Exhibit 4(h)
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FORM OF
GUARANTEE AGREEMENT
UCU CAPITAL TRUST I
Dated as of September __, 1999
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This GUARANTEE AGREEMENT (the "Guarantee"), dated as of September___,
1999, is executed and delivered by UTILICORP UNITED INC., a Delaware corporation
(the "Guarantor"), and BANK ONE TRUST COMPANY, NA, as trustee (the "Guarantee
Trustee"), for the benefit of the Holders (as defined herein) from time to time
of the Securities (as defined herein) and of UCU Capital Trust I, a Delaware
statutory business trust (the "Issuer").
WHEREAS, pursuant to an Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust (the
"Declaration"), dated as of September __, 1999, among the trustees of the Issuer
named therein, the Guarantor, as sponsor, and the holders from time to time of
undivided beneficial ownership interests in the assets of the Issuer, the Issuer
is issuing on the date hereof [9,000,000] of its preferred securities, stated
liquidation amount $25 per security, having an aggregate liquidation amount of
$[225,000,000] (the "Preferred Securities") and common securities with an
aggregate liquidation amount of $[6,750,000] (the "Common Securities" and
together with the Preferred Securities, the "Securities"); and
WHEREAS, as an incentive for the Holders to purchase the Securities,
the Guarantor desires irrevocably and unconditionally to agree, to the extent
set forth in this Guarantee, to pay in full, to the Holders of the Securities
(the "Holders", as defined in the Declaration), the Guarantee Payments (as
defined herein) and to make certain other payments on the terms and conditions
set forth herein;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the purchase by each Holder of
Securities, which purchase the Guarantor hereby agrees shall benefit the
Guarantor, the Guarantor executes and delivers this Guarantee for the benefit of
the Holders.
ARTICLE I
DEFINITIONS AND INTERPRETATION
SECTION 1.1. Definitions and Interpretation.
Unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) capitalized terms used in this Guarantee but not defined in the
preamble above shall have the meanings assigned to them in this Section 1.1;
(b) a term defined anywhere in this Guarantee shall have the same
meaning throughout;
(c) all references to "the Guarantee" or "this Guarantee" shall be to
this Guarantee as modified, supplemented or amended from time to time;
(d) all references in this Guarantee to Articles, Sections or recitals
shall be to Articles and Sections of, or recitals to, this Guarantee unless
otherwise specified;
(e) a term defined in the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended from
time to time, or any successor legislation (the "Trust Indenture Act") shall
have the same meaning when used in this Guarantee unless otherwise defined in
this Guarantee; and
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(f) a reference to the singular shall include the plural and vice
versa, and a reference to any masculine form of a term shall include the
feminine form of a term, as applicable.
(g) the following terms shall have the following meanings:
"Affiliate" of any specified Person shall mean any other Person
directly or indirectly controlling or controlled by, or under direct or indirect
common control with, such specified Person. For the purposes of this definition,
"control" when used with respect to any specified Person shall mean the power to
direct the management and policies of such Person, directly or indirectly,
whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise;
and the terms "controlling" and "controlled" shall have meanings correlative to
the foregoing.
"Authorized Officer" of a Person shall mean any Person that is
authorized to bind such Person.
"Business Day" shall mean any day other than a Saturday or Sunday or a
day on which banking institutions in New York City are authorized or required by
law or executive order to remain closed, or a day on which the trustee under the
Indenture or the principal office of the Property Trustee under the Declaration
is closed for business.
"Common Security" shall have the meaning given such term in the
Declaration.
"Corporate Trust Office" shall mean the principal office of the
Guarantee Trustee, at which, at any particular time, its corporate trust
business shall be administered, which office at the date hereof is located at
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇,
Attention: Corporate Trust Administration Department.
"Covered Person" shall mean any Holder or beneficial owner of
Securities.
"Direction" by a person shall mean a written direction signed: (a) if
the Person is a natural person, by that Person; or (b) in any other case in the
name of such Person by one or more Authorized Officers of that Person.
"Event of Default" shall mean the failure of the Guarantor to perform
any of its payment or other obligations under this Guarantee.
"Guarantee Payments" shall mean the following payments or
distributions, without duplication, with respect to the Securities, to the
extent not paid or made by the Issuer: (i) any accumulated and unpaid
Distributions (as defined in the Declaration) that are required to be paid on
the Securities, to the extent the Issuer has funds available therefor, (ii) the
redemption price, including all accumulated and unpaid Distributions to the date
of redemption with respect to the Securities upon redemption of the related
Senior Notes by the Senior Notes Issuer upon the occurrence of a Tax Event
Redemption or upon repayment of the Senior Notes at the maturity thereof, to the
extent the Issuer has funds available therefor, and (iii) upon a voluntary or
involuntary dissolution, winding-up or termination of the Issuer (other than
following redemption of the Securities or the distribution of Senior Notes to
the Holders in exchange for the Securities), the lesser of (a) the aggregate of
the stated liquidation amount and all accumulated and unpaid Distributions on
the Securities to the date of payment, to the extent the
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Issuer has funds available therefor, and (b) the amount of assets of the Issuer
remaining available for distribution to Holders of the Securities in liquidation
of the Issuer (in either case, the "Liquidation Distribution").
