Berkshire Hathaway Inc 8-K, filed Jan 15, 2021
Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK-B)
About this 8-K
Berkshire Hathaway Inc filed this 8-K on January 15, 2021.
Items reported
- Item 8.01: Other events
- Item 9.01: Financial statements and exhibits
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 (D)
OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
DATE OF REPORT (DATE OF EARLIEST EVENT REPORTED)
(EXACT NAME OF REGISTRANT AS SPECIFIED IN ITS CHARTER)
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(I.R.S. EMPLOYER IDENTIFICATION NO.) |
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| (ADDRESS OF PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICES) | (ZIP CODE) |
REGISTRANT’S TELEPHONE NUMBER, INCLUDING AREA CODE
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):
| Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
| Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
| Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
| Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging growth company
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
| Item 8.01 | Other Events. |
On January 15, 2021, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (“Berkshire”) issued €600,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its 0.500% Senior Notes due 2041 (the “Berkshire Notes”) under a registration statement on Form S-3 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on January 28, 2019 (Registration Nos. 333-229396 and 333-229396-01) (the “Registration Statement”). The Berkshire Notes were sold pursuant to an underwriting agreement entered into on January 5, 2021, by and between (a) Berkshire and (b) J.P. Morgan Securities plc and Merrill Lynch International.
On January 15, 2021, Berkshire Hathaway Finance Corporation (“BHFC”) issued $750,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its 2.500% Senior Notes due 2051 (the “BHFC Notes” and together with the Berkshire Notes, the “Notes”) under the Registration Statement. The BHFC Notes, which are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Berkshire, were sold pursuant to an underwriting agreement entered into on January 5, 2021, by and between (a) BHFC and Berkshire and (b) BofA Securities, Inc. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC.
The Notes were issued under an Indenture, dated as of January 26, 2016, by and among Berkshire, BHFC and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. (the “Indenture”) and (i) an officers’ certificate dated as of January 15, 2021 by Berkshire with respect to the Berkshire Notes (the “Berkshire Officers’ Certificate”) and (ii) an officers’ certificate dated as of January 15, 2021 by BHFC with respect to the BHFC Notes (the “BHFC Officers’ Certificate” and, together with the Berkshire Officers’ Certificate, the “Officers’ Certificates”).
The relevant terms of the Berkshire Notes and the Indenture are further described under the caption “Description of the Notes” in the prospectus supplement relating to the Berkshire Notes, dated January 5, 2021, filed with the Commission by Berkshire on January 7, 2021, pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5) under the Securities Act and in the section entitled “Description of the Debt Securities” in the base prospectus relating to debt securities of Berkshire, dated January 28, 2019, included in the Registration Statement, which descriptions are incorporated herein by reference. The relevant terms of the BHFC Notes and the Indenture are further described under the caption “Description of the Notes and Guarantees” in the prospectus supplement relating to the BHFC Notes, dated January 5, 2021, filed with the Commission by Berkshire and BHFC on January 7, 2021, pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5) under the Securities Act and in the section entitled “Description of the Debt Securities” in the base prospectus relating to debt securities of BHFC, dated January 28, 2019, included in the Registration Statement, which descriptions are incorporated herein by reference.
A copy of the Indenture is set forth in Exhibit 4.1 of the Registration Statement and is incorporated herein by reference. A copy of the Berkshire Officers’ Certificate is attached hereto as Exhibit 4.2 and is incorporated herein by reference. A copy of the BHFC Officers’ Certificate is attached hereto as Exhibit 4.3 and is incorporated herein by reference. The descriptions of the Indenture, the Officers’ Certificates and the Notes in this report are summaries and are qualified in their entirety by the terms of the Indenture, the Officers’ Certificates and the Notes, respectively.
| Item 9.01 | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
(d) Exhibits
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| January 15, 2021 | BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. | |||||
| /s/ Marc D. Hamburg | ||||||
| By: | Marc D. Hamburg | |||||
| Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | ||||||
Exhibit 1.1
Execution Version
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
€600,000,000 0.500% Senior Notes due 2041
Underwriting Agreement
January 5, 2021
J.P. Morgan Securities plc
25 Bank Street
Canary Wharf
London, E14 5JP
United Kingdom
Merrill Lynch International
2 King Edward Street
London, EC1A 1HQ
United Kingdom
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Berkshire Hathaway Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Issuer”), proposes to issue and sell to J.P. Morgan Securities plc and Merrill Lynch International (each an “Underwriter,” and collectively, the “Underwriters”), €600,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its 0.500% Senior Notes due 2041 (the “Securities”). The Securities will be issued pursuant to an Indenture dated as of January 26, 2016 (including the terms of the Securities to be established pursuant thereto, the “Indenture”) among the Issuer, Berkshire Hathaway Finance Corporation and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as trustee (the “Trustee”). In connection with the issuance of the Securities, the Issuer will enter into a Paying Agency Agreement (the “Agency Agreement”), to be dated as of the Closing Date, between the Issuer and The Bank of New York Mellon, London Branch, as paying agent (the “Paying Agent”).
The Issuer hereby confirms its agreement with the Underwriters concerning the purchase and sale of the Securities, as follows:
1. Registration Statement. A registration statement on Form S-3 (Registration No. 333-229396), including a prospectus (the “Base Prospectus”) relating to the Securities, has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (collectively, the “Securities Act”), and has become effective under the Securities Act. Such registration statement, including any prospectus supplement relating to the Securities filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act and any other information deemed to be part of such registration statement pursuant to Rule 430B under the Securities Act, is hereinafter referred to as the “Registration Statement.” The Base Prospectus, as supplemented by
a prospectus supplement to reflect the final terms of the Securities and the offering thereof, as filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act, is hereinafter referred to as the “Final Prospectus.” The Base Prospectus, as supplemented by any preliminary prospectus supplement which describes the Securities and the offering thereof, as filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act, is hereinafter referred to as a “Preliminary Prospectus.” Any reference herein to the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus, a Preliminary Prospectus or the Final Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents that were filed by the Issuer on or prior to the respective dates thereof under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (collectively, the “Exchange Act”), and incorporated by reference therein, excluding any documents or portions of such documents that are deemed under the rules and regulations of the Commission under the Securities Act not to be incorporated by reference therein; and any reference herein to the terms “amend,” “amendment” or “supplement” with respect to the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus, a Preliminary Prospectus or the Final Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the filing of any document under the Exchange Act deemed to be incorporated therein by reference after the respective dates thereof.
At or prior to the time when sales of the Securities were first made (the “Time of Sale”), the Issuer had prepared the following information (the “Time of Sale Information”): a Preliminary Prospectus dated January 5, 2021, and each “free-writing prospectus” (as defined pursuant to Rule 405 under the Securities Act) listed on Annex A hereto.
2. Purchase of the Securities by the Underwriters. (a) On the basis of the representations, warranties and agreements set forth herein and subject to the conditions set forth herein, the Issuer agrees to issue and sell the Securities to each Underwriter as provided in this Agreement, and each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, agrees to purchase from the Issuer the respective principal amount of Securities set forth opposite such Underwriter’s name in Schedule 1 hereto at a price equal to 96.919% of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued interest, if any, from January 15, 2021, to the Closing Date (as defined below). The Issuer will not be obligated to deliver any of the Securities except upon payment for all the Securities to be purchased as provided herein.
(b) The Issuer understands that the Underwriters intend to make a public offering of the Securities as soon as practicable after the effectiveness of this Agreement as in the judgment of the Underwriters is advisable, and initially to offer the Securities on the terms set forth in the Final Prospectus. The Issuer acknowledges and agrees that each Underwriter may offer and sell Securities to or through any affiliate of such Underwriter and that any such affiliate may offer and sell Securities purchased by it to or through the applicable Underwriter.
(c) Payment for and delivery of the Securities will be made at the offices of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP at or around 9:00 A.M., London time, on January 15, 2021, or at such other time or place on the same or such other date, not later than the fifth business day thereafter, as the Underwriters and the Issuer may agree upon in writing. The time and date of such payment and delivery is referred to herein as the “Closing Date.”
(d) Payment for the Securities shall be made by wire transfer in immediately available funds to the account(s) specified to the Underwriters by the Issuer against delivery of
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the Securities in book-entry form through a common depositary for Clearstream Banking, société anonyme and Euroclear Bank S.A./N.V., as operator of the Euroclear system, for the account of the Underwriters, of one or more global notes representing the Securities (collectively, the “Global Notes”), with any transfer taxes payable in connection with the sale of the Securities duly paid by the Issuer, except to the extent such taxes were imposed due to the failure of an Underwriter, upon the request of the Issuer, to use its reasonable efforts to provide any form, certificate, document or other information that would have reduced or eliminated the withholding or deduction of such taxes. The Global Notes will be made available for inspection by the Underwriters not later than 1:00 P.M., New York City time, on the business day prior to the Closing Date.
(e) The Issuer acknowledges and agrees that each Underwriter is acting solely in the capacity of an arm’s length contractual counterparty to the Issuer with respect to the offering of Securities contemplated hereby (including in connection with determining the terms of the offering) and not as a financial advisor or a fiduciary to, or an agent of, the Issuer or any other person. Additionally, the Underwriters are not advising the Issuer or any other person as to any legal, tax, investment, accounting or regulatory matters in any jurisdiction. The Issuer shall consult with its own advisors concerning such matters and shall be responsible for making its own independent investigation and appraisal of the transactions contemplated hereby, and the Underwriters shall have no responsibility or liability to the Issuer with respect thereto. Any review by the Underwriters of the Issuer, the transactions contemplated hereby or other matters relating to such transactions will be performed solely for the benefit of the Underwriters and shall not be on behalf of the Issuer.
3. Representations and Warranties of the Issuer. The Issuer represents and warrants to each Underwriter that:
(a) Time of Sale Information. The Time of Sale Information at the Time of Sale did not, and at the Closing Date will not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that the Issuer makes no representation and warranty with respect to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished to the Issuer in writing by any Underwriter expressly for use in such Time of Sale Information. No statement of a material fact to be included in the Final Prospectus has been omitted from the Time of Sale Information and no statement of a material fact included in the Time of Sale Information that is required to be included in the Final Prospectus will be omitted therefrom.
(b) Preliminary Prospectus. No order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus has been issued by the Commission, and each Preliminary Prospectus, at the time of filing thereof, complied in all material respects with the Securities Act and did not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that the Issuer makes no representation and warranty with respect to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished to the Issuer in writing by any Underwriter expressly for use in any Preliminary Prospectus.
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(c) Issuer Free Writing Prospectus. The Issuer (including its agents and representatives, other than the Underwriters in their capacity as such) has not prepared, made, used, authorized, approved or referred to and will not prepare, make, use, authorize, approve or refer to any “written communication” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) that constitutes an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy the Securities (each such communication by the Issuer or its agents and representatives, other than the Underwriters (other than a communication referred to in clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) below), an “Issuer Free Writing Prospectus”), other than (i) any document not constituting a prospectus pursuant to Section 2(a)(10)(a) of the Securities Act or Rule 134 under the Securities Act, (ii) any Preliminary Prospectus, (iii) the Final Prospectus, (iv) the documents listed on Annex A hereto and (v) any electronic road show or other written communications, in each case approved in advance by the Underwriters. Each such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus complied in all material respects with the Securities Act, has been or will be (within the time period specified in Rule 433) filed in accordance with the Securities Act (to the extent required thereby) and, when taken together with any Preliminary Prospectus, did not, and at the Closing Date will not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that the Issuer makes no representation and warranty with respect to any statements or omissions made in each such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished to the Issuer in writing by any Underwriter expressly for use in any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus.
(d) Registration Statement and Final Prospectus. The Registration Statement is an “automatic shelf registration statement” as defined under Rule 405 of the Securities Act that has been filed with the Commission not earlier than three years prior to the date hereof; 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 Securities Act has been received by the Issuer. No order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued by the Commission and no proceeding for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act against the Issuer or related to the offering has been initiated or threatened by the Commission; as of the applicable effective date of the Registration Statement and any amendment thereto, the Registration Statement complied and will comply in all material respects with the Securities Act and the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (collectively, the “Trust Indenture Act”), and did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading; and as of the date of the Final Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto and as of the Closing Date, the Final Prospectus will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that the Issuer makes no representation and warranty with respect to (i) that part of the Registration Statement that constitutes the Statement of Eligibility and Qualification (Form T-1) of the Trustee under the Trust Indenture Act or (ii) any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished to the Issuer in writing by any Underwriter expressly for use in the Registration Statement or the Final Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto).
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(e) Incorporated Documents. The documents incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Final 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 Exchange Act and none of such documents contained any 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, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and any further documents so filed and incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information or the Final Prospectus, 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 Securities Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and will not contain any 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.
(f) No Material Adverse Change. Since the date of the most recent consolidated financial statements of the Issuer included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Final Prospectus, unless the Issuer has notified the Underwriters as provided in Section 4(g) of this Agreement, there has been no material adverse change, or any development involving a prospective material adverse change, in or affecting the senior management of the Issuer or the business or the consolidated financial position or results of operations of the Issuer or the Issuer’s subsidiaries, taken as a whole (a “Material Adverse Effect”), in each case otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Final Prospectus (excluding any amendment or supplement thereto after the date of this Agreement).
(g) Organization and Good Standing of the Issuer. The Issuer has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the state of Delaware, with power and authority (corporate and other) to own its properties and conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Final Prospectus, and 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, except where the failure (individually or in the aggregate) to be so qualified or in good standing in any such jurisdiction would not have a Material Adverse Effect.
(h) Organization and Good Standing of the Significant Subsidiaries. Each of the Issuer’s subsidiaries, General Re Corporation, GEICO Corporation, National Indemnity Company, Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, LLC, Marmon Holdings, Inc., The Lubrizol Corporation and Precision Castparts Corp. (the “Significant Subsidiaries”) has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation, with corporate power and authority to own its properties and conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Final Prospectus and 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, except where the failure (individually or in the aggregate) to be so qualified or in good standing in any such jurisdiction would not have a Material Adverse Effect.
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(i) Underwriting Agreement. This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Issuer.
(j) The Indenture. The Indenture has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Issuer, and assuming due authorization, execution and delivery thereof by the Trustee, constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of the Issuer, enforceable against it 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; the Indenture complies with the requirements for qualification under the Trust Indenture Act.
(k) The Agency Agreement. The Agency Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Issuer, and assuming due authorization, execution and delivery thereof by the Paying Agent, constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of the Issuer, enforceable against it 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.
(l) The Securities. The Securities have been duly authorized by the Issuer and, when issued and delivered pursuant to this Agreement and the Indenture and authenticated by the Trustee as provided in the Indenture, will have been duly executed, authenticated, issued and delivered and will constitute valid and legally binding obligations of the Issuer, enforceable against the Issuer in accordance with their 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 will be in the form contemplated by, and will be entitled to the benefits of, the Indenture.
(m) Descriptions of the Transaction Documents. Each of this Agreement, the Securities, the Indenture and the Agency Agreement (collectively, the “Transaction Documents”) conforms in all material respects to the description thereof contained in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Final Prospectus.
(n) No Registration Rights. No person has the right to require the Issuer to register any securities for sale under the Securities Act by reason of the filing of the Registration Statement with the Commission or the issuance and sale of the Securities.
(o) Significant Subsidiaries’ Capital Stock. All of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of each Significant Subsidiary have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and (except for any directors’ qualifying shares, and except for less than 10% of the shares of Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company) are owned directly or indirectly by the Issuer, free and clear of all material liens, encumbrances, equities or claims.
(p) No Stabilization or Manipulation. Prior to the date hereof, neither the Issuer nor any of its affiliates has taken any action which is designed to or which has constituted or which might have been expected to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Issuer in connection with the offering of the Securities.
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(q) No Conflicts. The issue and sale by the Issuer of the Securities, the compliance by the Issuer with all of the provisions of the Transaction Documents and the consummation of the transactions therein contemplated will not (i) 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 Issuer or any of the Significant Subsidiaries is a party or by which the Issuer or any of the Significant Subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Issuer or any of the Significant Subsidiaries is subject, or (ii) result in any violation of (A) the provisions of the Restated Certificate of Incorporation or By-laws of the Issuer or (B) any statute or any order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Issuer or any of the Significant Subsidiaries or any of their properties, except, in the case of clauses (i) and (ii)(B), for any such conflict, breach, violation, or default which (individually or in the aggregate) would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. 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 Issuer of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, except for any such consents, approvals, authorizations, orders, registrations or qualifications as may be required under the Securities Act and the Trust Indenture Act, or under state securities or Blue Sky laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Securities by the Underwriters, or the failure of which to obtain would not (individually or in the aggregate) have a Material Adverse Effect.
(r) No Violation or Default. Neither the Issuer nor any Significant Subsidiary is (i) in violation of its Certificate of Incorporation or Restated Certificate of Incorporation (as the case may be) or By-laws or (ii) in default in the performance or observance of any material obligation, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, lease or other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it or any of its properties may be bound, except in the case of clause (i) for any immaterial violation of its By-laws or in the case of clause (ii) where such violation would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(s) Legal Proceedings. Except as described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Final Prospectus, there are no legal or governmental proceedings pending to which the Issuer or any of the Significant Subsidiaries is a party or of which any property of the Issuer or any of the Significant Subsidiaries is the subject which, if determined adversely to the Issuer or any Significant Subsidiary, would individually or in the aggregate have a Material Adverse Effect; and, to the best of the Issuer’s knowledge, no such proceedings are threatened or contemplated by governmental authorities or threatened by others.
(t) Investment Company Act. The Issuer 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”).
(u) Independent Accountants. To the best of the Issuer’s knowledge, Deloitte & Touche LLP, who have certified the consolidated financial statements of the Issuer included in the Registration Statement, is an independent registered public accounting firm as required by the Securities Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board thereunder.
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(v) Accounting Controls. The Issuer maintains a system of internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act) that complies with the requirements of the Exchange Act and has been designed by the Issuer’s 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 Issuer’s internal control over financial reporting is effective and the Issuer is not aware of any material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting in each case as of the end of the most recent fiscal year of the Issuer.
(w) Disclosure Controls. The Issuer maintains “disclosure controls and procedures” (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of 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 Issuer and its consolidated subsidiaries is made known to the Issuer’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer by others within those entities; such disclosure controls and procedures are effective.
(x) No Material Change in the Issuer’s Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, there has been no change in the Issuer’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Issuer’s internal control over financial reporting.
(y) Status under the Securities Act. The Issuer is not an ineligible issuer and is a well-known seasoned issuer, in each case as defined under the Securities Act, in each case at the times specified in the Securities Act in connection with the offering of the Securities.
4. Further Agreements of the Issuer. The Issuer covenants and agrees with each Underwriter that:
(a) Required Filings. The Issuer will file the Final Prospectus with the Commission within the time periods specified by Rule 424(b) and Rule 430A, 430B or 430C under the Securities Act, will file any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (including the term sheet in the form of Annex B hereto) to the extent required by Rule 433 under the Securities Act; the Issuer will file promptly all reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Issuer with the Commission pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act subsequent to the date of the Final Prospectus and for so long as the delivery of a prospectus is required in connection with the offering or sale of the Securities; and the Issuer will furnish copies of the Final Prospectus and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (to the extent not previously delivered) to the Underwriters in New York City and London prior to 10:00 A.M., New York City time, on the business day next succeeding the date of this Agreement in such quantities as the Underwriters may reasonably request. The Issuer will pay the registration fees for this offering within the time period required by Rule 456(b)(1)(i) under the Securities Act (without giving effect to the proviso therein) and in any event prior to the Closing Date.
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(b) Delivery of Copies. The Issuer will deliver, without charge to the Underwriters (during the Prospectus Delivery Period (as defined below), as many copies of the Final Prospectus (including all amendments and supplements thereto)) and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus as the Underwriters may reasonably request. As used herein, the term “Prospectus Delivery Period” means such period of time after the first date of the public offering of the Securities as in the opinion of counsel for the Underwriters a prospectus relating to the Securities is required by law to be delivered (or required to be delivered but for Rule 172 under the Securities Act) in connection with sales of the Securities by any Underwriter or dealer; provided that the Underwriters shall promptly notify the Issuer of the termination of the Prospectus Delivery Period.
(c) Amendments or Supplements; Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses. Prior to the termination of the offering of the Securities, before using, authorizing, approving, referring to or filing any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, and before filing any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the Final Prospectus, whether before or after the time that the Registration Statement becomes effective, the Issuer will furnish to the Underwriters and counsel for the Underwriters a copy of the proposed Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, amendment or supplement for review and will not use, authorize, approve, refer to or file any such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or file any such proposed amendment or supplement to which the Underwriters reasonably object.
(d) Notice to the Underwriters. From the date hereof until the end of the Prospectus Delivery Period, the Issuer will advise the Underwriters promptly, and confirm such advice in writing, (i) when any amendment to the Registration Statement has been filed or becomes effective; (ii) when any supplement to the Final Prospectus or any amendment to the Final Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus has been filed; (iii) of any request by the Commission for any amendment to the Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement to the Final Prospectus or the receipt of any comments from the Commission relating to the Registration Statement or any other request by the Commission for any additional information relating thereto; (iv) when it learns of the issuance by the Commission of any order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or the Final Prospectus or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act; (v) when it learns of the occurrence of any event as a result of which the Final Prospectus, the Time of Sale Information or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances existing when the Final Prospectus, the Time of Sale Information or any such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus is delivered to a purchaser, not misleading; (vi) of the receipt by the Issuer 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 Securities Act; and (vii) of the receipt by the Issuer of any notice with respect to any suspension of the qualification of the Securities for offer and sale in any jurisdiction or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose; and the Issuer will use its reasonable best efforts to prevent the issuance of any such order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or the Final Prospectus or suspending any such qualification of the Securities and, if any such order is issued, will obtain as soon as possible the withdrawal thereof.
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(e) Time of Sale Information. If at any time prior to the Closing Date (i) any event shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which the Time of Sale Information as then amended or supplemented would 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, not misleading or (ii) it is necessary to amend or supplement the Time of Sale Information to comply with law, the Issuer will promptly notify the Underwriters thereof and forthwith prepare and, subject to paragraph (c) above, file with the Commission (to the extent required) and furnish to the Underwriters and to such dealers as the Underwriters may designate, such amendments or supplements to the Time of Sale Information as may be necessary so that the statements in the Time of Sale Information as so amended or supplemented will not, in the light of the circumstances, be misleading or so that the Time of Sale Information will comply with law.
