Exhibit 1.1

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The purpose of this letter agreement (this “Confirmation”) is to confirm the terms and conditions of the transaction to be entered into between Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (“Dealer”) and CareTrust REIT, Inc. (“Counterparty”) as of the Trade Date specified below (the “Transaction”). This communication constitutes a “Confirmation” as referred to in the Agreement specified below. This Confirmation will be a confirmation for purposes of Rule 10b-10 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).

1.          This Confirmation is subject to, and incorporates, the 2002 ISDA Equity Derivatives Definitions (the “Equity Definitions”) and the 2006 ISDA Definitions (the “Swap Definitions”), as published by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (“ISDA”). For purposes of the Equity Definitions, the Transaction will be deemed to be a Share Forward Transaction.

This Confirmation shall supplement, form a part of and be subject to an agreement (the “Agreement”) in the form of the 2002 ISDA Master Agreement (the “ISDA Form”), as published by ISDA, as if Dealer and Counterparty had executed the ISDA Form on the date hereof (but without any Schedule) except for (i) the election of New York law (without regard to New York’s choice of laws doctrine other than Title 14 of Article 5 of the New York General Obligations Law) as the governing law and US Dollars (“USD”) as the Termination Currency; (ii) the election that the “Cross Default” provisions of Section 5(a)(vi) of the Agreement shall apply to Counterparty and Dealer, with a “Threshold Amount” of USD 50,000,000 for Counterparty and a “Threshold Amount” equal to 3% of shareholders’ equity of Dealer as of the date hereof for Dealer; provided that (a) the phrase “or becoming capable at such time of being declared” shall be deleted from clause (1) of such Section 5(a)(vi) of the Agreement, (b) the following sentence shall be added to the end thereof: “Notwithstanding the foregoing, a default under subsection (2) hereof shall not constitute an Event of Default if (x) the default was caused solely by error or omission of an administrative or operational nature; (y) funds were available to enable the party to make the payment when due; and (z) the payment is made within three Local Business Days of such party’s receipt of written notice of its failure to pay.”; (c) the term “Specified Indebtedness” shall have the meaning specified in Section 14 of the Agreement, except that such term shall not include obligations in respect of deposits received in the ordinary course of a party’s banking business; and (iii) the elections set forth in Section 9 of this Confirmation. All provisions contained in the Agreement are incorporated into and shall govern this Confirmation except as expressly modified herein. This Confirmation and the Agreement evidence a complete and binding agreement between Dealer and Counterparty as to the terms of the Transaction and replace any previous agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and thereof.

The Transaction hereunder shall be the sole Transaction under the Agreement. If there exists any ISDA Master Agreement between Dealer or any of its Affiliates (each, a “Dealer Affiliate”) and Counterparty or any confirmation or other agreement between Dealer or a Dealer Affiliate and Counterparty pursuant to which an ISDA Master Agreement is deemed to exist between Dealer or a Dealer Affiliate and Counterparty, then notwithstanding anything to the contrary in such ISDA Master Agreement, such confirmation or agreement or any other agreement to which Dealer or a Dealer Affiliate and Counterparty are parties, the Transaction shall not be considered a Transaction under, or otherwise governed by, such existing or deemed ISDA Master Agreement.

If, in relation to the Transaction, there is any inconsistency between the Agreement, this Confirmation, the Equity Definitions and the Swap Definitions, the following will prevail for purposes of the Transaction in the order of precedence indicated: (i) this Confirmation; (ii) the Equity Definitions; (iii) the Swap Definitions; and (iv) the Agreement.

Any terms not otherwise defined herein, in the Agreement, in the Equity Definitions or in the Swap Definitions shall have the meaning ascribed to them in the Underwriting Agreement (as defined below).

 

2.           The terms of the Transaction to which this Confirmation relates are as follows:

3. Conditions to Effectiveness.

The effectiveness of this Confirmation on the Effective Date shall be subject to (i) the condition that the representations and warranties of Counterparty contained in the Underwriting Agreement, dated the date hereof, among Counterparty, CTR Partnership, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership, each of Wells Fargo Securities, LLC and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, as the Underwriters, the forward purchasers named therein and the forward sellers named therein (the “Underwriting Agreement”), and any certificate delivered pursuant thereto by Counterparty are true and correct on the Effective Date as if made as of the Effective Date, (ii) the condition that Counterparty has performed all of the obligations required to be performed by it under the Underwriting Agreement on or prior to the Effective Date, (iii) the condition that Counterparty has delivered to Dealer an opinion of counsel dated as of the Trade Date with respect to matters set forth in Section 3(a) of the Agreement, (iv) the satisfaction of all of the conditions set forth in Section 6 of the Underwriting Agreement, (v) the condition that the Underwriting Agreement shall not have been terminated pursuant to Section 9 thereof and (vi) the condition that neither of the following has occurred (A) Dealer (or its affiliate) is unable, after using commercially reasonable efforts, to borrow and deliver for sale a number of Shares equal to the Initial Number of Shares in connection with establishing a commercially reasonable hedge position, or (B) in Dealer’s commercially reasonable judgment Dealer (or its affiliate) would incur a stock loan fee of more than a rate equal to 200 basis points per annum to do so (in which event this Confirmation shall be effective but the Initial Number of Shares for the Transaction shall be the number of Shares Dealer (or an affiliate thereof) is required to deliver in accordance with Section 2 of the Underwriting Agreement).

4. [Reserved.]

5. Offices.

The Office of Counterparty for the Transaction is: Inapplicable, Counterparty is not a Multibranch Party

The Office of Dealer for the Transaction is: Charlotte.

6. Additional Mutual Representations and Warranties.

 In addition to the representations and warranties in the Agreement, each party represents and warrants to the other party, as of the Trade Date and Settlement Date for the Transaction  that it is an “eligible contract participant”, as defined in the U.S. Commodity Exchange Act (as amended), and an “accredited investor” as defined in Section 2(a)(15)(ii) of the Securities Act of 1933 (as amended) (the “Securities Act”), and is entering into the Transaction hereunder as principal and not on behalf of any third party.

7. Additional Representations and Warranties of Counterparty.

In addition to the representations and warranties in the Agreement, the Underwriting Agreement and those contained elsewhere herein, Counterparty represents and warrants to Dealer, and agrees with Dealer, as of the Trade Date, that:

(a) without limiting the generality of Section 13.1 of the Equity Definitions, it acknowledges that Dealer is not making any representations or warranties with respect to the treatment of the Transaction, including without limitation ASC Topic 260, Earnings Per Share, ASC Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging, FASB Statements 128, 133, as amended, 149 or 150, EITF 00-19, 01-6, 03-6 or 07-5, ASC Topic 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity, ASC 815-40, Derivatives and Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (or any successor issue statements) or under the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s Liabilities & Equity Project;

(b) [Reserved];

(c) it shall not take any action to reduce or decrease the number of authorized and unissued Shares below the sum of (i) the Capped Number (as defined below) across the Transaction hereunder plus (ii) the total number of Shares issuable upon settlement (whether by net share settlement or otherwise) of any other transaction or agreement to which it is a party;

(d) it will not repurchase any Shares if, immediately following such repurchase, the Number of Shares Percentage (as defined below) would alone or in the aggregate be equal to or greater than 4.5% of the number of then-outstanding Shares, and it will notify Dealer immediately upon the announcement or consummation of any repurchase of Shares in an amount that, taken together with the amount of all repurchases since the date of the last such notice (or, if no such notice has been given, since the first Trade Date), exceeds 0.5% of the number of then-outstanding Shares; the “Number of Shares Percentage” as of any day is the fraction of (1) the numerator of which is the aggregate of the Number of Shares for the Transaction and each “Number of Shares” or comparable amount under any Additional Equity Derivative Transaction and (2) the denominator of which is the number of Shares outstanding on such day;

(e) it is not entering into this Confirmation to create actual or apparent trading activity in the Shares (or any security convertible into or exchangeable for Shares) or to raise or depress or otherwise manipulate the price of the Shares (or any security convertible into or exchangeable for Shares);

(f) (i) it is not aware of any material non-public information regarding itself or the Shares; (ii) it is entering into this Confirmation and will provide any Settlement Notice in good faith and not as part of a plan or scheme to evade compliance with Rule 10b-5 or any other provision of the federal securities laws; (iii) it has not entered into or altered any hedging transaction relating to the Shares corresponding to or offsetting the Transaction; (iv) it has consulted with its own advisors as to the legal aspects of its adoption and implementation of this Confirmation under Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act (“Rule 10b5-1”); and (v) it agrees to act in good faith with respect to this Confirmation and the Agreement.

(g) it is in compliance with its reporting obligations under the Exchange Act, and its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, together with all reports subsequently filed by it pursuant to the Exchange Act, taken together and as amended and supplemented to the date of this representation, do not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any 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;

(h) no federal, state or local (including, non-U.S. jurisdictions) law, rule, regulation or regulatory order applicable specifically to the Shares (and not generally to ownership of equity securities by a financial institution that is not generally applicable to holders of the Shares) would give rise to any reporting, consent, registration or other requirement (including without limitation a requirement to obtain prior approval from any person or entity) as a result of Dealer or its affiliates owning or holding (however defined) Shares in connection with the Transaction in accordance with the terms of the applicable Confirmation and the Agreement;

(i) it is not “insolvent” (as such term is defined under Section 101(32) of the Bankruptcy Code) nor will it be rendered insolvent as a result of the Transaction;

(j) it is not, and after giving effect to the transactions contemplated hereby will not be, required to register as an “investment company” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended;

(k) it: (i) is an “institutional account” as defined in FINRA Rule 4512(c), (ii) is capable of evaluating investment risks independently, both in general and with regard to all transactions and investment strategies involving a security or securities, (iii) will exercise independent judgment in evaluating any recommendations of any broker-dealer or its associated persons, unless it has otherwise notified the broker-dealer in writing; and (iv) has total assets of at least USD 50 million;

(l) it understands, agrees and acknowledges that no obligations of Dealer to it hereunder shall be entitled to the benefit of deposit insurance and that such obligations shall not be guaranteed by any affiliate of Dealer or any governmental agency;

(m) ownership positions held by Dealer or any of its affiliates solely in its capacity as a nominee or fiduciary (i) do not constitute “ownership” by Dealer and (ii) shall not result in Dealer being deemed or treated as the “owner” of such positions, in each case for purposes of the Charter;

(n) IT UNDERSTANDS THAT THE TRANSACTION IS SUBJECT TO COMPLEX RISKS WHICH MAY ARISE WITHOUT WARNING AND MAY AT TIMES BE VOLATILE AND THAT LOSSES MAY OCCUR QUICKLY AND IN UNANTICIPATED MAGNITUDE AND IS WILLING TO ACCEPT SUCH TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND ASSUME (FINANCIALLY AND OTHERWISE) SUCH RISKS; and

(o) in connection with this Confirmation and the Transaction (the “Relevant Transaction”), Counterparty acknowledges that none of Dealer and/or its affiliates is advising Counterparty or any other person as to any legal, tax, investment, accounting or regulatory matters in any jurisdiction (for the avoidance of doubt, notwithstanding any advisory relationship that Dealer and/or its affiliates may have, or may have had in the past, with Counterparty and/or its affiliates). Counterparty shall consult with its own advisors concerning such matters and shall be responsible for making its own independent investigation and appraisal of the Relevant Transaction, and none of Dealer and/or its affiliates shall have any responsibility or liability to Counterparty with respect thereto. Any review by the Dealer and/or its affiliates of Counterparty, the Relevant Transaction or other matters relating to the Relevant Transaction will be performed solely for the benefit of Dealer and/or its affiliates, as the case may be, and shall not be on behalf of Counterparty. Counterparty waives to the full extent permitted by applicable law any claims it may have against Dealer and/or its affiliates arising from an alleged breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the Relevant Transaction.

8. [Reserved.]

9. Additional Covenants of Counterparty.

(a) Counterparty acknowledges and agrees that any Shares delivered by Counterparty to Dealer on any Settlement Date or Net Share Settlement Date will be (i) newly issued, (ii) approved for listing or quotation on the Exchange, subject to official notice of issuance, (iii) deposited in the Clearance System and will not bear a restrictive legend, and (iv) registered under the Exchange Act, and, when delivered by Dealer (or an affiliate of Dealer) to securities lenders from whom Dealer (or an affiliate of Dealer) borrowed Shares in connection with hedging its exposure to the Transaction and, subject to the Private Placement Procedures set forth in Section 13 below, will be freely saleable without further registration or other restrictions under the Securities Act in the hands of those securities lenders, irrespective of whether any such stock loan is effected by Dealer or an affiliate of Dealer. Subject to the Private Placement Procedures set forth in Section 13, Counterparty agrees that any Shares so delivered will not bear a restrictive legend and will be deposited in, and the delivery thereof shall be effected through the facilities of, the Clearance System. In addition (and without limitation of the representations and warranties of Counterparty made pursuant to Section 9.11 of the Equity Definitions), Counterparty represents and agrees that any such Shares have been duly authorized and shall be, upon delivery, duly and validly authorized, issued and outstanding, fully paid and non-assessable, free of any lien, charge, claim or other encumbrance. Counterparty agrees and acknowledges that such approval for listing or quotation on the Exchange shall be a condition precedent for the purpose of Section 2(a)(iii) of the Agreement with respect to each obligation of Dealer under Section 2(a)(i) of the Agreement in respect of the relevant Transaction.

(b) Counterparty agrees that Counterparty shall not enter into or alter any hedging transaction relating to the Shares corresponding to or offsetting the Transaction. Without limiting the generality of the provisions set forth under the caption “Settlement Terms” in Section 2 of this Confirmation, Counterparty acknowledges that it has no right to, and agrees that it will not seek to, control or influence Dealer’s decision to make any “purchases or sales” (within the meaning of Rule 10b5-1(c)(1)(i)(B)(3)) under or in connection with the Transaction, including, without limitation, Dealer’s decision to enter into any hedging transactions.

(c) Counterparty acknowledges and agrees that any amendment, modification, waiver or termination of this Confirmation must be effected in accordance with the requirements for the amendment or termination of a “plan” as defined in Rule 10b5-1(c) under the Exchange Act. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, any such amendment, modification, waiver or termination shall be made in good faith and not as part of a plan or scheme to evade the prohibitions of Rule 10b-5, and no such amendment, modification or waiver shall be made at any time at which Counterparty or any officer, director, manager or similar person of Counterparty is aware of any material non-public information regarding Counterparty or the Shares.

