the same degree of care as they treat their own confidential information. BAS, Bank of America, Banc of America Bridge, CS, CS Securities, Morgan Stanley, LBI, LBCB, and LCPI further advise you that they will not make available to you confidential information that they have obtained or may obtain from any other customer. In connection with the services and transactions contemplated hereby, you agree that BAS, Bank of America, Banc of America Bridge, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, LBI. LBCB, and LCPI are permitted to access, use and share with any of their bank or non-bank affiliates, agents, advisors (legal or otherwise) or representatives, any information concerning you, Holdings, the Acquired Company, the Borrower or any of your or their respective affiliates that is or may come into the possession of BAS, Bank of America, Banc of America Bridge, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, LBI, LBCB, and LCPI or any of such affiliates, and each of BAS, Bank of America, Banc of America Bridge, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, LBI, LBCB, and LCPI shall be responsible if such other persons to whom it has furnished such information does not treat such information as confidential.
In connection with all aspects of each transaction contemplated by this letter, you acknowledge and agree, and acknowledge your affiliates’ understanding, that: (a) (i) the arranging and other services described herein regarding the Facilities are arm’s-length commercial transactions between you and your affiliates, on the one hand, and BAS, Bank of America, Banc of America Bridge, CS, CS Securities, Morgan Stanley, LBI, LBCB, and LCPI on the other hand, (ii) you have consulted your own legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent you have deemed appropriate, and (iii) you are capable of evaluating, and understand and accept, the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated hereby; (b) (i) BAS, Bank of America, Banc of America Bridge, CS, CS Securities, Morgan Stanley LBI, LBCB, and LCPI each has been, is, and will be acting solely as a principal and, except as otherwise expressly agreed in writing by the relevant parties, has not been, is not, and will not be acting as an advisor, agent or fiduciary for you, any of your affiliates or any other person or entity and (ii) neither BAS, Bank of America, Banc of America Bridge, CS, CS Securities, Morgan Stanley LBI, LBCB, nor LCPI has any obligation to you or your affiliates with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby except those obligations expressly set forth herein; and (c) BAS, Bank of America, Banc of America Bridge, CS, CS Securities, Morgan Stanley LBI, LBCB, and LCPI and their respective affiliates may be engaged in a broad range of transactions that involve interests that differ from yours and those of your affiliates, and BAS, Bank of America, Banc of America Bridge, CS, CS Securities, Morgan Stanley LBI, LBCB, and LCPI have no obligation to disclose any of such interests to you or your affiliates. To the fullest extent permitted by law, you hereby waive and release any claims that you may have against BAS, Bank of America, Banc of America Bridge, CS, CS Securities, Morgan Stanley, LBI, LBCB, and LCPI and their respective affiliates with respect to any breach or alleged breach of agency or fiduciary duty in connection with any aspect of any transaction contemplated by this Commitment Letter.
9. Expiration of Commitments. This Commitment Letter and the Commitments and undertakings of the Arrangers, LBI and the Lehman Parties set forth herein shall, in the event this Commitment Letter is accepted by you as provided in the last paragraph hereof, automatically terminate without further action or notice at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on the day that is six months from the date hereof (the “Expiration Date”), if the Closing Date shall not have occurred by such time.
10.Survival and Joint and Several Liability of Acquired Company and Guarantors. The sections of this Commitment Letter relating to Indemnification, Confidentiality, Fees, and Other Services shall survive any termination or expiration of this Commitment Letter or the Commitments of Bank of America, Banc of America Bridge, CS, Morgan Stanley and the Lehman Parties or the undertakings of the Arrangers and LBI set forth herein, and the Sections relating to Syndication and Information shall survive until completion of the Successful Syndication of the Facilities,provided that your obligation
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with respect to the reimbursement and indemnification provision shall automatically terminate and be superseded by the provisions of the definitive documentation for the Facilities upon the execution and delivery thereof.
11.Governing Law, Etc. This Commitment Letter, including the Term Sheets, and together with the Fee Letter, and, if applicable, the Engagement Letter, embody the entire agreement and understanding among Bank of America, Banc of America Bridge, BAS, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, LBI, LBCB and LCPI and you with respect to the specific matters set forth above and supersede all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. No party has been authorized by us to make any oral or written statements inconsistent with this Commitment Letter. This Commitment Letter and the Fee Letter shall not be assignable by you without our prior written consent (except to the Acquired Company or any affiliate of the Sponsor newly formed to consummate the Acquisition or successor by way of merger or otherwise), and any purported assignment without such consent shall be void. Any and all of our obligations may be performed, and all rights may be exercised, by or through its affiliates, but such exercise shall not relieve us of its obligations hereunder. This Commitment Letter is intended to be for the benefit of the parties hereto and is not intended to confer any benefits upon, or create any rights in favor of, any person other than the parties hereto, the Lenders and, with respect to the indemnification provided under the heading “Indemnification,” each Indemnified Party. This Commitment Letter may be executed in separate counterparts and delivery of an executed signature page of this Commitment Letter by facsimile or electronic mail shall be effective as delivery of manually executed counterpart hereof; provided that such facsimile transmission shall be promptly followed by the original thereof, although this Commitment Letter shall remain effective notwithstanding the subsequent failure to deliver such original. This Commitment Letter may only be amended or modified by an agreement in writing signed by each of you and us, and shall remain in full force and effect and not be superseded by any other documentation unless such other documentation is signed by each of you and us and expressly states that this Commitment Letter is superseded thereby.This Commitment Letter shall be governed by, and construed and enforced in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York without regard to principles of conflicts of law to the extent that the application of the laws of another jurisdiction will be required thereby. The parties hereby waive any right to trial by jury with respect to any claim or action arising out of this Commitment Letter.The parties hereto hereby submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal and New York State courts located in New York County (and appellate courts thereof) in connection with any dispute related to this Commitment Letter or any of the matters contemplated hereby, and agree that service of any process, summons, notice or document by registered mail addressed to you and us shall be effective service of process against you and us for any suit, action or proceeding relating to any such dispute. The parties hereto irrevocably and unconditionally waive any objection to the laying of such venue of any such suit, action or proceeding brought in any such court and any claim that any such suit, action or proceeding has been brought in an inconvenient forum. A final judgment in any such suit, action or proceeding brought in any such court may be enforced in any other courts to whose jurisdiction you and us are or may be subject by suit upon judgment.
BY SIGNING THIS COMMITMENT LETTER, EACH OF THE PARTIES HERETO HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES THAT (A) EACH BANK LENDER IS OFFERING TO PROVIDE A PORTION OF THE SENIOR FIRST LIEN FACILITIES SEPARATE AND APART FROM EACH BRIDGE LENDER’S OFFER TO PROVIDE A PORTION OF THE BRIDGE FACILITIES AND (B) EACH BRIDGE LENDER IS OFFERING TO PROVIDE A PORTION OF THE BRIDGE FACILITIES SEPARATE AND APART FROM THE OFFER BY EACH BANK LENDER TO PROVIDE A PORTION OF THE SENIOR FIRST LIEN FACILITIES. YOU MAY, AT YOUR OPTION, ELECT TO
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ACCEPT THIS COMMITMENT LETTER (AND THE APPLICABLE PROVISIONS OF THE FEE LETTER) WITH RESPECT TO EITHER THE SENIOR FIRST LIEN FACILITIES OR THE BRIDGE FACILITIES OR BOTH.
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If you are in agreement with the foregoing, please indicate acceptance of the terms hereof by signing the enclosed counterpart of this Commitment Letter and returning it to us, together with executed counterpart of the Fee Letter by no later than 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on August 3, 2007. This Commitment Letter, the Commitments of Bank of America, Banc of America Bridge, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and the Lehman Parties and the undertakings of the Arrangers and LBI set forth herein and the agreement of the Arrangers and LBI to provide the services set forth herein, shall automatically terminate at such time without further action or notice unless signed counterparts of this Commitment Letter and the Fee Letter shall have been delivered to us in accordance with the terms of the immediately preceding sentence.
[Signature Pages Follow]
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| Sincerely, |
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| BANK OF AMERICA, N.A. |
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| By: | 
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| | Name: Bradford Jones |
| | Title: Managing Director |
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| BANC OF AMERICA BRIDGE LLC |
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| By: | 
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| | Name: Bradford Jones |
| | Title: Managing Director |
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| BANC OF AMERICA SECURITIES LLC |
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| By: | 
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| | Name: Bradford Jones |
| | Title: Managing Director |
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| CREDIT SUISSE SECURITIES (USA) LLC |
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| By | 
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| | Name: JOSEPH ADIPIETRO |
| | Title: MANAGING DIRECTOR |
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| CREDIT SUISSE, CAYMAN ISLANDS BRANCH |
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| By | 
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| | Name: CASSANDRA DROOGAN |
| | Title: VICE PRESIDENT |
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| By | 
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| | Name: LAURENCE LAPEYRE |
| | Title: ASSOCIATE |
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| LEHMAN BROTHERS INC. |
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| By | 
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| | Name: LAURIE B. PERPER |
| | Title: AVP |
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| LEHMAN BROTHERS COMMERCIAL BANK |
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| By | 
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| | Name: George Janes |
| | Title: Chief Credit Officer |
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| LEHMAN COMMERCIAL PAPER INC. |
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| By | 
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| | Name: LAURIE B. PERPER |
| | Title: AVP |
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| MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC. |
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| By: | 
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| | Name: John B. McCann |
| | Title: Vice president |
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The provisions of this Commitment Letter with respect to the Senior First Lien Facilities are accepted and agreed to as of the date first written above: | | | |
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| | RAM HOLDINGS, INC. |
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| | By: | 
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| | | Name: Steven F. Mayer |
| | | Title: President |
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The provisions of this Commitment Letter with respect to the Bridge Facilities are accepted and agreed to as of the date first written above: | | | |
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| | RAM HOLDINGS, INC. |
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| | By: | 
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| | | Name: Steven F. Mayer |
| | | Title: President |
ANNEX IV
CONDITIONS TO CLOSING1
The commitment of the Lenders under the Commitment Letter with respect to each of the Facilities and the funding of the Facilities are subject to the conditions set forth in the Commitment Letter and satisfaction of each of the conditions precedent set forth below.
1. The Acquisition and the other Transactions shall be consummated concurrently with the initial funding of the Facilities in accordance with the Merger Agreement and the terms described in the Commitment Letter without waiver or amendment thereof that is material and adverse to the Lenders unless consented to by the Arrangers.
2. Arrangers shall have received (i) audited annual financial statements for each fiscal year, and interim financial statements for each fiscal quarter (and the comparable period in the prior fiscal year) ending after March 31, 2007 and no later than 45 days prior to the Closing Date, (ii) a pro forma consolidated balance sheet and related statements of income and cash flows for Borrower (the “ProForma Financial Statements”), as at the end of and for the latest four-quarter period ending at least 45 days prior to the Closing Date, in each case after giving effect to the Transactions and (iii) forecasts of the financial performance of Borrower and its subsidiaries on a quarterly basis through December 31, 2008 and on an annual basis through December 31, 2014. The Pro Forma Financial Statements shall be prepared on a basis consistent with pro forma financial statements set forth in a registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, together with such other adjustments agreed to between Arranger and Sponsor. The public availability of the Acquired Company’s reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q for the applicable periods shall satisfy the condition in clause (i) of the first sentence of this paragraph.
3. The Lenders shall have received all customary opinions, officer’s certificates and similar closing documentation (including Patriot Act and know your customer information) as Arranger shall reasonably request and as are customary for transactions of this type. The Arrangers shall have received (i) a certificate from the chief financial officer of Holdings (a) certifying that Holdings and its subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis after giving effect to the Transactions and the other transactions contemplated hereby, are solvent and (ii) a Borrowing Base Certificate for the month most recently ended prior to the Closing Date.
4. After giving effect to the Transactions and the other transactions contemplated hereby, Holdings and its’ subsidiaries shall have outstanding no indebtedness or preferred stock other than (a) the loans and other extensions of credit under the Senior First Lien Facilities, (b) the Securities or the loans under the Bridge Facilities and (c) other indebtedness to be agreed upon (including existing notes of the Acquired Company not tendered in the contemplated debt tender offer related thereto, so long as the minimum percentage of such notes required to eliminate all restrictive covenants therein have consented to amendments eliminating such covenants or the covenants in such notes have been defeased).
1 All capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings provided in the Commitment Letter (including the annexes attached thereto) to which thisAnnex IV is attached.
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Additional Senior First Lien Facility and Secured Second Lien Bridge Facility Conditions
In addition, the commitment of the Bank Lenders under the Commitment Letter with respect to the Senior First Lien Facilities and the Secured Second Lien Bridge Facility and the funding thereof are subject to the following additional condition precedent set forth below.
5. All actions necessary (including obtaining lien and judgment searches and intellectual property searches) (i) to establish that the Collateral Agent under each of the Senior First Lien Facilities and the Secured Second Lien Bridge Facility will have a perfected first priority or second priority, as the case may be, security interest in the collateral shall have been taken and (ii) in connection with real estate collateral, the Borrower will ensure that the relevant secured party shall have received satisfactory mortgages, title insurance policies, surveys and other customary documentation to the extent reasonably requested by it; provided, however, that, (x) with respect to any such collateral the security interest in which may not be perfected by filing of a UCC financing statement or delivery of a physical stock certificate and related stock power if the perfection of the Collateral Agent’s security interest in such collateral may not be accomplished prior to the Closing Date without undue burden or expense, then delivery of documents and instruments for perfection of such security interest shall not constitute a condition precedent to the initial borrowings under the Senior First Lien Facilities or the Secured Second Lien Bridge Facility (although such collateral, to the extent otherwise included in the Borrowing Base, shall be excluded therefrom on the Closing Date) if the Borrower agrees to deliver or cause to be delivered such documents and instruments, and take or cause to be taken such other actions as may be required to perfect such security interests, within a period after the Closing Date reasonably acceptable to the Collateral Agent or (y) with respect any real estate collateral for which the Borrower is unable deliver mortgages, satisfactory title insurance policies, surveys and other customary documentation on or prior to the Closing Date without undue burden or expense, then delivery of such mortgages, policies, surveys and other documentation shall not constitute a condition precedent to the initial borrowings under the Senior First Lien Facilities or the Secured Second Lien Bridge Facility (although such collateral, to the extent otherwise included in the Borrowing Base, shall be excluded therefrom on the Closing Date) if the Borrower agrees to deliver or cause to be delivered such policies, surveys and other documentation within a reasonable period after the Closing Date acceptable to the Collateral Agent.
6. The Arranger and the Lenders shall have obtained asset appraisals and field examinations with respect to the Senior First Lien Facilities at least 21 days prior to Closing Date.
Additional Bridge Facilities Conditions
In addition, the commitment of the Bridge Lenders under the Commitment Letter with respect to the Bridge Facilities and the funding of the Bridge Facilities are subject to the following additional condition precedent set forth below.
7. The Borrower shall have engaged one or more investment banks reasonably acceptable to the Arrangers and LBI (the “Investment Bank”) to place each of the Secured Securities and the Unsecured Securities referred to in the Commitment Letter. The Borrower shall have prepared and delivered to the Investment Bank a complete printed preliminary private placement memorandum for a private placement which contains all financial statements and other data of the type required by Regulation S-X and customarily included for private placements under Rule 144A with respect to each of the Secured Securities and the Unsecured Securities. If any portion of the Secured Securities has been issued, in connection with such issuance, the Investment Bank shall have received a customary comfort
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letter from the independent accountants for Holdings and the Borrower, and if no portion of the Secured Securities has been issued prior to the Closing Date, the independent accountants for Holdings and the Borrower shall have delivered a draft of a customary comfort letter and shall have agreed that if the Secured Securities were issued on the Closing Date, such comfort letter would be delivered. If any portion of the Unsecured Securities has been issued, in connection with such issuance, the Investment Bank shall have received a customary comfort letter from the independent accountants for Holdings and the Borrower, and if no portion of the Unsecured Securities has been issued prior to the Closing Date, the independent accountants for Holdings and the Borrower shall have delivered a draft of a customary comfort letter and shall have agreed that if the Unsecured Securities were issued on the Closing Date, such comfort letter would be delivered. The Investment Bank shall have had the opportunity to market each of the Secured Securities and the Unsecured Securities for not less than 21 days prior to the Closing Date (which period shall not include any day from and including August 15, 2007 through and including September 4, 2007) unless, in each case, a shorter period is acceptable to the Investment Bank.