(f) Recognition of the U.S. Special Resolution Regimes. In the event that any Underwriter that is a Covered Entity becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, the transfer from such Underwriter of this Agreement, and any interest and obligation in or under this Agreement, will be effective to the same extent as the transfer would be effective under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement, and any such interest and obligation, were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States. In the event that any Underwriter that is a Covered Entity or a BHC Act Affiliate of such Underwriter becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, Default Rights under this Agreement that may be exercised against such Underwriter are permitted to be exercised to no greater extent than such Default Rights could be exercised under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.
For the purposes of this provision, (a) the term “BHC Act Affiliate” has the meaning assigned to the term “affiliate” in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 U.S.C. § 1841(k); (b) the term “Covered Entity” means any of the following: (i) a “covered entity” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 252.82(b); (ii) a “covered bank” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 47.3(b); or (iii) a “covered FSI” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 382.2(b); (c) the term “Default Right” has the meaning assigned to that term in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. §§ 252.81, 47.2 or 382.1, as applicable; and (d) the term “U.S. Special Resolution Regime” means each of (i) the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder and (ii) Title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
(g) Ongoing Compliance. If during the Prospectus Delivery Period (i) any event shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which the Final Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances existing when the Final Prospectus is delivered to a purchaser, not misleading or (ii) it is necessary to amend or supplement the Final Prospectus to comply with
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law, the Issuer will immediately notify the Underwriters thereof and forthwith prepare and, subject to paragraph (c) above, file with the Commission and furnish to the Underwriters and to such dealers as the Underwriters may designate, such amendments or supplements to the Final Prospectus as may be necessary so that the statements in the Final Prospectus as so amended or supplemented will not, in the light of the circumstances existing when the Final Prospectus is delivered to a purchaser, be misleading or so that the Final Prospectus will comply with law.
(h) Blue Sky Compliance. The Issuer will promptly from time to time take such action as the Underwriters may reasonably request to qualify the Securities for offer and sale under the securities or Blue Sky laws of such jurisdictions as the Underwriters shall reasonably request and will continue such qualifications in effect so long as required to complete the distribution of the Securities; provided that the Issuer shall not be required to (i) qualify as a foreign corporation or other entity or as a dealer in securities in any such jurisdiction where it would not otherwise be required to so qualify, (ii) file any general consent to service of process in any such jurisdiction or (iii) take any action that would subject it to taxation in any such jurisdiction if it is not otherwise so subject.
(i) Earning Statement. The Issuer will make generally available to its security holders an earning statement (that need not be audited) that satisfies the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and Rule 158 of the Commission promulgated thereunder covering a period of at least twelve months beginning with the first fiscal quarter of the Issuer occurring after the “effective date” (as defined in Rule 158) of the Registration Statement.
(j) Clear Market. The Issuer, during the period beginning from the date hereof and continuing until the Closing Date, will not offer, sell, contract to sell or otherwise dispose of, except as provided hereunder, any securities of the Issuer that are substantially similar to the Securities, including but not limited to any securities that represent the right to receive the Securities or any such substantially similar securities, without the Underwriters’ prior written consent, other than any securities that have been identified to the Underwriters in writing prior to the date hereof.
(k) Use of Proceeds. The Issuer will use the net proceeds received by the Issuer from the sale of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement in the manner specified in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Final Prospectus under the caption “Use of Proceeds.”
(l) No Stabilization. The Issuer will not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that could reasonably be expected to cause or result in any stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Securities.
(m) Record Retention. The Issuer will, pursuant to reasonable procedures developed in good faith, retain copies of each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is not filed with the Commission in accordance with Rule 433 under the Securities Act.
(n) NYSE Listing of Securities. The Issuer will use its commercially reasonable efforts to list, subject to notice of issuance if applicable, the Securities on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) for trading on such exchange as promptly as practicable after the date hereof.
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5. Certain Agreements of the Underwriters. Each Underwriter hereby represents and agrees that:
(a) It has not and will not use, authorize use of, refer to, or participate in the planning for use of, any “free writing prospectus”, as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act (which term includes use of any written information furnished to the Commission by the Issuer and not incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement and any press release issued by the Issuer) other than (i) a free writing prospectus that, solely as a result of use by such Underwriter, would not trigger an obligation to file such free writing prospectus with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433, (ii) any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus listed on Annex A or prepared pursuant to Section 3(c) or Section 4(c) above (including any electronic road show), or (iii) any free writing prospectus prepared by such Underwriter and approved by the Issuer in advance in writing (each such free writing prospectus referred to in clauses (i) or (iii), an “Underwriter Free Writing Prospectus”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Underwriters may use a term sheet in the form of Annex B hereto without the consent of the Issuer.
(b) It is not subject to any pending proceeding under Section 8A of the Securities Act with respect to the offering (and will promptly notify the Issuer if any such proceeding against it is initiated during the Prospectus Delivery Period).
(c) (i) It has only communicated or caused to be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended, the “FSMA”)) received by it in connection with the issue or sale of the Securities in circumstances in which Section 21(1) of the FSMA is complied with or does not apply to the Issuer; and (ii) it has complied and will comply with all applicable provisions of the FSMA with respect to anything done by it in relation to the Securities in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom.
(d) It has not offered, sold or otherwise made available and will not offer, sell or otherwise make available any Securities to any retail investor in the European Economic Area.
For the purposes of this provision, the expression “retail investor” means a person who is one (or more) of the following: (i) a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU (as amended, “MiFID II”); or (ii) a customer within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2016/97 (as amended, the “Insurance Distribution Directive”), where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II.
(e) It has not offered, sold or otherwise made available and will not offer, sell or otherwise make available any Securities to any retail investor in the United Kingdom.
For the purposes of this provision, the expression “retail investor” means a person who is one (or more) of the following: (i) a retail client, as defined in point (8) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 2017/565 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union
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(Withdrawal) Act 2018 (“EUWA”); or (ii) a customer within the meaning of the provisions of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended, the “FSMA”) and any rules or regulations made under the FSMA to implement Directive (EU) 2016/97, where that customer would not qualify as a professional client, as defined in point (8) of Article 2(1) of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the EUWA
(f) Neither it nor any of its affiliates (i) has offered or sold, or will offer or sell, in Hong Kong, by means of any document, the Securities other than (A) to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) of Hong Kong and any rules made under that Ordinance; or (B) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” as defined in the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32) of Hong Kong or which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of that Ordinance or (ii) has issued or had in its possession for the purposes of issue, or will issue or have in its possession for the purposes of issue, whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere, any advertisement, invitation or document relating to the Securities that is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public of Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to the Securities that are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance and any rules made under that Ordinance.
(g) The Registration Statement has not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. It has not offered or sold any Securities or caused the Securities to be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase and will not offer or sell any Securities or cause the Securities to be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, and has not circulated or distributed, and will not circulate or distribute, the Registration Statement or any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the Securities, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor (as defined in Section 4A of the Securities and Futures Act (Chapter 289) of Singapore, as modified and amended from time to time (the “SFA”)) pursuant to Section 274 of the SFA, (ii) to a relevant person (as defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA) pursuant to Section 275(1) of the SFA, or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A) of the SFA, and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the SFA or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA.
(h) It will not offer or sell any of the Securities, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan or to others, for re-offering or re-sale directly or indirectly in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan, except through a solicitation constituting a “solicitation targeting QIIs”, as defined in Article 23-13, Paragraph 1 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law, which will be exempt from the registration requirements of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law, and otherwise in compliance with, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law and any other applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan in effect at the relevant time. For the purposes of this provision, “resident of Japan” means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan; and it will cause a copy of the prospectus supplement relating to the Securities (or other forms of notice as agreed between the Issuer and the Underwriters, which states that the Securities may not be transferred to any other person unless such person is a
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“qualified institutional investor” as defined in the Cabinet Ordinance Concerning Definitions under Article 2 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (Ordinance No. 14 of 1993 of the Ministry of Finance of Japan, as amended)), to be furnished to each person acquiring the Securities.
(i) It will not offer, sell or deliver any of the Securities in any jurisdiction outside the United States except under circumstances that will result in compliance with the applicable laws thereof, and it will take at its own expense whatever action is required to permit its purchase and resale of the Securities in such jurisdictions. Each Underwriter understands that no action has been taken to permit a public offering of the Securities in any jurisdiction outside the United States where action would be required for such purpose, and agrees not to cause any advertisement of the Securities to be published in any newspaper or periodical or posted in any public place and not to issue any circular relating to the Securities, except in any such case at each Underwriter’s own risk and expense.
6. Conditions of Underwriters’ Obligations. The obligation of the Underwriters to purchase Securities on the Closing Date as provided herein is subject to the performance by the Issuer of its covenants and other obligations hereunder and to the following additional conditions:
(a) No order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall be in effect, and no proceeding for such purpose, pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) or pursuant to Section 8A under the Securities Act shall be pending before or threatened by the Commission; each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and Final Prospectus shall have been timely filed with the Commission under the Securities Act (in the case of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, to the extent required by Rule 433 under the Securities Act) and in accordance with Section 4(a) hereof; and all requests by the Commission for additional information shall have been complied with to the reasonable satisfaction of the Underwriters.
(b) The representations and warranties of the Issuer contained herein shall be true and correct on the date hereof and on and as of the Closing Date; and the statements of the Issuer and its officers made in any certificates delivered pursuant to this Agreement shall be true and correct on and as of the Closing Date.
(c) Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, shall have furnished to the Underwriters such opinion or opinions, dated the Closing Date, with respect to such matters as the Underwriters 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.
(d) Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, counsel for the Issuer, shall have furnished to the Underwriters their written opinion and 10b-5 statement, dated the Closing Date, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Underwriters, to the effect set forth in Annex C hereto.
(e) [Reserved]
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(f) On the date of this Agreement and as of the Closing Date, Deloitte & Touche LLP shall have furnished to the Underwriters a letter, dated the Closing Date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Underwriters and in the form agreed to by the parties hereto.
(g) Since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Final Prospectus, there shall not have been (i) any adverse change in the capital stock or long-term debt of the Issuer and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or (ii) any change, or any development involving a prospective change, in or affecting the senior management of the Issuer or the business or the consolidated financial position or results of operations of the Issuer and the Issuer’s subsidiaries, taken as a whole, in the case of each of clause (i) and clause (ii) otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Time of Sale Information (excluding any amendment or supplement thereto after the date of this Agreement) and the Final Prospectus (excluding any amendment or supplement thereto after the date of this Agreement), the effect of which is in the judgment of the Underwriters so material and adverse as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offering, sale or delivery of the Securities on the terms and in the manner contemplated by this Agreement, the Time of Sale Information and the Final Prospectus.
(h) Subsequent to the earlier of (A) the Time of Sale and (B) the execution and delivery of this Agreement, (i) no downgrading shall have occurred in the rating accorded the Issuer’s debt securities by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services or Moody’s Investors Service, and (ii) neither such organization shall have publicly announced that it has under surveillance or review, with negative implications, its rating of any of the Issuer’s debt securities.
(i) Subsequent to the earlier of (A) the Time of Sale and (B) the execution and delivery of this Agreement, there shall not have occurred any of the following: (i) a suspension or material limitation in trading in securities generally on the NYSE; (ii) a suspension or material limitation in trading in the Issuer’s securities on the NYSE; (iii) a general moratorium on commercial banking activities declared by Federal, New York State, United Kingdom or European Union authorities or a material disruption in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services in the United States, the United Kingdom or the European Union; (iv) the outbreak or escalation of hostilities involving the United States, the United Kingdom or the European Union or the declaration by the United States, the United Kingdom or the European Union of a national emergency or war or (v) the occurrence of any other calamity or crisis or any change in financial markets, if the effect of any such event specified in clause (iv) or (v) in the reasonable judgment of the Underwriters makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offering or the delivery of the Securities on the terms and in the manner contemplated by this Agreement, the Time of Sale Information and the Registration Statement.
(j) On or prior to the Closing Date, the Issuer shall have duly executed and delivered each of the Transaction Documents and the Securities.
(k) The Issuer shall have furnished or caused to be furnished to the Underwriters on the Closing Date certificates of officers of the Issuer satisfactory to the Underwriters as to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Issuer herein on and as of the Closing Date, as to the performance by the Issuer of all of its obligations hereunder to be performed on or prior to the Closing Date, as to the matters set forth in subsection (g) of this Section 6 and as to such other matters as the Underwriters may reasonably request.
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7. Indemnification and Contribution.
(a) Indemnification of the Underwriters. The Issuer agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, its affiliates, directors and officers and each person, if any, who controls such Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, from and against any and all losses, claims, damages and liabilities (including, without limitation, reasonable legal fees and other expenses incurred in connection with any suit, action or proceeding or any claim asserted, as such fees and expenses are incurred), joint or several, that arise out of, or are based upon, (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement or caused by any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, not misleading, (ii) or any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Final Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any Time of Sale Information, or caused by any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, in each case except insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities arise out of, or are based upon, any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with any information furnished to the Issuer in writing by any Underwriter expressly for use therein.
(b) Indemnification of the Issuer. Each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Issuer and each of its directors, officers who signed the Registration Statement and each person, if any, who controls the Issuer within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act to the same extent as the indemnity set forth in paragraph (a) above, but only with respect to any losses, claims, damages or liabilities that arise out of, or are based upon, any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with any information furnished to the Issuer in writing by such Underwriter expressly for use in the Registration Statement, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any Time of Sale Information or the Final Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), it being understood and agreed that the only such information consists of the second and third sentences of the third paragraph, the second sentence of the seventh paragraph and the eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh paragraphs under the caption “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest).”
(c) Notice and Procedures. 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
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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), and, 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. No indemnifying party shall, without the written consent of the indemnified party, effect the settlement or compromise of, or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to, any pending or threatened action or claim in respect of which indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder (whether or not the indemnified party is an actual or potential party to such action or claim) unless such settlement, compromise or judgment (i) includes an unconditional release of the indemnified party from all liability arising out of such action or claim and (ii) does not include a statement as to, or an admission of, fault, culpability or a failure to act, by or on behalf of any indemnified party.
(d) Contribution. If the indemnification provided for in paragraphs (a) or (b) above is unavailable to an indemnified party or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under subsection (a) or (b) above in respect of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities referred to therein, then each indemnifying party under such paragraph, in lieu of indemnifying such indemnified party thereunder, shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Issuer on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other from the offering of the Securities or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) but also the relative fault of the Issuer on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other in connection with the statements or omissions that resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Issuer on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the net proceeds (before deducting expenses) received by the Issuer from the sale of the Securities and the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters in connection therewith, in each case as set forth in the table on the cover of the Final Prospectus, bear to the aggregate offering price of the Securities. The relative fault of the Issuer on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other 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 Issuer or by the Underwriters and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.
(e) Limitation on Liability. The Issuer and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 7 were determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation that does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in paragraph (d) above. The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages and liabilities referred to in paragraph (d) above shall be deemed to include, subject to the limitations set forth above, any legal or other expenses incurred by such indemnified party in connection with any such action or claim. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 7, in no event shall an Underwriter be required to contribute any
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amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Securities underwritten by such Underwriter and distributed to investors were offered to investors exceeds the amount of any damages that such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. The Underwriters’ obligations to contribute pursuant to this Section 7 are several in proportion to their respective purchase obligations hereunder and not joint.
(f) Non-Exclusive Remedies. The remedies provided for in this Section 7 are not exclusive and shall not limit any rights or remedies which may otherwise be available to any indemnified party at law or in equity.
8. Defaulting Underwriter.
(a) If, on the Closing Date, any Underwriter defaults on its obligation to purchase the Securities that it has agreed to purchase hereunder, the non-defaulting Underwriters may in their discretion arrange for the purchase of such Securities by other persons satisfactory to the Issuer on the terms contained in this Agreement. If, within 48 hours after any such default by any Underwriter, the non-defaulting Underwriters do not arrange for the purchase of such Securities, then the Issuer shall be entitled to a further period of 48 hours within which to procure other persons satisfactory to the non-defaulting Underwriters to purchase such Securities on such terms. If other persons become obligated or agree to purchase the Securities of a defaulting Underwriter, either the non-defaulting Underwriters or the Issuer may postpone the Closing Date for up to five full business days in order to effect any changes that in the opinion of counsel for the Issuer or counsel for the Underwriters may be necessary in the Registration Statement and the Final Prospectus or in any other document or arrangement, and the Issuer agrees to promptly prepare any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement and the Final Prospectus that effects any such changes. As used in this Agreement, the term “Underwriter” includes, for all purposes of this Agreement unless the context otherwise requires, any person not listed in Schedule 1 hereto that, pursuant to this Section 8 purchases Securities that a defaulting Underwriter agreed but failed to purchase.
(b) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Securities of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by the non-defaulting Underwriters and the Issuer as provided in paragraph (a) above, the aggregate principal amount of such Securities that remains unpurchased does not exceed one-eleventh of the aggregate principal amount of all the Securities, then the Issuer shall have the right to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase the principal amount of Securities that such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder plus such Underwriter’s pro rata share (based on the principal amount of Securities that such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder) of the Securities of such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters for which such arrangements have not been made.
(c) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Securities of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by the non-defaulting Underwriters and the Issuer as provided in paragraph (a) above, the aggregate principal amount of such Securities that remains unpurchased exceeds one-eleventh of the aggregate principal amount of all the Securities, or if the Issuer shall not exercise the right described in paragraph (b) above, then this Agreement shall
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terminate without liability on the part of the non-defaulting Underwriters. Any termination of this Agreement pursuant to this Section 8 shall be without liability on the part of the Issuer, except that the Issuer will continue to be liable for the payment of expenses as set forth in Section 10 hereof and except that the provisions of Section 7 hereof shall not terminate and shall remain in effect.
(d) Nothing contained herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter of any liability it may have to the Issuer or any non-defaulting Underwriter for damages caused by its default.
9. Effectiveness of Agreement. This Agreement shall become effective upon the execution and delivery hereof by the parties hereto.
10. Payment of Expenses. (a) Whether or not the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are consummated or this Agreement is terminated, the Issuer covenants and agrees with the Underwriters that it will pay or cause to be paid the following: (i) the fees, disbursements and expenses of the Issuer’s counsel and accountants in connection with the issue of the Securities and all other expenses in connection with the preparation, printing, reproduction and filing of the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any Time of Sale Information and the Final Prospectus (including all exhibits, amendments and supplements thereto) and the distribution thereof to the Underwriters and dealers; (ii) the cost of printing or producing or distributing each of this Agreement, the Transaction Documents, the Blue Sky Memorandum, closing documents (including any compilations thereof) 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 4(h) hereof, including the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters 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 (not including the related legal fees); (vi) the fees, expenses and disbursements of the Trustee and the Paying Agent in connection with the Transaction Documents and the Securities; (vii) the costs and charges of any transfer agent and registrar; (viii) all expenses incurred by the Issuer in connection with any “road show” presentation to potential investors; (ix) all expenses and application fees in connection with the listing of the Securities on the NYSE; and (x) all other costs and expenses incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder which are not otherwise specifically provided for in this Section 10. It is understood, however, that, the Underwriters will pay, except as provided in this Section 10, and Section 7 hereof, 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, pro rata (based on the principal amount of Securities that such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder) (with respect to each Underwriter, the “Pro Rata Expenses”).
(b) If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to Section 8 hereof or if any Underwriter shall default in its obligations hereunder, or if the Underwriters shall fail to take and purchase the Securities due to the failure of the condition set forth in Section 6(c) hereof to be met, the Issuer shall not then be under any liability to any Underwriter except as provided in Section 7 hereof; but for any other reason the Securities are not delivered by or on behalf of the Issuer as provided herein, the Issuer will reimburse the Underwriters for all out-of-pocket expenses, including fees
19
and disbursements of counsel, reasonably incurred by the Underwriters in making preparations for the purchase, sale and delivery of the Securities, but the Issuer shall then be under no further liability to the Underwriters except as provided in Section 7 hereof.
11. Persons Entitled to Benefit of Agreement. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors and, solely to the extent set forth in Section 7 hereof, the officers and directors and any controlling persons referred to therein, and the affiliates of each Underwriter referred to therein. Nothing in this Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give any other person any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement or any provision contained herein. No purchaser of Securities from any Underwriter shall be deemed to be a successor merely by reason of such purchase.
12. Survival. The respective indemnities, rights of contribution, representations, warranties and agreements of the Issuer and the Underwriters contained in this Agreement or made by or on behalf of the Issuer or the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement or any certificate delivered pursuant hereto shall survive the delivery of and payment for the Securities and shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of any termination of this Agreement or any investigation made by or on behalf of the Issuer or the Underwriters.
13. Certain Defined Terms. For purposes of this Agreement, (a) except where otherwise expressly provided, the term “affiliate” has the meaning set forth in Rule 405 under the Securities Act; (b) the term “business day” means any day other than a day on which banks are permitted or required to be closed in New York City or London, England; (c) the term “subsidiary” has the meaning set forth in Rule 405 under the Securities Act; and (d) the term “significant subsidiary” has the meaning set forth in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X under the Exchange Act.
14. Miscellaneous.
(a) Notices. All notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given if mailed or transmitted and confirmed by any standard form of telecommunication. Notices to the Underwriters shall be given to J.P. Morgan Securities plc, at 25 Bank Street, Canary Wharf, London E14 5JP, United Kingdom, Attention: Head of Debt Syndicate and Head of EMEA Debt Capital Markets Group and Merrill Lynch International, at 2 King Edward Street, London, EC1A 1HQ, United Kingdom, Attention: Syndicate Desk. Notices to the Issuer shall be delivered or sent by mail or facsimile transmission to the address of the Issuer set forth in the Registration Statement, Attention: Chief Financial Officer.
(b) Patriot Act. 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 Issuer, 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.
(c) Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.
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(d) Counterparts. This Agreement may be signed in counterparts (which may include counterparts delivered by any standard form of telecommunication), each of which shall be an original and all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. The words “execution,” “signed,” “signature,” “delivery,” and words of like import in or relating to this Agreement or any document to be signed in connection with this Agreement shall be deemed to include electronic signatures, deliveries or the keeping of records in electronic form, each of which shall be of the same legal effect, validity or enforceability as a manually executed signature, physical delivery thereof or the use of a paper-based recordkeeping system, as the case may be, and the parties hereto consent to conduct the transactions contemplated hereunder by electronic means.
