STANDSTILL AGREEMENT
THIS STANDSTILL AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) is made and entered into as of June 28, 2011, by and among Harbinger Capital Partners Master Fund I, Ltd. (“Master Fund”) and Harbinger Group Inc., a Delaware corporation (“HGI”).
BACKGROUND
WHEREAS, Master Fund beneficially owns in the aggregate 6,398,912 shares (the “Master Fund Shares”) of common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Common Stock”), of Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”);
WHEREAS, Master Fund intends to sell up to 6,319,812 of the Master Fund Shares in an underwritten offering (the “HCP Offering”);
WHEREAS, concurrently with the execution of this Agreement, the Company, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., as Representatives of the several underwriters of the HCP Offering, and HGI, which beneficially owns in the aggregate 27,756,905 shares of Common Stock (the “HGI Shares”), are entering into a lock-up agreement pursuant to which HGI agrees that, subject to certain exceptions, it will not offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of any of the HGI Shares for 180 days following the public offering date set forth on the final prospectus for the HCP Offering (the “HGI Lock-up Agreement”), and Master Fund is entering into this Agreement as an inducement to HGI entering into the HGI Lock-up Agreement;
WHEREAS, concurrently with or prior to the execution of this Agreement, the directors and officers of the Company are entering into or have entered into lock-up agreements in substantially the form attached hereto as Exhibit A pursuant to which such directors and officers agree that, subject to certain exceptions, they will not offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of any of shares of the Common Stock that they own for 90 days following the public offering date set forth on the final prospectus for the HCP Offering;
WHEREAS, concurrently with or prior to the execution of this Agreement, Master Fund is entering into or has entered into a lock-up agreement in substantially the form attached hereto as Exhibit B pursuant to which it agrees that, subject to certain exceptions, it will not offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of any shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by HCP or its Affiliates that are not sold in the HCP Offering for 90 days following the public offering date set forth on the final prospectus for the HCP Offering;
WHEREAS, Master Fund is willing to refrain from, and cause its affiliates other than HGI to refrain from, purchasing any additional shares of Common Stock during the Restricted Period upon the terms set forth herein.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants and agreements contained herein, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. Defined Terms.
(a) “Affiliate” means, with respect to any specified Person, any other Person that directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, such specified Person; provided that for purposes of this Agreement, HGI and all of its subsidiaries shall not be deemed an affiliate of Master Fund and Master Fund shall not be deemed an Affiliate of HGI or any of its Subsidiaries.
(b) “Restricted Period” means the period beginning on the date of this Agreement and ending on the one-year anniversary of the date of this Agreement.
(c) “Group” has the meaning given such term in Section 13(d)(3) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the rules promulgated thereunder.
(d) “Person” means any individual, partnership, firm, corporation, association, trust, unincorporated organization, joint venture, limited liability company, governmental entity or other entity.
2. Representations and Warranties. Master Fund represents and warrants to HGI that:
(a) Master Fund has the full right, power and authority to enter into this Agreement. This Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by Master Fund and constitutes a valid and binding obligation of Master Fund enforceable against Master Fund in accordance with its terms.
(b) The execution and delivery of this Agreement do not, and the performance of this Agreement by Master Fund will not, conflict with or violate (i) any contract, agreement, license, instrument or permit to which Master Fund or any of its Affiliates is a party or by which Master Fund or any of its Affiliates is bound, or (ii) any law applicable to Master Fund or any of its Affiliates or by which Master Fund or any of its Affiliates is bound. None of Master Fund or any of its Affiliates is a party to, subject to nor bound by any agreement nor any judgment, order, writ, prohibition, injunction nor decree of any court or other governmental body that would prevent the execution or delivery of this Agreement by Master Fund. No consent, approval, order or authorization of, or registration, qualification, designation, declaration or filing with, any governmental authority is required on the part of Master Fund or any of its Affiliates in connection with the execution and delivery of this Agreement or the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby.
3. Standstill. Master Fund hereby agrees that during the Restricted Period, without the prior written consent of HGI, it will not, and will cause each of its Affiliates not to, in any manner, directly or indirectly (other than (i) in Master Fund’s (and its employees acting on behalf of the Master Fund) capacity as a stockholder of HGI, (ii) any Affiliate’s (including its employees acting on behalf of such Affiliate) capacity as an owner, manager, member, advisor or partner of Master Fund, acting for Master Fund in its capacity as a stockholder of HGI, or (iii) any Affiliate acting as a member of the board of directors or management of HGI or the Company):
(a) either individually or as part of a Group, acquire, offer to acquire, or agree to acquire any securities (or beneficial ownership thereof) of the Company;
(b) other than with respect to the 101,089 shares of Common Stock owned by Harbinger Capital Partners Special Situations Fund, L.P., form, join or in any way participate in a Group with respect to any securities of the Company;
(c) effect, seek, offer, propose or cause or participate in (i) any merger, consolidation, share exchange or business combination involving the Company or any material portion of the Company’s business, (ii) any purchase or sale of all or any substantial part of the assets of the Company or any material portion of the Company’s business, (iii) any recapitalization, reorganization or other extraordinary transaction with respect to the Company or any material portion of the Company’s business, or (iv) any representation on the board of directors of the Company;
(d) request in a manner requiring public disclosure by the Company or resulting in public disclosure by the Master Fund that the Company or any of its directors, officers, employees, representatives, advisors or agents amend or waive in any material respect this Agreement, the Company’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws or any other agreements or other instruments relating to the Common Stock; or
(e) enter into any discussions or arrangements with any third party with respect to any of the foregoing.
