Form of Underwriting Agreement

EX-1.1 2 dex11.htm FORM OF UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT Form of Underwriting Agreement

Exhibit 1.1

NORANDA ALUMINUM HOLDING CORPORATION

(a Delaware corporation)

[—] Shares of Common Stock

UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

Dated: [—], 2010

NORANDA ALUMINUM HOLDING CORPORATION

(a Delaware corporation)

[—] Shares of Common Stock

UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

[—], 2010

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith

Incorporated

Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated

Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC

Goldman, Sachs & Co.

UBS Securities LLC

as Representatives of the several underwriters named in Schedule A hereto

c/o Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith

Incorporated

One Bryant Park

New York, New York 10036

c/o Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated

1585 Broadway

New York, New York 10036

c/o Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

388 Greenwich Street

New York, New York 10013

c/o Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC

Eleven Madison Avenue

New York, New York 10010

c/o Goldman, Sachs & Co.

200 West Street

New York, NY 10282

c/o UBS Securities LLC

299 Park Avenue

New York, New York 10171-0006

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), confirms its agreement with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (“Merrill Lynch”) and each of the other Underwriters named in Schedule A hereto (collectively, the “Underwriters,” which term shall also include any underwriter substituted as hereinafter provided in Section 10 hereof), for whom Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated (“Morgan Stanley”), Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Goldman, Sachs & Co., and UBS Securities LLC are acting as representatives (in such capacity, the “Representatives”), with respect to (i) the sale by the Company, and the purchase by the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, of the respective numbers of shares of Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company (“Common Stock”) set forth in Schedule A hereto and (ii) the grant by the Company to the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, of the option described in Section 2(b) hereof to purchase all or any part of [—] additional shares of Common Stock to cover overallotments, if any. The aforesaid [—] shares of Common Stock to be purchased by the Underwriters (the “Initial Securities”) and all or any part of the [—] shares of Common Stock subject to the option described in Section 2(b) hereof (the “Option Securities”) are hereinafter called, collectively, the “Securities.”

The Company understands that the Underwriters propose to make a public offering of the Securities as soon as the Representatives deem advisable after this Agreement has been executed and delivered.

The Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) a registration statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-170620), including the related preliminary prospectus or prospectuses, covering the registration of the sale of the Securities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”). Promptly after execution and delivery of this Agreement, the Company will prepare and file a prospectus in accordance with the provisions of Rule 430A (“Rule 430A”) of the rules and regulations of the Commission under the 1933 Act (the “1933 Act Regulations”) and Rule 424(b) (“Rule 424(b)”) of the 1933 Act Regulations. The information included in such prospectus that was

omitted from such registration statement at the time it became effective but that is deemed to be part of such registration statement at the time it became effective pursuant to Rule 430A(b) is herein called the “Rule 430A Information.” Each prospectus used prior to the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, and each prospectus that omitted the Rule 430A Information, that was used after such effectiveness and prior to the execution and delivery of this Agreement, is herein called a “preliminary prospectus.” Such registration statement, including the amendments thereto, the exhibits thereto and any schedules thereto and including the Rule 430A Information, is herein called the “Registration Statement.” Any registration statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the 1933 Act Regulations is herein called the “Rule 462(b) Registration Statement” and, after such filing, the term “Registration Statement” shall include the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement. The final prospectus, in the form furnished to the Underwriters by the Company for use in connection with the offering of the Securities, is herein called the “Prospectus.” For purposes of this Agreement, all references to the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing shall be deemed to include the copy filed with the Commission pursuant to its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system (“EDGAR”).

All references in this Agreement to financial statements and schedules and other information which is “contained,” “included” or “stated” in the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus (or other references of like import) shall include all such financial statements and schedules and other information which is deemed by 1933 Act Regulations to be a part of or included in the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be, prior to the execution and delivery of this Agreement; and all references in this Agreement to amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus shall include the filing of any document under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”) which is incorporated by reference in or otherwise deemed by 1933 Act Regulations to be a part of or included in the Registration Statement, such preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be, at or after the execution and delivery of this Agreement.

SECTION 1. Representations and Warranties.

(a) Representations and Warranties by the Company. The Company represents and warrants to each Underwriter as of the date hereof, the Applicable Time (as defined below), the Closing Time (as defined below), and any Date of Delivery (as defined below), and agrees with each Underwriter, as follows:

(i) Compliance with Registration Requirements. Each of the Registration Statement and any amendment thereto has become effective under the 1933 Act. No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto has been issued under the 1933 Act, no order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus or Prospectus has been issued and no proceedings for any of those purposes have been instituted or are pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, are contemplated by the Commission.

At the respective times the Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement and any post-effective amendments thereto became effective and at the Closing Time (and, if any Option Securities are purchased, at the Date of Delivery), the Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement and any amendments and supplements thereto complied, complies and will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations and did not, does not and will 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 not misleading. Neither the Prospectus nor any amendments or supplements

thereto (including any prospectus wrapper), considered together, at the time the Prospectus or any such amendment or supplement was issued and at the Closing Time (and, if any Option Securities are purchased, at the Date of Delivery), included, includes or will include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted, omits or will omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

At the Applicable Time (as defined below), neither (x) the Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectus(es) (as defined below) issued at or prior to the Applicable Time and the Statutory Prospectus (as defined below) as of the Applicable Time and the information included on Schedule B-1 hereto, all considered together (collectively, the “General Disclosure Package”), nor (y) any individual Issuer Limited Use Free Writing Prospectus, when considered together with the General Disclosure Package, included, includes or will include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted, omits or will omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

As used in this subsection and elsewhere in this Agreement:

“Applicable Time” means [[—] p./a.m.] (New York City time) on [—], 2010, or such other time as agreed by the Company and the Representatives.

“Statutory Prospectus” as of any time means the prospectus relating to the Securities that is included in the Registration Statement immediately prior to that time, including any document incorporated by reference therein.

“Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433 of the 1933 Act Regulations (“Rule 433”), including without limitation any “free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 405 of the 1933 Act Regulations (“Rule 405”)) relating to the Securities that is (i) required to be filed with the Commission by the Company, (ii) a “road show that is a written communication” within the meaning of Rule 433(d)(8)(i), whether or not required to be filed with the Commission, or (iii) exempt from filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i) because it contains a description of the Securities or of the offering that does not reflect the final terms, in each case in the form filed or required to be filed with the Commission or, if not required to be filed, in the form retained in the Company’s records pursuant to Rule 433(g).

“Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectus” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is intended for general distribution to prospective investors (other than a “bona fide electronic road show,” as defined in Rule 433 (the “Bona Fide Electronic Road Show”), as evidenced by its being specified in Schedule B-2 hereto.

“Issuer Limited Use Free Writing Prospectus” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is not an Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectus.

Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as of its issue date and at all subsequent times through the completion of the public offer and sale of the Securities or until any earlier date that the Company notified or notifies the Representatives, did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, and any preliminary or other prospectus deemed to be a part thereof that has not been superseded or modified.

The representations and warranties in this subsection shall not apply to statements in or omissions from the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by any Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein. [For purposes of this Agreement, the only information so furnished shall be the information in the first paragraph under the heading “Underwriting–Commissions and Discounts,” the information in the second, third and fourth paragraphs under the heading “Underwriting–Price Stabilization, Short Positions and Penalty Bids” and the information under the heading “Underwriting–Electronic Offer, Sale and Distribution of Shares” in the Prospectus] (collectively, the “Underwriter Information”).

Each preliminary prospectus (including the prospectus filed as part of the Registration Statement as originally filed or as part of any amendment thereto) complied when so filed in all material respects with the 1933 Act Regulations and each preliminary prospectus and the Prospectus delivered to the Underwriters for use in connection with this offering was identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.

At the time of filing the Registration Statement, any 462(b) Registration Statement and any post-effective amendments thereto, at the earliest time thereafter that the Company or another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) of the 1933 Act Regulations) of the Securities and at the date hereof, the Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer,” as defined in Rule 405, without taking account of any determination by the Commission pursuant to Rule 405 that it is not necessary that the Company be considered an ineligible issuer.

(ii) Independent Accountants. The accountants who certified the financial statements and supporting schedules included in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus are independent registered public accountants with respect to the Company and its subsidiaries within the applicable rules and regulations adopted by the Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) and as required by the 1933 Act, the 1933 Act Regulations, the 1934 Act and the 1934 Act Regulations.

