form8k.htm
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT
REPORT
Pursuant
to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934
March
8, 2008
Date of
Report (Date of earliest event reported)
WHITE
MOUNTAINS INSURANCE GROUP, LTD.
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Bermuda
|
|
1-8993
|
|
94-2708455
|
(State
or other jurisdiction of
incorporation
or organization)
|
|
(Commission
file
number)
|
|
(I.R.S.
Employer
Identification
No.)
|
80
South Main Street, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755
(Address
of principal executive offices)
(603)
640-2200
(Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code)
Check the
appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously
satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following
provisions:
o Written communications pursuant
to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
o Soliciting material
pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.14a-12)
o Pre-commencement communications
pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.14d-2(b))
o Pre-commencement communications
pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.13e-4(c))
|
Entry
into a Material Definitive
Agreement
|
On March
8, 2008, White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. (“White Mountains”) entered into
an exchange agreement with Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (“Berkshire Hathaway”) to
transfer certain runoff businesses and a substantial amount of cash to Berkshire
Hathaway in exchange for substantially all of the common shares of White
Mountains owned by Berkshire Hathaway. Under the terms of the
agreement, Berkshire Hathaway would exchange all or substantially all of its
16.3% stake in White Mountains (1,724,200 common shares) for 100% of a
White Mountains subsidiary, which will hold Commercial Casualty Insurance
Company, International American Group, Inc. and $751 million in cash,
subject to adjustment.
The
Exchange Agreement and the related Tax Matters Agreement between the parties are
attached hereto as Exhibits 2.1 and 2.2, respectively.
ITEM
8.01 Other
Events
On March
10, 2008, White Mountains announced that it had entered into an exchange
agreement with Berkshire Hathaway by issuing a press release, a copy of which is
attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1.
ITEM
9.01 Financial
Statements and Exhibits
(d)
Exhibits. The following exhibits are filed herewith, except for
exhibit 99.1, which is furnished herewith:
Exhibit Number
|
Description
|
2.1
|
Exchange
Agreement dated as of March 8, 2008, by and among Berkshire Hathaway Inc.,
General Reinsurance Corporation, White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. and
Railsplitter Holdings Corporation
|
2.2
|
Tax
Matters Agreement dated as of March 8, 2008, by and among Berkshire
Hathaway Inc., General Reinsurance Corporation, White Mountains Insurance
Group, Ltd. and Railsplitter Holdings Corporation
|
99.1
|
Press
release of White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. dated March 10,
2008
|
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.
|
|
WHITE
MOUNTAINS INSURANCE GROUP, LTD.
|
|
DATED:
March 10, 2008
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|
By:
|
/s/
J. BRIAN PALMER
J.
Brian Palmer
Chief
Accounting Officer
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|
EXHIBIT
INDEX
Exhibit Number
|
Description
|
2.1
|
Exchange
Agreement dated as of March 8, 2008, by and among Berkshire Hathaway Inc.,
General Reinsurance Corporation, White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. and
Railsplitter Holdings Corporation
|
2.2
|
Tax
Matters Agreement dated as of March 8, 2008, by and among Berkshire
Hathaway Inc., General Reinsurance Corporation, White Mountains Insurance
Group, Ltd. and Railsplitter Holdings Corporation
|
99.1
|
Press
release of White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. dated March 10,
2008
|
ex2-1.htm
Exhibit
2.1
EXCHANGE
AGREEMENT
by and
among
BERKSHIRE
HATHAWAY INC.
GENERAL
REINSURANCE CORPORATION
WHITE
MOUNTAINS INSURANCE GROUP, LTD.
and
RAILSPLITTER
HOLDINGS CORPORATION
As of
March 8, 2008
ARTICLE
I
CERTAIN
DEFINITIONS AND OTHER MATTERS
|
SECTION
1.01.
|
Certain
Definitions
|
1
|
SECTION
1.02.
|
Terms
Defined in Other Sections
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6
|
|
|
|
ARTICLE
II
EXCHANGE
OF STOCK; DETERMINATION OF CASH AMOUNT; CLOSING
|
|
|
|
SECTION
2.01.
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Exchange
of Stock; Determination of Cash Amount
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7
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SECTION
2.02.
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Closing
|
10
|
SECTION
2.03.
|
White
Mountains' Deliveries at the Closing
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10
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SECTION
2.04.
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Berkshire
Hathaway's Deliveries at the Closing
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11
|
|
|
|
ARTICLE
III
REORGANIZATION
OF THE COMPANY
|
|
|
|
SECTION
3.01.
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Reorganization
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12
|
|
|
|
ARTICLE
IV
REPRESENTATIONS
AND WARRANTIES OF WHITE MOUNTAINS
|
|
|
|
SECTION
4.01.
|
Organization
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12
|
SECTION
4.02.
|
Corporate
Power and Authority
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12
|
SECTION
4.03.
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Non-Contravention
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13
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SECTION
4.04.
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Consents
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13
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SECTION
4.05.
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Capitalization
of the Company; Ownership of Company Shares; Company
Subsidiaries
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14
|
SECTION
4.06.
|
Capitalization
of CCIC and IAG; Ownership of CCIC Shares, IAG Shares and IAG Subsidiary
Shares
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14
|
SECTION
4.07.
|
Financial
Statements; Statutory Statements
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16
|
SECTION
4.08.
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Absence
of Certain Changes or Events
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17
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SECTION
4.09.
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Collateral
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18
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SECTION
4.10.
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Undisclosed
Liabilities
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18
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SECTION
4.11.
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Material
Contracts
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18
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SECTION
4.12.
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Litigation
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18
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SECTION
4.13.
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Compliance
with Laws
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18
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SECTION
4.14.
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Employee
Benefits
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19
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SECTION
4.15.
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No
Guarantee Regarding Reserves
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19
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SECTION
4.16.
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Due
Diligence Materials
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19
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SECTION
4.17.
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Company
Assets, Liabilities and Business
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19
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SECTION
4.18.
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Tax
Opinion
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20
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SECTION
4.19.
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No
Additional Representations
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20
|
|
|
|
ARTICLE
V
REPRESENTATIONS
AND WARRANTIES OF THE BERKSHIRE PARTIES
|
|
|
|
SECTION
5.01.
|
Organization
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20
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SECTION
5.02.
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Corporate
Power and Authority
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21
|
SECTION
5.03.
|
General
Reinsurance WM Units
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21
|
SECTION
5.04.
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Tax
Opinion
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21
|
SECTION
5.05.
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Tax
Basis
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22
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SECTION
5.06.
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No
Additional Representations
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22
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|
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|
ARTICLE
VI
COVENANTS
AND AGREEMENTS
|
|
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SECTION
6.01.
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Conduct
of Business of the Company and its Subsidiaries
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22
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SECTION
6.02.
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Access
and Information
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24
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SECTION
6.03.
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Efforts
to Consummate; Further Assurances; Certain Covenants
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25
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SECTION
6.04.
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Confidentiality
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25
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SECTION
6.05.
|
Transaction
Agreements
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26
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SECTION
6.06.
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Post-Closing
Benefits
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26
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SECTION
6.07.
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Standstill
Agreement
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27
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SECTION
6.08.
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28
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SECTION
6.09.
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|
28
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SECTION
6.10.
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28
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SECTION
6.11. |
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29
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SECTION
6.12.
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29
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|
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|
ARTICLE
VII
TAX
MATTERS
|
|
|
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SECTION
7.01.
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|
30
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SECTION
7.02.
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30
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|
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|
ARTICLE
VIII
CONDITIONS
TO CLOSING
|
|
|
|
SECTION
8.01.
|
|
31
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SECTION
8.02.
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31
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SECTION
8.03.
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32
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SECTION
8.04.
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|
33
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ARTICLE
IX
TERMINATION;
OPTION TO REQUIRE CONSUMMATION; REMEDIES
|
|
|
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SECTION
9.01.
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|
33
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SECTION
9.02.
|
|
34
|
SECTION
9.03.
|
|
35
|
SECTION
9.04.
|
|
35
|
|
|
|
ARTICLE
X
INDEMNIFICATION
|
|
|
|
SECTION
10.01.
|
|
36
|
SECTION
10.02.
|
|
36
|
SECTION
10.03.
|
|
39
|
|
|
|
ARTICLE
XI
MISCELLANEOUS
|
|
|
|
SECTION
11.01.
|
|
40
|
SECTION
11.02.
|
|
41
|
SECTION
11.03.
|
|
41
|
SECTION
11.04.
|
|
41
|
SECTION
11.05.
|
|
41
|
SECTION
11.06.
|
|
41
|
SECTION
11.07.
|
|
41
|
SECTION
11.08.
|
|
42
|
SECTION
11.09.
|
|
42
|
SECTION
11.10.
|
|
42
|
SECTION
11.11.
|
|
42
|
SECTION
11.12.
|
|
43
|
SECTION
11.13.
|
|
43
|
SECTION
11.14.
|
|
43
|
SECTION
11.15.
|
|
43
|
SECTION
11.16.
|
|
43
|
SECTION
11.17.
|
|
44
|
EXHIBITS
EXHIBIT A |
Form of Note
Reimbursement Agreement |
EXHIBIT
B |
Valuation of Gross
Assets and Investment Assets |
EXHIBIT
C |
Term Sheet for
Credit Support Agreement |
This EXCHANGE AGREEMENT, dated as of March 8, 2008
(this “Agreement”), is
entered into by and among BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC., a Delaware corporation
(“Berkshire
Hathaway”), GENERAL REINSURANCE CORPORATION, a Delaware corporation and
an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway (“General Reinsurance”),
WHITE MOUNTAINS INSURANCE GROUP, LTD., a company existing under the laws of
Bermuda (“White
Mountains”), and RAILSPLITTER HOLDINGS CORPORATION, a Delaware
corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of White Mountains (the “Company”).
W I T N E
S S E T H:
WHEREAS,
prior to the Closing, White Mountains will complete the Reorganization, pursuant
to which the Company will hold (i) the CCIC Shares, (ii) the IAG
Shares and (iii) the Cash Amount;
WHEREAS,
upon the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, (i) White
Mountains desires to exchange all of the capital stock of the Company,
consisting solely of the Company Shares, for the General Reinsurance WM Units,
and (ii) General Reinsurance desires to exchange the General Reinsurance WM
Units for the Company Shares; and
WHEREAS,
the parties hereto intend the Exchange to qualify for the Intended Tax-Free
Treatment.
NOW,
THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants contained in this Agreement,
and intending to be legally bound, the parties hereto agree as
follows:
ARTICLE
I
CERTAIN
DEFINITIONS AND OTHER MATTERS
As used
in this Agreement and the Disclosure Schedules hereto, the following terms have
the respective meanings set forth below.
“ACIC” means American
Centennial Insurance Company, a Delaware corporation and a direct, wholly owned
subsidiary of IAG.
“Actionable Breach”
means, with respect to any party, (A) the refusal to consummate the Exchange
despite the fact that all of the conditions to such party’s obligation to
consummate the Exchange set forth in Article VIII of this Agreement have been
satisfied or properly waived and not withdrawn, or (B) such party’s or any of
its Subsidiaries’ act (including a misrepresentation), or failure to take a
required action, with the knowledge or intent (or with the reckless disregard
for the fact) that such act or failure to take a required action
(i) breached any Transaction Agreement, the Tax Representation Letter of
White Mountains (if such party is White Mountains) or the Tax Representation
Letter of Berkshire Hathaway (if such party is Berkshire Hathaway) and
(ii)(x) caused a condition to Closing not to be satisfied or to become
incapable of fulfillment by the Termination Date and/or (y) caused a
Material Increase in Tax Risk.
“Affiliate” means,
with respect to any Person, any other Person directly or indirectly controlling,
controlled by or under common control with such Person. For purposes
of this definition, the term “control” (including its correlative meanings, the
terms “controlling”, “controlled by” and “under common control with”), as used
with respect to any Person, shall mean the possession, directly or indirectly,
of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of
such Person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract or
otherwise.
“Berkshire Parties”
means Berkshire Hathaway and General Reinsurance.
“Berkshire Tax Risk
Certificate” means a certificate, signed on behalf of Berkshire Hathaway
by an authorized officer of Berkshire Hathaway, (i) stating that a Material
Increase in Tax Risk has occurred and (ii) specifically identifying and
describing in detail the reason(s) for such Material Increase in Tax
Risk.
“BICC” means British Insurance
Company of Cayman, a Cayman Islands company and a direct, wholly owned
subsidiary of IAG.
“Business Day” means
any day except a Saturday, Sunday or other day on which commercial banking
institutions in (i) New York City or (ii) Hamilton, Bermuda are
authorized by law or executive order to be closed.
“CCIC” means
Commercial Casualty Insurance Company, a California corporation.
“Code” has the meaning
assigned to such term in Section 1.01 of the Tax Matters
Agreement.
“Controlled Group
Liability” means any liability (i) under Section 302 of ERISA,
Title IV of ERISA, Section 412 of the Code, Section 52(a) of the Code
or the Coal Industry Retiree Health Benefit Act of 1992, as amended, or
(ii) for violation of the continuation coverage requirements of Sections
601 et seq. of
ERISA and Section 4980B of the Code or the group health requirements of
Sections 701 et
seq. of ERISA and Sections 9801 et seq. of the
Code.
“Cravath Tax Risk
Letter” means a letter from Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
addressed to White Mountains, reasonably satisfactory in form and substance to
Berkshire Hathaway, stating that Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP could
not, as of the date of such letter, provide its Tax Opinion for the same
reason(s) identified in the White Mountains Tax Risk Certificate.
“Disclosure Schedule”
means the White Mountains Disclosure Schedule or the Berkshire Disclosure
Schedule, as the context requires.
“Employee” means each
employee who, as of the Closing (or such other time as is specified in the
context where used) is employed by a Transferred Subsidiary, it being understood
that Morgan Davis is not, and will not as of the Closing be, an employee of any
Transferred Subsidiary and is therefore not an “Employee” for purposes of this
Agreement.
“Employee Benefit
Plan” means any “employee benefit plan” (as such term is defined in
Section 3(3) of ERISA) and any other compensation or employee benefit plan,
program or arrangement, other than any such plan, program or arrangement that is
mandated by applicable Law.
“ERISA” means the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended.
“Final Determination”
has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 1.01 of the Tax Matters
Agreement.
“GAAP” means United
States generally accepted accounting principles.
“General Reinsurance
Transaction Tax” has the meaning assigned to such term in
Section 1.01 of the Tax Matters Agreement.
“Governmental
Authority” means any supranational, national, U.S. federal, state or
local government, foreign or domestic, or the government of any political
subdivision of any of the foregoing, or any entity, authority, agency, ministry
or other similar body exercising executive, legislative, judicial, regulatory or
administrative authority or functions of or pertaining to government, including
any authority or other quasi-governmental entity established by a Governmental
Authority to perform any of such functions.
“IAG” means
International American Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation.
“IAG
Subsidiaries” means, collectively,
ACIC, BICC and IAMC.
“IAG Subsidiary
Shares” means the outstanding shares of common stock, common shares or
ordinary shares, as applicable, of each of the IAG Subsidiaries.
“IAMC” means
International American Management Company, a Delaware corporation and a direct,
wholly owned subsidiary of IAG.
“Intended Tax-Free
Treatment” has the meaning assigned to such term in the recitals of the
Tax Matters Agreement.
“IRS” has the meaning
assigned to such term in Section 1.01 of the Tax Matters
Agreement.
“Law” means any
statute, law, ordinance, rule, administrative ruling, regulation, registration,
permit, order, license, decree or judgment, including any of the foregoing as
they relate to Tax.
“Legal Proceeding”
means any private or governmental action, suit, complaint, arbitration, legal or
administrative proceeding or investigation.
“Liabilities” means
any and all debts, liabilities, commitments and obligations of every kind,
nature, character and description whatsoever, whenever arising, whether or not
fixed, contingent or absolute, matured or unmatured, direct or indirect,
liquidated or unliquidated, accrued or unaccrued, known or unknown, asserted or
unasserted, due or to become due, and whether or not required by GAAP to be
reflected in financial statements or disclosed in the notes
thereto.
“Lien” means any lien,
mortgage, pledge, security interest, encumbrance or other similar security
arrangement that grants to any Person any security interest, including any
restriction on the transfer of any asset, any right of first offer, right of
first refusal, right of first negotiation, preemptive right or any similar right
in favor of any Person, any restriction on the receipt of any income derived
from any asset and any limitation or restriction on the right to own, vote,
pledge, sell or otherwise dispose of any security, but excluding any such
restrictions, limitations and other encumbrances for Taxes not yet due and
payable.
“Material Increase in Tax
Risk” means any material increase since the date of this Agreement in the
risk that the Exchange will not qualify for the Intended Tax-Free
Treatment. For the avoidance of doubt, the inability of the parties
to rely on the IRS Ruling at any time after such ruling is issued will be deemed
to be a Material Increase in Tax Risk.
“Munger Tax Risk
Letter” means a letter from Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP addressed to
Berkshire Hathaway, reasonably satisfactory in form and substance to White
Mountains, stating that Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP could not, as of the date
of such letter, provide its Tax Opinion for the same reason(s) identified in the
Berkshire Tax Risk Certificate.
“Non-Qualification
Event” means (i) the mutual written agreement of White Mountains and
Berkshire Hathaway to report the Exchange as taxable, (ii) both of White
Mountains and Berkshire Hathaway in fact report the Exchange as taxable, (iii)
Berkshire Hathaway exercising its right pursuant to Section 9.02(a) to require
the consummation of the Transactions (but only if Berkshire Hathaway provides
White Mountains with a notice that it intends to report the Exchange as taxable
or in fact reports the Exchange as taxable), (iv) White Mountains exercising its
right pursuant to Section 9.02(b) to require the consummation of the
Transactions or (v) a Final Determination that the Exchange does not qualify for
the Intended Tax-Free Treatment.
“Note Reimbursement
Agreement” means the Note Reimbursement Agreement by and among the
Company, General Reinsurance and Folksamerica Holding Company, Inc., the form of
which is attached as Exhibit A hereto.
“Person” means an
individual, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, association,
trust or other entity or organization, including a government or political
subdivision or an agency or instrumentality thereof.
“Subsidiary” of any
Person means another Person, an amount of the voting securities, other voting
ownership or voting partnership interests sufficient to elect at least a
majority of its board of directors or other governing body (or, if there are no
such voting interests, more than 50% of the equity interests) of which is owned
directly or indirectly by such first Person or by another Subsidiary of such
first Person.
“Tax” has the meaning
assigned to such term in Section 1.01 of the Tax Matters
Agreement.
“Tax Authority” has
the meaning assigned to such term in Section 1.01 of the Tax Matters
Agreement.
“Tax Matters
Agreement” means the Tax Matters Agreement, dated the date of this
Agreement, by and among Berkshire Hathaway, General Reinsurance, White Mountains
and the Company.
“Tax Opinions” means
(i) the opinion of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP received by White
Mountains and (ii) the opinion of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP received
by General Reinsurance, that the Exchange should qualify for the Intended
Tax-Free Treatment. For the avoidance of doubt, the Tax Opinions will
not address the tax treatment of the Exchange to White Mountains or its
Affiliates.
“Tax Representation
Letters” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 1.01 of
the Tax Matters Agreement.
“Tax Return” has the
meaning assigned to such term in Section 1.01 of the Tax Matters
Agreement.
“Termination Notice”
means a notice stating that the party delivering the notice wishes to terminate
the Agreement pursuant to Section 9.01 and specifically identifying and
describing in detail the reason(s) that such party has a right to terminate,
including a statement whether the delivering party believes such reason arose
from an Actionable Breach.
“Transaction
Agreements” means this Agreement, the Tax Matters Agreement, the Note
Reimbursement Agreement and the Credit Support Agreement.
“Transactions” means
the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the other Transaction
Agreements, including the Reorganization and the Exchange.
“Transferred
Subsidiaries” means, collectively, the Company, IAG, the IAG Subsidiaries
and CCIC.
“Transferred Subsidiary
Benefit Plan” means any Employee Benefit Plan that is sponsored by a
Transferred Subsidiary or any employment agreement between a Transferred
Subsidiary, on the one hand, and an employee of a Transferred Subsidiary, on the
other hand.
“White Mountains Tax Risk
Certificate” means a certificate, signed on behalf of White Mountains by
an authorized officer of White Mountains, (i) stating that a Material
Increase in Tax Risk has occurred and (ii) specifically identifying and
describing in detail the reason(s) for such Material Increase in Tax
Risk.
SECTION
1.02. Terms Defined in Other Sections. The following
terms are defined elsewhere in this Agreement in the following
Sections:
|
Accounting
Firm
|
Section 2.01(c)
|
|
Agreed
Upon Share Price
|
Section 2.01(d)(i)
|
|
Agreement
|
Preamble
|
|
Annual
Statutory Statements
|
Section 4.07(c)
|
|
Base
Cash Amount
|
Section 2.01(d)(ii)
|
|
Berkshire
401(k) Plan
|
Section 6.06
|
|
Berkshire
Disclosure Schedule
|
Article V
|
|
Berkshire
Hathaway
|
Preamble
|
|
Berkshire
Indemnified Parties
|
Section 10.02(a)
|
|
Berkshire
Specified Representations
|
Section 10.01
|
|
Cash
Amount
|
Section 2.01(b)
|
|
CCIC
Balance Sheet
|
Section 4.07(a)
|
|
CCIC
Financial Statements
|
Section 4.07(a)
|
|
CCIC
Shares
|
Section 4.06(a)
|
|
Closing
|
Section 2.02
|
|
Closing
Date
|
Section 2.02
|
|
Company
|
Preamble
|
|
Company
Shares
|
Section 4.05(a)
|
|
Convertible
WM Security
|
Section 6.07
|
|
Credit
Support Agreement
|
Section 7.02
|
|
Damages
|
Section 10.02(d)
|
|
Exchange
|
Section 2.01(a)
|
|
General
Reinsurance
|
Preamble
|
|
General
Reinsurance WM Units
|
Section 2.01(d)(iii)
|
|
Gerling
|
Section 4.09
|
|
IAG
Balance Sheet
|
Section 4.07(b)
|
|
IAG
Financial Statements
|
Section 4.07(b)
|
|
IAG
Shares
|
Section 4.06(c)
|
|
IAG
and Sub Balance Sheet
|
Section 4.07(b)
|
|
Indemnified
Party
|
Section 10.02(c)
|
|
Indemnifying
Party
|
Section 10.02(c)
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Information
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Section 6.04(a)
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Insurance
Regulator
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Section 4.07(c)
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IRS
Ruling
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Section 8.01(c)
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Maximum
Cash Amount
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Section 2.01(d)(iv)
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Methodology
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Section 2.01(c)
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Ordinary
Course of Business
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Section 6.01(a)
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Quarterly
Statutory Statements
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Section 4.07(c)
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Reorganization
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Section 3.01
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Reorganization
Date
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Section 3.01
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Representatives
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Section 6.04(a)
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SAP
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Section 4.07(c)
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Statutory
Statements
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Section 4.07(c)
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Survival
End Date
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Section 10.01
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Termination
Date
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Section 9.01(b)
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Third
Party Claims
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Section 10.02(c)
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White
Mountains
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Preamble
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White
Mountains 401(k) Plan
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Section 6.06
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White
Mountains Disclosure Schedule
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Article IV
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White
Mountains Indemnified Parties
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Section 10.02(b)
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White
Mountains Information
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Section 5.06(b)
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White
Mountains Specified Representations
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Section 10.01
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White
Mountains Unit
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Section 2.01(d)(v)
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ARTICLE
II
EXCHANGE
OF STOCK; DETERMINATION OF CASH AMOUNT; CLOSING
SECTION
2.01. Exchange of Stock; Determination of Cash
Amount. (a) Upon the terms and subject to the
conditions of this Agreement:
(i) White Mountains will assign, transfer, convey and deliver to
General Reinsurance all of the capital stock of the Company, consisting solely
of the Company Shares, and General Reinsurance will accept and acquire from
White Mountains such Company Shares (free and clear of all Liens, other than
Liens arising under this Agreement or any other Transaction Agreement, arising
under securities Laws of general applicability or created by Berkshire Hathaway
or any of its Affiliates); and
(ii) General
Reinsurance will assign, transfer, convey and deliver to White Mountains, and
White Mountains will accept and acquire from General Reinsurance, in exchange
for the Company Shares, the General Reinsurance WM Units (free and clear of all
Liens, other than Liens arising under this Agreement or any other Transaction
Agreement, arising under securities Laws of general applicability or created by
White Mountains or any of its Affiliates) (clauses (i) and (ii) of
this Section 2.01(a) are herein referred to collectively as the “Exchange”).
