UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant
to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): October 22, 2008

H&R Block, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Missouri
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)

44-0607856
(I.R.S. employer identification number)

1-6089
(Commission file number)

One H&R Block Way, Kansas City, MO 64105
(Address of principal executive offices and zip code)

(816) 854-3000
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Not Applicable
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. to Form 8-K):

o		Written communication pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

o		Soliciting materials pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

o		Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

o		Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

 

ITEM 1.01		ENTRY INTO A MATERIAL DEFINITIVE AGREEMENT

     On October 22, 2008, H&R Block, Inc. (the “Company”) entered into a Placement Agent Agreement with Lazard Capital Markets LLC (“LCM”), relating to the offering, issuance and sale of up to an aggregate of 8,285,714 shares of the Company’s common stock, without par value (the “Common Stock”) in a registered direct public offering to selective institutional investors (the “Purchasers”) at a negotiated price of $17.50 per share. A copy of the Placement Agent Agreement is filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

     In connection with the offering, on October 22, 2008, the Company entered into individual subscription agreements with the Purchasers, pursuant to which the Company agreed to sell up to 8,285,714 shares of Common Stock to the Purchasers for an aggregate purchase price of $144,999,995.00. The form of subscription agreement is filed as Exhibit 10.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

     The Company estimates the net proceeds to the Company from the registered direct offering, after deducting placement agent fees and the Company’s anticipated offering expenses, to be approximately $141.6 million. The transaction is expected to close on October 27, 2008, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

     The shares of common stock sold in the offering will be issued pursuant to a prospectus and a prospectus supplement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 22, 2008, in connection with a takedown from the Company’s effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-154611).

     The foregoing summaries of the terms of the Placement Agent Agreement and Subscription Agreements are subject to, and qualified in their entirety by, such documents attached hereto. A copy of the press release announcing the registered direct offering is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 5.03		AMENDMENTS TO ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION OR BYLAWS; CHANGE IN FISCAL YEAR

     On September 4, 2008, at the annual meeting of the shareholders of the Company, the shareholders, upon the recommendation of the Company’s Board of Directors, approved and adopted proposals to amend the Company’s Restated Articles of Incorporation (the “Articles”) to provide for an independent chairman of the Board of Directors, to decrease the permissible number of directors, to impose director term limits and to limit the voting rights of preferred stock that the Board of Directors is authorized to issue. On October 15, 2008, the Board of Directors of the Company approved and adopted a restatement of the Company’s Articles to incorporate into one document all previous amendments to the Articles and the amendments approved by the shareholders on September 4, 2008. The Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation incorporate all amendments to the Company’s Restated Articles of Incorporation previously approved by the Company shareholders, but make no additional amendments or modifications.

     As a result, the Company filed Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation with the Missouri Secretary of State on October 17, 2008. The Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation became effective upon filing. The following discussion is qualified by reference to the Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation, which are filed as Exhibit 3.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K.

ITEM 9.01		FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS

(d) Exhibits.

Exhibit Number			Description
	1.1		Placement Agent Agreement, dated October 22, 2008, between H&R Block, Inc. and Lazard Capital Markets LLC.
	10.1		Form of Subscription Agreement, dated October 22, 2008, entered into between H&R Block, Inc. and each Purchaser.
	3.1		Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation.
	99.1		Press Release Issued October 22, 2008.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

Date: October 22, 2008

8,285,714

October 22, 2008

LAZARD CAPITAL MARKETS LLC
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, New York 10020

Dear Sirs:

     1. Introduction. H&R Block, Inc., a Missouri corporation (the “Company”), proposes to issue and sell to the purchasers, pursuant to the terms and conditions of this Placement Agent Agreement (this “Agreement”) and the Subscription Agreements in the form of Exhibit A attached hereto (the “Subscription Agreements”) entered into with the purchasers identified therein (each a “Purchaser” and collectively, the “Purchasers”), up to an aggregate of 8,285,714 shares of common stock, without par value (the “Common Stock”) of the Company. The aggregate of 8,285,714 shares so proposed to be sold is hereinafter referred to as the “Stock.” The Company hereby confirms that Lazard Capital Markets LLC acted as Placement Agent (“LCM,” or the “Placement Agent”) in accordance with the terms and conditions hereof.

     2. Agreement to Act as Placement Agent; Placement of Securities. On the basis of the representations, warranties and agreements of the Company herein contained, and subject to all the terms and conditions of this Agreement:

     2.1 The Company has authorized and hereby acknowledges that the Placement Agent has acted as its exclusive agent to solicit offers for the purchase of all or part of the Stock from the Company in connection with the proposed offering of the Stock (the “Offering”). Until the Closing Date (as defined in Section 4 hereof), the Company shall not, without the prior written consent of the Placement Agent, solicit or accept offers to purchase Stock otherwise than through the Placement Agent. LCM may utilize the expertise of Lazard Frères & Co. LLC in connection with LCM’s placement agent activities.

     2.2 The Company hereby acknowledges that the Placement Agent, as agent of the Company, used its commercially reasonable best efforts to solicit offers to purchase the Stock from the Company on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Prospectus (as defined below). The Placement Agent has delivered to the Company a list of prospective purchasers of the Stock that have been contacted by the Placement Agent, and which list of purchasers has been previously discussed with the Company. The Placement Agent shall use commercially reasonable efforts to assist the Company in obtaining performance by each Purchaser whose offer to purchase Stock was solicited by

the Placement Agent and accepted by the Company, but the Placement Agent shall not, except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, have any liability to the Company in the event any such purchase is not consummated for any reason. Under no circumstances will the Placement Agent underwrite or purchase any Stock for its own account and, in soliciting purchases of Stock, the Placement Agent acted solely as the Company’s agent and not as principal.

     2.3 Subject to the provisions of this Section 2, offers for the purchase of Stock were solicited by the Placement Agent as agent for the Company at such times and in such amounts as the Placement Agent deemed advisable. The Placement Agent communicated to the Company, orally or in writing, each reasonable offer to purchase Stock received by it as agent of the Company. The Company shall have the sole right to accept offers to purchase the Stock and may reject any such offer, in whole or in part. After receiving consent from the Company, the Placement Agent may reject any offer to purchase Stock received by it, in whole or in part, and any such rejection shall not be deemed a breach of this Agreement.

     2.4 The Stock is being sold to the Purchasers at a price of $17.50 per share. The purchases of the Stock by the Purchasers shall be evidenced by the execution of Subscription Agreements by each of the Purchasers and the Company.

     2.5 As compensation for services rendered, on the Closing Date (as defined in Section 4 hereof), the Company shall pay to the Placement Agent by wire transfer of immediately available funds to an account or accounts designated by the Placement Agent, an aggregate amount equal to three percent (3.0%) of the gross proceeds received by the Company from the sale of the Stock on such Closing Date; provided, however, that no fees shall be payable by the Company in respect of any proceeds in an amount up to an aggregate of $50,000,000 invested by those certain entities set forth on Schedule D hereto.

     2.6 No Stock which the Company has agreed to sell pursuant to this Agreement and the Subscription Agreements shall be deemed to have been purchased and paid for, or sold by the Company, until such Stock shall have been delivered to the Purchaser thereof against payment by such Purchaser. If the Company shall default in its obligations to deliver Stock to a Purchaser whose offer it has accepted, the Company shall indemnify and hold the Placement Agent harmless against any loss, claim, damage or expense arising from or as a result of such default by the Company in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 8(c) herein.

     3. Representations and Warranties of the Company. The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, the Placement Agent and the Purchasers that:

     (a) The Company has prepared and filed in conformity with the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and the published rules and regulations thereunder (the “Rules and Regulations”) adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) an Automatic Shelf Registration Statement (“Automatic Shelf Registration Statement”, as that term is defined in Rule 405 of the

Securities Act) on Form S-3 (File No. 333-154611), which became effective upon filing on October 22, 2008 (the “Effective Date”), including a base prospectus relating to the securities registered pursuant to such Automatic Shelf Registration Statement (the “Base Prospectus”), and such amendments and supplements thereto as may have been required to the date of this Agreement. The term “Registration Statement” as used in this Agreement means the Automatic Shelf Registration Statement (including all exhibits, financial schedules and all documents and information deemed to be a part of the Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 430B of the Rules and Regulations), as amended and/or supplemented to the date of this Agreement, including the Base Prospectus. The Registration Statement, and any post-effective amendment thereto, is effective under the Securities Act and no stop order preventing or suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or suspending or preventing the use of the Prospectus has been issued by the Commission and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or, to the knowledge of the Company, are threatened or contemplated by the Commission, and any request for additional information has been complied with. The Company, if required by the Rules and Regulations of the Commission, will file the Prospectus (as defined below), with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Rules and Regulations. The term “Prospectus” as used in this Agreement means the Prospectus, in the form in which it is to be filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Rules and Regulations, or, if the Prospectus is not to be filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b), the Prospectus in the form included as part of the Registration Statement as of the Effective Date, except that if any revised prospectus or prospectus supplement shall be provided to the Placement Agent by the Company for use in connection with the offering and sale of the Stock which differs from the Prospectus (whether or not such revised prospectus or prospectus supplement is required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Rules and Regulations), the term “Prospectus” shall refer to such revised prospectus or prospectus supplement, as the case may be, from and after the time it is first provided to the Placement Agent for such use. Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus subject to completion included in the Registration Statement or filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424 of the Rules and Regulations is hereafter called a “Preliminary Prospectus.” Any reference herein to the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 which were filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), on or before the last to occur of the Effective Date, the date of the Preliminary Prospectus, or the date of the Prospectus, and any reference herein to the terms “amend,” “amendment,” or “supplement” with respect to the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include (i) the filing of any document under the Exchange Act after the Effective Date, the date of such Preliminary Prospectus or the date of the Prospectus, as the case may be, which is incorporated by reference and (ii) any such document so filed. If the Company has filed an abbreviated registration statement to register additional Stock pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Rules (the “462(b) Registration Statement”), then any reference herein to the Registration Statement shall also be deemed to include such 462(b) Registration Statement.

     (b) As of the date hereof, the Company is, and shall be as of the Closing Date, a Well-Known Seasoned Issuer (“WKSI”), as such term is defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act, and the Rules and Regulations of the Commission thereunder, and is not, and shall not be as of the Closing Date, an Ineligible Issuer (as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act).

     (c) As of the Applicable Time (as defined below) and as of the Closing Date, neither (i) any General Use Free Writing Prospectus (as defined below) issued at or prior to the Applicable Time, and the Pricing Prospectus (as defined below) and the information included on Schedule A hereto, all considered together (collectively, the “General Disclosure Package”), (ii) any individual Limited Use Free Writing Prospectus (as defined below), if any, issued at or prior to the Applicable Time, nor (iii) the bona fide electronic road show (as defined in Rule 433(h)(5) of the Rules and Regulations) that has been made available without restriction to any person, when considered together with the General Disclosure Package, included or will include, any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or as of the Closing Date 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; provided, however, that the Company makes no representations or warranties as to information contained in or omitted from any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, in reliance upon, and in conformity with, written information furnished to the Company by the Placement Agent specifically for inclusion therein, which information the parties hereto agree is limited to the Placement Agent’s Information (as defined in Section 17). As used in this paragraph (b) and elsewhere in this Agreement:

“Applicable Time” means 5:00 P.M., New York time, on the date of this Agreement.

“General Use Free Writing Prospectus” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is identified on Schedule A to this Agreement.

“Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433 of the Rules and Regulations relating to the Stock 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) of the Rules and Regulations.

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

“Pricing Prospectus” means the Preliminary Prospectus, if any, and the Base Prospectus, each as amended and supplemented immediately prior to the Applicable Time, including any document incorporated by reference therein and any prospectus supplement deemed to be a part thereof.

     (d) No order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus relating to the Offering has been issued by the Commission, and no proceeding for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act has been instituted or to our knowledge threatened by the

Commission, and each Preliminary Prospectus, at the time of filing thereof, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act and the Rules and Regulations, and did not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that the Company makes no representations or warranties as to information contained in or omitted from any Preliminary Prospectus, in reliance upon, and in conformity with, written information furnished to the Company by the Placement Agent specifically for inclusion therein, which information the parties hereto agree is limited to the Placement Agent’s Information (as defined in Section 17).

     (e) At the time the Registration Statement became or becomes effective, at the date of this Agreement and at the Closing Date, the Registration Statement conformed and will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act and the Rules and Regulations and did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; the Prospectus, at the time the Prospectus was issued and at the Closing Date, conformed and will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act and the Rules and Regulations and did not and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that the foregoing representations and warranties in this paragraph (e) shall not apply to information contained in or omitted from the Registration Statement or the Prospectus in reliance upon, and in conformity with, written information furnished to the Company by the Placement Agent specifically for inclusion therein, which information the parties hereto agree is limited to the Placement Agent’s Information (as defined in Section 17).

