award Agreement from time to time in its sole discretion, subject to any restrictions on amendment imposed by the relevant Award Agreement or by the Equity Incentive Plan, if applicable. Class O LTIP Units that have vested under the terms hereof and of the Award Agreement are referred to as “Vested Class O LTIP Units”; all other Class O LTIP Units shall be treated as “Unvested Class O LTIP Units.”
(ii)Forfeiture. Unless otherwise specified in the Award Agreement, upon the occurrence of any event specified in an Award Agreement that provides the Partnership with
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the right to repurchase Class O Units at a specified purchase price or some other forfeiture of any Class O Units, the Partnership or the General Partner shall have the right to repurchase Class O LTIP Units at such specified purchase price or otherwise cause the forfeiture of any Class O LTIP Units, and if the Partnership or the General Partner exercises such right to repurchase or cause the forfeiture in accordance with the terms hereof and of the applicable Award Agreement, the relevant Class O LTIP Units shall immediately, and without any further action, be treated as cancelled and no longer outstanding for any purpose. Unless otherwise specified in the Award Agreement, no consideration or other payment shall be due with respect to any Class O LTIP Units that have been forfeited. In connection with any repurchase or forfeiture of Class O LTIP Units, the balance of the portion of the Capital Account of the holder of Class O LTIP Units that is attributable to all of its Class O LTIP Units shall be reduced by the amount, if any, by which it exceeds the target balance contemplated bySection 6.1.F hereof, calculated with respect to the holder’s remaining Class O LTIP Units, if any.
(iii)Allocations. The holder of Class O LTIP Units shall be entitled to certain special allocations of gain underSection 6.1.F.
(iv)Redemption. The Redemption Right provided to the holders of Class A Units underSection 8.6 shall not apply with respect to Class O LTIP Units unless and until they are converted to Class A Units as provided in clause (v) below andSection 4.9.
(v)Conversion to Class A Units. Class O LTIP Units are eligible to be converted into Class A Units in accordance withSection 4.9.
C.Voting. Class O LTIP Units shall have no voting rights.
D.Transfers. Class O LTIP Units may not be transferred (as such term is used in Article XI) without the consent of the General Partner.
Section 4.9 | Conversion of Class O LTIP Units |
A.Conversion Right. Each holder of Vested Class O LTIP Units shall have the right (the “Class O LTIP Unit Conversion Right”), at its option, at any time to convert all or a portion of its Vested Class O LTIP Units into a number of Class A Units equal to (x) the product of (i) the Class A Unit Profit Balance multiplied by (ii) the number of Vested Class O LTIP Units to be converted into Class A Units, divided by (y) the Class A Unit Economic Capital Account Balance, determined as of the date of the exercise of the Class O Unit Conversion Right; it being understood and agreed that any fraction of a Class A Unit resulting from the foregoing conversion formula shall be disregarded and forfeited by the holder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event may a holder of Vested Class O LTIP Units convert a number of Vested Class O LTIP Units that exceeds (x) the Class O Unit Economic Capital Account Balance of the holder of Vested Class O LTIP Units to the extent attributable to its ownership of Vested Class O LTIP Units, divided by (y) the Class A Unit Profit Balance, in each case as determined as of the effective date of conversion (the “Class O LTIP Unit Capital Account Limitation”); it being understood and agreed that any fraction of a Class A Unit resulting from applying the foregoing formula shall be disregarded and forfeited by the holder.
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Holders of Class O LTIP Units shall not have the right to convert Unvested Class O LTIP Units into Class A Units until they become Vested Class O LTIP Units;provided,however, that when a holder of Unvested Class O LTIP Units is notified of the expected occurrence of an event that will cause its Unvested Class O LTIP Units to become Vested Class O LTIP Units, the holder may give the Partnership a Class O LTIP Unit Conversion Notice conditioned upon and effective as of the time of vesting and such Class O LTIP Conversion Notice shall be accepted by the Partnership subject to such condition. The General Partner shall have the right at any time to cause a conversion of any or all Class O LTIP Units into Class A Units, and if at the time of such conversion the Class O LTIP Units Capital Account Limitation is applicable, any Class O LTIP Units that would be so converted but for the Class O LTIP Units Capital Account Limitation shall be deemed forfeited and canceled without further consideration to the holder thereof. In all cases, the conversion of any Class O LTIP Units into Class A Units shall be subject to the conditions and procedures set forth in thisSection 4.9.
B.Exercise by the Holder of Class O LTIP Units. In order to exercise its Class O LTIP Unit Conversion Right, the holder of Vested Class O LTIP Units shall deliver a Class O LTIP Unit Conversion Notice in the form attached asExhibit H to this Agreement to the Partnership (with a copy to the General Partner) not less than ten nor more than 60 days prior to a date (the “Class O LTIP Unit Conversion Date”) specified in such Class O LTIP Unit Conversion Notice;provided,however, that if the General Partner has not given to the holder of Class O LTIP Units notice of a proposed Class A Unit Transaction at least 30 days prior to the effective date of such Class A Unit Transaction, then the holder of Vested Class O LTIP Units shall have the right to deliver a Class O LTIP Unit Conversion Notice until the earlier of (x) the tenth day after such notice from the General Partner of a Class A Unit Transaction or (y) the third business day immediately preceding the effective date of such Class A Unit Transaction. A Class O LTIP Unit Conversion Notice shall be provided in the manner provided inSection 15.1. Each holder of Class O LTIP Units covenants and agrees with the Partnership that all Vested Class O LTIP Units to be converted pursuant to thisSection 4.9.B shall be free and clear of all liens and encumbrances. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, a holder of Class O LTIP Units may deliver a Notice of Redemption pursuant toSection 8.6 hereof relating to those Class A Units that will be issued to the holder upon conversion of such Class O LTIP Units into Class A Units in advance of the Class O LTIP Unit Conversion Date;provided,however, that the redemption of such Class A Units by the Partnership shall in no event take place until after the Class O LTIP Unit Conversion Date. For clarity, it is noted that the objective of this paragraph is to put the holder of Class O LTIP Units in a position where, if it so wishes, the Class A Units into which its Vested Class O LTIP Units will be converted can be redeemed by the Partnership simultaneously with such conversion to the extent that the Redemption Right set forth inSection 8.6 otherwise would be exercisable, with the further consequence that, if the General Partner elects to assume and perform the Partnership’s redemption obligation with respect to such Class A Units underSection 8.6 by delivering to the holder Shares rather than cash, then the holder can have such Shares issued to it simultaneously with the conversion of its Vested Class O LTIP Units into Class A Units. The General Partner and the holder of Vested Class O LTIP Units shall reasonably cooperate with each other to coordinate the timing of the events described in the foregoing sentence.
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C.Conversion of Class O LTIP Units by the Partnership. The Partnership, at any time at the election of the General Partner, may cause any number of Class O LTIP Units (whether such units are Vested Class O LTIP Units or Unvested Class O LTIP Units) held by the holder of Class O LTIP Units to be converted (a “Class O LTIP Unit Mandatory Conversion”) into a number of Class A Units determined as set forth inSection 4.9.A, giving effect to all adjustments (if any) made pursuant toSection 4.8;provided,however, that, any Class O LTIP Units that would be so converted but could not be converted by the holder due to the Class O LTIP Units Capital Account Limitation shall be forfeited and canceled without further consideration to the holder. In order to exercise its right to cause a Class O LTIP Unit Mandatory Conversion, the Partnership shall deliver a notice (a “Class O LTIP Unit Mandatory Conversion Notice”) in the form attached asExhibit I to this Agreement to the holder of Class O LTIP Units not less than 10 nor more than 60 days prior to the Class O LTIP Unit Conversion Date specified in such Class O LTIP Unit Mandatory Conversion Notice. A Class O LTIP Unit Mandatory Conversion Notice shall be provided in the manner provided inSection 15.1.
D.Completion of Conversion. A conversion of Class O LTIP Units for which the holder thereof has given a Class O LTIP Unit Conversion Notice or the Partnership has given a Class O LTIP Unit Mandatory Conversion Notice shall occur automatically after the close of business on the applicable Class O LTIP Unit Conversion Date without any action on the part of the holder of Class O LTIP Units, as of which time the holder shall be credited on the books and records of the Partnership with the issuance as of the opening of business on the next day of the number of Class A Units issuable upon such conversion. After the conversion of Class O LTIP Units as aforesaid, the Partnership shall deliver to the holder of Class O LTIP Units, upon its written request, a certificate of the General Partner certifying the number of Class A Units and remaining Class O LTIP Units, if any, held by the holder immediately after such conversion.
E.Impact of Conversions for Purposes of Section 6.1.F. For purposes of making future allocations underSection 6.1.F and for purposes of applying the Class O LTIP Units Capital Account Limitation, the Class O Unit Economic Capital Account Balance of the holder of Class O LTIP Units shall be reduced, as of the date of conversion, by the product of the number of Class O LTIP Units converted and the Class A Unit Profit Balance;provided that, for the avoidance of doubt and without limiting the authority of the General Partner to cause a Class O LTIP Unit Mandatory Conversion pursuant toSection 4.9.F, if such conversion has occurred in connection with a Class A Unit Transaction, any Class O LTIP Units that have not been so converted (whether as a result of the application of the Class O LTIP Unit Capital Account Limitation or otherwise) shall automatically be deemed forfeited and canceled without further consideration to the holder and the Class O LTIP Unit Economic Capital Account Balance of the holder shall be deemed to equal zero.
F.Class A Unit Transactions. If the Partnership or the General Partner shall be a party to any Class A Unit Transaction, then the General Partner may, in its discretion, immediately prior to the Class A Unit Transaction, exercise its right to cause a Class O LTIP Unit Mandatory Conversion with respect to all or any portion of the outstanding Class O LTIP Units, with such conversion to be determined taking into account any allocations that occur in connection with the Class A Unit Transaction or that would occur in connection with the Class A Unit Transaction if the assets of the Partnership were sold at the Class A Unit Transaction price or, if applicable, at a value determined
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by the General Partner in good faith using the value attributed to the Partnership Units in the context of the Class A Unit Transaction (in which case the Conversion Date shall be the effective date of the Class A Unit Transaction).
ARTICLE V
DISTRIBUTIONS
Section 5.1 | Requirement and Characterization of Distributions |
A.Distribution of Operating Income. The General Partner shall distribute at least quarterly an amount equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the Available Cash of the Partnership with respect to such quarter or shorter period to the Partners in accordance with the terms established for the class or classes of Partnership Interests held by such Partners who are Partners on the respective Partnership Record Date with respect to such quarter or shorter period as provided inSections5.1.B,5.1.C and5.1.D and in accordance with the respective terms established for each class of Partnership Interest. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, in no event may a Partner receive a distribution of Available Cash with respect to a Partnership Unit for a quarter or shorter period if such Partner is entitled to receive a distribution with respect to a Share for which such Partnership Unit has been redeemed or exchanged. Unless otherwise expressly provided for herein, or in the terms established for a new class or series of Partnership Interests created in accordance withArticle IV hereof, no Partnership Interest shall be entitled to a distribution in preference to any other Partnership Interest. If the General Partner Entity has chosen to attempt to qualify as a REIT, the General Partner shall make such reasonable efforts, as determined by it in its sole and absolute discretion and consistent with the qualification of the General Partner Entity as a REIT, to distribute Available Cash (a) to Limited Partners so as to preclude any such distribution or portion thereof from being treated as part of a sale of property to the Partnership by a Limited Partner under Section 707 of the Code or the Regulations thereunder;provided,however, that none of the General Partner, the General Partner Entity, and the Partnership shall have liability to a Limited Partner under any circumstances as a result of any distribution to a Limited Partner being so treated, and (b) to the General Partner in an amount sufficient to enable the General Partner Entity to make distributions to its shareholders that will enable the General Partner Entity to (1) satisfy the requirements for qualification as a REIT under the Code and the Regulations (the “REIT Requirements”), and (2) avoid any federal income or excise tax liability.
B.Method.
(i) Each holder of Partnership Interests, if any, that is entitled to any preference in distribution shall be entitled to a distribution in accordance with the rights of any such class of Partnership Interests (and, within such class, pro rata in proportion to the respective Percentage Interests on such Partnership Record Date); and
(ii) To the extent there is Available Cash remaining after the payment of any preference in distribution in accordance with the foregoing clause (i) (if applicable), with respect to Partnership Interests that are not entitled to any preference in distribution, such Available Cash shall be distributed pro rata to each such class in accordance with the terms of such class (and, within each such class, pro rata in proportion to the respective Percentage Interests on such Partnership Record Date).
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C.Distributions When Class B Units Are Outstanding. If for any quarter or shorter period with respect to which a distribution is to be made pursuant toSection 5.1.A. (a “Distribution Period”) Class B Units are outstanding on the Partnership Record Date for such Distribution Period, the General Partner shall allocate the Available Cash with respect to such Distribution Period available for distribution with respect to the Class A Units and Class B Units collectively between the Partners who are holders of Class A Units (“Class A”) and the Partners who are holders of Class B Units (“Class B”) as follows:
(1) | Class A shall receive that portion of the Available Cash (the “Class A Share”) determined by multiplying the amount of Available Cash by the following fraction: |
A x Y | ||||
(A x Y) + (B x X) |
(2) | Class B shall receive that portion of the Available Cash (the “Class B Share”) determined by multiplying the amount of Available Cash by the following fraction: |
B x X | ||||
(A x Y) + (B x X) |
(3) | For purposes of the foregoing formulas, (i) “A” equals the number of Class A Units outstanding on the Partnership Record Date for such Distribution Period; (ii) “B” equals the number of Class B Units outstanding on the Partnership Record Date for such Distribution Period; (iii) “Y” equals the number of days in the Distribution Period; and (iv) “X” equals the number of days in the Distribution Period for which the Class B Units were issued and outstanding. |
The Class A Share shall be distributed pro rata among Partners holding Class A Units on the Partnership Record Date for the Distribution Period in accordance with the number of Class A Units held by each Partner on such Partnership Record Date;provided,however, that in no event may a Partner receive a distribution of Available Cash with respect to a Class A Unit if a Partner is entitled to receive a distribution with respect to a Share for which such Class A Unit has been redeemed or exchanged. If Class B Units were issued on the same date, the Class B Share shall be distributed pro rata among the Partners holding Class B Units on the Partnership Record Date for the Distribution Period in accordance with the number of Class B Units held by each Partner on such Partnership Record Date. In no event shall any Class B Units be entitled to receive any distribution of Available Cash for any Distribution Period ending prior to the date on which such Class B Units are issued. Solely for purposes of this paragraph C and paragraph D of thisSection 5.1, the terms “Class A Unit” and “Class A” shall also refer to Vested Class RS LTIP Units.
D.Distributions When Class B Units Have Been Issued on Different Dates. If Class B Units which have been issued on different dates are outstanding on the Partnership Record Date for any Distribution Period, then the Class B Units issued on each particular date shall be treated as a
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separate series of Partnership Units for purposes of making the allocation of Available Cash for such Distribution Period among the holders of Partnership Units (and the formula for making such allocation, and the definitions of variables used therein, shall be modified accordingly). Thus, for example, if two series of Class B Units are outstanding on the Partnership Record Date for any Distribution Period, the allocation formula for each series, “Series B1” and “Series B2” would be as follows:
(1) | Series B1 shall receive that portion of the Available Cash determined by multiplying the amount of Available Cash by the following fraction: |
B1 x X1 | ||||
(A x Y) + (B x X1) + (B2 x X2) |
(2) | Series B2 shall receive that portion of the Available Cash determined by multiplying the amount of Available Cash by the following fraction: |
B2 x X2 | ||||
(A x Y) + (B1 x X1) + (B2 x X2) |
(3) | For purposes of the foregoing formulas the definitions set forth inSection 5.1.C(3) remain the same except that (i) “B1” equals the number of Partnership Units in Series B1 outstanding on the Partnership Record Date for such Distribution Period; (ii) “B2” equals the number of Partnership Units in Series B2 outstanding on the Partnership Record Date for such Distribution Period; (iii) “X1” equals the number of days in the Distribution Period for which the Partnership Units in Series B1 were issued and outstanding; and (iv) “X2” equals the number of days in the Distribution Period for which the Partnership Units in Series B2 were issued and outstanding. |
E.Distributions With Respect to Class RS LTIP Units. In accordance withSection 4.6.A, unless and solely to the extent otherwise provided in an Award Agreement but subject toSection 5.1.G, holders of Vested Class RS LTIP Units shall be entitled to receive distributions in an amount per Vested Class RS LTIP Unit equal to the distribution per Class A Unit. Except for distributions upon liquidation of the Partnership, which shall be made in accordance withSection 13.2.B or as the General Partner in its discretion may determine otherwise, no distributions shall be made in respect of any unvested RS Units unless the General Partner determines otherwise;provided, that if and when any Class RS LTIP Unit first becomes vested, the holder thereof shall be entitled to receive with respect to such Class RS Unit, subject toSection 5.1.G, an amount equal to the excess of (i) the aggregate distributions per Class A Unit made during the period from the issuance of such Class RS LTIP Unit to the vesting of such Class RS LTIP Unit over (ii) distributions (if any) made in respect of such Class RS LTIP Unit prior to such vesting date.
F.Distributions With Respect to Class O LTIP Units. Except as set forth in the next sentence below, no distributions shall be made with respect to any Class O LTIP Units (other than distributions upon liquidation of the Partnership, which shall be made in accordance withSection 13.2.B). Notwithstanding the immediately preceding sentence, if and to the extent that there is any
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taxable income allocated pursuant toArticle VI with respect to any Class O LTIP Units for any taxable year, each holder of such Class O LTIP Units shall be entitled to receive a distribution per Class O LTIP Unit equal to the lesser of (a) the distribution per Class A Unit with respect to such taxable year, or (b) an amount determined by the General Partner to be adequate to pay the federal, state and local income tax liabilities resulting from such taxable income allocation (with the distribution per Class O LTIP Unit to be the same for each Class O LTIP Unit) (referred to as an “Class O LTIP Unit Tax Distribution”).
G.Restriction on Distributions with Respect to LTIP Units. It is the intention of the Partners that distributions of profits in respect of LTIP Units be limited to the extent necessary so that each of the LTIP Units constitutes a “profits interest” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In furtherance of the foregoing, and notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, the General Partner shall, if necessary, limit distributions to the holders of LTIP Units so that such distributions do not exceed the available profits in respect of such LTIP Units. In the event that distributions in respect of LTIP Units are reduced pursuant to the preceding sentence, an amount equal to such excess distributions shall be treated as instead apportioned to the remaining Partnerspro rata in accordance with their Partnership Units for the related fiscal year in accordance with the other provisions of this Agreement, and the General Partner shall make adjustments to future distributions to the holders of LTIP Units as promptly as practicable so that the holders of LTIP Units receive a distribution equal to the amount they would have received, in each case as if thisSection 5.1G had not been in effect;provided that any distributions pursuant to this sentence shall be further subject to the provisions of thisSection 5.1G. For purposes of this Agreement, “profits interest” means a right to receive distributions funded solely by profits of the Partnership generated after the grant in connection with the performance of services, satisfying the requirements as set forth in IRS Revenue Procedures 93-27 and 2001-43, or any future IRS guidance or other authority that supplements or supersedes the foregoing IRS Revenue Procedures.
Section 5.2 | Amounts Withheld |
All amounts withheld pursuant to the Code or any provisions of any state or local tax law andSection 10.5 with respect to any allocation, payment or distribution to the General Partner, the Limited Partners or Assignees shall be treated as amounts distributed to the General Partner, Limited Partners or Assignees, as the case may be, pursuant toSection 5.1 for all purposes under this Agreement.
Section 5.3 | Distributions upon Liquidation |
Proceeds from a Liquidating Event shall be distributed to the Partners in accordance withSection 13.2.
Section 5.4 | Revisions to Reflect Issuance of Partnership Interests |
If the Partnership issues Partnership Interests to the General Partner or any Additional Limited Partner pursuant toArticle IV hereof, the General Partner shall make such revisions to this Article V and the Partner Registry in the books and records of the Partnership as it deems necessary to reflect the terms of the issuance of such Partnership Interests. Such revisions shall not require the consent or approval of any other Partner.
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ARTICLE VI
ALLOCATIONS
Section 6.1 | Allocations for Capital Account Purposes |
For purposes of maintaining the Capital Accounts and in determining the rights of the Partners among themselves, the Partnership’s items of income, gain, loss and deduction (computed in accordance withExhibit B) shall be allocated among the Partners in each taxable year (or portion thereof) as provided herein below.
