Exhibit 1.1

NATIONAL BEEF, INC.

(a Delaware corporation)

[·] Shares of Class A Common Stock

PURCHASE AGREEMENT

Dated:  [·], 2009

NATIONAL BEEF, INC.

(a Delaware corporation)

[·] Shares of Class A Common Stock

(Par Value $0.01 Per Share)

PURCHASE AGREEMENT

[·], 2009

MERRILL LYNCH & CO.

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
Incorporated

CREDIT SUISSE SECURITIES (USA) LLC

as Representatives of the several Underwriters

c/o                               Merrill Lynch & Co.

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
Incorporated

4 World Financial Center
New York, New York  10080

Ladies and Gentlemen:

National Beef, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), National Beef Packing Company, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“NBP LLC”), and the persons listed as Founding Members on the signature pages hereto (the “Founding Members”), confirm their respective agreements with Merrill Lynch & Co., Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (“Merrill Lynch”) and each of the other Underwriters named in Schedule A hereto (collectively, the “Underwriters,” which term shall also include any underwriter substituted as hereinafter provided in Section 10 hereof), for whom Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC are acting as representatives (in such capacity, the “Representatives”), with respect to (i) the sale by the Company and the purchase by the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, of the respective numbers of shares of Class A Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company (“Class A Common Stock”) set forth in Schedules A and B hereto and (ii) the grant by the Company to the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, of the option described in Section 2(b) hereof to purchase all or any part of [·] additional shares of Class A Common Stock to cover overallotments, if any.  The aforesaid [·] shares of Class A Common Stock (the “Initial Securities”) to be purchased by the Underwriters and all or any part of the [·] shares of Class A Common Stock subject to the option described in Section 2(b) hereof (the “Option Securities”) are hereinafter called, collectively, the “Securities.”

For the avoidance of doubt, it shall be understood and agreed by the parties hereto that any and all references in this Agreement to “subsidiaries” of the Company shall be deemed to include NBP LLC and its direct and indirect subsidiaries.

Any reference in this Agreement, to the extent the context requires, to the “Reorganization” shall refer to the transactions consummated upon or immediately prior to the consummation of this offering described under the heading “Our Structure” in the Prospectus (as defined below).  “Transaction

Documents” shall mean each of the following agreements to be entered into in connection with the Reorganization and in substantially the forms filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement: (i) the Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Operating Agreement of NBP LLC among the Company, NBP LLC, U.S. Premium Beef, LLC, TKK Investments, LLC, TMKCo, LLC and NBPCo Holdings, LLC; (ii) the Tax Receivable Agreement among the Company, NBP LLC, U.S. Premium Beef, LLC, TKK Investments, LLC, TMKCo, LLC and NBPCo Holdings, LLC; (iii) the Registration Rights Agreement among the Company, U.S. Premium Beef, LLC, TKK Investments, LLC, TMKCo, LLC and NBPCo Holdings, LLC; (iv) the Exchange Agreement among the Company, NBP LLC, U.S. Premium Beef, LLC, TKK Investments, LLC, TMKCo, LLC and NBPCo Holdings, LLC; (v) the Stockholders Agreement among the Company, U.S. Premium Beef, LLC, TKK Investments, LLC, TMKCo, LLC and NBPCo Holdings, LLC; and (vi) the Management Services Agreement between the Company and NBP LLC.

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

The Company and the Underwriters agree that up to [·] shares of the Securities to be purchased by the Underwriters (the “Reserved Securities”) shall be reserved for sale by the Underwriters to certain of the Company’s directors and executive officers and to certain employees of the Company and its affiliates (the “Invitees”), as part of the distribution of the Securities by the Underwriters, subject to the terms of this Agreement, the applicable rules, regulations and interpretations of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and all other applicable laws, rules and regulations.  To the extent that such Reserved Securities are not orally confirmed for purchase by Invitees by the end of the first business day after the date of this Agreement, such Reserved Securities may be offered to the public as part of the public offering contemplated hereby.

The Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) a registration statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-162443), including the related preliminary prospectus or prospectuses, covering the registration of the Securities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”).  Promptly after execution and delivery of this Agreement, the Company will prepare and file a prospectus in accordance with the provisions of Rule 430A (“Rule 430A”) of the rules and regulations of the Commission under the 1933 Act (the “1933 Act Regulations”) and paragraph (b) of Rule 424 (“Rule 424(b)”) of the 1933 Act Regulations.  The information included in such prospectus that was omitted from such registration statement at the time it became effective but that is deemed to be part of such registration statement at the time it became effective pursuant to paragraph (b) of Rule 430A is referred to as “Rule 430A Information.”  Such registration statement, including the amendments thereto, the exhibits and any schedules thereto, at the time it became effective, and including the Rule 430A Information, is herein called the “Registration Statement.”  Any registration statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the 1933 Act Regulations is herein referred to as the “Rule 462(b) Registration Statement,” and after such filing the term “Registration Statement” shall include the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement.  Each prospectus used before such registration statement became effective, and any prospectus that omitted the Rule 430A Information, that was used after such effectiveness and prior to the execution and delivery of this Agreement, is herein called a “preliminary prospectus.”  The final prospectus in the form first furnished to the Underwriters for use in connection with the offering of the Securities is herein called the “Prospectus.”  For purposes of this Agreement, all references to the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing shall be deemed to include the copy filed with the Commission pursuant to its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system (“EDGAR”).

As used in this Agreement:

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“Applicable Time” means [·], New York City time, on [·] or such other time as agreed by the Company and Merrill Lynch.

“General Disclosure Package” means any Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectuses issued at or prior to the Applicable Time, the prospectus that is included in the Registration Statement as of the Applicable Time and the information included on Schedule C-1 hereto, all considered together.

“Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433 of the 1933 Act Regulations (“Rule 433”), relating to the Securities that is (i) required to be filed with the Commission by the Company, (ii) a “road show that is a written communication” within the meaning of Rule 433(d)(8)(i) whether or not required to be filed with the Commission or (iii) exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i) because it contains a description of the Securities or of the offering that does not reflect the final terms, in each case in the form filed or required to be filed with the Commission or, if not required to be filed, in the form retained in the Company’s records pursuant to Rule 433(g).

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

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

SECTION 1.           Representations and Warranties.

(a)           Representations and Warranties by the Company.  Each of the Company and NBP LLC, jointly and severally, represents and warrants to each Underwriter as of the date hereof, the Applicable Time referred to in Section 1(a)(i) hereof, as of the Closing Time referred to in Section 2(c) hereof, and as of each Date of Delivery (if any) referred to in Section 2(b) hereof, and agrees with each Underwriter, as follows:

(i)            Compliance with Registration Requirements.  Each of the Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto has become effective under the 1933 Act and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto has been issued under the 1933 Act and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the knowledge of the Company and NBP LLC, are contemplated by the Commission, and any request on the part of the Commission for additional information has been complied with.