     (f) Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, if any, as of its issue date and at all subsequent times through the completion of the public offer and sale of the Stock or until any earlier date that the Company notified or notifies the Placement Agent as described in Section 5(e), did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, including any document incorporated by reference therein and any prospectus supplement deemed to be a part thereof that has not been superseded or modified, or includes an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances prevailing at the subsequent time, not misleading. The foregoing sentence does not apply to statements in or omissions from any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon, and in conformity with, written information furnished to the Company by the Placement Agent specifically for inclusion therein, which information the parties hereto agree is limited to the Placement Agent’s Information (as defined in Section 17).

     (g) The documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, at the time they were or hereafter are filed with the Commission, complied and will comply in all material respects with the

requirements of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder or the Securities Act, as applicable, and, when read together with the other information in the Prospectus, (i) at the time the Registration Statement became effective, (ii) at the earlier of time the Prospectus was first used and the date and time of the first contract of sale of Stock in this offering and (iii) at the Closing Date, did 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.

     (h) The Company has not, directly or indirectly, distributed and will not distribute any offering material in connection with the Offering other than any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and other materials, if any, permitted under the Securities Act and consistent with Section 5(b) below. The Company will file with the Commission all Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses (other than a “road show,” as defined in Rule 433(d)(8) of the Rules and Regulations), if any, in the time and manner required under Rules 163(b)(2) and 433(d) of the Rules and Regulations.

     (i) The Company has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the state of Missouri and has the corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Prospectus and to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement. The Company owns or controls, directly or indirectly, only the corporations, partnerships, limited liability partnerships, limited liability companies, associations or other entities included in Schedule C annexed hereto.

     (j) Each subsidiary of the Company (as defined in Section 15) has been duly organized and is validly existing as a limited liability company, corporation, or federal savings bank, as applicable, in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, has limited liability company or corporate power and authority, as applicable, to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Prospectus; except as otherwise disclosed in the General Disclosure Package, all of the issued and outstanding capital stock or limited liability company interests, as applicable, of each such subsidiary has been duly authorized and validly issued, is fully paid and non-assessable, as applicable, and is owned by the Company, directly or through subsidiaries, free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance, claim or equity; none of the outstanding shares of capital stock or limited liability company interests, as applicable, of any subsidiary was issued in violation of the preemptive or similar rights of any security-holder of such subsidiary.

     (k) This Agreement, each of the Subscription Agreements and that certain Escrow Agreement, dated as of the date hereof by and among the Company, the Placement Agent and the escrow agent named therein (the “Escrow Agreement”), has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and the Company has the authority to perform and to discharge its obligations hereunder and thereunder, and constitutes a valid and binding obligation of the Company enforceable in accordance with its terms, except as enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors’ and contracting parties’ rights generally and except as enforceability may be subject to general principles of

equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law) and except as to the enforceability of any rights to indemnification or contribution that may be violative of the public policy underlying any law, rule or regulation (including any federal or state securities law, rule or regulation).

     (l) The Stock to be issued and sold by the Company to the Purchasers hereunder and under the Subscription Agreements has been duly and validly authorized and, when issued and delivered against payment therefor as provided herein and the Subscription Agreements, will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and free of any preemptive or similar rights and will conform to the description thereof contained in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.

     (m) The Company has an authorized capitalization as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus, and all of the issued shares of capital stock of the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are fully paid and non-assessable, have been issued in compliance with federal and state securities laws, and conform to the description thereof contained in the General Disclosure Package. None of the outstanding shares of Common Stock was issued in violation of any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities of the Company. There are no authorized or outstanding shares of capital stock, options, warrants, preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other rights to purchase, or equity or debt securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for, any capital stock of the Company or any of its subsidiaries other than those described above or accurately described in the General Disclosure Package. The description of the Company’s stock option, stock bonus and other stock plans or arrangements, and the options or other rights granted thereunder, as described in the General Disclosure Package, accurately and fairly present the information required to be shown with respect to such plans, arrangements, options and rights.

     (n) Except as otherwise disclosed in the General Disclosure Package, all of the issued and outstanding capital stock or limited liability company interests, as applicable, of each such subsidiary has been duly authorized and validly issued, is fully paid and non-assessable, as applicable, and is owned by the Company, directly or through subsidiaries, free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance, claim or equity; none of the outstanding shares of capital stock or limited liability company interests, as applicable, of any subsidiary was issued in violation of the preemptive or similar rights of any security-holder of such subsidiary.

     (o) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in violation of its charter, by-laws or operating agreement, as applicable, or in default in the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any material 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 they or any of them may be bound, or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any subsidiary is subject (collectively, “Agreements and Instruments”) except for such violations or defaults that would not result in a Material Adverse Effect; and the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement, each of the Subscription

Agreements and the Escrow Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein and in the Registration Statement (including the issuance and sale of the Stock and the use of the proceeds from the sale of the Stock as described in the Prospectus under the caption “Use of Proceeds”) and compliance by the Company with its obligations hereunder and under each of the Subscription Agreements and the Escrow Agreement and the Stock has been duly authorized by all necessary corporate or limited liability company action, as applicable, 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 property or assets of the Company or any subsidiary pursuant to the Agreements and Instruments (except for such conflicts, breaches, defaults or Repayment Events or liens, charges or encumbrances that would not result in a Material Adverse Effect), nor will such action result in any violation of the provisions of (i) the charter, by-laws or operating agreement, as applicable, of the Company or any subsidiary or (ii) any applicable 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 subsidiary or any of their assets, properties or operations, except, with respect to section (ii) above, for such violations that 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 subsidiary. Except for the registration of the Stock under the Securities Act and such consents, approvals, authorizations, registrations or qualifications as may be required under the Exchange Act and applicable state or foreign securities laws, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) and the New York Stock Exchange in connection with the offering and sale of the Stock by the Company, no consent, approval, authorization or order of, or filing, qualification or registration with, any court or governmental agency or body, foreign or domestic, which has not been made, obtained or taken and is not in full force and effect, is required for the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement, the Subscription Agreements and the Escrow Agreement by the Company, the offer or sale of the Stock or the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby.

     (p) Deloitte and Touche LLP (and KPMG LLP, who audited the financial statements and financial statement schedules as of April 30, 2007 and for each of the years in the two-year period ended April 30, 2007 included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and General Disclosure Package was, when serving as the Company’s and its subsidiaries’ independent registered public accounting firm), audited the Company’s internal control over financial reporting and are independent public accountants as required by the Securities Act and the Rules and Regulations thereunder and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (the “PCAOB”). Except as pre-approved in accordance with the requirements set forth in Section 10A of the Exchange Act, Deloitte and Touche LLP has not been engaged by the Company to perform any “prohibited activities” (as defined in Section 10A of the Exchange Act).

     (q) The financial statements, together with the related notes and schedules, included or incorporated by reference in the General Disclosure Package and in the Registration Statement fairly present the financial position and the results of operations and changes in financial position of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries and other consolidated entities at the respective dates or for the respective periods therein specified. Such statements and related notes and schedules have been prepared in accordance with the generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved except as may be set forth in the related notes included or incorporated by reference in the General Disclosure Package. The financial statements, together with the related notes and schedules, included or incorporated by reference in the General Disclosure Package comply in all material respects with the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, and the Rules and Regulations and the rules and regulations under the Exchange Act. No other financial statements or supporting schedules or exhibits are required by the Securities Act or the Rules and Regulations to be described, or included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or the General Disclosure Package. There is no pro forma or as adjusted financial information which is required to be included in the Registration Statement or the General Disclosure Package or a document incorporated by reference therein in accordance with the Securities Act and the Rules and Regulations which has not been included or incorporated as so required.

     (r) Since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement or the General Disclosure Package, except as otherwise stated therein, (i) there has been no material adverse change or prospective material adverse change in the financial condition, the earnings or the business affairs of the Company and its subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business (a “Material Adverse Effect”), (ii) there have been no transactions entered into by the Company or any of its subsidiaries, other than those in the ordinary course of business, which are material with respect to the Company and its subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, and (iii) there has been no dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made by the Company on any class of its capital stock or other equity securities.

     (s) Except as described in the Registration Statement and the General Disclosure Package, there are no legal, governmental or regulatory investigations, actions, suits, claim or proceedings pending to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is or may be a party or to which any property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is or may be the subject as to which there is a reasonable possibility of an adverse determination and that if determined adversely to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, would reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect; except as described in the Registration Statement and the General Disclosure Package, to the knowledge of the Company, no such investigations, actions, suits or proceedings are threatened or contemplated by any governmental or regulatory authority or threatened by others; and (i) there are no current or pending legal, governmental or regulatory actions, suits or proceedings that are required under the Securities Act to be described in the Prospectus that are not so described and (ii) there are no contracts or other documents that are required under the

Securities Act to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement or described in the Registration Statement or the General Disclosure Package that are not so filed or described.

     (t) Except as described in the Registration Statement and the General Disclosure Package, the Company and its subsidiaries possess all licenses, certificates, permits and other authorizations issued by, and have made all declarations and filings with, the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory authorities that are necessary for the ownership or lease of their respective properties or the conduct of their respective businesses as described in the Registration Statement and the General Disclosure Package, except where the failure to possess or make the same would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect.

     (u) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is or, after giving effect to the offering of the Stock as herein contemplated and the application of the net proceeds therefrom as described in the General Disclosure Package, will become, an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.

     (v) Neither the Company, its subsidiaries nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any of the Company’s or its subsidiaries’ officers, directors or affiliates has taken or will take, directly or indirectly, any action designed or intended to stabilize or manipulate the price of any security of the Company, or which caused or resulted in, or which might in the future reasonably be expected to cause or result in, stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company.

     (w) The Company and its subsidiaries each maintains a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain accountability for assets; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (iv) 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 General Disclosure Package, since the end of the Company’s most recent audited fiscal year, there as been (A) no material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (whether or not remediated) and (B) 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.

     (x) The Company and its 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 Exchange 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.

     (y) No person or entity has the right to require registration of shares of Common Stock or other securities of the Company or any of its subsidiaries because of the filing or effectiveness of the Registration Statement or otherwise, except for persons and entities who have expressly waived such right in writing or who have been given timely and proper written notice and have failed to exercise such right within the time or times required under the terms and conditions of such right. Except as described in the General Disclosure Package, there are no persons with registration rights or similar rights to have any securities registered by the Company or any of its subsidiaries under the Securities Act.

     (z) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is a party to any contract, agreement or understanding with any person that would give rise to a valid claim against the Company or the Placement Agent for a brokerage commission, finder’s fee or like payment in connection with the offering and sale of the Stock or any transaction contemplated by this Agreement, the Registration Statement or the General Disclosure Package.

     (aa) No forward-looking statement (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act) contained in either the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith.

     (bb) The Company is subject to and in compliance in all material respects with the reporting requirements of Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. The Common Stock is registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”), and the Company has taken no action designed to, or reasonably likely to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Common Stock under the Exchange Act or delisting the Common Stock from the NYSE, nor has the Company received any notification that the Commission or FINRA is contemplating terminating such registration or listing. Other than the filing of an additional listing application to and approval by the NYSE thereof, no consent, approval, authorization or order of, or filing, notification or registration with, the NYSE is required for the listing and trading of the Stock on the NYSE.

     (cc) The Company, and any of its directors and officers, in their capacities as such, are in compliance in all material respects with all applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and all rules and regulations promulgated thereunder in connection therewith (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), including Section 402 related to loans and Sections 302 and 906 related to certifications.

     4. The Closing. The time and date of closing and delivery of the documents required to be delivered to the Placement Agent pursuant to Sections 5 and 7 hereof shall be at 10:00 A.M., New York time, on October 27, 2008 (the “Closing Date”) at the offices of Husch Blackwell Sanders LLP, 4801 Main Street, Suite 1000, Kansas City, MO 64112.

     5. Further Agreements of the Company. The Company agrees with the Placement Agent and the Purchasers:

     (a) In connection with the Offering of Stock contemplated by this Agreement: to prepare the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, if necessary, in a form approved by the Placement Agent and file such Rule 462(b) Registration Statement with the Commission on the date hereof; to prepare the Prospectus in a form approved by the Placement Agent containing information previously omitted at the time of effectiveness of the Registration Statement in reliance on rules 430A, 430B and 430C and to file such Prospectus in the manner and within the time period required by Rule 424(b) of the Rules and Regulations not later than the second business (2^nd) day following the execution and delivery of this Agreement or, if applicable, such earlier time as may be required by Rule 430A of the Rules and Regulations; to notify the Placement Agent immediately of the Company’s intention to file or prepare any new registration statement, any supplement or amendment to the Registration Statement or to the Prospectus and to make no such filing, amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the General Disclosure Package, or to file a new registration statement, to which the Placement Agent shall reasonably object by notice to the Company after a reasonable period to review; to advise the Placement Agent, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the time when any amendment to any Registration Statement has been filed or becomes effective or any supplement to the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or any amended Prospectus has been filed and to furnish the Placement Agent copies thereof; to file promptly all material required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d) or 163(b)(2), as the case may be; to file promptly all reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act subsequent to the date of the Prospectus and for so long as the delivery of a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) of the Rules and Regulations) is required in connection with the offering or sale of the Stock; to advise the Placement Agent, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of the Registration Statement or any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus, of the suspension of the qualification of the Stock for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose or of any examination pursuant to Section 8(e) of the Securities Act concerning the Registration Statement or if the Company becomes the subject of a proceeding under Section 8A of the Securities Act in connection with the offering of the Stock, or the receipt of any comments by the Commission or of any request by the Commission for the amending or supplementing of the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or any document incorporated by reference therein or otherwise deemed to be a part thereof or for the filing of a new registration statement or for additional information. The Company will make every reasonable effort to prevent the issuance of any stop order and, in the event of the issuance of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of the Registration Statement or any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus or suspending any such qualification, promptly use its best efforts to obtain the withdrawal of such order.