(d) Counterparty shall promptly provide notice thereof to Dealer upon (i) the occurrence of any event that would constitute an Event of Default or a Termination Event in respect of which Counterparty is a Defaulting Party or an Affected Party, as the case may be, and (ii) the making of any public announcement by Counterparty of any event that, if consummated, would constitute an Extraordinary Event or Potential Adjustment Event.

(e) Neither Counterparty nor any of its “affiliated purchasers” (as defined by Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act (“Rule 10b-18”)) shall take any action that would cause any purchases of Shares by Dealer or any of its Affiliates in connection with any Cash Settlement or Net Share Settlement not to meet the requirements of the safe harbor provided by Rule 10b-18 if such purchases were made by Counterparty. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, during any Unwind Period, except with the prior written consent of Dealer, Counterparty will not, and will cause its affiliated purchasers (as defined in Rule 10b-18) not to, directly or indirectly (including, without limitation, by means of a derivative instrument) purchase, offer to purchase, place any bid or limit order that would effect a purchase of, or announce or commence any tender offer relating to, any Shares (or equivalent interest, including a unit of beneficial interest in a trust or limited partnership or a depository share) or any security convertible into or exchangeable for the Shares.

(f) Counterparty will not take, or permit to be taken, any action to cause any “restricted period” (as such term is defined in Regulation M promulgated under the Exchange Act (“Regulation M”)) to occur in respect of Shares or any security with respect to which the Shares are a “reference security” (as such term is defined in Regulation M) during any Unwind Period.

(g) Counterparty shall: (i) prior to the opening of trading in the Shares on any day on which Counterparty makes, or expects to be made, any public announcement (as defined in Rule 165(f) under the Securities Act) of any Merger Transaction, notify Dealer of such public announcement; (ii) promptly notify Dealer following any such announcement that such announcement has been made; (iii) promptly (but in any event prior to the next opening of the regular trading session on the Exchange) provide Dealer with written notice specifying (A) Counterparty’s average daily Rule 10b-18 Purchases (as defined in Rule 10b-18) during the three full calendar months immediately preceding the announcement date for the Merger Transaction that were not effected through Dealer or its affiliates and (B) the number of Shares purchased pursuant to the proviso in Rule 10b-18(b)(4) under the Exchange Act for the three full calendar months preceding such announcement date. Such written notice shall be deemed to be a certification by Counterparty to Dealer that such information is true and correct. In addition, Counterparty shall promptly notify Dealer of the earlier to occur of the completion of such transaction and the completion of the vote by target shareholders. Counterparty acknowledges that under the terms of any Confirmation, any such notice may result in a Regulatory Disruption, a Trading Condition or an Acceleration Event or may affect the length of any ongoing Unwind Period; accordingly, Counterparty acknowledges that its delivery of such notice shall comply with the standards set forth in Section 7(f) of this Confirmation. “Merger Transaction” means any merger, acquisition or similar transaction involving a recapitalization with respect to the Counterparty and/or the Shares as contemplated by Rule 10b-18(a)(13)(iv) under the Exchange Act.

(h) Subject to Section 21, Counterparty represents and warrants to, and agrees with, Dealer that Counterparty has not and will not, without the prior written consent of Dealer, enter into any structured share purchase or sale transaction (including the purchase or sale of any option or combination of options relating to the Shares), or any other transaction similar to the Transaction described herein, where any valuation period (however defined) in such other transaction will overlap with any Unwind Period under any Confirmation. In the event that the valuation period in any such other transaction overlaps with any Unwind Period under any Confirmation as a result of any acceleration, postponement or extension of the Unwind Period, Counterparty shall promptly amend such transaction to avoid any such overlap.

10. Acceleration Events.

 

Each of the following events shall constitute an “Acceleration Event”:

 

(i)          Stock Borrow Event.  In the commercially reasonable judgment of Dealer (A) Dealer (or an affiliate of Dealer) is not able to hedge in a commercially reasonable manner its exposure under the Transaction because insufficient Shares are made available for borrowing by securities lenders or (B) Dealer (or an affiliate of Dealer) would incur a cost to borrow (or to maintain a borrow of) Shares to hedge in a commercially reasonable manner its exposure under this Transaction that is greater than a rate equal to 200 basis points per annum (each, a “Stock Borrow Event”);

 

(ii)         Dividends and Other Distributions.  On any day occurring on or following the Trade Date, Counterparty declares a distribution, issue or dividend to existing holders of the Shares of (A) any cash dividend (other than an Extraordinary Dividend) to the extent all cash dividends having an ex-dividend date during the period from, and including, any Forward Price Reduction Date to, but excluding, the next subsequent Forward Price Reduction Date exceeds, on a per Share basis, the Forward Price Reduction Amount set forth opposite the first date of any such period on Schedule I, (B) any Extraordinary Dividend, (C) any share capital or other securities of another issuer acquired or owned (directly or indirectly) by Counterparty as a result of a spin-off or other similar transaction or (D) any other type of securities (other than Shares), rights or warrants or other assets, in any case for payment (cash or other consideration) at less than the prevailing market price, as determined in a commercially reasonable manner by Dealer; “Extraordinary Dividend” means any dividend or distribution (that is not an ordinary cash dividend) declared by the Issuer with respect to the Shares that, in the commercially reasonable determination of Dealer, is (1) a dividend or distribution declared on the Shares at a time at which the Issuer has not previously declared or paid dividends or distributions on such Shares for the prior four quarterly periods, (2) a payment or distribution by the Issuer to holders of Shares that the Issuer announces will be an “extraordinary” or “special” dividend or distribution, (3) a payment by the Issuer to holders of Shares out of the Issuer’s capital and surplus or (4) any other “special” dividend or distribution on the Shares that is, by its terms or declared intent, outside the normal course of operations or normal dividend policies or practices of the Issuer;

 

(iii)        ISDA Termination.  Either Dealer or Counterparty has the right to designate an Early Termination Date pursuant to Section 6 of the Agreement, in which case, except as otherwise specified herein and except as a result of an Event of Default under Section 5(a)(i) of the Agreement, the provisions of Section 7(g) below shall apply in lieu of the consequences specified in Section 6 of the Agreement;

 

(iv)        Other ISDA Events.  (A) The public announcement by Counterparty or any Valid Third Party Entity of any event that, if consummated, would result in a Merger Event or Tender Offer, or (B) the announcement of any event that, if consummated, would result in a Nationalization, Insolvency or Delisting or the occurrence of any Hedging Disruption or Change in Law; provided that, in case of a Delisting, in addition to the provisions of Section 12.6(a)(iii) of the Equity Definitions, it will also constitute a Delisting if the Exchange is located in the United States and the Shares are not immediately re-listed, re-traded or re-quoted on any of the New York Stock Exchange, The NASDAQ Global Select Market or The NASDAQ Global Market (or their respective successors); or

 

(v)        Ownership Event.  In the good faith judgment of Dealer, on any day, the Share Amount for such day exceeds the Post-Effective Limit for such day (if any applies) (each, an “Ownership Event”).  For purposes of this clause (v), the “Share Amount” as of any day is the number of Shares that Dealer and any person whose ownership position would be aggregated with that of Dealer (Dealer or any such person, a “Dealer Person”) under any law, rule, regulation or regulatory order (other than any obligations under Section 13 of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder) or Counterparty constituent document that for any reason is, or after the Trade Date becomes, applicable to ownership of Shares (“Applicable Provisions”), owns, beneficially owns, constructively owns, controls, holds the power to vote or otherwise meets a relevant definition of ownership of under the Applicable Provisions, as determined by Dealer in its reasonable discretion.  The “Post-Effective Limit” means (x) the minimum number of Shares that would give rise to reporting or registration obligations or other requirements (including obtaining prior approval from any person or entity) of a Dealer Person, or would result in an adverse effect on a Dealer Person, under the Applicable Provisions, as determined by Dealer in its reasonable discretion, minus (y) 1.0% of the number of Shares outstanding.

 

 

11. Termination Settlement.

 

Upon the occurrence of any Acceleration Event, Dealer shall have the right to designate, upon at least one Scheduled Trading Day’s notice, any Scheduled Trading Day following such occurrence to be a Settlement Date under the Transaction (a “Termination Settlement Date”) to which Physical Settlement shall apply, and to select the number of Settlement Shares relating to such Termination Settlement Date; provided that (i) in the case of an Acceleration Event arising out of an Ownership Event, the number of Settlement Shares so designated by Dealer shall not exceed the number of Shares necessary to reduce the Share Amount to reasonably below the Post-Effective Limit and Dealer shall determine such number of Settlement Shares in good faith and in a commercially reasonable manner and (ii) in the case of an Acceleration Event arising out of a Stock Borrow Event, the number of Settlement Shares so designated by Dealer shall not exceed the number of Shares as to which such Stock Borrow Event exists.  If, upon designation of a Termination Settlement Date by Dealer pursuant to the preceding sentence, Counterparty fails to deliver the Settlement Shares relating to such Termination Settlement Date when due or otherwise fails to perform obligations within its control in respect of the Transaction, it shall be an Event of Default with respect to Counterparty and Section 6 of the Agreement shall apply.  If an Acceleration Event occurs during the Unwind Period relating to a number of Settlement Shares to which Cash Settlement or Net Share Settlement applies, then on the Termination Settlement Date relating to such Acceleration Event, notwithstanding any election to the contrary by Counterparty, Cash Settlement or Net Share Settlement shall apply to the portion of the Settlement Shares relating to the Unwind Period as to which Dealer has unwound its hedge and Physical Settlement shall apply in respect of (x) the remainder (if any) of such Settlement Shares and (y) the Settlement Shares designated by Dealer in respect of such Termination Settlement Date.  If an Acceleration Event occurs after Counterparty has designated a Settlement Date to which Physical Settlement applies but before the relevant Settlement Shares have been delivered to Dealer, then Dealer shall have the right to cancel such Settlement Date and designate a Termination Settlement Date in respect of such Shares pursuant to the first sentence hereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of a Nationalization or Merger Event, if at the time of the related Termination Settlement Date the Shares have changed into cash or any property or the right to receive cash or any other property, the Calculation Agent shall adjust the nature of the Shares as it determines appropriate to account for such change such that the nature of the Shares is consistent with what shareholders receive in such event.

 

12. Termination on Bankruptcy.

The parties hereto agree that, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Agreement or the Equity Definitions, the Transaction constitutes a contract to issue a security of Counterparty as contemplated by Section 365(c)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code and that the Transaction and the obligations and rights of Counterparty and Dealer (except for any liability as a result of breach of any of the representations or warranties provided by Counterparty in Section 6 or Section 7 of this Confirmation) shall immediately terminate, without the necessity of any notice, payment (whether directly, by netting or otherwise) or other action by Counterparty or Dealer, if, on or prior to the relevant final Settlement Date, Cash Settlement Payment Date or Net Share Settlement Date, an Insolvency Filing occurs or any other proceeding commences with respect to Counterparty under the Bankruptcy Code (a “Bankruptcy Termination Event”).

13. Private Placement Procedures.

 

If Counterparty is unable to comply with the provisions of Section 9(a) above because of a change in law or a change in the policy of the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff, or Dealer otherwise determines that, in its good faith, reasonable opinion based on the advice of counsel, any Shares to be delivered to Dealer by Counterparty may not be freely returned by Dealer or its affiliates to securities lenders as described under such sub-paragraph (ii) or otherwise constitute “restricted securities” as defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act, then delivery of any such Shares (the “Restricted Shares”) shall be effected as provided below, unless waived by Dealer.

 

(i)         If Counterparty delivers the Restricted Shares pursuant to this clause (i) (a “Private Placement Settlement”), then delivery of Restricted Shares by Counterparty shall be effected in accordance with private placement procedures customary for private placements of equity securities of substantially similar size with respect to such Restricted Shares reasonably acceptable to Dealer; provided that Counterparty may not elect a Private Placement Settlement if, on the date of its election, it has taken, or caused to be taken, any action that would make unavailable either the exemption pursuant to Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act for the sale by Counterparty to Dealer (or any affiliate designated by Dealer) of the Restricted Shares or the exemption pursuant to Section 4(a)(1) or Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act for resales of the Restricted Shares by Dealer (or any such affiliate of Dealer), and if Counterparty fails to deliver the Restricted Shares when due or otherwise fails to perform obligations within its control in respect of a Private Placement Settlement, it shall be an Event of Default with respect to Counterparty and Section 6 of the Agreement shall apply.  The Private Placement Settlement of such Restricted Shares shall include customary representations, covenants, blue sky and other governmental filings and/or registrations, indemnities to Dealer, due diligence rights (for Dealer or any designated buyer of the Restricted Shares by Dealer), opinions and certificates, and such other documentation as is customary for private placement agreements of equity securities of a substantially similar size, all reasonably acceptable to Dealer.  In the case of a Private Placement Settlement, Dealer shall, in its good faith discretion, adjust the amount of Restricted Shares to be delivered to Dealer hereunder in a commercially reasonable manner to reflect the fact that such Restricted Shares may not be freely returned to securities lenders by Dealer and may only be saleable by Dealer at a discount to reflect the lack of liquidity in Restricted Shares.  Notwithstanding the Agreement or this Confirmation, the date of delivery of such Restricted Shares shall be the Clearance System Business Day following notice by Dealer to Counterparty of the number of Restricted Shares to be delivered pursuant to this clause (i).  For the avoidance of doubt, delivery of Restricted Shares shall be due as set forth in the previous sentence and not be due on the date that would otherwise be applicable.

 

(ii)         If Counterparty delivers any Restricted Shares in respect of the Transaction, Counterparty agrees that (A) such Shares may be transferred by and among Dealer and its affiliates and (B) after the minimum “holding period” within the meaning of Rule 144(d) under the Securities Act has elapsed, Counterparty shall promptly remove, or cause the transfer agent for the Shares to remove, any legends referring to any transfer restrictions from such Shares upon delivery by Dealer (or such affiliate of Dealer) to Counterparty or such transfer agent of any seller’s and broker’s representation letters customarily delivered by Dealer or its affiliates in connection with resales of restricted securities pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act, each without any further requirement for the delivery of any certificate, consent, agreement, opinion of counsel, notice or any other document, any transfer tax stamps or payment of any other amount or any other action by Dealer (or such affiliate of Dealer).

 

14. Additional Provisions.

(a) [Reserved.]

(b) [Reserved.]