"Guarantee Trustee" shall mean Bank One Trust Company, NA, until a
Successor Guarantee Trustee has been appointed and has accepted such appointment
pursuant to the terms of this Guarantee and thereafter shall mean each such
Successor Guarantee Trustee.
"Holder" shall have the meaning given such term in the Declaration.
"Indemnified Person" shall mean the Guarantee Trustee, any Affiliate of
the Guarantee Trustee, or any officers, directors, shareholders, members,
partners, employees, representatives, nominees, custodians or agents of the
Guarantee Trustee.
"Indenture" shall mean the indenture, dated as of November 1, 1990,
between the Guarantor and Bank One Trust Company, NA, as trustee (formerly The
First National Bank of Chicago), as amended and supplemented (including
provisions of the Trust Indenture Act that are deemed incorporated therein),
pursuant to which the Senior Notes are to be issued.
"Majority in Liquidation Amount" shall mean, except as provided in the
terms of the Securities or the Trust Indenture Act, the Holders of outstanding
Securities, voting together as a single class, or, as the context may require,
the Holders of outstanding Preferred Securities or the Holders of outstanding
Common Securities, voting separately as a class, who are the record owners of
more than 50% of the aggregate liquidation amount (including the stated amount
that would be paid on redemption, liquidation or otherwise, plus accumulated and
unpaid Distributions to the date upon which the voting percentages are
determined) of all outstanding Securities of the relevant class.
"Officers' Certificate" shall have the meaning given such term in the
Declaration.
"Person" shall mean a legal person, including any individual,
corporation, estate, partnership, joint venture, association, joint stock
company, limited liability company, trust, unincorporated association or
government or any agency or political subdivision thereof, or any other entity
of whatever nature.
"Preferred Securities" shall have the meaning given such term in the
Declaration.
"Property Trustee" shall mean Bank One Trust Company, NA, in its
capacity as property trustee under the Declaration.
"Responsible Officer" shall mean, with respect to the Guarantee
Trustee, any officer within the Corporate Trust Office, including any
vice-president, any assistant vice-president, any secretary, any assistant
secretary, the treasurer, any assistant treasurer or other officer of the
Corporate Trust Office customarily performing functions similar to those
performed by any of the above designated officers and also shall mean, with
respect to a particular corporate trust matter, any other officer to whom such
matter is referred due to that officer's knowledge of and familiarity with the
particular subject.
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"Senior Notes" shall mean the series of Senior Notes to be issued by
the Senior Notes Issuer under the Indenture and to be purchased by the Issuer
and held by the Property Trustee.
"Senior Notes Issuer" shall mean UtiliCorp United Inc., in its capacity
as issuer of the Senior Notes under the Indenture.
"Successor Guarantee Trustee" shall mean a successor Guarantee Trustee
possessing the qualifications to act as Guarantee Trustee under Section 4.1.
"Supplemental Indenture" shall mean the Twelfth Supplemental Indenture,
dated as of September ___, 1999 between the Senior Note Issuer and Bank One
Trust Company NA.
"Tax Event Redemption" shall have the meaning given such term in the
Declaration.
"Trust Enforcement Event" shall have the meaning given such term in the
Declaration.
ARTICLE II
TRUST INDENTURE ACT
SECTION 2.1. Trust Indenture Act: Application.
(a) This Guarantee is subject to the provisions of the Trust Indenture
Act that are required to be part of this Guarantee and, to the extent
applicable, shall be governed by such provisions.
(b) If and to the extent that any provision of this Guarantee conflicts
with the duties imposed by Section 310 to 317, inclusive, of the Trust Indenture
Act, such imposed duties of the Trust Indenture Act shall control.
SECTION 2.2. List of Holders of Securities.
(a) The Guarantor shall provide the Guarantee Trustee with a list, in
such form as the Guarantee Trustee may reasonably require, of the names and
addresses of the Holders of the Securities ("List of Holders") (i) within one
Business Day after January 1 and July 1 of each year, and (ii) at any other
time, within 30 days of receipt by the Guarantor of a written request from the
Guarantee Trustee for a List of Holders as of a date no more than 15 days before
such List of Holders is given to the Guarantee Trustee. If at any time the List
of Holders does not differ from the most recent List of Holders given to the
Guarantee Trustee by the Guarantor, the Guarantor shall not be obligated to
provide such List of Holders. The Guarantee Trustee shall preserve, in as
current form as is reasonably practicable, all information contained in Lists of
Holders it receives in its capacity as Guarantee Trustee; provided that the
Guarantee Trustee may destroy any List of Holders previously given to it on
receipt of a new List of Holders.
