EX-1.1
Published on November 12, 2010
Exhibit 1.1
EXECUTION VERSION
EXECUTION VERSION
Becton, Dickinson and Company
Debt Securities
Underwriting Agreement
November 8, 2010
Goldman, Sachs & Co.,
Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated,
As Representatives of the several Underwriters
named in Schedule I hereto,
c/o Goldman, Sachs & Co.,
200 West Street,
New York, New York 10282-2198.
Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated,
As Representatives of the several Underwriters
named in Schedule I hereto,
c/o Goldman, Sachs & Co.,
200 West Street,
New York, New York 10282-2198.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Becton, Dickinson and Company, a New Jersey corporation (the Company), proposes, subject to
the terms and conditions stated herein, to issue and sell to the Underwriters named in Schedule I
hereto (the Underwriters) an aggregate of $700,000,000 principal amount of the 3.25% Notes due
November 12, 2020 (the 2020 Securities) and $300,000,000 principal amount of the 5.00% Notes due
November 12, 2040 (the 2040 Securities) of the Company, specified above (collectively, the
Securities).
1.
The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, each of the
Underwriters that:
(a) An automatic shelf registration statement as defined under Rule 405 under the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Act) on Form S-3 (File No. 333-159102) in respect of
the Securities has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) not
earlier than three years prior to the date hereof; such registration statement, and any
post-effective amendment thereto, became effective on filing; and no stop order suspending the
effectiveness of such registration statement or any part thereof has been issued and no
proceeding for that purpose has been initiated or, to the Companys knowledge, threatened by the
Commission, and no notice of objection of the Commission to the use of such registration
statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Act has
been received by the Company (the base prospectus filed as part of such
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registration statement, in the form in which it has most recently been filed with the
Commission on or prior to the date of this Agreement, is hereinafter called the Basic
Prospectus; any preliminary prospectus (including any preliminary prospectus supplement)
relating to the Securities filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act is
hereinafter called a Preliminary Prospectus; the various parts of such registration statement,
including all exhibits thereto but excluding Form T-1 and including any prospectus supplement
relating to the Securities that is filed with the Commission and deemed by virtue of Rule 430B to
be part of such registration statement, each as amended at the time such part of the registration
statement became effective, are hereinafter collectively called the Registration Statement; the
Basic Prospectus, as amended and supplemented immediately prior to the Applicable Time (as
defined in Section 1(c) hereof), is hereinafter called the Pricing Prospectus; the form of the
final prospectus relating to the Securities filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b)
under the Act in accordance with Section 5(a) hereof is hereinafter called the Prospectus; any
reference herein to the Basic Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or
the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference
therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 under the Act, as of the date of such prospectus; any
reference to any amendment or supplement to the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or
the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include any post-effective amendment to the
Registration Statement, any prospectus supplement relating to the Securities filed with the
Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act and any documents filed under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act), and incorporated therein, in each case
after the date of the Basic Prospectus, such Preliminary Prospectus, or the Prospectus, as the
case may be; any reference to any amendment to the Registration Statement shall be deemed to
refer to and include any annual report of the Company filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of
the Exchange Act after the effective date of the Registration Statement that is incorporated by
reference in the Registration Statement; and any issuer free writing prospectus as defined in
Rule 433 under the Act relating to the Securities is hereinafter called an Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus);
(b) No order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or any Issuer
Free Writing Prospectus has been issued by the Commission, and each Preliminary Prospectus, at
the time of filing thereof, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and
the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended (the Trust Indenture Act), and the rules and
regulations of the Commission thereunder, and did not contain an untrue statement of a material
fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the
statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;
provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any
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statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in
writing to the Company by an Underwriter expressly for use therein;
(c) For the purposes of this Agreement, the Applicable Time is 2:40 pm (Eastern time)
on the date of this Agreement; the Pricing Prospectus as supplemented by the final term sheets
prepared and filed pursuant to Section 5(a) hereof, taken together (collectively, the Pricing
Disclosure Package) as of the Applicable Time, did not include any untrue statement of a
material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements
therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and each
Issuer Free Writing Prospectus listed on Schedule II(a) hereto does not conflict with the
information contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus and
each such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as supplemented by and taken together with the Pricing
Disclosure Package as of the Applicable Time, did not include any untrue statement of a material
fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the
light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that
this representation and warranty shall not apply to statements or omissions made in an Issuer
Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing
to the Company by an Underwriter expressly for use therein;
(d) The documents incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus,
when they became effective or were filed with the Commission, as the case may be, conformed in
all material respects to the requirements of the Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and the
rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and none of such documents contained an
untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated
therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; any further documents so
filed and incorporated by reference in the Prospectus or any further amendment or supplement
thereto, when such documents become effective or are filed with the Commission, as the case may
be, will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Act or the Exchange Act, as
applicable, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and will not contain an
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated
therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; provided, however, that this
representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon
and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter
expressly for use therein; and no such documents were filed with the Commission since the
Commissions close of business on the business day immediately prior to the date of this
Agreement and prior to the execution of this Agreement, except as set forth on Schedule II(b)
hereto;
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(e) The Registration Statement conforms, and the Prospectus and any further amendments or
supplements to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus will conform, in all material
respects to the requirements of the Act and the Trust Indenture Act and the rules and regulations
of the Commission thereunder and do not and will not, as of the applicable effective date as to
each part of the Registration Statement and as of the applicable filing date as to the Prospectus
and any amendment or supplement thereto, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit
to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements
therein not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply
to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished
in writing to the Company by an Underwriter expressly for use therein;
(f) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has sustained since the date of the
latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Pricing
Prospectus any loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other
calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental
action, order or decree, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus,
which event is material to the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole; and, since the
respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement and the Pricing
Prospectus, there has not been any change in the capital stock (other than the repurchase of
shares pursuant to Rule 10b-18 of the Exchange Act and the issuance of shares under the Companys
employee benefit or stock purchase plans or upon conversion of outstanding convertible debt of
the Company) or long term obligations of the Company and its subsidiaries which are material
taken as a whole or any material adverse change, or any development involving a prospective
material adverse change, in or affecting the general affairs, management, financial position,
stockholders equity or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a
whole, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus;
(g) The Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good
standing under the laws of the State of New Jersey, with power and authority (corporate and
other) to own its properties and conduct its business as described in the Pricing Prospectus, and
is duly qualified as a foreign corporation for the transaction of business and is in good
standing under the laws of each other jurisdiction in which it owns or leases properties, or
conducts any business, so as to require such qualification; and each subsidiary of the Company
has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the
laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation and is duly qualified as a foreign corporation for the
transaction of business and in good standing under the laws of each other jurisdiction in
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which it owns or leases properties, or conducts any business, so as to require such
qualification, except in those instances with respect to the Company and its subsidiaries where
failure to be so qualified would not have a material adverse effect on the business or financial
condition of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole;
(h) The Company has an authorized capitalization as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus
and all of the issued shares of capital stock of the Company have been duly and validly
authorized and issued and are fully paid and non-assessable and all of the issued shares of
capital stock of each subsidiary of the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued,
are fully paid and non-assessable and (except for directors qualifying shares and minority
interests reflected in the Companys consolidated financial statements included or incorporated
in the Prospectus) are owned directly or indirectly by the Company, free and clear of all liens,
encumbrances, equities or claims;
(i) The Securities have been duly authorized and, when issued and delivered pursuant to this
Agreement, will have been duly executed, authenticated, issued and delivered and will constitute
valid and legally binding obligations of the Company entitled to the benefits provided by the
indenture dated as of March 1, 1997 (the Indenture) between the Company and The Bank of New
