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EXHIBIT 99.3
July 2, 1997
EXCHANGE AGENT AGREEMENT
The Bank of New York
Corporate Trust Trustee Administration
000 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx - 00xx Xxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Ladies and Gentlemen:
EV International, Inc. (the "Company") proposes to make an
offer (the "Exchange Offer") to exchange up to $100,000,000 aggregate principal
amount of its 11% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2007 (the "Existing Notes") for
a like principal amount of its 11% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2007, Series A
(the "New Notes") which will be registered under the Securities Act of 1933,
pursuant to a Registration Statement. The terms and conditions of the Exchange
Offer as currently contemplated are set forth in a prospectus, dated July __,
1997 (the "Prospectus"), proposed to be distributed to all record holders of the
Existing Notes. The Existing Notes and the New Notes are collectively referred
to herein as the "Notes".
The Company hereby appoints The Bank of New York to act as
exchange agent (the "Exchange Agent") in connection with the Exchange Offer.
References hereinafter to "you" shall refer to The Bank of New York.
The Exchange Offer is expected to be commenced by the Company
on or about ____________, 1997. The Letter of Transmittal accompanying the
Prospectus (or in the case of book entry securities, the ATOP system) is to be
used by the holders of the Existing Notes to accept the Exchange Offer and
contains instructions with respect to the delivery of certificates for Existing
Notes tendered in connection therewith.
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The Exchange Offer shall expire at 5:00 P.M., New York City
time, on ______ __, 1997 or on such later date or time to which the Company may
extend the Exchange Offer (the "Expiration Date"). Subject to the terms and
conditions set forth in the Prospectus, the Company expressly reserves the right
to extend the Exchange Offer from time to time and may extend the Exchange Offer
by giving oral (confirmed in writing) or written notice to you before 9:00 A.M.,
New York City time, on the business day following the previously scheduled
Expiration Date.
The Company expressly reserves the right to delay acceptance
of any Existing Notes, to amend the Exchange Offer, or to extend or terminate
the Exchange Offer and not to accept for exchange any Existing Notes not
previously accepted for exchange, upon the occurrence of any of the conditions
of the Exchange Offer specified in the Prospectus under the caption "The
Exchange Offer -- Conditions." The Company will give oral (confirmed in writing)
or written notice of any amendment, termination or nonacceptance to you as
promptly as practicable.
In carrying out your duties as Exchange Agent, you are to act
in accordance with the following instructions:
1. You will perform such duties and only such duties as are
specifically set forth in the section of the Prospectus captioned "The Exchange
Offer" or as specifically set forth herein; provided, however, that in no way
will your general duty to act in good faith be discharged by the foregoing.
2. You will establish an account with respect to the Existing
Notes at The Depository Trust Company (the "Book-Entry Transfer Facility") for
purposes of the Exchange Offer within two business days after the date of the
Prospectus, and any financial institution that is a participant in the
Book-Entry Transfer Facility's systems may make book-entry delivery of the
Existing Notes by causing the Book-Entry Transfer Facility to transfer such
Existing Notes into your
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account in accordance with the Book-Entry Transfer Facility's procedure for such
transfer.
3. You are to examine each of the Letters of Transmittal and
certificates for Existing Notes (or confirmation of book-entry transfer into
your account at the Book-Entry Transfer Facility) and any other documents
delivered or mailed to you by or for holders of the Existing Notes to ascertain
whether: (i) the Letters of Transmittal and any such other documents are duly
executed and properly completed in accordance with instructions set forth
therein and (ii) the Existing Notes have otherwise been properly tendered. In
each case where the Letter of Transmittal or any other document has been
improperly completed or executed or any of the certificates for Existing Notes
are not in proper form for transfer or some other irregularity in connection
with the acceptance of the Exchange Offer exists, you will endeavor to inform
the presenters of the need for fulfillment of all requirements and to take any
other action as may be necessary or advisable to cause such irregularity to be
corrected.
4. With the approval of any Chief Executive Officer or Vice
President of the Company (such approval, if given orally, to be confirmed in
writing) or any other party designated by such an officer in writing, you are
authorized to waive any irregularities in connection with any tender of Existing
Notes pursuant to the Exchange Offer.