(b) The
cash amount to be contributed to the Company immediately prior to the Exchange
(the “Cash
Amount”) shall be:
(i) if a Non-Qualification Event has occurred as a result of
Berkshire Hathaway exercising its right pursuant to Section 9.02(a) to require
the consummation of the Transactions, then the Cash Amount shall be the Base
Cash Amount;
(ii) if
a Non-Qualification Event has occurred as a result of White Mountains exercising
its right pursuant to Section 9.02(b) to require the consummation of the
Transactions, then the Cash Amount shall be the Base Cash Amount plus U.S.
$251,600,000;
(iii) if
a Non-Qualification Event has occurred and neither Berkshire Hathaway nor White
Mountains has exercised its right pursuant to Section 9.02 to require the
consummation of the Transactions, then the Cash Amount shall be the Base Cash
Amount plus U.S. $125,800,000; and
(iv) if
a Non-Qualification Event has not occurred, then the Cash Amount shall be the
lesser of (i) the Base Cash Amount and (ii) the Maximum Cash
Amount.
(c) Unless
a Non-Qualification Event has occurred (in which case this Section 2.01(c) shall
not apply), prior to the third Business Day following the receipt by White
Mountains and Berkshire Hathaway of the IRS Ruling, White Mountains and
Berkshire Hathaway shall, solely for purposes of determining the Maximum Cash
Amount, mutually determine in good faith (i) the aggregate fair market
value of the gross assets that the Company and its Subsidiaries will hold
immediately after the Exchange (not taking into account any cash to be
contributed pursuant to Section 2.01(b)), and (ii) the aggregate fair
market value of the “investment assets” (as defined in Section 355(g) of
the Code) that the Company and its Subsidiaries will hold immediately after the
Exchange (not taking into account any cash to be contributed pursuant to
Section 2.01(b)); provided that such
determination shall be made in a manner consistent with the methodology used to
prepare Exhibit B, which methodology shall be modified from time to time to take
into account guidance (whether oral or written), if any, received from the IRS
regarding the application of Section 355(g) of the Code (as so modified,
the “Methodology”). If
such determination is not made prior to the third Business Day following the
receipt by White Mountains and Berkshire Hathaway of the IRS Ruling because of
good faith disagreement between White Mountains and Berkshire Hathaway, then the
determination of the matter or matters with respect to which there is
disagreement shall be made as soon as reasonably practicable by KPMG LLP, or
another nationally recognized independent public accounting firm reasonably
satisfactory to both White Mountains and Berkshire Hathaway (the “Accounting
Firm”). The Accounting Firm shall, as soon as reasonably
practicable, and after consulting with both White Mountains and Berkshire
Hathaway, prepare and deliver to White Mountains and Berkshire Hathaway a
preliminary report reflecting its determination of the matter or matters with
respect to which there is disagreement, it being understood that such
determination shall be consistent with the first sentence of this
Section 2.01(c) (including the requirement that any determination shall be
made in a manner consistent with the Methodology). The Accounting
Firm shall respond to any questions of and consider in good faith any comments
on such preliminary report submitted to the Accounting Firm by White Mountains
and Berkshire Hathaway on or before the fifth Business Day following the date
such preliminary report is provided to White Mountains and Berkshire
Hathaway. Thereafter, the Accounting Firm shall, as soon as
reasonably practicable (but no later than 10 Business Days after the date of the
preliminary report), prepare and deliver to White Mountains and Berkshire
Hathaway a report reflecting its final determination of the matter or matters
with respect to which there is disagreement, it being understood that such
determination shall be consistent with the first sentence of this
Section 2.01(c) (including the requirement that any determination shall be
made in a manner consistent with the Methodology). Such determination
shall be final and binding on the parties hereto. White Mountains
shall, and shall cause its Affiliates to, cooperate with and provide the
Accounting Firm reasonable access to the books and records, accountants and
advisors of White Mountains in connection with the Accounting Firm’s preparation
of such reports. All fees and expenses incident to the obtaining of
any such reports shall be borne equally by White Mountains and Berkshire
Hathaway.
(d) For
purposes of this Agreement:
(i) “Agreed
Upon Share Price” means U.S. $485;
(ii) “Base Cash Amount”
means U.S. $751,237,000;
(iii) “General Reinsurance WM
Units” means
1,724,200 White Mountains Units, minus (if and only if
(x) a Non-Qualification Event has not occurred and (y) the Base Cash Amount
exceeds the Maximum Cash Amount) the number of White Mountains Units equal to
the quotient (rounded to the nearest whole number) resulting from dividing
(A) the excess of the Base Cash Amount over the Maximum Cash Amount by
(B) the Agreed Upon Share Price;
(iv) “Maximum Cash Amount”
means the amount, in U.S. dollars, that is equal to (A) two times the
aggregate fair market value of the gross assets other than “investment assets”
(as defined in Section 355(g) of the Code) that the Company and its
Subsidiaries will hold immediately after the Exchange (not taking into account
any cash to be contributed pursuant to Section 2.01(b)) minus (B) the
aggregate fair market value of the “investment assets” (as defined in
Section 355(g) of the Code) the Company and its Subsidiaries will hold
immediately after the Exchange (not taking into account any cash to be
contributed pursuant to Section 2.01(b)) minus (C) U.S. $15,000,000,
and in the case of (A) and (B), using the fair market values determined in
accordance with Section 2.01(c); and
(v) “White Mountains Unit”
means, as applicable, either (x) a common share, par value U.S. $1.00 per share,
of White Mountains owned by General Reinsurance on the date of this Agreement,
or (y) all consideration that such common share, in one or more transactions, is
converted, exchanged or otherwise transformed into if, following the date of
this Agreement and prior to the Closing, General Reinsurance receives such
consideration, in one or more transactions, for such common share pursuant to a
subdivision, share split, consolidation, share dividend, combination,
reclassification, merger, exchange offer or other transaction that results in
the conversion, exchange or other transformation of such common share into such
consideration.
SECTION
2.02. Closing. The closing (the “Closing”) of the
Exchange and the other transactions contemplated hereby to occur concurrently
therewith shall take place at the offices of Cravath, Swaine & Moore
LLP, Worldwide Plaza, 825 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York on the
fifth Business Day following the time at which the conditions set forth in
Article VIII are satisfied or waived (other than conditions that by their nature
are to be satisfied and are in fact satisfied at the Closing or, to the extent
permitted, waived), or at such other time or place as White Mountains and
Berkshire Hathaway may agree. The date and time upon which the
Closing occurs is referred to as the “Closing
Date”.
SECTION
2.03. White Mountains’ Deliveries at the Closing. At
the Closing, White Mountains will deliver or cause to be delivered to Berkshire
Hathaway the following:
(a) one
or more stock certificates representing all of the issued and outstanding
Company Shares, together with stock powers executed in blank, in proper form for
transfer, with any required transfer stamps affixed thereto;
(b) the
stock books, stock ledgers and minute books of each Transferred
Subsidiary;
(c) a
certificate of an authorized officer of White Mountains pursuant to
Sections 6.10(b) (if a Non-Qualification Event has not occurred), 8.02(a)
and 8.02(b) hereof;
(d) letters
of resignation, dated as of the Closing Date, from each of the directors of the
Company and each of its Subsidiaries;
(e) all
books and records of or relating primarily to any Transferred Subsidiary in the
possession or control of White Mountains or any of its Subsidiaries (provided that White
Mountains may retain (i) any such books and records to the extent relating
to businesses of White Mountains and its Subsidiaries, other than the
Transferred Subsidiaries, and shall provide copies of the relevant portions
thereof to Berkshire Hathaway, (ii) all records and analyses prepared in
connection with the Exchange and (iii) all Tax records, and shall provide
to Berkshire Hathaway (to the extent not previously provided) copies of
(A) the separate Tax Returns of, or with respect to, the Transferred
Subsidiaries, (B) the relevant portions of any other Tax Returns and
(C) other existing Tax records (or the relevant portions thereof)
reasonably necessary to prepare and file any Tax Returns of, or with respect to,
the Transferred Subsidiaries, or to defend or contest Tax matters relevant to
the Transferred Subsidiaries for all taxable periods for which the applicable
statute of limitations on assessment remains open, including, in each case, all
Tax records related to Tax attributes of the Transferred Subsidiaries and any
and all communications or agreements with, or rulings by, any Tax Authority with
respect to any Transferred Subsidiary);
(f) each
Transaction Agreement to which White Mountains or any of its Affiliates,
including any Transferred Subsidiary, is anticipated to be a party hereby, duly
executed by such Person; and
(g) such
other documents as are reasonably required by Berkshire Hathaway to be delivered
to effectuate the Transactions or to evidence the authority, existence and good
standing of White Mountains and its relevant Affiliates (except, in the
case of good standing, for entities organized under the Laws of any jurisdiction
that does not recognize such concept).
SECTION
2.04. Berkshire Hathaway’s Deliveries at the
Closing. At the Closing, Berkshire Hathaway will deliver or
cause to be delivered to White Mountains the following:
(a) one
or more stock certificates representing all shares included in the General
Reinsurance WM Units;
(b) a
certificate of an authorized officer of Berkshire Hathaway pursuant to
Sections 6.10(b) (if a Non-Qualification Event has not occurred), 8.03(a)
and 8.03(b) hereof;
(c) each
Transaction Agreement to which Berkshire Hathaway or any of its Affiliates is
anticipated to be a party hereby, duly executed by such Person; and
(d) such
other documents as are reasonably required by White Mountains to be delivered to
effectuate the Transactions or to evidence the authority, existence and good
standing of Berkshire Hathaway and its relevant Affiliates (except, in the case
of good standing, for entities organized under the Laws of any jurisdiction that
does not recognize such concept).
ARTICLE
III
REORGANIZATION
OF THE COMPANY
SECTION
3.01. Reorganization. White Mountains agrees that,
prior to the Closing Date, White Mountains shall, and shall cause its
Subsidiaries to, complete the reorganization of the Company (the “Reorganization”) such
that after the Reorganization (the date on which the Reorganization is complete,
the “Reorganization
Date”):
(a) White
Mountains shall be the sole and direct shareholder of the Company;
and
(b) the
Company shall be the sole and direct owner of the CCIC Shares and the IAG
Shares, the indirect owner of the IAG Subsidiary Shares (all of which shall be
held directly by IAG) and shall hold directly the Cash Amount.
ARTICLE
IV
REPRESENTATIONS
AND WARRANTIES OF WHITE MOUNTAINS
White
Mountains represents and warrants to the Berkshire Parties, except as otherwise
specifically disclosed to the Berkshire Parties in the disclosure schedule
attached to this Agreement (the “White Mountains Disclosure
Schedule”), as of the date of this Agreement (or, if made as of a
specified date, as of such specified date), as follows:
SECTION
4.01. Organization. Each of White Mountains and the
Transferred Subsidiaries has been duly incorporated and is validly existing and
in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation (except, in
the case of good standing, for entities organized under the Laws of any
jurisdiction that does not recognize such concept) and has all requisite
corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and
assets and to carry on its business as conducted on the date of this
Agreement. Each of White Mountains and the Transferred Subsidiaries
is licensed to do business in each jurisdiction in which either the ownership or
use of its property or assets or the conduct of its business requires such
license, except for such failures to be so licensed that, individually or in the
aggregate, have not had and would not reasonably be expected to have a material
adverse effect on the Transferred Subsidiaries, taken as a whole.
SECTION
4.02. Corporate Power and Authority. White Mountains
and each of its Subsidiaries that is or will be a party to the Transaction
Agreements has all requisite corporate power and authority to enter into and
deliver the Transaction Agreements and to consummate the transactions
contemplated hereby and thereby. The execution, delivery and
performance of this Agreement and the Tax Matters Agreement by each of White
Mountains and the Company and the consummation by each of White Mountains and
the Company of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, and the
execution, delivery and performance of the other Transaction Agreements by White
Mountains and each of its Subsidiaries that is, or, as of the Closing, will be,
a party thereto and the consummation of the transactions contemplated thereby,
have been, or, with respect to the other Transaction Agreements and the
transactions contemplated thereby, will, as of the Closing, be duly authorized
by all necessary action or proceeding on the part of each such
Person. Each of this Agreement and the Tax Matters Agreement has been
duly executed and delivered by each of White Mountains and the Company and
constitutes the legal, valid and binding obligation of each of White Mountains
and the Company, enforceable against such Person in accordance with its terms
(except as enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency,
reorganization, moratorium or similar Laws affecting creditors’ rights
generally, or by principles governing the availability of equitable
remedies). The other Transaction Agreements will, as of the Closing,
be duly executed and delivered by White Mountains and each of its Subsidiaries
that is or is specified to be a party thereto and will, as of the Closing,
constitute the legal, valid and binding obligations of White Mountains and each
such Subsidiary, enforceable against each such Person in accordance with their
respective terms (except as enforceability may be limited by applicable
bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar Laws affecting
creditors’ rights generally, or by principles governing the availability of
equitable remedies).
SECTION
4.03. Non-Contravention. The execution and delivery of
the Transaction Agreements by White Mountains and the Company do not, and White
Mountains’ and its Subsidiaries’ performance hereunder and thereunder and the
consummation of the Transactions will not (a) violate any provision of the
articles of incorporation or bylaws, or similar governing documents, of White
Mountains or any Transferred Subsidiary, (b) materially violate or
constitute a material breach of or default under (with or without notice or
lapse of time, or both), or permit termination, modification or acceleration
under, (i) any material contract to which any Transferred Subsidiary is
bound or (ii) any material contract to which White Mountains is bound that,
if so violated or breached, would prevent or materially delay the consummation
of the Transactions, (c) materially violate any material Law of any
Governmental Authority applicable to White Mountains or any Transferred
Subsidiary, (d) result in the cancellation, modification, revocation or
suspension of any material license or other approval of any Governmental
Authority granted to any Transferred Subsidiary, or (e) result in the
imposition or creation of any material Lien upon or with respect to any of the
material properties or assets of any Transferred Subsidiary, other than Liens
arising under this Agreement or any other Transaction Agreement, under
securities Laws of general applicability or Liens created by Berkshire Hathaway
or any of its Affiliates.
SECTION
4.04. Consents. The execution and delivery by White
Mountains and the Company of the Transaction Agreements, White Mountains’ and
the Company’s performance hereunder and thereunder, and the consummation of the
Transactions do not require any material consent or approval of any Governmental
Authority, or trigger any material consent or approval rights under any material
contract to which any Transferred Subsidiary is a party, other than the filing
of appropriate documents with and approval of the Commissioner of Insurance of
the State of California, the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority and the Insurance
Commissioner of the State of Delaware.
SECTION
4.05. Capitalization of the Company; Ownership of Company Shares; Company
Subsidiaries.
(a) As
of the Closing Date, the authorized share capital of the Company will consist
solely of 100 common shares, par value U.S. $0.01 per share, of which 100 shares
will be issued and outstanding (the “Company
Shares”). As of the Closing Date, White Mountains will be the
record and beneficial owner of and will have good and valid title to all the
Company Shares, free and clear of all Liens, other than Liens arising under this
Agreement or any other Transaction Agreement, under securities Laws of general
applicability or Liens created by Berkshire Hathaway or any of its Affiliates,
and all of the Company Shares will have been duly authorized and validly issued,
fully paid and non-assessable, and will not be subject to or issued in violation
of any preemptive rights or have been issued in violation of the securities Laws
of the United States. Immediately after the Closing, General
Reinsurance will have good and valid title to all of the Company Shares, free
and clear of all Liens, other than Liens arising under this Agreement or any
other Transaction Agreement, under securities Laws of general applicability or
Liens created by Berkshire Hathaway or any of its Affiliates.
(b) Except
for the Company Shares, immediately after the Closing, there will be no
outstanding (i) shares of capital stock or voting securities of, or other
ownership interests in, the Company, (ii) securities of any Person
convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of capital stock or
other voting securities of, or ownership interests in, the Company or
(iii) options or other rights to acquire from any Person, or other
obligations of the Company to issue or to make any payments based on, any
capital stock or other voting securities of, or other ownership interests in, or
any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for, any capital
stock or other voting securities of the Company. Immediately after
the Closing, there will be no outstanding bonds, debentures, notes or other
indebtedness of the Company, including any outstanding bonds, debentures, notes
or other indebtedness that have the right to vote (or that are or, after the
passage of time, may be convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for
securities having the right to vote) on any matters on which stockholders of the
Company may vote.
(c) The
Company will have, immediately prior to the Reorganization, no
Subsidiaries. Following the Reorganization, on and as of the Closing
Date, (i) the Company’s Subsidiaries will consist solely of CCIC, IAG and
the IAG Subsidiaries, (ii) CCIC and each IAG Subsidiary will have no
Subsidiaries and (iii) IAG’s Subsidiaries will consist solely of the IAG
Subsidiaries.
SECTION
4.06. Capitalization of CCIC and IAG; Ownership of CCIC Shares, IAG
Shares and IAG Subsidiary Shares.
(a) As
of the Closing Date, the authorized capital stock of CCIC will consist of 10,000
common shares, par value U.S. $300.00 per share, of which 10,000 shares will be
issued and outstanding (the “CCIC
Shares”). As of the Closing Date, all of the CCIC Shares will
have been duly authorized and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, and
will not be subject to or issued in violation of any preemptive rights or have
been issued in violation of the securities Laws of the United
States. As of the Closing Date, other than the CCIC Shares owned by
the Company, neither White Mountains nor any of its Subsidiaries will own,
directly or indirectly, any CCIC Shares (or any direct or indirect interest in
any CCIC Shares). Immediately after the Closing, the Company will be
the record and beneficial owner of and will have good and valid title to all of
the CCIC Shares, in each case, free and clear of all Liens, other than Liens
arising under this Agreement or any other Transaction Agreement, under
securities Laws of general applicability or Liens created by Berkshire Hathaway
or any of its Affiliates.
(b) Except
for the CCIC Shares, immediately after the Closing, there will be no outstanding
(i) shares of capital stock or voting securities of, or other ownership
interests in, CCIC, (ii) securities of any Person convertible into or
exercisable or exchangeable for shares of capital stock or other voting
securities of, or ownership interests in, CCIC or (iii) options or other
rights to acquire from any Person, or other obligations of CCIC to issue or to
make any payments based on, any capital stock or other voting securities of, or
other ownership interests in, or any securities convertible into or exercisable
or exchangeable for, any capital stock or other voting securities of
CCIC. Immediately after the Closing, there will be no outstanding
bonds, debentures, notes or other indebtedness of CCIC that have the right to
vote (or that are or, after the passage of time, may be convertible into or
exercisable or exchangeable for securities having the right to vote) on any
matters on which stockholders of CCIC may vote.
(c) As
of the Closing Date, the authorized capital stock of IAG will consist of
1,000 common shares, par value U.S. $1.00 per share, of which
1,000 shares will be issued and outstanding (the “IAG
Shares”). As of the Closing Date, all of the IAG Shares will
have been duly authorized and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, and
will not be subject to or issued in violation of any preemptive rights or have
been issued in violation of the securities Laws of the United
States. As of the Closing Date, other than the IAG Shares owned by
the Company, neither White Mountains nor any of its Subsidiaries will own,
directly or indirectly, any IAG Shares (or any direct or indirect interest in
any IAG Shares). Immediately after the Closing, the Company will be
the record and beneficial owner of and will have good and valid title to all of
the IAG Shares, in each case, free and clear of all Liens, other than Liens
arising under this Agreement or any other Transaction Agreement, under
securities Laws of general applicability or Liens created by Berkshire Hathaway
or any of its Affiliates.
(d) Except
for the IAG Shares, immediately after the Closing, there will be no outstanding
(i) shares of capital stock or voting securities of, or other ownership
interests in, IAG, (ii) securities of any Person convertible into or
exercisable or exchangeable for shares of capital stock or other voting
securities of, or ownership interests in, IAG or (iii) options or other
rights to acquire from any Person, or other obligations of IAG to issue or to
make any payments based on, any capital stock or other voting securities of, or
other ownership interests in, or any securities convertible into or exercisable
or exchangeable for, any capital stock or other voting securities of
IAG. Immediately after the Closing, there will be no outstanding
bonds, debentures, notes or other indebtedness of IAG that have the right to
vote (or that are or, after the passage of time, may be convertible into or
exercisable or exchangeable for securities having the right to vote) on any
matters on which stockholders of IAG may vote.
(e) As
of the Closing Date, all of the IAG Subsidiary Shares will have been duly
authorized and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, and will not be
subject to or issued in violation of any preemptive rights or have been issued
in violation of the securities Laws of the United States or the country of the
Subsidiary’s organization. As of the Closing Date, other than the IAG
Subsidiary Shares owned by IAG, neither White Mountains nor any of its
Subsidiaries will own, directly or indirectly, any IAG Subsidiary Shares (or any
direct or indirect interest in any IAG Subsidiary
Shares). Immediately after the Closing, IAG will be the record and
beneficial owner of and will have good and valid title to all of the IAG
Subsidiary Shares, in each case, free and clear of all Liens, other than Liens
arising under this Agreement or any other Transaction Agreement, under
securities Laws of general applicability or Liens created by Berkshire Hathaway
or any of its Affiliates.
