Akorn, Inc.
1925 W. Field Court, Suite 300
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Attention: Timothy Dick, Chief Financial Officer
Project Ice
Commitment Letter
Ladies and Gentlemen:
You have advised JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (“JPMCB”) and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (“JPMorgan”; and together with JPMCB, the “Commitment Parties,” “us” or “we”), that you intend to consummate the transactions described in Exhibit A hereto (the “Transaction Description”). Capitalized terms used but not defined herein are used with the meanings assigned to them on the Transaction Description, the Summary of Terms and Conditions attached hereto as Exhibit B (the “Term Facility Term Sheet”) and the Summary of Terms and Conditions attached hereto as Exhibit C (the “ABL Facility Term Sheet” and, together with the Term Facility Term Sheet, collectively, the “Term Sheets”).
1. Commitments
In connection with the Transactions, JPMCB (in such capacity, the “Initial Lender”) is pleased to advise you of, and hereby agrees to provide, its commitment (i) to provide 100% of the principal amount of the Term Facility and (ii) to provide 100% of the ABL Revolving Commitment (as defined in the ABL Facility Term Sheet) (the ABL Facility, together with the Term Facility, collectively, the “Senior Facilities”), in each case upon the terms expressly set forth in this Commitment Letter (including, without limitation, in the Term Sheets) and subject solely to the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions set forth in Section 6 below and Exhibit D hereto. For the avoidance of doubt, it is understood and agreed that the Initial Lender’s commitment hereunder in respect of 100% of each of the Senior Facilities shall be determined without giving effect to any oversubscription, accordion or incremental facilities described in the Term Sheets.
2. Titles and Roles
You hereby appoint (a) in respect of the Term Facility, (i) JPMorgan, together with any other lead arrangers or bookrunners appointed as contemplated below, to act as joint lead arrangers and bookrunners (in such capacity, the “Term Loan Lead Arrangers”) and (ii) JPMCB to act as sole administrative agent (in such capacity, the “Term Loan Administrative Agent”) for the Term Facility and (b) in respect of the ABL Facility, (i) JPMorgan, together with any other lead arrangers or bookrunners appointed as contemplated below, to act as joint lead arrangers and bookrunners (in such capacity, the “ABL Facility Lead Arrangers” and, together with the Term Loan Lead Arrangers, the “Senior Lead Arrangers”) and (ii) JPMCB to act as sole administrative agent (in such capacity, the “ABL Facility Administrative Agent” and, together with the Term Loan Administrative Agent, the “Administrative Agents”) for the ABL Facility.
It is further agreed that (a) JPMorgan will have “left” placement on any marketing materials or other documentation used in connection with the Term Facility and (b) JPMorgan will have “left” placement on any marketing materials or other documentation used in connection with any of the ABL Facility. You agree that no other agents or arrangers will be appointed, no other titles will be awarded and no compensation (other than that compensation expressly contemplated by this Commitment Letter and the Fee Letters referred to below) will be paid with respect to any of the Senior Facilities in order to obtain its commitment to participate in such Senior Facilities, in each case, unless you and we shall so agree; provided that, on or prior to the date which is fifteen (15) business days after the date you execute this Commitment Letter (such date, the "Additional Agent Cutoff Date"), you may appoint (i) with respect to the Term Facility, up to three (3) and (ii) with respect to the ABL Facility, up to one (1), additional agents, co-agents, lead arrangers, bookrunners, managers or arrangers (any such agent, co-agent, lead arranger, bookrunner, manager or arranger, an “Additional Agent”) with respect to each of the Senior Facilities (it being understood that (x) with respect to the Term Facility, (a) JPMorgan shall have no less than 50% of the total economics and commitments with respect to the Term Facility, (b) such Additional Agents (or their affiliates) shall assume a proportion of the commitments with respect to the Term Facility that is equal to the proportion of the economics allocated to such Additional Agents (or their affiliates), (c) no Additional Agent (nor any affiliate thereof) shall receive greater economics in respect of the Term Facility than that received by JPMorgan and (d) to the extent you appoint Additional Agents and/or confer additional titles in respect of the Term Facility on the Additional Agents, the economics allocated to, and the commitment amounts of, the relevant Initial Lender in respect of the Term Facility will be proportionately reduced by the amount of the economics allocated to, and the commitment amount of, such Additional Agents (or any of their affiliates) and (y) with respect to the ABL Facility (a) at the election of the Borrower, in its sole discretion, all or any portion of the commitments of such Additional Agents shall be in addition to the commitments of the other Commitment Parties and the ABL Revolving Commitment shall be increased by the aggregate amount of such commitments of such Additional Agents and/or such Additional Agents (or their affiliates) shall assume a proportion of the initial commitments of Initial lenders with respect to the ABL Facility that is equal to the proportion of the economics allocated to such Additional Agents (or their affiliates), (b) the economics with respect to the ABL Facility shall be reallocated among JPMorgan (and its affiliates) and such Additional Agents in proportion to their pro rata share of the ABL Revolving Commitment and (c) JPMorgan shall have no less than $40.0 million of the aggregate commitments and a pro rata share of the economics with respect to the ABL Facility), in each case upon the execution and delivery by such Additional Agents and you of customary joinder documentation reasonably satisfactory to you and the Senior Lead Arrangers; and thereafter, each such Additional Agent shall constitute a “Commitment Party,” “Initial Lender” and/or “Senior Lead Arranger,” as applicable, under this Commitment Letter and under the Fee Letters.
