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Draft of December 12, 2000
EXHIBIT 1
FORM OF
ENCORE ACQUISITION COMPANY
COMMON STOCK
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UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
, 2000
Goldman, Sachs & Co.,
Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation,
Dain Rauscher Incorporated, and
Petrie Parkman & Co., Inc.
As representatives of the several Underwriters
named in Schedule I hereto,
c/o Goldman, Sachs & Co.
1000 Louisiana Street
Suite 550
Houston, Texas 77002
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Encore Acquisition Company, a Delaware corporation (the "Company"),
proposes, subject to the terms and conditions stated herein, to issue and sell
to the Underwriters named in Schedule I hereto (the "Underwriters") an aggregate
of __________ shares (the "Firm Shares") and, at the election of the
Underwriters, up to __________ additional shares (the "Optional Shares") of
Common Stock ("Stock") of the Company (the Firm Shares and the Optional Shares
that the Underwriters elect to purchase pursuant to Section 2 hereof being
collectively called the "Shares").
1. The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, each of the
Underwriters that:
(a) A registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-47540)
(the "Initial Registration Statement") in respect of the Shares has
been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
"Commission"); the Initial Registration Statement and any
post-effective amendment thereto, each in the form heretofore delivered
to you, and, excluding exhibits, to you for each of the other
Underwriters, have been declared effective by the Commission in such
form; other than a registration statement, if any, increasing the size
of the offering (a "Rule 462(b) Registration Statement"), filed
pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended
(the "Act"), which became effective upon filing, no other document with
respect to the Initial Registration Statement has heretofore been filed
with the
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Draft of December 12, 2000
Commission; and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the
Initial Registration Statement, any post-effective amendment thereto or
the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, if any, has been issued and no
proceeding for that purpose has been initiated or threatened by the
Commission (any preliminary prospectus included in the Initial
Registration Statement or filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule
424(a) of the rules and regulations of the Commission under the Act is
hereinafter called a "Preliminary Prospectus"; the various parts of the
Initial Registration Statement and the Rule 462(b) Registration
Statement, if any, including all exhibits thereto and including the
information contained in the form of final prospectus filed with the
Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act in accordance with
Section 6(a) hereof and deemed by virtue of Rule 430A under the Act to
be part of the Initial Registration Statement at the time it was
declared effective, each as amended at the time such part of the
Initial Registration Statement became effective or such part of the
Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, if any, became or hereafter becomes
effective, are hereinafter collectively called the "Registration
Statement"; and such final prospectus, in the form first filed pursuant
to Rule 424(b) under the Act, is hereinafter called the "Prospectus";
(b) No order preventing or suspending the use of any
Preliminary Prospectus has been issued by the Commission, and each
Preliminary Prospectus, at the time of filing thereof, conformed in all
material respects to the requirements of the Act and the rules and
regulations of the Commission thereunder, and did not contain an untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required
to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in
the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not
misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty
shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon
and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company
by an Underwriter through Goldman, Sachs & Co. expressly for use
therein;
(c) The Registration Statement conforms, and the Prospectus
and any further amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement
or the Prospectus will conform, in all material respects to the
requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission
thereunder and do not and will not, as of the applicable effective date
as to the Registration Statement and any amendment thereto, and as of
the applicable filing date as to the Prospectus and any amendment or
supplement thereto, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or
omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or
necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; provided,
however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any
statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with
information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter
through Goldman, Sachs & Co. expressly for use therein;
(d) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has
sustained since the date of the latest audited financial statements
included in the Prospectus any material loss or interference with its
business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not
covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or
governmental action, order or decree, otherwise than as set forth or
contemplated in the Prospectus; and, since the respective dates as of
which
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information is given in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus,
there has not been any change in the capital stock or long-term debt of
the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any material adverse change,
or any development involving a prospective material adverse change, in
or affecting the general affairs, management, financial position,
stockholders' equity or results of operations of the Company and its
subsidiaries, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the
Prospectus;
(e) The information used or provided by the Company as the
basis on which the reserve estimates and related information included
in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus was prepared by the
Company, Miller & Lentz, Ltd., independent natural gas and oil
engineers, or any other person, is true and correct in all material
respects.
(f) Except as described in the Prospectus, the Company and its
subsidiaries have (i) good and indefeasible title to all their
interests in natural gas and oil properties, and the care taken by the
Company and its subsidiaries with respect to acquiring such properties
was consistent with standard industry practices in the areas where the
Company operates for acquiring leases and interest therein to develop,
exploit and produce hydrocarbons, and (ii) good and marketable title in
fee simple to all other real property and good and marketable title to
all personal property owned by them, in each case free and clear of all
liens, encumbrances and defects except such as are described in the
Prospectus or such as do not materially affect the value of such
property and do not interfere with the use made and proposed to be made
of such property by the Company and its subsidiaries; and any real
property and buildings held under lease by the Company and its
subsidiaries are held by them under valid, subsisting and enforceable
leases with such exceptions as are not material and do not interfere
with the use made and proposed to be made of such property and
buildings by the Company and its subsidiaries;
(g) The Company has been duly incorporated and is validly
existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State
of Delaware, with power and authority (corporate and other) to own its
properties and conduct its business as described in the Prospectus, and
has been duly qualified as a foreign corporation for the transaction of
business and is in good standing under the laws of each other
jurisdiction in which it owns or leases properties or conducts any
business so as to require such qualification, or is subject to no
material liability or disability by reason of the failure to be so
qualified in any such jurisdiction; and each subsidiary of the Company
has been duly organized or formed and is validly existing in good
standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of formation;
(h) The Company has an authorized capitalization as set forth
in the Prospectus, and all of the issued shares of capital stock of the
Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are fully
paid and non-assessable and conform to the description of the Stock
contained in the Prospectus; and all of the issued shares of capital
stock or limited partnership interests of each subsidiary of the
Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued,
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are fully paid and non-assessable and (except for directors' qualifying
shares) are owned directly or indirectly by the Company, free and clear
of all liens, encumbrances, equities or claims;
(i) The unissued Shares to be issued and sold by the Company
to the Underwriters hereunder have been duly and validly authorized
and, when issued and delivered against payment therefor as provided
herein, will be duly and validly issued and fully paid and
non-assessable and will conform to the description of the Stock
contained in the Prospectus;
(j) The issue and sale of the Shares by the Company and the
compliance by the Company with all of the provisions of this Agreement
and the consummation of the transactions herein contemplated will not
conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or
provisions of, or constitute a default under, any indenture, mortgage,
deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which
the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which the
Company or any of its subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the
property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is
subject, nor will such action result in any violation of the provisions
of the Certificate of Incorporation or By-laws of the Company or any
statute or any order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental
agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its
subsidiaries or any of their properties; and no consent, approval,
authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any such
court or governmental agency or body is required for the issue and sale
of the Shares or the consummation by the Company of the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement, except the registration under the Act
of the Shares and such consents, approvals, authorizations,
registrations or qualifications as may be required under state
securities or Blue Sky laws in connection with the purchase and
distribution of the Shares by the Underwriters;
(k) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in
violation of its Certificate of Incorporation or By-laws or in default
in the performance or observance of any material obligation, agreement,
covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of
trust, loan agreement, lease or other agreement or instrument to which
it is a party or by which it or any of its properties may be bound;
(l) The statements set forth in the Prospectus under the
caption "Description of Capital Stock", insofar as they purport to
constitute a summary of the terms of the Stock and the statements under
the caption "Underwriting", insofar as they purport to describe the
provisions of the laws and documents referred to therein, fairly and
accurately summarize and describe such matters in all material
respects;
(m) Other than as set forth in the Prospectus, there are no
legal or governmental proceedings pending to which the Company or any
of its subsidiaries is a party or of which any property of the Company
or any of its subsidiaries is the subject which, if determined
adversely to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, would individually
or in the aggregate have a material adverse effect on the current or
future consolidated financial position, stockholders' equity or results
of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries; and, to the best of
the Company's
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knowledge, no such proceedings are threatened or contemplated by
governmental authorities or threatened by others;
(n) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in
violation of any law, ordinance, governmental rule or regulation or
court decree to which it may be subject which violation could
reasonably be expected to, individually or in the aggregate with all
such violations, have a material adverse effect on the current or
future consolidated financial position, stockholders' equity or results
of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries.