At the respective times the Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement and any post-effective amendments thereto became effective and at the Closing Time (and, if any Option Securities are purchased, at the Date of Delivery), the Registration Statement, the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement and any amendments and supplements thereto complied and will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations and 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, and the Prospectus, any preliminary prospectus and any supplement thereto or prospectus wrapper prepared in connection therewith, at their respective times of issuance and at

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the Closing Time, complied and will comply in all material respects with any applicable laws or regulations of foreign jurisdictions in which the Prospectus and such preliminary prospectus, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, are distributed in connection with the offer and sale of Reserved Securities.  Neither the Prospectus nor any amendments or supplements thereto (including any prospectus wrapper), at the time the Prospectus or any such amendment or supplement was issued and at the Closing Time (and, if any Option Securities are purchased, at the Date of Delivery), included or will include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or will omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

As of the Applicable Time, at the Closing Time and at each Date of Delivery, neither (A) the General Disclosure Package nor (B) any individual Issuer Limited Use Free Writing Prospectus, when considered together with the General Disclosure Package, included, includes or will include any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted, omits or will omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

The Company has made available a “bona fide electronic road show,” as defined in Rule 433, in compliance with Rule 433(d)(8)(ii) (the “Bona Fide Electronic Road Show”) such that no filing of any “road show” (as defined in Rule 433(h)) is required in connection with the offering of the Securities.

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

The representations and warranties in this subsection shall not apply to statements in or omissions from the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by any Underwriter through Merrill Lynch expressly for use therein.

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

At the time of filing the Registration Statement, any 462(b) Registration Statement and any post-effective amendments thereto, at the earliest time thereafter that the Company or another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) of the 1933 Act Regulations) of the Securities and at the date hereof, the Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer,” as defined in Rule 405 of the 1933 Act Regulations.

(ii)           Independent Accountants.  The accountants who certified the financial statements and supporting schedules included in the Registration Statement are independent public accountants as required by the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations.

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(iii)          Financial Statements.  The balance sheet of the Company included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, together with the related notes presents fairly the financial position of the Company as of the date thereof; the financial statements included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, together with the related notes, present fairly the financial position of NBP LLC and its consolidated subsidiaries at the dates indicated and the statement of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries for the periods specified; such balance sheet of the Company and financial statements of NBP LLC have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved.  The selected financial data and the summary financial information included in the Prospectus present fairly the information shown therein and have been compiled on a basis consistent with that of the audited financial statements included in the Registration Statement.  The pro forma financial statements and the related notes thereto included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus present fairly the information shown therein, have been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines with respect to pro forma financial statements and have been properly compiled on the bases described therein, and the assumptions used in the preparation thereof are reasonable and the adjustments used therein are appropriate to give effect to the transactions and circumstances referred to therein.  All disclosures contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of the Commission) comply with Regulation G of the 1934 Act and Item 10 of Regulation S-K of the 1933 Act, to the extent applicable.

(iv)          No Material Adverse Change in Business.  Since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, except as otherwise stated therein, (A) there has been no material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business affairs or business prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business (a “Material Adverse Effect”), (B) 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 (C) there has been no dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made by the Company on any class of its capital stock.

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

(vi)          Good Standing of NBP LLC and Subsidiaries. (A) NBP LLC has been duly organized and is validly existing as a limited liability company in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware and has limited liability company 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; NBP LLC is duly qualified as a foreign limited liability company to transact business and is in good standing in each other jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the

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conduct of business, except where the failure so to qualify or to be in good standing would not result in a Material Adverse Effect; all of the issued and outstanding membership interests of NBP LLC have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and are owned by the persons and in the amounts set forth in the Registration Statement; the membership interests of NBP LLC owned by the Company are free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance, claim or equity; none of the outstanding membership interests of NBP LLC were issued in violation of the preemptive or similar rights of any securityholder of NBP LLC.

(B)           Each “significant subsidiary” (as such term is defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X) of the Company other than NBP LLC (each a “Subsidiary” and, collectively, the “Subsidiaries”) has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation, limited partnership or limited liability company in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or formation, has corporate, limited partnership or limited liability company power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Prospectus and is duly qualified as a foreign corporation, limited partnership or limited liability company to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure so to qualify or to be in good standing would not result in a Material Adverse Effect; except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement, all of the issued and outstanding capital stock, limited partnership interests or membership interests of each such Subsidiary has been duly authorized and validly issued, is fully paid and non-assessable and is owned by the Company, directly or through subsidiaries, free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance, claim or equity; none of the outstanding shares of capital stock, limited partnership interests or membership interests of any Subsidiary was issued in violation of the preemptive or similar rights of any securityholder of such Subsidiary.  The only subsidiaries of the Company are the subsidiaries listed on Exhibit 21 to the Registration Statement.

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

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

(ix)           Transaction Documents. Each of the Transaction Documents as of the Closing Time will have been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and NBP LLC, to the extent such company is a party thereto, and as of the Closing Time will constitute a valid and legally binding agreement of the Company and NBC LLC, enforceable against the Company and NBP LLC, as the case may be, in accordance with the terms thereof.

(x)            Authorization and Description of Securities; Description of Transaction Documents.  The Securities to be purchased by the Underwriters from the Company have been duly authorized for issuance and sale to the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement and, when issued and delivered by the Company pursuant to this Agreement against payment of the

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consideration set forth herein, will be validly issued and fully paid and non-assessable; the Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock , par value $0.01 per share, of the Company conform to all statements relating thereto contained in the Prospectus and such description conforms to the rights set forth in the instruments defining the same; no holder of the Securities will be subject to personal liability by reason of being such a holder; and the issuance of the Securities is not subject to the preemptive or other similar rights of any securityholder of the Company.  Each of the Transaction Documents conforms, in all material respects, to the description thereof contained in the Prospectus.

(xi)           Absence of Defaults and Conflicts.  Neither the Company, NBP LLC nor any of their subsidiaries is (A) in violation of its charter, by-laws, operating agreement, limited partnership agreement or similar organizational documents, (B) in default in the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any contract, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan or credit agreement, note, lease or other agreement or instrument to which the Company, NBP LLC or any of their subsidiaries is a party or by which it or any of them may be bound, or to which any of the property or assets of the Company, NBP LLC or any subsidiary is subject (collectively, “Agreements and Instruments”) except for such defaults that would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect or (C) in violation of any statute, law, rule, regulation, judgment, order or decree of any court, regulatory body, administrative agency, governmental body, arbitrator or other authority having jurisdiction over the Company, NBP LLC or any subsidiary or any of their respective properties, except for such violations that would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect; and the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and each of the Transaction Documents and the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein and therein and in the Registration Statement (including the issuance and sale of the Securities, the use of the proceeds from the sale of the Securities as described in the General Disclosure Package and Prospectus under the caption “Use of Proceeds” and the Reorganization) and compliance by the Company and NBP LLC with their respective obligations hereunder and thereunder have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate, limited partnership or limited liability company action and do not and will not, whether with or without the giving of notice or passage of time or both, conflict with or constitute a breach of, or default or Repayment Event (as defined below) under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company, NBP LLC 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, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect), nor will such action result in any violation of the provisions of the charter, by-laws or similar organizational documents of the Company, NBP LLC or any subsidiary or 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, NBP LLC or any subsidiary or any of their assets, properties or operations.  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 NBP LLC or any subsidiary.

(xii)          Absence of Labor Dispute.  No labor dispute with the employees of the Company or any subsidiary exists or, to the knowledge of the Company and NBP LLC, is imminent, and the Company is not aware of any existing or imminent labor disturbance by the employees of any of its or any subsidiary’s principal suppliers, manufacturers, customers or contractors, which, in either case, would result in a Material Adverse Effect.