(c) The parties hereto intend for:

(i) the Transaction to be a “securities contract” as defined in Section 741(7) of the Bankruptcy Code, and the parties hereto to be entitled to the protections afforded by, among other Sections, Sections 362(b)(6), 362(b)(27), 362(o), 546(e), 546(j), 555 and 561 of the Bankruptcy Code;

(ii) the rights given to Dealer pursuant to Sections 10 and 11 of this Confirmation to constitute “contractual rights” to cause the liquidation of a “securities contract” and to set off mutual debts and claims in connection with a “securities contract”, as such terms are used in Sections 555 and 362(b)(6) of the Bankruptcy Code;

(iii) any cash, securities or other property provided as performance assurance, credit support or collateral with respect to the Transaction to constitute “margin payments” and “transfers” under a “securities contract” as defined in the Bankruptcy Code;

(iv) all payments for, under or in connection with the Transaction, all payments for Shares and the transfer of Shares to constitute “settlement payments” and “transfers” under a “securities contract” as defined in the Bankruptcy Code; and

(v) any or all obligations that either party has with respect to any Confirmation or the Agreement to constitute property held by or due from such party to margin, guaranty or settle obligations of the other party with respect to the transactions under the Agreement (including the Transaction) or any other agreement between such parties.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Agreement or any Confirmation, in no event will Counterparty be required to deliver in the aggregate in respect of all Settlement Dates, Net Share Settlement Dates or other dates on which Shares are delivered in respect of any amount owed under the Transaction a number of Shares greater than two times the Initial Number of Shares (as adjusted for stock splits and similar events) (the “Capped Number”). The Capped Number shall be subject to adjustment only on account of (x) Potential Adjustment Events of the type specified in (1) Sections 11.2(e)(i) through (vi) of the Equity Definitions or (2) Section 11.2(e)(vii) of the Equity Definitions so long as, in the case of this sub-clause (2), such event is within Counterparty’s control, (y) Merger Events requiring corporate action of Counterparty (or any surviving entity of the Counterparty hereunder in connection with any such Merger Event) and (z) Announcement Events that are not outside Counterparty’s control. Counterparty represents and warrants to Dealer (which representation and warranty shall be deemed to be repeated on each day that the Transaction is outstanding) that the Capped Number is equal to or less than the number of authorized but unissued Shares that are not reserved for future issuance in connection with transactions in the Shares (other than the Transaction) on the date of the determination of the Capped Number (such Shares, the “Available Shares”). In the event Counterparty shall not have delivered the Number of Shares otherwise deliverable as a result of this Section 14(d) (the resulting deficit, the “Deficit Shares”), Counterparty shall be continually obligated to deliver Shares, from time to time until the full number of Deficit Shares have been delivered pursuant to this paragraph, when, and to the extent that, (A) Shares are repurchased, acquired or otherwise received by Counterparty or any of its subsidiaries after the Trade Date (whether or not in exchange for cash, fair value or any other consideration), (B) authorized and unissued Shares reserved for issuance in respect of other transactions prior to such date which prior to the relevant date become no longer so reserved and (C) Counterparty additionally authorizes any unissued Shares that are not reserved for other transactions (such events as set forth in clauses (A), (B) and (C) above, collectively, the “Share Issuance Events”). Counterparty shall promptly notify Dealer of the occurrence of any of the Share Issuance Events (including the number of Shares subject to clause (A), (B) or (C) and the corresponding number of Shares to be delivered) and, as promptly as reasonably practicable, shall deliver such Shares thereafter. Counterparty shall not, until Counterparty’s Share delivery obligations under the Transaction have been satisfied in full, use any Shares that become available for potential delivery to Dealer as a result of any Share Issuance Event for the settlement or satisfaction of any transaction or obligation other than the Transaction or reserve any such Shares for future issuance for any purpose other than to satisfy Counterparty’s obligations to Dealer under the Transaction.

(e) The parties intend for this Confirmation to constitute a “Contract” as described in the letter dated October 6, 2003 submitted on behalf of Goldman, Sachs &Co. to Paula Dubberly of the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Staff”) to which the Staff responded in an interpretive letter (the “Interpretive Letter”) dated October 9, 2003. Counterparty agrees to take all actions, and to omit to take any actions, reasonably requested by Dealer in good faith based on the advice of counsel for the Transaction to comply with the Interpretive Letter.

(f) The parties intend for the Transaction (taking into account purchases of Shares in connection with any Cash Settlement or Net Share Settlement) to comply with the requirements of Rule 10b5-1(c)(1)(i)(A) under the Exchange Act and for this Confirmation to constitute a binding contract or instruction satisfying the requirements of 10b5-1(c) and to be interpreted to comply with the requirements of Rule 10b5-1(c) under the Exchange Act.

15. Indemnity.

Counterparty agrees to indemnify Dealer and its affiliates and their respective directors, officers, employees, agents and controlling persons (Dealer and each such affiliate or person being an “Indemnified Party”) from and against any and all losses (excluding, for the avoidance of doubt, financial losses resulting from the economic terms of the Transaction), claims, damages and liabilities, joint and several, incurred by or asserted against such Indemnified Party arising out of, in connection with, or relating to any breach of any covenant or representation made by Counterparty in this Confirmation or the Agreement and will reimburse any Indemnified Party for all reasonable expenses (including reasonable legal fees and reasonable expenses) as they are incurred in connection with the investigation of, preparation for, or defense of any pending or threatened claim or any action or proceeding arising therefrom (whether or not such Indemnified Party is a party thereto), except to the extent determined in a final and nonappealable judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction to have resulted from Dealer’s gross negligence, fraud, bad faith and/or willful misconduct or from a breach of any representation or covenant of Dealer contained in this Confirmation or the Agreement.  Counterparty shall be relieved from liability under this Section 15 to the extent that the Indemnified Party fails promptly to notify Counterparty of any action commenced against it in respect of which indemnity may be sought hereunder (it being understood that any such notice delivered within 30 calendar days of the commencement of any such action shall be deemed to have been delivered promptly for such purpose). The foregoing provisions shall survive any termination or completion of the Transaction.

16. Beneficial Ownership.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Agreement or this Confirmation, in no event shall Dealer be entitled to receive, or be deemed to receive, Shares to the extent that, upon such receipt of such Shares, (i) the “beneficial ownership” (within the meaning of Section 13 of the Exchange Act and the rules promulgated thereunder) of Shares by Dealer, any other person that would have beneficial ownership of such Shares (any such person shall include without limitation of any of Dealer’s  affiliates’ business units subject to aggregation with Dealer for purposes of the “beneficial ownership” test under Section 13 of the Exchange Act) and all persons who may form a “group” (within the meaning of Rule 13d-5(b)(1) under the Exchange Act) with Dealer with respect to “beneficial ownership” of any Shares (collectively, “Dealer Group”) would be equal to or greater than 4.5% of the outstanding Shares (an “Excess Section 13 Ownership Position”), (ii) violation would occur in respect of any restriction on ownership and/or transfers set forth in Article VII of the Charter (such condition, “Excess Charter Ownership Position”) (iii) Dealer would hold 5% or more of the number of Shares of Counterparty’s outstanding common stock or 5% or more of Counterparty’s outstanding voting power (the “Exchange Limit Ownership Position”) or (iv) Dealer, Dealer Group or any person whose ownership position would be aggregated with that of Dealer or Dealer Group (Dealer, Dealer Group or any such person, a “Dealer Person”) under Sections 3-601 to 3-605 and 3-701 to 3-710 of the Maryland General Corporation Law or any state or federal bank holding company or banking laws, or any federal, state or local laws, regulations or regulatory orders or organizational documents or contracts of Counterparty, in each case, applicable to ownership of Shares (“Applicable Restrictions”), would own, beneficially own, constructively own, control, hold the power to vote or otherwise meet a relevant definition of ownership in excess of a number of Shares equal to (x) the lesser of (A) the maximum number of Shares that would be permitted under Applicable Restrictions and (B) the number of Shares that would give rise to reporting or registration obligations or other requirements (including obtaining prior approval by a state or federal regulator) of a Dealer Person under Applicable Restrictions and with respect to which such requirements have not been met or the relevant approval has not been received or that would give rise to any consequences under the constitutive documents of Counterparty or any contract or agreement to which Counterparty is a party, in each case minus (y) 1% of the number of Shares outstanding on the date of determination (such condition described in clause (iii), an “Excess Regulatory Ownership Position”). If any delivery owed to Dealer hereunder is not made, in whole or in part, as a result of this provision, (i) Counterparty’s obligation to make such delivery shall not be extinguished and Counterparty shall make such delivery as promptly as practicable after, but in no event later than one Exchange Business Day after, Dealer gives notice to Counterparty that such delivery would not result in (x) Dealer Group directly or indirectly so beneficially owning in excess of 4.5% of the outstanding Shares and (y) the occurrence of an Excess Charter Ownership Position, an Exchange Limit Ownership Position or Excess Regulatory Ownership Position and (ii) if such delivery relates to a Physical Settlement, notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, Dealer shall not be obligated to satisfy the portion of its payment obligation corresponding to any Shares required to be so delivered until the date Counterparty makes such delivery. Upon request of Dealer, Counterparty shall promptly confirm to Dealer the number of Shares then outstanding and Dealer shall then promptly advise Counterparty with respect to any limitations under this Section 16 applicable to any anticipated delivery of Shares hereunder; provided, however, that neither a failure by Counterparty to notify Dealer of the number of Shares then outstanding nor a failure of Dealer to advise Counterparty with respect to any applicable limitations shall be deemed a default hereunder and notwithstanding such failure the remainder of this Section 16 shall continue to apply. For the avoidance of doubt, any delivery of Shares made by Counterparty to Dealer that Dealer was not entitled to receive under the terms of this Section 16 shall not be deemed to satisfy any of the delivery obligations of Counterparty hereunder and Dealer shall promptly return such Shares to Counterparty, pending which Dealer shall be deemed to hold any such Shares solely as custodian for the benefit of Counterparty.

17. Non-Confidentiality.

The parties hereby agree that (i) effective from the date of commencement of discussions concerning the Transaction, Counterparty, Dealer and each of its respective employees, representatives, or other agents may disclose to any and all persons, without limitation of any kind, the tax treatment and tax structure of the Transaction and all materials of any kind, including opinions or other tax analyses relating to such tax treatment and tax structure; provided that the foregoing does not constitute an authorization to disclose the identity of Counterparty, Dealer or its respective affiliates, agents or advisers, or, except to the extent relating to such tax structure or tax treatment, any specific pricing terms or commercial or financial information, and (ii) Dealer and Counterparty do not assert any claim of proprietary ownership in respect of any description contained herein or therein relating to the use of any entities, plans or arrangements to give rise to a particular United States federal income tax treatment for Counterparty or Dealer.

18. Set-Off.

Notwithstanding Section 6(f) of the Agreement, each party waives any and all rights it may have to set-off delivery or payment obligations it owes to the other party under the Transaction against any delivery or payment obligations owed to it by the other party, whether arising under the Agreement, under any other agreement between parties hereto, by operation of law or otherwise.

19. Staggered Settlement.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, Dealer may, by prior notice to Counterparty, satisfy its obligation to deliver any Shares or other securities on any date due (an “Original Delivery Date”) by making separate deliveries of Shares or such securities, as the case may be, at more than one time on or prior to such Original Delivery Date, so long as the aggregate number of Shares and other securities so delivered on or prior to such Original Delivery Date is equal to the number required to be delivered on such Original Delivery Date.

20. Right to Extend.

In connection with Cash Settlement or Net Share Settlement, Dealer may postpone any Settlement Date or any other date of valuation or delivery, with respect to some or all of the relevant Settlement Shares, if Dealer determines, based on the advice of counsel, that such extension is reasonably necessary or appropriate to enable Dealer to effect purchases of Shares in connection with its hedging activity hereunder in a manner that would, if Dealer were Counterparty or an affiliated purchaser of Counterparty, be in compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

21. Other Forwards.

Dealer acknowledges that Counterparty has entered into substantially similar forward transactions for its Shares on May 18, 2026 and the Trade Date (collectively, the “Other Underwritten Forwards”) with JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association (the “Other Underwritten Dealer”). Dealer further acknowledges that Counterparty has entered or may enter in the future into one or more forward transactions for its Shares (the “ATM Forwards” and together with the Other Underwritten Forwards, the “Other Forwards”) with one or more dealers (the “ATM Dealers” and together with the Other Underwritten Dealer, the “Other Dealers”) pursuant to the Equity Distribution Agreement, dated as of February 17, 2026, among Counterparty and the other parties thereto. Dealer and Counterparty agree that if Counterparty designates a “Relevant Settlement Date” (or equivalent concept) with respect to one or more Other Forwards for which “Cash Settlement” (or equivalent concept) or “Net Share Settlement” (or equivalent concept) is applicable, and the resulting “Unwind Period” (or equivalent concept) for any Other Forward coincides for any period of time with an Unwind Period for the Transaction (the “Overlap Unwind Period”), Counterparty shall notify Dealer at least one Scheduled Trading Day prior to the commencement of such Overlap Unwind Period of the first Scheduled Trading Day and length of such Overlap Unwind Period, and Dealer shall only be permitted to purchase Shares to unwind its hedge in respect of the Transaction only on alternating Scheduled Trading Days during such Overlap Unwind Period, commencing on the first, second, third or later Scheduled Trading Day of such Overlap Unwind Period, as notified to Dealer by Counterparty at least one Scheduled Trading Day prior to such Overlap Unwind Period (which alternating Scheduled Trading Days, for the avoidance of doubt, shall be every other Scheduled Trading Day if there is only one Other Dealer in such Overlap Unwind Period, every third Scheduled Trading Day if there are two Other Dealers, etc.).

22. Waiver of Jury Trial.

 EACH PARTY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN RESPECT OF ANY SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE AGREEMENT, ANY CONFIRMATION, ANY TRANSACTION HEREUNDER AND/OR ALL MATTERS ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH THE AGREEMENT, ANY CONFIRMATION AND/OR ANY TRANSACTION HEREUNDER. EACH PARTY (I) CERTIFIES THAT NO REPRESENTATIVE, AGENT OR ATTORNEY OF THE OTHER PARTY HAS REPRESENTED, EXPRESSLY OR OTHERWISE, THAT SUCH OTHER PARTY WOULD NOT, IN THE EVENT OF SUCH A SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING, SEEK TO ENFORCE THE FOREGOING WAIVER AND (II) ACKNOWLEDGES THAT IT AND THE OTHER PARTY HAVE BEEN INDUCED TO ENTER INTO THE TRANSACTIONS, AS APPLICABLE, BY, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE MUTUAL WAIVERS AND CERTIFICATIONS PROVIDED HEREIN.

23. [Reserved.]