(iii) Financial Statements. The financial statements, together with the related schedules and notes, included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus present fairly in all material respects the financial position of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries at the dates indicated and the statements of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries for the periods specified; except as disclosed in such financial statements or the notes thereto in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, or elsewhere in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, said financial statements have been prepared in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved; provided, however, that those financial statements that are unaudited do not contain all footnotes that may be required under GAAP for annual financial statements. The supporting schedules, if any, included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus present fairly in all material respects, and in accordance with GAAP (other than as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus), the information required to be stated therein. The selected financial data and the summary financial information included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus present fairly in all material respects the information shown therein and have been compiled on a basis consistent with that of

the audited financial statements included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. The pro forma financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries and the related notes thereto included in each of the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus present fairly in all material respects the information shown therein, have been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines with respect to pro forma financial statements and have been properly compiled on the bases described therein, and the assumptions used in the preparation thereof are reasonable and the adjustments used therein are appropriate to give effect to the transactions and circumstances referred to therein. Except as included therein, no historical or pro forma financial statements or supporting schedules are required to be included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus under the 1933 Act or the 1933 Act Regulations. All disclosures contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of the Commission) comply with Regulation G of the 1934 Act and Item 10 of Regulation S-K of the 1933 Act, to the extent applicable.

(iv) No Material Adverse Change in Business. Since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, except as otherwise stated therein, (A) there has been no material adverse change, or any development involving a prospective material adverse change in the business, properties, management, financial position or results of operations of the Company and the subsidiaries of the Company taken as a whole (a “Material Adverse Effect”), and (B) there has been no dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made by the Company on any class of its capital stock.

(v) Good Standing of the Company. The Company has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the state of Delaware and has corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement; and the Company is duly qualified as a foreign corporation to transact business and is in good standing in each other jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure so to qualify or to be in good standing would not result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(vi) Good Standing of Subsidiaries. Each “significant subsidiary” of the Company (as such term is defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X) (each a “Subsidiary” and, collectively, the “Subsidiaries”) has been duly organized and is validly existing in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization, has corporate or similar power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and is duly qualified as a foreign corporation to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure so to qualify or to be in good standing would not result in a Material Adverse Effect. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of each Subsidiary has been duly authorized and validly issued, is fully paid and non-assessable and is owned by the Company, directly or through subsidiaries, free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance or claim, other than as contemplated by the (1) Credit Agreement, dated as of May 18, 2007, as amended, among the Company, Noranda Aluminum Acquisition Corporation, the lenders party thereto from time to time, Merrill Lynch

Capital Corporation, as Administrative Agent and the other parties thereto; (2) Indenture, dated May 18, 2007, as amended, by and among Noranda Aluminum Acquisition Corporation, the Guarantors named therein, and Wells Fargo Bank, as Trustee; and (3) liens, encumbrances or defects in place as of the date hereof in connection with other debt outstanding as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package, in the case of each of (1) through (3) as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package. None of the outstanding shares of capital stock of any Subsidiary was issued in violation of any preemptive or similar rights of any securityholder of such Subsidiary.

(vii) Capitalization. The authorized, issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company are as set forth in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus in the column entitled “Historical” under the caption “Capitalization” (except for subsequent issuances, if any, pursuant to this Agreement, pursuant to reservations, agreements or employee benefit plans referred to in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or pursuant to the exercise of convertible securities or options referred to in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus). All of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and non-assessable. None of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company was issued in violation of the preemptive or other similar rights of any securityholder of the Company.

(viii) Authorization of Agreement. This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.

(ix) Registration Rights. There are no persons with registration rights or other similar rights to have any securities registered pursuant to the Registration Statement or otherwise registered by the Company under the 1933 Act, other than those rights that have been disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and have not been exercised.

(x) Authorization and Description of the Securities. The Securities to be purchased by the Underwriters from the Company have been duly authorized for issuance and sale to the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement and, when issued and delivered by the Company pursuant to this Agreement against payment of the consideration set forth herein, will be validly issued and fully paid and non assessable; and the issuance of the Securities is not subject to the preemptive or other similar rights of any securityholder of the Company. The Common Stock conforms in all material respects to all statements relating thereto contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and such description conforms in all material respects to the rights set forth in the instruments defining the same; no holder of the Securities will be subject to personal liability solely by reason of being such a holder.

(xi) Absence of Violations, Defaults and Conflicts. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in (A) violation of its charter, by-laws or similar organizational documents or (B) default in the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any contract, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan or credit agreement, note, lease or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which it or any of them may be bound or to which any of the properties or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject (collectively, “Agreements and Instruments”), except for such defaults that would not result in a Material Adverse Effect. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein and in the Registration Statement, General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (including the issuance and sale of the Securities and the use of the proceeds from the sale of the Securities as described therein under the caption “Use of Proceeds”) and compliance by the Company with its

obligations hereunder have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action and do not and will not, whether with or without the giving of notice or passage of time or both, conflict with or constitute a breach of, or default or Repayment Event (as defined below) under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any properties or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries pursuant to, (i) the Agreements and Instruments, (ii) the charter, by-laws, or similar organizational instruments of the Company or any of its subsidiaries (iii) or any law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any government, government instrumentality or court, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their assets, properties or operations (a “Governmental Entity”); other than, with respect to (i) and (iii) such conflicts, breaches or defaults or Repayment Events or liens, charges or encumbrances that, singly or in the aggregate, would not result in a Material Adverse Effect. As used herein, a “Repayment Event” means any event or condition which gives the holder of any note, debenture or other evidence of indebtedness (or any person acting on such holder’s behalf) the right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a portion of such indebtedness by the Company or any of its subsidiaries.

(xii) Absence of Labor Dispute. No labor dispute with the employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is imminent which would result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(xiii) Absence of Proceedings. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there is no action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation before or brought by any Governmental Entity now pending, or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, against or affecting the Company or any of its subsidiaries which is required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement, General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or which would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, or which would reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect the properties or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or the consummation of the transactions contemplated in this Agreement or the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder. The aggregate of all pending legal or governmental proceedings to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or of which any of their respective properties or assets is the subject which are not described in the Registration Statement, General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus including ordinary routine litigation incidental to the business, would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(xiv) Accuracy of Exhibits. There are no contracts or documents which are required to be described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus which have not been so described and there are no contracts or documents which are required to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement which have not been filed as required, except for those exhibits subject to a Confidential Treatment Request granted by the Commission on March 6, 2009, May 13, 2010 and October 4, 2010.

(xv) Absence of Manipulation. Neither the Company nor any affiliate of the Company has taken, nor does the Company or any affiliate have any intention to take, directly or indirectly, any action which is designed, or which would reasonably be expected, to cause or result in, or which has constituted, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Securities.

(xvi) Possession of Intellectual Property. The Company and its subsidiaries own or possess, or can acquire on reasonable terms, adequate patents, patent rights, licenses, inventions, copyrights, know how (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable

proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures), trademarks, service marks, trade names or other intellectual property (collectively, “Intellectual Property”) necessary to carry on the business now operated by them, and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any written notice of any infringement of or conflict with asserted rights of others with respect to any Intellectual Property, and which infringement or conflict or invalidity or inadequacy, singly or in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(xvii) Absence of Further Requirements. No filing with, or authorization, approval, consent, license, order, registration, qualification or decree of, any Governmental Entity is necessary or required for the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder, in connection with the offering, issuance or sale of the Securities hereunder or the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement except (A) such as may be required under the 1933 Act or the 1934 Act, state securities or “Blue Sky” laws, in each case, in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, (B) such as will have been obtained on or prior to the Closing Time or (C) such consents, approvals, authorizations, or orders as would not materially adversely affect the Underwriters and as would not have a Material Adverse Effect.