     (b) The Company represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior consent of the Placement Agent, it has not made and will not, make any offer relating to the Stock that would constitute a “free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 405 of the Rules and Regulations (each, a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus”); provided that the prior written consent of the Placement Agent hereto shall be deemed to have been given in respect of the Issuer Free Writing Prospectus included in Schedule A hereto. The Company represents that it has treated and 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 Rules 164 and 433 of the Rules and Regulations applicable to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the Commission where required, legending and record keeping and will not take any action that would result in the Placement Agent or the Company being required to file with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d) of the Rules and Regulations a free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of such Placement Agent that such Placement Agent otherwise would not have been required to file thereunder.

     (c) If at any time when a Prospectus relating to the Stock is required to be delivered under the Securities Act, any event occurs or condition exists as a result of which the Prospectus, as then amended or supplemented, would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, or the Registration Statement, as then amended or supplemented, would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, or if for any other reason it is necessary at any time to amend or supplement any Registration Statement or the Prospectus to comply with the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, the Company will promptly notify the Placement Agent, and upon the Placement Agent’s request, the Company will promptly prepare and file with the Commission, at the Company’s expense, an amendment to the Registration Statement or an amendment or supplement to the Prospectus that corrects such statement or omission or effects such compliance and will deliver to the Placement Agent, without charge, such number of copies thereof as the Placement Agent may reasonably request. The Company consents to the use of the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto by the Placement Agent.

     (d) If the General Disclosure Package is being used to solicit offers to buy the Stock at a time when the Prospectus is not yet available to prospective purchasers and any event shall occur as a result of which, in the judgment of the Company or in the reasonable opinion of the Placement Agent, it becomes necessary to amend or supplement the General Disclosure Package in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances then prevailing, not misleading, or to make the statements therein not conflict with the information contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement then on file and not superseded or modified, or if it is necessary at any time to amend or supplement the General Disclosure Package to comply with any law, the Company promptly will either (i) prepare, file with the Commission (if required) and furnish to the Placement Agent and any dealers an appropriate amendment or supplement to the General Disclosure Package or (ii) prepare and file with the Commission an appropriate filing under the Exchange Act which shall be incorporated by

reference in the General Disclosure Package so that the General Disclosure Package as so amended or supplemented will not, in the light of the circumstances then prevailing, be misleading or conflict with the Registration Statement then on file, or so that the General Disclosure Package will comply with law.

     (e) 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 will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, Pricing Prospectus or Prospectus, including any document incorporated by reference therein and any prospectus supplement deemed to be a part thereof and not superseded or modified, or the Issuer Free Writing Prospectus included or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances prevailing at the subsequent time, not misleading, the Company has promptly notified or will promptly notify the Placement Agent so that any use of the Issuer Free Writing Prospectus may cease until it is amended or supplemented and has promptly amended or will promptly amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to eliminate or correct such conflict, untrue statement or omission. The foregoing sentence does not apply to statements in or omissions from any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon, and in conformity with, written information furnished to the Company by the Placement Agent specifically for inclusion therein, which information the parties hereto agree is limited to the Placement Agent’s Information (as defined in Section 17).

     (f) To deliver promptly to the Placement Agent in New York City such number of the following documents as the Placement Agent shall reasonably request: (i) conformed copies of the Registration Statement as originally filed with the Commission (in each case excluding exhibits), (ii) each Preliminary Prospectus, (iii) any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, (iv) the Prospectus (the delivery of the documents referred to in clauses (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) of this paragraph (f) to be made not later than 10:00 A.M., New York time, on the business day following the execution and delivery of this Agreement), (v) conformed copies of any amendment to the Registration Statement (excluding exhibits), (vi) any amendment or supplement to the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (the delivery of the documents referred to in clauses (v) and (vi) of this paragraph (f) to be made not later than 10:00 A.M., New York City time, on the business day following the date of such amendment or supplement) and (vii) any document incorporated by reference in the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (excluding exhibits thereto) (the delivery of the documents referred to in clause (vi) of this paragraph (f) to be made not later than 10:00 A.M., New York City time, on the business day following the date of such document).

     (g) The Company will timely file such reports pursuant to the Exchange Act as are necessary in order to make generally available to its security-holders as soon as practicable an earnings statement of the Company and its subsidiaries for the purposes of, and to provide to the Placement Agent the benefits contemplated by, the last paragraph of Section 11(a) of the Securities Act.

     (h) That it will use its reasonable best efforts, in cooperation with the Placement Agent, to qualify the Stock for offering and sale under the applicable securities laws of such states and other jurisdictions as the Placement Agent may reasonably designate and to maintain such qualifications in effect for so long as required for distribution of the securities; provided, however, that the Company and its subsidiaries 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 subject itself to taxation in respect of doing business in any jurisdiction in which it is not otherwise so subject. The Company will also supply the Placement Agent with such information as is necessary for the determination of the legality of the Stock for investment under the laws of such jurisdictions as the Placement Agent may reasonably request.

     (i) That the Company will not, for a period of sixty (60) days from the date of the Prospectus, (the “Lock-Up Period”) without the prior written consent of LCM, directly or indirectly offer, sell, assign, transfer, pledge, contract to sell, or otherwise dispose of, any shares of Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock, other than the Company’s sale of the Stock hereunder and the issuance of restricted Common Stock or options to acquire Common Stock pursuant to the Company’s employee benefit plans, qualified stock option plans or other employee compensation plans as such plans are in existence on the date hereof and described in the Prospectus and the issuance of Common Stock pursuant to the valid exercises of options, warrants or rights outstanding on the date hereof. The Company will cause each executive officer and director listed in Schedule B to furnish to the Placement Agent, prior to the Closing Date, a letter, substantially in the form of Exhibit B hereto, pursuant to which each such person shall agree, among other things, not to directly or indirectly offer, sell, assign, transfer, pledge, contract to sell, or otherwise dispose of, any shares of Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock, not to engage in any swap or other agreement or arrangement that transfers, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, the economic risk of ownership of Common Stock or any such securities and not to engage in any short selling of any Common Stock or any such securities, during the Lock-Up Period, without the prior written consent of LCM. The Company also agrees that during such period, the Company will not file any registration statement, preliminary prospectus or prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, under the Securities Act for any such transaction or which registers, or offers for sale, Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock, except for a registration statement on Form S-8 relating to employee benefit plans. The Company hereby agrees that (i) if it issues an earnings release or material news, or if a material event relating to the Company occurs, during the last seventeen (17) days of the Lock-Up Period, or (ii) if prior to the expiration of the Lock-Up Period, the Company announces that it will release earnings results during the sixteen (16)-day period beginning on the last day of the Lock-Up Period, the restrictions imposed by this paragraph (i) or the letter shall continue to apply until the expiration of the eighteen (18)-day period beginning on the issuance of the earnings release or the occurrence of the material news or material event.

     (j) Prior to the Closing Date, not to issue any press release or other communication directly or indirectly or hold any press conference with respect to the Company, its condition, financial or otherwise, or earnings, business affairs or business prospects (except for routine oral marketing communications in the ordinary course of business and consistent with the past practices of the Company and of which the Placement Agent is notified), without the prior written consent of the Placement Agent, unless in the judgment of the Company and its counsel, and after notification to the Placement Agent, such press release or communication is required by law.

     (k) Until the Placement Agent shall have notified the Company of the completion of the offering of the Stock, that the Company will not, and will cause its affiliated purchasers (as defined in Regulation M under the Exchange Act) not to, either alone or with one or more other persons, bid for or purchase, for any account in which it or any of its affiliated purchasers has a beneficial interest, any Stock, or attempt to induce any person to purchase any Stock; and not to, and to cause its affiliated purchasers not to, make bids or purchase for the purpose of creating actual, or apparent, active trading in or of raising the price of the Stock.

     (l) To at all times up to and including the Closing Date comply with all applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in effect from time to time.

     (m) To apply the net proceeds received by it from the sale of the Stock in the manner specified in the Prospectus under the heading “Use of Proceeds.”

     (n) To use its best efforts to effect, list and maintain, subject to notice of issuance, the Stock on the NYSE.

     (o) To use its best efforts to do and perform all things required to be done or performed under this Agreement by the Company prior to the Closing Date and to satisfy all conditions precedent to the delivery of the Stock.

     6. Payment of Expenses. The Company agrees to pay, or reimburse if paid by the Placement Agent, whether or not the transactions contemplated hereby are consummated or this Agreement is terminated: (a) the costs incident to the authorization, issuance, sale, preparation and delivery of the Stock to the Purchasers and any taxes payable in that connection; (b) the costs incident to the Registration of the Stock under the Securities Act; (c) the costs incident to the preparation, printing and distribution of the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, the General Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, any amendments, supplements and exhibits thereto or any document incorporated by reference therein and the costs of printing, reproducing and distributing any transaction document by mail, telex or other means of communications; (d) the fees and expenses (including related fees and expenses of counsel for the Placement Agent) incurred in connection with securing any required review by FINRA, if any, of the terms of the sale of the Stock and any filings made with FINRA; (e) any applicable listing, quotation or other fees; (f) the fees and expenses (including related fees and expenses of counsel to the Placement Agent) of qualifying the Stock under the securities laws of the several jurisdictions as provided in Section 5(h) and of preparing, printing and distributing wrappers, Blue Sky Memoranda and Legal Investment

Surveys; (g) the cost of preparing and printing stock certificates; (h) all fees and expenses of the registrar and transfer agent of the Stock; (i) the fees, disbursements and expenses of counsel to the Placement Agent and (j) all other costs and expenses incident to the offering of the Stock or the performance of the obligations of the Company under this Agreement (including, without limitation, the fees and expenses of the Company’s counsel and the Company’s independent accountants and the travel and other expenses incurred by Company personnel in connection with any “road show” including, without limitation, any expenses advanced by the Placement Agent on the Company’s behalf (which will be promptly reimbursed)).

     7. Conditions to the Obligations of the Placement Agent and the Purchasers, and the Sale of the Stock. The respective obligations of the Placement Agent hereunder and the Purchasers under the Subscription Agreements, and the Closing of the sale of the Stock, are subject to the accuracy, when made, at the Applicable Time and on the Closing Date, of the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein, to the accuracy of the statements of the Company made in any certificates pursuant to the provisions hereof, to the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder, and to each of the following additional terms and conditions:

     (a) No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any part thereof, preventing or suspending the use of any Base Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus or any part thereof shall have been issued and no proceedings for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A under the Securities Act shall have been initiated or to our knowledge threatened by the Commission, and all requests for additional information on the part of the Commission (to be included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or otherwise) shall have been complied with to the reasonable satisfaction of the Placement Agent; the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, if any, each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, if any, and the Prospectus shall have been filed with the Commission within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by, and in compliance with, the Rules and Regulations and in accordance with 5(a), and the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, if any, shall have become effective immediately upon its filing with the Commission; and FINRA shall have raised no objection to the fairness and reasonableness of the terms of this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.

     (b) The Placement Agent shall not have discovered and disclosed to the Company on or prior to the Closing Date that the Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement thereto contains an untrue statement of a fact which, in the opinion of counsel for the Placement Agent, is material or omits to state any fact which, in the opinion of such counsel, is material and is required to be stated therein or is necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, or that the General Disclosure Package, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto contains an untrue statement of fact which, in the opinion of such counsel, is material or omits to state any fact which, in the opinion of such counsel, is material and is necessary in order to make the statements, in the light of the circumstances in which they were made, not misleading.

     (c) All corporate proceedings and other legal matters incident to the authorization, form and validity of each of this Agreement, the Subscription Agreements, the Escrow Agreement, the Stock, the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, if any, and the Prospectus and all other legal matters relating to this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby shall be reasonably satisfactory in all material respects to counsel for the Placement Agent, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel all documents and information that they may reasonably request to enable them to pass upon such matters.

     (d) Husch Blackwell Sanders LLP shall have furnished to the Placement Agent such counsel’s written opinion, as counsel to the Company, addressed to the Placement Agent and the Purchasers and dated the Closing Date, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Placement Agent, and a statement confirming the absence of any material misstatements or omissions in the Registration Statement or the General Disclosure Package, in form and substance customary to transactions such as the Offering and reasonably satisfactory to the Placement Agent.

     (e) The Placement Agent shall have received from Proskauer Rose LLP, counsel for the Placement Agent, such opinion or opinions, dated the Closing Date, with respect to such matters as the Placement Agent may reasonably require, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel such documents as they request for enabling them to pass upon such matters.