(b) The Guarantee Trustee shall comply with its obligations under, and
shall be entitled to the benefits of, Sections 311(a), 311(b) and 312(b) of the
Trust Indenture Act.
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SECTION 2.3. Reports by the Guarantee Trustee.
Within 60 days after May 15 of each year (commencing with the year of
the first anniversary of the issuance of the Preferred Securities), the
Guarantee Trustee shall provide to the Holders of the Securities such reports as
are required by Section 313 of the Trust Indenture Act, if any, in the form and
in the manner provided by Section 313 of the Trust Indenture Act. The Guarantee
Trustee also shall comply with the requirements of Section 313(d) of the Trust
Indenture Act.
SECTION 2.4. Periodic Reports to the Guarantee Trustee.
The Guarantor shall provide to the Guarantee Trustee such documents,
reports and information as required by Section 314 of the Trust Indenture Act
(if any) and the compliance certificate required by Section 314 of the Trust
Indenture Act in the form, in the manner and at the times required by Section
314 of the Trust Indenture Act.
SECTION 2.5. Evidence of Compliance Conditions Precedent.
The Guarantor shall provide to the Guarantee Trustee such evidence of
compliance with any conditions precedent, if any, provided for in this Guarantee
that relate to any of the matters set forth in Section 314(c) of the Trust
Indenture Act. Any certificate or opinion required to be given by an officer
pursuant to Section 314(c)(1) may be given in the form of an Officers'
Certificate.
SECTION 2.6. Events of Default; Waiver.
The Holders of a Majority in Liquidation Amount of the Securities may,
by vote, on behalf of the Holders of all of the Securities, waive any past Event
of Default and its consequences. Upon such waiver, any such Event of Default
shall cease to exist, and any Event of Default arising therefrom shall be deemed
to have been cured, for every purpose of this Guarantee. No such waiver shall
extend to any subsequent Event of Default or other default or impair any right
consequent thereon.
SECTION 2.7. Event of Default; Notice.
(a) The Guarantee Trustee shall, within 90 days after the occurrence of
an Event of Default, transmit by mail, first class postage prepaid, to the
Holders of the Securities, notices of all Events of Default actually known to a
Responsible Officer of the Guarantee Trustee, unless such defaults have been
cured before the giving of such notice; provided that the Guarantee Trustee
shall be protected in withholding such notice if and so long as a Responsible
Officer of the Guarantee Trustee determines in good faith that the withholding
of such notice is in the interests of the Holders of the Securities.
(b) The Guarantee Trustee shall not be deemed to have knowledge of any
Event of Default unless the Guarantee Trustee shall have received written notice
or a Responsible Officer of the Guarantee Trustee, charged with the
administration of the Declaration, shall have obtained actual knowledge.
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SECTION 2.8. Conflicting Interests.
The Declaration and the Indenture shall be deemed to be specifically
described in this Guarantee for the purposes of clause (i) of the first proviso
contained in Section 310(b) of the Trust Indenture Act.
ARTICLE III
POWERS, DUTIES AND RIGHTS OF GUARANTEE TRUSTEE
SECTION 3.1. Powers and Duties of the Guarantee Trustee.
(a) This Guarantee shall be held by the Guarantee Trustee for the
benefit of the Holders of the Securities. The Guarantee Trustee shall not
transfer this Guarantee to any Person except a Holder of Securities exercising
his or her rights pursuant to Section 5.4(b) or to a Successor Guarantee Trustee
on acceptance by such Successor Guarantee Trustee of its appointment to act as
Successor Guarantee Trustee pursuant to Section 4.2. The right, title and
interest of the Guarantee Trustee shall automatically vest in any Successor
Guarantee Trustee, and such vesting and cessation of title shall be effective
whether or not conveyancing documents have been executed and delivered pursuant
to the appointment of such Successor Guarantee Trustee.
(b) Subject to Section 2.6, if an Event of Default actually known to a
Responsible Officer of a Guarantee Trustee has occurred and is continuing, the
Guarantee Trustee shall enforce this Guarantee for the benefit of the Holders of
the Securities.