(o) Each of the Company and its subsidiaries owns or
possesses, and is operating in compliance with, all approvals,
licenses, permits, certificates, franchises, easements, consents,
orders and other governmental authorizations and rights necessary to
own or lease its properties and conduct its business (collectively,
"Approvals"), except such Approvals as to which the failure to own,
possess or operate in compliance with would not, individually or in the
aggregate, result in a material adverse effect on the current or future
consolidated financial position, stockholders' equity or results of
operations of the Company and its subsidiaries ("Material Approvals");
all such Material Approvals are valid and in full force and effect; and
the Company has no reason to believe that any governmental agency or
body is considering limiting, suspending or revoking any such Material
Approval.
(p) From the date as of which information is given in the
Prospectus through the date hereof, and except as may otherwise be
disclosed in the Prospectus, neither the Company nor any of its
subsidiaries has (i) issued, granted, repurchased, reclassified or
exchanged any of their respective securities (other than in respect of
intercompany transactions or pursuant to employee stock options, or the
Company's incentive stock plan), (ii) entered into any material
transaction not in the ordinary course of business or (iii) entered
into any material transaction with an affiliate of the Company, other
than a subsidiary; and the Company has not declared or paid any
dividend on its capital stock.
(q) There has been no storage, disposal, generation,
transportation, handling or treatment of hazardous substances or
hazardous wastes by the Company or any of its subsidiaries (or to the
knowledge of the Company, any of its predecessors in interest) at, upon
or from any of the property now or previously owned or leased by the
Company or any of its subsidiaries in violation of any applicable law,
ordinance, rule, regulation, order, judgment, decree or permit or which
would require remedial action under any applicable law, ordinance,
rule, regulation, order, judgment, decree or permit, except for any
violation or remedial action which would not, individually or in the
aggregate with all such violations and remedial actions, result in a
material adverse effect on the current or future consolidated financial
position, stockholders' equity or results of operations of the Company
and its subsidiaries; there has been no material spill, discharge,
leak, emission, injection, escape, dumping or release of any kind onto
such property or into the environment surrounding such property of any
hazardous wastes or hazardous substances due to or caused by the
Company or any of its subsidiaries, except for any such spill,
discharge, leak, emission, injection, escape, dumping or release which
would not,
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individually or in the aggregate with all such spills, discharges,
leaks, emissions, injections, escapes, dumpings and releases result in
a material adverse effect on the current or future consolidated
financial position, stockholders' equity or results of operations of
the Company and its subsidiaries; none of the facilities of the Company
or any of its subsidiaries is a solid waste facility for purposes of
any applicable environmental law; and the terms "hazardous substances"
and "hazardous wastes" shall have the meanings specified in any
applicable local, state and federal laws or regulations with respect to
environmental protection.
(r) The Company is not and, after giving effect to the
offering and sale of the Shares, will not be an "investment company",
as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as
amended (the "Investment Company Act");
(s) Neither the Company nor any of its affiliates does
business with the government of Cuba or with any person or affiliate
located in Cuba within the meaning of Section 517.075, Florida
Statutes;
(t) Arthur Andersen LLP, who have certified certain financial
statements of the Company and its subsidiaries, are independent public
accountants as required by the Act and the rules and regulations of the
Commission thereunder.
2. Subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, (a) the
Company agrees to issue and sell to each of the Underwriters, and each of the
Underwriters agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company, at
a purchase price per share of $__________, the number of Firm Shares set forth
opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule I hereto and (b) in the event
and to the extent that the Underwriters shall exercise the election to purchase
Optional Shares as provided below, the Company agrees to issue and sell to each
of the Underwriters, and each of the Underwriters agrees, severally and not
jointly, to purchase from the Company, at the purchase price per share set forth
in clause (a) of this Section 2, that portion of the number of Optional Shares
as to which such election shall have been exercised (to be adjusted by you so as
to eliminate fractional shares) determined by multiplying such number of
Optional Shares by a fraction, the numerator of which is the maximum number of
Optional Shares which such Underwriter is entitled to purchase as set forth
opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule I hereto and the denominator
of which is the maximum number of Optional Shares that all of the Underwriters
are entitled to purchase hereunder.
The Company hereby grants to the Underwriters the right to
purchase at their election up to __________ Optional Shares, at the purchase
price per share set forth in the paragraph above, for the sole purpose of
covering sales of shares in excess of the number of Firm Shares. Any such
election to purchase Optional Shares may be exercised only by written notice
from you to the Company, given within a period of 30 calendar days after the
date of this Agreement, setting forth the aggregate number of Optional Shares to
be purchased and the date on which such Optional Shares are to be delivered, as
determined by you but in no event earlier than the First Time of Delivery (as
defined in Section 4 hereof) or, unless you and the Company otherwise agree in
writing, earlier than two or later than ten business days after the date of such
notice.
