LNC 8-K
Lincoln National Corp (LNC)
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging growth company
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
| Item 8.01. | Other Events. |
On March 11, 2024, Lincoln National Corporation (the “Company” or “we”) entered into an Underwriting Agreement with Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Barclays Capital Inc., BNP Paribas Securities Corp., PNC Capital Markets LLC and TD Securities (USA) LLC, as representatives of the several underwriters named in Schedule I thereto (collectively, the “Underwriters”), pursuant to which the Company agreed to sell, and the Underwriters agreed to purchase, subject to the terms and conditions set forth therein, $350 million aggregate principal amount of the Company’s 5.852% Senior Notes due 2034 (the “Notes”) in a registered public offering (the “Offering”).
The Underwriting Agreement contains customary representations, warranties and agreements of the Company, conditions to closing, indemnification rights and obligations of the parties and termination provisions. The description of the Underwriting Agreement set forth above is qualified by reference to the Underwriting Agreement filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and incorporated herein by reference.
From time to time, in the ordinary course of their business, certain of the Underwriters and their affiliates have provided, and may in the future provide, various financial advisory, investment banking, commercial banking or investment management services to us and our affiliates, for which they have received and may continue to receive customary fees and commissions. In addition, the Underwriters and their affiliates may, from time to time, engage in transactions with or perform services for us in the ordinary course of business, including acting as distributors of various life, annuity, defined contribution and investment products of our subsidiaries. From time to time, certain of the Underwriters and their affiliates may effect transactions for their own account or the account of customers, and hold on behalf of themselves or their customers, long or short positions in our debt or equity securities or loans, and may do so in the future.
The Offering was completed on March 14, 2024, pursuant to the Company’s registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-270000) (the “Registration Statement”) dated February 24, 2023, as supplemented by a prospectus supplement in preliminary form filed March 11, 2024 and in final form filed March 13, 2024, and a free writing prospectus dated March 11, 2024. The Offering was completed at a price to the public of 100% of the principal amount. The Notes were sold to the Underwriters with an underwriting discount of 0.65%. The Notes were issued pursuant to the Senior Indenture, dated as of March 10, 2009, as supplemented by the First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of August 18, 2020 (together, the “Senior Indenture”), between the Company and The Bank of New York Mellon, as trustee (the “Trustee”).
The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering to retire outstanding indebtedness, which may include funding all or portions of (i) the repayment of borrowings under the Company’s term loan agreement dated December 3, 2019, as amended, and due 2024, which as of March 8, 2024 bore interest at a rate of SOFR + 122.5 bps, $250 million of which were outstanding as of March 8, 2024, (ii) the repayment of the Company’s 3.35% senior notes due 2025, of which $300 million principal amount was outstanding as of March 8, 2024, on or prior to their maturity, and (iii) possible repurchases of other of the Company’s outstanding debt securities, as well as to pay fees and expenses in respect of the foregoing.
The Notes are the Company’s senior unsecured debt obligations, and rank equally with all of the Company’s other present and future unsecured unsubordinated obligations. The Notes bear interest at a per-annum rate of 5.852%. The Company will make interest payments on the Notes semi-annually in arrears on March 15 and September 15 of each year, beginning on September 15, 2024. Interest on the Notes will be computed on the basis of a 360-day year comprised of twelve 30-day months.
The Notes will mature on March 15, 2034. However, prior to December 15, 2033 (three months prior to their maturity date) (the “Par Call Date”), we may redeem the Notes at our option, in whole or in part, at any time and from time to time, at a redemption price (expressed as a percentage of principal amount and rounded to three decimal places) equal to the greater of: (1) (a) the sum of the present values of the remaining scheduled payments of principal and interest thereon discounted to the redemption date (assuming the Notes matured on the Par Call Date) on a semi-annual basis (assuming a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months) at the Treasury Rate (as defined in the final prospectus supplement) plus 30 basis points less (b) interest accrued to the date of redemption, and (2) 100% of the principal amount of the Notes to be redeemed, plus, in either case, accrued and
unpaid interest thereon to the redemption date. On or after the Par Call Date, we may redeem the Notes, in whole or in part, at any time and from time to time, at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Notes being redeemed plus accrued and unpaid interest thereon to the redemption date.
The Senior Indenture contains customary events of default. If an event of default exists under the Senior Indenture, the trustee or the holders of not less than 25% in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding Notes may declare the principal amount of all of the Notes, together with accrued interest, if any, to be immediately due and payable.
The foregoing summary of the terms of the Notes does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the full text of (i) the Senior Indenture, incorporated by reference in Exhibits 4.1 and 4.4 to the Registration Statement; and (ii) the form of the Notes, attached hereto as Exhibit 4.1, which is incorporated herein by reference.
This report is not intended to and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to subscribe for or buy or an invitation to purchase or subscribe for any securities or the solicitation of any vote in any jurisdiction, nor shall there be any sale, issuance or transfer of securities in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
| Item 9.01. | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
(d) Exhibits. The following exhibits are provided as part of this Form 8-K:
| Exhibit No. |
Description | |
| 1.1 | Underwriting Agreement, dated March 11, 2024, between the Company and the underwriters named therein.* | |
| 4.1 | Form of 5.852% Note due 2034. | |
| 5.1 | Opinion of Eric B. Wilmer, Assistant Vice President and Senior Counsel of Lincoln National Corporation. | |
| 5.2 | Opinion of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, dated March 14, 2024, with respect to the Notes. | |
| 23.1 | Consent of Eric B. Wilmer (included in Exhibit 5.1 of this Current Report on Form 8-K). | |
| 23.2 | Consent of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz (included in Exhibit 5.2 of this Current Report on Form 8-K). | |
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document). | |
| * | Certain annexes omitted pursuant to Item 601(a)(5) of Regulation S-K. Lincoln Financial Corporation agrees to furnish supplementally a copy of any omitted annex to the SEC upon request; provided, however, that Lincoln may request confidential treatment pursuant to Rule 24b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, for any item so furnished. |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION | ||
| By | /s/ Adam M. Cohen | |
| Name: | Adam M. Cohen | |
| Title: | Senior Vice President, | |
| Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer | ||
Date: March 14, 2024
Exhibit 1.1
EXECUTION VERSION
LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION
Underwriting Agreement
$350,000,000 5.852% Senior Notes due 2034
March 11, 2024
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC
Barclays Capital Inc.
BNP Paribas Securities Corp.
PNC Capital Markets LLC
TD Securities (USA) LLC
As Representatives of the
several Underwriters listed
in Schedule I hereto.
c/o Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC
200 West Street
New York, New York 10282
c/o Barclays Capital Inc.
745 Seventh Avenue
New York, New York 10019
c/o BNP Paribas Securities Corp.
787 Seventh Avenue
New York, New York 10019
c/o PNC Capital Markets LLC
300 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
c/o TD Securities (USA) LLC
1 Vanderbilt Avenue, 11th Floor
New York, New York 10017
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Lincoln National Corporation, an Indiana corporation (the “Company”), agrees with the several Underwriters named in Schedule I hereto (the “Underwriters”) for whom you are acting as representatives (the “Representatives”) to issue and sell to the several Underwriters, $350,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its 5.852% Senior Notes due 2034 (the “Securities”) to be issued under the Senior Indenture, dated as of March 10, 2009, as supplemented by the First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of August 18, 2020 (as supplemented, the “Indenture”), in each case, between the Company and The Bank of New York Mellon, as trustee (the “Trustee”).
The Company has prepared and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), an “automatic shelf registration statement” as defined under Rule 405 under the Act on Form S-3 (file number 333-270000), relating to securities (the “Shelf Securities”), including the Securities, to be issued from time to time by the Company. Such registration statement, including the exhibits thereto and the other information and documents deemed pursuant to Rule 430B under the Act to be part thereof as amended to (and including) the date of this Agreement, but excluding any Statement of Eligibility (Form T-1) under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended (the “Trust Indenture Act”), is hereinafter referred to as the “Registration Statement”. The term “Basic Prospectus” means the prospectus, dated February 24, 2023, included in the Registration Statement. The Company proposes to file with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424 under the Act a supplement or supplements to the Basic Prospectus relating to the Securities and the plan of distribution thereof and has previously advised you of all further information (financial and other) with respect to the Company to be set forth therein. The term “Prospectus” means the Basic Prospectus, as supplemented by the prospectus supplement including pricing information specifically relating to the Securities in the form filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act (or in the form first made available to the Underwriters by the Company to meet requests of purchasers pursuant to Rule 173 under the Act) and the term “preliminary prospectus” means any preliminary form of the Prospectus including the “subject to completion” legend required by Item 501(b)(10) under Regulation S-K under the Act which has heretofore been filed pursuant to Rule 424 under the Act. The term “Time of Sale Prospectus” means the Basic Prospectus, as supplemented by the preliminary prospectus last filed before the Applicable Time (as defined below) pursuant to Rule 424 under the Act relating specifically to the Securities, as of 3:25 P.M. on March 11, 2024 (the “Applicable Time”), together with the free writing prospectuses, if any, identified in Schedule II hereto, and the term “free writing prospectus” has the meaning set forth in Rule 405 under the Act. As used herein, the terms “Registration Statement,” “Basic Prospectus,” “preliminary prospectus,” “Time of Sale Prospectus” and “Prospectus” shall include the documents, if any, incorporated by reference therein. The terms “supplement,” “amendment” and “amend” as used herein with respect to the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Prospectus or any free writing prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the filing of any free writing prospectus and the filing of any document under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), that are deemed to be incorporated therein by reference.
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1. Representations and Warranties. The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, each Underwriter that:
(a) The Company meets the requirements for use of an “automatic shelf registration statement” as defined under Rule 405 under the Act, on Form S-3, and has filed with the Commission the Registration Statement, which has become effective. The Registration Statement meets the requirements set forth in Rule 415(a)(1)(x) under the Act and complies in all other material respects with said Rule.