(c) The Guarantee Trustee, before the occurrence of any Event of
Default and after the curing or waiver of all Events of Default that may have
occurred, shall undertake to perform only those duties specifically set forth in
this Guarantee, and no implied covenants shall be read into this Guarantee
against the Guarantee Trustee. In case an Event of Default has occurred (that
has not been cured or waived pursuant to Section 2.6), the Guarantee Trustee
shall exercise the rights and powers vested in it by this Guarantee, and use the
same degree of care and skill in its exercise thereof, as a prudent individual
would exercise or use under the circumstances in the conduct of his or her own
affairs.
(d) No provision of this Guarantee shall be construed to relieve the
Guarantee Trustee from liability for its own negligent action, its own negligent
failure to act, or its own willful misconduct, except that:
(i) prior to the occurrence of any Event of Default and after the
curing or waiving of such Events of Default that may have occurred: (A) the
duties and obligations of the Guarantee Trustee shall be determined solely by
reference to the express provisions of this Guarantee, and the Guarantee Trustee
shall not be liable except for the performance of those duties and obligations
specifically set forth in this Guarantee, and no implied covenants or
obligations shall be read into this Guarantee against the Guarantee Trustee; and
(B) in the absence of bad faith on the part of the Guarantee Trustee, the
Guarantee Trustee may conclusively rely, as to the truth of the statements and
the correctness of the opinions expressed therein, upon any certificates or
opinions furnished to the Guarantee Trustee and conforming to the requirements
of this Guarantee; but in the case of any such certificates or opinions that are
specifically required to be
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furnished to the Guarantee Trustee under this Guarantee, the Guarantee Trustee
shall be under a duty to examine such certificates or opinions to determine
whether or not they conform to the requirements of this Guarantee;
(ii) the Guarantee Trustee shall not be liable for any error of
judgment made in good faith by a Responsible Officer of the Guarantee Trustee,
unless it shall be proved that the Guarantee Trustee was negligent in
ascertaining the pertinent facts upon which such judgment was made;
(iii) the Guarantee Trustee shall not be liable with respect to any
action taken or omitted to be taken by it in good faith in accordance with the
direction of the Holders of not less than a Majority in Liquidation Amount of
the Securities relating to the time, method and place of conducting any
proceeding for any remedy available to the Guarantee Trustee in respect of this
Guarantee, or the exercise of any trust or power conferred upon each Guarantee
Trustee under this Guarantee; and
(iv) no provision of this Guarantee shall require the Guarantee Trustee
to expend or risk its own funds or otherwise incur personal financial liability
in the performance of any of its duties or in the exercise of any of its rights
or powers, if the Guarantee Trustee shall have reasonable grounds for believing
that the repayment of such funds or liability is not reasonably assured to it
under the terms of this Guarantee or indemnity, reasonably satisfactory to the
Guarantee Trustee, against such risk or liability is not reasonably assured to
it.
SECTION 3.2. Certain Rights of Guarantee Trustee.
(a) Subject to the provisions of Section 3.1:
(i) The Guarantee Trustee may conclusively rely and shall be fully
protected in acting or refraining from acting upon any resolution, certificate,
statement, instrument, opinion, report, notice, request, direction, consent,
order, bond, debenture, note, other evidence of indebtedness or other paper or
document believed by it to be genuine and to have been signed, sent or presented
by the proper party or parties.
(ii) Any direction or act of the Guarantor contemplated by this
Guarantee shall be sufficiently evidenced by a Direction or an Officers'
Certificate.
(iii) Whenever, in the administration of this Guarantee, the Guarantee
Trustee shall deem it desirable that a matter be proved or established before
taking, suffering or omitting any action hereunder, the Guarantee Trustee
(unless other evidence is specifically prescribed in this Guarantee) may
request, in the absence of bad faith on its part, and conclusively rely upon an
Officers' Certificate which, upon receipt of such request, shall be promptly
delivered by the Guarantor.
(iv) The Guarantee Trustee shall have no duty to record, file or
register any instrument (or rerecord, refile or reregister such instrument).
(v) The Guarantee Trustee may consult with counsel of its choice or
other experts. The written advice or opinion of such counsel and experts with
respect to legal matters or advice
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within the scope of such experts' area of expertise shall be full and complete
authorization and protection in respect of any action taken, suffered or omitted
by the Guarantee Trustee under this Guarantee in good faith and in accordance
with such advice or opinion. Such counsel may be counsel to the Guarantor or any
of its Affiliates and may include any of its employees. The Guarantee Trustee
shall have the right at any time to seek instructions concerning the
administration of this Guarantee from any court of competent jurisdiction.
(vi) The Guarantee Trustee shall be under no obligation to exercise any
of the rights or powers vested in it by this Guarantee at the request or
direction of any Holder of the Securities, unless such Holder has provided to
the Guarantee Trustee security and indemnity, reasonably satisfactory to the
Guarantee Trustee, against the costs, expenses (including attorneys' fees and
expenses and the expenses of the Guarantee Trustee's agents, nominees or
custodians) and liabilities that might be incurred thereby, including such
reasonable advances as may be requested by the Guarantee Trustee. The foregoing
will not relieve the Guarantee Trustee, upon the occurrence of an Event of
Default under this Guarantee, of its obligation to exercise the rights and
powers vested in it by this Guarantee.