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3. Upon the authorization by you of the release of the Firm Shares, the
several Underwriters propose to offer the Firm Shares for sale upon the terms
and conditions set forth in the Prospectus.
4. (a) The Shares to be purchased by each Underwriter hereunder,
in definitive form, and in such authorized denominations and registered
in such names as Goldman, Sachs & Co. may request upon at least
forty-eight hours' prior notice to the Company shall be delivered by or
on behalf of the Company to Goldman, Sachs & Co., for the account of
such Underwriter, against payment by or on behalf of such Underwriter
of the purchase price therefor by wire transfer of Federal (same-day)
funds to the account specified by the Company to Goldman, Sachs & Co.
at least forty-eight hours in advance. The Company will cause the
certificates representing the Shares to be made available for checking
and packaging at least twenty-four hours prior to the Time of Delivery
(as defined below) with respect thereto at the office of Goldman, Sachs
& Co., 85 Broad Street, New York, New York 10004 (the "Designated
Office"). The time and date of such delivery and payment shall be, with
respect to the Firm Shares, 9:30 a.m., New York City time, on
__________, 2000 or such other time and date as Goldman, Sachs & Co.
and the Company may agree upon in writing, and, with respect to the
Optional Shares, 9:30 a.m., New York time, on the date specified by
Goldman, Sachs & Co. in the written notice given by Goldman, Sachs &
Co. of the Underwriters' election to purchase such Optional Shares, or
such other time and date as Goldman, Sachs & Co. and the Company may
agree upon in writing. Such time and date for delivery of the Firm
Shares is herein called the "First Time of Delivery", such time and
date for delivery of the Optional Shares, if not the First Time of
Delivery, is herein called the "Second Time of Delivery", and each such
time and date for delivery is herein called a "Time of Delivery".
(b) The documents to be delivered at each Time of Delivery by
or on behalf of the parties hereto pursuant to Section 7 hereof,
including the cross receipt for the Shares and any additional documents
requested by the Underwriters pursuant to Section 8(l) hereof, will be
delivered at the offices of [BAKER BOTTS L.L.P., ONE SHELL PLAZA, 910
LOUISIANA STREET, HOUSTON, TEXAS 77002] (the "Closing Location"), and
the Shares will be delivered at the Designated Office, all at such Time
of Delivery. A meeting will be held at the Closing Location at ______
p.m., New York City time, on the New York Business Day next preceding
such Time of Delivery, at which meeting the final drafts of the
documents to be delivered pursuant to the preceding sentence will be
available for review by the parties hereto. For the purposes of this
Section 5, "New York Business Day" shall mean each Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday which is not a day on which banking
institutions in New York are generally authorized or obligated by law
or executive order to close.
5. The Company agrees with each of the Underwriters:
(a) To prepare the Prospectus in a form approved by you and to
file such Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act not later
than the Commission's close of business on the second business day
following the execution and delivery of this Agreement, or, if
applicable,
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such earlier time as may be required by Rule 430A(a)(3) under the Act;
to make no further amendment or any supplement to the Registration
Statement or Prospectus which shall be disapproved by you promptly
after reasonable notice thereof; to advise you, promptly after it
receives notice thereof, of the time when any amendment to the
Registration Statement has been filed or becomes effective or any
supplement to the Prospectus or any amended Prospectus has been filed
and to furnish you with copies thereof; to advise you, promptly after
it receives notice thereof, of the issuance by the Commission of any
stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any
Preliminary Prospectus or Prospectus, of the suspension of the
qualification of the Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction,
of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such
purpose, or of any request by the Commission for the amending or
supplementing of the Registration Statement or Prospectus or for
additional information; and, in the event of the issuance of any stop
order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any
Preliminary Prospectus or Prospectus or suspending any such
qualification, promptly to use its best efforts to obtain the
withdrawal of such order;
(b) Promptly from time to time to take such action as you may
reasonably request to qualify the Shares for offering and sale under
the securities laws of such jurisdictions as you may request and to
comply with such laws so as to permit the continuance of sales and
dealings therein in such jurisdictions for as long as may be necessary
to complete the distribution of the Shares, provided that in connection
therewith the Company shall not be required to qualify as a foreign
corporation, to become subject to general taxation or to file a general
consent to service of process in any jurisdiction;
(c) Prior to 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on the New York
Business Day next succeeding the date of this Agreement and from time
to time, to furnish the Underwriters with written and electronic copies
of the Prospectus in New York City in such quantities as you may
reasonably request, and, if the delivery of a prospectus is required at
any time prior to the expiration of nine months after the time of issue
of the Prospectus in connection with the offering or sale of the Shares
and if at such time any event shall have occurred as a result of which
the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact
necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the
circumstances under which they were made when such Prospectus is
delivered, not misleading, or, if for any other reason it shall be
necessary during such period to amend or supplement the Prospectus in
order to comply with the Act, to notify you and upon your request to
prepare and furnish without charge to each Underwriter and to any
dealer in securities as many written and electronic copies as you may
from time to time reasonably request of an amended Prospectus or a
supplement to the Prospectus which will correct such statement or
omission or effect such compliance, and in case any Underwriter is
required to deliver a prospectus in connection with sales of any of the
Shares at any time nine months or more after the time of issue of the
Prospectus, upon your request but at the expense of such Underwriter,
to prepare and deliver to such Underwriter as many written and
electronic copies as you may request of an amended or supplemented
Prospectus complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Act;
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(d) To make generally available to its securityholders as soon
as practicable, but in any event not later than eighteen months after
the effective date of the Registration Statement (as defined in Rule
158(c) under the Act), an earnings statement of the Company and its
subsidiaries (which need not be audited) complying with Section 11(a)
of the Act and the rules and regulations thereunder (including, at the
option of the Company, Rule 158);
(e) During the period beginning from the date hereof and
continuing to and including the date 180 days after the date of the
Prospectus, not to offer, sell, contract to sell or otherwise dispose
of, except as provided hereunder any securities of the Company that are
substantially similar to the Shares, including but not limited to any
securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for, or that
represent the right to receive, Stock or any such substantially similar
securities (other than pursuant to employee stock option or incentive
stock plans existing on, or upon the conversion or exchange of
convertible or exchangeable securities outstanding as of, the date of
this Agreement), without the prior written consent of Goldman Sachs &
Co.