A.Net Income. After giving effect to the special allocations set forth inSection 1 ofExhibit C of the Partnership Agreement and any special allocations required to be made pursuant toSections 6.1.E and6.1.F, Net Income shall be allocated:
(1) | first, to the General Partner to the extent that Net Losses previously allocated to the General Partner pursuant toSection 6.1.B(6) exceed Net Income previously allocated to the General Partner pursuant to this clause (1); |
(2) | second, to each DRO Partner until the cumulative Net Income allocated to such DRO Partner under this clause (2) equals the cumulative Net Losses allocated to such DRO Partner underSection 6.1.B(5) (and among the DRO Partners, pro rata in proportion to their respective percentages of the cumulative Net Losses allocated to all DRO Partners pursuant toSection 6.1.B(5) hereof); |
(3) | third, to the General Partner until the cumulative Net Income allocated under this clause (3) equals the cumulative Net Losses allocated the General Partner underSection 6.1.B(4); |
(4) | fourth, to the holders of any Partnership Interests that are entitled to any preference upon liquidation until the cumulative Net Income allocated under this clause (4) equals the cumulative Net Losses allocated to such Partners underSection 6.1.B(3); |
(5) | fifth, to the holders of any Partnership Interests that are entitled to any preference in distribution in accordance with the rights of any other class of Partnership Interests until each such Partnership Interest has been allocated, on a cumulative basis pursuant to this clause (5), Net Income equal to the amount of distributions payable that are attributable to the preference of such class of Partnership Interests, whether or not paid (and, within such class, pro rata in proportion to the respective Percentage Interests as of the last day of the period for which such allocation is being made); |
(6) | sixth, to the holders of any Partnership Interests that are not entitled to any preference upon liquidation until the cumulative Net Income allocated under this clause (6) equals the cumulative Net Losses allocated to such Partners underSection 6.1.B(2); and |
(7) | finally, with respect to Partnership Interests that are not entitled to any preference in distribution or with respect to which distributions are not limited to any preference in distribution, pro rata to each such class in accordance with the terms of such class (and, within such class, pro rata in proportion to the respective Percentage Interests as of the last day of the period for which such allocation is being made). |
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B.Net Losses. After giving effect to the special allocations set forth inSection 1 ofExhibit C of the Partnership Agreement and any special allocations required to be made pursuant toSections 6.1.E and6.1.F, Net Losses shall be allocated:
(1) | first, to the holders of Partnership Interests, in proportion to, and to the extent that, their share of the Net Income previously allocated pursuant toSection 6.1.A(7) exceeds, on a cumulative basis, the sum of (a) distributions with respect to such Partnership Interests pursuant to clause (ii) ofSection 5.1.B and (b) Net Losses allocated under this clause (1); |
(2) | second, with respect to classes of Partnership Interests that are not entitled to any preference in distribution upon liquidation, pro rata to each such class in accordance with the terms of such class (and, within such class, pro rata in proportion to the respective Percentage Interests as of the last day of the period for which such allocation is being made);provided,however, that Net Losses shall not be allocated to any Partner pursuant to thisSection 6.1.B(2) to the extent that such allocation would cause such Partner to have an Adjusted Capital Account Deficit (or increase any existing Adjusted Capital Account Deficit) (determined in each case (i) by not including in the Partners’ Adjusted Capital Accounts any amount that a Partner is obligated to contribute to the Partnership with respect to any deficit in its Capital Account pursuant toSection 13.3 and (ii) in the case of a Partner who also holds classes of Partnership Interests that are entitled to any preferences in distribution upon liquidation, by subtracting from such Partners’ Adjusted Capital Account the amount of such preferred distribution to be made upon liquidation) at the end of such taxable year (or portion thereof); |
(3) | third, with respect to classes of Partnership Interests that are entitled to any preference in distribution upon liquidation, in reverse order of the priorities of each such class (and within each such class, pro rata in proportion to their respective Percentage Interests as of the last day of the period for which such allocation is being made);provided,however, that Net Losses shall not be allocated to any Partner pursuant to thisSection 6.1.B(3) to the extent that such allocation would cause such Partner to have an Adjusted Capital Account Deficit (or increase any existing Adjusted Capital Account Deficit) (determined in each case by not including in the Partners’ Adjusted Capital Accounts any amount that a Partner is obligated to contribute to the Partnership with respect to any deficit in its Capital Account pursuant toSection 13.3) at the end of such taxable year (or portion thereof); |
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(4) | fourth, to the General Partner in an amount equal to the excess of (a) the amount of the Partnership’s Recourse Liabilities over (b) the Aggregate DRO Amount; |
(5) | fifth, to and among the DRO Partners, in proportion to their respective DRO Amounts, until such time as the DRO Partners as a group have been allocated cumulative Net Losses pursuant to this clause (5) equal to the Aggregate DRO Amount; and |
(6) | thereafter, to the General Partner. |
C.Allocation of Nonrecourse Debt. For purposes of Regulation Section 1.752-3(a), the Partners agree that Nonrecourse Liabilities of the Partnership in excess of the sum of (i) the amount of Partnership Minimum Gain and (ii) the total amount of Nonrecourse Built-in Gain shall be allocated by the General Partner by taking into account facts and circumstances relating to each Partner’s respective interest in the profits of the Partnership unless and to the extent provided otherwise in an agreement between any Partner and the Partnership. For this purpose, the General Partner shall have the sole and absolute discretion in any Fiscal Year to allocate such excess Nonrecourse Liabilities among the Partners in any manner permitted under Code Section 752 and the Regulations thereunder.
D.Recapture Income. Any gain allocated to the Partners upon the sale or other taxable disposition of any Partnership asset shall, to the extent possible after taking into account other required allocations of gain pursuant toExhibit C, be characterized as Recapture Income in the same proportions and to the same extent as such Partners have been allocated any deductions directly or indirectly giving rise to the treatment of such gains as Recapture Income.
E.Special Allocations Regarding Class RS LTIP Units. Notwithstanding the provisions ofSection 6.1.A(7), but subject to the other provisions ofSection 6.1.A, and before giving effect to any allocation required to be made pursuant toSection 6.1.F, Liquidating Gains shall first be allocated to each holder of Class RS LTIP Units until its Class RS LTIP Unit Economic Capital Account Balance (determined after giving effect to all allocations provided for inSection 6.1.A(1) through6.1.A(6)), to the extent attributable to its ownership of Class RS LTIP Units, is equal to the product of (i) the Class A Unit Economic Capital Account Balance multiplied by (ii) the number of its Class RS LTIP Units. Any such allocations shall be made among the holders of Class RS LTIP Units in proportion to the amounts required to be allocated to each Class RS LTIP Unit under thisSection 6.1.E.
The parties agree that the intent of thisSection 6.1.E is to cause the Capital Account balance associated with each Class RS LTIP Unit to be economically equivalent to the Capital Account balance associated with the General Partner’s Class A Units (on a per-Unit basis) as promptly as possible.
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F.Special Allocations Regarding Class O LTIP Units.
(i) Notwithstanding the provisions ofSection 6.1.A, Net Income shall be allocated pursuant toSection 6.1.A(7) to Class O LTIP Units that are Unvested Class O LTIP Units only in an amount equal to the excess, if any, of (i) the Net Income per Class A Unit allocated pursuant toSection 6.1.A(7) with respect to such taxable year to the Class A Units, over (ii) the distribution per Class A Unit made with respect to such taxable year, reduced by the amount of any Unvested Class O LTIP Unit Tax Distribution with respect to such taxable year.
(ii) Notwithstanding the provisions ofSection 6.1.A(7), but subject to the other provisions ofSection 6.1.A and after giving effect to any allocations required to be made pursuant toSection 6.1.E, Liquidating Gains shall first be allocated to each holder of Class O LTIP Units until its Class O Unit Economic Capital Account Balance (determined after giving effect to all allocations provided for inSection 6.1.A(1) through6.1.A(6)), to the extent attributable to its ownership of Class O LTIP Units, is equal to the product of (i) the Class A Unit Profit Balance multiplied by (ii) the number of its Class O LTIP Units.
Any such allocations shall be made among the holders of Class O LTIP Units in proportion to the amounts required to be allocated to each Class O LTIP Unit under thisSection 6.1.F.
The parties agree that the intent of thisSection 6.1.F is to cause the Capital Account balance associated with each Class O LTIP Unit to be economically equivalent to the sum of (i) the increase, if any, in the Capital Account balance associated with the General Partner’s Class A Units (on a per-Unit basis) that has occurred from the time of the issuance of such Class O LTIP Units to the date of determination under thisSection 6.1.F, plus (ii) the amount of distributions made during such period with respect to the General Partner’s Class A Units (on a per-Unit basis) that are not made from Net Income allocated to such Class A Units and therefore are a return of, or a reduction in, the capital per such Class A Unit.
Section 6.2 | Revisions to Allocations to Reflect Issuance of Partnership Interests |
If the Partnership issues Partnership Interests to the General Partner or any Additional Limited Partner pursuant toArticle IV hereof, the General Partner shall make such revisions to thisArticle VI and the Partner Registry in the books and records of the Partnership as it deems necessary to reflect the terms of the issuance of such Partnership Interests, including making preferential allocations to classes of Partnership Interests that are entitled thereto. Such revisions shall not require the consent or approval of any other Partner.
ARTICLE VII
MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS OF BUSINESS
Section 7.1 | Management |
A.Powers of General Partner. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement, all management powers over the business and affairs of the Partnership are and shall be exclusively vested in the General Partner, and no Limited Partner shall have any right to participate in or exercise control or management power over the business and affairs of the Partnership. The General Partner may not be removed by the Limited Partners with or without cause. In addition to
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the powers now or hereafter granted a general partner of a limited partnership under applicable law or which are granted to the General Partner under any other provision of this Agreement, the General Partner shall have full power and authority to do all things deemed necessary or desirable by it to conduct the business of the Partnership, to exercise all powers set forth inSection 3.2 and to effectuate the purposes set forth inSection 3.1, including, without limitation:
(1) | the making of any expenditures, the lending or borrowing of money (including, without limitation, making prepayments on loans and borrowing money to permit the Partnership to make distributions to its Partners in such amounts as are required under Section 5.1.A or will permit the General Partner Entity (so long as the General Partner Entity chooses to attempt to qualify as a REIT) to avoid the payment of any U.S. federal income tax (including, for this purpose, any excise tax pursuant to Section 4981 of the Code) and to make distributions to its shareholders sufficient to permit the General Partner Entity to maintain its REIT status), the assumption or guarantee of, or other contracting for, indebtedness and other liabilities including, without limitation, the assumption or guarantee of the debt of the General Partner, its Subsidiaries or the Partnership’s Subsidiaries, the issuance of evidences of indebtedness (including the securing of same by mortgage, deed of trust or other lien or encumbrance on the Partnership’s assets) and the incurring of any obligations the General Partner deems necessary for the conduct of the activities of the Partnership; |
(2) | the making of tax, regulatory and other filings, or rendering of periodic or other reports to governmental or other agencies having jurisdiction over the business or assets of the Partnership; |
(3) | the acquisition, disposition, mortgage, pledge, encumbrance, hypothecation or exchange of any or all of the assets of the Partnership (including acquisition of any new assets, the exercise or grant of any conversion, option, privilege or subscription right or other right available in connection with any assets at any time held by the Partnership) or the merger or other combination of the Partnership or any Subsidiary of the Partnership with or into another entity on such terms as the General Partner deems proper; |
(4) | the use of the assets of the Partnership (including, without limitation, cash on hand) for any purpose consistent with the terms of this Agreement and on any terms it sees fit, including, without limitation, the financing of the conduct of the operations of the General Partner, the Partnership or any of the Partnership’s Subsidiaries, the lending of funds to other Persons (including, without limitation, the General Partner, its Subsidiaries, the Partnership’s Subsidiaries and any of their Affiliates) and the repayment of obligations of the Partnership and its Subsidiaries and any other Person in which the Partnership has an equity investment and the making of capital contributions to its Subsidiaries; |
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(5) | the management, operation, leasing, landscaping, repair, alteration, demolition or improvement of any real property or improvements owned by the Partnership or any Subsidiary of the Partnership or any Person in which the Partnership has made a direct or indirect equity investment; |
(6) | the negotiation, execution, and performance of any contracts, conveyances or other instruments that the General Partner considers useful or necessary to the conduct of the Partnership’s operations or the implementation of the General Partner’s powers under this Agreement, including contracting with contractors, developers, consultants, accountants, legal counsel, other professional advisors and other agents and the payment of their expenses and compensation out of the Partnership’s assets; |
(7) | the mortgage, pledge, encumbrance or hypothecation of any assets of the Partnership; |
(8) | the distribution of Partnership cash or other Partnership assets in accordance with this Agreement; |
(9) | the holding, managing, investing and reinvesting of cash and other assets of the Partnership; |
(10) | the collection and receipt of revenues and income of the Partnership; |
(11) | the selection, designation of powers, authority and duties and the dismissal of employees of the Partnership (including, without limitation, employees having titles such as “president,” “vice president,” “secretary” and “treasurer”) and agents, outside attorneys, accountants, consultants and contractors of the Partnership and the determination of their compensation and other terms of employment or hiring; |
(12) | the maintenance of such insurance for the benefit of the Partnership and the Partners as it deems necessary or appropriate; |
(13) | the formation of, or acquisition of an interest (including non-voting interests in entities controlled by Affiliates of the Partnership or the General Partner or third parties) in, and the contribution of property to, any further limited or general partnerships, joint ventures, limited liability companies or other relationships that it deems desirable (including, without limitation, the acquisition of interests in, and the contributions of funds or property to, or making of loans to, its Subsidiaries and any other Person in which it has an equity investment from time to time, or the incurrence of indebtedness on behalf of such Persons or the guarantee of the obligations of such Persons);provided,however, that as long as the General Partner Entity has determined to attempt to continue to qualify as a REIT, the Partnership may not engage in any such formation, acquisition or contribution that would cause the General Partner Entity to fail to qualify as a REIT; |
(14) | the control of any matters affecting the rights and obligations of the Partnership, including the settlement, compromise, submission to arbitration or any other form of |
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dispute resolution or abandonment of any claim, cause of action, liability, debt or damages due or owing to or from the Partnership, the commencement or defense of suits, legal proceedings, administrative proceedings, arbitrations or other forms of dispute resolution, the representation of the Partnership in all suits or legal proceedings, administrative proceedings, arbitrations or other forms of dispute resolution, the incurring of legal expense and the indemnification of any Person against liabilities and contingencies to the extent permitted by law; |
(15) | the determination of the fair market value of any Partnership property distributed in kind, using such reasonable method of valuation as the General Partner may adopt; |
(16) | the exercise, directly or indirectly, through any attorney-in-fact acting under a general or limited power of attorney, of any right, including the right to vote, appurtenant to any assets or investment held by the Partnership; |
(17) | the exercise of any of the powers of the General Partner enumerated in this Agreement on behalf of or in connection with any Subsidiary of the Partnership or any other Person in which the Partnership has a direct or indirect interest, individually or jointly with any such Subsidiary or other Person; |
(18) | the exercise of any of the powers of the General Partner enumerated in this Agreement on behalf of any Person in which the Partnership does not have any interest pursuant to contractual or other arrangements with such Person; |
(19) | the making, executing and delivering of any and all deeds, leases, notes, deeds to secure debt, mortgages, deeds of trust, security agreements, conveyances, contracts, guarantees, warranties, indemnities, waivers, releases or other legal instruments or agreements in writing necessary or appropriate in the judgment of the General Partner for the accomplishment of any of the powers of the General Partner enumerated in this Agreement; |
(20) | the distribution of cash to acquire Partnership Units held by a Limited Partner in connection with a Limited Partner’s exercise of its Redemption Right underSection 8.6; |
(21) | the determination regarding whether a payment to a Partner who exercises its Redemption Right underSection 8.6 that is assumed by the General Partner Entity will be paid in the form of the Cash Amount or the Shares Amount, except as such determination may be limited bySection 8.6. |
(22) | the acquisition of Partnership Interests in exchange for cash, debt instruments and other property; |
(23) | the maintenance of the Partner Registry in the books and records of the Partnership to reflect the Capital Contributions and Percentage Interests of the Partners as the same are adjusted from time to time to the extent necessary to reflect redemptions, Capital Contributions, the issuance of Partnership Units, the admission of any Additional Limited Partner or any Substituted Limited Partner or otherwise; and |
(24) | the registration of any class of securities of the Partnership under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the listing of any debt securities of the Partnership on any exchange. |
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B.No Approval by Limited Partners. Each of the Limited Partners agrees that the General Partner is authorized to execute, deliver and perform the above-mentioned agreements and transactions on behalf of the Partnership without any further act, approval or vote of the Partners, notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Act or any applicable law, rule or regulation, to the full extent permitted under the Act or other applicable law. The execution, delivery or performance by the General Partner or the Partnership of any agreement authorized or permitted under this Agreement shall be in the sole and absolute discretion of the General Partner without consideration of any other obligation or duty, fiduciary or otherwise, of the Partnership or the Limited Partners and shall not constitute a breach by the General Partner of any duty that the General Partner may owe the Partnership or the Limited Partners or any other Persons under this Agreement or of any duty stated or implied by law or equity.
C.Insurance. At all times from and after the date hereof, the General Partner may cause the Partnership to obtain and maintain (i) casualty, liability and other insurance on the properties of the Partnership and its Subsidiaries and (ii) liability insurance for the Indemnitees hereunder, and (iii) such other insurance as the General Partner, in its sole and absolute discretion, determines to be necessary.
D.Working Capital and Other Reserves. At all times from and after the date hereof, the General Partner may cause the Partnership to establish and maintain working capital reserves in such amounts as the General Partner, in its sole and absolute discretion, deems appropriate and reasonable from time to time, including upon liquidation of the Partnership underArticle XIII.
E.No Obligations to Consider Tax Consequences of Limited Partners. In exercising its authority under this Agreement, the General Partner (which for the purposes of thisSection 7.1.E shall include, the Board of Directors of the General Partner) may, but shall be under no obligation to, take into account the tax consequences to any Partner (including the General Partner) of any action taken (or not taken) by the General Partner. The General Partner and the Partnership shall not have liability to a Limited Partner for monetary or other damages or otherwise for losses sustained, liabilities incurred or benefits not derived by such Limited Partner in connection with any decisions,provided,however, that the General Partner has acted in good faith and pursuant to its authority under this Agreement and any decisions or actions taken or not taken in accordance with the terms of this Agreement shall not constitute a breach of any duty owed to the Partnership or the Limited Partners by law or equity, fiduciary or otherwise.
Section 7.2 | Certificate of Limited Partnership |
The General Partner has previously filed the Certificate of Limited Partnership with the Secretary of State of Delaware. To the extent that such action is determined by the General Partner
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to be reasonable and necessary or appropriate, the General Partner shall file amendments to and restatements of the Certificate of Limited Partnership and do all the things to maintain the Partnership as a limited partnership (or a partnership in which the limited partners have limited liability) under the laws of the State of Delaware and each other state, the District of Columbia or other jurisdiction in which the Partnership may elect to do business or own property. Subject to the terms ofSection 8.5.A(4), the General Partner shall not be required, before or after filing, to deliver or mail a copy of the Certificate of Limited Partnership or any amendment thereto to any Limited Partner. The General Partner shall use all reasonable efforts to cause to be filed such other certificates or documents as may be reasonable and necessary or appropriate for the formation, continuation, qualification and operation of a limited partnership (or a partnership in which the limited partners have limited liability) in the State of Delaware and any other state, the District of Columbia or other jurisdiction in which the Partnership may elect to do business or own property.
Section 7.3 | Title to Partnership Assets |
Title to Partnership assets, whether real, personal or mixed and whether tangible or intangible, shall be deemed to be owned by the Partnership as an entity, and no Partners, individually or collectively, shall have any ownership interest in such Partnership assets or any portion thereof. Title to any or all of the Partnership assets may be held in the name of the Partnership, the General Partner or one or more nominees, as the General Partner may determine, including Affiliates of the General Partner. The General Partner hereby declares and warrants that any Partnership assets for which legal title is held in the name of the General Partner or any nominee or Affiliate of the General Partner shall be held by the General Partner for the use and benefit of the Partnership in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement. All Partnership assets shall be recorded as the property of the Partnership in its books and records, irrespective of the name in which legal title to such Partnership assets is held.