(vii) The Guarantee Trustee shall be bound to investigate the facts or
matters stated in any resolution, certificate, statement, instrument, opinion,
report, notice, request, direction, consent, order, bond, debenture, note, other
evidence of indebtedness or other paper or document, but the Guarantee Trustee,
in its discretion, may make such further inquiry or investigation into such
facts or matters as it may see fit.
(viii) The Guarantee Trustee may execute any of the trusts or powers
vested in it by this Guarantee or perform any duties imposed upon it by this
Guarantee either directly or by or through agents, nominees, custodians or
attorneys, and the Guarantee Trustee shall not be responsible for any misconduct
or negligence on the part of any agent or attorney appointed by the Guarantee
Trustee with due care under this Guarantee.
(ix) Any action taken by the Guarantee Trustee or its agents under this
Guarantee shall bind the Holders of the Securities, and the signature of the
Guarantee Trustee or its agents alone shall be sufficient and effective to
perform any such action. No third party shall be required to investigate the
authority of the Guarantee Trustee so to act or the Guarantee Trustee's
compliance with any of the terms and provisions of this Guarantee, both of which
shall be evidenced conclusively by the Guarantee Trustee's or its agent's taking
such action.
(x) Whenever in the administration of this Guarantee, the Guarantee
Trustee shall deem it desirable to receive instructions with respect to
enforcing any remedy or right or taking any other action hereunder, the
Guarantee Trustee (A) may request instructions from the Holders of a Majority in
Liquidation Amount of the Securities, (B) may refrain from enforcing such remedy
or right or taking such other action until such instructions are received and
(C) shall be protected in conclusively relying on or acting in accordance with
such instructions.
(b) No provision of this Guarantee shall be deemed to impose any duty
or obligation on the Guarantee Trustee to perform any act or acts or exercise
any right, power, duty or obligation conferred or imposed on it, in any
jurisdiction in which it shall be illegal, or in which the Guarantee Trustee
shall be unqualified or incompetent to act in accordance with applicable law,
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to perform any such act or acts, or to exercise any such right, power, duty or
obligation. No permissive power or authority available to the Guarantee Trustee
shall be construed to be a duty.
SECTION 3.3. Not Responsible for Recitals or Issuance of Guarantee.
The recitals contained in this Guarantee shall be taken as the
statements of the Guarantor, and the Guarantee Trustee does not assume any
responsibility for their correctness. The Guarantee Trustee makes no
representation as to the validity or sufficiency of this Guarantee.
ARTICLE IV
GUARANTEE TRUSTEE
SECTION 4.1. Guarantee Trustee; Eligibility.
(a) There shall at all times be a Guarantee Trustee which shall: (i)
not be an Affiliate of the Guarantor; and (ii) be a corporation organized and
doing business under the laws of the United States of America or any state or
territory thereof or of the District of Columbia, or a corporation or Person
permitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission to act as an institutional
trustee under the Trust Indenture Act, authorized under such laws to exercise
corporate trust powers, having a combined capital and surplus of at least Fifty
Million U.S. Dollars ($50,000,000), and subject to supervision or examination by
federal, state, territorial or District of Columbia authority. If such
corporation publishes reports of condition at least annually, pursuant to law or
the requirements of the applicable supervising or examining authority, then, for
the purposes of this Section 4.1(a)(ii), the combined capital and surplus of
such corporation shall be deemed to be its combined capital and surplus as set
forth in its most recent report of condition so published.
(b) If at any time the Guarantee Trustee shall cease to be eligible to
so act under Section 4.l(a), the Guarantee Trustee shall immediately resign in
the manner and with the effect set forth in Section 4.2(c).
(c) If the Guarantee Trustee has or shall acquire any "conflicting
interest" within the meaning of Section 310(b) of the Trust Indenture Act, the
Guarantee Trustee and Guarantor shall in all respects comply with the provisions
of Section 310(b) of the Trust Indenture Act.
SECTION 4.2. Appointment, Removal and Resignation of Guarantee Trustees.
(a) Subject to Section 4.2(b), the Guarantee Trustee may be appointed
or removed without cause at any time by the Guarantor.
(b) The Guarantee Trustee shall not be removed in accordance with
Section 4.2(a) until a Successor Guarantee Trustee has been appointed and has
accepted such appointment by a written instrument executed by such Successor
Guarantee Trustee and delivered to the Guarantor.