(f) To furnish to its stockholders as soon as practicable
after the end of each fiscal year an annual report (including a balance
sheet and statements of income, stockholders' equity and cash flows of
the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries certified by independent
public accountants) and, as soon as practicable after the end of each
of the first three quarters of each fiscal year (beginning with the
fiscal quarter ending after the effective date of the Registration
Statement), to make available to its stockholders consolidated summary
financial information of the Company and its subsidiaries for such
quarter in reasonable detail;
(g) During a period of five years from the effective date of
the Registration Statement, to furnish to you copies of all reports or
other communications (financial or other) furnished to stockholders,
and to deliver to you (i) as soon as they are available, copies of any
reports and financial statements furnished to or filed with the
Commission or any national securities exchange on which any class of
securities of the Company is listed; and (ii) such additional
information concerning the business and financial condition of the
Company as you may from time to time reasonably request (such financial
statements to be on a consolidated basis to the extent the accounts of
the Company and its subsidiaries are consolidated in reports furnished
to its stockholders generally or to the Commission);
(h) To use the net proceeds received by it from the sale of
the Shares pursuant to this Agreement in the manner specified in the
Prospectus under the caption "Use of Proceeds";
(i) To use its best efforts to list, subject to notice of
issuance, the Shares on the New York Stock Exchange (the "Exchange");
(j) To file with the Commission such information on Form 10-Q
or Form 10-K as may be required by Rule 463 under the Act;
(k) If the Company elects to rely upon Rule 462(b), the
Company shall file a Rule 462(b) Registration Statement with the
Commission in compliance with Rule 462(b) by 10:00
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p.m., Washington, D.C. time, on the date of this Agreement, and the
Company shall at the time of filing either pay to the Commission the
filing fee for the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement or give
irrevocable instructions for the payment of such fee pursuant to Rule
111(b) under the Act; and
(l) Upon request of any Underwriter, to furnish, or cause to
be furnished, to such Underwriter an electronic version of the
Company's trademarks, servicemarks and corporate logo for use on the
website, if any, operated by such Underwriter for the purpose of
facilitating the on-line offering of the Shares (the "License");
provided, however, that the License shall be used solely for the
purpose described above, is granted without any fee and may not be
assigned or transferred.
6. The Company covenants and agrees with the several Underwriters that
the Company will pay or cause to be paid the following: (i) the fees,
disbursements and expenses of the Company's counsel and accountants in
connection with the registration of the Shares under the Act and all other
expenses in connection with the preparation, printing and filing of the
Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus and
amendments and supplements thereto and the mailing and delivering of copies
thereof to the Underwriters and dealers; (ii) the cost of printing or producing
any Agreement among Underwriters, this Agreement, the Blue Sky Memorandum,
closing documents (including any compilations thereof) and any other documents
in connection with the offering, purchase, sale and delivery of the Shares;
(iii) all expenses in connection with the qualification of the Shares for
offering and sale under state securities laws as provided in Section 6(b)
hereof, including the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in
connection with such qualification and in connection with the Blue Sky survey;
(iv) all fees and expenses in connection with listing the Shares on the New York
Stock Exchange; (v) the filing fees incident to, and the fees and disbursements
of counsel for the Underwriters in connection with, securing any required review
by the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. of the terms of the sale
of the Shares; (vi) the cost of preparing stock certificates; (vii) the cost and
charges of any transfer agent or registrar; and (viii) all other costs and
expenses incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder which are not
otherwise specifically provided for in this Section. It is understood, however,
that, except as provided in this Section, and Sections 8 and 11 hereof, the
Underwriters will pay all of their own costs and expenses, including the fees of
their counsel, stock transfer taxes on resale of any of the Shares by them, and
any advertising expenses connected with any offers they may make.
7. The obligations of the Underwriters hereunder, as to the Shares to
be delivered at each Time of Delivery, shall be subject, in their discretion, to
the condition that all representations and warranties and other statements of
the Company herein are, at and as of such Time of Delivery, true and correct,
the condition that the Company shall have performed all of its obligations
hereunder theretofore to be performed, and the following additional conditions:
(a) The Prospectus shall have been filed with the Commission
pursuant to Rule 424(b) within the applicable time period prescribed
for such filing by the rules and regulations under the Act and in
accordance with Section 6(a) hereof; if the Company has elected to rely
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upon Rule 462(b), the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement shall have
become effective by 10:00 p.m., Washington, D.C. time, on the date of
this Agreement; no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the
Registration Statement or any part thereof shall have been issued and
no proceeding for that purpose shall have been initiated or threatened
by the Commission; and all requests for additional information on the
part of the Commission shall have been complied with to your reasonable
satisfaction;
(b) Baker Botts L.L.P., counsel for the Underwriters, shall
have furnished to you such written opinion or opinions dated such Time
of Delivery, with respect to the matters covered in paragraphs (i),
(ii), (vii), (xi), (xiii) and the final unnumbered paragraph of
subsection (c) below as well as such other related matters as you may
reasonably request, and such counsel shall have received such papers
and information as they may reasonably request to enable them to pass
upon such matters;
(c) Kelly, Hart & Hallman P.C., counsel for the Company, shall
have furnished to you their written opinion dated such Time of
Delivery, in form and substance satisfactory to you, to the effect
that:
(i) The Company has been duly incorporated, validly
exists and is in good standing under the laws of the State of
Delaware, with corporate power and authority to own its
properties and conduct its business as described in the
Prospectus;
(ii) The Company has an authorized capitalization as
set forth in the Prospectus, and all of the issued shares of
capital stock of the Company (including the Shares being
delivered at such Time of Delivery) have been duly and validly
authorized and issued and are fully paid and non-assessable;
and the Shares conform to the description of the Stock
contained in the Prospectus;
(iii) The Company is qualified as a foreign
corporation for the transaction of business and is in good
standing under the laws of the State of Texas and such other
states as are set forth in such opinion, and such counsel has
no knowledge that the nature of the properties of the Company
or the conduct of its business requires qualification in other
jurisdictions, except jurisdictions in which the Company is
subject to no material liability or disability by reason of
failure to be so qualified in any such jurisdiction;
(iv) Each subsidiary of the Company that is a
corporation has been duly incorporated, validly exists and is
in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of
incorporation; and all of the issued shares of capital stock
of each such subsidiary have been duly and validly authorized
and issued, are fully paid and non-assessable, and are owned
of record by the Company, directly or through one or more