24. Counterparts.

This Confirmation may be executed in any number of counterparts, all of which shall constitute one and the same instrument, and any party hereto may execute this Confirmation by signing and delivering one or more counterparts. Counterparts may be delivered via facsimile, electronic mail (including any electronic signature covered by the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, the Electronic Signatures and Records Act or other applicable law, e.g., www.docusign.com (any such signature, an “Electronic Signature”)) or other transmission method and any counterpart so delivered shall be deemed to have been duly and validly delivered and be valid and effective for all purposes. The words “execution,” “signed,” “signature,” and words of like import in this Confirmation or in any other certificate, agreement or document related to this Confirmation shall include any Electronic Signature, except to the extent electronic notices are expressly prohibited under this Confirmation or the Agreement.

25. Governing Law/Jurisdiction.

This Confirmation, the Transaction and any claim, controversy or dispute arising under or related to this Confirmation or the Transaction shall be governed by the laws of the State of New York without reference to the conflict of laws provisions thereof. Each party hereby submits for itself and its property in any suit, legal action or proceeding relating to this Confirmation and/or the Transaction, or for recognition and enforcement of any judgment, to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, sitting in New York County, the courts of the United States of America for the Southern District of New York and appellate courts from any thereof, hereto and waives any objection to the laying of venue in, and any claim of inconvenient forum with respect to, these courts.

 

26. [Designation by Dealer.

 

Notwithstanding any other provision in this Confirmation to the contrary requiring or allowing Dealer to purchase, sell, receive or deliver any Shares or other securities to or from Counterparty, Dealer may designate any of its affiliates to purchase, sell, receive or deliver such Shares or other securities and otherwise to perform Dealer obligations in respect of the Transaction and any such designee may assume such obligations.  Dealer shall be discharged of its obligations to Counterparty only to the extent of any such performance.]¹

 

27. [Reserved.]

 

28. [Reserved.]

 

29. Bankruptcy Status.

 

Subject to Paragraph 9 above, Dealer acknowledges and agrees that this Confirmation is not intended to convey to Dealer rights with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby that are senior to the claims of Counterparty’s common stockholders in any U.S. bankruptcy proceedings of Counterparty; provided, however, that nothing herein shall be deemed to limit Dealer’s right to pursue remedies in the event of a breach by Counterparty of its obligations and agreements with respect to this Confirmation and the Agreement; and provided, further, that nothing herein shall limit or shall be deemed to limit Dealer’s rights in respect of any transaction other than this Transaction.

 

30. No Collateral or Setoff.

 

Notwithstanding any provision of the Agreement or any other agreement between the parties to the contrary, the obligations of Counterparty hereunder are not secured by any collateral.  Obligations in respect of this Transaction shall not be set off against any other obligations of the parties, whether arising under the Agreement, under any other agreement between the parties hereto, by operation of law or otherwise, and no other obligations of the parties shall be set off against obligations in respect of this Transaction, whether arising under the Agreement, under any other agreement between the parties hereto, by operation of law or otherwise, and each party hereby waives any such right of setoff.

 

31. Taxes.

(a) For the purpose of Section 3(f) of the Agreement, Dealer makes the following representations:

---

---

(i) It is a national banking association organized or formed under the laws of the United States and is a United States resident for United States federal income tax purposes.

(b) For the purpose of Section 3(f) of the Agreement, Counterparty makes the following representations:

(i) It is a “U.S. person” (as that term is used in section 1.1441-4(a)(3)(ii) of the United States Treasury Regulations) for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

(ii) It is a real estate investment trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes, it is organized under the laws of the State of Maryland, and it is an exempt recipient under section 1.6049-4(c)(1)(ii)(J) of the United States Treasury Regulations.

(c) For purposes of Sections 4(a)(i) and 4(a)(ii) of the Agreement, (A) Counterparty shall provide to the  Dealer  a valid U.S. Internal Revenue Service Form W-9, or any successor thereto, or applicable U.S. Internal Revenue Service Form W-8, or any successor thereto, as the case may be and (B) Dealer shall provide to Counterparty an Internal Revenue Service Form W-8ECI “Certificate of Foreign Person’s Claim That Income Is Effectively Connected With the Conduct of a Trade or Business in the United States” (i) on or before the date of execution of this Confirmation, (ii) promptly upon learning that any such tax form previously provided by it has become obsolete or incorrect and (iii) promptly upon reasonable request of the other party.  Additionally, each party shall, promptly upon request by the other party, provide such other tax forms and documents that may be required or reasonably requested by the other party.

(d) “Tax” and “Indemnifiable Tax” as defined in Section 14 of the Agreement shall not include any withholding tax imposed or collected pursuant to Sections 1471 through 1474 of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), any current or future regulations or official interpretations thereof, any agreement entered into pursuant to Section 1471(b) of the Code, or any fiscal or regulatory legislation, rules or practices adopted pursuant to any intergovernmental agreement entered into in connection with the implementation of such Sections of the Code (a “FATCA Withholding Tax”). For the avoidance of doubt, a FATCA Withholding Tax is a Tax the deduction or withholding of which is required by applicable law for the purposes of Section 2(d) of the Agreement.

(e) To the extent that either party to the Agreement with respect to the Transaction is not an adhering party to the ISDA 2015 Section 871(m) Protocol published by the ISDA on November 2, 2015 and available at www.isda.org, as may be amended, supplemented, replaced or superseded from time to time (the “871(m) Protocol”), the parties agree that the provisions and amendments contained in the Attachment to the 871(m) Protocol are incorporated into and apply to the Agreement with respect to the Transaction as if set forth in full herein. The parties further agree that, solely for purposes of applying such provisions and amendments to the Agreement with respect to the Transaction, references to “each Covered Master Agreement” in the 871(m) Protocol will be deemed to be references to the Agreement with respect to the Transaction, and references to the “Implementation Date” in the 871(m) Protocol will be deemed to be references to the Trade Date of the Transaction. For greater certainty, if there is any inconsistency between this provision and the provisions contained in any other agreement between the parties with respect to the Transaction, this provision shall prevail unless such other agreement expressly overrides the provisions of the Attachment to the 871(m) Protocol.

32. Financial Assistance.

 

Counterparty represents and warrants that it and any of its subsidiaries has not applied, and shall not, until after the first date on which no portion of the Transaction remains outstanding following any final settlement, cancellation or early termination of the Transaction hereunder, apply, for a loan, loan guarantee, direct loan (as that term is defined in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”)) or other investment, or to receive any financial assistance or relief under any program or facility (collectively “Financial Assistance”) that (a) is established under applicable law (whether in existence as of any Trade Date or subsequently enacted, adopted or amended), including without limitation the CARES Act and the Federal Reserve Act, as amended, and (b) (i) requires under applicable law (or any regulation, guidance, interpretation or other pronouncement of a governmental authority with jurisdiction for such program or facility) as a condition of such Financial Assistance, that the Counterparty comply with any requirement not to, or otherwise agree, attest, certify or warrant that it has not, as of the date specified in such condition, repurchased, or will not repurchase, any equity security of Counterparty, and that Counterparty has not, as of the date specified in the condition, made a capital distribution or will make a capital distribution, or (ii) where the terms of the Transaction would cause Counterparty to fail to satisfy any condition for application for or receipt or retention of the Financial Assistance (collectively “Restricted Financial Assistance”); provided, that Counterparty or any of its subsidiaries may apply for Restricted Financial Assistance if Counterparty either (a) determines based on the advice of outside counsel of national standing that the terms of the Transaction hereunder would not cause Counterparty or any of its subsidiaries to fail to satisfy any condition for application for or receipt or retention of such Financial Assistance based on the terms of the program or facility as of the date of such advice or (b) delivers to Dealer evidence or other guidance from a governmental authority with jurisdiction for such program or facility that the Transaction is permitted under such program or facility (either by specific reference to the Transaction or by general reference to transactions with the attributes of the Transaction in all relevant respects).

 

33. Wall Street Transparency and Accountability Act of 2010.

 

The parties hereby agree that none of (i) Section 739 of the WSTAA, (ii) any similar legal certainty provision included in any legislation enacted, or rule or regulation promulgated, on or after the Trade Date, (iii) the enactment of the WSTAA or any regulation under the WSTAA, (iv) any requirement under the WSTAA or (v) any amendment made by the WSTAA shall limit or otherwise impair either party’s right to terminate, renegotiate, modify, amend or supplement this Confirmation or the Agreement, as applicable, arising from a termination event, force majeure, illegality, increased cost, regulatory change or similar event under this Confirmation, the Equity Definitions or the Agreement (including, but not limited to, any right arising from any Acceleration Event).

 

34. U.S. Stay Regulations.

The parties agree that (i) to the extent that prior to the date hereof all parties have adhered to the 2018 ISDA U.S. Resolution Stay Protocol (the “Protocol”), the terms of the Protocol are incorporated into and form a part of the Agreement and this Master Confirmation, and for such purposes the Agreement and this Master Confirmation shall be deemed a Protocol Covered Agreement and each party shall be deemed to have the same status as Regulated Entity and/or Adhering Party as applicable to it under the Protocol; (ii) to the extent that prior to the date hereof the parties have executed a separate agreement the effect of which is to amend the qualified financial contracts between them to conform with the requirements of the QFC Stay Rules (the “Bilateral Agreement”), the terms of the Bilateral Agreement are incorporated into and form a part of the Agreement and this Master Confirmation and each party shall be deemed to have the status of “Covered Entity” or “Counterparty Entity” (or other similar term)  as applicable to it under the Bilateral Agreement; or (iii) if clause (i) and clause (ii) do not apply, the terms of Section 1 and Section 2 and the related defined terms (together, the “Bilateral Terms”) of the form of bilateral template entitled “Full-Length Omnibus (for use between U.S. G-SIBs and Corporate Groups)” published by ISDA on November 2, 2018 (currently available on the 2018 ISDA U.S. Resolution Stay Protocol page at www.isda.org and, a copy of which is available upon request), the effect of which is to amend the qualified financial contracts between the parties thereto to conform with the requirements of the QFC Stay Rules, are hereby incorporated into and form a part of the Agreement and this Master Confirmation, and for such purposes the Agreement and this Master Confirmation shall be deemed a “Covered Agreement,” Dealer shall be deemed a “Covered Entity” and Counterparty shall be deemed a “Counterparty Entity.” In the event that, after the date of the Agreement and this Master Confirmation, all parties hereto become adhering parties to the Protocol, the terms of the Protocol will replace the terms of this section. In the event of any inconsistencies between the Agreement and this Master Confirmation and the terms of the Protocol, the Bilateral Agreement or the Bilateral Terms (each, the “QFC Stay Terms”), as applicable, the QFC Stay Terms will govern. Terms used in this section without definition shall have the meanings assigned to them under the QFC Stay Rules. For purposes of this section, references to “the Agreement and this Master Confirmation” include any related credit enhancements entered into between the parties or provided by one to the other.

“QFC Stay Rules” means the regulations codified at 12 C.F.R. 252.2, 252.81–8, 12 C.F.R. 382.1-7 and 12 C.F.R. 47.1-8, which, subject to limited exceptions, require an express recognition of the stay-and-transfer powers of the FDIC under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the Orderly Liquidation Authority under Title II of the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the override of default rights related directly or indirectly to the entry of an affiliate into certain insolvency proceedings and any restrictions on the transfer of any covered affiliate credit enhancements.

Confirmed as of the date first above written:

 

CARETRUST REIT, INC.
By:	/s/ Derek Bunker
Name: Derek Bunker
Title: Chief Executive Officer and Treasurer

ANNEX A

Schedule I

FORWARD PRICE REDUCTION DATES AND AMOUNTS

Exhibit A - 1

---

Exhibit 1.2

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The purpose of this letter agreement (this “Confirmation”) is to confirm the terms and conditions of the transaction to be entered into between JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association (“Dealer”) and CareTrust REIT, Inc. (“Counterparty”) as of the Trade Date specified below (the “Transaction”). This communication constitutes a “Confirmation” as referred to in the Agreement specified below. This Confirmation will be a confirmation for purposes of Rule 10b-10 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).

1.          This Confirmation is subject to, and incorporates, the 2002 ISDA Equity Derivatives Definitions (the “Equity Definitions”) and the 2006 ISDA Definitions (the “Swap Definitions”), as published by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (“ISDA”). For purposes of the Equity Definitions, the Transaction will be deemed to be a Share Forward Transaction.

This Confirmation shall supplement, form a part of and be subject to an agreement (the “Agreement”) in the form of the 2002 ISDA Master Agreement (the “ISDA Form”), as published by ISDA, as if Dealer and Counterparty had executed the ISDA Form on the date hereof (but without any Schedule) except for (i) the election of New York law (without regard to New York’s choice of laws doctrine other than Title 14 of Article 5 of the New York General Obligations Law) as the governing law and US Dollars (“USD”) as the Termination Currency; (ii) the election that the “Cross Default” provisions of Section 5(a)(vi) of the Agreement shall apply to Counterparty and Dealer, with a “Threshold Amount” of USD 50,000,000 for Counterparty and a “Threshold Amount” equal to 3% of shareholders’ equity of Dealer as of the date hereof for Dealer; provided that (a) the phrase “or becoming capable at such time of being declared” shall be deleted from clause (1) of such Section 5(a)(vi) of the Agreement, (b) the following sentence shall be added to the end thereof: “Notwithstanding the foregoing, a default under subsection (2) hereof shall not constitute an Event of Default if (x) the default was caused solely by error or omission of an administrative or operational nature; (y) funds were available to enable the party to make the payment when due; and (z) the payment is made within three Local Business Days of such party’s receipt of written notice of its failure to pay.”; (c) the term “Specified Indebtedness” shall have the meaning specified in Section 14 of the Agreement, except that such term shall not include obligations in respect of deposits received in the ordinary course of a party’s banking business; and (iii) the elections set forth in Section 9 of this Confirmation. All provisions contained in the Agreement are incorporated into and shall govern this Confirmation except as expressly modified herein. This Confirmation and the Agreement evidence a complete and binding agreement between Dealer and Counterparty as to the terms of the Transaction and replace any previous agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and thereof.

The Transaction hereunder shall be the sole Transaction under the Agreement. If there exists any ISDA Master Agreement between Dealer or any of its Affiliates (each, a “Dealer Affiliate”) and Counterparty or any confirmation or other agreement between Dealer or a Dealer Affiliate and Counterparty pursuant to which an ISDA Master Agreement is deemed to exist between Dealer or a Dealer Affiliate and Counterparty, then notwithstanding anything to the contrary in such ISDA Master Agreement, such confirmation or agreement or any other agreement to which Dealer or a Dealer Affiliate and Counterparty are parties, the Transaction shall not be considered a Transaction under, or otherwise governed by, such existing or deemed ISDA Master Agreement.