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(xiii)         Absence of Proceedings.  There is no action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation before or brought by any court or governmental agency or body, domestic or foreign, now pending, or, to the knowledge of the Company and NBP LLC, threatened, against or affecting the Company or any subsidiary, which is required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement (other than as disclosed therein).  The aggregate of all pending legal or governmental proceedings to which the Company or any subsidiary is a party or of which any of their respective property or assets is the subject which are not described in the Registration Statement, including ordinary routine litigation incidental to the business, could not reasonably be expected to (x) result in a Material Adverse Effect or (y) materially and adversely affect the properties or assets of the Company or any subsidiary or the consummation of the Reorganization or the other transactions contemplated in this Agreement or the performance by the Company and NBP LLC of their respective obligations hereunder.

(xiv)        Accuracy of Exhibits.  There are no contracts or documents which are required to be described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or to be filed as exhibits thereto which have not been so described and filed as required.

(xv)         Possession of Intellectual Property.  The Company and its subsidiaries own or possess, or can acquire on reasonable terms, adequate patents, patent rights, licenses, inventions, copyrights, know-how (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures), trademarks, service marks, trade names or other intellectual property (collectively, “Intellectual Property”) necessary to carry on the business now operated by them in all material respects, and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any notice or is otherwise aware of any infringement of or conflict with asserted rights of others with respect to any Intellectual Property or of any facts or circumstances which would render any Intellectual Property invalid or inadequate to protect the interest of the Company or any of its subsidiaries therein, and which infringement or conflict (if the subject of any unfavorable decision, ruling or finding) or invalidity or inadequacy, singly or in the aggregate, would result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(xvi)        Absence of Further Requirements.  No filing with, or authorization, approval, consent, license, order, registration, qualification or decree of, any court or governmental authority or agency is necessary or required for the performance by the Company or NBP LLC of their respective obligations hereunder, in connection with the offering, issuance or sale of the Securities hereunder or the consummation of the Reorganization or the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the Transaction Documents, except (i) such as have been already obtained or as may be required under the 1933 Act or the 1933 Act Regulations or state securities laws [and (ii) such as have been obtained under the laws and regulations of jurisdictions outside the United States in which the Reserved Securities are offered].

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

(xviii)      Possession of Licenses and Permits.  The Company and its subsidiaries possess such permits, licenses, approvals, consents and other authorizations (collectively, “Governmental Licenses”) issued by the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign regulatory agencies or bodies that are material to the conduct of the business now operated by them; the Company and its subsidiaries are in material compliance with the terms and conditions of all such Governmental

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Licenses; all of the material Governmental Licenses are valid and in full force and effect; and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any such material Governmental Licenses.

(xix)         Title to Property.  The Company and its subsidiaries have good and marketable title to all real property owned by the Company and its subsidiaries and good title to all other properties owned by them, in each case, free and clear of all mortgages, pledges, liens, security interests, claims, restrictions or encumbrances of any kind except such as (a) are described in the Prospectus or (b) do not, singly or in the aggregate, materially affect the value of such property and do not interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company or any of its subsidiaries; and all of the leases and subleases material to the business of the Company and its subsidiaries, considered as one enterprise, and under which the Company or any of its subsidiaries holds properties described in the Prospectus, are in full force and effect, and neither the Company nor any subsidiary has any notice of any material claim of any sort that has been asserted by anyone adverse to the rights of the Company or any subsidiary under any of the leases or subleases mentioned above, or affecting or questioning the rights of the Company or such subsidiary to the continued possession of the leased or subleased premises under any such lease or sublease.

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

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

(xxii)        Registration Rights.  Except as described in the Registration Statement, there are no persons with registration rights or other similar rights to have any securities registered pursuant to the Registration Statement or otherwise registered by the Company under the 1933 Act.

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

(xxiv)                    Compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.  There is and has been no failure on the part of NBP LLC or any of its managers or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply in all material respects with any provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder or implementing the provisions thereof, including Section 402 related to loans and Sections 302 and 906 related to certifications.

(xxv)                       Payment of Taxes.  All United States federal income tax returns of the Company and its subsidiaries required by law to be filed have been filed and all taxes shown by such returns or otherwise assessed, which are due and payable, have been paid, except assessments against which appeals have been or will be promptly taken and as to which adequate reserves have been provided. The Company and its subsidiaries have filed all other tax returns that are required to have been filed by them pursuant to applicable foreign, state, local or other law except insofar as the failure to file such returns would not result in a Material Adverse Effect, and has paid all taxes due pursuant to such returns or pursuant to any assessment received by the Company and its subsidiaries, except for such taxes, if any, as are being contested in good faith and as to which adequate reserves have been provided. The charges, accruals and reserves on the books of the Company in respect of any income and corporation tax liability for any years not finally determined are adequate to meet any assessments or re-assessments for additional income tax for any years not finally determined, except to the extent of any inadequacy that would not result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(xxvi)                    Insurance.  The Company and its subsidiaries carry or are entitled to the benefits of insurance, with insurers reasonably believed by the Company to be financially sound and reputable, in such amounts and covering such risks as is generally maintained by companies of established repute engaged in the same or similar business, and all such insurance is in full force and effect.  The Company has no reason to believe that it or any subsidiary will not be able to obtain substantially comparable coverage at a reasonable cost.  Since January 2007, neither NBP LLC nor any subsidiary has been unable to obtain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost.

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(xxvii)                 Disclosure.  The information in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus under “Our Structure”; “Business—Regulation”; “Business—Legal Proceedings”; “Business—Property”; “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions”; “Description of Capital Stock”; and “Material U.S. Federal Tax Consequences” and in the Registration Statement under Item 14, to the extent that it constitutes matters of law, summaries of legal matters, the Company’s charter and bylaws, NBP LLC’s organizational documents, legal proceedings, or legal conclusions, has been reviewed by the Company and is correct in all material respects.

(xxviii)              Statistical and Market-Related Data.  Any statistical and market-related data included in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company believes to be reliable and accurate.

(xxix)                      Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.  Neither the Company, NBP LLC nor, to the knowledge of the Company and NBP LLC, any director, officer, agent, employee, affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Company, NBP LLC or any of their subsidiaries is aware of or has taken any action, directly or indirectly, that would result in a violation by such persons of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (the “FCPA”), including, without limitation, making use of the mails or any means or instrumentality of interstate commerce corruptly in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay or authorization of the payment of any money, or other property, gift, promise to give, or authorization of the giving of anything of value to any “foreign official” (as such term is defined in the FCPA) or any foreign political party or official thereof or any candidate for foreign political office, in contravention of the FCPA and the Company, NBP LLC and, to the knowledge of the Company and NBP LLC, their respective affiliates have conducted their businesses in compliance with the FCPA and have instituted and maintain policies and procedures designed to ensure, and which are reasonably expected to continue to ensure, continued compliance therewith.

(b)                                 Representations and Warranties by the Founding Members.  Each Founding Member severally, and not jointly, represents and warrants to each Underwriter as of the date hereof, as of the Closing Time, and as of each Date of Delivery, and agrees with each Underwriter, as follows:

(i)                                     Accurate Disclosure.  Each Founding Member has reviewed and is familiar with the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and, to the Knowledge of such Founding Member,  none of the General Disclosure Package, the Prospectus or any amendments or supplements thereto (including any prospectus wrapper) includes any untrue statement of a material fact or omits 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.  Such Founding Member is not prompted to sell its units of NBP LLC to be sold by such Founding Member pursuant the Transaction Documents by any material information concerning the Company, NBP LLC or any subsidiary of the Company or NBP LLC which is not set forth in the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus.  For purposes of this Section 1(b)(i), “Knowledge” means such facts or other information that, as of the date of determination, with respect to U.S. Premium Beef are actually known to Steve Hunt or Scott Miller, with respect to NBPCo, Holdings LLC are actually known to Eldon Roth or Richard Jochum and, with respect to TKK Investments, LLC and TMK Co, are actually known to Tim Klein.