(f) Except
for the IAG Subsidiary Shares, immediately after the Closing, there will be no
outstanding (i) shares of capital stock or voting securities of, or other
ownership interests in, the IAG Subsidiaries, (ii) securities of any Person
convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of capital stock or
other voting securities of, or ownership interests in, the IAG Subsidiaries or
(iii) options or other rights to acquire from any Person, or other
obligations of the IAG Subsidiaries to issue or make any payments based on, any
capital stock or other voting securities of, or other ownership interests in, or
any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for, any capital
stock or other voting securities of, the IAG
Subsidiaries. Immediately after the Closing, there will be no
outstanding bonds, debentures, notes or other indebtedness of the IAG
Subsidiaries that have the right to vote (or that are or, after the passage of
time, may be convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for securities
having the right to vote) on any matters on which stockholders or members of the
IAG Subsidiaries may vote.
SECTION
4.07. Financial Statements; Statutory Statements.
(a) Attached
as Section 4.07(a) of the White Mountains Disclosure Schedule are true and
complete copies of the unaudited condensed balance sheets of CCIC as of
December 31, 2005, 2006 and 2007 (the “CCIC Balance Sheet”)
and the related unaudited condensed statements of income and comprehensive
income of CCIC for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2005, 2006
and 2007 (together with the CCIC Balance Sheet, the “CCIC Financial
Statements”). The CCIC Financial Statements have been prepared
from the accounting books and records of CCIC in accordance with GAAP and fairly
present in all material respects the financial condition and results of
operations of CCIC as of the dates and for the periods indicated, except that
the CCIC Financial Statements lack footnote disclosure and other presentation
items required by GAAP.
(b) Attached
as Section 4.07(b) of the White Mountains Disclosure Schedule are true and
complete copies of (i) the unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets
of IAG as of December 31, 2005, 2006 and 2007 (the “IAG Balance Sheet”)
and the related unaudited condensed consolidated statements of income and
comprehensive income of IAG for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2005,
2006 and 2007 and (ii) the unaudited condensed consolidated
balance sheets of each of the Subsidiaries of IAG as of December 31, 2005,
2006 and 2007 (together with the IAG Balance Sheet, the “IAG and Sub Balance
Sheet”) and the related unaudited condensed consolidated statements of
income and comprehensive income of each of the Subsidiaries of IAG for the
fiscal years ended December 31, 2005, 2006 and 2007 (the unaudited
financial statements in clauses (i) and (ii) above, collectively, the
“IAG Financial
Statements”). The IAG Financial Statements have been prepared
from the accounting books and records of IAG and the Subsidiaries of IAG in
accordance with GAAP and fairly present in all material respects the financial
condition and results of operations of IAG and its Subsidiaries as of the dates
and for the periods indicated, except that the IAG Financial Statements lack
footnote disclosure and other presentation items required by GAAP.
(c) (i) Attached
as Section 4.07(c) of the White Mountains Disclosure Schedule are true and
complete copies (in each case, together with the exhibits, schedules and notes
thereto) of: (i) the audited balance sheets of each of CCIC and ACIC as of
December 31, 2005 and 2006 (the “Annual Statutory
Statements”) and the related audited statements of operations and
statements of cash flows for the years then ended, together with the notes
thereto, and (ii) the balance sheets of each of CCIC and ACIC as of
September 30, 2007 and the related statements of operations and statements
of cash flows for the period then ended (the “Quarterly Statutory
Statements” and, together with the Annual Statutory Statements, the
“Statutory
Statements”), in each case as filed with the Governmental Authority
charged with supervision of insurance companies of such Transferred Subsidiary’s
jurisdiction of domicile (the “Insurance
Regulator”). The Statutory Statements (A) were prepared
in accordance with statutory accounting practices and procedures prescribed or
permitted by the applicable Insurance Regulator applied on a consistent basis
during the periods presented (“SAP”),
(B) fairly present in all material respects the statutory financial
condition of the applicable Transferred Subsidiary at their respective dates and
the results of operations and cash flows of such Transferred Subsidiary for the
period then ended (subject, in the case of the Quarterly Statutory Statements,
to normal recurring year-end adjustments, the omission of footnotes and other
presentation items required by SAP), (C) comply in all material respects
with all applicable Laws when filed, and no material deficiency has been
asserted with respect to any Statutory Statement by the applicable Insurance
Regulator, and (D) were filed with or submitted to the applicable Insurance
Regulator, in each
case, in a timely manner on forms prescribed or permitted by each such Insurance
Regulator. No material deficiency exists that has not otherwise been
cured or satisfied with respect to any of the Annual Statutory Statements or
Quarterly Statutory Statements. Since the year ended December 31,
2002, the as filed statutory balance sheets of each of CCIC and ACIC as of
December 31, 2007 and the related statutory statements of operations and
statutory statements of cash flows for the year then ended have been audited by
Deloitte & Touche LLP (in the case of CCIC for the years ended December 31,
2002 and December 31, 2003) and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (in all other cases),
and White Mountains has delivered or made available to the Berkshire Parties
true and complete copies of all financial examination reports of insurance
departments issued with respect to CCIC and ACIC for years ending on or after
December 31, 2002.
SECTION
4.08. Absence of Certain Changes or Events. From
December 31, 2007 to the date of this Agreement, the Transferred
Subsidiaries have conducted their respective businesses in the Ordinary Course
of Business. From December 31, 2007 to the date of this
Agreement, White Mountains and its Subsidiaries have taken no action with
respect to any Transferred Subsidiary of the type prohibited by
Section 6.01(b).
SECTION
4.09. Collateral. Attached as Section 4.09 of the
White Mountains Disclosure Schedule is a true and correct copy of the bank
statement for the assets deposited as collateral pursuant to the agreement dated
December 30, 1997 between ACIC and Global Reinsurance Company, f/k/a
Gerling Global International Reinsurance Company, Ltd. (“Gerling”). For
the avoidance of doubt, this Section 4.09 does not address or make any
representations, express or implied, concerning (a) any contractual
relationship between White Mountains and its Affiliates, on the one hand, and
Gerling and its Affiliates, on the other hand, or (b) any actual or
potential disputes relating thereto or arising thereunder.
SECTION
4.10. Undisclosed Liabilities. Except for (i) the
Liabilities that are reflected, or for which reserves were established, on the
balance sheets included in the CCIC Financial Statements or the IAG Financial
Statements, (ii) the Liabilities that are reflected, or for which reserves
were established, on the balance sheets included in the Statutory Statements,
(iii) the Liabilities set forth in the White Mountains Disclosure Schedule,
(iv) Liabilities incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business since
December 31, 2007 and (v) the Liabilities arising under the
Transaction Agreements, none of the Transferred Subsidiaries has any material
Liabilities required by GAAP or SAP to be reflected in a balance sheet or
disclosed in the notes thereto.
SECTION
4.11. Material Contracts. Except for contracts that
have expired in accordance with their terms or terminated for any reason other
than a default by a Transferred Subsidiary that is party thereto, each material
contract to which any Transferred Subsidiary is a party is in full force and
effect in all material respects, and, except for disputes occurring in the
Ordinary Course of Business relating to insurance coverages under insurance
contracts of Transferred Subsidiaries, each Transferred Subsidiary party to such
material contract is not in material breach thereof or material default
thereunder.
SECTION
4.12. Litigation. Except for disputes occurring in the
Ordinary Course of Business relating to insurance coverages under insurance
contracts of Transferred Subsidiaries, there are no material Legal Proceedings,
at law or in equity, pending against or, to the knowledge of White Mountains,
threatened against any of the Transferred Subsidiaries, and there are no orders,
judgments, writs, injunctions or decrees of any Governmental Authority against
any of the Transferred Subsidiaries.
SECTION
4.13. Compliance
with Laws. Each of the Transferred Subsidiaries is, and at
all times since December 31, 2006 has been, in compliance in all material
respects with all material applicable Laws. White Mountains and each
of the Transferred Subsidiaries is qualified and, in the case of the Transferred
Subsidiaries only, possesses all approvals from the applicable Governmental
Authorities, to do business in each jurisdiction in which either the ownership
or use of its property or assets or the conduct of its business requires such
qualification or approval, except for such failures to be so qualified or
possess approvals that, individually or in the aggregate, have not had and would
not reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Transferred
Subsidiaries, taken as a whole.
(a) Section 4.14
of the White Mountains Disclosure Schedule sets forth a list of each Transferred
Subsidiary Benefit Plan.
(b) Each
such Transferred Subsidiary Benefit Plan (and each related trust, insurance
contract or fund, if any) has been maintained, funded and administered in
accordance with the terms of such Transferred Subsidiary Benefit Plan and
complies in form and in operation in all material respects with the applicable
requirements of ERISA, the Code and all applicable Laws.
(c) None
of the Transferred Subsidiaries will incur any Controlled Group Liability on or
following the Closing as a result of being treated as a single employer with
White Mountains or any of its other Subsidiaries or Affiliates for purposes of
Section 414 of the Code.
(d) As
of the Closing Date, no Employee shall be prospectively entitled to any
compensation or benefits pursuant to (i) any Employee Benefit Plan of White
Mountains or any of its Subsidiaries or (ii) any other written or unwritten
agreement, arrangement or promise of White Mountains or any of its Subsidiaries,
other than (A) as required by applicable Law, (B) for any payments or
benefits pursuant to any Transferred Subsidiary Benefit Plan or (C) for any
other payments or benefits for which White Mountains or its Subsidiaries (other
than the Transferred Subsidiaries) shall be solely liable.
SECTION
4.15. No Guarantee Regarding Reserves. No
representation or warranty contained in this Agreement shall be deemed to
constitute a guarantee of the adequacy of any reserve stated on any financial or
statutory statement of any Transferred Subsidiary, including any reserve for
losses, loss adjustment expenses, unearned premiums, uncollectible reinsurance
and reinsurance recoverable assets.
SECTION
4.16. Due Diligence Materials. To the knowledge of
White Mountains, (i) the information provided by White Mountains to the
Berkshire Parties in connection with the Transactions did not include any untrue
statement of a material fact, and (ii) any forecasts or estimates used by
the management of White Mountains or its Affiliates in such information were
prepared in good faith based upon assumptions believed to be reasonable at the
time. This Section 4.16 does not address the scope or
completeness of the Berkshire Parties’ due diligence or diligence requests in
connection with the Transactions.
SECTION
4.17. Company
Assets, Liabilities and Business.
(a) Immediately
prior to the Reorganization, the Company had no assets, other than the capital
contribution with which it was incorporated, and no Liabilities. As
of the Reorganization Date and the Closing (and after giving effect to each),
(i) the assets of the Company (on an unconsolidated basis) will consist
solely of the CCIC Shares, the IAG Shares and the Cash Amount and assets arising
under or in connection with this Agreement or any other Transaction Agreement to
which the Company is or will be a party as contemplated hereby, and
(ii) the Company will have no Liabilities other than Liabilities arising
under or in connection with this Agreement or any other Transaction Agreement to
which the Company is or will be a party as contemplated hereby.
(b) The
Company has not and, as of the Closing, will not have engaged in any business
activities, other than matters relating to its formation and the
Transactions.
SECTION
4.18. Tax Opinion. As of the date of this Agreement,
White Mountains has, based upon the Tax Representation Letters, received its Tax
Opinion.
SECTION
4.19. No
Additional Representations.
(a) Each
of White Mountains and the Company acknowledges that, except as set forth in
Article V and the Tax Representation Letter of the Berkshire Parties, none
of the Berkshire Parties, their respective Representatives or any other person
has made any representation or warranty, express or implied, with respect to the
Berkshire Parties or the General Reinsurance WM Units or with respect to any
information furnished or made available to White Mountains and the Company and
their respective Representatives in connection with the transactions
contemplated hereby. Each of White Mountains and the Company further
acknowledges that, upon the occurrence of the Closing, White Mountains shall
acquire the General Reinsurance WM Units at such Closing without any
representation or warranty pursuant to the Transaction Agreements, except as
otherwise expressly represented or warranted in Article V and the Tax
Representation Letter of the Berkshire Parties.
(b) White
Mountains is a sophisticated investor and has such knowledge and experience in
financial and business matters as to be capable of evaluating the merits of the
Transactions.
ARTICLE
V
REPRESENTATIONS
AND WARRANTIES OF
THE
BERKSHIRE PARTIES
The
Berkshire Parties, jointly and severally, represent and warrant to White
Mountains, except as otherwise specifically disclosed to White Mountains in the
disclosure schedule attached to this Agreement (the “Berkshire Disclosure
Schedule”), as of the date of this Agreement (or, if made as of a
specified date, as of such specified date), as follows:
SECTION
5.01. Organization. Each Berkshire Party has been duly
incorporated and is validly existing and in good standing under the laws of its
jurisdiction of incorporation and has all requisite corporate power and
authority to own, lease and operate its properties and assets and to carry on
its business as conducted on the date of this Agreement. Each
Berkshire Party is qualified or licensed to do business in each jurisdiction in
which either the ownership or use of its property or assets or the conduct of
its business requires such qualification or license, except for such failures to
be so qualified or licensed that, individually or in the aggregate, have not had
and would not reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the
ability of the Berkshire Parties to consummate the Transactions.
SECTION
5.02. Corporate Power and Authority. Each Berkshire
Party has all requisite corporate power and authority to enter into and deliver
the Transaction Agreements and to consummate the transactions contemplated
hereby and thereby. The execution, delivery and performance of this
Agreement and the Tax Matters Agreement by each Berkshire Party and the
consummation by each Berkshire Party of the transactions contemplated hereby and
thereby, and the execution, delivery and performance of the other Transaction
Agreements by each Berkshire Party and the consummation of the transactions
contemplated thereby, have been, or, with respect to the other Transaction
Agreements and the transactions contemplated thereby, will, as of the Closing,
be duly authorized by all necessary action or proceeding on the part of each
such Person. Each of this Agreement and the Tax Matters Agreement has
been duly executed and delivered by each Berkshire Party and constitutes the
legal, valid and binding obligation of each Berkshire Party, enforceable against
such Person in accordance with its terms (except as enforceability may be
limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or
similar Laws affecting creditors’ rights generally, or by principles governing
the availability of equitable remedies). The other Transaction
Agreements will, as of the Closing, be duly executed and delivered by each
Berkshire Party and will, as of the Closing, constitute the legal, valid and
binding obligations of each Berkshire Party, enforceable against each such
Person in accordance with their respective terms (except as enforceability may
be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or
similar Laws affecting creditors’ rights generally, or by principles governing
the availability of equitable remedies).
SECTION
5.03. General Reinsurance WM Units. General Reinsurance
owns beneficially and of record all of the General Reinsurance WM Units, free
and clear of all Liens, other than Liens arising under this Agreement or any
other Transaction Agreement, under securities Laws of general applicability or
Liens created by White Mountains or any of its Affiliates. As of the
Closing Date, General Reinsurance will have good and valid title to all of the
General Reinsurance WM Units, free and clear of all Liens, other than Liens
arising under this Agreement or any other Transaction Agreement, under
securities Laws of general applicability or Liens created by White Mountains or
any of its Affiliates. Immediately after the Closing, White Mountains
will have good and valid title to all of the General Reinsurance WM Units, free
and clear of all Liens, other than Liens arising under this Agreement or any
other Transaction Agreement, under securities Laws of general applicability or
Liens created by White Mountains or any of its Affiliates.
SECTION
5.04. Tax Opinion. As of the date of this Agreement,
Berkshire Hathaway has, based upon the Tax Representation Letters, received its
Tax Opinion.
SECTION
5.05. Tax Basis. General Reinsurance’s aggregate basis
for U.S. federal income Tax purposes in the 1,724,200 common shares of White
Mountains owned by General Reinsurance is, rounded to the nearest dollar, U.S.
$214 per share.
(a) Each
Berkshire Party acknowledges that, except as set forth in Article IV of
this Agreement, Article VII of the Tax Matters Agreement and the Tax
Representation Letter of White Mountains, none of White Mountains, the Company,
their respective Representatives or any other person has made any representation
or warranty, express or implied, with respect to White Mountains or any of its
Subsidiaries or with respect to any information furnished or made available to
the Berkshire Parties and their respective Representatives in connection with
the transactions contemplated hereby. Each Berkshire Party further
acknowledges that, upon the occurrence of the Closing, General Reinsurance shall
acquire the Company Shares and the Transferred Subsidiaries transferred at such
Closing without any representation or warranty pursuant to the Transaction
Agreements, except as otherwise expressly represented or warranted in Article IV
of this Agreement, Article VII of the Tax Matters Agreement and the Tax
Representation Letter of White Mountains.
(b) Each
Berkshire Party is a sophisticated investor and has such knowledge and
experience in financial and business matters as to be capable of evaluating the
merits of the Transactions. Each Berkshire Party is aware that White
Mountains and its Subsidiaries may be in possession of non-public information
about White Mountains and its Subsidiaries, their respective businesses,
prospects, results of operations and financial condition (the “White Mountains
Information”). Each Berkshire Party understands that a
reasonable investor could consider the White Mountains Information to be
material to an investment decision with respect to the Transactions, including
the sale of the General Reinsurance WM Units. Each Berkshire Party
has freely determined to exchange the General Reinsurance WM Units pursuant to
the terms of this Agreement and the other Transaction Agreements for reasons
based on the information it currently possesses, which it deems sufficient,
notwithstanding its lack of access to the White Mountains Information, to inform
its decision to enter into the Transactions.
ARTICLE
VI
COVENANTS
AND AGREEMENTS
SECTION
6.01. Conduct of
Business of the Company and its Subsidiaries.
(a) Except
(i) for the Reorganization, (ii) for the matters set forth in
Section 6.01(a) of the White Mountains Disclosure Schedule, (iii) as
otherwise expressly required or permitted by the terms of this Agreement or any
other Transaction Agreements or (iv) to the extent that Berkshire Hathaway
shall have otherwise given its consent or approval (which consent or approval
shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed), during the period commencing on
the date of this Agreement until the Closing Date, White Mountains shall cause
the Transferred Subsidiaries to conduct their respective businesses in the
usual, regular and ordinary course in substantially the same manner as conducted
as of the date of this Agreement (“Ordinary Course of
Business”) and to use their respective commercially reasonable efforts to
preserve intact the current business organization and operations of the
Transferred Subsidiaries.
(b) In
addition to and without limiting the generality of the immediately preceding
sentence, from the date of this Agreement until the Closing Date, except as
required or specifically contemplated by this Agreement or any other Transaction
Agreement or consented to or approved in advance by Berkshire Hathaway, White
Mountains and its Subsidiaries will not, and will not permit the Transferred
Subsidiaries to, do any of the following with respect to the Transferred
Subsidiaries:
(i) declare, set aside, pay or make any dividend or other
distribution or payment (whether in cash, property, securities or otherwise) to
White Mountains or any of its Affiliates, other than the Transferred
Subsidiaries;
(ii) make any investments of cash or cash equivalents, other than in
the Ordinary Course of Business;
(iii) incur any material capital expenditures, other than in the
Ordinary Course of Business;
(iv) incur, assume, guarantee, prepay or otherwise become liable for
any indebtedness for borrowed money (directly, contingently or otherwise), other
than in the Ordinary Course of Business;
(v) purchase or sell any material assets, other than in the Ordinary
Course of Business;
(vi) enter into, modify, amend, terminate or waive in any material way any
rights under any material contracts, other than in the Ordinary Course of
Business;
(vii) hire
any individual who, if hired, would be an Employee, other than any such
individual who is hired in order to replace an Employee whose employment with
the Transferred Subsidiaries terminates on or following the date of this
Agreement;
(viii) enter
into any employment, consulting, special retirement, change of control,
separation, severance or retention agreement with any employee, other than any
such agreement for which White Mountains or its Subsidiaries (other than the
Transferred Subsidiaries) shall be solely liable and which shall not result in
any obligation of, or commitment by, the Berkshire Parties or their
Affiliates;
(ix)
increase the compensation or benefits payable or provided to any employee, other
than (A) any such increases in the Ordinary Course of Business and
(B) any such increases for which White Mountains or its Subsidiaries or
Affiliates (other than the Transferred Subsidiaries) shall be solely liable and,
in the case of the preceding clause (B), which shall not result in any
obligation of, or commitment by, the Berkshire Parties or their
Affiliates;
(x) except as required by applicable Law, enter into, adopt or amend
any Transferred Subsidiary Benefit Plan;
(xi) make any change in any method or practice of accounting for
financial reporting, except as required by applicable Law, GAAP or SAP as in
effect from time to time;
(xii) enter
into any transaction with any Affiliate of White Mountains, other than the
Transferred Subsidiaries, other than in the Ordinary Course of
Business;
(xiii) settle
any material Legal Proceedings, other than claims-related Legal Proceedings
settled in the Ordinary Course of Business;
(xiv)
amend any articles of incorporation, bylaws or similar governing documents;
or
(xv) commit
or agree to take any of the foregoing actions.
With
respect to this Section 6.01, the parties understand and acknowledge that
investment decisions that are consistent with the generally applicable
investment policies of White Mountains (including changes to such policies)
shall be deemed to be in the Ordinary Course of Business.
(c) White
Mountains agrees that for a period of one year following the Closing, neither
White Mountains nor any of its Affiliates shall solicit for employment or hire
any Employee; provided, that
general solicitation, including through newspaper or online advertisements not
directed at Employees, shall not be deemed to violate the prohibition on
solicitation contained in this Section 6.01(c); provided further, that the
restrictions set forth in this Section 6.01(c) shall not apply to any
Employee whose employment is terminated involuntarily by the Berkshire Parties
or any of their respective Affiliates upon or following the
Closing.
SECTION
6.02. Access and Information. Prior to the Closing,
except to the extent prohibited by applicable Law, White Mountains will permit
(and will cause the Transferred Subsidiaries to permit) the Representatives of
the Berkshire Parties to have reasonable access during normal business hours and
upon reasonable notice to all premises, properties, personnel, books, records,
contracts, commitments, reports of examination and documents of or pertaining to
the Transferred Subsidiaries as may be necessary to permit the Berkshire Parties
to, at their sole expense, take, or cause to be taken, such actions as the
Berkshire Parties reasonably deem necessary to consummate the Transactions in
accordance with the Transaction Agreements, and White Mountains shall (and shall
cause the Transferred Subsidiaries to) reasonably cooperate in such regard;
provided, however, that such
access does not unreasonably disrupt the normal operations of White Mountains or
the Transferred Subsidiaries.