     (f) At the time of the execution of this Agreement, the Placement Agent shall have received from each of KPMG LLP and Deloitte & Touche LLP a letter, addressed to the Placement Agent, executed and dated such date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Placement Agent (i) confirming that they are an independent registered accounting firm with respect to the Company and its subsidiaries within the meaning of the Securities Act and the Rules and Regulations and PCAOB (in the case of KPMG, during the period covered by its reports on the consolidated financial statements subject to its audits) and (ii) stating the conclusions and findings of such firm, of the type ordinarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters, with respect to the financial statements and certain financial information contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.

     (g) On the effective date of any post-effective amendment to any Registration Statement and on the Closing Date, the Placement Agent shall have received a letter (the “Bring-Down Letter”) from Deloitte & Touche LLP addressed to the Placement Agent and dated the Closing Date confirming, as of the date of the Bring-Down Letter (or, with respect to matters involving changes or developments since the respective dates as of which specified financial information is given in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, as the case may be, as of a date not more than three (3) business days prior to the date of the Bring-Down Letter), the conclusions and findings of such firm, of the type ordinarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters, with respect to the financial information and other matters covered by its letter delivered to the Placement Agent concurrently with the execution of this Agreement pursuant to paragraph (f) of this Section 7.

     (h) The Company shall have furnished to the Placement Agent and the Purchasers a certificate, dated the Closing Date, of its Chief Executive Officer, its President or a Vice President and its chief financial officer stating that (i) such officers have carefully examined the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus and the Prospectus and, in their opinion, the Registration Statement and each amendment thereto, at the Applicable Time and as of the date of this Agreement and as of the Closing Date did not include any untrue statement of a material fact and did not omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, and the General Disclosure Package, as of the Applicable Time and as of the Closing Date, any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as of its date and as of the Closing Date, the Prospectus and each amendment or supplement thereto, as of the respective date thereof and as of the Closing Date, did not include any untrue statement of a material fact and did not omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances in which they were made, not misleading, (ii) since the effective date of the Initial Registration Statement, no event has occurred which should have been set forth in a supplement or amendment to the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, (iii) to the best of their knowledge after reasonable investigation, as of the Closing Date, the representations and warranties of the Company in this Agreement are true and correct and the Company has complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied hereunder at or prior to the Closing Date, and (iv) there has not been, subsequent to the date of the most recent audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the General Disclosure Package, any material adverse change in the financial position or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries, or any change or development that, singularly or in the aggregate, would involve a material adverse change or a prospective material adverse change, in or affecting the condition (financial or otherwise), results of operations, business, assets or prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole, except as set forth in the Prospectus.

     (i) Since the date of the latest audited financial statements included in the General Disclosure Package or incorporated by reference in the General Disclosure Package as of the date hereof, (i) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries shall have sustained any loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, otherwise than as set forth in the General Disclosure Package, and (ii) there shall not have been any change in the capital stock or long-term debt of the Company nor any of its subsidiaries, or any change, or any development involving a prospective change, in or affecting the business, general affairs, management, financial position, stockholders’ equity or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries, otherwise than as set forth in the General Disclosure Package, the effect of which, in any such case described in clause (i) or (ii) of this paragraph (i), is, in the judgment of the Placement Agent, so material and adverse as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the sale or delivery of the Stock on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the General Disclosure Package.

     (j) No action shall have been taken and no law, statute, rule, regulation or order shall have been enacted, adopted or issued by any governmental agency or body which would prevent the issuance or sale of the Stock or materially and adversely affect or potentially materially and adversely affect the business or operations of the Company or its subsidiaries; and no injunction, restraining order or order of any other nature by any federal or state court of competent jurisdiction shall have been issued which would prevent the issuance or sale of the Stock or materially and adversely affect or potentially materially and adversely affect the business or operations of the Company or its subsidiaries.

     (k) Subsequent to the execution and delivery of this Agreement, the Company’s corporate credit rating or the rating accorded the Company’s debt securities by Moody’s Investor Services (“Moody’s”) shall not have been downgraded below a rating of Baa2, or otherwise downgraded by any other “nationally recognized statistical rating organization,” as that term is defined by the Commission for purposes of Rule 436(g)(2) of the Rules and Regulations.

     (l) Subsequent to the execution and delivery of this Agreement there shall not have occurred any of the following: (i) trading in securities generally on the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq GM or the American Stock Exchange or in the over-the-counter market, or trading in any securities of the Company on any exchange or in the over-the-counter market, shall have been suspended or materially limited, or minimum or maximum prices or maximum range for prices shall have been established on any such exchange or such market by the Commission, by such exchange or market or by any other regulatory body or governmental authority having jurisdiction, (ii) a banking moratorium shall have been declared by Federal or state authorities or a material disruption has occurred in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services in the United States, (iii) the United States shall have become engaged in hostilities, or the subject of an act of terrorism, or there shall have been an outbreak of or escalation in hostilities involving the United States, or there shall have been a declaration of a national emergency or war by the United States or (iv) there shall have occurred such a material adverse change in general economic, political or financial conditions (or the effect of international conditions on the financial markets in the United States shall be such) as to make it, in the judgment of the Placement Agent, impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the sale or delivery of the Stock on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.

     (m) The NYSE shall have approved the Stock for listing therein, subject only to official notice of issuance.

     (n) The Placement Agent shall have received the written agreements, substantially in the form of Exhibit B hereto, of the executive officers and directors of the Company listed in Schedule B to this Agreement.

     (o) The Company shall have entered into Subscription Agreements with each of the Purchasers and such agreements shall be in full force and effect.

     (p) The Company shall have entered into the Escrow Agreement and such agreement shall be in full force and effect.

     (q) Prior to the Closing Date, the Company shall have furnished to the Placement Agent such further information, opinions, certificates, letters or documents as the Placement Agent shall have reasonably requested.

     All opinions, letters, evidence and certificates mentioned above or elsewhere in this Agreement shall be deemed to be in compliance with the provisions hereof only if they are in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to counsel for the Placement Agent.

8. Indemnification and Contribution.

     (a) The Company shall indemnify and hold harmless the Placement Agent, its affiliates and each of its and their respective directors, officers, members, employees, representatives and agents (including, without limitation Lazard Frères & Co. LLC, (which will provide services to the Placement Agent) and its affiliates, and each of its and their respective directors, officers, members, employees, representatives and agents and each person, if any, who controls Lazard Frères & Co. LLC within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act) and each person, if any, who controls the Placement Agent within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act of or Section 20 of the Exchange Act (collectively the “Placement Agent Indemnified Parties,” and each a “Placement Agent Indemnified Party”) against any loss, claim, damage, expense or liability whatsoever (or any action, investigation or proceeding in respect thereof), joint or several, to which such Placement Agent Indemnified Party may become subject, under the Securities Act or otherwise, insofar as such loss, claim, damage, expense, liability, action, investigation or proceeding arises out of or is based upon (A) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any “issuer information” filed or required to be filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) of the Rules and Regulations, any Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or in any amendment or supplement thereto or document incorporated by reference therein, (B) the omission or alleged omission to state in any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any “issuer information” filed or required to be filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) of the Rules and Regulations, any Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or in any amendment or supplement thereto or document incorporated by reference therein, a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, or (C) any breach of the agreements, representations and warranties of the Company contained herein, and shall reimburse the Placement Agent Indemnified Party promptly upon demand for any legal fees or other expenses reasonably incurred by that Placement Agent Indemnified Party in connection with investigating, or preparing to defend, or defending against, or appearing as a third party witness in respect of, or otherwise incurred in connection with, any such loss, claim, damage, expense, liability, action, investigation or proceeding, as such fees and expenses are incurred; provided, however, that the Company shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage, expense or liability arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement in, or omission or alleged omission from any

Preliminary Prospectus, any Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or any such amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Placement Agent specifically for use therein, which information the parties hereto agree is limited to the Placement Agent’s Information (as defined in Section 17). This indemnity agreement is not exclusive and will be in addition to any liability, which the Company might otherwise have and shall not limit any rights or remedies which may otherwise be available at law or in equity to each Placement Agent Indemnified Party.

     (b) The Placement Agent shall indemnify and hold harmless the Company and its directors, its officers who signed the Registration Statement and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act (collectively the “Company Indemnified Parties” and each a “Company Indemnified Party”) against any loss, claim, damage, expense or liability whatsoever (or any action, investigation or proceeding in respect thereof), joint or several, to which such Company Indemnified Party may become subject, under the Securities Act or otherwise, insofar as such loss, claim, damage, expense, liability, action, investigation or proceeding arises out of or is based upon (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any “issuer information” filed or required to be filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) of the Rules and Regulations, any Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or in any amendment or supplement thereto, or (ii) the omission or alleged omission to state in any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any “issuer information” filed or required to be filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) of the Rules and Regulations, any Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or in any amendment or supplement thereto, a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, but in each case only to the extent that the untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Placement Agent specifically for use therein, which information the parties hereto agree is limited to the Placement Agent’s Information as defined in Section 17, and shall reimburse the Company for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such party in connection with investigating or preparing to defend or defending against or appearing as third party witness in connection with any such loss, claim, damage, liability, action, investigation or proceeding, as such fees and expenses are incurred. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 8(b), in no event shall any indemnity by the Placement Agent under this Section 8(b) exceed the total compensation received by such Placement Agent in accordance with Section 2.5.

     (c) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under this Section 8 of notice of the commencement of any action, the indemnified party shall, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against an indemnifying party under this Section 8, notify such indemnifying party in writing of the commencement of that action; provided, however, that the failure to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability which it may have under this Section 8 except to the extent it has been materially prejudiced by such failure; and, provided, further, that the failure to notify an indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability which it may have to an

indemnified party otherwise than under this Section 8. If any such action shall be brought against an indemnified party, and it shall notify the indemnifying party thereof, the indemnifying party shall be entitled to participate therein and, to the extent that it wishes, jointly with any other similarly notified indemnifying party, to assume the defense of such action with counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party (which counsel shall not, except with the written consent of the indemnified party, be counsel to the indemnifying party). After notice from the indemnifying party to the indemnified party of its election to assume the defense of such action, except as provided herein, the indemnifying party shall not be liable to the indemnified party under Section 8 for any legal or other expenses subsequently incurred by the indemnified party in connection with the defense of such action other than reasonable costs of investigation; provided, however, that any indemnified party shall have the right to employ separate counsel in any such action and to participate in the defense of such action but the fees and expenses of such counsel (other than reasonable costs of investigation) shall be at the expense of such indemnified party unless (i) the employment thereof has been specifically authorized in writing by the Company in the case of a claim for indemnification under Section 8(a) or Section 2.6 or Placement Agent in the case of a claim for indemnification under Section 8(b), (ii) such indemnified party shall have been advised by its counsel in writing that there may be one or more legal defenses available to it which are different from or additional to those available to the indemnifying party, or (iii) the indemnifying party has failed to assume the defense of such action and employ counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party within a reasonable period of time after notice of the commencement of the action or the indemnifying party does not diligently defend the action after assumption of the defense, in which case, if such indemnified party notifies the indemnifying party in writing that it elects to employ separate counsel at the expense of the indemnifying party, the indemnifying party shall not have the right to assume the defense of (or, in the case of a failure to diligently defend the action after assumption of the defense, to continue to defend) such action on behalf of such indemnified party and the indemnifying party shall be responsible for legal or other expenses subsequently incurred by such indemnified party in connection with the defense of such action; provided, however, that the indemnifying party shall not, in connection with any one such action or separate but substantially similar or related actions in the same jurisdiction arising out of the same general allegations or circumstances, be liable for the reasonable fees and expenses of more than one separate firm of attorneys at any time for all such indemnified parties (in addition to any local counsel), which firm shall be designated in writing by Placement Agent if the indemnified parties under this Section 8 consist of any Placement Agent Indemnified Party or by the Company if the indemnified parties under this Section 8 consist of any Company Indemnified Parties. Subject to this Section 8(c), the amount payable by an indemnifying party under Section 8 shall include, but not be limited to, (x) reasonable legal fees and expenses of counsel to the indemnified party and any other expenses in investigating, or preparing to defend or defending against, or appearing as a third party witness in respect of, or otherwise incurred in connection with, any action, investigation, proceeding or claim, and (y) all amounts paid in settlement of any of the foregoing. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified parties, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of judgment with respect to any pending or threatened action or any claim

whatsoever, in respect of which indemnification or contribution could be sought under this Section 8 (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 in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party from all liability arising out of such action or claim and (ii) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified party. Subject to the provisions of the following sentence, no indemnifying party shall be liable for settlement of any pending or threatened action or any claim whatsoever that is effected without its written consent (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed), but if settled with its written consent, if it is finally determined that its consent has been unreasonably withheld or delayed or if there be a final judgment for the plaintiff in any such matter, the indemnifying party agrees to indemnify and hold harmless any indemnified party from and against any loss or liability by reason of such settlement or judgment. In addition, if at any time an indemnified party shall have requested that an indemnifying party 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 herein effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than sixty (60) days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the request for reimbursement, (ii) such indemnifying party shall have received notice of the terms of such settlement at least forty five (45) 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.

