The Merger Agreement contains termination rights for each of MRC Global and DNOW, including, among others, if the consummation of the First Merger does not occur on or before June 26, 2026 (subject to two potential extensions to September 26, 2026 and December 26, 2026 if the required regulatory approvals have not been received but all other conditions to closing have been satisfied or waived (except for those conditions that by their nature are to be satisfied at closing)). Additionally, the Merger Agreement permits either party, subject to compliance with certain requirements and payment of a termination fee (described below), to terminate the Merger Agreement to enter into a definitive agreement for a superior alternative acquisition proposal.
Upon termination of the Merger Agreement under specified circumstances, including, among others, the (1) termination by either party to enter into a definitive agreement for a superior alternative acquisition proposal, (2) termination by either party in the event of a change of recommendation by the respective board of directors, (3) termination by either party because the other party, its subsidiaries or any of its directors or officers materially breached its non-solicitation obligations or (4) termination by either party for enumerated reasons, followed by entry into a definitive agreement for an alternative proposal within nine months of such termination, the applicable party would be required to pay a termination fee to the other party of $45.5 million. In addition, under certain circumstances, if the Merger Agreement is terminated because of a failure of one party’s stockholders to approve the proposals necessary to consummate the Merger, such party will be required to pay the other party up to $8.5 million for reimbursement of transaction expenses incurred. In no event will either party be entitled to receive more than one termination fee, net of any expense reimbursement.
The Merger Agreement provides that, upon consummation of the Merger, DNOW’s board of directors shall be comprised of ten directors, including two directors selected from MRC Global’s board of directors by DNOW prior to closing.
The foregoing description of the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby in this Current Report on Form 8-K is only a summary, does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Merger Agreement, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 2.1 hereto and incorporated by reference herein.
The Merger Agreement has been included to provide investors with information regarding its terms. It is not intended to provide any other factual information about MRC Global, Merger Sub, LLC Sub or DNOW. The representations, warranties and covenants contained in the Merger Agreement were made only for purposes of the Merger Agreement as of the specific dates therein, were solely for the benefit of the parties to the Merger Agreement, may be subject to limitations agreed upon by the contracting parties, including being qualified by confidential disclosures made for the purposes of allocating contractual risk between the parties to the Merger Agreement instead of establishing these matters as facts, and may be subject to standards of materiality applicable to the contracting parties that differ from those applicable to investors. Investors are not third-party beneficiaries under the Merger Agreement and should not rely on the representations, warranties and covenants or any descriptions thereof as characterizations of the actual state of facts or condition of the parties thereto or any of their respective subsidiaries or affiliates. Moreover, information concerning the subject matter of representations and warranties may change after the date of the Merger Agreement, which subsequent information may or may not be fully reflected in MRC Global’s or DNOW’s public disclosures.
| Item 5.02. |
Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers. |
On June 26, 2025, MRC Global entered into an omnibus amendment (“Omnibus Amendment”) with each of Daniel J. Churay, Grant Bates and John P. McCarthy (the “NEOs”) to the Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement, dated as of February 6, 2023, the Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement, dated as of February 7, 2024, the Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement, dated as of March 12, 2025, the Performance Share Unit Award Agreement, dated as of February 6, 2023, the Performance Share Unit Award Agreement, dated as of February 7, 2024 and the Performance Share Unit Award Agreement, dated as of March 12, 2025, pursuant to which the foregoing award agreements were amended to provide for an extension of the post-termination restricted period with respect to the NEOs’ non-competition covenants from eighteen (18) to twenty-four (24) months, in the case of Mr. Churay, and from twelve (12) to eighteen (18) months, in the case of Messrs. Bates and McCarthy.
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