4:00 P.M., Eastern Time, on the Expiration Date. These materials may be sent via internet, mail, courier or personal delivery. Shareholders who desire to tender Shares registered in the name of a broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee must contact that firm to effect a tender on their behalf.
THE METHOD OF DELIVERY OF THE LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL AND ANY OTHER REQUIRED DOCUMENTS IS AT THE OPTION AND SOLE RISK OF THE TENDERING SHAREHOLDER. IF DOCUMENTS ARE SENT BY MAIL, REGISTERED MAIL WITH RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED, PROPERLY INSURED, IS RECOMMENDED.
Shareholders have the responsibility to cause their Shares to be tendered, the Letter of Transmittal properly completed and bearing an original signature(s) (or a copy thereof) and the original of any required signature guarantee(s), and any other documents required by the Letter of Transmittal, to be timely delivered. Timely delivery is a condition precedent to acceptance of Shares for purchase pursuant to the Offer and to payment of the Purchase Price.
b. Determination of Validity.
All questions as to the validity, form, eligibility (including time of receipt) and acceptance of tenders will be determined by us, in our sole discretion, which determination shall be final and binding, subject to the rights of tendering shareholders to challenge our determination in a court of competent jurisdiction. We reserve the absolute right to reject any or all tenders determined not to be in appropriate form or to refuse to accept for payment, purchase or pay for, any Shares if, in the opinion of our counsel, accepting, purchasing or paying for such Shares would be unlawful. We also reserve the absolute right to waive any of the conditions of the Offer or any defect in any tender, whether generally or with respect to any particular Share(s) or shareholder(s). Our interpretations, in consultation with our counsel, of the terms and conditions of the Offer shall be final and binding, subject to the rights of tendering shareholders to challenge our determination in a court of competent jurisdiction.
NONE OF THE COMPANY, THE BOARD, FS GLOBAL ADVISOR OR ANY OTHER PERSON IS OR WILL BE OBLIGATED TO GIVE ANY NOTICE OF ANY DEFECT OR IRREGULARITY IN ANY TENDER, AND NONE OF THEM WILL INCUR ANY LIABILITY FOR FAILURE TO GIVE ANY SUCH NOTICE.
c. United States Federal Income Tax Withholding.
To prevent the imposition of U.S. federal backup withholding tax on the gross payments made pursuant to the Offer, prior to receiving such payments, each shareholder accepting the Offer who has not previously submitted to the Company a correct, completed and signed Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) Form W-9 (“Form W-9”) (for U.S. Shareholders) or IRS Form W-8BEN (“Form W-8BEN”), IRS Form W-8BEN-E (“Form W-8BEN-E”), IRS Form W-8IMY (“Form W-8IMY”), IRS Form W-8ECI (“Form W-8ECI”), IRS Form W-8EXP (“Form W-8EXP”) or other applicable form (for Non-U.S. Shareholders), or otherwise established an exemption from such withholding, must submit the appropriate form to the Company. The applicable rate for backup withholding is currently 28%. See Section 13 below.
For this purpose, a “U.S. Shareholder” is, in general, a beneficial owner of our Shares for U.S. federal income tax purposes that is (i) a citizen or individual resident of the United States, (ii) a corporation, partnership or other entity created or organized in or under the laws of the United States or any political subdivision thereof, (iii) an estate the income of which is subject to United States federal income taxation regardless of the source of such income or (iv) a trust if (A) a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust and (B) one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust. A “Non-U.S. Shareholder” is any beneficial owner of our Shares for U.S. federal income tax purposes other than a U.S. Shareholder.
5. Withdrawal Rights.
At any time prior to 4:00 P.M., Eastern Time, on the Expiration Date, and, if the Shares have not by then been accepted for payment by us, at any time after July 26, 2018 (which is 40 business days after the commencement of the Offer), any shareholder may withdraw any number of the Shares that the shareholder has tendered.