     (d) If the indemnification provided for in this Section 8 is unavailable or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under Section 8(a) or Section 8(b), then each indemnifying party shall, in lieu of indemnifying such indemnified party, contribute to the amount paid, payable or otherwise incurred by such indemnified party as a result of such loss, claim, damage, expense or liability (or any action, investigation or proceeding in respect thereof), as incurred, (i) in such proportion as shall be appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Placement Agent on the other hand from the offering of the Stock, or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) of this Section 8(d) is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) of this Section 8(d) but also the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and the Placement Agent on the other with respect to the statements, omissions, acts or failures to act which resulted in such loss, claim, damage, expense or liability (or any action, investigation or proceeding in respect thereof) as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Placement Agent on the other with respect to such offering shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the offering of the Stock purchased under this Agreement (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total discounts and commissions received by the Placement Agent in connection with the Offering, in each case as set forth in the table on the cover page of the Prospectus. The relative fault of the Company on the one hand and the Placement Agent on the other shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact

relates to information supplied by the Company on the one hand or the Placement Agent on the other, the intent of the parties and their relative knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such untrue statement, omission, act or failure to act; provided that the parties hereto agree that the written information furnished to the Company by the Placement Agent for use in the Preliminary Prospectus, any Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or in any amendment or supplement thereto, consists solely of the Placement Agent’s Information as defined in Section 17. The Company and the Placement Agent agree that it would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this Section 8(d) were to be determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation that does not take into account the equitable considerations referred to herein. The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the loss, claim, damage, expense, liability, action, investigation or proceeding referred to above in this Section 8(d) shall be deemed to include, for purposes of this Section 8(d), any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating, preparing to defend or defending against or appearing as a third party witness in respect of, or otherwise incurred in connection with, any such loss, claim, damage, expense, liability, action, investigation or proceeding. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 8(d), the Placement Agent shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the total compensation received by the Placement Agent in accordance with Section 2.5 less the amount of any damages which the Placement Agent has otherwise paid or become liable to pay by reason of any untrue or alleged untrue statement, omission or alleged omission, act or alleged act or failure to act or alleged failure to act. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.

     9. Termination. The obligations of the Placement Agent and the Purchasers hereunder and under the Subscription Agreements may be terminated by the Placement Agent, in its absolute discretion by notice given to the Company prior to delivery of and payment for the Stock if, prior to that time, any of the events described in Sections 7(i), 7(j) or 7(l) have occurred or if the Purchasers shall decline to purchase the Stock for any reason permitted under this Agreement or the Subscription Agreements.

     10. Reimbursement of Placement Agent’s Expenses. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, if (a) this Agreement shall have been terminated pursuant to Section 9, (b) the Company shall fail to tender the Stock for delivery to the Purchasers for any reason not permitted under this Agreement, (c) the Purchasers shall decline to purchase the Stock for any reason permitted under this Agreement or (d) the sale of the Stock is not consummated because any condition to the obligations of the Purchasers or the Placement Agent set forth herein is not satisfied or because of the refusal, inability or failure on the part of the Company to perform any agreement herein or to satisfy any condition or to comply with the provisions hereof, then in addition to the payment of amounts in accordance with Section 6, the Company shall reimburse the Placement Agent for the fees and expenses of the Placement Agent’s counsel and for such other out-of-pocket expenses as shall have been reasonably incurred by them in connection with this Agreement and the proposed purchase of the Stock, and upon demand the Company shall pay the full amount thereof to the Placement Agent.

     11. Absence of Fiduciary Relationship. The Company acknowledges and agrees that:

     (a) the Placement Agent’s responsibility to the Company is solely contractual in nature, the Placement Agent has been retained solely to act as Placement Agent in connection with the Offering and no fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship between the Company and the Placement Agent has been created in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, irrespective of whether the Placement Agent or Lazard Frères & Co. LLC has advised or is advising the Company on other matters;

     (b) the price of the Stock set forth in this Agreement was established by the Company following discussions and arms-length negotiations with the Placement Agent, and the Company is capable of evaluating and understanding, and understands and accepts, the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;

     (c) it has been advised that the Placement Agent and Lazard Frères & Co. LLC and their affiliates are engaged in a broad range of transactions which may involve interests that differ from those of the Company and that the Placement Agent has no obligation to disclose such interests and transactions to the Company by virtue of any fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship; and

     (d) it waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims it may have against the Placement Agent for breach of fiduciary duty or alleged breach of fiduciary duty and agrees that the Placement Agent shall have no liability (whether direct or indirect) to the Company in respect of such a fiduciary duty claim or to any person asserting a fiduciary duty claim on behalf of or in right of the Company, including stockholders, employees or creditors of the Company.

     12. Successors; Persons Entitled to Benefit of Agreement. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Placement Agent, the Company, and their respective successors and assigns. This Agreement shall also inure to the benefit of Lazard Frères & Co. LLC, the Purchasers, and each of their respective successors and assigns, which shall be third party beneficiaries hereof. Nothing expressed or mentioned in this Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give any person, other than the persons mentioned in the preceding sentences, any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement, or any provisions herein contained, this Agreement and all conditions and provisions hereof being intended to be and being for the sole and exclusive benefit of such persons and for the benefit of no other person; except that the representations, warranties, covenants, agreements and indemnities of the Company contained in this Agreement shall also be for the benefit of the Placement Agent Indemnified Parties and the indemnities of the Placement Agent shall be for the benefit of the Company Indemnified Parties. It is understood that the Placement Agent’s responsibility to the Company is solely contractual in nature and the Placement Agent does not owe the Company, or any other party, any fiduciary duty as a result of this Agreement.

     13. Survival of Indemnities, Representations, Warranties, etc. The respective indemnities, covenants, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of the Company and the Placement Agent, as set forth in this Agreement or made by them respectively, pursuant to this Agreement, shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of the Placement Agent, the Company, the Purchasers or any person controlling any of them and shall survive delivery of and payment for the Stock. Notwithstanding any termination of this Agreement, including without limitation any termination pursuant to Sections 9 or 10, the indemnity and contribution agreements contained in Section 8 and the covenants, representations, warranties set forth in this Agreement shall not terminate and shall remain in full force and effect at all times.

     14. Notices. All statements, requests, notices and agreements hereunder shall be in writing, and:

     (a) if to the Placement Agent, shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex, facsimile transmission or email to Lazard Capital Markets LLC, Attention: General Counsel, Fax: 212-830-3615; and

     (b) if to the Company, shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex, facsimile transmission or email to H&R Block, Inc. Attention: General Counsel, Fax: (816) 854-8043.

provided, however, that any notice to the Placement Agent pursuant to Section 8 shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to the Placement Agent at its address set forth in its acceptance telex to the Placement Agent, which address will be supplied to any other party hereto by the Placement Agent upon request. Any such statements, requests, notices or agreements shall take effect at the time of receipt thereof, except that any such statement, request, notice or agreement delivered or sent by email shall take effect at the time of confirmation of receipt thereof by the recipient thereof.

     15. Definition of Certain Terms. For purposes of this Agreement, (a) “business day” means any day on which the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. is open for trading and (b) “subsidiary” has the meaning set forth in Rule 405 of the Rules and Regulations.

     16. Governing Law, Agent for Service and Jurisdiction. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, including without limitation Section 5-1401 of the New York General Obligations Law. No legal proceeding relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby may be commenced, prosecuted or continued in any court other than the courts of the State of New York located in the City and County of New York or in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, which courts shall have jurisdiction over the adjudication of such matters, and the Company and the Placement Agent each hereby consent to the jurisdiction of such courts and personal service with respect thereto. The Company and the Placement Agent each hereby waive all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding (whether based upon contract, tort or otherwise) in any way arising out of or relating to this Agreement. The Company and the Placement Agent agree that a final judgment in any such legal proceeding brought in any such court shall be conclusive and binding upon the Company and the Placement Agent and may be

enforced in any other courts in the jurisdiction of which the Company or the Placement Agent is or may be subject, by suit upon such judgment.

     17. Placement Agent’s Information. The parties hereto acknowledge and agree that, for all purposes of this Agreement, the Placement Agent’s Information consists solely of the following information in the Prospectus: (i) the last paragraph on the front cover page concerning the terms of the offering by the Placement Agent; and (ii) the statements concerning the Placement Agent contained in the first and sixth paragraphs under the heading “Plan of Distribution.”

     18. Partial Unenforceability. The invalidity or unenforceability of any section, paragraph, clause or provision of this Agreement shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other section, paragraph, clause or provision hereof. If any section, paragraph, clause 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.

     19. General. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement of the parties to this Agreement and supersedes all prior written or oral and all contemporaneous oral agreements, understandings and negotiations with respect to the subject matter hereof. In this Agreement, the masculine, feminine and neuter genders and the singular and the plural include one another. The section headings in this Agreement are for the convenience of the parties only and will not affect the construction or interpretation of this Agreement. This Agreement may be amended or modified, and the observance of any term of this Agreement may be waived, only by a writing signed by the Company and the Placement Agent.

     20. Counterparts. This Agreement may be signed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be an original, with the same effect as if the signatures thereto and hereto were upon the same instrument and such signatures may be delivered by facsimile.

     If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of the agreement between the Company and the Placement Agent, kindly indicate your acceptance in the space provided for that purpose below.

Accepted as of the date
first above written:

LAZARD CAPITAL MARKETS LLC
By:
Name:
Title:

Exhibit 3.1

Amended and Restated

Articles of Incorporation

of

H & R Block, Inc.

          The undersigned, being an officer of H & R Block, Inc., does hereby certify that the following Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation have been approved by the corporation in accordance with Section 351.106 of the General and Business Corporation Law of Missouri. The undersigned hereby further certifies that the following Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation correctly set forth without change the corresponding provisions of the Articles of Incorporation as heretofore amended, and that the following Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation supersede the original Articles of Incorporation and all amendments thereto.

ARTICLE ONE

          The name of the corporation is: H & R BLOCK, INC.

ARTICLE TWO

          The address of the corporation’s registered office in the State of Missouri is 120 South Central Avenue, Clayton, Missouri 63105, and the name of its registered agent at such address is CT Corporation System.

ARTICLE THREE

          The aggregate number of shares of all classes of stock which the corporation shall have authority to issue is 806,000,000 divided into two classes as follows:

	(i)		800,000,000 shares of a class designated Common Stock, without par value; and
	(ii)		6,000,000 shares of a class designated Preferred Stock, without par value.

          The voting powers, designations, preferences, qualifications, limitations, restrictions and special or relative rights in respect of each class of stock are or shall be fixed as follows:

               (1) Preferred Stock. The Board of Directors is expressly authorized to issue the Preferred Stock from time to time, in one or more series, provided that the aggregate number of shares issued and outstanding at any time of all such series shall not exceed 6,000,000. The Board of Directors is further authorized to fix or alter, in respect of each such series, the following terms and provisions of any authorized and unissued shares of such stock:

(a) The distinctive serial designation;

(b) The number of shares of the series, which number may at any time or from time to time be increased or decreased (but not below the number of shares of such series then outstanding) by the Board of Directors;

(c) The voting powers and, if voting powers are granted, the extent of such voting powers including the right, if any, to elect a director or directors, provided, that the holders of shares of Preferred Stock will not be entitled (A) to more than one vote per share, when voting as a class with the holders of shares of common stock, and (B) to vote on any matter separately as a class, except with respect to any amendment or alteration of the provisions of these Articles of Incorporation that would adversely affect the powers, preferences or special rights of the applicable series of Preferred Stock or as otherwise provided by law;

(d) The election, term of office, filling of vacancies and other terms of the directorships of directors elected by the holders of any one or more classes or series of such stock;

(e) The dividend rights, including the dividend rate and the dates on which any dividends shall be payable;

(f) The date from which dividends on shares issued prior to the date for payment of the first dividend thereon shall be cumulative, if any;

(g) The redemption price, terms of redemption, and the amount of and provisions regarding any sinking fund for the purchase or redemption thereof;

(h) The liquidation preferences and the amounts payable on dissolution or liquidation;

(i) The terms and conditions, if any, under which shares of the series may be converted; and

(j) Any other terms or provisions which the Board of Directors is by law authorized to fix or alter.

          (2) Common Stock. The holders of shares of Common Stock shall be entitled (i) to vote on all matters at all meetings of the shareholders of the corporation on the basis of one vote for each share of Common Stock held of record; (ii) subject to any preferential dividend rights applicable to the Preferred Stock, to receive such dividends as may be declared by the Board of Directors; and (iii) in the event of the voluntary, or involuntary, liquidation or winding up of the corporation, after distribution in full of any preferential amounts to be distributed to holders of shares of Preferred Stock, to receive all of the remaining assets of the corporation available for distribution to its shareholders, ratably in proportion to the aggregate number of their shares of Common Stock and Preferred Stock (if the holders of such Preferred Stock are entitled to share in such distribution).

          (3) Provisions applicable to Common and Preferred Stock. No holder of shares of stock of the corporation of any class shall be entitled, as a matter of right, to purchase or subscribe for any shares of stock of the corporation, of any class, whether now or hereafter authorized. The Board of Directors shall have authority to fix the issue price of any and all shares of stock of the corporation of any class.