(ii)                                  Authorization of this Agreement.  This Agreement and each Transaction Document to which such Founding Member is a party has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by or on behalf of such Founding Member.

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(iii)                               Noncontravention; Transaction Documents.  The execution and delivery of this Agreement and each Transaction Document to which such Founding Member is a party, the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein and therein and compliance by such Founding Member with its obligations hereunder and thereunder 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 under, or result in the creation or imposition of any tax, lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of such Founding Member pursuant to any contract, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan or credit agreement, note, license, lease or other agreement or instrument to which such Founding Member is a party or by which such Founding Member may be bound, or to which any of the property or assets of such Founding Member is subject, nor will such action result in any violation of the provisions of the charter or by-laws or similar organizational document of such Founding Member, if applicable, or any applicable treaty, law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any government, government instrumentality or court, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over such Founding Member or any of its properties.  Each Transaction Documents to which such Founding Member is a party constitutes a valid and legally binding agreement of such Founding Member, enforceable against such Founding Member in accordance with the terms thereof.

(iv)                              Absence of Further Requirements.  No filing with, or consent, approval, authorization, order, registration, qualification or decree of, any court or governmental authority or agency, domestic or foreign, is necessary or required for the performance by such Founding Member of its obligations hereunder or under any Transaction Document to which it is a party, except (i) such as may have previously been made or obtained or as may be required under the 1933 Act or the 1933 Act Regulations or state securities laws [and (ii) such as have been obtained under the laws and regulations of jurisdictions outside the United States in which the Reserved Securities are offered].

(v)                                 No Association with FINRA.  Neither such Founding Member nor any of such Founding Member’s affiliates directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with, or is a person associated with (within the meaning of Article I (rr) of the By-laws of FINRA), any member firm of FINRA.

(c)                                  Officer’s Certificates.  Any certificate signed by any officer of the Company or any of its subsidiaries delivered to the Representatives or to counsel for the Underwriters shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company to each Underwriter as to the matters covered thereby; and any certificate signed by or on behalf of a Founding Member as such and delivered to the Representatives or to counsel for the Underwriters pursuant to the terms of this Agreement shall be deemed a representation and warranty by such Founding Member to the Underwriters as to the matters covered thereby.

SECTION 2.                                Sale and Delivery to Underwriters; Closing.

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

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

(c)                                  Payment.  Payment of the purchase price for, and delivery of certificates for, the Initial Securities shall be made at the offices of McDermott Will & Emery LLP, 227 West Monroe Street, Chicago, IL 60606, or at such other place as shall be agreed upon by the Representatives and the Company, at 9:00 A.M. (Eastern time) on the third (fourth, if the pricing occurs after 4:30 P.M. (Eastern time) on any given day) business day after the date hereof (unless postponed in accordance with the provisions of Section 10), or such other time not later than ten business days after such date as shall be agreed upon by the Representatives and the Company (such time and date of payment and delivery being herein called “Closing Time”).

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

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

(d)                                 Denominations; Registration.  Certificates for the Initial Securities and the Option Securities, if any, shall be in such denominations and registered in such names as the Representatives may request in writing at least one full business day before the Closing Time or the relevant Date of Delivery, as the case may be.  The certificates for the Initial Securities and the Option Securities, if any, will be made available for examination and packaging by the Representatives in The City of New York not later

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than 10:00 A.M. (Eastern time) on the business day prior to the Closing Time or the relevant Date of Delivery, as the case may be.

SECTION 3.                                Covenants of the Company, NBP LLC and the Founding Members.

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

(b)                                 Filing of Amendments and Exchange Act Documents.  The Company will give the Representatives notice of its intention to file or prepare any amendment to the Registration Statement (including any filing under Rule 462(b)) or any amendment, supplement or revision to either the prospectus included in the Registration Statement at the time it became effective or to the Prospectus, and will furnish the Representatives with copies of any such documents a reasonable amount of time prior to such proposed filing or use, as the case may be, and will not file or use any such document to which the Representatives or counsel for the Underwriters shall object.  The Company has given the Representatives notice of any filings made pursuant to the 1934 Act or 1934 Act Regulations within 48 hours prior to the Applicable Time; the Company will give the Representatives notice of its intention to make any such filing from the Applicable Time to the Closing Time and will furnish the Representatives with copies of any such documents a reasonable amount of time prior to such proposed filing, as the case may be, and will not file or use any such document to which the Representatives or counsel for the Underwriters shall object.

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

(d)                                 Delivery of Prospectuses.  The Company has delivered to each Underwriter, without charge, as many copies of each preliminary prospectus as such Underwriter reasonably requested, and the

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

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

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

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

(h)                                 Use of Proceeds.  The Company will use the net proceeds received by it from the sale of the Securities in the manner specified in the Prospectus under “Use of Proceeds.”

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

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(j)                                     Restriction on Sale of Securities.  During a period of 180 days from the date of the Prospectus, the Company will not, without the prior written consent of the Representatives, (i) directly or indirectly, offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase or otherwise transfer or dispose of any share of Class A Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Class A Common Stock or file any registration statement under the 1933 Act with respect to any of the foregoing or (ii) enter into any swap or any other agreement or any transaction that transfers, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, the economic consequence of ownership of the Class A Common Stock, whether any such swap or transaction described in clause (i) or (ii) above is to be settled by delivery of Class A Common Stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company may make the restricted stock unit grants described in the Prospectus and file a registration statement on Form S-8 with respect to the Company’s equity incentive plan filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement.  The foregoing sentence shall not apply to (A) the Securities to be sold hereunder, (B) any shares of Class A Common Stock issued or options to purchase Class A Common Stock granted pursuant to existing employee benefit plans of the Company referred to in the Prospectus or (C) any shares of Class A Common Stock issued pursuant to any exiting non-employee director stock plan referred to in the Prospectus.  Notwithstanding the foregoing (and except with respect to the issuance of shares of Class A Common Stock in exchange for units in NBP LLC pursuant to the Exchange Agreement), if (1) during the last 17 days of the 180-day restricted period the Company issues an earnings release or material news or a material event relating to the Company occurs or (2) prior to the expiration of the 180-day restricted period, the Company announces that it will release earnings results or becomes aware that material news or a material event will occur during the 16-day period beginning on the last day of the 180-day restricted period, the restrictions imposed in this clause (j) shall continue to apply until the expiration of the 18-day period beginning on the issuance of the earnings release or the occurrence of the material news or material event.

(k)                                  Reporting Requirements.  The Company, during the period when the Prospectus is required to be delivered under the 1933 Act, will file all documents required to be filed with the Commission pursuant to the 1934 Act within the time periods required by the 1934 Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.

(l)                                     Compliance with FINRA Rules.  The Company hereby agrees that it will ensure that the Reserved Securities will be restricted as required by the Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) or the FINRA rules from sale, transfer, assignment, pledge or hypothecation for a period of three months following the date of this Agreement.  The Underwriters will notify the Company as to which persons will need to be so restricted.  At the request of the Underwriters, the Company will direct the transfer agent to place a stop transfer restriction upon such securities for such period of time.  Should the Company release, or seek to release, from such restrictions any of the Reserved Securities, the Company agrees to reimburse the Underwriters for any reasonable expenses (including, without limitation, legal expenses) they incur in connection with such release.