(b) (i) Each document, if any, filed or to be filed pursuant to the Exchange Act and incorporated by reference in the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus complied or will comply when so filed in all material respects with the Exchange Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, (ii) each part of the Registration Statement, when such part became effective, did not contain, and each such part, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, (iii) the Registration Statement as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Date (as defined in Section 3) does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, (iv) the Registration Statement and the Prospectus comply, and as amended or supplemented, if applicable, will comply, and the Indenture complies, in all material respects with the Act, the Trust Indenture Act, and the Exchange Act and the applicable rules and regulations thereunder, (v) each free writing prospectus filed by the Company, as of its issue date and at all subsequent times through the completion of the public offer and sale of the Securities, did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, including any document incorporated by reference therein and any preliminary or other prospectus deemed to be a part thereof that has not been superseded or modified, as they exist as of the time of filing of such free writing prospectus, (vi) the Time of Sale Prospectus does not, and at the time of each sale of the Securities in connection with the offering and at the Closing Date, as then amended or supplemented by the Company, if applicable, will not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, and (vii) the Prospectus, as of its date and as of the Closing Date, does not and will not contain and, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, except that the representations and warranties set forth in this paragraph do not apply to statements or omissions in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus as of its date and the Closing Date based upon information relating to the Underwriters or any underwriting arrangements furnished to the Company in writing through the Underwriters expressly for use therein.
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(c) The financial statements of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement fairly present the consolidated financial condition and results of operations of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries as of the dates indicated and the results of operations and changes in financial position for the periods therein specified; neither the Company nor any of its consolidated subsidiaries has sustained since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Prospectus or Time of Sale Prospectus any material loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Prospectus and Time of Sale Prospectus; and, since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement and the Basic Prospectus, there has not been any material change in the capital stock (other than issuances of common stock upon the exercise of outstanding employee stock options or pursuant to existing employee compensation plans) or long-term debt of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any material adverse change, or any development involving a prospective material adverse change, in the condition (financial or other), earnings, business or properties of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries taken as a whole whether or not arising from transactions in the ordinary course of business, except as set forth or contemplated in the Prospectus and Time of Sale Prospectus.
(d) At the time of filing the Registration Statement, at the time of the most recent amendment thereto for the purposes of complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Act (whether such amendment was by post-effective amendment, incorporated report filed pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act or form of prospectus), and at the time the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this clause only, of Rule 163(c) under the Act) made any offer relating to the Securities in reliance on the exemption of Rule 163 under the Act, the Company was a “well-known seasoned issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the Act.
(e) The Company is not an “ineligible issuer” in connection with the offering pursuant to Rules 164, 405 and 433 under the Act. Any free writing prospectus that the Company is required to file pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act has been, or will be, filed with the Commission in accordance with the requirements of the Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder. Each free writing prospectus that the Company has filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act or that was prepared by or on behalf of or used by the Company complies or will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder. Except for the free writing prospectuses, if any, identified in Schedule II hereto, the Company has not prepared, used or referred to, and will not, without your prior consent, prepare, use or refer to, any free writing prospectus.
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(f) Any free writing prospectus, including, without limitation, any electronic road show, when taken together with the Time of Sale Prospectus, accompanying, or delivered prior to the delivery of, such free writing prospectus, did not, and at the Closing Date, will not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
(g) The Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation, with power and authority (corporate and other) to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Basic Prospectus and has been duly qualified as a foreign corporation for the transaction of business and is in good standing under the laws of each other jurisdiction in which it owns or leases properties, or conducts any business, so as to require such qualification, or is subject to no material liability or disability by reason of the failure to be qualified in any such jurisdiction; and each subsidiary of the Company organized under the laws of the United States representing 10% or more of the consolidated earnings before income taxes and extraordinary items or consolidated total assets of the Company (each such subsidiary as set forth in Schedule III hereto, a “Significant Subsidiary”) has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation except where the failure to be so qualified or have such power and authority would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on the business, financial position, stockholders’ equity, or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole or the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Indenture (a “Material Adverse Effect”).
(h) The Company has an authorized capitalization as set forth in the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus, and all of the issued shares of capital stock of the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued and are fully paid and non-assessable; and all the outstanding shares of capital stock or other equity interests of each Significant Subsidiary have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are fully paid and non-assessable, all outstanding shares of capital stock or other interests of the Significant Subsidiaries are owned directly or indirectly by the Company, free and clear of any lien, charge, encumbrance, security interest, restriction on voting or transfer or any other claim of any third party except those that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.
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(i) The Securities have been duly authorized, and, when the Securities are issued and delivered pursuant to this Agreement, such Securities will have been duly executed, authenticated, issued and delivered and will constitute valid and legally binding obligations of the Company entitled to the benefits provided by the Indenture; the Indenture has been duly qualified under the Trust Indenture Act and, at the Closing Date, the Indenture will constitute a valid and legally binding obligation of the Company, enforceable in accordance with its terms; in each case, subject, as to enforcement, to bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent transfer, moratorium and other similar laws relating to or affecting creditors’ rights generally and to general principles of equity.
(j) The Indenture and this Agreement have been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.
(k) The issue and sale of the Securities and the compliance by the Company with all of the provisions of the Securities, this Agreement and the Indenture, and the consummation of the transactions herein and therein contemplated will not conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any subsidiary is a party or by which the Company or any subsidiary is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any subsidiary is subject, except for such conflicts, breaches, violations or defaults as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect, nor will such action result in any violation of the provisions of (i) the articles of incorporation or bylaws or other organizational documents, as applicable, of the Company or any Significant Subsidiary or (ii) any statute or any order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company, any subsidiary or any of its respective properties, except, in the case of (ii) above, for such violations that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; and no consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any such court or governmental agency or body is required for the issue and sale of the Securities or the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated by the Securities, this Agreement and the Indenture, except such as have been, or will have been prior to the time of delivery, obtained under the Act and the Trust Indenture Act and such consents, approvals, authorizations, registrations or qualifications as may be required under state securities or Blue Sky laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Securities by the Underwriters.
(l) Other than as set forth in the Prospectus and the Time of Sale Prospectus, there are no legal or governmental proceedings pending to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or of which any property of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is the subject which would individually or in the aggregate be reasonably likely to have a Material Adverse Effect; and, to the best of the Company’s knowledge, no such proceedings are threatened or contemplated by governmental authorities or threatened by others.
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(m) The Company and its subsidiaries own or possess, or can acquire on reasonable terms, all material trademarks, service marks and trade names necessary to conduct the business now operated by them, and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any notice of infringement of or conflict with asserted rights of others with respect to any trademarks, service marks or trade names that singly or in the aggregate, would be reasonably likely to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(n) The Company is not, and after giving effect to the issuance and sale of the Securities will not be an “investment company” or an entity controlled by an “investment company” required to be registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
(o) To the best of the Company’s knowledge and belief, the Company has complied in all material respects with, and the conduct of its business and the conduct of business by its subsidiaries does not violate in any material respect, (i) any statute, law, regulation, rule, order or directive of any federal, state or local governmental authority applicable to the Company and its subsidiaries or (ii) the articles of incorporation and bylaws or other organizational documents, as applicable, of the Company and its subsidiaries.
(p) In light of its current operations, the Company and its subsidiaries are not required to register as a savings and loan holding company under the applicable provisions of the Home Owners’ Loan Act, as amended.
(q) The Company maintains an effective system of “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Exchange Act) that is designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms, including controls and procedures designed to ensure that such information is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. The Company and its subsidiaries have carried out evaluations of the effectiveness of their disclosure controls and procedures as required by Rule 13a-15 of the Exchange Act.
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(r) The Company and its subsidiaries maintain systems of “internal control over financial reporting” (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act) that comply with the requirements of the Exchange Act and have been designed by, or under the supervision of, their respective principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, including, but not limited to internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and to maintain asset accountability; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Time of Sale Prospectus, there are no material weaknesses in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. The Company’s auditors and the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company have been advised of: (i) all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the Company’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and (ii) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
(s) None of the Company or any of its subsidiaries nor, to the best knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries has (i) used any corporate funds for any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expense relating to political activity; (ii) made any direct or indirect unlawful payment to any foreign or domestic government official or employee from corporate funds; (iii) violated or is in violation of any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977; or (iv) made any bribe, rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful payment.
(t) The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance in all material respects with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the money laundering statutes of all jurisdictions, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”) and no material action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the best knowledge of the Company, threatened.
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(u) None of the Company, any of its subsidiaries or, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (such sanctions, “Sanctions”), nor is the Company located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject of Sanctions; and the Company does not intend to directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering of the Securities hereunder, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity, for the purpose of financing the activities of any person, or in any country or territory, that is subject to any Sanctions. The Company and its subsidiaries have not knowingly engaged in for the past five years, and are not knowingly engaged in, any dealings or transactions with any individual or entity, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject or target of Sanctions.
(v) The Company has not taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that could reasonably be expected to cause or result in any stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Securities.
(w) The application of the proceeds received by the Company from the issuance, sale and delivery of the Securities as described in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Time of Sale Prospectus will not violate Regulation T, U or X of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or any other regulation of such Board of Governors.
(x) The Company and its subsidiaries have taken commercially reasonable measures to maintain protections against unauthorized access to, or disruption or failure of, their information technology systems. To the Company’s knowledge, during the past twelve months, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries have been subject to any material unauthorized access to their information technology systems or data maintained by them.
2. Purchase and Sale. Subject to the terms and conditions and in reliance upon the representations and warranties herein set forth, the Company agrees to sell to the several Underwriters as provided in this Agreement, and each Underwriter agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company the Securities at a purchase price of 99.35% of the principal amount thereof, the respective principal amounts of the Securities set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule I hereto.