ARTICLE FOUR

          The number of shares to be issued before the corporation shall commence business is: Twenty (20) shares of common stock, and the consideration to be paid therefor, and the capital with which the corporation will commence business, is: Two Thousand ($2,000.00) Dollars. All of said shares have been first duly subscribed by the undersigned incorporators and have been paid up in lawful money of the United States.

ARTICLE FIVE

          The names and places of residence of the initial subscribers and shareholders, and the number of shares of stock subscribed by each, are:

Name		Residence		No. of Shares
R. A. Bloch		6501 Overbrook, Kansas City, Mo.			10
Henry W. Bloch		2026 W. 63rd St., Kansas City, Mo.			9
L. E. Bloch, Jr.		414 W. 58th St., Kansas City, Mo.			1

ARTICLE SIX

          (A) Number of Directors. The number of directors to constitute the Board of Directors shall be not less than seven nor more than twelve, the exact number to be fixed by a resolution adopted by the affirmative vote of a majority of the whole Board.

          (B) Election of Directors. Directors shall be elected at each annual meeting of shareholders to hold office until the next succeeding annual meeting of shareholders or until such director’s successor has been elected and qualified. The term of office of each director shall begin immediately after his election and each director shall hold office until the next succeeding annual meeting of shareholders or until such director’s successor has been elected and qualified and subject to prior death, resignation, retirement or removal from office of the director. No decrease in the number of directors constituting the board of directors shall reduce the term of any incumbent director. No person shall serve as a director for a period or consecutive periods that extend beyond the twelfth annual shareholders meeting following the annual shareholders meeting at which such person was first elected to the Board of Directors by the shareholders.

          (C) Vacancies. Newly created directorships resulting from an increase in the number of directors and any vacancies on the Board of Directors resulting from any cause shall be filled by a majority of the Board of Directors then in office, although less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director. Any director elected to fill a vacancy not

resulting from an increase in the number of directors shall have the same remaining term as his or her predecessor.

          (D) Removal of Directors. The entire Board of Directors of the corporation may be removed at any time but only by the affirmative vote of the holders of 80% or more of the outstanding shares of each class of stock of the corporation entitled to elect one or more directors at a meeting of the shareholders called for such purpose.

          (E) Bylaws. The Board of Directors shall have the power to make, alter, amend, change, add to or repeal the Bylaws of the corporation.

          (F) Independent Chairman of the Board. No person may simultaneously hold the offices of chairman of the board and vice-chairman of the board, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, or chairman of the board and president. Furthermore, the chairman of the board shall be independent pursuant to standards promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Stock Exchange and shall not have served previously as an executive officer of the Company.

ARTICLE SEVEN

          The duration of the corporation is perpetual.

ARTICLE EIGHT

          The purposes for which the corporation is formed are as follows:

          (1) To perform bookkeeping services, including the preparation of books of account, balance sheets and profit and loss statements, to render tax services, including the preparation of tax returns, and to perform any and all other services directly or indirectly related thereto.

          (2) To purchase, lease or otherwise acquire, hold, own, improve, develop, sell, mortgage, pledge and otherwise deal in and with real and personal property of every kind and description in the United States of America, and in any territory, colony, dependency or district thereof, and in any foreign country or countries to the extent that the same may be lawfully permissible.

          (3) To buy, sell, utilize, lease, rent, import, export, manufacture, produce, design, prepare, assemble, fabricate, distribute and otherwise deal in, either at wholesale or retail, or both, either as principal, agent or on commission, all commodities, goods, wares, merchandise, machinery, tools, devices, apparatus, equipment and all other personal property, whether tangible or intangible, of every kind and description.

          (4) To buy, purchase, manufacture, assemble, distribute, lease (either as lessor or lessee), acquire, sell or in any manner dispose of, import, export, use, operate, rent, hire, mortgage, furnish, grant the use of, repair and generally deal in all kinds of construction,

building and engineering equipment, including, but not limited to, bulldozers, castings, cranes, compressors, concrete mixers, drag lines, dump wagons, earth moving machinery and equipment, plows, pumps, road machines, road rollers, scrapes, shovels, tractors, trucks and automobile equipment, and in general all kinds of machinery, appliances, devices, implements, tools, fixtures, instruments, supplies, materials, and property of every kind and description, usable or adaptable for use by contractors and civil engineers.

          (5) To apply for, obtain, purchase, lease, take licenses in respect of or otherwise acquire, and to hold, own, use, operate, enjoy, turn to account, grant licenses in respect of, manufacture under, introduce, sell, assign, mortgage, pledge or otherwise dispose of:

	a)		Any and all inventions, devices and processes and any improvements and modifications thereof;
	b)		Any and all letters patent of the United States or of any other country, state or locality, and all rights connected therewith or appertaining thereto;
	c)		Any and all copyrights granted by the United States or any other country, state or locality as aforesaid;
	d)		Any and all trade-marks, trade names, trade symbols and other indications of origin and ownership granted by or recognized under the laws of the United States or of any other country, state or locality as aforesaid; and to conduct and carry on its business in any or all of its various branches under any trade name or trade names.

          (6) To engage in, carry on and conduct research, experiments, investigations, analyses, studies and laboratory work, for the purpose of discovering new products or to improve products, articles and things and to acquire, own, operate, maintain and dispose of, whenever the corporation deems such action desirable, laboratories and similar facilities, plants and any and all other establishments, and to procure, own and hold all necessary equipment in respect thereof, for the purposes aforesaid.

          (7) To enter into any lawful contract or contracts with persons, firms, corporations or other entities, governments or any agencies or subdivisions thereof, including guaranteeing the obligations of any person, firm, or corporation or other entity.

          (8) To purchase and acquire, as a going concern or otherwise, and to carry on, maintain and operate all or any part of the property or business of any corporation, firm, association, entity, syndicate, or person whatsoever, deemed to be of benefit to the corporation, or of use in any manner in connection with any of its objects or purposes; and to acquire, own, hold and use and dispose of, upon such terms as may seem advisable to the corporation, any and all property, real, personal or mixed, and any interest therein deemed necessary, useful or of benefit to the corporation in any manner in connection with any of its objects or purposes.

          (9) To purchase or otherwise acquire, hold, sell, pledge, reissue, transfer or otherwise deal in shares of the corporation’s own stock, provided that it shall not use its funds or property for the purchase of its own shares of stock when such use would be in any manner prohibited by law, by the articles of incorporation or by the bylaws of the corporation; and, provided further, that shares of its own stock belonging to it shall not be voted upon directly or indirectly.

          (10) To invest, lend and deal with moneys of the corporation in any lawful manner, and to acquire by purchase, by the exchange of stock or other securities of the corporation, by subscription or otherwise and to invest in, to hold for investment or for any other purpose, and to deal in and use, sell, pledge, or otherwise dispose of, and in general to deal in any interest concerning or enter into any transaction with respect to (including “long” and “short” sales of) any stocks, bonds, notes, debentures, certificates, receipts and other securities and obligations of any government, state, municipality, corporation, association or other entity, including individuals and partnerships and, while owner thereof, to exercise all of the rights, powers and privileges of ownership, including, among other things, the right to vote thereon for any and all purposes and to give consent with respect thereto.

          (11) To borrow or raise money for any purpose of the corporation and to secure the same and the interest accruing on any such loan, indebtedness or obligation of the corporation, and for that or any other purposes to mortgage, pledge, hypothecate or charge all or any part of the present or hereafter acquired property, rights and franchises of the corporation, real, personal, mixed or of any character whatever, subject only to limitations specifically imposed by law.

          (12) To do any or all of the things hereinabove enumerated alone for its own account, or for the account of others, or as the agent for others, or in association with others or by or through others, and to enter into all lawful contracts and undertakings in respect thereof.

          (13) To have one or more offices, to conduct its business, carry on its operations and promote its objects within and without the State of Missouri, in other states, the District of Columbia, the territories, colonies and dependencies of the United States and in foreign countries, without restriction as to place, manner or amount, but subject to the laws of such state, district, territory, colony, dependency or country; and to do any or all of the things herein set forth to the same extent as natural persons might or could do and in any part of the world, either alone or in company with others.

          (14) In general, to carry on any other business in connection with each and all of the foregoing or incidental thereto, and to carry on, transact and engage in any and every lawful business or other lawful thing calculated to be of gain, profit or benefit to the corporation as fully and freely as a natural person might do, to the extent and in the manner, anywhere within or without the State of Missouri, as it may from time to time determine; and to have and exercise each and all of the powers and privileges, either

direct or incidental, which are given and provided by or are available under the laws of the State of Missouri in respect of private corporations organized for profit thereunder; provided, however, that the corporation shall not engage in any activity for which a corporation may not be formed under the laws of the State of Missouri.

          It is the intention that each of the objects, purposes and powers specified in each of the paragraphs in this Article Eight shall be in no wise limited or restricted by reference to or inference from the terms of any other paragraph, but that the objects, purposes and powers specified in each of the paragraphs of this Article Eight shall be regarded as independent objects, purposes and powers. The enumeration of the specific objects, purposes and powers of this Article shall not be construed to restrict in any manner the general objects, purposes and powers of this corporation, nor shall the expression of one thing be deemed to exclude another, although it be of like nature. The enumeration of objects, purposes or powers herein shall not be deemed to exclude or in any way limit by inference any objects, purposes or powers which this corporation has power to exercise, whether expressly or by force of the laws of the State of Missouri, now or hereafter in effect, or impliedly by any reasonable construction of such laws.

ARTICLE NINE

          The private property of the shareholders shall not be subject to the payment of the corporate debt of the corporation.

ARTICLE TEN

          Both the shareholders and directors shall have power, if the Bylaws so provide, to hold their meetings and to have one or more offices within or without the State of Missouri, and to keep books and records of the corporation business (subject to the provisions of the applicable laws of Missouri) outside of the State of Missouri, at such places as may be from time to time designated by the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE ELEVEN

          Any contract, transaction or act of the corporation or of the directors, which shall be ratified by a majority of a quorum of the shareholders having voting power at any annual meeting, or at any special meeting called for such purpose, shall, except as otherwise specifically provided by law or by the Articles of Incorporation, be as valid and as binding as though ratified by every shareholder of the corporation; provided, however, that any failure of the shareholders to approve or ratify such contract, transaction or act, when and if submitted, shall not of itself be deemed in any way to render the same invalid, nor deprive the directors of their right to proceed with such contract, transaction or act.

ARTICLE TWELVE

          In case the corporation enters into contracts or transacts business with one or more of its directors, or with any firm of which one or more of its directors are members, or with any other corporation or association of which one or more of its directors are members or shareholders, directors or officers, such transaction or transactions shall not be invalidated or in any way affected by the fact that such director or directors have or may have interests therein which are or might be adverse to the interests of this corporation; provided that such contract or transaction is entered into in good faith and authorized or ratified in the usual course of business as may be provided for in the Bylaws of this corporation.

ARTICLE THIRTEEN

          The corporation reserves the right to amend, alter, change, or repeal any provision contained in these Articles of Incorporation, in the manner as hereafter prescribed by statute, and all rights conferred upon stockholders herein are granted subject to this reservation.

ARTICLE FOURTEEN

          Special meetings of the shareholders for any lawful purpose or purposes may be called only by a majority of the Board of Directors, by the holders of not less than 80% of all outstanding shares of stock of the corporation entitled to vote at an annual meeting, by the Chairman of the Board or by the President.

ARTICLE FIFTEEN

          The affirmative vote of not less than 80% of the outstanding shares of the corporation entitled to vote in an election of directors shall be required for the approval or authorization of any Business Transaction (as hereinafter defined) with a Related Person (as hereinafter defined), whether or not such Business Transaction was approved by a lesser vote prior to the time the Related Person became a Related Person, unless:

	(1)		The Business Transaction shall have been approved by a two-thirds vote of the Continuing Directors (as hereinafter defined); or
	(2)		The Business Transaction is a merger or consolidation and the cash or fair market value of the property, securities or other consideration to be received per share by the holders of each class of stock of the corporation in the Business Transaction is not less than such Related Person’s Highest Purchase Price (as hereinafter defined).