5. Tenders of Existing Notes may be made only as set forth in
the Letter of Transmittal and in the section of the Prospectus captioned "The
Exchange Offer -- Procedures for Tendering", and Existing Notes shall be
considered properly tendered to you only when tendered in accordance with the
procedures set forth therein.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this paragraph 5, Existing
Notes which any Chief Executive Officer or Vice President of the Company shall
approve as having been properly tendered shall be considered to be properly
tendered (such approval, if given orally, shall be confirmed in writing).
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6. You shall advise the Company with respect to any Existing
Notes received subsequent to the Expiration Date and accept its instructions
with respect to disposition of such Existing Notes.
7. You shall accept tenders:
(a) in cases where the Existing Notes are registered in two
or more names only if signed by all named holders;
(b) in cases where the signing person (as indicated on the
Letter of Transmittal) is acting in a fiduciary or a representative capacity
only when proper evidence of his or her authority so to act is submitted; and
(c) from persons other than the registered holder of Existing
Notes provided that customary transfer requirements, including any applicable
transfer taxes, are fulfilled.
You shall accept partial tenders of Existing Notes where so
indicated and as permitted in the Letter of Transmittal and deliver
certificates for Existing Notes to the transfer agent for split-up and return
any untendered Existing Notes to the holder (or such other person as may be
designated in the Letter of Transmittal) as promptly as practicable after
expiration or termination of the Exchange Offer.
8. Upon satisfaction or waiver of all of the conditions to
the Exchange Offer, the Company will notify you (such notice if given orally, to
be confirmed in writing) of its acceptance, promptly after the Expiration Date,
of all Existing Notes properly tendered and you, on behalf of the Company, will
exchange such Existing Notes for New Notes and cause such Existing Notes to be
cancelled. Delivery of New Notes will be made on behalf of the Company by you at
the rate of $1,000 principal amount of New Notes for each $1,000 principal
amount of the corresponding series of Existing Notes tendered promptly after
notice (such notice if given orally, to be confirmed in writing) of acceptance
of said Existing Notes by the Company; provided, however, that in all cases,
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Existing Notes tendered pursuant to the Exchange Offer will be exchanged only
after timely receipt by you of certificates for such Existing Notes (or
confirmation of book-entry transfer into your account at the Book-Entry Transfer
Facility), a properly completed and duly executed Letter of Transmittal (or
facsimile thereof) with any required signature guarantees and any other required
documents. You shall issue New Notes only in denominations of $1,000 or any
integral multiple thereof.
9. Tenders pursuant to the Exchange Offer are irrevocable,
except that, subject to the terms and upon the conditions set forth in the
Prospectus and the Letter of Transmittal, Existing Notes tendered pursuant to
the Exchange Offer may be withdrawn at any time prior to the Expiration Date.
10. The Company shall not be required to exchange any Existing
Notes tendered if any of the conditions set forth in the Exchange Offer are not
met. Notice of any decision by the Company not to exchange any Existing Notes
tendered shall be given (and confirmed in writing) by the Company to you.
11. If, pursuant to the Exchange Offer, the Company does not
accept for exchange all or part of the Existing Notes tendered because of an
invalid tender, the occurrence of certain other events set forth in the
Prospectus under the caption "The Exchange Offer -- Conditions" or otherwise,
you shall as soon as practicable after the expiration or termination of the
Exchange Offer return those certificates for unaccepted Existing Notes (or
effect appropriate book-entry transfer), together with any related required
documents and the Letters of Transmittal relating thereto that are in your
possession, to the persons who deposited them.
12. All certificates for reissued Existing Notes, unaccepted
Existing Notes or for New Notes shall be forwarded by first-class mail.
13. You are not authorized to pay or offer to pay any
concessions, commissions or solicitation fees to any broker, dealer, bank or
other persons or to engage or utilize any person to solicit tenders.