If, in relation to the Transaction, there is any inconsistency between the Agreement, this Confirmation, the Equity Definitions and the Swap Definitions, the following will prevail for purposes of the Transaction in the order of precedence indicated: (i) this Confirmation; (ii) the Equity Definitions; (iii) the Swap Definitions; and (iv) the Agreement.

Any terms not otherwise defined herein, in the Agreement, in the Equity Definitions or in the Swap Definitions shall have the meaning ascribed to them in the Underwriting Agreement (as defined below).

2.           The terms of the Transaction to which this Confirmation relates are as follows:

3. Conditions to Effectiveness.

The effectiveness of this Confirmation on the Effective Date shall be subject to (i) the condition that the representations and warranties of Counterparty contained in the Underwriting Agreement, dated the date hereof, among Counterparty, CTR Partnership, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership, each of Wells Fargo Securities, LLC and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, as the Underwriters, the forward purchasers named therein and the forward sellers named therein (the “Underwriting Agreement”), and any certificate delivered pursuant thereto by Counterparty are true and correct on the Effective Date as if made as of the Effective Date, (ii) the condition that Counterparty has performed all of the obligations required to be performed by it under the Underwriting Agreement on or prior to the Effective Date, (iii) the condition that Counterparty has delivered to Dealer an opinion of counsel dated as of the Trade Date with respect to matters set forth in Section 3(a) of the Agreement, (iv) the satisfaction of all of the conditions set forth in Section 6 of the Underwriting Agreement, (v) the condition that the Underwriting Agreement shall not have been terminated pursuant to Section 9 thereof and (vi) the condition that neither of the following has occurred (A) Dealer (or its affiliate) is unable, after using commercially reasonable efforts, to borrow and deliver for sale a number of Shares equal to the Initial Number of Shares in connection with establishing a commercially reasonable hedge position, or (B) in Dealer’s commercially reasonable judgment Dealer (or its affiliate) would incur a stock loan fee of more than a rate equal to 200 basis points per annum to do so (in which event this Confirmation shall be effective but the Initial Number of Shares for the Transaction shall be the number of Shares Dealer (or an affiliate thereof) is required to deliver in accordance with Section 2 of the Underwriting Agreement).

4. [Reserved.]

5. Offices.

The Office of Counterparty for the Transaction is: Inapplicable, Counterparty is not a Multibranch Party

JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association

New York Branch

270 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10017

.

6. Additional Mutual Representations and Warranties.

 In addition to the representations and warranties in the Agreement, each party represents and warrants to the other party, as of the Trade Date and Settlement Date for the Transaction  that it is an “eligible contract participant”, as defined in the U.S. Commodity Exchange Act (as amended), and an “accredited investor” as defined in Section 2(a)(15)(ii) of the Securities Act of 1933 (as amended) (the “Securities Act”), and is entering into the Transaction hereunder as principal and not on behalf of any third party.

7. Additional Representations and Warranties of Counterparty.

In addition to the representations and warranties in the Agreement, the Underwriting Agreement and those contained elsewhere herein, Counterparty represents and warrants to Dealer, and agrees with Dealer, as of the Trade Date, that:

(a) without limiting the generality of Section 13.1 of the Equity Definitions, it acknowledges that Dealer is not making any representations or warranties with respect to the treatment of the Transaction, including without limitation ASC Topic 260, Earnings Per Share, ASC Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging, FASB Statements 128, 133, as amended, 149 or 150, EITF 00-19, 01-6, 03-6 or 07-5, ASC Topic 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity, ASC 815-40, Derivatives and Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (or any successor issue statements) or under the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s Liabilities & Equity Project;

(b) [Reserved];

(c) it shall not take any action to reduce or decrease the number of authorized and unissued Shares below the sum of (i) the Capped Number (as defined below) across the Transaction hereunder plus (ii) the total number of Shares issuable upon settlement (whether by net share settlement or otherwise) of any other transaction or agreement to which it is a party;

(d) it will not repurchase any Shares if, immediately following such repurchase, the Number of Shares Percentage (as defined below) would alone or in the aggregate be equal to or greater than 4.5% of the number of then-outstanding Shares, and it will notify Dealer immediately upon the announcement or consummation of any repurchase of Shares in an amount that, taken together with the amount of all repurchases since the date of the last such notice (or, if no such notice has been given, since the first Trade Date), exceeds 0.5% of the number of then-outstanding Shares; the “Number of Shares Percentage” as of any day is the fraction of (1) the numerator of which is the aggregate of the Number of Shares for the Transaction and each “Number of Shares” or comparable amount under any Additional Equity Derivative Transaction and (2) the denominator of which is the number of Shares outstanding on such day;

(e) it is not entering into this Confirmation to create actual or apparent trading activity in the Shares (or any security convertible into or exchangeable for Shares) or to raise or depress or otherwise manipulate the price of the Shares (or any security convertible into or exchangeable for Shares);

(f) (i) it is not aware of any material non-public information regarding itself or the Shares; (ii) it is entering into this Confirmation and will provide any Settlement Notice in good faith and not as part of a plan or scheme to evade compliance with Rule 10b-5 or any other provision of the federal securities laws; (iii) it has not entered into or altered any hedging transaction relating to the Shares corresponding to or offsetting the Transaction; (iv) it has consulted with its own advisors as to the legal aspects of its adoption and implementation of this Confirmation under Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act (“Rule 10b5-1”); and (v) it agrees to act in good faith with respect to this Confirmation and the Agreement.

(g) it is in compliance with its reporting obligations under the Exchange Act, and its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, together with all reports subsequently filed by it pursuant to the Exchange Act, taken together and as amended and supplemented to the date of this representation, do not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any 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;

(h) no federal, state or local (including, non-U.S. jurisdictions) law, rule, regulation or regulatory order applicable specifically to the Shares (and not generally to ownership of equity securities by a financial institution that is not generally applicable to holders of the Shares) would give rise to any reporting, consent, registration or other requirement (including without limitation a requirement to obtain prior approval from any person or entity) as a result of Dealer or its affiliates owning or holding (however defined) Shares in connection with the Transaction in accordance with the terms of the applicable Confirmation and the Agreement;

(i) it is not “insolvent” (as such term is defined under Section 101(32) of the Bankruptcy Code) nor will it be rendered insolvent as a result of the Transaction;

(j) it is not, and after giving effect to the transactions contemplated hereby will not be, required to register as an “investment company” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended;

(k) it: (i) is an “institutional account” as defined in FINRA Rule 4512(c), (ii) is capable of evaluating investment risks independently, both in general and with regard to all transactions and investment strategies involving a security or securities, (iii) will exercise independent judgment in evaluating any recommendations of any broker-dealer or its associated persons, unless it has otherwise notified the broker-dealer in writing; and (iv) has total assets of at least USD 50 million;

(l) it understands, agrees and acknowledges that no obligations of Dealer to it hereunder shall be entitled to the benefit of deposit insurance and that such obligations shall not be guaranteed by any affiliate of Dealer or any governmental agency;

(m) ownership positions held by Dealer or any of its affiliates solely in its capacity as a nominee or fiduciary (i) do not constitute “ownership” by Dealer and (ii) shall not result in Dealer being deemed or treated as the “owner” of such positions, in each case for purposes of the Charter;

(n) IT UNDERSTANDS THAT THE TRANSACTION IS SUBJECT TO COMPLEX RISKS WHICH MAY ARISE WITHOUT WARNING AND MAY AT TIMES BE VOLATILE AND THAT LOSSES MAY OCCUR QUICKLY AND IN UNANTICIPATED MAGNITUDE AND IS WILLING TO ACCEPT SUCH TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND ASSUME (FINANCIALLY AND OTHERWISE) SUCH RISKS; and

(o) in connection with this Confirmation and the Transaction (the “Relevant Transaction”), Counterparty acknowledges that none of Dealer and/or its affiliates is advising Counterparty or any other person as to any legal, tax, investment, accounting or regulatory matters in any jurisdiction (for the avoidance of doubt, notwithstanding any advisory relationship that Dealer and/or its affiliates may have, or may have had in the past, with Counterparty and/or its affiliates). Counterparty shall consult with its own advisors concerning such matters and shall be responsible for making its own independent investigation and appraisal of the Relevant Transaction, and none of Dealer and/or its affiliates shall have any responsibility or liability to Counterparty with respect thereto. Any review by the Dealer and/or its affiliates of Counterparty, the Relevant Transaction or other matters relating to the Relevant Transaction will be performed solely for the benefit of Dealer and/or its affiliates, as the case may be, and shall not be on behalf of Counterparty. Counterparty waives to the full extent permitted by applicable law any claims it may have against Dealer and/or its affiliates arising from an alleged breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the Relevant Transaction.

8. [Reserved.]

9. Additional Covenants of Counterparty.

(a) Counterparty acknowledges and agrees that any Shares delivered by Counterparty to Dealer on any Settlement Date or Net Share Settlement Date will be (i) newly issued, (ii) approved for listing or quotation on the Exchange, subject to official notice of issuance, (iii) deposited in the Clearance System and will not bear a restrictive legend, and (iv) registered under the Exchange Act, and, when delivered by Dealer (or an affiliate of Dealer) to securities lenders from whom Dealer (or an affiliate of Dealer) borrowed Shares in connection with hedging its exposure to the Transaction and, subject to the Private Placement Procedures set forth in Section 13 below, will be freely saleable without further registration or other restrictions under the Securities Act in the hands of those securities lenders, irrespective of whether any such stock loan is effected by Dealer or an affiliate of Dealer. Subject to the Private Placement Procedures set forth in Section 13, Counterparty agrees that any Shares so delivered will not bear a restrictive legend and will be deposited in, and the delivery thereof shall be effected through the facilities of, the Clearance System. In addition (and without limitation of the representations and warranties of Counterparty made pursuant to Section 9.11 of the Equity Definitions), Counterparty represents and agrees that any such Shares have been duly authorized and shall be, upon delivery, duly and validly authorized, issued and outstanding, fully paid and non-assessable, free of any lien, charge, claim or other encumbrance. Counterparty agrees and acknowledges that such approval for listing or quotation on the Exchange shall be a condition precedent for the purpose of Section 2(a)(iii) of the Agreement with respect to each obligation of Dealer under Section 2(a)(i) of the Agreement in respect of the relevant Transaction.

(b) Counterparty agrees that Counterparty shall not enter into or alter any hedging transaction relating to the Shares corresponding to or offsetting the Transaction. Without limiting the generality of the provisions set forth under the caption “Settlement Terms” in Section 2 of this Confirmation, Counterparty acknowledges that it has no right to, and agrees that it will not seek to, control or influence Dealer’s decision to make any “purchases or sales” (within the meaning of Rule 10b5-1(c)(1)(i)(B)(3)) under or in connection with the Transaction, including, without limitation, Dealer’s decision to enter into any hedging transactions.

(c) Counterparty acknowledges and agrees that any amendment, modification, waiver or termination of this Confirmation must be effected in accordance with the requirements for the amendment or termination of a “plan” as defined in Rule 10b5-1(c) under the Exchange Act. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, any such amendment, modification, waiver or termination shall be made in good faith and not as part of a plan or scheme to evade the prohibitions of Rule 10b-5, and no such amendment, modification or waiver shall be made at any time at which Counterparty or any officer, director, manager or similar person of Counterparty is aware of any material non-public information regarding Counterparty or the Shares.

(d) Counterparty shall promptly provide notice thereof to Dealer upon (i) the occurrence of any event that would constitute an Event of Default or a Termination Event in respect of which Counterparty is a Defaulting Party or an Affected Party, as the case may be, and (ii) the making of any public announcement by Counterparty of any event that, if consummated, would constitute an Extraordinary Event or Potential Adjustment Event.

(e) Neither Counterparty nor any of its “affiliated purchasers” (as defined by Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act (“Rule 10b-18”)) shall take any action that would cause any purchases of Shares by Dealer or any of its Affiliates in connection with any Cash Settlement or Net Share Settlement not to meet the requirements of the safe harbor provided by Rule 10b-18 if such purchases were made by Counterparty. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, during any Unwind Period, except with the prior written consent of Dealer, Counterparty will not, and will cause its affiliated purchasers (as defined in Rule 10b-18) not to, directly or indirectly (including, without limitation, by means of a derivative instrument) purchase, offer to purchase, place any bid or limit order that would effect a purchase of, or announce or commence any tender offer relating to, any Shares (or equivalent interest, including a unit of beneficial interest in a trust or limited partnership or a depository share) or any security convertible into or exchangeable for the Shares.

(f) Counterparty will not take, or permit to be taken, any action to cause any “restricted period” (as such term is defined in Regulation M promulgated under the Exchange Act (“Regulation M”)) to occur in respect of Shares or any security with respect to which the Shares are a “reference security” (as such term is defined in Regulation M) during any Unwind Period.

(g) Counterparty shall: (i) prior to the opening of trading in the Shares on any day on which Counterparty makes, or expects to be made, any public announcement (as defined in Rule 165(f) under the Securities Act) of any Merger Transaction, notify Dealer of such public announcement; (ii) promptly notify Dealer following any such announcement that such announcement has been made; (iii) promptly (but in any event prior to the next opening of the regular trading session on the Exchange) provide Dealer with written notice specifying (A) Counterparty’s average daily Rule 10b-18 Purchases (as defined in Rule 10b-18) during the three full calendar months immediately preceding the announcement date for the Merger Transaction that were not effected through Dealer or its affiliates and (B) the number of Shares purchased pursuant to the proviso in Rule 10b-18(b)(4) under the Exchange Act for the three full calendar months preceding such announcement date. Such written notice shall be deemed to be a certification by Counterparty to Dealer that such information is true and correct. In addition, Counterparty shall promptly notify Dealer of the earlier to occur of the completion of such transaction and the completion of the vote by target shareholders. Counterparty acknowledges that under the terms of any Confirmation, any such notice may result in a Regulatory Disruption, a Trading Condition or an Acceleration Event or may affect the length of any ongoing Unwind Period; accordingly, Counterparty acknowledges that its delivery of such notice shall comply with the standards set forth in Section 7(f) of this Confirmation. “Merger Transaction” means any merger, acquisition or similar transaction involving a recapitalization with respect to the Counterparty and/or the Shares as contemplated by Rule 10b-18(a)(13)(iv) under the Exchange Act.