York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. (as successor to JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.) as Trustee (the
Trustee), under which they are to be issued, which is substantially in the form filed as an
exhibit to the Registration Statement or such other form as shall have previously been agreed to
by you; the Indenture has been duly authorized and duly qualified under the Trust Indenture Act
and constitutes a valid and legally binding instrument, enforceable in accordance with its terms,
subject, as to enforcement, to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization and other laws of general
applicability relating to or affecting creditors rights and to general equity principles; and
the Securities and the Indenture will conform to the descriptions thereof in the Pricing
Disclosure Package and the Prospectus;
(j) The issue and sale of the Securities and the compliance by the Company with all of the
provisions of the Securities, the Indenture and this Agreement and the consummation of the
transactions herein and therein contemplated will not conflict with or result in a breach or
violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, any indenture,
mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or
any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is bound or
to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject, nor
will such action result in any violation of the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation,
as amended, or Bylaws of the Company or any statute or any order, rule or regulation of any
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court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its
subsidiaries or any of their respective properties; and no consent, approval, authorization, order,
registration or qualification of or with any such court or governmental agency or body is required
for the issue and sale of the Securities or the consummation by the Company of the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement or the Indenture except such as have been obtained under the Act and
the Trust Indenture Act and such consents, approvals, authorizations, registrations or
qualifications as may be required under state securities or Blue Sky laws in connection with the
purchase and distribution of the Securities by the Underwriters;
(k) The statements set forth in the Prospectus under the caption Description of Notes
insofar as they purport to constitute a summary of the terms of the Securities, and under the
caption Underwriting, insofar as they purport to describe the provisions of the laws and
documents referred to therein, are accurate, complete and fair;
(l) Other than as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus, there are no legal or governmental
proceedings pending to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or of which any
property of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is the subject which, if determined adversely
to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, would individually or in the aggregate have a material
adverse effect on the consolidated financial position, stockholders equity or results of
operations of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole; and, to the best of the
Companys knowledge, no such proceedings are threatened or contemplated by governmental
authorities or threatened by others;
(m) The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the
Securities and the application of the proceeds thereof, will not be an investment company, as
such term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the Investment Company
Act);
(n) (A) (i) At the time of filing the Registration Statement, (ii) at the time of the most
recent amendment thereto for the purposes of complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Act (whether
such amendment was by post-effective amendment, incorporated report filed pursuant to Section 13
or 15(d) of the Exchange Act or form of prospectus), and (iii) at the time the Company or any
person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this clause only, of Rule 163(c) under the
Act) made any offer relating to the Securities in reliance on the exemption of Rule 163 under the
Act, the Company was a well-known seasoned issuer as defined in Rule 405 under the Act; and (B)
at the earliest time after the filing of the Registration Statement that the Company or another
offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2)
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under the Act) of the Securities, the Company was not an ineligible issuer as defined in
Rule 405 under the Act;
(o) Ernst & Young LLP, who have certified certain financial statements of the Company
and its subsidiaries and have audited the Companys internal control over financial reporting,
are independent public accountants as required by the Act and the rules and regulations of the
Commission thereunder;
(p) The Company maintains a system of internal control over financial reporting (as such
term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that complies with the requirements of
the Exchange Act and has been designed by the Companys principal executive officer and principal
financial officer, or under their supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the
reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external
purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The Company believes its
internal control over financial reporting is effective and the Company is not aware of any
material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting;
(q) Since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by
reference in the Pricing Prospectus, there has been no change in the Companys internal control
over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially
affect, the Companys internal control over financial reporting;
(r) The Company maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in
Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act) that comply with the requirements of the Exchange Act;
such disclosure controls and procedures have been designed to ensure that material information
relating to the Company and its subsidiaries is made known to the Companys principal executive
officer and principal financial officer by others within those entities; and such disclosure
controls and procedures are effective;
(s) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries or affiliates, nor, to the Companys
knowledge, any director, officer, employee, agent or representative of the Company or of any of
its subsidiaries or affiliates, has taken or will take any action on behalf of the Company in
furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay, or authorization or approval of the payment or
giving of money, property, gifts or anything else of value, directly or indirectly, to any
government official (including any officer or employee of a government or government-owned or
controlled entity or of a public international organization, or any person acting in an official
capacity for or on behalf of any of the foregoing, or any political party or party official or
candidate for political office) to influence official action or secure an improper advantage in
favor of the Company; and the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates have conducted
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their businesses in compliance with applicable anti-corruption laws and have instituted and
maintain and will continue to maintain policies and procedures designed to promote and achieve
compliance with such laws and with the representation and warranty contained herein, except in
each case, as would not be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company and its
subsidiaries taken as a whole;
(t) To the Companys knowledge, the operations of the Company and its subsidiaries
are and have been conducted at all times in material compliance with all applicable financial
recordkeeping and reporting requirements, including those of the Bank Secrecy Act, as amended by
Title III of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to
Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), and the applicable anti-money
laundering statutes of jurisdictions where the Company and its subsidiaries conduct business, the
rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines,
issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the Anti-Money
Laundering Laws), and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental
agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with
respect to the Anti-Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the best knowledge of the Company,
threatened; and
(u) (i) The Company represents that neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries
(collectively, the Entity) or, to the knowledge of the Entity, any director or officer of the
Entity, is an individual or entity (Person) that is, or is owned or controlled by a Person that
is:
(A) the subject of any sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. Department of
Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) (collectively, Sanctions), nor
(B) located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject of
Sanctions (including, without limitation, Burma/Myanmar, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and
Syria);
(ii) The Entity represents and covenants that, except pursuant to appropriate government
authorization or as exempted from such regulation, it will not, directly or indirectly, use the
proceeds of the offering, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any
subsidiary, joint venture partner or other Person:
(A) to fund or facilitate any activities or business of or with any Person or in any
country or territory that, at the time of such funding or facilitation, is the subject of
Sanctions; or
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(B) in any other manner that will result in a violation of Sanctions by any Person
(including any Person participating in the offering, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or
otherwise);
(iii) The Entity represents and covenants that, except pursuant to appropriate government
authorization or as exempted from such regulation, for the past three (3) years, it has not
knowingly engaged in, is not now knowingly engaged in, and will not engage in, any dealings or
transactions with any Person, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or
transaction is or was the subject of Sanctions.
2. Subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company agrees to
issue and sell to each of the Underwriters, and each of the Underwriters agrees, severally and not
jointly, to purchase from the Company, at a purchase price of 99.299% of the principal amount
thereof for the 2020 Securities and 98.724% of the principal amount thereof for the 2040
Securities, plus accrued interest, if any, from November 12, 2010 to the Time of Delivery (as
defined below) hereunder, the principal amount of Securities set forth opposite the name of such
Underwriter in Schedule I hereto.
3. Upon the authorization by you of the release of the Securities, the several
Underwriters propose to offer the Securities for sale upon the terms and conditions set forth in
the Prospectus.
4. (a) The Securities to be purchased by each Underwriter hereunder will be
represented by one or more definitive global Securities in book-entry form which will be deposited
by or on behalf of the Company with The Depository Trust Company (DTC) or its designated
custodian. The Company will deliver the Securities to the Representatives, for the account of
each Underwriter, against payment by or on behalf of such Underwriter of the purchase price
therefor by wire transfer of Federal (same-day) funds to the account specified by the Company to
the Representatives at least forty-eight hours in advance, by causing DTC to credit the Securities
to the account of the Representatives at DTC. The Company will cause the certificates
representing the Securities to be made available to the Representatives for checking at least
twenty-four hours prior to the Time of Delivery (as defined below) at the office of DTC or its
designated custodian (the Designated Office). The time and date of such delivery and payment
shall be 9:30 a.m., New York City time, on November 12, 2010 or such other time and date as the
Representatives and the Company may agree upon in writing. Such time and date are herein called
the Time of Delivery.