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3. Delivery and Payment. Securities to be purchased by the Underwriters hereunder, in definitive form to the extent practicable, and in such authorized denominations and registered in such names as the Representatives may request upon at least forty-eight hours’ prior notice to the Company, shall be delivered by or on behalf of the Company to the Representatives for the respective accounts of the several Underwriters electronically to Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, on March 14, 2024 at 10:00 A.M., New York City time (or such later date not later than five business days after such specified date as the Underwriters shall designate), which date and time may be postponed by agreement between the Representatives and the Company or as provided in Section 8 hereof (such date and time of delivery and payment for the Securities being herein called the “Closing Date”). Delivery of the Securities shall be made to the Representatives for the respective accounts of the several Underwriters against payment by or on behalf of such Underwriters of the purchase price thereof in Federal (same day) funds by official bank check or checks to or upon the order of the Company or by wire transfer to an account specified by the Company.
The Company agrees to have the Securities available for inspection, checking and packaging by the Representatives in New York, New York, not later than 5:00 P.M. on the business day prior to the Closing Date.
4. Agreements.
(a) The Company agrees with each Underwriter that:
(i) Prior to the termination of the offering of the Securities, the Company will not file any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus or the Time of Sale Prospectus and will not provide additional information to the Commission relating to the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus or the Time of Sale Prospectus unless the Company has furnished the Representatives a copy for its review and provided the Representatives with a reasonable opportunity to comment on such proposed amendment, supplement or information prior to filing or submitting the same and will not file any such proposed amendment or supplement and will not submit such additional information to which the Representatives reasonably object. The Company will promptly advise the Representatives and will promptly confirm such advice in writing (i) when the Prospectus shall have been filed (or transmitted for filing) with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424, (ii) when any amendment to the Registration Statement relating to the Securities shall have been filed or become effective, (iii) of any request by the Commission for any amendment of the Registration Statement or amendment of or supplement to the Prospectus or for any additional information, (iv) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or of any notice objecting to its use or the institution or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose and (v) of the receipt by the Company of any notification with respect to the suspension of the qualification of Securities for sale in any jurisdiction or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose. The Company will use its best efforts to prevent the issuance of any such stop order and, if issued, to obtain as soon as possible the withdrawal thereof.
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(ii) As soon as practicable but in any event not later than twelve months after the deemed effective date of the Registration Statement (as defined in Rule 158(c) under the Act), the Company will make generally available to its securityholders and to the Representatives a consolidated earnings statement or statements of the Company and its subsidiaries (which need not be audited) which will satisfy the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Act and the rules and regulations thereunder (including at the option of the Company Rule 158 under the Act).
(iii) The Company will furnish to the Representatives and counsel for the Underwriters, without charge, a conformed copy of the Registration Statement (including exhibits thereto and documents incorporated by reference) and will deliver to the Representatives during the period mentioned in Section 4(a)(iv) or 4(a)(v) below, as many copies of the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Prospectus, any documents incorporated therein by reference therein and any supplements and amendments thereto or to the Registration Statement as the Representatives may reasonably request.
(iv) If the Time of Sale Prospectus is being used to solicit offers to buy the Securities at a time when the Prospectus is not yet available to prospective purchasers and any event shall occur or condition exist as a result of which it is necessary to amend or supplement the Time of Sale Prospectus in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, or if any event shall occur or condition exist as a result of which the Time of Sale Prospectus conflicts with the information contained in the Registration Statement then on file, or if, in the opinion of counsel for the Underwriters, it is necessary to amend or supplement the Time of Sale Prospectus to comply with applicable law, forthwith to prepare, file with the Commission and furnish, at its own expense, to the Underwriters and to any dealer upon request, either amendments or supplements to the Time of Sale Prospectus so that the statements in the Time of Sale Prospectus as so amended or supplemented will not, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made when delivered to a prospective purchaser, be misleading or so that the Time of Sale Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, will no longer conflict with the Registration Statement, or so that the Time of Sale Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, will comply with law.
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(v) If, during such period after the first date of the public offering of the Securities as in the opinion of counsel for the Underwriters the Prospectus (or in lieu thereof the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is required by law to be delivered in connection with sales by an Underwriter or dealer, any event shall occur or condition exist as a result of which it is necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made when the Prospectus (or in lieu thereof the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is delivered to a purchaser, not misleading, or if, in the opinion of counsel for the Underwriters, it is necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus to comply with applicable law, forthwith to prepare, file with the Commission and furnish, at its own expense, to the Underwriters and to the dealers (whose names and addresses you will furnish to the Company) to which Securities may have been sold by you and to any other dealers upon request, either amendments or supplements to the Prospectus so that the statements in the Prospectus as so amended or supplemented will not, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made when the Prospectus (or in lieu thereof the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is delivered to a purchaser, be misleading or so that the Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, will comply with law.
(vi) The Company will promptly from time to time arrange for the qualification of the Securities for sale under the laws of such jurisdictions as the Representatives may reasonably designate, will maintain such qualifications in effect so long as required for the distribution of the Securities, and will arrange for the determination of the legality of the Securities for purchase by institutional investors; provided that in connection therewith the Company shall not be required to qualify as a foreign corporation or to execute a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction or to subject itself to taxation in respect of doing business in any jurisdiction in which it is not otherwise subject.
(vii) The Company covenants and agrees with each Underwriter that the Company will pay or cause to be paid the following: (i) the fees, disbursements and expenses of the Company’s counsel and accountants in connection with the registration of the Securities under the Act in connection with the preparation, printing and filing of the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Prospectus and any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of, used by, or referred to by the Company and amendments and supplements to any of the foregoing, including all printing costs associated therewith, and the mailing and delivering of copies thereof to the Underwriters and dealers, in the quantities hereinabove specified; (ii) the cost of printing or producing this Agreement, any Blue Sky Survey, any Legal Investment Memoranda and any other documents in connection with the offering, purchase, sale and delivery of the Securities; (iii) all expenses in
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connection with the qualification of the Securities for offering and sale under state securities and Blue Sky laws as provided in Section 4(a)(vi) hereof, including any reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection with such qualification and in connection with the Blue Sky and legal investment surveys; (iv) all expenses related to any electronic roadshow; (v) any fees charged by securities rating services for rating the Securities; (vi) the cost of preparing the Securities; (vii) the fees and expenses of any Trustee, Paying Agent or Transfer Agent and counsel for any such Trustee, Paying Agent or Transfer Agent in connection with the Securities; and (viii) all other costs and expenses incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder which are not otherwise specifically provided for in this Section. It is understood, however, that, except as provided in this Section, Section 6 and Section 7 hereof, the Underwriters will pay all of their own costs and expenses, including the fees of their counsel, transfer taxes on resale of any of the Securities by them, and any advertising expenses connected with any offers they may make.
(viii) The Company will prepare the Prospectus as amended and supplemented in relation to the Securities in a form approved by the Representatives and will file such Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act not later than the Commission’s close of business on the second business day following the execution and delivery of this Agreement or, if applicable, such other time as may be required by Rule 424(b), and file promptly, and (unless made available on the Commission’s EDGAR database) simultaneously provide the Representatives and, upon request, each of the other Underwriters, with a copy of, all reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act for so long as the delivery (or in lieu thereof the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) of a prospectus is required in connection with the offering or sale of such Securities. The Company will prepare a final term sheet, containing solely a description of the Securities, in a form approved by the Representatives and file such term sheet pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act within the time required by such Rule, and will file promptly all other material required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act.
(ix) During a period of two years from the date of the Basic Prospectus, provided the following are not available on the Commission’s EDGAR database, to furnish to the Representatives copies of all reports or other communications (financial or other) furnished to stockholders, and deliver to the Representatives and, upon request, each of the other Underwriters (i) as soon as they are available, copies of any reports and
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financial statements furnished to or filed with any national securities exchange on which the Securities or any class of securities of the Company is listed (each such national securities exchange, an “Exchange”) or, if requested by the Representatives, the Commission; and (ii) such additional information concerning the business and financial condition of the Company as the Representatives may from time to time reasonably request (provided such financial statements and reports are otherwise furnished to its stockholders generally or to the Commission).
(x) The Company has given the Representatives notice of any filings made pursuant to the Exchange Act or the rules or regulations thereunder within 48 hours prior to the Applicable Time; the Company will give the Representatives notice of its intention to make any such filing from the time of each sale of the Securities to the Closing Date and will furnish the Representatives with copies of any such documents a reasonable amount of time prior to such proposed filing and will not file or use any such document to which the Representatives or counsel for the Underwriters shall reasonably object.
(xi) Until the business day following the Closing Date, the Company will not, without the consent of the Representatives, offer, sell or contract to sell, or announce the offering of, any debt securities covered by the Registration Statement or any other registration statement filed under the Act.
(b) Each Underwriter and the Company agree as follows: The Company agrees that, unless it has obtained or will obtain the prior written consent of the Representatives, and each Underwriter agrees that, unless it has obtained or will obtain, as the case may be, the prior written consent of the Company, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute an issuer free writing prospectus as defined in Rule 433 (an “Issuer Free Writing Prospectus”) or that would otherwise constitute a free writing prospectus required to be filed by the Company with the Commission or retained by the Company under Rule 433, other than the information contained in any final term sheet prepared and filed pursuant to Section 4(a)(viii) hereto; provided that the prior written consent of the parties hereto shall be deemed to have been given in respect of the free writing prospectuses, if any, included in Schedule II hereto. Any such free writing prospectus consented to by the Representatives and the Company is hereinafter referred to as a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus”. The Company agrees that (i) it has treated and will treat, as the case may be, each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and (ii) it has complied and will comply, as the case may be, with the requirements of Rules 164 and 433 applicable to any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, including in respect of timely filing with the Commission, legending and record keeping.
