All statements, requests, notices and agreements hereunder shall be in writing, and if to the Underwriters shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to the Representatives in care of BofA Securities, Inc., 1540 Broadway, NY8-540-26-02, New York, NY 10036, Attention: High Grade Debt Capital Markets Transaction Management/Legal, Fax: 212-901-7881; Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282-2198, Attention: Registration Department; J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, 383 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10179, Attention: Investment Grade Syndicate Desk, Telephone: 212-834-4533, Fax: 212-834-6081; TD Securities (USA) LLC, 1 Vanderbilt Avenue, 12th Floor, New York, New York 10017, United States of America, Attention: Transaction Management Group, Email: USTMG@tdsecurities.com and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, 550 South Tryon Street 5th Floor, Charlotte, North Carolina 28202, Attention: Transaction Management, Email: tmgcapitalmarkets@wellsfargo.com; and if to the Company shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to the address of the Company or the Guarantors set forth in the Registration Statement, Attention: Secretary; provided, however, that any notice to an Underwriter pursuant to Section 9(c) hereof shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to such Underwriter at its address set forth in its Underwriters’ Questionnaire, or telex constituting such Questionnaire, which address will be supplied to the Company by the Representatives upon request. Any such statements, requests, notices or agreements shall take effect upon receipt thereof.
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 and the Guarantors, 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.
14. This Agreement shall be binding upon, and inure solely to the benefit of, the Underwriters, the Company and the Guarantors and, to the extent provided in Sections 9 and 11 hereof, the officers and directors of the Company and the Guarantors and each person who controls the Company, any Guarantor or any Underwriter, and their respective heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns, and no other person shall acquire or have any right under or by virtue of this Agreement. No purchaser of any of the Securities from any Underwriter shall be deemed a successor or assign by reason merely of such purchase.
15. Time shall be of the essence of this Agreement. As used herein, the term “business day” shall mean any day when the Commission’s office in Washington, D.C. is open for business.
16. The Company and the Guarantors acknowledge and agree that (i) the purchase and sale of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement is an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the Company and the Guarantors, on the one hand, and the several Underwriters, on the other, (ii) in connection therewith and with the process leading to such transaction each Underwriter is acting solely as a principal and not the agent or fiduciary of the Company or any Guarantor, (iii) no Underwriter has assumed an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company or any Guarantor with respect to the offering contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether such Underwriter has advised or is currently advising the Company or any Guarantor on other matters) or any other obligation to the Company or any Guarantor except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement and (iv) the Company and the Guarantors have consulted their own legal and financial advisors to the extent they deemed appropriate. The Company and the Guarantors agree that they will not claim that the Underwriters, or any of them, has rendered advisory services of any nature or respect, or owes a fiduciary or similar duty to the Company or any Guarantor, in connection with such transaction or the process leading thereto.
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