(b) The documents to be delivered at the Time of Delivery by or on behalf of the
parties hereto pursuant to Section 8 hereof, including the cross-receipt for the Securities and any
additional documents requested by the
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Underwriter pursuant to Section 8(h) hereof, will be delivered at the offices of Sullivan &
Cromwell LLP, 125 Broad Street, New York, New York 10004 (the Closing Location), and the
Securities will be delivered at the Designated Office, all at the Time of Delivery. A meeting will
be held at the Closing Location at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the New York Business Day next
preceding the Time of Delivery, at which meeting the final drafts of the documents to be delivered
pursuant to the preceding sentence will be available for review by the parties hereto. For the
purposes of this Section 4, New York Business Day shall mean each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday and Friday which is not a day on which banking institutions in New York City are generally
authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close.
5. The Company agrees with each of the Underwriters:
(a) To prepare the Prospectus in a form approved by you and to file such Prospectus
pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act not later than the Commissions close of business on the
second business day following the date of this Agreement; to make no further amendment or any
supplement to the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus or the Prospectus prior to the Time
of Delivery which shall be disapproved by you promptly after reasonable notice thereof; to advise
you, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the time when any amendment to the Registration
Statement has been filed or becomes effective or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus has
been filed and to furnish you with copies thereof; to prepare final term sheets, containing solely
a description of the Securities, in a form approved by you and to file such term sheets pursuant to
Rule 433(d) under the Act within the time required by such Rule; to file promptly all other
material required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the
Act; to file promptly all reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be
filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the
Exchange Act subsequent to the date of the Prospectus and for so long as the delivery of a
prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is required in
connection with the offering or sale of the Securities; to advise you, promptly after it receives
notice thereof, of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order or of any order preventing or
suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or other prospectus in respect of the Securities,
of any notice of objection of the Commission to the use of the Registration Statement or any
post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Act, of the suspension of the
qualification of the Securities for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, of the initiation or
threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose, or of any request by the Commission for the
amending or supplementing of the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or for additional
information; and, in the event of the issuance of any stop order or of any order preventing or
suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or other prospectus or suspending any such
qualification, to promptly use its best
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efforts to obtain the withdrawal of such order; and in the event of any such issuance of a
notice of objection, promptly to take such steps including, without limitation, amending the
Registration Statement or filing a new registration statement, at its own expense, as may be
necessary to permit offers and sales of the Securities by the Underwriters (references herein to
the Registration Statement shall include any such amendment or new registration statement);
(b) If required by Rule 430B(h) under the Act, to prepare a form of prospectus in a
form approved by you and to file such form of prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act not
later than may be required by Rule 424(b) under the Act; and to make no further amendment or
supplement to such form of prospectus which shall be disapproved by you promptly after reasonable
notice therereof;
(c) If by the third anniversary (the Renewal Deadline) of the initial effective
date of the Registration Statement, any of the Securities remain unsold by the Underwriters, the
Company will file, if it has not already done so and is eligible to do so, a new automatic shelf
registration statement relating to the Securities, in a form satisfactory to you. If at the
Renewal Deadline the Company is no longer eligible to file an automatic shelf registration
statement, the Company will, if it has not already done so, file a new shelf registration statement
relating to the Securities, in a form satisfactory to you and will use its best efforts to cause
such registration statement to be declared effective within 180 days after the Renewal Deadline.
The Company will take all other action necessary or appropriate to permit the public offering and
sale of the Securities to continue as contemplated in the expired registration statement relating
to the Securities. References herein to the Registration Statement shall include such new
automatic shelf registration statement or such new shelf registration statement, as the case may
be;
(d) Promptly from time to time to take such action as you may reasonably request to
qualify the Securities for offering and sale under the securities laws of such jurisdictions as you
may request and to comply with such laws so as to permit the continuance of sales and dealings
therein in such jurisdictions for as long as may be necessary to complete the distribution of the
Securities, provided that in connection therewith the Company shall not be required to qualify as a
foreign corporation or to file a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction;
(e) To furnish the Underwriters with written and electronic copies of the Prospectus
in such quantities as you may from time to time reasonably request, and, if the delivery of a
prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is required at
any time prior to the expiration of nine months after the time of issue of the Prospectus in
connection with the offering or sale of the Securities and if at such time any event shall have
occurred as a
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result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the
statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made when such
Prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is delivered,
not misleading, or, if for any other reason it shall be necessary during such same period to amend
or supplement the Prospectus or to file under the Exchange Act any document incorporated by
reference in the Prospectus in order to comply with the Act, the Exchange Act or the Trust
Indenture Act, to notify you and upon your request to file such document and to prepare and furnish
without charge to each Underwriter and to any dealer in securities as many written and electronic
copies as you may from time to time reasonably request of an amended Prospectus or a supplement to
the Prospectus which will correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance; and in case
any Underwriter is required to deliver a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in
Rule 173(a) under the Act) in connection with sales of any of the Securities at any time nine
months or more after the time of issue of the Prospectus, upon your request but at the expense of
such Underwriter, to prepare and deliver to such Underwriter as many written and electronic copies
as you may request of an amended or supplemented Prospectus complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the
Act;
(f) To make generally available to its securityholders as soon as practicable, but
in any event not later than sixteen months after the effective date of the Registration Statement
(as defined in Rule 158(c) under the Act), an earnings statement of the Company and its
subsidiaries (which need not be audited) complying with Section 11(a) of the Act and the rules and
regulations of the Commission thereunder (including, at the option of the Company, Rule 158 under
the Act);
(g) During the period beginning from the date hereof and continuing to and including
the later of the Time of Delivery and such earlier time as you may notify the Company, not to
offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, grant any option to purchase, make any short sale or
otherwise dispose, except as provided hereunder, of any debt securities of the Company which mature
more than one year after such Time of Delivery and which are substantially similar to the
Securities;
(h) To pay the required Commission filing fees relating to the Securities within the
time required by Rule 456(b)(1) under the Act without regard to the proviso therein and otherwise
in accordance with Rules 456(b) and 457(r) under the Act; and
(i) To use the net proceeds received by it from the sale of the Securities pursuant
to this Agreement in the manner specified in the Pricing Prospectus under the caption Use of
Proceeds.
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6.
(a) (i) The Company represents and agrees that, other than the final term sheets prepared
and filed pursuant to Section 5(a) hereof, without the prior consent of the Representatives, it has
not made and will not make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute a free
writing prospectus as defined in Rule 405 under the Act;
(ii) each Underwriter represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of the
Company and the Representatives, other than one or more term sheets relating to the Securities
containing customary information and conveyed to purchasers of Securities, it has not made and will
not make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute a free writing prospectus; and
(iii) any
such free writing prospectus the use of which has been consented to by the
Company and the Representatives (other than the final term sheets prepared and filed pursuant to
Section 5(a) hereof) is listed on Schedule II(a) hereto;
(b) The Company has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 under
the Act applicable to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the
Commission or retention where required and legending; and
(c) The Company agrees that if at any time following issuance of an Issuer Free
Writing Prospectus any event occurred or occurs as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus would conflict with the information in the Registration Statement, the Pricing
Prospectus or the Prospectus or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to
state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the
circumstances then prevailing, not misleading, the Company will give prompt notice thereof to the
Representatives and, if requested by the Representatives, will prepare and furnish without charge
to each Underwriter an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or other document which will correct such
conflict, statement or omission; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not
apply to any statements or omissions in an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus made in reliance upon and
in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter expressly for
use therein.