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5. Conditions to the Obligations of the Underwriters. The obligation of each Underwriter to purchase the Securities under this Agreement shall be subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties on the part of the Company contained herein as of the date hereof, as of the date of the Time of Sale Prospectus, as of the date of the effectiveness of any amendment to the Registration Statement filed prior to the Closing Date with respect to such Securities (including the filing of any document incorporated by reference therein) and as of the Closing Date with respect to such Securities, to the accuracy of the statements of the Company made in any certificates pursuant to the provisions hereof, to the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder and to the following additional conditions:
(a) No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, as amended from time to time, or any notice objecting to its use shall have been issued and no proceedings for that purpose shall have been instituted or threatened; all requests by the Commission for additional information shall have been complied with to the satisfaction of the Underwriters; and the Prospectus with respect to such Securities shall have been filed or transmitted for filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) not later than the Commission’s close of business on the second day following the execution and delivery of this Agreement or, if applicable, such other time as may be required by Rule 424(b).
(b) The Company shall have furnished to the Underwriters the opinion of Eric B. Wilmer, Esquire, Assistant Vice President and Senior Counsel of the Company, dated the Closing Date, to the effect that:
(i) The Company and each Significant Subsidiary of the Company has been duly incorporated and is a duly existing corporation under the laws of its respective state of incorporation, with corporate power and authority to own its properties and conduct its business as described in the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus; and neither the Company nor any such Significant Subsidiary is required to be qualified to do business as a foreign corporation in any other jurisdiction in which failure to so qualify would have a Material Adverse Effect;
(ii) (A) At the time of filing the Registration Statement, at the time of the most recent amendment thereto for the purposes of complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Act (whether such amendment was by post-effective amendment, incorporated report filed pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act or form of prospectus), and at the time the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this clause only, of Rule 163(c) under the Act) made any offer relating to the Securities in reliance on the exemption of Rule 163 under the Act, the Company was a “well-known seasoned issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the Act; and (B) at the earliest time after the filing of the Registration Statement that the Company or another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2)) of the Securities, the Company was not an “ineligible issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the Act;
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(iii) The Securities have been duly authorized, executed, authenticated, issued and delivered;
(iv) The Securities constitute valid and legally binding obligations of the Company entitled to the benefits and security provided by the Indenture; and the Securities conform to the description thereof contained in the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus;
(v) No consent, approval, authorization or order of, or filing with, any governmental agency or body or any court is required for the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement in connection with the issuance or sale of the Securities by the Company, except such as have been obtained and made under the Act and the Trust Indenture Act and such as may be required under state securities laws;
(vi) The issue and sale of the Securities and the compliance by the Company with all of the provisions of the Securities, this Agreement and the Indenture, and the consummation of the transactions herein and therein contemplated will not conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms and provisions of, or constitute a default under, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which, to the knowledge of such counsel, the Company or any subsidiary is a party or by which the Company or any subsidiary is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any subsidiary is subject, except for such conflicts, breaches, violations or defaults as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect, nor will such action result in any violation of the provisions of (i) the articles of incorporation or bylaws or other organizational documents, as applicable, of the Company or any Significant Subsidiary or (ii) any statute or any order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company, any subsidiary or any of its respective properties, except, in the case of (ii) above, for such violations that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect;
(vii) The descriptions in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus of legal and governmental proceedings and contracts and other documents and the descriptions of statutes in the section captioned “Regulatory” in Item 1 of the Company’s most recently filed Form 10-K are accurate in all material respects and fairly present the information required to be shown; no legal or governmental proceedings are required to be described in the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus which are not described as required; and there are no contracts or documents of a character required to be described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement which are not described and filed as required; it being understood that such counsel need express no opinion as to the financial statements or other financial data contained in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus;
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(viii) The Indenture and this Agreement have been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company; and
(ix) Except as described in the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus, there is no action, suit or proceeding pending, nor to the best of such counsel’s knowledge is there any action, suit or proceeding threatened, which might reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect or which is required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement.
In rendering such opinion, such counsel shall also state that although such counsel has not undertaken to determine independently, does not express an opinion as to, and does not assume any responsibility for, the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the statements contained in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus and has made no independent check or verification thereof (except for those referred to in the opinion in subsection (vii) of this Section 5(b)), no facts have come to such counsel’s attention that have caused such counsel to believe that (i) any part of the Registration Statement, when such part became effective, or any further amendment thereto made by the Company prior to the date hereof (other than the financial statements and the financial data and related schedules incorporated by reference or included therein or excluded therefrom and the exhibits to the Registration Statement, including the Form T-1, as to which such counsel expresses no opinion or belief), contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading, (ii) as of the Applicable Time, the Time of Sale Prospectus (other than the financial statements and financial data and related schedules incorporated by reference or included therein or excluded therefrom, or the exhibits to the Registration Statement, including the Form T-1, as to which such counsel expresses no opinion or belief) contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading or (iii) as of its date and the Closing Date, the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented or as amended or supplemented by any further amendment or supplement thereto made by the Company prior to the date hereof (other than the financial statements and financial data and related schedules incorporated by reference or included therein or excluded therefrom, and the exhibits to the Registration Statement, including the Form T-1, as to which such counsel expresses no opinion or belief) contained or contains an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or omits to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
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In addition, solely for purposes of rendering the opinion referred to in (iii) above, such counsel may rely, as to matters of New York law, on the opinion of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz referred to below.
(c) The Underwriters shall have received an opinion, dated the Closing Date, of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, counsel for the Company, in substantially the form attached hereto as Annex I.
(d) The Underwriters shall have received from Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, such opinion or opinions, dated the Closing Date, with respect to the issuance and sale of the Securities, the Indenture, the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Prospectus and other related matters as the Representatives may reasonably require, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel such documents as it requests for the purpose of enabling it to pass upon such matters.
(e) The Company shall have furnished to the Underwriters a certificate of the Company, signed by the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer, an Executive Vice President or a Senior Vice President and the principal financial or accounting officer of the Company, dated the Closing Date, to the effect that the signers of such certificate have carefully examined the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Prospectus and this Agreement and that to the best of their knowledge after reasonable investigation:
(i) The representations and warranties of the Company in this Agreement are true and correct on and as of the Closing Date, with the same effect as if made on the Closing Date, and the Company has complied with all the agreements and satisfied all the conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied at or prior to the Closing Date;
(ii) No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, as amended, has been issued and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened; and
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(iii) Since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus, neither the Company nor any of its consolidated subsidiaries has sustained any material loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, and there has been no material adverse change nor any development involving a prospective material adverse change in the condition (financial or other), earnings, business or properties of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries, taken as a whole, whether or not arising from transactions in the ordinary course of business, except as set forth in or contemplated by the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus.
(f) At the time this Agreement is executed and at the Closing Date, Ernst & Young LLP, as independent accountants for the Company, shall have furnished to the Underwriters a letter or letters (which may refer to letters previously delivered to the Underwriters), dated such date, in substantially the form attached hereto as Annex II.
(g) Subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus, there shall not have occurred (i) any material adverse change, or any development involving a prospective material adverse change, in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business or operations of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, from that set forth in the Time of Sale Prospectus or (ii) any material change or decrease in those items specified in the letter or letters referred to in paragraph (f) of this Section 5 the effect of which, in any case referred to in clause (i) or (ii) above, is, in the judgment of the Representatives, to make it impractical or inadvisable to proceed with the offering or the delivery of the Securities as contemplated by the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus.
(h) Prior to the Closing Date, the Company shall have furnished to the Underwriters such further information, certificates and documents as the Underwriters may reasonably request.
(i) On or after the Applicable Time and subsequent to the execution and delivery of this Agreement, and prior to the Closing Date there shall not have occurred any downgrading, nor shall notice have been given of any intended or potential downgrading or placement “under review” with negative implications or with no indication of the direction of the possible change of the rating accorded any securities of, or guaranteed by, the Company by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization,” as such term is defined for purposes of Section 3(a)(62) of the Exchange Act.
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If any of the conditions specified in this Section 5 shall not have been fulfilled in all material respects when and as provided in this Agreement, or if any of the opinions and certificates mentioned above or elsewhere in this Agreement shall not be in all material respects reasonably satisfactory in form and substance to the Representatives and counsel for the Underwriters, this Agreement and all obligations of the Underwriters hereunder may be canceled at, or at any time prior to, the Closing Date, by the Representatives. Notice of such cancellation shall be given to the Company in writing or by telephone or telegraph confirmed in writing.
6. Reimbursement of Underwriters’ Expenses. If the sale of the Securities provided for herein is not consummated because any condition to the obligations of the Underwriters set forth in Section 5 hereof is not satisfied, because of any termination pursuant to Section 9 hereof or because of any refusal, inability or failure on the part of the Company to perform any agreement herein or comply with any provision hereof other than by reason of a default by the Underwriters, the Company will reimburse the Underwriters upon demand for all out-of-pocket expenses (including reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel) that shall have been incurred by them in connection with the proposed purchase and sale of the Securities.
7. Indemnification and Contribution.
(a) The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, each of such Underwriter’s directors, officers and affiliates, and each person who controls such Underwriter within the meaning of either the Act or the Exchange Act against any and all losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which they or any of them may become subject under the Act, the Exchange Act or other Federal or state statutory law or regulation, at common law or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus, any preliminary prospectus, any free writing prospectus that the Company has filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act, any other free writing prospectus (including, without limitation, any electronic road show) or the Prospectus, or in any amendment thereof or supplement thereto, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, and agrees to reimburse each such indemnified party, as incurred, for any legal or other expenses incurred by them in connection with investigating or defending any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action; provided, however, that the Company will not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage or liability arises out of or is based upon any such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made therein in reliance upon and in conformity with written information relating to any Underwriter or the underwriting arrangements furnished to the Company through the Representatives expressly for use in the Time of Sale Prospectus, any free writing prospectus that the Company has filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act or the Prospectus.