(xviii) Possession of Licenses and Permits. The Company and its subsidiaries possess such permits, licenses, approvals, consents and other authorizations (collectively, “Governmental Licenses”) issued by the appropriate Governmental Entities necessary to conduct the business now operated by them, except where the failure so to possess would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect. The Company and its subsidiaries are in compliance with the terms and conditions of all Governmental Licenses, except where the failure so to comply would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect. All of the Governmental Licenses are valid and in full force and effect, except where the invalidity of such Governmental Licenses or the failure of such Governmental Licenses to be in full force and effect would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any written notice of proceedings which are outstanding or unresolved relating to the revocation or modification of any such Governmental Licenses which, singly or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(xix) Title to Property. The Company and its subsidiaries have good and marketable title to all real property owned in fee by the Company and its subsidiaries, and good title to all other tangible property owned by them, in each case, free and clear of all mortgages, pledges, liens, security interests, claims, restrictions or encumbrances (except for customary easements and rights of way) of any kind except (A) such as are described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, (B) for security interests securing Agreements and Instruments described in the Registration Statement, General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or (C) such as do not, singly or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; and all of the leases and subleases which are in the aggregate material to the business of the Company and its subsidiaries, considered as one enterprise, and under which the Company or any of its subsidiaries holds tangible property described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, are in full force and effect, and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any written notice of any material claim that has been asserted by anyone adverse to the rights of the Company or any of its subsidiaries under any of the leases or subleases mentioned above, which claim would individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

(xx) Environmental Laws. Except as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and except for such matters as would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect, (A) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in violation of any federal, state, local or foreign statute, law, rule, regulation, ordinance, code, policy or rule of common law or any judicial or administrative interpretation thereof, including any judicial or administrative order, consent, decree or judgment, relating to pollution or protection of human health, the environment (including, without limitation, ambient air, surface water, groundwater, land surface or subsurface strata) or wildlife, including, without limitation, laws and regulations relating to the release or threatened release of chemicals, pollutants, contaminants, wastes, toxic substances, hazardous substances, petroleum or petroleum products, asbestos-containing materials or mold (collectively, “Hazardous Materials”) or to the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal, transport or handling of Hazardous Materials (collectively, “Environmental Laws”), (B) the Company and its subsidiaries have all permits, authorizations and approvals required under any applicable Environmental Laws and are each in compliance with their requirements, and (C) there are no pending administrative, regulatory or judicial actions, suits, demands, demand letters, claims, liens, notices of noncompliance or violation, investigations or proceedings relating to any Environmental Law against the Company or any of its subsidiaries.

(xxi) Accounting Controls and Disclosure Controls. The Company and each of its subsidiaries maintain effective internal control over financial reporting (as defined under Rule 13-a15 and 15d-15 under the 1934 Act Regulations) and a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (A) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (B) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain accountability for assets; (C) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (D) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. Except as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, since the end of the Company’s most recent audited fiscal year, there has been (1) no material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (whether or not remediated) and (2) no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. The Company and its consolidated subsidiaries employ disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the 1934 Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms, and is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its principal executive officer or officers and principal financial officer or officers, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding disclosure.

(xxii) Compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. There is and has been no failure on the part of the Company or any of the Company’s directors or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply in all material respects with any provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder or in connection therewith (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), applicable to the Company, including Section 402 related to loans and Sections 302 and 906 related to certifications.

(xxiii) Tax Matters. Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect: (1) all tax returns of the Company and its subsidiaries required by law to be filed have been filed and all taxes shown by such returns or otherwise assessed, which are due

and payable, have been paid, except, in each case, with respect to matters contested in good faith or for which adequate reserves have been provided, in accordance with GAAP and (2) the charges, accruals and reserves on the books of the Company and its subsidiaries in respect of any income and corporation tax liability for any years not finally determined are adequate under GAAP.

(xxiv) Insurance. The Company and its subsidiaries carry or are entitled to the benefits of insurance in such amounts and covering such risks as is generally maintained by companies of established repute engaged in the same or similar business, and all such insurance is in full force and effect. Neither the Company nor any subsidiary has been denied any insurance coverage which it has sought or for which it has applied.

(xxv) Statistical and Market-Related Data. Any third party statistical and market-related data included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company believes to be reliable and accurate, and the Company has obtained the written consent to the use of such data from such sources to the extent required.

(xxvi) Investment Company Act. The Company is not required, and upon the issuance and sale of the offered Securities as herein contemplated and the application of the net proceeds therefrom as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, will not be required, to register as an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).

(xxvii) Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. None of the Company, any of its subsidiaries or, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee, controlling affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is aware of or has taken any action that would result in a violation by such persons of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (the “FCPA”), including, without limitation, making use of the mails or any means or instrumentality of interstate commerce corruptly in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay or authorization of the payment of any money, or other property, gift, promise to give, or authorization of the giving of anything of value to any “foreign official” (as such term is defined in the FCPA) or any foreign political party or official thereof or any candidate for foreign political office, in contravention of the FCPA and the Company and, to the knowledge of the Company, its affiliates have conducted their businesses in compliance with the FCPA and have instituted and maintain policies and procedures designed to ensure, and which are reasonably expected to continue to ensure, continued compliance therewith.

(xxviii) Money Laundering Laws. The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the money laundering statutes of all jurisdictions in which the Company and its subsidiaries do business, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any Governmental Entity (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”) and no action, suit, or proceeding by or before Governmental Entity involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending, or to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.

(xxix) Related Party Transactions. No relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among any of the Company and its subsidiaries or any affiliate of the Company or its

subsidiaries, on the one hand, and any former or current director, officer, stockholder, customer or supplier of any of them (including any member of their immediate family), on the other hand, which is required by the 1933 Act or by the 1933 Regulations to be described in a registration statement on Form S-1 which is not so described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.

(xxx) Suppliers. No supplier of merchandise to the Company or any of its subsidiaries has ceased shipments to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practices, which cessation would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(xxxi) ERISA. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has incurred any liability for any prohibited transaction or accumulated funding deficiency or any complete or partial withdrawal liability with respect to any pension, profit sharing or other plan which is subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries make a contribution and in which any employee of the Company or any such subsidiary is or has ever been a participant, which would, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. With respect to such plans, the Company and its subsidiaries are in compliance in all material respects with all applicable provisions of ERISA, except where the failure to so comply would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

(xxxii) OFAC. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee or controlling affiliate of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, is currently subject to any sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department (“OFAC”); and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the sale of the Securities, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any of its subsidiaries, joint venture partners or other person or entity, for the purpose of financing the activities of any person currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC.

(xxxiii) Reserved.

(xxxiv) Lending Relationship. Except as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company does not intend to use any of the proceeds from the sale of the Securities to repay any outstanding debt owed to any affiliate of any Underwriter.

(b) Reserved.

(c) Officer’s Certificates. Any certificate signed by any officer of the Company or any of its subsidiaries delivered to the Representatives or to counsel for the Underwriters shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company to each Underwriter as to the matters covered thereby.

SECTION 2. Sale and Delivery to Underwriters; Closing.

(a) Initial Securities. On the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company agrees to sell to each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, and each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, agrees to purchase from the Company and at the price per share set forth in Schedule A, that number of Initial Securities set forth in Schedule A opposite the name of such Underwriter, plus any additional number of Initial Securities which such Underwriter may become obligated to purchase pursuant to the provisions of Section 10 hereof, subject, in each case, to such adjustments among the Underwriters as the Representatives in their sole discretion shall make to eliminate any sales or purchases of fractional shares.

(b) Option Securities. In addition, on the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company hereby grants an option to the Underwriters, severally and not jointly, to purchase up to an additional [—] shares of Common Stock, at the price per share set forth in Schedule A, less an amount per share equal to any dividends or distributions declared by the Company and payable on the Initial Securities but not payable on the Option Securities. The option hereby granted may be exercised on or before the day that is 30 days after the date hereof and may be exercised in whole or in part from time to time only for the purpose of covering overallotments made in connection with the offering and distribution of the Initial Securities upon notice by the Representatives to the Company setting forth the number of Option Securities as to which the several Underwriters are then exercising the option and the time and date of payment and delivery for such Option Securities. Any such time and date of delivery (a “Date of Delivery”) shall be determined by the Representatives, but shall not be later than seven full business days after the exercise of said option, nor in any event prior to the Closing Time. If the option is exercised as to all or any portion of the Option Securities, each of the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, will purchase that proportion of the total number of Option Securities then being purchased which the number of Initial Securities set forth in Schedule A opposite the name of such Underwriter bears to the total number of Initial Securities, subject in each case to such adjustments as the Representatives in their sole discretion shall make to eliminate any sales or purchases of fractional shares.