7. The Company covenants and agrees with the several Underwriters that the Company
will pay or cause to be paid the following: (i) the fees, disbursements and expenses of the
Companys counsel and accountants in connection with the registration of the Securities under the
Act and all other expenses in connection with the preparation, printing, and filing of the
Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus and the Prospectus and amendments and
-13-
supplements thereto and the mailing and delivering of copies thereof to the Underwriters and
dealers; (ii) the cost of printing or producing this Agreement, the Indenture, the Blue Sky
Memorandum and any other documents in connection with the offering, purchase, sale and delivery of
the Securities; (iii) all expenses in connection with the qualification of the Securities for
offering and sale under state securities laws as provided in Section 5(d) hereof, including the
reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriter in connection with such
qualification and in connection with the Blue Sky survey; (iv) any fees charged by securities
rating services for rating the Securities; (v) the cost of preparing the Securities; (vi) the fees
and expenses of the Trustee and any agent of the Trustee and the fees and disbursements of counsel
for the Trustee in connection with the Indenture and the Securities; and (vii) all other costs and
expenses incident to the Companys performance of its obligations hereunder which are not
otherwise specifically provided for in this Section. It is understood, however, that, except as
provided in this Section, and Sections 9 and 12 hereof, the Underwriters will pay all of their own
costs and expenses, including the fees of their counsel, transfer taxes on resale of any of the
Securities by them, and any advertising expenses connected with any offers they may make.
8. The obligations of the Underwriters hereunder shall be subject, in their
discretion, to the condition that all representations and warranties and other statements of the
Company herein are, at and as of the Time of Delivery, true and correct, the condition that the
Company shall have performed all of its obligations hereunder theretofore to be performed, and the
following additional conditions:
(a) The Prospectus shall have been filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b)
under the Act within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by the rules and
regulations under the Act and in accordance with Section 5(a) hereof; the final term sheets
contemplated by Section 5(a) hereof, and any other material required to be filed by the Company
pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act, shall have been filed with the Commission within the
applicable time periods prescribed for such filings by Rule 433; no stop order suspending the
effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any part thereof shall have been issued and no
proceeding for that purpose shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission and no notice
of objection of the Commission to the use of the Registration Statement or any post-effective
amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Act shall have been received; no stop order
suspending or preventing the use of the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus shall have
been initiated or threatened by the Commission; and all requests for additional information on the
part of the Commission shall have been complied with to your reasonable satisfaction;
-14-
(b) Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, shall have furnished to
you such opinion or opinions, dated the Time of Delivery, in form and substance satisfactory to
you, with respect to the incorporation of the Company, the validity of the Indenture, the
Securities, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and other related matters as you may
reasonably request, and such counsel shall have received such papers and information as they may
reasonably request to enable them to pass upon such matters;
(c) The General Counsel for the Company and Special Counsel for the Company
satisfactory to the Representatives shall have furnished to you their respective written opinions
(the content of which is set forth in Annex I(a) and Annex I(b) hereto, respectively), dated the
Time of Delivery, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to you;
(d) At the Time of Delivery, Ernst & Young LLP shall have furnished to you a letter
or letters, dated such Time of Delivery, in form and substance satisfactory to you, to the effect
set forth in Annex II hereto;
(e) (i) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries shall have sustained since
the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the
Pricing Prospectus any loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other
calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental
action, order or decree, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus, and
(ii) since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Pricing Prospectus there
shall not have been any change in the capital stock (other than the repurchases of shares pursuant
to Rule 10(b)-18 of the Exchange Act and the issuance of shares under the Companys employee
benefit or stock purchase plans or upon conversion of outstanding convertible debt of the Company)
or long term debt of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any change, or any development
involving a prospective change, in or affecting the general affairs, management, financial
position, stockholders equity or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries,
otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus, the effect of which, in any
such case described in clause (i) or (ii), is in your judgment so material and adverse as to make
it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or the delivery of the
Securities on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Prospectus;
(f) On or after the Applicable Time (i) no downgrading shall have occurred in the
rating accorded the Companys debt securities by any nationally recognized statistical rating
organization, as that term is defined by the Commission for purposes of Rule 436(g)(2) under the
Act, and (ii) no such organization shall have publicly announced that it has under surveillance or
review, with possible negative implications, its rating of any of the Companys debt securities;
-15-
(g) On or after the Applicable Time there shall not have occurred any of the
following: (i) a suspension or material limitation in trading in securities generally on the New
York Stock Exchange; (ii) a suspension or material limitation in trading in the Companys
securities on the New York Stock Exchange; (iii) a general moratorium on commercial banking
activities in New York declared by either Federal or New York State authorities or a material
disruption in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services in the United
States; or (iv) the outbreak or escalation of hostilities involving the United States or the
declaration by the United States of a national emergency or war, if the effect of any such event
specified in this clause (iv) in your judgment makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed
with the public offering or the delivery of the Securities on the terms and in the manner
contemplated by the Prospectus; and
(h) The Company shall have furnished or caused to be furnished to you at the Time of
Delivery certificates of officers of the Company reasonably satisfactory to you as to the accuracy
of the representations and warranties of the Company herein at and as of such time, as to the
performance by the Company of all of its obligations hereunder to be performed at or prior to such
time, as to the matters set forth in subsections (a) and (e) of this Section and as to such other
matters as you may reasonably request.
9. (a) The Company will indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter against any
losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which such Underwriter may become
subject, under the Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or
actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue
statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any
Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement
thereto, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any issuer information filed or required to be
filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or
alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to
make the statements therein not misleading, and will reimburse each Underwriter for any legal or
other expenses reasonably incurred by such Underwriter in connection with investigating or
defending any such action or claim as such expenses are incurred; provided, however, that the
Company shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage or
liability arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or
omission or alleged omission made in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any
Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement
thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, in reliance upon and in conformity with written
information furnished to the Company by any Underwriter expressly for use therein.
-16-
(b) Each Underwriter will indemnify and hold harmless the Company against any
losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which the Company may become subject, under the Act or
otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof)
arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact
contained in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the
Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free
Writing Prospectus, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state
therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein
not misleading, in each case to the extent, but only to the extent, that such untrue statement or
alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in the Registration Statement,
the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus or any
such amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, in reliance upon and
in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by such Underwriter expressly for
use therein; and will reimburse the Company for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by
the Company in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim as such expenses
are incurred.
(c) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under subsection (a) or (b) above
of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party shall, if a claim in respect
thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party under such subsection, notify the indemnifying
party in writing of the commencement thereof; but the omission so to notify the indemnifying party
shall not relieve it from any liability which it may have to any indemnified party otherwise than
under such subsection. In case any such action shall be brought against any indemnified party and
it shall notify the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof, the indemnifying party shall be
entitled to participate therein and, to the extent that it shall wish, jointly with any other
indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense thereof, with counsel satisfactory to
such indemnified party (who shall not, except with the consent of the indemnified party, be counsel
to the indemnifying party) provided that in the event of such assumption the action may not be
compromised or settled by the indemnifying party without the consent of the indemnified party,
which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld. After notice from the indemnifying party to such
indemnified party of its election so to assume the defense thereof, the indemnifying party shall
not be liable to such indemnified party under such subsection for any legal expenses of other
counsel or any other expenses, in each case subsequently incurred by such indemnified party, in
connection with the defense thereof other than reasonable costs of investigation. The indemnifying
party shall not be liable to the indemnified party pursuant to the provisions of this Section 9 in
respect of any action compromised or settled by the indemnified party, unless the written consent
of the indemnifying party shall
-17-
have been obtained to such compromise or settlement (which consent shall not be unreasonably
withheld).