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This indemnity agreement will be in addition to any liability which the Company may otherwise have.
(b) Each Underwriter agrees, severally and not jointly, to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, each of its directors, each of its officers who signs the Registration Statement and each person who controls the Company within the meaning of either the Act or the Exchange Act to the same extent as the foregoing indemnity from the Company to each Underwriter, but only with reference to written information relating to any Underwriter or the underwriting arrangements furnished to the Company through the Representatives expressly for use in the documents referred to in the foregoing indemnity. This indemnity agreement will be in addition to any liability which the Underwriters may otherwise have.
(c) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under Section 7(a) or Section 7(b) of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party will, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party under Section 7(a) or Section 7(b), notify the indemnifying party in writing of the commencement thereof, but the omission so to notify the indemnifying party will not relieve it from any liability which it may have to any indemnified party otherwise than under Section 7(a) or Section 7(b). In case any such action is brought against any indemnified party, and it notifies the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof, the indemnifying party will be entitled to participate therein, and to the extent that it may elect by written notice delivered to the indemnified party promptly after receiving the aforesaid notice from such indemnified party, to assume the defense thereof, with counsel reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party; provided, however, that if the defendants in any such action include both the indemnified party and the indemnifying party and the indemnified party shall have reasonably concluded that there may be legal defenses available to it and/or other indemnified parties which are different from or additional to those available to the indemnifying party, the indemnified party or parties shall have the right to select separate counsel to assert such legal defenses and to otherwise participate in the defense of such action on behalf of such indemnified party or parties. Upon receipt of notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of its election so as to assume the defense of such action and approval by the indemnified party of counsel, the indemnifying party will not be liable to such indemnified party under this Section 7 for any legal or other expenses subsequently incurred by such indemnified party in connection with the defense thereof unless (i) the indemnified party shall have employed separate counsel in connection with the assertion of legal defenses in accordance with the proviso to the next preceding sentence (it being understood, however, that the indemnifying party shall not be liable for the expenses of more than one separate counsel (in addition to one local counsel in each applicable jurisdiction), approved by the Underwriters in the case of paragraph (a) of this Section 7, representing the indemnified parties under such paragraph (a) who are parties to
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such action), (ii) the indemnifying party shall not have employed counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party to represent the indemnified party within a reasonable time after notice of commencement of the action or (iii) the indemnifying party has authorized the employment of counsel for the indemnified party at the expense of the indemnifying party; and except that, if clause (i) or (iii) is applicable, such liability shall be only in respect of the counsel referred to in such clause (i) or (iii). The indemnifying party shall have the right to, without the prior written consent of the indemnified party, effect any settlement of any pending or threatened proceeding in respect of which any indemnified party is or could have been a party and indemnity could have been sought hereunder by such indemnified party so long as such settlement (i) is limited to the payment of monetary damages only, (ii) includes an unconditional release of the indemnified party from all liability arising out of such proceeding and (iii) does not (x) include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified party or (y) otherwise give rise to additional liabilities on the part of the indemnified party.
(d) If the indemnification provided for in this Section 7 is unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under subsection (a) or (b) above in respect of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters of the Securities on the other from the offering of the Securities to which such loss, claim, damage or liability (or action in respect thereof) relates. If, however, the allocation provided by the immediately preceding sentence is not permitted by applicable law or if the indemnified party failed to give the notice required under subsection (c) above, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to such amount paid or payable by such indemnified party in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only such relative benefits but also the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters of the Securities on the other in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or action in respect thereof), as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from such offering (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters. The relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company on the one hand or the Underwriters on the other and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Company and the
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Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this subsection (d) were determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above in this subsection (d). The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to above in this subsection (d) shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection (d), no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Securities underwritten by it and distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages which each Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. The obligations of the Underwriters for Securities in this subsection (d) to contribute are several in proportion to their respective obligations with respect to such Securities and not joint.
8. Default by an Underwriter.
(a) If any Underwriter shall default in its obligation to purchase the Securities which it has agreed to purchase under this Agreement, the Representatives may in their discretion arrange for the Representatives or another party or other parties to purchase such Securities on the terms contained herein. If within thirty-six hours after such default by any Underwriter the Representatives do not arrange for the purchase of such Securities, then the Company shall be entitled to a further period of thirty-six hours within which to procure another party or other parties satisfactory to the Representatives to purchase such Securities on such terms. In the event that, within the respective prescribed period, the Representatives notify the Company that it has so arranged for the purchase of such Securities, or the Company notifies the Representatives that it has so arranged for the purchase of such Securities, the Representatives or the Company shall have the right to postpone the Closing Date for such Securities for a period of not more than five days in order to effect whatever changes may thereby be made necessary in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus as amended or supplemented or in any other documents or arrangements, and the Company agrees to file promptly any amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus which in the opinion of the counsel for the Underwriters may thereby be made necessary. The term “Underwriter” as used in this Agreement shall include any person substituted under this Section 8 with like effect as if such person had originally been a party to this Agreement.
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(b) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Securities of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by the Representatives and the Company as provided in subsection (a) above, the aggregate principal amount of such Securities which remains unpurchased does not exceed one-eleventh of the aggregate principal amount of the Securities, then the Company shall have the right to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase the principal amount of Securities which such Underwriter agreed to purchase under the Agreement and, in addition, to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase its pro rata share (based on the principal amount of Securities which such Underwriter agreed to purchase under this Agreement) of the Securities of such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters for which such arrangements have not been made; but nothing herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter from liability for its default.
(c) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Securities of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by the non-defaulting Underwriters and the Company as provided in subsection (a) above, the aggregate principal amount of Securities which remains unpurchased exceeds one-eleventh of the aggregate principal amount of the Securities, as referred to in subsection (b) above, or if the Company shall not exercise the right described in subsection (b) above to require non-defaulting Underwriters to purchase Securities of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters, then this Agreement shall thereupon terminate, without liability on the part of any non-defaulting Underwriter or the Company, except that the Company will continue to be liable for the payment of expenses as set forth in Section 6 hereof and except that the provisions of Section 7 hereof shall not terminate and shall remain in effect; but nothing herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter from liability for its default.
9. Termination. This Agreement shall be subject to termination in the absolute discretion of the Representatives, by notice given to the Company prior to delivery of and payment for the Securities on the Closing Date, if prior to such time (i) trading in the Company’s common stock or any preferred stock or preferred securities shall have been suspended or materially limited by the Commission or the Exchange or trading in securities generally on the Exchange shall have been suspended or limited or minimum prices shall have been established on such Exchange, (ii) a banking moratorium shall have been declared either by Federal or New York State authorities or (iii) there shall have occurred any outbreak or escalation of hostilities or any change in markets in the United States or elsewhere or any calamity or crisis that, in the judgment of the Underwriters, makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offering or the delivery of the Securities on the Closing Date, as contemplated by the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus.
24
10. Representations and Indemnities to Survive. The respective agreements, representations, warranties, indemnities and other statements of the Company or its officers and of the Underwriters set forth in or made pursuant to this Agreement will remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of any Underwriter or the Company or any of the officers, directors or controlling persons referred to in Section 7 hereof, and will survive delivery of and payment for the Securities. The provisions of Sections 6 and 7 hereof shall survive the termination or cancellation of this Agreement.
11. Recognition of the U.S. Special Resolution Regimes. (a) In the event that any Underwriter that is a Covered Entity becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, the transfer from such Underwriter of this Agreement, and any interest and obligation in or under this Agreement, will be effective to the same extent as the transfer would be effective under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement, and any such interest and obligation, were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.
(b) In the event that any Underwriter that is a Covered Entity or a BHC Act Affiliate of such Underwriter becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, Default Rights under this Agreement that may be exercised against such Underwriter are permitted to be exercised to no greater extent than such Default Rights could be exercised under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.
(c) For purposes of this Section 11:
(i) “BHC Act Affiliate” has the meaning assigned to the term “affiliate” in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 U.S.C. § 1841(k);
(ii) “Covered Entity” means any of the following: (A) a “covered entity” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 252.82(b); (B) a “covered bank” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 47.3(b); or (C) a “covered FSI” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 382.2(b);
(iii) “Default Right” has the meaning assigned to that term in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. §§ 252.81, 47.2 or 382.1, as applicable; and
(iv) “U.S. Special Resolution Regime” means each of (i) the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder and (ii) Title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
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12. Notices. All communications hereunder will be in writing and effective only on receipt, and, if sent to the Underwriters, will be mailed, delivered, telecopied, telegraphed or emailed and confirmed to the Underwriters, c/o Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282, Attention: Registration Department; Barclays Capital Inc., 745 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York 10019, Attention: Syndicate Registration (Fax: 646-834-8133); BNP Paribas Securities Corp., 787 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York 10019, Attention: Syndicate Desk (email: [email protected]); PNC Capital Markets LLC, 300 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, Attention: Debt Capital Markets, Fixed Income Transaction Execution (Fax: 412-762-2760); and TD Securities (USA) LLC, One Vanderbilt Avenue, 11th Floor, NY 10017, Attention: Transaction Advisory (email: [email protected]). Notices sent to the Company will be mailed, delivered, telecopied or telegraphed to and confirmed to it at Lincoln National Corporation, 150 N. Radnor Chester Road, Radnor, Pennsylvania 19087, facsimile number (484) 583-1421, Attention: Legal Department.