(e) Amendments or Waivers. No amendment or waiver of any provision of this Agreement, nor any consent or approval to any departure therefrom, shall in any event be effective unless the same shall be in writing and signed by the parties hereto.
(f) Headings. The headings herein are included for convenience of reference only and are not intended to be part of, or to affect the meaning or interpretation of, this Agreement.
(g) UK Bail-in Legislation. Notwithstanding and to the exclusion of any other term of this Agreement or any other agreements, arrangements, or understanding between the Underwriters and the Issuer, the Issuer acknowledges and accepts that a UK Bail-in Liability arising under this Agreement may be subject to the exercise of UK Bail-in Powers by the relevant UK resolution authority, and acknowledges, accepts, and agrees to be bound by:
(1) the effect of the exercise of UK Bail-in Powers by the relevant UK resolution authority in relation to any UK Bail-in Liability of the Underwriters to the Issuer under this Agreement, that (without limitation) may include and result in any of the following, or some combination thereof:
(a) the reduction of all, or a portion, of the UK Bail-in Liability or outstanding amounts due thereon;
(b) the conversion of all, or a portion, of the UK Bail-in Liability into shares, other securities or other obligations of the Underwriters or another person, and the issue to or conferral on the Issuer of such shares, securities or obligations;
(c) the cancellation of the UK Bail-in Liability;
(d) the amendment or alteration of any interest, if applicable, thereon, the maturity or the dates on which any payments are due, including by suspending payment for a temporary period;
(2) the variation of the terms of this Agreement, as deemed necessary by the relevant UK resolution authority, to give effect to the exercise of UK Bail-in Powers by the relevant UK resolution authority.
For the purpose of this Section 14(g),
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(1) “UK Bail-in Legislation” means Part I of the UK Banking Act 2009 and any other law or regulation applicable in the UK relating to the resolution of unsound or failing banks, investment firms or other financial institutions or their affiliates (otherwise than through liquidation, administration or other insolvency proceedings).
(2) “UK Bail-in Powers” means the powers under the UK Bail-in Legislation to cancel, transfer or dilute shares issued by a person that is a bank or investment firm or affiliate of a bank or investment firm, to cancel, reduce, modify or change the form of a liability of such a person or any contract or instrument under which that liability arises, to convert all or part of that liability into shares, securities or obligations of that person or any other person, to provide that any such contract or instrument is to have effect as if a right had been exercised under it to suspend any obligation in respect of that liability.
(3) “UK Bail-in Liability” means a liability in respect of which the UK Bail-in Powers may be exercised.
(h) Agreement Among Managers. By executing this Agreement, each of the Underwriters hereby agrees to be bound by the provisions of the International Capital Markets Association Agreement Among Managers Version 1/New York Law Schedule (the “AMM”), save that clause 3 of the AMM shall be deleted in its entirety and replaced with Section 8 of this Agreement and, in the event of any conflict between the provisions of the AMM and this Agreement, the terms of this Agreement shall prevail. For the purposes of the AMM, “Managers” means the Underwriters, “Lead Managers” means the Underwriters, “Settlement Lead Manager” means Merrill Lynch International, “Stabilizing Manager” means Merrill Lynch International and “Subscription Agreement” means this Agreement.
(i) Co-Manufacturer Acknowledgement. Solely for the purposes of the requirements of 3.2.7R of the FCA Handbook Product Intervention and Product Governance Sourcebook (the “UK MiFIR Product Governance Rules”) regarding the mutual responsibilities of manufacturers under the UK MiFIR Product Governance Rules:
(a) each of J.P. Morgan Securities plc and Merrill Lynch International (each a “UK Manufacturer” and together the “UK Manufacturers”) acknowledges to each other UK Manufacturer that it understands the responsibilities conferred upon it under the UK MiFIR Product Governance Rules relating to each of the product approval process, the target market and the proposed distribution channels as applying to the Securities and the related information set out in the Prospectus and announcements in connection with the Securities; and
(b) the Issuer notes the application of the UK MiFIR Product Governance Rules and acknowledges the target market and distribution channels identified as applying to the Securities by the UK Manufacturers and the related information set out in the Prospectus and announcements in connection with the Securities.
(j) Stabilization. The Issuer hereby authorizes the Stabilizing Manager to make adequate public disclosure regarding stabilization of the information required in relation to such
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stabilization by Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052, and by the price stabilizing rules of the UK Financial Conduct Authority. The Stabilizing Manager for its own account may, to the extent permitted by applicable laws and directives, over-allot and effect transactions with a view to supporting the market price of the Securities at a level higher than that which might otherwise prevail, but in doing so the Stabilizing Manager shall act as principal and not as agent of the Issuer and any loss resulting from overallotment and stabilization shall be borne, and any profit arising therefrom shall be beneficially retained, by the Stabilizing Manager. However, there is no assurance that the Stabilizing Manager (or persons acting on behalf of the Stabilizing Manager) will undertake any stabilization action. Nothing contained in this paragraph shall be construed so as to require the Issuer to issue in excess of the aggregate principal amount of Securities specified in Schedule 1 hereto. Such stabilization, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time and shall be conducted by the Stabilizing Manager in accordance with all applicable laws and directives.
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If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding, please indicate your acceptance of this Agreement by signing in the space provided below.
| Very truly yours, | ||
|
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. | ||
| By | /s/ Marc D. Hamburg | |
| Name: | Marc D. Hamburg | |
| Title: Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | ||
[Berkshire Hathaway Inc. — Underwriting Agreement]
| Accepted as of the date hereof: | ||||
| J.P. MORGAN SECURITIES PLC | ||||
| By | /s/ Dimis Theodorou | |||
| Name: | Dimis Theodorou | |||
| Title: | Executive Director | |||
| MERRILL LYNCH INTERNATIONAL | ||||
| By | /s/ Angus Reynolds | |||
| Name: | Angus Reynolds | |||
| Title: | Authorised Signatory | |||
[Berkshire Hathaway Inc. — Underwriting Agreement]
Schedule 1
| Underwriter |
Principal Amount of 0.500% Senior Notes due 2041 |
|||
| J.P. Morgan Securities plc |
€ | 300,000,000 | ||
| Merrill Lynch International |
€ | 300,000,000 | ||
|
|
|
|||
| Total |
€ | 600,000,000 | ||
Sch 1-1
Annex A
Time of Sale Information
The final term sheet in the form set forth in Annex B hereto
A-1
Annex B
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC.
Pricing Term Sheet
€600,000,000 0.500% Senior Notes due 2041
| Issuer: | Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | |
| Offering Format: | SEC Registered | |
| Trade Date: | January 5, 2021 | |
| Settlement Date: | January 15, 2021 (T+8) | |
| Expected Ratings*: | [Intentionally Omitted] | |
| Principal Amount: |
€600,000,000 | |
| Maturity Date: |
January 15, 2041 | |
| Issue Price (Price to Public): |
97.269% of face amount | |
| Gross Spread: |
35 bps | |
| Proceeds to Issuer: |
€581,514,000 | |
| Interest Rate: |
0.500% per annum | |
| Yield to Maturity: |
0.646% | |
| Spread to Mid Swap: |
+65 bps | |
| Mid Swap Yield: |
-0.004% | |
| Benchmark Security: |
DBR 4.750% due July 4, 2040 | |
| Benchmark Security Price: |
203.79% | |
| Benchmark Security Yield: |
-0.374% | |
| Spread to Benchmark Security: |
+102.0 bps | |
| Day Count Convention: |
ACTUAL/ACTUAL (ICMA) | |
B-1
| Interest Payment Dates: |
Annually on January 15, commencing January 15, 2022 | |
| Optional Redemption: |
At any time prior to July 15, 2040: Make-whole redemption at comparable government bond rate plus +15 bps On or after July 15, 2040: Redemption at par | |
| Minimum Denomination: |
€100,000 and integral multiples of €1,000 in excess thereof | |
| CUSIP: |
084670 CT3 | |
| Common Code: |
228078077 | |
| ISIN: |
XS2280780771 | |
| Paying Agent: |
The Bank of New York Mellon, London Branch | |
| Listing: |
The Issuer intends to apply to list the 0.500% Senior Notes due 2041 on the New York Stock Exchange | |
Other Information
| Joint Book-Running Managers: | J.P. Morgan Securities plc Merrill Lynch International |
| * | Note: A securities rating is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities and may be subject to revision or withdrawal at any time |
UK MiFIR professionals/ECPs-only/No PRIIPs KID: Manufacturer target market (UK MiFIR product governance) is eligible counterparties and professional clients only (all distribution channels). No PRIIPs key information document (KID) has been prepared as the Securities are not available to retail investors in the EEA or in the United Kingdom.
Settlement Period: The closing will occur on January 15, 2021, which will be more than two U.S. business days after the date of this pricing term sheet. Rule 15c6-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 generally requires that securities trades in the secondary market settle in two business days, unless the parties to a trade expressly agree otherwise.
The Issuer has filed a registration statement (including a prospectus) with the SEC for the offering to which this communication relates. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in that registration statement and other documents the Issuer has filed with the SEC for more complete information about the Issuer and this offering. You may get these documents for free
B-2
by visiting EDGAR on the SEC Web site at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, the issuer, any underwriter or any dealer participating in the offering will arrange to send you the prospectus if you request it by calling J.P. Morgan Securities plc collect at +44-207-134-2468 or Merrill Lynch International toll-free at +1-800-294-1322.
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Annex C
Opinion of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP
(i) The Registration Statement became effective under the Securities Act upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462 of the Securities Act; the Indenture has been qualified under the Trust Indenture Act; the Final Prospectus was filed with the Commission in the manner and within the time period specified by Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act; and, to the knowledge of such counsel, no order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued and no proceeding for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act against the Issuer or in connection with the offering is pending or threatened by the Commission.
(ii) Based solely on such counsel’s review of a certificate of good standing issued by the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware, the Issuer is validly existing as a corporation, in good standing under the laws of the state of Delaware, with the corporate power and authority to own its properties and conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement and the Final Prospectus.
(iii) Based solely on such counsel’s review of a certificate of good standing issued by the relevant jurisdiction of incorporation, each of the Significant Subsidiaries is validly existing as a corporation, in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation.
(iv) This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Issuer.
(v) The Indenture has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Issuer, and assuming due authorization, execution and delivery thereof by the Trustee, constitutes a valid and binding obligation of the Issuer, enforceable against it 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.
(vi) The Agency Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Issuer, and assuming due authorization, execution and delivery thereof by the Paying Agent, constitutes a valid and binding obligation of the Issuer, enforceable against it 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.
(vii) The Securities being delivered on the Closing Date have been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Issuer and, assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery of the Indenture by the Trustee and the due authentication of the Securities by the Trustee in accordance with the Indenture, have been issued in accordance with the terms of the Indenture and constitute valid and binding obligations of the Issuer, enforceable against the Issuer in accordance with their terms, subject, as to
C-1
enforcement, to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization and other laws of general applicability relating to or affecting creditors’ rights and to general equity principles; the Securities are in the form contemplated by, and are entitled to the benefits of, the Indenture.
(viii) The issue and sale of the Securities, and the compliance by the Issuer with all of the provisions of the Securities, the Transaction Documents and this Agreement, and the consummation of the transactions herein and therein contemplated, will not (A) 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 Issuer is a party and which is identified in the officer’s certificates delivered to such counsel by the Issuer in connection with the rendering of such opinion, (B) violate the provisions of the Restated Certificate of Incorporation or By-laws (as amended through the date of such opinion) of the Issuer or (C) violate any order known to such counsel to be applicable to the Issuer of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Issuer, except, in the case of clauses (A) and (C), any such conflict, breach, violation, or default which would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;
(ix) No consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any such court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Issuer is required under the Specified Laws for the issue and sale of the Securities or the execution and delivery by the Issuer of the Transaction Documents, except such as have already been obtained or made and are in full force and effect, or as may be required for the registration of the Securities under the Securities Act or the qualification of the Indenture under the Trust Indenture Act, or as may be required under state securities or Blue Sky laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Securities by the Underwriters, or the failure of which to obtain would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(x) The statements set forth in the Time of Sale Information and the Final Prospectus under the caption “Description of the Notes” (other than under the subsection “Depositary Procedures”) and “Description of the Debt Securities,” insofar as they purport to constitute a summary of the terms of the Securities, and based on the assumptions and subject to the qualifications and limitations set forth therein, are correct in all material respects.
(xi) The statements set forth in the Time of Sale Information and the Final Prospectus under the caption “Certain United States Federal Income Tax Considerations,” insofar as they purport to constitute summaries of matters of United States federal income tax law and regulations or legal conclusions with respect thereto, and based on the assumptions and subject to the qualifications and limitations set forth therein, are correct in all material respects.
(xii) The Issuer is not an “investment company” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act.
C-2
Such opinions shall be limited to the laws of the States of New York and Delaware (and as to Delaware, limited to the Delaware General Corporation Law) or the United States (the “Specified Laws”). In rendering such opinion, such counsel may, as to matters of fact, rely on certificates of responsible officers of the Issuer or the Significant Subsidiaries, and public officials.
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10b-5 Statement of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP
Counsel shall state that, based upon their participation in the preparation of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Final Prospectus (excluding the documents incorporated by reference therein) and any amendments or supplements thereto:
(i) the Registration Statement at the time it became effective, the Preliminary Prospectus and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus included in the Time of Sale Information as of the Time of Sale (which such counsel may assume is 1:45 pm Eastern time on the date of this Agreement) and the Final Prospectus as of its date (other than, in each case, the financial statements, financial and accounting data or supporting schedules (or any notes to any such statements or schedules) or other financial or statistical information included or incorporated by reference in (or omitted from) such documents, as to which such counsel need express no view) appear on their faces to have complied as to form in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act; and the Indenture appears on its face to have complied as to form in all material respects with the requirements of the Trust Indenture Act; and
(ii) no facts have come to their attention to cause them to believe that (A) the Registration Statement, at the time of its effective date (including the information, if any, deemed to be part of the Registration Statement at the time of effectiveness), contained any 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; (B) the Time of Sale Information, as of the Time of Sale, 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 Final Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto executed by the Issuer prior to the Closing Date contained as of its date or contains as of the Closing Date an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or omits, as the case may be, to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; in each case, other than the financial statements, financial and accounting data or supporting schedules (or any notes to any such statements or schedules) or other financial or statistical information included or incorporated by reference in (or omitted from) such documents, as to which such counsel need express no view.
C-4
Exhibit 1.2
Execution Version
$750,000,000
Berkshire Hathaway Finance Corporation
$750,000,000 2.500% Senior Notes due 2051
Unconditionally Guaranteed by
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Underwriting Agreement
January 5, 2021
BofA Securities, Inc.
One Bryant Park
New York, New York 10036
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
383 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10179
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Berkshire Hathaway Finance Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the “Issuer”) and a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Guarantor”), proposes to issue and sell to BofA Securities, Inc. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (each an “Underwriter,” and together, the “Underwriters”), $750,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its 2.500% Senior Notes due 2051 (the “Notes”). The Notes will be issued pursuant to an Indenture dated as of January 26, 2016 (including the terms of the Notes to be established pursuant thereto, the “Indenture”) among the Issuer, the Guarantor and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as trustee (the “Trustee”). Each of such Notes will have the benefit of an unconditional and irrevocable guarantee (the “Guarantee”) as to the payment of principal and interest from the Guarantor. The Notes and the Guarantee are referred to collectively in this Agreement as the “Securities.”
Each of the Issuer and the Guarantor, jointly and severally, hereby confirms its agreement with the Underwriters concerning the purchase and sale of the Securities, as follows:
1. Registration Statement. A registration statement on Form S-3 (Registration No. 333-229396), including a prospectus (the “Base Prospectus”) relating to the Securities, has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (collectively, the “Securities Act”), and has become effective under the Securities Act. Such registration statement, including any prospectus supplement relating to the Securities filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act and any other information deemed to be part of such registration statement pursuant to Rule 430B under the Securities Act, is
hereinafter referred to as the “Registration Statement.” The Base Prospectus, as supplemented by a prospectus supplement to reflect the final terms of the Securities and the offering thereof, as filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act, is hereinafter referred to as the “Final Prospectus.” The Base Prospectus, as supplemented by any preliminary prospectus supplement which describes the Securities and the offering thereof, as filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act, is hereinafter referred to as a “Preliminary Prospectus.” Any reference herein to the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus, a Preliminary Prospectus or the Final Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents that were filed by the Issuer or the Guarantor on or prior to the respective dates thereof under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (collectively, the “Exchange Act”), and incorporated by reference therein, excluding any documents or portions of such documents that are deemed under the rules and regulations of the Commission under the Securities Act not to be incorporated by reference therein; and any reference herein to the terms “amend,” “amendment” or “supplement” with respect to the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus, a Preliminary Prospectus or the Final Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the filing of any document under the Exchange Act deemed to be incorporated therein by reference after the respective dates thereof.
At or prior to the time when sales of the Securities were first made (the “Time of Sale”), the Issuer and the Guarantor had prepared the following information (the “Time of Sale Information”): a Preliminary Prospectus dated January 5, 2021, and each “free-writing prospectus” (as defined pursuant to Rule 405 under the Securities Act) listed on Annex A hereto.
2. Purchase of the Securities by the Underwriters. (a) On the basis of the representations, warranties and agreements set forth herein and subject to the conditions set forth herein, the Issuer agrees to issue and sell the Securities to each Underwriter as provided in this Agreement, and each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, agrees to purchase from the Issuer the respective principal amount of Securities set forth opposite such Underwriter’s name in Schedule 1 hereto at a price equal to 98.452% of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued interest, if any, from January 15, 2021, to the Closing Date (as defined below). The Issuer will not be obligated to deliver any of the Securities except upon payment for all the Securities to be purchased as provided herein.
(b) The Issuer and the Guarantor understand that the Underwriters intend to make a public offering of the Securities as soon as practicable after the effectiveness of this Agreement as in the judgment of the Underwriters is advisable, and initially to offer the Securities on the terms set forth in the Final Prospectus. The Issuer and the Guarantor acknowledge and agree that each Underwriter may offer and sell Securities to or through any affiliate of such Underwriter and that any such affiliate may offer and sell Securities purchased by it to or through the applicable Underwriter.
(c) Payment for and delivery of the Securities will be made at the offices of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP at 10:30 A.M., New York City time, on January 15, 2021, or at such other time or place on the same or such other date, not later than the fifth business day thereafter, as the Underwriters, the Issuer and the Guarantor may agree upon in writing. The time and date of such payment and delivery is referred to herein as the “Closing Date.”
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(d) Payment for the Securities shall be made by wire transfer in immediately available funds to the account(s) specified to the Underwriters by the Issuer and the Guarantor against delivery to the nominee of The Depository Trust Company, for the account of the Underwriters, of one or more global notes representing the Securities (collectively, the “Global Notes”), with any transfer taxes payable in connection with the sale of the Securities duly paid by the Issuer, except to the extent such taxes were imposed due to the failure of an Underwriter, upon the request of the Issuer, to use its reasonable efforts to provide any form, certificate, document or other information that would have reduced or eliminated the withholding or deduction of such taxes. The Global Notes will be made available for inspection by the Underwriters not later than 1:00 P.M., New York City time, on the business day prior to the Closing Date.
(e) Each of the Issuer and the Guarantor acknowledges and agrees that each Underwriter is acting solely in the capacity of an arm’s length contractual counterparty to each of the Issuer and the Guarantor with respect to the offering of Securities contemplated hereby (including in connection with determining the terms of the offering) and not as a financial advisor or a fiduciary to, or an agent of, the Issuer, the Guarantor or any other person. Additionally, the Underwriters are not advising the Issuer or the Guarantor or any other person as to any legal, tax, investment, accounting or regulatory matters in any jurisdiction. Each of the Issuer and the Guarantor shall consult with its own advisors concerning such matters and shall be responsible for making its own independent investigation and appraisal of the transactions contemplated hereby, and the Underwriters shall have no responsibility or liability to the Issuer or the Guarantor with respect thereto. Any review by the Underwriters of the Issuer, the Guarantor and the transactions contemplated hereby or other matters relating to such transactions will be performed solely for the benefit of the Underwriters and shall not be on behalf of the Issuer or the Guarantor.
3. Representations and Warranties of the Issuer and the Guarantor. Each of the Issuer and the Guarantor, jointly and severally, represents and warrants to each Underwriter that:
(a) Time of Sale Information. The Time of Sale Information at the Time of Sale did not, and at the Closing Date will not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that the Issuer and the Guarantor make no representation and warranty with respect to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished to the Issuer or the Guarantor in writing by any Underwriter expressly for use in such Time of Sale Information. No statement of a material fact to be included in the Final Prospectus has been omitted from the Time of Sale Information and no statement of a material fact included in the Time of Sale Information that is required to be included in the Final Prospectus will be omitted therefrom.
(b) Preliminary Prospectus. No order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus has been issued by the Commission, and each Preliminary Prospectus, at the time of filing thereof, complied in all material respects with the Securities Act and did not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that the Issuer and the
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Guarantor make no representation and warranty with respect to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished to the Issuer in writing by any Underwriter expressly for use in any Preliminary Prospectus.
(c) Issuer Free Writing Prospectus. The Issuer and the Guarantor (including their respective agents and representatives, other than the Underwriters in their capacity as such) have not prepared, made, used, authorized, approved or referred to and will not prepare, make, use, authorize, approve or refer to any “written communication” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) that constitutes an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy the Securities (each such communication by the Issuer, the Guarantor or their respective agents and representatives, other than the Underwriters (other than a communication referred to in clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) below), an “Issuer Free Writing Prospectus”), other than (i) any document not constituting a prospectus pursuant to Section 2(a)(10)(a) of the Securities Act or Rule 134 under the Securities Act, (ii) any Preliminary Prospectus, (iii) the Final Prospectus, (iv) the documents listed on Annex A hereto and (v) any electronic road show or other written communications, in each case approved in advance by the Underwriters. Each such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus complied in all material respects with the Securities Act, has been or will be (within the time period specified in Rule 433) filed in accordance with the Securities Act (to the extent required thereby) and, when taken together with any Preliminary Prospectus, did not, and at the Closing Date will not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that the Issuer and the Guarantor make no representation and warranty with respect to any statements or omissions made in each such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished to the Issuer in writing by any Underwriter expressly for use in any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus.