Section 7.4 | Reimbursement of the General Partner |
A.No Compensation. Except as provided in thisSection 7.4 and elsewhere in this Agreement (including the provisions ofArticles V andVI regarding distributions, payments and allocations to which it may be entitled), the General Partner shall not receive payments from the Partnership or otherwise be compensated for its services as the general partner of the Partnership.
B.Responsibility for Partnership, General Partner and General Partner Entity Expenses. The Partnership shall be responsible for and shall pay all expenses relating to the Partnership’s organization, the ownership of its assets and its operations. The General Partner shall be reimbursed on a monthly basis, or such other basis as the General Partner may determine in its sole and absolute discretion, for all expenses it incurs relating to or resulting from the ownership and operation of, or for the benefit of, the Partnership (including, without limitation, (i) expenses relating to the ownership of interests in and operation of the Partnership, (ii) compensation of the officers and employees including, without limitation, payments under any stock option or incentive plan that provides for stock units, or other phantom stock, pursuant to which employees will receive payments based upon dividends on or the value of Shares, (iii) auditing expenses, (iv) director fees and expenses of the General Partner Entity, (v) all costs and expenses of being a public company,
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including costs of filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, reports and other distributions to its shareholders, and (vi) all costs and expenses associated with litigation involving the General Partner and the General Partner Entity, the Partnership or any Subsidiary);provided,however, that (i) the amount of any such reimbursement shall be reduced by (x) any interest earned by the General Partner with respect to bank accounts or other instruments or accounts held by it on behalf of the Partnership as permitted inSection 7.5.A (which interest is considered to belong to the Partnership and shall be paid over to the Partnership to the extent not applied to reimburse the General Partner for expenses hereunder); and (y) any amount derived by the General Partner from any investments permitted inSection 7.5.A; (ii) if the General Partner or General Partner Entity qualifies as a REIT, the Partnership shall not be responsible for any taxes that the General Partner Entity would not have been required to pay if that entity qualified as a REIT for federal income tax purposes or any taxes imposed on the General Partner or General Partner Entity by reason of that entity’s failure to distribute to its shareholders an amount equal to its taxable income; (iii) the Partnership shall not be responsible for expenses or liabilities incurred by the General Partner in connection with any business or assets of the General Partner other than its ownership of Partnership Interests or operation of the business of the Partnership or ownership of interests in Qualified Assets to the extent permitted inSection 7.5.A; and (iv) the Partnership shall not be responsible for any expenses or liabilities of the General Partner that are excluded from the scope of the indemnification provisions ofSection 7.7.A by reason of the provisions of clause (i), (ii) or (iii) thereof. The General Partner shall determine in good faith the amount of expenses incurred by it or the General Partner Entity related to the ownership of Partnership Interests or operation of, or for the benefit of, the Partnership. If certain expenses are incurred that are related both to the ownership of Partnership Interests or operation of, or for the benefit of, the Partnership and to the ownership of other assets (other than Qualified Assets as permitted underSection 7.5.A) or the operation of other businesses, such expenses will be allocated to the Partnership and such other entities (including the General Partner and General Partner Entity) owning such other assets or businesses in such a manner as the General Partner in its sole and absolute discretion deems fair and reasonable. Such reimbursements shall be in addition to any reimbursement to the General Partner and the General Partner Entity pursuant toSection 10.3.C and as a result of indemnification pursuant toSection 7.7. All payments and reimbursements hereunder shall be characterized for U.S. federal income tax purposes as expenses of the Partnership incurred on its behalf, and not as expenses of the General Partner or General Partner Entity.
C.Partnership Interest Issuance Expenses. The General Partner shall also be reimbursed for all expenses it incurs relating to any issuance of Partnership Interests, Shares, Debt of the Partnership, Funding Debt of the General Partner or the General Partner Entity or rights, options, warrants or convertible or exchangeable securities pursuant toArticle IV (including, without limitation, all costs, expenses, damages and other payments resulting from or arising in connection with litigation related to any of the foregoing), all of which expenses are considered by the Partners to constitute expenses of, and for the benefit of, the Partnership.
D.Repurchases of Shares. If the General Partner Entity exercises its rights under its organizational documents (or, if the General Partner is not the General Partner Entity, the organizational documents of the General Partner Entity) to purchase Shares or otherwise elects or is required to purchase from its shareholders Shares in connection with a share repurchase or similar
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program or otherwise, or for the purpose of delivering such Shares to satisfy an obligation under any dividend reinvestment or equity purchase program adopted by the General Partner Entity, any employee equity purchase plan adopted by the General Partner Entity or any similar obligation or arrangement undertaken by the General Partner Entity in the future, the purchase price paid by the General Partner Entity for those Shares and any other expenses incurred by the General Partner Entity in connection with such purchase shall be considered expenses of the Partnership and shall be reimbursable to the General Partner Entity, subject to the conditions that: (i) if those Shares subsequently are to be sold by the General Partner Entity, the General Partner Entity shall pay to the Partnership any proceeds received by the General Partner Entity for those Shares (provided, however, that a transfer of Shares for Partnership Units pursuant to Section 8.6 would not be considered a sale for such purposes); and (ii) if such Shares are required to be cancelled pursuant to applicable law or are not retransferred by the General Partner Entity within thirty (30) days after the purchase thereof, the General Partner shall cause the Partnership to cancel a number of Partnership Units (rounded to the nearest whole Partnership Unit) held by the General Partner equal to the product attained by multiplying the number of those Shares by a fraction, the numerator of which is one and the denominator of which is the Conversion Factor.
E.Reimbursement not a Distribution. Except as set forth in the succeeding sentence, if and to the extent any reimbursement made pursuant to thisSection 7.4 is determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes not to constitute a payment of expenses of the Partnership, the amount so determined shall constitute a guaranteed payment with respect to capital within the meaning of Section 707(c) of the Code, shall be treated consistently therewith by the Partnership and all Partners and shall not be treated as a distribution for purposes of computing the Partners’ Capital Accounts. Amounts deemed paid by the Partnership to the General Partner in connection with redemption of Partnership Units pursuant toSection 7.5.B shall be treated as a distribution for purposes of computing the Partner’s Capital Accounts.
F.Funding for Certain Capital Transactions. In the event that the General Partner Entity shall undertake to acquire (whether by merger, consolidation, purchase, or otherwise) the assets or equity interests of another Person and such acquisition shall require the payment of cash by the General Partner Entity (whether to such Person or to any other selling party or parties in such transaction or to one or more creditors, if any, of such Person or such selling party or parties), (a) the Partnership shall advance to the General Partner Entity the cash required to consummate such acquisition if, and to the extent that, such cash is not to be obtained by the General Partner Entity through an issuance of Shares described inSection 4.2 or pursuant to a transaction described inSection 7.5.B, (b) the General Partner Entity shall, upon consummation of such acquisition, transfer to the Partnership (or cause to be transferred to the Partnership), in full and complete satisfaction of such advance and as required bySection 7.5, the assets or equity interests of such Person acquired by the General Partner Entity in such acquisition (or equity interests in Persons owning all of such assets or equity interests), and (c) pursuant to and in accordance withSection 4.2 andSection 7.5.B, the Partnership shall issue to the General Partner, Partnership Interests and/or rights, options, warrants or convertible or exchangeable securities of the Partnership having designations, preferences and other rights that are substantially the same as those of any additional Shares, other equity securities, New Securities and/or Convertible Funding Debt, as the case may be, issued by the General Partner Entity in connection with such acquisition (whether issued directly to participants in
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the acquisition transaction or to third parties in order to obtain cash to complete the acquisition). In addition to, and without limiting, the foregoing, in the event that the General Partner Entity engages in a transaction in which (x) the General Partner Entity (or a wholly owned direct or indirect Subsidiary of the General Partner Entity) merges with another entity (referred to as the “Parent Entity”) that is organized in the “UPREIT format” (i.e., where the Parent Entity holds substantially all of its assets and conducts substantially all of its operations through a partnership, limited liability company or other entity (referred to as an “Operating Entity”)) and the General Partner Entity survives such merger, (y) such Operating Entity merges with or is otherwise acquired by the Partnership in exchange in whole or in part for Partnership Interests, and (z) the General Partner Entity is required or elects to pay part of the consideration in connection with such merger involving the Parent Entity in the form of cash and part of the consideration in the form of Shares, the Partnership shall distribute to the General Partner with respect to its existing Partnership Interest an amount of cash sufficient to complete such transaction and the General Partner shall cause the Partnership to cancel a number of Partnership Units (rounded to the nearest whole number) held by the General Partner equal to the product attained by multiplying the number of additional Shares of the General Partner Entity that the General Partner Entity would have issued to the Parent Entity or the owners of the Parent Entity in such transaction if the entire consideration therefor were to have been paid in Shares by a fraction, the numerator of which is one and the denominator of which is the Conversion Factor.
Section 7.5 | Outside Activities of the General Partner; Relationship of Shares to Partnership Units; Funding Debt |
A.General. Without the Consent of the Outside Limited Partners, the General Partner shall not, directly or indirectly, enter into or conduct any business other than in connection with the ownership, acquisition and disposition of Partnership Interests as General Partner or Limited Partner and the management of the business of the Partnership and such activities as are incidental thereto. Without Consent of the Outside Limited Partners, the assets of the General Partner shall be limited to Partnership Interests and permitted debt obligations of the Partnership (as contemplated bySection 7.5.F);provided,however, that the General Partner shall be permitted to hold such bank accounts or similar instruments or accounts in its name as it deems necessary to carry out its responsibilities and purposes as contemplated under this Agreement and its organizational documents (provided that accounts held on behalf of the Partnership to permit the General Partner to carry out its responsibilities under this Agreement shall be considered to belong to the Partnership and the interest earned thereon shall, subject toSection 7.4.B, be applied for the benefit of the Partnership); and, provided further that, the General Partner shall be permitted to acquire Qualified Assets.
B.Repurchase of Shares and Other Securities. If the General Partner Entity exercises its rights under its organizational documents (or, if the General Partner is not the General Partner Entity, the organizational documents of the General Partner Entity) to purchase Shares or otherwise elects to purchase from the holders thereof Shares, other equity securities of the General Partner Entity, New Securities or Convertible Funding Debt, then the General Partner Entity shall cause the Partnership to purchase from the General Partner Entity (a) in the case of a purchase of Shares, that number of Partnership Units of the appropriate class equal to the product obtained by multiplying the number of
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Shares purchased by the General Partner Entity times a fraction, the numerator of which is one and the denominator of which is the Conversion Factor, or (b) in the case of the purchase of any other securities on the same terms and for the same aggregate price that the General Partner Entity purchased such securities.
C.Equity Incentive Plan. If, at any time or from time to time, the General Partner Entity sells or otherwise issues Shares pursuant to the Equity Incentive Plan, the General Partner Entity shall transfer or cause to be transferred the proceeds of the sale of such Shares, if any, to the Partnership as an additional Capital Contribution in exchange for an amount of additional Partnership Units equal to the number of Shares so sold divided by the Conversion Factor. If the Partnership or the General Partner Entity acquires Shares as a result of the forfeiture of such Shares under the Equity Incentive Plan, then the General Partner shall cause the Partnership to cancel, without payment of any consideration to the General Partner, that number of Partnership Units of the appropriate class equal to the number of Shares so acquired, and, if the Partnership acquired such Shares, it shall transfer such Shares to the General Partner for cancellation.
D.Issuances of Shares and Other Securities. So long as the common shares of the General Partner Entity are Publicly Traded, the General Partner Entity shall not grant, award or issue any additional Shares (other than Shares issued pursuant toSection 8.6 hereof or pursuant to a dividend or distribution (including any share split) of Shares to all of its shareholders that results in an adjustment to the Conversion Factor pursuant to clause (i), (ii) or (iii) of the definition thereof), other equity securities of the General Partner Entity, New Securities or Convertible Funding Debt unless (i) the General Partner shall cause, pursuant toSection 4.2.A hereof, the Partnership to issue to the General Partner, Partnership Interests or rights, options, warrants or convertible or exchangeable securities of the Partnership having designations, preferences and other rights, all such that the economic interests are substantially the same as those of such additional Shares, other equity securities, New Securities or Convertible Funding Debt, as the case may be, and (ii) in exchange therefor, the General Partner Entity transfers or otherwise causes to be transferred to the Partnership, as an additional Capital Contribution, the proceeds from the grant, award, or issuance of such additional Shares, other equity securities, New Securities or Convertible Funding Debt, as the case may be, or from the exercise of rights contained in such additional Shares, other equity securities, New Securities or Convertible Funding Debt, as the case may be (or, in the case of an acquisition described inSection 7.4.F in which all or a portion of the cash required to consummate such acquisition is to be obtained by the General Partner Entity through an issuance of Shares described inSection 4.2, the General Partner Entity complies with suchSection 7.4.F). Without limiting the foregoing, the General Partner Entity is expressly authorized to issue additional Shares, other equity securities, New Securities or Convertible Funding Debt, as the case may be, for less than fair market value, and the General Partner is expressly authorized, pursuant toSection 4.2.A hereof, to cause the Partnership to issue to the General Partner corresponding Partnership Interests (for example, and not by way of limitation, the issuance of Shares and corresponding Partnership Units pursuant to a share purchase plan providing for purchases of Shares, either by employees or shareholders, at a discount from fair market value or pursuant to employee share options that have an exercise price that is less than the fair market value of the Shares, either at the time of issuance or at the time of exercise), as long as (a) the General Partner concludes in good faith that such issuance is in the interests of the General Partner and the Partnership and (b) the General Partner Entity transfers all proceeds from any such issuance or exercise to the Partnership as an additional Capital Contribution.
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E.Funding Debt. The General Partner or the General Partner Entity or any wholly owned Subsidiary of either of them may incur a Funding Debt, including, without limitation, a Funding Debt that is convertible into Shares or otherwise constitutes a class of New Securities (“Convertible Funding Debt”), subject to the condition that the General Partner, the General Partner Entity or such Subsidiary, as the case may be, lend to the Partnership the net proceeds of such Funding Debt;provided,however, that Convertible Funding Debt shall be issued in accordance with the provisions of Section 7.5.C above; and, provided further that, if the General Partner Entity attempts to qualify as a REIT, the General Partner, the General Partner Entity or such Subsidiary shall not be obligated to lend the net proceeds of any Funding Debt to the Partnership in a manner that would be inconsistent with the General Partner’s or General Partner Entity’s ability to remain qualified as a REIT. If the General Partner, General Partner Entity or such Subsidiary enters into any Funding Debt, the loan to the Partnership shall be on comparable terms and conditions, including interest rate, repayment schedule, costs and expenses and other financial terms, as are applicable with respect to or incurred in connection with such Funding Debt.
F.Capital Contributions of the General Partner. The Capital Contributions by the General Partner pursuant toSections 7.5.C and 7.5.D will be deemed to equal the cash contributed by the General Partner plus, in the case of cash contributions funded by an offering of any equity interests in or other securities of the General Partner Entity, the offering costs attributable to the cash contributed to the Partnership to the extent not reimbursed pursuant toSection 7.4.C and (ii) in the case of Partnership Units issued pursuant toSection 7.5.C, an amount equal to the difference between the Value of the Shares sold pursuant to the Equity Incentive Plan and the net proceeds of such sale.
G.Tax Loans. The General Partner or the General Partner Entity may in its sole and absolute discretion, cause the Partnership to make an interest free loan to the General Partner or the General Partner Entity, as applicable,provided that the proceeds of such loans are used to satisfy any tax liabilities of the General Partner or the General Partner Entity, as applicable.
Section 7.6 | Transactions with Affiliates |
A.Transactions with Certain Affiliates. Except as expressly permitted by this Agreement with respect to any non-arms’ length transaction with an Affiliate, the Partnership shall not, directly or indirectly, sell, transfer or convey any property to, or purchase any property from, or borrow funds from, or lend funds to, any Partner or any Affiliate of the Partnership that is not also a Subsidiary of the Partnership, except pursuant to transactions that are determined in good faith by the General Partner to be on terms that are fair and reasonable.
B.Conflict Avoidance. The General Partner is expressly authorized to enter into, in the name and on behalf of the Partnership, a non-competition arrangement and other conflict avoidance agreements with various Affiliates of the Partnership and General Partner on such terms as the General Partner, in its sole and absolute discretion, believes are advisable.
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C.Benefit Plans Sponsored by the Partnership. The General Partner in its sole and absolute discretion and without the approval of the Limited Partners, may propose and adopt on behalf of the Partnership employee benefit plans funded by the Partnership for the benefit of employees of the General Partner, the Partnership, Subsidiaries of the Partnership or any Affiliate of any of them.
Section 7.7 | Indemnification |
A.General. The Partnership shall indemnify each Indemnitee to the fullest extent provided by the Act from and against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities, joint or several, expenses (including, without limitation, attorneys’ fees and other legal fees and expenses), judgments, fines, settlements and other amounts, arising from or in connection with any and all claims, demands, actions, suits or proceedings, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, incurred by the Indemnitee and relating to the Partnership or the General Partner General Partner Entity or the or the operation of, or the ownership of property by, the Indemnitee, Partnership or the General Partner or the General Partner Entity as set forth in this Agreement in which any such Indemnitee may be involved, or is threatened to be involved, as a party or otherwise, unless it is established by a final determination of a court of competent jurisdiction that: (i) the act or omission of the Indemnitee was material to the matter giving rise to the proceeding and either was committed in bad faith or was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty, (ii) the Indemnitee actually received an improper personal benefit in money, property or services or (iii) in the case of any criminal proceeding, the Indemnitee had reasonable cause to believe that the act or omission was unlawful. Without limitation, the foregoing indemnity shall extend to any liability of any Indemnitee, pursuant to a loan guarantee, contractual obligation for any indebtedness or other obligation or otherwise, for any indebtedness of the Partnership or any Subsidiary of the Partnership (including, without limitation, any indebtedness which the Partnership or any Subsidiary of the Partnership has assumed or taken subject to), and the General Partner is hereby authorized and empowered, on behalf of the Partnership, to enter into one or more indemnity agreements consistent with the provisions of thisSection 7.7 in favor of any Indemnitee having or potentially having liability for any such indebtedness. The termination of any proceeding by judgment, order or settlement does not create a presumption that the Indemnitee did not meet the requisite standard of conduct set forth in thisSection 7.7.A. The termination of any proceeding by conviction or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, or an entry of an order of probation prior to judgment, creates a rebuttable presumption that the Indemnitee acted in a manner contrary to that specified in thisSection 7.7.A with respect to the subject matter of such proceeding. Any indemnification pursuant to thisSection 7.7 shall be made only out of the assets of the Partnership, and any insurance proceeds from the liability policy covering the General Partner and any Indemnitee, and neither the General Partner nor any Limited Partner shall have any obligation to contribute to the capital of the Partnership or otherwise provide funds to enable the Partnership to fund its obligations under thisSection 7.7.
B.Reimbursement of Expenses. Reasonable expenses expected to be incurred by an Indemnitee shall be paid or reimbursed by the Partnership in advance of the final disposition of any and all claims, demands, actions, suits or proceedings, civil, criminal, administrative or investigative made or threatened against an Indemnitee upon receipt by the Partnership of (i) a written affirmation
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by the Indemnitee of the Indemnitee’s good faith belief that the standard of conduct necessary for indemnification by the Partnership as authorized in thisSection 7.7 has been met and (ii) a written undertaking by or on behalf of the Indemnitee to repay the amount if it shall ultimately be determined that the standard of conduct has not been met.