4. Disclosure. Each party hereto agrees that it shall not, and shall cause its Affiliates not to, issue or cause the publication of any press release or other public statement with respect to this Agreement or the HGI Lock-up Agreement without the prior written consent of the other party hereto; provided, however, that nothing herein will prohibit any party from issuing or causing publication of any such press release or public announcement to the extent that such disclosure is required to comply with applicable law, court order or the disclosure requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission, provided that the other parties hereto other than the party making such determination shall, to the extent practicable, have had a reasonable opportunity to review and approve any such release, announcement or filing in advance of its issuance or filing.
5. Termination; Survival. Section 3 of this Agreement shall terminate and be of no further force or effect upon the one-year anniversary of the date of this Agreement. No termination of any provision of this Agreement shall relieve any party of liability for a breach thereof prior to such termination.
6. Rights of the Special Committee. Except as otherwise explicitly provided herein, the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of HGI (the “Special Committee”) shall have the sole power on behalf of and in the name of HGI to exercise any rights and powers HGI may possess pursuant to this Agreement. No person, in dealing with the Special Committee, shall be required to determine the Special Committee’s authority to make any commitment or engage in any undertaking on behalf of HGI, or to determine any fact or circumstance bearing upon the existence of the authority of the Special Committee.
7. Miscellaneous.
(a) Governing Law. This Agreement, and the rights of the parties hereto, shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware without regard to the conflicts of law principles of any jurisdiction that would result in the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of Delaware. The parties to this Agreement agree that any suit, action or proceeding to enforce any provision of, or based on any matter arising out of or in connection with, this Agreement may be brought only in a federal court located in Delaware or in any Delaware state court, and each party irrevocably consents to the jurisdiction of such courts (and of the appellate courts therefrom) in any such suit, action or proceeding and irrevocably waives any objection it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any such suit, action or proceeding in any such court or that any such suit, action or proceeding brought in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum.
(b) Entire Agreement. This Agreement contains and constitutes the entire understanding and agreement between the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof and cancels all previous oral or written negotiations, commitments and writings in connection therewith.
(c) Notices. All notices, requests, consents and other communications under this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed delivered (i) three business days after being sent by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid or (ii) one business day after being sent via a reputable nationwide overnight courier service guaranteeing next business day delivery, in each case to the intended recipient as set forth below:
If to Master Fund, at c/o Harbinger Capital Partners LLC, 450 Park Avenue, 30th Floor, New York, NY 10022, Attention: Robin Roger, with a copy to Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP+, Attention: Ray Russo; or
If to HGI, at 450 Park Avenue, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10022, Attention: Frank McCarron, with a copy to Wilmer Hale, 399 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022, Attention: Michael O’Brien.
Any party may give any notice, request, consent or other communication under this Agreement using any other means (including, without limitation, personal delivery, messenger service, telecopy, first class mail or electronic mail), but no such notice, request, consent or other communication shall be deemed to have been duly given unless and until it is actually received by the party for whom it is intended. Any party may change the address to which notices, requests, consents or other communications hereunder are to be delivered by giving the other parties notice in the manner set forth in this Section.
(d) Severability. If any provision or section of this Agreement is held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions or sections of this Agreement shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby.
(e) Parties in Interest; Assignment. This Agreement and all provisions hereof are binding upon and will inure to the benefit of the parties and their respective successors and permitted assigns, but neither this Agreement nor any of the rights, interests and obligations hereunder
may be assigned or delegated by either party without the prior written consent of the other party. Nothing in this Agreement, whether express or implied, may be construed to give any Person other than the parties any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement.
(f) Modification; Waiver. (i) This Agreement may be modified in any manner and at any time by written instrument executed by the parties and (ii) any of the terms, covenants and conditions of this Agreement may be waived at any time by the party entitled to the benefit of such term, covenant or condition.
(g) Specific Performance. Each of the parties hereto acknowledges that any breach of any of the provisions of this Agreement may result in serious and irreparable injury to the other party hereto for which such other party cannot be adequately compensated by monetary damages alone. Each of the parties hereto agrees, therefore, that, in addition to any other remedy that the other party may have, the other party shall be entitled to seek the specific performance of this Agreement by any of the parties and to seek both temporary and permanent injunctive relief without the necessity of proving actual damages or posting a bond. Such remedies shall not be deemed to be the exclusive remedies for a breach by any of the parties of any of the provisions of this Agreement but shall be in addition to all other remedies available at law or equity to the parties. In the event either party institutes any legal action to enforce such party’s rights under, or recover damages for breach of, this Agreement, the prevailing party in such action shall be entitled to recover from the other party all costs and expenses, including but not limited to reasonable attorneys’ fees, court costs, witness fees, disbursements and any other expenses of litigation or negotiation incurred by such prevailing party.
(h) Waiver of Rights. No delay or omission by any party in exercising any right under this Agreement shall operate as a waiver of that or any other right. A waiver or consent given by a party on any one occasion shall be effective only in that instance and shall not be construed as a bar or waiver of any right on any other occasion. All remedies, whether under this Agreement or by law or otherwise afforded to any party, shall be cumulative and not alternative.
(i) Captions. The captions of the sections of this Agreement are for convenience of reference only and in no way define, limit or affect the scope or substance of any section of this Agreement.
(j) Counterparts; Execution by Facsimile. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which will be deemed an original but all of which together shall constitute one and the same agreement. This Agreement may be executed by facsimile signature(s) which shall be binding on the party delivering same (including deliveries by pdf email).
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the date first above written.
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HARBINGER CAPITAL PARTNERS MASTER FUND I, LTD.
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By: |
Harbinger Capital Partners LLC, its investment
manager
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By:
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/s/ Peter Jenson |
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Name: Peter Jenson |
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Title: Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer |
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By:
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/s/ Francis T. McCarron |
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Name: Francis T. McCarron |
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Title: Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer |
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