(m)                               Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses.  The Company and each Founding Member represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior consent of the Representative, and each Underwriter represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior consent of the Company and the Representative, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute an “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, or that would otherwise constitute a “free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 405, required to be filed with the Commission or, in the case of each Founding Member, whether or not required to be filed with the Commission.  Any such free writing prospectus consented to by the Company and the Representatives is hereinafter referred to as a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus.”  The Company and the Representatives will be deemed to have consented to the Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses listed on Schedule C-2 and any “road show that is a written communication” within

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the meaning of Rule 433(d)(8)(i).  The Company and each Founding Member represents that it has treated or agrees that it will treat each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, and has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 applicable to any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the Commission where required, legending and record keeping.

(n)                                 Reorganization and Transaction Documents.  The Company and the Founding Members shall effect the Reorganization and consummate the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents in accordance with the terms thereof and the Company shall not waive any condition to the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents without the prior written consent of the Representatives.

SECTION 4.                                Payment of Expenses.

(a)                                  Expenses.  The Company and NBP LLC, jointly and severally, will pay or cause to be paid all expenses incident to the performance of their obligations under this Agreement, including (i) the preparation, printing and filing of the Registration Statement (including financial statements and exhibits) as originally filed and of each amendment thereto, (ii) the preparation, printing and delivery to the Underwriters of this Agreement, any Agreement among Underwriters and such other documents as may be required in connection with the offering, purchase, sale, issuance or delivery of the Securities, (iii) the preparation, issuance and delivery of the certificates for the Securities to the Underwriters, including any stock or other transfer taxes and any stamp or other duties payable upon the sale, issuance or delivery of the Securities to the Underwriters, (iv) the fees and disbursements of the Company’s counsel, accountants and other advisors, (v) the qualification of the Securities under securities laws in accordance with the provisions of Section 3(f) hereof, including filing fees and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection therewith and in connection with the preparation of the Blue Sky Survey and any supplement thereto, (vi) the printing and delivery to the Underwriters of copies of each preliminary prospectus, any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus and of the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto and any costs associated with electronic delivery of any of the foregoing by the Underwriters to investors, (vii) the preparation, printing and delivery to the Underwriters of copies of the Blue Sky Survey and any supplement thereto, (viii) the fees and expenses of any transfer agent or registrar for the Securities, (ix) the out-of-pocket costs and expenses of the Company relating to investor presentations on any “road show” undertaken in connection with the marketing of the Securities, including without limitation, expenses associated with the production of road show slides and graphics, travel and lodging expenses of the representatives and officers of the Company (it being understood that the travel and lodging expenses of personnel of the Underwriters shall be borne by the Underwriters), and the cost of aircraft and other transportation chartered in connection with the road show, (x) the filing fees incident to, and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel to the Underwriters in connection with, the review by FINRA of the terms of the sale of the Securities, (xi) the fees and expenses incurred in connection with the listing of the Securities on the New York Stock Exchange and (xii) all costs and expenses of the Underwriters, including the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters, in connection with matters related to the Reserved Securities which are designated by the Company for sale to Invitees.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Underwriters shall reimburse the Company and NBP LLC for their costs in connection with their obligations under this Agreement in an amount equal to $750,000 in the aggregate if the offering of the Securities contemplated hereby is consummated.

(b)                                 Expenses of the Founding Members.  The Founding Members will pay all expenses incident to the performance of their respective obligations under, and the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including the fees and disbursements of their respective counsel and other advisors.

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(c)                                  Termination of Agreement.  If this Agreement is terminated by the Representatives in accordance with the provisions of Section 5, Section 9(a)(i) or Section 11 hereof, the Company and NBP LLC, jointly and severally, shall reimburse the Underwriters for all of their reasonable out-of-pocket expenses in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters.

(d)                                 Allocation of Expenses.  The provisions of this Section shall not affect any agreement that the Company and the Founding Members may make for the sharing of such costs and expenses.

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

(a)                                  Effectiveness of Registration Statement.  The Registration Statement, including any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, has become effective and at Closing Time no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall have been issued under the 1933 Act or proceedings therefor initiated or threatened by the Commission, and any request on the part of the Commission for additional information shall have been complied with to the reasonable satisfaction of counsel to the Underwriters.  A prospectus containing the Rule 430A Information shall have been filed with the Commission in the manner and within the time frame required by Rule 424(b) without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8) or a post-effective amendment providing such information shall have been filed and declared effective in accordance with the requirements of Rule 430A.

(b)                                 Opinion of Counsel for Company.  At Closing Time, the Representatives shall have received the favorable opinion, dated as of Closing Time, of Sidley Austin LLP, counsel for the Company, and Husch, Blackwell Sanders  LLP, counsel for NBP LLC, both in form and substance satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for each of the other Underwriters to the effect set forth in Exhibit A-1 and A-2  hereto, respectively, and to such further effect as counsel to the Underwriters may reasonably request.

(c)                                  Opinion of Counsel for Underwriters.  At Closing Time, the Representatives shall have received the favorable opinion, dated as of Closing Time, of McDermott Will & Emery LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for each of the other Underwriters covering such matters as the Underwriters may reasonably request.

(d)                                 Officers’ Certificate.  At Closing Time, there shall not have been, since the date hereof or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Prospectus or the General Disclosure Package, any material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business affairs or business prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business, and the Representatives shall have received a certificate of the President or a Vice President of the Company and of the chief financial or chief accounting officer of the Company, dated as of Closing Time, to the effect that (i) there has been no such material adverse change, (ii) the representations and warranties in Section 1(a) hereof are true and correct with the same force and effect as though expressly made at and as of Closing Time, (iii) the Company and NBP LLC have complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on their part to be performed or satisfied at or prior to Closing Time, and (iv) no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to their knowledge, contemplated by the Commission.

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(e)                                  Certificate of Founding Members.  At Closing Time, the Representatives shall have received a certificate of each Founding Member, dated as of Closing Time, to the effect that (i) the representations and warranties of such Founding Member contained in Section 1(b) hereof are true and correct in all respects with the same force and effect as though expressly made at and as of Closing Time and (ii) such Founding Member has complied in all material respects with all agreements and all conditions on its part to be performed under this Agreement at or prior to Closing Time.

(f)                                    Accountant’s Comfort Letter.  At the time of the execution of this Agreement, the Representatives shall have received from KPMG LLP a letter dated such date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for each of the other Underwriters containing statements and information of the type ordinarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters with respect to the financial statements and certain financial information contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.

(g)                                 Bring-down Comfort Letter.  At Closing Time, the Representatives shall have received from KPMG LLP a letter, dated as of Closing Time, to the effect that they reaffirm the statements made in the letter furnished pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section, except that the specified date referred to shall be a date not more than three business days prior to Closing Time.

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

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

(j)                                     Lock-up Agreements.  At the date of this Agreement, the Representatives shall have received an agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit B-1 hereto signed by the persons listed on Schedule D hereto and an agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit B-2 from U.S. Premium Beef.

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

(l)                                     Reorganization.  The Reorganization shall have been completed (or shall be completed simultaneously with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement) substantially on the terms set forth in the Registration Statement.