(c) The Guarantee Trustee shall hold office until a Successor Guarantee
Trustee has been appointed or until its removal or resignation. The Guarantee
Trustee may resign from office (without need for prior or subsequent accounting)
by a written instrument executed by the
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Guarantee Trustee and delivered to the Guarantor, which resignation shall not
take effect until a Successor Guarantee Trustee has been appointed and has
accepted such appointment by a written instrument executed by such Successor
Guarantee Trustee and delivered to the Guarantor and the resigning Guarantee
Trustee.
(d) If no Successor Guarantee Trustee shall have been appointed and
shall have accepted appointment as provided in this Section 4.2 within 60 days
after delivery to the Guarantor of an instrument of resignation, the resigning
Guarantee Trustee may petition any court of competent jurisdiction for
appointment of a Successor Guarantee Trustee. Such court may thereupon, after
prescribing such notice, if any, it may deem proper, appoint a Successor
Guarantee Trustee.
(e) No Guarantee Trustee shall be liable for the acts or omissions of
any Successor Guarantee Trustee.
(f) Upon termination of this Guarantee or removal or resignation of the
Guarantee Trustee pursuant to this Section 4.2, the Guarantor shall pay to the
Guarantee Trustee all amounts accrued to the date of such termination, removal
or resignation.
ARTICLE V
GUARANTEE
SECTION 5.1. Guarantee.
To the extent set forth in this Guarantee, the Guarantor irrevocably
and unconditionally agrees to pay in full to the Holders of the Securities the
Guarantee Payments (without duplication of amounts paid by the Issuer), as and
when due, regardless of any defense, right of set-off or counterclaim that the
Issuer may have or assert. The Guarantor's obligation to make a Guarantee
Payment may be satisfied by direct payment of the required amounts by the
Guarantor to the Holders of the Securities or by causing the Issuer to pay such
amounts to the Holders of the Securities.
SECTION 5.2. Waiver of Notice and Demand.
The Guarantor hereby waives notice of acceptance of this Guarantee and
of any liability to which this Guarantee applies or may apply, presentment,
demand for payment, any right to require a proceeding first against the Issuer
or any other Person before proceeding against the Guarantor, protest, notice of
nonpayment, notice of dishonor, notice of redemption and all other notices and
demands.
SECTION 5.3. Obligations Not Affected.
The obligations, covenants, agreements and duties of the Guarantor
under this Guarantee shall in no way be affected or impaired by reason of the
happening from time to time of any of the following:
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(a) the release or waiver, by operation of law or otherwise, of the
performance or observance by the Issuer of any express or implied agreement,
covenant, term or condition relating to the Securities to be performed or
observed by the Issuer;
(b) the extension of time for the payment by the Issuer of all or any
portion of the Distributions, redemption price, Liquidation Distribution or any
other sums payable under the terms of the Securities or the extension of time
for the performance of any other obligation under, arising out of, or in
connection with, the Securities; provided, however, that if the Senior Notes
Issuer has exercised its right under Section 2.8 of the Supplemental Indenture
to defer the interest payments on the Senior Notes, the Guarantor shall have no
obligation hereunder until the expiration of the Applicable Extension Period (as
defined in the Supplemental Indenture);
(c) any failure, omission, delay or lack of diligence on the part of
the Holders of the Securities to enforce, assert or exercise any right,
privilege, power or remedy conferred on the Holders of the Securities pursuant
to the terms of the Securities, or any action on the part of the Issuer granting
indulgence or an extension of any kind;
(d) the voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution, sale of any
collateral, receivership, insolvency, bankruptcy, assignment for the benefit of
creditors, reorganization, arrangement, composition or readjustment of debt of,
or other similar proceedings affecting, the Issuer or any of the assets of the
Issuer;
(e) any invalidity of, or defect or deficiency in, the Securities;
(f) the settlement or compromise of any obligation guaranteed or
incurred in this Guarantee; or
(g) any other circumstance whatsoever that might otherwise constitute a
legal or equitable discharge or defense of the Guarantor, it being the intent of
this Section 5.3 that the obligations of the Guarantor under this Guarantee
shall be absolute and unconditional under any and all circumstances. There shall
be no obligation of the Holders of the Securities to give notice to, or obtain
consent of, the Guarantor with respect to the happening of any of the foregoing.
SECTION 5.4. Rights of Holders.
(a) The Holders of a Majority in Liquidation Amount of the Securities
have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding
for any remedy available to the Guarantee Trustee in respect of this Guarantee
or to direct the exercise of any trust or power conferred upon the Guarantee
Trustee under this Guarantee.