In accordance with the requirements of the USA Patriot Act (Title III of Pub. L. 107-56 (signed into law October 26, 2001)), the Underwriters are required to obtain, verify and record information that identifies their respective clients, including the Company, which information may include the name and address of their respective clients, as well as other information that will allow the Underwriters to properly identify their respective clients.
13. Authority of the Representatives. The Representatives will act for the several Underwriters in connection with this Agreement, and any action under this Agreement taken by the Representatives shall be binding upon all the Underwriters.
14. Successors. This Agreement will inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors and the officers and directors and controlling persons referred to in Section 7 hereof, and no other person will have any right or obligation hereunder.
15. Entire Agreement. (a) This Agreement, together with any contemporaneous written agreements and any prior written agreements (to the extent not superseded by this Agreement) that relate to the offering of the Securities, represents the entire agreement between the Company and the Underwriters with respect to the preparation of any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Prospectus, the conduct of the offering and the purchase and sale of the Securities.
(b) The Company acknowledges that in connection with the offering of the Securities: (i) each of the Underwriters has acted at arm’s length and is not an agent of, and owes no fiduciary duties to, the Company or any other person, (ii) the Underwriters owe the Company only those duties and obligations set forth in this Agreement and prior written agreements (to the extent not superseded by this Agreement), if any, and (iii) the Underwriters may have interests that differ from those of the Company. The Company waives to the full extent permitted by applicable law any claims it may have against the Underwriters arising from an alleged breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the offering of the Securities.
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16. Counterparts. This Agreement may be signed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be an original, with the same effect as if the signatures thereto and hereto were upon the same instrument. 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) 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.
17. Headings. The headings of the sections of this Agreement have been inserted for convenience of reference only and shall not be deemed a part of this Agreement.
18. Choice of Law. This Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.
[signature page follows]
27
| Very truly yours, | ||||
| Lincoln National Corporation | ||||
| By | /s/ Adam M. Cohen | |||
| Name: | Adam M. Cohen | |||
| Title: | Senior Vice President, | |||
| Chief Accounting | ||||
| Officer and Treasurer | ||||
[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]
Accepted as of the date hereof:
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC
Acting on behalf of itself and as Representative of the several Underwriters.
| By: | /s/ Thomas Healy | |
| Name: Thomas Healy | ||
| Title: Managing Director |
[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]
Accepted as of the date hereof:
Barclays Capital Inc.
Acting on behalf of itself and as Representative of the several Underwriters.
| By: | /s/ Kenneth Chang | |
| Name: Kenneth Chang | ||
| Title: Managing Director |
[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]
Accepted as of the date hereof:
BNP Paribas Securities Corp.
Acting on behalf of itself and as Representative of the several Underwriters.
| By: | /s/ Amanda Asali | |
| Name: Amanda Asali | ||
| Title: Director - Head of US Insurance |
[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]
Accepted as of the date hereof:
PNC Capital Markets LLC
Acting on behalf of itself and as Representative of the several Underwriters.
| By: | /s/ Valerie Shadeck | |
| Name: Valerie Shadeck | ||
| Title: Managing Director |
[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]
Accepted as of the date hereof:
TD Securities (USA) LLC
Acting on behalf of itself and as Representative of the several Underwriters.
| By: | /s/ Luiz Lanfredi | |
| Name: Luiz Lanfredi | ||
| Title: Director |
[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]
SCHEDULE I
| Underwriter |
Principal Amount of the Securities to be Purchased |
|||
| Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC |
$ | 87,500,000 | ||
| Barclays Capital Inc. |
$ | 64,167,000 | ||
| BNP Paribas Securities Corp. |
$ | 70,000,000 | ||
| PNC Capital Markets LLC |
$ | 64,166,000 | ||
| TD Securities (USA) LLC |
$ | 64,167,000 | ||
| Total |
$ | 350,000,000 | ||
SCHEDULE II
Free Writing Prospectuses
1. Final Term Sheet, dated March 11, 2024, in the form set forth in Annex III hereto.
SCHEDULE III
Significant Subsidiaries
1. The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company.
FORM OF OPINION OF WACHTELL, LIPTON, ROSEN & KATZ
Exhibit 4.1
LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION
5.852% Senior Note due 2034
| Registered | CUSIP 534187 BT5 | |
| ISIN US534187BT58 | ||
| No. 1 | U.S.$350,000,000 |
UNLESS THIS SECURITY IS PRESENTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY, A NEW YORK CORPORATION (“DTC”), TO THE COMPANY (AS DEFINED BELOW) OR ITS AGENT FOR REGISTRATION OF TRANSFER, EXCHANGE OR PAYMENT, AND ANY SECURITY ISSUED IS REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF CEDE & CO. OR IN SUCH OTHER NAME AS REQUESTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF DTC (AND ANY PAYMENT IS MADE TO CEDE & CO. OR TO SUCH OTHER ENTITY AS IS REQUESTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF DTC), ANY TRANSFER, PLEDGE OR OTHER USE HEREOF FOR VALUE OR OTHERWISE BY OR TO ANY PERSON IS WRONGFUL INASMUCH AS THE REGISTERED OWNER HEREOF, CEDE & CO., HAS AN INTEREST HEREIN.
THIS SECURITY IS A GLOBAL SECURITY WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE INDENTURE HEREINAFTER REFERRED TO AND IS REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF DTC OR A NOMINEE THEREOF. THIS SECURITY MAY NOT BE EXCHANGED IN WHOLE OR IN PART FOR A SECURITY REGISTERED, AND NO TRANSFER OF THIS SECURITY IN WHOLE OR IN PART MAY BE REGISTERED, IN THE NAME OF ANY PERSON OTHER THAN DTC OR SUCH NOMINEE, EXCEPT IN THE LIMITED CIRCUMSTANCES DESCRIBED IN THE INDENTURE.
Lincoln National Corporation, a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Indiana (hereinafter called the “Company”, which term includes any successor corporation under the Indenture hereinafter referred to), for value received, hereby promises to pay to Cede & Co., or registered assigns, the principal sum of THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS ($350,000,000) on March 15, 2034 and to pay interest thereon from March 14, 2024 or from the most recent interest payment date to which interest has been paid or duly provided for, semi-annually in arrears on March 15 and September 15 in each year, commencing on September 15, 2024 (each, an “Interest Payment Date”), at the rate of 5.852% per annum. The period beginning on March 14, 2024 and ending on but excluding the first Interest Payment Date and each successive period beginning on and including an Interest Payment Date and ending on but excluding the next succeeding Interest Payment Date is herein called an “Interest Period”. If any Interest Payment Date falls on a day
which is not a Business Day, such Interest Payment Date shall be postponed to the next succeeding Business Day. If March 15 or September 15 of any year is not a Business Day (with the consequence that the related interest payment shall be made on the next succeeding Business Day, which shall be the relevant Interest Payment Date as set forth above), such payment shall be made on such Interest Payment Date in the amount that would otherwise have been due on March 15 or September 15 and no interest on such payment shall accrue for the period from and after March 15 or September 15 to such postponed Interest Payment Date, and the next succeeding Interest Period shall begin on March 15 or September 15 on which such payment originally would have been made. If March 15, 2034 shall not be a Business Day, payment of the principal and interest due on that date need not be made on that day but may be made on the next day that is a Business Day with the same force and effect as if made on March 14, 2024, provided that no interest shall accrue for the period from and after March 14, 2024. The interest so payable and punctually paid or duly provided for on any Interest Payment Date will, as provided in the Indenture, be paid to the person in whose name this Note is registered at the close of business on March 1 or September 1 (whether or not a Business Day) immediately preceding the Interest Payment Date, as applicable (each respectively a “Record Date”), subject to certain exceptions as provided in the Indenture. Payment of the principal of, and interest on, this Note will be made at the designated office or agency of the Company maintained for such purpose in The City of New York, New York in such coin or currency of the United States of America as at the time of payment is legal tender for payment of public and private debt or, at the option of the Company, interest so payable may be paid by check to the order of said Holder mailed to their address appearing on the Security Register. Any interest not so punctually paid or duly provided for shall be payable as provided in this Note. Interest on this Note will be computed on the basis of a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months.
Reference is hereby made to the further provisions of this Note set forthon the reverse hereof, which further provisions shall for all purposes have the same effect as if set forth at this place.
Unless the certificate of authentication hereon has been executed by the Trustee by manual or electronic signature, this Note shall not be entitled to any benefit under the Indenture or be valid or obligatory for any purpose.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Lincoln National Corporation has caused this instrument to be duly executed under its corporate seal.
| LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION | ||||
| By: | ||||
| Name: |
Christopher M. Neczypor | |||
| Title: | Executive Vice President and | |||
| Chief Financial Officer | ||||
| By: | ||||
| Name: |
Adam M. Cohen | |||
| Title: |
Senior Vice President, | |||
| Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer | ||||
| Attest: | ||
| Name: Nancy A. Smith | ||
| Title: Senior Vice President & Secretary |
Date: , 2024
[Signature Page to Global Note]
Trustee’s Certificate of Authentication
This is one of the Securities of the series designated herein and referred to in the within-mentioned Indenture.
| THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON, as Trustee |
| Authorized Signatory |
Dated: , 2024
[Signature Page to Global Note]
[Reverse of Note]
LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION
5.852% Senior Note due 2034
This Note is one of a duly authorized issue of Securities of the Company of a series hereinafter specified, all issued and to be issued under the Senior Indenture, dated as of March 10, 2009, as supplemented by the First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of August 18, 2020 (as supplemented, the “Indenture”), in each case, between the Company and The Bank of New York Mellon, as Trustee (hereinafter the “Trustee”, which term includes any successor Trustee under the Indenture), to which Indenture and all indentures supplemental thereto reference is hereby made for a statement of the respective rights, limitations of rights, duties and immunities thereunder of the Company, the Trustee and the Holder of the Securities and the terms upon which the Securities are, and are to be, authenticated and delivered. The Securities may be issued in one or more series, the terms of which different series may vary as provided in the Indenture. This Note is one of a series of the Securities of the Company designated as its 5.852% Senior Notes due 2034 (herein called the “Notes”), limited initially in aggregate principal amount to $350,000,000, except as otherwise provided in the Indenture. The Notes of this series are issuable in registered form only in minimum denominations of $2,000 and integral multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof.