SECTION
6.03. Efforts to Consummate; Further Assurances; Certain
Covenants. At any time and from time to time after the date of
this Agreement, the parties agree to cooperate with each other, to execute and
deliver such other documents and instruments of transfer or assignment, and to
do all such further acts and things as may be reasonably necessary or desirable
to carry out the transactions contemplated hereunder or under any other
Transaction Agreement. Each such party shall, on or prior to the
Closing Date, use its reasonable best efforts to fulfill or obtain the
fulfillment of the conditions precedent to the consummation of the Transactions
as soon as reasonably practicable following the date of this Agreement,
including the execution and delivery of any documents, certificates, instruments
or other papers that are reasonably required for the consummation of the
Transactions, it being understood that, except as otherwise provided in the Tax
Matters Agreement, “reasonable best efforts” includes refraining from entering
into or consummating any transaction that would cause a condition to the Closing
not be satisfied or prevent the consummation of the transactions contemplated by
this Agreement. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing,
each of White Mountains, the Company and the Berkshire Parties agrees to make
all appropriate filings as such party may be required to make with the
Commissioner of Insurance of the State of California, the Cayman Islands
Monetary Authority, the Insurance Commissioner of the State of Delaware and such
other filings as such party may be required to make under the insurance and
other applicable Laws of the insurance department of any jurisdiction in which
such filings are required pursuant to applicable Law. In addition,
prior to the Closing, except to the extent prohibited by applicable Law, each
party hereto shall (a) promptly notify the other parties hereto of any
written communication to such party from any Governmental Authority regarding
the Transactions and permit such other parties to review in advance any proposed
written communication to any such Governmental Authority, and (b) not
participate in any meetings or substantive discussions with any Governmental
Authority regarding the Transactions without offering the other parties hereto a
meaningful opportunity to participate in such meetings or
discussions. Except as otherwise provided in the Tax Matters
Agreement (including Sections 8.03 and 9.03 therein), nothing in this Agreement
shall require Berkshire Hathaway, General Reinsurance, or any of their
Affiliates to, or require any such party to agree to, (i) sell, divest,
hold separate, transfer to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or otherwise
dispose of their assets or businesses in a specified manner or (ii) conduct
their businesses in a specified manner, in each case whether as a condition to
obtaining approval from a Governmental Authority or any other Person or for any
other reason.
(a) Subject
to Section 6.04(c), each of White Mountains, on the one hand, and Berkshire
Hathaway, on the other hand, on behalf of themselves and their respective
Affiliates, agrees to hold, and to cause their respective directors, officers,
employees, counsel and other advisors and representatives (“Representatives”) to
hold, in strict confidence, any and all information (“Information”)
concerning the Transferred Subsidiaries or other parties hereto or the terms and
conditions of the Transaction Agreements that is either in its possession
(including Information in its possession prior to the date of this Agreement) or
furnished by such other parties or their respective Representatives at any time
pursuant to this Agreement or any other Transaction Agreement, and shall not use
any such Information other than for such purposes as shall be expressly
permitted hereunder or thereunder; provided, that, the Berkshire
Parties and their Affiliates shall, in their sole and absolute discretion, be
free to disclose or use any Information concerning the Transferred Subsidiaries
following the Closing Date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this
Section 6.04 shall not apply to any information in the possession of a
party hereto, and such information shall not constitute “Information”, to the
extent that such information (i) becomes generally known to the public
(other than as a result of a disclosure by such party or any of its
Representatives in violation of this Section 6.04), (ii) becomes
available to such party on a non-confidential basis from a Person other than
another party hereto or its Representatives who is not, to the knowledge of such
party, bound by a confidentiality obligation with respect to such information,
(iii) was already in such party’s possession at the time such information
was disclosed to such party by the other parties hereto or their Representatives
or (iv) was independently generated by such party without use of any
Information of the other parties hereto.
(b) Each
receiving party hereto agrees not to release or disclose, or permit to be
released or disclosed, any such Information to any other Person, other than its
Representatives who need to know such Information (who shall be advised of their
obligations hereunder with respect to such Information), except in compliance
with Section 6.04(c); provided, that, the Berkshire
Parties and their Affiliates shall, in their sole and absolute discretion, be
free to disclose or use any Information concerning the Transferred Subsidiaries
following the Closing Date.
(c) In
the event that any receiving party hereto either determines on the advice of its
counsel that it is required to disclose any Information pursuant to applicable
Law (including the rules and regulations of the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission and insurance regulatory Law) or receives any demand under
lawful process or from any Governmental Authority to disclose or provide
Information of any disclosing party hereto that is subject to the
confidentiality provisions hereof, such receiving party shall notify the
disclosing party prior to disclosing or providing such Information and, unless
the disclosure is made and required (as advised by counsel) on Schedule 13G
or any amendment thereto, shall cooperate at the expense of the
disclosing party in seeking any reasonable protective arrangements
requested by such disclosing party. Subject to the foregoing, the
receiving party may thereafter disclose or provide Information to the extent
required by such applicable Law (including the rules and regulations of the
United States Securities and Exchange Commission and insurance regulatory Law),
as so advised by counsel, or by lawful process of such Governmental
Authority.
SECTION
6.05. Transaction Agreements. Each party hereto agrees
to execute concurrently with the Closing each unexecuted Transaction Agreement
to which it is to be a party in accordance herewith.
SECTION
6.06. Post-Closing Benefits. Effective as of the
Closing, the Berkshire Parties shall establish or otherwise have in effect (or
shall cause one of their respective Subsidiaries to establish or otherwise have
in effect) a defined contribution plan that includes a qualified cash or
deferred arrangement within the meaning of Section 401(k) of the Code (the
“Berkshire 401(k)
Plan”) that will provide benefits to Employees participating in one or
more defined contribution plans of White Mountains or its Affiliates that
include a cash or deferred arrangement within the meaning of Section 401(k)
of the Code (as applicable, the “White Mountains 401(k)
Plan”). Each Employee participating in the White Mountains
401(k) Plan as of the Closing shall become a participant in the Berkshire 401(k)
Plan as of the Closing. The accounts of Employees under the White
Mountains 401(k) Plan shall be distributable according to the terms of the White
Mountains 401(k) Plan. The Berkshire Parties shall cause the
Berkshire 401(k) Plan to accept “direct rollovers” (within the meaning of
Section 401(a)(31) of the Code) of distributions from the White Mountains
401(k) Plan to Employees (but not including direct rollovers of outstanding
loans and any promissory notes or other documents evidencing such loans) if such
rollovers are elected in accordance with the terms of the White Mountains 401(k)
Plan and applicable Law by such Employees, subject to each of White Mountains’
and the Berkshire Parties’ reasonable satisfaction that the White Mountains
401(k) Plan or the Berkshire 401(k) Plan, as applicable, is in compliance with
all applicable Laws, and that such plan continues to satisfy the requirements
for a qualified plan under Section 401(a) of the Code, and that the trust
that forms a part of such plan is exempt from tax under Section 501(a) of
the Code. White Mountains and the Berkshire Parties shall cooperate
with each other (and shall cause the trustees of the White Mountains 401(k) Plan
and the Berkshire 401(k) Plan to cooperate with each other) with respect to the
rollover of the distributions to the Berkshire 401(k) Plan. Upon
completion of a direct rollover of an Employee’s account balances, as described
in this Section 6.06, the Berkshire 401(k) Plan shall be solely responsible
for the account balances transferred in such rollover. In the event
any Employee does not elect to effect such rollover, White Mountains shall
permit such Employee to retain such Employee’s account balances in the White
Mountains 401(k) Plan.
SECTION
6.07. Standstill Agreement. During the period
commencing on the date of this Agreement and ending on the second anniversary of
the Closing Date, Berkshire Hathaway shall not, and shall not permit its
Affiliates to, acquire, agree to acquire or make any proposal to acquire, by
purchase or otherwise, ownership of (a) any shares of common stock of White
Mountains, (b) any securities convertible into, or exercisable or
exchangeable for, the shares of common stock of White Mountains (“Convertible WM
Security”) or (c) any other security, including any cash settled
option or other derivative security, that transfers some or all of the economic
risks and/or benefits of ownership of common stock of White Mountains to
Berkshire Hathaway or any of its Affiliates, unless, immediately after any
acquisitions described in clause (a), (b) or (c) of this sentence (or
after giving effect to any such proposed acquisitions), the aggregate number
(without duplication) of (i) shares of common stock of White Mountains
owned by Berkshire Hathaway and its Affiliates, (ii) shares of common stock
of White Mountains issuable in respect of Convertible WM Securities owned by
Berkshire Hathaway and its Affiliates and (iii) shares of common stock of
White Mountains the economic ownership of which is transferred by a derivative
security or otherwise to Berkshire Hathaway and its Affiliates, would not exceed
4.9% of the total issued and outstanding shares of common stock of White
Mountains at such time, and Berkshire Hathaway and its Affiliates hold all
direct and indirect interests in common stock of White Mountains for passive
investment purposes and under circumstances that would permit such ownership to
be reported on Schedule 13G under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, if Berkshire Hathaway and its Affiliates beneficially owned over 5% of
the issued and outstanding shares of common stock of White
Mountains.
SECTION
6.08. Assignment of Certain Contracts. White Mountains
shall, and shall cause its Affiliates to, use commercially reasonable efforts to
obtain, effective as of the Closing, all necessary consents to the assignment
and transfer to General Reinsurance or its designated Affiliates of the
contracts listed on Section 6.08 of the White Mountains Disclosure
Schedule, and Berkshire Hathaway shall, and shall cause its Affiliates to, use
commercially reasonable efforts to assist and cooperate in connection
therewith. Upon obtaining the necessary consents, White Mountains,
General Reinsurance and their relevant respective Affiliates shall use
commercially reasonable efforts to execute an assignment and assumption
agreement to effect the transfer, the form of which agreement shall be
reasonably acceptable to White Mountains and General
Reinsurance. Nothing in this Section 6.08 shall require White
Mountains, General Reinsurance or any of their respective Affiliates to pay
money or make any concessions in connection with obtaining such
consents.
SECTION
6.09. Alternative Transactions. White Mountains and the
Company agree that prior to the Closing Date, neither White Mountains nor any of
its Subsidiaries shall, and they shall cause their Representatives not to,
directly or indirectly, (a) enter into any negotiations, discussions or
agreements with any third parties, other than the Berkshire Parties and their
Representatives, with respect to any transaction involving the sale, pledge,
transfer or other disposition of any equity interest in, or any substantial
portion of the assets of, any Transferred Subsidiary, or (b) solicit,
accept, approve or otherwise facilitate any proposals or offers from any third
parties, other than the Berkshire Parties and their Representatives, with
respect to any such transaction. This Section 6.09 shall not in
any way apply to or restrict any transaction relating to (i) White
Mountains or any securities of White Mountains or (ii) any Subsidiary of
White Mountains (other than a Transferred Subsidiary) or any securities of such
Subsidiary, so long as such transaction does not prevent, delay or interfere
with the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement.
SECTION
6.10. Notification of Certain
Matters. (a) Prior to the Closing Date, each of
Berkshire Hathaway and White Mountains shall promptly notify the other of the
existence of any fact or the occurrence or non-occurrence of any event of which
it has knowledge that causes or is reasonably likely to cause:
(i) any of such party’s representations or warranties set forth in
Article IV, Article V or the Tax Matters Agreement, as applicable, to be untrue
or incorrect;
(ii) any
of such party’s representations in its Tax Representation Letter to be untrue or
incorrect;
(iii) any
of such party’s representations in the request for the IRS Ruling to be untrue
or incorrect; or
(iv) any
of such party’s or its Affiliates’ covenants, conditions or agreements hereunder
or under the Tax Matters Agreement to fail to be satisfied in any material
respect;
provided, in each
case, that no such obligation to notify shall exist with respect to any such
knowledge of facts or events that is obtained by a party pursuant to this
Section 6.10. No such notification shall be deemed to cure any
breach of any representation or warranty made in this Agreement, the Tax Matters
Agreement or the Tax Representation Letters, or to update the Disclosure
Schedule, or to constitute a waiver (whether express or implied) of any
covenant, condition or agreement set forth in this Agreement or the Tax Matters
Agreement.
(b) At
the Closing, unless a Non-Qualification Event has occurred (in which case this
Section 6.10(b) shall not apply), Berkshire Hathaway and White Mountains shall
each deliver to the other a certificate, dated the Closing Date and signed on
behalf of the party delivering such certificate by an authorized officer of such
party, confirming that the representations of such party in the Tax
Representation Letter of such party and in the request for the IRS Ruling were
true and correct as of the date originally made and are true and correct as of
the Closing Date as though made as of the Closing Date (except to the extent
expressly made as of a specified date, in which case as of such specified date),
except as otherwise disclosed in the certificate.
SECTION
6.11. Certain
Financial Information. Prior to the Closing Date, White
Mountains shall also, as soon as reasonably practicable following the
availability thereof, provide the Berkshire Parties with (i) the as filed
statutory balance sheets of each of CCIC and ACIC as of December 31, 2007
and the related statutory statements of operations and statutory statements of
cash flows for the year then ended, together with the notes thereto and
(ii) any quarterly financial statements, including statutory financial
statements, prepared in final form with respect to any of the Transferred
Subsidiaries for periods beginning on or after January 1, 2008.
SECTION
6.12. Post-Closing Cooperation. (a) White
Mountains and the Berkshire Parties shall use commercially reasonable efforts to
cooperate with each other, and shall cause their respective Representatives to
cooperate with each other, for a period of one year after the Closing to ensure
the orderly transition of the Company and its Subsidiaries from White Mountains
to the Berkshire Parties and to minimize any disruption to the Company and its
Subsidiaries and the other respective businesses of White Mountains, the
Berkshire Parties and their respective Affiliates that might result from the
transactions contemplated hereby. After the Closing, upon reasonable
notice, White Mountains and the Berkshire Parties shall use commercially
reasonable efforts to furnish or cause to be furnished to each other and their
respective Representatives access, during normal business hours, to such books,
records, contracts, documents or other information, or assistance, relating to
the Company and its Subsidiaries (to the extent within the control of such
party) as is reasonably necessary for financial reporting, accounting matters or
dispute resolution matters.
(b) Each
party shall reimburse the other for reasonable, out-of-pocket costs and expenses
incurred in assisting the other party pursuant to this
Section 6.12. No party shall be required by this
Section 6.12 to take any action that would unreasonably interfere with the
conduct of its business or unreasonably disrupt its normal
operations.
ARTICLE
VII
TAX
MATTERS
SECTION
7.01. Tax Matters. Notwithstanding anything to the
contrary in this Agreement, except as expressly provided in Sections 4.18, 5.04,
6.03, 6.10, 7.02, Article VIII and Article IX, the Tax Matters Agreement and the
Credit Support Agreement, the parties’ sole and exclusive representations,
warranties, agreements or other obligations (including indemnities) with respect
to Tax matters, including the Tax consequences of the Transactions, shall be as
set forth in the Tax Matters Agreement, and in the event of any conflict or
inconsistency between any provision of this Agreement (other than Sections 4.18,
5.04, 6.03, 6.10, 7.02, Article VIII, Article IX and the Credit Support
Agreement) and any provision of the Tax Matters Agreement, the applicable
provision of the Tax Matters Agreement shall govern.
SECTION
7.02. Credit Support for Certain Tax Liabilities. The
parties hereto agree and acknowledge that it is an essential element of this
Agreement for the Berkshire Parties, and the Berkshire Parties are entering into
this Agreement in reliance on the fact that, under certain circumstances (as
generally set forth on Exhibit C attached hereto), White Mountains shall be
required to provide credit support in support of its obligation to indemnify and
hold Berkshire Hathaway, General Reinsurance, the Company and their Affiliates
harmless from General Reinsurance Transaction Taxes allocated to White Mountains
by the Tax Matters Agreement. The parties hereto further agree and
acknowledge that the terms and conditions of such credit support are generally
set forth on Exhibit C attached hereto and, as soon as reasonably practicable
following the date of this Agreement, White Mountains and the Berkshire Parties
shall in good faith negotiate and execute a separate agreement (such agreement,
together with any other agreement or agreements executed in connection
therewith, the “Credit
Support Agreement”) that shall incorporate the terms and conditions set
forth on Exhibit C attached hereto in more definitive
detail. Following the execution of the Credit Support Agreement, if
the provisions of this Section 7.02 in any way conflict or are inconsistent with
the provisions of the Credit Support Agreement, the applicable provisions of the
Credit Support Agreement shall govern.
ARTICLE
VIII
CONDITIONS
TO CLOSING
SECTION
8.01. Mutual Conditions. The respective obligations of
each party hereto to consummate the Exchange will be subject to the satisfaction
at or prior to the Closing of each of the following conditions, any of which may
be waived (to the extent such condition may be waived by such party) in
writing:
(a) No
Injunction. No Law, and no injunction or other order issued by
any court or other Governmental Authority of competent jurisdiction or other
legal or regulatory prohibition shall be in effect, in each case that would
prevent the consummation of the Transactions.
(b) Regulatory
Approval. The Transactions shall have received all required
approvals of each of (i) the Commissioner of Insurance of the State of
California, (ii) the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority and (iii) the
Insurance Commissioner of the State of Delaware and any other material mandatory
approvals of other Governmental Authorities shall have been obtained and any
mandatory waiting periods required by Laws observed, in each case subject to no
conditions that would have a material adverse effect on the ability of White
Mountains, the Company or the Berkshire Parties to consummate the Transactions
on the Closing Date.
(c) IRS
Ruling. White Mountains and Berkshire Hathaway shall have
received a private letter ruling from the IRS to the effect that, subject to
customary caveats, the Exchange will result in the Intended Tax-Free Treatment
(the “IRS
Ruling”), and none of White Mountains, Berkshire Hathaway or any of their
respective Affiliates shall have been notified by the IRS that the IRS Ruling
has been withdrawn, invalidated or modified in an adverse manner.
SECTION
8.02. Conditions to the Berkshire Parties’
Obligations. The obligations of the Berkshire Parties to
consummate the Exchange are subject to the satisfaction or waiver of each of the
following further conditions:
(a) (i) The
representations and warranties of White Mountains set forth in
Sections 4.03, 4.07, 4.10, 4.11, 4.12, 4.13, 4.15, 4.16, 4.17 and 4.18
shall be true and correct (without regard to any materiality or material adverse
effect qualifications therein) as of the date of this Agreement (except to the
extent expressly made as of a specified date, in which case as of such specified
date), and (ii) the representations and warranties of White Mountains set
forth in Sections 4.01, 4.02, 4.04, 4.05, 4.06, 4.08, 4.09, 4.14
and 4.19, and Article VII of the Tax Matters Agreement, shall be true and
correct (without regard to any materiality or material adverse effect
qualifications therein) as of the date of this Agreement and as of the Closing
Date as though made as of the Closing Date (except to the extent expressly made
as of a specified date, in which case as of such specified date), except for
breaches of representations and warranties referenced in clauses (i)
and (ii) that, considered together, would not be material as measured in
relation to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the other
Transaction Agreements, taken as a whole. The Berkshire Parties shall
have received a certificate, dated the Closing Date, signed on behalf of White
Mountains by an authorized officer of White Mountains confirming the
foregoing.
(b) Each
of White Mountains and the Company shall have performed in all material respects
each obligation and agreement to be performed by it pursuant to the Transaction
Agreements at or prior to the Closing and shall have complied in all material
respects with each covenant required by the Transaction Agreements to be
performed or complied with by it at or prior to the Closing, and the Berkshire
Parties shall have received a certificate, dated the Closing Date, signed on
behalf of White Mountains and the Company by an authorized officer of White
Mountains to such effect.
(c) Prior
to or at the Closing, White Mountains shall have delivered to Berkshire Hathaway
the items to be delivered pursuant to Section 2.03.
(d) The
Reorganization shall have been completed.
SECTION
8.03. Conditions to White Mountains’ Obligations. The
obligations of White Mountains and the Company to consummate the Exchange shall
be subject to the satisfaction or waiver at or prior to the Closing of each of
the following conditions:
(a) (i) The
representations and warranties of the Berkshire Parties set forth in
Section 5.04 shall be true and correct (without regard to any materiality
or material adverse effect qualifications therein) as of the date of this
Agreement (except to the extent expressly made as of a specified date, in which
case as of such specified date), and (ii) the representations and
warranties of the Berkshire Parties set forth in Sections 5.01, 5.02, 5.03
and 5.06 shall be true and correct (without regard to any materiality or
material adverse effect qualifications therein) as of the date of this Agreement
and as of the Closing Date as though made as of the Closing Date (except to the
extent expressly made as of a specified date, in which case as of such specified
date), except for breaches of representations and warranties referenced in
clauses (i) and (ii) that, considered together, would not be material
as measured in relation to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and
the other Transaction Agreements, taken as a whole. White Mountains
shall have received a certificate, dated the Closing Date, signed on behalf of
Berkshire Hathaway by an authorized officer of Berkshire Hathaway confirming the
foregoing.
(b) Each
Berkshire Party shall have performed in all material respects each obligation
and agreement to be performed by it pursuant to the Transaction Agreements at or
prior to the Closing, and shall have complied in all material respects with each
covenant required by the Transaction Agreements to be performed or complied with
by it at or prior to the Closing, and White Mountains shall have received a
certificate, dated the Closing Date, signed on behalf of Berkshire Hathaway by
an authorized officer of Berkshire Hathaway to such effect.
(c) Prior
to or at the Closing, the Berkshire Parties shall have delivered to White
Mountains the items to be delivered pursuant to Section 2.04.
SECTION
8.04. Frustration of Closing Conditions. No party may
rely on the failure of any condition set forth in this Article VIII to be
satisfied if such failure was caused by such party’s failure to act in good
faith or to use its reasonable best efforts to cause the Closing to occur as
required by Section 6.03.