(c) Payment. Payment of the purchase price for, and delivery of certificates for, the Initial Securities shall be made at the offices of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP, One New York Plaza, New York, New York, 10004, or at such other place as shall be agreed upon by the Representatives and the Company, at 9:00 a.m., (New York City time) on the third (fourth, if the pricing occurs after 4:30 p.m. (New York City time) on any given day) business day after the date hereof (unless postponed in accordance with the provisions of Section 10), or such other time not later than ten business days after such date as shall be agreed upon by the Representatives and the Company (such time and date of payment and delivery being herein called “Closing Time”).

In addition, in the event that any or all of the Option Securities are purchased by the Underwriters, payment of the purchase price for, and delivery of certificates for, such Option Securities shall be made at the above-mentioned offices, or at such other place as shall be agreed upon by the Representatives and the Company, on each Date of Delivery as specified in the notice from the Representatives to the Company.

Payment shall be made to the Company by wire transfer of immediately available funds to bank accounts designated by the Company against delivery to the Representatives for the respective accounts of the Underwriters of certificates for the Securities to be purchased by them. It is understood that each Underwriter has authorized the Representatives, for their accounts, to accept delivery of, receipt for, and make payment of the purchase price for, the Initial Securities and the Option Securities, if any, which it has agreed to purchase. Merrill Lynch, individually and not as representative of the Underwriters, may (but shall not be obligated to) make payment of the purchase price for the Initial Securities or the Option Securities, if any, to be purchased by any Underwriter whose funds have not been received by the Closing Time or the relevant Date of Delivery, as the case may be, but such payment shall not relieve such Underwriter from its obligations hereunder.

(d) Denominations; Registration. Certificates for the Initial Securities and the Option Securities, if any, shall be in such denominations and registered in such names as the Representatives may request in writing at least one full business day before the Closing Time or the relevant Date of Delivery,

as the case may be. The certificates for the Initial Securities and the Option Securities, if any, will be made available for examination and packaging by the Representatives in The City of New York not later than 10:00 a.m. (New York City time) on the business day prior to the Closing Time or the relevant Date of Delivery, as the case may be.

SECTION 3. Covenants of the Company. The Company covenants with each Underwriter as follows:

(a) Compliance with Securities Regulations and Commission Requests. The Company, subject to Section 3(b), will comply with the requirements of Rule 430A, and will notify in writing the Representatives promptly after receiving notice thereof, (i) when any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement shall become effective, or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus shall have been filed, (ii) of the receipt of any comments from the Commission relating to the Registration Statement, (iii) of any request by the Commission for any amendment to the Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus or for additional information related thereto, (iv) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus, or of the suspension of the qualification of the Securities for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or of the initiation or threatening of any proceedings for any of such purposes or of any examination pursuant to Section 8(e) of the 1933 Act concerning the Registration Statement and (v) if the Company becomes the subject of a proceeding under Section 8A of the 1933 Act in connection with the offering of the Securities. The Company will effect all filings required under Rule 424(b), in the manner and within the time period required by Rule 424(b) (without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8)), and will take such steps as it deems necessary to ascertain promptly whether the form of prospectus transmitted for filing under Rule 424(b) was received for filing by the Commission and, in the event that it was not, it will promptly file such prospectus. The Company will use reasonable efforts to prevent the issuance of any stop order, prevention or suspension and, if any such order is issued, to obtain the lifting thereof as soon as reasonably practicable.

(b) Filing of Amendments and 1934 Act Documents. The Company will give the Representatives notice of its intention to file or prepare any amendment to the Registration Statement (including any filing under Rule 462(b)) or any amendment, supplement or revision to either the prospectus included in the Registration Statement at the time it became effective or to the Prospectus, and will furnish the Representatives with copies of any such documents a reasonable amount of time prior to such proposed filing or use, as the case may be, and will not file or use any such document to which the Representatives or counsel for the Underwriters shall reasonably object. The Company will give the Representatives notice of its intention to make any filings pursuant to the 1934 Act or the 1934 Act Regulations from the Applicable Time to the Closing Time and will furnish the Representatives with copies of any such documents a reasonable amount of time prior to such proposed filing, as the case may be.

(c) Delivery of Registration Statements. The Company has furnished or will deliver to the Representatives and counsel for the Underwriters, without charge, copies of the Registration Statement as originally filed and each amendment thereto (including exhibits filed therewith or incorporated by

reference therein) and, if requested, signed copies of all consents and certificates of experts, and will also deliver to the Representatives, without charge, a conformed copy of the Registration Statement as originally filed and of each amendment thereto (without exhibits) for each of the Underwriters. The copies of the Registration Statement and each amendment thereto furnished to the Underwriters will be identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.

(d) Delivery of Prospectuses. The Company has delivered to each Underwriter, without charge, as many copies of each preliminary prospectus as such Underwriter reasonably requested, and the Company hereby consents to the use of such copies for purposes permitted by the 1933 Act. The Company will furnish to each Underwriter, without charge, during the period when the Prospectus is required to be delivered under the 1933 Act, such number of copies of the Prospectus (as amended or supplemented) as such Underwriter may reasonably request. The Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto furnished to the Underwriters will be identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.

(e) Continued Compliance with Securities Laws. The Company will comply with the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations so as to permit the completion of the distribution of the Securities as contemplated in this Agreement and in the Prospectus. If at any time when a prospectus is required by the 1933 Act to be delivered in connection with sales of the Securities, any event shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which it is necessary to amend the Registration Statement or amend or supplement the Prospectus in order that the Prospectus will not include any untrue statements of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading in the light of the circumstances existing at the time it is delivered to a purchaser, or if it shall be necessary at any such time to amend the Registration Statement or amend or supplement the Prospectus in order to comply with the requirements of the 1933 Act or the 1933 Act Regulations, the Company will give prompt notice thereof to the Representatives and, if requested by the Representatives, promptly prepare and file with the Commission, subject to Section 3(b), such amendment or supplement as may be necessary to correct such statement or omission or to make the Registration Statement or the Prospectus comply with such requirements, and the Company will furnish to the Underwriters such number of copies of such amendment or supplement as the Underwriters may reasonably request. If at any time following issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus there occurred or occurs an event or development as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus conflicted or would conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement relating to the Securities or included or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances, existing at that subsequent time, not misleading, the Company will promptly notify the Representatives and will promptly amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to eliminate or correct such conflict, untrue statement or omission.

(f) Blue Sky Qualifications. The Company will use its reasonable best efforts, in cooperation with the Underwriters, to qualify the Securities for offering and sale under the applicable securities laws of such states and other jurisdictions (domestic or foreign) as the Representatives may designate and to maintain such qualifications in effect for a period of not less than one year from the later of the effective date of the Registration Statement and any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement; provided, however, that the Company shall not be obligated to file any general consent to service of process or to qualify as a foreign corporation or as a dealer in securities in any jurisdiction in which it is not so qualified or to subject itself to taxation in respect of doing business in any jurisdiction in which it is not otherwise so subject.

(g) Rule 158. The Company will timely file such reports pursuant to the 1934 Act as are necessary in order to make generally available to its securityholders as soon as practicable an earnings statement for the purposes of, and to provide to the Underwriters the benefits contemplated by, the last paragraph of Section 11(a) of the 1933 Act.

(h) Use of Proceeds. The Company will use the net proceeds received by it from the sale of the Common Stock (including the Securities) in substantially the manner specified in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus under “Use of Proceeds.”

(i) Listing. The Company will use its reasonable best efforts to effect the listing of the Common Stock (including the Securities) on the New York Stock Exchange.