3. Syndication
The Senior Lead Arrangers intend to syndicate the Term Facility and, if so requested by you, an increase in the initial amount of the ABL Facility, to a group of banks, financial institutions and other lenders, reasonably acceptable to you (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) (together with the Initial Lender, the “Lenders”); provided that, the Senior Lead Arrangers will not syndicate to Disqualified Institutions (as defined in the Term Sheets) and no Disqualified Institutions may become Lenders after the Closing Date of the Senior Facilities. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Commitment Letter to the contrary and notwithstanding any assignment by the Initial Lender (except in the case of an assignment to an Additional Agent), (i) no Initial Lender shall be released, relieved or novated from its obligations hereunder (including its obligation to fund the Senior Facilities on the Closing Date) in connection with any syndication, assignment or participation of the Senior Facilities, including its commitments in respect thereof, until the initial funding of the Senior Facilities on the Closing Date, (ii) no assignment or novation shall become effective with respect to all or any portion of any Initial Lender’s commitments in respect of the Senior Facilities until the initial funding of the Senior Facilities on the Closing Date and (iii) each Initial Lender shall retain exclusive control over all rights and obligations with respect to its commitments in respect of the Senior Facilities, including all rights with respect to consents, modifications, supplements, waivers and amendments, until the initial funding of the Senior Facilities on the Closing Date has occurred. For the avoidance of doubt, any assignment or novation of the Commitment Parties’ commitments to any Lenders (other than the Initial Lenders) in respect of the Term Facility shall be applied ratably to all such Commitments Parties’ commitments in respect of the Term Facility.
The Senior Lead Arrangers intend to commence syndication efforts with respect to the Term Facility and, if so requested by you, with respect to an increase in the initial amount of the ABL Facility, promptly following your execution and delivery of this Commitment Letter and, until the earlier to occur of (a) a Successful Syndication (as defined in the Lead Arranger Fee Letter) and (b) the date that is 60 days after the Closing Date (such period, the “Syndication Period”), you agree to assist the Senior Lead Arrangers in completing a syndication reasonably satisfactory to the Senior Lead Arrangers and you. Such assistance shall include (i) your using commercially reasonable efforts to ensure that the syndication efforts benefit from your existing banking relationships, (ii) causing direct contact between your senior management, on the one hand, and the proposed Lenders, on the other hand, at mutually agreed upon times, (iii) your assistance in the preparation of confidential information memoranda customary for transactions of this type (the “Confidential Information Memorandum”) and other customary marketing materials reasonably requested by the Senior Lead Arrangers to be used in connection with the syndication of the Senior Facilities, (iv) the hosting, with the Senior Lead Arrangers, of one meeting of prospective Lenders at a time and location to be mutually agreed (and to the extent necessary, one or more conference calls with prospective Lenders in addition to such meeting), (v) until the end of the Syndication Period, ensuring (or, in the case of the Target and its subsidiaries or affiliates, using commercially reasonable efforts to ensure) that there shall be no other issues, offerings, placements or arrangements of competing debt securities or commercial bank or other syndicated credit facilities of the Borrower and its subsidiaries and, to the extent not in contravention of the Acquisition Agreement, the Target and its subsidiaries, being issued, offered, placed or arranged (other than the Transactions, indebtedness in an amount to be agreed to remain outstanding after the Closing Date, working capital indebtedness incurred by non-U.S. subsidiaries intercompany indebtedness and other indebtedness incurred in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice), which would have a materially adverse impact on the primary syndication of the Term Facility and (vi) using commercially reasonable efforts to obtain prior to the launch of general syndication (x) public corporate/family ratings for the Borrower (after giving effect to the Transactions) and (y) ratings for the Senior Facilities, in each case, from each of Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Service (“S&P”) (but in each case, for the avoidance of doubt, not any specific rating). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Commitment Letter or the Fee Letters, neither the compliance with any of the provisions of this paragraph nor the commencement or the completion of the syndication of the Senior Facilities shall constitute a condition precedent to the Closing Date. For the avoidance of doubt, you will not be required to provide any information to the extent that the provision thereof would violate any attorney-client privilege, law, rule or regulation, or any obligation of confidentiality binding on you or your subsidiaries on the date hereof, and the only financial statements that shall be required to be provided to the Senior Lead Arrangers in connection with the syndication of the Senior Facilities shall be those required to be delivered pursuant to paragraph 4 of Exhibit D hereto.
The Senior Lead Arrangers, in their capacity as such, will manage, in consultation with you (and subject to your consent rights set forth in the preceding paragraphs of this Section 3), all aspects of the syndication, including decisions as to the selection of institutions (other than Disqualified Institutions) to be approached and when they will be approached, when the Lenders’ commitments will be accepted, which Lenders (other than Disqualified Institutions) will participate, the allocation of the commitments among the Lenders and the amount and distribution of fees among the Lenders.