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

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

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(ii)                                  Certificate of Founding Members.  A certificate, dated such Date of Delivery, of each Founding Member confirming that the certificate delivered at Closing Time pursuant to Section 5(f) remains true and correct as of such Date of Delivery.

(iii)                               Opinion of Counsel for Company.  The favorable opinion of Sidley Austin LLP, counsel for the Company, in form and substance satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters, dated such Date of Delivery, relating to the Option Securities to be purchased on such Date of Delivery and otherwise to the same effect as the opinion required by Section 5(b) hereof.

(iv)                              Opinion of Counsel for Underwriters.  The favorable opinion of McDermott Will & Emery LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, dated such Date of Delivery, relating to the Option Securities to be purchased on such Date of Delivery and otherwise to the same effect as the opinion required by Section 5(c) hereof.

(v)                                 Bring-down Comfort Letter.  A letter from KPMG LLP, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives and dated such Date of Delivery, substantially in the same form and substance as the letter furnished to the Representatives pursuant to Section 5(f) hereof, except that the “specified date” in the letter furnished pursuant to this paragraph shall be a date not more than five days prior to such Date of Delivery.

(n)                                 Additional Documents.  At Closing Time and at each Date of Delivery counsel for the Underwriters shall have been furnished with such documents and opinions as they may require for the purpose of enabling them to pass upon the issuance and sale of the Securities as herein contemplated, or in order to evidence the accuracy of any of the representations or warranties, or the fulfillment of any of the conditions, herein contained; and all proceedings taken by the Company and the Founding Members in connection with the issuance and sale of the Securities as herein contemplated shall be satisfactory in form and substance to the Representatives and counsel for the Underwriters.

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

SECTION 6.                                Indemnification.

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

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

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any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;

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

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

provided, however, that this indemnity agreement shall not apply to any loss, liability, claim, damage or expense to the extent arising out of any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by any Underwriter through Merrill Lynch expressly for use in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), including the Rule 430A Information, or any preliminary prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto).

(b)                                 Indemnification of Underwriters by the Founding Members. Each Founding Member, severally and not jointly, agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, its Affiliates, its selling agents and each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act as follows:

(i)                                     against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred, arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), including the Rule 430A Information or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading or arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact included in any preliminary prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, but only with reference to information relating to such Founding Member furnished in writing by or on behalf of such Founding Member expressly for use in the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), it being understood and agreed that that the only such information furnished by any Founding Member consists of the information set forth opposite such Founding Member’s name on Schedule E hereto;

(ii)                                  against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred, to the extent of the aggregate amount paid in settlement of any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or of any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged

21

untrue statement or omission; provided that (subject to Section 6(e) below) any such settlement is effected with the written consent of the such Founding Member;

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

(c)                                  Indemnification of Company, Directors and Officers and Founding Members.  Each Underwriter severally agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its directors, each of its officers who signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act, and each Founding Member and each person, if any, who controls such Founding Member within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense described in the indemnity contained in subsection (a) of this Section, as incurred, but only with respect to untrue statements or omissions, or alleged untrue statements or omissions, made in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), including the Rule 430A Information or any preliminary prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by such Underwriter through Merrill Lynch expressly for use therein.

(d)                                 Actions against Parties; Notification.  Each indemnified party shall give notice as promptly as reasonably practicable to each indemnifying party of any action commenced against it in respect of which indemnity may be sought hereunder, but failure to so notify an indemnifying party shall not relieve such indemnifying party from any liability hereunder to the extent it is not materially prejudiced as a result thereof and in any event shall not relieve it from any liability which it may have otherwise than on account of this indemnity agreement.  In the case of parties indemnified pursuant to Section 6(a) above, counsel to the indemnified parties shall be selected by the Representatives, and, in the case of parties indemnified pursuant to Section 6(c) above, counsel to the indemnified parties shall be selected by the Company.  An indemnifying party may participate at its own expense in the defense of any such action; provided, however, that counsel to the indemnifying party shall not (except with the consent of the indemnified party) also be counsel to the indemnified party.  In no event shall the indemnifying parties be liable for fees and expenses of more than one counsel (in addition to any local counsel) separate from their own counsel for all indemnified parties in connection with any one action or separate but similar or related actions in the same jurisdiction arising out of the same general allegations or circumstances.  No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified parties, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever in respect of which indemnification or contribution could be sought under this Section 6 or Section 7 hereof (whether or not the indemnified parties are actual or potential parties thereto), unless such settlement, compromise or consent (i) includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party from all liability arising out of such litigation, investigation, proceeding or claim and (ii) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified party.

(e)                                  Settlement without Consent if Failure to Reimburse.  If at any time an indemnified party shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse the indemnified party for fees and expenses of counsel in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, such indemnifying party agrees that it shall be liable for any settlement of the nature contemplated by Section 6(a)(ii) or 6(b)(ii) or settlement of any

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claim in connection with any violation referred to in Section 6(f) effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 60 days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the aforesaid request, (ii) such indemnifying party shall have received notice of the terms of such settlement at least 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.

(f)                                    Indemnification for Reserved Securities.  In connection with the offer and sale of the Reserved Securities, the Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Underwriters, their Affiliates and selling agents and each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of either Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act, from and against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense (including, without limitation, any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with defending, investigating or settling any such action or claim), as incurred, (i) arising out of the violation of any applicable laws or regulations of foreign jurisdictions where Reserved Securities have been offered; (ii) arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any prospectus wrapper or other material prepared by or with the consent of the Company for distribution to Invitees in connection with the offering of the Reserved Securities or caused by any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; (iii) caused by the failure of any Invitee to pay for and accept delivery of Reserved Securities which have been orally confirmed for purchase by any Invitee by the end of the first business day after the date of the Agreement; or (iv) related to, or arising out of or in connection with, the offering of the Reserved Securities.

(g)                                 Other Agreements with Respect to Indemnification.  The provisions of this Section shall not affect any agreement among the Company and the Founding Members with respect to indemnification.

SECTION 7.                                Contribution.  If the indemnification provided for in Section 6 hereof is for any reason unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party in respect of any losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the aggregate amount of such losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses incurred by such indemnified party, as incurred, (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company and the Founding Members on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other hand from the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the Company and the Founding Members on the one hand and of the Underwriters on the other hand in connection with the statements or omissions, or in connection with any violation of the nature referred to in Section 6(f) hereof, which resulted in such losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations.

The relative benefits received by the Company and the Founding Members on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other hand in connection with the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the total net proceeds from the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement (before deducting expenses) received by the Company and the Founding Members (after the application of such proceeds as described in the Prospectus) and the total underwriting discount received by the Underwriters, in each case as set forth on the cover of the Prospectus bear to the aggregate initial public offering price of the Securities as set forth on the cover of the Prospectus.

The relative fault of the Company and the Founding Members on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other hand shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether any such

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untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or the Founding Members or by the Underwriters and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission or any violation of the nature referred to in Section 6(f) hereof.

The Company, the Founding Members and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 7 were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above in this Section 7.  The aggregate amount of losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses incurred by an indemnified party and referred to above in this Section 7 shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 7, no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Securities underwritten by it and distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages which such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of any such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission.

No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the 1933 Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.

For purposes of this Section 7, each person, if any, who controls an Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act and each Underwriter’s Affiliates and selling agents shall have the same rights to contribution as such Underwriter, and each director of the Company, each officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who controls the Company or any Founding Member within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act shall have the same rights to contribution as the Company or the Founding Member, as the case may be.  The Underwriters’ respective obligations to contribute pursuant to this Section 7 are several in proportion to the number of Initial Securities set forth opposite their respective names in Schedule A hereto and not joint.