C.No Limitation of Rights. The indemnification provided by thisSection 7.7 shall be in addition to any other rights to which an Indemnitee or any other Person may be entitled under any agreement, pursuant to any vote of the Partners, as a matter of law or otherwise, and shall continue as to an Indemnitee who has ceased to serve in such capacity unless otherwise provided in a written agreement pursuant to which such Indemnitee is indemnified. The Partnership hereby acknowledges that the certain of directors of the General Partner Entity, including those affiliated with GA QTS Interholdco, LLC (the “Specified Directors”) may have certain rights to indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by GA QTS Interholdco, LLC and certain of its Affiliates (collectively, the “General Atlantic Indemnitors”). The Partnership hereby agrees and acknowledges that, with respect to matters for which it is required to provide indemnity pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, (i) it shall be the indemnitor of first resort with respect to the Specified Directors (i.e., its obligations to the Specified Directors are primary and any obligation of the General Atlantic Indemnitors to advance expenses or to provide indemnification for expenses or liabilities incurred by the Specified Directors are secondary), (ii) it shall advance the full amount of expenses incurred and shall be liable for the full amount of all expenses, judgments, penalties, fines and amounts paid in settlement by the Specified Directors to the extent required by the terms of this Agreement (or any other agreement between the Partnership and the Specified Directors), without regard to any rights the Specified Directors may have against the General Atlantic Indemnitors and (iii) it irrevocably waives, relinquishes and releases the General Atlantic Indemnitors from any and all claims against the General Atlantic Indemnitors for contribution, subrogation or any other recovery of any kind in respect thereof related to the Partnership’s obligations set forth in clauses (i) and (ii) in thisSection 7.7.C. The Partnership further agrees that no advancement or payment by the General Atlantic Indemnitors on behalf of the Specified Directors with respect to any claim for which the Specified Directors have sought indemnification from the Partnership shall affect the foregoing and the General Atlantic Indemnitors shall have a right of contribution and/or be subrogated to the extent of such advancement or payment to all of the rights of recovery of the Specified Directors against the Partnership
D.Insurance. The Partnership may purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of the Indemnitees and such other Persons as the General Partner shall determine against any liability that may be asserted against or expenses that may be incurred by such Person in connection with the Partnership’s activities, regardless of whether the Partnership would have the power to indemnify such Indemnitee or Person against such liability under the provisions of this Agreement.
E.No Personal Liability for Partners. In no event may an Indemnitee subject any of the Partners to personal liability by reason of the indemnification provisions set forth in this Agreement.
F.Interested Transactions. An Indemnitee shall not be denied indemnification in whole or in part under thisSection 7.7 because the Indemnitee had an interest in the transaction with respect to which the indemnification applies if the transaction was otherwise permitted by the terms of this Agreement.
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G.Benefit. The provisions of thisSection 7.7 are also for the benefit of the Indemnitees, their employees, officers, directors, trustees, heirs, successors, assigns and administrators and shall not be deemed to create any rights for the benefit of any other Persons. Any amendment, modification or repeal of thisSection 7.7, or any provision hereof, shall be prospective only and shall not in any way affect the limitation on the Partnership’s liability to any Indemnitee under thisSection 7.7 as in effect immediately prior to such amendment, modification or repeal with respect to claims arising from or related to matters occurring, in whole or in part, prior to such amendment, modification or repeal, regardless of when such claims may arise or be asserted.
H.Indemnification Payments Not Distributions. If and to the extent any payments to the General Partner pursuant to thisSection 7.7 constitute gross income to the General Partner (as opposed to the repayment of advances made on behalf of the Partnership), such amounts shall constitute guaranteed payments within the meaning of Section 707(c) of the Code, shall be treated consistently therewith by the Partnership and all Partners, and shall not be treated as distributions for purposes of computing the Partners’ Capital Accounts.
I.Exception to Indemnification. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, the General Partner shall not be entitled to indemnification hereunder for any loss, claim, damage, liability or expense for which the General Partner is obligated to indemnify the Partnership under any other agreement between the General Partner and the Partnership.
Section 7.8 | Liability of the General Partner |
A.General. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth in this Agreement, the General Partner (which for the purposes of thisSection 7.8 shall include the directors, trustees and officers of the General Partner) shall not be liable for monetary or other damages to the Partnership, any Partners or any Assignees for losses sustained, liabilities incurred or benefits not derived as a result of errors in judgment or mistakes of fact or law or of any act or omission unless the General Partner acted in bad faith and the act or omission was material to the matter giving rise to the loss, liability or benefit not derived.
B.Obligation to Consider Interests of General Partner Entity. The Limited Partners expressly acknowledge that the General Partner, in considering whether to dispose of any of the Partnership assets, shall take into account the tax consequences to the General Partner Entity of any such disposition and shall have no liability whatsoever to the Partnership or any Limited Partner for decisions that are based upon or influenced by such tax consequences.
C.No Obligation to Consider Separate Interests of Limited Partners or Shareholders. The Limited Partners expressly acknowledge that the General Partner is acting on behalf of the Partnership, its equityholders its equityholders (and, to the extent separate, the equityholders of the General Partner Entity), and the equityholders of the Limited Partners, and that, except as otherwise set forth herein, the General Partner is under no obligation to consider the separate interests of the Limited Partners (including, without limitation, the tax consequences to Limited Partners or
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Assignees) in deciding whether to cause the Partnership to take (or decline to take) any actions, and that the General Partner shall not be liable for monetary or other damages for losses sustained, liabilities incurred or benefits not derived by Limited Partners in connection with any decisions or actions made or taken or declined to be made or taken,provided that the General Partner Entity has acted in good faith and pursuant to its authority under this Agreement and any decisions or actions taken or not taken in accordance with the terms of this Agreement shall not constitute a breach of any duty owed to the Partnership or the Limited Partners by law or equity, fiduciary or otherwise.
D.Actions of Agents. Subject to its obligations and duties as General Partner set forth inSection 7.1.A, the General Partner may exercise any of the powers granted to it by this Agreement and perform any of the duties imposed upon it hereunder either directly or by or through its agents. The General Partner shall not be responsible for any misconduct or negligence on the part of any such agent appointed by the General Partner in good faith.
E.Effect of Amendment. Notwithstanding any other provision contained herein, any amendment, modification or repeal of thisSection 7.8 or any provision hereof shall be prospective only and shall not in any way affect the limitations on the General Partner’s liability to the Partnership and the Limited Partners under thisSection 7.8 as in effect immediately prior to such amendment, modification or repeal with respect to claims arising from or relating to matters occurring, in whole or in part, prior to such amendment, modification or repeal, regardless of when such claims may arise or be asserted.
F.Limitations of Fiduciary Duty.Sections 7.1.B,7.1.E and thisSection 7.8 and any other Section of this Agreement limiting the liability of the General Partner and/or its trustees, directors and officers shall constitute an express limitation of any duties, fiduciary or otherwise, that they would owe the Partnership or the Limited Partners if such duty would be imposed by any law, in equity or otherwise.
Section 7.9 | Other Matters Concerning the General Partner |
A.Reliance on Documents. The General Partner may rely and shall be protected in acting or refraining from acting upon any resolution, certificate, statement, instrument, opinion, report, notice, request, consent, order, bond, debenture or other paper or document believed by it in good faith to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper party or parties.
B.Reliance on Advisors. The General Partner may consult with legal counsel, accountants, appraisers, management consultants, investment bankers and other consultants and advisers selected by it, and any act taken or omitted to be taken in reliance upon the opinion of such Persons as to matters which the General Partner reasonably believes to be within such Person’s professional or expert competence shall be conclusively presumed to have been done or omitted in good faith and in accordance with such opinion.
C.Action Through Agents. The General Partner shall have the right, in respect of any of its powers or obligations hereunder, to act through any of its duly authorized officers and a duly appointed attorney or attorneys-in-fact. Each such attorney shall, to the extent provided by the General Partner in the power of attorney, have full power and authority to do and perform all and every act and duty that is permitted or required to be done by the General Partner hereunder.
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D.Actions to Maintain REIT Status or Avoid Taxation of the General Partner Entity. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Agreement or the Act, if the General Partner Entity attempts to qualify as a REIT, any action of the General Partner on behalf of the Partnership or any decision of the General Partner to refrain from acting on behalf of the Partnership undertaken in the good faith belief that such action or omission is necessary or advisable in order (i) to protect the ability of the General Partner Entity to qualify as a REIT or (ii) to allow the General Partner Entity to avoid incurring any liability for taxes under Section 857 or 4981 of the Code, is expressly authorized under this Agreement and is deemed approved by all of the Limited Partners.
Section 7.10 | Reliance by Third Parties |
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, any Person dealing with the Partnership shall be entitled to assume that the General Partner has full power and authority, without consent or approval of any other Partner or Person, to encumber, sell or otherwise use in any manner any and all assets of the Partnership, to enter into any contracts on behalf of the Partnership and to take any and all actions on behalf of the Partnership, and such Person shall be entitled to deal with the General Partner as if the General Partner were the Partnership’s sole party in interest, both legally and beneficially. Each Limited Partner hereby waives any and all defenses or other remedies that may be available against such Person to contest, negate or disaffirm any action of the General Partner in connection with any such dealing, in each case except to the extent that such action imposes, or purports to impose, liability on the Limited Partner. In no event shall any Person dealing with the General Partner or its representatives be obligated to ascertain that the terms of this Agreement have been complied with or to inquire into the necessity or expedience of any act or action of the General Partner or its representatives. Each and every certificate, document or other instrument executed on behalf of the Partnership by the General Partner or its representatives shall be conclusive evidence in favor of any and every Person relying thereon or claiming thereunder that (i) at the time of the execution and delivery of such certificate, document or instrument, this Agreement was in full force and effect, (ii) the Person executing and delivering such certificate, document or instrument was duly authorized and empowered to do so for and on behalf of the Partnership, and (iii) such certificate, document or instrument was duly executed and delivered in accordance with the terms and provisions of this Agreement and is binding upon the Partnership.
Section 7.11 | Loans by Third Parties |
The Partnership may incur Debt, or enter into similar credit, guarantee, financing or refinancing arrangements for any purpose (including, without limitation, in connection with any acquisition of property and any borrowings from, or guarantees of Debt of the General Partner or any of its Affiliates) with any Person upon such terms as the General Partner determines appropriate.
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ARTICLE VIII
RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF LIMITED PARTNERS
Section 8.1 | Limitation of Liability |
The Limited Partners shall have no liability under this Agreement except as expressly provided in this Agreement, includingSection 10.5, or under the Act.
Section 8.2 | Management of Business |
No Limited Partner or Assignee (other than the General Partner, any of its Affiliates, or any officer, director, employee, partner, agent or trustee of the General Partner, the Partnership or any of their Affiliates, in their capacity as such) shall take part in the operation, management or control (within the meaning of the Act) of the Partnership’s business, transact any business in the Partnership’s name or have the power to sign documents for or otherwise bind the Partnership. The transaction of any such business by the General Partner, any of its Affiliates or any officer, director, employee, partner, agent or trustee of the General Partner, the Partnership or any of their Affiliates, in their capacity as such, shall not affect, impair or eliminate the limitations on the liability of the Limited Partners or Assignees under this Agreement.
Section 8.3 | Outside Activities of Limited Partners |
Subject toSection 7.5 hereof, and subject to any agreements entered into pursuant toSection 7.6.B hereof and to any other agreements entered into by a Limited Partner or its Affiliates with the General Partner, the Partnership or a Subsidiary, any Limited Partner (other than the General Partner) and any officer, director, manager, employee, agent, trustee, Affiliate, member or shareholder of any Limited Partner shall be entitled to and may have business interests and engage in business activities in addition to those relating to the Partnership, including business interests and activities in direct or indirect competition with the Partnership. Neither the Partnership nor any Partners shall have any rights by virtue of this Agreement in any business ventures of any Limited Partner, officer, director, manager, employee, agent, trustee, Affiliate, member, shareholder or Assignee of any Limited Partner. None of the Limited Partners (other than the General Partner) or any other Person shall have any rights by virtue of this Agreement or the partnership relationship established hereby in any business ventures of any other Person (other than the General Partner to the extent expressly provided herein), and no Person (other than the General Partner) shall have any obligation pursuant to this Agreement to offer any interest in any such business venture to the Partnership, any Limited Partner or any such other Person, even if such opportunity is of a character which, if presented to the Partnership, any Limited Partner or such other Person, could be taken by such Person.
Section 8.4 | Return of Capital |
Except pursuant to the right of redemption set forth inSection 8.6, no Limited Partner shall be entitled to the withdrawal or return of its Capital Contribution, except to the extent of distributions made pursuant to this Agreement or upon termination of the Partnership as provided
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herein. No Limited Partner or Assignee shall have priority over any other Limited Partner or Assignee either as to the return of Capital Contributions (except as permitted bySection 4.2.A) or, except to the extent provided byExhibit C or as permitted bySections 4.2.A, 5.1.B(i), 6.1.A and6.1.B, or otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement, as to profits, losses, distributions or credits.
Section 8.5 | Rights of Limited Partners Relating to the Partnership |
A.General. In addition to other rights provided by this Agreement or by the Act, and except as limited bySection 8.5.D, each Limited Partner shall have the right, for a purpose reasonably related to such Limited Partner’s interest as a limited partner in the Partnership, upon written demand with a statement of the purpose of such demand and at such Limited Partner’s own expense:
(1) | to obtain a copy of the Partnership’s U.S. federal, state and local income tax returns for each Fiscal Year; |
(2) | to obtain a current list of the name and last known business, residence or mailing address of each Partner; |
(3) | to obtain a copy of this Agreement and the Certificate of Limited Partnership and all amendments thereto, together with executed copies of all powers of attorney pursuant to which this Agreement, the Certificate of Limited Partnership and all amendments thereto have been executed; |
(4) | to obtain true and full information regarding the amount of cash and a description and statement of the Agreed Value of any other property or services contributed by each Partner and which each Partner has agreed to contribute in the future, and the date on which each Partner became a Partner; and |
(5) | other information regarding the affairs of the Partnership as is just and reasonable. |
B.Notice of Conversion Factor. The Partnership shall notify each Limited Partner upon request (i) of the then current Conversion Factor and (ii) of any changes to the Conversion Factor.
C.Notice of Extraordinary Transaction of the General Partner Entity. Prior to making any extraordinary distributions of cash or property to its shareholders or effecting an Extraordinary Transaction, the General Partner Entity shall provide written notice to the Limited Partners of its intention to effect such distribution or Extraordinary Transaction at least twenty (20) Business Days (or such shorter period determined by the General Partner Entity in its sole and absolute discretion) prior to the record date to determine shareholders eligible to receive distribution or to vote upon such Extraordinary Transaction (or, if no such record date is applicable, at least twenty (20) Business Days (or such shorter period determined by the General Partner Entity in its sole and absolute discretion) before consummation of such distribution). This provision for such notice shall not be deemed (i) to permit any transaction that otherwise is prohibited by this Agreement or requires a Consent of the Partners or (ii) to require a Consent on the part of any one or more of the Limited
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Partners to a transaction that does not otherwise require Consent under this Agreement. Each Limited Partner agrees, as a condition to the receipt of the notice pursuant hereto, to keep confidential the information set forth therein until such time as the General Partner Entity has made public disclosure thereof, to use such information during such period of confidentiality solely for purposes of determining whether to exercise the Redemption Right (if applicable) and to execute a confidentiality agreement provided by the General Partner Entity;provided,however, that a Limited Partner may disclose such information to its attorney, accountant and/or financial advisor for purposes of obtaining advice with respect to such exercise so long as such attorney, accountant and/or financial advisor agrees to receive and hold such information subject to this confidentiality requirement.
D.Confidentiality. Notwithstanding any other provision of thisSection 8.5, the General Partner may keep confidential from the Limited Partners, for such period of time as the General Partner determines in its sole and absolute discretion, any information that (i) the General Partner reasonably believes to be in the nature of trade secrets or other information the disclosure of which the General Partner in good faith believes is not in the best interests of the Partnership or could damage the Partnership or its business or (ii) the Partnership is required by law or by agreements with unaffiliated third parties to keep confidential, provided, however, that thisSection 8.5.D shall not affect the notice requirements set forth inSection 8.5.C.
Section 8.6 | Redemption Right |
A.General. (i) Subject toSection 8.6.C andSection 11.6.E, and except as required bySection 8.6.B(iv), at any time on or after one year following the later of (a) the beginning of the first full calendar month following the first date on which the common shares of the General Partner Entity are Publicly Traded or (b) the date of the initial issuance thereof (which, in the event of the transfer of a Class A Unit or Class B Unit, shall be deemed to be the date that the Class A Unit or such Class B Unit, as the case may be, was issued to the original recipient thereof for purposes of thisSection 8.6), the holder of a Class A Unit or a Class B Unit (if other than the General Partner Entity or any Subsidiary of the General Partner Entity) shall have the right (the “Redemption Right”) to require the Partnership to redeem such Partnership Unit, with such redemption to occur on the Specified Redemption Date and at a redemption price equal to and in the form of the Cash Amount to be paid by the Partnership. Any such Redemption Right shall be exercised pursuant to a Notice of Redemption delivered to the Partnership (with a copy to the General Partner Entity) by the holder of the Partnership Units who is exercising the Redemption Right (the “Redeeming Partner”). A Limited Partner may exercise the Redemption Right from time to time, without limitation as to frequency, with respect to part or all of the Partnership Units that it owns, as selected by the Limited Partner,provided,however, that a Limited Partner may not exercise the Redemption Right for fewer than one thousand (1,000) Partnership Units of a particular class unless such Redeeming Partner then holds fewer than one thousand (1,000) Partnership Units in that class, in which event the Redeeming Partner must exercise the Redemption Right for all of the Partnership Units held by such Redeeming Partner in that class, andprovidedfurther that, with respect to a Limited Partner which is an entity, such Limited Partner may exercise the Redemption Right for fewer than one thousand (1,000) Partnership Units without regard to whether or not such Limited Partner is exercising the Redemption Right for all of the Partnership Units held by such Limited
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Partner as long as such Limited Partner is exercising the Redemption Right on behalf of one or more of its equity owners in respect of one hundred percent (100%) of such equity owners’ interests in such Limited Partner. For purposes hereof, a Class A Unit issued upon conversion of a Class B Unit shall be deemed to have been issued when the Class B Unit was issued.
(ii) The Redeeming Partner shall have no right with respect to any Partnership Units so redeemed to receive any distributions paid in respect of a Partnership Record Date for distributions in respect of Partnership Units after the Specified Redemption Date with respect to such Partnership Units.
(iii) The Assignee of any Limited Partner may exercise the rights of such Limited Partner pursuant to thisSection 8.6, and such Limited Partner shall be deemed to have assigned such rights to such Assignee and shall be bound by the exercise of such rights by such Limited Partner’s Assignee. In connection with any exercise of such rights by such Assignee on behalf of such Limited Partner, the Cash Amount shall be paid by the Partnership directly to such Assignee and not to such Limited Partner.
(iv) Notwithstanding the foregoing, and subject toSection 8.6.B(iv), if the General Partner Entity provides notice to the Limited Partners pursuant toSection 8.5.C hereof, the Redemption Right shall be exercisable, without regard to whether the Partnership Units have been outstanding for any specified period, during the period commencing on the date on which the General Partner Entity provides such notice and ending on the record date to determine shareholders eligible to receive such distribution or participate in such Extraordinary Transaction. If this subparagraph (iv) applies, the Specified Redemption Date is the date on which the Partnership and the General Partner receive notice of exercise of the Redemption Right, rather than ten (10) Business Days after receipt of the Notice of Redemption.
B.General Partner Entity Assumption of Redemption Right. (i) If a Limited Partner has delivered a Notice of Redemption, the General Partner Entity may, in its sole and absolute discretion (subject to the limitations on ownership and transfer of Shares set forth in the organizational documents of the General Partner, or, if the General Partner is not the General Partner Entity, the organizational documents of the General Partner Entity), elect to assume directly and satisfy a Redemption Right. If such election is made by the General Partner Entity, the Partnership shall determine whether the General Partner Entity shall pay the Redemption Amount in the form of the Cash Amount or the Shares Amount. The Partnership’s decision regarding whether such payment shall be made in the form of the Cash Amount or the Shares Amount shall be made by the General Partner, in its capacity as the general partner of the Partnership and in its sole and absolute discretion. Payment of the Redemption Amount in the form of Shares shall be in Shares duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and if applicable, free and clear of any pledge, lien, encumbrance or restriction, other than those provided in the organizational documents of the General Partner Entity, the Securities Act, relevant state securities or blue sky laws and any applicable registration rights agreement with respect to such Shares entered into by the Redeeming Partner, and shall bear a legend in form and substance determined by the General Partner Entity. Upon such payment by the General Partner Entity, the General Partner Entity shall acquire the Partnership Units offered for redemption by the Redeeming Partner and shall be treated for all
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purposes of this Agreement as the owner of such Partnership Units. Unless the General Partner Entity, in its sole and absolute discretion, shall exercise its right to assume directly and satisfy the Redemption Right, the General Partner Entity shall not have any obligation to the Redeeming Partner or to the Partnership with respect to the Redeeming Partner’s exercise of the Redemption Right. If the General Partner Entity shall exercise its right to assume directly and satisfy the Redemption Right in the manner described in the first sentence of thisSection 8.6B and shall fully perform its obligations in connection therewith, the Partnership shall have no right or obligation to pay any amount to the Redeeming Partner with respect to such Redeeming Partner’s exercise of the Redemption Right, and each of the Redeeming Partner, the Partnership and the General Partner Entity shall, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, treat the transaction between the General Partner Entity and the Redeeming Partner as a sale of the Redeeming Partner’s Partnership Units to the General Partner Entity.