(d) Registration Statement and Final Prospectus. The Registration Statement is an “automatic shelf registration statement” as defined under Rule 405 of the Securities Act that has been filed with the Commission not earlier than three years prior to the date hereof; 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 Securities Act has been received by the Issuer or the Guarantor. No order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued by the Commission and no proceeding for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act against the Issuer or the Guarantor or related to the offering has been initiated or threatened by the Commission; as of the applicable effective date of the Registration Statement and any amendment thereto, the Registration Statement complied and will comply in all material respects with the Securities Act and the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (collectively, the “Trust Indenture Act”), and did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading; and as of the date of the Final Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto and as of the Closing Date, the Final Prospectus will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that the Issuer and the Guarantor make no representation and warranty with respect to (i) that part of the Registration Statement that constitutes the Statement of Eligibility and Qualification (Form T-1) of the Trustee under the
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Trust Indenture Act or (ii) any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished to the Issuer in writing by any Underwriter expressly for use in the Registration Statement or the Final Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto).
(e) Incorporated Documents. The documents incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Final 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 Exchange Act and none of such documents contained any 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, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and any further documents so filed and incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information or the Final Prospectus, 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 Securities Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and will not contain any 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.
(f) No Material Adverse Change. Since the date of the most recent consolidated financial statements of the Guarantor included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Final Prospectus, unless the Issuer or the Guarantor has notified the Underwriters as provided in Section 4(g) of this Agreement, there has been no material adverse change, or any development involving a prospective material adverse change, in or affecting the senior management of the Issuer or the Guarantor or the business or the consolidated financial position or results of operations of the Issuer, the Guarantor and the Guarantor’s subsidiaries, taken as a whole (a “Material Adverse Effect”), in each case otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Final Prospectus (excluding any amendment or supplement thereto after the date of this Agreement).
(g) Organization and Good Standing of the Issuer and the Guarantor. Each of the Issuer and the Guarantor has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the state of Delaware, with power and authority (corporate and other) to own its properties and conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Final Prospectus, and 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, except where the failure (individually or in the aggregate) to be so qualified or in good standing in any such jurisdiction would not have a Material Adverse Effect.
(h) Organization and Good Standing of the Significant Subsidiaries. Each of the Guarantors’s subsidiaries, General Re Corporation, GEICO Corporation, National Indemnity Company, Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, LLC, Marmon Holdings, Inc., The Lubrizol Corporation and Precision Castparts Corp. (the “Significant Subsidiaries”) has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation, with corporate power and authority to
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own its properties and conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Final Prospectus and 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, except where the failure (individually or in the aggregate) to be so qualified or in good standing in any such jurisdiction would not have a Material Adverse Effect.
(i) Underwriting Agreement. This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Issuer and the Guarantor.
(j) The Indenture. The Indenture has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by each of the Issuer and the Guarantor, and assuming due authorization, execution and delivery thereof by the Trustee, constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of each of the Issuer and the Guarantor, enforceable against it 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; the Indenture complies with the requirements for qualification under the Trust Indenture Act.
(k) The Guarantee. The Guarantee has been duly authorized by the Guarantor and, when executed and delivered by the Guarantor on the Closing Date, will constitute a valid and legally binding obligation of the Guarantor, enforceable against the Guarantor 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.
(l) The Notes. The Notes have been duly authorized by the Issuer and, when issued and delivered pursuant to this Agreement and the Indenture and authenticated by the Trustee as provided in the Indenture, will have been duly executed, authenticated, issued and delivered and will constitute valid and legally binding obligations of the Issuer, enforceable against the Issuer in accordance with their 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 will be in the form contemplated by, and will be entitled to the benefits of, the Indenture.
(m) Descriptions of the Transaction Documents. Each of this Agreement, the Securities and the Indenture (collectively, the “Transaction Documents”) conforms in all material respects to the description thereof contained in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Final Prospectus.
(n) No Registration Rights. No person has the right to require the Issuer or the Guarantor to register any securities for sale under the Securities Act by reason of the filing of the Registration Statement with the Commission or the issuance and sale of the Securities.
(o) Issuer’s and Significant Subsidiaries’ Capital Stock. All of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Issuer are owned directly by the Guarantor, free and clear of all material liens, encumbrances, equities or claims; and all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of each Significant Subsidiary have been duly and validly authorized and
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issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and (except for any directors’ qualifying shares, and except for less than 10% of the shares of Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company) are owned directly or indirectly by the Guarantor, free and clear of all material liens, encumbrances, equities or claims.
(p) No Issuer Subsidiaries. The Issuer has no subsidiaries.
(q) No Stabilization or Manipulation. Prior to the date hereof, neither the Issuer nor the Guarantor nor any of their respective affiliates has taken any action which is designed to or which has constituted or which might have been expected to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Issuer or the Guarantor in connection with the offering of the Securities.
(r) No Conflicts. The issue and sale by the Issuer of the Notes and the delivery and sale by the Guarantor of the Guarantee, the compliance by the Issuer and the Guarantor with all of the provisions of the Transaction Documents and the consummation of the transactions therein contemplated will not (i) 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 Issuer, the Guarantor or any of the Significant Subsidiaries is a party or by which the Issuer, the Guarantor or any of the Significant Subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Issuer, the Guarantor or any of the Significant Subsidiaries is subject, or (ii) result in any violation of (A) the provisions of the Restated Certificate of Incorporation or By-laws of the Issuer or the provisions of the Restated Certificate of Incorporation or By-laws of the Guarantor or (B) any statute or any order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Issuer, the Guarantor or any of the Significant Subsidiaries or any of their properties, except, in the case of clauses (i) and (ii)(B), for any such conflict, breach, violation, or default which (individually or in the aggregate) would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. 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 Issuer and the Guarantor of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, except for any such consents, approvals, authorizations, orders, registrations or qualifications as may be required under the Securities Act and the Trust Indenture Act, or under state securities or Blue Sky laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Securities by the Underwriters, or the failure of which to obtain would not (individually or in the aggregate) have a Material Adverse Effect.
(s) No Violation or Default. None of the Issuer, the Guarantor or any Significant Subsidiary is (i) in violation of its Certificate of Incorporation or Restated Certificate of Incorporation (as the case may be) or By-laws or (ii) in default in the performance or observance of any material obligation, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, lease or other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it or any of its properties may be bound, except in the case of clause (i) for any immaterial violation of its By-laws or in the case of clause (ii) where such violation would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
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(t) Legal Proceedings. Except as described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Final Prospectus, there are no legal or governmental proceedings pending to which the Issuer, the Guarantor or any of the Significant Subsidiaries is a party or of which any property of the Issuer, the Guarantor or any of the Significant Subsidiaries is the subject which, if determined adversely to the Issuer, the Guarantor or any Significant Subsidiary, would individually or in the aggregate have a Material Adverse Effect; and, to the best of the Issuer’s and the Guarantor’s knowledge, no such proceedings are threatened or contemplated by governmental authorities or threatened by others.
(u) Investment Company Act. Neither the Issuer nor the Guarantor is, and after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Securities and the application of the proceeds thereof, neither the Issuer nor the Guarantor will be, an “investment company,” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”).
(v) Independent Accountants. To the best of the Issuer’s and the Guarantor’s knowledge, Deloitte & Touche LLP, who have certified the consolidated financial statements of the Guarantor included in the Registration Statement, is an independent registered public accounting firm as required by the Securities Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board thereunder.
(w) Accounting Controls. The Guarantor maintains a system of internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act) that complies with the requirements of the Exchange Act and has been designed by the Guarantor’s 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 Guarantor’s internal control over financial reporting is effective and the Guarantor is not aware of any material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting in each case as of the end of the most recent fiscal year of the Guarantor.
(x) Disclosure Controls. The Guarantor maintains “disclosure controls and procedures” (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of 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 Guarantor and its consolidated subsidiaries is made known to the Guarantor’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer by others within those entities; such disclosure controls and procedures are effective.
(y) No Material Change in the Guarantor’s Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, there has been no change in the Guarantor’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Guarantor’s internal control over financial reporting.
(z) Status under the Securities Act. Each of the Issuer and the Guarantor is not an ineligible issuer and is a well-known seasoned issuer, in each case as defined under the Securities Act, in each case at the times specified in the Securities Act in connection with the offering of the Securities.
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4. Further Agreements of the Issuer and the Guarantor. The Issuer covenants and agrees with each Underwriter that:
(a) Required Filings. The Issuer and the Guarantor will file the Final Prospectus with the Commission within the time periods specified by Rule 424(b) and Rule 430A, 430B or 430C under the Securities Act, will file any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (including the term sheet in the form of Annex B hereto) to the extent required by Rule 433 under the Securities Act; the Issuer and the Guarantor, as appropriate, will file promptly all reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Issuer or the Guarantor with the Commission pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act subsequent to the date of the Final Prospectus and for so long as the delivery of a prospectus is required in connection with the offering or sale of the Securities; and the Issuer and the Guarantor will furnish copies of the Final Prospectus and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (to the extent not previously delivered) to the Underwriters in New York City prior to 10:00 A.M., New York City time, on the business day next succeeding the date of this Agreement in such quantities as the Underwriters may reasonably request. The Issuer and the Guarantor will pay the registration fees for this offering within the time period required by Rule 456(b)(1)(i) under the Securities Act (without giving effect to the proviso therein) and in any event prior to the Closing Date.
(b) Delivery of Copies. The Issuer and the Guarantor will deliver, without charge to the Underwriters (during the Prospectus Delivery Period (as defined below), as many copies of the Final Prospectus (including all amendments and supplements thereto)) and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus as the Underwriters may reasonably request. As used herein, the term “Prospectus Delivery Period” means such period of time after the first date of the public offering of the Securities as in the opinion of counsel for the Underwriters a prospectus relating to the Securities is required by law to be delivered (or required to be delivered but for Rule 172 under the Securities Act) in connection with sales of the Securities by any Underwriter or dealer; provided that the Underwriters shall promptly notify the Issuer and the Guarantor of the termination of the Prospectus Delivery Period.
(c) Amendments or Supplements; Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses. Prior to the termination of the offering of the Securities, before using, authorizing, approving, referring to or filing any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, and before filing any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the Final Prospectus, whether before or after the time that the Registration Statement becomes effective, the Issuer and the Guarantor will furnish to the Underwriters and counsel for the Underwriters a copy of the proposed Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, amendment or supplement for review and will not use, authorize, approve, refer to or file any such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or file any such proposed amendment or supplement to which the Underwriters reasonably object.
(d) Notice to the Underwriters. From the date hereof until the end of the Prospectus Delivery Period, the Issuer and the Guarantor will advise the Underwriters promptly, and confirm such advice in writing, (i) when any amendment to the Registration Statement has been filed or becomes effective; (ii) when any supplement to the Final Prospectus or any amendment to the Final Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus has been filed; (iii) of any request by the Commission for any amendment to the Registration Statement or any
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amendment or supplement to the Final Prospectus or the receipt of any comments from the Commission relating to the Registration Statement or any other request by the Commission for any additional information relating thereto; (iv) when it learns of the issuance by the Commission of any order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or the Final Prospectus or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act; (v) when it learns of the occurrence of any event as a result of which the Final Prospectus, the Time of Sale Information or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances existing when the Final Prospectus, the Time of Sale Information or any such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus is delivered to a purchaser, not misleading; (vi) of the receipt by the Issuer 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 Securities Act; and (vii) of the receipt by the Issuer or the Guarantor of any notice with respect to any suspension of the qualification of the Securities for offer and sale in any jurisdiction or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose; and the Issuer and the Guarantor will use their reasonable best efforts to prevent the issuance of any such order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or the Final Prospectus or suspending any such qualification of the Securities and, if any such order is issued, will obtain as soon as possible the withdrawal thereof.
(e) Time of Sale Information. If at any time prior to the Closing Date (i) any event shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which the Time of Sale Information as then amended or supplemented would 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, not misleading or (ii) it is necessary to amend or supplement the Time of Sale Information to comply with law, the Issuer or the Guarantor will promptly notify the Underwriters thereof and forthwith prepare and, subject to paragraph (c) above, file with the Commission (to the extent required) and furnish to the Underwriters and to such dealers as the Underwriters may designate, such amendments or supplements to the Time of Sale Information as may be necessary so that the statements in the Time of Sale Information as so amended or supplemented will not, in the light of the circumstances, be misleading or so that the Time of Sale Information will comply with law.
(f) Recognition of the U.S. Special Resolution Regimes. In the event that any Underwriter that is a Covered Entity becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, the transfer from such Underwriter of this Agreement, and any interest and obligation in or under this Agreement, will be effective to the same extent as the transfer would be effective under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement, and any such interest and obligation, were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States. In the event that any Underwriter that is a Covered Entity or a BHC Act Affiliate of such Underwriter becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, Default Rights under this Agreement that may be exercised against such Underwriter are permitted to be exercised to no greater extent than such Default Rights could be exercised under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.
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For the purposes of this provision, (a) the term “BHC Act Affiliate” has the meaning assigned to the term “affiliate” in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 U.S.C. § 1841(k); (b) the term “Covered Entity” means any of the following: (i) a “covered entity” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 252.82(b); (ii) a “covered bank” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 47.3(b); or (iii) a “covered FSI” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 382.2(b); (c) the term “Default Right” has the meaning assigned to that term in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. §§ 252.81, 47.2 or 382.1, as applicable; and (d) the term “U.S. Special Resolution Regime” means each of (i) the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder and (ii) Title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
(g) Ongoing Compliance. If during the Prospectus Delivery Period (i) any event shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which the Final Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances existing when the Final Prospectus is delivered to a purchaser, not misleading or (ii) it is necessary to amend or supplement the Final Prospectus to comply with law, the Issuer or the Guarantor will immediately notify the Underwriters thereof and forthwith prepare and, subject to paragraph (c) above, file with the Commission and furnish to the Underwriters and to such dealers as the Underwriters may designate, such amendments or supplements to the Final Prospectus as may be necessary so that the statements in the Final Prospectus as so amended or supplemented will not, in the light of the circumstances existing when the Final Prospectus is delivered to a purchaser, be misleading or so that the Final Prospectus will comply with law.
(h) Blue Sky Compliance. The Issuer and the Guarantor will promptly from time to time take such action as the Underwriters may reasonably request to qualify the Securities for offer and sale under the securities or Blue Sky laws of such jurisdictions as the Underwriters shall reasonably request and will continue such qualifications in effect so long as required to complete the distribution of the Securities; provided that the Issuer and the Guarantor shall not be required to (i) qualify as a foreign corporation or other entity or as a dealer in securities in any such jurisdiction where it would not otherwise be required to so qualify, (ii) file any general consent to service of process in any such jurisdiction or (iii) take any action that would subject it to taxation in any such jurisdiction if it is not otherwise so subject.
(i) Earning Statement. The Guarantor will make generally available to its security holders an earning statement (that need not be audited) that satisfies the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and Rule 158 of the Commission promulgated thereunder covering a period of at least twelve months beginning with the first fiscal quarter of the Guarantor occurring after the “effective date” (as defined in Rule 158) of the Registration Statement.
(j) Clear Market. The Issuer and the Guarantor, during the period beginning from the date hereof and continuing until the Closing Date, will not offer, sell, contract to sell or otherwise dispose of, except as provided hereunder, any securities of the Issuer or the Guarantor that are substantially similar to the Securities, including but not limited to any securities that
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represent the right to receive the Securities or any such substantially similar securities, without the Underwriters’ prior written consent, other than any securities that have been identified to the Underwriters in writing prior to the date hereof.
(k) Use of Proceeds. The Issuer and the Guarantor will use the net proceeds received by the Issuer from the sale of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement in the manner specified in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Final Prospectus under the caption “Use of Proceeds.”
(l) No Stabilization. The Issuer will not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that could reasonably be expected to cause or result in any stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Securities.
(m) Record Retention. The Issuer will, pursuant to reasonable procedures developed in good faith, retain copies of each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is not filed with the Commission in accordance with Rule 433 under the Securities Act.
5. Certain Agreements of the Underwriters. Each Underwriter hereby represents and agrees that:
(a) It has not and will not use, authorize use of, refer to, or participate in the planning for use of, any “free writing prospectus”, as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act (which term includes use of any written information furnished to the Commission by the Issuer or the Guarantor and not incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement and any press release issued by the Issuer or the Guarantor) other than (i) a free writing prospectus that, solely as a result of use by such Underwriter, would not trigger an obligation to file such free writing prospectus with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433, (ii) any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus listed on Annex A or prepared pursuant to Section 3(c) or Section 4(c) above (including any electronic road show), or (iii) any free writing prospectus prepared by such Underwriter and approved by the Issuer and the Guarantor in advance in writing (each such free writing prospectus referred to in clauses (i) or (iii), an “Underwriter Free Writing Prospectus”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Underwriters may use a term sheet in the form of Annex B hereto without the consent of the Issuer or the Guarantor.
(b) It is not subject to any pending proceeding under Section 8A of the Securities Act with respect to the offering (and will promptly notify the Issuer and the Guarantor if any such proceeding against it is initiated during the Prospectus Delivery Period).
(c) (i) It has only communicated or caused to be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended, the “FSMA”)) received by it in connection with the issue or sale of the Securities in circumstances in which Section 21(1) of the FSMA is complied with or does not apply to the Issuer or the Guarantor; and (ii) it has complied and will comply with all applicable provisions of the FSMA with respect to anything done by it in relation to the Securities in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom.
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(d) It has not offered, sold or otherwise made available and will not offer, sell or otherwise make available any Securities to any retail investor in the European Economic Area.
For the purposes of this provision, (A) the expression “retail investor” means a person who is one (or more) of the following: (i) a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU (as amended, “MiFID II”); or (ii) a customer within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2016/97 (as amended, the “Insurance Distribution Directive”), where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II; or (iii) not a qualified investor as defined in Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (as amended, the “Prospectus Regulation”) and (B) the expression “offer” includes the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the Securities to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for the Securities.
(e) It has not offered, sold or otherwise made available and will not offer, sell or otherwise make available any Securities to any retail investor in the United Kingdom
For the purposes of this provision, (A) the expression “retail investor” means a person who is one (or more) of the following: (i) a retail client, as defined in point (8) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 2017/565 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (“EUWA”); or (ii) a customer within the meaning of the provisions of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended, the “FSMA”) and any rules or regulations made under the FSMA to implement Directive (EU) 2016/97, where that customer would not qualify as a professional client, as defined in point (8) of Article 2(1) of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the EUWA; or (iii) not a qualified investor as defined in Article 2 of the Prospectus Regulation as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018; and (B) the expression “offer” includes the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the Securities to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for the Securities.
(f) Neither it nor any of its affiliates (i) has offered or sold, or will offer or sell, in Hong Kong, by means of any document, the Securities other than (A) to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) of Hong Kong and any rules made under that Ordinance; or (B) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” as defined in the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32) of Hong Kong or which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of that Ordinance or (ii) has issued or had in its possession for the purposes of issue, or will issue or have in its possession for the purposes of issue, whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere, any advertisement, invitation or document relating to the Securities that is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public of Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to the Securities that are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance and any rules made under that Ordinance.
(g) The Registration Statement has not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. It has not offered or sold any Securities or caused the Securities to be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase and will not offer
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or sell any Securities or cause the Securities to be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, and has not circulated or distributed, and will not circulate or distribute, the Registration Statement or any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the Securities, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor (as defined in Section 4A of the Securities and Futures Act (Chapter 289) of Singapore, as modified and amended from time to time (the “SFA”)) pursuant to Section 274 of the SFA, (ii) to a relevant person (as defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA) pursuant to Section 275(1) of the SFA, or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A) of the SFA, and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the SFA or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA.
(h) It will not offer or sell any of the Securities, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan or to others, for re-offering or re-sale directly or indirectly in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan, except through a solicitation constituting a “solicitation targeting QIIs”, as defined in Article 23-13, Paragraph 1 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law, which will be exempt from the registration requirements of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law, and otherwise in compliance with, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law and any other applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan in effect at the relevant time. For the purposes of this provision, “resident of Japan” means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan; and it will cause a copy of the prospectus supplement relating to the Securities (or other forms of notice as agreed between the Issuer and the Underwriters, which states that the Securities may not be transferred to any other person unless such person is a “qualified institutional investor” as defined in the Cabinet Ordinance Concerning Definitions under Article 2 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (Ordinance No. 14 of 1993 of the Ministry of Finance of Japan, as amended)), to be furnished to each person acquiring the Securities.
(i) It will not offer, sell or deliver any of the Securities in any jurisdiction outside the United States except under circumstances that will result in compliance with the applicable laws thereof, and it will take at its own expense whatever action is required to permit its purchase and resale of the Securities in such jurisdictions. Each Underwriter understands that no action has been taken to permit a public offering of the Securities in any jurisdiction outside the United States where action would be required for such purpose, and agrees not to cause any advertisement of the Securities to be published in any newspaper or periodical or posted in any public place and not to issue any circular relating to the Securities, except in any such case at each Underwriter’s own risk and expense.
6. Conditions of Underwriters’ Obligations. The obligation of the Underwriters to purchase Securities on the Closing Date as provided herein is subject to the performance by the Issuer and the Guarantor of their respective covenants and other obligations hereunder and to the following additional conditions:
(a) No order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall be in effect, and no proceeding for such purpose, pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) or pursuant to Section 8A under the Securities Act shall be pending before or threatened by the Commission;
14
each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and Final Prospectus shall have been timely filed with the Commission under the Securities Act (in the case of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, to the extent required by Rule 433 under the Securities Act) and in accordance with Section 4(a) hereof; and all requests by the Commission for additional information shall have been complied with to the reasonable satisfaction of the Underwriters.
(b) The representations and warranties of the Issuer and the Guarantor contained herein shall be true and correct on the date hereof and on and as of the Closing Date; and the statements of the Issuer, the Guarantor and their officers made in any certificates delivered pursuant to this Agreement shall be true and correct on and as of the Closing Date.
(c) Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, shall have furnished to the Underwriters such opinion or opinions, dated the Closing Date, with respect to such matters as the Underwriters 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.
(d) Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, counsel for the Issuer and the Guarantor, shall have furnished to the Underwriters their written opinion and 10b-5 statement, dated the Closing Date, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Underwriters, to the effect set forth in Annex C hereto.