(b) If the Guarantee Trustee fails to enforce this Guarantee, any
Holder of the Securities may institute a legal proceeding directly against the
Guarantor to enforce its rights under this Guarantee, without first instituting
a legal proceeding directly against the Issuer, the Guarantee Trustee or any
other Person. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Guarantor has failed to make
a Guarantee Payment, a Holder of Securities may directly institute a proceeding
against the Guarantor for enforcement of this Guarantee for such payment. The
Guarantor waives any right or remedy to require that any action on this
Guarantee be brought first against the Issuer or any other Person before
proceeding directly against the Guarantor.
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SECTION 5.5. Guarantee of Payment.
This Guarantee constitutes a guarantee of payment and not of
collection.
SECTION 5.6. Subrogation.
The Guarantor shall be subrogated to all the rights, if any, of the
Holders of the Securities against the Issuer with respect to any amounts paid to
such Holders by the Guarantor under this Guarantee; provided, however, that the
Guarantor shall not (except to the extent required by mandatory provisions of
law) be entitled to enforce or exercise any right that it may acquire by way of
subrogation or any indemnity, reimbursement or other agreement, in all cases as
a result of payment under this Guarantee, if, at the time of any such payment,
any amounts are due and unpaid under this Guarantee. If any amount shall be paid
to the Guarantor in violation of the preceding sentence, the Guarantor agrees to
hold such amount in trust for the Holders of the Securities and to pay over such
amount to such Holders.
SECTION 5.7. Independent Obligations.
The Guarantor acknowledges that its obligations hereunder are
independent of the obligations of the Issuer with respect to the Securities, and
that the Guarantor shall be liable as principal and as debtor under this
Guarantee to make Guarantee Payments pursuant to the terms of this Guarantee
notwithstanding the occurrence of any event referred to in subsections (a)
through (g) of Section 5.3 hereof.
ARTICLE VI
LIMITATION OF TRANSACTIONS; SUBORDINATION
SECTION 6.1. Limitation of Transactions.
As long as any Securities remain outstanding, if an Event of Default
occurs under the Guarantee or a Trust Enforcement Event occurs under the
Declaration and written notice of such event has been given to the Guarantor,
then the Guarantor may not (i) declare or pay any dividends or distributions on,
or redeem, purchase, acquire, or make a liquidation payment with respect to any
of the Guarantor's capital stock or (ii) make any payment of principal, interest
or premium, if any, on or repay, repurchase or redeem any debt securities of the
Guarantor that rank on a parity with or junior in interest to the Senior Notes
or make any guarantee payments with respect to any guarantee by the Guarantor of
the debt securities of any subsidiary of the Guarantor if such guarantee ranks
on a parity with or junior in interest to the Senior Notes (other than (a)
purchases or acquisitions of capital stock of the Guarantor in connection with
the satisfaction by the Guarantor of its obligations under any employee benefit
plans or the satisfaction by the Guarantor of its obligations pursuant to any
contract or security outstanding on the first day of such Event of Default
requiring the Guarantor to purchase capital stock of the Guarantor, (b) as a
result of a reclassification of the Guarantor's capital stock or the exchange or
conversion of one class or series of the Guarantor's capital stock for another
class or series of the Guarantor's capital stock, (c) the purchase of fractional
interests in shares of the Guarantor's capital stock pursuant to the conversion
or exchange provisions of such capital stock or the security being converted or
exchanged, (d) dividends or distributions in capital stock of the
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Guarantor, (e) redemptions or repurchases of any rights pursuant to a rights
agreement and (f) payments under this Guarantee).
SECTION 6.2. Ranking.
If a Trust Enforcement Event has occurred and is continuing under the
Declaration, the rights of the Holders of the Common Securities to receive
Guarantee Payments will be subordinated to the rights of the Holders of
Preferred Securities to receive Guarantee Payments.
ARTICLE VII
TERMINATION
SECTION 7.1. Termination.
This Guarantee will terminate upon (i) the Guarantor's full payment of
the redemption price of all the Securities (in the event of a Tax Event
Redemption or at the maturity of the Senior Notes), (ii) distribution of the
Senior Notes held by the Issuer to the Holders of the Securities or (iii)
payment in full of the amounts payable in accordance with the Declaration upon
liquidation of the Issuer. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Guarantee will
continue to be effective or will be reinstated, as the case may be, if at any
time any Holder of the Securities must restore payment of any sums paid under
the Securities or under this Guarantee.
ARTICLE VIII
INDEMNIFICATION
SECTION 8.1. Exculpation.
(a) No Indemnified Person shall be liable, responsible or accountable
in damages or otherwise to the Guarantor or any Covered Person for any loss,
damage or claim incurred by reason of any act or omission by such Indemnified
Person in good faith in accordance with this Guarantee and in a manner that such
Indemnified Person reasonably believed to be within the scope of the authority
conferred on such Indemnified Person by this Guarantee or by law, except that an
Indemnified Person shall be liable for any such loss, damage or claim incurred
by reason of such Indemnified Person's negligence or willful misconduct with
respect to such acts or omissions.