All terms used in this Note that are defined in the Indenture shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Indenture.
Prior to December 15, 2033 (the “Par Call Date”), the Company may redeem the Notes at its option, in whole or in part, at any time and from time to time, at a redemption price (expressed as a percentage of principal amount and rounded to three decimal places) equal to the greater of:
| (1) | (a) the sum of the present values of the remaining scheduled payments of principal and interest thereon discounted to the redemption date (assuming the Notes matured on the Par Call Date) on a semi-annual basis (assuming a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months) at the Treasury Rate (as defined below) plus 30 basis points less (b) interest accrued to the date of redemption, and |
| (2) | 100% of the principal amount of the Notes to be redeemed, |
plus, in either case, accrued and unpaid interest thereon to the redemption date.
On or after the Par Call Date, the Company may redeem the Notes, in whole or in part, at any time and from time to time, at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Notes being redeemed plus accrued and unpaid interest thereon to the redemption date.
“Treasury Rate” means, with respect to any redemption date, the yield determined by the Company in accordance with the following two paragraphs.
The Treasury Rate shall be determined by the Company after 4:15 p.m., New York City time (or after such time as yields on U.S. government securities are posted daily by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System), on the third Business Day preceding the redemption date based upon the yield or yields for the most recent day that appear after such time on such day in the most recent statistical release published by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System designated as “Selected Interest Rates (Daily)—H.15” (or any successor designation or publication) (“H.15”) under the caption “U.S. government securities–Treasury constant maturities–Nominal” (or any successor caption or heading) (“H.15 TCM”). In determining the Treasury Rate, the Company shall select, as applicable: (1) the yield for the Treasury constant maturity on H.15 exactly equal to the period from the redemption date to the Par Call Date (the “Remaining Life”); or (2) if there is no such Treasury constant maturity on H.15 exactly equal to the Remaining Life, the two yields – one yield corresponding to the Treasury constant maturity on H.15 immediately shorter than and one yield corresponding to the Treasury constant maturity on H.15 immediately longer than the Remaining Life – and shall interpolate to the Par Call Date on a straight-line basis (using the actual number of days) using such yields and rounding the result to three decimal places; or (3) if there is no such Treasury constant maturity on H.15 shorter than or longer than the Remaining Life, the yield for the single Treasury constant maturity on H.15 closest to the Remaining Life. For purposes of this paragraph, the applicable Treasury constant maturity or maturities on H.15 shall be deemed to have a maturity date equal to the relevant number of months or years, as applicable, of such Treasury constant maturity from the redemption date.
If on the third Business Day preceding the redemption date H.15 TCM is no longer published, the Company shall calculate the Treasury Rate based on the rate per annum equal to the semi-annual equivalent yield to maturity at 11:00 a.m., New York City time, on the second Business Day preceding such redemption date of the United States Treasury security maturing on, or with a maturity that is closest to, the Par Call Date, as applicable. If there is no United States Treasury security maturing on the Par Call Date but there are two or more United States Treasury securities with a maturity date equally distant from the Par Call Date, one with a maturity date preceding the Par Call Date and one with a maturity date following the Par Call Date, the Company shall select the United States Treasury security with a maturity date preceding the Par Call Date. If there are two or more United States Treasury securities maturing on the Par Call Date or two or more United States Treasury securities meeting the criteria of the preceding sentence, the Company shall select from among these two or more United States Treasury securities the United States Treasury security that is trading closest to par based upon the average of the bid and asked prices for such United States Treasury securities at 11:00 a.m., New York City time. In determining the Treasury Rate in accordance with the terms of this paragraph, the semi-annual yield to maturity of the applicable United States Treasury security shall be based upon the average of the bid and asked prices (expressed as a percentage of principal amount) at 11:00 a.m., New York City time, of such United States Treasury security, and rounded to three decimal places.
The Company’s actions and determinations in determining the redemption price shall be conclusive and binding for all purposes, absent manifest error.
Notice of any redemption will be mailed or electronically delivered (or otherwise transmitted in accordance with the depositary’s procedures) at least 10 days but not more than 60 days before the redemption date to each Holder of Notes to be redeemed.
In the case of a partial redemption, selection of the Notes for redemption will be made pro rata, by lot or by such other method as the Trustee in its sole discretion deems appropriate and fair. No Notes of a principal amount of $2,000 or less will be redeemed in part. If any Note is to be redeemed in part only, the notice of redemption that relates to the Note will state the portion of the principal amount of the Note to be redeemed. A new Note in a principal amount equal to the unredeemed portion of the Note will be issued in the name of the Holder of the Note upon surrender for cancellation of the original Note. For so long as the Notes are held by DTC (or another depositary), the redemption of the Notes shall be done in accordance with the policies and procedures of the depositary.
Unless the Company defaults in payment of the redemption price, on and after the redemption date interest will cease to accrue on the Notes or portions thereof called for redemption.
The Notes are not entitled to any sinking fund. If an Event of Defaultshall occur with respect to the Notes, the principal of the Notes may be declared due and payable in the manner and with the effect provided in the Indenture.
The Indenture contains provisions for defeasance at any time of the Notes, upon which the Company, at its option, shall be deemed to have been discharged from its obligations with respect to the Notes or shall cease to be under any obligation to comply with certain restrictive covenants of the Indenture.
Subject to certain exceptions, the Indenture or the Notes may be amended or supplemented with the consent of the Holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the Outstanding Securities affected by such amendment or supplement voting as one class. Without the consent of any Holder, the Company and the Trustee may amend or supplement the Indenture or the Notes to, among other things, cure any ambiguity, defect or inconsistency. Subject to certain exceptions, any past default or Event of Default may be waived by the Holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the Outstanding Securities of any series affected on behalf of the Holders of the Securities of that series or the Holders of at least a majority in principal amount of all the Outstanding Securities voting as one class. After the amendment or supplement is effective, any such consent or waiver by the Holder of this Note shall be conclusive and binding upon such Holder and upon all future Holders of this Note and of any Note issued upon the transfer hereof or in exchange hereunder or in lieu hereof whether or not notation of such consent or waiver is made upon this Note or upon any Note issued upon the transfer hereof or in exchange herefor or in lieu hereof.
No reference herein to the Indenture and no provision of this Note or of the Indenture shall alter or impair the obligation of the Company, which is absolute and unconditional, to pay the principal of, and interest on, this Note at the times, place, and rate, and in the coin or currency, herein prescribed.
As provided in the Indenture and subject to certain limitations therein set forth, this Note is transferable on the Security Register of the Company, upon surrender of this Note for transfer at the office or agency of the Company in The City of New York, New York, duly endorsed by, or accompanied by a written instrument of transfer in form satisfactory to the Company and the Security Registrar, duly executed by the Holder hereof or their attorney duly authorized in writing, and thereupon one or more new Notes, of authorized denominations and for the same aggregate principal amount, will be issued to the designated transferee or transferees.
As provided in the Indenture and subject to certain limitations therein set forth, this Note is exchangeable for a like aggregate principal amount of Notes of different authorized denominations as requested by the Holder surrendering the same.
No service charge will be made for any such transfer or exchange, but the Company may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge payable in connection therewith.
The Company, the Trustee and any agent of the Company or the Trustee may treat the person in whose name this Note is registered as the owner hereof for the purpose of receiving payment as herein provided and for all other purposes whether or not this Note be overdue, and neither the Company, the Trustee nor any agent shall be affected by notice to the contrary.
No recourse shall be had for the payment of the principal of, or the interest on, this Note or for any claim based hereon or otherwise in any manner in respect hereof, or in respect of the Indenture, against any incorporator, shareholder, officer or director, as such, past, present or future, of the Company or of any predecessor or, except as provided in the Indenture, successor corporation, whether by virtue of any constitutional provision or statute or rule of law, or by the enforcement of any assessment or penalty or in any other manner, all such liability being expressly waived and released by the acceptance hereof and as part of the consideration for the issue hereof.
Exhibit 5.1
March 14, 2024
Lincoln National Corporation
150 N. Radnor Chester Road
Radnor, PA 19087
| Re: | Lincoln National Corporation – Senior Notes |
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I am Assistant Vice President and Senior Counsel of Lincoln National Corporation, an Indiana corporation (the “Company”). I refer to the Underwriting Agreement, dated March 11, 2024 (the “Underwriting Agreement”) pursuant to the terms of which the Company will issue and sell an aggregate of $350,000,000 principal amount of the Company’s 5.852% Senior Notes due 2034 (the “Notes”). The Notes will be issued pursuant to the Indenture, dated as of March 10, 2009, as supplemented by the First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of August 18, 2020 (together, the “Indenture”), between the Company and The Bank of New York Mellon, as trustee (the “Trustee”). All capitalized terms not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Underwriting Agreement or the Indenture, as the context may require.