At the reasonable request of the Senior Lead Arrangers, you agree to use commercially reasonable efforts to assist in the preparation of a version of the Confidential Information Memorandum and presentation consisting exclusively of information and documentation with respect to the Borrower, the Target, their respective securities and the Transactions that is either (a) publicly available or (b) not material with respect to the Borrower or its subsidiaries, the Target or its subsidiaries or any of your or their respective securities for purposes of United States Federal and state securities laws (all such information and documentation being “Public Lender Information” and with any information and documentation that is not Public Lender Information being referred to herein as “Private Lender Information”).
You hereby acknowledge that the Senior Lead Arrangers will make available information, projections and other offering and marketing materials and presentations, including the Confidential Information Memorandum to be used in connection with the syndication of the Senior Facilities (such information, projections, other offering and marketing material and the Confidential Information Memorandum, collectively, with the Term Sheets, the “Information Materials”), to the proposed syndicate of Lenders by posting the Information Materials on IntraLinks, SyndTrak Online or by similar electronic means.
It is understood that in connection with your assistance described above, customary authorization letters will be included in the Confidential Information Memorandum that authorize the distribution thereof to prospective Lenders, confirm that the additional version of the Confidential Information Memorandum does not include any Private Lender Information with respect to the Borrower or any of its subsidiaries, contain the representations set forth in Section 4 below and exculpates the Borrower, the Target and their respective affiliates with respect to any liability related to the misuse, and exculpates us and our affiliates with respect to any liability related to the use or misuse, of the contents of the Information Materials or related offering and marketing materials by the recipients thereof. Before distribution of any Information Materials, you agree to use commercially reasonable efforts to identify that portion of the Information Materials that may be distributed to the public-side lenders. By marking Information Materials as “PUBLIC,” you shall be deemed to have authorized the Commitment Parties and the proposed Lenders to treat such Information Materials as not containing any Private Lender Information (it being understood that you shall not be under any obligation to mark the Information Materials “PUBLIC”). You agree that, unless expressly identified as “Public Lender Information,” each document to be disseminated by the Senior Lead Arrangers (or any other agent) to any Lender in connection with the Senior Facilities will be deemed to contain Private Lender Information.
You agree that the Senior Lead Arrangers on your behalf may distribute the following documents to all prospective Lenders, unless you advise the Senior Lead Arrangers in writing (including by email) within a reasonable time prior to their intended distributions (after you have been given a reasonable opportunity to review such documents) that such material should only be distributed to prospective private Lenders: (a) administrative materials for prospective Lenders such as lender meeting invitations and funding and closing memoranda, (b) notifications of changes to the Senior Facilities’ terms and (c) drafts and final versions of definitive documents with respect to the Senior Facilities. If you advise us in writing (including by email) within a reasonable time prior to their intended distributions (after you have been given a reasonable opportunity to review such documents) that any of the foregoing items should be distributed only to private Lenders, then the Senior Lead Arrangers will not distribute such materials to public Lenders without your consent.
4. Information
You hereby represent and warrant that, and with respect to any information relating to the Target and its subsidiaries and its and their respective businesses, to your knowledge that, (a) all written information, other than projections, budgets, estimates, forward looking statements and information of a general economic or industry-specific nature, concerning the Borrower, the Target, their respective subsidiaries and their respective businesses (the “Information”), that has been or will be made available to us by you or any representatives on your behalf to any Commitment Party in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, taken as a whole, did not contain (or, in the case of Information furnished after the date hereof, will not contain), as of the time it was (or hereafter is) furnished, any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements contained therein not materially misleading in light of the circumstances under which such statements are made, as supplemented and updated, and (b) the projections, budgets, estimates and forward looking statements that have been or will be made available to us by or on behalf of you in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby have been or will be prepared in good faith based upon assumptions believed by you to be reasonable at the time furnished; it being understood that (i) such projections are not to be viewed as facts or a guarantee of performance and are subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies many of which are beyond your control and (ii) no assurance can be given that any particular financial projections will be realized, and that actual results during the period or periods covered by any such projections may differ from the projected results, and such differences may be material. You agree that if, at any time prior to the later of (x) the end of the Syndication Period and (y) the Closing Date, you become aware that any of the representations and warranties in the preceding sentence are incorrect in any material respect, then you will (or, with respect to the Information and projections relating to the Target and its subsidiaries and its and their respective businesses, will use commercially reasonable efforts to) supplement the Information and the projections so that (with respect to the Information and projections relating to the Target and its subsidiaries and its and their respective businesses, to your knowledge) such representations remain correct, in all material respects. The accuracy of the foregoing representations and warranties, whether or not cured, shall not be a condition to the obligations of any Commitment Party hereunder. You understand that in arranging and syndicating the Senior Facilities we may use and rely on the Information and the projections without independent verification thereof, and we do not assume responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the Information or the projections.