(d) If the indemnification provided for in this Section 9 is unavailable to or
insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under subsection (a) or (b) above in respect of
any losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to therein,
then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified
party as a result of such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) in
such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the
one hand and the Underwriters on the other from the offering of the Securities. If, however, the
allocation provided by the immediately preceding sentence is not permitted by applicable law or if
the indemnified party failed to give the notice required under subsection (c) above, then each
indemnifying party shall contribute to such amount paid or payable by such indemnified party in
such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only such relative benefits but also the relative
fault of the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other in connection with the
statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions
in respect thereof), as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits
received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other shall be deemed to be in
the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the offering (before deducting expenses)
received by the Company bear to the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the
Underwriters, in each case as set forth in the table on the cover page of the Prospectus. The
relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or
alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material
fact relates to information supplied by the Company on the one hand or the Underwriters on the
other and the parties relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct
or prevent such statement or omission. The Company and the Underwriters agree that it would not be
just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this subsection (d) were determined by pro rata
allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other
method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above
in this subsection (d). The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the
losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to above in this
subsection (d) shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such
indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection (d), no Underwriter shall be required to
contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Securities
underwritten by it and distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of
any damages which such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or
alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. No person
-18-
guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Act) shall
be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent
misrepresentation. The Underwriters obligations in this subsection (d) to contribute are several
in proportion to their respective underwriting obligations and not joint.
(e) The obligations of the Company under this Section 9 shall be in addition to any
liability which the Company may otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same terms and
conditions, to each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of the Act and
each broker-dealer affiliate of any Underwriter; and the obligations of the Underwriters under this
Section 9 shall be in addition to any liability which the respective Underwriters may otherwise
have and shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to each officer and director of the
Company and to each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of the Act.
10. (a) If any Underwriter shall default in its obligation to purchase the
Securities which it has agreed to purchase hereunder, you may in your discretion arrange for you
or another party or other parties to purchase such Securities on the terms contained herein. If
within thirty-six hours after such default by any Underwriter you do not arrange for the purchase
of such Securities, then the Company shall be entitled to a further period of thirty-six hours
within which to procure another party or other parties satisfactory to you to purchase such
Securities on such terms. In the event that, within the respective prescribed periods, you notify
the Company that you have so arranged for the purchase of such Securities, or the Company notifies
you that it has so arranged for the purchase of such Securities, you or the Company shall have the
right to postpone the Time of Delivery for a period of not more than seven days, in order to
effect whatever changes may thereby be made necessary in the Registration Statement or the
Prospectus, or in any other documents or arrangements, and the Company agrees to file promptly any
amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus which in your opinion
may thereby be made necessary. The term Underwriter as used in this Agreement shall include any
person substituted under this Section with like effect as if such person had originally been a
party to this Agreement with respect to such Securities.
(b) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Securities
of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by you and the Company as provided in subsection (a)
above, the aggregate principal amount of such Securities which remains unpurchased does not exceed
one eleventh of the aggregate principal amount of all the Securities, then the Company shall have
the right to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase the principal amount of Securities
which such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder and, in addition, to require each
non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase its pro rata
-19-
share (based on the principal amount of Securities which such Underwriter agreed to purchase
hereunder) of the Securities of such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters for which such
arrangements have not been made; but nothing herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter from
liability for its default.
(c) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Securities
of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by you and the Company as provided in subsection (a)
above, the aggregate principal amount of Securities which remains unpurchased exceeds one eleventh
of the aggregate principal amount of all the Securities, or if the Company shall not exercise the
right described in subsection (b) above to require non-defaulting Underwriters to purchase
Securities of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters, then this Agreement shall thereupon
terminate if so decided by the Company upon notice to the Underwriters pursuant to Section 13
hereunder, without liability on the part of any non-defaulting Underwriter or the Company, except
for the expenses to be borne by the Company and the Underwriters as provided in Section 7 hereof
and the indemnity and contribution agreements in Section 9 hereof; but nothing herein shall relieve
a defaulting Underwriter from liability for its default
11. The respective indemnities, agreements, representations, warranties and other
statements of the Company and the several Underwriters, as set forth in this Agreement or made by
or on behalf of them, respectively, pursuant to this Agreement, shall remain in full force and
effect, regardless of any investigation (or any statement as to the results thereof) made by or on
behalf of any Underwriter or any controlling person of any Underwriter, or the Company, or any
officer or director or controlling person of the Company, and shall survive delivery of and
payment for the Securities.
12. If this Agreement shall be terminated pursuant to Section 10 hereof, the
Company shall not then be under any liability to any Underwriter except as provided in Sections 7
and 9 hereof; but, if for any other reason, the Securities are not delivered by or on behalf of
the Company as provided herein, the Company will reimburse the Underwriters through you for all
out of pocket expenses approved in writing by you, including fees and disbursements of counsel,
reasonably incurred by the Underwriters in making preparations for the purchase, sale and delivery
of the Securities, but the Company shall then be under no further liability to any Underwriter
except as provided in Sections 7 and 9 hereof.
13. In all dealings hereunder, you shall act on behalf of each of the Underwriters,
and the parties hereto shall be entitled to act and rely upon any statement, request, notice or
agreement on behalf of the Underwriters made or given by you as the Representatives.
All statements, requests, notices and agreements hereunder shall be in writing, and if to the
Underwriters shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or
-20-
facsimile transmission to you as the Representatives in care of Goldman, Sachs & Co., 200 West
Street, New York, New York 10282-2198, Attention: Registration Department and Morgan Stanley & Co.
Incorporated, 1858 Broadway, 29th Floor, New York, New York 10036, Attention: Investment Banking
Division (Fax: 212-507-8999); and if to the Company shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or
facsimile transmission to the address of the Company set forth in the Registration Statement,
Attention: Secretary; provided, however, that any notice to an Underwriter pursuant to Section 9(c)
hereof shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to such Underwriter at
its address set forth in its Underwriters Questionnaire, or telex constituting such Questionnaire,
which address will be supplied to the Company by you upon request. Any such statements, requests,
notices or agreements shall take effect upon receipt thereof.
In accordance with the requirements of the USA Patriot Act (Title III of Pub. L. 107-56
(signed into law October 26, 2001)), the underwriters are required to obtain, verify and record
information that identifies their respective clients, including the Company, which information may
include the name and address of their respective clients, as well as other information that will
allow the underwriters to properly identify their respective clients.
14. This Agreement shall be binding upon, and inure solely to the benefit of, the
Underwriters, the Company and, to the extent provided in Sections 9 and 11 hereof, the officers
and directors of the Company and each person who controls the Company or any Underwriter, and
their respective heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns, and no other person
shall acquire or have any right under or by virtue of this Agreement. No purchaser of any of the
Securities from any Underwriter shall be deemed a successor or assign by reason merely of such
purchase.
15. Time shall be of the essence of this Agreement. As used herein, the term
business day shall mean any day when the Commissions office in Washington, D.C. is open for
business.
16. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) the purchase and sale of the
Securities pursuant to this Agreement is an arms-length commercial transaction between the
Company, on the one hand, and the several Underwriters, on the other, (ii) in connection therewith
and with the process leading to such transaction each Underwriter is acting solely as a principal
and not the agent or fiduciary of the Company, (iii) no Underwriter has assumed an advisory or
fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company with respect to the offering contemplated hereby
or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether such Underwriter has advised or is
currently advising the Company on other matters) or any other obligation to the Company except the
obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement and (iv) the Company has consulted its
-21-
own legal and financial advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate. The Company agrees
that it will not claim that the Underwriters, or any of them, has rendered advisory services of
any nature or respect, or owes a fiduciary or similar duty to the Company, in connection with such
transaction or the process leading thereto.
17. This Agreement supersedes all prior agreements and understandings (whether
written or oral) between the Company and the Underwriters, or any of them, with respect to the
subject matter hereof.
18. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws
of the State of New York.
19. The Company and each of the Underwriters hereby irrevocably waives, to the
fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all right to trial by jury in any legal
proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.
20. This Agreement may be executed by any one or more of the parties hereto in any
number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all such respective
counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument.
21. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Company is authorized to
disclose to any persons the U.S. federal and state income tax treatment and tax structure of the
potential transaction and all materials of any kind (including tax opinions and other tax
analyses) provided to the Company relating to that treatment and structure, without the
Underwriters imposing any limitation of any kind. However, any information relating to the tax
treatment and tax structure shall remain confidential (and the foregoing sentence shall not apply)
to the extent necessary to enable any person to comply with securities laws. For this purpose,
tax structure is limited to any facts that may be relevant to that treatment.
-22-
If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding, please sign and return to us four
counterparts hereof, and upon the acceptance hereof by you, on behalf of each of the Underwriters,
this letter and such acceptance hereof shall constitute a binding agreement between each of the
Underwriters and the Company. It is understood that your acceptance of this letter on behalf of
each of the Underwriters is pursuant to the authority set forth in a form of Agreement among
Underwriters, the form of which shall be submitted to the Company for examination upon request, but
without warranty on your part as to the authority of the signers thereof.
Very truly yours, Becton, Dickinson & Company |
||||
By: | /s/ Edward J. Ludwig | |||
Name: | Edward J. Ludwig | |||
Title: | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer |
-23-
Accepted as of the date hereof:
GOLDMAN, SACHS & CO. MORGAN STANLEY & CO. INCORPORATED |
||||
By: | GOLDMAN, SACHS & CO. | |||
/s/ Goldman, Sachs & Co. | ||||
(Goldman, Sachs & Co.) | ||||
MORGAN STANLEY & CO. INCORPORATED |
||||
/s/ Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated | ||||
(Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated) | ||||
-24-
SCHEDULE I
Principal | Principal | |||||||
Amount of | Amount of | |||||||
2020 | 2040 | |||||||
Securities to | Securities to | |||||||
Underwriter | be Purchased | be Purchased | ||||||
Goldman, Sachs & Co. |
$ | 245,000,000 | $ | 105,000,000 | ||||
Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated |
245,000,000 | 105,000,000 | ||||||
Citigroup Global Markets Inc. |
34,300,000 | 14,700,000 | ||||||
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC |
44,100,000 | 18,900,000 | ||||||
Banca IMI S.p.A. |
9,800,000 | 4,200,000 | ||||||
BBVA Securities Inc. |
14,700,000 | 6,300,000 | ||||||
BNP Paribas Securities Corp. |
14,700,000 | 6,300,000 | ||||||
BNY Mellon Capital Markets, LLC |
7,000,000 | 3,000,000 | ||||||
Credit Agricole Securities (USA) Inc. |
7,000,000 | 3,000,000 | ||||||
Mitsubishi UFJ Securities (USA), Inc. |
29,400,000 | 12,600,000 | ||||||
Mizuho Securities USA Inc. |
14,700,000 | 6,300,000 | ||||||
Merrill Lynch, Pierce Fenner & Smith Incorporated |
14,700,000 | 6,300,000 | ||||||
Standard Chartered Bank |
9,800,000 | 4,200,000 | ||||||
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC |
9,800,000 | 4,200,000 | ||||||
Total |
$ | 700,000,000 | $ | 300,000,000 |
-25-
SCHEDULE II
(a) Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses not included in the Pricing Disclosure Package:
Electronic Investor Presentation of Becton, Dickinson and Company,
dated November 8, 2010
(b) Additional Documents Incorporated by Reference:
-26-
ANNEX I(a)
CONTENT OF LETTER TO BE PROVIDED BY JEFFREY S. SHERMAN,
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL COUNSEL FOR
BECTON, DICKINSON AND COMPANY
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL COUNSEL FOR
BECTON, DICKINSON AND COMPANY
1. The Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in
good standing under the laws of the State of New Jersey, with power and authority (corporate and
other) to own its properties and conduct its business as described in the Prospectus;
2. The Company has an authorized capitalization as set forth in the Prospectus;
3. The Company has been duly qualified as a foreign corporation for the transaction of
business and is in good standing under the laws of each other jurisdiction in which it owns or
leases properties or conducts any business so as to require such qualification and where the
failure to so qualify would have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries
taken as a whole (such counsel being entitled to rely in respect of the opinion in this clause
upon opinions of local counsel and in respect of matters of fact upon certificates of officers of
the Company, provided that such counsel shall state that they believe that both you and they are
justified in relying upon such opinions and certificates);
4. Each subsidiary of the Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a
corporation in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation and has been duly
qualified as a foreign corporation for the transaction of business and is in good standing under
the laws of each jurisdiction in which it owns or leases properties, or conducts any business, so
as to require such qualification and where the failure to so qualify would have a material adverse
effect on the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole; and all of the issued shares of
capital stock of each subsidiary (except for directors qualifying shares and minority interests
reflected in the Companys consolidated financial statements included or incorporated in the
Prospectus) are owned directly or indirectly by the Company, free and clear of all liens,
encumbrances, equities or claims, except for such liens, encumbrances, equities or claims that
would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on the Company and its
subsidiaries taken as a whole (such counsel being entitled to rely in respect of the opinion in
this clause upon opinions of local counsel and in respect of matters of fact upon certificates of
officers of the Company or its subsidiaries, provided that such counsel shall state that they
believe that both you and they are justified in relying upon such opinions and certificates);
5. To the best of such counsels knowledge and other than as set forth in the Prospectus,
there are no legal or governmental proceedings pending to which the Company or any of its
subsidiaries is a party or of which any property of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is the
subject which, if determined adversely to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, would
individually or in the aggregate have a material adverse effect on the Company and its
subsidiaries taken as a whole; and, to the best of such
A-I(a)-1
counsels knowledge, no such proceedings are threatened or contemplated by governmental
authorities or threatened by others;
6. The Underwriting Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the
Company;
7. The Securities have been duly authorized, executed, authenticated, issued and delivered;
8. The Indenture has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company;
9. The issue and sale of the Securities and the compliance by the Company with all of the
provisions of the Securities and the Indenture and this Agreement and the consummation of the
transactions herein and therein contemplated will not conflict with or result in a breach or
violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, any indenture,
mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument known to such counsel to
which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its
subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any of its
subsidiaries is subject, nor will such actions result in any violation of the provisions of the
Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, or Bylaws of the Company or any statute or any order,
rule or regulation known to such counsel of any court or governmental agency or body having
jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their properties; and
10. The documents incorporated by reference in the Prospectus or any further amendment or
supplement thereto made by the Company prior to the Time of Delivery (other than the financial
statements and related schedules or other financial data included or incorporated by reference
therein, as to which such counsel need express no opinion), when they became effective or were
filed with the Commission, as the case may be, complied as to form in all material respects with
the requirements of the Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and the rules and regulations of
the Commission thereunder; and such counsel has no reason to believe that any of such documents,
when such documents became effective or were so filed, as the case may be, contained, in the case
of a registration statement which became effective under the Act, an untrue statement of a
material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to
make the statements therein not misleading, or, in the case of other documents which were filed
under the Act or the Exchange Act with the Commission, an untrue statement of a material fact or
omitted to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light
of the circumstances under which they were made when such documents were so filed, not misleading.
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ANNEX I(b)
CONTENT
OF LETTER TO BE PROVIDED BY
SIMPSON, THACHER & BARTLETT LLP, SPECIAL COUNSEL FOR
BECTON, DICKINSON AND COMPANY
SIMPSON, THACHER & BARTLETT LLP, SPECIAL COUNSEL FOR
BECTON, DICKINSON AND COMPANY
1. The Indenture has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and duly
qualified under the Trust Indenture Act and, assuming that the Indenture is the valid and legally
binding obligation of the Trustee, the Indenture constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation
of the Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms.
2. The Notes have been duly authorized, executed and issued by the Company and, assuming due
authentication thereof by the Trustee and upon payment and delivery in accordance with the
Underwriting Agreement, will constitute valid and legally binding obligations of the Company
enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms and entitled to the benefits of the
Indenture.