(ii) If the General Partner Entity determines that the General Partner Entity shall pay the Redeeming Partner the Redemption Amount in the form of Shares, the total number of Shares to be paid to the Redeeming Partner in exchange for the Redeeming Partner’s Partnership Units shall be the applicable Shares Amount. If this amount is not a whole number of Shares, the Redeeming Partner shall be paid (i) that number of Shares which equals the nearest whole number less than such amount plus (ii) an amount of cash which the General Partner Entity determines, in its reasonable discretion, to represent the fair value of the remaining fractional Share which would otherwise be payable to the Redeeming Partner.
(iii) Each Redeeming Partner agrees to execute such documents or provide such information or materials as the General Partner Entity may reasonably require in connection with the issuance of Shares upon exercise of the Redemption Right.
(iv) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth in thisSection 8.6, but subject toSection 8.6.C and Section 11.6.E, in the event of an Extraordinary Transaction, unless the Redemption Rights with respect to any Partnership Units have been earlier exercised in accordance with the other provisions of thisSection 8.6, the General Partner shall have the right, exercisable in its sole and absolute discretion by written notice to the Limited Partners, no later than the date on which the Extraordinary Transaction is consummated, to require (x) the Redemption Rights of all Limited Partners to be deemed to be automatically exercised, (y) the General Partner Entity to be deemed to have elected to assume the obligation to satisfy all such Redemption Rights by payment of applicable Share Amounts, all without regard to whether the Partnership Units have been outstanding for any specified period, and (z) the Specified Redemption Date in such case shall be deemed to be the date on which the Extraordinary Transaction is consummated, rather than ten (10) Business Days after receipt of the Notice of Redemption. Provided that the General Partner exercises the right provided in this paragraph, the requirement set forth inSection 11.2.B(ii) shall be deemed to have been met with respect to such Extraordinary Transaction.
C.Exceptions to Exercise of Redemption Right. Notwithstanding the provisions ofSections 8.6.A and8.6.B, a Partner shall not be entitled to exercise the Redemption Right pursuant toSection 8.6.A if (but only as long as) the delivery of Shares to such Partner on the Specified Redemption Date would (i) be prohibited under the restrictions on the ownership or transfer of
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Shares in the organizational documents of the General Partner (or, if the General Partner is not the General Partner Entity, the organizational documents of the General Partner Entity), (iii) be prohibited under applicable federal or state securities laws or regulations (in each case regardless of whether the General Partner Entity would in fact assume and satisfy the Redemption Right), (iii) without limiting the foregoing, result in the General Partner’s Shares being owned by fewer than 100 persons (determined without reference to rules of attribution), (iv) without limiting the foregoing, result in the Partnership being “closely held” within the meaning of Section 856(h) of the Code or cause the General Partner to own, actually or constructively, ten percent (10%) or more of the ownership interests in a tenant of the General Partner, the Partnership or a subsidiary of the Partnership’s real property within the meaning of Section 856(d)(2)(B) of the Code, and (v) without limiting the foregoing, cause the acquisition of the Shares by the Redeeming Partner to be “integrated” with any other distribution of Shares for purposes of complying with the registration provision of the Securities Act, as amended. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the General Partner may, in its sole and absolute discretion, waive such prohibition set forth in thisSection 8.6.C.
D.No Liens on Partnership Units Delivered for Redemption. Each Limited Partner covenants and agrees that all Partnership Units delivered for redemption shall be delivered to the Partnership or the General Partner Entity, as the case may be, free and clear of all liens; and, notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, neither the General Partner Entity nor the Partnership shall be under any obligation to acquire Partnership Units which are or may be subject to any liens. Each Limited Partner further agrees that, if any Federal, state or local tax is payable as a result of the transfer of its Partnership Units to the Partnership or the General Partner Entity, such Limited Partner shall assume and pay such transfer tax.
E.Additional Partnership Interests; Modification of Holding Period. If the Partnership issues Partnership Interests to any Additional Limited Partner pursuant toArticle IV, the General Partner may make such revisions to thisSection 8.6 as it determines are necessary to reflect the issuance of such Partnership Interests (including setting forth any restrictions on the exercise of the Redemption Right with respect to such Partnership Interests which differ from those set forth in this Agreement);provided,however, that no such revisions shall materially adversely affect the rights of any other Limited Partner to exercise its Redemption Right without that Limited Partner’s prior written consent. In addition, the General Partner may, with respect to any holder or holders of Partnership Units, at any time and from time to time, as it shall determine in its sole and absolute discretion, (i) reduce or waive the length of the period prior to which such holder or holders may not exercise the Redemption Right or (ii) reduce or waive the length of the period between the exercise of the Redemption Right and the Specified Redemption Date.
ARTICLE IX
BOOKS, RECORDS, ACCOUNTING AND REPORTS
Section 9.1 | Records and Accounting |
The General Partner shall keep or cause to be kept at the principal office of the Partnership appropriate books and records with respect to the Partnership’s business, including, without limitation, all books and records necessary to provide to the Limited Partners any information, lists
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and copies of documents required to be provided pursuant toSection 9.3. Any records maintained by or on behalf of the Partnership in the regular course of its business may be kept on, or be in the form of, punch cards, magnetic tape, photographs, micrographics or any other information storage device,provided,however, that the records so maintained are convertible into clearly legible written form within a reasonable period of time. The books of the Partnership shall be maintained, for financial and tax reporting purposes, on an accrual basis in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
Section 9.2 | Fiscal Year |
The fiscal year of the Partnership shall be the calendar year.
Section 9.3 | Reports |
A.Annual Reports. As soon as practicable, but in no event later than the date on which the General Partner Entity mails its annual report to its shareholders, the General Partner Entity shall cause to be mailed to each Limited Partner an annual report, as of the close of the most recently ended Fiscal Year, containing financial statements of the Partnership, or of the General Partner Entity (and, if different, the General Partner) if such statements are prepared on a consolidated basis with the Partnership, for such Fiscal Year, presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, such statements to be audited by a nationally recognized “Big Four” firm of independent public accountants selected by the General Partner Entity.
B.Quarterly Reports. If and to the extent that the General Partner Entity mails quarterly reports to its shareholders, as soon as practicable, but in no event later than the date on such reports are mailed, the General Partner Entity shall cause to be mailed to each Limited Partner a report containing unaudited financial statements, as of the last day of such fiscal quarter, of the Partnership, or of the General Partner Entity (and, if different, the General Partner) if such statements are prepared on a consolidated basis with the Partnership, and such other information as may be required by applicable law or regulation, or as the General Partner determines to be appropriate.
ARTICLE X
TAX MATTERS
Section 10.1 | Preparation of Tax Returns |
The General Partner shall arrange for the preparation and timely filing of all returns of Partnership income, gains, deductions, losses and other items required of the Partnership for federal and state income tax purposes and shall use all reasonable efforts to furnish, within ninety (90) days of the close of each taxable year, the tax information reasonably required by Limited Partners for federal and state income tax reporting purposes.
Section 10.2 | Tax Elections |
A. Except as otherwise provided herein, the General Partner shall, in its sole and absolute discretion, determine whether to make any available election pursuant to the Code
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(including the election under Section 754 of the Code). The General Partner shall have the right to seek to revoke any such election upon the General Partner’s determination in its sole and absolute discretion that such revocation is in the best interests of the Partners.
B. Without limiting the foregoing, the Partners, intending to be legally bound, hereby authorize the General Partner, on behalf of the Partnership, to make an election (the “LV Safe Harbor Election”) to have the “liquidation value” safe harbor provided in Proposed Treasury Regulation § 1.83-3(1) and the Proposed Revenue Procedure set forth in Internal Revenue Service Notice 2005-43, as such safe harbor may be modified when such proposed guidance is issued in final form or as amended by subsequently issued guidance (the “LV Safe Harbor”), apply to LTIP Units and any interest in the Partnership transferred to, or for the benefit of, a service provider while the Safe Harbor Election remains effective, to the extent such interest meets the LV Safe Harbor requirements (collectively, such interests are referred to as “LV Safe Harbor Interests”). The Tax Matters Partner is authorized and directed to execute and file the LV Safe Harbor Election on behalf of the Partnership and the Partners. The Partnership and the Partners (including any person to whom an LTIP Unit or other interest in the Partnership is transferred in connection with the performance of services) hereby agree to comply with all requirements of the LV Safe Harbor (including forfeiture allocations) with respect to all LV Safe Harbor Interests and to prepare and file all U.S. federal income tax returns reporting the tax consequences of the issuance and vesting of LV Safe Harbor Interests consistent with such final LV Safe Harbor guidance. The Partnership is also authorized to take such actions as are necessary to achieve, under the LV Safe Harbor, the effect that the election and compliance with all requirements of the LV Safe Harbor referred to above would be intended to achieve under Proposed Treasury Regulation § 1.83-3, including amending this Agreement.
Section 10.3 | Tax Matters Partner |
A.General. The General Partner shall be the “tax matters partner” of the Partnership for federal income tax purposes. Pursuant to Section 6223(c)(3) of the Code, upon receipt of notice from the IRS of the beginning of an administrative proceeding with respect to the Partnership, the tax matters partner shall furnish the IRS with the name, address, taxpayer identification number and profit interest of each of the Limited Partners and any Assignees; provided, however, that such information is provided to the Partnership by the Limited Partners.
B.Powers. The tax matters partner is authorized, but not required:
(1) | to enter into any settlement with the IRS with respect to any administrative or judicial proceedings for the adjustment of Partnership items required to be taken into account by a Partner for income tax purposes (such administrative proceedings being referred to as a “tax audit” and such judicial proceedings being referred to as “judicial review”), and in the settlement agreement the tax matters partner may expressly state that such agreement shall bind all Partners, except that such settlement agreement shall not bind any Partner (i) who (within the time prescribed pursuant to the Code and Regulations) files a statement with the IRS providing that the tax matters partner shall not have the authority to enter into a settlement agreement on behalf of such Partner or (ii) who is a “notice partner” (as defined in Section 6231(a)(8) of the Code) or a member of a “notice group” (as defined in Section 6223(b)(2) of the Code); |
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(2) | if a notice of a final administrative adjustment at the Partnership level of any item required to be taken into account by a Partner for tax purposes (a “final adjustment”) is mailed to the tax matters partner, to seek judicial review of such final adjustment, including the filing of a petition for readjustment with the Tax Court or the filing of a complaint for refund with the United States Claims Court or the District Court of the United States for the district in which the Partnership’s principal place of business is located; |
(3) | to intervene in any action brought by any other Partner for judicial review of a final adjustment; |
(4) | to file a request for an administrative adjustment with the IRS at any time and, if any part of such request is not allowed by the IRS, to file an appropriate pleading (petition or complaint) for judicial review with respect to such request; |
(5) | to enter into an agreement with the IRS to extend the period for assessing any tax which is attributable to any item required to be taken into account by a Partner for tax purposes, or an item affected by such item; |
(6) | to take any other action on behalf of the Partners of the Partnership in connection with any tax audit or judicial review proceeding, to the extent permitted by applicable law or regulations; and |
(7) | to take any other action required by the Code and Regulations in connection with its role as tax matters partner. |
The taking of any action and the incurring of any expense by the tax matters partner in connection with any such audit or proceeding referred to in clause (6) above, except to the extent required by law, is a matter in the sole and absolute discretion of the tax matters partner and the provisions relating to indemnification of the General Partner set forth inSection 7.7 shall be fully applicable to the tax matters partner in its capacity as such.
C.Reimbursement. The tax matters partner shall receive no compensation for its services. All third party costs and expenses incurred by the tax matters partner in performing its duties as such (including legal and accounting fees and expenses) shall be borne by the Partnership. Nothing herein shall be construed to restrict the Partnership from engaging an accounting firm and/or law firm to assist the tax matters partner in discharging its duties hereunder, so long as the compensation paid by the Partnership for such services is reasonable.
Section 10.4 | Organizational Expenses |
The Partnership shall elect to deduct expenses as provided in Section 709 of the Code.
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Section 10.5 | Withholding |
Each Limited Partner hereby authorizes the Partnership to withhold from or pay on behalf of or with respect to such Limited Partner any amount of U.S. federal, state, local, or foreign taxes that the General Partner determines that the Partnership is required to withhold or pay with respect to any cash or property distributable, allocable or otherwise transferred to such Limited Partner pursuant to this Agreement, including, without limitation, any taxes required to be withheld or paid by the Partnership pursuant to Section 1441, 1442, 1445, or 1446 of the Code. Any amount withheld with respect to a Limited Partner pursuant to thisSection 10.5 shall be treated as paid or distributed, as applicable, to such Limited Partner for all purposes under this Agreement. Any amount paid on behalf of or with respect to a Limited Partner, in excess of any such withheld amount, shall constitute a loan by the Partnership to such Limited Partner, which loan shall be repaid by such Limited Partner within fifteen (15) days after notice from the General Partner that such payment must be made unless (i) the Partnership withholds such payment from a distribution which would otherwise be made to the Limited Partner or (ii) the General Partner determines, in its sole and absolute discretion, that such payment may be satisfied out of the available funds of the Partnership which would, but for such payment, be distributed to the Limited Partner. Any amounts withheld pursuant to the foregoing clauses (i) or (ii) shall be treated as having been distributed or otherwise paid to such Limited Partner. Each Limited Partner hereby unconditionally and irrevocably grants to the Partnership a security interest in such Limited Partner’s Partnership Interest to secure such Limited Partner’s obligation to pay to the Partnership any amounts required to be paid pursuant to thisSection 10.5. Any amounts payable by a Limited Partner hereunder shall bear interest at the base rate on corporate loans at large United States money center commercial banks, as published from time to time in The Wall Street Journal, plus four (4) percentage points (but not higher than the maximum rate that may be charged under applicable law) from the date such amount is due (i.e., fifteen (15) days after demand) until such amount is paid in full. Each Limited Partner shall take such actions as the Partnership or the General Partner shall request to perfect or enforce the security interest created hereunder.
ARTICLE XI
TRANSFERS AND WITHDRAWALS
Section 11.1 | Transfer |
A.Definition. The term “transfer,” when used in thisArticle XI with respect to a Partnership Interest or a Partnership Unit, shall be deemed to refer to a transaction by which the General Partner purports to assign all or any part of its General Partner Interest to another Person or by which a Limited Partner purports to assign all or any part of its Limited Partner Interest to another Person, and includes a sale, assignment, gift, pledge, encumbrance, hypothecation, mortgage, exchange or any other disposition by law or otherwise. The term “transfer” when used in thisArticle XI does not include any redemption or repurchase of Partnership Units by the Partnership from a Partner or acquisition of Partnership Units from a Limited Partner by the General Partner Entity pursuant toSection 8.6 or otherwise. No part of the interest of a Limited Partner shall be subject to the claims of any creditor, any spouse for alimony or support, or to legal process, and may not be voluntarily or involuntarily alienated or encumbered except as may be specifically provided for in this Agreement.
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B.General. No Partnership Interest shall be transferred, in whole or in part, except in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in thisArticle XI. Any transfer or purported transfer of a Partnership Interest not made in accordance with thisArticle XI shall be null and void.
Section 11.2 | Transfers of Partnership Interests of General Partner |
A.General. The General Partner may not transfer any of its Partnership Interests except in connection with (i) a transaction permitted underSection 11.2.B, (ii) any merger (including a triangular merger), consolidation or other combination with or into another Person following the consummation of which the equity holders of the surviving entity are substantially identical to the shareholders of the General Partner prior to such transaction, or (iii) as otherwise expressly permitted under this Agreement, nor shall the General Partner withdraw as the General Partner except in connection with a transaction permitted underSection 11.2.B or any merger, consolidation, or other combination permitted under clause (ii) of thisSection 11.2.A or as otherwise expressly permitted under this Agreement.
B.Termination Transaction. The General Partner Entity shall not engage in any merger (including, without limitation, a triangular merger), consolidation or other combination with or into another Person (other than any transaction permitted bySection 11.2.A), sale of all or substantially all of its assets or any reclassification, recapitalization or other similar change in the outstanding Shares (other than a change in par value, or from par value to no par value, or as a result of a subdivision or combination as described in the definition of “Conversion Factor”) (“Termination Transaction”), unless: (i) the Termination Transaction has been approved by the Consent of Partners holding Partnership Interests representing more than fifty percent (50%) of the Percentage Interest of the Class A Units (including Class A Units held by the General Partner), and (ii) all Partners either will receive, or will have the right to receive, in connection with the Termination Transaction, for each Partnership Unit, an amount of cash, securities, or other property equal to the product of the Conversion Factor and the greatest amount of cash, securities or other property paid to a holder of Shares, if any, corresponding to such Unit in consideration of one such Share at any time during the period from and after the date on which the Termination Transaction is consummated;provided,however, that, if in connection with the Termination Transaction, a purchase, tender or exchange offer shall have been made to and accepted by the holders of the percentage required for the approval of mergers under the organizational documents of the General Partner Entity, each holder of Partnership Units shall receive, or shall have the right to receive, the greatest amount of cash, securities, or other property which such holder would have received had it exercised the Redemption Right and received Shares in exchange for its Partnership Units immediately prior to the expiration of such purchase, tender or exchange offer and had thereupon accepted such purchase, tender or exchange offer.
C.Creation of New General Partner. The General Partner shall not enter into an agreement or other arrangement providing for or facilitating the creation of a general partner of the Partnership other than the General Partner Entity, unless the successor general partner executes and
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delivers a counterpart to this Agreement pursuant to which such successor general partner agrees to be fully bound by all of the terms and conditions contained herein that are applicable to the General Partner or General Partner Entity.
Section 11.3 | Limited Partners’ Rights to Transfer |
A.General. Except to the extent expressly permitted inSections 11.3.B and11.3.C or in connection with the exercise of a Redemption Right pursuant toSection 8.6, a Limited Partner may not transfer any portion of its Partnership Interest, or any of such Limited Partner’s rights as a Limited Partner, without the prior written consent of the General Partner, which consent may be withheld in the General Partner’s sole and absolute discretion. Any transfer otherwise permitted underSections 11.3.B and11.3.C shall be subject to the conditions set forth inSection 11.3.D and11.3.E, and all permitted transfers shall be subject toSection 11.5 andSection 11.6. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth in thisSection 11.3, no Limited Partner may transfer any LTIP Units without the consent of the General Partner.
B.Incapacitated Limited Partner. If a Limited Partner is subject to Incapacity, the executor, administrator, trustee, committee, guardian, conservator or receiver of such Limited Partner’s estate shall have all the rights of a Limited Partner, but not more rights than those enjoyed by other Limited Partner, for the purpose of settling or managing the estate and such power as the Incapacitated Limited Partner possessed to transfer all or any part of its interest in the Partnership. The Incapacity of a Limited Partner, in and of itself, shall not dissolve or terminate the Partnership.