(e) [Reserved]
(f) On the date of this Agreement and as of the Closing Date, Deloitte & Touche LLP shall have furnished to the Underwriters a letter, dated the Closing Date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Underwriters and in the form agreed to by the parties hereto.
(g) Since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Final Prospectus, there shall not have been (i) any adverse change in the capital stock or long-term debt of the Issuer, the Guarantor and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or (ii) any change, or any development involving a prospective change, in or affecting the senior management of the Issuer or the Guarantor or the business or the consolidated financial position or results of operations of the Issuer, the Guarantor and the Guarantor’s subsidiaries, taken as a whole, in the case of each of clause (i) and clause (ii) otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Time of Sale Information (excluding any amendment or supplement thereto after the date of this Agreement) and the Final Prospectus (excluding any amendment or supplement thereto after the date of this Agreement), the effect of which is in the judgment of the Underwriters so material and adverse as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offering, sale or delivery of the Securities on the terms and in the manner contemplated by this Agreement, the Time of Sale Information and the Final Prospectus.
(h) Subsequent to the earlier of (A) the Time of Sale and (B) the execution and delivery of this Agreement, (i) no downgrading shall have occurred in the rating accorded the Issuer’s or the Guarantor’s debt securities by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services or Moody’s Investors Service, and (ii) neither such organization shall have publicly announced that it has under surveillance or review, with negative implications, its rating of any of the Issuer’s or the Guarantor’s debt securities.
15
(i) Subsequent to the earlier of (A) the Time of Sale and (B) the execution and delivery of this Agreement, 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 (“NYSE”); (ii) a suspension or material limitation in trading in the Guarantor’s securities on NYSE; (iii) a general moratorium on commercial banking activities 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; (iv) the outbreak or escalation of hostilities involving the United States or the declaration by the United States of a national emergency or war or (v) the occurrence of any other calamity or crisis or any change in financial markets, if the effect of any such event specified in clause (iv) or (v) in the reasonable judgment of the Underwriters makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offering or the delivery of the Securities on the terms and in the manner contemplated by this Agreement, the Time of Sale Information and the Registration Statement.
(j) On or prior to the Closing Date, each of the Issuer and the Guarantor shall have duly executed and delivered each of the Transaction Documents and the Securities.
(k) The Issuer and the Guarantor shall have furnished or caused to be furnished to the Underwriters on the Closing Date certificates of officers of the Issuer and the Guarantor satisfactory to the Underwriters as to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Issuer and the Guarantor herein on and as of the Closing Date, as to the performance by the Issuer and the Guarantor of all of their obligations hereunder to be performed on or prior to the Closing Date, as to the matters set forth in subsection (g) of this Section 6 and as to such other matters as the Underwriters may reasonably request.
7. Indemnification and Contribution.
(a) Indemnification of the Underwriters. Each of the Issuer and Guarantor, jointly and severally, agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, its affiliates, directors and officers and each person, if any, who controls such Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, from and against any and all losses, claims, damages and liabilities (including, without limitation, reasonable legal fees and other expenses incurred in connection with any suit, action or proceeding or any claim asserted, as such fees and expenses are incurred), joint or several, that arise out of, or are based upon, (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement or caused by any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, not misleading, (ii) or any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Final Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any Time of Sale Information, or caused by any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, in each case except insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities arise out of, or are based upon, any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with any information furnished to the Issuer in writing by any Underwriter expressly for use therein.
16
(b) Indemnification of the Issuer and Guarantor. Each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Issuer, the Guarantor and each of their respective directors, officers who signed the Registration Statement and each person, if any, who controls the Issuer or the Guarantor within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act to the same extent as the indemnity set forth in paragraph (a) above, but only with respect to any losses, claims, damages or liabilities that arise out of, or are based upon, any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with any information furnished to the Issuer in writing by such Underwriter expressly for use in the Registration Statement, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any Time of Sale Information or the Final Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), it being understood and agreed that the only such information consists of the second and third sentences of the third paragraph, the third sentence of the seventh paragraph and the eighth, ninth and tenth paragraphs under the caption “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest).”
(c) Notice and Procedures. 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), and, 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. No indemnifying party shall, without the written consent of the indemnified party, effect the settlement or compromise of, or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to, any pending or threatened action or claim in respect of which indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder (whether or not the indemnified party is an actual or potential party to such action or claim) unless such settlement, compromise or judgment (i) includes an unconditional release of the indemnified party from all liability arising out of such action or claim and (ii) does not include a statement as to, or an admission of, fault, culpability or a failure to act, by or on behalf of any indemnified party.
(d) Contribution. If the indemnification provided for in paragraphs (a) or (b) above is unavailable to an indemnified party or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under subsection (a) or (b) above in respect of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities referred to therein, then each indemnifying party under such paragraph, in lieu of indemnifying such indemnified party thereunder, shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (i) in such proportion
17
as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Issuer and the Guarantor on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other from the offering of the Securities or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) but also the relative fault of the Issuer and the Guarantor on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other in connection with the statements or omissions that resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Issuer and the Guarantor on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the net proceeds (before deducting expenses) received by the Issuer and the Guarantor from the sale of the Securities and the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters in connection therewith, in each case as set forth in the table on the cover of the Final Prospectus, bear to the aggregate offering price of the Securities. The relative fault of the Issuer and the Guarantor on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other 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 Issuer, the Guarantor or by the Underwriters and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.
(e) Limitation on Liability. The Issuer, the Guarantor and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 7 were determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation that does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in paragraph (d) above. The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages and liabilities referred to in paragraph (d) above shall be deemed to include, subject to the limitations set forth above, any legal or other expenses incurred by such indemnified party in connection with any such action or claim. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 7, in no event shall an Underwriter be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Securities underwritten by such Underwriter and distributed to investors were offered to investors exceeds the amount of any damages that such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. The Underwriters’ obligations to contribute pursuant to this Section 7 are several in proportion to their respective purchase obligations hereunder and not joint.
(f) Non-Exclusive Remedies. The remedies provided for in this Section 7 are not exclusive and shall not limit any rights or remedies which may otherwise be available to any indemnified party at law or in equity.
8. Defaulting Underwriter.
(a) If, on the Closing Date, any Underwriter defaults on its obligation to purchase the Securities that it has agreed to purchase hereunder, the non-defaulting Underwriters may in their discretion arrange for the purchase of such Securities by other persons satisfactory to the Issuer on the terms contained in this Agreement. If, within 48 hours after any such default
18
by any Underwriter, the non-defaulting Underwriters do not arrange for the purchase of such Securities, then the Issuer shall be entitled to a further period of 48 hours within which to procure other persons satisfactory to the non-defaulting Underwriters to purchase such Securities on such terms. If other persons become obligated or agree to purchase the Securities of a defaulting Underwriter, either the non-defaulting Underwriters or the Issuer may postpone the Closing Date for up to five full business days in order to effect any changes that in the opinion of counsel for the Issuer or counsel for the Underwriters may be necessary in the Registration Statement and the Final Prospectus or in any other document or arrangement, and the Issuer agrees to promptly prepare any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement and the Final Prospectus that effects any such changes. As used in this Agreement, the term “Underwriter” includes, for all purposes of this Agreement unless the context otherwise requires, any person not listed in Schedule 1 hereto that, pursuant to this Section 8 purchases Securities that a defaulting Underwriter agreed but failed to purchase.
(b) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Securities of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by the non-defaulting Underwriters and the Issuer as provided in paragraph (a) above, the aggregate principal amount of such Securities that remains unpurchased does not exceed one-eleventh of the aggregate principal amount of all the Securities, then the Issuer shall have the right to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase the principal amount of Securities that such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder plus such Underwriter’s pro rata share (based on the principal amount of Securities that such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder) of the Securities of such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters for which such arrangements have not been made.
(c) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Securities of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by the non-defaulting Underwriters and the Issuer as provided in paragraph (a) above, the aggregate principal amount of such Securities that remains unpurchased exceeds one-eleventh of the aggregate principal amount of all the Securities, or if the Issuer shall not exercise the right described in paragraph (b) above, then this Agreement shall terminate without liability on the part of the non-defaulting Underwriters. Any termination of this Agreement pursuant to this Section 8 shall be without liability on the part of the Issuer, except that the Issuer will continue to be liable for the payment of expenses as set forth in Section 10 hereof and except that the provisions of Section 7 hereof shall not terminate and shall remain in effect.
(d) Nothing contained herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter of any liability it may have to the Issuer or any non-defaulting Underwriter for damages caused by its default.
9. Effectiveness of Agreement. This Agreement shall become effective upon the execution and delivery hereof by the parties hereto.
10. Payment of Expenses. (a) Whether or not the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are consummated or this Agreement is terminated, each of the Issuer and the Guarantor, jointly and severally, covenants and agrees with the Underwriters that it will pay or cause to be paid the following: (i) the fees, disbursements and expenses of the Issuer’s and the Guarantor’s counsel and accountants in connection with the issue of the Securities and all other
19
expenses in connection with the preparation, printing, reproduction and filing of the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any Time of Sale Information and the Final Prospectus (including all exhibits, amendments and supplements thereto) and the distribution thereof to the Underwriters and dealers; (ii) the cost of printing or producing or distributing each of this Agreement, the Transaction Documents, the Blue Sky Memorandum, closing documents (including any compilations thereof) 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 4(h) hereof, including the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters 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 (not including the related legal fees); (vi) the fees, expenses and disbursements of the Trustee in connection with the Transaction Documents and the Securities; (vii) the costs and charges of any transfer agent and registrar; (viii) all expenses incurred by the Issuer and the Guarantor in connection with any “road show” presentation to potential investors; and (ix) all other costs and expenses incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder which are not otherwise specifically provided for in this Section 10. It is understood, however, that, the Underwriters will pay, except as provided in this Section 10, and Section 7 hereof, 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.
(b) If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to Section 8 hereof or if any Underwriter shall default in its obligations hereunder, or if the Underwriters shall fail to take and purchase the Securities due to the failure of the condition set forth in Section 6(c) hereof to be met, the Issuer and the Guarantor shall not then be under any liability to any Underwriter except as provided in Section 7 hereof; but for any other reason the Securities are not delivered by or on behalf of the Issuer and the Guarantor as provided herein, the Issuer and the Guarantor will, jointly and severally, reimburse the Underwriters for all out-of-pocket expenses, 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 Issuer and the Guarantor shall then be under no further liability to the Underwriters except as provided in Section 7 hereof.
11. Persons Entitled to Benefit of Agreement. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors and, solely to the extent set forth in Section 7 hereof, the officers and directors and any controlling persons referred to therein, and the affiliates of each Underwriter referred to therein. Nothing in this Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give any other person any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement or any provision contained herein. No purchaser of Securities from any Underwriter shall be deemed to be a successor merely by reason of such purchase.
12. Survival. The respective indemnities, rights of contribution, representations, warranties and agreements of the Issuer, the Guarantor and the Underwriters contained in this Agreement or made by or on behalf of the Issuer, the Guarantor or the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement or any certificate delivered pursuant hereto shall survive the delivery of and payment for the Securities and shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of any termination of this Agreement or any investigation made by or on behalf of the Issuer, the Guarantor or the Underwriters.
20
13. Certain Defined Terms. For purposes of this Agreement, (a) except where otherwise expressly provided, the term “affiliate” has the meaning set forth in Rule 405 under the Securities Act; (b) the term “business day” means any day other than a day on which banks are permitted or required to be closed in New York City; (c) the term “subsidiary” has the meaning set forth in Rule 405 under the Securities Act; and (d) the term “significant subsidiary” has the meaning set forth in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X under the Exchange Act.
14. Miscellaneous.
(a) Notices. All notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given if mailed or transmitted and confirmed by any standard form of telecommunication. Notices to the Underwriters shall be given to BofA Securities, Inc., at 1540 Broadway, NY8-540-26-02, New York, NY 10036 (fax: 212-901-7881); Attention: High Grade Transaction Management/Legal and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, at 383 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10179 (fax: 212-834-6081); Attention: High Grade. Notices to the Issuer and/or the Guarantor shall be delivered or sent by mail or facsimile transmission to the address of the Guarantor set forth in the Registration Statement, Attention: Chief Financial Officer.
(b) Patriot Act. 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 Issuer, 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.
(c) Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.
(d) Counterparts. This Agreement may be signed in counterparts (which may include counterparts delivered by any standard form of telecommunication), each of which shall be an original and all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. The words “execution,” “signed,” “signature,” “delivery,” and words of like import in or relating to this Agreement or any document to be signed in connection with this Agreement shall be deemed to include electronic signatures, deliveries or the keeping of records in electronic form, each of which shall be of the same legal effect, validity or enforceability as a manually executed signature, physical delivery thereof or the use of a paper-based recordkeeping system, as the case may be, and the parties hereto consent to conduct the transactions contemplated hereunder by electronic means.
(e) Amendments or Waivers. No amendment or waiver of any provision of this Agreement, nor any consent or approval to any departure therefrom, shall in any event be effective unless the same shall be in writing and signed by the parties hereto.
(f) Headings. The headings herein are included for convenience of reference only and are not intended to be part of, or to affect the meaning or interpretation of, this Agreement.
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If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding, please indicate your acceptance of this Agreement by signing in the space provided below.
| Very truly yours, | ||||
| BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. | ||||
| By: | /s/ Marc D. Hamburg | |||
| Name: | Marc D. Hamburg | |||
| Title: | Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | |||
| BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY FINANCE CORPORATION | ||||
| By: | /s/ Marc D. Hamburg | |||
| Name: | Marc D. Hamburg | |||
| Title: | President | |||
[Berkshire Hathaway Finance Corporation – Underwriting Agreement]
| Accepted as of the date hereof: | ||||
| BOFA SECURITIES, INC. | ||||
| By: | /s/ Laurie Campbell | |||
| Name: | Laurie Campbell | |||
| Title: | Managing Director | |||
| J.P. MORGAN SECURITIES LLC | ||||
| By: | /s/ Stephen L. Sheiner | |||
| Name: | Stephen L. Sheiner | |||
| Title: | Executive Director | |||
[Berkshire Hathaway Finance Corporation – Underwriting Agreement]
Schedule 1
| Underwriter |
Principal Amount of 2.500% Senior Notes due 2051 |
|||
| BofA Securities, Inc. |
$ | 375,000,000 | ||
| J.P. Morgan Securities LLC |
$ | 375,000,000 | ||
| Total |
$ | 750,000,000 | ||
|
|
|
|||
Sch 1-1
Annex A
Time of Sale Information
The final term sheet in the form set forth in Annex B hereto
A-1
Annex B
$750,000,000
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY FINANCE CORPORATION
Pricing Term Sheet
$750,000,000 2.500% Senior Notes due 2051
| Issuer: | Berkshire Hathaway Finance Corporation | |
| Guarantor: | Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | |
| Offering Format: | SEC Registered | |
| Trade Date: | January 5, 2021 | |
| Settlement Date: | January 15, 2021 (T+8) | |
| Expected Ratings*: | [Intentionally Omitted] | |
| Principal Amount: |
$750,000,000 | |
| Maturity Date: |
January 15, 2051 | |
| Issue Price (Price to Public): |
98.852% of face amount | |
| Gross Spread: |
40 bps | |
| Proceeds to Issuer: |
$738,390,000 | |
| Interest Rate: |
2.500% per annum | |
| Benchmark Treasury: |
1.375% due August 15, 2050 | |
| Benchmark Treasury Yield: |
1.705% | |
| Spread to Benchmark Treasury: |
85 bps | |
| Yield to Maturity: |
2.555% | |
| Day Count Convention: |
30/360 If any date on which interest is payable on the notes is not a business day, then payment of the interest payable on such date will be made on the next succeeding day that is a business day (and without any interest or other payment in respect of any such delay) with the same force and effect as if made on such interest payment date. | |
| Interest Payment Dates: |
Each January 15 and July 15, commencing July 15, 2021 | |
| Optional Redemption Provisions: Make Whole Call: |
Prior to July 15, 2050, make-whole call for scheduled payments that would be due if the notes matured on the Par Call date at Treasury +15 bps | |
| Par Call: |
On or after July 15, 2050 | |
| Minimum Denomination: |
$2,000 and integral multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof | |
| CUSIP: |
084664CX7 | |
| ISIN: |
US084664CX75 | |
| Other Information | ||
| Joint Book-Running Managers: |
BofA Securities, Inc. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC | |
B-1
*Note: A securities rating is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities and may be subject to revision or withdrawal at any time
Settlement Period: The closing will occur on January 15, 2021, which will be more than two business days after the date of this pricing term sheet. Rule 15c6-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 generally requires that securities trades in the secondary market settle in two business days, unless the parties to a trade expressly agree otherwise.
Each of the issuer and the guarantor has filed a registration statement (including a prospectus) with the SEC for the offering to which this communication relates. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in that registration statement and other documents the issuer and the guarantor have filed with the SEC for more complete information about the issuer, the guarantor and this offering. You may get these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC web site at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, the issuer, any underwriter or any dealer participating in the offering will arrange to send you the prospectus if you request it by calling BofA Securities, Inc. toll-free at (800) 294-1322 or J.P. Morgan Securities LLC collect at (212) 834-4533.
B-2
Annex C
Opinion of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP
(i) The Registration Statement became effective under the Securities Act upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462 of the Securities Act; the Indenture has been qualified under the Trust Indenture Act; the Final Prospectus was filed with the Commission in the manner and within the time period specified by Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act; and, to the knowledge of such counsel, no order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued and no proceeding for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act against the Issuer or in connection with the offering is pending or threatened by the Commission.
(ii) Based solely on such counsel’s review of a certificate of good standing issued by the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware, each of the Issuer and the Guarantor is validly existing as a corporation, in good standing under the laws of the state of Delaware, with the corporate power and authority to own its properties and conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement and the Final Prospectus.
(iii) Based solely on such counsel’s review of a certificate of good standing issued by the relevant jurisdiction of incorporation, each of the Significant Subsidiaries is validly existing as a corporation, in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation.
(iv) This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by each of the Issuer and the Guarantor.
(v) The Indenture has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by each of the Issuer and the Guarantor, and assuming due authorization, execution and delivery thereof by the Trustee, constitutes a valid and binding obligation of each of the Issuer and the Guarantor, enforceable against them 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.
(vi) The Securities being delivered on the Closing Date have been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Issuer and the Guarantor and, assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery of the Indenture by the Trustee and the due authentication of the Securities by the Trustee in accordance with the Indenture, have been issued in accordance with the terms of the Indenture and constitute valid and binding obligations of the Issuer and the Guarantor, enforceable against the Issuer and the Guarantor in accordance with their 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; the Securities are in the form contemplated by, and are entitled to the benefits of, the Indenture.
(vii) The issue and sale of the Securities, and the compliance by the Issuer and the Guarantor with all of the provisions of the Securities, the Transaction Documents and this Agreement, and the consummation of the transactions herein and therein
C-1
contemplated, will not (A) 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 Issuer or the Guarantor is a party and which is identified in the officer’s certificates delivered to such counsel by the Issuer and the Guarantor in connection with the rendering of such opinion, (B) violate the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation or By-laws (as amended through the date of such opinion) of the Issuer, (C) violate the provisions of the Restated Certificate of Incorporation or By-laws (as amended through the date of such opinion) of the Guarantor or (D) violate any order known to such counsel to be applicable to the Issuer or the Guarantor of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Issuer or the Guarantor, except, in the case of clauses (A) and (D), any such conflict, breach, violation, or default which would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;
(viii) No consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any such court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Issuer or the Guarantor is required under the Specified Laws for the issue and sale of the Securities or the execution and delivery by the Issuer and the Guarantor of the Transaction Documents, except such as have already been obtained or made and are in full force and effect, or as may be required for the registration of the Securities under the Securities Act or the qualification of the Indenture under the Trust Indenture Act, or as may be required under state securities or Blue Sky laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Securities by the Underwriters, or the failure of which to obtain would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(ix) The statements set forth in the Time of Sale Information and the Final Prospectus under the caption “Description of the Notes and Guarantees” (other than under the subsection “Depositary Procedures”) and “Description of the Debt Securities,” insofar as they purport to constitute a summary of the terms of the Securities, and based on the assumptions and subject to the qualifications and limitations set forth therein, are correct in all material respects.
(x) The statements set forth in the Time of Sale Information and the Final Prospectus under the caption “Certain United States Federal Income Tax Considerations,” insofar as they purport to constitute summaries of matters of United States federal income tax law and regulations or legal conclusions with respect thereto, and based on the assumptions and subject to the qualifications and limitations set forth therein, are correct in all material respects.
(xi) Neither the Issuer nor the Guarantor is an “investment company” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act.
Such opinions shall be limited to the laws of the States of New York and Delaware (and as to Delaware, limited to the Delaware General Corporation Law) or the United States (the “Specified Laws”). In rendering such opinion, such counsel may, as to matters of fact, rely on certificates of responsible officers of the Issuer, the Guarantor or the Significant Subsidiaries, and public officials.
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10b-5 Statement of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP
Counsel shall state that, based upon their participation in the preparation of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Final Prospectus (excluding the documents incorporated by reference therein) and any amendments or supplements thereto:
(i) the Registration Statement at the time it became effective, the Preliminary Prospectus and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus included in the Time of Sale Information as of the Time of Sale (which such counsel may assume is 4:10 pm Eastern time on the date of this Agreement) and the Final Prospectus as of its date (other than, in each case, the financial statements, financial and accounting data or supporting schedules (or any notes to any such statements or schedules) or other financial or statistical information included or incorporated by reference in (or omitted from) such documents, as to which such counsel need express no view) appear on their faces to have complied as to form in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act; and the Indenture appears on its face to have complied as to form in all material respects with the requirements of the Trust Indenture Act; and
(ii) no facts have come to their attention to cause them to believe that (A) the Registration Statement, at the time of its effective date (including the information, if any, deemed to be part of the Registration Statement at the time of effectiveness), contained any 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; (B) the Time of Sale Information, as of the Time of Sale, 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 Final Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto executed by the Issuer or the Guarantor prior to the Closing Date contained as of its date or contains as of the Closing Date an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or omits, as the case may be, to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; in each case, other than the financial statements, financial and accounting data or supporting schedules (or any notes to any such statements or schedules) or other financial or statistical information included or incorporated by reference in (or omitted from) such documents, as to which such counsel need express no view.