ARTICLE
IX
TERMINATION;
OPTION TO REQUIRE CONSUMMATION; REMEDIES
SECTION
9.01. Termination. This Agreement may be terminated at
any time prior to the consummation of the Closing under the following
circumstances:
(a) by
mutual written consent of White Mountains and Berkshire Hathaway;
(b) by
either White Mountains or Berkshire Hathaway at the close of the tenth Business
Day following delivery of a Termination Notice to the other if the Closing shall
not have been consummated on or before December 31, 2008 (the “Termination Date”);
provided that
the right to terminate this Agreement under this Section 9.01(b) shall not
be available to a party if such party has committed an Actionable
Breach;
(c) by
Berkshire Hathaway at the close of the tenth Business Day following delivery of
a Termination Notice to White Mountains if any of the conditions to the Closing
set forth in Section 8.01 or 8.02 shall have become incapable of
fulfillment by the Termination Date and shall not have been waived in writing by
Berkshire Hathaway; provided that the
right to terminate this Agreement under this Section 9.01(c) shall not be
available to Berkshire Hathaway if Berkshire Hathaway has committed an
Actionable Breach;
(d) by
White Mountains at the close of the tenth Business Day following delivery of a
Termination Notice to Berkshire Hathaway if any of the conditions to the Closing
set forth in Section 8.01 or 8.03 shall have become incapable of
fulfillment by the Termination Date and shall not have been waived in writing by
White Mountains; provided that the
right to terminate this Agreement under this Section 9.01(d) shall not be
available to White Mountains if White Mountains has committed an Actionable
Breach;
(e) by
either White Mountains or Berkshire Hathaway at the close of the tenth Business
Day following delivery of a Termination Notice to the other if there shall be in
effect a final, non-appealable order of a court or government administrative
agency of competent jurisdiction permanently prohibiting the consummation of the
Transactions;
(f) by
either White Mountains or Berkshire Hathaway at the close of the tenth Business
Day following delivery of a Termination Notice to the other if the Maximum Cash
Amount is less than U.S. $583,989,600, unless a Non-Qualification Event has
occurred (in which case this Section 9.01(f) shall not apply); provided that the
right to terminate this Agreement under this Section 9.01(f) shall not be
available to a party if such party has committed an Actionable
Breach;
(g) by
Berkshire Hathaway if there has been a Material Increase in Tax Risk and
Berkshire Hathaway shall have delivered to White Mountains the Berkshire Tax
Risk Certificate and the Munger Tax Risk Letter; provided, that the
right to terminate this Agreement under this Section 9.01(g) shall not
become effective until the close of the twentieth Business Day following the
later of (i) the date of delivery by Berkshire Hathaway of the Berkshire
Tax Risk Certificate and the Munger Tax Risk Letter pursuant to this
Section 9.01(g), and (ii) in the event, within ten Business Days of
White Mountains’ receipt of the Berkshire Tax Risk Certificate and the Munger
Tax Risk Letter, White Mountains challenges whether there has been a Material
Increase in Tax Risk, the earlier of (A) the date of notice of the
withdrawal of such challenge by White Mountains and (B) the effective date
of a final, non-appealable order of a court of competent jurisdiction
determining that there has been a Material Increase in Tax Risk; provided further that the
right to terminate this Agreement under this Section 9.01(g) shall not be
available to Berkshire Hathaway if Berkshire Hathaway has committed an
Actionable Breach; or
(h) by
White Mountains if there has been a Material Increase in Tax Risk and White
Mountains shall have delivered to Berkshire Hathaway the White Mountains Tax
Risk Certificate and the Cravath Tax Risk Letter; provided, that the
right to terminate this Agreement under this Section 9.01(h) shall not
become effective until the close of the twentieth Business Day following the
later of (i) the date of delivery by White Mountains of the White Mountains
Tax Risk Certificate and the Cravath Tax Risk Letter pursuant to this
Section 9.01(h), and (ii) in the event, within ten Business Days of
Berkshire Hathaway’s receipt of the White Mountains Tax Risk Certificate and the
Cravath Tax Risk Letter, Berkshire Hathaway challenges whether there has been a
Material Increase in Tax Risk, the earlier of (A) the date of notice of the
withdrawal of such challenge by Berkshire Hathaway and (B) the effective
date of a final, non-appealable order of a court of competent jurisdiction
determining that there has been a Material Increase in Tax Risk; provided further that the
right to terminate this Agreement under this Section 9.01(h) shall not be
available to White Mountains if White Mountains has committed an Actionable
Breach.
SECTION
9.02. Options to Require Consummation. Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary in the Transaction Agreements and at any time after the
date of this Agreement until the time specified in the final sentence of this
Section 9.02:
(a) if
Berkshire Hathaway delivers irrevocable notice requiring the consummation of the
Transactions to White Mountains pursuant to this Section 9.02(a), then each
of the parties shall be required to consummate the Transactions, subject to the
satisfaction or waiver of the conditions to Closing set forth in Article VIII
(other than Section 8.01(c), which shall be deemed waived by all parties hereto)
and (ii) Section 2.01(b)(i) or 2.01(b)(iv), as applicable, shall apply;
and
(b) if
White Mountains delivers irrevocable notice requiring the consummation of the
Transactions to Berkshire Hathaway pursuant to this Section 9.02(b), then
(i) each of the parties shall be required to consummate the Transactions,
subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions to Closing set forth in
Article VIII (other than Section 8.01(c), which shall be deemed waived by all
parties hereto) and (ii) Section 2.01(b)(ii) shall apply.
The right
to deliver the irrevocable notice requiring consummation of the Transactions
pursuant to this Section 9.02 shall expire upon the earlier of (x)
the termination of this Agreement pursuant to Section 9.01 and
(y) the Closing; provided that if any
party asserts an Actionable Breach against another party, the allegedly
breaching party shall have the right to deliver the irrevocable notice requiring
consummation of the Transactions pursuant to this Section 9.02, and thus
through the consummation of the Transactions cut off the right of the party
asserting an Actionable Breach to pursue remedies pursuant to Section 9.04,
for a period ending the later of (i) 10 Business Days after
termination of this Agreement pursuant to Section 9.01 and
(ii) 20 Business Days after the allegedly breaching party is first
notified by the party asserting an Actionable Breach that it is making such an
assertion, and this Agreement and the Tax Matters Agreement shall be deemed as
and from delivery of such notice to no longer be terminated (except that Section
9.01(b) shall no longer apply).
SECTION
9.03. Effect of Termination. Subject to
Section 9.04, in the event of the termination of this Agreement pursuant to
Section 9.01, this Agreement, except for the provisions of
Sections 6.04, 9.02, 9.04, 11.01, 11.04, 11.05, 11.07, 11.08, 11.09,
11.15 and this Section 9.03, shall become void and have no effect, without
any liability on the part of any party hereto or its directors, officers or
stockholders.
SECTION
9.04. Right to Pursue Remedies; Exclusive
Remedies. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this
Section 9.04, no party shall have the right to pursue remedies under this
Agreement, the Tax Matters Agreement or the Tax Representation
Letters.
(b) If
White Mountains shall have committed an Actionable Breach, then
(i) Berkshire Hathaway shall have the right to pursue all available
remedies with respect to such Actionable Breach and (ii) such right shall
survive the Closing or any termination of this Agreement pursuant to
Section 9.01 unimpaired.
(c) If
Berkshire Hathaway shall have committed an Actionable Breach, then
(i) White Mountains shall have the right to pursue all available remedies
with respect to such Actionable Breach and (ii) such right shall survive
the Closing or any termination of this Agreement pursuant to Section 9.01
unimpaired.
(d) Following
the Closing, except as provided in Section 9.04(b) or (c) or in the
case of (i) matters for which the remedy of specific performance,
injunctive relief or other non-monetary equitable remedies are available or
(ii) matters that are explicitly covered in the Tax Matters Agreement, the
sole and exclusive remedy of the parties with respect to any and all claims
arising from any breach of this Agreement or any of the other matters addressed
in Article X shall be pursuant to the indemnification provisions set forth
in Article X.
(e) Following
the Closing, except as provided in Section 9.04(b) or (c) or in the case of
matters for which the remedy of specific performance, injunctive relief or other
non-monetary equitable remedies are available, the sole and exclusive remedy of
the Parties with respect to any and all claims arising from any breach of the
Tax Matters Agreement or any of the other matters addressed in Article II of the
Tax Matters Agreement shall be pursuant to the indemnification provisions set
forth in Article II of the Tax Matters Agreement.
ARTICLE
X
INDEMNIFICATION
SECTION
10.01. Survival. The
performance of covenants and agreements contained in this Agreement (other than
covenants and agreements to be performed after the Closing) shall expire on the
Closing Date. The representations and warranties contained in
(a) Sections 4.04, 4.09, 4.14 and the second sentence of
Section 4.08 shall survive the Closing and continue in full force and
effect for the twelve (12) month period immediately following the Closing Date
(the “Survival End
Date”). The representations and warranties contained in
Sections 4.01, 4.02, 4.05, 4.06, 4.19, 5.01, 5.02, 5.03 and 5.06 shall
survive in perpetuity with respect only to the matters addressed
therein. For purposes of this Article X, the representations and
warranties contained in Sections 4.01, 4.02, 4.04, 4.05, 4.06, 4.09, 4.14,
4.19 and the second sentence of Section 4.08 shall be referred to,
collectively, as the “White Mountains Specified
Representations”, and the representations and warranties contained in
Sections 5.01, 5.02, 5.03 and 5.06 shall be referred to, collectively, as the
“Berkshire Specified
Representations”. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if notice of
a claim has been given in accordance with Section 10.02(c) prior to
(a) with respect to a representation or warranty, the expiration of such
representation or warranty, (b) with respect to a covenant or agreement to
be performed on or prior to the Closing, the Survival End Date or (c) with
respect to a covenant or agreement to be performed after the Closing, the
one-year anniversary of the date on which such covenant or agreement is to be
performed, then such representation, warranty, covenant or agreement shall
survive as to such claim, until such claim has been finally
resolved.
SECTION
10.02. General Indemnification. (a) By White
Mountains. From and after the Closing, White Mountains shall
indemnify, save and hold harmless the Berkshire Parties and their Affiliates,
successors and permitted assigns and each of the foregoing’s respective
directors, officers, employees and agents (collectively, the “Berkshire Indemnified
Parties”) from and against any and all Damages suffered or incurred by
any such party to the extent arising out of or resulting from, without
duplication: (i) the breach of any White Mountains Specified
Representations without giving any effect to any materiality or material adverse
effect qualifications therein, or (ii) the breach of any covenant or
agreement of this Agreement to be performed by White Mountains or the breach of
any covenant or agreement of this Agreement to be performed by any Transferred
Subsidiary on or prior to the Closing (other than a breach of Section 6.10
that relates to a representation or a warranty that does not survive the
Closing); provided that, White
Mountains shall not have any obligation hereunder with respect to any breach set
forth in (i) or (ii) above unless the Berkshire Indemnified Parties
have made a claim for indemnification pursuant to Section 10.02(c)
(x) with respect to a breach of a White Mountains Specified Representation,
prior to the expiration of such representation or warranty as set forth in
Section 10.01, (y) with respect to a breach of a covenant or agreement
to be performed on or prior to the Closing, prior to the Survival End Date, and
(z) with respect to a breach of a covenant or agreement to be performed
after the Closing, during the twelve (12) month period immediately
following the date on which such covenant or agreement is to be
performed.
(b) By the Berkshire
Parties. From and after the Closing, the Berkshire Parties
shall jointly indemnify, save and hold harmless White Mountains and its
Affiliates, successors and permitted assigns and each of the foregoing’s
respective directors, officers, employees and agents (collectively, the “White Mountains Indemnified
Parties”) from and against any and all Damages suffered or incurred by
any such party to the extent arising out of or resulting from, without
duplication: (i) the breach of any Berkshire Specified Representations
without giving any effect to any materiality or material adverse effect
qualifications therein, or (ii) the breach of any covenant or agreement of
this Agreement by the Berkshire Parties or the breach of any covenant or
agreement of this Agreement to be performed by any Transferred Subsidiary after
the Closing (other than a breach of Section 6.10 that relates to a
representation or a warranty that does not survive the Closing); provided that,
neither Berkshire Party shall have any obligation hereunder with respect to any
breach set forth in (i) or (ii) above unless the White Mountains
Indemnified Parties have made a claim for indemnification pursuant to
Section 10.02(c) (x) with respect to a breach of a Berkshire Specified
Representation, prior to the expiration of such representation or warranty as
set forth in Section 10.01, (y) with respect to a breach of a covenant
or agreement to be performed at or prior to the Closing, prior to the Survival
End Date, and (z) with respect to a breach of a covenant or agreement to be
performed after the Closing, during the twelve (12) month period
immediately following the date on which such covenant or agreement is to be
performed.
(c) Procedure. Any
party seeking indemnification under this Section 10.02 (an “Indemnified Party”)
shall give the party from whom indemnification is being sought (an “Indemnifying Party”)
notice of any matter which such Indemnified Party has determined has given or
could give rise to a right of indemnification under this Agreement as soon as
practicable after the party entitled to indemnification becomes aware of any
fact, condition or event which may give rise to Damages for which
indemnification may be sought under this Section 10.02. The
liability of an Indemnifying Party under this Section 10.02 with respect to
Damages arising from claims of any third party which are subject to the
indemnification provided for in this Section 10.02 (“Third Party Claims”)
shall be governed by and contingent upon the following additional terms and
conditions: if an Indemnified Party shall receive notice of any Third Party
Claim, the Indemnified Party shall give the Indemnifying Party notice of such
Third Party Claim within twenty (20) days of the receipt by the Indemnified
Party of such notice; provided, however, that the
failure to provide such notice shall not release the Indemnifying Party from any
of its obligations under this Section 10.02, except to the extent the
Indemnifying Party is materially prejudiced by such failure. The
Indemnifying Party shall not be liable for any expenses incurred by the
Indemnified Party during the period in which the Indemnified Party failed to
give such notice. Thereafter, the Indemnified Party shall deliver to
the Indemnifying Party, promptly following the Indemnified Party’s receipt
thereof, copies of all notices and documents (including court papers) received
by the Indemnified Party relating to the Third Party Claim. The
Indemnifying Party shall be entitled to
assume
and control the defense of such Third Party Claim at its expense and through
counsel of its choice if it gives notice of its intention to do so to the
Indemnified Party within thirty (30) days of the receipt of such notice
from the Indemnified Party; provided, however, that if
there exists a material conflict of interest (other than one that is of a
monetary nature) that would make it inappropriate for the same counsel to
represent both the Indemnified Party and the Indemnifying Party, then the
Indemnified Party shall be entitled to retain its own counsel, at the expense of
the Indemnifying Party; provided further that the
Indemnifying Party shall not be obligated to pay the reasonable fees and
expenses of more than one separate counsel for all Indemnified Parties, taken
together (except to the extent that local counsel are necessary or advisable for
the conduct of such Proceeding, in which case the Indemnifying Party shall also
pay the reasonable fees and expenses of any such local counsel). If
the Indemnifying Party shall not assume the defense of any Third Party Claim or
litigation resulting therefrom, the Indemnified Party may defend against such
claim or litigation in such manner as it may deem appropriate; provided, however, that it
shall act reasonably and in good faith and shall not admit any liability with
respect to, or settle, compromise or discharge, such Third Party Claim without
the Indemnifying Party’s prior written consent, which consent shall not be
unreasonably withheld. In the event the Indemnifying Party exercises
the right to undertake any such defense against any such Third Party Claim as
provided above, the Indemnified Party shall cooperate with the Indemnifying
Party in such defense and make available to the Indemnifying Party all
witnesses, pertinent records, materials and information in the Indemnified
Party’s possession or under the Indemnified Party’s control relating thereto as
is reasonably required by the Indemnifying Party. Similarly, in the
event the Indemnified Party is, directly or indirectly, conducting the defense
against any such Third Party Claim, the Indemnifying Party shall cooperate with
the Indemnified Party in such defense and make available to the Indemnified
Party all such witnesses, records, materials and information in the Indemnifying
Party’s possession or under the Indemnifying Party’s control relating thereto as
is reasonably required by the Indemnified Party. The Indemnifying
Party shall not, without the written consent of the Indemnified Party,
(i) settle or compromise any Third Party Claim or consent to the entry of
any judgment which does not include an unconditional written release by the
claimant or plaintiff of the Indemnified Party from all liability in respect of
such Third Party Claim or (ii) settle or compromise any Third Party Claim
if the settlement imposes equitable remedies or material obligations on the
Indemnified Party other than financial obligations for which such Indemnified
Party will be indemnified hereunder. No Third Party Claim which is
being defended in good faith by the Indemnifying Party in accordance with the
terms of this Agreement shall be settled or compromised by the Indemnified Party
without the written consent of the Indemnifying Party.
(d) Definition of
Damages. The term “Damages” means any
actual costs, losses, Taxes, liabilities, obligations, damages, deficiencies,
claims, demands and expenses (whether or not arising out of a Third Party
Claim), including reasonable attorneys’ fees, and all amounts paid in
investigation, defense or settlement of any of the
foregoing. Notwithstanding any provision herein, Damages shall not
include any special, indirect, incidental, consequential or punitive damages,
unless such damages are paid in connection with a Third Party
Claim.
(e) Payment
for indemnification obligations arising under this Section 10.02 shall be
subject to the limitations set forth in Section 10.03.
SECTION
10.03. Limits on Indemnification. Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement:
(a) no
amount shall be payable by White Mountains pursuant to Section 10.02(a)(i)
until the aggregate amount of all claims for Damages that are indemnifiable
pursuant to Section 10.02(a)(i) exceeds U.S. $4,000,000, and then only for
the amount by which such Damages exceed such threshold amount; provided that, the
above minimum threshold amount shall not apply to Damages resulting from or
arising out of the breach of the representations and warranties of White
Mountains contained in Sections 4.01, 4.02, 4.05, 4.06 and 4.19, which breaches
shall be indemnified against in their entirety (and shall not count for purposes
of determining whether Damages have exceeded the minimum threshold amount set
forth above);
(b) no
amount shall be payable by the Berkshire Parties pursuant to
Section 10.02(b)(i) until the aggregate amount of all claims for Damages
that are indemnifiable pursuant to Section 10.02(b)(i) exceeds U.S.
$4,000,000, and then only for the amount by which such Damages exceed such
threshold amount; provided that, the
above minimum threshold amount shall not apply to Damages resulting from or
arising out of the breach of the representations and warranties of the Berkshire
Parties contained in Sections 5.01, 5.02, 5.03 and 5.06, which breaches shall be
indemnified against in their entirety (and shall not count for purposes of
determining whether Damages have exceeded the minimum threshold amount set forth
above);
(c) the
maximum aggregate amount of Damages for which indemnity may be recovered by the
Berkshire Indemnified Parties pursuant to Section 10.02(a)(i) shall be an
amount equal to U.S. $85,000,000; provided that, the
above maximum cap amount shall not apply to Damages resulting from or arising
out of the breach of the representations and warranties of White Mountains
contained in Sections 4.01, 4.02, 4.05, 4.06 and 4.19, which breaches shall be
indemnified against in their entirety (and shall not count for purposes of
determining whether Damages have exceeded the maximum aggregate amount set forth
above); and
(d) the
maximum aggregate amount of Damages for which indemnity may be recovered by the
White Mountains Indemnified Parties pursuant to Section 10.02(b)(i) shall
be an amount equal to U.S. $85,000,000; provided that, the
above maximum cap amount shall not apply to Damages resulting from or arising
out of the breach of the representations and warranties of the Berkshire Parties
contained in Sections 5.01, 5.02, 5.03 and 5.06, which breaches shall be
indemnified against in their entirety (and shall not count for purposes of
determining whether Damages have exceeded the maximum aggregate amount set forth
above).
ARTICLE
XI
MISCELLANEOUS
SECTION
11.01. Notices. All notices, requests and other
communications to any party hereunder shall be in writing (including facsimile
transmission) and shall be given:
If to any
of the Berkshire Parties, to:
Berkshire
Hathaway Inc.
1440
Kiewit Plaza
Omaha,
Nebraska 68131
Attention: Chief
Financial Officer
Facsimile: (402) 346-3375
with a
copy to:
Munger,
Tolles & Olson LLP
355 South
Grand Avenue, 35th Floor
Los
Angeles, California 90071
Attention: Robert
E. Denham
Facsimile: (213) 687-3702
If to
White Mountains or the Company, to:
White
Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd.
80 South
Main Street
Hanover,
New Hampshire 03755
Attention: Robert
Seelig, General Counsel
Facsimile: (603) 640-2200
with a
copy to:
Cravath,
Swaine & Moore LLP
Worldwide
Plaza
825
Eighth Avenue
New York,
New York 10019
Attention: Philip
A. Gelston
Facsimile: (212) 474-3700
or to
such other address or facsimile number as such party may hereafter specify for
the purpose by notice to the other parties hereto. All notices and
other communications given to a party in accordance with the provisions of this
Agreement shall be deemed to have been given (i) when delivered by hand or
transmitted by telecopy (answer back received), if received prior to 5:00 P.M.
on a Business Day, otherwise on the next Business Day, or (ii) one Business
Day after the same are sent by a reliable overnight courier service, with
acknowledgment of receipt requested.
SECTION
11.02. No Third-Party Beneficiaries. Other than as
provided in Section 11.06, this Agreement is not intended to confer any
rights or remedies upon any Person other than the parties hereto.
SECTION
11.03. Enforcement. The parties hereto agree that prior
to the Closing, money damages or other remedies at law would not be sufficient
or adequate remedy for any breach or violation of, or default under, this
Agreement by them and that in addition to all other remedies available to them
prior to the Closing, each of them shall, prior to the Closing, be entitled to
the fullest extent permitted by Law to an injunction restraining such breach,
violation or default and to other equitable relief, including specific
performance, without bond or other security being required.
(a) Any
provision of this Agreement may be amended or waived if, but only if, such
amendment or waiver is in writing and is signed, in the case of an amendment, by
each party to this Agreement, or in the case of a waiver, by the party against
whom the waiver is to be effective. For the avoidance of doubt, any
provision of any Exhibit to this Agreement may be amended if, but only if, such
amendment is in writing and is signed by each party to this
Agreement.
(b) No
failure or delay by any party in exercising any right, power or privilege
hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof nor shall any single or partial
exercise thereof preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise
of any other right, power or privilege. Except as otherwise provided
herein, the rights and remedies herein provided shall be cumulative and not
exclusive of any rights or remedies provided by applicable Law.
(c) Any
consent provided under this Agreement must be in writing, signed by the party
against whom enforcement of such consent is sought.
SECTION
11.05. Expenses. Regardless of whether the Transactions
are consummated, except as otherwise expressly provided herein, each of the
parties hereto shall pay its own expenses incident to this Agreement, the other
Transaction Agreements and the consummation of the Transactions (including legal
fees and filing fees).
SECTION
11.06. Successors and Assigns. The provisions of this
Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto
and their respective successors and permitted assigns. None of the
parties hereto shall be permitted to assign its rights or obligations under this
Agreement to any Person without the prior written consent of the other parties
hereto.
SECTION
11.07. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed
by, and construed in accordance with, the Laws of the State of New York
applicable to agreements made and to be performed entirely within such State,
without regard to the conflicts of law principles of such State.
SECTION
11.08. Jurisdiction. Any suit, action or proceeding
seeking to enforce any provision of, or based on any matter arising out of or in
connection with, this Agreement or the Transactions will be brought exclusively
in the state courts of the State of New York located in New York,
New York, or in the U.S. federal courts located in the State of
New York. Each of the parties hereby consents to personal
jurisdiction in any such action, suit or proceeding brought in any such court
(and of the appropriate appellate courts therefrom) and irrevocably waives, to
the fullest extent permitted by Law, any objection that it may now or hereafter
have to the laying of the 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. Process in any such suit,
action or proceeding may be served on any party anywhere in the world, whether
within or without the jurisdiction of any such court. Without
limiting the foregoing, each party agrees that service of process on such party
as provided in Section 11.01 shall be deemed effective service of process
on such party.
SECTION
11.09. WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. EACH OF THE PARTIES HERETO
HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES ANY RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING
ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS.
SECTION
11.10. Counterparts; Effectiveness. This Agreement may
be executed in two or more counterparts, all of which shall be considered the
same agreement. Signature pages from separate identical counterparts
may be combined with the same effect as if the parties signing such signature
page had signed the same counterpart. This Agreement shall become
effective when each party hereto shall have received counterparts hereof signed
by all of the other parties hereto.