C.Permitted Transfers. A Limited Partner may transfer, with or without the consent of the General Partner, all or a portion of its Partnership Interest (other than LTIP Units) (i) in the case of a Limited Partner who is an individual, to a member of his Immediate Family, any trust formed for the benefit of himself and/or members of his Immediate Family, or any partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, corporation or other business entity comprised only of himself and/or members of his Immediate Family and entities the ownership interests in which are owned by or for the benefit of himself and/or members of his Immediate Family, (ii) in the case of a Limited Partner which is a trust, to the beneficiaries of such trust, (iii) in the case of a Limited Partner which is a partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, corporation or other business entity to which Units were transferred pursuant to clause (i) above, to its partners, owners or shareholders, as the case may be, who are members of the Immediate Family of or are actually the Person(s) who transferred Partnership Units to it pursuant to clause (i) above, (iv) in the case of a Limited Partner which acquired Partnership Units as of the date hereof and which is a partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, corporation or other business entity, to its partners, owners, shareholders or Affiliates thereof, as the case may be, or the Persons owning the beneficial interests in any of its partners, owners or shareholders or Affiliates thereof (it being understood that this clause (iv) will apply to all of each Person’s Interests whether the Partnership Units relating thereto were acquired on the date hereof or hereafter), (v) in the case of a Limited Partner which is a partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, corporation or other business entity other than any of the foregoing described in clause (iii) or (iv), in accordance with the terms of any agreement between such Limited Partner and the Partnership pursuant to which such Partnership Interest was issued, (vi) pursuant to a gift or other transfer without consideration, (vii) pursuant to applicable laws of descent or
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distribution, (viii) to another Limited Partner, and (ix) pursuant to a grant of security interest or other encumbrance thereof effectuated in a bona fide pledge transaction with a bona fide financial institution as a result of the exercise of remedies related thereto, subject to the provisions ofSection 11.3.E hereof. A trust or other entity will be considered formed “for the benefit” of a Partner’s Immediate Family even though some other Person has a remainder interest under or with respect to such trust or other entity.
D.No Transfers Violating Securities Laws. The General Partner may prohibit any transfer of Partnership Units by a Limited Partner unless it receives a written opinion of legal counsel (which opinion and counsel shall be reasonably satisfactory to the Partnership) to such Limited Partner to the effect that such transfer would not require filing of a registration statement under the Securities Act or would not otherwise violate any federal or state securities laws or regulations applicable to the Partnership or the Partnership Unit or, at the option of the Partnership, an opinion of legal counsel to the Partnership to the same effect.
E.No Transfers to Holders of Nonrecourse Liabilities. No pledge or transfer of any Partnership Units may be made to a lender to the Partnership or any Person who is related (within the meaning of Section 1.752-4(b) of the Regulations) to any lender to the Partnership whose loan otherwise constitutes a Nonrecourse Liability unless (i) the General Partner is provided prior written notice thereof and (ii) the lender enters into an arrangement with the Partnership and the General Partner to exchange or redeem for the Redemption Amount any Partnership Units in which a security interest is held simultaneously with the time at which such lender would be deemed to be a partner in the Partnership for purposes of allocating liabilities to such lender under Section 752 of the Code.
Section 11.4 | Substituted Limited Partners |
A.Consent of General Partner. No Limited Partners shall have the right to substitute a transferee as a Limited Partner in its place. The General Partner shall, however, have the right to consent to the admission of a transferee of the interest of a Limited Partner pursuant to thisSection 11.4 as a Substituted Limited Partner, which consent may be given or withheld by the General Partner in its sole and absolute discretion. The General Partner’s failure or refusal to permit a transferee of any such interests to become a Substituted Limited Partner shall not give rise to any cause of action against the Partnership, the General Partner or any Partner. The General Partner hereby grants its consent to the admission as a Substituted Limited Partner to any bona fide financial institution that loans money or otherwise extends credit to a holder of Partnership Units (other than LTIP Units) and thereafter becomes the owner of such Partnership Units pursuant to the exercise by such financial institution of its rights under a pledge of such Partnership Units granted in connection with such loan or extension of credit.
B.Rights of Substituted Partner. A transferee who has been admitted as a Substituted Limited Partner in accordance with thisArticle XI shall have all the rights and powers and be subject to all the restrictions and liabilities of a Limited Partner under this Agreement. The admission of any transferee as a Substituted Limited Partner shall be conditioned upon the transferee executing and delivering to the Partnership an acceptance of all the terms and conditions of this Agreement (including, without limitation, the provisions ofSection 15.11) and such other documents or instruments as may be required to effect the admission.
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C.Partner Registry. Upon the admission of a Substituted Limited Partner, the General Partner shall update the Partner Registry in the books and records of the Partnership as it deems necessary to reflect such admission in the Partner Registry.
Section 11.5 | Assignees |
If the General Partner, in its sole and absolute discretion, does not consent to the admission of any permitted transferee underSection 11.3 as a Substituted Limited Partner, as described inSection 11.4, such transferee shall be considered an Assignee for purposes of this Agreement. An Assignee shall be entitled to all the rights of an assignee of a limited partnership interest under the Act, including the right to receive distributions from the Partnership and the share of Net Income, Net Losses, gain, loss and Recapture Income attributable to the Partnership Units assigned to such transferee, and shall have the rights granted to the Limited Partners underSection 8.6, but shall not be deemed to be a holder of Partnership Units for any other purpose under this Agreement, and shall not be entitled to vote such Partnership Units in any matter presented to the Limited Partners for a vote (such Partnership Units being deemed to have been voted on such matter in the same proportion as all other Partnership Units held by Limited Partners are voted). If any such transferee desires to make a further assignment of any such Partnership Units, such transferee shall be subject to all the provisions of thisArticle XI to the same extent and in the same manner as any Limited Partner desiring to make an assignment of Partnership Units.
Section 11.6 | General Provisions |
A.Withdrawal of Limited Partner. No Limited Partner may withdraw from the Partnership other than as a result of a permitted transfer of all of such Limited Partner’s Partnership Units in accordance with thisArticle XI, or pursuant to redemption of all of its Partnership Units underSection 8.6.
B.Termination of Status as Limited Partner. Any Limited Partner who shall transfer all of its Partnership Units in a transfer permitted pursuant to thisArticle XI or pursuant to redemption of all of its Partnership Units underSection 8.6 shall cease to be a Limited Partner.
C.Timing of Transfers. Transfers pursuant to thisArticle XI may only be made upon ten (10) Business Days prior notice to the General Partner, unless the General Partner otherwise agrees.
D.Allocations. If any Partnership Interest is transferred during any quarterly segment of the Partnership’s fiscal year in compliance with the provisions of thisArticle XI or redeemed or transferred pursuant toSection 8.6, Net Income, Net Losses, each item thereof and all other items attributable to such interest for such fiscal year shall be divided and allocated between the transferor Partner and the transferee Partner by taking into account their varying interests during the fiscal year in accordance with Section 706(d) of the Code and corresponding Regulations, using the interim closing of the books method (unless the General Partner, in its sole and absolute discretion, elects to adopt a daily, weekly, or a monthly proration period, in which event Net Income, Net Losses, each
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item thereof and all other items attributable to such interest for such fiscal year shall be prorated based upon the applicable method selected by the General Partner). Solely for purposes of making such allocations, each of such items for the calendar month in which the transfer or redemption occurs shall be allocated to the Person who is a Partner as of midnight on the last day of said month. All distributions of Available Cash attributable to any Partnership Unit with respect to which the Partnership Record Date is before the date of such transfer, assignment or redemption shall be made to the transferor Partner or the Redeeming Partner, as the case may be, and, in the case of a transfer or assignment other than a redemption, all distributions of Available Cash thereafter attributable to such Partnership Unit shall be made to the transferee Partner.
E.Additional Restrictions. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, and in addition to any other restrictions on transfer contained herein or in the Equity Incentive Plan, including, without limitation, the provisions ofArticle VII and thisArticle XI, in no event may any transfer or assignment of a Partnership Interest by any Partner (including pursuant toSection 8.6) be made without the express consent of the General Partner, in its sole and absolute discretion, (i) to any person or entity who lacks the legal right, power or capacity to own a Partnership Interest; (ii) in violation of applicable law; (iii) of any component portion of a Partnership Interest, such as the Capital Account, or rights to distributions, separate and apart from all other components of a Partnership Interest; (iv) if in the opinion of legal counsel to the Partnership there is a significant risk that such transfer would cause a termination of the Partnership for U.S. federal or state income tax purposes (except as a result of the redemption or exchange for Shares of all Partnership Units held by all Limited Partners other than the General Partner, or any Subsidiary of either, or pursuant to a transaction expressly permitted underSection 11.2); (v) if in the opinion of counsel to the Partnership, there is a significant risk that such transfer would cause the Partnership to cease to be classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes (except as a result of the redemption or exchange for Shares of all Units held by all Limited Partners other than the General Partner, or any Subsidiary of either, or pursuant to a transaction expressly permitted underSection 11.2); (vi) if such transfer requires the registration of such Partnership Interest pursuant to any applicable federal or state securities laws; (vii) if such transfer is effectuated through an “established securities market” or a “secondary market (or the substantial equivalent thereof)” within the meaning of Section 7704 of the Code or such transfer causes the Partnership to become a “publicly traded partnership,” as such term is defined in Section 469(k)(2) or Section 7704(b) of the Code (provided, however, that, this clause (vii) shall not be the basis for limiting or restricting in any manner the exercise of the Redemption Right underSection 8.6 unless, and only to the extent that, outside tax counsel provides to the General Partner an opinion to the effect that, in the absence of such limitation or restriction, there is a significant risk that the Partnership will be treated as a “publicly traded partnership” and, by reason thereof, taxable as a corporation); (viii) if such transfer subjects the Partnership or the activities of the Partnership to regulation under the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisors Act of 1940 or ERISA, each as amended; (ix) if the General Partner Entity attempts to qualify as a REIT and, in the opinion of legal counsel for the Partnership, there is a risk that such transfer would adversely affect the ability of the General Partner Entity to continue to qualify as a REIT or subject the General Partner Entity to any additional taxes under Section 857 and Section 4981 of the Code.
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F.Avoidance of “Publicly Traded Partnership” Status. The General Partner shall monitor the transfers of interests in the Partnership to determine (i) if such interests are being traded on an “established securities market” or a “secondary market (or the substantial equivalent thereof)” within the meaning of Section 7704 of the Code and (ii) whether additional transfers of interests would result in the Partnership being unable to qualify for at least one of the “safe harbors” set forth in Regulations Section 1.7704-1 (or such other guidance subsequently published by the IRS setting forth safe harbors under which interests will not be treated as “readily tradable on a secondary market (or the substantial equivalent thereof)” within the meaning of Section 7704 of the Code) (the “Safe Harbors”). The General Partner shall take all steps reasonably necessary or appropriate to prevent any trading of interests or any recognition by the Partnership of transfers made on such markets and, except as otherwise provided herein, to insure that at least one of the Safe Harbors is met;provided,however, that the foregoing shall not authorize the General Partner to limit or restrict in any manner the right of any holder of a Partnership Unit to exercise the Redemption Right in accordance with the terms ofSection 8.6 unless, and only to the extent that, outside tax counsel provides to the General Partner an opinion to the effect that, in the absence of such limitation or restriction, there is a significant risk that the Partnership will be treated as a “publicly traded partnership” and, by reason thereof, taxable as a corporation.
ARTICLE XII
ADMISSION OF PARTNERS
Section 12.1 | Admission of a Successor General Partner |
A successor to all of the General Partner’s General Partner Interest pursuant toSection 11.2 who is proposed to be admitted as a successor General Partner shall be admitted to the Partnership as the General Partner, effective upon such transfer. Any such successor shall carry on the business of the Partnership without dissolution. In such case, the admission shall be subject to such successor General Partner executing and delivering to the Partnership an acceptance of all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement and such other documents or instruments as may be required to effect the admission.
Section 12.2 | Admission of Additional Limited Partners |
A.General. No Person shall be admitted as an Additional Limited Partner without the consent of the General Partner, which consent shall be given or withheld in the General Partner’s sole and absolute discretion. A Person who makes a Capital Contribution to the Partnership in accordance with this Agreement or who exercises an option to receive Partnership Units shall be admitted to the Partnership as an Additional Limited Partner only with the consent of the General Partner and only upon furnishing to the General Partner (i) evidence of acceptance in form satisfactory to the General Partner of all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement, including, without limitation, the power of attorney granted inSection 15.11 and (ii) such other documents or instruments as may be required in the discretion of the General Partner to effect such Person’s admission as an Additional Limited Partner. The admission of any Person as an Additional Limited Partner shall become effective on the date upon which the name of such Person is recorded on the books and records of the Partnership, following the consent of the General Partner to such admission.
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B.Allocations to Additional Limited Partners. If any Additional Limited Partner is admitted to the Partnership on any day other than the first day of a Fiscal Year, then Net Income, Net Losses, each item thereof and all other items allocable among Partners and Assignees for such Fiscal Year shall be allocated among such Additional Limited Partner and all other Partners and Assignees by taking into account their varying interests during the Fiscal Year in accordance with Section 706(d) of the Code, using the interim closing of the books method (unless the General Partner, in its sole and absolute discretion, elects to adopt a daily, weekly or monthly proration method, in which event Net Income, Net Losses, and each item thereof would be prorated based upon the applicable period selected by the General Partner). Solely for purposes of making such allocations, each of such items for the calendar month in which an admission of any Additional Limited Partner occurs shall be allocated among all the Partners and Assignees including such Additional Limited Partner. All distributions of Available Cash with respect to which the Partnership Record Date is before the date of such admission shall be made solely to Partners and Assignees other than the Additional Limited Partner, and all distributions of Available Cash thereafter shall be made to all the Partners and Assignees including such Additional Limited Partner.
Section 12.3 | Amendment of Agreement and Certificate of Limited Partnership |
For the admission to the Partnership of any Partner, the General Partner shall take all steps necessary and appropriate under the Act to amend the records of the Partnership and, if necessary, to prepare as soon as practical an amendment of this Agreement (including an amendment to the Partner Registry) and, if required by law, shall prepare and file an amendment to the Certificate of Limited Partnership and may for this purpose exercise the power of attorney granted pursuant toSection 15.11 hereof.
ARTICLE XIII
DISSOLUTION AND LIQUIDATION
Section 13.1 | Dissolution |
The Partnership shall not be dissolved by the admission of Substituted Limited Partners or Additional Limited Partners or by the admission of a successor General Partner in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. Upon the withdrawal of the General Partner, any successor General Partner shall continue the business of the Partnership. The Partnership shall dissolve, and its affairs shall be wound up, upon the first to occur of any of the following (“Liquidating Events”):
(i) an event of withdrawal of the General Partner (other than an event of bankruptcy), unless within ninety (90) days after the withdrawal, the Consent of the Outside Limited Partners to continue the business of the Partnership and to the appointment, effective as of the date of withdrawal, of a substitute General Partner is obtained;
(ii) an election to dissolve the Partnership made by the General Partner in its sole and absolute discretion;
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(iii) entry of a decree of judicial dissolution of the Partnership pursuant to the provisions of the Act;
(iv) the sale of all or substantially all of the assets and properties of the Partnership for cash or for marketable securities; or
(v) a final and non-appealable judgment is entered by a court of competent jurisdiction ruling that the General Partner is bankrupt or insolvent, or a final and non-appealable order for relief is entered by a court with appropriate jurisdiction against the General Partner, in each case under any federal or state bankruptcy or insolvency laws as now or hereafter in effect, unless prior to or at the time of the entry of such order or judgment, the Consent of the Partners holding more than 50% of the Percentage Interests represented by the Class A Units is obtained to continue the business of the Partnership and to the appointment, effective as of a date prior to the date of such order or judgment, of a substitute General Partner.
Section 13.2 | Winding Up |
A.General. Upon the occurrence of a Liquidating Event, the Partnership shall continue solely for the purposes of winding up its affairs in an orderly manner, liquidating its assets, and satisfying the claims of its creditors and Partners. No Partner shall take any action that is inconsistent with, or not necessary to or appropriate for, the winding up of the Partnership’s business and affairs. The General Partner (or, if there is no remaining General Partner, any Person elected by a majority in interest of the Limited Partners (the “Liquidator”)) shall be responsible for overseeing the winding up and dissolution of the Partnership and shall take full account of the Partnership’s liabilities and property and the Partnership property shall be liquidated as promptly as is consistent with obtaining the fair value thereof, and the proceeds therefrom (which may, to the extent determined by the General Partner, include equity or other securities of the General Partner or any other entity) shall be applied and distributed in the following order:
(1) | First, to the payment and discharge of all of the Partnership’s debts and liabilities to creditors other than the Partners; |
(2) | Second, to the payment and discharge of all of the Partnership’s debts and liabilities to the General Partner; |
(3) | Third, to the payment and discharge of all of the Partnership’s debts and liabilities to the Limited Partners; |
(4) | Fourth, to the holders of Partnership Interests that are entitled to any preference in distribution upon liquidation in accordance with the rights of any such class or series of Partnership Interests (and, within each such class or series, to each holder thereof pro rata based on its Percentage Interest in such class); and |
(5) | Fifth, the balance, if any, to the Partners, including without limitation the holders of the Vested Class RS LTIP Units and the Vested Class O LTIP Units, in proportion to their respective positive Capital Account balances, determined after giving effect to all contributions, distributions, and allocations for all periods. |
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The General Partner shall not receive any additional compensation for any services performed pursuant to thisArticle XIII.
B.Deferred Liquidation. Notwithstanding the provisions ofSection 13.2.A which require liquidation of the assets of the Partnership, but subject to the order of priorities set forth therein, if prior to or upon dissolution of the Partnership the Liquidator determines that an immediate sale of part or all of the Partnership’s assets would be impractical or would cause undue loss to the Partners, the Liquidator may, in its sole and absolute discretion, defer for a reasonable time the liquidation of any assets except those necessary to satisfy liabilities of the Partnership (including to those Partners as creditors) or distribute to the Partners, in lieu of cash, in accordance with the provisions ofSection 13.2.A, undivided interests in such Partnership assets as the Liquidator deems not suitable for liquidation. Any such distributions in kind shall be made only if, in the good faith judgment of the Liquidator, such distributions in kind are in the best interest of the Partners, and shall be subject to such conditions relating to the disposition and management of such properties as the Liquidator deems reasonable and equitable and to any agreements governing the operation of such properties at such time. The Liquidator shall determine the fair market value of any property distributed in kind using such reasonable method of valuation as it may adopt.
Section 13.3 | Compliance with Timing Requirements of Regulations; Restoration of Deficit Capital Accounts |
A.Timing of Distributions. If the Partnership is “liquidated” within the meaning of Regulations Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(ii)(g), distributions shall be made under thisArticle XIII to the General Partner and Limited Partners who have positive Capital Accounts in compliance with Regulations Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(ii)(b)(2). In the discretion of the General Partner a pro rata portion of the distributions that would otherwise be made to the General Partner and Limited Partners pursuant to thisArticle XIII may be: (A) distributed to a trust established for the benefit of the General Partner and Limited Partners for the purposes of liquidating Partnership assets, collecting amounts owed to the Partnership and paying any contingent or unforeseen liabilities or obligations of the Partnership or of the General Partner arising out of or in connection with the Partnership (in which case the assets of any such trust shall be distributed to the General Partner and Limited Partners from time to time, in the reasonable discretion of the General Partner, in the same proportions as the amount distributed to such trust by the Partnership would otherwise have been distributed to the General Partner and Limited Partners pursuant to this Agreement); or (B) withheld to provide a reasonable reserve for Partnership liabilities (contingent or otherwise) and to reflect the unrealized portion of any installment obligations owed to the Partnership; provided, however, that such withheld amounts shall be distributed to the General Partner and Limited Partners as soon as practicable.
B.Restoration of Deficit Capital Accounts Upon Liquidation of the Partnership. If any Partner has a deficit balance in its Capital Account (after giving effect to all contributions, distributions and allocations for all taxable years, including the year during which such liquidation
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occurs), such Partner shall have no obligation to make any contribution to the capital of the Partnership with respect to such deficit, and such deficit shall not be considered a debt owed to the Partnership or to any other Person for any purpose whatsoever, except as otherwise set forth in thisSection 13.3.B, or as otherwise expressly agreed in writing by the affected Partner and the Partnership after the date hereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, (i) if the General Partner has a deficit balance in its Capital Account (after giving effect to all contributions, distributions, and allocations for all Partnership years or portions thereof, including the year during which such liquidation occurs), the General Partner shall contribute to the capital of the Partnership the amount necessary to restore such deficit balance to zero in compliance with Regulations Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(ii)(b)(3); (ii) if a DRO Partner has a deficit balance in its Capital Account (after giving effect to all contributions, distributions, and allocations for all Partnership Years or portions thereof, including the year during which such liquidation occurs), such DRO Partner shall be obligated to make a contribution to the Partnership with respect to any such deficit balance in such DRO Partner’s Capital Account upon a liquidation of the Partnership in an amount equal to the lesser of such deficit balance or such DRO Partner’s DRO Amount; and (iii) the first sentence of thisSection 13.3.B shall not apply with respect to any other Partner to the extent, but only to such extent, that such Partner previously has agreed in writing, with the consent of the General Partner, to undertake an express obligation to restore all or any portion of a deficit that may exist in its Capital Account upon a liquidation of the Partnership. No Limited Partner shall have any right to become a DRO Partner, to increase its DRO Amount, or otherwise agree to restore any portion of any deficit that may exist in its Capital Account without the express written consent of the General Partner, in its sole and absolute discretion. Any contribution required of a Partner under thisSection 13.3.B. shall be made on or before the later of (i) the end of the Partnership Year in which the interest is liquidated or (ii) the ninetieth (90th) day following the date of such liquidation. The proceeds of any contribution to the Partnership made by a DRO Partner with respect to a deficit in such DRO Partner’s Capital Account balance shall be treated as a Capital Contribution by such DRO Partner and the proceeds thereof shall be treated as assets of the Partnership to be applied as set forth inSection 13.2.A.