5. Fees
As consideration for the commitments and agreements of each Commitment Party hereunder, you agree to pay or cause to be paid the nonrefundable compensation described in the separate fee letter dated the date hereof and delivered herewith (the “Lead Arranger Fee Letter”) and in the separate fee letter dated the date hereof among the Borrower, JPMCB and JPMorgan and delivered herewith (the “Administrative Agent Fee Letter” and, together with the Lead Arranger Fee Letter, the “Fee Letters”), if and to the extent payable, on the terms and subject to the conditions expressly set forth therein.
6. Conditions
Upon the satisfaction (or waiver by the Senior Lead Arrangers) of the Exclusive Funding Conditions (as defined below), the initial funding of the Senior Facilities shall occur; it being understood that there are no conditions (implied or otherwise) to the commitments hereunder (or the occurrence of the Closing Date), including compliance with the terms of this Commitment Letter, the Fee Letters and the Facilities Documentation, other than those that are expressly stated in this Section 6. Notwithstanding anything in this Commitment Letter, the Fee Letters, the Facilities Documentation or any other letter agreement or other undertaking concerning the financing of the transactions contemplated hereby to the contrary, (a) the only representations, the accuracy of which shall be a condition to availability of the Senior Facilities on the Closing Date shall be (i) such of the representations made by or with respect to the Target in the Acquisition Agreement as are material to the interests of the Lenders, but only to the extent that you or your applicable affiliates have the right to terminate your (or their) obligations under the Acquisition Agreement or decline to consummate the Acquisition (in accordance with the terms thereof) as a result of a breach of such representations in the Acquisition Agreement (the “Specified Acquisition Agreement Representations”) and (ii) the Specified Representations (as defined below) (the representations described in clauses (i) and (ii) being the “Closing Date Representations”), and (b) the terms of the Facilities Documentation shall be in a form such that they do not impair the availability of the Senior Facilities on the Closing Date if the conditions expressly set forth in this Section 6 are satisfied (or waived), it being understood that, to the extent any lien search or Collateral (including the creation or perfection of any security interest) is not or cannot be provided on the Closing Date (other than the pledge and perfection of Collateral with respect to which a lien may be perfected solely by the filing of financing statements under the Uniform Commercial Code (“UCC”) and the delivery of equity certificates for certificated equity of the Borrower’s domestic subsidiaries that are part of the Collateral) after your use of commercially reasonable efforts to do so without undue burden or expense, then the provision and/or perfection, as applicable, of any such lien search and/or Collateral shall not constitute a condition precedent to the availability of the Senior Facilities, but may instead be provided within ninety (90) days after the Closing Date, subject to such extensions as are reasonably agreed by the applicable Administrative Agent, pursuant to arrangements to be mutually agreed by the parties hereto acting reasonably. “Specified Representations” means the representations in the Term Facility Documentation and ABL Facility Documentation relating to corporate or other organizational existence, organizational power and authority of the Borrower and the Guarantors (as they relate to due authorization, execution, delivery and performance of the Term Facility Documentation and ABL Facility Documentation); due authorization, execution, delivery and enforceability, in each case relating to the entering into and performance of such Term Facility Documentation and ABL Facility Documentation; solvency as of the Closing Date (after giving effect to the Transactions) of the Borrower and its subsidiaries on a consolidated basis (in form and scope consistent with the solvency certificate to be delivered pursuant to paragraph 1 of Exhibit D hereto); no conflicts of the Term Facility Documentation or ABL Facility Documentation with charter documents of the Borrower and the Guarantors (as it relates to the entering into and performance of the Facilities Documentation); the making of the Loans and the use of proceeds thereof not violating the Federal Reserve margin regulations or the PATRIOT Act; the Investment Company Act; sanctions laws and regulations; and, except as provided above, the creation, perfection, validity and, to the extent applicable, first priority, of the security interests in the Collateral (subject to customary permitted liens) and subject in all respects to the foregoing provisions of this paragraph. Notwithstanding anything in this Commitment Letter, the Fee Letters, the Term Facility Documentation, the ABL Facility Documentation or any other letter agreement or other undertaking concerning the financing of the transactions contemplated hereby to the contrary, (A) the commitments of the Initial Lenders hereunder and the Senior Lead Arrangers’ agreements to perform the services described herein are subject to the conditions expressly set forth in the Term Sheets under the section entitled “Initial Conditions” in Exhibit B hereto (with respect to the Term Facility), in the section entitled “Certain Conditions—Initial Conditions” in Exhibit C hereto (with respect to the ABL Facility) and in Exhibit D hereto (collectively, the “Exclusive Funding Conditions”) and (B) the only conditions (express or implied) to the availability of the Facilities on the Closing Date are the Exclusive Funding Conditions. This paragraph, and the provisions herein, shall be referred to as the “Certain Funds Provision.”
