Notwithstanding the foregoing, a transaction will not be considered to be a Change of Control under clause (2) above if (a) we become a direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiary of a holding company and (b)(y) immediately following that transaction, the direct or indirect holders of the Voting Stock of the holding company are substantially the same as the holders of our Voting Stock immediately prior to that transaction or (z) immediately following that transaction, no person (as that term is used in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act), other than a holding company satisfying the requirements of this sentence, is the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of more than 50% of the Voting Stock of the holding company.
“Change of Control Repurchase Event” means the occurrence of both a Change of Control and a Below Investment Grade Rating Event.
“Continuing Directors” means, as of any date of determination, any member of our Board of Directors who (1) was a member of such Board of Directors on the earliest date on which any notes were issued under the indenture; or (2) was nominated for election, elected or appointed to such Board of Directors with the approval of a majority of the Continuing Directors who were members of such Board of Directors at the time of such nomination, election or appointment (either by a specific vote or by approval by such Continuing Directors of our proxy statement in which such member was named as a nominee for election as a director).
Under a Delaware Chancery Court interpretation of the foregoing definition of “Continuing Directors,” our Board of Directors could approve, for purposes of such definition, a slate of stockholder-nominated directors without endorsing them or while simultaneously recommending and endorsing its own slate instead. Accordingly, under such interpretation, our Board of Directors could approve a slate of directors that includes a majority of dissident directors nominated pursuant to a proxy contest, and the ultimate election of such dissident slate would not constitute a “Change of Control Repurchase Event” that would trigger a holder’s right to require us to repurchase the holder’s notes as described above.
“Fitch” means Fitch Ratings and its successors.
“Investment Grade” means a rating of BBB- or better by Fitch (or its equivalent under any successor rating categories of Fitch), Baa3 or better by Moody’s (or its equivalent under any successor rating categories of Moody’s) and a rating of BBB- or better by S&P (or its equivalent under any successor rating categories of S&P) or the equivalent investment grade credit rating from any additional Rating Agency or Rating Agencies selected by us.
“Moody’s” means Moody’s Investors Service and its successors.
“Rating Agency” means (1) each of Fitch, Moody’s and S&P; and (2) if any of Fitch, Moody’s or S&P ceases to rate the notes or fails to make a rating of the notes publicly available for reasons outside of our control, a “nationally recognized statistical rating organization” within the meaning of Section 3(a)(62) of the Exchange Act, selected by us as a replacement agency for Fitch, Moody’s or S&P, or all of them, as the case may be.
“S&P” means S&P Global Ratings and its successors.
“Voting Stock” means, with respect to any person as of any date, capital stock of any class or kind the holders of which are ordinarily, in the absence of contingencies, entitled to vote for the election of directors (or persons performing similar functions) of such person, even if the right so to vote has been suspended by the happening of such a contingency.
Certain Covenants
Limitation on Liens
HP will not issue, incur, create, assume or guarantee, and will not permit any Restricted Subsidiary to issue, incur, create, assume or guarantee, any Secured Debt without in any such case effectively providing concurrently with such issuance, incurrence, creation, assumption or guarantee of any such Secured Debt, or the grant of a Mortgage with respect to any such indebtedness, that the notes (together with, if HP shall so determine, any other indebtedness of or guarantee by HP or such Restricted Subsidiary ranking equally with the notes and then existing or thereafter created) shall be secured equally and ratably with (or, at the option of HP, prior to) such Secured Debt. The foregoing restriction with respect to Secured Debt, however, will not apply to:
(1)
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Mortgages on property existing at the time of acquisition thereof by HP or any Subsidiary, whether or not assumed; provided that such Mortgages were in existence prior to the contemplation of such acquisitions;
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