C.Restoration of Deficit Capital Accounts Upon a Liquidation of a Partner’s Interest by Transfer. If a DRO Partner’s interest in the Partnership is “liquidated” within the meaning of Regulations Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(ii)(g) (other than in connection with a liquidation of the Partnership) which term shall include a redemption by the Partnership of such DRO Partner’s interest upon exercise of the Redemption Right, and such DRO Partner is designated onExhibit E as Part II DRO Partner, such DRO Partner shall be required to contribute cash to the Partnership equal to the lesser of (i) the amount required to increase its Capital Account balance as of such date to zero, or (ii) such DRO Partner’s DRO Amount. For this purpose, (i) the DRO Partner’s deficit Capital Account balance shall be determined by taking into account all contributions, distributions, and allocations for the portion of the Fiscal Year ending on the date of the liquidation or redemption, and (ii) solely for purposes of determining such DRO Partner’s Capital Account balance, the General Partner shall re-determine the Carrying Value of the Partnership’s assets on such date based upon the principles set forth inSections 1.D.(3) and (4) ofExhibit B hereto, and shall take into account the DRO Partner’s allocable share of any Unrealized Gain or Unrealized Loss resulting from such redetermination in determining the balance of its Capital Account. The amount of any payment required hereunder shall be due and payable within the time period specified in the second to last sentence ofSection 13.3.B.
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D.Effect of the Death of a DRO Partner. After the death of a DRO Partner who is an individual, the executor of the estate of such DRO Partner may elect to reduce (or eliminate) the DRO Amount of such DRO Partner. Such elections may be made by such executor by delivering to the General Partner within two hundred and seventy (270) days of the death of such Limited Partner, a written notice setting forth the maximum deficit balance in its Capital Account that such executor agrees to restore under thisSection 13.3, if any. If such executor does not make a timely election pursuant to thisSection 13.3 (whether or not the balance in the applicable Capital Account is negative at such time), then the DRO Partner’s estate (and the beneficiaries thereof who receive distributions of Partnership Interests therefrom) shall be deemed a DRO Partner with a DRO Amount in the same amount as the deceased DRO Partner. Any DRO Partner which itself is a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes may likewise elect, after the date of its partner’s death to reduce (or eliminate) its DRO Amount by delivering a similar notice to the General Partner within the time period specified above, and in the absence of any such notice the DRO Amount of such DRO Partner shall not be reduced to reflect the death of any of its partners.
Section 13.4 | Rights of Limited Partners |
Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, each Limited Partner shall look solely to the assets of the Partnership for the return of its Capital Contributions and shall have no right or power to demand or receive property other than cash from the Partnership. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement, no Limited Partner shall have priority over any other Limited Partner as to the return of its Capital Contributions, distributions, or allocations.
Section 13.5 | Notice of Dissolution |
If a Liquidating Event occurs or an event occurs that would, but for provisions of an election or objection by one or more Partners pursuant toSection 13.1, result in a dissolution of the Partnership, the General Partner shall, within thirty (30) days thereafter, provide written notice thereof to each of the Partners and to all other parties with whom the Partnership regularly conducts business (as determined in the discretion of the General Partner).
Section 13.6 | Cancellation of Certificate of Limited Partnership |
Upon the completion of the liquidation of the Partnership cash and property as provided inSection 13.2, the Partnership shall be terminated and the Certificate of Limited Partnership and all qualifications of the Partnership as a foreign limited partnership in jurisdictions other than the State of Delaware shall be canceled and such other actions as may be necessary to terminate the Partnership shall be taken.
Section 13.7 | Reasonable Time for Winding Up |
A reasonable time shall be allowed for the orderly winding up of the business and affairs of the Partnership and the liquidation of its assets pursuant toSection 13.2, to minimize any losses otherwise attendant upon such winding-up, and the provisions of this Agreement shall remain in effect among the Partners during the period of liquidation.
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Section 13.8 | Waiver of Partition |
Each Partner hereby waives any right to partition of the Partnership property.
Section 13.9 | Liability of Liquidator |
The Liquidator shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Partnership in the same manner and to the same degree as an Indemnitee may be indemnified pursuant toSection 7.7.
ARTICLE XIV
AMENDMENT OF PARTNERSHIP
AGREEMENT; MEETINGS
Section 14.1 | Amendments |
A.General. The General Partner’s prior written consent shall be required to amend or waive any provisions of this Agreement. The General Partner, without consent of the Limited Partners, may amend this Agreement in any respect;provided,however, that the following amendments shall require Consent of the Outside Limited Partners:
(i) any amendment toSection 8.6, its related defined terms or otherwise affecting the operation of the Conversion Factor or the Redemption Right, except as permitted pursuant toSection 8.6.E, in each case in a manner that adversely affects the Limited Partners in any material respects;
(ii) any amendment toArticle V, its related defined terms or otherwise affecting the rights of the Limited Partners to receive the distributions payable to them hereunder, other than in connection with the creation or issuance of new or additional Partnership Interests pursuant toSection 4.2 and except as permitted pursuant toSection 4.2 andSection 5.4, in each case in a manner that adversely affects the Limited Partners in any material respects;
(iii) any amendment toArticle VI, its related defined terms or otherwise that would materially alter the Partnership’s allocation of Profit and Loss to the Limited Partners, other than in connection with the creation or issuance of new or additional Partnership Interests pursuant toSection 4.2 and except as permitted pursuant toSection 6.2;
(iv) any amendment that would (x) convert a Limited Partner’s interest in the Partnership into a general partner’s interest, (y) modify the limited liability of a Limited Partner, or (z) impose on the Limited Partners any obligation to make additional Capital Contributions to the Partnership, or
(v) any amendment toSection 4.2.A (proviso only),Section 7.5,Section 11.2,Section 11.3 and thisArticle XIV, in each case together with their related defined terms.
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B. The General Partner shall notify the Limited Partners in writing of any amendment or waiver not requiring the Consent of the Outside Limited Partners made pursuant toSection 14.1.A in the next regular communication to the Limited Partners or within ninety (90) days of such amendment, whichever is earlier. For any amendment or waiver requiring the Consent of the Outside Limited Partners pursuant toSection 14.1.A, the General Partner shall seek the written Consent of the Partners as set forth inSection 14.2 on such proposed amendments or waivers or shall call a meeting to vote thereon and to transact any other business that it may deem appropriate. For purposes of obtaining a written Consent, the General Partner may require a response within a reasonable specified time, but not less than seven (7) days, and failure to respond in such time period shall constitute a vote in favor of the recommendation of the General Partner. Any such proposed amendment or waiver shall be adopted and be effective as an amendment or waiver hereto if it is approved by the General Partner and receives the Consent of the Outside Limited Partners, as applicable, in accordance withSections 14.1.A.
C.Amendment and Restatement of Partner Registry Not an Amendment. Notwithstanding anything in thisArticle XIV or elsewhere in this Agreement to the contrary, any amendment and restatement of the Partner Registry by the General Partner to reflect events or changes otherwise authorized or permitted by this Agreement shall not be deemed an amendment of this Agreement and may be done at any time and from time to time, as determined by the General Partner without the Consent of the Outside Limited Partners and without any notice requirement.
Section 14.2 | Meetings of the Partners |
A.General. Meetings of the Partners may be called by the General Partner. The call shall state the nature of the business to be transacted. Notice of any such meeting shall be given to all Partners not less than seven (7) days nor more than thirty (30) days prior to the date of such meeting. Partners may vote in person or by proxy at such meeting. Whenever the vote or Consent of Partners is permitted or required under this Agreement, such vote or Consent may be given at a meeting of Partners or may be given in accordance with the procedure prescribed inSection 14.1.A. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement, the Consent of holders of Partnership Interests representing a majority of the Percentage Interests of the Class A Units shall control (including Class A Units held by the General Partner).
B.Actions Without a Meeting. Except as otherwise expressly provided by this Agreement, any action required or permitted to be taken at a meeting of the Partners may be taken without a meeting if a written consent setting forth the action so taken is signed by Partners holding Partnership Interests representing more than fifty percent (50%) (or such other percentage as is expressly required by this Agreement) of the Percentage Interest of the Class A Units (including Class A Units held by the General Partner). Such consent may be in one instrument or in several instruments, and shall have the same force and effect as a vote of Partners. Such consent shall be filed with the General Partner. An action so taken shall be deemed to have been taken at a meeting held on the date on which written consents from the Partners holding the required Percentage Interest of the Class A Units have been filed with the General Partner.
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C.Proxy. Each Limited Partner may authorize any Person or Persons to act for him by proxy on all matters in which a Limited Partner is entitled to participate, including waiving notice of any meeting, or voting or participating at a meeting. Every proxy must be signed by the Limited Partner or its attorney-in-fact. No proxy shall be valid after the expiration of eleven (11) months from the date thereof unless otherwise provided in the proxy. Every proxy shall be revocable at the pleasure of the Limited Partner executing it, such revocation to be effective upon the Partnership’s receipt of written notice thereof.
D.Votes. On matters on which Limited Partners are entitled to vote, each Limited Partner shall have the number of votes equal to the number of Class A Units held.
E.Conduct of Meeting. Each meeting of Partners shall be conducted by the General Partner or such other Person as the General Partner may appoint pursuant to such rules for the conduct of the meeting as the General Partner or such other Person deem appropriate.
ARTICLE XV
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 15.1 | Addresses and Notice |
Any notice, demand, request or report required or permitted to be given or made to a Partner or Assignee under this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed given or made when delivered in person or when sent by first class United States mail or by other means of written communication (including, but not limited to, via e-mail) to the Partner or Assignee at the address set forth in the Partner Registry or such other address as the Partners shall notify the General Partner in writing.
Section 15.2 | Titles and Captions |
All article or section titles or captions in this Agreement are for convenience only. They shall not be deemed part of this Agreement and in no way define, limit, extend or describe the scope or intent of any provisions hereof. Except as specifically provided otherwise, references to “Articles” “Sections” and “Exhibits” are to Articles, Sections and Exhibits of this Agreement.
Section 15.3 | Pronouns and Plurals |
Whenever the context may require, any pronoun used in this Agreement shall include the corresponding masculine, feminine or neuter forms, and the singular form of nouns, pronouns and verbs shall include the plural and vice versa.
Section 15.4 | Further Action |
The parties shall execute and deliver all documents, provide all information and take or refrain from taking action as may be necessary or appropriate to achieve the purposes of this Agreement.
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Section 15.5 | Binding Effect |
This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their heirs, executors, administrators, successors, legal representatives and permitted assigns.
Section 15.6 | Creditors |
Other than as expressly set forth herein with regard to any Indemnitee, none of the provisions of this Agreement shall be for the benefit of, or shall be enforceable by, any creditor of the Partnership.
Section 15.7 | Waiver |
No failure by any party to insist upon the strict performance of any covenant, duty, agreement or condition of this Agreement or to exercise any right or remedy consequent upon a breach thereof shall constitute waiver of any such breach or any other covenant, duty, agreement or condition.
Section 15.8 | Counterparts |
This Agreement may be executed in counterparts, all of which together shall constitute one agreement binding on all the parties hereto, notwithstanding that all such parties are not signatories to the original or the same counterpart. Each party shall become bound by this Agreement immediately upon affixing its signature hereto.
Section 15.9 | Applicable Law |
This Agreement shall be construed and enforced in accordance with and governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to the principles of conflicts of law.
Section 15.10 | Invalidity of Provisions |
If any provision of this Agreement is or becomes invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions contained herein shall not be affected thereby.
Section 15.11 | Power of Attorney |
A.General. Each Limited Partner and each Assignee who accepts Partnership Units (or any rights, benefits or privileges associated therewith) is deemed to irrevocably constitute and appoint the General Partner, any Liquidator and authorized officers and attorneys-in-fact of each, and each of those acting singly, in each case with full power of substitution, as its true and lawful agent and attorney-in-fact, with full power and authority in its name, place and stead to:
(1) | execute, swear to, acknowledge, deliver, file and record in the appropriate public offices (a) all certificates, documents and other instruments (including, without |
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limitation, this Agreement and the Certificate of Limited Partnership and all amendments or restatements thereof) that the General Partner or any Liquidator deems appropriate or necessary to form, qualify or continue the existence or qualification of the Partnership as a limited partnership (or a partnership in which the limited partners have limited liability) in the State of Delaware and in all other jurisdictions in which the Partnership may conduct business or own property, (b) all instruments that the General Partner or any Liquidator deem appropriate or necessary to reflect any amendment, change, modification or restatement of this Agreement in accordance with its terms, (c) all conveyances and other instruments or documents that the General Partner or any Liquidator deems appropriate or necessary to reflect the dissolution and liquidation of the Partnership pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, including, without limitation, a certificate of cancellation, (d) all instruments relating to the admission, withdrawal, removal or substitution of any Partner pursuant to, or other events described in,Article XI,XII orXIII hereof or the Capital Contribution of any Partner and (e) all certificates, documents and other instruments relating to the determination of the rights, preferences and privileges of Partnership Interests; and |
(2) | execute, swear to, acknowledge and file all ballots, consents, approvals, waivers, certificates and other instruments appropriate or necessary, in the sole and absolute discretion of the General Partner or any Liquidator, to make, evidence, give, confirm or ratify any vote, consent, approval, agreement or other action which is made or given by the Partners hereunder or is consistent with the terms of this Agreement or appropriate or necessary, in the sole and absolute discretion of the General Partner or any Liquidator, to effectuate the terms or intent of this Agreement. |
Nothing contained in thisSection 15.11 shall be construed as authorizing the General Partner or any Liquidator to amend this Agreement except in accordance withArticle XIV hereof or as may be otherwise expressly provided for in this Agreement.
B.Irrevocable Nature. The foregoing power of attorney is hereby declared to be irrevocable and a power coupled with an interest, in recognition of the fact that each of the Partners will be relying upon the power of the General Partner or any Liquidator to act as contemplated by this Agreement in any filing or other action by it on behalf of the Partnership, and it shall survive and not be affected by the subsequent Incapacity of any Limited Partner or Assignee and the transfer of all or any portion of such Limited Partner’s or Assignee’s Partnership Units and shall extend to such Limited Partner’s or Assignee’s heirs, successors, assigns and personal representatives. Each such Limited Partner or Assignee hereby agrees to be bound by any representation made by the General Partner or any Liquidator, acting in good faith pursuant to such power of attorney; and each such Limited Partner or Assignee hereby waives any and all defenses which may be available to contest, negate or disaffirm the action of the General Partner or any Liquidator, taken in good faith under such power of attorney. Each Limited Partner or Assignee shall execute and deliver to the General Partner or the Liquidator, within fifteen (15) days after receipt of the General Partner’s or Liquidator’s request therefor, such further designation, powers of attorney and other instruments as the General Partner or the Liquidator, as the case may be, deems necessary to effectuate this Agreement and the purposes of the Partnership.
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Section 15.12 | Entire Agreement |
This Agreement contains the entire understanding and agreement among the Partners with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes any prior written oral understandings or agreements among them with respect thereto.
Section 15.13 | No Rights as Shareholders |
Nothing contained in this Agreement shall be construed as conferring upon the holders of the Partnership Units any rights whatsoever as shareholders of the General Partner Entity, including, without limitation, any right to receive dividends or other distributions made to shareholders of the General Partner Entity, or to vote or to consent or receive notice as shareholders in respect to any meeting of shareholders for the election of trustees (or directors, if applicable) of the General Partner Entity or any other matter.
Section 15.14 | Limitation to Preserve REIT Status |
If the General Partner Entity attempts to qualify as a REIT, to the extent that any amount paid or credited to the General Partner Entity or any of its officers, trustees, employees or agents pursuant toSection 7.4 orSection 7.7 would constitute gross income to the General Partner for purposes of Section 856(c)(2) or 856(c)(3) of the Code (a “General Partner Payment”) then, notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the amount of such General Partner Payment for any Fiscal Year shall not exceed the lesser of:
(i) an amount equal to the excess, if any, of (a) 4% of the General Partner Entity’s total gross income (within the meaning of Section 856(c)(3) of the Code but not including the amount of any General Partner Payments) for the Fiscal Year which is described in subsections (A) though (H) of Section 856(c)(2) of the Code over (b) the amount of gross income (within the meaning of Section 856(c)(2) of the Code) derived by the General Partner Entity from sources other than those described in subsections (A) through (H) of Section 856(c)(2) of the Code (but not including the amount of any General Partner Payments); or
(ii) an amount equal to the excess, if any of (a) 24% of the General Partner Entity’s total gross income (but not including the amount of any General Partner Payments) for the Fiscal Year which is described in subsections (A) through (I) of Section 856(c)(3) of the Code over (b) the amount of gross income (within the meaning of Section 856(c)(3) of the Code but not including the amount of any General Partner Payments) derived by the General Partner Entity from sources other than those described in subsections (A) through (I) of Section 856(c)(3) of the Code;
provided,however, that General Partner Payments in excess of the amounts set forth in subparagraphs (i) and (ii) above may be made if the General Partner Entity, as a condition precedent, obtains an opinion of tax counsel that the receipt of such excess amounts would not adversely affect the General Partner Entity’s ability to qualify as a REIT. To the extent General Partner Payments
79
may not be made in a given Fiscal Year due to the foregoing limitations, such General Partner Payments shall carry over and be treated as arising in the following year;provided,however, that such amounts shall not carry over for more than five Fiscal Years, and if not paid within such five Fiscal Year period, shall expire; and provided further that (i) as General Partner Payments are made, such payments shall be applied first to carry over amounts outstanding, if any, and (ii) with respect to carry over amounts for more than one Fiscal Year, such payments shall be applied to the earliest Fiscal Year first.
[Remainder of page intentionally left blank, signature page follows]
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.
GENERAL PARTNER: | ||
QTS Realty Trust, Inc. | ||
By: | /s/ Shirley E. Goza | |
Name: | Shirley E. Goza | |
Title: | Secretary and General Counsel |
[Signature Page to Fifth A&R Partnership Agreement]
S-1
LIMITED PARTNERS: | ||
/s/ Chad L. Williams | ||
Chad L. Williams | ||
/s/ Mark D. Waddington | ||
Mark D. Waddington | ||
Quality Investment Group QTS, LLC | ||
By: | /s/ Chad L. Williams | |
Name: | Chad L. Williams | |
Title: | Manager | |
Quality Investment Group QTS II, LLC | ||
By: | /s/ Chad L. Williams | |
Name: | Chad L. Williams | |
Title: | Manager | |
Quality Technology Group, LLC | ||
By: | /s/ Chad L. Williams | |
Name: | Chad L. Williams | |
Title: | Manager | |
Williams Family Trust | ||
By: | /s/ Chad L. Williams | |
Name: | Chad L. Williams | |
Title: | Special QTLP Trustee | |
CHAD L. WILLIAMS OCTOBER 2013 GRAT | ||
By: | /s/ Chad L. Williams | |
Name: | Chad L. Williams | |
Title: | Trustee |
[Signature Page to Fifth A&R Partnership Agreement]
S-2
[Signature page continued]
Paradox Partners, LLC | ||
By: | /s/ William O. Grabe | |
Name: | William O. Grabe | |
Title: | Manager / Member | |
/s/ John W. Barter | ||
John W. Barter | ||
/s/ Peter Marino | ||
Peter Marino | ||
/s/ Shirley E. Goza | ||
Shirley E. Goza |
[Signature Page to Fifth A&R Partnership Agreement]
S-3
EXHIBIT A
FORM OF PARTNER REGISTRY
CLASS A, CLASS O AND CLASS RS UNITS | ||||||||
Name and Address of Partner | Partnership Units | Capital Account Balance (as of the date hereof) | Percentage Interest (1) | |||||
GENERAL PARTNER: | ||||||||
QTS Realty Trust, Inc. | ||||||||
12851 Foster Street, Suite 205 | ||||||||
Overland Park, Kansas 66213 | ||||||||
Attn: Chad L. Williams | ||||||||
Facsimile: (913) 312-5519 | ||||||||
LIMITED PARTNERS: | ||||||||
[NAME] | ||||||||
[NAME] | ||||||||
[NAME] | ||||||||
|
|
|
| |||||
TOTAL PARTNERSHIP UNITS | Class A Units | 100.000 | % | |||||
Class O Units | ||||||||
Class RS Units |
NOTES:
(1) | For purposes of this calculation, the Class A Units, Class O Units and Class RS Units are treated as a single class. |
Exhibit A-1
EXHIBIT B
CAPITAL ACCOUNT MAINTENANCE
1. | Capital Accounts of the Partners |
A. The Partnership shall maintain for each Partner a separate Capital Account in accordance with the rules of Regulations Section l.704-l(b)(2)(iv). Such Capital Account shall be increased by (i) the amount of all Capital Contributions and any other deemed contributions made by such Partner to the Partnership pursuant to this Agreement and (ii) all items of Partnership income and gain (including income and gain exempt from tax) computed in accordance withSection 1.B hereof and allocated to such Partner pursuant toSection 6.1 of the Agreement andExhibit C thereof, and decreased by (x) the amount of cash or Agreed Value of property actually distributed or deemed to be distributed to such Partner pursuant to this Agreement and (y) all items of Partnership deduction and loss computed in accordance withSection 1.B hereof and allocated to such Partner pursuant toSection 6.1 of the Agreement andExhibit C thereof.