subsidiaries, and such counsel has no knowledge (except as set
forth in the Prospectus) of any adverse claim (within the
meaning of Article 8 of the Uniform Commercial Code) thereto;
11
<PAGE> 12
Draft of December 12, 2000
(v) Each subsidiary of the Company that is a limited
partnership exists as a limited partnership under the laws of
the State of Texas; all of the outstanding partnership
interests have been duly authorized, are fully paid without
the requirement of additional consideration, are validly
issued and entitle the holders thereof to the benefits of the
respective limited partnership agreements relating thereto and
are owned of record by the Company directly or through one or
more subsidiaries and such counsel has no knowledge (except as
set forth in the Prospectus) of any perfected liens,
encumbrances, equities or claims thereto by any other person;
(vi) Such counsel has no knowledge, other than as set
forth in the Prospectus, of any pending threatened or
contemplated legal or governmental proceedings to which the
Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or of which any
property of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is the
subject which, if determined adversely to the Company or any
of its subsidiaries, would individually or in the aggregate
have a material adverse effect on the current or future
consolidated financial position, stockholders' equity or
results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries;
(vii) This Agreement has been duly authorized,
executed and delivered by the Company;
(viii) The issue and sale of the Shares being
delivered at such Time of Delivery by the Company and the
compliance by the Company with all of the provisions of this
Agreement and the consummation of the transactions herein
contemplated will not conflict with or result in a breach or
violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute
a default under, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan
agreement or other agreement or instrument known to such
counsel to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a
party or by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is
bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company
or any of its subsidiaries is subject, nor will such action
result in any violation of the provisions of the Certificate
of Incorporation or By-laws of the Company or any statute or
any order, rule or regulation known to such counsel of any
court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over
the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their
properties;
(ix) No consent, approval, authorization, order,
registration or qualification of or with any such court or
governmental agency or body is required for the issue and sale
of the Shares or the consummation by the Company of the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except the
registration under the Act of the Shares, and such consents,
approvals, authorizations, registrations or qualifications as
may be required under state securities or Blue Sky laws in
connection with the purchase and distribution of the Shares by
the Underwriters;
12
<PAGE> 13
Draft of December 12, 2000
(x) Such counsel has no knowledge that the Company or
any of its subsidiaries is in violation of its Certificate of
Incorporation or By-laws or in default in the performance or
observance of any material obligation, agreement, covenant or
condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust,
loan agreement, lease or other agreement or instrument to
which it is a party or by which it or any of its properties
may be bound;
(xi) The statements set forth in the Prospectus under
the caption "Description of Capital Stock", insofar as they
purport to constitute a summary of the terms of the Stock and
under the caption "Underwriting", insofar as they purport to
describe the provisions of the laws and documents referred to
therein, are correct in all material respects;
(xii) The Company is not an "investment company", as
such term is defined in the Investment Company Act; and (xiii)
The Registration Statement and the Prospectus and any further
amendments and supplements thereto made by the Company prior
to such Time of Delivery (other than the financial statements,
notes thereto and related schedules therein, and the
information that is extracted from the reports of Miller and
Lents, Ltd. pertaining to oil and natural gas reserves that is
included therein, as to which such counsel need express no
opinion) comply as to form in all material respects with the
requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations
thereunder.
In addition to the opinions set forth above, such
opinion also shall include a statement to the effect that
although such counsel does not assume any responsibility for
the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the statements
contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus,
except for those referred to in the opinion in subsection (xi)
of this Section 8(c), nothing has come to their attention that
would cause them to believe that, as of its effective date,
the Registration Statement or any further amendment thereto
made by the Company prior to such Time of Delivery (other than
the financial statements, notes thereto and related schedules
therein, and the information that is extracted from the
reports of Miller and Lents, Ltd. pertaining to oil and
natural gas reserves that is included therein, as to which
such counsel need express no opinion) contained an untrue
statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material
fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the
statements therein not misleading or that, as of its date, the
Prospectus or any further amendment or supplement thereto made
by the Company prior to such Time of Delivery (other than the
financial statements, notes thereto and related schedules
therein, and the information that is extracted from the
reports of Miller and Lents, Ltd. pertaining to oil and
natural gas reserves that is included therein, as to which
such counsel need express no opinion) contained an untrue
statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material
fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of
the circumstances under which
13
<PAGE> 14
Draft of December 12, 2000
they were made, not misleading, or that, as of such Time of
Delivery, either the Registration Statement or the Prospectus
or any further amendment or supplement thereto made by the
Company prior to such Time of Delivery (other than the
financial statements, notes thereto and related schedules
therein, and the information that is extracted from the
reports of Miller and Lents, Ltd. pertaining to oil and
natural gas reserves that is included therein, as to which
such counsel need express no opinion) contains an untrue
statement of a material fact or omits to state a material fact
necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the
circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and
they do not know of any amendment to the Registration
Statement required to be filed or of any contracts or other
documents of a character required to be filed as an exhibit to
the Registration Statement or required to be described in the
Registration Statement or the Prospectus which are not filed
or described as required;
(d) On the date of the Prospectus at a time prior to the
execution of this Agreement, at 9:30 a.m., New York City time, on the
effective date of any post-effective amendment to the Registration
Statement filed subsequent to the date of this Agreement and also at
each Time of Delivery, Arthur Andersen LLP shall have furnished to you
a letter or letters, dated the respective dates of delivery thereof, in
form and substance satisfactory to you, to the effect set forth in
Annex I hereto (the executed copy of the letter delivered prior to the
execution of this Agreement is attached as Annex I(a) hereto and a
draft of the form of letter to be delivered on the effective date of
any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement and as of
each Time of Delivery is attached as Annex I(b) hereto);
(e) The Company shall have furnished to the Representatives a
letter of Miller & Lentz, Ltd., addressed to the Representatives and
dated each Time of Delivery confirming that they are independent
petroleum engineering firm with respect to the Company, and confirming
in all material respects their review of the Company's oil and gas
reserves as described in the Prospectus.