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Exhibit 4.2
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC.
OFFICERS’ CERTIFICATE
ESTABLISHING TERMS OF 0.500% SENIOR NOTES DUE 2041
January 15, 2021
The undersigned, Marc D. Hamburg and Robert P. Reeson, do hereby certify pursuant to Section 3.01 of that certain Indenture, dated as of January 26, 2016 (the “Indenture”), among Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (the “Company”), Berkshire Hathaway Finance Corporation and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as trustee, that:
1. They are (i) the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and (ii) the Assistant Secretary, respectively, of the Company.
2. As such officers, they are authorized to execute and deliver this Officers’ Certificate on behalf of the Company.
3. Attached hereto as Annex A is a true and correct copy of a specimen note representing the Company’s 0.500% Senior Notes due 2041 (the “Notes”).
4. The Notes are a separate series of Securities under the Indenture. The form of Notes attached hereto as Annex A is incorporated herein by reference.
5. The title of the Notes shall be the “0.500% Senior Notes due 2041.” The Notes will be the Company’s unsecured senior obligations, will rank pari passu in right of payment with all of the Company’s unsubordinated, unsecured indebtedness and will be senior in right of payment to all of the Company’s subordinated indebtedness.
6. The Notes shall be issued at the initial offering price of 97.269% of the principal amount thereof.
7. The Company will initially issue €600,000,000 aggregate principal amount of Notes. The Company may issue additional Notes from time to time after the date hereof, and such Notes will be treated as part of the same series of Notes for all purposes under the Indenture.
8. The principal amount of the Notes will mature on January 15, 2041.
9. The Notes are issuable in minimum denominations of €100,000 and integral multiples of €1,000 in excess thereof.
10. Interest on the Notes will be computed on the basis of the actual number of days in the period for which interest is being calculated and the actual number of days from and including the last date on which interest was paid on the Notes (or January 15, 2021 if no interest has been paid on the Notes), to but excluding the next scheduled interest payment date. This payment convention is referred to as ACTUAL/ACTUAL (ICMA) as defined in the rulebook of the International Capital Market Association.
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11. The Notes will bear interest from January 15, 2021 at the rate of 0.500% per annum, payable annually in arrears on January 15 of each year, commencing January 15, 2022, to the holders of record of the Notes at the close of business on the preceding January 1 (whether or not a Business Day), or if the Notes are represented by one or more global securities, the close of business on the business day (for this purpose a day on which Euroclear Bank S.A/N.V. (“Euroclear”) and Clearstream Banking, société anonyme (“Clearstream”) are open for business) immediately preceding the interest payment date.
12. Payment of the principal of and premium, if any, and interest on the Notes will be made at the office or agency of the Company maintained for that purpose in the City of London, England, which shall be initially the corporate trust office of The Bank of New York Mellon, London Branch, located at One Canada Square, London E14 5AL; provided, however, that at the option of the Company payments of principal, premium or interest may be made by check mailed to the address of the Person entitled thereto as such address shall appear in the Security Register, subject to surrender at such office or agency, in the case of payments of principal or premium.
13. All payments of interest and principal on the Notes, including payments made upon any redemption of the Notes, will be made in euro. If the euro is unavailable to the Company due to the imposition of exchange controls or other circumstances beyond the Company’s control or if the euro is no longer being used by the then member states of the European Monetary Union that have adopted the euro as their currency or for the settlement of transactions by public institutions of or within the international banking community, then all payments in respect of the Notes will be made in United States dollars until the euro is again available to the Company or so used. The amount payable on any date in euro will be converted into U.S. dollars at the rate mandated by the U.S. Federal Reserve Board as of the close of business on the second Business Day prior to the relevant payment date or, in the event the U.S. Federal Reserve Board has not mandated a rate of conversion, on the basis of the most recent U.S. dollar/euro exchange rate published in The Wall Street Journal on or prior to the second Business Day prior to the relevant payment date (in each case, the “Market Exchange Rate”). The Market Exchange Rate most recently available on, or prior to, the second Business Day before the relevant determination date will be the basis for determining the equivalent of euro in the currency of the United States of America for any purpose under the Indenture, including for purposes of the definition of “Outstanding” in Section 1.01(f) of the Indenture. Any payment in respect of the Notes so made in U.S. dollars will not constitute an Event of Default under the Notes or the Indenture. Neither the Trustee nor the Paying Agent shall have any responsibility for any calculation or conversion in connection with the foregoing.
14. The Notes will initially be issued in the form of one or more Global Securities and registered in the name of the nominee of the common depositary for the accounts of Clearstream and Euroclear. The Bank of New York Mellon, London Branch shall initially serve as the Depositary for such Global Securities.
15. The Paying Agent for the Notes will be The Bank of New York Mellon, London Branch. Notwithstanding the foregoing, upon notice to the Trustee, the Company may change the Paying Agent.
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16. The Notes shall be defeasible in whole or in part pursuant to the terms of the Indenture, including, without limitation, Section 13.02 and Section 13.03 of the Indenture.
17. The Company will be obligated to pay additional amounts on the Notes as described under the heading “Payment of Additional Amounts” in the form of the Notes incorporated herein by reference (such amounts, the “Additional Amounts”).
At least 10 days prior to the first Interest Payment Date and at least 10 days prior to each date of payment of principal or interest on the Notes if there has been a change with respect to the matters set forth in the below-mentioned Officers’ Certificate last delivered to the Trustee and the principal Paying Agent, if other than the Trustee, the Company shall furnish to the Trustee and the principal Paying Agent, if other than the Trustee, an Officers’ Certificate instructing the Trustee and such Paying Agent whether such payment of principal or interest on the Notes shall be made to Holders without withholding or deduction for or on account of any taxes described under the heading “Payment of Additional Amounts” in the form of the Notes incorporated herein by reference. If any such withholding or deduction shall be required, then such Officers’ Certificate shall specify by country the amount, if any, required to be withheld or deducted on such payments to such Holders and shall certify the fact that Additional Amounts will be payable and the amounts so payable to each Holder, and the Company shall pay to the Trustee or such Paying Agent such Additional Amounts required to be paid under the Notes.
Whenever in the Notes there is mentioned, in any context, the payment of the principal of or any premium, interest or any other amounts on, or in respect of, the Notes, such mention shall be deemed to include mention of the payment of Additional Amounts to the extent that, in such context, Additional Amounts are, were or would be payable in respect thereof pursuant to the terms hereof, and express mention of the payment of Additional Amounts in any provision of the Notes shall not be construed as excluding the payment of Additional Amounts in those provisions thereof where such express mention is not made.
18. The Notes may be redeemed in whole or in part pursuant to the terms set forth in the form of the Notes incorporated herein by reference. Notwithstanding Section 11.04 of the Indenture, notice of any “make-whole” redemption need not set forth the Redemption Price, but only the manner of calculation thereof. The Company shall give the Trustee notice of such Redemption Price promptly after the calculation thereof and the Trustee shall have no responsibility for such calculation. Prior to the giving of any notice of redemption with respect to a redemption arising from the payment of Additional Amounts, the Company shall deliver to the Trustee an Officers’ Certificate to the effect that all conditions precedent provided for in the Indenture to such redemption have been complied with.
19. The Note and the authentication pages to the Note may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which shall constitute one and the same instrument. The Trustee may authenticate the Note by manual, facsimile or electronic signature. Electronically imaged signatures such as .pdf files, faxed signatures or other electronic signatures to the Note and the authentication pages to the Note shall have the same effect as original signatures.
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All capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the meanings given such terms in the Indenture.
[Remainder of page intentionally left blank.]
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Officers’ Certificate has been executed by the undersigned as of date first written above.
| /s/ Marc D. Hamburg | ||
| Name: | Marc D. Hamburg | |
| Title: | Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | |
| /s/ Robert P. Reeson | ||
| Name: | Robert P. Reeson | |
| Title: | Assistant Secretary | |
[BRK Officers’ Certificate Establishing Terms of 0.500% Senior Notes due 2041 (EUR)]
ANNEX A
SPECIMEN OF NOTE
0.500% Senior Notes due 2041
CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICATION
This is one of the Securities of the series designated therein referred to in the within-mentioned Indenture.
| THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A. as Trustee, | ||||||
| By: |
| |||||
| Name: | ||||||
| Title: | ||||||
| Dated: January 15, 2021 | ||||||
THIS DEBT SECURITY IS A GLOBAL SECURITY WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE INDENTURE HEREINAFTER REFERRED TO AND IS REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF A DEPOSITARY OR A NOMINEE THEREOF. THIS DEBT SECURITY MAY NOT BE EXCHANGED IN WHOLE OR IN PART FOR A SECURITY REGISTERED, AND NO TRANSFER OF THIS DEBT SECURITY IN WHOLE OR IN PART MAY BE REGISTERED, IN THE NAME OF ANY PERSON OTHER THAN SUCH DEPOSITARY OR A NOMINEE THEREOF, EXCEPT IN THE LIMITED CIRCUMSTANCES DESCRIBED IN THE INDENTURE.
UNLESS THIS CERTIFICATE IS PRESENTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF EUROCLEAR BANK, S.A./N.V., AS OPERATOR OF THE EUROCLEAR SYSTEM (“EUROCLEAR”), AND CLEARSTREAM BANKING, SOCIÉTÉ ANONYME, LUXEMBOURG (“CLEARSTREAM” AND, TOGETHER WITH EUROCLEAR, “EUROCLEAR/CLEARSTREAM”), TO BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. OR ITS AGENT FOR REGISTRATION OR TRANSFER, EXCHANGE, OR PAYMENT, AND ANY CERTIFICATE ISSUED IS REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF THE BANK OF NEW YORK DEPOSITORY (NOMINEES) LIMITED OR IN SUCH OTHER NAME AS IS REQUESTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF EUROCLEAR/CLEARSTREAM (AND ANY PAYMENT IS MADE TO THE BANK OF NEW YORK DEPOSITORY (NOMINEES) LIMITED OR TO SUCH OTHER ENTITY AS IS REQUESTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF EUROCLEAR/CLEARSTREAM), ANY TRANSFER, PLEDGE, OR OTHER USE HEREOF FOR VALUE OR OTHERWISE BY OR TO ANY PERSON IS WRONGFUL INASMUCH AS THE REGISTERED OWNER HEREOF, THE BANK OF NEW YORK DEPOSITORY (NOMINEES) LIMITED, HAS AN INTEREST HEREIN.
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC.
**************************
0.500% Senior Notes due 2041
CUSIP: 084670 CT3
ISIN: XS2280780771
COMMON CODE: 228078077
| No. | € | |
| (as revised by the Schedule of Increases and Decreases in Global Security attached hereto) |
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC., a corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware (herein called the “Company”, which term includes any successor Person under the Indenture hereinafter referred to), for value received, hereby promises to pay to The Bank of New York Depository (Nominees) Limited, the registered Holder hereof, as nominee of The Bank of New York Mellon, London Branch as common depositary for Euroclear Bank, S.A./N.V. (“Euroclear”) and Clearstream Banking, société anonyme (“Clearstream”), the principal sum of Euros (€ ) (as revised by the Schedule of Increases and Decreases in Global Security attached hereto) on January 15, 2041, and to pay interest thereon from and including January 15, 2021 or from and including the most recent Interest Payment Date (as defined below) to which interest has been paid or duly provided for, annually on January 15 in each year, commencing January 15, 2022 (each an “Interest Payment Date”), at the rate of 0.500% per annum (as adjusted, if at all, pursuant to such Indenture, the “Interest Rate”), until the principal hereof is paid or made available for payment; provided that any principal, and any such installment of interest, which is overdue shall bear interest at the Interest Rate (to the extent that the payment of such interest shall be legally enforceable), from the dates such amounts are due until they are paid or made available for payment, and such interest shall be payable on demand. Interest on the Debt Securities of this series will be computed on the basis of the actual number of days in the period for which interest is being calculated and the actual number of days from and including the last date on which interest was paid on the Debt Securities of this series (or January 15, 2021 if no interest has been paid on the Debt Securities of this series), to but excluding the next scheduled Interest Payment Date. This payment convention is referred to as ACTUAL/ACTUAL (ICMA) as defined in the rulebook of the International Capital Market Association.
The interest so payable, and punctually paid or duly provided for, on any Interest Payment Date will, as provided in such Indenture, be paid to the Person in whose name this Debt Security (or one or more Predecessor Securities) is registered at the close of business on the Regular Record Date (whether or not a Business Day) for such interest. Any such interest not so punctually paid or duly provided for will forthwith cease to be payable to the Holder on such Regular Record Date and may either be paid to the Person in whose name this Debt Security (or one or more Predecessor Securities) is registered at the close of business on a Special Record Date for the payment of such Defaulted Interest to be fixed by the Trustee, notice whereof shall be given to Holders of Debt Securities of this series not less than 10 days prior to such Special
Record Date, or be paid at any time in any other lawful manner not inconsistent with the requirements of any securities exchange on which the Debt Securities of this series may be listed, and upon such notice as may be required by such exchange, all as more fully provided in such Indenture.
“Business Day” means any day, other than a Saturday or Sunday, that is not a day on which banking institutions in the Borough of Manhattan, The City of New York or London are authorized or required by law, regulation or executive order to close and that is a day on which the Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross Settlement Express Transfer System (the TARGET2 system), or any successor thereto, operates.
“Regular Record Date” means, with respect to any Interest Payment Date, the January 1 (whether or not a Business Day) or, if this Debt Security is represented by one or more Global Securities, the close of business on the business day (for this purpose a day on which Clearstream and Euroclear are open for business), in each case, immediately preceding such Interest Payment Date.
Payment of the principal of and premium, if any, and interest on this Debt Security will be made at the office or agency of the Company maintained for that purpose in the City of London, England, which shall be initially the corporate trust office of The Bank of New York Mellon, London Branch, located at One Canada Square, London E14 5AL; provided, however, that at the option of the Company payments of principal, premium or interest may be made by check mailed to the address of the Person entitled thereto as such address shall appear in the Security Register, subject to surrender at such office or agency, in the case of payments of principal or premium.
All payments on this Debt Security will be made in euro; provided, that if on or after January 5, 2021, the euro is unavailable to the Company due to the imposition of exchange controls or other circumstances beyond the Company’s control or if the euro is no longer being used by the then member states of the European Monetary Union that have adopted the euro as their currency or for the settlement of transactions by public institutions of or within the international banking community, then all payments in respect of this Debt Security will be made in U.S. dollars until the euro is again available to the Company or so used. The amount payable on any date in euro will be converted into U.S. dollars at the rate mandated by the U.S. Federal Reserve Board as of the close of business on the second Business Day prior to the relevant payment date or, in the event the U.S. Federal Reserve Board has not mandated a rate of conversion, on the basis of the most recent U.S. dollar/euro exchange rate published in The Wall Street Journal on or prior to the second Business Day prior to the relevant payment date. Any payment in respect of this Debt Security so made in U.S. dollars will not constitute an Event of Default with respect to the Debt Securities of this series or under the Indenture governing the Debt Securities. Neither the Trustee nor the Paying Agent shall have any responsibility for any calculation or conversion in connection with the foregoing.
“euro” and “€” means the lawful currency of the member states of the European Monetary Union that have adopted or that adopt the single currency in accordance with the treaty establishing the European Community, as amended by the Treaty on European Union.
Reference is hereby made to the further provisions of this Debt Security set forth on the reverse hereof, which further provisions shall for all purposes have the same effect as if set forth at this place.
Unless the certificate of authentication hereon has been executed by the Trustee referred to on the reverse hereof by manual, facsimile or electronic signature, this Debt Security shall not be entitled to any benefit under the Indenture or be valid or obligatory for any purpose.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company has caused this instrument to be duly executed.
| Dated: January 15, 2021 | BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. | |||||||
| By: |
| |||||||
| Name: | Marc D. Hamburg | |||||||
| Title: | Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | |||||||
| Attest: | ||||||||
|
|
||||||||
| Name: | Robert P. Reeson |
|||||||
| Title: | Assistant Secretary |
|||||||
[REVERSE OF DEBT SECURITY]
This Debt Security is one of a duly authorized series of notes of the Company (herein called the “Debt Securities”), issued and to be issued in one or more series under an Indenture, dated as of January 26, 2016 (herein called the “Base Indenture”, and as supplemented by the Officers’ Certificate dated January 15, 2021 with respect to this Debt Security, together with the Base Indenture, called the “Indenture”), among the Company, as issuer, Berkshire Hathaway Finance Corporation, and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as Trustee (herein called the “Trustee”, which term includes any successor trustee under the Indenture), and reference is hereby made to the Indenture for a statement of the respective rights, limitations of rights, duties and immunities thereunder of the Company, the Trustee and the Holders of the Debt Securities and of the terms upon which the Debt Securities are, and are to be, authenticated and delivered. This Debt Security is one of the series designated on the face hereof, initially limited in aggregate principal amount to €600,000,000. The Company may at any time issue additional securities under the Indenture in unlimited amounts having the same terms as the Debt Securities of a series, provided that no additional securities of a series may be issued if at the time of issuance an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing with respect to such series of securities.
This Debt Security does not have the benefit of any sinking fund obligation.
This Debt Security may be redeemed, in whole or in part, at the option of the Company, at any time prior to July 15, 2040, at a redemption price equal to the greater of (A) 100% of the principal amount to be redeemed or (B) the sum of the present values of the Remaining Scheduled Payments of principal and interest on the portion of this Debt Security being redeemed that would be due if the Debt Security matured on July 15, 2040, not including any portion of such payments of interest accrued as of the date fixed for redemption, discounted to the date fixed for redemption on an annual basis (ACTUAL/ACTUAL (ICMA)), at the Comparable Government Bond Rate plus fifteen (15) basis points, plus accrued and unpaid interest on the portion of this Debt Security being redeemed to, but excluding, the date fixed for redemption.
This Debt Security may be redeemed, in whole or in part, at the option of the Company any time on or after July 15, 2040, at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount to be redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest on the portion of this Debt Security being redeemed to, but excluding, the date fixed for redemption.
If, as a result of any change in, or amendment to, the laws (or any regulations or rulings promulgated under the laws) of the United States (or any political subdivision of or taxing authority in the United States), or any change in, or amendment to, an official position regarding the application or interpretation of such laws, regulations or rulings (including a holding by a court of competent jurisdiction in the United States), which change or amendment is announced or becomes effective on or after January 5, 2021, the Company becomes or, based upon a written opinion of independent counsel selected by the Company, there is a substantial probability that the Company will become, obligated to pay additional amounts as described under the heading “Payment of Additional Amounts,” below, with respect to the Debt Securities, then the Company may at any time at its option redeem the Debt Securities, in whole but not in part, at a redemption price equal to 100% of their principal amount, together with accrued and unpaid interest on the Debt Securities being redeemed to, but excluding, the date fixed for redemption.
“Comparable Government Bond” means in relation to any Comparable Government Bond Rate calculation, at the discretion of an independent investment bank selected by the Company, a German government bond whose maturity is closest to the maturity of the Debt Securities of this series being redeemed or if such independent investment bank in its discretion determines that such similar bond is not in issue, such other German government bond as such
independent investment bank may, with the advice of three brokers of, and/or market makers in, German government bonds selected by the Company, determine to be appropriate for determining the Comparable Government Bond Rate.
“Comparable Government Bond Rate” means the price, expressed as a percentage (rounded to three decimal places, with 0.0005 being rounded up to 0.001), at which the gross redemption yield on the Debt Securities of this series, if they were to be purchased at such price on the third Business Day prior to the date fixed for redemption, would be equal to the gross redemption yield on such Business Day of the Comparable Government Bond on the basis of the middle market price of the Comparable Government Bond prevailing at 11:00 a.m. (London time) on such Business Day as determined by an independent investment bank selected by the Company.
“Remaining Scheduled Payments” means, with respect to any Debt Security of this series, the remaining scheduled payments of the principal thereof to be redeemed and interest thereon that would be due after the related Redemption Date but for such redemption; provided, however, that, if such Redemption Date is not an Interest Payment Date with respect to such Debt Security, the amount of the next scheduled interest payment thereon will be reduced (solely for the purpose of this calculation) by the amount of interest accrued thereon to such Redemption Date.
The Company must give the Holders of this Debt Security notice, as provided in the Indenture, of any redemption of this Debt Security not less than 10 days or more than 60 days before the date fixed for redemption. If the Company elects to redeem fewer than all the Debt Securities of this series, the Trustee will select the particular Debt Securities of this series to be redeemed by such method that the Trustee deems fair and appropriate; provided, that if the Debt Securities of this series are represented by one or more Global Securities, beneficial interests therein shall be selected for redemption by Clearstream and Euroclear in accordance with their respective applicable procedures therefor; provided further, that no Debt Securities of this series of a principal amount of €100,000 or less shall be redeemed in part.
In the event of redemption of this Debt Security in part only, a new Debt Security or Debt Securities of this series and of like tenor for the unredeemed portion hereof will be issued in the name of the Holder hereof upon the cancellation hereof.
The Indenture contains provisions for defeasance at any time of the entire Indebtedness of this Debt Security or of certain restrictive covenants and Events of Default with respect to this Debt Security, in each case upon compliance with certain conditions set forth in the Indenture.
If an Event of Default with respect to the Debt Securities of this series shall occur and be continuing, the principal of the Debt Securities of this series may be declared due and payable in the manner and with the effect provided in the Indenture.
The Indenture permits, with certain exceptions as therein provided, the amendment thereof and the modification of the rights and obligations of the Company and the rights of the Holders of the Debt Securities of each series to be affected under the Indenture at any time by the Company and the Trustee with the consent of the Holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the Debt Securities at the time Outstanding of each series to be affected (voting together as a single class). The Indenture also contains provisions permitting the Holders of specified percentages in principal amount of the Debt Securities of each series at the time Outstanding, on behalf of the Holders of all Debt Securities of such series, to waive compliance by the Company with certain provisions of the Indenture and certain past defaults under the Indenture and their consequences. Any such consent or waiver by the Holder of this Debt Security shall be conclusive and binding upon such Holder and upon all future Holders of this
Debt Security and of any Debt Security issued upon the registration of transfer hereof or in exchange herefor or in lieu hereof, whether or not notation of such consent or waiver is made upon this Debt Security.