7. Indemnification and Expenses
You agree (a) to indemnify and hold harmless each of the Commitment Parties, each of their respective affiliates and the respective directors, officers, employees, partners, advisors, agents and other representatives of each of the foregoing (each, an “indemnified person”) from and against any and all actual losses, claims, damages, liabilities and expenses, joint or several, to which any such indemnified person may become subject arising out of or in connection with this Commitment Letter, the Fee Letters, the Acquisition, the Facilities or any related transaction or any claim, litigation, investigation or proceeding (a “Proceeding”) relating to any of the foregoing, regardless of whether any indemnified person is a party thereto, whether or not such Proceeding is brought by you, your affiliates or any third person, and to reimburse each indemnified person promptly after written request (together with reasonably detailed backup documentation supporting such reimbursement request) for the reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with investigating or defending any of the foregoing (but limited, in the case of legal fees and expenses, to one counsel for all such indemnified persons taken as a whole, and, if necessary, of a single firm of local counsel in each relevant jurisdiction, and, in the case of a conflict of interest, one additional counsel to each similarly affected group of indemnified persons (taken as a whole) and, if necessary, one additional local counsel in each relevant jurisdiction for such affected group of indemnified persons), but no other third party advisors without your prior written consent; provided that, the foregoing indemnity will not, as to any indemnified person, apply to losses, claims, damages, liabilities or related expenses to the extent they arise from (i) the willful misconduct, bad faith or gross negligence of such indemnified person (or any of its affiliates and their respective directors, officers, employees, partners, advisors, agents and other representatives), (ii) in connection with a claim made by you, the material breach of the Commitment Letter or any Fee Letter by any indemnified person (or any of its affiliates and their respective directors, officers, employees, partners, advisors, agents and other representatives) (in the case of each of preceding clause (i) and this clause (ii), as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction in a final non-appealable judgment) or (iii) any disputes solely among indemnified persons (other than any claims against any Commitment Party in its capacity as Administrative Agent or a Senior Lead Arranger or any similar role under the Facilities) and other than claims arising out of any act or omission of the Borrower or any of its subsidiaries, and (b) subject to the limitations contained in the Lead Arranger Fee Letter, to reimburse the Commitment Parties and their affiliates for all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses (including, but not limited to, due diligence expenses, syndication expenses and travel expenses, and limited to reasonable fees, charges and disbursements of one primary counsel, and if necessary, of one local counsel in any relevant jurisdiction) to the Commitment Parties and their affiliates incurred in connection with the Senior Facilities and any related documentation (including this Commitment Letter, the Fee Letters and the Facilities Documentation) or the administration, amendment, modification or waiver of any of the foregoing) promptly upon written request (together with reasonably detailed backup documentation supporting such request). No person party hereto nor any indemnified person shall be liable for any damages, directly or indirectly, arising from the use by others of Information or other materials obtained through electronic, telecommunications or other information transmission systems, including, without limitation, SyndTrak, IntraLinks, the internet, email or similar electronic transmission systems, in each case, except to the extent any such damages are found in a final non-appealable judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction to have resulted from the gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct of, or, in connection with a claim made by you, a material breach of this Commitment Letter or any Fee Letter by, such person (or any of its affiliates and their respective directors, officers, employees, partners, advisors, agents and other representatives). None of the indemnified persons or you or any of your or their respective affiliates or the respective directors, officers, employees, advisors, and agents of the foregoing shall be liable for any indirect, special, punitive or consequential damages in connection with this Commitment Letter, the Fee Letters, the Senior Facilities or the transactions contemplated hereby; provided that, nothing contained in this sentence shall limit your indemnification and reimbursement obligations to the extent expressly set forth herein.
8. Sharing of Information, Absence of Fiduciary Relationship, Affiliate Activities
You acknowledge that each of the Commitment Parties (or their respective affiliates) is a full service securities firm and we may from time to time (a) effect transactions, for our own or our affiliates’ account or the account of customers, and hold positions in loans, securities or options on loans or securities of you, the Target or your or its respective affiliates and of other companies that may be the subject of the transactions contemplated by this Commitment Letter or with which you, the Target or your or its respective subsidiaries may have commercial or other relationships or adverse interests or (b) provide debt financing, equity capital, investment banking, financial advisory services, securities trading, hedging, financing and brokerage activities and financial planning and benefits counseling to other companies in respect of which you may have conflicting interests. In addition, consistent with each Commitment Party’s policy to hold in confidence the affairs of its customers, such Commitment Party will not furnish information obtained from you or your affiliates and representatives to any of their other clients (or to clients of its affiliates) or in connection with the performance by such Commitment Party and its affiliates of services for its other clients (or for clients of their affiliates). You also acknowledge that each Commitment Party and its affiliates have no obligation to use in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, or to furnish to you, confidential information obtained from other companies or other persons.
You further acknowledge and agree that (a) you are capable of evaluating and understanding, and you understand and accept, the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated by this Commitment Letter, (b) you have been advised that each Commitment Party and its affiliates are engaged in a broad range of transactions that may involve interests that differ from your and your affiliates’ interests and that no Commitment Party has any obligation to disclose such interests and transactions to you or your affiliates, (c) you have consulted your own legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent you have deemed appropriate and you are not relying on any Commitment Party for such advice, and (d) none of the Commitment Parties or their affiliates have any obligation to you or your affiliates with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby except those obligations expressly set forth herein or in any other express writing executed and delivered by such Commitment Parties and you.
You further acknowledge and agree that (a) no fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship between you and us is intended to be or has been created in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Commitment Letter, irrespective of whether we or our affiliates have advised or are advising you on other matters, (b) we, on the one hand, and you, on the other hand, have an arms-length business relationship that does not directly or indirectly give rise to, nor do you rely on, any fiduciary duty on our part, (c) in connection therewith and with the process leading to the Transactions, each Commitment Party and its affiliates (as the case may be) are acting solely as a principal and not as agents or fiduciaries of you or any other person, (d) you are capable of evaluating and understanding, and you understand and accept, the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated by this Commitment Letter, (e) you have consulted legal and financial advisors to the extent you deemed appropriate and (f) you have been advised that we and our affiliates are engaged in a broad range of transactions that may involve interests that differ from your interests and that we and our affiliates have no obligation to disclose such interests and transactions to you by virtue of any fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship.
9. Confidentiality
This Commitment Letter is delivered to you on the understanding that neither this Commitment Letter nor any Fee Letter nor any of their terms or substance shall be disclosed by you, directly or indirectly, to any other person, except (a) you and your officers, directors, employees, affiliates, attorneys, accountants, agents and advisors on a confidential basis, (b) the Target and its officers, directors, employees, attorneys, accountants, agents and advisors (provided that, any disclosure of any Fee Letter or its terms or substance under this clause (b) shall be redacted in respect of (x) the amounts, percentages and basis points of compensation set forth therein and (y) the “market flex” provisions set forth therein relating to the pricing and other economic terms of the Senior Facilities, in either case in a manner reasonably satisfactory to the Commitment Parties), in each case, on a confidential and need-to-know basis, (c) in any legal, regulatory, judicial or administrative proceeding or as otherwise required by applicable law, rule or regulation or as requested by a governmental authority (in which case you agree, to the extent practicable and permitted by law, rule or regulation, to inform us promptly thereof), (d) in connection with the exercise of any remedy or enforcement of any right under this Commitment Letter and the Fee Letters, (e) the Term Sheets and Exhibit D hereto (but not the Fee Letters or the contents thereof other than the existence thereof and the contents thereof as part of projections, pro forma information and a generic disclosure of aggregate sources and uses to the extent customary or required in marketing materials and other required filings) may be disclosed to potential Lenders and to any rating agency in connection with the Transaction, (f) contents of the Commitment Letter and the aggregate fee amounts contained in the Fee Letters as part of projections, pro forma information or a generic disclosure of aggregate sources and uses related to fee amounts related to the Transactions to the extent customary or required in offering and marketing materials or in any public filing relating to the Transactions, (g) the existence and contents of this Commitment Letter in any proxy, public filing, prospectus, offering memorandum, offering circular, syndication materials or other marketing materials in connection with the Transactions or the financing thereof, (h) the existence and contents of this Commitment Letter and the Lead Arranger Fee Letter and the existence of the Administrative Agent Fee Letter may be shared with potential Additional Agents in connection with the Transaction and (i) to the extent any such information becomes publicly available other than by reason of disclosure by you, your affiliates or their officers, directors, employees, affiliates, attorneys, accountants, agents and advisors in violation of this Commitment Letter.
Each Commitment Party agrees to keep confidential, and not to publish, disclose or otherwise divulge, all non-public information obtained from or on behalf of you in the course of the transactions contemplated hereby and to only use such information for the purposes of providing the services contemplated by this Commitment Letter; provided, however, that nothing herein shall prevent such Commitment Party from disclosing such confidential information (a) to rating agencies in connection with the ratings described above, (b) to any Lenders, participants or hedge providers or bona fide prospective Lenders, participants or hedge providers (other than Disqualified Institutions and persons whom you have affirmatively denied to provide your consent to the assignment or syndication thereto), (c) in any legal, judicial, or administrative proceeding or other compulsory process or otherwise as required by applicable law, rule or regulations or as requested by a governmental authority (in which case such Commitment Party shall promptly notify you, in advance, to the extent permitted by law, rule or regulation), (d) upon the request or demand of any governmental or regulatory authority having jurisdiction over such Commitment Party or any of its affiliates or upon the good faith determination by counsel that such information should be disclosed in light of ongoing oversight or review of such Commitment Party by any governmental or regulatory authority having jurisdiction over such Commitment Party or its affiliates (in which case such Commitment Party shall, except with respect to any audit or examination conducted by bank accountants or any governmental bank regulatory authority exercising examination or regulatory authority, promptly notify you, in advance, to the extent lawfully permitted to do so), (e) to the officers, directors, employees, legal counsel, independent auditors, professionals and other experts or agents of such Commitment Party (collectively, “Representatives”) on a “need-to-know” basis and who are informed of the confidential nature of such information and agree to keep information of this type confidential, (f) to any of its affiliates, Representatives of its affiliates (provided that, any such affiliate or Representative is advised of its obligation to retain such information as confidential, and such Commitment Party shall be responsible for the compliance of its affiliates and Representatives of its affiliates with this paragraph) solely in connection with the Senior