(f) (i) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries shall
have sustained since the date of the latest audited financial
statements included in the Prospectus any loss or interference with its
business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not
covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or
governmental action, order or decree, otherwise than as set forth or
contemplated in the Prospectus, and (ii) since the respective dates as
of which information is given in the Prospectus there shall not have
been any change in the capital stock or long-term debt of the Company
or any of its subsidiaries or any change, or any development involving
a prospective change, in or affecting the general affairs, management,
financial position, stockholders' equity or results of operations of
the Company and its subsidiaries, otherwise than as set forth or
contemplated in the Prospectus, the effect of which, in any such case
described in clause (i) or (ii), is in the judgment of the
Representatives so material and adverse as to make it impracticable or
inadvisable to proceed with the public
14
<PAGE> 15
Draft of December 12, 2000
offering or the delivery of the Shares being delivered at such Time of
Delivery on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Prospectus;
(g) The Company shall have filed an Amended and Restated
Certificate of Incorporation that recapitalizes the Company as
described in the Prospectus;
(h) On or after the date hereof there shall not have occurred
any of the following: (i) a suspension or material limitation in
trading in securities generally on the New York Stock Exchange; (ii) a
suspension or material limitation in trading in the Company's
securities on the New York Stock Exchange; (iii) a general moratorium
on commercial banking activities declared by either Federal or New York
or Texas authorities; or (iv) the outbreak or escalation of hostilities
involving the United States or the declaration by the United States of
a national emergency or war, if the effect of any such event specified
in this clause (iv) in the judgment of the Representatives makes it
impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or the
delivery of the Shares being delivered at such Time of Delivery on the
terms and in the manner contemplated in the Prospectus;
(i) The Shares to be sold at such Time of Delivery shall have
been duly listed, subject to notice of issuance, on the Exchange;
(j) The Company shall have obtained and delivered to the
Underwriters executed copies of an agreement from [list appropriate
stockholders of the Company], substantially to the effect set forth in
Subsection 6(e) hereof in form and substance satisfactory to you;
(k) The Company shall have complied with the provisions of
Section 6(c) hereof with respect to the furnishing of prospectuses on
the New York Business Day next succeeding the date of this Agreement;
and
(l) The Company shall have furnished or caused to be furnished
to you at such Time of Delivery certificates of officers of the Company
satisfactory to you as to the accuracy of the representations and
warranties of the Company herein at and as of such Time of Delivery, as
to the performance by the Company of all of its obligations hereunder
to be performed at or prior to such Time of Delivery, as to the matters
set forth in subsections (a) and (e) of this Section and as to such
other matters as you may reasonably request.
8. (a) The Company will indemnify and hold harmless each
Underwriter against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint
or several, to which such Underwriter may become subject, under the Act
or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities
(or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an
untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact
contained in any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement or
the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or arise out of
or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a
material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the
statements therein not misleading, and will reimburse each Underwriter
for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such Underwriter
in connection with
15
<PAGE> 16
Draft of December 12, 2000
investigating or defending any such action or claim as such expenses
are incurred; provided, however, that the Company shall not be liable
in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage or
liability arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement or alleged
untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in any
Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or
any such amendment or supplement in reliance upon and in conformity
with written information furnished to the Company by any Underwriter
through Goldman, Sachs & Co. expressly for use therein.
(b) Each Underwriter will indemnify and hold harmless the
Company against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which the
Company may become subject, under the Act or otherwise, insofar as such
losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof)
arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue
statement of a material fact contained in any Preliminary Prospectus,
the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or any amendment or
supplement thereto, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or
alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated
therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, in
each case to the extent, but only to the extent, that such untrue
statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission
was made in any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement or
the Prospectus or any such amendment or supplement in reliance upon and
in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by such
Underwriter through Goldman, Sachs & Co. expressly for use therein; and
will reimburse the Company for any legal or other expenses reasonably
incurred by the Company in connection with investigating or defending
any such action or claim as such expenses are incurred.
(c) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under
subsection (a) or (b) above of notice of the commencement of any
action, such indemnified party shall, if a claim in respect thereof is
to be made against the indemnifying party under such subsection, notify
the indemnifying party in writing of the commencement thereof; but the
omission so to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from
any liability which it may have to any indemnified party otherwise than
under such subsection. In case any such action shall be brought against
any indemnified party and it shall notify the indemnifying party of the
commencement thereof, the indemnifying party shall be entitled to
participate therein and, to the extent that it shall wish, jointly with
any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense
thereof, with counsel satisfactory to such indemnified party (who shall
not, except with the consent of the indemnified party, be counsel to
the indemnifying party), and, after notice from the indemnifying party
to such indemnified party of its election so to assume the defense
thereof, the indemnifying party shall not be liable to such indemnified
party under such subsection for any legal expenses of other counsel or
any other expenses, in each case subsequently incurred by such
indemnified party, in connection with the defense thereof other than
reasonable costs of investigation. No indemnifying party shall, without
the written consent of the indemnified party, effect the settlement or
compromise of, or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to,
any pending or threatened action or claim in respect of which
indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder (whether or not
the indemnified party is an actual or potential party to such
16
<PAGE> 17
Draft of December 12, 2000
action or claim) unless such settlement, compromise or judgment (i)
includes an unconditional release of the indemnified party from all
liability arising out of such action or claim and (ii) does not include
a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to
act, by or on behalf of any indemnified party.
(d) If the indemnification provided for in this Section 8 is
unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party
under subsection (a) or (b) above in respect of any losses, claims,
damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to
therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the amount
paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of such losses,
claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) in such
proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received
by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other from
the offering of the Shares. If, however, the allocation provided by the
immediately preceding sentence is not permitted by applicable law or if
the indemnified party failed to give the notice required under
subsection (c) above, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to
such amount paid or payable by such indemnified party in such
proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only such relative benefits
but also the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and the
Underwriters on the other in connection with the statements or
omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities
(or actions in respect thereof), as well as any other relevant
equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company
on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other shall be deemed to be
in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the offering
(before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total
underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters, in
each case as set forth in the table on the cover page of the
Prospectus. The relative fault shall be determined by reference to,
among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a
material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material
fact relates to information supplied by the Company on the one hand or
the Underwriters on the other and the parties' relative intent,
knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent
such statement or omission. The Company and the Underwriters agree that
it would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this
subsection (d) were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the
Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any
other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable
considerations referred to above in this subsection (d). The amount
paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the losses,
claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred
to above in this subsection (d) shall be deemed to include any legal or
other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in
connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection (d), no Underwriter
shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by
which the total price at which the Shares underwritten by it and
distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount
of any damages which such Underwriter has otherwise been required to
pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or
alleged omission. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation
(within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Act) shall be entitled to
contribution from any person who was not guilty of such
17
<PAGE> 18
Draft of December 12, 2000
fraudulent misrepresentation. The Underwriters' obligations in this
subsection (d) to contribute are several in proportion to their
respective underwriting obligations and not joint.
(e) The obligations of the Company under this Section 8 shall
be in addition to any liability which the Company may otherwise have
and shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to each person,
if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of the Act; and
the obligations of the Underwriters under this Section 8 shall be in
addition to any liability which the respective Underwriters may
otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to
each officer and director of the Company (including any person who,
with his or her consent, is named in the Registration Statement as
about to become a director of the Company) and to each person, if any,
who controls the Company within the meaning of the Act.