B. For purposes of computing the amount of any item of income, gain, deduction or loss to be reflected in the Partners’ Capital Accounts, unless otherwise specified in this Agreement, the determination, recognition and classification of any such item shall be the same as its determination, recognition and classification for federal income tax purposes determined in accordance with Section 703(a) of the Code (for this purpose all items of income, gain, loss or deduction required to be stated separately pursuant to Section 703(a)(1) of the Code shall be included in taxable income or loss), with the following adjustments:
(1) Except as otherwise provided in Regulations Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(iv)(m), the computation of all items of income, gain, loss and deduction shall be made without regard to any adjustments to the adjusted bases of the assets of the Partnership pursuant to Sections 754 of the Code, provided, however, that the amounts of any adjustments to the adjusted bases of the assets of the Partnership made pursuant to Section 734 of the Code as a result of the distribution of property by the Partnership to a Partner (to the extent that such adjustments have not previously been reflected in the Partners’ Capital Accounts) shall be reflected in the Capital Accounts of the Partners in the manner and subject to the limitations prescribed in Regulations Section l.704-1(b)(2)(iv)(m)(4).
(2) The computation of all items of income, gain, and deduction shall be made without regard to the fact that items described in Sections 705(a)(l)(B) or 705(a)(2)(B) of the Code are not includible in gross income or are neither currently deductible nor capitalized for federal income tax purposes.
Exhibit B-1
(3) Any income, gain or loss attributable to the taxable disposition of any Partnership property shall be determined as if the adjusted basis of such property as of such date of disposition were equal in amount to the Partnership’s Carrying Value with respect to such property as of such date.
(4) In lieu of the depreciation, amortization, and other cost recovery deductions taken into account in computing such taxable income or loss, there shall be taken into account Depreciation for such fiscal year.
(5) In the event the Carrying Value of any Partnership asset is adjusted pursuant toSection 1.D hereof, the amount of any such adjustment shall be taken into account as gain or loss from the disposition of such asset.
(6) Any items specially allocated underSection 2 ofExhibit C to the Agreement hereof shall not be taken into account.
C. A transferee (including any Assignee) of a Partnership Unit shall succeed to a pro rata portion of the Capital Account of the transferor in accordance with Regulations Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(iv)(l).
D. (1) Consistent with the provisions of Regulations Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(iv)(f), and as provided inSection 1.D(2), the Carrying Values of all Partnership assets shall be adjusted upward or downward to reflect any Unrealized Gain or Unrealized Loss attributable to such Partnership property, as of the times of the adjustments provided inSection 1.D(2) hereof, as if such Unrealized Gain or Unrealized Loss had been recognized on an actual sale of each such property and allocated pursuant toSection 6.1 of the Agreement.
(2) Such adjustments shall be made as of the following times: (a) immediately prior to the acquisition of an additional interest in the Partnership by any new or existing Partner in exchange for more than a de minimis Capital Contribution; (b) immediately prior to the distribution by the Partnership to a Partner of more than a de minimis amount of property as consideration for an interest in the Partnership; (c) immediately prior to the liquidation of the Partnership within the meaning of Regulations Section 1.704-l(b)(2)(ii)(g); and (d) immediately prior to the issuance of any LTIP Units; provided, however, that adjustments pursuant to clauses (a), (b) and (d) above shall be made only if the General Partner determines that such adjustments are necessary or appropriate to reflect the relative economic interests of the Partners in the Partnership.
(3) In accordance with Regulations Section 1.704- l(b)(2)(iv)(e), the Carrying Value of Partnership assets distributed in kind shall be adjusted upward or downward to reflect any Unrealized Gain or Unrealized Loss attributable to such Partnership property, as of the time any such asset is distributed.
(4) In determining Unrealized Gain or Unrealized Loss for purposes of thisExhibit B, the aggregate cash amount and fair market value of all Partnership assets (including cash or cash equivalents) shall be determined by the General Partner using such reasonable method of valuation
Exhibit B-2
as it may adopt, or in the case of a liquidating distribution pursuant toArticle XIII of the Agreement, shall be determined and allocated by the Liquidator using such reasonable methods of valuation as it may adopt. The General Partner, or the Liquidator, as the case may be, shall allocate such aggregate fair market value among the assets of the Partnership in such manner as it determines in its sole and absolute discretion to arrive at a fair market value for individual properties.
E. The provisions of the Agreement (including thisExhibit B and the other Exhibits to the Agreement) relating to the maintenance of Capital Accounts are intended to comply with Regulations Section 1.704-1(b), and shall be interpreted and applied in a manner consistent with such Regulations. In the event the General Partner shall determine that it is prudent to modify the manner in which the Capital Accounts, or any debits or credits thereto (including, without limitation, debits or credits relating to liabilities which are secured by contributed or distributed property or which are assumed by the Partnership, the General Partner, or the Limited Partners) are computed in order to comply with such Regulations, the General Partner may make such modification without regard toArticle XIV of the Agreement, provided that it is not likely to have a material effect on the amounts distributable to any Person pursuant toArticle XIII of the Agreement upon the dissolution of the Partnership. The General Partner also shall (i) make any adjustments that are necessary or appropriate to maintain equality between the Capital Accounts of the Partners and the amount of Partnership capital reflected on the Partnership’s balance sheet, as computed for book purposes, in accordance with Regulations Section l.704-l(b)(2)(iv)(q), and (ii) make any appropriate modifications in the event unanticipated events might otherwise cause this Agreement not to comply with Regulations Section l.704-1(b).
2. | No Interest |
No interest shall be paid by the Partnership on Capital Contributions or on balances in Partners’ Capital Accounts.
3. | No Withdrawal |
No Partner shall be entitled to withdraw any part of its Capital Contribution or Capital Account or to receive any distribution from the Partnership, except as provided inArticles IV, V,VII andXIII of the Agreement.
Exhibit B-3
EXHIBIT C
SPECIAL ALLOCATION RULES
1. | Special Allocation Rules. |
Notwithstanding any other provision of the Agreement or thisExhibit C, the following special allocations shall be made in the following order:
A.Minimum Gain Chargeback. Notwithstanding the provisions ofSection 6.1 of the Agreement or any other provisions of thisExhibit C, if there is a net decrease in Partnership Minimum Gain during any Fiscal Year, each Partner shall be specially allocated items of Partnership income and gain for such year (and, if necessary, subsequent years) in an amount equal to such Partner’s share of the net decrease in Partnership Minimum Gain, as determined under Regulations Section 1.704-2(g). Allocations pursuant to the previous sentence shall be made in proportion to the respective amounts required to be allocated to each Partner pursuant thereto. The items to be so allocated shall be determined in accordance with Regulations Section 1.704-2(f)(6). ThisSection 1.A is intended to comply with the minimum gain chargeback requirements in Regulations Section 1.704-2(f) and for purposes of thisSection 1.A only, each Partner’s Adjusted Capital Account Deficit shall be determined prior to any other allocations pursuant toSection 6.1 of the Agreement or thisExhibit C with respect to such Fiscal Year and without regard to any decrease in Partner Minimum Gain during such Fiscal Year.
B.Partner Minimum Gain Chargeback. Notwithstanding any other provision ofSection 6.1 of this Agreement or any other provisions of thisExhibit C (exceptSection 1.A hereof), if there is a net decrease in Partner Minimum Gain attributable to a Partner nonrecourse Debt during any Fiscal Year, each Partner who has a share of the Partner Minimum Gain attributable to such Partner Nonrecourse Debt, determined in accordance with Regulations Section 1.704-2(i)(5), shall be specially allocated items of Partnership income and gain for such year (and, if necessary, subsequent years) in an amount equal to such Partner’s share of the net decrease in Partner Minimum Gain attributable to such Partner Nonrecourse Debt, determined in accordance with Regulations Section 1.704-2(i)(5). Allocations pursuant to the previous sentence shall be made in proportion to the respective amounts required to be allocated to each General Partner and Limited Partner pursuant thereto. The items to be so allocated shall be determined in accordance with Regulations Section 1.704-2(i)(4). ThisSection 1.B is intended to comply with the minimum gain chargeback requirement in such Section of the Regulations and shall be interpreted consistently therewith. Solely for purposes of thisSection 1.B, each Partner’s Adjusted Capital Account Deficit shall be determined prior to any other allocations pursuant toSection 6.1 of the Agreement or thisExhibit C with respect to such Fiscal Year, other than allocations pursuant toSection 1.A hereof.
C.Qualified Income Offset. In the event any Partner unexpectedly receives any adjustments, allocations or distributions described in Regulations Sections 1.704-l(b)(2)(ii)(d)(4), l.704-1(b)(2)(ii)(d)(5), or 1.704-l(b)(2)(ii)(d)(6), and after giving effect to the allocations required
Exhibit C-1
underSections 1.A and1.B hereof with respect to such Fiscal Year, such Partner has an Adjusted Capital Account Deficit, items of Partnership income and gain (consisting of a pro rata portion of each item of Partnership income, including gross income and gain for the Fiscal Year) shall be specifically allocated to such Partner in an amount and manner sufficient to eliminate, to the extent required by the Regulations, its Adjusted Capital Account Deficit created by such adjustments, allocations or distributions as quickly as possible. ThisSection 1.C is intended to constitute a “qualified income offset” under Regulations Section 1.704-1(b)(2)(ii)(d) and shall be interpreted consistently therewith.
D.Gross Income Allocation. In the event that any Partner has an Adjusted Capital Account Deficit at the end of any Fiscal Year (after taking into account allocations to be made under the preceding paragraphs hereof with respect to such Fiscal Year), each such Partner shall be specially allocated items of Partnership income and gain (consisting of a pro rata portion of each item of Partnership income, including gross income and gain for the Fiscal Year) in an amount and manner sufficient to eliminate, to the extent required by the Regulations, its Adjusted Capital Account Deficit.
E.Nonrecourse Deductions. Except as may otherwise be expressly provided by the General Partner pursuant toSection 4.2 of the Agreement with respect to other classes of Partnership Units, Nonrecourse Deductions for any Fiscal Year shall be allocated only to the Partners holding Class A Units and Class B Units in accordance with their respective Percentage Interests. If the General Partner determines in its good faith discretion that the Partnership’s Nonrecourse Deductions must be allocated in a different ratio to satisfy the safe harbor requirements of the Regulations promulgated under Section 704(b) of the Code, the General Partner is authorized, upon notice to the Limited Partners, to revise the prescribed ratio for such Fiscal Year to the numerically closest ratio which would satisfy such requirements.
F.Partner Nonrecourse Deductions. Any Partner Nonrecourse Deductions for any Fiscal Year shall be specially allocated to the Partner who bears the economic risk of loss with respect to the Partner Nonrecourse Debt to which such Partner Nonrecourse Deductions are attributable in accordance with Regulations Sections 1.704-2(b)(4) and 1.704-2(i).
G.Adjustments Pursuant to Code Section 734 and Section 743. To the extent an adjustment to the adjusted tax basis of any Partnership asset pursuant to Section 734(b) or 743(b) of the Code is required, pursuant to Regulations Section 1.704-l(b)(2)(iv)(m), to be taken into account in determining Capital Accounts, the amount of such adjustment to the Capital Accounts shall be treated as an item of gain (if the adjustment increases the basis of the asset) or loss (if the adjustment decreases such basis), and such item of gain or loss shall be specially allocated to the Partners in a manner consistent with the manner in which their Capital Accounts are required to be adjusted pursuant to such Section of the Regulations.
Exhibit C-2
2. | Allocations for Tax Purposes |
A. Except as otherwise provided in thisSection 2, for federal income tax purposes, each item of income, gain, loss and deduction shall be allocated among the Partners in the same manner as its correlative item of “book” income, gain, loss or deduction is allocated pursuant toSection 6.1 of the Agreement andSection 1 of thisExhibit C.
B. In an attempt to eliminate Book-Tax Disparities attributable to a Contributed Property or Adjusted Property, items of income, gain, loss, and deduction shall be allocated for federal income tax purposes among the Partners as follows:
(1) (a) In the case of a Contributed Property, such items attributable thereto shall be allocated among the Partners consistent with the principles of Section 704(c) of the Code to take into account the variation between the Section 704(c) Value of such property and its adjusted basis at the time of contribution (taking into accountSection 2.C of thisExhibit C); and
(b) any item of Residual Gain or Residual Loss attributable to a Contributed Property shall be allocated among the Partners in the same manner as its correlative item of “book” gain or loss is allocated pursuant toSection 6.1 of the Agreement andSection 1 of thisExhibit C.
(2) (a) In the case of an Adjusted Property, such items shall
(i) first, be allocated among the Partners in a manner consistent with the principles of Section 704(c) of the Code to take into account the Unrealized Gain or Unrealized Loss attributable to such property and the allocations thereof pursuant toExhibit B;
(ii) second, in the event such property was originally a Contributed Property, be allocated among the Partners in a manner consistent withSection 2.B(1) of thisExhibit C; and
(b) any item of Residual Gain or Residual Loss attributable to an Adjusted Property shall be allocated among the Partners in the same manner its correlative item of “book” gain or loss is allocated pursuant toSection 6.1 of the Agreement andSection 1 of thisExhibit C.
(3) all other items of income, gain, loss and deduction shall be allocated among the Partners the same manner as their correlative item of “book” gain or loss is allocated pursuant toSection 6.1 of the Agreement andSection 1 of thisExhibit C.
C. To the extent Regulations promulgated pursuant to Section 704(c) of the Code permit a Partnership to utilize alternative methods to eliminate the disparities between the Carrying Value of property and its adjusted basis, the General Partner shall, subject to any agreements between the Partnership and a Partner have the authority to elect the method to be used by the Partnership and such election shall be binding on all Partners.
Exhibit C-3
EXHIBIT D
NOTICE OF REDEMPTION
The undersigned hereby irrevocably (i) redeems Partnership Units in QualityTech, LP in accordance with the terms of the Fifth Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of QualityTech, LP, as amended, and the Redemption Right referred to therein, (ii) surrenders such Partnership Units and all right, title and interest therein and (iii) directs that the Cash Amount or Shares Amount (as determined by the General Partner) deliverable upon exercise of the Redemption Right be delivered to the address specified below, and if Shares are to be delivered, such Shares be registered or placed in the name(s) and at the address(es) specified below. The undersigned hereby represents, warrants, and certifies that the undersigned (a) has marketable and unencumbered title to such Partnership Units, free and clear of the rights of or interests of any other person or entity, (b) has the full right, power and authority to redeem and surrender such Partnership Units as provided herein and (c) has obtained the consent or approval of all persons or entities, if any, having the right to consult or approve such redemption and surrender.
Dated: |
| Name of Limited Partner: | ||||
| ||||||
(Signature of Limited Partner) | ||||||
| ||||||
(Street Address) | ||||||
| ||||||
| ||||||
(City) (State) (Zip Code) | ||||||
Signature Guaranteed by: | ||||||
|
Exhibit D-1
IF SHARES ARE TO BE ISSUED, ISSUE TO: | ||
Name: |
|
Social Security or tax identifying number: |
|
Exhibit D-2
EXHIBIT E
FORM OF DRO REGISTRY
PART I DRO PARTNERS | DRO AMOUNT | |
PART II DRO PARTNERS |
Exhibit E-1
EXHIBIT F
NOTICE OF ELECTION BY HOLDER TO CONVERT
CLASS RS LTIP UNITS INTO CLASS A UNITS
The undersigned holder of Class RS LTIP Units hereby irrevocably (i) elects to convert Vested Class RS LTIP Units in QualityTech, LP (the “Partnership”) into Class A Units in accordance with the terms of the Fifth Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of the Partnership, as may be amended from time to time; and (ii) directs that any cash in lieu of Class A Units that may be deliverable upon such conversion be delivered to the address specified below. The undersigned hereby represents, warrants and certifies that the undersigned (a) has title to such Vested Class RS LTIP Units, free and clear of the rights or interests of any other person or entity other than the Partnership; (b) has the full right, power and authority to cause the conversion of such Vested Class RS LTIP Units as provided herein; and (c) has obtained the consent to or approval of all persons or entities, if any, having the right to consent or approve such conversion.
Dated: |
| Name of Holder: | ||||
| ||||||
(Signature of Holder) | ||||||
| ||||||
(Street Address) | ||||||
| ||||||
(City) (State) (Zip Code) | ||||||
Signature Guaranteed by: | ||||||
|
Exhibit F-1
EXHIBIT G
NOTICE OF ELECTION BY PARTNERSHIP TO REQUIRE CONVERSION OF
CLASS RS LTIP UNITS INTO CLASS A UNITS
QualityTech, LP (the “Partnership”) hereby irrevocably elects to cause the number of Class RS LTIP Units held by the holder of Class RS LTIP Units set forth below to be converted into Class A Units in accordance with the terms of the Fifth Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of the Partnership, as may be amended from time to time.
Name of Holder: | ||
Date of this Notice: | ||
Number of Class RS LTIP Units to be Converted: | ||
Please Print: Exact Name as Registered with Partnership |
Ex. G-1
EXHIBIT H
NOTICE OF ELECTION BY HOLDER TO CONVERT
CLASS O LTIP UNITS INTO CLASS A UNITS
The undersigned holder of Class O LTIP Units hereby irrevocably (i) elects to convert Vested Class O LTIP Units in QualityTech, LP (the “Partnership”) into Class A Units in accordance with the terms of the Fifth Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of the Partnership, as may be amended from time to time; and (ii) directs that any cash in lieu of Class A Units that may be deliverable upon such conversion be delivered to the address specified below. The undersigned hereby represents, warrants and certifies that the undersigned (a) has title to such Vested Class O LTIP Units, free and clear of the rights or interests of any other person or entity other than the Partnership; (b) has the full right, power and authority to cause the conversion of such Vested Class O LTIP Units as provided herein; and (c) has obtained the consent to or approval of all persons or entities, if any, having the right to consent or approve such conversion.
Dated: |
| Name of Holder: | ||||
| ||||||
(Signature of Holder) | ||||||
| ||||||
(Street Address) | ||||||
| ||||||
(City) (State) (Zip Code) | ||||||
Signature Guaranteed by: | ||||||
|
Ex. G-1
EXHIBIT I
NOTICE OF ELECTION BY PARTNERSHIP TO REQUIRE CONVERSION OF
CLASS O LTIP UNITS INTO CLASS A UNITS
QualityTech, LP (the “Partnership”) hereby irrevocably elects to cause the number of Class O LTIP Units held by the holder of Class O LTIP Units set forth below to be converted into Class A Units in accordance with the terms of the Fifth Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of the Partnership, as may be amended from time to time.
Name of Holder: | ||
Date of this Notice: | ||
Number of Class O LTIP Units to be Converted: | ||
Please Print: Exact Name as Registered with Partnership |
Ex. I-1