1
EXHIBIT 99.7
June 14, 2001
EXCHANGE AGENT AGREEMENT
The Bank of New York
101 Barclay Street, Floor 21 West
New York, New York 10286
Attention: Corporate Trust Trustee Administration
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Beverly Enterprises, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company") proposes
to make an offer (the "Exchange Offer") to exchange all of its unregistered
outstanding 9 5/8% Senior Notes due 2009 (the "Old Securities") for its
registered 9 5/8% Senior Notes due 2009 (the "New Securities"). The terms and
conditions of the Exchange Offer as currently contemplated are set forth in a
prospectus, dated ___________ (the "Prospectus"), proposed to be distributed to
all record holders of the Old Securities. The Old Securities and the New
Securities are collectively referred to herein as the "Securities."
The Company hereby appoints The Bank of New York to act as exchange agent
(the "Exchange Agent") in connection with the Exchange Offer. References
hereinafter to "you" shall refer to The Bank of New York.
The Exchange Offer is expected to be commenced by the Company on or about
_____________. The Letter of Transmittal accompanying the Prospectus (or in the
case of book-entry securities, the Automated Tender Offer Program ("ATOP") of
the Book-Entry Transfer Facility (as defined below)) is to be used by the
holders of the Old Securities to accept the Exchange Offer and contains
instructions with respect to the delivery of certificates for Old Securities
tendered in connection therewith.
The Exchange Offer shall expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on
_________ or on such subsequent date or time to which the Company may extend the
Exchange Offer (the "Expiration Date"). Subject to the terms and conditions set
forth in the Prospectus, the Company expressly reserves the right to extend the
Exchange Offer from time to time and may extend the Exchange Offer by giving
oral (promptly confirmed in writing) or written notice to you before 9:00 a.m.,
New York City time, on the business day following the previously scheduled
Expiration Date.
The Company expressly reserves the right to amend or terminate the Exchange
Offer, and not to accept for exchange any Old Securities not theretofore
accepted for exchange, upon the occurrence of any of the conditions of the
Exchange
2
Offer specified in the Prospectus under the caption "The Exchange Offer --
Conditions of the Exchange Offer." The Company will give oral (promptly
confirmed in writing) or written notice of any amendment, termination or
nonacceptance to you as promptly as practicable.
In carrying out your duties as Exchange Agent, you are to act in accordance
with the following instructions:
1. You will perform such duties and only such duties as are specifically
set forth in the section of the Prospectus captioned "The Exchange Offer" or as
specifically set forth herein; provided, however, that in no way will your
general duty to act in good faith be discharged by the foregoing.
2. You will establish a book-entry account with respect to the Old
Securities at The Depository Trust Company (the "Book-Entry Transfer Facility")
for purposes of the Exchange Offer within two business days after the date of
the Prospectus, and any financial institution that is a participant in the
Book-Entry Transfer Facility's systems may make book-entry delivery of the Old
Securities by causing the Book-Entry Transfer Facility to transfer such Old
Securities into your account in accordance with the Book-Entry Transfer
Facility's procedure for such transfer.
3. You are to examine each of the Letters of Transmittal and certificates
for Old Securities (or confirmation of book-entry transfer into your account at
the Book-Entry Transfer Facility) and any other documents delivered or mailed to
you by or for holders of the Old Securities to ascertain whether: (i) the
Letters of Transmittal and any such other documents are duly executed and
properly completed in accordance with instructions set forth therein; and (ii)
the Old Securities have otherwise been properly tendered. In each case where the
Letter of Transmittal or any other document has been improperly completed or
executed or any of the certificates for Old Securities are not in proper form
for transfer or some other irregularity in connection with the acceptance of the
Exchange Offer exists, you will endeavor to inform the presenters of the need
for fulfillment of all requirements and to take any other action as may be
reasonably necessary or advisable to cause such irregularity to be corrected.
4. With the approval of the President, any Senior Vice President, any
Executive Vice President, or any Vice President of the Company (such approval,
if given orally, to be promptly confirmed in writing) or any other party
designated in writing, by such an officer, you are authorized to waive any
irregularities in connection with any tender of Old Securities pursuant to the
Exchange Offer.