3. The statements made in each of the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus under the
captions Description of Debt Securities and Description of Notes, insofar as they purport to
constitute summaries of certain terms of documents referred to therein, constitute accurate
summaries of the terms of such documents in all material respects.
4. The Underwriting Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.
5. No consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any
federal or New York governmental agency or body or, to such counsels knowledge, any federal or New
York court is required for the issue and sale of the Notes by the Company, and the compliance by
the Company with all of the provisions of the Underwriting Agreement and the Indenture, except for
the registration under the Securities Act of the Notes, and such consents, approvals,
authorizations, registrations or qualifications as may be required under state securities or Blue
Sky laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Notes by the Underwriters.
6. The Registration Statement became effective under the Securities Act upon filing of the
Registration Statement with the Commission on May 8, 2009 and the Prospectus was filed on November
8, 2020 pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the rules and regulations of the Commission under the Securities
Act and, to such counsels knowledge, no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the
Registration Statement has been issued or proceeding for that purpose has been instituted or
threatened by the Commission.
7. (i) the Registration Statement, as of the date it first became effective under the
Securities Act, and the Prospectus, as of November 8, 2010, appeared, on their face, to be
appropriately responsive, in all material respects, to the requirements of the Securities Act and
the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, except that in each case such
counsel expresses no view with respect to the financial statements or other financial data
contained in, incorporated or deemed
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incorporated by reference in, or omitted from the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or
the Exchange Act Documents; and (ii) nothing has come to such counsels attention that causes such
counsel to believe that (a) the Registration Statement (including the Exchange Act Documents and
the Prospectus deemed to be a part thereof), as of November 8, 2010, contained any untrue statement
of a material fact or omitted to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary
in order to make the statements therein not misleading, (b) the Pricing Disclosure Package
(including the Exchange Act Documents incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference therein), as
of the time of the pricing of the offering of the Notes on November 8, 2010, contained any untrue
statement of a material fact or omitted to state any material fact necessary in order to make the
statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading,
or (c) the Prospectus (including the Exchange Act Documents incorporated or deemed incorporated by
reference therein), as of November 8, 2010 or as of the date hereof, contained or contains any
untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or omits to state any material fact necessary in
order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made,
not misleading , except that such counsel expresses no belief in any of clauses (a), (b) or (c)
above with respect to the financial statements or other financial data contained in, incorporated
or deemed incorporated by reference in, or omitted from the Registration Statement, the Pricing
Disclosure Package, the Prospectus or the Exchange Act Documents.
Insofar as the foregoing opinions relate to or are dependent upon matters governed by the law
of the State of New Jersey, such counsel has relied upon the opinions of Jeffrey S. Sherman and
Gary DeFazio for the Company. Such counsel does not express any opinion herein concerning any law
other than the law of the State of New York and the federal law of the United States and, to the
extent set forth herein, the law of the State of New Jersey. All capitalized terms used herein but
not defined herein shall have the respective meanings ascribed in such counsels opinion letter.
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ANNEX II
DESCRIPTION OF COMFORT LETTER
FOR REGISTRATION STATEMENTS ON FORM S-3
FOR REGISTRATION STATEMENTS ON FORM S-3
Pursuant to Section 8(d) of the Underwriting Agreement, the accountants shall furnish
letters to the Underwriters to the effect that:
In connection with the Registration Statement:
1. | We are an independent registered public accounting firm with respect to the Company within the meaning of the Act and the applicable rules and regulations thereunder adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB). | ||
2. | In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements and financial statement schedule audited by us and included in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K at September 30, 2009 and incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement comply as to form in all material respects with the applicable accounting requirements of the Act and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act) and the related rules and regulations adopted by the SEC. | ||
3. | We have not audited any financial statements of the Company as of any date or for any period subsequent to September 30, 2009. We also have not audited the effectiveness of the Companys internal control over financial reporting as of any date subsequent to September 30, 2009. The purpose (and therefore the scope) of our audit for the year ended September 30, 2009 was to enable us to express our opinion on (i) the consolidated financial statements at September 30, 2009 and for the year then ended, but not on the financial statements for any interim period within such year, and (ii) the effectiveness of the Companys internal control over financial reporting, as of September 30, 2009, but not on the effectiveness of the Companys internal control over financial reporting as of any date or for any period within the year ended September 30, 2009. Therefore, we are unable to express and do not express an opinion on: the unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets at December 31, 2009, March 31, 2010, and June 30, 2010, the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of income for the three-month periods ended December 31, 2009 and 2008, March 31, 2010 and 2009, June 30, 2010 and 2009, the six-month periods ended March 31, 2010 and 2009, and the nine-month periods ended June 30, 2010 and 2009, or the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of cash flows for the three-month periods ended December 31, 2009 and 2008, the six-month periods ended March 31, 2010 and 2009, and the nine-month periods ended June 30, 2010 and 2009, all incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement from the Companys Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended December 31, 2009, March 31, 2010, and June 30, 2010; or on the financial position, results of operations or cash flows as of any date or for any period subsequent to September 30, 2009; or on the effectiveness of the Companys internal control over financial reporting as of any date or for any period within the year ended September 30, 2009 or subsequent to September 30, 2009. |
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4. | For purposes of this letter, we have read the minutes of meetings of the shareholders, the Board of Directors, and the Board of Directors Committees including the Audit Committee, Disclosure Committee, Compensation and Benefits Committee, Corporate and Scientific Affairs Committee, and the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee of the Company and its subsidiaries as set forth in the minute books through November 5, 2010, officials of the Company having advised us that the minutes of all such meetings through that date were set forth therein, and have carried out other procedures to November 5, 2010 as follows (our work did not extend to the period from November 6, 2010 to November 8, 2010 inclusive): |
a. | With respect to the three-month periods ended December 31, 2009 and 2008, the three and six-month periods ended March 31, 2010 and 2009, and the three and nine-month periods ended June 30, 2010 and 2009, we have: |
(1) | performed the procedures specified by the PCAOB for a review of interim financial information as described in AU 722, Interim Financial Information, on the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements for these periods, described in 3. above, included in the Companys quarterly reports on Forms 10-Q for the quarters ended December 31, 2009, March 31, 2010, and June 30, 2010, incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement; and | ||
(2) | inquired of certain officials of the Company who have responsibility for financial and accounting matters as to whether the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements referred to under 4.a.(1) comply as to form in all material respects with the applicable accounting requirements of the Exchange Act as it applies to Form 10-Q and the related rules and regulations adopted by the SEC. |
b. | With respect to period from July 1, 2010 to August 31, 2010, we have: |
(1) | read the unaudited consolidated financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries for July and August of both 2010 and 2009 furnished to us by the Company, officials of the Company having advised us that no such consolidated financial statements as of any date or for any period subsequent to August 31, 2010 were available. The financial statements for July and August of both 2010 and 2009 are incomplete in that they omit the statements of cash flows and other disclosures; and | ||
(2) | inquired of certain officials of the Company who have responsibility for financial and accounting matters as to whether (i) the unaudited consolidated financial statements referred to under 4.b.(1) are stated on a basis substantially consistent with that of the audited consolidated financial statements incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, (ii) at August 31, 2010, there was any change in the capital stock, increase in long-term debt or any decreases in consolidated net current assets or shareholders equity of the Company as compared with amounts shown in the June 30, 2010 unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheet incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, and (iii) for the period from July 1, 2010 to August 31, 2010, there were |
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any decreases, as compared with the corresponding period in the preceding year, in consolidated net sales or in the total or per-share amounts of consolidated income before extraordinary items or of consolidated net income. |