As provided in and subject to the provisions of the Indenture, the Holder of this Debt Security shall not have the right to institute any proceeding with respect to the Indenture or for the appointment of a receiver or trustee or for any other remedy thereunder, unless such Holder shall have previously given the Trustee written notice of a continuing Event of Default with respect to the Debt Securities of this series, the Holders of at least 25% in principal amount of the Debt Securities of this series at the time Outstanding shall have made written request to the Trustee to institute proceedings in respect of such Event of Default as Trustee and offered the Trustee indemnity or security reasonably satisfactory to it, and the Trustee shall not have received from the Holders of a majority in principal amount of Debt Securities of this series at the time Outstanding a direction inconsistent with such request, and shall have failed to institute any such proceeding, for 60 days after receipt of such notice, request and offer of indemnity. The foregoing shall not apply to any suit instituted by the Holder of this Debt Security for the enforcement of any payment of principal hereof or any premium or interest hereon on or after the respective due dates expressed herein.
No reference herein to the Indenture and no provision of this Debt Security or of the Indenture shall alter or impair the obligation of the Company, which is absolute and unconditional, to pay the principal of and any interest on this Debt Security at the times, place and rate, and in the coin or currency, herein prescribed.
As provided in the Indenture and subject to certain limitations therein set forth, the transfer of this Debt Security is registrable in the Security Register, upon surrender of this Debt Security for registration of transfer at the office or agency of the Company in any place where the principal of and any premium and interest on this Debt Security are payable, duly endorsed by, or accompanied by a written instrument of transfer in form satisfactory to the Company and the Security Registrar duly executed by, the Holder hereof or the Holder’s attorney duly authorized in writing, and thereupon one or more new Debt Securities of this series and of like tenor, of authorized denominations and for the same aggregate principal amount, will be issued to the designated transferee or transferees.
The Indenture and this Debt Security are governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to conflicts of laws provisions thereof.
The Debt Securities of this series are issuable in registered form without coupons in minimum denominations of €100,000 and integral multiples of €1,000 in excess thereof. As provided in the Indenture and subject to certain limitations therein set forth, Debt Securities of this series are exchangeable for a like aggregate principal amount of Debt Securities of this series and of like tenor of a different authorized denomination, as requested by the Holder surrendering the same.
No service charge shall be made to a Holder for any such registration of transfer or exchange, but the Company may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge payable in connection therewith.
Prior to due presentment of this Debt Security for registration of transfer, the Company, the Trustee and any agent thereof may treat the Person in whose name this Debt Security is registered as the owner hereof for all purposes, whether or not this Debt Security be overdue, and none of the Company, the Trustee or any such agent shall be affected by notice to the contrary.
Except in the limited circumstances described in Section 3.05 of the Indenture, the Debt Securities of this series shall be issued in the form of one or more Global Securities and a common depositary for the accounts of Euroclear and Clearstream shall be the Depositary for such Global Security or Securities.
All terms used in this Debt Security which are not defined herein and are defined in the Indenture shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Indenture.
Payment of Additional Amounts
All payments of principal and interest in respect of the Debt Securities of this series shall be made free and clear of, and without deduction or withholding for or on account of any present or future taxes, duties, assessments or other governmental charges of whatsoever nature required to be deducted or withheld by the United States or any political subdivision or taxing authority of or in the United States, unless such withholding or deduction is required by law or the official interpretation or administration thereof.
In the event any withholding or deduction on payments in respect of the Debt Securities of this series for or on account of any present or future tax, assessment or other governmental charge is required to be deducted or withheld by the United States or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof or therein, the Company shall pay such additional amounts on the Debt Securities of this series as will result in receipt by each beneficial owner of such Debt Security that is not a U.S. Person (as defined below) of such amounts (after all such withholding or deduction, including on any additional amounts) as would have been received by such beneficial owner had no such withholding or deduction been required. The Company will not be required, however, to make any payment of additional amounts for or on account of:
| (a) | any tax, assessment or other governmental charge that would not have been imposed but for (1) the existence of any present or former connection (other than a connection arising solely from the ownership of those Debt Securities or the receipt of payments in respect of those Debt Securities) between a Holder of a Debt Security of this series (or the beneficial owner for whose benefit such Holder holds such Debt Security), or between a fiduciary, settlor, beneficiary of, member or shareholder of, or possessor of a power over, that Holder or beneficial owner (if that Holder or beneficial owner is an estate, trust, partnership or corporation) and the United States, including that Holder or beneficial owner, or that fiduciary, settlor, beneficiary, member, shareholder or possessor, being or having been a citizen or resident or treated as a resident of the United States or being or having been engaged in trade or business or present in the United States or having had a permanent establishment in the United States or (2) the presentation of a Debt Security of this series for payment on a date more than 30 days after the later of the date on which that payment becomes due and payable and the date on which payment is duly provided for; |
| (b) | any estate, inheritance, gift, sales, transfer, capital gains, excise, personal property, wealth or similar tax, assessment or other governmental charge; |
| (c) | any tax, assessment or other governmental charge imposed by reason of the beneficial owner’s past or present status as a passive foreign investment company, a controlled foreign corporation, a foreign tax exempt organization or a personal holding company with respect to the United States or as a corporation that accumulates earnings to avoid U.S. federal income tax; |
| (d) | any tax, assessment or other governmental charge which is payable by any method other than withholding or deducting from payment of principal of or premium, if any, or interest on the Debt Securities of this series; |
| (e) | any tax, assessment or other governmental charge required to be withheld by any Paying |
| Agent from any payment of principal of and premium, if any, or interest on any Debt Security of this series if that payment can be made without withholding by any other Paying Agent; |
| (f) | any tax, assessment or other governmental charge which would not have been imposed but for the failure of a beneficial owner or any Holder of Debt Securities of this series to comply with the Company’s request or a request of the Company’s agent to satisfy certification, information, documentation or other reporting requirements concerning the nationality, residence, identity or connections with the United States of the beneficial owner or any Holder of the Debt Securities of this series that such beneficial owner or Holder is legally able to deliver (including, but not limited to, the requirement to provide an applicable Internal Revenue Service Form W-8, or any subsequent versions thereof or successor thereto, and including, without limitation, any documentation requirement under an applicable income tax treaty); |
| (g) | any tax, assessment or other governmental charge imposed on interest received by (1) a 10-percent shareholder (as defined in Section 871(h)(3)(B) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and the U.S. Treasury regulations that may be promulgated thereunder) of the Company, (2) a controlled foreign corporation that is related to the Company within the meaning of Section 864(d)(4) of the Code or (3) a bank receiving interest described in Section 881(c)(3)(A) of the Code, to the extent such tax, assessment or other governmental charge would not have been imposed but for the beneficial owner’s status as described in clauses (1) through (3) of this item (g); |
| (h) | any tax, assessment or other governmental charge required to be withheld or deducted under Sections 1471 through 1474 of the Code (or any amended or successor version of such Sections) (“FATCA”), any regulations or other guidance thereunder, or any agreement (including any intergovernmental agreement) entered into in connection therewith; or any law, regulation or other official guidance enacted in any jurisdiction implementing FATCA or an intergovernmental agreement in respect of FATCA; or |
| (i) | any combination of items (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g) and (h); |
nor will the Company pay any additional amounts to any beneficial owner or Holder of Debt Securities of this series who is a fiduciary or partnership (including any entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) to the extent that a beneficiary or settlor with respect to that fiduciary or a member of that partnership or a beneficial owner thereof would not have been entitled to the payment of those additional amounts had that beneficiary, settlor, member or beneficial owner been the beneficial owner of those Debt Securities.
“U.S. Person” means any individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States for U.S. federal income tax purposes, a corporation, partnership or other entity created or organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state of the United States or the District of Columbia (other than a partnership that is not treated as a United States person under any applicable U.S. Treasury regulations), or any estate or trust the income of which is subject to United States federal income taxation regardless of its source.
SCHEDULE OF INCREASES OR DECREASES IN GLOBAL SECURITY
The following increases or decreases in this Debt Security have been made:
| Date of exchange |
Amount of decrease in principal amount of this Debt Security |
Amount of increase in principal amount of this Debt Security |
Principal amount of this Debt Security following such decrease or increase |
Signature of authorized signatory of Trustee or Security Custodian |
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ASSIGNMENT
FOR VALUE RECEIVED, the undersigned assigns and transfers this Debt Security to:
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| and irrevocably appoints as agent to transfer this Debt Security on the Security Register. The agent may substitute another to act for him or her. | ||||
| Dated: | Signature: | |||||
| Signature Guarantee: |
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| (Sign exactly as your name appears on the other side of this Debt Security) | ||||||
Signatures must be guaranteed by an “eligible guarantor institution” meeting the requirements of the Security Registrar, which requirements include membership or participation in the Security Transfer Agent Medallion Program (“STAMP”) or such other “signature guarantee program” as may be determined by the Security Registrar in addition to, or in substitution for, STAMP, all in accordance with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
Exhibit 4.3
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY FINANCE CORPORATION
OFFICERS’ CERTIFICATE
ESTABLISHING THE TERMS OF THE
2.500% SENIOR NOTES DUE 2051
January 15, 2021
The undersigned, Marc D. Hamburg and Robert P. Reeson, do hereby certify pursuant to Section 3.01 of that certain Indenture, dated as of January 26, 2016 (the “Indenture”), among Berkshire Hathaway Finance Corporation (the “Corporation”), Berkshire Hathaway Inc., as Guarantor, and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as trustee, that:
1. They are (i) the President and (ii) the Assistant Secretary, respectively, of the Corporation.
2. As such officers, they are authorized to execute and deliver this Officers’ Certificate on behalf of the Corporation.
3. Attached hereto as Annex A is a true and correct copy of a specimen note representing the Corporation’s 2.500% Senior Notes due 2051 (the “Notes”).
4. The Notes are a separate series of Securities under the Indenture. The terms of the Notes set forth in the form of Notes attached hereto as Annex A are incorporated herein by reference.
5. The title of the Notes shall be the “2.500% Senior Notes due 2051.”
6. The Corporation will issue $750,000,000 aggregate principal amount of Notes on the date hereof. The Corporation may issue additional Notes from time to time after the date hereof, and such Notes will be treated as part of the same series of which the Notes are a part for all purposes under the Indenture.
7. The principal amount of the Notes will mature on January 15, 2051.
8. The Notes will bear interest from January 15, 2021 at the rate of 2.500% per annum, payable on each January 15 and July 15, commencing on July 15, 2021, to the holders of record of the Notes at the close of business on the January 1 or July 1 (whether or not a Business Day), as the case may be, immediately preceding such January 15 or July 15.
9. Interest on the Notes will be computed on the basis of a 360 day year of twelve 30-day months. The amount of interest payable on the notes for any full semi-annual interest period will be computed on the basis of a 360-day year of twelve 30-day months. The amount of interest payable for any period shorter than a full semi-annual interest period for which interest is computed will be computed on the basis of 30-day months and, for periods of less than a month, the actual number of days elapsed per 30-day month.
10. Payment of the principal of and premium, if any, and interest on the Notes will be made at the office or agency of the Corporation maintained for that purpose in the City of New York, New York (or, if the Corporation does not maintain such office or agency, at the corporate trust office of the Trustee in the City of New York or if the Trustee does not maintain an office in the City of New York, at the office of a Paying Agent in the City of New York), in such coin or currency of the United States of America as at the time of payment is legal tender for payment of public and private debt; provided, however, that at the option of the Corporation payments of principal, premium, if any, or interest may be made by check mailed to the address of the Person entitled thereto as such address shall appear in the Security Register, subject to surrender at such office or agency, in the case of payments of principal and premium.
11. The Notes may be redeemed in whole or in part pursuant to the terms set forth in the form of Notes incorporated herein by reference. Notwithstanding Section 11.04 of the Indenture, notice of such redemption need not set forth the Redemption Price, but only the manner of calculation thereof. The Corporation shall give the Trustee notice of such Redemption Price promptly after the calculation thereof and the Trustee shall have no responsibility for such calculation.
12. The Notes are issuable in minimum denominations of $2,000 and integral multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof.
13. The Notes shall be defeasible in whole or in part pursuant to the terms of the Indenture, including, without limitation, Section 13.02 and Section 13.03 of the Indenture.
14. The Notes will initially be issued in the form of one or more Global Securities. The Depository Trust Company shall serve as the Depositary for such Global Securities. In addition to the legend for Global Securities set forth in Section 2.04 of the Indenture, the Notes shall bear the following legend:
UNLESS THIS CERTIFICATE IS PRESENTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY, A NEW YORK CORPORATION (“DTC”), TO BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY FINANCE CORPORATION OR ITS AGENT FOR REGISTRATION OR TRANSFER, EXCHANGE, OR PAYMENT, AND ANY CERTIFICATE ISSUED IS REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF CEDE & CO. OR IN SUCH OTHER NAME AS IS REQUESTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF DTC (AND ANY PAYMENT IS MADE TO CEDE & CO. OR TO SUCH OTHER ENTITY AS IS REQUESTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF DTC), ANY TRANSFER, PLEDGE, OR OTHER USE HEREOF FOR VALUE OR OTHERWISE BY OR TO ANY PERSON IS WRONGFUL INASMUCH AS THE REGISTERED OWNER HEREOF, CEDE & CO., HAS AN INTEREST HEREIN.
15. All of the Corporation’s obligations under the Notes will be unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by Berkshire Hathaway Inc., as Guarantor. The form of Guarantee is attached to the specimen Note attached hereto as Annex A, and is incorporated herein by reference.
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16. The Notes and the authentication pages to the Notes may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which shall constitute one and the same instrument. The Trustee may authenticate the Notes by manual, facsimile or electronic signature. Electronically imaged signatures such as ..pdf files, faxed signatures or other electronic signatures to the Notes and the authentication pages to the Notes shall have the same effect as original signatures.
All capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the meanings given such terms in the Indenture.
[Remainder of page intentionally left blank.]
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Officers’ Certificate has been executed by the undersigned as of the date first written above.
| /s/ Marc D. Hamburg | ||
| Name: | Marc D. Hamburg | |
| Title: | President | |
| /s/ Robert P. Reeson | ||
| Name: | Robert P. Reeson | |
| Title: | Assistant Secretary | |
[BHFC – Officers’ Certificate Establishing Terms of 2.500% Senior Notes due 2051]
Annex A
SPECIMEN OF NOTE
Form of 2.500% Senior Notes due 2051
THIS DEBT SECURITY IS A GLOBAL SECURITY WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE INDENTURE HEREINAFTER REFERRED TO AND IS REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF A DEPOSITARY OR A NOMINEE THEREOF. THIS DEBT SECURITY MAY NOT BE EXCHANGED IN WHOLE OR IN PART FOR A SECURITY REGISTERED, AND NO TRANSFER OF THIS DEBT SECURITY IN WHOLE OR IN PART MAY BE REGISTERED, IN THE NAME OF ANY PERSON OTHER THAN SUCH DEPOSITARY OR A NOMINEE THEREOF, EXCEPT IN THE LIMITED CIRCUMSTANCES DESCRIBED IN THE INDENTURE.
UNLESS THIS CERTIFICATE IS PRESENTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY, A NEW YORK CORPORATION (“DTC”), TO BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY FINANCE CORPORATION OR ITS AGENT FOR REGISTRATION OR TRANSFER, EXCHANGE, OR PAYMENT, AND ANY CERTIFICATE ISSUED IS REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF CEDE & CO. OR IN SUCH OTHER NAME AS IS REQUESTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF DTC (AND ANY PAYMENT IS MADE TO CEDE & CO. OR TO SUCH OTHER ENTITY AS IS REQUESTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF DTC), ANY TRANSFER, PLEDGE, OR OTHER USE HEREOF FOR VALUE OR OTHERWISE BY OR TO ANY PERSON IS WRONGFUL INASMUCH AS THE REGISTERED OWNER HEREOF, CEDE & CO., HAS AN INTEREST HEREIN.
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY FINANCE CORPORATION
2.500% Senior Notes due 2051
CUSIP: 084664CX7
ISIN: US084664CX75
| No. | $ | |
| (as revised by the Schedule of Increases and |
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY FINANCE CORPORATION, a corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware (herein called the “Company”, which term includes any successor Person under the Indenture hereinafter referred to), for value received, hereby promises to pay to CEDE & CO., the registered Holder hereof, the principal sum of Dollars ($ ) (as revised by the Schedule of Increases and Decreases in Global Security attached hereto) on January 15, 2051, and to pay interest thereon from and including January 15, 2021 or from and including the most recent Interest Payment Date (as defined below) to which interest has been paid or duly provided for, semi-annually on January 15 and July 15 in each year, commencing July 15, 2021 (each an “Interest Payment Date”), at the rate of 2.500% per annum (as adjusted, if at all, pursuant to such Indenture, the “Interest Rate”), until the principal hereof is paid or made available for payment; provided that any principal, and any such installment of interest, which is overdue shall bear interest at the Interest Rate (to the extent that the payment of such interest shall be legally enforceable), from the dates such amounts are due until they are paid or made available for payment, and such interest shall be payable on demand. The interest so payable, and punctually paid or duly provided for, on any Interest Payment Date will, as provided in such Indenture, be paid to the Person in whose name this Debt Security (or one or more Predecessor Securities) is registered at the close of business on the Regular Record Date (whether or not a Business Day) for such interest. Any such interest not so punctually paid or duly provided for will forthwith cease to be payable to the Holder on such Regular Record Date and may either be paid to the Person in whose name this Debt Security (or one or more Predecessor Securities) is registered at the close of business on a Special Record Date for the payment of such Defaulted Interest to be fixed by the Trustee, notice whereof shall be given to Holders of Debt Securities of this series not less than 10 days prior to such Special Record Date, or be paid at any time in any other lawful manner not inconsistent with the requirements of any securities exchange on which the Debt Securities of this series may be listed, and upon such notice as may be required by such exchange, all as more fully provided in such Indenture. “Regular Record Date” means, with respect to any Interest Payment Date, the January 1 or July 1 (whether or not a Business Day), as the case may be, immediately preceding such Interest Payment Date.
Payment of the principal of and premium, if any, and interest on this Debt Security will be made at the office or agency of the Company maintained for that purpose in the City of New York, New York (or, if the Company does not maintain such office or agency, at the corporate trust office of the Trustee in the City of New York or if the Trustee does not maintain an office in the City of New York, at the office of a Paying Agent in the City of New York), in such coin or currency of the United States of America as at the time of payment is legal tender for payment of public and private debt; provided, however, that at the option of the Company payments of principal, premium or interest may be made by check mailed to the address of the Person entitled thereto as such address shall appear in the Security Register, subject to surrender at such office or agency, in the case of payments of principal or premium.
This Debt Security may be redeemed, in whole or in part, at the option of the Company, at any time prior to the Par Call Date at a redemption price equal to the greater of (A) 100% of the principal amount to be redeemed or (B) as determined by the Quotation Agent, the sum of the present values of the remaining scheduled payments of principal and interest on the portion of this Debt Security being redeemed that would be due if such portion of the Debt Security matured on the Par Call Date, not including any portion of such payments of interest accrued as of the date fixed for redemption, discounted to the date fixed for redemption on a semi-annual basis assuming a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months, at the Adjusted Treasury Rate plus fifteen (15) basis points, plus accrued and unpaid interest on the portion of this Debt Security being redeemed to, but excluding, the date fixed for redemption.
This Debt Security may be redeemed, in whole or in part, at the option of the Company, at any time on or after the Par Call Date at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount to be redeemed plus accrued and unpaid interest on the portion of this Debt Security being redeemed to, but excluding, the date fixed for redemption.
In the event of redemption of this Debt Security in part only, a new Debt Security or Debt Securities of this series and of like tenor for the unredeemed portion hereof will be issued in the name of the Holder hereof upon the cancellation hereof.
The Quotation Agent will select a Comparable Treasury Issue, and the Reference Dealers will provide the Company and the Trustee with the Reference Dealer Quotations. The Company will calculate the Comparable Treasury Price.
“Adjusted Treasury Rate” means, for any date fixed for redemption, the rate per year equal to the semi-annual equivalent yield to maturity of the Comparable Treasury Issue assuming a price for the Comparable Treasury Issue equal to the Comparable Treasury Price for the date fixed for redemption, in each case expressed as a percentage of its principal amount.
“Comparable Treasury Issue” means, for any date fixed for redemption, the U.S. Treasury security selected by the Quotation Agent which has a maturity comparable to the remaining maturity of this Debt Security as of the date fixed for redemption (assuming, for this purpose, that this Debt Security matures on the Par Call Date), which would be used in accordance with customary financial practice to price new issues of corporate debt securities with a maturity comparable to the remaining maturity of this Debt Security as of the date fixed for redemption (assuming, for this purpose, that this Debt Security matures on the Par Call Date).
“Comparable Treasury Price” means, for any Comparable Treasury Issue, the price after eliminating the highest and the lowest Reference Dealer Quotations and then calculating the average of the remaining Reference Dealer Quotations; provided, however, that if the Company obtains fewer than three Reference Dealer Quotations, the Company will, when calculating the Comparable Treasury Price, calculate the average of all the Reference Dealer Quotations and not eliminate any such quotations.
“Par Call Date” means July 15, 2050.
“Quotation Agent” means BofA Securities, Inc. or its successor.
“Reference Dealers” means BofA Securities, Inc. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC or their respective successors, and two or more other primary U.S. government securities dealers in the City of New York appointed by the Company, provided, however, that if any of the foregoing or their respective successors ceases to be a primary U.S. government securities dealer in the City of New York, the Company will appoint another primary U.S. government securities dealer in the City of New York as a substitute.
“Reference Dealer Quotation” means, with respect to each Reference Dealer, for any Comparable Treasury Issue, the average, as determined by the Company and notified to the Trustee, of the bid and asked prices for such Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed in each case as a percentage of its principal amount) quoted in writing by such Reference Dealer to the Company and the Trustee as of 5:00 p.m. (New York City Time) on the third business day before the relevant date fixed for redemption.
The Company may elect to effect a redemption in accordance with these provisions at any time and on any date. However, the Company must give the Holders of this Debt Security notice, as provided in the Indenture, of the redemption not less than 10 days or more than 60 days before the date fixed for redemption. If the Company elects to redeem fewer than all the Debt Securities of this series, the particular Debt Securities of this series to be redeemed shall be selected by lot or pursuant to the applicable Depositary’s procedures.
