security holders of such series have a put option, then the provisions described below relating to the notices that NG and/or such debt security holders will be required to provide and the prices (and premium, if any, thereon), at which and the dates on which the affected debt securities may be redeemed will be applicable.
Public Announcement upon Occurrence of Restructuring Event
If the applicable prospectus supplement specifies that debt security holders of such series have a put option, then at any time while any of such debt securities remains outstanding, there occurs a restructuring event (as described further below), we shall make a public announcement of such event. The public announcement will consist of an announcement by us or the trustee, of the occurrence of the restructuring event published in a leading national newspaper having general circulation in the United States (which is expected to be The Wall Street Journal).
Determining whether a Restructuring Event Has Occurred
A “restructuring event” shall be deemed to have occurred when at any time while any of such series of debt securities remain outstanding, the sum of disposal percentages for NG within any consecutive period of 36 months commencing on or after the initial issue date of any such series of debt securities is greater than 50 per cent, as determined by NG.
The “disposal percentages for NG” are calculated, in relation to a sale, transfer, lease or other disposal or dispossession of any disposed assets of NG, the ratio of (a) the aggregate operating profit of disposed assets of NG to (b) the consolidated operating profit of NG, expressed as a percentage.
“Disposed assets of NG” for the purposes of the calculation of disposal percentages for NG means, where NG and/or any of its subsidiaries sells, transfers, leases or otherwise disposes of or is dispossessed by any means (but excluding sales, transfers, leases, disposals or dispossessions which, when taken together with any related lease back or similar arrangements entered into in the ordinary course of business, have the result that the operating profit of NG directly attributable to any such undertaking, property or assets continues to accrue to NG or, as the case may be, such subsidiary), otherwise than to a wholly-owned subsidiary of NG or to NG, of the whole or any part (whether by a single transaction or by a number of transactions whether related or not) of its undertaking or (except in the ordinary course of business of NG or any such subsidiary) property or assets, the undertaking, property or assets sold, transferred, leased or otherwise disposed of or of which it is so dispossessed.
“Operating profit of disposed assets of NG”, in relation to any disposed assets of NG, means the operating profits on ordinary activities before tax and interest (for the avoidance of doubt, exceptional items, as reflected in the relevant accounts of NG, shall not be included) of NG and its subsidiaries directly attributable to such disposed assets as determined in accordance with IFRS by reference to the relevant accounts and, if relevant accounts of NG do not yet exist, determined in a manner consistent with the assumptions upon which the directors’ report of NG is to be based. Where the directors of NG have employed assumptions in determining the operating profit of NG, those assumptions should be clearly stated in the directors’ report of NG;
“Relevant accounts of NG” means the most recent annual audited consolidated financial accounts of NG and its subsidiaries preceding the relevant sale, transfer, lease or other disposal or dispossession of any disposed asset of NG.
“Directors’ report of NG” refers to a report prepared and signed by two directors of NG addressed to the trustee setting out the operating profit of NG, the consolidated operating profit of NG and the disposal percentage for NG and stating any assumptions which the directors of NG have employed in determining the operating profit of NG.
“Consolidated operating profit of NG” means the consolidated operating profit on ordinary activities before tax and interest (for the avoidance of doubt, exceptional items, as reflected in the relevant accounts of NG shall not be included) of NG and its subsidiaries (including any share of operating profit of associates and joint ventures) determined in accordance with IFRS by reference to the relevant accounts of NG.
For the purpose of determining whether a restructuring event has occurred, “subsidiary” means a subsidiary within the meaning of Section 1159 of the Companies Act 2006.
16