QUARTERNORTH ENERGY INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
The FLTL loan was amended on March 22, 2022 and December 23, 2022, as follows:
| • | | we paid $74 million in principal; |
| • | | LIBOR and LIBOR loans were removed from the agreement and replaced with SOFR and SOFR loans; |
| • | | the applicable margin definition was amended to mean 4.5% for ABR loans and 5.5% for SOFR loans; |
| • | | the maturity was changed to December 31, 2023 and all future required principal payments were removed; |
| • | | certain information covenants were amended and the requirement to prepare a budget for the year ended December 31, 2023 was removed; |
| • | | all minimum hedge requirements were removed; |
| • | | the restricted payments basket was increased from $1.0 million to $20 million. |
Second Lien Term Loan. On August 27, 2021, QuarterNorth Energy Holding Inc., as borrower, and its parent entity and subsidiaries, as guarantors, entered into the Second Lien Term Loan Agreement (“SLTL”), with lenders party thereto and Cantor Fitzgerald Securities, as administrative agent and collateral agent for the lenders. The maturity of the SLTL is August 27, 2026.
On August 27, 2021, the Company borrowed $185 million under the SLTL. Cash proceeds received were $180.4 million, equal to the borrowing amount less an issue discount of $3.7 million and fees of $0.9 million.
Borrowings under the SLTL bear interest at either an ABR plus an applicable margin of 7.00% or LIBOR plus an applicable margin of 8.00%. The Company may, at its sole discretion, elect to pay interest-in-kind (“PIK”), by delivering a PIK notice to the lenders during any PIK election trigger period. The PIK election trigger period is a period in which the borrower and its restricted subsidiaries have less than $75.0 million as of the end of the most recently ended fiscal quarter. Obligations under the SLTL are secured by second liens on substantially all of our assets. The SLTL requires ongoing compliance with affirmative and negative covenants.
QuarterNorth has the right at any time and from time to time to prepay the SLTL in whole or in part, without premium or penalty, in an aggregate principal amount that is an integral multiple of $0.5 million and not less than $1.0 million.
Affirmative covenants include, among others, requirements of QuarterNorth relating to: (i) minimum hedging requirements; (ii) the preservation of existence; (iii) the payment of obligations, including taxes; (iv) the maintenance of insurance and books and records; (v) the compliance with laws and material contracts; (vi) compliance with environmental law (vii) use of proceeds; (viii) notice of certain material events; and (ix) certain periodic reporting requirements.
Negative covenants include, among others, restrictions on QuarterNorth’s and its subsidiary guarantors’ ability to, subject in each case to certain exceptions and baskets: (i) create, incur, assume or suffer to exist indebtedness; (ii) create or permit to exist liens on their properties; (iii) merge with or into another person, liquidate or dissolve; (iv) make asset sales; (v) pay cash dividends or other restricted payments; and (vi) enter into transactions with affiliates.
Further, negative covenants in the SLTL restrict QuarterNorth’s ability to engage in business activities other than those, among other things, related to the ownership of interest in QuarterNorth, performing our obligations under other indebtedness documents and receiving restricted payments. On March 22, 2022, the SLTL was amended which, among other things, required the Company to make the restricted payment baskets consistent with the FLTL, as amended.
As of December 31, 2022, QuarterNorth was in compliance with all covenants under its debt agreements.
Subsequent event
On February 14, 2023, the SLTL was amended which modified the requirement to prepare a budget for the year ended December 31, 2023.
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