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14. As Exchange Agent hereunder you:
(a) shall have no duties or obligations other than those
specifically set forth herein or as may be subsequently agreed to in writing by
you and the Company;
(b) will be regarded as making no representations and having
no responsibilities as to the validity, sufficiency, value or genuineness of
any of the certificates or the Existing Notes represented thereby deposited with
you pursuant to the Exchange Offer, and will not be required to and will make
no representation as to the validity, value or genuineness of the Exchange
Offer;
(c) shall not be obligated to take any legal action hereunder
which might in your reasonable judgment involve any expense or liability,
unless you shall have been furnished with reasonable indemnity;
(d) may reasonably rely on and shall be protected in acting
in reliance upon any certificate, instrument, opinion, notice, letter, telegram
or other document or security delivered to you and reasonably believed by you
to be genuine and to have been signed by the proper party or parties;
(e) may reasonably act upon any tender, statement, request,
comment, agreement or other instrument whatsoever not only as to its due
execution and validity and effectiveness of its provisions, but also as to the
truth and accuracy of any information contained therein, which you shall in good
faith believe to be genuine or to have been signed or represented by a proper
person or persons;
(f) may rely on and shall be protected in acting upon written
or oral instructions from any officer of the Company;
(g) may consult with your counsel with respect to any
questions relating to your duties and responsibilities and the advice or opinion
of such counsel shall be full and
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complete authorization and protection in respect of any action taken, suffered
or omitted to be taken by you hereunder in good faith and in accordance with the
advice or opinion of such counsel; and
(h) shall not advise any person tendering Existing Notes
pursuant to the Exchange Offer as to the wisdom of making such tender or as to
the market value or decline or appreciation in market value of any Existing
Notes.
15. You shall take such action as may from time to time be
requested by the Company or its counsel (and such other action as you may
reasonably deem appropriate) to furnish copies of the Prospectus, Letter of
Transmittal and the Notice of Guaranteed Delivery (as defined in the Prospectus)
or such other forms as may be approved from time to time by the Company, to all
persons requesting such documents and to accept and comply with telephone
requests for information relating to the Exchange Offer, provided that such
information shall relate only to the procedures for accepting (or withdrawing
from) the Exchange Offer. The Company will furnish you with copies of such
documents at your request. All other requests for information relating to the
Exchange Offer shall be directed to the Company, Attention: Xxxx X. XxXxxxx.
16. You shall advise by facsimile transmission or telephone,
and promptly thereafter confirm in writing to the Chief Executive Officer of
the Company and such other person or persons as it may request, daily (and more
frequently during the week immediately preceding the Expiration Date and if
otherwise requested) up to and including the Expiration Date, as to the number
of Existing Notes which have been tendered pursuant to the Exchange Offer and
the items received by you pursuant to this Agreement, separately reporting and
giving cumulative totals as to items properly received and items improperly
received. In addition, you will also inform, and cooperate in making available
to, the Company or any such other person or persons upon oral request made from
time to time prior to the Expiration Date of such other information as it or he
or she reasonably requests. Such cooperation shall include, without limitation,
the granting by you to the Company and such person
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as the Company may request of access to those persons on your staff who are
responsible for receiving tenders, in order to ensure that immediately prior to
the Expiration Date the Company shall have received information in sufficient
detail to enable it to decide whether to extend the Exchange Offer. You shall
prepare a final list of all persons whose tenders were accepted, the aggregate
principal amount of Existing Notes tendered, the aggregate principal amount of
Existing Notes accepted and deliver said list to the Company.
17. Letters of Transmittal and Notices of Guaranteed Delivery
shall be stamped by you as to the date and the time of receipt thereof and shall
be preserved by you for a period of time at least equal to the period of time
you preserve other records pertaining to the transfer of securities. You shall
dispose of unused Letters of Transmittal and other surplus materials by
returning them to the Company.
18. You hereby expressly waive any lien, encumbrance or right
of set-off whatsoever that you may have with respect to funds deposited with you
for the payment of transfer taxes by reasons of amounts, if any, borrowed by
the Company, or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates pursuant to any loan or
credit agreement with you or for compensation owed to you hereunder.
19. For services rendered as Exchange Agent hereunder, you
shall be entitled to such compensation as set forth on Schedule I attached
hereto.
20. You hereby acknowledge receipt of the Prospectus and the
Letter of Transmittal and further acknowledge that you have examined each of
them. Any inconsistency between this Agreement, on the one hand, and the
Prospectus and the Letter of Transmittal (as they may be amended from time to
time), on the other hand, shall be resolved in favor of the latter two
documents, except with respect to the duties, liabilities and indemnification of
you as Exchange Agent, which shall be controlled by this Agreement.