9. (a) If any Underwriter shall default in its obligation to
purchase the Shares which it has agreed to purchase hereunder at a Time
of Delivery, you may in your discretion arrange for you or another
party or other parties to purchase such Shares on the terms contained
herein. If within thirty-six hours after such default by any
Underwriter you do not arrange for the purchase of such Shares, then
the Company shall be entitled to a further period of thirty-six hours
within which to procure another party or other parties satisfactory to
you to purchase such Shares on such terms. In the event that, within
the respective prescribed periods, you notify the Company that you have
so arranged for the purchase of such Shares, or the Company notifies
you that it has so arranged for the purchase of such Shares, you or the
Company shall have the right to postpone such Time of Delivery for a
period of not more than seven days, in order to effect whatever changes
may thereby be made necessary in the Registration Statement or the
Prospectus, or in any other documents or arrangements, and the Company
agrees to file promptly any amendments to the Registration Statement or
the Prospectus which in your opinion may thereby be made necessary. The
term "Underwriter" as used in this Agreement shall include any person
substituted under this Section with like effect as if such person had
originally been a party to this Agreement with respect to such Shares.
(b) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the
purchase of the Shares of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by
you and the Company as provided in subsection (a) above, the aggregate
number of such Shares which remains unpurchased does not exceed
one-eleventh of the aggregate number of all the Shares to be purchased
at such Time of Delivery, then the Company shall have the right to
require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase the number of
shares which such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder at such Time
of Delivery and, in addition, to require each non-defaulting
Underwriter to purchase its pro rata share (based on the number of
Shares which such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder) of the
Shares of such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters for which such
arrangements have not been made; but nothing herein shall relieve a
defaulting Underwriter from liability for its default.
(c) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the
purchase of the Shares of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by
you and the Company as provided in subsection (a)
18
<PAGE> 19
Draft of December 12, 2000
above, the aggregate number of such Shares which remains unpurchased
exceeds one-eleventh of the aggregate number of all the Shares to be
purchased at such Time of Delivery, or if the Company shall not
exercise the right described in subsection (c) above to require
non-defaulting Underwriters to purchase Shares of a defaulting
Underwriter or Underwriters, then this Agreement (or, with respect to
the Second Time of Delivery, the obligations of the Underwriters to
purchase and of the Company to sell the Optional Shares) shall
thereupon terminate, without liability on the part of any
non-defaulting Underwriter or the Company, except for the expenses to
be borne by the Company and the Underwriters as provided in Section 6
hereof and the indemnity and contribution agreements in Section 8
hereof; but nothing herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter from
liability for its default.
10. The respective indemnities, agreements, representations,
warranties and other statements of the Company and the several Underwriters, as
set forth in this Agreement or made by or on behalf of them, respectively,
pursuant to this Agreement, shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of
any investigation (or any statement as to the results thereof) made by or on
behalf of any Underwriter or any controlling person of any Underwriter, or the
Company, or any officer or director or controlling person of the Company, and
shall survive delivery of and payment for the Shares.
11. If this Agreement shall be terminated pursuant to Section 9
hereof, the Company shall not then be under any liability to any Underwriter
except as provided in Sections 6 and 8 hereof; but, if for any other reason, any
Shares are not delivered by or on behalf of the Company as provided herein, the
Company will reimburse the Underwriters through you for all out-of-pocket
expenses approved in writing by you, including fees and disbursements of
counsel, reasonably incurred by the Underwriters in making preparations for the
purchase, sale and delivery of the Shares not so delivered, but the Company
shall then be under no further liability to any Underwriter except as provided
in Sections 6 and 8 hereof.
12. In all dealings hereunder, you shall act on behalf of each of the
Underwriters, and the parties hereto shall be entitled to act and rely upon any
statement, request, notice or agreement on behalf of any Underwriter made or
given by you jointly or by Goldman, Sachs & Co. on behalf of you as the
representatives.
All statements, requests, notices and agreements hereunder shall
be in writing, and if to the Underwriters shall be delivered or sent by mail,
telex or facsimile transmission to you as the representatives in care of
Goldman, Sachs & Co. at 32 Old Slip, 21st Floor, New York, New York 10005,
Attention: Registration Department; and if to the Company shall be delivered or
sent by mail to the address of the Company set forth in the Registration
Statement, Attention: Secretary; provided, however, that any notice to an
Underwriter pursuant to Section 9(c) hereof shall be delivered or sent by mail,
telex or facsimile transmission to such Underwriter at its address set forth in
its Underwriters' Questionnaire, or telex constituting such Questionnaire, which
address will be supplied to the Company by you upon request. Any such
statements, requests, notices or agreements shall take effect upon receipt
thereof.
19
<PAGE> 20
Draft of December 12, 2000
13. This Agreement shall be binding upon, and inure solely to the
benefit of, the Underwriters, the Company and, to the extent provided in
Sections 8 and 10 hereof, the officers and directors of the Company and each
person who controls the Company or any Underwriter, and their respective heirs,
executors, administrators, successors and assigns, and no other person shall
acquire or have any right under or by virtue of this Agreement. No purchaser of
any of the Shares from any Underwriter shall be deemed a successor or assign by
reason merely of such purchase.
14. Time shall be of the essence of this Agreement. As used herein,
the term "business day" shall mean any day when the Commission's office in
Washington, D.C. is open for business.
15. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance
with the laws of the State of New York.
16. This Agreement may be executed by any one or more of the parties
hereto in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an
original, but all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same
instrument.
If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding, please
sign and return to us ten counterparts hereof, and upon the acceptance hereof by
you, on behalf of each of the Underwriters, this letter and such acceptance
hereof shall constitute a binding agreement between each of the Underwriters and
the Company. It is understood that your acceptance of this letter on behalf of
each of the Underwriters is pursuant to the authority set forth in an Agreement
among Underwriters, the form of which shall be submitted to the Company for
examination upon request, but without warranty on your part as to the authority
of the signers thereof.
Very truly yours,
Encore Acquisition Company
By:
-------------------------------------
Name:
Title:
Accepted as of the date hereof:
Goldman, Sachs & Co.,
Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation,
Dain Rauscher Incorporated, and
Petrie Parkman & Co., Inc.
20
<PAGE> 21
Draft of December 12, 2000
By:
--------------------------------------
Goldman, Sachs & Co.
On behalf of each of the Underwriters
21
<PAGE> 22
Draft of December 12, 2000
SCHEDULE I
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
NUMBER OF OPTIONAL
SHARES TO BE
TOTAL NUMBER OF PURCHASED IF
FIRM SHARES MAXIMUM OPTION
UNDERWRITER TO BE PURCHASED EXERCISED
----------- --------------- ---------
<S> <C> <C>
Goldman, Sachs & Co............................
Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation.........
Dain Rauscher Incorporated.....................
Petrie Parkman & Co., Inc......................
----------------- ----------------------
Total...................................
================= ======================
</TABLE>
22
<PAGE> 23
Draft of December 12, 2000
ANNEX I
[FORM OF ANNEX I DESCRIPTION OF COMFORT LETTER
FOR REGISTRATION STATEMENTS ON FORM S-1]
Pursuant to Section 8(d) of the Underwriting Agreement, the accountants
shall furnish letters to the Underwriters to the effect that:
(i) They are independent certified public accountants with
respect to the Company and its subsidiaries within the meaning of the
Act and the applicable published rules and regulations thereunder;
(ii) In their opinion, the financial statements and any
supplementary financial information and schedules (and, if applicable,
financial forecasts and/or pro forma financial information) examined by
them and included in the Prospectus or the Registration Statement
comply as to form in all material respects with the applicable
accounting requirements of the Act and the related published rules and
regulations thereunder; and, if applicable, they have made a review in
accordance with standards established by the American Institute of
Certified Public Accountants of the unaudited consolidated interim
financial statements, selected financial data, pro forma financial
information, financial forecasts and/or condensed financial statements
derived from audited financial statements of the Company for the
periods specified in such letter, as indicated in their reports
thereon, copies of which have been separately furnished to the
representatives of the Underwriters (the "Representatives");
(iii) They have made a review in accordance with standards
established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
of the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of income,
consolidated balance sheets and consolidated statements of cash flows
included in the Prospectus as indicated in their reports thereon copies
of which have been separately furnished to the Representatives and on
the basis of specified procedures including inquiries of officials of
the Company who have responsibility for financial and accounting
matters regarding whether the unaudited condensed consolidated
financial statements referred to in paragraph (vi)(A)(i) below comply
as to form in all material respects with the applicable accounting
requirements of the Act and the related published rules and
regulations, nothing came to their attention that causes them to
believe that the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements
do not comply as to form in all material respects with the applicable
accounting requirements of the Act and the related published rules and
regulations;
(iv) The unaudited selected financial information with respect
to the consolidated results of operations and financial position of the
Company for the two most recent fiscal years included in the Prospectus
agrees with the corresponding amounts (after restatements where
applicable) in the audited consolidated financial statements for such
two fiscal years;
<PAGE> 24
Draft of December 12, 2000
(v) They have compared the information in the Prospectus under
selected captions with the disclosure requirements of Regulation S-K
and on the basis of limited procedures specified in such letter nothing
came to their attention as a result of the foregoing procedures that
caused them to believe that this information does not conform in all
material respects with the disclosure requirements of Items 301, 302,
402 and 503(d), respectively, of Regulation S-K;
(vi) On the basis of limited procedures, not constituting an
examination in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards,
consisting of a reading of the unaudited financial statements and other
information referred to below, a reading of the latest available
interim financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries,
inspection of the minute books of the Company and its subsidiaries
since the date of the latest audited financial statements included in
the Prospectus, inquiries of officials of the Company and its
subsidiaries responsible for financial and accounting matters and such
other inquiries and procedures as may be specified in such letter,
nothing came to their attention that caused them to believe that:
(A) (i) the unaudited consolidated statements of
income, consolidated balance sheets and consolidated
statements of cash flows included in the Prospectus do not
comply as to form in all material respects with the applicable
accounting requirements of the Act and the related published
rules and regulations, or (ii) any material modifications
should be made to the unaudited condensed consolidated
statements of income, consolidated balance sheets and
consolidated statements of cash flows included in the
Prospectus for them to be in conformity with generally
accepted accounting principles;
(B) any other unaudited income statement data and
balance sheet items included in the Prospectus do not agree
with the corresponding items in the unaudited consolidated
financial statements from which such data and items were
derived, and any such unaudited data and items were not
determined on a basis substantially consistent with the basis
for the corresponding amounts in the audited consolidated
financial statements included in the Prospectus;
(C) the unaudited financial statements which were not
included in the Prospectus but from which were derived any
unaudited condensed financial statements referred to in clause
(A) and any unaudited income statement data and balance sheet
items included in the Prospectus and referred to in clause (B)
were not determined on a basis substantially consistent with
the basis for the audited consolidated financial statements
included in the Prospectus;
(D) any unaudited pro forma consolidated condensed
financial statements included in the Prospectus do not comply
as to form in all material respects with the applicable
accounting requirements of the Act and the published rules and
<PAGE> 25
Draft of December 12, 2000
regulations thereunder or the pro forma adjustments have not
been properly applied to the historical amounts in the
compilation of those statements;
(E) as of a specified date not more than five days
prior to the date of such letter, there have been any changes
in the consolidated capital stock (other than issuances of
capital stock upon exercise of options and stock appreciation
rights, upon earn-outs of performance shares and upon
conversions of convertible securities, in each case which were
outstanding on the date of the latest financial statements
included in the Prospectus) or any increase in the
consolidated long-term debt of the Company and its
subsidiaries, or any decreases in consolidated net current
assets or stockholders' equity or other items specified by the
Representatives, or any increases in any items specified by
the Representatives, in each case as compared with amounts
shown in the latest balance sheet included in the Prospectus,
except in each case for changes, increases or decreases which
the Prospectus discloses have occurred or may occur or which
are described in such letter; and
(F) for the period from the date of the latest
financial statements included in the Prospectus to the
specified date referred to in clause (E) there were any
decreases in consolidated net revenues or operating profit or
the total or per share amounts of consolidated net income or
other items specified by the Representatives, or any increases
in any items specified by the Representatives, in each case as
compared with the comparable period of the preceding year and
with any other period of corresponding length specified by the
Representatives, except in each case for decreases or
increases which the Prospectus discloses have occurred or may
occur or which are described in such letter; and
(vii) In addition to the examination referred to in their
report(s) included in the Prospectus and the limited procedures,
inspection of minute books, inquiries and other procedures referred to
in paragraphs (iii) and (vi) above, they have carried out certain
specified procedures, not constituting an examination in accordance
with generally accepted auditing standards, with respect to certain
amounts, percentages and financial information specified by the
Representatives, which are derived from the general accounting records
of the Company and its subsidiaries, which appear in the Prospectus, or
in Part II of, or in exhibits and schedules to, the Registration
Statement specified by the Representatives, and have compared certain
of such amounts, percentages and financial information with the
accounting records of the Company and its subsidiaries and have found
them to be in agreement