(b) An Indemnified Person shall be fully protected in relying in good
faith upon the records of the Guarantor and upon such written information,
opinions, reports or statements presented to the Guarantor by any Person as to
matters the Indemnified Person reasonably believes are within such other
Person's professional or expert competence and who has been selected with
reasonable care by or on behalf of the Guarantor, including written information,
opinions, reports or statements as to the value and amount of the assets,
liabilities, profits, losses, or any other facts pertinent to the existence and
amount of assets from which Distributions to the Holders of the Preferred
Securities might properly be paid.
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SECTION 8.2. Indemnification.
(a) To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Guarantor
shall indemnify and hold harmless each Indemnified Person from and against any
loss, damage or claim incurred by such Indemnified Person by reason of any act
or omission by such Indemnified Person in good faith in accordance with this
Guarantee Agreement and in a manner such Indemnified Person reasonably believed
to be within the scope of authority conferred on such Indemnified Person by this
Guarantee Agreement, except that no Indemnified Person shall be entitled to be
indemnified in respect of any loss, damage or claim incurred by such Indemnified
Person by reason of negligence or willful misconduct with respect to such acts
or omissions.
(b) To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, reasonable
out-of-pocket expenses (including legal fees) incurred by an Indemnified Person
in defending any claim, demand, action, suit or proceeding shall, from time to
time, be advanced by the Guarantor prior to the final disposition of such claim,
demand, action, suit or proceeding upon receipt by the Guarantor of an
undertaking by or on behalf of the Indemnified Person to repay such amount if it
shall be determined that the Indemnified Person is not entitled to be
indemnified as authorized in Section 8.2(a).
(c) The provisions set forth in this Section 8.2 shall survive the
termination of the Guarantee or the resignation or removal of the Guarantee
Trustee.
ARTICLE IX
MISCELLANEOUS
SECTION 9.1. Successors and Assigns.
All guarantees and agreements contained in this Guarantee shall bind
the successors, assigns, receivers, trustees and representatives of the
Guarantor and shall inure to the benefit of the Holders of the Securities then
outstanding.
SECTION 9.2. Amendments.
Except with respect to any changes that do not adversely affect the
rights of the Holders of the Securities in any material respect, in which case
no consent of Holders will be required, this Guarantee may be amended only with
the prior approval of the Holders of at least a Majority in Liquidation Amount
of the Securities. The provisions of Section 11.2 of the Declaration with
respect to meetings of Holders of the Securities apply to the giving of such
approval.
SECTION 9.3. Notices.
All notices provided for in this Guarantee shall be in writing, duly
signed by the party giving such notice, and shall be delivered, telecopied or
mailed by registered or certified mail, as follows:
(a) If given to the Guarantee Trustee, at the mailing address set forth
below (or such other address as the Guarantee Trustee may give notice of to the
Holders of the Securities):
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Bank One Trust Company, NA, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇,
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, Attention: Corporate Trust Administration Department,
Telecopy No.: (▇▇▇) ▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇
(b) If given to the Guarantor, at the mailing address set forth below
(or such other address as the Guarantor may give notice of to the Holders of the
Securities):
UtiliCorp United, Inc. ▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇,
Attention: ▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇, Telecopy No.: (▇▇▇) ▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇.
(c) If given to any Holder of the Securities, at such Holder's address
as set forth on the books and records of the Issuer. All such notices shall be
deemed to have been given when received in person, telecopied with receipt
confirmed, or mailed by first class mail, postage prepaid, except that if a
notice or other document is refused delivery or cannot be delivered because of a
changed address of which no notice was given, such notice or other document
shall be deemed to have been delivered on the date of such refusal or inability
to deliver.
SECTION 9.4. Benefit.
This Guarantee shall be solely for the benefit of the Holders of the
Securities and, subject to Section 3.1(a), is not separately transferable from
the Securities.
SECTION 9.5. Governing Law.
THIS GUARANTEE SHALL BE GOVERNED BY, CONSTRUED AND INTERPRETED IN
ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
SECTION 9.6. Governing Law.
This Guarantee may contain more than one counterpart of the signature
page, and this Guarantee may be executed by the affixing of the signature of
each of the parties to one of such counterpart signature pages. All such
counterpart signature pages shall be read as though one, and they shall have the
same force and effect as though all of the signers had signed a single signature
page.
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THIS GUARANTEE is executed as of the day and year first above written.
UTILICORP UNITED INC.,
as Guarantor
By:
-------------------------------
Name:
Title:
BANK ONE TRUST COMPANY, NA,
not in its individual capacity but solely
as Guarantee Trustee
By:
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Name:
Title: