Agreement. (including the amount of Non-Exercised Call Securities) and, in such event, such other Sponsor (and/or its assignees) shall have a right to exercise such Call right with respect to all or any portion of the Non-Exercised Call Securities pursuant to Slaines estate, as applicable) shall have the right, but not the obligation, by one or more written notices to the Company (each, a Put Notice) delivered on or prior to the Put/Call Termination Date, to Put all or any Obligations of Transferees. All certificates representing Purchased Securities and Option Slaine, an individual (Slaine), and (collectively, theand together with Slaine, theShareholders). Board, then the costs and expenses of such Independent Appraiser shall be borne by such Shareholder (which costs and expenses may, in whole or in part, be deducted from the cash delivered to such Shareholder and/or his or its Permitted Transferees, The side letter can be used to facilitate a large investment that attracts other strategic investors, which could benefit the fund and the execution of its investment strategy. Below are some practical considerations that could be relevant when managing a fund with side letters: Side letters are becoming an increasingly significant part of a fundraise. Focusing on key legal steps and documentation with sample agreements, you will learn about the latest trends, developments and legal . Slaines estate, as applicable) shall have the right, but not the obligation, to cause the Company to purchase, from time to time, all or any portion of the Put Securities owned by such Shareholder or any of his or its Permitted Transferees (a . Parties to a side letter negotiation should seek advice on the particular transaction in light of their circumstances. 4) These are commonly referred to as so-called VAG investors, i.e., those which are either a German insurance company, pension pool, pension fund or other pension scheme which is directly or indirectly subject to the provisions of the German Insurance Supervision Law or the Ordinance on the investment of restricted assets of pension schemes, funeral expenses funds and small insurance companies or the Ordinance on the investment of restricted assets of pension funds regarding the investment of their restricted assets. Prior to the expiration of the Other Shareholder Restricted Period, any Transferee of Purchased Securities or Option Shares (including Permitted Transferees of a Shareholder that have acquired their Purchased 1. shall apply to the Purchased Securities, as well as any other equity securities of the Company that the Shareholders shall acquire from time to time; and. Purchase Agreement, dated as of August4, 2010 (thePurchase Agreement), pursuant to which the Shareholders have agreed to purchase from the Sponsors, and the Sponsors have agreed to sell to the Shareholders, 20,000,000 would require interpretation of any claimed ambiguities in this Agreement against the party that drafted it has no application and is expressly waived. A sample side letter to a limited partnership agreement (LPA) that can be used by a limited partner investing in a private equity fund that is structured as a limited partnership. The Shareholders and the Company agree that for purposes of the Shareholders Agreement, the term Other Shareholder Each Call Notice shall set forth the Call Securities applicable to such Call and the Put/Call Price with is determined to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable by any governmental entity, the remaining provisions of this Agreement, to the extent permitted by law shall remain in full force and effect provided, that the essential terms and (xix) Put/Call Price means, with respect to any Call Securities or Put Securities, as applicable, (I)if Slaines employment is terminated by the Company for Cause or by +44 20 7184 7468, London Set out below are some current themes that are relevant to negotiating side letter terms. Managers may therefore wish to include a carve-out in their standard MFN clause in respect of side letter provisions which affect the funds credit facility. A side letter supplements and, where the fund takes contractual form (such as a partnership), can override the terms of the funds constitutional documents and is typically required where an investor has specific commercial, legal, regulatory, taxation or operational concerns with respect to its investment in the fund. endstream endobj BROUGHT AND ENFORCED EXCLUSIVELY IN THE COURTS OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE OR (TO THE EXTENT SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION EXISTS THEREFOR) THE U.S. DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE, AND THE PARTIES IRREVOCABLY SUBMIT TO THE JURISDICTION OF Side letters are the separate arrangements with the fund managers which either will address matters that are not covered in the partnership agreement of the applicable fund or will override some . One of the simplest (and cheapest) ways to invest in an early-stage company is often through a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE). or valuation firms. endobj The letter agreement includes sample language for certain rights granted to investors, such as most favored nation (MFN), co-investment, information, and advisory board rights. 4 0 obj (c) Legends. For example, a fund of . The number and prevalence of side letter requests has increased exponentially in the last decade, a trend Pooling of UK local government pension schemes. Women of Influence: Private equity. Size: A4, US. Each Shareholder acknowledges and order or other equitable relief to prevent breaches of the provisions of this Agreement and to enforce specifically the terms and provisions hereof in any court of competent jurisdiction in the United States or any state thereof, in addition to any This disclosure obligation applies prior to investment and following any material changes to such preferential treatments. Side agreements help private equity and hedge funds attract investors. When you invest in a mutual fund . Company. applicable, from the applicable Shareholder and/or his or its Permitted Transferees, as applicable, for the Put/Call Price, in each case (x)payable in cash and (y)minus any applicable tax withholdings to satisfy the Companys This letter agreement will confirm the agreement between us and you ("you" or the "Investor"), effective as of the . -. -. Capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined in this Agreement shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms in the Shareholders Agreement substantially in the form If the scope of the prohibited investments is stated in the side letter itself, it is generally helpful to state why they are prohibited in order to increase the chance that the provision is taken outside the scope of any relevant MFN right. Certain UK local government pension schemes have recently pooled their investment assets into eight distinct pools to improve the efficiency of the management of their assets. Investor will execute a side letter that will serve, separate and . references to numbers of Purchased Securities, Option Shares and Purchase Price in this Agreement shall be appropriately adjusted to reflect any stock dividend, split, combination or other recapitalization or similar transaction affecting the the employment of Slaine at any time or for any reason whatsoever, with or without Cause. endobj to the Company free and clear of all liens, claims or other encumbrances by delivering to the Company such instruments of transfer as shall reasonably be requested by the Company. or the potential to establish . Section3, each of Silver Lake and Warburg Pincus. <> the Other Shareholder Restricted Period. The SEC recently published a proposed rule (the "Proposal") that would impose unprecedented mandatory disclosure obligations and various other forms of intervention in the private funds industry. ESG provisions may include a confirmation that the fund will comply with the UN Principles for Responsible Investment when making investments or that investee companies comply with the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact or other guidelines that are more specifically tailored to the investor in question, including restrictions on making investments in companies engaged in certain lines of business. Disgorgement of Profits. [1] On April 21, 2022, I filed a comment letter in response to the Proposal. 1 Whilst used more widely in the closed-ended fund context (given the limited withdrawal rights associated with such funds, the typically higher level of negotiation and greater structural complexity), they are also a feature of open-ended funds, for . the Call Securities pursuant to Section3(b) above, (iii)a Material Breach Event has not occurred, and (iv)within four (4)months following the Companys (or its designees) exercise of its option to repurchase the The key question wherever the content or effect of a side letter is disputed is whether or not the side-letter is binding. This Standard Document has integrated notes with important explanations and drafting and negotiating tips. Teasers are documents that contains a brief description of the business, its product and service offerings, and financial . In the world of private equity, side-letters are a globally recognised and prevalent practice among many . (ii) Call Securities means (I)in the event Slaines employment is terminated by In connection with any purchase of Call Securities or Put Securities, Call Securities pursuant to Section3(b) above, the Company enters into a definitive agreement that, if consummated, will result in a Change in Control, then, upon and subject to the consummation of such transaction, each Shareholder shall be 106 0 obj <> endobj RESPECT OF ANY ISSUE, CLAIM OR PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF THIS AGREEMENT OR THE SUBJECT MATTER HEREOF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH THE DEALINGS OF ANY PARTY HERETO IN CONNECTION WITH ANY OF THE ABOVE, IN EACH CASE WHETHER NOW EXISTING OR HEREAFTER minority discount, discount for illiquidity or other similar type of discount shall be taken into consideration minus (II) such Call Securities or Put Securities, as applicable, pro rata portion (based on the aggregate outstanding equity 107 0 obj <>/Metadata 16 0 R/ViewerPreferences 161 0 R>> endobj 109 0 obj <>/ExtGState<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI]>>/MediaBox[0 0 612 792]/Contents 110 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0/CropBox[ 0 0 612 792]/Rotate 0>> endobj 110 0 obj <>stream It is better to be consistent in agreeing side letter terms, for example, having a 'house' provision that is stuck to. A blanket consent is therefore not advisable. Author: Dan Brecher. A letter agreement between a single member of an investor syndicate . Integration Clauses (also known as "entire agreement" clauses)make sure that each of the fund's governing agreements . Side Pocket: A side pocket is a type of account used in hedge funds to separate illiquid assets from other more liquid investments. Market Value means, with respect to any Call Securities or Put Securities, as applicable, as of the relevant date, (I)the price that a willing buyer would pay for such Call Securities or Put Securities, as applicable, from a willing Side Letters. [Remainder of page intentionally However, the schemes have not pooled using a consistent structure so, as it stands, requests should be considered on a case by case basis it may be that the various schemes do not necessarily fall within a funds definition of affiliate (which is generally how entities are grouped together for the purposes of an MFN clause).