Reference is hereby made to the further provisions of this Debt Security set forth on the reverse hereof, which further provisions shall for all purposes have the same effect as if set forth at this place.
Unless the certificate of authentication hereon has been executed by the Trustee referred to on the reverse hereof by manual, facsimile or electronic signature, this Debt Security shall not be entitled to any benefit under the Indenture or be valid or obligatory for any purpose.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company has caused this instrument to be duly executed.
| Dated: |
January 15, 2021 |
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY FINANCE CORPORATION | ||||
| By: |
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| Name: |
Marc D. Hamburg | |||||
| Title: |
President | |||||
| Attest: |
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| Name: |
Robert P. Reeson | |
| Title: |
Assistant Secretary | |
[REVERSE OF DEBT SECURITY]
This Debt Security is one of a duly authorized series of notes of the Company (herein called the “Debt Securities”), issued and to be issued in one or more series under an Indenture, dated as of January 26, 2016 (herein called the “Base Indenture”, and as supplemented by the Officers’ Certificate dated January 15, 2021 with respect to this Debt Security, together with the Base Indenture, called the “Indenture”), among the Company, as issuer, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., as guarantor (herein called the “Guarantor,” which term shall include any successor Guarantor under the Indenture), and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as Trustee (herein called the “Trustee”, which term includes any successor trustee under the Indenture), and reference is hereby made to the Indenture for a statement of the respective rights, limitations of rights, duties and immunities thereunder of the Company, the Guarantor, the Trustee and the Holders of the Debt Securities and of the terms upon which the Debt Securities are, and are to be, authenticated and delivered. This Debt Security is one of the series designated on the face hereof, initially limited in aggregate principal amount to $750,000,000. The Company may at any time issue additional securities under the Indenture in unlimited amounts having the same terms as the Debt Securities of a series, provided that no additional securities of a series may be issued if at the time of issuance an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing with respect to such series of securities.
This Debt Security does not have the benefit of any sinking fund obligation.
In the event of redemption of this Debt Security in part only, a new Debt Security or Debt Securities of this series and of like tenor for the unredeemed portion hereof will be issued in the name of the Holder hereof upon the cancellation hereof.
The Indenture contains provisions for defeasance at any time of the entire Indebtedness of this Debt Security or of certain restrictive covenants and Events of Default with respect to this Debt Security, in each case upon compliance with certain conditions set forth in the Indenture.
If an Event of Default with respect to the Debt Securities of this series shall occur and be continuing, the principal of the Debt Securities of this series may be declared due and payable in the manner and with the effect provided in the Indenture.
The Indenture permits, with certain exceptions as therein provided, the amendment thereof and the modification of the rights and obligations of the Company and the Guarantor and the rights of the Holders of the Debt Securities of each series and of Guarantees to be affected under the Indenture at any time by the Company, the Guarantor and the Trustee with the consent of the Holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the Debt Securities at the time Outstanding of each series to be affected (voting together as a single class). The Indenture also contains provisions permitting the Holders of specified percentages in principal amount of the Debt Securities of each series at the time Outstanding, on behalf of the Holders of all Debt Securities of such series, to waive compliance by the Company and/or the Guarantor with certain provisions of the Indenture and certain past defaults under the Indenture and their consequences. Any such consent or waiver by the Holder of this Debt Security shall be conclusive and binding upon such Holder and upon all future Holders of this Debt Security and of any Debt Security issued upon the registration of transfer hereof or in exchange herefor or in lieu hereof, whether or not notation of such consent or waiver is made upon this Debt Security.
As provided in and subject to the provisions of the Indenture, the Holder of this Debt Security shall not have the right to institute any proceeding with respect to the Indenture or for the appointment of a receiver or trustee or for any other remedy thereunder, unless such Holder shall
have previously given the Trustee written notice of a continuing Event of Default with respect to the Debt Securities of this series, the Holders of at least 25% in principal amount of the Debt Securities of this series at the time Outstanding shall have made written request to the Trustee to institute proceedings in respect of such Event of Default as Trustee and offered the Trustee indemnity or security reasonably satisfactory to it, and the Trustee shall not have received from the Holders of a majority in principal amount of Debt Securities of this series at the time Outstanding a direction inconsistent with such request, and shall have failed to institute any such proceeding, for 60 days after receipt of such notice, request and offer of indemnity. The foregoing shall not apply to any suit instituted by the Holder of this Debt Security for the enforcement of any payment of principal hereof or any premium or interest hereon on or after the respective due dates expressed herein.
No reference herein to the Indenture and no provision of this Debt Security or of the Indenture shall alter or impair the obligation of the Company, which is absolute and unconditional, to pay the principal of and any interest on this Debt Security at the times, place and rate, and in the coin or currency, herein prescribed.
As provided in the Indenture and subject to certain limitations therein set forth, the transfer of this Debt Security is registrable in the Security Register, upon surrender of this Debt Security for registration of transfer at the office or agency of the Company in any place where the principal of and any premium and interest on this Debt Security are payable, duly endorsed by, or accompanied by a written instrument of transfer in form satisfactory to the Company and the Security Registrar duly executed by, the Holder hereof or the Holder’s attorney duly authorized in writing, and thereupon one or more new Debt Securities of this series and of like tenor, of authorized denominations and for the same aggregate principal amount, will be issued to the designated transferee or transferees.
The Indenture and this Debt Security are governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to conflicts of laws provisions thereof.
The Debt Securities of this series are issuable in registered form without coupons in minimum denominations of $2,000 and integral multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof. As provided in the Indenture and subject to certain limitations therein set forth, Debt Securities of this series are exchangeable for a like aggregate principal amount of Debt Securities of this series and of like tenor of a different authorized denomination, as requested by the Holder surrendering the same.
No service charge shall be made to a Holder for any such registration of transfer or exchange, but the Company may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge payable in connection therewith.
Prior to due presentment of this Debt Security for registration of transfer, the Company, the Guarantor, the Trustee and any agent thereof may treat the Person in whose name this Debt Security is registered as the owner hereof for all purposes, whether or not this Debt Security be overdue, and none of the Company, the Guarantor, the Trustee or any such agent shall be affected by notice to the contrary.
Except in the limited circumstances described in Section 3.05 of the Indenture, the Debt Securities of this series shall be issued in the form of one or more Global Securities and The Depository Trust Company shall be the Depositary for such Global Security or Securities.
All terms used in this Debt Security which are not defined herein and are defined in the Indenture shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Indenture.
GUARANTEE OF
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC.
FOR VALUE RECEIVED, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Guarantor”), hereby absolutely, unconditionally and irrevocably guarantees to the holders (the “Holders”) of any security authenticated and delivered (each a “Security”) by The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as trustee (the “Trustee”) under that certain Indenture, dated as of January 26, 2016 (the “Indenture”), among the Trustee, the Guarantor and Berkshire Hathaway Finance Corporation, a Delaware corporation (“Issuer”), the full and prompt payment when due (whether at stated maturity, by acceleration or otherwise) of all present and future payment obligations of the Issuer pursuant to the terms of such Security and/or the Indenture, whether direct or indirect, absolute or contingent, and whether for principal, interest, fees, expenses, indemnification or otherwise (collectively, the “Obligations”). Nothing herein shall be deemed to guarantee any obligation of the Issuer other than the Obligations. Nothing herein shall be deemed to guarantee any obligation of any person or entity other than the Issuer.
The Guarantor’s obligations hereunder shall be unconditional and absolute, and shall not be released, discharged or otherwise affected by (i) the existence, validity, enforceability, perfection or extent of any collateral therefor, (ii) any lack of validity or enforceability of any provision of the Security or the Indenture, (iii) any liquidation, bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or other similar proceeding affecting the Issuer or its assets, or (iv) any other circumstance relating to the Obligations that might otherwise constitute a legal or equitable discharge of, or defense to, the Guarantor. The Guarantor agrees that the Holders and/or the Trustee may resort to the Guarantor, as primary obligor and not merely as surety, for payment of any of the Obligations whether or not the Holders or the Trustee shall have proceeded against the Issuer or any other obligor principally or secondarily obligated with respect to any of the Obligations. Neither the Holders nor the Trustee shall be obligated to file any claim relating to any of the Obligations in the event that the Issuer becomes subject to a bankruptcy, reorganization or similar proceeding, and the failure of the Holders or the Trustee to so file shall not affect the Guarantor’s obligations hereunder. In the event that any payment to the Holders by the Issuer in respect of any Obligations is rescinded or must otherwise be returned for any reason whatsoever, the Guarantor shall remain liable hereunder with respect to such Obligations as if such payment had not been made.
The Guarantor agrees that, subject to the Indenture, the Holders and/or the Trustee may at any time and from time to time, either before or after the maturity thereof, without notice to or further consent of the Guarantor, extend the time of payment of, exchange or surrender any collateral for, or renew any of the Obligations, and may also make any agreement with the Issuer or with any other party to or person liable on any of the Obligations or interested therein, for the extension, renewal, payment, compromise, discharge or release thereof, in whole or in part, or for any modification of the terms thereof or of any agreement between the Holders, the Trustee and the Issuer or any such other party or person, and that none of the foregoing shall in any way impair or affect this Guarantee.
The Guarantor hereby unconditionally and irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, (a) notice of the acceptance of this Guarantee and of the Obligations, presentment, demand for payment, notice of dishonor and protest, (b) any requirement that any Holder exhaust any right or take any action against the Issuer, and (c) any right to revoke this Guarantee.
The Guarantor agrees to pay on demand all fees and out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the Holders or the Trustee in any way relating to the enforcement or protection of the rights of the Holders and/or the Trustee hereunder.
Upon payment of any of the Obligations, the Guarantor shall be subrogated to the rights of the Holders and/or the Trustee against the Issuer with respect to such Obligations, and the Holders and the Trustee agree to take such steps, at the Guarantor’s expense, as the Guarantor may reasonably request to implement such subrogation; provided, however, that the Guarantor shall not be entitled to enforce, or to receive any payments arising out of or based upon, such right of subrogation during any period in which any amount payable by the Issuer under the Security or the Indenture is overdue or unpaid.
No failure on the part of the Holders or the Trustee to exercise, and no delay in exercising, any right, remedy or power hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise by the Holders or the Trustee of any right, remedy or power hereunder preclude any other or future exercise of any right, remedy or power. Each and every right, remedy and power hereby granted to the Holders or the Trustee or allowed any of them by law or other agreement shall be cumulative and not exclusive of any other, and may be exercised by the Holders or the Trustee at any time or from time to time.
The Guarantor hereby represents and warrants that:
(a) the Guarantor is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing as a corporation under the laws of the State of Delaware and has full corporate power to execute, deliver and perform this Guarantee;
(b) the execution, delivery and performance of this Guarantee have been and remain duly authorized by all necessary corporate action and do not contravene any provision of the Guarantor’s certificate of incorporation or by-laws, as amended to date, or any law, regulation, rule, decree, order, judgment or contractual restriction binding on the Guarantor or its assets;
(c) all consents, licenses, clearances, authorizations and approvals of, and registrations and declarations with, any governmental authority or regulatory body necessary for the due execution, delivery and performance of this Guarantee have been obtained and remain in full force and effect and all conditions thereof have been duly complied with, and no other action by, and no notice to or filing with, any governmental authority or regulatory body is required in connection with the execution, delivery or performance of this Guarantee;
(d) this Guarantee constitutes a legal, valid and binding obligation of the Guarantor enforceable against the Guarantor in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general applicability relating to or affecting creditors’ rights and to general equity principles; and
(e) there are no actions, suits or arbitration proceedings pending or, to the knowledge of the Guarantor, threatened against it, at law or in equity, which, individually or in the aggregate, if adversely determined, would materially adversely affect the financial condition of the Guarantor or materially impair its ability to perform its obligations under this Guarantee.
The Guarantor may not assign its obligations hereunder to any person (except as permitted by the Indenture) without the prior written consent of the Holders or the Trustee.
All payments by the Guarantor to the Holders or the Trustee shall be made in accordance with the provisions of the Indenture and the Security; provided, however, that payment of any fees or expenses pursuant to the fifth paragraph hereof shall be made by wire transfer of immediately available funds to an account at a commercial bank in the United States specified to the Guarantor at least ten (10) days in advance of any demand for payment by the Holders or the Trustee.
All notices or demands on the Guarantor shall be deemed effective when received, shall be in writing and shall be delivered by hand or by registered mail, or by facsimile transmission promptly confirmed by registered mail, addressed to the Guarantor at:
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
3555 Farnam Street
Omaha, NE 68131
Attention: Chief Financial Officer
Facsimile: (402) 346-3375
or to such other addresses or facsimile numbers as the Guarantor shall have notified the Holders or the Trustee in a written notice delivered in accordance with the Indenture.
This Guarantee shall remain in full force and effect and shall be binding on the Guarantor, its successors and assigns until all of the Obligations have been satisfied in full.
This Guarantee shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York applicable to contracts made and to be performed solely within such State.
No amendment or waiver of any provision of this Guarantee shall in any event be effective unless the same shall be in writing and signed by the Trustee and the Guarantor.
If for any reason any provision or provisions hereof are determined to be invalid and contrary to any existing or future law, such invalidity shall not, to the fullest extent permitted by law, impair the operation of or effect of those portions of this Guarantee that are valid.
THE GUARANTOR WAIVES ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A JURY TRIAL IN CONNECTION WITH ANY ACTION, SUIT OR PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED IN ANY WAY TO THIS GUARANTEE.
| Dated: January 15, 2021 | BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. | |||||||
| By: |
| |||||||
| Name: | Marc D. Hamburg | |||||||
| Title: | Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | |||||||
SCHEDULE OF INCREASES OR DECREASES IN GLOBAL SECURITY
The following increases or decreases in this Debt Security have been made:
| Date of exchange |
Amount of decrease in principal amount of this Debt Security |
Amount of increase in principal amount of this Debt Security |
Principal amount of this Debt Security following such decrease or increase |
Signature of authorized signatory of Trustee or Security Custodian |
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ASSIGNMENT
FOR VALUE RECEIVED, the undersigned assigns and transfers this Debt Security to:
| (Insert assignee’s social security or tax identification number) |
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| (Insert address and zip code of assignee) |
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| and irrevocably appoints as agent to transfer this Debt Security on the Security Register. The agent may substitute another to act for him or her. | ||||||||||
| Dated: |
Signature: |
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| Signature Guarantee: |
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| (Sign exactly as your name appears on the other side of this Debt Security) |
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Signatures must be guaranteed by an “eligible guarantor institution” meeting the requirements of the Security Registrar, which requirements include membership or participation in the Security Transfer Agent Medallion Program (“STAMP”) or such other “signature guarantee program” as may be determined by the Security Registrar in addition to, or in substitution for, STAMP, all in accordance with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
Exhibit 5.1
MUNGER, TOLLES & OLSON LLP
350 South Grand Avenue, 50th Floor
Los Angeles, California 90071-3426
January 15, 2021
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
3555 Farnam Street
Omaha, Nebraska 68131
| Re: | Senior Notes of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. |
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as counsel to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (the “Issuer”), a Delaware corporation, in connection with the issuance and sale by the Issuer of €600,000,000 aggregate principal amount of the Issuer’s 0.500% Senior Notes due 2041 (the “Securities”), pursuant to that certain Underwriting Agreement (the “Agreement”), dated as of January 5, 2021, by and between (a) the Issuer and (b) J.P. Morgan Securities plc and Merrill Lynch International.
The Securities will be issued pursuant to an Indenture, dated as of January 26, 2016, by and among the Issuer, Berkshire Hathaway Finance Corporation (“BHFC”), and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as trustee (the “Trustee”) (the “Indenture,” which term as used herein includes the Officers’ Certificate (as defined in the Indenture) dated January 15, 2021 establishing the form and terms of the Securities). The Issuer and BHFC have prepared and filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”), (i) a registration statement on Form S-3 (File Nos. 333-229396 and 333-229396-01), including a prospectus, relating to the Securities (the “Registration Statement”), (ii) a Preliminary Prospectus, dated January 5, 2021 (the “Preliminary Prospectus”), and (iii) a Final Prospectus, dated January 5, 2021 (the “Final Prospectus” and together with the Preliminary Prospectus, the “Prospectus”).
This opinion is being furnished in connection with the requirements of Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act, and no opinion is expressed herein as to any matter pertaining to the contents of the Registration Statement or related Prospectus, other than as expressly stated herein with respect to the issuance of the Securities.
In our capacity as counsel for the Issuer, we have reviewed the Securities and originals or copies of corporate records of the Issuer, certificates of public officials, officers of the Issuer and others, and such other documents as we have deemed necessary or appropriate for the purposes of this opinion. In our examination, we have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to authentic original documents of all documents submitted to us as copies, and the legal capacity of all parties executing the documents.
In making our examination of documents executed by parties other than the Issuer, we have assumed that such parties had the power, corporate or otherwise, to enter into and perform all obligations thereunder and have also assumed the due authorization by all requisite action, corporate or otherwise, and execution and delivery by such parties of such documents and the validity and binding effect thereof. As to various questions of fact relevant to the opinions expressed herein, we have relied upon, and assumed the accuracy of, the factual representations of the Issuer set forth in the officer’s certificates delivered to us by it in connection with our rendering of this opinion, the representations and warranties of the Issuer set forth in the Agreement and other information of or from responsible representatives of the Issuer and others and assume compliance on the part of all parties to the Agreement and the Transaction Documents (as defined in the Agreement) with their covenants and agreements contained therein.
Based on the foregoing, and subject to the assumptions, qualifications, exclusions and other limitations contained in this letter, we are of the opinion that the Securities being delivered on this date have been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Issuer and, assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery of the Indenture by the Trustee and the due authentication of the Securities by the Trustee in accordance with the Indenture, constitute valid and binding obligations of the Issuer, enforceable against the Issuer in accordance with their 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.
The law covered by the opinion expressed above is limited to (i) the laws of the State of New York, and (ii) the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware. We express no opinion as to any other laws of the State of Delaware or the laws of any other jurisdiction and no opinion regarding the statutes, administrative decisions, rules, regulations or requirements of any county, municipality, subdivision or local authority of any jurisdiction.
We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Issuer’s Form 8-K dated January 15, 2021 and to the use of our name in the Preliminary Prospectus and the Final Prospectus under the caption “Legal Matters.” In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission issued thereunder.
| Very truly yours, |
| /s/ Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP |
Exhibit 5.2
MUNGER, TOLLES & OLSON LLP
350 South Grand Avenue, 50th Floor
Los Angeles, California 90071-3426
January 15, 2021
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
3555 Farnam Street
Omaha, Nebraska 68131
| Re: | Senior Notes of Berkshire Hathaway Finance Corporation |
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as counsel to Berkshire Hathaway Finance Corporation (the “Issuer”), a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Guarantor”), and to the Guarantor in connection with the issuance and sale by the Issuer of $750,000,000 aggregate principal amount of the Issuer’s 2.500% Senior Notes due 2051 (the “Notes”), pursuant to that certain Underwriting Agreement (the “Agreement”), dated as of January 5, 2021, by and between (a) the Issuer and the Guarantor and (b) BofA Securities, Inc. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC. The Notes will be guaranteed as to the payment of principal, premium, if any, and interest pursuant to a guarantee of the Guarantor (the “Guarantee” and, together with the Notes, the “Securities”).
The Securities will be issued pursuant to an Indenture, dated as of January 26, 2016, by and among the Issuer, the Guarantor, and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as trustee (the “Trustee”) (the “Indenture,” which term as used herein includes the Officers’ Certificate (as defined in the Indenture) dated January 15, 2021 establishing the form and terms of the Securities). The Issuer and the Guarantor have prepared and filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”), (i) a registration statement on Form S-3 (File Nos. 333-229396 and 333-229396-01), including a prospectus, relating to the Securities (the “Registration Statement”), (ii) a Preliminary Prospectus, dated January 5, 2021 (the “Preliminary Prospectus”), and (iii) a Final Prospectus, dated January 5, 2021 (the “Final Prospectus” and together with the Preliminary Prospectus, the “Prospectus”).
This opinion is being furnished in connection with the requirements of Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act, and no opinion is expressed herein as to any matter pertaining to the contents of the Registration Statement or related Prospectus, other than as expressly stated herein with respect to the issuance of the Securities.
In our capacity as counsel for the Issuer and the Guarantor, we have reviewed the Securities and originals or copies of corporate records of the Issuer and the Guarantor, certificates of public officials, officers of the Issuer and the Guarantor and others, and such other
documents as we have deemed necessary or appropriate for the purposes of this opinion. In our examination, we have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to authentic original documents of all documents submitted to us as copies, and the legal capacity of all parties executing the documents.
In making our examination of documents executed by parties other than the Issuer and the Guarantor, we have assumed that such parties had the power, corporate or otherwise, to enter into and perform all obligations thereunder and have also assumed the due authorization by all requisite action, corporate or otherwise, and execution and delivery by such parties of such documents and the validity and binding effect thereof. As to various questions of fact relevant to the opinions expressed herein, we have relied upon, and assumed the accuracy of, the factual representations of the Issuer and the Guarantor set forth in the officer’s certificates delivered to us by each of them in connection with our rendering of this opinion, the representations and warranties of the Issuer and the Guarantor set forth in the Agreement and other information of or from responsible representatives of the Issuer and the Guarantor and others and assume compliance on the part of all parties to the Agreement and the Transaction Documents (as defined in the Agreement) with their covenants and agreements contained therein.
Based on the foregoing, and subject to the assumptions, qualifications, exclusions and other limitations contained in this letter, we are of the opinion that the Securities being delivered on this date have been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Issuer and the Guarantor and, assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery of the Indenture by the Trustee and the due authentication of the Securities by the Trustee in accordance with the Indenture, constitute valid and binding obligations of the Issuer and the Guarantor, enforceable against the Issuer and the Guarantor in accordance with their 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.
The law covered by the opinion expressed above is limited to (i) the laws of the State of New York, and (ii) the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware. We express no opinion as to any other laws of the State of Delaware or the laws of any other jurisdiction and no opinion regarding the statutes, administrative decisions, rules, regulations or requirements of any county, municipality, subdivision or local authority of any jurisdiction.
We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Guarantor’s Form 8-K dated January 15, 2021 and to the use of our name in the Preliminary Prospectus and the Final Prospectus under the caption “Legal Matters.” In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission issued thereunder.
| Very truly yours, |
| /s/ Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP |