Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2)
Registration Statement No. 333-253421

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GS Finance Corp.
$206,000
Callable Contingent Coupon Equity-Linked Notes due 2023
guaranteed by
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
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The notes do not pay a fixed coupon and may pay no coupon on a
payment date. The amount that you
will be paid on your notes is based on the performance of the
common stock of Schlumberger N.V. (Schlumberger Limited).
The notes will mature on August
25, 2023, unless we redeem them.
We may redeem your notes at 100% of their face amount plus any
coupon then due on any quarterly payment date (each date specified
as such on page S-4 of this prospectus supplement, commencing in
February 2023 and ending on the stated maturity date) on or after
the payment date in February 2023 up to the payment date in May
2023.
If we do not redeem
your notes, on each observation date (each date specified as such
on page S-4 of this prospectus supplement), if the closing price of
the index stock is greater than or equal to 50% of its initial
index stock price of $53.64, you will receive on the applicable
payment date a coupon of $30.375 (3.0375% quarterly, or the
potential for up to 12.15% per annum) for each $1,000 face amount
of your notes. If the closing price
of the index stock on an observation date is less than 50% of its
initial index stock price, you will not
receive a coupon on the applicable
payment date.
If we do not redeem
your notes, the amount that you will be paid on your notes at
maturity, in addition to the final coupon, if any, is based on the
performance of the index stock. The index stock return is the
percentage increase or decrease in the closing price of the index
stock on the final observation date (the final index stock price)
from the initial index stock price.
At maturity, for each $1,000 face amount of your notes you will
receive an amount in cash equal to:
•
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if the index stock return is
greater than
or equal to -50% (the final index stock price is
greater than or
equal to 50% of the initial
index stock price), $1,000 plus the final coupon; or
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•
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if the index stock return is
less than
-50% (the final index stock price is less than 50% of the initial
index stock price), the
sum
of (i) $1,000 plus (ii) the product of (a) the index stock return times (b) $1,000. You will receive
less
than 50% of
the face amount of your notes and you will not receive a final
coupon.
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You should read the disclosure herein to better understand the
terms and risks of your investment, including the credit risk of GS
Finance Corp. and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. See page S-18.
The estimated value of your notes at the time the terms of your
notes are set on the trade date is equal to approximately $983 per
$1,000 face amount. For a discussion of the estimated value and the
price at which Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC would initially buy or
sell your notes, if it makes a market in the notes, see the
following page.
Original issue date:
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November 28, 2022
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Original issue price:
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100% of the face amount
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Underwriting discount:
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0.75% of the face amount
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Net proceeds to the issuer:
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99.25% of the face amount
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Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any other
regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities or
passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any
representation to the contrary is a criminal offense. The notes are
not bank deposits and are not insured by the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency, nor are
they obligations of, or guaranteed by, a bank.
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC
Prospectus Supplement No. 8,378 dated November 22, 2022.
The issue price, underwriting discount and net proceeds listed
above relate to the notes we sell initially. We may
decide to sell additional notes after the date of this prospectus
supplement, at issue prices and with underwriting discounts and net
proceeds that differ from the amounts set forth above. The return
(whether positive or negative) on your investment in notes will
depend in part on the issue price you pay for such notes.
GS Finance Corp. may use this prospectus in the initial sale of the
notes. In addition, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC or any other
affiliate of GS Finance Corp. may use this prospectus in a
market-making transaction in a note after its initial
sale. Unless GS Finance Corp. or
its agent informs the purchaser otherwise in the confirmation of
sale, this prospectus is being used in a market-making
transaction.
Estimated Value of Your Notes
The estimated value of your notes at the time the terms of your
notes are set on the trade date (as determined by reference to
pricing models used by Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (GS&Co.) and
taking into account our credit spreads) is equal to approximately
$983 per $1,000 face amount, which is less than the original issue
price. The value of your notes at any time will reflect many
factors and cannot be predicted; however, the price (not including
GS&Co.’s customary bid and ask spreads) at which GS&Co.
would initially buy or sell notes (if it makes a market, which it
is not obligated to do) and the value that GS&Co. will
initially use for account statements and otherwise is equal to
approximately the estimated value of your notes at the time of
pricing, plus an additional amount (initially equal to $12 per
$1,000 face amount).
Prior to February 27, 2023, the price (not including GS&Co.’s
customary bid and ask spreads) at which GS&Co. would buy or
sell your notes (if it makes a market, which it is not obligated to
do) will equal approximately the sum of (a) the then-current
estimated value of your notes (as determined by reference to
GS&Co.’s pricing models) plus (b) any remaining additional
amount (the additional amount will decline to zero on a
straight-line basis from the time of pricing through February 26,
2023). On and after February 27, 2023, the price (not including
GS&Co.’s customary bid and ask spreads) at which GS&Co.
would buy or sell your notes (if it makes a market) will equal
approximately the then-current estimated value of your notes
determined by reference to such pricing models.
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About Your Prospectus
The notes are part of the
Medium-Term Notes, Series F program of GS Finance Corp. and are
fully and unconditionally guaranteed by The Goldman Sachs Group,
Inc. This prospectus includes this prospectus supplement
and the accompanying documents listed below. This
prospectus supplement constitutes a supplement to the documents
listed below, does not set forth all of the terms of your notes and
therefore should be read in conjunction with such
documents:
•Prospectus
supplement dated March 22, 2021
•Prospectus
dated March 22, 2021
The information in this prospectus supplement supersedes any
conflicting information in the documents listed above. In addition,
some of the terms or features described in the listed documents may
not apply to your notes.
We refer to the notes we are offering by this prospectus supplement
as the “offered notes” or the “notes”. Each of the offered notes
has the terms described below. Please note that in this prospectus
supplement, references to “GS Finance Corp.”, “we”, “our” and “us”
mean only GS Finance Corp. and do not include its subsidiaries or
affiliates, references to “The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.”, our
parent company, mean only The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and do not
include its subsidiaries or affiliates and references to “Goldman
Sachs” mean The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. together with its
consolidated subsidiaries and affiliates, including us. The notes
will be issued under the senior debt indenture, dated as of October
10, 2008, as supplemented by the First Supplemental Indenture,
dated as of February 20, 2015, each among us, as issuer, The
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., as guarantor, and The Bank of New York
Mellon, as trustee. This indenture, as so supplemented and as
further supplemented thereafter, is referred to as the “GSFC 2008
indenture” in the accompanying prospectus supplement.
The notes will be issued in book-entry form and represented by
master note no. 3, dated March 22, 2021.
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S-2
Terms AND CONDITIONS
CUSIP / ISIN: 40057NZH3 /
US40057NZH33
Company (Issuer): GS Finance
Corp.
Guarantor: The Goldman Sachs
Group, Inc.
Index stock: the common stock of Schlumberger N.V.
(Schlumberger Limited) (current Bloomberg ticker: “SLB UN”), as it
may be replaced or adjusted from time to time as provided
herein
Face amount: $206,000 in the
aggregate on the original issue date; the aggregate face amount may
be increased if the company, at its sole option, decides to sell an
additional amount on a date subsequent to the trade date
Authorized denominations: $1,000
or any integral multiple of $1,000 in excess thereof
Principal amount: Subject to redemption by the
company as provided under “— Company’s redemption right” below, on
the stated maturity date, in addition to the final coupon, if any,
the company will pay, for each $1,000 of the outstanding face
amount, an amount, if any, in cash equal to the cash settlement
amount.
Cash settlement amount:
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if the final index
stock price is greater
than or
equal
to the trigger
buffer price, $1,000; or
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●
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if the final index
stock price is less than
the trigger buffer
price, the sum
of (i)
$1,000
plus
(ii) the
product
of (a) the index stock
return times
(b) $1,000
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Company’s redemption
right: the company may
redeem this note, at its option, in whole but not in part, on each
coupon payment date commencing in February 2023 and ending
in May
2023, for an amount in
cash for each $1,000 of the outstanding face amount on the
redemption date equal to 100% of such $1,000 face amount plus any
coupon then due.
If the company chooses to
exercise the company’s redemption right, it will notify the holder
of this note and the trustee by giving at least three business
days’ prior notice. The day the company gives notice, which will be
a business day, will be the redemption notice date and the
immediately following coupon payment date, which the company will
state in the redemption notice, will be the redemption
date.
The company will not give a
redemption notice that results in a redemption date later than
the May 2023 coupon
payment date. A redemption notice, once given, shall be
irrevocable.
Initial index stock price: $53.64
Final index stock price: the
closing price of one share of the index stock on the determination
date, subject to adjustment as provided in “— Consequences of a
market disruption event or non-trading day” and “— Anti-dilution
adjustments” below
Index stock return: the
quotient
of (i) the final index stock
price minus the initial index stock price
divided
by (ii) the initial index
stock price, expressed as a percentage
Trigger buffer price: 50% of the
initial index stock price
Coupon: subject to the company’s
redemption right, on each coupon payment date, for each $1,000 of
the outstanding face amount, the company will pay an amount in cash
equal to:
●
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if the closing price of
the index stock on the related coupon observation date is
greater than or
equal to the
coupon trigger price, $30.375 (3.0375% quarterly, or the potential
for up to 12.15% per annum); or
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●
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if the closing price of
the index stock on the related coupon observation date is
less
than the coupon
trigger price, $0
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The coupon paid on any coupon payment date will be paid to the
person in whose name this note is registered as of the close of
business on the regular record date for such coupon payment date.
If the coupon is due at maturity but on a day that is not a coupon
payment date, the coupon will be paid to the person entitled to
receive the principal of this note.
Coupon trigger price: 50% of the
initial index stock price
S-3
Trade date: November 22,
2022
Original issue date: November 28,
2022
Determination date: the last
coupon observation date, August 22, 2023, subject to adjustment as described under “—
Coupon observation dates” below.
Stated maturity date: August 25,
2023, unless that day is not a business day, in which case the
stated maturity date will be postponed to the next following
business day. If the determination date is postponed as
described under “— Determination date” above, the stated maturity
date will be postponed as provided under “— Coupon payment dates”
below.
Coupon observation dates: each
date specified as such in the table under “— Coupon payment dates”
below, unless the calculation agent determines that a market
disruption event occurs or is continuing on that day or that day is
not otherwise a trading day. In that event, the coupon observation
date will be the first following trading day on which the
calculation agent determines that a market disruption event does
not occur and is not continuing. In no event, however, will the
coupon observation date be postponed to a date later than the
originally scheduled coupon payment date or, if the originally
scheduled coupon payment date is not a business day, later than the
first business day after the originally scheduled coupon payment
date. On such last possible coupon observation date applicable to
the relevant coupon payment date, if a market disruption event
occurs or is continuing or such day is not a trading day, that day
will nevertheless be the coupon observation date.
Coupon payment dates:
each date specified as such in
the table below, unless, for any such coupon payment date, that day
is not a
business day, in which case such
coupon payment date will be postponed to the next following
business day. If a coupon observation date is postponed as
described under “— Coupon observation dates” above, the related
coupon payment date will be postponed by the same number of
business day(s) from but excluding the originally scheduled coupon
observation date to and including the actual coupon observation
date.
Coupon Observation Dates
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Coupon Payment Dates
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February 22, 2023
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February 27, 2023
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May 22, 2023
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May 25, 2023
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August 22, 2023
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August 25, 2023
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Closing price: on any trading day,
with respect to the index stock, the closing sale price or last
reported sale price, regular way, for such index stock, on a
per-share or other unit basis:
•
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on the principal national
securities exchange on which such index stock is listed for trading
on that day, or
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•
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if such index stock is not
listed on any national securities exchange on that day, on any
other U.S. national market system that is the primary market for
the trading of such index stock.
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If the index stock is not
listed or traded as described above, then the closing price for
such index stock on any day will be the average, as determined by
the calculation agent, of the bid prices for such index stock
obtained from as many dealers in such index stock selected by the
calculation agent as will make those bid prices available to the
calculation agent. The number of dealers need not exceed
three and may include the calculation agent or any of its or the
company’s affiliates.
The closing price of the
index stock is subject to adjustment as described under “—
Anti-dilution adjustments” below.
Trading day: a day on which the
principal securities market for the index stock is open for
trading
Index stock issuer: with respect
to the index stock, the issuer of such index stock as then in
effect
Market disruption event: With respect to any
given trading day, any of the following will be a market disruption
event with respect to the index stock:
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a suspension, absence or
material limitation of trading in the index stock on its primary
market for more than two consecutive hours of trading or during the
one-half hour before the close of trading in that market, as
determined by the calculation agent in its sole
discretion,
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S-4
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a suspension, absence or
material limitation of trading in option or futures contracts
relating to the index stock in the primary market for those
contracts for more than two consecutive hours of trading or during
the one-half hour before the close of trading in that
market, as
determined by the calculation agent in its sole discretion,
or
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•
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the index stock does not
trade on what was the primary market for the index stock, as
determined by the calculation agent in its sole
discretion,
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and, in the case of any of
these events, the calculation agent determines in its sole
discretion that such event could materially interfere with the
ability of the company or any of its affiliates or a similarly
situated person to unwind all or a material portion of a hedge that
could be effected with respect to this note.
The following events will
not be market disruption events:
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a limitation on the hours
or numbers of days of trading, but only if the limitation results
from an announced change in the regular business hours of the
relevant market, and
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•
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a decision to permanently
discontinue trading in option or futures contracts relating to the
index stock.
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For this purpose, an
“absence of trading” in the primary securities market on which
shares of the index stock are traded, or on which option or futures
contracts relating to the index stock are traded, will not include
any time when that market is itself closed for trading under
ordinary circumstances. In contrast, a suspension or
limitation of trading in shares of the index stock or in option or
futures contracts, if available, relating to the index stock in the
primary market for that index stock or those contracts, by reason
of:
•
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a price change exceeding
limits set by that market,
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•
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an imbalance of orders
relating to the shares of the index stock or those contracts,
or
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•
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a disparity in bid and ask
quotes relating to the shares of the index stock or those
contracts,
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will constitute a
suspension or material limitation of trading in shares of the index
stock or those contracts in that market.
Consequences of a market
disruption event or a non-trading day: If a market disruption event occurs or is
continuing on a day that would otherwise be a coupon observation
date (and the determination date in the case of the last coupon
observation date), or such day is not a trading day, then such
coupon observation date will be postponed as described under “—
Coupon observation dates” above. If the calculation agent
determines that the closing price of the index stock that must be
used to determine the coupon payable on the coupon payment date, if
any, or the cash settlement amount, as applicable, is not available
on the last possible coupon observation date (and the determination
date in the case of the last coupon observation date), because of a
market disruption event, a non-trading day or for any other reason
(other than as described under “— Anti-dilution adjustments”
below), then the calculation agent will nevertheless determine the
index stock price based on its assessment, in its sole discretion,
of the price of the index stock at the applicable time on that
day.
Regular record dates: the
scheduled business day immediately preceding the day on which
payment is to be made (as such payment date may be
adjusted)
Anti-dilution adjustments: The
calculation agent will adjust the reference amount of the index
stock in respect of each event for which adjustment is required
under any of the six subsections beginning with “Stock splits”
below (and not in respect of any other event). (If more
than one such event occurs, the calculation agent shall adjust the
reference amount as so provided for each such event, sequentially,
in the order in which such events occur, and on a cumulative
basis.) Having adjusted the reference amount for any and
all such events as so provided, the calculation agent shall
determine a closing price for the reference amount as so adjusted
on the coupon observation date or the determination date, as
applicable. (If the reference amount is adjusted
pursuant to “Reorganization events” below so as to consist of
distribution property, then the closing price on any coupon
observation date or the determination date, as applicable, shall
equal the sum of the respective closing prices or other
values for all such distribution property on such coupon
observation date or the determination date, as provided in
“Reorganization events” below.) Having determined the
closing price on any coupon observation date or the determination
date, as applicable, the calculation agent shall use such prices to
calculate the coupon, if applicable, the occurrence of a redemption
event, or the cash settlement amount. The calculation
agent shall
S-5
make all adjustments no later
than the applicable coupon observation date or the determination
date, as applicable.
Notwithstanding any other provision in this note, if an event for
which adjustment is required under any of the six subsections
beginning with “Stock splits” below occurs, the calculation agent
may make the adjustment and any related determinations and
calculations in a manner that differs from that specified in this
note as necessary to achieve an equitable result. Upon written
request by the holder to the calculation agent, the calculation
agent will provide the holder with such information about these
adjustments as such agent determines is appropriate.
Stock splits. A
stock split is an increase in the number of a corporation’s
outstanding shares of stock without any change in its stockholders’
equity. Each outstanding share will be worth less as a result of a
stock split. If the index stock is subject to a stock split, then
at the opening of business on the first day on which such index
stock trades without the right to receive the stock split, the
calculation agent will adjust the reference amount to equal
the sum
of the
reference amount in effect immediately prior to such
adjustment plus
the
product of (i) the number of
new shares issued in the stock split with respect to one share of
such index stock times (ii) the reference
amount in effect immediately prior to such
adjustment. The reference amount will not be adjusted,
however, unless such first day occurs after the trade date and on
or before the applicable coupon observation date or the
determination date, as applicable.
Reverse stock splits. A reverse stock split is
a decrease in the number of a corporation’s outstanding shares of
stock without any change in its stockholders’ equity. Each
outstanding share will be worth more as a result of a reverse stock
split. If the index stock is subject to a reverse stock split, then
once the reverse stock split becomes effective, the calculation
agent will adjust the reference amount to equal the
product of the reference amount in
effect immediately prior to such adjustment and the
quotient of (i) the number of
shares of such index stock outstanding immediately after the
reverse stock split becomes effective divided by (ii) the number of
shares of such index stock outstanding immediately before the
reverse stock split becomes effective. The reference
amount will not be adjusted, however, unless the reverse stock
split becomes effective after the trade date and on or before the
applicable coupon observation date or the determination date, as
applicable.
Stock dividends. In a stock dividend, a
corporation issues additional shares of its stock to all holders of
its outstanding shares of its stock in proportion to the shares
they own. Each outstanding share will be worth less as a result of
a stock dividend. If the index stock is subject to a
stock dividend that is given ratably to all holders of such index
stock, then at the opening of business on the ex-dividend date, the
calculation agent will adjust the reference amount to equal the
reference amount in effect immediately prior to such
adjustment plus
the
product of (i) the number of
shares issued in the stock dividend with respect to one share of
such index stock times (ii) the reference
amount in effect immediately prior to such
adjustment. The reference amount will not be adjusted,
however, unless such ex-dividend date occurs after the trade date
and on or before the applicable coupon observation date or the
determination date, as applicable.
Other dividends and distributions. There will be no
adjustments to the reference amount to reflect dividends or other
distributions paid with respect to the index stock other
than:
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stock dividends as provided in “Stock
dividends” above,
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•
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issuances of transferable rights or
warrants as provided in “Transferable rights and warrants”
below,
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•
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dividends or other distributions
constituting spin-off events as provided in “Reorganization events”
below, or
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•
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extraordinary dividends described
below.
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A dividend or other distribution with respect to the index stock
will be deemed to be an “extraordinary dividend” if its per share
value of such dividend or other distribution exceeds the per share
value of the immediately preceding dividend or distribution with
respect to such index stock, if any, that is not an extraordinary
dividend by an amount equal to at least 10% of the closing price of
such index stock on the trading day immediately preceding the
ex-dividend date for such extraordinary dividend.
If an extraordinary dividend occurs with respect to the index
stock, the calculation agent will adjust the reference amount to
equal the product of
(a) the reference amount in effect immediately prior to such
adjustment and (b) a fraction, the numerator of which is the
closing price of such index stock on the trading day immediately
preceding the ex-dividend date and the denominator of which is the
amount by which such closing price exceeds the extraordinary
dividend amount.
S-6
The “extraordinary dividend amount” with respect to an
extraordinary dividend for the index stock will equal:
•
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in the case of an extraordinary
dividend that is paid in lieu of a regular quarterly dividend, the
amount per share of such extraordinary dividend minus the amount per share of the immediately preceding
dividend or distribution with respect to such index stock, if any,
that is not an extraordinary dividend or
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•
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in the case of an extraordinary
dividend that is not paid in lieu of a regular quarterly dividend,
the amount per share of such extraordinary
dividend.
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To the extent an extraordinary dividend is not paid in cash, the
value of the non-cash component will be determined by the
calculation agent. A distribution on the index stock
that constitutes a stock dividend, an issuance of transferable
rights or warrants or a spin-off event and also constitutes an
extraordinary dividend will result only in an adjustment to the
reference amount pursuant to “Stock dividends” above, “Transferable
rights and warrants” below or “Reorganization events” below, as
applicable. The reference amount will not be adjusted
pursuant to this subsection unless the ex-dividend date for the
extraordinary dividend occurs after the trade date and on or before
the applicable coupon observation date or the determination date,
as applicable.
Transferable rights and warrants. If the index stock issuer
issues transferable rights or warrants to all holders of the index
stock to subscribe for or purchase the index stock at an exercise
price per share less than the closing price of the index stock on
the trading day immediately before the ex-dividend date for such
issuance, then the calculation agent will adjust the reference
amount by multiplying the reference amount in
effect immediately prior to such adjustment by a
fraction:
•
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the numerator of which is the number
of shares of index stock outstanding at the close of business on
the day before such ex-dividend date plus the number of additional shares of index stock
offered for subscription or purchase under such transferable rights
or warrants, and
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•
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the denominator of which is the number
of shares of index stock outstanding at the close of business on
the day before such ex-dividend date plus the number of additional shares of index stock
that the aggregate offering price of the total number of shares of
index stock so offered for subscription or purchase would purchase
at the closing price of the index stock on the trading day
immediately before such ex-dividend date, with such number of
additional shares being determined by multiplying the total number of shares so offered by the
exercise price of such transferable rights or warrants and
dividing
the resulting product by the closing price of the index stock on the
trading day immediately before such ex-dividend
date.
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The reference amount will not be adjusted, however, unless such
ex-dividend date occurs after the trade date and on or before the
applicable coupon observation date or the determination date, as
applicable.
Reorganization events.
With respect to
the index stock, if:
•
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any reclassification or other change
of the index stock occurs,
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•
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the index stock issuer has been
subject to a merger, consolidation, amalgamation, binding share
exchange or other business combination and is not the surviving
entity or it does survive but all the shares of index stock are
reclassified or changed,
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•
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the index stock has been subject to a
takeover, tender offer, exchange offer, solicitation proposal or
other event by another person to purchase or otherwise obtain all
of the outstanding shares of the index stock, such that all of the
outstanding shares of the index stock (other than shares of the
index stock owned or controlled by such other person) are
transferred, or irrevocably committed to be transferred, to another
person,
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•
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the index stock issuer or any
subsidiary of the index stock issuer has been subject to a merger,
consolidation, amalgamation or binding share exchange in which the
index stock issuer is the surviving entity and all the outstanding
shares of the index stock (other than shares of the index stock
owned or controlled by such other person) immediately prior to such
event collectively represent less than 50% of the outstanding
shares of the index stock immediately following such
event,
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•
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the index stock issuer sells or
otherwise transfers its property and assets as an entirety or
substantially as an entirety to another entity
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•
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the index stock issuer issues to all
holders of index stock equity securities of an issuer other than
the index stock issuer (other than in a transaction described in
any of the bullet points above) (a “spin-off event”),
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S-7
•
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the index stock issuer is liquidated,
dissolved or wound up or is subject to a proceeding under any
applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or other similar law,
or
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•
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any other corporate or similar events
that affect or could potentially affect market prices of, or
shareholders’ rights in, the index stock or distribution property,
which will be substantiated by an official characterization by
either the Options Clearing Corporation with respect to options
contracts on the index stock or by the primary securities exchange
on which the index stock or listed options on the index stock are
traded, and will ultimately be determined by the calculation agent
in its sole discretion (any such event in this bullet point or any
of the bullet points above in this subsection, a “reorganization
event”),
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then the calculation agent will adjust the reference amount so that
the reference amount consists of the respective amounts of each
type of distribution property deemed, for the purposes of this
note, to be distributed in such reorganization event in respect of
the reference amount as in effect immediately prior to such
adjustment, taken together.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, however, the calculation agent will
not make any adjustment for a reorganization event unless the event
becomes effective — or, if the event is a spin-off event, unless
the ex-dividend date for the spin-off event occurs — after the
trade date and on or before the applicable coupon observation date
or the determination date, as applicable.
The calculation agent will determine the value of each component
type of distribution property, using the closing price on the
relevant day for any such type consisting of securities and such
other method as it determines to be appropriate, in its sole
discretion, for any other type. If a holder of the index
stock may elect to receive different types or combinations of types
of distribution property in the reorganization event, the
distribution property will be deemed to include the types and
amounts thereof distributed to a holder that makes no election, as
determined by the calculation agent in its sole
discretion. If a reorganization event occurs and as a
result the reference amount is adjusted to consist of distribution
property, the calculation agent will make further adjustments for
subsequent events that affect such distribution property or any
component type thereof, to the same extent that it would make
adjustments if the index stock were outstanding and were affected
by the same kinds of events. The closing price on a
coupon observation date or the determination date will be the total
value, as determined by the calculation agent at the close of
trading hours of the index stock on such coupon observation date or
the determination date, as applicable, of all components of the
reference amount, with each component having been adjusted on a
sequential and cumulative basis for all relevant events affecting
it.
The calculation agent may, in its sole discretion, modify the
adjustments described in “Reorganization events” as necessary to
ensure an equitable result.
If at any time the reference amount consists of distribution
property, as determined by the calculation agent, then all
references in this note to the “index stock” shall thereupon be
deemed to mean such distribution property and all references in
this note to a “share of index stock” shall thereupon be deemed to
mean a comparable unit of each type of property comprising such
distribution property, as determined by the calculation agent.
Minimum adjustments.
Notwithstanding
the foregoing, no adjustment will be required in respect of any
event specified in “Stock splits”, “Reverse stock splits”, “Stock
dividends”, “Other dividends and distributions” and “Transferable
rights and warrants” above unless such adjustment would result in a
change of at least 0.1% in the closing price of such index stock.
The closing price of the index stock resulting from any adjustment
shall be rounded up or down, as appropriate, to the nearest
ten-thousandth, with five hundred-thousandths being rounded upward
— e.g., 0.12344 will be rounded down to 0.1234 and 0.12345 will be
rounded up to 0.1235.
Distribution property: cash,
securities and/or other property distributed in any reorganization
event in respect of the relevant reference amount and, in the case
of a spin-off event, includes such reference amount
Ex-dividend date: for any
dividend or other distribution with respect to the index stock, the
first day on which the index stock trades without the right to
receive such dividend or other distribution
Reference amount: with respect to
the index stock, initially, one share of such index stock which
shall be adjusted, as to the amount(s) and/or type(s) of property
comprising the same, by the calculation agent as provided under
“Anti-dilution adjustments” above
Business day: each Monday,
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday that is not a day on which
banking institutions in New York City generally are authorized or
obligated by law, regulation or executive order to close. A day is
a scheduled business day if, as of the trade date, such day is
scheduled to be a Monday, Tuesday,
S-8
Wednesday, Thursday or Friday
that is not a day on which banking institutions in New York City
generally are authorized or obligated by law, regulation or
executive order to close.
Calculation agent: Goldman Sachs
& Co. LLC (“GS&Co.”)
Default amount: If an event of
default occurs and the maturity of this note is accelerated, the
company will pay the default amount in respect of the principal of
this note at the maturity, instead of the amount payable on the
stated maturity date as described earlier. The default amount for
the notes on any day (except as provided in the last sentence under
“Default quotation period” below) will be an amount, in U.S.
dollars, for the face amount of this note, equal to the cost of
having a qualified financial institution, of the kind and selected
as described below, expressly assume all of the company’s payment
and other obligations with respect to this note as of that day and
as if no default or acceleration had occurred, or to undertake
other obligations providing substantially equivalent economic value
to you with respect to this note. That cost will equal:
•
|
the lowest amount that a qualified
financial institution would charge to effect this assumption or
undertaking, plus
|
•
|
the reasonable expenses, including
reasonable attorneys’ fees, incurred by the holder of this note in
preparing any documentation necessary for this assumption or
undertaking.
|
During the default quotation period for this note, which is
described below, the holder of the notes and/or the company may
request a qualified financial institution to provide a quotation of
the amount it would charge to effect this assumption or
undertaking. If either party obtains a quotation, it must notify
the other party in writing of the quotation. The amount referred to
in the first bullet point above will equal the lowest — or, if
there is only one, the only — quotation obtained, and as to which
notice is so given, during the default quotation period. With
respect to any quotation, however, the party not obtaining the
quotation may object, on reasonable and significant grounds, to the
assumption or undertaking by the qualified financial institution
providing the quotation and notify the other party in writing of
those grounds within two business days after the last day of the
default quotation period, in which case that quotation will be
disregarded in determining the default amount.
Default quotation period: The
default quotation period is the period beginning on the day the
default amount first becomes due and ending on the third business
day after that day, unless:
•
|
no quotation of the kind referred to
above is obtained, or
|
•
|
every quotation of that kind obtained
is objected to within five business days after the day the default
amount first becomes due.
|
If either of these two events occurs, the default quotation period
will continue until the third business day after the first business
day on which prompt notice of a quotation is given as described
above. If that quotation is objected to as described above within
five business days after that first business day, however, the
default quotation period will continue as described in the prior
sentence and this sentence.
In any event, if the default quotation period and the subsequent
two business day objection period have not ended before the
determination date, then the default amount will equal the
principal amount of this note.
Qualified financial institutions: For
the purpose of determining the default amount at any time, a
qualified financial institution must be a financial institution
organized under the laws of any jurisdiction in the United States
of America, Europe or Japan, which at that time has outstanding
debt obligations with a stated maturity of one year or less from
the date of issue and that is, or whose securities are,
rated either:
•
|
A-1 or higher by Standard & Poor’s
Ratings Services or any successor, or any other comparable rating
then used by that rating agency, or
|
•
|
P-1 or higher by Moody’s Investors
Service, Inc. or any successor, or any other comparable rating then
used by that rating agency.
|
Tax characterization: The holder,
on behalf of itself and any other person having a beneficial
interest in this note, hereby agrees with the company (in the
absence of a change in law, an administrative determination or a
judicial ruling to the contrary) to characterize this note for all
U.S. federal income tax purposes as an income-bearing pre-paid
derivative contract in respect of the index stock.
Overdue principal rate and overdue coupon rate: the effective Federal Funds rate
Defeasance: not applicable
S-9
DEFAULT AMOUNT ON
ACCELERATION
If an event of default occurs and the
maturity of your notes is accelerated, the company will pay the
default amount in respect of the principal of your notes at the
maturity, instead of the amount payable on the stated maturity date
as described earlier. We describe the default amount under “Terms
and Conditions” above. For the purpose of determining
whether the holders of our Series
F medium-term notes, which include
your notes, are entitled to take any action under the indenture, we
will treat the outstanding face amount of your notes as the
outstanding principal amount of that note. Although the terms of
the offered notes differ from those of the other Series
F medium-term notes, holders of
specified percentages in principal amount of all Series
F medium-term notes, together in
some cases with other series of our debt securities, will be able
to take action affecting all the Series
F medium-term notes, including
your notes, except with respect to certain Series
F medium-term notes if the terms of such notes
specify that the holders of specified percentages in principal
amount of all of such notes must also consent to such action. This
action may involve changing some of the terms that apply to the
Series F
medium-term notes or waiving some of our
obligations under the indenture. In addition, certain changes to
the indenture and the notes that only affect certain debt
securities may be made with the approval of holders of a majority
in principal amount of such affected debt securities. We discuss
these matters in the accompanying prospectus under “Description of
Debt Securities We May Offer — Default, Remedies and Waiver of
Default” and “Description of Debt Securities We May Offer —
Modification of the Debt Indentures and Waiver of
Covenants”.
S-10
HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLES
Payment Examples
The following examples are provided for purposes of illustration
only. They should not be taken as an indication or prediction of
future investment results and are intended merely to illustrate (i)
the impact that various hypothetical closing prices of the index
stock on a coupon observation date could have on the coupon
payable, if any, on the related coupon payment date and (ii) the
impact that various hypothetical closing prices of the index stock
on the determination date could have on the cash settlement amount
at maturity assuming all other variables remain constant.
The examples below are based on a range of index stock prices that
are entirely hypothetical; no one can predict what the closing
price of the index stock will be on any day throughout the life of
your notes, what the closing price of the index stock will be on
any coupon observation date and what the final index stock price
will be on the determination date. The index stock has been highly
volatile in the past — meaning that the index stock price has
changed substantially in relatively short periods — and its
performance cannot be predicted for any future period.
The information in the following examples reflects hypothetical
rates of return on the offered notes assuming that they are
purchased on the original issue date at the face amount and held to
the stated maturity date or date of early redemption. If you sell
your notes in a secondary market prior to the stated maturity date
or date of early redemption, as the case may be, your return will
depend upon the market value of your notes at the time of sale,
which may be affected by a number of factors that are not reflected
in the examples below such as interest rates, the volatility of the
index stock, the creditworthiness of GS Finance Corp., as issuer,
and the creditworthiness of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., as
guarantor. In addition, the estimated value of your notes at the
time the terms of your notes are set on the trade date (as
determined by reference to pricing models used by GS&Co.) is
less than the original issue price of your notes. For more
information on the estimated value of your notes, see “Additional
Risk Factors Specific to Your Notes — The Estimated Value of Your
Notes At the Time the Terms of Your Notes Are Set On the Trade Date
(as Determined By Reference to Pricing Models Used By GS&Co.)
Is Less Than the Original Issue Price Of Your Notes” on page S-18
of this prospectus supplement. The information in the examples also
reflects the key terms and assumptions in the box below.
Key Terms and Assumptions
|
Face amount
|
$1,000
|
Coupon
|
$30.375 (3.0375% quarterly, or the potential for up to 12.15% per
annum)
|
Coupon trigger price
|
50% of the initial index stock price
|
Trigger buffer price
|
50% of the initial index stock price
|
Neither a market disruption event nor a non-trading day occurs on
any originally scheduled coupon observation date or the originally
scheduled determination date
No change in or affecting
the index stock
Notes purchased on original issue date at the face amount and held
to the stated maturity date or date of early redemption
|
For these reasons, the actual performance of the index stock over
the life of your notes, the actual index stock price on any coupon
observation date, as well as the coupon payable, if any, on each
coupon payment date, may bear little relation to the hypothetical
examples shown below or to the historical index stock price shown
elsewhere in this prospectus supplement. For information about the
index stock price during recent periods, see “The Index Stock —
Historical Closing Prices of the Index Stock” on page S-29. Before
investing in the notes, you should consult publicly available
information to determine the index stock prices between the date of
this prospectus supplement and the date of your purchase of the
notes.
Also, the hypothetical examples shown below do not take into
account the effects of applicable taxes. Because of the U.S. tax
treatment applicable to your notes, tax liabilities could affect
the after-tax rate of return on your notes to a comparatively
greater extent than the after-tax return on the index stock.
S-11
Hypothetical Coupon Payments
The examples below show the hypothetical performance of the index
stock as well as the hypothetical coupons, if any, that we would
pay on each coupon payment date with respect to each $1,000 face
amount of the notes if the hypothetical closing price of the index
stock on the applicable coupon observation date was the percentage
of the initial index stock price shown.
Scenario 1
Hypothetical Coupon Observation Date
|
Hypothetical Closing Price of the Index Stock (as Percentage of
Initial Index Stock Price)
|
Hypothetical Coupon
|
First
|
45%
|
$0
|
Second
|
80%
|
$30.375
|
Third
|
40%
|
$0
|
|
Total Hypothetical Coupons
|
$30.375
|
In Scenario 1, the hypothetical closing price of the index stock
increases and decreases by varying amounts on each hypothetical
coupon observation date. Because the hypothetical closing price of
the index stock on the second hypothetical coupon observation date
is greater than or equal to
the coupon trigger price, the total of the hypothetical coupons in
Scenario 1 is $30.375. Because the hypothetical closing price of
the index stock on all other hypothetical coupon observation dates
is less than the coupon trigger price, no further coupons will be
paid, including at maturity.
Scenario 2
Hypothetical Coupon Observation Date
|
Hypothetical Closing Price of the Index Stock (as Percentage of
Initial Index Stock Price)
|
Hypothetical Coupon
|
First
|
35%
|
$0
|
Second
|
40%
|
$0
|
Third
|
35%
|
$0
|
|
Total Hypothetical Coupons
|
$0
|
In Scenario 2, the hypothetical closing price of the index stock
increases and decreases by varying amounts on each hypothetical
coupon observation date. Because in each case the hypothetical
closing price of the index stock on the related coupon observation
date is less than the
coupon trigger price, you will not receive a coupon payment on the
applicable hypothetical coupon payment date. Since this occurs on
every hypothetical coupon observation date, the overall return you
earn on your notes will be less than zero. Therefore, the total of
the hypothetical coupons in Scenario 2 is $0.
S-12
Scenario 3
Hypothetical Coupon Observation Date
|
Hypothetical Closing Price of the Index Stock (as Percentage of
Initial Index Stock Price)
|
Hypothetical Coupon
|
First
|
120%
|
$30.375
|
|
Total Hypothetical Coupons
|
$30.375
|
In Scenario 3, the
hypothetical closing price of the index stock is
greater
than the initial
index stock price on the first hypothetical coupon observation
date. Further, we also exercise our early redemption right with
respect to a redemption on the first coupon payment date (which is
also the first hypothetical date with respect to which we could
exercise such right). Therefore, on the first coupon payment date
(the redemption date), in addition to the hypothetical coupon of
$30.375, you will receive an amount in cash equal to $1,000 for
each $1,000 face amount of your notes.
Hypothetical Payment at Maturity
If the notes are not redeemed, the cash settlement amount we would deliver
for each $1,000
face amount of your notes on the
stated maturity date will depend on the performance of the index
stock on the determination date, as shown in the table below. The
table below assumes that the notes have not been redeemed, does not include the final coupon, if any,
and reflects hypothetical cash settlement amounts that you could
receive on the stated maturity date. If the final index stock price
(as a percentage of the initial index stock price) is less than the
coupon trigger price, you will not be paid a final coupon at
maturity.
The prices in the left column of the table below represent
hypothetical final index stock prices and are expressed as
percentages of the initial index stock price. The amounts in the
right column represent the hypothetical cash settlement amounts,
based on the corresponding hypothetical final index stock price,
and are expressed as percentages of the face amount of a note
(rounded to the nearest one-thousandth of a percent). Thus, a
hypothetical cash settlement amount of 100.000% means that the
value of the cash payment that we would deliver for each $1,000 of
the outstanding face amount of the offered notes on the stated
maturity date would equal 100.000% of the face amount of a note,
based on the corresponding hypothetical final index stock price and
the assumptions noted above.
The Notes Have Not
Been Redeemed
Hypothetical Final Index Stock Price (as Percentage of Initial
Index Stock Price)
|
Hypothetical Cash Settlement Amount
(as Percentage of Face Amount)
|
200.000%
|
100.000%*
|
175.000%
|
100.000%*
|
150.000%
|
100.000%*
|
125.000%
|
100.000%*
|
100.000%
|
100.000%*
|
90.000%
|
100.000%*
|
80.000%
|
100.000%*
|
50.000%
|
100.000%*
|
49.999%
|
49.999%
|
40.000%
|
40.000%
|
25.000%
|
25.000%
|
0.000%
|
0.000%
|
*Does not include the final coupon
|
|
If, for example, the notes have not been redeemed and the final
index stock price were determined to be 25.000% of the initial
index stock price, the cash settlement amount that we would deliver
on your notes at maturity would be 25.000% of the face amount of
your notes, as shown in the table above. As a result, if you
purchased your notes on the original issue date at the face amount
and held them to the stated maturity date, you would lose 75.000%
of your investment (if you purchased your notes at a premium to
face amount you would lose a correspondingly higher percentage of
your investment). In addition, if the final index stock price were
determined to be 200.000% of the initial index stock price, the
cash settlement amount that we would deliver on your notes at
maturity would be limited to 100.000% of each $1,000 face amount of
your notes, as shown in the table above. As
S-13
a result, if you held your notes to the stated maturity date, you
would not benefit from any increase in the final index stock price
over the initial index stock price.
The cash settlement amounts shown above are entirely hypothetical;
they are based on market prices for the index stock that may not be
achieved on the determination date and on assumptions that may
prove to be erroneous. The actual market value of your notes on the
stated maturity date or at any other time, including any time you
may wish to sell your notes, may bear little relation to the
hypothetical cash settlement amounts shown above, and these amounts
should not be viewed as an indication of the financial return on an
investment in the offered notes. The hypothetical cash settlement
amounts on notes held to the stated maturity date in the examples
above assume you purchased your notes at their face amount and have
not been adjusted to reflect the actual issue price you pay for
your notes. The return on your investment (whether positive or
negative) in your notes will be affected by the amount you pay for
your notes. If you purchase your notes for a price other than the
face amount, the return on your investment will differ from, and
may be significantly lower than, the hypothetical returns suggested
by the above examples. Please read “Additional Risk Factors
Specific to Your Notes — The Market Value of Your Notes May Be
Influenced by Many Unpredictable Factors” on page S-20.
Payments on the notes are economically equivalent to the amounts
that would be paid on a combination of other instruments. For
example, payments on the notes are economically equivalent to a
combination of an interest-bearing bond bought by the holder and
one or more options entered into between the holder and us (with
one or more implicit option premiums paid over time). The
discussion in this paragraph does not modify or affect the terms of
the notes or the U.S. federal income tax treatment of the notes, as
described elsewhere in this prospectus supplement.
We cannot predict the actual closing price of the index stock on
any day, the final index stock price or what the market value of
your notes will be on any particular trading day, nor can we
predict the relationship between the closing price of the index
stock and the market value of your notes at any time prior to the
stated maturity date. The actual coupon payment, if any, that a
holder of the notes will receive on each coupon payment date, the
actual amount that you will receive at maturity, if any, and the
rate of return on the offered notes will depend on whether or not
the notes are redeemed and on the actual closing prices of the
index stock on the coupon observation dates and the actual final
index stock price determined by the calculation agent as described
above. Moreover, the assumptions on which the hypothetical examples
are based may turn out to be inaccurate. Consequently, the coupon
to be paid in respect of your notes, if any, and the cash amount to
be paid in respect of your notes on the stated maturity date, if
any, may be very different from the information reflected in the
examples above.
|
S-14
Anti-dilution Adjustment Examples
The calculation agent will adjust the closing price of the index
stock on a coupon observation date or the determination date, as
applicable, only if an event described under one of the six
subsections beginning with “Stock splits” under “Terms and
Conditions — Anti-dilution adjustments” occurs and only if the
relevant event occurs during the period described under the
applicable subsection. The adjustments described under “Terms and
Conditions — Anti-dilution adjustments” do not cover all
events that could affect the closing price of the index stock on a
coupon observation date or the determination date, as applicable,
such as an issuer tender or exchange offer for such index stock at
a premium to its market price or a tender or exchange offer made by
a third party for less than all outstanding shares of such index
stock. We describe the risks relating to dilution under “Additional
Risk Factors Specific to Your Notes — You Have Limited
Anti-dilution Protection” below.
How Adjustments Will Be Made
In this prospectus supplement, we refer to anti-dilution adjustment
of the closing price of the index stock on a coupon observation
date or the determination date, as applicable. With respect to the
index stock, if an event requiring anti-dilution adjustment occurs,
the calculation agent will make the adjustment by taking the
following steps:
Step One. The
calculation agent will adjust the reference amount. This term
refers to the amount of the index stock or other property that must
be used to determine the closing price of the index stock on a
coupon observation date or the determination date, as applicable.
For example, if no adjustment described under “Terms and Conditions
— Anti-dilution adjustments” is required at a time, the
reference amount for that time will be one share of the index
stock. In that case, the closing price of the index stock on a
coupon observation date or the determination date, as applicable,
will be the closing price of one share of the index stock on the
applicable coupon observation date or the determination date. We
describe how the closing price will be determined under “Terms and
Conditions — Closing price” above.
If an adjustment described under “Terms and Conditions
— Anti-dilution adjustments” is required because one of the
dilution events described in the first five subsections beginning
with “Stock splits” under “Terms and Conditions
— Anti-dilution adjustments” — these involve stock
splits, reverse stock splits, stock dividends, other dividends and
distributions and issuances of transferable rights and
warrants — occurs, then the adjusted reference amount at that
time might instead be, for example, two shares of the index stock
or a half share of the index stock, depending on the event. In that
example, the closing price of the index stock on a coupon
observation date or the determination date, as applicable, would be
the price (determined as specified under “Terms and Conditions
— Closing price” above) at the close of trading on the
applicable coupon observation date or the determination date of two
shares of the index stock or a half share of the index stock, as
applicable.
If an adjustment described under “Terms and Conditions
— Anti-dilution adjustments” is required at a time because one
of the reorganization events described under “Terms and Conditions
— Reorganization events” — these involve events in which
cash, securities or other property is distributed in respect of the
index stock — occurs, then the reference amount at that time will
be adjusted to be as follows, assuming there has been no prior or
subsequent anti-dilution adjustment: the amount of each type of the
property distributed in the reorganization event in respect of one
share of the index stock, plus one share of the index stock if the
index stock remains outstanding. In that event, the closing price
of the index stock on a coupon observation date or the
determination date, as applicable, would be the value of the
adjusted reference amount at the close of trading on such coupon
observation date or the determination date.
The manner in which the calculation agent adjusts the reference
amount in step one will depend on the type of dilution event
requiring adjustment. These events and the nature of the required
adjustments are described in the six subsections beginning with
“Stock splits” under “Terms and Conditions — Anti-dilution
adjustments”.
Step Two. Having adjusted the
reference amount in step one, the calculation agent will determine
the closing price of the index stock on a coupon observation date
or the determination date, as applicable, in the following
manner.
If the adjusted reference amount at the applicable time consists
entirely of shares of the index stock, the index stock price will
be the closing price (determined as described under “Terms and
Conditions — Closing price” above) of the adjusted reference
amount on the applicable date.
S-15
On the other hand, if the adjusted reference amount at the
applicable time includes any property other than shares of the
index stock, the closing price of the index stock on a coupon
observation date or the determination date, as applicable, will be
the value of the adjusted reference amount as determined by the
calculation agent in the manner described under “— Adjustments for
Reorganization Events” below at the applicable time.
Step Three. Having determined the
closing price of the index stock on a coupon observation date or
the determination date, as applicable, in step two, the calculation
agent will use such price to calculate the coupon payable on the
applicable coupon payment date, if any, or the cash settlement
amount.
If more than one event requiring adjustment as described under
“Terms and Conditions — Anti-dilution adjustments” occurs, the
calculation agent will first adjust the reference amount as
described in step one above for each event, sequentially, in the
order in which the events occur, and on a cumulative basis. Thus,
having adjusted the reference amount for the first event, the
calculation agent will repeat step one for the second event,
applying the required adjustment to the reference amount as already
adjusted for the first event, and so on for each event. Having
adjusted the reference amount for all events, the calculation agent
will then take the remaining applicable steps in the process
described above, determining the closing price of the index stock
on a coupon observation date or the determination date, as
applicable, using the reference amount as sequentially and
cumulatively adjusted for all the relevant events. The calculation
agent will make all required determinations and adjustments no
later than the applicable coupon observation date or the
determination date, as applicable.
The calculation agent will adjust the reference amount for each
reorganization event described under “Terms and Conditions
— Reorganization events” above. For any other dilution event
described above, however, the calculation agent will not be
required to adjust the reference amount unless the adjustment would
result in a change of at least 0.1% in the index stock price that
would apply without the adjustment. The closing price of the index
stock on a coupon observation date or the determination date, as
applicable, resulting from any adjustment will be rounded up or
down, as appropriate, to the nearest ten-thousandth, with five
hundred-thousandths being rounded upward — e.g., 0.12344 will
be rounded down to 0.1234 and 0.12345 will be rounded up to
0.1235.
If an event requiring anti-dilution adjustment occurs, the
calculation agent will make the adjustment with a view to
offsetting, to the extent practical, any change in the economic
position of the holder, GS Finance Corp., as issuer, and The
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., as guarantor, relative to your notes,
that results solely from that event. The calculation agent may, in
its sole discretion, modify the anti-dilution adjustments as
necessary to ensure an equitable result.
The calculation agent will make all determinations with respect to
anti-dilution adjustments, including any determination as to
whether an event requiring adjustment has occurred, as to the
nature of the adjustment required and how it will be made or as to
the value of any property distributed in a reorganization event,
and will do so in its sole discretion. In the absence of manifest
error, those determinations will be conclusive for all purposes and
will be binding on you and us, without any liability on the part of
the calculation agent. The calculation agent will provide
information about the adjustments it makes upon written request by
the holder.
In this prospectus supplement, when we say that the calculation
agent will adjust the reference amount for one or more dilution
events, we mean that the calculation agent will take all the
applicable steps described above with respect to those events.
The six subsections beginning with “Stock splits” under “Terms and
Conditions — Anti-dilution adjustments” describe the dilution
events for which the reference amount is to be adjusted. Each
subsection describes the manner in which the calculation agent will
adjust the reference amount — the first step in the adjustment
process described above — for the relevant event.
Adjustments for Reorganization Events
If a reorganization event occurs, then the calculation agent will
adjust the reference amount so that it consists of the amount of
each type of distribution property described under “Terms and
Conditions — Reorganization events” above distributed in
respect of one share of the index stock — or in respect of
whatever the prior reference amount may be — in the
reorganization event, taken together. For purposes of the
three-step adjustment process described under “— How
Adjustments Will Be Made” above, the distribution property so
distributed will be the adjusted reference amount described in step
one, the value of that property at the close of trading hours for
the index stock on the applicable date will be the index stock
price described in step two, and the calculation agent will
determine the coupon payable on a coupon payment date, if any, or
the cash settlement
S-16
amount as described in step three. As described under “— How
Adjustments Will Be Made” above, the calculation agent may, in its
sole discretion, modify the adjustments described in this paragraph
as necessary to ensure an equitable result.
The calculation agent will determine the value of each type of
distribution property in its sole discretion. For any distribution
property consisting of a security, the calculation agent will use
the closing price (calculated according to the same methodology as
specified in this prospectus supplement, without any anti-dilution
adjustments) of one share of such security on the applicable date.
The calculation agent may value other types of property in any
manner it determines, in its sole discretion, to be appropriate. If
a holder of the index stock may elect to receive different types or
combinations of types of distribution property in the
reorganization event, the distribution property will consist of the
types and amounts of each type distributed to a holder that makes
no election, as determined by the calculation agent in its sole
discretion. As described under “— How Adjustments Will Be Made”
above, the calculation agent may, in its sole discretion, modify
the adjustments described in this paragraph as necessary to ensure
an equitable result.
If a reorganization event occurs and the calculation agent adjusts
the reference amount to consist of the distribution property
distributed in the reorganization event, as described above, the
calculation agent will make any further anti-dilution adjustments
for later events that affect the distribution property, or any
component of the distribution property, comprising the new
reference amount. The calculation agent will do so to the same
extent that it would make adjustments if the index stock were
outstanding and were affected by the same kinds of events. If a
subsequent reorganization event affects only a particular component
of the reference amount, the required adjustment will be made with
respect to that component, as if it alone were the reference
amount.
For example, if the index stock issuer merges into another company
and each share of such index stock is converted into the right to
receive two common shares of the surviving company and a specified
amount of cash, the reference amount will be adjusted to consist of
two common shares of the surviving company and the specified amount
of cash for each share of index stock (adjusted proportionately for
any partial share) comprising the reference amount before the
adjustment. The calculation agent will adjust the common share
component of the adjusted reference amount to reflect any later
stock split or other event, including any later reorganization
event, that affects the common shares of the surviving company, to
the extent described in this subsection entitled
“— Anti-dilution Adjustment Examples” as if the common shares
of the surviving company were such index stock. In that event, the
cash component will not be adjusted but will continue to be a
component of the reference amount. Consequently, each component
included in the reference amount will be adjusted on a sequential
and cumulative basis for all relevant events requiring adjustment
up to the relevant date.
The calculation agent will not make any adjustment for a
reorganization event, however, unless the event becomes effective
(or, if the event is a spin-off, unless the ex-dividend date for
the spin-off occurs) after the trade date and on or before the
applicable coupon observation date or the determination date, as
applicable.
S-17
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Additional Risk Factors Specific to Your
Notes
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An investment in your notes is subject to the risks described
below, as well as the risks and considerations described in the
accompanying prospectus and in the accompanying prospectus
supplement. You should carefully review these risks and
considerations as well as the terms of the notes described herein
and in the accompanying prospectus and the accompanying prospectus
supplement. Your notes are a riskier investment than ordinary debt
securities. Also, your notes are not equivalent to investing
directly in the index stock. You should carefully consider whether
the offered notes are appropriate given your particular
circumstances.
Risks Related
to Structure, Valuation and Secondary Market Sales
The Estimated Value of Your Notes
At the Time the Terms of Your Notes Are Set On the Trade Date (as
Determined By Reference to Pricing Models Used By GS&Co.) Is Less Than the Original
Issue Price Of Your Notes
The original issue price for your notes exceeds the estimated value
of your notes as of the time the terms of your notes are set on the
trade date, as determined by reference to GS&Co.’s pricing
models and taking into account our credit spreads. Such estimated
value on the trade date is set forth above under “Estimated Value
of Your Notes”; after the trade date, the estimated value as
determined by reference to these models will be affected by changes
in market conditions, the creditworthiness of GS Finance Corp., as
issuer, the creditworthiness of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., as
guarantor, and other relevant factors. The price at
which GS&Co. would initially buy or sell your notes (if
GS&Co. makes a market, which it is not obligated to do), and
the value that GS&Co. will initially use for account statements
and otherwise, also exceeds the estimated value of your notes as
determined by reference to these models. As agreed by
GS&Co. and the distribution participants, this excess (i.e.,
the additional amount described under “Estimated Value of Your
Notes”) will decline to zero on a straight line basis over the
period from the date hereof through the applicable date set forth
above under “Estimated Value of Your Notes”. Thereafter,
if GS&Co. buys or sells your notes it will do so at prices that
reflect the estimated value determined by reference to such pricing
models at that time. The price at which GS&Co. will
buy or sell your notes at any time also will reflect its then
current bid and ask spread for similar sized trades of structured
notes.
In estimating the value of your notes as of the time the terms of
your notes are set on the trade date, as disclosed above under
“Estimated Value of Your Notes”, GS&Co.’s pricing models
consider certain variables, including principally our credit
spreads, interest rates (forecasted, current and historical rates),
volatility, price-sensitivity analysis and the time to maturity of
the notes. These pricing models are proprietary and rely in part on
certain assumptions about future events, which may prove to be
incorrect. As a result, the actual value you would receive if you
sold your notes in the secondary market, if any, to others may
differ, perhaps materially, from the estimated value of your notes
determined by reference to our models due to, among other things,
any differences in pricing models or assumptions used by others.
See “— The Market Value of Your Notes May Be Influenced by Many
Unpredictable Factors” below.
The difference between the estimated value of your notes as of the
time the terms of your notes are set on the trade date and the
original issue price is a result of certain factors, including
principally the underwriting discount and commissions, the expenses
incurred in creating, documenting and marketing the notes, and an
estimate of the difference between the amounts we pay to GS&Co.
and the amounts GS&Co. pays to us in connection with your
notes. We pay to GS&Co. amounts based on what we would pay to
holders of a non-structured note with a similar
maturity. In return for such payment, GS&Co. pays to
us the amounts we owe under your notes.
In addition to the factors discussed above, the value and quoted
price of your notes at any time will reflect many factors and
cannot be predicted. If GS&Co. makes a market in the
notes, the price quoted by GS&Co. would reflect any changes in
market conditions and other relevant factors, including any
deterioration in our creditworthiness or perceived creditworthiness
or the creditworthiness or perceived creditworthiness of The
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. These changes may adversely affect the
value of your notes, including the price you may receive for your
notes in any market making transaction. To the extent that
GS&Co. makes a market in the notes, the quoted price will
reflect the estimated value determined by reference to GS&Co.’s
pricing models at that time, plus or minus its then current bid and
ask spread for similar sized trades of structured notes (and
subject to the declining excess amount described above).
Furthermore, if you sell your notes, you will likely be charged a
commission for secondary market transactions, or the price will
likely reflect a dealer discount. This commission or
discount will further reduce the proceeds you would receive for
your notes in a secondary market sale.
S-18
There is no assurance that
GS&Co.
or any other party will be willing to purchase your notes at any
price and, in this regard,
GS&Co.
is not obligated to make a market in the notes. See “—
Your Notes May Not Have an Active Trading Market”
below.
The Notes Are Subject to
the Credit Risk of the Issuer and the Guarantor
Although the coupons (if
any) and return on the notes will be based on the performance of
the index stock, the payment of any amount due on the notes is
subject to the credit risk of GS Finance Corp., as issuer of the
notes, and the credit risk of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., as
guarantor of the notes. The notes are our unsecured
obligations. Investors are dependent on our ability to
pay all amounts due on the notes, and therefore investors are
subject to our credit risk and to changes in the market’s view of
our creditworthiness. Similarly, investors are dependent on the
ability of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., as guarantor of the
notes, to pay all amounts due on the notes, and therefore are also
subject to its credit risk and to changes in the market’s view of
its creditworthiness. See “Description of the Notes We
May Offer — Information About Our Medium-Term Notes,
Series F Program — How the Notes Rank Against Other Debt” on
page S-5 of the accompanying prospectus supplement and
“Description of Debt Securities We May Offer — Guarantee by The
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.” on page 67 of the accompanying
prospectus.
You May Lose Your Entire Investment in the Notes
You can lose your entire investment in the notes. Subject to our
redemption right, the cash settlement amount on your notes, if any,
on the stated maturity date will be based on the performance of the
index stock as measured from the initial index stock price to the
final index stock price on the determination date. If the final
index stock price is less
than the trigger buffer price, you will have a loss for each
$1,000 of the face amount of your notes equal to the product of the index stock return
times $1,000. Thus, you may
lose your entire investment in the notes, which would include any
premium to face amount you paid when you purchased the notes.
Also, the market price of your notes prior to the stated maturity
date may be significantly lower than the purchase price you pay for
your notes. Consequently, if you sell your notes before
the stated maturity date, you may receive far less than the amount
of your investment in the notes.
The Return on Your Notes May Change
Significantly Despite Only a Small Change in the Price of the Index
Stock
If your notes are not
redeemed and
the final index stock price is
less than the trigger buffer price, you will receive less than the
face amount of your notes and you could lose all or a substantial
portion of your investment in the notes. This means that while a
decrease in the final index stock price to the trigger buffer price
will not result in a loss of principal on the notes,
a decrease in the final index
stock price to less than the trigger buffer price will result in a
loss of a significant portion of the
face amount of the notes despite only a small
change in the price of the index
stock.
You May Not Receive a Coupon on Any Coupon Payment Date
If the closing price of the index stock on the related coupon
observation date is less
than the coupon trigger price, you will not receive a coupon
payment on the applicable coupon payment date. If this occurs on
every coupon observation date, the overall return you earn on your
notes will be less than zero and such return will be less than you
would have earned by investing in a note that bears interest at the
prevailing market rate.
You will only receive a coupon on a coupon payment date if the
closing price of the index stock on the related coupon observation
date is greater than or equal to the coupon trigger
price. You should be aware that, with respect to any
prior coupon observation dates that did not result in the payment
of a coupon, you will not be compensated for any opportunity cost
implied by inflation and other factors relating to the time value
of money. Further, there is no guarantee that you will
receive any coupon payment with respect to the notes at any time
and you may lose your entire investment in the notes.
We Are Able to Redeem Your
Notes at Our Option
On each coupon payment date
commencing in February 2023 and ending in May 2023, we will be
permitted to redeem your notes at our option. Even if we do not
exercise our option to redeem your notes, our ability to do so may
adversely affect the value of your notes. It is our sole option
whether to redeem your notes prior to maturity and we may or may
not exercise this option for any reason. Because of this redemption
option, the term of your notes could be reduced.
S-19
The Coupon Does Not Reflect the Actual Performance of the Index
Stock from the Trade Date to Any Coupon Observation Date or from
Coupon Observation Date to Coupon Observation Date
The coupon for each quarterly coupon payment date is different
from, and may be less than, a coupon determined based on the
percentage difference of the closing prices of the index stock
between the trade date and any coupon observation date or between
two coupon observation dates. Accordingly, the coupons, if any, on
the notes may be less than the return you could earn on another
instrument linked to the index stock that pays coupons based on the
performance of the index stock from the trade date to any coupon
observation date or from coupon observation date to coupon
observation date.
The Market Value of Your Notes
May Be Influenced by Many Unpredictable Factors
When we refer to the market value of your notes, we mean the value
that you could receive for your notes if you chose to sell them in
the open market before the stated maturity date. A number of
factors, many of which are beyond our control, will influence the
market value of your notes, including:
•
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the market price of the index stock to
which your notes are linked;
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the volatility – i.e., the frequency
and magnitude of changes – in the market price of the index
stock;
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the dividend rate of the index
stock;
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economic, financial, regulatory,
political, military, public health and other events that affect
stock markets generally and the market segment of which the index
stock is a part, and which may affect the market price of the index
stock;
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interest rates and yield rates in the
market;
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the time remaining until your notes
mature; and
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our creditworthiness and the
creditworthiness of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., whether actual
or perceived, and including actual or anticipated upgrades or
downgrades in our credit ratings or the credit ratings of The
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. or changes in other credit
measures.
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Without limiting the
foregoing, the market value of your notes may be negatively
impacted by increasing interest rates. Such adverse impact of
increasing interest rates could be significantly enhanced in notes
with longer-dated maturities, the market values of which are
generally more sensitive to increasing interest rates.
These factors, and many other factors, will influence the price you
will receive if you sell your notes before maturity, including the
price you may receive for your notes in any market making
transaction. If you sell your notes before maturity, you may
receive less than the face amount of your notes.
You cannot predict the future performance of the index stock based
on its historical performance. The actual performance of the index
stock over the life of the offered notes, the cash settlement
amount paid on the stated maturity date, as the case may be, as
well as the coupon payable, if any, on each coupon payment date,
may bear little or no relation to the historical closing prices of
the index stock or to the hypothetical examples shown elsewhere in
this prospectus supplement.
Your Notes May Not Have an Active Trading Market
Your notes will not be listed or displayed on any securities
exchange or included in any interdealer market quotation system,
and there may be little or no secondary market for your notes. Even
if a secondary market for your notes develops, it may not provide
significant liquidity and we expect that transaction costs in any
secondary market would be high. As a result, the difference between
bid and asked prices for your notes in any secondary market could
be substantial.
If You
Purchase Your Notes at a Premium to Face Amount, the Return on Your
Investment Will Be Lower Than the Return on Notes Purchased at Face
Amount and the Impact of Certain Key Terms of the Notes Will Be
Negatively Affected
The cash settlement amount you will be paid for your notes on the
stated maturity date, if any, or the amount you will be paid upon
any early redemption of your notes will not be adjusted based on
the issue price you pay for the notes. If you purchase notes at a
price that differs from the face amount of the notes, then the
return on your investment in such notes held to the stated maturity
date or date of early redemption will differ from, and may be
substantially less than, the return on notes purchased at face
amount. If you purchase your notes at a premium to
S-20
face amount and hold them to the stated maturity date or date of
early redemption, the return on your investment in the notes will
be lower than it would have been had you purchased the notes at
face amount or a discount to face amount.
If the Market Price of the Index Stock Changes, the Market Value of
Your Notes May Not Change in the Same Manner
The price of your notes may move differently than the performance
of the index stock. Changes in the market price of the index stock
may not result in a comparable change in the market value of your
notes. Even if the closing price of the index stock is greater than
or equal to the trigger buffer price during some portion of the
life of the notes, the market value of your notes may not reflect
this. We discuss some of the reasons for this disparity under “—
The Market Value of Your Notes May Be Influenced by Many
Unpredictable Factors” above.
We Will Not Hold Shares of the Index Stock for Your Benefit
The indenture governing your note does not contain any restriction
on our ability or the ability of any of our affiliates to sell,
pledge or otherwise convey a share or shares of the index stock
acquired by us or them. Neither we nor our affiliates will pledge
or otherwise hold shares of the index stock for your benefit in
order to enable you to exchange your note for shares under any
circumstances. Consequently, in the event of our bankruptcy,
insolvency or liquidation, any shares of the index stock owned by
us will be subject to the claims of our creditors generally and
will not be available for your benefit specifically.
You Have No Shareholder Rights or Rights to Receive Any Index
Stock
Investing in your notes will not make you a holder of the index
stock. Neither you nor any other holder or owner of your notes will
have any rights with respect to the index stock, including any
voting rights, any right to receive dividends or other
distributions, any rights to make a claim against the index stock,
or any other rights of a holder of any shares of the index stock.
Your notes will be paid in cash and you will have no right to
receive delivery of any shares of the index stock.
In Some Circumstances, the Payment You Receive On the Notes May Be
Based On the Securities of Another Company and Not the Issuer of
the Index Stock
Following certain corporate events relating to the index stock
where its issuer is not the surviving entity, the amount you
receive at maturity may be based on the securities of a successor
to the index stock issuer or any cash or any other assets
distributed to holders of shares of the index stock in such
corporate event. The occurrence of these corporate events and the
consequent adjustments may materially and adversely affect the
value of the notes. We describe the specific corporate events that
can lead to these adjustments and the procedures for selecting
distribution property (as described above) under “Terms and
Conditions — Anti-dilution adjustments”.
Past Index Stock Performance is No Guide to Future Performance
The actual performance of the index stock over the life of the
notes, as well as the amount payable at maturity or on any coupon
payment date, as applicable, if any, may bear little relation to
the historical closing prices of the index stock or to the
hypothetical examples set forth elsewhere in this prospectus
supplement. We cannot predict the future performance of the index
stock.
As Calculation Agent, GS&Co. Will Have the Authority to Make
Determinations that Could Affect the Value of Your Notes
As calculation agent for your notes, GS&Co. will have
discretion in making certain determinations that affect your notes,
including determining: the closing price of the index stock on any
coupon observation date, which we will use to determine the coupon,
if any, we will pay on any applicable coupon payment date; the
final index stock price on the determination date, which we will
use to determine the amount we must pay on the stated maturity
date; whether to postpone a coupon observation date or the
determination date because of a market disruption event or a
non-trading day; when and how to make anti-dilution adjustments to
the index stock price; and the coupon observation dates and the
coupon payment dates; and the stated maturity date. See “Terms and
Conditions — Anti-dilution adjustments” above. The exercise of this
discretion by GS&Co. could adversely affect the value of your
notes and may present GS&Co. with a conflict of interest. We
may change the calculation agent at any time without notice and
GS&Co. may resign as calculation agent at any time upon 60
days' written notice to us.
S-21
The Calculation Agent Can Postpone a Coupon Observation Date or the
Determination Date, as the Case May Be, If a Market Disruption
Event or a Non-Trading Day Occurs or is Continuing
If the calculation agent determines that, on a date that would
otherwise be a coupon observation date or the determination date, a
market disruption event has occurred or is continuing or that day
is not a trading day, such coupon observation date or the
determination date will be postponed as provided under “Terms and
Conditions — Coupon observation dates” and “Terms and Conditions —
Determination date”, as applicable. In no case, however, will the
coupon observation date or the determination date be postponed to a
date later than the
corresponding originally scheduled coupon payment date or the
originally scheduled stated maturity date, as applicable, or if the
corresponding originally scheduled coupon payment date or the
originally scheduled stated maturity date is not a business day,
later than the first business day after the corresponding
originally scheduled coupon payment date or the originally
scheduled stated maturity date. Moreover, if a coupon
observation date or the determination date, as applicable, is
postponed to the last possible day, but the market disruption event
has not ceased by that day or that day is not a trading day, that
day will nevertheless be the coupon observation date or the
determination date, as applicable, for the corresponding coupon
payment date or the stated maturity date. In such a
case, the calculation agent will determine the applicable closing
price of the index stock or final index stock price for such coupon
observation date or the determination date based on the procedures
described under “Terms and Conditions — Consequences of a market
disruption event or a non-trading day” above.
There is No Affiliation Between the Index Stock Issuer and Us
Goldman Sachs is not
affiliated with the index stock issuer. As discussed above,
however, we or our affiliates may currently or from time to time in
the future engage in business with the index stock issuer. Neither
we nor any of our affiliates have participated in the preparation
of any publicly available information or made any “due diligence” investigation or
inquiry with respect to the index stock
issuer. You, as an investor in your note, should make
your own investigation into the index stock issuer.
The index stock issuer is not involved in this offering of your
notes in any way and does not have any obligation of any sort with
respect to your notes. Thus, the index stock issuer does not have
any obligation to take your interests into consideration for any
reason, including in taking or not taking any corporate actions
that might affect the value of your notes.
You Have Limited Anti-Dilution Protection
GS&Co., as calculation agent for your note, will adjust the
index stock price for stock splits, reverse stock splits, stock
dividends, extraordinary dividends, issuances of transferable
rights and warrants, reorganization events, and other events that
affect the index stock issuer’s, or any distribution property
issuer’s, capital structure, but only in the situations we describe
in “Terms and Conditions — Anti-dilution adjustments” above.
The calculation agent will not be required to make an adjustment
for every corporate event that may affect the index stock. For
example, the calculation agent will not adjust the index stock
price for events such as an offering of the index stock for cash by
the index stock issuer, a tender or exchange offer for the index
stock at a premium to its then-current market price by the index
stock issuer or a tender or exchange offer for less than all the
outstanding shares of the index stock by a third party. In
addition, the calculation agent will not adjust the reference
amount for regular cash dividends. Furthermore, the calculation
agent will determine in its sole discretion whether to make
adjustments with respect to corporate or other events as described
under “Terms and Conditions — Anti-dilution adjustments —
Reorganization events” above. Those events or other actions by the
index stock issuer or a third party may nevertheless adversely
affect the market price of one share of the index stock and,
therefore, adversely affect the market value of your note. The
index stock issuer or a third party could make an offering or a
tender or exchange offer, or the index stock issuer could take any
other action, that adversely affects the market price of the index
stock and the market value of your note but does not result in an
anti-dilution adjustment for your benefit.
We May Sell an Additional Aggregate Face Amount of the Notes at a
Different Issue Price
At our sole option, we may decide to sell an additional aggregate
face amount of the notes subsequent to the date of this prospectus
supplement. The issue price of the notes in the subsequent sale may
differ substantially (higher or lower) from the issue price you
paid as provided on the cover of this prospectus supplement.
S-22
Risks Related
to Conflicts of Interest
Hedging Activities by Goldman Sachs or Our Distributors May
Negatively Impact Investors in the Notes and Cause Our Interests
and Those of Our Clients and Counterparties to be Contrary to Those
of Investors in the Notes
Goldman Sachs has hedged or expects to hedge our obligations under
the notes by purchasing shares of the index stock and listed or
over-the-counter options, futures and/or other instruments linked
to the index stock. Goldman Sachs also expects to adjust the hedge
by, among other things, purchasing or selling any of the foregoing,
and perhaps other instruments linked to the index stock, at any
time and from time to time, and to unwind the hedge by selling any
of the foregoing on or before the determination date for your
notes. Alternatively, Goldman Sachs may hedge all or part of our
obligations under the notes with unaffiliated distributors of the
notes which we expect will undertake similar market activity.
Goldman Sachs may also enter into, adjust and unwind hedging
transactions relating to other notes whose returns are linked to
changes in the price of the index stock.
In addition to entering into such transactions itself, or
distributors entering into such transactions, Goldman Sachs may
structure such transactions for its clients or counterparties, or
otherwise advise or assist clients or counterparties in entering
into such transactions. These activities may be undertaken to
achieve a variety of objectives, including: permitting other
purchasers of the notes or other securities to hedge their
investment in whole or in part; facilitating transactions for other
clients or counterparties that may have business objectives or
investment strategies that are inconsistent with or contrary to
those of investors in the notes; hedging the exposure of Goldman
Sachs to the notes including any interest in the notes that it
reacquires or retains as part of the offering process, through its
market-making activities or otherwise; enabling Goldman Sachs to
comply with its internal risk limits or otherwise manage firmwide,
business unit or product risk; and/or enabling Goldman Sachs to
take directional views as to relevant markets on behalf of itself
or its clients or counterparties that are inconsistent with or
contrary to the views and objectives of the investors in the
notes.
Any of these hedging or other activities may adversely affect the
prices of the index stock — directly or indirectly— and therefore
the market value of your notes and the amount we will pay on your
notes, if any. In addition, you should expect that these
transactions will cause Goldman Sachs or its clients,
counterparties or distributors to have economic interests and
incentives that do not align with, and that may be directly
contrary to, those of an investor in the notes. Neither Goldman
Sachs nor any distributor will have any obligation to take, refrain
from taking or cease taking any action with respect to these
transactions based on the potential effect on an investor in the
notes, and may receive substantial returns on hedging or other
activities while the value of your notes declines. In addition, if
the distributor from which you purchase notes is to conduct hedging
activities in connection with the notes, that distributor may
otherwise profit in connection with such hedging activities and
such profit, if any, will be in addition to the compensation that
the distributor receives for the sale of the notes to you. You
should be aware that the potential to earn fees in connection with
hedging activities may create a further incentive for the
distributor to sell the notes to you in addition to the
compensation they would receive for the sale of the notes.
Goldman Sachs’ Trading and Investment Activities for its Own
Account or for its Clients, Could Negatively Impact Investors in
the Notes
Goldman Sachs is a global investment banking, securities and
investment management firm that provides a wide range of financial
services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes
corporations, financial institutions, governments and
individuals. As such, it acts as an investor, investment
banker, research provider, investment manager, investment advisor,
market maker, trader, prime broker and lender. In those
and other capacities, Goldman Sachs purchases, sells or holds a
broad array of investments, actively trades securities,
derivatives, loans, commodities, currencies, credit default swaps,
indices, baskets and other financial instruments and products for
its own account or for the accounts of its customers, and will have
other direct or indirect interests, in the global fixed income,
currency, commodity, equity, bank loan and other
markets. Any of Goldman Sachs’ financial market
activities may, individually or in the aggregate, have an adverse
effect on the market for your notes, and you should expect that the
interests of Goldman Sachs or its clients or counterparties will at
times be adverse to those of investors in the notes.
S-23
Goldman Sachs regularly offers a wide array of securities,
financial instruments and other products into the marketplace,
including existing or new products that are similar to your notes,
or similar or linked to the index stock. Investors in
the notes should expect that Goldman Sachs will offer securities,
financial instruments, and other products that will compete with
the notes for liquidity, research coverage or otherwise.
Goldman Sachs’ Market-Making Activities Could Negatively Impact
Investors in the Notes
Goldman Sachs actively makes markets in and trades financial
instruments for its own account and for the accounts of
customers. These financial instruments include debt and
equity securities, currencies, commodities, bank loans, indices,
baskets and other products. Goldman Sachs’ activities
include, among other things, executing large block trades and
taking long and short positions directly and indirectly, through
derivative instruments or otherwise. The securities and
instruments in which Goldman Sachs takes positions, or expects to
take positions, include securities and instruments of the index
stock, securities and instruments similar to or linked to the
foregoing or the currencies in which they are
denominated. Market making is an activity where Goldman
Sachs buys and sells on behalf of customers, or for its own
account, to satisfy the expected demand of customers. By
its nature, market making involves facilitating transactions among
market participants that have differing views of securities and
instruments. As a result, you should expect that Goldman
Sachs will take positions that are inconsistent with, or adverse
to, the investment objectives of investors in the notes.
If Goldman Sachs becomes a holder of the index stock in its
capacity as a market-maker or otherwise, any actions that it takes
in its capacity as securityholder, including voting or provision of
consents, will not necessarily be aligned with, and may be
inconsistent with, the interests of investors in the notes.
You Should Expect That Goldman Sachs Personnel Will Take Research
Positions, or Otherwise Make Recommendations, Provide Investment
Advice or Market Color or Encourage Trading Strategies That Might
Negatively Impact Investors in the Notes
Goldman Sachs and its personnel, including its sales and trading,
investment research and investment management personnel, regularly
make investment recommendations, provide market color or trading
ideas, or publish or express independent views in respect of a wide
range of markets, issuers, securities and
instruments. They regularly implement, or recommend to
clients that they implement, various investment strategies relating
to these markets, issuers, securities and
instruments. These strategies include, for example,
buying or selling credit protection against a default or other
event involving an issuer or financial instrument. Any
of these recommendations and views may be negative with respect to
the index stock or other securities or instruments similar to or
linked to the foregoing or result in trading strategies that have a
negative impact on the market for any such securities or
instruments, particularly in illiquid markets. In
addition, you should expect that personnel in the trading and
investing businesses of Goldman Sachs will have or develop
independent views of the index stock, the relevant industry or
other market trends, which may not be aligned with the views and
objectives of investors in the notes.
Goldman Sachs Regularly Provides Services to, or Otherwise Has
Business Relationships with, a Broad Client Base, Which May Include
the Issuer of the Index Stock or Other Entities That Are Involved
in the Transaction
Goldman Sachs regularly provides financial advisory, investment
advisory and transactional services to a substantial and
diversified client base, and you should assume that Goldman Sachs
will, at present or in the future, provide such services or
otherwise engage in transactions with, among others, the issuer of
the index stock, or transact in securities or instruments or with
parties that are directly or indirectly related to the
foregoing. These services could include making loans to
or equity investments in those companies, providing financial
advisory or other investment banking services, or issuing research
reports. You should expect that Goldman Sachs, in
providing such services, engaging in such transactions, or acting
for its own account, may take actions that have direct or indirect
effects on the index stock and that such actions could be adverse
to the interests of investors in the notes. In addition,
in connection with these activities, certain Goldman Sachs
personnel may have access to confidential material non-public
information about these parties that would not be disclosed to
Goldman Sachs employees that were not working on such transactions
as Goldman Sachs has established internal information barriers that
are designed to preserve the confidentiality of non-public
information. Therefore, any such confidential material
non-public information would not be shared with Goldman Sachs
employees involved in structuring, selling or making markets in the
notes or with investors in the notes.
S-24
In this offering, as well as in all other circumstances in which
Goldman Sachs receives any fees or other compensation in any form
relating to services provided to or transactions with any other
party, no accounting, offset or payment in respect of the notes
will be required or made; Goldman Sachs will be entitled to retain
all such fees and other amounts, and no fees or other compensation
payable by any party or indirectly by holders of the notes will be
reduced by reason of receipt by Goldman Sachs of any such other
fees or other amounts.
The Offering of the Notes May Reduce an Existing Exposure of
Goldman Sachs or Facilitate a Transaction or Position That Serves
the Objectives of Goldman Sachs or Other Parties
A completed offering may reduce Goldman Sachs’ existing exposure to
the index stock, securities and instruments similar to or linked to
the foregoing or the currencies in which they are denominated,
including exposure gained through hedging transactions in
anticipation of this offering. An offering of notes will
effectively transfer a portion of Goldman Sachs’ exposure (and
indirectly transfer the exposure of Goldman Sachs’ hedging or other
counterparties) to investors in the notes.
The terms of the offering (including the selection of the index
stock, and the establishment of other transaction terms) may have
been selected in order to serve the investment or other objectives
of Goldman Sachs or another client or counterparty of Goldman
Sachs. In such a case, Goldman Sachs would typically
receive the input of other parties that are involved in or
otherwise have an interest in the offering, transactions hedged by
the offering, or related transactions. The incentives of
these other parties would normally differ from and in many cases be
contrary to those of investors in the notes.
Other Investors in the Notes May Not Have the Same Interests as
You
Other investors in the notes are not required to take into account
the interests of any other investor in exercising remedies or
voting or other rights in their capacity as securityholders or in
making requests or recommendations to Goldman Sachs as to the
establishment of other transaction terms. The interests
of other investors may, in some circumstances, be adverse to your
interests. For example, certain investors may take short
positions (directly or indirectly through derivative transactions)
on assets that are the same or similar to your notes, index stock
or other similar securities, which may adversely impact the market
for or value of your notes.
Risks Related to
Tax
Certain Considerations for Insurance Companies and Employee Benefit
Plans
Any insurance company or
fiduciary of a pension plan or other employee benefit plan that is
subject to the prohibited transaction rules of the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, which we call
“ERISA”, or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended,
including an IRA or a Keogh plan (or a governmental plan to which
similar prohibitions apply), and that is considering purchasing the
offered notes with the assets of the insurance company or the
assets of such a plan, should consult with its counsel regarding
whether the purchase or holding of the offered notes could become a
“prohibited transaction” under ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code or
any substantially similar prohibition in light of the
representations a purchaser or holder in any of the above
categories is deemed to make by purchasing and holding the offered
notes. This is discussed in more detail under “Employee Retirement
Income Security Act” below.
The Tax Consequences of an Investment in Your Notes Are
Uncertain
The tax consequences of an investment in your notes are uncertain,
both as to the timing and character of any inclusion in income in
respect of your notes.
The Internal Revenue Service announced on December 7, 2007
that it is considering issuing guidance regarding the tax treatment
of an instrument such as your notes, and any such guidance could
adversely affect the value and the tax treatment of your notes.
Among other things, the Internal Revenue Service may decide to
require the holders to accrue ordinary income on a current basis
and recognize ordinary income on payment at maturity, and could
subject non-U.S. investors to withholding tax. Furthermore, in
2007, legislation was introduced in Congress that, if enacted,
would have required holders that acquired instruments such as your
notes after the bill was enacted to accrue interest income over the
term of such instruments even though there may be no interest
payments over the term of such instruments. It is not
possible to predict whether a similar or identical bill will be
enacted in the future, or whether any such bill would affect the
tax treatment of your notes. We describe these
developments in more detail under “Supplemental Discussion of U.S.
Federal Income Tax Consequences – United States Holders – Possible
Change in Law” below. You should consult your tax advisor about
this matter. Except to the extent otherwise provided by law, GS
Finance Corp. intends to continue treating the notes for U.S.
S-25
federal income tax purposes in accordance with the treatment
described under “Supplemental Discussion of U.S. Federal Income Tax
Consequences” on page S-30
below unless and until such time as Congress, the Treasury
Department or the Internal Revenue Service determine that some
other treatment is more appropriate. Please also consult
your tax advisor concerning the U.S. federal income tax and any
other applicable tax consequences to you of owning your notes in
your particular circumstances.
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Withholding May Apply to
Payments on Your Notes, Including as a Result of the Failure of the
Bank or Broker Through Which You Hold the Notes to Provide
Information to Tax Authorities
Please see the discussion under “United States Taxation — Taxation
of Debt Securities — Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)
Withholding” in the accompanying prospectus for a description of
the applicability of FATCA to payments made on your notes.
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Use of Proceeds
We will lend the net proceeds from the sale of the offered notes to
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. or its affiliates. The Goldman Sachs
Group, Inc. will use the proceeds from such loans for the purposes
we describe in the accompanying prospectus under “Use of Proceeds”.
We or our affiliates may also use those proceeds in transactions
intended to hedge our obligations under the offered notes as
described below.
Hedging
In anticipation of the sale of the offered notes, we and/or our
affiliates have entered into or expect to enter into hedging
transactions involving purchases of the index stock and listed or
over-the-counter options, futures or other instruments linked to
the index stock on or before the trade date. In addition, from time
to time, we and/or our affiliates expect to enter into additional
hedging transactions and to unwind those we have entered into, in
connection with the offered notes and perhaps in connection with
other notes we issue, some of which may have returns linked to
index stock. Consequently, with regard to your notes, from time to
time, we and/or our affiliates:
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expect to acquire, or dispose of
positions in listed or over-the-counter options, futures or other
instruments linked to the index stock,
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may take or dispose of positions in
the securities of the index stock issuer itself,
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may take or dispose of positions in
listed or over-the-counter options or other instruments based on
indices designed to track the performance of the New York Stock
Exchange or other components of the U.S. equity market, and/
or
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may take short positions in the index
stock or other securities of the kind described above — i.e., we
and/or our affiliates may sell securities of the kind that we do
not own or that we borrow for delivery to purchaser.
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We and/or our affiliates may also acquire a long or short position
in securities similar to your notes from time to time and may, in
our or their sole discretion, hold or resell those securities.
In the future, we and/or our affiliates expect to close out hedge
positions relating to the offered notes and perhaps relating to
other notes with returns linked to the index stock. We expect these
steps to involve sales of instruments linked to the index stock on
or shortly before the determination date. These steps may also
involve sales and/or purchases of the index stock, or listed or
over-the-counter options, futures or other instruments linked to
the index stock or indices designed to track the performance of the
New York Stock Exchange or other components of the U.S. equity
market.
The hedging activity discussed above may adversely affect the
market value of your notes from time to time and the amount we will
pay on your notes at maturity. See “Additional Risk Factors
Specific to Your Notes” above for a discussion of these adverse
effects.
S-27
The Index stock
The index stock issuer
is Schlumberger N.V.
(Schlumberger Limited). According to publicly available
information, Schlumberger N.V.
(Schlumberger Limited) is a technology company that provides
digital solutions to the energy industry.
Where Information About the
Index Stock Issuer Can Be Obtained
The index stock is
registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Companies
with securities registered under the Exchange Act are required to
file financial and other information specified by the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) periodically.
Information filed by the index stock issuer with the SEC
electronically can be reviewed through a web site maintained by the
SEC. The address of the SEC’s web site is sec.gov.
Information filed with the SEC by the index stock issuer under the
Exchange Act can be located by referencing its SEC file
number 001-04601.
Information about the index
stock issuer may also be obtained from other sources such as press
releases, newspaper articles and other publicly available
documents.
We do not make any
representation or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of
any materials referred to above, including any filings made by the
index stock issuer with the SEC.
We Obtained the Information
About the Index Stock Issuer From the Index Stock Issuer’s Public
Filings
This prospectus supplement
relates only to your note and does not relate to the index stock or
other securities of the index stock issuer. We have derived all
information about the index stock issuer in this prospectus
supplement from the publicly available information referred to in
the preceding subsection. We have not participated in the
preparation of any of those documents or made any “due diligence”
investigation or inquiry with respect to the index stock issuer in
connection with the offering of your note. Furthermore, we do not
know whether all events occurring before the date of this
prospectus supplement — including events that would affect the
accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents
referred to above and the trading price of shares of the index
stock — have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any
events of this kind or the disclosure of or failure to disclose
material future events concerning the index stock issuer could
affect the value you will receive at maturity and, therefore, the
market value of your note.
Neither we nor any of our
affiliates make any representation to you as to the performance of
the index stock.
We or any of our affiliates
may currently or from time to time engage in business with the
index stock issuer, including making loans to or equity investments
in the index stock issuer or providing advisory services to the
index stock issuer, including merger and acquisition advisory
services. In the course of that business, we or any of our
affiliates may acquire non-public information about the index stock
issuer and, in addition, one or more of our affiliates may publish
research reports about the index stock issuer. As an investor in a
note, you should undertake such independent investigation of the
index stock issuer as in your judgment is appropriate to make an
informed decision with respect to an investment in a
note.
S-28
Historical Closing Prices of the
Index Stock
The closing prices of the
index stock have fluctuated in the past and may, in the future,
experience significant fluctuations. In particular, the index stock
has recently experienced extreme and unusual
volatility. Any
historical upward or downward trend in the closing prices of the
index stock during the period shown below is not an indication that
the index stock is more or less likely to increase or decrease at
any time during the life of your notes.
You should not take the
historical prices of the index stock as an indication of the future
performance of the index stock, including because of the recent
volatility described above. We cannot give you
any assurance that the future performance of the index stock will
result in your receiving any coupon payments or receiving the
outstanding face amount of your notes on the stated maturity
date.
Neither we nor any of our
affiliates make any representation to you as to the performance of
the index stock. Before investing in the offered notes, you should
consult publicly available information to determine the relevant
prices of the index stock between the date of this prospectus
supplement and the date of your purchase of the notes
and, given
the recent volatility described above, you should pay particular
attention to recent prices of the index stock. The actual performance of the index
stock over the life of the offered notes, as well as the cash
settlement amount at maturity, may bear little relation to the
historical prices shown below.
The graph below shows the
daily historical closing prices of the index stock from January 1,
2017 through November 22, 2022, adjusted for corporate events, if
applicable. As a result, the
following graph does not reflect the global financial crisis which
began in 2008, which had a materially negative impact on the price
of most equity securities. We obtained the closing prices in the
graph below from Bloomberg Financial Services, without independent
verification.
Historical Performance of Schlumberger N.V. (Schlumberger
Limited)

S-29
Supplemental Discussion of U.S. Federal Income Tax
Consequences
The following section supplements the discussion of U.S. federal
income taxation in the accompanying prospectus.
The following section is the opinion of Sidley Austin llp, counsel to GS Finance Corp.
and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. In addition, it is the
opinion of Sidley Austin llp that the characterization of
the notes for U.S. federal income tax purposes that will be
required under the terms of the notes, as discussed below, is a
reasonable interpretation of current law.
This section does not apply to you if you are a member of a class
of holders subject to special rules, such as:
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a dealer in securities or
currencies;
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a trader in securities that elects to
use a mark-to-market method of accounting for your securities
holdings;
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a life insurance company;
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a regulated investment
company;
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an accrual method taxpayer subject to
special tax accounting rules as a result of its use of financial
statements;
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a tax exempt organization;
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a person that owns a note as a hedge
or that is hedged against interest rate risks;
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a person that owns a note as part of a
straddle or conversion transaction for tax purposes; or
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a United States holder (as defined
below) whose functional currency for tax purposes is not the U.S.
dollar.
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Although this section is based on the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of
1986, as amended, its legislative history, existing and proposed
regulations under the Internal Revenue Code, published rulings and
court decisions, all as currently in effect, no statutory, judicial
or administrative authority directly discusses how your notes
should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and as a
result, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of your investment
in your notes are uncertain. Moreover, these laws are subject to
change, possibly on a retroactive basis.
You should consult your tax advisor concerning the U.S. federal
income tax and other tax consequences of your investment in the
notes, including the application of state, local or other tax laws
and the possible effects of changes in federal or other tax
laws.
United States Holders
This section applies to you only if you are a United States holder
that holds your notes as a capital asset for tax purposes. You are
a United States holder if you are a beneficial owner of a note and
you are:
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a citizen or resident of the United
States;
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a domestic corporation;
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S-30
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an estate whose income is subject to
U.S. federal income tax regardless of its source;
or
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a trust if a United States court can
exercise primary supervision over the trust’s administration and
one or more United States persons are authorized to control all
substantial decisions of the trust.
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Tax Treatment. You will be
obligated pursuant to the terms of the notes — in the absence of a
change in law, an administrative determination or a judicial ruling
to the contrary — to characterize your notes for all tax purposes
as income-bearing pre-paid derivative contracts in respect of the
index stock. Except as otherwise stated below, the discussion below
assumes that the notes will be so treated.
Coupon payments that you receive should be included in ordinary
income at the time you receive the payment or when the payment
accrues, in accordance with your regular method of accounting for
U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Upon the sale, exchange, redemption or maturity of your notes, you
should recognize short-term capital gain or loss equal to the
difference between the amount realized on the sale, exchange,
redemption or maturity (excluding any amounts attributable to
accrued and unpaid coupon payments, which will be taxable as
described above) and your tax basis in your notes. Your tax basis
in your notes will generally be equal to the amount that you paid
for the notes. Short-term capital gains are generally subject to
tax at the marginal tax rates applicable to ordinary income.
We will not attempt to ascertain whether the index stock issuer
would be treated as a “passive foreign investment company”
(“PFIC”), within the meaning of Section 1297 of the Internal
Revenue Code. If the index stock issuer were so treated, certain
adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences could possibly apply
to a United States holder. You should refer to information filed
with the SEC with respect to the index stock issuer and consult
your tax advisor regarding the possible consequences to you, if
any, if the index stock issuer is or becomes a PFIC.
No statutory, judicial or administrative authority directly
discusses how your notes should be treated for U.S. federal income
tax purposes. As a result, the U.S. federal income tax consequences
of your investment in the notes are uncertain and alternative
characterizations are possible. Accordingly, we urge you to consult
your tax advisor in determining the tax consequences of an
investment in your notes in your particular circumstances,
including the application of state, local or other tax laws and the
possible effects of changes in federal or other tax laws.
Alternative Treatments. There is no judicial or administrative
authority discussing how your notes should be treated for U.S.
federal income tax purposes. Therefore, the Internal Revenue
Service might assert that a treatment other than that described
above is more appropriate. In particular, the Internal Revenue
Service could treat your notes as short-term notes that provide for
contingent payments. The discussion below addresses the tax
treatment of your notes if they are treated as short-term notes
that provide for contingent payments.
Although there is no authority that specifically addresses the tax
treatment of short-term notes that provide for contingent payments,
except with respect to any coupon payments, it is likely that you
should not recognize any income prior to the sale, exchange,
redemption or maturity of the notes. If you are an initial
purchaser of the notes, upon the maturity or redemption of your
notes you should recognize either ordinary income or short-term
capital loss in an amount equal to the difference between the
amount you receive with respect to your notes at such time (other
than amounts attributable to any contingent quarterly coupon
payments) and the amount you paid for your notes. Upon a sale or
exchange of your notes prior to the maturity of your notes, it
would be reasonable for you to recognize short-term capital gain or
loss in an amount equal to the difference between the amount you
paid for your notes and the amount received by you upon such sale
or exchange (other than amounts attributable to any contingent
quarterly coupon payments), unless you sell or exchange your notes
between the determination date and the maturity date, in which case
it would be reasonable for you to treat substantially all of any
gain that you recognize as ordinary income and any loss that you
recognize as a short-term capital loss. You may be required to
defer interest deductions that are allocable to your purchase of
the notes. For more
S-31
information, please see the discussion under “United States
Taxation— Taxation of Debt Securities— United States Holders—
Short-Term Debt Securities” in the accompanying
prospectus.
It is possible that your notes could be treated in the manner
described above, except that any gain or loss that you recognize at
maturity or redemption would be treated as ordinary gain or loss.
You should consult your tax advisor as to the tax consequences of
such characterization and any possible alternative
characterizations of your notes for U.S. federal income tax
purposes.
It is also possible that the Internal Revenue Service could seek to
characterize your notes in a manner that results in tax
consequences to you that are different from those described
above.
You should consult your tax advisor as
to possible alternative characterizations of your notes for U.S.
federal income tax purposes.
Possible Change in Law
In 2007, legislation was introduced in Congress that, if enacted,
would have required holders that acquired instruments such as your
notes after the bill was enacted to accrue interest income over the
term of such instruments even though there may be no interest
payments over the term of such instruments. It is not
possible to predict whether a similar or identical bill
will be enacted in the future, or whether any such bill would
affect the tax treatment of your notes.
In addition, on December 7, 2007, the Internal Revenue Service
released a notice stating that the Internal Revenue Service and the
Treasury Department are actively considering issuing guidance
regarding the proper U.S. federal income tax treatment of an
instrument such as the offered notes including whether the holders
should be required to accrue ordinary income on a current basis and
whether gain or loss should be ordinary or capital. It is not
possible to determine what guidance they will ultimately issue, if
any. It is possible, however, that under such guidance, holders of
the notes will ultimately be required to accrue income currently
and this could be applied on a retroactive basis. The
Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department are also
considering other relevant issues, including whether foreign
holders of such instruments should be subject to withholding tax on
any deemed income accruals, and whether the special “constructive
ownership rules” of Section 1260 of the Internal Revenue Code might
be applied to such instruments. Except to the extent
otherwise provided by law, GS Finance Corp. intends to continue
treating the notes for U.S. federal income tax purposes in
accordance with the treatment described above unless and until such
time as Congress, the Treasury Department or the Internal Revenue
Service determine that some other treatment is more
appropriate.
It is impossible to predict what any such legislation or
administrative or regulatory guidance might provide, and whether
the effective date of any legislation or guidance will affect notes
that were issued before the date that such legislation or guidance
is issued. You are urged to consult your tax advisor as to
the possibility that any legislative or administrative action
may adversely affect the tax treatment of your notes.
Non-United States Holders
This section applies to you only if you are a non-United States
holder. You are a non-United States holder if you are
the beneficial owner of the notes and are, for U.S. federal income
tax purposes:
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a nonresident alien
individual;
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a foreign corporation; or
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an estate or trust that in either case
is not subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis on
income or gain from the notes.
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S-32
Because the U.S. federal income tax treatment (including the
applicability of withholding) of the coupon payments on the notes
is uncertain, in the absence of further guidance, we intend to
withhold on the coupon payments made to you at a 30% rate or at a
lower rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty under an
“other income” or similar provision. We will not make payments of
any additional amounts. To claim a reduced treaty rate for
withholding, you generally must provide a valid Internal Revenue
Service Form W-8BEN,
Internal Revenue Service Form W-8BEN-E
or an acceptable substitute form upon which you certify, under
penalty of perjury, your status as a non-United States holder and
your entitlement to the lower treaty rate. Payments will be made to
you at a reduced treaty rate of withholding only if such reduced
treaty rate would apply to any possible characterization of the
payments (including, for example, if the coupon payments were
characterized as contract fees). Withholding also may not apply to
coupon payments made to you if: (i) the
coupon payments are “effectively connected” with your conduct of a
trade or business in the United States and are includable in your
gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, (ii) the
coupon payments are attributable to a permanent establishment that
you maintain in the United States, if required by an applicable tax
treaty, and (iii) you comply with the requisite certification
requirements (generally, by providing an Internal Revenue Service
Form W-8ECI).
If you are eligible for a reduced rate of United States withholding
tax, you may obtain a refund of any amounts withheld in excess of
that rate by filing a refund claim with the Internal Revenue
Service.
“Effectively connected” payments includable in your United States
gross income are generally taxed at rates applicable to United
States citizens, resident aliens, and domestic corporations; if you
are a corporate non-United States holder, “effectively connected”
payments may be subject to an additional “branch profits tax” under
certain circumstances.
You will also be subject to generally applicable information
reporting and backup withholding requirements with respect to
payments on your notes and, notwithstanding that we do not intend
to treat the notes as debt for tax purposes, we intend to backup
withhold on such payments with respect to your notes unless you
comply with the requirements necessary to avoid backup withholding
on debt instruments (in which case you will not be subject to such
backup withholding) as set forth under “United States Taxation –
Taxation of Debt Securities – Non-United States Holders” in the
accompanying prospectus.
Furthermore, on December 7, 2007, the Internal Revenue Service
released Notice 2008-2 soliciting comments from the public on
various issues, including whether instruments such as your notes
should be subject to withholding. It is therefore possible that
rules will be issued in the future, possibly with retroactive
effect, that would cause payments on your notes to be subject to
withholding, even if you comply with certification requirements as
to your foreign status.
As discussed above, alternative characterizations of the notes for
U.S. federal income tax purposes are possible. Should an
alternative characterization of the notes, by reason of a change or
clarification of the law, by regulation or otherwise, cause
payments with respect to the notes to become subject to withholding
tax, we will withhold tax at the applicable statutory rate and we
will not make payments of any additional amounts. Prospective
non-United States holders of the notes should consult their tax
advisors in this regard.
We will not attempt to ascertain whether the index stock issuer
would be treated as a “United States real property holding
corporation” (“USRPHC”), within the meaning of Section 897 of
the Internal Revenue Code. If the index stock issuer were so
treated, certain adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences could
possibly apply to a non-United States holder. You should refer to
information filed with the SEC with respect to the index stock
issuer and consult your tax advisor regarding the possible
consequences to you, if any, if the index stock issuer is or
becomes a USRPHC.
In addition, the Treasury Department has issued regulations under
which amounts paid or deemed paid on certain financial instruments
(“871(m) financial instruments”) that are treated as attributable
to U.S.-source dividends could be treated, in whole or in part
depending on the circumstances, as a “dividend equivalent” payment
that is subject to tax at a rate of 30% (or a lower rate under an
applicable treaty), which in the case of any coupon payments and
any amounts you receive upon the sale, exchange,
S-33
redemption or maturity of your notes, could be collected via
withholding. If these regulations were to apply to the notes, we
may be required to withhold such taxes if any U.S.-source dividends
are paid on the index stock during the term of the notes. We could
also require you to make certifications (e.g., an applicable
Internal Revenue Service Form W-8) prior to any coupon payment or
the
maturity of the notes in order to avoid or minimize withholding
obligations, and we could withhold accordingly (subject to your
potential right to claim a refund from the Internal Revenue
Service) if such certifications were not received or were not
satisfactory. If withholding was required, we would not be required
to pay any additional amounts with respect to amounts so withheld.
These regulations generally will apply to 871(m) financial
instruments (or a combination of financial instruments treated as
having been entered into in connection with each other) issued (or
significantly modified and treated as retired and reissued) on or
after January 1, 2025,
but will also apply to certain 871(m) financial instruments (or a
combination of financial instruments treated as having been entered
into in connection with each other) that have a delta (as defined
in the applicable Treasury regulations) of one and are issued (or
significantly modified and treated as retired and reissued) on or
after January 1, 2017. In addition, these regulations
will not apply to financial instruments that reference a “qualified
index” (as defined in the regulations). We have
determined that, as of the issue date of your notes, your notes
will not be subject to withholding under these rules. In
certain limited circumstances, however, you should be aware that it
is possible for non-United States holders to be liable for tax
under these rules with respect to a combination of transactions
treated as having been entered into in connection with each other
even when no withholding is required. You should consult
your tax advisor concerning these regulations, subsequent official
guidance and regarding any other possible alternative
characterizations of your notes for U.S. federal income tax
purposes.
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act
(FATCA) Withholding
Pursuant to Treasury regulations, Foreign Account Tax Compliance
Act (FATCA) withholding (as described in “United States
Taxation—Taxation of Debt Securities—Foreign Account Tax Compliance
Act (FATCA) Withholding” in the accompanying prospectus) will
generally apply to obligations that are issued on or after July 1,
2014; therefore, the notes will generally be subject to the FATCA
withholding rules.
S-34
|
Employee Retirement Income Security
Act
|
This section
is only relevant to you if you are an insurance company or the
fiduciary of a pension plan or an employee benefit plan (including
a governmental plan, an IRA or a Keogh Plan) proposing to invest in
the notes.
The U.S. Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as
amended (“ERISA”) and the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended (the “Code”), prohibit certain transactions (“prohibited
transactions”) involving the assets of an employee benefit plan
that is subject to the fiduciary responsibility provisions of ERISA
or Section 4975 of the Code (including individual retirement
accounts, Keogh plans and other plans described in Section
4975(e)(1) of the Code) (a “Plan”) and certain persons who are
“parties in interest” (within the meaning of ERISA) or
“disqualified persons” (within the meaning of the Code) with
respect to the Plan; governmental plans may be subject to similar
prohibitions unless an exemption applies to the transaction. The
assets of a Plan may include assets held in the general account of
an insurance company that are deemed “plan assets” under ERISA or
assets of certain investment vehicles in which the Plan invests.
Each of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and certain of its affiliates
may be considered a “party in interest” or a “disqualified person”
with respect to many Plans, and, accordingly, prohibited
transactions may arise if the notes are acquired by or on behalf of
a Plan unless those notes are acquired and held pursuant to an
available exemption. In general, available exemptions include:
transactions effected on behalf of that Plan by a “qualified
professional asset manager” (prohibited transaction exemption
84-14) or an “in-house asset manager” (prohibited transaction
exemption 96-23), transactions involving insurance company general
accounts (prohibited transaction exemption 95-60), transactions
involving insurance company pooled separate accounts (prohibited
transaction exemption 90‑1), transactions involving bank collective
investment funds (prohibited transaction exemption 91-38) and
transactions with service providers under Section 408(b)(17) of
ERISA and Section 4975(d)(20) of the Code where the Plan receives
no less and pays no more than “adequate consideration” (within the
meaning of Section 408(b)(17) of ERISA and Section 4975(f)(10) of
the Code). The person making the decision on behalf of a Plan or a
governmental plan shall be deemed, on behalf of itself and the
plan, by purchasing and holding the notes, or exercising any rights
related thereto, to represent that (a) the plan will receive
no less and pay no more than “adequate consideration” (within the
meaning of Section 408(b)(17) of ERISA and Section 4975(f)(10) of
the Code) in connection with the purchase and holding of the notes,
(b) none of the purchase, holding or disposition of the notes
or the exercise of any rights related to the notes will result in a
non-exempt prohibited transaction under ERISA or the Code (or, with
respect to a governmental plan, under any similar applicable law or
regulation), and (c) neither The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. nor any
of its affiliates is a “fiduciary” (within the meaning of Section
3(21) of ERISA) or, with respect to a governmental plan, under any
similar applicable law or regulation) with respect to the purchaser
or holder in connection with such person's acquisition, disposition
or holding of the notes, or as a result of any exercise by The
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. or any of its affiliates of any rights in
connection with the notes, and neither The Goldman Sachs Group,
Inc. nor any of its affiliates has provided investment advice in
connection with such person’s acquisition, disposition or holding
of the notes.
If you are an insurance company or the fiduciary of a pension plan
or an employee benefit plan (including a governmental plan, an IRA
or a Keogh plan), and propose to invest in the notes, you should
consult your legal counsel.
S-35
Supplemental Plan of
Distribution
|
GS Finance Corp. will sell
to GS&Co., and GS&Co. will purchase from GS Finance Corp.,
the aggregate face amount of the offered notes specified on the
front cover of this prospectus supplement. GS&Co.
proposes initially to offer the notes to the public at the original
issue price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus
supplement, and to certain securities dealers at such price less a
concession not in excess of 0.75% of the face amount.
In the future, GS&Co.
or other affiliates of GS Finance Corp. may repurchase and resell
the offered notes in market-making transactions, with resales being
made at prices related to prevailing market prices at the time of
resale or at negotiated prices. GS Finance Corp. estimates that its
share of the total offering expenses, excluding underwriting
discounts and commissions, will be approximately
$20,000. For more information about the plan of
distribution and possible market-making activities, see “Plan of
Distribution” in the accompanying prospectus.
We have been advised that GS&Co. will also pay a fee in
connection with the distribution of the notes to SIMON Markets LLC,
a broker-dealer in which an affiliate of GS Finance Corp. holds an
indirect minority equity interest.
We will deliver the notes against payment therefor in New York, New
York on November 28, 2022. Under Rule 15c6-1 of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, trades in the secondary market
generally are required to settle in two business days, unless the
parties to any such trade expressly agree otherwise. Accordingly,
purchasers who wish to trade notes on any date prior to two
business days before delivery will be required to specify
alternative settlement arrangements to prevent a failed
settlement.
We have been advised by GS&Co. that it intends to make a market
in the notes. However, neither GS&Co. nor any of our other
affiliates that makes a market is obligated to do so and any of
them may stop doing so at any time without notice. No assurance can
be given as to the liquidity or trading market for the notes.
The notes may not be offered, sold or otherwise made available to
any retail investor in the European Economic Area (“EEA”).
Consequently no key information document required by Regulation
(EU) No 1286/2014 (the “PRIIPs Regulation”) for offering or selling
the notes or otherwise making them available to retail investors in
the EEA has been prepared and therefore offering or selling the
notes or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in
the EEA may be unlawful under the PRIIPs Regulation. For the
purposes of this provision:
(a)the expression “retail investor”
means a person who is one (or more) of the following:
|
(i)
|
a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of
Directive 2014/65/EU (as amended, “MiFID II”); or
|
|
(ii)
|
a customer within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2016/97 where that
customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in
point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II; or
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(iii)
|
not a qualified investor as defined in Regulation (EU) 2017/1129;
and
|
(b)
|
the expression an “offer” includes the communication in any form
and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the
offer and the notes to be offered so as to enable an investor to
decide to purchase or subscribe for the notes.
|
The notes may not be offered, sold or otherwise made available to
any retail investor in the United Kingdom. Consequently no key
information document required by Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 as it
forms part of domestic law by virtue of the EUWA (the "UK PRIIPs
Regulation") for offering or selling the notes or otherwise making
them available to retail investors in the United Kingdom has been
prepared and therefore offering or selling the notes or otherwise
making them available to any retail investor in the United Kingdom
may be unlawful under the UK PRIIPs Regulation. For the purposes of
this provision:
(a)
|
the expression “retail investor” means a person who is one (or
more) of the following:
|
|
(i)
|
a retail client, as defined in point (8) of Article 2 of Regulation
(EU) No 2017/565 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the
European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (“EUWA”); or
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|
(ii)
|
a customer within the meaning of the provisions of the Financial
Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended (the “FSMA”) and any
rules or regulations made under the FSMA to implement Directive
(EU) 2016/97, where that customer would not qualify as a
professional client, as defined in point (8) of Article 2(1) of
Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 as it forms part of domestic law by
virtue of the EUWA;
|
|
(iii)
|
or not a qualified investor as defined in Article 2 of Regulation
(EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the
EUWA; and
|
(b)
|
the expression an “offer” includes the communication in any form
and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the
offer and the notes to be offered so as to enable an investor to
decide to purchase or subscribe for the notes.
|
S-36
Any invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity
(within the meaning of Section 21 of the
FSMA)
in connection with the issue or sale of the notes may only be
communicated or caused to be communicated in circumstances in which
Section 21(1) of the
FSMA
does not apply to GS Finance Corp. or The Goldman Sachs Group,
Inc.
All applicable provisions of the FSMA must be complied with in
respect to anything done by any person in relation to the notes in,
from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom.
The notes may not be offered or sold in Hong Kong by means of any
document other than (i) to “professional investors” as defined in
the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571 of the Laws of Hong
Kong) and any rules made thereunder, or (ii) in other circumstances
which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” as defined
in the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions)
Ordinance (Cap. 32 of the Laws of Hong Kong) or which do not
constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of that
Ordinance; and no advertisement, invitation or document relating to
the notes may be issued or may be in the possession of any person
for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or
elsewhere) which is directed at, or the contents of which are
likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except
if permitted to do so under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other
than with respect to the notes which are or are intended to be
disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to
“professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures
Ordinance and any rules made thereunder.
This prospectus supplement, along with the accompanying prospectus
supplement and the accompanying prospectus have not been registered
as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Accordingly, this prospectus supplement, along with the
accompanying prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus
and any other document or material in connection with the offer or
sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the notes may
not be circulated or distributed, nor may the notes be offered or
sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or
purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore
other than (i) to an institutional investor (as defined in Section
4A of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the
“SFA”)) under Section 274 of the SFA, (ii) to a relevant person (as
defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA) pursuant to Section 275(1) of
the SFA, or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A) of the SFA, and
in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the
SFA or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the
conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA, in each
case subject to conditions set forth in the SFA.
Where the notes are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of
the SFA by a relevant person which is a corporation (which is not
an accredited investor (as defined in Section 4A of the SFA)) the
sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share
capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom
is an accredited investor, the securities (as defined in Section
239(1) of the SFA) of that corporation shall not be transferable
for six months after that corporation has acquired the notes under
Section 275 of the SFA except: (1) to an institutional investor
under Section 274 of the SFA or to a relevant person (as defined in
Section 275(2) of the SFA), (2) where such transfer arises from an
offer in that corporation’s securities pursuant to Section 275(1A)
of the SFA, (3) where no consideration is or will be given for the
transfer, (4) where the transfer is by operation of law, (5) as
specified in Section 276(7) of the SFA, or (6) as specified in
Regulation 32 of the Securities and Futures (Offers of Investments)
(Shares and Debentures) Regulations 2005 of Singapore (“Regulation
32”).
Where the notes are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of
the SFA by a relevant person which is a trust (where the trustee is
not an accredited investor (as defined in Section 4A of the SFA))
whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary of
the trust is an accredited investor, the beneficiaries’ rights and
interest (howsoever described) in that trust shall not be
transferable for six months after that trust has acquired the notes
under Section 275 of the SFA except: (1) to an institutional
investor under Section 274 of the SFA or to a relevant person (as
defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA), (2) where such transfer
arises from an offer that is made on terms that such rights or
interest are acquired at a consideration of not less than S$200,000
(or its equivalent in a foreign currency) for each transaction
(whether such amount is to be paid for in cash or by exchange of
securities or other assets), (3) where no consideration is or will
be given for the transfer, (4) where the transfer is by operation
of law, (5) as specified in Section 276(7) of the SFA, or (6) as
specified in Regulation 32.
The notes have not been and will not be registered under the
Financial Instruments and Exchange Act of Japan (Act No. 25 of
1948, as amended), or the FIEA. The notes may not be offered or
sold, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to or for the benefit of
any resident of Japan (including any person resident in Japan or
any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan)
or to others for reoffering or resale, directly or indirectly, in
Japan or to or for the benefit of any resident of Japan, except
pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the
FIEA and otherwise in compliance with any relevant laws and
regulations of Japan.
The notes are not offered, sold or advertised, directly or
indirectly, in, into or from Switzerland on the basis of a public
offering and will not be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange or any
other offering or regulated trading facility in Switzerland.
Accordingly, neither this prospectus supplement nor any
accompanying prospectus supplement, prospectus or other marketing
material constitute a prospectus as defined in article 652a or
article 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or a listing
prospectus as defined in article 32 of the Listing Rules of the SIX
Swiss Exchange or any other regulated trading facility in
Switzerland. Any resales of the notes by the underwriters thereof
may only be undertaken on a private basis to selected individual
investors in compliance with Swiss law. This
S-37
prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus and prospectus
supplement may not be copied, reproduced, distributed or passed on
to others or otherwise made available in Switzerland without our
prior written consent. By accepting this prospectus supplement and
accompanying prospectus and prospectus supplement or by subscribing
to the notes, investors are deemed to have acknowledged and agreed
to abide by these restrictions. Investors are advised to consult
with their financial, legal or tax advisers before investing in the
notes.
The notes will not be listed on any securities exchange or
interdealer quotation system.
Conflicts of Interest
GS&Co. is an affiliate of GS Finance Corp. and The Goldman
Sachs Group, Inc. and, as such, will have a “conflict of interest”
in this offering of notes within the meaning of Financial Industry
Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) Rule 5121. Consequently, this
offering of notes will be conducted in compliance with the
provisions of FINRA Rule 5121. GS&Co. will not be permitted to
sell notes in this offering to an account over which it exercises
discretionary authority without the prior specific written approval
of the account holder.
S-38
VALIDITY OF THE NOTES AND
GUARANTEE
In the opinion of Sidley Austin
llp,
as counsel to GS Finance Corp. and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.,
when the notes offered by this prospectus supplement have been
executed and issued by GS Finance Corp., such notes have been
authenticated by the trustee pursuant
to the indenture, and such notes have
been delivered against payment as contemplated herein, (a) such
notes will be valid and binding obligations of GS Finance Corp.,
enforceable in accordance with their terms, subject to applicable
bankruptcy, insolvency and similar laws affecting creditors’ rights
generally, concepts of reasonableness and equitable principles of
general applicability (including, without limitation, concepts of
good faith, fair dealing and the lack of bad faith), provided that
such counsel expresses no opinion as to the effect of fraudulent
conveyance, fraudulent transfer or similar provision of applicable
law on the
conclusions expressed above and (b) the guarantee with respect to
such notes will be a valid and binding obligation of The Goldman
Sachs Group, Inc., enforceable in accordance with its terms,
subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency and similar laws
affecting creditors' rights generally, concepts of reasonableness
and equitable principles of general applicability (including,
without limitation, concepts of good faith, fair dealing and the
lack of bad faith), provided that such counsel expresses no opinion
as to the effect of fraudulent conveyance, fraudulent transfer or
similar provision of applicable law
on the conclusions expressed above. This
opinion is given as of the date hereof and is limited to the laws
of the State of New York and the General Corporation Law of the
State of Delaware as in effect on the date hereof. In addition,
this opinion is subject to customary assumptions about the
trustee’s authorization, execution and delivery of the indenture
and the genuineness of signatures and certain factual matters, all
as stated in the letter of such counsel dated February 23, 2021,
which has been filed as Exhibit 5.6 to the registration statement
on Form S-3 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by GS
Finance Corp. and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. on February 23,
2021.
S-39
We have not authorized anyone to provide any information or to make
any representations other than those contained or incorporated by
reference in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying
prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. We
take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the
reliability of, any other information that others may give
you. This prospectus supplement, the accompanying
prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is an offer
to sell only the notes offered hereby, but only under circumstances
and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. The
information contained in this prospectus supplement, the
accompanying prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus
is current only as of the respective dates of such documents.
|
|
$206,000
GS Finance Corp.
Callable
Contingent Coupon Equity-Linked Notes due 2023
guaranteed by
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
____________

____________
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC
|
TABLE OF CONTENTS
|
Terms and Conditions
|
S-3
|
Default Amount on
Acceleration
|
S-10
|
Hypothetical Examples
|
S-11
|
Additional Risk Factors Specific to
Your Notes
|
S-18
|
Use of Proceeds
|
S-27
|
Hedging
|
S-27
|
The Index Stock
|
S-28
|
Supplemental Discussion of U.S.
Federal Income Tax Consequences
|
S-30
|
Employee Retirement Income Security
Act
|
S-35
|
Supplemental Plan of
Distribution
|
S-36
|
Conflicts of Interest
|
S-38
|
Validity of the Notes and
Guarantee
|
S-39
|
Prospectus Supplement dated March 22, 2021
|
Use of Proceeds
|
S-2
|
Description of Notes We May Offer
|
S-3
|
Considerations Relating to Indexed Notes
|
S-11
|
United States Taxation
|
S-14
|
Employee Retirement Income Security Act
|
S-15
|
Supplemental Plan of Distribution
|
S-16
|
Validity of the Notes and Guarantees
|
S-18
|
|
|
Prospectus dated March 22, 2021
|
Available Information
|
2
|
Prospectus Summary
|
4
|
Risks Relating to Regulatory Resolution Strategies and Long-Term
Debt Requirements
|
8
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Use of Proceeds
|
13
|
Description of Debt Securities We May Offer
|
14
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Description of Warrants We May Offer
|
70
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Description of Units We May Offer
|
88
|
GS Finance Corp
|
93
|
Legal Ownership and Book-Entry Issuance
|
95
|
Considerations Relating to Indexed Securities
|
104
|
Considerations Relating to Securities Denominated or Payable in or
Linked to a Non-U.S. Dollar Currency
|
105
|
United States Taxation
|
108
|
Plan of Distribution
|
126
|
Conflicts of Interest
|
129
|
Employee Retirement Income Security Act
|
130
|
Validity of the Securities and Guarantees
|
131
|
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
|
132
|
Cautionary Statement Pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995
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132
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