(h) Subject to Section 21, Counterparty represents and warrants to, and agrees with, Dealer that Counterparty has not and will not, without the prior written consent of Dealer, enter into any structured share purchase or sale transaction (including the purchase or sale of any option or combination of options relating to the Shares), or any other transaction similar to the Transaction described herein, where any valuation period (however defined) in such other transaction will overlap with any Unwind Period under any Confirmation. In the event that the valuation period in any such other transaction overlaps with any Unwind Period under any Confirmation as a result of any acceleration, postponement or extension of the Unwind Period, Counterparty shall promptly amend such transaction to avoid any such overlap.

10. Acceleration Events.

 

Each of the following events shall constitute an “Acceleration Event”:

 

(i)          Stock Borrow Event.  In the commercially reasonable judgment of Dealer (A) Dealer (or an affiliate of Dealer) is not able to hedge in a commercially reasonable manner its exposure under the Transaction because insufficient Shares are made available for borrowing by securities lenders or (B) Dealer (or an affiliate of Dealer) would incur a cost to borrow (or to maintain a borrow of) Shares to hedge in a commercially reasonable manner its exposure under this Transaction that is greater than a rate equal to 200 basis points per annum (each, a “Stock Borrow Event”);

 

(ii)        Dividends and Other Distributions.  On any day occurring on or following the Trade Date, Counterparty declares a distribution, issue or dividend to existing holders of the Shares of (A) any cash dividend (other than an Extraordinary Dividend) to the extent all cash dividends having an ex-dividend date during the period from, and including, any Forward Price Reduction Date to, but excluding, the next subsequent Forward Price Reduction Date exceeds, on a per Share basis, the Forward Price Reduction Amount set forth opposite the first date of any such period on Schedule I, (B) any Extraordinary Dividend, (C) any share capital or other securities of another issuer acquired or owned (directly or indirectly) by Counterparty as a result of a spin-off or other similar transaction or (D) any other type of securities (other than Shares), rights or warrants or other assets, in any case for payment (cash or other consideration) at less than the prevailing market price, as determined in a commercially reasonable manner by Dealer; “Extraordinary Dividend” means any dividend or distribution (that is not an ordinary cash dividend) declared by the Issuer with respect to the Shares that, in the commercially reasonable determination of Dealer, is (1) a dividend or distribution declared on the Shares at a time at which the Issuer has not previously declared or paid dividends or distributions on such Shares for the prior four quarterly periods, (2) a payment or distribution by the Issuer to holders of Shares that the Issuer announces will be an “extraordinary” or “special” dividend or distribution, (3) a payment by the Issuer to holders of Shares out of the Issuer’s capital and surplus or (4) any other “special” dividend or distribution on the Shares that is, by its terms or declared intent, outside the normal course of operations or normal dividend policies or practices of the Issuer;

 

(iii)       ISDA Termination.  Either Dealer or Counterparty has the right to designate an Early Termination Date pursuant to Section 6 of the Agreement, in which case, except as otherwise specified herein and except as a result of an Event of Default under Section 5(a)(i) of the Agreement, the provisions of Section 7(g) below shall apply in lieu of the consequences specified in Section 6 of the Agreement;

 

(iv)        Other ISDA Events.  (A) The public announcement by Counterparty or any Valid Third Party Entity of any event that, if consummated, would result in a Merger Event or Tender Offer, or (B) the announcement of any event that, if consummated, would result in a Nationalization, Insolvency or Delisting or the occurrence of any Hedging Disruption or Change in Law; provided that, in case of a Delisting, in addition to the provisions of Section 12.6(a)(iii) of the Equity Definitions, it will also constitute a Delisting if the Exchange is located in the United States and the Shares are not immediately re-listed, re-traded or re-quoted on any of the New York Stock Exchange, The NASDAQ Global Select Market or The NASDAQ Global Market (or their respective successors); or

 

(v)       Ownership Event.  In the good faith judgment of Dealer, on any day, the Share Amount for such day exceeds the Post-Effective Limit for such day (if any applies) (each, an “Ownership Event”).  For purposes of this clause (v), the “Share Amount” as of any day is the number of Shares that Dealer and any person whose ownership position would be aggregated with that of Dealer (Dealer or any such person, a “Dealer Person”) under any law, rule, regulation or regulatory order (other than any obligations under Section 13 of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder) or Counterparty constituent document that for any reason is, or after the Trade Date becomes, applicable to ownership of Shares (“Applicable Provisions”), owns, beneficially owns, constructively owns, controls, holds the power to vote or otherwise meets a relevant definition of ownership of under the Applicable Provisions, as determined by Dealer in its reasonable discretion.  The “Post-Effective Limit” means (x) the minimum number of Shares that would give rise to reporting or registration obligations or other requirements (including obtaining prior approval from any person or entity) of a Dealer Person, or would result in an adverse effect on a Dealer Person, under the Applicable Provisions, as determined by Dealer in its reasonable discretion, minus (y) 1.0% of the number of Shares outstanding.

 

 

11. Termination Settlement.

 

Upon the occurrence of any Acceleration Event, Dealer shall have the right to designate, upon at least one Scheduled Trading Day’s notice, any Scheduled Trading Day following such occurrence to be a Settlement Date under the Transaction (a “Termination Settlement Date”) to which Physical Settlement shall apply, and to select the number of Settlement Shares relating to such Termination Settlement Date; provided that (i) in the case of an Acceleration Event arising out of an Ownership Event, the number of Settlement Shares so designated by Dealer shall not exceed the number of Shares necessary to reduce the Share Amount to reasonably below the Post-Effective Limit and Dealer shall determine such number of Settlement Shares in good faith and in a commercially reasonable manner and (ii) in the case of an Acceleration Event arising out of a Stock Borrow Event, the number of Settlement Shares so designated by Dealer shall not exceed the number of Shares as to which such Stock Borrow Event exists.  If, upon designation of a Termination Settlement Date by Dealer pursuant to the preceding sentence, Counterparty fails to deliver the Settlement Shares relating to such Termination Settlement Date when due or otherwise fails to perform obligations within its control in respect of the Transaction, it shall be an Event of Default with respect to Counterparty and Section 6 of the Agreement shall apply.  If an Acceleration Event occurs during the Unwind Period relating to a number of Settlement Shares to which Cash Settlement or Net Share Settlement applies, then on the Termination Settlement Date relating to such Acceleration Event, notwithstanding any election to the contrary by Counterparty, Cash Settlement or Net Share Settlement shall apply to the portion of the Settlement Shares relating to the Unwind Period as to which Dealer has unwound its hedge and Physical Settlement shall apply in respect of (x) the remainder (if any) of such Settlement Shares and (y) the Settlement Shares designated by Dealer in respect of such Termination Settlement Date.  If an Acceleration Event occurs after Counterparty has designated a Settlement Date to which Physical Settlement applies but before the relevant Settlement Shares have been delivered to Dealer, then Dealer shall have the right to cancel such Settlement Date and designate a Termination Settlement Date in respect of such Shares pursuant to the first sentence hereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of a Nationalization or Merger Event, if at the time of the related Termination Settlement Date the Shares have changed into cash or any property or the right to receive cash or any other property, the Calculation Agent shall adjust the nature of the Shares as it determines appropriate to account for such change such that the nature of the Shares is consistent with what shareholders receive in such event.

 

12. Termination on Bankruptcy.

The parties hereto agree that, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Agreement or the Equity Definitions, the Transaction constitutes a contract to issue a security of Counterparty as contemplated by Section 365(c)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code and that the Transaction and the obligations and rights of Counterparty and Dealer (except for any liability as a result of breach of any of the representations or warranties provided by Counterparty in Section 6 or Section 7 of this Confirmation) shall immediately terminate, without the necessity of any notice, payment (whether directly, by netting or otherwise) or other action by Counterparty or Dealer, if, on or prior to the relevant final Settlement Date, Cash Settlement Payment Date or Net Share Settlement Date, an Insolvency Filing occurs or any other proceeding commences with respect to Counterparty under the Bankruptcy Code (a “Bankruptcy Termination Event”).

13. Private Placement Procedures.

 

If Counterparty is unable to comply with the provisions of Section 9(a) above because of a change in law or a change in the policy of the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff, or Dealer otherwise determines that, in its good faith, reasonable opinion based on the advice of counsel, any Shares to be delivered to Dealer by Counterparty may not be freely returned by Dealer or its affiliates to securities lenders as described under such sub-paragraph (ii) or otherwise constitute “restricted securities” as defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act, then delivery of any such Shares (the “Restricted Shares”) shall be effected as provided below, unless waived by Dealer.

 

(i)        If Counterparty delivers the Restricted Shares pursuant to this clause (i) (a “Private Placement Settlement”), then delivery of Restricted Shares by Counterparty shall be effected in accordance with private placement procedures customary for private placements of equity securities of substantially similar size with respect to such Restricted Shares reasonably acceptable to Dealer; provided that Counterparty may not elect a Private Placement Settlement if, on the date of its election, it has taken, or caused to be taken, any action that would make unavailable either the exemption pursuant to Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act for the sale by Counterparty to Dealer (or any affiliate designated by Dealer) of the Restricted Shares or the exemption pursuant to Section 4(a)(1) or Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act for resales of the Restricted Shares by Dealer (or any such affiliate of Dealer), and if Counterparty fails to deliver the Restricted Shares when due or otherwise fails to perform obligations within its control in respect of a Private Placement Settlement, it shall be an Event of Default with respect to Counterparty and Section 6 of the Agreement shall apply.  The Private Placement Settlement of such Restricted Shares shall include customary representations, covenants, blue sky and other governmental filings and/or registrations, indemnities to Dealer, due diligence rights (for Dealer or any designated buyer of the Restricted Shares by Dealer), opinions and certificates, and such other documentation as is customary for private placement agreements of equity securities of a substantially similar size, all reasonably acceptable to Dealer.  In the case of a Private Placement Settlement, Dealer shall, in its good faith discretion, adjust the amount of Restricted Shares to be delivered to Dealer hereunder in a commercially reasonable manner to reflect the fact that such Restricted Shares may not be freely returned to securities lenders by Dealer and may only be saleable by Dealer at a discount to reflect the lack of liquidity in Restricted Shares.  Notwithstanding the Agreement or this Confirmation, the date of delivery of such Restricted Shares shall be the Clearance System Business Day following notice by Dealer to Counterparty of the number of Restricted Shares to be delivered pursuant to this clause (i).  For the avoidance of doubt, delivery of Restricted Shares shall be due as set forth in the previous sentence and not be due on the date that would otherwise be applicable.

 

(ii)        If Counterparty delivers any Restricted Shares in respect of the Transaction, Counterparty agrees that (A) such Shares may be transferred by and among Dealer and its affiliates and (B) after the minimum “holding period” within the meaning of Rule 144(d) under the Securities Act has elapsed, Counterparty shall promptly remove, or cause the transfer agent for the Shares to remove, any legends referring to any transfer restrictions from such Shares upon delivery by Dealer (or such affiliate of Dealer) to Counterparty or such transfer agent of any seller’s and broker’s representation letters customarily delivered by Dealer or its affiliates in connection with resales of restricted securities pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act, each without any further requirement for the delivery of any certificate, consent, agreement, opinion of counsel, notice or any other document, any transfer tax stamps or payment of any other amount or any other action by Dealer (or such affiliate of Dealer).

 

14. Additional Provisions.

(a) [Reserved.]

(b) [Reserved.]

(c) The parties hereto intend for:

(i) the Transaction to be a “securities contract” as defined in Section 741(7) of the Bankruptcy Code, and the parties hereto to be entitled to the protections afforded by, among other Sections, Sections 362(b)(6), 362(b)(27), 362(o), 546(e), 546(j), 555 and 561 of the Bankruptcy Code;

(ii) the rights given to Dealer pursuant to Sections 10 and 11 of this Confirmation to constitute “contractual rights” to cause the liquidation of a “securities contract” and to set off mutual debts and claims in connection with a “securities contract”, as such terms are used in Sections 555 and 362(b)(6) of the Bankruptcy Code;

(iii) any cash, securities or other property provided as performance assurance, credit support or collateral with respect to the Transaction to constitute “margin payments” and “transfers” under a “securities contract” as defined in the Bankruptcy Code;

(iv) all payments for, under or in connection with the Transaction, all payments for Shares and the transfer of Shares to constitute “settlement payments” and “transfers” under a “securities contract” as defined in the Bankruptcy Code; and

(v) any or all obligations that either party has with respect to any Confirmation or the Agreement to constitute property held by or due from such party to margin, guaranty or settle obligations of the other party with respect to the transactions under the Agreement (including the Transaction) or any other agreement between such parties.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Agreement or any Confirmation, in no event will Counterparty be required to deliver in the aggregate in respect of all Settlement Dates, Net Share Settlement Dates or other dates on which Shares are delivered in respect of any amount owed under the Transaction a number of Shares greater than two times the Initial Number of Shares (as adjusted for stock splits and similar events) (the “Capped Number”). The Capped Number shall be subject to adjustment only on account of (x) Potential Adjustment Events of the type specified in (1) Sections 11.2(e)(i) through (vi) of the Equity Definitions or (2) Section 11.2(e)(vii) of the Equity Definitions so long as, in the case of this sub-clause (2), such event is within Counterparty’s control, (y) Merger Events requiring corporate action of Counterparty (or any surviving entity of the Counterparty hereunder in connection with any such Merger Event) and (z) Announcement Events that are not outside Counterparty’s control. Counterparty represents and warrants to Dealer (which representation and warranty shall be deemed to be repeated on each day that the Transaction is outstanding) that the Capped Number is equal to or less than the number of authorized but unissued Shares that are not reserved for future issuance in connection with transactions in the Shares (other than the Transaction) on the date of the determination of the Capped Number (such Shares, the “Available Shares”). In the event Counterparty shall not have delivered the Number of Shares otherwise deliverable as a result of this Section 14(d) (the resulting deficit, the “Deficit Shares”), Counterparty shall be continually obligated to deliver Shares, from time to time until the full number of Deficit Shares have been delivered pursuant to this paragraph, when, and to the extent that, (A) Shares are repurchased, acquired or otherwise received by Counterparty or any of its subsidiaries after the Trade Date (whether or not in exchange for cash, fair value or any other consideration), (B) authorized and unissued Shares reserved for issuance in respect of other transactions prior to such date which prior to the relevant date become no longer so reserved and (C) Counterparty additionally authorizes any unissued Shares that are not reserved for other transactions (such events as set forth in clauses (A), (B) and (C) above, collectively, the “Share Issuance Events”). Counterparty shall promptly notify Dealer of the occurrence of any of the Share Issuance Events (including the number of Shares subject to clause (A), (B) or (C) and the corresponding number of Shares to be delivered) and, as promptly as reasonably practicable, shall deliver such Shares thereafter. Counterparty shall not, until Counterparty’s Share delivery obligations under the Transaction have been satisfied in full, use any Shares that become available for potential delivery to Dealer as a result of any Share Issuance Event for the settlement or satisfaction of any transaction or obligation other than the Transaction or reserve any such Shares for future issuance for any purpose other than to satisfy Counterparty’s obligations to Dealer under the Transaction.

(e) The parties intend for this Confirmation to constitute a “Contract” as described in the letter dated October 6, 2003 submitted on behalf of Goldman, Sachs &Co. to Paula Dubberly of the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Staff”) to which the Staff responded in an interpretive letter (the “Interpretive Letter”) dated October 9, 2003. Counterparty agrees to take all actions, and to omit to take any actions, reasonably requested by Dealer in good faith based on the advice of counsel for the Transaction to comply with the Interpretive Letter.

(f) The parties intend for the Transaction (taking into account purchases of Shares in connection with any Cash Settlement or Net Share Settlement) to comply with the requirements of Rule 10b5-1(c)(1)(i)(A) under the Exchange Act and for this Confirmation to constitute a binding contract or instruction satisfying the requirements of 10b5-1(c) and to be interpreted to comply with the requirements of Rule 10b5-1(c) under the Exchange Act.

15. Indemnity.

Counterparty agrees to indemnify Dealer and its affiliates and their respective directors, officers, employees, agents and controlling persons (Dealer and each such affiliate or person being an “Indemnified Party”) from and against any and all losses (excluding, for the avoidance of doubt, financial losses resulting from the economic terms of the Transaction), claims, damages and liabilities, joint and several, incurred by or asserted against such Indemnified Party arising out of, in connection with, or relating to any breach of any covenant or representation made by Counterparty in this Confirmation or the Agreement and will reimburse any Indemnified Party for all reasonable expenses (including reasonable legal fees and reasonable expenses) as they are incurred in connection with the investigation of, preparation for, or defense of any pending or threatened claim or any action or proceeding arising therefrom (whether or not such Indemnified Party is a party thereto), except to the extent determined in a final and nonappealable judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction to have resulted from Dealer’s gross negligence, fraud, bad faith and/or willful misconduct or from a breach of any representation or covenant of Dealer contained in this Confirmation or the Agreement.  Counterparty shall be relieved from liability under this Section 15 to the extent that the Indemnified Party fails promptly to notify Counterparty of any action commenced against it in respect of which indemnity may be sought hereunder (it being understood that any such notice delivered within 30 calendar days of the commencement of any such action shall be deemed to have been delivered promptly for such purpose). The foregoing provisions shall survive any termination or completion of the Transaction.

16. Beneficial Ownership.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Agreement or this Confirmation, in no event shall Dealer be entitled to receive, or be deemed to receive, Shares to the extent that, upon such receipt of such Shares, (i) the “beneficial ownership” (within the meaning of Section 13 of the Exchange Act and the rules promulgated thereunder) of Shares by Dealer, any other person that would have beneficial ownership of such Shares (any such person shall include without limitation of any of Dealer’s  affiliates’ business units subject to aggregation with Dealer for purposes of the “beneficial ownership” test under Section 13 of the Exchange Act) and all persons who may form a “group” (within the meaning of Rule 13d-5(b)(1) under the Exchange Act) with Dealer with respect to “beneficial ownership” of any Shares (collectively, “Dealer Group”) would be equal to or greater than 4.5% of the outstanding Shares (an “Excess Section 13 Ownership Position”), (ii) violation would occur in respect of any restriction on ownership and/or transfers set forth in Article VII of the Charter (such condition, “Excess Charter Ownership Position”) (iii) Dealer would hold 5% or more of the number of Shares of Counterparty’s outstanding common stock or 5% or more of Counterparty’s outstanding voting power (the “Exchange Limit Ownership Position”) or (iv) Dealer, Dealer Group or any person whose ownership position would be aggregated with that of Dealer or Dealer Group (Dealer, Dealer Group or any such person, a “Dealer Person”) under Sections 3-601 to 3-605 and 3-701 to 3-710 of the Maryland General Corporation Law or any state or federal bank holding company or banking laws, or any federal, state or local laws, regulations or regulatory orders or organizational documents or contracts of Counterparty, in each case, applicable to ownership of Shares (“Applicable Restrictions”), would own, beneficially own, constructively own, control, hold the power to vote or otherwise meet a relevant definition of ownership in excess of a number of Shares equal to (x) the lesser of (A) the maximum number of Shares that would be permitted under Applicable Restrictions and (B) the number of Shares that would give rise to reporting or registration obligations or other requirements (including obtaining prior approval by a state or federal regulator) of a Dealer Person under Applicable Restrictions and with respect to which such requirements have not been met or the relevant approval has not been received or that would give rise to any consequences under the constitutive documents of Counterparty or any contract or agreement to which Counterparty is a party, in each case minus (y) 1% of the number of Shares outstanding on the date of determination (such condition described in clause (iii), an “Excess Regulatory Ownership Position”). If any delivery owed to Dealer hereunder is not made, in whole or in part, as a result of this provision, (i) Counterparty’s obligation to make such delivery shall not be extinguished and Counterparty shall make such delivery as promptly as practicable after, but in no event later than one Exchange Business Day after, Dealer gives notice to Counterparty that such delivery would not result in (x) Dealer Group directly or indirectly so beneficially owning in excess of 4.5% of the outstanding Shares and (y) the occurrence of an Excess Charter Ownership Position, an Exchange Limit Ownership Position or Excess Regulatory Ownership Position and (ii) if such delivery relates to a Physical Settlement, notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, Dealer shall not be obligated to satisfy the portion of its payment obligation corresponding to any Shares required to be so delivered until the date Counterparty makes such delivery. Upon request of Dealer, Counterparty shall promptly confirm to Dealer the number of Shares then outstanding and Dealer shall then promptly advise Counterparty with respect to any limitations under this Section 16 applicable to any anticipated delivery of Shares hereunder; provided, however, that neither a failure by Counterparty to notify Dealer of the number of Shares then outstanding nor a failure of Dealer to advise Counterparty with respect to any applicable limitations shall be deemed a default hereunder and notwithstanding such failure the remainder of this Section 16 shall continue to apply. For the avoidance of doubt, any delivery of Shares made by Counterparty to Dealer that Dealer was not entitled to receive under the terms of this Section 16 shall not be deemed to satisfy any of the delivery obligations of Counterparty hereunder and Dealer shall promptly return such Shares to Counterparty, pending which Dealer shall be deemed to hold any such Shares solely as custodian for the benefit of Counterparty.

17. Non-Confidentiality.

The parties hereby agree that (i) effective from the date of commencement of discussions concerning the Transaction, Counterparty, Dealer and each of its respective employees, representatives, or other agents may disclose to any and all persons, without limitation of any kind, the tax treatment and tax structure of the Transaction and all materials of any kind, including opinions or other tax analyses relating to such tax treatment and tax structure; provided that the foregoing does not constitute an authorization to disclose the identity of Counterparty, Dealer or its respective affiliates, agents or advisers, or, except to the extent relating to such tax structure or tax treatment, any specific pricing terms or commercial or financial information, and (ii) Dealer and Counterparty do not assert any claim of proprietary ownership in respect of any description contained herein or therein relating to the use of any entities, plans or arrangements to give rise to a particular United States federal income tax treatment for Counterparty or Dealer.

18. Set-Off.

Notwithstanding Section 6(f) of the Agreement, each party waives any and all rights it may have to set-off delivery or payment obligations it owes to the other party under the Transaction against any delivery or payment obligations owed to it by the other party, whether arising under the Agreement, under any other agreement between parties hereto, by operation of law or otherwise.

19. Staggered Settlement.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, Dealer may, by prior notice to Counterparty, satisfy its obligation to deliver any Shares or other securities on any date due (an “Original Delivery Date”) by making separate deliveries of Shares or such securities, as the case may be, at more than one time on or prior to such Original Delivery Date, so long as the aggregate number of Shares and other securities so delivered on or prior to such Original Delivery Date is equal to the number required to be delivered on such Original Delivery Date.

20. Right to Extend.

In connection with Cash Settlement or Net Share Settlement, Dealer may postpone any Settlement Date or any other date of valuation or delivery, with respect to some or all of the relevant Settlement Shares, if Dealer determines, based on the advice of counsel, that such extension is reasonably necessary or appropriate to enable Dealer to effect purchases of Shares in connection with its hedging activity hereunder in a manner that would, if Dealer were Counterparty or an affiliated purchaser of Counterparty, be in compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

21. Other Forwards.

Dealer acknowledges that Counterparty has entered into substantially similar forward transactions for its Shares on May 18, 2026 and the Trade Date (collectively, the “Other Underwritten Forwards”) with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (the “Other Underwritten Dealer”). Dealer further acknowledges that Counterparty has entered or may enter in the future into one or more forward transactions for its Shares (the “ATM Forwards” and together with the Other Underwritten Forwards, the “Other Forwards”) with one or more dealers (the “ATM Dealers” and together with the Other Underwritten Dealer, the “Other Dealers”) pursuant to the Equity Distribution Agreement, dated as of February 17, 2026, among Counterparty and the other parties thereto. Dealer and Counterparty agree that if Counterparty designates a “Relevant Settlement Date” (or equivalent concept) with respect to one or more Other Forwards for which “Cash Settlement” (or equivalent concept) or “Net Share Settlement” (or equivalent concept) is applicable, and the resulting “Unwind Period” (or equivalent concept) for any Other Forward coincides for any period of time with an Unwind Period for the Transaction (the “Overlap Unwind Period”), Counterparty shall notify Dealer at least one Scheduled Trading Day prior to the commencement of such Overlap Unwind Period of the first Scheduled Trading Day and length of such Overlap Unwind Period, and Dealer shall only be permitted to purchase Shares to unwind its hedge in respect of the Transaction only on alternating Scheduled Trading Days during such Overlap Unwind Period, commencing on the first, second, third or later Scheduled Trading Day of such Overlap Unwind Period, as notified to Dealer by Counterparty at least one Scheduled Trading Day prior to such Overlap Unwind Period (which alternating Scheduled Trading Days, for the avoidance of doubt, shall be every other Scheduled Trading Day if there is only one Other Dealer in such Overlap Unwind Period, every third Scheduled Trading Day if there are two Other Dealers, etc.).

22. Waiver of Jury Trial.

 EACH PARTY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN RESPECT OF ANY SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE AGREEMENT, ANY CONFIRMATION, ANY TRANSACTION HEREUNDER AND/OR ALL MATTERS ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH THE AGREEMENT, ANY CONFIRMATION AND/OR ANY TRANSACTION HEREUNDER. EACH PARTY (I) CERTIFIES THAT NO REPRESENTATIVE, AGENT OR ATTORNEY OF THE OTHER PARTY HAS REPRESENTED, EXPRESSLY OR OTHERWISE, THAT SUCH OTHER PARTY WOULD NOT, IN THE EVENT OF SUCH A SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING, SEEK TO ENFORCE THE FOREGOING WAIVER AND (II) ACKNOWLEDGES THAT IT AND THE OTHER PARTY HAVE BEEN INDUCED TO ENTER INTO THE TRANSACTIONS, AS APPLICABLE, BY, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE MUTUAL WAIVERS AND CERTIFICATIONS PROVIDED HEREIN.

23. [Reserved.]

24. Counterparts.

This Confirmation may be executed in any number of counterparts, all of which shall constitute one and the same instrument, and any party hereto may execute this Confirmation by signing and delivering one or more counterparts. Counterparts may be delivered via facsimile, electronic mail (including any electronic signature covered by the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, the Electronic Signatures and Records Act or other applicable law, e.g., www.docusign.com (any such signature, an “Electronic Signature”)) or other transmission method and any counterpart so delivered shall be deemed to have been duly and validly delivered and be valid and effective for all purposes. The words “execution,” “signed,” “signature,” and words of like import in this Confirmation or in any other certificate, agreement or document related to this Confirmation shall include any Electronic Signature, except to the extent electronic notices are expressly prohibited under this Confirmation or the Agreement.

25. Governing Law/Jurisdiction.

This Confirmation, the Transaction and any claim, controversy or dispute arising under or related to this Confirmation or the Transaction shall be governed by the laws of the State of New York without reference to the conflict of laws provisions thereof. Each party hereby submits for itself and its property in any suit, legal action or proceeding relating to this Confirmation and/or the Transaction, or for recognition and enforcement of any judgment, to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, sitting in New York County, the courts of the United States of America for the Southern District of New York and appellate courts from any thereof, hereto and waives any objection to the laying of venue in, and any claim of inconvenient forum with respect to, these courts.

 

26. [Designation by Dealer.

 

Notwithstanding any other provision in this Confirmation to the contrary requiring or allowing Dealer to purchase, sell, receive or deliver any Shares or other securities to or from Counterparty, Dealer may designate any of its affiliates to purchase, sell, receive or deliver such Shares or other securities and otherwise to perform Dealer obligations in respect of the Transaction and any such designee may assume such obligations.  Dealer shall be discharged of its obligations to Counterparty only to the extent of any such performance.]¹

 

27. [Reserved.]

 

28. [Reserved.]

 

29. Bankruptcy Status.

 

Subject to Paragraph 9 above, Dealer acknowledges and agrees that this Confirmation is not intended to convey to Dealer rights with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby that are senior to the claims of Counterparty’s common stockholders in any U.S. bankruptcy proceedings of Counterparty; provided, however, that nothing herein shall be deemed to limit Dealer’s right to pursue remedies in the event of a breach by Counterparty of its obligations and agreements with respect to this Confirmation and the Agreement; and provided, further, that nothing herein shall limit or shall be deemed to limit Dealer’s rights in respect of any transaction other than this Transaction.

 

30. No Collateral or Setoff.

 

Notwithstanding any provision of the Agreement or any other agreement between the parties to the contrary, the obligations of Counterparty hereunder are not secured by any collateral.  Obligations in respect of this Transaction shall not be set off against any other obligations of the parties, whether arising under the Agreement, under any other agreement between the parties hereto, by operation of law or otherwise, and no other obligations of the parties shall be set off against obligations in respect of this Transaction, whether arising under the Agreement, under any other agreement between the parties hereto, by operation of law or otherwise, and each party hereby waives any such right of setoff.

 

31. Taxes.

(a) For the purpose of Section 3(f) of the Agreement, Dealer makes the following representations:

¹ To be included only for Dealers that require this provision.

(i) It is a “U.S. person” (as that term is used in section 1.1441-4(a)(3)(ii) of United States Treasury Regulations) for U.S. federal income tax purposes; and

(ii) It is a national banking association organized and existing under the laws of the United States of America and is an exempt recipient under Treasury Regulation Section 1.6049-4(c)(1)(ii);.

(b) For the purpose of Section 3(f) of the Agreement, Counterparty makes the following representations:

(i) It is a “U.S. person” (as that term is used in section 1.1441-4(a)(3)(ii) of the United States Treasury Regulations) for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

(ii) It is a real estate investment trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes, it is organized under the laws of the State of Maryland, and it is an exempt recipient under section 1.6049-4(c)(1)(ii)(J) of the United States Treasury Regulations.

(c) For purposes of Sections 4(a)(i) and 4(a)(ii) of the Agreement, (A) Counterparty shall provide to the  Dealer  a valid U.S. Internal Revenue Service Form W-9, or any successor thereto, or applicable U.S. Internal Revenue Service Form W-8, or any successor thereto, as the case may be and (B) Dealer shall provide to Counterparty an Internal Revenue Service Form W-8ECI “Certificate of Foreign Person’s Claim That Income Is Effectively Connected With the Conduct of a Trade or Business in the United States” (i) on or before the date of execution of this Confirmation, (ii) promptly upon learning that any such tax form previously provided by it has become obsolete or incorrect and (iii) promptly upon reasonable request of the other party.  Additionally, each party shall, promptly upon request by the other party, provide such other tax forms and documents that may be required or reasonably requested by the other party.

(d) “Tax” and “Indemnifiable Tax” as defined in Section 14 of the Agreement shall not include any withholding tax imposed or collected pursuant to Sections 1471 through 1474 of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), any current or future regulations or official interpretations thereof, any agreement entered into pursuant to Section 1471(b) of the Code, or any fiscal or regulatory legislation, rules or practices adopted pursuant to any intergovernmental agreement entered into in connection with the implementation of such Sections of the Code (a “FATCA Withholding Tax”). For the avoidance of doubt, a FATCA Withholding Tax is a Tax the deduction or withholding of which is required by applicable law for the purposes of Section 2(d) of the Agreement.

(e) To the extent that either party to the Agreement with respect to the Transaction is not an adhering party to the ISDA 2015 Section 871(m) Protocol published by the ISDA on November 2, 2015 and available at www.isda.org, as may be amended, supplemented, replaced or superseded from time to time (the “871(m) Protocol”), the parties agree that the provisions and amendments contained in the Attachment to the 871(m) Protocol are incorporated into and apply to the Agreement with respect to the Transaction as if set forth in full herein. The parties further agree that, solely for purposes of applying such provisions and amendments to the Agreement with respect to the Transaction, references to “each Covered Master Agreement” in the 871(m) Protocol will be deemed to be references to the Agreement with respect to the Transaction, and references to the “Implementation Date” in the 871(m) Protocol will be deemed to be references to the Trade Date of the Transaction. For greater certainty, if there is any inconsistency between this provision and the provisions contained in any other agreement between the parties with respect to the Transaction, this provision shall prevail unless such other agreement expressly overrides the provisions of the Attachment to the 871(m) Protocol.

32. Financial Assistance.

 

Counterparty represents and warrants that it and any of its subsidiaries has not applied, and shall not, until after the first date on which no portion of the Transaction remains outstanding following any final settlement, cancellation or early termination of the Transaction hereunder, apply, for a loan, loan guarantee, direct loan (as that term is defined in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”)) or other investment, or to receive any financial assistance or relief under any program or facility (collectively “Financial Assistance”) that (a) is established under applicable law (whether in existence as of any Trade Date or subsequently enacted, adopted or amended), including without limitation the CARES Act and the Federal Reserve Act, as amended, and (b) (i) requires under applicable law (or any regulation, guidance, interpretation or other pronouncement of a governmental authority with jurisdiction for such program or facility) as a condition of such Financial Assistance, that the Counterparty comply with any requirement not to, or otherwise agree, attest, certify or warrant that it has not, as of the date specified in such condition, repurchased, or will not repurchase, any equity security of Counterparty, and that Counterparty has not, as of the date specified in the condition, made a capital distribution or will make a capital distribution, or (ii) where the terms of the Transaction would cause Counterparty to fail to satisfy any condition for application for or receipt or retention of the Financial Assistance (collectively “Restricted Financial Assistance”); provided, that Counterparty or any of its subsidiaries may apply for Restricted Financial Assistance if Counterparty either (a) determines based on the advice of outside counsel of national standing that the terms of the Transaction hereunder would not cause Counterparty or any of its subsidiaries to fail to satisfy any condition for application for or receipt or retention of such Financial Assistance based on the terms of the program or facility as of the date of such advice or (b) delivers to Dealer evidence or other guidance from a governmental authority with jurisdiction for such program or facility that the Transaction is permitted under such program or facility (either by specific reference to the Transaction or by general reference to transactions with the attributes of the Transaction in all relevant respects).

 

33. Wall Street Transparency and Accountability Act of 2010.

 

The parties hereby agree that none of (i) Section 739 of the WSTAA, (ii) any similar legal certainty provision included in any legislation enacted, or rule or regulation promulgated, on or after the Trade Date, (iii) the enactment of the WSTAA or any regulation under the WSTAA, (iv) any requirement under the WSTAA or (v) any amendment made by the WSTAA shall limit or otherwise impair either party’s right to terminate, renegotiate, modify, amend or supplement this Confirmation or the Agreement, as applicable, arising from a termination event, force majeure, illegality, increased cost, regulatory change or similar event under this Confirmation, the Equity Definitions or the Agreement (including, but not limited to, any right arising from any Acceleration Event).

 

34. U.S. Stay Regulations.

To the extent that the QFC Stay Rules are applicable hereto, then the parties agree that (i) to the extent that prior to the date hereof both parties have adhered to the 2018 ISDA U.S. Resolution Stay Protocol (the “Protocol”), the terms of the Protocol are incorporated into and form a part of this Confirmation, and for such purposes this Confirmation shall be deemed a Protocol Covered Agreement and each party shall be deemed to have the same status as “Regulated Entity” and/or “Adhering Party” as applicable to it under the Protocol; (ii) to the extent that prior to the date hereof the parties have executed a separate agreement the effect of which is to amend the qualified financial contracts between them to conform with the requirements of the QFC Stay Rules (the “Bilateral Agreement”), the terms of the Bilateral Agreement are incorporated into and form a part of this Confirmation and each party shall be deemed to have the status of “Covered Entity” or “Counterparty Entity” (or other similar term) as applicable to it under the Bilateral Agreement; or (iii) if clause (i) and clause (ii) do not apply, the terms of Section 1 and Section 2 and the related defined terms (together, the “Bilateral Terms”) of the form of bilateral template entitled “Full-Length Omnibus (for use between U.S. G-SIBs and Corporate Groups)” published by ISDA on November 2, 2018 (currently available on the 2018 ISDA U.S. Resolution Stay Protocol page at www.isda.org and, a copy of which is available upon request), the effect of which is to amend the qualified financial contracts between the parties thereto to conform with the requirements of the QFC Stay Rules, are hereby incorporated into and form a part of this Confirmation, and for such purposes this Confirmation shall be deemed a “Covered Agreement,” Dealer shall be deemed a “Covered Entity” and Counterparty shall be deemed a “Counterparty Entity.” In the event that, after the date of this Confirmation, both parties hereto become adhering parties to the Protocol, the terms of the Protocol will replace the terms of this paragraph. In the event of any inconsistencies between this Confirmation and the terms of the Protocol, the Bilateral Agreement or the Bilateral Terms (each, the “QFC Stay Terms”), as applicable, the QFC Stay Terms will govern. Terms used in this paragraph without definition shall have the meanings assigned to them under the QFC Stay Rules. For purposes of this paragraph, references to “this Confirmation” include any related credit enhancements entered into between the parties or provided by one to the other. In addition, the parties agree that the terms of this paragraph shall be incorporated into any related covered affiliate credit enhancements, with all references to Dealer replaced by references to the covered affiliate support provider.  “QFC Stay Rules” mean the regulations codified at 12 C.F.R. 252.2, 252.81–8, 12 C.F.R. 382.1-7 and 12 C.F.R. 47.1-8, which, subject to limited exceptions, require an express recognition of the stay-and-transfer powers of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the Orderly Liquidation Authority under Title II of the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the override of default rights related directly or indirectly to the entry of an affiliate into certain insolvency proceedings and any restrictions on the transfer of any covered affiliate credit enhancements.

35. Communications with Employees of J.P. Morgan Securities LLC.

If Counterparty interacts with any employee of J.P. Morgan Securities LLC with respect to any Transaction, Counterparty is hereby notified that such employee will act solely as an authorized representative of Dealer (and not as a representative of J.P. Morgan Securities LLC) in connection with such Transaction.

[Include Dealer specific provisions.]

Please confirm that the foregoing correctly sets forth the terms of the agreement between Dealer and Counterparty by executing and returning this Confirmation.

Confirmed as of the date first above written:

 

ANNEX A

Schedule I

FORWARD PRICE REDUCTION DATES AND AMOUNTS

---

May 21, 2026

CareTrust REIT, Inc.

24901 Dana Point Harbor Dr, Suite A200

Dana Point, CA 92629

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

We serve as special Maryland counsel to CareTrust REIT, Inc., a Maryland corporation (the “Company”), and have been requested to render this opinion in connection with the registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), pursuant to the automatic shelf registration statement of the Company on Form S-3 (Registration No. 333-293536) (the “Registration Statement”), prepared and filed by the Company on February 17, 2026 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”), including the base prospectus included therein at the time the Registration Statement became effective (the “Base Prospectus”), and the preliminary prospectus supplement, dated May 18, 2026, and filed by the Company with the Commission on May 18, 2026, pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5) under the Securities Act (together with the Base Prospectus, the “Preliminary Prospectus”), and the final prospectus supplement, dated May 18, 2026, and filed by the Company with the Commission on May 20, 2026 pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5) under the Securities Act (together with the Base Prospectus, the “Prospectus”), of the sale by the Company of an  additional 1,875,000 shares (the “Shares”) of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company (the “Common Stock”), pursuant to the exercise of an overallotment option set forth in Section 2(b) of the Underwriting Agreement, dated as of May 18, 2026 (the “Underwriting Agreement”), by and among the Company and CTR Partnership, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (the “Operating Partnership”), on the one hand, and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, acting as representatives (in such capacity, collectively, the “Representatives”) of the several underwriters named on Schedule I to the Underwriting Agreement (collectively, the “Underwriters”) and the forward sellers and each of Wells Fargo Bank, National Association and JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, as the forward purchasers (collectively, the “Forward Purchasers”), and the separate Forward Sale Agreements, each dated May 20, 2026, between the Company and the respective Forward Purchasers in connection with the forward sale transactions (collectively, the “Forward Sale Agreements”), by and between the Company and each Forward Purchaser. Pursuant to the terms of the Forward Sale Agreements, up to 1,875,000 shares of Common Stock may be issued by the Company upon the settlement of the Forward Sale Agreements (the “Confirmation Shares”), subject to the Company’s right to elect Cash Settlement or Net Share Settlement (as such terms are defined in the Forward Sale Agreements).

 

This opinion letter is being provided at your request in connection with the filing by the Company with the Commission of a Current Report on Form 8-K on the date hereof (the “Form 8-K”), and supplements our opinion, dated February 17, 2026, previously filed as Exhibit 5.2 to the Registration Statement. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings specified in the Underwriting Agreement.

 

In connection with our representation of the Company, and as a basis for the opinions hereinafter set forth, we have examined originals, or copies certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of the following documents:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For purposes of the opinions expressed below, we have assumed (i) the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, (ii) the conformity to the originals of all documents submitted as certified or photostatic copies and the authenticity of the originals of such documents, (iii) the legal capacity of natural persons, (iv) the genuineness and validity of all signatures (including all signatures via DocuSign, eSignature or similar technology), (v) the due authorization, execution and delivery of all documents by all parties and the validity and binding effect and enforceability thereof upon the Company, (vi) all public records reviewed are accurate and complete, and (vii) the conformity of the documents filed with the Commission via the Electronic Data Gathering and Retrieval System, as supplemented by its Interactive Data Electronic Applications system (“EDGAR”), except for required EDGAR formatting changes, to physical copies of the documents prepared by the Company and submitted for our examination.

 

Based upon the foregoing, and having regard for such legal considerations as we have considered necessary for purposes hereof, we are of the opinion that:

 

 

 

The opinions in paragraph 1 with respect to existence and good standing of the Company are based solely on the Good Standing Certificate. In expressing the opinions above, we have assumed (i) that the Shares and the Confirmation Shares will not be issued or sold in violation of Article VII of the Charter and (ii) that, upon issuance of the Shares and Confirmation Shares, the total number of shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding will not exceed the total number of shares of Common Stock that the Company is then authorized to issue under the Charter.

 

The opinions expressed above are subject to the following assumptions, exceptions, qualifications and limitations:

 

(A)          We have made no investigation or verification of, and we express no opinion as to, the laws of any jurisdiction other than the laws of the Maryland General Corporation Law (including the statutory provisions, all applicable provisions of the Maryland Constitution) and reported judicial decisions interpreting the foregoing) in effect on the date hereof (collectively, “Applicable Law”). This opinion letter concerns only the effect of the laws (exclusive of the principles of conflict of laws) of the State of Maryland as currently in effect. As to matters of such Applicable Laws, we have based our opinion solely upon our examination of such laws and the rules and regulations of the authorities administering such laws, all as reported in standard, unofficial compilations. The opinion expressed herein is subject to the effect of judicial decisions which may permit the introduction of parol evidence to modify the terms or the interpretation of agreements.

 

(B)          We express no opinion as to compliance with the securities (or “blue sky”) laws of any jurisdiction or as to federal or state tax laws or laws regarding fraudulent transfers, health care laws, broker licensing laws, real estate syndication laws, mortgage lending laws or principles of conflicts of laws of the State of Maryland or any other jurisdiction.

 

(C)          The foregoing opinions are rendered as of the date hereof. We assume no obligation to update such opinions to reflect any facts or circumstances that may hereafter come to our attention or that may hereafter occur.

 

(D)          We express no opinion as to the issuance of any securities by any issuer other than the Company.

 

(E)          This opinion letter is limited to the matters set forth herein, and no other opinion should be inferred beyond the matters expressly stated.

 

We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion letter with the Commission as Exhibit 5.1 to the Form 8-K on the date hereof and to the use of the name of our firm in the section entitled “Legal Matters” in the Prospectus forming part of the Registration Statement. In giving this consent, we do not admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required by Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Commission.

 

Very truly yours,   /s/ DLA Piper LLP (US)