5. Tenders of Old Securities may be made only as set forth in the Letter of
Transmittal and in the section of the Prospectus captioned "The Exchange Offer
- -- Procedures for Tendering", and Old Securities shall be considered properly
tendered to you only when tendered in accordance with the procedures set forth
therein.
-2-
3
Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 5, Old Securities which the
President, any Senior Vice President, any Executive Vice President, or any Vice
President of the Company shall approve as having been properly tendered shall be
considered to be properly tendered (such approval, if given orally, shall be
promptly confirmed in writing).
6. You shall advise the Company with respect to any Old Securities received
subsequent to the Expiration Date and accept its instructions with respect to
disposition of such Old Securities.
7. You shall accept tenders:
(a) in cases where the Old Securities are registered in two or more
names only if signed by all named holders;
(b) in cases where the signing person (as indicated on the Letter of
Transmittal) is acting in a fiduciary or a representative capacity only when
proper evidence of his or her authority so to act is submitted; and
(c) from persons other than the registered holder of Old Securities,
provided that customary transfer requirements, including payment of any
applicable transfer taxes, are fulfilled.
You shall accept partial tenders of Old Securities where so indicated and
as permitted in the Letter of Transmittal and retain certificates for Old
Securities for split-up and return any untendered Old Securities to the holder
(or such other person as may be designated in the Letter of Transmittal) as
promptly as practicable after expiration or termination of the Exchange Offer.
8. Upon satisfaction or waiver of all of the conditions to the Exchange
Offer, the Company will notify you (such notice, if given orally, to be promptly
confirmed in writing) of its acceptance, promptly after the Expiration Date, of
all Old Securities properly tendered and you, on behalf of the Company, will
exchange such Old Securities for New Securities and cause such Old Securities to
be cancelled. Delivery of New Securities will be made on behalf of the Company
by you at the rate of $1,000 principal amount of New Securities for each $1,000
principal amount of the corresponding series of Old Securities tendered promptly
after notice (such notice if given orally, to be promptly confirmed in writing)
of acceptance of said Old Securities by the Company; provided, however, that in
all cases, Old Securities tendered pursuant to the Exchange Offer will be
exchanged only after timely receipt by you of certificates for such Old
Securities (or confirmation of book-entry transfer into your account at the
Book-Entry Transfer Facility), a properly completed and duly executed Letter of
Transmittal (or manually signed facsimile thereof) with any required signature
guarantees and any other required documents. You shall issue New Securities only
in denominations of $1,000 or any integral multiple thereof.
-3-
4
9. Tenders pursuant to the Exchange Offer are irrevocable, except that,
subject to the terms and upon the conditions set forth in the Prospectus and the
Letter of Transmittal, Old Securities tendered pursuant to the Exchange Offer
may be withdrawn at any time prior to the Expiration Date.
10. The Company shall not be required to exchange any Old Securities
tendered if any of the conditions set forth in the Exchange Offer are not met.
Notice of any decision by the Company not to exchange any Old Securities
tendered shall be given (if given orally, to be promptly confirmed in writing)
by the Company to you.
11. If, pursuant to the Exchange Offer, the Company does not accept for
exchange all or part of the Old Securities tendered because of an invalid
tender, the occurrence of certain other events set forth in the Prospectus under
the caption "The Exchange Offer -- Conditions of the Exchange Offer" or
otherwise, you shall as soon as practicable after the expiration or termination
of the Exchange Offer return those certificates for unaccepted Old Securities
(or effect appropriate book-entry transfer), together with any related required
documents and the Letters of Transmittal relating thereto that are in your
possession, to the persons who deposited them.
12. All certificates for reissued Old Securities, unaccepted Old Securities
or for New Securities shall be forwarded by first-class mail.
13. You are not authorized to pay or offer to pay any concessions,
commissions or solicitation fees to any broker, dealer, bank or other persons or
to engage or utilize any person to solicit tenders.
14. As Exchange Agent hereunder you:
(a) shall not be liable for any action or omission to act unless the
same constitutes your own gross negligence, willful misconduct or bad faith, and
in no event shall you be liable to a securityholder, the Company or any third
party for special, indirect or consequential damages, or lost profits, arising
in connection with this Agreement.