(j) Restriction on Sale of Securities. During a period of 90 days from the date of the Prospectus, the Company will not, without the prior written consent of Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, (i) directly or indirectly, offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase or otherwise transfer or dispose of any share of Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock or file any registration statement under the 1933 Act with respect to any of the foregoing or (ii) enter into any swap or any other agreement or any transaction that transfers, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, the economic consequence of ownership of the Common Stock, whether any such swap or transaction described in clause (i) or (ii) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise. The foregoing sentence shall not apply to (A) the Securities to be sold hereunder, (B) any shares of Common Stock issued by the Company upon the exercise of an option or warrant or the conversion of a security outstanding on the date hereof and referred to in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, (C) any shares of Common Stock issued or options to purchase Common Stock granted pursuant to employee benefit plans of the Company referred to in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, including shares of Common Stock registered on any registration statement on Form S-8 under the 1933 Act with respect to the foregoing, (D) any shares of Common Stock issued pursuant to any non-employee director stock plan or dividend reinvestment plan, including shares of Common Stock registered on any registration statement on Form S-8 under the 1933 Act with respect to the foregoing or (E) any shares of Common Stock issued by the Company to owners of businesses which the Company may acquire in the future, whether by merger, acquisition of assets or capital stock or otherwise, as consideration for the acquisition of such businesses or to management employees of such businesses in connection with such acquisitions; provided that no more than an aggregate of 5% of the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding as of the Closing Time are issued as consideration in connection with all such acquisitions; provided further, that Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley receive a signed lock up agreement in substantially the form of Exhibit A hereto for the balance of the 90-day restricted period (including any 18-day extension thereof as provided for in this clause (i)) from the recipients receiving Common Stock in connection with such acquisitions, including such shares registered on Form S-4 under the 1933 Act. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if (1) during the last 17 days of the 90-day restricted period the Company issues an earnings release or material news or a material event relating to the Company occurs or (2) prior to the expiration of the 90-day restricted period, the Company announces that it will release earnings results or becomes aware that material news or a material event will occur during the 16-day period beginning on the last day of the 90-day restricted period, the restrictions imposed in this clause (j) shall continue to apply until the expiration of the 18-day period beginning on the date of the issuance of the earnings release or the occurrence of the material news or material event unless Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley waive, in writing, such extension.

(k) Reporting Requirements. The Company, during the period when a Prospectus relating to the Securities is (or, but for the exception afforded by Rule 172, would be) required to be delivered under the 1933 Act, will file all documents required to be filed with the Commission pursuant to the 1934 Act within the time periods required by the 1934 Act and 1934 Act Regulations. Additionally, the Company shall report the use of proceeds from the issuance of the Shares as may be required under Rule 463 under the 1933 Act.

(l) Reserved.

(m) Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses. The Company represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior consent of the Representatives, and each Underwriter represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior consent of the Company and the Representatives, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute an “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, or that would otherwise constitute a “free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 405, required to be filed with the Commission. Any such free writing prospectus consented to by the Company and the Representatives is hereinafter referred to as a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus.” The Company represents that it has treated or agrees that it will treat each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, and has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 applicable to any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the Commission where required, legending and record keeping.

SECTION 4. Payment of Expenses.

(a) Expenses. The Company will pay or cause to be paid all expenses incident to the performance of its obligations under this Agreement, including (i) the preparation, printing and filing of the Registration Statement (including financial statements and exhibits) as originally filed and each amendment thereto, (ii) the preparation, printing and delivery to the Underwriters of this Agreement, any Agreement among Underwriters and such other documents as may be required in connection with the offering, purchase, sale or delivery of the Securities, (iii) the preparation, issuance and delivery of the certificates for the Securities to the Underwriters, including any stock or other transfer taxes and any stamp or other duties payable upon the sale, issuance or delivery of the Securities to the Underwriters, (iv) the fees and disbursements of the Company’s counsel, accountants and other advisors (for the avoidance of doubt, the Company will not be responsible for the fees and disbursements of the Underwriters’ counsel, except as provided in (v), (vii), (x) and (xii) below and Section 4(c) hereof), (v) the qualification of the Securities under securities laws in accordance with the provisions of Section 3(f) hereof, including filing fees and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection therewith and in connection with the preparation of the Blue Sky Survey and any supplement thereto, (vi) the printing and delivery to the Underwriters of copies of each preliminary prospectus, any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus and of the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto and any costs associated with electronic delivery of any of the foregoing by the Underwriters to investors, (vii) the preparation, printing and delivery to the Underwriters of copies of the Blue Sky Survey and any supplement thereto, (viii) the fees and expenses of any transfer agent or registrar for the Securities, (ix) the costs and expenses of the Company relating to investor presentations on any “road show” undertaken in connection with the marketing of the Securities including, without limitation, expenses associated with the production of road show slides and graphics, fees and expenses of any consultants engaged in connection with the road show presentations, travel and lodging expenses of the representatives and officers of the Company and any such consultants, and 50% of the cost of aircraft and other transportation chartered in connection with the road show, (x) the filing fees incident to, and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel to the Underwriters in connection with, the review by FINRA of the terms of the sale of the Securities and (xi) the fees and expenses incurred in connection with the listing of the Securities on the New York Stock Exchange.

(b) Reserved.

(c) Termination of Agreement. If this Agreement is terminated by the Representatives in accordance with the provisions of Section 5, Section 9(a)(i) or Section 11 hereof, the Company shall reimburse the Underwriters for all of their reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, including the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters incurred by the Underwriters in making preparations for the purchase, sale and delivery of the Shares not so delivered.

SECTION 5. Conditions of Underwriters’ Obligations. The obligations of the several Underwriters hereunder are subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company contained in Section 1 hereof or in certificates of any officer of the Company or any of its subsidiaries delivered pursuant to the provisions hereof, to the performance by the Company of its covenants and other obligations hereunder, and to the following further conditions:

(a) Effectiveness of Registration Statement; Rule 430A Information. The Registration Statement, including any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, has become effective and at Closing Time no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto has been issued under the 1933 Act, no order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus has been issued and no proceedings for any of those purposes have been instituted or are pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, contemplated by the Commission. A prospectus containing the Rule 430A Information shall have been filed with the Commission in the manner and within the time frame required by Rule 424(b) without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8) or a post-effective amendment providing such information shall have been filed with, and declared effective by, the Commission in accordance with the requirements of Rule 430A.

(b) Opinion of Counsel for Company. At Closing Time, the Representatives shall have received the opinion, dated as of Closing Time, of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, special counsel for the Company, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives.

(c) Opinion of General Counsel for Company. At Closing Time, the Representatives shall have received the opinion, dated as of the Closing Time, of the General Counsel of the Company, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives.

(d) Reserved.

(e) Opinion of Counsel for Underwriters. At Closing Time, the Representatives shall have received the opinion, dated as of Closing Time, of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for each of the other Underwriters. In giving such opinion such counsel may rely, as to all matters governed by the laws of jurisdictions other than the law of the State of New York and the federal law of the United States and the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, upon the opinions of counsel satisfactory to the Representatives. Such counsel may also state that, insofar as such opinion involves factual matters, they have relied, to the extent they deem proper, upon certificates of officers of the Company and its subsidiaries and certificates of public officials.

(f) Officers’ Certificate. At the Closing Time, there shall not have been, since the date hereof or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Prospectus or the General Disclosure Package, any Material Adverse Effect, and the Representatives shall have received a certificate of an executive officer of the Company and of the chief financial or chief accounting officer of the Company, dated as of Closing Time, to the effect that (i) there has been no such Material Adverse Effect, (ii) the representations and warranties in Section 1(a) hereof are true and correct with the same force and effect as though expressly made at and as of Closing Time, (iii) the Company has complied in all respects with all agreements and satisfied in all respects all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied at or prior to Closing Time, and (iv) no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement under the 1933 Act has been issued, no order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus has been issued and no proceedings for any of those purposes have been instituted or are pending or, to their knowledge, contemplated by the Commission.

(g) Reserved.

(h) Accountants’ Comfort Letters. At the time of the execution of this Agreement, the Representatives shall have received from Ernst & Young LLP, Deloitte & Touche LLP (New Orleans), and Deloitte & Touche Chartered Accountants (Jamaica), letters dated such date, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letters for each of the other Underwriters containing statements and information of the type ordinarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters with respect to the financial statements and certain financial information contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.

(i) Bring-down Comfort Letters. At Closing Time, the Representatives shall have received from Ernst & Young LLP, Deloitte & Touche LLP (New Orleans), and Deloitte & Touche Chartered Accountants (Jamaica), letters dated as of Closing Time, to the effect that they reaffirm the statements made in the letters furnished pursuant to subsection (h) of this Section, except that the specified date referred to shall be a date not more than three business days prior to Closing Time.

(j) Approval of Listing. At the Closing Time, the Securities shall have been approved for listing on the New York Stock Exchange, subject only to notice of issuance.

(k) No Objection. FINRA has confirmed that it has not raised any objection with respect to the fairness and reasonableness of the underwriting terms and arrangements, relating to the offering of the Securities.

(l) Lock-up Agreements. At the date of this Agreement, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley shall have received an agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit A hereto signed by the persons listed on Schedule C hereto.

(m) Maintenance of Rating. Since the execution of this Agreement, there shall not have been any decrease in the rating of any securities of the Company or any of its subsidiaries by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization” (as defined for purposes of Rule 436(g) under the 1933 Act) or any notice given of any intended or potential decrease in any such rating or of a possible change in any such rating that does not indicate the direction of the possible change.

(n) Conditions to Purchase of Option Securities. In the event that the Underwriters exercise their option provided in Section 2(b) hereof to purchase all or any portion of the Option Securities, the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein and the statements in any certificates furnished by the Company or any of its subsidiaries hereunder shall be true and correct as of each Date of Delivery and, at the relevant Date of Delivery, the Representatives shall have received:

(i) Officers’ Certificate. A certificate, dated such Date of Delivery, of an executive officer of the Company and of the chief financial or chief accounting officer of the Company confirming that the certificate delivered at the Closing Time pursuant to Section 5(f) hereof remains true and correct as of such Date of Delivery.

(ii) Reserved.

(iii) Opinion of Counsel for Company. The opinion of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, special counsel for the Company, dated such Date of Delivery, relating to the Option Securities to be purchased on such Date of Delivery and otherwise to the same effect as the opinion required by Section 5(b) hereof.

(iv) Opinion of General Counsel for the Company. The opinion of the General Counsel of the Company, dated such Date of Delivery, relating to the Option Securities to be purchased on such Date of Delivery and otherwise to the same effect as the opinion required by Section 5(c).

(v) Reserved.

(vi) Opinion of Counsel for Underwriters. The opinion of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, dated such Date of Delivery, relating to the Option Securities to be purchased on such Date of Delivery and otherwise to the same effect as the opinion required by Section 5(e) hereof.

(vii) Bring-down Comfort Letters. Letters from Ernst & Young LLP, Deloitte & Touche LLP (New Orleans), and Deloitte & Touche Chartered Accountants (Jamaica), dated such Date of Delivery, substantially in the same form and substance as the letters furnished to the Representatives pursuant to Section 5(i) hereof, except that the “specified date” in the letters furnished pursuant to this paragraph shall be a date not more than five days prior to such Date of Delivery.

(o) Additional Documents. At the Closing Time and at each Date of Delivery (if any) counsel for the Underwriters shall have been furnished with such documents as they may reasonably require for the purpose of enabling them to pass upon the issuance and sale of the Securities as herein contemplated, or in order to evidence the accuracy of any of the representations or warranties, or the fulfillment of any of the conditions, herein contained.

(p) Termination of Agreement. If any condition specified in this Section shall not have been fulfilled when and as required to be fulfilled, this Agreement, or, in the case of any condition to the purchase of Option Securities on a Date of Delivery which is after the Closing Time, the obligations of the several Underwriters to purchase the relevant Option Securities, may be terminated by the Representatives by notice to the Company at any time at or prior to Closing Time or such Date of Delivery, as the case may be, and such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except as provided in Section 4 and except that Sections 1, 6, 7, 8, and 18 shall survive any such termination and remain in full force and effect.

SECTION 6. Indemnification.

(a) Indemnification of Underwriters by the Company. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, its affiliates (as such term is defined in Rule 501(b) under the 1933 Act (each, an “Affiliate”)), its selling agents and each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act as follows:

(i) against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred, arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), including the Rule 430A Information, or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading or arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact included (A) in any preliminary prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or

supplement thereto), or (B) in any materials or information provided to investors by, or with the approval of, the Company in connection with the marketing of the offering of the Securities (“Marketing Materials”), including any road show or investor presentations made to investors by the Company (whether in person or electronically), or the omission or alleged omission in any preliminary prospectus, Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, Prospectus or in any Marketing Materials of a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;

(ii) against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred, to the extent of the aggregate amount paid in settlement of any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or of any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission; provided that (subject to Section 6(e) below) any such settlement is effected with the written consent of the Company;

(iii) against any and all expense whatsoever, as incurred (including the fees and disbursements of counsel chosen by Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley), reasonably incurred in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission, to the extent that any such expense is not paid under (i) or (ii) above;

provided, however, that this indemnity agreement shall not apply to any loss, liability, claim, damage or expense to the extent arising out of any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), including the Rule 430A Information, the General Disclosure Package, the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) any preliminary prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or any Marketing Materials in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information.

(b) Reserved.

(c) Indemnification of Company, Directors and Officers by the Underwriters. Each Underwriter severally agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its directors, each of its officers who signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act, against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense described in the indemnity contained in subsection (a) of this Section, as incurred, but only with respect to untrue statements or omissions, or alleged untrue statements or omissions, made in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), including the Rule 430A Information, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information.

(d) Actions against Parties; Notification. Each indemnified party shall give notice as promptly as reasonably practicable to each indemnifying party of any action commenced against it in respect of which indemnity may be sought hereunder, but failure to so notify an indemnifying party shall not relieve such indemnifying party from any liability hereunder to the extent it is not prejudiced as a result thereof and in any event shall not relieve it from any liability which it may have otherwise than on account of this indemnity agreement. In the case of parties indemnified pursuant to Section 6(a) above, counsel to the indemnified parties shall be selected by Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, and, in the case of parties indemnified pursuant to Section 6(c) above, counsel to the indemnified parties shall be selected by the Company. An indemnifying party may participate at its own expense in the defense of any such action; provided, however, that counsel to the indemnifying party shall not (except with the consent of the indemnified

party) also be counsel to the indemnified party. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the indemnifying party may elect in writing to assume the defense of such action or proceeding, and upon such election, the indemnified party shall not be liable for any legal costs subsequently incurred by any indemnified party (other than reasonable costs of investigation and providing evidence) in connection therewith, unless (i) the indemnifying party has failed to provide counsel reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party in a timely manner, (ii) counsel reasonably determines that its representation of such indemnified parties could potentially or would present it with a conflict of interest or (iii) the indemnified parties reasonably determine that there may be legal defenses available to the indemnified parties that are different from or in addition to those available to the indemnifying party. In no event shall the indemnifying parties be liable for fees and expenses of more than one counsel (in addition to any one local counsel in each jurisdiction) separate from their own counsel for all indemnified parties in connection with any one action or separate but similar or related actions in the same jurisdiction arising out of the same general allegations or circumstances. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified parties, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever in respect of which indemnification or contribution could be sought under this Section 6 or Section 7 hereof (whether or not the indemnified parties are actual or potential parties thereto), unless such settlement, compromise or consent (i) includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party from all liability arising out of such litigation, investigation, proceeding 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.

(e) Settlement without Consent if Failure to Reimburse. If at any time an indemnified party shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse the indemnified party for fees and expenses of counsel, such indemnifying party agrees that it shall be liable for any settlement of the nature contemplated by Section 6(a)(ii) effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 45 days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the aforesaid request, (ii) such indemnifying party shall have received notice of the terms of such settlement at least 30 days prior to such settlement being entered into and (iii) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed such indemnified party in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement.

SECTION 7. Contribution. If the indemnification provided for in Section 6 hereof is for any reason unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party in respect of any losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute

to the aggregate amount of such losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses incurred by such indemnified party, as incurred, (i) 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 hand, from the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and of the Underwriters, on the other hand, in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses, 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 hand, in connection with the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the total net proceeds from the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement (before deducting expenses) received by the Company, on the one hand, and the total underwriting discount received by the Underwriters, on the other hand, in each case as set forth on the cover of the Prospectus bear to the aggregate initial public offering price of the Securities as set forth on the cover of the Prospectus.

The relative fault of the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other hand shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether any such untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or by the Underwriters 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 contribution pursuant to this Section 7 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 Section 7. The aggregate amount of losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses incurred by an indemnified party and referred to above in this Section 7 shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 7, no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Securities 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 any 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 1933 Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.

For purposes of this Section 7, each person, if any, who controls an Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act and each Underwriter’s Affiliates and selling agents shall have the same rights to contribution as such Underwriter, and each director of the Company, each officer of the Company, and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act shall have the same rights to

contribution as the Company. The Underwriters’ respective obligations to contribute pursuant to this Section 7 are several in proportion to the number of Initial Securities set forth opposite their respective names in Schedule A hereto and not joint.