Facilities and the related Transactions, (g) to the extent any such information becomes publicly available other than by reason of disclosure by such Commitment Party, its affiliates or Representatives in breach of this Commitment Letter or other obligation of confidentiality owed to you or your affiliates, (h) for purposes of establishing a “due diligence” defense, (i) to the extent that such information is received by such Commitment Party from a third party that is not known by such Commitment Party to be subject to confidentiality obligations to you or your affiliates, (j) to enforce their respective rights hereunder or under the Fee Letters or (k) to the extent such information was independently developed by such Commitment Party without reliance on confidential information; provided that, the disclosure of any such information to any Lenders or prospective Lenders, participants or hedge providers referred to above shall be made subject to the acknowledgment and acceptance by such Lender or prospective Lender, participant or hedge provider that such information is being disseminated on a confidential basis (on substantially the terms set forth in this paragraph or as is otherwise reasonably acceptable to you and the Commitment Parties, including, without limitation, as agreed in any confidential information memorandum or other marketing materials) in accordance with the standard syndication processes of such Commitment Party or customary market standards for dissemination of such type of information, in the event of any electronic access through IntraLinks, another website or similar electronic system or platform, which shall in any event require “click through” or other affirmative action on the part of the recipient to access such information and acknowledge its confidentiality obligations in respect thereof, in each case on terms reasonably acceptable to you; provided, however, that, no such disclosure shall be made to any Disqualified Institution or to any person whom you have affirmatively denied to provide your consent to the assignment or syndication thereto (after such denial). Each Commitment Party’s obligations under this paragraph shall remain in effect until the earlier of (x) two years from the date hereof and (y) the date the Facilities Documentation is effective, at which time our obligations under this paragraph shall automatically terminate and be superseded by the confidentiality provisions in the Facilities Documentation upon the execution and delivery thereof.
10. Miscellaneous
This Commitment Letter shall not be assignable by any party hereto (except (i) in connection with the appointment of Additional Agents as set forth herein, or (ii) in connection with the syndication of the Senior Facilities subject to the section entitled “Syndication” above (and the limitations set forth therein) without the prior written consent of the other parties hereto (and any purported assignment without such consent shall be null and void), is intended to be solely for the benefit of the parties hereto and the indemnified persons and is not intended to and does not confer any benefits upon, or create any rights in favor of, any person other than the parties hereto and the indemnified persons to the extent expressly set forth herein. Each Commitment Party shall be liable solely in respect of its own commitment to the Senior Facilities on a several, and not joint, basis with any other Lender. This Commitment Letter may not be amended or waived except by an instrument in writing signed by you and each Commitment Party. This Commitment Letter may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be an original, and all of which, when taken together, shall constitute one agreement. Delivery of an executed signature page of this Commitment Letter by facsimile or other electronic transmission (e.g., “pdf” or “tif”) shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart hereof. This Commitment Letter and the Fee Letters are the only agreements that have been entered into among us and you with respect to the Senior Facilities and set forth the entire understanding of the parties with respect thereto.
This Commitment Letter and any claim or controversy arising under or related to this Commitment Letter shall be governed by, and construed and interpreted in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York without regard to principles of conflicts of law, to the extent that the same are not mandatorily applicable by statute and would require or permit the application of the law of another jurisdiction; provided, however, that it is understood and agreed that (a) the interpretation of the definition of “Target Material Adverse Effect” (as defined in Exhibit D hereto) (and whether or not a Target Material Adverse Effect has occurred), (b) the determination of the accuracy of any Specified Acquisition Agreement Representation and whether as a result of any inaccuracy thereof you (or your affiliates) have the right to terminate your (or your affiliates’) obligations under the Acquisition Agreement or have the right to decline to consummate the Acquisition, (c) the determination of whether the Acquisition has been consummated in accordance with the terms of the Acquisition Agreement and (d) the interpretation of “Acquisition Termination Date” (as defined below) and any capitalized term used in the definition thereof and not otherwise defined herein (and whether the Acquisition Termination Date has occurred), in each case shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the state of Delaware, regardless of the laws that might otherwise govern under applicable principles of conflicts of laws thereof.
Each of the parties hereto agrees that (i) this Commitment Letter is a binding and enforceable agreement with respect to the subject matter herein, including an agreement to negotiate in good faith the Facilities Documentation by the parties hereto in a manner consistent with this Commitment Letter and notwithstanding that the funding of the Senior Facilities is subject to certain conditions, including the execution and delivery of the Facilities Documentation as provided in this Commitment Letter and (ii) each Fee Letter is a binding and enforceable agreement with respect to the subject matter contained therein. Reasonably promptly following the execution of this Commitment Letter, the parties hereto shall proceed with the negotiation in good faith of the Facilities Documentation for the purpose of executing and delivering the ABL Facility Documentation and the Term Facility Documentation on or prior to the Closing Date. Section headings used herein are for convenience of reference only and are not to affect the construction of, or to be taken into consideration in interpreting, this Commitment Letter.
Each of the parties hereto irrevocably and unconditionally (a) submits, for itself and its property, to the exclusive jurisdiction of any federal court sitting in the Borough of Manhattan in the City of New York or, if that court does not have subject matter jurisdiction, in any state court located in the City and County of New York, and any appellate court from any thereof, over any suit, action or proceeding arising out of or relating to the Transactions or the other transactions contemplated hereby, this Commitment Letter or any Fee Letter or the performance of services hereunder or thereunder or for recognition or enforcement of any judgment and agrees that all claims in respect of any such action or proceeding shall be heard and determined in such New York state or, to the extent permitted by law, in such federal court, and (b) agrees that a final judgment in any such action or proceeding shall be conclusive and may be enforced in other jurisdictions by suit on the judgment or in any other manner provided by law. You and we agree that service of any process, summons, notice or document by registered mail addressed to any of the parties hereto at the applicable addresses above shall be effective service of process for any suit, action or proceeding brought in any such court. You and we hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waive, to the fullest extent you and we may legally and effectively do so, any objection to the laying of venue of any such suit, action or proceeding brought in any court in accordance with clause (a) of the first sentence of this paragraph and any claim that any such suit, action or proceeding has been brought in any inconvenient forum. YOU AND WE HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVE (TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW) TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY SUIT, ACTION, PROCEEDING, CLAIM OR COUNTERCLAIM BROUGHT BY OR ON BEHALF OF ANY PARTY RELATED TO OR ARISING OUT OF THE TRANSACTIONS, THIS COMMITMENT LETTER OR ANY FEE LETTER OR THE PERFORMANCE OF SERVICES HEREUNDER OR THEREUNDER.
The Commitment Parties hereby notify you that, pursuant to the requirements of the USA PATRIOT Act, Title III of Pub. L. 107-56 (signed into law on October 26, 2001) (the “PATRIOT Act”), they and each of the Lenders are required to obtain, verify and record information that identifies the Borrower and each Guarantor, which information includes names, addresses, tax identification numbers and other information that will allow the Commitment Parties or such Lender to identify the Borrower and each Guarantor in accordance with the PATRIOT Act. This notice is given in accordance with the requirements of the PATRIOT Act and is effective for the Commitment Parties and each Lender.
The indemnification, compensation, reimbursement, syndication, jurisdiction, waiver of jury trial, service of process, venue, governing law, sharing of information, no agency or fiduciary duty, and confidentiality provisions contained herein and in the Fee Letters shall remain in full force and effect regardless of whether definitive financing documentation shall be executed and delivered and notwithstanding the termination of this Commitment Letter or the commitments hereunder; provided that, your obligations under this Commitment Letter (other than (a) the confidentiality obligations, (b) the syndication obligations and (c) your understandings and agreements regarding no agency or fiduciary duty, which, in the case of subclause (a), shall terminate in accordance with their respective terms) shall automatically terminate and be superseded by the provisions of the Facilities Documentation upon the initial funding thereunder and the payment of all amounts owed pursuant to this Commitment Letter and the Fee Letters on the Closing Date, and you shall automatically be released from all liability in connection therewith at such time. You may terminate the Commitment Parties’ commitments hereunder at any time subject to the provisions of the preceding sentence.
If the foregoing correctly sets forth our agreement, please indicate your acceptance of the terms of this Commitment Letter and the Fee Letters by returning to us executed counterparts of this Commitment Letter and of the Fee Letters not later than 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on August 26, 2013. This offer will automatically expire at such time if we have not received such executed counterparts in accordance with the preceding sentence. This Commitment Letter and the commitments hereunder shall automatically terminate if the initial borrowing under each Senior Facility does not occur on or before the Expiration Date, unless we shall, in our sole discretion, agree to an extension. “Expiration Date” means the earliest of (i) 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on the Acquisition Termination Date, (ii) the Closing Date, (iii) the closing of the Acquisition without the funding of the Senior Facilities and (iv) the termination of the Acquisition Agreement in accordance with its terms prior to the closing of the Acquisition. “Acquisition Termination Date” means February 26, 2014; provided, however, that if the failure to consummate the Acquisition by the Acquisition Termination Date is due solely to a delay in (i) satisfying the condition set forth in Section 7.1(c) of the Acquisition Agreement and/or (ii) clearance by the SEC of the Proxy Statement, the “Acquisition Termination Date” shall be the earlier of (1) April 26, 2014 (provided that the Borrower may extend such date to May 26, 2014 upon notice to the Target (with a copy of such notice delivered promptly to the Term Loan Lead Arrangers) given on or before April 26, 2014 if the failure to consummate the Acquisition by April 26, 2014 is due solely to a delay in satisfying the condition set forth in Section 7.1(c) of the Acquisition Agreement) or (2) five (5) Business Days after both of the following have occurred: (A) the satisfaction of the condition set forth in Section 7.1(c) of the Acquisition Agreement and (B) the Acquisition Agreement shall have been adopted by the affirmative vote of the holders of the requisite number of shares of capital stock of the Target in accordance with the Target’s Certificate of Incorporation, the DGCL, and other Applicable Law (it being understood and agreed that capitalized terms used but not defined in this definition of Acquisition Termination Date shall have the meanings set forth in the Acquisition Agreement).
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