SECTION
11.11. Interpretation. When a reference is made in this
Agreement to Exhibits, Schedules, Articles or Sections, such reference shall be
to an Exhibit, Schedule, Article or Section to this Agreement unless
otherwise indicated. The words “include,” “includes,” “included” and
“including,” when used herein, shall be deemed in each case to be followed by
the words “without limitation.” The words “close of business” shall
be deemed to mean 5:00 P.M., New York City time, on the date
specified. The words “hereof,” “herein,” “hereby” and “hereunder” and
words of similar import, when used in this Agreement, shall refer to this
Agreement as a whole and not to any particular provision of this
Agreement. The term “or” is not exclusive and means “and/or” unless
the context in which such phrase is used shall dictate otherwise. The
word “extent” in the phrase “to the extent” shall mean the degree to which a
subject or other such thing extends, and such phrase shall not mean simply “if”
unless the context in which such phrase is used shall dictate
otherwise. The definitions contained in this Agreement are applicable
to the singular as well as the plural forms of such terms, and to the masculine
as well as to the feminine and neuter genders of such terms. The
table of contents and Article and Section headings contained in this
Agreement are for reference purposes only and shall not affect in any way the
meaning or interpretation of this Agreement. Whenever the context may
require, any pronoun shall include the corresponding masculine, feminine and
neuter forms. Any reference in this Agreement to a Person shall be
deemed to be a reference to such Person and any successor (by merger,
consolidation, transfer or otherwise) to all or substantially all its
assets.
SECTION
11.12. Captions. The captions herein are included for
convenience of reference only and shall be ignored in the construction or
interpretation hereof.
SECTION
11.13. Disclosure Schedules. When a reference is made
in this Agreement to a party’s Disclosure Schedule, such reference shall be to
the Disclosure Schedule delivered or deemed delivered herewith on the date of
this Agreement by the appropriate party, and not to any supplement to, or change
or modification of, such Disclosure Schedule. The information set
forth in one section of a Disclosure Schedule will be deemed to be included in
all other relevant sections of such Disclosure Schedule to the extent that the
relevancy of such information to such other sections of the Disclosure Schedule
is readily apparent from the information so disclosed.
SECTION
11.14. Entire Agreement. This Agreement (including the
Schedules and Exhibits attached hereto or delivered in connection herewith) and
the other Transaction Agreements constitute the entire agreement among the
parties hereto with respect to the matters covered hereby and thereby, and all
written or oral agreements, representations, warranties or covenants previously
existing between the parties with respect to such subject matter are cancelled
and are not part of this Agreement or the other Transaction
Agreements.
SECTION
11.15. Publicity; Public Announcements. White Mountains
and Berkshire Hathaway will reasonably cooperate with each other in connection
with the issuance of mutually acceptable press releases to be issued on or
promptly after the date of execution hereof announcing the execution of this
Agreement. Each of White Mountains and Berkshire Hathaway agrees not
to, and to cause each of their respective Affiliates not to, issue, or cause or
permit to be issued, any press release or other public statement regarding this
Agreement or the Transactions without the prior written consent of the other,
except, if, in the reasonable judgment of the party seeking to disclose, such
release or statement is required by applicable Law (including the rules and
regulations of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission) or by any
securities exchange or association on which such Person’s securities are listed
or traded (including pursuant to any listing agreement), in which case the party
required to make the release or announcement shall allow the other party
reasonable time to comment on such release or announcement (so as to confirm the
accuracy of any statements therein regarding such other party, among other
things) and thereafter the party required to make the release or announcement is
permitted to make such release or announcement.
SECTION
11.16. Severability. If any term, provision, covenant
or restriction of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction or
other authority to be invalid, void or unenforceable, the remainder of the
terms, provisions, covenants and restrictions of this Agreement shall remain in
full force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired or invalidated,
so long as the economic or legal substance of the Transactions is not affected
in any manner materially adverse to any party. Upon such
determination, the parties shall negotiate in good faith to modify this
Agreement so as to effect the original intent of the parties as closely as
possible in an acceptable manner in order that the Transactions be consummated
as originally contemplated to the fullest extent possible.
SECTION
11.17. No Strict
Construction. Each party hereto acknowledges that this
Agreement has been prepared jointly by the parties hereto and shall not be
strictly construed against any party hereto.
[THIS
SPACE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK]
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be duly
executed by their respective authorized officers as of the day and year first
above written.
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BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY
INC., |
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By:
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/s/ Marc
D. Hamburg |
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Name:
Marc D. Hamburg |
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Title:
Chief Financial Officer |
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GENERAL REINSURANCE
CORPORATION, |
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By:
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/s/ William
G. Gasdaska, Jr. |
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Name:
William G. Gasdaska, Jr. |
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Title:
Chief Financial Officer |
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WHITE MOUNTAINS INSURANCE
GROUP, LTD., |
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By:
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/s/ Raymond
Barrette |
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Name:
Raymond Barrette |
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Title:
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer |
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RAILSPLITTER HOLDINGS
CORPORATION, |
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By:
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/s/ Jason
R. Lichtenstein |
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Name:
Jason R. Lichtenstein |
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Title:
Authorized Signatory |
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ex2-2.htm
Exhibit
2.2
TAX
MATTERS AGREEMENT
by and
among
GENERAL
REINSURANCE CORPORATION
BERKSHIRE
HATHAWAY INC.
WHITE
MOUNTAINS INSURANCE GROUP, LTD.
and
RAILSPLITTER
HOLDINGS CORPORATION
As of
March 8, 2008
This
TAX MATTERS
AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) is
entered into as of March 8, 2008 by and among WHITE MOUNTAINS INSURANCE
GROUP, LTD., a company existing under the laws of Bermuda (“White Mountains”),
RAILSPLITTER HOLDINGS CORPORATION, a Delaware corporation and wholly owned
subsidiary of White Mountains (the “Company”), BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY
INC., a Delaware corporation (“Berkshire Hathaway”),
and GENERAL
REINSURANCE CORPORATION, a Delaware corporation and wholly owned indirect
subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway (“General
Reinsurance”).
W
I T N E S S E T H:
WHEREAS,
as of the date of this Agreement, White Mountains is the parent of a group of
companies, including the Company, International American Group, a Delaware
corporation (“IAG”), and Commercial
Casualty Insurance Company, a California insurance company (“CCIC”);
and
WHEREAS,
as of the date of this Agreement, IAG and its Subsidiaries are members of an
Affiliated Group the common parent of which is White Mountains Inc., a Delaware
corporation and wholly owned indirect subsidiary of White Mountains (the “WM Inc. Group”);
and
WHEREAS,
as of the date of this Agreement, CCIC is a member of an Affiliated Group the
common parent of which is White Mountains Re Holdings, Inc., a Delaware
corporation and wholly owned indirect subsidiary of White Mountains (the “WM Re Holdings
Group”); and
WHEREAS,
pursuant to the Reorganization White Mountains will cause the stock of IAG and
CCIC to be transferred to the Company; and
WHEREAS,
as of the date of this Agreement, General Reinsurance owns 1,724,200 shares of
common stock of White Mountains; and
WHEREAS,
White Mountains, the Company, Berkshire Hathaway and General Reinsurance have
entered into an agreement dated as of the date of this Agreement (the “Exchange Agreement”)
pursuant to which White Mountains will transfer all of the outstanding shares of
common stock of the Company to General Reinsurance in exchange for the shares of
common stock of White Mountains presently held by General Reinsurance, subject
to reduction under certain circumstances (as defined in Section 2.01(a) of the
Exchange Agreement, the “Exchange”);
and
WHEREAS,
the parties hereto intend the Exchange to qualify for nonrecognition of gain or
loss to General Reinsurance under Section 355(a) of the Code (the “Intended Tax-Free
Treatment”); and
WHEREAS,
as a result of the Exchange, the Company, IAG and its Subsidiaries and CCIC will
become members of the Affiliated Group of which Berkshire Hathaway is the common
parent and General Reinsurance is a member, effective after the Closing Date;
and
WHEREAS,
the parties to this Agreement (the “Parties”) desire to
provide for and agree upon the allocation of liability for Taxes arising prior
to, as a result of, and subsequent to the Transactions, and to provide for and
agree upon certain other matters relating to Taxes.
The
Parties hereby agree as follows:
ARTICLE
I
CERTAIN
DEFINITIONS AND OTHER MATTERS
SECTION
1.01. Certain
Definitions.
For
purposes of this Agreement (including the recitals hereof), the following terms
have the following meanings:
“Adjustment Request”
means any formal or informal claim or request filed with any Tax Authority or
court for the adjustment, refund, credit or offset of Taxes, including any
amended Tax Return claiming adjustment to the Taxes as reported on such Tax
Return or, if applicable, as previously adjusted.
“Affiliate” means,
with respect to any Person, any other Person directly or indirectly controlling,
controlled by or under common control with such Person. For purposes
of this definition, the term “control” (including its correlative meanings, the
terms “controlling”, “controlled by” and “under common control with”), as used
with respect to any Person, shall mean the possession, directly or indirectly,
of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of
such Person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract or
otherwise. For the avoidance of doubt, the members of the Company
Group are Affiliates of White Mountains with respect to the period before the
Closing and Affiliates of Berkshire Hathaway with respect to the period after
the Closing.
“Affiliated Group”
means an affiliated group of corporations as defined in Section 1504(a) of
the Code.
“Balance Sheet” means
the most recent applicable IAG Balance Sheet or CCIC Balance Sheet, as such
terms are defined in Section 4.07 of the Exchange Agreement.
“Berkshire Run-off
Business” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 9.01(c).
“Business Day” has the
meaning assigned to such term in Section 1.01 of the Exchange
Agreement.
“Carryback” means any
net operating loss, net capital loss, excess tax credit, or other similar Tax
item that may or must be carried back from one taxable period to a prior taxable
period under applicable Tax Law.
“CCIC” has the meaning
assigned to such term in the recitals.
“CCIC Business” means
the Commercial Casualty Insurance Company Business as described in Exhibit C to
White Mountains’ Tax Representation Letter.
“Closing” has the
meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.02 of the Exchange
Agreement.
“Closing Date” has the
meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.02 of the Exchange
Agreement.
“Code” means the
United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
“Combined Tax” means
any Tax computed by reference to the assets and activities of more than one
company.
“Company Group” means
the Company, IAG and its Subsidiaries and CCIC.
“Company Subsidiary”
means IAG and its Subsidiaries and CCIC.
“Covered Opinion”
means an opinion complying with the requirements of United States Treasury
Department Circular 230, Title 31 Code of Federal Regulations Subtitle A, Part
10, Subpart B, Section 10.35, as amended.
“Cutoff Date” means
December 31, 2007.
“Exchange” has the
meaning assigned to such term in the recitals.
“Exchange Agreement”
has the meaning assigned to such term in the recitals.
“Federal Consolidated
Return” means any consolidated United States Federal Tax Return for an
Affiliated Group.
“Final Determination”
means, with respect to any Tax issue, (i) a decision, judgment, decree or other
order by any court of competent jurisdiction that has become final and not
subject to further appeal, (ii) a closing agreement (whether or not entered into
under Section 7121 of the Code) or any other binding settlement agreement
(whether or not with the IRS) entered into in connection with or in
contemplation of an administrative or judicial proceeding, or (iii) the
completion of the highest level of administrative proceedings if a judicial
contest is not (or is no longer) available.
“General Reinsurance
Transaction Tax” means any U.S. federal Tax (other than a Transfer Tax)
imposed on General Reinsurance or its Affiliates resulting from the failure of
the Exchange to qualify for the Intended Tax-Free Treatment.
“Governmental
Authority” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 1.01 of the
Exchange Agreement.
“Group” means the WM
Inc. Group, the WM Re Holdings Group or the Company Group, as the context
requires.
“IAG” has the meaning
assigned to such term in the recitals.
“IAG Business” means
the International American Group Business as described in Exhibit B to White
Mountains’ Tax Representation Letter.
“Indemnified Party”
means a Party that seeks
indemnification pursuant to this Agreement.
“Indemnifying Party”
means a Party against which
indemnification is sought under this Agreement.
“Intended Tax-Free
Treatment” has the meaning assigned to such term in the
recitals.
“IRS” means the United
States Internal Revenue Service.
“IRS Ruling” has the
meaning assigned to such term in Section 8.01(c) of the Exchange
Agreement.
“Material Increase in Tax
Risk” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 1.01 of the
Exchange Agreement.
“Non-Qualification
Event” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 1.01 of the
Exchange Agreement.
“Parties” has the
meaning assigned to such term in the recitals.
“Permitted Loan” means
any loan of cash, evidenced by a written instrument, made by the Company or any
Company Subsidiary on market terms and conditions that: (i) requires
the payment, in cash, of (A) interest on the principal amount thereof (on not
less than a semiannual basis) and (B) principal at maturity; (ii) is not
convertible into any equity interest in any entity or exchangeable into any
other property (provided, however, that this
clause shall not be interpreted to preclude any lender from taking a security
interest in, or from foreclosing upon, any assets or property of the borrower);
(iii) has a maturity of not longer than seven years; and (iv) is (A) made to, or
guaranteed by, Berkshire Hathaway or (B) made to a borrower that is reasonably
expected, at the time such loan is made, to repay all interest and principal of
such loan, in accordance with its terms.
“Person” means an
individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, joint stock
company, unincorporated organization or association, trust, joint venture, firm,
branch, registered office, governmental authority or any other
entity.
“Post-Closing Period”
means any taxable period (or portion thereof) beginning after the Closing
Date.
“Post-Cutoff Period”
means any taxable period (or portion thereof) beginning after the Cutoff
Date.
“Pre-Closing Period”
means any taxable period (or portion thereof) ending on or before the Closing
Date.
“Pre-Cutoff Period”
means taxable period (or portion thereof) ending on or before the Cutoff
Date.
“Prime Rate” means the
base rate on corporate loans charged by Citibank, N.A., New York, New York from
time to time, compounded daily on the basis of a year of 365 or 366 (as
applicable) days and actual days elapsed.
“Reorganization” has
the meaning assigned to such term in Section 3.01 of the Exchange
Agreement.
“Requesting Party” has
the meaning assigned to such term in Section
3.04.
“Responsible Party”
means, with respect to any Tax Return, the Party having responsibility for
preparing and filing such Tax Return under this Agreement.
“Subsidiary” of any
Person means, at any date, any corporation, partnership, joint venture or other
entity of which the applicable Person owns, directly or indirectly, more than
50% of the outstanding voting securities or equity interests.
“Tax” means all forms
of taxation or duties imposed by a governmental entity (or political subdivision
thereof), together with any related interest, penalties or other additions to
tax.
“Tax Authority” means,
with respect to any Tax, the governmental entity (or political subdivision
thereof) that imposes such Tax, and the agency (if any) charged with the
collection of such Tax for such entity or subdivision.
“Tax Benefit” means
any Tax refund, credit or offset or the Tax effect of any item of loss,
deduction or credit or any other item (including increases in Tax basis) that
decreases Taxes paid or required to be paid, including any interest with respect
thereto or interest that would have been payable but for such
item. For the avoidance of doubt, Tax Benefit refers only to such
benefits as have been actually realized.
“Tax Claim” has the
meaning assigned to such term in Section
6.01(a).
“Tax Law” means any
law of any governmental entity (or political subdivision thereof) relating to
any Tax.
“Tax Records” means
Tax Returns, Tax Return workpapers, documentation relating to any Tax Claims,
and any other books of account or records required to be maintained under
applicable Tax Laws or under any record retention agreement with any Tax
Authority.
“Tax Representation
Letters” means the letters of representations dated as of the date of
this Agreement and provided by White Mountains and by Berkshire Hathaway to each
of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP and Munger, Tolles & Olson
LLP.
“Tax Return” means any
report of Taxes due, any claims for a refund, credit or offset of Taxes paid,
any information return with respect to Taxes, or any other similar report,
statement, declaration, or document required to be filed under applicable Tax
Law, including any attachments, exhibits, or other materials submitted with any
of the foregoing, and any amendments or supplements to any of the
foregoing.
“Transaction
Agreements” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 1.01 of the
Exchange Agreement.
“Transactions” means
the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the other Transaction
Agreements, including the Reorganization and the Exchange.
“Transfer Taxes” has
the meaning assigned to such term in Section
2.07(a).
“Treasury Regulations”
means the Treasury regulations promulgated under the Code.
“White Mountains Disclosure
Schedule” has the meaning assigned to such term in Article IV of the
Exchange Agreement.
“White Mountains Transaction
Taxes” means any U.S federal Tax (other than a Transfer Tax) imposed on
White Mountains or its Affiliates attributable to the Reorganization or
resulting from the failure of the Exchange to qualify for the Intended Tax-Free
Treatment.
“WM Inc. Group” has
the meaning assigned to such term in the recitals.
“WM Re Holdings Group”
has the meaning assigned to such term in the recitals.
SECTION
1.02. Interpretation. When
a reference is made in this Agreement to Exhibits, Schedules, Articles or
Sections, such reference shall be to an Exhibit, Schedule, Article or Section to
this Agreement unless otherwise indicated. The words “include,”
“includes,” “included,” and “including,” when used herein shall be deemed in
each case to be followed by the words “without limitation.” The words
“close of business” shall be deemed to mean 5:00 P.M., New York City time, on
the date specified. The words “hereof,” “herein,” “hereby,” and
“hereunder” and words of similar import when used in this Agreement shall refer
to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular provision of this
Agreement. The term “or” is not exclusive and means “and/or” unless
the context in which such phrase is used shall dictate otherwise. The
word “extent” in the phrase “to the extent” shall mean the degree to which a
subject or other such thing extends, and such phrase shall not mean simply “if”
unless the context in which such phrase is used shall dictate
otherwise. The definitions contained in this Agreement are applicable
to the singular as well as the plural forms of such terms and to the masculine
as well as to the feminine and neuter genders of such term. Whenever
the context may require, any pronoun shall include the corresponding masculine,
feminine and neuter forms. Any reference in this Agreement to a
Person shall be deemed to be a reference to such Person and any successor (by
merger, consolidation, transfer or otherwise) to all or substantially all its
assets.
ARTICLE
II
ALLOCATION
OF TAX LIABILITIES AND BENEFITS
SECTION
2.01. Indemnity by White
Mountains. Following the Closing, White Mountains shall
indemnify and hold Berkshire Hathaway, General Reinsurance, the Company and
their Affiliates harmless from:
(i) all Taxes of (x) the Company Group for all Pre-Cutoff Periods
(including Taxes allocated to any Pre-Cutoff Period under Section 2.06), (y)
any member of an affiliated, consolidated, combined or unitary group (other than
another member of the Company Group) of which any member of the Company Group
(or a predecessor thereof) was a member on or prior to the Closing Date,
including pursuant to Treasury Regulation § 1.1502-6 (or analogous or
similar provisions of state, local, or foreign Tax Law), or (z) any other Person
(other than another member of the Company Group) as successor or transferee, by
contract or otherwise;
(ii) all Taxes of the Company Group that result primarily from the
breach of any covenant in Section 6.01 of the Exchange Agreement or in Section 8.02 of this
Agreement;
(iii) all General Reinsurance Transaction Taxes allocated to White
Mountains under Section
2.03;
(iv) all White Mountains Transaction Taxes allocated to White
Mountains under Section
2.04;
(v) all Transfer Taxes allocated to White Mountains under Section 2.07;
and
(vi) all
reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, including professional fees, incurred with
respect to any Taxes described in this Section
2.01.
SECTION
2.02. Indemnity by Berkshire
Hathaway, General Reinsurance or the Company. Following the
Closing, Berkshire Hathaway, General Reinsurance and the Company Group shall,
jointly and severally, indemnify and hold White Mountains and its Affiliates
harmless from:
(i) all Taxes of the Company Group for all Post-Cutoff Periods
(including Taxes allocated to any Post-Cutoff Period under Section 2.06) other
than any Taxes described in Section
2.01(ii);
(ii) all General Reinsurance Transaction Taxes
allocated to General Reinsurance under Section
2.03;
(iii) all White Mountains Transaction Taxes allocated to
General Reinsurance under Section 2.04, but
only up to a maximum aggregate amount of U.S. $10,000,000;
(iv) all Transfer Taxes allocated to General Reinsurance under Section 2.07;
and
(v) all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, including professional
fees, incurred with respect to any Taxes described in this Section
2.02.
SECTION
2.03. Allocation of General
Reinsurance Transaction Taxes. (a) Except as
provided in Sections
2.03(b) and (c) below, all General Reinsurance Transaction Taxes shall be
allocated 50% to White Mountains and 50% to General Reinsurance.
(b) White
Mountains shall be allocated 100% of General Reinsurance Transaction Taxes that
result primarily from, individually or in the aggregate:
(i) the
failure to be true and correct of any representation provided by White Mountains
in its Tax Representation Letter or in the request for the IRS Ruling;
or
(ii) the breach by White Mountains or any of its Affiliates of Section 9.02, 9.03, 9.04 or
9.05.
(c) General
Reinsurance shall be allocated 100% of General Reinsurance Transaction Taxes
that result primarily from, individually or in the aggregate:
(i) the failure to be true and correct of any representation provided
by Berkshire Hathaway in its Tax Representation Letter or in the request for the
IRS Ruling; or
(ii) the
breach by Berkshire Hathaway, General Reinsurance or any of their respective
Affiliates of Section
9.01, 9.03, 9.04 or 9.05.
(d) For
purposes of determining whether a representation “fails to be true and correct”
under Section 2.03 or
2.04, the representation shall be treated (i) if made expressly as of a
specified date, then as of such specified date and, (ii) otherwise, as if made
as of the Closing Date.
SECTION
2.04. Allocation of White
Mountains Transaction Taxes. (a) Except as provided
in Section 2.04(b) or
(c), 100% of White Mountains Transaction Taxes shall be allocated to
White Mountains.
(b) General
Reinsurance shall be allocated 100% of White Mountains Transaction Taxes that
result primarily from, individually or in the aggregate:
(i) the
failure to be true and correct of any representation provided by Berkshire
Hathaway in its Tax Representation Letter or in the request for the IRS Ruling;
or
(ii) the
breach by Berkshire Hathaway, General Reinsurance or any of their respective
Affiliates of Section
9.01, 9.03, 9.04 or 9.05.
(c) If
Berkshire Hathaway has exercised its right pursuant to Section 9.02 of the
Exchange Agreement to require the consummation of the Transactions, then General
Reinsurance shall be allocated 100% of the White Mountains Transaction Taxes, if
any, that are imposed solely as a result of the Parties reporting the Exchange
as taxable in accordance with Section
9.05(d).
SECTION
2.05. Limitation on
Indemnification if a Party Exercises its Option to Require
Consummation. Notwithstanding anything in the Transaction
Agreements to the contrary:
(a) if
White Mountains has exercised its right pursuant to Section 9.02 of the Exchange
Agreement to require the consummation of the Transactions, then (i) Section 2.01(iii)
(relating to White Mountains’ indemnity obligation for certain General
Reinsurance Transaction Taxes) and Sections 2.03(a) and
(b) (allocating certain General Reinsurance Transaction Taxes to White
Mountains) shall not apply, and (ii) Section 2.02(iii)
(relating to Berkshire Hathaway’s, General Reinsurance’s or the Company’s
indemnity obligation for certain White Mountains Transaction Taxes) and Section 2.04(b)
(allocating certain White Mountains Transaction Taxes to General Reinsurance)
shall not apply; and
(b) if
Berkshire Hathaway has exercised its right pursuant to Section 9.02 of the
Exchange Agreement to require the consummation of the Transactions, then Section 2.01(iii)
(relating to White Mountains’ indemnity obligation for certain General
Reinsurance Transaction Taxes) and Sections 2.03(a) and
(b) (allocating certain General Reinsurance Transaction Taxes to White
Mountains) shall not apply.