SECTION 8. Representations, Warranties and Agreements to Survive. All representations, warranties and agreements contained in this Agreement or in certificates of officers of the Company or any of its subsidiaries submitted pursuant hereto shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of (i) any investigation made by or on behalf of any Underwriter or its Affiliates or selling agents, any person controlling any Underwriter, its officers or directors or any person controlling the Company and (ii) delivery of and payment for the Securities.

SECTION 9. Termination of Agreement.

(a) Termination; General. The Representatives may terminate this Agreement, by notice to the Company, at any time at or prior to Closing Time (i) if there has been since the time of execution of this Agreement or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, a Material Adverse Effect, or (ii) if there has occurred any material adverse change in the financial markets in the United States or the international financial markets, any outbreak of hostilities or escalation thereof or other calamity or crisis or any change or development involving a prospective change in national or international political, financial or economic conditions, in each case the effect of which is such as to make it, in the judgment of the Representatives, impracticable or inadvisable to market the Securities or to enforce contracts for the sale of the Securities, or (iii) if trading generally on the American Stock Exchange or the New York Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ Global Market has been suspended or materially limited, or minimum or maximum prices for trading have been fixed, or maximum ranges for prices have been required, by any of said exchanges or by order of the Commission, FINRA or any other governmental authority, or (iv) a material disruption has occurred in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services in the United States or (v) if a banking moratorium has been declared by either Federal or New York authorities.

(b) Liabilities. If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to this Section, such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except as provided in Section 4 hereof, and provided further that Sections 1, 6, 7, 8, 17 and 18 shall survive such termination and remain in full force and effect.

SECTION 10. Default by One or More of the Underwriters. If one or more of the Underwriters shall fail at the Closing Time or a Date of Delivery to purchase the Securities which it or they are obligated to purchase under this Agreement (the “Defaulted Securities”), the Representatives shall have the right, within 24 hours thereafter, to make arrangements for one or more of the non-defaulting Underwriters, or any other underwriters, to purchase all, but not less than all, of the Defaulted Securities in such amounts as may be agreed upon and upon the terms herein set forth; if, however, the Representatives shall not have completed such arrangements within such 24-hour period, then the Company shall be entitled to a further period of 24 hours within (which may be waived by the Company) which to procure another party or other parties reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives to purchase such Securities on such terms. After giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Securities of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by the Representatives and the Company as provided in the foregoing sentence:

(i) if the number of Defaulted Securities does not exceed 10% of the number of Securities to be purchased on such date, each of the non-defaulting Underwriters shall be obligated, severally and not jointly, to purchase the full amount thereof in the proportions that their respective underwriting obligations hereunder bear to the underwriting obligations of all non-defaulting Underwriters, or

(ii) if the number of Defaulted Securities exceeds 10% of the number of Securities to be purchased on such date, this Agreement or, with respect to any Date of Delivery which occurs after the Closing Time, the obligation of the Underwriters to purchase and of the Company to sell, the Option Securities to be purchased and sold on such Date of Delivery shall terminate without liability on the part of any non-defaulting Underwriter or the Company.

No action taken pursuant to this Section shall relieve any defaulting Underwriter from liability in respect of its default.

In the event of any such default which does not result in a termination of this Agreement or, in the case of a Date of Delivery which is after the Closing Time, which does not result in a termination of the obligation of the Underwriters to purchase and the Company to sell the relevant Option Securities, as the case may be, either the (i) Representatives or (ii) the Company shall have the right to postpone Closing Time or the relevant Date of Delivery, as the case may be, for a period not exceeding seven days in order to effect any required changes in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or in any other documents or arrangements. As used herein, the term “Underwriter” includes any person substituted for an Underwriter under this Section 10.

SECTION 11. Reserved.

SECTION 12. Tax Disclosure. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, immediately upon commencement of discussions with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby, the Company (and each employee, representative or other agent of the Company) may disclose to any and all persons, without limitation of any kind, the tax treatment and tax structure of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and all materials of any kind (including opinions or other tax analyses) that are provided to the Company relating to such tax treatment and tax structure. For purposes of the foregoing, the term “tax treatment” is the purported or claimed federal income tax treatment of the transactions contemplated hereby, and the term “tax structure” includes any fact that may be relevant to understanding the purported or claimed federal income tax treatment of the transactions contemplated hereby.

SECTION 13. Notices. All notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given if mailed or transmitted by any standard form of telecommunication. Notices to the Underwriters shall be directed to Merrill Lynch at One Bryant Park, New York, New York 10036, attention of Syndicate Department, to Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated, 1585 Broadway, New York, New York 10036, attention of ECMS Desk, to Citigroup Global Markets Inc. General Counsel (fax number: (212) 816-7912) and confirmed to the General Counsel, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. at 388 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10013, attention of the General Counsel, to Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC at 11 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10010, attention of LCD-IBD, to Goldman, Sachs & Co. at 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282, attention Registration Department, to UBS Securities LLC, 299 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10171-0026, attention of Syndicate Department, with a copy for information purposes to UBS Securities LLC, 677 Washington Blvd., Stamford, CT (as above) 06901, attention of Legal and Compliance Department, with a copy, which shall not constitute notice, to Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP, One New York Plaza, New York, New York 10004, attention of Valerie Ford Jacob, Esq. Notices to the Company shall be directed to it at 801 Crescent Centre Drive, Suite 600, Franklin, Tennessee 37067, attention of Gail E. Lehman, Esq. with a copy, which shall not constitute notice, to Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, 51 W. 52^nd Street, New York, New York 10019, attention of Andrew S. Nussbaum, Esq.

SECTION 14. No Advisory or Fiduciary Relationship. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (a) the purchase and sale of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement, including the determination of the initial public offering price of the Securities and any related discounts and commissions, is an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the Company, on the one hand, and the several Underwriters, on

the other hand, (b) in connection with the offering of the Securities and the process leading thereto, each Underwriter is and has been acting solely as a principal and is not the agent or fiduciary of the Company, any of its subsidiaries, or its respective stockholders, creditors, employees or any other party, (c) no Underwriter has assumed or will assume an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company with respect to the offering of the Securities or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether such Underwriter has advised or is currently advising the Company or any of its subsidiaries on other matters) and no Underwriter has any obligation to the Company with respect to the offering of the Securities except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement, (d) the Underwriters and their respective affiliates may be engaged in a broad range of transactions that involve interests that differ from those of the Company, and (e) the Underwriters have not provided any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to the offering of the Securities and the Company has consulted its own respective legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate.

SECTION 15. Integration. This Agreement supersedes all prior agreements and understandings (whether written or oral) between the Company and the Underwriters with respect to the subject matter hereof.

SECTION 16. Parties. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Underwriters, the Company and its successors. Nothing expressed or mentioned in this Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give any person, firm or corporation, other than the Underwriters, the Company and its respective successors and the controlling persons and officers and directors referred to in Sections 6 and 7 and their heirs and legal representatives, any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement or any provision herein contained. This Agreement and all conditions and provisions hereof are intended to be for the sole and exclusive benefit of the Underwriters, the Company and its respective successors, and said controlling persons and officers and directors and their heirs and legal representatives, and for the benefit of no other person, firm or corporation. No purchaser of Securities from any Underwriter shall be deemed to be a successor by reason merely of such purchase.

SECTION 17. Trial by Jury. The Company (on its behalf and, to the extent permitted by applicable law, on behalf of its stockholders and affiliates) and each of the Underwriters hereby irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.

SECTION 18. GOVERNING LAW. THIS AGREEMENT AND ANY CLAIM, CONTROVERSY OR DISPUTE ARISING UNDER OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY, AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH, THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK WITHOUT REGARD TO ITS CHOICE OF LAW PROVISIONS.

SECTION 19. TIME. TIME SHALL BE OF THE ESSENCE OF THIS AGREEMENT. EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE SET FORTH HEREIN, SPECIFIED TIMES OF DAY REFER TO NEW YORK CITY TIME.

SECTION 20. Partial Unenforceability. The invalidity or unenforceability of any Section, paragraph or provision of this Agreement shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other Section, paragraph or provision hereof. If any Section, paragraph or provision of this Agreement is for any reason determined to be invalid or unenforceable, there shall be deemed to be made such minor changes (and only such minor changes) as are necessary to make it valid and enforceable.

SECTION 21. Patriot Act. In accordance with the requirements of the USA Patriot Act (Title III of Pub. L. 107-56 (signed into law October 26, 2001)), the underwriters are required to obtain, verify

and record information that identifies their respective clients, including the Company, which information may include the name and address of their respective clients, as well as other information that will allow the underwriters to properly identify their respective clients.

SECTION 22. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed 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 Agreement.

SECTION 23. Effect of Headings. The Section headings herein are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction hereof.

If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement, please sign and return to the Company a counterpart hereof, whereupon this instrument, along with all counterparts, will become a binding agreement among the Underwriters and the Company in accordance with its terms.


Very truly yours,
NORANDA ALUMINUM HOLDING CORPORATION

BY:

CONFIRMED AND ACCEPTED,

as of the date first above written:

MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH

INCORPORATED

MORGAN STANLEY & CO. INCORPORATED

CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKETS INC.

CREDIT SUISSE SECURITIES (USA) LLC

GOLDMAN, SACHS & CO.

UBS SECURITIES LLC


By:		MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED

By:
		Authorized Signatory

By:		MORGAN STANLEY & CO. INCORPORATED

By:
		Name:
		Title:

By:		CREDIT SUISSE SECURITIES (USA) LLC

By:
		Name:
		Title:

By:		CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKETS INC.

By:
		Name:
		Title:

By:		GOLDMAN, SACHS & CO.

By:
		(Goldman, Sachs & Co.)

By:		UBS SECURITIES LLC

By:
		Name:
		Title:

For themselves and as Representatives of the other Underwriters named in Schedule A hereto.

SCHEDULE A

The initial public offering price per share for the Securities shall be $[—].

The purchase price per share for the Securities to be paid by the several Underwriters shall be $[—], being an amount equal to the initial public offering price set forth above less $[—] per share, subject to adjustment in accordance with Section 2(b) for dividends or distributions declared by the Company and payable on the Initial Securities but not payable on the Option Securities.


Name of Underwriter	Number of Initial Securities
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated		[	—]
Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated		[	—]
Citigroup Global Markets Inc.		[	—]
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC		[	—]
Goldman, Sachs & Co.		[	—]
UBS Securities LLC		[	—]
Barclays Capital Inc.		[	—]
Moelis & Company LLC		[	—]

SCHEDULE B-1

NORANDA ALUMINUM HOLDING CORPORATION

[—] Shares of Common Stock

Pricing Terms

1.	The Company is selling [—] shares of Common Stock.

2.	The Company has granted an option to the Underwriters, severally and not jointly, to purchase up to an additional [—] shares of Common Stock.

3.	The initial public offering price per share for the Securities shall be $[—].

SCHEDULE B-2

Free Writing Prospectuses

[None]

Sch B

[SCHEDULE C]

Apollo Investment Fund VI, L.P.

Noranda Holdings, L.P.

Apollo Management VI, L.P.

Apollo Alternative Assets, L.P.

Layle K. Smith

Bill Brooks

Kyle Lorentzen

Robert Mahoney

Alan Brown

D. Keith Gregston

Scott Croft

Gail Lehman

Jon Habisreitinger

Ethan Lane

Richard Lapine

Charles Skoda

Eric L. Press

Gareth Turner

M. Ali Rashid

Matthew H. Nord

Matthew R. Michelini

Scott Kleinman

Alan H. Schumacher

Thomas R. Miklich

Robert Kasdin

Richard B. Evans

Sch C

[Form of lock-up from directors, officers or other stockholders pursuant to Section 5(l)]

Exhibit A

, 2010

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith

Incorporated

Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated

Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC

Goldman, Sachs & Co.

UBS Securities LLC

as Representative of the several

Underwriters to be named in the

within-mentioned Underwriting Agreement

c/o Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith

Incorporated

One Bryant Park

New York, New York 10036

c/o Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated

1585 Broadway

New York, New York 10036

c/o Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

388 Greenwich Street

New York, New York 10013

c/o Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC

Eleven Madison Avenue

New York, New York 10010

c/o Goldman, Sachs & Co.

200 West Street

New York, NY 10282

c/o UBS Securities LLC

299 Park Avenue

New York, New York 10171-0006

Re:

Proposed Public Offering by Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation

Dear Sirs:

The undersigned, a stockholder, officer and/or director of Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), understands that Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (“Merrill Lynch”), Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated (“Morgan Stanley”), Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Goldman, Sachs & Co., and UBS Securities LLC propose to enter into an Underwriting Agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) with the Company providing for the public offering of shares (the “Securities”) of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Common Stock”). In recognition of the benefit that such an offering will confer upon the undersigned as a stockholder, officer and/or director of the Company, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the undersigned agrees with each underwriter to be named in the Underwriting Agreement that, during the period beginning on the date hereof and ending on the date that is 90 days from the date of the Underwriting Agreement (subject to extensions as discussed below), the undersigned will not, without the prior written consent of Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, directly or indirectly, (i) offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant for the sale of, or otherwise dispose of or transfer any shares of the Company’s Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for Common Stock, whether now owned or hereafter acquired by the undersigned or with respect to which the undersigned has or hereafter acquires the power of disposition (collectively, the “Lock-Up Securities”), or exercise any right with respect to the registration of any of the Lock-up Securities, or file or cause to be filed any registration statement in connection therewith, under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or (ii) enter into any swap or any other agreement or any transaction that transfers, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, the economic consequence of ownership of the Lock-Up Securities, whether any such swap or transaction is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or other securities, in cash or otherwise.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, and subject to the conditions below, the undersigned may transfer the Lock-Up Securities without the prior written consent of Merrill Lynch, provided that (1) Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley receive a signed lock-up agreement for the balance of the lockup period from each donee, trustee, distributee, or transferee, as the case may be, (2) any such transfer shall not involve a disposition for value, (3) such transfers are not required to be

A-1

reported with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Form 4 in accordance with Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and (4) the undersigned does not voluntarily effect any public filing or report regarding such transfers:

(a)

as a bona fide gift or gifts; or

(b)

to any trust for the direct or indirect benefit of the undersigned or the immediate family of the undersigned (for purposes of this lock-up agreement, “immediate family” shall mean any relationship by blood, marriage or adoption, not more remote than first cousin); or

(c)

as a distribution to limited partners, members or stockholders of the undersigned; or

(d)

to the undersigned’s affiliates or to any investment fund or other entity controlled or managed by the undersigned.

Furthermore, the undersigned may sell during the 90-day lockup period shares of Common Stock of the Company purchased by the undersigned on the open market following the offering contemplated by the Underwriting Agreement if and only if (i) such sales are not required to be reported in any public report or filing with the Securities Exchange Commission, or otherwise and (ii) the undersigned does not otherwise voluntarily effect any public filing or report regarding such sales.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if:

(1) during the last 17 days of the 90-day lock-up period, the Company issues an earnings release or material news or a material event relating to the Company occurs; or

(2) prior to the expiration of the 90-day lock-up period, the Company announces that it will release earnings results or becomes aware that material news or a material event will occur during the 16-day period beginning on the last day of the 90-day lock-up period,

the restrictions imposed by this lock-up agreement shall continue to apply until the expiration of the 18-day period beginning on the issuance of the earnings release or the occurrence of the material news or material event, as applicable, unless Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley waive, in writing, such extension.

The undersigned agrees that, prior to engaging in any transaction or taking any other action that is subject to the terms of this lock-up agreement during the period from the date of this lock-up agreement to and including the 34^th day following the expiration of the initial 90-day lock-up period, it will give notice thereof to the Company and will not consummate such transaction or take any such action unless it has received written confirmation from the Company that the 90-day lock-up period (as may have been extended pursuant to the previous paragraph) has expired.

The undersigned understands that, if the Underwriting Agreement (other than the provisions thereof that survive termination) shall terminate or be terminated prior to payment for, and delivery of, the Common Stock to be sold thereunder, the undersigned shall be released from all obligations under this lock-up agreement.

The undersigned also agrees and consents to the entry of stop transfer instructions with the Company’s transfer agent and registrar against the transfer of the Lock-Up Securities except in compliance with the foregoing restrictions.

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Very truly yours,

Signature:



Print Name:

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