The provisions of this Section shall not affect any agreement among the Company and the Founding Members with respect to contribution.

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

SECTION 9.                                Termination of Agreement.

(a)                                  Termination; General.  The Representatives may terminate this Agreement, by notice to the Company, at any time at or prior to Closing Time (i) if there has been, since the time of execution of this Agreement or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Prospectus or General

24

Disclosure Package, any material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business affairs or business prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business, or (ii) if there has occurred any material adverse change in the financial markets in the United States or the international financial markets, any outbreak of hostilities or escalation thereof or other calamity or crisis or any change or development involving a prospective change in national or international political, financial or economic conditions, in each case the effect of which is such as to make it, in the judgment of the Representatives, impracticable or inadvisable to market the Securities or to enforce contracts for the sale of the Securities, or (iii) if trading in any securities of the Company has been suspended or materially limited by the Commission or the New York Stock Exchange, or if trading generally on the American Stock Exchange or the New York Stock Exchange or in the Nasdaq National Market has been suspended or materially limited, or minimum or maximum prices for trading have been fixed, or maximum ranges for prices have been required, by any of said exchanges or by such system or by order of the Commission, FINRA or any other governmental authority, or (iv) a material disruption has occurred in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services in the United States, or (v) if a banking moratorium has been declared by either Federal or New York authorities.

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

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

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

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

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

In the event of any such default which does not result in a termination of this Agreement or, in the case of a Date of Delivery which is after the Closing Time, which does not result in a termination of the obligation of the Underwriters to purchase and the Company to sell the relevant Option Securities, as the case may be, either the (i) Representatives or (ii) the Company and any Founding Member shall have the right to postpone Closing Time or the relevant Date of Delivery, as the case may be, for a period not exceeding seven days in order to effect any required changes in the Registration Statement or Prospectus

25

or in any other documents or arrangements.  As used herein, the term “Underwriter” includes any person substituted for an Underwriter under this Section 10.

SECTION 11.                          Default by the Company.  If the Company shall fail at Closing Time or at the Date of Delivery to sell the number of Securities that it is obligated to sell hereunder, then this Agreement shall terminate without any liability on the part of any nondefaulting party; provided, however, that the provisions of Sections 1, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 17 shall remain in full force and effect.  No action taken pursuant to this Section shall relieve the Company from liability, if any, in respect of such default.

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

SECTION 13.                          Notices.  All notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given if mailed or transmitted by any standard form of telecommunication.  Notices to the Underwriters shall be directed to the Representatives at Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, 4 World Financial Center, New York, New York 10080, attention: [·] and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Eleven Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10010, attention: LCD-IBD; notices to the Company shall be directed to it at 12200 N. Ambassador Drive, Suite 500, Kansas City, Kansas 64163, attention:  Bret G. Wilson, Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary; notices to the Founding Members shall be directed to them at the address for notice set forth next to the name of each Founding Member on Schedule F hereto.

SECTION 14.                          No Advisory or Fiduciary Relationship.  Each of the Company and each Founding Member acknowledges and agrees that (a) the purchase and sale of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement, including the determination of the public offering price of the Securities and any related discounts and commissions, is an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the Company, on the one hand, and the several Underwriters, on the other hand, (b) in connection with the offering contemplated hereby and the process leading to such transaction each Underwriter is and has been acting solely as a principal and is not the agent or fiduciary of the Company or any Founding Member, or its respective stockholders, creditors, employees or any other party, (c) no Underwriter has assumed or will assume an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company or any Founding Member with respect to the offering contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether such Underwriter has advised or is currently advising the Company or any Founding Member on other matters) and no Underwriter has any obligation to the Company or any Founding Member with respect to the offering contemplated hereby except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement, (d) the Underwriters and their respective affiliates may be engaged in a broad range of transactions that involve interests that differ from those of each of the Company and each Founding Member, and (e) the Underwriters have not provided any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to the offering contemplated hereby and the Company and each of the Founding Members has consulted its own respective legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate.

SECTION 15.                          Parties.  This Agreement shall each inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Underwriters, the Company and the Founding Members and their respective successors.  Nothing

26

expressed or mentioned in this Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give any person, firm or corporation, other than the Underwriters, the Company and the Founding Members and their respective successors and the controlling persons and officers and directors referred to in Sections 6 and 7 and their heirs and legal representatives, any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement or any provision herein contained.  This Agreement and all conditions and provisions hereof are intended to be for the sole and exclusive benefit of the Underwriters, the Company and the Founding Members and their respective successors, and said controlling persons and officers and directors and their heirs and legal representatives, and for the benefit of no other person, firm or corporation.  No purchaser of Securities from any Underwriter shall be deemed to be a successor by reason merely of such purchase.

SECTION 16.                          Trial by Jury.  The Company (on its behalf and, to the extent permitted by applicable law, on behalf of its stockholders and affiliates), each of the Founding Members and each of the Underwriters hereby irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.

SECTION 17.                          GOVERNING LAW.  THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

SECTION 18.                          TIME. TIME SHALL BE OF THE ESSENCE OF THIS AGREEMENT. EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE SET FORTH HEREIN, SPECIFIED TIMES OF DAY REFER TO NEW YORK CITY TIME.

SECTION 19.                          Counterparts.  This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same Agreement.

SECTION 20.                          Effect of Headings.  The Section headings herein are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction hereof.

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

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

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SCHEDULE A

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

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

Sch A-1

SCHEDULE B

Sch B - 1

SCHEDULE C-1

Pricing Terms

1.                                       The Company is selling [·] shares of Class A Common Stock.

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

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

SCHEDULE C-2

Free Writing Prospectuses

[SPECIFY EACH ISSUER GENERAL USE FREE WRITING PROSPECTUS]

Sch C - 1

SCHEDULE D

[List of persons and entities
subject to lock-up]

Sch D - 1

SCHEDULE E

Information Concerning Founding Members

Sch E - 1

SCHEDULE F

Addresses for Notice

Sch F - 1

Exhibit A-1

FORM OF OPINION OF SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
TO BE DELIVERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 5(b)

A-1

Exhibit A-2

FORM OF OPINION OF HUSCH BLACKWELL SANDERS LLP
TO BE DELIVERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 5(b)

A-2

Exhibit B-1

[·], 2009

MERRILL LYNCH & CO.
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith

Incorporated,

CREDIT SUISSE SECURITIES (USA) LLC

as Representatives of the several

Underwriters to be named in the

within-mentioned Purchase Agreement
c/o  Merrill Lynch & Co.

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith

Incorporated

4 World Financial Center
New York, New York  10080

Re:                               Proposed Public Offering by National Beef, Inc.