          For purposes of this Article Fifteen:

	1.		The term “Business Transaction” shall mean: (a) any merger or consolidation of the corporation or any subsidiary of the corporation; (b) any sale, lease, exchange, mortgage, pledge, transfer or other disposition (in one transaction or a series of transactions) of all or a Substantial Part (as hereinafter defined) of the assets of the corporation or any subsidiary; (c) the issuance, sale, exchange, transfer or other disposition by the corporation or any subsidiary of any securities of the corporation or any subsidiary; (d) any reclassification of securities (including any reverse stock split) or recapitalization of the corporation or any other transaction which has the effect, directly or indirectly, of increasing the voting power of a Related Person; (e) any liquidation, spinoff, split-up or dissolution of the corporation; and (f) any agreement, contract or other arrangement providing for any of the transactions described in this definition of Business Transaction.
	2.		The term “Related Person” shall mean and include any individual, corporation, partnership or other person or entity, other than the corporation or any wholly-owned subsidiary thereof, which, together with its “Affiliates” and “Associates” (as defined on June 1, 1983 in Rule 12b-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), “Beneficially Owns” (as defined on June 1, 1983, in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) in the aggregate 15 percent or more of the outstanding shares of the corporation entitled to vote in an election of directors at the time a resolution approving the Business Transaction is adopted by a two-thirds vote of the corporation’s Board of Directors or on the record date for the determination of shareholders entitled to notice of and to vote on the Business Transaction, and any Affiliate or Associate of any such individual, corporation, partnership or other person or entity.
	3.		The term “Continuing Director” shall mean any member of the Board of Directors of the corporation who was either a member of the Board of Directors prior to the time that the Related Person became a Related Person or who subsequently became a director of the corporation and whose election, or nomination for election by the corporation’s shareholders, was approved by a vote of a majority of the Continuing Directors.
	4.		The term “Highest Purchase Price” shall mean the highest amount of consideration paid by such Related Person for a share of the corporation’s Common Stock within one year prior to the date such person became a Related Person or in the transaction that resulted in such Related Person becoming a Related Person, provided that the Highest Purchase Price shall be appropriately adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends and like distributions.

5.

The term “Substantial Part” shall mean more than 20% of the fair market value of the total assets of the entity in question, as of the end of its most recent fiscal year ending prior to the time the determination is made.

ARTICLE SIXTEEN

     The affirmative vote of the holders of not less than 80% of the outstanding shares of stock of this corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of directors shall be required to amend, modify, alter or repeal Articles Three, Six, Fourteen, Fifteen and Sixteen of these Articles of Incorporation or any provision of the corporation’s Bylaws, provided that the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes entitled to be cast shall be sufficient to approve any such amendment, modification, alternation or repeal that has been adopted by a vote of 80% of the members of the Board of Directors and that the power of the Board of Directors to amend, modify, alter or repeal any Bylaw shall be governed by Section E of Article Six.

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned has caused these Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation to be executed this 15 day of October, 2008.

Exhibit 10.1

SUBSCRIPTION AGREEMENT

H&R Block, Inc.
One H&R Block Way
Kansas City, Missouri 64105

Gentlemen:

The undersigned (the “Investor”) hereby confirms its agreement with you as follows:

     1. This Subscription Agreement, including the Terms and Conditions For Purchase of Shares attached hereto as Annex I (collectively, this “Agreement”) is made as of the date set forth below between H&R Block, Inc., a Missouri corporation (the “Company”), which is a Well Known Seasoned Issuer (as that term is defined in Rule 405 (“Rule 405”)) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), and the Investor.

     2. The Company has authorized the sale and issuance to certain investors of up to an aggregate of 8,285,714 shares (the “Shares”) of its common stock, without par value (the “Common Stock”), subject to adjustment by the Company’s Board of Directors, or a committee thereof, for a purchase price of $17.50 per share (the “Purchase Price”).

     3. The offering and sale of the Shares (the “Offering”) are being made pursuant to (a) an Automatic Shelf Registration Statement (as that term is defined in Rule 405 of the Act) filing on Form S-3 (including the prospectus contained therein (the “Base Prospectus”), the “Registration Statement”), filed or to be filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission”), which is effective upon such filing, (b) if applicable, any preliminary prospectus relating to the Offering, and (c) if applicable, certain “free writing prospectuses” (as that term is defined in Rule 405 of the Act), that have been or will be filed with the Commission and delivered to the Investor on or prior to the date hereof containing certain supplemental information regarding the Shares and terms of the Offering that will be filed with the Commission and delivered to the Investor (or made available to the Investor by the filing by the Company of an electronic version thereof with the Commission).

     4. The Company and the Investor agree that the Investor will purchase from the Company and the Company will issue and sell to the Investor the number of Shares of Common Stock set forth below for the aggregate purchase price set forth below. The Shares shall be purchased pursuant to the Terms and Conditions for Purchase of Shares attached hereto as Annex I and incorporated herein by this reference as if fully set forth herein. The Investor acknowledges that the Offering is not being underwritten by Lazard Capital Markets LLC (the “Placement Agent”) and that there is no minimum offering amount.

     5. The manner of settlement of the Shares purchased by the Investor shall be determined by such Investor as follows (check one):

[___] A. Delivery by crediting the account of the Investor’s prime broker (as specified by the Investor on Exhibit A annexed hereto) with the Depository Trust Company (“DTC”)

through its Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian (“DWAC”) system, whereby the Investor’s prime broker shall initiate a DWAC transaction on the Closing Date using its DTC participant identification number and released by BNY Mellon Shareowner Services LLC, the Company’s transfer agent (the “Transfer Agent”), at the Company’s direction. NO LATER THAN ONE (1) BUSINESS DAY AFTER THE EXECUTION OF THIS AGREEMENT BY THE INVESTOR AND THE COMPANY, THE INVESTOR SHALL:

	(I)		DIRECT THE BROKER-DEALER AT WHICH THE ACCOUNT OR ACCOUNTS TO BE CREDITED WITH THE SHARES ARE MAINTAINED TO SET UP A DWAC INSTRUCTING THE TRANSFER AGENT TO CREDIT SUCH ACCOUNT OR ACCOUNTS WITH THE SHARES, AND
	(II)		REMIT BY WIRE TRANSFER THE AMOUNT OF FUNDS EQUAL TO THE AGGREGATE PURCHASE PRICE FOR THE SHARES BEING PURCHASED BY THE INVESTOR TO THE FOLLOWING ACCOUNT:

JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.
ABA # 021000021
Account Name: H&R Block, Inc.
Account Number: 796699759
Attention: Audrey Cohen
Tel: (212) 623-5078

      - OR -

[___] B. Delivery versus payment (“DVP”) through DTC (i.e., the Company shall deliver Shares registered in the Investor’s name and address as set forth below and released by the Transfer Agent to the Investor through DTC at the Closing directly to the account(s) at Lazard Capital Markets LLC (“LCM”) identified by the Investor and simultaneously therewith payment shall be made by LCM by wire transfer to the Company). NO LATER THAN ONE (1) BUSINESS DAY AFTER THE EXECUTION OF THIS AGREEMENT BY THE INVESTOR AND THE COMPANY, THE INVESTOR SHALL:

	(I)		NOTIFY LCM OF THE ACCOUNT OR ACCOUNTS AT LCM TO BE CREDITED WITH THE SHARES BEING PURCHASED BY SUCH INVESTOR, AND
	(II)		CONFIRM THAT THE ACCOUNT OR ACCOUNTS AT LCM TO BE CREDITED WITH THE SHARES BEING PURCHASED BY THE INVESTOR HAVE A MINIMUM BALANCE EQUAL TO THE AGGREGATE PURCHASE PRICE FOR THE SHARES BEING PURCHASED BY THE INVESTOR.

IT IS THE INVESTOR’S RESPONSIBILITY TO (A) MAKE THE NECESSARY WIRE TRANSFER OR CONFIRM THE PROPER ACCOUNT BALANCE IN A TIMELY MANNER AND (B) ARRANGE FOR SETTLEMENT BY WAY OF DWAC OR DVP IN A TIMELY MANNER. IF THE INVESTOR DOES NOT DELIVER THE AGGREGATE PURCHASE PRICE FOR THE SHARES OR DOES NOT MAKE PROPER ARRANGEMENTS FOR SETTLEMENT IN A TIMELY MANNER, THE SHARES MAY NOT BE DELIVERED AT CLOSING TO THE INVESTOR OR THE INVESTOR MAY BE EXCLUDED FROM THE OFFERING ALTOGETHER.

     6. The Investor represents that, except as set forth below, (a) it has had no position, office or other material relationship within the past three years with the Company or persons known to it to be affiliates of the Company, (b) it is not a FINRA member or an Associated Person (as such term is defined under the FINRA Membership and Registration Rules Section 1011) as of the Closing, and (c) neither the Investor nor any group of Investors (as identified in a public filing made with the Commission) of which the Investor is a part in connection with the Offering of the Shares, acquired, or obtained the right to acquire, 20% or more of the Common Stock (or securities convertible into or exercisable for Common Stock) or the voting power of the Company on a post-transaction basis. Exceptions:

 

(If no exceptions, write “none.” If left blank, response will be deemed to be “none.”)

     7. The Investor acknowledges that, prior to the effectiveness of this Agreement, the Investor has received or will receive (or otherwise had made available to it by the filing by the Company of an electronic version thereof with the Commission) the Base Prospectus which is a part of the Company’s Registration Statement and the documents incorporated by reference therein relating to the Stock, and any free writing prospectus, (collectively, the “Disclosure Package”) and certain additional information regarding the Offering, including pricing information (collectively, the "Offering Information”). The Offering Information may be provided to the Investor by any means permitted under the Act, including in the prospectus supplement, if any, a free writing prospectus or oral communications.

     8. No offer by the Investor to buy Shares will be accepted and no part of the Purchase Price will be delivered to the Company until the Registration Statement has been accepted for filing by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Investor has received the Offering Information and the Company has accepted such offer by countersigning a copy of this Agreement, and any such offer may be withdrawn or revoked, without obligation or commitment of any kind, at any time prior to the Company (or the Placement Agent on behalf of the Company) sending (orally, in writing or by electronic mail) notice of its acceptance of such offer. An indication of interest will involve no obligation or commitment of any kind until the Investor has been delivered the Offering Information and this Agreement is accepted and countersigned by or on behalf of the Company.

Number of Shares:
Purchase Price Per Share:
Aggregate Purchase Price:

     Please confirm that the foregoing correctly sets forth the agreement between us by signing in the space provided below for that purpose.

		Dated as of: October 21, 2008
		INVESTOR
		By:
		Print Name:
		Title:
		Address:

Agreed and Accepted
this 22nd day of October, 2008:

H&R BLOCK, INC.
By:
Title:

ANNEX I

TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR PURCHASE OF SHARES

     1. Authorization and Sale of the Shares. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, the Company has authorized the sale of the Shares.

     2. Agreement to Sell and Purchase the Shares; Placement Agent.

          2.1 At the Closing (as defined in Section 3.1), the Company will sell to the Investor, and the Investor will purchase from the Company, upon the terms and conditions set forth herein, the number of Shares set forth on the last page of the Agreement to which these Terms and Conditions for Purchase of Shares are attached as Annex I (the “Signature Page”) for the aggregate purchase price therefor set forth on the Signature Page.

          2.2 The Company proposes to enter into substantially this same form of Subscription Agreement with certain other investors (the “Other Investors”) and expects to complete sales of Shares to them. The Investor and the Other Investors are hereinafter sometimes collectively referred to as the “Investors,” and this Agreement and the Subscription Agreements executed by the Other Investors are hereinafter sometimes collectively referred to as the “Agreements.”

          2.3 The Investor acknowledges that the Company has agreed to pay Lazard Capital Markets LLC (the “Placement Agent”) a fee (the “Placement Fee”) in respect of the sale of Shares to the Investor.

          2.4 The Company has entered into a Placement Agent Agreement, dated the date hereof (the “Placement Agreement”), with the Placement Agent that contains certain representations, warranties, covenants and agreements of the Company that may be relied upon by the Investor, which shall be a third party beneficiary thereof.

     3. Closings and Delivery of the Shares and Funds.

          3.1 Closing. The completion of the purchase and sale of the Shares (the “Closing”) shall occur at a place and time (the “Closing Date”) to be specified by the Company and the Placement Agent, and of which the Investors will be notified in advance by the Placement Agent, in accordance with Rule 15c6-1 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act”). At the Closing, (a) the Company shall cause Mellon Investor Services LLC, the Company’s “Transfer Agent”, to deliver to the Investor the number of Shares set forth on the Signature Page registered in the name of the Investor or, if so indicated on the Investor Questionnaire attached hereto as Exhibit A, in the name of a nominee designated by the Investor and (b) the aggregate purchase price for the Shares being purchased by the Investor will be delivered by or on behalf of the Investor to the Company.

          3.2 (a) Conditions to the Company’s Obligations. The Company’s obligation to issue and sell the Shares to the Investor shall be subject to: (i) the receipt by the Company of the purchase price for the Shares being purchased hereunder as set forth on the Signature Page and (ii) the accuracy of the representations and warranties made by the Investor and the fulfillment of those undertakings of the Investor to be fulfilled prior to the Closing Date.

               (b) Conditions to the Investor’s Obligations. The Investor’s obligation to purchase the Shares will be subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties made by the Company and the fulfillment of those undertakings of the Company to be fulfilled prior to the Closing Date, including without limitation, those contained in the Placement Agreement, and to the condition that the Placement Agent shall not have: (i) terminated the Placement Agreement pursuant to the terms thereof or (ii) determined that the conditions to the closing in the Placement Agreement have not been satisfied. The Investor’s obligations are expressly not conditioned on the purchase by any or all of the Other Investors of the Shares that they have agreed to purchase from the Company.