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21. The Company covenants and agrees to indemnify and hold you
harmless in your capacity as Exchange Agent hereunder against any loss,
liability, cost or expense, including attorneys' fees and expenses, arising out
of or in connection with any act, omission, delay or refusal made by you in
reliance upon any signature, endorsement, assignment, certificate, order,
request, notice, instruction or other instrument or document reasonably believed
by you to be valid, genuine and sufficient and in accepting any tender or
effecting any transfer of Existing Notes reasonably believed by you in good
faith to be authorized, and in delaying or refusing in good faith to accept any
tenders or effect any transfer of Existing Notes; provided, however, that the
Company shall not be liable for indemnification or otherwise for any loss,
liability, cost or expense to the extent arising out of your gross negligence or
willful misconduct. In no case shall the Company be liable under this indemnity
with respect to any claim against you unless the Company shall be notified by
you, by letter or cable or by facsimile confirmed by letter, of the written
assertion of a claim against you or of any other action commenced against you,
promptly after you shall have received any such written assertion or notice of
commencement of action. The Company shall be entitled to participate at its own
expense in the defense of any such claim or other action, and, if the Company so
elects, the Company shall assume the defense of any suit brought to enforce any
such claim. In the event that the Company shall assume the defense of any such
suit, the Company shall not be liable for the fees and expenses of any
additional counsel thereafter retained by you so long as the Company shall
retain counsel satisfactory to you to defend such suit.
22. You shall arrange to comply with all requirements under
the tax laws of the United States, including those relating to missing Tax
Identification Numbers, and shall file any appropriate reports with the Internal
Revenue Service. The Company understands that you are required to deduct 31% on
payments to holders who have not supplied their correct Taxpayer Identification
Number or required certification. Such funds will be turned over to the Internal
Revenue Service in accordance with applicable regulations.
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23. You shall deliver or cause to be delivered, in a timely
manner to each governmental authority to which any transfer taxes are payable in
respect of the exchange of Existing Notes, your check in the amount of all
transfer taxes so payable, and the Company shall reimburse you for the amount of
any and all transfer taxes payable in respect of the exchange of Existing
Notes; provided, however, that you shall reimburse the Company for amounts
refunded to you in respect of your payment of any such transfer taxes, at such
time as such refund is received by you.
24. This Agreement and your appointment as Exchange Agent
hereunder shall be construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the
State of New York applicable to agreements made and to be performed entirely
within such state, and without regard to conflicts of law principles, and shall
inure to the benefit of, and the obligations created hereby shall be binding
upon, the successors and assigns of each of the parties hereto.
25. This Agreement may be executed in two or more
counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original and all of which
taken together shall constitute one and the same agreement.
26. In case any provision of this Agreement shall be invalid,
illegal or unenforceable, the validity, legality and enforceability of the
remaining provisions shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby.
27. This Agreement shall not be deemed or construed to be
modified, amended, rescinded, cancelled or waived, in whole or in part, except
by a written instrument signed by a duly authorized representative of the party
to be charged. This Agreement may not be modified orally.
28. Unless otherwise provided herein, all notices, requests
and other communications to any party hereunder shall be in writing (including
facsimile or similar writing) and shall be given to such party, addressed to it,
at its address or telecopy number set forth below:
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If to the Company:
EV International, Inc.
000 Xxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx 00000
Facsimile: (000) 000-0000
Attention: Xxxx X. XxXxxxx
If to the Exchange Agent:
The Bank of New York
000 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxx 00 Xxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Facsimile: (000) 000-0000
Attention: Corporate Trust Trustee
Administration
29. Unless terminated earlier by the parties hereto, this
Agreement shall terminate 90 days following the Expiration Date. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, Paragraphs 19, 21 and 23 shall survive the termination of this
Agreement. Upon any termination of this Agreement, you shall promptly deliver to
the Company any certificates for Notes, funds or property then held by you as
Exchange Agent under this Agreement.
30. This Agreement shall be binding and effective as of the
date hereof.
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Please acknowledge receipt of this Agreement and confirm the
arrangements herein provided by signing and returning the enclosed copy.
EV INTERNATIONAL, INC.
By: /s/ Xxxxxxxxx X. Vanden Beukel
______________________________
Name: Xxxxxxxxx X. Vanden Beukel
Title: Secretary
Accepted as of the date
first above written:
THE BANK OF NEW YORK, as Exchange Agent
By: /s/ Xxxx Xxxxxxxxx
_______________________________
Name: Xxxx X. Xxxxxxxxx
Title: Assistant Vice President
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SCHEDULE I
FEES
The Company will pay the Exchange Agent $2,500.00 for the services described
herein, plus $500 for an extension at the Company's request of the Expiration
Date.