Dear Sirs:

The undersigned, a stockholder [and an officer and/or director] of National Beef, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), understands that Merrill Lynch & Co., Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (“Merrill Lynch”) and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC (“Credit Suisse”) propose(s) to enter into a Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with the Company and the Founding Members providing for the public offering of shares (the “Securities”) of the Company’s Class A common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Class A Common Stock”).  In recognition of the benefit that such an offering will confer upon the undersigned as a stockholder [and an officer and/or director] of the Company, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the undersigned agrees with each underwriter to be named in the Purchase Agreement that, during a period of 180 days from the date of the Purchase Agreement, the undersigned will not, without the prior written consent of Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse, directly or indirectly, (i) offer, pledge, sell, exchange, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant for the sale of, or otherwise dispose of or transfer any shares of the Company’s Class A Common Stock or any Class A Units of National Beef Packing Company, LLC (the “NBP LLC Class A Units”) or any other securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for Class A Common Stock or NBP LLC Class A Units, whether now owned or hereafter acquired by the undersigned or with respect to which the undersigned has or hereafter acquires the power of disposition, or file, or cause to be filed, any registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, with respect to any of the foregoing (collectively, the “Lock-Up Securities”) or (ii) enter into any swap or any other agreement or any transaction that transfers, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, the economic consequence of ownership of the Lock-Up Securities, whether any such swap or transaction is to be settled by delivery of Class A Common Stock, or NBP LLC Class A Units or other securities, in cash or otherwise.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, and subject to the conditions below, the undersigned may transfer the Lock-Up Securities without the prior written consent of Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse, provided that (1) Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse receive a signed lock-up agreement for the balance of the lock-up

B-1-1

period from each donee, trustee, distributee, or transferee, as the case may be, (2) any such transfer shall not involve a disposition for value, (3) such transfers are not required to be reported in any public report or filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission or otherwise and (4) the undersigned does not otherwise voluntarily effect any public filing or report regarding such transfers:

(i)                                   as a bona fide gift or gifts; or

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

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if:

(1)                                  during the last 17 days of the 180-day lock-up period, the Company issues an earnings release or material news or a material event relating to the Company occurs; or

(2)                                  prior to the expiration of the 180-day lock-up period, the Company announces that it will release earnings results or becomes aware that material news or a material event will occur during the 16-day period beginning on the last day of the 180-day lock-up period,

the restrictions imposed by this lock-up agreement shall continue to apply until the expiration of the 18-day period beginning on the issuance of the earnings release or the occurrence of the material news or material event, as applicable, unless Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse waive, in writing, such extension; provided that if the lock-up period has been extended beyond 180 days after the date of the Purchase Agreement pursuant to this paragraph, at any time following the 180th day after the date of the Purchase Agreement, the undersigned shall be permitted to exchange NBP LLC Class A Units for shares of Class A Common Stock pursuant to the Exchange Agreement among the Company and the Founding Members to be entered into in connection with the offering, it being understood that the shares of Class A Common Stock issued in the exchange shall remain subject to the restrictions imposed by this lock-up agreement for the balance of the extension period.

The undersigned hereby acknowledges and agrees that written notice of any extension of the 180-day lock-up period pursuant to the previous paragraph will be delivered by Merrill Lynch to the Company (in accordance with Section 12 of the Purchase Agreement) and that any such notice properly delivered will be deemed to have been given to, and received by, the undersigned. The undersigned further agrees that, prior to engaging in any transaction or taking any other action that is subject to the terms of this lock-up agreement during the period from the date of this lock-up agreement to and including the 34th day following the expiration of the initial 180-day lock-up period, it will give notice thereof to the Company and will not consummate such transaction or take any such action unless it has received written confirmation from the Company that the 180-day lock-up period (as may have been extended pursuant to the previous paragraph) has expired.

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

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Exhibit B-2

[·], 2009

MERRILL LYNCH & CO.
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith

Incorporated,

CREDIT SUISSE SECURITIES (USA) LLC

as Representatives of the several

Underwriters to be named in the

within-mentioned Purchase Agreement

c/o  Merrill Lynch & Co.

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith

Incorporated

4 World Financial Center
New York, New York  10080

Re:                               Proposed Public Offering by National Beef, Inc.

Dear Sirs:

The undersigned, a stockholder of National Beef, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), understands that Merrill Lynch & Co., Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (“Merrill Lynch”) and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC (“Credit Suisse”) propose(s) to enter into a Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with the Company and the Founding Members providing for the public offering of shares (the “Securities”) of the Company’s Class A common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Class A Common Stock”).  In recognition of the benefit that such an offering will confer upon the undersigned as a stockholder of the Company, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the undersigned agrees with each underwriter to be named in the Purchase Agreement that, (A) during a period of 270 days from the date of the Purchase Agreement, the undersigned will not, without the prior written consent of Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse, directly or indirectly, (i) offer, pledge, sell, exchange, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant for the sale of, or otherwise dispose of or transfer any shares of the Company’s Class A Common Stock or any Class A Units of National Beef Packing Company, LLC (the “NBP LLC Class A Units”) or any other securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for Class A Common Stock or NBP LLC Class A Units, whether now owned or hereafter acquired by the undersigned or with respect to which the undersigned has or hereafter acquires the power of disposition, or file, or cause to be filed, any registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, with respect to any of the foregoing (collectively, the “Lock-Up Securities”) or (ii) enter into any swap or any other agreement or any transaction that transfers, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, the economic consequence of ownership of the Lock-Up Securities, whether any such swap or transaction is to be settled by delivery of Class A Common Stock, or NBP LLC Class A Units or other securities, in cash or otherwise (the activities described in the preceding clauses (i) and (ii) being referred to as the “Restricted Activities”) and (B) during the period commencing 271 days from the date of the Purchase Agreement until the date that is 360 days from the date of the Purchase Agreement, the undersigned will not, without the prior written consent of Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse, directly or indirectly, engage in any Restricted Activities with respect to NBP

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Class A Units (or shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon exchange thereof) representing 50% of the NBP Class A Units held by the undersigned as of consummation of the offering.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, and subject to the conditions below, the undersigned may transfer the Lock-Up Securities without the prior written consent of Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse, provided that (1) Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse receive a signed lock-up agreement for the balance of the lock-up period from each donee, trustee, distributee, or transferee, as the case may be, (2) any such transfer shall not involve a disposition for value, (3) such transfers are not required to be reported in any public report or filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission or otherwise and (4) the undersigned does not otherwise voluntarily effect any public filing or report regarding such transfers:

(i)                                   as a bona fide gift or gifts; or

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

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if:

(1)                                  during the last 17 days of either the 270-day or the 360-day lock-up period, the Company issues an earnings release or material news or a material event relating to the Company occurs; or

(2)                                  prior to the expiration of either the 270-day or the 360-day lock-up period, the Company announces that it will release earnings results or becomes aware that material news or a material event will occur during the 16-day period beginning on the last day of either the 270-day or the 360-day lock-up period,

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

At any time following the 180th day after the date of the Purchase Agreement, the undersigned shall be permitted to exchange NBP LLC Class A Units for shares of Class A Common Stock pursuant to the Exchange Agreement among the Company and the Founding Members to be entered into in connection with the offering, it being understood that the shares of Class A Common Stock issued in the exchange shall remain subject to the restrictions imposed by this lock-up agreement.

The undersigned hereby acknowledges and agrees that written notice of any extension of the 360-day lock-up period pursuant to the previous paragraph will be delivered by Merrill Lynch to the Company (in accordance with Section 12 of the Purchase Agreement) and that any such notice properly delivered will be deemed to have been given to, and received by, the undersigned. The undersigned further agrees that, prior to engaging in any transaction or taking any other action that is subject to the terms of this lock-up agreement during the period from the date of this lock-up agreement to and including the 34th day following the expiration of the initial 360-day lock-up period, it will give notice thereof to the Company and will not consummate such transaction or take any such action unless it has received written confirmation from the Company that the 360-day lock-up period (as may have been extended pursuant to the previous paragraph) has expired.

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

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