          3.3 Delivery of Funds.

                    (a) DWAC Delivery. If the Investor elects to settle the Shares purchased by such Investor through DTC’s Deposit/Withdrawal at Custodian (“DWAC”) delivery system, no later than one (1) business day after the execution of this Agreement by the Investor and the Company, the Investor shall remit by wire transfer the amount of funds equal to the aggregate purchase price for the Shares being purchased by the Investor to the following account designated by the Company and the Placement Agent pursuant to the terms of that certain Escrow Agreement (the “Escrow Agreement”), dated the date hereof, by and among the Company, the Placement Agent and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (the “Escrow Agent”):

JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.
ABA # XXXXXX
Account Name: H&R Block, Inc.
Account Number: XXXXXX
Attention: Audrey Cohen
Tel: (212) 623-5078

               Such funds shall be held in escrow until the Closing and delivered by the Escrow Agent on behalf of the Investors to the Company upon the satisfaction, in the sole judgment of the Placement Agent, of the conditions set forth in Section 3.2(b) hereof. The Placement Agent shall have no rights in or to any of the escrowed funds, unless the Placement Agent and the Escrow Agent are notified in writing by the Company in connection with the Closing that a portion of the escrowed funds shall be applied to the Placement Fee. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold the Escrow Agent harmless from and against any and all losses, costs, damages, expenses and claims (including, without limitation, court costs and reasonable attorneys fees) (“Losses”) arising under this Section 3.3 or otherwise with respect to the funds held in escrow pursuant hereto or arising under the Escrow Agreement, unless it is finally determined that such Losses resulted directly from the willful misconduct or gross negligence of the Escrow Agent. Anything in this Agreement to the contrary notwithstanding, in no event shall the Escrow Agent be liable for any special, indirect or consequential loss or damage of any kind whatsoever (including but not limited to lost profits), even if the Escrow Agent has been advised of the likelihood of such loss or damage and regardless of the form of action.

               (b) Delivery Versus Payment through The Depository Trust Company. If the Investor elects to settle the Shares purchased by such Investor by delivery versus payment through DTC, no later than one (1) business day after the execution of this Agreement by the Investor and the Company, the Investor shall confirm that the account or accounts at Lazard Capital Markets LLC (“LCM”) to be credited with the Shares being purchased by the Investor have a minimum balance equal to the aggregate purchase price for the Shares being purchased by the Investor.

          3.4 Delivery of Shares.

               (a) DWAC Delivery. If the Investor elects to settle the Shares purchased by such Investor through DTC’s DWAC delivery system, no later than one (1) business day after the execution of this Agreement by the Investor and the Company, the Investor shall direct the broker-dealer at which the account or accounts to be credited with the Shares being purchased by such Investor are maintained, which broker/dealer shall be a DTC participant, to set up a DWAC instructing its Transfer Agent to credit such account or accounts with the Shares. Such DWAC instruction shall indicate the settlement date for the deposit of the Shares, which date shall be provided to the Investor by the Placement Agent. Simultaneously with the delivery to the Company by the Escrow Agent of the funds held in escrow pursuant to Section 3.3 above, the Company shall direct its Transfer Agent to credit the Investor’s account or accounts with the Shares pursuant to the information contained in the DWAC.

               (b) Delivery Versus Payment through The Depository Trust Company. If the Investor elects to settle the Shares purchased by such Investor by delivery versus payment through DTC, no later than one (1) business day after the execution of this Agreement by the Investor and the Company, the Investor shall notify LCM of the account or accounts at LCM to be credited with the Shares being purchased by such Investor. On the Closing Date, the Company shall deliver the Shares to the Investor through DTC directly to the account or accounts at LCM identified by Investor and simultaneously therewith payment shall be made by LCM by wire transfer to the Company.

     4. Representations, Warranties and Covenants of the Investor.

     The Investor acknowledges, represents and warrants to, and agrees with, the Company and the Placement Agent that:

          4.1 The Investor (a) is knowledgeable, sophisticated and experienced in making, and is qualified to make decisions with respect to, investments in shares presenting an investment decision like that involved in the purchase of the Shares, including investments in securities issued by the Company and investments in comparable companies, (b) has answered all questions on the Signature Page and the Investor Questionnaire and the answers thereto are true and correct as of the date hereof and will be true and correct as of the Closing Date and (c) in connection with its decision to purchase the number of Shares set forth on the Signature Page, has received and is relying solely upon the Disclosure Package and the documents incorporated by reference therein and (ii) the Offering Information.

          4.2 (a) No action has been or will be taken in any jurisdiction outside the United States by the Company or the Placement Agent that would permit an offering of the Shares, or

possession or distribution of offering materials in connection with the issue of the Shares in any jurisdiction outside the United States where action for that purpose is required, (b) if the Investor is outside the United States, it will comply with all applicable laws and regulations in each foreign jurisdiction in which it purchases, offers, sells or delivers Shares or has in its possession or distributes any offering material, in all cases at its own expense and (c) the Placement Agent is not authorized to make and has not made any representation, disclosure or use of any information in connection with the issue, placement, purchase and sale of the Shares, except as set forth in the Company’s public filings (which are available via EDGAR) or incorporated by reference in the Base Prospectus or the Prospectus.

          4.3 (a) The Investor has full right, power, authority and capacity to enter into this Agreement and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby and has taken all necessary action to authorize the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement, and (b) this Agreement constitutes a valid and binding obligation of the Investor enforceable against the Investor in accordance with its terms, except as enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors’ and contracting parties’ rights generally and except as enforceability may be subject to general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law) and except as to the enforceability of any rights to indemnification or contribution that may be violative of the public policy underlying any law, rule or regulation (including any federal or state securities law, rule or regulation).

          4.4 The Investor understands that nothing in this Agreement, the Disclosure Package, the Prospectus or any other materials presented to the Investor in connection with the purchase and sale of the Shares constitutes legal, tax or investment advice. The Investor has consulted such legal, tax and investment advisors as it, in its sole discretion, has deemed necessary or appropriate in connection with its purchase of Shares.

          4.5 Since the date on which the Company or the Placement Agent first contacted such Investor about the Offering, the Investor has not engaged in any transactions in the securities of the Company (including, without limitation, any Short Sales (as defined herein) involving the Company’s securities). The Investor covenants that it will not engage in any transactions in the securities of the Company (including Short Sales) prior to the time that the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are publicly disclosed. The Investor agrees that it will not use any of the Shares acquired pursuant to this Agreement to cover any short position in the Common Stock if doing so would be in violation of applicable securities laws. For purposes hereof, “Short Sales” include, without limitation, all “short sales” as defined in Rule 200 promulgated under Regulation SHO under the Exchange Act, whether or not against the box, and all types of direct and indirect stock pledges, forward sales contracts, options, puts, calls, short sales, swaps, “put equivalent positions” (as defined in Rule 16a-1(h) under the Exchange Act) and similar arrangements (including on a total return basis), and sales and other transactions through non-US broker dealers or foreign regulated brokers.

     5. Survival of Representations, Warranties and Agreements; Third Party Beneficiary. Notwithstanding any investigation made by any party to this Agreement or by the Placement Agent, all covenants, agreements, representations and warranties made by the

Company and the Investor herein will survive the execution of this Agreement, the delivery to the Investor of the Shares being purchased and the payment therefor. The Placement Agent and Lazard Fréres & Co. shall be third party beneficiaries with respect to the representations, warranties and agreements of the Investor in Section 4 hereof.

     6. Notices. All notices, requests, consents and other communications hereunder will be in writing, will be mailed (a) if within the domestic United States by first-class registered or certified airmail, or nationally recognized overnight express courier, postage prepaid, or by facsimile or (b) if delivered from outside the United States, by International Federal Express or facsimile, and will be deemed given (i) if delivered by first-class registered or certified mail domestic, three business days after so mailed, (ii) if delivered by nationally recognized overnight carrier, one business day after so mailed, (iii) if delivered by International Federal Express, two business days after so mailed and (iv) if delivered by facsimile, upon electric confirmation of receipt and will be delivered and addressed as follows:

          (a) if to the Company, to:

H&R Block, Inc.
One H&R Block Way
Kansas City, Missouri 64105
Attention: Becky Shulman, SVP & CFO
Facsimile: (816) 854-8500

          with copies to:

Husch Blackwell Sanders, LLP
4801 Main Street, Suite 1000
Kansas City, MO 64112
Attention: Gary Gilson, Esq.
Facsimile: (816) 983-8080

          (b) if to the Investor, at its address on the Signature Page hereto, or at such other address or addresses as may have been furnished to the Company in writing.

     7. Changes. This Agreement may not be modified or amended except pursuant to an instrument in writing signed by the Company and the Investor.

     8. Headings. The headings of the various sections of this Agreement have been inserted for convenience of reference only and will not be deemed to be part of this Agreement.

     9. Severability. In case any provision contained in this Agreement should be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions contained herein will not in any way be affected or impaired thereby.

     10. Governing Law. This Agreement will be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the internal laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to the principles of conflicts of law that would require the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction.

     11. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which will constitute an original, but all of which, when taken together, will constitute but one instrument, and will become effective when one or more counterparts have been signed by each party hereto and delivered to the other parties. The Company and the Investor acknowledge and agree that the Company shall deliver its counterpart to the Investor along with the Prospectus Supplement (or the filing by the Company of an electronic version thereof with the Commission).

     12. Confirmation of Sale. The Investor acknowledges and agrees that such Investor’s receipt of the Company’s counterpart to this Agreement, together with the Prospectus Supplement (or the filing by the Company of an electronic version thereof with the Commission), shall constitute written confirmation of the Company’s sale of Shares to such Investor.

     13. Press Release. The Company and the Investor agree that the Company shall issue a press release announcing the Offering prior to the opening of the financial markets in New York City on the business day immediately after the date hereof.

     14. Termination. In the event that the Placement Agreement is terminated by the Placement Agent pursuant to the terms thereof, this Agreement shall terminate without any further action on the part of the parties hereto.

      Prior to accepting this Subscription Agreement, H&R Block, Inc. (the “Company”) will file a registration statement (including a prospectus) with the SEC for the offering to which this communication relates. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in that registration statement and other documents the Company has filed with the SEC for more complete information about the Company and this offering. You may get these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, the Company will arrange to send you the prospectus after filing if you request it by calling toll-free 1-800-869-9220 ext. 4513.

EXHIBIT A

H&R BLOCK, INC.

INVESTOR QUESTIONNAIRE

          Pursuant to Section 3 of Annex I to the Agreement, please provide us with the following information:

1. The exact name that your Shares are to be registered in. You may use a nominee name if appropriate:
2. The relationship between the Investor and the registered holder listed in response to item 1 above:
3. The mailing address of the registered holder listed in response to item 1 above:
4. The Social Security Number or Tax Identification Number of the registered holder listed in the response to item 1 above:
5. Name of DTC Participant (broker-dealer at which the account or accounts to be credited with the Shares are maintained):
6. DTC Participant Number:
7. Name of Account at DTC Participant being credited with the Shares:
8. Account Number at DTC Participant being credited with the Shares:

Exhibit 99.1

News Release

For Further Information

Media Relations:		Nancy Mays, 816.854.4537, nmays@hrblock.com
Investor Relations:		Derek Drysdale, 816.854.4513, derek.drysdale@hrblock.com

H&R BLOCK RAISES $145 MILLION OF CAPITAL THROUGH COMMON STOCK OFFERING

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Oct. 22, 2008

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE: HRB) announced today that it has entered into subscription agreements with selected institutional investors to sell approximately 8.3 million shares of its common stock, without par value, at a price of $17.50 per share in a registered direct offering. The Company expects gross proceeds of nearly $145 million, before deducting placement agent’s fees and other offering expenses. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to enhance capital and maintain financial flexibility. The offering is expected to close on or about Oct. 27, 2008, subject to customary closing conditions.

      The shares of common stock are being offered by the Company pursuant to a shelf registration statement which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and became effective on Oct. 22, 2008. A prospectus supplement describing the terms of the offering will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and forms part of the effective Registration Statement.

     Lazard Capital Markets LLC served as sole placement agent for the offering. The shares of common stock may be offered only by means of a prospectus. Copies of the prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus relating to this offering may be obtained at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at www.sec.gov or from Lazard Capital Markets LLC at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, 60^th Floor, New York, New York, 10020.

     This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

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Forward Looking Statements

Certain information set forth in this release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning our plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events, future revenues or performance, capital expenditures, financing needs, plans or intentions relating to acquisitions and other information that is not historical information. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “believes,” “expects,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “anticipates,” or “intends” or the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy. We may also make additional forward-looking statements from time to time. All such subsequent forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, by us or on our behalf, are also expressly qualified by these cautionary statements.

All forward-looking statements are based upon our current expectations and various assumptions. Our expectations, beliefs and projections are expressed in good faith and we believe there is a reasonable basis for them, but there can be no assurance that management’s expectations, beliefs and projections will result or be achieved. All forward-looking statements apply only as of the date made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements which may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

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About H&R Block

H&R Block Inc. (NYSE: HRB) is the world’s preeminent tax services provider, having served more than 400 million clients since 1955 and generating annual revenues of $4.4 billion in fiscal year 2008. H&R Block provides income tax return preparation and related services and products via a nationwide network of approximately 13,000 company-owned and franchised offices and through TaxCut® online and software solutions. The company also provides business services through RSM McGladrey and certain consumer financial services. For more information visit our Online Press Center at www.hrblock.com.