SECTION
2.06. Allocation of Taxes Between
Periods. (a) Tax items for any taxable period (or
portion thereof) that includes the Cutoff Date shall be allocated between the
Pre-Cutoff Period and the Post-Cutoff Period (i) in the case of any Taxes
imposed on a periodic basis, such as real, personal and intangible property
Taxes, on a daily pro-rata basis and (ii) in the case of any other Taxes, in
accordance with the principles of Treasury Regulation § 1.1502-76(b)
(relating to the “closing of the books” method) as reasonably interpreted and
applied by the Parties.
(b) With
respect to any taxable period (or portion thereof) beginning after the Cutoff
Date and ending on or before the Closing Date, the amount of Tax of each member
of the Company Group shall be determined as if IAG and its Subsidiaries ceased
to be members of the WM Inc. Group and commenced to be members of a separate
Affiliated Group, and CCIC ceased to be a member of the WM Re Holdings Group, as
of the day after the Cutoff Date.
SECTION
2.07. Transfer
Taxes. (a) All sales, use, gross receipts, stamp
duty or other transfer Taxes (“Transfer Taxes”)
imposed on the transfers occurring as part of the Reorganization shall be
allocated to White Mountains.
(b) Transfer
Taxes imposed on the Exchange, if any, shall be allocated 50% to White Mountains
and 50% to General Reinsurance.
SECTION
2.08. Tax
Benefits. (a) White Mountains shall be entitled to
any Tax Benefits that relate to Taxes described in Section 2.01, other
than any Taxes with respect to which Section 2.05 prevents
allocation to White Mountains.
(b) General
Reinsurance shall be entitled to any Tax Benefits that relate to Taxes described
in Section
2.02, other than any Taxes with respect to which Section 2.05 prevents
allocation to General Reinsurance.
SECTION
2.09. No Duplicative
Payment. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this
Agreement, it is intended that the provisions of this Agreement will not result
in a duplicative payment of any amount required to be paid under any Transaction
Agreement, and this Agreement shall be construed accordingly.
ARTICLE
III
PREPARATION
AND FILING OF TAX RETURNS
SECTION
3.01. White Mountains
Responsibility. White Mountains shall prepare and file, or
cause to be prepared and filed:
(i) Federal Consolidated Returns for the WM Inc. Group and Federal
Consolidated Tax Returns for the WM Re Holdings Group, in each case for all
taxable periods; and
(ii) all
other Tax Returns required to be filed by or with respect to the members of the
Company Group on or before the Closing Date.
SECTION
3.02. Company
Responsibility. The Company or General Reinsurance, as
applicable, shall prepare and file, or cause to be prepared and filed, all other
Tax Returns required to be filed by or with respect to the members of the
Company Group.
(b) In
the case of any Tax Return that is required to be prepared and filed by one
Party under this Agreement and that is required by law to be signed by another
Party (or by its authorized representative), the latter Party shall not be
required to sign such Tax Return under this Agreement if there is no substantial
authority for the Tax treatment of any material Tax items reported on the Tax
Return.
SECTION
3.04. Right to Review Tax
Returns. The Responsible Party with respect to any Tax Return
shall make such Tax Return (or the relevant portions thereof) and related
workpapers available for review by the other Parties, if requested by any Party
(the “Requesting
Party”), but only to the extent such Tax Return (or portions thereof)
relates to Taxes for which the Requesting Party or any of its Subsidiaries may
be liable or may have a claim for Tax Benefits under this Agreement. The
Responsible Party shall use its reasonable best efforts to make such Tax Returns
(or portions thereof) available for review sufficiently in advance of the due
date for filing such Tax Returns so as to provide the Requesting Party with a
meaningful opportunity to analyze and comment on such Tax Returns (or portions
thereof) and have such Tax Returns modified before filing. The
Parties shall cooperate in good faith to resolve any issues arising out of the
review of such Tax Returns (or portions thereof).
SECTION
3.05. Adjustment Requests
(Including Amended Tax Returns). Unless each of the other
Parties consents (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed),
(i) no Adjustment Request with respect to any Combined Tax for a Pre-Closing
Period shall be filed (unless such Adjustment Request will not increase the Tax
liability of the Company Group for a Post-Cutoff Period), and (ii) any available
elections to waive the right to claim in any Pre-Closing Period with respect to
any Combined Tax of the WM Inc. Group or the WM Re Holdings Group any Carryback
of any member of the Company Group arising in a Post-Closing Period shall be
made, and no affirmative election shall be made to claim any such
Carryback. Any Adjustment Request that the Parties consent to make
under this Section
3.05 shall be prepared and filed by the Responsible Party under Sections 3.01 and
3.02 for the Tax Return to be adjusted. The Party requesting the
Adjustment Request shall provide to the Responsible Party all information
required for the preparation and filing of such Adjustment Request in such form
and detail as reasonably requested by the Responsible Party.
ARTICLE
IV
TIMING
OF PAYMENTS
SECTION
4.01. Tax
Payments. Each Party shall timely pay to the relevant Tax
Authority all Taxes that are legally imposed on it, including any Taxes for
which such Party may seek indemnity under this Agreement.
SECTION
4.02. Indemnity
Payments. (a) Each Indemnified Party shall (i)
timely compute any amounts to which it may be entitled under this Agreement; and
(ii) promptly (but in no event later than within 15 Business Days from the date
such Taxes are paid) provide the Indemnifying Party with a written notice of any
amounts due from such Indemnifying Party accompanied by evidence of payment and
a statement detailing the Taxes paid and describing in reasonable detail the
calculation of such amounts; provided, however, that failure
to give such notice shall not affect the indemnification provided under this
Agreement except to the extent that the Indemnifying Party shall have been
actually prejudiced as a result of such failure.
(b) Any
indemnity payment under this Agreement shall become due upon the receipt of the
written notice described in Section
4.02(a). Within 15 Business Days following the receipt by the
Indemnifying Party of that notice, the Indemnifying Party shall pay to the
Indemnified Party the amount shown thereon as due, together with interest
computed at the Prime Rate based on the number of days from the later of (i) the
date of Tax payment or (ii) the date the notice is received to the date the
Indemnifying Party makes its indemnity payment.
(c) For
the avoidance of doubt, and without limiting the foregoing provisions of this
Section 4.02,
following the occurrence of a Non-Qualification Event, the payment of estimated
Taxes calculated with respect to the Exchange, as well as any payment of Taxes
made with respect to the Exchange required to be made on the original due date
of an Indemnified Party’s Tax Return for the year that includes the Closing Date
despite the fact that such Tax Return is not filed on such original due date,
shall be treated as the payment of Taxes for purposes of this Section
4.02.
SECTION
4.03. Tax
Benefits. (a) In the event that any Tax Benefit to
which White Mountains is entitled under Section 2.08 is
received by Berkshire Hathaway, General Reinsurance or any of their respective
Subsidiaries (including any member of the Company Group if such Tax Benefit is
received after Closing), the recipient shall pay White Mountains, within 15
Business Days following receipt, the amount of such Tax Benefit (including any
Tax Benefit realized as a result of the payment), net of any out-of-pocket
expenses, including professional fees, and Taxes attributable to such Tax
Benefit.
(b) In
the event that any Tax Benefit to which General Reinsurance is entitled under
Section 2.08 is
received by White Mountains or any of its Subsidiaries (including any member of
the Company Group if such Tax Benefit is received before Closing and is not
retained by the Company Group), the recipient shall pay General Reinsurance,
within 15 Business Days following receipt, the amount of such Tax Benefit
(including any Tax Benefit realized as a result of the payment), net of any
out-of-pocket expenses, including professional fees, and Taxes attributable to
such Tax Benefit.
(c) Any
Tax Benefit payment shall include interest computed at the Prime Rate based on
the number of days from the date of receipt of the Tax Benefit to the date of
payment of such amount under this Section
4.03.
(d) In
the event that any Tax Benefit for which a payment has been made pursuant to
this Section 4.03 is
subsequently reduced or disallowed, the Person that received such payment shall
indemnify and hold harmless the Person that made such payment for any Tax
liability, including related interest and penalties, assessed against such
Person by reason of the reduction or disallowance.
ARTICLE
V
COOPERATION;
TAX RECORDS; CONFIDENTIALITY
SECTION
5.01. Cooperation. (a) The
Parties shall cooperate (and cause their respective Subsidiaries to cooperate)
with each other and with each other’s agents (including accounting firms and
legal counsel) in connection with Tax matters relating to the Parties and their
Subsidiaries, including (i) preparation and filing of Tax Returns, (ii)
determining the liability for and amount of any Taxes due (including estimated
Taxes) or the right to and amount of any Tax Benefit, (iii) examinations of Tax
Returns, and (iv) any administrative or judicial proceeding in respect of Taxes
assessed or proposed to be assessed.
(b) The
Parties shall make available to each other, as reasonably requested and
available, personnel (including officers, directors, employees and agents of the
Parties or their respective Subsidiaries) responsible for preparing,
maintaining, and interpreting information and documents relevant to Taxes, and
personnel reasonably required as witnesses or for purposes of providing
information or documents in connection with any administrative or judicial
proceedings relating to Taxes; provided that the
requesting Party shall reimburse the other Party for its reasonable
out-of-pocket expenses, including professional fees and excluding compensation
of the Party’s officers, directors and employees.
(c) The
Parties and their respective Subsidiaries shall make available to each other for
inspection and copying during normal business hours upon reasonable notice all
Tax Records in their possession to the extent reasonably required by the other
Party in connection with the preparation of Tax Returns, audits, litigation, or
the resolution of items under this Agreement.
SECTION
5.02. Retention of Tax
Records. The Parties shall preserve and keep (or cause to be
preserved and kept) all Tax Records exclusively relating to the assets and
activities of the Company Group for Pre-Closing Periods, and White Mountains
shall preserve and keep all other Tax Records relating to Combined Taxes of the
WM Inc. Group, the WM Re Holdings Group and the Company Group for Pre-Closing
Periods, for so long as the contents thereof may become material in the
administration of any matter under applicable Tax Law, but in any event until
the later of (i) the expiration of any applicable statutes of limitation, and
(ii) seven years after the Closing Date. If, prior to the expiration
of such period, a Party reasonably determines that any Tax Records that it is
required to preserve and keep under this Article V are no
longer material in the administration of any matter under applicable Tax Law,
such Party may dispose of such records upon 90 days’ written notice to the other
Party. Such notice shall include a list of the records to be disposed of
describing in reasonable detail each file, book, or other record accumulation
being disposed. The notified Party shall have the opportunity, at its cost and
expense, to copy or remove, within such 90-day period, all or any part of such
Tax Records.
SECTION
5.03. Certain Tax
Information. White Mountains shall provide to General
Reinsurance as soon as practicable (but not later than 30 days after the Closing
Date) a schedule detailing any carryover item that may be partially or
totally attributed and carried over by the Company Group, including with respect
to the tangible and intangible properties of the Company Group (i) their
adjusted bases, (ii) the methods of depreciation or amortization used by the WM
Inc. Group and the WM Re Holdings Group, and (iii) the remaining recovery
periods, in each case, as of the Closing Date, for Federal, state and foreign
Tax purposes. White Mountains shall promptly notify General Reinsurance of any
subsequent adjustments that may affect the amount of such carryover items and
associated Tax attributes.
SECTION
5.04. Confidentiality. Any
Tax information or Tax-related documents provided under this Agreement shall be
kept confidential by the Party receiving such information or documents, except
as may otherwise be necessary in connection with the filing of Tax Returns or in
connection with any administrative or judicial proceedings relating to
Taxes.
ARTICLE
VI
TAX
CLAIM PROCEDURES
SECTION
6.01. Tax Claim
Notice. (a) Each Indemnified Party shall promptly
notify the Indemnifying Party of the commencement of any demand, audit,
examination, action, investigation, suit, proceeding or other proposed change or
adjustment by any Tax Authority concerning any Tax, or any other adjustment or
claim, (i) that could reasonably give rise to an indemnity liability of the
Indemnifying Party pursuant to this Agreement (each a “Tax Claim”) or (ii)
that could reasonably be expected to affect the Tax consequences of the
Transactions to either Party.
(b) Each
Tax Claim notice shall contain factual information (to the extent known)
describing any asserted Tax liability in reasonable detail and shall be
accompanied by copies of any notice and other documents received from any Tax
Authority in respect of any such matters.
(c) In
the event that such notice of any Tax Claim is not given to the Indemnifying
Party within a sufficient period of time or in reasonable detail to apprise the
Indemnifying Party of the nature of such claim (in each instance taking into
account the facts and circumstances with respect to such claim), the
Indemnifying Party shall not be liable to the Indemnified Party under this
Agreement for such claim, but only to the extent that the rights of the
Indemnifying Party with respect to such claim are actually and materially
prejudiced.
(d) After
the delivery of the notice required by Section 6.01(a), the
Indemnified Party shall deliver to the Indemnifying Party such additional
information with respect to such Tax Claim in its possession that the
Indemnifying Party may reasonably request.
SECTION
6.02. Control of Tax
Claims. (a) In
General. Subject to Section 6.02(b), the
Indemnified Party shall be entitled to exercise full control of the defense,
compromise or settlement of any Tax Claim unless the Indemnifying Party (within
a reasonable time after the receipt of notice of such Tax Claim in accordance
with Section
6.01(a)):
(i) delivers a written confirmation to such Indemnified Party that
the indemnity provisions of this Agreement are applicable to such Tax Claim and
that the Indemnifying Party will indemnify such Indemnified Party in respect of
such Tax Claim pursuant to this Agreement,
(ii) notifies
such Indemnified Party in writing of the Indemnifying Party’s intention to
assume the defense thereof, and
(iii) retains
legal counsel reasonably satisfactory to such Indemnified Party to conduct the
defense of such Tax Claim,
in which
case the Indemnifying Party shall be entitled to exercise full control of the
defense, compromise or settlement of such Tax Claim.
(b) Transaction
Taxes. In the case of any Tax Claim with respect to General
Reinsurance Transaction Taxes or White Mountains Transaction Taxes, White
Mountains and General Reinsurance shall have the right to control jointly the
defense, compromise or settlement of such Tax Claim (and neither Party shall
settle or compromise or consent to entry of any judgment with respect to any
such Tax Claim without the prior written consent of the other Party) except (i)
in the case of General Reinsurance Transaction Taxes, to the extent General
Reinsurance waives all related indemnities and allocations of such Taxes under
Sections 2.01(iii),
2.03(a) and 2.03(b) (or such provisions shall have ceased to apply under
Section 2.05),
in which case General Reinsurance shall have the sole right to control the
defense, compromise or settlement of such Tax Claim, or (ii) in the case of
White Mountains Transaction Taxes, to the extent White Mountains waives all
related indemnities and allocations of such Taxes under Sections 2.02(iii) and
2.04(b) (or such provisions shall have ceased to apply under Section 2.05), in
which case White Mountains shall have the sole right to control the defense,
compromise or settlement of such Tax Claim. In the case of any Tax Claim over
which General Reinsurance and White Mountains exercise joint control, the
parties shall use their reasonable best efforts to resolve any disputes that
arise with respect to the defense, compromise or settlement of such Tax Claim.
If the Parties are unable to agree, they shall promptly elevate the matter to
the level of their respective Chief Executive Officers.
(c) Combined
Taxes. In the case of any Tax Claim with respect to any
Combined Tax:
(i) White Mountains shall control the defense of the portion of the
Tax Claim directly and exclusively related to any proposed adjustment by a Tax
Authority that would create or increase a Tax liability for which White
Mountains and/or any of its Affiliates would be exclusively liable under this
Agreement; and
(ii) the Company shall control the defense of the portion of the Tax
Claim directly and exclusively related to any proposed adjustment by a Tax
Authority that would create or increase a Tax liability for which General
Reinsurance, the Company and/or any of their respective Affiliates would be
exclusively liable under this Agreement.
(d) Participation of
Non-Controlling Party. Unless the Parties exercise joint
control, the Party controlling the defense, compromise or settlement of any Tax
Claim under this Section 6.02
shall:
(i) notify the non-controlling Party of significant developments with
respect to such Tax Claim;
(ii) keep the non-controlling Party reasonably informed;
(iii) consult
with the non-controlling Party with respect to any issue that reasonably could
be expected to have an adverse effect on the non-controlling Party or any of its
Affiliates (including by giving rise to an indemnity obligation of the
non-Controlling Party or any of its Affiliates); and
(iv) provide
the non-controlling Party with an opportunity to attend, at the non-controlling
Party’s own expense, as an observer, settlement discussions and other
conferences or meetings with respect to such Tax Claim.
ARTICLE
VII
TAX
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF WHITE MOUNTAINS
White
Mountains represents and warrants to Berkshire Hathaway and General Reinsurance,
except as otherwise specifically disclosed to Berkshire Hathaway and General
Reinsurance in the White Mountains Disclosure Schedule, as of the date of this
Agreement, as follows:
SECTION
7.01. Taxes and Tax
Returns. Each member of the Company Group has filed (or
otherwise been included in) all Federal income Tax Returns and all other
material Tax Returns required to be filed with respect to it. All
such Tax Returns are true, complete and correct in all material respects, and
all Taxes shown thereon as owing have been paid.
SECTION
7.02. Withholding
Taxes. Each member of the Company Group has in all material
respects withheld and paid over to the proper Tax Authority all Taxes required
to be withheld and paid over.
SECTION
7.03. Claims and
Disputes. There is no material dispute or claim concerning any
Tax liability of any member of the Company Group either claimed or raised by any
Tax Authority in writing.
ARTICLE
VIII
PRE-CLOSING
COVENANTS
SECTION
8.01. Termination of Prior Tax
Sharing Agreements. Prior to the Closing, White Mountains must
terminate all prior Tax sharing agreements. Upon termination, all rights and
obligations under such agreements shall cease.
SECTION
8.02. No Material Tax-Related
Changes. From the date of this Agreement until the Closing,
White Mountains will not, and will not permit its Subsidiaries to:
(i) make, change or revoke any material Tax election relating
primarily to (or that would materially and negatively affect) any member of the
Company Group,
(ii) change materially any method of Tax accounting relating
primarily to (or that would materially and negatively affect) any member of the
Company Group,
(iii) consent
to any extension or waiver of the limitations period applicable to any material
Tax claim or assessment relating primarily to (or that would materially and
negatively affect) any member of the Company Group,
(iv) settle
or compromise any material Tax liability relating primarily to (or that would
materially and negatively affect) any member of the Company Group,
(v) enter into any material agreement relating primarily to (or that
would materially and negatively affect) Taxes of a member of the Company Group
with any Tax Authority, or
(vi) make
any material change in any Tax practice or policy relating primarily to (or that
would materially and negatively affect) any member of the Company
Group;
except,
in each case, (A) as consented to or approved in advance by Berkshire Hathaway
(which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed), (B) as otherwise
required because of a change in law or a Final Determination or (C) to the
extent such actions would not affect Taxes of or with respect to any member of
the Company Group due for any Post-Cutoff Period.
SECTION
8.03. IRS
Ruling. Without limiting the generality of Section 6.03 of the
Exchange Agreement, as soon as reasonably practicable after the date of this
Agreement, White Mountains shall prepare and file, or cause to be prepared or
filed, the joint request of White Mountains and Berkshire Hathaway for the IRS
Ruling, and White Mountains and Berkshire Hathaway shall proceed in good faith
and exercise their reasonable best efforts to cause the IRS Ruling to be timely
issued, including by making such reasonable representations (that are true and
correct) as are requested by the IRS. In addition, White Mountains
shall be responsible for preparing and submitting (i) the documentation, if any,
for any IRS pre-submission conference, (ii) the written responses to subsequent
IRS information requests, if any, and (iii) the draft of the private letter
ruling; provided, however, that White
Mountains shall not submit any such materials to the IRS (or any other materials
relating to the IRS Ruling process) without Berkshire Hathaway’s consent (which
consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed). Without limiting the
generality of Section
5.01, the Parties shall cooperate with each other in respect of the
preparation of such documents and shall furnish all information to each other
that is reasonably necessary or advisable with respect thereto. White
Mountains shall share working drafts of such documents with Berkshire Hathaway
and General Reinsurance, permit Berkshire Hathaway and General Reinsurance to
review and comment on such documents, consider in good faith all comments of
Berkshire Hathaway or General Reinsurance with respect to such documents, and
otherwise consult with and keep Berkshire Hathaway and General Reinsurance
reasonably informed regarding any issues, communications or significant
developments relating to the IRS Ruling process. White Mountains shall also
notify Berkshire Hathaway and General Reinsurance of, and permit Berkshire
Hathaway and General Reinsurance to participate in, any meetings or discussions
with the IRS relating to the IRS Ruling process including any IRS pre-submission
conference. For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Section 8.03 shall
require Berkshire Hathaway, General Reinsurance or their Affiliates to make any
representations to the IRS other than representations that (x) reasonably relate
to the activities of Berkshire Hathaway, General Reinsurance or their Affiliates
with respect to White Mountains or the Company Group or to their intended
operation of the Company, the IAG Business or the CCIC Business and (y) do not
impose restrictions or requirements on the operation of Berkshire Hathaway,
General Reinsurance or their Affiliates (including the Company Group) that are
materially in excess of the restrictions or requirements set forth in Section
9.01.
ARTICLE
IX
TAX-FREE
STATUS OF EXCHANGE
SECTION
9.01. Berkshire Hathaway and
General Reinsurance Covenants. (a) Subject to Section 9.01(b),
during the period that begins on the Closing and ends on the second anniversary
of the Closing Date, Berkshire Hathaway, General Reinsurance and their
Affiliates shall not, in any transaction or series of transactions:
(i) liquidate the Company or cause the Company to liquidate any
Company Subsidiary, in each case including by way of merger, consolidation or
conversion;
(ii) dispose, directly or indirectly, of the shares of the Company or
cause the Company to dispose, directly or indirectly, of the shares of any
Company Subsidiary;
(iii) cause
or permit the Company or any Company Subsidiary, directly or indirectly, to
distribute or transfer to Berkshire Hathaway, General Reinsurance or any of
their Affiliates (other than the Company or any Company Subsidiary) any cash or
property, other than (A) distributions or transfers of any amounts of operating
cash flow of the Company or the Company Subsidiaries, as applicable, after the
Exchange, (B) transfers of cash pursuant to any Permitted Loans, (C) transfers
of cash or property pursuant to any contracts in existence prior to the Closing
between the Company or any Company Subsidiary on the one hand, and Berkshire
Hathaway, General Reinsurance or any of their Affiliates on the other hand, or
(D) any other transfers of cash to pay Taxes, operational expenses, benefit plan
expenses or any other expenses, in each case properly allocable to any member of
the Company Group;
(iv) cause
or permit the Company or any Company Subsidiary, directly or indirectly, to
redeem or otherwise purchase any of its outstanding stock;
(v) cause
or permit the Company or any Company Subsidiary to sell or otherwise dispose of
all or substantially all of its assets, except in the ordinary course of
business;
(vi) cause
or permit IAG to cease to operate the IAG Business, or CCIC to cease to operate
the CCIC Business, in each case in a manner substantially consistent with the
operation of the IAG Business and the CCIC Business immediately before the
Closing;
(vii) cause or permit the Company to sell or otherwise dispose of any
equity interest in any Company Subsidiary that would cause the Company and such
Company Subsidiary to fail to be members of the same Affiliated
Group;
(viii) cause or permit the Company or any Company Subsidiary to
change the terms of any Permitted Loan in a manner that would cause such loan to
fail to continue to qualify as a Permitted Loan; or
(ix) cause
or permit the Company or any Company Subsidiary to reinsure all (or
substantially all) of the risks associated with the IAG Business or the CCIC
Business.