Those officials stated that (i) the unaudited consolidated financial statements referred to in 4.b.(1) are stated on a basis substantially consistent with that of the audited consolidated financial statements incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement including the reclassification related to the divesture of Ophthalmic Systems and certain platforms of the Medical Surgical Systems Unit which occurred in the fourth quarter of 2010 and has been reflected in the period ending July 31, 2010 and August 30, 2010 statements of income and not reflected in the corresponding period, (ii) at August 31, 2010, there was no change in the capital stock, no increase in long-term debt except for the effect of foreign exchange fluctuations, and no decreases in consolidated net current assets or shareholders equity of the Company as compared with amounts shown in the June 30, 2010 unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheet incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, and (iii) there were no decreases for the period from July 1, 2010 to August 31, 2010, as compared with the corresponding period in the preceding year, in consolidated net sales or in the total or per-share amounts of consolidated income before extraordinary items or of consolidated net income. |
The foregoing procedures do not constitute an audit conducted in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Also, they would not necessarily reveal matters of significance with respect to the comments in the following paragraph. Accordingly, we make no representations as to the sufficiency of the foregoing procedures for your purposes. | |||
5. | Nothing came to our attention as a result of the procedures described in 4.a. above that caused us to believe that: |
a. | any material modifications should be made to the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements described in 4.a.(1) above, incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, for them to be in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles; | ||
b. | the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements discussed in 4.a.(1) above do not comply as to form in all material respects with the applicable accounting requirements of the Exchange Act as it applies to Form 10-Q and the related rules and regulations adopted by the SEC. |
6. | As mentioned under 4.b.(1) above, Company officials have advised us that no consolidated financial statements as of any date or for any period subsequent to August 31, 2010 are available; accordingly, the procedures carried out by us with respect to changes in financial statement items after August 31, 2010 have, of necessity, been even more limited than those with respect to the periods referred to |
A-II-3
in 4. above. We have inquired of certain officials of the Company who have responsibility for financial and accounting matters as to whether: (i) at November 5, 2010 there was any change in the capital stock, increase in long-term debt or any decreases in consolidated net current assets or shareholders equity of the Company as compared with the amounts shown on the June 30, 2010 unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheet incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, or (ii) for the period from July 1, 2010 to November 5, 2010, there were any decreases, as compared with the corresponding period in the preceding year, in consolidated net sales or in the total per-share amounts of consolidated income before extraordinary items or of consolidated net income. Those officials stated that at November 5, 2010, there was no change in the capital stock and no increase in long-term debt except for the effect of foreign exchange fluctuations as compared with amounts shown on the June 30, 2010 unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheet. |
Officials of the Company were unable to respond to our inquiries regarding (i) at November 5, 2010 there was any decreases in consolidated net current assets or shareholders equity of the Company as compared with the amounts shown on the June 30, 2010 unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheet incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, or (ii) for the period from July 1, 2010 to November 5, 2010, there were any decreases, as compared with the corresponding period in the preceding year, in consolidated net sales or in the total per-share amounts of consolidated income before extraordinary items or of consolidated net income because no financial statements as of, or for the period ending, November 5, 2010 were available. | |||
7. | At your request, we have also read the items identified by you on the attached copy of certain pages of 1.) the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2009, 2.) the Companys definitive proxy statement on Form 14A filed with the SEC on December 23, 2009, 3.) the Companys quarterly reports on Forms 10-Q for the quarters ended December 31, 2009, March 31, 2010, and June 30, 2010, and 4) the attached pages of the Registration Statement and have performed the following procedures, which were applied as indicated with respect to the capital letters explained below: |
A | Compared the dollar and other amounts either to the amounts in the audited financial statements described in the introductory paragraph of this letter or, for prior years, included in the Companys Annual Reports to shareholders for the years 2006, 2005, 2004, and 2003, or to amounts in the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements described in paragraph 3. above, to the extent such amounts are included or can be derived from such statements and found them to be in agreement prior to the reclassification related to the divesture of Ophthalmic Systems and certain platforms of the Medical Surgical Systems Unit which occurred in the fourth quarter of 2010. | ||
B | Compared the dollar and other amounts not derived directly from audited or unaudited consolidated financial statements to amounts in the Companys accounting records to the extent such amounts could be so compared directly |
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and found them to be in agreement. |
C | Compared the dollar and other amounts not derived directly from audited or unaudited consolidated financial statements, or that could not be compared directly to the Companys accounting records, to amounts in analyses prepared from the Companys accounting records and found them to be in agreement. | ||
D | Proved the arithmetic accuracy of the percentages or amounts based on the data in the above-mentioned audited or unaudited financial statements, accounting records and analyses. |
We make no comment as to the appropriateness or completeness of the Companys determination of the Regulation S-K requirements for quantitative and qualitative disclosures about market risks nor with respect to the reasonableness of the assumptions underlying the disclosures. | |||
We make no comment as to the definition or completeness of sales of safety-engineered devices. | |||
We make no representation as to whether the transaction will take place or the principal amount of debt securities to be sold in the transaction. We make no legal representations as to questions of legal interpretation regarding the completeness or appropriateness of the Companys determination of what constitutes executive compensation for purposes of the SEC disclosure requirements on executive compensation. | |||
With respect to the capsule financial information as of September 30, 2010 and for the quarter ended September 30, 2010 and year ended September 30, 2010 presented under the caption Recent Developments in the Registration Statement, we have not completed an audit of the Companys financial statements as of and for the year ended September 30, 2010 or the procedures specified by the PCAOB for a review of interim financial information as described in AU 722, Interim Financial Information, for the quarter ended September 30, 2010. Accordingly, we do not express an opinion, or any other form of assurance, on either the annual or the interim financial statements as of and for the period ended September 30, 2010. Further, we do not express an opinion, or any other form of assurance, on individual balances of accounts or elements of financial statements such as those enumerated in the capsule financial information referred to above. Until the completion of an audit and issuance of audited financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2010, any amounts related to fiscal periods ending September 30, 2010, such as those enumerated in the capsule financial information referred to above, are subject to change. | |||
8. | Our audits of the consolidated financial statements for the periods referred to in the introductory paragraph of this letter were comprised of audit tests and procedures deemed necessary for the purpose of expressing an opinion on such financial |
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statements taken as a whole. For neither the periods referred to therein nor any other period did we perform audit tests for the purpose of expressing an opinion on individual balances of accounts or summaries of selected transactions such as those enumerated above and, accordingly, we do not express an opinion thereon. |
9. | It should be understood that we make no representations as to questions of legal interpretation or as to the sufficiency for your purposes of the procedures enumerated in paragraph 7. above; also, such procedures would not necessarily reveal any material misstatement of the information identified in paragraph 7. above. Further, we have addressed ourselves solely to the foregoing data as incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and make no representations as to the adequacy of disclosure or as to whether any material facts have been omitted. | ||
10. | Certain amounts included in this letter and in the various tables, schedules and paragraphs indicated in the Registration Statement have been rounded as deemed appropriate by the Company. In all instances in 7. above, agreement of such amounts and numbers is after giving consideration to such rounding. Certain amounts included in this letter with respect to salary in the summary compensation table in the Companys definitive proxy statement have been compared to amounts in the Companys accounting records and found to be in agreement within a tolerance of $10,000 or less per each executive officer. | ||
11. | This letter is solely for the information of the addressees and to assist the underwriters in conducting and documenting their investigation of the affairs of the Company in connection with the offering of the securities covered by the Registration Statement, and is not to be used, circulated, quoted or otherwise referred to within or without the underwriting group for any other purpose, including, but not limited to, the registration, purchase, or sale of securities, nor is it to be filed with or referred to in whole or in part in the Registration Statement or any other document, except that reference may be made to it in the underwriting agreement or any list of closing documents pertaining to the offering of the securities covered by the Registration Statement. |
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