(b) shall have no duties or obligations other than those specifically
set forth herein or as may be subsequently agreed to in writing between you and
the Company;
(c) will be regarded as making no representations and having no
responsibilities as to the validity, sufficiency, value or genuineness of any of
the certificates or the Old Securities represented thereby deposited with you
pursuant to the Exchange Offer, and will not be required to and will make no
representation as to the validity, value or genuineness of the Exchange Offer;
-4-
5
(d) shall not be obligated to take any legal action hereunder which
might in your judgment involve any expense or liability, unless you shall have
been furnished with indemnity satisfactory to you;
(e) may conclusively rely on and shall be protected in acting in
reliance upon any certificate, instrument, opinion, notice, letter, telegram or
other document or security delivered to you and believed by you to be genuine
and to have been signed or presented by the proper person or persons;
(f) may act upon any tender, statement, request, document, agreement,
certificate or other instrument whatsoever not only as to its due execution and
validity and effectiveness of its provisions, but also as to the truth and
accuracy of any information contained therein, which you shall in good faith
believe to be genuine or to have been signed or presented by the proper person
or persons;
(g) may conclusively rely on and shall be protected in acting upon
written or oral instructions from any authorized officer of the Company;
(h) may consult with counsel of your selection with respect to any
questions relating to your duties and responsibilities and the advice or opinion
of such counsel shall be full and complete authorization and protection in
respect of any action taken, suffered or omitted to be taken by you hereunder in
good faith and in accordance with the advice or opinion of such counsel; and
(i) shall not advise any person tendering Old Securities pursuant to
the Exchange Offer as to the wisdom of making such tender or as to the market
value or decline or appreciation in market value of any Old Securities.
15. You shall take such action as may from time to time be requested by the
Company (and such other action as you may deem appropriate) to furnish copies of
the Prospectus, Letter of Transmittal and the Notice of Guaranteed Delivery (as
defined in the Prospectus) or such other forms as may be approved from time to
time by the Company, to all persons requesting such documents and to accept and
comply with telephone requests for information relating to the Exchange Offer,
provided that such information shall relate only to the procedures for accepting
(or withdrawing from) the Exchange Offer. The Company will furnish you with
copies of such documents on your request. All other requests for information
relating to the Exchange Offer shall be directed to the Company, Attention:
Corporate Secretary.
16. You shall advise by facsimile transmission the Corporate Secretary of
the Company (at the facsimile number (501) 201-4801), and such other person or
persons as the Company may request, daily (and more frequently during the week
immediately preceding the Expiration Date if requested) up to and including the
Expiration Date, as to the number of Old Securities which have been tendered
pursuant to the Exchange Offer and the items received by you pursuant to this
Agreement, separately
-5-
6
reporting and giving cumulative totals as to items properly received and items
improperly received. In addition, you will also inform, and cooperate in making
available to, the Company or any such other person or persons upon oral request
made from time to time prior to the Expiration Date of such other information as
they may reasonably request. Such cooperation shall include, without limitation,
the granting by you to the Company and such person as the Company may request of
access to those persons on your staff who are responsible for receiving tenders,
in order to ensure that immediately prior to the Expiration Date the Company
shall have received information in sufficient detail to enable it to decide
whether to extend the Exchange Offer. You shall prepare a final list of all
persons whose tenders were accepted, the aggregate principal amount of Old
Securities tendered, the aggregate principal amount of Old Securities accepted
and deliver said list to the Company.
17. Letters of Transmittal and Notices of Guaranteed Delivery shall be
stamped by you as to the date and, after the expiration of the Exchange Offer,
the time, of receipt thereof and shall be preserved by you for a period of time
at least equal to the period of time you preserve other records pertaining to
the transfer of securities. You shall dispose of unused Letters of Transmittal
and other surplus materials by returning them to the Company.
18. For services rendered as Exchange Agent hereunder, you shall be
entitled to such compensation as set forth on Schedule I attached hereto. The
provisions of this section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
19. You hereby acknowledge receipt of the Prospectus and the Letter of
Transmittal. Any inconsistency between this Agreement, on the one hand, and the
Prospectus and the Letter of Transmittal (as they may be amended from time to
time), on the other hand, shall be resolved in favor of the latter two
documents, except with respect to your duties, liabilities and indemnification
as Exchange Agent.
20. The Company covenants and agrees to fully indemnify and hold you
harmless against any and all loss, liability, cost or expense, including
attorneys' fees and expenses, incurred without gross negligence or willful
misconduct on your part, arising out of or in connection with any act, omission,
delay or refusal made by you in reliance upon any signature, endorsement,
assignment, certificate, order, request, notice, instruction or other instrument
or document believed by you to be valid, genuine and sufficient and in accepting
any tender or effecting any transfer of Old Securities believed by you in good
faith to be authorized, and in delaying or refusing in good faith to accept any
tenders or effect any transfer of Old Securities. In each case, the Company
shall be notified by you, by letter or facsimile transmission, of the written
assertion of a claim against you or of any other action commenced against you,
promptly after you shall have received any such written assertion or shall have
been served with a summons in connection therewith. The Company shall be
entitled to participate at its own expense in the defense of any such claim or
other action and, if the Company so elects, the Company
-6-
7
shall assume the defense of any suit brought to enforce any such claim. In the
event that the Company shall assume the defense of any such suit, the Company
shall not be liable for the fees and expenses of any additional counsel
thereafter retained by you, so long as the Company shall retain counsel
satisfactory to you to defend such suit, and so long as you have not determined,
in your reasonable judgment, that a conflict of interest exists between you and
the Company. The provisions of this section shall survive the termination of
this Agreement.
21. You shall arrange to comply with all requirements under the tax laws of
the United States, including those relating to missing Tax Identification
Numbers, and shall file any appropriate reports with the Internal Revenue
Service.
22. You shall deliver or cause to be delivered, in a timely manner to each
governmental authority to which any transfer taxes are payable in respect of the
exchange of Old Securities, the Company's check in the amount of all transfer
taxes so payable; provided, however, that you shall reimburse the Company for
amounts refunded to you in respect of your payment of any such transfer taxes,
at such time as such refund is received by you.
23. This Agreement and your appointment as Exchange Agent hereunder shall
be construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of New York
applicable to agreements made and to be performed entirely within such state,
and without regard to conflicts of law principles, and shall inure to the
benefit of, and the obligations created hereby shall be binding upon, the
successors and assigns of each of the parties hereto.
24. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of
which shall be deemed to be an original and all of which together shall
constitute one and the same agreement.
25. In case any provision of this Agreement shall be invalid, illegal or
unenforceable, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining
provisions shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby.
26. This Agreement shall not be deemed or construed to be modified,
amended, rescinded, cancelled or waived, in whole or in part, except by a
written instrument signed by a duly authorized representative of the party to be
charged. This Agreement may not be modified orally.
27. Unless otherwise provided herein, all notices, requests and other
communications to any party hereunder shall be in writing (including facsimile
or similar writing) and shall be given to such party, addressed to it, at its
address or telecopy number set forth below:
-7-
8
If to the Company:
Beverly Enterprises, Inc.
One Thousand Beverly Way
Fort Smith, Arkansas 72919
Facsimile: (501) 201-4801
Attention: Corporate Secretary
If to the Exchange Agent:
The Bank of New York
101 Barclay Street
Floor 21 West
New York, New York 10286
Facsimile: (212) 815-5915
Attention: Corporate Trust Trustee
Administration
28. Unless terminated earlier by the parties hereto, this Agreement shall
terminate 90 days following the Expiration Date. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
Sections 18 and 20 shall survive the termination of this Agreement. Upon any
termination of this Agreement, you shall promptly deliver to the Company any
certificates for Securities, funds or property then held by you as Exchange
Agent under this Agreement.
29. This Agreement shall be binding and effective as of the date hereof.
-8-
9
Please acknowledge receipt of this Agreement and confirm the arrangements
herein provided by signing and returning the enclosed copy.
BEVERLY ENTERPRISES, INC.
By: /s/ Douglas J. Babb
------------------------------------
Name: Douglas J. Babb
Title: Executive Vice President -
Law and Government Relations
and Secretary
Accepted as of the date
first above written:
THE BANK OF NEW YORK, as Exchange Agent
By: /s/ Robert Massimillo
---------------------------------
Name: Robert Massimillo
Title: Assistant Vice President
-9-
10
SCHEDULE I
COMPENSATION OF EXCHANGE AGENT:
$5,000 PLUS $500 PER EXTENSION OF OFFER
PLUS OUT-OF POCKET EXPENSES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT
LIMITATION, LEGAL FEES AND EXPENSES.