(b) Berkshire
Hathaway, General Reinsurance and their Affiliates may take any of the actions
described in Section
9.01(a) if, prior to taking such action, Berkshire Hathaway or
General Reinsurance obtains:
(i) a ruling from the IRS confirming that the proposed action will
not affect the Tax treatment of the Transactions;
(ii) an opinion of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP (or other
nationally-recognized tax counsel satisfactory to White Mountains in its
reasonable discretion), to the effect that the proposed action will not affect
the Tax treatment of the Transactions; or
(iii) the
prior written consent of White Mountains, which consent may be provided or
withheld by White Mountains in its reasonable discretion,
provided that (A) in
the case of (i) and (ii) such ruling or opinion, as applicable, is satisfactory
to White Mountains in its reasonable discretion and (B) in each case, such
ruling, opinion or consent, as applicable, is based on facts and representations
provided by Berkshire Hathaway or General Reinsurance that are true, complete
and correct in all material respects. For each such opinion, ruling
or consent described in this Section 9.01(b),
Berkshire Hathaway or General Reinsurance shall certify to White Mountains that
the facts and representations on which any such opinion, ruling or consent is
based are true, complete and correct in all material respects.
(c) Berkshire
Hathaway’s Affiliates currently conduct certain insurance activities involving
the management of property and casualty insurance or reinsurance companies in
run-off, as well as the management of books of insurance or reinsurance
contracts in run-off assumed from property and casualty insurance or reinsurance
companies. Such activities are substantially similar to the
activities of the IAG Business and the CCIC Business (the “Berkshire Run-off
Business”). During the period that begins on the Closing and
ends on the second anniversary of the Closing Date, (i) the same managers that
manage the Berkshire Run-off Business will also manage the CCIC Business and the
IAG Business, (ii) the Berkshire Run-off Business, the CCIC Business and the IAG
Business will be managed together as one business activity, and (iii) Berkshire
Hathaway and its Affiliates will continue to seek on an opportunistic basis (x)
to acquire additional property and casualty insurance or reinsurance companies
in run-off and (y) to assume additional property and casualty insurance or
reinsurance contracts in run-off to add to the Berkshire Run-off Business, which
additions, if made, will be managed together with the Berkshire Run-off
Business, the CCIC Business and the IAG Business as one business
activity.
SECTION
9.02. White Mountains
Covenant. Immediately after the Exchange, White Mountains will
be engaged in the active conduct of a trade or business (within the meaning of
Section 355(b) of the Code), and White Mountains will continue to be engaged, in
a manner both consistent with the operation of such active trade or business at
the time of the Exchange and compliant with Section 355(b) of the Code, in such
active trade or business during the period that begins on the Closing and ends
on the second anniversary of the Closing Date.
SECTION
9.03. Mutual
Covenant. From the date of this Agreement until the Closing,
the Parties will not take any action or fail to take any required action (and
will not permit their Affiliates to take any action or fail to take any required
action) with respect to White Mountains, its Affiliates, the Company Group or
the operation of the Berkshire Run-off Business which action or failure to take
a required action could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Increase
in Tax Risk. For the avoidance of doubt, except as otherwise
expressly provided in this Agreement (including Sections 8.03, 9.01 or
9.03), nothing in this Agreement shall require Berkshire Hathaway,
General Reinsurance or any of their Affiliates to, or require any such party to
agree to (i) sell, divest, hold separate, transfer to the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries or otherwise dispose of their assets or businesses in a specified
manner or (ii) conduct their businesses in a specified manner, in each case
whether as a condition to obtaining approval from a Governmental Authority or
any other Person or for any other reason.
SECTION
9.04. Other IRS Ruling
Requests. Except as provided in Section 9.01(b), each
Party covenants and agrees that subsequent to the Closing Date it will not file,
and it will cause its Subsidiaries to refrain from filing, any ruling request
with the IRS (i) in respect of any part of the Transactions, or (ii) that
may reasonably be expected to have any effect on the Tax treatment of the
Transactions, in each case without the consent of the other Parties (which
consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed).
SECTION
9.05. Tax Reporting of the
Exchange. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this
Section 9.05,
the Tax treatment reported on any Tax Return of Tax items relating to the
Exchange shall be consistent with the treatment of such Tax items in the IRS
Ruling.
(b) Notwithstanding
Section
9.05(a), if at least 45 days prior to the due date (taking into account
any extensions) for Berkshire Hathaway’s Tax Return for the year that includes
the Closing Date, Berkshire Hathaway shall have delivered to White Mountains a
notice stating that a Material Increase in Tax Risk has occurred, then the
Parties will report the Exchange as taxable unless Berkshire Hathaway shall have
received, as soon as reasonably practicable (but not later than five days prior
to such due date), an opinion from Cravath, Swaine and Moore LLP (which opinion
shall, at Berkshire Hathaway’s election after consultation with White Mountains,
be a Covered Opinion) to the effect that it is more likely than not that the
Intended Tax-Free Treatment will be sustained.
(c) Notwithstanding
Section
9.05(a), if White Mountains shall have exercised its right pursuant to
Section 9.02(b) of the Exchange Agreement to require the consummation of the
Transactions, then the Parties will report the Exchange as taxable.
(d) Notwithstanding
Section
9.05(a), if Berkshire Hathaway shall have exercised its right pursuant to
Section 9.02(a) of the Exchange Agreement to require the consummation of the
Transactions, then the Parties will report the Exchange as qualifying for the
Intended Tax-Free Treatment unless, at least 10 days prior to the due date
(taking into account any extensions) for Berkshire Hathaway’s Tax Return for the
year that includes the Closing Date, Berkshire Hathaway notifies White Mountains
of its intention to report the Exchange as taxable.
(e) Notwithstanding
anything in the Transaction Agreements to the contrary, including without
limitation this Section 9.05, no
Person shall be required under the Transaction Agreements to take a Tax
reporting position with respect to the Transactions unless there is a reasonable
basis for such position.
(f) Each
Party shall timely comply with any information reporting requirements imposed by
any Tax Authority with respect to the Exchange.
SECTION
9.06. Limitation on Covenants if a
Party Exercises its Option to Require
Consummation. Notwithstanding anything in the Transaction
Agreements to the contrary, upon the occurrence of a Non-Qualification Event,
the Parties shall be released from future compliance with the covenants
contained in Sections
9.01, 9.02, 9.03 and 9.04.
ARTICLE
X
TREATMENT
OF PAYMENTS; TAX GROSS UP
SECTION
10.01. Treatment of Certain
Payments. (a) Any payments made by White Mountains
or its Affiliates to Berkshire Hathaway, General Reinsurance or their Affiliates
under the Transaction Agreements shall be reported for Tax purposes by the
Indemnifying Party and the Indemnified Party as capital contributions from White
Mountains to the Company occurring immediately prior to the
Exchange.
(b) Any
payments made by Berkshire Hathaway, General Reinsurance or their Affiliates to
White Mountains or its Affiliates under the Transaction Agreements shall be
reported for Tax purposes by the Indemnifying Party and the Indemnified Party as
distributions by the Company to White Mountains occurring immediately prior to
the Exchange.
SECTION
10.03. Tax Gross
Up. If, notwithstanding Section 10.01, there
is an adjustment to the Tax liability of a Party as a result of its receipt of
an indemnity payment under Article II or a
payment of interest under Section 10.02, such
payment shall be appropriately adjusted so that the amount of such payment,
reduced by the amount of all Taxes payable (including withholding Taxes with
respect to payments of interest under Section 10.02) with
respect to the receipt thereof (but taking into account all correlative Tax
Benefits resulting from the payment of such Taxes), shall equal the amount of
the payment that the Party receiving such payment would otherwise be entitled to
receive pursuant to this Agreement.
ARTICLE
XI
GENERAL
PROVISIONS
SECTION
11.01. Notices. All
notices, requests and other communications to any party hereunder shall be in
writing (including facsimile transmission) and shall be given:
If to
Berkshire Hathaway or General Reinsurance, to:
Berkshire
Hathaway Inc.
1440
Kiewit Plaza
Omaha,
Nebraska 68131
Attention:
Chief Financial Officer
Facsimile:
(402) 346-3375
and with
a copy to:
Munger,
Tolles & Olson LLP
355 South
Grand Avenue, 35th Floor
Los
Angeles, California 90071
Attention:
Robert E. Denham
Facsimile:
(213) 687-3702
If to
White Mountains or the Company, to:
White
Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd.
80 South
Main
Hanover,
New Hampshire 03755
Attention:
Robert Seelig, General Counsel
Facsimile:
(603) 640-2200
and with
a copy to:
Cravath,
Swaine & Moore LLP
Worldwide
Plaza
825
Eighth Avenue
New York,
New York 10019
Attention: Stephen
L. Gordon
Facsimile: (212)
474-3700
or to
such other address or facsimile number as such party may hereafter specify for
the purpose by notice to the other parties hereto. All notices and
other communications given to a party in accordance with the provisions of this
Agreement shall be deemed to have been given (i) when delivered by hand or
transmitted by telecopy (answer back received), if received prior to 5 P.M. on a
Business Day, otherwise on the next Business Day, or (ii) one Business Day
after the same are sent by a reliable overnight courier service, with
acknowledgment of receipt requested.
SECTION
11.02. No Third-Party
Beneficiaries. Other than as provided in Section 11.06,
this Agreement is not intended to confer any rights or remedies upon any Person
other than the Parties.
SECTION
11.03. Amendments;
Waivers. (a) Any provision of this Agreement may be
amended or waived if, but only if, such amendment or waiver is in writing and is
signed, in the case of an amendment, by each Party, or in the case of a waiver,
by the Party against whom the waiver is to be effective. For the
avoidance of doubt, any provision of any Exhibit to this Agreement may be
amended if, but only if, such amendment is in writing and is signed by each
Party.
(b) No
failure or delay by any Party in exercising any right, power or privilege
hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof nor shall any single or partial
exercise thereof preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise
of any other right, power or privilege. Except as otherwise provided
herein, the rights and remedies herein provided shall be cumulative and not
exclusive of any rights or remedies provided by applicable Law.
(c) Any
consent provided under this Agreement must be in writing, signed by the Party
against whom enforcement of such consent is sought.
SECTION
11.04. Expenses. Regardless
of whether the Transactions are consummated, except as otherwise expressly
provided in the Transaction Agreements, each of the Parties shall pay its own
expenses incident to this Agreement, the other Transaction Agreements and the
consummation of the Transactions (including legal fees and filing
fees).
SECTION
11.05. Late
Payments. Any amount owed by one Party to another Party under
this Agreement that is not paid when due shall bear interest at the Prime Rate
plus 2%, compounded semiannually, from the due date of the payment to the date
paid.
SECTION
11.06. Successors and
Assigns. The provisions of this Agreement shall be binding
upon and inure to the benefit of the Parties and their respective successors and
permitted assigns. None of the Parties shall be permitted to assign
its rights or obligations under this Agreement to any Person without the prior
written consent of the other Parties.
SECTION
11.07. Governing
Law. This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in
accordance with, the laws of the State of New York applicable to agreements made
and to be performed entirely within such State, without regard to the conflicts
of law principles of such State.
SECTION
11.08. Jurisdiction. Any
suit, action or proceeding seeking to enforce any provision of, or based on any
matter arising out of or in connection with, this Agreement or the Transactions
will be brought exclusively in the state courts of the State of New York located
in New York, New York, or in the Federal courts located in the State of New
York. Each of the Parties hereby consents to personal jurisdiction in
any such action, suit or proceeding brought in any such court (and of the
appropriate appellate courts therefrom) and irrevocably waives, to the fullest
extent permitted by law, any objection that it may now or hereafter have to the
laying of the 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. Process in any such suit, action or
proceeding may be served on any Party anywhere in the world, whether within or
without the jurisdiction of any such court. Without limiting the
foregoing, each Party agrees that service of process on such Party as provided
in Section
11.01 shall be deemed effective service of process on such
Party.
SECTION
11.09. WAIVER OF JURY
TRIAL. EACH OF THE PARTIES HERETO HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES
ANY RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO
THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS.
SECTION
11.10. Counterparts;
Effectiveness. This Agreement may be executed in two or more
counterparts, all of which shall be considered the same
agreement. Signature pages from separate identical counterparts may
be combined with the same effect as if the parties signing such signature page
had signed the same counterpart. This Agreement shall become
effective when each Party shall have received counterparts hereof signed by all
of the other Parties.
SECTION
11.11. Captions. The
captions herein are included for convenience of reference only and shall be
ignored in the construction or interpretation hereof.
SECTION
11.12. Integration. This
Agreement constitutes the agreement among the Parties pertaining to the subject
matter of this Agreement and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings
pertaining thereto. In the event of any inconsistency between this Agreement and
the Exchange Agreement or any other agreements relating to the Transactions, the
provisions of this Agreement shall control.
SECTION
11.13. Entire
Agreement. This Agreement (including the Schedules and
Exhibits attached hereto or delivered in connection herewith) and the other
Transaction Agreements constitute the entire agreement among the Parties with
respect to the matters covered hereby and thereby, and all written or oral
agreements, representations, warranties or covenants previously existing between
the Parties with respect to such subject matter are cancelled and are not part
of this Agreement or the other Transaction Agreements.
SECTION
11.14. Publicity; Public
Announcements. White Mountains and General Reinsurance will
reasonably cooperate with each other in connection with the issuance of mutually
acceptable press releases to be issued on or promptly after the date of
execution hereof announcing the execution of this Agreement. Each of
White Mountains and General Reinsurance agrees not to, and to cause each of
their respective Affiliates not to, issue, or cause or permit to be issued, any
press release or other public statement regarding this Agreement or the
Transactions without the prior written consent of the other, except, if, in the
reasonable judgment of the Party seeking to disclose, such release or statement
is required by applicable law (including the rules and regulations of the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission) or by any securities exchange or
association on which such Person’s securities are listed or traded (including
pursuant to any listing agreement), in which case the Party required to make the
release or announcement shall allow the other Party reasonable time (taking into
account any time requirements for regulatory filings) to comment on such release
or announcement (so as to confirm the accuracy of any statements therein
regarding such other Party, among other things) and thereafter the Party
required to make the release or announcement is permitted to make such release
or announcement.
SECTION
11.15. Severability. If
any term, provision, covenant or restriction of this Agreement is held by a
court of competent jurisdiction or other authority to be invalid, void or
unenforceable, the remainder of the terms, provisions, covenants and
restrictions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect and shall
in no way be affected, impaired or invalidated so long as the economic or legal
substance of the Transactions is not affected in any manner materially adverse
to any Party. Upon such determination, the Parties shall negotiate in
good faith to modify this Agreement so as to effect the original intent of the
Parties as closely as possible in an acceptable manner in order that the
Transactions be consummated as originally contemplated to the fullest extent
possible.
SECTION
11.17. No Strict
Construction. Each Party acknowledges that this Agreement has
been prepared jointly by the Parties and shall not be strictly construed against
any Party.
SECTION
11.18. Termination. This
Agreement shall be automatically terminated in the event that (i) no Closing
occurs or (ii) the Exchange Agreement is terminated; provided that this
Agreement, in circumstances described in Section 9.02 of the Exchange Agreement,
shall be deemed to no longer be terminated. In the event of the
termination of this Agreement pursuant to this Section 11.18,
this Agreement, except for the provisions of this Section 11.18,
shall become void and have no effect, without any liability on the part of any
Party or its directors, officers or stockholders.
SECTION
11.19. Enforcement. The
parties hereto agree that prior to the Closing, money damages or other remedies
at law would not be a sufficient or adequate remedy for any breach or violation
of, or default under, this Agreement by them and that in addition to all other
remedies available to them prior to the Closing, each of them shall, prior to
the Closing, be entitled to the fullest extent permitted by law to an injunction
restraining such breach, violation or default and to other equitable relief,
including specific performance, without bond or other security being
required.
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused this Agreement to be duly executed as
of the 8th day of March, 2008.
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WHITE
MOUNTAINS INSURANCE GROUP, LTD.,
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By:
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/s/ Raymond
Barrette |
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Name:
Raymond Barrette |
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Title:
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer |
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BERKSHIRE
HATHAWAY INC.,
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By:
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/s/ Marc
D. Hamburg |
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Name:
Marc D. Hamburg |
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Title:
Chief Financial Officer |
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GENERAL REINSURANCE
CORPORATION, |
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By:
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/s/ William
G. Gasdaska, Jr. |
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Name:
William G. Gasdaska, Jr. |
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Title:
Chief Financial Officer |
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RAILSPLITTER HOLDINGS
CORPORATION, |
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By:
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/s/ Jason
R. Lichtenstein |
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Name:
Jason R. Lichtenstein |
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Title:
Authorized Signatory |
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ex99-1.htm
Exhibit 99.1
|
|
PRESS
RELEASE
|
INVESTOR
CONTACT: David Foy
Tel: (203)
458-5850
MEDIA CONTACT: Eric Brielmann
Tel: (212) 355-4449
White
Mountains Enters Exchange Agreement for
Substantially
All 1,724,200 WTM Common Shares Held by Berkshire Hathaway
HAMILTON,
Bermuda, March 10, 2008 – White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. (“White
Mountains”) (NYSE: WTM) announced today that it has signed an
exchange agreement with Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (“Berkshire Hathaway”) to
transfer certain runoff businesses and a substantial amount of cash to Berkshire
Hathaway in exchange for substantially all of the common shares of White
Mountains owned by Berkshire Hathaway.
Under the
terms of the agreement, Berkshire Hathaway would exchange all or substantially
all of its 16.3% stake in White Mountains (1,724,200 common shares) for
100% of a White Mountains subsidiary, which will hold Commercial Casualty
Insurance Company (“CCIC”), International American Group, Inc. (“IAG”) and
$751 million in cash, subject to adjustment. As of
December 31, 2007, CCIC and IAG had combined gross assets of approximately
$435 million and adjusted shareholder’s equity of
$58 million. Following the consummation of the transaction,
expected during the third quarter of 2008, the outstanding common
shares of White Mountains would be reduced to approximately 8.8 million
shares.
“This
agreement allows White Mountains to exit runoff businesses with potentially
volatile reserves, to significantly reduce undeployed capital and to redeem
one-sixth of the company’s shares at a small premium to GAAP book
value. This transaction creates substantial value for White Mountains
and our remaining shareholders,” said Ray Barrette, CEO of White
Mountains. “Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway were key to the
financing of our acquisition of CGU/OneBeacon in 2001, and all shareholders
benefited handsomely from the relationship. White Mountains is now a
larger, more diversified business, competing actively in many areas with
Berkshire Hathaway. This is a graceful, value-enhancing way to go our
separate ways.”
The
aggregate exchange value of $836 million, or $485 per share, is based on
the closing price of White Mountains’ common shares on the New York Stock
Exchange on the date on which senior management of the parties tentatively
accepted the concept of the transaction, subject to final negotiation of the
value of the exchanged subsidiaries, completion of mutually acceptable
definitive documents and approval by White Mountains’ board of
directors.
White
Mountains and Berkshire Hathaway have structured the transaction in a manner
intended to comply with Section 355 of the Internal Revenue
Code. Accordingly, neither White Mountains nor Berkshire Hathaway
expects to realize a taxable gain as a result of the exchange. The
number of White Mountains common shares to be exchanged and the amount of cash
to be included are subject to tax related adjustment.
The
transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including, among other
things, regulatory approvals and the receipt of a ruling from the Internal
Revenue Service.
The
transaction has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of White
Mountains. Although Berkshire Hathaway has been an
important investor in White Mountains since 2001, it has never had
representation on the board of directors.
Regulation
G
The
combined adjusted shareholders equity of CCIC and IAG is a non-GAAP measure
equal to (i) the combined GAAP shareholders equity of CCIC and IAG of $94
million reduced by (ii) a GAAP liability of $36 million that is not the legal
obligation of CCIC or IAG but is being economically transferred to Berkshire
Hathaway as part of the exchange.
ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
White
Mountains is a Bermuda-domiciled financial services holding company traded on
the New York Stock Exchange and the Bermuda Stock Exchange under the symbol WTM.
Additional financial information and other items of interest are available at
the Company’s web site located at www.whitemountains.com.
Safe
Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995
The
press release may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of
Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than statements of
historical facts, included or referenced in this release which address
activities, events or developments, which we expect or anticipate will or may
occur in the future are forward-looking statements. The words “will,” “believe,”
“intend,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project,” “estimate,” “predict” and similar
expressions are also intended to identify forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements include, among others, statements with respect to
White Mountains’:
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growth in book value per share
or return on equity;
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financial and operating
targets or plans;
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incurred losses and the
adequacy of its loss and loss adjustment expense reserves and related
reinsurance;
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projections of revenues,
income (or loss), earnings (or loss) per share, dividends, market share or
other financial forecasts;
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expansion and growth of our
business and operations; and
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future capital
expenditures.
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These
statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by White Mountains
in light of its experience and perception of historical trends, current
conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors believed
to be appropriate in the circumstances. However, whether actual results and
developments will conform to our expectations and predictions is subject to a
number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from expectations, including:
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the risks described in Item 1A
of White Mountains’ 2007 Annual Report on
Form 10-K;
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claims arising from
catastrophic events, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, floods or terrorist
attacks;
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the continued availability of
capital and financing;
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general economic, market or
business conditions;
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business opportunities (or
lack thereof) that may be presented to it and
pursued;
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competitive forces, including
the conduct of other property and casualty insurers and
reinsurers;
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changes in domestic or foreign
laws or regulations, or their interpretation, applicable to White
Mountains, its competitors or its
clients;
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an economic downturn or other
economic conditions adversely affecting its financial
position;
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recorded loss reserves
subsequently proving to have been
inadequate;
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other factors, most of which
are beyond White Mountains’
control.
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Consequently,
all of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified
by these cautionary statements, and there can be no assurance that the actual
results or developments anticipated by White Mountains will be realized or, even
if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or
effects on, White Mountains or its business or operations. White Mountains
assumes no obligation to update publicly any such forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.