In connection therewith, I have examined (a) the Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-270000) filed by the Company and the other related registrants with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), relating, in part, to the registration of the Notes, as it became effective under the Act on February 24, 2023 (such Registration Statement, including the documents filed as a part thereof or previously filed with the Commission and incorporated therein by reference or documents subsequently incorporated through the date hereof pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 (including without limitation the Form 8-K to be filed by the Company with the Commission on or about March 14, 2024), but excluding the Forms T-1 filed therewith (the “Forms T-1”), being hereinafter referred to as the “Registration Statement”), (b) the prospectus of the Company dated February 24, 2023 (the “Base Prospectus”), as supplemented by the prospectus supplement, dated March 11, 2024, relating to the Notes, as filed in final form with the Commission on March 13, 2024 pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5) under the Act (such Base Prospectus and prospectus supplement, including the documents filed as a part thereof or previously filed with the Commission and incorporated therein by reference or documents subsequently incorporated through the date hereof pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 (including without limitation the Form 8-K to be filed by the Company with the Commission on or about March 14, 2024), but excluding the Forms T-1, being hereinafter referred to as the “Prospectus”), (c) the free writing prospectus relating to the Notes, dated March 11, 2024 and filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433 under the Act (such free writing prospectus together with the Prospectus in preliminary form as filed with the Commission on March 11, 2024, including all documents incorporated by reference therein through the Applicable Time, but excluding the Forms T-1, being hereinafter referred to as the “Time of Sale Prospectus”), (d) the Underwriting Agreement, (e) the Indenture, (f) the resolutions of the Company’s board of directors, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer relating to the Notes and (g) a copy of the global security representing the Notes.
I have also examined originals or copies, certified or otherwise identified to my satisfaction, of such corporate records, agreements, documents and other instruments, and such certificates or comparable documents of public officials and of officers and representatives of the Company as I have deemed relevant and necessary as a basis for the opinions hereinafter set forth. I have also made such inquiries of such officers and representatives as I have deemed relevant and necessary as a basis for the opinions hereinafter set forth.
In rendering this opinion, I have assumed, without inquiry, the legal capacity of all natural persons, the genuineness of all signatures, the authenticity of all documents submitted to me as originals, the conformity to the original documents of all documents submitted to me as certified or photostatic copies and the authenticity of the originals of such latter documents. In making my examination of executed documents or documents to be executed, I have assumed that the parties thereto, other than the Company and its subsidiaries, had or will have the power, corporate or other, to enter into and perform all obligations thereunder and have also assumed the due authorization by all requisite action, corporate or other, and execution and delivery by such parties of such documents and the validity and binding effect on such parties.
Based upon and subject to the foregoing, and subject to the qualifications, exceptions and assumptions stated herein, I am of the opinion that:
| i. | The Company has been duly incorporated and is a duly existing corporation under the laws of its state of incorporation; |
| ii. | The Notes have been duly authorized, executed, authenticated, issued and delivered; and |
| iii. | The Indenture has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company. |
In addition to the assumptions, comments, qualifications, limitations and exceptions set forth above, the opinions set forth herein are further limited by, subject to and based upon the following:
| a. | My opinions herein reflect only the application of applicable laws of the State of Indiana and the federal laws of the United States of America. The opinions set forth herein are made as of the date hereof and are subject to, and may be limited by, future changes in the factual matters set forth herein, and I undertake no duty to advise you of the same. The opinions expressed herein are based upon the law in effect (and published or otherwise generally available) on the date hereof, and I assume no obligation to revise or supplement these opinions should such law be changed by legislative action, judicial decision or otherwise. In rendering my opinions, I have not considered, and hereby disclaim any opinion as to, the application or impact of any laws, cases, decisions, rules or regulations of any other jurisdiction, court or administrative agency. |
| b. | My opinion set forth in (iii) above is subject to and may be limited by (i) applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, receivership, moratorium and other similar laws affecting or relating to the rights and remedies of creditors generally, including, without limitation, laws relative to fraudulent conveyances, preferences and equitable subordination, (ii) general principles of equity (regardless of whether considered in a proceeding in equity or at law), and (iii) governmental authority to limit, delay or prohibit the making of payments outside the United States. |
| c. | My opinions are further subject to the effect of generally applicable rules of law arising from statutes, judicial and administrative decisions, and the rules and regulations of governmental authorities that: (i) limit or affect the enforcement of provisions of a contract that purport to require waiver of the obligations of good faith, fair dealing, diligence and reasonableness; (ii) limit the availability of a remedy under certain circumstances where another remedy has been elected; (iii) limit the enforceability of provisions releasing, exculpating or exempting a party from, or requiring indemnification of a party for, liability for its own action or inaction, to the extent the action or inaction involves negligence, recklessness, willful misconduct or unlawful conduct; (iv) may, where less than all of the contract may be unenforceable, limit the enforceability of the balance of the contract to circumstances in which the unenforceable portion is not an essential part of the agreed exchange; and (v) govern and afford judicial discretion regarding the determination of damages and entitlement to attorneys’ fees. |
| d. | I express no opinion as to the enforceability of any rights to indemnification or contribution provided for in the Indenture which are violative of public policy underlying any law, rule or regulation (including any federal or state securities law, rule or regulation) or the legality of such rights. |
| e. | I express no opinion as to the enforceability of any provision in the Indenture purporting or attempting to modify or waive the rights to notice, legal defenses, statutes of limitations or other benefits that cannot be waived under applicable law. |
This opinion letter is limited to the matters set forth herein, and no opinion may be inferred or implied beyond the matters expressly set forth herein. This opinion letter is not a guaranty nor may one be inferred or implied.
I hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as Exhibit 5.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, dated March 14, 2024. Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz may rely on this opinion for purposes of the legal opinion to be filed as Exhibit 5.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K.
| Very truly yours, |
| /s/ Eric B. Wilmer Name: Eric B. Wilmer Title: Assistant Vice President and Senior Counsel |
Exhibit 5.2
[Letterhead of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz]
March 14, 2024
Lincoln National Corporation
150 N. Radnor Chester Road
Radnor, PA 19087
Re: Lincoln National Corporation – Senior Notes
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as special counsel to Lincoln National Corporation, an Indiana corporation (the “Company”), in connection with the sale to the Underwriters (as defined below) by the Company of an aggregate of $350,000,000 principal amount of the Company’s 5.852% Senior Notes due 2034 (the “Notes”) pursuant to the terms of the Underwriting Agreement, dated March 11, 2024 (the “Underwriting Agreement”), between the Company, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Barclays Capital Inc., BNP Paribas Securities Corp., PNC Capital Markets LLC and TD Securities (USA) LLC (the “Underwriters”). The Notes will be issued pursuant to the Senior Indenture, dated as of March 10, 2009, as supplemented by the First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of August 18, 2020 (together, the “Indenture”), between the Company and The Bank of New York Mellon, as trustee (the “Trustee”). All capitalized terms not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Underwriting Agreement.
In our capacity as special counsel to the Company, we have examined (i) the Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-270000) filed by the Company and the other related registrants with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), relating, in part, to the registration of the Notes, (ii) the prospectus of the Company, dated February 24, 2023 (the “Base Prospectus”), as supplemented by the prospectus supplement, dated March 11, 2024, relating to the Notes, as filed in final form with the Commission on March 13, 2024, pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5) under the Act (such Base Prospectus and prospectus supplement, the “Prospectus”), (iii) the free writing prospectus relating to the Notes, dated March 11, 2024 and filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433 under the Act, (iv) the Underwriting Agreement, (v) the Indenture, (vi) the resolutions of the Company’s board of directors, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer relating to the Notes, (vii) a copy of the global security representing the Notes, (viii) a copy of the Restated Articles of Incorporation of the Company certified by the Secretary of State of the State of Indiana, (ix) a copy of the Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Company certified by the Secretary of the Company and (x) such other corporate records, certificates and other documents that we have deemed necessary or appropriate for purposes of rendering this letter.
In such examination, we have also assumed, without inquiry, the legal capacity of all natural persons, the genuineness of all signatures on all documents examined by us, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as copies and the authenticity of the originals of such latter documents. We have also assumed that the books and records of the Company are maintained in accordance with proper corporate procedures and, as to certain factual matters relevant to this opinion, have relied upon the representations, warranties and statements made in originals or copies, certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of such records, agreements, documents and instruments, including certificates or comparable documents of officers of the Company and of public officials, as we have deemed appropriate as a basis for the opinion hereinafter set forth. We have also relied upon the opinion, dated March 14, 2024, of Eric B. Wilmer, Assistant Vice President and Senior Counsel of the Company, which opinion is being filed as Exhibit 5.1 of the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, dated March 14, 2024, with respect to matters of Indiana law. We have not made any independent investigation in rendering this opinion other than the examination described above, and our opinion is therefore qualified in all respects by the scope thereof.
Based upon and subject to the foregoing, and subject to the further limitations, qualifications and assumptions stated in this letter, it is our opinion that the Notes, when duly executed, authenticated, issued, delivered and paid for in accordance with the terms of the Indenture and the Underwriting Agreement, will constitute valid and legally binding obligations of the Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms.
The opinion set forth above is subject to the effects of (i) bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent conveyance, reorganization, moratorium and other similar laws relating to or affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally, (ii) general equitable principles (whether considered in a proceeding in equity or at law) and (iii) an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.
We express no opinion as to whether, or the extent to which, the laws of any particular jurisdiction apply to the subject matter hereof, including, without limitation, the enforceability of the governing law provision contained in any Notes or in any agreement and we express no opinion as to the enforceability of any indemnification or contribution provisions contained in any agreement insofar as enforcement of these provisions may be limited by applicable federal securities laws or principles of public policy.
We are members of the Bar of the State of New York. This opinion is limited to the laws of the State of New York and the federal securities laws of the United States, and we express no opinion as to the effect on the matters covered by this opinion of the laws of any other jurisdiction.
We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as Exhibit 5.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, dated March 14, 2024, and to the reference to us under the caption “Validity of Notes” in the Prospectus that forms a part of the Registration Statement. In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we are an expert within the meaning of Section 7 of the Act. We assume no obligation to advise the Company or any other person, or to make any investigations, as to any legal developments or factual matters arising subsequent to the date hereof that might affect the opinions expressed herein.
| Very truly yours,
/s/ Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz |